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I'm so sorry you are feeling this way but I can empathize with the anxiety. I suffer from both anxiety & panic disorder. It was pretty well controlled until about 2 weeks before surgery & it slowly progressed. The week after my surgery my anxiety was in a full blown upheaval! I have a question for you, I was on medication for depression & anxiety before surgery & was warned that psych meds specifically can be absorbed less after gastric bypass surgery. They say a lot of these medications are absorbed in the small intestine. The psychiatrist that did my evaluation said if you don't feel quite right after surgery to NOT just write it off as not feeling good because you just had surgery. He said don't panic, just be mindful that if the feelings don't go away your medication doses may need to be adjusted. This is exactly what happened to me. My feelings & mood continued to escalate until I just didn't feel like myself at all. I reached out to my provider & she switched my medication. Thankfully, I can already tell a difference but these medications take a while to fully kick in which is so hard when, mentally, you really just want to feel like yourself again. All of that being said, after surgery it is not uncommon to feel anxious & even depressed due to all of the medications, especially pain meds & anesthesia meds. Feeling overwhelmed or even depressed after bariatric surgery is not uncommon either but I think some, maybe a lot of us, just assume we're going to be in a better head space after surgery because we'll be losing weight & finally be on the path we've been longing for for so long & thus, when we feel anxious or depressed it completely catches us off guard. Personally, I think we should be required to do a certain amount of counseling before we have this surgery with someone who specializes in bariatric counseling. Not just a few appointments to fill out questionnaires & be approved for it. This surgery is SO huge & life altering in so many ways. Just my opinion. I hope you are feeling much better real soon!❤️🙏❤️

This is absolutely accurate for my experience as well. I had my surgery on March 11th and after a week I was able to drink more. I transition from drinking more to wanting to eat and learning how not to eat or drink too fast or too much. I am still learning to be careful about not eating too much or too fast because you will feel it in your throat and have a nauseous feeling. And perhaps, you may throw up to relieve yourself. The important lesson here is to measure your food at the prescribed portion by your physician and other instructions given.

Some great advice from the others. Heartily recommend Drs Matthew Weiner & John Pilcher too.They are great sources of information. Try not eating until you feel full. Aim for had enough. I ask myself do I need that next bite or do I just want it. Remember to keep eating slowly too. It takes a good 20 minutes for your full message to get through (mine can take way longer than that). So by the time you feel full you can easily have eaten more than you need/should. Wouldn't hurt to check your portions & track your calories for a couple of weeks just to ensure you are not over estimating - it’s easy to do. Also, maybe check in with your dietician to review the best portion sizes & calorie goals for you for where you are now.

Exactly this. I commented to my dieticians when I asked about eating out and suggested that perhaps it would be beneficial if they're familiar with basic menu choices in the local restaurants, or that they get menus from the restaurants so they can go over them with their patients. They should educate their patients on good and bad choices or how to look for hidden calories etc., opposed to what mine do - showing me the same empty container of Fage yogurt, asking what I'm eating and suggesting celery for a crunch every single time I go in. After all, their job is to educate and guide patients, not make patients figure it out on their own and make every appointment redundant and pointless. I've asked about possible menu choices at restaurants to which they said they have no idea! You'd think it would be required knowledge to at least teach "real world" eating out situations. Most people don't ask their servers or research the menu choices or are aware there are off menu choices. Dietitians should have this knowledge, I know if I was a dietician I would. As far as meal prep, good for you if you're one of those people who do this, I personally detest cooking and doing a weeks worth may help with the next week..but it requires one long day of cooking to do it, which I don't have the time nor inclination to do, so eating out is what I do.

I'm so sorry you're having a difficult time! Fortunately, if people develop anxiety and depression after the surgery, it tends to be a temporary thing. Your body has gone through a major shock, and you're also burning fat, which is where you store hormones such as estrogen. It can sometimes become a perfect storm for mental health stress until things start to stabilize. When my brother had the sleeve several years ago, he ended up flying across the country to stay with me when he was about 3-4 weeks post-op because he didn't want to be alone and was so emotional and anxious at that point. It eased up little by little over the course of a few weeks while his body adjusted, and by the time he went home, he felt so much better. It's really common in the early stages to fear that this is your new life and you will never feel normal again, but remember this is just healing time. Give yourself grace to get through it as best you can. Take friends and family up on offers of help. Don't do things that really can be put off. Let yourself go to bed early. Play your favorite songs when you go for a walk. Go for a pedicure. Even writing down your thoughts in a journal can help a lot. It really is going to get better over time, even though it feels horrible and scary right now.

