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I've been with my partner for 10 years. It's been a hard 3 months so far. I've lost a total of 43 lbs since surgery and I want to lose another 60 or so. But my partner keeps on telling me that I shouldn't lose thatch weight that I already look horrible, that the back of me already looks flabby and it I keep losing weight I'm going to look like s#$%. It can get sad talking to him. I've been overweight my whole life so hearing him say these things can get depressing. I don't know why see the positive in this process.

I did not have them (knock on wood) and since my surgery, but in 2017 I started having them and at one point I had them for 8 months straight. It was a miserable. They would be in one spot then another and they didn't let up. I went to an allergist and was on very high doses of antihistamines. I was diagnosed with Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria. It is actually not an allergic reaction, although it's kind of like your body is allergic to itself. NOTHING helped and it was very distressing. I eventually took Xolair injections, and I don't know if they helped but the hives finally went away in late 2019. It sounds like you may have the same condition I have, and it's probably worth seeing an allergist to see if they can figure it out. Mine started suddenly out of the blue. My mom also gets chronic hives and has had several bouts with them over the years. It's one of the worst things I've ever had, so I really sympathize with you and hope you find out what's causing them and also get relief! Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

My BMI was 34.3. Sleeved (self-pay) in July 2020 at age 67, and have lost 51 pounds. My weight loss has really slowed down (maybe a pound/month now), but I am SO GLAD I went this route. I am about 10 pounds from goal. One of the best things I have ever done for myself. ZERO REGRETS.

Insurance paid, I made my first contact with the clinic in February of 2020, had a zoom appointment in March, then did six months of check ins to satisfy insurance requirements. Insurance submitted in October, approved next day. Surgery date 11/10/2020. My out of pocket ended up being a few hundred dollars. I was well above the BMI cutoff, but I’m such a cheapskate that if I’d been below I would probably have stuffed a bra full of sandbags. 🤭

I personally eat a lot of salad now (I’m 10 months out as well)- Leafy greens have a ton of good nutrition to them and are lower calorie to boot. And I like that they fill my stomach- that’s what I’m after! I frequently will eat a salad with chicken breast. At ten months out we don’t need to be as paranoid about making every bite as nutritionally dense as possible. Eating a good variety of non processed foods is your best bet. I find that I keep on having to catch new ways I’m unconsciously eating more calories than I should- grazing on nuts, eating multiple snacks, eating super calorically dense food, etc. It’s possible to eat a very healthy and nutritionally sound diet that a nutritionist would love and still be eating too much of it and gain weight. My end goal is still to lose weight, so I’m eating with that mindset first.

Hey friend… yes, I saw she was last logged on in 2019. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed! Stranger things have happened you know…. It’s a newer procedure from what I gather, only 3 places can do it in the US of A. It’s out patient so less recovery time. Have you had any of the procedures done?

Sometimes it can take up to 10 days to lose all the fluid they gave you for your surgery. Try not to stress, I'm sure it'll come off in a few more days.

Hello! I started in May 2021 with my PCP doing the medically supervised diet. Next month will be my 6th and final month and I have lost 10 lbs. I need to lose another 6 lbs to meet the 5% weight loss requirement. I’m in San Diego and my hospital is UCSD La Jolla through Healthnet Medi-Cal. In these past months, I have done a chest xray, esophagus xray, esophageal impedance test, blood work, EKG, met with surgeon, met with hospital bariatric doctor and I just had my psych evaluation. The last thing I need to do is a sleep apnea test. I called to make an appointment for a consultation and the next appointment isn’t until March 2022!! I am so frustrated since I’m almost done with all the requirements and I was hoping to have the surgery in the next few months. I spoke with my coordinator and bariatric doctor. They said I can be put on a waitlist if there are any cancellations for an earlier date. They also suggested I call my PCP to see if she can get me a referral to a sleep clinic outside of UCSD. Waiting to hear back from insurance for approval. If they say no, I am changing insurances. I asked my coordinator if the sleep apnea test was a requirement from my insurance and she said no! The bariatric doctor at UCSD requested I have one done. Not sure why though? I don’t snore or have issues sleeping. Ugh Does anyone know if I do end up switching insurances, do I have to start over or will everything be transferred over? I do not want to wait until March 2022 :(

Hi Paul - Going to "sort of" agree with some of the other posters - 10 ounces would make a lot of us sleevers pretty miserable so I am definitely going to suggest a couple of apps for you - I use "Baritastic" and "Lose It" (both free). They are super convenient and allow you track your food. What I would suggest trying is to do NOTHING different for about a week or two. Weigh yourself and if no loss, try and reduce the caloric intake by 100 calories per day for another week. Since you'll be tracking, it may be as simple as cutting out an ounce from the 10oz per meal. 1200 calories per day doesn't sound like a lot for a man, but as you noted, we're all different and you may aborb calories differently and require less. Substituting "heavy" foods that stick in your stomach may also help with keeping you fuller for longer. I also try and make sure that whenever I'm feeling snacky, I drink water first.

