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Well today marks the beginning of a new journey. I am heading to the hospital for my surgery. It’s been a great two weeks. Down 20lbs from liquid Pre-op diet and looking forward to shedding this fat suit in the future.

We all failed losing weight with the traditional methods or we wouldn't have 80% of our stomachs removed. After failing enough times to consider this surgery, we all have that little voice in the back of our heads wondering if we are going to fail again---and if we do, what does that say about us??? While we all have that voice to one degree or another, it really isn't a rational fear. The surgery works--not by itself though. You will have to diet and exercise after the surgery per your surgeon's instructions. If you commit to following those instructions to the letter, you will succeed and lose that excess weight. It's not a question of if, only a question of when. Some people may be slow losers, but they are still LOSERS (in the best sense of that word!). I am now 7 weeks out from surgery and I have already lost 66% of my excess body weight (some of that was from the pre-surgery and pre-op diet, but I lost it all because of the program I am on). I have lost 34 pounds since surgery (54 pounds overall). I have another 30 pounds to go to get to my goal, but I am already a success in my view. I am finally off all of my T2DM medications and I feel great!!! I had a 48.5" inch natural waist to 40" natural waist ( the equates to going from pants that were a size 44 pants to a loose 36" (not quite ready for 34" pants, but I can actually put them on and get them buttoned!!!). I haven't been this thin in over 15 years and I am easily 17 pounds lower than my lowest weight on my strictest pre-WLS diet. I attribute half of this loss to the surgery and the other half to my diet and exercise. I am 100% committed to making this work for the long term and you have to believe you will feel this way too. Losing weight is never easy, nor is having this surgery. However, the challenges of surgery and weight loss are nothing compared to the challenges of being obese and, in my case, suffering from virtually of the co-morbidities that came with it. This is the first time in my life I am actually looking forward to seeing my cardiologist in March and not having him discuss my need to lose weight (at least not in that "oh, not that again!" sort of way. In short, you're going to be just fine!!!

yup, i didnt pass gas for four days. i barely got down the protein shakes, and i barely finished a bottle of water. its important to just keep sipping water. slip all day like every 10 minutes.

Lots of people complain that they have a 3 week stall and lots of people seem to feel depressed and regret having had surgery. I think this is a great explanation as to why. One of the challenges some patients face after weight loss surgery is a condition described as the hibernation syndrome. This is a group of symptoms that include feeling fatigued, depressed and lack of motivation to do any physical activity. Patients often feel upset and become plagued by thoughts that the surgery was as mistake.. This can be quite alarming to patients recovering from the surgery and recognizing the signs assist in getting over this stage in recovery. Hibernation syndrome is common in the first few weeks after the surgery. It is caused by the low number of calories being consumed and the reduced activity associated with this time of healing. The body perceives that it is starving and triggers an evolutionary response that has helped humans survive famines. The main aim of the response is to slow us down to conserve energy and thus resulting in; tiredness, need for sleep, lack of motivation and depression. It is important to understand that these symptoms are normal and will pass with time. Most patients notice improvement in their symptoms around 4-6 weeks after the operation and the improvement is brought by increasing protein in the diet, taking the multivitamin tablets, increasing the metabolic rate with exercise and return to work and the encouragement patients get as they shed the extra weight. A supportive family member or friend is a great help during this time.

I have to stay around 600 - 800 calories per day until my 6 month check up. It's not much of a challenge because I'm never hungry. I think the first 6 months is when your best weight loss takes place. You have awhile before you have to really start looking at calories. At least that's what I was told.

Amen!

Depends on what type of surgery you have, but you could physiologically eat all sorts of non-nutritious food long term, but whether you should or want to is another question. I should know, I ate Mars Bars and Chickadees yesterday and boy do I regret it. They didn't even taste lovely like they used to. Give me fruit and cheese any day! Sent from my SM-G930F using BariatricPal mobile app

@tinaattanasio Wow look how far you've come already! This will be an amazing year for you!

