hi all, I posted this in the pre op forum for June buddies, but thought I'd also post it here in case it helps anyone.

Here's my experience so far after getting the Gastric Sleeve procedure on 13th June 2024...

Immediately after surgery

It was pretty rough for me, I woke up in a lot of pain, so much so that the nurses had to give me 30mg morphine for the pain. I was in a recovery room for the first 24 hours (standard procedure for the private hospital in the UK i went through) After the initial 24hrs I was moved back to my room where I felt a lot better. Even able to eat an ice pop and a small cup of Tomato Soup (sipping of course) and sipping Water every 5-10 mins.

Week 1-2

I quickly moved onto the liquids phase, in which I must have taken in around 2-300 cals per day through Protein Shakes and watery Soups. I must admin this phase was the hardest for me, managing the pain meds as well as trying to drink as much liquids as I could in a day. It just so happened there was an international football (soccer) tournament on in Europe in my first 2 weeks' recovery so was engrossed in that! I also started walking 1 mile per day and upping that to almost 2 miles by the end of it. My weight loss was drastic in this phase but my word I was lethargic/got tired v easily and not up for doing much.

Week 3-4

Puree stage - finally I felt I was able to get some proper food in me, and a few days after starting this phase, my weight slowed right down - the dreaded (but expected) 3 week plateau kicked in. I went around a week and a bit without any weight loss, despite me sticking to the recommended diet. I am not going to sugar coat this, it was a bit disappointing standing on those scales after a week, but I knew this would happen so meh I guess. Still walking 2 miles per day during this phase and now feeling I have a lot more energy.

Week 5-6

Week 5 started with me starting to lose a pound every 2 days or so, so my body seems like it has adjusted to the inro of more foods for the 'soft foods' stage. I also started back at the gym doing some cardio work on top of my walks, and oh boy I have so much more energy for it! I am now around half way through week 6 and had my first appointment with my nutritionist and he is blown away by the progress I have made/am making. He gave me further chewing tips to make sure I am not overeating as I have been sick a couple of times when I've eaten too quickly and not realised I'm full/satisfied. He is now happy for me to start introducing more fibred meats and more complex foods, like a little Pasta and a little bit of rice, to test the waters.

Struggles so far:

• Reminding myself I have a new stomach
• not eating what family members are eating e.g. Sunday dinner
• Eating too fast resulting in vomiting
• Extra attention from people who have noticed a loss in weight (47lbs and counting since pre-op liver diet). Since I've been overweight most of my adult life, I carried a lot of shame internally, so its in my nature not to talk about myself/get photos taken etc

Wins so far

• Losing a lot of weight and all the benefits that go with it.
• Being more present with my family. Having the energy to do everything they want to do (I have a wife and 2 kids, girl 11, boy 7)
• Clothes! I have dropped from XXXL to XL already. Which was a surprise when I packed to go to a 5 day getaway with my fam in week 5
• Mental health - the mental benefits come as such a relief. I no longer feel down about my weight (although I know I still have a ways to go)
• Confidence - generally just feel I can be more myself - hopefully some here will resonate with this.

Would be great to hear of your experiences so far, especially if you had your procedure in April/May/June/July!

Congratulations on your weight loss so far! I bet you are feeling amazing!

I definitely empathise with the low energy - especially early on! I feel that mine is only just starting to get better ?

I am going on holiday in September, but I am trying to put off buying clothes until the last possible moment!

How is your eating now? I am free to eat "whatever" I want now, but find that I am struggling to manage anywhere between 6-11 mouthfuls. The bariatric nurse says I need to be having at least 20 mouthfuls per meal! Eeek.

All that being said, definitely loving feeling healthier, more confident, and more happy!

7 minutes ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

Congratulations on your weight loss so far! I bet you are feeling amazing!

I definitely empathise with the low energy - especially early on! I feel that mine is only just starting to get better ?

I am going on holiday in September, but I am trying to put off buying clothes until the last possible moment!

How is your eating now? I am free to eat "whatever" I want now, but find that I am struggling to manage anywhere between 6-11 mouthfuls. The bariatric nurse says I need to be having at least 20 mouthfuls per meal! Eeek.

All that being said, definitely loving feeling healthier, more confident, and more happy!

Hiya, I certainly do feel a lot better about myself that's for sure.

Oh nice, I bet you cant wait for the holiday! It was very strange but empowering walking into a clothing store and not having to have fingers crossed they have your size.

Nutritionist said to start introducing textured foods now and ease into 'normal' eating. I actually crave salads at the moment and healthy things as opposed to anything bad, which is a 180 from my previous way of looking at food. My mouthfuls vary tbh. for example I made the exact same thing for lunch today as I did yesterday - a 1 egg omelette with grated cheese and small pieces of ham. Ate the lot yesterday bar about 2 mouthfuls and today I haven't even managed half.

I am so glad you're feeling better for it too

Congrats on your success so far and it is a big plus in understanding your struggles to be able to work on them. Glad the Euros kept you distracted through the first few weeks.

A year out I find that my eyes are still bigger than my stomach and it takes me having to really think about it sometimes to realise I am full.

Another win you will be able to add to your list soon is that when you go out for meals you will probably be able to bring enough leftovers home to do a few meals ?Two weeks ago a work lunch in the local Chinese meant I brought home enough from my one duck & rice dish to do another two lunches, three dinners and even my cat got a bit.

Edited July 23, 20242 yr by FifiLux

On 7/23/2024 at 7:05 PM, FifiLux said:

Congrats on your success so far and it is a big plus in understanding your struggles to be able to work on them. Glad the Euros kept you distracted through the first few weeks.

A year out I find that my eyes are still bigger than my stomach and it takes me having to really think about it sometimes to realise I am full.

Another win you will be able to add to your list soon is that when you go out for meals you will probably be able to bring enough leftovers home to do a few meals ?Two weeks ago a work lunch in the local Chinese meant I brought home enough from my one duck & rice dish to do another two lunches, three dinners and even my cat got a bit.

Thank you! Yes eyes bigger than my stomach I've encountered a few times. My dietician said to chew things 20x before swallowing which helped me realise I am full, which has worked to an extent.

Yes very much looking forward to the social aspect again. My family love eating out for birthdays etc.