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My gastric bypass was on the 23 of Jan. I'm 5 days out. I'm very sore- feels like tugging in my stomach. When I walk I can't stand straight- I'm working on it, but I lean forward, holding on my belly like it is about to fall off! I am able to drink liquids- protein shake and clear protein, water, tea... thats all- pretty easily. I had major gas pains in the beginning- but they are mostly gone. Thankfully my husband is tracking all my pills and seeing that I take what I need. I'm sleeping in a recliner and haven't attempted to go upstairs-I don't mind. I'm hoping to feel better soon!

I have had depression and anxiety all of my life and was diagnosed about 5 years ago. My psychiatrist was great in prepping me before surgery and I got switched to a Non-Extended Release on my meds. It was a very easy switch. The medicine isn't coated and was hard for me to swallow (and still is some days) - so I learned to take with a swig of protein shake or no sugar applesauce or the like. My mental health did have some changes post surgery - as in 3 months after. Mind you that the hormonal shift was pretty emotional - and no matter how much I knew that, I didn't understand fully until after it happened. I go to therapy (and upped how often I see my therapist) when I needed to and if I had an issue - and did when I started having more anxiety - I called my psychiatrist.

For me, I've rarely experienced Dumping Syndrome. I had my gastric bypass 9 months ago. I had more issues with the "Foamies" but haven't had that issue in at least 4 months or longer ("Foamies" is when you regurgitate what you've just eaten and you over-produce saliva and start vomitting - for me this was a very slow process and not pleasant - it happened if my pouch couldn't break down what I was eating - i.e. I had a hard time processing chicken breast even if it was so small, etc - this was during the stage of real food, not purees or soft ....anything stringy like kale, spinach, celery, etc. And...if I ate too fast). As far as Sugar & Fat, I never had that issue and I never went Fat Free/Sugar Free either. However, that being said....I don't want to eat fat - especially animal fat, as it made me pretty sick even before my bypass....but I don't necessarily eat Fat Free Yogurt. I tend to look at Nutritional Labels focusing on Protein, Fiber, Carbs. For example, it really depends on the product and it also is a lesson for everyone going through Weight Loss Surgery in Trial & Error. So, you have to see how your body does and if you have any doubt, don't do it. But at the grocery store, I might look at the labels and see what looks like a better fit for me and see how my body does - the Siggis Icelandic Yogurt has less sugar higher protein and my body does great on it. Say for a cheese stick/snack, a regular piece of cheddar is easier for me to digest than fat free. With fresh fruit, I think it's so important to incorporate, along with fresh vegetables. As far as worrying about the sugar content of fruit, I don't think that's an issue at all. I think it's smart to incorporate fruits into your diet - whole fruits whether fresh or frozen, because it's a good, healthy habit that's so good for your body. I've never had ill effects from eating bananas, berries (some of the best fruit for us!), citrus, you name it. Mind you, I'm a former Type 2 Diabetic. One thing that I have had issues with is sugar free products. I think that could be with anyone - I find that monk fruit and stevia are so much better on my body. Most definitely too much sugar free products (ethythritol, xylitol, etc.) can have major negative effects on your system. I have learned to proceed with caution - before and after surgery - with sugar substitutes. Also, your taste buds definitely change after surgery as well. I love using olive oil for cooking. I try to stay mindful and definitely tracking (Baritastic App is my favorite) helps create good habits. Avocados are wonderful, good fats and I try to eat these. I will tell you that my body has "learned" what makes it feel good. For me, the things that make me feel good are oats - just regular, plain oats (not packet) and steel cut are my go-to. Fruit does make me feel good too, I love adding in smoothies with protein drinks and ice and helps me feel great. Greek yogurt does the same. Nut butters without added sugar helps me feel great also. Veggies sautéed in olive oil help me feel good, a light salad and most fish (easy for me to digest and good source of protein). It's all a matter of trial and error but honestly, this is the best thing I've ever done for myself!! I hope sharing my experiences helps you and best of luck to you!!

