Search the Community

Thank you so much, guys. I love that this is a safe space to speak our truths about this surgery. So many people think it's a miracle cure, and it's not. We have to do the work. It really is just a tool for us to use while we do the work. You guys have been so supportive. Thank you so much. I'm going to go back to weighing once per week, meal prepping again, sticking to my diet, and start back with my work out plan. I'll work to lose 10 pounds, to get back to the weight I'm happiest at. You all are awesome!!!

I'm only 2 months post surgery -- Thankfully, I've been very careful with what I eat, and have not yet had to deal with foamies or dumping syndrome. The two main issues I've had, are insomnia and.... I don't really know what to call it. It's not constipation, as I'm still going every day like clockwork, the...volume? is just rather intense and it hurts when I go. The insomnia was insane from weeks 3-6 though. I barely slept at all, I would stay awake all night long, and usually the rest of the next day too, then I would crash and sleep for 15-16 hours straight, then back to being awake for close to 48 hours. It was rough, but then one day it just suddenly straightened itself out again.

For those of you who have not found relief I highly recommend adding fiber to your diet. I’ve noticed if eat a cup or so of oatmeal a couple of times a week it helps significantly.

Checking back in as I am nearly at my new goal weight now. My husband and I joined a gym in November when the weather turned too cold for us to walk/hike outside. We have stuck to going nearly every day except when we are on vacation/traveling/sick. I was on a cruise 1/23-2/3 and I even went to the gym five times onboard! Unfortunately, I got pretty sick as soon as I got home and didn't make it to the gym that first full week back. All that said and done, between the cruise and being sick, I did gain one pound, but I am back on track now and will be going to the gym for the third day in a row this evening. I am back to just "overweight" instead of obese and nearly back to the weight I was when I met my husband 8 years ago.

I first came to this board in March of 2022. I had my 1st surgery (sleeve) in May 2022. I had my revision to bypass (due to A LOT of complications with the sleeve) in June of 2023. Since then I have been complication free. But I was struggling to maintain my weight. I was put on a diet and exercise regimen to gain and then maintain my weight. Well, my metabolism finally sorted itself out, but I wasn't paying attention. I was supposed to weigh myself once a week to see how things are going. I went 4 weeks without weighing myself. And I was just eating whatever I wanted in hopes I would gain. And boy oh boy, I did gain. I went from 176 to 190 in 5 weeks. That shocked me, because I wanted to get to 180 - 183. Now I have to stop eating willy nilly, get my diet back on track, and focus more on my workouts. I became lax with what I needed to do and I found myself going back to old eating habits. Examples include eating whatever I wanted, even when it went against my diet. Not working out as much as I was supposed to because I was tired or didn't feel like it. Eating when I was bored. Eating something because it's there, not because I was hungry. Grazing all day and night, which was ALWAYS my issue. I'm telling you all this because I've seen so many posts where some of you guys really beat yourself up for messing up. You're afraid you'll undo all your progress. I admit, that has creeped into my mind a bit, but I remind myself that I know what to do and what not to do. I know how to get back on track. And I know how to give myself grace while still holding myself accountable. It's just a matter of doing it. So I'm going to course correct, get back to the proper diet and exercise routine, and really work on my eating habits. Just know that EVERYONE can slip up. It's not the end of the world....even if it feels like it is. Just own up to your mistakes, correct your actions, eat and exercise properly, and it'll all be ok. And with that, I need to go work out. Have a good one, and wish me luck that I get this sorted.

Sip, sip, sip is the mantra we all followed. Leave a couple of minutes (set a timer for your phone to help if needed) between each sip and you’ll be okay. Also put a cup by your bed and sip whenever you wake during the night. (I still drink throughout the night.) Just be aware you may have trouble swallowing the first few days because of internal swelling. I found warm/hot drinks more soothing than cool/cold but some are the opposite. You should be sent home with pain meds or a script (opioids) but some find an over the counter non NSAID pain meds are enough. (We all have different levels of pain tolerance.) but generally you’ll find that over the counter, or nothing, are enough for the surgical pain by day 3 or 4. Now surgical gas is another matter. That takes about a week to leave your body. You breath it out (not by burping or passing wind) so do some slow deep breathing. March on the spot. Pump your arms up & down and walk, walk, walk. Little and often are fine. Heat packs can ease the shoulder pain that occurs because the gas rises behind your lungs before being absorbed into your lungs. All the best with your surgery & recovery.

I had mine 2 weeks ago tomorrow. Trying to adjust in a world that throws TV adverts for food at you non stop.

