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I know 4 people I see almost daily who have had WLS within the past 3 years and I keep open communication with 3 others from my WLS support group from last year. The question of loose skin is a complex one, as someone already mentioned in a previous message there really is no consistent diagnosis, simply to many factors that are involved. So it’s nearly impossible to come up with a pre-surgery answer to the level of loose skin you may have to deal with, however you do have some options to consider when you do find yourself with that extra skin. Obviously, a man’s situation may be different then a woman’s when it comes to dealing with loose skin, also one’s financial resources will be a factor. If you think of it, you only have two options. You either deal with the loose skin and consider the weight loss a major positive over the negative of loose skin or you have it surgically removed. Here is a quick survey of the people I know and what they have done: Female - 46, lost 85 pounds, spent a boat load of money on plastic surgery. I must be honest and say it was money well spent, she looks fantastic, totally different person. Female - 62, lost over 175 pounds in 2 years, her plastic surgery to remove loose skin at the stomach level was deemed a medical necessity and was completed. However, the loose skin on her legs and arms was not and currently she is trying to save money for a future visit, she will be heading to Mexico to get it done I am told. Male – 55, lost 79 pounds year 1, gained back 45 pounds in year 2, struggling to get back on track, schedule to revise sleeve to bypass later this year, no loose skin issue currently. Male – 60, lost 103 pounds year 1, gained back only 20 in year 2, history of gaining and losing weight over the last 10 years, does not care about loose skin at the moment.

So, I had my revision on the 11th and I'm at my post op appointment. I just met with the dietician and she sure busted my bubble when she told me not to expect to lose the weight like I did before. I'm going to ask the doctor when he comes in but that was a very discouraging thing to hear. Has anyone else been told this?

Hey Girl! Delco in the house! Jefferson is a great hospital. I am sure you are in good hands. I went to Crozer Chester for my initial RNY. Dr. Katz was good doctor with a great bedside manner. But he is out in Reading now. For my revision to DS, I went to Dr Krecioch at Fitzgerald Mercy. He is a good surgeon but I had an unusual amount of pain post surgery and I felt he wanted to divorce himself from it which was not cool.

Assuming your bariatric surgeon’s office has a dietitian, I would bounce that question off them first. I had all kinds of issues with the liquid pre-op diet last year, it was one of the reasons why I opted out at the last minute, 2 days before surgery last year. I am not looking forward to doing it again, but health matters dictate I must get past it this time around. I kept in contact with three others who were in my pre-op support group who went through the sleeve surgery in 2019. All three are now reaching a year post-op and the feedback I am getting is encouraging, but cautious. One of them has not been as successful as the others but she knows what she is doing wrong. From what she tells me, she “grazes” and eats small amounts of food constantly during the day and evening. She has gained back about 35% of the weight she initially lost and is now considering revision surgery and moving to full bypass. She says her biggest mistake was not reaching out for help. I plan to be active in this support group, I know I am going to need help and I want to make myself available to help others.

This happened to me after revision as well. The premier shakes that I loved before revision no longer taste good and do not stay down for me. The powdered syntrax and the slimfast high protein premade are the only ones that work for me now.

I'm 13 days post op revision to rny and I'm having the same problem. The only shakes I like are Herbalife and they don't have enough protein and are higher in carbs than I'm supposed to have right now. I'm really struggling because I don't like the protein waters either. Nothing tastes right.

March 11! Revision from sleeve to RNY. So scared of not succeeding.

