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I had bypass on 4/23/18. My starting weight was 340lbs. I'm currently 221lbs. That's a total weight loss of 119lbs! I honestly can't tell you a time I remember being this small my entire life. I'm so happy! First goal: 250lbs [emoji818] Second goal: 225lbs [emoji818] Third goal: 199lbs ...*pending* Final goal: 160-170lbs I never worked out until this month. These last 22lbs until onederland are stubborn. I'm also doing keto and intermittent fasting. This surgery changed my life. I'm almost positive I would be closer to 400lbs by now if I didn't have this surgery. Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

WOW. That is fast. I have been going to appointments since November and classes will not be done until January than I will get a surgery date. I think I would have postponed the surgery too. I'm still shock of reading your post.

Hi, VSG friends!! I know this question has been asked a million times but every one of us has different circumstances! So, here I go, and I apologize for this being kinda long to begin with! My name is Dana and I've been married 12 years to my wonderful hubby! We have 2 gorgeous girls (ages 9 & 6) who I homeschool! We've been trying to have one more baby over the last 5 years, but have been unsuccesful. I have PCOS and have been on fertility meds off and on and every time I take the meds, I gain 10 lbs. So, I started out 5 years ago weighing about 225 lbs and I now weigh 288 lbs. We've decided to leave the fertility drugs alone forever, choosing VSG instead and if we have another baby when I get healthy, we'll be overjoyed.....if I don't get pg, we'll count our blessings and move on! I had a friend ask me the other day if we were still trying to get pg. I paused before I answered her because I just didn't want to tell her about WLS!! So, I told her we weren't trying anymore, but I was going to see a dietician in January (not a lie, I am to meet my pre-op requirements!) and see if I can get some help losing weight. Ok, I don't mind telling people I'm having WLS AFTER I've already had it. It's the before part! My hubby is chairman of our church's deacon body and although our church is loving and supportive, I will be the FIRST person to have VSG or gastric bypass in our whole church, not to mention as a person who holds several leadership positions. I'm not at all sure of what reaction I'm going to get. I KNOW a few people would try to talk me out of it and tell me I just need to pray for more self-control....just a few, but I'd really rather avoid any negativity altogether! Do you agree?? If you were me, would you wait until after to tell? The other issue I have is when to tell our parents. With my in-laws, I'm not worried about them being unsupportive necessarily. They won't be thrilled, but I don't think they'd discourage me. It's more that my MIL worries and when she worries she gets horrible migraines! With my parents, it's a bit stickier. I don't have a good relationship with my parents right now. My mom tried to committ suicide for the second time a year ago and it was then that I finally realized that we've had a co-dependent relationship my whole life. I started setting healthy boundaries, my parents didn't like it, so we only see them on holidays/birthdays now. Their choice, not mine, but I decided a year ago that I would be healthy mentally and this year decided that my body needed to reflect the new health on my insides!! Anyway, what would you do? I was thinking about calling and telling both sets of parents the night before my surgery. I think they'd all be upset if we told them after the fact!! I'm having my sleep study done on January 5th, my diet consult and psych eval on January 12th, then we submit everything to my insurance company and I should have a surgery date in February! I'm so excited and feel so blessed that I have a hubby that is so incredibly supportive. I can't hardly wait to start my new life!!! Thank you to those of you who made it through all that!!

Welcome to the site Brian. It's awesome that you and you're wife are going through this together and I wish you both lots of success. I myself should be getting banded in November, due to a 6 month insurance diet. I am excited too and of course scared some. All surgeries are scary. I wish you luck on your journey and again welcome to LBT.

Lisa, I just sent a FB friend request. After orientation, most of you questions will be answered. You have 4 nutrition classes, 2 exercise classes and 3-4 behavior classes. I did not have to have an endoscopy before surgery. They had me do a 2 week Optifast diet. I decided to do 5 weeks to have a bigger weight loss before surgery. It was also 1/6 when I started and I wanted to have a weight loss New Years resolution . I chose sleeve after talking extensively to the surgeon. I do not crave sweets and I do not have reflux. Those were the two big things about sleeve vs bypass.

Hello!! I am new to this page, I just joined today. I have so many questions about lapband and what to do, I do not know where to start. How many of you have had it and love it? Hate it? How well did it work? How long ago was it? I am 29, I will be 30 in November, and I do not remember when I weighed less then 200lbs. I need to do something and I want to do it. But I am nervous. Can anyone give me some advice?

