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Hi everyone, I am new to this, or any group. I had the gastric surgery in Feb 2006, weighing nearly 430 lbs. in one year, I lost 210 lbs. I gained about 50 lbs back the following year traveling every week for work. But I maintained the 160 lb loss for many years. Little by little I gained another 50 lbs back, but was still 100 lbs less. About a year ago, 17 years post surgery I began having many many problems with dumping, nausea, dehydrating and severe diarrhea. As a result I have lost about 90 of the 100 lbs I had gained. I have seen gastric doctors, Bariatric doctors and all types of specialists and nobody can find anything wrong, yet I continue not to be able to eat. Has anyone on here ever had these issues and if so, what did you do? Thank you!

Hello, It really came down to SADI seems to be more effective on keeping the weight loss off long term (5+ years) post-surgery. My doctor also said there is less chance of getting GERD/acid reflux with SADI compared to the sleeve.

Sounds like you are ready to get back on track. This is the first step. Get back in contact with your team. Your dietician to help you ensure you’re making the best decisions around food choices, portions, nutrition, etc. Your therapist to help you get back on track mentally & emotionally. You may even be a candidate for a GLP-1 medication - worth asking your surgeon or primary care doctor if you’re interested. PS. I had those you look sick/have lost too much weight comments too. Just like it takes time for your head to catch up with how you look after your weight loss, so too for other people who struggle to see you as anything but obese. It can be hard to ignore these types of comments but you have to remember to put yourself first & the only opinion that matters is yours & how you feel about yourself & your weight. Those people who were so opinionated about my weight in the beginning stopped saying anything after a few months as they started to see me for who I now was - their image of me finally changed.

I'm 3 yrs out and have memory loss. Don't know if it's related to that or being a alcoholic now. Depression sucks Sent from my SM-G998U using BariatricPal mobile app

Everyone fluctuates regardless of whether they’re trying to lose weight or not. Hormonal fluctuations, fluid retention, what we eat or drink one day compared to another, pooping, not pooping, etc. If you were like me you didn’t weigh yourself often so probably weren’t all that aware of your usual fluctuation. My usual fluctuation is about 1kg (2.2lbs) so I never worry about that weight gain or loss. It’s odd the way your body reacts. I’ve discovered I always weigh more the day I break constipation that I did when I was constipated. Your weight loss will never be a consistently straight downward line. It will zig & zag, go up & down, drop quickly one day slowly the next. As long as your weight loss trend is going down you’re golden. And yes reduce how often you weigh yourself if you find the number on the scale is messing with you.

Hello - I had gastric sleeve in June of 2015 and lost over half my body weight initially, getting down to well below my initial goal in the first year. Started having issues with acid reflux pretty early on, and it's gotten steadily worse, especially in the past 3 years. I'm currently on omeprazole and famotidine, plus Tums in addition. A 24-hour PH study showed that I had over 100 episodes of reflux in that period. So I was approved to revise to a gastric bypass. I also have regained over half of what I lost, mostly since my reflux has gotten worse, and am about 50 pounds heavier than my ideal weight. The reflux makes me feel hungry all the time, and I'm eating way more carbs than I should because they seem to tame the acid somewhat. I understand that it's pretty much a pipe dream that I'll be able to lose anything close to that with revision, but I guess any weight loss would be better than where I am right now. My new surgeon said she expected that I'd get back down to 110-120 after revision (my preferred weight personally is around 125), but based on all the posts I've read here and on reddit, she is definitely exaggerating to make me more willing to go through with the surgery. The best it sounds like I could hope for is to lose maybe 15-20 pounds over the course of a year or more? I am scheduled for surgery on Jan. 18th, but I'm having second thoughts after reading so many horror stories of unpredictable dumping episodes and ever-changing food intolerances. I guess maybe my reflux isn't as bad as others, since the reality of daily life with RNY seems unbearably miserable to me in comparison to my life currently. I'm afraid that I won't be able to do my job anymore (or even leave the house at all) if I am unable to eat or drink anything without the risk of vomiting/foamies (I have pelvic floor issues, so I pretty much always lose bladder control when I vomit or dry heave) or having uncontrollable diarrhea. After revision, do you have to wear an adult diaper all the time? Has anyone developed an eating disorder based on fear of getting sick after consuming anything? Do you have any "safe" foods, or is it always a (literal) crapshoot? I know that continued GERD can cause esophageal cancer down the line, but wouldn't the same be true of daily vomiting? Has anyone who is several years out from revision developed cancer or precancerous damage to their esophagus due to the constant vomiting? Likewise, have your teeth been ruined from it? For those who revised from VSG to RNY and are past the initial healing stages, would you do it again or has it made your life even worse?

