Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

My son had a sleepover last night so I decided to take these crazy lil ones on a nice walk. My son snapped an impromptu pic of me and I almost started bawling! I could not believe my eyes. Who was this woman in this picture?! She certainly cannot be me?! Don't cameras add 10 pounds?! How on earth could I possibly look so lean and fit?! Tears of joy! Screaming with happiness. We're our own worst enemy! Finally the outside is starting to match the inside.

I was suffering from nightime urinating which resulted in many trips to the bathroom when I was trying to get some restful sleep. So I did some research into nightime urinating and I've decided that I will not drink any Water past 5pm every night. So this should alleviate this problem if not then I need to see the doctor. All this stemmed from worrying that I was not getting enough fluids before bed.

I'm 6 wks + a few days post-VSG; 30 pounds down (including a week of stall). Last night for the first time, I went to a restaurant for a sit-down dinner. I usually ordered an appetizer, entree, wine and maybe a dessert. So this was different: 1) holding off on my Water to save room for my food; 2) passing up on ordering any wine/martini; 3) do I just get an appetizer, knowing that that amount is all I'd likely be able to eat?; 4) do I get the entree only? 5) do I tell the waitress why 'no' to this/'no' to that? I ended up only ordering an entree (which, early-bird included a soup; I picked the black bean soup). The Soup came in a rather large bowl containing maybe ~8-10…

I everyone! I'm so excited! My surgery date is March 3rd! I can't wait!! They had two other dates in February but my daughter is in a play at that time and we thought March 3rd would be better!

I have a date for a new beginning.

I started at 400 lbs 9-29-10. Today i am 197. Nevertheless im up and down. How do i jump start losing again. I went on adipex and lost but it was toooooo strong for me. I have high bp. I am in a size 14. So desperate to get in a 8. Please advise. Also i have arthritis and in pain all the time so exercise is limited. This is truly depressing.

I had the gastric sleeve on December 2, 2013 so today marks 7 weeks post-op and I am incredibly nauseated. I have a hard time dealing with eating food most of the time. I am really tired today because for the last few days all I can manage is Breakfast and Water throughout the day without throwing up. I have an appointment in three days with my surgeon so I am not incredibly worried. I hate eating, everything seems utterly gross to me. The only thing I can manage is eggs, yogurt and occassionally Protein shakes. I know I am really malnurished at this point which is scary since I am still over 300 lbs. Has anyone else experienced this?

Well I am now having 2 cups of coffee caffeinated a day. I just make sure I get enough fluids a day. I enjoy my coffee in the morning it def helps my exercising at the gym in the morning.

Don't think I'm getting all my protein in. Any suggestions for tasty protein shakes. I have not found one I liked.

Well I'm so glad to find these threads! I was banded the 1st time 8 years ago. When I went for my very 1st fill a leak was discovered in the port and the band itself. So everything had to be replace which was so hard emotionally to go through. I was never able to have even 1cc in my band. I did wonderful with the weight loss though. I even got to 4 pounds from my minds goal. Then I started getting sick constantly. So the unfills began. To make a long story short I gained all but 20 pounds back. I get sick sometimes on liquids and I'm tired of getting stuck! So tomorrow I am getting the band removed and going to the sleeve! I'm excited! Looking forward to …

Better to lose than gain (weight that is) [ATTACH]40405[/ATTACH]

My surgery is on 1/29/14 (woo hoo!) and I am really struggling on the liver shrinking diet! The protein shakes that were recommended are thick and I don't really like the taste. I am allowed one frozen diet dinner and 4 shakes a day. What can I do to make the next 12 days more bearable?

I feel so happy for everyone's success on here. However I rarely see a post from someone suffering from food addiction. And I feel that it would help me a lot to hear those journeys. :-) not that it doesn't help to hear other stories as well. But if you are a food addict who has succeeded in losing the weight and staying sane without hurting your poor stomach, please do share. I would love to hear about your success.

Got my approval for Bypass on 12-30-2013. I meet with the surgeon on the 22nd. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I've been a little overwhelmed trying to get everything I need. So glad I found this forum!!

Hello and I love this forum. I received my Bypass Jan 13th and I'm finally feeling a bit better and functional. Obesity runs in my family and has been the silent killer of many loved ones. I didn't want to be another victim and after every diet fad, attempt and fighting a yoyo weight all my life, I made the final change! I've never even heard of this procedure until my partner discussed with me the Gastric Sleeve. She too was in the same boat as I and we decided to do this together. She's 6 weeks ahead of me but we have a great support system. I've already been baffled in my recovery but with an outreach question the ladies here have been most helpful! Thank yo…

This is week 2 of post op and I feel like I'm starving! Plus all of my old food cravings are returning! How did you guys get through this phase?!

I am three weeks from surgery and start my liquids tomorrow. Any suggestions or tricks to keep me on the wagon during this journey. I am both excited and nervous about making it through these next few weeks.

