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Throwing my anecdotal experience in the ring here, as well! I had a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) at the end of November 2023. I was a "slower loser" the whole time, and then I hit a major stall about 6 months post-op, just bouncing around the same ~5ish pounds for months. I set up an appointment with my team for July 8th, discussed the issues I was having (mainly just being hungry and therefore eating larger portions), compared the different options, and we settled on trying out Phentermine. I did have to have a mobile heart monitor for 30 days prior to my surgery, as I had these weird heart "flutters" for YEARS and nobody could really figure out what they were (they ended up being PACs, or Premature Atrial Contractions, which apparently almost everyone has at some point and most people can't feel. I'm just unlucky! They are benign if they are not occurring in excess). My team had me do an EKG in-office that day, as well. They asked about any family history of heart issues, sudden death at early ages, etc. With a normal EKG, I was started on half of a 37.5mg tablet for 4 days, to increase to a full tablet after that if there was still residual hunger and I didn't have any major side effects. They said I'd know within those first few days if it was going to cause any issues. I did increase to the full 37.5mg after 4 days, and I've broken the stall (dropped 5lbs since July 8th, and part of that was spent at a music festival with few healthy food options), and I feel generally great! I do also have ADHD and Narcolepsy, so the stimulant properties are helpful for me. I'm feeling satisfied with much smaller portions and not experiencing cravings at all. I did have some mild insomnia the first few days, BUT I am already a night owl with a bit of insomnia due to the Narcolepsy, so it wasn't a big issue. Other comorbid conditions include depression and anxiety, which I am taking medication for, as well. The anxiety has not been exacerbated, which WAS an issue I had with previous stimulant use for Narcolepsy. Cost-wise, it ended up being roughly $7 USD with insurance. For me, trying Phentermine is definitely worth it, and I will follow up with my team later next month to see where I'm at. I had feared I was done losing after only 6 months post-op, and Phentermine has restored my hope that I can keep going to get to a healthier weight. It's important to remember that, while Phentermine will decrease your appetite, it does NOT cause you to burn any more calories than normal unless you also increase your activity. You have to decrease your portions - the Phentermine just makes it easier to do that, if it works as intended. So, your personal experience may vary, but it's worth discussing with your team if you feel stuck! EDITED TO ADD: My team said that I need to take a break from using it daily about once a month (like, not take it for a couple of days), otherwise I'll develop a tolerance and it won't work as well. This is pretty typical for stimulant medications in general.

Im 8mo po and im so frustrated that i cant lose anymore ... it has my feels all over the place... gained actually 6 llbs not water that came off.. i eat about 800 900 calories ive tried increasing.. im doing extra protien...i work out at least 1.5 hrs 4 to 5 times week. Little carbs under 60 usually 45 my water intake is low but i try but i do protien water too.. im to the point of no eating ... screw it... or eat whatever i want instead im frustrated ! I'm a nightshift nurse work 12 hrs... 5to 7 days a week...

Hi there! I just had my surgery last Monday on February 19th! I am on day 8, and honestly, im starting to feel almost back to normal! Struggling with the fact that I can't eat anything other than soup and pudding despite being so so hungry. Everything has been going down really good. I have had no issues getting in protein. I have 3 premier protein shakes a day, which equals to 90g of protein. I just wish I could eat soft foods like mashed potato and eggs. But my nurse practitioner wants me to stay on the liquid diet for another 3 weeks. YEAH RIGHT, hahah im going to be introducing some foods next week I think. I can't wait any longer. I am so hungry! I hope you have a speedy recovery from surgery! If you need any advice or have any questions, I am always here for you! Heaviest Weight: 376 - April 2023 Weight on day of surgery: 291 - February 2024 Total lbs lost before surgery: 85 lbs Current weight (1 week after surgery): 280 Total lbs lost since April: 96 lbs Im so close to meeting my 100 lbs down goal!!

There would be no need to do nicotine testing if you don't smoke, vape, or use a patch or gum. I can't speak to all surgeons, but mine requires testing to see if you have sleep apnea before surgery. If you're already diagnosed with it, you just have to continue using the cpap machine before the surgery and for the first 6 weeks after.

I’m pretty sure dry skin can also be from l not enough protein I’m using my phone so I’m not sure which surgery you had but if it’s bypass and increasing, your fluids, doesn’t work consider whether you just need more protein than the average bypass or if your activity is high, talk to your team, but they told me I needed to increase my protein because of my level of activity. Also, if your activity is really high, you may actually need to increase your carbohydrates. I would definitely talk to your team about your activity and your food intake. I know that increasing carbs sounds scary and counterproductive, but I’ve been on here for about four years now and a lot of people found that when they exercise level was high their body thought it was starving and was hanging onto everything until they increased their calories and then it started dropping so I would definitely ask if that could be an issue. Daughter it’s just the three weeks stop which isn’t exactly at three weeks, but it does happen to pretty much everyone.

