Tag: weight loss surgery

Sick

Four years after gastric bypass surgery and I find myself thinking back to some of the things I was told just before going under the knife.

I was told that for the rest of my life I was going to have random days where my stomach just decides it doesn’t want to be a team player and it is going to mess with me. Last night I felt like I was getting into one of those rare, random periods. I was feeling hunger pains much sooner after eating a meal than I normally do. I needed to eat more to stay out in front of the stomach aches. It’s annoying when that happens, but it is manageable. It’s painful but you can deal with it.

I was also told that there would be things that I liked to eat before getting rewired that I just won’t be able to eat anymore. My new stomach design simply wouldn’t be able to tolerate them any longer. I think I found one of them today. I spoke to a nutritionist at the weight loss clinic on Monday and she encouraged me to integrate more fruits and vegetables into my diet. I am a lifelong uber picky eater and there aren’t many fruits and vegetables that I like. Years ago I ate oranges pretty regularly. Maybe I could try to bring them back?

I had half an orange with my lunch. Nope. Never again. In the first hour after lunch I was hit with nausea twice. I wasn’t able to bring anything up, just a little tiny bit each time, but woah has this afternoon been an unpleasant dose of anti-orange reality. Yikes!

So that’s the story for today. Stomach issues all over the damn place. I guess that’s what I get for trying to alter a routine that works. Serves me right! Next time I’ll try eating an apple and see if that makes me sick. Fingers crossed.

PS: If this post makes it sounds like I am regretting my decision to have the bypass surgery that probably has more to do with me being a crappy writer than with reality. Fact is, I would do it again in a second. No hesitation. It has its difficult moments, yes, but as far as healthcare is concerned it is the best thing I’ve ever done. It is probably the best thing I’ve ever done in my entire life besides asking that nice girl from myspace.com if she wanted to go on a date. Love you, Jen.

I Still Get Food Hang Ups

It has been a little over four years since I had gastric bypass surgery. In the immediate aftermath I struggled with some food hangups. I remember the first time I went grocery shopping after the surgery and I had a bag of chips on my list. I stood at the end of the huge chips aisle at (one of) the Market Basket in Salem, NH and I just couldn’t bring myself to step inside. I froze a little. I was afraid to be around a massive pile of junk food. It was completely irrational but it happened.

That was a long time ago, but I had a bit of a similar moment today. First off, some rules that I have to follow. I can’t have food and drink together anymore. If I have a drink I have to wait 15 minutes before I can have food. If I have food I have to wait a whole hour before I can have a drink. Also, the whole point of the surgery is to make it so a small amount of food fills your stomach to the point where you can’t eat anything else.

Today I had breakfast, then about an hour and a half later I was in the car driving to work and stuck in traffic. I ate a sleeve of Ritz Crackers to hold me over for a while. When I got to the office I immediately jumped onto a conference call with about 25–30 other people. I was still in my window of one hour after eating before I could drink anything, and I was feeling kinda parched so I didn’t want to eat anything more and thus delay when I could crack open my bottle of Crystal Light lemonade that I brought in with me.

The weirdness came from the video conference. One guy spoke for a few seconds and then took a drink from a water bottle. The next person to talk spoke for a minute or so and then ate a couple of spoonfuls of cereal. The next person took a gulp from a water bottle. It kept happening. Someone’s face would pop onto the screen and I would see them eat or drink. It actually started freaking me out a little. I really wanted a drink but couldn’t have one. I also really wanted to eat something but couldn’t let myself eat anything at that time. You’d think that after four years with my rewired guts I wouldn’t find myself staring longingly at someone else’s breakfast, but there I was.

It was strange. I guess I have to come to grips with the fact that, while this doesn’t happen often now, this sort of thing is going to jump up and bite me on the nose every now and then. I wouldn’t change anything that I’ve done, but still… it’s a weird new world I’m living in.

Check In Appointment

I had my four year anniversary of Gastric Bypass surgery check in with the surgeon today. In summation: All is well.

We talked about energy levels and how protein intake might affect them. The take away being that I have an appointment with the clinic’s nutritionist in a few weeks. The last time I met with them was… over three years ago, I think.