Guys I'm not liking myself. I feel "fat" it's so weird how I feel .. I look myself in the mirror and I c that I've gained weight but on the scale I was losing weight and just stalled for 2 weeks (well gained 200g) so I'm just feeling shitty. I feel like I'm able to eat more (not as much as pre surgery ) but more... my husband almost smacked me to snap out of it lool and he said I was delulu n I'm not seeing myself .... I'm trying to watch my food and I'm between 1000 to 1300ish cals and maintaining 70 to 90g of protein. Sometimes my carbs are over but I won't say too bad. I'm almost 6 months post op

First stall. It’s not uncommon to experience a number of stalls as you continue to lose weight. Try taking body measurements. Sometimes when the number on the scale doesn’t move (or fluctuates around the same number) the numbers on the tape measure will change.

I am getting frustrated with the slowness of loss. I had the sleeve on 16th of Jan, and initially lost 4-5 kg very quickly, then the last two weeks, I have lost only 1.7kg, (3.5 lbs) I know it can happen, that the body can retain water and it’s not reflecting the loss. I am just venting my frustration. I tried eating more 800-1000 cals last week, nothing, exactly the same weight for 6 days, then a minuscule 100gm loss. It's been frustrating!

I've been surprised by my lack of constipation. I was so prepared for it to happen that I ordered the biggest value container of Miralax to keep on hand... and I used it twice in a year. I am regular like clockwork and have been since about the second month or so. BUT, I have had the vomiting I mentioned in another post, which I wasn't really prepared to have happen. I have been surprised by how different it feels to eat different types of foods in various quantities. For example, if I eat 3oz of chicken or beef, I'm very full and sometimes can't finish it or have more than a bite of a side dish. But I can eat a very large salad or other non-starchy veggies and it doesn't make me feel stuffed. A few bites of bread can sit really heavy but I can eat crackers without feeling that way at all, where I would have assumed they would be about the same. Also surprising is that what you eat, how much you exercise, and how much weight you lose in a week do not necessarily go hand in hand the way you think they will. Some weeks you will drop several pounds, other weeks you will not lose an ounce. You can do exactly the same thing both weeks. Your body will do what it wants. Beyond making good choices and sticking with a healthy lifestyle you can sustain (longterm sustainability is the MOST important thing), there's not much you can do to make a meaningful difference in how much weight you lose and how quickly.

Both are very important to your general health. Vitamins because you’re not able to consume enough of a variety of foods to get all the nutrients your body needs to function effectively. Protein should be your focus not only now but forever. It can be a challenge to reach your protein goal every day especially in the first couple of months after surgery when your portions are so small. But work at being at least close to your goal and that your general trend is you’re consuming more and getting closer to the goal. We usually say eat your protein first then any vegetables you are able to and lastly any allowed complex carbs but only if you are able to eat more. This often means a meal is solely protein and nothing else. Protein is very important to your wellbeing and if you’re not consuming enough your body will take it from any it can i.e. your muscles. Not taking your vitamins or meeting your protein (or any other goals you are given) will have a negative impact on your health. The regular blood tests your surgeon & team will request are to ensure you’re not deficient in any nutrient. (5.75yrs out I still have regular blood tests - was 3 monthly until year 4 & every 6 months now.) You are likely experiencing a stall. Stalls are very common with the first one (yes, first one) almost all of us experience occurring around the three week mark though it can be earlier or later than that. @catwoman7 would tell you, there are literally 10s of 1000s of posts here about the infamous three week stall. A stall usually lasts 1-3weeks though some experience longer stalls. Frustrating yrs but they happen for a reason. A stall occurs when your body shuts down to reassess your current needs in response to your weight loss, smaller calorie intake and this first one the stress of your surgery & recovery. You will start to lose weight again when your body is ready to move forward again. Stick to your plan & meet your nutritional goals as closely as you can so you’re not & stressing your body more than it already is experiencing.

