Search the Community

Honestly I am enjoying like a last 2 weeks of meals lol… not all big things but just eating things I like.

I'm 3 weeks out and still have that. I talked to my Dr and he said that it was very normal to have a ton of energy 1 day and then none the next. He said it's because the body is healing.

Yes pureed for 4 to 6 weeks after the liquid, then soft foods for 4 to 6 more weeks, then I can eat regular food.

Yes, I hate all the fake, sweet stuff and I hardly have it anymore. I had broth in the beginning of the liquid diet, and tomato soup, mushroom soup and very thin oatmeal in the second week.

I’m 4 days out from gastric sleeve and hiatal hernia repair as of today. Woke up a little dehydrated this morning and not feeling great. Yesterday was the first day I missed my water goal. (yes I had other things that contribute to my water, but I’ve been pretty good about getting 64 oz plus those other liquids) I have had super low energy today - sleeping way more than normal. I’m working hard to get my water in but no matter how much I drink my mouth seems dry - and this stubborn headache won’t go away. Today has thrown me for quite a loop because I expected to feel better day 4 than I did day 2 and that is not the case. The day after surgery I was walking around the ward and feeling relatively good - considering the surgery. I was up and around and went for a short walk on day 2. Day 3 I didn’t do as much but I did get time in on the recumbent bike - energy level was low, so I thought I could take it easier on the bike and still hit my movement goal. I have been getting my water in ok today - despite the nausea when I got up earlier, had a frozen juice popsicle and that went down ok. Had some protein soup (broth only with protein powder) - powder was not the best with that broth, but I got it down. I’m struggling with the shakes today (which I usually have no issues with - but today they aren’t appealing). I struggle with artificial sweeteners - they upset my stomach and can trigger headaches, so I’m limited in some of the options I have during my liquid phase. The yogurts suggested are of course the ones with artificial sweetener which makes them not ideal on a day I’m already not feeling well. Which eliminates yogurt based smoothies that are suggested in place of a store bought shake. Can anyone tell me if you experienced anything like this your first week? I’m still on full liquids, transition to purées Wednesday. Maybe it’s the low calories kicking my butt energy wise? I’m struggling to even hit 800 calories, my goals are 800-1200 … I’m getting about 770-780 most days. I don’t think it’s a Keto flue because I’m allowed fruit juice and I use that for popsicles. I haven’t had caffeine in months so I don’t think it’s withdraw from that either. I’ll call my nutritionist Monday if I’m still not feeling well, but since it’s the weekend I thought I would ask if others experienced anything similar and how you got through. Any suggestions or advice appreciate. Thanks in advance.

Were you down to 160 at the time of your revision surgery? My surgeon was originally recommending conversion to bypass. He decided that bypass might have too many side effects since I have already lost a significant amount of weight. He opted to repair my hernia and place a mesh to see if that gets rid of the GERD. He said we still have bypass as a backup option. I’m almost 4 weeks post op and it’s been a tough recovery. I haven’t had any reflux or had to take meds since surgery. Hoping this works!

I'm going to call on Monday and see if I can get in to see my surgeon or the NP. The burning in my throat is constant now and I have zero desire to eat because everything either makes me really nauseous or triggers a BRUTAL reaction (pain, intense burning in my stomach, chest, and throat, nausea, shortness of breath, PAIN). I had my gallbladder out in 97 so I know it's not that. I'm going to try OTC Nexium (comes in 20mg but I'm going to buy extras and take 40mg) for about a week to see if it helps at all. The 40mg of Omeprazole isn't helping. I thought about taking it in the morning and at night, but I want to run that by my doctor first. If the Nexium doesn't help, and if taking one of them 2x a day doesn't help, I will absolutely do a revision to bypass. I'll figure it out with the pills, but I'm on day 3 of this and I can't do it. It's horrible. It's like everything and nothing triggers it. I don't know how people live like this.

