Search the Community

Hi guys I just thought I would check in with you all and tell you of my progress, trials and tribulations! I'm nearly 6 weeks post-op and I am still adjusting to my new life. I am doing very well all things considered, except that one of my surgical sites reopened and is not healing properly, don't worry I am having medical support from the doctor and nurse, I just feel a bit down with it to be honest. I'm type 2 diabetic and my glucose levels have stabilized which is awesome! I lost 2 stone 1lb in just under a month which is amazing, I did stay the same last week which was disappointing but I guess my body needs time to catch up! I'm struggling mentally with self-imposed restrictions and triggering situations like food shopping etc and I wondered if you guys could help me gain some clarity I am one of the unlucky ones that still experiences real hunger and it is definitely not head hunger. I need to eat around every 2 hours, I am getting all my protein in and my fluids and I'm eating around 700 cals a day. My problem is that when I feel real hunger I panic and I don't know why! I have had lots of therapy and I am in a very good place now after many years of struggles with my mental health. I guess I was expecting not to feel hungry like most other people, and that was the case until about 3 weeks ago! The self imposed restriction is calorie counting! I am conflicted about whether I should be counting the calories in non starchy veg such as sprouts, cucumber tomatoes, gherkins, beetroot etc and fruit such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and satsumas. Should I be counting calories at all? I'm eating around 700 cals a day at the moment. I am committed to eating healthy and do not crave junk food anymore which is awesome! I go for whole foods mainly and low carbs. Previously when I have given myself restrictions before I have done great for a few months then fallen off the wagon. I know it is different this time as I have a new tool, but it's taking my brain a while to catch up! I know that I am at the early stages at the moment and still learning my fullness cues and practising a fair amount of control, I used to eat mindlessly, now I think about everything that goes in my mouth. What do you guys think of this? I also worry that my weight loss will stall and I know it's only been a week so far and its not a stall until 3 to 4 weeks, but I have seen it so many times on lots of forums and it worries me a bit to be honest. I know that no one really knows how their weight loss is going to go as everyone is unique and I need to stop overthinking things but its so hard when I have done it all my life! Did any of you guys have similar worries or concerns in the early stages and did it resolve itself? Any advice would be great! Thanks in advance x

I was looking for an introductions forum, which was mentioned somewhere, but couldn't find it, and this seemed the most appropriate place! I just joined the site after reading - well listening to - Alec Brecher's book on the gastric bypass. I'm George, I'm 43 year olds and I currently live in Spain after a lot of moving around. I've been overweight all of my adult life, but I have rapidly gained a lot more weight in the last few years. Considering bariatric surgery was first recommended to me by my doctor a few years ago, but it was right before the pandemic and that interrupted the process I was on at the time. I am now scheduled to have (hopefully) gastric by pass on April 15th, privately, at a clinic in Latvia. I decided to pay for it myself since the wait time to do it on my government plan in my part of Spain right now is said to be about three years. Currently I am on Rybelsus to help me loose some weight before the surgery, and there's been /some/ success. I expect to be on the liver reduction diet for a month before the surgery and I have to admit I'm not looking forward to it! I look forward from learning from everyone on this forum.

Hi guys, I'm feeling a bit low so I thought I would reach out, everyone seems so friendly here. I had sleeve surgery nearly 6 weeks ago and one of the surgical sites just wont heal. They were all fine, scabbed over and looking great until two weeks ago when they starting weeping. When this happened I covered them up with an antiseptic cream and saw the doctor who prescribed antibiotics for an infection I had. The scab came off on one of them along with the stitches leaving a sizeable hole which scared me to death! Now this hole won't seem to heal. It is about as 1cm deep and 1.5 cm wide. The nurse is packing and dressing it twice a week, but it's really getting me down. I am type 2 diabetic so I know that alone indicates slow healing but my glucose levels are right down now since the surgery which is great. Has anyone else had problems of this nature? It's really getting me down and it makes me feel queasy when I have to have it changed.

