Search the Community

For the past ten days, I have been experiencing constant dull nausea in my lower abdomen. It worsens when I eat (so I'm only getting about 400 calories a day) and sometimes I have to lay in bed because sitting and eating can increase the nausea. I messaged my bariatric surgeon last week and only heard back from his nurse on Monday. She was rather dismissive, saying that I might have the stomach flu and I should write again in a few days if I'm not feeling better. I also messaged my PCP who does not have a bariatric background, and she hypothesized that it might be heartburn (I don't think so -- I have no pain in my chest or upper abdomen) but said if the nausea continued, she would see me in her office. But again, she's not familiar with the surgery and possible complications, so might not know what tests to order. I spent time researching through Dr. Google and got worried about internal hernias, which could be life-threatening if left untreated. Apparently, sometimes the only symptom is mild nausea. Or maybe I have an ulcer. Am I worrying too much? Has anyone else had a long episode of nausea (lasting over a week) that resolved on its own? Or was from another cause? As you can see, I am already seeking proper medical advice, so only would like to hear anecdotal information and suggestions. Thanks.

check "The World According to Eggface".. She's a long-time bariatric patient and loves to cook. She has recipes on her site for every phase. At 12 weeks out, though, you should be able to handle most things - so you're in luck!

I do these from time to time. They're tasty and super filling! https://www.barilife.com/blog/10-single-serving-meals-you-need-in-your-bariatric-life/

Hi, can you tell me what happened with this? I had the same thing happen with UHC in February. Last week I exhausted my final appeal and the bariatric center told me I'd have to go somewhere else, because they do not offer a self pay or financing option.😨

Hey Amboyle728, When you say regular food, what exactly does that mean? I had this problem a little bit in the beginning and even once in a while recently. I have to say that you are going to have to be kind to yourself and to your body. You kind of have to get to know what works for you all over again. There might even be things that you can consume more of than other things. This is true for me and in this instance I know that I have to be more careful with those particular foods. I also know that for me if I am too hungry, which by the way it is totally possible especially since ghrelin (this is primarily what causes hunger and for me this was the part of the stomach that was removed, which is not always so in all weight-loss surgeries) is NOT only in our stomachs. Anyways, when I realized hunger was somewhat of an issue I went back to journaling my food and realized I was not consuming enough protein. I make sure to have a premier protein shake which has almost no sugar but for about 10oz or so has 30g of protein, Iv'e also obtained a love for sunflower seeds (in shell) as a 'just in case I feel hungry but I shouldn't be' snack. But the main thing is to try adding and/or taking away different foods as well as maintaining intake of protein, bariatric type vitamins, the right calcium, and water. Good luck on your journey and I hope that you find what works the best for you!

Meh. My PCP just put in my referral for a bariatric specialist last month but now with all elective surgeries cancelled, who knows now when they'll call! I'm so bummed out.

Hello everyone what a ride it has been. I spent a year researching bariatric surgery before choosing RNY BYPASS. my highest weight was 322lbs and I was very unhealthy and probably heading for an early grave. With a BMI of 43.7 now today after 7.5 months I've managed to hit 170LBS. that's a total loss of 152lbs in 7.5 months and I think I'm done and in maintenance mode. I've started adding more variety and carbs into my diet but still being mindful of my Weight. I'm just so grateful for the bypass it has completely and literally changed my metabolism for the better. Lately I have indulged here and there on a few squares of chocolate or a Mars Bar or even a cup of icecream without it affecting my weight at all. it's like I'm a new Man. thank you all for your ongoing support. MIKEY

AJ Tylo is probably going to pop in here any moment to tell you about how hunger is all in your head. Personally, I don't agree. Your body has multiple metabolic pathways that stimulate hunger in response to multiple physical triggers - bariatric surgery changes some of those pathways fundamentally, but it does not affect them all and it does not not erase the ones it does affect. I got this surgery because pre-op, I was struggling with feeling starving all the time - even after a full meal. I was on metformin 3 times a day, my blood sugar was steadily inching up towards the diabetic range, and I am nearly the same age as my dad was when he got diabetes. My pre-op hunger was not head hunger - it was physical hunger from a broken metabolism. I'm 3.5 weeks post-op - a few weeks behind you. I've noticed really interesting changes in my hunger throughout this process. The first week after surgery I was starving - once I moved on to full fluids and found a protein supplement I could tolerate, this hunger vanished. In the past two weeks, I have gone back and forth a few times between not hungry at all and fairly hungry. For instance, for about 4 days my weight didn't change at all and I was so not hungry that I barely got my protein in. Then I dropped 4 pounds in a day and suddenly felt hungry again. You might need to do a little detective work to find out the cause of your particular issue. It could be that you're eating too much carbs in your meal, and your blood sugar takes a dip at the 1 hour mark. (I don't know if you're carb sensitive like I am.) Or it could be that you're hungry for a nutrient you're not getting - like how many people are hungry right after surgery until they start getting enough protein. Or it could be that you'd benefit from eating a smaller amount but more often for a while. Does this happen at a particular time of day? Maybe you're just more hungry in the mornings or something? (Or it could be that this is some funny symptom that entirely goes away in a week 😂.) Try out some different things.

