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The more I think about it the more I think the creons I take are a contributing factor. They slow your digestion down as it passes through the intestines so you can absorb more nutrients. It’s used for malabsorption of protein, carbs and fats. Adds to my occasional issues with constipation. Fun! I’ve always eaten lean meats and while I eat more dairy now it’s still only about two serves of the recommended three serves a day. Can’t do the low fat or skim milk as I drink lactose free milk and reducing the fat makes it taste incredibly sweet & I can’t tolerate it. And the high protein yoghurt I eat (isn’t sweet) isn’t available in low fat. PS - The coronary artery calcium test gave me a score of zero the best you can get. At least I have a base score now for future comparison.

Just an update. I will be three weeks out tomorrow and I of course had to move it to the drivers side but I am still using this pillow. It helps keep it from running at this point and i hope that I don’t have to slam on the brakes but if I do I hope it helps some. 🤷🏼‍♀️

So my team said that my steri strips would start to fall off between two and three weeks out and that’s okay but I was hoping for closer to three weeks, lol. The one that’s just under my breast was almost off. I guess my real bra rubbed it so I pulled it off. My husband says it looks like it shoud be fine to him but I’m nervous about it anyways. I think when I’m going to be wearing a real bra I will just put a band aid over it for a while just so it doesn’t rub.

I didn’t have significant issues immediately after the surgery. I know a lot of people experience, dumping, nausea, and vomiting. I had one experience of vomiting, and it was simply because I made a bad choice to drink a drink that had too much sugar in it. I really had, other than the inability to eat big portions, no issues at all. Since that was what I was going for to begin with I was pretty happy and felt very fortunate. I followed what I now know to be a pretty typical less fiber, diet as the lettuce and other things seem to not do well. But vegetables that were cooked were fine. About three years ago, I started to experience extreme, explosive diarrhea - at first I thought it was random… Maybe I was sick, or I had eaten something bad. At that point, the occurrences were about a month apart. As this started to occur more often, I started eliminating things from my diet. Last summer, it was every day. I also had cramping and it would continue until my bowel was empty. At that point out of complete necessity I changed everything I wrote down what my habits were, anything that was consistent that I was consuming. I started systematically removing. I had stopped drinking diet sodas about five years ago, and it never occurred to me that artificial sugar could play a role in this however, I did find out that as I added, sugar-free vanilla to my coffee each day, that was playing a huge role. As soon as I started drinking, just black coffee I felt some relief. I thought that maybe I found the solution. It went from every day to every other day basically. So I started cutting more things out. And then I started having more symptoms. My stomach hurt when I ate. It felt like my esophagus hurt. I started having food come back up. I had to eliminate anything with oil in it. Almost everything I enjoy eating in anyway is off the list. Which is fine, I’m 63. I don’t need to enjoy my meals, exactly. However, it makes selecting food very difficult, especially as I travel a lot. I’ve now started adding gas, more cramping, and the symptoms are better one day worse than next. as to what my team says, lol… My gastroenterology appointment is next month. I have been waiting four months for that appointment. My blood work is perfect better than it’s ever been. I’ve had an ultrasound on my abdomen. Everything is fine except for my gallbladder has some sludge in it. I am well aware that my gallbladder perhaps is part of the problem. However, my PCP thinks that I should just lose weight and my gallbladder will be OK. With that, I can’t lose weight. I’ve actually gained during this whole time. Which seems almost impossible as I spend a tremendous amount of time eliminating everything I eatalmost immediately. The other amazing part of this is I feel great other than the diarrhea/other stuff. I go to the gym, I travel every week for work, I am in different environments with different schedules and somehow I have been able to work around my situation. I have had to cut out longer flights, which has made me really sad because I’ve missed several opportunities to go places I’ve wanted to go, but the risk of not being able to being in a bathroom for a half hour is too high. my current list of what I can eat with no issue is toast, sharp cheddar cheese, cooked green beans, chicken noodle soup, and Parmesan cheese crisps. It’s not a diet that anyone really wants to live on lol. Nor is it actually possible to live on.

