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A member here, youknowit, let me know she had seen my before and some after pics of me in some youtube videos. Least to say, I did not authorize this usage of my photos. I contacted the poster, and advised them that they were violating the TOS of youtube. I'm assuming they snagged my photos from this forum because my OH is completely private. So, I went in and made my photo album here available to only my friends. I gave the poster 24 hours to reply. If I do not hear from them, I will report the privacy violation to Youtube. If your album is public, go to your User CP, hit Privacy Options, and then make it available only to your friends. I'm not completely upset by having my pictures out there. It's the principle that the poster did not ask for permission to use them. I realize the internet is not private. I realize once it's out there, it's out there. That is NOT my concern so I don't need a lecture on posting pics on the internet. My point is that the pics were snagged, and used without any consideration or authorization. Even a common courtesy to say "hey I'm making some videos on youtube and would like to use your pics." would have been appreciated. Also, the poster has a weight loss forum/community (not just for WLS patients) that he/she is trying to get people to join. So, least to say, we'll see what happens.

@JessiG I'm having the same issue. So I have a story in mind that I am going to tell my clients and others. Everyone in my life knows I have struggled and am always trying some sort of diet. most every0ne knows I also suffer from joint pain and high blood pressure, etc. I don't lie well and I HATE lying but here is my story: my surgery is August 23 and I'm starting to let people know that after my last summer trip I've decided to join Lindora weight loss center ( it's a place I've done before ) so I know how the program works and I can answer questions. pretty much keto diet, but you have to be accountable everyday by going in and weighing yourself and pee on a stick to see if your body is in Ketois. then you get a "B12" shot ( which I'm not sure that is really what it is) LOL. Preparing my friends up front and letting them know that I'm taking a break from the social events for awhile so I CAN get on track without distractions and if they are my friends and clients they will understand and be supportive. Again, this is my story. whether it works or not... I shall see. Good luck. I'm in the same boat as well.

My Doctor is being quite good and patient with mu panicked queries. He says not to worry although when I spoke to him yesterday he wanted me to cut down on my calories, something I sort of balked at, because I was at a loss what to cut out and I'm also working out for about an hour everyday :/ I just wonder if someone else has experienced something similar because it's a bit discouraging. Sent from my SM-G960F using BariatricPal mobile app

Yesterday during my fill my surgeon told his two fellows (I allow them to teach on me) that a port may flip or seem to flip because with the loss of visceral fat (under the muscle around the organs) the shape of the abdomen changes and since it is anchored the port may change direction. My port hasnt flipped but it has turned almost on its side. It is a complete hassle to get a fill, I was poked 4 times yesterday twice by the NP and twice by the dr. Of course this most likely isnt the ONLY reason a port may flip, it is what my surgeon said.

Be sure to get in your protein or you could possibly start losing your hair.

I went to my preop appointment yesterday it went well. My boyfriend has also started his weight loss journey. even though he will be sleeved after me we are kind of doing this together, and we support each other

OK I have jumped through all the hoops that the insurance wanted including 3 months of medically supervised weight loss. Now I'm waiting for United Healthcare to deny me so that they can bump it to my husband's Blue Cross Blue Shield for approval. United Healthcare doesn't cover it at all. Wish they would hurry up and deny me already. Just to throw a wrench in the process my company will be changing from United to Aetna as of Feb. 1st. Spoke to my patient advocate and she said they have to get a denial from Aetna too. Aetna doesn't cover it either. This waiting is agonizing.

It could be your weight loss, or not enough protein. I have a thyroid condition and being cold all the time is a indicator of hypothyroidism. People do tend to overlook it but its good to get checked out. It's a simple blood test. I know when my levels are out of whack when I stay cold and have no energy.

