New&Improved

6 hours ago, lynneanne said:

I’m looking for a forum, an online chat, not video meetings like overeaters anonymous. I have my gastric sleeve in April 2015. Prior to the sleeve I lost 62 pounds on my own. When I had the surgery , it was like it destroyed my metabolism and I could no longer lose. I lost 5 pounds from the surgery despite eating a Protein based 300-500 calorie, high intensity exercise plan. My surgeon did not want follow up visits, and although I insisted twice, he could give me no answers, and ran no tests. I eventually, after 6 months, lost 25 pounds, much slower rate than before the surgery. That was it. For the next 3 years, despite my hunger having never been diminished, I still could eat about half as much as before right after surgery, and eventually I could eat as if I never had the surgery. But suddenly my metabolism came back and I lost another 30 pounds! But I could not maintain it, as I have no restriction at all from the surgery and full hunger. I have gained 40 pounds. My original weight was 262, dieted, on my own to 200. Had surgery April, 2015, lost over a six month period after gastric sleeve to 175. Then no weight loss for 3 years. Then did Atkins in 2018 and got down to 143. Lasted less than a year. Now I am 185. So 5 years and 4 months out from surgery, my net loss is 15 pounds. Oh, and I have done the pouch reset diet.

So now I want a food addict chat or forum. The surgery wasn’t a good tool for me. I need to break my addiction to food. Does anyone know of anything like this online?

Thanks in advance.

I think you need a psychologist not a forum.

8 minutes ago, PerezL84 said:

Hi new&improved..how much weight have you lost...what was your starting weight and current?

Sent from my SM-N975U using BariatricPal mobile app

Started at 322lbs.

Lowest weight 163lbs but sit around 165 most days

I'm 9.5 months post op but 11 months post beginning of preop and been in maintenance now 3 months.

Everyone has their own method... I personally weighed everyday and it was good to see the numbers go down everyday.

The first 6 months the weight flew off me it was so good to see.

4 hours ago, AchieveGoals said:

Hey guys, so I don't have my surgery yet, I'm still in the 6 month visit phase. Currently, I suffer from a bit of heartburn now and then. I would say once a week maximum, and usually gets relief if I take 1 tablet of Tums. Do you think this is a sign that I should NOT go for sleeve and choose RNY instead? What is your input? I ask because I want to hear actual patient input on their experience with GERD and the VSG.

Thank You!

Most cases sleeve stomach will make it worse unfortunately.... There's 1000s of posts about it....

You should look at getting some help.. Most surgeons request psych evaluation

Don't even stress about that

11 hours ago, WhatATool:-) said:

Hi y’all, I’m 1-week post op and feeling pretty decent! I do know that I’m super early to be analyzing the scale, but I was curious if anyone who has had the surgery remembers what their weight loss was like the first week, 2 weeks, or month? I’m still feeling all bloaty and not like I’ve dropped any weight. Not panicking or anything, just curious about what’s normal. Thanks!

I was kinda obsessed with my weight loss and was weighing daily; I was losing weight everyday it was crazy the first month but I assume it was a ton of Fluid loss.

I lost like 20lbs in the first 2 weeks and by one month I was down 38lbs; the first 3 months was insane and I lost all my excess weight by 8 months.

7 hours ago, skybelle18 said:

I'm 6 months post sleeve and haven't lost in 3 weeks. Diet good, carbs are low, less than 50 net per day..usually around 30. I've been fluctuating the same 3 lbs for almost a month. Some say honeymoon ends at 6 months, others say 1 year. I still have 50-60lbs to go to hit goal...and even then, I'll still be considered overweight according to BMI.

I am SCARED!

Bypass here but results are very similar between the 2.

My weight fell off very quickly for the first 6 months and hit maintenance at 8 months. Lost all my excess weight..

4 hours ago, ebbii0927 said:

I'm one week post op. I know we're supposed to stay hydrated, but I seem to have no trouble taking in fluids. I try to space it as best as possible. I just don't want to ness up

Eddy Blaine Brown II

I was drinking Water and Protein Shake in hospital with very little restriction.

