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I had my two month anniversary, and second post op exam/meeting. Bloods good, I lost 35 lbs so far, but one of the drivers for me was Barrett's and the GERD I was experiencing is largely gone. I still take an H2 blocker as a precaution and got cleared for real exercise, not just walking. (Had a hiatal hernia that got repaired). I gotta say, having done this, I couldn't be happier. Yes, I'm still trying to draw lines but the surgeon said to measure portions, even though his dietitian does not address portion size. I think it is important to have resources as you go through this, not just for support, but for info. I consider this such a place. I'm far more mobile and agile, can do stuff I couldn't before because of oversize/bloat/weight. I'm fitting into clothes that I couldn't. Not that this should be a reason, it's just a benefit.

Hi! Did your doc clear that you can fill your pouch with that many ounces that fast? Usually that early after surgery a pouch can only hold up to 8 ounces, mine was holding only up to 4-5ozs until I was months in. Also, I always had headaches if I ate or drank anything with an artificial sweetener, especially Sucralose. Look up the dangers and side effects of artificial sweeteners!! I won’t touch them after I did research- Stevia only for me! I had Gastric Bypass in 2017 and have been very successful. I’m also a Certified Personal Trainer, Nutritionist Specialist, and Transformation Coach so if I can help you with anything please feel free to ask me!!😁

It's funny how we're all different! I bought a load of protein shakes before my surgery and I can't stand them post mini gastric bypass! I also don't do well with lactose so I now use lactose free milk. I don't have such a sweet tooth as I did prior to surgery but I am craving savoury things - especially anything cheese flavoured!

I couldn't drink protein shakes either - they taste disgusting now. I understand your worry about hitting your protein goals. Personally I have found clear protein isolate much easier to drink - it comes in different flavours and just mixes into water. It also comes unflavoured so you can mix it into soup. I am three weeks post mini gastric bypass and I feel hungry too. So much so that I have started on soft food much earlier than my plan dictates. I know this is wrong so I am going to try and stop this. Could it be "head hunger" that you're experiencing? I say that because it's very common apparently. I think our bodies are going through so many changes but our brains are going to be playing catch-up.

Thank you for your advice - it's really helpful. I did eat the Weetabix with a lot of milk, so it must have slipped through that way (I had a mini gastric bypass). I know that I am not going about this the right way at all and must do better! Thank you for not judging me.

I had bypass 3 weeks ago and I'm pretty much hungry 24/7. Only time I'm not is maybe for 15 min after eating something. Whether a protein shake or a soup. There really is no guarantee that your hunger will go away

Did you have them with milk? Were they softened and broken up? If so it's very possible they just slid right through. Gastric bypass leaves the stomach small but there's a opening on the side of it. Foods that are very wet and runny like soups just flow right through and there's no restriction. Gastric sleeve and it's derivatives on the other hand keep your lower stomach sphincter. Your body is capable of holding more food and can stretch a bit more. Now if you are 5 wheetbix dry, without milk. Then I'd say you should ask your team. For example I'm also about 3 weeks RNY post-op. I just had some goldfish crackers I shouldn't have. But I ate maybe 8 or 10 of them and I can feel the pressure building in my lower chest. Once food is not able to go into the stomach and it sits in the esophagus, you will normally start to spasm. Cough and your will begin to salivate. It's incredibly uncomfortable.

About 3 weeks ago I had a gastric bypass. At the 1 week followup the surgeon really disrespected me. So much so that me a man was on the verge of tears because nobody has ever talked to me that way in my entire life. I have it right back to the doctor and told him about his poor bedside manner, etc, etc. He really didn't like that and said I disrespected him. I apologized to him but he never apologized to me. I told him I hope we can go forward and he said we could. I needed to call the emergency number a week ago because of something happening. He was very cold and said he couldn't help me. I was polite and professional. I've been having some side effects from that incident and my surgery. I felt that if I could just ask some questions I'd be a lot less stressed day to day. But so far my emails to the team have been ignored. Some by weeks and another by days. I'm not sure what to do here. Any advice would be appreciated. I have tried to call.other surgeons but the receptionists just say I need to stay with my doctor.

