lauraellen80

Well, apparently part of my problem was that the nutrition guide I was given at my final pre-op appointment was not the same one that the dietician is currently working from. 🙄 Just got sent the correct one, and it's way different, especially in regards to Protein Shakes. So that's fun. Makes it kinda hard to trust my program when they can't get their **** together enough to give patients the correct materials.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. On the advice of my therapist and my surgeon's nurse practitioner, I stepped away from bariatric social media for a bit before my revision.
The surgery went OK - it did take 6 hours, as my surgeon found a considerable amount of irregular tissue on my sleeved stomach that had to be removed and biopsied. Thankfully it turned out to be benign - probably was scar tissue from my sleeve surgery.
I did have more pain and nausea immediately after surgery this time than the first time around and ended up staying a second night in the hospital until that was under control. It got much easier from there, and I only took 2 of the oxycodone they sent home with me (right before bedtime on the first two nights at home), and then minimal Tylenol for the next few days.
I've been able to get all my fluids and Protein in from the start. Pain is now minimal, my incisions are healing well. I'm starting to get my energy back albeit slowly. I'm now on soft foods and have tolerated each new food I've introduced without any problems, My biggest issue is Constipation - I don't remember it being this bad after my sleeve. I'm using Colace, Benefiber, and Miralax. I wish I could drink coffee, that would help! 😫
My surgeon also left my pouch a little on the larger side, saying she doesn't want me to lose TOO much weight. I'm pretty disappointed about that, since I had 40-50 pounds to lose. I'm definitely already on the upper end of the amount I'm supposed to be eating at this point - 4oz. per meal (3oz. protein + 1oz. fruit/veg). I am down about 10lbs since surgery at 3 weeks post-op and just got back out of the OBSESE category. Hopefully I'll continue to lose at least something over the next few months.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. On the advice of my therapist and my surgeon's nurse practitioner, I stepped away from bariatric social media for a bit before my revision.
The surgery went OK - it did take 6 hours, as my surgeon found a considerable amount of irregular tissue on my sleeved stomach that had to be removed and biopsied. Thankfully it turned out to be benign - probably was scar tissue from my sleeve surgery.
I did have more pain and nausea immediately after surgery this time than the first time around and ended up staying a second night in the hospital until that was under control. It got much easier from there, and I only took 2 of the oxycodone they sent home with me (right before bedtime on the first two nights at home), and then minimal Tylenol for the next few days.
I've been able to get all my fluids and Protein in from the start. Pain is now minimal, my incisions are healing well. I'm starting to get my energy back albeit slowly. I'm now on soft foods and have tolerated each new food I've introduced without any problems, My biggest issue is Constipation - I don't remember it being this bad after my sleeve. I'm using Colace, Benefiber, and Miralax. I wish I could drink coffee, that would help! 😫
My surgeon also left my pouch a little on the larger side, saying she doesn't want me to lose TOO much weight. I'm pretty disappointed about that, since I had 40-50 pounds to lose. I'm definitely already on the upper end of the amount I'm supposed to be eating at this point - 4oz. per meal (3oz. protein + 1oz. fruit/veg). I am down about 10lbs since surgery at 3 weeks post-op and just got back out of the OBSESE category. Hopefully I'll continue to lose at least something over the next few months.

Hello - I had gastric sleeve in June of 2015 and lost over half my body weight initially, getting down to well below my initial goal in the first year. Started having issues with acid reflux pretty early on, and it's gotten steadily worse, especially in the past 3 years. I'm currently on omeprazole and famotidine, plus Tums in addition. A 24-hour PH study showed that I had over 100 episodes of reflux in that period. So I was approved to revise to a gastric bypass.
I also have regained over half of what I lost, mostly since my reflux has gotten worse, and am about 50 pounds heavier than my ideal weight. The reflux makes me feel hungry all the time, and I'm eating way more carbs than I should because they seem to tame the acid somewhat. I understand that it's pretty much a pipe dream that I'll be able to lose anything close to that with revision, but I guess any weight loss would be better than where I am right now. My new surgeon said she expected that I'd get back down to 110-120 after revision (my preferred weight personally is around 125), but based on all the posts I've read here and on reddit, she is definitely exaggerating to make me more willing to go through with the surgery. The best it sounds like I could hope for is to lose maybe 15-20 pounds over the course of a year or more?
I am scheduled for surgery on Jan. 18th, but I'm having second thoughts after reading so many horror stories of unpredictable dumping episodes and ever-changing food intolerances. I guess maybe my reflux isn't as bad as others, since the reality of daily life with RNY seems unbearably miserable to me in comparison to my life currently.
I'm afraid that I won't be able to do my job anymore (or even leave the house at all) if I am unable to eat or drink anything without the risk of vomiting/foamies (I have pelvic floor issues, so I pretty much always lose bladder control when I vomit or dry heave) or having uncontrollable diarrhea. After revision, do you have to wear an adult diaper all the time? Has anyone developed an eating disorder based on fear of getting sick after consuming anything? Do you have any "safe" foods, or is it always a (literal) crapshoot?
I know that continued GERD can cause esophageal cancer down the line, but wouldn't the same be true of daily vomiting? Has anyone who is several years out from revision developed cancer or precancerous damage to their esophagus due to the constant vomiting? Likewise, have your teeth been ruined from it?
For those who revised from VSG to RNY and are past the initial healing stages, would you do it again or has it made your life even worse?

