Arabesque

Not for surgery but have done them to check for a bug in my bowel & for bowel cancer testing. It wigged me out a bit too but because of ‘you don’t play with your poop’ thinking. Once past the ick factor it’s not hard. You’re not actually touching it yourself cause you’re given a little scooper but you could wear disposable gloves. I found the blocked toilet afterwards more annoying (from having to line your toilet bowel with extra toilet paper or the provided shield so your poop doesn’t end up in the bowl water - they don’t flush away easily with low flush toilets).

Congratulations & thank you for sharing for your story. Fantastic achievement! 🏆

Could be a hypoglycaemic episode. I get lightheaded, cold sweats, weak tummy too. I have them randomly but usually with exercise though I can have them doing nothing remotely strenuous. (Had one on Sunday just standing & chatting 🤷🏻‍♀️.) I had them before so nothing new for me. Yes, an electrolyte drink can help. If doing something quite active I’ll pop a hydralite tablet in my water bottle. If I’m running to the shop before breakfast for milk or something I’ll eat a couple of blueberries. Certainly worth a conversation with your doctor. Try little bursts of activity a few times across the day - called exercise snacking. They all add up. Say you do 3 sessions of 10 minutes that’s 30 mins total. It’s what I do. I also use resistance bands to build & tone muscle. It works - my arms look great & my thighs & calves are larger. (I know cause my pant legs have got tighter which I’m not really happy about 😆.) Also try adding to your usual day to day activity. Going to the shops park further away. Walk/jog up travelators, escalators & stairs. Carry your groceries in do multiple trips instead of carrying all the bags in one or two trips.

Perfectly normal. As @Shanna NYC said they usually occur at week three but can occur before or after that. They usually last 1-3 weeks. And it may not be the only stall you experience. They are the time your body takes to assess where you are now & what it needs in regards to digestive hormones, metabolism, etc. When your body is ready to move forward again the stall will break. Can’t force them to break though some people say they did but they don’t know how long their stall would have lasted. Just stick to your plan. I agree stay off the scales for a week if nit seeing it move is messing with you. Try taking body measurements as some times the scale doesn’t move but your measurements do as your body realigns itself & yes including your fat deposits.

Unfortunately there are a small percentage who do feel hungry. First though you need to ensure what you’re feeling is real hunger. Many of us were so driven by head hunger we forgot what real hunger truely feels like. Head hunger can be quite strong after surgery especially if your eating was driven a lot by emotions & you ate for comfort. At the moment you are experiencing quite an emotional roller coaster (hormonal fluctuations, the actually surgery, stress, etc,) & you can’t turn to food like you may have previously. And of course you always want what you can’t have more. For many of us if we want a specific food, taste or texture we know it’s head hunger. Plus many nerves were cut during surgery so a lot of signals don't work at all or work differently at the moment. There are strategies you can use. Distraction is very useful as head hunger often will pass or reduce in intensity in time. Go for a walk as you’re able, craft, play a game, read, ring a friend or your family, etc. Often a warm drink can be helpful like herbal or green tea. All the best. PS - check your plan as yoghurt & cream of wheat usually aren’t allowed until at least the puree stage but there are differences in plans so…

Have a chat with your surgeon as they are they are who advises what you should take. Some will indicate what formulation (strength) you take & in what format for example you’re not allowed to swallow meds for a period of time so need patches or chews. Check also the information you were given before surgery as it’s often listed there. (There’s so much info it’s easy to miss.) Generally, they recommend a multi vitamin, calcium, iron, vitamin D but not all advise these. Some dieticians will make recommendations too. Me I was a multi & a vitamin D but only for a couple of months.

You are in a foreign place. What you are doing to completely alien to what you’ve done before. The surgery, eating plans, your recovery, and so on. Part of this journey is learning things about yourself & your relationship with food & eating. And add the hormonal flushes, it’s no wonder you feel lost & not yourself (or the self you knew). It may not seem like it will but it does get easier & better as you feel more comfortable & confident about what you’re doing in regards your eating & activity, you’re fully healed & your hormones are more settled.

