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Yeah, there's a definite bias of information (unintentionally, of course) when you frequent bariatric spaces. I've been on this board almost a year, and I really enjoy it, but at five months post-op, one thing I've noticed is the vast majority of people who were posting regularly a year ago, or even 3-6 months ago, are not here any more. That's a lot of diverse experience that goes away, and I would guess that the people who remain are a combination of those who are the most dedicated (possibly to the extreme), those who get the most out of social interactions, and those who experience the most complications in their journeys, along with people who return after several years to get back on track because of significant regain or needing revisions. The people who are hitting their goals easily, losing weight at an average pace, eating and exercising in a way that isn't particularly noteworthy, maintaining within a reasonable weight range, and generally living life without stressing about bariatric issues, quickly become underrepresented voices. So it's easy to start thinking that the average person struggles a lot at every stage, can barely eat or drink for months, exercises like they're training for the olympics, tracks every bite of food and never strays from their macros every day of their life, experiences all the most severe complications regularly, and will gain back all their weight plus some if they even dare to glance at a piece of bread or a dessert on someone else's plate let alone allow a bite to pass their lips. It's easy to become very obsessive about it (raises hand: yes, that's me). And in a situation like after surgery where a lot of things change at once, sometimes it feels like the more you can control and anticipate, the better. At least it does for me. But my advice would be, especially when you are feeling particularly anxious about something, to think about whether there are perspectives you aren't getting that might reduce your anxieties if you were able to hear from them. Like, if there were 20-30 people who used to post in your surgery month group and now you're down to 4 or 5, what might those other people say if you asked them about the thing that is worrying you? My guess is, if they're not posting anymore, it's usually not because they're suffering in silence.

Well I had a revision (no surgery on my stomach) so I won’t even talk about portion. Also, I’m pretty active (2-3 hours of at least walking) so take this with a grain of salt but my calories are around 900-1000, protein is 90 plus, net carbs are 60-70, sugar is usually under 20 but my max is 30, fiber is still too low but around 10-15 with the fiber powder, fat is 20-30, water is about 80, and calcium is usually around 1800 or above. I was told that calories alone don’t mean much at all and carbs and fat depend significantly on what kinds of carbs and fat. Carbs from fruit and veggies are usually fine in our portions and healthy fats like olive oil, avocado and nuts or low fat dairy are okay too but you do have to measure of course and not have them multiple times. It’s when you get into the processed stuff that you have to watch them numbers so much closer. They sneak things in. I have noticed that the low carb stuff is usually really high in fat. My goal is to keep it to Whole Foods as much as I can. So far I have had the occasional low carb wrap, Turkey jerky, yogurt drinks, and quest potato chips in terms of packaged food. Ooh and that burrito wrap I had to seriously budget for. But I mean like twice or three times a month. Your team will have the best info for what’s right for you though. So many things make these numbers different for everyone. Did you ever find an app that you can access to log your food?. It has really helped me. Usually when I sit down to have lunch, I enter my breakfast, my lunch and play around with ideas for dinner and snack and see how that works out in terms of macros. I always have fish and frozen low carb veggies that I can pull out of the freezer if I am too high for the day. I found these burritos that supposedly freeze well I wanted to make but they used a real tortilla. They do not have the big ones in the low-carb version. I looked everywhere but I needed the bigger one and order get enough protein. I wanted to make those four nights in a row but every time I entered them I was going over on something. I finally was able to have them last night but all I had was my morning proffee and five egg whites with pico de gallo for lunch. Then I added a little bit more cheese because I was 2 g low on protein. Anyways, it makes it so much easier to be able to plug these things in and you can delete and try something else if it doesn’t work or add or subtract snacks. The only thing that I do not enter, but I always allow myself to have. I kind of learned on the preop diet was the sugar-free popsicles they’re actually 15 cal I believe but they were free foods on my preop diet and I keep them that way in my mind. It keeps me thinking that I’m never going to be not allowed to have food. Mentally it somehow makes me think that I don’t have to starve. I can always have something.. I actually really enjoyed them the tropical flavor ones on my preop but I haven’t wanted sweets very often since. I have had them a couple of times when I wake up late wanting something though.

