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I am glad to hear that you are doing well. I am on week 5 post op and still introducing foods back into my diet—I don’t have carte blanche the way you do, though! I think it is interesting how doctors’ offices are so different. This week I am on shaved deli meat, cheese, and turkey chili, and melba toast/saltines. LOL! I agree with you on taking it slow and trying one food at a time. Eggs did not bother me at first, but now they do. I had to take anti-nausea meds for the first time since week one because of a scrambled egg! I have also found that certain foods make me gag—yogurt, cottage cheese, and fish! I am so disappointed in losing 4 quality means of protein because they just are not palatable! I also find that I can’t eat much. I certainly can’t drink a whole protein shake in one sitting—I have to drink 1/2 in the am and the other 1/2 in the pm. I find I struggle with getting enough protein. It is my #1 goal right now—get 80 grams of protein a day! I am barely getting 50. I have lost 31 lbs since the beginning and 20 lbs since surgery. I go for my 6 week check-up next week. I am so excited for next week because fruits and vegetables return. I cannot wait! I don’t reach any food I want until Week 12! I am still tired—I try to walk every day, but I haven’t made it to the gym yet. That is my 2nd goal—go to gym 3x a week. All in all—I am doing well. Still learning how to navigate Tiny Tummy, but so much happier when I look in the mirror! One more pound, and I will be in the 180s! 31lbs down and 50 to go, but my first small weight goal is 185!

@SummerTimeGirl I'm sorry it's so rough right now. It's awesome that your husband is so supportive! Please keep us posted on how you're doing. @Elahnen Sorry it's so rough to be left out, glad your husband was supportive too! I spent the weekend with my semi-ex-boyfriend who is skinny as a rail and he's being super supportive of my trying to lose weight in preparation for my upcoming surgery (no date yet 😞) . We walked and walked and walked and he supported me as I left food on my plate sometimes.

I'm in Dallas, but when I was researching surgeons, I came upon a great group in SA. Sage Bariatric. One of their doctors has a YouTube channel and I've really enjoyed his videos. John Pilcher. Not sure if he's connected to your weight loss center. Good luck!

Is anyone here in the San Antonio area & going through the Methodist Metropolitan Weight Loss Center??? My Dr is leaving at the end of June & IDK what to do. I am hoping to be scheduled for my Gastric Sleeve by June 22nd ish. Do I change Doctors so I have the same one through Post Op etc...? Or keep the one I currently have?? Sent from my LM-Q730 using BariatricPal mobile app

Best thing is no more GERD/ Acid Reflux! Worst thing is I can't think of is the wrinkles in my face from all the weight loss. I have no issues personally with dumping and can eat anything without any issues except ice cream. I can only eat a very little amount of ice cream (candies too) or I will pay a price with stomach/colon pains and uncomfortable heart rates but I never throw up and I think that may be because of a hiatal hernia repair that my body just won't throw up even when I want it too. I am almost 8 months post op and have lost 21 lbs more with the roux en x bypass and after a couple of months stall and just now starting weight training in a gym am starting to see the scale moving once again. I am only 4lbs from my goal. I am sure my lose skin weighs about this, LOL... But I am happy just not having the GERD or Acid reflux and so it has all been very worth it!

RNY here. I never had any issues, either. Some of us don't. Consider yourself lucky! (btw - not having issues won't affect your weight loss as long as you follow your surgeon's plan. I lost 100% of my excess weight)

Best thing.....NO MORE ACID REFLUX Worst thing.....Dumping Surgery 10/29/2020 @ 187 lbs. Weight loss since surgery..... 52 lbs. That's also a BEST THING! Since my surgery was for the stomach/esophagus issues, the weight loss has been a bonus! After the sleeve, I had a banana sized stomach. Now I have a golf ball sized stomach. The remainder of my stomach and my duodenum (upper most part of my upper intestine) is still inside, the duodenum is just connected further down into my ilium (lowest part of the upper intestine). So in the revision, nothing is taken out like with the sleeve. The digestive track is just rerouted to bypass the stomach and duodenum. I hope that makes sense.

