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@mswillis5 I have dabbled with the idea of seeing a therapist. Years ago I used to see a therapist for other things going on in my life and she helped me tremendously. I think it could be beneficial to have someone disconnected from my everyday that I can bounce things like that off of. @S@ssen@ch Thank you for sharing your experience! After reading your comment, I think I really need to practice eating without drinking so much. Since the band will no longer hold fluid, it sometimes feels like a moot point at times. However, it’s a habit I need to create again to better my chances of success if I’m able to get the revision. I appreciate everyone’s input!

On 11/16/20 I had gastric bypass. I had my thyroid removed, half 25 years ago, half 10 years ago. I also had a full hysterectomy 12 yrs ago. No hormone replacement. I feel like the world's slowest loser. Tomorrow starts month 3 and I'm only down 19 lbs. However, in May '17 I weighed 343, lots of up and down in between (back up to 291 May of 20) but was down to 261 on surgery day, only 19 lbs so far since surgery, keeping calories at 800ish. I'm either freezing or sweating. 2 weeks ago after calling the endocrinologist cause I felt awful, my tsh was .09 so I was hyper, now he has me skipping one day a week of my .125 Synthroid. I am not losing like the reports I see, I'm exercising a little, treadmill & bike 10 min 2-3 times a day most days. I'm feeling frustrated because my results don't feel commensurate with my effort. I'm mortified at the thought of increasing calories. I am getting my protein. There are so many opinions and schools of thought regarding calories. I'm just never comfortable, ice cold or sweating when I shouldn't be. Seems weird. Thoughts?

I had a gastric bypass - also privately in the UK - in October 2020 and had a 10 day follow up with the Consultant in person early November. I also have a 3 month appointment booked for 1 February, again in person at the hospital - though I suppose there's a possibility that this might change to a phone appointment if things get bad with covid at the hospital. If that happens I'll get my Consultant to email my GP to organise blood tests at my GP's and then they can send the results to him. But I'd rather see him in person if possible, even though it's a 2 hour drive away. When I signed up to the bypass surgery I picked a "package" option which included 10 day, 3 month, 6 month, 12 month and 24 month appointment follow ups, so I'm expecting these to happen. Maybe check your paperwork and see what was included in the surgery price, and then contact your Consultant? I'd say that somebody whether your Consultant or your GP needs to be monitoring your progress and bloods?

My RNY bypass took over 3.5 hours because during my last caesarean layers had apparently been caught up in the stitching. My surgeon showed me photos and video afterwards which was gross! I'm glad he sorted it out but he did say it'd take a bit longer to heal and I've had more pain than I perhaps expected. It's feeling better now 3 months out. Hope you're feeling better soon.

I had bypass end of 2019. My first couple appointments (2 week and 6 week) were in person, but the rest have been phone or video. They did have my go in for blood tests at 6 months. My 1 year is coming up and it will be video as well.

Hi to all. I haven't been on the forum to post for couple of days, as I had my surgery on Jan 12th. I am just curious if anyone else has ever had a 5 hour long gastric bypass. My poor Dr. worked on my lower intestines where I had so much scar tissue and he said if he hadn't fixed it that later on in life it would have given me lots of trouble. So, I'm actually very blessed that my Dr. went above and beyond for my health. However, I paid for it with the pain. Oh my goodness!!!!! I'm talking pain scale of 10 for awhile. It felt like my stomach was on fire. However, by the next morning I was much better. I only had to stay 2 nights and they were thinking 3 at first, so that of course more good news. I just wanted to share and say Hi and I'm glad to be back home.

I'm looking into getting a revision and no longer have insurance that will cover it. Has anyone gone through Dr.Elias Ortiz or Dr. Almanza in Tijuana for their revision? What was your experience?

That is weird I thought people get losing weight week after week. I get my surgery(bypass) on 01/19. What is this 3 week stall you’re talking about?