Just got done when my gastric bypass less than 12 hours ago. On one hand it was easier than I thought, but also on the other hand , I can't even drink one ounce at once, my new stomach hates me right now. I accidentally drank 60ml water and felt downright nauseous. I will drink slower in the future. Hope everyone is doing well! I'll post more soon

@NeonRaven8919Exactly! @AmberFLHe‘s currently on the platform, unsure if the weight loss train is the train he wants at the moment @JennyBeezRomanncy-love-stuff? What’s that then? LOL! @SleeveToBypass2023All my stats are up to date right now. Don’t know which surgery as I haven’t had my appointment with the surgeon yet (NHS - it’s never a rush 🙄) I had thought sleeve initially but, after my first group education session, I’m now thinking bypass, purely because of reducing the hunger hormones which isn’t a factor with the sleeve. However, I will listen to what the medical professionals recommend and make my decision from that. So, I had the conversation with hubby last night and got a lot of things cleared up. It’s not just the WLS that’s concerning him but some other things too like me having knee surgery and not needing him anymore, especially as he has his own disability which cannot be addressed with surgery. He thinks he will be holding me back and I deserve better etc etc. I truly understand where he’s coming from but we’ve been together 22 years, married for 17. His accident happened when we’d been together a couple of years and back surgery made it much worse. We’ve dealt with horrible shitty ex-wives, massively entitled kids, redundancy, depression, illness, disabilities etc. If we can come through all of that and not want to stab one another then I will take that as a win 🤣😂 Life throws things at us when we least expect it, both good and bad. I think we’re OK for now, thankfully, so I can stop eyeing up the pillows in bed, thinking of ways to smother him 😈 Physio was cancelled today due to staff illness. They had a bit of a panic trying to find an appointment for me as I’m supposed to have physio 10-14 days after the steroid injection. As it stands, they found me an appointment for next Monday which will be 19 days afterwards so I will have to see if that’s acceptable. I’m not stressing though as I’m doing the circulation booster and knee programme every day so hopefully that will have a positive impact.

Hi Lorna, Yes I had the RNY bypass. So today it's been a week. I am already feeling pretty well. Yes, I'm still swollen a bit and tire easily, but relatively pain free. So, a bit better, day by day. But if you are not feeling well be sure to advocate for yourself! The first day in the hospital I had to be pretty assertive with a nurse who wanted to withhold pain meds. I stood my ground, had the meds, and so rested more comfortably so I could heal. That being said since I left the hospital I took a couple of over the counter pills a night ago for minor discomfort. Otherwise I have not had a pain med since the weekend. Get your rest! Get your protein! Get your water! Day at a time!! Elizabeth

I just had a revision from the sleeve to a bypass a week ago today. I'm already 16 pounds down. I had horrible stomach acid... the thing is, lifelong taking medicines for stomach acid is bad for you. Increases cancer risks, dementia risks, and accelerates bone loss. I did not want to be taking these meds for decades to come when science has proven how dangerous that is. I've had no vomiting or nausea while healing. This time around, the vitamins don't even make me sick which is a huge relief. They used to.

It is a bit unnerving to have days where you can only get a small amount of food in, then the next, so much easier or visa versa. I agree with the others here that it all seems to balance out. Unless on those easier days, you are consuming slider foods and not the protein and veggies as prescribed. My appetite ups and downs haven't seemed to hinder my weight loss at all. In fact, it's probably good to vary your daily caloric amount (within limits) so the body doesn't adapt. Kind of the same as with exercise. I recently met a woman who had Gastric Bypass quite a few years ago when WLS was young, and she had gained all her weight back. It served as a reminder that I never want to go back there ever again. If we don't make the changes we need to early on, regain is inevitable. The surgery can only take us so far... GL

