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I started about 6 weeks ago, I replaced one meal a day with a protein shake, then 2 meals a day. Then I went straight into my pre-op Liquid fast (5 Optifast shakes a day) I opted to start that a week early for 3 weeks instead of 2. I lost about 4 pounds just doing the protein shake meal replacement, and I have lost 7 this week doing the first week of Optifast. I expect to lose 3-4 more in the next 2 weeks prior to surgery. That's around 15 total (about 2 months), maybe a little less. This way I could ease into it and it really didn't shock my body to go from eating to liquid fast all at once. I just started breaking bad habits one at a time and it's been pretty painless.....

After my RNY gastric bypass surgery, I do not recall my stomach swelling. I had some weight gain because they pumped your body full of fluids in the hospital. This weight gain took less than a week to go away. After surgery your body also produces a lot of gas. Walking helps with this condition. The blood thinner medicine that I took caused my body to bruise very easily. My body really looked like I had been in a boxing match because of the bruising. But after a month this went away.

I'm 1 week out and also am having a problem with this- I have found that EGG drop soup is not only satisfying but really good source of protein. My doc also said that was a great protein choice. I can only have in small increments but it is worth a shot- I don't have a problem with the pre-made drinks except for now they are a bit sweeter and too much to drink at once- I'm thinking of making a "shake" freezing it in ice cube trays and then using them like popcicles... just for variety- I tried SF pudding but that didnt go well- too thick I think. But I am going to try some smashed up sweet potatoes tomorrow- and hopefully incorporate cottage cheese as well. I think this next week the protein will be a little better than this last week.

I was banded dec 2007, it's now right after Valentine's Day and I'm hung at a loss of only 15 lbs. I gain if I eat anything. I only lose on days I've stuck to straight liquids. I'm starving all the time and I'm very frustrated. I hope to see you are becoming more successful following your fill and I have my second one this week, 2/21, so I'll try to be optimistic. Good luck!

hi everyone i was banded on 30 04 07 at perth australia weighing in at a unhealthy 145kgs my surgeon was a dr watson he fist put me on optifast for two weeks before surgery lost 5 kgs but since lapbanded have lost a further 25kgs still get sharp shoulder pains if i eat too much plus the dreaded burps but otherwise feel great that to me is very good because i feel more confident to go out to the front door and say good morning world yes there is still alot more weight to lose but able to feel more positive each day is a great feeling too well thats me for now frank

Realistically, its all you'll get in for the first six weeks or so - very hard on liquids and I know I had loads of restriction for about 8 weeks after surgery. Long term though, you need to eat more than that. It wont hurt you in the short term and you'll lose fast!

Anyone else run a fever a week after surgery?What does this mean?

I'm schizophrenic I'm schizophrenic bipolar 1 extreme Mania and I've take 400 mg of Seroquel and I'm only doin 2 meal replacements and 3 oz of meat my dietitian for me on anything else keep me at 750 calories and I am now a stall for 6 weeks and I actually started gaining weight again and they have no idea what's going on as do I as I am now still continuing to exercise need help if anybody has any answers thank you

I got banded a week ago. Today my staples come off and my first fill will be next week. My doctor told me that they have discovered that six weeks before the first fill is too long and patients start to feel really hungry and are not restricted so the early fill helps avoid that. I am starting to feel a tiny bit hungry and crave something solid. I hope the fill makes it better. I'm a bit scared but I'll let you all know how it goes.

I go for my first fill on June 14th and can eat anything soft that I want. I did do very well for the first 3 weeks after surgery. I followed the diet and felt full after eating 3/4 cup of food. Now I feel that I'm falling back into my old eating habits and I am very anxious to have the fill done and hopefully feel some restriction again!!

call your surgeon. Could be a stricture. They happen to about 5% of bypass patients and almost always appear between 1-3 months post-surgery, so you're in the window. If that's what it is, they'll do an EGD and stretch it out. I had two of them (one at four weeks out and the second at eight weeks out). The EGD is painless (you'll be knocked out) and you'll feel better immediately. also - if you're able to keep fluids down, it should be fine if you can't get in to see someone for a couple of days, but if it gets to the point where you can't even keep fluids down, then go to the hospital. You can live without food for a few days, but not water/fluids.

