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I'm on day 7 of my pre-op diet, and that is exactly what got me through day 5 -- which was the first Friday when I couldn't order a pizza/look forward to eating in front of the TV after a week of work. It really helped to remind myself that in just three more weeks I can start having yogurt again, in four more weeks I can go back to having (sf) pudding and applesauce and tuna and steamed veggies (etc.), and by February all dietary restrictions should be lifted. There may well be many foods that I never have again, but that will be by choice.

They’re a pancreatic enzyme supplement & assist in the digestion of food & consequently improve the absorption of nutrients. I take them now as since my gall removal I don’t absorb protein as well. I’ve been on them for almost three months. Blood test tomorrow so fingers crossed they’re helping.

I'm sorry you're going through a bad time. Three major surgeries in less than a year is a LOT of stress on your body and mind. I lost my mom to cancer, so I understand how the anniversary of a loss like that can affect you. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to heal, inside and out. I will pray you recover soon.

restriction eases over time. I'm several years out now. If this gives you any idea, at restaurants my usual order is an appetizer - or else I'll order an entree, eat half of it, and have them box up the other half. No different than a lot of my never-been-obese women friends, to be honest. that week 3 thing is the infamous "three week stall". It's not always the third week, but it usually is, hence the name. But the vast majority of us hit our first major stall sometime during the first month or so after surgery. Stalls typically last 1-3 weeks. When you hit one (and you'll likely hit several on your journey), just stick to your plan and stay off the scale for a few days - and know that it'll eventually break and you'll be on your way again. If you want more info on the three week stall, do a search for it on this site. Last time I checked, there were over 17,000 posts on it. And no, I am NOT kidding...

there are food restrictions the first few months, but after that, there aren't any limitations as long as you can tolerate whatever the food is (I can no longer tolerate really high-fat meals - and it's not uncommon for people to develop things like lactose intolerance after surgery - but you won't have any restrictions per se. I'm "allowed" to eat anything - and have been for a long time). I was never a big drinker even before surgery - I'd just have an occasional glass or two of wine. We weren't supposed to drink for the first year (according to my clinic, anyway), and I didn't at all for the first three years. Now I'm back to having my occasional glass or two of wine - by which I mean, maybe four or five times a year. So for ME, I don't notice any difference...other than alcohol hits me a lot faster than it did pre-surgery. taking vitamins becomes pretty automatic after the first few weeks. I don't even think about it anymore. I take a small handful when I get up in the morning, a smaller handful around dinner time - and my iron and vitamin C before I go to bed. complications aren't common and most are minor and "fixable". The most common one with sleeve is reflux, which in most cases (if you happen to develop it) can be managed medically. In severe cases, there's always the option of revising to RNY - although I don't know how common it is for it to get to that point. Might be worth asking if you're concerned. I didn't mind the puree stage. It was a relief after being on all liquids. If you're not crazy about the puree stage, just keep in mind that it doesn't last very long. You'll be on soft foods - and then solid - before you know it. it'll be pretty obvious to others the first month or two by how little you can eat that something is "up". I mostly just tried to avoid going out with people so the question wouldn't come up - or I'd suggest meeting up for coffee or tea or some activity instead of a meal. After that, for several months I'd just claim I wasn't very hungry and order an appetizer or some soup or chili. Now I'll sometimes still order that - or if I do get an entree, I'll eat half of it and have the rest boxed up. Pretty much the same as a lot of my never-been-obese women friends. No one can tell anymore that I've had surgery. Basically, this will all take some getting used to - it can be overwhelming at first - but after the first few weeks, it really isn't. And you're right - pre-surgery nervousness is pretty common. I've had four surgeries in my life, and I get nervous every time - but they've all gone off without a hitch!