I was carrying groceries and stuff into the house one day. Our garage is along the alley behind our house, so it's a long walk down through the yard to get to the back door. By the time I got to the door, my too-big pants were nearly off my butt and had taken my too-big underwear with them!

...having to pause at the top of the steps or pretend to have a coughing fit to hide that I was winded from walking up one flight of stairs.

...having to pause at the top of the steps or pretend to have a coughing fit to hide that I was winded from walking up one flight of stairs.

I have been theoretically in maintenance since before Christmas, but have lost another 20 lbs since then. My weight right now is lower than when I was a ballet dancer in high school (still trying to wrap my mind around that one). And I'm averaging about 1400 net calories per day, so I'm actually eating somewhere in the range of 1500-1800 calories per day depending on how much I burn with exercise. I'm still trying to find the sweet spot to maintain, as I am still losing in little dribs and drabs (.25 lb here, .5 lb there). If I were limited to 1200 calories worth of food per day, I can't imagine where I'd be!
Also, I average about 70-80 grams of fat per day... I was also told to keep to 30 grams or less, but I don't know how it's possible. That was also based on a 1000 calorie-per-day plan, which obviously is not where I'm at now. I'm already getting well over 100 grams of Protein per day, ditto carbs, so my macros would have to change drastically to make that happen. I have MyFitnessPal set for 1400 cals, with 35% Protein (122 g), 35% fat (55 g), and 30% carbs (104 g). Those amounts go up when I eat more total calories to compensate for activity. Obviously, I don't do real low-carb as it is (though I don't really eat bread, Pasta, rice, Cereal anymore), and I don't want to damage my kidneys with even more protein, so unless my NUT gives me hell at my next appt, I am going to keep fats where they are.

I'm 8 months post op and almost 20 pounds below goal, and I've been going out to restaurants since the soft foods phase and still very much enjoy the experience. I think my first meal out was Indian paneer tikka masala without the rice or naan--at this point I'd probably eat part of a piece of naan bread with it but skip the rice still.
BUT... I go about eating out much differently now. I would suggest focusing on places with fresh, flavorful, high-quality ingredients rather than the typical "diner, drive-in, and dive" deep-fried foods. I will occasionally have a few french fries when we eat out, but only if they are really good, fresh, hand cut fries.
I've found that I've become much more choosy about what I'm eating, and if I decide to have an item that's higher in carbs, I keep other carby foods off my plate. So if I do choose to have a few fries, I won't be eating any bun or bread with the meal. We were at a Super Bowl party last weekend, and I chose to have a slider without the bun because I wanted to have a cookie for dessert. I go out for Mexican, and I have 3 or 4 chips with salsa but order fajitas with no tortillas.
One of my biggest lessons from this surgery is that I can't have it all, all the time. I can't treat every meal like a holiday feast. I can occasionally choose a treat, but I have to make sacrifices elsewhere in the meal (or elsewhere in my days food plan--on Thanksgiving I had a Protein shake for Breakfast instead of my usual oatmeal) to balance it out.
There are some people who insist that we, as people with obesity, can never be trusted to eat "in moderation" and ought never allow anything fried or carb-heavy to pass our lips again, lest we fall right back into our old ways and balloon up to where we started... but I don't believe that is true for everyone across the board. Since surgery, I've been working really hard to instill good habits that I can live with for the long haul. And those habits for me include making allowances for some "special" meals here and there. For me, having whole classes of absolutely forbidden foods is the easiest road to going off the rails and bingeing on them, unfortunately. I don't keep much in the way of processed carbs--Cereal, Pasta, bread, crackers, etc.--in the house, but I also don't demonize them and swear all of them off entirely. Except cereal... I just can't trust myself with Cereal. :/
Maybe I'll be proven wrong once I'm out of the "honeymoon phase," but we'll see...

