Leaderboard

well I started this journey with spinal stenosis, at 341 pounds, my back hurt so much, i thought i was going to have to retire, i could only walk about one hundred yards, then i hurt so bad, i would need to sit down, my feet were swelling, i was taking all kinds of medicine, now, I only take flowmax, older male guy drugs, and that's it, My arthritis is almost gone, I can walk two miles no problem, blood pressure good, feet don't hurt. now I'm down to 255, my weight loss has slowed, but now wearing XL shirts not 3 and 4 Xl, pants size 48 to size 40. if My skin was removed, I would be a 38 waist here is me now, I am full of life again

I hadn’t heard of it either & it wasn’t an option with my surgeon. Is it a Sydney thing?? I wonder if stomach stretching after sleeve was either an old wives tale or to scare patients to encourage them to eat correctly (portion size, frequency, etc.) so that wouldn’t happen. I do recall Dr Nowzaradan operating again on one of his patients saying they had stretched their tummy again but they had been eating exactly the same way as they always had: huge portions, many times a day every day for a long time. So they deliberately worked to stretch it again. No surgery would have helped them. As others have said it sounds similar to lapband (gastric banding) which are not performed as often because of higher risk of complications. There are a lot of people here who have had to have a revision to sleeve or more commonly to bypass because of issues with their band. On googling I noticed that some weight loss clinics don’t identify the possible side effects of the minimiser but did discover one (Perth) clinic that did: … placing a ring around the top of the sleeve can cause obstructive symptoms much like adjustable gastric banding resulting in difficulty swallowing and food intolerance. It can cause dilatation of the top of the sleeve which we consider to be the most critical part. It may also increase the risk of reflux, volume regurgitation and possible aspiration. But if you’ve done your research, weighed the pros & cons, and you know yourself & your challenges with eating best, & your surgeon supports you, it is ultimately your decision. All the best.

how is your eating? Do you exercise at all?

I know that's a question that only I can really answer, but it's one that keeps spinning through my head. I came to this site today to do a bit more research and realized I had joined back in 2018! So yeah, this is something I've thought about off and on for the last four years. What's stopping me? First, I have had SO many surgeries in the last decade. Fourteen to be exact. I really don't want another one. Second, the thought of having part of my body removed (especially my stomach) is triggering and scary. Been there, done that. A bit of history: Up until about 8-9 years ago, I was a fairly thin and fit person. In Jan 2012, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I went through five months of really rough chemo, a mastectomy (a body part removal), anti-estrogen meds for seven years, surgeries galore (including an oophorectomy - another body part removal), depression, anxiety, depression and anxiety meds (even ones that say they don't cause weight gain - HA!)... just a lot. Through all that, the scale just went up and up. I'm now 80 lbs overweight, pre-diabetic, have sleep apnea, and my cholesterol is high for the first time in my life, and just mostly feel like hell. In the last four years, I have tried several (doctor prescribed) "weight loss" meds, injections, a liquid diet, an elimination diet, calorie counting, points counting, exercise, nutritional counseling, intermitant fasting, acupuncture... the list goes on and on. Nothing has worked or has been sustainable. So I came here to just get more info and couldn't resist clicking on topics that speak to regret (I know I shouldn't do that, but I couldn't help it). I mean, this is a no-going-back situation. Most of the stomach is being removed! I know there are no guarantees that I won't have regrets, or that the procedure will work or that I won't have complications, but I WANT those guarantees. So much in the last ten years has been up in the air and I hate that feeling. But I also hate feeling miserable in my own body, so... How did you make that final decision to go forward? I want to lose this weight more than anything. but this is a really huge decision I wish I didn't have to make. Sorry for the long post. And thank you in advance for any insight you can offer!

1) A couple of weeks after surgery the scales began to move. There's a lot of water retention post-surgery, which throws a lot of people off. Best advice is to just ignore the scale while you're still healing from the procedure. The weight is definitely coming off, but there's some adjusting your body needs to do. It's been through a lot! 2) I had no appetite right after surgery and was on liquids, so I really can't recall anything that I honestly loved. I couldn't tolerate sweet things, so any liquid savoury soup (like a simple miso) was appreciated. Unsweetened matcha lattes made on protein fortified soy milk also kept me happy. 3) It took a good month for me to recover (I had a hernia repair with my bypass). Once the pain had finally gone and things settled in, I began to feel better pretty quickly. The first big improvement honestly came from having quit sugar from the pre-op diet onwards. By about week 3, my skin was clear and I really noticed how much better I was feeling. No more headaches. 4)The trick with exercise is to pick something you enjoy. There's no point joining a gym if you don't enjoy gym fitness. The best exercise is the one you'll actually do. I personally love the gym, it's my happy place so I don't need to motivate myself to go because I look forward to it. Find what gives you pleasure. It might be swimming, riding a bike, or just walking (great time to pop on headphones and listen to a podcast or audio book). There's honestly a fitness activity out there for everyone. Set aside the time for yourself and enjoy it.

Hi all, my name is Carrielee and I am 31 years old. I have battled being overweight / obesity since I was a young child and I’ve finally gotten the courage to taking the steps toward a healthier self. At 31, I’m 5 feet tall and weigh 278 pounds, at a BMI of 54.29, it’s time to do this. I suffer from a myriad of weight related health conditions and fear an early death if I don’t take control of my weight and health. I suffer from acid reflux, hypertension, high cholesterol, Type II diabetes, arthritis, limited mobility, chest pain/angina, sleep apnea, liver disease...I’m slowly killing myself and I’m tired of it. Any tips for a first consult with a WLS surgeon? My appointment is on April 25.

All the prodding, pushing & pulling of all the laparoscopic instruments, etc. cause a lot of muscles strain & general internal bruising. The right side incision is from where they pull out your tummy which is possibly why it is more painful. If the discomfort persists, contact your surgeon just to be sure.

I feel a lot better, mentally after reading this! Thanks! I was getting a bit worried 😅

What worked for me after some regain was to combine 'time restricted feeding' (i.e. intermittent fasting) with a low carb/low insulin diet plan. I skipped breakfast and only ate two meals a day, at Noon and by 6pm. This let me 'fast' for 18 hours per day. I ate about 3-4 oz. of protein (beef, chicken, fish, etc.) and green vegetables such as green beans, broccoli, salad, etc. for each meal. I was able to drop close to 20 pounds doing this in a couple months. The basis of this is the insulin control program developed by Dr. Jason Fung. You can search his name on the internet and find a lot of useful information. He is the author of the book The Obesity Code.

Whilst I was figuring out how to zoom on my camera phone yesterday - out in the bright sunlight - I accidentally snapped a picture of my face, taken upwards from waist level. Sheeeeeeeit. I take back EVERYTHING I have ever said against cosmetic surgery. I'm going to start a fund - who's the first to donate?