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My first appointment was March 18th and my surgery is scheduled June 9th. So, the process has been very fast and gone smoothly without a hitch (knock on wood). I had to see the surgeon 3 times (4 weeks apart), had the pulmonology clearance (already on c-pap so didn't have to do a sleep study -- the doctor just had to write a clearance letter), had a psych eval and had to see a cardiologist for surgery clearance (just did a treadmill test this morning). I also had 3 visits with a nutritionist which were actually really pleasant. So for me, the entire process has taken 83 days. Now, after the surgery, the hard part starts! lol

My referral began in April 2013...classes started in August 2013. I had to take a couple of 8 week courses on nutrition and psychology. A monthly support group. Monthly dr visits. Dietician. My surgery date was May 5th.

I was just wondering how much extra skin I should anticipate. I will get sleeved a week before my 30th B-day and I would like to loose about 110lbs.

Carrin, picking wls is and always will be difficult, mobid obesity via surgery has proven more difficult for surgeons than originally thought with subsequent failures in all wls types. no surgery type is perfect and they all have wls failures due to regain. I am currently waiting for my sleeve denial through my insurance co, that was submitted last week, it should come in by next week, they will deny via investigational, I will appeal. "30 percent of patients who undergo LSG will experience weight regain and require a second step approach, I still believe that we prevented that 70 percent of our patients from having a RYGB or DS, which I consider highly efficacious but at the same time a procedure that has a high incidence of morbidity. In these cases, I do not see the LSG as a failure but more as a ?first step? to a second long-term final approach" bariatric times july 2010. for me I have to do what is best for me at this time, the band is gone and since I did well with it, I am sticking to a restrictive procedure. I think the band is great, but I think it should be used short term only, before injury happens-removed and another wls used. It actually is concerning to me that the band is now being heavily advertised in commercials, etc, a time when so many reports are coming in and europe and australia are starting to abandon the band. this will bring a disaster to the US in the next 5 years or so. be very careful going to a surgeon that only does the band, or rny or any one specific surgery as they tend to sway in that direction. also realize that when getting experiences here or anywhere the first few years (<5) really are the honeymoon, you need to know beyond 5 to get a good grasp of reality. it is a difficult road we travel, and always will be.....good luck to all and peace and success with the choice that has been made...:svengo: Mila

In the 6 month pre-surgery diet I lost 16lbs. And disqualified myself!! But I was diagnosed with sleep apnea which got me back in. In the 2 week liquid diet I lost a pound a day - 14 in 14, just like the surgeon said I would. Good luck to you!

I am a Therapeutic Apheresis Nurse and that is one of the more common diseases we treat. I've been doing this job for 15 years and have had WLS only 10 weeks, but I have never heard of GB after WLS. If you don't mind me asking, did they treat with plasma exchanges or IVIG?

Hang in there, the liquid diet was the hardest part for me! I had to do a week of 4 shakes a day. Do you have to do bariatric fusion? If not, searching for a brand you like may be a good idea. I really liked the Ensure RTD shakes suring my pre op diet. Make sure you look for the high protein ones, there are different kinds. You can find them at most grocery stores. I also liked muscle milk. If you are looking for powders (which I prefer) than you can order samples at www.nashuanutrition.com. I like the syntrax nectar brand- my favorite flavors are the chocolate truffle and cappuccino. Good luck!

I'm a little over 4 months post op. The first 2-3 months I could only eat a few bites at a time. If I ate more than that I'd feel like I would get sick or get sick. I also had an ulcer, so maybe that was why. In the last few weeks I feel like I can eat a significant amount more than that. It scares me. I'm still losing weight, I'm down 89 pounds as of now, but I'm scared because I know it's a slippery slope, and I'm nervous about stretching my pouch. How much food are you guys eating at a time? A few bites? 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 1 cup?

Hey Ladies....I am new too...I have a three month diet but I am going to wait to February.I always rush into things,I want to be really ready..Can you be?

I know there are a TON of posts like this but....I wanted to make mine a little different. I'm trying to pick things up every once in a while so I'm not left with this huge shopping trip right before surgery. First, I'm required to do a 2 week low carb high Protein diet. 2 meals a day and 2/3 shakes a day (sorry can't remember if it's 3 or not). If you did a diet like this, what did you actually eat compared to what you bought to eat? Also, the day before surgery I have to drink two bottles of Isopure. What are your favorite and least favorite flavors? Third. What did you REALLY need at the hospital? I'm an over packer and I don't want to bring much of anything haha. That's my goal anyway. Last but not least. Post op diet for the first few weeks. What did you try? What did you like, what don't you like now? Things I should try? I'm going to try really hard not to buy anything that got me to where I am now. I've seen some lists and I'm super surprised at some of the items that were consumed and (I assume) were doctor approved. The goal is as clean as I can be during the soft stage. Thank you for any responses!

