Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

On August 3, 2010 (also my brother’s birthday), I had VSG Surgery. The surgery went well and physically I felt better than I expected. However it is a bittersweet victory because my mother passed away that same afternoon. I had the surgery because I wanted to be healthy I didn't want to go through all she has been through. When I spoke to my mother about the surgery she was so supportive. The memorial was that following Friday in Florida and I was unable to make it (that in itself brings many unwanted feelings from my childhood). I thank God that I was able to spend a week with her in July. There were so many emotions I can't even begin to express. I know that she is in…

Hello all~ I am so happy to have found a place to talk about the VSG surgery. When I was first researching VSG and Lap-band I was always leaning towards the VSG. I am glad that as each day goes by I am learning more about it and that I am almost to the point were I can make the decision to set that appointment up for surgery. I however do have some reserves about it and still in the back of my mind the idea of which to chose is there. I am hoping that speaking with everyone here I can overcome all the reserves I might have and get some solid answers from those who have actually been through it all. So let me start by saying thank you to all of those that help me in …

Greetings everyone. I signed up for the forum this morning because I would very much like to talk with, if not meet with, people who have had surgery. Particularly Canadians who have sought surgery outside Canada/USA; specifically in Mexico. I will be searching the forums over the next few days and perhaps I can find some of the info I'm looking for. But if anyone would like to share with me...great! Cheers

Well, I was sleeved Monday! But today they removed my IV and pain pump! NOT cool. I waited too late to ask for pain meds and now I'm aching pretty badly. I got down about 4 oz of chicken broth, a small cup of Jello and maybe 20 oz of Water today. Not too shabby for the first day,! Home tomorrow yay!

Hi folks!! Been stalking this forum for a few days now.... finally took plunge. Its amazing how wonderfully supportive, gracious and open people are on this forum...Me...well...iam just getting into the swing of things...! Iam around 35...a 5ft 11inch guy weighing in at about 300lbs -my top weight!!........ashamed of myself...and trying hard not to be ...cant believe i let myself get this way !! have decided to get sleeved next month....understandably, my family is very worried and are praying that i'll be safe. iam lucky that iam fairly fit for my size (quoting my doc) (can walk about 1.5 hours do light weights and burn about 400 calories). but cannot lose more th…

So i started my liquid diet today! Seems so much harder! IDK why but i feel im craving everything.. Does it get easier after a couple days or a week? Excited for surgery on the 19th of September! seems like ive been waiting forever for this

I have United Health Care. When I first called them to find out about their coverage of bariatric surgery, I got asigned a case manager who I told I had been denied twice with Aetna in 2009. To make a long story short, she offered to see if those 4 appointments with Aetna in 2009 could be used towards my 6 appointments I need with UHC, and I went ahead and started my other appointments. She called me Friday, and she said she got it approved that my 6 months appointments are done, and I was approved to move on to my psych eval and call the hospital to schedule my consult. I got so excited about not needing 4 more appointments that I didn't clarify if that meant I was ap…

Hi all, I had my sleeve surgery 8/15/11 by Dr. Chae @ Skyridge Medical in CO. Pre-Op weight was 265lb. I'm currently at 248lb. I have had no issues at all. I feel great & have been eating a pureed diet since thursday! I'm trying to get enough Water & Protein in every day. I'm excited for this journey & like many of you worried about the emotional part. I also was an emotional eater & a volume eater--didn't seem to know when to say enough:) How did you all keep from pushing the envelope & eating things in the next level? I'm so grateful that I haven't had any problems, but almost wish I had a few issues as I've been tolerating everything without …

Hi! My name is Roz, I am a 43 year old mother of 3 from NY. I had my surgery on July 20, 2011with Dr. Vamulapalli at Montefiore Medical Center. My surgery went well but I had to stay an extra day in the hospital because I wasn't able to drink enough liquids. On surgery day I was 248 and today, a month later I am 223. I thought that i had prepared myself for life after surgery but it is nothing like I anticipated. All of the sugar free drinks that I loved while preparing for surgery now leave a weird metal taste in my mouth and I was even having trouble with water and protein. There was a week that I threw up everyday, but I think that I may have been eating too fast and o…