This is exactly how I used to think about dieting. I was punishing myself for gaining weight. I was missing out on my favourite foods or on what others may be eating when socialising. ‘Diet’ had so many negative connotations to me. So I don’t use the word any more. This is simply the way I eat. It took a while to change my thinking but it did/does help a lot. There are foods I simply don’t eat or eat very rarely now that I loved to eat before. Do I miss them? Not really. Do I feel I‘m missing out? Nope. You may find it easier to make small changes to your eating & food choices instead of jumping into a full ‘diet’. Small wins are still wins. Change one or two things each week like reduce your portion sizes & increase your fluid intake (64ozs). Increase your protein intake. Stretch out the times between your snacking, or reduce how many snacks you have each day. And so on until you have adopted the recommendations from your surgeon/dietician. And be honest about your struggles with them & tell them what you are doing to incorporate their weight loss plan. They may have other suggestions on what you can do too. All the best.

Both methods have a failure option. You go off meds & return to your old eating habits, the weight comes back. With the surgery, you go back to how you used to eat, you regain the weight. Both require you to do the work to change your relationship with food, make better food choices, become more active, learn to recognize real hunger from head hunger & learn about what drives you to eat & develop strategies to manage those drives like your food obsession voices. Neither routes are true easy permanent solutions without doing this work. The class you attended seems like it got you started on this & on the right path. The win of the surgery for me was time. The period of time when I wasn’t hungry or interested in eating, the change to my taste buds, etc. allowed me to start doing that work. I learnt what my body needed, how to keep my boosted metabolism going & to keep my new weight set point stable. Certainly worth conversations with your doctor & a bariatric surgeon to see what they think is the best way forward for you. Also ask for a referral to a therapist who specialises in disordered eating to support you through doing the head work. Many who’ve had surgery find therapy very helpful & contributed to their success & it would likely be helpful even if you choose not to have surgery. All the best what ever you choose to do. PS - I second the Dr Matt Weiner’s Pound of Cure you tube videos. He’s also on instagram & has some great books. Dr John Pilcher also has some great you tube videos on weight loss & surgery. Another consideration is I understand the newest weight loss med is supposed to less expensive & is expected to help push down the cost of the existing ones.

It usually takes about a week. It’s a slow process as the gas rises up behind your lungs & puts pressure on a nerve which causes the discomfort. The gas is then absorbed into your lungs where you breathe it out. Walk, walk, walk slow & gently for short periods of time a few times a day. March on the spot, do arm legs & slow deep breathing. Anything to get you breathing more without straining your body, damaging your sutures & staples, etc. Using heat pads can help with the discomfort. All the best.

I live alone & had no issues at all. Just did any chores (laundry, dishwasher, etc.) slowly & carefully & took my time - I had all day to do them 😁. Had no trouble sleeping in my bed, getting up & down, showering, though I also did it slowly & carefully to ensure I didn’t pull anything. I have a cleaner who comes once a fortnight & she does the vacuuming, floor washing, etc. leaving me to do basic upkeep in between. My neighbours took my bins in & out for a couple of weeks because of the lifting restrictions. I grocery shopped at the end of week 2 to get yoghurt & a few other necessities for the purée stage. I asked the checkout staff not to overpack my bags as I’d had abdominal surgery & had restrictions on what I could lift. I made sure I had supplies of everything I needed before my surgery. So had all over the counter meds (non nsaid pain meds, Imodium, stool softener, hydralite, …), protein shakes, broths & soups, etc. But yes, some do struggle with movement like getting up & down, sleeping in a bed, etc. I didn’t have any mobility issues or difficulties before surgery which I think helped me.

Congratulations on achieving your study & work goals & normalising your BP & diabetes. Whoo hoo! Though I am sorry you will be facing more surgeries. Okay, have to admit, I too wondered much weight I’d lose if I had my fibroids removed. Though they’re not as large as yours, cause me no issues (a benefit of being old & past it LOL!) so are leaving them for now. Don’t know if you’ve had a contrast CT scan before but they are crazy weird. After they inject the contrast you get a warm feeling a bit like a hot flush over your body (though mine was just in my abdomen & my ears), you feel like you’re peeing yourself but aren’t & my eyes rolled back in my head. It only lasts a few seconds but a crazy ride for those 10 seconds or so.

