ShoppGirl

Hi Hannah and welcome. So glad to hear how you are basically maintaining your loss. Many do gain a bit of Bounce back weight. Like 10-20 pounds. I have heard it’s usually around year two or three. Maybe your bounce back is just delayed a bit??

So how did this work out? I’m assuming that you had your surgery by now. Did you get your machine? Do you still need it post surgery??

I am so sorry to hear that. I can only imagine what a letdown that must’ve been. Wishing you a speedy recovery and a swift new surgery date with an awesome plan to tackle all of your issues.

Tomatoes are definitely an issue for many people. You said the day it started you had tomatoes soup but you had this issue two nights. Did you have the soup the second day as well? Or anything else new?? If not I’m thinking it’s unlikely that it’s food related and maybe you should make another call to update the doctor that you had it what I’m guessing was well over 24 hours after you ate the new food. I never had the foamies but I do not think they last that long. Perhaps others can chime in on that. How are you feeling now?

The more I think about it this may be done of those times where you have to set boundaries with your friends. I’d like to think they will enjoy your company Regardless they just think YOU will no have as much fun if you are left out. I have learned though that you can have just as much fun drinking non alcohol drink. I like iced coffee if you are allowed caffeine (black with milk and Splenda). If you give in and have even one drink though this time they may bug you that much more to have food you don’t want down the road. If you stand your ground this time though, they may not try to get you to have just one slice of cake at the next get together. If that makes any sense. Only you know your friends but it’s something to consider.

Alcohol is very weird for me post surgery. I never seem to feel the buzzed feeling I used to. I like the taste of my rum and crystal light (I used to drink rum and diet or Coke Zero) I assume it’s because of the sugar it tastes good but otherwise it really is a waste of calories for me. Most people claim they get intoxicated way faster and it seems to go away way faster. If you do decide to drink out with friends I wouldn’t do that until you test out the exact same thing at home first with the same exact mixer and everything to make sure it doesn’t physically make you sick, be sure you have a designated driver since your body processes alcohol differently now and be sure you plan ahead what healthy snacks you will eat when your inhibitions go down if your like me and you want to eat.

I meant to say bypass (I had sleeve and I remind them with every rx just in case but we shouldn’t have to).

It is definitely possible in the beginning but as mentioned you will also hit stalls which seem just as impossible because you won’t lose for days or even weeks when your calories are just as low. Also, the closer you get to normal the slower the loss will be so enjoy the quick loss ride while it lasts.

I would seriously consider another doc. There are medications that are no longer appropriate for you and I assume other things that will only make sense in the context that you had surgery. Thats something that the doctor needs to know. Of course you can just remind them with every rx that you had the sleeve and make sure it’s okay but if they are missing that, what else are they missing.

Does he have your records. He must not have reviewed them too closely if he didn’t know that you had a major surgery and that your weight is way down. Honestly I wouldn’t care much about his opinion of my weight but I may take that as a hint that he isn’t paying enough attention to your history.

I was swallowing my pills the day after surgery at the hospital as well. They do have those pill crushers at Walmart though and I was told by the pharmacist it’s okay to mix it in with like half a yogurt or more to dilute the gross taste. Just keep in mind that to get the full dose you have to eat it all.

I had texture issues too and my entire purée stage consisted of soup hummus, refried beans and mashed potatoes (yes my team permitted them) along with yogurt and protein shakes. It wasn’t much variety and yea it got very old but I survived it. I didn’t think of it but puréed sweet potatoes would have added a little more variety. Keep in mind also you can purée any soup you like. Just make sure to supplement with shakes if the meals do not have much protein.

Yea. I was instructed to take stool softeners in preparation for that first bowel movement as well and when I did feel like I needed to go but couldn’t I took milk of magnesia and that worked wonders. From then on I took a spoonful of soluable fiber each day and that kept me regular.(i weaned off of it once I got closer to a normal serving size but some people need to take something forever).

They told me two nights as well, but because I didn’t have any issues they let me go after one night. Fingers crossed. It will be the same for you.

I agree that you may be awake. I wasn’t in a great deal of pain and asked to be taken off the pain meds so I was awake too. I am pretty easily occupied by my phone but if you prefer to read or crochet or something else, Bringing that is not a bad idea. If you have someone coming to visit they can always bring things too. The reason they say not to pack alot is that you are separated from your bag during surgery and recovery and I don’t even know where they keep it cause you don’t have a room until you leave recovery. I definitely wouldn’t bring anything you would be upset to lose but I do agree that you may want something to occupy your time.

Yea the gowns are backless. Lol

Some programs frowned upon it but my program allowed mashed potatoes on purée stage. They are most likely on the menu of soup is not. Just keep in mind like already mentioned this will not satisfy protein so you will want to make that up the rest of the day.

The only thing I needed were my comfy pajama pants under the gown and my extra long phone charger. I used my iPad cause I brought it but could’ve lived without it to be honest. I had to shower right before I left for hospital with the special soap so I just wore the same thing home from the hospital with fresh undergarments. Ooh and I did freshen up with a washcloth and put on deodorant and brushed my teeth of course. I wasn’t allowed to shower so I didn’t really need my other toiletries. Honestly you don’t need much.

