kcici924

I can second the no peppermint, one of the first things my gastroenterologist told me when he diagnosed gastritis and Hector,my mini- ulcer in December 2017.

I am not a doctor. I have taken the equivalent of a single college class on herbalism (which is more than most people on here, but not enough that you should do anything I say without first doing some research on reliable sources (so, trusted herbalists--I can get you a list--and medical journals, not the Happy Hippie Housewife Homesteader Blog, OK?) and also not without a discussion with your doctor), but when an herbalist wants to help someone with reflux, they start by improving the strength of the esophageal sphincter. Meadowsweet and Solomon's seal are good herbs for that.
Um... there really isn't exactly such a thing as bariatric herbalism, though, and a lot of what you find online is going to be way off base. Herbalists who are told you have reflux issues may assume that you have too little stomach acid (for good reason; that's often what's happening with other populations and why food hangs out in the stomach long enough to come back up the esophagus), and they will tell you the wrong things. I am not convinced, for instance, that bitters (which stimulate digestive secretions) would help us, but every herbalist will tell you to try them.
I am convinced that fiber's going to be good and helpful, in general, but maybe not especially so for stomach acid.
You could try chamomile, which is a very gentle digestive herb for anyone who isn't allergic to it. Ginger and its cousin turmeric are both used for chronic digestive issues, but they are less gentle and could end up exacerbating your problem; I'd start slow and use them with caution.
The main thing, if you want to go off PPIs, is that you'll have to avoid any foods you know are problematic for you (real heavy foods, fried foods, spices that don't agree with you, stuff like that). And you cannot have any peppermint. None. It's great for nausea, sure, but it causes reflux for a lot of people.
I hope this all helps with your decision, even if the only thing I've conveyed is "this is going to be a lot harder than just finding a couple of herbs."

Any info on this subject would be helpful. I have lupus erythematosus and the spec sheets for the PPI med specifically stated that it can make this type of lupus worse. My fear is that my lupus erythematosus will turn into systemic lupus if I take any PPI's.
Thanks!

Hi guys,
I'm having my sleeve 6th November. I live in Australia. Nurse and single mum to 2 kiddies. I am most looking forward to being able to buy average sized clothes in normal shops and not being grossed out by the reflection in the changeroom mirror!
I'm going on a cruise next week and will start the pre-op diet the day we get home. Looking forward to going on this journey with you all

I can totally relate to this! I did exactly this!!!!!!!!!!!! I had no weight requirements and my PCP was so understanding of my weight gain. Two months before my surgery (Sept) I ate absolutely the worst I've ever ate. Like bread w/ every meal. Pasta. Potatoes. Ohmygosh. I can even begin to describe but I felt like you and I thought i needed to. But then I went for my last appointment the weigh in or whatnot its called and realized OMG I'm the heaviest I've ever been and I gained SO much weight! And something like clicked and I left the office and said no more!!!!!! And I did the shake thing and a one small meal thing up to the 2 weeks before the surgery (which is next week btw) and the weight is like coming off so fast already just by eating right! Its crazy.
Anywho. Point is. You can do this. We will eat delicious foods again, but this is a tool for us not to eat ALL the delicious foods lol . We got this!!! You got this!!!

It is certainly not an abnormal behavior. The reality is that you will eat these items again though. I have eaten Doritos gasp! I have eaten a small bit of a brownie or a cupcake, oh no!
The difference is after surgery you are most likely going to experience less tolerance and less cravings for these items. Once you start to lose weight, you will desire them even less because your progress and non scale victories will motivate you to stay on track 90 percent of the time.
We are human though, and food tastes good. We are meant to enjoy certain things in life, and in moderation I think food can be one of those things.
I would try and stay away from that food funeral thinking. You’re going to set yourself up for having a hard time staying on track for your pre op diet. You don’t want to really gain twenty pounds before surgery anyways and I would not test the surgeon on his no gain policy with a large gain.
Set yourself up for success preop, and you can definitely lose some pounds and have a smooth transition for after your surgery.

Directly following surgery there are a lot of feelings and emotions effected by weight loss surgery, some of these are influenced by hormones stored in fat cells.
If you were an emotional eater you may be feeling a lot of grief, frustration, and anger...even a sense of loss....a main coping mechanism has been taken away...and it can be jarring to the system.
It gets better. I had a rough few weeks. If I felt like crying, I cried. It’s a strange few weeks. You will get through it.

OK.. Here comes the tough love I haven't had surgery yet, so if you are thinking you haven't done this yet so you don't know.. I will respond you are right, but i am a few days out and will be in the same seat as you by the end of the week. Think about all the reasons why you did this? The good that will come out of it in the end. Think of all the things you want to do that you don't or won't because of your size. I will give you two of my things that i will focus on after surgery for when i am feeling just like you are. 1. It sucks to have season passes to Universal and NOT fit in the seats. You know I bought season passes to Disney because they accommodate bigger people? My Goal is to renew my Universal Pass this month JUST SO i can ride EVERY RIDE in the park at the end of next year. 2. I take ballroom dancing as a hobby, more so because my son is a professional dance instructor and I got tired of him asking me to try it for 7 years. But i did, now i love it, but i REFUSE to wear one of those amazing bejeweled dresses for competitions because of my size. I went to a competition in September in Miami that my fellow students were competing in and my son was competing in, wishing i could participate. Next year! I will Participate.
My point being.. focus on the reasons that led you to decide to get this done. I too have no health issues, heck i didn't even have a PCP until i decided to do this and that is only because my EKG came back that i needed medical clearance, so i had to go find a doctor. From what i have been reading here within 2 weeks or so we will be back to normal. Think of this as a vacation from normalcy LOLOL.. Anyways, I am here to listen, and can try to help for as long as needed.

My surgeon's office JUST called while I was randomly bawling my eyes out. I think I briefly scared the nurse. lol. I seriously feel like I am experiencing the worst PMS of my life. That's the only way I can explain my emotions right now. She said every day it will get better, and even after week 1 there will be a marked improvement. I'm just in a crazy place right now, emotionally. And there seems to be no reasoning with it. My brain is being an a-hole. I know I did the right thing. I KNOW it. But some part of me is trying it's hardest to make me feel just awful.

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You will definitely get through all of that. And i think with the right foundation you will get over the whole missing food thing too, you’ll eventually in time get to a point where you realize it’s not that serious.

Did you have to talk to a therapist during your pre-op stuff? Circle back with them and see if they can help. It’s all just mental, good luck.

Can't really speak to the surgery's "worth" without knowing your stats. But overall, WLS is "worth it" when the risk of not having the surgery is higher than having the surgery.

Everyone is going to have some second thoughts, reservations, fears, anxieties, etc over a major surgery, that's 100% normal. Just keep reminding yourself of all the reasons you want the surgery.