Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

I just had my 9 month post op check up......I went in at 204lbs with diabetes, sleep apnea, high lipids, you name it. At 9 months I am 163lb and in a size 8 Levi...from a 20 to an 8! I NEVER in my life thought that it would be possible! I have 30 lbs left till my 'cinderella' goal weight of 130. I am 5 foot 5 inches and not a very big frame. At this point, the sleeve not only saved my life but has been absolutely the BEST thing I ever did for myself-for health and for peace. Sleep apnea-gone, high lipid-gone. Blood sugars WAY down! For those of you thinking about this....,how badly do you want to be healthy for once and for all? It IS work, but you are worth the work and …

My best purchases so far, A full length Mirror

I'll start I went to my visit today and Doctor is really happy with my results I've lost 40 pounds from 283 to 243 in 8 weeks him and my NUT feel I'm right on track. the only issue I have is when I drink that Darn Iron Pill it feels likes its stuck on my right side my doctor says if I don't have this feeling while eating or after eating i should be fine and he change me to liquid iron. I haven't have any issues after surgery other that the occasional tightness in the mornings and gas this has been the best decision i've ever made so how are you guys????

im soooo frustrated .im almost 2 weeks out of surgery i lost in the first week 10kg almost 22 pounds . but the surprise i lost nothing in the 2nd week!!! its tooo early for stall i cnt blv that .. is it going to stay this way .. am not going to loose any more ? im soo scared please help

I was banded in August 2008. The surgery went well. No issues. to the best of my recollection I had my first fill 6 weeks latter. I found out fast the if you eat to fast or get aggravated you throw-up. I went to support groups but did not feel supported. I basically was on my own. I did not know how and what to eat. I did not lose any weight. I was very depressed. I stopped excessing and ate anything and everything. I gained over 50 pounds. I have diabetes and my sugar has been out of control for many years. I am sick of being sick. My blood pressures very high and I take over 10 pills 2 time a day plus 2 shots of insulin. I have one foot in the grave no support and very…

I haven't got a surgery date yet but I am anxiously awaiting my final appointments. I have been overweight since I was 5 years old and was first diagnosed with obesity when I was 12. Now I'm 22 and have tried everything to lose weight naturally. In August I was diagnosed with hypertension and was told I would be a good candidate for surgery. My BMI is over 50, which totally freaks me out. Luckily my husband is Active Duty Army and our insurance will cover everything. The process for going through an Army hospital is a bit different and shorter than for the civilian world. The process included an initial consult, 4 nutrition appointments, 3 psych, 2 visits with a wellness…

Hey everyone! I've just downloaded this app. I am 8 1/2 years post surgery. I've definitely been through many ups and downs! I started at 267 and lost 115 lbs my first year. I remarried and the following year had a baby. Needless to say I put on about 15 lbs throughout my pregnancy. 2 months later my little brother died tragically and I went through a really bad period. I completely lost focus. I think I've put back on about 10-15 lbs over the next 6 years. My doctor says I have actually done great and my stomach has not stretched out very far. But I do bend a lot of rules. I'm hoping this site and reading all of your experiences will help me get back on track! I can spea…

I'll just imagine the Beans I'm eating (everyday!) are a beautiful piece of steak with a side of fries and ranch (yummm). My mom had this the sleeve done December 28, 2011 and I had mine done December 5, 2012. I thought that seeing her go through it first would help me, but I just don't know how she did it. It's like an Alcoholics Anonymous type of deal: One day at a time. I just miss that heartiness of a good meal. The type of meal where it doesn't come in a baby-sized bowl. Heck, I miss sitting down at the dinner table with my family. I haven't eaten with them since the surgery. A couple reasons being that they tend to eat quite quickly and that I hate seeing the food t…

Hello, My name is David, aka Scubagecko, and I am from Canada living in Seoul Korea for the past 10 years. I am currently over 300lbs, 140kg, and I have been Obese for the entirety of my adult life. I am tired of losing the same 30lbs over and over again. Something has to change. I've been thinking about doing this for a while now. I have to thank a woman I worked with years ago that got her sleeve over a year ago and was amazed watching her transformation. Like me I only knew her as an overweight person. She decided to take her story to the public forum of Facebook and track her changes nearly daily for the past year. I'm not brave enough to do that. I live in Kor…

Hello! I just got the lap band January 10th. I have been over weight my whole life so I am excited to start my journey to a healthier happier me. However, it's only been 5 days science my surgery and I already have cravings for real foods. I have not acted on these cravings but I'm hoping they eventually stop because I have a long way to go until I can eat solid foods. Did anyone else have this problem?

