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You’ll have to play it by ear because we all recover differently. I went to a joint 60th birthday party just short of three weeks post surgery. I took a protein shake - people thought it was water. Only problem was the party was in their small backyard,100+ guests & no room for seating except their garden bench seat. It was used continuously by their daughter’s boyfriend’s sister who’d had a baby 2 months earlier & a revolving group of her family members. (A friend asked if I could sit down & they refused because she’d had a Caesarian. She may have but the others hadn’t. Yes I was peeved … & still am three years later.) I had to leave after 2 or so hours. I couldn’t stand up any longer.

Welcome. i’m very glad I had the surgery. I generally eat what I want & it doesn’t restrict me dining out or socialising with friends. There are foods I choose not to eat (sweet things, highly processed foods, etc.) because I want to maintain my weight loss. I know I will always monitor & watch what I eat & how much. Bad eating habits, poor food choices, cravings, etc. will always be there. The surgery doesn’t remove or stop them. It just gives you time to recognise what they are & why you’re experiencing them & find ways to manage them. There are some foods that sit heavily in my tummy & make me feel full sooner like bread, pasta, rice & potato though some eat them without issue. It’s just who we are as individuals. There can be other odd things you may not tolerate temporarily after surgery or less common long term but there are plenty of alternatives for food allergies & intolerances about these days. Personally, I’ve not vomited as such but have regurgitated a couple of times when I ate something too dry or coarse. It passes quickly & I don’t feel sick or have discomfort like after vomiting. I did have nausea from my vitamins & on odd days for no obvious reason except having a sensitive & fussy tummy after surgery & when losing. Don’t have it all now now. The reality is you will be eating a much more nutritious & balanced diet so your health will improve greatly. A gastric sleeve will (Mayo Clinic) reduce your risk of potentially life-threatening weight-related health problems, including: Heart disease High blood pressure High cholesterol Obstructive sleep apnea Type 2 diabetes Stroke Cancer Infertility Sure I have reflux, but I had it before surgery (managed it well with dietary choices). It’s not worse just different now. Had no comorbidities before surgery but they likely were just waiting to start. A lot of my big weight gain in the last few years was tied to being peri menopausal & then menopausal. I’d struggle lose 2 pounds & gain it straight back hard to fight your hormones & your body. You’ll probably find a lot of negative stories here but that’s because they’re likely looking for advice, support, etc. If things are going well, you tend not to post just reply. Having a support system is important whether family &/or friends. As is having a supportive surgeon, GP, dietician & therapist, if you have one. My surgeon, his associates & my GP are great. Still see my surgeon’s associate every three months for follow ups & blood tests. And my GP reviews everything with me whenever I see her. If anything looks unusual, they monitor & investigate further. That would be my only point to consider with seeking out of state or country surgery - the follow ups.

Hi everyone. I had my surgery May 1st. It went well. I was supposed to be on the three week clear fluid diet. In all honesty- I did three days and then gave in at least thee times- but the last 7 days I stuck to it completely. I didn’t drink the protein shakes as I didn’t like them. The surgeon was upset at first but after the surgery he told me everything was as it should be and went really well.

Mine still does almost three years out. Like on & off all day long. When I eat. After I eat. When I drink. It will rumble & moan at night when I rest my iPad on my abdomen. Sometimes it rumbles more after dairy (with or without lactose). I have even had to apologise for the noise. My young nieces & nephews think it’s hilarious too. After surgery it’s likely from the acid in your empty stomach. After it’s just your digestive system working properly. Rarely is related to hunger as most people presume.

Hope everything worked out and you were able to get things “moving”. One thing that really helped me was my dietician suggested a toilet stool that props your feet up and puts your colon in the best position to “go”. She recommend trying a heavy stack of books to prop your feet up at first before spending the money on a stool. I have a three legged pet so I just used one of his steps and that worked perfectly.

Well I think that the good news is that they should be doing labs every three months for the first couple months so even if you do get a little behind it shouldn’t be too far behind I wouldn’t think. But Splenda makes a good point that if it’s Related to an issue that may resolve with weight loss then it may be safer to just take them.