My surgery is set for March 3rd 2014. I'm having a problem with not ever feeling full! Today has been terrible! Has anyone else been like this before being sleeved? If I'm hungry now, what's it gonna be like during the pre opt diet? Ugh! Stacie

I take the gapapentin for pain control for tardive dyskenesia (no cure). It has weight gaining properties that complicate my situation. I have verbal approval from the insurance company and my appointment with the surgeon next week. Is there anyone out there who as dealt with this.

Hi everyone! So I have a question for all those post op. When I had my abdominal ultrasound, the doctor told me I had an enlarged spleen. He told me it is usually nothing, but that because it is enlarged, the risk that they would/could hit it during surgery is increased. So he told me if it was hit badly, he would just have to remove it. I know you can live without a spleen, but I am just curious if anyone else was told that their spleen was enlarged and how your outcome was (everything was fine or it had to be removed)? I really don't want a two for one deal, just remove a large portion of the stomach please

Hi there. I'm a 20-something female who was sleeved on 12/24/13. I have lost 16 pounds since then. I have insulin dependent diabetes, and a host of other co-morbid issues. Before surgery, years of failed diets and weifht loss atempts, with any moderate success detrimental to my blood sugar. I have been following all the post-op recommendations *religiously*. I am open to anyone's tips, suggestions, and so on. I know everyone is different... but what is something that you feel has propelled your weight loss? I am the type of person who can get frustrated... so I am just seeking support.

Guess what I went shopping for a pair of jeans and im a 44 waist down from a 50 waist Nov 11. Im so happy. I have like 3 pairs of sweat pants and 1 pair of jeans now. I figure I should own at least one pair of jeans just in case. Well this means that soon I will have to sell all my shirts they are 4x and 3x button short sleeve collar shirts all different patterns for men even got Hawaiian floral shirts short sleeve of course a lot of summer shirts.

Gas pain about to kill me. Hurts to take a deep breath. Is this normal or is something more wrong. I do not have any fill in my band yet.

Just found this site, fantastic! Banded 8/6/08 in Ocala by Dr. Jawad Started process 12/07. I'm male and 386lb at start, 379 day of surgery. Hope to loss 100lbs by 8/09 and then continue. One day at a time.

So proud of myself ☺️☺️☺️

Any1 living with angina b4 surgery n still had it done?

I'm 9 days post op. I can hardly stand for 5 minutes without getting out of breath. I can't take my vitamins, they make me sick. I'm getting all my protein in. Not my water though. I started my period today, maybe that's it? Idk.. I'm wondering if I should go to the hospital... My Bari center is closed today.

First full day home after surgery and I feel fantastic! NO PAIN whatsoever. Even slept on my side last night ... so far this is almost too easy to talk about. Had a GREAT surgeon ... even showed me my stomach in a dish after surgery (I begged) ... and now, 23 and a half pounds down since my pre-op diet that started on January 2nd ... I am feeling SOoooo good. Only pain was a little gas on Day 2 in hospital and taking out the drain. I feel so lucky. Ok the Isopure (Protein "juice") is not great, but I dilute it 50/50 with Water, and I concentrate on that during morning and early afternoon. I put a little Crystal Lite Rasp.lemonade in my water (allowed by my Dr) and it's…

I am leaving tomorrow for Belgium! My consultation and operation date is on Monday and I am feeling rather calm a the moment however, i believe my nervous will kick in tomorrow. I have everything packed and ready and I need to go out to buy a stack full of magazines. International Surgery Group have been fantastic so far. I got an e-mail this morning with a reminder of what to pack for my hospital bag. Hopefully I will be able to update you all soon on my progress. Take Care and See you on the other side

My surgery is tomorrow morning 1/15 and I am a huge bundle of nerves right now. I can't remember the last time I was this nervous about something for so long. I haven't been sleeping much since I got my surgery date the week after Christmas Here's a little about me and my fat history: I was a little overweight in my childhood, but I was also a three sport athlete through high school(Football, wrestling and baseball), which helped keep me around 200lbs my senior year (5'11). I joined the Marines right after graduation and got down to 170 and maintained 170-190 for the 6 years I was in. I got out when I was 24 and finished up my last two years of college and got a de…

Hello to all! 4 years ago I had lap band. In the first 13 months I lost 125 pounds then it slipped! Doctor replaced it then it slipped again, got it replaced again!!! Then infection accrued around port so he went in cleaned infection out and was going to replace my band! He slipped and punctured stomach and I was in hospital for 9 days. My next option was bypass but my insurance rejected They stated "only one weight loss surgery in a life time". Well then I lost my job and health care. I finally got health care and started all over again. I'm scheduled for Jan 23, 2014 and so excited. I can not wait! Follow me on Instagram at JPsTransformation. CW 4…

So I am still pre op here, scheduled for 2/24. I have a question. Ok, to those who have had their sleeve for a while, how long post op would you say you were when you had a "normal diet"? Where you could eat what you wanted? I am planning a vacation for October and I will be 8 months post op. Will I be eating normal by then...? Would love to hear some post op advice!

