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Yes. I don't really see a change in my body, even though I am down 79# ad 3 clothes sizes. I feel like I look and feel the same or bigger. I also noticed that since my skin is kind of loose, things seem worse.

Good Morning: I just wanted to get some feedback in case anyone else has experienced this (I'm quite sure some have). My last bariatric follow-up was fine. He told me my numbers were good and to keep it up. This week, I had a visit with my new primary care doctor. My previous PCP retired after 15 years (which I was very sad about-her retirement was unexpected). I was with her before & after my RNY, and she was very knowledgeable about everything related to the surgery. When I went to the new PCP this week, after he reviewed my numbers (BP was a little high-I was told to stop taking my birth control because it can cause high blood pressure for woman over 35), he looked at my weight and advised me to lose more weight, which could help with my BP. I wanted to go on the defensive but did not. My BMI stays around 28-29, and that is after having skin removal on my entire body. I wear size 6-8 jeans and small to medium in pants. I honestly don't know where the additional weight could be lost lol. My question is: how does everyone else handle this with a medical provider when it's encountered? I wanted to tell him that I used to weigh 311 pounds, so my weight now is considerably better.

oof my hair is falling out, too ive lost a ton of weight post-op, and ive been stalled the past week or so because my period has finally come back (yay? o.O), and ive caught a cold (double yay xD). im not struggling super hard eating anything in particular, but sometimes nothing sounds good or goes down easily. i struggled early on with various complications and strictures, but i haven't needed an endoscopy to widen my stomach pouch connection since the end of november! i think im finally out of the woods! i try sooo hard to hit my daily protein goals but it's difficult. my dietitian has me aiming for 80 g of protein daily and i am regularly hitting somewhere between 60-80 g of protein which ends up being around 700-900 calories. ive definitely become more of a savory over sweet person post-op - i completely forgot about sweets this christmas! xD so far ive lost about 120 lbs (85 lbs post-op) and 48 inches overall. i got new workout clothes for christmas because nothing fits anymore! xD ive gone from 5x to 2x clothes, and a tight size 28 pants to a loose 18-20! im trying so hard - this cold really has me frustrated because i want to work out and keep up my progress, but i have to stay home for now and not get sicker or get anyone else sick.

Hi sleevers , I had my blood tests checked post operatively as is the norm .I received a phone call from my G.P. to tell me the liver ones had come back looking not within normal levels .He said he was writing to my Surgeon to ask what my pre-surgery levels were in comparison to the ones just done BUT if they were the same , I should never have had the operation . He told me to take it easy , try not to worry and I have them retested tomorrow . Meantime the Surgeon hasn't replied to his request for the pre-op blood tests ,and I am a bit concerned .When I asked the surgeon what my liver looked like after the surgery (I knew I had a non alcoholic fatty liver ,it was discovered years ago and put down to all the meat I ate on the Atkins diet .I don't drink ) but the Surgeon said my liver was thin .No mention of rippling fat on it .I haven't got yellow skin or eyes , but on the dipstick wee test my leukocytes are off the chart , no bilirubin , but occasionally blood .I have a rash on both sides of my body , below my breasts and round to the side (not boob rash ). Anyone got any thoughts ? or experiences ? many thanks X

Try not to be so hard on yourself, the 1st couple of months can be hard. Your body has gone through a huge trauma & that’s why you are so tired. For the puréed stage I would make my family a pot roast with potatoes, carrots, celery & onion. The works. Then I would take a little bit of each & purée it in my magic bullet with some of the juices. I would also add unflavored protein powder to the mix. It was really good. It was like I was making my own high protein baby food. Maybe you could see a therapist to help your work through your food issues. The more weight that you loose the more energy you will have! Best of luck to you!

I would say don't overpack. I was sent home the same day after my vsg, and for the rny revision, I went home the next morning, about 24 hrs after being admitted. Basically slept till my release. What I found necessary was a very loose outfit that you can slip over your head, comfortable shoes, your cell phone, necessary ID items and a small pillow for bumps in the road for your ride trip go home is really all I needed.

