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I have PCOS and have super abnormal periods. I was spotting for almost a year (sometimes heavy) before surgery. When I was losing weight rapidly post-surgery in the first month my period stopped and became normal for the first time in my life. Now I have an IUD to drop my estrogen levels down so I don't end up having uterine cancer in the future. I don't have any kids and would love to be able to get pregnant so my doctor recommended the IUD for hormonal purposes.

Anyone else have a sex drive that has gone into overdrive since losing weight post WLS?

I was post-menopausal when I had surgery, so I wasn't affected at all, but many younger women experience changes in their cycles, moodiness, etc the first few months after surgery. It's supposedly because estrogen is stored in fat cells, and a lot of it is released during rapid weight loss. It stabilizes again after the first few months, though.

Ok, ladies… this is the stuff many of us wonder about but don’t talk enough about… we all understand the impact of our hormones and cycles on our lives, but how does the presurgical diets, surgery and post surgical steps impact your hormones and cycles? Did it have little to no impact? Leave you a quivering mess? Make periods come more or less often? Or randomly? experiences from any stage of the process and stage of life is helpful!! I am pre-surgical but have been loosing weight and my cycles have gotten longer and less consistent when I have them (it also could partially be my age of 42). I also used to feel a hormone surge right before my cycle would start and that has shifted. I am going to talk to my regular dr in two weeks about me, but wanted to hear other experiences. Thanks for sharing!!

You need to careful. It's awful early to start slipping. With this surgery there is a promise we make to ourselves to eat better. It would be upsetting to say the least if you went through major surgery and A) lost and then gained it all back or not lose all the weight you want to in the first place. You are also still healing. Be kind to your tummy. This is an opportunity to succeed where you may have struggled before, you got this. Shake off the slip and come back more committed then ever. You can do this!

you need to watch this. It's very easy to slip back into old habits and stall your weight loss permanently - or worse yet, gain all the weight back. I almost never went off plan until I hit maintenance at 20 months out.

