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I think the people that lose so much weight after 6 mos are people who started at a much higher weight than both you and I. The heavier one is going into the procedure, the more they lose more quickly. I do know that if a person does not enough they will put themselves into a stall so i dont think those people are starving themselves, i think they are just bigger to begin with. I am only a couple months ahead of you (my surgery was 4/12/23) but my weight loss has considerably slowed and i havent even hit one year yet. I do eat more normal foods now as opposed to "diet food" but i do still limit my carbs and fat and sugar. Regardless, in the last 3 months ive only lost 10 lbs. Kind of annoying but i also could do better on my diet so that is partially my fault. How is your sleep? I also notice that when i get more sleep i seem to drop weight quicker. Im not the best at going to bed early enough though.

Hello surgery buddies. 10/03 here for my sleeve. I managed to make it through Thanksgiving without getting sick from eating, but did manage to catch covid the day after. I've been isolating and barely eating at all. I had a televisit with my nutritionist and I'm cleared for regular diet, but I can barely keep most foods down. I splurged last night and got a kfc bowl which is mostly mashed potatoes but after 5 bites I was done and it came right back up. I am so tired of soup and I'm dying for real food. Have any of you been dealing with anything similar?

I know how easy it is to avoid the scale when you know it's going to be bad news. I do it too. But I'm going to urge you to make yourself face it. If you face it, you can beat it. I think the good news is, no matter how much you've eaten, there is no way you could regain 130+ pounds in a month. Maybe you've gained 5lbs. Maybe 10. But you know what? You've still lost over 100lbs. So, go get on the scale, acknowledge the number, and then look at yourself in the mirror, and tell yourself, "Self, I love you, and you're f*ing awesome. You're doing a great job, and I know you're going to keep doing it." No negative talk, no guilt. After that, look into getting a therapist to help you with the emotional crap that's making this hard for you, because food addiction is real, and you deserve for it to be easier. The biggest thing I've learned about shame and guilt over the years is the way I talk to myself sometimes, I would punch someone in the face if they ever said those things to someone I love. Try to treat yourself the way you would treat the person you love the most.

Yay, Almost surgery twins! My surgery is 10/26/2023

Hello! I’m new here. ☺️ I’m 36 years old and had my sleeve done on 08/15/23 at 250 lbs. … It’s only 09/01/23 (2 weeks out) and I’ve lost 16 lbs at 234 lbs. My ultimate goal weight is 150 for a height of 5’5” so I’m hoping to lose 100 lbs. I am a new mom and have a 6 month old at home. I not only want to be able to keep up with him better, but just feel generally better about myself. I already feel an improvement. 🙂

Hello All, On Friday I had my 1 year post op appointment at Weight Management. Last time I was there was for my 6 month visit. Between the 6 month and the 1 year visit, I started noticing upper abdominal bloating (usually in the morning I notice after 1st waking up it doesn't look of feel too bad but it still seems like its still there but by the end of the day, I feel and look like I am 6 months pregnant.) some tenderness and occasional pain in the upper right abdomen from the middle area up into the ribs and side sometimes back. Also occasional nausea but I attributed to dumping syndrome. I told the Nurse Practitioner about it and the first thing she asked me was if I still had my gallbladder. I told her yes that I was the only adult (at almost 40) in my family that still had theirs. (Back about 10 years ago I was having pain in that area but labs, ultrasound and hida scan all came back normal.) So the Nurse Practitioner ordered my yearly labs, also is wanting a ultrasound and possible hida scan. She said if those came back normal the Dr will most likely want to do a EDG and possibly a colonoscopy. I was just wondering if anyone else here on the board had this issue in the past or currently dealing with it and what the outcome of it was?

