Sunnyway

Have I misunderstood? You've lost 56lb in about two months or just a little under that?
I think what you've lost is great. Some professionals or those who deem themselves to be seem to set some unrealistic expectations.
Were you happy with your weight loss up to the point in time your dietician told you otherwise?
10kms a day is quite a lot. I assume you are followng your post op guidelines for calories, volumes of food, types of food etc? Protein intake? liquid intake? And hopefully consuming sufficient to sustain 10kms a day.
If so and your are averaging a reasonable weight loss you are doing great.
Editied to add: You mention you stopped losing weight? How long since you've lost some weight on the scale?
Stalls are not uncommon, most of everyone who has WLS has a stall or more than one, even in the first few weeks.

RNY does usually result in greater weight loss than VGS, and it usually resolves GERD and Type II Diabetes. These benefits should not be overlooked.

The RNY Gastric Bypass would be more suitable for you. It usually resolves GERD, whereas the Sleeve does not. Sleeves are sometimes revised to RNY because of GERD after the original WLS.

I haven’t touched a Protein Shake since my two weeks of post surgical liquids finished. I lost all my weight plus more, met all my Protein goals & got all the nutrition I needed through the food I ate, even stopped Vitamins just after I reached goal. My plan was always to get the nutrition I needed through what I ate not through supplements.
I’m a question asker too. Plus I do a lot of my own research - love me some googling. I think your questions were very sensible. Can’t say the same for the responses from what you said though. Sheesh!! Do you have to be your surgeon’s support group? And why does he have you still on purées? That seems to be taking it too far at 7 weeks unless there are other health considerations at play of course.
Though I’m a stick to your plan person, I think you could slowly start to add real food sources of protein & other nutrients to your diet. Maybe don't jump to a steak tomorrow but move to soft food for a week or so. Check with your nutritionalist, make sensible nutrient dense healthy food choices & then tell your surgeon when you see them.
You’re doing well with your loss so far. Congratulations.

My program definitely wants you to wean off Protein Shakes as time goes by and switch to real food. I don't think they mind you using them to ensure you get to Protein goals for as long as you need to (or if you just like them) but the intent isn't that you keep using them.
I also would quit the unsupportive support group. You should be able to ask reasonable questions in a safe space.

I'm 20 months out and still drink 1 Protein Shake a day. But then I had a surgery that requires a minimum of 80g of Protein a day and I stress less if I get in a 30g protein shake (yes, a little high calorie as it's 160 calories, but I'm less stressed out trying to cram protein in when I drink it). It's possible for most people to eventually get their protein in with just food. Honestly, I could probably do it, but again, I stress myself out less if I just drink the protein shake and am only responsible for getting 50g in via food.
And, with the way that so called 'support group' treated you I don't blame you at all for dropping them. I would have too were I in your shoes!

no - most people are able to get off them once they can meet all/most of their Protein requirements via food. So after the first few weeks or months, most people are able to get off them.

I still drink them at 6.5 years out because we found out early on that I malabsorb protein (and fortunately, I'm one of those weirdos who actually LIKES protein shakes), but I'm an anomaly.

First, sleevers do dump. I’m a sleeve, and i dump on excess sugar. That your surgeon does not know this is possibly cause for concern…
Second, despite the fact that you are experiencing the classic symptoms of dumping, the fact that you have not really eaten (nor drank?) anything prior to symptoms would indicate its not dumping. As i write this, I wonder if you are drinking Protein Shakes? Perhaps you are sensitive to artificial sweeteners in them? Could explain this also if your Jello is made of the stuff?
But anyhoo, its good u have an appt with urgent care.
Good luck and hope you get to the bottom of it ❤️

My surgeon pushes more for the DS or SADI-S/Loop DS if the patient has a BMI of 50+. I was originally wanting the Gastric Bypass but my surgeon told me that statically I wouldn't get under 200 pounds if I chose the Gastric Bypass as I'm disabled and can't exercise much at all so I was really having to rely upon statistics. According to my surgeons statistics the lowest weight I would have gotten to with the statistical average of Gastric Bypass was 206 pounds, while the DS was 184 pounds (which I've surpassed that statistic by 8 pounds).
In the end, the decision on what surgery you decide is YOURS. Not your surgeons. YOURS. I chose the SADI-S/Loop DS because my insurance doesn't cover revisions and my ultimate goal was 180 pounds (which I've surpassed by 4 pounds) and I didn't think I'd be able to get there with the Gastric Bypass. The downside to the surgery I chose is more Vitamins and more Protein, but you get used it. I haven't really had any issues other than that I developed a wheat allergy, but you can develop that with any of the surgeries with malabsorption which INCLUDES the Gastric Bypass (it's only a 3% chance, but my luck is crap). So really, just weigh the pro's and con's and choose whichever surgery that you are most comfortable with.

