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So far it has been ok I guess. The surgery was “text book” according to the Dr. I had no pain after and I started back to the gym for treadmill and low weight machines on week 3. I followed the plan. The last two weeks since I started soft foods has been hard. I’m 5 weeks out today. I am down 28 pounds since surgery. HW - 412 SW - 362 CW - 334 I have hit a stall. No loss in a week. I have had a couple of “slips” but nothing I can’t come back from. I unfortunately am not as restricted as I thought I would be. I was able to eat a whole filet of fish sandwich with no problem. Why I ate it is because I am still an emotional eater unfortunately. The good thing is I could only eat the one and now the huge chunk of food I use to. hopefully as the weather gets better I can be out more but I need to work on my “out of the house” food plans. I got my little cooler I just have to work on the best stuff to put in it. I can’t wait to go back to fishing !! here is my picture about one year a part. A total of 75 pounds difference

If its not diabetes/glucose related, it could be an allergy or intolerance to certain foods. If your body mistakes it for something attacking it, it will cause inflammation in various places, and can put you in a mildly sedated state while it thinks its fighting for survival. You may want to track what you eat for a week or so, and jot down which meals made you feel more sleepy than others. Look for patterns, and check for common food intolerances online to see if there's any overlap. For some people, it could be stuff like sugar, wheat, red meat, nuts, flours, soy, gluten, food dyes/coloring, shellfish, other seafood eggs, dairy, or corn. You may also want to look into elimination diets where you cut a category of food out of your diet for a couple weeks, to see if it goes away, and slowly add them back in (1 item per week) to see if the symptoms return. Good luck in figuring it out!

I always tell people that the two weeks before surgery were much more difficult for me than anything that came after the surgery. It is a terrible period and you really do have to power through it. As far as the constipation, take fiber capsules (preferably psyllium husk) with a probiotic. Its also a good habit to get into post-surgery, as soon as you can handle it. It will keep you regular and help with digestion. Try a different brand of shakes and see it works better for you. I always preferred the Premier Protein shakes over the Equate ones. Drink an insane amount of liquid during this time. Always be chugging some kind of liquid, just to try to keep your stomach relatively full. Eat sugar free popsicles by the box.

Congrats on the surgery! I was sleeping in the recliner for 3 weeks, and was 5 weeks out before I was comfortable lying completely flat. I'm at 10 weeks now, but I'm still using some pillows to prop myself up in the bed, I guess I got used to being propped up, but I am able to sleep flat without discomfort.

Congrats on the surgery, and your first steps towards a healthier you! It looks like I'm a day late, but echoing what others are saying, the first day is the roughest, by far, but it eases up quickly throughout the week. Walk and do arm exercises (lifting over your head, rotating, just any movement while walking), and this will help dissipate the gas pressure you're probably experiencing right now. Try to do a little every hour, even if its just walking down the hallway and back a couple times. If your doctor allows it, take Gas-X to also help with the gas pressure. It kept feeling like it was getting stuck in my left should/chest area, and was really uncomfortable. That was my biggest complaint about the process the first couple weeks, but the walking and gas-x would buy me a couple hours of relief. Also, for the protein shakes during your liquid phase, get the Fairlife brand 30g or 42g shakes if you can find them. They taste more like chocolate milk and don't have that chemical taste that a lot of other protein shakes have (Premier protein and muscle milk). Check Sams Club and Costco for those.

