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Hey everyone! Gastric Bypass July 9th here. I had my pre-op appointment yesterday and they were extremely thorough! For those interested, I wanted to go over the details of what my process has looked like so far: - My insurance required an EKG, blood work, and gallbladder scan. So, during my pre-op, they redid all of those to compare the previous values with the most recent results. normal EKG, no high cholesterol, no high BP, no gallstones, normal thyroid levels, higher-ish estrogen, and borderline pre-diabetic which was NOT fun to hear but will hopefully be resolved with Bypass. - I spoke with the nurse and my (very handsome lol) surgeon, who re-reviewed all possible risks and complications. He explained how he would do the surgery (five incisions, robotic) and what to expect before and after. He also checked me for hernias, which I don't have. - Met with my dietician to re-review my pre-op diet and just to check in with me. She provided me with info on how to set up future appointments if needed as I transition through the phases. - The clinic gave me information on how to get my family member informed on what was happening. The hospital I am using has an app and the surgeon's team will text updates periodically. - I'm expected to be in-patient and will stay for one night unless I have complications. - They provided me with the sterile soap, Hibiclens and instructions on how to use it. bathe with half the bottle the night before, the other half the morning of (they gave me a sheet i have to mark down the date and time of the wash and turn it in the morning of). wash hair, no products, no contacts, no invisalign, clean sheets, clean pajamas. - the doctor gave me my prescriptions, which include: Gabapentin, acetominaphen, ondansetron for nausea, promethazine syrup, ursodial to prevent gallstones (thankfully i don't have any), and prilosec (OTC). - I had a chest xray and was asked if I had any implant anywhere (i don't.) all came back normal. - spoke with the anesthesiologist who weighed me, took my height, and explained the overall process to me. i've only been under once for a 70-minute MRI a few years ago but i know approximately what to expect. I will also be getting a 96-hour abdominal block to help with pain along with my (very strong) medication. - They provided me with information on what to eat and drink the night before (light breakfast, protein shake, clear liquids, and then four hours before the surgery, 16 oz of water), day of (clear liquids) four days after, two weeks after, (heavy liquids) one month after (maintenance phase). - set up a post-op appt 10 days later, and another one a month after surgery. - The morning of the surgery i arrive at 7:30 am, am checked in and put in pre-op, surgery should last two hours, one hour of recovery, and then moved to my private room where my sister will be waiting for me. no overnight guests because of COVID but this hospital has a designated bariatric surgery floor so all of the nurses are specialized in this, and even nicer, all of the equipment accommodate larger patients. so, large recliners, large beds, laaarge gowns, large chairs, sturdy IV machines, belly bands. very comfortable. - i'm planning on bringing an ipad, books, lip balm, lotions, warmer socks, grippy sandals, button down pajamas, a small pillow they recommended as a "splint" when i get in and out of bed, and toiletries. I feel pretty ready i suppose, but it doesn't feel quite real yet! crazy to believe that in a few months i'll be down a significant amount of weight (hopefully) and look slimmer. I am on my two-week pre-op diet which consists of two protein shakes and one light meal a day, with "free" snack foods including fat free cheese, lean meats, sugar free jello popsicles and pudding, high protein yogurts, and non-starchy veggies with light hummus or light ranch. hasn't been super easy but I'm trying my best. and LOTS of water. Let me know if you have questions, i'll be glad to answer them.

I got a little bit of cramping and increased my potassium intake via adding in some avocado and bananas to what I was already eating. For example, I'd put avocado in egg, or banana with my yogurt. I don't know if the muscle pain you're getting is from cramps, exercise, or just general pain, so I don't know if that'll help. The only time I've taken magnesium citrate is for constipation, and that was pre-surgery. If the pain is a constant, I'd call the doctor.

