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2.5 weeks post-op. 3rd day on soft foods. So many people say they have no interest in eating anymore. I am not that person. Still look forward to every meal.

Yay! So glad you’re feeling good. I look forward to this. I took short term disability and have 6 weeks off so at least I’m off work struggling through this

So far I have slowly made changes to 1.)only eating fast food maybe once a week. I would have it 5+ meals a week last year. 2.) reducing most processed foods (nothing is off limits, but if it’s not healthy, be mindful of the portion) 3.) not eating when not hungry 4.) I used to drink a glass of sweet tea a day, dropped that to occasional - drinking water or unsweet tea almost exclusively except for my weekly Margarita:) I am on a diabetic medicine which has helped with the process because it has changed the way my stomach processes food and helped me to make the lifestyle changes now. Thanks to that I have lost 50 already and hoping to loose more by the time for surgery. my next step is to try to do a test run on the pre op diet so I can not have my eating issues complicate matters when time comes (which hopefully will let me loose more) it’s a journey I want to be success at so bad!!

They have not suggested this yet but him and I have talked about it and we feel like if they don’t find anything during this next EGD that it may possibly be the next step. I have been doing lots of research on my own and since his surgeon suggested there may be Nerve Damage that’s been a topic that I’ve been really trying to investigate. I have read that there’s a nerve called the Vagus nerve that comes from the base of the brain/brain stem that branches out like a tree and runs to all your major organs. The heart, lungs, stomach, large and small intestines kidneys and liver. I’ve read that depending on where that nerve is damaged would determine what part of the body and organs it would affect. He hurt his back in 2015 and our stupid ER Doctors sent him home saying he had a pulled muscle. We found out after his gastric bypass surgery (last year 2021) by his Surgeon that his back had actually been broken. So I am really wondering if this could have caused damage to the left Vagus Nerve and is what is causing his problems. Even his lung problems because after he injured his back is when all his health problems started. He started having migraines 2015), lung/breathing problems (2017), and the GI problems (2019). His surgeon has stated that he was at a loss with him and wants to send him to a Neurologist; however, Covid had things messed up for a while and now the surgeon has had a change in hours, locations, and staff. He even has a different Nurse so when we’ve called to find out if he’s sent a referral and what’s going on no one seems to know what we are talking about. We’ve yet to see a neurologist. He has spoke to his family doctor and instead of sending to a neurologist he has sent him back to his GI doctor who wants to do another EGD. So now we are in the process of having to get clearances again from his pulmonologist and his heart doctor (he doesn’t even have heart problemS but when he got sick with his lungs he had to start seeing one and has had 4 heart caths since 2017 and all 4 have been clear), now they want to do another stress test, another blood gas, and more blood work to clear him for the EGD. We live an hour and a half away from the pulmonologist and heart doctor. His GI ordered a stomach emptying test which makes the 3rd one and he couldn’t even finish it because he couldn’t hold down the radioactive eggs, since he threw them up the test was incomplete and they sent us home. Waste of time and gas. It makes no sense to me to send someone who can’t hold down a bite a food at all to have a stomach dumping/emptying test done that requires you to eat a small portion of a food. This is a 4-6 hour test and 20 mins in he’s thrown the tablespoon of radioactive eggs back up. Makes no sense at all. He has 12 appointments by the end of the month just to get cleared and have everything done before the EGD. I realize they have to be safe and the clearances are important but my husband is literally starving to death, malnourished, losing hair, teeth are in very poor condition, money is low, gas prices are high and these appointments are an hour and a half away and he needs answers now not 3 weeks from now. I don’t understand why they just keep redoing all the same tests over and over and over again. Instead of getting him in with a neurologist and atleast ruling that out. I feel like I am the only person who’s actually trying to figure this out and the doctors just want more money, more money, more money. My husband is a wonderful man. He’s been my best friend for 30 years but we’ve only been together as a couple for 3 years and only been married 2 years. He’s always been the strongest person I’ve known so to hear him say he doesn’t know how much more he has left in him or how much longer he can survive with no nutrition is unimaginably devastating. I hate even eating in front of him. I hate seeing him eat 4-6 bites of something in an hour time frame and then throwing it with in 5 minutes but most of the time it’s 1 or 2 bites and he’s pushing the food away holding his stomach and running to the bathroom just to throw it up. This is scary and hard and I just want to help him. I want to fix it for him and I can’t. I refuse to give up till I find the answer but I’m no doctor. That’s why I am here trying to find someone else who may have been through the same thing or something similar. I honestly think they probably should have already placed him on a feeding tube but for whatever reason they haven’t. Thank you so much for your reply. I apologize for writing a book in response to you. I guess I needed to vent and cry to someone. I just wish they would have done a more thorough assessment and job and found out what was wrong before they made his stomach the size of a walnut. I also wonder if the part of the stomach that they cut off and left in there is what is causing all this? It still has blood supply and nerves running to it so could that be the whole problem? Thank you for your time, reply, and for listening.

Thanks for your comments. Yes, I've stayed on the straight and narrow for almost a week now. Thanks for the info.