I believe you'll need and appreciate the 7 days off. Although I felt good a couple days after surgery, I was seriously tired and lagging for quite awhile due to lack of calories, body healing... Etc. If you have the option, I would say don't rush it. Most take 2 or 3 weeks if not more since it is a major surgery, and recovering from it is a little different from other major surgeries because you can't really eat (and some can't drink much either right after surgery) so there is that major body adjustment as well.

Hello! First time in this forum, so glad I found it! I am scheduled for gastric sleeve surgery on June 14, and am finishing day 3 of the liquid protein diet. So far, so good - tbh, I’m amazed at the energy I have. Altho talk to me on day 6 or 7 and I might change my tune lol

I've enjoyed reading everyone's plastic surgery threads, and since I'm 3 weeks out from surgery, I thought I would start my own! I'm going to make up for all of the WLS mistakes I made (not taking "before" photos or measurements), and plan to track my PS progress much better!! So here's where I am to date! I originally planned on having a CTT (circumferential tummy tuck, also known as a lower body lift) along with a BR/BL/BA (breast reduction, lift, and then adding implants back in for fullness). Plans have changed slightly since then, and I've also changed surgeons. The original surgeon I was going to does great work, but the surgery center he works for is very unorganized. I was initially willing to put up with the chaos to get that particular surgeon, but there was story after story of women getting their surgeries canceled at the last minute, and it was adding too much stress to what I want to be a really fun and exciting process. The new surgeon suggested a different approach, and I really like her thoughts on it. Instead of a CTT she wants to address only the front of me (tummy and breasts) so that she can remove more skin from my tummy and leave me in that post tummy tuck hunched over position. With the CTT she wouldn't be able to take as much off the front b/c of the posterior incision. So my goal for round 1 is to look great from the front! LOL!! I really like how she explained it, and am excited! Also I'm now down to a 34D, and the lift itself will reduce a little bit, so now I'm just a BL/BA (no more BR). I've completed my pre-op testing (mammogram, chest xray, EKG, bloodwork), and will head down to Florida next week. I covid test upon arrival then report to the office on 1/6 for my pre-op visit. Surgery is on 1/12, and she wants me to stay in town for at least 4 weeks, but better yet would be 6 weeks after surgery. Since I'm working from home due to Covid anyway, and have a place to stay in Florida, I'm 100% on board with the stay requirements! Something good to come out of Covid!! LOL!!! So that's where I am for now, and look forward to updating with my progress as the weeks go by!!

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.

If you feel hungry grab a tsp of peanut butter. It helps and you get some protein. Dietitian just told me that yesterday I am 4 weeks post op

I’m with you on not wanting to spend much on clothes right now. I’m going over to raid my daughter’s closet because I had just given her a bunch of my jeans a few months back. I am down to a US waist size 29 in jeans right now and I had held on to a few of my favorites but given her most of them. I can’t sew at all so I have resorted to posting my bigger clothes online to try and get bit of money out of them that I can turn around and put into some new clothes. I do still have quite a few smaller clothes I never let go of though. I get my post op blood work done next week and I’m pretty sure it will show I’m anemic also. I’m covered in huge bruises. I started to have a small amount of hair loss the past week so I’m bummed out and I have started watching what I eat much better. I was slacking so now I chart everything and get my exercise in everyday. I’m getting my 100gms of protein, 64 oz of water, cut out any soda and sweet tea again and went back to zero sugar. I was on my second stall but I have started slowly moving again. I’m currently at 170lbs so 37lbs total lost so far and 25lbs to go. I don’t have much support. My best friend and my mother were totally against this surgery when I said I was going to do it. My mother passed away before I made it through all the hoops. It took me a year to meet all their requirements. My best friend still can not show any support but I am already 100% happier with myself and I feel so much better already even with the challenges I know we have all faced. This group has been a lifesaver even though I don’t always post I do follow. Thank you everyone for sharing your stories and all the support. ❤️

I'm going back home to the US in November. (I'll be 6 weeks post-op then) I fully plan to take an empty suitcase and hit walmart and the thrift stores. And also stock up on Tylenol since you can get bottles of 100 over there and only packs of 16 and only 2 at a time here without a prescription. Always handy to have around.