You tend to experience constipation &/or diarrhoea post surgery. The constipation will often remain a regular occurrence. Initially it’s because of the surgery (blood and digestive irritation from the surgery and then because you’re on the liquid diet & consuming so little & not having much to poop out. Best advice is to try to keep on top of it. Add some soluble fibre to your diet, set a routine for a stool softener or similar. For example I’d take a stool softener (coloxyl)or similar if I hadn’t gone in three days. (Going every 2nd day was pretty common for me especially while losing.) Now 5 years out, I’ll take one if I haven’t gone for 2 or 3 days. (I’m on Creons and they tend to firm things up and slow the progress through the intestines which doesn’t help.) Some people swear by smooth tea, or regular miralax. You may have to try a few things but you’ll discover what works for you in time and it may change as you progress and eat more and a greater variety of food types.

I am here to add my vote for meal planning. I also have ADHD tendencies and I LOATHE food tracking. In the early days after surgery when I absolutely had to make sure I got in my protein and water, I managed to track by keeping a physical tracking notebook next to me at all times. I had to see the book to remember to do it. I stopped tracking around 5 months when I was consistently hitting my goals. Now that I am almost a year out, my weight loss has slowed (as expected) and I am finding it too easy to make poor choices if I don't plan ahead. I forced myself to actually track for a couple days and was shocked by how many calories I could eat and what I was choosing even when I "thought" I had been pretty reasonable. So, instead of tracking, which I am still terrible at, I've started meal planning and prepping ahead. For breakfast and lunch, I came up with a selection of maybe three or four choices I liked that have around 20g protein and entered them into my meal tracking app. For example, a spinach frittata for breakfast that I can slice into several servings, fruit cups that I make ahead for the week, single-serve packets of protein oatmeal or a protein bar for those days when I have to grab and go. For lunch, I make homemade chicken veg soup and also salad jars. I also like to make a batch of turkey chili to have on hand, which I store in single-serve containers. I also came up with a few snacks I like such as Greek yogurt with blueberries, or an apple with cheese. I also entered in my typical favorite 6 or 7 homemade dinners as recipes or meals in the app so I could easily add them to my day with one click. Before my shopping day, I try to plan my meals for the coming week. If I see my calories going too high or my protein not being enough, or whatever, on any given day, I can adjust accordingly. On a day that I eat oatmeal, I make sure my other choices are less carb heavy. If I have eggs for breakfast, I might plan to have a carb at dinner. I have the tab easy to get to on my computer, but printing it out each day would also work, as would entering each meal as a reminder in your phone's task list or calendar app. It is so much easier for me to look at my menu and follow it than it is for me to decide what to eat every day in the moment. It also means that if I can eat what I plan most of the time, I can have a restaurant meal or a dessert a few times a month without worrying about it or trying to track it. And since I tend to package up most of my make-ahead meals in single-serve containers, it's pretty easy to grab something to take along if I'm going to be out and don't want to have to hunt for food on the go and risk being off plan. The worst days for me are when everything in the house is an ingredient instead of a meal. That's exhausting and inevitably leads to snacking or poor choices. I find I need to set a regular day of the week for shopping when I can also have time to prep some items right away, before the food even goes in the fridge. I have the most success for the week when all my produce enters the fridge already washed, sliced, and portioned into fruit cups and salad jars, and when I can kick off a batch of chili in the slow cooker, a frittata in the oven, and a batch of taco meat to store for later in the week all at once. Freezing complete single-serve meals is another great strategy for those busy days when you might otherwise get off track. Like any habit, it takes a while to establish and may not be 100% perfect all the time, but I definitely find this helping me.

One suggestion in terms of your bra is to buy a bra with the correct cup size, but one that actually fits you on the biggest hook. That way you can use the other two or three hooks depending on how many are on it as you lose weight still because usually when they fit you, they aim for that middle hook so that you can gain or lose 10 pounds and it’ll still fit, but you know you’re not gonna be gaining anytime soon. Another option that I thought about doing myself because I had the sleeve and I know that I don’t lose much in my cup size. It’s just the band size is to buy one that fits in the cup, but it’s actually a size smaller in the band and use a bra extender, so it’ll last longer

No, no difference, however, it is important to remember that everyone loses at their own rate & there is no right or wrong rate. So many get very anxious that they’re not losing enough or fast enough. It’s not a race and every pound is a win. I always say celebrate every pound you lose. You’ll discover there is a lot of variation in the pre surgery diet @RuizAyres but we always say it’s best to follow your plan and not someone else's. I know my surgeon gave different patients different plans based on their health status, current weight, etc. it could be three shakes a day or two shakes & one protein plus vegetables meal a day. It could be no shake but milk like @summerseeker. The 3 or 2 shake plans tend to be the most common. He put me in keto for the two weeks prior. There’ll be slight variations in the post surgical plan too. Also, not sure your age, I was almost 54 when I had my surgery and there are people here who were in their 60s and 70s so you’ll be fine. There was a thread a little while ago called 50 and over I think. You could search for it as you might find it interesting. Found it:

Just to update for anyone reading this after the fact my weight loss did slow down quite a bit. It’s been 12 more days and I have only lost three more pounds. And the last one isn’t sure it wants to really leave me 🤣 Anyways, thanks for your reassurances and I hope you are all doing well.

