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So today I am finally at 3 months post op. Here is what that means for me: I can stop taking lansoprazole...YESSSSSSS! I absolutely hate the taste of that thing and if I never have to take it again, it'll be too soon. I can start taking tablets again, meaning I can try my Forceval prescription vitamins. I have heard that these can make people feel quite nauseous, so I will wait an hour after eating in the evening to take it, rather than in the morning as I usually do. I am due for bloods to be taken via my GP, though I imagine I'll struggle to get an appointment! I just wanted to reflect on my journey so far, and where I am at now. It is weird how quickly this becomes your new normal. In the beginning with the gas pain, the extreme fatigue etc, I did wonder how I'd adjust, but here I am! I was shocked at how fast the weight dropped initially, and I know I will keep losing (hopefully) for a little while longer. I think we all go through this weird mindset of being overweight for such a while, and our bodies not responding as we had hoped to fad diets, or us punishing ourselves for 'not trying hard enough', that I truly wondered if the surgery would even work. And it has worked, and it will continue to do so! I am in the dreaded - but very expected - 3 month stall. My weight isn't really moving much, but I know that I just need to keep on with my normal eating and routine and it'll break eventually (thanks to reading all of the posts regarding this phenomenon 🤣) I can still get dizzy when I am exercising, and my strength at the gym has really decreased which I am a bit miffed about, but I'll get there! TMI incoming: but pooping is still an annoyance...the severe constipation I had in the early post-op weeks still results in some little tears when I pass a bowel movement, so I am dealing with my new normal 😂 Positives: I passed my driving test and I am picking up my car on Saturday! I really do attribute passing to losing weight, and how it has made me feel more confident and capable. I can walk around for hours and not have pain in my hips and lower back. Pre-surgery this was absolutely excruciating, even the 5-6 minute walk home from work I had to stop 2-3 times due to the pain and being out of breath. No such worries now! I can see the weight loss in my face, which makes me happy. I can fit into a pair of denim shorts that previously couldn't even make their way up my lower thigh! My current weight is amazing to me, even though I am not at my goal YET, I haven't been this weight since 2017. In general, I just feel happier in myself, and I can't wait for the future! If you have read all of this, thank you! ❤️

I posted this as another thread but has anyone tried to vacuum at a week post op? I have a light vacuum and it’s cordless so no bending. Just lifting it off the charger in the wall and then the expected pushing and pulling. I can probably just tell my hubby it’s really bugging me and I shouldn’t and get him to do it but I hate to ask him to do everything. I am kinda itching to get back to some sense of normal to be honest.

Tomorrow will be day 7 post op and I seem to be fine with waking around the house. It’s just getting up and down that cause me pain. That and reaching I just learned while playing cards. I have a pretty light vacuum (a cordless Dyson) and I’m wondering if I would be crazy to attempt it. Ironic because I would probably tell anyone else to let it go but it’s really bugging me. Maybe I should just ask my hubby to do it. Although I’m fairly sure after all these years that he is allergic. We don’t have traditional gender roles by any means but vacuuming has always seemed to be mine. Anyways, has anyone else done it or asked their Dr if it’s okay at a week out. My instructions just say no bending or lifting 15 pounds. It’s technically neither of those I don’t think.

I haven’t tried this yet but I just got another idea for a gadget that will come in very handy if it works like I think it will. A coffee mug warmer. For the broth and the cream soups for full liquid for sure. And maybe even the purée and soft stage since everything is supposed to be real moist. But At least for this soup stage because it just cools off so fast. The more I think about it this may not be as helpful for everyone with tiny tummies since you can only eat like 3 bites early out anyways. I am a little different since they didn’t operate on my stomach. Supposed to keep my portions small but I physically can eat more.

