Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

My name is Barbara. I had a sleeve gastrectomy done March 2012. Since that date I have lost 35 lbs. Of course I feel much better, however I am quite aways from my goal weight. I have had no problems with my surgery, I can eat anything but I'm hungry all of the time. My surgical group hasn't given any reason why this is happening & doesn't seem concerned so I have consulted with a 2nd bariatric specialist. He sent me for an upper GI to evaluate my sleeve, thinking maybe it is too large. I'm exercising every day & trying my best to eat what I'm supposed to. Just wondering if anyone else has had the same issues?

Hello my Bariatric Beauties and Gents, Just wanted to check--in and say hello!

I had my sleeve 12-jun-13. I have only lost 40 lbs. because I have not been able to exercise. I was so dehydrated, I was having dizziness,low b/p and fell-getting staples in my head after passing out and falling on the tile flood. .My cardiologist changed my meds a few times times over the phone-no results. Went to an appointment, found out I was dehydrated. Dr. Advised me to drink coconut water, within 3 days I felt better than I have in a month. If you are dehydrated coconut water is the best better than Gatorade, only draw back it is quite pricey.

My life changes. I have my first appointment with the general surgeon's office and NUT. I hope I can sleep tonight I am so excited!

I had my lap band in February of 2008 and by August of 2008 I had gone from a starting highest weight of 390 lbs to 269lbs. I had my protein managed my life in full control had just turned 40 felt confident and felt as if I was on the way to goal weight. My reason for the surgery was for my health because I have three young children and I want to be here to see them grow up. For the first time I started to realize sadly that people treat you different as you become thinner. I remember wondering why this man was waiting to hold a door for me going into work one day and when I told my thinner friends they said don't people always hold doors for you. People were proud of…

I am new to this site. I'm 42 years old, been married for 23 yrs, have a 22 yr old daughter and an 18 yr old son. I have been over weight since my early 20's. I'm currently 5'4 and 254 lbs w/44 BMI. I have high blood pressure, sore knee joints and NASH (or fatty liver). My GI doc has said if I don't get the weight off soon I will have cirrhois within 10 years and I certainly don't want to be a transplant patient. I'm an RN who actually works for an insurance company, but only this year have they improved their bariatric coverage to where I can afford it. I've tried every diet out there and though I would lose the weight it always came back. I originally thought I want…

GOD WISH I COULD FAST FORWARD THIS part IM 2 DAYS OUT OF SURGERY I FEEL CRAPPY CANT PASS GAS CAN'T KEEP DIWN WATER BUT IM WAKING LIKE EVERYBODY KEEP TELLING AN IT HELPS I JUST WANT THIS PAIN TO BE DONE

Hi, I wanted to share my first full body pics. I don't see much difference, so please let me know if you do. 1st pic: day before surgery in April 2nd pic: 11/2 months post op- down 35lbs 3rd pic: yesterday down 70 lbs HW: 320 SW: 308 CW: 250 Height: 5'9 Thanks for your input!

Monday is my initial consultation with the surgeon. Has anybody had to pay a fee for educational materials before the surgeon would see them. I find this strange, but I am accepting it because the competition in my area is fierce among bariatric surgeons.

You know guys, I don't think I would have made it to this point without all of you. I follow the rules, but still enjoy my food. Got in the green on the first fill! It's been awesome ever since. I have incredible support from my friends and family and you guys of course. But guys, I have been toying With the first 50 for about a week and a half. How amazing is it going to feel to get there! So can I get a hell yeah! I'm going to make it happen. No work. Gotta love being a teacher and getting the summer to focus on me and my kiddos. My next goal is 3o lbs by August or a size 10 dress, whichever comes first. I work out everyday, but it is time to seriously step …

Hello I am 5 months post op gastric sleeve surgery I am down 72 pounds and thrilled about that I'm still struggling with some foods and getting enough protein as I'm sure a lot of you are but anyone contemplating the surgery don't hesitate it was one of the best things that happened to me I am so thankful

Hi all! I had my surgery last week and I'm alternating between thinking all is well and that something is going terribly wrong. I'm not generally in pain, but uncomfortable and getting a bit stir crazy. My surgeon said I would know if anythings wrong, but with each uncomfortable burp and dark urine I start to get really scared. I'm getting in about 48 oz of fluids, walking ok, etc so I know I'm probably fine. My family had mixed feelings about my surgery and I don't want to talk to them about any of my fears bc of dreaded 'I told you so's.' I've had moments I wished this was a dream and that I'd wake up pre-op. I know ill come to see and feel the benefits, just missing so…

Hi, Can anyone please tell me if they have had Dr. Richard Follwell. He is now in South Florida and came from St. Louis MO. I really want to get lap band but I'm so nervous and don't know how to tell who is the best Dr. for me Thanks!

