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My question was never asked about other peoples issues with VSG & GERD. I asked if anyone with GERD hit a plateau and it’s harder for us to lose weight as my surgeon had told me. I’m 5 months post -op my height and starting weight I should be 168lbs but she thinks with my GERD it’s slower in patients like us. But yet I have more muscle in my body than I do fat. I never asked about anyone’s GERD and how to get off the meds or what suggestions they have.

My question was never asked about other peoples issues with VSG & GERD. I asked if anyone with GERD hit a plateau and it’s harder for us to lose weight as my surgeon had told me. I’m 5 months post -op my height and starting weight I should be 168lbs but she thinks with my GERD it’s slower in patients like us. But yet I have more muscle in my body than I do fat. I never asked about anyone’s GERD and how to get off the meds or what suggestions they have.

Thank you for your reply , yes I do have a dietcian but she seems to think I’m doing just fine and when I told her about my weight over the last month she’s telling me to go back to liquids which I don’t want to do as I find it to extreme . I need to go back to my protein first and watch that I’m not grazing all day which I’ve noticed I’m doing more of . It’s so hard sometimes isn’t it . I was a binge eater before my op and I need work on all this

Sharing my experience as a VSG patient who had terrible GERD prior to surgery and a hiatal hernia - I was taking 20 mg of pantoprazole daily and STILL felt painful heartburn. I had a hiatal hernia repair (and gallbladder removal) at the same time as VSG. In the first 3 months after surgery, GERD was still pretty bad (which can be normal for most bariatric patients). My doctor had me on a proton pump inhibitor (Omeprazole) for the first few months. I had been on this type of med for 3 years prior to surgery, and this is the type of medicine you can't just quit taking cold turkey without some seriously bad flare ups to follow, regardless of having bariatric surgery or not. So after 2-3 months I started to reduce the frequency of taking the medicine gradually. After a month or so of reducing, I switched from proton pump inhibitor to an H2 blocker (over-the-counter famotidine) and only took it on an as needed basis. At first I still needed it often, but now I am 13 months post-op, have lost 80% of my excess weight and can't even remember the last time I needed to take any anti-acid medication. I have almost zero issue with GERD anymore. I attribute that to the hiatal hernia repair + loss of visceral fat (creating pressure on the stomach) + gradually reducing reliance on medications instead of quitting cold turkey + knowing and generally avoiding trigger foods. Hope that helps. Just wanted to share a story that is counter to the common assumption that VSG and GERD always lead to bad post-op experiences. I lost weight at a very consistent rate, but this can be different for everyone. Sounds like you are getting support from your dietician on this, which is a great resource. Good luck! I know it can be frustrating when things aren't happening the way we think they should. Hang in there and keep working with your care team. You got this!

As a fellow Idaho resident, I want to wish you good luck on your weight loss journey! Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with your surgeon since I'm in CDA.

Hi Fifi0523 from FifiLux I am in a similar situation to you, 8 months post surgery and between January 11th and February 12th I only lost 4lb. On Jan 11th my surgeon said my goal was to lose 10kg (22lb) during the rest of the year so I guess he based that on his knowledge that my loss would slow down. My goal is to lose 17kg (37.5lb) and that seems way off, if not impossible, given the stall I have now. This is even after I have upped my exercise, not by much due to suffering from exhaustion, but certainly by more than I was doing pre-op. I have started to track my food and drink to see if there are places I am slipping up and it has already helped me highlight areas as I was eating more carbs that I realised and I hadn't been counting my protein correctly at times. I also have started to go into menopause in the last couple of months and I am not sure if that is impacting the weight loss as I know it is already impacting my energy and sleep. I hope and think it is just our bodies recovering from rapid loss and now that it will continue but at a slower pace - I just hadn't expected it to be this slow!

if you've been following your plan and haven't increased your eating lately, then yes, you may be in a stall. Mine tended to last longer the closer I got to my goal. I'd give it a couple more weeks. If your weight hasn't started dropping by then, then you may be in maintenance (at 11.1 st, you're almost at a normal BMI). You can always lose more by dropping your calories or increasing your exercise (or both). But I'd give it a little more time.

