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It's been 2008 since I had a very successful surgery. Seriously, I swam in SF Sharkfest from Alcatraz to SF 2 yrs in a row. As I've gotten older, I have learned a few things I'd like to pass on to those who might not know this. Someone who has had bariatric surgery can only drink 5 oz of alcohol (wine/beer) and then they are legally drunk (trust me, you look act like you have had way too many drinks--slurred speech, staggering, falling down) and if you were to blow into a breathalyzer, you would get a reading indicating you are inebriated. Although I hadn't had anything to drink in about 30 yrs, during a few social dinners at our house, I had a small glass of wine and then my husband wanted to know just how much I had had to drink. When I say, "Not even one glass of wine," I was in such bad shape that he didn't believe me. He was furious and told me I wasn't to have any more drinks for the night. This also happened at my son's who was just livid with me and told me to go to a spare bedroom for the rest of the night. And, truly, I felt super drunk. At some point, I did some research and learned that because of how small my stomach pouch is and the way liquids are absorbed, I really shouldn't even have a sip of alcohol. Just thought I'd pass that on. Also, I originally lost 137 lbs to get to my goal weight. I maintained it for several years because I was working out regularly. A few yrs ago I started to put some weight back on, mostly because I wasn't exercising as much, I was alone ALL the time because of Covid because my husband was in contact with Covid infected people at the hospital he worked at 5 shifts a week for 1 yr and 9 months until his last day was Nov. 1. My diet wasn't as healthy and we were sleeping in different bedrooms on separate floors because he was so afraid he would test positive and give it to me. All last year, from July through May 29th when I had left hip replacement, I swam in a local lake for 1 hr each session...2x-4x a week with water getting down to 40 degrees. That kept me sane. Both of us have had our Covid vaccination shots and booster shots and I'm back in swimming in the cold water. If you have gained weight during the pandemic, just go through every day thankful and get back on the post-surgery diet your doctor put you on. (Currently, mine is 1200 cal, unless I burn over 900 swimming and only then do I get to add on 300). Even though I was afraid I had "stretched" my stomach pouch (I'll be 68 yrs old in a few weeks), I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy a month ago and the gastroenterologist said everything looks perfect.

Thank you so much!! It means a lot to hear that after such a long journey struggling with weight my whole life. Here’s a few before and afters including a tiktok I made but never posted haha. I’ve been very lucky with having minimal loose skin. I have been taking a collagen supplement daily and started that months before the surgery. I think that combined with a good strength training regimen and perhaps also because I got the surgery at a relatively young age (33) helped. For workouts I do an hour 5-6x a week; half cardio (indoor cycling or running) and half strength training. All of my strength has been the peloton strength classes. If you happen to have a peloton membership You can see my full program on my profile DucesWild, follow me!! Highly highly recommend peloton it has made it so much easier, convenient, and fun to workout. Finding classes I actually enjoyed and not pushing myself too hard, just committing to staying consistent moving my body, whether it be a walk or yoga on days I didn’t feel well, that has been the KEY so far. Hope this helps! Happy to share more details. IMG_0222.MOV

After the honeymoon period your calorie intake will increase, For a big guy like you, it may be 1500 calories, or more if you are very physically active. My maintenance level is likely to be 1000-1200 calories per day. At 1500, I gain weight. You will learn your way as you progress through the program. Do read as much as possible about WLS so you will know what to expect. Examples:

a lot of people lose their sense of hunger for a few weeks or months - plus your stomach will be a lot smaller - so yea - 1000 calories will seem quite filling. Even too much the first few weeks. I pretty much lost interest in food altogether for about the first five months (unfortunately, that didn't last!!). Milk that for all it's worth, because it's never going to be easier to lose weight than when you're not hungry and don't give a flip about food!

It's really common for people to experience an immediate drop in apetite right after surgery. This can last from a few weeks to forever, it just depends on how your body reacts. I lost my apetite for most of the first year and then it slowly returned until now it is about 65% of what it was pre-surgery. When I had very little apetite, it was easy to live on 600 calories and I did for months. Then it went up to 800 calories and stayed there pretty much until I hit goal. I was blessed not to be hungry during the weight loss phase, but some people never do lose their apetite. So you won't know exactly how your body is going to react until you are post-op. But if you have the average experience, there will be at least some period of time when your apetite is greatly diminished.

The most common side effect of trazodone is weight gain. I’d avoid that one!

