Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

I had my surgery 9/10/13. Pre op I was 297lbs and today I'm 254lbs. This was one of the best decisions I've ever made and I'm really happy with how it's going. I try to exercise atleast 4 times a week and I'm learning what food my body can deal with everyday.

Hi, I'm Julia from western Pa. I'm 31. My story is long... I've steadily gained weight since i moved out if my parents house at 18. I've done ever diet known to man. In 2009 i was 313 pounds and had to do something. By working out 2+ hours a day and eating 1500 calories i lost 80 pounds in 5 months. I met a guy. A few weeks and One night later i find myself on the way to single parent hood. (i was on birth control too) I gained almost all my weight back i was 303 day of delivery 275 day home from hospital. Well mangy never stopped crying and me being all alone AND living in an apartment above a pizza shop i found my self at 320 before she was one Every year I've …

Hello , i was done 6 months ok,, its going ok, but would love to here our some others are going .

Im leaving this forum, I have had a few people who have just made me feel like I dont belong or whatever and im not dealing with it. I thought this was a place where people support you and where I could ask all the questions in the world buy I guess not because people are making me feel like a bother so im leaving and if anyone can tell me how to delete my account or even just stop the notifications being sent to my email that would be fantastic

hey guys! im not sure if any veterans still get on here or not but some of you may remember me from my horror experience with my leak. if you never heard of me, you can go to the complications section of this site & read the post "i definitely regret surgery..... so far!" well, let me start off by saying that i no longer regret surgery! took me almost 2yrs to be able to say that but its true! i was sleeved dec 20th, 2011 this surgery almost took my life but at the sametime, its given me life & now im able to give life to my beautiful baby girl. i wouldve never conceived had i not lost all the weight. i started off at 273lbs & im only 5'1. before …

hello,was just wondering how many,if any of you have went from the band to the sleeve,what prompted this and did insurance cover it? i had the band back in 2010, ive lost about 40lbs..went from a size 16 to a 12..while im happy with that i have become more and more frustrated...i had to have a little Fluid taken out as i was a little too tight,,but now ive gained 4 lbs...my doctor want me to count calories,ect..i kinda thought that with the band i wouldnt have to to that...i dont want my whole life to be about calories...what i can eat or cant eat..ya know? plus i work long hours and have like no time to excersise.so i feel horrible about that..my family gets alttlel f…

Yippee!!! So excited!

I had my surgery Oct 1st and have recovered really well. The issue I have though now is I stay really tired more tired now then I did immediately after surgery. I have lost 22lbs. I do have trouble getting my vitamins down some days I can't take them at all because of them making me nausea. Is the fatigue normal even at this stage??

Someone put me at ease

Well, I am just over 11 weeks post op and down 54 pounds! August 19th was surgery day. I am down 5 pant sizes and 2 short sizes! I still have more to go in the gut but have lost a lot in my face, shoulders, arms, legs and waist. I feel great! I truly hope everyone else feels as great as I do! Here are before from Feb 2013 and today Nov 2013.

Hello! My name is Shauna and I started my sleeve journey on my Birthday 7/10/13....I've been thinking about getting the sleeve for sometime now but had my surgeon consultation on that date after deciding now was the time to make the change to get the weight off so I can live for me! I am almost done my pre-op process. I only have my pulmonary clearance left to get. I just found out I have mild sleep apnea so I have to get tested with the cpap machine then within a month if all goes well, I should get my clearance. (YAY!!) This process has been interesting for me because I've found out about a number of issues that I have but wouldn't have known about had I not dec…

and I have lost 24 pounds so far!!!!!!! To put it in perspective, GamerGirl, that's 16% of my excess weight!!!!!! I'm ridiculously excited.

I'm a slow loser but it's all good .... Eventually I will get to my goal weight Sw271 Cw205

hi all - I've today got to my century loss !! I'm so happy i have just got a new dress for my works xmas do - its a size 18 !!!! last yr my dress was a size 28 so i feel amazing ! i just wanted to share my good news with you all

I go in tomorrow at 7 am surgery at 9 am. I can't sleep. I haven't been nervous at all today just kept myself busy now that I'm in bed u can't sleep lol. Ready for surgery to be over and start my journey.

Today is my 4 month postoperative anniversary and I have lost 65lbs! I totally love my sleeve and so thankful that I went through with the surgery!!!

