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Thank you for the detailed information! I do take some of the medications you listed, tried flavoring my water too. I dodn't know that dehydration could make nausea worse though. I felt fine in the hospital and was able to eat more, but as soon as I left the pain and intense nausea returned. I now have body aches to boot. So i was thinking that hydration and sleep should be my priorites at this point, maybe if i get those fixed i can eat more and feel better? I'm switching from water to electrolytes so add taste and electrolytes. I really don't want to rely on protein shakes bc I'd like to be able to eat with my family at some point in the next few months, even if it is just a little bit. Also be be able to go a long walk without feeling like collapsing from fatigue would be nice too. What is a TPN?

I had nausea until about 8 weeks out. It was constant and impacted my ability to eat, drink, and take my vitamins. A few things helped me (and others like me) that may help you: 1. Ondansetron only takes the edge off of nausea for me. It is rather ineffective for my body. I have much better results with promethazine, it actually manages to eradicate the nausea for a number of hours. I'd ask about a prescription to try it, at this point it is worth trying something else for the nausea and they have a number of meds out there that can help with this. I took it several times a day. 2. My surgeon told me to be gradual with my addition of vitamins. I had to take the chewable B complex everyday, and the little B1 pill because my complex didn't have enough B1 in it alone. But these were pretty gentle on my stomach. The actual multivitamins though he said are rather activating for the stomach and some people can struggle to incorporate them early after surgery. It could be these are contributing to your stomach pain and nausea, especially if your multivitamin contains iron, as it can be a little hard on a new tummy. So talk to your doctor about this, perhaps they can switch you to a bariatric B complex and let you try adding in the multivitamin closer to 3 months than all at once right now. 3. When my stomach would hurt I'd massage it in clockwise motions with firm, but not painful, pressure. I got twisting stomach spasms for the first few weeks with any food or water and this was the only thing that helped ease the pain of them. 4. My PPI needed an extra dose and for me, omeprazole is worthless. Some people metabolize it fast and for some it just doesn't work as well. Have they considered switching you to Pantoprazole? It is often used in the hospital because it is so effective. It might be worth switching to it to see if it is any more effective for you. A lot of bariatric patients end up having to switch around to find the most effective one for them. 5. Hydration is crucial early out of surgery. They should have had you exclusively focusing on hydration for the first two weeks along with the B complex. It sounds like your electrolytes are off, probably because you are chronically dehydrated. Nausea is made MUCH worse by dehydration!! You are 6 weeks and still struggling. Unfortunately at this point you DO need to be trying to get in some protein with your hydration to prevent malnourishment. Greek yogurt is great for this, but there are other options too. Have you tried any protein water powders like SEEQ or Syntrax Nectars? These are easier to stomach and come in nice flavors. SEEQ watermelon is seriously tasty. LOL Try some sample packets!! It is okay if you can't hit your full protein goals yet, every little bit helps. If the change in meds doesn't help you at all, I hope they consider doing some imaging and a scope to ensure you aren't experiencing something like a stricture. They are rare, but they do happen, and they can cause issues with progressing the diet. 6. Water flavoring packets can help with getting in more water, as does sipping it around the clock out of those tiny cups until you get the hang of getting more water in. It can and does feel like a full time job and you will feel like you are floating! This is normal. Electrolyte powders are a great addition to water at least once a day because they really help you get minerals you are missing since you aren't eating them in food! And try a variety of things and a variety of temperatures. Some hot broth or tea, some flavored water over ice, something room temperature, sometimes the tummy has an opinion about what the best temp is! I am so sorry you are dealing with these issues 6 weeks out. It sounds like your team needs to be more proactive in trying different meds and doing some testing to figure out what is going on. Honestly, some do struggle like this for a while. On occasion some end up with TPN for a while to help them get the nutrition they need. It sounds like you aren't quite at that point because you are keeping some foods down, but it is an option if you continue to struggle and end up in the hospital repeatedly for low vitamin levels. Some find a month or two of TPN can get them past the roughest part and then their systems are able to handle food and water without issue. It really depends on the person. But you don't want to go that route if you can avoid it... ❤️

I have 4 shakes a day plus yogurt 4 ounces of a protein all of these with 4 ounces of fruit or veggie. Way too much for me.

My surgery is also on 2/21. What kind of a preop diet did your doctor put you on? I'm on liquids, basically protein shakes, broth, yogurt. Not a single fruit or veggie in sight unless you count creamy tomato soup with protein powder in it.