I am 5 1/2 weeks post bypass I progressed smoothly through my stages however for the past 2 days everything is making me nauseous including my protein shake. After drinking my protein shake I got the foamies and slimy stuff. I am trying to keep hydrated. I am only able to eat 3 or 4 baby spoons of food before the nausea kicks in. Has anyone else had this happen and if so how did you overcome it? Thanks!

I lost 16 pounds over 8 months while waiting for approval. Only 5 of it during the 6 months of supervised weight loss and only 3 during the week of pre-op. I did not exceed 800 calories per day with very low carb. My surgery was uneventful and I have lost 30% of my excess weight (31 lbs) in 12 weeks. No vomiting, no dehydration and so far no hair loss.

Oh and the diet consisted of 5 protein shakes a day and clear liquids. I ate wonton soup broth from the Chinese restaurant like three to four times a week also tomato soup.

Southern soul- I was sleeved on the 19th as well and feeling the exact same way.. Everybody I know says the first two weeks are not the greatest.. Hope it gets better for us quickly!

Thank you for your response! Congrats to you! I got my date today...my surgery is set for the 5th of August! That's in 3 weeks...OMG!I've been drinking protein drinks daily since January so that's the easy part I'm taking time off of work, so I'll be applying for disability...I think that makes me nervous...don't like being strapped for cash...

I had a similar plan pre-op. For 2 weeks prior to surgery, I had a Protein shake for Breakfast, another for lunch, and for dinner I was allowed a lean protein and brightly colored vegetables...the good news was that there was no size limitation on the dinner portions. I felt lucky as I know a lot on here are put on liquid-only diets pre-op. Large amounts of veggies for dinner helped me stay full longer. Veggies that are high in Fiber like broccoli/asparagus really helped...the goal of the pre-op diet is to get your liver smaller than what it is now to give the surgeon better access to the abdominal area as they move the liver out of the way during surgery. It's a challenge for sure, but the best advice I can give is to do your best to stay busy and not dwell on it. The time will go by faster than you think and soon you'll be watching the pounds fly off!!! It's well worth it!

If you suspect you are pregnant, make sure you are taking your vitamins and getting balanced nutrition (which is probably currently better than you were eating before). Then, call your Dr immediately. I don't want to scare you, but I was just reading last night that nutrition-related birth defects occur in the first two weeks of pregnancy, which is why it is so important to plan your pregnancies, and if you THINK you may be pregnant, see your Dr immediately. Don't wait. Let us know how you make out!

Funny you should post this.....I had a very similar experience just last week. Had a heart cath (something I've had done many times before) but this time the experience was very different.....before my biggest fear was being dropped or of having a nurse get hurt trying to lift or turn me. Before, they would have to pull my belly up and then tape it to the sides of the bed to hold it back so they could cut iinto the artery in my groin - very humiliating!!! This time I recovered quicker, had less pain, slept more comfortably in the bed. Before I had wls, I had said many times 'I don't want to be skinny, I don't want to be sexy.......all I want is to be somewhat normal.' And normal feels awfully good, doesn't it!!!

Once you have slipped you will most likely continually slip. I slipped and slipped less than a month later. I had revision surgery about 3 weeks ago. Hope that helps.

Uggg.. i am 4 1/2 months out and my hair has started shedding the past couple of weeks! My hair is thin to begin with so i'm scared!

In the middle of my first week, so I am a ways away, but what is the average time before your first fill? Do you have any restriction before your first fill? What I mean is that once you're back to your regular diet and before the first fill, are you still capable of eating anything you want with no consequences? (besides no weight loss) My other question is this. If you are still losing weight at a decent rate when its time for your first fill, do they postpone it until your weight loss has stopped?