Incredible progress. 👍

Waiting for insurance is the pits. I have heard that once submitted they have 30 days to either approve or deny it. Perhaps you could call the insurance and ask if they received it and when (and also whether what I heard is true in all cases). I’m the mean time I agree with starting your healthy habits. One thing that was hard for me to get used to was taking the vitamins. Perhaps take a regular (non bariatric) version but take it at the same times a day you plan to take the bariatric on (also order those soon cause they take a while to shop for whatever reason and take advantage of auto ship and adjust the date based on your surgery date if you want or just stay a little ahead. Also, getting used to logging calories and water intake. You can make adjustments to calories or not it’s up to you but getting used to logging them and your fluids are things you will eventually have to do (having some idea how much water you naturally drink now may be good to know as well cause I not everyone drinks 64oz Exactly. I actually drank way more than that). Another thing that was an adjustment for me was not drinking before or after meals. Perhaps practice some of these things now and you will be ahead of the game by the time you are approved. Your surgery time will be here before you know it.

When it came to purée foods I had to stick with foods that are supposed to be purée because I have issues with consistency but for people who don’t you can have a lot more variety. You can purée almost anything. Just add more sauce or gravy to thin it even more in the beginning and be creative with flavors.

I took it for several months after sleeve. Just a spoonful a day in my crystal light. I used the generic powder at Walmart. Much cheaper. Like arabesque I discontinued it once I was eating larger portions and more variety.

Looks like you’ve got tons of advice here but I will add what worked for me. I had this issue once and I took milk of magnesia the first time it worked like a charm but the NP said to start taking benefiber daily to prevent it from happening again. I took a spoonful of the generic powder one from Walmart dissolved in my crystal light each morning. I continued that until my servings got much closer to normal serving size and I was actually eating some fruits and veggies. At that point I weaned off of it and I’ve been fine since. Many people do have to remain in something preventative forever though.

Not everyone has to do the pre op diet. It varies greatly between doctor and amongst patients. I personally had a low carb type diet for a week and just the normal liquid thing the day before. The purpose of the diet is to shrink your liver so that it’s not in the way during surgery. If your doctor doesn’t require it then they don’t think you need it. Count your blessings. For many people the preop diet is the hardest part.

Okay so I have been following but not posting much for a little while. I have been frustrated, feeling like I don’t have much advice to offer others because I have been searching for my own answers and very embarrassed about my weigh gain. Anyways, for those of you who don’t know me, I had my surgery March 9, 2021 at 235 (5’8”). I lost pretty steadily down to 169 but then stalled for months on end until my appetite came back and I started gaining and continue to gain. I have been struggling uphill while searching for answers ever since. The bariatric team blames my psyc meds but the prescribing dr claims they are weight neutral meds. My family dr agrees and showed me an article about the cravings they cause but he ordered thyroid and diabetes tests too which came back fine but I continue to gain so I made an appointment with an endocrine doctor thanks to a few people on here who suggested it. I finally just seen the endo doc and My cortisol was elevated on the suppression test so I just completed the two day saliva test which hopefully will bring some more answers but what they have said so far is that it’s probably sub clinical cushings which takes a while to confirm. I thought about waiting until I had more info but they said it will be another two or three weeks for these results and I may need more tests after that. I guess MY diagnosis is not really the point anyways. My point is I have recently learned of three things that could be the culprit of my weight that were never tested before surgery and I wonder why they don’t mention these tests pre surgery. I mean They are simple blood tests. I even googled to see why the cushings thing isn’t investigated since it doesn’t resolve with bariatric surgery and all I could find was one article that said it is of course suggested if you present with any of the classic symptoms but in terms of a blanket requirement for people considering bariatric surgery this person felt it unnecessary because it’s not extremely common. I guess maybe that’s the view of my doctor too but I sure wish I was presented with the option at least. I am just curious whether these are things that are tested or even brought up by other people doctors prior to surgery or what others think about whether they should be. And perhaps to give some people things they can investigate first if they are on the fence about surgery. I just feel like the surgery was never going to work for me because it seems likely that the root of my issue is still there. I am maintaining SOME of the loss but according to what I understand about what I have read so far, left untreated I will steadily continue to gain. I know this is still up in the air and not a super common thing regardless but I can’t be the only one struggling with this pre or post surgery and I hope my experience can help someone else struggle just a little less cause watching everyone around me try to be polite as I slowly put the weight back on has felt even worse than being obese was to begin with. I am trying to hang In there for answers and give myself grace but it’s hard to not feel like a failure as I continue to gain and everyone now knows I had surgery and of course I have to wonder if I blew my one shot at surgery because I am doing these tests after instead of before surgery. Regardless, if you are someone who doesn’t really make a ton of poor food choices but just eats more than “normal” because you always feel hungry, consider a cortisol test before surgery. I wish I had.