Shell Renewed

@@LipstickLady I sort of fall into this category, though I'd say I had a mild addiction to food (a night snacker). Though I was overweight for many years, it crept up super slowly and mostly during times of extreme stress and long hours at work when I'd forget to eat most of the day, then get home order takeout because I was too exhausted to cook, then go to bed with a full stomach.
My metabolism has been very sluggish for a few years, then I had an accident and had reduced mobility for almost two years, using a cane. That's all it took for me to really pack on the pounds.
The surgery is helping so much because I lose almost no weight at all on a 1200-1500 calorie diet. These first few weeks of my sleeve I'm under 1000 calories (closer to 700) at all times, and it's coming off, more slowly than many here due to my slow metabolism, but I'm happy nonetheless Now that I'm losing, my mobility is better, so I am getting momentum on fitness and help my metabolism. The sleeve will help me maintain even if my metabolism remains sluggish. My little story

Thank you! I did do a lot of research on him. I have confidence in his abilities, that's for sure! It is such a big leap! How was your post op experience? I am 215lbs. BMI of 35. Which is why I am self pay. Looking fwd to finally having a permanent tool to help me get back to the 140's. Any tips or tricks r welcome
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am scheduled for my VSG on November 29th with Dr Gagner. I too am self pay. So far my experience has been excellent. I was unable to see him in person (iam 6 hours away) so I had a telephone consultation. He answered all my questions and so far his support staff have been great too. Very quick to answer all my follow up questions. Admittedly, getting nervous as the day approaches.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hello,
I had my consult with Dr Gagner on Oct 14th and elected to have it in person - thought it would be important to meet the man in person. He was good! answered all my questions and was pleasent. My surgery is booked for December 22nd I opted for the sleeve.
Would love to hear from other's who had the sleeve surgery with Dr. Gagner and their post-op experiences.

Please let us know how your experience goes Friday!
I've been to a few Obesity and weight loss conferences this past year and Dr. Gagner was presenting at each. He's considered a leader in the Bariatric professional community and is credited as one of the first surgeons to start performing Gastric Sleeve's.

I look forward to your reply Shell Renewed! ⭐️
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@LipstickLady I sort of fall into this category, though I'd say I had a mild addiction to food (a night snacker). Though I was overweight for many years, it crept up super slowly and mostly during times of extreme stress and long hours at work when I'd forget to eat most of the day, then get home order takeout because I was too exhausted to cook, then go to bed with a full stomach.
My metabolism has been very sluggish for a few years, then I had an accident and had reduced mobility for almost two years, using a cane. That's all it took for me to really pack on the pounds.
The surgery is helping so much because I lose almost no weight at all on a 1200-1500 calorie diet. These first few weeks of my sleeve I'm under 1000 calories (closer to 700) at all times, and it's coming off, more slowly than many here due to my slow metabolism, but I'm happy nonetheless Now that I'm losing, my mobility is better, so I am getting momentum on fitness and help my metabolism. The sleeve will help me maintain even if my metabolism remains sluggish. My little story

@@LipstickLady I sort of fall into this category, though I'd say I had a mild addiction to food (a night snacker). Though I was overweight for many years, it crept up super slowly and mostly during times of extreme stress and long hours at work when I'd forget to eat most of the day, then get home order takeout because I was too exhausted to cook, then go to bed with a full stomach.
My metabolism has been very sluggish for a few years, then I had an accident and had reduced mobility for almost two years, using a cane. That's all it took for me to really pack on the pounds.
The surgery is helping so much because I lose almost no weight at all on a 1200-1500 calorie diet. These first few weeks of my sleeve I'm under 1000 calories (closer to 700) at all times, and it's coming off, more slowly than many here due to my slow metabolism, but I'm happy nonetheless Now that I'm losing, my mobility is better, so I am getting momentum on fitness and help my metabolism. The sleeve will help me maintain even if my metabolism remains sluggish. My little story