Hey fellow banders :-) OMG fist post and I'm just a tad nervous :-) I've been banded just over 5 months, starting weight was 128kg's I've lost 30kg so far but I am worried I'm not doing the right thing/not enough when it comes to toning/tightening my skin (tummy and arms mainly). I go to the gym for 2 hours, 4 days out of the week and run and swim the other 3 (have had a slack 2 weeks though) When at the gym I do an hour cardio which includes- bike, rower, treadmill and x-trainer then I spend half hour doing weights, then the remaining 30 minutes doing crunches, push-ups, planks, and some oblique exercises... I drink plenty of Water to keep myself hydrated which …

I'm so glad I made the decision to have the gastric sleeve surgery. What a life changing experience. I'm still single but that's the least of my worries. I fit in any booth, any chair, from 26 jeans to a 14/16. Shoe size from a 10 to a 9 my foot looks cute and skinny. Size 11 ring to a 9. I finally rode on an airplane and didnt need any extension. I'm sooooo happy people. I'm living life now

I was sleeved on November 5th 2012. So glad I have lost 52 lbs so far, but omg I never knew it was going to be so hard to eat. Doing the diet prior to surgery was so easy, now getting the shakes and vitamins are so difficult. Everything I eat tastes so awful, and then when I make something that seems good, I eat less than 1/4 cup and I am no longer interested, like never again interested in the food I had just eaten. I've just become disgusted with food all together, its become such a hassle just to eat, mostly because its so uncomfortable to eat. I've changed vitamin flavors several times and they all make me sick, the taste makes me sick. Protein shakes are the sa…

12 pounds!!! Now that's according to my scale at home...so tomorrow when I go to my first post op appointment I will find out for sure. But people are already telling me that they are noticing a change. So my total now from pre op and post op is 35 pounds. I am really happy so far with the way this is going. My pain is very minimal now. I just feel really itchy like all over my stomach...probably because its healing. I still am not able to eat much. Im still on my new direction Meal Replacement products from the weight management center I go and we are suppose to be doing 3 to 4 products a day and I can get in about 1 that's all. Is that normal for this early post op? *…

Good Morning Eveyone Just want to take this chance to I introduce myself. I'm Jessica and proud to say that today I'm 5 days post op . So far so good everything as gone well I've had no pain just discomfort and omg lots of gas and swelling but everyday that is getting better. I'm half way thru my post op liquid diet and have my first doctor visit on Friday . Already down 10 pounds !! I'm so excited !!

Hi eveyone i never took the time to introduce myself my name is tammie i'm from cailfornia i had my surgery on the 2 of jan my weight start was 260 lb im down to 235 lb i'm so excited to see the weight coming off my goal is to weight 150

OMG! Just got a call from united health care and I'm approved to be sleeved. Just waiting for my doctors office to call me back with a surgery date! I hope it's soon because I'll go crazy waiting much longer! I'm excited and scared and happy and nervous and OMG! Every emotion is going through me now. Has anyone had their surgery at Cleveland Clinic Florida? Happy happy happy!!

I just had surgery 7 days ago and I just found out that everyone with surgery is using proton pump inhibitors. Well I don't know anything about it my doctor didn't prescribe it. I am freaking out Sent from my iPhone 5 using VST

This is my first post, but here goes. My first meeting with my Dr was in November 2011, I did everything they wanted..all the testing, scopes, mental evals etc. I went to my last Dr visit before surgery in early April, I was sooo excited!! I would be setting my surgery date on my next visit for pre op!! Then on April 29 my family & I were t-boned coming home from a birthday party. Thankfully my daughter & husband walked away with minor injuries, my son was hurt horribly..air lifted away from us all, but is doing super now!! Myself, well I broke all my ribs on my left side & a few other breaks, cuts etc. when I came to in the hospital a day or two later…

How all! I am in the early stages of choosing which surgery I will get in April.. Has anyone use the true results Center 4 sleeve surgery What was your biggest concern Are there any questions that are vital that 1 might miss How many days were you off from work My 2 choices would be the Lap Band or sleeve, but I want to be safe down the stretch. ... Has anyone had the sleeve for over 5 years??? I have a little 1 to look after and I want to make sure I'm making a good safe decision HELP

Hi, I'm new to Vertical Sleeve Talk. I had my surgery by Dr. Eggebroten/Dr. Harold at Ft. Lewis' Madigan hospital. They did a spectacular job! I was a bit sore for the first couple days, but it has been great so far. I'm down 16 lbs! I know most of it is Water weight, but hey, it's still weight! I have some pictures that my husband took the morning of the surgery, but I've still got to download them to post. I figured on taking pictures monthly. But some really great news: I'm not having cravings like before! I'm still at the liquid stage, eating Soups mostly. I have 8oz 1%milk each morning with 2 scoops whey Protein (52g of protein in one drink!), then I eat a…

I came to VST in July to relay my story and see if anyone else had a similar story as mine and the same fears as me. Of course I found out that in fact we are all alike in our fears and yes there are plenty of people out there like me (at least when it comes to this surgery, ahem..). I didn't stick around, yeah... I know... bad me. I think at the time I was still in denial about whether or not I would even allow myself to go through this surgery. Well.. I kept on it and now I'm not too far out from the surgery. Surgery has been scheduled for February 4th! (two days after my birthday btw) As the time is coming closer I find myself feeling two things... firstly, anxiety! …

Any sleevers in the South Texas area? Would love to make some connections with local people that have been sleeved.

