I♡BypassedMyPhatAss♡

Although I don't suffer with cramping very often and not at all since my revision, I would think that a heating pad would help along with the tylenol, and if you're not at home, those Thermacare heat patch wraps might help, they have ones specifically for menstrual cramps. And one thing I do use for pain now is cbd oil.

There's prescription pain meds available for conditions like back issues, etc that @ShoppGirl mentioned. Toradol and Tramadol are both non-narcotic, and not an NSAID and would be ideal prescription pain relievers if tylenol isn't working well enough. I'm sure there's others that I'm not aware of. It'd be worth preemptively discussing this with your surgeon before a need arises for a presciption pain reliever, so that you have a game plan on how to tackle pain when it arises.

As for the sinus headaches, I get those due to allergies from time to time and have had a few since my revision. I treated it with tylenol, flonase and Sudafed. There's two types of Sudafed, one with pseudoephdrine (I use this one) and one with phenylephrine.

To me, RNY feels completely natural compared to the lap band. Maybe it's because for me, Lap Band was more like a torture device than anything else. When I eat my portion, I feel completely satisfied, in a natural way, unlike Lap Band.

I have to admit tho, I seem to have had an easier recovery than a lot do. No nausea, vomiting or intolerance of any foods that I've tried so far. I'm seven weeks post op Band to RNY.

Oats aren't something I eat very often, and I've never tried overnight oats, but when I do eat oats, I like the steel cut variety. When my son lived at home still, I used to make a huge batch on the weekend that I could just warm up for him each morning. Just toast them in a little butter or cooking spray to get a toasty flavor, then add milk and Water and whatever spices you like. I used cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla and added Stevia to taste.

I did find an easy overnight steel cut recipe, if anyone is interested.

https://www.hummusapien.com/overnight-steel-cut-oatmeal/#tasty-recipes-23112-jump-target

53 minutes ago, oldandtired said:

As regards to the sugar free syrups, they are amazing--and you can find them in the oddest places. I went to the Christmas Tree store, and found some wonderful ones...

Yes! I find them at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods and I found some summer flavors half price at Home Centric last week.

Omg! 😱 Having to take an Uber home a mile. That's scary.

This will probably be me in a couple of months, if not sooner. I have an appointment tomorrow with my primary about blood pressure meds and to see how he wants to proceed.

I hope they get your BP regulated. Passing out isn't fun.

Welcome to the forums!

Being nervous is completely normal. I'm pretty sure everyone feels this way, but it's an exciting journey at the same time.

Best wishes!

20 hours ago, AnneMc said:

Hello all! My name is Anne. I hope I'm in the right forum for this. I'm brand new here so please redirect me if necessary. I'm hoping for an accountability buddy, someone roughly a few years post op hopefully like myself, someone who needs some cheering on for keeping healthy eating habits... I had gastric roux en y back in 2019, lost 141lbs and 3 years out I've successfully kept it off - woo hoo! However, I have one BIG problem...for roughly a year now my diet has been AWFUL. I mean really bad. Lots of junk, lots of carbs, not remotely getting enough Protein, you could say I've just gone off the rails.

This coincides with one of the roughest times in my life with massive life challenges one after the other knocking me down, big ones, and just like life pre-surgery, I self medicate with junk food. Which is what landed me on that operating table in the first place.

Believe me, I know how wrong this is. I know that the weight thing is a mind thing, that I should have self-soothing behaviors that are NOT food related. I know. But I'm 52 years old now and old (as in decades long) soothing behaviors seem to just be ingrained. I'm tired of making excuses for myself however.

It's time for me to change that. It does not matter what life challenges I'm dealing with. It can only bring me harm to eat as awfully as I do. It's a miracle I haven't gained any weight back eating the way I do, and for that much I'm grateful. But nevertheless, it's downright wrong for me to treat my body so shabbily by eating this way. I just never feel good anymore, it's taking a toll, I have no energy, and it's my own doing. So I'm ready to turn this ship around.