I would agree with that for the most part. I had laparoscopic surgery back in 1995 and the incision, just below my belly button, was about 1/2 inch thick. (yeah, I wasn't too thrilled about that) Anyway, at about a year it was for the most part healed to where it stayed for almost a decade. In the last few years though, it has suddenly started to thin and fade even more...not sure what is up with that, and not like you really want to wait a decade, but I do think the skin heals even more over time. I was very lucky with the plication...my doc made tiny incisions and they are as thin as a hair. They already just look like small scratches, and that is less than a month out. Of course, I still have a big catepillar under my belly button from the first surgery years ago, so it's not like I am going to be parading my fat belly around anyway, lol! I am trying to take good care of my skin right now anyway, to help with the elasticity and hopefully help my skin shrink as much as possible. I put really high end collagen lotion on my stomach, arms and legs everyday, and this included my scars, so maybe that is helping them to heal quickly too. Someone on another board mentioned that they apply Maderma. All the Water we are drinking is also supposed to help with skin healing. I'm holding on to that hope at least!

I have kinda the same question except I've been at my job 17.5 years. Not sure how to address the weight loss once I have surgery.

I saw my cardiologist yesterday. He was thrilled with my progress and agreed that I can be weaned off my High Blood Pressure medication! He is hoping that my leaky aortic valve with stablize too in the next few months! Don't have to visit him again for 6 more months! My weight loss is slow and steady, averaging about 10 pounds per month. I am feeling SO GOOD! Yay for me!!!

Sorry ... trying to track all of this and I just want to make sure I get this straight. Are you disappointed you got pregnant less than 2 months post-op and that has thrown off you weight loss? Are you disappointed you lost 115 pounds? You do realize you are going to "lose" a bunch of "weight" when the baby is born ... right? Did you get sleeved to lose weight or lose fat? Do you consider the baby to be your fat? Do you really think that losing weight while pregnant is a good thing? I would be proud of myself for not losing during pregnancy. From what I understand, the Drs don't want you getting pregos for several months post-op. The body has enough of a hard time supporting the sleever with the drastic reduction of calories, so to take on a pregnancy so early is really tough. Disappointed you haven't lost weight since February ...? Really? To be honest, I'm rather proud of you. Good job nourishing your baby. Also, the pouch test is really for bypass folk as their pouch is made of the fundus which is still a stretchy part of the stomach. When it gets stretched out, the pouch test routine helps to get it back to size. This does not relate to sleevers. We pretty much do the pouch test thingy on a daily basis with our restriction. Are you planning on breast feeding? Be careful going on a "diet" so soon after giving birth. You are going to be sleep deprived for a while, so be careful not to be nutritionally depleted, too.

you make it. google fat loss water. its so simple 1 grapefruit, 1 tangerine, 1 cucumber and a couple of mint leaves in filtered water i use spring water and it helps me get my water in also and it taste so refreshing.

has anyone tried it. i am on day 8 and i was at a stall and i lost 3lbs last week. anyone else drinking it

I put the unflavored unjury in everything I can. Broth, sauces, crystal light, pudding, applesauce even jello. It does not always dissolve the best but I have not had any trouble getting my protein in and my hair and nails look great.

Congrats on becoming a vet! It is easy to get discouraged, not just by the scale, but LIFE. I think it is important to keep the perspective of focusing on how much you have acheived - both health benefits, mobility, looks etc rather than comparing yourself to what you envision as "ideal". You would be shocked at how many women at a "normal" weight despise their own looks. It really is a waste of energy. I was told by my NUT and found it to be try that as long as you keep "working it" the sleeve will keep working for you. You CAN continue to lose weight as a vet, just keep on keeping on. I know what you mean about sometimes thinking how long the journey is - for me, when i weighed over 300# it seemed impossible to get to a normal size/weight, but i did it. I too thought about the ladies who were "only" 75-100# overweight... but in the end that doesn't really matter. It only matters how I live my life, not how I compare to anyone else. I can be bad about Vitamins sometimes... and then get back on track, but I implore you to get your Protein in. As you are losing weight, adequate protein can help maintain your muscle mass. It can also prevent hair loss and other unpleasant things like that. Anyway, keep posting on the vet forum! Welcome!