Yesterday I had the worst day ever! Everything seemed to go wrong - right from the moment I woke up. I have been toying around at 200 pounds for a couple of days; having problems with people at work; completely overwhelmed with work and home. I was just over it! Everything! Today is going to be better - I woke up at 199! and I thought nothing is going to make me in a bad mood today! I did the best I could at home before I left to go to work, I got to work early & I am going to be good to myself today! I had surgery on 9/13/13 - I was 242 pounds the day of my surgery. My highest weight was 250. So, I have lost just over 50 pounds! On the day of my surgery I was v…

I recently got a new PC and was transfering files from the old one. While doing this, I went through some old bookmarks; weight loss blogs I would read "for inspiration" when trying to stay on my traditional diet. The blogs I followed were people with situations similar to my own, i.e. bloggers with a substantial amount of weight to lose, bloggers who were also working on the psychological aspect of why we are overweight and bloggers who were losing weight sensibly by using diet + exercise. Most of these bloggers were following Weight Watchers, or a doctor's program. None of these bloggers had had WLS nor were they planning on doing so. I stopped reading their blog…

Have my surgery on the 27th of January. I am scared. I start my liquid diet today and over all I have no idea what I'm suppose to eat. I have a small list that's it. I have cried a lot because I am so scared but I don't know if that is normal. Everyone else seems so happy.

Hey everyone, my name is Fiordaliza. I will get my Sleeve surgery on Feb 12. Before that. I have 2 appointments to attend. One is to watch a video and the other is to sign the paperwork. I can't wait but at the same time, I'm nervous. You see, I already had the lap-band and that was a complete failure. Another fear is anesthesia. I have asthma and having breathing issues can complicate things. Anyway, if I can get some tips from from you, it would be awesome. Good luck to those getting surgery and "awesome" to those that got surgery. Ciao!

I'm 11 days pre-op and I can't stand these protein shakes with Unjury. I'm getting nowhere near enough protein. Any suggestions to make "full liquids" more tolerable?

Today is January 15th 2014. Exactly 6 months ago today (178 days) I took back my life! In 178 days I have lost a total of 104 LBS!!! Sucks I don't have better before pics but as you can see. Befores were only taken when I wasn't aware! Highest weight 350 Surgery weight 343 Current weight 246

I've started over so many times. Had the saline removed several years ago prior to major surgeries, and after going through that period of trauma was again well & active. Each morning I started to listen for my band (I named it Cybil) and prayed to find my old "Zone". I revisited my old surgeon and he smiled and said I'd stretched my stoma and said he'd see me in a year. I visited several hours with the bariatric centre's nutritionist and she repeated the same old same old, which I know by rote. I've only gained some of prior loss back . . . . I want my old Lap Band back helping me!

So excited - I am not 2 weeks out until Monday but I work graveyards and am returning to work on Monday night so I saw my doctor today. Highest wt: 288 Surgery wt: 275 Today's weight: 263 I am feeling great and so excited to see where this journey takes me. My goal now is to get my butt moving with some exercise.

What should I bring to surgery? I just picked up gas x strips and I'm thinking of bringing Chapstick and a throw blanket?

Happy Hampster Dance for Miss Mac!!!!!! I made it to Onederland. 198.6 on the scale this morning. That's 37 pounds off since starting my program in August. I can't imagine putting 37 pounds of potatoes in a basket and carrying it around all day, now. I am stoked today.

Hello all! I'm so excited I finally got scheduled today. My surgery date is Feb 5th. I am over come with emotion right now! I start my pre op diet in just 6 days. Just wanted to post my first time... Here's to a new me!

Submitted My Paperwork Yesterday I Got A Two Week Wait For Approval Then Surgery Date Yaaaay I Been Shopping Got Everything I Need

One month ago I was arriving at the hospital..nervous, scared, and anxious were just a few of the emotions I felt that day. Surprisingly, the recovery hasn't been near as bad as I was expecting it to be. I have had a pretty easy recovery and for that I am extremely thankful. I weighed this morning and I am down 33 pounds. I am very pleased with my sleeve! Its only been a month but I feel wonderful!! I'm not even considered a diabetic anymore!! This surgery is a lifesaver and I could not be happier!

My sleeve surgery is on the 22nd and I'm starting to feel like I have a cold coming on dose anyone know of anything I am able to take or do that won't keep me from getting my surgery??

"No matter what anyone says to you or what comments any one makes I want you to know that I'm really proud of you for getting your stomach surgery. " I just received that in a text from my 17 year old daughter, Jolie. Yeah. It made me cry. All I'd told her was that I was gonna get a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy and hopefully it would allow me to lose enough weight that some of the pressure on my spine would be eased. We used to go cross country 3 miles a day. Rain or shine. As a family. Then I had my injury, gained 150 pounds because I was sedentary and fed my emotions to "feel better". She's apparently watched several documentary type videos on the surgery and …

For those of you who have been following my thread you know my journey for approval has been nothing less than a rollercoaster ride. Less than ten minutes ago I received my call of approval. Now I can exhale...

Wow, just got my date and my head is spinning. I start liquid diet on Mon Jan 20, any words of advice??

Well everyone... I'm sure that everyone goes through this.. But I am the first to have surgery this morning... It's 1:15am and I have to be there at 5:45am... All I can think is am I doing the right thing? What if something goes wrong? Am I the only one tossing and turning before they go under?