My surgery is in 6 days. I'm going to be following Dr. Weiner's diet after surgery. Because of some other health issues, I have to avoid certain foods and his philosophy most closely matches how I need to be eating, so it was a good fit for me. I have questions for others who are also following his diet. I bought three of his books, including the recipe book, but I would love to find more recipes and/or tips on how to follow this plan successfully. Were you able to avoid fake sugars in the first stage after surgery? How did you manage your protein intake if you were trying to cut back on/avoid dairy? Also, are there other websites, support groups, forums, etc. where his diet is specifically discussed? I'm obviously discussing it here, but I want to expand my support network. That is all. 😊

I'm sorry you're dealing with GERD already! Been there, done that. It's a MISERABLE way to live. And I lived that way for several years. It gets to a point that the best prescription GERD meds can't touch it. Google foods to avoid when you have GERD, there's several: fatty foods, dairy, chocolate, tomatoes, citrus, alcohol, caffeine, carbonated beverages, mint, etc. You may try sleeping propped up or in a recliner, that's what I had to do. I'd say reach out to your surgeon and get prescription reflux meds and see what the surgeon says about how to treat it going forth. Are you okay with revising to bypass? GERD is common after lap band and sleeve since your tummy is operating under a high pressure system. And I know tons of sleeve/band patients have told their stories on here, just as I have. I told my story hoping to help prevent another person from choosing a high pressure weight loss procedure and make a better choice. The lap band permanently altered my esophagus, and I have dysmotility and nerve damage. It caused me to develop GERD along with bile reflux. If I stayed that course I was destined for Barrett's esophagus and possibly esophageal cancer. I hope this reaches at least one person considering the sleeve. I know GERD doesn't happen to everyone who gets a sleeve, but if GERD and revision and another 2 week pre-op diet doesn't sound like something you'd be keen to experience, please reconsider getting a sleeve. It's not the only weight loss surgery option out there. @SleeveDiva2022 I wish you the best and hope you feel better soon!

I did keto a while back and had the keto flu for about a week. The bariatric diet and keto are actually the same except bariatric diet wants your fats 50 or less per day and keto wants HEALTHY fats higher. I did the bariatric diet for 2 1/2 months and my body hated it. I would stall over and over. I decided to switch to keto again and I haven't had a stall in the month I've been doing it and have steadily lost. No keto flu this time, tho. But it's normal and goes away. I keep my calories between 1000-1150 per day (I work out and need the extras so my body doesn't think it's starving and hold on to everything). I keep my carbs between 25-35 per day. My protein stays around 75-85 per day. My fats are usually around 70-80. And I'm completely sugarfree or very low sugar (such as certain fruits or veggies). I work out for 45 minutes per day, and I generally take in around 75-90oz of fluids (depending on the type of workout I did that day).

Embrace those changes to your tastebuds that make everything taste sweet or overly salty. You can break a lot of any desire for sweet & salty in the future. Though as you are drinking soda you would be still feeding your sweet craving with artificial sweeteners. The changed tastebuds are also an opportunity to try different foods/flavours. If you can’t eat all of your meal, pop it in the fridge to have later in the day or tomorrow. I’d scramble two eggs & eat them over three days. A serve of rolled oats took two days. Cover with cling wrap & microwave the next day. Or freeze the leftovers. My freezer is full of leftovers I defrost & reheat. Handy for those days you don’t feel like cooking or have been busy. I sometimes think of it as takeaway food - take it out of the freezer & you have a healthy meal in a very short time. As time passes you will be able to eat more & more but you have to ensure you don’t exceed appropriate recommended serving sizes. Eyeballing or using body parts (palm size, fist size, length of a finger etc.) to judge portion sizes can be helpful especially when eating out, but it may be best to rely more on scales when home. It can be very easily to slip into overestimating, or misjudging the weight of denser foods. You’ll also learn to stop eating before it hurts. It may be little signs & reactions like a sneeze, a slight heaviness, runny nose, etc. Listen to your body. It can be very surprising what you learn about yourself & your body’s needs after surgery. Like I’ve realised if I eat breakfast too early I feel sluggish & generally feel blah. I believe the learning to listen to your body’s cues, being aware of your physical, emotional & mental reactions & understanding your thinking about & relationship with food & eating is one of the most important factor in your success. Oh & having drop in energy again at about this point isn’t that uncommon. I remember feeling so tired one afternoon, I thought I was going to fall off my treadmill (that’s when I briefly played with exercising 😉). Keep an electrolyte drink with you, especially if you know you’re going to have an active day. Don’t be afraid to stop & rest if you need. I often would stop for a quiet cup of tea if out & about or would just go home - can always finish those jobs tomorrow. Keep up your great progress.

