vikingbeast

I had to have the EKG and a stress test ("we didn't expect you to run...") but not the halter monitor. If you have uncontrolled CHF they will certainly not perform the surgery, they will refer you to get the CHF looked at. Some underlying causes of CHF like high blood pressure can be resolved with surgery, so it's all down to what's happening inside you.

Well, it's certainly concerning, but unless your doctor has qualms about it, I would say this is your absolute best chance for what is truly a life-changing opportunity.

As long as you're walking, it's probably just the tail end of the surgical gas they inflate you with. I was able to function completely normally within 4-5 days so just a couple of days more I suspect.

A1 - If you are on extended-release medications, they'll need to be switched to standard or immediate release. I went from 150 mg Wellbutrin XL once a day to 75 mg Wellbutrin IR twice a day, and am about to drop the evening dose. I feel fine. A2 - Yes, but you can only take acetaminophen/paracetamol which is Tylenol in North America and Panadol elsewhere. You will be able to swallow pills, just perhaps one at a time at first. B1 - I was able go up and down stairs within hours after surgery. If your incisions hurt, take a pillow to brace. Ask your anesthesiologist for what's called a TAP block, it's like an epidural for your abdomen and lasts about 18 hours which is enough time to get used to stuff. B2 - An elevated bed will actually help because you don't have to squat down to get onto and off of it. But you could buy a little heavy duty stepstool if you want. Just make sure it's stable. B3 - You absolutely can wipe. Laparoscopic incisions are small. And, honestly, you'll probably be constipated after surgery and won't need to as often, especially if you are on opioid painkillers which back you up. The good news is as you lose weight (which happens fast) you'll become more flexible. A month out and I can wash my entire back without needing a long-handled brush. B4 - Varies by surgeon. Mine said I could shower immediately, but to avoid scrubbing the incisions, just gently wipe them with a separate cloth. C1 - Depends on what you do. I have two jobs; the desk job I was back to after two weeks (and could have done one if needed); the outdoor job I'm still not back at because my surgeon wants 6 weeks. C2 - I was cycling (stationary / assault bike) 2 weeks after surgery with the blessing of my surgeon. Ask anything, really. That's why we're here.

Concur about the compression stockings, and absolutely prevail upon your fellow passengers to lift your bag up and down. I'm a month out and if I lift something a bit too much I can start to feel it and set it down. Make sure you have a supply of food that you can eat. I know that sounds obvious, but you'll still be probably in the soft foods phase. I'm sure you'll be fine.

Even still, that's not enough volume for 1 day even the day after surgery. You could edit this recipe down and use, say, 1/4 cup of PB2 (powdered peanut butter) in place of the peanut butter and knock 250 cal, 9g fat and 4g carb off that somewhat alarming number. You'd lose 4g protein, but it's worth it for the trade-out.

It's been amazing. I am unusual in that I have lost 18 kg in a month since surgery. I feel like a new person.

Well, except the potatoes have to go so you'll starve to death. (Kidding!) Let me give you an example from the liquid and soft food stages. Someone else can chime in if they like about the "regular" food so you know what to expect. There's also a whole huge thread called "Food Before and After" with photos in the Lounge. I am in the US though, and every surgeon has different requirements. I am in this phase supposed to be going for 80-100 g protein a day and about 800 calories. (I am very active, my calorie count is higher than might be normal for this phase.) One week after surgery (still in the liquid phase): 2 Core Power Chocolate Protein shakes 1 container raspberry fat free skyr 300 ml chicken broth with 11 g of cream of rice cooked into it 120 ml sugar-free Jello 120 ml sugar-free Jello with protein powder 1 bottle isopure (protein water) TOTAL: 111 g protein, 37 g carbs, 11 g fat, 691 calories Yesterday (soft foods phase): 1 wedge La Vache Qui Rit 95 g deli turkey 1 core power chocolate shake 0.5 c tuna salad with fat free mayonnaise 1 small portion ma po tofu 30 g basmati rice 120 ml sugar-free Jell-O 1 container fat-free, sugar-free tapioca pudding TOTAL: 88 g protein, 49 g carbohydrates, 19 g fat, 719 calories