Oh no! I'm just over 5 weeks out and I've been put back on liquids due to vomiting. It started just before 3 weeks with what I thought was an isolated incident because of some fish that was too dry. I had four hours of agony before I was finally able to expel everything from my stomach and have the pain stop. But 4 days later it happened with something else, and then three days after that it seemed that anything I tried to eat was triggering pain and vomiting. So I had to go back to liquids. I've been having protein shakes and cream soups. It's been 9 days and I haven't had any more pain. I see the surgeon on Tuesday and am hoping he'll say I can start trying soft protein again. I hope your doctor gets to the bottom of the issue for you soon! I'm grateful that water isn't causing any issues for me.

I had SADI on 8/15/23. I have had wonderful results. I was a type 2 diabetic with and A1C of 9.5 at the time of surgery, two weeks post op I was taken off meds my last A1C was 4.9. “Normal”! I have lost almost 100 LBS since surgery. I was also very nervous and scared of all the “what ifs” but I was also on a fast track to “what if’s” if I did not have the surgery. I agree with the above recommendation to follow Laura Fluschee on instagram. Wonderful account for SIPS/SADI patients. Best wishes!

My surgery was February 2nd. 8 weeks post-op & it's been so much more overwhelming than I thought! Food hurts going down & feels like rocks are piling up in my stomach. This is only 3-4 very small bites, well chewed, approved foods that are moist, eating slowly & no drinking water with meals. Sometimes I'm in terrible pain! Even water feels like it's backing up. My doctor scheduled me for an endoscopy Wednesday thinking I might have a stricture & possibly an ulcer. My stomach still hurts more than I thought it would in certain areas. Can anyone else relate? I thought I was very well prepared for this surgery but gosh!

Strange isn't it, maybe it's because we're not eating as much as we was ? , when I came out of hospital I recovered so quickly, I had no pain, I didn't even need to stay in over night because I was doing so well , now a couple of months have passed I feel so week, hopefully you will feel better soon and hopefully I will too!

It’s not only a full time job but a lifetime job. I found eating & drinking to a routine very helpful while losing & maintaining. I still watch what I eat (nutrients & calories) & how much I eat. I know I can’t eat whatever I want otherwise I’ll be back where I started. Of course I have more flexibility now in regard to certain foods & how much & how often I have them. Some great suggestions from the others. You can start by slowly incorporating a couple every week or two & see how you go. While you are still losing it’s very important to stick closely to your eating plan. Though I would question a plan that says you can eat whatever you like at 4 months. Maybe go back to your dietician and ask for more guidance around your food choices, & ideas for ingredients or cooking styles you can swap in or incorporate. Also you may find speaking with a therapist helpful. Many do. A therapist will help you work through your eating & relationship with food, what drives you to eat, support you develop strategies to manage challenges like cravings. You can do this.

These things can & do happen. Constipation is often an ongoing issue for many of us at least until we’re eating a broader range of food like vegetables & fruit. Try adding a soluble fibre to a drink, shake, soup, yoghurt, or similar to help. I used to take a stool softener if I hadn’t gone for three days to keep on top of it. Remember too you’re not actually eating that much so you don’t have much to actually poop out especially in the first couple of months. So don’t expect to go every day. Meeting or being close to your daily fluid goal is extremely important because of dehydration. Sip, sip, sip. I still drink during the night to ensure I reach mine. (Have a drink whenever I wake.) Your throat can be swollen for a little while after the surgery though it does generally pass in a couple of days. Do mention it to your surgeon when you go for your check up if it’s soon otherwise give them a call. Try drinks at different temperatures in the meantime. Many of us found warm or hot drinks more soothing than cool or cold drinks. And again sip slowly. Also remember we all heal & recover in our own way & time. This is a pretty major surgery & some take a little longer or can experience some challenges with certain aspects like hitting fluid or protein goals, or experience a little more surgical pain, have more gas pain, take a little longer to get their strength back, tolerate or not tolerate certain flavours, textures, smells, etc. Like your weight loss, your recovery may be a bit erratic. Easier today, but tomorrow not as much, then the next day is okay. Look back over a week to better see your progress. You can be sure that it does get better & easier in time. All the best.