I'm 11 weeks post op ty all for your posts

I am feeling immense shame as I write this post but I cannot carry on like this and I am requesting advice from the lovely people of this community. I had my surgery in 2022 and unfortunately (due to undiagnosed ADHD) I did not follow the post-surgery plan to retrain my stomach. Now that I am being medicated for ADHD, I find myself needing to snack less for dopamine and want to start strength training, but I cannot finish solid meals without becoming full immediately with stomach pain. Can this be resolved by going back to the post surgery diet for a few weeks? Does anyone have any advice, please? 😢

Okay, so I had reached a BMI of 40 when I got the referral to the surgical team. But with 6 months of nutrition counseling and the 2 week liquid diet, the day of surgery I had a BMI of 36.3. I chose the bypass and I am very happy with it. My weight loss has not been the dramatic numbers you see with larger patients, but it's been stunning to me. I am almost a year out and am currently within 9 pounds of a normal BMI. I have not been this weight in 30 years and I firmly believe no amount of diet and exercise alone would have gotten me here. I would do it again in a heartbeat and wish I had done it earlier. With regards to the bypass itself, I am very pleased with it. I chose it over the sleeve because of GERD concerns and because my brother, who had the sleeve 15 years ago, has had a lot of regain that I think the bypass will help me avoid to some degree. I had some issues with vomiting for the first several months when I didn't eat very slowly or had something that was not the "right" texture for my picky insides. But other than that, I've been great. At this point, I can eat about a third to a half of a typical portion of most meals so I don't feel like I get funny looks or anything from people who don't know my situation. I do not experience dumping, which is sad because it means I can eat sweets if I want them without getting sick. And yes, I do want them, so managing cravings is my biggest challenge. I no longer care much for bread or pasta and I also don't eat rice. I do like a few roasted potatoes sometimes and I will steal a couple fries from someone else's plate but I won't order them for myself. I mostly prefer protein, veg, and fruit. And, yeah, sweets... My labs have all looked good so far (have to go get blood drawn next week ahead of my 1-year follow up). I feel fantastic. My one concern had been not being able to take ibuprofen because I was taking it a few times a week for pain. Well, within weeks of the surgery, even when my weight was still fairly high, my pain went away. I have had one time in the past year when I had a headache and wished I could take ibuprofen (and actually, I could have if I had really needed to because a single ibuprofen, or even one a week, is not a high enough risk to worry about).

I am on day two, and I was so hungry last night i ended up having 2 extra string cheese before bed, I feel bad because I did so good on day 1, but before bed i was starving. Today I am making use of my "free foods" and am going to try adding some broth, and sugar free jello as well as some extra free veggies. I had a headache yesterday but today none, I also did a modified diet for one week before my pre op started, 3 shakes during the day and then a regular meal for dinner.- my surgeon didn't mention not having the surgery if the liver was still too big but I definitely don't want to take the chance.

Do you mean 2025 for your op or a year ago? If only four weeks ago what you are feeling is totally normal and your body is recovering. Hopefully you will soon find a routine that works for you with regards to being able to take a bit more food and fluids but take your time with sipping and eating, baby steps for now and then it will get easier. Try to get your vitamins in, especially now as you are eating less. For me after the op I couldn't stand the smell of certain foods, even the smell of coffee turned my stomach but now all is back to 'normal' and I thankfully am able to drink coffee again. With regards to the weight loss, it is different for everyone, I put on a few kg in the hospital immediately after the op and then slowly started to lose but I didn't see it on the scale or physically for quite a while. It will happen when your body is ready. You have got this, it is early days.

Second what @SpartanMaker has said. It takes a good 6 or so weeks to be healed from the surgery. This includes nerves that were cut during the surgery so messages about feeling hungry or full etc. may be distorted or don’t get through so be careful. so you will start to notice a difference/improvement as you get to around that time frame. I struggled with things being super sweet or super salty and some textures initially. I actually decided to embrace the sweet aversion and decided to not reintroduce sweet things back into my regular eating. Of course there is always a little in certain foods but I keep my added sugar low less than 6g a day. I do have some sweet things on occasions but not every day or every week but that was my choice. And yes, foods or drinks you can’t tolerate now will likely be fine again in a couple of months. And yes, you may find you develop a taste for foods you didn’t enjoy before. There may be odd foods you never can tolerate again. e.g. many struggle with eggs in the long term. Beware though, your tummy can be very fussy in the first months. I described my tummy as a petulant temper throwing 2 year old during this phase. You may eat something without issue on day and the next it’s no way. Don’t give up on any food though. Sometimes in a few days or a week or two your tummy will enjoy it again. As for the nausea, do you have any anti nausea meds? If not ask your team to prescribe some. The nausea can also be from your multi vitamins. Ensure you have some food on your tummy first so take them after you’ve eaten or almost finished. Also if you have to take a couple tablets spread them out across the day not all at once. Things do get easier and better. You’ll learn how to manage your altered digestive system and changes to behaviours regarding eating and drinking. It takes time but you’ll get there. All the best.

