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Thanks way fast!!! Good luck to you

March 7th, I'm getting the bypass! My first appointment was the very end of December, so it's been a whirlwind. I'm excited! Edit: I was so excited, I made a typo 🤣 first appointment was end of November. Still fast...but not crazy crazy fast!

I am about 12 weeks out from the sleeve. I have more variety and fewer restrictions. However, I have noticed I stopped eating slowly. I still use a baby spoon to keep my bites small but stopped timing my bites 1 minute apart like suggested by my team. I think I stopped because I was tired of my food being cold after a few nibbles. Also, I would stop eating not because I was full but because it took so long... I'm a busy mom of 4 kiddos. So I really picked up the pace. I've noticed it's easier to overeat due to delayed hunger signals but I still have never vomited or been in pain. My full signal seems to be pressure in my stomach/chest area.. almost the same signal I had if I overdid it at a buffet before surgery. However this feeling only lasts about 20 mins now versus hours before surgery. My question is why do we eat slow? Is it just to avoid delayed hunger signals? What are the cons of not slowing down? I'm still pre-weighing my food so I know I'm not eating more than I would if I ate slow. Could I have stretched my sleeve already? I do consistently have the stuffed feeling after eating the last few weeks. Sent from my SM-S115DL using BariatricPal mobile app

So I start mine on 3.03.23. I'm wondering what accommodations I would need. Like needs to be always close to the bathroom. Part time from fainting? I drink like a fish especially fasting. I. Worried peeing frequently may be an issue. Please help.

im not a beer drinker, but i have sparkling water all the time (like maybe 5-6 litres a week). been drinking it regularly since about 2 months post op. funny enough, i never drank it pre-op. i was a diet coke addict back then. and no issues drinking it with me...but i may get burpy if i drink it too fast. p.s. i am a liquor drinker and have no real issues other than i get affected pretty fast (but i also sober up pretty fast as well) trial and error will tell you what u can handle...just try to take it slow...you wont know how much is too much until you do. good luck! ❤️

We should have a whole year and even more to reach our goal. Everyone is different so its sad if your surgeon put that stress on you to do it extra fast. As long as your weight is not going up and still trending down then you are doing great. No idea why they would expect you to reach a certain weight by a certain date. Hugs!

Stick to your pre-op diet best possible. It might be hard, but after surgery all those cravings go away really quickly. Weight loss feels controlled, stable, and predictable. The first week I was tired and had discomfort from gas in my body cavity that felt intense but was gone at the end of week. I spent much on the first week in bed resting. The second week post surgery was my stomach acid week I’d wake up at 5am and feel like I had a belly full of acid. Not super painful, just annoying and that symptom went away at the end of week two. I was back to work and up and about week 2 but sleep early or naps in the afternoon. Week 3 is when my progress allowed me to move on the soft Proteins. What was most noticeable this week is that occasionally I would get extremely dizzy with the room spinning. I realized this was due to seasonings or Condiments with minimal sugars but the first sugars I had experienced since surgery. Those first 2-3 grams of sugar /food iwould cause my my insulin to over compensate and my blood sugar would drop real low. That happened for about a week and a half 1-2 times a day and then my body adjusted and I haven’t experienced it since.   I also experienced a bit of nausea at this time as I tried new foods and learned to slow down eating but never have actually threwup. I’m two months out now. Only remaining symptom is light fatigue and occasional nausea as a reaction to eating something new or eating to fast. But it’s super tolerable and not as bad as it might sound. ALL OF THIS TO SAY: some of the initial symptoms may seem miserable or annoying in the moment while your body is adjusting to your surgery, but understand most of them will pass in a week or so they aren’t there for the long term. Be kind to yourself, allow yourself to rest, and focus on your Protein and hydration above all else. You got this!

Too much sucrose gives me fast heart rate, a malaise feeling for about hour. It's not pleasant but it isn't that bad. So for example, 1/2 cup of cereal, no problem. One cup risks one hour of fast heart rate. I don't get any side effects with fructose, lactose or anything else. So no limit on fructose (can eat fruit all day), lactose, starches, fiber, protein or fats.

Thank you so much that’s great advice!!! I go on March 7th and I just realized how fast the next month will go. Anything else you’d like to share?

My surgery date is February 20th. I have pre existing blood clots and have to inject myself with Epogen. I am on the 2 week liquid diet now. I am not a bug eater to begin with and have done 30 day juice fasts so I am mentally prepared for the two weeks. It's the Epogen that is a doozie. I already have lupus and fibro and this medication makes my bones and muscles hurt and now.I have the chills. 2 doses down 10 to go! Sent from my SM-A326U using BariatricPal mobile app

You’ve lost 52lbs. That’s great. Whoo hoo. Are you feeling better? Are you able to do more? Are you learning more about yourself? Are you changing your relationship with food? … These are the things to focus on. As @heatherdbby said it’s how you look at it. I agree with @catwoman7, there are too many factors that affect how much you’ll lose & the rate of your loss. Sure there are averages but with all averages some people exceed the average & some don’t meet the average and there’s nothing wrong with that. I say celebrate every pound you lose. You’ve worked hard to lose every one of them. Same with setting hard & fast inflexible weight loss goals & setting a time frame in which to attain that goal. Too many factors to predict how much & when. It can be depressing & lead to you sabotaging your loss if you don’t reach that goal or reach it in a specific time frame. Not every one reaches their goal but if you do or exceed it that’s a bonus. All the best.

