Search the Community

I just finished my two weeks of these and initially when I was told I totally panicked. I was basically told to stick in the lower belly, I noticed the fattier the area the smoother the needle goes in. The burning sensation isn't fun, but it lasts about 30 min and leaves the area tender. I despise needles so I feel your pain!

I’m brand new to my sleeve but already I’m feeling what you are saying. Most people know I had a hiatal hernia repair, only very limited few know I had a sleeve done at the same time. Most people also know that I have been working with a nutritionist to try to reverse my fatty liver and that I have been eating differently even before the surgery. Since coming home from the hospital - I keep getting calls like “how are you feeling? When you’re up to I’ll stop by with a jello cake or cheese cake”. Or some other comfort food I couldn’t have had even if I had not been sleeved. Or even offering to bring me a meal. Which is very sweet … but then I need to explain that I’m on a limited diet for a few weeks while I heal and they understand - but they don’t get. I’m nervous about going forward. I’ll be back to a normal diet with smaller portions around the holidays… and I’m scared silly how to navigate those gatherings. That aunt that always comments about your eating (too much or not enough). Hopefully I will have lost a noticeable amount of weight by then - to which that same aunt will be over the top about noticing. I may still be too new to have the “what have I done moment”… I certainly wish I had done it sooner. I’m not sure how I can help - but I’m here if you need moral support! Best of luck. I have no doubt that we’ve got this!

I went into my surgeons office expecting her to want me to choose bypass because of my hi bmi and the fact I’m already taking Pepcid for reflux. She reviewed my medical history and asked me what I wanted. My reply to her was “after reviewing my medical history and your vast experience, what would you recommend for the most successful outcome for me”. She smiled and said I’m so glad you asked me that. Given my high BMI, if my goal was weight-loss alone she would have recommended Duodenal Switch. Then she went over the reasons why she doesn’t recommend that at this time. She then explained why she wouldn’t recommend a bypass for me. And then explained why she would actually recommend the sleeve for me. I was actually relieved because I really preferred the sleeve because of the lower risk and complications out of the three. She told me if I wanted to convert to the DS later we could. But if I put the work in and used my new tool to it’s fullest advantage - I might find that to not be necessary. My husband and I were both on board with what she was saying so that’s the direction we went in. She did a hiatal hernia repair at the same time as my sleeve so the hope is I will be able to transition off of the meds for reflux at some point, but if I can’t so be it. And down the road if I feel like we need to go with another option that’s open to me as well. I’m not really looking forward to another surgery - so I’m hoping this is it. Only time will tell. You have time to decide. No two people have the exact same outcome - so the best anyone can tell you is look at all the information and make the best choice for you. Best of luck.

i am going to be getting the sleeve in late sept or early october. i decided against bypass because of outcomes of people i know. 2 people i know had sleeves with no big complications (very minor issues like nausea directly after surgery) and two more that had the equivalent of a sleeve for ulcers with the same positive experiences … all four of them kept the weight off but i also know 3 people who got bypass (different places/surgeons) and all three have had complications that keep sending them back to the hospital and have developed major nutritional problems and health issues from those too and, honestly, all three of them ate their way back to 3/4 of their original weight… (they are all from different areas of the country too!) reading medical literature i know the sleeve is better for me because i feel it’s safer, less drastic and has less inherent problems… but only you know what is right for you! there are successes and “failures” on both sides… educate yourself and make the best decision for you

I had that ultrasound on my legs done about a month after surgery due to pain and swelling in one leg. They thought possible deep vein thrombosis which is a complication after any major surgery. (which is why we get blood thinner injections in the hospital and some get it for weeks after surgery) and that scan was so uncomfortable lol. They put a lot of pressure on that probe lol. But everything came back good. Tho i did not have that scan pre surgery

Hi. Congratulations on your surgery today. I'm excited for you. My surgery date is August 27th. I would love to hear about your 2 week pre op diet and how that went for you. I am just at 7 days in and I've only lost 5 pounds. I'm so discouraged Sent from my SM-G986U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

The stalls are the WORST! Congrats on your weight loss though!

I have been stalled for a couple months now. I lost 113 pounds and coming up on a year. I am trying everything...increased exercise, increase protein, more water, less water.....maybe I am just at my new setpoint.

Oh my! That is frustrating! My scale has stood still for 3 days, so I suspect that I am now in a stall as well!

So I am new to the forum, planning to have gastric bypass. Finally have cleared all the hurdles Stress Test Psych Eval Sleep Study (started bi-pap two weeks ago) Colonoscopy (had hot had one even though I'm 58) Met with Dietician Met with the surgeon yesterday and he said everything is good to go, needs to get authorization from the insurance company and then schedule the surgery. Looking like sometime in October.