I will say that everyone around me told me the same thing. I told them EFF IT! yes I can lose the weight, I have dieted since I was 12, lost 100lbs only to gain it back, lost 60lbs gained it back, and the pattern continued. I also got the "oh you will just gain it back in 5yrs" I FINALLY decided that what I was doing was not working! I needed an extra tool! Ozempic, Wegovy and those meds were not for me and I did not like how I would have to rely on them and they were hard to get plus PRICEY! I am 35 now and I made the decision to do this right before my birthday. I was 297lbs, hard to wake up, couldn't walk without getting winded, couldn't play with my kids, hated myself for my inability to live life and be that wife and mother that my family deserved. I decided to make the appt and did not tell my family (minus my hubby) that I was going into surgery and here I am 6.5 ish months later, down 130lbs, exercising 1hr a day 6days a week, playing with my kids and having energy to spend time with the hubby, my life is SOOOOO much better. My only regret is not doing this sooner!!! Now my best friend is now sleeved and is having tremendous results! My mom (who was my skeptic) is now talking to her doctor about the bypass. This is the not the easy way out, this is a tool to help us live! I think you should what is good for YOU not for everyone else and don't listen to the haters! They aren't living a day in your life. They don't know the pain, the struggles and the worries you have. Best of luck!! ❤️

Great information for me to have. I am 3 days away from surgery and am looking for all the tips. As for the period, that is something I am terrified of happening. I don't have consistent periods and it seems like my luck it would start then. I hate that you experienced that, but I'm glad you shared the information. Hopefully they are as accommodating for me if that happens.

it's very common to have a 10-20 lb regain in year 3. It's not inevitable, but it's very common. And no, one day of bad eating when you're in maintenance is not going to affect your weight - I'm sure most of us long-timers have those days once in awhile. But if you go back to your old eating habits, you WILL gain a bunch of weight back (and maybe close to all of it). The trick is to be able to recover quickly from a bad day and get back to your regular plan ASAP (like...the next day). This is a lifetime battle (made easier by WLS, but still...a battle).

Hi everyone, I am 7 days post-op. Today, I was able to add 1 protein shake to my clear liquids. Taking it a little slower than normal to get my fluids where they need to be. My nurse advised me to go at the speed my body will allow. Tomorrow I will add the second protein shake and see how that goes. Maybe then I will be able to start adding some puréed foods. I was also advised to take my Levsin to prevent stomach spasms and Zofran for the nausea. Also taking Omeprazole. Holding off on the vitamins as they can cause nausea. As far as gas, it was mostly the first 3-4 days and now just infrequent burping. Because it is an inert gas, there is no smell. But the family found it hilarious. lol Getting up and down, and walking is getting easier. Believe me that is a great thing. The best tip from my nurse is that right now the full time job is getting in your fluids and walking.

Nickelchip im sorry I had to chuckle very loudly when you stated you could chew a peice of broccoli and be in agony. That is the same way I feel about chicken for some reason it feels like it gets stuck in my chest and I want to throw it against the damn wall. Some days me and chicken can have the perfect love affair. Ohhhhhhh heaven heaven is Brisket and again I'm with you! *sighs. This is my birthday week and I'm already fantasizing about the bar b q I will eat; To only get full on a few chomps 😡

It's not so much the particular foods I grieve, but I really miss not having to worry that something I eat will land wrong and make me sick. I used to have an iron stomach. Even through two pregnancies, I never had morning sickness. Now, I swallow a piece of broccoli that I only chewed 99 times instead of 100, even though broccoli was fine yesterday, and I'm in agony for an hour before it finally comes back up. But MsPretty, since you're from Texas you'll understand this one: I grieve brisket. I went to a local farm that does this amazing BBQ on the weekends and I was only able to eat 3 bites of brisket before I was full. So I took home the leftovers and I couldn't eat them because reheating the meat dried it out enough that it made me sick

I work 3 jobs. Based on the physical needs of one of them and the fact that I don't get regular breaks (it's retail, could you tell?), my doctor is putting me off for 2 months on that one. My other two jobs are both sedentary and both WFH, but he is still insisting I take a full 2 weeks off. I'm trying to work out an arrangement with my boss where I am off for a week and then can flex schedule the next week, clocking out whenever I need time to rest or whathaveyou.

thats exactly what I say! its way too much effort to go somewhere else, we have 3 kids, too messy, and plus I am the dating scene is not for me! HA!

