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I take Benadryl every night for both sleep & allergies, and Zyrtec every morning. I also had my sleeve surgery in 2019. I’ve lost steadily and am now at my first goal weight of 155. I’m thinking of dropping another 10 to 145. No issues with antihistamines causing no losses or even gains for me.

Hello sleevers. it has been a while since I have posted anything, I think since my sleeve in 2019. I have been busy with life as i am sure as everyone else has. to make a long story short, being busy with life and the latest life change for everyone in our great world....the pandemic, God willing this passes quickly and we will see the sun shine once again....i have gained weight this passed year after a steady weight, i have gained about 20 lbs but have lost 2 lbs after stopping benadryl and other antihistimine for allergies. I also take anti depresents and have switched due to assuming they were causing weight gain....buprorion which is to have less affect on weight and cymbalta for chronic pain which did decrease appetite decreased my appetite. All of a sudden at the beginning of 2020 my appetite for sweets not food increased, mid you i also started taking anti histimines, not thinking of the hisitmines for the year and after switching medications assuming weight gain increased sweet tooth, it dawned on me about anti hiistimines causing weight gain , i realized this going over my sons medications in which he took cyproheptidine to manage migraines and to increase his appetite due to adhd meds decreasing his appetite. I looked up benadryl as well other antihistamines to see if they cause weight gain, and low and behold they cause an increase in weight gain if taken regulary/ daily for long time use. Has anyone else experienced weight gain by being on antihistamines? BY KNOW MEANS AM I DOCTOR/ MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, OR ADVISING ANYONE TO STOP TAKING MEDICATIONS. I am just curious to know if anyone has experienced this or even aware. When going to see my provider, this is one medication i forget to tell them about, but will be sure to mention it at my next appointment. I have lost 2 lbs since stopping them last week and switched to nasal as needed. please excuse typos..

Congrats on your surgery. Whoo hoo! Only eating a couple of spoonfuls (about 1/4 cup) is very normal at this stage. Are you eating slowly (taking 10 - 20 minutes)? I used to eat from a teaspoon or a small toddler sized fork & almost just dipped them in my food - never a full spoonful. The pain sounds like your restriction. It’s a signal you’ve had enough. Mine also kicks in when I eat too quickly. But as with all things that seem odd or cause you pain speak to your medical team. There’s a lot of swelling after surgery at the top of your tummy but it shouldn’t still be causing you issues this far out. I struggled to swallow anything for a few days after surgery. Carried a sick bag for days cause I was constantly spitting up salvia. Not pleasant. You could also be holding some tension in your body because you’re sub consciously fearing you’ll have pain/discomfort when you swallowing as you did after surgery. The tension then causes the pain like a self fulfilling prophecy. Just a thought but again talk to your medical team. Generally, your tummy is pretty sensitive & cantankerous in the beginning & you may find a lot of foods don’t sit well. Food you can eat one day makes you ill the next. It does take a bit of trial & error to work out what food keeps your tummy happy in the beginning. This does all settle & you’ll find you’ll be able to eat most things in time. Personally, I still find potatoes too heavy to eat - they sit like a lump in my tummy. Multi vitamins would make me nauseous every morning. Vomited a couple of times too. I split the dose - one in the morning, one at night & always after food. Good luck.

My first appointment is Wednesday next week. I have no idea what to expect. I’ve heard tons of people tell me Tricare reserve select will deny me because my BMI is low. I have hypothyroidism, hashimotos, GERD, and depression. Losing weight isn’t easy for me. I’ve struggled for years trying to and I’m just stuck at this weight the past 10 years. Is it worth it to even go to this appointment?

Started at 310 in October 2020. I've lost 35lbs on my own so a current weight of 275. I'm just now seeing a difference in some of my clothes. My surgery is scheduled for 3/3/21 so I start my pre-op on 2/17. Excited but nervous too!! The original post all those years ago asked if there were things that others might not understand. I think not seeing a difference until there's significant weight loss is one of those. I have friends who if they lose 10 pounds they're in a whole other size.