I agree with everyone's comments. I had surgery on 5/22/18 and was released the next day. I had a revision from sleeve to bypass. Although I had some minor discomfort I forced myself to get up and walk. Just standing at the sink brushing my teeth was uncomfortable. I have a desk job and therefore only took one week off of work. I am back at work today and so far I feel okay. A little discomfort from sitting for long periods of times so I make a point to get up and walk around often. I would check with your surgeon and get cleared prior to return to school. I had restrictions regarding bending, lifting, and twisting. Hope everything goes well and best of luck.

for me , the heartburn will cause my esophogus to swell and then i cant get anything down. so i have to be careful not to get heartburn. if i throw up, this will cause same problem . swelling . so i have to go back to liquids to heal. if the liquids dont work , then i have fill taken out. so i have learned to not eat before bed or lying down. i also have to watch my stress and make sure i get lots of rest and exersize. i just had a fill a few weeks ago and i am really careful this time not to eat too quickly or get too stressed. so far so good.

Hi All, It's been almost a year now and what a journey it has been for me. July 28th 2010 got my band all was ok there. 3 weeks later got a surgical site infection from the underwire of my bra ripping the beautiful scab, had a round of antibiotics and had to pack the infection site for almost two weeks. So then 8 weeks post-op my appendix had to come out. I still believe, even though 3 surgeons, the general surgeon and the 2 band surgeons said at the time there was no literature to back this up, that it was a direct result of the band surgery. Now, it's 12 weeks post band and my surgeons are happy at the healing and I schedule my first fill, 2cc's. I'm cool with that and happy to be on my way with my weight-loss journey. I was back to work full time again about two weeks when I began to have little twinges of pain on my right side but didn't think anything about it. I got up from my chair to go to the fax machine and said to my co-worker "gee, I'm having a funny pain in my right side", and laughingly said "watch next it will be my gallbladder". Ha Ha Ha. That friday night we went to a city street fair and my side really started to hurt bad and I was feeling really bloated and sick so I stayed in bed all Saturday and when I woke up on Sunday, knew it was back to the ER for me where I had a ultrasound that showed, you guessed it, inflammation and gallstones. The tech showed me because I had asked to see what the scan looked like and since I am an employee of the hospital I went to and know almost everyone who works there, she did. She showed me all of the stones and where my gallbladder was inflamed. Ok, I'm thinking great, I had to open my big mouth! Well the ER doc, whom I don't like at all, told me his diagnosis and said I would need to contact a surgeon to have it checked out. He diagnosed it as a lesser gallbladder problem of just stones instead of the with inflammation which indicates an infection and sent me home and said to contact the surgeon. I couldn't believe it! I was in such pain I almost couldn't stand it. I couldn't walk to the car and had to use a wheelchair. Anyway long story short because I was sent home. I called the surgeon's office the next moring and again because I wasn't admitted it was pre-determined by the office staff (before I spoke with my surgeon) that it wasn't an emergency and that I could schedule the surgery at my convienence so no one followed up with me for two days afterward and never told my surgeon that it was a priority. When I spoke to my surgeon he had told me that after reviewing my test results his diagnosis was Chronic Cholecystitis and that the gallbladder had to come out but again because I wasn't admitted at the time the Anesthesia dept didn't want to work me in to there already overloaded schedule. I waited 5 days in really bad pain to be able to get my surgery because of a misdiagnosis by the ED doc and miscommunication between my surgeon and his office. A few weeks later I went back to work and haven't had any more surgeries My progress was stalled and my motivation went by the wayside after all that and I decided not to get any fills until after Thanksgiving but did have one, another 2cc's before Christmas. I ws losing but very slowly like 2 lbs every 6 weeks. Finally by the end of February I got some real restriction and started to lose a little more quickly but in April I was up to 9cc's and stalled. I went to talk with the doc in the band office and got some counseling on foods to eat and exercising and stuff and scheduled another appointment 5 weeks later that I cancelled because I was just starting to do my Water aerobics and the scale hadn't changed. I finally went back the beginning of this month and by chance saw my band surgeon instead of the FP doc there. I had lost 7 lbs in 10 weeks and he said let's tweak you a little and gave me .05 cc's for a total of 9.5 and that with the exercising has really started to work. I have lost 5 lbs sind the beginning of the month and have gone down another size in clothes. I've lost 40lbs now and can't believe it. I went shopping for clothes yesterday and am now in a size 16 pant and an 18/20 top. I am so amazed and happy to finally be closer to my goal which was 100 lbs total. I hope to lose another 20 by the end of the year. Thanks for reading my epic saga!