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milk of magnesia is the only thing that has worked for me. i am nearly five months post-op and i tried miralax, magnesia tablets, metamucil, and exlax. the only thing that was effective was the exlax but you can’t take that very often cuz it can cause lazy bowel where your intestines don’t move your food unless prompted by a laxative. i started taking milk of magnesia last week and it works great! :D i take 30 mL every two days and that has been very beneficial. i also have the phillips cherry flavor and it kind of tastes like cherry flavored detergent or washing liquid; it’s not the best tasting thing but bearable lol

I’m approaching two months post op and I’ve found I’m so tired. Prior to surgery I swam twice a day slept about 6 hours a night. Now I’m sleeping many nights by 8:30 pm. My activity is currently only at one swim a day plus 3 personal training sessions a week. It’s 4:30P right now and I wish I had more energy for a second swim or gym session this evening but I feel like I already am ready to sleep. When will my energy come back?

I originally had an ESG, it wasn't painful as such but I did have rolling stomach cramps, you can get over the counter medication for that (buscopan). You need time to allow the suture / anchor sites to heal, so I would think most doctors would give you at least a week or two of fluids (shakes), I did see one plan when someone had to do shakes for about eight weeks. It really does depend on your doctor's guidelines (I would have thought you would have been provided with guidelines by now). I am not sure why you think having a weight loss procedure makes you (or anyone else) a quitter. I imagine you have had many attempts at losing weight and haven't been successful? If this helps you lose the weight and maintain the lost, that's a good thing. ESG is a lot different than the surgical options, the reduction in stomach size is not as great as those options, you mostly certainly eat more than a few bites at a time (as is the case with the surgical options once healed from those procedures). This is from an Australian perspective but you may find it useful https://bmiclinic.com.au/endoscopic-sleeve-gastroplasty-faq/

I am scheduled for ESG next week. i was excited until now. i am so nervous. not so much of the procedure, but the aftermath. i am 56 yo male. need to loose 40 lbs is it so painful after the procedure? i hope they give pain meds. although i don't like taking them i read that many have hard time drinking water or shakes. when do you get so eat soft foods? i keep wondering if i should do it the old fashioned way and not be a quitter to take this route. do you ever eat more than a few bites ever again?

As others have mentioned, the sleeve is cheaper and also a quicker surgery to do versus the RNY. The Mini Bypass (Omega Loop) that I got is also a quicker surgery to perform since there's one less intestinal join, but with similar benefits to the RNY. I had originally wanted the sleeve, but because of my pre-existing GERD, my surgeon advised me away from the sleeve and recommended the bypass instead. I am very happy with the choice and the results, and only regret not doing this sooner. Recovery for the mini bypass was a few weeks, but I had a hiatal hernia repair done at the same time, so I had a double whammy of pain. First two weeks were pretty rough. But honestly, recovery was pretty smooth all things considered! The main downside of the bypass is the lifelong supplements, but it's a part of my routine and as much as I dislike having to take a handful of pills every evening, it's only a small inconvenience.

My insurance just approved my surgery. I am scheduled for next Wednesday 2/8 as it was tentatively scheduled at my first consult in September. WHAT DO I DO NOW? Started my liquid diet this morning... any tips? lol Should i start a special vitamin now? what vitamins do you reccomend for after? I have to tell my job obviously so i'm waiting to hear back from the surgeon but my plan is to go on disability a week or two and then work from home 4 weeks (i commute from NJ to manhattan so dont want to deal wiht that in winter)

"high protein, calorie deficit & I workout 4x a week" because it's still true!

Hi this might be a dumb question. But here we go lol. So I’m almost 9 weeks post op and started to take the capsule multivitamin instead of chewables. On the bottle it says take with food. Well I will need to swallow it with water though. And since you can’t eat or drink within half hour how does that work? Thanks

MOST surgeons recommend not doing anything except walking for 6 weeks.

I can tell you my experience as someone who had bypass. My weight as of January 2022 was 245; on surgery day (May 13th, 2022) my weight was down to 223. As of today it's at 134. My height is 5'2. The surgery itself went fine, but I had some issues with pain management (don't let that freak you out, it's very individualistic on how people experience pain). I was in the hospital for 3 days and released when I was able to keep a bit of broth down. I found that walking around and heating pad helped with the gas, but it took quite a while for that feeling to go away. A week out from my surgery I had to go to the ER because I couldn't keep more than an ounce of fluid down and was dehydrated. 3 bags of fluids and a GI study later, they found there was still some internal swelling that was making it hard for me to meet any fluid/protein goals. I followed the nutritionist advice and start the mornings with a warm drink, which does help. Now, all of these months later, I'm not able to eat much (once again, this is more the exception than the norm), but clearly the amount of food I've been able to consume is providing energy to get me through the day. My sister also had bypass without complications and she lost 85 pounds in a year. She's been able to eat most things, though she's learned the hard way about dumping syndrome. I have no regrets about my surgery and feel much healthier than I've felt. I've gone from a size 22 to a size 8. Something I never thought would happen. Good luck on your surgery.

