Nymea

So I am coming up to 5 months post op now and have had my first post op blood done with excellent news. The numbers are whatever we use in Australia so they may not make a lot of sense to those of you in USA unfortunately. So hba1c ( I am a diabetic) has gone from 8.5% to 7.0% and I have stopped all insulin and oral medications. Just on diet alone now. Total Cholesterol down from 8.5 mmol to 4.0 (4.0 is considered normal here) Ratios for the cholesterol measures are all in the excellent range Liver enzymes down from 156 to 126 (normal is 115 maximum) ... so I still have a little way to go there but I am happy considering how many blood pressure tablets I was taking and that I am still on a few. I am ecstatic about these results. I feel fantastic and am beginning to enjoy life again. Yes I still have some weight to go to goal, but that is less important to me now that my health is so much better.

I had a similar problem. My housemates are all very overweight and eat a lot more rubbish than I ever did. I happen to always have loved fresh home cooked - they love takeaway in every shape and form. My biggest weakness has always been sugar which is brought into the house frequently. When I had the surgery there was a lot or resentment, as if they didn't want me to succeed in weight loss because it would make them look bad. I still get it at times. Basically I have started leaving the room whenever they eat or whenever I get negative comments about not eating enough and getting too skinny.

I had my surgery in the middle of our winter and have never been so cold in my life. Fortunately we are heading into summer now so I can manage with just a few layers instead of many heavy ones. I share a house with other overweight people so there is a constant fight over what temp the heating sits on. Eventually I gave up and bought myself a couple of heaters that sit just beside my chair so I can be warm while they are fanning themselves.

I am almost 4 months post op and started off with good intentions to stick rigidly to the plan ... not that my surgeon or nut actually gave me a full eating plan, just one for the first 5 weeks and then "guidelines" to help with a healthy lifestyle moving forward. What I have found since surgery however, is that surgically reduced stomachs don't read nutritional plans. So you may have a plan that states x amount of Protein per meal and x amount of vegies etc, but that doesn't mean your stomach is going to agree with it. Since my surgery I have found protein is the hardest thing for my stomach to cope with. I try and make sure I have some at each meal, but I doubt if I manage the number of grams that some plans recommend. ( I should perhaps mention I was a vegetarian pre op so that might make a difference to protein tolerance). Having said that I have had my first lot of blood tests and everything came back normal. My surgeon says my weight loss is on target - whatever that means since he never gave me any solid goals to meet. I eat healthy, yes once or twice tried something I shouldn't and instantly regretted it and am moving on with an eating plan I find I can cope with on a daily basis. I stick to mainly fresh fruit and vegetables, chicken and fish and a small amount of dairy (limited by lactose intolerance). I don't stress about numbers - not calories nor nutrient grams. I am learning to listen more to my body and finding I feel much healthier for it as well as the weight coming off easily. This suits me and my body ... yours might be different and require different things.

I think my weight loss has been a little slower than "normal" whatever that is because I have been on insulin for most of the post op period - until last week (and for the 30 years prior to surgery). Also I can't really exercise much because I am waiting for both knees to be replaced, which puts a limit on walking and using gym equipment. I do swim when I can get to the pool though. Still I have gone down 3 dress sizes in just under 4 months so I am not complaining. As for eating, I find that my stomach restricts the type of food I can eat as well as the volume all by itself, so I haven't even thought much about sticking to an eating plan. Mainly I eat fresh fruit and vegies, dairy (limited because of lactose intolerance) chicken and fish. I occasionally crave the "bad" foods (candy/chocolate/takeaway/bread etc) but I have had horrible reactions whenever I have just tried one bite, so I just don't bother any more. To be honest I don't really miss it either.

