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I have my referral from my PCM here in Texas and my consultation with my surgeon is next week. I need a hernia repair, I have GERD with esophagitis, and mild sleep apnea. My last EDG was two months ago. Will I be required to redo all these tests? Or will the surgeon’s office just request my medical files from my other docs? thank you!

My dietician only gave me protein and carb guidelines. She told.me not to worry about calories. She has me at 100 grams of protein and 59 grams of carbs per day. I also workout everyday. Even if its as simple as walking. So I always go over the guidelines But it's not enough to say im over doing it. 100-130 is where I normally stay 50-65 carbs. Depending on what food I eat the calories range from.1200-1400. Again, calories aren't the important issue. Getting your protein and carb goals in is what you need. Along with staying hydrated. I'm 3 1/2 months post op.

Thank you so much for all these suggestions! Yes I feel hungry sometimes after 30-60mins of a meal. So I drink water or protein shake. I do take PPI, that could be a possibility of why I still feel hungry. Most of the time it’s my head hunger craving for certain food. Also my tummy does rumble but don’t really feel hungry. I’ve been able to tell what type of hunger I am feeling. when I drink liquid, I literally sit there and drink with small sips through out the hours….when my tummy feel full from it, I come back to it later. I can feel the liquid traveling down when I drink. Yesterday was my first day being able to reach 60oz of liquid, but at night I didn’t feel well. Had my dinner at 6pm, went to sleep 11pm. I woke up feeling something up my chest and when trying to get up, I vomited. Sorry if TMI. It’s was all slimy mucus. No food. I was shivering, chills, migraine. I vomited a few times then vomited foamy bubbles… well after that I felt so much better. In search to see what is going on with me, it seems many bariatric patients go through this, but usually right after eating if they didn’t chew well or had too much food. I have tofu last night tho. It’s soft and should be easy to break down. On the bright side, It seems I am breaking my stall. From 241.6, I am now 240.6 lbs. even it’s only a little bit I am happy, because I am on this stall since 2 weeks ago, only 1 week after surgery.

So, I just completed day 3 of my liver prep diet. Today seemed to be better than yesterday. I am not feeling as hungry, although I am already getting tired of the protein shakes. I still have little energy, just doing the absolute necessary and resting a lot. It's hard but not horrible and will be worth it when all is said and done. Everyone hang in there and remember what the goal is... better health and a longer life. I'm still nervous, but also ready to move forward. We got this!

Not wish but glad that I did. I stopped caffeine about a month or so before surgery, I tracked all my food so I got in the habit, I went for walks to build up stamina, only 3x a week until surgery, I had different kind of protein shakes, one of each kind that tickled my fancy so after surgery I had options. Some I liked and got more, some I had one drink then gave to my hubs. I would wait for the liquid diet until they tell you to start because it sucks! I only had to do 1day and I complained the entire day LOL, some people do a food funeral where they eat all the foods they want since that will be on hold for a bit. I actually deep cleaned my house the week before surgery (I am super Type A LOL) but made me feel good that I didn't have to worry about house keeping for a minute. I do wish I would cleaned out my pantry better, I had junk food in my house and even though I didn't give into temptation, it was there. Also my mindset with food. I'm 6months post op and it still messes with me, like wanting to eat huge burrito because I'm upset but knowing I physically cant. Its like breaking up with someone. @SleeveToBypass2023 said it really well, breaking in a very toxic relationship, you know its not good for you but you still go back. If you can mentally prepare yourself for it. Its a mindf*%^ .

It's not something that has been easy for the past 15 years. I used to workout several days a week for a long time, but I was just more into weight lifting, not so much cardio or anything like it. Since I've lost a lot of weight, that same drive has kicked started again. Also, I know this is going to need to be a long term thing to ensure I don't go back to what I was doing before. I have knee replacement surgery in October, so I'm trying to keep the knee strong for better recovery.

how has the week been?

Reformer PILATES. All the benefits of cardio and strength without the stress impact on joints. Its actually touted as great for mobility (joints, rotations, etc). I have recently become a reformer pilates addict so i may be biased. I started about 6 or so months ago going once a week, then twice a week, and for the past month i have gone 4 or 5x per week (i bought an unlimited plan at a local studio). i feel stronger (legs and core...my arms still need work lol), waaaaay more flexible (i was already pretty flexible, but now i could probably join a circus), and my abs are pretty frickin awesome to look at these days. it can get expensive, but studios do offer starter packs at a heavily discounted price for first time visitors...a friend of mine just studio surfs and gets starter packs everywhere lol. I also second swimming for low impact exercise...i used to go lane swimming much more before, but now maybe go once every couple of weeks with my Kid. while i love the actual swimming, i hate the changing/showering/etc afterwards, boo. there is also tai chi (never tried), yoga (love!), elliptical (not my cup of tea), cycling (also not for me as it hurts my butt). but the most important thing is to find something you actually enjoy as you will be more likely to continue doing it Good Luck! ❤️ But seriously, try reformer pilates!!