Yes, I have PCOS as well. I was actually diagnosed years ago - probably more than 15 years. But in the past few years, things have gotten bad, and while I was not yet diabetic, my doctor upped my dose of metformin to 3 times a day. Even taking all that metformin, I was struggling to even maintain my weight, let alone lose it. And I knew diabetes was around the corner because things were getting worse and my dad got it around this age. This is the main reason why I chose to have bariatric surgery. I think PCOS is a very common reason. I did my surgery self-pay, so I did not have to go through the pain of a doctor monitored weight loss regime before hand. However, I have read others talk about it on here. It sounds like there are two point of the monitored weight loss regime. One is to make sure you can follow a restricted diet, since your diet will be very restricted after the surgery. I am 3.5 weeks post-op, and I probably spend more time and energy on food that I did before the surgery - I have to eat more often, and I have to track my food to make sure I am getting protein, and I have to make sure I am getting enough water. Not everybody is up for that, and those people who aren't ready aren't successful long term. The second is to reduce the amount of fat stored in your liver, which makes the surgery safer. It sounds like you are following the advice from your doctor well. He knows you have PCOS and about your medication problems and why you are struggling with weight loss and how hard you've been trying. Your profile says you have lost 26 pounds - so that's not nothing. A 26 pound loss is enough to reduce the fat in your liver, and to show that you can follow a diet. So let us hope that you still will be approved. Also, talk to your doctor directly about this concern - she probably has dealt with insurance companies/patients before. If you're wanting some suggestions on how to get your diet back on track just to make sure you are approved, I wonder if you have thought about low-carb? I'm not an anti-carb fanatic, and I hope to be able to eat reasonable amounts of carbs in the long term now that I've had this surgery. But before surgery, whenever I was having trouble controlling my appetite, low-carb usually got things back on track. At it's core, PCOS is a metabolic problem with your glucose/insulin metabolism and low-carb helps. And doing low-carb pre-op will prepare you for the post-op diet. The post-op diet isn't strictly low-carb, but when you can't eat much and you need to make sure you get your protein, it pretty much ends up that way.

@Lily66 and @Arabesque, I find this strange myself. I suffer from really low blood pressure most of the time (for at least 20 years), pretty low albumin (iron) levels (but not enough to be prescribed iron supplements), and don't do well with pain most of the time. It's just as strange to me that I barely suffered any distress post-op, that pain has been negligible (except for 2 lactose intolerant episodes and a few days of terrible constipation), that I haven't had any real issues with food (except for the lactose intolerance episodes), and that my energy levels are as good as they were pre-op. However, I do notice myself getting off-balance more than once on a daily basis, and that never happened before. And, as mentioned above, I have really dark circles under my eyes - today was the worst yet and if I didn't know better I would think that I was suffering from some kind of wasting disease. Anyway, I think the dark circles indicate low iron and/or B12 levels, even though I've been keeping up with my supplements every day. Of course I can't go to the hospital now to get bloodwork done, so I'm going to see if I can find some additional supplements to make up for what I'm not getting from the bariatric multivitamin, and see if that helps.

I was unable to access the full article for the first link you sent. This is a quote from the second link you sent "Surgery. Depending on the type of procedure, length of stay in hospital, medications, and overall nutritional status." Thus, not EVERY surgery causes hair loss and it cannot be said that anesthesia is the cause of hair loss. The third link doesn't give much detail, it just simply states that surgery can be a cause of hair loss, which every bariatric patient knows is true. However, this does not lead to the conclusion that EVERY surgery will result in hair loss. It depends on the type of surgery.

you're right in that it's the surgery itself and not the particular type of surgery. You can experience hair loss after ANY surgery because it's due to the anesthesia and the trauma to the body, as I understand it. I think they tend see it more often after bariatric surgery, though, because we're taking in so few calories those first few months.

I've never heard of weight loss surgery doing that. I think it's just coincidental. Sorry you're going through this. Edited to add that I just read some articles about mental health issues after bypass. Evidently it's been known to happen, but it's usually stuff like depression or addiction. I read about one person who had some psychotic symptoms, but the researcher said the patient been doing a lot of vomiting, and once they got control of that, the psychotic symptoms stopped. Your husband's case sounds really extreme, though - I didn't come across anything like that in the articles I read. There may be some underlying thing going on there, that maybe the surgery just happened to trigger? I don't know. I"ve never heard of anything like that, and I've been hanging around bariatric forums for several years.

