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I feel like most of us have mental health issues prior to WLS -- related to the weight gain in the first place, and the body dysmorphia that so easily comes along with life as a 'non-standard' size. I'm not surprised at all that many of us continue to struggle with both things during/after weight loss. People that haven't had a similar life might struggle to understand. Anyone who tells someone to "just get over it" or "just get passed it" in regards to any mental health issue is flat out not helping -- whether that's because they can't empathize with the struggle directly, or something else. I've been doing a lot of personal work on 'boundaries' lately. Just want to remind everyone that it's okay to remind someone that what they're saying is not very compassionate. It doesn't have to be a fight or an attack against them, even a simple "Yeah, that's really not a helpful thing to say but thanks for the effort, I guess?" might have them re-think their own words. They don't owe us support -- nobody owes anybody, really -- but we're all humans and deserve basic compassion rather than dismissal.

Thanks for checking on me!! About the same in terms of weight, unfortunately 😩, although I'm bouncing around the high 240s instead of the low 250s now, so there's been a slight change. I'm going to reach out to my team soon if things don't get moving again.

So my bestie who is in the process has medi-cal through partnership and her primary is Kaiser. Kaiser approved her sent all her info in. Their process is a goal weight, psych eval, blood work and meeting with dietician which she is almost done with the process and when its all said done it'll have been 2months ish. IDK if that is anything like medicaid.

I don't think you are going bald, just going through what so many of us have had to cope with. I had long thick straight hair pre-op and thought I was doing really well when I got to month four with no hair loss and then it was like a horror movie for two months. Clumps would come out if I washed my hair, I would cry in the shower when I saw what was in the drain and my hand after just a light touch wash. I kept my hair tied back and washed just once a week during the two months but you could tell where I had been by following the trail of fallen hair, I seriously shed more than my cat! I was so self conscious about it as had bald patches but thankfully others couldn't tell it was mostly underneath. I ended up cutting my hair up to chin length so it was not as obvious. After six months the hair loss stopped and now it is about regrowth, it is nearly as annoying though not in anyway upsetting. I have been getting my hair cut every couple of months so that my existing hair is as close in length to the new hair (which is coming in with a curl) and I have to put mascara in my hair if I go out in public as there are baby hairs sticking up all over the place, looks like static hair. I took special bariatric vitamins for hair for three months, no idea if it helped but I was prepared to try anything. I also got a couple of wigs but ended up not needed them. For washing my hair I used a really soft shampoo made from oat milk. Basically I just want to let you know that what you are going through is normal after the surgery, you couldn't have prevented it, it just happens to most patients as the body is coping with the weight loss and it will get better.