I am at the end of week 3 post op, and I had my bloodwork done 1 week again from primary care for other reason. However because he knew I had surgery done, he order to check vitamins and urinalysis. I don’t know if I am freaking out? But it has more red in the result than before the surgery. Hope to see if anyone of you had testing done post op and maybe can explain a little bit before I get a call from my doctor. It show I have too much B12, then there is protein in my urine, and bilirubin is high. I hope my liver is ok! Maybe all this is normal after surgery.

Eight days after surgery, the only soreness I have now is directly on the incisions. The gas pains subsided by day 3 after surgery. I see my surgeon next week for the two week post op visit. Getting fluids in is no problem. I can get 70-80 oz down daily without issues. I can get 4 protein shakes in as well. Which is what my Dr. recommended for me. Though, I do feel full at times with broth and protein shakes. I still feel like I need more, even though I take a multivitamin and B-50 complex. I'm ready for the next phase which is the puree' / soft food phase. I can start that in 5 days. I feel like I can do it now, but I'm not going to get ahead of myself and follow instructions. I really don't want any setbacks. If anyone has questions feel free to ask. Just for advice, the body wrap they put you in after surgery, wear it as much as you can. It really helps with soreness. Also, it helps if you start coughing.

If you don't already have some bariatric cookbooks, I can highly recommend these three of the several I bought: Bariatric Meal Prep Made Easy by Kristin Willard The Bariatric Diet Guide and Cookbook by Dr. Matthew Weiner The Easy 5 Ingredient Bariatric Cookbook by Megan Wolf All three have sound nutritional advice as they are written by bariatric experts, as well as some really nice recipes. They talk about portion sizes and what to aim for nutritionally as you go through the honeymoon period and into maintenance, and even give you different portions for different phases. None of the books give specific calorie goals, but that's rather standard with many programs. The focus is often for you to discover what works for you and not get sucked into a dieting mindset by counting everything so closely you drive yourself crazy. But the basics are generally to fill one half of your (small, child or luncheon sized) plate with a 3-4oz portion of lean protein and no more than a 1/2 cup serving of starch/grain, and the other half with non-starchy veg. Consume 60-80g protein. Drink at least 64 oz water. (Apologies for not having the metric measurements). Using a small plate is a really great visual cue. Check out the Portion Perfection plates, which are 8-inch melamine and printed with exactly how much of each food goes where. If you need to retrain yourself, this is an easy tool to use. They have bowls, too. (All the books and the plates can be found on Amazon in the US). Going back to liquids is extreme. I would think it would be sufficient to go back to three meals per day as described above, and either no snacks or only fruit and veg or a protein shake as a snack if truly hungry, and make sure you weigh your portions and get all your water in every day. The other thing is to look for processed foods that have crept back into your diet and get them out of your house. You can't be tempted by what isn't there. Good luck to you!

There are some good dieticians & there are some … well… lousy ones. Is there any way you could find another dietician? Telling you to go to back to shakes is a bad suggestion like @summerseeker said. They should have gone through what you’ve been eating & make suggestions from there. The goal is to be eating real food not highly processed synthesised shakes loaded with artificial sweeteners & such. Stalls are frustrating. No way aground that but they are an important part of your weight loss when your body takes stock of your new needs & adjusts digestive hormones, etc. Best advice is to stick to your plan. Don’t make changes & stress your body more. The stall will break when your body is ready. Good advice from @summerseeker too about going back to the basics of protein first, then vegetables & then low processed complex multi/ whole grain carbs if you can eat more. Make cause you’re hitting your protein & fluid goals. Calories are a bit of a touchy issue at the moment in the medical world. Some are anti some are pro. A lot is around a calorie is a calorie regardless of what the food source is versus nutrient value. Plus, caloric needs differs so much person to person - age, gender, activity, metabolism, general health, hormones, etc. all affect how many you need. Personally I think if you are eating nutrient dense food, having an idea of calories can help you stay on track & guide you if you’re sliding.

Yes I was too ! It’s so hard I had it done abroad and I guess due to that I’ve not had much help with the meal plans etc I find myself so lost at times . No idea how many calories I should be having and how much protein etc 😢

I’m starting my pre-op diet in one week! I’ve been planning this for so long, it’s kind-of hard to believe I’m getting close. My preop diet includes two protein shakes, two snacks, and a healthy dinner daily for two weeks. There are some adjustments in the days before surgery like dropping one snack and adding in a special protein drink. I have my pre-op appointments next week and have a long list of questions, tho I really thought I’d asked them all. 😄

I had a similar situation with Tennessee, but unfortunately none were available. I had to save for a while, but the clinic I went to offered a discount if you financed through CareCredit with them, so that may be an option. Also with self-pay, there's fewer hoops to jump through leading up to scheduling a surgery. That being said, i would recommend lining up some counseling along the way if you do go the self-pay route. Good luck! Hoping someone has some better news than I do.

