NovaLuna

They're likely concerned that since you already have issues with heartburn and thus stomach acid that the VSG would make it worse. Some 30% of people who have VSG end up having acid issue and many end up having to get revisions to a Gastric Bypass. But then the other 70% either have no difference or nothing significant changes. I have acid issues from my EoE so my gastroenterologist was pushing for the Bypass, but it was MY decision in the end and I went for the Loop Duodenal Switch which has a VSG stomach (just with the intestinal malabsorption bit added) and my acid issues hasn't got any worse. In fact, I believe it's slightly better than it was. So just weigh the pro's and con's and choose whatever makes YOU happy because it's your life and YOUR choice in the end because you are the one that will have to live with it. Not your doctor or anyone else.

Well, I'm 19 months out. According to my logbook I lost the most my first month. This is my entire weight loss log post surgery if you're curious (for reference, I lost 68 pounds prior to surgery. I also have more stalls then anyone I've ever seen on this site) :
1st Month= 23 pounds
2nd Month= 15 pounds
3rd Month= 17 pounds
4th Month= 10 pounds
5th Month= 9 pounds
6th Month= 10 pounds
7th Month= 6 pounds
8th Month= 9 pounds
9th Month= 5 pounds
10th Month= 7 pounds
11th Month= 6 pounds
12th Month= 4 pounds
13th Month= 4 pounds
14th Month= 3 pounds
15th Month= 4 pounds
16th Month= 4 pounds
17th Month= 1 pound
18th Month= 5 pounds
19 Month= 1 pound

I am now on the Loser’s Bench. So far it’s been decent. Low pain (yay!) but I am dizzy, even hours after the anesthesia wore off. Lying down make me nauseous. My BP is up, where it is usually pretty normal. My blood sugar was elevated and they gave me an insulin shot. I’m not super worked up about it, but I’d like to hear others’ stories. How normal is this?

Well, I'm 19 months out. According to my logbook I lost the most my first month. This is my entire weight loss log post surgery if you're curious (for reference, I lost 68 pounds prior to surgery. I also have more stalls then anyone I've ever seen on this site) :
1st Month= 23 pounds
2nd Month= 15 pounds
3rd Month= 17 pounds
4th Month= 10 pounds
5th Month= 9 pounds
6th Month= 10 pounds
7th Month= 6 pounds
8th Month= 9 pounds
9th Month= 5 pounds
10th Month= 7 pounds
11th Month= 6 pounds
12th Month= 4 pounds
13th Month= 4 pounds
14th Month= 3 pounds
15th Month= 4 pounds
16th Month= 4 pounds
17th Month= 1 pound
18th Month= 5 pounds
19 Month= 1 pound

My highest recorded weight was 392 (in 2017). I was 389 when I started the program to have WLS and since my program required a 6 month monitored weight loss I lost 68 pounds during that time and was 321 on my surgery day. I'm currently 178 pounds. For reference... I had the Loop Duodenal Switch/SADI-S/SIPS surgery. It's a gastric sleeve stomach, just with the added intestinal bypass bit.

My highest recorded weight was 392 (in 2017). I was 389 when I started the program to have WLS and since my program required a 6 month monitored weight loss I lost 68 pounds during that time and was 321 on my surgery day. I'm currently 178 pounds. For reference... I had the Loop Duodenal Switch/SADI-S/SIPS surgery. It's a gastric sleeve stomach, just with the added intestinal bypass bit.

Um, yes? But the only thing that bothers me is most of what they eat has wheat in it and I developed a wheat allergy after surgery so when they make a mess and don't clean it up I complain because if I am forced to clean up after them I'll end up with giant rashes due to my allergy. It gets really irritating! I'm actually surprised that I don't feel like cheating most of the time. I mean, yeah, the fact that they buy chocolate and keep it in candy dishes makes me always grab at least two of them a day when they're there (85 calories for those tiny little chocolates) but I fit them into my diet so I don't feel like it's cheating (I'm almost 19 month out so my diet is a lot more lax then someone just starting out).