I personally would be concerned but it's also a really serious issue to be very overweight. I was concerned and I know I was not the largest person my surgeon had operated on. I was just nervous for the surgery. You might consider getting a second opinion or seeing if there's a surgeon who specializes in larger patients, but there might not be someone in your area.
The other thing I would suggest is to lose as much weight as possible before the surgery because that is the best way to put yourself in good shape for the surgery.
Whatever you decide, please keep us posted. I'm rooting for you!!

Revision is not that uncommon according to my surgeon. My surgeon's office pushes for patients to choose a surgery that will help them lose the most weight they can because they have people coming back for revisions due to choosing a less aggressive surgery the first time or weight regain because they feel that people don't factor that in. They have no problems with doing revisions, but warn that sometimes you won't lose as much as your first surgery or if you do then you'll lose it a lot slower. And, revision also relies very much upon insurance approval if you can't afford it out of pocket so they always advise people to check what their insurance allows before deciding on a final surgery. Originally, I was looking into Gastric Bypass, but my surgeon pushed for me to have the DS or SADI-S because of me being super morbidly obese with a BMI of over 50. My insurance wouldn't have approved of a revision if I didn't like where my weight settled so I ended up going with my doctor's advice. So when it comes to revision I understand that it very much depends upon the insurance. Some will only approve a revision if you develop complications such as GERD, while others will allow it if you've had significant weight regain and can't lose. So it's really just dependent upon what your insurance allows. If it does allow a revision then it comes down to what you want. A revision to Gastric Bypass or the Duodenal Switch (for reference the first part of the DS is the gastric sleeve. Also, there is the SADI-S version which has a longer intestinal length then the original DS, but you'd have to find a surgeon who even does the DS or SADI-S as not every surgeon does). I hope that your insurance will cover your revision and if it doesn't then I hope you find a place that is affordable for out of pocket costs.
Sorry that your surgeon was so unhelpful and I hope you have better luck with the next one!

I actually bought a few bariatric books when making my decision. I’m reading Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies right now. Losing weight and keeping it off is definitely in our head. The surgery is only a tool. If we don’t follow the expected guidelines that come with the surgery then we set ourselves up for failure. Those books are perfect to help us on our journey to become healthier. Thank you.

I got some interesting pictures of my insides today.
Reason for Multidisciplinary Case Review: lap adjustable gastric band by Dr. Johnson on 6/6/2011. Had emergent Fluid removal from band with dr. Svendsen on 9/10/21. She had been experiencing severe reflux, regurgitation, choking at night, night time cough, vomiting nearly everyday and abdominal pain after eating, Some of the symptoms have resolved after the fluid removal. She continues to have heartburn and epigastric pain. A comprehensive review of imaging and relevant past medical history occurred. Upper GI Series (9/8/2021): Gastric band located below the diaphragm with widening phi angle measuring 66 degrees. The proximal pouch has migrated into the chest consistent with a hiatal hernia. There is dilatation of the distal esophagus and esophageal dysmotility Upper GI Endoscopy (10/6/21): - Tortuous esophagus. - Normal esophageal mucosa. Biopsied. - Z-line irregular, 38 cm from the incisors. - 2 cm hiatal hernia. - Gastric band slipped 2-3 cms distally. - Body and antral gastritis. Biopsied. - Multiple duodenal polyps. Biopsied. biopsy Results (10/7/21): A) DUODENUM, POLYPS, BIOPSY: 1. Gastric (fundic) heterotopia 2. Normal background duodenum; negative for celiac disease 3. Negative for dysplasia and malignancy STOMACH, ANTRUM, BIOPSY: 1. Normal gastric antral mucosa 2. Negative for Helicobacter C) ESOPHAGUS, DISTAL, BIOPSY: 1. Normal esophageal squamous mucosa 2. Negative for reflux changes and eosinophilic esophagitis 3. Negative for columnar mucosa Staff present from ANW, UTD, MCY & Shakopee Weight Management including Surgeons, Advance Practice Clinicians, Bariatric Nurse Clinicians, Registered Dietitians, Psychologists She has completed her preoperative evaluation and has been judged to be a good candidate for surgery. Plan: A Laparoscopic conversion of adjustable gastric band to roux-en-y Gastric Bypass and hiatal hernia repair would be an excellent choice to meet her goals for weight loss and comorbidity resolution. The plan is to proceed with scheduling for surgery.

RNY is still the gold standard of WLS and usually corrects reflux and Type II Diabetes. Go for the gold.

I don't believe what you experienced was dumping. Dumping is usually caused by too much sugar and/or fat. It sounds like you ate too much, too fast.