I was sleeved in 2017. In hindsight, bypass would have been better given my history of GERD. Fast forward years later, COVID piled the weight on (working from home, lockdown, job stress (worked in healthcare during pandemic) and I'm up 65 lbs. That i can deal with though. I know the bariatric lifestyle, and I know what I need to do to lose the weight healthily and such. It's the GERD. I'm up to 60-80 mgs of Prilosec daily, plus antacids and other H2 blockers as needed. I sleep elevated and just always generally feel like I have a pit in my sternum. I've subsequently relocated to a new state since my surgery, so I feel like I'm starting all over. I have an appointment with my PCC this week to discuss the GERD issue. Given what people are stating on this board, it seems like that a RNY may be an option. Honestly, I just want to know why it has escalated so bad over the last several years. It doesn't matter what it is; it comes up. I drank some unsweetened almond milk two hours after dinner, and about 10 mins later I literally burped it up like a baby. No warning, nothing... All over my bed. Other times, it's that hor burning awful acidic in my throat and chest. Makes me cough. I try to eat crackers to help absorb the acid, which is not healthy. I'm really quite scared that's something serious. What have your experiences been like? Will I go through a whole program again? I just want relief. What questions should I bring up with my doctor. What tests will they run? This is still a fairly new PCC relationship and several thousand miles away from where I first was treated/sleeved.

I'm 10 days out from surgery. The only complaint I have is that I'm still really really tired. I'm usually a side sleeper, so sleeping on my back has been challenging. I'm looking forward to going to pureed food soon.

Hi guys, I'm kinda new here BUTTT for the people that have had an ESG where did you get the procedure done? I stay in the metro Atlanta area so I'm looking for places in Georgia or even in TN, SC, or AL. I know the 2 big places that do ESG is Atlanta, Ga are IBI healthcare and TrueYou. I got the gastric ballon (Obera) done at IBI healthcare and they were very friendly but I don't think they prepared well for what to expect. They told me it's a quick and easy procedure (which it was), to follow the diet, and I should be back to work in 2-3 days. They sent me home with some paperwork on what to eat and that was pretty much it. I was sick and hospitalized twice in the 10 days postop both times for dehydration because i couldn't keep anything down not even water. There was alot of back in forth with leaving voicemails, unanswered calls, etc. They finally removed the balloon on day 12. But to their defense I did get it done 2 days before Christmas (not wise), and had it removed the Monday after the new year so most of the days they were closed or very limited staff. ANYHOO... I was thinking of getting to give this weightless thing another shot, this time with an ESG. So my questions: 1. Is this typical to kinda have a consultation, have procedure, and one followup and send you on your way? I understand their is so much information online about the procedure but I was just wondering if I should be prepared to find out what's normal/what's not on my own. 2. I stay in Metro Atlanta area has anyone had any experience with ESG in this area, I'm also open to surrounding areas: Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennesse. 3. Have anyone had the procedure done at TrueYou, IBI healthcare, or Northeast Georgia Bariatric Center? (I am familiar with those 3 places because this is where I had my consultation for my Obera placement). Thanks so much...

Thanks so much! I am on a Vegan Shake and using some almond milk with no sugar added. I have slowed down on veggies and fruit. Apparently someone didn’t put on my chart that I suffer from IBS. Then nutritionist is calling me on Tuesday to help with a diet that’s is more manageable for me. I was told that My IBS could get better or worse. I read the Bariatric Bible they gave me and it is in there. I pray for the better scenario. They told me if I have any doubts then I shouldn't do it. It’s not that I have doubts, I’m scared of any surgery! I am nervous and I feel it would be favorable if one hear some positive. That’s why I am on here. I am hoping I hear the positive. I hate drama. I realize that it will be very difficult recovery. I don’t know how many days I will be in pain. They want me walking 20 min 3 times a day. I can do 10 minutes and I will work my way up. I think they do this liver cleanse for the purpose to make surgery easier but to show us this is your new way of life. When I look at phase 2 it’s not as much dairy, fruit and veggies they are requiring now. I am almost there I have today and tomorrow. Then clear liquids on Tuesday. My surgery Wednesday. I am giving it all to God! Thanks for all who reached out!

So i started my liquid diet on jan 4th my surgery is on jan 18th. The night before i had my last meal ( i wont even say what it was or your stomach would flip ) then day 1 in the morning wasnt as bad because of the night before. But man nighttime on day 1 the headache hit i felt weak im watching the clock like im back in school waiting for the bell to ring lol. Day 2 in the morning i wanted to give up, i thought i am insane for doing this to myself but i found the will power to push through it. Now its day 5 and its really amazing the difference from day 1-2 to now. Is it still hard yes, but only when i see and/or smell real food which is daily i have kids lol. Im on a 2 week liquid diet im allowed 5 shakes a day with water, broth, jello ( their were other options but those work for me best) in between the shakes. This is literally the longest 2 weeks of my life lol. Anyway just wanted to share my journey so far im also new to the board, oh and im getting the sleeve in case i forgot to say! So far ive lost 10 pounds on this liquid diet which i know is probably water weight but im already feeling lighter. Anyone else on the liquid diet who wants to share their experiences?

