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lvidacovich, catwoman7, hop scotch, unclechaz & mikeyy Firstly thank you ALL for taking time to respond. It's reassuring to hear that your body can find its own balance. My BMI is 24 so just in the healthy range, hence my obsession with the additional 5lb. I had a dexa scan last July and the feedback was positive, my target set was to change fat mass -4kg and change muscle mass 1kg. I have been very fortunate with the excess skin and its really only the abdominal region that will require surgery. I think the other reason for wanting to lose the additional 5lb was that along this journey I set myself various goals. the last goal I set myself was to be half my starting weight and maintain it for at least 1 year consistently. Maybe it's time to get that second dexa scan. Many thanks once again for your kind words and helpfulness Podgey

I relied so heavily on this forum and others in the months leading up to my procedure that I promised myself I would provide a 12 month update, FAQ and experience summary for others planning the same thing for the same reasons. I recently posted this to Reddit and bariatricpal rounds out the plan. My story is positive – overwhelmingly positive – but I think most importantly my story is not emotional. I don’t have a psychological problem with food. I was never tormented or made to suffer for my weight (beyond finding flights uncomfortable and shirts being too short). I made this choice on statistical grounds – it would extend my life on average and go a long way to improving my diabetes. I wanted to provide a vanilla story to remind everyone this pretty survivable and the majority of people have non-descript and unexciting recoveries. My lift is pretty much the same - I just eat a lot less, dont shoot insulin and hopefully will live longer. Forums tend to have an over representation of negative outcomes - that makes perfect sense and it's absolutely fine for people to use them to get some reassurance and communicate with people in the same situation. For everyone else - just remember you're less likely to jump on a forum and tell your story if nothing went wrong or it wasn't any different from other people and as a result it can seem like a higher proportion of people are suffering than maybe is the case. I was a lower-BMI diabetic, not quite type 1 or type 2, but insulin dependent nonetheless. My BMI was 31, my surgeryweight was 126kg (277lbs) and I’m 196cm tall (6’5). I was diagnosed at 100kg (220lbs) but assumed type 1 as I wasn’t visually overweight. However in the 5 years since diagnosis I’ve continued to produce some insulin suggesting I’m not a pure type 1 or 2 - but closer to type 2. I gained 26kg in a year after diagnosis once i started on insulin. I’m broad shouldered/chesty with skinny legs - like an apple jammed on some chopsticks. Maybe like the fat Mr Incredible. My intention for having the bypass was not solely weight loss – I suspected that my diabetes was closer to type 2. I suspected the improvements people see immediately in diabetes management post bypass may apply to me. It was a gamble that paid off, My decision making process was quite straight forward – I had a young daughter at the time (now have a son too) and had lost my father to a heart attack when I was 7. He was fit and not diabetic but had a heart condition. I new statistically I was due for a similar fate carrying excess weight plus diabetes onboard. This was the best way to knock out one of those (the weight side) and hopefully improve the diabetes. I went from 126kg to 83kg (180lb), my BMI is low end of healthy. My biggest positive is my immediate cessation of insulin shots and a current HBA1c of 5.8 with oral meds only. It took about 6 months to get to my goal weight of 90kg. I'm still slowly losing and need to stop. Lead-up and Prep I was not obese to look at visually. The majority of healthcare professionals I spoke to did not think surgery, let alone Gastric Bypass, was necessary. In the end – my PCP, endo and surgeon all agreed that, while not essential, bypass was a prudent decision with potentially long-term benefits. The surgeon did not want me to bother with a gastric sleeve – if the endgame was diabetes improvement then the gold standard was a bypass. In Australia you need to be over 35 BMI or over 30 with a comorbidity to be eligible. I had slightly elevated Blood Pressure - that plus the diabetes made me eligible. I paid $2000 out of pocket, my private health insurance paid the rest. No psych required, I had a few meetings with a nutritionist and everything was greenlit. From first enquiry to surgery was four