I sometimes worry about the same thing. I had very little pain post surgery and no issues with getting liquids or protein, no issues with purée or soft foods. I have tolerated everything I have eaten so far. No nausea, vomiting, nothing. I sometimes worry that the lack of these things will make the surgery less successful for me. But at 12 weeks post op, I have lost 40 pounds (total) and I am a lower BMI so it is working... just a little slower than for some. I think this is because I can consume more food than most at this stage. I have heard veterans that continued losing for almost two years so I think the weight will come off within that time frame it just may take the full two years to get there.

So its been interesting reading so many people saying bad things about the gastric balloon, because for me, even though its very early days, it is going really well. I have lost 8kg since my procedure on May 21st (starting weight 134.9kg which I think is just under 300 pounds?, height 5'6), I am, as advertised, not hungry at all, and while the first week I was cramping somewhat, I haven't vomited or had any nausea at all. I haven't had any issues in the puree stage and am already finding some soft foods are okay too, though I do still feel more comfortable on liquids so I am dialing it back a bit and taking the transition slower as the fullness is hard to (lol) stomach. Speaking of stomachs, even though I intellectually knew better, I think my mind always associated my stomach with my belly, so intestinal pains or discomfort sometimes translated as hunger pains for me I think. I have never been so aware of my actual stomach before and I think that's hugely important to learning how to change my lifestyle going forward. I can hopefully do a better job listening to my hunger and fullness cues because this balloon is taking me to actually listen to the right body part! I wonder if this is something anyone else has experienced as part of their bariatric weightloss journey? I must say I did a LOT of preparation in the lead up to my procedure, I created a folder with all the info I needed for my different stages, as well as recipe ideas, info about possible health issues and troubleshooting for anything that might come up, tracker sheets for water and medication, weight loss, exercise tips for recovery, measurements etc (like you might have in a bullet journal) and I am referring back to my folder and adding to it constantly - which is actually super fun and keeps me motivated! I got some info from my surgeon and dietician, as well as the usual orbera booklet (in digital form, so i printed only the relevant bits - why there are whole pages of slim people who have never needed to consider weight loss procedures in these things I will never know lol) and I also scoured the internets for resources from other hospitals, much of which is more aimed at surgical patients but is still really relevant for me. I think it's a mindfulness thing, because I find that adding to my folder is great way to keep my mind busy and get out of old habits (And I have cute stickers that I put in there too). I was an emotional eater all my life but recently I am realising I am also a boredom eater - so trying to replace those boredom triggers with other things is my main goal, sometimes I find myself even though I am FULL, thinking about eating something out of boredom so I am learning how best to divert my brain with new fun things. I think a lot of people go into the gastric balloon thinking is going to be a quick fix and obviously that isn't the case. Its a tool like any other. They say the average amount lost is around 15kg but as I am halfway there already, and I have at least a year of this, I am quietly hopeful that my goal is in reach ( I want to get below 100kg, so the total amount I want to lose is 35kg over the time I have this balloon). It's still early days for me but I feel hopeful. I can do this. Honestly I'm not sure if my lack of vomming is because I am being so careful with how much I have at once, or because I am tracking the medication and taking that regularly as a preemptive thing, or if I am just one of the lucky ones. Along with not being hungry (at ALL), I am not having any of my regular cravings. I tell people the fullness feels like.... say you stuffed yourself eating a huge meal then someone put a slice of chocolate mud cake in front of you and even though you KNOW it would taste good, the idea of even getting it near your mouth is the last thing you want. Or say you've had a big holiday dinner and now you need to go have a mid-afternoon nap to sleep it off. I feel like that almost all the time right now so there really is no room for temptation. I'm happy to talk about my experience with the balloon insertion, why and how I chose the balloon (and why Orbera), how I put my folder together, or generally answer any questions. And I hope to come back and update on my progress to help keep myself accountable. Sent from my SM-G965F using BariatricPal mobile app

I had my VSG 5/17. To date I have had no nausea, no vomiting, no pain or discomfort aside from what I think of as normal healing pains. I was upgraded to puree a couple days ago, and am having no issues with anything i've tried. I don't need to drink any protein shakes to get enough in. I am following the dietician's guidelines with what to eat, and how much, and I can always eat my whole 2oz, although I do feel full by the end. I do feel some hunger and I'm still having wicked cravings for some of the foods I had before but have not caved in yet. My concern is that all this is just going too smoothly, I see all these posts about people not being able to finish meals, nausea/vomiting's for weeks post op, and people really struggling with water and I'm concerned that I'm not going to have as much weight loss since its all been so easy here. I was 'hoping' for some of the n/v to help me curb my eating, and to help reinforce the habits i've learned before surgery. I'm worried. Anyone else post op experience similarly and what happened with yall?