Today marks 3 months out from surgery and I am so pleased! I'm down 56 pounds and 10 BMI points. I am wearing size large/xl depending on the cut. Everything is becoming more routine and I am thankful for the opportunity to reclaim my life. At this point hunger has returned (although it's not an all consuming feeling). Weight loss has slowed down to one or two pounds a week. I still struggle to meet my protein goals and have discovered how tricky slider foods can be (in that they go down so easily as opposed to proteins). I haven't really had any problems with my sleeve other than a couple of bouts with the foamies after eating too quickly. I'm over halfway to goal…

Hey everyone! I had my surgery August 22nd, 2012 so I'm about 15 months post op. I've lost a total of 101 pounds and I feel great I started at 231 lbs. and now weigh 130 lbs. At 23 years old, I feel like life can't get any better I've been maintaining for about 7-8 months. I feel so much healthier and more confident. I continue to exercise and make healthy choices to motivate myself to be the healthiest me that I can be. This journey has been one of the most humbling and challenging experiences of my life. I've surrounded myself with positive people who have supported me throughout this whole process. I'm now participating in the "Bari-Buddy" system at the …

Hey Group! How is everyone doing? My Surgery is on Saturday. Freaking out!!!!

I've lost over 200 pounds and I feel incredible. I'm so happy I decided to have this life changing Operation done. For many years I felt that I gave up and I was passed the point of no return finally after having the surgery it gave me my life back now I work out every day I eat right and I am so excited that I can go into regular department stores and get the clothes that I want, exercise the way I want, it truly is amazing. whenever you feel that you can't do it anymore you can't give up. One thing that I really regret is that I gave up and lost 10 years of my life feeling that I wasn't good enough for anything. I can't get those years back but from this point on I look…

So as I posted before I healed wrong after surgery and have to go back into surgery I was just waiting on insurance approval...well they called today and I got approved! I go back in for surgery on Tuesday! I can get back on the road to a better future!

My first appointment was November 6, 2013. I met with the surgeon on November 8th My insurance require me to have a psychiatric evaluation which will be done November 14. I will meet with my nutritionist on November 18 and my final group appointment will be December 11. However, I do not have my date as of yet but I was told from the doctor it will be in December. Yay!!!!

Holy Cow - It's been 7 months! My weight has pretty much stayed the same this last month and I'm quite okay with it I started at 231 lbs. and 'm holding steady at 143 lbs. Ideally, I'd like to lose 10 more pounds and I am working towards it. It will happen! I was just in my friend's wedding this past weekend and it was so nice not to dread a formal event!! Last time this year, I dreaded stuff like this for weeks due to knowing I wouldn't have anything to wear and that there would be tons of pictures. My friend looked beautiful and I was able to focus on her wonderful day rather than being insecure and concerned about how I looked. As you will see in the pictu…

Well I had gastric sleeve on November 4, I was excited and scarred and ready to get it over with. I'm feeling great but I struggle with some nausea especially while consuming the protein (idk if it's from burnout or what) I don't crave food and I'm not hungry but my spirits aren't as high as I thought they would b. anyone have any similar post op feelings??

I'm so excited I went to the seminar tonight in Zephyrhills Fla. And I have my 1st consultation with doctor on Monday at 3:45. I'm so ready for this to happen. My mom had lapband in 2005 and has lost over 150lbs she looks amazing. I'm wondering how long do you have to wait to have the surgery after doctor consult?

Hi everyone I am scheduled 11-12-13 @9am. I'm very excited/nervous/but ready. My insurance is paying for my surgery so I had to go through a 6mo process. I started at 275 6mo ago now at 265. I am on bp meds and my cholesterol is high and I also suffer with acid reflux. I'm ready to be done with the surgery part of this. I've only been put to sleep once for a very minor surgery so lil anxious about that. I have had 3 c-sections and have a pretty high pain tollerance so I hope that plays in my favor. My 1st goal in this is to get off my bp meds and level out cholesterol numbers. My next is to lose 115 lbs. I really enjoy looking at everyone's pics and reading inspiring stor…

I am a 27 year old female who had the sleeve performed on Oct 14. My starting weight was 487 and on my 2 week post op, I lost exactly 30 pounds. I have had nothing but issues. The bottom lobes of my lungs collapsed after surgery and I developed a blood clot in my right lung. I wasn't able to get up the day of or after my surgery, I was in excruciating pain. I ended up being in the hospital 4.5 days. They didn't catch the clot, and 3 days later I was readmitted for another 4 days. The very expensive ($120 WITH insurance, for 1 week) lovenox injections weren't really working. I had increasing chest pains and shortness of breath, so my doc suggested I go to the ER, sure t…