SomeBigGuy is absolutely correct. I remember sitting in Weight Watchers meetings before I had surgery, rolling my eyes (at least to myself) at these barely overweight women moan and complain about how hard it was to lose 10 lbs. And here I was, 200+ lbs overweight. But now I totally get it!! The closer you are to normal weight, the harder it gets to lose even 10 lbs - when pre-surgery I probably could have dropped that in a week or two! But it all comes down to percentages - and how close your normal calorie intake is to your normal calorie expenditure (which at normal weight, is pretty much even). You still have a ways to go, but those percentages have changed - so you'll lose the weight as long as you stick to your plan, but it's going to take longer to lose the same number of pounds that you could have lost when you weighed 300+ lbs. But keep at it - it WILL come off!!

Yeah, I got a pack of these freezer safe glass 4 oz baby food jars on Amazon and they've been really helpful with portioning!! At first I could only eat about half of one, so about 1/4 cup total. A bit less if it was solid protein in meat form other than fish (beef, chicken, and pork sit heavier). That was it for about two months. In this third month my portion size suddenly increased to about 1/2 cup in total now! As far as meat and veggies are concerned at least. I have always been able to eat a little more of soft things like yogurt and pudding... But my PA told me that increase at 3 months is perfectly normal, and I could expect it to increase in stages throughout the first year or two, to not panic over it, hunger is natural and mine never went away from surgery, so I've really had to cultivate a healthy relationship with it. Because those stomach nerves are still healing, I watched my portion size carefully and really paid attention to discovering new fullness cues. For me those are a runny nose, hiccups, burping, and aggressive sneezing fits! Plus this building pressure or weight in the center of my stomach. These are all normal signals for bariatric patients, but we all get our own unique combination so be on the lookout for discovering yours! I think 2-3 shakes a day paired with things like yogurt and soft cereals seems really normal. It is great you are progressing so well! The problem with forums and support groups is we get used to seeing people post with problems and then we expect to have a slew of problems ourselves! And sometimes we do. But often times we don't... The majority of bariatric patients have no complications, progress their diets easily, and worry about eating too much and if their surgeon even did their surgery. 🤣 Your metabolism has been reset, it will handle calories a bit differently now. Just stay on the conservative end with simple carbs, as they can slow weight loss sometimes. Focus on that hydration and protein, and later on when cleared for all foods, on adding complex carbs like veggies, beans, and some fruit. Protein will help with the hunger, as does healthy fat and the fiber once it is safe for you to digest. My dietician told us to think more about macros than calories. So, to make sure things had less than 10 grams of sugar per serving, more than 20 grams of protein per shake, less than 10 grams of fat per serving, and keeping our total carbohydrates for the day under 50 grams in the early months...and that was their advice for all surgeries, with varying protein goals for each different one. Baritastic app has been really helpful with the tracking!

So interesting as they only required you to be on it for only 1 day. Every program varies so much as you can plainly see from everyone's responses. I had to do a 12 day preop diet. The first 10 days I could do 2 protein shakes and 1 lean protein and non starchy veg. Black coffee, tea, sugar free beverages all ok. A snack of low sugar fruits - berries mainly - was allowed. The 11th day was liquids only, but could include protein shake, sugar free jello, sugar free sodas, gatorade, broth. The last day was clear liquids only so no dairy at all (i did protein water and broth). 8 hours prior to surgery, I was to drink 16 oz of regular sugar Gatorade - as it was supposed to assist in recovery. 🤷‍♀️ The main point typically of this diet is to shrink your liver to make it easier to move to get to your stomach. I'm kind of shocked by the lack of details provided from your medical team. I had to do a whole Zoom meeting with the dietician and other patients having surgery done in the same window of time to discuss the entire pre and post op plan including the specific diet guidelines.

