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Today, marks my 6 month surgery anniversary so I wanted to update my stats. I will update again at the 12 month marker. I look forward to seeing the results of the survey. 1. Basics: GENDER, AGE (at time of surgery) , HEIGHT - F, 62, 5'5" 2. Total Weight lost in the 6 months BEFORE surgery (if any) - 6.5 LBS 3. Weight on DAY OF SURGERY. - 202.5 LBS 4. Weight at 1 MONTH POST surgery - 187.4 LBS 5. Weight at 3 MONTHs POST surgery - 170.8 LBS 6. Weight at 6 MONTHs POST surgery - 149.2 7. Weight at 12 MONTHs POST surgery - TBD

So as you all know, I had A LOT of complications with my sleeve. I ended up with gastritis, esophagitis, horrible gerd, and precancerous polyps all though my stomach and duodenum. I had 4 endoscopies to have them all removed. Then I had a colonoscopy and found 3 cancerous polyps (stage 1) and they were removed and I'm ok. Wouldn't have found ANY of that had I not had the complications from the sleeve. During that time, I also had a ct scan to see what was happening, and 2 large fibroids were found in my uterus. Well, now that everything else was taken care of and I had my revision from sleeve to bypass, I decided to deal with the fibroids (they are causing my stomach to be large, my uterus is HUGE, they cause discomfort, very heavy bleeding, etc) One is 12cm (roughly the size of a grapefruit) and one is 6.5 cm (the size of an egg). I also had an endometrial biopsy (those SUCK) and was diagnosed with endometrial hyperplasia, which is precancerous. So now I have an appt to see what to do about all of this. Again, never ever would have found this if I hadn't had complications that led to all the testing to figure out what was wrong. Sometimes the fear of the unknown, the long road ahead, and the daunting testing and procedures to diagnose and correct complications can make surgery seem like a no-go. But potential complications shouldn't necessarily be seen as a deal breaker. I had several precancerous and cancerous conditions I knew absolutely NOTHING about, and I wouldn't have known about them until it was too late, had it not been for the complications from the sleeve. Trying to find out what happened inadvertently led to correcting not only the initial sleeve complication but also the silent and secret health issues that definitely would have creeped up on me and taken me out had it all not be found when they were. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Maybe hitting every speed bump on the way sucks and feels overwhelming, but at least now it's done. I'm already healthier than I have ever been, and I'm only getting healthier. I'm following dreams I previously let go, and being 45, I'm at the age where health risks start to increase anyway. Now I'm having it all taken care of and I can just do my thing and live my life. I said all of this to say.... don't talk yourself out of a life changing and life SAVING surgery because there's the potential for complications. Yes, they're scary. Yes, they suck. But YES finding and treating them early on (especially if you never would have known about them otherwise) is a blessing. We are doing these surgeries to get our lives back. And if that means finding and treating other issues that can/will cause us problems down the road, consider that a perk of the surgery.

Going into my second week post op liquids and I have become weary eating the same things that I've noticed my fluid intake has been going down. I'm charting everything and although I am still within limits of my fluid intake I've noticed it declining as the week goes on. I was on a pre-op diet for one week with the day before surgery all clear liquids. So in actuality I'm going into 3 weeks of fluids. I've had different flavors of protein shakes, some I make some are premade. I have my SF popsicles, different flavors, broths, and creamed soups. I now want none of the above except I can still deal with the popsicles. It's like if you eat a certain food for a long time just the thought of that food makes you nauseous. I am still getting the protein shakes in but I need to mix it up a bit and need creative ways to get through this next week. I also have caffein free teas and SF hot chocolate (not a coffee drinker). I have been using SF Orange Crush & SF 4C tea with lemon packs to flavor my water. My 2 week follow up is Tuesday Sept 12 I still don't have an appetite and it's not that I am wanting to eat off the liquid plan, it's just that if I never have another broth or cream soup for the rest of my life I'll be just fine! lol Any suggestions to get through this next week?

