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wow, 51 lbs. in 3 weeks? that's awesome!

I hate not being able to poop I'm 3 1/2 weeks post op and poop every other day and not much then. Doctor says its normal if it goes on longer then 3 days he would recommend a laxitve. Surgery Anniversary 7/30/12

I'm only 3 weeks post op so I'm not allowed to have fruit yet

My diet is and soon to be was for 2 weeks. Tomorrow and Monday, 4 shakes a day (two with water, two with milk) and then my surgery is on Tuesday! I’m excited. I’m also glad to have already met my nurses and and the gentleman that will be doing my iv! All are excellent.

I’ve had my lap band removed and I will be have a gastric bypass on Sept 10th. I’ve been doing the Optifast shakes and have stuck to the routine and it’s been hard, but I can ha doe the next three days easy.

HI KohakuSeuda, There’s actually a warning statement on the bottom of my pre-op diet sheet that says dizziness is common during the diet . Because the shakes are so low in sugar, it’s just enough to keep us above hypoglycemia. I’m on Day 2 of full liquids. Last week I had a meal and 2 shakes. Now, 5 shakes plus water like you. I will say from my memory when I had my lap band, day 3 is the worst. For many it gets a little better. Since sugar free jello is considered a clear 0 cal liquid, I’ve added those as well, just to feel the little bit of weight in my tummy. It seems to help with the hunger. Best of luck!

I had a .7 fill on Feb 18th for a total of 5.1. I struggled for 10 days barely being able to eat and going down hill the whole time. By the time I called the nurse I was down to 200 calories a day, I could barely even drink shakes from trying to force it. My nurse met me at the hospital on Sunday morning and took out .3, then she told me to stand up so I could try and drink some water, when I stood up I felt the protein shake that I had forced down 2 hours earlier (that took 2 hours to drink) drain out of my pouch. I cant tell you the relief. Today is the first day since 02/18 that I have been able to eat solid food and boy was it good! I was happy with my small meal and still felt full for 3 hours after I ate it. I still have my restriction. During that 12 days I lost 6 pounds, however, I had been losing 2 pounds a week anyway. So I couldn't eat for 12 days and I only lost 2 extra pounds, NOT worth it. If you are too tight, you could be risking your band by staying that way for very little advantage. Will your doctor give you a small unfill like mine did?

Ugh...I was told yesterday, absolutely, positively the nurse would be calling me back to give me a date on my surgery. By 4 pm I was nervous, so I called them. The nurse for the 3rd day in a row "forgot" to put my file in front of the dr. to get final ok. Now I have to wait for her to remember to do it tommorw and get a call next week. I know good things come to those who wait, but I do not do well with incompetence. She giggled and didn't even apologize, like it is funny.....grrrrrr..... :eek: :help:

So I'm curious after you get sick, how long before you feel ok again? I'm 1 week out - last night I had pudding for the 1st time, I'm thinking I ate too much because the nausea and diarrhea was horrible. It was sugarfree, and I ate it with a baby spoon, over about 30 minutes. I still feel sick, 18 hours later. Is there a typical reset time? I need to eat and have a shake, but feel so sick I don't want to. I have taken zofran for nausea last night and this morning.

Having surgery on September 19 and will drink shakes for one week

They gain it all back by taking back the old toxic boyfriend....they begin with a little of this and a little of that then they find what "slides" well and they are off to Wendys for a large frosty and the cycle begins. Yesterday I was talking to a store clerk who says her friend had RNY and goes to Olive Garden eats more than she does and then gets to the parking lot and throws up. If there is a road there is a way to go back to old habits. I am always aware of this four weeks out I always question what is so good about X food anyway...and there is never a god answer. I don't care to be controlled by the fast food chains anymore or the frozen food section of the supermarket.

