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I can tell based on your posts this is of great preoccupation. It might be beneficial to discuss these feelings with a therapist. Did/Do you have the same anxiety about the health risks associated with being overweight? Heart failure, blood clots among them as well. If you’re looking at the studies you’ve also surely seen the risk of complication is extremely low when looked at as a percentage of all patients who have weight loss surgery. Remember that the Quantitative data is much more reliable. Im sure your surgery center has given you specific care and nutritional instruction including daily active minutes, grams of Protein, Oz of Water. All those instructions are tailored specifically to help you avoid complications. Other than speaking with a therapist the other thing you can do is channel this anxious into following their nutritional and care instructions to the letter to set yourself up for greatest success. And do make sure your sleeping and not googling all night. Rest is essential to healing. It’s normal to have some anxiety but don’t let it consume you. 

Well day 7 into my liquid pre-op diet. (Bypass on 2/14) I find I go through waves of I got this and I am so effing hungry I could eat a shoe. Overall going ok I guess though. So glad I was told I could season my own broth though as long as it was strained to just be the liquid. Protein shakes are just made too overtly sweet man. Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I am feeling the exact same way! I had my band removed and a gastric sleeve procedure last Tuesday, 1/31 and it has been SO difficult getting through these days and I still have 7 more! I fluctuate between being starving and feeling too full to even drink any protein. I had SEVERE lethargy two days ago and that has subsided somewhat. I'm no where NEAR ready to exercise but I do a walk around the block each day and I do a lap around the house each hour (using my apple watch "stand" reminder). I pureed cottage cheese and added it to cream of tomato soup and had that today and felt reborn! Good luck!!!

At this stage my nutrition team has advised no grains aside from our Proteins we’ve been allotted one fruit serving and two non-root vegetables. We’ll see if they allow my to add a complex carb first when they reply, if sp I’ll keep this in mind. Thank you!! 

When I was running into similar problems - not specifically light headedness, but an energy wall - after about an hour in the pool, my RD at the time suggested that a common recommendation for pre workout is something that his relatively high in complex carbohydrate, moderate in protein, and low to moderate in fats. Extra protein ahead of time did not do much by my experimenting, but that bit of extra complex carb did - it allowed me to break through that wall. It seems that with the complex carb, you will get that extra bit of insulin lift an hour or two after consumption, so that helps to fill in the energy gap you get at that time; at least it worked for me. I also didn't find that I needed it on days that I was only doing weight work, even when that lasted 90 min or so, only on swimming days. YMMV. For convenience, I ultimately settled on a small meat and cheese sandwich, with a good quality multigrain bread (or toasted.) That may or may not fit with your needs at two months out (I was about four months out when I was playing with this.) IIRC, my now RD nephew used to use some of the original CLIF bars that had a similar profile for this, so that may be something to look into. But that rough macro profile seemed to be the main trick - more fat or protein didn't do much for me, but the complex carb did (and I was never agonizingly low carb to begin with.) Calorically, it was mostly just a reshuffling of what I was already consuming, just rescheduled. Your plan at this time is somewhat limiting, but maybe some high fiber fruit - berries or the like - as the complex carb may do it, Talk to your RD, as you may get some adjustments to your allowance to accommodate your needs - this would not be unusual for those who are more active than average, as the plans are written with the averages in mind. Good luck, and have fun, but also don't overdo it - it's easy to do, particularly with trainers!

I recently started supplementing my daily cardio with weight training - I am seeing a personal trainer now two mornings a week, I noticed in the personal trainer sessions I’m getting lightheaded. I don’t experience the same lightheadedness during intensive (Zone 4-5) swim or other cardio workouts. Im pretty confident this lightheadedness is an issue of properly fueling myself for a weight training workout. THE ASK: I’m looking for suggestions of what I can eat in the morning ahead of training to better fuel myself to prevent lightheadedness . Secondarily I’m also generally interested in what you all eat prior to workouts. - My current routine includes a Premier Protein and a protein2O energy at 75 mins and 30 mins before a workout as well as at least 8oz Water. -  I’m 2 months post-sleeve and my nutrition plan at this stage allows only the following in addition to our protein: 1 serving of fruit and 2 servings of non-root vegetables.  Additional background: Before you suggest the below I’m already aware of, actively monitoring, and confident these things are not to blame: - Im well rested -it’s rare I don’t hit 8.5hrs/night. - I’m getting easily over 72oz of hydration daily - I’m averaging between 80-100 protein/day. - I was active before my surgery and have worked with trainers and weight training extensively in the past - the work I’m doing is not new to me. For example in the year before surgery I’ve deadlifted over 250lbs. **** I’ve also reached out to my nutrition team with this query but was interested especially in hearing from anyone else who has experienced and overcame this.****

I'd check to see if they can put you on something else. There's so many birth control med options that I'm sure there are some that don't have those effects. I was on one once that made me really depressed - and I'm not a depressive person. My PCP put me on a different pill, and the depression lifted after about a week.

