Arabesque

All surgeries have some sort of side effect or risk. Often they’re related to a pre-existing condition or a pre existing predilection. Sleeve surgery has relatively few side effects. Yes, gerd is a possibility. I agree with @ShoppGirl’s advice to ask your surgeon for their stats. I had mild reflux before my surgery which I managed with diet & only rarely needed to take a ppi (couple of times a year). I still have reflux. It manifests differently but I still manage it a lot with my food choices & take a ppi every day. None of the others I know who had sleeve surgery have developed gerd so … You usually hear about complications on forums, etc. because those people are seeking advice & support. People usually don’t post to say everything’s going great (though many of us here do 😉). I also think people are quick to share a so called ‘horror’ story because they are’t supportive of your choice to have the surgery. Everyone’s got a horror story to share about just about anything. You know those a friend of a friend of a friend stories. Actually talk to people who’ve had the surgery or read through the responses on this forum & you’ll find out about other’s true journeys. (Avoid Facebook groups as the ones I’ve stumbled upon tend to be negative & promote ways to cheat the surgery.) All the best.

This will be a very individual thing. Our bodies are all different & how one person’s body responds is not how your body will necessarily react. Will your blood sugar drop? Yes. How long will it take is anyone’s guess. How low it will get again is anyone’s guess. Just know it will decrease. Unfortunately, if type 1 is a genetic consideration, you can’t diet or lose weight that away. Though your changed diet will go a long way towards helping you manage it if you do develop type 1. Hopefully it may skip you.

Could just be how your body works & how it reacts & respond to different things. I sometimes weigh more after I poop than I do immediately before - weird. Yes, exercise only contributes 10-20% of the weight you have to lose (though I read recently it’s only 5%). Personally I never exercised throughout the my whole weight loss journey & I lost all & more of my weight. I’ve tried all sorts of exercise programs over the years. Never really enjoyed any of them & they never helped me lose or maintain weight. Hate sweating & have never reached that exercise high people talk about. Never felt great like you do just icky & exhausted. More likely to have a drop in my blood pressure & a hypoglycaemic episode. ☹️ I do a few minutes of gentle stretches at night more for my back than anything else. Wouldn’t burn 20 calories 😆. I do do incidental activities like park further away from where I’m going, take stairs not the lift, make multiple trips up & down my stairs when I could do it in one or two trips, etc. but that’s it. Yes, I know there are lots of benefits to exercising and with all things you have to do what is best for you. PS - Glad you’ve found a therapist.

I believe anaemia or low iron is a risk with bypass because of the potential for absorption issues & many with a bypass are on iron tablets forever. I’ve heard about the relationship between craving ice & anaemia or iron deficiency too. As for continuing to the wait to drink I don’t think it’s a specific long term requirement. Certainly with sleeve it’s not a necessary long term requirement but more of a what you are able to do. I haven’t waited the 30 mins before & after for some time. I can slowly sip up to about 5 mins before & after & can have a little sip during but I still eat slowly so I’m still pacing myself. Can’t gulp mouthfuls though but it means I can enjoy a glass of wine or whatever I choose when out. Congratulations on maintaining for so long. I hope I can say the same thing in nine years. I agree, it is a life change. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/iron-deficiency-after-gastric-bypass-surgery

All fluids count to your 64oz. Including your shakes, broths, soups, etc. so you may be closer to goal than you realise. Sip, sip, sip. Set an 5 minute alarm on your phone, drink over night not just during the day. Yes you will be sipping all day long. Try room temp, warm or hot drinks as they are often more soothing. You may still have some swelling post surgery but that will improve. It all gets easier. I was only getting in about 3/4 of my fluids to begin but my surgeon was fine with that because I was making the effort & I eventually got there.

So you actually do have your restriction it’s just that it occurs with a certain behaviour. The power of the restriction does fade over time. We learn behaviours to avoid it & your body learns how to process what you eat more effectively like how we can eat more as we progress. I still have my restriction at three years out but I only feel it if I’m not careful say if I eat too quickly or drink too much & then I know about it.

As others have said, supplements won’t stop your hair falling out. The hair on your head is already dead & was going to fall out at some time. Can’t stop a natural process. It’s just falling out faster because of the stress your body is going through. Supplements may make your new growth stronger but won’t make it grow faster. My loss started around month 3/4 and lasted about 3 or 4 months. I was in early maintenance by then & eating more & a greater variety of foods. All you can do is ensure you’re getting in your protein & a broad range of nutrients. I agree with the suggestions of cutting your hair. It will take less time for your new growth to catch up to the shorter length. The clumps in the shower don’t look quite as bad with shorter strands either 😁. Shorter hair often looks thicker & bouncier because you don’t have the weight of your long hair pulling it down. You can always grow it again.