That sounds like a sensible approach. My drs program allows me to count half of the liquid in protein drinks as water, but since I can't really get them down, it makes little difference. What kind of food are you eating during the puree stage? I'm supposed to start the puree stage next week, and not really sure what to do. I'm not meeting anyone at the clinic before the puree stage starts and the written program is a bit vague about this stage.

yep - definitely! I had my husband take pictures of me from all four sides every month on my surgery date until I hit maintenance. I couldn't always tell the difference from one month to the next, but when I compared one month's pictures with pictures taken three or four months earlier - yep---big difference! And now I have this wonderful photo documentation of my journey, too!

It's irritation of the phrenic nerve because of the carbon dioxide gas we pump in to expand the abdomen so as to visualise the stomach while operating. The gas gets trapped against the diaphragm and causes pain in the shoulder tip. Most cases resolve within a couple of days, but I suffered with it for 3 weeks. But it does get better as the gas is gradually absorbed, simple analgesia is best.

Maybe not a weird victory, but today I bought a coat in size 44 (same as UK 16 and US 12 or 14) for the first time in years. I asked to try 46 or 48, but the 46 was too big for me. So that was nice. I've also noticed that my eye bags, which have bothered me for years, are slightly better. And I had surgery less than two weeks ago and have only lost 15 pounds, so I'm excited about what the future will bring.

I was sleeved on the 16th with a hernia repair. I’m definitely not at my best right now, I’m tired and deep breaths still catch me like a short shot in the ribs sometimes. This first week is bound to be the hardest on us but it’s going to get better in soooo many ways. Try to focus on that when things are feeling bleak. I’m so sorry your team was not more on top of your medications and having you address what you could and couldn’t take or finding alternatives by working with your prescribing dr. Maybe reaching out to your prescribing dr now to ask what you can do to make sure that you stay on top of your meds could offer any help. Maybe even a temporary change of some meds that can be cut or crushed while you heal is possible? The low energy thing - I’m right there with you. So far I have been ok with my protein & water goals but not my calories - so I’m sure that is part of why I’m dragging. The discomfort doesn’t help either. I’m hoping if I can get through this week - the pulling at my sutures when I move certain ways will be less, the purées will mean more calories and having a little more energy. And I’m expecting each week will get a little better. Hang in there, you aren’t alone and we can do this. Updates on how you’re doing would be great when you are filling up to it.

So, I guess it's normal to find it hard to breathe deeply, and get a little winded while walking? I kind of feel like I felt right after getting covid, and I'm not even up to 15 minutes walking yet. I walk to work which is like five minutes, and in the mornings it's kind of hard for me. Never was before. On the plus side, I lost another kilo (a little more than two pounds), so I guess I'm not stalled. And today I went to buy a new jacket for fall, and asked to try on size 46, but I ended up buying size 44 (same as UK size 16 or US size 12). I haven't fit into size 44 for years, so that was nice.