I have to say that I am an individual that did not qualify by U.S. standards for the surgery, but have been struggling with my weight for years and needs a tool to help prevent major health problems that were destined to come my way. First let me say that Dr. Kelly has such a good spirit, don't let anyone fool you. No matter what kind of petty thinks may be going on between individuals that work around him, he is a trustworthy expert who I personally would trust my most loved person to. He is a simple man that takes pride in what he does and cares about people. I would suggest anyone traveling from the U.S. to use Dr. Kelly, who is known as the best in mexico. I set out …

11 days away from my sleeve. I am so nervous. However if you were to ask me why I am nervous you would be surprised to hear it is not of dying but of being able to keep my stomach small and not back to large. I am an emotional eater, happy, sad, and mad, you name the emotion, and I can eat for it.

Hi All, I started researching the LB last year and contacted the bariatric surgery center at my local hospital but was told I didn't qualify. Since the FDA lowered the requirements for LB and the billboards started popping up everywhere I decided to look in to it again. I am 41 with type II diabetes and a BMI of 34 which means I now meet the requirements. My main goal for losing the weight is not for how I look but to be able to get off my daily diabetes meds. Anyway I am rambling...my concern is how fast the process is going for me as I have been reading here on this blog about how long it is taking to get approved to just get an appointment for the consultation l…

So it’s been 3 weeks since my VSG surgery. And can I tell you, WHAT a 3 weeks it’s been. I feel like a completely new person!!! I have energy, I willingly take my kids swimming (in a bathing suit… gasp!) and I look forward to the gym. Now for the (impressive, if I do say so myself) weight loss stats: I have lost a total of 22 lbs in 3 weeks!! I have stalled for the last week or so, but I’ve lost inches, so I’m not super concerned. In fact, I’ve more than 4 INCHES off of my waist in 3 weeks. So yeah, awesome to say the least!!! And I've experienced literally ZERO hunger since surgery. food just isn't exciting to me anymore. I did the 2 week pre-op diet, had surgery an…

I was sleeved on 8/17, and have lost 20lbs since the surgery. I have plateau and have bounced between losing 20-21lbs - when I know it's not a whole pound, it's really half a pound. I have a shake for breakfast, protein for lunch and protein for dinner. I don't know if I need to add something mid morning and mid afternoon, I've been drinking my water like I should. I am going to start walking today and after being off for 10 days, I am going back to work tomorrow. I know it's not going to disappear in the blink of an eye, but I didn't think I could plateau so early in the program. Of course I am not going to give up, I am too scared to eat sweets or anything I'm not suppo…

Hi everyone. My name is Betsy and I'm 3 weeks post op from my sleeve. Pre op my weight was 294 and I am now 263.2. I'm also new to this site, but can say I've accessed many of the forums to get some quick answers to some important questions. For me, the physical recovery was a snap; it has been the emotional/mental recovery that has been the most difficult. I worked with my surgeon for over 6 months prior to my surgery and was bracing myself for the changes my brain would have to endure. Well....I don't think anything prepares us for the after portion of this journey! It scares me to think that I put things into my body prior to surgery that caused me to have physical and…

Surgery today at 1230. On the way to the hospital now. I am soooooo excited!

Has anyone worked with Coventry of Nebraska to get the Lap Band Procedure paid for? What did you have to do?

Hi, fellow VSG members! I am on this journey for the second time. I started this process in 2009, but chickened out due to all the nay sayers (you can lose w/out surgery, that's dangerous, you're taking the easy way out, etc, etc, etc.). Now, i am following though because I NEED/WANT to! If i had listened to my doctor in 2009, I would be at a healthy BMI and wouldn't be on all these meds and machines, today But I listened to all those people who don't have medical degrees. Anyways, here I am, following through to a healthy ME! I want to be able to enjoy my upcoming Fab 40's, and see grandkids one day. I have had all of my appts, including those w/ the NUT. Unfortu…

I have read several posts concerning surgery with Dr. Fernando Garcia in Tijuana. I had a "lap sleeve gastrectomy" on the 15th of Aug. with Dr. Garcia, and he did an outstanding job for me. The whole experience for me was well above my greatest expectations. Based on my personal experience, I would encourage anyone to see Dr. Garcia. I spoke with other patients while I was in the hospital, and they all related similar experiences. Dr. Garcia was not the only one that impressed me. All of the Drs including Dr. Velazco (Gastro) Dr. Cabreira (Anesth), Dr. Romero (Gastro), all of the nurses, and all of the ancillary staff were incredible. I'm 14 days out and I've lost …