Sadly, it happens - more frequently a few years ago (6-10) when most bariatric surgeons were still learning how to do sleeves than more recently, but I guess that there are always some who are still learning! The sleeve tends to want to bend in the middle, or form an hourglass shape, if it isn't done quite right, it may not yield a total blockage type of stricture, but it can leave the narrowing that can impede the flow and/or exacerbate reflux problems. While most surgeons in the US are now far enough up the learning curve to usually avoid this problem, knowing how to fix it can be beyond their experience, hence many prefer to go with a bypass instead. It may be possible to correct your sleeve, but you may need to find a surgeon who is very well experienced with the care and feeding of the sleeve construction. My suggestion, if you want to go for a second opinion (which I think anyone should do when considering a revision,) is to book a virtual consult with Dr. Ara Keshishian, who happens to be on the wrong coast for you, out in Pasadena, CA, but he has been doing virtual initial consults for years before Covid as he has patients all over the country. This will at least give you a reading as to whether this is a viable option in your case, or give you confidence that the RNY approach is the best. If a resleeve is an option, then you can decide whether to travel across the country, or seek out another surgeon closer to you who can do it. I would suggest looking for one who routinely does the duodenal switch (DS) procedure, as they tend to have the longest and most extensive experience with sleeves. I believe that there are at least a couple in FL, and several further north along the East Coast. If you do choose to proceed with the RNY route, do discuss things carefully with your surgeon, as there are tradeoffs in how he proceeds. Limb lengths, as suggested above, are a compromise as if they are too short to minimize malabsorption, you can be more prone to bile reflux. There are several Facebook groups that cater to total and partial gastrectomy patients (primarily for cancer or gastroparesis) and bile reflux is one of their common complaints. When I was considering such a thing a few years ago, the surgeon I was dealing with said that as long as he kept the limb over a certain dimension (80cm, IIRC) then they saw no problems with it. Hopefully, the surgeon that you are dealing with has enough experience on both the WLS and non-WLS side of it to know those tradeoffs. Bariatric programs that are associated with major cancer center hospitals readily "swing both ways" on that, but one that only specializes in bariatrics may not. I wouldn't worry too much about the malnutrition issue, as the RNY is very well understood; it is somewhat fussier than your sleeve in supplement needs but things are pretty straightforward on it if you keep up with labs and change things up as those dictate; it can be problematic for those who get overly casual about such things and let it slide - then you can get into trouble. If you fall into that camp, then I would try to do everything to preserve your sleeve and its greater flexibility; otherwise, the RNY is a good alternative. My personal preference, as I was faced with some similar decisions, is/was to stick with the sleeve if it is viable, as the RNY (or something different) is always an option for the future, but once one has an RNY, changing things gets more difficult, so options are fewer. Also on the option front, with the bypass, there remains a "blind" remnant stomach along with the duodenum and upper intestine which are unavailable for endoscopic evaluation or treatment (things much be done surgically.) As there are an increasing number of procedures that can be done endoscopically these days, and into the future, and I have already had one lifesaving endoscopy this is an option that I am keen to preserve, if at all possible. Short term, you may lose too much as you go through the high level of restriction that comes in those first few months after surgery. In that case, there are ways to "eat around" your pouch by basically doing all of the "wrong" things for your WLS - drinking calories, eating slider foods, higher calorie options particularly fats as tolerated. The tricky thing is to avoid making too much of a habit of it as the restriction does diminish over time and you can naturally eat more of conventional foods to maintain your nutrition

Hi everyone, i had my gastric sleeve on May 22 2019 due to the fact that i nearly died after my hysterectomy the congestive heart failure was drowning me. I hace lost 180 lbs but have been stuck at 222 for weeks. It goes up and dow with fluid gain but i take a diuretuc when it gets over 5 lbs up. I work iht almost every day abd i still dont eat very much with my meals but feel that i am not making tge right choices. Lyckily i get to see a dietician soon since i didn't fet ti finish the original program after surgery due to an insurance change. Also sitting at a desj for 8 hours is not gelpful but i fi d thibgs to do to keep me active but am still frustrated with my self.

It’s so good to hear from everyone! I am so so glad that I was able to get the surgery when I did! I am doing so good and feel so amazing! So far, I’m down 130. I have 10 more to go to get to my personal goal. My surgery weight was 277 and I am now 147. At 5’1, I’m still not at the considered “healthy” weight, so I want to keep going. I will say that for the first 6 months, I struggled badly with dehydration and very low iron. My surgeon told me that that is probably the reason why I lost so much in the beginning. It’s definitely a lot tougher now. The scale has not moved for me in a month. But I’m still going! I can’ wait to catch up on everyone and see how everyone has been doing.

