catwoman7

I was always able to drink a lot more than they told I'd be able to. I was worried about it and asked one of the physician assistants at my clinic. He said liquid goes right through you, so not to worry about it. My stomach would let me know if I'm drinking too much or too fast.

I'd let you clinic know. A lot of surgeons put their patients on PPIs, like omeprazole, for 3-6 months after surgery. It tends to be stronger than things like Mylanta or Pepcid.

yep. Water weight from the IV fluids. I've heard of some people gaining 10 or more lbs from it. It takes a few days for it to work it's way out of your system. In the mean time, if it's stressing you out, then just stay off the scale for a few days.

I'd lost 75 lbs at the six month point (not counting what I'd lost pre-surgery). But there are so many factors that affect your rate of weight loss that there's really not an "average" amount of weight lost at any given time. If you stick to your program, you'll lose - whether fast or slow.

I didn't really like sweet things after surgery, but that just lasted a few months. I loved chocolate and vanilla protein shakes before surgery (and I love them again now!), but for the first few months they were way too sweet for me. I usually drank Unjury's chicken broth-flavored ones. Or I'd mix unflavored protein into different things.

these are quick surgeries. Sleeves are probably about an hour. Bypass not much longer. Of course, if they run into issues, it'll take longer.

P.S. it's actually good to wait a year after you've reached a stable weight, because unfortunately, the majority of us rebound 10-20 lbs after reaching our lowest weight. A 10-lb gain after plastic surgery is OK, but 20 lbs or more could effect the results.

I think I can speak on behalf of most of the long-timers on here in that yes, we dreaded the loose skin at first, but we'd take it any day of the week over being morbidly obese again. ANY DAY! I lost over 200 lbs, so I had a lot of loose skin. It was easy to hide in clothes, though (I'll post a picture below). I'd just wear long-ish tops with 3/4 or full-length sleeves and tummy-control leggings (although some thing like Spanx would have worked as well). I had my removed because it started to drive me crazy. My abdominal skin would slap up against me when I exercised - ugh. But yes - it was really just cosmetic, and like I said, no one but me (and my husband) knew it was there. skin doesn't weigh very much. Unless you get a lot of lipo done, too, we're talking less than five lbs. I think I "lost" maybe four lbs when I had it removed (which unfortunately came right back on!) some insurance policies will cover removal if it's causing medical problems, like chronic rashes, that don't respond to conventional treatments. I never had any issues with anything like that, so I paid out of pocket. anyway, here I am BEFORE I had plastic surgery. I had a TON of excess skin, but as you can see, it's pretty easy to hide it if you're wearing the right clothes.

it's a lot more common to have issues with constipation than diarrhea, although I've seen a handful of posts like this before. I wonder if it's some kind of food intolerance? Like to some artificial sweetener?

I was bypass, but it's probably similar. I think I just had one IV, but I could be wrong. It seems like I was in the pre-op area for quite awhile. A few people came by to do things or ask me questions - some nurses, the anesthesiologist, the surgeon. Then they rolled me down to the OR. I remember seeing about six people in there - the surgeon, his resident, a surgical fellow, the anesthesiologist, her resident, and a med student. I think there were a couple of nurses in there as well. I was only in there briefly before I was out like a light. I woke up in the recovery room about 1.5 hours later, but I swear it seemed like it had only been around two minutes. I just slept off and on the rest of the day. I honestly don't even remember being rolled up to my room. I was pretty out of it until the next morning.

hopefully someone to respond. When sleevers revise, it tends to be to bypass or DS (duodenal switch) - but I think I've read about some people re-sleeving. Hopefully someone on here has done it and will respond to this.

I've gotten Ratio a few times. Some of the flavors I like, some I don't.

no - didn't do anything different during stalls. I just made doubly sure I was following my program to a "T".