1. What was the best part of surgery for you? The best part is also the hardest to explain. The best way I can put it is that pre-surgery, I had a demon in my stomach. This demon demanded rich foods and thought that if one of something tasted good, then four of something would taste amazing (this made the demon a liar, but I had to obey these lies). The surgery removed the demon. I no longer feel controlled by cravings. 2. What was the worst part of surgery for you? The 48 hours prior to the surgery were miserable. I could only have water, Gatorades and black coffee. Then I had to take strong laxatives prior to the surgery, so I was defecating so much that my body was expelling food I hadn't even eaten yet. And I couldn't go to sleep because any flatulence had the potential to be ... explosive. So it's 1 am, I am starving, dehydrated, sitting on the john and I need to be at the hospital at 5:30. 3. Did you have any complications (minor or major) during or after your surgery? Nothing major. I greatly underestimated how sore my stomach would be and how long it would take for the soreness to go away. I am a stomach sleeper and it was three months before I felt comfortable sleeping on my stomach. 4. How has adjusting to your new life been for you? I love the new life. I am able to exercise (bike, jog, lift weights) like I never have, I have great energy. I can shop at pretty much any clothing store. It has allowed me to become a better version of myself. 5. How long did it take you to feel comfortable eating food? It was probably 8 months to a year before I felt like I could try any food and not have to worry about my stomach having trouble. 6. Is there anything you can’t eat anymore that you used to enjoy? Can't eat, as in, I physically cannot handle it? Nothing. But there are plenty of things that I used to love that I am uninterested in. Like I have no desire to eat a donut. Just seems like pure sugar to me. 7. What was your recovery like? Any vomiting or dumping syndrome? I did not have dumping syndrome (although some sugar alcohols hit my stomach hard). I did have some vomiting, but it was either due to eating too fast or eating a food that my stomach wasn't ready to handle yet (I had some stewed beef at like the 90 day mark and I wasn't as ready for it as I thought I was. 8. How long did it take you to feel semi-normal after surgery? I would say 90-120 days before I felt physically normal (could sleep on my stomach, could handle most foods) 9. Did you experience higher energy level post surgery? In the immediate aftermath of the surgery, no. This was my first (and so far, only) major surgery and I really underestimated how much it would sap my energy. I was walking gingerly for a while. But once I fully recovered, I have had way more energy. 10. Did surgery affect your mental health? Yes, in mostly good ways. The pre-surgery success-failure cycle of yo-yo dieting impacted my psyche way more than I realized. So this state of long-term success helped greatly (and success, both great and small, is an excellent anti-depressant). Will it cure your depression? Absolutely not. To the extent that you think your problems in life are caused by your size ("I'm single because I'm overweight" or "My weight is why they won't give the promotion" or "my weight is why my mother is passive-aggressive toward me"), the surgery will not make those problems go away. I'm very lucky and very blessed to live an amazing life and the weight-loss has only further revealed what an amazing and blessed life I have. 11. Do you regret it? Would you recommend it? I do not regret it. I make it a personal policy not to outright recommend it to anyone because everyone has their own journey. For many years, I saw bariatric surgery as a last resort, a kind of "pull in case of emergency" lever. I realized that I was 40+ yrs old with a wife and children and no diet had ever worked for me and I was only fooling myself if I thought the next one would do the trick. I had to either pull the lever or make peace with being morbidly obese for the rest of my life. I pulled the lever and I would pull it again without hesitation.

I had my gastric bypass surgery on 5/20. I have so much water retention! I'm up 20lbs from my pre-op weight, thighs and hips have gained several inches. I almost took one of my old diuretic pills until I read a thread on here. Anyone else having tons of edema?

Medicaid typically requires 6 months of documented medically supervised weight loss attempts with your doctor, bmi of 40 or 35 with at least 2 comorbidities, pass an ekg, blood work, and pass a psych eval before they will approve the surgery. They may also require a referral to a bariatric surgeon from your primary doc. They will also require a letter from your primary doctor approving you to have the surgery. All of that gets submitted to Medicaid by the bariatric surgeon and then Medicaid decides if they will approve it or not. If they deny it, they'll usually tell you why and you can either do whatever else they need you to do or appeal it if you already have it done. That's all I can think of. I actually originally looked into bariatric surgery way back when I was on Medicaid, but ended up not doing it. Once I started my previous job and got BCBS, I looked into it again and ended up doing it. When I had my revision a year later, I was changing jobs and in between insurance and back on Medicaid (if the revision if for complications and not failed weight loss, they tend to approve the revision really fast - in my case, it was 72 hours, if it's for failed weight loss, you basically have to start everything all over again as if you're doing the surgery from scratch, and all the previous requirements are back in place). Now I'm at my current job (dream job) and have United Health Care. I hope this helps somewhat!

