Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

Im 56 been obese forever. From 2-22 at 22 I did phen phen at lost 80 lds At last i was a normal weight 5ft 4 125. From 22-50. I managed to stay at a healthy wright under 15o. Felt good in my skin and was healthy. Then menopause hit. Her i am 5 years later at 186. Please no the decision to have the sleeve has not come easy i had am bmi of 3o last sept was 175 lds and decided to cx the surgery ,,i gave it more time well more time has gotten me now another 11 lds,,,and more health issues,,,ive made the choice this time,,,i will not be going to mexico.,im self pay and will be going to lake norman weight loss in NC ,,,yes its twice the price as mexico. But the travel is…

I am 7 weeks out and I have lost 42 pounds.

This is probably the number one thing that I cant wait to buy once I reach my goal weight! When I picture myself "thin" this is what I see myself wearing and feeling beautiful in.. I've had plenty of big black dress lol but never one that I felt amazing in. Sooo my questions to you are what article of clothing do you see your skinny self in? What have you never dared to wear because of you weight that you want to start wearing? Or what is your new favorite piece of clothing since losing weight? Oo and my second would be a fitted leather cropped jacket

Had a visit with my surgeon today..surgery scheduled March 26!! So excited..

I'm 9 months post op, 98 lb. weight loss and was feeling wonderful until last Monday. I had just had my Dr. visit on Friday, and everything was great! Except my hair loss is getting worse and so noticeable:( Has anyone had success with stopping hair loss? After dinner on Monday night I had a trip to the ER after having a severe gall bladder attack. I thought I was having a heart attack! So scary! It has calmed down, am now following a vegetarian diet plan. I see my surgeon on Wed. so I guess the decision will be made about GB surgery. As of now, I don't know how many gallstones I have. My regular doctor told me one was 4 milliliters. I would live to hear from any fellow…

I had surgery Feb 18th. I started off at 278 and now 5 weeks later I'm 248. I didn't realize I was down this much until I made a pic collage. The first few weeks were very rough but I think this surgery choice was one of the best decisions I ever made. The pic on the left was before surgery and the one on the right was at 4 weeks post op. [ATTACH]42760[/ATTACH]

I'm not having problems with tummy pain but I keep getting hiccups and they are really painful in my chest! Anyone else having these problems? I'm being extra conscious about swallowing air with sips but it happens almost every time (currently while typing this)

I've seen close friends have great success with the gastric sleeve surgery. I can't wait to start this new adventure. My husband is totally on board and is excited we can both change the way we eat and exercise as a family. I'll be having the surgery at Kaiser South Sac pending my approval. So far here is my timeline: 2012: Attended information class on weight loss surgery Kaiser Roseville but did not qualify because my BMI 35 with no comorbidity. Severe back issues did not qualify me in Spring 2013 2014: March 10 Kaiser Weight Loss Information class Roseville March 12 251lb. Saw GP for referral. 41 BMI March 1…

Have a surgery date...start liquid diet April 1. Any coping suggestions? I have been told and read that the two weeks prior and two weeks after are the worst part! I have a sit down job and really need to go back in one week. Is this something that is truly an option? Also is applesauce tolerable after surgery?

My doctor put me on purée foods now. I'm having a hard time getting in all my protein. I'm drinking two proteins a day so I'm at least getting in 40gm but is there something anyone enjoyed while on this stage? I tried cottage cheese and I wish I liked it but never have. I can get pudding in apple sauce , Popsicle and I'm always thirsty so I drink a lot of crystal light... but there's no protein in that!

I discovered this site when I was trying to find other people like me, who are converting from the lap band to the sleeve. I was amazed to learn just how many of "us" there are! For so long I felt like a failure, and that I just didn't work hard enough, or that I just never learned how to use my tool. I got my lap band November 1st, 2010, and lost 17 pounds during the 2-week pre-op stage, and then another 5-10 pounds the first week post-op. But from there, I really had to work hard to lose anymore weight. I was going to the gym at least 3x per week, I was careful to follow all the rules about not eating/drinking, chewing slowly, but didn't have any restriction and was alw…

