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it's really, really rare to have a stricture that late - they almost always appear - if they're going to appear - within the first three months after surgery. I had two - at four weeks out and again at eight weeks out. The first time I knew something was wrong and I called my clinic. They suspected it was a stricture and sent me over to the hospital for an upper endoscopy to confirm (and "fix") it. The second time I knew exactly what it was since I'd seen this movie before and I went right in to have it stretched. So no, I never got to the point you were at. For those newbies who are reading this, strictures only happen to about 5% of bypass patients (they can happen to sleeve patients as well, but they're very rare with sleeve), and they almost always happen within the first three months after surgery. Just be aware of the symptoms she listed and contact your clinic if you first start noticing stuff like this. They're not going to heal on their own, and they're an easy fix. Just make sure to let your clinic know if you start having these kinds of symptoms (can't keep anything down, nausea all the time) since these are not normal and are usually indicative of a stricture.

I’m starting my pre-op diet in one week! I’ve been planning this for so long, it’s kind-of hard to believe I’m getting close. My preop diet includes two protein shakes, two snacks, and a healthy dinner daily for two weeks. There are some adjustments in the days before surgery like dropping one snack and adding in a special protein drink. I have my pre-op appointments next week and have a long list of questions, tho I really thought I’d asked them all. 😄

on vacay this week, so every day's OOTD will be a bikini. this is the first of MANY (too many, some might say lol) that i brought with me 😉

Thanks. I think it may actually be more than 4500 a day. Isn’t one pound 3500 calories? I swear I read that somewhere. Not sure if it was accurate, though. But yea, it unrealistic to think when the scale goes up a couple of pounds it’s because we had one thing off plan. I think I just panicked a little because I know that I cannot maintain two or three hours or exercise a day forever so if I’m doing all of this and still not really losing then what happens if I slow down. I figured once I get to maintenance I would probably cut that slowly but probably down to half that. I mean physically I feel like I could do it forever but it’s a very big time commitment between that and the healthy meals taking more time too. Maybe I will get to where I can do like one hour of more intense exercise. And then my Yoga a couple times a week. I really like that. It is a pretty good workout for me still but I can tell it’s eventually going to be really relaxing and feel good. I think I may ask my hubby to hide the scale. Someone else on here said they did that and it seems like a pretty good idea.

I have tons of respect and empathy for those that have went through WLS and had complications. I am not one of them. My procedure, recovery, and stages were textbook. I was very lucky. That doesn't mean that every day was rainbows and puppy dogs, but it was typical. I was sore for days post-surgery, but back to work one week after the procedure. I immediately began to force myself to walk after the surgery. Short distances, then adding more as I started to feel better. March of 2023 my steps were 48299. August of 2024 my steps were 206084. Not going to break any records, but a nice improvement for me. To this point being active with life has been my only real exercise, so it is definitely an opportunity for me in the future to develop a better gym routine. I struggled with fluids and protein for months. Slowly, focusing on it and sticking to the plan I eventually got there. I never let it worry me, and just let me body adjust. I am not a scale watcher, so that was never a problem for me. At checkups I got weight updates, so I was never stressed about the scale. Now I weigh weekly, to make sure than I not gaining. I have had all the NSV that many have seen and shared. Less pain in my knees is my personal favorite NSV. I have arthritic knees, so they will never be great, but the less weight has helped a lot. Honestly, some of my NSV's also came along with some shame, that I had let myself get so big that these were NSV's, if that makes any sense. My worst times since the procedure were dealing with constipation (for the first time in my life). Took me several painful months to figure out a system for me. It is different for everyone, but I encourage everyone be aggressive with your plan to deal with it. For me, I take MiraLAX every third day and stool softener every other day. I am now better equipped if I notice I am not as regular, then I adjust the timing. The other problem I have now is seeing a big spread of food and wanting it all! It's just not possible now! Always protein first, but I try to have a few bites of everything I want, then cut it off. I eat healthier than I ever have. Staying focused on lean protein and vegetables. Working in fruits to help with my sweet tooth and provide some variety. In general, I am low carb, but I am not no carb. No more fast food for lunch or on the ride home from work. We meal plan, but nothing overboard, but I always pack healthy for work. Last week was salad week, so I had a salad with fat free dressing every day for lunch. Today, I had boneless skinless chicken breast, peanuts, blueberry, apple with peanut butter, and my protein shake spread out from 6a to 2p. I have also got down 48-ounces of water with a plan to get another 32-ounces of water in by the end of the day. Carbonated drinks bother me slightly, which is one of the few things. When I overdo it, my new overfilled feeling isn't in my stomach, it much higher, almost like in my throat. Not comfortable, and a good reminder to slow down, chew more, smaller bites, and stop eating! I hope this long overshare is helpful to someone and gives everyone a better idea of how my journey has been. Lastly, I have mention how great my wife and kids have been over the last few years. By my side the whole way and always supportive.