Is there anyone here who can relate to this? Anyone sliding into unhealthy eating habits? I'm hoping to connect with someone who could use an accountability buddy so to speak, so we can inspire each other to honor our bodies by treating it right by eating healthy and the way we were taught to eat following surgery. If anyone is interested, I'm assuming there's a private message feature here (again, I'm brand new, trying to navigate how all this works), shoot me a message.

Regardless, best wishes to all who are in this journey together, no matter where you are on your road!

Welcome to the forums!

Do you exercise and use a tracking app to monitor your macros? For me, I find that when I religiously workout five days a week and track my food, it helps me to make better food choices. In my mind I'm like... "Why kill yourself at the gym everyday only to undo it all with sh*tty food choices that sabotage your efforts" so that's what helps me. Also, does your surgeon have a virtual support group? That's another option. I'm only 7 weeks post op revision, so I'm not in the maintenance stage yet.

I hope you find the help that you're looking for. Best wishes!

Pre weight loss surgery I drank the International Delight Creamers, and went through a phase of using half and half. Then when I began my weight loss surgery journey 9 years ago, I swapped out those types of creamers for cashew milk and always sugar free sweeteners like Stevia. To me it was creamier than almond milk. Now that I'm 7 weeks post op revision, I've switched yet again. Now I make 4 oz of strong coffee with a full reusable Keurig pod and add it to a Fairlife Protein Shake. I make them both hot and iced. Then I add complimenting sugar free coffee syrups to that if I want. I can't recommend these syrups enough! https://www.skinnymixes.com/ (I also add these to Greek yogurt, SF tea, SF lemonade, and I've read that some people add them to oatmeal, but I've not tried that, I don't eat oats very often)

I'm sure you could switch to half caffeine and half Decaf for a while if you want to slowly eliminate the caffeine from your diet. If you truly enjoy the benefits from a warm beverage, maybe eventually you can go straight decaf and use a Protein shake so that a warm cup of coffee is beneficial to your diet and you ensure you reach your daily protein goals. That's what I do. I have two cups a day one in the morning and one in the afternoon, so that's 60 grams of easy protein a day for me.

Best wishes!

17 hours ago, Cpach81 said:

Thank you all so much for your insight! I’m embarrassed to say, I’m pretty positive it was just extremely painful gas. I’ve never felt that before! It has passed and I’ve been able drink my liquids so much easier now and I feel a thousand times better. Whew! I was really scared for a moment lol

Yeah I felt CO2 gas pressure in my chest until about four or five days post op that made it painful to drink. Once that passed I had no difficulty meeting my Fluid or Protein goals.

Glad to hear you're doing better!

I've never tried the caffe latte, but I do add coffee to my Fairlife Protein Shakes. My favorite is salted caramel. I also add the Jordans Skinny Syrup in coordinating flavors. Sometimes I add coffee to a vanilla Fairlife and add pumpkin Spice syrup. I add Mocha skinny syrup if I use the chocolate Fairlife, etc.

I also use the skinny syrups in Greek yogurt, and tea, sugar free lemonade (fruit flavored syrups) etc. I'm pretty sure they have coffee and chai flavored syrups too. You can find them at TjMaxx and Marshalls and they're about half price than Amazon and the skinny syrup website.

https://www.skinnymixes.com/

Just now, Mebby said:

Thanks. Yes I've tried the Fair Life drinks - love them and then the aftertaste hits. My mother in law says they are good slightly frozen. I may have to try that.

I've been counting Jello and broth, now strained Soup as meals.

Yesss they are really good slightly frozen. My mother drinks these too, and she notices an aftertaste if she doesn't slightly freeze them. I don't notice it tho.

Do you use unflavored Protein powder like Isopure to ad to broths and Soups? When I was on liquid, I also had yogurt but thinned it to a watery consistency, not as thin as Water, but just where it's slightly thinner. Early out I had the Ratio yogurts because they had more protein than Triple Zero. That might be an option for you to try.

1 hour ago, Sunnyway said:

I've recently found a few snack foods that are satisfying the craving for these things. For "bread" I've discovered low-cal, low-wheat Ak-Mak Sesame Crackers, WASA Crisp'n Light Crispbread, & WASA Light Rye Crispbread at 20 kcal per cracker. For sweets I like Smucker's sugar-free Jam at 25 kcal per Tbsp. A single cracker with a tablespoon of the sugar-free jam often satisfy the urge to stuff my mouth. If not, two surely will.

