Search the Community

So I went with the SADI and I am two weeks post op now. I did have loose movements for three days but only the one in the morning and since then I have been constipated or normal but back and forth. It’s weird because everyone warned me about diarrhea and that hasn’t happened yet. Does it wait until you are on more normal foods maybe?

Hello again everyone! I'll start by saying I'm sorry it takes me so long to post my responses. This is because while I do skim posts from my phone, especially when I see an email that has me tagged I find it so much easier to type and properly respond from my desktop computer. So - If I 'Like' a post' just know I'll likely later mention something in one of my long summarized posts, like this one! Yesterday was exhausting for me; I slept poorly Tuesday night due to heartburn and tenderness on the left hand side. I did get a few things done yesterday, though, including making it to Walmart finally to get my returns processed. I'm not sure why I thought I'd need extra bandages and such after my surgery, but I didn't. That said, after reviewing the cost of canned soups and canned chicken, I decided just to buy a rotisserie chicken! Honestly, that's proven to be easier and more economical because after deboning it there is plenty of flavorful chicken to either puree into chicken salad or puree with chicken broth and some canned peas/carrots as a kind of 'no noodle' soup! I also had a ridiculous epiphany this morning - cooking and straining our fruits BEFORE mixing them with yogurt or ricotta works WAY BETTER! This should have been obvious but in my addled mind I've been either 'peeling' the strawberries, or like this morning I thought I'd put the whole blueberry yogurt smoothie through the metal screen to strain and hey - that worked POORLY! Lol - silly the illogical things we do at times, eh? Or maybe it's just me, idk! Oh - I ALSO realized yesterday evening, when I had basically zero energy nor desire to mess with dinner but still was far short of my protein goal that I hadn't started taking the Collagen yet that I bought to help my hair, skin, and nails. Lo and behold when I scoped it out (I ordered Nature Target Multi-Collagen Peptides from Amazon) that one scoop DOES have 9g of Protein! I truly felt like I was cheating the system when I poured a scoop in about 4oz of Gatorade Zero, Orange and called that my dinner. I'm not sure what caused me to sleep better last night - the fact that I held/hugged a pillow ( Thank you again @draikaina8503 for mentioning the pillow your nursing staff gave you!) against my left side during most movements throughout the day, the fact that I was extremely tired, the relief from hearing from my doctor's office, or just time and healing in general) but I DID sleep well and today has gone more smoothly for me. As of today I'm 17 days post op, about a 1/4 of the way into my two weeks of puree diet. @ShoppGirl - I haven't noticed about white spots on the tongue after different types of protein drinks because I've been really aware of any 'filmy texture' so rinse my mouth after each meal, but I do feel like the Ensure is thicker and takes more effort for me to rinse after drinking. Thanks for mentioning the Protein Water! I'm going to look into that to see if it will help me meet my protein goal of 60g/day. @draikaina8503 - I haven't noticed much as far as skin sensitivity goes although my bruises from where they stuck me have taken an AGE to heal! I've been worried about you and hope that the incident with your doggo didn't leave you with any lasting damage (I may see a post about that later as I read). Are you taking Collagen Peptides by chance? I noticed one of the Youtubers who documented their own surgery journey dealt with breakouts afterward while taking Collagen and wondered if maybe it was impurities being purged from their skin as a result of the Collagen itself. If not I'd definitely mention it to your surgeon and double check (not that I think you'd miss anything since you seem VERY thorough) that some ingredient you're intolerant to hasn't snuck its way into your routine. Update: Oh good, I'm glad you got some reassurance from your physician's office. Wow - congratulations on the return to school! The start date is rolling right up, isn't it?! Yeah, timing - eesh - I feel ya! Best of luck in finding a comfortable position in which to do your course work, and the energy to tackle everything at once! So far though it looks like you're nailing it and no reason to think that success won't keep right on coming! Oh - and yeah, I guess I AM blessed to have been given this little bottle of Hibiclens! I had noticed that there was one of those tubs in my hospital room when I got ready to check out and there was another bottle of it in there as well as a couple of 'No rinse' shampoo caps. I snagged everything out of it - figured if my insurance was paying for it, I was gonna grab it for possible later use! I wish I could hand you this extra bottle, honestly! @Pepper_No_Salt - Wow; goodness! Yeah; honestly it sounds like you're doing way too much! I'm only just now starting to feel up to helping load the dishwasher, and today I managed to slowly sort through the clothing in my chest of drawers for size/quality of condition. Even then, I had to have my fella open the drawers for me because it's older and they stick a bit, plus pulling anything makes me tender, much less bending and pulling at the same time! I can't IMAGINE trying to tackle everything you just listed at this stage. I know we all heal at different rates but my surgeon's office told me yesterday that the pain *I* have been mainly experiencing, a pulling/tugging on my left side, can take up to a month or two to recover from. She said to remember that despite how the surface appears to have healed that there is a LOT of repair and healing happening internally. She also said that as frustrating as it is to just try to be patient with myself because the body is adjusting in a lot of ways between not getting hardly any carbs, learning to get its energy from different sources, i.e. stored fat, processing our intake of protein/water differently, and literally healing multiple organs (for me, SADI, intestines and stomach from the sleeve portion) and that takes a lot out of a person. @Justarwaxx - Oh my goodness, that sounds VERY anxiety inducing! This is your body and your journey, I absolutely suggest contacting your surgeon's office to see if they can send you some kind of guideline on what to be doing at your different stages. Also, I will be honest - that sounds like a lot of calories to be intaking during your liquid diet and I can't help but wonder if you're drinking maybe the wrong particular protein shake? I don't say that because I think you SHOULD worry about calories specifically but you DO need to worry about sugar intake. I got tripped up because my surgeon's team gave me a booklet guide for the whole process and I'm not supposed to drink any protein shakes that have less than 15g of Protein and more than 5g of sugar. The protein shakes are deceptive as heck, though! Example: The off brand Equate ones I got are Max Protein with 30g of Protein and less than 1g of sugar, and one time I accidentally bought their Protein Plus which had 20g of sugar in each one! They tasted great - but at the cost of all that sugar it was a hard pass! Also if you are drinking regular Gatorade or Powerade I could see that being a factor; I'm on Zero Sugar for my non-protein beverages. I can totally see how you'd feel at a loss - I spent 10 months working up to my surgery (because I had to quit smoking, etc) and I still feel like I'm winging it. If your surgeon's team didn't mention it, I will - there is an app called Baritastic that is free on the Google Play Store. You can scan the items you intake or search them on the 'Food Log' and it usually pulls up the correct information and lets you put what percent of the listed serving size you consumed. I do suggest checking at least one time to make sure it's pulling up the correct information that matches the Nutrition Facts listed on the item. After that it will be recorded in your 'Recent' list and you can just choose it easily that way. Baritastic also has a built in Timer for 30 minutes you can use to track when you stop drinking and can start drinking after a meal - once you're past the liquid stage and move on to meals that's pretty important across the board as far as I know. The 'No drinking 30 minutes before, during, or after a meal' is important because due to the adjusted size of your stomach it can only fit a certain amount, and you could get overly full of water before or after a meal otherwise, leading to you being sick to your stomach or feeling miserable overall. Honestly, I've been setting a timer when I sit down at my computer as well so I don't get absorbed in what I'm doing and sit for too long. That's been helpful! Best of healing and well wishes to you all - Oh, finally updated my ticker but bummed I can't put 'SADI' as my surgery type. Oh well! Adding: The Finch App continues to help me navigate these waters, big time. I open my free Finch app (Also on the Google Play App store) more often then I open Facebook or any social media. Taking care of that silly cute cartoon bird and getting rewarded for taking care of MY personal business is such a benefit to someone like me who is almost certainly ADHD/Autistic at some level. I even use it to remind me to log my food/liquid intake in Baritastic. OH and I did make solid contact with the testing center I've been on a wait list with - looks like I'll at least be able to get in to a counselor soon, though I'm still on the wait list for actual Autism testing. Ok - that's all for now!