One of my VP's at work walked by me and said if you keep losing weight your going to disappear...I just smiled and he laughed and said no really your doing great and you look great. Like I get it people want to comment on it, I have lots of weight and I have never ever ever been this size in my adult life. I think the last time I weight this was when I was 11-12 no joke. we had a new hire and I was training him, he saw pics of me when I was bigger at my desk with my family and said whoa is that you?! so its encouraging to know that new people who meet me or see me in the outside world they only see how I am now. I am battling with my own stuff, being so small now I have no boobs, my butt is 3/4 gone. I mean I workout and I look lean. I am not sure how I am feeling. This entire thing is a whole mind game lol

For the first 3 months after surgery, I used Nature's Bounty Hair, skin, and nails gummies w/ collagen & biotin. It's somewhere between $9-$11 at Walmart. I took 2 in the morning and 2 at night. After the 3 month mark, when I was making homemade smoothies, greens drinks and sometimes protein shakes, I started using Codeage multi collagen peptides platinum powder that I would mix into my drinks. It has collagen, biotin, hyaluronic acid, keratin, vitamin c, niacin, and vitamin B6. It's $35 and you get it online at Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc... This one is my absolute FAVORITE. It's completely flavorless, very fine and not grainy at all. I also use the digestive enzymes w/ pre and pro biotics supplements from Codeage, as well.

Like I said, 2 weeks is standard, but the door is open to longer if needed. Some people take longer if they personally feel they need it, but that's if the employer (and potential accumulated PTO time) allows. If you had any complications, you could have had longer from your surgeon. But since you had a fantastic recovery, there was no need for longer other than you wanted it. Which was then up to you to secure, which you did. That's typically how it goes.

Thank you for the advice! It's weird, a day or 2 after I last replied, the random nausea and intense abdominal pain practically disappeared on its own. Of course now I've been fighting with trying not to eat so fast I make myself sick and getting tired of eating the same thing over and over. Do you actually weigh out your food? I'm avoiding that because it reminds me of all the failed attempts at dieting. I doubt I'm hitting my protein and water goals still, but it's been an improvement from the past 6 weeks. You have to stay positive right? Do you actually eat 3 meals or at specific times? I'm still trying to recognize my body cues on that.

the kind of reactive hypoglycemia that some people get after bariatric surgery isn't necessarily related to diabetes. It can happen to non-diabetics, too (I'm not diabetic). I've also seen it referred to as "late dumping", because it tends to happen a couple of hours after you eat (as opposed to soon after, as is the case with regular dumping). I mentioned in my response above that my physician couldn't find anything wrong with me when she did the workup, but she told me to let her know the next time I had that experience. The next time was a couple of weeks later. I'd been at a retirement party and had a whole piece of cake (instead of a couple of forkfuls, like I used to have back in those days). A couple of hours later, there it was again - dizziness, etc. She said it was likely reactive hypoglycemia (AKA post-prandial hypoglycemia), and it may not have shown up at the workup because my glucose might have been normal the day I went in for that. Anyway, yes - it's not uncommon after WLS, . It often appears when you're a year or so out (although sometimes sooner...or later). They say to eat protein - or a something paired with a protein - every three hours or so to prevent it (I know it's orange juice or something similar for regular hypoglycemia - but she specifically said protein with this type - may be something to specific to the WLS-caused version)

I’m usually at about 1000 calories. 80-100g protein. My carbs are around 60-70g but that is from eating strawberries/red grapes. Am I eating too much as I’ve not lost for 4 weeks. Started at 249lbs I’m now 210lbs. Should I maybe eat less fruit and cut calories to 800?