Soooo I have been involved in a Bariatric Center of Excellence since August. They do a ton of testing and have lots of mandatory meetings, which is fine. I have learned a lot. Last month my upper GI showed signs of reflux. Due to that, they then wanted an upper endoscopy. Yesterday I had a meeting with the surgeon. She was amazing! Talked to my husband and I for over and hour. Bottom line is this: I cannot have the "regular" bypass due to Crohn's disease. She is apprehensive about doing the sleeve because of my reflux. She said if I then have severe problems with the reflux after, they do not have a back-up plan. They cannot go back and do the gastric. She said it could b…

I have never been so ready for a journey to begin. I really feel as if this has been the tool that I have been fighting against for so many years. I've been overweight most of my life except a few years in High School when I starved myself on eating only Kit Kats and Diet Soda for lunch. Then the years of marriage, raising a family, always putting myself last and now retired, with aches, pains, "morbidly obese" as I am now labeled! How did this all happen. I ate when I was happy, sad, celebrating, recouperating, mourning.....I would diet, lose 10 lbs and celebrate! Then put 20 on. I looked at a form I had to fill out for one of my doctors and noticed that I've gain…

Idk if anyone already reposted but on VST I was Kbutler79. I started the Thanksgiving Challenge thread so I will just repost my stats and goal here! Goal by Turkey Day is 199 CW: 202

Hi all, After years of being fat and sick and tired of it, I decided to do something about it. My health was giving in and I lost my zest. After lots of research we decided on lap band surgery with Mr Paul Leong. It's now 4 weeks and 3days post op and so far I only lost 8 kilos. And even after keeping the calories to a minimum the scale's needle is stuck on 110 kilos. I'm on my way to see the dietitian today, maybe it's my diet, I do not know. All I know is that I expected wonders and this is not it! Good luck to all. Regards, Lols.

Its bn 16 days since my surgery .... what were u guys doing or how were u filling by ur 16th day after surgery???

Just wondering if there is anyone else out there getting this done or has had it done in Ireland???

My name is DeeJay. I had the sleeve on October 24th and it was the best decision I have ever made. I started out at 248 and I am 5'1" and I could hardly walk. So far I have lost 13 pounds. That would be a pound a day so far. Down to 236. It took me about 6 months to research hospitals but I decided to do it at Puget Sound Surgical Center in Edmonds, Washington. There it is day surgery, out patient, as you will. There was no pain for me. I had a little incision pain the first 4 days, but taking a Tylenol would have handled that. They do the Arthrascopic surgery there and they incisions are tiny tiny. It has not been limiting at all and I already have energy I did n…

I am meeting with the psychiatrist next week. I am concerned my depression / antidepressants could cause some issues with approval. Has anyone else gone through this process who has been dealing with depression? Thank you!

Am so excited!!! I got the call today! I am approved! It felt like eternity since I suited the request and it took everything in me not to call every day to ask. My surgery date is December 17th first thing in the morning! And to make it even better I don't have to do a three week pre op diet it is only 2! Which means I get to eat Thanksgiving dinner! Any veterans have advice on what to bring to the hospital? Or how to prepare? Mentally and physically

I'm a 36 year old RN and mother of two. I had "pneumonia" three times last year only to find out I had a hiatal hernia and was aspirating my GERD. Went to my awesome surgeon who has given me a second chance on life. He not only repaired my hernia but he did a sleeve as well in the 28th of October. I'm already down 20 lbs since my liver reduction diet started. I couldnt be happier. My goal is to be able to go on rides with my kids at Disney in December. Previously my hips were too big to ride any rides. Here's hoping!!!

I am so sad I feel like going somewhere and hiding. I hopefully will get my surgery in march due to my insurance. I have a 6 months process I need to complete before surgery. I am approaching the third month..... In which I am very excited About, however it is extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing for me to even attend family gatherings and events due to my noticeable weight gain. I never would have seen myself here in a million years Nd I get so upset with myself a lot. I traveled to Virginia today for my nephews 1st birthday although I feel so out of place even though I am around family I feel like crying. I notice people looking at me strange like close family frien…

Hello again!! I haven't logged on in about one year!! Well, here is a little background on my journey. I was sleeved May 1st 2012. I have lost 75 lbs. I have not lost any weight in about 5 months, i have actually gained 20 lbs. I am SICK that this has happened and totally embarrassed. Am I the only one lol? I feel like a failure and I fear I have just completely screwed up. Is my sleeve ruined? Any advice at all is appreciated. Thanks [ATTACH]20629[/ATTACH]

I am 34 days out of surgery and have woken up every morning since with the most sour, acidic and fiery stomach. Water doesn't seem to help. I immediately take my chalky, stomach coating liquid stuff and pop my PPI. It takes the entire morning, sometimes into the afternoon to feel "normal". I've tried eating right away but nothing seems to alleviate it. Is this what you vets experienced? When does it stop happening??? Any tips?

