Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

Ok I have been browsing the site for a few months and have posted a few times but now i want to introduce myself. I am a 22 year old mother of 3 and want to live better for my kids and be able to keep up with them. I have battled with my weight my whole like and the last 20lbs i can really feel i get out of breathe my knees hurt really bad.... so my pcm brought up the lap band after a few other weight loss fails ... so i went to the seminar on march 5... met with NP and mental health eval on march 16... did labs on the 19th.. nutrician class on april 5... n approval on april 13. I have tricare south prime and herd horror stories about getting approved so when i called tri…

I had a fill about 2weeks ago. I felt very restricted, but still comfortable. All of a sudden I can eat way more than I was able to??? I dont understand this band quit yet. The nurse that does my fills said I should be pretty restricted and not need a fill for the rest of the summer. I made an appt and went back for another fil. She only put .02cc in the band. It does not seem like alot, but it sure did make a difference, to much of a difference. I could't hardly eat anything, and I could only take a couple of sips of water. So I went back for an unfill, but Im in the same boat again, because I can eat more than I know I should. Whats happening, and what should I do???? p…

Hi everyone! My name is Jayne and I was banded on Feb 21st 2012 so am 11 weeks post op. I'm doing well and am happy to be 48lbs down from my highest weight pre-op! So far I have lost 34lbs post op! Am looking forward to meeting you and am excited by the journey and how much it has made a difference to my life already!

So yesterday was my surgery and it seems everything is going well. Granted I kinda freaked out when coming out of anesthesia because I was cold, shaking, nauseaus, and tied down to the table. I loathe being tied down and apparently when I was still half out I started thrashing around like a "wild woma ". Luckily I did of hurt myself or them. Shew! So my question : I can't have liquids or Jello until my leak test tomorrow and my stomach is making weird noises and is sore. I can feel gas moving around inside, but I'm also feeling weird hunger pains. Do y'all think it's just the gas gurgling makin me think I'm hungry? Honestly I was hoping I would have disinteres…

So my surgery date is tommorrow, surgery is not scheduled until 2:15pm. I'm a little nervous about tommorrow, but I know that God has it all in control, and the desired outcome will be worth it. I've been on the liquid diet since last Thursday, started Clear liquids yesterday (a day early), just to see if I could handle it. As such I am a little hungry but it is manageable. I'm glad I discovered the LBT chat forums, I have so many questions, and you guys seem to answer many of them from personal experiences. I will keep you posted. Best Wishes!

Hi all, I'm new here, just thought I'd say hello! My surgery is on May1st, I will be getting the banded plication! Wish me luck!

I had my sleeve done on April 3rd!! I have done great:) the worst of it all I think were the gas pains after surgery(which I am still having). Does anyone no how much longer those last? Lol! I have just joined the sight. I'm excited to talk to everyone, ask questions that I might have. Also, hope to answer some!

I feel like the little kid in the back seat yelling "are we there yet?!" *sigh* Well, I'm 24 years old and I'm currently at my heaviest...a whopping 252lbs. I've never been slim/slender/thin, etc by any means. Well, I'm fed up with it. I deserve a chance to be happy, healthy, and comfortable with myself! I can remember stepping off of the scale at the doctors office about 3 years ago....completely mortified. I gained 40lbs in ONE month, with no reason to give. I hadn't changed my eating habits...I just didn't understand. I haven't been able to shed it since...and I've gained an additional 10-12lbs ontop of that (the last 2lbs teeter day to day..) I've tried weight watch…

Hi my name is Marcie12, I had my surgery 4 weeks ago. I have lost 29 pounds and most of that in the first week. I feel very overwhelmed on remembering when to eat, when to drink, protein shakes, vitamins. It is a whole new world and I somtines feel like a fish out of water. I also seem to be allot quiter than before the surgery, more sensative, and very much aware of myself. I was wondering if anyone else felt that way. I have been walking on my eliptical for the past week and worked myway up to 25min. I have trouble walking because of a bad hip that needs replacing in a few months. That is one of the reasons I had the surgery to loss as much weight as I could before th…

I like my protein drink but its starting to get old and I'm starting to opt for something like sugar free pudding instead of the drink. And I know that the pudding is empty nutrition. I am so not creative in the kitchen.......does anyone have any suggestions on kicking up an orange cream (from Bariatric Advantage) protein drink or can recommend a new mix? I am only 3 weeks post-op and my drink is good just getting boring. Thanx

I haven't been on this site in awhile and I'm happy that I have came back to it. On April 5th it will be one year since I have had my surgery. Coming up to my sleeve "anniversary" so much has changed in my life. In just shy of a year I have lost 135 pounds and am happier then I could have ever imagined. Whenever anyone asks me o are you happy with what you did I tell them with out hesitation yes I am. I feel great I can do things I never thought I could do I can run not have to worry about not being able to fit in a small space these are just some examples. The best feeling in the world was when being out with my friends one of my friends picked me up and carried me and i…

My name is Brenda .. I'm new to this site...I've been reading through it for the past few weeks.. and today I decided to register.. My surgery is in 9days ..05/04/2012 .. and I'm super excited.!!! I'm learning more about it through the different stories I've been reading here...thank you everyone..