I sent a message to my bariatric office along with some pics. They said it looks fine to them and it is possibly my immune system just being in overdrive slightly. I did also send the pic of the blisters around my CGM sensor to my diabetic office to see if there's anything in particular I can do for that one. The response was to spray Flonase on my skin and allow it to try before attaching a sensor. So I guess that means I need to take my sensor off. I'll deal with it in a bit. Too much energy to walk up the stairs at the moment. Next stress on the list - I return to school for my masters degree on the 26th. Timing, y'all. LOL But in good news for me, World of Warcraft's new expansion hits early release for those of us crazy enough to preorder tonight. So I'll have something to keep me entertained hopefully while I'm taking times of rest. (Also time to mute all the people so that no one spoils anything for me.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @ShoppGirl Thank you for the idea about the proffee. I've decided I'm going to test the limits of my lactose intolerance and get some Premier Protein to see if I can handle it, and that sounds like a good way to have it. I need to go buy decaf coffee as I don't currently have any. I've been drinking Protein 2O since before surgery. They're not bad but they leave my mouth feeling super dry. I'm guessing that's the protein in it. But the Protein 2O are only 15g of protein. Which ones are you drinking that are 20g? I'm very curious. I haven't noticed any white chunks on my tongue after drinking any protein drink at this point. Just the dryness from the Protein 2O. If it happens with others and not the Premier, but you're also drinking the Premier with coffee... it may be the coffee that's helping? I'm not sure on this one. I hope your trip to your crochet group went well. If you need to get up and walk around for five minutes during the group, definitely do so. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Hiddenroses I'm going to talk to my husband about ordering that GENEPRO that you mentioned and ShoppGirl mentioned. I need something to help those numbers along lol. Though two of his coworkers had the same procedure done, and they said you never eat for flavor again. You just eat because you have to eat. Which is slightly depressing but if it gets my health back... I'm still going to try to have flavor and such as I go along, but the GENEPRO is probably going to help me out in the puree stage a lot. Right now I'm surviving on protein shakes and protein water. And yay for the pillow working! It's been a lifesaver for me, honestly. I couldn't get up and down in certain chairs without it. Okay, I'm legit jealous that you got a foaming pump style bottle of the stuff. I was literally given 2 packets of the gel and had to use both the last two showers before surgery. So they gave me nothing else for after that. I think I might feel better about showering if I had more of the stuff. Oh, well. Beggars can't be choosers, I guess. lol ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @RRenaeL23 Look at you, go getter! A mile and a half one week post-op? Holy cow! I'm definitely not up to that yet, so congrats on your achievement! I've got a cart started of things that I'm looking at on BariLife.com. Not sure about Clean Simple Eats, but that's another resource you might want to look into for getting smoothies and such. It's where I got my vitamins. This cart is currently things I want to run past the hubby to see if we can get for my puree stage, which should be after Wednesday if I can ever meet my fluid and protein goals beforehand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Pepper_No_Salt I'm looking into that variety pack on Amazon myself. I'm beyond tired of the mixed berry at this point, since it's the only flavor in town that I can drink currently. lol Definitely take it easy if you are hurting a lot. I know I tend not to take my pain pills unless I'm pushing an 8 on the pain scale, but you also definitely don't want to do more damage to yourself. I have no idea how you have managed to hit your water and protein goals already, my surgery twin, but congrats to you. I'm definitely on the struggle bus with that one. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Justarwaxx Did they not give you any contact information? That's so bizarre. My team gave me the contact information like five times to make sure I had it. Are the calories you are consuming from things on the plan? If so, then I don't think it would be a problem. But definitely make sure you reach out and try to find someone to contact to help alleviate your anxiety. I will also say that calories were not mentioned to me by my bariatric team. They are not concerned with calories as much as protein and carbs overall. Fruit and oats were also not on any of my liquid stages, like ShoppGirl said. But if they are okay with it for you, then it sounds like you are doing everything right by your team. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lots of love to anyone I missed! We got this! Everyone who just had surgery, I hope you are healing well. And everyone waiting, it will be worth it.

