Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

Had my surgery on the 15th and am recouping. Surgery went well. I'm struggling a tad with recovery because of shoulder pain. Looking forward to full recovery and a new life.

Hi, I joined yesterday because I needed help. Thanks to those of you who responded to "is my band too tight". I went in this morning and had .75 cc taken out. It is absolutely amazing how much difference such a small amount can make! I was banded July 27, 2009 and have lost 45 pounds. I'm not going very fast, but I'm going the right direction and that makes me feel great. I'm excited to have joined!

Hi, I just signed up to the forum. I have a BMI of 39.5 I have attempted to lose weight many times I always lose 20% then rebound again and gain all the weight My biggest obstacle for the lap band is financing I also would like to hear about side effects

It's never too late. Hope to be banded before the end of April.

Hello out there!! I am a bander since 2009...it went very very well at first then over the course of 24 months I have slowly gained some back. I am going through (and have been) going through much stress and I feel that is the problem. Anyone out there like me????:biggrin:

My Name is Chrystal. I would like to lose 50 pounds?:biggrin:

Hi Everyone: I have Harvard Pilgrim and am wondering how long people have waited for approval. I am a 38 bmi with high blood pressure and sleep apnea. I have been unsuccessful in losing weight. My doctor suggested lap band last year and I tried to lose some weight in that time but have been unsuccessful. At my recent appointment I agreed to go for the surgery. My doctor has put in the referral and I am going to an information session on Thursday. I really interested in knowing how long you have to wait for the insurance company to approve you. Thanks for any information. Debbie

Hi! This is my first post. Well, I finally have an approval from insurance and am scheduled to be banded on friday, april 20th. Yikes! Started liquid diet today. Looking forward to hearing your journeys. Have a happy day! Kelly

Hi all, Just had my surgery done on Wed, Apr. 14th...so far feeling good. Trying to eat very slow. I'm getting bloated very easily :thumbup::thumbup:

Hey ya'll. I just decided to get on here cause there was a post from OH about this. So I decided to join. Im the same user name over there, so hopefully i find some friends from there and meet some new ones here. Im a little less than 3 weeks out and have shed about 49 lbs. So happy with my sleeve!

Hello everyone, I am excited that I finally have a surgery date. I started this journey almost a year ago. Had to do the six months with doctor diet then several tests. Then it took 3 months for insurance approval. Now less than 2 weeks to surgery. I am in Kentucky and will be going to Norton Hospital in Louisville. I am a little nervous about the pre op diet I have been hearing about. But I am ready.

What kind of Vitamins are you taking? Before and after surgery? I'm trying to do this weight loss thing on my own right now and it just seems, I keep gaining. I know taking a good Vitamin will help. I saw my doctor last Friday and she only told me to take Women's one a day. What are you taking?

Ok so I have posted this once before a long while ago and now that it is closer to surgery, I think it will be more appropriate. I have plans to film my surgery. Like ACTUALLY film it.I have ok'ed it with my surgeon and everything. I received a digital camera for my birthday that I thought would do the trick but I am just a little scared that it wont..it only seems to want to film for like 115 mins total and that is on a FULL battery. I had planned on doing videos all the way down there and everything, so surely I won't have the space or battery life. SO I have asked once before if anyone would be interested in helping me film it. Now the question has changed to more of d…

Back in January I was diagnosed with sleep apnea after falling asleep at the wheel and having a mini wreck in my car. Doctor had me do two nights of sleep test, anyway I had an apneaic event 90 times an hour! I am 25 year old guy, 5'10'', 400lb. I was referred to a lap band specialist. Tuesday I start my first of three visits with the nutritionist. If all goes well, should have the lap band done in June/July. I am going through the motions of wanting this done and not wanting it done. I had success with Weight Watchers 4-5 years ago and lost over 75lbs, but gained 150 in its place. Lot of frustration that I didn't keep the weight off. I definitely think it was …