It could be a number of things. You could have a sensitivity to something in the shakes. Are they dairy? Try non-dairy. Are they non-dairy? Try dairy. It could be GERD. One of the symptoms when I'm having an attack of GERD is my stomach literally feels like someone's rubbing it against itself like they're trying to get a spot out. It makes the most revolting and embarrassing noise, and then I have chorro for a little while. You could take a pill or two (over the counter in the US) of Prilosec and see if it helps. Or you could just be dumping. It does happen for sleevers, just not nearly as much as for bypassers or DSers.

It is such a bizarre feeling. I finally ate some whole beans (allowed by my surgeon) and I swear I could feel them moving through my entire digestive tract. It was terrible. No more whole beans—I make a small pot of beans and purée them like for enfrijoladas.

Even just four weeks out, the weight loss is so amazing that I put aside the yearning. And honestly, a lot of what I gorged on before doesn't appeal to me anymore. All the sweets just look terrible to me now.

Bonjour, I understand. Even for many of us who love to cook, meal prep could be a chore. But here is the thing. You won't be able to eat much at all, and you'll need to concentrate on protein first, then vegetables, then if you have any more room in your pouch you can have some carbohydrate. For the first little bit after surgery, you are healing and you will need to eat liquids at first, then purées or soft foods next. My surgeon requires three weeks of liquids and three weeks of soft foods, and I am one week and a little bit into the purées. But once you are done, you can easily either find healthier ready meals (don't know about Ireland, but here in the US some markets sell "meal prep kits" with, say, a bit of chicken or fish or beef or lamb, and a veg and some kind of starchy side), or you can learn to cook. You won't need very much, so you could cook a couple of times and have enough for the whole week. It doesn't have to be beige food all the time. You will introduce foods back into your life a bit at a time and eventually eat a normal diet, just... smaller. I will say that the next time I go to France I may have trouble eating the three courses that are part of the staple meals in a restaurant... even just the entrée would be enough right now, never mind the plat principal or the dessert.

The fairlife brand are SO good. And I'm a big fan of the Premier cafe latte. But the Premier cookies and cream flavor tastes like bagged popcorn to me (yuk), and the banana cream flavor was so revolting I couldn't get it down.

Hang on a tick, I'm stuck on something here. Let me see if I have the facts correct: 1. Your dietitian thinks you're not losing weight fast enough. 2. You have lost 25.5 kg (56 pounds) in 7.5 weeks. 3. Your dietitian refuses to give you guidelines for what or how to eat beyond 60 g of protein and 2 L of water. 4. You're still on shakes at 7.5 weeks out from surgery. I think it is high time you tell the dietitian to shape up or ship out. There are plenty of dietitians out there who don't require their clients to be mind-readers. And who understand how bariatric patients lose weight. I mean, is this dietitian brand new off the wagon from dietitian school? You should be extremely satisfied. Most bariatric patients lose 7-11 kg (15-25 lbs) in the first month and then about 5 kg (11 lbs) a month thereafter, with several stalls that can last a few weeks. Expecting you to AVERAGE 2 kg a week when you have lost 25.5 in 7.5 weeks means that you could be stalled for 3-4 weeks and lose not a single gram and still come out okay. Expecting you to lose 2 kg EVERY SINGLE WEEK is—and I said what I said—daft. If you are stalled, try increasing your calories by about 100 a day for a week to see if that breaks the log jam. Even just 15g of peanut butter or something along those lines could do it. 100 cal a day times 7 days is not enough to make you gain weight.

Honestly, there are so many reasons. - You could be retaining water (are you near time for your menses?) - You could be constipated (I once lost 4 lbs. in 20 minutes...) - Your body could be readjusting its fluid balance (this is what causes the 3-week stall) Just keep following your plan. It WILL come off.

