JDLane

Hello, Anyone else's menstrual cycle totally messed up after surgery? I've always been very regular, I have one child (he's 2, I'm 34 for reference). I had my period a few days before surgery, then about 4 weeks later I got another as expected although it was very heavy. About 2 weeks after that I began bleeding again, it was like a light period for a few days and then I've just been bleeding lightly on an and off since then. I mostly see it when I pee and wipe, but sometimes there is breakthrough bleeding as well (it's mostly darker in color). Now I'm due for what should be a regular period but I can't even tell if it's coming because I'm still having irregular bleeding. I am on the mini pill for birth control. I did speak to my surgeon's office and he suggested the hormones in my birth control may not be enough now but he generally didn't seem super knowledgeable on the issue. I do have an OBGYN appointment scheduled soon for my annual so I'll talk to them as well. I understand you cannot provide medical advice but I'm just curious if others have experienced this after surgery? If so how long did it last for you? I would love to get back to my normal cycle and not this BS. Thanks!

You should reach out to your medical team. Why would you try to eat 4 hard boiled eggs or any ice cream at all 10 days post op? You still have internal sutures you could be damaging. It's possible you have nerves that are not yet healed and thus you are not yet feeling the restriction but you should be sticking to a nutrition plan regardless. And while I know plans can vary widely from surgeon to surgeon I don't think any would recommend ice cream or 4 whole eggs at one time. You shouldn't be trying to test the limits of your stomach.

I'm sorry for your loss. You went through a lot of trauma in the past 2 years, many people would have struggled with that too but you should be proud of yourself that you've already taken some steps to turning things around. While weight loss is harder after the first year of surgery its absolutely still possible. Your restriction is still working which is great and you have a plan to start exercising. Therapy will be a big help as well to keep you on track. It sounds like you've taken the steps needed and you're reaching out here for support and accountability. Give it some time and I'm sure you'll see the weight start to drop off again soon. Good luck!

I've had one coworker comment on my small portions but it wasn't even questioning me she just said something to the effect of wow I'd be starving if I ate just that. And I simply said yes I'm eating smaller portions but more often, I'll be eating again in like 2 hours and she just said oh okay that makes sense and that was it. I eat a morning snack, lunch and an afternoon snack all while at work so it's pretty clear I'm not attempting to starve myself. Eating out with friends people either haven't noticed, haven't commented or I'll just say I'm not that hungry. I'm also open about the fact that I'm trying to lose some weight and that's generally accepted without question.

Today marks 8 weeks since surgery for me. For the most part I'm feeling good, down about 30lbs since surgery and 50 overall. I'm still having some fatigue especially in the mornings it's a struggle to get moving. I don't get bloodwork done to check my vitamin levels until August so I guess I'll have to wait and see if anything needs to be adjusted. I'm finding I can eat most things without issue. The restriction seems like it's kicked up a notch the past two weeks or so. I've vomited a few times just because the last bite was one too many and it comes back up. I had a rough day following the 4th of July. On the actual day I did pretty well eating and staying hydrated but I was chasing after my son and on my feet for a large portion of the day so that night I totally crashed and even the next day felt like I was hungover despite no alcohol. I think maybe I just wasn't hydrated enough for how active I was plus being outside. I'm hoping to start incorporating some more exercise but I'm definitely lacking energy and motivation in that department. I'm still super pleased with the surgery thus far and happy with how things are progressing.

Hello! I'm a week behind you 5/12 and I was stalled for a week or so. Within the last like 2 days I dropped about 3lbs. I'm hoping that means the slow down is over and things continue to move this way. I'm down 27 total since surgery. My dietician and surgeon's office both said this was normal for this 4-6 week timeframe. So you may get back to normal soon even without changing anything! They also said even if scale pauses pay attention to your clothes, you may still be losing size without the scale reflecting it.

Even fresh juice is just getting you all the sugar of fruit without the added benefit of the fiber. Low calorie juices were allowed for me so like the 5 calorie Ocean Spray drinks someone mentioned. Or really diluted juice if needed. But in general I would avoid it.

Hello, we have similar stats and I'm also just at 5 weeks out. I met with my dietician yesterday and he said my weight loss is surpassing the averages. I've lost 22lbs since surgery. He also mentioned that around 4-6 weeks most patients see a slow down in the loss as their body adjusts. It should pick back up soon. I have noticed within the last week my loss has slowed down too but I'm trying not to worry yet I'm just waiting for it to turn back around. My surgeon's office said that at this point 2lbs per week is what they are looking for. Sounds like you're perfectly on track!

I wasn't given a caloric guideline but for the first 3 weeks I was probably under 400 calories daily. I was still on full liquids. Once I moved into puree I averaged 500-600 calories per day. My instructions are still not to exceed 4 oz in volume at a time, which is fine because I could not fit more than that in my stomach now at around 5 weeks out. I can do 4oz of greek yogurt but something like pureed chicken I can typically only fit about 2oz and then maybe a bite or 2 of veg. I was planning to ask my dietician about calories at my appointment tomorrow.

My program has us eating 5-6 times per day, about every 2-3 hours and even with that I typically get around 600 calories. 1,000 would definitely be a struggle at this point.

