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that's a pretty standard medication for the first few months after weight loss surgery. I think I had to take it for six months. It doesn't ENSURE you won't get gallstones, but it cuts the risk of getting them pretty considerably.

These pictures are amazing! Everyone has done such a super job! i did a comparison picture today. 4 stone down. 15 weeks post op. Weight is still shifting 2-3lbs per week without much effort! I cried…. I don’t recognise myself in the photo before.. why did I pretend that i was happy with my weight for so long before I was honest and said something needs to change. I cried because I feel sad for the lady on the left… I’m sure you all know what I mean xx

Congratulations on your weight loss to date!! Losing 36 pounds post surgery, in 3 months is still something to celebrate, even if it feels slow to you. Everyone loses weight at different speeds. If you are worried that you may not be on track, I highly recommend talking to your doctor or nutritionist. If you aren’t already, I found tracking everything I ate really helped as it doesn’t take much for the calories to mount up. I’m certainly not suggesting that you can’t eat popcorn or anything like that but they are high in carbs and it also depends on how they are cooked, e.g. air popped vs cooked in butter, so tracking your intake can just help you keep on top of things. At just over three months out, your body is still healing and so it’s really important to stick to your doctor’s plan and the weight will continue to come off. Best of luck and I look forward to hearing about your journey as it progresses

Morning 3 after my sleeve. I have felt pretty good all in all. I am able to walk outside easily and move around with little or no discomfort. I have not used the prescribed pain meds at home and tylenol has managed discomfort well. Only real struggle has been in getting to the 48 oz goal for liquids. It is a challenge but yesterday I got in 56 oz. which was great. I guess each new step will come with challenges to accomplish and I look forward to moving ahead. Anyone who has had surgery: did your weight go up in hospital due to fluid retention or maybe swelling? I had lost 15 lbs on liver diet and came home 7 lbs heavier. Next morning down 3 but still have the additional lbs. I know the gas is still a thing for me and they have taken me off the diuretic (sp?) that was in my blood pressure pill. Hope to see a change soon. Thanks 3 Grands for your well wishes. Best to you.

I'm being encouraged by my NUT to eat a more diverse array of foods, and she wants me to have carbs in there too if there's room. So I eat really tiny normal meals. Today for lunch I had 3 oz. of ground turkey cooked with a little Korean barbecue sauce; about a quarter cup of basmati rice; and five asparagus spears. It is possible to eat "normally", just not as much, and not right away. And I'm still losing weight hand over fist.

My wife and I had surgery together almost 1 year ago. We lost almost lb for lb for the first 6 months. After 6 months I was almost done losing but she still had a bit more to go and she continued to lose. Her weight loss slowed down and then stalled for the past few months and just started moving again. Staying with the program that you have will help keep you on track. There will definitely be times where the weight falls off and then times where you are stuck at the same weight.

I've been having mammograms for years and pre-/post- experiences have been the same except for one instance where the technician was so adept that, like you, I experienced no pain at all. But what did happen to me after surgery was that I was summoned back for an ultrasound because apparently there was something within my left breast that needed further examination. Fortunately, nothing was wrong, and the technician told me that I had lost so much weight that my past and current mammograms looked extremely different and this was why the doctors were taking a second look.

yes - I've been hanging out this and other boards for about seven years - and I've read several posts from revision patients saying the weight loss is slower after a revision.

This post really made me think about my relationship with food and drink again. I’m three months out with my bypass tool. I did graze one weekend on Greek style pizza and wine. I really enjoyed the company, could enjoy the wine with only two ounces. I did pack away 4 slices over 2 hours though. I had to really work hard a solid week to get back to my weight before that gathering. Looking back, the free laughter outside with friends was what I enjoyed. It felt like the openness pre-Covid. Keeping the feelings and why needs to be in front all the time. I am reminded that surgery is just a tool. Being social with friends safely is precious, and my physical health doesn’t need to take a toll. I’m going to track on an online app next time and plan ahead better. But you won’t have to stop socializing either, because I equate socializing with positive mental health. Like me you will have to evaluate your food and drink pitfalls and navigate through your strengths and weaknesses. For me, each gathering, each person, each situation is different. I have go into the next one with a better plan, but I promise I will still enjoy the socializing!