First of all, can I just tell you that you're beautiful!!! I don't mean anything awkward or inappropriate with that, but I just felt like I wanted to tell you that you are a very beautiful woman To answer your questions: 1. What was the best part of surgery for you? Getting off blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and anti-inflammatory meds, losing the weight, and gaining mobility back 2. What was the worst part of surgery for you? I had several complications from the sleeve and had to have a revision a year later 3. Did you have any complications (minor or major) during or after your surgery? not during the surgery but about 7-8 months later, complications started showing up. 4 endoscopies, 1 colonoscopy, and massive amounts of PPIs later, had to have the revision 4. How has adjusting to your new life been for you? it's been hard sometimes, but overall, so worth it and rewarding and a huge blessing 5. How long did it take you to feel comfortable eating food? If you stick to the plan, it's a gradual process. By 6-8 weeks, I was nervous but ready to eat food and just made sure to go slow. 6. Is there anything you can’t eat anymore that you used to enjoy? pasta, rice, potatoes, bread (a year or 2 out, some can eat it in small amounts every once in a while, but I'm so sensitive to carbs that I stay far away...but there's alternatives that allow me to not feel like I'm deprived so it's completely ok) 7. What was your recovery like? Any vomiting or dumping syndrome? dumping really only happens with the bypass, not the sleeve. Never had vomiting and very little nausea (in the beginning). Once I had my revision to bypass, I had dumping twice and learned my lesson lol I follow the rules and I'm careful, so I haven't had it again. 8. How long did it take you to feel semi-normal after surgery? about 4 weeks after the sleeve, about a week to 10 days after the revision to bypass (much easier surgery to recover from, for some reason) 9. Did you experience higher energy level post surgery? not right away. I was beyond exhausted the first 2 weeks. Weeks 3 and 4 it started to get better. By week 6, I felt normal, and by 3 months out I had lost a good amount of weight and my energy levels really started to pick up. 10. Did surgery affect your mental health? not in any kind of negative way until I started having the complications. Once I had the revision, every complication went away and I've been beyond happy and thrilled. The only real issue I have now is body dysmorphia sometimes. I have moments where I look in the mirror and still see 421 pound me and not 195 pound me. I'll look in my closet and think someone stole my clothes and replaced them with someone else's (I use to be a size 30/5X and now I'm a size 14/XL). 11. Do you regret it? Would you recommend it? I absolutely do not regret it. The only thing I would go back and change is I would just have the bypass to begin with and skip the sleeve altogether. Now, there are a lot of people really happy with the sleeve. They have zero regrets. I was one of them, until I wasn't. Many of us sleevers have to get a revision to bypass for one reason or another, but just as many, if not more, have the sleeve and never have any issues and love it.

And it drives me nuts because my mom says things like "You just have to stop. You know you did the work and lost the weight, so just stop." Like...Ok, sure. I'll just quit. No problem. Thanks, mom 🙄

Hi there! I’m 24, 5’7 and 250 lbs. I’ve been trying to lose weight on my own since I was about 15 with little to no success. I’m currently pre-diabetic, and taking atenolol for hypertension. I’m young, and low income. My insurance is Medicaid through the state of Arizona, and after calling my insurance to ask about the process of getting a gastric sleeve, they were unfortunately not very helpful. I’d love to hear your complete process from consultations to receiving your surgery while being covered by Medicaid. I do know that they require a BMI of 40, or 35 (I think) with diabetes or high blood pressure. Either way, I am just about a BMI of 40. thanks so much in advance!!

As @ms.sss said it’s a matter of time. In the meantime the body dysmorphia is real. Being unable to recognize yourself. Being unable to visualize your actual physical size. Seeing yourself as you were & not as you are. Being unable to equate your weight loss with the reduction of your physical size. And simply not believing you are smaller. Told these stories before but I remember seeing a reflection in a shop window of a woman wearing the same outfit as me. Wish I looked as good as her I thought then realised it was me. Was trying on some shoes & looking in those small, low mirrors they have in shoe shops. Oh, that lady has great legs & turned round to compliment her but there wasn’t another woman. It was me. And yes there are still the odd times I catch a side view in a mirror & there’s that little jolt when I realise it’s me. Oh that’s right, this is how I look now.

i dunno. its just a matter of time i think. ive been this smaller size for over five years now, and there are still times when i reach for the size i KNOW i am but think, there is no way im fitting into this. but i always do. i was obese for about 15 years, so i figure if i can still be weird about my weight after all this time, its not unthinkable for those who were overweight longer to feel the same.

