Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

It's been a long six months for me, but I am so happy to say that I finished my checklist and my papers got submitted to the insurance company today. Now ill be anxiously waiting on the edge of my seat for a reply. I'm praying so hard that I am approved. Fingers crossed

Hello All, My name is Asmaa, I am 40 years old, married, mother of 3 daughters, age 19, 12, and 10. I currently live in Philadelphia but am originally from DC/NoVA. I have been on my weight loss journey for 19 years, right after I had my first child. I was always pretty slim growing up and only picked up weight after having kids. Over the last 10 years my weight has skyrocketed and before I knew it I was 328 pounds. It wasn't until I saw myself in a family picture that I realized how big I had gotten. Along with they weight gain I suffer from high blood pressure and sleep apnea. I am being treated medically for the HBP and have to sleep with a C-PAP mask for the a…

I am 1 week 2 days post op gastric sleeve! I have so many questions and every time I type one into Google this site popped up, and I was just thinking how wonderful it is and I need to make me an account! Thank you all for all your questions and the answers this site is amazing! At 1 week post op + the pre op diet, I was down 25 lbs, lost 5 inches under my boobs, 1 in around my waist, and feel amazing. I can't seem to get the nectar stuff down though. What are some ways y'all have gotten your protein and vitamins?

I'm 2 1/2 mos post op and find lots of hair in the drain, after showering. I'm starting to panic. Any encouraging feedback?

Hi all, I need your help in finding a doctor here in the United States that charges a reasonable price for the surgery. My sister wants to have the surgery but was denied by her insurance cos of low BMI and no serious health issues except for knee pain. So, she wants to pay privately for the surgery but doesn't want to go to Mexico for fear that no one will be held responsible if anything was to happen. Also, her husband is not in agreement with her going to Mexico and neither is my mom. We are in New York and she found a dr in New Jersey that will charge her about $13,000 but she wants to shop around some more to see if she can get a better deal. I also told her that I w…

So as of all here, we want that surgery so BAD... The first problem was how the hell am I going to pay for it?! Since my mom realized how much I really really REALLy want this, she added me to her insurance which I'm 90% sure they will cover the surgery. The insurance will start on November 1st. So that's GOOD news right? Well now I got another obstacle that I must fix. I had coarctation of aorta surgery 10 yrs ago. So I went to see my cardiologist to clear me and she has me do an ECHO today at 7Am. Since I was at work, I didn't check my phone but had 3 missed calls which I got worried. Anyhow I got in touch with her and she's having me do an MRI, chest x-Ray, stress tes…

I am currently 41 days post-op. I have attached 5 photos starting at the start of my journey up until this morning. The first was in April, 2013 at 275 lbs (black shirt) The second was in May, 2013 at 270 lbs (white shirt) The third was in Aug, 2013 at 266lbs (pinkish-purple shirt) This was prior to my liquid pre-op diet The fourth was in Sept, 2013 at 243 lbs (blue shirt) The fifth is now at 231 lbs (pink shirt) I was sleeved on Aug. 26th. I started this journey last November at 289 lbs, but I don't have any pictures. I was able to go from 289 to 251 prior to being sleeved. Since being sleeved 41 days ago I have been able to drop another 20 lbs. I am so exc…

Hi, my name is Jen. I had gastric bypass surgery on August 26. Everything went perfect. I was able to resume exercising a week after surgery. I am currently following all the rules set up by my doctor. I eat 3 meals a day of 3-4 oz meat, cheese or eggs. I work out 40 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I do not snack or drink any caloric beverages. I swear I am doing all these things every days. My initial weight loss was good, I am down about 30 lbs, but I have not lost anything in 3 weeks. How can that be? I am so discouraged. I am questioning everything. I'm so afraid that I went through all this for nothing. Any advice? Thank you

Hey Y'all! I've been lurking around here for a couple of weeks and decided to join your forum so that I can learn even more about the gastric sleeve procedure, ups and downs, lifestyle changes, successes and setbacks as well as possibly make a few friends. I'm 52 years old and have been overweight since early childhood. At the earliest, I can remember being overweight at 5 years of age. I was raised in a "clean your plate there are children starving somewhere" household with three brothers and no adult supervision after school (both parents worked full time). I will say that there were things in my childhood that, I realize now after years of therapy, caused me to…

1) I have lost 19 invisible lbs. They are invisible to the rest of of the world- but I know they are gone. 2) Telling people I had WLS gets easier. I am very happy I did it 3) Protein powder drinks wear thin ( no pun intended). I bought too much in preparation. Anyone want a Nectar Syntax Fuzzy Navel? I have plenty! 4) Drugstore.com sells discounted ready-to-drink protein shakes and has free shipping for any order over $35. My current favorite is EAS Advantage carmel cafe, pretty yummy. These will be my commuter breakfast drinks. 5) Water consumption should be easy , right? Still don't / can't get in as much fluids as my Nut wants. I am not dehydrated though. I'm j…

My husband always gets me a birthday cake of my choice. Today is my birthday and I was feeling a liitle low about no cake But he bought me a very nice veggie tray, and some lovely perfume! What good man he is!