I gained 10 lbs. from the day I was admitted to the next day when I left the hospital. Took awhile for all those fluids they pumped into me to exit my body. As long as your calories are low, and you're following your surgeon's plan, it'll come off soon.

I'll be 61 soon. I had revision from VSG to bypass early last month, in August. I'm 30 lbs. down from my 10 day pre-op to the last time I weighed. Recent metabolism study says that our metabolism doesn't change until 60 years old, and after that 0.7% decrease every year after. https://www.studyfinds.org/human-metabolism-age-60/#:~:text=The study finds humans burn,only 0.7 percent per year.

One of the things that contributed to my stress about this surgery was not knowing what was going to happen. (What can I say, I'm a control freak.) So here is the play-by-play as it pertains to me of my surgery. Your mileage may vary! I'll try to come back and update it. Hopefully it'll be of use to someone—"and knowing is half the battle." Day before surgery Liquid-only diet; two bowls of phở broth, some Protein2O, apple juice, and sugar-free lemon jello. Got about 830 calories in. Had to take a shower with a special CHG (chlorhexidine gluconate) anti-septic body wash. It made my skin a bit "slippery". Packed my bag with my CPAP hose, a book, a spare shirt, some chanclas for walking, my cell phone charger, and my reading glasses. Put out the two pills I was supposed to take (no losartan because it interferes with anesthesia). Day of surgery Took another shower with CHG as required. Reported to the hospital at 0630 as requested. Was checked in and taken to pre-surgery holding. My fiancé was allowed to go with me as an exception, because I'm hard of hearing and rely on lip-reading which is impossible with so many masks and partitions in the way. A surgical RN came and told me to wipe my abdomen with CHG wipes, then put on my surgical gown (which was HUGE on me—I understand I'm a bariatric patient but I literally couldn't keep it on my shoulders). Then he put an IV in the back of my hand, took my vitals (I lost 10 lbs in the two weeks between my surgeon's consultation and surgery day), went through all my medications, put an anti-nausea patch behind my ear, and gave me a blood thinner in my IV. My surgeon came in and asked if I was ready, went over a few things, then went to scrub up. My anesthesiologist came in and asked if I had had anesthesia before (yes), and if I had any questions. I asked him to give me a TAP block at the end of surgery, which is a localized nerve block, like an epidural for your abdomen. It lasts 12-18 hours. I was whisked away and the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room, where I was given cognitive tests (what is your name, what hospital are you at, who's the president, etc.) and given ice chips. Once that all proved satisfactory, I was wheeled to my room. I don't remember it, because I fell asleep. Once in the room they put leg compression stockings on me and gave me water, Crystal Light made way too sweet, chicken broth that tasted like a salt lick, and a thicker vegetable purée soup. I couldn't get the vegetable soup down. I forced the chicken broth, Crystal Light, and water. I felt very, very hungry and it was frustrating not to be able to just eat something. I took 3 or 4 laps of the surgical unit floor in my fetching anti-slip socks, and kept falling asleep. The pain from the gas was pretty bad and I spent a good 30 minutes just burping, much to the chagrin of the man in the other bed in the room (though he was moaning so he doesn't get to say anything). Around 1730 the nurse came in, saw that I had drunk what I could and had peed sufficiently (you pee into a graduated container), and that I could walk. She asked my surgeon's permission to discharge me, and I was in the wheelchair going out the door at 1830, exactly 12 hours after I arrived. When we got home, I pretty much washed my hands and face and went straight to bed. I got up probably every 2 hours or so, would have a couple of sips of protein shake or water, along with Gas-X (simethicone) or, as needed, Tylenol. I did get about 7 hours of sleep, in various chunks. I was able to lie, carefully, on my side, which is how I prefer to sleep. My CPAP did increase the gas pressure inside a bit but it was tolerable. Day 1 post-op My first bout of the 'foamies'. I tried to drink a CorePower protein milk way too fast and spent an hour and a half wandering around whimpering. It was actively painful and it felt enough like I needed to vomit that I had a lined bucket at the ready. Eventually, though, it subsided. Gas pain is still here and very real, but better. We went for a walk which absolutely tired me out—and it was barely 500 meters! Right now I am using the timer on my cell phone to remind me to drink 1/3 oz. of fluid every 5 minutes, and I feel full but it's manageable. I am alternating full ounces of regular water and protein water. I also made some Jell-O with extra protein powder but the thought of eating it leaves me cold. If I can get these bottles down plus the shake I had earlier, I'll be pretty close to 48 oz. of fluid which is my surgeon's requirement for the first week (bumps up to 64 oz. after that) and 41 g of protein which will have to do for the first day unless I manage to get some of the Jell-O down me. I have been taking Tylenol, Gas-X, and my ondansetron—the nausea is there but it's in the background, like when you step off a ship onto land at the end of a cruise. I haven't had enough pain to necessitate anything stronger than Extra Strength Tylenol. My incisions are clean (I took a shower).