I used to be like this back in my fertile years (😉). I craved carbs and could eat a loaf of bread in one day. Sandwich after sandwich. I had to consciously stop myself. About year 2 after my surgery, & well into menopause, I’d get these random days where that carb craving for bread would hit me. I couldn’t do anything about it because bread sits so heavily in my tummy so I avoid it & I never buy it. Thank goodness there wasn’t any in my house. I doubt foamies or my restriction would have stopped me. LOL! You joining the hysterectomy club @Starwarsandcupcakes? I’m three weeks out since mine. Yesterday I was feeling pretty good. Even went to the theatre to see a contemporary dance production but today I’m wiped out. Even chose an afternoon session so I could have a little nap before I went. Also had a fun experience with alcohol hitting hard. Drank almost a 1/2 glass of Prosecco and as I took it into the theatre it hit me. Woozily climbed the steep stairs to my seat. Sat with a thump. The stage was moving (it wasn’t) then the electronic music began and lighting effects. OMG! It was not pleasant. Felt like I’d quickly downed a bottle & not sipped a bare 1/2 glass. Damn cheap theatre alcohol!

It's really hard to properly design a workout program remotely since a lot of the things I would normally recommend would require some instruction. I also have no idea what sort of equipment you have available. That said, I'll try my best. Workout Splits: You really need to hit all the major muscle groups at least twice a week and preferably three times. Currently you're not doing this since you're doing an upper/lower split and training twice a week. That means most of your muscles are only getting hit once a week which is not sufficient for growth. If you can only lift twice a week, each of those days needs to be a full body routine. If you want to continue doing upper/lower splits, you'd need to lift 4 days a week (2 upper & 2 lower). There are other ways to break up workouts such as a Full/Upper/Lower, but those are really considered to be more advanced techniques so not really needed at this point. Out of all the possible options, I'd probably suggest Full Body on Mon/Wed/Fri as the most sensible. You'll get the best hypertrophy from that as a newer lifter. Exercise Selection & Programming: I'm going to base my suggestions off the premise that you'll be doing a full body workout as suggested. I also mostly picked from the exercises you were already doing because there's nothing wrong with those exercises and I assume you already know how to do them. Day 1: Lat Pulldown -- 3 x 8-10 @ 70-75% of 1RM with 1-2 RIR Leg Press -- 3 x 8-10 @ 70-75% of 1RM with 1-2 RIR Chest Press -- 3 x 8-10 @ 70-75% of 1RM with 1-2 RIR Hip Thrust -- 3 x 8-10 @ 70-75% of 1RM with 1-2 RIR Bicep Curls -- 3 x 12-15 @ 65-70% of 1RM with 2 RIR Calf Raises -- 3 x 12-15 @ 65-70% of 1RM with 2 RIR Tricep Pulldowns -- 3 x 12-15 @ 65-70% of 1RM with 2 RIR Day 2: Upright Row (Cable or machine) -- 3 x 8-10 @ 70-75% of 1RM with 1-2 RIR Hack Squat (or Leg Press if not available) - 3 x 8-10 @ 70-75% of 1RM with 1-2 RIR Incline Chest Press (flat is also fine if this is not an option. I mostly picked this because it will hit the upper pecs a bit more, as well as pull in the shoulders) -- 3 x 8-10 @ 70-75% of 1RM with 1-2 RIR Smith Machine Elevated Reverse Lunge (if needed, Hip Thrusts will be fine as well but single leg work is great for a lot of reasons) -- 3 x 8-10 @ 70-75% of 1RM with 1-2 RIR Machine or Cable Fly -- 3 x 12-15 @ 65-70% of 1RM with 2 RIR Pallof Press (Cable or Bands) -- 3 x 12-15 @ 65-70% of 1RM with 2 RIR Kickbacks (Machine or Cable) -- 3 x 12-15 @ 65-70% of 1RM with 2 RIR Notes: Make sure you introduce this workout plan SLOWLY. For the first two weeks, only do exercises 1-4 on each day. It's also fine to do a bit lighter weight than what I listed for those first 2 weeks. Make sure you're warming up properly. One of the biggest mistakes newer lifters make is not understanding how to warm up for lifting. Do some light cardio for 5-10 minutes, then do some dynamic stretching. Also, before starting your work sets, do one set at ~20% of 1RM, one set at about 40%-50%, and then maybe another at about 55-60%. This means you'll end up doing five to six sets total for each exercise. I'd probably suggest 20-40-60% for the first 4 exercise, and 20-50% for the last 3 exercises. The numbers like 75% of 1RM mean to do the exercise at that percentage of your 1 rep maximum. In other words, you need to determine what the maximum amount you can lift is and then do the math to determine how much weight you should be lifting for that exercise. RIR means Reps In Reserve. If it says 1-2 RIR, the idea is you need to be going until you think you can only do 1 or 2 more without failing. This is important because we don't want to go all the way to failure most of the time. Doing so creates a lot of load on