Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

Hi all, I'm one month out today. What a difference a month makes! I'm 20.8 lbs down and pain free. I'm drinking and eating with big-girl utensils, cups, and plates. I'm exercising almost every day and needing fewer naps. I am so happy I had the operation, but I am really looking forward to being a few more months out, with more lost weight under my belt and a little less swelling in my tummy. I am soooo tired of eating, drinking, and taking my supplements, but I am slogging through to maintain my health. I'm getting more than 60 grams of Protein and 64 ounces of Water per day and averaging 450-550 calories per day. I take all the recommended supplements, except I …

So I'm frustrated and starting to feel like a cash cow. I just got a bill for the initial eval with the surgeon to the tune of $700.... I met with him for barely 5 minutes. I've had more doctors appointments in the last 2 months, then I've had in my entire life. The surgeon ordered a sleep study, which I did a few weeks ago, and still nobody has spoken to me about the results. I haven't seen the bill for that yet, but I can imagine it's gonna be a douzy.. Now they are telling me I have to go in for a second night?? Does this sound normal? I mean while I most likely have some form of Apnea, I don't have any real noticeable symptoms. I also saw the cardiologist at …

Hi all, I'm Shannon, I live in Ft. Lauderdale Florida and am getting my surgery done at Strax Rejuvenation on the 24th. I am getting very nervous now. I am reading up on this forum and on facebook pages and hear a lot of success stories and horror stories. I am so scared that I will be one of the few with the horror story. I know the chances are that it won't happen but it could happen. I signed up today for this site to maybe talk to a few people who have had the band put in and see how it is going for them. I guess I need reassurance. I know it will be a long and hard journey but I feel I am ready once and for all for it. I have tried diet after diet and lost…

Hello Everyone! I had my first visit to start my journey today, and I have to say it went great!! My doctor and his staff was wonderful! I am so glad that I have decided to get this done. I am 5'3" 216lbs with a BMI of a lil over 38. I have co-morbilities as well. I am starting the 3 month SWL with them next week, so they told me I should be able to have my surgery in August, of course I have to do other requirements, but it is all worth it for what is going to be a healthier me in the future. I am just tooo thrilled right now!!!!

Hello, My name is Jen and I have started the process for Gastric Sleeve surgery. I live in the SF Bay area and my surgeon is Dr. John Feng. I currently have a BMI of 45 and an excess weight of 110lbs. I'm nervous and excited to have surgery. I definitely want to feel better and look better but I have witnessed first hand the difficulties and changes that come with surgery. My ex-husband had the surgery 5 years into our marriage and 2 years later we were divorced. I'm hope that I can find the support to help me get past these struggles as well as help me along my journey. I currently do not have a surgery date. The program I'm in requires,on top of tests & Psy…

Good Evening from Germany, Being part of the military family, we are now stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany. I have started the process to see if I qualify for the Lap Band and hoping to be successful as I have a little over a 100 lbs to lose. I have 4 amazing kids ranging from 17 to 2 yrs old...!!! I'm the CEO of my household, which leaves me with no time to really take care of myself, so I have decided to become selfish and take 2 hrs a day for me ( either I go exercising or just read a book). I'm meeting with my Dr. this Friday and hope that we can go ahead and put the packet in for approval from the insurance company. I've loved reading many of your posts here as…

So I just wanted to whine for a minute. I know that it will all work out. I know that I'm lucky to even be able to have this done at all. I know that I am very blessed. But I also know I'm currently annoyed and that you guys are the only ones who can truly understand. So yesterday morning I had my 6th (and final) fat camp appointment and I was beside myself with excitement! I almost posted from the exam room. LOL. Everthing went fine and I took my "flow sheets" to the surgeon's office - and that's when things started making me cry. Ok, so I wrote a bunch of stuff but then decided to delete it because it sounded like I was being too negative. Suffice it to say…

Hello all, I got sleeved on May 31, 2011. I'm 14 days out and finally feeling better. I have lost 29 lbs to date, going from 327 to 298. I had my surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan by Dr. Roslin. The first 2 days in the hospital were the worst. I thought I was going to die. I couldn't get comfortable, I was in pain and it seemed like the hospital staff was doing something to me every 20 minutes, so no rest. I had to get out of the hospital because my blood pressure was going way up. My wife called my primary care Doctor who had me released from the hospital. That made the difference. If I wasn't released that day I was going to escape and walk home with my a$$ st…