Hi I’m 8 months nearly 9 month post gastric sleeve . I’ve posted my weight below . Am I in a stall ? My goal is 9.6 stones 15th Jan -11.1st 22 th Jan -10.13st 29th Jan -10.12st 5th Feb -11.0 st 12th Feb -11.1 st I’m so worried 😭

It appears I'm also experiencing a 3 week stall. At 2 weeks post op (surgery 1/24/24) I had lost 10 lbs. It's now 3 weeks post op and I'm still the same weight. I sure hope this stall doesn't last a month! I have been discouraged a bit, I think, because any time I've tried to lose weight in the past it has been agonizingly slow and not permanent. I had hoped that I'd lose faster after VSG and I found myself thinking this morning that I did this drastic and permanent thing just to have the same result I have always had - no weight loss for weeks at a time despite my best efforts. Reading about this "infamous" stall gives me a little hope, although I don't understand how I'm not losing weight when I'm consuming 500 calories a day or less, mostly protein and no fats/sugar. I appreciate the topic and the comments, and I'm hoping the stall breaks soon!

I think everyone does in some form. Doesn’t mean it will happen though. Yes, a bounce back regain of 10-20lbs is a real possibility but it doesn’t happen to everyone. Whether you regain or not I think depends on a number of factors. Some you can control & manage & some you can’t. Complacency - letting the new good eating habits slide. Not dealing with emotional & psychological issues behind your eating habits. Health & medications - some medications are renown for increasing your appetite or a health situation may arise that limits you in some way. Unsustainable way of eating to maintain - too restrictive & stops you from enjoying & living your life as you want. Life - sometimes throws crap at you & good intentions are the first to go. Commitment - accepting the changes you make have to be forever. I had 40 years of losing & gaining weight. Every diet, dieticians, medications, exercise plans, you name it I did it. I’d stick to it, lose weight & as soon as I stopped I would start regaining again almost immediately. Simply because I went back to eating the exact same way as I did before. I had a low & a high weight I bounced between until the last 4 or so years & my weight exploded. Nothing worked then so surgery was my only solution. Am nearing 5 years & have basically maintained my initial stabilised low weight. Never have been able to keep weight off like this ever. I had a medication glitch but we sorted that & I lost the 5ish lbs I’d gained without doing anything. I work at it every day. I established a way of eating that was sustainable & works for me, my needs & my life. Same with my activity. Don’t exercise as such just do four x 5 minute sessions of resistance bands & stretches 6 days a week - wouldn't burn 20 calories. I’m okay with that because it works for me & I’m happy to do it You have to be mentally ready for this because that’s where a lot of the battle is. Sure the surgery gives you some tools, but for me, the time it gave me while those tools were at their most effective was the biggest win. It was when I examined my relationship with food (the why, what & when I ate) & worked out what I needed to do make be the most successful. I wouldn’t stress about something that may happen because it simply may not. Just be aware of it. You never know what the future will bring & you’ll have built a wealth of knowledge & strategies & have a support team (doctor, dietician, therapist) to help you get on top of it. All the best.

I’m not excusing your grandmother, but older people tend to lose their filters & think they can say whatever they want. Not all of course but it seems a lot do. I spend a lot of time saying ‘Mum! You can’t say that’. She’s 84. Out of curiosity, did your grandmother also have dessert? My mother often comments on how large someone is while ignoring how big she is. I had enough one day & told her the person was considerably smaller than she is. Stopped her for a while at least. She was never like this before. Like she never said a word when I as nearing or at my highest weight. It’s probably why I get short with her at times because it’s not who she was. Yes, I do think we can be more sensitive about things people say because of our experiences with bullying & offensive comments. Consequently our immediate thought is that it is another rude & pointed dig. I often wish I was quicker with the pithy comebacks or could politely point out the impact of their words. I also wish I could breathe through or let my negative reactions to certain situations that arise because of my past experiences go.

Hello long time no speak! I had my vsg 4 years ago . With the typical stalls of loosing weight. As I approached my goal weight . The scale keeps going down. To the point I’m now underweight . Was told not to loose any more. Blood test all come back great. She did order an upper GI . Why? I have no pain or heartburn. i can eat and eat and eat. Half cup or less at an time even wake up in my sleep to eat. I feel as if my body is starving . I’m sure I’ll get the back lash but I know I’m not the only one suffering. If you happen to see a form on here please let me know. I don’t want bad eating habits like chips . Pop . Candy . But I am to keep the scale from moving in the negative 😢

More stats would be really helpful OP - agree with Arabesque. If you're close to your goal weight or a 'normal' BMI then weight loss will naturally slow and can plateau for long periods but then lose some more. A few pounds on shouldn't necessarily mean the end of your loss forever. If you're straying from your programme then it might be good to stick to that rigidly for a few weeks to see if it will get you back on track.