this sounds really weird, but I always strove to be a super healthy eater, so I'd eat all this food to make sure I got all of my nutrients for the day. For example, my usual breakfast pre-surgery was a smoothie. I would throw in a bunch (and I mean a BUNCH) of soft tofu or Greek yogurt, a banana, two or three peaches or an equal amount of melon or cantaloupe, several berries, some nonfat dry milk, and then enough orange juice to get it going in the blender. So that was like 600 kcal before I even walked out the door. Mid-morning I'd usually head downstairs to the coffee shop (I worked in a library) to get a coffee and an oat scone. Oats are good for you. So there's another 500 (or more) calories. Lunches were always leftovers. I can't remember if I usually had afternoon snacks or not (it's been six years since surgery), but if I did, it probably would have been a packet (or two) of cashews from the vending machine. Nuts have lots of nutrients, you know. Then I'd come home and snack while I was making dinner. Dinners were often some sort of ethnic fare - Chinese or Thai or Indian - so chicken (usually) plus heaps of vegetables in some creamy sauce (that is, if Thai or Indian) served over about a cup of brown rice. So yea - healthy - at least nutrient-wise - but probably 3000 or so calories a day, give or take. I still worry about not getting all my nutrients every day. Like - always. But then I remember that I DO take vitamins, so I'm getting some that way - and over the course of several days, I probably DO get all my nutrients - just not all in one day. But I still find myself thinking about this - and thinking that I should go eat some nuts or something because they're nutritious.

Hi em, such an exciting time! What guidelines have Ramsay Health given you? I had my bypass on 15th June, did a 10 day pre-op diet. Spire Healthcare gave me 2 options, one was loads of milk, yogurt, fruit and a serving of home made vegetable soup and the other was more food based. I mostly stuck to the milk one, but had a bit of fish with veg instead of the soup some days.. I think the constant chugging of milk stopped me feeling hungry, protein is pretty fab for that. Have you met with your dietitian to discuss it? I kept myself busy and distracted during that time doing a deep clean of the house and getting everything ready for when I would be feeling delicate after surgery, and I am so glad I did!

Another day of packing my meals. 1/2 cup Napa almond chicken salad, 1/2 cup bell peppers, protein shake for coffee, Greek yogurt, chicken Caesar salad, 1 cup frozen blueberries, onion soup packet, a beef stick (fingers crossed it sits well), and a pack of kodiak cakes granola bars (they’re so good!)

My surgery date was 5/28, so today is one month later. The good: My pain was only moderate, and was manageable with just acetaminophen after the first couple days. I haven't had too much gas pain or nausea, either. I'm never hungry. I've lost 23 pounds since the surgery (33 including the pre-surgery diet). I'm wearing one size smaller jeans, and after losing another 5 pounds or so, I'll try the next size down. I'm also wearing one size smaller polo shirts. The bad: If I eat too much or too quickly, I get quite uncomfortable. One one occasion, this resulted in vomiting. I've also had some constipation. Crushing all my meds for the first week was awful. I was mixing them with yogurt, and they cut right through the yogurt flavor. The chewable vitamin I'm taking is unpalatable, and makes me slightly nauseous. I do all the cooking in our house, and preparing separate meals for my wife and for me during the first few weeks was time-consuming. I need to do better on planning my eating and drinking. I'm drinking way less water than I used to, and I'm afraid I'm not getting enough calories either. I know I'm getting the recommended 60 to 80 grams of protein because of protein shakes. I'm also not getting on the exercise machine enough. (I have a bad hip, so I can't take the long walks I used to take. The hip pain is decreasing a bit, though.) I'd be pleased to hear observations from more seasoned surgery veterans about what to expect in the coming months, and any suggestions you may have to offer.

Hi there to all the April surgery buddies! I had my surgery on the 29th and I am down 50 lbs! 🥳. I am very happy about that. I have a really hard time eating protein though, if it is chicken, beef, fish, eggs, etc. it feels like a brick is hitting my stomach… I don’t know how else to describe it. I stick more to cheeses, protein bars, yogurts, milk for now. is there anyone else that’s dealing with the same type of situation?