Hello all, I'll get caught up and respond soon. But... did anyone else develop hypersensitive skin post-op? I have two blisters forming near one of my incisions, and I just noticed the skin around my CGM sensor (the thing that monitors my blood sugar without sticking my finger all the time) is also developing a blister. I just noticed these things in the last couple of hours, and I'm wondering if I should say something to the doctor or if this might be kind of normal?

I have tried and my boobs are just empty skin sacs 😭 nothing can help them. Ugh I get smaller and now I look saggy. I was big and looked rolly. Cannot win!

I didn't' think about that, but I'm willing to bet that's the reason. Because staples aren't flush against the skin.

Well after two daily stools that were very loose I cut back to one and then the next day was loose too so I thought I would go to every other day but that was a bad call apparently. Now it had been two days and nothing. I just went and a couple little pebbles came out so it’s definitely constipation. Gross as this is I used a glove and got more out but there is still more in there. I just took milk of magnesia but I’m a little worried about how painful this is going to be since I am only 11 days post op and my incisions still hurt quite a bit.

So I went to my post op appt at my family practice dr. I asked about my gallbladder and she agreed that it’s really not that life altering. It’s just going to be a balance with my SADI making me malabsorb fat. I need to consume enough for my body to still function without taking in too much because I don’t have a gall bladder. Next up was my lack of bowel movement. I finally had one day 7 then again the morning of day 8 and 9. All in the morning and all pretty regular except very loose. Then days 10 and 11 so far nothing. Today I feel like I need to go but can’t. She said to increase the stool softeners back to two a day and take milk of magnesia tonight if I still haven’t gone. The nurse showed me how to do my B-12 shot and guess what guys I did it!! She said the needle the pharmacy gave me was bigger than I needed and gave me a smaller one to use and to take with me so I could get more. She showed me how to get it into the needle but had me do the shot itself. I think I want someone to watch me just one more time to make sure I got it but i think I got it. It did it hurt at all. Didn’t even feel it honestly. And once my hands stopped shaking it was really easy to do. I took the needle back to my pharmacy and showed them and they do Jace them and they sell them so I went ahead and got 12 so if it continues to be a monthly thing I’m good for a year. i will add that I am home now and using the mug warmer for my scrambled eggs I am eating them out of a mug because I do not have a flare with a bottom smaller than the 4” for it to sit flush but it’s working. The eggs are not piping hot but they are staying warm. @draikaina8503 i would probably add fat free milk instead of water thinking it would taste a little better. I assume at that stage You just need it to run off the spoon like liquid. Similar to your protein shake.

