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I have been struggling with how to tell my family and friends about my surgery. It's not even because they would judge me, it's kind of the opposite. My brother was super skinny until about late high school and then struggled with weight gain and loss for years. Then 6 yrs ago he got the gastric sleeve and after seeing the results, my parents immediately looked at me and said I should do the same. I have always been bigger and curvier than everyone in our family, which is hard to ignore when you're an Asian girl (I'm not stereotyping here. They are all under 5'5 and the largest cup size is a B). While it has hurt me, it also pushed me to find a version of myself that I can accept and be happy with. Oddly enough my existing health problems (which are mostly the known side effects that occur from wls) stem from a blood disorder from birth and I don't suffer from the common issues from obesity like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. Having dealt with a number of specialists and doctors over the years without any real solutions, I eventually decided to consider bariatric surgery this year. I planned on telling them about it after I had recovered, but it has been rough and I am still undergoing further tests and treatment. My brother gained a lot of his weight back while my sister has pushed herself and lost weight- both about the same amount that I have lost in a few months. I don't want either to feel shame or resentment towards me, not that I can control that. It looks like I may have to go back into the hospital a 3rd time and get my gall bladder removed. How awful would it be if I lied and said that is the reason behind my weight loss? My family knows that I have been dealing with stomach problems and pain for years. I'm also losing weight much faster than the doctors expected due to this, in addition to nausea, and we're trying to figure how to slow it down. I HATE attention and it's getting harder to try and hide how different I look. Any advice or motivational speech from anyone would be greatly appreciated! 🙂

first congrats on the weight loss! second: for someone going into their 60's your skin is phenomenal!! do you like bathe in tubs filled with moisturizer?? never go out in the sun??? amazing 😳 third: unfortunately you cant target weight loss to a specific part of ur body without losing in other areas as well. generally the first place you notice weight gain is the last place place it will come off. unless you have an underlying condition (which you can be found out by visiting ur doc), bigger midsections are usually the result of 3 main things: (1) genetics...do ur parents have higher-proportion midsection circumstances? (2) bloating...from ones diet that causes fluid retention and gas...cut the carbs! (3) inactivity... visceral fat lives on inactivity, and guess where visceral fat likes to hang out? around ur internal organs which are located in your midsection.

Long rant ahead sorry ... So, I'm slightly angry (understatement). I saw my french primary care doctor yesterday. She's never been great to be honest. I've been seeing her for 6ish years. 5 years ago I gained over 80lbs pounds in a year and a half going from 118lbs (that had been my standard adult weight since my teenage years with a BMI of 19) to 200lbs ( BMI 32.3) after taking antidepressants. I stopped the antidepressants after a year because the weight gain was making me more miserable than I was being slightly depressed and thin. I have been struggling to loose the weight since... loosing and regaining the same 15-20 lbs again and again. As I've mentioned before, I have slight cérébral palsy - nothing too bad but enough to make walking pretty painful on my legs when I hit over about 130lbs and to make me generally clumbsy - I also lack gross motor coordination and don't have the best fine motor skills either... I can't really do any sports that require coordination and can only really ride a bicycle in a flat straight line and it takes a lot of mental effort for me to keep my balance, crowds freak me out because I'm scared of tripping and falling and don't even mention jumpy little dogs, my nemisis as my balance is so precarious. However I've always made do and It's never stopped me having an enjoyable fufilling life and a pretty decent career. My weight gain really really made me suffer, emotionally of course, my self esteem, my self worth etc ( I live in Paris which is the thinnist city in a thin country ... and it's not a place where people are kind to overweight people at all - I checked and the mean BMI of a Parisienne woman is 22.3 - so when you hit a BMI of 30 here you're really a fat outlier and are basically scorned in all public spaces ). It also made me physically miserable and I lost the little flexibilty I had - constant pain when walking - loss of gross motor skills, trouble showering standing up at 30 years old, not being able to put my socks on etc etc. For the last 4 years I have been to my Primary care doctor about 5 times asking for a referal to a nutritionist - she's always refused as told me "but it's simple, you just need to eat less and move more, it's not magic, No need to waste money on a nutritionist if you have no willpower "No **** sherlock! She has no idea the willpower it takes to get out of bed at 200lbs with cerebral palsy when you feel like your legs are litterally going to snap, when your feet are burning with weight stress induced neuropathic pain. In January I finally cracked after a lot of introspection and thought and booked my VSG for February in Turkey. I've now lost 35lbs since my preop diet so in just under 2 months. I already feel a lot better, the pain when I'm walking is lessening, I'm fitting back into the "second round" of fat clothes I got myself. So I walked into her office yesterday ( I had the intention of "fessing up" to having had a VSG and asking her for iron supplement ideas as I'm still being sick when I try and take iron ) She took one look at me and said "ah, you've finally found your willpower, loose another 20kg (40 pounds) and you'll be an attractive young woman again" I had a surge of red rage inside me, I kept my calm, but didn't tell her about the surgery, I just smiled and told her I needed a refferal to a dermatologist for a mole on my face and left. I'm never going back to see her again. I spoke to my physical therapist on the phone this morning and he sort of helped he said "can I be unprofessional ? Honestly, qu'elle aille se faire foutre, (she can go f*ck herself)" Lets find you another doctor." My physical therapist knew about the surgery, as did my orthopedic surgeon and booth agreed that with my CP anything is better than being even slighty overweight and that the surgury was worth the risk as they've both seen me loose my mobilité over the last few years and has seen how its affected me. They said that if I could afford to go private abroad I should because If not I'd have to jump through hoops for years in france because my BMI (32) wouldn't have been considered high enough as a stand alone. So yeah... this weekend I find myself another doctor who's not a fatphobic arsehole and has a minimum of human compassion. And for the iron I'm just going to go and ask directly at the pharmacy what the have to propose. Sorry that was long but I just had to get it out, I'm slowly realising all the **** I've put up with because of my weight these last years and I am ANNNNGRYYYY!!!! Hope everyone is having an okay hump day!