Congrats on your surgery. I did have the sharp pain when coughing but I have pooped everyday since surgery, I'm a creature of habit so I go every day at the same time, grabted now I have to sit for 30min to make sure all is out. You seem to be doing better than me with the protein at 4 days out, my main concern was water then after week 1 was having protein too. Sent from my SM-G960U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hey everyone! ♡ Found this site in my many moments of Googler panic searches. Lol! Decided to join as everyone seems so dang wisdomous. [emoji14] Anywho! My timeline made easy ... ________________ ●Surgery, Thursday, February 2nd, 2023: In the recovering room, I remember being in so much pain I puked up blood some .. they doped me on pain killer and I woke up in the stay room later [emoji38] ________________ ●Friday morning: Started to pee and burp in the recovery room. Walked the halls so much that all the staff Kept commenting on it. Think I did 1/3 a mile that morning Kept all my pills and delicious Protein packs with Gelatin down. Total sarcasm. Taste yuck. All the while I've got major major pain in my right side, belly button area, neck, and shoulders.. they say it's all the gas. Hence I'm walking a lot Then I was released that day around. Haven't pooped yet. ________________ ●Home Friday evening: Even more pain. Face scrunched, pausing in time pain. I guess I hate gas [emoji38]. Lounge in the recliner. I set timers for walking once an hour, and Protein every 15 minutes. Medicine as needed and instructed. Breathing 3x an hour, etc. Still no gas or poop. Developed an itchy back of throat cough that makes my incisions burn like crazy. Lips flaky and dry Sleeve blush. I look cute I guess [emoji8] Nightly shower plus foot compressing kneading machine. ________________ ●Saturday: Finally farted at 3 am! Was such a feat I texted everybody. [emoji1787] proceed to fart like 7x that morning.. Threw up liquid Tylenol. Swapped to pill form. The pain subsides greatly but still sharp pains as it's reforming. Walking is much easier. My throat sore all morning. Guessing the scope? Still no poop. started my dang period. Of all the times. So now pms plus recovery. [emoji22] [emoji24] Nightly shower plus foot compressing kneading machine. ________________ ●Sunday: Everything is about the same. Many said 3rd day is the hardest but I felt much better personally. Perhaps I was all superwoman with pmsing symptoms plus surgery.. that once I was releasing gas I felt great. [emoji38] [emoji1787] Still no pooping. Following regime great. Pop cough drops for annoying itchy throat. Got sugar-free hard candy to suck on. Yay taste. However, feeling more tired. The pains are even sharper when my stomach attacks me out of nowhere though. Can only guess that's the poo forming I'm not sure. Napped for almost 2 hours which threw me off my Protein intake. Chapped flaky lips finally cleared back up. My throat is no longer sore. Nightly shower plus foot compressing kneading machine. Moved to the bed to finally sleep in it. ________________ ●Monday: Today! Getting up from laying on my side burns a little. Felt major pressure on my back door. I POOPED! A little. Looks like a dog kibble soaked in water..But I did it. I was worried I'd have to go in soon if I didn't. Pain overall is greatly subsided. I still get brief sharp center belt pains. Then afterwards I feel like I need to fart. Energy is pretty good so far. Finally able to hit 2500 on the spirometer! About 2hrs later I had a full BM! ________________ Will keep this updated! ((Does anyone share similarities??)) *~☆AnxiousMommy☆~*

Sorry to re-open an old thread but wanted to add some info for those who might search on this topic. I started experiencing this about 5-6 months after a sleeve-to-bypass revision. It's bad enough that my PCP put me on a continuous glucose monitor (Freestyle Libre 3) so I can monitor it and learn my patterns. I'm now 12 months post surgery and the issue is a daily concern. For breakfast I usually only have something light with very low carbs. If I eat any carbs at all at lunch, even a slice of bread, I have a crash about 90 minutes to 2 hours after eating. I've found that if I eat carbs at lunch I can solve the issue if I have a protein bar about 90 minutes after eating. I like the Pure Protein bars with 20g protein and about 180-200 calories, as they work well. I just try to account for these calories in my daily eating plan. I've also used glucose tablets, fruit juice or a piece of candy, but anything high in sugar it just starts a cycle of my glucose bouncing high and low in kind of a ping pong effect. Eating the protein bar settles my glucose and I'm good until dinner. I rarely experience issues after having an evening meal even if it has carbs. This has turned out to be quite challenging to deal with, and is really the only side effect of the surgery that I've experienced. I'm still better off than before the surgery but wish I could find a way to eliminate this issue.

