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I had my gastric bypass a week ago and I’m super confused as to how I’m able to finish an entire 11oz shake and even 4oz of apple sauce or 8 oz of soup . I’m kind of freaking out. Is it because of the consistency?

I cannot get a straight answer anywhere as far as what vitamins should post gastric bypass patients should be on when pregnant? I have an appt with the doctor next week, but I want to buy the necessary vitamins now.

I was banded in October 2008. It was awesome for the first two years, then still good for a number of years after that. I went from 433 to 178 pounds. But the last few years have been quite difficult and depressing. GERD, vomiting, foam in my mouth, food getting stuck, and poor eating habits developed by thinking "what is my body able to tolerate now?" rather than "what is healthy to eat?". Gained nearly 100 pounds back of the 250 I lost. I'm done with this band. Ready to have it removed and revise to RNY as quickly as my doctor will let me, looks like 3 months. Doctor appointment to kick off the process is tomorrow. I think I may have to go through the usual pre-surgery hoops.

Hello all, I'm in a similar situation. Lap band in 2008 and I went from 433 to 178. I thought the band was a miracle! But in the last few years I have really struggled with GERD, throwing up, constant flem and white foam in my throat. Gross. And managing the pain from GERD has led me to various unfills and also bad eating habits gained from my fear of GERD pain (not "what is healthy for me to eat" but "what will my body not reject now?") have led to regaining almost 100 pounds out of the 250 I lost. So tomorrow I'm going to the Kaiser bariatric clinic to talk about having the band removed, and after the minimum 3 month waiting period, revised to RNY. Sleeve is out of the question due to GERD. It seems that everywhere on this board I see pre-revision people like me but not many post-revision people. I want to know how it has gone for those who have done the band to RNY revision!

Hello all, I had lap band in 2008 and lost ~250 pounds, from 433 to 178 pounds. I thought the band was a miracle. Then the band went from being my friend to my nemesis. Trying to manage severe GERD has led to almost 100 pound gain. Long story short, I have a doctor appointment tomorrow to see about getting the band out and convert to RNY. (Sleeve is out of the question due to GERD). I have Kaiser and they will only do it in two steps which I am bummed about, but I just want to get the process started. Anyway, the reason for my post is I have been re-emerging on this forum to find others who have transitioned from lap band to RNY. My main question is, for those who have gone from band to RNY, how was the transition for you and did you find that the RNY worked well for you after your band? I read a lot of these stories about people losing a lot of weight quickly on RNY but they are talking about their first bariatric surgery. As a second bariatric surgery I want to know more about what I can expect. Are there forums on here for revision patients? Kathy

I have embraced the stall but I feel like I have had so many and I’m just over two months out. I don’t know if maybe I’m loosing the weight quickly so my body is taking lots of “breaks” or what. I rarely eat because it’s so hard to force myself to do so. If I do it’s two eggs With cheese and maybe something with meat for dinner like pork,chicken,fish,and so on (very rarely do I eat lunch I mainly do if I don’t eat breakfast) I just started getting to where I take all my Vitamins (they would make me so sick that I would almost instantly throw it back up it still makes me sick but I’ve found out how to take it to where it doesn’t come back up I also would always forget Calcium but drank lactose free milk through out the day) I can’t stomach Protein Shakes so I know I’m not getting enough Protein. Maybe that’s why? I just can’t find any that sit well with my tummy. Any of the non clear ones make me sick. I can’t even drink regular milk anymore which fricking sucks because I love milk lol. I tried the clear premier ones the pomegranate and they sit well they just taste awful and don’t go down well. I don’t really dig pomegranates lol. But I figured I’d try them because my madre got them for me(she also had the gastric bypass surgery so she helps supply the shakes since she buys in bulk at sams club) I know I don’t exercise as much as I should but that’s because they took me off my blood pressure medicine(unrelated but also my diabetes pills☺️) which I had taken for several years. So now my heart rate runs high because it’s used to not relying on the beta blockers. My dr says I need to slowly retrain my heart which I am doing by cleaning the house and walking around the house. But I can only do 5-10minute intervals before it gets to 130-160 so then I have to relax till it goes down which takes a little longer then start over again. I can’t say “I’ve only lost around 100lbs” because that’s a lot. I’m just on my fifth stall already and don’t know why. I lost around 46lbs without the surgery. And then another 46lbs since surgery. So maybe since I’m fairly young(turning 23 soon) I’m loosing it faster than usual so I’m getting more stalls? I just wished I understood what my body is doing. I’m so happy the weights coming off but at the same time it’s like I knew it so well before and now we’re strangers.

