FifiLux

I have made the yogurt and peanut powder as a dip a few times, yummy. Found it was a great way of eating apples as not my favourite fruit and also use it on bananas with some chocolate chips mixed in. I also made bagels using almond flour, baking powder, Greek yogurt and an egg plus various toppings (sesame seeds, onion flakes etc.) I'm a total convert to Greek yogurt since my surgery.

Yes the ones I got are once a day 1000mg. I'll be slightly over as my bariatric multivitamin has 80mg but I'm hoping that won't cause an unpleasant 'event' I'm equal parts excited and nervous about the op, I'm not at point I just want to get it done. I went into the sleeve all positive and didn't consider any bad aspects, how wrong I was! I know I'm a stronger person from everything I went through the last two years plus my pain threshold has increased but I do worry about doing this and the recovery on my own.

Hi all, Has anyone tried the Healfast pre-op and post-op surgery recovery supplements? I have my arm lift surgery in October and, mostly because of all the complications I had with my sleeve surgery, I am trying to make the recovery process for my arms as good as possible. I already take collagen in my coffee daily, hit my protein goals and will add in high dose vitamin C in the week or two prior to my surgery plus I have collagen capsules for post surgery (as I don't think I will be having my coffees for a few days post op). I read a lot about Juven being recommended but can't get that here, even Amazon won't deliver it. Thanks

I have similar feelings/experiences and also have pernicious anaemia, one time thought I was having a stroke because my face went numb and I fell backwards onto the floor which was quite scary, even more so as I was on a trip on my own and no-one to help me. Like you my bloods didn't show anything of concern and doctor was dismissive and put it down to me being dehydrated. I have upped my water intake, cut back on my coffee (from 3 or 4 large cups down to 1 or 2 a day) and included electrolytes when needed and it seems to help reduce the frequency, now it is more just if I am fatigued. I am hoping that it won't happen too often and like you I am not sure what else, if anything, can be done.

I agree, I liked the feeling of accomplishment when updating the ticker.

That is great to have lined up the trainer as it will help you with machines, what to set them for based what you can manage and especially important if you are going to be doing any weight work to be shown how to do it correctly. It can be hard to get into the work at any time, I had to take a break for 5 weeks due to illness and only went back last week and it felt like day one all over again (after 10 months of three days a week most weeks) but I just did half of my plan and at lower weights and times and then gradually built up over the last couple of visits where on Wednesday I managed the full plan albeit it still at some lower weights and times. Today I will aim for the full plan again at full weight but still lower times. I think it will be a few more visits before I am back to where I was before my second sleeve leak.

If there is the option of having a trainer do an intro session with you to gauge your levels and what you want to work I think it would be worth it to start off and have him/her create a plan for you. I did the same as you once I was well enough to start exercising, I signed up to an expensive gym so that I would be sure to go. I discussed my surgery and the areas I particularly wanted to focus on and they gave me a plan, then change it up a bit for me every 12 weeks or so. My current plan, as I'm trying to work on my legs and arms, includes bench weights, kettlebells for lunges, squats & swings, weighted ball for more squats, a leg press, abductor, another machine that is for rotational squats and then some mat work.

Not exactly a "day" outfit but I got new PJs for around the house, plus a matching robe 🙂 I was afraid the UK6 (only one available) would be too small but it is surprisingly loose.

I think the best thing to take onboard is that like most, if not all of us, you will likely look gaunt and tired for a few weeks/months while your body is in serious weight loss mode. You can't prevent it so try not to let it stress you and realise that it is all part of the process towards a new you. Then as your body starts to adjust to the new way it will burn energy, you are able to exercise more etc. your skin should pick up. I had a terrible turkey neck for a few months (hence I bought the neck serum) and it annoyed me as I felt I had done all this hard work and had all this loose hanging skin and I was so self conscious about it but without me even noticing it has all gone, where I don't know :) It won't matter what brands you use on your skin once they are the right blend for your skin type, your skin feels comfortable and within your budget, expensive doesn't always mean better.

My face got quite gaunt at one point, and I felt I looked terrible, and my skin looked tired but after a few months of keeping to a skin care routine it turned a corner. I treated myself to Augustinus Bader Rich cream and applied it every morning. For my eyes I used L'oreal revitalift filler with hyaluronic acid For my neck Prai neck serum For night cream Nivea Q10 I would also use a scoop of collagen powder in my morning coffee I still take the collagen in my coffee and also added a collagen serum (for neck and face) from Boots into my daily routine and a daily glow moisturiser from Sephora plus UV shield and then the revitalift eye cream morning & night. I have another bottle of the Augustinus Bader rich cream stored away for the winter months, too expensive to keep in regular use so I just buy it if I see it on special offer. I also use retinol night cream and eye cream from Boots a couple of times a week if I remember and once a week (again if I remember) I use The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10%. The only thing I felt was a waste of money was the neck serum, wish I had found the Boots collagen serum sooner.