months. The fee I paid includes lifetime consults with the surgeon. I did not need a pre-op diet as i was not that overweight and my liver was not a concern. Surgery My procedure was in June 2018. My anaesthetic recovery was rough, but otherwise the process was fine. The most discomfort was immediately in the 12 hours following – in part due to surgical site pain but mostly because the bed could not accommodate my height so I was forever crossing my legs or scrunching them up, only to have a nurse slap them and wake me up for fear of DVT. Nurses kept promising to find a bed extender - eventually I lashed out in a post-anaesthetic haze at a nurse who slapped my feet - she took the end off the bed with a flourish. My feet shot out, I cried in relief, apologised profusely and slept for eight hours. Day two was stiff and sore but i was mobile, able to shower and sipping fine. I went home the morning of day three. I had PHENOMENAL life ruining headaches from day two. I went home with some serious opiates because I lived 90 minuts from my surgeon and couldn’t drive to get a script if they hit again. On day four my dietician cleared me for coffee and it immediately wiped out the headache – turns out I’d been in caffeine withdrawal. So I really recommend you taper that off in advance if you have a problem with coffee like i do. If you're diabetic then buy a freestyle libre glucose monitor for the procedure if you dont have a CGM. They want hourly blood glucoses, instead of being woken and pin pricked every hour I could just show them how to use the scanner and they'd take it while i slept. I had some minor aches 6 weeks out and one of the surgery sites oozed a little clear fluid. It subsided immediately. I was home for two weeks. I could have gone back at one week. I'm an accountant though and my starting weight was comparatively low so i was mobile quick. I completely understand if you're starting form a heavier weight then you should plan to take the full time. Food/Eating The normal progression of foods was fine and unremarkable from what is described on most forms. I graduated to solids a little earlier than I should have. I cheated like mad and was feeling fine, it was only when I snuck a tiny piece of casserole beef and vomited violently did I start to behave myself. I was vomiting once or twice a week from eating too much or too fast. Savoury ricotta bake, hearty soups and coconut water were my saviors. The vomiting subsided, 18 months out I vomit maybe once every two or three months and only when I do something stupid. My problem before surgery was eating very fast and taking large bites – that has been hard to deal with post surgery. In fact I tend to still eat large bites and then sit unable to eat for extended periods. I was very sensitive to sugar post-op and frequently had dumping. That subsided in a month with changes in eating, changes in my appetite and better food/liquid rules. I currently only get dumping in the morning, and only if I eat something sugary. I do get nauseous easily in the morning too – it’s something I’m working with my nutritionist on to find out why. Otherwise I can eat whatever I want within reason. I don’t drink soda, but had quit it before my procedure. Milky protein makes me nauseous too (any type of creamy protein really) so I use a water protein additive from costpricesupplements. This helps me hit 2L fluids daily. I can eat about a cup and a half food. Liquidy foods – stews, soups, casseroles – I can eat a lot more than that. Tougher foods like steak or dry chicken much less. I gulp liquids. I had a sensitive stomach before the surgery and took Metamucil religiously to keep my gut regular. I have not had any issues post op with flatulence but have had looser bowels. Metamucil still helps – but no worse or in any way less manageable than pre-op. Diabetes I went off insulin immediately after my surgery. It wasn’t a cure – I’m still diabetic – but metformin and trajenta keep me in an aggressively managed hba1c. I have a so-so diet – I eat too much sugary junk food and carbs. I could go without diabetic meds I believe but my diet would be depressing so ive truck a compromise. On this basis alone this was the best decision I could have made for my physical wellbeing. My blood pressure is fine, my cholesterol is non-existent and I'm able to even job a moderate distance without discomfort. Random observations • I’m cold. So cold. It’s 35 degree outside where I am (90’s Fahrenheit) but as soon as I go into any office I need a sweater. I really became dependant on sweaters, long johns and socks this last winter. Im not cooler in summer – just as hot and bothered as