Do anybody know a Dr. in the Tx area dat accepts Mediciad???

I have a question and would like to here from the group I will soon be going on my third week of weight loss..down about 20 pounds post surgery...started at 296 but lost 32 pounds prior to surgery a total of 52 ...I had the sleeve done....about how many pounds should I lose on a average for the next 2 months (weekly) thanks Patty

Ok so I started at 262 right now im 187 from a size 22 down to a 15 3xl too a large my ring size went down from a 9-7 I lost my boobies :'( so I dont know what I am in a bra lol so I lost 75 lbs I still wanna lose another 55 we shall see my only problem is I forget sometimes not all the time this stop eating and drinking omg I get the worst pain ever if I fall asleep right after [ATTACH]8201[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]8200[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]8199[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]8198[/ATTACH]

I was sleeved 17 weeks ago today and have lost so much hair. Anyone else having hair loss issues? Need ideas on how to stop it.

As of today I am 4 months out from surgery and down 85.4 pounds! Lovin my sleeve

Hello all, My name is Kevin and I will be hosting a Google Hangout Session about VSG soon. The original thread is here: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/64414-google-hangout-i-will-be-hosting-a-hangout-soon/#entry635097 I was told to post this on the "front page" of our site here. I'm looking for these kinds of great people: - Post Op VSG surgery - Pre Op VSG Surgery - Complete new person with basic questions - A Doctor (VSG) - Long term VSG person (preferably over 1-3 years) - Anyone who has good knowledge on VSG in general This will be fun and very informative. Even if you want to recommend someone...let me know, I will contact them. Than…

In August of 2011, I was kicked off a ride at Six Flags for being too fat. As I walked down the ramp and saw my two year old son waiting at the bottom of it I decided that I couldn't live this way anymore and I just had to bite the bullet and look into surgery. It took me eight months to get it, the military is very thorough with their testing. In April 2012 I had my surgery. It's been a very rough road for me, I've had issues with nausea and losing weight too fast. I had my gall bladder removed because of the rapid weight loss. I was diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety (I work in a very violent city as a 911 Emt ). Since I couldn't "eat my feelings" I started manifest…

I was sleeved on January 5 so I'm 8 days Post op . I drink 3 protein shakes a day , suga free jello, today I had cream of brocoli soup, and also tried Greek yogurt . Got sick of broth , just couldn't do it anymore . Sugar free pudding Also I'm down 15 pounds and do a lot of walking . I'm supposed to be on broth and liquids . I've been fine with all this soft food , is this too much too soon ?

I'm in the process of getting WLS and I start my 4 months weight management visits the 30th of this month and I'm having big time doubts and lots of worries . I have a hiatal hernia and GERD and afraid what the results might be if I go through with this surgery. Will I feel worse ? What if I have an under lining condition that wasn't found before surgery? What if ? What if? I know it's normal to feel this way but I feel that all these worries are going to make me back away from all this surgery process. Don't know if I should just give my body a chance to lose it on its own and get medi fast meals and see how that goes . Can't exercise too much cause I get kinda scared w…

Hey everyone my name is hannah. This is my first post on here ever! I had the sleeve surgery on January 9,2013. The first two days were not that great. After being out of surgery for a few hours I got a breathing treatment. And it was only about 15 mins after that, that I started to puke up blood and bile. That was a little scary but I recovered from that spell quickly. Then a couple of hours after that I had another breathing treatment and that one made me puke also. So the surgeon had to do a endoscopy to make sure everything was alright, which everything was. He just said that the breathing treatment chemicals probably didn't agree with me so he stopped all of the bre…

Hello all, I am newly banded as of January 11th. I am still recovering. Not really hungry at all and making myself drink when I am supposed to. I have gone through every emotion I think I could so far. Today is only the 3rd day out so I am hopeful it will get easier. I miss food. I can deal without it but I would really like to chew something. I am tired of drinking broth. I research all the weight loss surgeries for the past five years or more. I am happy that I finally have taken the leap to do this. I am just hoping that I am strong enough. I just wanted to say hello and wish everyone great success with their bands.

On surgery day, Jan 2, 2013, I was in a size 20 jeans. Today I wore a size 15! This is so much fun, and I still feel fantastic!

