Search the Community

Well I'm 4 days post op! Zero issues with hydration and protein. 80 0z liquids so far today and 65 grams of protein. Never had "sharp pain" but felt like I had an ab workout from hell that I'm still trying to get over the soreness lol. No nausea. No diarrhea. No leaks. No complications. Had surgery at 10 am the 1st and headed home around 9am the next morning. No issues with my chewable vitamins. No horror stories of gad pains from the lapo. Was belching day of surgery, passing gas by day 3, first BM day 4. Taking miralax each morning, mixed w Gatorade zero. Taking just Tylenol, still have two "pain pills" just in case. Drove my car today! No temp or taste issues. I feel super grateful my luck so far! Down 11.6 lbs but I'm assuming IV fluids weight is alot of that number. I have 6 incisions like the first photo. The bruised one is the one they place the stapler through. Sent from my SM-F721U using BariatricPal mobile app

My surgery date is February 20th. I have pre existing blood clots and have to inject myself with Epogen. I am on the 2 week liquid diet now. I am not a bug eater to begin with and have done 30 day juice fasts so I am mentally prepared for the two weeks. It's the Epogen that is a doozie. I already have lupus and fibro and this medication makes my bones and muscles hurt and now.I have the chills. 2 doses down 10 to go! Sent from my SM-A326U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hey everyone! Going from the sleeve, to bypass Monday 2/6. I'm scared and excited. Due to GERD which is super common with the sleeve I am getting the revision. Also I am getting hernia repair as well. Tomorrow starts the liquids only. Nervous since I have has no luck finding vitamins in store and have to order them all. Anyone with advice with a revision from sleeve to bypass? Sleeve in 2/28/19 Bypass on 2/6/23 Sent from my SM-S908U using BariatricPal mobile app

I had serious doubts about getting the gastric sleeve a few days before my surgery. I expressed them to my husband but he thought I was just nervous and wanted to support me, so he urged me to go through with it. I hate it though. I hate my life now and I'm not sure if I will ever not hate it. I have a couple close friends and they did not feel this way 4 weeks post-op like I do. I cry all the time. I'm worried something is wrong and terrified of having to go through any kind of revision surgery. I'm an American living in Germany and it is so difficult to contact my surgeons office and get anyone who speaks enough english to help me. I started my WL journey about 4 years ago when we were stationed in Italy. I was denied a medically necessary breast reduction because my BMI was too high. So I was referred for weight loss guidance.First, I was sent to the base nutritionist (a perfectly in shape airman) who told me I needed to work out more and eat more whole vegetables. I had to work with him for 1+ years before being able to try any WL medications. Unfortunately that was in early 2019, and we all know how the next few years went. We PCS'd to a new base in Germany in 2020 and when I asked about the WL medications I was told that was not an option here. They recommended I carry on with my (now virtual) nutritionist. I wasn't losing any weight and working out would send my back into spasms from my H cups breasts. I was taking a combination of Flexural, Motrin, and Valium for my back spasms, only using the Valium when they were at a level 8 or above pain level (so less than 1 valium a month). Turns out not only could I not get WL meds here, I also could not get a refill on my Valium. I had used too much (less than 1 pill a month for a year). So any weight training was immediately phased out of my working out, which now consisted of only walking. This past summer I went back and told them I really need a breast reduction and if I had to go the WLS route then I was open to that. The provider (who has had WLS themself) was very on board with WLS. I told them that I had already done the nutrition part at my previous base, so he put in the surgical consult referral right away. After I met with the surgeon, who surprise, surprise wanted to operate (surgeons always gonna surgeon), my provider put in the referral for my surgery and stated that all prerequisites had been completed at prior base. Then boom... endoscopy and surgery scheduled. Now all I had said was that I went to nutrition at my previous base and continued it virtually. So I had no idea what other preqs there could be. I had a few meeting with the nutritionist here about the gastric pre/post op diet. That's it. I learned about the full liquid to clear liquid pre-op and clear liquid to full liquid to purees to soft foods diet post op. I was completely unprepared mentally and emotionally for this surgery. Not to mention I had done all my pre-op nutrition with the American on base nutritionist and post-op was with the German hospital nutritionist. They had completely different guidelines (like the Germans wanted me to start soft solids on DAY 5 post op and stop protein shakes immediately). I was in the hospital for 4 days with nurses who spoke very little English, so they would give me shots and pills but never tell me what they were giving me. I know a small amount of German, enough to get by with running errands and what not, so I understood one nurse when after I told her my German was minimal and asked if she could speak English, she got annoyed with me and told me I was never going to be allowed to go home. The patient liaison from base sorted it out and the issue was the hospital nutritionist would not do my consult without an in person translator that I needed to provide and I could not be discharged without that consultation. I felt like I was drowning; I still feel like I'm barely able to tread water now at 4 weeks post-op. My end goal wasn't WL to be skinny. I just wanted a breast reduction. Before surgery I didn't have high blood pressure, diabetes, GERD, sleep apnea, high cholesterol...zero comorbidities. For all intents and purposes I was a healthy fat lady with giant boobs. So post surgery I was/am overwhelmed with regret. There's all these things I feel like I didn't know and wasn't prepared for. Like I knew I was going to be eating smaller portions, but didn't know about the tiny bites and chewing things until its mush in your mouth for the rest of your life. I didn't know that my stomach would be almost too swollen to drink water after surgery and that the german hospital only provided water and broth, no popsicles or jello. So I spent my days in the hospital feeling nauseous all the time because drinking water made me taste blood in my mouth and that made me gag, all while my nurse tisked me and told me I was never going home. No one asked if I had a history of eating disorders (which I do) and how this surgery and diet are going to bring up old thoughts and feelings of self harm and negative self talking. No one weighed out if the possible negative side effects of the surgery were stronger than the positives. Pre surgery I took ZERO daily meds other than a daily vitamin. Now I need an antacid and stool softener to be able to ingest anything other than water and not tear myself in half in the bathroom. I also need daily tylenol because eating anything gives me a massive headache. I don't even want to eat anymore. I spend 30 minutes forcing myself to take tiny bites of some high protein food and then I spend the next hour actively trying not to barf it back up. Without tylenol I am running at 99F, but when I eat it goes up to 100-101. The doctor said its not an emergency unless its 101.5, which is hasn't gotten to yet. And even if it did, what would I do?! The hospital was horrible. My hand still hurts from where the nurse wouldn't flush my IV, so the port go blocked and all he fluid and medicine soaked into the flesh of my hand, making it swell up like Wreck It Ralph. I had an allergic reaction that made me sneeze for days after surgery. No one would offer any help or advice about my sneezing. They told me to eat less, but I wasn't eating anything at all. I just hate this. I hate food. I hate eating. I hate the thought of chewing until something is a mushy paste. I hate life. I just wanted a breast reduction and now I feel like I've had a life reduction.