I supposed the OP has already worked this out since the post was 2015 but I just want to add that the surgeons do then to weight loss drugs as one of the tools in their belts post surgery now. They have quite a few in addition to phentermine nowadays too. For anyone out there experiencing weight gain please touch base with your team. I was unable to take the meds because if interactions with other meds I was on but that was definitely an option that was presented to me early on and for someone with only a fair amount of weight to lose it could help. I have taken phentermine in the past and it did reduce my appetite significantly. My problem is I wake up several times and night and eat too so once the med wore off I was hungry. For those reasons they didn’t work for me but they do work for many people.

Well, I think you look spectacular and very healthy. The transformation is absolutely stunning! I also think as our population trends heavier, we don't see the extra weight as much. I was a chubby kid, and I was like one of maybe 3 chubby kids in my entire grade, not just my class. I dieted like an idiot as a teen and got down to 126 lbs and I was nowhere close to the thinnest person in my friend group. Nobody said anything about me getting too skinny, for sure. I gained weight in college and by the time I graduated, I was overweight again, and obese by the time I hit my late 20s. I always felt like the biggest person in the room (at, like 210 lbs). But by the time I was in my mid-30s, I started seeing bigger people than me all around. Everyone was getting bigger. My weight went up to 225, but many of the parents of kids in my daughters' grades were way bigger than that. It almost had an insulating effect from my own weight gain, because I was no longer the biggest person in the room. I just kind of looked normal. When a friend heard I was getting bypass, her first response was "but you're not that big" and at this point I was 250 lbs with a 40+ BMI, plus high blood pressure, prediabetes, and high cholesterol. And this was from a person who is in the healthy BMI range and never been overweight. So I definitely think we've become so used to seeing larger people that we think "obese" is a term reserved for the people on television shows who weigh 600+ pounds. And, of course, the rapid weight loss from surgery is jarring so people notice it more. But don't let their comments get to you!

I believe we should get the the bodies we want, and that doesn't necessarily stop at weight loss surgery. It's wonderful your husband thinks you're perfect, but he's not living in your body. And, yeah, you may want more procedures, but why not? If you can get a body you're comfortable in through plastics, why is that a bad thing? I've had two sets of plastic surgery (but not an arm lift). Recovery sucks in the short term. But what's a few week vs. being happy with your arms forever? Additionally, there is a study that shows that those who get plastics after WLS are more apt to keep the weight off. Anecdotally, the group of women I am in touch with on here who have had plastics, and all 5+ years out, and all have had no significant weight gain, outside the normal bounce.

