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Hello everyone! I’m new here. I’m 41 and I’ve been struggling with my weight for about 10 years now. I looked into getting the sleeve January 2022 when I was at my highest weight of 260 lbs. I decided that I would try to lose on my own and would revisit the idea of surgery if I was unsuccessful. In that year I managed to lose 20 lbs. This January I started researching again because I am determined to get back to a healthy weight. I went through an online seminar and decided to make my consultation appointment after I was diagnosed with pseudotumor cerebri and was told that weight loss can help alleviate the symptoms and I can stop taking the medication that I am taking for it. I have a host of other health issues and I’m hoping the weight loss can help me feel better physically. I had my consultation a week ago and my appointments with the nutritionist and physical therapist have been scheduled and I completed my initial bloodwork. I do not have to complete a medically supervised weight loss program and I spoke with my insurance company and was notified that the most I’ll need to pay out of pocket is $1300. I’m excited and nervous about what’s to come.

I've said before, bariatric surgery is not a cheap hobby. LOL! Fairlife are expensive, but it's only temporary.

That sounds awful! Your poor tiny tummy. It’s probably your tummy being worried that is gonna come back up too. Take small “bites” of pudding slowly & a couple of minutes apart & see if that helps. I hope you feel better soon!

I have not yet had surgery (RNY bypass) and am doing all I can to prepare (following dr.s orders, started exercise program). I have been reading the weight loss stories in this forum and notice a wide range of differences in "success." While I understand that if you go back to bad habits you won't meet goal (since the surgery is only one of the many tools we need), I am curious if there are things you have done (or not done) that you think helped you meet your goals. In other words...if I do everything I am supposed to, most of the time (knowing slips happen), is there anything that will prevent me from hitting the goal range my Dr. and I set for myself? I.e., genetics? Not exercising every day or hard enough? I am just so worried that even if I do everything I should that I will fail...once again... Interested in your thoughts (and encouragement!). TIA

Glad you are feeling better. It is really important to pace yourself & be aware of portion sizes while you are in the healing & recovery stages. A lot of nerves were cut during your surgery so your signals don’t get through or if they do, they’re different to how you usually experience them. Yea, I have heard of people who have progressed through their staged return to eating more quickly (not skipping as such) but always because their surgeons advised them to do so & see how they go. There are also lots of people who return to a previous stage because their body just wasn’t ready even if they were progressing at their plan’s rate. The cravings are another matter & should never influence how quickly you progress through the stages (they’re in place to protect & support your healing tummy - remember all those sutures & staples holding your tummy/digestive system together). A craving, where you want to eat a specific food, texture or flavour, is a head hunger & not real hunger (when you don’t want anything specific & just want nourishment). Are you wanting to eat because you’re seeking comfort, because of stress (common after surgery) , boredom or other emotions, habit, thinking you should be hungry because you’re eating so little, etc. Look for a distraction. Head hunger usually doesn’t last. Read, craft, play a game, watch a movie or show, have a warm drink, go for a walk, or do some other activity like clean out a drawer or a shelf in the pantry, ring a friend, check out social media or this forum. They won’t necessarily stop the cravings but do help manage them.

pain is all across the board but most of us seem to have little or none of it. I had hardly any pain and never even opened the bottle of pain killers they sent me home with. If you're one of the ones who has pain - never fear - they'll send you home with pain killers. Just take them on schedule and you should be able to keep on top of it. But again, most of us don't have much pain with these surgeries. get used to needles - I had follow-ups with blood draws about every three months the first year, I think (I had my surgery almost eight years ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy). After the first year, I only had to come in once a year unless I was having issues (I haven't had any issues), and I have to go for a blood draw before that appt, too. They like to see what your various levels are so they can adjust your vitamins or whatever. I never found the needles very painful - I just look the other way.

