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Hi everyone. My name is Stacy, I am 34 years old and I was just approved for surgery on November 5th. My date is January 2, 2019. This was my third time trying for surgery. The first time I weighed 427 lbs. I barely lost any weight during my 6 months doctor supervised visits so I was denied. Discouraged but determined to show them I could do it, I counted calories and excised and went from 427 down to 202 lbs. The irony was the "healthier" i became, the sicker I got. I dealt with continual heart issues giving me symptoms of heart attacks without the blockages... one attack happened while on the treadmill and landed me in the hospital for 2 weeks. I continued my diet and exercise until the final episode landed me in the hospital yet again and they finally found out/assumed my arteries were constricting from stress...which was probably from all the missed work... and they put me on medicine. My gallbladder decided to check out at this point... but not before going out with a bang--I was in the hospital another 2 weeks because my pancreas and liver were inflamed... after the gallbladder removal the weight loss got harder and the pounds started packing on. I was afraid to exercise and miss more work--so I started walking. Because I wasn't getting the rush I normally did from exercise my depression came back full force. I slept the day away any chance I got... I'd eat my calories one day, the next hardly touch food, and the following day, I'd eat garbage. My choices were terrible. Terrified that I would go back to my old weight I tried a second time for surgery--the entire process I battled depression and diets--trying to find what would work and give me the success calorie counting did. Instead I gained--at this point I was denied a 2nd time. My weight, 350 lbs. Something happened where I made the decision to buckle down... and from October of last year (when I was denied) until March of this year, I lost 15 lbs. I worked hard to see the scale move. It wasn't until April that I read about low carb--most of the foods I couldn't eat anyways because they made me sick--like bread and sugars--so I went for it. When my doctor saw my progress she said--whatever you're doing is working! Try one more time--I think you'd get it! I had no faith in being approved and I said if I was denied again, I'd stop...and take it as a sign. Since starting low carb I've lost an additional 58 lbs for a total of 73. I have my appointment with my dietitian on December 5th, pre-op appointment is December 12th and Upper GI is December 19th. This is also the same day I start my 2 week pre-op liver shrink diet. I do have some before and current pictures in my gallery and what I look like currently... I am having anxiety about it all... and a lot of people are saying I don't need it done... I look fine... I kinda wish I would have taken the route where I didn't say anything to anyone. Thanks for reading ❤️

Well I finally did it, took me over 10 yrs to commit, but I decided on the Gastric sleeve last October and took the steps necessary to make the surgery a reality! I have had a slow start, because I had some complications found in surgery, but was taken care of during my sleeve surgery. I have lost 10 lbs so far and hope when I am cleared for exercise that I will loose a little more quickly ???? I started at 242 in October and the day of my surgery weighed 205. I am now 195 and very excited to be under 200???? I hope to find others that were sleeved around the same time and can't wait to share stories and get ideas from each other!! Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

statistically speaking, you'll lose more with bypass than you will with sleeve, but it's only about a 5% difference. Plus an average is just an average - you'll find people who fall on either side of the average. There are people who are extremely successful with both surgeries - and people who fail with both surgeries. 14 lbs is a lot. You may lose that the first three or four months, depending on a whole host of other factors (sex, age, metabolic rate, activity level, starting BMI, etc), but weight loss slows down a lot after that. I started at well over 300 lbs. I lost 16 lbs the first month, maybe 12 or so lbs a month for a couple of months after that, then I think around 10 lbs a month until I was about 7 months out, and then 5-8 lbs a month until I got about a year out. After that, things really slowed down until it finally stopped at around 20 months out. P.S. With your starting BMI, your weight loss isn't going to be really speedy. You WILL lose it if you're committed to your program, but 14 lbs a month is overly optimistic for someone at your weight. Most of us start out much heavier.

Congrats - you look wonderful! I think 78lbs in 10 months is a great loss! And your body has changed so much - so the weight isn't all that counts - do you keep measurements?