Yes that’s awsome I start my diet tomorrow to get the weight off that my Dr says I have to loose before surgery. This week has been an emotional roller coaster my uncle suddenly and I had to fly to Florida with my mom and sister and we have done nothing but eat out.

Off to see The Pet Shop Boys! I’m a massive fan and it’s the final week of their world tour with a special 5 nights finale at the ROH. Whilst we’ve had a wander around Covent Garden previously, we’ve never been to the ROH so a whole new experience just for that alone 😊

You poor thing doing this without much guidance from your team. First of all, DO NOT let anyone give you advise who is not a medical professional or someone who had your surgery. Who knows what they are comparing it to. For one thing most people thing all the surgeries are a Bypass and they are all the same, and second who knows how far out this person was. On top of that, liquids pretty much go right through once the swelling goes down. One month post sleeve i Was practical bacK to drinking my normal one gallon of fluids which is twice what they recommend as a goal!! This time it’s really not a good comparison since they didn’t operate on my stomach but I am up to 3/4 cup of food per meal. My book says 1/2-3/4 cup. All I know is that I feel fantastic. I am losing at a steady pace and exercising too which I never did before. I know it’s hard not to compare but honestly we should take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt because your doctor is the only one who knows all about you and your circumstances as well as your surgery. Make sure that your nutritionist has worked with bariatric patients before or you will most likely be wasting your time though. Did you call and ask your team if they can get you in sooner?? Corrected to add actually I just realized you did not have a sleeve or bypass either. Honestly you need to get advise from someone who had your surgery. We can cheer you on and relate to many parts of all of this but I know I for one am not very familiar with your surgery at all.

I understand wanting to see what actual size you are! I've been holding off for several reasons: 1. I really hate trying on clothes whether I'm fat or not ..I've never enjoyed clothes shopping. 2. I just purchase online sometimes medium (more often) sometimes large. I'm not sure what that converts to in numbered sizes and 3. Like you, I don't want to spend a lot on clothes only to have to get more later! So yeah, I understand..but I can tell by your excitement it might be worth it to give it a try! Congratulations, you're doing so amazingly well! You've got this!!

Please be careful. You are still very early out from surgery. I know that some of it is your circumstances but the last thing you want is to harm yourself. This is a pretty major surgery. The incisions on the outside are deceiving, the inside requires a lot more healing time. I am off all of my pain meds too and was trying to play tough guy at a week out driving myself and all of that but the NP had to tell me to slow down. This is not a race. I am two weeks out now and today will my first big outing to my crochet group where basically I drive 30 minutes and sit in a chair for a couple of hours then drive back and I’m a bit nervous if Im being honest after realizing that just going to the dr and then grocery pickup 5 minutes down the road took it out of me a few days ago. Just be certain to listen to your body and ask for help if you need it.

Hello, new here! I had mine done in the 3rd of June. Surgery went very well, my first week was awesome. Now i'm on the second week, some days away of the getting out of liquids. This second week have been not good for me, I got a lot of nausea and a lot of foaming on my mouth. The only things that been helping are orange juice and water. Tried some homemade, sugar free lemonade today and it also helped to settle my stomach. The only thing thats been really rough, even tho I wasent addicted to soda (I would have a can once a week), my mind keeps craving for it. Since I was a kid, everytime I got nauseous My granma I would tell me to drink a little bit of coke and it helped me a lot, so I carried this tradition into my life. Now that cant have it and I'm feeling sick in the stomach my mind keeps asking for it, and its so frustrating. I tought i would have this problem with coffee, since I was an avid coffee drinker but I don't miss coffee so much. Hope all you guys are doing well through the process!

I definitely should be sleeping lol I have to get up at 5:30 for work and it's now 3:40am. Ugh... WHY do I do this to myself??? So many think that the prep before the surgery, and the recovery from the surgery, and the first 6 weeks post-surgery is the hard part. Then they can just go back to eating what they want, just in smaller portions. They don't really make any changes, unless their taste buds change or they develop any food allergies. And they don't incorporate much in the way of exercise because they just think the surgery and eating way smaller amounts will be enough. And a few years down the road, AFTER the work has been done and you're maintaining your goal weight for a few years, that might very well be the case for SOME (not all) people. I've even seen it on here. But that is most DEFINITELY not the case the first year, or sometimes (in my case, for example) not even the first 2 years (although I choose not to even try, personally. I like how I eat, live, look, and feel and it's not worth it to incorporate any of the bad foods I use to eat back into my diet "just because I can"). The first year or 2 is really for doing the work, and many don't realize how much goes into that. Like you said, reading it and living it are 2 very different things. The work still has to be done, but giving yourself grace in understanding why there's such a struggle with it can go a long way in helping deal with it and move on from it.