Congrats on the surgery! Expect the first month to be a roller coaster of emotions, hunger, anger, and a day or two of regret. That's a rite of passage for us, where I think everyone second guesses their decision. By week 5, I finally started getting a better handle on things and I'm still very happy with my decision. 10 weeks out and I'm in better shape than I've been in decades! As others have said, you feel hungry because you are hungry. Your body is used to the previous amount of eating, and panics when it realizes you're not eating what you used to. Since you were a candidate for surgery, then your body has enough fat cell reserves to live off of that for a few weeks, which is why they have you focus only on water the first two weeks, while working in more protein to prevent you from burning muscle. However, our bodies don't understand that logic and kicks into survival mode. It only understands "food" or "no food". The first six months is critical to the process because that's when we have the best opportunity to retrain our mind and bodies to adapt. In a sense it is traumatic to our bodies, and it will fight until it understands that this new normal is safe, because that's its job, to keep you alive! Once you're back to solid foods, that's when recognizing head hunger becomes more important. Around that time (somewhere around weeks 4-6), you'll have worked up to eating enough calories to be sustaining metabolism, while still running enough of a deficit to burn fat. At that point, your body will try to tell you "hey, we're close to the old normal again, go ahead and eat more!". As my therapist reminds me, remember to listen specifically to your stomach, and not your mouth. Practice eating enough to where your stomach feels full, and not pressured from too much, but at the same time, study your habits to see if you're eating to stay busy, to deflect stress (I'm guilty of this), or just because your body thinks you should keep your stomach topped off. During that period, if you feel like your stomach is craving more, double check what nutrients you are getting. If you're deficient in vitamins or minerals, you will develop insatiable cravings, but your body can't tell you exactly what its missing. It just yells "I'm Hungry!". Check with your doctor on which supplements to add or remove, and also branch out with different styles of food as long as they fit your calories/macros. I felt like I was starving for most of last week, then I got some Korean food (sort of a bibimbap inspired kale and cabbage salad with beef) on Friday, and the cravings stopped. I'm still trying to figure out what itch that scratched, but obviously I was missing something in that! Also, be very careful with sugar, starches, breads, rice, etc. That can send you into a craving spiral that lasts 2-3 days. Some sugar alcohols like Sorbitol and Xylitol also trigger that for me, while Monk Fruit, Stevia, and Splenda don't. Everyone is different, but pay attention to those ingredients, because that can make the hunger feel worse!

I agree with the others stating the importance of having a therapist or coach to walk through this with you. Dieticians and nutritionists are very helpful with making a tailored diet plan for your needs, but don't always address the issues in our head, since that's not in their job description. See if you can get your insurance to cover sessions in therapy or counseling, if nothing else, just to have someone to vent to that is obligated to not judge you . If insurance pushes back, check with local therapists that offer "coaching" sessions at a lower rate. I had to do that until my insurance rolled over at the first of the year. I'm only 10 weeks post op, but I'm dealing with constant head hunger and cravings. I'm learning now that I used the act of eating, and not the feeling of fullness, as a way to deflect stress. At least now, if I overdo it, my stomach will rebel, which is its own problem, because I don't want to put stress on the staples. My therapist is helping me practice ways to listen to my stomach, and not listen to my mouth, if that makes any sense. When those two are fighting, the stress and feelings of being a failure appear to me. I have to remind myself that despite hitting a stall and dealing with the cravings, I'm already much healthier for having decided to have surgery!

Typically the growling noise is just fluids moving through the small intestine, and not an actual hunger cue, just as@Arabesque said. You will still feel hungry early on post-op because your body is used to a lot more calories than you're able to give it for now, but that encourages more fat burning. Your body will adjust to its new normal in several weeks though. It will calm down some, but it may be more noisy going forward because you have that direct funnel to the small intestine where fluids like to make noise.

Hey fellow Bariatric babes and dudes!!! I am 1 week post op and still need to sleep in the recliner, as one 2 of my incisions are still unbearable when laying flat. Did any of you experience this? I feel like everyone went right to sleeping in a bed. TIA for any answers!

I am about to turn 57 and had my surgery almost 23 years ago. I have given birth to three children and stayed thin the whole time. I started at 250 and settled at 125 ( I’m 5’4.5” and that made me a size 0 or a 2) When I was done having my last child I settled back at 155, still wildly successful. When I entered into perimenopause, it became a fight to keep my weight off and I kept fighting. And then now through full-blown menopause two years since I’ve had menstruation, I’m almost as big as I was when I started. I’m wondering if there’s any help in this situation. Any doctors who will look at a revision I guess or make some practical suggestions. I have changed my eating, habits a dozen different ways to try and bring everything down but it’s like it was before, the weight loss is nearly impossible. I can get it down sometimes but then it comes back and it never goes down more than 30 or 40 pounds. I regularly get my hormones checked and I’m on progesterone and testosterone. My estrogen is always fine or even high. Looking for optimistic ideas. Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

