Sunnyway

Your surgery did work. By your own description, you are not working. You must weigh, measure, and log your intake and follow your nutritionist's and doctor's direction. The surgery does not work on its own, it takes the patient's efforts to make it work.
I recommend that you read some books about WLS and get some bariatric cookbooks and meal-planning books..or you can do your own thing and continue to complain that the surgery is not working.
Suggested books:

If you have GERD now, then you should opt for a gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y, always abbreviated RNY here). It's literally the solution for GERD and sometimes when vertical gastric sleeve (VSG) patients get GERD post-op, they revise the surgery to RNY.
So let me ask you this: what's worse for your health? Having to monitor your blood levels of Vitamins and supplement, or being obese and developing comorbidities?
You'll find a LOT of people think that surgery is somehow a way of "cheating". Don't listen to those idiots, who've never looked into it.

Thank for giving her so much encouragement and help. I really like the Baritastic app.

I'm sorry you're struggling. Hitting a plateau or weight loss stall is so frustrating. It's a time when we are very vulnerable and likely to give up on ourselves, go back to unhealthy habits and resist support or advice. It feels like nobody understands what we're going through, or how we feel, and that old self-loathing starts to rear it's ugly and counterproductive head. Please don't give up on yourself. You made a decision to move forward with surgery because you wanted something very badly, don't let it go. Now that it's done, give yourself some grace and try to get back into the headspace where you can take advantage of the benefits.
You've made changes, but are not getting the desired results. So, you need to make some tweaks to nudge your body back into the weight loss track. In order to make those tweaks, you're going to need to buckle down for a short time and track your eating. There's really no other way to go about figuring out what has you stalled without taking a very close look at that. It's a major pain int he a$$ and it takes discipline, but it's not forever. Commit to doing it 100% for just one week, that's long enough to reveal where the pitfalls are and find a solution. It's entirely possible that you are not eating enough. My longest stall was broken when I made a very moderate increase to my Protein and fat. It was literally a difference of about 4 ounces of food a day that flipped my weight loss from stop to go.
Tracking can be approached in different ways: you can either use an app to track things as you eat, write things down each time you eat then log everything into an app or website at the end of each day, or make a menu, log it at that time and stick to that religiously. I cycle through these methods depending on the other things going on in my life at any point. The last scenario is easiest to manage if you put aside time to do your meal prep for the week, so the food is ready for you to just reheat (if necessary) and eat. I can never stick to a planned menu unless I have the food ready to grab n go. I've tried a few apps, my favorite is MyFitnessPal.
After tracking for 7 days, take a good critical look at your macros - calories, protein, fat, carbs, Fiber and sodium (my personal demon) - and see if anything jumps out at you as higher or lower than you were assuming. Share your diet and macros here and you will find advice on making adjustments that will have you back on track in short order. You could find that a small change can net big results.
However you decide to move forward, I wish you the best and hope you enjoy the holiday season with your family and friends.

Hey, just want to say I am Sorry it's been a tough go and disappointment for you. I think we all know what it takes to lose weight but it's not easy. If we were going to lose our weight without surgery we would have done it already. At 49 yrs old I know it will only get harder to do it on my own. My skin is still elastic and I have the best chance now to be my best.
Hang in there. Log your food, every single bite, link and taste. ( those little BLT's make a big difference.) Keep at it. Follow Jamie Mills on FB etc... she is a registered dietician and fellow WLS survivor. I love Water exercise,,aquacise, boosts the mood and muscles.. my balance has really improved also.. Best of luck.

I've had to sew up the side seams of my underwear and swimwear because they are too big and I don't want to buy new ones at this stage of my journey.

I'm a fan of Matthew Weiner, MD, and his website & videos. I've been following A Pound of Cure philosophy since I began going to my bariatric clinic. I've lost over 50 lbs pre-op.
I think his nutritional advice is better than my clinic's. For example, my clinic didn't want me to eat fruit! Can you imagine 8 months without fruit?
I'm not totally following his food plan, but am inching my way through the the stations. My vegan friend has shared some of her favorite recipes so many of my meals are animal protein-free. I've cut out sugar, flour, rice, potatoes, Pasta, and processed foods. I'm still dependent upon artificial sweeteners, but once I've graduated from Protein Drinks I'm going to work harder on that. My RNY to RNY revision is just three weeks away now!

I'm a fan of Matthew Weiner, MD, and his website & videos. I've been following A Pound of Cure philosophy since I began going to my bariatric clinic. I've lost over 50 lbs pre-op.
I think his nutritional advice is better than my clinic's. For example, my clinic didn't want me to eat fruit! Can you imagine 8 months without fruit?
I'm not totally following his food plan, but am inching my way through the the stations. My vegan friend has shared some of her favorite recipes so many of my meals are animal protein-free. I've cut out sugar, flour, rice, potatoes, Pasta, and processed foods. I'm still dependent upon artificial sweeteners, but once I've graduated from Protein Drinks I'm going to work harder on that. My RNY to RNY revision is just three weeks away now!

Your surgery did work. By your own description, you are not working. You must weigh, measure, and log your intake and follow your nutritionist's and doctor's direction. The surgery does not work on its own, it takes the patient's efforts to make it work.
I recommend that you read some books about WLS and get some bariatric cookbooks and meal-planning books..or you can do your own thing and continue to complain that the surgery is not working.
Suggested books:

You can call 1-800-LAP-BAND and they'll direct you to the closest medical pro that can fill/unfill your band. You can visit https://www.lapband.com/find-a-surgeon/ as well for the same information.