It's completely normal to have concerns before starting a pre-op program. Firstly, congratulations on taking steps to improve your health! Quitting vaping is a significant achievement, and worrying about weight gain is understandable. Remember, everyone's journey is unique. Personally, for me, it was hard to quit vaping. I quit because I was slowly decreasing the amount of nicotine I was using. The last smoking devices I was using were purchased from this website and were disposable vapes with a low percentage of nicotine because I had a terrible nicotine addiction. So, focus on the positive changes you're making for your health. Trust the process and stay committed to your goals. Consider seeking support from your healthcare team for guidance and reassurance. Remember, you're not alone in this journey. Stay strong and stay focused on your goals. You've got this!

Shhhhhhh but someone mentioned on another post about the quitting smokng weight gain..do what you have to do even if it means cough cough putting extra weight in your pockets, bra where ever it won't show for your weigh in to offset your quitting weight gain...This way, you only show a loss. Not that I'm saying cheat the system, but they want you to quit knowing it might put weight on and can eliminate your surgery chances. This way no stressing and you can concentrate on eating healthy and getting healthy! Either the above or exercise a lot , eat very low cal and drink Lots of water and hope it works! Good luck.

Girl do not beat yourself up over this! If it feels like a trigger for you then stay away from those items however two french fries and an onion ring are not going to kill you. The grease from them may make you feel yucky but eating just those two things every once in a while isn't going to cause weight gain. Keep with your program and follow your head, not those sneaky stomachs!

That was sweet of her, I hope you guys kept in touch. I mean even if my bf doesn't say anything, I ask him things like if this changed or is that is noticeable, ect. I've already landed myself back in the hospital once due to critically low potassium and the symptoms I had were obvious. So now I'm trying to be more aware so I can spot signs earlier. But yeah I do have to keep in mind that it could seem rude to say something without me bringing it up first. I just saw my therapist and after I said I had surgery, she said I could tell by your collarbones (its a televisit so the view is just to mid shoulder). You're so right about the body dysmorphia! I'm trying to find a balance between: not being obsessive about how much or quickly I'm losing and remembering to appreciate even the smallest change. I've never really taken pics or measurements even prior to surgery, but I did buy this body fat scale I saw another bariatric patient suggest. I am taking the information with a grain of salt, but it is satisfying to see the numbers trend downwards. Aside from that, it is strange to have to tighten my shorts and be able to wear shirts that are a size smaller. I don't want to celebrate too early then hit a stall/weight gain and spiral. But the idea of being able to wear that one dress that's been sitting in my closet?? Talk about a dream come true! Did you go out and strut when you got to that point?

Band replaced in 2014 so yes 10yr mark and weight gain and no restriction what so ever at this point. Have 14cc band and supposedly I'm at 6cc. He is very cautious will fills. His bed side matter is great but where I live there are not a lot of experts. May go see my original surgery one hour away as he is now in a big group with lots of experts. I have a suspicion that the tube got punctured at my last fill since it took forever to find the port with the needle. He did mention scare tissue, healing, my history of slips etc. Maybe I'm over thinking it. Thanks so much.

I have a question… I had surgery a month ago and lost 20lbs. (That’s it 😒) then this week I weighed myself and I gained 2lbs! Is that normal? I’m doing everything the doctor told me too. Drinking a lot of water, eating a ton of protein and exercising. Am I doing something wrong? Thank you!

