GMaJen

Thank you for your advice, I'll try some ginger tea.

3 weeks post op. I don't remember ever getting car sick before. Today I left right after eating and got sick waiting to pick up my grocery order and again at a red light on the way back. My car idles rough. Has this happened to anyone else and does it go away? I know, in the future wait a bit before getting in the car, but I have a long trip coming up in June and I'll be eating in the car or driving all night.

When did he ask last? Maybe they've restarted since then. My VA has a patient advocate. He could try talking to them. If they can't do it, they should be able to send him to an affiliated hospital or give him permission to go elsewhere. I did all my appointments at the VA, and my surgeon goes to the VA for appointments twice a month, but I had the surgery at UAB Hospital. Just for more info for him, I didn't know the VA did it at all until I ran across an old YouTube Video from a VA in Virginia, and she said they didn't require dieting before the surgery, but my VA did. I don't know if that was the VA's policy, or if I had to conform to what UAB required to have my surgery there. I'd be interested in knowing what he finds out.

Can you tolerate nuts? They are calorie dense. They have a lot of fats, but they are healthy fats.

Tell him you researched it and there is a chance of you reacting to it and you don't want to take a chance and ask him to use something else. If he tries to placate you, just repeat that you want him to use something else. Don't let him intimidate you. I'd send an email so you have a record of it. The worse that can happen is that he refuses and you find another surgeon who will accommodate you. It's better than cancelling.

It's awful when your life seems to move from one problem to the next. I hope this is your last and you can turn the corner to a bright future, and a bright day. Good luck with your surgery.

I'm also 3 weeks out today and stalled on the first day of Phase 3 on day 17 after losing a total of 7.2lbs since surgery. I hope I'm lucky and it ends as quickly as yours. Reading your post and the support you got is helping.

In 17 days I've lost 7.2 lbs in 18 days (nothing yesterday, .2 the couple days before. It's slowing down). Better than the 1.5 per week on my pre-surgery diet, but not as much as I hoped for the initial period. I'm hoping it will pick up once I can start exercising. I'm going to try walking again today and hope my back pain doesn't come back (back pain is a seperate issue, but triggers easier since the surgery).

Thank you for your responses. I wish I could change my nutritionist, but I go to the VA so I can't. I do like the girl I talk to, but not the doctor, who seems all about the statistics. I really want to be successful at this so I've been trying my best to hit all the goals and not cheat. I guess I need to be OK with not being able to reach the goals right away.

I had my 2 week post op appointments yesterday with my Nutritionist and the Dr. in charge of the Nutrition Clinic, the pharmacist and my surgeon. The Nutrition Doc put me on the bariatric scale and my body fat % is the same, so I'm losing as much muscle as fat. During the full liquid phase I was consuming an average of 534 calories a day, 66oz of water/shakes and 72.4g protein. I didn't just drink shakes, I ate yogurt 2x a day and pudding/protein too. I walked around my house quite a bit, but I only got about 2 hours of "exercise" because THAT incision was so painful the first week, and the second week somehow I triggered my back pain (the surgeon said that since it started hurting when I tried to increase my walking time, that the surgery could have triggered it). OK, that's the background. My Nutrition Doctor was disapproving of my calorie intake and told me I should have been getting at least 800 calories a day (she never told me that, my goals were 48-64oz of fluid and 60-80g protein). She said if I needed to, to sip on protein shakes during the day to bring my calorie and protein up. My surgeon said that getting less than 600 calories a day isn't unusual and not to worry about it, don't make myself eat. That I should take it easy until the episode with my back ends and then try to start walking and use some light weights to start building muscle. So, it wouldn't be a problem if I could do both, but now I'm on pureed/soft foods and as much as I was looking forward to it, I just don't want to eat. I didn't feel hungry during the last phase either, but I ate and drank as scheduled. It wasn't a problem, but it did take ALL day. Now, I get a few bites down and I don't feel full, nauseous or in pain, I just REALLY don't want it. It's confusing because I don't know how to read the signals anymore. Since the surgery, my stomach will growl and my mind says "I must be hungry" and at the same time "I don't feel hungry". So now, am I full or am I just repulsed because my tastes have changed? I used to drink plain water all the time, now it tastes bad. Do I go back to full liquids and add more shakes so I can get the 800 calories or do I press on with Phase 3 and try to find soft foods that I can make a whole meal out of and not worry about the calories? I don't feel like I can do both because while I had no problem with Phase 2, I don't think I can get the extra calories/protein while trying different foods that I may not want to eat after a few bites. I'm supposed to get at least 32oz of fluid from water, not shakes.

I gained weight on one of the diets I went on in the past. I was eating a lot of fruit and they have natural sugars, but they are still sugars. Also, the doctor told me I had the metabolism of a hibernating bear. Talk to your nutritionist and go over the food you are eating and if it might be sabotaging your diet.

I just surfed Google for a few minutes and it seems that Pancreatitis after gastric surgery is not common, but one study said 1% after 3.5 years, and more common after sleeve than bypass. One site mentioned caused by blood clots, bowl obstruction, and gall stones. I know it isn't uncommon for people to have issues with their gall bladder after the surgery.

Congratulations! Such an encouraging story. Thanks for posting.

Water stays in your stomach 10-20 min. I was told to sip slowly and it may take 10 min to drink an ounce at first, and to try to work up until I get 64oz per day, no chugging, and no drinking 30 min before or after a "meal". Fairly loose guideline. I am blessed that I don't have a hard time eating or drinking (yet) and I have a hard time drinking that slow. I am not trying to challenge myself to see how much I can drink before it hurts, so I usually limit myself to 4oz per 30 minutes because that turns out to be evenly spacing my 64 oz out between meals. When I fall behind it's because I'm absorbed in a work project and will sometimes sip 4oz and pause 10 minutes, then sip another 4 oz. Seems to work for me.

I use Unjury. I mostly use the unflavored, but I liked the Moonbeam Mist and the Chicken Soup (I drink that when I get a salt craving). Didn't care for the French Onion, but I think that will be good added to other foods later. There are other flavors I'll eventually try. I wish BariatricEating had individual servings because they have a lot of flavors and I'd love to try them with a little less money at risk if I don't like it.

Thanks for the question and the link. I'm not there yet, but better to be prepared. I've lost less than 5 pounds in 10 days, but at least I've lost. Hoping it's inflammation from the surgery or even constipation because I'm still on full liquids and sticking to my plan.

How awful! I hope you're surrounded by friends and family to give you the support and strength to get through this! I also hope that you successfully meet your weight loss goals and are grateful you had the surgery, regretting your choice of surgeon instead. Sounds like what happened to you isn't a complication of the surgery, it's malpractice of the surgeon. I hope your next procedure goes well and you have a quick recovery.

I had surgery on 3/23. All went well and I have had minimal pain unless I sneeze. The only real pain is from the big incision where they took my stomach out. It's been surprisingly easy to drink and eat. I was on clear liquids (phase 1) the next day (Friday) after my swallow test showed no leaks, but was on full liquids (phase 2) on Saturday so right now I'm existing on protein shakes, yogurt, pudding with protein powder, jello, popsickles and flavored water. Gotta stay on full liquids for 2 weeks, then 2.5 months of pureed/soft food (phase 3). I'll be able to eat real food for the first time on 6/24/23, the day I get married.

I'm still on full liquids, but I've been told to measure by volume. To figure protein, calories and carbs though, I'll have to weigh most foods. As time goes on, I'll adjust with the advice of my team.