Congratulations! 20 weeks post surgery and am on the tail end of experiencing the worst hairfall episode of my life. I feel like im balding. I dont think I have enough hair to last this part of the journey. I’ve only lost 70lbs. I’ve been quite good with the food, not so much with the daily movement. I’m losing about 2lbs per week on average now. Will be meeting with my surgeon at the end of October. Hopefully I can meet their target and lose another 25lbs by then. what is everyone doing about the loose skin and hair loss? I’ve started scalp treatments, drinking collagen, using firming oils. Not sure if they will work though. Im afraid that it’s a case of too little too late.

@doobie31 Same here but I know I am doing all the right things so I am not going to stress about it. I’ll probably just stay off the scale for a few days and let it ride. I guess my body just needs to catch up with all of the changes in the last few weeks. The image @acopas shared is one I have seen other successful WLS people post. We got this!

I see this image shared often on other support sites about the 2-3 week weight loss.

This doesn't sound like dumping to me. More like your pouch asserting it's finnicky approach to food. There are days when even something that has been on my diet for weeks on end will suddenly just fail. It happens. Eventually you will become aware of the subtle signs (like throwing up) that indicate this meal is going to be a problem. I find my pouch is going to be most finnicky at breakfast. I don't know why particularly but I have theories which I won't delve into. You're welcome. Good luck, Tek

Something I swore to myself before going into surgery (among many other personal goals) was that I'm going to not even try to care about the number and I'm definitely not weighing every day. I figure that if I continue to follow my surgeons and my nutritionists instructions, the weight will come off in due time. I am starting to slow down in weight loss and have started week 5. As a "lifer" to weight loss struggles, I've learned that our bodies know what to do and if it means holding onto a few pounds for a few days for energy or whatever, as long as I am doing what I am supposed to do, my body will work with me and do what it needs to do. I knew the weight loss would slow down after the first couple or few weeks and I'm fine with that. As long as I don't gain a bunch back, I am moving in the right direction. Also keep in mind that if we aren't losing pounds, we are losing inches. Typically we don't lose both at the same time. Additionally, if we are exercising, in a way that builds muscle mass, the pounds may not seem to be coming off when in fact, those pounds are showing up in the form of muscle mass which weighs a lot more than fat. Keep your chin up! You are doing awesome! Don't worry about the dumb scales. If your clothes are getting lose and you feel good, then you are definitely moving in the right direction! 🤗❤️

Hey everyone. So I'm in my fifth week post OP and have been doing extremely well with food choices, slow eating, careful chewing, and sticking within the parameters my nutritionist and my doctor have given me. This morning, I tried eating an over medium egg (cooked whites, soft & runny yolk) over the shakshuka I have been eating all week for breakfast. (It is a pureed form of shakshuka with sausage that I've had zero trouble with over the last week.) I keep seeing that dumping syndrome seems to be only related to too much sugar. Since I'm not a sweets fan, that's not a problem for me. However, after just throwing up most of what I just ate, and it being the first time it's happened the entire post OP time, I'm curious if dumping syndrome can include things that our new tumtums just don't want? I may have eaten too fast. The yolk could have been too undercooked (I've been doing soft but cooked yolk up until this morning), or maybe even it was too much food? It was about and ounce and a half of pureed Shakshuka with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese and an egg cooked over medium, (no frying so no oil..just a small egg sized non stick pan and then a bit of warm water to help cook the whites) and that's it. I started feeling flushed with sharp belly pains (not just where baby tum tum lives) and thought I had to go to the restroom. Once I got to the bathroom, I started getting cold sweats, sharp pains, then that weird tingly feeling I get around my jaw when I'm getting ready to throw up. Now that I have thrown up, I feel fine but I definitely don't want that to become a thing, especially as well as I've been doing after getting through the 2 miserable liquids weeks. I'm curious about other's experiences, if I should be worried, and if this could also be a type of dumping syndrome? Because my baby tum tum absolutely said hell to the no, and dumped that breakfast right out from the top. (Edit: oh yeah, I should probably lay off the red sugar free Gatorade that I love so I don't freak out and think it's blood, right? 😂 I think I'll go back to water with a couple splashes of sugar free cranberry juice for flavor.)

I'm only 2 weeks post-op. I'm not supposed to be stalled already! I'm a daily weigher and have been 395 or 396 since last Saturday. It's actually not bothering me that much. I'm tracking, so I know I'm doing things right and this just happens. I've expected it, just not this soon. But I am ready for some more rapid weight loss. Waiting patiently.

I am 5 months PO and this particular week I aim feeling hungry, like really hungry, I have stayed away from carbs, which have been always my biggest addiction. I gained 2 pounds this week and I am not even eating carbs, I used to feel restriction but is not working as effective these days. I think this is where the real hard work begins.

That’s wonderful news…REAL FOOD again!!! Congratulations 🎉🎈🎉🎈!!!! I am 2 weeks post-op and completely understand how you feel. I have daydreams about pizza and ice cream. I’ve lost 15 pounds since surgery. I couldn’t agree more…I get over the cravings when I see the scale and see my clothes getting looser every day.

