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So I started the process in September and definitely was not prepared for how much time everything would take mainly due to the insurance requirements around a weight loss trial. I thought everything I had done in the past would have counted, but it did not so I had to start a new weight loss trial. My primary care put in a referral and Tricare approved it for Dr. A at a surgeon's office over an hour away (closest bariatric specialty). When I tried to schedule the appt, I was told that Physician A is revamping his practice and would like to have me be scheduled with Dr. B. I agreed, as long as the referral was still good. Apparently that was not quite the question I should have asked. Fast forward to 4 months later, my weight loss trial and all the pre-reqs are done. I emailed the clinic with all the information and had not heard anything in 10 days, so I asked for an update. Today's update is this: Dr. B is not yet credentialed with Tricare so they can't even submit for approval until that is done. They have no estimated time frame and can't tell me when the process started. According to Tricare's website, it can take 60-90 days for a new provider to be credentialed. Additionally, when I asked if I could have my surgery done by Dr. A since Dr. A did my EGD and all my labs, they responded saying they asked Dr. B and he said no. I'm beyond frustrated because I only have a small window remaining where I can take off (Feb - Mar). After that, I will have to put it off until August or September. To clarify, I don't work a standard full time job. I am a contractor working through a recruiting company for a hospital org to implement the software system and their go-live is in July. I don't get paid for time off and I don't get FMLA. So now I'm either stuck in limbo for potentially months until they get him credentialed or I could see if another surgeon would be willing to take all the existing labs/imaging/documentation.

Hi all - Going with a surgeon in NJ and completed all my preop requirements and they submitted for approval on 1/10 anticipating a surgery date of 2/8. I called insurance to get a heads up and they said they just sent out a denial today for not enough information, specifiying 5 year history and also a 180 day weight loss program, which my surgeon never mentioned. I started the process in September so if i knew i had to be in a specific program, i would have started. I havent talked to the surgeons office yet but i am guessing 2/8 is out of the question. For reference, i am 39, 5'6, 360 lbs and i have been over 300 since 2010. What do they typically need and who does the supervised diet? My other concern is how long all this testing i just did is good for. I had a stress test, stomach ultrasound, echocardiogram, lots of blood work, upper GI study, psych eval, and all required nutritonist appts. am i going to have to do this all again?

Huge congratulations to you - I know you've posted several times recently about your journey and it's inspiring. Please can I ask what you do in your planned weight loss phases now? Do you calorie count, track protein and/or other macros, restrict any food groups, follow any particular route?

It's so fab to see that. I could NOT believe it when I did. Well done on your loss, it's really hard and you're really amazing.

Hi All, wondering if anyone has had this issue and can offer any advise: My surgery was on 1/9/23. At my appt on 1/17/23 I was down 35 lbs, 10 of which was from the week prior to surgery being on liquid diet. My doctor switched me to purée as of 1/17 which I’ve been following to a tee. But ever since switching my scale has been stuck, no loss and actually up 1 lb yesterday - back down that 1 lb today. I’m worried because I’m told the biggest weight loss happens in first 90 days, did I go through all of this for just 35 lbs lost?😩

Thank you for sharing your weight loss journey. Its very useful information for the future

Try a rosemary oil hair mask for 10-15 minutes 2 x a week and massage your scalp. It's helped me a lot. My hair is long it goes down to my butt and it was getting really thin, I lost a ton of hair. I started doing the mask and in about 2 weeks I had new growth. I still do the mask 2 x a week to prevent any more hair loss. I hope this helps [emoji171]

I had a VSG 12 years ago. I was 54 years old. I can make the math easier. I am 66 - quickly approaching 67, this spring. I was miserable, recently divorced, single parenting a teenager, working.... and my weight had hit 320. I was, at that time 5'3", and morbidly obese. I went on my own diet, and lost just over 20 pounds, went to the Doctor and requested weight loss surgery. I did their 12 week mandatory pre diet and classes. I was approved, and got my surgery. Fast Forward.... I lost weight to about 175 pounds. I went from a women plus 28 to a 14/16 petite.... depending on the clothing. I also Lost my younger brother, mother and then my father during those last 12 years. And I gained back weight. I weighed 220..... So Just before the pandemic, I decided to try to lose 10 pounds in a year. Thank goodness for my VSG. My body remembered how to do this. I lost the ten pounds in the matter of a couple months. I decided that since I had issues with regain, I would pause and maintain the weight loss for at least a month or more, before starting to lose weight again. I wanted to LEARN how to maintain the loss. Each 5 or ten pounds, I would stop losing ON PURPOSE - and maintain the weight I was at. I lost back to 173 pounds. I weighed that is graduate school. 1983. I maintained my weight for the past year between 172 to 175. A couple months ago, I decided to try to lose a bit more. The scale was reading 175 more often then I wanted. So.... I did it again. Even more slowly. Right now, I am doing my " lets maintain this for a while" thing.... and weigh 164 I think I might have weighed that in college... like maybe 1978.....before going back for the Masters Degree in 1981. My old Navy size 16 petite that I bought two years ago are too big. I just bought TARGET jeans in a size 14. Age does weird to a woman's body, as does loose skin.... But I can tell you this.... my VSG is still there. I won't ever be 'skinny' - but I am basically barely overweight (you get a few extra pounds on the SMARTBMI scale adjusted for age !) and I am more than thrilled. Do I eat perfectly ? Nope. I have a treat every darned day. A couple cookies or a small dish of ice cream.... or a bit more carbs than are necessary... But I am so flipping "normal" - I am not the heaviest human at work. Someone asked me to "slide" in to sit at a table that was close to the wall because I could "fit". I stood there staring at them..... If we have take out delivered to the office, I participate. I order something that I can eat for another two meals after having lunch. Challenges ? Plenty. Did I manage to raise a great kid, who is doing well ? Yes. Have I figured out how I need to eat to "DO ME" ? Finally. At 66 years young !!! 2004 pic.eml2022pic.eml I tried to put in pics 2004 and 2022 320 pounds and now 164 pounds

