Camella

I'm 43 and I've recently be diagnosed with PCOS. Looking at the ultrasound, I have clearly had it for an extremely long time and never knew. I am two years post op and I recently regained 12 pounds (which I'm working on). Since gaining this weight I have had constant pelvic pain and it appears constantly bursting cysts. My Gyno has said it is due to weight gain (although I find it hard to believe that 12 pounds could make such a difference). Has anyone experienced any significant changes in symptoms etc since having the surgery? Has there been any particular dietary changes that you have made that you think helps? I was pre-diabetic before my surgery and my blood sugar level was normal afterwards, so I assumed that the surgery had removed my risk of diabetes. However I have also just discovered that I am still pre-diabetic and that my sugar levels are higher than pre-surgery. Maybe this is part of the problem? I'm really not sure as this is all new to me but I would REALLY appreciate some insight!! TIA

Yes, I vomited everything up for the first two days. For me I think I was responding to the anaesthetic. Make sure when you are drinking Water to take very small sips. I literally just poured water into the water bottle cap (lid) and was doing this at very regular intervals.

Ramadan Mubarak! I'm not muslim, but l'm familiar with what is required when fasting. I would be very careful with your activity level, especially if you are exercising during the day or live in hot climate. You need to make sure that dehydration isn't an issue and being sleeved makes us more prone to this. Use your judgement, but also listen to your body. I have seen people have massive issues a four of five days into fasting, take it slowly and enjoy :-) Good luck!!

No I haven't but have you thought about being re-sleeved? I have heard this can work especially if your original sleeve wasn't small enough or if it has stretched. I'm interested in the answer because I am starting to whish that I had a bypass from the beginning for various reasons.

It really varies from person to person. I was in a lot of pain for at least 10 days, more pain than I ever expected. I had a c-section with my son and I felt pretty good after that and recovered very quickly. I thought this would be the same, but unfortunately for me (no idea why) I had a really rough time immediately after. You will need to play it by ear.

Thanks so much for your input, advise and ideas. In particular LivingFree! Great insight

I made my decision not to tell very many people based on the fact that I don't think we need to tell people everything. My weight has always been such a private issue/struggle. I did notice after my surgery how many people discuss weight and how desperate friends were to find out what I was doing differently. I didn't lie, I told them that I cut out all carbs and was exercising regularly. I may one day choose to share my story, but two years post op and it is still something that I don't feel I need everyone to know.

I am two years post op and I feel a lot of shame when it comes to my weight gain since surgery. I feel like I have failed and that once again food is winning and my waist line is losing. After weight loss surgery gaining weight is quite terrifying. I feel like I am slipping down a rabbit whole and the other side is all too familiar. There isn’t a single person that has weight loss surgery that doesn’t promise themselves that this will NEVER happen again, and for some of us it does happen. I suppose for me the first thing I need to do is stop punishing myself because that has never helped me gain control of my eating, the second thing is to take stock of why it has happened. For me that is very simple, I didn’t work on my head, I only worked on my body, I didn’t unfriend my toxic friend food! We are still in a dysfunctional relationship. The surgery limited my food intake, but it didn’t equip me with new coping mechanisms and unfortunately food still plays an important role in helping me relax, sooths me when I’m down, occupies me when I’m bored and helps me hide from the world when I don’t want to be seen. I have gained 15lbs since my surgery 2 years ago and some may even say that’s normal, but I know my eating is out of control. I have gained 10 lbs. in the last two months. For those of you that have been post –surgery for a long time, and have successfully maintained, how did you fix your head and your relationship with food?

I am 19 months post op and I haven't been able to shift the last 20 pounds. I honestly think (at least in my experience) that the first 75% of weight loss is the sleeve, the last 25% is 100% you. Unfortunately I'm still working on me and I imagine once I can get my head straight the last 20 pounds will come off. Good luck :-)

Thanks for the advise! I will get it checked out.

No! I am positive you will loose more weight. Your post gave me a little bit of a giggle, because I remember going through exactly the same thing at about 12 weeks. Someone said to me when I first started on this journey that they weight comes off when it wants to come off. It's true! sometimes you body needs to just pause and catch up with itself, you will then start seeing the scale go down again. I went through a three or four week stall, but I knew by the amount I was consuming that further weight loss was inevitable. You are doing a fantastic job, so hang in there as I'm sure you are just having a stall.