HI! Thank you so much!!! I started with walking around 2-3 postop, 20-30min and just built up to working out from home with light 5lbs weights. I follow Sydney Cummings or Juice and Toya work out videos. I would alternate 1 day upper body, 1 day lower body, ect...Then I would walk for 1 hour one day a week. Then I joined the gym when I was comfortable with the weights and that's when I really saw results. That was around 8-9 week post op. I cut down to 20min cardio and 30min strength training still alternating and still having 1hour walking days. Now that I am at my weight that I want to be at and not wanting to bulk up anymore just shred and tighten up my loose skin that I can possibly tighten up, I do 4 weight days 2 upper body, 2 lower body body with 30 min of cardio (usually treadmill at 12-13.5 incline and 3.3-3.7 speed) then 2 days I focus only on Cardio HIIT workouts. Now I do all my own workouts just from researching online and building my own workouts. I think they work? LOL I feel good afterwards, and my body composition is changing so I am rolling with it LOL I focus on high protein like over 100g, carbs I kept around 60g and fat around 20g. I have been fortunate where the weight came off pretty quickly, right now I am eating around 1400 cal 150g of protein 80-90g carbs and 25-30g fat. I am not actively trying to lose anymore, I want to more so maintain but I am still losing, so I am waiting till that figures itself out. LOL

I legit ate too much yesterday… because my body would be full one minute and legit hungry an hr later. I threw up and had loose stool this morning😔😔😔. I have to be careful

I'm definitely not someone who sews. My mom use to, but she lives in Florida (I'm in Colorado) and her arthritis has gotten bad and she hasn't sewn in years. I honestly wouldn't complain about something like this anywhere but here because absolutely NOBODY else can relate. I keep hearing "but you were so heavy before, I would think you'd be ecstatic now!!" and I alternate between wanting to look around on the floor to see if I can find their brains that must have fallen out of their head and wanting to smack the ever loving daylights out of them. The AUDACITY to say that...to my face!!! I'm hoping I can either find someone who wants to trade scrubs or someone wants to buy mine. I'm so thankful and grateful that I'm healthy and have lost so much weight. I honestly am. I just want my body to settle on a set point and stay there lol I absolutely DO NOT want to go lower than a Large right now, because I was already told I'll likely go down a size after my skin surgeries. If any of TPTB (The Powers That Be) are up there listening...PLEASE let me be good to go now lol I'm extra happy and grateful and thankful, and as my 3 year old granddaughter would say "I all dooooooone now" lol Please and thank you!!!! 🤣😁

@Hiddenroses i am taking the chewable calcium from barimellts for now but will be switching back to my bariatric advantage chews because they taste like candy and I’m addicted. , I am doing the bariatric advantage chewable multi with ADEK and low iron for now and I have the SADI specific all in one vitamin from pro care health for later which has the ADEK, a higher iron content, and some other things that we need but I need to be able to consume a little more first. I used to take their regular multi post sleeve with 45mg of iron after a full protein shake but this one has 60mg iron, plus when i’m sipping slowly as I’m supposed to to let my intestines heal it takes almost an hour to get the whole shake down which I feel like at that point half of it is out of my stomach and I don’t want to vomit. (The iron is what makes you vomit without food). At my one month appt I will ask to see if it’s safe for me to drink A little quicker. I Know after my sleeve as my stomach healed I naturally started drinking a little faster by then so I’m guessing I can. i love that you’re creating new recipes and figuring out what works. Just FYI, I was told no strawberries Yet. I guess the seeds can get stuck in the incisions. Actually I was told nothing with skins or seeds. Although it sounds delicious and could be a go to if you don’t feel like cooking or are in a hurry later down the road. Oh yea everyone, for future reference this has some pretty good ideas for adding into cottage cheese. https://www.popsugar.com/food/cottage-cheese-stir-ins-27035442 You know I actually have never even tried cottage cheese which is why I was searching for ideas. I am picking some up tomorrow after my dr appt but I need to come up with ideas that I can add during purée to mix in with it if anyone has any ideas.

I had Hidradenitis suppurativa in my 40's . I was going through the change and had 3 family deaths, My body and mind couldn't cope. My skin and mind exploded, it was a terrible time for me. I had help for the conditions and eventually the conditions abated to tolerable levels. Every now and then I would have break outs but they became less and less. Now I have had no real symptoms for the 3 years since surgery. Is it a body or age thing ? I can see only the worst scars now with some black on the skin, it scratches off easily. I hope you can put it behind you too

I am no longer taking Allopurinol for gout and knee pain is completely gone. I had to have a few adjustments from my chiropractor as I lost the weight. All the excess weight I was carrying really had my body out of alignment. I never had HS but I did have Pilaris Keratosis which is gone as well. I was told on this forum that others had this skin condition resolve after WLS. Good luck Rob!!

