NovelTee

I thought I was so ready to get the fluids in before surgery, but it is a lot harder than I thought! Getting easier. Today is the best I’ve felt in 2 weeks.

This gave me so much hope. I hate feeling like I look like a hunchback. I used to have amazing posture, but as I gained, I think that I lost confidence and sort of cowered in my own little shell trying not to be noticed. I've been working on bringing the posture back to what it used to be, but I cannot wait for the neck hump to be gone!!

This gave me so much hope. I hate feeling like I look like a hunchback. I used to have amazing posture, but as I gained, I think that I lost confidence and sort of cowered in my own little shell trying not to be noticed. I've been working on bringing the posture back to what it used to be, but I cannot wait for the neck hump to be gone!!

This gave me so much hope. I hate feeling like I look like a hunchback. I used to have amazing posture, but as I gained, I think that I lost confidence and sort of cowered in my own little shell trying not to be noticed. I've been working on bringing the posture back to what it used to be, but I cannot wait for the neck hump to be gone!!

aaaahhhh ok...
put this way, i'll have to say i did notice some unexpected body composition changes in the year immediately following rapid weight loss:
- went from looking deathly skeletor-ish (gaunt and drawn and frail looking) to pretty healthy looking despite weighing less now than those skeleton days.
- my hair is actually thicker and "healthier" and even slightly curlier than even before surgery (which was a very welcome surprise after all that Hair loss from months 4-6 post op omg)
- i don't get pimples anymore. like ever.
- those weird dark little bumps on my upper arms are gone.
- when i do any sort of sustained exercise it's immediately noticeable. for instance if i do like 30 situps or 60 bicep curls i look shredded right after. no joke.
- my dentist says my gums have receeded faster than expected since the weight loss (dunno if this is related or a coincidence??)
- despite probably being the most "fit" i have ever been since my 20's, i still feel unbelievably weak compared to my heaviest days. i swear i can't open jars anymore nor can i carry multiple bags or groceries at once like i used to.
- i used to be bottom heavy (hips/butt was my widest part) now i am top heavy (shoulders/back are my widest part).
- i no longer have armpit hair ...but this is likely due to my arm lift? so i never have to shave there...which has the side benefit of the skin lightening up in that area...no more dark armpits for me! yay!
- i have no ass. like zero. looking at me directly from behind is semi-normal looking, but from a side view, its a straight line from the base of my neck to my knees.
- the hump on the back of my neck is gone
- not sure if this is related to my overall weakness, or because i just do wat more stuff now, or im just getting old, or a combination of it all, but i get injured ALOT. multiple sprains, torn ligaments, torn muscles, pinched nerves, tendonitis like everywhere, abdominal hernia, bruised ribs, carpel tunnel, ingrown toenails, omg. ive had more doctors/physio appts in the last 5 years than i've had in my entire life. times 2.
ok...this post is getting too long. gonna stop now lol

Finally broken through my week 3 stall and it feels so good. I had zero weight lost for three weeks, from March 26 (2 weeks post VSG) until today. I didn't make any changes, just stuck to the program and waited it out.

Checking in with the March 2023 crew. How y’all doin??

My surgery was 3/28. Things have been going relatively smoothly for me. My toughest time was my overnight in the hospital—the night nurse was a bit extreme and wouldn’t let us sleep. She wanted us drinking two ounces of Water every hour from 10pm to 4am with the threat that we wouldn’t go home if we didn’t complete it. Needless to say, I did not go home at 5am lol. I definitely told my surgeon at my 1wk check-in.

The first few days, it was painful trying to get up out of bed and if I sneezed, but I never needed to take the heavy duty pain meds they gave me. I did need to start adding Miralax to my water every few days and I use Benefiber daily.

Other than that, it’s been really smooth for me so far. Getting all my water is sometimes tough, but I try to start drinking it earlier and can handle it far better than I could right when I got home post-op. I can’t wait for coffee!

Hope you’re all recovering smoothly!!

That's crazy that you had to drink from 10pm to 4am!! My surgery date is 4/30 and I'm already missing coffee 😂

Hi everyone! Had mine March 28th :) I hit week two tomorrow!

I had my first drink a month or so out post op. During my losing phase it was pretty rare as the calorie content just wasn’t worth it to me. Like ms. sss I had my worst ever dumping during this time off a delightful drink called a Cocoa Puff martini-like laying on the cold tile of a bathroom floor because it was the only place I could get even slightly comfortable hour of misery dumping. Now I’m a semi-regular drinker. A glass of wine about 3 nights a week, a cocktail or two on date nights with my guy. As long as it isn’t derailing you I think it’s fine.

