Cervidae

I should also say that I didn't even start feeling normal hunger again until a little after 6 months. Before that, there was absolutely no desire to eat food.

Hello! Just wanted to say I'm 9 months post op and I only feel hunger when I actually need food. If I go several hours without eating or drinking anything, I get a little nudge of hunger that I didn't really recognize at first. Hunger before surgery was less a feeling coming from actual physical need for food and more of an obsessive compulsion. Now, when I feel it, it's just "oh, I'm hungry. I should eat something." Then, after eating a normal or smaller than normal amount, the feeling goes away. I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to be able to operate like a "normal" person. So the answer is yes, I feel hunger, but it is in no way like hunger was before my RNY. Also, I've been in therapy since before surgery, and it has really helped me so much in terms of how I think about food and why I want to eat, and how to separate hungry from head-hungry. I would truly recommend therapy to every person who is considering, is having, or has had surgery. It's rare that it is purely physical hunger that drove us to become this way. Best of luck to you, hope this helped.

https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/ostrim/products/ostrim-chicken-buffalo-wing-flavor these things! They taste like a not-disgusting slim-jim, very wholesome ingredients and no nasty fillers, and 80 calories/14g of protein per stick. Very yummy and a great snack.

@@UsernameTaken Oh no! This is one of my worst nightmares! Sorry you had to experience that... how are you recovering otherwise? Getting in your Protein and Water? @@betterme38 I laughed when I read this comment. I mean, it's a fair point, but lol!

I'm 9 months post-rny and I can honestly say after the first couple of months, all my gassiness completely disappeared. It was never really bad to begin with, really. There are definitely a few people who get it for months post op, and VERYYY few people who have it for longer than that. Most people return to a pretty normal state pretty quickly. Though, I will say my breath is often a little funky. I still drink Protein shakes regularly and they can have that effect. I just carry around sugar-free altoids and I'm good to go. even if I had terrible gas and disgusting breath, it would be completely and absolutely worth getting my health back and being able to enjoy my life in a way that was not possible a couple hundred pounds ago.

I'm only 9 months post op and not really anywhere near my goal weight yet but I just had to pop in and first say congratulations! You've done really well. Second, do you have loose skin? It's possible that you have 10-20 pounds of lose skin, maybe more depending on your age and genetics, so you may even be approaching being underweight. How do you feel? Do you have enough energy to go about your day, exercise, etc without being exhausted? Are you hair/nails/skin healthy? I'm just curious, as this is something I've been thinking about a lot as I approach the low 200s and eventually into the 100s. My goal is 170, but I'm wondering if I can even get that low without first getting skin removed, especially considering my high starting weight.

@@bsweetness nope, none of that. The first 6 months or so I was extremely tired, had no energy, and sometimes got emotional from all the hormone changes. But now I feel great and those first several months of discomfort and exhaustion were totally worth it.

@@bsweetness I'll be 9 months post op from my RNY tomorrow, and I've lost about 150 since surgery.

Are you at Highland?! Me too!

@@roxy0508 I have had absolutely no complications whatsoever. I think getting at least 1/3 of the goal every day was fine for the short time I had to do it that way. So, no complications and I'm down at least 147 pounds (it very well may be more, as I'm not going to weigh myself again until the 17th) in a little less than 9 months, and my health/blood work is perfect.

at three weeks I was still pureeing everything. It may not have been the fact that it was cheese, it may have been that your stomach is still too swollen and traumatized to handle solid foods. Or perhaps you ate a little too much or too fast. Regardless, you can't eat a list of 4 things only forever, so at some point in the future you're going to need to slowly test and add foods back in. This may have just been a little too soon. Try not to get discouraged - it will get easier. Just takes time, patience, and experimentation.

@@roxy0508 it was months before I came even close to getting in 64 oz a day. That's the goal, but I don't think anyone is really able to do that for a while. Your stomach is just too swollen. I think it may have been.. 4 months or so before I was able to consistently get in enough water. Before that, I just did the best I could and got in maybe 25 oz a day.

Also, the weepy/exhausted feeling is unfortunately completely normal. Our hormones become all out of whack and our bodies have gone through an enormous trauma. It took me a good 6 months to feel like myself again, and now at almost 9 months out I can say I feel really wonderful! As for food/liquid, it's good that you're getting in your liquids but getting enough Protein and all your Vitamins in is absolutely essential at this stage! If you need to, maybe up your Protein shake intake. Good luck!

