NovaLuna

I never had the three week stall... I had the four (going on 5) MONTH stall. 4 months after I had my surgery I stalled for 23 days! It was soooooo frustrating! I kept thinking what did I do wrong? Why wasn't I losing any more? But then I pulled up my weight loss chart and realized I lost 23 pounds the first month, 19 pounds the second month, 17 pounds the third, and 18 pounds the fourth. I somehow got out of the stall and lost 7 pounds in the last week of that month. I've lost slower ever since, but I still average 1-3 pounds a week instead of the 3-5 like I did in the beginning (i.e. I lost 8 pounds following the stall month, then 10 pounds, and this month I've lost 7 pounds). Stalls suck. They are disheartening and frustrating, but they are just our bodies way of adjusting to the rapid weight loss. It's trying to catch up with us and sometimes our system just needs to take a break. You'll get passed this!

I lost 15 pounds on the two week pre-op diet so maybe try to go on the pre-op diet a little early. I was 321 on my surgery date so I was also in the 300's so I can tell you it's definitely possible to lose those 10 pounds before you see the doctor.

I guess I was lucky as my PCP had gastric sleeve a few years ago and her son had RNY two years ago so when I brought up WLS she was a fountain of information and advice. She's actually been the guest speaker at my bariatric support group meetings twice. From my understanding, other than giving you the referral most PCP's don't get that involved in your weight loss journey until after you've had your surgery and occasionally will order labs for you if they feel you need them to check your levels.

First off lower your calorie intake. You are only a month out so around 600 calories is where you should be at and eventually in the next few months build that up to 800. Second, the three week stall is a thing most people go through. It lasts anywhere from a week to three weeks. You'll have several stalls throughout your journey and yes, they are frustrating as hell, but they happen. Third, although I lost 23 pounds the first month I was also over 300 pounds and depending on your starting weight 10 pounds may very well be exceptional. Be proud of the fact that you lost 10 pounds in a month, that's an accomplishment! Finally, everyone loses at a different rate. Right now I'm 7 months out and lose an average of 1-3 pounds a week (I lost two pounds this week, two last week, and one the week before). The weight WILL come off if you stick to a healthy diet and lifestyle. Try not to stress about it because my doctor said stress can lessen your weight loss (incredibly difficult not to stress about it, I know). You got this! You can do it! I wish you the best!

I had the Loop DS as well and also vomited blood the first two days. My mom was in the room with me the first time it happened and she panicked. I really wish they would have warned me about it, because I thought something was wrong with me and panicked myself until they told me it was normal and it was okay because it was just old blood. And holy hell did it HURT! For me the vomiting blood was by far worse than the gas pain!

Congrats! I've only lost just over 40% of my body weight myself, but I'm also only 7 months out lol so it'll be a few months until I'm at half my body weight... I can't wait! It has to be an amazing feeling to know you're half the weight you used to be. I myself am counting down the pounds until I hit onederland. Just 31 more pounds to go!

Three days two nights. Though, they almost kept me another night because I wasn't drinking enough so I forced myself to drink more so they'd let me go home.

Well 16 pounds is actually really good! Congrats! As for the hard to take a deep breath bit... are you asthmatic? I have on and off issue with that since my surgery, especially at night, but I was told it would eventually get better. Though the smoke from the fires here in California aren't making it better... 😓 But, you may want to get tested for Corona Virus because breathing issues is a symptom. Hopefully it isn't that though!

It could be a lot of different things causing it from eating too fast to not tolerating certain foods. For example, I cannot tolerate wheat. At all. I get very, very, VERY sick. But I had no issues with wheat prior to my surgery. I'm 7 months out from Loop DS btw (it involves a sleeved stomach). If they can't figure it out try either an elimination thing or do an allergy panel (should be a last resort though because it'll make you itch like hell).

My surgery is different then yours (Loop DS), but I have occasional issues with that when I have too much sugar alcohol or artificial sweetner. I try and stick to Stevia since I tolerate is without issue, but most sugar free things have sugar alcohol or an artificial sweetner in it so... it's a struggle. Anyway, I hope you can figure out what's triggering your own issue!

Well... most protein powders do have iron in them and iron will stop you up but generally it also has calcium and calcium makes it so the iron doesn't really absorb so... it really shouldn't be affecting you in such a way. What caused constipation issues for me was too much iron in my multivitamin routine. I had to cut down the amount I was taking. Also, banana's also cause constipation so if you eat banana's it might be that...