Hey there! I had RNY with hernia repair on August 9th so I can totally feel how you are feeling right now. I felt really horrible my first week home and I'm feeling slightly better this 2nd week. I felt pretty good at the hospital, but that was because I had constant IV fluids & they automatically gave me a variety of pain meds to manage pain (I was in a lot of pain). When I went home 2 days later, WOW, it was a shock to my system. I was exhausted all the time, probably because of the lack of fluids. Getting fluids in is HARD at this stage. Forget about trying to "eat" any liquids. It was a rough first week. Plus, I was so swollen and retaining so much water. My advice is rest as much as you need to right now. Don't feel guilty about resting. You just had 2 major surgeries (remember the hernia repair counts!!). I'm one of those people who is extremely active, so just allowing myself to lay down and rest was a challenge. I did too much one day and it was bad. My partner said I was the worst patient ever because I wouldn't listen to him and just REST and take the pain meds. Also, don't feel guilty about taking the pain meds either. I know society has made out these meds to be the big, bad guy (and they can be) but think about what your body has gone through...someone had opened it up, cut it apart, pulled stuff out, and stitched things back together. It's going to hurt even though we can't see it. I took the pain meds every 6 hours for at least the first week home. I'm on week 2 now and I take them less, but I still need something to manage the pain. During the first week, I did get up and walk every couple of hours just to prevent blood clots. But, it wasn't like I was hiking or anything. Just circles inside my house and very slow, short walks outside with my partner. I am on 6 prescription meds (all pills) and they gave them to me at the hospital, but I was only allowed 2 at a time so it took all day to get those 6 into my body. I'm following the same schedule at home + all my new vitamins (it's a full time job!)

Congrats Kevin! You're steadily dropping the weight. I'm only a week and a half post-op but I'm looking forward to getting out of my 3XL shirts also!

I honestly really questioned it the first week. It wasn't for a couple of days of pureed foods till I started to notice the restriction. Now I almost get frustrated because I feel like I have so little and get full so quickly.

Hi everyone! Today I am 4 weeks post-op and thought I would give an update. I stopped weighing myself everyday because it was difficult watching a stalled scale. I only weigh on Fridays now. Since surgery (4 weeks go) I have lost 16.6 lbs. I feel very fortunate that I have not had any pain. I feel like I can definitely eat more than a few ounces at a time. I can eat almost up to a cup but I am trying to mindful and stop before that. I can see the weight loss in my face and my clothes are fitting better. I believe that I am down a total of 30 lbs since I started this process. Today, I graduate to soft foods! Finally, some variety! Hope everyone is doing well!

My hair was down to my butt and I got it cut a couple of weeks ago. It really does help with the shedding and hair thinning out. It will grow back, but at first it can be a little jarring. I had heard that with the sleeve, the tastes would start to come back to normal, but so far, nope. And now my brain is trained to not like/want certain foods, so now I'm just kinda ok with it lol I don't have soda everyday, mostly because I can't tolerate it that often. But it's nice to be able to order it at a restaurant or have a can every once in a while. I mostly drink flavored water, gatorade zero, sugar free tea with skinny syrup (I make my own raspberry tea that way), etc...

Five-week Post-Op update. W1 - 7/22: -12.6 lbs W2 - 7/29: -5.6 lbs W3 - 8/05: -2.6 lbs W4 - 8/12: -3.8 lbs W5 - 8/19: -4.4 lbs That's 29 lbs since surgery to go with the 28 lbs I lost prior to surgery. It's great to see the numbers go down because when I see myself in a picture or in the mirror, all I see is my (still) big belly. I was weighing myself daily for the first 4 weeks, and not seeing big results each morning was driving me crazy. So, I am only recording my weight on Fridays now. After the first week, it looks like I'm losing about 4 pounds a week now. I think that's good, right? NSVs: My face is definitely thinner. My pants fit much looser and I am now fitting into some clothes that I had outgrown. I had to dig out an old belt since the one I have been using no longer had enough holes. I'm about to fully transition from my 3XL shirts to 2XL. Right now, it's a mix in my dresser drawer. Physically, I feel great. I still get hungry, but I fill up fast. I have a bit of a problem knowing when I'm full and it's hard to get out of the habit of eating everything on my plate. If I eat too much, it's a bit uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt. I guess this concerns me a bit. I want to get better listening to my stomach. The diet plan completely sucks, and I try not to cheat. But it sucks, so what do they expect? I just got back from a family visit and had two 1,000 mile drives. For the trip, I made a low-fat chicken salad and had string cheese and Quest Protein chips for snacks.