our central nervous system and makes recovery more challenging. You'll notice that I changed the # of reps, % of 1RM and RIR for the last few exercises. This is because these are what we call "accessory exercises" and are somewhat less important. I want you to focus on the first 4 exercises the most. I didn't prescribe rest intervals on purpose. Between sets, just take a few minutes to let your body recover. If you find you can't get through the next set, try resting longer next time. Because there are day 1 and day 2 exercises, but 3 days a week you'll be lifting, you need to simply alternate. This means week 1, you'd do Day 1 on Monday, Day 2 on Wednesday and Day 1 again on Friday. The next week, you'd do Day 2 on Monday & Friday and Day 1 on Wednesday. it's important that you continue to push yourself in terms of the weight you are doing. We call this progressive overload. If the exercises start to feel easier, you need to increase the weight. If you don't, you'll stop growing. Rest is CRITICAL, so I'd suggest skipping the Les Mills classes. I just don't think you can properly do the above exercises at the weight you should be doing them at, and then turn around and participate in a class like that. I'd expect you to be worn out after the above sessions, and if you're not, then you're not lifting heavy enough. Don't do this for more than ~3 months. At that point, you need to change things up again. No lifting program is perfect and all of them will have some areas that could be done better. Further, some people respond better to certain exercises and not others. This is why having a trainer is honestly the best way since they can judge how well you are responding to certain things . We change things every now and again to even out imbalances, as well as make sure you are not stagnating. If you just don't like any of the exercise selections, there are always alternatives because regardless of what social media may have led you to believe, there's no such thing as "the best" exercise for any specific body part. This means if you find that one of these just isn't working, or you just can't stand doing it, we can change it. If you do stop the Les Mills classes, you may need to up the cardio work. I'd ideally like to see a minimum of 3 hours a week (3 one hour sessions), though don't try to jump to that amount right away. It would also be good to mix up the type of cardio you're doing, While uphill walking on a treadmill is good for you, it's pretty one dimensional. I'm obviously a big fan of running, but if that's not something you want to do, maybe biking or the elliptical would be good choices? Rucking would also be something for you to look into as there are lots of benefits to getting outside the gym for at least some of your exercise hours. As you can see, I could probably go on for a lot longer here, but this is enough for now. Best of luck and let me know if you have questions.

Oh yes, you never open a medication that is a capsule form. can’t belief they told you to do that. The outer shell is to protect your digestive system and to ensure the medication is absorbed slowly. People with sleeve usually don’t need to take as many supplements as those with a bypass, Sadi, etc. as sleevers don’t have as much of a malabsorption issue as they do. I had to take a multivitamin and vitamin D with K. That was it. I only took the D with K for about 3 or 4 months and stopped the multi at about 8 months. But I stress that was me and what my blood work showed I needed (or was lacking in) or in my case didn’t need. Some sleevers are also required to take calcium and iron. Does your blood work show you have existing needs i.e you are lacking in some vitamin? This would be a staring point as to what you may need even pre surgery. Then subsequent tests will show if you drop in anything. As to whether you can take tablets or need to have patches, chewables, liquid, or mouth spray versions is really up to what your surgeons requires and what you are able to tolerate. I could swallow capsules from about day 4 or 5. (Regular sized capsules not those giant horse sized ones 🙂). General advice: take your multi after you’ve eaten. They can cause nausea if taken on an empty tummy. If you have to take two or more multis as your dose, spread them out across the day. Try one in the morning and one in the evening. don’t take your calcium at the same time as your iron. Your body can’t absorb them at the same time. Try one in the morning & the other in the evening. don’t take your iron within an hour or so of consuming any caffeine if you’re allowed caffeine. Caffeine reduces your ability to absorb iron by more than 60%. Ensure you’re getting regular blood tests. My surgeon required once every three months before visits but my GP had me do one in between so I was having one every 1.5 months. That way if anything unexpected was happening, we knew about it quickly. All the best.