I tried the Fairlife milk based on comments on here. I also like the OWYN vegetarian shakes. I tried the shakes warm and it was much easier to get down. I also like low sodium chicken bone broth. College has 10grams of protein per cup if you can find it.

Try protein hot cocoa. I found it much easier to drink warm beverages in my early post-op days than cold. The Bariatric Pal hot cocoa mix is delicious but you can get other brands of protein hot cocoa on Amazon.

@ynotiniowa I'm a nurse working crazy hours in hospital too. Donuts, cookies, cupcakes and candy on every counter, that's a nurse's life at work, that's why I needed bariatric surgery...lol. I went to work after 6 weeks, so I was eating regular food and it was not so obvious to others. You will survive 12-16 hr shift by eating Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, boiled eggs, protein cereal with Fairlife protein shake, tuna pouches and prepackaged small containers with protein rich/nutrition foods (chicken, turkey, chili, veges etc). Wish you good luck and success!

I got the protein quest chips, they taste like a stale dorito, not bad for when you crave something crunchy and a bag haa 18g of protein. I usually just have half a bag and save the rest for another day. Sent from my SM-G960U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Fairlife is my go to. I especially like the Salted Caramel and if you shop at Costco, they carry them. I find the Fairlife drinks just plain taste better than most other brands I've tried. I also learned something cool, at least for me. If you like Lattes or cappuccinos, Fairlife will froth just like milk. (Premier Protein won't.) I froth half of one of Fairlife drinks and add that to my coffee of choice a few times a day.

My MS medication is extended release. MS meds aren't interchangeable, so there's not 3 or 4 to choose from at each stage. I'm on the strongest oral medication there is. I don't have the option to switch it. That's what has me worried.

So I had surgery on January 24 of this year, so I'm only a few days past but I was wondering if anyone knew of some different ideas or ways to drink or intake the protein powder or shake. I got the vanilla one and it's not horrible it taste like cake mix but it's so sweet it's hard for me to drink it all.

If anyone is looking for a good place to get protein shakes Sams club seems to be cheaper than Costco

that's mostly false. I have no problem taking pills and could take most as soon as I got home from the hospital. The only kind they usually switch us from are extended release versions, because they don't stay in our stomachs long enough for that (our pyloric valves are bypassed, so food moves through us as soon as it's small enough to go through the stoma). There are usually other options for extended release meds, though. Also some people also have to get their dosages adjusted on some meds because of the malabsorption factor, but that's pretty much it when it comes to pills. Your clinic may advise you to crush pills the first month or so after your surgery, but I never had to do that. Even if yours insists you do that, it's not a forever thing.

Moon cheese, trail mix or nuts, protein bars and shakes, beef jerky, tuna packets, and nut butters for crackers.

My biggest worry is being able to take pills. My MS meds can't be opened or crushed, and I've read that you really can't take pills with the bypass. There's no option to switch out my MS meds. So that's why I didn't go with the bypass originally.

Hi! I would be happy to be your accountability buddy as well! My sister had this surgery 8 years before me, so it has been nice to have someone to talk to and encourage me. I have lost great weight, but am having issues getting all my protein in, so it is good to get some encouragement from others.

I had bypass and I dump mostly on sugars. I don’t feel well on fats but I’m not sure I qualify for dumping, it just makes my stomach hurt for an hour or two. I can eat fruit, but I usually do it with some protein just to not be “caught.” I’m probably like most people and don’t want to accidentally throw up or get diarrhea or get very lightheaded around my coworkers or my students, much less when I’m driving. It’s probably my neurosis but I like to have some control over hot flashes and seeing spots. I find I can link fruits to a meal with protein. I plan it or prep it. Yes I cook with oils like the Mediterranean style suggests. I can eat a handful of nuts or hard cheese, I’m just limiting them now as I’m still in the loosing phase. Oh, I used to LOVE peanut butter and Nutella before surgery. I have found them too sticky and sugary now. My tastebuds did change!