4 hours ago, bajankat said:

Good Evening! I had a follow up with my surgeon today from a EGD in July. He's scheduling me for a revision to bypass and hiatal hernia repair asap . I'm scared! Then following that surgery maybe a few months later he'll schedule another surgery to repair another hernia with a mesh. I'm going thru it right now. how many of yall had complete relief from reflux after getting a revision? Have you had any other complications with bypass? any regrets? Of course I'm doing the research on it but I'm afraid of it, that's why I didn't get it to begin with. I can't wait to enjoy wls..I haven't reaped any benefits of it yet.
my stats:
5'4"
HW 261
SW 249
CW 226
GW 170 or just to be healthy at this point.
Sleeved 4/9/19 had multiple EGD with dilations due to vomiting and multiple setbacks and developed horrible acid reflux.

Not a revision but had bypass and no complications at all 🤪

3 hours ago, LAJ23 said:

Hey everyone,

Newbie here. On Friday, I got a call saying that my surgery is scheduled for 8/19 - if I wanted it to be - so I booked it. Of course, that was actually perfect timing (workwise it fits great with my schedule), but I feel like I had NO notice. No time to prepare, no time to get a few things out of my system (like a trip to my favorite seafood restaurant, etc.). I'm not big on pigging out, so that wasn't my intention, but I had to start the pre-op diet immediately and did so on Saturday. Now, it's a GORGEOUS day here in Chicago and I'd love nothing more than to sit outside and enjoy a raspberry lemonade with a splash of vodka (I'm not a big drinker either, but that's something I enjoy on a nice day). In some ways, I feel like I'm depriving myself. The diet I'm on is pretty strict in my opinion (tho I know others have it worse) - only certain plain, raw veggies, 5 Ensure High Protein Shakes, and 64oz. Water a day. That's it - I can't even so much as use salt or pepper on the veggies. I know I want to go thru with this surgery, but now I feel like I'm kind of rushing it. On the other hand, I feel like I should just push thru and get it over with. I'm also worried because I see all these posts about people not losing as much as they expect to. I'm currently 5'5", 227, BMI is 36. I'm already down 4lbs. since Saturday just eating the way I am. Please tell me this gets easier!

You really need to be 150% mentally prepared for this major life change...

If you go into surgery half heartedly and give in to temptations of course you will not lost weight..

10 hours ago, losingit87 said:

So I've been going through the approval process for 5 months and last week I got my surgery date.... And it's only 11 days away (10 if you don't include today). And I am TERRIFIED. Disclosure: I have several anxiety disorders, and big BIG stuff like this freaks me out. I felt similar before (and actually for several months after) getting married even though I 100% love my husband and our relationship was and still is as solid as can be, and I felt the same,or even more scared, when we had our son. Like just utterly panicked thinking wtf am I doing my life was fine before (even if that's not even true).

I have moments when I see more clearly,that really I only have 2 options: don't get the surgery, and likely gain even more weight. I mean, let's face it, that IS what will happen and logically I know that. That's what has always happened. Even if I go on a diet and commit to it and lose weight, I always always always gain it back plus more. There is no reason that wouldn't be the case now, suddenly, all of a sudden. Or my 2nd option, have the surgery and gain the tool that will actually help me lose weight AND keep it off (I know, if I put in the work).

But then I have moments of utter terror. And I just want to back out and run away from it. But I don't *really* want that. Because I don't want to stay like this. And I'm not going to lie to myself that I can all of a sudden do this on my own.

I'm just afraid of the whole permanent thing. Like, the sleeve actually IS reversible in that you can stretch out your stomach over time and eventually be right back to where you started. But if I get botched or if it's awful for some reason,there is no fixing it. That's so scary!

Sorry for such a long post..but did anyone else feel like this in the days leading up to surgery?

Everybody gets anxious at times but don't let it put you off, there are 100s of ppl on here that regret not getting surgery sooner...

Trust me it's an easy surgery and quick recovery..

You'll be full of gas and stuff still don't bother weighing until a month out

That makes more sense...

