Champ715

I'm 5 months out and can still only eat about 2 ounces in one sitting. if I waited 30 minutes to an hour, I could eat more but that's all I can handle in one sitting. I can't even imagine being able to hold 4 ounces at once.

I had surgery on 9/30/15 and saw my nutritionist on 10/14/15 then not again until April 2016 (six month follow up). After the April visit, I don't have to see her again at all. I'll just have a yearly follow up with my surgeon. I have done labs with my primary care physician and had them sent to the surgeon's office.

It depends on your insurance requirements. I had both UHC and BCBS AL during my 6 months and they both required that I did not LOSE any weight during the six month period. I gained maybe three pounds and was approved. If you are able to lose weight by dieting and exercise, the insurance company uses that to justify not approving your surgery. They think if you can lose weight with traditional means then you don't need a surgical solution. Other companies want to see you lose (and not gain) to show that you are committed to the lifestyle change. It all depends on your insurance providers requirements.

I wasn't prescribed a PPI at all and never took them. I haven't had any issues.

I've had really good luck at Belk with their 180 day return policy. I just bought some shirts the other day and I got one size L and one size M. I figure the Large will be too big in less than 180 days so I'll just return it and still have the medium.

I also started at 5'0 and 204 lbs. My surgery date was 9/30/15 and I've lost 46lbs so far. The first 20 flew off then it slowed down a lot. I have been losing around 1 to 1.5 lbs per week since December. I stalled for about 3 weeks in November but ever since then it's been a steady (but slow) loss. Stalls are completely normal. They allow your body to adjust to what it's been through. Just hang in there and stick to your program and I promise you'll see an overall downward trend. Good job!

I can see a difference, even in the same pants. Get new clothes when YOU want to get new clothes Congratulations on your success and progress!

I have never suffered from depression but I have had anxiety issues since high school (11 years ago). I have been medicated for anxiety as well as seen by a therapist regularly for a period of 1 1/2 years. None of these things were held against me in the approval process. I should also note that I was not required to have a psychological analysis pre-op. My anxiety issues were all well documented in the 3 years of medical records I had to provide so I'm sure the insurance company noticed.

I used to feel the same way but it went away once I finally got up the courage to actually go. The first few times I went, I did something easy (the treadmill) so I wouldn't make a fool of myself. I noticed that nobody was looking at me. Nobody was staring or laughing or even glancing. Everyone around me was so wrapped up in their own workout that they weren't paying attention. I started working out with weights and machines recently and it's the same way. I was super intimidated by all the really fit and cut people working out on the machines or free weights but they don't pay attention to anyone either. Almost all of them are watching themselves in the mirror to check their form, etc. so they aren't going to be looking around at other people. Now I go four times per week and I feel like I fit in with everyone else. I've also never paid much attention to anyone else there. It's all in your head

I had surgery on 9/30 and started my 6 month supervised diet in march 2015. I had UHC at the time and bariatric surgery was covered. I ended up changing employers and switching to BCBS AL halfway through but UHC did cover it last year. Maybe they changed it this year but I would call them just to be sure. Also check with your employer. It may be an employer exclusion, rather than a provider exclusion.

Every carrier is so different. Some people are saying that they were required to lose weight on the 6 month diet, others are saying they were required not to gain. I started with United Health Care then switched to BCBS AL right in the middle. Both companies told me that I could not drop below a BMI of 40 at any point during the 6 month supervised diet. Their reasoning was that if I was able to lose weight with diet and exercise, then I did not need a surgical solution. Other companies want to see you lose weight to show that you are committed to the lifestyle change. With such a difference in companies and carriers, it's best to call your insurance provider directly or speak to the insurance coordinator at your surgeon's office.

My doctor sent me home with a liquid hydrocodone but it made me really itchy so I stopped taking it after day two. I tried some liquid tylenol but it was so sweet that it made me gag so I didn't have any pain medicine whatsoever after the second day.

Both my surgeon and nutritionist recommended a 1-2 pound loss per week. I started at a lower BMI though so maybe that's why. I'm at 160 as of today and both my nutritionist and surgeon said the loss would slow down once I got to a more "stable" weight so maybe that's why they set a lower loss goal for me.

