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I started wearing masks in public again a couple of weeks ago and I will be home from now until surgery date. Only grocery pickup, if I need to. I was contemplating getting another booster for my C-19 series but my doc said I should be good since it ran through my family a couple of months ago. My partner still has to go to work for a few days before my surgery, so that is a potential exposure. Glad my kids are out of school, though!

Thanks all for sharing! I tend to meal prep since it's just me and it's easier to cook once or twice a week than every day. That's really the only reason my days tend to be fairly similar. As many of you hinted at, I am really trying for that healthy relationship with food where I enjoy in moderation. Glad to see that seems to be working for so many!

That was excellent thank you lol. I guess I'm afraid that I will be one of those dumbasses too haha. That is my personality. I push myself and think I'm super woman, and I am not lol. That was helpful because this type of information is so hard to find on the net because the sites are written by doctors and they say how long the recovery is but it is too general. The way they word it, I picture myself having to lie down for 2 weeks straight, and I can't do that with a bunch of little cats depending on me to be fed. Thank you.

This is such a critical issue that my team literally put it at the very front of their bariatric pre-op binder. I'm attaching their guidelines for dealing with constipation. There are no copyright marks anywhere in their document, so I'm going to assume this falls under fair-use guidelines. Sorry for all the poop emoji's! I think it was their way of trying to lighten the mood on a serious subject that people feel strange discussing. One thing you'll see over and over in this is if you're having trouble, call your team. It may feel weird to talk to your nurse about this, but constipation is one of the most common questions they get. They are very used to talking about it. For what it's worth, my surgery was a few weeks before you and I still take one colace and one peri-colace daily. BM Guide.pdf

I have chronic constipation so I take Trulance everyday, then miralax twice a day plus senna tablets at nights 3 times a weeks or else nothing will move. It really is miserable.

Hey everyone! This is Ashley. I had surgery on October 6th and had to start my pre-op diet in the beginning of June of this year... My heaviest weight is 356 lb... The day of surgery I was at 313 lb... And as of today I am at 264 lb!!! I was so thinking excited when I hit the 90 lb mark of weight loss ! Can imagine what if you like once I lose 100 !!! My goal weight is about 180 lb. Some about 85 lb away from that goal I believe ... More than halfway there just from the pre-op diet and 2 of post-op!?! It took me a while to be more comfortable with trying new foods as I was terrified of throwing up or having dumping syndrome... I had the gastric sleeve and things have been going much better than expected! I'm able to eat very healthy but lots of different types of foods which is really exciting! I even ate a sliced apple the other day which some people can't tolerate the skin and I did create! The reason I'm reaching out to y'all is because I'm dealing with chronic constipation. The only time that I can really go to the bathroom without any pain is if I take milk of magnesia... I tried to avoid it but The 2 weeks ago after realizing I hadn't gone to the bathroom in 2 and 1/2 weeks but I had no stomach pain or anything so I totally lost track of it! I had a bowel movement " naturally" If you can even call it that took two days to get out last Sunday and Monday... It was an extremely painful experience and extremely hard to the point where put it this way. I had to plunge the toilet a couple times just to be able to get it down.... Details are gross I know but this is what this page is all about getting help for our gross details! I just now took more milk of magnesia because I haven't gone since that severely constipated situation... I have been very good about eating very healthy and drinking a lot of water and getting my protein intake. I have however unfortunately not been great at taking vitamins and keeping up with them. I ordered some more vitamins today and decided to get back on track. Even before surgery I was deficient of vitamin d very severely as well as low on iron to the point of anemia. So I'm wondering if my nausea that I've been having isn't just constipation but also vitamin deficiency and if maybe that's why I'm constipated as well... I also ordered benafiber tablets to see if that helps... Do you guys have any advice on how to go better? What do you do when it's been a few days and you haven't gone? In the past? If I don't go for three or four days pre-surgery I had to get stomach cramps and pains and things like that and that's not happening this time around. Advice is welcome. There is hope if we just stick together. I love you all so much. You are like a family to me! I look forward to your responses!! Sent from my Pixel 6 using BariatricPal mobile app

everyone experiences recovery differently so you'll only know when u know. i seem to be one of the unlucky ones who had a rough time of it. BUT it was self-imposed as i didn't listen to my doc about taking it easy. LISTEN TO UR DOC!! But truth be told even though it was rough, i could probably have done it all on my own...with effort and ALOT of self-pity. The most difficult recovery to work around was the arm lift because u use ur arms the most...reaching was def challenging. so like catwoman said above, if you plan it out beforehand to keep everything you need low and easy access it can be done. for the tummy tuck standing up straight and getting up from a seated or laying position was kinda painful...but again nothing that would incapacitate you. i had no issues doing stuff due to the breast lift. unless you count me splitting my stitches open because i tried to go for a run. but that was easily avoidable...DONT RUN. in short, in my opinion it can be done. uncomfortably yes, but it can be done alone. BUT..if you could have someone either stay with you (or do regular drop ins) for at least a week, it would be so much easier on you...physically and mentally. which is good for recovery. i was a sobbing mess for a good month...i was glad i had my fam around to take care of me. but please don't let this scare you...most if not all if those i know who had PS had uneventful recoveries. i was just a dumbass who tried to do more than i should and paid for it. ...and despite it all i still have zero regrets.