I know you said that you don't want to hear it, but it has everything to do with the fact that you started at a lower weight than most. People have high expectations, unrealistic expectations, when they have their surgery. I'm one of those people who was guilty of those unrealistic expectations. Stalls happen. And yes, they can happen early. The fact is, that you ARE still losing. Is it frustrating that it's not as fast as you want? Yes. Does it make you want to scream or throw your scale? Again, yes. All you can do is tell yourself that you are doing everything you are supposed to and maybe just avoid the scale for two or three weeks. I've had more stalls along my journey than anyone I've ever seen on this site. My longest one lasted 40-something days (I literally forgot the exact number, but it was in the 40-something range and was May-June 2021) and I thought 'This is it. This is as far as I'm going to go' and I was beyond frustrated because at that point I was stuck at 186, which was only 6 pounds from my goal weight. Then, my weight loss suddenly kicked back in and in the following two months I lost 8 pounds (which is amazing considering I was lucky to lose even 2 pounds in a month at this point as 1 had been the norm for a few months). I'm currently dealing with a 20 day stall, but I don't care as much because 1. I've already met my personal goal so all the extra weight loss is just a bonus, and 2. I'm in physical therapy for my arthritis so inflammation is a THING! People telling you not to be frustrated, honestly isn't going to help. It isn't going to make it go away. But, it's normal. Also, everyone loses weight at a different pace. Sometimes slow and steady is the better way to do it (honestly, I think your skin may bounce back better that way as well. So maybe just try to look for some positives, even if it may seem impossible to find them with how frustrated you undoubtedly are).

I know you said that you don't want to hear it, but it has everything to do with the fact that you started at a lower weight than most. People have high expectations, unrealistic expectations, when they have their surgery. I'm one of those people who was guilty of those unrealistic expectations. Stalls happen. And yes, they can happen early. The fact is, that you ARE still losing. Is it frustrating that it's not as fast as you want? Yes. Does it make you want to scream or throw your scale? Again, yes. All you can do is tell yourself that you are doing everything you are supposed to and maybe just avoid the scale for two or three weeks. I've had more stalls along my journey than anyone I've ever seen on this site. My longest one lasted 40-something days (I literally forgot the exact number, but it was in the 40-something range and was May-June 2021) and I thought 'This is it. This is as far as I'm going to go' and I was beyond frustrated because at that point I was stuck at 186, which was only 6 pounds from my goal weight. Then, my weight loss suddenly kicked back in and in the following two months I lost 8 pounds (which is amazing considering I was lucky to lose even 2 pounds in a month at this point as 1 had been the norm for a few months). I'm currently dealing with a 20 day stall, but I don't care as much because 1. I've already met my personal goal so all the extra weight loss is just a bonus, and 2. I'm in physical therapy for my arthritis so inflammation is a THING! People telling you not to be frustrated, honestly isn't going to help. It isn't going to make it go away. But, it's normal. Also, everyone loses weight at a different pace. Sometimes slow and steady is the better way to do it (honestly, I think your skin may bounce back better that way as well. So maybe just try to look for some positives, even if it may seem impossible to find them with how frustrated you undoubtedly are).

You had a low start weight and not far away from the healthy weight range for your height. You've been losing 1lb a week, you've been going great. I think you may want to reconsider your expectations.
You say you are stuck at 167lb? How long for? Stalls are par the course even with weight loss surgery. Patience is needed for stalls, and as long as you are following your post op guidelines the scale weight will catch up.
At only six weeks post op you are progressing through the food stages and are probably starting to move a lot more, possibly even exercising. Your body is adapting to change, give it time.

I dropped into the 100's this week. I'd been looking forward to it for so long that it almost seemed unreal that there was no trumpet fanfare when it happened 📯. I haven't shared it with anyone and am savoring it. The last time I remember being this weight for certain was just around high school graduation. But just so my ego didn't get too big, surgery kicked in the next and gave me foamies and pain when I didn't eat slowly enough. That hasn't happened in a long time. I think it was a poetic-justice reminder.
On a slightly less exciting note, "the girls" have dropped to a size I don't recall since early high school . I've always been well-endowed, even before being morbidly obese, so it is quite a change. I have broken down and purchased some new clothes. I realized for myself, despite being told, that I look terrible in all my too-big clothing. I think it was a security blanket of sorts. For so long, nothing was ever too big or too loose. I still hate shopping. I have no idea what size I need from what store.
I asked the doctor in my program for a suggestion for a therapist. I couldn't get an appointment until February. But I was able to get into a cancellation next week. I'm excited as I had some very specific criteria for a therapist, experience with bariatric patients was only one. I'm looking forward to having someone to process changes with as well as the road ahead. I again want to thank all of you on this board for the ongoing advice and support. I'm grateful for having found you. I belong to a few FB groups and am astounded by the misinformation and lack of preparation/education that is out there.
That's all ❤️

