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this is all temporary. You'll eventually be able to eat most of the foods you love again. I assume you have to wait until April before eating solid foods because of the bowel obstruction, not the bypass. My mother-in-law had surgery for a bowel obstruction a year or so ago (she never had weight loss surgery, though - it just happened), and she was on fluids and purees for quite awhile, too, as I recall. you've been in a very down mood for quite awhile now - since weeks before your surgery. I hope you'll start feeling better soon emotionally, too. If not, does your clinic have a therapist? You might find it helpful.

I had mild reflux before my surgery which I managed with dietary changes & rarely needed meds (couple of times a year). It was not related to my weight or a hernia. My surgeon was willing to do the sleeve because my reflux was so mild. I still have it. I lost a couple of symptoms but gained some others & I need meds everyday. If you are already taking medication every day now to manage your gerd I’d think bypass may be your better option. Worth a conversation with your surgeon. Dumping, though less common, can happen with the sleeve too. It can be managed with simple dietary choices once you’ve worked out what sets you off (sugar or fats). Some even find they can occasionally have a small amounts of these foods without issue as they’ve discovered their trigger points. As others said, any absorption issue may just need a swap of medication such as not taking slow release meds. Just discuss with your surgeon & prescribing doctor. I noticed in your other post you have fibromyalgia. Though you’re not a medication for it currently, you will need to discuss future options with your doctor even with a sleeve as you can’t take anti inflammatories (NSAIDS). I developed an absorption issue after I had my gall removed (2 years after my sleeve) - protein & my HRT meds. I just upped my protein intake, take creons to help with absorption & went to a HRT patch. Pretty easy really.

My hand’s up too. I was almost 54 when I had sleeve surgery. Almost 4 years out & been doing well. Pretty stable with my weight too.

I've looked at some bariatric cookbooks and I do not think they are worthwhile. There are tons of free recipes available on the internet. After the first couple of months, you don't really need bariatric-specific recipes (but don't sleep on the ricotta bake -- it is delicious and I made it regularly during my pureed and soft food stages). I have found a lot of wonderful recipes on Pinterest. I've had the best luck searching for "skinny" and "WW" (Weight Watchers). "Healthy," "low-carb," and "keto" also have some good results; you just have to make sure they meet your requirements ("keto" recipes in particular can be a mixed bag, because some of them are very high in fat, which can cause dumping for bariatric patients).

My reflux mostly settled when I lost weight after my sleeve. I had the benefit of having been this weight some years back and knowing it happened then too though. I think it's tricky to try to predict what will happen either way. Worked out for me. Good luck!

I’ve been sleeve almost 1 1/2 and I don’t want to gained weight…. Who like me? Help…

I’m 2 weeks post op on a sleeve to bypass revision. Sleeve was 10 years ago. Never wanted this bypass but reflux was persistent and my doc said, “we’re going to have to do this eventually might as well do it now while your young (52) and healthy.” I had a complication 5 days after surgery with a bowel obstruction at the Juijnem site because of post op swelling was in hospital on only IV fluids for 3 days. It cleared up and now at least my bowels are doing what bowels do on a daily basis. That’s all good, I’ve even lost 16 lbs post op (pound a day). BUT I’m really mourning food in general, solid food in particular and just variety. I’m on full fluids and next week I get to add thinned cottage cheese, ricotta and and oatmeal (all thinned). But I just did the math and it won’t be till April that I can eat solid food. Yes I’m talking to a therapist but I’m just really regretting all of this. I was basically happy with my weight preop (could have worked harder to lose 15 lbs. but I didn’t really care). Now I’m down 35 from before the two week preop Optifast and I just want my life back. I feel like I’ll never be able to enjoy food again, have sushi roll, eat popcorn, a hot dog at a ballgame. One by one I don’t care about any of those menu items but taken together and it’s a normal lifestyle that is now gone and never coming back. This really gets me down.

I'm considering the sleeve but I'm concerned with increase in GERD symptoms. I already have reflux that is controlled with medication. My doctor keeps saying once I lose weight that the GERD will improve. What are your experiences? I've considered the bypass, but absorbing the correct amount of medication and dumping syndrome are holding me back from that procedure. Thanks! Sent from my SM-S908U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi, not an expert. I did have bypass and am post menopausal, and have significant osteoarthritis. The pain is managed by continuous movement and the weight loss itself. I get steroid shots in the worst offenders, my knees. I would speak to your rheumatologist about pain management with shots as my mother and grandmother did. Vitamins are easy to keep up with if you just keep it a daily habit. The weight loss is slow (that could just be me) but my ability to move and keep moving has been so worth it! Rheumatoid arthritis is no joke and I had a friend loose sight in one eye because it traveled to her iris. Extra weight is one of many forms of inflation in the body. Working to control it has helped my severe asthma too. I kept weighing the odds and quality of life. My grandmother lost the weight and lived independently until 89. My mother didn’t change her lifestyle and died at 67 unable to do the things she enjoyed for the last seven years of her life. My decision was more clear cut. Only you know your delicate balance of pain tolerance and enjoyment of life, and how bad the arthritis can be. You probably have relatives that had RA. How did they get through life?

