Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

Today I Started my three day liquid diet stage before the surgery. It hasn't been too bad. Actually I am pretty proud of myself my family has not been the greatest about not pigging out in front of me so the temptation has been right in my face!! Does anybody remember how this part feels? The only thing that I can figure out is my body is making adjustments for not having food. It feels like my stomach is empty but slushy, I'm terrible at trying to explain how It is. Anyway only three more days to surgery. :)

Hey everyone! My name is Crystal and I live in Brooklyn, NY. I started looking into lap band surgery a few months ago in 2011. I did research on insurances and found out that NYC Medicaid would cover the procedure. I applied and got approved in January and start looking for a surgeon. In January, I learned about Dr. Gorecki and made an appointment, but I needed a referral. I had to get a new PCP who initially gave me problems with giving me a referral, but I went back today and got one thank GOODNESS. Just wanted to give a background story on me lol. Now im waiting for the middle of march to get here for my consultation and to get this show on the road. I'm excited!! …

M new to this app but I'm hoping to bring a bunch of people over. I'm 4 months post op and love RNY! -60lbs already and I can't wait to loose more. I'm from Ontario Canada is anyone else?

Hello I am very new to this although I have been watching you tube videos and reading forums I just never responded or joined ... so now here I am! I had my surgery on Valentine's Day this past week and I am so happy. I feel great and even walked 8 miles yesterday. Now as for my numbers I started at their recorded weight which was 265 in Dec 2011 (but my highest was 295 in Dec 2010). I started walking everyday from Dec 20th and havent stopped since even joined a walking/ running group which helps to keep me motivated. My surgery weight was 237 and now as of today 5 days post op I am 227. The day of surgery was my worst day only due to nausea. I did have a hiatal hernia in…

Hello everyone!! So I have been reading all your stories for a couple of months and I finally grew a pair and decided to post my own story I am 23 years old married with two kids, I have been through a lot with being a teenage mom and all, but I am proud to say that after years of struggling I graduated with my bachelors for registered nurse in June 2011. I always knew was overweight but put my health on the back burner because my family/kids and school were more important to me. Now have a good job and think it's time to concentrate on ME. Luckily I don't have any health problems... YET. I work on a medical/surgical floor and I see SOOOO many people coming in …

hi fellow sleevers a couple of years ago, i had several orthopedic problems, amongst them breaking my femur,,left knee replacement, and now having the right knee with a knee replacement, just to name a few. i want to say many others might have similar problems contrbuted by excess weight. i went to my orthopedic dr. several months ago to start the plans toward having the knee replacement - as soon as i mentioned that i would be having the sleeve in December 2011 - he put the brakes on. Told me he would love to see me lose some weight. (just saying recovery would be easier, PT) Of course that made perfect sense, but i really wanted my knee surgery. I did decide…

Hi All, Do you recognize me? Yep here i am. for the past few days i've been in onederland - didn't want to tell you earlier, cuz i was afraid my weight might creep up slowly and gain back into the 200's. Well its been a few days now its official, i'm in onderland to stay - the only place for me now is to go down hill kathy

Hey everyone- Just wondering if any knew when you can start swimming after surgery and go in the ocean? I hope to have my sleeve done in May/June but you never know with insurance. At least if I have it early summer my whole summer won't be lost, I hope. What were you guys told about going in the water?

Well, I was scheduled to have my sleeve done tomorrow 2/29/12. Or so I thought. What was actually given to me was a 'tentative date'. Turns out my insurance has denied me. After I spent 2 weeks on a liquid diet, prepared my self mentally, got my family on board, and filled out the FMLA for work I found out I don’t 'meet the criteria'. Apparently I have to have a BMI of 50 or more. Mind you I went through 6 months of hell & even lost 15lbs in the process. Now to be told I'm not eligible. My heart is broken. Insurance said I can have gastric bypass (no thanks) or the band (Not sure). My only hope now is my surgeon. He is going to call the insurance to try at per…

I'm 50 years old and almost 6 months post surgery. Been losing more hair than normal for about 2 months which was to be expected. When does the hair loss slow down? I hope soon.