Sleeve is an easier surgery for doctors to perform and it's an easier recovery usually. I was back home the day of surgery and back to normal within a week or so. My surgeon recommended it over the bypass because if it wasn't successful there was still the bypass to do later, which is what ended up happening. I got severe GERD from the sleeve and ended up gaining some weight back. I just had the revision to bypass last month and wish I had just went straight to bypass a few years ago instead of doing the sleeve first. Sleeve recovery was simple and I lost 78 lbs in a year, then my gallbladder had to be removed, acid reflux/GERD got worse, and the weight gain started right after that. I didn't have acid/GERD issues before the sleeve. Recovery after bypass was harder for me, took me about a month to get my energy levels back up, but totally worth it so far. I took 3 weeks off work, but should have taken 4 weeks, but I work from home so I got through it. Congrats on getting your surgery date!

I was only allowed to walk for the first four weeks (in fact, strongly encouraged to do so). At four weeks out, I was cleared to do everything except for weights. At eight weeks out, I was cleared for weights.

Had my surgery on January 16th. I'm just starting the pureed diet. I'm down 16.2 lbs since the surgery but seem to be hitting the stall. Kinda stuck at the 273 mark. I'm walking for 30 minutes a night on the treadmill and I'm consuming very close to 900 calories a day. My major concern at this point is that I haven't really had that stuffed/full feeling. I can't identify at all with not being able to eat and ounce or two. I wish I did. It makes me feel like maybe I was left with a larger sleeve. I will say that I haven't felt very hungry and I do have to remind myself that I should eat something. The one thing that I have to improve upon is my water intake.

Walking was all I did for the first couple years. My spouse and I were walking 8-10 miles several times a week. I didn't think of it as exercise but rather people watching down on the Las Vegas strip. I had decided I wasn't going to do anything more until I was about 100 pounds overweight, at which point I challenged myself to complete a a program similar to "Couch to 5K". Running sorta got under my skin after that. I only had to wear the DVT stockings while I was in bed in the hospital which was 3 days. The bed itself was a torture device so I spent the majority of the 3 days in the nice, comfortable chair that was in my room free of the DVT stockings. Good luck, Tek

I am 7 days post GB! I have been walking multiple times a day for 15 mins a time; plus get up every hour and stand and do my breathing exercises. What sort of exercise worked for you all? What week were you cleared for more? I have to wear surgical / DVT prevention stockings for another week so I get some looks out walking lol (had a very conservative surgeon) who had multiple tests and other things before I even left hospital to ensure no issues so I’m making sure I’m just as conservative and patient!!

Chewable multivitamins taste terrible, so I wouldn’t recommend taking them any longer than you have to. My surgeon told me to take chewables for the first 6 weeks after surgery, and as soon as that was over, I was glad to go back to a capsule. I used BariatricPal chewables, and once I switched to capsules, I started BariatricPal multivitamin one capsules. They are a great price. I got sample packs of a couple of other brands of chewable bariatric multivitamins, and they were equally disgusting, so I went with BariatricPal due to the price. The good news is that calcium citrate chews are delicious. I get the BariatricPal French vanilla caramel and Belgian chocolate caramel, and I look forward to taking them (also a great price compared to other calcium citrate chews). I also take chewable biotin and vitamin D, Natrol brand from Amazon, and they taste good, like strawberry candies. And NatureMade sublingual B12 tablets taste like cherry candies.