Body dysmorphia is real. Don’t be surprised if it takes a long time for your head to catch up with the physical reality. Three years on I still sometimes stare in mirrors surprised by how I look & can find it difficult to accept when people comment on my size. It is much better than it was though I sometimes wonder if my thinking is because I’m afraid to jinx the loss if I recognise my size now. You have to remind yourself that your clothes don’t lie. Smaller sizes, clothes that are too big, rings slipping off your fingers, etc. are all factual evidence you can’t ignore that you are losing weight. As to cleaning out your wardrobe, you’ll find a time you’re ready to do that. It’s sort of the reverse of when we kept smaller sized clothes for when we lost weight & didn’t. Maybe start with just the older clothes that are too big & you likely wouldn’t wear again anyway. Even if the first step is to remove them from your wardrobe & bag them up. You can donate them or whatever when you’re ready. You’ll get there in your time.

I’d think you’d still have plenty of time. While you may lose more quickly at the beginning after a bypass, it slows just like with a sleeve. The stats around average weight loss at about three years for sleeve & bypass are both about 65% of the weight they had to lose. (You’re really just talking about a few pounds of difference.) Just like there are people who don’t meet their goals with a sleeve there are people who don’t with bypass. Same with meeting their goals or exceeding. The amount of weight you lose is highly dependent upon where your basal metabolic rate resets as a result of the surgery. This is the weight your body is happy & settles at. Before surgery I could diet to 60kg but every time I would bounce back to 75kg & would sit there - that was where my base rate sat (until menopause began & it became 91kg). Then there are factors like age, gender, general health, medications, lifestyle, & the effort & breadth of changes you are willing to make & maintain to how & what you eat & activity you do. Probably best to sit down with your surgeon & have a conversation as to what they advise based on their experiences & those of their patients & your needs & situation. All the best which ever surgery you chose.

I’m a slow eater (30-60mins). One of the reasons I eat slowly is to get my serving size (calories, nutrients) in. I found it was on the only way to stop myself losing. In saying that if I don’t need the next bite of food I won’t have it so there are many times I don’t eat all my meal. I never eat more than the correct portion of food & I never eat just because it’s on my plate. I also eat pretty much to a routine in terms of the times I eat. I may skip a meal or snack if i’m not hungry, but I don’t add meals or snacks. Honestly, it has got harder to do this as time’s passed so it is something I work at every day. How do you know your tummy is empty? Is it just that you ‘feel’ hungry? If so, it could be like @Spinoza suggested: not real hunger. If you’ve eaten a recommended portion size of a meal & are getting in all your protein & other required nutrients, you shouldn’t be hungry. We don’t have to keep food in outer tummy stall times. It does perfectly fine being empty. Are these old habits, thinking, etc, raising their head. That’s the down side of surgery. It removes some of your tummy but doesn’t remove why we ate the way we did. Are you still in contact with your surgeon, dietician, therapist? May be worth some conversations to work out what’s going on. All the best.

I did keto as my pre surgery diet (2.5 weeks) but had no keto flu symptoms or withdrawal symptoms of headaches, etc. I was a little surprised though was already low caffeine so that helped a lot. At about 5 weeks post surgery I started having the ketosis body odour issues, low energy & brain fog. I lost about 5kg pre surgery (11lbs). I didn’t continue the keto eating plan after surgery because I had read some articles saying it wasn’t best as a long term way of eating & also my dietician advised it was a good way to kick start your loss but shouldn’t be continued. I was glad because I didn’t like the high fat aspect of keto & it never sat well with me. She & I both agreed on following a balanced diet making slight adjustments as best suited me, my body & needs. I am lowish carbs (focus on low processed multi & whole grains only) but & am lowish fats. I don’t track macros so I couldn’t tell you exactly how much my lowish is. I eat two serves of carbs a day vs the recommended 4 serves for someone my age. This does not include the carbs in vegetables, etc. This is what works for me. You may need something totally different.

Watch this brief YouTube. It's a great explanation for the scale stall.

Hello Arizona_Guy! Saw your post and have been meaning to reply. I’m in Phoenix and after going back and forth on options available to me to assist in managing my weight, I decided on the ESG (I used Plication here because ESG isn’t offered in the surgery drop down!) procedure. I learned that Dr Rahul Pannala / Mayo Clinic is a leading Gastroenterologist with many subspecialities who has also been working in the bariatric field. I met with him and his team and felt very comfortable and at ease with them. From my first consultation thru my procedure I heard from someone on the team: the dr, nutritionist, nurse for my procedure prep etc. weekly. They answered all my questions and Dr Pannala patiently talked thru some last minute anxiety issues I was experiencing 2 days before my date! I was extremely fortunate in that when I first had my consultation on June 21, I was advised that my procedure date would likely be in August, possibly even September. I lucked out because Dr Pannala had a surgical cancelation so I was able to get my July 29 date! I know, suhweet! The pre-procedure protocol isn’t too bad, apply anti-nausea patch night before, clear liquids 1 day before (I did 2) and that was it. I weighed in at 195.4 the morning of the procedure, 202.8 when I returned home some 6 hours later, lol. Since home I was on clear liquids for the first two days and have been on protein shakes and taking Liquid IV thru last Sunday. Sunday afternoon I made my tasty chicken veggie soup and have been having that puréed for one of my meals each day this week, the rest protein shakes. I typically have one premade and one homemade, gotta switch it up! So, that’s where I am now. I am feeling very good about it all and believe I made the right decision for myself. If you have any questions, Arizona_Guy, ask away!