NEVER weigh yourself the first week after surgery. You have water weight from the IV's they gave you from your surgery. It'll take a few days for that to go away. Stay away from the scale for another five days AT LEAST.

I can't drink water because it makes me gag. I drink powerade zero, gatorade zero, or propel. They have electrolytes so even though I get under 64 oz (usually in the 50-ish oz range) I'm fully hydrated. My suggestion is try drinks with electrolytes.

Seven weeks. But my surgeon was scheduled out for December so... I really didn't have a choice.

I consider it a stall if I haven't lost weight in a week. I've had multiple stalls with the longest one lasting three weeks. You'll get passed this! It's completely normal!

It's understandable to second guess yourself. I tried for years to lose the weight on my own, but it'd take me a YEAR to lose 20 pounds and a month to gain it back with interest when I gave up out of frustration. Eventually I had to face facts. I wouldn't be around to watch my nieces grow up if I didn't do something about my weight. I was 389 pounds when I finally decided to look into bariatric surgery. I'd been coming up with excused for YEARS as to why it wasn't for me. Truth was I didn't believe I'd have the willpower to stick with it. But, surprisingly, it's been relatively smooth. There was this one girl in my bariatric surgeons office that comes to mind when you talk about backing out. She went through the whole process THREE times! She got right up to her surgery date and backed out and had to start all over again. I was talking to her in the surgeons office before my pre-surgery appointment and asked her why she'd go through all that and then not have the surgery. She said she was scared and then asked me why I didn't seem to be. I told her I'd gone through a much scarier surgery so this was like a walk in the park by comparison. I honestly don't know if she went through with it that time or if she's going though the process for a FOURTH time. Clearly she wanted to lose the weight, but the unknown of the surgery was terrifying to her. The unknown can be a really scary, I get that. But think of how much better you'll feel losing that extra 80 pounds. Who cares what your PCP thinks (vanity? pfft, a 37 BMI is still obese and your PCP is a friggin' MORON!) or if your mother doesn't approve, this is YOUR life and YOUR body! The surgery will help you become a healthier YOU! In the end though, the choice is still very much your own. Whether you go the conventional dieting route or the WLS route is still your decision and no one else's. Maybe write out a list of pro's and con's. Or read success stories to pump yourself up. Either choice you make, I wish you the best.

My surgeons office said NSAIDS were fine in small amounts, but the more you take the higher risk of ulcer. I need them occasionally for my back. And I hate narcotic meds so I refuse to take them because they make me vomit.

Well it really depends on you. Do you take NSAIDS or feel like you need to because if you have RNY you can't take them anymore. Ever. I mean, you could take tumeric which is natural, but no asprin, naproxen, ibuprofen, etc. I was bouncing back and forth on whether to have the RNY, DS, or Loop DS and in the end I chose the Loop DS. I'm almost 7 months out now and I'm happy with my choice. I have had some weird experiences though lol. I had two issues with constipation which confused the hell out of my surgeons office and they told me I was the first Loop DS patient they'd had that had that issue! x'D Apparently my body processes Iron REALLY well so I only need one multi with iron in it and take two without. Also, when you have to go... you have to go! Your stomach will give you about a 5-10 minute warning and that means you best find a restroom... or is that just me? 🤔 Anyway, in the end it's your life and the choice you make is very much your own. I suggest just looking up all the info you can find maybe making a pro and con list for each surgery and just choosing the one that has more pro's. That's my suggestion. I wish you the best!

