Leaderboard

*raises hand* I cancelled. Twice. I was approved in March 2017, and backed out TWICE out of fear and/or laziness until I finally just said eff it, I'm doing it, and had it done in Oct 2018. I was 46. Looking back i wish I just got it done the first time as I would have had had over a full extra year of being "normal" sized. In fact, I wish I had it done when I qualified for it back around 2012, when I reached the morbid obesity range. Better late than never, I say. Yes, I did lose quite a bit of hair, but its all back now (plus some!) at 3 years out. Would I go through those few months of thin hair again to look as fab as I do now? H*lls, YEAH. Temporary thinning hair was an infinitesimally small, tiny, minuscule, insignificant price to pay. Yes, I was scared. I remember starting to tear up when they put the anaesthesia mask on me. I also remember thinking to myself, "YESSSSS! I'm alive!!!" when I woke up in the recovery room. The way I see it, I just wasn't ready until I was ready. And when I finally was, it was all downhill from there. So no, I do not regret it one iota. You will find a few folks on here who DO regret it, but really, their experiences (nor mine, for that matter) will not give you any indication of how YOU will fare. You won't know until you know. Good Luck! ❤️

When I was younger, I could eat anything and never gain weight. I haven't always been big. I tried all ways to lose weight. 5 years ago, I watched what I ate and exercised. I got down to 310. I was on what some people would call the " broke" diet. I lost a lot of weight because I wasn't eating right. As soon as I got a better job, I started eating more, not better. I gained 90 pounds. Then the pandemic happened and I was sent home to work. I gained 60 pounds in a year and couldn't lose it. Every doctor I ever had told me I couldn't get the surgery, due to health reasons. Finally I get a PCP this year that suggested it to me. That was in April 2021. I got a referral in a week, went to a seminar and scheduled my first surgeon appointment in May 2021. I fully expected to be told no but the surgeon said I was a good candidate and started the ball rolling. I have great insurance and didn't need a lot of requirements. Just proof I tried to lose weight supervised, which I had been seeing a nutritionist. Upper endoscopy, psych eval, dietitian appointment, and blood work. I had all that done by July 2021 and got scheduled for surgery August 25, 2021. I am less then 2 weeks post op and already feel better. More energy, not thinking about food all the time, saving money from not eating out. My stats are 40 F, 5'10", HW 463 SW 430 CW 410 GW 200 Sent from my SM-G991U using BariatricPal mobile app

It’s okay to have some concerns. It’s a surgery you’ve never experienced before. You have nothing to compare it or life post surgery with. The reality is the complications are pretty low especially compared with other surgeries or just from being obese. Many are minor & are related to how you individually react & heal & they pass in time or are easily remedied. Yep, the hair loss can be a bit scary but it’s a short term side effect: 3-4 months usually. While your natural hair loss cycle is temporarily accelerated your natural new growth cycle remain unchanged. So while you’re losing more you’re still growing new hair - it just takes a couple of months for the new growth to get to a length you can notice it (likely as fluffy bits). I mean you don’t usually notice your new hair growing in but it is all the time. No one noticed my hair loss other than my hairdresser & my mum but she was looking for it. I’d so much rather temporarily lose some hair then still be obese - small price to pay really. Much like ending up with loose skin - loose skin wins over obesity every time. All the best & I hope you get your official approval soon.

4 years post VSG. No regrets. I was 310 lbs at 22 years old. I'm now ~230 lbs but at one point I was down to ~198 lbs. I didn't have any hair loss, but I have very thick hair anyway. I have PCOS so my hormones are messed up anyway too so I was on birth control for the extra estrogen, this could have helped prevent hair loss. My mom had the surgery (same doctor and procedure) at 51 about a year before I did. She has naturally thin hair and was post-menopausal. She didn't lose hair either. It really is just chance and your hormones (particularly cortisol and estrogen/testosterone ratios). You can talk to your doctor about your medical options to help lessen hair loss. But if you do have hair loss, I think you should just embrace it! It will only last a couple of months (usually) and then it will start growing back. But this could be your opportunity to do something to your hair that you've never done before, cut it super short, dye it as close to your skin color as possible can sometimes disguise hair loss, add hair accessories, etc. Neither of us had complications, she even had a hernia fixed for free at the same time! I was up and walking around within hours of waking up. My mom was walking laps the next day (she isn't that great with anesthesia). If I hadn't gotten the surgery I have no doubt I would have been recruited for "My 600 lb life" by now.

I’m almost six months out and I haven’t had any hair loss yet, but figure if I do the only person I really care about what he thinks is my husband and he is too busy checking out my new, thinner body to notice any hair loss…Just kidding…sorta. In the whole scheme of things a short period of hair thinning (which is what it is for most, it’s not like bald spots) it will still be well worth it. But you are not alone with the doubts. My fear was excess skin and I still am hoping I do not get any, but I am still 22 pounds from my goal and even if I stopped losing now and experienced some hair loss, I would consider this surgery a huge success and very well worth it. But I am still losing, very slowly. There are always clip in extensions if your hair thins too bad. I have thin hair anyways so I have tried them just for fun and my hair looked great with them.

I had surgery on Monday 8/30. Since then I have had 1 of my 6 incision site continuously been extremely painful. It's the only site that's bruised, steri-strip is bloody and it hurts soooo much. When ever I move or have to engage that part of my core (sitting up, going to the bathroom, laying in bed, even just standing up) it hurts. It's like a burning, sharp ripping feeling and it legit makes me see stars and lose my breath. I called and sent a photo to my doctor and they said it was normal. They gave me a stronger pain medication but it only makes me high and doesn't tough the pain when I move. Could they have stitched me up a little off? Anyone else experience this? I need it to be tolerable by Monday so I can go to my work office for 1 hour. I feel alone and absolutely hate doing anything right now because of this. Sent from my SM-G981U using BariatricPal mobile app

I wasn’t a great sleeper averaging about 5 hours a night but would have odd nights where I would get only an hour or two or none at all. After surgery I started to sleep a lot better & average 7-8hrs a night. It’s wonderful. Not sleeping well though lately not sure why but that dang bird that starts twittering hours before dawn (sparrow fart) is pissing me off as is the guy across the road who leaves for work at dawn & needs to get his car fixed - it’s not supposed to grind & screech like that mate!! I still pee a lot a night. Never a diabetic or pre diabetic just drank a lot of water. Used to drink most in the afternoon & night because I’d get too busy at work. Now I drink all day & night so peeing a lot is to be expected. Just a thought but have you had your melatonin levels checked? Low levels can cause sleep issues.

I am not diabetic but I have to take oxybutinin for excessive sweating which is actually an incontinence medication and decreased sweating is a side effect. Anyways, since I started it i noticed that I do not get up to go pee nearly as many times a night (or during the day for that matter). Maybe your doctor would consider you trying that if you need it to get better sleep. Not sure if it works for men too??

@lizonaplane Yeah my doctor just told that is my body act works even had my urologist look at it and no issues with my prostate I know that is a huge factor specially for men over 40. I am a coffee head, but I usually stop my last cop before 3 pm. I will just have to wait and see how is turns out for me. And congratulations your on your upcoming surgery.

Having second and third and fourth thoughts are normal! It’s all part of making a huge life change. I know most people have hair loss and there doesn’t seem to be much to do about it except wait it out. You may just have to weigh the health benefits of the hair loss vs all the other improvements WLS will bring. Good luck with your decision. I know it’s not easy!