The funny thing is that I'm a reader so I brought a ton of books to the hospital, but I didn't read a single one lol. I walked the halls and watched GSN (Game Show Network. For some reason whenever I'm hospitalized that's the station the TV stays on lol. I don't even watch TV at home! 😂). But yeah, I was exhausted after surgery, but forced myself to walk the halls every 45 minutes to an hour to work the gas out. I got complimented by the nurses for walking so much lol. I didn't feel like doing much else so I just watched TV and walked.

Thank you so much! The stalls really had me discouraged. Congratulations on your achievements!

In addition to Tylenol, for my arthritis I take Tumeric and Ginger Root which you can find in the Vitamin section (3 Tumeric, 1 Ginger Root a day). I also use Aspercreme with Lidocaine for my knees and back. You can try those things or try talking to your PCP and get their opinion.

Anyone who has lost a significant amount of weight is going to have at least SOME excess skin. The amount a person has depends on a bunch of different things such as your age (the elasticity of your skin tends to be better the younger you are and thus you're more likely to have less excess skin the younger you are), how long you've been obese, the amount you exercise/your exercise routine, the amount of weight you actually lose, etc. For me, I'm disabled, 34, and had been obese for 20+ years so after losing 210 pounds I have quite a lot of excess skin. However, I'd rather have that excess skin then the fat. I can easily hide the skin beneath clothes, so while I know it's there, everyone else doesn't.
In the end, the choice for surgery is very much a personal choice. Just weigh the pro's and con's and do your research. Whatever choice you make is one that you're making for YOU, so make sure it's something that makes you happy.

Most surgeons are different, but the minimum is usually 6 months. My surgeon's office was 1 year. Alcohol hits you harder after surgery and is also empty calories. They also worry that food addiction will transfer to alcohol as it's very common in WLS patients. So maybe ask your surgeons office what their guidelines are and decide from there.

Anyone who has lost a significant amount of weight is going to have at least SOME excess skin. The amount a person has depends on a bunch of different things such as your age (the elasticity of your skin tends to be better the younger you are and thus you're more likely to have less excess skin the younger you are), how long you've been obese, the amount you exercise/your exercise routine, the amount of weight you actually lose, etc. For me, I'm disabled, 34, and had been obese for 20+ years so after losing 210 pounds I have quite a lot of excess skin. However, I'd rather have that excess skin then the fat. I can easily hide the skin beneath clothes, so while I know it's there, everyone else doesn't.
In the end, the choice for surgery is very much a personal choice. Just weigh the pro's and con's and do your research. Whatever choice you make is one that you're making for YOU, so make sure it's something that makes you happy.

So I was telling my brother about how I’m doing well on the pre-op liquid diet (down 14 lbs in 10 days!) and he says “Just think, if you’d just do that regularly you wouldn’t have to go through surgery.”

I know its just ignorance and he doesn’t get it, but it still hurts. Feeling down on myself right now.

When you've been morbidly obese or super morbidly obese (which was my case) for so long it's really hard to imagine a time when you'll be able to walk for more than 2 minutes and not get out of breath. It's hard to imagine going to the doctor and not having them IMMEDIATELY bring up your weight, even when it had absolutely nothing to do with why you were at the doctor in the first place. It's hard to wrap your head around going out in public and not having strangers gawking at you and judging you because of your size. I couldn't wrap my head around that at all because I had been obese for more than 20 years and super morbidly obese for half of that time. I was 32 when I had my surgery (I'm 34 now) so trying to wrap my head around NOT being obese was impossible. I didn't know what that would feel like, and I think a part of me thought that no matter how hard I tried I just wouldn't get there. But I did. I'm 19 months post op now and when I go to the doctor my weight is NEVER brought up unless I bring it up myself. I don't get stared at anymore for doing simple things like going grocery shopping. And, the best part is that I don't get out of breath from just walking. I had a lung function test done before surgery and my asthma was tested as 'severe'. My doctor had me recently do another lung function test and now my asthma is 'mild'.
It's hard to imagine how things will be a year or two from now, but you have a lot to look forward to! I wish you the best on your journey!