Thank you for your reply , yes I do have a dietcian but she seems to think I’m doing just fine and when I told her about my weight over the last month she’s telling me to go back to liquids which I don’t want to do as I find it to extreme . I need to go back to my protein first and watch that I’m not grazing all day which I’ve noticed I’m doing more of . It’s so hard sometimes isn’t it . I was a binge eater before my op and I need work on all this

I'm 6wks out now and I still have nausea and stomach pain everyday. I can do maybe 24oz of water/gatorade zero a day at most. The nausea isn't limited to food, it affects my water and vitamins too. The most I've been able to eat at 1 time is 1.5 greek yogurt cups, the least is like 3 small bites of food the entire day. I'm back in the hospital because my potassium was critically low, they checked to see if my gallbladder was the issue and it's not. They did say recovery is different for everyone but that it is still abnormal that I am having this much trouble eating. It's especially weird bc other than the pain and nausea I feel okay, despite how low my labs have been at each followup. I guess I was too ambitious in trying to hit water, protein, and vitamin goals all at once. But of the 3 you'd say hydration should be the priority over vitamins? I wish someone had tips on how to deal with the stomach pain. I am taking gas x, hyoscyamine, omeprazole, and ondansetron religiously at least 2 times a day. Not to mention reheating a hot water bottle during the day and sleeping with it at night. All of that just so I can get out of bed and walk around.

I am on 1500 and maintaining. My exercise is next to none this time of year. If I needed to eat more to loose more then I would need to really exercise. If you really work hard you can loose for up to 2 years after surgery. You can also start eating lower calorie products and go back to protein first and vegetables second. The closer to target the harder the loses are. Do you have access to a dietician with your surgery package ?

Hi Fifi0523 from FifiLux I am in a similar situation to you, 8 months post surgery and between January 11th and February 12th I only lost 4lb. On Jan 11th my surgeon said my goal was to lose 10kg (22lb) during the rest of the year so I guess he based that on his knowledge that my loss would slow down. My goal is to lose 17kg (37.5lb) and that seems way off, if not impossible, given the stall I have now. This is even after I have upped my exercise, not by much due to suffering from exhaustion, but certainly by more than I was doing pre-op. I have started to track my food and drink to see if there are places I am slipping up and it has already helped me highlight areas as I was eating more carbs that I realised and I hadn't been counting my protein correctly at times. I also have started to go into menopause in the last couple of months and I am not sure if that is impacting the weight loss as I know it is already impacting my energy and sleep. I hope and think it is just our bodies recovering from rapid loss and now that it will continue but at a slower pace - I just hadn't expected it to be this slow!

It appears I'm also experiencing a 3 week stall. At 2 weeks post op (surgery 1/24/24) I had lost 10 lbs. It's now 3 weeks post op and I'm still the same weight. I sure hope this stall doesn't last a month! I have been discouraged a bit, I think, because any time I've tried to lose weight in the past it has been agonizingly slow and not permanent. I had hoped that I'd lose faster after VSG and I found myself thinking this morning that I did this drastic and permanent thing just to have the same result I have always had - no weight loss for weeks at a time despite my best efforts. Reading about this "infamous" stall gives me a little hope, although I don't understand how I'm not losing weight when I'm consuming 500 calories a day or less, mostly protein and no fats/sugar. I appreciate the topic and the comments, and I'm hoping the stall breaks soon!

I told everyone the reason I wasn't leaving my house during the two weeks of my liquid diet was so I wouldn't risk catching Covid, but I think a close second is to not accidentally run into the local Girl Scouts and their addictive boxes of delight. Thankfully, I no longer personally know someone I need to order from. But given that I've had nothing but protein shakes and jello for going on a week, I might seriously consider selling my soul for Thin Mint right now. Or a carrot. Seriously, anything crunchy right now would do.

2oz is equivalent to 1/4 cup of purée. My plan was 1/4 - 1/3 cup (2-3ozs), three times a day from purée so pretty much like your plan. Honestly I couldn’t eat any more than that but I was a no hunger & no appetite person. Sometime around purées I added a high protein yoghurt or yoghurt drink as a snack to boost my protein intake. But check with your dietician, maybe you can add a high protein yoghurt as a snack too. If you are experiencing real hunger. Never hurts to ask.