You will experience stalls. You will lose some hair. You will experience constipation. Your taste buds & sense of smell can become temporarily extra sensitive making some foods taste or smell awful. You will experience loss of energy, feel weak & tired. You may experience some blood pressure drops. You may still feel hungry (real or head). You may not feel hungry at all nor be interested in eating. Your tummy will be sensitive & can be fussy about certain foods one day & fine with them the next. You may vomit or be nauseous. Multivitamins can make you nauseous. You may experience the foamies - spit up thick saliva & maybe regurgitate the last bite or two of what you ate (generally happens if you eat too much, too quickly or food that is too dry or coarse)? They may only happen to you a couple of times or not at all. But you can trust they do get better & pass. Stalls break. Hair regrows. Food taste yummy again. Some things pass pretty quickly. Some take a little longer & others we learn how to manage (like constipation & the foamies). These experiences are all part of the process. Not because you’ve done something wrong or are failing as some think & beat themselves up about. We’re experiencing a lot of psychological & physiological stress: the surgery, healing, recovery, our changed & reduced diet, the head battles, reassessing the how & why we eat, etc. They ‘re just how our body reacts to cope with the stress. And you can rely on: We all lose weight at our own rate. The more you have to lose the faster you’ll lose to begin. The closer to goal the slower your rate of loss will become. Hope I haven’t scared you. Rather you be prepared than go through the anguish of doubting yourself because you didn’t know. I’d rather go through those things for a few months then be obese. It’s all very much worth it. All the best.

Yeah, the shakes can be disgusting. Bone broths, cream soups, milk enriched with powdered milk, blend a high protein yoghurt with milk to make a smoothie (add more milk to get it to a consistency you can tolerate), protein water, are all great sources of protein as others have suggested. Even the strained broths from wonton soup & pho are good additions. You can try making up your own shakes using unflavoured protein powders too. I struggled through one shake a day (very diluted to dull the taste) for the two weeks of liquids & then never touched another one. (Had soups for my other meal.) The only protein pills I’ve heard about contain very little protein - 2g. Not worth it to my thinking & I’m not sure if the protein is complex enough for our needs.

Yeah, multi vitamins can cause nausea & vomiting. Iron is usually the culprit but a lot of the others can cause nausea too. I was nauseous every day & vomited a few times. It can be a juggling act because you need to take them with food but you’re hardly eating anything. I took mine after I ate & I split the dose - one in the am & one at night. Can you split your tablet so you can spread out when you take it? Or try a capsule or patch. Someone posted about a liquid multi vitamin recently. My vitamin D & K, which I take in winter, comes in a mouth spray. Some find trying a different brand helps.

Yep, we all heal & recovery differently and it can be surprising how exhausting simple activities can be for a while. I remember doing a very basic one bag grocery shop & thought I was going to keel over. (Also wanted to punch the ladies gossiping in the doorway ignoring me & blocking my exit - I just wanted to get to my car so I could sit down & go home.) If you do go out, take an electrolyte drink with you (Hydralyte was my go to) to give you an extra boost. You'll be out doing lots of things & more than you ever did with your children before you know it.

You’d know if you had dumping - cold sweats, heart palpitations, vomiting &/or diarrhoea (lots), wiped out for hours, etc. I think what you experienced was just your tantrum throwing petulant tummy - think two year old child. Eating something without issue one day & then the next day it’s no way is pretty common the first couple of months. Your tummy is still healing & is extra sensitive. Usually if you just avoid that food for a couple of days or a week you’ll be able to eat it again without a problem. Some people do struggle with eggs & the tomato in the shakshuka may have been too rich & acidic this morning. Shakshuka always gave me grief when I ate it even before surgery - stirred up my reflux & excess stomach acid production which can be an issue for a little while after surgery.

A lot of it is due to the stress you & your body has been going through. The hair you’re losing is hair you would lose as part of your usual hair loss cycle. It’s just this cycle has been accelerated. You are growing new hair but at it’s usual rate which you normally don’t even notice. The new growth hasn’t been affected which is why taking rogaine, etc. is really an unnecessary expensive. Supplements to supposedly support hair growth again only help your new growth not your existing hair which is dead & is supposed to fall out at some time. It usually last about 3 or 4months & that seems to be about the same for people who take additional supplements, etc. But even knowing about how long it lasts & that it’s part of the process it still can be difficult to accept the clumps in the shower. If your hair is long, cut it shorter so the loss isn’t as noticeable.(Also the clumps won’t look as much with shorter hair than long strands.) It will also take less time for your new growth to catch up & be the same or similar length to your shorter hair.

You may not be ready yet. Some need a little longer on a stage before moving forward. It all depends on how you heal. Did you have the purée stage before soft? Though plans can be different, many of us go through two week cycles of liquids, purée then soft. Also your soft food may not be soft & moist enough. Think slow cooked stews, braises, etc. & foods with lots of sauces & gravies. What you’re experiencing are the early stages of the foamies. They usually occur if you eat too fast, too much or eat something that is too dry or coarse.