I had low standards lol. For me I was excited to fit into non plus sized clothing (I used to be a 34 in US womens jeans. I'm now a 12), when I had my blood pressure taken at the doctors office I wanted them to be able to take it on my upper arm like a normal person instead of having it on my wrist because it didn't fit my upper arm, when I had to do tests at the doctor's I was looking forward to not having to ask for a plus sized gown anymore, to being able to fit into the back seat of a car again (the seat belt in the back seats used to never fit me. it made family road trips difficult), to being able to sit in a booth at a restaurant again, to not get out of breath walking for more than 5 minutes, etc. Those were all the things I looked forward to most. And I've met all of those goals.

I'm sorry, but the above is terrible counsel.
A 50 ml shot of vodka is 110 calories (for Americans, a standard 1.5 oz. shot of vodka is 96 calories.) 8 shots of vodka is nearly 900 calories just in alcohol, completely empty of nutrition. Most post-surgery diets ask you to stay under 1000 calories a day.

Like stated above, liquid stage goes right through you and your stomach was just operated on. Some won't be able to feel full on liquid stage though on puree you may or may not be able to. Please don't move stages too fast, you can damage your still recovering stomach! I know it's miserable in liquid stage, but it passes relatively fast. It just feels like it crawls by at the time. Also, head hunger is a thing and can really mess with you. And smoothies may not be a good option. I was told to avoid berries for three months because they're hard to digest (strawberries, raspberries, bananas, blueberries, etc.) and berries tend to be the go to when it comes to smoothies. I mean, there is the option of peaches or apples or cherries or plums or mango, but usually people want to toss in a banana and that's hard on your stomach (according to my surgeon, anyway. I tried strawberries at a month and half out and got sooooo sick, so I believe it, personally).
Congrats on your surgery and I hope the liquid stage passes quickly for you. (Also, kind of wondering why they require two weeks? My surgeon was 1 week liquid, 1 week puree, 2 weeks soft food, and the general diet with some limitations [no berries, nuts, lettuce, peas, Beans, corn, potatoes, etc. for a certain amount of time]. I mean, all surgeons are different, but I'm kind of curious...)

When you've been morbidly obese or super morbidly obese (which was my case) for so long it's really hard to imagine a time when you'll be able to walk for more than 2 minutes and not get out of breath. It's hard to imagine going to the doctor and not having them IMMEDIATELY bring up your weight, even when it had absolutely nothing to do with why you were at the doctor in the first place. It's hard to wrap your head around going out in public and not having strangers gawking at you and judging you because of your size. I couldn't wrap my head around that at all because I had been obese for more than 20 years and super morbidly obese for half of that time. I was 32 when I had my surgery (I'm 34 now) so trying to wrap my head around NOT being obese was impossible. I didn't know what that would feel like, and I think a part of me thought that no matter how hard I tried I just wouldn't get there. But I did. I'm 19 months post op now and when I go to the doctor my weight is NEVER brought up unless I bring it up myself. I don't get stared at anymore for doing simple things like going grocery shopping. And, the best part is that I don't get out of breath from just walking. I had a lung function test done before surgery and my asthma was tested as 'severe'. My doctor had me recently do another lung function test and now my asthma is 'mild'.
It's hard to imagine how things will be a year or two from now, but you have a lot to look forward to! I wish you the best on your journey!

Um, yes? But the only thing that bothers me is most of what they eat has wheat in it and I developed a wheat allergy after surgery so when they make a mess and don't clean it up I complain because if I am forced to clean up after them I'll end up with giant rashes due to my allergy. It gets really irritating! I'm actually surprised that I don't feel like cheating most of the time. I mean, yeah, the fact that they buy chocolate and keep it in candy dishes makes me always grab at least two of them a day when they're there (85 calories for those tiny little chocolates) but I fit them into my diet so I don't feel like it's cheating (I'm almost 19 month out so my diet is a lot more lax then someone just starting out).

sorry to hijack the thread - but a 20 lbs loss the first month is very normal. Most of us lose somewhere in the 15-25 lbs range the first month - so you're right in the middle of that!