Hello! I’m just 5 months post-op and doing fantastic. Everything’s gone so well thus far except for the crazy amounts of hair I’m losing. It started a few weeks ago and hasn’t let up. I knew this would happen and it’s an easy price to pay for how healthy and happy WLS has made me. I’m wondering if anyone knows of a way to combat or at least mitigate the loss? My hairstylist suggested a supplement called Viviscal, and castor oil for my scalp, and shampoo and conditioner that regrow and thicken hair. Has anything worked for you? Thanks in advance!

Hi all! Reporting in! I’m officially down 83lbs since surgery on 2/3/22. Previously size 2XL-3XL and 20, now size Small/Med and size 10. I’ve never felt better or been happier. I’m stoked about what I see in the mirror but am bummed that the excess skin/fat gives me a muffin-top in fitted clothes. Better healthy and saggy though! My hair started falling out a couple weeks ago and it’s a LOT. I knew it would happen but it’s unsettling nonetheless. How is everyone else doing? We’re 5 months past. Can you believe how much life has changed??

How fast did you eat it? Remember it takes time for messages to get through & maybe you ate so quickly you didn’t get the message until it was too late. It can be easy to do when not eating mindfully. I know I’ve done it & bet others have too. Some days we slip and that’s okay. See it as being a good reminder. My full signal takes a while to kick in (up to 90 mins sometimes I discovered to my discomfort) so it would be easy to eat more than I need. I try to eat until I’ve had enough not until I’m full or I feel my restriction. It’s why I ask myself if I need the next bite or just want it. I’ve served all my meals to a portion size since surgery three years ago. Though some days I eat less of my serve. Like I haven’t eaten all my usual serve of my breakfast once this week. Didn’t want it. I ate what I needed & put the leftovers in the fridge. Certainly you are able to physically eat more as you progress until you are able to consume about a recommended portion of most if not all foods. How long until this happens is an individual thing. For me it was a few months after I reached goal.

I am going in for a revision in 2 weeks and hoping some of you may be able to tell me about your experience. VSG in Dec 2016, lost 70lbs and then got pregnant. Did not gain any back until COVID. I’m now 30lbs away from where I was at my initial surgery date. Has anyone completed this revision? What has your weight loss experience been? Is it a lot slower? I’ve heard many people have increase bowel movements? Have you found less restriction to make it more difficult to lose? To complicate everything my gastroscopy just revealed a significant hiatal hernia which will also likely be repaired at the same time. I’m glad they found it because I’ve had a lot of unexplained chest and back pain since my last pregnancy. I’m a bit nervous about the recovery though. Any info you can provide would be great! Thanks!

Yep, that will be the one they used to remove part of your tummy & use the most during the surgery. It’s usually the slightly larger incision, cause more discomfort & take the longest to heal. How long will depend on how you heal. You had three surgeries in one so you had quite a workout & may take longer to heal & recover.

I felt exactly like this for weeks, specifically physical symptoms. i could barely stand up without feeling like i would black out. i found out at my followup appointment that i had really low blood pressure. The nurse recommended that I start drinking Gatorade zero every day. one full bottle. I was on to regular soft foods like soups and mashed potatoes at that time, I also started adding salt to my foods within a few days I started feeling much better. im a couple months post op and i still think about food all the time unfortunately. Chips especially 😕 i try and eat little meals and have pretty good restriction so cant eat much but overall i feel good. Ive averaged losing 5lb a week surgery day i was 251 and now im at 208. My surgery was may 3rd you’re going to get through this. I suggest checking your blood pressure, if it’s low increase your sodium intake

The first 2 or 3 weeks post-op I was so obsessed with food I would watch tiktok videos of people cooking for literally hours every day 😂 Eventually, I stopped caring so much about food and now 7 weeks post-op I hardly think about it at all.

Before sugery I was a massive sugar addict. Then, when I was 3 weeks post-op I ate ice cream. Against the advice of my surgeon. I paid the price for that (cold sweats, racing heart, violent vomiting). Even though all that happened, I still craved ice cream and ate it again the next day. Afterward, I reflected on what I had done and I felt so ashamed and mortified with myself. But the bad feelings only made me want to comfort myself with more sugary foods. On the third day, something changed in me. I decided to just forgive myself for those 2 mistakes and move on like it was no big deal and consider it part of the learning curve. I threw all the remaining ice cream down the kitchen sink. I am now 7 weeks post-op and my sugar cravings have all but gradually faded. I decided that I will allow myself to have a small portion at the 3 months mark. But the way I am feeling now, I doubt I will do that. Forgive yourself for your mistakes. You are still unlearning a lifetime of habits and addiction and it will take some time to get the hang of it. Head addictions are powerful beasts. As long as you make the decision to try and march in the general right direction you will get there eventually.

If you look on pintrest there's loads of recipes for biatric patients and some recipes from the start of biatric three to protien

Oh makes sense! I have major acid reflux issues now.. I know bypass is a little more invasive but really.. if their in there they might as well do it all. I really don’t want to go through 2 surgeries myself.. 🙄 You’re making the right choice. I’m going to ask the Dr this week then. Thanks for replying 😊