My surgery got cancelled. We have no idea why. I got the notification on my portal app for my health plan so I immediatly contacted my surgeon's office because they have been going forward like I still have one. I was able to check the actual surgery schedule and sure enough I'm not on it. I'm beyond angry right now. I put in to have a whole week off of work next week that while I can definetly not take off, half of my team is going out of town for a conference so I would have to reschedule for the end of this month. That also sucks because I've pushed things out to the end of the month because I knew I would be in recovery. Now I have to somehow move them back and push other things. I want to scream.

@Singingbarista just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing? Only 2 more days till our surgery date! I’m nervous and excited, you? I’m not sure about anyone else, but this is the 1st day of my 2 week liquid diet (day 12) that I haven’t craved solid food. But I still don’t trust myself to go to the grocery store, I’m having my groceries delivered lol. It’s weird but I didn’t have a Pre-Op appointment… did anyone else not have to do one? I thought it was strange but it’s been a long time since I’ve had to go under the anesthesia.

still out here and hanging in there. gained back about 50 lbs of the 120 I lost after surgery but as of Feb 2024, been refocusing on my habits and so far I've lost about 18 lbs of that 50. overall I'm still happy I had the surgery as I'm healthier and more active then before. my annual follow ups were getting a bit hard to face but am hoping this year's goes better since I'm working back down towards goal weight instead of further from it. I've attached a pic of me pre surgery and a few months post surgery (pink shirt). the separate pic in the bright blue shirt was taken last week during my husband and i's anniversary trip to the mountains.

Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry that happened to you! I can't even imagine how shocking that must have been to do through, and miserable to experience! I hope they will cover the cost of your replacement bridge! What an awful time to be without it, when you'll have to be chewing SO thoroughly here soon! I've had that on my mind a lot lately -- I never got my top denture to fit right and pretty much had given up on it; and never even tried to get a lower. In order to nail this diet I'm going to have to either settle on eating mainly mush for a LONG time or get on the ball and go back to the dentist. Mt dental anxiety is real so not looking forward to that Glad you finally made it home, though! I'm a week post surgery as of today, and I'm still sitting here with an ice pack. I feel fortunate that my recovery wasn't quite as painful as that of some of you folks out there, but I can definitely feel the pull of the staples and tenderness if I stand too long. Walking hurts less than standing for too long doing something - Maybe it's the slight side to side movement instead of the forward movement? Either way, hope you're starting to feel better and continue to do so swiftly!

I completely understand your chaos and hope your surgery went well today! As to the constipation question - *absolutely* dealt with that during the liquid diet stage. I'm pretty sure it's the cutting out of almost all sugar and whatever they put in the protein shakes that does it. They had me taking 100mg of Colace twice a day during my liquid diet. I wanted to encourage you to ask for ice packs while in the hospital to help you manage your pain! I'm a week post op at home now and seem to have an ice pack against my abdomen probably 20 minutes out of every hour, still. It isn't that I'm hurting horribly, my pain is managed unless I stand for too long (NEVER would have thought merely standing long enough to cook breakfast would be so exhausting) but that ice pack and laying back at an angle is everything relief can be, at least for me personally. I'm very surprised I had to actively ASK for ice packs in the hospital; I wouldn't have thought to do so if I hadn't had a friend go through the same surgery and clue me in. Just remember the main thing about these surgeries is that there's a short road from your mouth to your belly afterward, and it has what I call a 'valve' toward the top of your stomach. You literally have to treat your belly like you would a baby and 'burp' yourself - walking helps, sitting upright and taking small sips, then rocking back and forth helps - but do NOT try to add more fluid until the tightness in your chest is relieved by a burp. It's like pumping gas into a car or like I said - burping a baby. There's a short tube from mouth to stomach and it only holds a few ounces. Until you burp and that tightness around your chest fades with the fluid being allowed to flow into your belly it literally is at maximum and efforts to drink more WILL make it come back up. I even waited to sip fluids if I knew I had to take medicine soon, to make sure I left room for the fluid it would take to get the pills down. Hopefully this helps you or someone else in recovery! I learned my lesson the first night after my surgery, one week ago - and the reflux / sicking up when I tried to go too fast did NOT feel good. I also 100% recommend getting up and slowly walking around as SOON as you can. THAT is what will make the pain start diminishing, because it rocks your body and works the gas they pumped in you for surgery back out. Best wishes! I hope it's going great for you! (ETA - Also, best wishes to your husband! I hope you two have someone on hand to help you out during your recoveries, and I will tell you from experience that it probably will feel like you're dropping more on the floor than ever before, simply because leaning down to pick it up would be painful! It requires discipline, especially if you tend toward being OCD like me, but trust me when I say trying to bend over to pick up a dropped 'whatever' is usually NOT worth it. Hugging an ice pack to your abdomen while you walk also helps tremendously at first.)