I went through much the same thing of researching all of this a few years ago for a prospective cancer treatment (though didn't have to go through with it, as it turns out.) Your surgery should be coded as a gastrectomy, partial or total, for the sake of your GP, rather than an RNY gastric bypass for weight loss. Same basic procedure, (called a Billroth II, which has been around for about 140 years for just this kind of problem) but different codes and rules for the insurance. So, you shouldn't have to jump through the same insurance hoops of psych eval and possible 3-6 month diets, etc., though neither is a bad idea given the lifestyle changes you will probably encounter post op. There are a number of Facebook groups for partial and total gastrectomy patients, which would be good to look into. One of the things that I found there is that bile reflux is a relatively common problem post op, which doesn't seem to be that common within the RNY population. Discussing this with my prospective surgeon, he told me that he has never had a problem with that if he kept the limb length over 60cm, which would be fairly typical in the RNY. He also wasn't restricted on choice of limb length as he would be under RNY rules; he could go shorter or longer as needed for the circumstance. Implicitly, this means that many surgeons who perform this procedure for non-weightloss purposes try to keep that limb length, and the associated malabsorption, short to minimize weight loss, but that brings the pouch and anastomosis closer to the bile ducts. Since you are in the BMI range that would normally qualify for WLS, this should not be an issue as you can benefit from the weightloss, but it is something to discuss with the surgeon. It is good for you to work through a bariatric surgeon (most major hospital GI surgery departments are also their bariatric department,as well, given the overlap in skills and experience, though the surgeons may drift to their own specialties within) as you should get all of the necessary education on dietary, medication and supplement restrictions that you need; my wife knew a guy in her office that was having all kinds of health issues and it turned out that he had this same type of procedure for non-weightloss reasons (don't know if it was GP or something else) but he was never told about the ramifications of the procedure, so duh - yeah, he was having issues. Between your bariatric office (most are pretty good these days) and these forums, you should pick up what you need to know to live healthy in your post op years. Good luck.....

I'm full bypass rather than mini. But I share your fear and that is why I'm so focused on learning NEW relationships and developing NEW behaviors with food. I actively SEEK and WANT to "eat really healthy" as often, and as much as I can--understanding that life happens, and recidivism is a real deal--especially for someone who made it to a lifetime invite to the Obesity Ball. I got my operation and have a new tummy/gut tool. But my fat brain, is still my big fat brain. And I'm using my honeymoon period to recondition it--or maybe to condition it for the very first time in my life but using good sturdy principles taught by my surgical team and RD. I depend on their rules, cuz they know from experience what works. I'm training my dragon (fat brain). So your question really raises a red flag with me. The concept that "small portions" will see you through to life-long weigh maintenance at your goal weight is just that--a myth. Dr. Weiner addresses this in some of his latest YouTube videos. He says you simply can NOT pretend to believe that myth--it will let you down every time.

I have gastroparesis. My PCP suggested I look into bariatric surgery and I'm going to the consult tomorrow. From what I've seen via research, it can help. I am so very hopeful, as you guys know, GP is so awful!! If all goes as planned, I'm hoping to do the bypass surgery.

Hello, everyone. I'm new here and just starting the WLS journey. I am curious if anyone here has had the gastric bypass surgery for anything other than weight loss? I have a chronic condition called Gastroparesis (paralysis of the stomach) and it has turned my life upside down. I won't go into the details or symptoms (cause there's a lot), but suffice it to say it is pretty awful, greatly affected motility and slowly killing me. I am also overweight, just shy of the 40 BMI mark. Weight loss would be an added bonus, but not my sole reason for looking into this. My PCP wanted me to speak to a bariatric surgeon to see if a bypass would help since it bypasses the paralyzed, useless part of my stomach. I have a consultation tomorrow. I'm also wondering if this (medical, not weight management) might make the process go any quicker? I know you basically have several tests, speak to a psychologist, and diet, etc. Just wondering if anyone has gone through this for a different medical reason. Hope that makes some sense.