Okay this is long and boring at parts but here it goes. I am 3 years post sleeve and I have gained all my weight back . First of all I was on the smaller side to have the sleeve but I do still have all the same struggles and if I had waited until I was older it was just a matter of time until I was a higher bmi having the surgery. The fact that I have lost and then gained it all plus some within less than years is probably proof of that. Anyways, with the sleeve I did lose a big chunk of weight. I went from 235 to 168 which I could not have done with regular diet. But, i was always able to eat a little more than I should at every given stage and everything was easy for me. From day one I had no gas pain and water was easy to get down, then fluids and protein which were easy to keep down, I had no food intolerances and advancing through each stage. I was living my best life watching the pounds fall off but I was alway able to eat just a little more than everyone else at the same stage. Well, while the hunger hormone was gone and I was focused I was able to eat exactly what I SHOULD be eating and I measured my portions to the Amount I should be eating and I was satisfied. So lost most of the weight the dr suggested I would. i held that weight for a few months but then the hunger started creeping back and between the hunger and the extra room in the pouch I started gaining in spite of still making healthy food choices (my food was fine but my portions were too large and too frequent). Well, even though I knew I was losing control my friends and family continued to look at me as doing great..I was still on the road to getting to where I needed ti be in their eyes. I was ashamed. I was failing yet They kept complimenting me and offering me food. They were saying things like your doing so good, you can have one slice or pizza or one brownie. It won’t kill you. It’s okay that you’ve gained a couple pounds I’ve gained a couple it’s Christmas. You can lose that. Well I have since learned that no I cannot just have one of anything to do with carbs or I crave them for a week but I didn’t know that back then Anyways, was still going to my surgeon asking for help but I have bipolar disorder and the meds I take for it limit what other meds I can take so I cannot take many of the weight loss meds they had to offer. And the one I can take worked wonderfully during the day but when it wore off I ate all night Fast forward a few months and I stepped on the scale and I was back over 200. That sucked but I wasn’t giving up. went back to my surgeon asking about revision to bypass. I have heartburn gerd whatever you call it and clearly the sleeve wasn’t working so I wanted to know my options. Well let’s go back. I knew I didn’t want to have surgery if I was going to just repeat the yo-yo that had just happened so I decided I wanted two opinions this time. Well the second opinion dr had a cancellation so I seen him first. He was on board. He was going to bypass a shorter amount of bowel so i had less absorption issues and my meds Would work fine he said which seemed to be his concern even though it wasn’t really my question. I just needed my dr to say that it shouldn't be a repeat of last time and I was going forward. Well even though the bypass was an option he presented to me to start he said he wouldn’t do a bypass for me. He thought it would be a bad call with my mental health issues. This was confusing to say the least because I have one dr saying it’s fine and another dr I really respect saying it’s not and I started this thinking bypass was always an okay option in terms of mental health but worried the surgery just wouldn’t work for me. I am of course concerned about my mental health so took some time to think about it. I tried for a while to find a bariatric therapiest but none near me are taking any new patients. I even asked the surgeon and he said he would look into it but be never did. Anyways I called around for the better part of two days. They all just do the evaluations now for surgery. I have had every hormone test and lab they have that could possibly be the problem. I changed all my meds in case they were the issue. I tried everything myself and my doctors could think of but I kept gaining. When I revisited the idea of surgery I was scared. Anything that was going to upset my mental health again just isn’t an option I decided. I already know what life without my medication is like and I do not want to go back there. I continued to gain. I got back up to 245 and I am miserable. I am so depressed when I look at what I have let happen to myself. I had a chance and I blew it. I am disgusted when I look in the mirror. I decided that the weight is causing me to be more depressed so I needed to get some real answers. I went back to my surgeon. Not to ask him to do the surgery but exactly why he thought it was a bad idea. The plan was to take that info and talk to the other surgeon to make sure he had considered that and see why he wasn’t worried about it. Well, surprise…my surgeon is on board now with doing a revision for me. When I asked why he said no before he said something about a nite in my chart that said I wasn’t complaint with my meds back them and he didn’t know I have a psychiatrist and psychologist and take my meds but now he is comfortable doing surgery. So, frustrated I had to wait until I gained almost 50 more pounds to get here but excited he is willing to do it I am researching the other surgery he thinks will be a better fit for me called the SADI. At the same time I am still not buying the note in my chart thing. Cause that was never true. I guess the important takeaway for those of you here that are just starting out is even if you do regain don’t lose touch with your team and don’t give up. I feel like my dr wavering in whether he would do the surgery didn’t help but I could have asked more questions sooner and I wouldn’t have so much to lose this time. Plus, hopefully you guys can take the weight loss meds and won’t be facing a second surgery.