Pretty self explanatory....I'm now four weeks post-op and I'm starting to feel hungry, like legit hunger, not head hunger! Lol, anyone else?

Hi my name is Michelle. I'm 35 years old. I've struggled with my with my weight for over 10 years now. I got the gastric sleeve done on August 26, 2013. To date i have lost approximately 22lbs (Day of Surgery 238, Today 216) I've joined this site because i want to get the most out of my surgery. I'm not sure how much weight on average a person should be losing weekly/monthly etc. I've read a lot of stories where people are losing a lot of weight right away. Mine seems to be going slower. I'm at the stage right now where i'm eating soft food. Tryin very heard to drink Protein shakes but I have not found one i like yet, would love some suggestions. I started doing cardio th…

I'm having the gsv sept 27th in cancun with verboonen can anyone give me any pointers or experiences they've had I'm getting really nervous?

Hi I'm new to the site, my surgery is nov 6th, I'm so happy and scared any advice

I'm 3 1/2 weeks post op and I'm feeling defeated already . I lost 20 lbs in the first two weeks then nothing I've been feeling tired etc ... I'm sure my body Is just in a shock mode I was a big carb eater now I have to figure out protein stuff I just started soft solids I thought I was doing stuff right but I guess I'm not , I don't ... I can't fail at this ... I'm just in a funk sorry friends

Hi my name is stacie I live on the coast of ms I'm going for pre op blossom work this week have been approved for by pass I'm so excited can't wait wish they would give me a date already I'm a supervisor in retail an need to be at work for holidays I've read n read everything on here an other places watched you tube video I'm so ready just concern of the excess skin watched video of it really freaked me out but I have been the big girl all my.life lost weight gained it back you know so I'm really ready to.make this work an excited to begin my journey to a better me I have pinch nerves in neck on both sides an back pain hope this helps high blood pressure an joint pain my…

So as most of you know I am pre op and was required to loose 34 pounds before I got my second appointment. So I struggled for about 9 weeks and finally got the weight off. I made my appointment two weeks ago and it was for next Wednesday the 25th. Well I got a call today from the nurse and something has happened in my surgeons family and he has to go away for a month or so. So I had to reschedule my appointment for October 30. Then she goes on to say that it might be longer. My heart sank! I am already struggling to keep the weight off. I did my part! Everything he asked I did it! I am so heart broken right now. I wanted to get my surgery before thanksgiving. Now I'm look…

Hi Everyone !! I am new and have my first appointment on Monday. Nervous and excited at the same time. My niece was banded in Feb 2012 and is down 140 lbs. Along with all of you who are successful, she is so much inspiration. Looking forward to reading and posting here. Elaine

hola peeps! I'm 35 yrs young. from Idaho. anyone else from the western states? I have my seminar today. ready to soak up information. I was set in the lapband 100% but after reading so many horror stories of it, I have revised my decision to the sleeve.

What should i expect? Pros/Cons

My dr has been advising me to look into weight loss surgery since January of this year, I finally made the call this past Friday, the rep called me back today to obtain my insurance info I'm with blue cross blue shield ppo in Illinois and waiting for the rep to call back and advise me if my insurance will cover the surgery, needless to say, I'm on pins and needles right now, it took months for me to go with my drs advice, after reading so much about the sleeve process over the months, I'm very confident that I've made the right choice.

Hey guys! Please come and support my VSG Journey on YouTube. You can subscribe to my VSG Vlog: Anna LV Let me know if any of you have a YouTube vlog too so I can follow you!

This had been sure a hard journey , almost 2 years to get here, after road block after road block. Now I'm sitting in the waiting room, excited yet so scared. I hear ppl say they almost walked out, I totally understand why they said that now! My surgery time is 10 am but they had me come in at 5:30 am, so iv got almost 5 hours to sit here and just think . Pray for me y'all.

What can you eat or drink on your pre op diet

I had the sleeve done on 9/12/13. Back in 2007 I had the lap band and had some success but after becoming pregnant I put on most of the weight I loss and still struggled with gaining weight. Now I can't help but to compare my lap band experience with the sleeve in terms of discipline and weight loss in the 1st month. In the 1st month of being banded, I loss 30lbs and was totally & completely focused on proper nutrition. Of course seeing the pounds melt away was very motivational!! So now going into my 4th week after getting the sleeve, 2 wks in, I have lost 17lbs. I'm totally in a stall, which from what I'm seeing is normal but I'm also concerned because I still dabbl…

Just curious, I'm 5 weeks post op and for the past two weeks about one or two days each week, I just get the blues for no apparent reason. I'm a very upbeat person and am very happy with my life so it's just weird for me to feel these blues. Any one else experience this?

