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I don't know what happens in Australia, but here in the US most private insurance requires a series of prerequisites. I had a very low number of these, and it was still a round half-dozen steps before they could even request that insurance pre-approve it. Some insurance requires a 3- or 6-month medically supervised diet. But then after the insurance bit, there's a bunch of other things that need to happen, like medical clearances (cardiovascular, pulmonary, scans, etc.) and the pre-surgical diet. My center also has a timeline for when certain medications and supplements need to be started or stopped, so I'll be on bariatric vitamins for three weeks before surgery and have to leave off caffeine two weeks before surgery, etc. It's definitely not a fast process. I will say this, though, I'll be crossing the holidays soon after surgery and I'm taking this as an opportunity to learn to celebrate without a giant plateful (or multiple!) of food. It's likely that I'll only be able to take a few bites of food at Thanksgiving (late November here). This is going to be a lifelong thing, re-learning to eat correctly, so I'm not trying to schedule around it (no "food funerals").

This thread just gave me so much comfort! I do not have a band, but this pain in the roof of my mouth has been happening for 10 years now. I remember when it started, every time I would eat something for the first time that day the roof of my mouth, in the back near my throat, would start to swell and the pain would be so bad I was unable to eat until it stopped. It was happening so often at first I would be scared to eat in the morning. It would also happen with really cold water, so I thought that any hot or cold substance would cause this, but I could find NO answer as to why this was happening. I don't fast intentionally, maybe I do need more Vitamin B as someone stated. Since then it has calmed down a lot and only happens every so often but it is the strangest thing! I'm so happy I'm not crazy!!

Like stated above, liquid stage goes right through you and your stomach was just operated on. Some won't be able to feel full on liquid stage though on puree you may or may not be able to. Please don't move stages too fast, you can damage your still recovering stomach! I know it's miserable in liquid stage, but it passes relatively fast. It just feels like it crawls by at the time. Also, head hunger is a thing and can really mess with you. And smoothies may not be a good option. I was told to avoid berries for three months because they're hard to digest (strawberries, raspberries, bananas, blueberries, etc.) and berries tend to be the go to when it comes to smoothies. I mean, there is the option of peaches or apples or cherries or plums or mango, but usually people want to toss in a banana and that's hard on your stomach (according to my surgeon, anyway. I tried strawberries at a month and half out and got sooooo sick, so I believe it, personally). Congrats on your surgery and I hope the liquid stage passes quickly for you. (Also, kind of wondering why they require two weeks? My surgeon was 1 week liquid, 1 week puree, 2 weeks soft food, and the general diet with some limitations [no berries, nuts, lettuce, peas, beans, corn, potatoes, etc. for a certain amount of time]. I mean, all surgeons are different, but I'm kind of curious...)

Been making these a ton (I can eat about 3-4 of them) and even my husband loves them. Sorry I don't have a pic. Homemade Chicken Nuggets (one can makes about 9-12 nuggets depending on how big you form them) 1 12.5 oz can of Chunk Chicken in water drained, rinsed and squeezed of the excess water 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 tbsp (or more/less to your taste) Ranch Seasoning powder 1 tbsp (or more/less to your taste) hot sauce of choice (I use Franks Original) 1 egg Salt & Pepper (just shake some in) Onion Powder (just shake some in) Garlic Salt (just shake some in) Paprika (just shake some in) Parsley (just shake some in) Mix it all together and form into the size of your typical store/fast food nugget. Sorta squeeze the chicken together while forming the shape. Place pieces into an air fryer that has been sprayed with non-stick spray of choice. Spray tops of nuggets with spray. Cook for 12 minutes on 390. Flip at 6 minutes mark and spray again with spray. Serve right away with or without dip of choice. I usually use Ranch or mix a little mayo with hot sauce and use that. Sometimes I use nothing.

I am having VSG 13Sep; so nervous and excited at the same time... work has suddenly gotten really busy so I hope it will make the time go fast!

