catwoman7

I wasn't allowed to that at 15 days out, either. I was only allowed to walk until I was four weeks out.

it might be. I think doctors are more cautious prescribing them now because of the possible side effects. I'm sure they'll extend your prescription awhile longer if you need it, but most of the healing takes place that first month, so that's probably why they only have you on that long. A lot of us are on longer than that, though. Just let them know if you start having issues when you're off them - you may need to be on longer. But then again, you may be fine after the first month. as an aside, if you had sleeve, reflux is not-too-uncommon side effect - about 30% of sleevers have issues with it. Usually it can be treated medically, but a few people end up having to revise to bypass. But that's different than having some minor reflux as you're weaning yourself off PPI's. *Usually* that resolves.

yes - it almost always grows back. I lost hair from months 5-8. It all came back.

yes -- it's common while weaning yourself off PPIs. That's why they have you do it slowly rather than cold turkey (although it can still happen even if you're weaning yourself off slowly). It usually resolves once you're weaned off, but if not, just let your clinic know. Some people have to be on for longer (or long term, even....)

most of us are put on some kind of PPI (protonix or omeprazole) for 3-6 months after surgery so your stomach can heal properly and acid won't interfere. They had us on it for a year when I went through, but I think they've shortened it to six months given the bad press that's come out in the last few years about long-term use of PPIs (although a few months is OK...) ( I went through this six years ago before all that came out)

I kept losing weight for 20 months, so no, it's not too late. It gets harder the further out you go, but you can definitely keep losing weight. I agree with the others- it may be a good idea to work with a therapist or dietitian.

that's not dumping syndrome - dumping syndrome is when you eat too much sugar (or for some people, fat - but sugar is by far the most common culprit). The sugar passes into your small intestine too quickly and your body goes into overdrive trying to deal with it. You get heart palpitations, dizziness, sweating, diarrhea. It can go on for quite awhile. Some people get nausea, too - but I don't think what you had was dumping syndrome. is the soup allowed on your plan at 15 days out? A lot of people (but not all...) are still on liquids then. I was on purees then, so I would have had to puree the soup before eating it. a lot of us can't tolerate eggs the first few weeks or months after surgery. Most of us can eat them again eventually. Wait a week or two and try again - but know that it might take longer. I never had any issues with eggs, but I know a lot of people do. anyway, I think the issue is you're progressing a bit too quickly, although the bleeding stomach would concern me. I'd call your clinic and let them know. and yes - a stall at two weeks out is not uncommon. Most of us hit our first major stall sometime within the first month after surgery. It's called "the three week stall" because it's usually the third week, but not always. Mine was weeks 2 and 3. During week 4, it broke and I dropped like eight pounds within a couple of days. Just stick to your plan and stay off your scale for a few days. And know that it WILL break. It always does.

we were told not to worry about calories at first - just to focus on getting in our protein and fluid requirements. You'll be taking in so little the first few weeks that you don't really need to worry yet about calories - they're going to be pretty low.

if you're still on fluids, you're not going to feel any restriction - they pretty much go right through you. Most of us start feeling the restriction once we move to solid food. also, don't chase the "full" feeling yet. You've had nerves cut, and it takes awhile for them to regenerate. Also, for many of us, "full" doesn't really feel the same after surgery as it did before. I never feel "full" the way I used to...I just know when I start feeling some discomfort in my chest, it's time to stop eating or I'm going to be sorry. It can take awhile to figure out what your new full cues are - so in the mean time, just measure out what you're supposed to eat and eat that.

the only thing I was cleared to do before the four-week mark was walk. At four weeks out, I was cleared to everything but weights. I could do those starting at eight weeks out. at first I was still too heavy to do many types of cardio, so I mostly walked, swam, and did water aerobics classes. I still do all those - plus biking.

there's really not much you can do about it other than keep on top of your protein and other supplements so it doesn't get any worse than it would otherwise. Just know that it's temporary. Mine went on for about three months. Luckily, I didn't lose very much.

I hadn't heard that until a month or two ago. Someone else mentioned that here on BP. I think she also had BCBS insurance.

hmmm...that's interesting. On my program they actually WANTED us to become ketogenic during the pre-op diet. Places are so different!

I was always able to drink more than they said I would. It's fluid - it goes through you pretty quickly - your stomach will let you know if you're drinking too fast.

nope - I don't regret it at all. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. there are a lot of food restrictions the first few weeks and months, but after that, no. I can eat pretty much anything - I just eat much smaller portions than I did before surgery. I eat red meat and I've eaten peanut butter cups. Mickey D's would be hard because a lot of their items have a lot of fat, which doesn't always sit well with me, but I've eaten a lot of Egg McMuffins since surgery. I can't do diet Coke anymore. I used to be a diet Coke-a-holic, but the carbonation bothers my stomach and it generally tastes like chemicals to me now, but I COULD have it if I wanted to.

welcome!!!

that definitely would not hurt!!!

I still have jiggly thighs. I've had a lot of plastic surgery but didn't do my thighs because they weren't too awful, and I'm in my 60s, so my days of wearing short skirts and short shorts are long past. But I might have considered it if I was younger. If you just have a little loose skin, strength training might really help, but if there's a lot of it, plastic surgery might be your only recourse.

I did bypass because I had reflux prior to surgery, and I wasn't willing to risk it getting worse with the sleeve. it gets worse for about 30% of sleeve patients, so that means it DOESN'T get worse for the other 70%. It's kind of a crap shoot as to whose reflux gets worse and whose doesn't, so it really depends on how willing you are to take that risk. I wasn't willing to take it - but some people are, and some of them have lucked out and it didn't get worse..

not everyone experiences that early stall, but the vast majority of us do

two weeks was torture enough - i wouldn't have wanted it to go on any longer than it did. I was so relieved the morning of surgery because that stupid diet was OVER!!! (granted, most of us are on liquids only for a week or two AFTER surgery, too, but that's totally different...)

to gain five pounds of true weight, you would have to eat 17,500 calories over and above what your body needs. So it's definitely water weight. unsweetened cocoa powder shouldn't be an issue. A tablespoon of that is something like 15 calories, and it's loaded with antioxidants. The brown sugar is problematic, though, esp if you're doing Keto. Swerve makes a great brown sugar alternative, if your body is OK with artificial sweeteners.

I don't have children, although my family was super supportive and knew I was becoming much healthier as I lost weight. I can imagine some kids might be freaked out by food changes (unless they continue to eat the same way as they did before your surgery), but I would think they would be fine with the idea of a thinner, healthier mom. But then I don't have kids, so I'm probably not the one to talk. I'm just thinking about how I would have felt about this when I was a kid...

our program discourages fruit juice, even years out, so that's a little unusual... I've heard of some people eating pickles or drinking pickle just to deal with salt cravings. Also, we were allowed to have broth and V8/tomato juice - both of those are pretty salty..

you may be really tired, although probably not in pain. Many of us have little no pain from these surgeries, and if you're one of the unlucky ones who do, you'll have pain meds to manage it. Especially since it'll be four days after your surgery, you should be able to make that trip.