I just signed up for this forum to read about other peoples experience with the band. I have been banded for about 4 years now and honestly haven't had a ton of success with it. I fluctuate with my weight and have tried everything from weight watchers, exercise, medifast, diet pills in addition to my band but the weight isn't coming off. I honestly had different expectations for my post-op success when I was banded and while I live comfortably with the band I don't necessarily use it to my advantage which is why I have decided to dig a little deeper with these forums. I do have my band filled and when I went under for surgery I was pretty close to the insurance BMI cut…

I am 23 years old, and have NEVER been skinny. I've been called chubby, thick, stocky, big boned, told its baby fat, etc....but I've never been skinny. I've tried Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, sports, dance teams, cheerleading, Phentermine, Atkins, Vitamin b12 shots, and the whole nine yards. It never works long term. It never makes me feel like I can actually adjust to the lifestyle required to maintain. I never feel full. So I decided to do what some of the people I love might call the "lazy thing" and have VSG. I have never been more scared and excited for something in my life. I feel like I am being given the one thing I never had...to LOOK the way I FEEL. I wan…

Hi, my name is Ronda. I have been a bariatric patient for 10 years now. Initially, I had RNY done and lost 85 pounds with it. My maintenance was steady for about 5 years, but started declining--regained weight, bone loss, anemia, circulatory and cardiac problems. I have hypertension, but am severely allergic to those drugs for treatment. Weightloss and management is the only way I have of keeping my health in good shape. In 2007, I went to a new bariatric surgeon to seek an evaluation on my prognosis; he said revision surgery was needed to attend to severely stretched stoma. Insurance always held strong opposition to any treatment for my problems. This visit, Dr. …

My Buddy - I want to share something that has recently been a huge help to me in my journey. As we all know time and desire to work out rarely is something that comes easy. I added something wonderful to my work out routine I think you could benefit from. I added "my buddy". That is right, my much younger sweet sister in law is leaving for a beach vacation in a few months and wants to work on her bikini body. (not that she has much work to do at all) This has added excitement, removed boredom and has up-ed my commitment to workouts. It is so much more fun to work out with "my buddy" as we can sweat, scream and remember to breath together. Having some one…

Hello everyone, I had my sleeve done on May 23rd,2011 at 2:45pm at Scripps Mercy Hospital. My surgeon is Dr. Laurance Tanaka. My beginning weight was 223 pounds. I am 5'6" and 51 years old. The surgical experience and the staff were great. I have not had any problems or complications. I stayed in the hospital for four days. The night of surgery I was up walking with my iv pole in tow. I walked several times a day while admitted and attended the exercise class offered for post surgical patients. My one week discharge appointment yielded a 14.5 pound weight loss. I encourage everyone to comply with the program. Follow your doctors instructions, exercise (walk), and stay hyd…

Hello. I just got the band and now I'm recovering. It went well and although I was in some pain for about a week or 10 days, I feel just about normal now. I'm pretty hungry still, especially these last few days and am sticking to the post-surgery diet for the most part. It's been a tough 3 weeks for me not eating much and being on the liquid diet for about 10 days now but I take it for granted that I'm not eating the way I used to. I am just trying to figure out how much to eat when I go to soft foods at the end of this week. I'm looking forward to eating a little more normally than I have been going through the surgery experience. I'm glad this forum is here.

Hi, I am Rick and Ijust got banded on Monday

I had my first office visit on 6/13/2011. The center I am attending is rated a center of excellence. So, I have at least 6 or 7 (sleep test, upper gi, psych (2 visits), exercise wellness, support group, blood work) different items on my list to complete before they even submit my papers to my insurance company. I am saying this because, if I do all of these things and not get approved I will highly disappointed. I have no other illnesses, my BMI is just high. (45) Thoughts please?

Hi all - Im from the Rochester area and was just banded on the 14th of June. I hit my BMI peak of 51 and decided to get serious about losing weight for once and all. We all have the same song and dance of countless diets, ups and downs, etc. Figured banding is the last thing I'll have to do in order to get my life under control. (And yes I know band is a tool). In any case I attended Dr Alok Gandhi of Bariatrics of Western NY (the one at Rochester General Hospital). Wonderful place and wonderful doctor. Surgery went well including fixing the hiatal hernia. So far not much pain - just general soreness. I am grateful they kept me in the hospital for over 24 hours …

Finally get to exercise! I'm not lifting yet. But I used to love raquetball. So I started back today. I played for 45 mins. Wool was I tired. Lol.