I was curious about the Wasa crackers. Thanks for this info!

5 minutes ago, Mebby said:

I am 4 days post op (Gastric Roux and Y). Eating Jello/Broth and added strained Soup yesterday. I'm not getting any Protein or enough fluids. I can't stand store bought Protein Shakes. I have recipes for amazing shakes after GB but do I count these as a meal or part of my Fluid intake or both? Same question with popsicles (meal, Fluid intake or both)? I read about people sipping on their Protein Shakes but I don't know which category they are using them for.

Also are there any Snacks allowed. Everything I have says just meals but then things like string cheese are listed as acceptable. Does String cheese count as a meal and why is it listed as full liquid diet food?

Do you batch cook and then freeze for later? Container recommendations? Can you freeze DIY Protein shakes?

I would only count things as a meal if it has protein. Popsicles would be considered fluid only. At four days post op, you really don't have to eat 3 meals a day, etc. You just have to sip constantly while you're awake in order to hit your protein and fluid goals until your tummy heals to the point that it can accept "normal bariatric portion meals" I would just focus on sipping every 15 minutes when you're not eating. The only thing that would count as a meal AND fluids would be something like a Protein Shake, protein Water or broth with unflavored Protein Powder that was added to it, so anything that has Proteins and is a fluid would count as both.

I don't batch and freeze currently, so I'm not sure about containers. I'm not sure how freezing protein shakes would go. I have a feeling the texture would be different or they may separate.

Have you tried the Fairlife protein shakes? They don't taste like a protein shake. They just taste like a lightly flavored milk to me. strawberry reminds me of Strawberry Nesquick, but not as strongly flavored.

1 minute ago, Cpach81 said:

I mean that just laying here they feel kind of burning. I’m not sure how to explain it. I’ve had heartburn and reflux so I don’t think it’s that. I’m not 100% what GERD would feel like? My dr has me taking omeprazole so I wouldn’t think so. I will definitely try the Probiotics, I’m just not sure this pain is normal. Like diarrhea pain, but seems worse….

Reach out to your team and see what they say.

I hope you feel better soon. Best wishes!

What do you mean by your guts are on fire? Do you mean heartburn/reflux/GERD type issues? Diarrhea?

Are you taking a PPI?

I did have diarrhea during the first few weeks while on liquid diet. liquid in, liquid out basically. I added Benefiber and a Probiotics powder and that helped lessen the issue. I never had pain tho.

Oh and you're doing great! Almost to a triple digit loss!!! 🎉

Lol @ seven extra holes in your belt.

Yeah, time to put that belt into retirement. 😂

What led me to weight loss surgery isn't what led most people here. I didn't (don't) have food addictions, etc. I had medically induced obesity due to auto immune disease and long term corticosteroid use. So, I got a Lap Band in 2013, and lost about one hundred and forty pounds. I never got to a "normal" weight. It's like I reached a new set point and stopped losing. I pretty much maintained that for about five years or so and then I developed GERD. As @Tomo said, the GERD associated with Lap Bands/Sleeves doesn't respond to meds and there's always a gnawing, hungry sort of sensation that makes you feel like you always need something in your stomach to stop the torment going on in there, and that led me to eating slider foods, because they felt the best to my GERD tormented stomach. So I regained maybe ten pounds during my GERD period. Then in 2021 I had the band removed, then I lost the ten pounds that I had gained, because the GERD eased up a bit and I was able to eat healthier fruits and veggies that my Band wouldn't tolerate before and kicked the carbs to the curb. I'm currently almost 7 weeks post op RNY revision and I've lost twenty-nine pounds. So the scale is finally moving after years of being stuck. I feel like I didn't regain weight even after my band was removed due to a change in eating habits and behaviors that I adopted when I got my Lap Band. I maintained those, and yes it was easier after my Band was removed because I could eat healthier again. My Band wouldn't tolerate fibrous, healthy veggies most of the time. So I would say maintaining success in the long term relies on a change of behaviors and eating habits. One other thing that I think helps a lot of people maintain success is lifetime tracking of calories/macros.

