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December 2015 I had my first back surgery. I could hardly walk, and was heavily medicated with opioids to get through the day. Surgery was a success, until I had a relaps at the same place not even a year later. Long story short. I had 2 nerve blockages that worked for a while, but in the end, my surgeon said I needed to be operated on again. We decided to wait and see if the wls would help my back. The pictures below are from March of this year, only 7 days after my wls, and from Saturday. The herniation has been reduced to almost nothing, the spine covering the nerve is almost nothing, all due to loosing almost 90 lbs. I see my neurosurgeon on Monday, but both I and my physical therapist are sure I won't be having the surgery I'm booked for on October 3rd. If that is not a success story, I don't know what is.

I’ll be checking in at 8am tomorrow. Prayers to all of us tomorrow and speedy recoveries!

It's no weirder than people eating their placenta!!!!! LOL But ha ha NO. I would like to see pictures and I know they take pics.

10/15/17 Good Afternoon All, I've been having trouble not regressing to eat bad things since the Sonoma Wildfires started. I can't eat a lot at a time but I can snack. I'm trying to stay strong but when I get stressed its very hard to do. These fires are scary. We are still in our house but I worry about evacuating myself, my husband and our 3 cats a lot. It makes me want to eat. Any suggestions on willpower?

Sent Rex nectar protein powder- they make single serve portions I can drop in a water bottle. The lemonade flavor is pretty good. Hummus, Hard boiled eggs and cheese sticks are regulars for me. Put in a small lunch bag with an ice pack and it's good for several hours. Doesn't need to be cold...just not hot. In the US we refrigerate a lot we don't need to...eggs and cheese will be ok a lot longer than you think.

What happens is your body was shocked by the surgery. When the body is shocked, it thinks the world is ending, and it shuts down all non-essential functions. Hair growth is non-essential, so it threw the "off switch". The hair stays on your head for about 3-6 months, then will fall out. After it falls out, it takes another 6 months to start growing again. (These are all approximations). So by the time you are 12 months postop, you should start seeing it regrow. The losses, when caused just by the surgery, should not be permanent. If you are low on iron or some other nutrients, it may have trouble coming back. But you won't know that unless a blood tests shows a deficiency. Do not take extra vitamins, especially iron, because it's possible to take too much. In the meantime, you could try a shorter hair style that will allow the remaining hair to fluff up more. You can try a wig or hats, or... I wouldn't recommend Rogain.. but I don't know anything about it really. I've lost at least half my hair, and am almost 7 months postop. It's still falling out, but might have slowed down a smidge. I cut mine shorter so it fluffs up more.

That is how I feel, like the VSG will work for others but not me. I had surgery 10/03 lost 26.4 lbs and still feel like I'm terrified of failing. Sent from my SM-G920P using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m having surgery on 10/17 as well! I’ve been super excited in the last few months but since it’s the final countdown I’ve been a bit anxious. [emoji28]

Dr. Illan and all of the BariatricPal Family are Amazing!!! I had my Surgery with him Feb24th and it has been one of the Very Best decisions I have ever made. I just got back from touring the New Hospital and it is Great I believe you will be more than satisfied.

My high weight right before I started my pre-surgery diet was 250 on the nose. The first pic is in December of last year, three months after surgery, which means I was down to about 200. I've lost a total of 110 pounds in the last year, which is crazy. Don't be fooled by the black tights- there's a pool of saggy and baggy skin under there. Still, I'm in awe of the difference. I spend a lot of time looking in the mirror- not out of vanity but because I really don't recognize the person I'm looking at. It's a trip. It's confusing and exciting and rewarding. I'm in my goal range and seem to have leveled out as far as weight loss, but my body keeps changing still. It's weird to have a whole new host of body image issues to deal with. I can still very much be the girl who is terrified of taking up too much space and being fat and uncomfortable and unhealthy, and seeing a small person in the mirror can be very jarring to the image I have of myself in my head. That is slowly adjusting as my body does, but I struggle with seeing myself as a different person. I am so glad I made this decision- I feel so much more confident and healthy, I'm more active and eat healthier food, my back doesn't hurt- it's great! At this point in my journey the mental hurdles are the biggest ones to overcome, and it's fascinating to see how my mind tries to assimilate the knowledge of this "new me."