Like others above, check with your team. I was to aim for 20 macros of protein for each of three meals. I couldn’t do it but that was the goal. I ended up 20 for breakfast, 10 lunch, 10 around 3pm, 10 around 5ish, and 10 in the evening one hour before bed. In my efforts to curb nighttime snacking habits, I started then (and still maintain now) 50% or more of my daily food should be consumed by lunchtime. It makes me go to sleep earlier and wake up refreshed, and mostly banished the nighttime munchies. Obviously this won’t work for everyone. I was never a morning person, nor a breakfast eater before surgery. You’re doing great, keep up the good work!

My 3 weeks post op meal now is 5 oz in total, but most of the time I have to stop and go back to it to finish. It includes 3oz of protein, 1oz of vegetable and 1 oz of starch. All need to be mushy or moist. Bake salmon, cream of wheat and broccoli puree with onion and sour cream. It was delicious! Portion control is going to be very important now. I believe I can still eat the food I used to eat, but it will have to be post ob portion. I told myself “ I guess I can go to very nice fancy restaurants now and be full with just their appetizer.” 😂 lol My before meals

Wow 3 weeks post op and only 2oz? I would contact your clinic and see if they have any recommended plan. Did they tell you how many meals a day? For my program they told me to have 3 meals a day. I use my shakes as snacks. My meals at 3 weeks post op is 5oz tho. 3oz pf protein, 1oz puree vegetable and 1oz of starch. I can’t finish all, but I would stop and go back to it.

Woohoo I hope I passed the stall stage for real! Ive been stuck at 241 lbs up and down for 2 weeks and it went down to 239.6 this morning. I am counting small victories. From 240s to now in the 230s! My surgery weight was 250.4lbs. So after 3 weeks 11lbs down. Yayyy This week I can add mashed or puree vegetables and grains like cream of wheat and grits. Sharing some image of my progress. Also the salmon, broccoli puree and cream of wheat was delicious as my lunch! Good source of protein too. My nutritionist advice for each meal now is 3oz of protein, 1 oz of vegetables and 1 oz of starch. Always try to eat the protein first. My daily calorie intake is between 600-800 including the protein shakes. I am drinking 1 1/2 bottle of shakes. I fell 2 shakes to be too much for me, and 1 1/2 is just right. Protein intake is about 85-100grams. I will ask on my next visit to find out if I really need that much of protein since they told me my daily goal should be 65-75 grams initially.