Had my surgery on 3/31 and as of today I am down 68.2lbs. I have struggled with finding food terribly appealing and get full fast. I have carbs now and again but find I get full even faster that way and I know they are empty calories so I keep it limited

One way to easily track that downward trend (if you insist on weighing daily) is to keep a second list… so list 1 is your daily weight… 231, 230, 229, 229.7, 230, 228, etc… the second list is take your weight seven days ago and subtract your weight today. This will show how much you lost in the last week, but still updated daily. It really highlights stalls and for me made it much easier to assess how I was really doing without focusing on those daily fluctuations. Here is what my two graphs looked like. The first is just the normal “my weight today” and the second looks back seven days and counts how many lbs I lost. The closer it gets to the top line (0) the bigger the stall… you can see when I do it this way I really didn’t have that many TRUE stalls, even when it felt like I wasn’t losing there was still some small weekly losses. It also shows the super fast loss at first and the gradual decline. It’s a very easy thing to set up in excel or google sheets if you’ve ever work with those.

Following! I hope you feel better! I’m a little under a month post op and feel what you’re describing after eating to the point where I’m almost full or full already. I also feel it if I take too many gulps of water too fast. I’m not sure if this is a stricture or just the normal way we feel after eating or drinking a certain amount.

Ooh also about my experience. I used to like rum and Coke Zero so I tried rum and crystal light. I haven’t tried the margaritaville ones with booze. I need to order more but hate to cause I only liked the strawberry daquari one. I am like you, though, and don’t really like the taste of booze and I could taste it a lot so I couldn’t get it down fast enough to get any kind of buzz. Seems like I may not like it anymore. My husband did get the regular rum instead of the flavored so I may try again but I honestly think I may just not like it anymore. But no, it did not hit me fast like some people say it does.

Most days we swim in our pool or play outside in the yard with things like the water table, chalk/drawling, painting, bubbles, play ball, etc. We have walked the neighborhood together but they constantly want to stop and pick up things, look at stuff, the little one can't walk fast so it really does nothing for me as far as getting my heart rate up. LOL Doc has even told me, DO NOT TAKE the dog or the grandkids on walks with you. You will not get your heart rate up to where it needs to be with someone else tagging along. He said I could go on extra walks with them but to make sure I get my own walks in without them. Yeah, sure. HAHA That's my family doc. Not the surgeon. Otherwise I do have to cook for them, cleanup, do other chores around the house so I do get some exercise in. Just not elevating my heart rate kind of exercises like suggested and most definitely not for long if it does at all. LOL

Update for my August revision: I had my revision earlier this month and although it feels the same as VSG physically, it is different in that I am just not hungry at all. After 1 oz of unsweetened applesauce for dinner last night, I just didn't want another bite. Some people got that with their VSG, I never did. It's hard to eat if one has zero appetite. This week my average calories was 296. I have no idea what my goal is for this stage. My surgery water weight gain is finally coming off then I can see where my weight is at but at 296 average a day, I know I lost quite a bit. Luckily, so far, it's been a pretty easy recovery. I do not have any nausea, and have not vomited. I do have off and on diarrhea. I took an Equate equivalent of Imodium, that fixed it. I still have a stitch feeling on the left side though, maybe due to CO2 still in there. I drink with no problem but I still try to sip slowly because if I do drink fast, I just know I will get nauseated. I've slept better than ever because no Gerd. I have good energy due to good sleep. Of course, I'm always worried about future complications though since it is a more serious operation compared to my sleeve.

I've had sleeve gastrectomy on 6th of August.....3 days ago! I' m a little sick but the operation has gone very well. The problem Is i don't recognize signs of hungry or eat too fast. i have often stomach pain like a rag squeeze into it. This happens when it's time to eat the MEAL or also after, so......what i have to do? Can you help me? Sent from my Redmi Note 7 using BariatricPal mobile app

Thank you! Yes, so I did lose a lot of inches. My waist was 42 1/2 inches and went down to 40 inches. My Fupa was 46 1/2 inches and went down to 42 inches. So yes, I did lose inches just the weight is still on. I am sometimes confused on how many calories I am suppose to eat because my metabolism is up but I do get full fast, really fast. But I am going to do cardio for the rest of this month and give yall an update on 08/30/2021

I am so incredibly happy for you. I had Gastric Bypass in 2001. Most weight lost AFTER bypass (279) SW (before surgery) - 345 CW - 315. After enduring stage 4 breast cancer in 2010, I gained most of my weight back. I decided to return to my original doctor and request testing to find out if something went wrong with my original surgery. I was told everything was still in tact and I just need to start from SCRATCH! But I explained that I was able to eat a heck of a lot more. And that I would like options as to what can be done to tighten and/or revise my surgery. I believe my doctor was so eager to NOT have any "revisions" needed that he just sent me away - RUDELY! So I decided to ask around and seek a second opinion (of course - years later- because I believed there was something wrong with me). I followed his advise - but still believed something was wrong. Fast forward. I met a woman in my SAME situation and she referred me to her doctor for help. NOW, I am just waiting for an appointment. I will be researching the duodenal switch. I was never given this as an option. I am so excited for you.