After an unfortunate experience with banana yogurt (I put some skim milk in it and put it in the bullet blender), I have had some nice successes with my full liquid stage, which lasts 2 weeks. The berry Oikos Pro yogurt thinned with skim milk is great, Jello pudding is really good, Progresso Tomato soups are amazing, and Progresso chicken noodle soup blended smooth is probably the best thing I've had since surgery. I put protein powder in everything - still working to get the amount of protein powder right. Took a Tylenol, and that's the only pain med today. My guts feel kind of "loose", if you know what I mean - like they're jostling around in there, but it's not bad. Those who have yet to have your surgery, hope it goes as well for you, too!

I believe it was day 4 that my dr started me on twice a day stool softener then on day 6 I had my first movement so I went to once a day. Currently it’s day 8 and I am still having a loose movement each morning. I’ve been sticking with the one a day worried about the pain straining if it firms up too much but I guess I gotta stop taking it eventually? Any advice as to when it’s time to stop?? Does it hurt to take it for a couple of weeks? Or mess up your system to where you actually need it or anything.

Hello again everyone! I'll have to do a better post responding to some of you when I'm feeling better, but I wanted to touch base at least because I was afraid I'd get too far behind! Yesterday morning I did the two hour drive both ways to go get my staples out (Fella went with me, woot!) Getting the staples out pinched a little but was an immediate relief. At first. I had the SADI, as previously stated, and it was a laparoscopic surgery. I came home and had an amazing nap, but as the day progressed I started feeling these painful pinches beneath the stable that was removed on my far left side. Nothing dramatic, but I guess I moved wrong in the night and had fallen behind on tending my pain and it shot right through me. My fella and I talked about it this morning, though, and we realized that because that particular incision was at an angle and stapled really tightly with four staples that when the staple came out the skin beneath that had started to heal in the previous position was pulling with my movements. He had the brilliant idea to reinforce the seam with a couple of Steri-strips and those have helped tremendously in addition to using my ice packs. I also find if I pinch the skin together underneath JUST that area that it relieves a lot of that stinging/pulling sensation for getting up and down, or rolling from side to side in bed. I followed up with my nurse this morning and she said the same thing and that I was doing things right; it's just an adjustment sometimes as your skin relaxes post staples (for those who had them). I'm thinking of those of you whose surgeries are scheduled for today and super glad to have heard check ins from those who just had theirs! Also I did notice a couple of folks back on page one of this thread who we haven't heard much from here - @BigDane @LadyJGrey @Lisa Gilkison - Sending you all good vibes as well and wondering how it's going? @draikaina8503 - Surgery day!! I saw your comments tagging me (You nailed it!! ) and wanted to at least answer the server question - Of course I was also on Wyrmrest Accord! That was where I went after Twisting Nether dried up. I figure most WoW RPers probably came across one another there at some point or another Wishing all of you the best, will add more when I'm in a better comfort level to do so!!

Hi, everyone. I had a sleeve to mini bypass conversion in 2024. It’s been fine except I often have loose stools and need to run to the toilet. Recently I noticed a weird bulge in my abdomen a couple inches to the left of my belly button. I’m not able to see my doctor, as I’ve just started a job and am doing a three month shift in a remote location. There is no pain and sometimes the bulge is not there. It sort of comes and goes. Has anyone been through something similar? Thank you.

Blimey @ShoppGirlyou have had a lot to deal with this week! Gallbladder- I had mine out last year but I wasn’t told anything to avoid foods, drinks or anything but was warned that gall stones can come back in the bile duct. After a bit of a rocky start (lots and lots of fluid leakage as my gallbladder was horribly inflamed which resulted in a much longer surgery blah blah blah) I’ve been fine ever since. Fingers crossed all will go well with that aspect of the week for you. Please take your pain meds and give yourself whatever respite you can. You’ve had 2 major operations this week and you are really going to be feeling it 😮 Would a heat pad give you any additional relief? Injecting yourself - I inject one lot of meds weekly and another fortnightly and, believe it or not, I think it’s easier to self-inject than have someone else do it for you. I just grab a fat roll at the top of my thighs, hold the pen against my skin and press the button. I’ve to count to 10 before releasing. A quick wipe down with a sterile wipe and I’m good to go. Yes, it very occasionally hurts, like if I haven’t grabbed enough for the injection, plus you have to rotate your injection site as you can end up pretty sore with it if not (never had that problem, thankfully 🤞) You can also inject in your stomach if that’s a better choice for you. I was told that I have to have B12 injections every 3 months - I’m going to look like a dart board!!