I still struggle to eat meals in 30 min, I'm usually done between 10 to 15min, I do try to take a bit chew chew chew, walk a little and then repeat but still too fast, its a habit I want to kick,since it makes me feel full faster, without eating all my protein. Sent from my SM-G960U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

I just checked my spreadsheet. I'd lost 57 lbs by that point, and I started out at 373 lbs. honestly, people's rate of weight loss is such an individual thing that it's kind of pointless to compare yourself to someone else. There are so many factors that influence your rate of weight loss, and most of them you have little to no control over - like age, gender, starting BMI, genetics, the percentage of muscle you have, whether or not you lost a lot of weight before surgery, etc. The only two factors you really have a lot of control over is how closely you stick to your program, and your activity level. If you do well with both of those, you're golden. The weight WILL come off if you stay compliant, whether fast or slow. I was a below average loser from the get-go, and I ended up losing over 200 lbs , 100% of my excess weight. In the end, your success (or not) is due to how well you stick to your plan, not how quickly you lose. P.S. if your expectations come from shows like "My 600 lb Life", then remember that those people start out at 800+ lbs (I don't think I've ever seen a contestant weighing 600 - it's almost always higher than that). AND...starting BMI is big factor in how fast you'll lose the weight. So unless you're of similar size, I wouldn't worry about "only" losing 52 lbs so far. That's a respectable loss for us "normal" WLS patients.

I definitely eat faster than I did the first few months out - not sure if it's as fast as I did pre-surgery, though. And although I chew more than I did pre-surgery, I often forget about the "20 times" rule (you really are supposed to chew things pretty thoroughly, though, because our stomachs don't churn nearly as much as they used to - so some of the "churning" needs to take place before the food even hits your stomach - thus...chewing thoroughly) if I do a really bad job of chewing, my stomach will usually let me know. It'll either be really uncomfortable, or it'll come back up.

I know everyone is different of course but I’ve just been daydreaming about normal eating (months away for me lol) What if you don’t chew properly, is it a problem every time? Or did you find your stomach got better at dealing with variations? What was your experience?

My Bariatric dietician told me that whilst standard advice remains 30 mins of no liquid before and after meals, 15 would suffice and does for all her patients, eventually becoming 10 mins. What do you all do? Secondly, I know dumping is meant to hit within 30 mins (early dumping) but does it normally come on real quick for those who get it? Thanks all, loving reading the forum from start to finish!

Hello, I am 2 months post op and have been getting dizzy and not being able to see for a few seconds when I stand up too fast! Anybody else get this? And know what is causing it?

2 tiny chicken wings and I’m sneezing uncontrollably until I vomit. It’s not just chicken wings, it’s everytime I eat almost like now I’m allergic to food. The internet says overeating out eating too fast but only 2 flats eaten slowly and it’s still happening. And the hot flashes, why? I’m starving, I’m thirsty and everything in between.

I would like to get extensive body contouring now that I've lost 170lbs and seem to be in a stable spot in my weight. What I'm most concerned about is how long I would need to take off from work though. I would like to get an arm lift, breast lift, tummy tuck and thigh lift, which I believe would be 3 separate surgeries (combining the arm lift with the breast lift). The recovery time sounds a LOT longer and rougher than the actual weight loss surgery so I'm having a hard time gauging how long I'll be needing lots of help at home, when I could go back to doing my WFH office job, and when I would actually feel better after surgery. I went to real self and they said * Tummy Tuck - 2 weeks until back to work, but ideally give yourself more time and 6 weeks to fully recover * Arm Lift - 2 weeks but really it sounds like 4-8 before the incisions are mostly healed * Thigh Lift - 2 weeks until back to work and 6 weeks until fully recovered I am not a fast healer and have chronic pain/disability from other illness, so it took me 5 weeks to get back to work from my SADI. I'm worried that this would be like 3 months of time off work total and I'd have to split it up a year for each surgery just to get the time off. Am I looking at this all wrong or are these surgeries just that brutal to recover from? 😬 I don't even know how to start explaining that much time off to my boss either.