I can tell you a large body impression can cause back problems. Our last few mattresses did not hold up to our weight. My husband is 6'10" and a big guy and when I was almost 400 pounds none of our mattresses lasted more than 2 years without getting large body impressions and we both had back pain. We bought a Big Fig mattress a couple years ago. It's is made for bigger people and it's has been amazing. There are no body impressions even on my husband's side. A good mattress definitely makes a difference! Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

Seth here. I just had my VSG at UC Health's West Chester Hospital (University of Cincinnati). It was on the 28th. It went well, though the surgeon told me I had an odd shaped stomach. It went would more than a banana shape. He said it should make losing weight easier for me. I was in some pain on the surgery day. They gave me pain meds just after the surgery and later that night. I did not ask for any the next day. I got up and walked around the halls quite a bit. I also drank water only. I was discharged after one night. Currently, my incisions are still sore but I do not need any pain meds. Now I am just trying to figure out what my "Full" point is. I am so worried that I will bust my staples that I am probably being way too cautious. Today, I've had about 350 calories and almost 33oz of water. I am setting an alarm every 3 hours to try and drink more slim fast advanced nutrition. I also set a timer after I drink the protein shake to make sure I do not drink for an hour afterward. I am only drinking about 1/2 of the 11oz shakes over a 30 minute period. My program only allows liquid for the first month. On 2nd month we can move to puree. The 3rd month we can eat soft foods and on month 4 we can go back to eating anything that fits into our routine. I think this is the most restrictive after surgery out there.

Check this link out on stalls. It covers stalls and weight loss issues. https://www.sagebariatric.com/what-you-can-do-about-weight-loss-stalls/?fbclid=IwAR32VsKiWHImteYKwt638j0aP-c6FUxhaxAp42-6HyGVSPkUgBjzyVlm2y0

I am over 10 years post gastric sleeve. I waited for my *** to do the sleeve vs an RNY because of medication I need to take orally and was not recommended to have the RNY. Weight loss surgery was the BEST THING I have ever done for myself. I was in my mid 50s. 5'3 and 320 pounds when I started. I lost a few pounds before I went in to start !!! I am now 65 years old. I lost 145 pounds. Yes, I am still overweight - but I lost 145 pounds. I work full time, have the same career for 40 years. I am active, I garden and keep chickens for fresh eggs, grow organic fruit and veggies. I rake and hoe and walk and am more active NOW at 65 then I was at 40. NOT one regret at all. Also, I eat beef on occasion; when I want to. And I eat chocolate every darn day. Mind you - not a lot. I have learned the value of a really good piece of chocolate. No hershey bars here. But a lovely piece of dove chocolate ? YUM. I re-learned how to feed my body. Protein and fresh veggies and fresh fruits. Healthy fats, and keep my carbs down. Instead of a "rice bowl" think of it as a chicken and veggie bowl. I might sprinkle rice on top as a garnish !!! Move your mindset to "HEALTHY". I went from a 4x plus size to wearing a 14/16 petite. I am thrilled. My doctors are thrilled. Find the RIGHT support team. Start with supportive doctors. Best Wishes.

-Not worrying about the weight limit on my hammock -My bathrobe fully closing -Not having to be restricted to plus size only clothing -My leggings have become too loose -Not worrying about sitting on wicker furniture lol

I revised from a band I got in 2008, it slipped in 2017, I got RNY in December 2020. With my band I had several issues, pain with eating, throwing up, not losing weight. my surgeon said she would only do RNY because it was safer due to the scaring from the band, so my choice was an easy one. I’m a female, 5’9” and I have hormonal issues that hinder me from losing weight. But, I started at 255 in December and am 207 today, so it’s still been effective, even if slower than I expected. The best part is, no pain while eating. I actually don’t feel much when eating. So, that old feeling of band “restriction” is totally out the window. You have to relearn your body’s hunger cues, but the essentials of how, what, how much to eat is quite similar to the band.