I too lost & gained for years. I think most of us did. Like deaths & taxes I could guarantee if I lost weight I would gain it all over again & it would start within weeks. I have never been able to maintain a low weight for as long as I have since my surgery & certainly not a weight this low. Yes, my new set point, faster metabolism & smaller tummy helps but the time the surgery gave me while I was losing was the greatest benefit. It was during this time that I changed my relationship with food & changed the how, what & why I ate. I had never done this before with all the diets I’d been on.(I was almost 54 when I had my surgery so I’d been on a lot of diets.) Not being interested in eating or hungry meant I wasn’t constantly thinking about eating & what I was missing out on while dieting. I used felt any diet i was on was a punishment for having gained weight again. Now, while there are some foods I don’t eat anymore or rarely do it’s not a punishment or I’m missing out. It’s not a diet just how/what I eat & I’m healthier & happier for it. Yes, you’ll often find stories of people struggling or having issues on forums, social media, etc, As @summerseeker said they often come to such sites looking for support or advice. Complications can occur with any surgery but they are very low with bariatric surgery & much lower than with other very commonly performed surgeries (appendectomies are higher than sleeve). The complications & risks of developing co morbidities are much, much greater & debilitating. Yes there are chances of post surgical issues like dumping, foamies, strictures, etc. but they aren’t really that common & are pretty simple to manage or remedy. Like strictures are rare & can be easily repaired with a simple surgery. Dumping & foamies can be managed with dietary choices. I have some issues with the foamies but I just consider them a quirk of my tummy & I had a pretty quirky tummy before surgery so this isn’t even a minor deal. I’d rather have a quirky tummy than be obese, constantly battling my weight & beating myself up about it. Have a chat with your surgeon & ask them for the stats about the surgery itself, any long or short term issues & what can be done to manage or remedy them & their experiences. Ask as many questions as you need. You won’t be the first to come to them with concerns or trepidations. The ultimate decision can only be yours & I wish you the best of luck what ever you choose to do.

Oh, our changing taste buds. It can be quite intriguing. First there is the temporary change after surgery which I think the anaesthetic contributes a lot too. But then after removing certain foods from your eating, you can lose your desire for them or even enjoyment of them over time. Which can be a good thing with certain foods. I embraced my dislike & sensitivity to anything sweet & rarely eat traditional sweet foods or drinks anymore. Same with alcohol - probably average a glass a month (though with Christmas & Christmas parties coming up I may have a few more through December - LOL! Getting your family on board & understanding your eating now can be challenging. Maybe remind them that you are doing this with the support of a medical team & they are extremely happy with what you are doing & have no concerns. Your digestive system has been altered & you physically can’t eat the over large portions you used to which is a good thing. Maybe add that you are determined to be successful with your weight loss to be a healthier you & would hope you would have their support not their criticism & judgement. But you know your family best & what will resonate with them most. All the best.

Perfectly normal. You’ve always fluctuated & always will. You probably never noticed it before because you may not have weighed yourself as regularly as you do now. You may also discover over time you may have a pretty constant fluctuation rate. (My stabilised weight fluctuation is about a kilogram.) Yep, hormones, fluid retention, pooping/not pooping, etc. can affect the number on the scales. Add to that we don’t eat the exact same things in the exact same amounts every day. Same with drinking & the activity we do. Even our general health can affect our weight even having a cold. Your doctor has seen it all. Be honest with them at your appointment. That way they can offer you their best advice. Do you still see your dietician? A visit with them may also help to ensure you are on the right path. It can be easy to miss something. Do you track your food? If not it may be worth doing it for a couple of weeks. All the best.

Also your weight loss can make you more fertile (oestrogen is stored in fat & released as you lose weight) so, yes using two forms of contraceptives for quite some time after surgery is recommended by many surgeons.

Yep, it’s gas in a totally different part of your body. The surgical gas is pumped into your abdominal cavity so outside your lungs. The remaining gas post surgery rises up behind your lungs pressing in nerves causing shoulder pain & general discomfort. The surgical gas is absorbed into your lungs, attaches to water molecules & is breathed out. It takes about a week to be fully expelled from your body so is a very slow process. Using your CPAP machine won’t affect you or the side effects of the surgical gas. Using your machine will help you though with your recovery by ensuring you’re sleeping well & not straining your heart. And slow, deep breathing actually helps expel the gas faster too.

