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My bypass is scheduled for August 3rd. I'm nervous and have a LOT of changes to make before then. I need to quit vaping, and on the 20th, I need to start my diet changes. It's taking a lot for me to not keep thinking I should eat XYZ because I won't get to have it again. On the flip side, I think my brain is already getting engaged because I'm finding myself turning down sugar and not finishing everything on my plate.

You are not alone! I fear that tremendously. I am having revision surgery, which means I’ve been here before (or something like this) and I lost over 130 lbs from my highest weight and have gained a ton of it back. Now my gain was pretty much due to the pandemic/getting COVID but I gained it none-the-less. I will say I personally am preparing for this surgery in a way I never could the first time around. These many resources did not exist when I got my lapband. But I joined this app/group for support and if we’re not supporting each other even through our worries and fears how supportive are we really being? So know you’re not alone or being overly negative, you can’t work through your fears if you don’t acknowledge them! And, you can make this work, it’s possible. And I believe it will happen for me, so there’s no reason for you to not believe it will happen for you. There’s nothing particularly special about those who succeed beyond their determination to use their tool and make themselves succeed.

Hi Meshia, I had bypass on 6/21 too! I’m so sorry to hear you got sick on the purée phase. How are you feeling now? I’m vegetarian, so I’ve been sticking to cottage cheese, string cheese, low-fat yogurt and refried beans (soupy). No, it’s not weird to have cravings at all! I definitely have them, although I’m not really hungry. I’m dreaming of the day I can have a small slice of cheesecake again and a piece of pizza, probably on different days. Every time I really start thinking about food that I want but can’t have yet, I try to refocus on how much weight I’ve lost and how my clothes are getting baggier on me. I find this helps redirect my focus. I’ve lost 17 pounds since surgery so far. I hope this helps and gives a little insight to someone else’s experience who’s on the exact same timeline. 😊 Here’s what my doctor allows at this stage: • Thinly sliced deli meats such as turkey, chicken, ham • Low fat string cheese, Skim ricotta cheese, feta • Soft fish – not dry or overcooked • Canned chicken and tuna (you may mix it up with a bit of plain yogurt, mustard or low fat mayonnaise) • Boiled shrimp (try a little cocktail sauce but be careful of taking too much because the sugar in it might make you dump – see “Dumping Syndrome”) • Pan-seared scallops (lime or lemon juice is okay) • Real or imitation lobster and crab (no real butter, but try imitation flakes) • Egg salad (use plain yogurt, mustard or lowfat mayonnaise, or even salsa – the finely pureed kind) • Tofu • Low fat hot-dog (no bun) • Well cooked beans and legumes

On most things you strive for 'healthy' levels, just like non-ops. You'll find that 60g of Protein is what non-ops should get. The extra may be to compensate for malabsorption, but my plan called for 60g. Sodium, like non-ops, you want to reduce. 600 calories is a draconian crash diet in non-op life and like I said folks that do that have willpower that I don't have. For my plan from day 1 I was learning how to eat for the rest of my life. I basically ate to maintain my goal weight and lost weight down to that balance point. At any rate, for everyone losing all that weight is/was great positive reinforcement, telling our lizard brain "plan = good." All minerals, vitamins and other nutrients: you need what a non-op needs. Except you may need a bit more iron and calcium as our malabsorption seems to hit those hard. Again, fat is the same as for non-ops. Reduce it. Some Gastric Bypass folks (like me) dump on fat, so be careful. Just because we are eating less and consuming fewer calories, it doesn't mean we can reduce everything by 75% or 60% or whatever. Generally, we still need 100% of most vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Bottom line is you need everything a non-op needs to be healthy, you just have to do it in 600 calories. If your nutritionist shrugged on this question, well... Good luck, Tek

Hello does anyone have any food recommendations for the soft food diet.. i had bypass 6/21 and I got sick during the puree phase and now that I have recovered I am now on soft foods. Is it weird to have cravings?

I'm doing great. I actually didn't pay close enough attention to the post and posted in the bypass section rather than sleeve, which is what I actually had. I put a more detailed posting under the sleeve folder. I couldn't be more pleased with my progress so far and how it is going! Regret is no where in sight so far.

I don’t know much about TRT but the greater fool has a point of it is in pill form you may want to consider sleeve because that causes much less issues with absorption. That’s why I chose it, in fact. Because according to my team some people have issues with meds that aren’t even extended release with bypass. It’s far less common but if you have meds that you know you need and no other medical reason to choose one surgery over the other, as was my case, then the sleeve is the more conservative option.