I didn't think you came off as flippant at all I was just adding that with my issues the statistic is really the best I can hope for right now. I'm kind of hoping my doctors wrong though because what she thinks I have doesn't have a cure and what can trigger it is major surgery so... it sucks. And I've been on some of the medication that's may help and it did NOTHING! Some people the meds don't help though. I even did physical therapy and it made it worse... And I'm sorry you had to go through all that! And I'm glad they finally have something that works for you! I actually refused to take the glucose test because I KNOW it's not that. I've had hypoglycemic incidents in the past and I don't have the right symptoms for it. My doctor thinks it's Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. She said it fits my symptoms almost exactly (except I haven't fainted, just have my vision black out... a lot). Symptoms for it are: High/low blood pressure. (I have High Blood Pressure) High/low heart rate; racing heart rate. (Have tachycardia i.e. high heart rate and racing heart) Chest pain. (occasionally have when my heart rate is too high) Dizziness/lightheadedness especially in standing up, prolonged standing in one position, or long walks. (DEFINTELY HAVE. I also can't walk right when it hits and kinda walk like a drunk. I've actually lost my balance several times) Fainting or near-fainting. (vision blacks out and is considered near fainting) Exhaustion/fatigue. (yes, to both) Abdominal pain and bloating, nausea. (have had on and off issues with all three) Temperature deregulation (hot or cold). (my room is cold, but I keep complaining about being hot, but my feet are freezing) Nervous, jittery feeling. (randomly happens) Forgetfulness and trouble focusing (brain fog). (soooo bad right now! I feel so old with how bad my brain is acting) Blurred vision. (this symptom can actually be caused by my Vitamin A deficiency so not sure if it's this or that) Headaches and body pain/aches (may feel flu-like); neck pain. (horrible headaches that don't want to go away) Insomnia and frequent awakenings from sleep, chest pain and racing heart rate during sleep, excessive sweating. (yes to the insomnia and the frequent awakenings, but no to the others) Shakiness/tremors especially with adrenaline surges. (rare. It has happened but only when I got randomly anxious for some unknown reason) Discoloration of feet and hands. (my toe nails are blue, but not my fingernails. My toes also have a purplish cast) Exercise intolerance. (I get sooooo dizzy when I try and exercise) Excessive or lack of sweating. (I don't really sweat anymore so lack, I guess) Diarrhea and/or constipation. (my surgery can cause this issue so... not sure if it's this or that)

Well I have thyroid issues and have already had my meds adjusted twice and I think I need them adjusted again so that's part of why my loss is slower. Also, I can't exercise due to chronic dizziness and balance issues I developed a few weeks after surgery. My doctor is STILL trying to figure out what's causing it, but she thinks she knows what it is it just comes down to doing the testing to prove her theory. So I could probably have lost a lot faster if not for those issues... so statistical average isn't bad at this point in time. But yeah I totally understand thinking about what could have been, I think about what weight I'd be now if I hadn't decided to do something about it. I was getting closer and closer to reaching 400 pounds and that alternately depressed and frustrated me. I was mad at myself for not being able to lose weight on my own and I was the heaviest person in my entire family! Now... I'm not. I'm somewhere in the middle now lol. I'll definitely never be the smallest as my cousin is like 117 pounds and is 5"11 and classified as underweight even though she eats more than anyone I know! She's got the best metabolism in the family and I've watched her pack away 3 hot dogs, a hamburger, fries, a slice of cake, and a bunch of eclairs in less than an hour! 🙄

It's interesting... and I'm definitely not mad at it. For me it said I'd be 197 by year one (which going by how slow I'm losing right now is entirely possible) and then 178 by year 2 and then 185 by year 3. I'd be okay with that. I mean it'd be nice to stay stable at 180, but 185 isn't bad at all...

The amount of weight you end up losing with VSG depends on a number of things: diet, exercise, lifestyle, your overall commitment to changing bad habits, and the size of the pouch your surgeon makes can make all the difference in your overall weight loss. Statistically I was told VSG has an average of 50-70% excess weight loss. But that statistic includes the people who work their tails off to improve their result, the people who follow the guidelines but don't go over the top, the people who mostly follow the guidelines, and those who don't follow their guidelines at all. I'm sure that if you do everything you're supposed to do you could get above the 50-70% excess weight loss because there are several people on this site who were able to do it. If you go by statisics you'd lose about 75-105 pounds. But I'm sure with hard work you could lose a lot more than that! Everyone's body works differently. Some people lose fast while others lose slow. I'm one of the slow ones... but I've still lost 151 pounds and am still losing even if it's only 1-3 pounds a week (I lost two pounds this week). Congrats on your upcoming surgery and I wish you the best!

Personally, I'd file a complaint against her. She'll either fix her issues or the complaints against her will pile up and they'll fire her and it'd be her own fault. Hope everything works out!

If it makes you feel better they told me it'd take two weeks to get approved but it actually took 3.5 weeks for my insurance to approve the surgery. Because it took them so long I'd been convinced they wouldn't approve it because I'd lost so much weight on my own, but in reality they apparently just had a really large backlog so it took them longer to go through my paperwork. Try not to stress, I'm sure it'll happen for you!

Don't go out buying a whole new wardrobe yet because you'll blow through the sizes fast. I even SKIPPED sizes! I somehow went from a 32 in pants to a 26 in pants to a 22 in pants to an 18 in pants. In shirts I was a 6xl then a 4xl then a 1xl and now I wear an xl or 0xl. Buy clothes off the clearance rack until your weight loss slows or it'll just be a waste of money. I'm lucky in that most of my clothes are from family members.