Okay, so you bulk up before your weigh in with food, fluid, heavy clothing or shoes, or weighing down your pockets. I would worry that you go the second time without this additional bulk & you weigh a lot less & they think wow you’ve lost a lot of weight great. But the third time your weight has slowed a lot to what would be appropriate for your real weight. Plus the more you weigh the more they may want you to lose before surgery. Be careful, besides taking off my shoes I’ve been asked to remove a heavier skirt before my weigh in so they’d get a more accurate result. (Didn’t wear it on purpose just because I liked it.) My friend was told she was a couple of kilos short of meeting the BMI requirement. I remember who saying oh well a couple of weeks until Christmas & I always put on weight then so I’ll make another appointment for January. She did & she met the requirement. You have Thanksgiving soon so it may be a moot point.

There are some people who continue to feel hunger after the surgery. Be careful you’re not confusing real hunger & head hunger. Real hunger feels different. I feel like something is wrong & restless. I never want a specific food, favour or texture. And there is a reason why I feel hungry - like I haven’t eaten for a few hours. It does take time to work out your cues for real hunger. The other issue to consider is you’re still healing. Someone recently posted their surgeon said it can take 8 weeks or more to fully heal internally after a sleeve. This includes your nerves which were cut which is why our messages for hunger, satiety, etc, aren’t accurately felt, or in the case if your restriction not felt at all during this recovery period. It’s why we have to be careful of how much we eat & drink. I always say all because you can doesn’t mean you should. You may be able to eat a portion larger than you’ve been told or drink more but the signals telling you stop or warning you of danger aren’t working properly. Go slowly making small changes. Best not to push to see how much you think you can do. There’s lots of little things to learn about post surgery, consider & most importantly learn about yourself. But you’ll get there. All the best with your recovery.

Aah. So you’re pre op. I thought because you said up you reached your goal you were post surgery. In that case, yes, it’s likely they just want to check you will have all you will need from after your surgery. Let them know you are concerned about doubling up on some of the vitamins & see what the say.

I only discovered it because I went back a little later to add something to a post & I couldn’t. 😊

So sorry you’ve been experiencing this. Have they done any other tests besides just the endoscopies like an abdominal ultra sound or contrast scan to see if there is an issue below your actual tummy like adhesions or a twist, etc? I don’t know either really just a suggestion. Hope they find some answers for you soon.

@ChunkCat is right. Eggs can be difficult for some. Also on purée try to keep your food still pretty runny - like at the very least ‘gloop’ of your spoon. You may need to make yours even runnier by adding additional stock, gravy, water, milk, etc. And yes, while healing you can have weird muscle spasms & strains. Remember your tummy is a muscle & it has to heal from being cut. Lots of nerves also were cut during your surgery & other abdominal organs are moved about while they operate too. So the spasms & other weird feelings are understandable. Someone posted recently that they’re surgeon told them it can take 8 weeks or more you heal from a sleeve. So you may continue to have these spasms & twinges for a while yet. But do check with your surgeon to be sure - better safe than sorry.

I use it edit a lot too. My finger & brain aren’t always in sync especially on the small keyboards on my phone, iPad, etc. Though I think most easily read around typos these days so it’s not as much as an issue. Unfortunately the edit button is only active for a little while after you post & then a little later it vanishes from your post.

Learning to eat slowly can be challenging. Over time you can speed up again or find you’re subconsciously timing your bites with whoever you’re eating with. I found putting my cutlery down & sitting back from the table helped. I still take a long time to eat - 30-45 mins to eat a meal though it used to be longer - up to an hour. The slowing your eating is also to ensure you haven’t eaten too much before you recognise your full signal. This signal can take 20+ minutes to kick in so if you eat quickly you can eat more than you actually need & are then are over full. I often have a very slow full message which is also why I eat slowly. I also can’t drink more than two mouthfuls at a time. I was having trouble swallowing a med for my Meniere’s vertigo one day. It starts to dissolve when it gets moist & even just putting it in your mouth it will stick. Took a 4th swallow to get it down & then I swear within seconds up all the water came … & the med.