lizonaplane

I agree with what everyone else said, but I will say that right away after surgery I was eating 400-500 calories a day, but it was all protein drinks and yogurt. Around 4 months out I was eating 900-1100 calories a day, and now at five months out, it's still basically that, although some days are higher or lower.

You may have to be off caffeine for the first month after surgery and the caffe latte flavor has caffeine. I would confirm if you can have caffeine or try a different flavor. Also, I suggest the Fairlife Nutrition Plan as well. They are decent, until you get sick of them!

Do you shake it up a lot? I could never get used to the grittiness of protein powder made into a shake, so I use the pre-made, unless I'm going to use the blender and mix with frozen fruit. I agree with using a Yeti cup or something similar. I tend to drink them in about 15 minutes, and if I'm not going to finish it right away I try to put it back in the fridge. I use Fairlife Nutrition Plan or Fairlife Core Power, or premier protein. Come to think of it, there have been times when I haven't finished the Core Power and have instead put them in my backpack for an hour or so, and then I shake them and they seem fine.

I had sleeve, and I'm only 5 months out, so I can't speak to maintaining yet. You will most likely have to take vitamins with either surgery (depending on your surgeon) but there is more risk of vitamin deficiency with bypass. I looked into whether sleeve or bypass patients were more likely to lose more weight or keep it off longer, and it's really hard to tell because while OVERALL people with bypass may do a bit better, there is so much variation in either surgery with how much you lose and how much you keep off. I would not recommend doing the sleeve and then later getting the bypass, unless it's for something like GERD. You rarely lose a significant amount with a revision. Yes, you can drink 3L of water after bypass or sleeve; you just can't drink it all in one gulp. At first you will have to take tiny tiny sips, but over a few months it will get better. For me, I can drink a few gulps at once but can no longer drink a whole bottle of water by guzzling it all at once. It's something you have to get used to for either sleeve or bypass.

I have dry mouth from medication so I get that. But for me, water doesn't help the dry mouth. More acidic liquids, like diet juice, Crystal Light, etc are better. Plus as @Arabesque said, things like Biotene mouth spray or sugar free hard candies (limit those because they can cause diarrhea in some people). As far as chugging, I am 5 months out and I can drink a few gulps at once, but I can't chug a whole bottle of water anymore.

I have been traveling since 4 weeks out from surgery more weeks than not. Here are some ideas (bearing in mind most of my travel is in the US, so I'm not sure what brands you have): Fat free, artificially sweetened or plain greek yogurt. Basically, you want no or low added sugar. You can get that from a grocery store and occasionally in airports (usually the yogurt is full of sugar, but you might get lucky!). Refried beans Ground meat (mince) based dishes like chili, tacos, Ma po Tofu, etc. Soft cheeses Protein drinks (or if you're further out, protein bars) Soup - cream of whatever, bean soup, etc Apple sauce Oatmeal (no sugar added) Banana Mashed veggies like sunchoke, cauliflower, potato, etc Hardboiled eggs with hummus If you are five weeks out and eating normal foods, it's really easy: you can go to a supermarket and buy deli meat, pre chopped veggies/fruit, hummus, cheese, etc. Or at restaurants: chili, soup, the inside of tacos or lasagna, hamburger minus the bun, flaky fish, etc.

It took me almost 8 months to get surgery because my surgery center was so disorganized and backed up from COVID delays. Can you try to talk to the surgery coordinator/scheduler about your concerns? It was hard for me to get good information. I feel your pain. Hopefully you will have surgery soon and you will be very happy with the results!

If you are having trouble eating more than one bite of food, you might want to call your surgery center. It's possible you have a stricture, which can be fixed. You might also be eating too big of a bite, not chewing enough, or eating too fast. I have heard of people having issues from their bras, but I think it was right after surgery (can't remember for sure). I am able to eat more food at 5 months out than I could at 6 weeks out. That's a good thing, but I have to be careful that I don't eat multiple times a day because that could cause weight gain. Hope you feel better soon!

I love pop corners, so I only get a small bag once in a while. They're a real slider food for me - they don't fill me up at all! @catwoman7 I have some pop corners flex, and I like those, but not as much.

I had a lot of TRUE hunger right after surgery and everyone told me it was just "head hunger". I felt so dismissed and gaslit. Finally I talked to the bariatric therapist at my surgery center and she said about 20% of her patients don't lose their hunger after surgery. But, you might be suffering from head hunger. With head hunger, you're usually craving a particular food, likely something sweet or salty or fatty. With "true" hunger, you would be happy to eat ANYTHING. Also, once you eat solid food it might get better (it didn't for me; I'm still hungry all the time). Talk to your surgery center. Good luck!

I think if you frame the reason you want a revision as "weight loss" it's likely you will not have much support, because weight loss from revision is often not much. Your best bet is probably to work with a therapist who specializes in eating disorders and bariatric issues. Especially since you developed pica after your first surgery. While it makes sense to get a revision if you have GERD (not sure about the hernia!), you should keep in mind that you may not lose very much. Also, you can try some other remedies for GERD, like not eating 3-4 hours before lying down, sleeping with the head of your bed elevated, etc. Good luck, and mega-congrats on losing 225lb!!

I'm sorry this is so hard. What if you tried different types of exercise, like swimming? that's excellent exercise and your body weight doesn't make it harder for you. I know when I was heavier I had a hard time with anything except swimming and walking, which I did a lot. I find that now that I'm thinner, I get hurt more because I try to do too much, or for whatever reason, not sure. You could also work with a physical trainer to see what activities are easier for your body. Or, focus on NEAT (non-exercise activities of thermogenesis). These are things like mopping, vacuuming, law mowing, shoveling, etc. Doing these activities are really great for your body. yeah, I know it doesn't sound so hard to have extra BMs, but you just can't predict what the outcome would be, and I'd be hesitant to make this big a decision when the doctors disagree. Have you tried searching for terms on this site that might help you find others who may have been in a similar situation? I did that for bipolar disorder and found that very helpful... but limited.