It seems like just yesterday that I was all excited that my size 20W jeans were too big...
But today I bought a pair of size 4 skinny jeans!

It seems like just yesterday that I was all excited that my size 20W jeans were too big...
But today I bought a pair of size 4 skinny jeans!

Tried on dresses the other day, and couldn't find the size I needed in one of them. Asked the fitting room attendant if they had any, and she came back saying, "I'm sorry, miss, we don't have any smaller than a 6, but we may be able to order you a 4." Never thought I'd hear that!!!!!

I have had relationships end, fail to start, or become soured because of my looks, though. From a guy in college who liked me enough to make out with me in my dorm but bluntly told me that I wasn't pretty enough and didn't have big enough boobs and a small enough waist to be "girlfriend material" for him, to a serious relationship that ended because he was "repulsed" by me after I'd gained 15-20 pounds and felt like I'd somehow tricked him into thinking I had myself more together than I really did... ugh.
I now have a husband who loves me no matter what and finds me attractive, so I should just let those old experiences go. Well, I've got something to talk about next week in therapy.

I briefly had the Mirena IUD about 8 years ago, when I was in my mid-20s. I've never had kids, and I also have a crazy-sensitive vagus nerve. The insertion was painful and crampy, but I also had a vaso-vagal reaction and nearly blacked out before barfing all over the doctor's office. I had cramping, bleeding, and I generally felt like crap for the next couple months. I went back to my gynecologist to have it removed, only to find they my body was already attempting to expel it, and it was partially out of my uterus.
I know other people who love theirs, and I think they are a great option, but it just wasn't the right option for me. My body did. not. want. it. in. there.

I'm discovering that I'm apparently a total basic white girl. Since getting near goal, I love to wear long sweaters with scarves, skinny jeans, and boots. Just stick a Starbucks cup in my hand and call me Becky!

I'm discovering that I'm apparently a total basic white girl. Since getting near goal, I love to wear long sweaters with scarves, skinny jeans, and boots. Just stick a Starbucks cup in my hand and call me Becky!

Like you, I could not even begin to imagine losing 100 pounds. I originally set my goal weight at 145 because I simply could not conceptualize ever weighing less than that again. I still have days where I find it hard to wrap my mind around that fact that I've lost so much weight. I'm 9 months post-op, and I hit my goal of 135 around Christmas, so it's still really new to me. I started at about 235 and am at 116 now... I went from a size 20W to a size 2... I've lost over half my body weight!!! Physically, I feel SO MUCH BETTER. My feet don't hurt, my back pain has lessened, I'm not popping Tums constantly, my sugar is normal, etc.
I'll be honest, though--I'm not yet used to seeing myself as a thin person rather than a fat one. And as I've talked about in another thread, I'm still struggling with feeling ugly, not good enough, etc. I recommend finding a therapist that can help you through the mental and emotional aspects of this process, because it can be a roller coaster ride.

I'm about 9 months post op and almost 20 pounds below goal. I should be happy with myself and feel beautiful, no?
No.
So, I was never the fat girl who got told, "But you have such a pretty face!" I chalked it up to the fact that my face is the first place I gain weight, and at my heaviest I looked really bloated in my face.
As I lost weight, I guess I was thinking that I might end up being pretty. But if anything, all my facial flaws that were once covered in a layer of fat are now exposed. I feel like now I'm a "butter face"... or worse, a deflated former fat girl with a jiggly stomach, droopy butt, AND an ugly face.
I look at pictures of myself and insteading of finding pride in how I look now, I just find new things to pick apart. I've started looking up facial plastic surgery procedures (not that I'd ever have the money to do it) to see if I can be "fixed"--my eyes are really asymmetrical (one is smaller and more closed-looking than the other), the distance between my nose and upper lip is too great and makes me look monkey-like, my lower face is too large gives me this uneven lopsided look, my nose is big and bumpy... and on and on.
Has anyone else felt like this?
And before anyone suggests it--yes, I'm already in therapy! :/

Like you, I could not even begin to imagine losing 100 pounds. I originally set my goal weight at 145 because I simply could not conceptualize ever weighing less than that again. I still have days where I find it hard to wrap my mind around that fact that I've lost so much weight. I'm 9 months post-op, and I hit my goal of 135 around Christmas, so it's still really new to me. I started at about 235 and am at 116 now... I went from a size 20W to a size 2... I've lost over half my body weight!!! Physically, I feel SO MUCH BETTER. My feet don't hurt, my back pain has lessened, I'm not popping Tums constantly, my sugar is normal, etc.
I'll be honest, though--I'm not yet used to seeing myself as a thin person rather than a fat one. And as I've talked about in another thread, I'm still struggling with feeling ugly, not good enough, etc. I recommend finding a therapist that can help you through the mental and emotional aspects of this process, because it can be a roller coaster ride.