July 14, 2020 I signed up for the weight loss program in my area and weighed in at 205lbs. That was during the pandemic. From July 2020 until November 01, 2021 my gastric sleeve surgery which I weighed in at 187.6lbs.

This was only my second time having a mammogram so I’m not sure it could’ve just been the difference in the person doing it but it didn’t hurt this time and it did last time a lot. I’m wondering if it was because I’ve lost so much weight and I’ve lost quite a bit in my breast as well. Has anyone else experienced a difference in their mammogram experience??

Anyone post op that's 5ft and started out near 235. Any updates on what ur weight is since post op? Also any advice on sagging skin lol...

If you ever find yourself gaining weight after surgery, go back to the beginning.

I can't say I had any particular feeling of loss related to food or drink. I was a binge eater and drinker. If one was good ten was better. My requirement for surgery was to stop me from binging. If I could break the cycle, I could do this. Surgery isn't a magic weight loss button. All the rules still apply. Calories in vs calories out. Surgery just helps in some ways, especially early on. For a time it stops you over indulging at meals. But this effect tends to go away for most people with time, and then you are counting on the good habits you've developed to keep you going. You indicate that you have a big family and spend a lot of time hanging out, shooting the .. and grazing and enjoying wine. The scary part in regard to grazing is not that you will lose it, it's that you won't. Grazing is by far the way many/most post-ops fail and regain their weight and more. Surgery can stop you from eating a lot of food at one meal. But, it doesn't stop you from grazing for hours at a time. Evaluate your needs from surgery. This is not a short term diet it is a life long lifestyle change. Do what you can sustain. Good luck, Tek

Hi I’m a sleeve➡️bypass I’m almost 3 weeks out, I wasn’t the model patient but I have to say 💯 that this surgery was so much easier than the first, I have tolerated everything so far very well (almost too well it worried me bc I had almost no constriction) feeling hopeful! My post-op appointment is on 11/9/21. The weight loss has Been much slower then when I had the sleeve, but again, feeling hopeful! Has anyone heard that with this conversation, you lose weight much slower, then it all falls off? Thank you in advance!

I can't tell you how helpful it is to read this today. I am feeling the EXACT same way. My surgery is a month out, and I'm starting to panic. My rational brain tells me that some day I can enjoy food again (albeit is much smaller amounts), and I won't have to abstain from alcohol forever if I don't want to, but my neurotic brain is worrying about doing something irreversible to my body, and that I could end up going through this for nothing if I gain all the weight back. Glad to know I'm not alone, that this is normal, and that most people don't regret it in the long run.

I don't drink (never liked the taste) but I've definitely been enjoying food a lot since surgery. I eat a lot less (I am less than 2 months out, so I eat about 2 oz of meat/protein at a time), so that is definitely hard, but I still enjoy the food. Is this process easy. NO WAY! You have to change your relationship with food or it won't work. You can still enjoy food, but if you eat the same crap food you ate that made you obese, you will lose weight then gain it right back, or you will not lose much to begin with. This has been the hardest part for me. I am resisting changing WHAT I eat, because I enjoy rich, sweet, restaurant foods. I don't want to eat simply seasoned, fresh, healthy foods. But I want this process to work, so I'm doing my best. I travel every week for work so some days I buy food from the grocery store and eat roast beef, hummus, prechopped veggies, ff greek yogurt, protein shakes, etc in my hotel room, and yes, it's a bit sad. Sometimes I do go out to restaurants and order something, enjoy my few oz of protein and a tiny bit of veggies, but I feel like it's not healthy enough... If you think you can live your old life eating five course restaurant meals after surgery, sure, you can do that after a few years, but you will gain your weight back. Just like any other weight loss scheme, you have to eat less. Right now, I physically can't eat much at one time, but if I were to graze or eat junk food, my weight loss would slow. And I was counting on not being hungry and I'm starving all the time. And I was counting on my tastes to change so I wouldn't like unhealthy food. Nope! This is hard. Think carefully. I don't regret doing it, but it's the hardest thing I've ever done, and I lost 100 lbs through diet and exercise. This is way harder in many ways.