1. What was the best part of surgery for you? The jumpstart to weight loss was obviously amazing, but I was surprised how quickly my usual body pain & aches stopped bothering me. My knee problems have basically vanished, and the lower back pain I had gotten so used to living with has gotten so much better. I can breath easier when doing things that used to have me out of breath -- going up 2 flights of stairs, for example. 2. What was the worst part of surgery for you? The pre-OP shakes -- I'm lactose intolerant and have trouble with stevia, and there were no shakes my care team could find for me that didn't have one-or-both things, so I spent a good 8-9 days barely keeping anything down. The surgery itself went off without a problem, and the pain wasn't as bad as I thought -- other than the car ride home! If you get WLS, bring a pillow to clutch to you afterwards!! 3. Did you have any complications (minor or major) during or after your surgery? Nothing during, nor after -- but I'm only 10wks post-OP tomorrow. 4. How has adjusting to your new life been for you? I too am on SSRIs for long-time depression & anxiety. Most days have been awesome and cheery. Even during the initial aches and pains of recovery, just knowing that things were going to start changing for the better improved my mental state. I still have bad moments / days but once I started seeing all the improvements to my life it makes it easier to push through. It certainly helps to have a good support system -- people in my life, but also honestly this forum. TBH I was in a #$%& mood all day and feeling lethargic, but logging in here I know that everyone here understands and it just makes me feel more settled. 5. How long did it take you to feel comfortable eating food? I am currently having a ton of problems with chicken breast. I hate 'dark meat' poultry, but tried chicken thighs recently and it's not too bad but still leaves me with a heavy feeling in my stomach -- still better than the stuck feeling in my chest that the white meat gave. I feel like no matter what I put on it or how I cook it, it's just clearly a No for now. That said, for the most part everything else has gone down well as long as I eat slowly, and make choices consistent with my care team's plan / schedule. Going from puree to soft foods was probably the hardest for me physically, because it felt so different in my stomach. 6. Is there anything you can’t eat anymore that you used to enjoy? It's early on for me, but the changes in my body's hormones seems to have stopped most of my cravings. When I'm having a rough time emotionally, I still have momentary yearnings for old 'comfort foods' but honestly just the thought of some of them will turn me off within a few minutes. (For some reason if I think about fatty oils too long, I just get nauseated). And many of my old comfort foods have just updated into healthier things I can eat. Instead of my mum's Dutch mashed potatoes, I have a smaller bowl of healthier mashed potatoes (or cauliflower, or heart of palm) with a scoop of bone broth powder to up the protein. Instead of spaghetti and meatballs, I have homemade meatballs and extra sauce -- or a ricotta bake instead of lasagna. 7. What was your recovery like? Any vomiting or dumping syndrome? I've had one instance of dumping syndrome so far, and it was 100% my own fault. I knew what the culprit was immediately (white-flour leftover tortilla and more difficult chicken breast). I won't lie, I seriously wanted to die for probably an hour, and then slept the rest of the day away. It's horrid. I'm hoping that I've learned enough to take better care / caution and avoid any more instances. Other than that, recovery has been pretty smooth. All my incisions healed up without issue, the gas pain only lasted a few weeks and then there was just a strange tightness / mild soreness on one side of my body for the first 5-6 weeks. 8. How long did it take you to feel semi-normal after surgery? I want to say 2-3 weeks. Around the time I started eating puree (week 3), my energy levels started bouncing back much more rapidly -- which let me walk more easily. 9. Did you experience higher energy level post surgery? 100% yes. NGL, sometimes I feel like skipping even though it's not suitable for someone my age, LOL. I feel like I've been more efficient at work post-OP just because of the energy improvement, and physically I notice the increased stamina every time I go on an errand or for a walk with my dog. (I tire her out now!) 10. Did surgery affect your mental health? For the better. Some of it is because the energy and the physical improvements make me feel better about myself in general, but part of it is kind of a trickle-down effect. I spend more time making good, healthy choices for myself, spend more time being mindful whether it's while I'm eating, or making a grocery list, cooking, etc. It's so much time spent on self-improvement and self-care. So I have less time to worry about what other people's secret thoughts or judgments might be and take people more at face value. I have less time to waste on people that bring toxicity to my life or can't respect my boundaries. It's like this microcosm of self-care made by investing my energy in my current journey has expanded it's hooks into the rest of my life. I feel like for the first time in my life, I am actually one of my top priorities. 11. Do you regret it? Would you recommend it? I had moments of regret during dumping syndrome, for sure. But as soon as I recovered from that one bout, I was still happy I'd done the surgery. I think it definitely forces us to take ownership of our own health and making the best decisions we can towards that. I would recommend it to anyone who has struggled with weight loss and can honestly look at their life and see themselves living in this framework for the rest of their lives. By all accounts it seems to be incredibly important to keep it all up -- the vitamins and supplements, the healthy choices and portion sizes, etc. I would NOT recommend it for anyone looking for a magic pill. This takes work, will continue to take work.