Yea. The mind is pretty powerful and it is possible to swap disordered eating patterns. Going from emotional overeating or binging to under-eating. Talking to someone about your fears and guilt is a great idea. But from a non professional two chicken wings is definitely not a lot and your food choices sound great to me. The one thing you have to realize is you’re not going to eat your 2 ounce or half a cup portions forever. eventually you will land somewhere close to a normal serving size. Everyone is a bit different, but you will get back to a new normal at some point it just looks like a lot of food after eating so little for a while. Will you get to follow up with anyone at 3 months? I actually asked to meet with my nurse practitioner more often than they require just because of my anxiety. I always have too many questions to email or call and ask, but they normally require it at three months because they do labs to check your vitamins. If so, you could ask them what to expect in terms of portion size. What you should be aiming for over the next how many of months until you see them again. Do you find that you do not crave your sweets as much after the surgery? Before I had my sleeve, I was actually a salty snacker, and after the sleeve I started craving sweets, which I think may partially have to do with why it wasn’t so successful for me. so far since my Sadie, I do not crave sweets, so I think it reverted back to where I am a salty snacker again. Well, I mean right now my snacks are not something that I actually feel like I need because I’m not hungry but something that’s necessary to reach my protein goal.

Cucumber, lettuce, carrots, boiled beetroot, leeks, baked squash, roast cauliflower. Early out I had to get my veg in by making different vegetable soups and blitzing it. I had a cup as one of my 6 tiny meals a day. Any soup with added cheese was a particular favourite. Broccoli and stilton, onion and cheddar, carrot and cilantro { see I have been on this forum for so long that I am now using the American } lentil and vegetable and Gazpacho are still my favs. Raw veg other than lettuce tend to fill me for too long. I had some carrot batons this week and I was burping all evening, very unpleasant

You CAN probably do it, but doing extreme diets like that is usually discouraged because it pulls us back into "diet mentality", which is not helpful. Better to go back to the basics - protein first, then non-starchy vegetables, and then if you still have room, "good" carbs (e.g. fruit, whole grains, beans, etc). You don't need to go all the way back to what we were eating for the first few weeks after surgery, but instead, how you were eating once you were a few months out.

Spot on SBG. this happened to me first time round. I also didn’t do any pre op for both surgeries as they were both ended up emergency surgeries. but you also get a stall around 3 months. I lost 55lbs(25kgs) in 3 months. But cause I was so sick and not handling foods my body stored all the nourishment I would be able to hold down. Plus I was plagued with injury so couldn’t walk. Cat, up your protein. My nutritionist said this to me and I started to shed a little more. good luck Brandy. You are doing this cause you want a better quality of life.

So, this is probably way more common than I think, it is just the first time I have experienced it 🤣 Yesterday I was able to eat more than I normally do - probably around 700-800 calories, which is really good for me as I wasn't getting much more than 300-400 in the past few weeks. Today my restriction feels very high. I ate a few mouthfuls of peanuts and some light babybel as a snack, didn't sit well at all despite these things never giving me problems. I gave it a little bit of a break, around 1 hr, then had some of my sandwich I'd made (wholemeal bread, ham, cheese, salad etc), and could only manage a few bites. Then my heart was absolutely racing. I'm talking about 115 bpm just sitting down, and then I just had to sleep. At work. I feel better now since waking up, but I am scared to eat again right now 🤣 Wtf was this 🤣

"can already eat more than most people with a sleeve". Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. I'm never full on the quantity recommended by my bariatric clinics size/portion guidelines, but I still serve exactly what's on the plan. Could I technically eat more? Yes, but I need/want to lose the weight. There is nothing stating in science research people should eat until full. I prepare and eat 3/4 cup and walk away from eating more. Is part of your clinics program talking with dieticians and a psychologist to help with full vs. actual body nutritional need etc? Your impending sleeve will be the same. You can push the limits and be right back where you are. Start working now on sticking to measured/weighed portion control or you might find yourself right back at eating more than you should. Bariatric portion control is not a suggestion, but a requirement. If you want to become healthy and at your goal weight while maintaining it, its a lifetime of measuring what you eat and pushing away from the table - not eating until full. You will always have the ability to push the boundaries - take control of it now! 😁 Its a tough call and its great seeing you doing your due diligence researching and asking questions. Good luck on either your revision or your bypass! I'm sure you'll make the right decision for yourself.

Mine was just last year so I remember and have access to it on MyChart. They did CBC, Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, Vit D, A1C, Thyroid (TSH), Folate, and Ferritin. They pull all of those numbers as they need to be able to have comparative information to monitor after surgery and of course to address any issues prior to surgery. I just had my one year post op labs done this week and happy to know everything is on point.

I’m new here, my surgery is April 8. I start my two week liquid diet tomorrow officially, I actually started today because my pre-op appt is tomorrow and I really hope I’ve lost since my last appointment.

I wanna fight EVERYBODY!!!!! LOL I'm kidding but I'm sick of liquids. I did a week before surgery and now 4 days after surgery that's 11 days. I want solid food. *has adult size tantrum Okay I feel better now lol

Andrea, have you lost just the 4 lbs from your surgery weight in November? Or do you mean in the last week/month?