6/15th too! I don't think anyone could have prepared me for how hard these two weeks would be. I have zero energy probably because i can only get like 300 calories in a day at most! I just had such an easy recovery and then this is really hard. I am drinking fine but the shakes are hard to get down. Talked to the nurse that said to try greek yogurt which was good. I love SF popsicles so she said use protein water to make popsicles and get more protein that way. he also said it was okay to try a pureed soup or jello. I made my own jello and added protein powder to it. I am really looking forward to trying eggs and then some tuna.

I’m 4 days out of DS and I’ve been trying to sip water all day! I only got about 18 Oz down. I also sipped 2 x 3 oz strained miso soup ate 2 x 2oz sugar free protein pudding, 2 Oz sugar free protein jello, and 1 tablespoon light Greek yogurt. I’m feeling quite week. I do keep my bottle Igor next to me and I take tiny sips every 10 minutes. If you’re in the liquid phase, how are you doing sipping? Any tips?

Did anyone else feel hungrier once they made it to the soft foods phase? I barely ate anything on liquids and puree. I'm thinking it was a mix of being so soon out from the surgery and also just being uninspired by the lack of what I was able to eat. Now that I'm on soft foods, I feel like I'm hungrier and I actually like the food I get to eat now because I have a lot more choices. I'm sticking to all the prescribed amounts, but I have an underlying fear that I'm eating too much or too frequently and I'm going to stretch the pouch. Has anyone been told what it feels like when the pouch stretches? Is this something that you are able to feel? I've never felt nauseated or sick after eating so I'd assume that means I'm in the clear, but I want to stay hyper vigilant. I suppose it is also just a kind of shocking transition from going from puree where I really only had protein shakes, yogurt, and mashed potato to entering the soft food phase where I can make more "meal" type things with real meat and veggies.

The notes from the upper GI series says they detected a "moderately large" hernia. Actual surgical notes on the repair say "Given that the patient has already had a sleeve gastrectomy and is not a candidate for any form of wrap, I choose to place a bio A absorbable Gore mesh to reinforce the diaphragmatic repair. Once positioned appropriately the mesh is secured in all 4 corners with Ethibond suture. The apex of the sleeve is secured to the diaphragm medially and laterally with single interrupted Ethibond suture." I'm doing... ok, I guess. I found the hernia surgery harder to tolerate than my sleeve surgery was. My hernia surgery was on Tuesday morning and they discharged me on Thursday afternoon after they "achieved appropriate pain management," making me 3 days post-op. I thought they were only giving me Tylenol via IV, and oxycodone on request. Turns out this was true, but they were also giving me gabapentin and the oxycodone in addition to the Tylenol; I could have had additional oxy if requested, as well as dilaudid. I won't lie; it's been rough being home. I have five oxycontin pills to get me through, as well as Tylenol, of course. I have had enough pain that I'm calling this afternoon to get more oxy; my pain this morning was easily a 7 on a scale of 1-10. I haven't had any acid issues, but I haven't had any real food yet. I'm allowed a soft diet but I know I'm not ready. I've stayed on full liquid (which is where I was in the hospital) with a few bites of yogurt or pudding with not great results. It just hurts right now, feels like I have a giant block in my chest and a huge lump in my throat. I am SO GLAD I took 2 weeks off from work for this!

I tried an unflavored protein powder in it, but since surgery, protein powders taste so metallic to me. I add a TBS or two of yogurt. I have started adding a few dates to my smoothie thought and it gives it a great natural sweetness.

Yesterday was the first day since surgery where I had a 'good' food day. Everything I ate was tolerated well. I got in my liquids. I had a nice diverse meal day...egg and greek yogurt with strawberries in the AM, chicken salad at lunch, homemade crab cake for dinner. Get on the scale this morning and up .8 of a pound. Really? Sooo frustrating because I had so many bad food days in the last 2 weeks during pureed and early soft food stages....learning about so many new intolerances (lactose being the biggest of them) and then I have a great food day and...weight gain.

I was told I could have tuna fish with light miracle whip or light mayo, chicken breast with curry/mustard/light mayo or a little bit of sugar free bbq sauce, salad with dressings that were 50 calories or less per serving (I have to keep carbs to 50 grams/day or less). I plan to eat a lot of salads with chopped deli meat or tuna because after surgery it will be a while before I can eat salad again and I love salad. I like the bolthouse yogurt ranch and it's 45 calories for 2 tbsp (30g). It's the the refrigerator case in the produce section usually. I have to have light greek yogurt or a protein shake for breakfast.