Well just got letter from insurance company...surgery is approved...paperwork says Jan 2,2024...tried calling surgeon and weight loss center...no answer..maybe took extra day off for holiday.... Totally excited been long time coming...thank God finally.!!

The reason for erratic weigh-ins (and the infamous three-week stall) is that in the early stages of running a sustained calorie deficit, your body does not burn much fat. Your body worked hard to store fat and considers it a precious commodity that it does not want to part with for no reason. For extra energy to make up for a lack of calories in the short term, your body first burns glycogen. 1 gram of glycogen is bound with 3 grams of water, so as you burn it for fuel, you also flush out this water weight. Only when the glycogen reserve is used up does your body turn to burning fat. The first few weeks after surgery, you were probably lucky to get in 600 calories per day. Your body was burning glycogen like crazy. When the numbers first dropped on the scale, that was almost entirely water weight. Now that you're a couple weeks out, you're allowed to have some pureed food, and you can probably get closer to your protein goals with your shakes. With a few extra calories coming in (still nowhere close to what you need every day to power your bodily functions), your body is at least reassured you are not in imminent danger of starvation. It's taking a look at your empty glycogen reserves with horror and doing its best to fill them back up with the calories you are giving it, like a squirrel storing up acorns for winter. For every gram of glycogen your body puts into the storage cupboard, you've got 3 grams of water tagging along for the ride. Meanwhile, you can rest assured that your body is also burning fat to keep your engines running. However, when you step on the scale, it can't really tell you that you've burned 4 pounds of fat and also stored 7 pounds of glycogen and water. It's just going to tell you that you've gained 3 pounds. But you've done nothing wrong. This is your body doing what evolution programmed it to do since humans lived in caves and constantly had to battle short-term food shortages. Once you've restocked that glycogen, you'll start being able to see the fat loss on the scale again, and in your measurements. As long as you keep doing what you're supposed to do, your weight will move in the right direction. But not as a straight line. Weight loss looks a lot more like a staircase with drops and plateaus, and a lot of small fluctuations that have nothing to do with fat. Try not to let it drive you crazy!

The instructions I was given were 48 hours of pre-op liquid, with total fasting beginning the evening before surgery. The longer liquid diet is to promote rapid weight-loss and shrink your liver, but some surgeons don't find this necessary, or only apply it to patients over a certain BMI. The 24-48 hours of liquid-only and/or fasting prior to surgery is just to clear your digestive tract prior to operating. Also, some surgeons don't require a puree stage and go from foods like yogurt and ricotta directly to moist proteins and fully cooked veg that you are instructed to chew for 30 seconds to a minute before swallowing (essentially pureeing them with your teeth).

I've been hanging out here for probably nine years. I would say most of us lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first MONTH, so your loss seems pretty normal to me. Of course you will find people who lose more or less than that, but they tend to be outliers - or start off at very high BMI's (like the people on "My 600 lb Life"). there are so many factors that influence your rate of weight loss that you really have little to no control over - like age, gender, metabolic rate, what percentage of your body weight is muscle, starting BMI, whether or not you lost a lot of weight before surgery, genetics, etc, that it's sort of pointless to worry about it. The two factors you definitely have a lot of control over are how closely you stick to your clinic's plan and how active you are, so if you're good with those, the weight will come off, whether fast or slow. as you can see on my profile, I started off at 373 lbs, and I lost 16 lbs the first month - yet I ended up losing over 200 lbs. I was a "slow loser" the whole time, but I really stuck to my plan. so long way of saying, just follow your plan and don't worry about your rate of weight loss, since you don't have a whole lot of control over that. If you do what you're supposed to be doing, the weight WILL come off.

Hello! I had my surgery on the 11th so we’re not far apart! I won’t lie I didn’t last long on the liquid diet I kind of went on to puree around day 8 post op. I don’t think many people are as honest. I cheated and so what. I’m so glad for the surgery and I wish many more losses for the both of us whether it be fast or slow! Weight loss is weight loss !!!