I'm the same. I'll be honest, its not that I don't like the gym...I don't like exercising gym or anywhere. I dread every minute of it. I walk (boring) and lift free weights (boring and tedious), I refuse to swim - that would require going to a public pool and putting on a swimsuit and looking like a newborn shar pei. It isn't going to make me want to publicly swim. When we had our own pool I use do laps sometimes. I like hiking, but that involves traveling somewhere and dealing with weather. Its all boring! I have: 1. Free weights 2. Treadmill 3. Nintendo Switch exercise games 4. The Total Gym 5. Exercise bands 6. The Cubii Move I don't like doing any of them. Its not laziness; its tedious and boring! Add on top of that I don't like being sweaty. I do yoga which I used to enjoy, now I don't. I can foresee due to the boredom and not enjoying it not doing any of it soon. I get tired of people, dieticians, doctors, physical therapists etc., telling me I just need to find something I'd enjoy doing. Please, please tell me what that is!? So, rest assured its not just you. I'm struggling with it as well. Also, I have permanent shin splints..so running, walking anything where I have to travel involves a mile of constant pain until it settles regardless of stretching beforehand.

I'm currently almost 3 weeks post op and am on 2 oz servings of purees, but I don't know how many per day. I find that I'm not very hungry during the day but by around 7pm, I am hungry. By that time I've already had a "breakfast" puree and a "lunch" puree and will have "dinner" but after that, I am just hungry. Continuing to meet my fluid goals with water and Jello don't really do anything to help. I feel like I need more substance but I am unsure how many servings of 2 oz purees in a day I should be consuming.

Officially 8 weeks and 2 days Post-op and honestly I'm pretty comfortable with my progress though a little disappointed with my hydration. The weight loss is steady, protein intake was a little tricky but I think I got it, and keeping up with physical activity has been smooth. Last month's first follow up with the nutritionist did get under my skin, I questioned returning to my previous vitamins vs these nasty Flinstones...and she went on and on about my calcium, iron and protein levels wouldn't be sufficient due to me not eating meat. I explained I had no problem taking additional calcium or iron IF necessary, and finding new ways to add my protein BUT I wanted to see how my bloodwork came back. She finally conceded in saying "well, you're an adult, if you want to take more vitamins that's your choice". I mean OBVIOUSLY it is my choice and her condescending tone is one of the many reasons I've never cared for nutritionist. Nevertheless, guess who's blood work is PERFECT?! In other news, I will say this ketosis stage, while extremely beneficial... it is giving me the "ick" with side effects, smells, body odor etc... I've introduced some carbs hoping things will balance out but it seems to be a slow process. Uranalysis confirmed I'm still burning ketones sooooo there's that. 🤷🏽‍♀️but when will these side effects end ? Speaking of introducing carbs... I had a small bowl (4 oz) of mac and cheese (chickpea pasta)... this is a true trigger food for me, but I ate it, I enjoyed it and I moved on... it wasn't until the next day, I was thinking wow, I really didn't "Want" another bowl... "I'm good". In the head scratching category... I overheard my co-workers having a convo about individuals on the show "My 600lb life"... DISCLAIMER: I say overheard loosely, there's 3 of us in a small room, they were speaking freely as we usually do but I had my earbuds on and wasn't a part of the beginning of the convo. While I can't say I've ever watched a full episode, I am familiar with the premise of the title as well as what "reality shows" really entail when it comes to production and I'm sure I've caught a snippet of an episode on a meme, commercial etc. They also do not know I've had a procedure. I digress, at some point in the convo, they were both giving their opinions on "how could someone let it get so bad"..." when your pants stop fitting..." "when you're out of breath walking from house to mailbox..." etc. and while I have no doubt that they did not have malicious intentions nor have I personally fit into any of these examples... I suddenly became very offended. I even thought to myself have I lost that much weight that this is how "skinny" people speak freely among you ? (The answer is no, regarding me... I've lost a good amount, but they've known me for several years...at my heaviest). I thought, are they thinking I'm really deep into my work and not paying attention ? (The answer is no, we always engage with each other based off of body language to get the others attention and they were engaging). The answer boiled down to, they were just ignorant to the reasons this could happen to someone and the fact that reality tv has a way of making people look and behave at their worse. So I chimed in with "As a fellow big girl..." and explained to them that food addiction is real, and it's real easy to forget that unlike, drugs and alcohol, people have to eat for survival/nutrition and if you are addicted to such it's easy to forget how someone can "let it get so bad", there are also health issues and medication side effects. They were both receptive and admitted that didn't even consider that thought. We went on to talk about the state of "healthy" food choices, labels, vending machines in schools and all. But I definitely walked away from that convo scratching my head because they are both thin and love to eat and not always the "healthy" stuff... so I'm thinking it didn't occur to you others JUST CAN'T do that. Anyways, it was an experience and I'm glad I had it.

