mousecat88

I can just tell you my personal experience with fullness. I don't know specifically how long food stays in the pouch and I don't feel full in the same sense I did pre-op. When I am "full", I can feel the food almost pushing back up my throat a little bit, or I feel like a heaviness. That's how I know I ate just a little too much, so I stick with pre-portioned stuff 85% of the time. I know I am getting ready to be done because I burp a little. That's when I 100% know to stop. Liquids pass through super quickly. Like within a minute quickly. You shouldn't eat and drink at the same time because a) overtime it will stretch your pouch (biggest issue), b) the liquid will make it so you can't eat more, which you should and c) you risk flushing things through, which may cause upset stomach or worse. And no straws because with straws you are sucking air into your pouch, again... stretching and taking up space... probably will make you gassy, too.

Yeah, it's pretty embarrassing. I've always had a small amount of acne on my forehead from the oil from my bangs, but generally reasonably clear skin my whole life. But right after surgery... BOOM... 13 year old boy status.

This is current with a heavy powder concealer over it and 3 weeks on a topical treatment so far. Without the concealer it is redddddd(er). That whitehead on my chin randomly just appeared like 4 hours ago. It's along my jawline, too, but I didn't snap those pics. I think most people's skin clears after surgery because they are eating better. I think I am cursed. (I'm 30, by the way, for reference)

I feel like I am going to start leaving like 40% tips for ordering one small cheap thing and using up one of their tables that they could be making more money on. lol.

Girl, I have cover-up on, but I can tell you my acne is 5 times worse than this. It is horrific. Neon red, covers my entire forehead. All cystic. Also my chin and jawline have neon red, hard lumps. And right under my nose. It's badddd.

My dermatologist said if I have high androgen levels, he wants to give me spironolactone. BUT, it is a diuretic and I am still under my hydration goals, so that's a no-no until I am farther out from surgery and well-hydrated regularly. Right now I am on a topical benzoyl peroxide and erythromycin cream for another 6 weeks. They said Retin-A won't help me because mine isn't pore-related... it's all bacterial.

My surgeon on Tuesday casually mentioned that most RNY patients lose the most around 4 months. I didn't ask why because I had 1000 questions and it didn't really click at the time. Has anyone else heard this or had this experience? Yes... we are all different and such. But I am wondering why he said that... if he's noticed a trend or maybe it's due to your body finally not believing it's starving anymore?

That's really interesting because I am low on protein and my hair has turned reddish (which I actually really like LOL) and while usually very oily, it's become very dry and breaking. It's something I'm working on, and I suspected the hair issue was protein. No logical reason for my acne issues other than the hormonal changes though. It started basically Day 2 post-op and went downhill from there. Unf.

I am really hoping the ulcer will be cleared by my next appointment, January 7th. I'll give it another month from there before I test my luck on even mild stuff. I am getting a little tired of being on bland, unseasoned puree. My life is greek yogurt, broths, and cottage cheese. But... if I can conquer 10 weeks of puree, I can do anything. hahaha.

You will do great! Just stick to your vitamins post-op and follow your diet, which is very similar to sleeve with a bit less sugar and starch allowed, and you won't even know the difference between the two. ❤️

My surgeon said they absolutely won't remove gallbladders the same time as RNY because where they insert the instruments isn't ideal for gallbladder removal. It's something they used to do back in the day, but don't recommend it anymore. They have me on a medicine now to prevent anymore gallstones and hopefully dissolve some of the ones I have. (I am post-op 5 weeks).

I can't have whey so I've been using soy shakes and THEY ARE DELICIOUS AND ALL TASTE LIKE CAKE BATTER. lol. I use the Now Sports Soy Protein Isolate in chocolate (haven't tried vanilla yet) and also the 365 Everyday Vanilla Soy. Atkins shakes are really good, too, but eventually started making me nauseous.

Even before surgery, I rarely drank while eating... so it wasn't a big deal. Until I started coughing endlessly. lmao. My friend was like... do you... need a sip of my beer. And through tears I was like NO! Haha. Yes, water required at the table. I am really, really hoping that in a few months/year I can tolerate a lot of spices and hot sauces. One of my loves is hot sauce... like... carolina reaper death sauce kind of hot sauces. I also love curries and different Indian spices.