Hi Guys, I am about 7 weeks out from gastric bypass surgery and I have some questions regarding how much I should be able to eat. I have been cleared to eat normal food since week 4 and since then I have been sticking to three meals a day of high protein homemade meals like chili, tilapia baked in salsa, an egg baked in lentil stew, or chicken cooked in crushed tomatoes. I had my surgery in Mexico so my aftercare from my surgeon has been essentially nonexistent even when I called early on with some issues I was having. Additionally, my health insurance here will not cover any weight loss attempts whether it's surgical or non-surgical so I can't afford to see a bariatric surgeon or nutritionist so I am relying on you guy's experience to guide me in terms of what a normal volume of food is at 7 weeks post-op I weight out all of my food and food prep so I know exactly what and how much I am eating at any one time. I am worried that at 7 weeks post-op I can eat anywhere from 4 oz to 6 oz of dense protein mixed with a sauce at a time. This is almost always at dinner time. So my usual breakfast is one container of Siggi's yogurt which is 5.3 ounces. That usually takes me an hour to finish. I feel no restriction when I eat the yoghurt but I feel no need to eat until lunch after having it. My lunches are usually chilli or chicken in some sort of tomato sauce. There I can consume between 2 oz to 5 oz of food. How much I can handle before I feel full varies day to day. Now the biggest issue comes at dinner. I can and have in the last week eaten up to 6 ounces of dense protein and sauce in one sitting within 30 mins. Now usually there will be 4 oz of dense protein 1 ounce of beans or other vegetables and then the remaining ounces will be sauce. Now I make sure to not drink water 30 mins before, during, or after my meals so I know the issue isn't that. And I am eating dense protein like ground beef, fish, or chicken so I should feel more restriction. I read posts from other people and they talk about how they can barely handle 1 ounce of meat at 7 weeks out. But it seems I have an iron stomach. I haven't eaten a thing so far that bothers my stomach or gives me any pain. So I am wondering if the issue is the fact that I am eating my protein with sauce? I have tried dry chicken and even with that I could eat 3 oz at only 4 weeks out with few problems. This seems like way too much food. I know stews like chili are considered sliders but the fact that I can consume 3 oz of dry chicken seems like way too much. Maybe I should limit the amount of sauce I use with my food. Mind you I make my sauces from scratch using canned tomatoes or so I am not using high carb premade sauces. What thoughts do you guys have? What has your experience been? Is my capacity way out of line? Am I pushing things too far? I am really starting to worry that my surgeon may have made my pouch super big and that will hinder my weight loss. To date I have lost 27 pounds since surgery and 42 since my 2 week pre-op diet. Sorry if this super long post it's been weighing on my mind.

Hi, Well I had my plication for 7 months. They removed it 7 weeks ago, But till this day I'm still loosing my hair I have huge bold spots that I can't hide no more only if I wear a hat, I started loosing it about 4 months after I had the plication done The Dr.told me it would stop. But it did not, and now that I don't have plication any more it still comes out like crazy. I’m taking Biotin, B12 Vitamins, and using Biotin Shampoo and conditioner but nothing seems to help. My Dr. told me to go to a Dermatologist so I can get Hormones shots on my scalp for hair growth. I think it was because of so much stress with plication complications .I will wait a little more on the Dermatologist maybe. Don’t know what to do

Maybe I'm just not used to things going smoothly, but here goes: so I had my nutrition class, psych eval and surgical consult all this afternoon. The nutrition class a little haphazard and not too well put together for what I was expecting. The psych eval consisted of an addiction's therapist (they said it's cheaper that way) asking a couple of questions on a sheet and running off. I actually had to keep asking HIM questions because it all felt so rushed. The surgical consult was a LITTLE better, but the doctor still zoomed through his speech. (It WAS very informative, however). Long story short, everyone thinks I'm an excellent candidate and should have no problems getting insurance approval and wanted to schedule for surgery on 12/23. Meaning I'd have to start my 2 week diet TOMORROW, according to them. I told them it felt a little rushed and needed some more time to wrap my head around the fact this may be actually happening and went with 1/10. I start my diet 12/27. While this is going totally according to my idealized plan (I wanted to be banded no later than Valentine's Day), I guess I just didn't think it'd be THAT fast. Did anyone else feel rushed once the ball got rolling or am I being whiny? I apologize in advance to all of you guys who have to wait 2-6 months for everything...

The way I explain what getting a lap band is like to people is by saying its exactly like going through a break up. I went through all the stages. I'm 3 weeks post now and I feel much, much better.