I can't believe it has been a year already since I had my surgery. Time really flies. This past year was filled with lots of major milestones, NSVs and overall positive things. I decided to write this post to hopefully inspire others who are on the fence or those who are already on their weight loss journey. I had my surgery (MGB) in Egypt on 30 January 2022. My sister had hers earlier that month and it didn't take her long to convince me to do it as well. I flew to Egypt on 28th, admitted to hospital on 29th and had the surgery 30th morning. I stayed in the hospital for two days and rested for a week in Cairo before flying back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The whole process went smooth and the recovery was quick with no major issues. Just a bit of discomfort which is normal for any surgery. I was not given any specific diet to follow except for some guidelines - one week of clear liquids, 1 week of pureed food followed by gradual introduction of solid food in week 3. I will start with the positives and the current stats. The negatives / issues are listed below My starting weight was 149 kg. I was 85 kg yesterday. That means I’ve lost a total of 64 kg or 43% of my starting weight. I still have like 15 kg to go. The weight loss was quick at first then started to become slower but I’m more than happy with where I’m at right now. I didn’t follow a strict diet but rather reduced my food intake and ate healthier. I always start with my proteins vegetables and end with carbs. It helps that I cook myself so I know what goes into my food and can control the portions. I now enjoy food better than before because I really take my time to eat. There are some foods that I can’t tolerate like pasta, scrambled eggs etc. Not sure why but I’m not too concerned by that. Here are some of the major achievements and NSVs I’ve experienced the past year (a part from the weight loss): I went from size 52” pant to size 34-36 inches pants depending on the cutting. Here is a comparison between the pants I wore on surgery day and the current ones. Custom-made shirt on surgery day vs the one I wore yesterday (Size M) Here is me in December 2021 and yesterday morning (left to right) I got myself a mountain bike when I went below 100 Kg and that helped a lot. I try to go on a ride around the town whenever time and weather allow. I’m planning to do this more often after the rainy season. I feel more fit and energetic overall. I was able to join my family in a lot of fun activities which was impossible last year. I took the kids to the water park last weekend and we all had a great time. My son told me that he is so happy I could go on the water slide with him and that made the whole journey worth it. I’m planning to join the gym and start rebuilding muscles and tone my body. I’ve some loose skin here and there but it doesn’t bother me. I might end up having it removed but it is too early to decide now. There were also some negatives (as with everything in life) which I consider to be minor : - The 6 months blood work showed that I had Vitamin B12 and D deficiency. The doctor asked me to take high doses of Vitamin D and daily Vitamin B12 tabs which I’ve been doing over the last 6 months. I’m planning to redo the test soon. - I struggled with heartburn and indigestion early on but I learned how to control it. I don’t add a lot of spices to my food now and will stop eating if I feel any discomfort. I still get it every now and then but OTC heartburn medicines really help. - Loose skin specially on my arms and thighs (but that was expected) Overall I’m very happy with my decision and what I’ve achieved over the past year. I’m really looking forward to this coming year.

I have just said to those that have mentioned my weight loss that I have a nutritionist, I'm exercising 5x a week, I'm eating high protein/low carb and I'm eating small portions and not drinking, all of which are true. So really you can say you adopted a healthy lifestyle which you did.

I had my surgery (tummy tuck w/muscle repair, breast lift & augmentation and arm lift) all done in one surgery. I took three weeks off work and I work as a nurse. I still had some minor discomfort when I went back, but nothing that Tylenol didn’t help with. I was on light duty though-no heavy lifting for 6 weeks due to the arm lift.

Random foods from the past week or so. The octopus shaped hot dogs were a kid’s dinner. 😂

Just a vent. . . I'm 2 weeks post op today. I had a bad weekend with eating. I think I did ok with water. But I am 1 wk into puree and did eat a couple slices of deli turkey which I won't be doing again for a couple weeks, because it made my belly upset. So it was my first event since my surgery. My nieces 16th birthday. My sister had soda, turkey or ham sub sandwiches and chips. I drank water and had 2 slices of deli turkey. I did better than I would of pre-surgery. So that was a NSV. But like I said in first paragraph it did make me very full and uncomfortable. That night my sister ordered pizza. I had some cheese and sauce topping and a couple mozzarella sticks. Again felt like I ate too much. But just relaxed for the rest of the night drinking my water. I now realize how toxic my family is on food. The stress being around them is hard. But I have learned new things which I feel this whole weightloss self-care journey is all about. Got home and right back to my puree and water. 1 more week then soft foods. Which I think I will do pretty good at. I just miss chewing the most. Sent from my SM-G998U using BariatricPal mobile app

My abdominoplasty and associated recovery were both ridiculously and significantly rougher than my RNY, which was open. I had heard this was the case but I didn't believe it would be as rough as it was. I had the abdominoplasty at UCLA and spent two weeks there before going home to Las Vegas. I went back about 3 weeks later to get the staples and drains removed. I didn't really work in that period, though I did some remote stuff for a couple important problems. After the staples and drains were removed I improved dramatically and quickly. That is the short, sanitized version. The long version really only applies to me and would scare the carp out of anyone contemplating this. Good luck, Tek

recovery was much harder and longer than it was from my RNY, but I would say the three months you mentioned is an exaggeration. Well, I may have had some discomfort for that long, but I could have worked. I retired before I had my plastic surgeries so I don't know exactly how many weeks it took, but I was pain or had some pretty significant discomfort for probably three or four weeks - at least with the lower body lift. Arm/breast lift wasn't as bad - but you're not supposed to reach for things for awhile after having an arm lift, so it could be a problem if you have to reach for things at work (this was hard to do - I caught myself reaching a few times when I shouldn't have been....). I didn't have a thigh lift, so I can't address that one...

Hi! I was sleeved on the 12 of January. I have fibromyalgia. Before my surgery I was taking seamoss and collagen which helped with my pain. It's only been 2 weeks post op and seem ok. Can't wait for what the future has in store. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

IMO they are. However, everyone's different. I had lower bodylift and was in no way "recovered" after 4 weeks. I went back to work, yes, but I wouldn't have called that "recovered". Should have stayed home for another week.