Hello there! I'm chiming in late but wanted to congratulate you on your victories so far and wish you well on your upcoming surgery! I just had a SADI surgery on August 5th - It is basically a sleeve + sleeve revision done initially, all in one go. I mainly wanted to give my opinion on your question regarding hobbies post-surgery -- I can only speak for myself, but being exactly one week out from surgery I can tell you that managing my fluids and getting to know my 'newly revised' body has been pretty consuming in and of itself! I'm so very, very tired of protein shakes but I will say the Premier have seemed to work best for me and offer the most variety so far, affordably. I don't know if your liquid diet has started yet, but if you have a great love for tomato, corn, peas, pineapple, celery, shrimp, artichoke, broccoli, cauliflower, rhubarb, Grapefruit, pasta, peanut butter, coconut, or steak this would be the time to enjoy them! According to my Bariatric guide, at least, those are considered cautionary foods for quite a while post-surgery. I also wanted to mention what has actually been the biggest help for me personally, as someone who also tends to over-prepare, triple-think, and struggles with both Anxiety and ADHD - there is an app called Finch that has proven to be an absolute life saver. I was feeling a lot of overwhelm leading up to the journey - and I took the long road, as you have, actually going ten months from start to surgery. I wasn't sure how I would actually follow through properly on the dietary restrictions, get myself more active, keep track of the vitamins, focus on the hydration -- and I also had to quit smoking and drinking alcohol. I have no advertising gain by mentioning this app by the way - lol - it has just helped me SO ridiculously much that I try to tell as many folks as I can about it. I was surprised when I mentioned it to my therapist that she already knew about it and said a lot of her patients use it. Finch is a silly game / task oriented app that has a free version which has worked out just fine for me so far. It kind of 'gamifies' making healthy choices, letting you customize your goals like drinking water, taking vitamins, getting out of the house, trying new activities, etc. There are different 'journeys' and 'goals' you can set for yourself - some of the ones I'm doing now are called 'New Year, New You' another one is 'Gratitude' and there is also 'So fresh, so clean'. The 'Nourish my Body' journey has really helped me evaluate the relationship I have had in the past with food and cultivate a better relationship with it moving forward. I know not everyone needs the same kind of encouragements that I do, but for me working through these pre-created goals, being given suggestions on how to interact more with my community, to think about what foods I do and do not enjoy, and prompt me to get more active have made a huge difference. Once you are recovered and looking for physically engaging activities I'd suggest exploring new hobbies like biking, geocashing, and nature photography. Even volunteering as a dog walker at your local humane society might be enjoyable. Best wishes!

Thanks for all your replies I was feeling as my weightloss wasn’t significant, I’m anxious to have a solid meal my surgeon had me on a 4week post op liquid diet and now I can move onto 2 weeks of puree then 2 week of soft food, his diet style seems strict and I’m just loosing motivation over here.. really trying though. Having an extremely difficult time meeting protein and liquid goals, it’s so much for one day when my stomach can only handle 2oz at a time!!