@@LipstickLady I sort of fall into this category, though I'd say I had a mild addiction to food (a night snacker). Though I was overweight for many years, it crept up super slowly and mostly during times of extreme stress and long hours at work when I'd forget to eat most of the day, then get home order takeout because I was too exhausted to cook, then go to bed with a full stomach.
My metabolism has been very sluggish for a few years, then I had an accident and had reduced mobility for almost two years, using a cane. That's all it took for me to really pack on the pounds.
The surgery is helping so much because I lose almost no weight at all on a 1200-1500 calorie diet. These first few weeks of my sleeve I'm under 1000 calories (closer to 700) at all times, and it's coming off, more slowly than many here due to my slow metabolism, but I'm happy nonetheless Now that I'm losing, my mobility is better, so I am getting momentum on fitness and help my metabolism. The sleeve will help me maintain even if my metabolism remains sluggish. My little story

@@LipstickLady I sort of fall into this category, though I'd say I had a mild addiction to food (a night snacker). Though I was overweight for many years, it crept up super slowly and mostly during times of extreme stress and long hours at work when I'd forget to eat most of the day, then get home order takeout because I was too exhausted to cook, then go to bed with a full stomach.
My metabolism has been very sluggish for a few years, then I had an accident and had reduced mobility for almost two years, using a cane. That's all it took for me to really pack on the pounds.
The surgery is helping so much because I lose almost no weight at all on a 1200-1500 calorie diet. These first few weeks of my sleeve I'm under 1000 calories (closer to 700) at all times, and it's coming off, more slowly than many here due to my slow metabolism, but I'm happy nonetheless Now that I'm losing, my mobility is better, so I am getting momentum on fitness and help my metabolism. The sleeve will help me maintain even if my metabolism remains sluggish. My little story

@@LipstickLady I sort of fall into this category, though I'd say I had a mild addiction to food (a night snacker). Though I was overweight for many years, it crept up super slowly and mostly during times of extreme stress and long hours at work when I'd forget to eat most of the day, then get home order takeout because I was too exhausted to cook, then go to bed with a full stomach.
My metabolism has been very sluggish for a few years, then I had an accident and had reduced mobility for almost two years, using a cane. That's all it took for me to really pack on the pounds.
The surgery is helping so much because I lose almost no weight at all on a 1200-1500 calorie diet. These first few weeks of my sleeve I'm under 1000 calories (closer to 700) at all times, and it's coming off, more slowly than many here due to my slow metabolism, but I'm happy nonetheless Now that I'm losing, my mobility is better, so I am getting momentum on fitness and help my metabolism. The sleeve will help me maintain even if my metabolism remains sluggish. My little story

@@LipstickLady I sort of fall into this category, though I'd say I had a mild addiction to food (a night snacker). Though I was overweight for many years, it crept up super slowly and mostly during times of extreme stress and long hours at work when I'd forget to eat most of the day, then get home order takeout because I was too exhausted to cook, then go to bed with a full stomach.
My metabolism has been very sluggish for a few years, then I had an accident and had reduced mobility for almost two years, using a cane. That's all it took for me to really pack on the pounds.
The surgery is helping so much because I lose almost no weight at all on a 1200-1500 calorie diet. These first few weeks of my sleeve I'm under 1000 calories (closer to 700) at all times, and it's coming off, more slowly than many here due to my slow metabolism, but I'm happy nonetheless Now that I'm losing, my mobility is better, so I am getting momentum on fitness and help my metabolism. The sleeve will help me maintain even if my metabolism remains sluggish. My little story

@@LipstickLady I sort of fall into this category, though I'd say I had a mild addiction to food (a night snacker). Though I was overweight for many years, it crept up super slowly and mostly during times of extreme stress and long hours at work when I'd forget to eat most of the day, then get home order takeout because I was too exhausted to cook, then go to bed with a full stomach.
My metabolism has been very sluggish for a few years, then I had an accident and had reduced mobility for almost two years, using a cane. That's all it took for me to really pack on the pounds.
The surgery is helping so much because I lose almost no weight at all on a 1200-1500 calorie diet. These first few weeks of my sleeve I'm under 1000 calories (closer to 700) at all times, and it's coming off, more slowly than many here due to my slow metabolism, but I'm happy nonetheless Now that I'm losing, my mobility is better, so I am getting momentum on fitness and help my metabolism. The sleeve will help me maintain even if my metabolism remains sluggish. My little story