Thank u again.. well they were going to do that pill / camera thing when I had the sleeve but when I woke up they said that during the endoscopy they saw that it was acid and I was too inflamed. the reason that I freak is because my little brother died of stomach cancer in his 30s . my doc actually said two weeks ago after the post-surgery endoscopy that maybe these are phantom pains because this should’ve cured it 😫.

I completely understand, I was the same way until about a month ago (I'm at 6 months now) and all my labs came back great too (other than my white blood cells/lymphocytes being elevated)! I still struggle a few days a week; really tired, ache in general plus I'm weaker, like I have difficulty opening things that used to be easy, lifting things I used to be able to lift with no problems, is a problem now. Some people just bounce back slower I was told by my dietician and doctor who didn't seem overly concerned. My B12 was great as well... I wasn't getting as much water as I should, still don't but I'm trying. How is your water intake? Other than my water consumption everything was right as it should be, so yeah I feel you. Let us know how you're doing and if you figure it out! I never have..

I had a full blood count done 2 weeks ago and everything came back fine , I have a vitamin b jab booked for 2 weeks time

In people with an intestinal component to their surgery (like gastric bypass, SADI, and DS) sometimes GI symptoms can happen like chronic gas. You might consider exploring a FODMAP diet to see if you can find the foods that are triggering the gas. Odds are something you are eating is causing this... You could also try adding a probiotic, sometimes the gut microbiome can get off kilter. And a reduction in the simple carbs you are eating might help too if you eat a lot of carbs as opposed to a protein heavy diet. As for the burping, it sounds like for some reason you are swallowing a lot of air. You might try drinking fluids a bit differently. If you drink from a bottle or a straw a lot, you might switch to a wide mouthed cup. My dietician said a lot of water bottles and narrow shaped cups (as well as straws) can cause you to swallow a lot more air than normal, causing burping and sometimes nausea. I'm sorry food doesn't feel good right now. I feel the movement of food in my esophagus and stomach a lot, as well as when I drink. Small sips and small bites help. Small is smaller than you think. I hear it gets better as time goes on... Sometimes I can eat relatively normally, other times (like this week) my restriction is super high and I can only eat half of what I normally do, or less. There is an ebb and flow to this. So on my high restriction days I eat less and drink more protein supplements. On my low restriction days I get more veggies in and a hefty dose of meat based proteins. I figure it all averages out in the end! I agree though, a talk with your doctor is in order. You shouldn't be experiencing pain at this point. On rare occasions bypass patients can develop strictures which could cause some of the symptoms you list.

Yeah I haven't looked in to the plastics side of things as to what is covered for me. I do recall it being mentioned at one point by the psychiatrist I had to go see and I think he said it had to be a few years and then a decision process but at this stage it is too soon to be thinking about that. My big (literally and figuratively) problem area is my legs, thighs in particular. Even after loosing so much weight, with a bit more to go, there is no way I would wear anything that would show anything above my ankles. As it is I have to go back into hospital next week for a few days to have the tube in my stomach removed and them to monitor me to see if my leak has fully closed.

I am waking at night with naseau or reflux (kind of trying to figure out which it is). Has ANYONE experienced this? I’m praying that it’s nothing serious because the whole reason I had the revision surgery was for bad erosions that wouldn’t heal from acid reflux (after the sleeve). had an endoscopy two weeks ago and have another scheduled In May THANK U FOR SHARING/your time

I went and bought cauli rice and zucchini spirals today and tried the rice again tonight. I’ve had it before but just remembered it not really having a flavor. Same thing this time but I added more sauce to my meal and it wasn’t bad. I had it with Italian sausage and peppers from the factor meals I ordered that are low calories not but low carb. I tossed the red potatoes and subbed in the cauli rice. If that’s what they are talking about when they say low carb, I think I can do it. Dinner was a hit. I added it to my list of things to try to make myself to add variety. I just need to find a low carb marinara sauce I’m guessing. Raos makes one that 6g carb. I added that to my cart with the Italian sausages to try to make that meal myself later this week. I am also going to pick up a spaghetti squash and the ragu bolognese sauce @Spinoza suggested at publix because they sell it already halved and I find that difficult to do. PS, I am not a big cook historically so fingers crossed it works out for me. Question? Has anyone tried the Italian turkey sausage to cut some of the fat too.