Last week I had the endoscopic procedure to remove two clips, which when gone showed that the hole/leak was still there on my stomach. I now have a pigtail drain put in to give time to heal and then if it does not move itself, it will be removed in six months. No open or revision surgery required I was allowed home the following day and have just been resting since as I have been totally and utterly exhausted, to the point I was beginning to wonder if I was still unwell. I am due a follow up consultation on Wednesday where I am sure I will be told that all is now good as I had a blood test today that shows my white blood cell count is in the positive again and my CRP level is back down to under 2 (from 91). I also had a CT scan this evening so will get that result at the consult. I still don't have much of an appetite, and I had to have soft foods the last week, so have mostly been living on yogurts or protein mousses and down almost 5kg since this all started a month ago but I am sure I will put that back on once I get back into a routine again of work, gym, social life

I hear you! I am feeling totally and utterly exhausted the last week or so to the point where I can barely get out of bed. I had a planned blood test this morning and when I came back from the hospital I barely made the 2 min walk from the bus stop to my apartment, thought I would pass out in the stairwell and had to go to bed immediately. The surgeon has since phoned me and said the results were very good, I have white blood cells back and my CRP is right down to 2 (had been 91) so he was a bit surprised when I told him how exhausted I was feeling. As I had to have a procedure last week (to remove clip and insert drain) I am hoping it is just the stress of it all and the general aesthetic leaving my body, my lip is even still a bit numb a week later. The last few days my fitbit has been sending me notifications of low heart rate, between 43 and 46 whereas my average resting rate is 56. I have told the surgeon I would like a cert for this week to rest and then try to slowly build myself back up again to return to the gym (been a month), office and social life. I'm due to see him later this week anyway so maybe he might have an update for me, as I had a CT scan this evening (took Ubers instead of bus this time) and I'll try to remember to mention the heart rate to him also.

You do not stay which type of surgery you are referring to but after sleeve it is normal that the stomach will stretch a bit again but it will still be smaller than before the surgery. The stomach is a muscle and adapts to how it is used so if you regularly and continually eat large amounts it will retain the size needed for those expected meals. It is how a lot of us (well me anyway) got to be the size we were that surgery was the best option. Not sure what you class by overeating as different to everyone (like a handful of nuts vs a packet of biscuits) or how often you mean "a few" but in the immediate weeks and months after the surgery you would not be able to eat much at all and then after some time you would be eating what will become the new normal size meals. If you just eat a bit much a few times over a long period of time it should not be an issue but you may feel uncomfortable those times. The time pre-op and the phases of food reintroduction post-op is about doing the work mentally also to understand how, what, why and when you eat. It can be hard but it will then help you use your new tool (smaller stomach) to go forward and not stress about things like an extra bite of something delicious every now and then.

Congrats on your weight loss to-date. 20kg is good going and as you point out you likely would not have achieved it without the sleeve. A slow and steady pace might just be what your body (and mind) needs. At times I thought I would not reach my goal weight but I did, though it took just over one year so you have plenty of time for you, and your body, to work out what is right for you.

So my update..... On Friday afternoon I sent my CT scan imaging and report from the week before to the professor who is giving me my second opinion on whether I needed further surgery. Within two hours he rang me to say that it is not a case that the clip should come out because it could impact my quality of life or a reaction but that it MUST come out asap as the area around it is infected and I have what is called a superinfection. It appears that one of the leaks from two years ago has not healed, it was just being held together by the clip and if the clip is removed the leak is there!! He wants to remove the clip and then put in a pigtail (coil tube thingy) into the hole so the stomach will heal around it and then the pigtail will either pass through in a few months or can be removed easily at a later date - this is what he did before to stop the other leak and it worked successfully. And just for clarification, his hospital are not the ones who fitted the clip, that was done by my original local hospital who did the sleeve surgery. Anyway it is a special machine that has to be brought on site to do the procedure so I will travel there (Belgium) at the weekend and have the procedure this day next week. I still don't feel great but the antibiotics are helping though I am struggling to eat (no interest) so have lost almost 3kg in the last two weeks.

Thanks, they are my Victoria Beckham jeans which I treated myself to with birthday money I received. Wish I could afford them in various colours but not until I win the lottery.