My surgery is scheduled for January 30th and I am READY! I however and very nervous for my liquid diet. How do you get through it? I guess I'm most terrified because I have a toddler who loves to sit down and have a snack with me. I know its going to be hard and I guess I'm just trying to work through it. How did you get through your liquid diet?

On Wednesday I will 3 months post sleeve gasterectomy I've lost 28 kgs i couldn't of done it without the sleeve so proud of myself

I'll be at my year on Jan 23rd and lost 75lbs the first 6 months but have gone up and down the same 3 lbs since. I lost my job 5 months ago and I know it's taken a major toll, I don't have a set daily regiment and with hunger back (not to mention nothing makes me sick) I graze I'm frustrated, discouraged & fear my stomach has stretched back out. Freely soliciting lots & lots of advice & motivation!!!!!!!!

We have a very small private group set up on my fitness pal for those who fit this criteria. It is our hope that those of us who used the same surgeon, are being sleeved around the same time, and want to use my fitness pal to track their post-operative intake might be able to provide support for each other during our post-op period. If you are interested in being in this group, please private message me.

Hi yall does anyone know what to expect at orientation at kiaser south sacramento...its a 4 hour class....jan 15th im so excited....any one else in sacramento ca area

I am now on my 7th day post op and looking to discuss progress with anyone. Just started mushies. Experienced the shoulder pain and runny nose as a signal to being full. Weird! Started at 238 now 226.4.

Hello eveyone, i've been on here a fews weeks now so i thought i'd tell you a lil bit of my story. i have over come addiction and alcholism to strart living a better life for myself then i had 3 strokes about 3 in half years ago, very difficult time for me mentaly and physicaly.. then my wife at the time decided she couldn't do this, filed for divorce when i was recovering from my second stroke.. good riddens.. i have always been overweight, i was not ashamed of it, its just how i was, i never lack self confidence.. my health was the reason. my doctor told me i would probably be died by t time i was 50, and WOW that hit hard.. well fast foward to Oct 3 2012.. i had my sle…

Humor me. BE SELFISH. do it for you you and you alone. doing all of this for someone else makes it about someone else. ALL OF THIS IS FOR YOU. nothing pisses me off more - since I was a very young kid - feeling like I “needed” to loose weight for someone else...for society - for a certain clothing - for a “look” - for prom, for graduation, for college, for that job, the engagement, the wedding dress, the pictures, the honeymoon, the pregnancy, the kids, because the TV says I should, because PEOPLE Magazine says I should, all the time for someone or something else - I am doing this for ME...NOT for my husband...NOT for my kids...I’m doing this for ME...and me a…

Hello, I'm new to this board trying to figure out how it all works. Had surgery June 1, 2010. I've lost 80 pounds as of January 2011. Felt great still do, but not satisfied. At the same time I lost the weight,my knee started bothering me. When I needed to start working out, I couldn't. Went to orthopedists April 2011. Says I need a partial knee replacement. Lovely time for arthritis to show up. I have energy motivation, but too much pain. I'm hoping if I just cut back again losing more weight will ease the pain in my knee. I'm not ready for knee surgery. Just looking for suggestions and ideas of things I could try. I wouldn't trade having my band, just wish m…

So today is day # 7 .... An the only this I have on my mind is food .... This is the part thats hard for me .... I just wanna say f**k it an eat but I know I can't !! ???????????? #HELP ANYONE

My name is Laverne and I live in Mississippi and I am in the pre op stage of having gastric bypass. I am getting all pre testing done at this time because my insurance BCBS will not cover bariatric surgery until January. I have taken labs, PCP support and psych eval completed..

I wanted if we can have liquid nyQuill??? I'm 4 weeks out and can eat easily... I just got home this Friday from one of the most long, stressful, and scary times in my life... So far. :-) I just graduated with my teaching degree in December got my surgery during winter break and picked up a teaching job in January. Needless to say... I need a good sleep.

I'm looking for recommendations for a St. Louis, MO area surgeon. I'm not 100% sure which surgery I'm doing but am leaning strongly towards the sleeve. I've been to Dr. Van Wagner's seminar and was impressed. I've also been extremely impressed with the service his office has provided thus far. I'm attending the MyNewSelf seminar by Dr. J. Stephen Scott tomorrow night. I want to make sure I pick the best surgeon (most experience, least # of issues, etc) in the St. Louis area. Both are Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence surgeons. Thanks in advance for input that may help me with my choice of surgeon.

Hi, It all started june 2012, my first appointment. I started my 6 months supervised diet. I did all that was required and my paperwork was submitted to the unsurance company. Within 2 days it was denied. My doctor did a peer to peer and it took another week...but approved. My surgery is scheduled for the 21st.

1st post...2 days til surgery....fingers crossed! Starting to get a little nervous. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences. I have certainly learned more on here than I have anywhere else. I read that quite a few people felt miserable right after surgery, but when did everyone start to feel a little better? And, when were you able to drive again?