LAJ23

I'm not sure what you think I lied about - I didn't lie about anything. I went thru the entire program at one hospital, then changed hospitals 3 weeks before surgery. The reason for that is because I found a hospital much closer to my house, and the original surgeon was pushing me to get gastric bypass when I didn't feel that I needed such invasive surgery and was more comfortable with VSG. I only met with the dietician ONCE pre-op and that was 10 days before surgery for 30 minutes, as they were already aware I completed all of this at the first hospital. At the first hospital, Premier Protein was not only approved, but it was also encouraged, so that's what I was drinking. While the new dietician wasn't a fan of PP, she didn't say I COULDN'T have it. My entire pre-op diet, I drank PP without issue. I never went "awall" (it's actually AWOL - absent without leave) as you seem to think. Please don't comment, especially so rudely, when you obviously don't have the facts about my situation and are comfortable making false accusations. If you didn't want to answer my original post, you could've just scrolled by without being so insolent.

I'm not sure what you think I lied about - I didn't lie about anything. I went thru the entire program at one hospital, then changed hospitals 3 weeks before surgery. The reason for that is because I found a hospital much closer to my house, and the original surgeon was pushing me to get gastric bypass when I didn't feel that I needed such invasive surgery and was more comfortable with VSG. I only met with the dietician ONCE pre-op and that was 10 days before surgery for 30 minutes, as they were already aware I completed all of this at the first hospital. At the first hospital, Premier Protein was not only approved, but it was also encouraged, so that's what I was drinking. While the new dietician wasn't a fan of PP, she didn't say I COULDN'T have it. My entire pre-op diet, I drank PP without issue. I never went "awall" (it's actually AWOL - absent without leave) as you seem to think. Please don't comment, especially so rudely, when you obviously don't have the facts about my situation and are comfortable making false accusations. If you didn't want to answer my original post, you could've just scrolled by without being so insolent.

Oddly, they totally push Fairlife. It just seems to be PP that they are against. To be clear, it was the PA at my post-op visit that was REALLY against it. I only met the dietician once before surgery and while she said PP was not a good choice, she didn't really explain why she didn't say it wasn't allowed. Pre-op I drank two PP shakes a day and they seemed fine with it.

Right now I'm taking Calcium x3 during the day, then multivitamin, Iron, and B12 at night. Stool softener if I haven't had a movement within the past couple days.
I also take Biotin, but after a discussion with my surgeon he mentioned that there isn't any evidence that it aids in preventing Hair loss. Apparently the shock of surgery simply causes a lot of your hair to shed at once, not break... It isn't related to the strength of your hair itself, where biotin/collagen may help. My plan is to finish off the bottle and not continue to take any.

Yup. I have a daily pill container that I use and just take it throughout the day. Takes me a few mins to take them no issues with swallowing thank God.

yep as far as numbers go.
It doesn't take me an hour to get them down, though. I take a small handful in the morning - then three in the late afternoon. Iron and Vitamin C before I go to bed. I load up my pill container thingie on Saturday night (for the week) and then I'm pretty much on auto-pilot for the rest of the week.

Thank you. It's not my "goal" to get carbs, I just need to get some kind of food in me one way or another and absolutely nothing is appealing or tastes good. Pasta smelled great the other night when he made it, so I was going to try a small bite and see what happens, but I didn't want to risk being in excruciating pain or causing damage to my sleeve. I was able to eat about a teaspoon of garlic hummus last night - that was dinner. 😞

Pasta still kind of sits like a lump in my stomach at five years out - that's why I don't eat much of it when I *do* eat it, which is not very often. My family often has lasagna at Christmas - so in the past I've made a zucchini one for myself and the other dieters in the family (using zucchini slices instead of pasta, that is). Honestly, I can't really tell the difference because all the flavor in lasagna is in the sauce...

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.

Hang in there! It does get better! The morning I checked in for surgery, I was 223.2. When I left the next day I was about 9# heavier due to the air & fluids they pump you full of. Within a week, I lost that weight, and now I'm down an additional 15# on top of the 10# from surgery. I had surgery on 8/19, so I'm 3 weeks out. This past weekend I was stuck at 209.5 for about 4-5 days, but I think it was due to a whey Protein allergy. I'm also having a minor complication, so I'm having a UGI x-ray tomorrow morning to see if I have a blockage or something else. As long as you're feeling ok, follow the instructions and things will get back on track! 🙂

Sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Yes, it does get better! I felt pretty miserable for the first 4-6 days, then I literally woke up one morning and felt really good. I'm now over 3 weeks out and having a (hopefully) minor complication and have to go for a UGI x-ray this morning. I've hardly been able to drink or eat anything for nearly a week as my sleeve constantly feels full, my abdomen is distended, and other things. Hoping it's nothing major. That said, all surgery-related pain is long gone. Feel better soon!