OK, I feel a bit better to know that people can stall this early. I hope it won't last long. I weigh myself every day and have done for a long time. The only times I stop weighing myself is on vacation, or if I'm overeating and in wilful denial.

Hi Everyone, This forum is so helpful. Im 3.5 weeks post op and while i was cutting up a salad for my kids i had some chopped tomatoes. I must say i tolerated it better than cottage cheese. Is it an issue to eat chopped tomatoes (without peel) or soft mango even if officially its not on the food group allowed yet? Is there a risk that my stomach will stretch or something? I would love some clarification on that. Thanks so much!!

Hello everyone! I am scheduled for a gastric bypass on August 24… One more week… Prayers for everyone!

Post op diet Do not eat anything not on the list Stage 1 weeks 1and 2 2-3 protein shakes, clear broth 1 SF jello and 1 SF popsicle Stage 2 weeks 3 through 8 2-3 protein shakes, pureed lean protein, eggs, soft cheese, beans, zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms. Stage 3 months 2 through 6 same as stage 2 but added in more non-starchy vegetables, cheeses, non-cream soups, limited fruit. Stage 4 Maintenance stage for life. Begins only after weight loss goal is met. Same as stage 3 but added in limited amount of grains and expanded fruit. Lessen the dependence of protein shakes.

That's exactly when I stalled out for a week. I had lost about 10 pre-op & 9 post op so I was trying not to kick myself too hard. it's been almost a week since I hopped back on the scale. It's currently shark week for me so I was waiting till it ended to hop on again since I tend to be heavier. My doctor told me not to watch the scale too hard in the first month anyways.

Great goals. I'm actually a big fan of bodyweight exercises and bands, but if that's not for you and you want to start with dumbbells, that's great too. Here's the thing, as a beginner, there is no wrong routine for you. Whatever you do will be beneficial. As far as what exercises to do, you can google stuff and find some great ideas there. Some of what you'll find is great, and some is not so good. To sort out the good from the bad, start by making sure it's from a reputable source. Next, look for routines that focus on these three things: Make sure they are working your you upper body, your lower body, and your core. Make sure there are both pushing exercises and pulling exercises for your upper body. For example, a chest press, matched with a bent over row. By making sure they have both, it gives you a better overall workout, helps prevent muscle imbalance, which in turn helps prevent injuries. If you see a routine that does not have both, that's a big red flag. Make sure they explain how to do the exercise and what correct form looks like. Most people that hurt themselves doing strength training, do so from bad form. Now that said, let's talk a bit about sets and reps. A set is when you do all the exercises for that session one time. Many routines have you do more than one set. Three is the most common, but depending on the goal, it could be one to five or even more. A rep is the number of times you do a single exercise before you move to the next exercise. The challenge here is that the ideal way to build muscle strength vs. muscle stamina are a bit different. Typically for strength, you want a really heavy weight and you'll do ~6 reps for 3-5 sets. If you're able to do all the sets at 6 reps, then the weight is too light and you should progress to a higher weight next time. For muscle endurance, you'd ideally use a much lighter weight and do maybe 3-4 sets at 15-20 reps. The same applies here as well, though. If you can do them all, it's time to up the weight, do more reps (maybe up to 25), or add another set. You should feel like you did real work when you are done. There is a sort of compromise that you could take as well (and honestly, this is what most people do), that doesn't strictly focus on strength or endurance per se, but is good for both. That would be to do roughly 3 sets at 6-12 reps. Once again, if you can do an exercise at 12 reps for three sets, it's time to up the weight. Keep in mind also here that what works for a while may stop working at some point. Every now and again, you need to change up the routine you are using and try a completely different program. I'd say probably every 12-18 week at most, move to something else. It could be dropping the dumbbells and moving to bodyweight, bands, kettlebells, barbells, or just varying the routine. For example, instead of 3 days a week, maybe you move to 4 days a week and separate out upper body from lower body work (2 days of each). This type of variation is key to long term success. Enough for now, but I hope this helps. Also, sorry for the novel, but I'm passionate about strength training and guess I got carried away!

I only had the surgery a week and one day ago, so I think that's too soon for a stall?

My had it listed as ok or I wouldn’t have - that and low fat cream soups … but I stuck with the tomato. That was the only real difference from the pre-op diet for me. I stay on liquids for a week, then transition to purées.

The binder helps hold the abdomen tight which helps with pain. I took it off for the first time since surgery when I got into my own bed. It was very bunched up from sitting in the car and at the table and uncomfortable. But when I’m getting up and moving around it helps keep my skin from pulling. Mushroom soups sounds yummy! And to answer your question - yes I’m worried to that I won’t loose weight and I’ll mess this up. How far out from surgery, are you possibly in a stall?