So, I went out last Saturday with a friend to a local bar. No, not to drink (although he did). I had been craving a chicken wing and just wanted one wing. Few things to preface this: First off, I *should* still be on puree due to my ulcer and secondly, DO NOT GET OLD BAY ON A WING IF YOU HAVE AN ULCER. Bad times were had. I confessed to my surgeon Tuesday and he said it was fine... but no spice! Derrrr. Anyways, me being a bad patient aside.... Eating out is so weird! I order 6 wings and a cheese plate. I had the one wing and two cheese cubes and I was stuffed. My friend ate 4 stuffed mushrooms, 12 wings, cheese cubes, and some other stuff. The bartender asked me about 6 times if I wanted a drink, even water, but I kept saying no because I didn't want to risk drinking while eating. Well, then old bay irritated my throat a bit and I wished I had a little sip to wash the spice down. I couldn't stop coughing because the back of my throat got itchy. So, lesson learned... get water... just in case you start choking. lmao. When I was "done" my solo wing, I asked for boxes. The bartender remarked that he was "wondering how I would eat all that food". In my head I was like "dude... before surgery I would have crushed all of this, had an entree, a dessert, and been about 4 vodka sodas deep soooooo." I imagine eating out is going to be quite a unique experience from now on. My friend got all my leftovers because it would have all gone bad before I could even have made a dent. Boxes please!

Thank you. I'm not vegetarian or vegan, I just get sick from whey proteins specifically. I can have milk/yogurt/etc totally fine... but when it's a whey shake... super nauseous. I use soy protein shakes. I've found a few things off the bariatricpal site that I've ordered, like the lentil curry and the sloppy joe mix. I did order the oatmeal, which I believe is whey, but sometime it's hit or miss so I'm going to give it a shot!

I definitely was starvinnnnggg the first 2 weeks or so. Like "omg why did I have this surgery if I am still starving" starving. lol. I didn't have back pain, but a lot of people I know did because of gas and muscle soreness overall.

Yes, totally normal. I was STARVING the first week, week and a half. I thought something was wrong and he made my pouch too big or didn't do anything and I was driving myself crazy. I actually cried about it, lol, and freaked out to everybody. It was because liquids just basically go right through you. Once you get on foods, it will fill you up. Even purees are a big leap from liquids. I am 5 weeks out and I think the hunger was basically totally gone at 2-3 weeks. Of course I still get a little hungry if I don't eat when I should... but nothing like it was in the beginning. I'm going to be on puree for a few months because of an ulcer, and the purees do the trick for me, personally. Maybe I've just gotten used to it.

This is 100% true - but impossible to follow. LOL. I weigh every.single.day. Sometimes I look at the scale and I'm like... naw... I'm not falling for your tricks today. But then I'm like... I MUST KNOW. And cave. On the plus side, I am down a pound this morning. HA. *adjusts ticker by one pound*

Ugh, that sucks. This surgery has made me break out like a teenager! No joke. Seriously seriously bad. The hormones need to calm themselves. My face is a wreck, lol.

Can we have a bariatricpal forum conference where we all bring our scales and light them on fire like Burning Man? How do I tag Alex?

PATIENCE IS MY LEAST FAVORITE VIRTUE, D*MMIT.

Absolutely do not do the letting carbonated water go flat thing - that is a slippery slope. And you shouldn't have unsweet tea. It has caffeine in it, still, which is dehydrating. And lemon is very acidic and irritating. Also, I am 5 weeks out and still can't have Powerade Zero because of the citric acid in it. Irritates my stomach. Try MIO flavor enhancers or sugar free koolaid packets if you need something other than water. Or broths. I had a severe issue with things feeling stuck/painful. They just did an endoscopy and I had an ulcer. You could also have a stricture. That wouldn't show up in a CT. You should have an endoscopy done. Vomiting is not normal.

Some TMI - 2 weeks after surgery I was really dehydrated and having trouble drinking because of a then-undiagnosed ulcer. But I was like WHATEVER I NEED WATER at one point and drank about 30 oz in 20 min. SURPRISE DIARRHEA. Fun times. But now, at 5 weeks, if I take a few gulps it feels a little uncomfortable. Sometimes I have to take a bigger gulp than I intended because a pill doesn't go down right or something. Or I exercise and I *need* more than a tiny sip. It's uncomfortable, but passes fast. Not something to be in the habit of, though.

Click on your username at the top right and go down to "My Surgery" to add stats. You can also add the ticket in the signature by clicking Tickers.

Check out the BariatricPal store. TONS of foods on there quick to make for the puree stage, including soups. They are all pre-portioned and the right carbs/fat/cals. I had Campbell's condensed cream of chicken 2 weeks out and GOT SO SICK. I had the cream of broccoli at 3 weeks, and got mildly sick. Most people say it's fine for them.