I'm the same 3 opti-fast fast a day and I'm allowed 2 cups of protein a day plus clear liquid. My gastric sleeve is on 9/8. Sent from my SM-N975F using BariatricPal mobile app

I definitely think everyone is different, but for sure if you are weightlifting 5 times a week, your gaining muscle so your weight won’t go down as fast because of that

rate of weight loss varies so much between people depending on so many factors that it's pointless to compare yourself to others. I was a slow loser, and I started at almost 400 lbs. People who start at a low BMI (for a WLS patient) are pretty much ALWAYS slow losers. What was your starting BMI? if you're following your program and keeping active, that's pretty much all you can do. You can't control your gender, age, metabolic rate, genetics, starting BMI, etc - and those will all influence your rate of weight loss. If you stick to the plan, you WILL lose the weight, whether fast or slow.

Deciding which surgery to have is not straight forward & it’s a good idea to ask for real life experiences to help you decide. Some factors will direct you more to one or the other more easily. Like some surgeons recommend bypass over sleeve if you have a larger amount of weight to lose. If you have reflux/gerd already the sleeve really isn’t for you. Then it becomes lifestyle choices, existing medical conditions, weight loss history, etc. that will influence your decision. I had sleeve surgery even though I had occasional reflux. I experience it more now but it manifests differently. One of the reasons I chose the sleeve was because it would change my digestion the least but also because I could revise to a bypass if I needed in the future. My tummy has always been a sensitive (lactose, spice esp chilli, fatty or oily foods, etc.) because of the reflux, a parasite in my gut, an acid tummy & just me. Consequently, I thought I’d be more likely to end up with additional food limitations with a bypass. 27 months on & I’m happy with my sleeve. There are odd foods I’m not good with. Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes sit like a weight in my tummy. Dry meat & vegetables like char grilled ones cause the foamies & gagging. Oily fish upset me more now than before surgery. But this is very individual & you can’t predict it. Amusingly I’m way better with dairy than I was before - tossed that parasite with most of my tummy. I find it harder to find non spicy & non chilli food than foods I eat with my sleeve. Foods you struggle to eat in the first couple of months after surgery may be fine later on. Your tummy can be sensitive to begin & you might have episodes of diarrhoea, vomiting, dumping, foamies. It can help if you introduce foods back into your diet slowly. Most of this is temporary or only if you eat a specific food & I just try to avoid those I know upset me. Some people, though, seem to have no issues with food at all. These experiences seem to be similar across the surgeries. I remember my mother lamenting she didn’t know what food to buy when I visited her. The reality was she didn’t have to buy different foods or cook differently (mind you I’d always do the shopping & cooking when I’m there). I just bought my own yoghurt & protein bar snacks but otherwise we ate the same foods except she has dessert & slightly larger portions. You may choose to make a lot of changes to your long term maintenance diet (I have - rarely have sweet cakes, biscuits or desserts, no fast foods, etc.). You may chose to go the moderation path & still include the odd take away, sweet treat, etc. Doesn’t matter what form your maintenance diet takes it just has to be sustainable for you & how you want to live your life. Good luck with which ever surgery you choose.

Great news a out your A1c. Congrats! It's great that you can kick that medication to the curb. So, guess what. I typed my post this morning before I weighed. When getting ready for work, I weighed myself and my stall was broken! Honestly though, I thought the scale was messing with me when I saw the new number. LoL. You all brought me good luck, lol. 🤣 I know it doesnt work that way. I dont really change much except watch water intake and walking when I get a stall. They are so normative during this process that I accept them. I'm not racing to a finish line, so I'm not pressed for fast losing. Just safe and healthy weight loss is my goal. Hmm, I want consistent loss also, to be honest, but I'm ok if my body needs a week of stabilizing before we drop down again. Plus, I just hope the slower pace will help me not have as much loose skin. So far, that's not a huge problem. I noticed some areas that I'm wondering what will happen when I lose more weight in those two areas. So, I definitely need to get on tonight and strengthening. Thanks so much for sharing your update and your kind comment a bit me keeping our thread going. Thanks for being here. 🤗