So, here's the backstory... in 2016 I was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia (it's a condition that causes chronic facial pain that is so horrific that it's recognized as one the most painful conditions known to mankind and has garnered the nickname 'Suicide's Disease') and I have both 'Typical' and 'Atypical' TN and I had a flare that lasted 10 months and I was in so much pain that I had many moments where I would think of ending my life to escape the horrific pain. My family was the only reason that I held out. I tried to take it day by day, but it was horrific. It's like being dropped into hell while still being alive. Having to live every moment where every tooth in my mouth hurt from the inside out and it feels like needles were digging into my jaw. And THEN I would get stabbed in the face by a scalding hot poker that twists and twists and twists and twists and then pulls out and repeats endlessly. I was in excruciating pain every second of every single day for 10 MONTHS! I felt like I was slowly going insane. I would get 'power naps' of like 5-15 minutes when I would get a miraculous break in the stabbing pain, even though the tooth and jaw pain stayed, because I was so exhausted. On average the power naps would maybe equal 1-2 hours of sleep a day. Though there were days I didn't sleep at all. AND I had to sleep sitting up because laying down was a trigger. But finally after 10 months I had something called an MVD (Microvascular Decompression) in May 2017 which is a type of brain surgery and that was the end of that particular flare and the pain. However, Trigeminal Neuralgia doesn't have a cure. The brain surgery was basically putting a patch on it and hoping that it held out for years. The brain surgery was for the left side of my face, but I have Trigeminal Neuralgia on BOTH sides (just the right rarely flare and if it did it was usually only 3-5 days TOPS and then it wouldn't bother me for MONTHS. One time it didn't flare for 22 months which is almost two YEARS. For reference, I was officially diagnosed in 2016, but I've had TN since 2010). In September 2021 I started getting eye twitches (on both sides) and then other facial twitches and I KNEW it was coming back because the twitches are symptoms of an oncoming flare. I remarked to my family members in absolute fear and panic that I felt that it was going to come back. It's been my biggest fear of it coming back. Then in April of this year it hit. The right side started to flare (with random ass flares on the left as well) and at first I could withstand the pain, but it got worse and then I was put on Gabapentin and I gained 18 friggin' pounds! I couldn't stop taking it because I was in so much pain that the meds were keeping me sane. However, I kept having to increase the dose because the pain was getting worse and worse. I ended up taking the max dose and then one night the pain was so bad that I was sobbing on my bed and the thoughts of just taking a handful of the pills hit me and it scared me. I went to the ER the next day and they were so busy that I had to wait three hours in the waiting room while I was sobbing in pain in a chair while strangers kept staring at me because I was curled up in a fetal position in a chair sobbing my eyes out because I was in so much pain and it's breezy in there and that was making it WORSE! I knew from experience that I had to do the research myself because the doctors don't know crap about Trigeminal Neuralgia because it's rare and they don't know how to treat it (it's usually treated by a neurologist. But there are none in my county that take my insurance). So I gave the doctor my list of medications and told her that Oxcarbazepine worked well with Gabapentin and so she gave me enough to last me until I could get into see my PCP. And miraculously it WORKED! I was able to slowly lower my dosage of Gabapentin by HALF (I was taking 3600mg which is max dose. Now I take 1800mg) and take 900mg of Oxcarbazepine. And because I was able to drop my dosage of Gabapentin I've been able to drop 12 of the 18 pounds I gained, but the last 6 pounds just will not come off! I'm still having a flare. I still feel the pain in my face, but it's muted (mostly. Don't stick me in a breezy room or the pain worsens. And sometimes eating sets it off and makes it worse. And sometimes lying down sets it off too. Also, cold or hot things will sometimes set it off. Yeah, eating is not fun. At all. Also, I don't sleep at night because it flares worse at night). I'm supposed to be going to have acupuncture for my Trigeminal Neuralgia next week and my hope is that it'll fully take the flare away. I also FINALLY get to see a neurologist in three weeks though I have to drive two hours away to see one because no one near me takes my insurance. I have a sneaking suspicion that the flare is actually caused by my Mast Cell Activation Syndrome because I've been having more and more issues with rashes lately (though when my face originally started to flare in April my MCAS was fine. May and June too were fine, but this month my rashes have gotten bad and so has my joint pain which is caused by osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, which the fibromyalgia is suspected to be caused by the MCAS). To top it off I can't figure out why my face is so damn greasy. I mean I was using topical lidocaine on my face to help with pain management for my TN (in addition to the anticonvulsants, i.e the gabapentin and oxcarbazepine, I take over the counter stuff like Tylenol, Tumeric Curcumin, and Alpha Lipoic Acid to help with pain management) but I had an allergic reaction from overuse (I'm assuming) called Petechiae (which caused red spots on my eyelid) so I stopped using it, but my face has been super greasy every since. And I've been losing more hair lately almost like when I was in the weight loss phase of my surgery. I know it's one or both of the anticonvulsants, but I can't stop taking either one so I'm not sure what to do. So yeah. Just felt like venting my frustration. It's been a rough three months (almost four) and I just needed to unload. If you've read this far, thank you. If you have advice on the greasy face, hair loss, or how to lose the extra 6 pounds while taking two anticonvulsants that make it damn near impossible then please help! If you have any experience with Trigeminal Neuralgia or MCAS and have advice then please share that as well...

I think i would start off aggressively monitoring your calories using one of the many apps available. you will have to weight your food and pay attention to portion size etc. If you are legitimately getting the calories you think you are and are exercising as you indicate and still cannot lose, then that is a different story. Too many of us think we are eating X amount of calories but when we weigh it out and record every single bite, we realize it is a lot more than we thought.

As @Sleeve me alone! said elevated cholesterol levels is common post surgery. Mine went up too. It’s all the cholesterol being released into your body as you lose fat & the high protein diet (especially animal proteins) & lower vegetable diet add to it. My surgeon & doctor monitored it but it started to go down when my weight loss finally slowed & I was eating a more balanced diet in maintenance. It was always about 5/5.1 before surgery (not bad but not good), went up to 5.8 (danger, danger) & is 4.1 now (gold star 😉). Try swapping in some plant proteins & rolled oats into your diet & see if that helps while you are still losing.

You’d really know it if it was your gall. That pain is excruciating. I would have thought I was dying if I didn’t know what it was. Literally rolling on the bed in agony. Covered in sweat. Could barely get up & drag myself to get some pain meds. Not that they helped. The surgery was actually pretty easy. My surgeon used the same incisions he did for my sleeve so no new scars. No special diet after. Knew what to expect post an abdominal surgery but the gas pain was pretty bad but I had none with my sleeve. I wasn’t put on ursidol or similar. Which I’m actually glad about as the side effects aren’t the best: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, hair loss & we already had enough of those without making them worse. And you wouldn’t know if it was the meds or your recovery & weight loss causing or exacerbating them.