41 days out & nearing the end of the soft food phase I was only eating 1/4-1/3 cup of food so really just a couple of bites. It took me 6 months to be able to eat about a cup & then another year to be able to eat about a recommended portion of most foods. I still have my restriction. I don’t feel it every day of course because I learnt not to eat until I feel it but that took time. There are days when it kicks in earlier than I expect - ate something more dense or rich, something that sat too heavily in my tummy, ate a little more quickly, or for some other reason my quirky tummy has that day. Some people can eat more from early on but it’s an individual thing. I remember saying to my surgeon at 8 months I can only eat what I can physically eat & he agreed. Do check with your team though to be sure everything is okay. If they want you to eat more you may have to eat your smaller meals more frequently. E.g. 4 or 5 small meals vs 3 meals of the size they recommend to meet goals. Worth discussions with your team. The healthy way of eating comes as you progress and are eating a wider variety of foods. At the moment you’re still healing & recovering & slowly introducing foods into your diet. In time you’ll work out how & what you want to eat in the long term. Think of the time you are losing weight as your time to learn better habits, about better nutrition, making better choices & what way of eating works best for you. I.e. a sustainable way of eating so you can maintain your weight that isn’t restrictive but complements how you want to live & enjoy your life.

If I had a smoker, I'd be all over trying that. I haven't heard of baking them until I read this, but I have tried hard boiling eggs in the microwave. It is absolutely possible to do without them exploding; cover 3-4 eggs with water in a microwave safe dish and -the critical component- add a couple of teaspoons of salt to the water; about 1/2 tsp per egg. Run the microwave on high for 4 minutes, let them sit for a minute, then zap them for another 4 minutes, then immediately get them into an ice bath for a few minutes. All of that said, I don't recommend it. Ultimately the eggs do get hard boiled, but the egg white massacre is truly horrific. I ended up having to cut the eggs in half - while still in the shells - and scooping the egg out with a spoon as successfully peeling them was absolutely impossible.

I had a bypass with a hernia repair, and the hernia repair hurt. Bad. (I was fleeping terrified of that first sneeze.) I am 24 days post-op, and the pain of the hernia repair has gone. That first two weeks though... I wish I had gotten more of a warning about how painful that would be. And I still have a bit of pain in the upper left abdominal area. At my two week checkup the doctor wasn't concerned. Ice packs have been helping a lot! Every day the pain is a little bit less.

Yeah, I haven't much been going to restaurants...we live in a rural area and only have 2 restaurants in our little town, both close at 2 pm, well there is a Mexican restaurant but I'm not much of a fan of Mexican food in general. I have a well stocked pantry, freezers and kitchen and actually enjoy cooking (this butt didn't get this big by itself) and Lord help me, I enjoy eating way too much. That said, I'm 33 days post op and it was awesome to find a "snack" I CAN HAVE...well I think I can have it? My list is so vague...I'll try to share this pic of my instructions. It says "Protein, Protein, Protein" suggests ground turkey....and I'm like with WHAT? As you all moved into your 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th weeks, What do you eat? I had a LOT of Cod this week, made an Alfredo shrimp/crab sauce to serve over it and some canned turnips on the side. I have Chicken thighs, breasts, wings, 3 kinds of Fish, Ground Beef & Turkey & Turkey burgers, Cooked red beans, 15 beans & Lima & Cream Peas and can't figure out a darn thing to make for dinner because I don't know how to pair or prepare it....I am seriously thinking of Buffalo Wings or thighs with sauce? Fortunately, I lost another pound (all that damned fish, lol) but maybe just because nothing seems to taste right or I don't have a taste for anything...rambling here, but does anyone else have that feeling? Like nothing is suiting you or you just don't feel like bothering for the whopping 3 or 4 oz you're going to be able to eat out of the pan after you do all that work? And What Veggies are acceptable at this point? Last night I had boneless ckn breast over a salad mix with a little dressing, green onions, bacon bits...and when I'm eating hubby asks if I can eat that. I had only considered the chicken, hadn't thought of if salad is allowed? I remembered someone saying they eat salads all the time but they are like an old timer. I have several containers of fresh mushrooms I was going to prep, some for now and freeze for later but then started wondering IF I can have??? Turkey burger with no bread sounds sucky... I'm not sure if food is "not allowed" bc of the calories/fat intake or if food isn't allowed bc of a possible adverse reaction with the bypass. Like if I make a turkey burger and eat a slice of whole wheat, is that OK? What about serving something with a sauce along side something like Quinoa? SMH...done with my rant, please share your rants and tell me I am NOT alone with all these things running around in my little A.D.D. brain

I think that might end up being the case for me tbh, but feel like I should give it a good go to be 100% certain :). I think I might need to try upping my carbs generally the day before instead... hummm. I have the half at the end of Sept, so peaking this and next week, which I feel vaguely prepared for, then a good gap with the marathon next easter. Thanks, Tek.