Hi all I am now 23 days post op and on my 2nd week of puréed foods. I hope Xmas 🎄 has not been too hard on you. I lost my mum back in April, so this is my first year without her and it has been tough. I'm keeping myself busy preparing meals for my husband and it's not really bothered me that I have to purée anything that I am having. What does bother me is that I don't seem to be losing much weight 🤔. My husband and sister say they can see change in me but the scales say otherwise. Since my pre op assessment I have lost a total of 16lb and it just doesn't seem much at all. I don't know if I have an unrealistic expectation of what I should be losing. I think the only thing I maybe doing wrong is not eating enough. I have been lucky ... Although I had bad nausea during my first week post op, I had no sickness nor dumping. I just feel like I am doing something wrong. My dietiy suggested dropping out the homemade smoothies made with fruit which I have done. Is anyone else going through the same issue?

So, Ill be 2 weeks post op on Wednesday. Last week on Wednesday I was from 247 down to 227. Now, I'm currently at 230 !!!??? Why? ?? It's so stressful to see that 3 pound gain. I have been following my diet well, with the exception of not always eating 5 or 6 times a day. Is that why? But shouldn't I still lose?? Honestly I just forget because I don't get hungry. Or I'll be busy trying to wrangle 3 children. I can't eat what they eat and it's not very convenient to make pureed foods all the time. It's a process ya know. Some days idek how much liquids I drink. I'm not great at tracking. But I've had a mix of juice, milk and water. Anyway, has anyone else experienced this? Did I already ruin the good thing I had going??? Please help friends! Thank you!

Puree can be tough. For some it’s a textural issue for others like me it’s a taste thing (everything tastes disgusting). You can puree a lot of things just add enough stock, milk, water, mayo, gravy, etc. to keep it the right dollopy texture/consistency. A friend told me she survived on pureed chicken with gravy. I mashed eggs with Mayo, was allowed thin instant oats, thin scrambled eggs, yoghurt, soups, etc. I tried pureeing tinned fish but blah! During soft foods I ate a lot of minced meat based dishes. Just made sure there was enough sauce/gravy to keep the meal wet. Also soft white fish, omelettes & made a couple of casseroles/stews & meat & vegetable soups. Yep, stalls can be frustrating & demoralising but remember an important step in your weight loss (when your body takes stock of your new needs & adjusts digestive hormones, metabolic rate, etc.). 17.5lbs in about 4 weeks is still pretty darn great. Even with the stall that’s an average of more than 4lbs a week. Can’t be upset with that.

I hope these work for you. I’ve been using them for almost a year now, not for the post surgical hair loss, but for menopausal thinning above my temple. Hasn’t helped yet. When I finish off this last bottle I’m not buying it again. They say you should see results in 3 months. Will be honest in that I didn’t use it every single day but I do use it 5 or 6 days a week. (It often made my hair feel a bit gloopy even though it’s not supposed to.) People swear by it so fingers crossed for you.

If just going to the gym was so easy to lose weight Americans and other countries wouldn't have medically necessary weight loss surgery and the diet industry wouldn't be a billion dollar sinkhole. Usually people who state that bariatric surgery is the easy way out have no idea what it entails. They believe you have something done to your stomach, you eat less and lose 150lbs. Educating them might change their minds but most of us don't care enough to try. I just ignore people. People will always have an opinion about what others are doing with their body.

I started the eating out once a week after my honeymoon. I kept it reasonable, but it gave me something to look forward to and variety (and taste). When I started getting hungry again I took out the high calorie low protein nuts (which I added because they told me to go from 800 to 1200 calories when I wasn't even able to consume 800 yet and upped me to 100g of protein from 80) and a scoop of protein powder (high protein, low cal) and added in peanut butter toast, raison toast and another serving of ham. I don't mind eating the same thing every day when I'm at home because it's easier. If you put all your food in a spreadsheet and figure out the calories and protein per ounce, then you can switch it around easier if you need a change. Once I met my goal they told me to add 100-200 calories a day to stop my weight loss. I added in the daily cheat. I still have my spreadsheet, meal plan and measure everything, but when I eat out I can't figure the calories and protein, so I just count it as a meal and a cheat and watch my weight. My weight stayed within 1 pound of my goal weight for over a month when I was going to Halloween parties, Thanksgiving and going out with friends. I've lost another 2 pounds in the last month since I was not going out much. I'm OK with losing a little more weight for now even though I like the way I look at my goal weight because I know most people gain a little back, but I will have to maintain my weight after I get the skin removal surgery next month, so I will probably watch my weight and add in more fruits and vegetables. I'll still count the calories so I can figure out how many I need and make sure I get my protein, but at least I won't have to cram in high protein for EVERYTHING. I saw a different nutritionist when I went in earlier this month and she was surprised my regular nutritionist had told me to avoid fruit and only eat 2 servings of veggies a day. I told her I thought it was because she wanted me to get extra protein due to not being able to exercise much because of my back issues and fruit isn't a protein source. Note, if you get too much protein, your farts smell really bad.