Hi - I am just one week away from four months post op. Like you I was nervous about the surgery and the post op results. I was terrified I would be "THE ONE" who didn't lose weight. Post op wasn't all sunshine and unicorns either but I would definitely do it again. I had very little pain, nothing that needed medication but the nausea and vomiting was terrible. I ended up being in hospital for 6 days post op because of the vomiting, but slowly it subsided enough for me to go home. Exhaustion and being unable to do much at all (even showering myself was a challenge) were the biggest problems after coming home from hospital. That lasted somewhere between 6 & 8 weeks then slowly improved back to normal. Since the surgery vomiting and very loose bowels have been a problem on and off. They still plague me if I eat the wrong foods, or eat too fast, or if the evil witch is looking in my direction and makes my stomach decide that today it is not going to accept the very same food it loved every day for the last week. I have also had a couple of bouts of flu that affected my digestion significantly as well. But even after all that I say it was worth it. All the negative effects get less over time until you are left only with the positives of weight loss and feeling great. As for the surgery itself, I have been an operating theater nurse for over 20 years and I can tell you that we don't let people die in surgery. The biggest risk is actually post op complications and they are things you can be pro active about preventing. For example make sure you do your breathing and coughing, get up and move around even if it is hard. Those things prevent clots and pneumonia, which are two of your biggest enemies in the days after major surgery. The more you work to get yourself in shape before surgery (exercise if possible and stick to the diet they give you) the better your chances of a good recovery with no complications.

Yay congratulations and good luck with your surgery

I always had in mind to reach what the tables say is "normal" BMI for me .. which would make me about 138 pounds. I have never really believed that I could get that low. I should add that my surgeon doesn't give a goal weight .. he says I will know when I get there and that is the right weight for me to be at. Having read this topic I have revised my first goal to 160 pounds. That will put me out of the obese category and into the overweight category for the first time since I was a teenager. Once I have reached that goal, I plan to let my body decide what weight it wants to settle at. Once I am sure it is the right weight for me, then I will start working to make sure I stay within a few pounds of that weight on the upper side. On the lower side ... well I don't want to get into below weight territory but other than that .. I am fine.

Update at 3.5 months out So I had the surgery .. and survived lol. The first week was terrible, just constant vomiting. But it passed and I went home from hospital still scared but able to drink whatever I wanted in fluids. I found that for the most part clear fluids (broths and such) were the easiest, but each day i would try some thicker Soup etc because it was on my meal plan. Slowly I got to introduce puree, then soft foods, then normal diet. It didn't always go well and there were many days where I needed to go back to clear fluids to give my stomach a rest. It took a lot of patience. But I made it. I know now which foods I definitely can't eat (at the moment at least), which foods can be iffy, and which foods are mostly "safe". I say mostly safe because nothing post RNY is definite in the first year or two. The hardest challenge for me has been eating out. There have been a few family events that involve eating out and I find that I often just order a latte and pinch a chip from someone's plate or go with a side salad. For me that is safest and I really don't want to be rushing to the bathroom in a restaurant (I have had it happen a couple of times and it is no fun at all). The surgeons have put me on the list for double knee replacements and my heart failure has gone. I have cut down on my blood pressure meds and last week the doc took me off insulin .. although I do need to take tablets at least for a while. I reached a psychological goal for me as well yesterday. I am now the lightest I have been in 25 years. If I lose another 5 kg I will be the lightest I have been since I was 17. The road to recovery hasn't been easy. There have been a lot of setbacks. The ups and downs of weight loss have had me in tears at times, but I had good support from friends who got me through the worst of it. Now I am focused on enjoying life instead of what the scales say. And the scales are being much friendlier to me as well. So I am facing the next 3 months with more enthusiasm and joy for life.

Congratulations and good luck with the surgery.