You have done amazing! What a difference a year and a lot of work makes! My last drs appt is this coming up week but my 1 year anniversary isn't until the 19th. So I'll hopefully update at my 1 year mark to make it official I have the same outfit from the beginning that I have been taking pictures in. Its been fun to watch the difference. I haven't taken pictures the last few months though because the weight loss really slowed down but I'll have to take one for the year mark. If I can figure out how to share it here then I will

I most definitely felt this way. I had a complete pity party for myself. I needed it. Why can’t I do it on my own? Why is XXX so skinny and eats whatever they want when I eat one slice of cake and gain 5lbs? The negative talk resonated in my brain. I can’t do this, it’s too hard, I love food too much, I’m a side baker I can’t taste my baking. But guess what? YOU CAN F****** DO THIS!!!!! As for complications, I’ll just throw this out there. Vomiting - had some the first few days of post op however, I knew that I get like that with anesthesia, so my doctor and I did what we could to minimize it. I’ve since had my gallbladder removed one year later, and am having a revision as I have a hiatal hernia and severe GERD. So…would I consider those to be complications? Sure. But I would do it over again 100x!!! I have gained so much throughout this journey. And continue to. My current surgeon feels my initial surgeon should have chosen a bypass for me originally, which I asked for but they recommended sleeve so that’s what we went with. Current surgeon feels that with my co-morbities at that time, and other issues, I shouldn’t have been a candidate for a sleeve. Okay so all that to say, again I wouldn’t change it!!!! I tolerate literally any food with my sleeve. Now things sit “heavier” than others so if I’m eating that I may be miserable (like feeling stuffed not sick). After some tragedy in my family, I stopped eating well and started eating just snack food. I gained 18lbs. But then I crawled out of the hole and said okay, this has to stop, you’ve worked wayyyyy to hard to go backwards, get it together! Here I am, back on track, still have some of the gain to lose, but grateful that I have this tool aka my sleeve to help mitigate that for me. I used to love following people on IG/social media but I had to stop. Before my sleeve I looked at thin people and felt pangs of jealousy and constant comparison. Then after surgery and losing weight (not even to goal weight haven’t made it) I looked at the VSG “influencers”, the same way. Constant “oh her surgery was two weeks before mine and she’s already lost 100 lbs and I’ve ONLY lost 70”. It was perpetuating the SAME cycle I was in. So I just had to stop. Every now and again I search out the hashtag but for the most part I don’t because this journey is unique to YOU. Sorry for the novel, and if you made it through it, that’s great! Lol

Hi All, Just posting here hoping for some ideas, I am currently training for a marathon/half marathon and my long runs have reached 2 hours. This means I have started to need to eat mid-run. Luckily I don't suffer too badly with nausea my issue is dumping. Normal times I don't suffer too badly with dumping but when running I think the movement pushing things through my system that bit faster and refined carbs make me feel awful! like really really bad, worst dumping of my life. It passes but it's hardly helpful. This rules out all the off-the-shelf running supplies/typical refined sugar-heavy suggestions. I have tried sweets, bread, ect but have the same issue unless I stick to more "wholefood" options. My only success has been sultanas paired with cheese, but the cheese made me feel nauseous, but the fat and extra bulk did prevent dumping. So I need something high in carbs, but also a decent amount of protein/fat, which is easy/at least possible to eat while running and will survive in a plastic bag at room temp. I don't care if it's processed or not, I am happy to cook/bake, but as I need to use it once a week would prefer it not to be too much of a hassle. I really need to start refueling mid-run so any ideas are very welcome!