After surgery my weight loss has been slow. At least I think it's slow compared to how much I'm eating. 750-900 calories per day. Actively walking and resistance train 6 days a week. Day of surgery I weighed 284 lbs. As of yesterday I weighed 270 lbs. This is my 5th week out from surgery. I didn't lose weight for nearly two weeks. But, 14 lbs in 5 weeks isn't bad. I expected more.

Honestly this has been the absolute bane of my life. I am 4 weeks post-surgery and although I seem to be having a bowel movement every day or every other day, I was so so constipated. TMI here but It got to the point that I had an anal fissure and was passing blood every time I had a bowel movement. Needless to say, I am taking daily Dulcolax now and I will be doing so until I am able to eat more & include more fibre in my diet.

There's a very high likelihood your weight stall has nothing to do with what you are eating, and it would definitely not have anything to do with too much protein. This is your body's natural reaction to severe calorie restriction. In a nutshell, when you are on liquids only, you rapidly lose mostly water weight as your body burns stored glycogen for fuel. Once the glycogen runs low, your body turns to burning fat, which is what you want it to do. This takes a few weeks. However, when you start to introduce solid foods again, and especially carbs, your body is very keen to restore those glycogen stores. So it burns fat while also replenishing glycogen. Glycogen is bound to water, which means the water weight you lost in the pre-op diet and right after surgery are regained, which is fine. You need glycogen. It's what helps us get through short periods of lower food intake, like when you have a bad cold and lose your appetite for a week. Your body is still burning fat because you have a major daily calorie deficit. It will show up on the scales in a few weeks when everything else balances out. My advice is to just do what your doctors tell you, stop tinkering with your diet, and don't weigh yourself for a few weeks. Your doctors have advised hundreds if not thousands of patients just like you. They know what they're doing.

I tend to find the healthier option, however I have done a burger with no bun, no condiments. I will ask to substitute out the fries for a vegetable. Most meals at a restaurant will be 3-4 meals, and I don't eat them all in the same day. It will be spread out over the week. One thing to remember, if it is a 2000 calorie meal and you eat it all the same day (spread out), it is still a 2000 calorie meal. Just be wary of how and what you eat. I am 7.5 months PO, 8 months since I started Pre-Op, and I am still losing pretty quickly. I still limit my carbs (no bread, no rice, etc). And if you do have something that isn't "healthy", just get back on the bandwagon, don't beat yourself up about it, and don't abuse it. It is ok (no matter what everyone says) if you have something that isn't perfectly healthy once in a while. Just remember we all had the surgery for a reason, don't back slide into the same mistakes you made before.

Here's a good one; for the life of me, I can't recall the last time I was able to wear a pair of jeans which have a waist size that started with a '3'. I won't forget that today was the next time. First image; size 50 jeans I was wearing a year ago (surgery was mid-Sept. These were my regular every day jeans). The second is the size 38 I bought today, -95 lbs 7 months post-op. Still a long way to go, but this was a pretty big deal.

Its just like doing a keto diet for life, you each week up your carbs until you fall out of ketosis than back off by 5-10 grams then maintain that carb load for life. You do the same for calories, increase by 100 for two weeks, still losing..tack on another 100 each few weeks until weight loss stops, now you've found your maintenance calorie load.

Hurray! My endoscopy was a success today 😊 No pain, no memory, no issues, all clear ready for the next step on my bariatric surgery. I’m thankful that I was put in for today’s list after someone cancelled as I was told that it was normally a 6 month wait as they on have 1 list per week for deeper sedation with only 4 patients on said list. Here’s a turn up for the books - the snotty Sister from yesterday’s phone-call was at the sister hospital today and sought me out to apologise to me 😮 To say I was surprised is an understatement but I’ve accepted her apology and I’m moving on. Thanks for all the support yesterday. It meant the world to me and showed me that I wasn’t being unreasonable. 💜