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I second the protein coffee. I had sleeve three years ago and heard all about it but never tried. Now I’m pending revision and decided to give it a try and I love it. To the point I have to be sure I don’t get too much protein because it’s so good. I got out of the swing of taking my vitamins as well and I’m working on a routine now. I take my multivitamin right after my morning coffee (just be sure it’s a whole protein shake or it may not be enough in your stomach to keep the vitamin down). I keep my multivitamin in the kitchen cabinet with the cups I use for coffee now to remind me to grab them. I sit them right next to my iced “proffee” as I’m drinking it so I don’t forget (I’m pretty bad so yes it does take that many reminders). Then I return the empty cup and the vitamins to the kitchen. As far as the calcium I haven’t gotten back into the swing of that yet but I intend to take it with lunch and dinner to make things easy. I think maybe alarms on my phone may be necessary untill I get back into a routine.

Hummm. I was thinking that maybe if they do change it then it would be smaller for me because I swear my sleeve was left too big from day one. The surgeon thinks I just have fast gastric emptying and that’s why I feel like I can eat more but I hope we will know for sure when he does the scope in a couple of weeks. It will be nice if I do finally get an answer as to why I was always able to eat more than everyone else. I was just thinking that even though statistics say I will lose more with SADI revision that I may be differnt if one involves changing the stomach and the other does not.

I don't think there's really a difference in how much you can eat. At first you probably won't be able to eat as much because you'll be swollen from the surgery for awhile, but after that - I don't think so because I've known several people who've had revisions, and I don't remember people mentioning that.

They will create a small stomach pouch, same as in a regular bypass. But be aware that even with bypass, the ability to eat more returns over time. If it helps for comparison, though, I can tell you that at 3 months out with gastric bypass, I can eat about 3/4 c yogurt with a little bit of fruit, or 2-3 oz chicken with maybe 1/4 cup cooked veg in one sitting. In both cases, this would take me about 15 minutes to eat.

Hey Warren, I'm presuming because they would only look at fixing the opening if they did feel it was contributing to the pain and other issues I'm having 'downstream'. This would not be a true revision in the sense of reducing the size of the pouch. My insurance company also only pays for 1 bariatric surgery in your 'lifetime'. They would only pass for the revision of opening if it were medically necessitated, and they would not consider 'failure to lose weight' or a 'weight regain' as medically necessary. My GI wanted me to talk to the bariatric surgeon who specializes in revisions. The surgeon does not think what is happening to me is 'dumping due to widened opening'. He said it doesn't sound like dumping to him and if that happened to everyone whose opening widened, everyone would be having "dumping" issues after a couple of years. He did point out that both the upper and lower GI I had done do not look at the inside of the pouch so if there is a hernia that is causing the on again/off again pain and on rare occasions bleeding (looks like coffee grounds), then the GI doctor would not know as they never 'scope' the pouch for a routine upper/lower GI. He also indicated that depending on the scope size a GI doctor uses, it doesn't go through every single space that we have (due to us having been um "modified"?) so it would take a doctor who uses an extra long scope. That last part I must confess I do not understand at all. He does have me scheduled right now for a laparoscopic investigatory procedure to take a look inside my pouch and see if there is scar tissue or a hernia that needs to be addressed. He also gave me prescription acid reflux meds and said if i got better after 'taking' them, I could cancel the procedure in 2 weeks. What he fails to understand and I've tried telling his office, I can go a month with no pain. Then I go back to back days in extreme pain. Have not been able to tie it to specific food, time of day I'm eating, etc. My right side starts with a stabby/cramping pain (closest I can compare if it feels like the pain I used to get when I ovulated or that 'stitch in your side' type feeling. It often goes downhill from there. I have tried to get it figured out now for 2 years but taking ANY medicine and 'not having an episode in the next 2 weeks' does NOT give me a definitive answer as I do not have this pain all the time, it is just enough to be frustrating and has lasted LONG enough to be concerning. The 'coffee ground' type bleeding that I have observed is one and off for the past 3 months (maybe it started a while ago but now I know what to 'look for'. I don't like going under anesthesia but I'm probably going to keep that procedure scheduled as I have no guarantee that ANY medicine given for the next 2 weeks has 'fixed' any issue. I wonder if anyone else has ever had their opening revised but not their pouch out of curiosity.