I had my lap band in February of 2008 and by August of 2008 I had gone from a starting highest weight of 390 lbs to 269lbs. I had my protein managed my life in full control had just turned 40 felt confident and felt as if I was on the way to goal weight. My reason for the surgery was for my health because I have three young children and I want to be here to see them grow up. For the first time I started to realize sadly that people treat you different as you become thinner. I remember wondering why this man was waiting to hold a door for me going into work one day and when I told my thinner friends they said don't people always hold doors for you. People were proud of…

Now 12 days out doing really well. beginning weight 325 now 290 that includes pre op diet went back to work at 1 week post op. have to take Pepcid daily. Plus my vits. I'd do it again a lot sooner knowing what I know now

I had my GS on July 30, 2013 and I am excited about my new journey! I started at 262 lbs, now at 244. I have my first post-op Dr. appt today. I had the best post-op experience. Almost no nausea and absolutely no pain! I actually asked Dr. Burpee when he came in right after surgery if he had to call it off because I didn't feel like I had anything done! So glad I found this site, great info and great place to vent and share achievements!

Hi everyone. I am new to this and I have made the decision to have gastric bypass specifically the Roux En Y procedure. I am very excited to start and have the highest hopes that this will work. My dad had the surgery 4 yrs ago and is doing amazingly well. I am 24 yrs old and this WILL be the start of something amazing!!

I had my surgery on August 7th. I am currently 12 days post op. My doctor told me at my post op appt that I could start eating soft foods. I barely eat anything but have not lost any weight in the last 6 days. I lost 9lbs the first week and my scales seem to have gotten stuck!!! I am starting to get discouraged. Has this happen to anyone else???

Hello every one, my name is Kevin and I'm new to this site and my surgery will be September 11th, 2013. I will give you a little background on myself. I'm 41 years and married and together we have 5 children ages 7 - 18 and we live in Wisconsin. I have been overweight my entire life, I have never experienced what if feels like to be "skinny" nor do I ever expect too. As an adult and getting heavier, weight has always been an issue. I worked as an active paramedic for over twenty years now and love EMS. I currently work in a small rural hospital as the ER & Trauma Coordinator and I'm also the Director of Informatics for our electronic health record. In my "spare" time,…

I'm 9 weeks post-op, and I eat 600 to 700 calories a day.. Is that too much or do I need to eat more? Thanks for all your feedback!

Hey Vertical Sleeve Talk world - I have had my 1st segment air on the local news station here in TX. They will be following me for a year - I was honest and put myself out there in hopes I could help some people decide their plan of action on their health! They even got permission to go into the operating room. Anyhow if any of you are interested her is the link and make sure to watch both parts. www.newschannel6now.com click on News tab and go down almost to bottom and look for "Walk with Irene".........I was sleeved on 7.17 - enjoy!

I've been lightheaded since my surgery in June..anybody else experience this?

Hello everyone, my name is Kyle I'm from St. Louis. I'm 26 and I had gastric bypass October 17, 2012. At my heaviest I weighed 530lbs and the day of surgery i weighed 495. As of today I currently weigh 305lbs. I have 90lbs to go till I hit my goal weight. I look forward meeting and talking with fellow wls peeps. lol The pic on the left is a few days before surgery and the one on the right is 6 months. I don't really have any current pics, but i'm sure i'll post more a one year.

Hi all, I was banded in 22nd April 2013 my op went good but my recovery was 4 days in hospital as I'm allergic to all medication I was given so I was very sick the week of my op! I have had 5 fills I believe I'm at 5.4mil in my band and I have only lost about 5kilos since my op! Weightloss is so slow and I'm not eating much at all! My starting weight was 103kilos I'm 172 cms tall and my current weight is 98.8kilos and I feel like theirs something wrong with me as my weightloss is just so minimal! Im also walking 3-4 times a week!I'm going to the doc today to see if my thyroid is Woking correctly so I can rule that out! Can anyone relate to this or maybe I need more f…

My insurance requires a 12 week preparation program for my VGS. I am in week three and so glad it was required. The nutritionist had me sign in with myfitnesspal.com to log my food journey, and it has been helpful. By the time my surgery comes in November, I will be in the habit of eating smaller bites, chewing relentlessly, eating more protein and eating it first, not chugging lots of beverage with my meals, etc Out of necessity, I have given up my beloved bananas and chocolate candies, and traded them in for sugar free Jello and Aldi's sugar free creamy popsicles (14 calories). I have been on one diet or the other since 1978 and keep gaining weight. Now my eye…