So tomorrow is two years from when I had my sleeve surgery, though it is only just over one year since my last procedure due to all my post of complications, and a few weeks ago I turned 50. Here is a picture of me at 40 and a picture at 50. My weight back in May 2015 was about 130kg (20st / 286lb), it went up and down in the years between to where I was 120kg before surgery and now I am between 63 & 65kg (10st/141lb) so I am now half the person I used to be. 40yrs vs 50yrs The last two weeks I have had really bad abdominal pain on and off and when it showed no signs of improvement I went to the emergency department where my bariatric surgeon had some of his team waiting for me. After CT scan and blood tests it showed my abdominal area was very inflamed but no infection thankfully so they hooked me up to painkillers and sent me home with a prescription for more pain killers (tramadol) and muscle relaxers. Yesterday I had my follow up and the surgeon has said that following a review of my results it looks like the clip that they had to place when I had my leak is now causing a reaction so I have to continue on the pain meds plus add in antibiotics for a couple of weeks. The surgeon has said the clip has to come out as it is a matter of quality of life for me going forward as he says the pain can come back any time in the future if left it. The choices he gave are that it can be done by open surgery to remove (which he says is his second choice) and his preference is to do a revision surgery to bypass. Given all the sleeve post op complications I told him that I didn’t want to go down a surgical route, especially back in the same hospital but he feels this is the best option though he did say I could of course get a second opinion. So I have done just that, I contacted one of the surgeons (a mentor of my bariatric surgeon) who I had to be transferred to when my leak would not heal (the one who had to ft the pigtail/tube in my stomach) and he has said from looking at my files he believes it can be removed without the need for surgery and can see me in two weeks time to review my case and check scans so fingers crossed he can do something endoscopic wise. I am due to get my arm lift surgery end of October so if I had to have stomach surgery in the next few months I wouldn’t then be able to get my lift. Obviously that is not a reason to decline the surgery if it is the best and only option but it would be great to get everything resolved without stomach surgery and still be able to get my arm lift.

I found pilates great as my first exercise to do regularly post sleeve. I did it once or twice a week for six months and it helped build up my strength. I would have stayed going but the place closed down and I joined a gym instead (can't afford both) .

I'm exhausted just reading all that ?

Delighted to hear how well you are doing and the impact you can already see (and not feel ?) in your daily life. How did the immediate recovery period go, did you need a lot of help, bed rest etc.?

I used to regularly get similar cramps but since my sleeve surgery, doing more exercise and losing weight they are thankfully less frequent though when I do still get one they can still be so bad I almost vomit. Something I am using most nights is a massage roller on my feet and legs and I find it can help. When I do get a cramp, if I can manage it (sometimes is too bad to do more than walk and stretch it out) I will roll on the area and massage it out. I also take electrolyte powder a few nights a week if needed.

Wow so restrictive on the veg, did the doctor tell you why? I have never heard of that before, I was made have veg from day one on liquids by way of soup. If your bariatric team are not going to allow you veg (fruit I can understand being a no) then surely they should provide you with a bit of a menu guide, my team gave me recopies and food lists for each stage, and veg and even fruit were allowed throughout by way of a slow reintroduction. In the puree stage I had a homemade bolognese (though it had tomatoes and bit of carrot) and chili con carne (again has tomatoes but pureed right down so might be ok for you depending on why you are so restricted) and the kidney beans are a good protein, dhal. What about some hummus, can get different flavoured ones to kick up the flavour a bit? Omelets that you can then add seasoning/spices to?

Sorry you are in so much pain. I have a B12 deficiency (pernicious anemia) and a some of your symptoms are what I suffered from before my diagnosis and now when my level starts to drop, though I was diagnosed about 12 years ago so way before my WLS. My anaemia cannot be managed through oral supplements or food (as my body does not break down the B12 sufficiently) but the bariatric multivitamin I take daily and dairy products do help maintain my levels in addition to regular B12 injections (every four to six weeks). I think getting a B12 supplement and multivitamins should be top of your list, if you don't already take them but obviously that is not going to solve all the issues you are having with hernia and such. Make sure you get an appointment with the bariatric team to discuss everything with them and request full bloodwork and then also keep the appointment for the ultrasound etc. Hopefully you will get some answers soon that result in a course of action that will treat the cause and end the pain.

So my win yesterday was being able to comfortably fit into my new Victoria Beckham jeans, size 8UK / 4US, and eat a meal (2 mini slider burgers less the buns) without fearing I would split the zip

Thanks. I am happy with how I look, most days I guess like most people. I never had any belief that my legs would miraculously get thin following the WLS so never contemplated shorts, skirts etc but did hope that I might manage to fit in to industry standard boots or possibly look ok in leggings, neither of which look possible at the moment anyway and with summer now approaching I can't wear most styles of sandals due to the fatty deposits on each foot so my trust Skechers it will be for the foreseeable Compression garments are prescribed for lipoedema, at least in the EU. The compression was to help ease the swelling and pain and they did a bit but they are now too big for me so don't serve their purpose.