Which surgery are you having? The Sleeve doesn't change any digestive plumbing so if the T is in a pill form it shouldn't be an issue. Gastric Bypass does change the plumbing. The pyloric valve is bypassed and everything you eat or drink drops straight into your intestines, a small amount of which are bypassed. This creates a malabsorption of some things, like calories, and can impact how well some time-released meds work. My experience is some time-released meds work well enough and others not so much. It's largely trial and error. Some more critical meds my Doc doesn't take the chance and I take some pills multiple times per day. Things that are injected or are dermally absorbed wouldn't be affected by WLS at all. Early on most people can't eat a lot of calories and many post-op diets run a severe calorie deficit which will result in loss of fat and muscle. Us fatso's had extra bone and muscle to support all that fat. I imagine T and the gym could reduce the muscle loss. Your current knowledge would apply still post-op. I did dermally applied prescription T pre-op and asked about it when I was having surgery. Being dermally applied there was no issue, but pills follow the caution included above re: malabsorption and time-release. Good luck, Tek

I’m almost a veteran. I was sleeved in 2017. Never reached my goal weight. But, I did get down to 185 or so. My advice is if you are a sweets lover or have binge eating issues, go with the gastric bypass. I didn’t listen to my first doctor and got the sleeve. I’m back up to 222 and struggling to get my weight down. My other advice is to not get off the dietary/lifestyle plan.

Anyone out there to chat about gastric bypass .. Please text me 347 356 7872

Where do you do your revision surgery for gastric sleeve

it's not super common but definitely not unheard of among bypass patients. Glad to hear you've got a handle on it...

Im in severe pain all the time can someone give advice

Hi everyone... had my surgery on July 6th - Gastric Bypass. I am doing well. It definitely wasn't as terrible as I had pictured in mind. It's been pretty easy actually. No pain or pain meds. Incisions areas just sore/tender but that's it. Getting around 60 ounces of liquid + 1 jello cup + 2 teaspoons of yogurt + a little broth. Knock on wood, haven't had any nausea or vomiting. I was a nervous wreck 2 days before and even that morning was still anxious but not as nervous as the day before. Excited to see where this journey takes. Happy to answer any questions if anyone has any.

Hi all! I‘m hoping to get some help/advice around if anybody has found anything helpful for hair loss after surgery? I’m 10 months post op gastric bypass surgery, and 142lbs down (still crazy to say). I feel amazing, so happy with these results, but the one thing that’s getting me down is the hair loss. From what I’d read, a lot of people find this stops/slows down after 6 months, but I’m 10 months in and seeing no sign of improvement. My post op blood tests are normal, so there’s nothing wrong in that regard. I currently take high strength biotin, zinc and selenium. I’ve been on these for a few months but again, no improvement. I know it may seem a minor thing in the grand scheme of things, but I’d just love my hair to be long and healthy, so I’m willing to try anything. If anybody has any experience in this area, or found anything that helped, please let me know I’d really appreciate it!!

I'm a patient of Dr. Ashley Mooney at TGH Bariatrics. She's amazing! She removed my Lap Band last year and will be doing my revision to RNY in nine days.

Research Post-VSG/Sleeve GERD. It's a well known somewhat common side effect of the high pressure wls's. If a person develops GERD it sort of forces you to revise to RNY just to have a decent quality of life without GERD.

Never feel bad for writing a book when venting or crying or just explaining something. I know we're just random people on an online forum, but we're always here to listen, help when we can, and support all the time. This is an amazing place to come to. Maybe post this on the bypass section and see if you get more hits there. Also, I would look for new doctors. Since the ones your husband has aren't doing anything to help him NOW, I would definitely look at new ones. I'm not sure what insurance you have, but I think you wouldn't have too much trouble changing doctors. Definitely look for a teaching hospital and go to that ER. Have everything written down (or just copy and paste everything you told us in a WORD doc and print it out) that way they have a clear understanding and time line of everything going on. Please come back and let us know how your husband is doing and how things go.

I was gonna try fairlife but they’re in the middle of a scandal with how their treat the cows. So currently boycotting but I was sooo about to try it!!! I saw the peach drink online and I was going to buy it but it’s a pack of them and I was afraid if not liking it. My mom just did her revision same day as me. Maybe she will drink if I don’t like. I wish I would have done this before getting sleeves so I’d feel more prepared.

I feel the exact same way about my Lap Band. I regret the choice I made now, since it caused damage to my esophagus and horrendus GERD. I wish I would've chosen Bypass from the beginning so I would've had a much better quality of life and perhaps even reached my goal weight years ago.