Yes it is normal, after a week or so mine diminished and I ocassionally get the sound from my throat if I eat too fast. I started to understand my full signs at about week 2 or 3, prior to that any sound was freaking me out and I will stop to make sure things were good lol Sent from my SM-G960U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm close to 5 weeks post-revision from sleeve to bypass, and I noticed the same thing. The doctor told me it's normal. Here's my explanation for what's going on: The place where a normal stomach meets the intestine is called the pyloric valve. The stomach churns to further break down food, the valve opens to let food pass into the intestine. We (meaning sleevers) had a small stomach, and because the valve was still present and behaving normally with a sleeve, we felt restriction, meaning the valve didn't open more frequently just because the stomach was smaller. With bypass, the valve is removed (technically it's bypassed since they leave it in along with the first 30cm or so of the intestine). The connection between the pouch and intestine is called a stoma, and liquids and purees will move right through it because it's not a valve/it's open all the time. In my experience, it's possible to drink/eat purees too fast so that they don't drain through the stoma quickly enough, but you're right, it takes some special effort to do that. Restriction is a bigger factor when you get to solids, which I did this week. If you eat too much too fast, it just sits in the pouch. Think about a sink that drains slowly because there's junk in the pipes; that's the same principle - too much stuff trying to move through a too-small pipe. The pouch doesn't churn food up like a stomach to make its passage easier. If the solid you too big/too much/too dry/too fast, it sits and feels very heavy, your body starts producing mucus to lubricate the passage of the food through the stoma (this is what people call "the foamies"), and if that doesn't do the trick, that food is coming back up. I had that lovely experience with ground turkey and thus learned that while I was told to chew thoroughly with my sleeve, I could ignore that advice. Not so with a pouch; when they say chew until it's a paste, you have to. So restriction does become a greater factor when you proceed to solids. It really does force you to slow down, eat small bites, chew VERY thoroughly. Like with sleeve, I imagine it's still possible to overeat if you graze, so it also still takes some discipline to make smart food choices, pay attention to when you're satisfied, and be deliberate with how long a meal is. Also bear in mind that bypass is not just a restrictive procedure. It's malabsorptive as well. Good luck!

For me, I've rarely experienced Dumping Syndrome. I had my gastric bypass 9 months ago. I had more issues with the "Foamies" but haven't had that issue in at least 4 months or longer ("Foamies" is when you regurgitate what you've just eaten and you over-produce saliva and start vomitting - for me this was a very slow process and not pleasant - it happened if my pouch couldn't break down what I was eating - i.e. I had a hard time processing chicken breast even if it was so small, etc - this was during the stage of real food, not purees or soft ....anything stringy like kale, spinach, celery, etc. And...if I ate too fast). As far as Sugar & Fat, I never had that issue and I never went Fat Free/Sugar Free either. However, that being said....I don't want to eat fat - especially animal fat, as it made me pretty sick even before my bypass....but I don't necessarily eat Fat Free Yogurt. I tend to look at Nutritional Labels focusing on Protein, Fiber, Carbs. For example, it really depends on the product and it also is a lesson for everyone going through Weight Loss Surgery in Trial & Error. So, you have to see how your body does and if you have any doubt, don't do it. But at the grocery store, I might look at the labels and see what looks like a better fit for me and see how my body does - the Siggis Icelandic Yogurt has less sugar higher protein and my body does great on it. Say for a cheese stick/snack, a regular piece of cheddar is easier for me to digest than fat free. With fresh fruit, I think it's so important to incorporate, along with fresh vegetables. As far as worrying about the sugar content of fruit, I don't think that's an issue at all. I think it's smart to incorporate fruits into your diet - whole fruits whether fresh or frozen, because it's a good, healthy habit that's so good for your body. I've never had ill effects from eating bananas, berries (some of the best fruit for us!), citrus, you name it. Mind you, I'm a former Type 2 Diabetic. One thing that I have had issues with is sugar free products. I think that could be with anyone - I find that monk fruit and stevia are so much better on my body. Most definitely too much sugar free products (ethythritol, xylitol, etc.) can have major negative effects on your system. I have learned to proceed with caution - before and after surgery - with sugar substitutes. Also, your taste buds definitely change after surgery as well. I love using olive oil for cooking. I try to stay mindful and definitely tracking (Baritastic App is my favorite) helps create good habits. Avocados are wonderful, good fats and I try to eat these. I will tell you that my body has "learned" what makes it feel good. For me, the things that make me feel good are oats - just regular, plain oats (not packet) and steel cut are my go-to. Fruit does make me feel good too, I love adding in smoothies with protein drinks and ice and helps me feel great. Greek yogurt does the same. Nut butters without added sugar helps me feel great also. Veggies sautéed in olive oil help me feel good, a light salad and most fish (easy for me to digest and good source of protein). It's all a matter of trial and error but honestly, this is the best thing I've ever done for myself!! I hope sharing my experiences helps you and best of luck to you!!

Hi, I really never had my hunger pangs go away, I do feel the restriction when I have more than 3-4oz of food and eat too fast, but every 3 hours I have those hunger pangs and I'm less than 3 months out.

Wow that fast @Nina35!! My friend said she had to wait basically a year. I hope i can get mine this year! Good vibes to you tomorrow! I hope all goes well! Cheers to the start of your new beginnings!!