I had a BMI of 35 but I had a sleeve. I also didn’t have any co morbidities - I knew they were likely ahead of me though. So I’m going to respond more generally using am I glad I had weight loss surgery not a specific surgery. Simply yes, I am. The bulk of must weight came on with menopause and nothing I did shifted it. Or if it did it would be back in a very short period of time. I reached a point where I couldn’t stand it any longer and made an appointment with my doctor for a referral. I was in surgery less than 6 weeks later (benefits of living in Australia with private health). Do I have any issues post surgery? Yes but they’re minor really and I had a quirky tummy before so no real change. I struggle a bit with the foamies but no dumping. I had reflux before but it was managed with dietary choices. Still have it though I take a PPI every day now vs a handful of times a year before & the symptoms are different now. (Best is I don’t get the hideous hiccups I used to get just the regular ones now.) One of the benefits of having surgery is you simply cannot eat the same volume of food. Of course if you are determined you can eat around some of your changed digestive system. But take the time in the initial months after surgery where its benefits are strongest, to learn about things like portion size, nutritional values, etc. and start adopting new behaviours. Reflect on your relationship with food and why you ate and start making changes there too. Seek the help & support of your dietician and a therapist as needed. Many seem to be concerned they won’t lose all the weight they’d like to starting at a lower BMI. I lost all of mine and more. It is important to remember that not everyone loses all the weight they’d like. The surgery (regardless of which you have), changes your body set point that is the weight your body is happy at which often is not the weight you think you’ll be happy at. With bypass it is always best to have a conversation with the doctor who prescribes your meds as bypass does interfere with the absorption of these. It may mean you need to swap some of your meds as @SleeveToBypass2023 mentioned. All the best.

Thank you. I forgot to mention that I just had the endoscopy done last week and Al looks good. No reason to not do the sleeve. My preference has always been the RNY because my sister, sister-in-law and niece have all done the RNY with great success and I know what to expect. Recently my gut says to do the sleeve, but also feel I’ll regret it if do.

Hello everyone! I am very sorry to those who interacted with the post and didn't get any replies. Unfortunately week 2 of my LSD my doctor called to say the surgery is cancelled due to fact I failed my psych assessment. I lost nearly £2,000 in money that they refused to refund (the cost was for booking my surgery date) due to being caught in a catch 22. Because I failed my psych assessment it is considered MY fault not theres, therefore under the contract I signed prior, no refund. It really made me depressed. I'm back on here losing weight with Mounjaro. I would still like to connect with people whether you're pre surgery, post surgery, losing with the injection or naturally. I am hoping I can lose enough weight so I don't need the surgery, but if I do, that's fine too. Thanks!

Hey everyone! My name is Kim and I'm headed to Costa Rica to have an RYGB done in two weeks. I'm mentally prepared. I think I've been getting ready for this in my soul for a LONG time. I'm just here to soak up all your wisdom!! A little bit about me: I'm a doula (semi-retired after 28 years), ESL teacher, seriously addicted crafter, travel agent, and singer in a yacht rock band. I'll be 58 this year and weight has been a struggle since I had my first son (1995) and got two depo shots 3 months apart. I went from 125 to 200 in six months and have struggled ever since. I got back down under 200 for a few months about 13 years ago, but I've been holding steady at about 275 for the last couple of years. My highest was over 300. I've tried dang near everything with adipex being the last effort. I love going to the gym and being active but I just can't DO what I want or need to do there. So this is where we are and this is the time.