That depends on what surgery you had, which I don't see you have listed. With my BPD-DS I am supposed to, but I haven't been all that good about doing so and haven't had any ill effects. I believe its suggested that bypass patients take vitamins regularly. I didn't think it was as important for the gastric sleeve since that is not a malabsorption procedure. Did you doctor ever advise you about vitamin supplements? I had my surgery in Aug 2018 and lost over 100% of my excess weight, but I regained about 30 pounds from a (too low) 133 pounds in 2020. Even with that was still below 25 BMI. My fault, too many sweets and high carb processed junk food. Still have good restriction, and I've lost 10 of that 30 pounds so far in less than a month eating mostly salads with custom no-oil vinaigrettes, and lean meat and veg dinners. My preferred proteins have been tilapia and premier protein shakes. If I get hungry between meals I'll have an apple, which fills me pretty well.

Nope. Covid makes testing really hard. I've done physical therapy for dizzyness, did a bunch of tests, including an MRI of my brain and they came back normal, took meds for dizzyness and they didn't work... right now my PCP thinks it's either 1. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (P.O.T.S for short) which would require testing by the cardiologist and they've been sent the order no less than 5 TIMES and have yet to call back either me or my doctor or 2. a spinal fluid leak (which would have happened from the lumbar puncture I had in 2017 after brain surgery when I got meningitis and it took the 45 minutes to get the needle in due to a back injury that is a result of muscle, tissue, and nerve damage. I have a scar on my back from that lumbar puncture. Spinal fluid leaks mimic P.O.T.S and can go unrecognized for 10 years before symptoms get bad enough to where you really take notice that something is wrong. MY PCP is leaning more toward that and I'm currently doing physical therapy so that my insurance will approve an MRI). I'm lucky in that my PCP actually had WLS. She had VSG several years ago and her son had gastric bypass so she's a fountain of information lol. She encourages anyone who wants WLS, but doesn't press the patients or even MENTION your weight unless YOU bring it up! It was one of the things I loved about her most when I first started seeing her and I respect her so much for that.

I had gastric sleeve on nov 23/2020 and my legs have been numb and hurting for like 3 weeks, and my balance is so off it made me fall two times today. I did go and see my surgeon this week and he gave me a lot of vitamins and it’s kinda working but my legs still hurt when I walk for like 10 or 20 minutes and plus during those minutes I might fall or one of my legs will just give up and make me trip.

I had my Gastric Bypass surgery in August 2019, surgery was a breeze but have suffered with sickness and nausea for the last year but due to Covid haven’t been able to see my surgeon. Was prescribed Odensetron which helps somewhat. But regardless of the sickness and not being able to keep foods down I do not regret having it done at all. Have lost over 140lbs . Before and after pics attached

I'm going to politely disagree with the responses you've received here so far. Since even the initial consultation is a bariatric service, they want to verify that your insurance will cover it prior to scheduling. The initial consultation is a billable service. You either have coverage or you don't. The facility wants to know if insurance will pay or if you will be paying on your own. It is possible after the initial consult, that you choose not to proceed. However, they still want to know that you have coverage for that visit. Example: my insurance policy through my employer specifically excluded any coverage for weight management and/or bariatric services until 2020. In 2019, I was aware that coverage would be added in 2020. I tried to schedule initial consultations and dietician visits to get started but was unable to unless I wanted to pay for them out of pocket. Since I did not want to self-pay. I had to wait until benefits began in 2020. Even having a conversation with my primary care doctor regarding any potential weight management had to be done as a discussion during an appointment coded as something else. Otherwise, I would have had to pay for it. I hope this makes sense.

Penne Alfredo (for my BF) This pasta is made out of red lentil flour only. The instructions say to cook for 7-9 minutes but I found that it needs maybe 10-12 minutes to be tender otherwise it’s molto al dente. I tried about 10 pieces and they were ok. I still don’t like pasta even though I love red lentils. It’s the texture for me.

@TreeTrunksyes, that's why I take my thyroid medicine so early in the morning so by 10-10:30am I can take my next supplement. My doctors told me I can eat anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour after levothyroxine, so we take them similar. They recommend 4 hours after thyroid meds so there is no potential for absorption interference, then 1 hour in between next supplement. Do you see an endocrinologist?

Surgery is done!!! Feel good. Worse pain was the IV’s going in (one hand and one forearm). Surgery was at 10:30 - up and walking by 2:30. Walking every hour as much as I can. Some heaviness in my chest - air from surgery - going to keep walking. No problem sipping on the water every hour. I’m outta here tomorrow and so excited to start my best life!!!!