My pre surgery Friday routine is a trip to Wegman's for lunch. Now, if you don't know about the Wegman's food bar you missed out.... My surgery was scheduled for March 4th but was postponed until March 25th. I was bummed and spiraled out of control for a minute. The food bar consist of just about anything you could want to eat- from pizza, to Soup, to chinese, to suishi, to salads, fried chicken, meatloaf, mac n cheese, been burritos, veggies etc. You get the drift. Every Friday I go here with co-worker for lunch. I try to make good choices but the chinese food calls my name. Now that My surgery is a about a week away I am worried about my lunch time ritual. Wha…

I had my surgery Tuesday March 25th. It was a great success. My first day was the hardest but come day 2 things turned around. Taking only liquids but no problem keeping them down. Pain Med pump worked great. The only major issue is gas on your stomach. My doctor was Hugh Houston of cenntinel center for treatment of obesity. I was very happy in the choice I made with my surgeon. He is out of Nashville, TN. Anyone considering a good doctor and having the surgery at hand I recommend it. Now ready to get this weight off. Will post journey of progress

Almost 4 1/2 months out and got on scale the other day and much to my surprise im not far from my goal. Im rocking my sleeve and I feel great I'm down 86lbs total and 71 since surgery. Im in the gym 3 days a week and I keep track of everything I eat. Im so excited!!!

Hello everyone today is my first day of my pre surgery diet. I am scheduled to have my lap band surgery on April the 7th. It has not been too bad, however I would like to add more items to my menu. What else can I mix with my vanilla protein shake.

M having gastric sleeve done April 7th I'm on the post op diet which is def a challenge not sure what I'm doing sometimes besides the drinks protein and my measured meal anyone have any suggestions on it to make it easier hard on the mind and body stopping all cold turkey and still feel so hungry just hoping I'm making the right decision I know I want it but surgeries make me nervous

How can I delete this post? Lol. I can edit but not delete. Oh well.

Hi everyone. I was banded a week ago today and everything is going great. I do have some concerns and I was hoping to get some good advice. I have been following my post op diet perfectly and just started on liquid/mushy food. I am really surprised how easy everything is going down. I can eat a lot more than I thought I could. Is this ok? I dont feel full. I have been drinking normally- not needing to sip, although I tried doing that at the beginning. Today I had a bowl of mashed potatoes. First I are half and put it down but quickly realized I was still starving and finished the rest. Is that ok? I am worried that I am able to eat to much. I read so much about people o…

Hello everyone, I am thankful to have found this forum for both emotional and physical support. I say 'physical' because I really do believe that the encouragement and community here will help have an overall impact on my physical journey, as well as emotional. I have long thought about having a lap band procedure done, but the fears have always got the most of me. I've had family who has had the gastric bypass done and they have suffered physically, and look horrible. I spoke with my doctor a few months ago ago and finally told him that something needed to be done. While trying to live an active lifestyle, I realized that my weight was causing me more issues and it se…

Saw the Dr. Today and he said perhaps I should reconsider the sleeve and go with the gastric bypass cause I have a history of acid reflux. He stated they have seen roughly 30% of people have worse acid reflux afterwards. Even with my current treatment of nexium I would still have problems perhaps. Can you all tell me how you are progressing and do any of you have worse acid reflux? I went in there with my mind set on sleeve and now he has me worried. Thanks Jack

Hi my name is Tina and im having the sleeve done next month. I am starting to get very nervous but I know this surgery is best for me. My starting weight November was 241lbs and now today March 28th I weigh 227lbs. I was told I needed to lose 12lbs before surgery

I am 5 weeks out as of yesterday this process has been great . My stats HW-230 SW-224(liver shrinking diet)CW-190 as of today. I did gain 2lbs the first day of my period last week but by the end of the week I had lost 5lbs it was crazy. I am happy with my 34lbs I have lost so far . I go back for my 6 week chk-up on April 16th I hope to be down to 180lbs by then . Keep me in your thoughts an prayers bariatric friends. I will keep in touch.

I stated my liquid diet to day...Help this is hard :blink:I know the out come is going to be great. Any tips????