I have blood in my stool 3 weeks after Gastric bypass surgery. Worried

Congrats on 10 years! I think we all will have ups and downs our whole lives! Just life! I too was 277 at my highest ever. Lost 100 lbs before and 60 lbs three times, and 20 and 30 lbs several times and it always came back slowly over the next few years. So I got the sleeve done Dec 2 last year and have gone from 244 at start of liquids before surgery to 202.4 today. Almost to Onederland! I love all the tips you shared. Snacking and drinking calories are DEFINITELY culprits to regaining our weight! I bring divided out grapefruit every day lately if I do want something. Or berries or cucumbers. And I've been drinking water during the week and add in my tea and coffee on the weekends usually. But I use Stevia. I was divorced a few years back also and remarried and my husband is pre-diabetic. He doesn't eat sugar now so that helps me too. 🙂 He eats healthier than I do since he found that out too. Determined to not become diabetic. He eats baked fish, grilled shrimp, spinach and cabbage, etc. LOL! He's got some great willpower. You and I seem to have lots in common! But I don't like beer. LOL! It's probably better for me though than pina coladas, which are my fave! LOL! I haven't had one in a year or longer. And just had surgery about 3 months ago. You can tell I hardly drink at all. 🤣 I am so glad to know restriction stays! Some people say it fades. I'm glad it doesn't! Hopefully we can continue to lose and get to a weight we are happy with this year! 💗

I'm an old VSG Vet, had my surgery in 2014. Initially lost a successful amount of weight. had some serious 'life' events- change of job, change to night shift, loss of parent, went to grad school and graduated, went to a second grad program, changed career path, etc. I was told in 2017 I had a serious metabolic issue with my liver and that helped me really get focused, went to keto and lost all the regain I had plus much more, resulting in 100lb total loss. Since then, though, I've regained probably 50-60 lbs. I still feel some restriction which is great. Long time issue has been GERD, it was severe PRE surgery but my quite renowned surgeon assured me that with the weight loss, the GERD would subside. It did. But with the weight gain over last 2 yrs, it's back and BAD. I have EGD and colonoscopy coming up in a few weeks to assess the damage. I'm very scared due to the ongoing severe nature of the symptoms I'm having. I'm a healthcare provider so I know all of the 'things' that could present. Because of all this, I'm heavily considering a revision. I have been on PPI for over 20 years. While my magnesium is fine, my bones are already having a lot of issues AND I'm scared to death of the brain effects. What should I consider with revision, same doctor, different doctor, etc? Also I know that weight loss can be slower, but what type of rate of weight loss can be expected? Lastly, what kind of time off from my career can I hope for? I took 6 solid weeks with my VSG and it helped get my brain, behaviors etc really corrected before going back into the workplace.

Just checking in to see how everyone else is doing. I had a rough few weeks after I got a virus. Just because of the chemo my body couldn’t fight it so I ended up septic and in the hospital for 10 days with pneumonia and a sinus infection. My white blood cells kept bottoming out but they gave me this shot two times to build them back and so far this time they are holding at low normal. Tomorrow will be a week that I’ve been home and I think I am out of the woods finally, but I am still pretty weak and I am supposed to do treatment Monday so I doubt I will get to feeling much stronger. Probably won’t feel like myself until I’m done with the chemo. 10 more weeks 🤞 I am trying to do a tiny bit of waking like a quarter of a mile at a time a few times a day just so I don’t get out of the habit of exercise but that’s about all I can do. I also contacted the cancer center that one of my doctors is a part of and talked to the yoga instructor and asked if they have a virtual option for the chair yoga and when I explained my situation she said she would get with IT and make it happen for next week. I thought that was so sweet and hopefully will be something I can do to start building my strength back. She said next month they are going to add mat yoga as well so I can build back up to that when I am ready. Anyways I’m pretty proud of myself that I’m still trying every step of the way to keep up with my bariatric journey. I may not be 100% right now but unlike pre surgery I am not letting this be an excuse to just throw it all away. I had a birthday and it was a little unconventional because it had to be virtual but it turned out to be a nice day considering. My mom dropped off carrot cake so of course I have that taunting me In the kitchen. I have been doing real tiny pieces though and it’s actually starting to taste a little stale. Who knew that cake can get stale 😂

I don’t know why I’m suddenly getting messages again I deleted myself from this form as I found it toxic. I came here for support and was told no one believes me my body went into complete starvation mode. They sent me home until they had test results, everyone said they didn’t believe me because they sent me home three days later my kidneys failed. I missed Christmas with my kids because I was in the hospital. Spent three weeks there on IVs. They eventually had to make my pouch bigger. miss a hell of a lot thought this form would help me and I got responses that no one believed me great support deleting myself from this again just know this form can be toxic. I cried hysterically after the responses I got thank you all for not supporting me. Good luck to all of you.