I live alone & happily eat the same meal for 3 or 4 days. I don’t have to think about what I’m going to eat on those days. All I have to do is prep a few vegetables or a salad so I’m really only cooking twice a week. The freezer is my friend. I freeze all my leftovers in single serve portions. And I deliberately prep extra so I can freeze meals. If I don’t feel like cooking or eating what’s in the fridge, I have a huge choice of meals I just need to microwave ready in my freezer & add a side. Four minutes & dinner is ready. Quicker than a takeaway. Made chicken & barley soup Monday night. I’ll eat it for a few days & I froze three serves for future meals. No waste & more economical too. I do enjoy cooking though. And I prefer it because I have control over the ingredients & how they’re cooked?

Hooray, I finally made it to the puréed stage! So many choices that it was hard to decide. I had 1% cottage cheese with two teaspoons of puréed pineapple. My stomach did fine, but my head got a little dizzy towards the end. Probably a blood sugar spike. It was worth it! I’m going to try refried beans (runny) with cheese for dinner. Today is three weeks from my sleeve surgery. I’ve only lost 10 pounds since my surgery, but 29 pounds overall. I can really feel the difference in my legs when we go for a walk and no more body aches. We walked a steep hill in our neighborhood yesterday and I didn’t have to stop to catch my breath. It’s weird because I look the same when I see myself in the mirror, but I feel thinner. I really thought that the weight was going to just “fall off” faster. I have to accept that this journey is going to take a while and I need to be patient.

Did you know that when you go to Publix and they have things that they have packaged you can just go to the counter and ask for them to repack it in a smaller quantity. I just learned this. Not sure if you have a Publix or a store that may be similar but I know that I will save a ton using this option because I always waste when it’s packaged for a family or four or even two since my husband and I usually don’t eat the same things or I eat more than I should trying not to waste things. Both not good options. I especially love it that I can go to the bakery for special occasions and get just one treat because if I have three or four at home let’s face it I’m gonna eat them eventually. Anyways I’m not sure how many of their premade options fit into your calorie budget but if anything does you can buy just one serving.

I've lost count, and I'm almost 8 months out. The longest has been about three weeks? I have them so often I'm just used to it now. Another one just broke this week. Another one will inevitably start in another week or so, and 'round and 'round I go. Not from a year+ person, I know, but I'm clearly never going to stop stalling.

Feelings of regret is completely normal and part of this journey. They refer to it as the “what have I done” stage. Our hormones are so out of whack for the first three months. You are not alone. I cried every day for the first two weeks after my sleeve surgery on April 12th. Today is the start of week 3 and instead of feeling sad, now I am in the angry stage. I’m sick and tired of my stupid food choices and eating the same boring things every day. I just want to eat like a normal person! I have to keep reminding myself that this is only temporary and part of the process. Have you thought about therapy? I think it would be really helpful for you to share your feelings of regret with a therapist. I saw a therapist for two years for help with depression and a binge eating disorder. It was the best thing I ever did. Unfortunately, my therapist recently transferred to an office far away and I don’t want to start all over with a new therapist right now, but I know that if I start to feel that dark cloud looming over me and feel hopeless again, I will schedule to see anyone for help.

I know that it's going to suck. I'm more worried about dropping off my 3 y/o to daycare and having to climb that flight of stairs. I'm considering asking the director if I can't bring her in another entrance that is ground level that they don't typically utilize for pick-up/drop-off for the first week back. 19 year old me went through a laparoscopic gallbladder removal and was grocery shopping the same night and returned to a more physically demanding job than I have now within two-three days. When I had my first baby, I returned to work in a couple of weeks, so I think I'm either stupid or hard-headed.

Three beautiful peas in the pod!