I have not had any limits on alcohol drinking or coffee or drinking with straws etc. I think patients in Europe have slacker rules than you American cousins. I tried my first drink at 6 weeks, I had a weak Bloody Mary and it was yummy.
I was born and raised in a pub, had pubs myself and drunk a lot over these years. I could hold my alcohol well. Now one glass of wine has me smashed for about 20 minutes. Last Christmas I went out with a friend and it got a little silly, I had at least 3 glasses and for the first time in my life, I don't remember going home. That scared me. I felt as if I had been spiked.
Wine and cider give me awful GERD, Baileys gives me get the foamies.
Something and lots of soda seems to work best for me. My husband calls me his cheap date, Cheap means different here.

Whether you drink alcohol or not or how much or how often you drink is really a personal one. You know yourself best & you are best placed to see how & if it affects you.
I was a big glass of wine every night person before surgery. Never a big drinker as such but would enjoy a glass or three if socialising over a couple of hours. After surgery I had a gin & tonic at about the 2 month mark at my cousin’s 40th. Literally sipped it for hours. Had another 1or 2 gin & tonics over the next 4 months while losing, always nursing the glass for hours. Honestly, I lost my taste for it. Think I was only able to tolerate the rare g&ts because of the bitterness of the tonic.
Now I usually have a glass of something about once a month when out or celebrating something. Still usually only one & I drink it over about an hour now. I have a fridge & a cupboard full of alcohol I just don’t drink. LOL! When I do drink I go for quality over quantity these days. A glass of real champagne, a glass of good quality scotch or a good gin (they’re my go tos).

Certainly addiction transfer is a consideration. As is the increased effects of the alcohol on your body & how fast it can affect you is another. Then there is the calorie & nutritional impact. But again, your choice, though if your plan says no alcohol while losing, I’d probably stick to that as closely as possible to take best advantage of your losing phase.

Breakfast part 1
Green peachy milk tea
5.5 oz of the shake, the rest tea
1/2 hr to finish

Thank you too! Recovery has been really smooth so far. The hardest part was my overnight in the hospital—my nurse refused to let us sleep and wanted us to drink two ounces of Water per hour, which felt impossible at the time. Once I got home, I was able to do it no problem. Everything seems to be healing well and I haven’t had any digestive issues or needed pain meds, which has been a blessing.

Thank you too! Recovery has been really smooth so far. The hardest part was my overnight in the hospital—my nurse refused to let us sleep and wanted us to drink two ounces of Water per hour, which felt impossible at the time. Once I got home, I was able to do it no problem. Everything seems to be healing well and I haven’t had any digestive issues or needed pain meds, which has been a blessing.

Life just throws it all at you some times & I’m sorry you’ve been through a lot.
Unfortunately the pouch reset is a fairy story/old wives’ tale. What needs to be reset is not your tummy but your head. Remember all that head work we had to do in the beginning? The stress, emotions & changes you’ve been experiencing has likely meant those old bad habits have snuck in again & you’ve been turning to food to comfort yourself. It’s easy to become complacent too. All completely understandable.
Don’t know if you were a food tracker or not, but tracking even for a couple of weeks like @Spinoza suggested will help you identify what you may need to adjust - food choices, Protein & fluid goals, portion sizes, nutrition. Then start by making one or two changes & another one or two a couple of weeks later. Small changes are easier to adopt & adapt to. Probably aim to get back to about where you were when your weight stabilised & how you initially maintained.
Maybe contact your nut/dietician to help you get back in the right mindset. Therapy may help you manage & better cope with the stress you’ve been experiencing too so you don’t turn to food.
You’ve been successful for ten years. You can do it again. All the best.

surgeons do vary. At my clinic, both sleeve and bypass people were on the same plan. They had us on purees as soon as we left the hospital, but they changed that (I had my surgery nine years ago) and now they have to do a week (or maybe two?) of liquids before moving to purees.

At my surgeon's office, they have one set of guidelines for bypass and another for sleeve. Interestingly, bypass moves out of the liquid phase faster, perhaps because we don't have that long line of staples to worry about? But as far as I can tell, the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery sets certain guidelines for programs to be considered Centers of Excellence, which many insurance programs require in order to cover the procedure. But these do not include a lot of specific dietary guidelines. A lot is left open to personal preference by the doctor or practice, although they are required to stay up to date on medical research.