First, there is no one right way to eat to lose or maintain your weight. There’s just the right way for you. I agree to the suggestion to get in contact with your old dietician or find a new one. I’d also teach for a couple of weeks just to check your calorie & nutrient intake. I’d also get in contact with your surgeon as well to see what other options you have - revision surgery or maybe GLP - 1 meds. You’ve likely reset your body’s set point. The surgery lowered it but returning to larger portions, poor food choices & bad old habits have raised your set point again. So you’re actually fighting your body now. You’re trying to lose weight & your body is doing all it can to hold on to it. Have a look at Dr Matthew Weiner’s Pound of Loss metabolic reset diet (not that I’m an advocate for any ‘diets’.) It may give you some ideas you could try to see if works for you. He’s a great source of information around all things weight loss, bariatric surgery, etc. (He has a website & a you tube channel.) If you like being active, I’d add in some weights. Building muscle will help burn more calories & help counteract any muscle loss you experience while losing. Walking will help with general fitness. Remember though, activity only contributes to about 10% of any weight loss. Oh & don’t listen to your family & friends when they offer advice about your eating, nutrition or weight loss. They mean well but unless they’re qualified nutritionalist, dieticians, bariatric surgeons or medical doctors or had bariatric surgery they really don’t know what they’re talking about. And they’re not you. You know yourself best. You know your psychologically, physiologically & emotionally self best & know how you want to live your life. All the best.

I agree with the others stating the importance of having a therapist or coach to walk through this with you. Dieticians and nutritionists are very helpful with making a tailored diet plan for your needs, but don't always address the issues in our head, since that's not in their job description. See if you can get your insurance to cover sessions in therapy or counseling, if nothing else, just to have someone to vent to that is obligated to not judge you . If insurance pushes back, check with local therapists that offer "coaching" sessions at a lower rate. I had to do that until my insurance rolled over at the first of the year. I'm only 10 weeks post op, but I'm dealing with constant head hunger and cravings. I'm learning now that I used the act of eating, and not the feeling of fullness, as a way to deflect stress. At least now, if I overdo it, my stomach will rebel, which is its own problem, because I don't want to put stress on the staples. My therapist is helping me practice ways to listen to my stomach, and not listen to my mouth, if that makes any sense. When those two are fighting, the stress and feelings of being a failure appear to me. I have to remind myself that despite hitting a stall and dealing with the cravings, I'm already much healthier for having decided to have surgery!

I never did Wegovy (Semaglutide) but a few of my friends have done it. I went straight to surgery. As soon as my friends were off, their body put back on the weight and then some. Too many horror stories about Semaglutide, rotten food stuck in stomach, stomach paralysis, to name a few. My best friends daughter has been on it for 3 months and has only lost 5 pounds, she needs to lose well over 100. Found out her thyroid is messed up so she is on thyroid meds and has lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks. She is still considering surgery, but will let her body adapt to thyroid meds first.

That makes total sense to me. I am 19 days out, and I felt prepared before surgery. However, the restrictions, the effort to get in fluids, the different sensations, the lack of solid food, the changes in the internal plumbing... I could not have prepared for any of that. One must experience these things to really understand them. That's one reason that I am very grateful for this support forum! So many people can understand where you have been and where you are going. There are people here who are 10+ years out, and they are still very willing to share their wisdom and experiences for us newbies. I'm sending you internet hugs and so many well wishes for tomorrow! It is rough at first, but every single day does get a little bit better

My doctor's offices all ask if you've had a positive test within 10 days. Past that they don't care. Given the CDC's recommendations I don't think you'll have any issues at all. Your immune system should be over it well before your surgery date!

A very friendly lady doctor once told me eat 10 different vegetables a day instead of the recommended 5. I put this in place by eating a homemade veg soup or a vegetable salad for lunch. This meal replacement was very low in calories and super filling. I could eat a thoughtful meal with my family in the evening and a low cal. snack later in the evening, like jelly and yogurt or the porridge I swopped it for at breakfast. Of course the weight didn't stay off but I did loose lots until I went on holiday and broke out and went back to my old ways. I didnt feel like I was on much of a diet because I love salad and veg

Scheduled for 10/17. I am on day 3 of preop and I feel better today than I did the last 2 days. It’s a struggle - I keep thinking of the food I want to eat. Popcorn. Pumpkin cake. Rice!! Ughhh