Don't know if you're still working on this or not, but I just passed my 1 year anniversary of my surgery so thought I would share my numbers. 1. Basics: GENDER, AGE, HEIGHT Male, 32, 5' 6" 2. Total Weight lost in the 6 months BEFORE surgery (if any) 24 lbs. 3. Weight on DAY OF SURGERY. 389 4. Weight at 1 MONTH POST surgery 358 5. Weight at 3 MONTHs POST surgery 320 6. Weight at 6 MONTHs POST surgery 275 7. Weight at 12 MONTHs POST surgery 217 8. Type of Surgery (Sleeve, ByPass, etc...) Bypass

I have a question for folks that may have experienced this. I'm not convinced it is 100% related to my surgery since I had some of these symtpoms, albeit milder, prior to my surgery. I felt like the dizziness and general weakness went away the first 4 weeks following surgery, and I was able to walk 2 miles easily without stoppoing, and 4-5 miles a day with minimal rest. I was really looking forward to going back to the gym once I was cleared to lift weights. However, I caught Covid, and was mostly stuck in bed for 2 weeks over Christmas and New Years, around the time I was working in solid foods again. Since then I'm barely able to walk 1 mile without stopping, and even then I need to rest for over an hour to feel right again. It's gotten progressively worse, especially in the last two weeks, to the point that I don't feel comfortable driving when the vertigo and extreme fatigue hits. It's to the point that I'm falling off my treadmill if I go more than a half mile. It went from being somewhat disruptive previously to debilitating now. Luckily I work from home, but even that is starting to get disrupted. Over the past year I was evaluated for heart issues, had 3 MRI's, a CT scan, echocardiogram/ultrasound, had my carotid checked, been to two opthamologists and tried two different pairs of glasses, checked out by a Neurologist and Neurosurgeon, evaluated by an ENT, went to a hearing and balance specialist (no Menieres disease, inner ear crystals, etc), normal BP (between 110 and 130 systolic, and 70-85 diastolic), Blood Sugar has returned to my pre-diabetic levels (92-98 fasting, and no higher than 130 when checked 2 hours after eating). Pulse Oximeter is showing O2 staying between 95-98. CPAP was re-titrated to treat sleep apnea following the weight loss. Blood labs showed Total Cholesterol and LDLs somewhat high, but decreasing steadily since my surgery in November, High levels of Iron and Calcium though, but everything else plus thyroid were normal. Heart rate has dropped from pre-surgery rate averaging around 80-90 bpm down to 40-55, but my PCP wasn't able to determine why. My father and grandfather (currently 92) both have a normal heart rate between 45-55 for their whole lives, so maybe that one is hereditary. Thanks for reading and any advice is appreciated!

had the sleeve, gained it back. 7 months out from sadi-s and 70lbs down (more than i ever lost with sleeve) but very big bathroom issues!! make sure you're investigating all procedures is my advice.

I agree - that's a question for your team. In my case, I was allowed to everything BUT weights once I was four weeks out. I was cleared for weights at eight weeks out.

It definitely does add some difficulty when it comes to it being your close family! Especially as I know my Granny probably meant nothing by it, it is just the way in which she talks. I completely get that haha! I feel that she is always talking about weight and the fact she struggles (mind you, she is probably like a size 10-12 which I'd kill for haha!), but I suppose everyone's struggles look different. But we always tend to have these conversations whilst we are eating! There really does need to be...

Hi all! Me again! Wednesday I am 3 weeks post op! I think I have the food down and just trying to figure out when I can do more than just walk my dog lol

Woohoo I hope I passed the stall stage for real! Ive been stuck at 241 lbs up and down for 2 weeks and it went down to 239.6 this morning. I am counting small victories. From 240s to now in the 230s! My surgery weight was 250.4lbs. So after 3 weeks 11lbs down. Yayyy This week I can add mashed or puree vegetables and grains like cream of wheat and grits. Sharing some image of my progress. Also the salmon, broccoli puree and cream of wheat was delicious as my lunch! Good source of protein too. My nutritionist advice for each meal now is 3oz of protein, 1 oz of vegetables and 1 oz of starch. Always try to eat the protein first. My daily calorie intake is between 600-800 including the protein shakes. I am drinking 1 1/2 bottle of shakes. I fell 2 shakes to be too much for me, and 1 1/2 is just right. Protein intake is about 85-100grams. I will ask on my next visit to find out if I really need that much of protein since they told me my daily goal should be 65-75 grams initially.