I still struggle to eat meals in 30 min, I'm usually done between 10 to 15min, I do try to take a bit chew chew chew, walk a little and then repeat but still too fast, its a habit I want to kick,since it makes me feel full faster, without eating all my protein. Sent from my SM-G960U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Any tips for working in an environment that loves to have tons of junk food? Here's just a small list of the food my coworker ate this week in our little office... New most stuffed oreos homemade brownies mcdonalds.. twice pizza hut donuts cupcakes homemade chicken queso dip with chips (in a crockpot on warm 5 feet from me the ENTIRE day) 😣 The four woman I directly work with know I'm having surgery in about 10 weeks and I'm really trying to change my eating habits. We all take lunch breaks but sometimes eat at our desks. This is truly showing me I can have the willpower to not indulge. I've lost around 18 pounds so far.

P.S. it may not be "normal" for people to gain 30+ lbs after quitting smoking, but we're not really normal. I think most of us are more prone than most people to gain weight. If I know that some drug is likely to make me gain weight, and the average is 5 lbs, I can pretty much guarantee that I'll gain at least 10.

I had my surgery 10 years ago and to this day I'm still having nausea and vomiting. I have to take promethazine suppository 4X a day. I had the Roux en Y.

The temporary change to your taste buds & for some more sensitive sense of smell can make finding something you can tolerate eating difficult. I remember being excited about being able to eat vegetables again in soft food but my favourites were awful. Took me a few tries to work out which ones I could eat. At 10 weeks I would expect you are on solid foods. I focussed on ensuring I was eating all my protein first at each meal & only a small amount of vegetable if I was able & usually only for dinner. I very happily never had another protein shake once I was on purée - they were disgusting. And like @catwoman7 I didn’t have to continue with them either. I supplemented my protein intake with a high protein yoghurt & yoghurt drink. Water can almost be too heavy too drink at first. Don’t be afraid to try other liquids & not just plain water. I’d have a large mug of green tea, a yoghurt drink & flattened sparkling water (left the bottle open - I seemed to tolerate the mineral taste better) as well as plain water. Some find warm drinks easier to drink than cold too. Hunger & appetite do return. When is individual but between 6-12 months is pretty common. I found it a helpful time to change my relationship with food. I started to eat to a routine because I knew I needed to eat to get in the nutrients my body needed to function not because I wanted to eat or wanted to eat a particular food, taste or texture (head hunger).

I’m 10 days in now and have never felt hunger of course but the love of food smell has returned which is interesting as is the want to eat something tasty. I haven’t had nausea since operating day thankfully. Speak to your surgeon etc, I think sometimes forcing it (in moderation) is the way through but do that under advice.

My Bariatric dietician told me that whilst standard advice remains 30 mins of no liquid before and after meals, 15 would suffice and does for all her patients, eventually becoming 10 mins. What do you all do? Secondly, I know dumping is meant to hit within 30 mins (early dumping) but does it normally come on real quick for those who get it? Thanks all, loving reading the forum from start to finish!