This is perfectly normal. You’ve just undergone a pretty major surgery & your recovering & healing. Listen to your body. If it says rest or nap, have a rest or have a nap. (Wish I could still justify an afternoon nap 😁.) How long this current lack of energy will last as it will depend upon how you heal & recover. And you may have another period of low energy in a couple of months - it’s our body getting used to the changes. Try adding an electrolyte drink to your fluid roster. Try to get your fluids & protein in. It may be difficult to begin but keep working at it. It does get easier & you will feel stronger & have more energy as you progress. All the best.

Well I'm 4 days post op! Zero issues with hydration and protein. 80 0z liquids so far today and 65 grams of protein. Never had "sharp pain" but felt like I had an ab workout from hell that I'm still trying to get over the soreness lol. No nausea. No diarrhea. No leaks. No complications. Had surgery at 10 am the 1st and headed home around 9am the next morning. No issues with my chewable vitamins. No horror stories of gad pains from the lapo. Was belching day of surgery, passing gas by day 3, first BM day 4. Taking miralax each morning, mixed w Gatorade zero. Taking just Tylenol, still have two "pain pills" just in case. Drove my car today! No temp or taste issues. I feel super grateful my luck so far! Down 11.6 lbs but I'm assuming IV fluids weight is alot of that number. I have 6 incisions like the first photo. The bruised one is the one they place the stapler through. Sent from my SM-F721U using BariatricPal mobile app

2/17 here as well!!!! I have a 2 prior day liquid diet and started lean protein, veggies, fruit and water on Feb. 3. I’ll check in with you post surgery.

Stick to your pre-op diet best possible. It might be hard, but after surgery all those cravings go away really quickly. Weight loss feels controlled, stable, and predictable. The first week I was tired and had discomfort from gas in my body cavity that felt intense but was gone at the end of week. I spent much on the first week in bed resting. The second week post surgery was my stomach acid week I’d wake up at 5am and feel like I had a belly full of acid. Not super painful, just annoying and that symptom went away at the end of week two. I was back to work and up and about week 2 but sleep early or naps in the afternoon. Week 3 is when my progress allowed me to move on the soft Proteins. What was most noticeable this week is that occasionally I would get extremely dizzy with the room spinning. I realized this was due to seasonings or Condiments with minimal sugars but the first sugars I had experienced since surgery. Those first 2-3 grams of sugar /food iwould cause my my insulin to over compensate and my blood sugar would drop real low. That happened for about a week and a half 1-2 times a day and then my body adjusted and I haven’t experienced it since.   I also experienced a bit of nausea at this time as I tried new foods and learned to slow down eating but never have actually threwup. I’m two months out now. Only remaining symptom is light fatigue and occasional nausea as a reaction to eating something new or eating to fast. But it’s super tolerable and not as bad as it might sound. ALL OF THIS TO SAY: some of the initial symptoms may seem miserable or annoying in the moment while your body is adjusting to your surgery, but understand most of them will pass in a week or so they aren’t there for the long term. Be kind to yourself, allow yourself to rest, and focus on your Protein and hydration above all else. You got this!

I had my surgery February 2nd and today is February 5th! Only 3 days postop. The day of surgery barely remember, to be honest, I was released the next day. I've been able to keep my fluids down, only Saturday morning is the one time I've vomited, but that was right after I filled my stomach with pills, and went to drink my protein crap they sent me home with. I can't handle that taste at allllll. I mix it up now, almond milk with the shakes, ramen noodle broth, sugar free water, etc! Sent from my SM-A136U using BariatricPal mobile app

Too much sucrose gives me fast heart rate, a malaise feeling for about hour. It's not pleasant but it isn't that bad. So for example, 1/2 cup of cereal, no problem. One cup risks one hour of fast heart rate. I don't get any side effects with fructose, lactose or anything else. So no limit on fructose (can eat fruit all day), lactose, starches, fiber, protein or fats.