Yes everyone is different metabolically speaking and not one size fits all

Okay so all the years of research mean nothing?

Anyway I was just giving my experience and what worked for me..

And I was and am successful

Yep I'm in maintenance now over 3 months and kept my weight off after losing all my excess as well 🤪

5 hours ago, Space.Crab said:

Hello- I'm new to posting, but have been lurking around for a couple of months. I made the decision this year to start my weight loss surgery journey. I'm still in pre-op testing and appointments, so no surgery dates, but I've decided to go with RNY vs the Sleeve since I have reflux on a weekly basis, and also for the success rate that RNY had.

This year thanks to the pre-op process I've been diagnosed with sleep Apnea, pre diabetes, and Non-Alcoholic Fatty liver, which has really opened my eyes to the damage I'm doing to my body. My levels are not high by any means and I have heard multiple times from my nutritionist that my blood tests shows I'm actually quite healthy, but my family history has diabetes on both sides (multi generational), so I know what lays ahead if I do not do something now. I've been overweight since the age of 9, so it's a scary, but exciting prospect to finally be 'normal' when I enter a room.

ANYWAYS -- I want to know -- What conditions did RNY/Bypass cause you to 'Lose' other than just the weight?

No longer take a bunch of pills for diabetes or high blood pressure.

No longer get puffed out just bending over.

No longer have to rest while vacuuming.

No longer have to shop in the MR BIG section.

It's great to look and feel normal

2 hours ago, BrooklynMomma said:

Hi Everyone,
I had a vsg back in 2016, I’ve had regain and want to have a revision. Of course insurance won’t cover unless I have gerd or other issues. I did my surgery with GHI/Emblem Health. If I switched insurance to Aetna or another insurance would I get approved because I didn’t do the 1st surgery with them? I’m hoping someone can help me with this question 😞

As above it needs to be medically necessary... not just oh I didn't lose weight maybe another surgery will magically make me lose weight?

5 hours ago, BigSue said:

I am curious about how many grams of carbs people are being told to eat in the post-op diet. I was told to aim for 60-80 grams of Protein and 60-80 grams of carbs per day. I'm doing ok with the Protein (usually at least 50 grams per day), since that's what was stressed as the most important thing and I bought a lot of high-protein, low-carb foods/drinks, but I have a hard time getting more than about 40 grams of carbs in a day. The nutritionist told me that the point is to stay out of ketosis because it makes you feel crappy, but I feel fine. She did say that 40 grams of carbs per day is probably enough to stay out of ketosis, so I try to get about 40 grams of carbs per day, but I'm wondering if that's really necessary.

Ketosis is very good for weight loss so I don't know why your nutritionist would say not...

I personally limited my carbs as much as I could that's just how I felt was best option for me and it worked I lost weight really quickly; I always kept my protein high even up to 100gram a day..

I was always told low carbs high protein is best.. I'm now in maintenance though and I do eat more carbs now but in weight loss mode I didn't eat hardly any..

Didn't even realise

3 minutes ago, sideeye said:

I'm New York, and within the past few months - bleh. The lockdown didn't bother me so much as a concept, weight wasn't a problem for the first two months. I was VERY involved in a virus-related contact tracing effort that has basically consumed all of my time, and obviously the status of healthcare in America means that I've spent since mid-Feb bashing my head against a wall to try and make things happen and hitting political and insurance roadblocks and let's just go ahead and agree that being 20 feet away from the kitchen during 13-hour days when you can't leave home without wearing a mask is... not ideal for maintaining weight loss?

Long story short, I am a whopping 30lbs up on my lowest weight right now.

It's reversible, and in fact with some of the virus-related work finally getting traction (Americans finally stop living in denial, hopefully?) and being parceled off to other teams I'm actually seeing work hours go back down to a normal schedule, but I'm rebooting starting this week through Orgain Protein Shakes twice a day and one carefully planned meal, plus coffee, Water and a cheese stick. I've deliberately and proactively sectioned off my calendar to make sure I don't keep working until 8pm every damn night anymore. I have done terrifying things in Salesforce so now all of my spinning plates are in view at all times.

