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I took 2 weeks off, which was just right, My weight loss has been steady - a big drop from the 2 week pre-op to surgery, bit of gain the week after surgery (normal with all the tissue swelling and IV fluids), and then 4 pounds a week ever since. I am really working at this, By day 7 post-op, I was walking 10,000 steps a day. I am still doing that, along with 10 flights of stairs a day. I am also working in time on my elliptical machine and starting some light weight work. I am up to eating about 500 cal/day, which feels right to me at this point. I have plenty of energy. I know stalls happen, but I am trying very hard to keep the scale heading down by trying to be super active and logging every bite. No cheating. It's not worth it! I would like to be pretty close to goal weight by 6 months out. That might be unrealistic, but right now I don't have an appetite and I sure want to take advantage of that while I have the opportunity, There are sublingual B-12 tablets that dissolve and absorb right under your tongue, bypassing the GI tract. That might be something you could try. You don't have to take them with meals. Please keep us informed about what your doctor says.

I’m in both camps and it will be situational. First, I kinda had to tell my coworkers because of so many reasons, most center around the fact that we work in such a fast-paced closed environment that it would flat out be impossible to explain change in eating and drinking habits. Also, I knew I would need their support and help for the self-care I would need moving forward. Im a chain-retail pharmacist and we typically work 10-14 hour shifts with zero breaks for either food or bathroom and are going 100mph the whole time we are there. They needed to know that for at least a few months I was gonna need to tone that back a bit. To have something like WLS and not tell them would be unfathomable because now I actually HAVE to try to eat and drink with some kind of regularity. In the past, we would all purposely dehydrate ourselves so we could get through a whole day without having to go to the bathroom. That had to change. Second, as a health care professional, it’s going to be difficult to flat out lie to my patients once they start asking questions. I mean, don’t I owe it to people to try to get on the path to better health by explaining the pros and cons of WLS? Now that’s not to say that every jerk that comes through deserves to know: only those who could benefit from the knowledge or who I’ve built a relationship with throughout the years. Besides, you never know when someone I’m helping could be either contemplating WLS or maybe just had WLS and if there is ANY chance I can help them with anything, it’s my professional duty to help. I’m also a cancer survivor and I make sure that every patient I come across that has been newly diagnosed knows I’ve “been there, done that” and that I’m available to answer any questions or concerns that they have. Surely I will need to carry that over to WLS and counsel people if I get the chance. Now I do have many casual friends that have zero business knowing my business and if any of those people start to say something to me, I’m gonna tell them that I’m doing IF. LOL, technically that’s what WLS surgery naturally does to you anyway so it’s not technically a lie.

Yes! I can relate to the stomach gurgling with what I think are hunger pains. It’s so weird feeling maybe-but-not-for-sure hunger, but my first meal of the day starts it going. Today at work all day I was looking forward to corn beef and cabbage when I got home and it reminded me just how much we as a society tie up holidays and food and celebrations and good feelings all into one package. Well I did get my corned beef (2 ounces measured) with some spicy mustard on the side and about 3-4 bites worth of cabbage and I made sure to pace myself and not eat quickly. I have to admit that it only took about 10-12 minutes to eat it so I made myself put my plate in the dishwasher to avoid getting seconds. I can relate to the whole going out and ordering dinner and making it an event. What is helping me push through those feelings of “missing out” is I’m calculating what we would’ve spent in all that eating out and saving the money towards new clothes and for a vacation. In addition to expensive eating habits, me and hubs loooooved our wine and spirits. It was nothing for us to spend $100/week at the liquor store alone and now we aren’t. So far I’ve got $300 in an account to buy some clothes with and we’ve saved $250 toward a vacation at the end of the year. Thinking about how much fun it will be to save that money truly does take the sting out of feeling deprived.

Congrats on all your hard work and weight loss. I'm a sleeve. I can consume more food years out. Some things to try years out from surgery. Pouch reset. Its going back to liquids and progressing back out to real food. For some, it works. For others, liquids cause more hunger and sabotage getting back into healthy habits. The sensation of restriction can be short lived. logging food and staying within your weight loss calories and macros. (Just because you can consume more food years out, does not mean that you must) Join a weight loss challenge to stay on track and support. https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/423360-❤march-2019-challenge❤/ Dealing with hunger: Eat as much vegetables as you like with your protein until full. The bulk and fiber are low calorie and will help with hunger Keep heathy sweet and salty items on hand Clear your house of temptation. (Carbs and sugar can make you to crave them more) Real whole food will keep you more satisfied. Shakes/bars are good when you are busy or emergency food, Liquids and bars go right through my stomach and never keep me full.

