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I remember on the morning of my surgery saying to my partner "Do you think I can just lose the weight and keep it off on my own and not do the surgery?" That was obviously nerves talking, but his answer made perfect sense. He said, "If you could, you would have by now". Bariatric surgery is NOT a failure. It's still hard work after surgery to lose and maintain for the rest of your life. It's about using a tool to make the best choices for your health. You'll still have to eat properly and exercise, but WLS is the tool that will help you to learn how to change not only your weight, but your mindset. Since my bypass 11 months ago I have become intolerant of a good few foods - not a bad thing when they include sugary foods, fatty foods and absolutely intolerant of anything chocolate. It's not easy but it's your health you need to consider.

This. Just think of how far you've come in your journey. Feel confident that you are sexy (which is sooooo much more than physical) and desirable (it wouldn't turn sexual if you weren't) and enjoy your new body. I bet you're able to be much more active than when you were heavier. I know my partner is loving that I'm now so much more agile ?

Just to add to the above: Metamucil or Benefibre are great

Just because you slipped up once doesn't mean that you'll go back to your old habits. You need to trust yourself that you can overcome your addictions and live a healthy life. Besides, your new stomach not rejecting something today doesn't mean it won't tomorrow. I had a couple of spoons of ice cream with chocolate and was fine the first time. Next time I had such horrible dumping I swore I would never again eat anything chocolate.

Have you been to see your surgeon to ask if it's possible?

Try bariatric forums on Facebook. My surgeon has a support group page which is good because the majority of his patients are local to me. Oh, and I'm in Perth, Western Australia

I had the band in 2009 and lost 38 kg. After I lost my weight I wanted to have skin removal and the surgeon insisted that the fluid had to be removed from my band. Since then I could never find the right balance again and either I was too tight and couldn't swallow water or too loose and could eat everything! Ice cream and chocolate and chips became the few things that went down without too much trouble. Chicken, fish, most vegetables would get stuck and I would be sick. Soon I had gained back all of the weight I lost and could no longer lose no matter what I did. I had my band our in July 2018 and then 8 weeks later in September had RNY. I have now lost 39 kg and have never felt so good. I don't even think I felt or looked so good when I lost weight the first time. My surgeon explained that they do it in a 2 step process to ensure that your stomach heals after having the band removal. There could be scar tissue and swelling that needs to be dealt with before they can do the RNY. I had absolutely no pain after either procedure and now 8 months on I can eat pretty much anything except sugary (I get huge blood sugar spikes if I try to eat sugary things) or broccoli (which is a PITA because I love broccoli). RNY was the best thing ever for me.

I didn't realise when I lost weight that ________ I would feel confident about how I look That I could easily walk/run a 4km charity walk That I would be so cold all the time!!! It's coming into winter here in Australia and I am absolutely frozen That people would be so interested in my weight. People at my work who I barely know comment all the time (it's annoying) How little interest I would have in eating the cakes I bake (I have a small side business baking cakes to sell) How good it feels to wear a size M rather than 2X or 3X. How sexy my fiance now finds me. He's always loved me no matter what size I was, but now he can barely keep his hands off me (not that I'm complaining ?)

I'm used to kg and not lbs now after nearly 13 years in Australia, but here goes: HW: 113 kg (249 lbs) - size 24, mild heart failure (arrhythmia and fluid overloaded), arthritis, sleep apnoea Surgery weight: 110 kg (242 lbs) - see above Current weight: 78.5 kg (173 lbs) - size 14, off all meds except vitamins, sleep deeply with no snoring at all Gain: Confidence and my health - Winning!

I've been stuck at a plateau for the past 2.5 weeks too. It's frustrating as anything, but I look in the mirror some mornings and realise that I'm now pretty close to my goal and am actually down 70 lbs. Like you I started at a size 24 and am now in a 14/16 depending on where I get my clothes. After 6 months and 2 days I can still say no regrets at all. The reason I chose the bypass rather than sleeve is that my surgeon explained that the bypass is reversible if needed where the sleeve is not. With bypass they don't actually remove anything but sleeve cuts off part of your stomach and throws it away. Not that I plan to ever have a reversal, but the option is there if I do change my mind years from now.