I have been using a retinol-based product at night, washing it off of my face in the morning. I also put it on my neck, chest, arms, and hands. But please be cautious and read up on retinol before starting to use it. One is required to use sunscreen religiously while using retinol-based products and to continue doing so up to two weeks after discontinuing their use. Hopefully some others will chime in with their solutions. I wish you good luck in finding something that will work well!

It sounds like maybe you would benefit from a stricter routine. At least, I know I tend to flounder when I am just let loose without many rules. If I have to figure out what to do every day and each day is different, I get totally off track with stuff. But when I get into a routine, it's way easier. I haven't gotten off track yet simply by virtue of not being able to eat very much right now, but I know that establishing habits and routines is the most important thing for me to do before I get to the point where I could. Here are some suggestions, just in case they help! Put your full week's worth of vitamins in a weekly pill case (I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C6XZN1YH). It's especially helpful if you get the kind where you can take the day's box with you for those later in the day doses like calcium. Make the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day, or have a rotation of things you can do that are all close to the same in protein value. Plan a dozen dinners that are also roughly the same in protein. Add them up and make sure any breakfast, lunch, and dinner chosen from your repertoire will hit your protein goal. If not, plan for a snack or two in the same way. Don't eat things that are not nutrient dense, and if you do have a treat on occasion, make sure you're limiting yourself to once a month, not once a day! (And if you happen to love chocolate, consider this for one of your daily calcium supplements: https://procarenow.com/products/calcium-dark-chocolate-500mg-calcium-500-iu-vitamin-d) Consider getting something like the Portion Perfection plates and meal prep containers if you struggle with portion size Buy a bariatric cookbook to help with food choices and portions Put your gym or exercise time on your calendar and treat it like you would a doctor's appointment (I struggle with this so much) Or, if you hate the gym, choose exercises you'll actually look forward to. Going to a gym is not a requirement but moving your body is. Put all your reminders for vitamins, mealtime, snack time, and exercise time in your phone so you get reminders

@brandycsiz - I think its pretty common. I've deifinitely gone off track, mostly due to other health issues and stress outside of the surgery itself. I was able to walk several miles without stopping in December, then after getting Covid (and I'm assuming long-Covid now), if I go more than 3 miles in a day or try lifting weights in the gym, I get physically ill for 2-3 days afterwards. I keep walking 1-2 miles in the evenings after work, but the lack of progress and regain of weight is very discouraging. I tended to stress eat before, and to be honest, the surgery was a success because at least it limits the amount I tend to binge on when having a bad time. I still have those cravings, but at least now I can drink 8-12oz of water and delay eating. I'm probably on track with my diet 3-4 days per week, but have been overdoing it or eating too many calorie/carb-dense foods when I have an off day or when I see family, who aren't the most supportive. My mom likes to drop off Little Debbie cakes and other snacks on my porch twice a week as she's driving by, and it's straining our relationship because I throw them away immediately, and she sees that as me being ungrateful and disrespectful. I am 6lbs heavier than I was around 8 weeks post-op, so its really getting me down. After covid, I developed some issues with my heart rate. It drops down in the upper 20's to low 30s in my sleep and my blood pressure drops too low, but if it get it past 100bpm, my blood pressure spikes, and I get dizzy and almost faint. I'm trying to get in to see specialists, but I can't get in with a specialist for 5+ months just for initial consult. I have to drive 3+ hours to another area to try to get in sooner, but I burned all my leave time for the year with Covid in January, so I can't take the days off to travel.

Hi Everyone, I am a March 2024 Bariatric By-pass patient. I am only into my 3rd week post op and I am down 50 lbs and counting. I am still learning the ins and outs of how to eat again. Drinking too fast or too much triggers consequences. Also, with eating too fast or too much will trigger throwing up. However, by eating the ways that are prescribed will render the proper results. I am very impressed with the results I have seen thus far.