I suffered with lap band for about 8 years and finally decided to get it converted to RNY last year. I had the surgery July 15th, so tomorrow will be exactly 10 months. I think progress is going a little slower for me because 1) this is a conversion, and 2) I have PCOS and have historically not been able to lose weight on anything other than long term starvation. Even that wasn't working by the time I converted. As of this morning, I've lost 78 lbs and feel wonderful. I started at 275, so I'm finally comfortably in ONE-DERLAND! If you're hesitating to convert for any reason, I say DON't. Here are before and after pictures. I'm on the right, next to my sister in the before picture.

I turned 41 on 10/28. I was sleeved 10/22. Doing well. Losing slowly it feels like but I feel great and am off all of my diabetes and blood pressure meds. Wish I'd done it so much sooner. Sent from my Pixel 3 using BariatricPal mobile app

Today I am 3 months post op. Time sure does fly!! Sometimes I feel like I am losing so slow, but then I look back over only 3 months, its going by so fast and the pounds are just melting off. I cannot wait to get to my half way point! I will have to think of something very special to do for myself when I get there. I lost another 4 pounds this week... I seem to average that amount a week still. Sometimes I get upset that its not more, but then I tell myself at least its not 0. "Fingers crossed" I have never had a stall yet. Hopefully I am one of the few lucky ones that never does! I lost 2 pounds one week, that was my lowest week, but I was very constipated. If anyone is curious, here is my weight loss in pounds per week since surgery. Starting weight: 369 Surgery weight: 356 Today's weight: 282 Week 1: 17 Week 2: 6 Week 3: 7 Week 4: 4 Week 5: 7 Week 6: 6 Week 7: 2 Week 8: 5 Week 9: 4 Week 10: 5 Week 11: 3 Week 12: 4 Week 13: 4 Just thought it was kind of cool looking at it that way. I have been doing pretty well. Feeling great. I have been walking some, but need to workout more. My hair started falling out last week and its getting so thin. But thats okay! Here is a slideshow of my weight loss so far. http://smilebox.com/...a&blogview=true

I am over 10 years out. I weighed over 320 pounds and was 5'3" and 54 years old. I have lost 145 pounds (well, 147) . I should have done it many years before.... but it wasn't around then !!! I am not 65 years old. I am still considered overweight - even obese, if one does not count in my age ! But I now weigh between 175 and 172. I am able to maintain that at 65 years old with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic brittle asthma. IF I had plastic surgery I would easily weigh another 15 pounds less, but at my age I have elected NOT to have another elective surgery. I went from a size 28 plus size to now I wear a 14/16 petite. I am incredible healthy - work full time still, organic garden and raise hens for farm fresh eggs ! Eat /drink your proteins. Take your multi vitamins. Eat lots of healthy vegetables of all colors and forms, keep carbs to a bare minimum. Eat enough healthy fats to keep your skin and hair healthy. I did not lose hair after surgery. But some people do. I would suggest following your doctor's diet well, and making sure you eat healthy proteins always first !!!

I experienced the same 2 months post op and went to see the my dr and found that my pressure was 110 - 60. He decided to reduced it from 10 mg to 5 mg - which I did for a week then stopped - I continued to feel like I was going to pass out. It's been over 4 months now with NO meds and on average my BP is 123/60. As the previous posters mentioned, get your BP and blood sugar checked. It's amazing how quickly our bodies respond for the better with weight loss.

Ooops.... I failed to answer your question.... Yes. I told my boss that I needed to have surgery.. She didn't ask what kind and I didn't tell her...... So.... your call..... I have told very few people because the weight loss isn't dramatic.. I am losing slow which is what I wanted.. Losing 7-10 lbs per month is the pace that i want to keep. So far so good!!

