I have 2 questions that I'm looking for some information on.

I was told that after the gastric sleeve you can't take an NSAIDs anymore? But when I do research some say u can just not every day, others say not at all, and some even say they were never told anything about it. I ask bc I'm having major back issues. I'm really inflamed all throughout my spine and they suggested taking an anti inflammatory but I didn't think I could so I looked into natural supplements and they say turmeric is really beneficial for inflammation so I was thinking of trying that but I'd really like input on taking, ibuprofen or aleve etc...

My other question is about weight loss. I had the surgery out 29th of last year so I'm almost a year out and I've only lost 50lbs and I still Need to lose 40 more. I started noticing at about 6 months out I was able to eat more and more I wasn't getting the full feeling like I was the first couple of months like if I took one more bite I'd throw up but now it's not like that. I'm still controlling what I eat but the feeling I get when I knew I couldn't eat anymore really helped. And I'm not staying full for very long anymore. Any input on this would help. I need some insight on what else I can do to lose the 40lbs. I keep hitting plateaus and I'll go down 2-3lbs then up 2-3lbs does anyone else deal with this? And I'm still losing a lot of hair but that I knew could happen. Thank God I started with thick hair!

Any opinions or thoughts would help!

Thanks so much,

Bridget

I'm surprised you're still losing a lot of hair a full year post-op. What is your Protein intake like? If you aren't getting enough protein, that might also be why you aren't staying full for very long. What's your activity level like? I imagine it's pretty low right now with your back pain, but what was it like prior to your back issue?

As for NSAIDs, they are very damaging to the stomach, even in healthy people with their full-sized stomachs. So they can be particularly damaging to WLS patients with our smaller stomachs. They can cause ulcers and stomach bleeds. The real risk seems to be with daily use for a chronic condition. So if you take one or two here and there, it's less likely to cause a problem, but you still really want to try to limit their use as much as possible. For example, I hurt my back last week moving stuff into storage. I was in so much pain that I couldn't even sleep that night. So at 4:00 am I broke down and took one Alieve and that at least let me sleep a little. But I didn't take any the next day, even though I was still in a lot of pain. I just stuck to tylenol and really trying to baby my back and avoid movements and positions that caused me anymore pain.

If your back pain is more of the chronic variety, where you would need to be taking an NSAID for a week or more, you really really should talk to your doctor about alternative ways of relieving the pain and inflammation.

Have you tried using an antiinflammatory gel? Volterol gel is great, not sure what it's called in the USA, (voltaren ?)

No I haven't tried a gel but I am looking into it

And yes I get way more protein as needed

There is a prescription nsaid that has prostaglandans in it to protect the stomach mucosa called Diclofenac, ask about that. I have seen where some surgeons are ok with ocassional usage of nsaids.

My doctor said to avoid NSAIDs for the immediate post-op recovery. He would prefer that they not be used due to potential for irritation, however I was cleared for occasion usage.

I'm only a few months post-op, so I'm not sure I can help with the long term weight loss question. My suggestion would be to go back to basics and make sure you are getting your required protein and water. Are you still weighing & measuring food? Is it possible that your portion sizes have increased without you realizing it?

Does your surgical center have a dietitian you could work with?

when i went to my 6 week post op appointment i too was curious about ibuprofen. i have back pain and weakness due to pinched nerves and from a previous stroke. he said as long as i take them only as needed and only 2 at a time it was fine.