I have surgery in 6 weeks and my biggest fear is loosing weight than gaining it all back. Is anyone 3 years post op or more and kept the weight off. If so what is your diet? Do you need to eat really healthy to maintain weightloss?

That is fantastic, if I lived close by and I needed a revision from ESG I would seriously consider this option. I love the minimally invasive aspect of it.

I don’t remember how quickly I lost weight with my Gastric Sleeve 10 years ago, but I am losing fairly slowly with the bypass. Since I went on the pre-operation diet on April 30, I have lost about 9 kgs - nearly 20 lbs - but in the last couple of weeks, only about 1 kg per week. Not worried though - I am in this for the long haul. The doctor and dietician are telling me I may only lost another 7-8 kgs, but I plan on proving them wrong. I am currently just over 80 kgs (176 lbs) and my first goal is 75 kgs, but my actual goal is to get into the 60s. I’d like to be somewhere between 65-68 kgs (143-150 lbs). I will enjoy proving them wrong!

Not sure if I responded to this already, but I just had it done (as a revision from Gastric Sleeve) on May 13. I am 70.

are you having a revision, as well? Sent from my LM-V405 using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m having the bypass done due to reflux/GERD and hiatal hernia. After I got my sleeve I started getting severe heart burn and ended up with 4 ulcers in my esophagus. So I decided on the surgery.

I would get a second (and even third,) opinion on any kind of revision surgery. Partly due to the added complication in doing revisions, and in the wider range of underlying problems that may create the need for a revision. Different doctors have different experiences (even if they are equally "experienced") which can give them a different perspective in solving a problem. On these forums, we certainly see some come through who have hiatal hernias repaired post sleeve; there is also wide variation with amount of sleeve experience that surgeons can have, given that it has been gaining popularity rapidly, so many surgeons are not as experienced with sleeves as they are bypasses. This leaves many in the situation of not really knowing how to correct a problem that occurs with a sleeve, and instead stay within their comfort zone and revise to a bypass instead of fixing it. So, in short, you may be in a situation where some surgeons can correct the hernia fairly easily while others would have difficulty, or it may be something that no one can correct without doing the revision. We forum lackeys can't make that judgement, but that is what second opinions are for. Good luck,

im having a revision done at the beginning of august and want to make sure this time, i ge fit right. my weight gain was mainoy do to me but partially due to the firdt surgeron mistakes. i want to make sure this sticks and im on the right path mentally. mentally i was not in the right place last time. any thoughts or advice to keep me going?? Sent from my LM-V405 using BariatricPal mobile app

I went to my doctor as I had severe pain and heart burn and I couldn't drink water and He told me that I developed a hiatal hernia and revision surgery to bypass will treat the hernia but I'm afraid from second surgery two surgeries in less than two years is so tough and dangerous are there another options ?

I had herniated my L5/S1 disc in the fall of 2015 and finally had surgery to repair it in Spring 2016. My recovery was absolute hell. While I was able to walk, it certainly was not without pain. While the surgery helped the numbness in my leg, my back felt worse> I had an endless cycle happening.......my weight was not helping with the back pain and the back pain was not helping in my effort to lose weight. After the 1st month of having Gastric Bypass, I was able to get out of bed without having to roll out of bed, I was able to walk without pain and then I started to TRULY exercise again.

Hello there is a surgeon here in Jacksonville FL that is around 12,000 board certificate 29 years he is amazing as my surgeon was not the greatest this sergon is adopting me and doing a revision for free cause the crap job that was done his name is Dr uchal

I have a rare auto immune disorder ( about 200,000 cases, extremely rare in white women, can effect any organ in the body, currently effects my heart, sleep, and lungs) I have 2 lung masses, I see cardiology, pulmonary, and oncology. I have svt on top of that and had an ablation in hopes that it will keep me from getting a pacemaker (so far, my episodes have decreased), even with all this, I still feel better then I have in the last 7 years. Acid reflux got really bad after the sleeve but I was bypassed 3 months ago and that resolved completely. It was easily the best choice I made

You know what I though was crazy, when I did my mental evaluation, the lady says: " you will get more interviews, and your sex life with increase" I thought that was just crazy. Why would you say that? And no I'm not getting interviews left and right, even though I have an incredible amount of experience. It's been hard to find a job over the last 3 months- I was let go when I went out for bypass conversion. Out of no where. Over 270 applications, maybe 15-20 interview. 3 offers. I have an interview Thursday and I'm praying it happens, I'm dying to get back in a clinical setting .