Has anyone used True Results in Houston? I have a consult with them tomorrow morning. My insurance won't approve the surgery. However if there is an underlying condition (e.g. hiatal hernia)...they will cover almost all of it. I hate to say it...but I kind of hope I have a minor underlying condition that will qualify me...lol Oh well...wish me luck!

I am exactly one week post of and I STILL have this horrible burning pain to the left of my belly button. The doctor's office said it was where the camera went in and the skin above the spot is numb! Did anyone else have this happen and how long did it take for your pain to go away?

Hi guys I'm planning to get a nurse to take my picture at various stages while I'm in hospital. I want the photos to be warts and all. The idea is that say 6 months, a year, 2 years after surgery when it's all a distant memory and I reach for that bar of chocolate I'll be able to look back at the photographs and remember what I went through, and hopefully that will stop me from slipping back into bad habits. Has anyone else done anything similar? Did it work for you?

Hi everyone. I'm new to the site and new to lapband. From melbourne australia and interested in the forum and what some have to say about their experiences.

My name is Nicole and I am new to the site. My surgery date was the 9th and I am still not doing well. I can't eat soft foods and most fluids HURT going down and often come back up. In the two weeks since surgery I have lost 20lbs. Has anyone else had trouble with fluids/foods two weeks out? I have a nurse following up with me every other day but she is at a loss. Any suggestions?

Hi all, I'm Nikki, and I've been lurking for a little while now, and feel like I should finally take a moment to introduce myself. My journey to this surgery has been fairly quick, (although not something I hadn't been thinking about for a long time). I just turned 26 yesterday, and have pretty much been heavy all my life. About 3 years ago, I made some drastic changes in my life that included cutting my, (drug addict), mother out of my life, as well as finally trying to battle my weight. In the course of a year, I dropped 120 pounds, (went from 320ish to 200). Then I got gallstones. Had to change my diet from balanced and calorie counting, to NO FAT! Haha, it was…

Hello, my name is Holly and I have finally started my journey today! I had my first surgical consult on 2/20 but it seems official today after all of my radiology tests. Today I had my chest x-ray, upper GI series, abdominal and pelvic ultrasounds! I feel like I should be done but this is only the beginning. I scheduled all of my tests rather quickly as my surgeon suggested. Do most people just get all of their consults and tests out of the way? I still have all of my consults to do, psych and pulmonary consults are at the end of the week and the rest are in the month of March. In order to obtain approval from my insurance company I need to have 6 months of appointments w…

I am 5 weeks out today and thought I was doing pretty well. Nothing I have eaten has really caused me problems. My problem is making sure I get enough calories, specifically Protein into my diet. This weekend I had a couple days where I felt really nauseous......day and night. No new foods added; couldn't figure out what the problem was. After much back-tracking I realized that I had not eaten much those two days, and NOT eaten enough protein. The next day, I made sure I ate enough protein, and ate more frequently. Ta-da...no nausea! OK....lesson learned. I HAVE to eat...and that's a new one for me .

Hi, I am getting to go to a seminar tomorrow about the surgery. This is the first step for the surgeons here. I can't wait!!!!! I'm very curious what they are going to say, and I pray, hope, and have all fingers/toes crossed that the process will go smoothly. Hope to be seeing y'all around a lot over the next year or so, and hopefully, having had surgery sooner than later.

I will be sleeved on Tuesday, March 06 in Marietta, Georgia at Kennestone Hospital with Dr Dennis Smith performing the surgery ..... I am currently topping the scales at nearly 360 lbs so I desperately need this surgery!!! I am only 5'9" so my BMI is 52 which qualifies me as SUPER OBESE .... nothing super about it I can assure you!!!!