Welcome! I agree, browse around the forums, do a search, keep coming back for support... it's been super helpful to me. I started on here about 5 months before I had surgery, so by the time my surgery date came around, I felt really prepared (of course, I WASN'T!)

"buyers' remorse"/regret after surgery is really really common. You are in a LOT of pain right away, and you can't eat anything to comfort yourself like you are used to. I felt some regret for about the first 4 months, which is unusual, but I didn't get the regret until the end of the first month. Every day the pain gets better (if it starts getting worse, call your surgery center!). Drinking two oz of water every hour doesn't sound bad, as long as it moves in an upward trend. I found that keeping a bottle of water/fluid in my hand or right by my side on the couch helped a lot, especially because at the beginning it hurt to move. I hope you feel better soon!

I don't think the sore throat is from the tube if you are already a week out; that usually resolves in a day or so. I think what's more likely is that you're taking sips/swallows that are too big or too frequent. I would SLOW DOWN and see if that helps. The burping/hiccupping happens to me when I eat too much or too fast, in addition to the throat pain, which did get better. Let us know how it goes!

My guess is that there haven't been enough people with a partial bowel removal who have also had bariatric surgery to be sure what the results will be. I have had IBS with both diarrhea and constipation during my life due to medications I take. Diarrhea can make your life really complicated, as I'm sure you are aware. When I had diarrhea predominant IBS, I was told to eat more carbs and less fat, veggies, and meat. I don't know if that is true for UC, but I know that would be really hard for me now - I am supposed to do pretty much the opposite! I would get second opinions from another GI doc and another bariatric surgeon at a bariatric center of excellence. Personally, I'm not sure I would take the risk in your situation, as the sleeve is not reversible. Maybe instead of trying to get thin, focus more on healthy activity and things like therapy for binge eating, if that's an issue for you. I'm not saying these will make you lose a lot of weight, but losing weight is not the end-all be-all in life. Being able to live your life without always looking for a bathroom is pretty important, too.

You will often have stalls of a few weeks at a time. That's the nature of weight loss. You may go up a pound or two just because of fluid balance (pooping, peeing, salty foods, etc), but it will come off again if you follow the plan. My surgery center also does not use a set number of calories. When I was 4 months out I told the nutritionist that I was eating about 800-1000 calories a day and she said that seemed in the right range. I'm 5 months out and eat about 900-1100 most days. I weigh every day that I'm home (I travel a lot). it helps me feel like I'm on track, but I don't worry if the number goes slightly up or doesn't move for a few days/week. It's normal, and I just look at the trends.

I agree with everyone who says that the difference in the "statistical" weight loss averages isn't much, compared to the huge variation among patients with either surgery. Either way, it's up to you to do the work. If you have significant GERD, probably bypass is best. If you think you won't be good at taking your vitamins, sleeve MIGHT be better, as you are less likely with sleeve to have vitamin deficiencies and may need more supplements.

I sleep on my stomach and it took me about 3 weeks before I could comfortably lie on my stomach again. I didn't have staples. I do notice that I now often wake up on my back, but I seem to fall asleep better on my stomach.

That's odd that they would call out the sleeve as a concern, rather than the bypass, which actually bypasses some of your intestines. A sleeve just reduces the size of the stomach, and is not mal-absorptive. Most people will report constipation after surgery, but some/many have periods of diarrhea, perhaps caused by constipation remedies? I don't know much about UC, but I think I would get a second opinion from a GI doc, and ask the bariatric surgeon about your concerns. I calculate your BMI as 36, which is only qualifying for a WLS if you have other co-morbidities like diabetes, apnea, etc. While you can have WLS at a lower BMI if you pay out of pocket, I would warn you that you may not lose as much weight as you think, and the risks for you are almost certainly higher than for people who aren't in your situation.

I had so many clothes that were too tight on me, since I had previously lost 100 lbs then gained almost all of it back. Now I'm below the weight at my last lowest weight, and I'm still able to wear some of those clothes. Not all of them were the right style (I bought them thinking I would have to be dressier and even though I'm working onsite, I still don't need to be THAT dressy), so I gave away some things I never wore and I've bought some things I wear a lot in smaller sizes, plus at the thrift store. I was a size 24/3x and now I'm a size 14/L. Except in Columbia brand, which runs small.

Like everyone said, the recovery is pretty similar between the two. In fact, there is so much variation from one surgery center to the next and that is for EITHER a sleeve OR a bypass. Usually, if the surgeon strongly recommends one surgery, they have a reason. It is even more important to take your vitamins with bypass, and some people with bypass "dump" if they eat too much sugar or fat in one sitting, but occasionally people with sleeve can dump too

I throw up sometimes from my multivitamin despite taking it with food. My surgeon told me that if I throw up, the next day I should only have liquids to "rest my pouch". I get dizzy and hungry from only eating/drinking liquids. Is that a common recommendation?

I ate hummus on EVERYTHING for a few months after surgery. It's great on deli meat and hard boiled eggs. Also baba ganouj is great. And laughing cow cheese triangles.

Our surgery center said not to worry TOO much about some added fat, like cheese sauces, right away, because we are eating so little. On the other hand, we shouldn't eat high amounts of fat like in Keto because that can increase the risk of galbladder issues as you are rapidly losing weight. I eat cheese and sour cream and butter sauces on things I eat at restaurants and I have to eat out a lot for work. I also can't eat tomato sauce because it upsets my stomach (my whole life, not related to surgery). But try different things to see what works for you.