NovaLuna

I was 389 pounds with a BMI of 61.8 at my highest weight (my height is actually smack dab between 5'6 and 5'7, but they don't give you that option on this site... and I don't do the metrics system) and wore a 34-36 top and 30-32 bottoms. I was 32 years old when I had my surgery 8 months ago. I had a surgery called Loop Duodenal Switch which is generally only for those who are super morbidly obese (BMI of 50+). I was 321 pounds with a BMI of 51 on the day of my surgery and weighed in last week at 222 so in the 8 months since my surgery I've lost 99 pounds. For the first two or three weeks it was hard for me to sit down and once I was down it was hard to get up because of the pain in the stitch where they took out the majority of my stomach. I had to sleep on the couch for the first two weeks because it was too much to get into my bed. I had issues getting fluid down for about three months, but eventually was able to get the amount I'm supposed to. I honestly didn't have an appetite at all for the first four or five months, but eventually my appetite did kick back in. And while I don't actually have to count my calories with my particular surgery I do sometimes out of curiosity and I usually get around 800 calories a day. My carb intake is usually around 60 or so a day. The pros (according to my surgeon) is a higher average percentage of weight loss. Considering I have hypothyroidism and can't do any exercise that requires me on my feet right now due to a heath issue I really need to rely on that average percentage rate. Cons are having to take more vitamins and consume more protein then the other surgeries. There's also a higher risk for malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies with my surgery (I have a vitamin A deficiency right now). Another con is that after my surgery I vomited blood for two days which I was told was 'normal' but they didn't warn me about it at all beforehand. I have a sensitivity to sugar alcohol and it upsets my stomach. I get dumping syndrome when I eat wheat so avoid it like the plague (except when I ate something that was made in a facility that processes wheat and I didn't realize it and I made myself sick last week). If I ignore my stomach when I get hungry I get unbearably nauseous. As for the amount you can eat... my surgery involves a sleeved stomach so I can tell you that you really don't eat much. I can usually get in about 3/4 of a cup now (about 6 oz, essentially a greek yogurt cup. I'm full after I eat one so that's about my limit). It's funny though because I used to be one of those people who would PILE food on their plate and still come back for seconds. Now my portions are tiny and if a family member asks me to make them a plate I get complaints that I give them too little lol.

Only if I have any excessive amount of sugar alcohol. If it's just a tiny amount I'm good, but any more than a little and it's pretty bad. I'm pretty good about avoiding it though so it's a rarity that I go over the amount that my body can handle.

I haven't been to work in 6 months due to a health issue that my doctor is STILL trying to figure out the cause of, but Saturday I went into work to shop (I work in retail) and bumped into a co-worker who hadn't seen me since long before I had my surgery due to her being on leave before I had my surgery and I was literally back at work for barely a week before going on leave again so we hadn't seen each other in almost a year and she stared at me for a moment before another co-worker pops up with "She lost so much weight you can barely recognize her, huh" I laughed when she told me that she thought maybe I had another sister and she hadn't wanted to say anything in case it wasn't me. Every time I go in to shop there I end up running into someone who does a double take and it makes me feel really good. I don't really notice it that much on a day to day. And although I know I'm wayyyy smaller than I was I don't always feel that way so it's really nice when I get complimented especially when I'm in the midst of a frustrating stall like when I bumped into my co-worker.