Today is my two week po. I went into the dr on day 10 and had lost 8lbs. Of course dr said its all Water and such and not to expect that as a rule. He said -3lb a week is the norm. And although my classmates in surgery same day (Same Dr all lost more than me). So I follow his dietary instructions... Keep calories 700-1000 (I'm just barely getting the 700), and 60gram Protein (that's easy), 8 cups of water (no problem) and under 100 carbs (not even coming close to half) and under 20g fat (max has been 11 so far) plus 30min walking daily.. I'm doing at least that and some days I use treadmill too. I got frustrated end of last week so said only weigh in on weekly basi…

Have lost 20 total 12 since surgery on 2-6. I'm 5'0" and was 202 now 182. BMI was 40 I can tell I have lost inches. Today I bought sz 10 pants and sz petite M shirt. Of course they are a tad tight but I did want to be able to wear it more than once! Sent from my iPhone using VST

Long time lurker, first time poster . I've actually been thinking of getting WLS for years now. I've always been overweight, at least for as long as I can remember. Having children didn't help much either. I went from overweight to obese. Over the years I've tried every diet. I've done Jenny Craig, to Weight Watchers, to even doing a full fast liquid diet. I would lose weight, and feel good about myself, only to gain it all back and then some. I'm 5'4, 276.5 Lbs., the heaviest I've ever been. In 2010, I looked into getting WLS, Lap band is what I chose, but after reading all the negatives about LB I decided to check into RNY, because at the time that is what m…

Ok guys. So I have been a member of this site for over 2 years. I had my LB surgery on Mar. 10, 2010 and went from 298 down to 215. Then from March and April 2011 I went from 215 to 235 and couldnt figure out why. Then we found out that we were pregnant on Mother's Day weekend. We were both excited and scared at the same time bc we went through 3 miscarriages. Since getting a fill or unfill is not covered by my insurance i decided that i didnt want to get an unfill. I gained 12 lbs when i was pregnant and after a tough pregnancy that was filled with complications (none of which i think were directly related to the LB) we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Fiona…

hi all for the most part i've been doing really well w/my sleeve - temporary setback w/hospital dehydration - my question is -i have seen people on this board that have had sooo many problems (leaks, stents etc) - i'm one of the lucky ones that have had an easy ride. I feel kind of guilty cuz things have gone well for me since my DOS 12/15/11.- i feel bad for unlucky ones, sounds silly but... is it ok for me to feel good for my history? kathy

Do not get me wrong, the Sleeve was the best decision I have made in my life to get healthy, but who would have known under all that charm and wit, was a beautiful rose?! I started at 222 size 18/20 and am now at 129 size 4. I started a new job and never knew the possibilities outside of my knowledge now that I have the "exterior" looks to go along with it. I have always had a lot of friends who wanted to be around me for my personality, but the type of attention I am getting now is very different and hard to digest. It is no wonder you read that such a high percentage of men and women who have surgery and are successful end up divorced. I know this probably sound…

Hi, I can not believe I am writing about this. I knew those stalls come. I prepared myself for them. I promised myself I would not get discouraged but I just do not know what to think? I stalled ten days out , on V day. I was down from 228 and dropped as low as 202. I was so excited and could not believe it. I have not been able to get in ALL my fliuds, between 50-60 oz. a day and protien is around 40 but I am striving everyday to hang in there. Since Valentine's I have gained up and down with 4 lbs. I woke up at 206.4. I was so bummed. I have been walking, sugerfree, full liquids and feel I was doing pretty well. I was concerned that I was not having a BM, …

I had my lapband in July, 2011 and my highest weight loss was 31 lbs. I now struggle to keep the weight off or lose more. I have been gaining and losing 10 lbs since October, 2011. I definitely eat much less than I did prior to surgery, but I enjoy eating and know that I don't get enough protein. I bought some products at my last visit in January, but don't stay on track for any length of time. My husband had lapband also and he is plateaued as well. I need some tips to get myself motivated - my fear of failure is coming true. I truly don't want to be overweight, but I need some help to get moving in the right direction. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Tha…

Wow,sounds like fun!!!! Congrats!!!

Hello Eveyone... I am Tressa...I am new to this site. I just wanted to drop a line and introduce myself. I am planning to have the Lapband surgery in the very near future. I am scheduled for my seminar, surgeaon consult and blood work with in the next to weeks...I am on my way to join the ride with you guys (super excited)!! I do not have nay questions just yet.....I am just very grateful for this site!! Have a good day everyone!!