@@LipstickLady I sort of fall into this category, though I'd say I had a mild addiction to food (a night snacker). Though I was overweight for many years, it crept up super slowly and mostly during times of extreme stress and long hours at work when I'd forget to eat most of the day, then get home order takeout because I was too exhausted to cook, then go to bed with a full stomach.
My metabolism has been very sluggish for a few years, then I had an accident and had reduced mobility for almost two years, using a cane. That's all it took for me to really pack on the pounds.
The surgery is helping so much because I lose almost no weight at all on a 1200-1500 calorie diet. These first few weeks of my sleeve I'm under 1000 calories (closer to 700) at all times, and it's coming off, more slowly than many here due to my slow metabolism, but I'm happy nonetheless Now that I'm losing, my mobility is better, so I am getting momentum on fitness and help my metabolism. The sleeve will help me maintain even if my metabolism remains sluggish. My little story

I'm quite surprised about the (not really sure what to call it) "dynamics" that take place in the WLS community regarding revision surgery, weight regain, or lack of sufficient weight loss, complications etc. - there seems to be a strong urge to blame the patient for everything. Also insisting on programs, education, compliance etc. (not saying insisting on this is wrong, so no discussions about this, please!) while patients going in for e. g. elective coronary bypass don't have to jump through some arbitrary insurance hoops like a drilled seal at the aquarium to get approved for surgery.
However, when looking at e. g. patients suffering from PAD (peripheral arterial disease) getting treatment, including angioplasty - there don't seem to be these strong emotions involved I can see in the WLS community, even though patients continue to smoke, don't care about blood pressure or blood sugar levels enough or their lipids. Yeah, doctors might be frustrated sometimes but I have to say, I'm not really when having to perform another angioplasty on the same patient and the patient still hasn't quit smoking. I just do it. I don't really get emotionally involved. So maybe the surgeons performing WLS or WLS revisions don't have these kind of emotions as well.
The WLS patients themselves seem to be the ones with the strongest emotions regarding these issues. (At least that's my impression.)

I saw more than just a handful of revisions in my support group. A LOT of band revisions due to complications, and some sleeve to bypass due to GERD or regain. The former banders were generally more successful the second time around. But bottom line with any of them was if the patient didn't drastically change their lifestyle, the revision was just as much of a failure as the first time around. It was very frustrating for me to watch so many make the same mistakes and come to group with all the same complaints, never really holding themselves accountable for the failures. Or worse yet, knowing what the problem was but not taking the steps to correct it.
There was one surgeon in my area that refused to do revisions unless the patient first went through six months of psychiatric therapy to address their food addictions and/or eating disorders. The psych had to give two thumbs up before surgery was approved. A lot of patients were pissed and looked for another surgeon. But for those that didn't, they were very happy with the help they got and were quite successful the second time around.

It kind of started a few weeks ago. It's not just that I have no appetite, or that I've lost enjoyment in food, but I actually dislike eating. I can tolerate all foods I've tried, including nuts, salads, etc. I'm not having any major side effects that would cause this (minor GERD and minor discomfort if I don't chew enough). If I wasn't worried about the health effect, I'd seriously stop eating altogether.
This happened once pre-op temporarily years ago when I also went on a low-carb diet, which is generally what I've been following post-op. I've upped my carbs to see if it helps, but still I dislike eating.
Any others struggling with this? What do you do to overcome it? I try treating myself to favourite foods (healthy versions of them) but even then, eating is a chore.
Pre-op me would have rolled my eyes and said I shouldn't complain, but it's actually work to get enough nutrition.

