POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not trying to engage in a political debate. I am, however, very interested to learn more about how today's healthcare bill (assuming it's passed in the Senate) will impact bariatric surgery coverage. Wasn't obesity considered a pre-existing condition before the affordable care act, and therefore usually denied? Any politicos/healthcare policy wonks out there? I'm thinking that coverage remains the same for 2017 (since most policies are subject to annual contract renewal), but could those people researching/looking to have surgery in 2018 be affected? Thanks for any comments/prognostications!

I had my Gastric Bypass on April 7, 2017. I have been taking pain medication everyday since. this pain just won't go away. Is this normal?

How long does it take for us to heal both inside and out? Sent from my SM-G935T using BariatricPal mobile app

So I've been told that fruit and vegetables are so good for you for people who get the sleeve for all of your vitamins, so I went and bought a ninja to make smoothies but then I wondered about all of the carbs. Is it OK if the carbs are from fruit? Sent from my SM-N920P using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm curious what others have eaten on the "soft food" stage of their diet ....

I had my surgery 6/22 and overall it went fine. I have had a fair amount of issues with gas pain, particularly up in my left shoulder area. Sometimes like someone is stabbing me with a knife- but it will come and go. I am walking a fair amount, but what has started bothering me about Sat morning is a pain in my left lower abdomen area. Occasionally, I will have a coughing episode and I have to hold that area in my lower left abdomen. I'm not sure holding it decreases the pain, but it is sharp and painful. Once I'm resting, its just kind of a dull pain. The pain med they sent me home with doesn't really do much for it and so I have stopped taking it so I can drive. …

Okay. So I understand that bread is bad. And that we are to basically avoid it forever. My question is- is this all bread? All bread-like products? What about things like no and low-carb bread or wraps? Are these going to be forever no-nos as well? HW 420 SW 347 CW 329 Sleeved April 10, 2017

Hi all, I'm 7 weeks into having my lap band. I kinda want to see how the process of others are going. At the time of surgery on March 15th I was 205 as of today I'm 194. Not as much as i was hoping after 7 weeks... Also, I've been super gassy. This is weird to me because before I never had so much gas or gas pains. Anybody else experiencing this? Also, I have a 10cc band and had my first fill of 4.5cc and i only fill a little restricted... I wish i would see the results faster. I'm worried this is not going to work for me... Any thoughts? Sent from my SM-G935P using BariatricPal mobile app

So I'm 11 months post op and I cheat probably 2x a week I still work out and the rest of the week I'm steady with my diet but what I have noticed is that I will literally gain weight in those 2 days like 6lbs and then for the rest of my week I'm fighting to put those back down and then I do it again.....does anyone else gain weight that fast???? I always manage to put the weight back off some times it takes me to not cheat for 2 weeks to get it all down before I'm comfortable enough to indulge in something I'm not really suppose to have.....i have met my doc goal weight and my own personal goal.....im just trying to maintain but with that said I don't want to gain and wou…

I didn't think I could ever be this happy to eat solid food. But I am down from 299 to 257. So am soon my happy dance. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using the BariatricPal App

So I'm 7 weeks today & am battling nausea and the deep hunger pangs that I know are acid. I vomited last night after taking iron pill. No pain or anything else just the nausea, smelling foods can set it off also. I estimate my calories intake has been below 400 each day. I've been working hard to get liquids and protein. Today I've had 30 g of protein and few bites of egg salad & 17ounce of water.

I'm just wondering if anyone had any problems keeping their BS below 200 prior to surgery. I had my pre-op phone call with the anesthesiologists office yesterday and the lady told me my sugar MUST be below 200. It's a crap shot honestly with my blood sugar in the morning. I can not eat anything the night before and my sugar will be 250 or even higher then on other days will be like 120-140. I'm stressing a little about this.

