Shrink&Grow

Really sinking in now. Booked the time off work afterwards and revisited my hospital bag (so far earplugs, eye mask, lip balm, mouth wash, face wipes..) Found out today the LRD will 'only' be 10 days for me, not sure what yet - milk or just restricted calories.
I've only told one friend I'm going in for this so easy to feel like it's not really real.. she's been equal parts supportive and overbearing bless her. Glad to find a community here.

I am so deeply sorry. May your journey navigating this devastating loss be supported and held by others and guided by whatever faith or conviction you are connected to.
I'm so glad you are reaching out here. Do what you need to do to survive this initial shock and devastation while your body heals from surgery. local crisis lines can be a lifesaver in the middle of the night. If you are in the United States you can call the National Crisis line at 1-800-273-8255.

I'm sorry to hear it's been going so poorly so far. I haven't experienced the same problems, but I can say that the problems I did experience got better as I adjusted, and as time passed. I was lucky in that the hospital had a list of my medications and they gave me my antidepressants and blood pressure medications when appropriate.
That being said, feeling regret within the first few weeks of surgery does seem to be pretty common on these forums at least. The good news is that regret also seems to be temporary, especially once people can start eating more normal foods. I hope you start feeling better soon!

My bypass on June 30th went very well & I returned home a day later. I'm catching up on sleep & doing my homework: staying hydrated, walking, doing the breathing exercises & getting in some Protein.< br />
The staff at the hospital were wonderful, very reassuring & caring, & now that my gas pain is dissipating, I only have a little soreness in the the upper abdomen which is easily kept at bay with Tylenol.

If you have an upcoming surgery, please know that it's been much easier than I anticipated. Blessings to you for a wonderful weekend & journey.

Oh my goodness, that sounds really tough. I hope you're back on your meds now? Going through all that must be incredibly draining, thinking of you and hoping you feel better very soon. It seems a lot of people, even those who haven't had the tricky time that you have, feel sad or regretful in the first couple of weeks.
I really believe a lot of the emotional crap does get better, every day sees a huge improvement! I'm looking into getting a therapist who understands this stuff, as it can be a really lonely and confusing time.

249.4 today! I am officially in the 240s! Haven't seen that in a while cause my body loves to hang around 250-252. Doing a little happy dance for scale victory. I am also starting to notice that I've been having to tighten the drawstring a bit on my PJs, otherwise they'll slowly fall off as I walk around. Haven't tried on any jeans yet because my belly button incision is still a little tender. Hoping for a nice surprise when I do. I don't expect a dramatic difference yet, but hopefully some of my pairs that had gotten tight will be back to fitting more normally and not leaving stamps on my stomach.

Ok so today marks officially 15 days since my surgery, I started soft food today, I had cottage cheese and a mashed banana for Breakfast and some apple cinnamon oatmeal for dinner with a Protein Shake for lunch. Everything is going good so far and I'm down 16lbs since surgery and 50lbs in a month. No regrets and everything is going as it should. I'm super excited to see what happens with me and everyone else after their surgeries! we got this!

Hi everyone!

Nice to see a bunch of us brits on here! I have my sleeve surgery in 13 days! And 3 days until I start my pre op diet.
I’m dreading the pre op diet more than anything! I don’t want to feel hungry! Any tips?

Has anyone here had the surgery with Ramsay Healthcare? They seem to be pretty good so far. Picked them after vetting some of the others (Tonic etc)
it’s exciting but nerve racking!

good luck to everyone, reading some stories it’s helped me understand a little more

em x

Hello, baripals!

I'm a 56-year-old woman with a BMI of 50 & I'm having my RNY gastric bypass tomorrow, JUNE 30TH. Eek! I am so, SO excited.

I'm 5'4" & currently weigh 275.5lbs but my start weight before the pre-op liquid diet was 290lbs. While I have severe sleep apnea & a family history of ovarian cancer, I do not have high blood pressure nor diabetes. My only medication is for recurring major episodes of depression & dysthymia following a childhood & adolescence of psychological & sexual abuse.

I have always used food to stuff down negative emotions & stresses & have been learning, through therapy, to find other means to express myself & vent my feelings. I'm really looking forward to changing my lifestyle & getting fit & healthy for myself & my family (hubby & two sons, 21 & 19, & future daughter-in-law, 21).

If you'd like to connect with me (& I'd certainly like that), you can find all of my socials pinned in the banner of my YouTube channel & find my email on the channel's About page. I wish everyone success with their surgeries & new lives. Blessings to you all for great health & happiness!

Thanks again for this advice. After your message I haven't touched the stuff again and so far have been feeling ok! 2 weeks out tomorrow, down 7.5lbs from morning of surgery, 18.5lbs since beginning of June. Why is it I still feel frustrated when this is a HUGE amount of weight to lose in 4 weeks, got to keep reminding myself that.
Tried taking the dog for a walk by myself tonight and I think it was a bit soon. Just so excited to move my body.