Hi Lexie, For my weight loss surgery I'm having the lap band. As far as Chiari goes, I've been unable to work or drive for three years, I'm in a wheelchair when I leave the house because I'm unable to stand up for more than a minute or two without fainting, and I have the classic Chiari headaches daily (along with a huuuuge list of other symptoms). I've sent my medical records to neurosurgeons across the country but I've been rejected by all of them because of my weight. The funny thing is, I don't have any other comorbidities like diabetes, high blood pressure, or any of that - other than the Chiari and being overweight, I'm healthy. I'm 375 lbs as of my 6 week pre-op appointment. Have lost a bit in the couple of weeks I've been on the pre-op diet though! I think what I'm worried about is going through the weight loss surgery while still having my Chiari malformation. I can't lie flat - the pressure builds in my head until I have an excruciating headache. I know I'll be out for the surgery but can I ask them to prop me up before they bring me out of anasthesia to reduce the pain before I wake up? Stuff like that. Just wondering if anyone else has had to bring this up with their surgeon... Thanks for your response! Katrina

I went through the same thing at that stage and continued to have episodes for the first 3-4 months. Just keep trying different foods. If you're like me, your tastes will continue to change. For me it was texture; I couldn't keep meat down until month 5. I still can't stand the texture of eggs since the surgery. Protein drinks made me sick as well; I tried nine different kinds. One week refried Beans were all I could handle, another it was ricotta cheese. 12 months later, I can't stand the taste of the only things I could eat at the time like cottage cheese. My doctor said it wasn't a blockage, etc, because I was able to drink Water with no problem. Check with your doctor to make sure. For some of us, it takes our bodies longer to heal and adjust. The important thing is keep trying new things and remember it WILL get better!

HI everyone! I start my pre op diet in 2 weeks, and I'm a little worried about what Protein shakes I should have. My Dr. says 2 Protein Shakes daily and a salad with light dressing and chicken. Can you all give me some examples or share some of your pre op diet meals. What shakes are tasty? Help! Thanks all Stephanie

I had surgery on the 2/4/13 I found heat pack on my back worked wonders I was in pain for like 2 weeks found it hard to move around but walking around helped with the pain I found I didn't sleep much in the first week not so much the pain but not being able to get comfortable . Hope you heal fast :-)

This is my second day after having surgery definitely more painful my stomach today then it was yesterday. I think the pain is mostly around where the port is, but I'm not quite sure. I've been taking the liquid vicodin but it doesn't seem to be helping too much. Can I put ice packs on my stomach where the pain is? I know they told me not to drink cold liquids so I didn't know if I could use ice on my stomach. I'm hoping the pain goes away by Monday cause thats when I go back to work. At least I work from home and I'm only on the phone with doctors all day so I'm not expecting it to be too bad. Figuring if anything I'll just be tired. I do feel a bit hungry, but the soup broth seems to help. I am looking forward to losing weight getting back to my wedding size. I know I can do it I lost 15 pounds in the week and a half of preop.

Absolutely normal. I am one month out and even though I burp after EVERYTHING I eat, I am sooooo happy. I had major anxiety, depression, and even a week after the surgery I was questioning what I had done. This website seriously gave me so much support and lots of answers along with my doctor. I know the burping will also go away within the next couple of months and I will always have this wonderful feeling of being satisfied from less than a quarter of what I used to eat. Not to mention I am almost down 30 pounds already! Don't worry, go with it. I think everyone has had some kine of post or pre-op depression.

So excited to begin this journey. I've been on pre-op diet for a week now & it's been a breeze! They said to take a Metamucil if I got hungry. That worked well the one time I needed it. I appreciate everyone's comments & suggestions.

My stomach is fully heal which only took three months. I tried it first just a little to see if it will hurt my stomach, but it didn't and I think it helped.

I was picking up laundry on the floor yesterday n felt like I pulled something on my right side n luckily today was my 2 week check up n he told me that I had a stitch in the muscle right there n that is what is causing the pain. Its not a constant pain its just occasional.

I just searched for "right side pain" and found this string. I'm having intermittent pain on the right side and am about 4 weeks post-op on Monday. I'm going to try massaging to see if that helps. When I asked the doctor she said that she anchored the new sleeve to my abdominal wall and this is the incision where they pulled the old stomach out. I, too, was getting worried that this was unique to me...glad I found that others have had similar situations and eventually it goes away. It makes it very difficult to exercise as that seems to make it worse. I'll just have patience and see if massage will work. Thank you.