We talked about a couple of slightly embarrassing digestion issues and the take away was to try adding a probiotic and see if it makes a difference. I can so that.

I asked a question that wasn’t really worrying me until I actually got to the appointment today. My weight has been steadily increasing over the last two years. Not a lot, but enough for me to take notice. I asked her at what point should I start getting worried about that. She basically said that I don’t have to worry about anything but if we someday get there, there are things we can do. That made me feel better.

On the way home I stopped at a river-walk along the Merrimack River in Lowell, MA. I had my new/old/used film camera with me. I am trying to work through a test roll and I took a few pics. Unfortunately the weather was crap and it was starting to rain so I bailed after a short few minutes. I’ll try again over the weekend. 

Other than that… not much happening today. Oh, except for one thing… My wife, Jen, bought tickets to a showing of The Mandalorian and Grogu next week. Opening night, thank you very much. I can’t wait! The first new Star Wars movie in about seven years. This is the way!

Four Year Weigh In

Today is May 4, 2026. Four years ago today I went under the knife and had my stomach rewired. Gastric Bypass Surgery. I try to honor the memory of that day by stepping on the scale and weighing myself to see how things are looking.

When I first decided to work toward getting the surgery I weighed 452 pounds. About four months later when I actually went through with it I weighed 431.4 pounds. This morning at about 4:30am when I got out of bed I weighed 231 pounds. I am still down 200.4 pounds since the surgery and 221 pounds over all.

I was really hoping I would still be under 230. Hell, I was hoping I could get back below 220. I am actually up 12.4 pounds since last May the 4th. There is no reason for me to be upset by these numbers. I have always known that they would creep up over time. Still… shit. My next weigh in will be in six months on November 4th. Until then…

Happy Star Wars Day, I guess.

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It is Friday

It is Friday at last. It’s also raining. Son of a…

On May 4th I wrote this big gastric bypass surgery update where I said that I am having far fewer side effects then I did a year ago. The bad experiences are less and less common with each new day.

Then last night I had a piece of toast with my dinner. I took a bite, no problem. I took another bite, no problem. I took another bite… uh oh. I knew instantly that I had taken one bite too many. It took about an hour for all the fun to end. The moral of the story being, don’t be over confident. That thing that passes for your stomach these days can still kick you in the nards, Robert. Figuratively speaking, of course.

Here’s a cat to remind you of your place in the universe.

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Three Year Anniversary Weigh In

Happy anniversary! Three years ago today I went under the knife and had my insides rewired. Gastric Bypass. Weight loss surgery. Most of my stomach was tied off and a big chunk of my intestine was skipped. It was a brutal experience that required all sorts of lifestyle and diet changes and had all sorts of icky side effects but it was oh so worth it. Health care wise it is the single best move I’ve ever made. Overall it doesn’t quite measure up to marrying Jen and being a step father, but it tops just about everything else.

I weighed myself this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see I was down a little since the last time I stepped on a scale. That’s nice, huh? My first appointment at the weight loss clinic was January 19, 2022 and I weighed 452 pounds. Yup. The day of the surgery I did not weigh myself. The most recent number I had was from April 29, 2022 when I weighed 431.4 pounds. On the one year anniversary, May 4, 2023, I weighed 204.8 pounds. Suck it, morbid obesity! The lowest weight I ever recorded was the magical day of September 22, 2023 when I weighed in at 198.4 pounds. Sub-200! Glorious! We were told to expect our post-surgery weight to bottom out at some crazy number and then start climbing up again to a more reasonable, sustainable value. That’s been the case for the last year and a half or so. At my two year anniversary I was 211.2. The last time I weighed myself was the three year anniversary of the first check in, January 19, 2025, and I was 222.6. This morning, the first thing I did when I got out of bed was step on the scale. I was expecting something between 220 and 230 and I got 218.6! Down four pounds since January and back in the teens, babie! Currently I am down 212.8 since the surgery and 233.4 since the start of the process.

