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Choose the path that fits today. We’ll take you to the most useful discussions.
- GLP-1 medication Zepbound, Wegovy, access, side effects, progress, and support.
- Before surgery Compare procedures, plan ahead, and get honest pre-op answers.
- Post-op Recovery, food stages, symptoms, and support.
- Long-term Regain, labs, habits, and life after the honeymoon.
- Revision Explore revision options, complications, and next steps.
Everything posted by SleeveToBypass2023
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JUNE SURGERY BUDDIES
Went to my pre-op appt today at the hospital for my revision on the 28th. Tomorrow I'm doing my pre-op appt with my surgeon. I'm usually really strict with my diet, but since my birthday is Friday, I may splurge a little and get a mocha frappaccino from Starbucks and an apple fritter from the bakery by my house. Normally I would NEVER do that, but it's kind of my last hurrah before my revision surgery lol
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Sweeteners after gastric sleeve
Thank you!!! I just took it a few days ago and thought it was time I updated my profile pic lol
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Sweeteners after gastric sleeve
I use monk fruit sweetener. Tastes sweeter than sugar but is recommended for those who are diabetic, on keto and low carb diets, and have had bariatric surgery. I love it, and I use it very sparingly, so it lasts a loooong time.
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Hungry and Failing, 11 days Post-op
I was told to make sure I ate 6 times per day, every 2 hours until bed. Especially the first 8 weeks. Then I stretched it to every 3-4 hours 4x per day, and now it's been firm at every 4 hours. It takes time, so be patient and stay away from the junk food. Clear it all out of your house. If you live with others that eat it, ask them to keep their snacks in their rooms or in a container that you can't get to until you have your mind and body trained to not go for the junk. Keep a lot of healthy snacks around. I ate sugar free tropical popsicles until I was able to get myself under control. I also ate fruit and love making fruit smoothies with my greens in them.
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Help! 2 1/2 months Post Op and Not Eating
Hun, you have to eat. There are some great examples on here of different bariatric meal plans and guidelines that you could maybe pick from. If your surgeon literally said "eat whatever you want" then you might have to do some research on your own. Right now, your body is starving. So start off slow. Try drinking 3 protein shakes per day and maybe some protein water or protein gatorade or protein juice. Most important is getting in your protein and hydration. Try that for a week or 2, then go down to 2 shakes per day and add in a meal of maybe hummus and avocado spread, or refried beans, or cottage cheese. After 2 weeks, I was having a tbsp of hummus and a tbsp of avocado spread for a meal. After another week, go down to 1 shake and add scrambled egg, greek yogurt, and some soft (steamed) veggies like green beans, peas, carrots, or broccoli and cauliflower. By week 5, you can add in some chicken (it's a slider food, so don't over do it), black beans, cheeses, soft fruits (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc). Banana is you really want, but those can be higher in carbs, so go very easy on them. By week 6, you can eat normally, but you tastes will likely change, and things you liked and tolerated before may be different now. So go slowly when trying new foods. This was the plan I followed. I also got a food scale to measure out my portion sizes until I learned to eyeball it and tell just by looking roughly how much I could have of something. You can do this...just go slow, do some research, and ask all the questions you want. That's why we're here
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FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY have an update on my revision!!
Thank you It's certainly been a journey lol I just can't wait to get back to living my life. I know I'll smash my goal weight once I heal and can get back to working out and eating without pain and horrible GERD and all the rest. I'm even more excited about this surgery than I was with the first one lol
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Terrible shocking pains, please tell me it gets better!
Cold liquids were absolutely a huge NO NO for me for 2 weeks post surgery. But warm liquids were fine. Try that and see if it helps.
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FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY have an update on my revision!!
Thank you Why in the world is it taking a year to get an endoscope??? That's absolutely outrageous!!!
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FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY have an update on my revision!!
Thank you so much. It's really been quite the ride, hasn't it lol
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JUNE SURGERY BUDDIES
I had the sleeve last year and I had to take 2 weeks off work. No way was I able to drive myself anywhere. I had a hard time walking and sitting up. I would say wait until you're surgery is over and you're at home to decide how long you'll stay out of work. Everyone's pain tolerance and mobility after surgery is different. You might do great. Or you might be like I was and in A LOT of pain. It's hard to predict. But I know the severe fatigue after the surgery gets most of us and makes it almost impossible to go back to work right away.