Hey everyone!! how is everyone doing? I was exactly 6 weeks post op yesterday and it was my 33rd birthday! I’ve lost 20lb since the op but 40lb since liver reducing (3 weeks of liquids) finally onto textured foods but prioritising protein and liquids still. I’m now 248lb the lowest I’ve been is 224lb in adult life so I’m excited to get past that weight! I also get married at the end of June so determined to do the best possible. after 4 years of waiting for the op, I can’t believe it’s now done!! Xxx

Here’s my story. On 4/25/22 I weighed 281.8. A few months later at a Dr appointment for reflux the topic of having endoscopic gastroplasty was mentioned and eventually the surgery was scheduled for September 2022. I reported for the surgery and was going thru the pre-op process when our son called to let us know that he tested positive for COVID. The doctor advised us to reschedule. The next opening was a couple of months off, so it was rescheduled. I reported for the rescheduled surgery but after at check-in we were greeted with the news that the ventilation system for the operating room was down and we would have to reschedule again. This pushed us into 2023 and required navigating a new health insurance provider. Finally On 1/24/2023 I had my surgery and by 5/1/2023 my weight had dropped to 224 then “stabilizing” at around 235. 2023 had lots of ups and downs: - 4/25/2022 – weight 281.8 – bmi 38.2 - 1/23/2023 my last coke have gone over 1 year without a coke. Was typically drinking 1 – 2 20 oz bottles per day of regular coke. - 1/24/2023 - surgery. - 3/31/23 got laid off from work. - 4/6/2023 – robotic hernia surgery - 4/26/2023 – kidney stones - 5/1/2023 – weight 224 – bmi 30.3 - 7/11/2023 – procedure to evaluate hiatal herniaI - 1/18/2024 - COVID. - 1/25/2024 - big disagreement with boss and resigned. - 1/29/2024 - received ontingent job offer but significant pay cut. Job won't start for a month so I have time to think abiut job or seek other opportunities. - 1/30/2024 - weight 234.4 – bmi 31.7 Things to work on: - Eat better and exercise long term. I’ll do ok eating and exercising for a week or two and then I start stress eating, not feeling like walking. - Eating – there are times when I don’t feel hungry but want something to eat. - Regularity – I’ve always been irregular and at times have IBS with uncontrollable BM and then other times go days ( 3 – 4 days) between BM. - I have a goal of going on a couple of long bike rides 10 -15 miles but need to start getting in shape for them. - Decide to retire or find new job. - I rarely feel full. I think that I’m eating less but feel hungry or feel like eating even if I’m not hungry. Looking for advice on healthy things to eat between meals and limiting appetite here is a list of things that I like to eat . - - I like Kind Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew bars (170 cal, 22 g carbs and 6 g protein) - addicting - Inspire Square Protein Wafers by Bariatric Eating (200 cal, 13 g Carbs 15 g protein) - addicting - BariatricPal Protein Shake or Pudding – Chocolate (6 gm carbs 15 gm protein) - Lunches - Dole Sunflower Salad Kit - 350 calaries (40 gm carbs and 9 gm protein)

