The Greater Fool

I had Gastric Bypass. I did it for the malabsorption and the dumping. Never had GERD, never cared about GERD, don't have GERD now. But I did have more than 1/4 ton to lose. The only consideration is what one surgery could give me the best chance of success. I didn't want a do over. In fact my surgeon made it clear, no do overs. Malabsorption is one of those things you don't know if you have any or too much until you get blood work done. Generally my labs are great, aside from some anemia that comes and goes, but nothing that can't be dealt with. I take plenty of serious meds that my medical team were not worried about in the slightest. They knew they could adjust whatever would be needed whether from malabsorption or weight loss. Fortunately, when it comes do dumping I lucked out. I dump like, well, a big dumping dump truck on sugars and fats. It's amazing how few times you need to dump to learn to stay away from certain foods. And stay away. For 20 years, so far. I've also maintained my weight loss for 20 years. Not a single regret about my surgery choice. Having said the above, my choice fit my priorities. Make sure your choices fit yours. Good luck, Tek

As surgeons are people so they each have their quirks, Where one might not give this a second thought another might run screaming from the room upon hearing you sniffle. The pre-surgery diet is no doubt stressing your body, so it can have an impact in many possible ways both small and smaller. It's up to you how honest you want to be knowing the risks. I would be tempted to keep my mouth shut and a tissue at hand. Of course, me keeping my mouth shut would be a big ask. Good luck, Tek

Get off the scale. You don't need it to succeed. Look at how you are doing well on your plan but the scale has you thinking you need to change something. You can get the scale moving by throwing it away. BTW, I was 6'4" when I had surgery. Now that I ponder it 6'4" would have been very close to my waist size. There's a joke in there somewhere. My protein was about 60g a day. Maybe if I did more protein I'd still be 6'4" but over these 20 years I've also lost a couple inches in height. Good luck, Tek

"Stage 3" means different things to different patients, if it means anything at all. Puree, on the other hand, has a consistent meaning. I pureed every good thing. EVERY meat that tasted good with every great seasoning or sauce. If you can imagine it, I pureed it, and it was great! I didn't do pictures because back then we didn't photograph food, we ate it. Mongolian BBQ was terrific, as were Thai foods. Italian sauces added a great level to flavors. Even BBQ was a great flavor. If it was a favorite to binge on pre-op it was a wonderful post-op flavoring. Want to know what I was eating? Imagine your favorites in your mind... that's what I was eating. Hope this helps. Good luck, Tek

Even "phases" are an individual surgeon and nutritionist thing. You would think they would have come up with a consistent plan for post-ops, but no such luck. Nutritional programs are like religions, surgeons & nutritionists have their beliefs that they will go to their graves to defend. They are as important as life and death and every other plan is wrong. Your surgeons' plan is the path to success, everything else will lead to failure. Get a couple drinks in your nutritionist and they may admit the ultimate truth: that it is consistency in a healthy plan that is the key to everlasting... err... maintenance. Since you mentioned shakes, broth, jello, pudding, and scrambled egg I should think anything with similar consistencies would be OK. Perhaps mashed potatoes, yogurt. I think you could probably get away with pureed just about anything protein or veggie. Basically, anything similar to what you are doing now. Likewise if your surgeon mentioned any goals or types of food for this period you could do things that would also meet those goals. Good luck, Tek

Did your surgeon tell you that you would need to crush your meds? It wasn't a necessity for me from my surgeon. If it is a requirement of your surgeon, then I would get your PCP and your surgeon talking. They undoubtedly can work it out if they both desire it to be so. If they can't work it out, figure out which of them is being inflexible then get a new one of those. As a note virtually every time released medication started out it's life as a non-time released medication, and the non-time released versions are generally still available as there are innumerable situations where time-released are problematic. Good luck, Tek

Wow, look how expensive it is! Is your surgeon or medical team selling this to you? Based on what the Nestle website claims this stuff may be marginally better than OTC drinks but ultimately may help prepare and recover from surgery. For quite a bit more coin. And quite a bit of icky, sicky. Tell your surgeon you want to change to another drink and they'll probably have no issue. If it is a problem, then you have three options: Suck it up and drink it; Get another surgeon; Keep letting your surgeon think you are drinking it while drinking something that isn't torture. The surgeon won't be able to tell; This sort of thing triggers me, I'm sorry if I over reacted. Stuff like this feels like a punishment. Good luck, Tek