Hi all! I am glad I found this post. I was banded in April 2008 and did well for a very long time. I lost 160# and kept off about 140 of it over the last 11 years. But now, there are problems. I have been having intense chest pain, reflux, and lots of puking. I put off seeing my doc because I was fearful she would say the band would need to be removed. I finally met with the doc and she first unfilled the band, then scheduled an upper GI. Had that, and the tech noted that the barium was staying in my esophagus and the sphincter was not opening. Then, when it finally opened, that is when I had the chest pain. I followed back up with the doc and she said that I had a "lazy esophagus" that had been worn out from almost 12 years of banding and puking. She ordered and endoscopy, which I had last week. I have my follow up next week to talk about next steps. Since having the band unfilled, the reflux has gone and the chest pain happens much less frequently. However, I can eat anything now with no restriction.....and that has been a challenge. The doc said, before the endoscopy, that if the band has to be removed, she would not recommend a sleeve on top of a lazy esophagus...and the bypass would be my best option if I wanted a revision. It doesn't sound like refilling the band is going to be an option. So, I think I will have to decide to have bypass or have the band removed and try to live a "normal" life. I am having a lot of mixed emotions and nerves. Really, I won't know anything for sure until the follow up appointment next week....but I am preparing mentally for it. Curious if anyone else had similar symptoms/issues and had a revision to bypass? Or, and advice? Appreciate it!!

I didn’t have a problem tolerating the protein shakes after my sleeve. I revised to bypass a few months back and now many make me sick as well. I like And tolerate the syntrax nectar chocolate truffle. They have many flavors to choose from and the bp store here offers individual packs to try. meanwhile go to the grocery store and get some fairlife milk. It is high in protein and tastes great. Extremely important for you to get your protein in at this point in time. good luck and hang in there.

I had reoccurring acid reflux and GERDS issues with my lap band to the point it was removed in December. I was strongly considering revision to gastric sleeve, however, my surgeon presented a compelling case against it, in favor, of gastric bypass. His primary point was the sleeve is a restrictive solution to weight loss, similar to a lap band. Given my history, he was concerned that my struggle with acid reflux and GERDS would return. My gastric bypass surgery is scheduled for February 27th.

I dropped 15 lbs in the first three months of the medically managed weight loss program. I lost 10 lbs in the first month. In the fourth month, I had my lap band removed as the first step to revision to gastric bypass. I stalled at 15 lbs loss, then gained 2-3 lbs back. The first weeks of a diet are usually water weight loss. So, the first few weeks can be encouraging.

So I'm having a revision due to GERD what should i know its been 10 years now

My revision is scheduled for the 26th.

