BigSue

I'm about two weeks ahead of you. I eat three meals per day, 2-4 ounces each. No snacks, but I often drink a protein shake or protein hot chocolate between meals. I'm not hungry at all and I don't have any of those side effects of hunger that I would have had before surgery if I went a single day under 500 calories. Sometimes I kind of want to eat between meals, not because I'm hungry but because I have my mind on something I want to eat. It's a little frustrating because I would enjoy half a yogurt or a couple ounces of cottage cheese much more than a protein shake, but I don't want to get in the habit of snacking. How many calories are you getting per day? 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) 3x/day is not much compared to most programs. I'm getting 400-500 calories per day and the nutritionist said I should be eating more (800-1000 calories/day, but that seems too high). How much do you exercise? If you are eating 300 calories per day and working out, I don't think that would be enough to reasonably sustain you.

I started with a BMI over 60, and nobody even brought up DS as an option for me. To be honest, I thought DS was an outdated surgery that's not really being done anymore because of all the risks. I didn't realize it's still popular for high-BMI patients. The surgeon who did my RNY doesn't do DS. He recommended RNY to me rather than sleeve because of my high BMI, since RNY patients statistically lose a bit more than sleeve patients. My understanding is that the sleeve is basically the first step in DS, and that's how the procedure was developed -- surgeons would do the DS in two separate surgeries for high-risk patients, and a lot of them didn't even need the second surgery because they lost enough weight with the sleeve alone. So, that is one option: get the sleeve first and have it revised to DS if necessary. You could also have a sleeve revised to RNY. I remember seeing a bariatric surgeon on YouTube say that he recommends the sleeve to all patients because you can always get it revised, but to me, that's crazy because I don't want to have more than one surgery!

I can understand why one might interpret that response as unhelpful (like, "Ugh, THIS question again, go away!"), but I'm almost positive the intent is to reassure people that this is a very normal part of the WLS experience, and it happens to almost all WLS patients before they go on to lose lots and lots of weight. The fact that it is so incredibly common is probably the best way to reassure people that they aren't doing anything wrong and their surgery hasn't failed. I've been hanging out here long enough that I knew to expect it, but if it hadn't been for this forum, I never would have known it was normal. My surgeon certainly didn't warn me to expect a stall within the first month.

Interesting... I'm 8 weeks out and I averaged about 400 calories per day in weeks 3-6. At my 6-week appointment with the dietitian, she said I should be aiming for 800-1000 calories per day now, which seems like a lot. I'm finding that's not even possible with the guidelines I was given (3 meals per day, no more than 4 ounces of food per meal, avoid snacks except protein shakes, 60-80 grams protein, <60 grams carbs). I've averaged 470 calories per day for the past two weeks -- about half of what I was told. I'm starting to think I should ignore what she said and stick with what I'm eating now. I'm fine at my current level of calories, not hungry, and have plenty of energy, so why the heck should I eat more? Shouldn't I take advantage of this time when I have no desire to eat more than 500 calories per day and lose as much weight as possible? I've tried to follow my program's instructions so far, but this seems pretty far from the norm and I'm afraid it will hinder my weight loss.

I was only in the hospital for one night, so I really didn't need much. Here's what I used: Comfortable pants (with a loose waistband that won't bother your incisions) and underwear to wear while I walked around the hospital (since the gowns can be skimpy in the back) Phone and charger Tablet (just for something to do -- you can bring books, knitting, or whatever you like to do to pass the time) Hairbrush Deodorant Listerine breath strips (be careful with these -- I got oral thrush after surgery, probably because I used too many of the breath strips and they killed off the good bacteria in my mouth) Water enhancer (makes it easier to drink water) I just wore the same clothes to go home as I wore to the hospital. I wore Crocs to the hospital so I could wear them when I walked around and so I could wear them home without having to deal with putting on socks.

Thanks for the info... If my insurance has an age requirement, I probably won't be old enough, but I can check. Thanks to the surgery, I've met my out-of-pocket maximum this year, so until the end of 2020, anything my insurance covers won't cost me anything.

@catwoman7 & @ms.sss, maybe a stupid question, but where/how did you get a scan? I am just 2 months out from surgery, so I'm wondering if I should get a baseline scan now. I don't even know what kind of doctor would do or order this kind of scan.