before. Maybe a better way to describe it is that I feel the temperature more in general, like I lost my insulation. • I am too skinny. Clothes don’t fit that great – most men this tall have a bit more chest/gut on them. Australia has limited/no tall clothing ranges domestically so I’m importing loads of stuff from the UK/USA. i still think i look fat when i look in the mirror. • My bum is bony and I need cushions to sit comfortably. I also had a cyst on a butt cheek I didn’t know about – now im so bony there I’ll need to get it removed so I can sit on kitchen chairs comfortably again. • I gained about 1.5” of penis length. It was a welcome addition. I needed to learn how to be more gentle and patient using it. With a young family and little sleep it's yet to be fully road tested – but I’ll be ready when we start to sleep again. • I have a little loose skin. nothing dramatic. mostly around the gut and love handles. • I am very sensitive to meds and drugs. I'm not much of a drinker but i like weed edibles - what would give me a mild buzz before gets me quite high now. I sober up quicker now too. I take xanax on flights to help sleep - i take a quarter of the dose now. • I drink red wine socially and now cannot really get drunk. I sober up quite fast but get a mild buzz pretty quickly too. • Dumping sucks but it should not be a discouraging factor. Its not life ruining – anyone who’s had a hypo as a diabetic it’s a bit like that with some gastro thrown in. It resolves pretty fast (30ish minutes for me) and is a self-reinforcing feedback loop for shitty food behaviours. For this reason alone I consider the bypass as the better choice for me. • I’ve lost a fair bit of muscle tone and will need to somehow up my protein and start some weight training to recover it. This needs to be balanced with not losing for further weight. • I have to remind myself to eat. Not just because of low appetite, but because once my pouch shrinks for a day then eating again can be uncomfortable and time consuming. As long as I eat fairly frequently my pouch is all good and I can eat quite a lot pretty fast – forget about it for 2 or 4 hours and I’ll need to take some time to eat a bit and get my appetite back. • I was hungry for 33 years and bordered on a pathological inability to waste food. I ate my meal and anything my wife or kid didn’t eat. I’d eat a meal out, go home and have a sandwich. We ate at bars and pubs because the servings were larger. I would eat until I was very uncomfortable if the portion was large enough. Now I still can’t bring myself to leave food – so I have this silly aversion to ordering anything more than something off the appetisers list. I don’t like asking for to-go containers (it’s an Australian thing – it’s really stupid because we pay so much for food out we should keep every bloody morsel) but have started to now order what I actually want instead of what I think I can finish. It’s funny – I went from ordering what I thought would be the biggest portion so I didn’t feel hungry (instead of what I thought looked good) to ordering what I thought I could finish and not waste. Regrets? None to speak of specifically. In a very minor way travel is less fun. I looooove travelling to southeast asia and the USA and love eating all the different things. My appetite is so low now, and eating can be so inconvenient, that I don’t get to eat anywhere near as much variety when I travel. I was recently in SE Asia and looking forward to a huge array of currys. I ate only two in five days as I had no appetite at all. I just need to travel differently now - actually plan to stop for meals instead of just charging all over a city and snacking on the way. I wish id been more sensitive to my wife's emotional processing of the scenario. She's gone from having the tall, chubby guy that was the physical build she was attracted to, to having a skinny beanpole. This was while she was having our second kid and all the very natural weight gain associated. She's not overweight and is, objectively i reckon, absolutely gorgeous but definitely feels marginalised by the process and is quick to colour me as vain or obsessed with my image now I am buying new clothes. I think i could have been more mindful of what I said or did. She was overwhelmingly supportive though and agrees this was worthwhile. Closing thoughts If you are considering this process and maybe you're on the margins of eligibility my experience would say go for it. my hope here was to give a vanilla experience to the mix, unique only in my taking the more permanent bypass on despite my lower starting weight. Sent from my SM-A705YN using BariatricPal mobile app