This is more so just a rant I guess, ever since I began this weight loss journey and trying to get to my final goal of gastric bypass I have had countless people tell me surgery is the easy way out and I've had people pretty much judge my worth based off of how fat or skinny I am. I had someone at work tell me how I would look better once I lost the weight which I agree but she went into detail about my face and how fat it was. How my eye lids have too much skin on them which I'm not sure what she's talking about because my eyes look normal? She then proceeded to tell me how going to the gym and eating better and drinking water would help me. I've been following my dietician, I've been drinking more than 64 oz of water a day and doing my workouts and she just said "oh". Mind you she weighs 110 lbs telling me all this with her fast metabolism. I guess I'm just extra self-conscious now and I wish women especially were more empowering.

I had my Lapband placed in October 2007. got my gallbladder removed and a hernia repaired at the same time. It slipped in 2013 so had surgery to put it back into place. My heartburn has become unbearable so my doctor is recommending to remove my band and get the gastric bypass. I was scared at first, shaming myself for "failing", telling myself who am I to think I am worthy enough for the bypass when I couldn't succeed at the Lapband, blah, blah, blah mental games. But then I recognized I am blessed to be able get this opportunity - that I am not getting any younger so better to help myself be in my best shape now than later. So pending some co-morbidity approvals, I should be well on my way to converting. I am scared. I am excited. I am hopeful. My question is for those who converted from Lapband to Gastric Bypass - what are things you wish you knew about or understood prior to converting? Or things you learned about since converting that would be helpful for someone going through the same process?

So I posted on Saturday about how I was having second thoughts, not about having weight loss surgery, but about whether I was in good hands with my current provider, after they have literally cancelled and rescheduled every single appointment, including my surgery date, which I've ever had with them. Several of you replied validating my concerns, which I so appreciate. Speaking up about my concerns caused my surgery to be cancelled! Can you even believe it?!?! I'm calming down now but I literally had a full blown panic attack at work. I was hysterically sobbing. I'm on a liquid diet, have been off my anti inflammatory meds for 6 days, cancelled my vacation I'd planned since last November after they rescheduled my surgery from July, and now this? I would never have seen this coming, even after all the prior chaos. After expressing concerns about things up to this point I was told, among other things, that I am "rehashing" the past and that because of this they do not feel I will comply with post op care, because these same scheduling issues will probably continue to occur post op to. So since I expressed these concerns, despite this being my entire point that I wanted to be sure I was in good hands post op so that I could get the proper post op care, they have determined that I won't comply with post op care? I am attaching my reply back to them from the patient portal. The nurse did say she MAY be able to meet with the team and get my surgery date reinstated however. What a day! What a joke!

I am a revision as well. Are you going lapband to something or VSG to bypass?

I am a revision as well. Are you going lapband to something or VSG to bypass?

Hi! I'm so happy your year has been such a success! And how exciting for your daughter! It's awesome that she could see how your journey has gone, especially in that first month or two post-op. My surgery was on September 7, 2022, and I am kicking my butt trying to get to below 200 pounds by my one year RNY anniversary - I've got 10 pounds to go! I have lost 200 pounds since my highest weight in November 2021, and 145 pounds since surgery 11 months ago. Highest Weight: 410 | Surgery Weight: 355 | Current Weight: 210 | Goal Weight: 185 Physical Health: I am weight lifting 5 days per week, and my cardio is spin cycling or swimming 4-5 days per week. I'm currently a size 12, medium/large, down from size 28, 5x - I haven't been a size 12 since 6th grade! I am still not used to walking into a store and easily finding clothes that fit me. For decades, I have only been able to shop at plus-size clothing stores like Lane Bryant, and my options are so vast now! Also my hair is growing back and getting healthier again. My last blood test showed I was low on folate, so I'm taking that which has the benefit of helping with constipation, too. Recent realizations: collar bones and ribcage are things that I have turns out?? Mental Health: I don't track my food anymore because I started noticing some unhealthy food restriction patterns starting when I was closely tracking it. I have also asked for help from my support people. Just yesterday I asked my mom to remind me that, no matter what I said, today is going to be a rest day and she helped hold me to that today. She also offered to hold onto my scale for a bit which I took her up on so I can keep my weight loss progression mentally healthy. That said, I have been off my depression and anxiety medication for about five months now and I'm finding that my mental health has been thriving lately. Excess Skin: Because I've lived at 300-400 pounds for 20+ years, I have a ton of extra skin and I have started looking into excess skin surgery options for my belly, arms, and breasts. I am saving money wherever I can to try and save up for skin removal surgery. I will never be able to afford surgery in the US, but I've been researching options abroad like in Mexico, Colombia, and Thailand. Right now I use compression garments to hold my tummy skin in place while I exercise or basically just exist because chafing is a real problem. I have really bad skin to begin with and I don't need to add in chafing and skin infections just for fun. I hope you guys are doing great as we all come up on our one year anniversaries! Let's keep supporting each other and sharing in our various successes and struggles!