So I am 14 days post op sleeve, 8 days post op gallbladder removal and still find myself asking why? My preop diet was 2 weeks protein shakes,broth, clear liquids, sf jello, cicles,( had big issues all my life with artificial sweetners and again since these are highly encouraged items for fillers) Was able to add some fresh fruit to shakes which I did most often as I wanted to chew something. No major issues or problems. Was sleeved on 04/18/2017. Unremarkable surgery, went home the next evening. First four days not too bad, had to force fluids more than I thought but did ok. Fifth day a different story! Right sided pain, low fever.... trip to ER, +test, +ultra so…

So I'm 3 weeks out from surgery and have the most horrible constipation. Took mom an hour ago. Stomach is churning so I guess it's starting to work. However, I have been in the bathroom that long as well trying to go. I know better than to strain but I did. You can't mess anything up with your sleeve by straining to use the bathroom can you? Probably a question I should have though of before but now I'm paranoid.

I am looking to purchase a treadmill, exercise bike, or elliptical to use post-op. Ideally, I would like to own an elliptical long-term, however, I am concerned that it may be too "bouncy" post-op with nausea, etc. (I've read several accounts of folks who experience nausea for many weeks post-op). For those of you who have been sleeved, what was your preference?

I am almost 4 weeks post op. When will I be able to eat sushi rolls again???

So I was sleeved on 4/18. My surgeon did not require pre-op weight loss, only that I stay on a clear liquid diet two days prior to surgery. I was in the hospital for 3 nights, came through with mostly flying colors until the end when I had some serious nausea, hence the 3rd night. Came home on full liquids, allowed to start purees on Day 7post-op. Minimal pain, some sharp hunger pangs eased by antacids, very little nausea, fair amount of fatigue but it decreases every day. Have been pretty diligent about my two daily protein shakes, getting enough liquids and following the pureed plan, until this immediate past weekend when I went off pureed plan and had a soft food…

Random thought, how does our digestive process change after vsg?

Hi since niw I can have cottage cheese and egg and chicken all purade can I put spices in it for flavor

I've only taken Bariatric Advantage CHEWY multivitamin, calcium, & iron vitamins since my surgery 12/1/16. Do you know of any equivalents that are not as expensive? I don't mind making a switch as long as the quality is there AND they MUST taste good (don't want to feel like I'm eating chalk) Please offer any advice you have. Thank you!

I had my surgery November 2016. I did well I lost 65 of the 75 pounds the doctors recommend I lose. Although I did not get to my absolute goal weight I was very happy with my progress. I am no longer on medication for my thyroid, diabetes or cholesterol. My eating habits have not changed. I am consistent with drinking water eating my protein first and sticking to 6 very low-carb, low sugar meals each day. All of a sudden within a month I gained approximately 12 pounds. I don't know why this happened I don't know how it happened. Now although I am sticking to the same diet and the same exercise routine I am hungry all the time. This just started the last few days. No m…

I just don't get it. I'm six months out and have only lost 50 pounds. I'm averaging 8 pounds a month. I've been stalked pretty much for a month now. My results may not reflect it, but I don't cheat, I work out, I follow doctor's orders and I'm not getting the results I thought I would. I know there's the right side that at least I'm still losing, however it's incredibly discouraging when I'm not meeting my goals or my doc's goals and all she can say is stuff like you're not where you should be or I don't know why you're not losing [emoji20] Sorry, rant over. Just feeling really discouraged and like a failure.

October 28, 2016 I was 470 pounds and started my 2 week pre-op diet. Surgery was Nov 9th. Today is April 29, 2017 and I was 320 pounds today. 150 pounds gone. Another 70 or so left to lose. Surgery was the best decision I've made in years. My life has improved in so many ways.

Hi everyone. I am just over 3 weeks post op right now and I'm curious if any of you started running or jogging for exercise after surgery and when you started doing so. I'm a runner (I love it) I have not been running for a couple months and I'm really missing it now. I would like to start back up soon but not sure when would be a good time. My doctors office said I could resume a regular fitness regime at 2 weeks post op just no heavy lifting for 4 to 6 weeks. Thanks in advance for the advice! Sent from my LG-H918 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi friends i am 54 days post op . after 2,3 or 6 months of surgery , can we drink mineral water ? Do your doc. Allows you for this ? i wonder if mineral water gets my stomach big again ? Thaank you..