Here’s my story. On 4/25/22 I weighed 281.8. A few months later at a Dr appointment for reflux the topic of having endoscopic gastroplasty was mentioned and eventually the surgery was scheduled for September 2022. I reported for the surgery and was going thru the pre-op process when our son called to let us know that he tested positive for COVID. The doctor advised us to reschedule. The next opening was a couple of months off, so it was rescheduled. I reported for the rescheduled surgery but after at check-in we were greeted with the news that the ventilation system for the operating room was down and we would have to reschedule again. This pushed us into 2023 and required navigating a new health insurance provider. Finally On 1/24/2023 I had my surgery and by 5/1/2023 my weight had dropped to 224 then “stabilizing” at around 235. 2023 had lots of ups and downs: - 4/25/2022 – weight 281.8 – bmi 38.2 - 1/23/2023 my last coke have gone over 1 year without a coke. Was typically drinking 1 – 2 20 oz bottles per day of regular coke. - 1/24/2023 - surgery. - 3/31/23 got laid off from work. - 4/6/2023 – robotic hernia surgery - 4/26/2023 – kidney stones - 5/1/2023 – weight 224 – bmi 30.3 - 7/11/2023 – procedure to evaluate hiatal herniaI - 1/18/2024 - COVID. - 1/25/2024 - big disagreement with boss and resigned. - 1/29/2024 - received ontingent job offer but significant pay cut. Job won't start for a month so I have time to think abiut job or seek other opportunities. - 1/30/2024 - weight 234.4 – bmi 31.7 Things to work on: - Eat better and exercise long term. I’ll do ok eating and exercising for a week or two and then I start stress eating, not feeling like walking. - Eating – there are times when I don’t feel hungry but want something to eat. - Regularity – I’ve always been irregular and at times have IBS with uncontrollable BM and then other times go days ( 3 – 4 days) between BM. - I have a goal of going on a couple of long bike rides 10 -15 miles but need to start getting in shape for them. - Decide to retire or find new job. - I rarely feel full. I think that I’m eating less but feel hungry or feel like eating even if I’m not hungry. Looking for advice on healthy things to eat between meals and limiting appetite here is a list of things that I like to eat . - - I like Kind Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew bars (170 cal, 22 g carbs and 6 g protein) - addicting - Inspire Square Protein Wafers by Bariatric Eating (200 cal, 13 g Carbs 15 g protein) - addicting - BariatricPal Protein Shake or Pudding – Chocolate (6 gm carbs 15 gm protein) - Lunches - Dole Sunflower Salad Kit - 350 calaries (40 gm carbs and 9 gm protein)

Yes, in time it should go back down. The study I saw said it starts dropping about a week after surgery. But, it won't hurt to keep in touch with your doctor. If they decide to do the holter monitor, do that - just to make sure there's no crazy coincidences happening.

The pull and twist sensation is most likely a stomach spasm. It is one of the rarer side effects of bariatric surgery. I got them too, and mine happened even with water! My surgeon told me they'd go away after a few weeks and sure enough, between weeks 2 and 3 they magically faded out! You have to be veeeeery slow with eating and drinking. The pain on the inside that feels like your stomach weight is causing it is completely normal. You have a lot of internal sutures and there are anchor stitches to keep things in place, those are often the most painful and take the longest to heal! I couldn't lie on my side for a few weeks without propping up my stomach with a pillow under it because the pulling of my stomach sideways caused intense pain thanks to the anchor stitches. I think it took about a month to 6 weeks for that to fade completely. Bariatric surgery is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Healing takes time and a generous amount of patience. The more impatient and annoyed you are with your body, the more agitated and anxious you will get. All the things you have described sound fairly normal for 11-12 days out from surgery. I'm sure your surgeon will tell you that at your follow up appointment! Be sure he knows all your concerns. It takes about 3 months for those internal sutures and cut nerves to heal up completely and start sending clearer signals to your brain. But the pain from the incisions and internal stitches should go away within 4-6 weeks. I'm sorry your team didn't explain to you how gradual recovery is and how slow it can feel... You can do this! When you see the scale moving it'll help ease the frustration. LOL

Thank you for this detailed accounting!! I hope you continue it as you heal so we can follow along. Glad it all went safely!! The recovery houses sound really great in concept for the first week after surgery. I think they have them in areas with a lot of plastic surgery, like in Miami too. It feels like a gentler transition than just sending you home or to a hotel with no care. Though I have heard the food is an adventure!! I wish you much ease with your continued healing...

I woke up hungry in post op recovery... It really annoyed me. LOL Some of us never lose our hunger with surgery. The stomach growling is normal and it isn't always a sign you are hungry. These are just digestive sounds and since your digestive system is spending more time empty, the sounds are louder and more frequent. Swelling can impact this too. For the first two weeks whenever I drank I felt like it was going down a drain, I could feel the displacement of air and even heard gurgling! It was soooo strange! As has been said above, once you are in the soft food stage and food is staying in your stomach longer, these sounds might ease up.