I had a VSG through Kaiser, and my partner had theirs through MBC tldr: MBC falls short in care and cleanliness, Kaiser is cheaper but takes 4-5 months. With Kaiser, I took 16 weeks worth of classes, did pre-op tests, EKG etc, waited a couple weeks and then had surgery for about $700. Kaiser is certainly the longer but cheaper pathway. I also think there is a lot of value in getting your head in the right place before surgery, and committing to 4+ months of pre-op does the job. It is annoying and hard to wrap your head around at the beginning but it went by quickly for me, even having to drive 1.5 hours each way to classes. I’m glad I used Kaiser so we have the resources given to me for him to use as well. MBC: Surgery is scheduled 2 weeks out from pre-approval (website form) and deposit, as thats the timeline required for the pre op diet. This is VERY fast and convenient. We paid about $5000. We are all familiar enough with US standards for hospitals, so here is where MBC falls short on that front: - his incisions bled through his gown after surgery, they would not give him a clean gown and told him he should just put on his street clothes. So, he wore a bloody gown for 2 days as the waist band on his sweat pants would’ve been super uncomfortable. - bandages/tape on floor of recovery room from previous patient. - Less than ideal bathroom cleanliness in room - Broken toilet for the entirety of his stay (he requested it to be looked at, at least 6 times before just pleading for it to be turned off at the water so it would stop running so he could sleep. There was urine and vomit in his toilet for his whole stay. Care comparison: Kaiser: I was on a morphine drip and could push the button every 10 minutes if I was experiencing pain. I was given injections for nausea. Lots of room to walk the halls. Attentive nursing staff. It was overall great. MBC: any time he asked for pain or nausea medication the nurse would say “I will check” and leave the room. Then, he’d wait an hour and have to ask again, only to hear the same response. You’re pretty on your own during recovery. He found that this was also the case for the other patients he drove back to San Diego with after surgery. It was not simply a bad experience, but the standard. Technically MBC contracts with the hospital to use their facility, and the nurses do not work for them directly. They have no skin in the MBC game when it comes to patient satisfaction and it shows. We hoped that tipping would help, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. My incisions with Kaiser were glued shut. His were open and we changed the gauze every day. It’s a little scary looking and you’re left wondering, “is this normal? Are these infected?” Kaiser: no drain, no leak test MBC: drain and leak test. Kaiser: you get a full binder of pre and post op instructions with diet guides for life. MBC: all of their instructions are on their website. What you see online before surgery is generally what you get in that regard. It is convenient to google quick answers to things like how many fluid ounces I should be having, etc and accessing the info easily on their website however it is no where near as comprehensive as Kaiser. Feel free to ask me anything, I’m sure there’s more for me to add and I will in comments. If you go with MBC, you should have low expectations and be willing and comfortable advocating for yourself. Ultimately, both work but the cleanliness and lack of care from MBC made me uneasy.

The hair loss is temporary and it will grow back. I have very dark hair and very fair skin, and you could absolutely see patches of my scalp. I ended up having to cut my lower-back-length hair into a very short pixie cut around month 4...It's almost down to my shoulders again. It may just be my hair texture but any kind of dye causes me to have a lot of breakage; maybe it would be best to wait until your hair has regrown and is healthy before adding more chemicals into the mix that could hinder your progress?

My procedure was outpatient but out of town from where I live and my only regret was packing too much. All you're going to want to do is sleep. Bring comfortable loose clothes and maybe a book or an iPad to keep yourself occupied (hospital TV sucks), but I wouldn't worry too much about packing a bunch of things because you probably won't use them.

i did. i had a tummy tuck, arm lift and breast lift all in one shot back in 2019. im in canada (ontario) though, so the following prices may not apply depending on where you are from: i paid roughly 15k CAD in total (~11k USD in todays dollars) my provincial insurance covered the pannilectumy portion of the surgery and i paid the difference to "upgrade" to a tummy tuck (which is essentially muscle tightening and a bit of lipo on the flanks)...and i think that "upgrade" cost me 2-3k CAD? up here in ontario, pannilectumy is apparently covered if there is infection or whatever from the hanging over skin (which i did not have?, or if you lost 100+ lbs (which i did). i did not know this until my chosen surgeon informed me of it. i was already willing to pay for the whole thing, so the insurance coverage for that portion of it was just bonus for me. p.s. i booked the next available surgery as soon as i reached goal which was 6-7 months later (so i had the deeds done at 14 months post wls)

Patience is a virtue here. It took me a year to get approved and my doctor had to go toe to toe with the insurance doctor at the last minute. If you really really want a goal, consistent hard work over a long time does generally work. I keep telling myself I didn’t gain the weight overnight, so I won’t loose it overnight either. I’ve cultivated an attitude of self care is important every day short term and long term. Call and follow up, but don’t miss the opportunity to learn healthy habits now.