happy one year anniversary fellow september 2022 surgery friends! my surgery was september 7, 2022 so my one year anniversary this coming week. i went back and found this picture - i panicked minutes before my surgery because i hadn't taken any before pictures and took this just before i went to get prepped, surgery weight 355 lbs. and i took this one today, 206 lbs ☺️ highest weight: 410 | surgery weight: 355 | current weight: 206 | goal weight: 185 gastric bypass surgery was the best decision i ever made i wish you all healthy reflections as we reach our one year milestones! -kukui 😊❤️

I first looked into weight loss surgery about 15 years before I actually went through with it. Like you, I was scared away by horror stories and all the changes I would have to make and the things I would have to give up. I was also particularly concerned about vomiting because I got the impression that WLS results in vomiting at the drop of a hat. BTW, I am 3 years post-op and I have had exactly one bout of vomiting since my surgery. I think it's really important to go into the surgery with realistic expectations. If this forum is any indication, way too many people get WLS thinking that it will work like magic, and they're completely unprepared to make the lifestyle changes that are necessary to use the WLS as an effective tool. So I think it's a good thing that you are prepared for the rough parts of the surgery, and it probably won't be as bad as you think. Not gonna lie: the beginning is really hard, but once you get 2+ years out from surgery, you will probably be able to eat fairly normally, and if you play your cards right, you might just find that you no longer want to eat the way you used to. You'll establish a new normal for yourself where you won't constantly feel like you're "giving up" what you really want. I highly recommend a podcast called We Only Look Thin. It's run by a couple who each lost over 100 pounds. They didn't have surgery, but a lot of their journey resonates so deeply with me. Weight loss (especially when you have a daunting amount to lose) is largely a mental battle, and this podcast absolutely nails it. They are amazing at verbalizing the mental processes that I've gone through, and they are very honest about their struggles. They have some great reality checks about things like fairness, excuses, and mental loopholes, and they have some fantastic advice for navigating the everyday struggles of weight management. Now, I didn't start listening to this until after I had lost 200 pounds, so it might be easier for me to hear and realize, "Yep, past me made a lot of excuses. Past me didn't take responsibility for my eating habits," than it would have been when I was still making excuses and resisting the changes that I was going to have to make. But maybe it would have been easier for me to make those changes if I had heard this podcast before I started than having to figure it out as I went.

Wow that’s amazing! I’m down 30lbs today after a minor setback with my thyroid basically stopping working for about 10 days of the last 31, had my surgery 8/1. I’m glad it appears to be getting better and after being stalled for several days I finally dropped those last few to get to the 30 lbs I also found Quest protein chips and cookies and some other protein products today and am curious about what everyone is thinking about these items???

Surgery on our bodies is a very big deal and also the anesthetic and pain meds are also an assualt on our body and mind. After a bypass and hernia repair my own body swelled up with the IV fluids. My feet were like balloons. Hernia surgery was quite painful too. Happily the swelling did go down and I was able to ease off on the pain meds. Hopefully you will fell better and better as each day and week pass.

Hello! I’m new here. ☺️ I’m 36 years old and had my sleeve done on 08/15/23 at 250 lbs. … It’s only 09/01/23 (2 weeks out) and I’ve lost 16 lbs at 234 lbs. My ultimate goal weight is 150 for a height of 5’5” so I’m hoping to lose 100 lbs. I am a new mom and have a 6 month old at home. I not only want to be able to keep up with him better, but just feel generally better about myself. I already feel an improvement. 🙂

I’m in the same boat, but it’s common when you’re switching to foods with a thicker consistency. I’m not getting discouraged because it’s still more progress than I was able to do on my own. Also… can anyone have egg salad in week 3?