When you convert from sleeve to bypass do they make your stomach smaller? Or do they just do the portion where they bypass part of the intestine while leaving the sleeved stomach? I was looking at SADI and my surgeon said he wouldn’t touch my stomach because of the high risk of leak with a resleeve but now I am not sure if I’m getting SADI or bypass and I’m curious about whether I will still be able to eat the same amount volume wise with the bypass too.

I had a revision to rny in my sixties in 2021, It went so smooth and still going smooth. Really was the best thing that I've ever done for my health.

Day 2 post op gastric bypass. Staying hydrated and living on yogurt. Now i have diarrhea…so hydration is gonna be tough. On the plus side all the pressure i was feeling is gone. Nurse said i need more protein and it will help the diarrhea. Anyone else have this issue postop?

I am pending revision and just started with the Baritastic app too. I like it. It’s super easy to use. Set reminders to take your vitamins. Soon you will find yourself remembering to take them and silencing it before it goes off but a recurring reminder will prevent slips.

They reduced both my pouch size and the size of the opening during the revision. That's why I'm very puzzled by his comment that you wouldn't lose significant weight after the revision. It just makes no sense to me.

I'm not sure...surgeon just said that tightening that opening alone would not cause major weight loss. Unsure if during a full blown revision if they also reduce the size of the 'pouch' and tighten that opening. I would think 'pouch size' is a possible element as well but this doctor did not elaborate, I'm assuming since the goal of my revision if not to lose more weight maybe? If I ever get time with him outside of the investigation in the OR, I will ask.

I took Latuda for bipolar when I had my sleeve three years ago and my prescribing doctor was concerned about me not getting enough calories in the beginning for it to absorb properly as well. (For those who don’t know about this particular medication it’s not about it not absorbing due to the surgery itself like many controlled release meds. This med needs the 350 calories in order to absorb fully for anyone, not just people who had surgery). Anyways, My doctor switched me to vraylar for a couple of months prior to surgery just to make sure I was stable on it and then a short time after until I was back to being able to consume 350 calories at one time. The vraylar is quite expensive but luckily they were able to get enough samples for me. The plan was to switch me back once I was eating enough. What was weird and unexpected was post surgery when he tried to switch me back to the Latuda all of a sudden it caused me a great deal of anxiety and I couldn’t tolerate it anymore (even though I was on it for three years before surgery) so he kept me on the vraylar a little longer until things got back more normal for me and then made another change. I am now on a completely different medication. Neither the surgeon or prescribing dr could explain that anxiety except that when you alter the anatomy things just happen sometimes but I just worked with my prescribing dr and he sorted it out. The most important thing is that your prescribing dr and your loved ones are very aware that you may encounter some issues and that everyone is on top of it. If you feel the slightest bit off, you may need to be the one to contact your Dr. You mentioned “the switch” as an option. Not sure if you are speaking if the SADI switch or the Duodenal switch but both of those are restrictive and malabsorbing surgeries. The reason they suggested the sleeve for me was because they were concerned about my other meds not absorbing fully just because of the malabsorbing component of the other surgery. Fast forward three years and I gained my weight back and we are now considering conversion to the SADI or bypass because I gained my weight back. I gained it back because I ate the wrong things though so don’t let that scare you. I only mention it because I’m guessing you can see my current weight and may wonder why I didn’t lose. I did lose quite a bit and maintained it for a while but I was discouraged I didn’t lose it all and I let that get to me. Which is something you should be aware of, you may not lose as much as someone who is not on all these meds. Just don’t get too caught up in comparing your journey to others. I am 5’8” and I got down to 168. I would be so much happier and healthy now if I had just accepted that win instead of getting it in my head that I failed by not making it to where others did.