It seems every surgeon is different Mikey. With my surgeon in Perth I was on liquids for about 2 weeks total then purees (barf) before real food. Has your dietician given you any pre-op instructions yet? Or given you any idea of the post op meal plans?

I'm 6 months post bypass. I've barfed, so it is possible.

I live in Australia but traveled to Canada for a week only 5 weeks post op. On the plane I asked for whatever meal was protein (eggs for the breakfast, chicken for the dinner) and only ate what I could. Once there I had no problem at all finding foods I could eat. I'm now nearly 6 months post op and just returned from Canada - again! (I'm Canadian and had to go home as my mom was unwell) On my flights I only ate the protein portions of meals, i.e. yogurt, meat, egg. I drank water pretty much constantly unless I was sleeping. My partner and I are going to the UK for 5 weeks in August/September with a stop in Dubai for 3 days. I'm not worried about what we'll eat at all.

I'm 56 and had bypass 4.5 months ago at age 55. I've lost 61 lbs as of today and feel great. I'm now off all my medications (blood pressure, cholesterol and arrhythmia meds) and a able to do so much more than I ever could. I had a band for 9 years and did well with it for about the first 6 years or so, but had a very bad run and turned to food and gained back all I lost and more. My sister had her bypass at age 68 (5 years ago) and she's feeling fantastic.

I would agree with the others above. Buy your own food, cook for yourself and just let your family know (in the kindest possible way) that you need to do this for yourself and that if they cannot be supportive of you then they can at least keep their comments to themselves.

I love spicy foods. I make great spicy curries often so I don't have to think about what I'm taking for work for lunches. I can handle the heat of a curry or taco, but I tried some jalapeno cheese last night and it was too hot. I'm not quite 5 months in, so maybe it's a matter of time before you get used to spices again.

https://www.amazon.com/Haribo-SUGAR-Classic-Gummi-Bears/product-reviews/B006J1FBLM

4 1/2 months post bypass and I've noticed lately that I have spaniel's ears on my chest. Mind you, I'm 56 years old and have had 3 babies. Oh, and I have always been a DD-E cup. I still am in that cup size, but without a bra it's pancake Tuesday every day!

I'm a stress eater, too. I'm also a cake decorator, so I have temptation around the house. A lot of temptation in the form of yummy yummy cakes and various icings/decorations. I've found myself eating my decorating mistakes and thinking "what the hell am I doing?"! You have a lot on your mind right now and you have to handle your stress whatever way works for you. You know what you're doing right and what is probably not quite as right and what you need to do to get back on track. Fingers crossed your daughter gets treatment soon and that your son can find his way back to school full time. (My son suffered with mental health issues for most of his life so I have some understanding of the stress that goes with that)

I'm about 4 1/2 months post op and my surgeon's office has said to use either Elevit (pregnancy vitamins) or if I can't swallow them (they're the size of flipping suppositories!!) to take regular multis. I have the Cenovis multivitamins, Blackmore's B12 melts, iron melts and Ostelin calcium citrate chews. Like Elcee says, the BN multis are absolutely feral ? I used them for the first month as directed by the surgeon, but at 5 weeks post op my partner and I had a quick trip to Canada where I bought a bunch of chewable pregnancy vitamins. Sadly they really don't contain much in the way of the nutrients that I need so I gave them to a workmate who's expecting a baby.

I just thank goodness I have really thick hair. There's a huge handful of hair on the bathroom floor every single day! I try to only wash it twice a week, I use good quality shampoo and conditioner and never, ever blow dry or use flat irons. I do hope it stops soon, though.

Diclofenac is definitely not one to take after gastric bypass. The trade name for it is Voltaren, and it's an NSAID.

Have you seen a rheumatologist for their opinion? They might have some suggestions that your GP and surgeon hasn't thought of. Clinical trials perhaps?

I found my problem was the protein bars I was eating. Since I stopped eating them my stink has pretty much disappeared along with the constant loose stools. If you're using protein supplements check what's in them - the ones I was using were full of sorbitol and manitol and a variety of artificial ingredients that my small intestine didn't like much.

My favourite lunch is red pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, low fat feta cheese, and 2 oz roast chicken breast with a very small splash of balsamic vinegar. It's tasty, filling and adds some crunch to my day.