My hair was long and blonde, she just cut off 9 inches and it's still past my shoulders and I'm cutting off more when she styles it!!! Also dying it red .. Hopefully having it short will keep it easier to manage since I have worry about taking pills and eating in the am before work!! Ahhhhhhhh I'm excited and freaked out lol big changes for me

I don't know where to start, what a life change and what a life saver my sleeve gave me. I started out at 250 pounds, at 5'6". My ultimate goal was 150 and a size 10, now I'm 160 and a size 4/6!! One day I'll get to that 150, if it wasn't for my muffin top and extra skin, I'd be my impression of perfect, I plan on doing some kind of boot camp classes soon and hoping that will help me. We all go through a lot making this life change, I don't regret anything except that I wish I can find a new motivation for some kind of new exercise routine because the gym gets boring and old! I stick to 13-1500 hundred cals and barely even hit 1000 most days. I gotta have my iced coffee e…

i have 7 days till my surgery ( april 4th) and I have now finished week 5 of my 6 week Optifast pre surgery diet.. & i hate it hahaha 6 weeks of optifast is ridiculous, i have lost 10kgs in 5 weeks though so that is great! I will confess i have cheated twice both times with a bag of potato chips.. I was reading thru other people who have done the same.. as far as i can tell it wont do any harm for surgery but still i feel bad about it ohh well .. I have done so well so far I am not going to let this set me back , my starting weight was 135kgs in June 2013 I am now 106kgs I am very excited about the next step moving foward. I also had to have my gall blader remov…

When I found this site I thought the idea of ppl sharing their journey was an awesome idea. I'm still in the early part of my journey but I do want to share and I'm planning on updating on here whenever I receive relevant info to report. I've really enjoyed reading everyone's posts they are all so helpful so I aspire to maybe help someone in the future with my thread. On February 10, 2014 I had my first consultation w/ the surgeon. My insurance was verified before my appointment and at the meeting I was told what would be required of me for insurance purposes. #1 BMI (mines is in the 50's) #2 Nutritionist visit (one visit) #3 Psych eval...that's it! I had both my nutri…

I am a photographer with a huge project in June. Hoping to be sleeved in mid-May and worried I won't have enough recovery time! Please let me know how long it took for you to feel like you could go back to work. Thanks!

I hate to admit but I love to talk selfies. Most of the time no one ever sees them but I started looking last night and comparing and this was really weird for me. I know I'm doing ok but being only 6 weeks out I'm still in denial that ppl can see much of a difference. I think they are "just saying that to be nice". Well the top is from around a month ago. Not my largest, I actually was feeling really good that day so I took a pic. And the bottom is from yesterday, after I got a hair cut. Comparing was so weird.

3 months in my weight loss has stopped. I've lost 45 pounds and have 25 to go. I would really like some tips on getting back to losing

Had bypass a week ago and I've been giving myself the blood thinner shots and taking nexium as well as drinking diet snapple... I broke out in hives, any idea why?

I was sleeve on Saturday, March 22 in Mexico. Enjoy my stay. Dr. Alvarez and his team made me feel right at home! I would recommend him to anyone!!

It's certainly not a pain or discomfort you can explain to someone that has never felt it. It is both those, however, more discomfort than pain. Every day, this far, has shown improvement in my mobility and comfort.

I have not been seen in 3 years, am I in danger?

Hello, I had my lap band surgery 3 years ago. My surgeon was Dr. Bruce in Dayton, Ohio. I've only had 2 fills and loosing very slow. I now live in Florida and I'm going to a new doctor Monday to get my 3rd. fill. When I read how quickly some people loose I'm thinking I should have had more fills. Please give me some input. Thanks so much. Hildebrant

any men out there have the lap band with 50 to 80 lbs to use? What were the results? Would you recommend?

Okay, so I've had a few (4-5) episodes of food getting 'stuck' but last night was the absolute worst. I had come home from the Gym where I did a particularly hard work out and the ab workout was Intense. I had eaten lunch at 12:00PM and got home at around 6:30PM. There was no food ready for me to consume so I had to work fast to get myself some heat and serve pulled pork and mixed veggies ready. At 7:00PM I sat down to eat and I was ravenous. Two bites in the pork got stuck. Yes I ate the two bites to fast and the bites were too big. So I stopped eating. That was the most painful experience waiting for that pork to work its way down. Took 40 minutes. By the time it passed…

I have been surprised at how my personal lifestyle changes and weight loss has inspired my friends, coworker and even my boss. Many have started eating healthier and have begun their own weight loss journey. Some are even researching WLS. This is a blessing I did not expect but it's way cool.