I am just starting my appointments and am both excited and nervous! I am pleasantly surprised about how healthy everyone is saying I am. I am 41yo and start weight is 325lbs. Excited for the change and being healthy!

Just wanted to introduce myself! I'm Tara, I live in Utah and I'm looking forward to surgery. I haven't yet found a surgeon as I'm currently saving but hope to have the funds before the year is out. Disappointed my insurance doesn't cover WLS as I desperately need it but trying to just get over it and take care of myself. My BMI is 46 and it's been a full 10 years or more I've been this obese - ever since my first child. I can't wait to get to know the rest of you here and so grateful to have found this board! Also, I do CrossFit and it's the hardest thing I've ever done but I've been at it nearly a year (about 3 days a week) and I feel healthy and strong except f…

What can I add to greek yogurt n cottage cheese also what can it be use for, I knw u can subtitude them.

Well I'm three months post op now and it's really the first time I've been able to eat with out vomiting. If you don't know already I had a bezoar (blockage) thats why I havnt been able to eat and it was taken out last week. Ever since I have been so happy I can eat and keep it down I havnt cared what I was eating. It doesn't help it's my period week either. I'm hoping after my monthly visitor my hunger will not be as bad and I will care more about what I'm eating.

Im new to all this. Been a year so far! Ive lost a good amount of weight pre surgery with my nutritionist for shrinking of the liver. I have been physiologically cleared. Im now waiting for my doctors appointment for my insurance clearance out of Massachusetts General Hospital. Here to ask questions and share my journey with you all! Trying to decided what procedure would be best. I don't have diabetes although I do have P.C.O.S. .. looking for expirence,strength and hope! God Bless

I started out at 251 and now I am 225.. My surgery was March 27 and tomorrow I will be 4 weeks out tomorrow! I kinda feel like I should have lost a lot more weight! Is my weight loss normal?

Hi, My name is Maria. I'm 24 days to my year out and I've hit a plateau for the past few months. Anyone have any suggestions?

I was banded last year in January. I was 100 lbs overweight, with a BMI of 41.5. That put me in the delightful medical category of "morbidly obese". I live in New York City, and I was referred by a friend to the Weill-Cornell Langone weight-loss center. They have a great staff and they offer lifetime consultation with their nutritionist and their nursing staff. The surgeon was George Fielding, who is well known in the field. He was banded himself about ten years ago, but you would never know it to look at him. He's a poster child for his own specialty! They require a six-week all liquid diet prior to the surgery to de-fat the liver. I lost about 20 pounds before …

to my fellow sleevers tommorrow 4/26/12 i have my 2nd knee replacement. Five years ago i had the left knee done, now the right knee wants to keep it company. I know i'm a more experienced camper now, but it still hurts as much i know that many, many of my fellow sleevers have also had this nasty knee replacement - nobody likes i. As with the WLS , i really don't have any problem with having "the surgery" what i dread is the after surgery work in wls, it was the preparing of food, not knowing how well i would do with eating, or this or that etcl. I never had any problems with recovery so that was great. After 4+ months i've lost almost 60 lbs and counting, i …

I just wanted to check in with you all, I don't come by as much anymore. I'm more at My Fitness Pal or Fitocracy but I do check in here from time to time. I'm always just a message away too. I do get emails when someone sends me a private message here. So, I just thought I'd tell all of you that I plan to become a Personal Trainer / Fitness Instructor / Nutritionist focusing on Bariatrics and Super Obese patients. Yeah... I sign up for Next Semester a few weeks. I know what I must do!!! Joel Osteens message really REALLY hit me the other day. It must happen!!! So, just as I have shared my story here with all of you, I will soon be sharing my story with thousa…

My doctor Encouraged this application for lapband. So I'm going to try it out! I got acccepted for lapband about three weeks ago. I start my liquid diet in about three days and get my surgry on the 10th next month. Very nervous! I also heard about hair loss with lapband..I am worried about this! I read some about it already on here, and they say use biotin or zinc? I bought both today, is it alright to start taking these before I Even get the band?

