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You’ll likely discover other things, both weird & wonderful, that make you wonder what’s going on. We’re listening to our bodies in a different way. We’re not just putting everything down to our weight. And we’re experiencing things we haven’t before or had forgotten about. I remember I was having a lot of upper back pain. I jokingly said to a masseuse oh it’s probably because my boobs are so much smaller now & I need better fitting bras. Light bulb moment - oh of course it was. My body was used to carrying those heavier weights on my chest. Was fitted for some new smaller & better supporting bras & the back pain practically disappeared.

Hello and mega congratulations. Its good to hear just how well you are doing. In such a short time you have gained so much. I feel the same joy every day just living life in a smaller body.

I read this article in the New York Times this week and thought it brought up a lot of interesting issues. With the alarming growth of obesity in young people, including children, there are a lot of questions about when should a patient become a candidate for WLS. With my upcoming surgery, I've had a few conversations with my teen/tween daughters about nutrition/healthy eating, as well as some of the possible genetic components of weight gain. Both of my girls are active and not currently at risk, but I know that my younger daughter is physically a lot like I was at her age, and I would do anything for her not to ever have to deal with weight gain the way I have as she gets older. I hope I can teach them both good habits now that they can carry with them. But what happens when a kid is already so large at age 16 that their quality of life is impacted? What's the responsible/ethical thing to do with regards to a surgery that can't be reversed? This is a very interesting read. In case you didn't read it, here's a link (it should bypass the paywall for non-subscribers until the end of November): https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/31/magazine/teen-bariatric-surgery.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7Ew.M7l-.QaJi8BjntPW_&smid=url-share

As I lost weight, my equilibrium was off. Things shift and not only was my balance off, my bones and muscles ached. Between walking and a few adjustments from a chiropractor, it's greatly improved. I think it's normal to feel clumsy/klutsy because I sure did. My walking was most obvious. I tripped easily and stumbled over things. Now I purposely walk off road over uneven ground to help strengthen my legs and balance. I still have weight to lose so until I get closer to goal weight, I'm believing it can only get better. GL and hope you see improvements as you go too :)

Ouch you tore your toenail on the refrigerator? 😶😖 Yeah...I'm thinking its the weight loss...even if its still just a small amount. I'm going to bring it up at my 3 month check up..just to see what they say. Thanks for responding.

I have been creeping around here for months and finally decided to create an account and share. First though, I have to give great credit to my wife and family. My wife has been so supportive and flexible through the whole process. She has always been by my side, but during this process she read and learned about the changes, as much or more than I did. She has gone above and beyond with her support and care for me, all while still running a busy household. My kids are a constant reminder of why I did this -- so that I would be around for a long time. I wanted to be able to participate in life with my family. I also have to thank my surgical team and the care they provide. It has been great and truly lifesaving. I weighed 514-lbs on 9/12/22. I was a big boy to say the least. Shockingly, I was not in horrible medical condition. I did not take any medicine. Did not have diabetes or high blood pressure. I did have swelling in my legs, constantly sore/bad knees, and was very quick to be out of breath. I lived a very sedimentary live and limited my physical activity. I wanted to be able to be more active and be around with my family for a long time. I finally got up the nerve to discuss with my wife and she immediately got on board. I went through the program without an issue. Checked all boxes and completed all steps. Surgery was on 2/28/23 and it went well. I was up and moving that night, because that was one of the biggest hurdles to clear in order to leave. I was able to sip and keep liquid down. Discharged after one night! Incisions were sore, as expected. Gas was the worst, and not the good kind of gas that can clear the room when expelled (yeah, I am a guy), but the awful painful surgical gas, which took almost a week to fully go away. I was basically fully cleared by the doctor and back to work (in a nonphysical job) one week after surgery. My process was textbook, none of the complications that many have experienced, and I am lucky for it! This process has not been easy but has not been impossible. I have followed my plan, with the support at home, and it is working. I feel physically so much better. I am so much more mobile and active. I have never been happier. I have made changes to my daily life to support the process. My diet has changed but not radically. I eat a lot less and that is the biggest driver of my weight loss. I walk and am active in live, but I do not have a detailed exercise plan. I am still learning exactly what works for me, but most importantly I want others to know there are many routes to get to the same place. I try to get the big stuff right and not sweat the tiniest of details. My blood work at my six-month checkup was solid. Protein was on the low end in the range, but still acceptable. I was encouraged to keep on keeping on (shout out to Joe Dirt). They were comfortable enough to set my next follow up appointment out to one year. I was scared and nervous. I have had good days and bad days (constipation is AWFUL)! Most importantly, I wanted to share my story and I hope it can help others in some way. I never wanted to be skinny. I could care less what my BMI is. I wanted to feel better. I wanted to be able to participate in life with my family. And I am! I am no expert and I still have a long way to go, but I am happy and glad I had this surgery. As I have seen here, over and over again, we are all different, so what works for me may not for others, but I still wanted to share, and I hope it might be of some benefit to someone else. The non-scale wins are just the best! When I started this process, I was so huge that home scales couldn't hold me, so I would go months without weighing, but I knew good things were happening because of all the non-scale wins. Cherish those! This is a long (probably too long) post, so I will wrap. I recently weighed on my home scale (yeah, that's right, it now holds me) and I was at 288-lbs. If anyone has questions or wants more details about my journey, please let me know. I would be happy to share more.