If you feel like therapy can help you consider finding one that takes your insurance or even payment plans. I didn’t do it the first time around because I couldn’t find anyone taking new patients and I gained my weight back. Now I am facing revision and working on starting with one that is private pay but I asked if she can give a lot of homework so I hopefully won’t need as many sessions. You don’t necessarily have to do like every week I don’t think. I haven’t met with her yet but I’m hoping I can do like once or twice a month to start and do my homework in between. I have a regular therapist and she wants to speak with her so my hopes are she will basically tell my regular therapist how to help me and I won’t need her too long. I will be posting about how it goes I’m sure. Lol

Hello @ms.sss I actually really do appreciate your response. You are pretty accurate in your assessment, lol, I definitely have my moments but for the most part I tend to be pretty agreeable and sometimes that bites me. i have taken A little breather after yesterday’s meeting with my surgeons’ PA and waking up to a stranger taking their time to say I should too makes me realize I’m not just being overly anxious. Thank you!! I did make a call just now to see if the only other surgeon I would consider does this procedure and he does not So I guess the most obvious options at this point are to just go with the bypass instead or to ask ALOT of questions and pose some really uncomfortable ones about the surgein and that team that I may not like the answers too. Regardless I realize I need to slow this bus down a great deal and really think this one through. My thoughts so far are, when the surgeon sits down with me and my list of questions IF I feel better that HE has done his research and both he and I are confident he has this, then I just need to worry about the aftercare. I need to be bold and require that he gives a way to get HIM, post op if I have any urgent concerns. And I need to know who he turns to if he doesn’t know the answer. I know for my first post op appointment I will see him but maybe I can see him ever so often past that. Especially if I am feeling lost. The PA said yesterday that I may get him or the surgeon if I called with questions immediately post op and he claimed he wouldn’t just give me an answer to give me an answer but it sorta felt like what he did for a half hour with my questions. I am just going to have to go out of my comfort zone a bit and bluntly say that I don’t feel like the rest of the team is prepared to handle my care with this particular procedure. I must get the point across that the PA just can’t answer all my questions at this point and I wouldn’t feel confident in his advice about any post op questions. Or, Perhaps he could just make the PA do the research now? I mean he is practically a doctor. They know how to learn things. I just don’t think he has tried with this procedure yet. He did seem to know alot about the DS, Just not this modified version. I can ask to meet with him again after he has had a chance to prepare and see how I feel with him. My gut has gotten me this far?? As far as the dietician goes. I think I just need a list of what macros he wants me to stick to and to know what type of carbs really count and I think I can take it from there at least witb the help of this community. I also think I can shop around for a different dietician once I have the requirements If I feel like I even need one. I’m hoping that the dietician gets the exact requirements from the surgeon in preparation for our meeting in two weeks. If not I will need to ask him that when I meet with him as well. I guess the skinny about the surgeon, though is that I am going to have to pump the brakes a bit and put on my big girl panties. I need to have some awkward conversations and just mentally prepare myself that the result could be that I don’t get exactly what I thought I wanted.

Hi! My daughter (22 yo) and I just had the sleeve this month. Hers was 3/4 and mine was 3/11. Our healing process has been so different and while I’m moving right along, she’s had a set back with hydration and pooping. I’m curious if anyone else has had these issues and how you’ve overcome them so that I can help her. She didn’t poop for about two weeks, so under the care of our doctor, did a Fleet enema. That helped some that day but by that point, she was dehydrated. She ended up in the hospital Monday night and received fluids. Yesterday was a little better but still struggling to get in liquids (forget protein/food). This morning, she had sharp back pain again so I’ve started having her drink the four little 1 ounce cups again so that I can help her better monitor what she’s actually drinking. Also making sure she takes her Prilosec and Miralax. Added in Smooth Move tea. Heating pad on back. Encouraging her to walk but this has been hard because she feels so bad. Oh, and she’s complaining about the drinks hurting her throat going down (the stuck feeling) but the CT scan showed she’s fine. Anybody else have a setback like this? Any other suggestions? Thanks!!!!