Thanks Molly. I had the band in 2010 and can't say it worked in any great way. We could never reach a fill point between nothing going down then being sick and anything being able to go down. I'll be glad to get it out to be honest. I was offered the sleeve at the time but I thought it was too extreme! Now I realise I need all the help I can get to keep it off, the losing bit is the easy bit. I started Lighter Life at 19 stone and got down to 10 stone 4. Once I'd finished the 'diet', despite every week trying something to keep it off; the 5/2 diet, counting calories, going back on Lighter Life, nothing worked and I've put 6 stone back on. I'm very hopeful that with the bypass, this issue may not dominate the next 40 years as it has the last 40 :-) Lainey x

I spoke to my nutritionist and I’ve never been so wrong. Omg. I’m focusing on protein which is right. But I wasn’t paying attention to the carb and fat content on items. 20 carbs or less. 10 grams of fat, sugar or less. And they would like 10 grams or more of protein per meal/product. And I’ve gone over the recommended amount of protein once which according to the nutritionist means I’m grazing 🥹 My grazing is work related because I can’t really sit still so I take a few bites and before I know it’s been two hours of taking a few bites. I was told to remind myself to be selfish. I was also told I need a half a cup of vegetables with my 30 minute meal. This is overwhelming for me friends. I’m struggling with the getting enough protein in during every meal already. Now I have to include veggies. Take calcium chews and watch out for too much carb fat and sugar. Ever since the last appointment Im only at 30 grams of protein a day. I am completely thrown for a loop.

Hello all. my name is morgan (obviously). I'm 29 years old. Diabetic, PCOS, high blood pressure.. Everything fun of course. I have Kaiser and did the 12weeks Options class over the summer and ended at the end of September. Last Tuesday, October 28th I had my consult appt with my surgeon, and he surprisingly had a cancellation and was able to fit me in on November 4th. Talk about nerveracking . soo quick. I started at 256 at the beginning of my options classes, did Protein shakes for a week to drop weight and ended up being 242 by the end of the classes. I made my appt for last Tuesday on the previous Friday and wanted to make sure I was still 242 a because if he saw in gained weight, I'm sure he wouldn't have been okay with soing the surgery. I ends up being exactly 242 on my consult say, and then 239/240 on my surgery day. I went into the hospital at 8:30, surgery WS at 10:40am and I was in recovery by 12. I was so out of it I slept most of the day/night. I stopped taking any morphine because it made me so drowsy by 5. I barely used any which everyone was impressed with. I toughened it out for sure. I woke up at 4 this morning and decided to walk around like they want you to do. Did a few laps around the floor then rested a bit until my mom got there. Did some more laps. My doctor came and checked on me at around 830/9 and said I looked fantastic but he didn't want to send me home with my blood sugars so high. They were @ 188 when I came in, 330 (the highest it has ever been) at 10pm on Tuesday night then 303 at 130 am on Wednesday, after they pumped me full of insulin to lower. The surgeon then decided the only way I'd be able to leave was to get my sugars down, they then changed my IV to saline (the one had glucose in it), by noon it was 165 and by 1 the Dr came in and was pleased and had me discharged. All in all, my blood sugar gone down as well as my blood pressure, its in the normal zone. It boggles my mind. Ice tried so hard using diet exercise and medication and still no real change. I'm so happy I went through with this. I never realized how much I use my stomach muscles though. I'm in a bit of pain. Getting in and out of bed is no pleasant time, same with coughing (due to the tube down my throat) or even laughing. Tmi. But i have been super gassy since the surgery and am wondering if thats where most of my pain and discomfort is coming from. But I'm happy though I was only at the hospital for a little over 24 hrs, esp when I thought I'd at least be sleeping there for another day at least. My mom had lapband then removed it, waited a year and got the sleeve. She told me not to be surprised about gaining weight while in the hospital due to all the liquids and what not. Luckily, as soon as I got home, I peed and then weighed myself. Super surprised that I still weigh 239. So here is to my new journey, of hopefully no longer being diabetic, having hypertension, no longer having PCOS, hopefully being able to have children! And living a much longer and fulfilling life. Good luck to everyone that is starting this journey and people that continue on. Morgan