As for the water intake, that is the best you can do just keep it handy and sip all thru the day in between your "meals". I am 3 wks post-op and at my one wk visit the I also had a very hard knot inside one of my incisions, and it was red and warm to the touch. My Dr. prescribed 10 days of antibiotics, but he was concerned with infection being it was so sore to touch and the heat off of it. Now, once all that got better, I made the mistake of walking way to hard and fast and jiggled all my insides and put myself down for a couple of days. As a matter of fact, yesterday on Feb 1 i ran a fever low grade all day long. I had decided that i was going to call my Dr today, but no fever now. Thank you Jesus. Anyway, just when you walk be sure and walk, not push yourself so hard until we are completely healed. I have paid dearly. Also, today I haven't hardly been able to eat anything. I have no apatite at all, not to mention major heartburn?? I hope this helps, they said my knot would take quite some time to go away. As long as it doesn't hurt when you push on it, or not red or any heat, I'd think it would be ok, However, I am NO Doctor, so please I am just telling you my experience to compare. I hope it helps and I hope that you feel better very soon.

Revisions are different for everyone. I had a lot of anxiety afterwards because of not having restriction like I had with the sleeve. It has taken me a long while to finally get use to it. Part of that anxiety was me thinking I would have problems with regain because of not having the restriction. I dump and get violently ill from eating wrong thing or too much food, so I am very careful now. You will lose the weight just make sure you follow the plan like you did with VSG. I was at goal with my revision but I lost 12 lbs the first month. I weighed in on Dr scale yesterday at 157. I am down 23 lbs and holding. I will say this. It is a lot easier for me to maintain my weight now then with the VSG and I stay 10 to 15 lbs lower then with VSG. Good luck and PM me anytime

I totally agree that it has given me my life back in many ways. and with my aunt 600+ pounds and died early in her mid 60s of stroke and was in a nursing home at 60 after her first stroke. Im very grateful to still be here and have life. Id just like to improve my health significantly so that at 47 with two younger kids (7 and 8 ) and parenting totally solo on my own during covid, I want to be here as long as I can and live a healthy and full life. Hi you asked for a bit more details so here it goes.... possibly related yes, possibly no... just seeking possible ways to become stronger, healthier and live my best life with my kiddos. Im not saying anything against wls surgery at all... its given me so much for quite some time... im just concerned and looking for possible solutions as I think most would if a snow ball multi system deterioration is happening and no specialists have answers and the gastric bypass specialists won't see me. I am sending out a question to see what might fit to help improve my health, that's all. thank you to all for understanding and reading this. Without weight loss surgery I wouldn't probably have been able to have my kids (I was told previously I would never have kids at the weight I was at and with the health issues I was having at the time related to my weight... so no I definitely do not regret it... but I would love to have my health back and improve my and my kids quality of life to an even greater extent. Thanks again! Im 47 female I weigh 180 pounds and at 167 my bones were sticking out and I was receiving a lot of concern as people assumed I was down to 130 on my almost 5'8 frame that's always been very muscular until I gained all the weight in my 20s. Up until then I was very athletic, voted most athletic female at my 1500 student high school, won all possible awards with sports and leadership and invited to try out for the Ontario Provincial Women's soccer team. Im saying that as most BMI charts would have and did conclude I was overweight even while playing for rep soccer, basketball and volleyball teams etc. so the the BMI for me has never been a good indicator of health or fitness. These are my struggles Third Degree Complete Heart Block and flat lined for recorded 22 seconds on a halter monitor. Some may argue it could have been a vasal vagel response (although they usually tap out at 10 seconds)... and if in this line of thought were true, part of the vagus nerve is severed during gastric bypass reux en y surgery, most often not the part that can affect the heart yet any slight injury can occur during surgery especially to nerves. If my vagus nerve was nicked by mistake in the wrong spot, even without surgeons awareness, It could cause a vasal vagel response and shut off my heart temporarily (as its a nerve conduction issue). I developed this complete heart block in 2015 but had symptoms starting in the fall 2009/winter 2010 that could point to the start of the glitches with my hearts electrical circuits. I also developed super ventricular tachacardia (SVT) that did not pre-exist surgery. No arrhythmias did. But I also have heart conduction issues in my family... so it could be genetics or a surgical complication unrecognized during surgery. I have always had stellar bone density. I was tested pre-surgery and they were shocked that someone at my weight (450+) had such strong bones. In 2014/15 I started having back issues and did my bone density test and I was diagnosed mild degenerative disc disease in L4-S1. Three years later its now moderate to severe with a leaking disc, slipped vertebra, and a vacuum affect pulling my spine over to the right. I also now have it in my thoracic and cervical spine all at the mild stage right now. My calcium levels are normal. This may be the cause or one of the causes of widespread ligament/muscle inflammation surrounding my entire spine. Because of no nsaids to reduce the inflammation and because its such deep tissue the anti inflammatory topical creams don't help so much. I have also developed more than 1% bone density loss in my right hip and was told on my report that the Ontario Government recommends bone density repeat testing in one year. I did have a GP at that time but she refused to refer me saying that's not a big enough risk as it is compared to the exposure of the scan. I disagreed but was blocked. Im still in search of a GP (family dr but rural/more northern communities are all in short supply of family drs. People are driving two hours and keeping their family drs when they move because finding one is next to impossible. My hip now is so painful that I cannot lie on it at night. Yes it could be bursitis or it could be due to bone mass loss. This started in my early 40s and has been worsening rapidly. (I had WLS at 36). My teeth also have started to physically crack and crumble, the dentist thinks its somehow related to malabsorption although my tested levels of calcium are normal. I don't know... They aren't sure with the deterioration of my spine if that is causing nerve damage and peripheral neuropathy in my lower extremities as the CT isn't clear enough to see and the referring neurologist who was involved at that time said that all Toronto Hospitals she contacted said no to an MRI until my legs start to give out, as Im too high risk of another complete heart block. Ive also had a lot of cardiac ablation surgery for the SVT and that even in people without previous heart blocks increases the chances of severe heart blocks and death with one spot ablated, I had 7. Yes the heart blocks could be hereditary, yes the svt could be hereditary, the bone density no. The possible way to diagnose this and other neurological issues (which could be ms or my spine deteriorating is possible) cannot now be done due to my heart history that may or may not be related to a vagus nerve injury sustained during surgery and I can't get help to remedy this until its so severe I can no longer do activities of daily living, maintain independence because of risk of falling and loose my lower ability to function. To find other answers to shore up my spine (bones) and make them stronger is imperative to have a good quality of life and function well as a mom of younger kids on my own. I also have since developed very low blood pressure as well now which was never an issue that has now started to have episodic high spikes. This makes medications difficult too low or too high Im in trouble. I had my pacemaker put in in 2015 and another this past October 2020. I have a lot of gas showing to fill and expand my non functioning stomach and I asked the GI when I had one in 2018 why my stomach is so full of air/gas when no opening from the top is there, it only drains downward. I suspect possible infiltration of SIBO somehow or another gas producing organism but he just shrugged and didn't pursue it. My abdomen has now started to severely distend to the point that I look 9mths pregnant, its hard to breathe, and its hard as steel as my 8 year old would tell you and he says its usually mushy lol with all my extra skin. this occurs after I eat especially although its always tender and slightly hard and swollen... just worsens when I eat, not sure if its connected to my cycle and digestive tract, if my stomach that's been severed has issues now that its not functional (just drains gastric bile/stomach acid) and this abnormal non use of my stomach specifically has reacted over time to this, how bacteria migrated upwards while gastric acid flows down and out. I just don't know... possibly totally unrelated for sure... these are just some of the issues... Im just looking to see if any one in this specific community has any similar issues and if they resolved, how.

