Arabesque

Sorry you’re experiencing these headaches. Out of curiosity did you have to do the 2 week shake pre surgery diet? If you didn’t or only did it for a couple of days, you could be experiencing headaches because of withdrawal from caffeine, sugar, etc. Also hormones are released from your fat as you lose weight so you may be experiencing hormonal headaches. Just suggestions of other possible causes. Check with your medical team re tea. I was allowed green or herbal tea only. I was a green tea drinker so I really enjoyed the cup I had every day after surgery. 🙂. Hope the headaches abate soon but if they persist call your medical team.

Congratulations @GreenTealael. You’ve been one of my inspirational forum members. I’ve very much admired your honesty & attitude when you share your experiences. Plus the non judgemental & positive advice you’ve given. I’ve certainly appreciated your support & feedback. Thank you. ❤️

Didn’t get them after my surgery but they could be growing because a lot of hormones & enzymes, etc. which were stored in your fat are released into your body as you lose weight. Will your GP remove them? My previous GP removed moles, sebaceous cysts, etc. in his surgery but my current GP doesn’t. She sent me to a parasitic surgeon to remove my papilloma, cysts & the skin tag on the side of my nose. (Should have hit him to do a little facial tightening at the same time 😆.) He literally just shaved that tag off. A little local anaesthetic, slice, a tiny dot of blood, no sutures, no bandage & it was bigger than a traditional skin tag. Dr Pimple Popper likely would have had half my head bandaged 😆😆😆.

• How did your tummy feel after the surgery? Were you able to *feel* your stomach, internally due to the surgery? - Nope couldn’t feel my tummy. The staged return to eating solid food is to support the internal healing. If you follow that carefully you shouldn’t feel any pain just maybe some discomfort (sort of too full feeling), tightness, gurgling or nausea. Pain on swallowing is likely from initial swelling & you will have pain from pulled abdominal muscles & sometimes at the incision sites. . • Did you have to have a drain? - No drain. Ask your surgeon if they will put one in or not. • How long did you have to be on clear fluids after the surgery? If so, what clear fluids did you have? - Two weeks any liquids. You have to start meeting your protein goals so protein shakes, bone broths, strained soups (no lumps or herby bits), Asian broths (pho, wonton soups, etc just the broth). Milk, green (or herbal) tea were also allowed. I wasn’t allowed juice. • Did you prefer cold, room temperature, or warm fluids? - Room temp or warm/hot were more soothing. I often used warm water for my shakes or microwaved them. • Sipping. - Not a mouthful but a single small swallow. Some surgeons say no to straws but they can be helpful to moderate the size of your sip. You sip as often as you’re able depending on swelling & your healing. Some sip every couple of minutes. Some every 5 or so. Some set alarms to remind them to sip. Just keep the water next to you at all times. And all the fluids you consume count towards your fluid goals. I struggled to swallow initially because of swelling. It was ok after about two days. • Something I read said you won't be able to drink anything for the first 24 hours and that fluids will be through the IV, is that true? - I had water by my bed straight away (& a dishwater broth for dinner that night) plus an IV. • How did you sleep in the first week? If you are a side sleeper, when were you able to finally sleep on your side? - I can’t sleep on my back at all only nap on the coach on my back. I slept on my side from the day of surgery. I also tend to sleep on my side but twisted to almost on my tummy. Could do this pretty much straight away too. A pillow to support you sleep on your side may be helpful. Whether you can or can’t sleep on your side would depend on how much pain you feel from the pulled abdominal muscles & how much internal swelling you have. All the best with your surgery & recovery.

We all heal & recover differently & they did a lot of pulling, pushing, cutting & suturing inside you so it’s ok to still be experiencing pain or discomfort. Most is likely muscular now but as @Jaelzion suggested, call your surgeon & ask for some stronger meds to tide you over. Hope you feel better soon.

Sounds more bowel related & a colonoscopy may be warranted. Bariatric surgeons tend to specialise in the gastrointestinal area. From what you describe a colorectal surgeon may be more appropriate. Have you spoken with your GP?