No more than usual for me. I was and will always be a Klutz. Last month , I had a freak accident with the refrigerator door. Tore my big toenail off while closing it. Stuff like that could only happen to me. LOL You lost alot of weight - our bodies have to readjust to everything . Maybe this is just another adjustment it's making. That's just a guess. If it really starts to bother you , mention it to someone on your team. They can put your mind at ease.

So been trying to find a Vitamin that does not cause me nausea or make me throw up. Sure enough it was the amount of Iron in them. I switched from the 45mg of iron one to the 18mg of iron and no nausea, no vomiting. It's great that you've found a solution to your vitamin-related issues. Iron intake can sometimes be a tricky aspect of post-bariatric surgery nutrition. It's good to see that adjusting the iron dosage has made a positive difference for you. Managing your vitamin and mineral levels is crucial for your overall health after weight loss surgery.

I know this is an older post but it was so well done I had to comment. I'm having my POS band removed very soon I hate it. It doesn't work long term etc,, The first band was in 2008 and redone in 2014 since then all weight is back. 380 right now. Question? Why do I read all the bad things here about MGB? stalls, pain, GERD, ulcers, and can never use aspirin again? I chew a baby aspirin every day 83mg for my heart...MGB seems to be the best overall procedure. Thought maybe of the sleeve but heard even worse things about it. I'm confused as to what to do next as the Band has not proven a long-term solution for me. I'm 58 and don't want to go through this again. Also, does the stomach still produce hunger hormone which is removed with the Sleeve? Thanks and great post!

PERIODS: I had my WLS when I was 47 and i *thought* I was already menopausal, as I hadn't had my period in a couple (few?) years before that. Well. 2-3 weeks after surgery, I got my period...heavily...for like 8 days or something like that (which for me is an anomaly as when I used to have periods, they would only last 4-5 days max, and were very light). Then I got my period like clockwork every 4 weeks after that for about 4 years. Go figure...I wasn't menopausal at all, I was just fat, lol I am actually going through it now i think as my last period was in the spring 2022 last year (i'm 5 yrs post op now). So yeah, i raise my hand for weird period happenings. HAIR LOSS: Yep, i lost a significant amount of hair. It all grew back eventually, and I feel like its actually thicker now...but that may be due to the fact that my diet is better? I dunno. Bonus as well is that my hair now has a little wave to it, which i love. Unfortunately, I don't think there is anything you can do to prevent it. My advice if it happens to you, is to just ride it out. its temporary and just a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. STOPPING WEIGHT LOSS: My not-so-surprising answer to this: EAT MORE. lol. It took me few months of increasing my calorie intake until i figured out what calorie amount i needed to maintain. I lost 10+ lbs while i figured this out, but at least i did, ha! Now in my case (and alot of others) my restriction was still very much in effect, so I had to invoke the strategy of eating more higher-calorie foods vs. just more food in general. It was a little bit of a challenge as I was still in weight-loss mode thinking so switching mindsets to allow myself eat things i avoided for 7 months was a bit of mind f*ck. I'm really good at it now though, lol. Good Luck! ❤️