May I ask if the reason for revision was for gerd or acid reflux? Just curious because after my sleeve o developed gerd, and I also need to loss some weight. One week post the RNY which is when I introduced soft food, I can feel the reflux at night when I lay down. It’s like something in the back of my throat and my chest feel tight. I don’t know if the reflux is a imidiate fix or not. I have to ask my doctor when I see him again. And how long was the bypass was never discussed. I didn’t know there is actually the length that I can discuss… I feel like there is a lot I could have ask and didn’t. At my one week post op visit, I had many questions, and maybe I was showing some anxiety, and of course the doctor and nutritionist sensed it. They just told me to keep clam? Let my body heal and don’t think about the weight loss right now.

hi i start my optifast on 11th March for two weeks i am sleeved and having a mini bypass due to major reflux. when I did the optifast pre op diet before I also had soups, deserts and bars. it made it easier following the diet with a variety good luck with your journey

Just had my gastric bypass surgery this past Monday (Feb 19). Was super excited and nervous both all the way up to the day of. Still in alot of pain but determined to get better and get back to work as soon as possible I wish all of the February surgery buddies good luck and here's to a new beginning .

Hi everyone, Just checking in to see how you are all doing now that we are 8 months on from the start of July surgeries? As I posted before I had a terrible time with complications; leak, pancreatitis, allergic reactions, abscesses and infections, I even had to be transferred to a hospital in another country for a procedure to stop the leak! But most importantly I made it through and got home from hospital the start of November. I am only starting to get my energy back now and find an interest in doing more than just coping /trying to get through the day, can see small improvements each week. My weight loss has slowed down over the last few weeks but my body, and mind, have been through a crap fest the last few months so not surprised, it will happen when it happens. I still can't always hold food down and get bad pains in my stomach at times, have refulx but it is all an improvement from a few months ago. So far I am down 38kg / 83lbs which is good going considering when in hospital I was on a feeding tube for quite a while and my weight went up due to the nutrition I was being pumped with. I may have to get a revision to bypass if the leak doesn't heal (won't know for another month or so if the treatment worked) but I'll cross that bridge if and when it comes. I hope everyone is doing well.

Anyone else experience complications post bypass? I just had an endoscopy that found ulcers inflammation and stricture at the sit where my new stomach connects to my intestines. Apparently it's because of lack of enough blood flow to the area and is the reason I've been so sick since my surgery 6 weeks ago

I’m having bypass on January 2nd. I’m having a revision from a sleeve to a bypass.

