WildGrits

Oh and gas really does cause pain for me. If I get a burp stuck I am in pain until it comes up. Thankfully that doesn't happen often because I have learned how to eat and drink much slower.

I do get this off and on. Sometimes I think I am just eating too fast and have to slow way down, other times specific foods that worked before are no longer tolerated.
I will say that having bypass, food is always about trial and error. Is it possible you are eating to fast or not chewing enough?
If the answer is no and it keeps happening give your doc a shout.
Good luck!

@@WildGrits
Solid tip.

If you think you are moving slow, reach out to others who are a few months ahead of you and read about their experiences. It really helps put things in perspective. Only do this with people who have had the same surgery as you because there is incredible differences in what each one does.
My surgeon explained it this way, "The Roux en Y is an extremely invasive surgery, just under heart surgery. It will take an extended amount of time for the body to heal."
That being said, the first few months you will lose weight but a few things work as factors. You have a lots of tissue in the body that is trying to heal now. It will be swollen during this time. If you take certain meds or have diabetes, it will take longer for the body to repair the damage.
A helpful thing to do is make sure you take full body measurements. During those plateaus I found I was actually experiencing my skin shrink in. So when you feel discouraged it is good to not just rely on the scale but to have other ways to check your progress.

I am 4.5 months out and am still struggling with what to eat. I'm still eating chili almost daily. I try to make homemade but often have to resort to a can. Fortunately the can lasts for 3 meals! I have been doing meats and stews in the crockpot that I tolerate fairly well, like salsa chicken or beef stew. I can't do chicken anymore unless it's completely soft. Scrambled eggs are a big part of my diet as well. I'm tending to stick with foods that can be easily measured in a 1/4 cup scoop.
As long as your blood levels are coming back in good range and you feel well, then I think it's OK, it won't be forever. My thought is let's lose as much as we can while we don't feel like eating!

Most people have that "OMG WHAT HAVE I DONE" phase where everything is difficult and it feels like far more pain and effort than it is worth. Speaking as someone who is a little over three months out, I promise you, it will get better. Most likely very soon. Your body has been through an enormous trauma and it's still reeling from that. Give yourself and it some time to adjust and heal. Keep thinking about why you did this in the first place. Try to stay positive.

I put everything in huge bags and take it to my local church. Lots of women will have nice clothes soon.
I don't want to keep it, it will never fit again.

I would suggest not relying on stool softeners. Miralax and Metamucil will help the peristalsis work for you. The stool is already soft, that's the whole problem.
It will be a long time before you can trust a fart. And they will smell like death.

I would suggest not relying on stool softeners. Miralax and Metamucil will help the peristalsis work for you. The stool is already soft, that's the whole problem.
It will be a long time before you can trust a fart. And they will smell like death.

@@heather5565
My ass has produced things I did not even know it was capable of producing. First rule, and I and stealing this "NEVER trust a fart".
If I went into the bathroom and passed a kitten out of my ass it would not shock me, this whole experience has been shocking.

After surgery I became lactose intolerant. I couldn't drink milk. This condition lasted for about 2 months and then went away. Some Protein shakes contain lactose. So you may want to see if yours does and if so switch to a brand that is lactose free.
On the other hand, if you are drinking milk without any difficulty, then your problem may lie elsewhere.

This is the approach that I am using. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

sugar free popsicles. They gave me one with every meal in the hospital and now I use them as part of my Fluid intake.

I haven't posted here in forever but id like to give an update and some encouragement for the newbies here. My surgery was in March of 2014 and it's probably one of the best things I've ever done.
I went from 310 at the time of my surgery and a size 24 to a low weight of 194 and a size 12. I have gained about 10lbs back but I've also added a lot of muscle and I'm still a size 12. I would like to lose more, but I'm happy for now.
I run, bike, kayak, and travel a lot more. I did some of these things before but not nearly as easily as I do now. I exercise at least 3 days a week and I'm preparing for my next 5K now and hoping to do a 10k in the spring.
The past year has been amazing, I've got to have awesome Halloween costumes, ride roller coasters, spend all day dancing at music festivals, explored Washington DC all on foot, and even met the host of my favorite podcast. I went to the beach in a (very modest) bikini and wasn't self conscious at all. I accepted a new job that was far outside of my comfort zone and that led to another job that was perfect for me.
It wasn't an easy journey, but I was lucky I didn't have a lot of complications. The worst symptom I have now is occasional low blood sugar but I can control that by sticking to a healthy diet. We all slip sometimes though.
Best of luck to you all. Some of you are going to have harder journeys than me. For some of you it may take a very long time to see the light at the end of the tunnel but I really hope that it will all be worth it one day.
The picture of me here was take on Christmas 2013, 2ish months pre surgery and the after was on Halloween. (I was Han Solo)