My doctor skips pureee and goes straight to sift foods. I started soft foods day five after surgery and I’m quite fine. Now three weeks out

Oh man I was hoping it would be temporary! I’ve always been cold all the time and now it’s even worse.. I already sleep with three blankets now and wear double layers and it’s not even proper winter yet 😭

I had a very quick turnaround from CIGNA. Three days from submission to approval on the first attempt—but I had a BMI when I started of well above 50, and multiple co-morbidities. But here is the thing—CIGNA is both a traditional health insurance company, and also administers health plans for companies that self-pay their insurance. If you got CIGNA from an ACA exchange or if you work for a small or medium sized company, chances are you have the traditional health insurance. If you work for a large corporation, chances are they're just administering what your company has decided to pay for. You can tell which one you have by looking at the phone number on the back of your card. If it's different than 800-997-1654, or if it says "CIGNA's dedicated line for <company>", you are dealing with your employer, which is actually a bit easier. You can go to your company's benefits department and ask them to make an exception. If they are willing, they will overrule CIGNA's denial. Also, the CIGNA follow-up nurses are amazing. Got me connected to all manner of things I needed. She followed up for two months after surgery and then rang off.

1. Could you feel your stomach? No, not really. I felt the incisions, but honestly there was so much gas that I didn't feel anything. I worried about this too, especially as I started to drink my liquids, but it was fine. I did feel my stomach about three weeks post-op as the nerves re-grew, but it truly wasn't even pain, just sort of "what on earth is that sensation..." Now I'm fine and doing sit-ups and tuck-ups and kip swings off a bar and bracing for heavy weight lifting no problem. I never took any of the serious pain drugs, and only needed 4-5 doses of Tylenol the first week. 2. Did you have a drain? No. There was a tiny bit of discharge from the largest incision (where they withdraw the stomach), but only for one day. 3. How long on clear fluids? Not at all. I was started on full liquids literally in the hospital. I had to have one day of clear fluids pre-op in order to clear my system so they could see what was going on. 4. Cold, tepid, or warm fluids? At first, tepid or warm fluids felt better. Cold ones were a shock. Now I can drink whatever (8 weeks out). 5. Sipping? I took trepidatious little sips in the hospital. By the time I got home later that day (I didn't even stay overnight), I was taking small but normal sips, at least 3/4 ounce. By three weeks out I was able to take nice little gulps. Now, 8 weeks out, if I want to (if I've been running, f.ex.) I can take 3-4 real gulps in a row. 6. Can't drink for the first 24 hours? Absolute b*llocks. I literally was handed a tray with broth, unsweetened cranberry juice, and cream of rice as soon as I was transferred from the recovery room to my hospital room. That said, I did have dry mouth even drinking. Get you a thing of Biotene at any drugstore and spray it in your mouth. It's the weirdest sensation but it helps immensely. 7. Sleeping? I spent the first night on my back because I would have to wriggle a bit to get on my side. I went back to side sleeping on Night Two. Oddly, as I've shrunk (down 51 lbs from surgery weight) I feel more comfortable sleeping on my back despite having been a side sleeper for decades.

I had to do nothing after midnight (not even water) but then three hours before surgery I had to drink 12oz of gatorade. That had to do with nausea too.

Hello! I'm new to posting on the forum although, I have been lurking without an account for quite some time. My surgery is also tomorrow. They gave me three Ensure pre-surgery clear, they said take two by midnight, and the other 3 hours before the surgery.

I’m three months post op and feel absolutely great now. You will feel so much better too after your body heals. Likely you will surprise yourself each day with another activity you couldn’t do before. Like doing a lunge in yoga or walking up the stairs without getting winded. Focus on your goals. I kept in mind that during the actual surgery I was going to be asleep. I wasn’t in charge of doing the actual surgery. It’s silly but it calmed me down. All I had to do was go to sleep and wake up, and I did. I was still me and felt like me afterward too. You will too. I also use a piece of jewelry as an anchor to remind myself to keep my focus on weight loss and self care. (WW idea) I have a ring. I couldn’t wear jewelry into the hospital but tapped my finger to remind myself of self care when I got scared. My old WW leader had a charm bracelet from her MIL who had died from diabetes complications. I still use my ring to refocus after missteps like Halloween candy lol.

I'm one of the sad exceptions. I was borderline pre-diabetic and chose bypass hoping to stave off diabetes. For the first three months post-op, my fasting BG was around 70-80. But after the three month mark, it shot back up into the 90's, and today, two years out, it's right back to where it was originally -- typically 95-104 fasting. My A1C went from 4.9 right after surgery to 5.2, so I'm still reasonably okay, but the surgery did not change my situation at all.