Hello, how long did your stall ultimately last? My sleeve was done 11/21. 4 weeks post op on Monday. I’m down a total of 21 lbs but scale has not budged in 11 days. Any advice? How are you feeling? Have you returned to work ?

I remember feeling like I was pregnant too. Laughable when you are in your 60's. There are foods that I can not tolerate even now, 1 year out. Most fish and especially salmon seems too greasy or smelly now and it was my go to food before surgery. The smell of cooking broccoli or cauliflower makes me heave. Any meat fat would have been the first mouthful before surgery. Now the winter birds are enjoying these tasty treats. One thing that I cry over is I have lost my tolerance for spicy food. I feel like a child again, starting back at the beginning with mild spicing. Even mild tinned chilli seemed too hot this week.

Haven’t done plastic surgery. Don’t think the recovery & scaring is worth it for the little lose skin I have. If they took it from all over my body they’d probably only remove 1or 2 kilograms. But beauty treatments, I’m like @ms.sss. My name is Arabesque & I’m vain. It’s something that only started in the last two years. Was never this bad before surgery. It’s my new addiction. Had Dysport (Botox) in my forehead, between the brows, chin & upper lip (lip curl) several times. I love it. The lip curl is amusing as for the first couple of days after it starts working, I sort of lisp & feel like a can’t pronounce some words & cleaning my teeth is a hoot - can’t spit out the toothpaste it sort of drools out. Several RF sessions in my second year. Don’t know if it did anything because I did it around the time my weight was stabilising & my body was resettling. Liked the experience though - soothing. Filler on the side of my face. Had sunken pockets of no fat in front of my ears. It lifted my marionette lines a little. Had one derma pen (deeper micro needling) treatment (subsequent sessions delayed for many reasons) but am having my first combined micro needling & RF (even deeper needling & RF which occurs below the surface of the skin) in January. Takes three moths to start to see any effects & you need about 6 treatments of derma pen but inky 4 with combined treatment. Think I see a little reduction in my acne scarring, which was the main purpose of having it. The combined treatment is supposed to aid skin laxity. We’ll see. Have monthly facials, pedicures (like doing my own finger nails) & have had micro blading (best thing ever). Having first teeth whitening this afternoon. Don’t know what I’ll try next.

I forgot most of you would be in winter at the moment. We don’t get snow here at all. I had shoulder surgery on the 1st dec. I was told 2 weeks in the sling. I wasn’t really prepared mentally for the after. my gym membership includes pool and spa. And my shoulder rehab is heated pool. As we have a family membership I am pushed by the teenagers to go nearly every day.

We recently moved to a new apartment. Guess who was up on the ladder all day installing curtain rails, hanging curtains, photos etc. I can't remember the last time I was on something that is more than 20 cm above the ground 😂. I can't use my weight as an excuse to tell my wife that I can't climb on the ladder and hang stuff anymore. Skipping meals and hard labor during the past week seems to have paid off. I lost 4 kgs and now down to 89 Kg (from 150 kg before WLS)

The exercise routine is not going great, because there is so much snow, and it's hard to walk outside when the snow is up to your knees. Normally, I would exercise by shovelling snow, but like you my shoulder is hurting so I can't. I was supposed to have shoulder surgery on Monday, but I had to cancel due to unexpected cost. I did buy a 6 month card at the gym this week and was planning to go to a zumba class this morning, but my car got stuck in the snow and I couldn't go, since the weather was too bad for me to walk to the gym. Hopefully the weather and the roads will be better tomorrow and next week, and the sidewalks shovelled, so I can take a walk and also go to the gym.

Oh ok I’m 1 week post op and was just looking for people to talk to

I had stricture. It’s not fun. I was on liquids for 4 weeks. Couldn’t tolerate water at all. Even now my water has to be flavoured. I was on hydralite icy poles to help. It was a hit and Miss to what I tried. The dr gave me domperidone( anti nausea medication) I took it twice a day. then tried soft foods but it had to be sloppy. 3 1/2months down the track and I’m still on soft or sloppy foods. A lot of fruit shakes and protein shakes. I had to go back in to have my oesophagus ballooned. This stopped my “foaming” but I was also limited to no more then 200mls per sitting.

Hello all, how is everyone’s exercise regime going? I have managed to walk an hour or more a day for 4 days this week. Spent an hour in the pool doing laps and half hour in the spa. im unable to do anything else as the shoulder is still giving me grief. But I have returned to working as it’s one of the busy times of the year for me and orders are piling up.