How fast did you eat it? Remember it takes time for messages to get through & maybe you ate so quickly you didn’t get the message until it was too late. It can be easy to do when not eating mindfully. I know I’ve done it & bet others have too. Some days we slip and that’s okay. See it as being a good reminder. My full signal takes a while to kick in (up to 90 mins sometimes I discovered to my discomfort) so it would be easy to eat more than I need. I try to eat until I’ve had enough not until I’m full or I feel my restriction. It’s why I ask myself if I need the next bite or just want it. I’ve served all my meals to a portion size since surgery three years ago. Though some days I eat less of my serve. Like I haven’t eaten all my usual serve of my breakfast once this week. Didn’t want it. I ate what I needed & put the leftovers in the fridge. Certainly you are able to physically eat more as you progress until you are able to consume about a recommended portion of most if not all foods. How long until this happens is an individual thing. For me it was a few months after I reached goal.

Yep, that will be the one they used to remove part of your tummy & use the most during the surgery. It’s usually the slightly larger incision, cause more discomfort & take the longest to heal. How long will depend on how you heal. You had three surgeries in one so you had quite a workout & may take longer to heal & recover.

All of the above plus, don’t forget you just had pretty major surgery & are healing. Best thing you can do is sleep if your body wants too. It’s going through a lot at the moment. And enjoy those nana naps & long night’s sleep because you’ll soon be back to your old sleeping routines & not really have an excuse to have nana naps. 😁 PS - I found, once through this period, my generally sleeping improved a lot as I lost weight. Went from averaging about 5 hrs a night to a good 7 or 8. That in itself was a big win for me.

All you can do is try & see how you go. If you have trouble, try again in a couple of days. Start with the one you can’t open. I was taking meds in hospital. Wasn’t easy as I had swelling but I could do it. I started my vitamins day 4 when I got home (had a couple extra days in hospital because my back went out & my BP was low). The swelling was gone by then so was easy.

Yep, I bet it’s ketosis. Bad breath & other body odours (even from the genitals & your pee 😱) is a very common side effect. Some say it causes an acetone like smell. To me it was just embarrassing. I had a toiletry bag at work with deodorant, body wipes, mouthwash & tooth paste & brush so I could freshen up during the day. It does eventually go (can’t recall how long it took me though).

Welcome. As others above have said, said there are a lot of variations in plans. Mine also was two week stages. A good thing to remember is if you move to a next stage & find it a struggle just go back to the previous stage for a few days. We all heal at different rates & sometimes you need a little longer than what is suggested by your plan & that’s fine. Just do what works best for you. When you can eat solid food think soft like slow cooked meat based soups, stews/casseroles, etc. so the meat & vegetables are soft & ‘fall off the bone’ tender. I found mince based dishes easiest to begin. And ensure you have sauces or gravies to keep your meat moist & easy to swallow.

I was allowed rolled oats in purée but the instant version which is more processed. I made it on lots of milk & a serve lasted me days. I was also allowed scrambled eggs. Again thinned with extra milk. Think almost run off a spoon not plop/dollop thickness. The first few weeks can be challenging because your tummy can be sensitive & fussy. Some people experience temporary intolerances like to milk (try lactose free) too. Sometime you can eat something one day but the next day it’s no way. Plus your senses of taste & smell can go haywire temporarily. So things you enjoyed before taste or smell awful. I found soup easiest. Also boiled eggs mashed with Mayo & a high protein yoghurt. I tried puréeing lots of meats thinning them with gravies, stock, milk, ricotta, Mayo, etc. Personally, I found puréed tinned fish disgusting but chicken thigh meat with gravy was great. It took a few tries (& thrown out meals) to find out what my tummy & taste buds enjoyed.

By week 7 you should be fine. But yes, breaks each day would be an idea just in case. You may find it helps to take some food with you Take a little esky with you to keep things cold & restock with ice each day (unless you’ll have access to a freezer to refreeze ice bricks). Pick up yoghurt from grocery stores, pack some shakes, meal replacement soups, cheese, jerky, protein bars, etc. just in case you struggle to find suitable protein rich & plan friendly food as you travel. Enjoy your trip.

What does your plan say? Some are a big no to caffeine for a while but others are okay with it. Mine was no caffeine but yes to green tea (still caffeine but 1/4 of that in black tea) or herbal tea. Caffeine can be harsh on your healing tummy - increases acid production & can cause discomfort. May be better to see how you react at home the first time than when out just in case.

I’m a left over freezer not so much planned food prepper but the idea is similar. Most things I cook is three or four days worth (or longer) & I simply freeze two or three single serves. I freeze just about everything. Leftover vegetables, soup, meat sauces, meat balls, steak, lamb cutlets, pork tenderloin, chicken tenders, corned beef, etc. Just defrost & reheat. All I usually have to prep is vegetables & I can do that in a couple of minutes. I use a lot of zip lock bags but others use specific food containers. Have a look at the Food before & after thread, @Starwarsandcupcakes is an avid meal prepper plus there’s other general meal ideas too for home & eating out.

Definitely see your GP about this & getting a referral to an endocrinologist. Hopefully some if it could be temporary because you’re likely still on a pretty restricted diet but better to be sure. I have occasional drops (did pre surgery too). I try to take an electrolyte drink with me if being active (used to take one with me every day the first few months after surgery). At home I grab some fruit. Had a drop when doing an early morning pre breakfast food shop. Should have seen me rifling through the grocery bags in the back of my car trying to find the blueberries while trying to remain upright.