I took it prior to surgery while I was still considering options. It did absolutely nothing except made my hair fall out. After about 90days. I didn’t go bald but it was definitely noticeable and I did find out that was a weird side effect. max dose for weight-loss and I lost zero pounds. It gave me headaches the first 2-3 weeks but other than that it was not worth it

The last time I was talking about having a stall after nearly 3 weeks. My weight all the sudden dropped. But, I can also tell that I'm losing inches. Even when the weight doesn't move. My energy is all over the place the past week or so, I feel like I could do a triathlon, sometimes I feel like I just did a triathlon without doing anything. I assure you it's normal. I'm seeing this first hand, also this is what I get told by the doctor, dietician, nurse and exercise specialist. Two of them have had gastric bypass. The other two have been in the bariatric field for several years. The Dietician told me my stomach is like a new baby, since I'm only 3 months post op. There's several more months ( or longer) for our body to get it figured out. Right now it's brand new. I know how tough it is to see the scale not move, but I also know this is still early in the process. I'm trying to look at it like I have a brand new 3 months old stomach and there's going to be growing pains. Try not to be hard on yourself, it's a process and it takes time. That's what I keep trying to tell myself. I know it's cheesy and a line from a movie. But, like Rocky Balboa, if you get knocked down the only thing you can do is get up and keep moving forward.

I bought a pair of green Calvin Klein capris in size 14, with no give, no elastic, no stretch at all anywhere. They weren't fitting yet (mostly in the stomach area, pre-hysterectomy), so I kind of hid them in the back of the closet. Today I pulled them out and tried them on and OMG they fit PERFECTLY!!! I actually cried. I got them at our local thrift store here called The Arc (it's my favorite and I love it so much) and just never had the chance to wear them until literally right now. I am still shocked that I'm in an actual, legit size 14. I was a size 30 at my highest weight, and this just absolutely BLOWS MY MIND. I had to clean out my closet AGAIN and get rid of the size 18 and 16 stuff and the last of my 2x tops (they're listed on Facebook Marketplace). I suspect once I get my skin surgeries and Tummy Tuck, I'll be in a size 12. HOW is this my life now???? lol

Have a revision to bypass. That's what I did and it's a game changer. Now, I had it due to complications, but it's still worth it. Start looking into it, and work on getting your mind back in the game. You know the diet, you know the rules, you know how this works. Get started now. I will say, you won't lose weight as fast, or as much, as with your original weight loss surgery. But you could look at a good 40-50 pound loss, which would put you right back in the weight you liked. I say definitely do it.

SAME!!! This is exactly me right now. Almost like having imposter syndrome. I bought a pair of green Calvin Klein capris in size 14, with no give, no elastic, no stretch at all anywhere. They weren't fitting yet (mostly in the stomach area, pre-hysterectomy), so I kind of hid them in the back of the closet. Today I pulled them out and tried them on and OMG they fit PERFECTLY!!! I actually cried. I got them at our local thrift store here called The Arc (it's my favorite and I love it so much) and just never had the chance to wear them until literally right now. I am still shocked that I'm in an actual, legit size 14. I was a size 30 at my highest weight, and this just absolutely BLOWS MY MIND. I had to clean out my closet AGAIN and get rid of the size 18 and 16 stuff and the last of my 2x tops (they're listed on Facebook Marketplace). I suspect once I get my skin surgeries and tummy tuck, I'll be in a size 12. HOW is this my life now???? lol

Thank you so much for this!!! i think maybe the reason I heard a hysterectomy isn't a cure is because nowadays, many doctors aren't removing the ovaries if the woman hasn't hit menopause naturally yet. But my doctor is amazing and she said since I was having so many issues with ALL of my female plumbing (that's actually how she said it lol) I could have them removed along with everything else and go on HRT if I wanted. I jumped at it and have been completely happy with that choice. So it makes sense that my PCOS is gone now that both ovaries are, too, and the major stumbling block with losing weight is also gone. Thanks again!!!!

According to my physician, if the ovaries are removed it is. PCOS is a hormonal issue caused by the ovaries. Once the ovaries are removed (in my case 13 years after my hysterectomy) the issues are resolved. (There was a lot more detail I don't remember as it's been a couple of years but I had asked her about PCOS in my physical and she said no ovaries no PCOS.) Hormones do play a large part in our weight - from grehlin in the stomach to stress hormones. Any HRT is going to have an effect on our weight loss journey as it helps regulate the hormones. It sounds like the combination has put your body on the path to health again!