Hi lapband world, My name is sheena and im 27, married with two kids. Just started my journey on june 10th, 2011. I was actually banded on that day. I wanted to try this site for support. I'm also blogging my journey on youtube and the community on there is amazing. http://www.youtube.com/user/MissT0163 Cant wait to meet new people

Hi to my new friends! I happened upon this site last night, and I look forward to some engaging conversations. I am a mom who has just had sleeve surgery on 6/9/11. I spent 3 days at the local hospital Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida, which was quite comfortable, and the surgeon (Dr. Rosenthal) and staff were wonderful. I heard from 5 different members of hospital staff that they thought me to be "small" for this operation.. I had never heard that personal description in my life, so that took me by surprise! I was a size 16 Pre-Op, with a BMI of 39.999. I am now at home recouping until next week, and then I head back to work, on my hopefully Phase III diet. However…

Hello I have been "trolling" the site for a while now as I had been preparing this spring to be sleeved this June, which I was last Tuesday 6-7-11. I've been working with Blue Point Surgical group in Woodbridge, VA if there are any local Virginia-ites. I have had a really great experience with them over the past 6 months. I'm a little over a week out and so far so good (I think). Based on what I'm reading on the site I think I'm experiencing the normal post-op symptoms for just one week out. Gas, stomach REALLY bloated, "bathroom" trouble (without TMI), trouble getting in enough Protein, every day gets a little better. I'm trying to experiment with differen…

My journey started 1 year ago when I started taking birth control to treat PCOS. About 4 days into the pill i ended up in the ER with stroke symptoms (numbness in hands and feets, blurred vision. bp was 188/113), it was scary but eye opening!!! June 19, 2010 I decided that I had to do something about my weight and co-morbidities so I could be here for my two little boys!!! I researched my options for awhile and finally enrolled in a 6 month program for weight loss surgery!!! About a million hoops jumped through and here I am two weeks before my surgery (June 27), nervous and excited. This has been one hell of a year but i'm so ready for this change, I can't wait to be h…

Yippie ..I got my date...July 11th. Start my pre-op liquid diet July 3rd. It is all becoming real now that I have the date. Excited and Nervous!!!

hello my name is Teresa I am scheduled for june 21 for lapband I am a mother of two sweet boys ages 7 and 2 I am working on making thier mom a better healthier role model for them both. I am very nervous and have no idea what I am getting myself into. Any advice would be appreciated age 32 height 5' 1' weight 233 bmi 43

I got a call from the ins. lady today and said they would let me know in a few days if I am approved for the surgery! I am so excited and hoping I get approved!!!

I thought it was amusing (it still is to me). Well I am and old pre-med with medical school aspirations. I want to be an Anesthesiologist. Hence the name N2B8R (intubater). Believe me, I've come up with a few names: King of Consciousness Prince of Propofol Sultan of sleep (my personal favorite) Archbishop of the Airway General of Anesthesia So once I finish medical school and land a categorical residency in anesthesia, I plan to get personalized license plates that say..... N2B8R yes, I am weird.

So I just got my date today. I am having the surgery on July 6th. I have been waiting and waiting and now it is here. Freaking out a little. I just want to get it done and start my new life. I am wanting to hear anything that you can tell me that the doctors wont. I want to be ready!!!!

Woo hoo! Surgery was this afternoon with Dr. Aceves and it went great. He even repaired an undiagnosed hiatal hernia while in there. I've been walking, sucking on my spirometer, and chilling I can't say enough about Dr. Aceves and his team. So far, simply amazing. Practically no pain and hardly any indication Ive had anything done so I'm being careful to not overdo it. I realize the pain could intensify at any point, so at this time I am counting my blessings! God is good. Thank you for the all then encouragement both public and private from you all. Looking forward to doing this TOGETHER! Erin

Well I decided to get the sleeve done. I have fulfilled my seminar requirements and sent in a screening application. I got a confirmation email saying it was received and that they would get in touch with me within 48 business hours. I'm a little nervous that I will be told that for some reason I'm not a candidate. Edited to add that I'm going BIDMC for my hospital.