Hi ppl my surgeon told me that I can start tuna and Chili next week.. any suggestions on what can i mix the tuna with? I know i cant eat bread so that not an option.. lol

Ok so I'm 3 1/2 weeks post op , I'm feeling hungry and jittery even after I eat . I'm doing the soft solids but it feels like I need a sugar burst , I never had diabetes or anything like that I can't get my nutrition to answer my emails I'm so pissed ... Any thoughts please ....

Hi guys I'm new to this app and don't really know how it works so anyways here's a little about me I'm 29 I have 2 kids my daughter is 9 my son soon to be 8 I had my surgery august 12th I'm almost 2 months out my decision to do this was I want to be around for a long time and see my kids have kids and see my great grand kids some day too I'm 4'11 started out at 222 I'm now at 184 God has blessed me so much glad to find this group hope to meet new friends who u can relate and share with????

I've been so bad I was supposed to be on my liquid diet and I've cheated on more than one occasion not a whole meal but maybe a little piece of chicken or a little bit of something I feel like a failure I feel horrible I love my protein smoothies I really do but sometimes I feel like I just need something to chew on I wonder if my surgeon will do my surgery being the fact that I did not lose the weight before hand but I do have to do the cleaning the day before basically a laxative clean out my intestines wonder if that would help get rid of some of the weight she didn't tell me how much weight to lose you just said that I would probably lose some weight on the liquid die…

Cookouts, baby showers, holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, fund raisers, family reunions and even deaths in the family. All my activities seem to involve an excuse to eat (badly). So my question is what the heck do you do for "fun" after surgery??? Just thinking ahead. Oh and please, no bungy jumping suggestions, I'm not "there" yet, lol!

Having surgery April 26th....anyone else scheduled for April?

Does anyone know if BLue Cross Blue Shield-Horizon Advantage Epo of NJ cover the sleeve? How long do you have to wait for approval? Do they ask for you to wait 3months? 6months? Any specifics I should be aware??? Please respond I am literally paying almost $400 a month just to get the surgery...

Desperately looking for people who had Dr Curry! Anyone out there?

Has anyone had to get the IVC Filter before getting the sleeve done and if so how was it?? I'm getting the filter on 10/31/13 and I am very nervous....

11 days post op. Wondering if that's about average. Thanks!!

M almost 2 weeks out and for the last few data I've had an intense sharp pain on the left side under my ribs. This wasn't there before. Help!!!

I go b on tomorrow at 530am I am super excited!!

Hello everyone! I'm Allie! I'm 23 years old, but mentally, I'm more like 7 or 8. and I'm currently scheduled for surgery on October 2, 2013! Well, I'm a little bit terrified of that, and I'm only two days into this liquid diet and it's proving pretty terrible, so I thought that maybe I should try and make friends with some people who may have a few similar interests with me! For the most part, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna tell you very little about my actual surgery in this post, I just want to have someone to relate to in other ways, the band is a give in, right? Okay, so here's a little bit about me, and if you want the short version, I bolded the important things: A…

Am 3 days post op and woke up sweaty and shaky and weak. What can I do to feel better? Please help!

I finally have a date!! I will be sleeved on Oct 21st! Looking for a pep/prep talk! Any advice that you wish someone would have given you??

Had my psych appt today one step closer. Still a ways to go though

I had a bad case of hypoglycemia after eating some pasta, turns out to be reactive hypoglycemia anybody else have or had this problem ?

Omg I been so patience lately the insurance company was giving me problems because of my job rules I was getting stressed the registration people kept saying I didnt meet qualifications. Talk to a lady today and it went smooth I quess the other people didn't know what they was talking about any body had this problem yet with insurance. Dionb26

I have to self pay for my gastric surgery and I have been researching alternative doctors and would like to know if anyone will recommend any doctors in Mexico. I am tired of this life and want my life back.

Thank you everyone for answering my question about food tasting bad. I really appreciate it. I'm just surprised that no one in my Dr's office knew the answer to this. Until you all, there was no mention of ketosis by anyone. I need to get some ketostix now and see where I am. Thanks again!

When if ever will food start to taste normal again? I'm nearing my 3rd week post op, and some days food tastes bad enough that I don't want to eat at all. HELP!

I am quickly approaching my surgery. It became so real yesterday when I left my options class with labs to complete and a pre op appt. ... im so excited because I have truly taken this time to learn as much as I can about the sleeve and the new life style I will be living. I have always been a fashion diva with style most women appreciate despite my 20 to 18 size frame. I have not always been overweight, something that happened once I had a child and settled down in life. My question is do I tell my family, friends, and co workers? In the past ppl in my life have shown envy and negativity with the slightest glimpse of success. What are some of the things you guys tell pp…

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share my story. This past Tuesday marked my one year anniversary. BEST. DECISION. EVER. I have been off all diabetes medications since the day of my surgery. 2 needles and 2 doses of metformin daily. DONE. I am down to a size 8, and a medium shirt. I've never felt better. I eat what I want, but obviously in much smaller quantities. Good luck to anyone that is taking this journey. It's been a hell of a ride!!