Hi! I just had a revision and hernia repair on the 2nd. The scale is showing I gained 6 pounds from the morning of surgery. How long does it take for all the fluid to get out of you?

Hi - I've started the process of VSG, got my consult, letter of medical necessity, insurance etc... but I have one burning question.... How do people cope? I assume most of us (overweight) got here by over eating for fun / comfort etc. I am a big family eater/drinker - i.e. love hanging with family and shooting the ... for hours while grazing and enjoying wine - the fear of that disappearing scares me to death. I know I can't be the only one - so I'm curious about other peoples experience and regrets if there were any. I'm currently 290, highest weight was 330, lowest was 178.6 about 8 years ago after losing weight on slimming world on my own. I feel like it's pathetic that I can't just do that again - I also never felt 'hard done by' when I lost the weight before, but I was still able to (over)indulge at holidays etc. Clearly the before approach didn't work and I've been morbidly obese my entire life, but I'd love some feedback from the veterans here about coping with that loss, having the sense to see past current eating joy and realize that joy that comes with the ability to be active, not self conscious about weight etc... Any help / advice is greatly appreciated! Brian.

Hi All I am a chef by profession and feel that though I am going through the same as most (currently in puree stage) I refuse to give up my desire to eat well and be creative. My weight loss is going great and I have been keeping the diet prescribed to me by my physician. I have, however, stretched my creative muscles to incorporate flavors I like into my day. This is one of my more successful ones. I am also trying to eat more vegetarian and vegan and this was a good place for that as I use Just egg and vegetarian sausage. If I had cashew yogurt I would have used that instead. 208 calories / 15 carbs / 12g protein (vegetarian) should yield 1/4 cup. If more only eat what you are prescribed. 1 Morning Star Farm vegetarian Sausage Link 1/2 cup Oat Milk 1 ts Low-fat Greek Yogurt (plain) 1/4 ts rubbed sage 1/4 ts garlic powder 1/4 ts dried chives (optional) Ground black pepper 1 ts corn starch disolved in 1 ts of water 1 egg or 3Tbl. Just Egg Over medium heat. Cut up one sausage link and, in a small pan sprayed with cooking spray, sauté until lightly browned. Add Oat Milk, yogurt, sage, garlic powder and chives if you are using and stir until the yogurt dissolves and the gravy starts to simmer. Let it start to cook down a bit. Stir the cornstarch and water slurry well to make sure it is fully dissolved and add it to the gravy. Bring up the heat and stir till thickened to the consistency you wish. If too thick, add some water. Remove from the pan and put the gravy into a small food processor. Blitz until smooth and the sausage is well incorporated. Make your egg or egg substitute scrambled fine so it meets puree standards and serve with the gravy on top. Though you are using about 1/2 cup of milk and such, out leaving you with approximately 1/4 cup of sausage gravy. This is decadent, has the flavors you want, has a good amount of protein and meets the requirements. Cheers J

I wish I could find the medical journal article I read that said something less than 5% of people who are obese can lose their weight and keep it off with diet and exercise alone. Maybe if you scheduled a pre op appointment and asked your wife to go with you so the doctor could tell her those statistics it would help her get on board.