How did I get here? Well...

• Stocked up in late-Feb when I realized that this was going to be a pandemic. Then tried to order once or twice a week from restaurants when it was clear they'd otherwise shut down, which meant a single dinner lasted three nights. Two months in, I started going to the store occasionally for simple human contact, usually ended up buying stuff I didn't need as an excuse to make the trip. By the end of the spring, the stocked-up stuff started to reach the end of its expiry date, which meant I had to eat it... You see how this spirals.
• I hate summer. Hate it. Seasonal depression (yes, it does exist for summer). Oh, and then this year it turned out I developed a sun allergy. So even if I did go out to exercise, I risked days of an itchy, poison ivy-like rash. Pool closed, obviously.
• Work stress. Firstly, trying to make sure I kept my team employed and occupied and engaged as they ended up stranded in apartments and parents' spare rooms in rural towns and assure them that layoffs aren't coming to get them. Secondly, all the virus work.
• Work happy hours at the start of the lockdown. I had maybe 3-4 drinks every MONTH before lockdown. But then everyone started having happy hours to stay connected, and about three weeks in I think the cocktail started representing the time you officially stopped work so we were all starting making it more of a daily ritual. And once you're having a drink every afternoon when you shut your laptop, you start having two on the days things are particularly rough, and now it's August and I have consumed a remarkable amount of calories via gin, tonic and cider and definitely need to change that pattern.
• Pandemic stress and constant, haunting thoughts about why I didn't get New Zealand citizenship when I lived there and could do it, dammit.
• Stopped wearing proper clothing. I vowed to keep wearing my jeans and nice work tops, and stuck to it for about two months. Then I realized that wrap dresses worked great on calls and were cooler. Then started wearing yoga pants (but not doing actual yoga!) and a nice top on calls. Over the last three or four weeks, I've worn zip-up hoodies on internal calls. So it was easy to ignore the weight gain.
• My wireless scale broke and it took me three months to buy a new one.

Anyhow. The pandemic sucks, so many things about living in the US reality distortion field suck right now, but one thing I very much can control is my food intake so it's back to basics on that count. The grocery supply chain is just fine, I've bought a projector TV so I can lock my dog out of the room and do yoga with an image projected on a wall instead of trying to contort myself to do yoga via computer while battling weak wifi, and IT'S GOING TO BE AUTUMN!!! Also I'm taking a week off. Also one of my NZ friends is now living in Sweden, so we spend a lot of time WTF-ing at each other about our situation compared to our friends' situations.

How are all of you doing? Working parents, I am not one of your number but know that as one of your colleagues, I do not mind seeing your kids onscreen, totally understand you can't make that deadline, and basically just want to make sure you can make it through the week with 50% or more of your sanity intact. This pandemic has not fallen equally across all shoulders by a long shot, and anyone who's trying to make you stick to a Before Times schedule or gets ratty about "unprofessional" childcare complications can go stuff themselves.

Good to see you recognize your problems and there are solutions..

Now it's time to get back on track you can do it

It's great isn't it... I got down to BMI 22.2

Yes as above it all comes down to how serious you are as how strict and compliant you are with the new diet; for me and my personality I dove in headfirst and was very strict on myself from day 1 and lost all 100% of my weight

41 minutes ago, new_lease_on_life said:

hey, i was wondering if there is anyone who has had a BMI over 40 that has had the gastric sleeve and been successful with keeping the weight off. The surgeon is suggesting the bypass because of the BMI being over 40. But im not a fan of the bypass because it bypasses part of the small intestines where the nutrients gets absorbed. I am currently 6'4 and 470lbs and I'm trying to choose between the sleeve or the bypass. Any input would be helpful.

I started at BMI of 43 and I chose the bypass and my blood work have been fine just gotta take vitamins... Literally no complications.. lost weight really well and consistently and I'm now in maintenance mode for the past 3 months keeping the weight off

Yeah I was told to only sip 1oz at a time but from like day 3 I could drink half a cup of Water or Protein easily no issues at all.... I was drinking shakes long term personally stayed on the liquid diet for longer