I am 65 and had my sleeve surgery 12/30/2022. I had to go back on Ozempic the second week simply because the cravings were driving me crazy. Worked nearly immediately. Do you what you must to make it work. The obesity is more dangerous, more debilitating, and more life enjoyment stealing than weight loss meds. Help your surgery work for you! [emoji4] Sent from my SM-S908U using BariatricPal mobile app

I had surgery at 58. Looking of global demographic data, it would appear that the average age for weight loss surgery in most Western countries is between 45 and 50. Asian and Middle-eastern countries tend to have a younger demographic.

Hey Buddies! Today makes 5 months for me! I was sleeved 8/22:) Thought I would post my progress. Today I’m down 71lbs from my pre-surgery weight. I’ve also lost a total of 45 inches all around. Including 11 inches around my waist! Can you believe it?! I am so glad I decided to track that along with my weight. 🤗 I rewarded myself with an exercise bike!! Lol. On Friday I had jeans and a t-shirt on and the difference must be telling because lots of people commented on my weight loss. But more importantly I noticed I was once again sitting cross legged without even thinking about it. I don’t even know how long I’ve been doing it,🤣 but I was pretty damn excited.

this is all temporary. You'll eventually be able to eat most of the foods you love again. I assume you have to wait until April before eating solid foods because of the bowel obstruction, not the bypass. My mother-in-law had surgery for a bowel obstruction a year or so ago (she never had weight loss surgery, though - it just happened), and she was on fluids and purees for quite awhile, too, as I recall. you've been in a very down mood for quite awhile now - since weeks before your surgery. I hope you'll start feeling better soon emotionally, too. If not, does your clinic have a therapist? You might find it helpful.

Hi, not an expert. I did have bypass and am post menopausal, and have significant osteoarthritis. The pain is managed by continuous movement and the weight loss itself. I get steroid shots in the worst offenders, my knees. I would speak to your rheumatologist about pain management with shots as my mother and grandmother did. Vitamins are easy to keep up with if you just keep it a daily habit. The weight loss is slow (that could just be me) but my ability to move and keep moving has been so worth it! Rheumatoid arthritis is no joke and I had a friend loose sight in one eye because it traveled to her iris. Extra weight is one of many forms of inflation in the body. Working to control it has helped my severe asthma too. I kept weighing the odds and quality of life. My grandmother lost the weight and lived independently until 89. My mother didn’t change her lifestyle and died at 67 unable to do the things she enjoyed for the last seven years of her life. My decision was more clear cut. Only you know your delicate balance of pain tolerance and enjoyment of life, and how bad the arthritis can be. You probably have relatives that had RA. How did they get through life?

Hi Singles, I'm still on my weight loss journey. I would like to lose another 15 pounds. I wasn't sure when I started this journey what the end weight would be. Just lnew I had to get healthy, get off my b/p meds, stay away from diabtetes, etc. I feel more confident after losing 55 pounds, but I still can't imagine going on a dating site and putting myself out there. I've been on dating sites before, here and there, theres positive things that happen, weird things (scammers) and it takes a lot of energy. Of course, like most people I would rather meet someone "organically." Is there anyone out there that has any advice or words of wisdom that is experiencing dating in the mid 60s?

Its hard to deal with. My hair is very sensitive to whatever is going on with my life, helth, body, stress level. When I'm under tremendous stress, I have lost a bald spot, as in one circle on the back of my head that was about 2-3 in circle and it took months to grow it back. So, I was concerned that might happen after this surgery. It did not! So for that I'm happy, I did however lose handful of hair everytine I brush or wash. I always had a shoulder full of hair that fell out. The hait lose started at 3 months post op, I'm now at almost a year and its finally slowed down and I'm working on growing back all those hairs that have broken off. I'm almost 65 yrs old, so my experience will be different from others. I do take a vitamin for skin and hair, not sure if it really helps. I had a shampoo in my cabinet already that helps with hiar loss, I mix it with my regular shampo becuse it otherwise dries out my hair too much. I think it helped a little. Didn't stop it though! I did the opposite of ,ost people. I rew my hair out down to my shoulders to make me feel like I have more hair! I usually wear it in a short chin length bob. I'll admit there was laziness involved, my hairdresser double her prices after Covid and I didn't want to pay that much so kept putting it off. During that time I got used to shoulder length hair and now keep it that way.