I found it interesting that a friend of a friend who has surgery with my same dr got the same packet as me since I had sleeve and she had bypass. If I had to guess they keep it simple by going by the stricter guidelines for everyone?? The. Again maybe it truly is same for both surgeries. I agree it’s interesting that different doctors do it differnt though.

@NovelTee Of course It is definitely interesting to see how other people's Drs advise!
I'll admit, it is a bit of strange one that you are on the liquid stage for 3 weeks, but then again they may just be over-cautious! Either way, I am sure they have their reasons haha. It seems like they are keeping up good communication though, which is always a plus
I was looking to maybe try Protein Water for to hit those protein goals during my liquid phase...but we shall see!
Thank you so much!
How are you recovering?

Does every doctor interpret this treatment process differently? I've been reading so many different timelines that everyone is being given, and I'm confused as to whether there is actually a "norm" and then doctors deviate accordingly, or if each doctor/medical group sets their ideal SOP?
For instance, my surgeon required 2 full weeks of liquid only diet for pre-op and at least one night in the hospital after surgery. My first in-person check-in was at one week. I have video/phone appointments until my next in-person at 6 months. Pureed/soft foods don't start until week 3. Solid foods will start week 7. Red meat/shrimp at 6 months.
I have Kaiser in the DMV, so the food part is proscribed by the bariatric department, but even the overnight requirement was different with other people having surgery the same day as me. A nurse said my surgeon makes it a standard while others are out in hours. Obviously, it looks like my doctor is moving out of an abundance of caution, which I appreciate, but is anyone not in the Kaiser system getting the same guidance?

You may not feel full or feel full accurately for a while. You have to wait for your tummy & the nerves that were cut to be healed (around 8 weeks). It’s why sticking to the portions you were given vey important at this time & also the eat slowly. It takes at least 20 minutes for the full signal to get through (this is everyone not just us) so if you eat quickly you will have eaten way too much by the time the signal gets through.
You may feel some pressure or at worst the foamies if you eat too much now. Later you may develop the runny nose, hiccup, etc. signals. It will be a little while until you feel your restriction which is really the stop, stop, too much warning.
I only feel pressure if I’m full or something is sitting too heavily in my tummy. I also ask myself if I need the next bite or just want it because we should stop before we feel full. I also discovered my full signal can be really slow, up to an hour, so I usually take 30-45 mins to eat.

I wanna fight EVERYBODY!!!!! LOL I'm kidding but I'm sick of liquids. I did a week before surgery and now 4 days after surgery that's 11 days. I want solid food. *has adult size tantrum


Okay I feel better now lol

I had my first doctor's appointment. I AM IN THE 260'S!!!! I haven't been this small in over 6 years. I'm down 13 lbs since surgery 2.5 weeks ago and 28 lbs since January. She said she fully expects me to reach my goal of 180 within the year
I'm so freaking happy

UGH - Just UGH - I'm an idiot. I KNOW what to do.... but can't seem to get back into the game. Up almost 15lbs from my lowest and can't seem to get it back under control. A couple of weeks ago, I put some slacks away because they no longer fit comfortably. It just about made me sick to toss my "goal pants" on a shelf. As I type this, I'm thinking I need to go back to where I started. Put those bad boys back in the closet, try them on weekly (like I used to) until they fit right again. STOP wearing the comfortable stretchy leggings that I wore when I was losing weight... It's so easy to get comfortable at this point.
I guess this is really just a rant (and a warning): don't get comfortable. Pay attention and BEFORE things get out of control, get back on track. It's much easier to lose 5 than 15. I tend to be a social eater/drinker vs. emotional so I know that I need to make sure I have the right (raw veggies and fruit) foods available when in social gatherings instead of the "standard" snack foods (charcuterie boards are my absolute downfall). Knowing I will have an adult beverage, making sure I'm also drinking a Water in between to at least slow myself down.... Putting on those ill-fitting shorts at home to remind myself NOT to over indulge. Make small changes every week instead of trying to go all-in with a "pouch reset" (which I fail miserably at every time I try). Take pictures and compare. Anything it takes to remind yourself of WHY you did this to begin with. TRACK - Whew, I can't say that enough... TRACK. My failure to track is why I am where I am. When I see what's going in, it's a real eye-opener.