Same! I feel for you. I had my bypass on 12/17/2020. I weighed 250 after surgery due to IV fluids, was 230 on December 31st... haven’t dropped a pound since. I’m sticking with my plan, but I feel so disappointed and discouraged. I know the 20 pounds of fluid loss is good, but the scale hasn’t budged in 2 weeks.

These are a couple of my favorite before and afters 😊 Surgery was May 14, 2020 So I’m exactly 8 month out today! Gastric bypass Starting weight: 268 Current weight: 148 So that’s a total of 120 pounds gone! ❤️ I feel better than I’ve ever felt with have more self confidence and self worth! No regrets! Congratulations on your surgery date!!! wishing you the best of luck!

I think the vitamins can be confusing, at least to me. I studied Holistic health and nutrition and I understand it but not when it comes to my own blood test results 🤣 I have taken whole foods based vitamins since my gastric bypass surgery April 29th 2019. My vitamin levels have done well. my previously very low vitamin D even before surgery actually normalized. my Iron levels are within the normal range I try to get it from the whole foods based vitamin and food even the gentle iron supplement that claim no constipation cause severe constipation and I have too much problems for that. what is extremely low is my Ferritin. I am not sure it correlates with iron deficiency or is as simple as iron supplements. I know my hormones must be whacked since I went into surgical menopause after having my last ovary removed due to endometriosis. as well as existing metabolic disorders. but my doctor and my surgeon just assume it is that simple to just take iron. but my levels stay the same. and of course say speak to the nutritionist. but I could not afford an appointment since its no longer covered I paid for a set amount of visits they wanted the same amount for one appointment that it cost for what I needed to have before my surgery and the post op visits. I have a endoscopy today. so Im a bit distracted. Sorry I cant answer your question. It just seems to vary so much between each person.

I'm a guy but hope this helps. This came up as one of those "memories" timeline photos - MAY 2019 vs MAY 2020 on the same day. Surgery is a helpful tool, but you have to put in work as well! (VSG not bypass - but same concept)

unfortunately you can eat around any of the surgeries. With sleeve and bypass, the restriction keeps you from eating a ton at any one sitting, but you can easily graze all day and put on weight. For example, before I had bypass, I could eat half a large pizza at one sitting. Now, almost six years out from bypass, I still can't eat more than one or two pieces - at one sitting. But I could have 1-2 pieces at 5:00 pm, another 1-2 pieces at 6:30 pm, and another 1-2 pieces at 8:00 pm. So...I could still eat half a pizza in one day. That's the kind of thing you have to watch. a lot of WLS patients work with therapists on these kinds of issues - so that might be something to consider if you find yourself slipping...

Hello, everyone! I'm new here, but have almost had gastric bypass a little over a year ago. I had pretty much finished the checklist my doc gave me: nutrition classes, sleep study, upper gi, 6 months weight tracking. All I had left was a blood panel, the h pylori test, and a psychological evaluation. I suffer from anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia, so the psychological doc put a temporary hold on the surgery. Unfortunately, COVID hit before I could get re-evaluated. Non essential and non emergency surgeries were put on hold for in my network. Sadly, because it been about a year now, my insurance and doc is making me go through the whole process all over again sans the sleep study. Luckily I was able to schedule my nutrition classes and upper gi for the next few weeks. If all goes well I should be approved a little before midyear. Wish me luck! Sent from my SM-G988U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hello, I'm getting the SIPS procedure as a revision from my gastric sleeve. It’s a fairly new procedure compared to other weight loss surgeries. Has anyone gotten this procedure, if so, Pls share your progress and experience 😊

Hello, I’m brand new to this forum so forgive me if I post in the wrong place or anything. I got Lapband back in 2013, and due to some recent issues with the band and less-than-stellar results in general, I am looking into having a revision to the sleeve. Long story short, my band no longer holds fluid, so it’s essentially just a foreign object sitting in my body and providing no real use. However, I have some concerns when it comes to potentially switching to the sleeve... In all brutal honesty, I was/am guilty of “eating through” the band. At times, I would drink too much liquid during meals thus negating the point of the band (disclaimer: this is not what caused the band to no longer hold fluid). Even though the band and sleeve are very different surgeries, I worry my bad habit will cause me to fail with the sleeve. Anyone gone through this and have advice?