Hi, I'm 5 day post op and have ZERO energy. On a clear liquid diet until Tues, complete with a min 60 grams of protein from shakes. I am now able to get 60-70 g protein daily and drinking all the water I can tolerate.. I also have 1/2 cup diluted 100% grape juice to get some carbs. Is it normal to be WIPED OUT even after naps and the daily recommended protein and water?? I almost feel weak like I have the flu but know I don't.

Agree. The texture is thicker with protein powder in oatmeal, pancakes, and cookies. Not necessarily bad (in fact, it helps when too much water is added to oatmeal), just different.

I had a long 8 months to wait for this surgery and thought I was very prepared. I read this forum from back to front. 20 years worth of problems and advice. I didn't know it all though, I didn't know that hormones live in fat cells and when we loose a lot of weight quickly we had all these hormones rushing around our bodies like puberty on steroids. I was having a tough time of it with nausea and vomiting too. I cried for a week and did not know why. I asked for help on here and got it. The answer, too many hormones at a time when I was overwhelmed with trying to do everything right. I think you need anti nausea medication. So, You are not alone. Its normal to feel like you are. As you have realised its big surgery and now you have to get to grips with it, there is no going back. IT WILL GET BETTER. You wont have to chew food like this forever, it just helps your tiny stomach digest your food so that you get the nutrients from it. Your headaches could be from dehydration, its tough to get all the liquids and food in early on, it feels like it will never get better but it does. Just do your very best everyday to get your liquid and protein onboard. That way you will improve every day and doing that will improve your mental health a little Please seek counselling for your eating disorders, hopefully you can find one who understands bariatrics too. OR talk to us on here, you can rage, cry and get these feeling off your chest and it may help a little bit. We don't mind, the ones before us did the same for us. You are not alone

There are "natural" protein powders, i. e. no flavor was added. However, adding a protein powder will always alter the texture of your foods. Also every protein powder has a certain taste and/or aftertaste. Try to get your hands on different samples and choose from there. Protein powders made of more than one components are also available with a different texture and taste. Also try different brands.

I'm sorry about your experience. I'm surprised Ramstein Air Base didn't have a bariatric team. I'm working with a team at an Army base here in Colorado and wasn't even given the option for an off-base provider for this procedure despite all my medical being done by civilian medical offices. I don't want to give a bunch of unsolicited advice, but just validate how you feel. You have an absolute right to be angry and upset (which I'm sure is an understatement). Life as you know it is forever changed and it's not fair that you weren't properly prepared. I will say though, are there medical lesions are your base that you can speak to about the process and treatment you had? I know they cannot change what happened to you, but maybe something good will come from it. Lastly, know you have support from others in this forum who maybe feel frustrated about different aspects of the surgery and experiences they had.

5th day of my liquid boy oh boy this diet is no joke don't really miss the food that much but my sense of smell is heightened lol....I got up to 144 oz of water yesterday. also if you're getting chicken broth or beef broth make sure you get the low sodium and not the 50% less sodium version I got that, the first time and there's about 400mg of sodium. Now if you only plan on having broth once a day like I was doing that might be fine because the low sodium which is unlimited on my pre-op diet has about 70 to 90 MG of sodium so it's like having 4 cups. also i got premier protein pre-made shakes for my liquid diet and there a lot of info saying it's not fortified enough for the liquid diet so I added a multivitamin and fiber.