I have a local consignment shop where I may take a few things if they're still decent, but I have to confess, my wardrobe lately has been absolute crap. I had bought some cute stuff in a 1x back around 2018, but I gained weight and was wearing 2x and 3x when I moved in 2020, so I got rid of everything. I didn't want to buy an expensive new wardrobe at a higher weight, so everything I have now is cheap Walmart stuff that I'm happy to donate. Thinking about the future, though, I am embracing the idea of a capsule wardrobe, where you buy maybe 10 pieces of clothing that can all be worn mix-and-match, and you change up the look with accessories. When I think about how much clothing I will be getting rid of, it sickens me a little to contemplate buying all of it again. Especially since I only really wear a handful of things regularly. If I had two pairs of leggings, a skirt, a dress, 5 tops, and a lightweight sweater, that would pretty much cover me for 99% of my clothing needs each season. Now to remind myself of this when temptation rears its head the minute I can shop off the rack in all those stores that have nothing in my size right now.

Oh, hon. My grandma was like that, too. It's so hard, especially if you get mixed messages. Mind you, I take after my grandmother 100% physically. She was a bigger woman from her tee years at least, and on a diet of some kind her entire life (died at 92, though, so despite the obesity, she had a good run). But my God, she would be one minute talking about my weight and the next breath offering me food. Her idea of a portion size was a full 1lb link of Polish sausage. She would put out enough food for snacks to feed a small army. But then, "Oh, you have to watch it or you'll get fat." I swear there needs to be a patron saint for people trying to be polite to their family members under trying circumstances.

I agree with @Arabesque, track your food and see what you're eating, how much, and how often. The further out we get from our surgeries, the easier it is to slowly get off track. Our stomachs stretch out a little and we notice we can eat more, so we do. Definitely reach out to your dietician and see if you guys can come up with a way to get back on track. It's normal to have the weight loss slow drastically as time goes on, but if you aren't where you want to be yet, there's ways to fix it. But definitely start tracking your food and liquid intake, reach out to your dietician, and make sure you're moving your body. Even if you don't do full workouts, make sure you're moving every day. Park at the far end of a parking lot, take stairs instead of the elevator, take a walk a few times per week...anything to get your body moving.

I'm not sure what she actually meant by that, but I know I take certain comments differently now that I'm normal size than I did when I weighed almost 400 lbs. If I was eating dessert now and some friend or relative called me a "piggy" (that is, if they said it in a joking manner), I would have just assumed they were teasing me was because I was eating dessert. Before my surgery, I most definitely would have assumed they were referring to my weight. I also remember my mother-in-law teasing my 20-something niece once when we were having pizza for someone's birthday. My niece was wearing some new outfit or something - can't remember - and when she grabbed her third piece of pizza, my mother-in-law jokingly said "you'd better watch it or those pants aren't going to fit" (or something to that effect). She said it in a joking manner and I knew she wasn't referring to Sarah's weight, but Sarah is obese so at the same time, I knew exactly how she (Sarah) would have taken it - and she did. My mother-in-law has never been obese, so she wouldn't have understood how that comment was taken. When I explained it to her afterward (when the party was over and it was just me and her and my husband), she felt terrible about it. I knew she did because she brought it up several times over the course of the next week or so (she also apologized profusely to Sarah)

