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Thanks Alex! I'll be having open revision surgery soon, due to a major obstruction and some ulcers + sliding hiatal hernia repair and adding a feeding tube. So, thank you for sharing your photos of your open surgery... eases my mind knowing that someone I know has already gone through it — you are a warrior!

Try an app called "1 Second Everyday: Video Diary" — You can do photos too. It does exactly what you want. Sends you reminders. You'll find some samples on YouTube for inspiration — haven't found any that are weight loss related though. I am planning to do the same as well. Scheduled for revision on 9/9/19. Can't wait to see yours and share mine!

CAUTION, I AM A VERY RAW UNFILTERED WOMAN, I APOLOGISE IF I OFFEND. First off I would like to introduce myself, My name is Sami, I am a 30 year old happily married wife and mother if 6 kids with a grandbaby on the way. (Yes you read that that right, I am a 30 year old grandmother). Just to answer the question that lingers in most peoples heads when they first meet me I will just say this, we are a blended family, I'm 30 years old, my husband is 39, his kids+my kids=OUR KIDS [emoji3]. I had gastric bypass February 5th, 2017. I am 4ft11 in, my starting weight was 330lbs in 2015, my pre-op weight was 231lbs my current weight is about 120lbs depending in what doctor you talk to LOL!!! I just wanted to know though, AM I THE ONLY GAL EXTREMELY UPSET OVER THE SAGGING PUBIS SKIN! MY MUFF TOP TO IS NOW A MUFF FLAP AND I HATE IT!!! I NEVER EVEN DAWNED ON ME HOW MUCH WEIGHT I HAD DOWN THERE!!! WHAT THE ACTUAL FRICK!!! Sorry ladies but this is something I never hear anyone talk about but I'm convinced I am not the only one who thought it. Please, any tips besides skin surgery or learning to love myself because I am already doing both of those things. Sent from my moto g(7) power using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m 5 months and 17 days from my gastric bypass surgery and I had my 6 month appointment. I am down 82 lbs!!!! I am now under 200lbs! I started at a size 22/2xl or 3xl; I can fit into a size 16 pants and a large shirt now! the last time I was under 200lbs, I felt like I was starving myself and it made me miserable. The last time I lost this much weight was when I had an eating disorder. This surgery is One of the greatest things to happen to me! For folks feeling discouraged or worried, these things pass. My 8yr old son is roughly 70 lbs and I cannot believe I was carrying that around on my bones, joints, feet, etc.,! I’m so grateful that my body is forgiving me for all the food abuse. Here are some thing you may be asking (o just things I felt may be helpful/encouraging): Do I go out to eat? Yes. Sometimes I have just a few bites and take the rest home. My leftover meals can last me 3 days sometimes. I plan ahead too; it’s trickier to spontaneously go out for a meal. I also try not to waste money. I know what I can or can’t eat and how much. I now find myself eying a plate of food I made and putting some back because I KNOW I can’t eat that much. I eat at home more, which is saving $ *yay* Do I go to social events? Yes. I make sure I have water in my hand at all times and chew, anything that I do eat, thoroughly! Do I feel out of place when I’m out with people who are eating and I say “no, thank you”? Nope. My friends and family know I’m trying to lose weight for my health. They don’t know that I had this surgery. My father, who has type 1 diabetes, has actually started to lose weight too (I’m not going to burst his bubble by telling him I have a tool to help me!). I have never had someone get upset or make me feel guilty about not participating in food. I think if I did, I would be more inclined to DEcline even harder because, no one is going to mess up my progress, no one! Do I feel guilty when people don’t know I had surgery and gush about my weight loss? Yeah, I do. I don’t like my weight being a focus, it doesn’t define me. People ask me “what have you been doing?!” But, I’m honest about what I’m doing. Protein, vitamins, water, low carbs, no sugars. I think I feel guilty because I see others struggle with weight and I know their pain, and I have a tool that has helped me tremendously. I have told some people who are in a similar situation that I was in, they can decide what to do with the information, just like I did. Buffets? Yup. I don’t get my $ worth, but I’m not going to have my life choices change my social habits. I exert self control, which is incredibly empowering now that I actually HAVE self control! clothing? I actually never threw out my “skinny” clothes because I wanted them to fit again. I’m almost there and filling in the gap with leggings. My bras don’t fit and are mostly air (my boobs are just nonexistent lol!) so I do need to get some new ones. I wasn’t large chested to start, so I have my down moments about that loss do you miss the foods you can’t eat? No, not really. I thought I would, but if it gave me dumping syndrome, I don’t desire it. My favorite snack was from Target; caramel cashew trail mix! Oh man! I went to target and got them, and felt so sick After eating them. My fiancé called me to say he picked some up (trying to be sweet) and I genuinely said “ya know? That’s ok, it’s better if it’s not in the house”. I don’t want to have a moment of weakness and feel sick, which is empowering the best part is that I know I am the one doing this. No one but me is exercising, no one but me is making me eat healthier, no one but me is track my food intake, no one but me is making sure I’m taking my vitamins. It was such a great feeling to see my doctors so happy with my successes so far. My PCP was thrilled (he is the one who helped me start this journey after my previous PCPs wouldn’t even discuss weight loss surgery) and my bariatric doctor asked me to share what I’ve been doing so others can follow or be encouraged. Share your successes! What are some of the things you do with success that someone may be struggling with? What keeps you on track? Where did you struggle, and how did you handle it?

