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Five years out and the poltergeist in my tummy is alive and well. It was grunting this morning after breakfast. And I mean grunting. I asked the doctor who does my follow ups about it a couple of years back because all the grumbling, rumbling and whining was so loud. She said it was my digestive system doing what it’s supposed to do: digest food. It differs person to person & I believe surgeon to surgeon (some are just more rough), After my sleeve I had very little bruising. Though others have posted some pretty significant bruises here after theirs. Can’t recall after my gall but I’ve had more with my recent surgery. (My poor belly button is so tiny now with the 3 laparoscopic abdominal surgeries I’ve had that have used it.) Each time the wounds were different. This time I even have a little lump from a pleat in my skin from the internal sutures. And one I swear looks like the Enterprise from Star Trek. And one can be more tender one day and the next another one is. Took into the third week for the bruising to be fully gone this time. The incision they removed your stomach through is usually a little longer than the others & is the one on the right of your belly button.

Things are good- really want to go to the park and walk/jog but am just focusing on getting this cough under control. I was super excited that Farmer Boys (restaurant in California) had BOGO on salads. So I had them split it in 2 containers...so technically I scored 4 containers of salad with grilled chicken, avocado, 1/2 egg each, tomato, iceberg lettuce) So I will be enjoying them for the next 3 days- part of my good choice food for the day- and then my preOP protein shakes the other meals...pretty confident and I am one of those weird ones that likes salad and I also like water!

I would mention it to your family provider. This can be a sign of prediabetes. Or it may just be what you’re eating. Some foods can cause blood sugar spikes. I don’t know too much about what specifically but if it’s not a medical thing perhaps a dietician could go over your food log and give you some tips.

I finally gained weight!!! I'm officially at 180, and I like that. I feel better, I have more energy, and I don't feel nearly so run down and out of it. Still look super thin, but it is what it is. Now I'm going to work on maintenance since this is where I want to stay. I'm ok with 2 pounds in either direction, but I definitely don't want to drop below 178 again lol I got all the way down to 170 and it was just really bad. I literally don't work out at all anymore because I'm on my feet all day working 5 days per week. I increased my calories to 1700 per day (up from 1500), my carbs to 55 net per day (up from 40 or so), my protein to 100g per day (up from 80), my healthy fats to 80g per day (up from 50), my fiber intake to 30g (10 from supplements and the rest from food - up from 20) and upped my fluids to 120 fl oz per day (up from 90 - 100). I'll add my weekend workouts back in now (nothing crazy, just core and strength but on the lighter side, not heavy) so I don't gain too much now that I've figured out how to finally gain weight lol

Hi I had Gastric Bypass 4 years ago, lost 120 pounds, kept it off. Now in the past year I have noticed that I have been getting extremely sleepy after most meals. In the evening its ok because I just head to bed, but after lunch, at work, it can be a bit of a problem. The effect only lasts for 30-40 minutes, but I'm so groggy I can barely function. Is it dumping? Sometimes I feel flushed and my heart is a bit fast, but It happens for all food, with sugar or not.. Is it age, I'm 62 now.. Something else? Anyone else have similar issues?

Oh, this is perfect timing. The one I have with the ADEK has 60 mg of iron and I’m wondering if that might be a bit too high since I eat a pretty clean diet with iron rich foods. We’ll see when I get my labs back at the end of the month but yours with the 45 may be better for me.

I know exactly what you mean when you get something that taste good you don’t wanna stop What I did after my sleeve when I went out was to ask for a to go box right away and put some of it away so I wouldn’t be tempted to eat more than I should. then I later learned another tip on here that if you’re out and you’re going somewhere else afterwards and you want to put your leftovers in a cooler it’s kinda hard with the big Styrofoam containers so bring your own little Tupperware like one of those flat sandwich ones and it holds just as much food without taking up a lot of room so you can fit it in a small cooler. I actually found some on Amazon that have like four or six sections depending on which ones you get that work really well too because I don’t like my food to get mixed and they seal pretty well so they’re fine if they tip over in the cooler with other things in there. I always carry a cooler with me because I’m too cheap to buy drinks when I’m out so it’s really easy to just bring along the container if I know I’m having lunch. Those little containers worked great to make adult lunchables too. They have bigger ones that have more sections and a couple different brands but those are the ones that I end up using most often to bring snacks or bring home food. Even if you needed to use two of them, it still fits better on a cooler they are called Bentgo boxes they are also exactly 1/2 cup for each section so it makes it easy to log your snacks when you’re packing them https://a.co/d/4BdZLlI

I definitely cannot eat steak yet, but my husband and I went out for Indian food and that was pretty successful. I felt a little nausea after, but I think that was because I ate too much (it was the first time I had had my favorite Indian food since before surgery and it was soooo good!). The only other time was when I was on puree and my friends and husband ordered food, so I got plain mashed potatoes.