My surgery was 2.5 years ago, so it's sort of a distant memory at this point... I don't mean to scare anyone -- I actually hope it will be reassuring to know that (at least for me) waking up from surgery was the worst part. I remember being in the bed in the waiting area before surgery with an IV, and then nothing until I woke up. A lot of people remember being in the operating room, having to move themselves from the bed to the table, but I don't remember any of that. I woke up in a lot of pain and for some reason, I had it in my head that something went wrong and they didn't complete the bypass. When I was able to speak, I asked, "What happened?" I guess the nurses thought I was disoriented and explained that I was in the hospital and I just had gastric bypass surgery. I felt intense regret, wondering why I did this to myself. I could barely move, but I remember looking around and seeing the monitor showing my vitals. I had a blood pressure cuff on my arm that periodically ran, and it was a lot higher than normal, but nobody seemed concerned. I didn't really feel the incisions, but I had a lot of pain that I assumed was gas pain, based on what I had read before surgery, and I knew that I was supposed to walk to help with the gas pain. I kept asking to get up and walk, and the nurses told me I had to wait until they took me to my recovery room. I stayed in the hospital for one long, rough night. I was trying to walk as much as possible, up and down the halls. I made the mistake of walking at dinner time, and the non-bariatric patients had actual food, and the smell nauseated me. I got a meal tray with a protein shake, water, apple juice, coffee, and fruit cocktail (it was supposed to be sugar-free Jello, but apparently they were out and decided that fruit cocktail was the next best thing, LOL... The bariatric nurse was very upset that they had given me something that I shouldn't eat, but of course I knew better and did not eat it). Between walking, I tried to sip as much as possible, and it was very difficult. Fortunately, I had IV fluids, so plenty of hydration (and I had to pee very frequently). After the first few hours, I had very little pain and did not need to take any pain medication. I did have discomfort in my stomach, like cramping/spasms, so they gave me anti-spasm and anti-nausea medication. I had leg compression machines on my legs while I slept. The nurses came in to check on me periodically. My surgeon came in once. Once the anesthesia wore off and I was fully awake, I was eager to get out of the hospital and go home, and I felt like I had to wait forever. In hindsight, I'm glad they kept me for longer than I wanted because while I was there, I was getting hydrated with IV fluids, which was good because it was so hard to drink fluids those first few days. Once I got home, the first few days were not pleasant, but I had very little pain and recovered quickly. So if you feel completely miserable when you wake up, just know that you will get through it and things will likely improve very quickly.

I’m soooo glad for you that all those polyps and symptoms were negative for cancer! You’re so lucky to have such an efficient early warning system. Like Catwoman I had GERD before surgery, so my options was to have bypass. It corrected the vast majority of GERD symptoms. I would opt for the surgery again if I were to do it all again. Nothing beats being able to sing again! The actual surgery isn’t scary, you literally sleep through it. Recovery time is similar to the sleeve, portion sizes and eating healthy is the same too. I’ve found medication work arounds by getting injections, sublingual supplements, heat pads, or inhalers. You’ll figure it out one day at a time. I’m just so happy for your body warning you ahead of time! Good news!

I think a lot of it is the drinking munchies for me. I really need to cut back on that. Idk if it’s head hunger or what but I need to def eat more protein and less carbs. I keep snacking on my so leftovers like pizza. I’m also training for a triathlon so even though I ate 2000 calories yesterday, I burned that much due to my training.