I’m new here , Hi…!!! I got my surgery revision / conversion from VSG to Bypass on July 18th 2023. Looking to have partners to support each other in this journey 😀

I am set for a revision to bypass September 1st. I'll be happy to get relief from GERD.

So yesterday I decided to start taking walks at the park and I love it. Before I couldn’t stand it because I would be in so much pain now I can actually enjoy it. Walking around the house in door and out door errands wasn’t enough for me anymore and my MD cleared me btw. I start puréed food tomorrow and I can’t freaking wait. I’m so excited. Lol 21lbs down since 7/24/23 rny gastric bypass. Quick question* What are some things you guys did when you first started back exercising besides walking and what really worked best for you? Is it normal to get a gagging feeling when exercising to hard or too much? Almost like nausea but not actually going all the way?

I had this. Turns out, after my sleeve, I developed polyps all through my entire stomach. The GERD (which I had never had pre sleeve) became so bad it turned into gastritis and esophagitis. I had to take 80mg of Nexium daily and Pepcid for breakthrough GERD (and sometimes that didn't even help). The pain and burning were excruciating. Sent me to the ER more than once. 4 endoscopies and 1 revision to bypass later, and I'm doing great. Stay on top of this. Cut out anything tomato based, avoid any kind of fruit juice, spices (even the ones that aren't hot). Hummus helped a lot, keto bread also helped, and drinking protein shakes literally saved me on days when I couldn't keep anything down at all. The bariatric diet went out the window until this was under control. I had to stop working out because it would set things off. In the ER the first time, I had a barium swallow to confirm there were no leaks. Then I was referred to a GI specialist, who did an endoscopy and found I had A TON of polyps in various sizes. Once they were all removed, I had my revision to bypass and have had to stay on Nexium. But it was lowered to 40mg for 5 weeks, then 20mg for weeks 6-8, then I'll go off them completely. Definitely stay on top of this. It won't resolve on it's own, and if left untreated, it will absolutely get worse.

Good morning This is my first post. I had bypass surgery on 7/26. I left the hospital weighing 17 lbs more than the day I went in. My oxygen levels dropped over the next few days and I was back in the hospital. After getting Lasix thru an IV I was discharged weighing 5 lbs more than when I went in. I'm following my liquid diet but am soooo frustrated Anyone else experience this???

Might be worth going and seeing another dr. This could be anything from GERD to an ulcer and now that you've had the surgery you want to get on top of that ASAP. It sounds like they haven't taken it as seriously as they should be. If the pain is really bad, might be worth even going to emergency, they'll at least try to figure out exactly what's causing the pain. I had GERD before my Sleeve and my surgeon said I should still get a sleeve and not a bypass, but I was really keen on the bypass having spent years reading up on the difference. Now that i look back on this I think it's because I self funded and he would not do a bypass on anyone that has self funded without insurance, meaning he'd lose me as a client. The few people i've spoken to have said many surgeons will choose bypass over sleeve if the patient has a history of GERD and yep, now my GERD is worse than ever and my surgeon keeps saying it's clearly just my fault, I must be eating wrong or sleeping after eating. I even fasted at one point and did just liquids to prove him wrong. It's gotten to the point, I've stopped talking to the surgeon and starting seeking help elsewhere and they've put me on anti acid medication (which the surgeon refused to). Life has been much better having stopped talking to the surgeon and talking to other health care providers. Might be time for you to switch to if they don't take this pain seriously. I hope you're feeling much better asap, but don't be afraid to get another opinion. Pain should not be happening. Please take care

Wow. I've had both a sleeve (2009) and a bypass (47 days ago). I didn't have any kind of bleeding at all for either surgery. That's a bit scary. Hope you feel better soon!