I'm pretty lucky because I work for a HCA hospital and have Cigna. Everyone I know here who had had either sleeve or bypass have all been approved. Maybe they figure it's cheaper for them in the long run.

OK, that's alot of info you are requesting...plus everyone's journey has been different. What I can tell you is that I started with a seminar last July, a meeting with the surgeon in August, several pre op visits...to the psychologist, the nutritionist, the cardiologist, blood work, etc. During the whole process, depending on your insurance carrier, you have to show anywhere from 3-6 months weight loss attempt under doctor's supervision. I also had to show proof of weight loss attempts over the year prior. Then if you are approved and you get a surgery date, you have to be on a mostly liquid diet for anywhere from a few days to about two weeks to shrink your liver. Then you are on all liquids for a week or more after surgery, then you graduate to very mushy foods, and then you start on regular foods. I was banded on January 14th so that give you an idea of how long the process took. Just a disclaimer though...I was supposed to have my surgery in late November but the hospital I was going to was shut down after Sandy and didn't open up again till January. So...figure unless you are self pay, that you will need at least 6 months from start to surgery. FYI, this was the best thing I could have done for myself. I've dropped 41 lbs. and am feeling fine and adapting to eating a fraction of what I used to eat. Good luck on your journey. I

It just hit me that I have 12 more days of "normal" eating before my 2 week liquid diet and then surgery! I've been on a 1200 calorie diet since November so my eating habits have already changed drastically, but I'm feeling a bit freaked out right now! No more using food to fight boredom, make me feel better, or to celebrate with. My relationship with food will be forever changed in 12 days!! It's kind of like saying goodbye to an old (yet toxic) friendship. Anyone else sharing these same feelings?

First I like to congratulate you on your choice to be healthy, the above comments are true, but you can also research both on line on buy both the sleeve book and gastric bypass book they both are great I bought both. I had the choice yo get either one but my husband reminded me about all of the tums I pop from early ulcer so it was recommended. For me to get the bypass because the sleeves makes ulcers worse . Good luck .

Got sleeved November 19th! Day 5 and I am feeling great! Only took 1 tsp of Roxicet for pain at bedtime. Hope to not take any pain meds today! And I'm down 4 pounds too! Also my heating pad has been amazing!

Hi everyone, so last year August I spoke with my primary care doctor about getting weight loss surgery. We both agree its the best choice for me.I did all my classes with my nutritionist & got approved for gastric bypass surgery. My surgery date is April 19 but for some reason I'm scared. I read a few entries about people regretting doing surgery & some horror stories. I read stories about people gaining back weight & others in n out of hospitals for various things.I'm scared. I'm terrified and honestly don't know if I should continue this journey. I'm 5'7 273lbs. I try so much different weight loss pills/diets and none work. I want to get the surgery so bad to save my life but at the same time I'm scared it's going to make it worse. I'm having mix feelings about this, anyone ever felt this was before surgery? Please help!!!! Sent from my SM-G925T using BariatricPal mobile app

I know I felt like you on and off for a a couple weeks before surgery. I was scared and tempted to back out, even at the hospital I was ready to run for the hills. But I didn't and I didn't have any complications with the surgery. I followed my pre op diet to the letter to ensure my best possible condition before surgery. You've obviously researched the gastric bypass surgery, you've taken the courses and you've made the decision to proceed with the surgery. I stopped researching and reading threads about complications when I started to worry, because I knew they would scare me. Also people don't tend to start threads when everything is going well and they have no complications. I think we all go into it with that fear in the back of our minds that we will be one of the ones with complications, not just for WLS but for any surgery and that's natural. In the end it's only a decision you can make for yourself.

One thing to consider with a band and no insurance is after-care. With a band, you have to have fills or the band does you no good. Many surgeons offer fills for a period of time in their fees, but after that, you are on your own. Fills can cost a few hundred dollars per. My surgeon wants me to have an Upper GI each year. That would be another cost. Bands are not a set-it and forget-it procedure like bypass is. Should you have a complication down the road and need the band removed, such as erosion, it is another full surgery. If your band should slip, treatment starts conservatively, but can end up back in the operating room. If all goes well, banding is cheaper than bypass. I've seen amounts around 10K in the states for a band, I don't know what after is included in that price. Bypass would be substantially more as the procedure takes quite a bit more time to complete. There are many self-pay people here who are extremely happy with their choice. But be sure you can afford the aftercare. If you cannot have fills, then it isn't worth it. And empty band is like an empty gas tank...it just sits there going nowhere fast.