So I had my surgery yay! Recovery in the hospital was hard I'm not gonna lie I was not prepared. I was sleeved 2,15,1012 It say fast but really it has been a lifetime in the making. I have been over weight my whole life. Starting around 6 years old with not much success at losing. I tried and tried but it seems like it would all come back and then some more. I had my daughter 3yrs ago and while I was preggo with her lost 30 lbs because I took such good care of myself while pregnant. Then I gained it all back. I had a trainer and lost about 30 more lbs but then was attacked outside my apt last year and gained all 30 back plus 30 more. On a side note on being attacked. It…

Hello, all. I am new here and I am just beginning my journey. My first consultation appointment is March 15. I already know my insurance requires three months with a registered dietician, so I have my doctor working on getting me set up with one. I am 43 years old and I have been fighting my weight since I was a teen. Last year, I had to have bilateral knee surgeries done because my kneecaps weren't in the right place and I had a lot of pain when exercising. This was supposed to HELP my weightloss journey, only it didn't work. Now I can't walk for more that 6 blocks or so without pain. I can't do stairs. I am miserable. I have put on 35 more pounds since the sur…

Today was a first. Today we went to Arby's for lunch. I ordered a Beef and Cheddar and actually ate 1/2 of it. Then, over the next 5-hours; I ate the other half. Yay, I actually ate a 1 sandwich in a 5-hour period. Booo...it really wasn't a good choice.

My wife just had her lap band surgery today. What should I know? Or to put it another way, what do you wish YOUR husband knew ahead of time? I want to be a supportive blessing to her.

Hello Everyone! My name is Stephanie and I'm from Texas. I just found this site and am excited to meet you all. I am having lap band in April or May, depending on when I come up with the last bit of money, since I'm paying out of pocket. Either way, I am very excited and can't wait to start my journey! If anyone has any pre-op advice, I would greatly appreciate it.

K I'm at a loss. Getting very frustrated. For the last three weeks every time I eat anything I vomit. It can be just two bites and I'm vomiting. It has hone from hard core vomit to the foam and slimed then throw up. I had finally had all I could take and went to my surgeons office on valentines day. Told them how nauseated I was and how I vomited an had horrible pain in my breastplate and back. They gave me something for nausea and sent me for an endoscope. The endoscope showed a slightly tilted esophagus and a need for a little dilation. Nothing major. Weekend ok not vomiting as much. Tuesday afternoon (when I had my 3 small kids with me) I thought I was having a freak…

Finally the scale is moving after 1.5 months of nothing I'm down an additional 5.4 lbs. this week.... My goal weight is 125 lbs. I'm 5 feet 3 inches tall so that would make me happy. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for 10 years and nothing has happened and they say it was due to my weight I started out at 288 lbs on dec.14 th and today I now weigh 244.6 lbs. it's moving slow I work out I walk do Zumba cardio, try to eat but I throw up a lot eggs and bacon are torture for me, fish is the only thing I can stomach. I do slim fast two meals a day and eat dinner low sugar slim fast. Does anyone else have any weight loss tips?

Today, Saturday, i was just lazy and tired! I took a two hr. nap this afternoon. I slept, DH walked into bedroom. I looked at him and asked him if we had apricot cookies? He looked at me and said "no of course not". I kid you not, i dreamh about me eating apricot cookies and an assortantment of other of my favorite cookiesl i was so upset when i realized it didn't happen, but i guess i was relieved too! LOLOKLOL kathy

Hello, my name is Brittany. I had my surgery on April 06, 2009. I lost 100 pounds during my first year. I gained 40 pounds in a year. I'm trying to get back on track and stay healthy.