Surgery went well - it took me the rest of the day of surgery to have some conciousness. I do not understand why they begin to attempt to get you out of bed when you are still under the influence of the anesthesia and can barely keep your eyes open. The next day was much better and I was able to walk slow laps around the floor. My surgeon had the staff provide me with a stomach band that wraps around and closes with velcro which helps tremendously hold my abdomen stable when up and walking around. I still have lots of swelling and I am about 7 lbs heavier (per scale) than on surgery day due to the swelling, fluid etc. I hope that within this next week most of that will subside. Weight DOS - 195 Today - 202 I am staying on target with protein/fluid requirements 60g/64 oz - I was given Boost Glucose Control Max in the hospital and decided to get a pack of that as well as a pack of the Premier Protein Shakes both 160 cal/11oz/30g protein. I had an issue of jaundice while in hospital and upon coming home my face and body had a distinct yellow tone. My blood work had elevated as well a low levels due to surgery. I looked up my pain meds which all had an effect on the liver and could cause levels to increase. I made the decision to stop these pain meds. I was also given liquid Oxy which I was able to take a couple half dose to help with the pain. This morning I was able to get away with Tylenol (powdered). My skin looks like it is getting back to narmal as well. I am not saying it was the medicine, it could have been just the trauma of the surgery and or a combo of both, I followed what I thought was best for me. I don't have an appetite which I am not complaining about at all & I am consuming my nutrition one sip at a time. I'm anxious to hear how you guys felt 2-3 weeks after surgery with the swelling , fluid weight etc. ❤️

I had some early nausea but very mild really & vomited a couple of times in the early weeks but that was related to vitamins (some can make you nauseous especially if you don’t take them after you eat). I occasionally have episodes of the foamies where you can vomit (more like regurgitating as the food barely or doesn’t get to your tummy & none of those straining muscles). They occur if you eat too quickly or something is to dry or coarse. It passes very, very quickly & you feel fine after you bring up that offending bite. I’ve realised I tend to eat more quickly when I’m with others &/or distracted. So it’s more a side effect of me not being mindful about my eating than of my sleeve because I can avoid it happening. I have it a couple or so of times a year (less than 5) so not often. The hideous reflux hiccups I had were way worse & I used to have to go home if I had an attack of those. Don’t have to with the foamies - just keep partying 😆😆!

On my 4th day of the liquid diet, it's getting easier not to want to devour everything within reach. Tired of sweets though had to go get some bone broth to break up the monotony. I just got my proteins I ordered from here today so yay for some variety. Must say that the Bariatric Pal Chocolate Coconut is so amazingly good (my lunch today). A little lighter on the protein side at 15 grams but it tastes like an almond joy sans the almonds. That sweet chocolate and coconut flavor. I just realized why it's so sweet. I didn't think to look at carb counts when I bought them I just said oooo that sounds good, got to have it, and clicked the buttons. I've lucked out as the girl who works in my office trying to put on weight will buy any of the proteins I don't like off of me so they're at least not going in the trash. My husband is going to want to shoot me when he sees this box of everything I bought last week from the website. It's a good thing we have separate bank accounts or else he'd have a fit at the amount of stuff I've bought prepping for this surgery. Meet my surgeon for a final pre-op appointment tomorrow as well as doing some labs and another appointment with the pre-op department at Mayo so will be in the car the majority of the day tomorrow. Not looking forward to that as often as I've got to go to the bathroom with all these fluids. May be a miserable trip, bad enough I'm having to make it alone. This is where I feel sorry for myself for being a loner and not having a friend I can drag along with me. So I'm open to making new friends! And hope all of our September's go amazingly! 11 Days!? The last few months have flown by and it's been a pretty amazing ride once I got placed with the right physicians.

Met with my nutritionist about the preop diet today. My diet is 3-5 shakes a day with 2-4 cups of nonstarchy green veggies allowed. Not looking forward to it at all. Can't believe surgery is less than a month out

P.S. regarding vomiting - I did experience some in the early weeks after surgery - I had to figure out what my stomach was going to tolerate (I can now eat pretty much anything - and have been able to for years - I just have to watch my portion sizes to avoid gaining weight). I don't vomit any more now than I did before I had surgery. But I just wanted to say that vomiting after surgery is different from vomiting before surgery. Your stomach is much smaller, so there's not much to vomit up. Plus your stomach is not producing as much acid, so you don't get that horrible taste in your mouth, either. It tastes the same coming up as it did going down. So suffice it to say, I don't dread vomiting like I did before I had surgery.