I'm 8 months out from the Loop DS (or SADI-S). My surgery weight was 321 and right now I'm 222 so a 99 pound weight loss so far. -I avoid wheat products like the plague. They tell you that you won't get dumping syndrome and I call bullsh*t because wheat makes me dump. I try and avoid overly carb-y foods but I still get about 60 carbs in a day. I also try and avoid overly fatty foods because it does bring about diarrhea if I have too much. -I do occasionally have issues with diarrhea. Usually when I've had a little bit too much fat in my diet (I love my cheese a little more than I should). I used to take three bariatric multi's with iron a day but I process iron a little too well so I would get massive constipation issues and they suggested I lower to two but I still had that issue so now I do the switch as listed below. -For vitamins I take one bariatric multi with iron and two bariatric multi's without iron one day and then the next I switch it to two bariatric multi's with iron and one without. Also take two Calcium Citrate a day. And due to having a Vitamin A deficiency I take extra Vitamin A as well. -I don't struggle to maintain my loss. It's more frustration when I hit stalls. Mine happen probably more frequently than the average person due to hypothyroidism and it gets really frustrating. I've had my meds upped three times already and I really feel they need to be upped again but my doctor won't test my thyroid until November... And yeah, you are AWARE you are on a diet. But you have to change your way of thinking. It's a LIFESTYLE change. There will be times you want to cheat and if you do don't beat yourself up about it if you have a cookie or something.In my own experience though your taste buds change and you crave different things. For some reason I'm constantly craving fruit. Though I do get chocolate cravings and I bought protein bars and sugar free pudding for that particular craving. -Things I wish I knew before surgery? Well, I wish I knew about how frustrating and frequent the stalls can be with someone who has hypothyroidism. I also wish my doctor had warned me that it's a POSSIBILITY that you can vomit blood the first few days following surgery. It was scary when I first vomited blood and I thought something was wrong and then the nurse was like "honey, it's just old blood, it's totally normal" -_-' It's probably either because of my vitamin regiment or my dairy intake but every two days my system decides to empty EVERYTHING in it so I spend an hour or so locked in the restroom (TMI, sorry). And I'm sure there's more that I wish I'd known, but my brain is stalling lol. If I can think of something else I'll add to this post later. Oh, a person a few posts up said that you need 130g of protein BUT my surgeon said between 80-100 (but I'm a girl so...). I usually get around 90-95g of protein a day. And that's with only one 30g protein shake in my diet. So it's possible to do it with only one protein shake eventually. Also my labs said my protein intake was perfect so...

It really depends on your surgeons guidelines. My surgeon said no to grapes because of high sugar content, but every surgeon is different.

I was eating fruit by that point. But I have a sleeved stomach so it might be slightly different. Any fruit juice you drink should be the no sugar added kind though. Natural fruit juice without added sugar should be fine but really sweet fruit juice might make you dump. Avoid grapes though, I was told they're not a good fruit because they have a high sugar content.

The tablets do that. If it makes you uncomfortable then definitely try chewy versions instead.

I have never been prompt with my pills so I put my vitamins right next to my bed so I can't miss them. I take my first ones in the morning when I get up. If I leave the house I always pack my afternoon or evening ones with me and set my alarm on my phone so I know when to take them. Honestly the only one I actually forget about is my extra Vitamin A because I only take it once every other day, so I end up having to take that usually late at night when it occurs to me 'oh crap, I forgot the Vitamin A'.

I'm 8 months out and I only had a little it was just slightly more hair shedding then normal. It, honestly, wasn't noticeable.

Sweet Leaf makes a product called Water Drops which is made with Stevia. I like the strawberry kiwi, peach mango, and the raspberry lemonade flavors. I buy them at my local heath food store, but they're also available on Amazon.

Does your surgeon do the two week pre-op diet? Do you already have the paper that tells you how to eat while on that diet? If you do then try that. I lost 15 pounds on the pre-op diet so that's my suggestion

I would definitely call your doctor. It could be a ton of different things, but personally I doubt it's something caused by your surgery. I've had similar pain before and it's been caused by two different things 1. an ovarian cyst and 2. my EOS can cause abdominal pain on one or either side. lower or upper part of the abdomen. You don't really have any main organs there so it could be intestinal or even diverticulitis. Definitely check with your doctor.

I had the Loop DS surgery (no revision) and yeah sleeping in bed was a no for me for at least the first week. I also slept on the couch with a bunch of pillows propped up behind me. The recovery does take a little longer than most WLS, but it'll pass! Congrats on your new surgery!

During our pre-op nutrition class the surgeon discussed why intermittent fasting was dangerous for malabsobative patients. They told us about several patients who had done it against their advice and a few even died. I know a guy who had the same surgery as me as he's in my nutrition class and he was hospitalized and almost DIED because he was trying up his weight loss with intermittent fasting. They had to take away the DS part of his surgery so he now just has the sleeve portion. He ALSO told me not to intermittent fast unless I wanted to end up like he had. Every doctor has a different opinion but I'm trusting my surgeons judgement with his own patients experience and also the person I KNOW who went through it! And yeah, most do fast in a way through the night, but on average I sleep 6-8 hours MAX. My stomach wakes me up by growling REALLY loudly. Fasting for 16 hours is not only crazy but irresponsible when the amount of nutrition you get in a day is already painfully low. It's common sense!