That is fantastic! Congratulations!

I was told to avoid pasta, bread, and tortillas for at least the first year because they can form a lump of food in the stomach that is painful to digest. I don't know if that's true or just a scare tactic to keep us away from "bad" foods, but I think someone like you who is already having problems with liquids and purees should definitely be cautious and avoid these foods. How about eating the lasagna without the noodles? You can probably pull the noodles out. Ricotta bake is basically lasagna filling, so you can try that. I added some turkey meat sauce to it once I started eating meat, which makes it meat lasagna sans noodles (but I would suggest starting without meat). If your goal is just to get carbs, maybe try diluted apple juice; this is what I was told to do in the liquid stage. Ensure High Protein shakes also have relatively high carbs, and that's what they gave me in the hospital. You could also try unsweetened applesauce.

If you are following your surgeon's eating guidelines, I wouldn't worry. Your body is probably still catching up with the initial weight loss, which was a lot. For comparison, I've only lost 27 pounds in almost two months since my surgery.

Caltrate is calcium carbonate, and as a gastric bypass patient, you need calcium citrate, so you should get some calcium citrate and stop taking Caltrate ASAP. (FYI, most of the common calcium supplements that you can buy at the drug store are calcium carbonate, so you'll need to check the label when you buy calcium supplements.) I use BariatricPal French Vanilla Caramel soft chews. They are delicious -- they taste like candy. I have an order on the way with the strawberry flavor, and I hope it's just as good. The BariatricPal store has lots of soft chew calcium citrate supplements in a variety of flavors. I can't vouch for anything but the French Vanilla, but they all have good reviews, so I bet you can find a flavor you like.

I can't answer your question because I've never seen that product, but have you tried cauliflower rice? I hate cauliflower, but somehow, cauliflower rice is not bad! I wouldn't eat it by itself, but with sauce and mix-ins (like meat and vegetables), I can almost convince myself that it's actual rice. It's very low in calories and carbs, and you get the added benefit of eating more veggies.

I had to get a UGI x-ray (a.k.a. barium swallow test) before my surgery, and it wasn't bad. The hospital where I went wasn't fancy enough to have a machine that lifts you in the air. I just had to lie on a table and tilt my body in various positions. There was also a portion where I just had to stand in front of the x-ray machine. I had to drink sips of the barium liquid while they took the x-rays. It didn't taste good, but it wasn't horrible. It was pretty quick and painless. Once they started, I think it only took about 15 minutes. I didn't even have to take off my clothes. Yours might take longer since you might have a GI problem (mine was just to make sure I didn't have a GI problem before I got surgery), but the upside is that if they find the problem, they can fix it and you'll feel better.

I don't eat more than 1 ounce of meat at a time, but I eat it with something pureed or liquid (e.g., 1 ounce shredded chicken + 1 ounce enchilada sauce + 1.5 ounces refried beans, or 1/2 ounce ground turkey + 1 ounce marinara sauce + 2 ounces ricotta bake). I don't puree the meat because I just find it unappetizing, but I shred chicken with a fork or chop up the ground turkey into very small pieces. I am 8 weeks out, so I'm theoretically allowed to eat solid food now. I didn't even try meat until I was 5 weeks out.

I'm glad it worked out for you! I'm plenty fat for my insurance to cover the surgery, but I still paid $4500 out of pocket, and I spent a lot of time going to all the various pre-op appointments. On the upside, all my followups, labs, and prescriptions are free for the rest of the year (since I met my out of pocket maximum). I'm not sure if you need to go to a bariatric surgeon for followups, but I would guess that a local surgeon would accept you as a patient. Even people who don't go out of the country for surgery move and have to change doctors. I know my surgeon takes patients who have had surgery with other programs. It wouldn't hurt to ask.