Hey! I had the bypass, so I am just going to copy & paste the information that my nutritionist & medical team gave me regarding vitamins etc, because I also obsessed over it! A-Z Multivitamin and Minerals containing 2mg of copper. This means if you are lucky enough to get Forceval on prescription, you only need 1 Forceval tablet a day. You will still need to take the other supplements detailed below. For most other shop bought options, you will need to take 2 A-Z tablets a day (even though the packet says one a day). Remember the crucial bit is getting one that says A-Z. Options include: Dissolvable · https://www.naturesbest.co.uk/multivitamins/young-adults/effervescent-multivitamins-a-z-fizzy/ · https://www.boots.com/boots-multivitamin-effervescent-orange-20-tablets-10274999 Chewable · https://www.bassettsvitamins.co.uk/bassetts-vitamins/multivitamins-rb-pomegranate-flavour · https://solgar.co.uk/products/solgar-kangavites-bouncing-berry-complete-multivitamin-and-mineral-formula-chewable-tablets · https://www.naturesbest.co.uk/multivitamins/multivitamins-for-kids-teens/tasty-chews/ · https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/304373156 · https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/304385770 Tablets · https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/285513527 · https://www.boots.com/boots-a-z-multivitamin--live-friendly-bacteria-30-capsules-10274964 Calcium: You need at least 1200mg calcium in your diet each day. Count each portion of dairy as about 300mg (such as a yoghurt, a matchbox size piece of cheese or a glass of milk). If you aren’t getting enough calcium, you should top up. You can get Adcal D3 or something similar on prescription from your GP or shop bought options include: · https://solaray.co.uk/products/calcium-citrate-1000mg · https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/solgar-calcium-citrate-with-vitamin-d3-tablets-60001382 Vitamin D : Most people need 50-75ug or 2000-3000IU to keep their levels in the healthy range after surgery. · https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/betteryou-d3000-vitamin-d-daily-oral-spray-60012895 · https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-vitamin-d3-tablets-25ug-60099316 Iron: Most people need 45-60mg total iron a day (each multivitamin contains 14mg so 2 a day plus your diet may mean you don’t need extra). Women who menstruate should aim for 100mg so could get one on prescription from your doctor. If you suffer with constipation, try a gentle iron like Spatone or Floradix. · https://www.boots.com/boots-iron-14mg-60-tablets-10292905 · https://www.vitabiotics.com/products/feroglobin-capsules?variant=29079594991685&gclid=CjwKCAjwx7GYBhB7EiwA0d8oe9Z32aqlWYVdfZqyMPLnCP8nuZDgbwMS3xpj4nGXzaGIg46GQ0SjgRoCwV8QAvD_BwE Vitamin B12: You may get injections every 3 months from your GP or you can use a spray / sublingual drops. Don’t rely on tablets where possible as the absorption isn’t as good as the liquid. Try: · https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/betteryou-pure-energy-b12-boost-oral-spray-60099160 · https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-b-complex-sublingual-liquid-60002871 · https://solgar.co.uk/products/solgar-liquid-b12-2000-with-b-complex-59-ml

July 15th marked my 4th year post VSG to RNY I started with VSG in 2017 and was converted to RNY IN 2019. There seems to be more revision post lately but not a lot of long term revisioners or info floating around so feel free to ask me anything!

it's really, really rare to have a stricture that late - they almost always appear - if they're going to appear - within the first three months after surgery. I had two - at four weeks out and again at eight weeks out. The first time I knew something was wrong and I called my clinic. They suspected it was a stricture and sent me over to the hospital for an upper endoscopy to confirm (and "fix") it. The second time I knew exactly what it was since I'd seen this movie before and I went right in to have it stretched. So no, I never got to the point you were at. For those newbies who are reading this, strictures only happen to about 5% of bypass patients (they can happen to sleeve patients as well, but they're very rare with sleeve), and they almost always happen within the first three months after surgery. Just be aware of the symptoms she listed and contact your clinic if you first start noticing stuff like this. They're not going to heal on their own, and they're an easy fix. Just make sure to let your clinic know if you start having these kinds of symptoms (can't keep anything down, nausea all the time) since these are not normal and are usually indicative of a stricture.

i have heard/read this reasoning many, many times on this forum. im not sure, but i *think* this may be something relevant only to those with bypass (or any other surgery where the pyloric valve is not is use?). im a sleeve, and the reason i don't drink while i eat is because mixing liquids and solids results in making me feel overly FULL to the point i need to vomit. i've learned that (starting with an empty stomach) i can have liquids immediately followed by solids, with no issue. But under no circumstance can i have solids immediately followed by liquids (or both at same time)...otherwise, the aforementioned barfing results. so for ME, i don't need to adhere to the no-drinking-30-mins-before rule , but i definitely need to follow the no-drinking-(at least!)-30-mins-AFTER rule. YMMV. good luck! ❤️

Hello! My name is Christine. I am 23 years post-op and due to how long ago I had my surgery and all they have learned since.... there is so much I need to learn. I have to keep telling my doctors "I wasn't told that..." I am now in the process of losing weight to repair hernias from my initial full cut surgery. I had a Gastric Bypass/Roux en y, back in 2000 (before so much was known and so many products were available). I thought I was ready with the proper mindset to have the surgery and be successful. I lost 95 lbs., but hit a plateau and became very discouraged. Over the years I put the weight back on plus some. I am now retired and realizing I need to get this weight off, not only to fix the hernias but to improve my quality of life in my "Golden Years".