Yes, I'm 4 weeks out and while I rarely experience true hunger most days I still have a desire to eat. Some days though I just don't want to put anything into my body at all. It's rough. I find it easier to eat on the days I'm in a good routine like going in to my office for work, but if I'm home or it's the weekend it's so much harder for me to find the will to eat. However, I feel like garbage if I'm not properly hydrated and hitting protein so it's a vicious circle. I just kind of have to force myself to eat anyway and get past it.

I'm 4 weeks out today and I had a rough day yesterday. I was exhausted when I woke up in the morning. Had no desire to eat or drink and generally felt crappy. At some point in the late afternoon I took two bigger sips of water and then immediately vomited. It burned like heck, my throat was burning for probably 2 hours afterwards even with drinking more and trying to wash it away. I'm fairly certain I did not drink enough the day before so I woke up feeling crappy and then continued to not drink well for the first half of the day. I focused on fluids over eating in the afternoon and I feel better today. So I do not recommend even slight dehydration, no fun.

Yes I did it for puree stage. I just did 2 eggs mixed with a 15oz container of fat free or reduced fat ricotta, spices as you wish, topped with enough smooth sauce to cover the ricotta and then sprinkled some fat free mozzarella on top. Baked at 400 for about 20-25 minutes I believe. I used a 9x9 baking pan and cut into 9 servings which came out to around 100 calories each 9g protein, 3 carb.

Share with a family member. Order an appetizer or a side dish. Take home your leftovers and have a few more meals. Accept the loss as part of the journey. We ordered out a few days ago, I got something I could handle at my current stage. I ate a small portion of it once per day for about 4 days and only got through maybe 2/3 of it and we threw the rest away. It stinks to waste food but it's not my primary worry right now. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to find better balance with less waste.

I like Gatorade zero and the vitamin water zero, I'm currently still off caffeine but I also like diet snapple when I'm not. Protein water has calories but it's a great option to help get protein in when you're sick of shakes. Good luck!

Do you have any certain recipe for the crab salad? I tried to make one preop and clearly bought the wrong kind of crab because it smelled awful but I love crab and would like to try again.

For those moving in to Purees I meal prepped the Ricotta bake for myself and a low fat pureed buffalo chicken dip but I'm just eating it not dipping anything. Both are around 100 calories for a 2oz serving and 9 or 14g protein respectively. I'm so looking forward to making scrambled eggs and egg salad too. Anyone else come up with anything interesting to try for purees?

My program says 2oz of yogurt, oatmeal or cream of wheat, 4oz of soups. And I think for puree it's similar mostly 2oz portions and some up to 4oz but I can't recall the specifics and don't have my book on hand. I know in general they don't want us to exceed 6oz at a meal. And its ounces by volume not weight.

My surgery was also 5/12 but I'm only counting 3 weeks post op. Wednesday is 21 days since surgery that's 3 weeks right? I'm allowed to move to puree on Wednesday and I've been counting down the days lol if I'm off by a week I'll be mad at myself. My loss is super similar to yours, about 15lbs down since surgery and 35 overall. I feel mostly normal, maybe still a little tired, especially if I do a lot of activity or haven't eaten enough.

I slept on my back the night I was in the hospital and then for the first few nights I was home. Side sleeping felt like my stomach was pulling and it was uncomfortable. After a few days I was waking up on my side and able to comfortably sleep on my side. Lately I've been waking up on my stomach and there's no issue. I'm 16 days out.

I had one done a few weeks ago as part of my pre-op requirements. I was sedated through an IV, the only thing that went into my mouth while I was awake was a plastic bite guard to protect my teeth from the device. Everything else occurred while I was out. I woke up afterwards, slightly groggy but within an hour or 2 I was back to normal. I was given Propofol as the anesthesia.

I'm still on full liquids so currently my day is usually as follows: half a protein shake first thing, fluids, half a greek yogurt, fluids, other half of protein shake, 4oz strained soup, fluids, half a greek yogurt, fluids, more soup or sugar free pudding, protein shake or water, sometimes broth some times a sugar free popsicle. I try to hit over 40oz on regular fluids and then protein shakes or water get me to 64oz for the day. And I'm averaging 60-70g protein. Currently around 400 calories in a day. I'm dying to move on to purees, I would love a scrambled egg or egg salad. I like to torture myself at night watching tiktoks of other people eating delicious food 🤣

what does everyone’s post op diet look like? Mine is a super slow food progression. This first week is clear liquids plus protein shakes, then 2 weeks full liquid, 2 weeks purée, 2 weeks soft food then regular diet. I’m already anxious to get to purée just to change things up. Broth is like the highlight of my day just because it’s savory. I know things vary a ton between surgeons, curious how everyone else is faring.

Does the gas pain feel like heartburn to anyone? I’m having a hard time describing what I’m feeling because I never really had heartburn prior. But it’s like a discomfort that runs up the center of my chest for a few seconds then dissipates. Sometimes it feels like a bubble stuck and I want to burp but cant. It’ll happen when I’m drinking or sometimes when I lay down. I’m really hoping I’m not developing heartburn already.

Made it through! Surgery started around 12:30pm, I woke up around 2-2:30. I was in immediate pain and had nausea. I was honestly regretting everything in that moment. But 12 hours later I’m feeling much better already. Pain is being managed, haven’t had much nausea since that first few hours. I’m walking well and sipping my water well. Only issue is it’s hard to sleep bc I’m up every hour having to pee from these damn IV fluids. Hope the others who went today are faring well also!