Hi, I'm 18 months post op and have very pleased with surgery results. Just recently though, in the last month, I am getting frequent stomach cramps, I have developed an intolerance to almonds and get severe cramping when I eat them (other nuts are fine). The cramping just seems to come and go and I haven't noticed a connection with what I'm eating (apart from the Almonds). I am also much more sensitive to eating rich foods (immediately nauseous). Has anyone else experienced this? I would love to hear your thoughts. TIA

I have just gained for the first time since having surgery and it was terrifying. I can imagine how you must feel. I think VSG Anne 2014 hit the nail on the head (at least for me). It's probably got something to do with being self destructive /self sabotaging. I am 100% sure you know exactly what you need to do to get back on track. I have made a decision to take a two pronged approach 1) work on my head and why I still self sooth with food and 2) get in the practice of being a healthy eater. I would work at getting 1 day out of 7 on track, then two days out of 7 and so on and so forth. This is a life long journey and not a race so be kind to yourself and take one day at a time and I am sure within no time you will be heading in the right direction!

Thank you everyone, I will be sure to look at all the different alternatives before I make any decisions.

I am a self confessed sugar addict (before and after my sleeve). The first six months post op I had trouble eating anything that had too much sugar, however, now I have NO problem! The is still my biggest challenge! If I really overdo things I do get probably mild dumping where I real clammy very nauseous and have to lie down until it passes, unfortunately this has not been enough to deter me from chocolate! Good luck with your decision.

It's now been over a year since my surgery and I have been really lucky not to have a lot of loose skin. I do however have loose skin in place I didn't expect, the worst being my butt (which I can live with) and unfortunately my face. I'm 42 and I suddenly look much older than that! Has anyone had surgery on their face after their sleeve? I know 42 is young to think about a facelift but it's very visible and it really bothers me. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences. TIA

Oh I feel your pain. Most of my eating is driven by stress and anxiety and being sleeved has certainly not changed that. Don't worry about the twix, worry when you having them daily, which unfortunately I have been doing lately. I am learning the hard way that I need to completely change my relationship with food and develop new tools to deal with stress. But don't beat yourself up, this is a journey with ups and downs, as long as you learn and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Oh my goodness you are being so hard on yourself! You have lost an amazing amount of weight and I'm sure you have worked incredibly hard to get there. It's really important to keep on track with good food and exercise but don't be so fixated on the numbers on the scale. Have you considered you may need some help with body image? you have a BMI of 23, but you are describing yourself as if you are 100 lbs overweight. I'm just a little worried by what you are saying that you are sounding a little obsessive (this is coming from someone who has been there and struggled with distorted body image my whole life).

It's sad that the medical community have these types of prejudices against weight loss surgery (and the obese sometimes). It is sad that some health care professionals see obesity as a personal failing rather than a potentially deadly disease. WLS is the only thing that will cure someone of diabetes. I was advised against surgery by several doctors, fortunately I didn't listen and I'm the most physically fit I have been in my adult life. The last doctor I saw didn't even know what sleeve surgery was. She kept correcting me and saying "you mean lapband" - very sad!

I'm so inspired to see so many updates from people that had their surgery at the same time as me. I have found the last few months really challenging. I have not lost any weight for the last couple of months, which is entirely due to some bad habits coming back (with full force). I have avoided coming on here for months as I wasn't really wanting to be honest with myself. Reading your updates has given me some hope! I want to recommit myself to staying the course and changing my relationship with food and being healthy (my ultimate goal!). Thanks xx

I'm in too - just the motivation I need!

It's really strange that I am reading this post. I haven't been on here for 3 months, mainly because I was struggling with my head and I haven't been the model of good sleeve behavior that I was for the first few months after surgery. This is the first thing I have read since logging back on. I am almost nine months out and I have come to the hard cold realization that my body may have changed but my relationship with food is still the same. When I'm stressed it is still what soothes me and when I'm lonely it is still my friend. I wish that having the surgery was the end of this toxic relationship, however it was not a divorce, just a little bit of a cooling off period. After nine months (with my weight the same for the last two months) I have realized that this is as far as the surgery can take me. The rest is up to me and if I don't change my relationship with food, I am not going to get to my goal. I'm thrilled that I had the surgery and I'm thrilled that I have lost the weight, but sometimes I feel like I am living a lie, I look slim on the outside, but my head is in exactly the same place it was when I was 225 pounds. Thank you so much for sharing this post. I was scared to come back on here because it was always such a source of inspiration for me and I did not want to discourage others and I assumed that others would not want me to discourage them. BUT.....being honest with others and being honest with yourself is a huge step forward. Thanks Dooter!

I am also facing a psychological battle. For whatever reason I have spent the last couple of weeks sabotaging myself. Otherwise feeling great and down 72lbs (Surgery date: 1 July). I can also eat virtually anything I like now which is a mixed blessing.

I am taking (and have been for a few years now) Zoloft for anxiety and depression. I still managed to take the pills post-op as they REALLY tiny. I have to say that after being sleeved nearly five months ago, my mood is more stable than ever. I think it's probably a combination of better diet and a lot more excersie. I have started running and I think that helps me SOOOO much. I wouldn't say I don't need to take them anymore (at least not yet) but I am feeling good so I can't complain.