Thanks. I think it may actually be more than 4500 a day. Isn’t one pound 3500 calories? I swear I read that somewhere. Not sure if it was accurate, though. But yea, it unrealistic to think when the scale goes up a couple of pounds it’s because we had one thing off plan. I think I just panicked a little because I know that I cannot maintain two or three hours or exercise a day forever so if I’m doing all of this and still not really losing then what happens if I slow down. I figured once I get to maintenance I would probably cut that slowly but probably down to half that. I mean physically I feel like I could do it forever but it’s a very big time commitment between that and the healthy meals taking more time too. Maybe I will get to where I can do like one hour of more intense exercise. And then my Yoga a couple times a week. I really like that. It is a pretty good workout for me still but I can tell it’s eventually going to be really relaxing and feel good. I think I may ask my hubby to hide the scale. Someone else on here said they did that and it seems like a pretty good idea.

That milk of magnesia is a miracle worker. I started with the lower dose even and it wasn’t two maybe three hours later and I’m good to go. I’ve not really ever dealt with constipation if you can’t tell. 😆

Thank you very much! Congratulations to you as well for your successful journey. It's amazing to finally be free of the fat and, more importantly for me, the addiction to food and the total control/power I have over food now. It's seriously my lifelong dream at 55 so staying motivated was baked in.. Thank you again. I am sure I didn't elaborate or explain my reasons enough but actually I am concerned about slowing down the weight loss. I still eat very small portions and am worried it would be hard to sustain on just protein, without carbs. I like my body running more ketogenic than carbed up with the ups and downs of carbs. Without adding fat, and with our malabsorption aspect of the surgery, I am wondering if its possible or not so much..If I am being honest, at 240lbs, I started eating dirtier with carbs to try and stabilize at 240 until I got my knee surgeries, but then just dropped another 20+ within a month and a half or so. My steps and activity increased, small by normal people standards, but a lot for where I have been, after I got another Cortisone shot to the knees. This just illustrates my concern once I reach goal weight and I am rucking, hiking, and lifting. Those three things will be lifelong for longevity and mobility going forward. Obviously everyone is different as far genetically and such, but I have been extremely low calorie, plenty of short fasts up to three days, and have plateaued at certain points during my weight loss, and after doing a refeed with carbs and basically whatever I want to eat, I recharged my metabolism for another huge run of weight loss. The refeed was usually only a couple days to a few days but less than a week. Now with this approach remember I am lifting weights. I mean hard as I can weight lifting 4 days a week. It sucks! Low energy lifting is not fun but the recomp.. I really believe the built-in calorie burn from lean muscle mass is the most efficient way to permanently stay in shape. Male or female doesn't matter. IMHO if your metabolism is slow and you are struggling with the last few pounds, I mean the literally like 5-10 pounds from goal BF, man or woman, start lifting weights. The body recomp will floor you. And that weight or really I think just your body composition after significant weight loss without adding lean muscle mass leaves you looking(Sometimes) like a no muscle bag of skin. Flat. It's not fun but the results.. Anyways thank you for the reply and just to make clear if any of the vets care to weigh in, the WLS gave me the tool, the only tool I will ever need again to lose weight. It's so powerful for me that I need to think about slowing down my weight loss combined with, if possible, being low carb and more ketogenic as a lifestyle choice I prefer. I just don't know if low carb is sustainable without the fat calories. that specifically is what I am looking for. Does anyone prefer low carb/ketogenic after surgery and is it possible? I already realize that fats can be problematic, is anyone doing carnivore after DS Sadi. Not my preference but the only option it seems for low carb without the keto fat plan. Thanks in advance for any tips.