I have my first appointment Thursday the 26th. I do know I have to have 6 months of diets from my dr. So I am going to start working on that. I am so tired of being overweight and want to have some of this weight off of me. I am a very picky eater so I am scared of all this, but I have been looking at wls for a long time but didnt want to do the gastric bypass. This seems a little less invasive. I have been over weight all of my adult life and would love to start over. Now it is just the dr visits I have to endure for the next 6 months. I had all the done last yr and now I will have to do it all over again. I think my insurance company wants it done within a yr of surger…

Has anyone tried the bariwise fruit protein drink mix? Is it good?

Hello, First off I want to introduce myslef. I'm a 32 year old working mom in charge of a 6 yr old boy and a husband . I just recently got a new job working from home which is great! My stress level has gone down but not my waist size! I have been struggling with weight my whole life. When I was a kid I was chubby during puberty then leveled out to about a size 12-14 in high shcool. Still back then I felt huge all my friends were tiny little things. I've never realy had an much of an image issue. I had several friends and boyfriends and just felt it was okay to be the big girl in the group. I was big and proud of it. Until after I met my husband my weight creeped up …

So my surgeon pushed my surgery back for two weeks due to a personal emergency. New date is May 30th instead of the 16th. I'm a bit down about it but not devastated. It actually works better for my work schedule. I'm just so excited about my decision to have this procedure and resolved that it IS going to happen that I'm just taking everything in stride. It may take a bit longer, but I will get to the other side of this surgery soon enough! Anyone else have any setbacks?

Hello! Tomorrow is the day for me... the day that I saw as so far in the distance when the thought of getting a lap band first came into my mind. I'm nervous.. excited... a little bit afraid to fail, but I also have confidence that I'm going to be able to do it. This will be my first surgery, so not sure what to expect. I've been on liquids now for a week and today I'm sipping on broth all day...... Oh how I long for a salad...lol

HI My name is Amy and I'm 28. I have 6 kids now. I was a member for a short time 2 years ago, before I'd had my last baby and since having him I've ballooned up in weight and now my bmi is 41.5 vs the 36 I was when I was here before. I'm sad about that, but also happy because this means i now qualify for the surgery. I've called to see when the next seminar is, and I'm so super excited to get this ball rolling. I'm also a little nervous. My sister said that she knows a lot of people whove had the surgery and they've all gained the weight back, and they have side effects - one gurgles (her stomach) and another burps insessantly. she says a lot of their patients…

Hi everyone! After many years of trying to lose weight, my doctor is giving me the go ahead for weight loss surgery if I can't lose some weight by September. She and I have discussed the lap band and she gave me some information to read. Right now, what do i need to do to prep for this surgery? I am a little confused by all of the different surgeries that are lap band or something similar to it.

Hello Gang, My insurance approved me today for surgery. I have to meet the surgeon on 5/17/2012. I am soooo Excited! Thank you GOD!! What should I expect now? I am a little confused about the whole process, but extremely happy it is moving FAST!! I even stepped out on Faith yesturday before I knew and brought some chicken broth that I would need after surgery!

Heading to San Antonio tomorrow for a Friday surgery with Dr Alvarez. Stay tuned, I plan to have a detailed report once I'm up and at it

Hi I'm new to this but need more support now then ever...banded slowly now at 5.5cc finding food a little more diificult, also realizing the importance of small bites and chewing. I started at 268, I'm down to 190

My name is Jacob. It seems to me I'm very young to be having this surgery since I'm only 19 but I am very over weight, I feel ready though. One thing that keeps bothering me though, I have been overweight most of my life and I'm terrified that i will have lots of extra skin. It may sound shallow but I don't think I could handle it. I would always be thinking about it and it absolutely would stop me from doing a lot of things that I enjoy. My doctor and other people that have had weight loss surgery have told me I'm so tall and young that I shouldn't be worried about extra skin, it should just fit back to me. One thing is though, no one understands that I'm having se…

I had a fill about 2weeks ago. I felt very restricted, but still comfortable. All of a sudden I can eat way more than I was able to??? I dont understand this band quit yet. The nurse that does my fills said I should be pretty restricted and not need a fill for the rest of the summer. I made an appt and went back for another fil. She only put .02cc in the band. It does not seem like alot, but it sure did make a difference, to much of a difference. I could't hardly eat anything, and I could only take a couple of sips of water. So I went back for an unfill, but Im in the same boat again, because I can eat more than I know I should. Whats happening, and what should I do???? p…

I had my VSG done on 4/11/12 - Starting weight 290. Two weeks after the proceedure I'm down to 275.