I find the calculator on the Mexico site to be rather inaccurate for me, but everyone varies. Age and surgery type, as well as co-morbidities all impact weight loss rate. It thinks I should be at 212lbs at 6 months but I'm at 240 with 6 days to go. Not gonna happen. It also thinks I should be at 170 by 12 months, but that's not very likely either. I've always used the following one as it takes into account the different surgeries and looks just like the one my surgeon uses. They calculate from the highest weight, it is important to include that because if you have a lot of weight loss before surgery your percentages may track differently and your post op weight loss may be slower. I've seen this happen to several people with surgeons calculating it improperly, or applying the bypass trajectory to a DS patient, which is a disaster and very stressful for the patient! This one takes into account much more like your age, ethnicity, and pre-existing conditions: https://riskcalculator.facs.org/bariatric/?_ga=2.112690692.1282950073.1698781773-393992475.1698781773 According to this one I should be at 78 lbs down for my DS surgery at 6 months. I'm at 80 lbs down. My weight loss has tracked along with this thing pretty steadily, give or take 15 lbs, since surgery, except for my 6 week stall. It puts me at 202 by 12 months out, but DS patients lose for 18-24 months post op, so I should be at 170 sometime in that 12-24 month period! In the end these are all just estimation tools. Our bodies do what they will and we make the most of it. Still, it is nice to have a loose guideline to follow.

I’m now five days post op. Days 2 and 3 sucked, but I feel ok now. I’m only on Tylenol and celebrex. I’m walking about 7 times per day. One walk is a long walk. Each day gets better. The fluids and gas are starting to leave my body (finally)! I feel ok mentally. I can do this. I’m remembering why I said yes in the first place. I’m prioritizing my health. There’s going to be challenges, but I can do this. I’m far stronger than sometimes I give myself credit for.

I am 1 year post-op (exactly today!) In the months after the surgery, I have not had any significant issues with taste or food aversion. There were a couple of changes with foods that I used to love that, now, I could take them or leave them. I travel a lot for business, and when I am away from home eating in restaurants, I have started having experiences where certain foods taste like... seafood. I *hate* seafood in all forms, and always have. Meat is the most frequent problem, especially beef (except ground beef which is fine). Chicken is never a problem. I was just in China for 3 weeks, in many different cities, and everywhere I went, things were tasting fishy, especially meat. It wasn't just that something was prepared with fish sauce - I checked. Over and over and over again in city after city and restaurant after restaurant. (I have traveled to China before and loved the food; this time not so much.) But this wasn't just China - it has happened in other places as well - just not as often as in China. Now that I am back home with my normal food and normal recipes, there is no problem at all, however, at home I eat primarily chicken so maybe I would have an issue with beef tasting like seafood here too. Of course, I will discuss this with my doctor at my 1-year post-op appointment, but I am curious about other people's experiences with taste-related changes.

I’m 6 years out & if I tried to eat a “normal” meal I would throw up. I can only eat about 3 1/2oz at a time. This means I have to eat 5 times a day. My surgeon even made my pouch a little bigger because I didn’t need a by pass for weight loss but because my esophagus was in an L shape & this was the best way to correct it. Try eating smaller portions.

Hello everyone! I discovered this forum a couple of weeks ago and have found it really helpful (so thank you!) but this is my first time posting. I’m scheduled to have a gastric bypass on September 12, and I’m really anxious and somewhat doubtful. I’m half way through my 2 week pre-op diet (2 shakes, 2 snacks, 1 meal, no carbs); I started 2 days late but still, I haven’t lost a thing. Anyone else experience this? what if it’s the same after the surgery? What if my body’s just broken from gaining and losing so many times? a little context: I’m female, 39 years old, and weigh 266.4 lbs. it’s the biggest I’ve ever been. I have three children, but after my second son passed away at birth in 2020, I was put on antidepressants which I take religiously. Early this year I was also diagnosed with ADHD and put on meds, and the loss of appetite and focus cut my food intake in half— still did not lose any weight.

I posted this in the DS forum because I got the SADI but my new plumbing is somewhere between a bypass and a DS I guess. I had sleeve before so I never dumped. I am 13 days post op from SADI and I had some veggies in freezer with terriaki sauce. The sugar was 6g per serving and no fat so I thought a small amount would be okay but I took like 3 tiny post op bites and waited. My face started to get warm. Is that even a sign of dumping? Could I dump on that little bit of sugar? I’m fine now and nothing else happened but I didn’t eat anymore.