I'm 3 weeks out and down 40# from my highest weight which was in February 2020. I lost about 15# pre-op and 25# post-op.
HW 247
CW 207

yes - normal. You were pumped full of IV fluids in the hospital and likely left heavier than when you arrived. Some people "gain" up to 10 lbs while in the hospital. It takes a few days to work its way out of your system

this is why I don't like it when people compare their weight loss with others, and why I hesitated to respond to the OP's question - although I put it out there regardless because I was a "slow loser" from the get-go, so I figured it might be OK for people to see that I was below average in the rate-of-weight-loss dept, yet I lost all of my excess weight ANYWAY. Your level of commitment to your program has FAR more influence on your ultimate success than your rate of weight loss ever will.
Regardless, this may or may not be your problem. You may be more of an "average" loser or even a fast one. It's too early to tell. But right now, it's the IV Fluid weight that you've dealt with. Should be out of your system right around now, though, so you should be on your way...

I weigh myself in the am. I have lost a total of 10 lbs (this includes the 2 week liquid diet) and I’m two weeks post-surgery. I’m very discouraged, but hoping things will pick up. I know some people are slow losers and I’m trying to be patient. I had one day that I had a 3 lb gain and was really upset. It will work out!

I’ve had 4 of the FL UGIs this year. They aren’t terrible but the gastrografin is worse tasting than the barium although neither one is particularly great tasting. If you have issues with vertigo then I would let them know before you begin the testing. They may have you do all the moving yourself instead of using the table options.

Good luck. Hopefully they find out what’s going on so you can feel better.

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 posted a pic of my appointment so u can see exactly which ugi i had incase they are different but yeah wasn't pleasant. I also was told Bariatric Advantage shakes only post op but went with pp and both made me il so thats that lol. Hopefully everything is okay and its just a food intolerance and sometimes food intolerances are only temporary. The post surgery has definitely been more complex than advertised ☺️. Let us know how it goes!

hi. i was pretty il in the hospital and had that nasty test done. lol. Including pic for exact wording of test i had. you drink really putrid cup of yuck. They have you standing against this thing which turns out that it lifts you in air and goes in different laying positions etc. then when its done it returns you to standing, It was very unpleasant. Very. On mine it said i had an ileus which meant something was still sleeping or something like that. I had my surgery on aug 28. I was in hospital for 4 days and the nurse wanted to stay longer because of ileus. but the surgeon said it was cool to go home so i went with that and am sleeping in my own bed. I did alot of regurging shakes and weird noises were coming from my pouch while trying shakes. once on puree this got so much better mainly because right now i am not drinking shakes. i know i am below all my Protein and Water goal but i try everyday as a new day. i plan to try to get my protein mostly from foods. i am hoping my pouch will get up to 3 oz so i can eat 3 eggs which is 21g protein and that would help. i thought about getting some unflavored protein (genepro etc) and using it. If it is a shake allergy of whey try Premier Protein its milk protein. There are other options out there. good luck at the test it made me so much more nauseas. just try to hang in there and dont give up 👯‍♂️

I guess I'm different because I don't have any "never again" foods. Both during my weight loss phase and now in maintenance I practice moderation and logging. For me personally, if have a forbidden food, and I succumb to it, then I fail. If nothing is off limits, I can only fail if I don't lose/regain.

Only being 3 weeks out I would imagine you are weak. It takes a good 4 to 6 weeks and sometimes longer to get your energy back. You have gone through a major surgery. I felt like it was Thanksgiving with the sleeve too even after being 2 1/2 years with it although it did relax the 2nd year it was still restrictive. You may be only able to take a couple of small bites of food or only be able to drink a small amount of a Protein Shake and that is normal right now. It would take me a whole day to drink a shake in the beginning and I could not have more then 5 bites of food and I was stuffed for hours.
From what you are saying about your son though it wouldnt hurt to go get checked out. I hope all is well with the both of you and its nothing too serious. Good luck on your journey !!

Are you weighing yourself after you use the bathroom but before you eat and drink anything? To get the best read on your weight loss/gain - weigh yourself in the same "condition" every day. IE, in the morning before you eat or drink anything... after you've used the bathroom... and as close to nude as possible.
My weight fluctuates during the day with the intake of food and massive amounts of water.. that can add 1-2 lbs onto my weight during the day.. and clothing adds weight as well.
Make sure to weigh under the same "variables" each time.
Good luck!

I plateaud for a week and then gained two pounds and it was very discouraging but my doc said stalls and gains will happen and i have to not freak out. if i know im doing what im supposed to do the sleeve will kick back in and the weight will begin to move downwards again. She was right. I lost the two pounds last week and hopefully have broken that stall/regain for a bit. Just wait it out, stay positive and keep following doc orders;)

Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

i felt that way back when i was on just shakes and waters. when i got the purees was a new game. could it be a food intolerance to your shake kind i heard those could come on. also did u try the gasx for it yet (chewable) I was prescribed 80mg "simethicone" that i can take for bloat

Oh no i am so sorry your experiencing this. I cannot relate so it's hard to know what to say to u. This is obvious, but ld def talk to ur doc asap after the holiday. I know everyone is diff and some ppl do feel extremely full, nauseous and even hungry. Since everyone is so diff its hard to know what is "normal" and not concerning. Good luck and keep us posted!

Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Thanks, everyone! Oddly, I got onto the scale a few hours later and it read 209.5 - which is more like where I should be. I'm guessing it has to be the scale, but the stupid thing is brand new! I bought it when I started this journey, so I'm not sure what happened.