I had serious doubts about getting the gastric sleeve a few days before my surgery. I expressed them to my husband but he thought I was just nervous and wanted to support me, so he urged me to go through with it. I hate it though. I hate my life now and I'm not sure if I will ever not hate it. I have a couple close friends and they did not feel this way 4 weeks post-op like I do. I cry all the time. I'm worried something is wrong and terrified of having to go through any kind of revision surgery. I'm an American living in Germany and it is so difficult to contact my surgeons office and get anyone who speaks enough english to help me. I started my WL journey about 4 years ago when we were stationed in Italy. I was denied a medically necessary breast reduction because my BMI was too high. So I was referred for weight loss guidance.First, I was sent to the base nutritionist (a perfectly in shape airman) who told me I needed to work out more and eat more whole vegetables. I had to work with him for 1+ years before being able to try any WL medications. Unfortunately that was in early 2019, and we all know how the next few years went. We PCS'd to a new base in Germany in 2020 and when I asked about the WL medications I was told that was not an option here. They recommended I carry on with my (now virtual) nutritionist. I wasn't losing any weight and working out would send my back into spasms from my H cups breasts. I was taking a combination of Flexural, Motrin, and Valium for my back spasms, only using the Valium when they were at a level 8 or above pain level (so less than 1 valium a month). Turns out not only could I not get WL meds here, I also could not get a refill on my Valium. I had used too much (less than 1 pill a month for a year). So any weight training was immediately phased out of my working out, which now consisted of only walking. This past summer I went back and told them I really need a breast reduction and if I had to go the WLS route then I was open to that. The provider (who has had WLS themself) was very on board with WLS. I told them that I had already done the nutrition part at my previous base, so he put in the surgical consult referral right away. After I met with the surgeon, who surprise, surprise wanted to operate (surgeons always gonna surgeon), my provider put in the referral for my surgery and stated that all prerequisites had been completed at prior base. Then boom... endoscopy and surgery scheduled. Now all I had said was that I went to nutrition at my previous base and continued it virtually. So I had no idea what other preqs there could be. I had a few meeting with the nutritionist here about the gastric pre/post op diet. That's it. I learned about the full liquid to clear liquid pre-op and clear liquid to full liquid to purees to soft foods diet post op. I was completely unprepared mentally and emotionally for this surgery. Not to mention I had done all my pre-op nutrition with the American on base nutritionist and post-op was with the German hospital nutritionist. They had completely different guidelines (like the Germans wanted me to start soft solids on DAY 5 post op and stop protein shakes immediately). I was in the hospital for 4 days with nurses who spoke very little English, so they would give me shots and pills but never tell me what they were giving me. I know a small amount of German, enough to get by with running errands and what not, so I understood one nurse when after I told her my German was minimal and asked if she could speak English, she got annoyed with me and told me I was never going to be allowed to go home. The patient liaison from base sorted it out and the issue was the hospital nutritionist would not do my consult without an in person translator that I needed to provide and I could not be discharged without that consultation. I felt like I was drowning; I still feel like I'm barely able to tread water now at 4 weeks post-op. My end goal wasn't WL to be skinny. I just wanted a breast reduction. Before surgery I didn't have high blood pressure, diabetes, GERD, sleep apnea, high cholesterol...zero comorbidities. For all intents and purposes I was a healthy fat lady with giant boobs. So post surgery I was/am overwhelmed with regret. There's all these things I feel like I didn't know and wasn't prepared for. Like I knew I was going to be eating smaller portions, but didn't know about the tiny bites and chewing things until its mush in your mouth for the rest of your life. I didn't know that my stomach would be almost too swollen to drink water after surgery and that the german hospital only provided water and broth, no popsicles or jello. So I spent my days in the hospital feeling nauseous all the time because drinking water made me taste blood in my mouth and that made me gag, all while my nurse tisked me and told me I was never going home. No one asked if I had a history of eating disorders (which I do) and how this surgery and diet are going to bring up old thoughts and feelings of self harm and negative self talking. No one weighed out if the possible negative side effects of the surgery were stronger than the positives. Pre surgery I took ZERO daily meds other than a daily vitamin. Now I need an antacid and stool softener to be able to ingest anything other than water and not tear myself in half in the bathroom. I also need daily tylenol because eating anything gives me a massive headache. I don't even want to eat anymore. I spend 30 minutes forcing myself to take tiny bites of some high protein food and then I spend the next hour actively trying not to barf it back up. Without tylenol I am running at 99F, but when I eat it goes up to 100-101. The doctor said its not an emergency unless its 101.5, which is hasn't gotten to yet. And even if it did, what would I do?! The hospital was horrible. My hand still hurts from where the nurse wouldn't flush my IV, so the port go blocked and all he fluid and medicine soaked into the flesh of my hand, making it swell up like Wreck It Ralph. I had an allergic reaction that made me sneeze for days after surgery. No one would offer any help or advice about my sneezing. They told me to eat less, but I wasn't eating anything at all. I just hate this. I hate food. I hate eating. I hate the thought of chewing until something is a mushy paste. I hate life. I just wanted a breast reduction and now I feel like I've had a life reduction.

I found Genepro to be pretty tasteless, but stopped using it after a few months because of some dubious things I read online about it, and the newest version doesn’t contain as much protein as the former ones claimed to. I now use Syntrax medical unflavored. It has a slight taste, but better than several others I tried. I can’t taste it in oatmeal, pancakes, or breakfast cookies. I think it would have a taste/texture in water, though. GL!

So far it’s consist of protein drinks, water and some veggies and some fruit. Doesn’t mention anything else and I feel like I am starving lol