I still have problems with food getting stuck on the way into my new digestive system but not nearly as often as before. I can have trouble if I don’t chew enough, or eat too fast, or eat too much in one bite, but these days I can go faster and more per bite than I could have two years ago. Eating is easier now than it was before. When it goes bad it still goes bad. If a bite of food can’t get into my stomach (it’s actually technically called a pouch now) then it has to go somewhere. Either it just hangs out and blocks the path so that nothing else can get in (until it breaks down enough to enter) or it comes back up to say hello again. That’s life these days, but it doesn’t happen nearly as much as it used to.

In closing, here’s my selfie a day video from the first year. Enjoy watching me melt away.

Is Something Wrong?

I’ve written this 100 times before over the three years (almost) since I had my gastric bypass surgery. There are times when I will be feeling real pain in my stomach and I cannot tell if it’s because something is wrong or because I am just hungry.

The last couple of days have taken that to a pretty obnoxious extreme. It’s always hunger, but it’s just ridiculous now. When things are going according to the normal routine I can have something to eat and then be okay for a few hours. Breakfast at 7:00, a snack at around 11:00, lunch at 1:00, a snack at 4:00, dinner at 7:00, a snack before bed. Perfect. Hunger pains avoided.

Today? Breakfast is over at 8:00, hunger pains at 9:45. Snack at 10:00, hunger pains at 11:15. What the hell? It’s 11:50 right now and I am slowly making my way through a little package of crackers. At this rate I’ll be finished by noon and then hurting a little before lunch at 1:00. I need to wait 60 minutes after eating before I can take a drink (and having a drink usually doesn’t help the hunger pain the way having something to eat does) which means the pain is back before I am clear to drink.

What the hell, bro? Is there something wrong AND I’m hungry? No, I don’t think so. I think I am unable to keep my surgically altered stomach from getting too empty. If I try to have a big lunch I am going to be full and have to stop, and (assuming this continues today) I still won’t get three pain-free hours.

To add the usual caveat, I am not complaining at all. I lost 220 pounds and if dealing with this now and then is the price I have to pay then I pay it with a great big smile on my face. Still… looking at my stomach and asking, what the hell, bro??

Stressed Out

Yesterday I was a bundle of stressed out, frayed nerves because the morning commute was such a disaster it spoiled my brain for the whole day. Today I am a bundle of stressed out, frayed nerves because of all the meetings I have to go to today. I am flat out all day long. I’m kinda scared for my stomach. It took me a full week to recover from our trip to Florida* and further along than that, yesterday was the first day since that I almost went the whole day without any problems (almost) and now today I am in meetings all day and may not be able to stop for lunch. I am at risk of a bad stomach day.**

*Florida will henceforth be known as MoonPieTown due to this post.

**I am referring to post-gastric bypass side effects and various related issues. Food/diet/digestion-wise I need to be a creature of habit and routine to succeed without weird problems and I am going to get bounced out of my routine today. I’m not happy about it, but what can you do?

Tough Day

My stomach and I have not been seeing eye to eye today. I had some problems yesterday that seem to have cleared up by this morning, but there has been a backlash that is trying my patience.

All day today I have been dealing with literal hunger pains. My stomach is empty enough that it hurts. When I try to eat though, it gets rid of the pain but makes me queasy and bloated and uncomfortable. So much so that I have to stop eating. That means that about an hour and a half to two hours after I eat the hunger pain comes back.

I made a small chicken patty and a handful of french fries for lunch. I finished the chicken but could only manage a couple of fries before I had to stop. For dinner I made a hamburger and some tater tots (my wife loves tater tots so I made them for her because she’s amazing and I like making things for her) and I only managed about half of the burger. I just had to stop. Almost exactly an hour after dinner I started feeling the empty stomach blues starting up again so I managed a small snack. Maybe that will hold me over for another hour.

I know that this is going to clear itself up in a day or two (it always does) so I will be fine either tomorrow or the next day. It’s just going to be a long night tonight. I think my stomach is going to make sleeping difficult.

Also, I just want to note this for my own mental health… not that it affects anything or anything… I didn’t write about it yesterday but I thought about it a lot. Yesterday was the second anniversary of my mother’s passing. Maybe my stomach is just manifesting feeling sad about missing my mom. Maybe my stomach knows, you know? I really can’t believe it’s been two years already.