I saw my doc sat I'm one week out he said there was water around the incision so it's hot and hard right now and to ice it it 4x a day for 20 minutes, seems to help.

Yes, if you dont stop the stress eatting you will gain weight! I was given my date back in Feburary, and I told myself I was going to lose at least 30 pounds between Feb and June....then stress crept up and bit me in the butt! My 5th Graders getting Spring Fever, trying to get and keep them focused for their state assessments, I got frustrated and said to heck with the Protein shakes, eating right and stuff, and started up my old habit of going to Mickey D's in the morning.... Well I stepped on the scale on May 20th (I have surgery in 3 weeks) and I'd gained 20 pounds! I started my pre-op on that day! Now I'm day 5 into it...I am approaching the wall (I getting the urge to eat) but I'm trying to stay focused.... I am the captain of this body and I will control it!! One day at a time!!! Commit to taking back control....

I am a vegan, and have been for 2+ years, and haven't had dairy for even longer than that. Going into surgery my nutritionist advised that I'd probably have to use whey sources for Protein because there's no other way I'd be able to get the adequate amount of without exceeding my liquid goal but my body still isn't used to it. Although it's been a little over 3 weeks (pre & post-op), my body is fighting the whey. ???? And post-op I'll definitely have to go veggie for protein.

You are not a whiny baby at all! You're 4 days out! I felt like complete crap for about 3 weeks. The people I had surgery with felt fine by day 3. Not me. Not everyone has an easy recovery. It will pass. I hope you feel better soon!

Nope, you are not the only one who didn't breeze through. You aren't a whiny baby, you just had major surgery and at 4 days out, it's pretty normal to feel bad. I felt drained for the first six weeks. I can remember needing to rest after a shower, and thinking I might not make it through! Take it easy, get lots of rest, and work on getting those fluids in! Hope you feel better. Oh, and take your pain meds if you need them.

Unfortunately there is no magic skin poofing button. LOL I wish! I have lost 152lbs and have a lot of the same issues with chaffing. Even so without long history of having that skin problem documented most insurances will not cover removing it, because they say it's cosmetic. I say BS. I had a terrible time with my bat wings....they were very large and even though I had gotten to my optimal weight I still had residual fat and tons of leftover skin and no matter what I did, nothing helped. I did not even realize how badly it pulled on my neck. So I pain 5950.00 to have them removed 5 weeks ago. I have to do the same with my stomach and breasts because everything is hanging low pulling on my spine. I have osteoarthritis of the spine and have had 6 back surgeries so far. Hoping to hold off another one. Anyway, you think insurance would cover these things given Morbid obesity is a metabolic disease. Yikes! It will cost me another 18K to have both my Abdominalplasty and breast lift with augmentation. That is the bad news.....the good news is there are excellent surgeons out there who can do this kind of work if you can raise the funds to do it. It is the only way I know of taking that skin off your body. It simply will not go away without it.

I am having the sleeve. The first week in April. I'm excited and nervous!

I have been dealing with Alma too. I am thinking maybe sometime in March. I am ready to do it today. I will figure out what day sometime this week. I just pray my revision Is an easy one.

@@Bandista thanks so much for your insight, the last few weeks have taught me a lot about myself, I can say no to food and I don't need to run to the snack cupboard every time I have a bad day as tomorrow is always a new one. Im full of nerves at the moment and just want it over and done with so I can start my journey. I don't doubt that the next few months will be challenging and there will be times when I want to raid the snack cupboard but in ready to take that all in my stride. Will be updating as I go along

How do you know you screwed up???? How much weight did you loose? The way I understood it, I had to loose X amount of weight, within the 2 weeks before surgery, to rid the fat and shrink the liver so as not to make the procedure more dangerous..... My Dr. did not care how I lost the weight, as long as I did......just so happened going on the shake program was the fastest way to do it in 2 weeks..... My surgery was early on a Monday Morning....I had to go in that Friday for my Final weigh in.....I lost the required weight, then went out Friday night and had my "Last Meal".....splurged like there was no tomorrow.... Then saturday was back in the shakes, Sunday was more or less a fast, and Monday was surgery....

The first time I ran a mile. Then the first time I ran 2 miles. Then last week I ran almost 3 miles I am someone who HATED exercise. LOATHED it. In the past I had lost weight doing only some swimming and a little bit of walking. Each time I run, it just proves to me that if you put your mind to it, you really can accomplish anything. I'm hoping to run a 5K by my 1 year surgiversary.