Both my mother and grandmother had gastric bands, my.nan is now underweight after losing over 10 stone. Unfortunately my mom got pneumonia after the op and had to have it removed , she's still easily 150lbs overweight. All the men in my family are 6 foot+ beanpoles. My husband is an ex professional athlete and fortunately, it looks like my boy is carrying the care free male torch! My husband doesn't really want me to go through with my sleeve op, but he's still supportive because he sees how unhappy i am

look for "March 2019 sleepers" original poster's phone messed up the title but it has a lot of people on it already and I think there maybe a Generic March 2019 one also. Trusting everything will go well for you!

March 12th here...

My surgery was 2/26/19 and I’m just always feeling crummy. My incisions have for the most part healed well. But I have a constant ache in my stomach. Sipping fluids hurts eating well chewed foods hurt(sometimes doesn’t stay down) both times it was a meat product. Dr said to move back to purée which i did but the pain is still a constant thing. Anyone else have this happen and how long until I feel normal again? Sometimes i regret this due to this pain.

It's very early still. I was in tremendous pain for over a week and use my pain meds for about 10 days. They sent me home with oxycodone and hydrocodone and it helped a lot. I hope you feel better soon!

So this would be my one year (oct 2018, 80 lbs down since surgery, just over 85 total. Weighing 140.3 yesterday)with gastric bypass done 17 months later -March 4 2019, so I'm coming up 2 weeks post op tomorrow

I know the feeling - some food just looks and smells so darn good! I had to fix a full on Mexican meal for a party at our house - just a couple of weeks post op!I Boy did that smell good, but I prepared myself with a couple of life slogans I have adopted, and didn't cheat. Cheating can start a cascade. One little bite can lead to another or another compromise, which could get you in trouble down the road. I adopted a slogan before surgery: "I AM NEVER GOING BACK!" And I mean it. My pre-op life was horrible and was slipping away before my eyes with all the ailments of aging obesity. I AM NEVER GOING BACK to that! Sooooooo, the next slogan is "IT IS JUST NOT WORTH IT!" Say that with every temptation. It's just not worth a minute of taste pleasure for the potential for setting you up for failure. Every journey begins with a step. Out weight loss journey is one step at a time. And our weight re-gain journey begins one cheat at a time, It's just not worth it … because I AM NEVER GOING BACK! You see how it works. It has to be a mental mindset. The other slogan to remember is "I'LL HAVE THAT SOON!" You'll get that chicken again and I'll get Mexican food again, but on OUR terms - not just because temptation presents itself. Just not now. One slip is just a slip. A slip up two days in a row is called relapse, We have to be honest with our addiction to food. Cheating is not our friend! It is a sneaky, alluring, seductive enemy to our success! I am rooting for you! This is hard! Set yourself up for success today and 10 years from now! Hang in there everyday! Use the slogans! Wishing the very best in your battle (and sometimes it feels like a war for the mind!) for a wonderful healthy life!!!!!

Thank you yes will definitely get an app to give that a go I eat the right stuff I have red meat once a week and the rest is white meat I usually top n change between chicken pork or fish but when I'm extremely stressed I feel this way I have also gained a massive limp on my back which I will get xrayed this week but definitely will get to a dietitian I've had to change about 4 times my dietitian as they were absolutely useless they couldn't answer my questions and would consistently try to push me out of my appt after 10 minutes and told me to look on Google for the answers to my questions but will try again 🙂

So I had gastric sleeve surgery on 11/3 of this year so almost at a week now. However, the pain hasn’t really been any better. The main source of the pain is the dent you’re left with after the surgery (on the right side). I haven’t really had any gas pain and I lost like 8-9kg(17-19 pounds). Without any nausea (only on the first day) or much of everything else the surgery is associated with. Everytime I move that place where the dent is hurts a lot, and I can barely even stand up straight for more then a few minutes without feeling like my insides are gonna pop out, and I have to hold my stomach (the area where the dent is) to stop it hurting faster. I’ve been moving around a few times a few minutes a day. Cause I can barely walk for 5 minutes straight. Sleeping hasn’t been any better also. I’m mostly a side and a stomach sleeper. Sleeping on the back is annoying, I can try to sleep on the left side, but I have to hold on my blanket to my stomach to stop it from hurting and the feeling of moving around. Can anyone help? Thanks

Hi there, welcome to the group!!!! It gets better. I had RNY 1/25/19. I felt the same way for the good part of my recovery. I healed a little slower than average as well. It does get better. I worked on my fluids, protein and eating a little more. I was not consuming nearly enough. Once I made those adjustments my body kicked it together. I began to feel better around three wks ago. I’m now down 50 lbs. Stay encouraged it does get better. I also upped my b12. As it helps with energy. Good luck on your journey. I had trouble eating and still do, at these times I don’t even want to eat. But I stick with it an sometimes even end up replacing my meal with a yogurt. Whatever healthy you can get in there.

