Search the Community

Hi, So, I'm 16-days post op. Before yesterday my pain was on the left side where my biggest incision is (yes, that's normal) but now my pain is on my lower stomach right below my belly button. I Googled it to find info and I couldn't find anything about lower stomach pain below the belly button after the gastric sleeve. It's hard for me to lean forward or bend forward. Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced this before? I am following everything to a T (60 grams of protein a day, staying hydrated, taking multivitamins, calcium, & I walk at least 30 minutes a day). I also take my gallbladder & ulcer preventing medication. My nurse told me they sewed my muscle (& skin) back together to prevent hernias & ulcers. How long is this cut, really? Why would I feel it in my lower belly? Height 5'0" Weight for WLS consultation: 216 lbs. Surgery date: 2/13/17 Goal: - 71 lbs for healthy BMI (about 145 lbs). Current weight: 188 lbs My profile picture is not me. It's my "FitSpiration" body.

I am with you guys. Every time I hit a stall, I wonder why and what can I do to keep it going. Lower carbs, increase exercise, change exercise, get more sleep, drink more water, eat more protein, track your intake. Pick some of these and see what works for you. I still can't figure it out either. And sometimes, I think it's just a waiting game. I wait and BAM! 5 lbs in one week. That was last week after a 3 week stall. Not my first 3 week stall either. On the bright side, I really do feel like even when my body isn't showing a loss on the scale, I am still loosing inches. Defies logic, but I'd swear it is happening. They also say the stall is the body's time to catch up with the weight loss, and that's how I try to look at it. Keep fighting the good fight and be patient grasshopper.

Hi everyone... I'm kinda confused here ...I've been working out for almost 2 months already ... But I'm slowly loosing weight ... Some people say to stop working out and focus on loosing just the weight ..others say Nooooo continue working out ... I am still working out but the slow weight loss kinda puts me down .. Any advice will help.. thanks

I registered for the Race for the Cure 5k... very excited but now also nervous. I have been loosely doing the Couch to 5k program for a month, but am still not running 1 mile without stopping to walk. Now I looked at the real 5k training schedule and it's 5 days a week! 3 miles, on Tues, Thurs, Fri, 2 miles on Wed and 4 miles on Sun.... OMG! What did I get myself into????

I considered lap band for about 7 to 8 months before I made the decision to have the surgery. Once I made the committement and had the first consult I went through a major depression. I felt like I was a failure because nothing else worked and now I needed to alter my body to achieve good health. I had surgery in late June and have had 2 fills. I still get down a bit here and there because the weight loss is going slow for me, but I do not regret the decision to have surgery. Be patient and you will loose weight, but you have to be committed to making major lifestyle changes. That depressed me to.

geesh , i appreciate your prayers , the herinia is form so many opertions on stomach area it is wearing and has a size of a baseball that pouches out but stomach under right breast is size of football and about 1" bigger thank left side i thought that was just from the scaring where they cut me open 4 times on stomach does not hurt i think its a insisional hernia, but i just got apt for cardiac doc next fri and waiting on phyc to call back and doc for apt for cat scan and then i get blood work done so i will know with in a few weeks i guess, my doc put on paper of referal for bariatric surgery for me (quote ) This is to certify that Ms Smith is under my medical care. She has hyuperlipidemia and worsening type 2 diabeties. she has failed a number of diest and has tried to lose weight unsuccessfully over the past frew years, she has asthma and memorrioids tthat have been exacerbated by her condition as well, while her blood pressure is currentyl controlled, i do not expect her other conditions to improve without some weight loss. i think that she is a good candidate to undergo bariatric surgery. ( end quote) now with him saying that i i have been with him for a few years trying to loose weight will that be sufficent enough for the six months ? i am so depressed, :help:

I am still a ways away from my goal weight but I've experienced some of the feelings you are having. Everyone has different reasons for their preferences. It doesn't sound like yours are superficial or shallow, if it's related to lifestyle and not appearance. I used to only like skinny guys because I like the fact that they didn't know what it was like to be fat. Then I started liking chunkier guys because their size made me feel more feminine and not so enormous. About a year ago I met a guy on match and went out with him. I found it funny that neither of us had full body pics on our profile and I think we were both surprised when we met. He was a very, very big guy. I've never been attracted to men over a certain size because I know how limited I am in certain aspects of life and I don't want someone who is the same. (Personally, for me, I always think "how is sex gonna work?" lol) My weight is a super personal issue to me, one that I don't share with many, so being with someone who actually can relate and know how I feel kinda scares the sh*t out of me. I felt like a total hypocrite for not liking him but I couldn't help it. He was a nice guy but it was due to my own insecurities really. Conversely, it's so hard to judge attraction from a picture on the internet, even if they have multiple. Attraction has so much more to do with personality, mannerisms, body language, intellect, sense of humor, etc. So you just might be surprised. That being sad, I agree with most everyone here and you should definitely go on the date just for the experience. One date isn't going to give him the idea you want to marry him. I've had plenty of "one and done" men from online dating. I know it's scary because of the lack of experience, but don't let that stop you. The only way to gain experience and get rid of the nerves is to go out there and do it! I just met a guy on match and at first I was totally intimidated by him. He was good looking, "normal size," a lawyer, rich, independent, no kids or baggage, etc. I thought he was too good for me. I told him I had been losing weight and when I had surgery but he doesn't know what kind yet. (I fully intend on telling him soon.) I worry that he's the kind of guy who just likes big girls and won't be attracted to me later. BUT, a few weeks into talking to him I found out he's lost about 150 pounds!!! We haven't gotten to the how yet, he just mentioned it a few times. When we went swimming the other day I picked up on a little insecurity because he has some excess skin. It really just made me giggle because I was thinking about how we could bond over it! lol I didn't have the "omg, he knows what it's like to be fat" reaction that usually scares me because eventually neither of us are going to be fat and I hope not to have those same issues and insecurities. It excites me that he's made changes and is active now. There are so many things I can't wait to experience with him. Point is, you can talk yourself away from any man for any reason... you are only going to find out what you like by finding out what you don't. So GGOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I felt like I couldn't breath a sigh of relief until it was done and I felt like I was past any complications that might come up. So, after a few weeks and I was feeling better and the weight was coming off...then I finally got excited. And that has continued. Still love to see that I haven't gained and even more excited when I loose. Wishing you much success. Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

If you have nice work cloths consider donating them to "dress for success". My plan is to give away everything as soon as it's slightly loose. I'm 3 weeks post and already have a big of stuff t,o give away. I sorted my cloths by size and season and put them in labeled boxes. I had a bulging closet so the cloths where no surprise but I was shocked and all the panties, bras and shape ware. Probably hundreds of dollars worth most of it never worn. I did take some cloths to consignment and made some $ but it was to much work to bother.

I got my fitbit a week ago. I did some research about it before buying. In several studies the fitbit had an almost perfect score in calculating your steps. Best score for heartbeat accuracy. Best place to wear it is 1 to 2 fingers width ABOVE your WRIST bone. Not to tightly or will hinder accuracy. For me it took some getting use to wearing it higher up on my arm. I also have to check if the fitbit has slid down to my wrist and is loosely turning. I started wearing a bracelet under fitbit and am now comfortably wearing fitbit above wrist bone. Overall the Fitbit Charge 2 (which is the model I have) scored the highest out of all other wrist trackers. I wear a 7 1/4 bracelet. I was going to get the small band but got the large one because of placement above wrist. I got the plum color and love it. Goes with everything. The sales person at best buy suggested I try Amazon to buy additional bands. For a "fitbit" brand name costs around a $100 . (Fitbit hasn't come out with additional band colors for the charge 2 yet) On amazon you can by bands that will work with fitbit products. For charge 2 you can get 10 colors for 39.99 Merry Christmas to me. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T337A using the BariatricPal App

I am also in stall.i am 7 weeks op,I lost 15 lbs in first week after that5 lbs in 6 weeks,really worried,just waiting to loose more pounds,if any suggestion,please help... Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

The worst thing for me was the leak test the next morning (an AWFUL TASTE). I was a bit loopy for the first day, then I was walking around the ward floor 2-3 times a day - VERY SLOWLY. What to pack: 1- a Positive Attitude, 2- a loose fitting warmup suit for the trip home, 3- something to read and something to listen to, 4- COMFORTABLE SHOES. I made a travel bag of stuff that I never even opened - pack LIGHT and be EXCITED for the New Life you are about to enter into!

About 6 months post op I started loosing hair. I went to the dermatologist and he said it was from rapid weight loss. He said your body goes into a kind of shock. It stopped a couple months later. I didn't take any kind of supplement, and ate about 80 gms of protien a day. I was lucky to have started out with a pretty thick head of hair.