Hi All, I'm suffering through day four of my pre-op diet. I honestly never thought I could be so hungry in my life. And then I realized that it's still liquids after the surgery (4/26). I sometimes feel like I just won't make it. That said, there's one thing that makes it harder for me than most. I am allergic to artificial sweeteners and the nutritionists were not prepared at all to deal with my issues. I had to literally educate them on what constitutes certain artificial sweeteners. So there you go. I'm starving and I can't indulge in something as silly or distracting as Jello or soft drinks. Feeling very sorry for myself right now

Army Wife? That sounded totally lame haha. Anyway, hello everyone! I am a 21 year old mother of two beautiful kids and a wife to an amazing soldier in the Army. We're stationed in Fort Hood right now. I had an appointment with my PCM (Primary Care Manager) to check up on my weight loss issues. After attending classes and being active at a gym for the last 5 months. I've gained 12-20 more pounds. She suggest WLS because I'm showing signs of pre-diabetes (which 99% of everyone in my mother's side has). I'm terrified that it's too late, and I'm also scared of WLS. I feel a bit ashamed and excited at the same time. Is this normal? I am 242lbs, 5'3", with a bmi of 42.7.…

Hey there, I just joined the forum yesterday, although I had my surgery almost 5 weeks ago. I really wish I'd discovered this sooner, because the journey so far hasn't been that easy and it was more difficult doing it on my own. I have only told one person I had this surgery, because I felt people wouldn't understand or would question my spending the money. I've been having some difficulty with pain, and a lot of difficulty with sticking to the pre- and post-op diets (a couple of blips on each...hence the pain? I don't know...). All in all I feel pretty good. I've had my first fill (4 cc's), and I feel only slight restriction--in fact, I've felt like I can pretty …

Hi, Im Kiki. :thumbup: I have completed all my pre-requisites and now I am going to have make the decision of lap or gbs....the reason I am leaning towards lap band because I want to loose it a lil slower than the gbs. I want to have a chance to shape my body so i can eliminate as much loose skin as possible. Does anyone have any advice? Does the port bother you? Thanks in advance for your words.

I am one week post op and I feel great. I haven't had any pain and have had no problems getting in enough liquid. I sleep like a baby at night and stay awake all day. I am very happy that I chose Dr. Alvarez. He did an awesome job. I am looking forward to getting back on full liquids Monday. I lost 16 pounds on the 2 week pre-op diet and have lost another 14 post op!! I started at 308# and plan on shooting for 210-220#.

Today I had my comprehensive health evaluation and i was cleared... but I felt that they kept traying to change my mind to do the bypass surgery :thumbup: and one of the nurses said that my Doc. only likes to do LAP-BAND® on patients with a 50 or less bmi...and Im on the 50 +.... do any of you had the LAP-BAND® surgery and was in the 50's or higher? Im a little frustrated...:thumbup: Thanks:smile2:

Hello all. IM new here from texas. 35 and alot to lose. I am just looking into things hoping for a positive outcome-- looking for new friends that have had the procedure and ones that are hoping like me to get this done :crying::thumbup::wub:

Hi, Like my title says I can't believe I'm doing this! I am a 30 yr old single mom to 3 wonderful boys. They are 14, 6 and 1 1/2. I decided to join a support forum because I am having LAP-BAND® surgery performed on Tuesday!!! Even just thinking those words chokes me! Tomorrow well in a couple of hours I have to go to the hospital for all of the pre- op testing!!! I'm so nervous I can't sleep!!! My life is very complicated! I don't work right now mostly because I am ashamed to be seen in public. I am 4' 10 and weigh 210 lbs I'm always in pain and have become so heavy for myself that it is actually causing a sore in th bottom of my foot! Well I'm going to go read some of y…

I am just starting my process and was wondering if you could let me know low long it took to get approval? I have Harvard Pilgrim with sleep apnea, high blood pressure and a bmi of 39 (weight 230lbs and 5.5). I have tried unsuccessfully to lose and need assistance. I have an information session on April 22nd at Beth Israel. I would love to hear of any good or bad experiences with them. Thank you all!