Hi all! I have Gastric Sleeve Surgery on Monday 3/18/19. I’ve had anxiety a lot of my life, which my outward sign is nausea, which causes more anxiety, which causes more nausea... you get the picture, lol. I’ve been on my pre op liquid diet for 9 days, tomorrow being my 10th, & my last sleep before surgery... AHHHH! I’m super excited for the outcome, but terrified of the pain & nausea after surgery. The anesthesiologist plans to give me something to calm me before surgery & plans to double up on my nausea meds before I wake up after, but I am still worried about it. Any tips, tricks, success stories of no nausea, etc. that will help put my mind at ease? Thanks so much!!!!!

Oh my goodness I hope you’re doing better Gabybab. Please don’t try to push protein too much. I know so many of us get so concerned about protein, but fluids are the most important thing right now. The first 10 days or so after surgery, I had 16 ounces sugar-free sports drink along with my water and I really think that helped me get through those first few days way better than if I hadn’t had them.

*This is the first posting after my (2) Bariatric Surgeries 2/4 & 2/25. BARIATRIC RECAP: 2/4/19 Herniated Lap Band Removal; COMPLICATIONS; Surgeons find “Severe Scar Tissue” appears as hard white second lap band, surgery is stopped, sewn up and rushed to CT Scan to R/O Foreign Body. 2/5/19 start developing severe Rt Shoulder/Neck pain & Paresthetica Meralgia. Start PT, Medical Massage and Rx’s - Severe stomach & Incision pain. 2/25/19 - Surgery #2 Gastric Sleeve Conversion; MORE COMPLICATIONS. During Surgery Surgeons discover “my Liver was fused to my stomach and needed to be burned apart”, repaired a hole found in my diaphragm + performed laparoscopic gastric sleeve surgery (4 hr procedure). Post Surgery Day 2-14: Chronic Lt Shoulder Pain day 2-7, Dizziness, Chronic Diarrhea continues, Nausea each day Day 12-Present. Incisions are healing but overall feeling depressed and overwhelmed by all the nausea and pains. Entering Post-Operative Week 3: ANXIETY, CONSTANT FATIGUE & NAUSEA DAILY? Are these Normal symptoms? “THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO CAN SHED LIGHT ON TIMELINES FOR RECOVERY AND NAUSEA.” 🙏

It’s weird how the appetite works. Lately I find myself in a fasting state for 15+ hours daily and until I finally have the first “meal” of the day, I’m not hungry at all. Typically I’ll have a glass of fairlife milk around 10-11 am, and after that I’m hungry for the next few hours and eat a little bit of something about every 2-3 hrs until dinner time, which I’ve finished anywhere between 6-8 pm, depending on my work shift for the day. During that 6-7 hours of “hungry” time, I put done probably 90% of my daily calories, but it’s still far short of where I need to be because I just can’t hold all that much. I dunno, I want to get in protein, but I also don’t want to obsess over every bite that goes in. I think as long as we get in water first, then worry about protein, we will all do okay as long as we’re taking in our supplements. Today I had 8 ounces milk, 6 almonds, 1/2 scrambled egg , 1 ounce triple cream Brie, 2 ounces steak and 1 tablespoon avocado. Oh and over 80 ounces water. Lol, not even close to 60gms protein, but I as I post here exhausted from the work day and trying to settle in for bed, I really don’t plan on trying to get in any other kind of protein. I have to remember how craptastic I used to eat for days and weeks on end and I didn’t suffer too much (well, besides being almost 100 pounds overweight) from that. Not saying there shouldn’t be goals, but we are all just taking our first few baby steps on real food and it’s a process.

Good for you! I’m tired & sore but ok. My doctor only allows calorie free clear liquids and 2 ounces of protein shake three times a day For the first two weeks! It’s getting a little old but I’m down 10 pounds which I think is mostly water weight at this point.

I hope I can join your group. I had my RNY gastric bypass surgery on 1/29/19. I've had trouble eating. It feels like I just prefer drinking water. I feel so dehydrates and weak. I've lost 48lbs since surgery, but feel and look like the walking dead. I'm starting regular food and hope that will help me since I dislike soup and mushy foods. Does anyone have these problems of feeling dehydrated and weak? Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Post op almost a week... my surgery was March 11th. My range of calories for the day have been only 700-800 calories and today I’m at 630. I am getting all of my protein in but I am wondering am I eating enough? Being on the liquid diet before I was achieving about 930 calories a day with just the protein shakes plus 10-50 extra calories with sugar free jello and broth. Any advice?