I have had my band for 7 years, and two years ago was doing really well until I started to get severe pain for a couple of months, it was missed in an ultrasound that my port had disconnected with the band, and was floating around, causing me great pain when I moved. I had surgery immediately after the discovery and found it really hard getting used to it again. After a few months, weight continued to increase, and I still had some discomfort. Now 18 months on from surgery, it is not working, and have a specialist appointment next week, and possibly have to have a second repair. I feel a lot of emotional torment, being back at square one, I have put 20 kilos on in 2 y…

Hoping to get it fill so we ( the band and I) would work as a team to she'd done lbs! Not giving up !

Well here goes...I was supposed to do this on 8/30 but the surgery got moved up so wow good! I am 5'1.5" and currently weigh 232 (at doc's office last week). Have been on Optifast for 7 days and I don't want to step on the scale til preop on Wednesday. Whoever made this stuff should be forced to drink it for life *lol*. Amazing that the first 3 ingredients after Water are all sugars. O well I did not die from 7 days of optifast. When I finally decided to just risk it for the biscuit so to speak was when I realized that no matter what I did my morning blood sugars were not going down and I DON'T want to be on meds for the rest of my life. I am 50 yrs old and raisin…

Hello sleevers, I finally had my surgery on 8/1. My weight the night before surgery was 352 pounds and as off today I am 324 pounds. Last week was a little rough for me with cravings and just wanting solid foods. I am now cleared to start doing cardio so soon my girlfriend (who was sleeved in jan) and i will be starting the gym together. Here is too a new life!

I didn't sleep at all last night, literally laid in bed and at times thought my heart was gonna beat right out of my chest. It was so loud and hard I could feel it in my toes and tummy and ears. Almost borderline panic attack. I've kept busy today but I hope to God I can get some rest tonight. I know this is the right path for me, I know I will be successful at this. But the waiting has almost got the best of me. Now that it's almost here I am in a weird state of stasis almost. Part of me is overjoyed and the other part is terrified at what comes next. The two competing emotions have me almost paralyzed... Any advice?

I feel very happy to be 11 days out. I am doing well but unable to keep down anything with texture. As long as I drink liquids or very soft foods, I do okay. I am down 10 lbs since surgery. Trying to do more and get back to my normal routine. I am still a little weary. I am wondering if my age 64, might be pray of it. The forum has been a great resource.

So I finally done it. My health was really bad and even though I am not a heavy eater but my BMI was getting higher and higher. So had my surgery on the 13th of Aug, The procedure went smooth but felt very sick afterwards. This is due to the gases. Then went home that same evening. Was told to follow liquids for 2 weeks. First few days were really hard..I can feel every pain from the incisions and couldn't sleep at night coz no position was comfortable. Didn't feel hungry at all. Was drinking but even that made me full after 2 sips. I lost 3 kg in 5 days which is too much. By day 5 I started to feel hungry but the body aching was better. I spoke with my nutritionist and s…

Well my surgery date is Aug. 29th and I have started changing my eating habits as of Aug. 1st. I want to give my self a chance to drop a few pound before the 10 pre-op diet which I think I will be starting on Aug 19th when I go to see the Anesthesia person and have my consent and nutrition teaching. I am really excited but it is really hard to keep those danger foods away from me. I am a sweet and junk food eater and I know they are not good for me. I have been OD'ing on crystal light and it helps with the need for something sweet but I still attend functions where they are eating all the things that will be off limits after this surgery if I want to see success. I hav…

I keep throwing up been sick since the 29 haven't been able to eat went to the doctor they don't know what's wrong feel like my body is shuting down

I keep throwing up been sick since the 29 haven't been able to eat went to the doctor they don't know what's wrong feel like my body is shuting down

I have been banded for just over a year and for the first 11 months everything was great. I have lost 75lbs and completely changed the way I eat. I am healthier than I have ever been. Unfortunately, the last few months have been difficult - I have had terrible acid reflux that makes sleeping almost impossible and eating very difficult. I have had two de fills and am on prescription medication for the reflux but nothing seems to be working. Any thoughts?