Hi friends i am 54 days post op . after 2,3 or 6 months of surgery , can we drink mineral water ? Do your doc. Allows you for this ? i wonder if mineral water gets my stomach big again ? Thaank you..

Hi friends i am 54 days post op . after 2,3 or 6 months of surgery , can we drink mineral water ? Do your doc. Allows you for this ? i wonder if mineral water gets my stomach big again ? Thaank you..

Hi friends i am 54 days post op . after 2,3 or 6 months of surgery , can we drink mineral water ? Do your doc. Allows you for this ? i wonder if mineral water gets my stomach big again ? Thaank you..

Hi friends i am 54 days post op . after 2,3 or 6 months of surgery , can we drink mineral water ? Do your doc. Allows you for this ? i wonder if mineral water gets my stomach big again ? Thaank you..

I got a Roux and Y on April 12th and was discharged the 13th. That day at the hospital I was doing laps around others in the hall. I know some motivation was to get the gas out and to be released from the hospital. I'm off all pain meds, went to church today and the park with the family. I've walked 3 miles today. I've been persistent about getting my Water and Protein in since my doc has me on this diet until 2 weeks from the surgery. My wife has kind of freaked out thinking I'm doing so well trying to make me go to bed or lay down but I wanna get out and get moving so I can get this weight off. I've lost 14 lbs since the day of surgery and that has given me some super…

Is my stomach going to gurgle forever it's so annoying. Anyone else having that gurgling feeling every time you eat or drink? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

how will it be before you can eat may o and lunch meat and bread can someone please tell me that im 11 mouths out and i still can not keep bread down or milk and i dont know y

I am 60 pounds down and have met my first goal. I am a "lightweight" so I only have 10 pounds left. I just increased my calories from 800-900. I do get nervous though when I realize that the amount that I can eat is increasing. I would love to stay with the very small servings, but as I understand it, the goal is to move to small, but normal serving sizes at some point. Correct? Any post op pros out there on how life looks at goal?

I have hit three weeks out on Thursday and all I do is sleep. Any days I get 9,000 steps plus I either need a long nap that day or sleep the next day way too much, miss my fluids and meals because I'm like coma sleeping. How long does the fatigue last? Seminar 12/27/16: wt 304 Surgery 3/23: wt 287 2 week post: 267

I am a month and a half out and have twice experience what I think is food getting stuck. The first time I ate a small piece of cantaloupe and an hour later I was in extreme discomfort and throwing up every 5 or so minutes. I tried sipping water but that just caused pain and came right back out. This lasted for 3 hours until finally the cantaloupe came back up and I slowly felt back to normal despite being tired and sore. Well today I was preparing my smoothie fruits for freezing and tried a blackberry, I didn't chew it enough and down it went almost whole. Well que 1 hour later and I start to feel ill and now I'm in this painful and uncomfortable cycle again. The blackbe…

Has anyone had pain from drain tube site post sleeve ? My other incisions are not sore but the drain tube site burns if I try to stand up straight .....anyone having similar problems ? My sleeve was done on 4/25

Is it ok to have a smoothie I'm 2 days from soft solids. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I started the Calcium Citrate supplements yesterday. The brand I am using is Citracal. They are Calcium Citrate +D3 Maximum. I took my first dose yesterday. About an hour later, I had the worse pain since my surgery. I was nauseated, had elevated heart beat, and after pacing for about 30 mins, I ended up throwing up. I didn't have anything eat after I took the supplements. So I thought may be I took them all too fast. So this morning, I spaced the two tablets (15 mins apart). An hour later I had same reaction to the supplements. Has anybody experienced this? I am looking to feedback from you all on what my options are because clearly the current supplement will…

hi I'm a newbie and I was sleeved 5/20/17. I hear about people on here who have expressed concerns about eating too much and gaining weight post sleeve. How is this even possible? I will be in week 7 this monday and I can only eat a couple bites of food, even if I feel hungry. My concern is that I will never eat properly again, the only thing that doesn't seem to bother me is soup and some fruits. l like the weight loss but I am having regrets, I don't even need to eat a bunch of junk to be happy, even eating a salad or a piece of grilled chicken would be nice, but it makes my stomach hurt, almost everything irritakes my stomach (not excruciating pain, just irritated and…