Like mentioned above it depends when exactly post-op you are asking about. I too was one of those weirdly low volume eaters (which, during weight loss phase, equated to being a super low-cal eater) According to my logs at week 6, i averaged 423 calories A DAY (vs. weeks 1-2 when I ate less than that for an ENTIRE WEEK) sloooowwwwwllly worked my way up to about 700-800 cals a day by the time I reached goal (about 7 months post op). I am 5 years post op and maintain now at about 1800 cals a day. (5'2", 51 yr old female, 113 lbs this morning). You will find that the number of calories each of us require to maintain or lose (or gain!) weight varies greatly. The trick is to find out what calories YOU need to lose/maintain/gain, and work that into your eating habits. Note also that this magic caloric number FOR YOU is forever a moving target and will change depending on your health, activity levels, metabolisms, time of year, amount of sleep you get, stress levels, medications, mood, etc., etc., etc. Good Luck! 😍

I had my eye exam today and I was really hoping my prescription would be the same so I could hold off buying new glasses until after I've lost some weight. Unfortunately, based on the blurriness I've been getting when driving, I had a feeling it wouldn't turn out that way, and I was right. It was enough of a change that I couldn't get away with waiting. The whole time I was trying on new frames, I kept asking myself, "What will these look like if my face isn't so round?" It's hard enough choosing glasses as it is!

No, no short term disability application. I'm disabled and don't work outside the home so no need for that! I don't get holiday pajamas but I did have a friend send me some boxes of beautiful clothes after her mother passed away. So once I get down to that size I'll have a full wardrobe which is really exciting!! I love that something sad will be made beautiful again... My closet also includes clothes from about 100 lbs of gain so I'll be wearing everything in reverse as I go down. Shopping my own closet will be an adventure! Plus thrift stores, TJ Maxx, and Ross... Ahhh, I love shopping. 😂

Reposting on this forum from the gals room… Has anyone had their mirena iud removed after weight loss surgery and gained weight because of it? I got my gastric sleeve last year and I’m so happy with where I’m at however, I’ve been considering getting my iud removed. My issue is that I have pcos and am terrified that I gain weight due to hormones after getting it removed. Has anyone else been in this situation that can offer any advice?

If you are not exceeding your portion size, then you wont "feel" the discomfort. Stick to the portion size. Also, pasta is a no no. I would not start "cheating" at this point in your journey. This is they honeymoon phase where we all should be very careful about what we eat. Pasta, bread, and rice have very little nutritional value and that kind of carbs are not good for weight loss.

I was also post-menopausal, but my hormones were still affected as i would just cry in the store trying to figure out what to buy as this was a new way of shopping after the procedure. We have to re learn how to shop, and cook and that felt overwhelming to me! I also am still in the process of losing my hair. It started at about 4-5 months. It falls out like crazy when i wash it. I like many others cut my long hair and opted for just above the shoulder length. I am 6.5 months post op so hopefully it will stop falling out soon!! As far as slowing weight loss, it will slow on its own. I dont think many of us on here have to worry about losing too much weight. There are a few, but a majority of us I believe are able to maintain without any more weight loss once we hit our set point. At least that is what I have read from other posts.

so, whats the update? Have you lost any more weight in the last couple of months?