I don't think there's any malabsorption issues with the sleeve, just the bypass and the switch. I would say talk to your mental health provider, do a lot of research on meds with a sleeve, and then take all of that to whoever you need to see to get you going on the safest surgery for you.

I’d be careful and talk to the provider you see for your mental health meds as well. When you have gastric sleeve and or bypass medication absorption is impaired. It’s a huge adjustment and one you should really research thoroughly and with your provider input, not just the bariatric team. It’s a life long commitment and all things should be considered for success. I know I had to be evaluated by a mental health provider and cleared by him for surgery. I hope it goes well for you!

So I'm considering getting the gastric sleeve surgery. I'm almost 40 years old and weight almost 440 pounds and have a BMI of 67 and ive tried literally everything to lose weight and nothing has worked. I've never lost more than 20-30 pounds at a time.Bariatric surgery is really the last option for me. So I'm in a bariatric program right now and we've decided that the gastric sleeve would be the safest operation for me. The problem my team including my surgeon is trying to address? I'm schizophrenic and Bipolar and take Antipsychotics. I've maybe gained 100 lbs over the course of trying meds since 2011 to find the right medicine combination. Right now I'm taking Latuda and Seroquel for antipsychotics. My GP has stated over and over again that Latuda might not be the greatest medicine for me to be on because it requires me to consume 350 calories in order for it to work properly. But reallym the medication does wonders with me. When/if I get bariatric surgery that's going to be a challenge for my bariatric team finding a meal or snack that I can fit those calories in. Not to mention my surgeon has mentioned that it will be an extra challenge for him to try to work around my anti psychotics. He didn't say it was impossible but he did call it a great challenge. I guess why I'm posting here is to ask is, is the gastric sleeve an option for me? Or should I consider the switch instead? My bariatric team pretty much flat out said that the bypass would be too risky of a surgery to do with me and they don't do the lap band anymore and my bmi is too risky for the lap band anyway. But before I go and permanently change my stomach I'd like to know what my options are. My team hasn't really been forthcoming and just seem to want to do the surgery as soon as possible. But, I'd like it to be a success as well. Especially when the sleeve is a permanent change to my body.

Hi! I had bypass surgery on 5/1. So almost two weeks out. 1. I was nervous about the recovery after. I have three big dogs that love to be all up in my business. A pillow to block my abdomen was my best friend. 2. I overpacked for the hospital. My surgeon only required an overnight stay. But I brought some skincare and a book and a game to play with my husband. Didn’t use any of it lol. Except some lip balm. My lips were crazy dry after the surgery. I brought a heating pad with me. I used it for the gas pain because that stuff travels! It migrated to my shoulders at one point. So painful. Getting up and walking around helped so much. You’re going to be so exhausted after surgery, you’re not going to want to do much but sleep. 3. I’m excited about actually being healthy for the first time in my life. Looking forward to doing things with my family and friends that I previously would have said no to.