I don't think they do either, my partner is supportive and told me his attraction for me has not left. I asked if he preferred me heavier and he didn't say a peep. I followed up with, well I am not changing, because this is the new me and our kids deserve a mom who is healthy, not a mom who is 300lbs with a climbing weight and cannot keep up with them. He agreed, he just said its different. He met me heavier so me NOW is super new. We had to have a very very long talk, and its continuous but we have been working through it. I think the first 3-4months were the hardest, I lost weight really quick and it was a really big shock to everyone but especially him who touches me and all the things. Intimacy lacked for a bit, So I would agree that keeping that transparency is so important, also being selfish is important too right now.

I grieve the convenience of high fat/sugar/calorie foods. The ability to go anywhere with friends or family for a meal and not have to worry about 'will I be able to find something I can eat?' and cruising the menu online first. I grieve being able to go to my comfort foods for emotional comfort rather than having to actually work through it. Even though I'm happier, overall / in the long run, when I first sink into a bad mood that first little while is rough. I don't really grieve the particular foods themselves (yet?) -- but I think that's a mental block on my part at the moment; so many foods have been giving me problems that the idea of many food types make me feel ill, and the idea of anything greasy or fatty makes me downright nauseated. (Seriously, I had a conversation with my mother last week about pepperoni and her stomach issues when she eats pizza, and just picturing pepperoni had me breathing through my nose trying not to gag lol) (I do grieve that on excruciatingly hot days at work, when the guys make a run for iced-capps , there's no soothing ice slushy to make my afternoon more bearable.)

Got my date August 23,I’ll be having the sleeve. Currently 258.8. I do plan on doing all liquids the week of, I’m only recommended to do liquids the day before. I’m nervous but excited 🤞🏼

Weight loss calmed down this week - 1.5lbs. No complaints though after the losses of the week before 🙂 Feeling tired today. Visited family yesterday, 6 hours all together sat in a van and my knees are so unhappy with me. It was our first time to our son’s new home which is a longer drive than his previous place. Will try and be better prepared next time. At least we spent time with the grandkids, which is always wonderful. A NSV yesterday…I bought some (non-stretchy) 3/4 cropped jeans a couple of years ago for £5, telling my daughter-in-law that I would fit in to them eventually. I broke them out yesterday, took the tags off and they fit perfectly!! 🥳🥳 The only downside was that it was far too hot for denim but the point was made 🙃 However DIL recognised them yesterday and was really pleased for me. Hubby has been a bit weird lately. Don’t get me wrong, still as massively supportive as ever but the ‘you will probably leave me when you lose weight’ comments have popped out more than a couple of times. Why do blokes always use this?? I did remind him that I didn’t leave him when I lost weight previously so why would I now? Do they think we’re only with them because we’re too fat to bother looking elsewhere? Jeez, I haven’t got the energy for anyone new, never mind all the stuff you generally do at the beginning of a relationship like shaving my legs or wearing matching underwear 🙄 Anyway, physio for knees tomorrow and Bariatric support group at the hospital on Wednesday. Have remembered to dig out my food diary to complete this week, ready for the dietitians appointment next week. Have a slimmer week everyone, we deserve it 🥰 Onwards and downwards!

Hi. I’m also 4 weeks pos-op and I have lost 19 lbs. I had the sleeve as well.

@AndreaJD your advice about the weight loss discussion with others is great! I’m definitely using that one and thank you!! Good luck on your surgery tomorrow, like you said, eyes on the prize! @Justarwaxx mine is on the 14th too!! Are you doing the Gastric Bypass as well? I’ve been told I’ll only be in the hospital 1 night… we shall see. Omg, my husband ate pizza for dinner… he was at least nice enough to eat it in another room, but still… i could almost kill for a piece. But again, eyes on the prize. I keep having to remind myself. 2 more days of this and then my life is changing. All our lives are changing for the better, which makes it worth it. You guys stay strong and good luck this week, I know a lot of us are on the roster this week. Be strong and positive vibes everyone!! I look forward to hearing from everyone after their surgery, keep us updated!!