Every health insurer has different requirements. If you are unsure if the information you received is accurate, call again and speak to a different representative and see what they say. It never hurts to verify information. Also, even if your insurer doesn't have any pre op requirements, your surgeon still may. There is a lot of learning, habit changing, and soul searching you need to do to be ready and prepared for surgery. I would honestly not choose a surgeon who doesn't have any pre op requirements. I want someone who is in it for the long haul and wants me to succeed. I was frustrated with the pre op requirements and waiting period while I was going through them. I thought I was wasting time and just wanted surgery to be done so I could get to losing this weight. I couldn't wait to get through the bull paperwork to make the insurance company happy and get on with it. Now that I am post op, I am SO SO glad I had to go through all of the education, nutrition counseling, psych evaluation, and pre-op dietary changes. I definitely thought the psych eval was a waste of time. However, now I am considering seeking voluntary counseling to help me work through the feelings and anxiety substantial weight loss is bringing out and to work through the thoughts of self sabotage. It is surprising how emotional this process is. To be successful we all need to get our minds just as healthy as our bodies. Mental health and preparation is just as important as being physically ready. Good luck to you and I can't wait for you to join us on the loser's bench! There is always room here and we are a wonderful cheering squad!

For some reason, I was thinking Sept 29 is my 1 month, but it was actually Sept 26. Started going to the gym about two weeks ago...no lifting yet, just cardio. No problems so far with food intake and no pain anywhere. My pre- surgery weight Sept 24 was 237. As of today I am 197! So far it's been a smooth ride... Especially the weight loss! I think at week 3, I thought I was hitting the dreaded "stall", but was wrong! Knock on wood...please no stall soon! My wife and sons are now noticing that I'm getting smaller and smaller. Good luck everyone!

I posted this on another forum and felt it might be useful for other people to have a read of, if like me, you like your scientific facts. Maybe the below will provide a bit of clarity as to the 'nuts and bolts' of some of the bariatric procedures and their long-term (within the limitations of the data) efficacy. This first academic journal quoted was published in May 2013. So, it doesn't get more 'up to date' with regards to evaluating the comparative effectiveness in the three biggest weight loss procedures. I have only reproduced the abstract and have quoted the source below as the abstract covers the salient information we'd be interested in. The second section is all about the metrics, with a snapshot of all the procedures being evaluated in a tabulated form (the table was removed from the cutting and pasting process, so read left to right) and the risks associated with the operations. The primary and secondary sources are also cited. Better to make decisions based on rigorous scientific research, than hearsay and charasmatic sales pitches, I feel... Hope it helps. Article 1: Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the comparative effectiveness of sleeve gastrectomy (SG), laparoscopic gastric bypass (RYGB), and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) procedures. Background: Citing limitations of published studies, payers have been reluctant to provide routine coverage for SG for the treatment of morbid obesity. Methods: Using data from an externally audited, statewide clinical registry, we matched 2949 SG patients with equal numbers of RYGB and LAGB patients on 23 baseline characteristics. Outcomes assessed included complications occurring within 30 days, and weight loss, quality of life, and comorbidity remission at 1, 2, and 3 years after bariatric surgery. Results: Matching resulted in cohorts of SG, RYGB, and LAGB patients that were well balanced on baseline characteristics. Overall complication rates among patients undergoing SG (6.3%) were significantly lower than for RYGB (10.0%, P < 0.0001) but higher than for LAGB (2.4%, P < 0.0001). Serious complication rates were similar for SG (2.4%) and RYGB (2.5%, P = 0.736) but higher than for LAGB (1.0%, P < 0.0001). Excess body weight loss at 1 year was 13% lower for SG (60%) than for RYGB (69%, P < 0.0001), but was 77% higher for SG than for LAGB (34%, P < 0.0001). SG was similarly closer to RYGB than LAGB with regard to remission of obesity-related comorbidities. Conclusions: With better weight loss than LAGB and lower complication rates than RYGB, SG is a reasonable choice for the treatment of morbid obesity and should be covered by both public and private payers. SOURCE: Carlin A, Zeni T, Birkmeyer N, et al. The comparative effectiveness of sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, and adjustable gastric banding procedures for the treatment of morbid obesity. Annals Of Surgery [serial online]. May 2013;257(5):791-797. Available from: MEDLINE with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Article 2: September 2012: Morbidity and mortality associated with LRYGB, LSG, and LAGB from the ACS-BSCN dataset LRYGB LSG LAGB 30-d mortality (%) 0.14 0.11 0.05 1-y mortality (%) 0.34 0.21 0.08 30-d morbidity (%) 5.91 5.61 1.44 30-d readmission (%) 6.47 5.40 1.71 30-d reoperation/intervention(%) 5.02 2.97 0.92 SOURCE: Data from Hutter MM, Schirmer BD, Jones DB, et al. First report from the American College of Surgeons Bariatric Surgery Center Network: laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy has morbidity and effectiveness positioned between the band and the bypass. Ann Surg 2011;254(3):410–20 [discussion: 420–2], in: Timothy D. J, Matthew M. H. Morbidity and Effectiveness of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy, Adjustable Gastric Band, and Gastric Bypass for Morbid Obesity. Advances In Surgery [serial online]. n.d.;46(Advances in Surgery):255-268. Available from: ScienceDirect, Ipswich, MA