Hi, I just want to know how many "Slow Losers" are out there!? I can tell you I am one of them....losing only 1-1.5kilos a month!!!! Can you relate!? :-S

I had my surgery on Monday Sept. 12, 2013. I had a few complications that had nothing to do with the sleeve and everything to do with my body being a jerk! Lol! I am supper sensitive to anesthesia, and my body thought it wasn't really necessary to breathe when it was in my system. Umm, I beg to differ, lol! Came out with an O2 mask, then a different one, then a cannula. I also found out that I am allergic to morphine. NOT the time to find that out! It caused an instant headache and I heaved really hard a couple of times, even with multiple anti-emetics on board. They gave me liquid and IV pain meds to try and get rid of the headache, but it finally went away on its…

Hi everyone, I'm Donna. Im looking forward to making some sleeve buddies! Time is moving along fast since my sleeve surgery on Monday. I'm feeling so much better than I ever expected to feel this soon after surgery. I did struggle with some nausea and ended up in hospital longer than I anticipated. I weighed this morning and learned I've lost 11 pounds already. Amazing!

Hello everyone I'm new to the forum... I had my sleeve almost 8 weeks ago and have lost 42 pounds. Only real problem is that about 3 weeks ago I started getting to where I want to throw up for no reason like I have morning sickness. I'm not pregnant. I also can't tolerate certain things now certain smells such a body odors( I am a healthcare worker) urine, feces or even looking at certain things upsets me really bad to the point that I'm heaving. Any one else having a weak sensitive stomach? I was fine the first 4 weeks....

Hi everyone!!!! I just found this app and have to say its super cool and very helpful!!!! I am 23 years old weigh 350 pounds and have been overweight my whole life! I am so ready to change that and getting the lap band seemed like the most effective way to do so. I have my surgery August 26th which is one week from tomorrow :/ scary but exciting!!! I find it empowering to see success stories or you guys who have lost a large amount of weight but I guess what I need is maybe some words of encouragement and maybe some advise as to how you pushed thru the surgery. This is my first surgery EVER so I'm kinda freakin myself out would love to hear from you guys and maybe some s…

So today I got my approval for surgery! Surgery date is Sept 16th.. I'm so excited and nervous all at the same time. I've never had surgery before and I've never been under anesthesia. (Which is what I'm more worried about) how did everyone deal with there nerves?

Hi everyone, My mom had bypass a few yrs ago and lost 80 pds but she needed to loose 120. She did put back on 35 because unfortunately she dealt with a lot of stress with my young cousin dying tragically, my uncle dying dying from cancer and finally her being diagnosed with cancer herself. Now that her oncologist said, she could go back to her WLS surgeon. He tells her he wants to perform this operation- put a band over her bypass. Did any of you ever hear of that? He swears its a great option! Has any of you had it or heard of someone who did? My moms been through so much so I don't want to jump on something we just "heard" of. Any help is appreciated

I am five days post op and I am so hungry any suggest I on my first week of clear liquids . Water and broth and ice creams pops are not working I want to eat .. What to do??

Hey guys, I started a post when I first joined here, but I put it in the wrong forum, so I figured I would start a new one here.. A lil back story.. I am 36 years old (Male) from New Jersey. In HS I put on weight my senior year from about 185-190 to about 250, and then dropped back down to the high 100's for a few years. It crept up over time and I maintained at about 225-250 for most of my 20's. My 30's I ticked up to about 275ish and after getting married I got to my peak of 326. So, that covers my weight struggles.. Now the reasons for the sleeve.. Well, I was what I would call a heavy eater.. I worked on the road so I usually skipped Breakfast and got moving o…

This is the first time that I have written on this forum. I hope that this is informative or helpfull in some way. I was at about 290 lbs and 5'9 in September of 2012. I am currently 224 lbs and feeling much better. I also found out through this process that I have celiac disease. Change came in a major way to my life when I began this process. Most likely some of my weight gain came from how completely off my entire system was from the celiac. I was deficient in every Vitamin and severly anemic. That has been corrected. Ironically the band helps me as much with the celiac disease as the celiac disease helps me with the weight loss. I have to avoid so many foods now. The …

I meet with my nutritionist this week and I was wondering how others have stuck to a pre opp diet? I want to start changing habits now so I'm successful in the future. I at times eat when I'm not hungry and I am really scared that this behavior will continue after I'm sleeved if I don't find some way of beating it. I do very good thur the day until the evening and I feel like I'm constantly snacking on things. So what are some things you have done to stop eating everything in site?!?! My change this week was to have a fresh fruit bowel in the frig and veggies to snack on. I also left many things off my grocery list including pop! Please help!!!

Hi my fellow sleevers I am new to this forum and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. But I was looking for some support as I recently had my surgery on 8/14/13

Well I am new to this sight and I was wondering if anyone has had rny at St Alexius New Start in Missouri

Can't wait! I have two classes.. Then a visit with the surgeon to schedule the date!!