I have been to a few now, and they just look at me and say that it's probably because I'm obese. I need to lose weight before they consider any hormonal problems. That's why I was recommended to get a gastric sleeve. I think if I get rid of a large part of my fundus that this may hinder some ghrelin production and help with whatever hormone problems I may be encountering. At least, that's what my GP thinks.

My team (surgeon, dietician and exercise physiologist) were all very adamant that I don’t set my weight loss goals too low. I’m 5’4” and started at 223 (age 55). When I wanted to set my goal to 120 (based on a healthy BMI) they freaked out and said it was not a realistic goal. I was then encouraged to create “phase 1 and phase 2” goals, so I picked 160 and 140 pounds. I’m on week 14 and I have almost reached 160 pounds. I feel like 140 lbs is completely achievable. I will wait and see how I look and feel at 140 lbs.

I am still pre-op and hoping to have my surgery in October but it looks like it may be pushed to January or February. All the things you mentioned are huge fears of mine. I started at just over 300 and I'm 5'4". Currently I'm held back my weight because I can't run with my kids or join them at water parks (much more to mention) and take a lot of meds. However, I'm fairly active now. We walk 2 miles a day (I try to get 9000 steps a day) and there's always errands and practices to do with 4 kiddos. I'm tired all the time now but it's manageable. I don't want to become weak on top of constant fatigue especially since I have young kids and a husband. I have a high muscle mass ratio now and don't wanna lose that. I grew up on a farm and now live in town but still considered strong "for a woman." I don't want such saggy skin that I look much older or sick. These are some of things making me apprehensive about the surgery too. Everyone tells me it's still worth including family who have had wls. However, being constantly tired and weak worry me. Skin removal will not be option for me because we are on 1 income and budget closely to make that work. Surgery is already costing too much. I have OCD and worry my obsession/compulsion will transfer to my food. Thank you for your insight. I hope you find a good medium with your diet so you're not obsessively thinking about it. And please know you are still you. You still have all those amazing qualities. You just have to find yourself again after such a huge change. Your whole life has been rerouted and your brain has to accept it first. You were a workaholic and now your obsess over your food instead. You redirected your skills. Now find something else to direct it too such as a hobby or make food fun with new recipes so it doesn't seem like a chore. Sent from my SM-S115DL using BariatricPal mobile app

It depends on the description of the food you are tracking. The food logger you are using may have different names such as “beef, 80%, cooked”. Then the cooked weight matters. The labels on most packaged foods are for the uncooked weight, so the tofu would be weighed minus excess liquid from the packaging before you cook it.

Hi Everyone, My name is Lamora, and I'm considering starting my journey. I'm a bit on the fence, but I've read up so much on it, but I'm not sure if I qualify. I know my insurance doesn't pay for it though, so I'm considering doing a sleeve in Turkey (medical tourism). About me: I'm 5'2'' 230lbs. I asked my GP about my health status since I don't have any inclination towards anything, but he recommended I speak to bariatrics, but my insurance doesn't cover it, unfortunately, and I don't make enough for consult or nutrition consult. But I average a 1600kcal per day, and I work out 6 out of 7 days a week for around 60 min each day up to 2 hours a day. I actively run 5k's but I just can't seem to drop weight, which was why this has been suggested to me. I did an international trip when I was in college where they lock you up with a nutritionist and they feed you in a hospital and you work out on a CO2 machine, but no matter how much I ran or lifted I couldn't make the CO2 marks I needed to get. And my T3 and T4 are extremely off despite my TSH being borderline. My body temperature is a bit on the lower end at 92-94 F (33-34C). I kept gaining weight on 1800kcal a day with the nutritionist so I dropped back down to my normal 1600kcal a day and I got back to my normal 230lbs weight. The gastric sleeve was recommended for me since I've been having so many problems dropping weight, and when I run I'm starting to feel some knee and ankle pain as I inch closer to 30. I don't think I'm an emotional eater, but I could be wrong... But I do also have a lot of issues with my weight and overall self confidence because my family basically gave up on me. I'm just looking for support and opinions. I really appreciate it. And if anyone has any experience doing medical tourism/procedures and Turkey I would absolutely love your recommendations. Thank you!