Happy November! It's been a while since I checked in since I missed our 6 month check in. Rolling into fall was hectic at work for me and I was exhausted at home afterwards. But, I won't miss Month 7. Happy Surgerversary to my fellow Sleevers and my April 6 surgery twins. I think there are 4 of us on here. I'm doing good overall. I never had a true goal weight, but I am 20 pounds lower that what the dietitian thought I might be able to lose, but that was a very brief comment made during pre-OP appts. My focus was health not a specific number on the scale. But, I will share that I do weigh daily on my scale every morning just to see what's happening. Emotionally this is not taxing for me. I do not recommend that for people who had a specific goal weight number and are distressed by the scale. I have even more uplifting milestones than what a scale can offer me. Like I need to get my ring resized before it falls off in public somewhere. Never had to do that so I've been procrastinating on figuring out what I need to do for that. But, I get its super easy. Lol. Last weekend I had to gut my closet of my entire fall and winter attire. The prior week was cold and I didn't have any pants at all that fit. The closet is still a mess as I toss sweaters, baggy Jean's, etc. Shopping during the summer was fun and I loved it. But, I dont like cold or winter, so I procrastinated. Shoes are lose as well so I need some winter shoes. I kind of view winter clothes as more expensive than summer, another reason I procrastinated. I'm grateful for sure, just not thrilled about the expense for a season I don't enjoy. So, those are non-scale victories. I'm doing ok food wise, BUT I noticed in October that my restriction is less. Oh, that scares me. I don't want that at just 6-7 months. I also had grazing episodes in October. That scared me even more. I don't eat off plan. My grazing was with fruits, veggies, cheese sticks, and almonds. But, still, it scares me. I haven't cheated in terms of sugar, carbs, soda, etc. I'm proud of myself for that, but dont want less restriction or grazing urges. Also, water intake declined at work last month due to mainly distractions being busy and honestly not having any thirst that even triggered a thought to drink anything. I still only drink water. No juices or soda, plus I'm not a coffee or tea drinker so I'm just water. I try to make up when I get home, but I know that's not good. I'm at a point that I just want to maintain my current weight orsize. I literally just stepped on the scale before typing this sentence. I'm only .6 ounces from an even weight that I can live with. If I dip maybe 2 pounds down, I'm good. I don't want to be tiny. I'm purposely not sharing a number because I dont want to trigger anyone. Monday night I opened a plastic totem of clothes that has clothes from like 10 years ago when I was smaller. Everything except two items fit. It was an awesome Monday night. The two things that did not fit were too big. I'm good here. I'm happy to go down maybe two more because I expect maybe a 3-5 pound fluctuation during maintenance so I want some wiggle room. What I'm not doing good at all? I'm not weight training or strength training. Ugh! Walking, i love. But, i just haven't done what I'm supposed to do with this area. I know i need to but i just get no pleasure from the thought of that weight stuff. Help! Man, long message. I wish all the best to everyone. Would love to hear from folks. Please dont compare your journey to anyone else. If you are a newbie here to the WLS journey, please know that it gets easier around Month 2 post surgery. The first few days will certainly be a challenge. You just had surgery. The first month will be a different experience for you than life before surgery. But as you get into your flow past Month 2, it's not that bad. For me, it's not bad at all. I don't miss the bad stuff I ate. I don't feel like I'm suffering in life. I'm not food deprived. I love having restriction. I don't have any longterm medical issues from the sleeve. You will read a range of horror stories and pleasant stories. Experiences fall on a huge continuum. My experience is just mine. Your experience will be your experience. Be clear about why you are doing this. It is not an easy fix at all. It takes commitment and clarity. All the best to everyone.

I lost a total of 2 lbs on my pre-op diet. I have had good weight loss since surgery. It looks like you already lost weight prior to your pre-op diet, which means you didn't have the "water weight" that a lot of people lose during the pre-op diet. Don't Panic!

# 1 rule - don't compare yourself to others. People lose weight at all different rates due a bunch of different factors, many of which you have little to no control over - starting BMI, age, gender, genetics, metabolic rate, body composition (how much muscle vs fat vs bone you have), how much weight you lost prior to surgery, etc. The only two things you DO have a lot of control over is how closely you stick to your clinic's eating plan and your activity level. If you do well with both of those things, then you WILL lose the weight, whether fast or slow. I was a slow loser from the get-go. I was behind my "co-hort" pretty much the whole time (I know this because of an insensitive comment by a medical resident who did a couple of my follow-up appts). But I kept plugging away and ended up losing ALL of my excess weight, over 200 lbs. if you follow your program, stay active, and your general weight trend is down, you're golden.

I’m nearly 4 weeks on Monday out since the gastric sleeve, I spoke with my Bariatric nurse yesterday she said it’s very common around this time to stall and she explained when you were on a normal diet that you get stalls and don’t lose every week. but it will start coming off again. I haven’t lost anything in over a week but I also have my period and I normally put water weight on while I’m on it and so next week I’m probably going to start losing, fingers crossed, so don’t worry about the stalls, they happen and it’s just your body trying to catch up with the little amounts of food and getting over the stress of the op.