Well there is never a 100% guarantee because we are all different but I would say that your response so far makes it very likely that you will be a success story based on my personal experience and the knowledge that I have of others experience who have lost and kept it off vs those who have regained a significant amount. I had my sleeve surgery 3/9/2021 so I have been on these boards since then and I have been going to in person support groups since a couple of months prior to my revision and my personal experience and learned experience is that one of two four things happen to cause regain. 1: the person never really does change what they eat. This is a problem when the anatomical changes control portion of less nutritious foods for a while so they lose some but then as the stomach stretches they can eat more and they regain or they are able to have just a taste of things in the beginning but when appetite comes back that changes (note that some people can have just one bite of a brownie forever but that didn’t work for me so we just have to be mindful of how our body reacts and stop doing it if we can’t stop ourselves at a small portion). 2: the surgery was never a good fit. I know that this was part of problem with the sleeve for me because I never did feel ANY metabolic changes. I still absolutely hated healthy foods that I didn’t like before and I did not have any additional energy or motivation after the surgery. Basically I think for me the surgery was probably like Wegovy would be. The hunger hormones went away for a while and I was able to eat less until that came back. But nothing else changed for me. I never felt a change in energy and I was never about to get start r with exercise and healthy food options did not appeal to me in the slightest. I ate alot of chicken breast and a few veggies that I don’t mind in the beginning but there was no variety so like most diets I couldn’t sustain it when the hunger came back and I wasn’t moving my body to help my physical and mental health to keep it going. 3: This would be a combo of the two which would be where i would actually say that I fell with my sleeve. Because I didn’t like enough of the healthy food even a little bit I started having less ideal foods far more often. I mean i wasn’t eating McDonald’s ever and I wasn’t having poor choices all the time but I would have like a quarter of a frozen pizza or a lean cheeseburger with a roll several nights a week thinking it was okay because calorie wise it wasn’t much worse if that was all ate. The problem was the other macros and the fact that for me they were slippery slope foods and they made me crave more. I wasn’t gaining on that but carbs make me crave carbs so that little devil voice took over and I tested the waters a bit more by having just a few fries or a bit of cake with that but it was way too often and far too early out for me to know my limits. Then, to make matters worse, my mental health issues kicked in where I had not only stopped losing but gained 20 pounds and when I couldn’t reverse it even when I tried my hardest to rein it in (because I was now craving the carbs again bad) i just considered that I was a complete failure and they didn’t say it but i could see it that my friends and family felt that way too and I just slowly just quit trying. This is when the support of people who get it would’ve been sooooooooooo very important. Never been obese people are never going to be able to get it or be able to help. Reach out to your bariatric support if you struggle. Even if your disgusted. They get it and never judge. 4: Some people even though the surgery is a success and they make all the lifestyle changes and everything is working lose sight of their lifelong goal for one reason or another and let bad habits slowly slip back in and they gain. I think this is probate going to be the hardest one for me. To not take my eye off the prize 5 years down the road. But we can do it. I think that staying active in these support groups and checking in with my team is going to be key for me. I am going to ask to have my follow ups a couple times a year even when I’m a ways out just to keep me in check. I know that I am able to gain a lot of weight in a year!! I never did the In person support groups at all after my sleeve and I stopped posting here for a while and didn’t go to my follow up appointments when things were out of control and I needed the help the most. Basically for me the sleeve was just one of my longer and more successful diets that started with the curved appetite and a lot of hope that it would work this time but slowly ended when the hunger came back, bad habits slipped back in, the cravings got unbearable and my all or nothing thinking finally got the best of me. I think I probably would have leveled out somewhere between my starting and my low weight if I had not given up but since I started at a relatively low BMI to begin with that did not seem like a success to me at the time. 89 pounds later I only wished I had been back to that weight though. I learned a lot from the sleeve experience though and I think that knowledge is helping me now. Hopefully, it helps others too. I try to let my experience be a cautionary tale without scaring anyone too much. Anyways, based on your nutrition changes, steady loss and your activity I do not think you are like me with the sleeve or others who I’ve seen who never even tried to eat differently or exercise so I don’t think your surgery was a bad fit at all or that your just expecting the surgery to do all the work. I think that your surgery is doing what it was designed to do for you and so as long as you keep doing your part you should get your where your body needs to be. Just don’t get caught up in a certain number and let your brain get the best of you like I did. That last 10 or 15 pounds may feel like a lot but your already so much healthier and happier that you were before. Keep striving for that goal but don’t let it be the only thing that matters. To me it will be icing on the cake to what is already a success story Your body will have its own idea of what is an ideal size for you and you may have to just accept that it may not be exactly what you have in mind (it could be lower but it could also be a bit higher. It may be a sorry to accept where your body is happy and healthy if you don’t want to be really working hard at this forever. Honestly, I imagine we will have to work at it for the rest of our lives to some degree. By that I mean that we will probably never have it as easy as someone who has never been obese. You are doing so incredibly well, though, making actual lifestyle changes and I have listened to anyone who is willing to share whether they were successful or not and that seems to be the biggest piece of advice. This is not a diet it is a lifestyle. Your surgery is working for you and you are working hard for you as well. Those two things are key to this journey long term. Just keep it up and I really believe you will reach all of your goals. ❤️

That's a very different pre-op diet than I had. I was on three protein shakes a day, pureed (non-starchy) vegetable soups, and as for fruit I could only have apple or berries. The berries I mixed with vanilla protein shake in my Magic Bullet for a smoothie. I never felt dizzy. Are you getting enough protein? Not sure how much is in one pint of skim milk...