I went with the bypass because it had the better chance of resolving my issues with hypertension, cholesterol, and blood sugar, and much better chance of not developing GERD. I also know the 10-year weight loss/regain numbers are a bit better for bypass. And, just a minor consideration, but I felt better not having part of my body removed. I know, I had my intestines rerouted and all that, but my stomach is still in there and somehow that made me have more peace of mind. 2 weeks out today and my recovery has been fantastic. My doctor moved me along to basically a regular solid food diet at my appointment, with just some restrictions regarding excluding beef/pork/lamb and raw veg for a few more weeks. I've had no issues, only minor pain the first few days, and I feel fantastic. I can walk for an hour or more at a time with no problem. My recovery has been much easier than my brother's when he had the sleeve several years back, though not sure if that has anything to do with the surgery type.

I am contemplating a revision surgery from sleeve to SADI. I am in the research process now. I asked my doctor what I could do to get started and he said to keep my carbs below 40 for now. Well I have questions what about net carbs? I am looking at a package of wraps and it’s only four net carbs but it’s 32 g of total carbs. I understand that it has a lot of fiber, and that you subtract the fiber from the carbs to get net carbs, but does the post surgical body care that you’re getting the fiber as well. in other words, if my post surgical plan was 40 carbs a day could I have this tortilla and would it count for 4 g of carbs or 32 g of carbs towards my goal?? also, I think I read somewhere that too much fiber may cause an issue post surgery as well- will 28 g of fiber be too much??

The last time I was talking about having a stall after nearly 3 weeks. My weight all the sudden dropped. But, I can also tell that I'm losing inches. Even when the weight doesn't move. My energy is all over the place the past week or so, I feel like I could do a triathlon, sometimes I feel like I just did a triathlon without doing anything. I assure you it's normal. I'm seeing this first hand, also this is what I get told by the doctor, dietician, nurse and exercise specialist. Two of them have had gastric bypass. The other two have been in the bariatric field for several years. The Dietician told me my stomach is like a new baby, since I'm only 3 months post op. There's several more months ( or longer) for our body to get it figured out. Right now it's brand new. I know how tough it is to see the scale not move, but I also know this is still early in the process. I'm trying to look at it like I have a brand new 3 months old stomach and there's going to be growing pains. Try not to be hard on yourself, it's a process and it takes time. That's what I keep trying to tell myself. I know it's cheesy and a line from a movie. But, like Rocky Balboa, if you get knocked down the only thing you can do is get up and keep moving forward.

I had my surgery @23 years ago and there is SOOOO much I wasn't told. Here are just a few of them: * my hair would thin A LOT * I needed to take a multivitamin that included specific things like iron, copper etc. * I should eat a certain amount of each of these protein, carbs, calories etc. not just each less and healthier * the calcium needs to be citrate and spaced out to 3 times a day because your body can't absorb more than 500 mg at a time. * any pills need to be crushed I am in the process of trying to lose weight again to fix hernias from my gastric bypass (Roux en y) full cut. I have to keep telling my doctors "I was never told that"... it's very frustrating. BUT on a positive note I am learning so much and there is so much more available product wise to help me with my goals.

Right now I am not getting a great deal of help from his team. I am trying to decide between SADI and bypass but I honestly think I may be one of the first patients to get the SADI with him. A fact that if it is true scares me a bit but the possibility of greater weight loss has kept me interested. I do have an appointment tomorrow with his PA and in two weeks with the dietician to help in my decision. I hope I get quite a few answers between the two. I am just really trying to figure things out so I can eat that way now to see what I am possibly getting myself into. Lol

My surgery was yesterday! I had Bypass and stayed overnight. Happy to report zero issues. Knock on wood!!! I have to give myself a blood thinner shot 2 times a day for 2 week. And only liquid diet for 2 weeks, then reintroduce jello, pudding etc. I’m still shocked how well it went.