I started to get leg cramps last night in the calf muscle. My understanding is that deficiencies in nutrients like magnesium and zinc may cause cramping. Two questions: 1. My Multivitamin says it has 10% magnesium and 200% zinc. Not sure, but I also may be getting these from my Protein intense diet. 2. I have really increased my exercise this week where I have averaged an hour of intense cardio a day. I do still drink 100+ oz Water a day and 125 grams protein a day. Your thoughts?

Ok I get it.. But if it makes you feel better I have 3 metal pins in my hip, put there when I was 10 years old! And look at me an old lady alive and kicking!

19 members, 90% to go. If you are not a part of this group, it works just like forum, but it is just us June Bugs. Please go and participate.:Dancing_biggrin:

Hi Everyone, I am from Calgary too! I have been banded for 10 weeks now. Although I cannot boast big weight loss numbers yet, I am finally getting the hang of this new lifestyle and have had some really good NSV's of late. Good luck on your surgeries and keep up posted!

Thank you everyone! I think I’m worried and being harder on myself because I’m really NOT close to a normal BMI. I'm 5’4” lowest was 175 Maintenance was 185 so I had that 10 pound settling and was happy there. I was still able to enjoy my life and not obsess over my weight and food. currently I’m sitting between 204-208 and I’m not comfortable here. 😫 I’m very anxious to meet with my docs so I can see what they think I should do. I know you all feel my frustration! Thank you for responding and reassuring me! It goes further than you know.

Ok so I made a huge error when I wrote this. My surgery date was 2/5/19. That’s what happens when you have a huge thumb and do not proofread. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

For me I had to fly out of province to get my band, so the after care and fills was a huge deciding factor in making my decision. At first I thought I'd have to drive 1.5 hour away to a fill Dr. (and me without a car) but if that was my only choice then I would find a way to make it work - I had reached the end of my list of options and need the band to help me with my weight loss, so I was willing to do just about anything! If I want to fly back to the clinic then they will do the fill adjustments for me at n/c but luckily they now have a Dr. that is only a 10 minute walk from where I live! Each clinic have their own list of fill Dr. that the surgeon has trained to properly do the fills and some will even train your own family Dr., if they go to the clinic for the training. Do lots of research and ask lots of questions about the follow up care and where/who does the fills - for me this info decided which clinic I chose. Good luck to you!

I'm 8 weeks out too - surgery was 10/15. I feel just as good as you do - isn't it great. I've lost about 40 pounds and I love it. Congratulations on the first 8 weeks.

Hi guys , I'm Adrias im 35, live in slidell, louisiana. I was banded on 10-10-07 by Dr Zapada in Monterrey mexico. I am done with just the liquid diet and starting soft foods now . everything has been great since i decided to have this done . Just looking forward to losing some weight. I have lost about 20 as of today 10-25-07.

I asked my surgeon at my first post-op visit and she told me that it can happen up until 9 months. The symptoms are high fever, nausea, vomiting, and a constant pain in your left shoulder and left side of your torso. I was worried because I had pain in my back on the left side whenever I moved about 10 days after surgery. But, my surgeon assured me that the pain wouldn't go away with movement and that it would be almost excruciating.

I had my sleeve on 12/23/2013 and was a size 22 /2XL at the time. During the holiday season, so many stores were having deep discounts up to 75% off, so I started buying up 8/10/12/14's so that I would have a few pieces in each size as I go down in weight. I am into my 12/14's now at 172 pounds. I really hesitate to buy anything smaller than an 8 until I see what size and shape I am as I get closer to goal. I have not weighed 135 since 1986, so I think at that point I will need to quit buying online and actually go out and try something on. My other biggest problem right now is that none of my wide shoes fit, and I do not want to buy shoes online.