I agree with everyone else. I always thought I could do it on my own, and I lost weight - only to regain it - again and again and again. This went on for probably 30 years. Some people can do it - but according to statistics, it's about 5% or fewer. I wasn't one of the 5%. Surgery was the only thing that helped me lose my excess weight and keep most of it off. it's not easy. It does take work. A lot of work. But on that other hand, it does work as long as you do your part. Stick to the eating plan. Get and stay active. The difference is, you're no longer fighting biology - the strong need for your body to return to its highest weight. You can definitely regain a bunch of weight if you're not monitoring yourself, but because of the lower set point and changes in your hormones, it's a lot easier to maintain the loss. I couldn't have done it without the surgery.

Losing a pound a week is ... a lot ! I look at it this way... how much weight were you losing before you started this journey - before dieting to shrink your liver, before you even thought about surgery ? For me the answer was that I would lose a few pounds and put it right back, and obviously, I was gaining net weight !!!! If you lose 5 pounds a month; in a year, you will have lost 60 more pounds !!! THAT is an achievement of huge note ! How many pounds does it take to lose a "dress size" ? 10 to 15 pounds. Are you ready to lose 4 to 6 sizes in a year ? THAT is another huge victory ! We start out losing a lot of weight and forget that the weight we lose after those first few months are added to the weight we have already lost. Keep at it. You are doing great. Do not think about the WHAT IF's of a different surgical procedure. Instead think about the Where would I be without surgery ? You are fine. Your surgery is fine. Keep up the GREAT WORK !

Hair loss is probably the number one distressing appearance-related side effect of rapid weight loss (honourable mentions to loose skin, of course). Most, if not all, of us suffer from it. Some suffer more than others. Like the others above, I want to offer re-assurance that its mostly temporary. Little chicken hairs will start to sprout up and then in a year or two those chicken hairs will be down to your shoulders. Im my case (and some others I have read), it actually came back thicker...but i think this is also due to the fact that my overall health is better than it was before. BUT, in the meantime, here are few couple tips to get you through this annoying stage (choose what you feel comfortable with...or none at all ) 1) cut your hair shorter (i did a pixie cut at 3 months). the carpets of hair accumulating on the floor and catching in the shower drain will appear less. shorter hair theoretically will weigh less, so it will be less likely to pull down flat against your scalp and show larger swatches of said scalp. and when the chicken hairs start coming in they are less noticeable and blend in better with the rest of your shorter hair and not look so thin on the ends. 2) keep your hair clean. greasy hair will flatten and mat against your scalp which will show more of it (BUT don't shampoo too much...and that's for everyone, not just those losing their hair!) 3) I think I see what looks like a braid in your hair in one of the pics above? if you can, maybe save the braids for later as the style will pull on the hair you have and possibly come out at an even faster rate. 4) there are these hair fibre "powders" that you can buy that temporarily camouflages the scalp. its basically hair coloured powder that you sprinkle on your hair to give the appearance of fullness until you wash it out later. Best results on darker hair with enough existing hair for the fibres to adhere too. 5) and for the truly brave, there is SMP (scalp micro pigmentation)..its a process whereby a tech tattoos hundreds (thousands?) of tiny little dots on your scalp to mimic hair follicles and create the illusion of fuller hair. I had this done last year because I have had the same side part in my hair since I was like 8 years old, and as the years have gone by its was noticeably thinner in that section. Full disclosure: it effing hurts. but I'm happy with the results, lol. 6) and lastly, at least for me, vitamins, creams, lotions did nothing to stop or slow down the hair loss. i know lots of folks have sworn by some or all of these methods, so ymmv. Good Luck, and hang it there! ❤️ P.s. sorry this was so long.

Second quote Dr baltrusch, Portland. Also super nice, was concerned about a male surgeon but he put me at ease immediately. Took plenty of time as well. He could only do arm lift and fdl tuck at same time- sounds like he is a bit slower, he’s a newer surgeon so I’m assuming that’s why. Fdl: 8360 Arm lift:6050 Anesthesia:2077 Facility: 3200 Total 19907