4 weeks, 3 days Sorry for the delay in posting. The first week after I got home I slept a lot, night and day. Eating and drinking enough is hard when you sleep so much, so I haven't been meeting my goal of 64oz fluid and 100gm of protein, but I've been getting at least 48oz fluid and at least 60-80gm of protein. My protein oatmeal with extra protein added and my Pure Protein Bars with 19-21gm of protein is a huge chunk of that. 3 weeks in, after sleeping most of the day my body decided it was done with that, and since I'd just slept all day, it chose to stay awake at night. I've been trying to get my sleep pattern under control, but when I went to bed at 10:30 I awoke at 1:24am refreshed from my nap and last night I went to bed just after midnight and woke up at 4am and wasn't able to get back to sleep. I think this time I'll be able to stay awake all day though, so I'm hoping to sleep through the night tonight. I've still been having a hard time with my diet goals since I am trying to sleep at night. If I didn't have the luxury of working at home on my own schedule, I might not be having such a hard time sleeping because I'd be forced to a regular schedule. My husband has had his reservations, but has been supportive through all this because I promised I'd take care of myself. When I feel bad for being gone so long and now sleeping on the couch instead of snuggling with him, he tells me that I've just had surgery and I'm healing, sleep when my body tells me to sleep, and if the couch is more comfortable than sleeping reclined in bed, sleep there. At least I'm spending a few hours snuggling with him at night now. A couple days after retuning home I took my surgical tape off and discovered that I'd pulled a couple stitches. Remember those painful sneezes? I'm pretty sure that's when it happened. I have mighty, full body sneezes that sometimes makes my arm go numb and always said I'll probably die because I sneezed while driving. The wound didn't reopen. There was no bleeding or seeping, there were just larger scabs and one had a tacky feel. The scar in that area in front is going to be uglier than the nice thin scar in the back. This isn't the surgeons fault and nothing would have been different if I'd been there for a follow-up and he took the tape off. I'm waiting for the last scab to fall off before I start using the scar gel and massaging the scar. I have been concerned about the puffy area just above the scar across the front. I told myself it's probably just inflammation. They tell you not to judge the way you look because you won't see the final results for 6 months to a year, but it's hard. When you look at before and after pictures, the after pictures are long enough after for the inflammation to be gone. I went to a friend's commitment ceremony 2 days ago and another friend there had a lower body lift and BBL here in the states with one of the best surgeons (they have more money than me). She had her surgery 10 days after mine and she has that too, so I feel better. To summarize how I felt moving around week by week: Week 1 was difficult getting in and out of bed and it was painful. Week 2 I had the roll and push method down pat so it was easier to get up and down from bed and I could move around better, but when I'd first get up I'd walk more hunched over and this was when I had the really painful sneezes. It was easy to not push myself and to remember not to lift things or bend down because I could feel the pain in my stitches. I was very itchy. Week 3 I was able to move easier and could reach for things, but I could still feel it pull at the stitches, but it was more discomfort than painful so I was having to remind myself not to lift things and to not twist. This is when the itching was at its worst. Week 4 I'm getting stir crazy because I am still not supposed to drive and I promised my husband I'd take care of myself, which means following doctor's orders even if I think I'm OK to drive. Because of the mini BBL he did, I'm not supposed to drive for 4 weeks, then for 2 weeks only short distances "if I have to drive". I was moving normal, but I could still feel it pull at the stitches, but not really uncomfortable, just a pulling sensation. I still itched really bad, but it wasn't as constant. Now I don't really feel any pain except now that I'm sleeping without the pillows and my hips are on the bed, I am not sleeping on my right side because the incision is still a little tender when sleeping with weight on it there. Thankfully I can sleep on my left side and it doesn't hurt. Of course, I haven't slept more than 4 hours that way yet. I was supposed to wear the compression garment 24/7 except when showering for 4 weeks, then for 4 weeks I can sleep without it. I cheated and slept without my compression garment and drove a night early. It was really nice to snuggle with my husband without it even if it was from on top of pillows and just for a little bit because I couldn't sleep. I snuggled lying on 2 thick pillows with my hip/butt between them because of the mini BBL. After talking to my friend who had her lower body lift and BBL here, I'm rebelling a little bit. She was told she could sit on soft furniture without a pillow and sleep in bed without pillows keeping pressure off her butt. I'm still obeying my doctors orders regarding sitting because I can't find an entry on Google supporting that you can sit on soft furniture, but after talking to her I decided to sleep without the pillows under me. I have a thick Temper Pedic Memory Foam pad and REALLY want to snuggle with my hubby and sleep normally. I sleep on my side and he didn't transfer fat to my hips, that's where he took it from. As mentioned above, I can't sleep on my right because it's still tender there when sleeping on it. Of note regarding my breast lift/implants. I don't talk about them because they haven't hurt at all until recently. I get twinges now at the lower scar. I've had implants implanted, removed, and implanted again, so 3 surgeries and the scar tissue at the bottom of my breast is pretty thick and now that the incision is healed I need to start massaging it to break that scar tissue up. The first time I had implants (2006) it did hurt. I had to lean to the side to get one hand wet, then lean to the other side to get the other wet, then rinse the soap off the same way because leaning forward hurt, and it took almost a year before I didn't look like I had super pecs (they sit high when they are new). I'm assuming it didn't hurt this time and they have already settled because the skin didn't need to stretch. Maybe the signals from the incision from the lower body lift overrode anything my breasts might have wanted to tell me as well. When I hit 6 weeks and "can drive", I'm going to drive to Missouri. My Mother-In-Law has cancer of the esophagus and they need help taking care of her. I can work from home and they can't, so I volunteered. She needs help bathing and having her diaper changed, her feeding tube needs cleaned and feeding bag filled, and she and her house needs taking care of. She is on hospice, but not close enough to the end to have daily helpers, but she has a nurse stop by twice a week and a helper come twice a week for a couple hours, so I can save heavy lifting for the helper. I'm going to ask my husband to take some 4.5 week after pics so you can see what it looks like soon after the incisions heal. I'll post again at other intervals so you can see progress as the inflammation goes away and the scar heals. Other than that, I will post if I feel I have something relevant to say regarding my progress. I'll only post about my MIL as it relates to my being able to care for her due to my surgery because this isn't a cancer support forum.