gmacy

Thank you for the reply ... I am fine with having the surgery ... I am just hoping it isn't something I need to deal with immediately and give me a chance to schedule it with regards to my work schedule. If I can "manage" it for a couple of weeks then that would be ideal, but if I need to plan getting it out ASAP then I need to plan for that. Is there any harm in waiting for a more ideal time in a couple of weeks and avoiding rich/fatty foods until then OR will it get worse and potentially rupture like an appendix ?

Can a good rule of thumb be that as long as I am not having pain or n/v I am eating the right stuff ?

So I am five months out from gastric sleeve ... It has been great as I am down 120 plus pounds ... This past week though I noticed if I eat anything with fat I start to get severe cramping shooting pain in my upper abdomen and into my back ... Bilateral but a little worse on the right side ... I don't normally eat food with much fat as I don't want to slow the weight down gain. I am in Florida for a course this weekend though and my wife and I had calamari with dinner last night ... No Bueno as the cramping was horrible then more pain and nausea ... After fifteen minutes I had to leave the restaraurant and go back to the room I thought perhaps just that dish but then I had crab cakes (one) at lunch today and the same symptoms but not as severe I realize this is likely gall bladder stones ... How quickly do I need to address these? Is surgery the best option? Can I push that off by avoiding fat or will it worsen regardless?

typically getting dizzy when you stand or get up from lying down is called orthostatic hypotension ... it can be a sign of dehydration ... I would touch base with your surgeon and primary care physician to be safe

sounds like you are doing awesome ... one thing I did early on was to make a decision to weigh only once a week ... same time and same day ... for me, that is Monday morning when I wake up to get ready for work ... this eliminates a lot of the day to day frustration of weight fluctuations, helped me with my family as they know that is when I weigh so they aren't constantly asking

in theory I could also, but, I don't ... as the others have stated, you will waste calories on something your body is going to be able to use as efficiently ... plus, it will throw your metabolic cycle off ... stick to proteins and you will stay closer ketosis and burning adipose tissue for fuel ... 2% cottage cheese is my breakfast ... not the best, but, it doesn't upset my stomach after my vitamins ...

it is a weird feeling ... I am a dentist and I see people all the time that I haven't seen since before my surgery ... I am down 109 lbs in 4 months, and, I get that a lot - wow, you look a lot different .. most of the time I can play it off that my wife won't feed me anymore, but, some still press and I explain the change ... fun times!

Prior to surgery, I was a fan of daily probiotics to keep my GI system happy and immune system hopping .. of course, the crummy diet also played a big part in why my stomach was upset to begin with, but, now that I am 4 months post-op, I have tried adding probiotics back to my regimen with mixed results .. I usually get some nausea after taking them during the course of the day vs. a day when I don't take them .. I wondered if anyone takes them and what your experience has been?

for me, I have found that I have to take Prilosec daily ... if not, I get enough heart burn that feels like nausea at times ... as long as I keep that going regularly, stay hydrated - the nausea isn't too bad ... I am 4 months out, but, there are still times when I get nauseous ... Phenergan or Zofran helps for those times ... otherwise, you may want to look at what you are eating ... I am now lactose intolerant and some protein supplements have enough milk proteins to give you some nausea ... you may want to check that out

agree with the others ... it really depends on the person ... each body is different ... I have found that if I stick to mainly Protein coupled with exercise 5-6x a week, I lose more ... initially the weight loss was closer to the 1-2 lbs a week for me, but, I think some of that was due to me adding muscle mass, but, lately, it has been faster ... depends on the person and the body Celebrate your success ... that is awesome what you are doing ... a few things that help me is that I only allow myself to weigh once a week ... same day and time each week ... that helps ... also, when I am getting bummed, I pull out a pair of jeans that had to squeeze into before surgery and remember how far I have come! keep up the great work - you are doing awesome!

what kind of symptoms did you guys experience with the gall stones? I had the surgery just under 4 months ago and I want to know what kind of stuff to watch for ... I have heard those can be an issue and kidney stones due to people not getting enough Water.

that is no bueno ... how will the diagnose the issue? I could see an ulcer due to the higher level of acids ... were you on any antacids like Prilosec?

Thank you for the fast reply .. I agree on medications ... I don't mind taking them, but, at the same time, I would love to not have to take them if I can avoid them ... one of the best parts of having the surgery is reducing the amount of medication I am taking overall ... I take a heck of a lot less than I did before ... I haven't taken any Tylenol, advil or any pain meds since the fourth day after surgery ... crazy as it sounds, even my allergies are a ton better ... I am not sure if that means I had a gluten issue that I never realized, but, I certainly don't miss those! I have read on these forums about it getting better for some people further out from surgery. I am a little over 6 months out and it hasn't gotten better for me. In fact, within the last month or two I started taking two 20mg doses a day, after having only initially been taking one after my prescription ran out. I'm still hopeful it might get a little better by the time I'm close to a year out, but if it doesn't it's not the end of the world to have to take a couple of pills a day. I'm already taking a ton of Vitamins and supplements anyway!

Thanks - I touched base with the surgeon ... they want me to try OTC first ... I mistakenly bought some prior to my surgery thinking I needed to buy it and not realizing it was a RX they were going to give me, so, I am going to run through that first and then re-evaluate it. Has anyone seen this get better with time like some other side effects do?

Thanks everyone for the feedback ... I wasn't sure if it was best to stay with the prescription, go with OTC meds or if this was a rebound effect after going with a smaller stomach and coming off of the meds ... the silly part is that I had my 3 month post-op like 3 weeks ago, but, I was still on the prescription and wasn't having any issues! You just have to love the timing!