I’m with the give them a miss until you’re at or close to your goal team. Sticking to your plan will help you take the most advantage of your surgery. When you get closer to goal you may start to look for healthy substitutes for your traditional choices. Try air fried or oven baked not deep fried. Try vegetable based pastas (you can eat zucchini noodles & cauliflower rice from solid foods). There are keto friendly low carb high protein breads you could try later on. If your desire to eat these ‘non bariatric friendly foods’ is driven by emotions, finding a good therapist may be helpful. Recognising the causes of your emotional eating, finding ways to manage them better & identifying other means of coping with your emotional needs than eating, etc. will only help you be more successful with your weight loss & maintenance. A benefit of avoiding those foods while you’re losing is by goal you may actually reduce or lose some of your desire for pizza, pasta, & the other foods you currently want & depend on. Which will make it much easier if you chose to have the odd slice of bread or pizza, etc. now & again in the future. Personally, I don’t eat pasta (only fresh zucchini noodles), rice or bread & avoid sweet things & fried foods. They were all things I ate regularly & enjoyed but I don’t really miss them at all now. I was able to break my need for them & I was eating them for a lot longer than you’ve been alive 😉. It can be done. Exercise will only contribute to you losing a maximum of 20% of the weight you have to lose. Of course it has lots of other benefits so I’m certainly not saying exercise is a waste of time but don’t rely on it to loose your weight. But it’s really up to you & you discovering what works best for you. Good luck.

Are you still meeting your protein goals? Protein provides the amino acids which are essential to hair growth. Maybe up your protein intake further as well to see if it helps. If you’re still losing, your body will be relying on the protein you’re consuming for more needs than growing hair. When did you have your last blood test? You may be lacking in some essential nutrient which is contributing to your hair loss &/or slow regrowth. Have you spoken with your surgeon or GP? Do you actually still see a lot of hair loss or is it just that your hair feels thin? It does take time for your new growth to catch up & replenish the hair you’ve lost. I cut my long hair to shoulder length so the new hair would take as long to grow to reach the length of my existing hair. It probably took well into my second year until my hair felt thicker again & much like it had been.

Agree with @vikingbeast. You need to take a big step back. You’re stressed & emotional which only enhances those cravings. You crave the foods which offered you comfort in the past & you crave the familiar of being able to eat what you want, when you want it. And the more you worry the more anxious you become. You may find a therapist who specialises in supporting bariatric patients very helpful. Ask your surgeon for a recommendation. Constipation is part of the journey. I tried to keep on top of mine by taking Benefibre at least every second day, keeping my fluid intake up & taking a stool softener if I got to day 3 or 4 without movement. I also ate very mild instant rolled oats from purée stage. Took me days to eat a full serve but it was good fibre. You may need an enema since it’s been 15 days or a visit to the hospital for assistance. Being constipated does make it seem you’ve stopped losing or have gained. Get rid of it & your weight will be lower very quickly & you’ll feel much better. Stalls are very common. They can last 1 - 3 weeks, sometimes more. And you can experience a number of them as you’re losing. The first usually occurs around week 3 give or take. You just have to ride them out. They’re just your body taking a time out to come to terms with your weight loss. Changes to your sense of smell & taste are also common. They usually are temporary but how long it lasts is individual. Are there specific foods that upset you more you can avoid? The strong body odour is from your body being in ketosis - fat burning. It’s like every bodily secretion reeks. It passes too. I took deodorant, toothbrush, tooth paste & mouth wash & body wipes to work for refreshes during the day. I was someone who frequently skipped meals in an effort to lose weight (did that for 40+years) & tried all those very low calorie diets including one I did several times that was only 500 calories a day. I still lost all my weight & more. Stick as close to your plan as you can. It may take you a little longer to reach a stage recommendation for calories, portion size &/or foods you can eat but that’s ok. You’ll get there.

Multi vitamins can cause nausea & other digestive issues. You may need to change brands or find ones with less of the vitamins that cause problems (iron, calcium, vitamin C). Make sure you take them after you eat. I found splitting my dose helpful too - one in the morning, one at night. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/get-nauseous-after-taking-vitamins-6-tips-to-make-them-easier-to-stomach/ As to the side pain, I’d question my surgeon & medical team more. You shouldn’t be feeling pain this far out.

Protein is important for the rest of your life. Everyone should be eating protein regardless if they are bariatric patients or not. Your body needs it for healing, muscle & bone health, digestion, … https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/functions-of-protein#TOC_TITLE_HDR_9 The daily recommended amount is 0.8g per kilogram for a non bariatric patient. (I’m required to reach 1.2g of protein per kg of weight in maintenance.) My surgeon was ok if I didn’t meet my protein goals each day to begin as long as I was making an effort to be close. It gets easier when you can eat more. If you can’t tolerate the shakes try bone broth, well strained cream soups or consumes, wonton soup broth (no wontons or vegetables of course). I struggled with shakes too so would dilute them & just rode out one a day for the two weeks.