Are you in touch with your original surgeon? I started there, and my surgeon refused to help me. After that, I started reading about the revision options. I did a lot of reading and decided I wanted the DS, but the doctor I went to only does the SADI. Weight loss is slower than my original surgery, but that's expected. Check your insurance plan and see if there is any language regarding revisions. If your not in touch with your surgeon, I say look at the bariatric institute UTAH. My surgeon was Dr. Medlin.

Here's the thing. Surgeons RARELY have good bedside manner. They're skilled technicians. But they tend to have pretty bad people skills. But ultimately YOUR comfort is your choice—so if you feel nervous, switch surgeons!

if I'm being 100% honest, I think I'd personally swap surgeons if at all possible.

Because a review said she was careless doesn't mean she actually was. Were the reviews anonymous? Remember a lot of people with positive experiences often don't leave reviews. I had the best experience with my surgeon but for privacy reasons did not leave a review, I don't do anonymous reviews as they are meaningless to me....could be true, could be made up...etc.
It is up to you whether you change surgeon but I think you have lost confidence with her now because of the reviews/lack of positive reviews.

If you are really concerned about his opinion I would ask follow up questions. Does he know of people with these bad side effects that had the operation you are considering in the recent past? Has he researched the statistical date of these bad side effects to see how often that does happen with recent surgeries? I could Go on but the most important thing is to see if the information he is referring to is from a recent surgery because back in the day WLS was risky but now it is not nearly as risky. He may be referring to people who had the surgery years ago.

Almost everyone I talked to pre-WLS was against it. I asked my surgeon about the long term effects, I was concerned the surgery and the possible malnutrition would be detrimental to my long term health. Her response was that the long term side effects of being obese were much more dangerous. I went ahead with the surgery and am SO happy that I did. Do your own research, read as many books as you can and make your decision. A lot of doctors have their own opinions without having done research.

Sent from my SM-N976V using BariatricPal mobile app

Met up with some old school high school friends (who hadn’t seen me throughout my obese period in my 30s and 40s) and they said i still look the same and haven’t changed all these 30+ years. 💪🏼 Ha! Little do they know.:.😜
Also…was fascinated the other day when I discovered that I could get up from sitting cross legged on the floor to a standing position without even using my arms to get up 😳

In February, I bought a nice water-resistant jacket on Amazon. When I bought it, it was TIGHT on me. I could zip it and wear it, but I had no room to move in my shoulders/upper back.
When the cold weather hit us last week, I went to put it on and I looked like a teenager trying to wear his dad's jacket. I was drowning in it -- I knew I had lost weight, but that was one of the first times where it really hit me how much smaller I had gotten.

Back with more NSVs and LOVING reading all of yours. Here we go:
I am fitting into the smallest "skinny pants" I bought back in June. When I bought them I couldn't get the zipper even close, but today I am wearing them. My mom is at my house rehabbing and I am giving her a lot of intensive round-the-clock physical care. There is no way I could have done this without the weight loss I've had. I have so much collarbone and a lovely visible jawline. I can't stop looking at them every time I pass a mirror. Space between my toes. I can cross my arms across my waist and still fold forward, in fact it turns out that without a big belly in the way this is a very comfortable position. I can also cross my legs or sit on the floor in a resting position with one leg comfortably crooked up into a bend. my balance, it is so much better.

It's also possible that the OP hasn't had any support from their surgical/bariatric team. That is certainly the case for me, which is why I keep turning up on this board like a bad penny. They could be just venting their frustration, albeit in an emotional way that invites emotional responses.

Hey, just want to say I am Sorry it's been a tough go and disappointment for you. I think we all know what it takes to lose weight but it's not easy. If we were going to lose our weight without surgery we would have done it already. At 49 yrs old I know it will only get harder to do it on my own. My skin is still elastic and I have the best chance now to be my best.
Hang in there. Log your food, every single bite, lick and taste. ( those little BLT's make a big difference.) Keep at it. Follow Jamie Mills on FB etc... she is a registered dietician and fellow WLS survivor. I love Water exercise,,aquacise, boosts the mood and muscles.. my balance has really improved also.. Best of luck.

The very last line of OP’s original post was “I don’t know what to do”. Many, many people here have been successful with this surgery and exceeded the expectations. They (and I) did so by following their team’s guidelines. Advising OP to go back and check in with their team, and to follow the guidelines they’ve been given isn’t preaching or judgemental in any way, rather is offering the help OP asked for. 

I've had to sew up the side seams of my underwear and swimwear because they are too big and I don't want to buy new ones at this stage of my journey.

Your surgery did work. By your own description, you are not working. You must weigh, measure, and log your intake and follow your nutritionist's and doctor's direction. The surgery does not work on its own, it takes the patient's efforts to make it work.
I recommend that you read some books about WLS and get some bariatric cookbooks and meal-planning books..or you can do your own thing and continue to complain that the surgery is not working.
Suggested books:

Your doctor is way behind the times on WLS. What other out-of-date ideas does he have? You may want to find a new primary care physician. If not, you could refer him to some reading material.
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