Yes, mine is going to be a circumferential lift. It seems to usually be done after massive weight loss, and by surgeons who specialize in such. From my reading about LBL's vs tummy tucks, one of the main downsides of doing it as separate surgeries is it can create "dog ears" at the ends of the incision. It's due to tight skin meeting loose skin, and not laying flat. Downside of butt lifts & LBL is it flattens the butt and raises the crack. Many surgeons counteract he flat butt affect with a BBL during the same surgery. My surgeon though doesn't believe in BBLs. I have butt implants on my potential wish list for next year, depending on exactly how pancake-y my butt turns out to be

Have you had a dexa scan to determine your body fat levels? If may be that you do not have sufficient excess fat to lose. Do you have a lot of excess skin? It may be that the those few remaining pounds are excess skin as opposed to excess body fat. Aside from a number on a scale what do those 5lb mean to you?

Surgical drains are common. Their purpose is to remove fluid/drainage that may accumulate under the skin or in the intra-abdominal cavity. They keep swelling and bruising down and can reduce your chance of infection. The most common type is bulb-type drain called a Jackson-Pratt (JP for short). Here's some reliable information about them https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000039.htm

Wow! You are so lucky not to have any hanging skin! Can I ask what your start weight was and what you weigh now?

Nice - keep it up - But the guys have the advantage in this fatty removal proccess - We loose it faster #guysmetooloosefaster Enjoy the journet

My Dr. Scott Steinbreg is the best, what was funny to me ,was when I went back after my surgery. Dr. Steinberg forgot how I looked before the surgery and it was so funny to me, so I showed him a picture of me before , lol, that mean surgery worked wonderfully, lol😎😎😎😎😎. I haven't been sick, now at the beginning it's up to you, stay strong . Go to your follow up appt. and you will be all right. I always lotion my body and It's amazing that I don't have any hanging skin. My primary Dr. was amaze because I didn't have any, she had me to take all of my clothes off and turn around, now that was funny to me too. Because I look totally different to her too. I'm happy and I thank Dr. Steinberg and his Staff , I love all of guys with Love 🤗🤩

Today, Tues, Nov. 12 Maintenance : 5'2" / 1yr PO Sleeve / 114.5 lbs ...had some friends drop by tonite bearing bottles of wine and snacks...I consider it a win I limited my wine intake to only 2 glasses. BTW, my self-imposed alcohol ban has been permanently lifted. My PPI-wean-off expirament seems to have proven that alcohol doesn't bother me as much as spicy foods, citrus, and laying down too soon after eating does. 10:00am - coffee w/ stevia + 2 earl grey teas w/ stevia 12:30pm - * ate about 2/3 of this * Salad greens + vinaigrette + 1/2 an avocado + 2.3 oz Air-fried Porchetta leftovers sans skin + Curried Chicken salad (2.8 oz grilled chicken + 0.8 oz gala apple + red onion + 1 tbsp homemade mayo + 1/2 tsp curry powder) 3:30pm - * ate the rest of the 12:30pm meal * + 1/2 cup full fat cottage cheese + 1.5 oz blueberries 6:30pm - Salad greens + vinaigrette + 1/2 avocado + 1 oz gala apple + red onion + 3 oz grilled chicken + 1 oz chicharron 10:30pm - 3 oz various cheeses + 3 oz various cured meats + 8 red grapes + 2 glasses of red wine Totals: 1882 cals - 125g Protein - 39g NET carbs - 113g fat

Has my final pre op appointment before surgery today, had final labs and met with anesthesiologist. The only thing that I didn’t like is the questions about loose or chipped teeth?!?!

I wore a loose fitting dress. And I wore the same thing back home. Didn’t want nothing tight on by stomach. I wore hospital gown

Well I’m one year and six months post op and I have gained 8 pounds that I cannot seem to loose again. I feel sad and mad at myself. I started at 231 currently staying at 168... I don’t like myself right now.