I had an esophageal stricture, and yes, sometimes stuff went down and sometimes it didn't. It would be frustrating to eat solids one day and be unable to swallow soup the next. My stricture was due to GERD and so when I converted from sleeve to bypass I had a myotomy to cut the stricture because the EGD dilation didn't work all that well.

3 months after my bypass im having heart burn or a hot feeling in my throat and chest that feels like acid reflux. Im on tablets already for reflux. Just wondering if anyone is or has been experiencing this. It happens when I eat and even if I dont eat. Sent from my SM-N986B using BariatricPal mobile app

Have you progressed to 'normal foods' yet? Does your post op food plan provide guidelines for when going to normal foods? If so, are these fruits on it? Last question what surgery did you have? If you had a bypass the natural sugars may be too much for you at this time?? Regardless of which surgery I wonder if at this point (six weeks out) whether pineapple may be a bit too fibrous?

This week I am 4 and a half months out from gastric bypass and down 113 lbs! I am 20 lbs away from goal but more importantly, I've gone from a size 28/30 barely fitting to a 12/14 depending on jeans or shirts and slacks. The red outfit I have was in a photo from yesterday; the outfit has been in my closet through a move from one state to another and 5 years as a 'goal oufit' that I was always depressed to think to never even come close to wearing! I was jumping up and down when this size 14 outfit easily slipped on yesterday. I honestly teared up seeing it finally come unfolded and the tags come off. Well, we are in NY, it's COLD and by the time winter subsides, I will be out of this outfit for summer and down at least another size so I'm wearing it in the house now lol. I still remain amazed at how much easier it is to move, breathe and even curl up in a ball or take a bath. I can work now in a very physical job and feel tired but not excruciating pain; it's absolutely unreal to me and delightful.