I'm in the same boat! I've been yo-yoing between the same 3 pounds for a week now. Juuuuuuust enough to not feel its necessary to call the dietician. Ugh. I've lost 33.4 since surgery, 41 total if you include the 8 pounds I lost before surgery. QUESTION: When people ask, do you tell them how much you've lost since surgery or how much you've lost overall? I don't want to give anyone a false impression that I've lost 41 pounds since surgery, but do they really care that I lost 8 pounds before surgery? I need to add more movement to my daily routine. I'm averaging about 2000 steps per day thanks to my need-replacing knees and I tried a chair aerobic workout this week. Clearly it was NOT a beginner video. I was sucking wind at 2 minutes into it - and it was only 10 minutes long! I had to stop at 4 minutes in. It was disheartening, but I won't be deterred. @ChunkCat & @NickelChip - Y'all are my people! Sarcasm is my love language.

I have read through so many posts on the topic of revision and see that people are mostly very happy to have gone through with it but a lot of them seem to be due to regain, hernias or bad GERD so my query is a bit different. My surgeon has mentioned a number of times to me about doing a revision from sleeve to bypass as following my surgery a year ago I had bad reflux. When I was released from hospital in November I was prescribed two pantomed (PPI) a day and since then GERD has become less frequent, for the last three months I am now on just one a day and I don't consider that the GERD impacts me, maybe once a week I might have a bit of gas, but the surgeon was still suggesting bypass and at my last appointment (in May) even mentioned that it would help me lose more weight, even though I was then just 5kg/11lb from the target he gave me and still only 10 months post-op. Given all the complications I had after my sleeve surgery in July last year I am very hesitant to have any further operations as I don't know if it was the medical teams fault and/or my body. If it is something that the surgeon says is needed I am torn between asking for a referral to another hospital or risking his team again in the belief that they would be extremely careful with me after everything that went wrong the year ago. So far, in just under 12 months, I have lost 47kg/103lb and am only 7kg/15lb away from my goal weight (3kg from the surgeon's target) and therefore I was wondering, from those who have gone through the revision process, if you think it is worth it? For me the only benefit I see is that I would be able to stop taking the daily pantomed, so not sure that is worth risking another surgery for. I have not had a single dumping episode and for the last few months have been able to tolerate all foods without issue so am a bit fearful that the bypass may lead to a backwards step on those fronts. If my GERD is not impacting me is there any other long-term benefit to the revision when I am still (slowly) losing weight? I don't want to go more than a few kg below my goal weight as it is not a good look on me. If there is no drastic weight loss, given so much has been achieved already, is there hair loss with the revision? Any insights would be appreciated as I have my one year check-up in a couple of weeks and I want to be prepared for when the topic is raised

Thanks again @Arabesque and @ChunkCat for your advice earlier. I haven't been checking in as much, dealing with continuing health issues. Healthcare providers are difficult to get scheduled with in my area, so I'm just now getting to follow up with them. I've been waiting to get scheduled with a Neurologist since August, but no luck. I've had to burn my days off with work due to Covid at the beginning of the year, so I'm not able to get in with a specialist since the closest one available is about a 4 hour drive from here. There's also no immunologists with availability in 2024 within 4-5 hours from here either, so I'll be waiting on that for a while. I am getting in with a cardiologist to see what is going on. My heart rate is dipping down to 28-29 bpm in my sleep, and I wake up feeling exhausted. I'm on a CPAP and also getting another sleep study scheduled in April to see if adjusting that will help. I'm still just walking about 1-2 miles a day. I walked 4 miles a couple weeks ago, and was hardly able to get out of bed for 3 days. I've never been that drained from that relatively small amount of exercise before. Luckily I was able to work from home and had my laptop in bed with me, but it was a struggle with the 12 hour shifts. I am getting frustrated since I've gained weight back, and I'm 10 lb heavier than I was at New Years, but my primary care thinks whatever issues I'm having is killing my metabolism. I'm starting back on my pre-op diet this week to try to lose a little more. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know, I am open to them. Thanks!

I've been a lot more careful with my eating since July, but last week I had a business trip to Las Vegas. I didn't go completely crazy, but I was eating in restaurants every day and the food was so salty. Plus flying, which always causes me some water retention. I weighed myself Sunday, the day after I got home, and I was up 10 lbs! But I know this was almost all water because I weighed today and I'm back down to where I was before the trip. A big, salty Thanksgiving meal and a couple days of leftovers would probably do the trick!