I have now completed almost 10 months with the Lapband and I am very excited about the results. When I started in May 2013 I weighed 360 pounds and I could feel myself slowly dying. My life consisted of my office chair and my recliner chair at home. Otherwise I did very little. Now I weigh 220 pounds and am 20 pounds away from my goal. I really can't believe it has gone so well. I have only 2.5cc in my band and I have only had two PB incidents since I started (both were my fault-eating way to fast). I can eat pretty much anything I want (in a lot less quantities) and really the only thing I have had to give up was carbonated beverages. I am now approaching what I consid…

My name is Kerri and I'm a 37 year old wife and mother of 2. I've been battling PCOS since 1999, gaining weight, losing weight, gaining more...blah blah blah, you know the story! I've been on Metformin for more than 10 years, but my a1c keeps creeping up. Doctors have suggested that I look into bariatric surgery, so I went to two seminars. That was two years ago, when I found out that our insurance doesn't cover a dime of bariatric surgery, under any circumstance. In the meantime, I prayed that we could come up with the money. I have all of the support of my husband and family, but the funds just weren't there. To make a really long story short, I got some blood t…

Sleeved on yesterday, so far so good. Pain is bearable. Passed upper GI no leakage. Hopefully getting discharged in a few hours.

Hola Everyone -- I JUST joined this forum today. I started this journey back in November and now tomorrow is my last doctor appointment and I will find out the date for my surgery, very excited. I just discovered this forum last week and am so happy with so many informative posts! Thank you for that, it really helps. Looking forward to more updates from you all and from me as well.... Thank you and God Bless!

Be prepared post op for the WORST COTTON MOUTH It's from anesthesia. I used lots of wet gauzes for temporary relief. No I progressed to Clear liquids and it's much better! No All is going well. Will be d/c later today Looking forward to griping into my own enviornment????

Hi there. I am 5 days post op and have some crazy bruising going on around the incision sites. I do bruise easily but wondering if anyone else has this?

I had surgery 12/28/2009, I lost 42 lbs, then gained back 20 lbs! Boo! My band was not helping me lose. I did not follow the no liquid 30 min before or after rule. Poor planning on my part. I have a 14cc band, and it was filled to 10cc's. I had tests done to make sure my band was still in place, and in good condition. So I made an appointment to get another fill (I had not had my last one since 8/2010!!!! So I'm back on my journey! This time I'm praying it will be a success! I'm at 11.5 cc's, and I'm thinking this is my sweet spot! I know the sleeve is more successful (many of my friends did not lose on the band, so they had revision surgery, and got the vertical sl…

Hi all! I'm just getting ready for my surgery, should be scheduled in a couple months. I have 5 weeks left of my Kaiser class and am 22 pounds down from November 2013. Hoping to schedule my surgery in May or June of this year. All of your stories are very inspiring! :-)

PBS has a new independent lens documentary airing tomorrow night called "All Of Me: a story of love, loss and last resorts." The experiences of three obese women who undergo weight-loss surgery are chronicled. Included: the misunderstandings and prejudices that surround obesity; the psychological many have with food. I live on the west coast and it is airing at 10pm here.

After a long week today I'm feeling much better the gas pain was so much i was regretting my surgery because of that excruciating pain not to sound too dramatic but it hurt So a friend of my fathers who has the lap band recommended some pills for gas and they were amazing took 2 pills and right away felt better . I went in for my post up yesterday it was suppose to be today but since i wasn't feeling good went in a day before i am happy to say I'm 20 lbs down they removed liquid from my band hade about a 1/4 cc they said prob thats why i hade discomfort and did a X-ray they seen that I'm still very swollen and that i am still full of gas overall I'm doing better and had…

I've been following these boards for awhile, getting ready for surgery in the morning. I've got a combination of excitement and anxiety at the same time.