For me the physical hunger is completely gone now. With my sleeve it was also gone but it did come back. It was around 6 months that it started coming back if I’m remembering correctly. It comes back for most people to varying degrees of intensity. The best case is that you take that time to really change WHAT you eat, not just how much because when the hunger comes back you will likely eat larger portions and if it’s less healthy food you will probably begin to gain. At least I did. With my revision I have changed what I eat entirely. I didn’t do this with my sleeve. I had just a few menu options so it’s no wonder I got board with it and started to eat off plan more often. This time I did research and found several healthy recipes to try and I found quite a few that I enjoy so I don’t get board at all. You may not recall but I have Bipolar and Anxiety. I have found that freezing some healthy meals has come in real handy at times when I am not up to cooking. I also am in touch with my surgical team more often for office visits as well as the support group meetings and those help tremendously. Post op I also had more frequent appointment with my psychiatrist and psychologist as well. I just asked for all of the support I could find because it is a lot of change which I don’t do well with but now that I am two months out and i have a little routine I am feeling better than ever. The exercise that I am finally energized enough to do has helped my mood tremendously and the weight loss and the social aspect of the group fitness classes have helped with my self esteem too. I have so much more structure and routine now which is actually really great for Bipolar. I am able to fall asleep at night and stay asleep and I wake up at the same time and exercise, I set recurring alarms for vitamins/food and I log my food with the Baritastic app and my fitness watch keeps track of all of my activity. I show all of that data to my NP at my checkups and she helps me make adjustments to my nutrition. You will probably see a nutritionist for food related questions but I had a newer surgery called the SADI and the nutritionist wasn’t very helpful with regard to the macros after I got back to normal food. As long as you are managing your mental illness, though, you should be just fine. Just don’t hesitate to ask for whatever help that you need in order to be successful.

I had a revision to SADI two months ago (which is a modified DS) and I’m very happy with it. After the sleeve I always felt like I was just on a diet. I still craved unhealthy stuff and didn’t have all the extra energy that people explained. So I lost a lot of weight but once my appetite came back I gained it back. Since the SADI it’s different. I would obviously still like to have pizza and pasta but I still enjoy the healthier choices and I have tons of energy. I walk about 5-7 miles a day and just started YOGA twice a week. I want to do an aerobics/strength class that meets two other days but I’m not quite there yet. I have lost 48 pounds total in 2.5 months (which includes the two week preop in which I lost 13 pounds). Not all surgeons do the SADI yet and there is not a whole lot of help out there in terms of what you should be doing nutrition wise. I spoke to two different nutritionists and they just gave me the same info as they would give for bypass but the NP has been looking at my fitness and food log charts and helping me to adjust my macros and it’s working. I was warned about diarrhea and stinky bowel movements but I have not experience either. In fact I’m still weaning off the stool softener. My surgeon did a few tests first to make sure my sleeve was In good shape because he does not make adjustments to the sleeve. He feels the risks are too high. The recovery was a little tougher this time and you have to be disciplined with your portions because physically you can eat more but once I was healed I was able to tolorate all the same foods as before since they didn’t operate on my stomach. I am now back to pretty normal portions of healthy foods.

I have a Garmin smartwatch that logs all my activity. I use the Baritastic app for logging food. I saw the dietitian today and she was only so so helpful. She didn’t review my chart, I guess, because she thought I was moving to purée. I’m might go rogue soon and just do my own thing! 🤣

Oh I have so many questions that I seen the NP like five times since surgery and I call In between 😆 The NP finally gets it that with my anxiety I just need a little more reassurance throughout such major changes. She is so helpful. I ask her about my macros and stuff. I didn’t really feel like the dietician was very knowledgeable on my surgery. The goals the NP have given me are nothing like what the dietician had said. They should be fine to answer about the more common surgeries though. And they can tell you specific foods that will work. The NP just looks at the bar charts from my food logging app and says things about my trends. If you don’t have a fitness watch, consider one of those. They have some pretty inexpensive ones on Amazon now. I got one on sale for $20 that seemed like a good one but my husband was able to get my old watch to update so I returned it. It’s really nice to be able to tell them your activity trends. And if you have an iPhone and carry it with you when you walk around you already have it on your health app. The watch will record your heart rate too though which gives you a better idea of calories burned.