I found the interview helpful. My psych had bariatric surgery 10 years ago so I had as many questions for her. About 30-40 minutes but basically just a chat.

I'm almost six years out and would like to lose 10 lbs. I've just made more of an effort to exercise at least 150 minutes a week and have cut back a bit on calories. I know it'll take forever to lose it since I'm currently four lbs "overweight" (thanks, COVID), but that's fine. If I decide I want I want to lose faster, I'll cut back more on calories.

Any updates for you guys? I had my surgeon apt on Friday... was very brief about 10 minutes really didnt say much just asked which surgery i was interested in ... I expected more

I was an a liquid diet for two weeks before surgery he said to shrink the liver So I did it an loss 10 pounds in those two weeks

I had my surgery on December 22,2020 and I thought I would have lost more than I have. I know when you have less to lose you lose slower, but it still frustrating that I've only lost 11pounds in 6weeks. My doctor wants to see another 10 to 15 pounds come off before the end of the month. Which I think I can manage, but when I try to talk to family or friends even those who have had surgery all I get in response is "try harder. You aren't doing enough" or "you'll get there be patient." It feels like the support I'm receiving is half hearted and I just wish they could back me up a little more. It's been hard finding friends that understand and I just want someone who gets it. Also why is it so hard to get my water in aiming for 64ounces right now but only getting half of that any tips or tricks to get in more?

The same here, I did Inbody test last week and found out that I still need to lose around 12-15 Ib of fat and gain 6-8 Ib of muscle to be in optimal range. So, these are my goals or year 2 of WLS: Gain 10 Lb muscle and Lose 15 Ib fat.