I'm a bit scared but mostly excited to begin my new journey!!!!!

My name is Rebecca and started this approval process in Oct...Have to love insurance companies! Will talk to my Dr in the AM to schedule my surgery! Hoping for April 28! I am 252 pounds and ready to make a new start!

Hello, my name is Daphne and I have not had the lap band yet, I had my third dietician appointment today, the next step is approval by my insurance company. I was told that I should have the surgery before the end of May. I'm excited and I'm a little nervous because I don't want to fail at this. I have dreamed of being smaller for a very long time. I weigh 234 lbs, and my BMI is 39, I guess my greatest fear is the food getting stuck in my throat, other than that, oh yeah and finding out which foods to prepare for myself since my husband does all the cooking. Please pray for me. Thanks!:thumbup:

All of my pre-op stuff has been done. I got the letter of clearance from my PCP. I got the results of my sleep study and yes I have sleep apnea but I'm not going to use a machine because I think it will go away pretty soon after surgery. I have my nutritional class this Thursday morning where they will give me the post-op plan. I have my pre-op appointment scheduled for next Wednesday morning. She told me surgery is usually scheduled somewhere around 7-10 days after the pre-op. I have a small window there for the last week in April to get it done. If I can't get it scheduled that week, I'm going to have to push it back to the end of June...:thumbup: Please kee…

Hello I am fairly new to this forum. I joined about about three weeks ago in search of more information about the VSG and about Dr. Aceves and I have found that and much more. The people on here are very supportive of one another and provide great incite on the vsg experience. Let me tell you a little bit about me. Im a 23 yo nurse that resides in florida. I have been overweight since elementary school. Throughout my whole life I allowed my weight to hinder me in so many aspects of my life. When I eventually went off to college, the situation only got worse. I ate junk food on a regular basis and was very sedentary, with the exception of work and school. I sta…

I DNT KNOW IF THE SLEEVE IS FOR ME OR YOU CAN EVEN LOOSE ALOT OF WEIGHT ALL YOU PEOPLE ARE NOT THAT MUCH OVER WEIGHT WHEN YOU STARTED. im so worried the surgeon wnt approve my surgery. Ive been workin hard i gained weight n lost lbs of it i cnt belive the calorie diet actually works so im sure if i just keep it up i loose more.it sucks cuz im on a emotional roller coaster. I fished my last class ya im so happy but i have a cuple other things to do that will take less then a month then they will refure me lets see what else o ya my mom is a total bitch an vary selfish i think she is jealous cus she did the carb diet n lost like 150 lbs n now she gaining. SHE IS SO UNSUPP…

? The more I walk, the better I feel. ? That tight feeling finally goes away after the first few days. ? I can sip more than 2 small sips now ? ahhhhh!:thumbup: ? Knowing that I WILL be successful with the sleeve gives me a whole new perspective on following the post-op diet.:biggrin2: ? Going through this with my best friend was one of the best decisions I have ever made!:cool0: ? My sleeve works ? I actually felt REALLY FULL today! I am still shocked!:lol0: ? Sleeping is getting better each night. I am not waking up as much as I did the first few days. ? I am really learning what head hunger is??walking around and seeing people eat whatever they want is very di…

Hey everyone!! I'm Trinity, 34, working mom to two beautiful girls and I'm at the beginning of my LB journey!! After having weight issues my entire life, I've decided it's time. I'm not getting any younger, OR thinner for that matter! haha To document the transition, I've decided to start a blog! Do you have a blog too?? I would love to follow, and get more followers too! I have one lonely follower now (shout-out A!). :thumbup: Here is mine!!

Thanks everyone for the support and encouragement. I am reaching there...not yet there.. but on the way.