Oh yes. Most definitely don’t compare yourself to others. There are too many factors which influence our rate of loss: age, gender, staring weight, genetics, etc.. If you’re losing a couple of pounds a week on average you’re doing fine. As long as your weight loss trend is going down you’re golden & celebrate every pound & inch you lose. Don’t forget you likely will experience stalls along the way when you do t lose anything for a week or more. Watch keto. It’s very high fat & you may find your cholesterol levels are higher as your losing weight as it’s released from your fat. Better to look to low fat, low carb, low sugar high protein while you are losing. What plan did your surgeon & dietician give you? I’d avoid the popcorn too until you’re in maintenance. It’s very easy to overeat slider food. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

Sounds like it was too much, too soon & too coarse/heavy. I agree with the others: go slowly. Even if you’re allowed solid foods doesn’t mean you jump in with both feet. I’m surprised you were allowed bread - it’s very filling - but all plans have differences. Check your portion sizes too. Were you given portion size recommendations &/or calorie goals for each stage? Personally I couldn’t eat a whole egg until I was close to goal let alone sausage & bread as well. But that was me.

I like your surgeon’s position. I wasn’t given calorie goals only portion size recommendations so I didn’t have to count calories while I was losing but I’d do random checks for my own interest. Still do. Helps me keep on track. I check calories & nutrient content of all food stuffs I buy. I do a lot of my own cooking so it’s not always possible to work out exact calories which is when I rely on portion size. I don’t like using the word diet. This is just what I eat now & what I don’t eat. The nutrient value is the most important consideration. The only things I count carefully everyday are protein & water.

PS - vomited for the first time in almost 2 years tonight. (Broke my no vomit streak.) A pork cutlet, which I’ve eaten many times before, was too dry & up the last two bites came. And yes it just bubbled up like I described plus foamies (never miss out on those). No straining & heaving. Guess it’s really regurgitation not vomiting.

Soups. I tried bone broth but found the flavour unpalatable (too salty & too strong for me) but the old cup of soups of fine. Some creamy, some not. Strained them first to avoid random chunks or herby bits.

I agree with @lizonaplane. The experience has likely been more painful because you are still healing. Go slowly with the foods you add to your diet. You may find your a few weeks into real solid food until you are fully healed & your tummy is less sensitive. I’ve found after surgery that the odd times I vomited it was different. More bubbling up not heaving, & straining muscle spasms. The cause was eating a little too much, or too fast while I was still learning & once simply because my tummy said ‘no’.

I was neither someone who craved specifically sweet or specifically savoury - more an equal opportunist & liked a bit of both. But sugar now? No thank you. Sweet things taste super sweet. Accidentally bought a box of honey instant oats sachets. Disgusting. Gave them to my mum who couldn’t believe I thought they were crazy sweet. There were some things my tummy didn’t like to begin like my favourite vegetables (asparagus, broccolini, sugar snap peas) but after a month or so they were back on the menu. I still struggle a bit with mango. My restriction kicks in early & I gurgle lots. Do I still eat mango? Yes occasionally. But I go slow & eat small amounts at a time. Can’t be a Queenslander & not eat mangoes. 😉 Savoury is still fine. Cheese, hummus & multi grain crackers when socialising, roasted fava beans (the chick pea ones taste like feet) as an odd treat. If I want a savoury hit I sometimes roll cucumber in sea salt. Salty goodness. But it’s not often. Lately I’ve been eating salmon sashimi with soya sauce for a salty savoury hit (with bonus protein) for lunch.

I enjoyed going to restaurants (fine dining not chain) before surgery & I still enjoy going to them after you surgery. The difference is instead of ordering two or three courses I only order one. The only regret I have is there are a number of restaurants I’ve wanted to go to & now I can’t because they only do degustation menus. There’s no way I would be able to eat 6, 8, 9, … courses even if they’re small - the volume of food still adds up. An unfortunate side effect of COVID has been many restaurants in Australia offer three course set menus now. Can understand why - better economies & less waste - but is a waste of money to be forced to order three courses for me now. Hopefully, they will go back to full a la carte soon. As for alcohol, yes I enjoyed drinking too: champagne, gin, scotch, wine were my preference. But was never an excessive drinker. Every night I had big glass of wine sometime followed by a scotch or a gin followed by a glass of wine. Now, I only have a drink about once a month (last month I drank three times but that was very unusual circumstances). And I can nurse a glass for ages. Do I miss drinking more? Not really. Do I feel I’m missing out socially? Nope. I just enjoy being with friends & family. Honestly, I don’t enjoy alcohol quite as much. It has made me more particular about what I drink - quality over quantity. Champagne over cheap sparkling.