Oh Lordy! I hope the OP found a bariatric treatment team that understands vegetarian diets. My team had an entirely vegetarian plan option and guess what some of the first foods were? Beans. Brown Rice. Oats. Potatoes. Hummus. Why? because they have a terrific metabolic index...are loaded with plant based protien...and have FIBER. (they're also much better tolerated right after surgery than meat by many folks) I'm not a vegetarian, but I like the Mayo Clinic Diet and the Mediterrainian diet....so my pre and post surgical diets were sort of a hybrid that included a lot of vegetarian influence. (I still eat meat, but I also eat a lot of beans, oats, nuts, seeds, etc) Thankfully, I had a team that did their homework on different ways up the mountain and didn't suggest keto was the only way or that carbs were the devil. Whew! So thankful for that! Cause the diet that many of ya'll describe is not something that I could have survived. I remember posting some of my sample menus...from my freaking dietician....a few weeks out and getting slammed by people here for the things (and amounts...1200 calories by end of first month) I was eating. A month out of surgery, I remember existing on refried beans with lowfat cheese and salsa....black beans with salsa and canned chicken....split pea soup....tofu chili with white beans....tofu chop suey over a small amount of brown rice....steal cut oats with dried cherries. Fruit. My clinic was absolutely fine with fruit as tolerated, but they wanted whole fruit, not just the juice. I ate a lot of baked oats with blueberries, strawberries, pecans and low calorie maple syrup. I ate 100 calorie whole grain english muffins with peanut butter. I ate boiled potatos with lowfat cheese or nonfat yogurt. ****, I poured caramel Premier Protien shake on my oatmeal and liked slurping it warm. But you know what I didn't eat? Sugar. White flour. Processed foods. Prepackaged sweet carbs. Stuff that spikes your insulin. I also didn't add animal fat like butter. Most of the stuff I ate was pretty low fat with the exception of tiny amounts of olive or grape seed or sesame oil. All of my carbs in weight loss phase were full of fiber and not processed. I ate a little fruit everyday. I added a lot of herbs, made sauces replacing sugar with splenda, I put every kind of vegetable and fruit in my kitchen in the smoothies I drank....and a glob of nonfat greek yogurt or tofu or chia seeds for protein. My clinic was activingly fighting the notion that super restricted calories and keto in the first months after surgery were necessary. They did things very differently than I hear routinely described here. I know we're all gonna have a different experience and I know for MOST of you guys....a super restricted calorie diet in the early days and keto, keto, keto, carbs are the devil....is what you were taught is the only way. And I know for most of ya'll...it's what worked and what you believe like a religion. I'm here to tell ya... There are other paths up this mountain. I'm working on being tolerant of everyone's preferred path. Anyway you get it done....you deserve serious kudos and I'm proud of you all. But I've gotta say.... it can be easy to feel defensive when post after post after post here...is so negative about what worked terrific for me and others like me. A few of us have lost weight successfully and maintained really well...on a diet that includes a buttload of (unrefined) carbs and a pretty high calorie allowance started early in the process. What's more...as a group, it appears we're having really good luck not regaining. That's no small thing. Keep an open mind about your carb eating brothers and sisters. We do ok with this whole process, too;) As always...to each their own. Peace and best wishes to all.

My lactose intolerance seems to be based on how much I consume. I was doing greek yogurt, cottage cheese and ricotta cheese during pureed but now I seem to be tolerating them less. I'm going to move away from lactose-dairy for awhile.

I have been surprised to find that I do have some hunger first thing in the morning and then throughout the day. I try drinking some water if it isn't my time to eat yet, which, seems to help some. I'm on liquids until 7/12, but, feel fortunate that I do get to have yogurt and cream soups. I'm really quite over my shakes at this point. They are so sweet it's getting hard to get them down. I may start trying to have them later in the day and stick to some soup first thing in the morning. Definitely counting down the days until pureed food.