I'm getting ready to have the sleeve. Can you tell me your reasoning for wishing you had gotten bypass instead?

They have not suggested this yet but him and I have talked about it and we feel like if they don’t find anything during this next EGD that it may possibly be the next step. I have been doing lots of research on my own and since his surgeon suggested there may be Nerve Damage that’s been a topic that I’ve been really trying to investigate. I have read that there’s a nerve called the Vagus nerve that comes from the base of the brain/brain stem that branches out like a tree and runs to all your major organs. The heart, lungs, stomach, large and small intestines kidneys and liver. I’ve read that depending on where that nerve is damaged would determine what part of the body and organs it would affect. He hurt his back in 2015 and our stupid ER Doctors sent him home saying he had a pulled muscle. We found out after his gastric bypass surgery (last year 2021) by his Surgeon that his back had actually been broken. So I am really wondering if this could have caused damage to the left Vagus Nerve and is what is causing his problems. Even his lung problems because after he injured his back is when all his health problems started. He started having migraines 2015), lung/breathing problems (2017), and the GI problems (2019). His surgeon has stated that he was at a loss with him and wants to send him to a Neurologist; however, Covid had things messed up for a while and now the surgeon has had a change in hours, locations, and staff. He even has a different Nurse so when we’ve called to find out if he’s sent a referral and what’s going on no one seems to know what we are talking about. We’ve yet to see a neurologist. He has spoke to his family doctor and instead of sending to a neurologist he has sent him back to his GI doctor who wants to do another EGD. So now we are in the process of having to get clearances again from his pulmonologist and his heart doctor (he doesn’t even have heart problemS but when he got sick with his lungs he had to start seeing one and has had 4 heart caths since 2017 and all 4 have been clear), now they want to do another stress test, another blood gas, and more blood work to clear him for the EGD. We live an hour and a half away from the pulmonologist and heart doctor. His GI ordered a stomach emptying test which makes the 3rd one and he couldn’t even finish it because he couldn’t hold down the radioactive eggs, since he threw them up the test was incomplete and they sent us home. Waste of time and gas. It makes no sense to me to send someone who can’t hold down a bite a food at all to have a stomach dumping/emptying test done that requires you to eat a small portion of a food. This is a 4-6 hour test and 20 mins in he’s thrown the tablespoon of radioactive eggs back up. Makes no sense at all. He has 12 appointments by the end of the month just to get cleared and have everything done before the EGD. I realize they have to be safe and the clearances are important but my husband is literally starving to death, malnourished, losing hair, teeth are in very poor condition, money is low, gas prices are high and these appointments are an hour and a half away and he needs answers now not 3 weeks from now. I don’t understand why they just keep redoing all the same tests over and over and over again. Instead of getting him in with a neurologist and atleast ruling that out. I feel like I am the only person who’s actually trying to figure this out and the doctors just want more money, more money, more money. My husband is a wonderful man. He’s been my best friend for 30 years but we’ve only been together as a couple for 3 years and only been married 2 years. He’s always been the strongest person I’ve known so to hear him say he doesn’t know how much more he has left in him or how much longer he can survive with no nutrition is unimaginably devastating. I hate even eating in front of him. I hate seeing him eat 4-6 bites of something in an hour time frame and then throwing it with in 5 minutes but most of the time it’s 1 or 2 bites and he’s pushing the food away holding his stomach and running to the bathroom just to throw it up. This is scary and hard and I just want to help him. I want to fix it for him and I can’t. I refuse to give up till I find the answer but I’m no doctor. That’s why I am here trying to find someone else who may have been through the same thing or something similar. I honestly think they probably should have already placed him on a feeding tube but for whatever reason they haven’t. Thank you so much for your reply. I apologize for writing a book in response to you. I guess I needed to vent and cry to someone. I just wish they would have done a more thorough assessment and job and found out what was wrong before they made his stomach the size of a walnut. I also wonder if the part of the stomach that they cut off and left in there is what is causing all this? It still has blood supply and nerves running to it so could that be the whole problem? Thank you for your time, reply, and for listening.

I had the revision in August for gerd, and I still have the exact sentiments of wishing I just got the bypass in the first place. I think of that often. I was scared to do something "drastic"so I went for the sleeve. Had I known that it doesn't feel any different physically compared to the sleeve, and appetite is far more suppressed for me now... It would've saved me years of pain and sleepless nights from gerd. Most sleevers don't have the gerd side effect but unfortunately some of us are unlucky. Wishing you success. Sent from my SM-S908U using BariatricPal mobile app