For the first several months after my surgery, I really felt like I was mourning the loss of food. I used to love watching cooking shows like Top Chef, The Great British Baking Show, etc., and after surgery, I couldn't stand to watch shows like that, or even restaurant commercials, because I was so sad about these foods I could no longer eat. But eventually, I got to a point where I can (and do) watch and enjoy those shows without feeling that emotional loss. I can watch people make deep-fried pastries and not be sad that I couldn't eat them. I don't seek out that kind of food, though -- I actually kind of enjoy digging through Pinterest to find recipes that I can eat. It kind of feels like a win to find healthy recipes that taste good. I guess I would say I'm in maintenance. I didn't expect to lose as much weight as I did, because I started off bigger than most. I wasn't even sure I'd ever get below an obese BMI. Don't get me wrong -- I'm thrilled with my weight loss and grateful for this second chance at life, but It is such hard work, and the thought of having to keep working this hard for the rest of my freaking life just to not get fat again is exhausting! I feel like I can eat too much in terms of portion size, so I have to make sure to stick to really low-calorie foods, because I can't eat just one bite of something decadent and be full.

Yeah, when I was fat, my weight ruled my life. I was pretty boring then because I couldn't go anywhere or do anything without wondering if I would fit. I skipped a lot of things because I didn't have anything to wear and it was SO hard to find decent clothes in size 28. I did think a lot about food, but I guess I didn't mind that so much because it was mainly good thoughts -- like something delicious and decadent that I had in the fridge and I could look forward to eating -- whereas now, even though there are lots of healthy foods I truly enjoy eating, it's still mentally taxing to track everything I eat, analyze macros, and bargain calories (if I eat X, I can't have Y).

I actually don't talk about food or eating in "real life" because I haven't told anyone other than medical professionals that I had surgery. Not even my family knows. I spent most of my life being shamed for my body and my eating, to the point that even now that I'm a "normal" weight, I still hate for people to see me eat. I'm irrationally ashamed when someone walks into my office while I'm eating celery and calorie-free ranch dressing. I know that's messed up, but not sure it will ever change. And at the same time, I don't like calling attention to what I'm NOT eating, so I'm always nervous and uncomfortable in situations where there's food because I'm afraid people are going to ask why I'm not eating it.

I don't know where you are in Arizona, but I recommend Banner Estrella Weight Loss Center in Phoenix (101 and Thomas so West Valley but he also sees patients at Banner Gateway in Gilbert). I am 8 years post op sleeve from a surgeon in another state. Dr. David Podkameni is who is treating me. He is doing a hiatal hernia repair for me tomorrow. He is very knowledgeable.

Greetings, I am Kim.. 42 in central GA, mom of two older teen boys. Working on requirements for insurance. Hope to have sleeve surgery in October. Been working on the issues that for me to this weight (such as too much fast food, emotional eating etc) while I go through the steps for insurance approval. I want this surgery to be a success and not struggle as bad as I would without doing the work before surgery.

I have a question that I tried to find an answer to and just couldn’t get a clear one. I did email my nutritionist but it’s after hours and won’t here back until tomorrow. So in the meantime I thought I’d inquire here…. I was doing a little meal prep for the next few days and wanted to portion things out to 2ish ounces. I weighed and air fried some tofu…. Tofu is packed in a lot of liquid and even after pressing it there’s still a lot. Obviously the post air fry weight was considerably less, like almost half…. Now, the nutritional value is still the same, protein, carbs, fat etc. So if I weigh it after cooking and log it, it’ll give me the nutritional values for the cooked weight BUT shouldn’t I count the nutritional value of it uncooked? Thoughts? To add: I’m most just wondering about nutritional value here. I want to maximize my protein intake here and I don’t want to cheat myself.

Hi! I’m so sorry about your obstruction!! Holy moly! My surgeon said my sleeve failed me, as well, so I’m having the revision 8/8. Im not on clear liquids but I did start my liquid diet today! Im looking forward to moving on with my weight loss and getting rid of this horrible acid reflux!

That’s amazing. I am trying to gather documents from previous visits to doctors. I tried phentermine and glucophage for weight loss but didn’t lose much. Maybe that can show how I have been trying over the years.

Same here. My PCP put me on 6 months of Actigall and it seems to have done the trick. I'm 10 months out now, 4 months off the med, and no issues. From what I've read, it is VERY common to have gallbladder issues post-op, usually in the first 6 months to a year, during the most active loss. I haven't seen anything that indicates it impacts or inhibits weight loss, but it is often incredibly painful and if removal is necessary, it obviously requires another surgery.