Newbie here, first post! That said I have done my fair share of reading and creeping and have come to understand the 3 week stall is pretty common. That said... Tomorrow marks the 4th week post op and this entire week has had 0 loss. I have now lost 13 pounds post op bringing me to 17.4 in the last 30 days, and I feel like the surgery and the recovery was it worth 13 pounds? I feel stuck, I feel discouraged living like this during the holidays and not able to eat all the treats and food around. Now with the rant done, I am looking for a good puree to soft solids daily menu with food ratios that anyone can point me too? I am good at following a plan but suck at just making something up in a pinch, I have been planning but you know how it goes, sometimes you just don't feel like the things you made previously. I guess I just needed to vent, and in a space where others maybe have dealt with this themselves..

Hey there BQT! It’s a struggle for real. I’m not sure one can prevent the hair loss but for me, I had lost minimal hair. I was so worried it was going to come out drastically but two months post op I started seeing hair fall ( mainly on my temples and crown), which was more than my usual. My hairstylist noticed some breakage where the shedding had happened and we trimmed as needed. I take the bariatric pal multivitamin with iron. And an additional 325 mg of iron per my doctor recommendation to help with anemia. I follow Dr. Voung, a former bariatric doctor, on YouTube, and drank a green smoothie with genepro protein and try to get at least 8 ounces of water per day. My protein goals were 62 grams per day and I was maxing out at 100 to 120 grams of protein per day. This month, I’ve been slacking on protein goals ( 30-50 grams per day) However, I notice now being 7 months post op, the hair fall stopped and picked back up when I don’t get enough protein. After a month of not taking vitamins regularly I find my nails and hair to get brittle. I got a hairstylist and we do monthly treatments and trims, I use vegamour growth drops and Tress Elite oil in my scalp accompanied by scalp massages. I use Ouai shampoo and conditioner for fine hair and avoid buns and ponytails to not add stress on my edges. HTH

As @catwoman7 said you can’t stop the hair loss you may experience. The hair on your head is already dead & would fall out as part of your usual hair loss cycle. This cycle is accelerated as a result of the surgery, restricted diet, hormonal changes, & general stress to your system. Your new hair is still growing just at its usual rate. Any supplements you take may only strengthen your new hair growth. Try looking for alternatives other than multi vitamin tablets. I found capsules easier to swallow & the coating muted the taste. There are patches (they don’t work for everyone), gummies & some vitamin supplements come in a mouth spray formulation (I take vitamin D/K in winter via a mouth spray - doesn’t really have a taste). Mine are from an Australian company which I don’t believe is available in the US.

there really isn't much - if anything - you can do about hair loss. It's due to your body's shock reaction to major surgery, and that's already happened (well it's the shock - plus the fact we're taking in a very limited amount of calories those first few months).. The shock speeds up the normal shedding/regrowth cycle. Some things can help with regrowth, but there's not much you can do about the shedding. Although not everyone loses hair, and some lose so little that others don't notice it - so you may luck out. (I lost very little - I'm sure no one noticed - I barely noticed - I just knew about it since there were more hairs than usual in my combs and brushes)

I’m so happy to have you guys! Had my surgery 6 day ago (Lapband to sleeve to bypass)… I have vowed to do everything right this time! I’m the past , I never took the Bariatric vitamins because I just hated the taste… does anyone have a recommendation for one ? Also, how are avoiding hair loss? ☺️ u!

It's been a few years so I can't remember how tired/sluggish I felt pre-surgery, but my bad hip joint caused me a lot of pain back then because of the extra weight. Constantly. It doesn't get like that very often any more. It's sometimes painful, but not very often - and the pain is much milder. I also used to only be able to manage one trip up and down the basement stairs a day. I'd either have my husband run down there - or I'd pile things up near the top of the stairs and take them all down at once. Now, I probably go up and down my basement stairs 5-10 times a day. Walking - I still can't walk long distances because of my arthritis, but I can walk for an hour at a pop without much effort. Before? Maybe two blocks before I got winded and had to rest. So...yes. That all has definitely improved since my weight loss!