Similar to you @amylittlelbs, I was a binge eater pre-op. My feelings were if one was good ten was better. As you said, therapy would not hurt. Since my Gastric Bypass was open, meaning I was cut open from stem to stern and closed up with about 35 staples plus a bonus drain. Needless to say I was in a fair bit of pain. Unfortunately, even pre-op, pain made eating nearly impossible. My plan in the first 6 weeks called for pureed foods, 3 meals of 3oz protein + 1oz veggies. It didn't take long for me to want anything I could actually chew. Puree just doesn't satisfy the need. My fantasies ran to any chewable food. In the puree period, after I got my staples out which got rid a most of my pain, I found eating extra flavorful and extra spicy food items. It was much better than bland. Even pureed flavorful food is still favorable, so it made bland, mush into flavorful, well, mush. Having learned how much flavor and spice helped during puree I continued the same with my food food, I just kept the portions to plan size. I did all sorts of Thai food focusing on the meat portions with some of the spicy sauces. Mongolian BBQ made plenty of appearances. Same with Italian foods, but watched the sauces because of the tendency toward fat, but I had enough to get the flavor. I could do a lot of spicy and bold flavors on 3-4oz of protein and 1oz of veggies per meal. Cravings: I certainly had cravings to which I gave in as often as necessary while staying within my plan. You specifically mentioned Pizza which should be no problem if you can live without the crust, which I did when my family had pizza. Motivation: You had motivation and it's understandable that it could waiver when you believe the idea that you can never eat good food again. Who cares if your thin if you can't enjoy a big part of your life that good food can be. How can you succeed if you feel completely deprived. The truth is that you can be compliant to your plan and still eat wonderful flavors. The key element to our post-op eating is portion size, focusing on protein first. You will enjoy your meals and the happiness you once received by overeating you will now associate with healthy, flavorful meals. You will hopefully never return to your previous eating habits, but you can establish new ones that will be just as satisfying in different ways. You will be able to enjoy eating wonderful foods, living a healthier life, and you may be able to participate in things that currently elude you. Good luck, Tek

It's not a general WLS thing but specifically a Gastric Bypass thing because we tend to mal-absorb some things like, specifically, Iron and Calcium. Interestingly, things like bones and teeth are made with calcium. So if one has bad teeth or bones to start, then add eating less food generally which means consuming less Calcium, then add mal-absorbing calcium, and then perhaps not adding in enough Calcium supplements and viola! teeth get worse and osteoporosis is more problematic. With Iron you end up with anemia. This is a reason supplements are more important for Gastric Bypass folks. There is a bit of good new though. More recent Gastric Bypass surgeries are more often more proximal limbs (less is bypassed) than in older surgeries, so less absorption issues and less problems. If you have a more distal (more bypassed) then think more about supplementation or at least ensure more in your diet. My surgery is older and I think more distal so I'm sure to eat plenty of ice cream Good luck, Tek

Note that the the Bypassers that have replied are OK with carbonation and Sleevers tend to issues. It's down to the differences in surgery. Sleevers still have a Pyloric valve at the bottom of their sleeve which stops food and floods so gas only has one place to go: up. RNY has no pyloric valve so food and drink go straight through to the intestines with much more room for gas. Gas now has two directions it can go. As always YMMV. Being a bypass post-op I can drink carbonation pretty easily but still don't do overly quickly. I don't think I had such until maybe 2.5 years post-op. Good luck, Tek

I broke a rib when I tripped about 1/4 mile into the San Francisco Marathon which was about 2.5 years post-op. It is a dramatic story of personal growth and the triumph of the human spirit. Sort of. There was no harm to my eating nor running plan. Didn't even get any good drugs. Good luck, Tek

Mostly that there's no alcohol in it and I don't like beer. I waited until at least 2 years post-op for actual alcohol. I didn't hit goal until about 3 years to put it in context. Good luck, Tek

Drinking is not something I really pay much attention to anymore, but on pondering it I think I'm close to following the rules. I probably stop drinking about the length of time it takes to prepare the meal. While I have a drink available while eating, I sip only when I have dry food that needs a little help. After meals I drink after the cleanup and dishes are complete. I do dump on sugars and fats. Dumping is caused by your intestines panicking and sending out the word to your body to send in all the fluids it can. This can cause profuse sweating, chills, shakes, headache, nausea, palpitations, diarrhea, vomiting, dry heaves. Usually a subset of these. Yes starts 15-30 minutes after you eat the offending food. All you can do is ride it out and avoid doing it again. Dumping is a great educator. If you dump you will learn your limits, how much you can safely eat without dumping. Unfortunately, the limits can move up or down based on any number of things, like fatigue, illness, stress, medications, etc.