Has anyone else had issues breaking out in hives in the first few months following surgery? The first time it happened was about 3 weeks after surgery. It's very random, but probably 10 times or so in the last four months. I've never had any sort of allergies before (skin, seasonal or food). Nothing has changed in my skin care or laundry. I'm creature of habit so all the same soaps, etc. My primary care doc says its likely a new food allergy or something I'm eating, but I cant find any sort of a pattern. Thoughts anyone?

I stopped inhaling about a week before surgery (vape, joints, etc). I continued with edibles up until 48 hours before surgery. After surgery, I used a liquid syrup starting about 10 days after surgery. I only took painkillers for about two days after surgery. I used the syrup because it was gentle, didn't need to be chewed, etc. However, I would strongly suggest trying it before surgery so you know how well it works etc. Not all tinctures and syrups are created equal. Some that say they are 30mg a dose I might not feel, but take 10mg dose of another and it hits me hard. I personally made the decision to avoid inhaling anything until after the stomach suture line is fully healed. It wasn't worth the risk to me to get into a coughing fit. (Even though I am a long time smoker and don't cough) And I understand what you are saying about the munchie concern... once you have used marijuana enough you know what gives you munchies, what doesn't etc. I avoid the strains I know will do that to me, or I only have healthy munchies close by. Dont forget that your tolerance and the way you absorb things has changed.

I had it done for Gerd/esophagitis. My surgeon didn't touch my sleeve either, he also did a standard procedure (RL 150cm, BPL 60cm) when I asked him about length. My insurance would not cover it if he did anything out of standard procedure. Since my 10 day pre-op and surgery early August 2021, I've lost 30 lbs. It is currently faster than my weight loss with my sleeve. Some say they have far more restriction with their VSG than RNY after revision. That is definitely NOT the case for me. I have far more restriction now. My VSG surgeon was conservative and made a larger sleeve (~300ml), every surgeon/person is different.

I cannot even imagine eating 10 ounces of anything. Your problem is fairly obviously too many calories and not enough exercise. Go out and walk for an hour a day, get rid of that cycle thing unless you do that AND walk. Use a calorie tracking app, Any one of them will work. Weigh every food item and know the calories. I wonder if after 10 ounces of food per meal if your sleeve is not stretched out and not useful any longer

Ok, as is always the case, when I come across something I never heard of before, I google the sh*t out of it. My preliminary searches could not find the condition that you describe...do you happen to know the name of it? I'm totally intrigued. I'm assuming its the opposite of malabsorption?? True, salads are usually made up of greens, but can still be nutritious by adding some yummer toppings (other veggies, proteins, fruit, etc...). I would think that the concern about the filling-ability of salads is more a concern in the immediate months after surgery (due to limited stomach real estate) than at 10 months post. Does your surgeon still recommend against salads currently? But I'm no medical professional, so don't listen to me, lol. There are alot of GENERAL calorie intake calculators out there, but you would probably be better served by a doctor or dietitian or nutritionist or dexa scan to determine YOUR true numbers. An online calculator is waaaaay too generalized. BUT, if you are curious, you can check this one out for funsies: https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

The "10oz per meal"...do you know how many calories these meals consists of? At 10 months, weight loss is more affected by caloric value vs volume/mass. A 10oz salad is just a fraction of the calories of a 10oz burger. If you can, try tracking your food intake and see if this is where you can make some changes. Track it for say, a week straight and you can get an idea of your average intake. Reduce if necessary. Calorie intake is *usually* the issue if a stall lasts longer than a few weeks (months?). If not, I'd probably suggest to consult a medical professional to see if you have any circumstances that pre-dispose you to being heavier. Good Luck! ❤️