I agree with the others. Plus this is the time to really work on healthier eating habits. That's not to say you can never have those things again (because you can, at least occasionally), but really use these first few months when you're not as burdened by hunger to "upgrade" your eating habits. It'll pay off big in the end - plus healthy food choices are good for so many things, not just weight loss.

5.5 Years Out Hi all - I used to be very active on these forums, but as I continue on my journey I have found myself relying less and less on this platform. I do like to check in occasionally to provide insight, encouragement, perspective, and more to those who are about to begin their journey or in the first few chapters. A little about me- I had VSG surgery in May of 2018. My highest weight was about 260 and I was put out on my body and my weight affected all aspects of my life. I lost a total of 140 pounds and have maintained (most) of that weight loss. I am up about 10 pounds in the last year or so, but mostly muscle as I have begun weightlifting so I am not too concerned. I had two plastic surgeries after my VSG to help with loose skin and such. My favorite non-scale victories over the past few years: Being able to walk into any store and find something that works for me Having my boyfriend be able to pick me up as if I weigh nothing Being able to cross my legs when I sit! Feeling cute in my clothes My quality of life is exponentially better My most unexpected experiences: I am ALWAYS cold I quickly pass out if I stand for too long I struggle with iron intake Vitamins can make me feel super sick! I get an upset stomach very easily I suffer from acid reflux (something I never experienced before) My unsolicited advice: Listen to your doctors Get active Drink your water! Eat your protein Having one bad or off day is not an excuse to have a bad week You can still enjoy things in moderation

They will in time, but these drugs are only now becoming approved for weight loss use; they formerly were strictly diabetic drugs used off label for weight loss, and a darling of the Hollywood set, and followers of them, so that didn't give them a great image on an official basis. They are basically a lifetime use drug, so the cost is a big issue with those covering them, but that will decline as more competition comes on the market and they go off patent, and as they gain respectability in the "legitimate" medical world and not just the fly by night weight loss "spas".

Hello! New here and 6 days out from my VSG. I was wondering if anyone had their procedure done at The Bergen New Bridge Medical Center located in Paramus NJ. Just tryna gain some more insight. I'm super excited but also very nervous. Thanks in advance!

Hello! I didn't have a Mirena removed post-op (my VSG surgery is scheduled for 11/22, so I am still pre-op!), but I HAVE had a Mirena IUD removed previously. I had it replaced with a copper ParaGard IUD (which does not have any hormones) because the Mirena hormones were causing me to have cystic acne and other weird hormonal stuff (more ovarian cysts, etc.!), and I can confidently say that the removal did NOT cause any weight gain. Hopefully that is at least slightly helpful for you to hear! You may want to ask in one of the post-op forums for other experiences, as well!

With my now being six weeks post-op, I'm curious what others' calorie intake has been in the early stages of typically rapid weight loss after surgery and am well aware that intake increases and body weight decreases. I realize everyone is different, and clearly stated in my original post that I have already spoken about this with my dietitian for my own case. I'm not seeking medical advice from an internet forum on what my target should be; I'm opening a conversation about the topic to see where other bariatric patients have found their own successes with respect to their caloric intake as one metric.

As for recovery and support, you might want to check out Tuffwraps.com for gear like wrist wraps and lifting belts, which can provide added stability and safety during your workouts. Remember, patience is key, and always listen to your body. You're on the right track, and with consistency and determination, you'll see those strength and muscle gains.

It takes a lot of calories to maintain that heavier weight & for the body to function at that weight (just moving with that weight alone requires a lot of energy) & so the calorie deficit has a greater impact. It requires your body to burn more fat to get the energy it needs to function so there is a greater weight loss. There is a percentage formula to help give you an idea of what weight loss you may expect (may not will) but I can’t recall what it is. Though I think they say you may expect to lose about 30% of your weight at three months. Say it says you’ll lose 10% of the weight you’re to lose in your first month. It you weigh 600lbs & are to lose 400lbs you might to lose 40lbs in the first month. Have a lower starting weight & are to lose 200lbs you might lose 20lbs. Well, that’s my understanding. 😁