My prediet seems to be a little bit different than everybody else's. My doctor has made it a little bit easier. I'm actually allowed a half a turkey sandwich, lettuce and tomato. Three protein drinks a day at dinner. I'm allowed white fish, chicken breast or pork chop. This is for the first 10 days on the day before surgery. It's all liquid. Just saying times have changed. Maybe your doctors need to think about that. Sent from my Pixel 6 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hey we are Bariatric twins! My surgery was on 3/29 too! Having some of the same issues, hope you take care of the stricture! Yeah, if I try something that upsets my stomach, its back to the shakes, it has become almost a comfort food now, since I also kinda hate eating. I have been assured by the helpful people on this website, and my doctor that by three months things will be much better and eating will be less burdensome. Its a journey..

i start to feel me as a looser, the operation doesn't work, all the blood test are perfect, i'm on a diet and i do sport, but the weight don't change. it's like my body can't lose weight, and i'm starting feeling bad, i don't understand why i don't lose weight, why after three year i'm still here, with only 20 kg less. i think the operation would change my life, it was a new life to start, and it wasn't. i'm the only?

My surgeons office encouraged exercising as soon as possible so I started walking one week post op. My weight at surgery was 257 so it’s really a 35 pound lost since surgery and 9 lbs lost prior to surgery. I try to walk at least three days a week but I do walk a ton at work as well. I think also the diet plan seems to be a lot stricter then others. I’m almost 9 weeks post op and I’m still only doing soft and chopped foods, only cooked veggies and no fruit. 7.6 pounds is amazing in two weeks!

as far as food, once you get a few months out, there are no restrictions. Obviously, you have to eat less than what you were eating before surgery or you'll gain the weight back, but as far as not being able to eat certain types of food, no - no restrictions there. At seven years out, I still have to track my intake and measure/weigh some things, though. Otherwise, my weight starts heading north again pretty quickly. beer - we were allowed to drink alcohol at one year out, but like someone else said, some people's stomachs can't handle anything carbonated (mine can't). caffeine - there seems to be no consistency among surgeons on this. Some say you can never have it again for the rest of your life, some allow patients to have it while they're still in the hospital. I would say the majority are OK with it after a certain time period (for example - a month or three months or six months). Our clinic allowed decaf pretty early on (maybe 3 or 4 weeks out?), and caffeinated coffee at six months out.

I had a desk job. I took three weeks off but could have gone back after two. I had very little pain with this surgery, and no other issues, but I was pretty tired for awhile (that actually lasted a month or more, but of course, it gets better and better every day). I suppose if I had to I could have gone back after one week, but I appreciated the time at home to sleep and also get used to the food progression. I would say two weeks is fine for most people who have desk jobs - but some may be able to swing it after one if they absolutely have to.

Ok, breathe. It’s ok. It’s only been four days since a pretty major surgery. You’ve had 80+/-% of your tummy removed. There are lots of staples & sutures holding your tummy together. You have been inflated with gas & had your insides pushed, prodded & pulled. You’re supposed to be in pain. Give yourself time to heal. The gas pain, surgical pain & muscular pain will reduce. Some people find improvement after 3 or 4 days while others a week. We’re all different. Even our ability to tolerate pain is different & that’s ok too. Contact your employer & see if you can negotiate a delay to your return to work or maybe a staged part time return if you think you will need it. Again we’re all different & you may need longer to recover. A friend was back after a week no problem Another needed three weeks. Me, I needed four weeks & still only returned to work part time. (My blood pressure was very low & my energy levels were zip.) You’d know if you had a leak. They’re pretty rare these days. Symptoms to look for include: Dizziness Fever Shortness of breath or fast breathing - more than 18 breaths a minute Fast heart rate - higher than 120 beats per minute Worsening abdominal pain Chest pain shoulder pain (not from the gas escaping) A general feeling of illness and anxiety Be kind to yourself & your body. You’ve been through a lot.

Regrets are common with specially in the first few weeks when you’re on the restricted staged eating plan & so limited in what yo can eat & drink & when. In time you will be able to eat & drink a lot of your old favourites but likely not as frequently and not in the same portion sizes. Or you may eat healthier versions of them. You’ll also discover new favourites too. But that will be your choice & how it fits in with you being able to maintain your weight. Caffeine is harsh especially on your healing tummy to begin which is why we’re advised to avoid it. After it just depends on if you can tolerate it or not. I sipped a gin & tonic a couple of months after surgery. I went from drinking a very large glass of wine or two every night to only having a single drink may be once a month. Initially my taste buds changed & I didn’t like the taste. Now, it ‘s my choice but I don’t look for it & don’t miss it. The only thing with beer may be the carbonation - some struggle with bubbles in any drink. Almost three years out & I still consider portion sizes & calories. I don’t measure & weigh every day. I do random checks of things I eat regularly but check every new food or recipe I eat. I’ve worked out cheat checks of portion sizes fir when I’m eating out - compare to my palm, a fist, finger length etc. I check portion size recommendations & read nutrition panels. I make most of my own food so I know exactly what I’m eating. It’s easy to get complacent & over estimate hence my checks. I know if I let this slide I’ll end up making bad food choices, eating more than I need & be back where I started.