So I am 5 years and 2 months post-op RYGB. I made it beyond my goal weight of 170lb to 160lb. Technically I was as low as 145lbs because I was very sick in 2020 then again in 2022, but after getting better, I stabilized at a steady 160lb. Last July I started online streaming/socializing with people. I started snacking more because of nerves and also began drinking quite heavily because being silly tipsy in front of strangers is fun! I had NO IDEA how many calories was in alcohol. Over the course of 5 months, I gained 20lbs. Even more, I noticed that I can eat almost a "normal" plate of food the same size as my family's. I broke the rules and had started drinking fluids with my meals. I think I thought I could get away with breaking rules because I was at a stable 160lbs. Now I am FREAKING out! I hate exercise. I never did it, even with my prior weightloss. I am using a tracking app my husband's VA dietician told him to use called Fat Secret. I am trying to stick to 1600 calories, which is super hard. I feel hungry all the time now. I think I caused pouch dilation. I refuse to be heavy again. My clothes are already getting tighter than I like. I was doing research today on weight gain after years post-op. I basically am reading that I need a bariatric reset. I am going to do a 2-week "Pouch Reset Diet." It's not to make my pouch smaller, but it's to retrain my body to feel full with smaller portions again. I need to go back to the basics, and it's really hard. I also don't get DS with sweets like I used to. Don't get me wrong, I still get sick, but I noticed that my sugar tolerances have changed. It really worries me. 40% of bypass patients fail and bounce back to within 10% of their original weight pre-surgery. I will NOT be a part of that 40%. My support system at home is tricky. On one hand, my husband does support me outwardly. But he himself weighs 415lbs and isn't doing much about his weight. He watched my struggles and drustrations and outright refuses surgery for himself. He's on some stupid intermitent fasting diet, but he still eats way too large portions at meal times. My 15 y/o son is pushing 285lbs, and his only exercise is video games. For me, it's like living around all these food temptations is a struggle. It's like being an alcoholic and living at a bar. I just ordered a crap ton of protein powder so I can jump start this Pouch Reset Diet. I started to push myself on working out at least a little bit. I have a mini stair stepper and an eleptical bike. Anything is better than nothing. I am just wondering if I am alone in my struggles?

Hey! Very very new here however not new to the band! (Banded Oct 2022) when I first had it fitted I lost most of the weight I wanted to. Took a good couple of months and 1 fill of 1ml (taking me from 5.5-6.5ml in a 10ml band) I was happy. The weight was coming off, people were noticing, I felt better in my body (less weight to carry around and I felt loads more confident in my appearance too!) over the summer months I really struggled to eat anything with the weather being hot I put a lot of it down to that.. I had 0.5ml removed taking me down to 6ml in total. During winter I debated having some back in but figured with Christmas approaching I wasn’t overly concerned with my weight. I stepped on the scales a few week back and realised I’d regained a whole stone. So I booked in for a fill. I only had 0.25 put in 6.25 total) and I’ve realised very quickly that I literally cannot eat anything!! I can have two bites of a sausage and be done because anymore I’m at the toilet with regurgitation! :( this obviously is not healthy and so far my weight has stalled but I don’t know what to do for the best as if I have some removed, I’m going back to weight gain… can anybody offer any advice on what is the best thing to do?

I'm scheduled for sleeve surgery in three days, and I'm experiencing serious cold feet. I'm a 44-year-old male, 5'9" tall, weighing 270 pounds. I've struggled with yo-yo dieting for over 21 years, with my highest weight being 280 pounds and my lowest 198 pounds. I've had success with intermittent fasting and restricted calorie intake, but I've regained the weight. I suffer from mild sleep apnea, which causes heavy snoring and comes with its challenges. Thankfully, I don't have any other health problems, and I take medication that contributes to weight gain, though I doubt they'd make me fatter the 270 pounds than I am now; they just make it harder to lose weight. I'm feeling uncertain about the necessity of the surgery since I'm not extremely heavy and overall healthy. I'm also worried about only being able to eat small quantities in one sitting, and the idea of changing my body scares me. Yet Im also excited to get this option available

Froufrou - this where I am now .18 months post sleeve and my appetite is back and I am gaining weight .It started with stress when my sister became very ill , and now I am considering asking for Wegovy as I don't want it to climb further .I've done a lot of reading about the sleeve ,and it's pretty common for weight gain to occur between 12 months -18 months .I'll see what my doctor says ,I am hoping it will help me .

agree with Arabesque - common during menopause. Plus you said you're on prednisone - one of the side effects of that is weight gain. So there's two culprits right there... Yes - I'd have a chat with someone to see what your options are. Weight loss is going to be a struggle, so maybe they'd be willing to do something to help with that.

Remember that’s added sugar. Not the naturally occurring sugar. The naturally occurring sugar in milk (& other dairy products), fruit, vegetables, are fine. Keeping your added sugar under than 7g is easy. I do it every day & am 4.75 years out. I’d go further though & say stay away from as much artificial sweetener as well. It only feeds your desire for sweet/sugar, causes weight gain, affects your immune system, etc. it’s not easy cause they put that stuff in seemingly every darn thing. But at least try to keep it low.