So, I am now 10 months post op RNY Gastric bypass. I have exactly one more pound until I am "normal" BMI! I am so excited! I saw my doctor recently when I was 125 lbs and he told me not to lose any more weight. After much discussion about how I really want to be a normal BMI and it was only 2 more pounds he agreed it was ok to do. I'm sure this last pound is going to be the hardest one to lose! According to my doctor I have lost 93% of my excess wt. I wonder if I can actually make it to the "ideal" wt they gave me, 117 lbs. My doctor said he doesn't expect me to go that low. Hmmmm....sounds like a challenge!

You might like the group Black Girls Get Sleeved Too on FB. I have a cousin in SoCal that's in that group. Of course it's open to bw who have had Gastric Bypass as well...i'm in it :).

I completely understand. I am today six weeks postop from Gastric Bypass and I burp ALL the time. No matter if I eat fast or slow.

Hi. My experience is with a totally different drug an antidepressant but yes it is possible to have malabsorption with extended release drugs. I had bypass on March 21. 2019, and was taken off all extended release medications I do hope what you're taking works out well for you Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hey guys! So I'm just starting medication for my ADHD and my doctor prescribed me Concerta. I've been reading a little bit about it and with it being an extended time release medication, I'm thinking maybe it wont work because of malabsorption issues after gastric bypass. I gave it the benefit of the doubt, though, and waited to try it for a few days before judging. But I don't feel like it's doing anything. I've taken Adderall before and immediately felt an improvement. Could this just be because it's in my head? Has anyone had any similar issues with these types of medications? What worked for you? Recommendations? I forgot to tell my psychiatrist about my surgery so when I realized this I called her office and left her a message but she never got back. (Im going to be 5 months post op in about 2 weeks)

Has anyone else had fluid build up in their remnant stomach? I am 3 months out from the gastric bypass and about a month after I started getting sharp pains in my upper left abdomen and they have not subsided. I ended up having to have my gallbladder removed two weeks ago in hopes that was the problem. But it wasn’t, had a CT scan and it showed fluid in the remnant stomach. Doc says they want to see if it goes away in its own, but it’s gotten so bad that I can hardly stand or sit. The only relief I have is laying flat on my back. And I recently started having the dry heaves about every hour or two. Please tell me it gets better.

Wow, that's awful and I am sorry you are going thru it. What option do you have if not the Bypass? You have endured a lot, I hope you are feeling better quickly. Hugs!

😕So during my sleeve surgery 6/27/2019 my doctor found a small tumor. It was cancerous and very active. It did not show up on any pre op work, he was literally in the right place at the right time. These past few weeks on top of healing from surgery I have been seeing an oncologist. My doctors worked together with me and decided that going to a gastric bypass and bypassing the part of my pouch that is cancerous is safer than putting me on powerful cancer targeting medicine that I would have to take for the next 3 years, Gleevec. The oncologist told me that my case was about 1 in 1000. Normally people come to him with a huge tumor that is beginning to spread cancer and at that point they have a gastrectomy. My surgeon has also never experienced this where a tumor did not show up on preop but he is against messing with the sleeve at all and would just rather cut all that part out if that makes sense. He said he has seen where making the sleeve smaller leads to more complications vs doing a sleeve to bypass. I flat out asked him if I was being punked. I have not had any major complications from my sleeve, I did have to go to the ER almost at the 6 week mark for sharp pains (turns out I ate tuna too fast). They did a barium swallow and everything looked great with the sleeve no leaks or anything. I regretted my surgery in the first week and I am a little nervous about having surgery again but I’m also glad they found this. If I had chickened out before having the surgery or dropped out of my doctors program like I had done in the past, I would never have known about this tumor growing. I’m feeling a bit meh and blah about it all just thinking about the liquid diet I will have to do all over again 😂 but I’m also trying to remain positive. This site helps a lot so thank you all for your updates, the t.m.i. (Looking at you poop threads,we all need you) , the highs and lows etc. My surgery date is 9/5/2019.

I had my EGD on July 9th and still have not heard back from the surgeon, or the office. I do know the results of the EGD and he plans on fixing that, but I not sure if he means a Gastric Bypass or just to repair the fistula he found. How long should I wait to call into the office? Lynda

A new study was recently released on the hot topic of vitamin patches. Transdermal Multivitamin Patch Effective in Gastric Bypass Patients? Conclusion: Multivitamin patch users are more likely to have vitamin D deficiency and lower serum concentration of various vitamins and minerals. Future large studies are needed on the efficacy of multivitamin patches before they can be recommended to bariatric patient population. You can view the details on this study here. What are your thoughts on this topic? Should the BariatricPal Store stop carrying vitamin patches or should we inform consumers about the study and let them make their own educated decision? In the interim, we've updated each store listing to include this warning: Please Note: Nutritional patches are a new technology. As with any nutritional supplements, consumers should use nutrition patches according to their healthcare providers' recommendations and regularly monitor nutrient levels through lab work as they would when taking any dietary supplements. According to a recent study, large studies are needed on the efficacy of multivitamin patches before they can be recommended to the bariatric patient population.

