catwoman7

if you have a stricture, you'll feel a night and day difference after the procedure. Beforehand I was having miserable acid reflux issues for several days and I started having trouble keeping things down. Towards the end, I could hardly keep *anything* down. I had no idea it could be a stricture because I didn't know it could cause acid issues (in addition to vomiting), but they did an upper endoscopy and there it was! What a huge relief to be rid of the thing! It's an easy fix and I felt a million times better afterward!

I'm in my 8th week and I started lifting weights last week

I went out a couple of times while I was in the pureed stage and just got a cup of pureed Soup. Now that I'm in the soft food stage, it's easier - although I still order soup a lot (not necessarily pureed). I usually order yogurt at Breakfast and either a shrimp cocktail or soup for lunch or dinner. I've eaten baked fish at home, but it would take me a week to eat a fish entree (or any entree, for that matter....)

it sounds almost like a stricture, although you're pretty early out. Hmm. I'd just call your surgeon's office in the morning and run it by them.

I agree with what SuzeMuze said. Also, I was thinking more about this and I think 27 lbs in five weeks is really pretty normal - whatever "normal" is. I belong to another forum where some of the members put the amount of weight they lost each month in their signatures. From what I've seen, most of them lost anywhere from 15-25 lbs the first month, and then it starts slowing down in subsequent months (in the teens for awhile - then down to single digits). So you're right in line with this. I'm a bit of a slowpoke at seven weeks. But then, I'm a 50-something female and i lost quite a bit of weight pre-surgery - both of which can affect the rate of my post-surgery weight loss. Plus like SuzeMuze says, my body's in control. As long as I'm following the program (which I am...), the weight will come off. So will yours.

I've lost about the same as you (27 lbs) and I'm seven weeks out! I think it's because both of us lost quite a bit of weight *before* surgery.

took about a week for me

I usually eat yogurt or cottage cheese. Sometimes I'll throw a few blueberries on the cottage cheese (like maybe 10 of them)

my taste just got more intense - e.g, salty things taste saltier, sweet things taste sweeter.

I'd do what your surgeon says, though. I don't remember what mine said about drinking before eating, if anything. But I do know that every time I'm in there, they ask me how long I wait *after* eating.

I'm bypass. I often drink right before I eat. I never drink *after* eating, though - I always wait at least 30 minutes.

chicken soup and chocolate splendor

someone on obesityhelp.com was talking about them earlier today. She did the patch but continued to take her D3 and iron supplements (the only two supplements she took while on the patch). She said all her levels were good except for B12 and PTH, however, they forgot to test her blood calcium level so she's going to report on that later. So it looks like she might have to start taking B12 again - and then she's going to wait and see what her calcium levels look like. But other levels were within range.

I haven't felt any depression, but then I'm a) not prone to it and b ) post-menopausal (so I probably don't have as many hormones being released). I still go out to eat but just order what I can eat - like shrimp cocktail. I guess what I've learned through this is that for me going out to eat must have been more of a social thing, because I'm fine as long as there are a couple things on the menu that I can have. I don't really care that my husband or friend is eating a pile of stuff that isn't on my plan. That actually surprised me a little... Also, I'm not really a food addict, like a lot of obese people are - so that may be a factor as well. I'm probably not the most typical case.....

I also had one dilated a little over a week ago (I'm seven weeks out). I've managed to eat egg salad, shrimp, and string cheese since then.

it wasn't actually painful - for the upper endoscopy, you're knocked out. as for the symptoms, the acid reflux was really bothersome, but not in a painful sort of way. Oddly, I was glad for the times when I threw up because then I could get it over with rather than deal with the acid reflux for two or three hours. UGH!! Vomiting, at least for me, is easier post-op than pre-op. First of all, there's not much there, and secondly, you don't have nearly as much stomach acid, so you don't get that horrible taste in your mouth.

overgrown scar tissue that blocks the entrance to the small intestine. They happen in about 5% of gastric bypass patients - usually within the first couple of months after surgery (while you're healing). It's an easy fix - they do an upper endoscopy and use this balloon thing to dilate it. Night and day difference - I felt better immediately! main symptom is you have a hard time keeping things down - but I also had some acid reflux with it. Both symptoms were completely gone after they "fixed" the stricture.

I didn't have a painful recovery, either (gastric bypass). I barely used any morphine at all in the hospital (the only reason I used the little that I did (via the pump) was because one of the nurses made me because she thought it would make my walking a little easier - otherwise, I felt totally fine and wouldn't have used it at all). The codeine or whatever they sent me home with sat unused as well. The only discomfort, really, was some slight nausea the first day in the hospital - and then my abs were pretty sore for the first few days. Enough that getting out of bed was a bit of a challenge (but do-able). Otherwise, nothing. Extremely easy recovery. I did develop a stricture in week 4 or 5, but that's an easy fix...(and not terribly common).

you can get it online. I've ordered it through amazon.com

not awful at all! Either way, you're having major surgery. I kind of looked at them the same way. They both have their pros and cons.

bypass. I'd had some off-and-on issues with indigestion and didn't want to develop full-blown GERD, which often (but not always...) happens with the sleeve. Otherwise, I would have been happy having either one.

I'm seven weeks out as well and average around 600-700 a day. There have been a handful of days I've been higher or lower (500 or 800), but 600-700 is pretty typical.

I was in my 50's and *extremely* lucky I hadn't developed any co-morbidities. I knew they were just around the corner if I didn't get the weight off once and for all. I'd tried so many times on my own and would manage to lose 30-50 lbs before hitting a brick wall - and then it'd all come back on. I think what convinced me, though, was looking at a PowerPoint slide of all the benefits of WLS when I was at one of the numerous orientation sessions I'd attended (I'd been thinking about surgery for probably five years and had been to several such sessions). Just looking at those statistics - that diabetes was <x>% resolved, high blood pressure was <x>% resolved, etc (there were several listed) made something click. I *knew* this is what I had to do....

I took three weeks off work. My husband was home with me for the first week (I was on my own for weeks 2 and 3). It was great having him around to do things like take care of the pets and bring me things (my abs were pretty sore the first few days), but I probably could have managed on my own if I had to.

my dietitian suggested eating the broth first, then the solids. I *usually* remember to do this...