^^^ that's true. Especially for people that make it down to a normal BMI. They often look a bit haggard for a few months, but then things kind of shift around so you start looking a lot better, even though your weight is about the same. Happened to me as well.

when I had surgery seven years ago, sleeve patients generally stayed one night and bypass patients two nights. I think one night for both types is common now, unless there's an issue. I have heard of people going home the same day, but not very often. Honestly, I'd rather be in the hospital at least one night in case something weird happened. P.S. I had very little pain at all (just some nausea the first night), but I'm still glad I was at the hospital in case something happened (it didn't...but it was reassuring to know I was there in case something HAD happened) WLS is pretty major surgery...

plans are all different. My plan WANTED us to go into ketosis...

Headaches can also be a sign of carb withdrawal.

I was a slow loser from the get-go. I was about where you are in the same time frame (it's been several years since my surgery, so I only have my monthly weights - not every week anymore - but at four weeks out, I was down 16 lbs). I went on to lose all of my excess weight, 235 lbs. I've since gained back 20 lbs, although it's super common to have a 10-20 lb regain after hitting bottom. I did have stalls - not too many the first year - maybe two or three. I had a lot during year 2, though, as I got closer to a normal BMI, and they lasted a long time. Every time I hit one I'd think "OK - I guess this is it", and then the weight loss would start up again. My weight loss finally stopped at 20 months out. if you stick to your program, the weight will come off, whether fast or slow.

it depends on how old you are, your genetics, and how much weight you lose. I'm in my 60s and lost over 200 lbs - so yes, I looked older. But on the other hand, when I was super morbidly obese I looked young for my age - people were always surprised when they found out how old I was. But after I lost all that weight, I think I just looked my age. P.S. Supplements won't help with loose skin - on your face or anywhere else, unfortunately. I like the suggestion summerseeker had about looking at before & after pictures. And I agree, most people's faces don't look old and wrinkly. And you can always get a facelift if you don't like the way your face looks afterward - but most people don't because it's not bad. Excess skin is usually worse on the body - where it's easy to hide in clothes.

a lot of women have screwed up menstrual cycles for the first few months after surgery. Your hormones kind of go haywire with the rapid weight loss. It eventually stabilizes and you'll be back to normal. If it's been five months for you, you're likely near the end of it. EDITED to add that this craziness usually starts pretty quickly after surgery - so I"m a little surprised yours started so late.

you guys are lucky. I could have 4-5 protein shakes a day, all the no-calorie, noncaffeinated liquids I wanted, a cup of tomato juice/V8 and a cup of broth, plus unlimited sugar free popsicles and sugar free Jello. No solid food at all. For two weeks. I ate sugar free Jello with abandon because it was the only thing I could have that somewhat resembled real food. I'd make a batch in the morning and eat the whole darn thing that day. I never once cheated on it, but boy---it wasn't easy. It did get a little easier after about three days because my body was in ketosis by then, but still - it was a struggle.

I had bypass, but the hair loss issue is the same since it's due to trauma to the body (from the surgery) and the super low number of calories we're eating the first few months. it's pretty rare for it to fall out in clumps. It's usually just shedding. And not everyone loses hair. I lost a little, but not enough for anyone to notice. In fact for most of us, we're the only ones who notice it. the jury is out on biotin. Some people say it helps, others say it did nothing at all. Honestly, I'd focus on making sure you're meeting your supplement and protein requirements so it's not any worse than it would be otherwise. Mine lasted from months 5-9. it grows back. I think i can speak for those of us a ways out in that in the grand scheme of things, the hair loss is a blip on the screen and is a small price to pay for being able to lose all that weight.

I agree with summerseeker. If you do it through a liquid diet, it'll just come back on. You'll need to maintain it. Focus on protein and vegetables. Watch your portion sizes. I worked with a dietitian before I entered the program and lost over 40 lbs by eating around 2300 kcal/day, gradually increasing my protein intake, and gradually decreasing my carbohydrate intake. I also had to watch my portion sizes. I didn't think I could do it, either, but I did. Plus it got me used to what post-surgical eating would be like so it wouldn't be such a shock after surgery.

I was always able to drink more than they said I'd be able to. They didn't seem to care. Not sure why your person did, but whatever. And no, it wouldn't have stretched your stomach. Fluids go right through you.

it's actually a lot more common to not make it to goal than it is to lose too much weight. Only about 10-15% of bariatric patients make it to a normal BMI, let alone lose too much. You will find some who do - but they're few and far between.