Hey Hey Everyone! Next Tuesday, February 14th, is Valentine's Day, and The Backstage Pass Radio Program is on at NOON, PST and we've decided to do something a little different that day: we've decided to use the hour to air YOUR stories and dedications of love! Do you want us to tell YOUR WLS story of love? Do you have a dedication that you want us to read on-air? Do you have an inspirational story of love that people should hear? Have an anniversary? (My parents are celebrating their 48th anniversary!) We want to hear about, and we'll talk about it on-air! Feel free to leave the details here in the comments (if you feel comfortable), send me a private message, or email me at info@divataunia.com. If you like to send pictures to accompany your story, we can also upload those to the radio show page slideshow as well. Note: your story doesn't necessarily have to be WLS-related. We're happy to celebrate anyone and everyone's story of love! We'll also be doing some giveaways next week during the show as well. We hope you'll join us for a great Valentine's Day! <3

The only things I really needed/used at the hospital were a robe (for walking in the hallways), hair brush, and toothbrush/toothpaste. They gave me those skidder socks to wear and I used their pillows/blankets because I didn't want hospital cooties on my own stuff hahaha Definitely bring a pillow for the ride home. The bumps in the road can hurt and it's nice to have it to hold on to. I also recommend asking for a prescription for an anti-nausea before you leave the hospital since you know you get sick from pain meds. I ended up having to call my doctor's office the day after I got home so they could call one in for me so I wished I had asked before I went home. If you don't have a heating pad, I highly recommend one of those too!! That thing was a life saver the first 4 or 5 days post-op. It helped ease the shoulder pain caused by gas as well as the soreness in my abdomen. Before I left for the hospital I got my room ready for when I came home. I moved our reclining chair into my bedroom and set up a space next to it where I could keep my blankets, pain meds, Water bottle, heating pad, laptop, and tv remotes within reach. It was like a little recovery station. I ended up sleeping in that chair for almost a whole 2 weeks after surgery! I was glad I set it up before hand because when I came home I just went right to sleep. I know you probably read this a lot, but don't forget to walk after surgery! It seriously does help with the gas pains and it makes you feel more awake and alert. I tried to walk every couple of hours or so. I'd even walk around the house when I woke up in the middle of the night because it helped break up the gas so I could go back to sleep after. I hope this helps a little! Best of luck to you!

My surgery was yesterday. They pushed me back frommarriving at 6 a.m. two arriving at 8:30 a.m., so that's what I did. They had me taken to pre-op at 8:40, where I was supposed to get an IV and all of that and then my husband would come back and hang out with me until they move me to holding and then he would head for the waiting room when I headed for the OR... But I ended up in pre-op until sometime after 10... without my spouse.. because I had a complete and utter meltdown. :-( I have no idea what happened but the minute they came at me with that IV, I thought about what my husband said as we walked into the hospital which was "last chance ... are you sure you want to do this?" And I just started bawling! Sobbing and sputtering& scared to death that I was going to end up regretting doing this! And it took four different nurses, my surgeon and his helper, Amy anesthesiologist to come in and get me calmed down. I have no idea what came over me. One of my best friends had this surgery about a year-and-a-half ago ... and she works for a lighter me ... so I called her and she helped me a lot and eventually I did sign everything get my IV and agree to go into surgery. I was out of recovery and in a room by around 3:00 pm. My husband and my son came to visit me after I got into a room. They stayed until 8 p.m. and then headed home. Around 6:30 I had them help me get up and I sat in a chair for a while which felt better I hadn't really had a lot of pain at that point... but man was I bloated and that gas is very uncomfortable! I have not had my week test yet, so I haven't been allowed anything to drink... I keep getting a headache off and on it feels like a dehydration headache even though I'm not dehydrated because I'm on IV fluids. Maybe it's a lack of food headache because I haven't eaten anything since the day before yesterday. I walked one time around the ward, felt very tired, and decided to lie down. Around 9 or 10:00 last night the gas became very very painful... at that point they had given me Toradol around 6 p.m. and I had a pump for morphine that I had not used it all yet. I used it like 3 times and it did not touch the pain so I had them get me out of bed. Once I was sitting up in a chair it was better and then I decided I needed to walk to start getting this gas moving... I walked around the ward twice, took a break, walked around the ward three times, took another break, walked around the ward twice, and didn't really get back into bed until around 3 or 4 this morning. (I I'm unable to sleep without taking my Seroquel and I'm unable to have my Seroquel because I'm unable to swallow anything). I dozed off in a straight backed chair for a few, then slept in the bed, partially on my right side, until about 6 this morning... it is 7 a.m. now and I'm hoping to go for another walk very soon. The only gas I have moved has been a few very small burps... and they won't take my catheter out until after I've had my leak test. I am using Gas-X strips they're just not helping much. At this point the gas is uncomfortable and a little painful but the only pain I've had from my stomach has been when I cough which I've done, thankfully, just a couple of times. Also a stomach sleeper so my back and hips and butt are killing me :-P That's about it for now I'll come back and update more after my leak test which hopefully will be in the next few hours. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App