Hey Everyone, I hope you're doing well. Here's a bit of background on me before I get into my current dilemma, if you don't care about that, skip to the TLDR at the end. I'm a 27 year old man and I got my surgery last year. I've always been heavy (the last time I was less than 300 lbs was in elementary school) and I wanted to live a longer, happier life. I talked with my doctor and she said that Bariatric surgery was the best option for me. I went to one Bariatric clinic and was basically treated as a number, so after six months of prep and almost $1k, I left them and went to a Bariatric clinic that a family friend had had good luck with. I had better luck with them and was able to get my surgery ~ 4 months after my first visit with them(vs almost a year with the first one). My finance(then GF) and I actually got COVID three months before my surgery, though it was not horrible for us. My hospital stay was fine and my recovery went pretty well. I had issues with the liquid diet following the surgery, but after that I was fine until now. Read after the TL;DR for my current dilemma. TL;DR: I'm 10 months post-op and my weight loss has stagnated. I'm prepping ~10 oz per meal, though I usually don't finish it, and have been doing that for about a month. I do about 20-30 minutes on a peddle bike (under my desk) per day. My doctor recommended Keto for me (which I tried pre-op and lost 90+lbs, though it was terrible for me psychologically) and I started it today. I was wondering if anyone had any tips to push past the wall I'm stuck on. Thanks for any advice. Paul

I'm losing weight now. The first 10 kg went quickly (three weeks). Now the skin on the arms and stomach looks so-so. She's very flabby. I am training, I am on a HEALTHY diet again, because before this first 10 kg I was eating 1000 kcal. So what to do with the skin? how to do it like before losing weight - filling, elastic? maybe someone knows, creams, wraps, etc.

Hi, I’m having surgery on 9/22 to convert my sleeve to rny cause of GERD. It's been 10 yrs since I've had my sleeve done, and nowadays, I could almost get a hamburger. My doctor is not touching my sleeve, just rerouting for my GERD. Would I still lose weight even though I hardly have any restrictions?

I can really empathize with your thoughts. Even 2nd week after surgery now, I am still wondering if an elective surgery was the only way to conquer my life-long problem. What happened to me on the pre-op diet might encourage you a little about eating tiny amounts (though I'm sure not the best). I was doing fine on it, really strict, but 6 days in, they told me my surgery would be delayed indefinitely! (due to Covid crowding beds). I did NOT want to have to start over, so what my program nutritionist told me to do was substitute one meal with 2 oz of chicken or fish and 2 oz of vegetables. I was really afraid that this would screw up the whole thing, but I only did that for 4 more days. Then they told me my surgery would be only 2 days after originally scheduled, so I was really only on the liquid diet for 6 days, then partial for 4 days, then back on for 2 days. (In my case, was supposed to be only 10 days total) Yet in my situation they said that would be ok, and I've had no problems at all with the surgery or since. I get to wondering when reading about the negative experiences if I was really operated on, but all situations are different. The only thing I did "wrong" was after the first week, when I had so much trouble getting in the 60 grams of protein a day, I started drinking protein waters, and then found in the 2nd week I was getting too much protein! So my lesson learned is use the protein water sparingly and count all protein grams. But I hope you make it through the rest of the pre-op and have a positive surgery experience.

I was sleeved 9/13/21 and am about 24hours out. All in all, I have no regrets so far. I was a mess going into surgery, couldn’t stop crying and asking my husband if I was making a mistake, but I’m so relieved I did it. I feel like this is the first day of the rest of my life! A few things that I think might help those of you about to go in… 1. When I woke up, pain was about a 7/10, they gave me some meds and I felt much better. Ladies, if you’ve experienced contractions this is a walk in the park. 2. Deep breaths are uncomfortable (doc tells me this is totally normal). They have me blowing into one of those funny tubes to make me fully inflate my lungs to avoid “gunk” as they called it. 3. Minimal nausea (they give you meds that help) and no vomiting. 4. The pain today is about 4 or 5 out of 10. This is not surgical pain from the sleeve, it’s pain from the air they use to inflate your abdomen while they operate. They tell be it’ll subside in the next day or so. 5. They’re having me take 60ml of water/hr (no more) until I get to 500ml which they think will be around 3PM at which point they’ll discharge me. All I’ve tried is room temperature so far but am having no issues. If you made it this far, I hope this was helpful. I’m so thankful to have everyone here that’s always been willing to support and answer questions I have, my goal is to return the favor. Good luck everyone!!

Tomorrow! In just 10 hours, actually...

I'm scheduled for RNY 10/04 Sent from my SM-N976U using BariatricPal mobile app