Today is my 1 year anniversary since surgery! It has been a wild ride! I am so glad I decided to get the surgery done. I used to get winded just walking up the stairs from my basement. Now I walk between 2-3 miles per night. Next on the agenda, possible skin removal next year and both knee replacements (holding out as long as I can). I have had continuous weight loss, however, I have stalled somewhat but still had small losses during those stalls. Keep on track and use this tool to its full advantages! I have been of Blood Pressure meds since surgery. I may not need my cpap any longer, but I haven't done another sleep study. STATS: I have lost a total of 227.2 pounds: 17.25 inches around my chest 32.5 inches around my belly button 27.25 inches around my waist 6.25 inches around my neck 4.5 inches on bicep 10 inches around my upper thigh 4.25 inches on my calf HW: 469.8 PreOp: 450.6 (19.2 pounds lost) SW: 430.8 (39 pounds lost) CW: 242.6 (227.2 pounds lost)

I was one of those "model patient" presenters at my clinic for the three years before COVID! I loved doing that! I had a partner - a VSG patient (I was RNY). I'd had a stricture at four weeks out - she never had any complications. I'm hoping we didn't sound too "vanilla" - but neither one of us had any issues (other than my stricture - which is a mild issue and very easily fixed). We were both super happy with our surgeries and both lost a ton of weight (she lost 100 lbs, I lost over 200). Although I think people found us entertaining (we were quite a pair!) and most groups asked us lots of questions. We always told the groups about the three-week stall (since it happens to almost everyone, and very few clinics mention it to their patients, so people freak out when it happens to them). Also told them about how we ate a month out, a few months out, a year out (our clinic's plan wasn't low-carb, like many of them are - it was balanced - although even given that, the typical eating YOUR presenter does sounds carb-heavy even to me). We mentioned how we typically eat when we're at a restaurant. Talked about the extra skin (my partner even lifted her shirt to show them her extra skin). Also talked about our experience with hair loss (since extra skin and hair loss are huge concerns among pre-ops). Also talked about constipation (we both have chronic constipation) and how we deal with it. And how we dress to "hide" all the extra skin (although I've since had mine removed). We always mentioned how most people lose their interest in food and hunger for several months after surgery, and how they should milk that for everything it's worth since it's way easier to lose weight when you don't give a flip about food. Basically stuff they likely would not have picked up during the classes they had with dietitian and the health psychologist. when I went through the classes in 2015, the presenter was kind of underwhelming, like yours. I'm sure he would have answered some of the questions we addressed when we were presenters, but he didn't, and the "students" wouldn't necessarily know enough at that point to even know what to ask. Shelli and I decide early on to talk about the issues they SHOULD ask about, but wouldn't know to. P.S. now I'm sitting her wishing I was still doing that - it was great fun! But COVID hit, so everything went online, and they didn't have the "model patient" class. Since everything is in person again, they may have some people doing it, but the two of us are pretty far out now (nine years), so they may have gotten people who had their surgeries just a year or two ago.