I don't really have a typical day, either, although I'm still tracking at 7.5 years out. I've been eating in the 1600-1800 calorie range for quite awhile (I do exercise most days of the week), but I'm trying to lose a few lbs now so I'm trying to keep it at or under 1600.

This seems to be about 6 weeks of pureed, which is what my plan was 19 years ago. I would advocate being careful this early out. I didn't pay close enough attention and created some issues for myself which was embarrassing and stressful. As a result it took some time to get the self induced stress under control. It seems to me that the possible pureed-like foods available seems very much dependent on the type of restaurant(s) being entertained. It seems you should be able to manage something akin to mashed stuff. Ground meats would likely be available in a variety of cuisines. If worse comes to worse one could always feign a minor stomach ailment then have something earlier or later that fits into your program. Good luck, Tek

I'm joining some friends and family for an evening out of town next week. I'm on the pureed diet until January 9th and we're planning on getting dinner out at a restaurant. Does anyone have any suggestions on dining out at the pureed stage? Worst case scenario I can just bring a shake with me...

It's strange to see the difference in protocols between surgeons! Mine only requires a high protein, low carb liver shrinking diet for 2 weeks before the procedure and clear liquids for 1 day before. Fascinating some places require 2 weeks of liquids.

Hey guys! I'm three weeks post- op from Gastric Sleeve. Just curious as to if anyone else has had something called water nausea? I have not been able to drink water in any form (iced, room temperature, hot, flavored, etc...) without it coming back up the second it hits by stomach. The only fluids I have been able to keep down are Gatorade zero or tea with no calorie sweetener. Recently, Gatorade zero has also become like water to the extent where it makes me sick or very nauseous. Also, I'm in the soft foods and I was told I should be eating at least a quarter of a cup of soft foods, but I can't get through one bite that's smaller than my pinky nail without having an intense pain in the center of my upper stomach below the sternum. The pain has convinced me that eating in general just isn't worth it and I have the same issue when it comes to protein shakes. Has anybody experienced this and have any helpful advice? I've had to get fluids for the two weeks and my doctor says it's all normal, but it's causing me to spiral into a pit of depression because everyone I've talked to has said they never experienced anything like this and therefore can't give me advice.

Actually I think it is gas pain, just not the kind you may be thinking of. It's not gas in your intestines, it's from the gas (most likely carbon dioxide, a.k.a. CO2), that they pump into your abdominal space during surgery. This puts pressure on everything inside that space, and can irritate things like the peritoneum (the lining over the abdominal organs). That said, I think for most people, the worst pain is the pain they feel in the lower chest, or even up into the shoulder. This is again caused by the surgery gas putting pressure put on the diaphragm, which irritates the phrenic nerve. Eventually this gas will be reabsorbed back into your tissues, then into your bloodstream, and will eventually be processed out by your lungs. In short, you'll actually breathe it out. For most people this can take up to a week or so, but it should be getting better every day. In the interim, 2 things seem to help most people: Walking. This helps move things around, especially the CO2 that may have settled under your diaphragm, but keep in mind that when you walk, you are also turning over more oxygen & CO2, which speeds up the process of removing the CO2 from your blood. Most recommendations are you walk at least 15-20 minutes every 2 hours, but more is better. Hot pads. This can help as well, and it works for many of the same reasons walking does. You are dilating blood vessels which helps your body process the extra CO2 and pull in more oxygen. You may also be feeling some incisional pain, but for most people this is more minor in nature. I will close by mentioning that if it's NOT getting better every day, contact your team ASAP. There is a possibility something else is going on with you and they will be in the best position to advise you. Best of luck.

I will be getting a call from the nutritionist at Pompeii 2 weeks before surgery. I imagine that they will put me on a liquid diet for 1 week and clear liquids for the last week.

My program requires a two week pre-op liquid diet Sent from my LM-K920 using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m currently 22 weeks pregnant. Have only gained 11lbs so far in pregnancy. My baby bump is just a bump - not like my last pregnancy where I gained so much weight I was just a giant fat person. Eating the proper foods and nutrition is incredibly manageable. My low was 183, I’m keeping that as my marker on this site and will continue updating once I have this babe. I figure it’s not quite the same experience being pregnant, so my weight loss journey, in a sense, is on hold. Yesterday I had two people comment and say I don’t even look pregnant (shirt was hiding the bump) but that was a weight loss compliment. We’re going to Florida next week and I’ve had a hell of a time trying to find a bathing suit that fits my flat a$$ and big belly. I did though! The need for maternity clothes has been a challenge as I’m Constantly confused by my size due to the weight loss. I can pull my size 10 jeans up and they’re loose, but they don’t button - that’s a win in my book! Hope you all are doing great! Cheers to the new year!! Happy Holidays!! ❤️