I bet it is just because they are too loose. I am about ready for the next size but I think they will still be a little too snug. You know how In the extended sizes they make you go a couple of inches before the next size which is so unfortunate. Once you get down to the “normal” sizes, there are more sizes in between so I’m sure I will find some to fit me better down the road. I actually am still within the return period for Amazon, maybe I will just send these two back and get the smaller size. If they are not comfortable anyways I may as well wear something I already have that isn’t perfect. At least that’s free. Or maybe I will be pleasantly surprised and they will just fit. If that doesn’t work, I will check out Nike. I just hate to spend a lot knowing that I’m still losing. Then again the ones that I got were not super cheap either, $30 bucks. I ordered some that were three in a pack for $30 and the material was just horrible so I went with the same brand as my bicycle shorts and I really like the material. I only have two pairs of the shorts so I have washed them every other day for over a month now and they still look brand new (navy and black not faded). Plus, they are really soft.

My LRD is a 12 milk and broth diet. But I went to the latest dietician meeting with me NHS MDT and they said that from three weeks before surgery, I can do soup and yoghurt. Each NHS trust seems to have different diets. I am assuming you're not in the UK so your doctor will probably say something different. I think the general consensus is, no to low carbs, no fat, no sugar and keep it at 800 calories a day.

It’s not particularly common but it does happen. I actually “eat” every three hours. Something small And I have seen others on here who eat every two hours but they are much further out from surgery than you and me. Also, this is something small and it’s all protein high protein food so if you log all of the calories and macros you can eat more often but still stay on plan. Maybe run this by your team. My nutritionist that I talked to you before my surgery did not think it was a good idea but the nurse practitioner said it was actually fine so long as I wasn’t eating more portion wise than I was supposed to while everything healed. I think the problem with it would be in the future as portions grow a bit if you’re eating five meals a day then you are eating five bits more instead of three bits that adds up faster. as long as you know that you’re able to control the portions and the quality of the food that you’re consuming your team may be on board. In the meantime, check in with yourself to make sure that it’s not what we call head hunger. Are you tired, lonely angry or bored or anything like that when you’re feeling hungry? If so, then talk to your team about that and maybe try journaling to get your feelings out or an alternative behavior such as working on a puzzle or craft or something like that. If that’s not it, there was a lady on here years ago that struggled with hunger that never went away, and she tried everything to get to the bottom of it. In terms of it being head hunger, and it didn’t seem to be she finally said that one thing that helped was warm liquid such as soup, broth, or tea or warm coffee. Another thing is there is not a whole lot of protein in one egg. I know your pouch is small and you can’t consume a lot food wise at this point, so maybe you need to supplement that protein with a little bit of a protein shake in between. I actually have what I call proffee for breakfast for that very reason. I am able to consume an entire protein shake over time with added chilled coffee and that keeps me full until lunch. Of course, don’t go against your teams plan without discussing these ideas with them, but hopefully something here helps. You have to remember that they give you a cookie cutter plan when you start out. But you are very individual and it’s possible that what they gave you just doesn’t work for you so make an appointment to talk to them sooner or email through your patient portal and tell them what’s going on. My suggestion would be to log what you’re eating and your activity and show them so they can have a better idea of what’s going on. I used a Fitness watch that is connected to an app on my phone for my activity and the Baritastic food app, which is free on the phone, but there are others as well. Also, pay attention to your mood or feelings because a lot of of us are emotional eaters. I know that I turned into food a lot of times out of just boredom. But also stress and anxiety. Basically, I realize this by sitting there with my hungry feelings for a few minutes and thinking about what had happened that day and whether it was particularly stressful or how I was feeling about it. If you really take inventory and it doesn’t coincide with emotions, though it is possible for the hunger to come back sooner, it has happened again just very uncommon. It will be easier to explain to your team if you have done a feelings inventory and tried a journal or really thought about if you were, I can’t remember there’s an acronym, but I think it’s stressed, lonely bored or tired. Something like that. After reading the comment above, it reminded me when I was early out. I did not eat food, solid food that often I had shakes in between. Also, yes, it is possible that it’s stomach acid too so ask about a PPI if you aren’t on that already. And please don’t just adjust anything without talking to your team because I don’t even know what surgery you had and everybody’s situation is different but you could run those ideas by them.

So I went with the SADI and I am two weeks post op now. I did have loose movements for three days but only the one in the morning and since then I have been constipated or normal but back and forth. It’s weird because everyone warned me about diarrhea and that hasn’t happened yet. Does it wait until you are on more normal foods maybe?

