What I wish i knew before I had surgery

[Shineaiggy29 4]

I am heavily researching getting gastric sleeve surgery, and this forum has been really helpful. I am curious for those who have had the surgery, or any WLS really; what is something that you found out after surgery that you wish you knew about beforehand. Both good and bad appreciated!

Edited January 27, 2022 by Shineaiggy29

[Christy Comeaux 14]

I think for me, the one thing I wish they would have taught is “what is a sip versus what is a gulp.” LOL

[liveaboard15 1,293]

Go on youtube. THere are so many of these videos. I probably watched 20 of them from different people who made a video regarding this exact subject. Was very informative.

[cheryl o 60]

I am heavily researching getting gastric sleeve surgery, and this forum has been really helpful. I am curious for those who have had the surgery, or any WLS really; what is something that you found out after surgery that you wish you knew about beforehand. Both good and bad appreciated!

I had gastric bypass, Nov 1st. What i wish i knew was how bad and frequent the Constipation is, because of the high Protein. And the pain it causes in your chest if you eat one bite after the other. And spacing out your Vitamins. But i dont regret it, after surgery you look at food differently and everything you were taught with the dietician makes sense.

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[catwoman7 11,221]

2 hours ago, cheryl o said:

I had gastric bypass, Nov 1st. What i wish i knew was how bad and frequent the constipation is, because of the high Protein. And the pain it causes in your chest if you eat one bite after the other. And spacing out your Vitamins. But i dont regret it, after surgery you look at food differently and everything you were taught with the dietician makes sense.

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Constipation is an issue with a lot of sleevers, too. You're right - it's the high Protein diet - plus Calcium and Iron supplements don't help, either...

[GradyCat 3,695]

I guess the only thing I wish I'd known is how careful I have to be not to slip back into old habits and gain weight.

[ShoppGirl 5,024]

I had sleeve and I feel that my team prepared me for the surgery pretty well. The one thing I didn’t really absorb (although I know that they told me) is how easy it is to “eat around” the sleeve. In other words it truly is only a tool. If you wanted to you could eat a little bit every hour and still get in a huge amount of calories. It really is up to the individual to make better choices. Wish I could explain that to all those that think this is the easy way out.

[Sleeve_Me_Alone 656]

3 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

I had sleeve and I feel that my team prepared me for the surgery pretty well. The one thing I didn’t really absorb (although I know that they told me) is how easy it is to “eat around” the sleeve. In other words it truly is only a tool. If you wanted to you could eat a little bit every hour and still get in a huge amount of calories. It really is up to the individual to make better choices. Wish I could explain that to all those that think this is the easy way out.

Exactly this! I did 100+ hours of research before surgery so I felt well informed and fully prepared. But the first time I ate a few pretzels, then a few more, then a few more.... I was shocked. It is SO easy to find the loophole and if you don't really teach yourself to be mindful and do the work of dealing with the emotional stuff that drives mindless/binge eating habits, you absolutely can and very possibly will "out eat" your tool.

[Christy Comeaux 14]

16 hours ago, liveaboard15 said:

Go on youtube. THere are so many of these videos. I probably watched 20 of them from different people who made a video regarding this exact subject. Was very informative.

Thank you!!! Just looked!!! Will come in handy! It’s so hard, especially right now, to drink tiny sips. I just want to guzzle it down. Several times I have made myself vomit by drinking too fast or too much at one sitting. I actually starting putting a spoon in my Water and every 15 minutes taking 3-4 spoonfuls. Sounds weird, but it works! I did it all day yesterday without getting sick. And now today, I started sipping without, and whoop I was sick!! (And I don’t know about everyone else, it’s not a very nice taste/smell coming up.).

[liveaboard15 1,293]

6 hours ago, Christy Comeaux said:

Thank you!!! Just looked!!! Will come in handy! It’s so hard, especially right now, to drink tiny sips. I just want to guzzle it down. Several times I have made myself vomit by drinking too fast or too much at one sitting. I actually starting putting a spoon in my Water and every 15 minutes taking 3-4 spoonfuls. Sounds weird, but it works! I did it all day yesterday without getting sick. And now today, I started sipping without, and whoop I was sick!! (And I don’t know about everyone else, it’s not a very nice taste/smell coming up.).

That is what i am most worried about for when i have surgery. I currently drink a ton of Water and love to guzzle it down. Especially right before bed i drink a ton.

[Smanky 752]

Grapes, while a delicious little snack, will give me bowel cramps and purging diarrhea the next day. Fun!

But goddamn they're tasty little buggers.

[huskymama 149]

On 01/28/2022 at 17:50, liveaboard15 said:

That is what i am most worried about for when i have surgery. I currently drink a ton of Water and love to guzzle it down. Especially right before bed i drink a ton.

I was the same way with Water but I found after surgery if I made sure to have ice in my water it actually made my tummy feel better. I’ll be 6 weeks out this coming Tuesday and I can easily drink all my water. It took about 5-7 days to really feel like I was ok drinking more. Another trick I did in the liquid stage is get Gatorade sugar free and do 1/2 water 1/2 Gatorade. I also keep a glass of water in my nightstand if I wake up to put the dog out or use the restroom I drink it. Two YouTubers that helped me - My level 10 life - she has food preps etc and Fairytale Family - she has a few good videos not as much as the level 10 lady. Hope these help

[gabbykittyvsg 184]

I am heavily researching getting gastric sleeve surgery, and this forum has been really helpful. I am curious for those who have had the surgery, or any WLS really; what is something that you found out after surgery that you wish you knew about beforehand. Both good and bad appreciated!

I had a sleeve 7 years ago and wish I would have known about the high prevalence of damage due to acid reflux after the sleeve. I now need to revise to bypass to stop the damage from getting worse. If you have any history at all of reflux, I'd be talking to your doctor about doing a bypass instead

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[lizonaplane 1,613]

I wish I knew that some people never lose their hunger after surgery. No one ever mentioned this as a possibility and when I told people - and mentioned this on this forum! - people said, no, it's just head hunger. When I told the psychologist for my surgery center, she said that 20% of her patients never lose their hunger. It's very hard because you can't eat much at once, and it's not good to graze, because then you just "eat around" the surgery and don't lose weight. They ended up putting me back on metformin, which has helped a lot.

[Summermoose 193]

I wish I had really understood the psychological impact of losing weight beforehand. Massive weight loss may trigger a lot of painful emotions and make you come to painful realisations as well.
As an example, these two things are what I am struggling with most:
1. People treat me differently (makes me feel anger and grief)
2. Men are noticing me again (triggers anxiety and fear)
I really thought I had all my ducks in a row before surgery, but I’m glad I have a therapist I know and trust who can see me at the drop of a hat. I’d really recommend anyone to make sure they have solid emotional and psychological support before starting all this. 🍀