So I went back to find this post I made YEARSSSSSSS AGO and a reply i made a couple of years later. This is when i still had my Lapband (didn't come out till March 2017). Since then I got divorced and remarried.... Band removal and Sleeve revision (aug. 28, 2019). Posted April 25, 2013 I have not always needed you.... and one time in my life.. i was a "normal" person. Size 0-3... weigh a whopping 100lbs. Back in my single day... then one day you meet a wonderful guy and you fall in love... ahhh things are great. You get married and have a beautiful son. and life is good.... but then you notice that you’re not happy as you use to be. some days are worse than others... you find the strength to get up every day and go to work and live a "normal" life. Things are good at home... but something is missing... that spark, that feeling you use to get when you and your spouse were together intimately .. and you notice that those time has gotten further and further apart. and you think, what is going on? and one day the reason is staring you right in the face... the mirror... but in that mirror is someone else... surely, it's not me... I don't look like that... that's a ugly fat girl... i'm not ugly and i for damn sure am not fat. Can't be... i told my self-years ago i would NEVER like myself look like... those people... but then you look closer... and closer and there. i know those eyes.... those are my eyes... but why do they look so sad. I have happy eyes. and i see, i see the real me. the one others have been seeing for years.... how did i not see this... how did i let myself get like this ... how did i become that girl that now had to shop at the plus-size store... when just yesterday i was a size 3... How did i become the girl the skinny girls are not looking at and saying... i'll never let myself look like HER... and i'm the HER. this feeling takes the very last shred of self-confidence and stomps it into the dirt and spits on it. and you think...i am ugly i am fat i am unworthy of love.... unworthy of feeling good. and you start to eat... more and more and everything keeps getting worse. you stop taking care of yourself, stop dressing up stop wearing make-up and fixing your hair.... stop putting forth the effort at all... You are now sitting in a deep dark cave, alone and no one or nothing can show you the light.... But one day... you open your eyes expecting to see nothing... complete darkness and there it is... a speck of light.... it's tiny, but just right there in front of you. and you squint to see it.... making sure it's really there. that speck was my friend Paula... she had lb surgery and every day we talked and every day my light grow brighter.... I went to the doctor and did all the tests... did it all and the news that i was approved... OH ... JOy. I looked in the mirror and saw a glimmer of hope. But as the days grew closer... I started to think... WHAT IF... what if i die on the table, what if i fail at this too, what if i stayed fat forever... Then i saw this site...trolled for a long while. I didn't want to sign because, well what if someone knew me... the horror... Then i saw all the successive people... the beautiful woman and handsome men that in their before pictures looked so sad... sad like me. Then i saw the after pictures. and all the happy smiling faces... people who were bigger than me... now wearing size 6 jeans (lellow)... and i thought, i can do this i can get my life back.... I will be happy again. so on November 10, 2009... i awoke... was re-born. and i did do it... i lost 80lbs... it took me longer than most, but i don't care. I have donated all the 12-14-16 & 18 and moved into my own size 6... On Feb 15, 2012.... after a long hard fight.... i won and awarded myself a tummy tuck... i deserved it. I earned it.... so to my band... thank you... for sticking with me and always keeping me on track. and too all you out there thinking about doing this.....search within yourself and be happy again... whichever way you choose..... blessings..... Posted March 31, 2015 Ak.... congrats on deciding to make a change in your life. I re-read my post and im terrible in grammar... lol.... but it made me cry a little... to think back at how sad i really was. And to admit, i have started feeling that way again.... Not that i am "fat" by normal standards, im still a size 8. But i have put back 20 and feel defeated somewhat. Scared... too. Scared of the unknown, of the what if's.... What if i can't get my ass back in gear and do what i know i can. Depressed because i have no support at home with my husband. Who just yesterday said that my LB was a "hobby"... can you believe that... A Hobby... He hates that im no longer "fat"... he said.... your not fat, you're thick.... where other men will tell me im Hot, beautiful, sexy... not him... im thick. We went through a time where sex was great... 2-3 times a week... which was a vast improvement from 1-2 a YEAR... We are now back at 1-2 a month.... if im lucky. February 14, 2020 Well, I did lose that 20 i put back and in fact did lose another 10... I soon after i decided that there was a lot more to the reason i was so unhappy. My ex was still very verbally abusive and very unsupportive. He still hated my weight loss. Still was not being intimate with me... and it got back down to 1-2 a year. Found out that he was in fact sleeping with another woman (he never admitted it). I talked with him and begged him to do counseling... he said no, that there was nothing wrong with him. So I sat down on the couch and said, if things don't change, i'm filing for divorce. Of course, he didn't believe me... but i pulled up my big girl "thongs" (hehe) and filed.... After he realized i was standing my ground, now he wanted counseling.... NOPE.. too late i was done and completly checked out. The marriage ended after 26 years. The day i said i was filing... it was like a thousand tons had been lifted. I started dating and found that men (and women) wanted me. I felt so good about myself. I even posted a profile on Match... and yes that is where i found Tim. I sware he is the last of a dying breed..... perfect gentleman, so kind and loving and giving.... has excepted me for me... He loves me thin, thick (gained 30lbs after band removal) and loves me now.... Thin again. He tells and shows me every day how much he appreciates me.... and it's such a wonderful feeling. So as of today, i'm 51 years old, still 5'2", CW 133.4, Current size 4.... Sleeve done Aug 28, 2019. So im 25 weeks PO. Got married on September 26, 2019..... I am the happiest i have ever been..... Loving me

Welcome. Most of us are "champeen" losers. Most of us have lost hundreds of pounds countless times in our lives. And clearly most of us suck at maintaining. Not only are we fighting our internal habits of a lifetime with food (addictions, using food as a drug, disordered eating behaviors, etc), but we also battle our metabolism and the neurohormones and gut hormones and insulin/glucagon, derangement that happens once obesity has set in. So we are walking time bombs. I would encourage you to spend time doing the head work. I would encourage working with a counselor and an RD. Please don't wing it. You only get one golden shot. After that, revisions become dicier and weight loss is usually slower plus you'll be out a lot of money. Please consider what kind of surgery you need. Do you need malabsorption in addition to restriction? Only you know this. Hope you post often.