I'm over 10 months out, and I have only thrown up on three occasions since surgery. Once was the day I came home from the hospital and stupidly took my whole antidepressant for the first time in a few days on an empty stomach (I started cutting it in half and taking it in two doses spaced out, with food, and was fine). Once was a couple months later and was just a weird combination of factors and seems to have been just one of those random things. And then a couple months ago I had a nasty stomach flu, which is completely unrelated to my surgery.
As far as acid reflux, I take prescription Pepcid twice a day as a preventive measure and have no problems. In fact, I haven't touched a Tums since surgery, where before I was popping them all the time.
Everyone is different, some people have these issues, but for me the benefits outweighed the possibility of the side effects. Don't panic and cancel surgery.

I'm over 10 months out, and I have only thrown up on three occasions since surgery. Once was the day I came home from the hospital and stupidly took my whole antidepressant for the first time in a few days on an empty stomach (I started cutting it in half and taking it in two doses spaced out, with food, and was fine). Once was a couple months later and was just a weird combination of factors and seems to have been just one of those random things. And then a couple months ago I had a nasty stomach flu, which is completely unrelated to my surgery.
As far as acid reflux, I take prescription Pepcid twice a day as a preventive measure and have no problems. In fact, I haven't touched a Tums since surgery, where before I was popping them all the time.
Everyone is different, some people have these issues, but for me the benefits outweighed the possibility of the side effects. Don't panic and cancel surgery.

Thanks for the kind words and the insightful thoughts, everyone. I've posted before about how I was a ballet dancer growing up, which skewed my perception in weird ways. I have definitely internalized a lot of negative ideas about my appearance, femininity, etc. over the years. And now that I'm putting more time and effort into clothes and make-up, I'm spending a lot more time in front of the mirror these days.
Like I said in an earlier reply, I have a lot of fodder for my next therapy session!
Oh, I normally would have worn more fun shoes (I have some really cute red wedges that'd look great with this dress) and in warmer weather gone sans tights, but this was actually take when I was dressed to go to the funeral of an acquaintance (I had my husband take the pic to show my mom the dress, which I'd just gotten), so I thought red shoes might be inappropriate!
Ah, yes... when I think about it, the last time I was at this weight was 20 years ago when I was 15 years old. It really isn't fair to myself to compare to how I looked as a dewy teenager (who even then thought she was fat and ugly, honestly).

I'm over 10 months out, and I have only thrown up on three occasions since surgery. Once was the day I came home from the hospital and stupidly took my whole antidepressant for the first time in a few days on an empty stomach (I started cutting it in half and taking it in two doses spaced out, with food, and was fine). Once was a couple months later and was just a weird combination of factors and seems to have been just one of those random things. And then a couple months ago I had a nasty stomach flu, which is completely unrelated to my surgery.
As far as acid reflux, I take prescription Pepcid twice a day as a preventive measure and have no problems. In fact, I haven't touched a Tums since surgery, where before I was popping them all the time.
Everyone is different, some people have these issues, but for me the benefits outweighed the possibility of the side effects. Don't panic and cancel surgery.

I'm over 10 months out, and I have only thrown up on three occasions since surgery. Once was the day I came home from the hospital and stupidly took my whole antidepressant for the first time in a few days on an empty stomach (I started cutting it in half and taking it in two doses spaced out, with food, and was fine). Once was a couple months later and was just a weird combination of factors and seems to have been just one of those random things. And then a couple months ago I had a nasty stomach flu, which is completely unrelated to my surgery.
As far as acid reflux, I take prescription Pepcid twice a day as a preventive measure and have no problems. In fact, I haven't touched a Tums since surgery, where before I was popping them all the time.
Everyone is different, some people have these issues, but for me the benefits outweighed the possibility of the side effects. Don't panic and cancel surgery.

Oh, I guess I didn't really mention what kinds and amounts of exercise I'm doing--usually I do 1-2 yoga/Pilates classes per week, 1-2 Zumba classes per week, and walk my dogs for about 30 min. most days. I also will count working in the garden, heavy-duty cleaning, and other activity that's out of my "norm" towards my exercise. I have a Garmin fitness tracker that counts my steps, and it syncs with MyFitnessPal to estimate my calories burned. So, I'm not doing intense working out or training that burns an insane number of calories.