I wouldn't worry too much about pauses and even small gains in weight. We all fluctuate with our cycles and the moon ... and whatever evil being is currently focusing on us Seriously though my own weight loss journey has been very up and down (literally). I seem to get stuck on a regular basis and then seemingly overnight I will shift as much as 2 kg and am then left wondering where did it go in 12 hours? I had a friend who encouraged me to stop weighing myself so often and that worked. I cut down from daily (sometimes even 2 or 3 times a day) to once a fortnight. Now I am much more focused on living than on weight loss ... and I can see that over time the weight has off. It just doesn't happen in a straight line. It isn't easy ... i was like you at first .. terrified that I would be the one who didn't succeed. It is so hard to let go of that fear and learn to just live again. But please give it a try. It really will make a huge difference to the way you feel. Just trust in the process. It is proven to work so let go of the need to control it and start enjoying your new life.

Hi - I had my RNY the same week as you and I have the same issues. I eat pretty much the same thing for Breakfast every day because I find that is the hardest meal for my stomach to cope with. Most days I have no problem, then out of the blue it won't accept the very same food. I also have the same thing as msujester and find that if I stop at the first hint of trouble and wait until it clears (it can sometimes be as long as an hour) I can usually finish the meal eventually. The other thing I find when my stomach cramps up like that is sipping a little hot tea is soothing and helps the muscles relax. I know we are not supposed to drink and eat at the same time and as a general rule I don't but when I get the crampiness that won't let anything go down, I find hot tea helps. I guess it is still a matter of getting used to eating differently. I have 2 friends who had similar surgery .. one said it takes about 2 years to be secure in eating again. The other ... who is not quite at the 2 year mark says that it gets easier but the sudden rejection of food you can normally eat is still present, just less frequent.

I was on insulin for 30 years before my surgery. I am now 3.5 months post RNY surgery. My doc said it was unlikely that I would be able to give up insulin completely but last week he took me off insulin. I now take a combined Metformin/Forxigia tablet and am watching my sugars, They still go up a bit too much if I eat any carbs but my doc says it is going to take time for my body to get used to coping on its own again. So as long as my sugars dont exceed a certain point in the hour - 2 hours after meals I am fine. So far I seem to be doing okay. I will most likely be on medication my whole life and have to be strict about carb intake but it is worth it to be rid of insulin. I am about half way to my goal weight now. I guess I will know when I get closer to my goal if I can give up the tablets or not.

I found myself getting frustrated with daily fluctuations as well. I stopped weighing myself so much and now I do it about once every 2 weeks or so. It made a huge difference to my mental health and I was able to stop focusing on food and scales and focus on living life again post surgery.

3.5 months post op here. My biggest achievement is to come off insulin after 30 years on it. For me that is huge .. even more so than cutting down on my BP meds. I also saw the cardiologist a couple of weeks ago and my heart failure has gone! That was my primary goal pre surgery ... to improve the heart failure .. so when she said it was gone I was gobsmacked. Today I cleaned out my wardrobe .. and have hardly any clothes left that fit me. Guess what I am getting for Xmas? The road from day of surgery to here has been hard and I had many regrets in the first few months ... but now I have none at all. I would do it all again in the same situation.

My plan allowed for anything that was the consistency of a thick shake on discharge from hospital - any food could be blended to make it that consistency. Then at week 3 I moved to puree food - again anything that could be pureed. Week 4 I was able to eat anything as long as it was soft cooked and week 5 I was allowed a full diet. That is not to say my stomach allowed it, just that my surgeon and dietician did. I am not at 3 1/2 months post surgery ... and most foods are still an experiment. What I could eat yesterday isn't necessarily what I can eat today. The only things that I can consistently eat with no difficulty are fresh raw or steamed vegetables ... and some fruits. I seem to live on salads these days.

Let me tell you this .. it may help ... it will be much harder to lose weight if you go on insulin. However, you must follow your doctor's advice there because too much high sugar - particularly over time ... can cause damage that can't be repaired. I am assuming that you decided to go through with WLS in order to improve your health. I can tell you that as hard as it may be right now, it is absolutely worth the work in order to get to surgery in the best shape you can be. I was on insulin for 30 years - and continued on insulin for 3 months after surgery. The insulin made it very hard for me to lose weight ... although after the surgery it was easier. My doc took me off insulin just last week ... and in 5 days I lost 3 kg. I am now on tablets but I am hoping that eventually I can lose them too. I can't tell you how freeing it is to not have to take insulin anymore. Having said all that I want to say again .. you must follow your doctor's advice on this matter because of the damage that can be done to heart/kidneys/nerves/eyes and many other parts of your body by taking risks with high sugars. So hang in there ... I know it is hard .. but you only have a few more weeks to get through ... and the rest of your life ahead of you to enjoy food again.