You might be onto something. I've always had Low blood pressure even at my highest weight. Matter of fact day of surgery i had to get a bolus of IV fluids coz my BP was only 90/60 but it's my baseline. It would make sense though. I've read the articles you sent about post prandial hypertension. I'll be sending the spouse to get a BP monitor from the store and do a before and after BP ...... also I'll stay on liquids today then resume solids tomorrow and If I have the same effect, might as well call the surgeon and get some clarity. Thanks so much therealpennyd.. Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Immediately post surgery you may eat only 300-500 calories, but your intake will increase as you transition to soft and pureed foods and finally to "real" food. Yes, you will feel satisfied by this minimal intake. Enjoy the restriction and weight loss because it won't last forever. Learn to recognize when your pouch is full and STOP immediately. You also need to learn how to prepare and cook food appropriate for your new body. There are lots of bariatric recipes online and bariatric cookbooks are available on Amazon and elsewhere.

I'm a 50 year old male, 6'1, weight 425 pounds. I'm healthy, exercise regularly, but I'm unable to control my weight so I'm finally pursuing surgery. Right now I average around 3000 calories a day and often splurge well beyond that. When I've successfully lost weight in the past (last time about 5 years ago), I ate about 2500 calories a day. Reading these boards, I'm seeing so much talk of living on 1000 calories per day, at least for a few months. I. Just. Can't. Imagine. Those of you that have done it ... HOW???

Don’t freak out. You don’t feel the restriction right away even on soft foods. The important thing for me is I have to eat slowly; the new “full” signal apparently arrives in my brain via slow boat from Gibraltar. And honestly, even if you were eating only 2000 calories in the Before Times, a 1000 calorie a day deficit is 3.5 pounds a week loss. Chances are you were eating more than that. So a day of 1000 calories isn’t going to kill your weight loss. I am two months out and eating 1000-1400 a day and losing weight hand over fist—3-5 pounds a week. (The amount was set by my NUT, who calculated in my very active lifestyle.) I had a barium swallow last week and my stomach is fine, I still feel restriction. Courage, you will be fine.

Hi 7 years ago I had a sleeve gastrectomy, I had a great result and kept the weight off till this year where I have rapidly regained around half of my loss of 100lbs. I am considering a revision to MGB. I was wondering how it 'FEELS' - do you feel full in the same way as you did with your sleeve? How was recovery compared to your sleeve? Theres a lot of info I can find on results and toleration of foods but I'm curious to know if it 'feels' any different to you? Thanks in advance! Suzanne x

Protein requirements should be based on body weight (I mean a big man will have different requirements than a small woman ). Just tried this protein/collagen powder at a friend's house and it's great. Have you done something like that in your smoothies/coffee?? https://www.vitalproteins.com/products/collagen-peptides?variant=31900889153596&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=in_core_20210914_us-smart-shopping-sep-2021-google-shopping_smart-shopping_all_3&utm_term=conversion&utm_content=smart-shopping&device=m&keyword=&matchtype=&adposition=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhMOMBhDhARIsAPVml-H6fEhG_ZdlGqFq14dnULCtk4a606Kyg-j4Lz2L8e0xdeR9zahNIEAaAjv5EALw_wcB#

I had surgery two and a half years ago. I, too, had an extremely traumatic childhood, part of which involved being frequently left home alone without food. That obviously led to a host of eating/food issues and a considerable weight gain in adulthood. I've lived with a fear of starvation since childhood, so was also concerned about whether I could go through the various eating stages for the surgery. What really bolstered my confidence was when I was able to severely restrict my food intake a few weeks *before* the surgery, paring down my calories to about 800/day, which is what I would live on for the year after surgery. After the initial fear wore off, it actually became easy. I was really shocked at how easy it was. Plus, I was lucky to have weekly therapy to discuss my progress and concerns. The surgery resulted in my losing my lifelong fear of starvation. My brain now knows that there is always food available to eat, that I won't be threatened with hunger, etc. It has been really uplifting. I hope this happens for you, too, whatever your childhood issues were.

Until about 18 months ago I did not know that RNY revisions were even possible. Had I known I would have had done it long ago. Medical science has come a long way in 30 years! My original RNY was done in 1990. It failed after 6 months and a 75-lb weight loss. I regained the weight lost at about 10 lbs a year, returned to my original high weight of 300+ lbs, and stayed there for over 20 years despite many efforts to lose. Over the years my pouch stretched from 2 oz to 9 oz, the anastomosis stretched, and a fistula developed between pouch and stomach (which was not separated at that time). The revision will reduce the size of the pouch and anastomosis, and will separate the remnant stomach. My surgeon estimates I'll lose another 60 lbs over the 50 I've lost pre-surgery. I'm hoping for another 75 lbs. Either way, I'll still be obese, but in better shape than I am now.