Hi everyone - I am new to this site and would appreciate your help. After going through all the prerequisites for the lapband, my insurance company denied me last week. Just met with my surgeon Friday who told me that my best bet would be to be banded in Mexico and he would do the consequent fills. Does anyone have any recommendations with surgeons in Mexico? Some websites look really cheesy.... the only one that looks somewhat credible is Dr. Kuri. I really would appreciate your input!! PS. Never been on a discussion forum before, so I hope I am doing this right!

Hi eveyone!!! Just introducing myself. I'm Jamie, 33 years old and I was banded on June 10th. So far, it's going ok. I'm in a lot more pain then i thought i would be. My abdominal wall is killing me =-) other than that doing ok with the diet, actually i don't think i'm gettng enough in, still pretty swollen. Looking forward to my journey and to meeting new Banded friends.

I went to Dr. Goldstein's seminar last night and am convinced that he is the surgeon for me. Just looking for anyone else who is going to him that can give me your opinions of him. Also thought we could be a support group for each other I am just starting and have to jump through some hoops to get approved by Aetna, but am confident that I'm making the right choice for me. I'm 5'4 and weigh 209 (ouch). My BMI is 36 and my co-morbidity is, I believe, sleep apnea, although I'm going to have to have a sleep study done to confirm that. I'm a bit nervous about that but I don't have a choice in the matter so what can ya do. Looking forward to getting to know the folks h…

Hello, I'm Nicole, 28 married mom of 1. On june 22nd I will be having my band put in. Since February I've been debating about getting it done and have finally started taking the steps to it.

I am all done with my blood work, ekg, upper GI, chest xray and abdominal ultrasound. I start Opti fast tomorrow - yay haha. At least they said I can have crystal light and sugar free jello.. The Upper Gi was a trip -- drinking the barium, which was only really two gulp fulls. The funny part was the shot of Water mixed with pop rock type substance you have to take a quick shot of. The radiologist was super cool and I saw some of the stuff on the screen -- pretty neat. All I have left is one more nutrition class that is like 3 hours, one more visit with the surgeon and on June 30 - getting my sleeve on. I just like how thorough the doctors are being checking ever…

Well, the day is almost here-June 13th-...I decided several months ago to do something about my excess weight- yes I tried diets, Slim 4 Life, and lost about 35 lbs and felt better but went backup to 228- I am on the low BMI side for the VSG at 35 but have had a host of medical issues relating to my obesity. I researched the data and chose the VSG. I had thought about going to Mexico but when I thought about all the unforeseen issues that have arisen in patients I have seen here in the US, I decided to stick with the US medical system. For example, if an artery was nicked , do I really want to get blood from the Mexican blood bank system and get Hep C or HIV ? Doubt it ! …

My name is Jael. (Prounounced Jay el) I am a 32 year old Italian female from Chicago. I am the mother of 2 fabulous kiddos and I am in good health with the exception of the weight and high blood pressure. 5'3 209 ! I have done all my evaluations and finally met with the surgeon today. He said I am a great candidate for the lap band!! WOO HOOOO! Now the waiting begins!!

Hi Everyone. I'm new to the forum (been lurking for a while). I'm working toward a sleeve hopefully in September or October. I currently weigh about 411 pounds and am on a 3 month program to meet Aetna requirements. I am excited and frightened by the prospect of the surgery and the expected results and lifestyle change. All of you here are inspirational. I'm not a big sharer but that may be one of the changes that I need to make on my journey. I'll post more as I work through the hoops!

Hey guys! I just received my letter for the seminar on June 30th. After reading it, I got a very nervous feeling in my stomach.. nervous suddenly! Any tips, suggestions, examples of your own...? It just seems so official all of a sudden. I've been reading about Lap Band for so long, that now that it's beginning to look like a reality and not just "research" I am getting kinda nervous

Hi people! My name is Bonnie and I'm 20 years young. This all started for me when my mother was having a conversation with her twin sister and I thought she was joking when she said she wanted to get banded. So I said, "If you're doing it, then so am I." I have struggled with my weight since a very early age, between kindergarten and first grade. My diet and exercise habits were always poor. Since my father was in the Navy and hardly ever at home, my mother went into a severe depression and her overeating is triggered by stress. Thus I learned to eat like her, behave like her. I do not blame my mother, per se. That simply isn't fair, albeit she was responsible for the n…

HAD MY SLEEVE DONE MAY 2ND VERY HAPPY WITH IT I AM 66 AND DID IT FOR MY HEALTH I HAVE LOST 20 LBS GOING ON 6 WEEKS AND STILL THE SAME