4 weeks, 3 days Sorry for the delay in posting. The first week after I got home I slept a lot, night and day. Eating and drinking enough is hard when you sleep so much, so I haven't been meeting my goal of 64oz fluid and 100gm of protein, but I've been getting at least 48oz fluid and at least 60-80gm of protein. My protein oatmeal with extra protein added and my Pure Protein Bars with 19-21gm of protein is a huge chunk of that. 3 weeks in, after sleeping most of the day my body decided it was done with that, and since I'd just slept all day, it chose to stay awake at night. I've been trying to get my sleep pattern under control, but when I went to bed at 10:30 I awoke at 1:24am refreshed from my nap and last night I went to bed just after midnight and woke up at 4am and wasn't able to get back to sleep. I think this time I'll be able to stay awake all day though, so I'm hoping to sleep through the night tonight. I've still been having a hard time with my diet goals since I am trying to sleep at night. If I didn't have the luxury of working at home on my own schedule, I might not be having such a hard time sleeping because I'd be forced to a regular schedule. My husband has had his reservations, but has been supportive through all this because I promised I'd take care of myself. When I feel bad for being gone so long and now sleeping on the couch instead of snuggling with him, he tells me that I've just had surgery and I'm healing, sleep when my body tells me to sleep, and if the couch is more comfortable than sleeping reclined in bed, sleep there. At least I'm spending a few hours snuggling with him at night now. A couple days after retuning home I took my surgical tape off and discovered that I'd pulled a couple stitches. Remember those painful sneezes? I'm pretty sure that's when it happened. I have mighty, full body sneezes that sometimes makes my arm go numb and always said I'll probably die because I sneezed while driving. The wound didn't reopen. There was no bleeding or seeping, there were just larger scabs and one had a tacky feel. The scar in that area in front is going to be uglier than the nice thin scar in the back. This isn't the surgeons fault and nothing would have been different if I'd been there for a follow-up and he took the tape off. I'm waiting for the last scab to fall off before I start using the scar gel and massaging the scar. I have been concerned about the puffy area just above the scar across the front. I told myself it's probably just inflammation. They tell you not to judge the way you look because you won't see the final results for 6 months to a year, but it's hard. When you look at before and after pictures, the after pictures are long enough after for the inflammation to be gone. I went to a friend's commitment ceremony 2 days ago and another friend there had a lower body lift and BBL here in the states with one of the best surgeons (they have more money than me). She had her surgery 10 days after mine and she has that too, so I feel better. To summarize how I felt moving around week by week: Week 1 was difficult getting in and out of bed and it was painful. Week 2 I had the roll and push method down pat so it was easier to get up and down from bed and I could move around better, but when I'd first get up I'd walk more hunched over and this was when I had the really painful sneezes. It was easy to not push myself and to remember not to lift things or bend down because I could feel the pain in my stitches. I was very itchy. Week 3 I was able to move easier and could reach for things, but I could still feel it pull at the stitches, but it was more discomfort than painful so I was having to remind myself not to lift things and to not twist. This is when the itching was at its worst. Week 4 I'm getting stir crazy because I am still not supposed to drive and I promised my husband I'd take care of myself, which means following doctor's orders even if I think I'm OK to drive. Because of the mini BBL he did, I'm not supposed to drive for 4 weeks, then for 2 weeks only short distances "if I have to drive". I was moving normal, but I could still feel it pull at the stitches, but not really uncomfortable, just a pulling sensation. I still itched really bad, but it wasn't as constant. Now I don't really feel any pain except now that I'm sleeping without the pillows and my hips are on the bed, I am not sleeping on my right side because the incision is still a little tender when sleeping with weight on it there. Thankfully I can sleep on my left side and it doesn't hurt. Of course, I haven't slept more than 4 hours that way yet. I was supposed to wear the compression garment 24/7 except when showering for 4 weeks, then for 4 weeks I can sleep without it. I cheated and slept without my compression garment and drove a night early. It was really nice to snuggle with my husband without it even if it was from on top of pillows and just for a little bit because I couldn't sleep. I snuggled lying on 2 thick pillows with my hip/butt between them because of the mini BBL. After talking to my friend who had her lower body lift and BBL here, I'm rebelling a little bit. She was told she could sit on soft furniture without a pillow and sleep in bed without pillows keeping pressure off her butt. I'm still obeying my doctors orders regarding sitting because I can't find an entry on Google supporting that you can sit on soft furniture, but after talking to her I decided to sleep without the pillows under me. I have a thick Temper Pedic Memory Foam pad and REALLY want to snuggle with my hubby and sleep normally. I sleep on my side and he didn't transfer fat to my hips, that's where he took it from. As mentioned above, I can't sleep on my right because it's still tender there when sleeping on it. Of note regarding my breast lift/implants. I don't talk about them because they haven't hurt at all until recently. I get twinges now at the lower scar. I've had implants implanted, removed, and implanted again, so 3 surgeries and the scar tissue at the bottom of my breast is pretty thick and now that the incision is healed I need to start massaging it to break that scar tissue up. The first time I had implants (2006) it did hurt. I had to lean to the side to get one hand wet, then lean to the other side to get the other wet, then rinse the soap off the same way because leaning forward hurt, and it took almost a year before I didn't look like I had super pecs (they sit high when they are new). I'm assuming it didn't hurt this time and they have already settled because the skin didn't need to stretch. Maybe the signals from the incision from the lower body lift overrode anything my breasts might have wanted to tell me as well. When I hit 6 weeks and "can drive", I'm going to drive to Missouri. My Mother-In-Law has cancer of the esophagus and they need help taking care of her. I can work from home and they can't, so I volunteered. She needs help bathing and having her diaper changed, her feeding tube needs cleaned and feeding bag filled, and she and her house needs taking care of. She is on hospice, but not close enough to the end to have daily helpers, but she has a nurse stop by twice a week and a helper come twice a week for a couple hours, so I can save heavy lifting for the helper. I'm going to ask my husband to take some 4.5 week after pics so you can see what it looks like soon after the incisions heal. I'll post again at other intervals so you can see progress as the inflammation goes away and the scar heals. Other than that, I will post if I feel I have something relevant to say regarding my progress. I'll only post about my MIL as it relates to my being able to care for her due to my surgery because this isn't a cancer support forum.

Just sharing the Irish equivalent. Had no idea it was so (relatively) low in protein - I do track *everything* but I must have missed this in the general deliciousness of Boursin!

Last night my family went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant and I didn’t want to be the downer so o went with them. As I was looking over the menu, I just wanted to cry. My options were very limited. I hated that feeling of not being able to enjoy a family dinner.