Hi everyone. This is my first message. Just a bit about myself - I am 52, menopausal and under active thyroid. I have been overweight and on diets my whole life. I have had some success. In 2012 I was at my heaviest (313lbs) and managed to lose about 44lbs. By 2015 I had regained 22lbs. I had two very special weddings occurring later in the year and that gave me the motivation to loose the weight again but it was soooo slow. I tried following the same Weight Watchers program which had previously been successful but I had little results. Then I went onto shakes again with little results. It got to the point that I was practically starving myself just to see the scales go down. Problem was, the moment I at a proper meal the weight would automatically go back up. I have always been a high achiever and I knew the need to get my weight Down for my future health. This caused me to hate myself so much because I could not understand why I could not control my weight. I was constantly telling myself and my doctor that I wasundereating but still not losing weight the negative self talk would say "you obviously aren't doing it right and need to try harder".in the end my doctor did some blood tests which showed that I have under active thyroid (Hashimotos disease).That was 11 months ago and my levels are still not stabilised. It was also at this time that I became menopausal which also impacted on my ability to lose weight.This is when I started researching WLS and in particular the sleeve. Initially, I was horrified to think about having so much of my stomach removed and the long term health effects but then I met a woman who had the sleeve done two years ago and like everyone on this forum said it was the best thing she has ever done. So, I made an appointment with a surgeon realising that I can never lose so much weight and keep it off without the sleeve tool.This woman was my age and the same weight. I understand that everybody is different but she said that she has lost97lbs just as her doctor had suggested. So I guess I was expecting a similar result based on her situation and everything I had read on this forum. However, when I spoke to the surgeon last night, he said that I should expect a 44 to 55lb loss due to my age, thyroid and menopause. When I told about my friends success, he said there is no way I would achieve those results. I guess now I am wondering if that loss is worth undergoing such major surgery and weather the experienced sleevers out there have experienced any problems with weight loss due menopause and thyroid disease and whether my disappointment at the surgeons weight loss is reasonable? Sorry this has become a long winded saga. Thanks for taking the time to read it. Ovaw8ovathinka Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I'm looking forward to joining you on the loosing side too! I am 53, also have hypothyroidism/Hashimoto's and had a full hysterectomy in December of 2014. I'm revising from LapBand to VSG-just waiting on insurance approval/surgery date. I'm hoping that VSG will finally give me the opportunity to get to a healthy weight. I was down to 200 and stayed there for almost three years with the LapBand, but since I started experiencing swallowing issues, my weight has increased back to 235. I'm okay with losing slower, I just want to lose. I have an entire wardrobe of smaller sizes that I can't wear anymore and I really liked the way I felt and could move, etc. You know, they say 50 is the new 30:)

Apparently, Plixies have a much slower weight loss rate than those who have other types of wls. At least this is what I am reading. On top of that I happen to be a slow loser anwayway. It was my intention to loose 78lbs. So far, I have 48 lbs. So, Im sitting here wondering, will I really ever lose the last 30 lbs? I know that I will probably loose 20 more lbs, but I cant say with certainty that I will lose 30 lbs more. I say this because it has really been a struggle to do the 48lbs. THis surgery was nothing more than a tool. I still have to keep my eating habits at the fore front of my mind and really watch my food and Water intake. Im sure it will be like this for the rest of my life. Just the hand I was dealt. But in my heart, I really wonder sometimes if I will ever make my goal. I was expecting for this to take about 5 months and it looks like it will take about 8.5 months to reach goal. I know I chose the right surgery for me. Also, I realized that there has been little to no deprivation. I can still eat what I want, just not much of it AT ALL. How do you feel about your goal and has it changed since started to see results?

I went to my pre-op class yesterday and asked about the vitamin patches. The nutritionist said they are garbage, that there is no proof that our skin can absorb the vitamins. I just wanted you all to save your money

I am two weeks out tomorrow and so far no regrets whatsoever. I can't answer about bread and rice because I am still on liquids. I was able to sleep on my right side as soon as I got home; the left side took a few days. My first plop was three days after surgery. I was afraid to push so I just waited until I had to go enough that gravity could do its thing. I have only had a loose stool once. Hope this helps!

I am worried about not being able to firm up with exercise after I reach my goal. I have absolutely no desire to have "body contouring surgery.". I have spoke to many wls alums who say that the extra skin often can be as frustrating as being obese. My Dr. did say that with my age, health and the fact that I am at the lower BMI spectrum I should have good success through exercise. I would like to hear how other's have handled this. I am 48, 5'2" and 210 lbs. My surgery is scheduled for September 10th

