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What you wish you'd known before having weight loss surgery



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On 11/19/2017 at 8:13 PM, fclenz said:

12/19 is my date too!

Are you going to Mexico?

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Just now, bellabloom said:


Hey there.

I have dumping syndrome (rare for sleeve patients) and I have trouble with things getting stuck/ throwing up after I eat. I also just feel nauseated or generally unwell after I eat most of the time. These might seem like small issues but over time they can be very exhausting.

On the up side, I’m healthy Vitamin wise, my energy is good and I’m thin and living a much happier life. :)

I'm sorry you have to deal with that. Sounds pretty miserable.

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I wish I knew that I'd have diarrhea forever. (maybe it's not forever, but I had surgery 7 months ago and I still have it). It isn't every day, I haven't been able to figure out what specifically causes it, only that sometimes I eat and in an hour, I can't go more than 500 feet from a toilet. pills don't work quickly enough, so if it happens, it's a good 2 hours before I can safely leave my house or office. It's not something that would have stopped me from having surgery. But I do wish I had known that this was going to be a problem for me long term. I am exhausted and depressed at the thought of this being my life forever.

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I wish I knew that I'd have diarrhea forever. (maybe it's not forever, but I had surgery 7 months ago and I still have it). It isn't every day, I haven't been able to figure out what specifically causes it, only that sometimes I eat and in an hour, I can't go more than 500 feet from a toilet. pills don't work quickly enough, so if it happens, it's a good 2 hours before I can safely leave my house or office. It's not something that would have stopped me from having surgery. But I do wish I had known that this was going to be a problem for me long term. I am exhausted and depressed at the thought of this being my life forever.

This sounds like dumping!!


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the burping... everytime i eat or even drink, i keep burping

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On 11/16/2017 at 9:08 AM, Sullie06 said:

I wish I knew that I would have a drain for 48 hours. My surgeon never mentioned it so I assumed they didn't use them, wrong. That was a surprise to wake up to and the most painful part for me.

Also I wish I prepared myself better for mild regret directly after surgery and how slow moving through the stages would feel.

Now I'm almost 11 months out, about 15-20 pounds from goal and I have zero regrets.

Awesome and glad things are better, I am preparing mental self for a little emotional rollercoaster but I

know why i'm doing. Thank you for sharing :)

surgery date 12/20

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I wish I knew that I'd have diarrhea forever. (maybe it's not forever, but I had surgery 7 months ago and I still have it). It isn't every day, I haven't been able to figure out what specifically causes it, only that sometimes I eat and in an hour, I can't go more than 500 feet from a toilet. pills don't work quickly enough, so if it happens, it's a good 2 hours before I can safely leave my house or office. It's not something that would have stopped me from having surgery. But I do wish I had known that this was going to be a problem for me long term. I am exhausted and depressed at the thought of this being my life forever.


I️I’ve heard that some people become lactose intolerant. Have you tried to eliminate dairy or take lactaid when you do have dairy?

I️ have Ulcerated Colitis and was told the surgery would decrease my flair-ups - I’ve been in a flair and on steroids since Sept [emoji79]. Did you see a GI yet? Pepto works pretty fast and it’s less harsh than immodium.
Good Luck!!!

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On 11/18/2017 at 10:25 PM, bellabloom said:

I would trade being obese for living with chronic digestive issues, never being able to eat freely or normally again and that meals would always be a struggle.

See this is what has been freaking me out lately. I Already have chronic digestive issues (along with a host of other chronic pain & health issues), and since my IBS has been flared up lately, I keep questioning if this is going to make it worse. My IBS is mixed, mostly C, but sometimes D. Mainly a lot of abdominal pain, intermittent nausea, GERD - which is well controlled with OTC 20 mg Nexium - so I can always go up to 40 mg if needed - and my gastroenterologist insisted the sleeve was the better option for me, in her opinion. So, IDK. I guess because we are paying out of pocket, and our loan is not inexpensive, that I already feel like it is a burden financially for my husband/family. If I don't have a good outcome, or if my daily issues become Worse?? Ugh, I can't even imagine any of us having to deal with that....

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Man I wish I only had my drain for 48hrs. My surgeon requires one for 7 days, and do to a scheduling issue I was stuck with mine for 9 days. That was by far my least favorite part of the whole process. Other than that I wish I knew just how greatly my tastes would change in the time right after surgery. There are quite a few foods that I simply cannot stand the taste of anymore that I loved pre-surgery.




How common is having a drain? I’ve never heard of anyone getting on for this surgery.


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I wish I would have known how much gas pain I’d have. It was mentioned many times, but I guess I just chose to ignore it. Three days post-op and it’s just as bad as the day of. [emoji30] I know this too shall pass, though!


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How common is having a drain? I’ve never heard of anyone getting on for this surgery.



I had one I had gastric bypass, my surgeon does the drain with every surgery. I guess it depends on your doctor and your body?


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That I would live my life in 30 minute blocks...

What do you mean?


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      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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