Malabsorbative surgeries such as Gastric Bypass and Duodenal Switch/Loop Duodenal Switch CANNOT intermittent fast! My surgeon said intermittent fasting with a malabsorbative surgery increased the risk of malnutrition so unless someone wants to risk hospital time and put their very LIFE at risk to lose a little extra weight do NOT do that!

Baratric Advantage is my go to. I like the chewy strawberry and orange flavors. I've also bought the chewable tablet ones in cherry and although those ones are a little chalky I still like them.

You likely hit the three week stall. It's incredibly common and can last 1-3 weeks on average. Stalls are a normal part of weight loss so try not to get discouraged (basically impossible, I know). Your body is just adjusting to rapid weight loss and is just needing a bit of time to process the change. Stalls will happen throughout your journey and it will alternately irritate you and make you question every little thing you do because you'll feel like you must be doing SOMETHING wrong. But it's normal. Just ride it out and continue to eat like you're supposed to and the weight loss will start back up again.

I'm 7 months out from my WLS. And I haven't had any dumping issues since I've been avoiding all things wheat. And... my BMI is 36.6 now! 😊 (it was 62.8 at my highest weight and was 51.8 on the day of my surgery) So I'm doing great! I'm in a stall right now though so slightly irritated, but I'm sure it'll pass in a couple days like they usually do.

Your weight loss depends on a lot of factors including your pre-op weight. The less you have to lose the slower the weight will come off. Also, you had a revision and revisions tend to lose slower. That doesn't mean it's not going to come off, it'll just likely come off a lot slower than you would like. Also, you may still have some fluid from your surgery. From my own experience it took about 10 days to get rid of that fluid so give yourself a few more days and I'm sure you'll drop a few more pounds. Congrats on your new surgery and I wish you the best!

My sister has had a few get together since my surgery (both of my nieces birthdays, mothers day, fourth of July, etc.) and next weekend she's having her baby shower. For the most part, they don't really have anything I can eat other than a veggie and fruit tray so she always tells me to bring a salad or something. Plus, I'm watching her kids for her when she has the baby AND I'll be staying at her house to help her out since it's another C-Section and I did that last year when my 1 year old niece was born. I'll have to bring my own food for the entire time I'm there. I also stayed at my grandma's house to help her after she had half her thyroid removed and had to buy my own food since my grandma doesn't eat like me. My family doesn't get offended that I don't eat what they have and have told me several times how proud of me they are for my self-control. My mom and sister have both told me that they would never be able to do it because they just can't say no to their favorite foods and it amazes them that I can look at the foods I used to love and not indulge. To be honest I've really amazed even myself as I never thought I had that kind of willpower. I get not wanting to disappoint your family or hurt them, but I've been offered food I couldn't eat by family and just explained why I couldn't eat it and my family had no problems with me refusing. I'd try just explaining why you can't eat what they push on you or just pick through what you can eat and avoid what you can't. I hope things go well and that you enjoy yourself!

I had the Loop Duodenal Switch surgery. It's for people in the highest class of obesity (people with a BMI of 50+)

My surgery is not SUPPOSED to have dumping, but imagine my surprise when I dumped after having low carb wheat bread... I was more nauseous than I have EVER been in my life and I had brain surgery and thought nothing could top that! I was wrong! I had the cold sweats, the shakes, diarrhea, etc. I felt like I was gonna die, it was so bad! I was mad at the surgeons office for originally saying you don't dump with this surgery and when I told them what happened they just told me to avoid wheat products! 😒 Like I would actually touch them again, hell no! Anyway, not everyone dumps and those who do don't necessarily dump over the same things. You'll just have to figure out if something triggers it for you and avoid those foods. Stock up on anti-nausea pills in the mean time. They don't do much to help, but they do take SOME of the nausea away. Some is better than none...

I buy the Bariatric Advantage brand for my calcium. I buy both the chewy ones (I like the strawberry and orange) and the chewable tablet ones (I like the cherry). I like the chewy ones more, but they're also $8 more for the same amount so I end up buying only one bag of those and three of the other ones when I stock up (which I've only had to do twice so far) mostly because I can't make myself spend the extra money to get all chewy ones when I have no issue with the tablet chewables other than they're a little chalky.

I like mini bell peppers with a sprinkle of cheese (and warmed a bit in the oven or microwave) dipped in salsa. It's yummy! Also carrots and a tablespoon of ranch dip.

It's different for every clinic but my surgeon said to start my vitamins 7 days after surgery.