The fasting coach will probably not be a good stand alone tool. I've gained some weight and struggle to take it off. I'm fours years out. One of my tools is to fast. I fast 12 hours a day. I'm trying for the 36hrs 2x a week but that's a tall order. The point is, you will need to combine tools and not just depend on one. The surgery option is a good one combined (later on ) with the fasting option. As you've stated before you have achieved great success only to digress back to your starting weight.
Weight Loss Surgery(WLS) is a great tool to "jump start" your weight loss but it is no means a stand alone tool. After 8-12 months we begin to revert back to , as I say being mere mortals again. No longer are we able to lose weight while sleeping or just by being alive. Our weight loss superpowers are gone. It now, takes a mindful and consistent maintenance program. This is where fasting, exercise, being conscience of what we eat and how we really changed our lifestyle during the first 8- 12 months.
WLS is a great tool but it is not the golden bullet to lifelong weight lose and health stability. I'd say, go with the WLS, get that big jump start, start a mindful maintenance program consisting of many tools. Good luck to you and I wish you the best of health.

I'm a 34 year old woman with a current weight of 260 height is 5'6. I have lost and gained over 60lbs at least 3 times. I was never able to maintain the weightloss for longer than 6-8 months at a time. I have done strict Keto, Fasting, and intense exercise routines multiple times in my life. I was successful in losing weight every time so it wasn't that I couldn't commit myself or apply weightloss techniques that work for me. I would just simply go back to overeating every time.
I really don't know if fasting will work for me longterm if I add coaching. I certainly want it to work but I have small children and a husband who likes to eat big hearty meals so cooking and shopping for food are part of my regular daily activities. I find when I'm fasting it is really difficult to cook a hot delicious meal that I simply cannot even taste. So I end up cooking a quick meal for my family which is not the healthiest.
I will keep exploring the surgery option. I really appreciate all of the feedback so far. The new ideas like searching for my own bariatric therapist and using my family doctor to do my bloodwork after surgery has given me some hope that I can do this. 😊

I have tried about a million online coaching/nutrition programs and failed at every single one. I just did not find that it was structured enough or supportive enough to help me make permanent, impactful changes. That may not be true for everyone, but that was my experience.
As for the surgery options, my insurance (US) covers bariatric surgery and I've consulted 3 times over the years but always chickened out. The time commitment to get through the program, the insane amount of tests and pre-op appointments, and the sheer number of hoops to jump through always became overwhelmingly discouraging and I gave up. So, I opted to go the self-pay route in Mexico. From first consult to surgery was almost exactly 3 months. The cost out of pocket including flights, hotels, meds, etc. was less than what my deductible and co-pays would have been had I used my insurance. Additionally, I met with my primary care doc prior to surgery and secured her support. She will be doing all my post-op labs and can provide ongoing dietary guidance in conjunction with my surgeon's RD. I am only a week and a half post-op, but I am SO glad I finally did it.
You need to weight the options in light of your own needs, what kind of support will help you be most successful, what are you willing to commit to as a timeline, what fits in your finances, etc. Ultimately you just need to get gut-level honest with yourself, and then decide. Whatever you do, I'm sure you will find success!

Hi all! Just wanted to introduce myself. I am a few days short of my two month post op anniversary (RNY). So far I have lost 66lbs (starting weight 470, highest weight 515). I am still on the chopped diet but I have been working in whole foods here and there. Still playing the "what's going to stay down" game, but enjoying the journey so far! I was kind of expecting a little more weight loss at this point but hell, any is better than none! I have hit a few stalls in the process but nothing longer than a few days. I look forward to "meeting" some of you!
Sent from my SM-S127DL using BariatricPal mobile app

I probably single-handedly supported the entire beef Jerky industry during weight loss phase (and some months after that). Little to no sugar, lotsa Protein and satisfied my never-ending salt cravings. I always had a little ziploc of it in my purse.
I also ate alot of cottage cheese and yogurt.
After weight loss phase, I went through a love-affair with chicharron (i.e., pork rinds/cracklins). But I wouldn't recommend this until you are past weight loss phase as they are VERY high in calories (but also very high in protein).
In terms of substitutes and alternatives, here are some examples of items I ate (and still eat)...note that I was ultra-low carb during weight loss phase, and and try to be semi-low carb now (but don't always succeed, lol)
Shiratake noodles instead of Pasta (actually very low nutrtion-wise, but I had to eat my saucy foods with something!) chicken pizza crusts instead of wheat based pizza crusts (I also did cauliflower crusts, but I personally prefer the chicken ones). Kale chips instead of chips-chips Berries instead of higher-sugar fruits cashew milk instead of regular milk almond flour instead of wheat flour (careful: almond flour is way higher in calories) Stevia or erythritol instead of sugar sparkling Water with lemon instead of pop/soda

The Bariatric Pal Store sells a year's worth of one-a-day bariatric Vitamins & minerals (with or without iron), including B-12 and D-3 vitamins, for $99. It's the best deal going. You get the whole year's worth in the first shipment. It's an easy to swallow capsule which dissolves quickly in the pouch.