Started looking into Lapband surgery and seems to be the right procedure for me...what now? Can anyone recommend a surgeon in Alberta, Canada? Will my provincial health coverage pay, or my private health care? What is the wait time? Has anyone gone to the US or Mexico? I've heard so many stories but not specific info...Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Im scheduled for lapband on tuesday. I go to dr. Stowers in dallas, tx area. I was wondering if anyone else had surgery there. Ive been reading alot about banding with plication and want to ask the dr. At my preopp. If anyone has any advice I would love to hear from you. Ive been sooo hungry gawsh, its been hell week here, lol. I have 6 kidos at home. 4 are teenagers... My husband is same weight as when we got married 20 years ago. And hes a southern eater...meat, taters, gravy, pie...snackerville at my house. You get the point. But I am so determined Im finally gonna get this weight off and keep it off.

My wife and I went to a WLS seminar last Thursday and have been waiting back for insurance verification by the hospital. Just got the call last night that we do in fact have insurance (yes I know) and surgery is covered without a diet waiting period (Yes!!). We have our first appointment next Wednesday to meet with the surgeon, dietitian, and to have our psychiatric evaluation. Does anyone have any relatively good timelines that it takes after our first meeting? I'm trying to fast track this as soon as possible, I am just so ready to make a life change.

Hi Everyone! I've just recently decided that I would like to get banded. I haven't meet with a surgeon yet, but I'm excited to start this life changing process. Even though I'm 28, it was hard for me to tell my parents that I was looking into having the Lap Band procedure done. They've always gone by the mantra, "you can do it on your own...." But I was shocked when I spoke with them this week and they were completely supportive of my decision. I still need to find out what my insurance might cover. I'm so happy to find a website like this where I can connect with people that will be sharing or have already been through what lies ahead for me.

I will have my 6 months check-up Monday. I have lost almost 100 lbs. since my highest in June 2011. I have lost around 70 lbs. since my surgery on Aug. 22, 2011. I haven't felt this good in years! I am trying to get more active and keep up the change in my life for good. I wish I had the "sleeve" surgery available to me 30 years ago. This was the best decision I have ever made for myself!

My sleeve is Monday morning at 7:30am! It's Saturday night and I am feeling a mixture of emotions...excitement, relief, anxiety...I have read all the posts and I feeling that I have my eyes wide open. I am prepared for the worst, but praying for the best.

Hello all! I am new to this site, and am so blessed to see so many people who are going through/have gone through the lap band process. I'm in the very beginning stages- just submitted paper work, and completed online seminar. Just waiting for the next step of getting the call to schedule all lab work, etc. This may take several weeks. I have to be patient *cough cough*...lol. I have actualy started a blog to help with the journey (lap-band-wagon.blogspot.com)... I would love to have you join me in this new journey! Age: 30, female Current Weight: 232 (GASP!) Goal Weight: 155 Height: 5'3 Current BMI: 40.5 (EEK!) JOIN ME! We can motivate each other, and any advice…

Hello everyone, My name is Alexis and I was just approved for having Lap band I will be having my surgery March 22, 2012. I am so excited and also nervous at the same time. I have been struggling with my weight since my early 20's it has been a non stop roller coaster of my weight going up and down. The most weight I lost was 60 Lbs but I was on phentermine and as soon as I stop taking those pills I put the weight all back on and then some grrr lol. My husband is very supportive of my decision in doing this and I thank him very much however, other members of my family are telling me that this is the easy way out and I need to try harder. Believe me I have tried hard…

Hello Everyone!! I'm so excited that I found this forum, I can't wait to read all the great stories and ideas that you all have shared.. My story is, I was banded on Feb 8th 2012. The surgery it's self went well, but I did have a problem with anesthesia.. I had some kind of asthma attack so I couldn't breath when I started to wake up.. Dr's. think I might have just gotten to much fluids into my system because now I am fine and show no signs of wheezing or any kind of asthma problems. I'm not in any pain except for a slight pain every now and then on my right side, mostly when I bend over. I've lost 15 lbs since the day of surgery and 14lbs prior to surgery so a to…

Hi i had lap band surgery march 08 , i live in temecula ca , have not been to a support group meeting yet ,does any one know were the closest one is ?

Wow!! I took it upon my own to call my insurance came and found out I was approved. This is extremely awesome and now I am ready to start my new me. I don't know what to do or say but just waiting to get the notification from my surgeon.