Little & often. I still can’t guzzle 2.5years out but that’s me. Two swallows & then I have to wait. I have a bottle of water beside my bed & I take a drink every time I wake. I have a bottle in my car - drink when I get in, drink when I get out, drink at every red light, drink every time I overtake a vehicle on the highway, etc. Every little bit helps. Personally I find it easier to drink from a glass than a bottle so I usually have a large glass beside me all day. I also mix it up with fluids: still water, sparkling water gone totally flat, green tea. I used to also sip drinking yoghurt (but they don’t make the high protein, low fat, low sugar one I used to drink anymore - grrr!). I also make my rolled oats on milk every day - extra milky - so I get 15g protein & more than 300mls (about 10oz) fluid - a double win. It all counts.

The nausea is likely from the anaesthetic & from the actual surgery - your tummy is super sensitive after what was done to it. Gas pain hurts. Nausea makes your tummy roll & you may want to throw up. Gas pain is like excess wind (burping & farting) & a distended abdominal. And then the pain rises to the shoulder & you know it then. Yes to Gas X & to walking. It takes several days for the gas to escape your body. You will feel much improved in a few days. The first days are always the hardest especially as you don’t know what to expect & what is a usual side effect & what isn’t. Good luck.

I started soft foods at week 5. I ate scrambled eggs & omelettes, slow cooked soups & casseroles, flaky fish, mince dishes, yoghurt, rolled oats, …. I was able to eat most meats as long as they were moist & pull apart tender. Take it slowly & try different things to see if you’re ready for them. If you struggle with them one week try them again in a week or two.

The rate of your loss isn’t important but looking after your health is. Lacking in energy & being unable to undertake physical activity before your main meal of the day likely is because of your diet & not taking your vitamins. I wasn’t eating that many more calories by goal at 6 months & I’m about your height. I struggled with lack of energy for a few months too but it was complicated by low blood pressure & random hypoglycaemic episodes (pre-existing). What helped was eating nutrient dense food - low carbs, low fat: protein, vegetables, fruit & dairy. It wasn’t so much the number of calories but the quality of the calories I consumed. The importance of taking vitamins post bypass should have been stressed to you before your surgery. Have you had any blood tests to check you are not lacking in essential vitamins & nutrients & your body is absorbing what you need effectively? Malabsorption issues is a concern with bypass. Best advice is to stick to your plan. Meet your protein goals. Add water to your total fluid intake & meet that goal too. Do you still see your dietician? Have you reflected on your dietary choices & made any changes to what you ate before surgery to what you eat now? And why you ate & made those food choices? And I’m not talking just portion size because you can physically eat more as time progresses & you can eventually stretch your tummy out again if you ignore portion considerations. Many find a therapist helpful when coming to terms with what drives them to eat. Ultimately, the extent of your success is up to you & your choices. Nothing will change in the long term if you don’t make the changes.

Years ago I used to get a sharp cutting pain across my tummy which was thought to be ulcers but the cause turned out to be an overproduction of stomach acid. They initially put me on Xanax but major side effects so I started taking Nexium as I needed it. I also found eating something carb rich (bread usually) helped absorb the excess acid - that ain’t happening now 😉. You may need to continue to take something like Salpraz or Nexium for a while especially until you are able to eat more & your stomach acid is used to break the food down. I have to take Nexium everyday now because I still overproduce acid & surgical team suggested I only eat soft or liquid protein after dinner to reduce acid production late at night which had become an issue post surgery. Out of curiosity, did they do a breath test to ensure you didn’t have an helicobacter pylori infection just to rule it out?

Your body is relearning how to hold itself with your lower weight. Back, hip & knee pain and balance issues are not uncommon since your muscles, tendons, skeleton used to compensate for your excess weight & now it doesn’t. Your centre of balance is changing & your posture is improving. I had upper shoulder pain & then I realised my bras were too big for my shrinking breasts & were not supporting me correctly. Got fitted for new bras & my back pain vanished. Otherwise try acupuncture, therapeutic massages or a physio to help ease the postural transition. I tend to agree with the others @jadj65 & the cause of your discomfort could be from eating too fast &/or eating too much. The restriction usually is felt across the chest but your signal for eating enough maybe discomfort across your back. It takes time for the message to get through that we’re full & we get full much more quickly, so it is easy to eat more than we need (past eating enough) especially if you’re eating too quickly. Don’t be afraid to put your cutlery down & sit back from your plate.