Hi everyone! I am just starting on this journey. In two weeks I had supposed to go to an initial group meeting at the hospital for bariatric surgery (a required starting point for the doctor). I can't wait to get moving on my weight loss journey.

Good Morning Everyone, My story: I was banded in June of 2008, lost about 17 lbs, which turned my health around for the better, but have gained all of it back. Long story, but in summary, I had an allergy to mangoes, had to have my band opened, then my doctor wouldn't see me or release my records due to a balance owed. 16 months later, I filed a complaint with the medical board and received a copy of my records 2 weeks later. If you are being held hostage by your doctor, that is the only recourse short of hiring a lawyer and since I couldn't pay my balance, paying for a lawyer was out of the question obviously. I also wrote to LabBand Corp, but received no response…

For too long I have hidden behind an exterior that housed a beautiful, fun-filled, loving woman. Sadly, society's insufficient standard of what a woman should look like has caused men to fictitiously want something that does not exist outside of a video shoot, fashion show and Cosmo magazine. Not all women are a size 2! Hell size 2 women aren't a size 2, they are a size 4 starving themselves to fit into a size 2!! I digress....hello to all. My name is Denise and I am 49 days away from my surgery date. I am excited about the date (first date I have been excited about in a while if you get my drift!!!) I admit, I have been given the "I'm not ready for a relationship…

Went to the store today & bought a pair of size 14 jeans & 3 size large tops. I haven't been in a Large or a 14 in over 25 years!!!

Started food today how do you know if food is stuck. Will you always throw up?

Had gastric sleeve with hernia repair , was suppose to have had bypass but due to previous surgeries it wasn't possible. I am 3 1/2 weeks post op ; I have lost 40 lbs. I am sick alot. I can only eat twice a day and usually throw one of them up. Veggies nor any protein will stay down . Is anyone else having this problem?

Hi everyone, Im still in the early stages of my journey, I have 2 more visits to my doctor before the paperwork is sent to my insurance . I'm hoping for a July date .. I hate this waiting !! I'm glad to have found this site it helps to see that I'm not alone in this.

Hi ALL!! I haven't yet even brought it to my doctors attention about my considering the gastric bypass surgery. So many of my family members and a free friends have had it... I haven't really spoken to anyone about getting this done since I'm kinda nervous. How long after deciding you wanted to do the surgery did it take for it to happen?

Hello I'm going to set my surgery date in a couple weeks. And I'm so exited. But I'm curious to know how much time did you guys need to take off work? Let me know.thanks.

My sleeve date is May 23rd with Dr. Rodriguez in Juarez. My PCP is unfamiliar with the procedure and told me he would follow me if I would get him info about what to monitor. I'm nervous that he won't know the symptoms of a leak, etc. And he's two hours from me. Would I be smarter to find a PCP closer to home? Would a local Bariatric doctor follow me if I had the procedure in Mexico? I don't have a NUT - do I need to find one? Thanks for your suggestions! So happy I found this group!

Hello

It still feels like a dream. There are moments where I can't believe I did this, and then I see my incisions, and go "oh yeah." I've lost about 7lbs since the surgery date, and even though that's great, I somehow am telling myself it's not enough. Like I needed to be 20lbs down by now! Crazy, huh? The good news is, I was finally approved by Cigna...which took going all the way through to an independent review board decision...but it was approved, so that was a load off. The hospital stay was great, and my surgeon, Dr. Gregg Jossart, was nothing but perfection. I've had no nausea, hunger, etc. He repaired a hiatal hernia that I didn't know I had, and that has been the …

New to this forum. My first visit with my doctor is tomorrow and I am SUPER pumped about starting this journey. Do you guys have any suggestions for questions that I need to ask my doctor? Overall, hi, and I'm looking to gain great friends on this journey.

Hi everyone - just joined this blog. I thought it would be nice to share my success story. 4+ years ago I had a phsycial. I asked my Dr.for diet pills. He suggested to me lapband, I was stunned!!! Did i really qualify for THAT surgery??? The next day I call the surgeon. They had me attend an information session. I was sold 10 minutes into the session. I had all the tests, and insurance approved it all and was scheduled in August of 2008. It was a breeze! Had the surgery on a Friday, left the hospital on Saturday and returned back to work on Monday. Had my first fill 5 wks later, still wanted to eat everything in sight. It wasn't until my 4th fill did my lbs …