My hair was down to the middle of my back. It really looked terrible. Split ends, super dry and brittle, no shape, emphasized my scalp and the general thinning. After my surgery, I was nervous to go too short so I went to juuuuust below my shoulders. Looked good for about 6-8 weeks and then started to show the thinning and my scalp again. This time around, I cut my hair just ABOVE my shoulders and decided to stop straightening it. My natural waves came back in full force, which helped A LOT. And it's easier to maintain and doesn't look thin at all.

This is completely normal, I didn't go for over 2 weeks, you need to try drink as much as possible , keeping hydrated will help

Follow up: Surgery went well. Doctor was very pleased with it and my post-op. Tomorrow is the one week mark and I feel pretty good. Following the protein and water intake rules. Using a medicine cup to drink from so that I remember to sip helps a lot. Anyway happy to report that surgery at 60 is going even better than it was at 50 so far!!

@JennyBeez That is definitely the right way to go with it! I am so used to doing weights when I am at the gym, so it will be really weird going in and focusing on cardio (which I bloody hate), and body weight! What kinds of light exercises do you do? Definitely take it easy lovely! I am sorry to hear that your weekend wasn't great - sometimes everything comes all at once doesn't it? We are our own worst critics, and definitely see things 10000x worse on ourselves, as others may perceive them. Just make sure to get some self-care time in and remind yourself of how far you have already come ❤️ You got this x I haven't even had an appointment with my Dr yet - I don't think I am due to until 3 months post-op! But I did use my mum's blood pressure machine yesterday and it was ever so slightly high which is strange! I will be extra careful when standing for sure - and even more so when exercising, I don't want to pass out 😅

Now day 6 post op! I can hardly believe it except i would love something solid to eat. Today my husband took me to lowes to walk around the plants and break up the monotony. I found that juice causes me to race to the bathroom. We picked up cream of chicken soup and its pretty tasty. My incisions don’t hurt but i feel tender inside. A little more every day. Inching back to the new normal! Since week 2 is pureed foods what are you all doing with the tuna??

Hello ladies x Had my one month post op appointment today with the surgical team and he told me that all is well and should keep doing what I am doing wnd I am ready to start REAL FOOD and exercise! He did transfer me to a dietician immediately tho because he expected a higher loss than 10 kg for the first month but he did say 10 kg is still good and wanted me to speak to the dietician to understand more. And it turns out I am under eating and avoiding all sort of carbs which is effecting me and could possibly mean I am not retaining nutrients. I have been to scared of eating that I know for sure I was under eating. So she went over my plan and told ne to eat 8 well cooked meals! And to check back in 2 weeks with how I am feeling. She told me not to be too worried about calories now and we will talk more when I reach 80 kgs. I am wondering what your dietician have been telling u guys about carbs? R they part of ur meal plans?

I haven't posted in a few weeks. November was incredibly frustrating since I stalled for most of the month of November. But the scale is moving again and even when it wasn't I was still losing inches so I'm staying positive. I'm 38 pounds down from my first appointment in July and I'm 18 pounds down from the weight I was on surgery day October 20th. I'm still hoping to be 50 pounds down by the end of the year but I know that with 12 pounds to go and only 23 days left that is a bit of a reach goal.

A loss is a loss!! Especially if you've been struggling with pain (and pain killers). Honestly, even if it were a gain, the fact that you're learning from it and identifying where your problems were this week would still make it a plus, in my book. This is a life-long journey you've (we've) started, and we're going to keep re-negotiating things with our bodies and our digestive systems -- so anything that teaches us is at least a small win, right? Sodium has been a toughie for me post-op. So many food items take out sugars/carbs or fats but really seem to up the sodium to make up for it. I was always a little sensitive to sodium, but post-op? JEEBUS, the sodium headaches if I'm not careful. (Looking at you, sugar free drink crystals)

I did not exercise while I was losing. No gym membership. No walking miles. No cycling. Nothing. Didn’t hinder my weight loss. However I did up my everyday activity. Parked further away from where I was going. Walked up escalators. Made multiple trips up & down my stairs instead of making one or two trips to bring up the groceries, etc. Or go down to take or the rubbish and then go back down to get the mail instead of doing it in one trip. Saw a program by the late Dr Michael Mosley that compared the benefits of doing a block of 30 mins of exercise a day vs doing 3 or 4 bursts of 5 -10 minutes totalling 30mins of exercise a day. The difference was minimal. They called it exercise snacking and it’s what I started doing about 20months ago. I incorporate a number of yoga based stretches, resistance band exercises and exercises to improve flexibility across my day. Honestly I wouldn’t burn 30 calories but I have more defined & toned muscles in my arms and legs and my flexibility has improved which is what I wanted. I don’t find it a chore and I sort of enjoy it (something I never really down with any other exercise except yoga). I do it, or a modified version if I’m away, every day bar the odd day once or twice a month. Exercise contributes only about 10% of any weight you’re to lose. However, there are other benefits to your health and well being. You just have to find something you enjoy doing & doesn’t feel like a chore or a punishment.