Hi all! I have just recently been banded, still pretty sore and uncomfortable.. Having a hard time taking deep breaths and feeling the pains in my left shoulder and around my chest. From what I am told, these things are all normal. Haven't been walking for EXERCISE yet, but have definitely stayed as mobile as possible. I go back to work at my waitressing job on Saturday! Not really feeling hungry at all, but dreaming of delicious foods! Its my way of saying farewell, me thinks! Enjoying my clear liquid diet (not really) and choking down the protein shakes, but really looking forward to switching it up on Friday (Week 2) with soups and cottage cheese and yogurt. Th…

Hello All, I am home from the hospital. I had surgery on thursday the 25th. I weighed in at 292.2 before they preformed my surgery. It's been 4 days now and I weigh 289. It's challenging to get up and walk around because of the pain. But I am managing. I have been drinking nothing but liquids for the past serveral days. I don't feel so hungry right now. Just sore. I have been taking my medications like I am suppose to. But sometimes I feel a hick-up or burp come up and it really hurts. But if there is anyone out there with advise on how to get better can you please let me know. Thank you so much!

hey every im new here an i was wanting to know what isthe process to get a new doctor for fills

Just let me start by saying UGH. I have been on this journey since January. Finally got the 6 months of medically supervised weight loss behind me. Insurance took a couple week to get the approval thru. Went and had my lab work done on Friday. My surgeon's office won't schedule the surgery until they receive the results of the blood work. I am just REALLY ready to get my new healthy life started. Maybe tomorrow will be the day it all comes together!!!

Signed up a couple of weeks ago and and just now found the introdution section. Better late than never i suppose. I went for my seminar on august 9, 2011. I had my first dr. appt on august 15, 2011. Started my pre-op diet on august 19, 2011. My surgery is set for this friday sept 2. I am very excited , but nervous at the same time. My starting weight was 244, i have lost 10 pounds so far on my pre-op diet, so now i am at 234. I am 38 yrs old. I have been married for 17 yrs, and have two beautiful daughters ages 12 and 10. I had a heart attack on february 13, 2008, and a triple heart by-pass on feb 21, 2008. I am so looking forward to getting my life back on track so i ca…

Hello fellow sleevers. I am 12 days out from surgery and doing great. My only problem is I am not exercising yet, nor do I think I am up to it. I do take short walks everyday and I mean short. I do my everyday activities, but by this time of day I am beat. I cannot imagine adding exercise to it. Will it get better? That is a rhetorical question because I know the more I lose the better I will feel. Can you motivate me? Not sure where I am on my weight loss yet because I am determined not to let the scale get me down. I can tell in my clothes and I can tell by how I feel.

A week ago I ordered a Book: " Eating well after weight loss surgery". They sent me two copies and don't want the extra copy back so, the first name and address gets it. The book is,Of course, spoken for.

I have lost about 35 lbs in six weeks. Is that good? I am not sure what have some of you lost in 6 weeks

Hello everyone, I've actually been following or reading the tremendously helpful information that is provided in this forum for awhile now. I started my journey towards a healthier me around May of this year. About 2 weeks ago, I received my insurance approval and my surgery date. I am so excited and nervous at the same time that I'm afraid I might blow a gasket before my surgery ! Just wanted to take this moment to thank everyone who contributes to this forum because the information you all provide is invaluable to anyone considering sleeve surgery or any WLS. Looking forward to posting updates on my progress! Until later....

Hi!! After battleling with my weight, I deceided to take the jump!! I have lost some weight on my own, but I need a little help!!! ;o) I will have my surgery in november/december (I dot nor have my exact date) I live in Quebec/Canada and the surgery is covered by the public plan. I look foward to share and read your experiences!! Do

Hi. This is my first post, although I joined a couple weeks ago. I am scheduled for banding September 16th and am excited and nervous. I am looking forward to the friendships with others going through this life changing process.