So happy to hear that your health is improving! That's what it's all about. As for pureed food suggestions, I'll just tell you a few of my favorites from that stage: - refried Beans with a little sour cream and sometimes a little cheese, all pureed together. - pureed turkey or chicken chili from Trader Joe's. - canned white meat chicken, cheese, and a little milk or cream of chicken Soup. Makes a really creamy, delicious puree. - for something on the sweet side, plain greek yogurt or cottage cheese (my favorite) pureed with canned pumpkin and some cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and perhaps a little stevia. so yummy! Keep up the great work! It definitely gets easier, and your health will just keep getting better and better.

I'm almost 9 months out and I can pretty much drink like normal. We'll never be able to gulp cups of Water at once, obviously, but it will get easier. Both of you are super early out from surgery. Be patient! I can drink a 24 ounce (3 cup) bottle of water in about 30 minutes. I may be able to push it faster than that but I'd rather not. It gets easier! Hang in there!

@@Autumn Riley Arnold some surgeons require their post-op patients to drink a bowel preparation solution before surgery. I didn't need to, thankfully, as I've heard they are pretty nasty! Thick and gross tasting. Erghh. @@JanaJ how is everything going? How are you feeling?

I am definitely following this topic.

Best of luck to you! You'll do great. Keep us posted! Walk asap but also listen to your body and take good care of it.

Oh no! That sounds awful. I didn't have an infection but I did have a pretty horrible allergic reaction to the tape they used around the incision site, so my skin was welted, red, and super painful right around the drain. It was not fun at all! I can't tell you what a relief it was to finally get the drain out. How much longer are you going to have the drain in? Hope you feel better soon! Take good care of yourself.

http://imgur.com/NOpEeIs High weight (left) - 442 pounds Surgery weight - 387 pounds Current weight (right) - around 240 I've been laid up with a huge bandage and cast on my left leg since my surgery last week so I have no idea what I weigh at this moment but I was 243 last I checked. Thanks for sharing your progress, I love seeing it! I can't wait to see everyone else's!

This reminds me a lot of the "how soon after surgery can I start smoking cigarettes again" question. The answer is never. The answer is never for a variety of reasons. You know the reasons, everyone else knows the reasons, and yet you will always get a few people here on the forums looking to be told it's okay to do. It is simply NOT okay, just like eating cake isn't okay after surgery and taking NSAIDS isn't okay after surgery. However, it's your body. No one has any right to tell you what to do with it. Even the surgeon's orders end where your own decisions begin. Can you drink diet soda without getting sick? Maybe... some people can, as you've read above. Should you be drinking soda, smoking, drinking booze frequently, taking NSAIDS, eating donuts for Breakfast? Of course not. you already know the answer to your own question, and you may be hard-pressed to find many people here who are going to pacify you and tell you it's okay. The fact is, a couple of people here saying "Yeah I do it and I'm fine" does not even being to measure up to and be an argument against the multitude of biological and scientific reasons it is not safe or healthy. In the end, you've got to make your own decisions. If you decide to eat or drink something that can (and probably will) be harmful in the long run, then you're also going to have to deal with the consequences. Whatever you decide, I truly wish you nothing but health and happiness. I know how hard it is to go through this huge change and not even have the little comfort food/drinks we used to love. Good luck!

Being young and starting with a low bmi does indeed help when it comes to the amount of loose skin, but the main deciding factor is genetics. I've lost about 200 pounds and I have less loose skin than some people I've seen that have lost like 80-90 pounds. Really you aren't going to know for sure until all is said and done. Usually people lose a little faster with the bypass than the sleeve, so losing faster can be a factor. Again, though, it's really mostly genetics. And no two people are alike.

Is June 2013 when you had surgery? Why are you nervous? Or was 2013 supposed to be 2016?

I know this is a male only forum, but I am in a uniquely relevant position to offer advice on this subject, as I had major knee surgery on friday morning and wls last August. The knee surgery I just had was an acl reconstruction using my own patellar ligament, a lateral meniscus trim and a medial meniscus repair. It's a pretty major surgery! I can say without a doubt my gastric surgery was FAR less painful than this. It was very easily controllable and every single day my pain lessened dramatically, and my mobility increased dramatically. With this knee surgery... well I'm 5 days out and still in a pretty miserable state and level of pain. I was not prepared for this level of pain, and they classify this as "managed". My RNY was a piece of cake compared to this, and the VSG is even less painful/invasive than my bypass. Hope this helps.

Chew on ice and sugar free popsicles! I did not have a liquid only yet but I've seen many people do this and recommend it. Good luck to you, both with surgery and trying to conceive. I'll be in that boat as well in the next few years...