Been a while since I’ve posted a before and after pic. Surgery weight was 271, current weight is 144lbs. I think I’m done losing now (bypass was 3/2/2020). My weight fluctuates between 142 and 145

Nice! Its great you trust your husband to pick out clothes for you! It i let Mr. buy my clothes he’d come home with tube tops and fajas. Lololozzzz

Hello, I don't know if they exist, the boots website says advance in the text even though the bottle doesn't. I was told not to take gummies but I would much rather it!

I dreaded the purée stage, but I gotta say I love it now lol. I love the ricotta bake, choooed eggs with fat free mayo and a touch of mustard, canned chicken in the chopper with light Mayo and my fav is fat free refried Beans with a little shredded cheese and a drop of sour cream. I still do Protein Shakes in between means and absolutely addicted to SF popsicles still lol. They give me that crunch and just feel like a treat.
Looking forward to soft food but still researching what to eat and how to add some excitement to that stage lol

I had a hard time with shakes In the beginning because of the sweetness too. I found the clear Protein Drinks to be easier to get down.

Day 2 of post op DS. Feeling very nauseous and tired. Throwing up old blood. Been walking around my hotel room and went to get my drain out today.
surgery went well. Recovery is rough! I can’t keep Water down so I’ve been eating ice chips in small amounts. I also haven’t had a bowel movement for a week!

So so much better today, thank you ☺️ Guess it's all part of the experimenting stage, little spoons is the key! I think I'm going to have to watch out for any sneaky fats, and remember I'm not even a week out so need to be patient and keep things simple!

My hospital had me eating a yogurt within 30 hours of surgery and was then sent home with instructions to eat pureed food for 4 weeks - no clear liquid stage. First few days I tolerated things well but today I am feeling quite poorly after, think I've started eating too quickly/too much.
Starting to question the lack of liquid stage but like you, I trust my experienced surgeon knows what he's doing!

So so much better today, thank you ☺️ Guess it's all part of the experimenting stage, little spoons is the key! I think I'm going to have to watch out for any sneaky fats, and remember I'm not even a week out so need to be patient and keep things simple!

Heading to the surgical center! Feeling excited and nervous for what’s to come, but more grateful for my body. I’m so grateful for all it has done for me and birthing 3 children. Good luck to all us June 21, 2021 suregies!! 😚

My hospital had me eating a yogurt within 30 hours of surgery and was then sent home with instructions to eat pureed food for 4 weeks - no clear liquid stage. First few days I tolerated things well but today I am feeling quite poorly after, think I've started eating too quickly/too much.
Starting to question the lack of liquid stage but like you, I trust my experienced surgeon knows what he's doing!

My surgical team confirmed before I left the hospital that everything on the liquid stage can count towards my liquid intake. I’ll be on fluids until 7/11. I’m definitely focused on getting them in. Really don’t want to have to go back for dehydration. It’s a very slow go to get it in. The doctor also said not to expect to hit the liquid goal right out of the gate as it’s a slow process to build up to that goal. Also, I am so glad to hear I am not alone with trying to figure out this new stomach. The gurgling had me kind of concerned last night and made me pretty paranoid about the yogurt I tried. I am so looking forward to thing getting easier!

Got to sleep in my own bed last night. While it certainly wasn’t 100% comfortable I did get more sleep than the night before. Turning over in bed is quite the adventure. I’m so used to being self sufficient and handling things it’s been hard to step back and let others manage the house for me. Overall though it is so much better being home!

Ditto here! Only told a few people closest to me. I got a couple of comments about losing weight this week when I went back to work and I said that my Dr. put me on a medically supervised weight loss plan and I've also given up wine for a while. Both are technically true... I don't think it will fail, but I also don't need people in my personal business.

@erica b
I totally agree! I haven't told many people because I don't want anyone raining on my parade. I AM already a success story and it's going to stay that way! We've got this!

I just had my surgery on Tuesday 6/15/2021, started the whole process last July after 6+ years of debating it. I'm currently on a 2 week liquid post op diet (I never wanna see another Soup again in my life after 4 weeks of soup!). Post op hasn't been that terrible actually, that was the scariest part for me before doing it. I thought it would be SO painful the way people described it to me, and I thought I would just be miserable. The first 2 days post op were the worst but walk! You won't want to, but that helps SO MUCH with EVERYTHING, gas pains, stomach muscle pain, boredom lol. I have friends and family who have done this and only know 2 who have not gained all of their weight back which was a little discouraging but I refuse to be one of those people who this fails for. I just found this forum yesterday and I'm so glad I did.