There is nothing wrong with you... First, when we have surgery, a lot of nerves are cut that need time to heal. These are the nerves that tell us we are full, or getting full. So you are not getting accurate feedback from your stomach right now. These cut nerves take several months to heal fully. I noticed a distinct change in my fullness cues around 3 months out. Second--just because you CAN eat that amount doesn't mean you SHOULD (I'm so thankful the regulars here remind us all of this early post-op). You aren't getting accurate messages about your restriction right now, and different foods will cause different feelings of restriction or lack thereof. Try to stick to the small portions your dietician should have gone over with you. You have a lot of sutures holding your healing tummy together, you don't want to stress them. Take your time here, there is no rush. Third--different foods will cause different feelings of fullness. Purees often don't cause fullness, even meat purees. When you get into soft foods you might start to feel restriction when you eat denser proteins. But again, your stomach is still healing, so it may take time to feel your restriction, and some people never feel strong restriction, or don't feel it until they are overly full. This is where it is important to measure out your portions and eat tiny bites, slowly, watching for any signs of fullness. For us post op that may feel very different than it did pre-op. For me, for the first few months, all I would get is violent sneezing, intense hiccups, runny nose, etc... It took a while before I started feeling internal pressure with fullness. Fourth--Hunger is a b***h! Some people lose it, not everyone does. I woke up in recovery STARVING!! I was so mad. 😂I felt like I'd been given a faulty surgery. LOL But it really made me learn to work with my hunger cues and to sit with the discomfort of being hungry for a while. I was very, very hungry the first few weeks because nothing feels like it has enough substance to calm that ravenous hunger. This will ease in time as you progress your diet. For now all you can do is learn to distinguish head hunger from body hunger and learn to deal with the fact that sometimes we feel hungry and that's okay. Lastly, many people can drink water freely post op. You don't list your surgery, but this is very common with gastric bypass patients, though I have seen it with sleeve patients too. Once the internal swelling goes down, many can drink water easily. This is a blessing, since dehydration is the #1 reason bariatric patients end up in the ER post op!

it's really, really rare to have a stricture that late - they almost always appear - if they're going to appear - within the first three months after surgery. I had two - at four weeks out and again at eight weeks out. The first time I knew something was wrong and I called my clinic. They suspected it was a stricture and sent me over to the hospital for an upper endoscopy to confirm (and "fix") it. The second time I knew exactly what it was since I'd seen this movie before and I went right in to have it stretched. So no, I never got to the point you were at. For those newbies who are reading this, strictures only happen to about 5% of bypass patients (they can happen to sleeve patients as well, but they're very rare with sleeve), and they almost always happen within the first three months after surgery. Just be aware of the symptoms she listed and contact your clinic if you first start noticing stuff like this. They're not going to heal on their own, and they're an easy fix. Just make sure to let your clinic know if you start having these kinds of symptoms (can't keep anything down, nausea all the time) since these are not normal and are usually indicative of a stricture.

I had a gastric bypass around 11 months ago. I turned 69 in January, which means I'm in my 70th year. I had no issues with the surgery or recovery. My eating habits are curbed by what I can tolerate and I now go to the gym 4 times a week, most of the time with a very good trainer. It's been a long time since I've felt this good-- sure, there are trade-offs but to me, totally worth it especially compared to where I was pre-surgery. The biggest issue for me has been building muscle mass.

OMG you have been through the wars. I am so happy that you finally got the right diagnosis. I hope you have an easier life after the new surgery. You have found the right forum. There are a few revision patients in here for you to chat to. Sent from my Lenovo TB-J606F using BariatricPal mobile app

WarrenInEC, I saw the bariatric revision surgeon. He doesn't think it is dumping and said that the upper and lower GI done would not have taken an image of the inside of my pouch so there could potentially be an internal hernia. He suggested possible laparoscopic investigatory surgery in a couple of weeks. He said a revision to tighten the opening wouldn't necessarily force me to lose more weight, which is perplexing to me but I'm not looking at it as a solution to lose weight, I just thought that would come with the "package". I'm assuming the reason I still feel restriction when I eat is simply because of the 'pouch' then. I thought I understood all of this 5 years ago when I had the surgery, but I obviously did not comprehend everything. Well, we'll see what the next few weeks brings... I assume you had a revision then as that is a big difference in the opening size..lol. If so, what was it like?

Hi Debby! Please can I ask what the purpose of the detox is? I know people do these for various reasons. If you have regained some weight after your bypass (if so, how much?) and you're wanting to kick start further loss then I agree with the others above - eat your protein first, veg second and fruit/carbs last. If you have another (health?) reason for a detox then it might be OK to follow what sounds like a very restrictive plan. I'd be worried about your protein intake with what you're proposing though.