This morning here in the UK there was a lady on TV raving about her Band there was also a consultant surgeon on there. This lady has done fantastically well lost over 10 stone with her band and has had a lot of reconstructive surgery to fix saggy skin problems in total its about £20.000:eek: I am not sure of the exchange rate but I think that’s about $40.000 a lot of money. The consultant is quoted to have said that the Band has no complications what so ever:mad: . I have some issues with this let me out line my issues. While I endorse a procedure that does work I feel that if doing non direct advertising on the TV the truth should be told. Here in the UK we have the NHS WLS is available on the NHS it can take a while to get the procedure but it is available. This surgeon was representing a Private hospital were the band cost £8000 this can buy you a very nice car brand new. If I was in a position to be able to self fund a surgery such as WLS I would be so angry if I paid my £8000 having been told I was 100% guaranteed I would lose weight and had a 100% guarantee there would be no complications. The band does have the highest failure rate with UK statistics being a 20% chance of failure. And a 1 in 5 chance of further surgery being needed due to slippage or erosion. So if I have re-mortgaged my home and gone into a fancy private clinic and paid this £8000 believing the consultant. Were do I stand if I get a port infection or my band slips. Who will pay for this to be fixed will I have to pay or will I receive treatment on the NHS? If I can’t pay and the NHS won’t pay were the hell do I stand we don’t have insurance over here like the USA what position am I left in because I made a decision on the basis of what I was told. And I am under the impression that ANY surgery carried out has a potential danger more so if you suffer obesity? There are so many other issues I have with this type of private surgery I like the facilities but when you pay so much money and put your hope and dreams into a cure I feel consultants have a obligation to tell the truth. If I went for IVF I would be told there is a failure rate my hope would not be raised while I know it’s a business I believe we should be told the truth and it is as simple as that. I had my band on the NHS I have had nothing but problems and I am lucky my PCT (health Authority) have agreed to fund any medical need I may have. But my sympathies go out to those who have self funded and there left in a state because they are experiencing problems they were not told about. On the flip side of the coin many people tend to go ahead with WLS believing it won’t happen to them like a smoker does every time they light up. But had they have been warned they would have been able to make an informed decisions. Does a consultant hold any responsibility or is it the patents responsibility to do the research?? Do you think I am nuts and on my high horse do you agree? Have you suffered complications due to the band according to the surgeon this morning there are no band complications can you prove him wrong if you had to. I think the band is a great tool for WLS some master it some don’t but it’s a complex argument I just feel information is key. any way sorry to have bored you all i will jump off my soap box :faint:

I keep waking up in the middle of the night with horrible thoughts about the band, I wake up suprised that I actually have it, even though I have had it for 4 months and I am loosing weight. I then lie awake thinking that I hope I have not caused harm to my body in the future, like what kind of affect will this decision cause me when I am forty, hopefully I will feel healthier then ever. I just had my second fill and now I am starting to get heart burn and acid reflux again. Which is the exact reason I was thrilled about getting the band because that all stopped after the surgery. I don't like regrets, I just wish I could stop waking up in the middle of the night about it, I'm kinda loosing sleep. Anybody else have that problem?

2 week surgiversary today and I lost 10lbs first week and for this last week I've been bouncing between 228.4-230.2. Today I was 229.2. I'm getting in all my water and some plus all my protein. Doctor said to experiment with foods and I have, no problems with anything! My caloric intake has not been more than 720, but mostly between 550-650. I've also gone back to the gym and have been walking 30 on the treadmill. Just so frustrated seems I'm working harder and loosing weight now that I was before surgery and now weight won't come off! Thanks for letting me vent :/

vitamins and other supplements - I get my vitamins at Walmart. Citrical chocolate chews and Centrum chewables early on, (now I just swallow pills) but get a "petite" variety when I can. Protein shakes - Syntrax Nectar Iced Lemon Tea, later, Quest bars and PowerCrunch bars. I lost my taste for milky, thick shakes for a while and preferred a water mix product. Skin products for sagging - I try to remember to moisturize with a product containing cocoa butter daily. Not sure if it's helping but it smells nice! Exercise IS helping some especially around my arms and legs. Hair products for hair loss - Been taking a biotin supplement since 3 months pre-op. Never really saw much hair loss and my nails are in GREAT shape!

HI there...I'm 10 months post-op... Vitamins and other supplements Bariatric Advantage chewables (don't give up after the first few tries - you get used to the taste), essential fatty acids, Vitamin D Protein shakes unjury vanilla and chocolate Splendor (try sugar free Torani syrups to mix in - they have tons of different flavors) Skin products for sagging Nivea Skin Firming Body Lotion (honestly, I don't know if it helped, but it made me feel like I was doing something productive and my skin is much softer) hair products for hair loss Biotin and Folic Acid (approved by doc), Nioxin shampoo & conditioner, Toppik (to cover the hair loss - works just like their on-line videos) My doc says there's nothing you can do to stop the loss, but you can help it come back.