I had vsg on 9/30/15 and have been working with a personal trainer for one month now. Every week we have tried a handstand but I just haven't been able to hold myself up. Yesterday I was finally able to hold myself up! I did 7 of these bad boys. Now to work on actually staying up there for more than 3 seconds I've lost 44 lbs since surgery. I've had times when I consider myself a "slow loser" but I try to keep everything in perspective. I've lost inches, gained muscle, and gained endurance that I never had before. I say all this to say, you are stronger than you think you are. Don't get discouraged with "slow" progress. You are awesome and can do amazing things. Even if you can't do those things RIGHT NOW, just be patient. I couldn't do that handstand four weeks ago but it was always there waiting for me. Whatever you want from life, take it. You got this!

Awesome!!! I'm 4 months post op and have lost 42 total so you're light years ahead of me! Not that it's a competition but that's an awesome accomplishment! You're the first person I've seen on here who is 5'0 too. Everyone else is so tall haha

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share something awesome I found on Amazon. It's a tiny black scale that is small enough to fit in your purse (or pocket, if you're a man) so you can carry it around with you. I bought two, one for my office and one for home. It's perfect to measure out your portion sizes. I take it with me every time I go to a restaurant and it's so helpful to know exactly how much I'm eating (and of course to prevent me from overeating). It's been a lifesaver so I just wanted to share with everyone. It's only $8.32 and you can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012N1NAA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

Are you asking what kind of workout to do to make your thighs smaller or to make the cellulite go away? Unfortunately, I don't think any type of exercise is going to diminish cellulite. I noticed some stretch marks right above my hips a few weeks ago. I've been applying lotion to the area twice per day and I notice a difference. Unfortunately, nothing really makes those go away permanently (except maybe some sort of plastic surgery).

I was told I had to have bare nails. It had something to do with oxygen levels. Apparently your nails can turn a blue color if you're low on oxygen.

My surgeon told me I could go back within 2-3 days if I felt up to it. My surgery was on a Wednesday and I went back to work the following Tuesday. I worked half days that first week just because I had no energy. By week 2 I was feeling back to normal. I've never heard of taking 4-6 weeks off.

I never had bad acne but I usually had at least one small zit somewhere on my face, usually around my chin. I'm 4 months post op and just got my first zit yesterday. My fiance and my parents both noticed that my face had cleared up a lot post surgery. I recently changed my makeup foundation so that's probably what caused this little one to pop up yesterday.

I also work a desk job, although not a stressful one. I went back on a Wednesday and only worked noon-4 or 5 pm. I was absolutely drained and exhausted when it was time to go home. By the second week, I was still low on energy but was able to put in a full 8-hour day. I had some hiccups along the way and took random days off due to nausea, fatigue, etc.

I didn't shorten my clear liquids or full liquids phase but I did shorten the pureed stage. I was having a hard time getting over the texture of pureed foods and the aversion was causing me to not eat at all, which isn't good. I ended up transitioning into soft foods probably a week early and I was very careful to chew chew chew. I'll note this WAS NOT recommended by my nutritionist but I didn't have any issues. I guess it's just trial and error to see what works for you. Just be careful and know that your doc or nutritionist will probably advise against moving to the next stage too soon.

Have you asked him why he's avoiding you? What makes you think the issue is surgery related? I can say from experience that the few month after surgery was hard on my fiancé. It was all about me me me because I was navigating through such a huge life change. My parents, friends, family were all catering to my every need and I think his feelings definitely took a back seat. I was also an emotional rollercoaster those first 4-5 weeks. It wasn't until around the 8 week mark when everything leveled out and got back to normal. He's extremely supportive and complimentary of my progress and success. If he ever started acting oddly, I would want to figure out why and what i could do to fix it. Try to remember that this process has probably been a big change for him too. Maybe just try to hear things from his point of view then assess from there.

Are you asking me? I'm 28.

I was sleeved on 9.30.15 and have lost 41 lbs so far. I saw my nutritionist last week and expressed to her that I felt I was losing slowly. She reassured me that I started at a lower BMI so weight loss will probably be slower for me than for someone who has a lot more weight to lose. She wants me to have a goal of 1-2 lbs lost per week, which seems realistic. There are a lot of great posts on here about slow losing, stalls, etc. I can't remember who said it but one lady said it's important to remember that weight loss is not always a linear process. Sometimes you'll stall. Sometimes you'll gain. It's usually not the result of bad choices on your part, but the result of your body adjusting. Just follow your plan and trust the process and overall you'll see a loss. If you're doing everything right then just be patient. If you think you're losing slowly because you're not eating enough, eating too much, not getting protein, etc. then maybe go visit your nutritionist to get back on track. Hang in there and be proud of how far you've come already!