I am 40 years old and have been overweight since I was in my early 20's. My current BMI is 36.5 and I have high blood pressure, sleep apnea and reflux. I have been working with my surgeon since May and have been progressing quickly through the process. I have had my psych consultation, have been attending monthly support group meetings, meeting with my Dietician and had my first Upper GI. Unfortunately, the Upper GI showed sings of extreme reflux, gatritis, etc. NOW, the GI doc does not recommend me for the band until I go through 8 weeks of meds (proton pump inhibitor) and have another Upper GI, currently scheduled for October 6th. Needless to say, I was extremely disap…

After being 265 pounds for 14 years, I finally lostg 100 pounds with Weight Watchers in 2008. By June 2011 I was back to 225 pounds. That's when I absolutely knew that surgery was right for me. The VSG was the best fit for me and I am now 5 days post op. I haven't stepped on the scale since the surgery, but the pre-op diet got me down to 206 on the day of surgery. My surgean repaired a hiatal hernia during the sleeve operation. Since I was a self pay (no insurance) my surgeon chose outpatient surgery center and I was home within 25 hours of surgery. I had pain accross my upper back and, of course, all sorts of stomach pain, gas, etc. After talking to my doctor, I …

Just had my sleeve surgery done Monday. Already off of my diabetes meds. I still feel sore and kind of crappy. I guess I am worried about complications. I don't want any and I certainly don't want infection, so I am being very cautious. Drank my first protein shake today. It went down fine. I only experienced nausea twice, and it was the second day after surgery while trying to gulp down pain meds and too much water (my mistake). So far, so good! Please pray for me that I will recover with no complications...My prayers are with all of you, hoping you and I have successful stories to tell in a few months!

Hello Everyone, I'm another that has been behind the scenes in the Internet forums, You Tube,etc., watching the progress of those that have been banded for a couple of years! I started my journey April of this year, after the 3rd seminar I attended I decided to go for it. Luckily I had documentation of previous Weight Loss Programs from Curves, Weight Watchers, my YMCA membership, etc. So I didn't have complete the insurance program requirements for Weight Loss programs (they accepted what I had done). I have to work with a Nutritionist, Exercise Therapist. I completed a sleep Study and had to have an Endoscopy. I had everything completed by July and got my approv…

hi all, I am now 6 months post op and have been stuck at the same weight now for about a month, i have had a couple of pounds loss then its gone back on, i am getting a little desperate here now , things have been going so well up to this point, i never had any complications after the surgery, can get plenty of liquids down and hardly any trouble eating, it has been really great, i have lost about 80lbs so far, which i feel so pleased about, i know i was going to hit a stall at some point but next week i am going to the dietician and i feel that she will be really disappointed that i haven't lost much since i last saw her, i don't really know what to do, should i can…

How do I turn off the email notification that every time someone posts I get an email alert on my computer? Thanks

hey just introducing myself... I am 34.... Soon to be 35. I live in the DFW area. My doctor is Dr Smith at Fort Worth Lap Band. I will have surgery in a little less than a month on Sept 22. I am super excited. I have been over weight most my life but reciently hit an all time high and passed into the 300s and said enough and took the plunge.

My sister and I will be sleeved about a week apart so we are going through this process together. We are very supportive of each other and competitive. Have any other people on this forum had the surgery with a family member or close friend. How did it help or hurt your relationship. Were you competitive with the weight loss? Did having that person motivate you or hinder you?

The scales budged just enough today to give me 57 pounds pre surgery and 57 after, totally a loss of 114. Sadly, I have another 50 to go. But I'll get there.

Here's my list from over the years (I'd love to see yours.): 1. Weight Watchers 3x 2. Jenny Craig 3x 3. Dr. supervised 2x 4. NutriSystem 1x 5. Optifast 1x 6. Slim Fast 1x 7. Medifast 1x 8. Atkins 1x 9. Herbalife 1x 10. Lindora 1x and the grand finale..."The Venus de Milo Gym" diet. Yes, this was a real gym I went to back when we wore leotards and leg warmers to work out. I remember having to eat dinners of hardboiled eggs and steamed spinach every time I weighed in heavier than before. Back then it felt like a punishment, now that doesn't sound half bad. This place was located right next to a Winchell's donut shop. Guess how much weight I lost. Hmmm…

Well, I'm on my preop diet this week. Surgery is next Monday with Dr. Eckstein in Hollywood, Fla. Insurance approved, everything is covered 100%. so that stress is out of the way. But I'm really wanting to cheat and have a sandwich, or a slice of pizza. UGH, this is so hard!!! Help!!!