Great suggestion to call the surgeons office if you feel yourself wavering and ask if they can fit you in because you have a few more questions. I went to THREE additional appointments over the normal requirement until all my questions were answered. I was wavering between the bypass and SADI revision though and It was a really tough choice for me and because it’s so new there was little info online to answer the questions. Also as @Arabesque suggested they may be able to give you an anxiety med to relax you the morning of before you go to the hospital. I didn’t even think of that.

Yes, the ulcers were definitely the culprits. I had an EGD (upper scope) to confirm it. I was slowly bleeding out. The weekly IV-iron infusions haven't shown any rapid results. I've been told that this is a slow process and could take weeks, if not months, before my labs are in ideal ranges. My hemoglobin is no longer in the fives. It is only in the eights, but that's progress. I am still dragging. No energy. I am a food pantry volunteer. I also provide transportation to at least three families who don't have a car. A homeless man named Gordon relies on me to help him with enough water and protein-rich canned food for the week. My husband keeps telling me that I can't help anyone unless I help myself (heal) first. It's hard for me to do that. It was during one of these pantry trips that I passed out in the parking lot (while in the lineup car queue for assistance). I hadn't been diagnosed at that point, so it was quite scary. Fortunately, one of the families I pick up for was with me. Who knows what would have happened had I been alone... I have other conditions that helped to mask the problem. For one, I have Hashimoto's, a common thyroid disorder. I was used to being fatigued from that. I am also a chronic pain patient and take heavy doses of morphine, so I am used to being in pain (and anemia hurts.) My daughter is a PharmD and two of my three sons are M.D.s so I have plenty of support and knowledge in my corner. My primary doctor is also my youngest son's medical school classmate. She is like a daughter to me... Which just goes to show that a person can have all these medical types in your life... and STILL succumb to something like this.

It is so good to hear an update from you. I am so frustrated for you that you had to go through a stall because of conflicting information but at least you’re on track now. I am on a pretty similar plan my breakfast every morning is a proffee which is a caramel shake with iced coffee on top. Then I eat every three hours so luncheon dinner with two high protein snacks. this actually works well for me to remember all of my vitamins too because I have to take vitamins at five different times a day. that’s so exciting to hear about the clothes fitting and you were so lucky but you have someone to borrow. I think for me my most exciting moment was clearing out some of the things that are way too big for me now. I was actually thinking of asking my team if we could do a clothing exchange at the support group meeting. for the wheats, if you don’t have any look on marketplace consider discount stores as well. I checked several thrift stores for mine, and apparently they sell them separately because I found them in several stores but only one. I ended up finding some at a discount store for 599 for the set. Alternatively, check your library, city, and county websites for classes that use weights. Mine has all the weights there for you to use. And the group classes are really fun, Inexpensive and there’s no commitment. At mine it’s a really cool environment too. It’s nothing like a gym. The women are just average women that are there to get healthy. Nothing competitive whatsoever everyone choose each other on to beat their own personal best or just totally mines their own business. They even gave me my first class free to see if I liked it. I’m sure I mentioned that I started with yoga. I never in 1 million years would’ve considered myself someone who would survive one yoga class never mind love it. Of course I’m horrible and can’t do half of but it’s still a workout and I am getting more flexible and my balance is getting a bit better because of it anyways, congratulations on your loss and finding your groove. Keep doing what you’re doing and keep us posted.

I was allowed instant oats from purée (traditional oats, so more coarse than the instant, were allowed a couple of months later). I made them with more milk than they advise (extra protein) & ate them hot. Of course it took two or three days to eat a recommended serve of the oats in the beginning and I’d just reheat them & add a little more milk the next days. After a month or so on traditional oats I’d add blueberries. Besides vegetables & fruit, the oats were the other carb I ate but only three or four times a week. Now I add two big spoons of yoghurt, a spoon of mixed seeds, a scoop of collagen (vital proteins dissolves really well), cranberries & blueberries. Still made with lots of milk and still eaten hot. Only use about 1/2 - 2/3 of the recommended serve of the raw oats. I always have leftovers but I eat them for an afternoon snack.

I work in healthcare as well, and I know that feeling all too well. Epic is gonna Epic. Worst three years with trying to work the kinks out of this thing. So are you back on for the 16th?

I've often thought of moving there, or the South East coast, but the house insurance rates in Florida have made me think twice and three times about it. I've seen insurance rates as high or higher than the mortgage each month! Wowsa! I'd still love too..but dang I don't know how ppl do it.