Oh my gosh I just started getting the same issue...every time I eat something, about 5-10 minutes later, I get lower abdominal gas...the kind you get sometimes before diarrhea. But then it just goes away after about 5-10 minutes. Plus I think I'm intolerant to the whey protein in supplements so I just ordered an egg protein based supplement because I'm definitely not getting enough protein. Oh and I'm on the same post-op diet as you. They had me on full liquids for 7 days after I went home, then on pureed for 7 days and now I'm in the soft food stage and it should be much easier but this stage is where all the intestinal distress has come into play so I'm going to try and switch up what I'm eating...lean away from the yogurt and cottage cheese and canned chicken and try some flaky fish, more soups and some soft cheese.

Checking in from my 6/11 surgery. After about 10 days off from work I’m headed back for at least partial days. I still get pretty wiped at the end of the day, so, I’m happy I’m still working from home and don’t have to worry about a commute. Recovery has been going well. I finally have my calories up around 600. Never thought it would be so hard to figure out how to consume that few calories. They want me to aim for 600-800 for the first two months. I’m on liquids until 7/12, so, my days consist of a couple shakes, a greek yogurt with protein powder split across two snacks and 6 ozs of campbells healthy request cream of chicken. Water hasn’t been an issue and I’ve been getting out for a slow walk daily.

oh ok I know each program is different! I'm thankful for yogurt and broth!!

Eat more. Get a new scale. I know "eat more" sounds like crazy advice when you're stuck in a stall, but our bodies have an amazing set of defenses...thousands of years of evolution to survive bad harvests and hunting seasons. When we drastically cut calories and move a lot more than we used to....our biology interperates this as OMG, we're starving to death and must be moving more because we're desperately searching for hard to find food!...then your endocrine system goes....Must hit this body with every hormone and defense mechanism possible to STOP weight loss! (there are also a whole bunch of little hormonal changes that can bite you in the ass after a long period of severely restricted calories to "make up" for weight lost and encourage gain...which is why most people have some regain issues eventually) If it were me.....I'd add calories. Something with fiber. Black beans, potato, a smoothie with some spinach and low fat greek yogurt. All of these have protien, but they also boost your gut microbiota and stop the keto that your body might be interpereting as starvation. Crazy internet lady advice....take what you like and leave the rest. All of our bodies work a little different. Find what's best for you.

I had hi protein yogurt and ordered some egg drop soup and strained it real good and mixed in unflavored protein. Also depending on my protein shakes. I has surgery the 16th

That does sound a lot like mine! I had surgery at around 10am, then that day had clear liquids for dinner (water throughout the day as requested too). Following day first meal was clear liquids, lunch was liquids (cream of chicken, some yogurt, then protein shake), and dinner was pureed turkey and pureed green beans (with some cream of chicken/protein shake/milk on the side). Needless to say I didn't eat all of it. I was dunking the pureed turkey into the cream of chicken too. Pureed turkey on it's own is just.. not for me. I got discharged after dinner, so I didn't stay the second night, but if I had the next full day would be pureed. I'm sorry to hear you're doing poorly! I can definitely see eating too quickly or too much. I don't have any sort of "full" indicators that I'm aware of yet so I imagine it'd be really easy to eat too much. Too quickly as well. I've been trying to offset that one by buying super small spoons (I got little ice scream spoons off amazon) and then making sure to pause between bites. I don't know if that's helping me at all, but so far so good. I hope you start to feel better soon!

My hospital had me eating a yogurt within 30 hours of surgery and was then sent home with instructions to eat pureed food for 4 weeks - no clear liquid stage. First few days I tolerated things well but today I am feeling quite poorly after, think I've started eating too quickly/too much. Starting to question the lack of liquid stage but like you, I trust my experienced surgeon knows what he's doing!

I basically said this exact same thing to my husband! I can't wait to eat REAL food, even if it is just eggs. Yogurt isn't even on my ok list by my Dr. Told my husband I would LOVE some yogurt right now lol