Just signed up today and thought I would introduce myself. I just started looking into this but and shooting for 2 months out for my surgery. I am thinking of going south to Mexico for the procedure for the cost savings. Thats actually about the only way I can get it done. I am a bit apprehensive however because of the horror stories you hear. I found a post on this very thing though from WasaBubbleButt from back in 2007 that was very helpful. One thing she did mention that I didnt think about was all the people on these sites trying to get you to go to one doctor or the other. That was a bit concerning to me because I came to this site looking for help and gu…

Hi, I am mid way through the process. I am from Napa and I am going to the Kaiser in South San Francisco. I am 62 years old and weight 221. i am 5 ft 5 " I would like to lose 70 lbs. I am very interested in talking to folks who have had the gastric sleeve surgery. I have been thinking about doing this for the past 4 1/2 years. I am ready now. I have never done this online chat thing so this should be a fun and super helpful. thank you in advance for any info, advice, warnings you can give me. Blessings, Stapled Thin.

hi guys i have not made a post in quite a while i've been reading about everyone and you all are doing great. i'm still no closer to my sleeve but that's another story all together but i digress. i just had a general question for everyone, how much weight did you lose on your pre-op two week liquid diet. i'm just curious any feed back would be greatly appreciated. every one keep up the good work and i am so happy for everyone progress.

My lap band with plication is scheduled for Sept 14, 2011. I am on anitbiotics for H Pylori right now and and next week begin my 2 week pre diet for the surgery. I am nervously excited and glad to have found this forum.

My surgery is on Tuesday! I'm so excited. As it draws closer I'm just curious how common complications really are. Anyone on here have any problems at any time after the surgery? I know all of the possible issues, I am a nurse. I am young (27) so I know I am not a high risk but just wondering about the "what Ifs." Not scAred just curious! Thanks!

(cross-posted in the August sleevers sub-forum) Hi everyone. I was sleeved on Wednesday and the surgeon released me to come home yesterday. He was hesitant about whether to have me stay an extra night, but when I said I'd rather go home, he was cool with that. I feel so much better at home than I did at the hospital, so it was definitely the right decision. I've been keeping up on my pain and nausea medications and that has helped. I did have some nausea problems in the hospital and threw up twice. Not that there was much of anything to throw up, but the heaving was very painful, and I'm still sore in some extra parts because of it. Overall the pain ha…

Hello all! My name is Charity. I'm 26, a pediatric nurse from Missouri, and scheduled for a VSG on 12/20 with Dr. Almanza in Tijuana, MX. I am a prior LapBand patient (banded 4/16/08 and emergently removed 10/1/10). I hated every day with my LB and didn't lose more than 20 lbs in the 2 years I had it. It was the worst choice of my life. Now, I'm happy to say that I am on my way to a VSG! I hope I can find some people going the same time as I am because my boyfriend is most likely unable to go with me. I'm not nervous about the surgery (being a veteran of WLS and all!), but I am nervous about leaving the country. Other than the Bahamas on vacation, I've never lef…

Hello Everyone..... Just signed up today and wanted to introduce myself.... I'm Steven from Riverside, CA and just had surgery this week..... below is taken from the "About Me" section.. I've always been a very physically active but overweight person. I started putting on the weight in 7th grade with an 11th grade peak of around 285. I work out regularly but I've never really been able to drop much below 250. Due to hypertension and 38BMI, insurance approved me and I had surgery on 8/22/11. The day before surgery, I weighed in at 258.8. So far post op has been pretty manageable. Started walking quickly and hit my breathing targets before leaving the recovery room. …

Hi everyone, I thought it was time I actually Introduced myself. My name is Ree and I am from Australia. I had lapband surgery done four years ago. Just wondering if there are any other Aussies on the site but also just looking for friends who want to talk/chat. Anyway I know its not much really just testing things out here but hello all and don't be shy. Ree.