Hi Singles, I'm still on my weight loss journey. I would like to lose another 15 pounds. I wasn't sure when I started this journey what the end weight would be. Just lnew I had to get healthy, get off my b/p meds, stay away from diabtetes, etc. I feel more confident after losing 55 pounds, but I still can't imagine going on a dating site and putting myself out there. I've been on dating sites before, here and there, theres positive things that happen, weird things (scammers) and it takes a lot of energy. Of course, like most people I would rather meet someone "organically." Is there anyone out there that has any advice or words of wisdom that is experiencing dating in the mid 60s?

Maybe I'm in the minority, but at 3 years out I still struggle sometimes with my image of self - I often "feel" like the biggest person in a room even though I know I'm not. It seems to be exacerbated when I don't do the self-care things like regular exercise or eating well. When I'm in routine with exercise and healthy meals my mind set seems to settle and I just think less about my weight than I ever have. Having said that, I just started a new job and it is a mind trip that they will never know the obese me I was for most of my life. Lori

After a year of consults and weight management visits my insurance has finally approved my gastric sleeve surgery!!!!. I'm super excited and my surgery is February 16th. Who else has a February surgery date? Sent from my Pixel 6 using BariatricPal mobile app

As @catwoman7 says, people who have a revision on this site seem to have lost weight. You have done well so far and are probably in a stall. Ride it out. Stay off the scales as much as possible. Your weight is on the lower scale so it will be slow going from here but you should get lower. People who have a virgin surgery can get to a lower weight but not all. It must be heaven to get rid of the GERD

Hi Stacy I had a question. Once you are at the weight you need be or whatever. Does the insurance cover any skin removal?

I am at 30 days as of today and things have gone surprisingly well. I have only had pain once (pretty sure from eating too quickly) and other than issues moving my bowels things have gone swimmingly. I take a stool softener every other day and I’m going about once every 3 days. I have hit my first stall as I haven’t lost weight in about a week. Any suggestions there? Today is my first day where I can go to solid foods, any suggestions for my first dinner? How are the 1 month folks doing?

Other issues are whether or not you have plastics and remove excess skin or not, and your age and fitness level before, during and after weight loss. There are so many different aspects of who we are as humans, and one height and weight chart for all men and women may not be the most effective way to figure this out. We need to look also at our ethnic make up, our heritage, where we came from, how our bodies are different from each others.... Work with your doctor on where you are and where you would like to be in terms of your weight, and general health. Get regular blood levels drawn, making sure you know where your iron, vitamin levels are, and to make sure your internal organs are doing their jobs ! It isn't all about what size we wear or how much we have lost and weight. It is about being healthy and maintaining and improving our lifestyle.

Congrats! Sounds like you are doing amazing! I think you are right that losing weight all over makes it harder to see, at least to ourselves. Hope our hair decides to stop falling out soon lol. Thank you for the update, its nice to read and hear about how others are doing. Wow, 100 pounds in just 4 months is outstanding!! You are so close to your goal too! I do know that weight loss slows down which is why I said that I hope that I can have that happen. I guess its better to be prepared if it doesn't but I like having hope lol. Thank you for the wonderful update, I'm so happy that you are doing so well!

25 lbs in six weeks is actually really good. I didn't lose that much until the end of month 2, and mine was a virgin surgery. as far as losing more, some people do lose quite a bit of weight with a revision, but it's more difficult and a lot slower than it was the first time around. Someone (maybe on here? I can't remember) once explained that it's likely due to fact that you went from a large stomach to a small stomach during surgery #1 - and now you're just going from small to small, so the loss will be a lot slower going. It kind of made sense.