Ok, so unlike a lot of people, I don't entirely disagree with the initial poster in the sense that sometimes I think unkind things too, however every single cruel thing I have ever thought (emphasis on thought, I would NEVER say something hurtful about someone's figure), I have said and very likely screamed, far worse things at myself. I think if you want to judge people in your head, go for it, but I tend to really only agree with that if you are 10x more judgmental of yourself. Periodically I look at someone and I think damn babe, spandex is a privilege, not a right, which yes sounds evil, however for 100 of the 110 pounds I lost every time I wanted to wear a pair of cute spandex gym clothes or leggings I looked at my fatness in the mirror and I said, do you want to wear that? Then get your fat rear on a treadmill and earn it. I am now 127 pounds and I am very cognizant of the fact that I can't wear shorts in public and think I look hot. Do I have the right to march my butt around in booty shorts? Oh heck yes, as does everyone else, though I don't get to get upset if someone makes a judgmental comment about me. I'm not going to walk around and think I'm smokin' when in reality there's more cheese on my thighs than in my lunch and as a result, because I am cruel to myself, the few times I happen to have a mean thought in my head about someone else, I'm not overly offended by my rotten core.
Recently I found a photo album where I had taken pictures of myself and put phrases around them then stuck them all over my house. Each picture had a corresponding nasty comment on it meant to motivate me. One year I got stood up on Halloween so there was a picture of me in my cute tutu with the phrase "Why are you leaving your house, fat cows don't get to be ballerinas- go get on the treadmill." That one was on my front door. "Get out of the fridge fatty" with a picture of me looking ugly in a mumu dress was on my fridge. "Fat girls don't get cute shoes" with a picture of me in a pair of shoes that hurt my feet was in my closet. Mean things like that were around my whole house- good thing I live alone or people would know I'm crazy. All of the hateful things I might think about someone else, are all rooted deep inside with a hatred directed toward myself. I get that, I'm cool with it, and if I want to think mean things in my head about someone else, I damn well will.
Now, that being said...people don't post things on social media for us to be mean to them. They are not blind, they know what they look like, and they need the bit of extra kindness to give them the confidence they need in a certain outfit. I was so proud of myself in this cute little pink gym shirt a few months ago and one of my good friends told me I shouldn't wear that shirt in public because you could see the fat oozing around my sports bra line. I was so ashamed that I had somehow missed seeing that and I never wore that shirt, or the vast majority of others like it again, until after I had plastic surgery that semi-fixed the problem. People don't need us to be a**holes, they do a good enough job being cruel to themselves all on their own. So...next time someone posts a picture on Facebook where they look fat, like they need a new bra, or like they have no business being in the size they are wearing...do what your mama taught you...if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

Good luck on your journey. It has it's ups and downs but in the end it is worth it.

I found the easiest meals to eat while still healing were extremely wet. If I had chicken I found that rotisserie chicken went down pretty well. Pork was the hardest because it is so lean. For pork I used the crock pot.
So my meal would consist of my meat, mushy frozen veggies and mashed potatoes. I was never a fan of mashed potatoes until I had my surgery.
It's been awhile since my surgery so I don't remember measurements. But try to eat your meats first.

People will notice way before you do.
Today I don't feel any different. I take up less chair, I can move better than before, but when I look in the mirror I still have tons of belly so I feel exactly the same. Even though I have gone from size 28 to an 8 it's a head game.

I know it's hard to believe but it will get better.
I found that I get tons of pain from the pain meds. It's excruciating and in my left side, belly, and back. Come to find out its and intolerance to codeine and morphine. I had a bit of relief if I took tons of Gas X.
I would suggest trying Tylenol and see if it gets better. Like one morning take Tylenol instead of the pain med you are using.

I know it's hard to believe but it will get better.
I found that I get tons of pain from the pain meds. It's excruciating and in my left side, belly, and back. Come to find out its and intolerance to codeine and morphine. I had a bit of relief if I took tons of Gas X.
I would suggest trying Tylenol and see if it gets better. Like one morning take Tylenol instead of the pain med you are using.

@@WildGrits, pain melds are notorious for actually creating more pain. I think it is because they make you tired and less able to tolerate the pain.
At first they help, for the first day or so and then after that they were of no help to me.
Also I was on narcotic pain medication for years following spinal fusion surgery. After many years I still had terrible pain. I read something about narcotics actually causing more pain and decided to stop taking them. I no longer have pain every minute of the day. Yes I still have some pain but I can tolerate it and have found different ways to deal with it instead of those medications. Like ice and heat.

I know it's hard to believe but it will get better.
I found that I get tons of pain from the pain meds. It's excruciating and in my left side, belly, and back. Come to find out its and intolerance to codeine and morphine. I had a bit of relief if I took tons of Gas X.
I would suggest trying Tylenol and see if it gets better. Like one morning take Tylenol instead of the pain med you are using.

Well, I'm a sleeve so it might be different for a bypass. I had a slice of cheese at about 2 months out. Managed about half.
pizza was always my absolute favorite... hey, I'm from Jersey LOL. I missed it desperately or thought I did. Honestly, the magic wasn't there. Although I will certainly have it again sometime in the future, I haven't had it since and don't miss it. Not a bad thing I think ????

I couldn't drink Protein either because of the taste and smell. So instead I made the recipe my nutritionist gave me:
1 packet of carnation no sugar added mix (chocolate, vanilla or strawberry)
2 tablespoons of dry milk
8oz of skim milk
That's what I drank for Protein.

Funniest thing happened yesterday. Had to go to the apple store with my computer. It's heavy so I placed it in a piece of luggage with wheels.
Well, in order to get it out I had to bend down and forward. Behold my boobs decided to slide right out of the bra. They poured out from the top and when I got up I had this bump on my chest that was not exactly easy to conceal. I had the Genius dude right in front of me and it wasn't like I could get my hands in my shirt and organize things. Jeez, ridiculous situation to be in. When I finally got to the car I couldn't help but laugh, look around and rearrange things. Note to self, when purchasing a bra, I must do the bend forward test to make sure things stay in. Trust me, I didn't see this one coming!