Hey guys! Thanks for taking your time to read and answer I appreciate it. I had Gastric Sleeve last Friday the 14th. I have had a few moments where it felt like I was having low blood sugar, because I was/am prediabetic. It will go away even eating a sugar free popsicle will make it better. My bf told me it's not my blood sugar cus sugar free wont fix that. I have just had a handful of moments that felt like i would pass out if i didn't get something in me. Is that normal? I get in all my fluids and then some, ate my 2ox 3 x a day liquid diet as well. I was getting about 40 grams of protein a day which was all I could really fit in in three meals of 2oz lol. Today I am starting puree so I am expecting it to get better but just curious. I've had 0 complications and 0 dumping as well.

yep. mine still talks to (sometimes screams at) me, and im 6+ years out! often times i can FEEL the noises as well. though lately in the past few weeks, ive started to feel the rumbling not just in my abdomen, but also in my back! weird. we theorize its because i’ve got so thin lately that the rumbling can be felt everywhere as there is less mass to “travel” through or buffer the gastro “tremors”…*shrug*

Stalls or plateaus are very normal with weight loss so you’re not failing. Frustrating, yes but not a sign of failure. Almost everyone experiences them. Literally thousands of posts about them here. The first one (yes first because you can experience a few along the way) usually occurs around the 3 week mark though sometimes they occur before then or after. A stall can last around 1-3 weeks. Stalls are a stress response. Your body thinks what the hell is going on here and shuts down. It uses the time to reassess your new needs (like what changes need to occur with your digestive hormones) as a result of the weight loss, changed caloric intake, surgery, etc. compare it with when you experience psychological or emotional stress and just want to shut the world out until you feel able to deal with the stress. Same for your body’s response to physical stress. Stick to your plan. Don’t stress your body more. The stall will break when your body is ready. Take some body measurements as sometimes, while the numbers on the scale don’t change, your measurements may. Though every plan and advice given is different, two plus hours a day of workouts is actually a lot this soon after surgery. Your body is still recovering and healing (lots of sutures and staples holding your digestive system together). Is your team aware of how much & what activities you’re doing? If not I’d check with them. Dr Matt Weiner (pound of Cure) is a great resource as is Dr John Pilcher. Check out their videos on You Tube (they have a lot so prepare to scroll). I‘ve included Dr Weiner’s on stalls as a start and to help alleviate your worries. He does podcasts too. Glad the vomiting has eased.

Oh the disposable knickers may be useful at least for a couple of days. Friend was advised by her surgeon to wear disposable knickers for the first week. Sudden and unexpected diarrhoea is a possibility and you shouldn’t trust a fart for the first week or so. Wish my surgeon suggested the paper knockers. My real knickers ended up in the bin at the hospital. Got up to pee, took three steps and oh my God!! Away it came. Of course it doesn’t happen to everyone but it’s not worth the risk. Glad things are going well so far.

Pardon my ignorance! I had gastric Bypass on January 15th. I had mine done due to gastroparesis not for weight loss. I weighed on average 250lbs before surgery. As of now I'm at 220lbs. Yes I have lost nearly 30lbs. Most of my weight loss was right at first and have hit two major plateaus after surgery. I consume little amount of calories. I mainly have protein shakes which consist of Premier Protein or Redcon1 MRE. I eat ground proteins like lean beef or turkey. I am very strict on my diet. I work out daily and put in at least two hours. I would thought my progress would have been greater. I'm trying to lose weight before I return to work and build up my strength. I feel like I'm failing and I don't know what to do. Is this normal? I've been stuck at 220lbs for almost two weeks now. Please don't beat me up too badly in the comments.

How many calories should I be eater per day in on week 4

Well everyone’s loss is different. I looked back at my logs and I only lost 20 pounds I that first months and I had a more aggressive surgery and I was exercising (not sure if you are). Also, some people do have a stall early out so try to trust the process and stick with it. I mean when before have you lost four pounds a week pre surgery? The surgery is obviously working just maybe not as quick as you would like. Your a relatively low BMI so your not likely to lose as fast as someone who started with a higher one. About the scale, Do you have a followup appt at one month with your surgeon. I bet the scale recalibrated or it could just be that you sat it back In a little Different spot. I know I have wood laminate floors and they must be just the tiniest bit off level because when I move my scale around it weighs a bit different. When you go to your surgeon and he or she tells you what your weight is and your kiss by their scale you can figure how many pounds your scale is off from theirs and go from there. Honestly it Doesn’t usually really matter if it was accurate before or now so long as you are measuring with the same scale because accurate or not it will still reflect your lost. But if it is that far off from what it was before I can see how it would be confusing. Maybe even if you don’t have an appt you can ask to go in and just weigh yourself using the dr scale. I cant imagine why that would be a big deal. That way you can sorta estimate how many pounds your scale is off from theirs.