Hi! well...you have a lot if medical issues going on, and as you already realize a very high BMI. Your first step when you get your insurance coverage is to call them and make sure there is no "exclusion" for weight loss surgery in your particular plan. The next step should be to go to an informational seminar for a surgeon in your area who accepts you insurance. There you will learn a good deal of information to help make your decision. Then you will need to have the eval with the surgeon to see if #1 you are a candidate for the surgery, and #2 if this is the best choice for you (ie band vs gastric bypass). In the mean time, continue to read these message boards...you will get a wealth of information from people who have had the proceedure and what their sucesses and challanges have been. Good luck in your journey.

I am considering a revision from the band to bypass. I know little about the process, and bypass in general. I don't know if my insurance will cover it, and right now I am in that awful catch 22 of weighing too little for surgery but too much to have a healthy lifestyle, so there are a lot of ifs there. Assuming all the planets align though, what questions did you have for your doctor? My family is pretty much convinced bypass means I am going to die, so I'd like to calm their fears. Thanks!

I think it really just depends on your doctor and schedule my surgery was approved on November 20. When my doctors office called to schedule the earliest that they had with the December the 19th.

A friend of mine thats an oiler on the ferry boats had bypass done by a Dr. in kirkland. I'm not sure if its the same one but He's really happy with the doctor and all that happend there.

I'm November 5th. I have a 3 week diet. It's mainly liquids, but I get very little protein and vegetables and a couple of other things each day.

Thank you guys for your responses and advice. And me too Carolina, I do not want my insides re routed or part of my stomach removed. And while complications may be rare with the bypass or sleeve, they do happen, and a lot result in death, the stats for the surgeries were like 1 in 2000 for lap band and then 1 in 500 for bypass and sleeve....

bc of my weight and high 60+ bmi my dr wanted me to do the bypass also but i did not want my insides cut so i stuck by my guns and got the lap band. he told me id have to help the band to make it work by eating better quality foods, smaller amounts (the band helps with this) and beginning to exercise... its not a miracle. its hard. but so worth it. and anyone who gets any WLS can gain it back by eating the cheap/easy foods. i have seen it happen and you will read it on here. do what works for YOU as you are the one who has to do it. whatever you decide, decide with all your heart and then do what you need to do to make it happen. (forget dieting or fads as we know that doesnt work).

How are you doing? My recovery from the bypass was easy. I dare say easier than mine from my band. Only thing is I had an ulcer form on my bowel 6 weeks later, and start bleeding. It was because of adhesions. I lost 6 cms of my bowel because of it. They cleaned up what they could of adhesions, and I've been good since. Other than the constipation. That is a big issue. But I don't eat much at all. Most days I can't even get two ounces of meat/food at a time. My body is often in starvation mode. well my dog is yelling to go out. So I'll go now. teri

You know, while I am in a completely different circumstance than you are, I kinda ended up just like you -- My husband is a diplomat and in June we move to Paraguay in South America. I thought to myself, this would be a great time to get my weight loss surgery done. I had initially wanted the lap band. So we scheduled an appointment with the surgeon who's done the most weight loss surgeries and he said, "I don't do bands, but you can choose the sleeve or the bypass." Well, I knew I didn't want the bypass for the dumping and other stuff, but I had never really considered the sleeve. I read up on it and decided, ok, I'll get the sleeve. We went back to the doctor, and he said, ok how about in 2 weeks. Yep!! I literally had to start my pre-op diet THAT day. It was crazy. And then I went in and all is history. So, you CAN do this!! From what I've read on the boards, Aetna seems to be easier to deal with -- so go for it

ill be sleeved on TUESDAY nov 6th and a while back i actually had a dream that my dad told me not to get the surgery done by my surgeon and that he just doesnt trust him. which is crazy because my bff's mom just got a bypass done by him a few months ago and she is healthy and looks AMAZING! i am very superstitious and look into my dreams ALL the time. i called my dad and we talked about it and i feel confident in my decision to go with him. but i do over analyze everything and i think i was just over thinking things that night. i havent had any other surgery related dreams lol just extremely anxious and excited at this point