Hi, I don't even know where to start. I'm short (5'1") and my highest weight was around 210. I was 180 at the time of my surgery back in January 2013. I did great with my sleeve and my lowest weight was 117 -- too thin honestly. I stayed between 135-150 for many years. In early 2020 (Covid), 7 years after surgery my weight started creeping up. I'm embarrassed to say that I'm 200 lbs now. I've had clothes sized 2 to 18, in the last 11 years which is crazy. I am in my early 50s. I'm pretty sure I've started menopause. I get very hungry and graze way too much. I still don't eat a ton at one sitting, but nothing like the small amounts I used to eat either. The idea of trying to lose all this extra weight is overwhelming to me. Plus my knees and feet kill me now. I can walk for exercise and plan to do that. My insurance does cover WLS revisions now and I'm seriously considering it. I am at a place in my life where I want to be comfortable in my skin and just generally comfortable. I have chub rub again, travelling sucks at thIs size, and I'm generally uncomfortable. I would give anything to be 150 again. I would love feedback from others that have been where I am. Any advice or help would be appreciated.

Hi, I don't even know where to start. I'm short (5'1") and my highest weight was around 210. I was 180 at the time of my surgery back in January 2013. I did great with my sleeve and my lowest weight was 117 -- too thin honestly. I stayed between 135-150 for many years. In early 2020 (Covid), 7 years after surgery my weight started creeping up. I'm embarrassed to say that I'm 200 lbs now. I've had clothes sized 2 to 18, in the last 11 years which is crazy. I am in my early 50s. I'm pretty sure I've started menopause. I get very hungry and graze way too much. I still don't eat a ton at one sitting, but nothing like the small amounts I used to eat either. The idea of trying to lose all this extra weight is overwhelming to me. Plus my knees and feet kill me now. I can walk for exercise and plan to do that. My insurance does cover WLS revisions now and I'm seriously considering it. I am at a place in my life where I want to be comfortable in my skin and just generally comfortable. I have chub rub again, travelling sucks at thIs size, and I'm generally uncomfortable. I would give anything to be 150 again. I would love feedback from others that have been where I am. Any advice or help would be appreciated. I'm also going to post this in the revision forum. Thanks in advance.

I’m so sorry to hear this. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you, but honestly, I don’t. During these days of the stall, are you still noticing that your clothes are fitting looser? I was told not to be so dependent on the scale but more on noticing the weight coming off as far as how I feel in clothes. I don’t recall if you have a dietitian or someone that you check in with? If you do, you may wanna contact them or contact your doctor and talk this over with them. I don’t doubt that more weight is going to come off, I’m more concerned about your mental state. No giving up, OK??

I'm still stalled. It's been 12 days. I just want to cry the whole time and stuff my face with food. I feel like this is it. That the scales will never budge. I'm having such a hard time coping. I just feel like staying in bed and crying. I'm exhausted and the weight still isn't moving at all. I don't know what do to. I feel like giving up. I'm really really struggling.

I wasn't offered the medications, but I would have declined them if I was. I don't want to rely on them, especially with the shortages. I can't afford the cost, and since I'm no longer diabetic (A1c is 5.3) I would have to pay out of pocket. I won't go the compound route because I don't trust it. For me, I wanted to just have the surgery and do the work so that I was reliant on ME and not a medication I may or may not be able to even get my hands on at any given month. I also felt that, if I'm not diabetic, I don't want Ozempic or Monjauro because those are specifically for diabetics and I didn't want to take meds for them. Wegovy and Zepbound are for weight loss, and those are pretty much never covered by insurance. So I just bypassed all of it completely.

How are you doing now? Also, remember that the average weight loss is 2 pounds per week. So at 2 1/2 months (10 weeks) that would be 20 pounds. You were at 39 pounds. So definitely doing well. I hope you're feeling better now.