I'd explain that to them - that you need it done prior to a 4/13 surgery. They were trying to do that with my sleep study (although this was five years ago - not during a pandemic), and I told them I had to have it done before my bariatric surgery, so they backed off and kept the date. I don't know if they will in your case, but it's worth a try.

Hi all. I just got my lap band abt 3 weeks ago and I'm still learning all that my new stomach has to say. I've created a support group for orthodox jews on facebook and hope that everyone will join. It's called BSOJ-Bariatric Support for Orthodox Jews.

Well upon the advice of my bariatric team, I bought some new protein powder today. SIX YEARS post op. Yup, it still works though! My surgeon wants me to work on a specific health thing and feels like doing a 'pre op' style diet for a few weeks will trigger my body to do what he needs it to. Since I've developed a serious lactose intolerance post op, I'll be using some unsweetened almond milk as a sub. I'm actually looking forward to getting this level of focus back in my life. With all the chaos going on in the world around me, it will be good to let me focus on something else....

Hello! My name is Gina. I am doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Long Island University Post in New York. I am looking for participants for a new research study I am conducting in fulfillment of my doctoral degree dissertation. I am looking to learn more about adult women who have undergone bariatric surgery and the psychological experience that arises, particularly as time passes. Participation in the study will require a one-time commitment of approximately one hour for an individual interview with me via an encrypted video messaging software (Zoom). These sessions will be audio taped for me to transcribe your experiences as accurately as possible. Every effort will be made to ensure that confidentiality and anonymity will be maintained. To be eligible for this study, you must meet the following criteria: 1. Aged 18 or older. 2. Identify as a woman. 3. Had any bariatric procedure at least TWO YEARS PRIOR to interview. This study has received IRB approval from Long Island University. If you might be interested in sharing your experiences with me, or if you have any questions at all about this study, please contact me at gina.depalo@liu.edu. Thank you! Sincerely, Gina M. DePalo

Per my plan, I'm allowed cooked vegetables (not cruciferous vegetables) at week 5-6 (next Tuesday). Talk about excited and happy to have fresh foods again, even if I have to cook the vegetables softer than I prefer. I like a nice steamed vegetable, not boiled or mushy. My Bariatric Nutritionist recommended mushy / soft vegetables to start. I can also incorporate canned peaches in water next week as well, I'm dancing in my head. Oatmeal is also making s comeback, yes!!! Soups haven't been in rotation, but I'm going to add it back...Ground Turkey is on the list and I want it with the smooth refried beans and a little guacamole. I have menu ideas, but I don't know how to navigate this new stomach yet.

So I started reading your post, and this was the first thing I noticed. I had to stop and start responding right away. This is a RED FLAG. This decision was not about him, it was for you. A lot of people who are uninformed about the surgery say this. Every person that has ever had bariatric surgery knows that it isn't true. I am very sorry to hear that he does not support you with your decision. I hope you remember that this decision wasn't about him. The fact that he continues to demand an explanation of how this will benefit him is a bad sign. I am very proud of you for doing what is best for you. I hope you continue with doing so because your life isn't about anyone but you and thus you should try your best to make decisions that result in your own happiness even if it means leaving people behind. ❤️

You are kidding right? Cocaine is highly addictive, and just because someone doesn't become addicted on first or second use doesn't mean they won't become addicted the the more they use it, typically they need to use more to get the high that it gives. Secondly addiction transfer in the bariatric community is high, no longer able to salve or get highs from food some people turn to acohol and drugs.

About 1200 a day. I was only getting around 800-900 before but someone in my bariatric group suggested I increase my daily calorie intake

Yes, I wait 30 minutes before and after eating. I drink two bariatric advantage shakes a day. I walk 3.5 miles every morning. I’ve had 5 whole wheat ritz, a scrambled egg, 1/4 cup of edamame, and two tablespoons of ranch style beans. Not all at once!! some days I can’t get my stomach to stop rumbling with hunger and some days I can go all day without eating. so frustrating!

I’m new to the bypass but not to Bariatric surgery as I had a sleeve in 2013. I would like to reiterate. You are not really hungry. Neither am I and I have to keep reminding myself of that 2 weeks out. It’s head hunger. You’re used to it and there is food everywhere on TV. Try to do something else. TV is the worst. Literally everything is about food. Go for a walk or get on the treadmill or the elliptical or just something. I’ve been coloring in my swirlie coloring book. It keeps me occupied. Just do something else. It’s a really hard habit to break because most of us have eaten for boredom or comfort our whole lives but that time is done now. You’ve got this! Just do something else to get your mind off of it.

Please see https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/breakfast/product-type_pancake-mix for a nice selection of bariatric friendly pancake mixes.

temporary hair loss is extremely common with bariatric surgery. But....it'll grow back. I lost hair (but not a lot...) from about month 6 to month 9. For most of us, you're the only one who'll notice it.