I think just about everybody is happy to get to the pureed stage and eat something resembling real food after weeks on liquids only! I'm 8 weeks out and I'm not sure if I've felt "restriction" yet. I'm theoretically allowed to eat normal foods now, but I still mainly stick to soft and mushy foods because I don't want to push it and get sick. Sometimes when I eat meat (even when it's soft and moist, like shredded canned chicken mixed with enchilada sauce), it will feel like it's stuck. It's quite uncomfortable and I have to stop eating for a bit while I wait for it to move. I don't think it's because I'm full because sometimes it happens a couple of tiny bites into the meal, and once it gets unstuck, I can finish the rest. I eat about 3-4 ounces per meal, and I haven't really gotten to the point that I couldn't eat another bite. But maybe that's because I'm only eating soft foods. It is all pretty weird, because I don't feel full, but I also don't feel hungry. I just measure out the right amount of food and eat it. I do worry about whether I will feel restriction once the hunger comes back, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

I'm 8 weeks out. The time it takes for it to go down varies. It's usually just a few minutes, but occasionally it's more like 15-20 minutes. A lot of people have trouble with chicken early on. When I eat chicken, it's canned chicken (very soft), shredded into tiny pieces, with plenty of sauce, and I still have trouble sometimes.

I wait for it to go down and it eventually does. The wait is not pleasant, though. What are you eating when this happens? You might be eating something that is too dense or dry. Are you chewing really thoroughly before you swallow? Are you taking small bites?

I didn't mind it. After two weeks on all liquids, eating yogurt and pureed beans was a treat! Some people eat pureed cooked chicken, but that looks gross to me, so I waited until the soft food stage to eat meat. Here are some of the things I ate during the pureed stage: Fat-free, sugar-free yogurt with protein powder Sugar-free pudding with protein powder No sugar added applesauce with protein powder Protein oatmeal (from the BariatricPal store) with protein powder Pureed fat-free refried beans with protein powder, topped with enchilada sauce and Laughing Cow cheese Mashed cauliflower with protein powder, topped with gravy Pureed black bean soup with protein powder

A lot of people experience nausea from iron supplements, especially if taking them on an empty stomach. It might help to take it with food. Also, there are different forms of iron. I just checked the ProCare multivitamin and it contains ferrous fumarate. Carbonyl iron and chelated iron tend to be easier on the stomach.

@regina r, what I said above only works on the BariatricPal website. It looks like you’re using the app. From the app, you can update your stats by clicking “Profile” on the bottom right and then selecting “Patient Information.”

Click on your username on the top right of the screen, then click “My Surgery” under settings. Then click “Progress” on the left sidebar, and that’s where you can edit your weight.

Yeah, this forum is really helpful for preparing. I do not like surprises, so I wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- before I committed to surgery. I also watched a ton of YouTube videos and found those helpful as well. Some of the ones I watched are Kimberly H, Minnie Me in TN, My Level 10 Life, Clusie L, Timetodeflate, and Foodie Turned Sleevie. There are many more (which you'll see on your recommended videos once you start watching WLS channels), but a lot of people just have a couple of videos about WLS. Like so many things in life, WLS is a tradeoff. You have to make big sacrifices, but there can be big rewards. It was important to me to understand going into it what I would be sacrificing and what benefits I would get. It was daunting to think of what I would have to give up for WLS, but when I looked at what I hoped to get out it -- to get my health back, get my mobility back, and so many other things that I have missed out on in my life because of my weight -- it was a lot easier to accept those sacrifices.

Thanks for the helpful info! Interesting that Barimelts are on the list of not recommended supplements. That's what I've been taking, but in addition to the multivitamin, I'm taking separate supplements for iron, B-12, D3, and biotin. I'm planning to switch anyway once I run out of Barimelts because I can take pills now and the Barimelts are pretty expensive.

Good to know... I guess I'll start taking the extra iron now and see what the surgeon says when I go in for my next followup. The endocrinologist said to take it twice a day, but that will be difficult because I'm supposed to take calcium 3x per day, two hours apart from each other and two hours apart from iron, and my thyroid medication four hours apart from calcium and iron. Thanks for the info on endocrinologist vs. surgeon. I've been wondering about that since this stuff is more in the endocrinologist's area of expertise, but she doesn't specialize in bariatric patients, so maybe she doesn't know all the specifics of bariatric post-op changes. The surgeon doesn't even do bloodwork until 3 months out, so his directions are just based on the general bariatric patient guidelines.