My pre-op diet starts tomorrow when I will be 14 days pre-op, so I figured today was as good a time as any to start my diary. Hopefully writing everything down (even if nobody reads it) will help keep me focused and further down the line, if I feel myself falling off the wagon, will remind me why I don't want to let myself get back to the state I am in now. So - hi! I'm Natalie, I'm 23 and living in London with my lovely boyfriend. I'm originally from Manchester (about 200 miles away) and sometimes I get really lonely living so far away, which doesn't help with my emotional eating! At my first consultation I weighed 235 pounds and had a BMI of 44. I fully expect that…

So far lost 32lbs had a rough first week after surgery but now I feel stronger each day. Had to but some new work pants and jeans as my existing pants were falling off me! A little trick to consider when buying clothes go to walmart they have work pants that have a hidden 2" adjustable waistband. I bought them so they were a little tight but knowing it won't be long before they will fit perfectly.

Just had surgery on Monday, November 4, 2013. The morning of the surgery I weighted in at 212 lbs and got on the scale this morning and was down 6 lbs!! I am on a clear liquid diet for a week and then 11/7 meet with the bariatric nurse and if all goes well will move onto the full liquid stage. I look forward to using this site as a support system; as well as, a reference site for suggestions and recipes. I was a type 2 diabetic taking oral meds. But no loner am taking them and hope to be off my bp meds as we'll soon. Very excited newbie!!!

Hi folks, I am new here and wanted to introduce myself. I just had VSG in Tijuana Mexico as a self-pay three days ago. My experience here with the doctors, the hotel, etc has been excellent so I cannot complain. The surgeons also were very competent and had great bedside manner. I do think if I had done things in the US (where I live) I would have gotten much more patient education, so I have been trying to read the e-mails the patient coordinator sends me and do research on my own. The good news is that even though my insurance did not approve my surgery, they will cover my post-op care, nutrition monitoring, etc, so I hope to feel more confident in that regard soon. …

I know how everyone loves before and after/ during pictures, I sure do. First off, I would like to say that I started this journey for a baby. My husband has an extremely low sperm count and the only way for us to have a child was through IVF. I was denied because my BMI was 42.3 and I weighed 278lbs at 5' 8. I needed to be a BMI of 30 or lower before my doctor would look at me for IVF, (Invitro Fertilsazation) I am now at 27.8 at 183lbs. I don't care how much more I lose. I had a goal of 145lbs but don't care at this point. I am soooo happy at where I am, at this point. I get to start IVF in March. Unfortunately they found a Fibroid Tumor the size of a softball which …

I was sleeved oct 23. Now eating about half cup potato soup during the day. Is that too much? Fear of gaining weight back

Hi everyone, this is my first post and I'm a little nervous but here goes!! I had my surgery on January 1 2013 and at my biggest i was 295. I had a really easy time with the surgery, no troubles at all! now almost 9 months out I weigh 190! I still want to loose 40 more.

to those who followed my last post you will understand this one......I went in to see if I had a leak in my port well they found out I didn't, they removed all the fluid in the band to see how much fluid was actually in my band, im wondering because they removed all the fluid would they explain why I feel like im starving to death, I had restriction before they removed the fluid, now I feel like I have no restriction, or will I have restriction in a few days? can any one explain

I'm scheduled for surgery on Nov. 20 to have my lap band removed. It was put in December, 2007. The band has never been right or comfortable. I still throw up occasionally...even after all fluid was removed. During an endoscopy, I found out the band has eroded into my stomach. It is about half or a little over visible. Surgeon has said they're easy to take out through the mouth if they've eroded. Has anybody had this done. He says they'll cut the band in half, slip it out of the pocket that still exists and pull it and the tubing out through the esophagus. Sounds terrible! The only incision will be to remove the port and cut the tubing. That will leave open ulc…

I'm an 18 year old boy getting the sleeve, my advocate just called me and said I'm approved and going to get scheduled... I STARTED CRYING IN THE STORE!!! I am beyond happy and excited!!! Can I get some support and stories please?! Thank you all in advance!!!♥