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Loose Skin Concerns* Please help if you have experience
I take collagen (all 5 types), biotin, and hyaluronic acid. Helps with skin, hair, nails, joints, and muscles. I lost 116 pounds in a year and have A LOT of loose skin. Trick is to keep that skin as healthy and hydrated as possible so there's no issues when getting eventual skin surgery (I'll be having that once I hit my goal weight). Not sure there's really anything to prevent the loose skin. Just do what you can to keep it healthy.
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Liquid Multivitamin Recommendations
Here's a few I found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Multivitamin-Natural-Multi-Vitamin-Vitamins-Absorption/dp/B071CNR16Q/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=Bariatric+Liquid+Vitamins&qid=1686336306&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=A1FGZPZGA6G2M5&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMFJaNEs2RVk2MjAzJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzM2MjE5MVcxTENHRUtISk9VUyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTIyNDYwMVFQOVNZR00yQzdTQiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU= https://www.amazon.com/Bariatric-Multivitamin-Iron-Liquid-Supplement/dp/B0BDFJC8MS/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=Bariatric+Liquid+Vitamins&qid=1686336306&rdc=1&sr=8-5 https://www.amazon.com/Tropical-Oasis-Mega-Plus-Multivitamin/dp/B000JZWL30/ref=sr_1_14_sspa?keywords=Bariatric+Liquid+Vitamins&qid=1686336306&sr=8-14-spons&psc=1&smid=A1FGZPZGA6G2M5&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMFJaNEs2RVk2MjAzJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzM2MjE5MVcxTENHRUtISk9VUyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTIyNjE2MzBDVDNVMlJaMFM2VSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX210ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
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Colorado Springs/Denver area pre-op folks
I live in Denver, and my revision surgery is on June 28th. I'll come to you or meet you in the middle somewhere, if the offer is still available.
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JUNE SURGERY BUDDIES
I do!!! That's my revision date
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JUNE SURGERY BUDDIES
3 shakes, not 4. No milk (non dairy like almond milk is fine) and make sure you do at least some light walking every day.
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JUNE SURGERY BUDDIES
Hi there!!! I just got my revision surgery date today. It's June 28th. My hospital pre-op appt is June 12th and my pre-op appt with my surgeon is the 13th. Super excited to finally get back to my life!!! I actually loved my sleeve, but the horrible GERD, esophagitis, and gastritis it caused pretty much brought my health, weight loss, working out, and overall happiness to a screeching halt. BUT....now that I have my surgery date, I'm super excited to get my life back and finish my weight loss journey!!! Happy June surgeries everyone!!!!
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FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY have an update on my revision!!
Ok so HOLY CRAP. I just got the call and my revision surgery is going to be on the 28th of June!!!! Apparently someone's insurance didn't approve their surgery and they had to cancel their surgery and I got their spot. I was told my pre-op appt with the hospital is on the 12th, my pre-op appt with my surgeon is the 13th, and I have to do iron infusions before surgery (first one on the 14th, 2nd one on the 21st, and 3rd one on the 28th after surgery). My iron is really low because of all my procedures, but they said it won't affect my surgery since I can have the infusions. My mind is literally blown. I wasn't expecting this AT ALL. This is really fast!!! But at least it's FINALLY happening and I can get back to my life sooner rather than later!!!!
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Sleeve to Bypass due to REGAIN
How did your revision go? I see Dr Weaver in the same office, and I'm having my revision surgery in mid July sometime.
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Sleeve to RNY
I'm going to be getting my revision sometime in July. My surgeon said that with the revision, expect to lose about 40-45% of the weight you would have lost if it was your original surgery. So he said I could expect to lose about 60-65 pounds in a year for my current weight and BMI. I lost 116 pounds in a year with the sleeve, so if I can lose another 65 pounds in a year with my revision, I'll be ecstatic. I'm really good at watching my diet and working out, so I think my "dream goal" is to lose 75 pounds in a year with the revision, but my "realistic goal" is the 60-65 in a year. We'll see. I would be lower than I am now if I hadn't run into so many complications and health issues. But this revision is going to get me back to living my life so I can refocus on my health and weight loss.
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FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY have an update on my revision!!