I’ll start with your water issue. Our bodies need water/fluids. Keeps our blood flowing & therefore blood pressure lower, aids flushing toxins out of our bodies, aids brain function, reduce headaches, boosts energy levels, flushes bacteria out of our bladders & therefore reduces chance of infection, benefits your skin (dryness & wrinkling), eases constipation, etc. All because you didn’t drink that much fluid before doesn’t mean you weren’t doing the best for your body. In time your body gets used to the amount of fluid you are consuming & you won’t pee quite as often but again peeing is important. Remember feeling thirsty is a danger signal that you are in great need for fluids. You can add herbs & spices to your cooking to help boost flavour if you find that lacking. The period you are losing weight is an opportunity to try different foods, cooking styles, new recipes, etc. & to get used to eating foods that are not high in fats, sugars & salts, synthetic additives & generally eating more cleanly. You could try making your own sauces too so you control the ingredients. It can be helpful to remember the way you ate before did you no favours & lead t you choosing the surgery. Being on your current diet doesn’t mean you can’t go out or socialise with family & friends. It’s about making the best choices you can with options available. It’s not something you do every day but if once in a while you aren’t able to eat 100% of what you should is okay. I went to a Chinese restaurant with my mum & old family friends at around 4 months. I chose chicken & cashews & picked at the chicken & vegetables to my appropriate portion draining off what sauce I could. While everyone was sharing all the dishes I stuck to just mine. I took the leftovers home & we ate it the next day or two. I went to restaurants (casual & fine dining), birthday parties, reunions, general social gatherings,… all while I was losing. If I had to contribute food, I made something I could eat. For example at the reunion I made a zucchini bake. All cause you can’t eat something like Christmas cookies, doesn’t mean you can’t still make & share them with your family. You don’t have to eat them. This will be something that happens after your weight loss too when you work out how you will eat to maintain. I don’t eat cakes, biscuits, sweets, desserts yet today I made banana bread with my nieces & nephew. We had lots of fun & they all ate some & took the rest home. I didn’t care I didn’t eat any & neither did they (more for them 😁). Socialising isn’t only about eating & drinking. It’s really about spending time with people you love & care about. You don’t have to give up on your life.

Just wanted to follow up on a few things from the post above: 1. DS patients do not typically experience dumping syndrome. We maintain our pylorus valve during the sleeve part of the surgery, so we dump at the same rate as the non-surgical population. 2. Bypass patients have about a 30% chance of dumping, lower if they avoid the food behaviors that trigger it. For all but a few it is a manageable phenomenon. 3. Diabetes goes into remission MUCH more frequently with Bypass and DS patients because of the alterations to the small intestines. As do most other co-morbidities. 4. I don't personally view my DS surgery as "punishing". My body has done nothing wrong. I feel no need to punish it. I personally don't have emotional eating issues but I don't judge those that do, nor do I think it is a reason to punish the body... Having my small intestines rerouted was not a punishment. It was a BLESSING! My fasting blood sugars normalized within 24 hours of surgery. So did my high blood pressure. I'm not on medication for either one. I'm currently 7 weeks post op. I consider remission of those two conditions to be a modern medical miracle... I didn't choose the DS to be harsh to my body. I picked it because it had the best chance of restoring my health and keeping the weight off long term. My surgeon put it best "You have a metabolic disorder. You need a metabolically potent surgery. The DS is the most potent one available..." My bowels habits have changed, but nothing unmanageable. I have to watch my carbs, that's no different than before surgery. I no longer have to count calories because I malabsorb a portion of them. I'm at risk of vitamin deficiencies if I don't take my vitamins, that to me is no different than risking a blood sugar or blood pressure emergency from not regularly taking my meds pre-surgery. Nothing about this process is free. There are always trade offs. Any GI issues that occur with the DS can also happen with Bypass, including vitamin and protein deficiencies. But protein and vitamin deficiencies are also possible with sleeve patients. They may happen at different rates, but they are unusual across the board. As are serious complications. Gallbladder failure can happen with ANY surgery. It is caused by the rapid weight loss and low fat diet many adhere to post surgery. It is not unique to the DS or Bypass. I don't think DS and Bypass patients are choosing to punish themselves because they pick these surgeries. They pick these surgeries because of their own individual medical challenges and what they need out of their surgery. Most of us are working to heal various dysfunctional relationships with our bodies, or with food, or both. None of us are exempt from that. These surgeries are ALL support tools, not a punishment for past misdeeds.