So, I'm almost 3 months out from having my RNY gastric bypass. The surgery itself is very safe, but the first few months after can be rough. You don't eat a lot, and you may feel sick and probably exhausted, too. But by 3 months, your tummy is pretty well healed and you've learned to chew thoroughly, slow down, and take small bites. You may have identified a few trigger foods that you really have no desire to eat again (hello, scrambled eggs). At my appointment last week I was cleared to basically eat any type of food I wanted. I was warned a very tough steak or woody/fibrous vegetable and fruit (asparagus stems, pineapple), could still cause issues, but as long as you're reasonable about choices, it's fine. I'm thrilled to be allowed to have raw veg again. And I enjoy food. I just enjoy it on plates the size of a saucer instead of a big dinner plate, and I find I don't want more than a bite or two of unhealthy stuff. Except ice cream, which is why I don't keep that in the house! At restaurants, I either take home enough for 2-3 more meals, or I order an appetizer. And I skip the bread, pasta, and other fillers. It'll be a long time before I feel like I can handle a slice of pizza, for sure. But that's okay. My family ordered a pizza the other day and it smelled delicious, but I literally did not want it. Not even a taste. I never thought that would happen to me because I adore pizza, and it made me glad because saying no to it was no big deal. I can tell you that as a slow loser, I will probably never end up "thin" from this surgery. But it's made a huge difference for me already. The day I left the hospital, I was already off blood pressure meds, which I had been taking for a decade. My joints don't hurt anymore. My inflammation is down. I can walk longer and faster. I feel better. And I like the way I look more now too. I'm already able to buy some clothing that isn't specifically from the "plus" department, and I look forward to that being the norm. I'm 50 and I haven't been this low in weight since I was 29. But, it is an adjustment. It's a challenge. And if you love food, you will probably have to do a lot of mental work about that. Like, why are you eating? Are you hungry, or is it a self-soothing mechanism. And if the latter, is there a better way to deal with your emotions when you physically can't reach for food? I ask myself this a lot. My brother had VSG 15 years ago. If you didn't know him back then, you would think today he's an average weight guy (not skinny) with a slightly smaller than average appetite. We were at a wedding when I was still pre-surgery and he out ate me at dinner. So the "half a happy meal" thing is short term. Only you probably won't want to eat those after surgery because they might not sound appetizing anymore.

Hello I'm new here... 11 years ago I had gastric sleeve. Had Great success from 205 to 135 then after a horrific time in my life " DIVORCE" I went to 123 lbs. Then got divorce finally over moved to New state, have new career and put every lb back on and at this age weight for a women much harder to lose. I tried my old diet pills QYSMIA and ozempic lost 30 lbs 4 mths ( made me horribly sick) stop and put wt back immediately with diet pills kept getting sicker and sicker back on diet pills and nothing. For over 6months Gerd and reflux so bad when sleeping and anytime I was sitting or laying down. Couldnt eat many things. After several doctors endo and colonoscopy. I Went to ER with chest pain Heart burn so bad thought i was dying i was admitted for srveral days. A great Doc finally did another endo and found issue referred me to a fantastic bariatric surgeon. You name it I had it my stomach was pushed into my esophagus from hiatial hernia. So had to have surgery immediately. Revision repair of sleeve, duodenal switch, hiatal hernia. 5 hour surgery. It took a few weeks and some ups and downs. After surgery Stomach ulcer unknown Bleed, blood transfusion and 7 days in hospital I'm 3 weeks post op and on the mend. Feel Great. I definitely need a support group.

Hello everyone! it’s been 3 years since my surgery and I am wondering if it’s safe to do a detox diet with only green vegetables and berries for 2 weeks? Or should I go back to the diet procedure after the surgery? Please advise 🙏