I would focus more on your other health conditions. I qualified with a BMI of 36 due to apnea and high cholesterol. FEP BCBS was fairly quick to approve the surgery after it was submitted. I was not required to loose weight before the surgery but I also tried not to gain. Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I am doing a 3 week liquid diet too. It starts tomorrow. I have to be under a certain weight by June 15th, so I am just starting it a little early (my surgery is scheduled for the 21st). My daughters are freaking out about the idea of a liquid diet and my husband is worried that I will be hangry all the time, which surprisingly makes me less worried and more focused because someone has got to keep it together - lol! I do plan to have my three allowed protein shakes a day, as these are the only things of substance I am allowed to have, and treat them like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Congratulations on the weight loss - that is 10 pounds you do not have to worry about after surgery! I am hoping for the same!

Hi everyone, I had my lap band installed on May 21, 2012. Starting weight was 293, was 285 the day of surgery, got down to around 240, stayed there a while, then started phentermine which helped me lose more. For a single day in August of 2019 I crossed from obese to overweight and am now back up to 235. Recently, whatever I ate got stuck and had to be “ejected” after which I could resume eating. Along with this came an increase in reflux, to the point of having stomach acid in my mouth a few times. Saw the NP, she suggested unfilling the band, getting an upper GI and seeing where to go after that. I am reluctant to refill the band because I fear the reflux will return. I want to get a revision to sleeve or bypass; thinking bypass would have less chance of reflux returning. I wish I’d gotten bypass in the first place but thought the band was safer. I’d be grateful for any advice anyone cares to offer. Thanks!

What have been some of your experiences with going from sleeve to bypass? Worst things? Best things? Weight loss time periods? etc. Also, I know this is a stupid time to be asking this but I made a bad assumption about the bypass. I thought since I had the sleeve already that the surgeon would just use that pouch and redirect the small intestine. After reading some of the stories on here, I am not sure what they did to my stomach part?? Anyone have any answers for that one too??

I was originally scheduled for Dec 21. Then corona spiked and all surgeries were cancelled. They started reopening in February but i had to wait for a break at work. Now my date is June 21st. I was mad and disappointed but i will have plenty of recovery time now. I just try to look at the positive side. I did let myself have a moment back in December. I have been working on my own to loose some weight in the meantime.

I'm going to just put this out there. Whenever I tell a doctor in clear terms that I am suffering and they don't act to alleviate my concerns, I get another opinion. It sounds like you have no quality of life. Think back to why you had the surgery and what you expected to gain. I don't think this is it. Sending my prayers your way.

I was told the stomach will stretch the smallest bit just life but never as big as pre surgery and weight gain is not due to anatomy but due to reverting back to bad habits

I have FEP Blue BCBS. I have attached a screenshot from their 2021 booklet. Although it does say three months in a medically supervised weight loss program, there is nothing regarding how much needs to be lost (if any) or if a net gain would be ok. Here’s my issue. I started this journey at 257. My first weigh in was 269. I am 260 right now but I am having a colonoscopy just a day before my next weigh in a week. With all those laxatives and extended clear Liquid diet (2 days for me) , I am probably bound to be down even more. This will look like a 12 lb gain and 12 lb or more loss in two months. Ugh. I don’t want to look all Over the place. Each month I gain and loss weight everyday it seems. It would be good if I got back to 257, but almost not because the month after I go on vacation and my last weigh in will be a few days after I get back. Can’t win! The surgical coordinator told me to try to maintain the best I could. This is not happening for me. I am obsessing so much about being denied. I am almost done with my clearances (except endoscopy) and the last two weigh ins. Do you think I’ll get denied ?

I’m one week out from VSG so maybe a bit too early to weigh in (pun intended) but as my incisions heal and the surgical fluids are pretty much gone, my facial features are becoming more visible and I am thinking about my future. I’m 40 years old and very active but will be much more agile without 120+ pounds of extra weight. Snowboarding in Whistler? Yep! Riding any rollercoaster or amusement park ride I want? Yep! Staying covered up at the beach? Nope! With this surgery, I essentially traded crap food and bad eating habits for LIVING. For life! Find a supportive mental health team accustomed to working with bariatric patients, decide what’s most important to you, ask your doc a thousand questions, and pray/meditate/ponder over it. Whatever inconveniences this surgery may or may not bring are nothing compared to the health problems that usually accompany obesity. I was tired of digging my grave with a knife and fork.