1 hour ago, SpartanMaker said:

The chances are extremely high that you will develop an ulcer even years later, especially if you take up smoking again post-surgery. A complete perforation due to an ulcer is a life threatening emergency due to sepsis.

Yeah I forgot to mention the increased risk of ulcers, thanks for mentioning it.

3 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

thanks - I neglected to tell the OP that we just had a discussion about this three days ago!

You're quite welcome.

No, I've never been a smoker.

You really should do whatever you can to stop smoking now. Being a smoker and having surgery may cause you to not heal properly, and have an increased risk of blood clots. Obesity itself increases the risk of blood clots, so being an active smoker puts you at super high risk. Also smoking can cause increased risk of anesthesia issues, and infection. Is it worth the chance? So why go through with a surgery expecting a full recovery and a completely healed stomach pouch, but risk all of the complications of being an active smoker? You could get a gut leak and that could be deadly. Stop now, don't think about risking it. Also some surgeons do nicotene tests and will cancel surgery if you test positive.

Best Wishes!

54 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

I am so glad that I stumbled upon this post because I have somewhat unexplained dental issues and I am going to ask if they are possibly related to sleeve. I have been going to the dentist twice a year since I had teeth, religiously. I have had a few small cavities over the years but fortunately no issues beyond that.

All fillings have to be replaced eventually so I was not totally surprised when my dentist found a chip in a filling (this was the first one I have ever had that chipped) When he found THREE chipped fillings though, I admit I was a little shocked. I mean, same time last year I had my teeth checked by the same dentist and had zero issues (plus the hygienist cleaned them 6 months ago and didn’t notice anything) so within a period of 6-12 months three fillings are beginning to fail??

This dentist took over the practice a couple years ago, he bought it from my favorite dentist who retired but my hygienist is still there so I just kept going. Well my first thought was is this guy just trying to make a bunch of money off of me by saying my fillings are chipped? I even considered getting a second opinion but of course I’d have to pay for that and I know the fillings will be due to be replaced anytime now.

Well, now I am wondering if the acid is making the fillings wear faster because of the surgery?? My appointment is in a couple weeks. I will definitely be asking his opinion on this and what if anything I can do. I know it’s not a Vitamin issue because i am very good about those and my labs have been excellent. For what it’s worth if it IS related to surgery though I did not have any vomiting or reflux. I did not have issues getting Protein or Vitamins. Didn’t even lose any hair? ? This could all be total coincidence but it sure seems suspicious time wise.

This sort of happened to me, about two weeks before my revision surgery (and I doubt having a Lap Band previously had any bearing on my situation.) My favorite dentist that I'd been with for years retired and a younger dentist took over his practice, so I stayed. I met him for the first time in June when I went for my regularly scheduled six month exam and cleaning. Well, he found an issue with a filling. He said that it was leaking (failing) and there was decay behind the filling. I asked him why my previous dentist didn't see it six months ago... he showed me his "dental binoculars" and explained to me how they're newer technology that my "old & much older" dentist probably never used. Which he was right, my "old" dentist didn't use those. He told me he can see much better with those than without them, and catch issues sooner. So I chalk my experience up to having a younger, more modern taught dentist utilizing the latest tools.

When it comes to Medical Tourism, I believe the issue with American doctors not providing care after the fact that you had a surgery in a foreign country, is a liability issue. If the surgery that took place in another country was done inappropriately, etc... the American doctors, if they choose to revise the surgery, or provide care, becomes entangled into the original surgeons "problems" with the surgery, and can face a lawsuit, etc. It's due to foreign surgeons being governed by different medical entities than in the US. It's a huge liability thing. I have a friend who went to Mexico and got her VSG and her primary care doctor told her no one will touch her stomach here if she ever has issues.

I truly hope you find a way around all of the medical bureaucracies that you're up against, and get your revision.

Best Wishes! 🤗

Glad you're doing better and that it was nothing serious, like the adhesions that you mentioned.

I had a feeling "pesky Covid" was partly to blame! I hope you're back to normal soon.

Best wishes!