Sooo I just ate a egg white and grilled chicken with cheese. Maybe about 4 bites and some fresh fruit. My stomach literally said hell to the nawl to the nawl nawl nawl hell nawl.....it hasn't come back up or anything but it scared me soooo much. I'm about two weeks post op and on soft foods and these were soft as far as what my directions say but maybe it was the mix or how fast I ate it. Also are we ok to have sugar free lemonade from chic fila [emoji848]

Are other people struggling with having far less of an appetite for food, not caring as much about food but their family or loved ones haven't adjusted to your changes? After I was sleeved, my diet changed, my desire for food is far less and I want to treat food like a "chore" -- not a desire. In fact, it's not really something I'm trying to do, it's the way I am now and I like it. I feel like when I'm hungry, I'll eat -- and them I'm done. I don't think about food much and when I do, I can eat small meal and I'm done. This is not working well with my family. Because I do all the cooking around here and even the food shopping, my family seems to b…

How long after surgery did it take for you to feel comfortable exercising? I feel like I should be doing a little bit more the weather has been awful and not really able to walk outside due to the rain.

So, I'm two weeks out from surgery today, and I had to go to a relative's birthday....at the Cheesecake Factory! [emoji30] But guess what? I ordered one egg scrambled, and a slice of avocado, and I survived! Woot! Woot! It's not easy, but it's going to be SO worth it! I'm only down 10 lbs, but the scale is moving in the right direction. I'm so happy that this will be my last fat summer. We can do this, ya'll [emoji4]

Hi All. I'm slowly preparing my supplies for my VSG post op, scheduled for May 15th. I love soup. I was hoping this wise community could recommend some soup/broth brands that they found particularly satisfying. Also, strained Soup? Are they allowed during the liquid diet phase? How do you strain your soup? Finally, do you add a unflavored protein powder to your soup/broth? Thanks in advance. I'm really excited to start my journey (and ridiculously anxious).

I'm one week post op and I've actually gained two pounds. Been on jello and shakes for two weeks. [emoji20]

Does anyone else binge-watch cooking shows now, or is it just me? [emoji28] SW: 350 / CW: 318 / GW: 200 Sleeved April 13, 2017

Could anyone please give me a suggestion? I'm in need of a GOOD chewable multivitamin that doesn't cause much nausea. I've been on the Wellesse liquid but it does not have a wide variety of nutrients in it when compared to bariatric chewables. Anyone have a good one with no nausea? Thanks, Carre

I never thought I would want to stray from the diet but here it goes. Question. Can I have peanut butter and crackers if I just chew them up really well? I'm two days away from being one week post-op and I'm sick of just eating broth, Jello and popsicles. So sick of it, I'm repulsed by it. It's only been 5 days. Smh.

Hi all! I underwent VSG last Monday 4.24 and all went well. Stats: Height 5'5" HW: 246.8 SW: 235 CW: 223 Goal: 140 My question, ever since Sunday, nothing is appealing. The thought of broth makes me nauseous. Every time I drink my protein drinks, I almost instantly have to run to the restroom. I also have this weird taste in my mouth and nothing I can have during this phase seems appealing. Help!! How can I get my protein in??? I went to the store and bought diff types of protein drinks, maybe a diff brand will help. I was drinking Premier Protein.

How many carbs do you limit to each day? When I met with my NUT last week I forgot to ask about what a good number of carbs is each day. I've been keeping it under 25 each day, with many days less than that, but I'm wondering if that's too high. I'm 4 weeks out and doing minimum of 60 grams of protien. NUT says up to 800 calories a day. Many days it's hard to meet that unless I do a protein shake.