@Chatterboxdea I have had a similar problem. I have only lost 3.4 pounds in the last 19 days. I was stalled with a pound or so for two weeks. My foods are where they should. I’m going to the gym 3-4 days a week as told. My water is a little iffy by not too bad. we just have to remember that we did not gain the weight overnight and we won’t lose it that way either. Some of us lose slower than others. It obviously doesn’t hurt to talk to your dietician and get suggestions. But you are not alone.

Have you talked to your team about your fitness and your macros. I was actually eating too little for my level of activity. It was really scary to be adding carbs but I trusted the NP and I’m still losing. You’re definitely not over reacting though. I was upset about not losing as much as I have been and I made an appointment to talk to my team about my loss. They reassured me that I was doing what I should be doing. I recommend that you do that if you can. It can be so upsetting and sometimes even makes people less motivated to exercise and make poor food choices if they feel like it’s not working for them and I’m sure it will feel much better to hear from them whether you are on track for what they expect for you.

Nausea, vomiting, foamies, difficulty eating aren’t that uncommon after surgery. Your tummy is pretty sensitive and while it usually take about 6 or so weeks to heal some take longer. But it is always best to rule out anything else. Please tell me your doctor gave you something for the nausea & is sending you for tests. If not, I’d ask (demand) an endoscope to rule out a stricture and an ultrasound to check your gall and rule out anything else (appendix, pancreas). I only had one symptom with my gall (I had a stone) and that was pain. Very strong, writhing on the bed pain upper right abdomen & around to my back. Nothing before that. I know my sister in law used to get crampy pain and nausea when she ate fatty foods or a large heavy meal with her gall. You’re certainly not eating fatty or rich heavy meals at the moment. If it is a stricture, they’re easy to fix. If you do have gall stones it would mean another surgery. Gall issues after surgery aren’t uncommon. Rapid weight loss can cause stones to grow but usually not that soon out. (Mine was 2 years and one month later.) Or you may have had them already but they’re making themselves known now.

I’m only a month and a half out but I can’t hold down food. And I have no pain.

I’m having all day nausea, regurgitation of food and vomiting. My surgeon thinks that it’s my gallbladder, but I’m not so sure. What were your symptoms for gallbladder problems? Versus gastric sleeve stricture?

Thank you. I understand the reasoning for it, it just threw me off when she said it was forever. I even had to ask because I thought I misunderstood her, but nope, she confirmed they’re asking us to avoid the 4 c’s of drinking and to eat deconstructed, protein first. That makes perfect sense to follow the plan while losing and hopefully through that time, build a better relationship with food and learn to choose healthier options along the way. I appreciate the feedback and advice.

possibly or also some people have high blood pressure that is purely genetic I mean if it’s not diet or weight related maybe the surgery doesn’t make it go away?? I imagine that reducing weight and changing diet would have to help some, but maybe it doesn’t cure it entirely. Good you are back on it though for now if you need it.

So I get very very very hungry right before my period and the first few days of my cycle. It is so intense that I feel that there is a hole in my stomach where the food disappears 10 minutes after I’ve eaten. It is so weird and I have never experienced this pre WLS. I have clocked 1750 calories for 4 days straight and a whopping 120 grams of protein because I can’t seem to get full. Then I just lose interest in eating for the rest of my cycle, anyone else experience this? Things I’ve eaten the past few days: Galore of burgers. Double smashed cheeseburgers, a classic burger, and a spicy crispy chicken burger. Maple buffalo shrimps Up close and personal on the spicy chicken burger. So hubby was quite taken aback at how much I ordered (knowing he’ll have to eat most of it, teaser: he did) I got excited to try everything (teaser: I didn’t). I hade around 3/4 of one half of the smash cheeseburger, and a bite of the spicy chicken burger which was soooo good but then I felt so sick and regretted eating that. Hubby ate most of the shrimps, his whole burger and my half. The rest was put in the fridge. There was also a large portion of fries which I didn’t taste.