SAMMC Bariatric Clinic: Weight-loss Surgery, Nutrition and Hair Loss (whmcbariatric.blogspot.com Weight-loss Surgery, Nutrition and Hair Loss by Jacqueline Jacques, ND Original content: http://www.obesityaction.org/magazine/ywm22/wlsandhairloss.php Typically, about 90 percent of hairs are anagen (in a growth phase) and 10 percent are telogen (in a dormant or resting phase) at any given time, meaning you are usually losing a lot less hair than you are growing so you don't have noticeable hair loss. But sometimes this can change. A common fear and complaint of bariatric surgery patients is post-operative hair loss. While for most of us as people, our hair is an important part of our self-image and body image, it is not very important to our bodies. For this reason, nutrition can have a great impact on hair health because when forced to make a choice, the body will shift nutritional stores to vital organs like your brain and heart and away from your hair. Hair loss has many causes. The most common type of hair loss after weight-loss surgery is a diffuse loss known medically as telogen effluvium, which can have both nutritional and non-nutritional causes. Growing and Losing Hair Whether you are aware of it or not, for most of your life you are always in the process of both growing and losing hair. Human hair follicles have two states; anagen, a growth phase, and telogen, a dormant or resting phase. All hairs begin their life in the anagen phase, grow for some period of time, and then shift into the telogen phase which lasts for about 100 to 120 days. Following this, the hair will fall out. Specific types of stress can result in a shift of a much greater percentage of hairs into the telogen phase. The stressors known to result in this shift, or telogen effluvium, include: High fever Severe infection Major surgery Acute physical trauma Chronic debilitating illness (such as cancer or end-stage liver disease) Hormonal disruption (such as pregnancy, childbirth or discontinuation of estrogen therapy) Acute weight-loss Crash dieting Anorexia Low protein intake Iron or zinc deficiency Heavy metal toxicity Some medications (such as beta-blockers, anticoagulants, retinoids and immunizations) Weight-loss Surgery and Hair Loss Nutritional issues aside, bariatric surgery patients already have two major risks of major surgery and rapid weight-loss. These alone are likely to account for much of the hair loss seen after surgery. In the absence of a nutritional issue, hair loss will continue until all hairs that have shifted into the telogen phase have fallen out. There is no way of switching them back to the anagen phase. Hair loss rarely lasts for more than six months in the absence of a dietary cause. Because hair follicles are not damaged in telogen effluvium, hair should then regrow. For this reason, most doctors can assure their weight-loss surgery patients that with time and patience, and keeping up good nutritional intake, their hair will grow back. Discrete nutritional deficiencies are known to cause and contribute to telogen effluvium. One would be more suspicious of a nutritional contribution to post-bariatric surgery hair loss if: Hair loss continued more than one year after surgery Hair loss started more than six months after surgery Patient has had difficulty eating and/or has not complied with supplementation Patient has demonstrated low values of ferritin, zinc or protein Patient has had more rapid than expected weight-loss Other symptoms of deficiency are present Nutrition Iron Iron is the single nutrient most highly correlated with hair loss. The correlation between non-anemic iron deficiency and hair loss was first described in the early 1960s, although little to no follow-up research was conducted until this decade. While new research is conflicted as to the significance of ferritin as a diagnostic tool in hair loss, it has still been found that a significant number of people with telogen effluvium respond to iron therapy. Optimal iron levels for hair health have not been established, although there is some good evidence that a ferritin level below 40ug/L is highly associated with hair loss in women.1 It is worth noting that this is well above the level that is considered to be anemia, so doctors would not be expected to see this as a deficiency. Zinc Zinc deficiency has been tied to hair loss in both animal studies and human cases. There is data linking zinc deficiency in humans to both telogen effluvium and immune-mediated hair loss. Zinc deficiency is a well-recognized problem after bileopancreatic diversion/duodenal switch, and there is some indication that it may occur with other procedures such as gastric bypass and adjustable gastric banding. In 1996, a group of researchers chose to study high dose zinc supplementation as a therapeutic agent for related hair loss2 in patients with vertical banded gastroplasty. The study administered 200 mg of zinc sulfate (45mg elemental zinc) three times daily to post-operative patients with hair loss. This was in addition to the multivitamin and iron supplements that patients were already taking. No labs for zinc or other nutrients were conducted. Researchers found that in patients taking the zinc, 100 percent had cessation of hair loss after six months. They then stopped the zinc. In five patients, hair loss resumed after zinc was stopped, and was arrested again with renewed supplementation. It is important to note that in telogen effluvium of non-nutritional origin, hair loss would be expected to stop normally within six months. Since the researchers conducted no laboratory studies, and there was no control group, the only patients of interest here are those who began to lose hair again after stopping zinc. Thus we cannot say that zinc would prevent hair loss after weight-loss surgery, and further study would definitely be needed to make this connection. A further note: The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for zinc is set at 40mg in adults. This study utilized a daily dose of more than three times that level. Not only can these levels cause gastrointestinal distress, but chronic toxicity (mostly associated with copper depletion) can start at levels of 60 mg/day. Information related to this study has made its way to many a support group and chat room – even to doctor's offices – with the message of "high dose zinc will prevent hair loss after weight-loss surgery." Patients should be advised that high dose zinc therapy is unproven and should only be done under supervision due to the associated risks of toxicity. A lab test to check for zinc deficiency would be best before giving a high dose such as this. Protein Low protein intake is associated with hair loss. Protein malnutrition has been reported with duodenal switch, and in gastric bypass to a much lesser degree. Little is known about incidence, as only around eight percent of surgeons track labs such as total protein, albumen or prealbumen. Limited studies suggest that patients with the most rapid or greatest amounts of weight-loss are at greatest risk.3 With surgical reduction of the stomach, hydrochloric acid,4 pepsinogen5 and normal churning are all significantly reduced or eliminated. Furthermore, pancreatic enzymes that would also aid in protein digestion are redirected to a lower part of the small intestine. It is thus likely that maldigestion, rather than malabsorption, is responsible for most cases. Some studies have also implicated low protein intake.6 Research also indicates that low levels of the amino acid l-lysine can contribute to hair loss and that repletion of lysine stores may both improve iron status and hair regrowth. In a study of anemic patients with hair loss who were supplemented with 1.5 to 2 grams of l-lysine in addition to their iron therapy, ferritin levels increased more substantially over iron therapy alone.1 Many individuals believe that supplementing with or topically applying the nutrient biotin will either help to prevent hair loss or will improve hair regrowth. To date, there is no science that would support either of these presumptions. While biotin deficiency can cause dermatitis, hair loss is only known to occur in experimentally induced states in animal models or in extreme cases of prolonged diets composed exclusively of egg whites.7 Other Other nutrients associated with hair health include vitamin A, inositol, folate, B-6 and essential fatty acids. Hair loss can also be caused by systemic diseases, including thyroid disease and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and is influenced by genetics. Conclusion Hair loss can be distressing to bariatric surgery patients and many will try nutrition themselves to see if they can prevent it. Unfortunately, there is little evidence that early hair loss is preventable because it is mostly likely caused by surgery and rapid weight-loss. Later hair loss, however, can be indicative of a nutritional problem, especially iron deficiency, and may be a clinically useful sign. Educating patients about the potential for hair loss and possible underlying causes can help them to make informed choices and avoid wasting money on gimmicks that may have little real value. About the Author: Jacqueline Jacques, ND, is a Naturopathic Doctor with more than a decade of expertise in medical nutrition. She is the Chief Science Officer for Catalina Lifesciences LLC, a company dedicated to providing the best of nutritional care to weight-loss surgery patients. Her greatest love is empowering patients to better their own health. Dr. Jacques is a member of the OAC National Board of Directors.