For me, I've had covid twice, once after the phizer. After the second time, I developed an arrhythmia that effects me about 2 days per week. My primary and my cardiologist both suggested this for me. I'm very overweight, so losing weight will be a bonus. But fixing the arrhythmia is my goal first.

I finally got him out but it was fraught with legal issues. He was transported by his father 150 miles away so he cannot bother me again. I have barely managed to keep my weight stable. But I am back on the WL path. Thanks everyone for your support and your truth. HW 287. SW 277. CW 215

I am using Tricare and went through 6 months of nutritionist/ weight management appts. Sent from my SM-G986U using BariatricPal mobile app

There are some people about who have. I did, but I had it done in the early days of it being done in Australia and there seemed to be be a high failure rate for the early ESG. Don't know what its like now. Seems to be a better rate of success for some done in USA. I had my ESG in Oct 2018, I lost restriction within six months or so, i was in denial about losing the restriction and still sprouting how good ESG was for some time. In Feb2020 an endoscopy showed that most of the sutures had come out or loosened. I converted to VSG in March 2020, best thing ever! If you proceed with ESG, make sure the doctor has done many of them (at least in the high 100s or even in the 200s). You want to know the success/failure rate one year and two years out for their patients.. Average weight loss is generally lower than the surgical options as volume of the stomach 'remaining' is greater than the surgical options. If I could do that time period all over, I would forego the ESG and go straight to VSG.

Hi. I’ve struggled with my weight for most of my adult life. My weight has fluctuated so much and I’m tired of looking and feeling the way I feel. I lost my mom four months ago and it hurts like hell. I wish you all the best and I pray for your comfort-emotionally, psychologically and physically. I’m scheduled for surgery on December 10th. I’m nervous and worried but I’m also excited to look and feel better. My back and feet hurt constantly and my anxiety and depression is all over the place and I dread taking pictures and going out because I’m so ashamed of my weight gain. Since my mom has passed food has definitely been my comfort.

I’m really not okay I’m sad I’m hurting ever since I did my sleeve from Feb 10,21 gallbladder removal March 26,21 then in September 23,21 I’ve just had double hernia surgery my body been through a lot I’ve lost a lot weight this November 17 will be my mommy birthday she’s no longer here it’s been 7yrs since her passing I’m still hurting from my mom passing I realized I’ve never grief of her passing I’m not sleeping I’ve not been okay since I did my surgeries please every one please pray for me

I am down to 130lbs (-70lbs) at 7 months post op! I've gone from a size 12 to 2 and expect to be in maintenance now. Weight loss has definitely flatted out, but I am SO happy with where I'm at now. If I can keep myself at the current weight, I'd be a happy camper! How are you doing?!

Thank you both so much, this has already helped me. Smanky, you are right, I do just need to keep my eye on the prize and remember why I’m doing this. I’m doing this for a healthier happier life. I’m not overly worried about the purée stage and I know all these stages are just a temporary thing which helps. I think the most part I’m worried about is the socialising with friends. I think I will take you’re advice catwoman and avoid going out for meals and just meet for teas or coffees. Luckily I am in my final year of nursing school next year so I won’t be able to see my friends as much as I usually would anyways which I think will help. I’m about 10 days into the pre op diet so I have 18 days to go. Myself and my friends are usually social butterfly’s and enjoy a few drinks so that will be a little strange but I know I can do it. I’ve done it prior when I did the Keto for a year. That’s a good idea with the plastic containers :) Yes I’m extremely lucky to have my partner and you are right, it is no one else’s buisness, I was just unsure if I tell a few people or no people. I’m still undecided and suppose I will wait until the time. I’m so happy to hear there are minimal complications for most. Thank you both for all your advice and support :) One more question, it seems it has been a while since you have had your surgery. How did you find the regain period and keeping off the weight and have any old habits tried to creep back in? Thanks again

If you have emotional eating issues a bariatric therapist may be a helpful component to your success. The surgery is just a tool. Smaller stomach And decreased hunger hormones help but head hunger will remain and we have to learn to control it. I am an emotional/boredom eater and while I am still losing weight I struggle with my food choices daily. I believe this will be a lifelong struggle for me. To answer your question I am 8 months out and I have sampled all the foods I used to eat and I can tolerate them. But I will choose not have them again until maintenance as I know That they will not help me lose weight. Like mentioned above dumping is more of an issue with Sadi than with the sleeve so really high fat and high sugar foods may give You issues. But from what I understand people who have issues with these foods develop aversions to them so I don't think you Crave them anymore so you don’t really miss them. Maybe someone who has dumping Issues can weigh in about that.

For those who love their band and have had weight loss success would u mind sharing your meal plan what foods you eat what foods or drinks you avoid and meal sizes do u weigh or count calories?