My close friend who's a nurse practitioner posted this on my facebook post about it: "IF you need a feeding tube in the future, they can bypass the stomach and give you a J tube (in the jejunum) below the stomach, or for a short term issue, give you TPN, directly to the veins". So this just made that major concern not really a concern now. I'm feeling even better about this. I can't wait to get this over with and get back to my life!!!
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FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY have an update on my revision!!
So I have been really quiet on here because I was just trying to get rid of the last of the health issues I had going on. Polyps are gone and uterine fibroids are gone. I had an appt with my bariatric surgeon today and we discussed getting the revision now that I have a clean bill of health. Looks like it'll be mid July sometime. BUT...my revision is a little more complicated. Here's what I was told: Normally they leave the bottom part of the stomach when they do the bypass because there might be a need for a feeding tube at some point, or something like that. HOWEVER, with my situation, the part they would normally leave is where all the polyps were. So the surgeon is going to completely remove the bottom part of the stomach (making my stomach about 2oz instead of the 4-5oz it is now) during the bypass surgery. He said that's not ideal, but given my situation, it's the best course of treatment for the GERD, esophagitis, gastritis, and getting me back to being able to work out and live a normal life again (which is really all I want). He said it does present a problem later on if I need a feeding tube or whatever, but that's a big "if", and considering all of my issues right now, it's worth the risk, if I agree. I agreed with him and I'm waiting for the coordinator to call me to schedule the surgery officially. I'm so close to this being over. I can see the finish line FINALLY!!!!!
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Finished 4 endoscopies and my colonoscopy, and......
I meant that they removed adenocarcinomas. Not sure why I wrote adenomas. Either way, it sucked.
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Finished 4 endoscopies and my colonoscopy, and......
Got my results from the colonoscopy. What they removed was 2 adenomas. 1 medium and 1 large. Stage 1 cancer. No further treatment needed since there was no chance for it to spread since it was caught and removed so early. Need to be watched closely with more frequent colonoscopies to make sure it doesn't come back. I also have to have a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) test done in the next week or so. All my stomach polyps came back pre-cancerous but benign. Now I have to have a large uterine fibroid removed and tested and see a colorectal specialist for 2 other...things...removed. Then another endoscopy to check my stomach to see if polyps have come back. After that, if none have, I should be cleared for the revision. If they have, then I need to have them removed and tested and see what's next. So I still have AT LEAST another 3 months of this crap before I can even remotely look at the revision. And that's still a huge maybe at this point. My weight loss has completely stopped, I can barely work out (I can only do 30-45 min tow to three times per week instead of 1 1/2 - 2 hours 5 days per week...no weights, no core or strength training...just the treadmill if I go easy and the bike), and my diet is a mess because I still (even on 80mg of Nexium per day) get break through GERD and excruciating pain in my colon area that we're still investigating, so I can kinda sorta stick to my diet, but on really bad days I eat whatever will stay down and not hurt (like mashed potatoes, beans, bread, etc). I try to be religious with my diet when I'm having good or even ok days. But I'm literally about to lose my mind over here. I just want the GERD and polyps to STOP. I want the pain to stop. I want to get back on my diet PROPERLY. I want to really work out again. I miss my life the way it was before. Fun times over here, lemme tell ya.... ??
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So so SO annoyed right now!!!!
I'm so mad. I mean, how did it go from "we're sure this is the problem and this will fix it" to one doctor saying "I don't think this is the problem but I don't know what else it could be because all the tests are negative for anything else" and then the other doctor saying basically "well, now I have to think about if we're going to do the revision or not". Like WHAT??? Regardless of the reason for the polyps (and they both assured me over and over that the high PPI was causing them since I had NO polyps pre-surgery) the fact is, I still have horrible GERD that turns into gastritis and esophagitis if left untreated or if the PPI dose is lowered. And the revision to bypass will take care of that. SO it seems to me the revision is still warranted for that alone. I'm literally at my wits end with all this. My weight has completely stalled, I have had to really scale back my work outs, and I'm just super irritated by all of this.
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How much hair did you lose after surgery and when was it noticeable?
From about 3 1/2 months out through 9 1/2 months, I saw my hair thin out A LOT. It was noticeable and I had to change up how I wore it to try and hide that you could see my scalp. I also cut my hair shorter and started using volumizing hair care products to try and hide it. It finally slowed down and 9 1/2 months and now and just over a week away from 1 year out, it's starting to regrow.