The three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your daily protein requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as protein shakes. Many people experience problems eating and drinking after surgery. Two of the medical conditions that can contribute to this problem is the development of strictures and ulcers. So if you find that your problem is extreme (such as constant vomiting) then I would recommend working this problem out with your surgery team. That is why they are there. The transition to hard foods (such as chicken and steak) can be rather rough. As a result I have relied on softer foods (such as high protein chili and soups). I have included a few recipes at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Well I have had as far, as I lnow, still have a stomal stricture and ulcerations in my jejunem, the portion of the small intestine the pouch is connected to. Officially diagnosed October 12, 5 weeks post- surgery but I believe it started 2-3 weeks in, they kept saying I was merely swollen, I kept saying No Something is wrong! to shut me up , we'll by golly I was right. They might have the fancy,degrees, I have lived in this body for many many years, I had inate wisdom,on the subject. Why did it happen? They told me it was an unexpected occurance, no o e I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. You see my gastroenterologist had discovered gastritis and a small stomach ulcer I had named Hector while on Omeprazole therapy, he switched me to Dexilent and Hector went peacefully to sleep. Flash forward to September 5th 2018 when 8 had my RnY surgery, what did they started me on guess what, yep Omeprazole. I told them then We gonna have problems, it may be a lovely medication but it Is Not Gastroprotective for me. Nurse Practitioner stated the medical equivalent of Shut up and let me do what I do bestm So I was a good little patient, took what they gave me , and looky what happened! I have had 6 endoscopies, twice they have attempted to stretch out that opening, first time in late October it snapped right back shut, next endoscopy it was like Dr Noria had done nothing, okay last one I had January Senior Bariatric resident Dr Noah Switzer did it, he stated I dialated you part way but enough you can eat soft solids, ha ha diddly ha , both times I have had emesis , the first time I kept it down 15 minutes after still cheing it down to the smooth applesauce pulp consistency. And yesterday was the second attempt and it went worse than the first. I was so protein anemic and malnourished I had dropped 25 pounds in 3 weeks, and had my miserable self hospitalized at OSU for 6 days to try to build me back up, yeah at high 200s it wasn't GOING to be apparent to others but I was literally starving, they were afraid my body was going to start breaking down muscle to keep me akive, and guess what muscle they were most concerned about yeah , my ❤. The second day they put a PICC line in my arm and it remains there still. NPO, everything through the feeding catheter, immediately regained 13 pounds, but I was back on my road to healthy again. Lost 3 pounds mid December to Mid January, then dropped another 6 pounds in 2 weeks, on doctors scales, don't currently own a home one. I was to be rewarded with 1 token meal a day, odd days a Protein shake, do you realize I have been at liquid diet level since August 1st when I went on my liver shrinking diet? That is a LONG LONG time. Then even days homemade soup with extra protein powder, and if there are veggies line carrots I don't have to strain, just puree it in. But the vast majority of my nutrition is via TPN, 12 hours on,12 hours off. And every day or 2 I have a smallish greenish black sticky BM due to the extra iron supplement I routinely take plus I'm still on prenatal vitamins and there is iron in there too. Before all this I was fighting constipation, the one tiny blessing of all this, no more. And foods in the past came up so often I am not hungry anymore. I only ate yesterday because I was supposed to, not from any need. Have they checked you for C Diff? That's something your symptoms call to mind , my daughter has it and has been on Flagyl for flares. Is she on it? Can't say for sure, her code name in our family is RD for Rotten Daughter, she usually calls me when she wants something otherwise she doesn't talk, she will text her little brother when she's in the mood. WHEN I told her I was having major surgery, she said "whatever" and flat out did not care. Sure I still love her, she was my first child, but I don't much like her any more, she has hurt her little brother emotionally more than a few times, and that's hard to forgive. Eat as bland an diet as possible, and I hope you get some real answers soon, don't want you in the hospital like I was, it may be a good place for somethings but it is not HOME! Let me know what happens next, I do care.