I had to set a timer. I still suck at slowing down.

So I had bought a variety pack of Premier Protein shakes and decided I was going to drink them. The cafe latte flavor was AH MAY ZING. The cookies and cream flavor tasted like bagged popcorn. I got it down, but ewh. The banana cream flavor tasted like sick and I poured it straight down the drain.

My daughter bought a bag of Tate's chocolate chip cookies—which I love, second only to the only-in-Canada President's Choice brand—and gave me a tiny piece. I dipped it in milk to soften it... chewed it... and spat it out. I didn't want it and it tasted weird. I'm simultaneously elated and heartbroken.

I was told three weeks of full liquid and three weeks of purée/soft foods, and had my surgery the day after yours. I had VSG, though. I will say introducing even soft foods has been fraught with peril—I can eat deli turkey, but not deli roast beef. I can eat refried or puréed beans, but not de la olla (whole beans in broth). If your doctor said six weeks from surgery then you can eat regular foods beginning 25/10/2021. My date is 26/10/2021 and I can't wait, but know I'll have to be going slowly.

I believe (but could be wrong) that she said she has tried proton pump inhibitors like omeprazole and it didn't ease the feeling, but if warm drinks help, then that seems easily sorted!

I lost much less than I thought I would on the pre-op diet. 9 lbs., but given my starting weight I thought more. It's not at all predictive of weight loss post-op, so don't worry.

Oh, and if they tell you you won't feel hunger, know that some people do. lizonaplane and I had surgery a day apart. She feels hunger; I only feel it sometimes.

You've got some hoops to jump through, but don't be nervous. I'm a little less than a month past surgery and I already wish I'd done this 10-15 years ago. You'll need to figure out what your insurance requires in order to cover your surgery. This could be a period of supervised diet, it could be a requirement to lose a certain number of pounds or a percentage of your excess weight, or it could be as easy as just a few consultations and clearances. They usually want to make sure you'll be able to stick to the strict way of eating in the post-op phase. Then the hardest part is the pre-op diet. Most surgeons require some amount of liquid diet before the surgery in order to perform the surgery more safely. Some of us call it the "liver shrinking" diet. It's best if you step down over a few weeks. Replace one meal a day with a protein shake (use this time to audition shakes, though your tastes might change post-op so don't go crazy buying stuff). Then the next week replace two meals a day. Then the week or two that you have to do all liquid, go all in on liquid. Get off alcohol, caffeine and sugar as soon as you can—like now. Just accept you're going to have headaches and plan for them. You won't be able to have these things post-op, at least not immediately (and depending on what surgery you have, sugar may be off-limits period) Have an economy size box of Gas-X (chewable simethicone) for the few days after surgery, because you will want to burp out all the surgical air they inflate you with to be able to operate. Don't overpack for the hospital. You'll be exhausted. But do bring an extra long charging cable for your phone/tablet. Measure yourself—neck, upper arms, bust, gut, waist, hips, thighs, calves—and do it once a week for the first little while after surgery. I hit a stall about three weeks out (this is extremely common) and for the better part of a week I didn't lose any weight. But I lost a surprising amount of circumference, and that made me feel better. You've got this!

So I was given the green light to start adding "soft solid" foods, and specifically on the list were whole cooked beans (pinto, kidney, etc.) What. A. Nightmare. I've been eating puréed cooked pinto beans since I was moved to purées with no problems. The whole beans? I chewed them to paste and they STILL caused the absolute worst gastrointestinal pain I have ever had for going on 24 hours now. It is passing but let me tell you, I can feel EXACTLY where they are in my digestive tract and I am not touching a whole bean again for a few months. There's plenty of other things to eat.

Make sure you are getting enough iron and enough B vitamins. I had so much brain fog and low energy until I started on iron supplements and B vitamins (both a B complex and a separate B12 supplement). Now I'm fine, take zero or one nap a day, go running, etc. I am just shy of a month out.