Other issues are whether or not you have plastics and remove excess skin or not, and your age and fitness level before, during and after weight loss. There are so many different aspects of who we are as humans, and one height and weight chart for all men and women may not be the most effective way to figure this out. We need to look also at our ethnic make up, our heritage, where we came from, how our bodies are different from each others.... Work with your doctor on where you are and where you would like to be in terms of your weight, and general health. Get regular blood levels drawn, making sure you know where your iron, vitamin levels are, and to make sure your internal organs are doing their jobs ! It isn't all about what size we wear or how much we have lost and weight. It is about being healthy and maintaining and improving our lifestyle.

Congrats! Sounds like you are doing amazing! I think you are right that losing weight all over makes it harder to see, at least to ourselves. Hope our hair decides to stop falling out soon lol. Thank you for the update, its nice to read and hear about how others are doing. Wow, 100 pounds in just 4 months is outstanding!! You are so close to your goal too! I do know that weight loss slows down which is why I said that I hope that I can have that happen. I guess its better to be prepared if it doesn't but I like having hope lol. Thank you for the wonderful update, I'm so happy that you are doing so well!

25 lbs in six weeks is actually really good. I didn't lose that much until the end of month 2, and mine was a virgin surgery. as far as losing more, some people do lose quite a bit of weight with a revision, but it's more difficult and a lot slower than it was the first time around. Someone (maybe on here? I can't remember) once explained that it's likely due to fact that you went from a large stomach to a small stomach during surgery #1 - and now you're just going from small to small, so the loss will be a lot slower going. It kind of made sense.

Hello Tina. Can you give us some stats to go on. What weight did you begin at, what weight did you get to with your sleeve, height etc. A 25pound loss seems really good in 6 weeks but we need to know more about you

Kudos! You have made a lot of progress. I need to set up a spreadsheet like this. I used to measure myself frequently but intentionally lost my tape measure in 2012. Measuring, especially during stalls can be very motivating because frequently inches are lost even though the scales are not registering a loss.

Weight loss stalls are not exclusive to WLS. As with any diet, the initial weight loss is only about 50% fat, the rest being water weight. The more dehydrated you became with the initial weight loss, the longer the stall will last. As you maintain your initial weight loss during the stall, you are actually losing fat pounds as you regain the depleted hydration levels needed for the body to function properly.

Yes, crazy good to wear those smaller sizes! I've been losing so fast that I've actually dropped through some clothes I bought after surgery. I still struggle to see it myself sometimes, but going from a tight 44 to a lose 38 waist in pants makes it pretty obvious. I've had a few major stalls as well, but am officially down over 100 pounds now. I'm obviously really happy about that, but also a bit shocked at how fast it's come off. @Hope4NewMe don't count on maintaining a 10 pound loss per month. For the math geeks, most of the time weight loss follows a pattern called exponential decay. It looks something like this: The important takeaway is that the closer you get to goal, the slower the loss.

Just maintaining has become it’s own reward for me. After years of seeing the scale go back up every single time I lost weight, actually keeping a fairly stable weight makes me feel great & keeps me motivated. While it’s really nice to have people comment on your weight loss & how great you look now, it’s true they don’t happen as often as the years pass. It”s why the little things that happen & remind me of what I can do now which I wouldn’t or couldn’t before are more important to me. (Though I can’t say someone telling me I’m slim, need a smaller size or similar doesn’t make me glow with happiness I am a vain human.) Most recently, jumping on a trampoline with my young nieces & nephew at Christmas was a reminder of what I’ve achieved & why I did it. It might be things like realising or reminding yourself you’re more confident in how you hold yourself, dress, makeup or hair styles or in how you interact with others. It could be a physical achievement like how far you can run or cycle. Or life changes you’ve made - gone back to school, changed careers, dating, etc. These are the sort of things that remind me that the surgery & subsequent changes i’ve made have been so worth it. Personally I don’t want to forget where I was because it helps me appreciate where I am now more. And yes, I continue to be careful about what & how much I eat & weigh myself several times a week. It keeps me on track & honest. The main battle may be over but I need to remain vigilant of possible stealth attacks from my own head: old habits, complacency, etc.

I think there are a few questions you need to answer first: Why are you struggling to lose that last 100 pounds? What are you expecting medication to do for you that you can't do on your own? Can you afford it? Most of the newer GLP1 agonist weight loss medications (e.g. Ozempic, Saxsenda, Rybelsus and others), are not covered by insurance. If you are self pay, they may cost $1,200 to $1,500 a month or more. Keep in mind (as some have pointed out above), most people that lose weight with these meds gain the weight back when they stop. If price is not a consideration for you, can you even find the medication? Some of these medications are in critically short supply right now.