Not that uncommon and comparatively not more strict. There are variations between surgeons and surgeries with many of these things. Sometimes it’s also related to you, your health, how much weight you have to lose, your relationship with food, etc, Not being allowed carbonated drinks is common. The differences arise in length of time of this avoidance and then whether you can tolerate it. Also you may be allowed sparkling water that you let go flat a bit but not sodas. Same with alcohol avoidance but there are three main reasons often behind this. One is concern for addiction transfer which can occur after weight loss surgery. Secondly, alcohol is calorie dense and offers no nutrients which are vital while we are losing and eating small portions and lastly it will slow your metabolism & dehydrate you. Again some surgeons just put a time frame on it but it does depend on your surgery too. Caffeine is another thing that is allowed by some surgeons and not by others and again there can be differences in for how long you should avoid it. Deconstructing meals is not a forever thing. Certainly while losing, focussing on eating the protein component of your meal first is very important. If you are able after you’ve eaten the protein in your meal. you then can eat your vegetables then any carbs you are allowed. (There were many times I could only eat my protein at a meal and nothing else.) This is because of the small portions we can eat initially & the necessity of getting that protein in to meet your protein goals. It does make tracking your food much easier too. When you near your goal, and are eating larger portions, it’s not as important to eat your protein first but you must continue to hit your protein goals forever so it will be something of which you are aware when you’re eating. In saying that I often ate soups, stews & casserole type dishes, omelettes, etc. which combined protein & vegetables while losing but not every meal and not every day. Actually not allowing protein shakes is also not uncommon. For example, in the UK, many aren’t allowed protein shakes in the pre surgery diet (they drink milk instead). Protein shakes aren’t the sole source of protein & nutrients in that first stage after surgery. Bone broths, consommés and cream soups are also options. Thank goodness too because after surgery those protein shakes can be disgusting. I found them unpleasantly grainy and crazy sweet & struggled to drink one a day. Best advice is to follow your plan while you are losing.However, if you find it difficult to tolerate your food options or to reach your goals ask for alternatives that will allow you to still meet protein goals & other nutrient requirements within any calorie guidelines you are given. How and what you eat once your weight has stabilised is up to you, what you’ve learnt about your eating and relationship with food and if it allows you to maintain a lower and healthier weight & lifestyle.

I get why you're feeling frustrated—it's tough when you're ready to move to the next stage and don't have the plan you were expecting. It's great that you've already started with things like hard-boiled eggs, lentil soup, and canned tuna/chicken. Those are solid choices! While you're waiting for your next appointment, you could try some soft foods like mashed avocado, Greek yogurt, or even well-cooked veggies. Just take it slow and pay attention to how your body reacts. You’re doing awesome, and your dietitian will have you back on track soon enough!

How are your iron levels? Are they low? If they’re low, then you may need a supplement but if they’re okay, you don’t need anything. My iron levels were great & still are so I never took any iron after my surgery. Many people, women especially of all ages, experience anemia and it seems there are many more cases now days than years ago. For some its lifestyle and dietary choices, for others there can be medical reasons behind it. If you are anaemic, ensure your doctor rules out any medical cause first. If there isn’t any medical reason, check your dietary intake. Ensure you’re eating a lot of iron rich red meats, green leafy vegetables, etc. Avoid caffeine when consuming food especially iron rich foods. Caffeine reduces your body’s ability to absorb iron by 60+%. Also your body doesn’t absorb iron from fortified foods (like breads, cereals, oat milks & other milk alternatives., etc.) as well either. Iron supplements can cause constipation. Don’t take your iron supplements with calcium or iron with zinc. Your body can’t absorb these in combination so take say the calcium and zinc in the morning and your iron at night. Remember too, excess iron isn’t good for you so avoid taking iron supplements if you don’t need them. Haemochromatosis can damage your liver, heart, pancreas & joints. Symptoms can include lethargy, weight loss, mood swings, depression, brain fog, irregular or no periods & joint pain. Interestingly, many of these symptoms are the same as with anaemia.

Had mine sept 18th just over two weeks and I feel great minus the nausea here and there I’m learning to do better with my food choices

Omg same the smells of chicken and French fries and all the bad food that tasted sooo gooood my heart breaks for it but I have to be strong if I wanna come up on top of my health