This is another update to the http://verticalsleevetalk.com/tell-your-story/3656-so-lost-what-do-you-do.html I started but wanted to title it with endometriosis in the title, if anyone is annoyed I apologize ahead of time.. UPDATE: April 6th, dr went in to romove one ovary seen how advanced my endometriosis was and immediately closed me back up. UGHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I am stage 4 of endo. this puts everything to a halt once again. Endometriosis is a disease that lives off of horomnes the ovaries produce. Endo acts like rock hard glue and glues all your organs together, if left untreated, it can pentrate your bowels, intestines. Post op consul. dr again said i am in bad shape…

Finally, I've made a selfish decision! :thumbup: I'm going to get health just for me...no pressure from anyone. I thought my journey would be lonely as I'm "playing this one close to my chest". Mainly because I don't want the people around me to fill my head with their personal fears or horror story about someone else's failed attempt at WLS. So, I'm enlisting everyone here to be my support system. :thumbup: My decision has been 9 years in the making...yes, 9 years! Once I married my prince charming we decided to begin our family but were quickly shaken by a miscarriage. It was devastating! To add insult to injury...my OB advised that I lose 100lbs before trying a…

Well as of Friday I have been officially downsized from my job of 11 years!! Been a very tough weekend to say the least! My job required all white tops and blue pants, well I just finished cleaning out my closet. I have to say that it took out over half of my closet to get all of those clothes removed. Before this I had alreday removed 18 bags of clothes that were too large, but I still had MANY bags to get rid of. I will never understand the fact that seniority means nothing anymore! My manager had reminded me many times that he does not believe in seniority!! So what good is it to stay at a job for a long amount of time?? I do have a lot of vacation coming to me and…

Many of you have seen my success story or follow my blog. I'm in my 4th year of banded living and have been maintaining a normal, healthy weight for about 2 1/2 years now - that is something I had almost given up on. I spend a lot of time paying it forward now. When I meet someone who is either exploring surgery, preparing for surgery or newly banded, I usually ask what are your goals in terms of health, weight loss and quality of life? I recently blogged about my own goals and thought it was worth starting a thread here. Back in 2006, if you’d ask my husband, the decision to have LAP-BAND® surgery was all about my health. If you asked me, and IF I was really honest,…

Hi all, I am writing from Alaska, where I am seeing Spring finally arrive. With Spring comes my desire for a healthier me. I have started the process towards LapBand, I am hoping to have the procedure done no later than late July. I have to travel 400 miles to see the Dr., same for the procedure. His office is working with me to complete as many tests (in my hometown, with my local Dr.) as I need prior to the LapBand. I will have to make a few trips to his locale before he operates. Most people would be excited as they could go shopping but hey, I'm saving that for after I've reached my goal. Gee, I have many sizes of clothing in my closet and dresser to get me closer …

Hi, I'm am supposed to get the Lap-band® within the next two months. I am scared as I have heard alot of horror stories about slippage and such.:cool: I was diagnosed with PCOS (Poly C ystic Ovary Syndrome) and have been steadily gaining weight since. I am at a point now where something has to be done, and my doctor has told me this is the best way. I am wondering what can I expect during this procedure and after. I am not very good with pain and have been told it hurts alot to eat after. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Angel

I was banded March 8, 2010 and got my first fill 2.8 on April 6 and only felt some restriction for about 3 days, how soon should I get another one? right now I can eat just about anything. Diet pills

My husband and I were prescribed the PrevPac for H. Pylori and we're only on day 2 and I feel terrible. I have this awful taste in my mouth and horrible stomach cramps :eek: Has anyone had similar side effects? If so, how did you get thru it? :cool:

Hi everyone- I've been lurking as a "visitor" for some time now and finally decided to join up today. I'm pre-op and started my research on various WLS about 2 years ago. Initially I was considering the LB like so many others... it sounded perfect! and completely reversable- woohoo. But the more I read about it, the more it scared me! And then the thought of constant fills and a foreign object inside me.... no thnx. I have a close friend who got banded in Jan and she has had some success but tons of problems and regularly vomits after meals... She also tends to eat pretty terrible stuff because "it stays down"... I can't imagine that lifestyle. I came across the VSG …