GERD after sleeve doesn't happen to everyone, or even to the majority, but there's a fairly significant minority who develop it after surgery - enough so that they usually recommend people go with RNY if they have GERD prior to surgery. Losing weight may help with that - but then again, it might not since it IS a known potential side effect. You could always try to lose the weight first and see if that does the trick - and if not, go for the revision (if that's what you want to do - you may be able to control it with meds, too...)

It's totally OK to feel nervous before a surgery. That's completely normal! I had a gastric bypass on 12/28 and I was feeling the exact same way. I was also concerned that I'd never be able to enjoy the foods I loved anymore. I'm only two weeks out from surgery and I feel confident that I will enjoy those foods again...but it's amazing how satisfied you'll be after smaller quantities! The docs and nurses at the hospital will take care of you. I was given a bunch of pain medication even before the surgery began, and they came in frequently afterward to ask if I felt sick or in pain. They put medication directly into my IV when I felt ill or was starting to feel sore. I didn't throw up once (though I did gag when they made me swallow a Tylenol pill...they gave me liquid after that). The incisions didn't hurt much either. I slept on my side that night. DO NOT HESITATE to let your nurse know if you start to feel ill or are nauseous! They are there to take care of your comfort. I had Tylenol mostly because my pain was mild, but they'll bring out the big guns if you feel your pain is high. I think they gave me some good stuff in the middle of the night when I had some breakthrough pain. Mostly, I was exhausted and just slept. I found the hardest part of staying in the hospital was trying to drink water when that's the last thing you feel like doing. They brought in four 8-oz bottles of water and said I needed to drink them before going home. At the time, it seemed impossible...but you can do it! They also brought me in small meals (pudding, broth, jello, apple juice) and made me sit up to eat when all I wanted to do is sleep and sleep.

Sounds like you feel like I do after I eat something I'm not suppose to. I'm type 2. My blood sugars have always been controlled until Jan 2020. One of the first signs I knew it had went out of wack was a yeast infection I couldn't shake and constant sleepiness. Checked my sugar over 500. Made a dr appointment was put on insulin. Thats when I started looking into gastric bypass.

Wow- you look fabulous and are an inspiration for me! I am the same height and same SW. Pre-surgery weight was 236. My bypass was on 11-4-20 and I'd be thrilled to have your results at 5.5 months out!! Congratulations and best of luck!👏