Nine years out, and I fight the beast every day. I know people who've worked with therapists who specialize in eating disorders who've found it helpful, so maybe looking into that if you're feeling like you're losing the struggle (?). Or does your bariatric clinic have a health psychologist on staff, or can they refer you to one? P.S. I also know a few people who are struggling and have had some significant weight gain who are on appetite suppressants like phentermine - or some of the newer drugs that people are using for weight loss, such as Ozempic. I don't know if you want to go down that route, but some have had success with those. If you're interested in that, check with either your bariatric clinic or your regular physician.

Sorry just seen this now. Yes they were happy with the weight gain. Month 9 I did gain another 8 pounds (my appetite went crazy) so 15 pounds total. Baby was 7 pounds healthy and perfect! By 2 weeks post partum my weight went back to pre pregnancy weight. But then the holidays came and I did gain about 10 pounds, so I would just say be careful after you give birth and try to continue healthy eating habits.

Sorry just seen this now. Yes they were happy with the weight gain. Month 9 I did gain another 8 pounds (my appetite went crazy) so 15 pounds total. Baby was 7 pounds healthy and perfect! By 2 weeks post partum my weight went back to pre pregnancy weight. But then the holidays came and I did gain about 10 pounds, so I would just say be careful after you give birth and try to continue healthy eating habits.

Honestly i never wanted this surgery WLS, i refused it fighting with the doctors the whole year. But when i learned it was actually meant for GERD patients to help us eliviate the reflux and saving our throat is when i said Yes i'll have the surgery. Doctors noticed the weight loss for GERD patients then it became the number 1 surgery for obesity. Perimenopause has a huge hand in our weight gain belly and reflux triggering more. Our hormones are off the track so I do take BHRT (BioIdentical Hormone Therapy) to help with a lot of my symptoms. Overall i really cant tell if my reflux is worse or not it's there regardless and i cant get off my meds.

I just wanted to say it sounds like you've been through a lot, and I hope the plan you're starting now with the enzymes will have the results you need. It must've sounded like a dream come true as an obese 19 year old to get to eat all you want and not worry about weight gain, but it starts to sound like a nightmare when you're told you must eat thousands and thousands of calories every single day or you could die. That's terrifying. And then again, taking the enzymes could mean gaining more weight than you wanted, and that's not great either. My only advice is to keep a really close eye on things and work with your doctor and nutritionist as much as you can to get the right balance of working out, food choices, and medications/enzymes to get yourself healthy again.

I don't think you fully understood what you signed up for. I work out 6 to 7 days a week and do not have any bulk muscle. I had the Sadi DS 10 years ago and I can eat a horse without weight gain but also no bulk muscle. Instead, I have excellent muscle definition and can work out at a level not possible before wls. The DS fortunately keeps the weight off, so you will never bulk up. You signed up for this, and it's a fantastic thing for you to be able to work out, eat what you want, and be healthy, especially given you previously weighed over 400 lbs.

I can relate to the acid reflux issue due to having a hiatal hernia too. I was daily suffering with it for years until WLS. My stomach was also pushed up through my diaphragm. Docs found the hernia during pre-op testing and repaired it the same day as my RNY. I think your doctor was hoping by fixing your hernia, it might take care of your reflux along with you losing the abdominal weight from the sleeve surgery. I also carried the majority of my excess weight around my midsection and was told that my reflux was because excess fat was pushing food back up into my esophagus. That was before they discovered I had the hernia. But both problems contributed. After losing over 100 pounds, I'm finding that even though I am losing weight all over, my stomach is still the last place it is coming off. Very frustrating but I still have 40 lbs. to lose. And that's where it is sitting. I chalk it up to genetics. Sadly, the hernia repair didn't take care of your reflux and the sleeve is notorious for causing it. Even in those that never had it. One of the reasons I opted for the bypass and haven't had reflux since. As for your weight loss stall, maybe try backing off from hard workouts unless you are getting an adequate days rest in between. Increased levels of cortisol can cause abdominal weight gain. I lost all my weight from leisurely walking outdoors 2-3 miles 5-6xs a week.. GL. Your pics look great.