Small update: I'm within my 30 day to surgery window. I started all of the pre op testing required by both my surgeon and my pcp. Waiting for the blood work results for my pcp to sign off on my surgical release. Then later this week I have a mammogram. Assuming all turns out as expected, that should be it until surgery day! As a side note ... I don't really have a PCP. I have one I chose for my insurance, but I have never seen her. I just don't have any health issues, and never have had a need to go. My chosen PCP was off the day of my appt, so I saw another physician in the office. He was pretty damn condescending about plastic surgery. He lectured me about having my health was the most important thing, and my skin "isn't very bad at all" Uhhh, thanks, but I'm the one having to live with it. He also disapproved of my using an out of state surgeon. So guess who's going to be selecting a new PCP? 🤣

I realize most of my food (read: salads) looks the same. I may start using different bowls just for some variety, lol. I did go a little off script today by "chicken-salading" my grilled chicken staple . Super filling, will eat the rest in a couple hours. Salad greens + vinaigrette + 1/2 an avocado + 2.3 oz Air-fried Porchetta leftovers sans skin + Curried Chicken Salad (2.8 oz grilled chicken + 0.8 oz gala apple + red onion + 1 tbsp homemade mayo + 1/2 tsp curry powder) 471 calories + 29g protein + 8g NET carbs + 34g fat

Late to this ... but absolutely, vanity was by far my main motivation. I didn't have any health issues. I knew that as I age more than likely I would. But that seemed far off, and not urgent enough to push me to have WLS. I could say, I wanted to be more active. But the reality is I just didn't want to be the only one sweaty and out of breath. So even that comes down to vanity I also knew that I wouldn't be happy with loose skin and deflated breasts. Plastic surgery was always the end game for me as well.

Summer was always worse because my general body temp was higher. Fingers crossed I’ve seen the end too. Also the dry skin on my arms, legs & feet is almost gone as are the little pimples on my arms. I used to exfoliate and slather on the moisturiser but still scratched my legs til I had bruises. Yippee!

And another B-cup princess here, no surprise- cause I believed I was Junior size under all the former fluff, I too once WAS a DD, albeit saggily, hmmm did I just invent a New Term? Anyhoo,Juniors always were less busty than the AVERAGE/ Misses palate. My orthopaedic used to teased me a trifle because I told him I was an OBESE Athletic personage, told me THAT was an impossibility, Well HaHa and snicker, guess I won THAT fight , he recanted last time I saw HIM, said he guessed I knew ME better than He Did because THAT is exactly what I am turning into, maybe never Sprinter material or size,but I am B cup, no tummy paunch, hardly any backside after once having one large enough to show drive- in movies on, shape to my legs, diminished thighs, no cellulite dimples any more, oh the skin is still a little saggy, too many years being stretched out of shape, but covering with clothes pretty okay and I'm turning into a Foxy 70+ after all the sorrowful years, the person who thought there was No Hope, that LIFE held nothing GOOD for ME, like a Phoenix I am re- borning from my Ashes and learning to fly on Those new Wings. Where will my final destination be? Not even I know, but I find I am THE RIGHT WOMAN for THIS TASK! So as I make my Contrails, watch up above YOU for truly I WILL---FLY!

I am looking to have excess skin removed from upper arms, upper thighs , tummy, butt, poss chin done, and maybe breast work.How does this all work if you go to Mexico? Do you pay it all up front, can you make payments? is i safe? How do you find someone to do it? and can you fly right after release?

I started this journey last spring. I did everything by the book but did not loose weight through the process. Part of it was I had to have a major surgery a couple months back before I was eligible for the sleeve. So going into the insurance submittal, I thought for sure that was what would hang me up. I got my first denial 3 days in. They said my surgeon wasn’t in network. However they sent me to his office and his partners in the same office were . That brought appeal 1. I was then denied again after 2 weeks. This time they said I didn’t qualify because I didn’t do all of the steps. Turns out some person at Cigna forgot to look at the whole packet of paperwork that held my nutrition visits, the extra steps, psych evaluation, etc etc etc. but because this was the 2nd denial, opening my case back up required a peer review appeal. I am happy to say as of this morning I am approved for surgery on Monday (18th)!! I have spent today going to appointment after appointment to last minute get things in. I am sitting in the room now for my ore admission counseling and all I can think is please God let there be no other hurdles! I am ready for this! I’ve prayed in this! Let’s do this!