I am new here, I haven’t been on a public forum in a long time (and for a reason) but I thought it might be helpful to write out my bariatric surgery journey as best I can. I don’t know anyone who has had the surgery with chronic illness, disability, multiple medical conditions, etc. let alone anyone with M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) which is a kind of immunodeficiency. I’ve lived with this from childhood and also battled with my weight longer than I care to remember. This is long and hard to talk about without going into intense detail. I wasn’t not diagnosed with M.E. Until I was in my early twenties. It was a long road to get there and led to many questions and many other medical conditions down the road. At some point my weight skyrocketed out of control and I was at a loss as to what to do. I was diagnosed with metabolic disorders but meds made me sick and doctors don’t discuss weight. They only vaguely agree that the metabolic disorders cause weight gain. And at most prescribe risky weight loss drugs. At some point I was just too sick to know what to do. The reality is I always will be sick. It was easier to eat carbs when I didn’t feel well enough to tolerate much food. I was always a clean plate person and hate waste. My weight grew to over 215lbs and my body couldn’t take it. I needed to do something even if it took every ounce of my being. I didn’t know then what I know and doctors know now about M.E./CFS. But I studied holistic health and nutrition, trying everything to no avail. I ended up trying a combination of low carb/Atkins and calorie counting (weight watchers points) slowly I lost weight (I was 5’ 4” then 5’ 2” I kept losing inches due to degenerative disc disease and arthritis in my spine , I’m now about 5’) I got down to the lowest I’d ever been at 123lbs. But it crept back up by 10lbs. But I had to accept it. I started having trouble eating certain foods and feeling very sick. I had some major stress events happen, several surgeries on my feet and tendons, and also Major surgery (hysterectomy) I wasn’t eating the best I could for reasons I couldn’t control. Eventually my weight hit 160lbs about when I moved with my mother to a new state. I was on a beta blocker and reduced my calories further and did strict low carb again. But reached about 134lbs. I couldn’t sustain it. Not that long ago, months, my sense of time is terrible I can say what happened but not the order or time. I fought as hard as I could and would go on nature walks until I learned more about the birds and became a birder and took to loving photographing them. I went as often as I could and it wasn’t often enough. I found out the hard way that Myalgic Encephalomyelitis causes something called post exertional malaise. Doctors only now are starting to understand it and it explains a lot. Activities from simply writing out this message, taking a shower, making a meal to exercise, make my medical condition worse and cause lasting damage that I lose bits of my self. And doing no I enjoy hurts like a punishment. My weight started a sudden drastic climb from 134lb to 160+ and I went to doctors and specialists hoping for an answer why. And then again it continued to climb to 180lbs. I had thought about bariatric surgery the first time but wanted to do it on my own. But this time I couldn’t, my body just wasn’t burning enough calories and how little could I eat without getting too sick. I was eating healthy the same portions as my mother, almost the same meals, I prepared us lunch almost every day and she is the same height but at most 100lbs. It was fight for surgery or nothing. The first time I saw a bariatric surgeon he talked at me and didn’t listen, my weight was slightly below BMI to qualify with comorbidities, i had plenty. But nothing acceptable by my insurance. I had just had to have surgery for another problem and could hardly eat. But I kept gaining. And I gave up on that doctor. I forgot to say I found out at some point that the reasons some foods made me sick was my gallbladder and surgery was recommended so I decided if I have to have that then I should pursue bariatric surgery since recovery is quite similar. eventually it reached 200lbs and I was on the edge of being nearly 40 BMI. I decided to see another endocrinologist about my medical conditions. She couldn’t help me since the meds make me too sick and I explained how I eat and count calories and yet my weight skyrocketed. I was about to quit when I decided to say I was fighting for bariatric surgery. She said go to Cleveland clinic. It’s a far distance from me and I needed medical assistance for rides there. But I got in to see Dr. Szomstein and he right away was ready and willing to help me, I was a hair from 40 BMI at the first appointment. He didn’t quite understand all my medical conditions if at all but he knew what to do. He said I should have RNY Gastric bypass due to severe GERD and I was thankful for that since it would reduce calorie absorption as