I had my skin surgeries in 2017 and 2018 (and a face/neck lift a year ago). Before I started doing consultations, I'd read on bariatric internet forums (and it might have been this one) to expect $8K-$10K per procedure, with a lower body lift counting as two procedures since they do both front and back (in other words, it's more extensive than a panniculetomy). I had three consults in the US, and that range rang true. I did one email consult with a surgeon in Mexico, and his estimate was maybe half that (although I chose to stay in the US for my surgeries). I've had a lower body lift, an arm lift, a breast lift, and again, a face/neck lift. EDITED to add: part of it depends on where in the country you have it done. You're probably going to pay more in a city like NY, Chicago, or LA than you will in a place like Knoxville, Tennessee. I know there are some people on this forum who had theirs done in Florida, which for some reason seems cheaper than other parts of the country.

I went cycling around the town yesterday and the day before after stopping for almost two months. It has been raining non-stop over here and we are finally having a dry spell. There was a hill on my usual track and previously I'd get off the bike and dragged it uphill. I didn't have to do that yesterday and I was able to just climb the hill without much effort. What a pleasant surprise! I need to buy new cycling shorts since the old one are very loose now.

Well done! You look great in the after photo. Keep up the good work. I've only started noticing the loose skin on my belly and arm and I try not to pay too much attention to it.

Did any of you pay out-of-pocket for your skin removal procedure and can you provide a range and the procedure type? My insurance already said they won't cover a Panniculectomy, unless it's due to infection. Sent from my Pixel 5 using BariatricPal mobile app

I was low BMI (35.9), lost 80 lbs. I have a bit of loose skin around my tummy (which is where I carried most of my fat). It’s mostly invisible when I’m dressed but very apparent when I’m naked. As a fellow WLS patient said about herself… I look like a potato. Annoying, but I’d much rather deal with some loose skin than be obese!

My sternum sticks out since loosing 65 lbs from pre surgery it seems like it has a bump on it and the front of my rib cage at the edge feels thick and the sides feel thin. It is weird to feel these bones since being so overweight for do long i never paid attention to them. I'm wondering if anyone elce is going through this also and does it seem normal or odd that I seem to have this. I would include pics but it doesn't show in pics. I'm also experiencing thin but and having the tail bone hurt from sitting for long time , but is has gotten better but now I get sore from the bone where the leg goes into the hip. I must say that I'm not trying to complain, it is just new things to deal with. 0lease share any advice or similar situation you have. Thank you.

Had my surgery on June 21 and just had my six-month surgeversary. Everything has gone so smoothly. I didn't even realize it was 6 months until someone reminded me. Anyway - 6 months in and I'm down about 110 pounds (including the pre-surgery liquid diet). Here's a Before taken in April and an After taken a week ago (with the help of some shape wear, because extra skin is a real thing)...

I have a coat that was my moms (she passed in 2017) that I could wear but never button closed… I can button it!! Not only can I button it, it’s loose! That was a moment that literally made me dance. Lol

I like the loose it app for food and water, Chlow for slowing my eating, and Fitbit for tracking my activities. By the way, I don’t really trust the calories burned from any app or device, I just try to up my personal goals and sometimes challenge friends (friend competition was awesome during lockdown)!

Hi everyone I had a roux-en-y gastric bypass with fobi pouch 5 years ago (well, 5 years and 11 days to be precise). In the year or two after surgery I was a regular poster here and got immense support from people going through the process at the same time as me, as well as from those who were living with the changes, so I though I’d come back and share for a bit. I have the same story as many of you I am sure - a lifetime of weight loss, weight gain. I had a bit of a distaste for serious exercise but I’d walk happily. I know I ate (well, still do a bit) to deal with feelings - especially loneliness. Stressful jobs over the years, I am 5 foot 7in tall and my weight seesawed until at 100kg (220 lbs) i got a gastric band. That was good, helped me loose maybe 25lbs, but eventually the refill port broke and it had some other issues where it broke, so I made the decision to get a bypass. Because I was back up to 120kg (165lbs) ’My’ bypass has a fobi pouch - so instead of having a small rounded stomach, I have a longer thinner one with a permanent band (made from a baby’s catheter with permanent suture through to make a tied-off loop) in place around it, so it will never stretch. Anyway, it has been a resounding success. I initially dropped to under 60kg (130lbs). I remember worrying ‘how do I make this STOP! Then settled at about 62-64kg. My partner was concerned I looked a bit skeletal, and I run (sometimes) and cycle (a lot) now, so encouraged me to consider putting on a bit of weight for my own health, and I did and feel better for it - so now I sit happily at about 66-67kg - just under 150lbs. There were times when it was tough work. There still are - I occasionally still get sick with that horrid ‘dumping’ if I make an unwise choice, but the benefits outweigh that so much! I want to thank users of this board - the best bit was each problem I encountered, I found someone else had encountered it and overcome it. And it helped me hang in, see it through.