Okay. Deep breath. Exhale. 'Nother deep breath. Exhale. One more. Exhale. If you search these forums, you will find almost 20,000 posts on the infamous "three-week stall". That is exactly where you are, and sometimes it lasts a few weeks. Stay on your plan, stay OFF the friggin' scale except ONCE a week, and just be patient. The constipation is almost certainly part of the issue, though you're not eating enough to really be backing stuff up. But you can go and get an enema at any drugstore; sometimes it just "packs" and you have to break the pack. (Gross, sorry, I know, but facts.) You're also almost certainly not getting much if any fiber. It does get better. One thing you might want to try (though who knows if it'll work for you) is INCREASING your food a little bit. I know it sucks, but anything helps. Soup. Tomato soup. Cream soup. Whatever. Just increase calories to about 500-600, in concert with your nutritionist's guidance, and see if that moves things along.

I feel really defeated and upset. Sorry this is gonna be a negative post but I dont know what to do anymore. I had my surgery (vsg) September 28th (in another post I mixed up September and October) and recovered very well, very fast. Hardly any gas pain, no incisional pain and so far no vomiting. As thankful as I am about all that that pretty much sums up all the good things there are. First of I’m hungry ALL THE TIME!! In fact my cravings have never been this bad. I think about food 24/7!! Then the moment I smell food or prepare food my hunger vanishes and gets replaced by feeling incredibly nauseous. I can only eat something once then it grosses me out. Because of this I avoid eating and - as stupid as it sounds I’m well aware of that - I get scared to eat because I dont want to be miserable. I can tolerate everything fine but the smell is just awful! Speaking of awful I have the worst and most disgusting bad breath of my life!! No matter how much I brush my teeth and floss my mouth my family can smell me from down the hall. I feel so gross! If only I was loosing weight I’d accept it all but the kicker is I’m not losing any!! The first two weeks I lost 25lbs. Week 3 and four I lost 3lbs and since then (two weeks!!) I’ve been stalling. I’m so frustrated!! What makes matters the absolute worst (sorry this is tmi) I can’t 💩!!!! I havent gone in 15 days!! I’m seeing a nutritionist, who has prescribed me stool softener but nothing happened. I’ll probably have to go back to the hospital over the weekend to get a stronger laxative (talked to the surgeon on the phone today). I didnt expect to have regular bowl movement as before but feeling constipated for two weeks is really no fun. I’m telling myself at least once that’s out maybe my weight will finally drop? Some more context: My surgeon’s plan calls for regular food after day 4. I didnt follow that guideline because it scared me and ate soft foods till aprox. week 5 focusing on my protein intake. I weigh my food though I feel like I can eat a lot. So far I consume around 300-400kcal a day. I had to eat out once for work where I had bread with cheese. Other than that I’m very diligent with my diet. My water intake could be better but I’m constantly sipping on water and cant get more down than 1 maybe 1 1/2L a day. I feel like I’m being punished because I lost (and gained back) 100lbs three times before with very restrictive diets and my body is so used to “being starved” so it’s not playing along. I keep reminding myself my main goal isnt weight loss (though I need and want to) but to stop yoyo dieting in such excess. It’s hardly comforting though because I’m really really frustrated. I’m sorry to be so negative! And I’m sorry I wrote so much but I need to get it off my chest. Have any of y’all had a similar hard beginning? Does it really get better? At this point I can’t imagine it

Congratulations on your weight loss to date!! Losing 36 pounds post surgery, in 3 months is still something to celebrate, even if it feels slow to you. Everyone loses weight at different speeds. If you are worried that you may not be on track, I highly recommend talking to your doctor or nutritionist. If you aren’t already, I found tracking everything I ate really helped as it doesn’t take much for the calories to mount up. I’m certainly not suggesting that you can’t eat popcorn or anything like that but they are high in carbs and it also depends on how they are cooked, e.g. air popped vs cooked in butter, so tracking your intake can just help you keep on top of things. At just over three months out, your body is still healing and so it’s really important to stick to your doctor’s plan and the weight will continue to come off. Best of luck and I look forward to hearing about your journey as it progresses