Hi all, Earlier this week I had a physical exam with one of my doctors a GYN and informed her I was in the process of being approved for weight loss surgery. She shook her head and the first thing out of her mouth was Ut uh. She then went on about how having your bowels rerouted is a bad idea and starting going on about malabsorption. I stopped her and tried to explain that with the sleeve bowels are not rerouted and malabsorption issue are minor if nothing compared to the other surgeries. She didn't seem to be familiar with the sleeve gastrectomy. I respect her as a physician and surgeon, I was just very disappointed that instead of getting more information from me…

Hi everyone! I had the lap band put in about 3 years ago and weeigh more now than I did then, but I had given up for awhle...I recently got a fill and am trying once again. In some ways this seesm much worse to me than regular up and down dieting and is sometimes very frustrating, but I'm trying - any encouragement would be greatly appreciated!

Im going to my first meeting on the Lap Band and wonder if my psoriatic arthritis and Enbrel use will keep me from being able to get the Lap Band?? Any others out there have the same health issue??

I started my weight gain and life at 18 when I graduated highschool and met my husband. We dropped school (college), got a apartment, it didnt work out (no good food) and money, so we went back to our parents, and then he went into the navy, we got married and I followed him. At 18 I graduated from High School as a varsity cheerleader, 5'10" and 185 pounds. When I got married at 21, I was 250 pounds, felt pretty good with my life, but went through birth control changes and 1 abortion and 4 miscarriages. From 21-24 I stayed at 250 pounds. Then I got pregnant in January 2009, I was 276 and only gained 14 pounds of baby. At time of birth I was healthy for the most p…

Hello everybody! I wanted to go ahead and introduce myself even though I'm not sleeved...YET! I've done a lot of research so far and it seems that the sleeve is what's for me. A friend of mine referred me to her surgeon in Mexico. Gasp! I was terrified at the thought of having surgery in Mexico until I did more research. Well, my mind is made up that I will have VSG with Dr Alvarez in Piedras Negras...as soon as can come up with the $$$. Has anybody used this surgeon? I'm tired of being overweight. I'm 28 years old and feel as though I'm much older. I know my health is at risk the longer I remain overweight. My mom who is also very overweight has type 2 d…

Hello everyone, I posted a long thread, which I won't repeat on this thread under Band to Sleeve Revisision Thread introducing myself. I'm researching the Sleeve and trying to determine which direction I'll be heading in three weeks. I have to have my port revised, the doctor wants to remove my band and I'm leaning towards getting the Sleeve done (insurance approval pending). I've strugged the past two years with my band to the point I've regained all my weight lost post banding, plus 20 pounds. I do have a wonderful support structure at home (which I didn't have with my band) and want to make an educated choice. I know my doctor wants my band removed...so do I go…

My name is Tia I get surgery June 21, 2011 which is only a week away I am beyond excited for this change in my life!

I had my surgery on 5/31 an have been home~3 weeks. I also had 2 hernias repaired, and the VS was a revision from a bad VBS 25 years ago. I hurt after the surgery (I was on the table for six hours) but nothing horrible. The headache tho is killing me. 1 trip to the ER where they patted me on the head and sent me home, and no let up from the pain, which runs from about five to 8-9 and my neck is stiff. I am pretty miserable. I just keep hoping things improve, but am starting to get VERY discouraged. The actual surgery/recovery is a piece of cake compared to the headache, which I know sounds pretty silly, but there you are! The shakes are pretty nasty, and I can't …

Hello, Well I have been reading for awhile and finally decided to say hello and give a little infor about my self. I had the Sleeve on 6/06/2011 at about 10:55 a.m at Dr. Trasigni's sp. in North Bend Oregon. Everything went well and this was done as a day surgery. I got out early in the afternoon and went to the motel. The next morning I had to go to the hospital for a swallow test and that went fine, stayed one more night went to the dr. office the next morning and weighed...was two pounds over what I weighed when I went in for the surgery lol...got two bags of fluids and then came back home. I live about an hour and a half away from there and that is why …

Ok I'm new and really don't know where to start. I first began this process in July and finally today 4/6/11 I got my approval for my surgeon consultation. My appointment is 4/21/11 and I'm very excited but have no idea what to expect or whats next. Can anyone tell me what usually takes place at this meeting and is that when I'll receive my date. Any help would be greatly appreciated.