I'm in IT which has crazy hours far too often. There have been multiple occasions when I went to work Monday morning and didn't leave the office until Saturday evening. I honestly didn't worry about exercise, though when I lost enough weight I did run quite a but. I found it mentally refreshing and it was a great start to the day. Everything about food in our situations is all about planning ahead: 1) I prepared a week of work meals and have them packaged ready to grab and go. Make things you will really enjoy so that between your meal will win over anything at work. One of my favorite foods is Mongolian BBQ which I get from the local restaurant, which I can split easily into 4 meals. It was a great lunch on 'those' days; 2) If snacks are on your plan, handle them the same was as meals. My plan didn't include snacks so this was not an issue for me; 3) Eating out wasn't a problem food-wise as there's always something on the menu that would fit into my plan and I'd still exercise portion control. Leaving food on the plate is not the end of the world. If it's really good I'd get the left-overs to-go and eat it again for the next meal (or three); 4) Ordering out can be a bit tougher if your not ordering for yourself. If the food ordered can fit into your plan then portion control is the order of the day again. If the food doesn't fit into your plan then you don't have to eat the communal meal, just eat the meal your brought and socialize. 5) Keep 'emergency' food in your private area. I keep a couple Hormel Beef Stews in my desk, no refrigeration required and they keep for months, and they don't taste bad. I just looked and the Beef Stews expire in Feb of next year. I don't keep snacks but if they're on your plan keep some snacks available that fit into your plan. I don't do protein drinks but here at work milk is available so I also have a couple zip locks with protein powder, again, just in case; Work very, very hard the first 3 months [6 is better] to stay on plan. You will get the positive reinforcement of losing weight. This is how your plan becomes normal and how you will eventually just naturally avoid things off plan. Good luck, Tek

I don't have any advice for you since I worked a very regular schedule at the time (I'm not in health care - I'm a retired librarian), but the comment about vending machines in hospitals made me laugh. I had two of my plastic surgeries in Chicago. After the second one, I slept most of the day but was wide awake - and starving - around 8:00 pm. It was too late to order food from the cafeteria, so I sent my husband out to the nurses' station to see if they had some kind of snacky thing I could eat. They didn't - so they told him to go down to the basement vending machines. He came back and asked me what I wanted out of the vending machine, since that was our only option. Stumped, I said something at least semi-healthy (since I was very aware of the kind of crap vending machines are normally stocked with), I finally suggested something like a pack of peanut butter crackers or one of those little bags of peanuts. He came back up a few minutes later and said they didn't have either of those things - just chips and candy bars. WTF? In a HOSPITAL? Luckily, I remembered there was a Walgreens down the street, so I sent him over there to pick up a couple of protein bars. So anyway, yea - sometimes there isn't much available during odd times - even at a hospital!

I'm just over 7 months and I would say hunger pains started to come back last month into this month. Remember this surgery is a TOOL... Not an answer to all things edible. It helps us on our journey but it's still our journey and we have to be responsible for it. If it helps anyone, I can easily eat a 5pc kids' meal from Chik-Fil-A and usually finish the waffle fries. I still eat protein 1st and don't drink and eat at the same time but I probably wait 15-20 minutes vs 30. If I want it, I eat it (except for simple carbs, leaning on the sweet side- I'm terrified of dumping again - once was enough).

Hello, I also used to use MyFitnessPal but since surgery moved to Baritastic and it has been working well, since I concentrate on the protein and liquid the most. It will take some getting used to once I start tracking other things when in Maintenace, but I love the weight logging feature.

it's a pretty common problem with both sleevers and bypassers. It's probably due to the high protein diet and/or a some of the supplements (calcium and iron supplements are typical culprits). A lot of us take stool softeners or a capful of Miralax every day to keep on top of it. Magnesium tablets can help as well.

I had my sleeve in May 2022 at age 62, so I am 8 mos post-op. Recovery was quick and fairly easy for me! Like others, wish I hadn't waited so long! I've stalled over the holidays and even gained a couple of pounds, but I am back on track now. My weight loss has slowed dramatically and my surgeon says I'll probably only lose another 20 lbs, but I'm good with that. I feel FANTASTIC! I've eliminated one of my BP meds and the other has been cut in half and some days I don't take it if my pressure is low. I do at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise five days per week, alternating stationary bike and rowing machine. I think my hair loss has finally slowed/stopped. My surgeon & internist are very pleased with my progress. I'm sure I could have lost more if I had eaten cleaner the past 8 mos, but I really have just been relying on portion control and eating pretty much what I want, but focusing on healthier options when available and keeping track of my protein intake. Definitely consumed far too many sweets over the holidays. My husband and I are spending a week in a cabin in the woods near Fairbanks, Alaska in a couple of weeks and I'm excited to see how much easier the smaller me will fit in the seat for the long flight!