I had my surgery 2/26/19 and I’m down 21 lbs so it seems that’s pretty typical. I notice my clothes are baggy and thighs are shedding fat fast. Definitely see it in my face well. Happy losing!

I just wanted to share my surgery experience as it seems very, very different than most I have seen and I don't want others to feel alone! My hospital experience was scary, but since then it has been great! So there is hope! The Scary Part On 2/25 I had my gastric bypass/RNY surgery. The plan was that I would stay one night and be discharged in the morning. I had the surgery, woke up feeling okay, and fairly quickly I got out of bed and took a short walk. I went back to rest and about four hours later told my mom I was feeling "weird." Within a few minutes, my eyes rolled back and I passed out in my hospital bed. I don't remember a lot after that, but here's what I've been told... The nurses came and got me stabilized. I woke back up and wanted to go to the restroom. They started to raise the head of the bed so I could get up.... and I passed out again immediately. Cue mad rush of people, changing rooms, going to ICU, blood tests, and eventually figuring out I had an internal bleed. My surgeon was called in around 2am for an emergency surgery to figure out what was going on. Turns out the bleed was not near my stomach or anything, but somehow they nicked a fat/muscle tissue area on the way in. I lost a lot of blood and they first gave me a bag during surgery. They continued to monitor me. Two days later my blood count was still very low. I received a blood transfusion of 2 more bags. It took another day, but finally my blood count was high enough that the doc said I could go home. I was home for about 2 hours.... and started to bleed profusely. On the way to the ER I soaked through five layers of kitchen towel and was seriously freaking out. I get there and not only am I bleeding, but I have a fever, so now they are concerned about an infection. After 5 hours in the ER, consulting with the surgeon on call, more IV fluids, and some Tylenol, my fever was down and I was told the bleeding was normal due to my internal bleed and to expect it for the next few days. The Good Part After returning home, I had very minor pain that I controlled with Tylenol for two days and then didn't require meds. I had very low energy, but I started walking immediately, 10 minutes at a time. 3 times a day for the first couple days, then 8 times a day. I drank lots of water, broth, and had about 70 grams of protein per day through shakes made with Canadian Protein (who I highly, highly recommend). I saw my doctor about 6 days later. My blood count was still on the low side, but acceptable, and everything else looked great! He approved me for pureed foods and soft scrambled eggs. I was told I didn't have a minimum number of calories, but to not go over around 700 ish. I could have 5-7 small meals, starting around 2-4 tablespoons. And to keep up the walking and he would see me in a month. I wasn't hungry, but I was excited so I almost right away had some refried beans. I ate about 3 tablespoons over the course of half an hour. About an hour later, I had a terrible side stitch that made me want to hunch over, but other than that I was okay. I ate a little bit of plain yogurt that evening and had the same side stitch. But the next morning I had a little yogurt... and was fine! Since then, I've had almost no hunger at all. I get my 2 protein shakes totally about 70 grams of protein, and I've been having 2 or 3 very small meals of yogurt, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, or a Laughing Cow cheese wedge. Honestly, I only eat that much because I know I should, not because I'm hungry. I have had ZERO vomiting, ZERO dumping syndrome, almost no nausea, no "foamies," and really no side effects. I'm a little tired still and shakey, like I'll get a little lightheaded if I stand up too quickly, but other than that I feel GREAT. I am 2 days shy of being 3 weeks out and I have lost 28 pounds already! I was prepared for lots of pain and vomiting and everything else, but have not had it at all. I've followed the rules very strictly, but I know a bit part of it is luck. So for anyone scared, be positive and know that not every experience is a horror story! There is hope!

I think everyone is different. Reading all these stories, I certainly have been having a radically different experience from others! I ended up in the hospital for four days because I had an internal bleed and lost a lot of blood. But I didn't take any narcotics on the last day in the hospital or at all when I got home. And only needed Tylenol for like two days. I have not had any nausea or vomiting, very minimal pain, no dumping syndrome, nothing. I also have no appetite so the diet has been fine. I had super low energy for about a week and a half, but as soon as I got home from the hospital my mom made me start walking. First three days home I walked 3 times 10 minutes, but then she made me do 8 times 10 minutes every day after. Only one or twice was I not able to make it. I'm feeling a bit shakey and still not 100% on my energy levels and I'm almost 3 weeks post now. But other than that I am super grateful as to how good my recovery has been. All my complications happened in the hospital and it's been smooth sailing since. So know that it's possible!! Sent from my Pixel 3 using BariatricPal mobile app