My surgeon told me that straws are something that come later and to think of myself like a newborn baby learning how to do everything again. I think this really helped me put things into perspective. I'm only 4 days post op but I'm having good time in my opinion. Vitamins - I was reccomended an all-in-one I'm going to be having Centrum (?) I'd have to go grab my paperwork but I just took my antibiotic pill and it's made me not want to stand for a moment haha. I think every surgeon is different, I was in hospital for 4 days total. I had many tests and checks and honestly, I didn't even have bandages on any incision except for my drain. They are already looking to be healing nicely. As for soups... Where I am I was told that my blood pressure will get too low as I had an 88% reduction with my sleeve. They reccomended that I added a spoon of salt to my broths/soups. Then gain I am only having 200ml of broth each day. For me I can shower as I feel, I had a really big surgery a month before my sleeve so the recovery has been an absolute walk in the park. I showed with my back to the water, wash myself with a mild unscented soap, pat dry with a clean towel and i have moisturized a little with vaseline (not a lot, barely visible on the tip of my finger). Only one incision is dressed (where my drain was as it has no stitches) and I still clean this one daily with Iodine & redress it. Although I feel the drain varies from country/surgeon. For my surgery as I was going to be in hospital for 4 days I packed a lot I guess haha: Slippers - You have to get up and walk CONSTANTLY, bring yourself some comfy slippers. Really large tshirts, 4 of them. - I bought the biggest I could find, a nightie would work too but at one point I did not want to wear pants because my compression socks would fall in my sleep and I'd have to take them off and fix it... Bending down in the first day or so is really painful. I took my softest and blanket - Hospital blankets just aren't nice for me, I wanted to be super comfy. Laptop - I work from home, spent some time working because I got really bored. Portable phone charger & long phone charger wire. - Depending on your room, it might be hard to reach the outlet, it's better to be prepared. LIP BALM!!!!!!!!!! - You will be so dry Unscented Moisturizer, unscented soap, and a comfort smelling body mist. - Moisturizer because you'll just feel so dry, cream your hands, your face anywhere! - Unscented soap, I don't know about anyone else but for me everything just smelt like I wanted to throw up, the unscented soap was so that there was really nothing bad in the air haha. - The body mist is really light I just would spray one spray on the otherside of my room and let it just sit, hospital smell yuck and if you have a longer stay like I did then it can help to make it feel more comfortable. A pillow - Journey home it's a godsend for the tight seatbelt and also hospital pillows are just not the same haha. Large Sweatpants & Large Hoody - As in bigger than I would ever wear haha, it's the ultimate comfort when you're leaving, you really want nothing at all restricting or just laying on your stomach. Hopefully I gave you a little insight haha, but it's good that you have questions I just kinda went with the flow and over prepared myself.

Hello Tina. Can you give us some stats to go on. What weight did you begin at, what weight did you get to with your sleeve, height etc. A 25pound loss seems really good in 6 weeks but we need to know more about you

I had the gastric sleeve 4 yrs ago. I developed real bad Gerd. My surgeon said to do the revision to the gastric bypass. I’m 6 weeks post op and down only 25 pounds and my surgeon says I probably won’t loose much more because it’s a revision. I’m devastated why didn’t they tell me before I did the revision. Has anyone lost significant weight after a revision?

There are a lot of variables to consider. IMO, BMI is flawed....the formula is based on an average body composition. It does not take in consideration frame size, bone mass, muscle mass, large breasted vs small breasted (boobs are heavy!), body shape (ectomorph, mesomorph & endomorph). If you were overweight in your youth and/or the majority of your life, your bones had to accommodate more weight so therefore are most likely larger and heavier than someone who has been slim most of their lives. Thirty years ago, the general rule for women was a baseline of 100 pounds for a 5 foot woman and 5 pounds for each additional inch. That is an average, but for me at 5'5", I am chubby at 125, where as; my daughter at 2 inches shorter, looks amazing at 135. Before the weight gain in 2012, my natural shape was hourglass (metomorph) with broad shoulders, heavy chested, small waist and slim legs on a small/medium frame. My daughter is rectangular (ectomorph) with broad shoulders, heavy chested, thick waisted, narrow hipped and thicker legs on a medium/large frame. My best weight is 112 to 117 but my daughter, even though she is 2 inches shorter, looks best at 132 to 138. Weight is a personal matter. You have to find where you are comfortable and a weight that can be easily maintained. Listen to your body and listen to your doctor but don't let others get into your head.

Weight loss stalls are not exclusive to WLS. As with any diet, the initial weight loss is only about 50% fat, the rest being water weight. The more dehydrated you became with the initial weight loss, the longer the stall will last. As you maintain your initial weight loss during the stall, you are actually losing fat pounds as you regain the depleted hydration levels needed for the body to function properly.

Yes, crazy good to wear those smaller sizes! I've been losing so fast that I've actually dropped through some clothes I bought after surgery. I still struggle to see it myself sometimes, but going from a tight 44 to a lose 38 waist in pants makes it pretty obvious. I've had a few major stalls as well, but am officially down over 100 pounds now. I'm obviously really happy about that, but also a bit shocked at how fast it's come off. @Hope4NewMe don't count on maintaining a 10 pound loss per month. For the math geeks, most of the time weight loss follows a pattern called exponential decay. It looks something like this: The important takeaway is that the closer you get to goal, the slower the loss.