Hello everyone! I see that the mid-month surgeries will be starting, some as of today! I'm am a week and a day post-op and have to say - I'm SO tired of being on a liquid diet and am absolutely counting down to this next Monday when I get to start purees. I'm telling myself I'm excited about purees, anyway - but I think I'm more looking forward to being able to have intake that isn't 'room temperature'. I've struggled to enjoy my pudding (sugar free, made with protein shake) because while cold it starts out nice and thick but as it begins to warm it gets slimy and watery I had things I wanted to respond to from the many posts I've just caught up on and by golly I'm going to try to tag multiples in this post and see if it works! *Please* forgive me if this is long; I'm a writer (unpublished but working on it - fantasy for anyone curious - so overwriting tends to be my worst tendency!) To start with, since I think this will affect pretty much everyone - I had an amazing revelation a couple of days ago that made PERFECT sense. Colace / Docusate is a stool softener, NOT a laxative! A friend of mine is a research junkie about medications (I am about almost everything BUT that) and shared a video to me of a Pharmacist talking about the absurd cost for Docusate / Colace considering what it IS. Miralax and Senna are laxatives, all Colace / Docusate does it provide lubrication to your stools so they will be easier to pass. I'm pretty irritated about this, honestly, because whileI can see the purpose of Colace/Docusate if you're severely constipated it won't actually get things 'Moving'! Literally >. I can attest to this being true because during my liquid diet the only times I had stools were when I took Senna - (obv check with your doctor/pharmacist, but seriously this helped me SO much because post-op I was again at 5 days without a stool, took some Senna, and bam.) To @AndreaJD and @Singingbarista , our Multi-care Clinic twinsies - How's it going?! This is your week!! I'm so excited for you both and hope your surgeries go great. You've both been wonderfully helpful and insightful in all the support you've offered and I'm eager to hear from you on the other side of the adventure! @AndreaJD - I just love your attitude SO much. Yes; we are certainly in a marathon for the next few months and NOT a sprint! I'm also rethinking my approach to food and looking forward to exploring new recipes. I find myself reading and re-reading my dietary instructions. I get a bit overly excited for my family's meals, savoring the smells and almost a bit resentful when they are NOT excited about the variety of foods that are available to them to eat. My fella says he wishes I'd stop vicariously trying to 'eat' through him - and I told him that's just tough, lol. I'm going to keep right on suggesting all of the available items like a waitress at a diner selling the food until I can eat a better variety myself! To @Justarwaxx and @Mandalynne- Today is your day!! I have you both in my thoughts and hope everything goes well for you! @Justarwaxx - Welcome to the forum, I'm so glad you joined us! @Mandalynne - Oh I'm SO glad to hear that my mentioning the Finch app helped someone! I'm rather ND myself (in case you couldn't tell from my rambling responses lol) and for me, Finch has been almost as life-changing as this surgery. Everything always felt overwhelming and scattered, with me constantly struggling to 'get on track' with endless efforts of organizational methods, then I would slide right back 'off track' for however long. My friend code on there is YJAMJAC79Y if you want to add my to your 'Tree Friends' lol - no offense taken if you don't! I can't believe they said only ONE day in the hospital for your surgery?! Surely they will keep you longer than THAT - it's pretty invasive! Please give us an update once you're situated and feel up to doing so! Also, I'm SO with you on enjoying the smells of food cooking! I keep looking at some blueberries and strawberries that are sitting in the fridge and literally pushing my Mom and fella to enjoy a popsicle for me, lol. I can't WAIT until I'm off this room temperature everything!! Update: I'm so sorry your surgery date was postponed! Hey there @draikaina8503 - Greetings, fellow nerd-friend! Your response about playing D+D & WoW resonated with me! I, too, am a gamer and nerd! ❤️ I have tried so many times to revisit WoW but it just is NOT the same now that I don't have all of my old friends and guildies from the 2007-2015 era around I have played WoW since 2004 on and off, and now have somewhat given up and just play Sims4. I love being able to create story and be immersed in my gaming, and always felt guilty to move into the territory of roleplaying storyline with folks when I never knew how long I'd 'stick around' on a given revisit to the game. But here you are, only *two days* away from your surgery! I hope that everything goes smoothly for you and that they aren't stingy with the pain relief. Ice packs have been SO helpful for me, as I previously stated, and making yourself get up and walk as soon as possible will help alleviate the gas pain. I had them get me a fresh ice pack each time before I went walking and would hold it pressed to my surgical area while pushing the stupid IV pole with my other hand. Remember, too, it's the act of walking and NOT the speed! You'll almost certainly feel the burps start to rise up and the relief that comes with that is as Shoppgirl said - it feels like a rainbow after a storm once the tooting and burps begin. Also; I appreciate you sharing that you're going through this as an individual with Au/ADHD; I'm on a wait list right now for testing and your mention reminded me that I need to follow up on that! As a result of my opening the different pages of this thread in different tabs I feel SO much more able to handle making a response all in one go like this! For anyone having trouble tagging you have to do the @ symbol, then start typing the name of the person you want to tag with a capitol letter. It will bring up a list at that point and the more letters you type the shorter that list of names will get - you can then tap on the right name (or click, if you're using a mouse - hope this helps!) I actually just noticed by combing through that @Pepper_No_Salt is also an 8/16 surgery ! You and @draikaina8503 are indeed surgery twins, just like you said! I bet you're starting to *really* feel it now! Or did they not get you scheduled back for the same day? I am SO glad that you got that issue corrected - I was mad on your behalf when I saw that it was cancelled! Hello and welcome, @Farhad , and congratulations on your surgery! Which one did you have, if I missed it, and how are you doing? I hope your pain is being managed well and that are having a good recovery. It sure is wild how quickly we fatigue now, isn't it? I learned around days 5-7 post-op that standing and doing anything that requires movement side to side causes me a lot more tenderness than when I slowly walk forward for the same amount of time, and couldn't for the life of me understand why. I guess it just makes a difference on how the incisions are pulled or tugged. I've got staples that I sure HOPE they take out Thursday because I'm SO tired of them pulling and feeling weird as a rough surface on my skin. To @Onemealplan - Thanks for your post and all of your great reminders that this journey will be very individualized experiences. We can see similarities but I've also definitely noticed how varied some of the doctor's orders for pre and post-op are. I was feeling jealous of @ShoppGirl for her ice chips, but then again she ALSO had a much longer pre-op diet than I did and we both were going in for a SADI surgery. My doctor ordered me to start with the vitamins as soon as I got home from the hospital, and I was here worrying about how I didn't re-start my calcium until yesterday because even though I ordered Bariatric calcium because it was STILL three big pills, so I reordered a chewable and it just got here yesterday. I will say the chewy Fusion style Calcium ones are tasty and felt like a brief reintroduction to flavor town, lol. I also appreciate what you said about the difference between physical and mental hunger - that's 100% true for me. The 'idea' of food sounding nice to me I've been treating as a craving for flavor, and I've taken to trying to sate that with different flavors of water beverages and a rare sugar free candy like a jolly rancher. I don't know if I'm supposed to allow myself those or not, but so far thankfully haven't had any negative consequences for having the occasional one. The visit to flavor town is certainly a welcome break from this shake monotony. Welcome and congratulations to you @Greekmom4! I'm taking the Prilosec as well and am right along with you, today I am 8 days post-op. Have you been experiencing nausea still? I'm not sure if it's due to my type of surgery but I've not had much nausea in a while, thankfully. Granted, I am trying super hard to alternate sipping water/sugar free Gatorade/Propel every 15 minutes and a bit of a 30g Protein shake every 15 minutes most of the time when I'm not napping - which seems I can never really do, because whenever I go to get flat or semi-flat I feel the settling in my chest of burps that will only come up if I sit upright fully and/or walk. I have been fortunate (I guess??) to be able to meet my protein goals for the past several days; the 30g Protein drinks are SUPER filling and feel a little heavy, especially felt very heavy at first. Finally - to @ShoppGirl - I was rereading and realized that of COURSE your journey was different than mine, not only because we have pre-surgery differences but also because they took out your Gallbladder as well! I'm so glad you're starting to get some relief due to the burping and such. I agree, the post-surgery bowel movement made a world of difference. See also above where I discussed learning the difference between the Colace and Senna/Miralax! You're a go-getter, that's for sure! I personally wouldn't recommend vacuuming today even though I know you're SO eager to get back to being productive. You may have already done it lol - I wouldn't be surprised! Thanks for the reminder to get up and move; I took longer writing this big response post than I should have and even though I have my ice pack in my lap I know I'm way overdue to get up and move around a bit. I enjoy you your sterile strips, I've got a total of 12 staples and they tug and pull obnoxiously, plus I can feel where my body is trying to push them out and HATE it. Thursday can't come soon enough!! Wishing you the best and so thankful for your continued interactions and support

