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Thanks MikeC19 for the post. I start my pre-op diet on August 15th and super nervous! Mine is two full weeks! What does your diet look like?

I have PCOS and my periods were irregular. MY cycle was 6-8 weeks. After surgery, I had my period for like two weeks in the first month. Now I'm spotting but I I have minimal PMS symptoms. I'm about 10 weeks post op.

I think you should get the surgery done. I was sort of in similar boat few YEARS ago. Basically I finally build the courage to go with the surgery and started my research and started to lose some weight I think it was 40lbs and then though oh if I can lose this much I don’t need surgery. I was wrong. Soon I hit a stall and to move the stall I was told to have some extra carbs and calories and then it was just so hard. I regret not getting the surgery. so few years later I’m back on researching gastric bypass and scheduled my seminars at 2 hospitals.

Thank you! I was having issues with the band, and that's why the surgeon was suggesting the bypass. I've heard of some sleeve patients that had revisions to the bypass. I think I'm just leery of the whole rerouting. I wish you much success, you only have 4 weeks! Please stay in touch and let me know how you like the bypass as opposed to the sleeve. I have an appointment with my surgeon on September 5th. I'll let you know what he suggests! *September 1st, not 5th.

Welcome!!!! I had the sleeve in 2018 and now getting a revision to a Bypass at the end of August. Personally I wish I got the Bypass in the very beginning. I have severe GERD and a twist mid stomach of my sleeve. I started the revision process March of 2021 and now getting the surgery. It was a long process because they have a program for revision patients called "Back on Track" and it requires 12 weeks of dietitian visits.

Currently on Pre-op Diet and I lost 8 then stalled a day and now I'm up an lb. I'm assuming water weight but of course, It was frustrating seeing the scale go back up. Our bodies are so weird in how they work!

Thanks for the input. I’m only a few weeks post op. So I’m really looking at my Protein amounts closely. This helps.

I have Aetna Choice POS II and it paid for everything connected to my bypass three years ago (aside from my annual deductible). They did require six months of a structured weight loss program. I had finished one six months earlier (a last-ditch effort to lose weight), and they counted it even though it wasn't right before surgery. I would also note that Aetna turned me down the first time and my surgeon had to call them directly before they finally approved me. Good luck. It's worth it, no matter how long it takes to get approved!

I am on the Depo shot since 2017, so its been yearsssssss since I had a period. Surgery did not change that for me. However, those few weeks post-op, maybe 6-8 weeks, I was extremely emotional. I was tired, crabby, sad, and overly sensitive. Thankfully, I knew to expect it and had given my family a heads up. They gave me lots of space and I took lots of naps. Since then things have leveled out and I feel like myself again.

I'm actually quite proud of how much I work out, since I work out with all the other med students and we try to put compete each other. So, it must be the food. That's a good idea. I usually just eyeball it then log it into MyFitnessPal. I did a have a good run a few years back when it all started back sliding. I lost around 60lbs, and it stalled and started going back up despite me eating the exact same meals I did before. I'm a yoyo dieter type of person. And my friends think I have a high set point. But I'll try to remeasure the food. Thank you for your advice!

I am doing well with the liquid diet. I have lost 3 more pounds and the last few days. I have a few questions. Can anyone e tell me how many ounces at a time are normal for your first week after surgery? I am trying to plan ahead. Sent from my SM-G991U using BariatricPal mobile app

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 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...

Ok, you ate something you probably shouldn’t at this stage but you realise this & that’s the positive. And yes, some people do slip at any time as they’re progressing so you’re not alone. The real question is what are you going to do next time? This is a great learning opportunity. Why couldn’t you resist the nachos? Was it something you wanted? Was it out of habit? Was it because others were eating? Did you need to eat? Was it your lunch or dinner time? Etc. Once you’ve worked out why you can start thinking about how you can manage this or similar situations in the future. Like, next time I go to the movies I’ll drink water or tea or I’ll sneak in a shake, some jerky or string cheese, etc. Eating nachos now while you’re losing isn’t a great idea but in the future sure you may be able to have some but you’ll work that out. PS - Actually you didn’t skip dinner. A shake is a meal replacement so you still had a meal. Just something to watch if you are on a three meal a day plan but plans are different.

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 cannot believe that the we have such similar stories! I also went to Park Nicollet first. The dietician was overly focused on my previous eating disorder, even though I completed two years of intense therapy and group BED therapy. She wanted me to resume therapy and postpone surgery. I also went home crying. I scheduled a new consultation with Ridgeview Clinic three weeks later and successfully had sleeve surgery two months later. It’s crazy the amount of hoops some doctors make their patients jump through. I am so thankful that I ditched Park Nicollet, lol.

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!

Hi all, I’m scheduled for my consult in a week with Dr Sanborn. After doing a fair amount of research I’ve decided I want the sleeve. Can anyone tell me what the steps are for me to complete to be scheduled so I can get a jump on it

Ok so I have been having bowel movement every 4-5 days and todays Bowel movement I had to put a lot of pressure and when I passed the stool, I had an excruciating pain in the rectal area. What should I do? Should I continue start taking the softener? When will this issue end? Is it because I’m taking multi vitamins with IRON? My doctor told me stop taking mult vitamins with iron for. a week. My fiber intake bas been low because I’m avoiding grains and beans. Should I start taking fiber supplements? I have equate prebiotic fiber supplements I can take? Please help. Pain is very bad. I just applied some preparation it’s not helping. Maybe I’ll try witch hazel wipes. Did anyone go through this? Any suggestions?? Thank you so much. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

congratulations! yes the hunger will go away. Are you having the sleeve or bypass? I had the bypass on November, and my hunger shut down for 2 weeks. Now i feel "hungry" but not like before, and a protein shake shuts it down. Its all mental and it is easy as you progress, good luck!!! Sent from my SM-G973U using BariatricPal mobile app

thats interesting, never thought about that, but the first thing i thought about was, its gonna back you up even faster. My dietician says the high protein does that. Im 8 mos out RNY, and thats my biggest struggle. I take daily stool softener along with laxative 2 times a week. Sent from my SM-G973U using BariatricPal mobile app

Like what? What would you (or did you) get rid of? I'm actually pretty good at being efficient -- one of my strengths, I think, is finding better, faster, easier ways to do things. I'm mainly talking about my job, but even at home, I'm always looking for better ways. I do a lot of meal prep, which is easier with a bariatric diet, since one meal often makes 10-20 servings. I time myself chopping vegetables and challenge myself to go faster than last time. There are a lot of tradeoffs between time, cost, and quality, and I increasingly lean toward things that save time even if they cost more or aren't as good (like paying someone to clean my house and buying prepared pico de gallo instead of making it from scratch). But I still feel like I am drowning and there are never enough hours in the day, and I can't help but think how nice it was when I didn't exercise, to have 10 extra hours a week.

Diet modification can work well.. mine increased once and I added regular oatmeal twice a week for a few months and it brought it down to normal.

I did not even know they still did the balloon. But with any surgery it takes time to heal. I was no where near the 64oz after my gastric sleeve It took me several weeks to get enough water in. even now 3+ months post op but now its more of having to remember to drink water,. If you keep having issues i would call your surgeons office to get advise.