With a sleeve, you generally don't need to worry much about B12 - some may be inherently low on their own pre-op, so they need to continue doing whatever it is they do (or start doing something to make up for always being low...) Pills usually work fine with the sleeve; the bypass is a different animal and usually needs B12 either as an injection or a sublingual tablet, as their stomach doesn't process it well. The real test is what your labs say over the years as that will guide you as to what you need. I had already been taking a B complex pill before surgery and continued it after and that always pegged my B12 well above the normal range; I don't take it anymore and my B12 remains in the high end of the normal range just from diet. YMMV (your mileage may vary)

Ok. Seems I misinterpreted how that was written and your revision process is different than what my Dr. is recommending for me. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

I clearly said "revision of the sleeve & SA-DS" so, yes, the surgeon "touched" the sleeve. Considering I suffered with chronic constipation for 60+ years, "the bathroom" as not returned to "normal," whatever that is. The diarrhea is not occasional, it's several times a week &, usually, I cannot pinpoint a trigger. It's something I deal with & wish I didn't have to. I have not had any vitamin deficiencies. I do take 2 multivitamins, 4 calcium citrate & 50 mg zinc a day as well as additional vitamin A & D every other day. And I am certainly not actively posting.

Thank you for responding! Have you had to deal with any vitamin deficiency during this time? Curious also at this point aside from the occasional diarrhea has the bathroom returned to normal? Any foods that you must stay away from? Also did the Dr. do the revision without touching the sleeve? That’s what my Dr. is talking about doing. Finally differences between your self care/ tips for post Revision life for SIPs versus our original sleeve surgery? Thank you again for responding- I’ve only found one other actively posting person on this board with a VSG to sips revision that did not have the sleeve touched. :)

Oooh woops I'm not a sleeve, I'm a mini- gastric bypass, my bad.

I have my revision in the morning. I been drink the treatment and I only have 2/3 down. Havent pooped much or even had urge. The juice is making me gag and fight the urge to vomit. Feels like constipation. What should I do? Only have about an hour before I stop drinking anything. Sent from my LGMP260 using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m right there with ya. I’m 3.5 years out from my sleeve and have my revision to RNY scheduled for 10/4, due to reflux and regain (HW 246, LW 186, CW 233). I’m nervous and excited too. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Hello fellow August 19th-ers! I had my Gastric Bypass RNY that day, too - wheeled me in around 2:30pm (latest surgery time I've ever had, ha ha). I kept waiting to comment in here, nerves, maybe? But I've been keeping up as best as I can, sending you all my best wishes and shared crossed fingers and such. I love the "need a new word for piece of cake" humor haha. I should have chipped in here sooner (wait, another food term? LOL) - but better now than never. Day 2 (yesterday/Tuesday) was awful for me only bc of caffeine withdrawal, I was such a fool putting that off - it was the only part of this entire process I hadn't micromanaged into oblivion, like a child I just kept saying "will deal with it later" until dealing with it meant incapacitated with a severe headache that meds couldn't touch, yikes. Totally my bad. Other than that I feel like I'm healing fine, as far as I can tell "feeling" wise - headache easing off today (thank heavens), I can only get my sips of water in so far, and I am working that hard, no way will I let the deyhydration monster get me lol. But, the protein shake sips leave me feeling "too full" funnily enough. Will keep trying. Still feeling pretty groggy and foggy so I hope I don't re-post this or re-introduce myself later, forgetting I already posted ha ha. Sending my best wishes to my surgery soul siblings! ☺️

I had the sleeve done back in 2016, but due to pregnancy, I gained half of the weight back. I did a revision in July 3. I have felt like my stomach is still large and the only thing I’ve encountered is food getting lodged in my throat now. I haven’t lost that much weight... like 21 pounds since surgery revision. I’m craving all types of food and feel like this time around, it’s not working

feeling a little antsy. a coworker's friend had a tummy tuck 11 days ago (also a bypass patient) and she was in the hospital for THREE DAYS because she was unable to stand up from the muscles feeling so tight. she is still on heavy pain meds. on the other hand, a friend of mine from law school had it done over spring break and was back perky and chipper at school 7 days later. i am more nervous about the brachioplasty pain. just goes to show how everyone heals so differently. mine's scheduled outpatient.

@FluffyChix Glad to hear you don’t take things personally. Simply the difference between sleeve and bypass extra stomach space. We are all different. All I said was your zone is not the norm - Not many people years out in that range,