Hey! I'm SO glad your pain is better managed now than it was a few days ago! I totally hear you about the passing gas (and btw I need to go back to tagging multiple people in a reply, feel like I spammed this board >. ) I'm nervous about taking too much stool softener because I know with the SADI loose stools can be a thing but at the same time with all these danged protein shakes I'm just not sure the colace 2x day is doing enough. I hope bowel movements level out for me soon; I've gone from one extreme to the other once already and don't want to do it again lol -- We made it to the other side, though! I'm so happy for you and hope your recovery continues to go smoothly. I'm interested in the binder thing people keep talking about - I wonder if they didn't do that with me because I had the SADI/SIPS instead. (For those not familiar with the SADI/SIPS, it's basically just starting with the sleeve and the surgery they most commonly do to revise it by shortening the intestinal tract beneath in place of the Gastric Bypass right off the start - I chose it because I wanted to eventually be able to take NSAIDS and there's a thread here that discusses the SADI/SIPS more. My surgery was still laparoscopic and recovery has been about the same from what I see, just fewer points of connection internally to heal) I'm also excited for all the rest of you folks with upcoming surgeries! I don't want to spam anymore but did want to say to @Singingbarista and @AndreaJD that the insights you've offered were super helpful, especially in terms of 'telling others' about the surgery. That's GREAT advice - to say you've been working with a dietician and weight loss clinic. You're so right; it shouldn't matter what others think but women especially have long been taught to seek approval. It's just another thing to relearn and the amount of support on this forum has been absolutely fantastic. I finally got a delivery of Premier shakes this evening in flavors OTHER than chocolate, French vanilla, and Mocha and oh my goodness it's SO nice to taste something strawberry-ish! I didn't want to keep responding to each post independently but to those who had very little notice about the surgery date - that's for sure a mixed blessing! Less time to prepare, but less time to be nervous about it, I guess? Sometimes it's easier to just plunge in (as long as you feel educated and ready!) To all of you going through the liquid diets, especially if you feel hungry during it - I'd suggest you might really want to consider trying some of the 30g protein shakes. I was very worried that I would be hungry but those are surprisingly filling, especially if you drink a lot of sugar free flavored water / Gatorade / Powerade of some kind. And don't forget you can enjoy sugar free popsicles, flavored warm broths, fat free cottage cheese, sugar free pudding, sugar free jell-o, and sugar free yogurt (usually - I mean, obviously follow the guidelines you were given by your surgical team!) The pudding can be made with protein shakes to help with your protein intake instead of milk, and if you match the flavors it's actually quite tasty and filling.

Thanks for all your replies I was feeling as my weightloss wasn’t significant, I’m anxious to have a solid meal my surgeon had me on a 4week post op liquid diet and now I can move onto 2 weeks of puree then 2 week of soft food, his diet style seems strict and I’m just loosing motivation over here.. really trying though. Having an extremely difficult time meeting protein and liquid goals, it’s so much for one day when my stomach can only handle 2oz at a time!!

Yes I think it's good to keep this chat active as it's takes community to remain steadfast! I am there with you about the same amount of weight loss overall had surgery 4/11/24. I think my daily 4am 5 miles crazy lady runs in the mornings has kept me toned loosing. Congrats on your weight loss!