Annoyied. I've finished all my Options classes through Kaiser but I lagged on doing my Psych evaluation. If it were done prior to finishing my pre-op classes I probably would already have my final meeting with the Surgeon and a step away from getting my surgery date. This is just going to push everything further out. I'm scared because I've only lost 5 pounds during my pre-op weight loss classes and I don't want to gain those back since now I'm basically on my own without support from my classmates. It sucks. It's so damn easy to put on the weight but so hard to loose. =(

after the swelling and irritation goes down from the surgery you will feel hunger before your first fill. I only lost weight the first 6 weeks by pure willpower (don't know where that came from. after my first fill lost a few more but the third fill it was game on. I just had my fourth fill yesterday. i might not have made leaps and bounds in my loss but it's been steady

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. I hope that your day is a perfect day. It is OK to Celebrate this day WITHOUT having candy. There are so many other things that you could do for yourself that would make you feel great. Make something that is sugar free or use Splenda to bake something that you can have a small amount of. Remember sometimes just having a small amount of something or just a taste will satisfy your need to have it. I wish you great happiness today along with feeling great about yourself. I want you to feel successful if this is your first Valentine's Day after having WLS. If you are thinking about having weight loss surgery try today to NOT having something that you know is something unhealthy to eat. It is just one day. Remember we do this one day at a time and here is a great place to start. You can do this, there are a lot of people out here that have done this and we will continue to support you no matter what. Hugs, Suzanne

In my opinion, ones relationship with food must change in order to be successful long term. The surgery and the restricted diet will provide a weight loss while you're in the "honeymoon" phase (approximately 12-18 months) but then it is going to be up to you to use the surgical tool along with your learned new habits and relationship with food that you'll need for the rest of your life. Emotional eating and breaking that pattern is one of the toughest parts of this process. You will go through periods where you morn the loss of food. It is not hard to understand that when we look at the ways many of us used food in the past. It was our friend and comfort. It made us happy and was an immediate gratification. That instant gratification will be gone with the vast restriction seen with the new sleeve...for a little while. Eventually you will be able to eat more and maybe even enough, especially of the wrong foods, to comfort your emotions again. Work as hard as you can and utilize all the tools at your disposal to break that pattern of emotional eating during the honey moon period. Again, long term success is what we're all really striving for and that will only come with the necessary behavior modifications.

I really believe the benefits more then outweigh the risks. If you follow your Dr's pre and post-op instructions to the letter, without interpretation or rationalization you should do fine. Poop happens.... but leaks are rare. I'm not a religious person... but God knows your needs and challenges. Don't live your life in fear. Good luck with your decision. Start losing weight now.... while you're deciding. Even a 5% weight loss makes a huge difference in your risks.

Before my first fill and after my surgery I felt hungry all the time. I also could eat what ever I wanted. Now I've had my first fill and its been 5 days. I still can eat whatever I want and if I am not careful I will over eat just like before. Total weight loss is 22 lbs since I started the whole process. But wondering if I need to just wait until my next fill or go back on the full liquid until my stomach shrinks a little more? Any suggestions?