Well loss still excruciatingly slow here! 😩 I had a weird thing with the scales this week. I was 97.4 kg, then the battery died in my scale, so changed it, to find I was up to 98.8 WTF!! Hubster weighed he was also 1.5kg above where he had been. We now don't know if pre or post battery change is correct! And I don't feel like I have lost any, still feeling very fat. Eating an average of 800 cals, but makes little difference if I eat much more or less. It's a bit over a month since surgery, and I have lost 8 kg or 16lbs, most of that in the first week. I am trying to meet water and protein goals, not always hitting it, but do often (avg 67gm from 70 goal) Despairing a bit here tbh.

Today we meet with the Nutritionist (super cool and I think my husband wants to being her home) and the surgeon. I can't say enough good things about him. He is so friendly and knowledgeable. Plus he had the surgery 15 years ago himself so he definitely understands. All is good to go for in the morning. I have three drinks to drink tonight and in the morning to get ready. 10AM is go time!! We had our last meal (my husband is having an inguinal hernia repair) and it was the perfect way to spend the afternoon! Pics attached!

Hi @Lilia_90! thank you for checking in, and unfortunately not yet 😭 Friday I FINALLY got the okay to do more than leisurely walk, I can do cardio and lower body workouts. I went on the stair master lasted only 20min (pathetic! I used to do 35-40min with juice left in the tank) then did the treadmill for 25 but I am building back to where I was just going to take me a min. I was off 7 weeks, but I did do lower body today, just bands and omg my legs were burning and I was actually sweating LOL so Hopefully with the consistency I will be back to where I was SOON! I miss how lean I felt and looked hahah. The boobies are healing well, still in my post op bra. I really am jealous of others recovery process. Mine seems so cautious which I get but so far its been worth it. They look great and settling where they are supposed to.

I’ve lost around 100lbs. I have been gaining and losing the same 4 pounds since last fall, about the same time I hurt my back in the gym. I’m recovered now and need to get back to exercising. The gastric sleeve has been super helpful because even if I have a cheat meal, it’s very small and almost no weight impact. I’ve always liked protein heavy meals so this has been pretty easy for me. Limiting bread and sugars, and not drinking soda has gotten me most of the way there. I have started to drink a few beers a week…I try to keep it to lite low cal/carb beer.

Hi. I got my band in 2017. No major issues except occasional stuck food. Def no reflux! I had my gall bladder removed on Jan 22 2025 and about a week later started having TERRIBLE reflux, keeping me up at night and prescribed Prilosec / tums aren't helping. Also my band feels TIGHT!!! tighter than it ever has. I'm actually getting some fluid out this week which will hopefully help with both problems but any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you so much!

Two months?! No, my diet changes week to week. Second week after surgery, I started full liquids. Third week, pureed foods and things like soup, yogurt, pudding, applesauce. Later this week I can start with soft foods: eggs, white fish, mashed beans. The week after, I can try tuna, salmon, chicken, cooked veggies. The week after that, I can try beef and pork. Every doctor has different post-op directions.

Well, January Buddies, sounds like we all have our individual struggles. I'm just over 2 weeks post-op and I'm trying really hard to get all that liquid in too 😵‍💫 What helps me is to remember that this is a marathon - not a sprint. We're in it for the long haul. And I just keep working to overcome the struggles, and have discovered that doing that strengthens my resolve to keep working at it! Kind of like a mind game. Hope this help you too.

Hey guys! I also had my op (MGB) on 27/01/2025. I think for me, now 3 weeks po I’m doing ok. My tolerance appears to differ day to day. I’m not hitting my fluid levels either. I guess I t’s all a learning curve isn’t it and I’m struggling with the not eating and drinking at the same time which isn’t really helping.

I’m doing ok didn’t have any problems after apart from low oxygen levels but I kept telling them that was my normal but insisted I stayed in for 4 days. I am not hitting my fluid levels I don’t think I’m almost on my fourth week and I just stuck with what I’m should be eating or how much .

I told my surgeon about meals as they had me eating soup with shredded chicken and tiny bits of carrots all they said it’s ok if your tolerance is ok. Just as well it was and I didn’t get any problems but I must admit it’s left me quite confused now and what I’m able to eat 3 weeks later x