Hey y'all. I've noticed for the last 3 weeks after I eat I am getting some pretty fierce heartburn. No reflux coming up, just that clean-burning sensation. I had bad acid reflux and heartburn pre-op that totally disappeared. I am taking Prilosec. It definitely doesn't feel like an ulcer or anything and doesn't hurt while eating. It's a very distinct heartburn sensation. Doesn't seem to be correlated to any type of food. Just happens shortly after I eat anything. Any thoughts on this? I was taking Arthrotec which is an NSAID but also mixed with a medicine to protect your stomach lining (prescribed by my bariatric surgeon and later by my primary care for a disc herniation). I stopped that and now I am on Celebrex, also an NSAID but required by my plastic surgeon 10 days pre-op skin removal and 10 days post-op, and also "safer on tummies". Again, this is coupled with the Prilosec. But yeah... heartburny! Sent from my SM-G930R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

I have been on point with taking the following: Bariatric Multivitamin 1 x's a day Biotin supplement - found the recommended fairly high dose to take in either Dr. Weiner's videos or that other dr who is hysterically funny and several here follow him Have Celebrate's hair, skin and nails multivitamin (I alternate with the sublingual biotin as I was worried about what happens if you take TOO much biotin) Eating at least 64 grams of protein a day. Dr has me going as high as 80 - I usually end up between 64 and 80 day. Maybe 3 days in past 6 wks where I got less than 64 gms My surgeons started me on the bariatric vitamins when I was pre-op and doing the liquid diet. He knows I added the biotin/skin, hair, nails supplement at same time I also started using Essie nail strengthener on my nails at the same time. My nails started growing so fast, just like when I was pregnant!!! Fast forward to the past 3 weeks, I am about 4 months post-op and my nails are more brittle than I've ever seen them, they tear off so much that the nail beds are shorter than my fingers...they look like a kid's fingers who chewed all their nails off. The ONLY thing I have not been consistent about getting in is the calcium citrate 3 x's per day. Could a calcium deficiency be the reason for this SUDDEN and drastic change?

No. It was for my health alone. I liked the way I looked fat, my husband was attracted to me, so no issues there. I knew looking worse after surgery was a possibility. And I do look worse. Loose skin sucks, rapid weight loss ages the face. I cover myself up more than I ever before. But thems the breaks. this is if course a personal thing—and not a critique on anyone. Many many people love the way they look after surgery, they gain tons of confidence and this is a wonderful thing. But not liking the way you look afterwards is also completely normal, so If you’re out there feeling this way, don’t feel alone.

I didn't have a drain. Just 5 medium sized bandaids. The incisions themselves were sealed with surgical glue. I had no problems. My surgery was in the summer, I was able to wear a loose sundress. I had no problems with my underwear.

I'm planning on taking PJ tops and really loose pants, plus a front closure sports bra for the girls. And underwear, of course. Anything loose and stretchy. It's winter here in NJ, but since the hospital has valet service, I'm leaving my coat in the car.

Protein is very important..not only does it help your body heal it also helps build muscle and not let your body turn to skin and bones not to mention the added amino acids in most decent protein.. And vitamins are taken daily because you will struggle to get enough from food early on... I've been taking chewable multivitamin I got from the hospital since day 3..feeling good now 2 weeks out... I also disagree with choosing to only follow what rules you like..this surgery is hard on the body and I don't see why you would get surgery Just to sabotage yourself by heading down the slippery slope of cheating.... Everybody says oh I'll only have one cheat meal.. One turns into 2 and into 5...then you'll complain in 6 months why didn't I lose much????