I agree with the others, contact your surgeon and let them know. It isn't unusual to have intolerances to protein shakes early on. I couldn't stomach them for the first several weeks. I could get in my fluids though, with diligence, but they had to either be very cold or very warm, my stomach didn't like anything in between, and even with fluids I would get this intense twisting pain with every swallow, like my stomach was trying to cartwheel inside me! But after the two week mark this started to ease. I was able to water down protein water and get it in. Then I was able to thin out protein shakes with milk and get them in. I was still nauseated daily until the 8 week mark, but meds helped with that. My surgeon said this whole track wasn't unusual, I was one of those rare patients that got the side effect of stomach spasms post surgery and they usually calm down after a few weeks. He was right! By weeks 3-4 I could drink most things without pain, as long as I kept sipping rather than trying to gulp. I'm 3 months out and still can't gulp... But this is definitely a situation where you want your surgeon's office aware of how you are feeling so they can send you in for fluid infusions if you start to show signs of dehydration. Dehydration is the number 1 complication of bariatric surgery in the early weeks, plenty of people end up with hydration infusions until the swelling goes down in their tummies enough they can get their water in.

Three weeks from today I should be checked into the hotel with my mom and trying to get a good night's sleep before surgery! Crossing my fingers there are no further delays. The hospital is only an hour away, which would normally not be a big deal, but rush hour traffic is bad and I'm not sure how early I'll need to be there in the morning, so we decided to go the night before. My mom wanted to be able to stay and visit into the evening but doesn't like night driving, so she felt better about being in a hotel the night I'm in the hospital. Luckily, there's a Courtyard Marriott about 5 minutes from the hospital. Sadly, no hot tub

I start my liquid diet a week from tomorrow, which is why I will be spending some time this weekend buying things my 15 and 12 year old daughters can cook for themselves, and prepping some stuff ahead for them to put in the freezer so I don't have to deal with food prep for the next 4 weeks or so. After that, I should be able to make some foods that we'll all be able to eat, hopefully. Luckily, my kids are self-sufficient for breakfasts and lunches, but they are still really limited on dinner skills. I guess I need to work on that with them (along with teaching them to do laundry).

Your stomach is still healing (6-8 weeks PO), and it still hasn't adjusted to your smaller stomach size. It will get better over time.

If you were going to die, it wouldn't be "borderline". 😊 And it's worth noting that weight loss surgery tends to raise these levels for the first week after surgery. So that test is not definitive.

If its a specific food you crave then its head hunger and you need to ignore this as much as possible. You will see it written time and again on here that just because you can eat it does not mean that you should. You have to remember the fragility of your internal stitch line. The rules are - follow your doctors orders. So just keep drinking. Once you hit 6 weeks out and you are eating regular [ish] foods again and your new stomach has almost healed. You will find a restriction kicks in in a big way.

So today was day 11 and my symptoms are still that pull and tug or twist? When im drinking protein shakes or trying watered down soup juice ( cream of chicken thinned out with water then strained ). It feels like something squeezing my insides for a heartbeat then it finishes going down its uncomfortable and makes me NOT want to swallow anything besides water. A few of my incisions are healed up but puffy on the inside ( no pain or anything though ) and a few are painfully hard to ignore when im sitting up a certain way and sometimes when walking. I feel like the weight of my stomach is causing these aches because when i hold my stomach up with my hands pain is gone. Im going to see my surgeon for my 2 week follow up on the 31st so hopefully he can tell me whats wrong if anything. Also i still cannot stop spitting like it has decreased but not gone away completely it is SO annoying you have no idea. And i still get this pain at the roof of my mouth where the bone is right before your throat. Its not as painful as before but it still throbs on and off. I will update when i have news fingers crossed for me.

I agree. Definitely contact your surgeon. It could be just swelling. It could be a stricture. But you really shouldn’t be experiencing strong pain a week out (except from the surgical gas pain but even that should be reducing each day.). Most of us throw away our opioid pain meds by day 3 or 4 & often don’t need any pain meds after then either. Yes, meeting those fluid & protein goals can be difficult in the beginning. I’m another one who struggled at first (one shake & a cup of soup each day from day 4 & really nothing before then except a few sips of water). As long as you are making an effort & slowly getting closer you’ll be fine. Be aware of possible dehydration though. All the best. And push to get a response from your surgeon asap.