I’m so sorry if this has already been asked and answered. I’m new here. Since day one, liquid, or purée (not on solids yet) no matter how fast or slow, how big the drink or bite is… there is a little bit of discomfort with every swallow. Not in my throat but lower, like between throat and stomach? Or maybe it is stomach, hard to tell. It’s like if I swallowed a giant pill and a bunch of air. (pre op). It’s not bad and this whole time I just assumed it was normal, didn’t even talk to my doc about it, because I didn’t think of it, but now I’m like wait… is this normal? Is this forever? Once in awhile it’s a little bit painful and I have a burp, so I assume that’s gas. But what about the just minor discomfort feeling down there? It lasts one or two seconds, Does everyone have that? for reverence I had the sleeve and I’ve kept everything down. I’m on week three and haven’t thrown anything up or had any real pain, just this minor discomfort. thanks! Sarah

My first stall was week one I was still on clear liquid only!!! and the scale didn’t move for 4 days!! and I lose weight FAST at the beginning no matter what I try. I was like, what the heck? That scale is such a jerk!

Hi, I'm also 4 mos out with a stall between 192-195. I'm also became caretaker for my elderly Mom so lots of stress going on here. I know how that can impact a person's health but at least I'm not gaining. Still thrilled to be in "onederland" and really enjoying breaks I get from other fam members so I can do my. Reformer Pilates classes where my focus is now cardio/sculpt. I also hop on my treadmill at home buty water intake has really taken a dive. Need to work on that. The great news is that my A1c # for diabetes no longer requires meds. I'm so, so, happy about that🙂. Btw, my highest history of weight gain was 261, pre-op was 245 to 235 from the week fast, and now 192. Goal is 150 since I am 5'6". I had the revision from lap band to gastric sleeve. My niece had the bypass and she said that her stall required her to go back on protein shakes 3x a day un order to trigger more weight loss and so far she has lost 100 pounds. I think I will be trying that, too. Good luck to everyone and I love seeing the pics Mizzkay! You look awesome. Blueslily, thx for keeping this topic alive. I'm right there with you on the stall. We can do this! Sincerely, Trish

Yes i have a problem eating chicken too and if I eat it too fast. It causes me to throw up. My nose runs when I am full, ill get hiccups or feel like I have something stuck in my throat.

Hi all. Is it normal to feel very tied & get tired out very fast when doing anything. Im 2 weeks out and I feel like I may be failing myself by not pushing harder. I was never one to exercise ever. But even little things like house work are so tiring. Should I push harder at this point or should I still be taking my time with this due to healing ? Any advice would be welcome [emoji4] Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Chiming in here. I knew it was time to consider it after I put on almost 100 lbs in the last 2 years. I lost about 70 lbs before and felt the best I had in my entire life. Sadly, I had my stints of gaining a little bit back and then losing it and then gaining more back. However I realized in the grand scheme of things, I was overall gaining more weight than I'd lose during crash diets. Fast forward and I did a diet bet with some friends of mine realizing I ballooned past 310 lbs and feeling completely out of control, especially in contrast with friends who's weights felt normal to me. I then injured my knee pretty bad the beginning of 2021 and now have immense pain when doing any weight baring activities, even going up the stairs. I gained 20 lbs after injuring my knee as I couldn't do my walks for a bit. I felt so tired and sick. My legs were burning when I'd walk less than a mile. I got super depressed feeling like not too long ago I was running 2 miles a day during my big weight loss journey. Feeling like I have a useless body and 0 control has really been the lowest of the low. I've had wls in my mind for most of my adult life but was too afraid. It's bittersweet that I needed to hit a rock bottom to go up but in a screwed up way, I'm glad I took a lot of time to think about it. I realized the pain and unhappiness I feel being uncomfortable in my own skin is much worse than a surgery and I view it as regardless of surgery or non surgical weight loss methods, changing how and when I eat will always be a part of the equation. The surgery is just the tool I've needed.. I just see all the pros greatly outweigh the cons. There was a response in this thread that says nothing was harder than being 400 lbs. I'm feeling the exact same. I had my first consultation last month. I have my dietician and testing tomorrow morning and If I'm successful with my treatment plan, I'll be able to get the surgery after October 2021. I'm scared SHITLESS (excuse my language) but I know this is the right thing for me. I'm ready to win the war now. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app