Hello, great idea. There is a previous thread labeled September also for Sept 2023 surgeries but this may be easier to search due to 2023 being in the title. I'll be having the gastric bypass on the 27th of September.

I had gastric bypass. The following has been repeated here enough to be... well... repeated enough here. But since no one researches old posts, here I am... My plan is 3-4 oz protein, 1oz veggies (or other) 3 times per day... Or as much as I can manage before I become full. I never counted calories or much that isn't described in the first sentence of this paragraph. This was my plan Day 1 through current (20+ years post op.) Currently, I'd say I reach 3-4 oz protein 1oz veggies for perhaps 50-60% of meals. The rest are meals where I can't come near my meal goal, I just stop when I max out for the meal. Perhaps 1% of the time, when the meal is exceptionally good and hits all that is good of an exceptional meal, that I might (very much might, because is is uncomfortable) push the envelope. The fact that I don't challenge my limits is why I believe my restriction is in the same place as it was about 3 months post-op. I can't eat much more per meal than I have since I have been 3 months post-op because I have rarely ever pushed the limit. My belief is the more one pushes the limits the larger those limits become. I simply do not push the limits, so I believe they remain narrow. Whether the limits actually exist as I said are perhaps a matter of belief doesn't really matter. My belief has kept me near my goal weight. So what I eat now is not a whole lot different than during the post-op period when I was learning how to eat again. I don't push my limits.

I've been reading posts on this site for months pre-surgery and wish to thank you for all the support you've given to gastric surgery patients. I had gastric bypass done August 3 and other than uncomfortable gas, I've had a great experience. I came home on the 4th. Starting just before discharge I began passing blood clots. Dark purple. Doctors said it's eliminating blood from the surgery. They said it's okay and approved my discharge That makes sense but I don't remember reading about post-op bleeding on any posts. Did anyone else have this? I'm not pale and I have energy. Hopefully it will run it's course soon. Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

The surgery may be science, but the art of eating, post-surgery, isn't one size fits all as I have learned. I had the bypass and a hiatal hernia repair on June 6 and have been expanding my permissible diet within the general guidelines. I find that the hardest thing is the the line between full and over-doing it, particularly with new post surgery foods. I had one instance of "foamies" that caused me great discomfort- I wish I could have puked and gotten it over with; instead, I suffered gastric distress for hours, and eventually fell asleep sitting on the living room couch. You should talk to your nutritionist - sometimes, it seems, it is the food itself; sometimes, perhaps eating too much, too quickly. I'm finding the line between full and overfull to the point of distress to be a pretty fine one and easy to cross. The "frothing/foamies" gave me religion in the sense that I'm more careful about what I put into my gullet, how much and how quickly. This is a significant operation that changes a lot of your physiology- the volume and nature of the food you can accept and the degree to which you can explore new food options (within the guardrails) that don't make you sick. My take, also as a new post op patient, is that you have to take it slowly, be deliberate and work with the surgeons' staff and nutrionist to help you on your way. Nobody said it would be easy, but the rewards start to come pretty quickly. For me, just a little more than a couple months out, I have far more mobility, I'm not focused on the scale but more on my physical capabilities. I go see the surgeon for a follow up next week. My blood work looks pretty good, it has improved already. One other thing: I can still enjoy the sensation of eating good food, but that's subordinate to my main mission to remedy the problems that necessitated the surgery--not just weight loss, but Barrett's. The bypass pretty much eliminated GERD, which was huge. The weight loss is coming a long nicely and I'm deferring to the surgeon's team for advice.