Welcome. It’s ok to feel scared & nervous. It’s surgery. Food likely is something you depend upon as an emotional support & that is going to change & you will be changing what & how you eat. Things like how much pain you will experience after surgery is very individual. You may have a lot of gas pain or nine at all (I didn’t after my sleeve) but there are things you can do to help the gas escape your body. You may experience surgical pain for a couple of days or a week but again you’ll have access to pain meds to help. You may have muscular discomfort & struggle to get up & down for a little while or you may have very little at all. Pre surgical diets differ a lot too. Some are two weeks, some are just a couple of days. Some are all shakes. Others 2 meals shakes & 1 meal protein & vegetables. Mine was keto so … (I have done shake diets before & for a couple of months at a time.) The first challenge to the pre surgical diet is the psychological loss of the crunch & chew comfort of solid food. This can increase your head hunger & cause a lot of emotional turmoil. The second is the withdrawal symptoms (headaches, nausea, tiredness, etc.) from cutting out caffeine & sugar. This usually lasts less than a week. These things are small & are only a couple of weeks in duration. Nothing when you consider the big picture of your whole life & your health. The surgery is an opportunity to makes big changes but you have to be psychologically & emotionally ready. Don’t be afraid to seek support from a therapist (one who specialises in bariatric patients & disordered eating are best). A lot of people have found therapy extremely helpful. Yes, you are on a low calorie restricted diet & eating small portions to begin. Initially it is to support your healing. Then to make you look at the nutritional benefits of what you eat but within a few months you’ll be eating more & a greater variety of food. By maintenance you’ll be eating the portion sizes we all should be eating (not those giant plates two & three times more than what we actually need & lead to our obesity). And you’ll be consuming only the calories your body needs to function effectively & maintain your weight. You’ll discover your relationship with food will change. I still enjoy eating & the taste & texture of food but I see it as something my body needs to function & not as something to comfort & soothe me emotionally - because I’m bored, sad, happy, angry, etc. I’m not continuously thinking about what & when I’ll eat next. It’s that maxim of eating to live not living to eat. All the best.

You can do this! I didn't have a liquid diet; just low carb/low fat/high protein. But even if you do have a liquid diet before surgery, it's just a week or so, and then it's done! The first few days when you are getting over the sugar addiction are the hardest I hear. I had some gas the first day or so after surgery, but it wasn't a big deal. I had a fair amount of pain and took three pain pills total over three days. For reference, I took 4 pain pills in ONE day after some dental surgery. Don't let these things scare you; in the grand scheme of life, they're over in the blink of an eye!

I had very little pain to speak of (many of us don't), but getting in and out of bed could be a challenge - for the first few days I felt like I'd done a thousand crunches when getting out of bed. I didn't have a recliner, but I just had a ton of pillows propped up behind me so I wasn't lying flat. It did help. After I had my first plastic surgery (which was much more painful than my RNY), I bought a wedge pillow. In fact, I'm still using it, three years later. That may have been helpful after my RNY, too.

No leaking for me either. Neither did my three who also had a sleeve. I didn’t have a liquid test to test for a leak either. They can occur anywhere between the first days or up to a few weeks after surgery - I guess until you are fully healed. They are not very common. Surgeons tend to staple & stitch to decrease the risk of a post surgical leak. You can do things to help avoid a leak too. Follow your eating plan (nutrition & not stressing or straining your healing tummy), don’t carry anything too heavy (<10lbs to begin), don’t be too active too soon (gentle walking at first). If you have any symptoms go to your nearest hospital & contact your surgeon as soon as possible. All the best with your surgery.