Hi, i got banded on 13/07/08 in Dubai by Dr Christiaan DE Bruyne lost a few pounds with the liquid diet, felt little restriction got filled last month 3cc but no change. What does thi mean? It is making me depressed. Is this normal. I really would appreciate any advice.:lovechoc:

Hi. My name is Katie, and I was recently banded by Dr. Perlman in Denver, CO on 03/31/2010. Since beginning my pre-op dieting, I have lost 18lbs, with 10 of those lbs since my surgery date. I'm starting to eat pureed foods, and I'm getting frustrated because I'm having trouble finding different high protein, low carb, low calorie ideas for me to eat. I've been eating refried beans, egg beaters, low fat cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, pureed lima beans, canned tuna fish, and my doctor said I can have grilled fish that's easy to flake. I'm also still drinking Isopure and whey protein. I'm entering all that I eat into my online food log on LAP-BAND®.com. I'm worried about my c…

I'm Jon and I have a surgery date set for May 4. I have been reading here a lot and decided to join and to introduce myself. Dr. Adolfo "Fuzz" Fernandez is my surgeon at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. I have been on a 4 week before my 21 day pre-op diet and have lost 20 lbs in 28 days! I look forward to recieving advice and help from folks here as I will need it.

hey guys! I have my (pre op) surgeon visit on 4/28. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what to expect. Im paying everything out of pocket so no requirements for ins. I was told the next step is surgery. :cool2: But what do i expect on the 28th... HELP!!:thumbup: thanks in advance!

In August 2009, I told my husband that I was interested in VSG. He said I was crazy...he is not letting anyone operate on him. Well, in Jan. 2010 we both went to the seminar held in The Woodlands, TX with Dr. Jason Balette. After the seminar we decided on to get the VSG (remember, he's the one who said no one will operate on him). I work for the Feds and BCBS covered the sleeve, so on March 10, 2010, I began my journey, weighing 241. Fifteen days later on March 25 I was weighing 219, then by March 30th I weighed 216, 25lbs down, YES!!! I problably did a big NO!NO!, within a week in a half after surgery, I jumped to soft foods. I needed to chew something, the hunger…

Hello all, I found this site today as I was searching for info on the VSG and decided to join. I have been researching Bypass and Lap-Band surgery for a few years now and I went to a Informational Seminar a few months ago and first heard about the Sleeve. I have a friend who had Bypass a few years ago and he has been telling me how great it is, but he wishes he could have done the Sleeve instead. I had been planning on doing Lap-Band as an out-of-pocket patient in June or July and started to get more and more interested in VSG. I have now set up an appointment to meet a surgeon on Thursday to discuss the VSG and I'm close to 100% sure that I will go this route in June…

Hi, I have had diabetes for 5 years and have so much difficulty with controlling my blood sugars and my weight. I already know that my insurance will not cover lap band surgery. I am looking for for the safest and most economical way to have lap band surgery done. Thanks for helping me.

Hi Everyone! I'm just starting my journey here, and looking into lap band as an option, since nothing else has worked. I don't know if it's right for me because I feel like lap band is always sort of "sold" to people with a hundred pounds or more to lose. I could probably be healthy at 150 lbs, but would like to be 130, which would be a weight loss of about 65 lbs or so. With the health problems I'm beginning to experience from being overweight, I know I need to do something, but nothing has worked so far. Is 50ish lbs enough to justify the expense of the procedure? I would be paying out of pocket. Or should I continue struggling with diet and exercise on my own?

I have been lurking and gotten some good info. I decided to join since this seems like a great bunch of people. I went out of country to get my lap-band. Its been a month and I just got my first fill 3 days ago. This liquid diet is killing me! lol. If I could successfully stay on a liquid diet I wouldnt need the lap-band now would I? I am starting with some mushier foods and actually had some peanuts yesterday (altho they were chewed into peanut butter before they went down). I am so new that I don't even know what PB means... I have an idea and am lucky enough not to have experienced it yet. I did have some serious pain on Easter when I over ate and one time wit…