well. I was almost not expecting approval from my insurance. I had months of my doctors noting my efforts to lose weight and letters from the endocrinologist and surgeon. They had me go for pre op tests and medical clearance. I still didn’t expect anything. i was in target when my mom and she got a phone call. Scheduling surgery in two weeks and for me to start the liquid diet that day. The surgery date was April 29th. I was so unprepared my gastroenterologist had wanted me to have a colonoscopy before surgery and that didn’t happen (he wasn’t happy with that) I knew I was possibly in for hell with this, but it was either surgery or give up. surgery day I was like this is easy. But I hit a bumpy road. Without going into too much detail right now. I didn’t expect it’s impact on my chronic illness. Waking up from surgery was like a long tunnel I couldn’t get out of. I was partially aware of things around me during the entire surgery just sped up like a weird dream. In the hospital room when most people get up and walk, my body couldn’t move at all. And when I tried once I crashed hard. Every chronic pain in my body was screaming all at once in the hospital. I was having severe pain in my chest, they blamed on gas I knew it wasn’t. I was struggling to breathe and needed the oxygen longer. My surgical drain kept getting full too fast. The catheter hurt. I high pain tolerance and yet this was slamming me everywhere all at once. They tried me on liquids by day three and I just wanted out. I got home and had trouble breathing and was very weak. I struggled to do laundry and get groceries. Then I started spiking fevers. My body doesn’t react with fever when it needs to, my lungs are sometimes too weak to cough when I need to. My temp went over 102 at night then dropped to low grade by morning. I ended up being told to go to the ER but I couldn’t get to Cleveland clinic. Long story short it was another long three days in hospital, pneumonia, acute uti, and critically low potassium. My temp was normal. They pumped me with potassium and antibiotics but had no concept of pain control and knew nothing about post bariatric surgery diet of protein drinks and liquids. They brought me a regular meal for breakfast. By day three I wanted out. I left with a diagnosis of Aspiration pneumonia, and esophageal dysphasia and told to see an ent (who then told me to see a neurologist) and a incidental finding of a pelvic adnexal mass that I am see my euro/gun about. Swallowing is painful, the pain in my chest never went away it waxes and wanes and gets out of control painful at night. I am still mostly liquids. I was supposed to start purée some time ago. I tried some things that were palatable but the first tiny bite I got Nauseous and couldn’t push it even sitting drying to consume either liquid or purée took nearly an hour and the purée was just not working. I don’t regret it yet I do yet I don’t. I’m still trying to get answers to some things. Other things I won’t go into detail now. This is much too long. I saw the doctor for follow ups twice. This time he ordered a upper GI fluoroscopy, and then a endoscopy. The first is this Wednesday. I’m struggling to get in at least 50 grams of protein a day. I lost around 27lbs but am in a five day stall. I think that’s as much as I can describe for now. But my one issue no one ever addressed is no nsaids aka Ibuprofen for life. I took it three times a day to take a bit of the edge off my chronic pain. My muscle relaxer doesn’t do much and it’s impossible to grind and swallow tablets. Thankfully diphenhydramine comes in sleep melts. But I have no pain management now. And I can’t function to walk as much. I try to keep on my feet as much as I can to at least do what I need to do. But now when I crash each day I crash hard. I got extremely sick doing laundry when I had to do three loads and threw up more than once. (I have a bit of ptsd when it comes to throwing up) but this is too much to write here and now. I just am finding myself alone in this, my mom can’t quite understand how it is. And I don’t know anyone else who has chronic illness that has had gastric bypass surgery. I’m not worried about food, I can make my mom a meal and not want to eat it. Actually my taste is nonexistent. I had trouble with it prior as well as my sense of smell. But so much just tastes nasty and bitter. (Didn’t help I ended up with nasty oral thrush I can’t shake) i feel weird putting this all out there. So I hope that sometime say can relate to someone somewhere in some way. christine

I had revision from lapband to ds on June 7... 2 nights in the hospital and I’m home and I’ve even worked from home nearly all day today. This is way harder than lapband or csection ( I had 2 of those ) I had 2 week pre op diet, week 1 was 2 shakes 2 snacks and a lean green dinner week 2 was all shakes and I was down 13lb when I went in for surgery. I’m so puffed up now from IV fluids the scale showed back up 10lb so I’m staying away from that thing a few days.