Back in December of 2019, my wife (Girl friend at the time) decided to have sleeve surgery. I did the typical "You know this can kill you right?" and various other vocal concerns. But, knowing she is intelligent and having trust in her, I told her she has my 100% support. I got to see her go thru 6 month program, see all her paperwork and homework, and also learn while she learned. She had her surgery on Sept 20th of 2020. Since then I have been able to learnt he eat better myself since I did not want to eat terrible in front of her.
As weeks went on after her surgery and I see her pain going away, and her smile getting bigger, I started thinking. Maybe I was all wrong about it. So At end of December I filled out the online forum for the program and waited. 2 weeks later, I get "the call" saying I have been accepted into the program. The whole time thinking I might go thru with it.
Over the next 6 months or so I get upper endoscopies, ECG, blood work, have group sessions with head docs and nutritionists. During all these I keep getting more and more excited about the possibilities.
August 6th I complete the program and wait for the call with a surgery date. Aug 13th my phone rang and the screen said "Stomach Cutters" (what I named the contact). She said September 16th, you are scheduled for the Sleeve surgery. By this time, my "maybe" of getting it was, "I want this now". I was super excited. I was all set for this!
September 2nd I started my 2 week liquid diet. That night, I had a work function cook out... I made it thru. Stayed strong. Sept 4th, I have a friends campout pot luck ... stayed strong, made it! by the time The morning of surgery hit, I had lost 25 pounds on liquid diet and was ready.
Surgery at 7:30am, Recovery room by 9am, room by 11am. Then I slept most of the day and night on and off. Met with my surgeon early next morning he said my liver shrunk so much during liquid diet I had one less incision. Great news. I was bored so walked around the unit a bunch to keep moving. Then got told I was discharged at 1pm.
Rest of Friday, Saturday and Sunday was all about rest, sip sip sip, and recover. My wife, is nothing less than an angel. Support at home is amazing. My daughter who lives with us was amazing as well.
Come Monday (4 days postop), I was back to work full time and ended up working 50 hours my first week. (Desk job at home that week for recovery). By day 7 out I was on pureed foods and by day 11 I was on soft foods.
I get 40-60g Protein a day, 48oz Water a day and I am feeling great!
Regrets? Yeah, not doing this 15 years ago!

not sure where you are in the progression, but you likely won't feel restriction until you move to solid food. And you've had nerves cut - takes awhile for them to regenerate. It's probably best to just measure out and eat however much your plan recommends eating. "Hunger" and "full" are going to be kind of weird the first few months after surgery...

The restriction kicks in as a signal you’ve eaten too much, too quickly or something that is too dry or too hard for your tummy to digest. As soon as you start to feel it stop.
Sometimes it will seem to kick in early or for no reason you can understand. On those occasions, I think my body is just being a bit more sensitive & I need to give it a break.
But it’s not something you should feel every day & after every meal. Eat until you’ve had enough. That is to the point you’ve had what you need not just because you want to eat - there’s a big difference. Do you need that next bite or just want it. I still pick up my fork to have my next bite & think nope don’t need it & put the fork down again. Sometimes I’ll have that bite a few minutes later & sometimes I don’t have anymore at all.
Good luck.

49yr Male, 5/18/20 VSG
HW 382, SW 309, CW 217
First visit to the surgeon was 6/27/19 and first nutritionist visit was 7/3/19. Had a long pre-op program then was delayed by COVID-19, so wasn't sleeved until 5/18/20. Lost 73 pre-op, 92 since - for a total of 165 lbs down!
I hit 218 in mid Dec 2020 and have been maintaining in the 213-222 range over the past 9 months.
The next step for me is getting rid of the excess skin on my stomach. I carried most of my weight in my abdomen and it shows. I feel like this is the last thing I need to complete my transformation. While I could live with it, I am tired of "tucking" my excess skin into my pants. I can mostly hide it, but it is evident to me. Still 100% better than weighing almost 400 lbs.
I am scheduled for an extended abdominoplasty in my local area on Thu 9/30/21. I am ready, but nervous (thus the 3am post on BP).
I plan to post regularly over the coming weeks to document this for me and others on this forum. Thanks to all who have shared their PS stories before, especially the men, whose stories are rare.
Wish me luck!