**My hair has begun shedding...A LOT. I have PCOS so I thought I was already used to it, but it's to the point now that if I run my hands through my hair a few times, hair comes out. Not in clumps or anything, just a lot of shedding. I knew it was coming, so I'm not freaking out, but it still sucks. **2 nights ago I had some kind of episode where I had a snack about 45 minutes after I worked out at night and I had INCREDIBLE pain. Felt heavy, sharp pains, burning. Hurt to sit up, hurt to lay down, couldn't find a comfortable position. Took pepto twice before I finally got any relief after about an hour. I was left with burning in my throat. My husband said it sounds like reflux (I'm on a PPI for 6 months, but I've never had reflux or GERD or anything before). My snack was normal (1 tbsp hummus and 1/4 cup sliced cucumbers) but my workout was more intense than normal (had the treadmill at a 5.5 incline at a speed of 3.5). Now I have burning in my throat everyday and slight nausea depending on what I eat. **I'm always tired. I have spurts of energy here and there, but they don't last long and I go back to being tired again. Even a nap doesn't really help all that much. I mean, I guess it does a little, but mostly I'm less tired (but still tired). **My taste is still weird. I thought it would correct itself by now, but I guess not. Stuff I loved, I don't like or can't eat now. Sour/tart stuff still tastes really sweet. What little sweet tooth I had is completely gone (the thought of chocolate, for example, literally makes me grossed out). I have no craving for anything greasy, salty, or fried (those were my weaknesses). I never use salt anymore because the taste is overwhelming, even in small amounts (I used to salt EVERYTHING). I can barely tolerate pickles (which were a STAPLE in my diet because I was obsessed with them) because the taste is just way too overwhelming and strong, even in tiny amounts. **I can finally drink diet soda again, but where I used to drink a 2 liter a day, I can drink one MAYBE two 12 ounce cans per day (usually just 1) because it tastes a little different and it takes a while because I still have to be careful with the carbonation (stomach is ok if I go slooooow, otherwise I get into trouble if I drink it too fast). **I can tolerate a little bit larger amounts of food now, but I have to be careful still because if I overestimate how much I can eat, food goes to waste or I end up in trouble. For example, I can eat 2 scrambled eggs and 2 sausage patties now (used to only be able to eat 1 of each). But there's no way I can eat more than that. If I do, it HURTS. I can eat 3 oz of steak in 1 sitting now (with 1/2 cup of a side like green beans), whereas I used to only be able to eat 1 or 1 1/2 with 1/4 cup of a side. At first it freaked me out, but now I'm good with it because I knew we would be able to eat more eventually, and I'm careful with what I eat and how much (and how often). **It's actually gotten easier to eyeball my food and see how much I can have. I still weigh it if I'm not sure, but more often than not, I can guesstimate pretty accurately. **It's a lot easier to stick to my diet and not overeat or eat stuff I'm not supposed to. Now that my brain is trained (still a work in progress, but so so much better now) I don't think about stuff I can't have. I use MyFitnessPal and I have my meals all planned out for the week and use that to know what I can eat, how many calories and carbs and protein is in each meal (makes it soooo easy to stay on track and get everything I need each day).

I have been on Steroid threrapy for almost a year and my suregry is coming up really soon has anyone else had this situation they are wening me off by cutting dosage day by day in three day intrevals I guess I want to know will this interfere with me having surgery once my suregry date is here I will be on 5mgs any thoughts or wisdom is greatly apreciated.