Hi there. I'd recommend checking out a program like StrongLifts 5x5. It's an excellent program for building lean muscle mass while also helping to improve your skin tone. It's a strength training program that focuses on compound lifts to help you build strength and muscle with minimal bulk. Plus, it only takes three workouts a week, so it's easy to fit into your schedule. Good luck! It's also completely free, so you don't have to worry about spending money on a program. Have you looked into using ibutamoren from behemothlabz.com? It increases the secretion of growth hormone, which can help you achieve your goal of lean muscle gain without putting on too much size.

Hello, I just wanted to share my story. I was on a fb group through the weight center that did my surgery on 12/5 but they didn't let me share my story. I went in for my sleeve surgery but shortly after while in recovery my BP dropped really low, I started sweating badly and my skin/eyes turned gray. They gave me a blood transfusion which brought my BP back up. I was brought in for an emergency surgery because I was bleeding out. They said leaked 3 liters of blood and had multiple large dark blood clots in my stomach. I was bleeding and oozing through the staples so they double stitched me and cauterized some of the stomach. Since the 2 surgeries I have had very high pulse, which they call Tachycardia. Also, I am anemic. I also get this uncontrolled diaphram spasm where it makes me gasp for air. The 1st week it hurt to swallow anything, even a sip of water. I started to get pain up my throat so they gave me heartburn meds which helped that matter. I went home after spending a few nights at the hospital but quickly after I was home I went back into the ER for low BP and dehydration. I am home again now, monitoring my BP. I am taking fluids ok and getting my proteins in. I still have to drink slow but I am able to. You can feel/hear every sip go down and every pill go down. I still get times where there is pressure from air stuck under the rib cage and the pain goes up to my shoulder. They just ok'd me to start cream soups, yogurt and cottage cheese 2 days ago. I get full really fast. I just wanted you to know that the 1% they warn you about can happen. It happened to me and I cry myself to sleep about the events that happened every time I close my eyes. It was very scary to go through. They said it will take about 6 weeks for my body to rebuild its own blood back up. Your body rejects some of the transfusion since it isn't your blood. Until then I get weak, dizzy and lightheaded every time I get up to walk around and my pulse goes really high and my heart beats out of my chest. I have a couple of mins to walk or shower and then I need to lay back down to catch my bearings. I am starting to get color back in my lips on occasion. The most important thing is I keep fighting to get up every day, walk a little and drink my fluids in order to get better. They tell you that you need support at home and I live alone so I was worried. They are right, you can't do this alone. After the ER trip it helped to have my parents coming in to remind me to keep drinking and to do things around the house that I couldn't. Thank you for listening. Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I still suffer body dysmorphia and I think the loose skin doesn't help (but skin removal surgery seems like too much of a hassle because I don't like the idea of having drains. That's a no), but when I see pictures of myself now I'm always surprised at how small I look. Because when I look in the mirror I see someone a lot bigger than the person in the pictures. I don't run and hide when people take pictures anymore like I used to when I was at my absolute heaviest (417 pounds in late 2016).

Thanks everyone, I’m still pleased with what weight loss I’ve had already and I know everyone is different so shouldn’t compare to others but seems like everyone’s loss has been greater so just want to make sure it seems like I’m on track. Fully aware I won’t loose 60lbs overnight haha! only just moved onto soft food (no puree stage) been on liquid for 4 weeks. I’m tracking what I’ve started to eat on my fitness pal it’s still only circa 700/800 cals a day as portions and Snacks are small, getting my 60g Protein and Water intake as per my plan so everything seems on track for what I’m supposed to be doing. I feel great in myself - started to incorporate walking daily - I know I’m still early days so only time will tell 😊