Chewing well at the slower pace become my normal by about 6 months. Honestly, it's just the way it is, little thought required. On very rare occasions, when I'm rushing eating for some reason, food get's stuck. It's still uncomfortable. My level of restriction is also as it was at about 6 months. I don't know if this is because I rarely pushed my limits, or my surgeon did an exceptional job, or I'm just lucky or cursed. Good luck, Tek

On rereading my post it does read snarky. For this I apologize. I should have put some winky faces and LOLs. It struck me funny that you talked with your Doc then came here. Nothing wrong with it, I do get the need. Again, apologies. By all accounts stalls seem to be bothersome. Personally I never experienced one because I was too large for home scales. I only was able to weigh at monthly follow-ups. It was a blessing in disguise. I learned we don't need a scale to follow our plans. My Doc was on board with the concept, he never brought up my weight loss unless I did. He was interested in how the plan was going, how I was feeling, my mental attitude, any issues or concerns. Good luck, Tek

Really, why would you trust your Doc? Am I right? I'm willing to say it is a stall, but I'm not a Doctor, but as a stranger on the internet my opinion obviously carries more weight. Is it not so? Good luck, Tek

Sneezing, for me, means I've eaten enough, aka 'full'. Sniffles are another sign. Vomiting usually means I've eaten too much. I'm gonna come right out and say it: Vomiting at 4 days post-op is not desirable and could do damage to your shiny new surgery. Call your medical team. Good luck, Tek

This sounds like you may be looking for local help? You probably should contact your surgeon's team. Perhaps you're talking about something associated with an app? That's not necessarily us either. Perhaps if you expand on what you are trying to accomplish someone can help you move in the right direction. Good luck, Tek

I never experienced a stall. The secret is to get off the scale. I was too large for a home scale for at least the first year, so I only knew my weight at my monthly follow-ups with my surgeon. Eventually I was able to fit on a home scale, which I weighed on several times a day for a couple weeks, then I returned to only weighing at monthly follow-ups. It certainly made for a lot less stress over weight loss. I still only weigh at medical appointments, usually my annual physical. One does not need a scale to follow one's plan. Good luck, Tek

Eventually. Good luck, Tek

I am also a guy. I was about 43 when I had surgery, about 64 now. I needed to lose a few more pounds than you, but it's not a competition. I'm honestly shocked that you are allowed surgery with 40 pounds to lose. Generally it's a minimum of 100 (give or take) pounds to qualify for surgery. I'm not sure if your lucky or un, but I guess time will tell. The current paradigm is 2 weeks of liquid diet pre-op, then 2 to 6 weeks post-op, then about 2 to 6 weeks of puree, then on to solid foods. Difficulty at any of the steps is very individual, but you will find a way to manage it. My plan was 6 weeks of pureed from day of surgery. I never had to do a liquid diet. Not being a quitter are fighten' words around here. You are apparently at 40 excess pounds. If this is the worst case situation then if you think you can lose weight via diet and exercise it may be worthwhile for you to try. Surgery is a harsh solution. If you are down to 40 pounds overweight after having been 100 or more overweight then surgery may be your best long term solution. You know your situation better than us. Most people do manage to eat what would be considered a normal meal size after a few months. Your current view of 'normal' may not measure up. Further, most post-ops can eat just about anything eventually, which can bring with it the hazard of falling into old habits that caused you to gain weight in the first place. With a little bit of restraint most people will be fine. Personally, since you asked, I eat more than a few bites more often than not. My typical meal size is still 4oz protein, 1 or so ounces of veggies. I can finish this meal 4 of 7 times, the other times my stomach says to take a break. I enjoy good food. You must have considered all these things previously. Just review why you made your decision in the first place and you will be solid. Good luck, Tek

As an alternative, my plan never included protein drinks. My team was about new and appropriate meals that included 3-4 oz of protein (chicken, beef, pork, seafood, lentils, etc.) and 1oz veggies. Such provides appropriate levels of protein in a diet while counting on... now get this... food! Think about it. Good luck, Tek

Walking was all I did for the first couple years. My spouse and I were walking 8-10 miles several times a week. I didn't think of it as exercise but rather people watching down on the Las Vegas strip. I had decided I wasn't going to do anything more until I was about 100 pounds overweight, at which point I challenged myself to complete a a program similar to "Couch to 5K". Running sorta got under my skin after that. I only had to wear the DVT stockings while I was in bed in the hospital which was 3 days. The bed itself was a torture device so I spent the majority of the 3 days in the nice, comfortable chair that was in my room free of the DVT stockings. Good luck, Tek

My abdominoplasty and associated recovery were both ridiculously and significantly rougher than my RNY, which was open. I had heard this was the case but I didn't believe it would be as rough as it was. I had the abdominoplasty at UCLA and spent two weeks there before going home to Las Vegas. I went back about 3 weeks later to get the staples and drains removed. I didn't really work in that period, though I did some remote stuff for a couple important problems. After the staples and drains were removed I improved dramatically and quickly. That is the short, sanitized version. The long version really only applies to me and would scare the carp out of anyone contemplating this. Good luck, Tek

Fluids and purees go straight through the pouch, which is why most people are put on liquids and/or purees. Your pouch is healing and it's a way not to stress everything. You won't really notice your level of restriction until you get to actual chewable food. Good Luck, Tek