I enjoyed going to restaurants (fine dining not chain) before surgery & I still enjoy going to them after you surgery. The difference is instead of ordering two or three courses I only order one. The only regret I have is there are a number of restaurants I’ve wanted to go to & now I can’t because they only do degustation menus. There’s no way I would be able to eat 6, 8, 9, … courses even if they’re small - the volume of food still adds up. An unfortunate side effect of COVID has been many restaurants in Australia offer three course set menus now. Can understand why - better economies & less waste - but is a waste of money to be forced to order three courses for me now. Hopefully, they will go back to full a la carte soon. As for alcohol, yes I enjoyed drinking too: champagne, gin, scotch, wine were my preference. But was never an excessive drinker. Every night I had big glass of wine sometime followed by a scotch or a gin followed by a glass of wine. Now, I only have a drink about once a month (last month I drank three times but that was very unusual circumstances). And I can nurse a glass for ages. Do I miss drinking more? Not really. Do I feel I’m missing out socially? Nope. I just enjoy being with friends & family. Honestly, I don’t enjoy alcohol quite as much. It has made me more particular about what I drink - quality over quantity. Champagne over cheap sparkling.

This post really made me think about my relationship with food and drink again. I’m three months out with my bypass tool. I did graze one weekend on Greek style pizza and wine. I really enjoyed the company, could enjoy the wine with only two ounces. I did pack away 4 slices over 2 hours though. I had to really work hard a solid week to get back to my weight before that gathering. Looking back, the free laughter outside with friends was what I enjoyed. It felt like the openness pre-Covid. Keeping the feelings and why needs to be in front all the time. I am reminded that surgery is just a tool. Being social with friends safely is precious, and my physical health doesn’t need to take a toll. I’m going to track on an online app next time and plan ahead better. But you won’t have to stop socializing either, because I equate socializing with positive mental health. Like me you will have to evaluate your food and drink pitfalls and navigate through your strengths and weaknesses. For me, each gathering, each person, each situation is different. I have go into the next one with a better plan, but I promise I will still enjoy the socializing!

Update: the drugs are working! The pain is almost completely gone, no more weird gallstone-like-pain attacks waking me in the night, and today I managed to eat half a small falafel which I could not have done three days ago. Tiny steps re-introducing soft solid food again, but it's a welcome relief being able to swallow even a tiny bit. So it was definitely ulcers and I'm definitely on the mend. My surgeon is awesome.

I think you just have to go at the pace you heal. I was able to go from sips, to mouthfuls within about two weeks post surgery, and while I'm nowhere near guzzling a glass, at 6 weeks post I can now easily gulp three good mouthfuls at a time, which puts me at about 50 ounces per day. Increasing a little each day helped me.

Congratulations! I had surgery on the 1st and you're absolutely right! The first few swallows of liquid are extremely UNCOMFORTABLE! 😣 At three days out- some sips are better than others. I get this bottleneck feeling where the liquid sits and then all of a sudden fizzles down into my stomach... It's taking some getting use to...

It really is an interesting topic... I have a friend who is sharing with everyone (coworkers, friends, strangers, you name it 😆) and I'm the complete opposite. I agree with you 100%! I do not need any validation from those around me- the same way I didn't need any pressure or negativity while overweight and considering my options. I received the sleeve just three days ago! I'm slowly but surely feeling better physically and happy with my decision. Like you, this wasn't as drastic as a decision for me like others may feel. Nonetheless, it was the right decision for me at the right time and I'm looking forward to this journey of good health and feeling my best!

Like @lizonaplane, I get this if I eat too quickly. It does dissipate but it hurts! Maybe try to get a small timer (if you have Apple devices, Looping Reminder is an app that you can set for, say, every three minutes... it taps my wrist and I eat a bite).

yep - sounds like the infamous "three week stall" that happens to probably 90% of us. If you do a search on this site for it, you'll find over 17,000 posts on it. And no, I am NOT kidding. just stick to your plan and stay off your scale for a few days. It typically lasts 1-3 weeks. But it WILL break and you'll be on your way again...

Memar, there is a phenomenon termed the “three week stall”. It is quite well known, often occurring at 3 weeks post op, but can happen at other times post op. Your body is just catching up and if you stay with the plan your bariatric team has outlined, you’ll see movement on the scale again!