Lately, this has been driving me nuts. We don't all have the same opportunities for education, nor do we have the same backgrounds but we can all make an effort to improve the quality of our comments and arguments (not in the bickering sense) by referring back to some trusty critical thinking skills.
Here are just a few of the nonsensical, circular logical tendencies I see on a regular basis here:
The straw man:
When you create an argument that doesn't exist as a way to shutdown someone'a comment.
Ex:
Commenter A: "I think a preop diet plan should be treated as a prescription by the patient, not as a suggestion."
Commenter B: "Well, if you think everything a doctor says is always right, my mother got really sick by taking a prescription drug that her doctor gave her!"
See the problem? Commenter A never suggested that everything a doctor says is right. The comment was simply stating as far as preop diets go, it isn't a suggestion but rather "doctor's orders".
Ad Hominen:
In this fallacy, you attack a person instead of their argument.
Commenter A: "I think a preop diet plan should be treated as a prescription from your doctor, and not just as a suggestion."
Commenter B: "Come on down off of your high horse and stop being so condescending! We're all here to support each other and your arrogant attitude isn't helping anyone!"
See the problem? Name calling doesn't actually address the perceived problem with the argument. Not liking someone doesn't mean they are wrong, and it's a logical fallacy to let your personal feelings about a person cloud your judgment on their opinions.
False Dichotomy:
This fallacy misconstrues an argument by setting up an either/or scenario when there are multiple options available.
Commenter A: "I plan to follow my doctor's post op plan, because he knows better than I do about how this whole process works."
Commenter B: "it's not like you'll die if you don't follow the doctor's advice exactly as written!"
See the problem? Commenter A never suggested that the only possible outcomes were living or dying. There are a multitude of possible effects, including none whatsoever, that could result from not following the doctor's plans.
Ad Populum:
In this fallacy, you assume that because many people believe or do something, therefore it is safe.
Commenter A: "I plan to follow my surgeon's plans, because there are lots of problems that could arise if I don't."
Commenter B: "Basically no one is perfect, okay? We all cheated at some point either preop or postop and hardly anyone has serious complications from it. It's no big deal!"
See the problem? Just because many people believe that cheating has little or no ramifications, does not make it so. We are only a small sample of people who have had WLS, so our forum's results are already skewed. I don't know any astronauts, that doesn't mean they don't exist.
The Appeal to Authority:
Here, we assume that because someone with authority makes an argument, it is somehow correct.
Commenter A: "I plan to follow my doctor's advice on not exercising for 8 weeks post op, because of all the problems it could create while I am healing."
Commenter B: "Yeah, well I've been doing this much longer than you and I was fine excercising right after surgery. You need to be increasing physical activity as soon as possible, trust me - I would know."
See the problem? Commenter B never addressed the possible issues that could arise from exercise, but simply stated that since s/he has more experience with WLS, his/her opinion is correct.
There are dozens and dozens more of these, but this is pretty basic stuff we learned in high school. Your mileage may vary, but now you know.
Now go forth and let's all try to make sense when we disagree with other people!

You look fabulous!

It kind of started a few weeks ago. It's not just that I have no appetite, or that I've lost enjoyment in food, but I actually dislike eating. I can tolerate all foods I've tried, including nuts, salads, etc. I'm not having any major side effects that would cause this (minor GERD and minor discomfort if I don't chew enough). If I wasn't worried about the health effect, I'd seriously stop eating altogether.
This happened once pre-op temporarily years ago when I also went on a low-carb diet, which is generally what I've been following post-op. I've upped my carbs to see if it helps, but still I dislike eating.
Any others struggling with this? What do you do to overcome it? I try treating myself to favourite foods (healthy versions of them) but even then, eating is a chore.
Pre-op me would have rolled my eyes and said I shouldn't complain, but it's actually work to get enough nutrition.

Username relevant.

I've been there. Honestly I'd rather be there than where I was before surgery.
You just do it like you take out the trash or empty the cat box or any other chore you don't like.
It doesn't last forever. Sorta wish it did LOL
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I get to points where I don't even want to think about food anymore. Tracking and counting and measuring take their toll. It's 100% worth it and I'm not complaining, but it does make me think "screw dinner, I don't even want to deal with it" and then I'm not hungry or interested in food. I'm grateful when those nights are crock pot nights, and dinner is waiting when I get home.
But you're definitely not alone!!!

Trolls are people (or bots) who will post anything, often outrageous, to provoke a negative reaction from most people for the sake of bickering. People who take great pleasure in ruling people up for entertainment.
I haven't seen many posts here that meet that definition. I see lots of people who ask for advice when what they want is validation. They ask for opinions when they only want opinions that align with their own.
So why not say "I did _______ against my doctor's orders and I just want people to tell me that it's okay not to follow sound medical advice and tell me I am fine, even if it's not true."

To be honest I don't understand what all the big fuss is about, I replied to the OP in earnest and asked why he did something so dangerous and then posted it in a joking tone and even though I wanted to call him some choice names at the time I refrained from doing so. My surgery is on Dec 5 and if I do something so stupid and life threatening I sure hope someone hands me some tough love rather than coddles me.