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Donuts (very rare occasion)! My family sampled the flavors and agreed the Oreo (black and white) was the best. Flavors: Vanilla fruity pebbles (yeast). Maple crumb (cake), Oreo (yeast), Strawberry fruity pebbles (yeast), Chocolate walnut (cake) and vanilla glazed w/rainbow sprinkles (cake),

I doubt it's a stricture or anything serious, but if you're concerned, it's never a bad idea to talk to your surgeon's office. My guess is it's just due to the swelling. Right now, your new stomach has lots of little "pockets" in it and I suspect that may be contributing to this feeling. If you get to where you can't keep anything down, that's when you should definitely reach out to your team ASAP.

Yes, eating and drinking gets much more comfortable. You're less than a week out now, so everything is still healing. That's why you have to progress through the food stages before you get back to regular food. I'm almost 5 years out now and I tolerate most things, at least in small quantities. Like most people, I struggled to sip enough fluids in the first few post-op weeks, but after a few months, I could drink at a completely normal pace. Everybody's a little different in terms of what they can eat and what causes discomfort (and what kind of discomfort), but you will learn what you can eat without issues, and that will just become your new "normal."

so...i, at no point, regretted the surgery. yes, it was challenging sometimes, but i had (and still do) have the eye on the prize. stay the course, keep on keeping on, and enjoy the ride! i'm 7 yrs post op this year and i am forever grateful that i did all this. yes, sometimes things sucked, but on balance, the totally awesome stuff far, far outweighed the sucky stuff. life is good. i love it all. ❤️

For me, it may have been 5 or 6 days, but like you said, everyone is different. Also, in terms of the gas bubble feeling you have mentioned a few times, that IS NOT surgical gas. The gas used during surgery is not inside your digestive system. It's in what's called the peritoneal space. This is used to allow the doctor to help visualize all your organs. My point is that's not what's causing your gas bubble feeling. I can't say I actually experienced that feeling, but it makes be wonder, are you drinking with a straw? Typically using a straw is a no-no right after bariatric surgery because it can cause you to swallow air. Since you have such a limited amount of space right now in your stomach, We don't want any air in there.

I realized I never shared my "Jambalaya Soup". Yes I realize jambalaya isn't actually soup, but it had a lot of the same ingredients, including cajun spices, so I took a little liberty here. If you're Cajun or Creole, please don't come at me!

Chicken marsala, roasted potatoes & sauteed Brussels sprouts with onion & bacon:

Hi, NeonRaven! Thank you so much for your reply and sharing your experience! I find it so helpful to hear how other NHsers have experienced the process since it seems so much more elongated from the U.S. process. And you make such a good point about the London privilege - now it makes more sense why I’ve seen more internet presence and response from London NHSers. (And quite a few from the far north of England as well!) About three or four years ago during my annual diabetic review, my nurse had suggested bariatric surgery and that gave me a lot of hope - she was able to refer me for Tier 3. I had my dietitian appointment yesterday and it went really well! It was about 30 minutes and went over the Tier 3 lifestyle changes, continued lifestyle changes (balanced meals, regular exercise, blood sugar monitoring, weight maintenance, etc), medications, and then any questions I might have. She was very positive and said she would be recommending me to go forward for surgery when the MDT meeting happens 🥲 (once I meet with the next consultants - psychologist, anaesthetist, bariatric nurse, and surgeon - how soon? No one knows.) Needless to say, I am so relieved, so happy, and so excited to be moving forward even if it’s one step. I’ve found out that my hospital trust now does their “one-stop” clinic as separate virtual appointments, rather than in-person. (So, perhaps it will be quite some time before that MDT meeting?) And then the endoscopy and ECG will be done at the pre-op assessment once a surgery date is confirmed. I am so glad to hear your NHS experience has been so good and positive. I am so sorry to hear about your mother's complication and her passing, but it is so hopeful to hear she was able to put her diabetes into remission (that’s one of my big hopes!) Congratulations on your weight loss and wishing all the health and success! 💕 PS - funny enough, I have not had any group sessions whatsoever in this process. I am wondering if I’ll have a group session with the bariatric nurse?