How many struggle with eating after gastric bypass surgery? I've followed all the instructions (ie chewing well, waiting between bites, etc), but can't hardly stand the taste of most foods I eat. I've particularly had problems with protein shakes, protein water and protein powders. Some days I feel like I don't even want to eat. I'm concerned because I never reach the amount of protein and water recommended. Will this ever end? Good news is I've lost 48 lbs since November 23, 2022. Sent from my SM-A205U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Yeah, they told me 15 minutes in the beginning and then just the other day during my 6 week post op appointment they said 10 minutes between each. It’s so exhausting.

were you told to take them all ten minutes apart? I always took a handful at breakfast time, another handful late afternoon - and then my two extra calcium chews spaced out. Then iron before going to bed. I never was told to wait 10 minutes after each one...

Hi all, I’m 6 weeks post op from my VGS. I take 9 pills in the morning and 7 at night, plus vitamin chewables and calcium chews. Taking meds takes me FOREVER every day with taking one pill at a time and then the 10 min wait in between each one. By the time I finish my morning meds it’s lunch time and half my day is gone. Will I ever be able to take all my meds at once again? This is killing me!

The pain from the surgical gas was actually more painful than my incision sites. The pain went away after about 7-10 days. Continue to take gas x and walking! It will get better but it’s an uncomfortable period when you’re in it.

I feel like I have not hit a stall neither and I'm about 10 weeks, granted I do not weight myself daily, more of once a week to keep me on track. I would not worry about a 2-pound gain, it can be the new food you are trying or retaining water, which is usually my case.

I take mine with a sip of water like 10/15 minutes before I eat. Or, if I am drinking a shake for I will just use the shake to swallow it.

Walking was all I did for the first couple years. My spouse and I were walking 8-10 miles several times a week. I didn't think of it as exercise but rather people watching down on the Las Vegas strip. I had decided I wasn't going to do anything more until I was about 100 pounds overweight, at which point I challenged myself to complete a a program similar to "Couch to 5K". Running sorta got under my skin after that. I only had to wear the DVT stockings while I was in bed in the hospital which was 3 days. The bed itself was a torture device so I spent the majority of the 3 days in the nice, comfortable chair that was in my room free of the DVT stockings. Good luck, Tek

If someone asks I will tell them because maybe they are looking for answers for their problem too or someone they love. I had 2 people tell me that they had a gastric bypass 10 years before. l had always known them thin so I was surprised to learn that they had had a bypass, but also encouraged by that too. I mean they have both kept they weight of for 10 years!! These two ladies are the reason I got started on the path of weight loss. So if some one asks me I will tell them truthfully.

I was able to do 1 hour on the treadmill, but definitely not at the level I could before all this stomach crap. I was at incline 15, speed 2.6, heart rate around 142. It annoys me that I've had to back it down, but at least I can do something. I was also able to do 20 sit ups (used to be able to do 50), 30 stomach crunches (was able to do 60 before), 10 step ups on each side (used to be able to do 30 before), and 20 reps on each of my arm exercises (used to do 40 each). I couldn't so anything more because I started to have sharp stabbing abdominal pain as well as burning from the gastritis and GERD. I might have to back it down on the treadmill a little more and see if things improve. I can't wait for all of my procedures to be done so I can finally start feeling better and get back to working out the way I normally do. I can't even THINK about any weight training or strength/core training right now

I had RNY when I was 29, and I’m 38 now. I was diagnosed with PCOS at age 20 (my mother also had it) and took Loestrin for years to regulate my cycle. After my RNY, I stopped talking the oral birth control; I started having regular periods again quite quickly actually. In 2015, I had the Paragard IUD placed, but my body expelled it after 10 months. I then started taking Yaz, and was on it for 7 years, until recently, when my husband had a vasectomy. I personally noticed over the last couple of years that my PMS symptoms increased tremendously, instead of decreasing as they do for some women on BC. I also never had one single pregnancy scare on oral contraceptives; my OB GYN knew I had RNY and said it was totally fine for me to take them for the length of time I did. I’ve been off the Yaz for close to 3 months now, and have had regular cycles again already. 😊

Just had an interesting and instructive experience. I’m starting my fourth week post op and am allowed cream of wheat (which I loved as a child, and apparently still do). I’ve been told to keep my meals to 1/2-3/4 a cup but was enjoying this so much and the recipe/serving on the box was for 1 cup so I made one cup. After having my 3/4 cup (thinned) a bit faster than my usual 10 min between 2-4 tablespoon fulls as a time I decided to have the last 1/4 (the rest). Mistake, 10 min later I start sweating, little pain in my chest and generally not feeling great. It all passed in about 30 min but I am grateful for the gentle yet firm lesson from my body that 3/4 is my limit for now. Being 10 years post sleeve the bypass has very different cues (at least at this point) and I’m paying attention.

I hate the blood thinners, but I’m doing great so far. I’m already a lot more mobile and it doesn’t hurt to move anymore, so my daily steps are up from 2k/day to over 6k/day. I’m having a bit of a stall weight wise now at 12 lbs down and 10 days post-op but I try not to stress about it and just carrying on with my new routines.