I have been able to eat some fruits (like melon) since early days. Fruits with a fibrous skin like apples I couldn't manage the skins until end of month 3. Strawberries have always been a bit of hit and miss for me. Sometimes they are fine, other times they just don't stay down. I find bananas are hit and miss too ... sometimes I dump on them other times I don't. Now we are moving to the soft summer fruits (in Australia) and I find I have no problems with mango and grapes. I am still waiting for nectarines to get to a reasonable price to try them. I am looking forward to cherries which usually come into the shops at the beginning of December (I will have to be extra careful not to accidentally swallow a cherry seed though). The most surprising thing for me is that I have more problems with eggs, meat and fish than I do with fruit and vegetables. Grains and breads are just not edible at all ... which is no real loss for me since I have always loved my fruit and veg. Dairy can be hit or miss - some days I am lactose intolerant and some days I can eat it just fine.

This confused me too because in Australia a no sugar added cordial is what you guys would probably call crystal lite. It is a no calorie flavour you add to Water. So I too was reading it wondering what all the talk about alcohol was for. To the OP I added a little sugar free lemon or lime juice to my water to keep my palate fresh and the nausea at bay. I still do add it sometimes ... depending on my mood. I haven't had any problems with losing weight even while still on insulin. I will say that my doctor took me off insulin last week .. and all of a sudden I dropped 3 kg in 5 days - which only goes to show insulin makes you retain Fluid and possibly fat as well.

@ Hi thank you for asking. You have done amazingly well ... congratulations on hitting "Normal" BMI. I bet that feels amazing! Not sure how long ago you posted .. I have been busy and not checking here much ... but I reached 22 kg lost this week. I still have another 17 kg to go to be in the normal BMI range, but I am very happy with the loss so far. Eating and drinking can still be a bit hit and miss at times - but I am adjusting and take the ups with the downs now. The best thing for me is that I came off insulin a week ago. I still need tablets for my diabetes, but considering I have been on insulin for 30 years it is so freeing to be able to say goodbye to it. I am hoping that by the time I reach a normal BMI I can say goodbye to the tablets as well.

I had my surgery on 16th July 2016 and went into a stall a couple of weeks ago. I found I was obsessing so much about it I had to do something radical. So I stopped stepping on the scale, I stopped obsessively counting everything I put in my mouth and scouring the internet for stall busting ideas. Instead I decided to focus on living instead of losing weight. I haven't stepped on the scales in 11 days so I have no idea what they say now. I do know I am happier and more relaxed, and that my clothes seem to have gotten much looser over these last 2 weeks - so I would say that is a win regardless of what the scales might or might not say. I have decided not to step on the scales until my next surgeon's appointment just to make sure I don't go back to obsessing. There are far better things to focus my time and attention on than what the scales say.

I have been rather sad the last few days as I realise how many things I can't eat now. I know that is the point of the surgery and it was the only way to get all the weight off in the long run but even so I feel rather sad that I can't enjoy a little something at Christmas or on my birthday. I seem to dump at even a sniff of fat or sugar which pretty much eliminates anything "fun" to have.

If you research it, vegetables have protein in them as well ... some of them in quite decent amounts. So please don't write off vegetables as unimportant.

My doc told me not to drink protein shakes once I am on full diet. Just eat a balanced healthy diet.

Good luck to you both. The best advice I can give you is to take each minute as it comes and know that this is the worst it is going to be .. it only gets better from now on.