That's great news all around. Hope the weight management program goes well. I started my pre-op diet today while we are driving home from Arizona. My wife has decided to do it with me which is a huge plus. God bless her for supporting me through this journey. The first day went well. My revision surgery is coming up on Feb 27. Pre-op appointments are on Monday with the surgeon and nutritionist. It is our final meetings prior to surgery. It's been a journey to get to this point, but it is only just beginning. I have been struggling with weight control since my lapband was removed in December. Traveling the last several weeks hasn't made it any easier. Hoping the pre-op diet will get me back my weight las month.

I was revised from sleeve to RNY yesterday. Today I can do way more than sip water, Propel, and crystal light. Am I correct in assuming that liquids are going straight through like a slider and that I have nothing to worry about other than liquid, protein, and vitamins?

I was revised from a sleeve to a RNY for GERD.

So I have UHC choice plus. They told me over the phone that they required the 5 year weight history, 6 month diet visits and so on. But I went and looked at the policy online and saw that they had revised their policy and guidelines at the end of the year this past year. In the revised policy, there was no 6 month diet needed and no mention of the 5 year history. So I called again to verify that and they told me no, that I needed the 6 months diets and blah blah blah. So..... I saw my surgeon for the first time to get this all started on dec 27. The nurse told me she would just send in for the prior auth and see what they came back with. When she sent in for the prior auth, all she had was my 1 office visit with them, my psych eval and that was it! I got approved in 4 days. Yes, it has to be at a center of excellence facility and you do have to have a psych eval, but @momotrips3 and @Deemarie1221 I would strongly recommend requesting they just send in the prior auth once you have those. At least they will tell you for sure sure what they need for approval. the nurse at my surgeon’s office told me that sometimes policy changes and that new info doesn’t get passed down to all of the customer service representatives but the people who are actually approving or denying should know what they are doing. anyways This is just my experience and hope this helps!

I have UHC Choice Plus and have just chosen my surgeon and started scheduling the various appointments required, thus starting that six month insurance clock. From everything I have researched and been told by the Bariatric Center, BadWolfGirl is correct. I have had the same information and instructions. I must meet monthly for Weight Management Classes where we weigh in and can't gain any weight and try to lose, do a Psych eval, get a cardiac release from my Cardiologist, meet several times with a Nutritionist (I can't remember how many, but may pay for some extras, because I am f-ing serious about this), get some records from my Pulmonologist re: sleep apnea/ my biPap, i am having a lapband removed and revised to RNY, so I may have a couple extra requirements - that is not 100% set, yet. I haven't had to deal with Optum yet. My Bariatric Center has been around for years here in Houston and I have confidence in them. I hope that confidence is not misplaced. It's a good size practice in a large city in the Houston Medical Center, so they had better know! So, I have not been told that I need to document my weight other than the six month period - I could if they just need a number recorded annually from a doctor. I have never had any issues with UHC in the past for other things, so don't anticipate any going forward. The worst that has happened is that UHC has cut ties with a large hospital system in Houston and half of my doctors are employed through that system. Sigh. Both called the other's bluff and unless they come to terms in a couple months, I need some new docs. Surgeon is fully covered, thank God.

The bottom line is that this is a life long journey with a very short window of "quick" weight loss. And you only have one golden shot at it. Because revisions are not usually as "easy-ish" as the first time. So you do you, Boo. But I think for you to be so categoricaly mis-aligned with your doc/RD that it's going to make your journey difficult and the sad thing is you will likely give up going to your check-ups etc. Which could spell disaster for you long term and regain in your future. So like, why have it at all? Or why have it with them. There are docs/centers who espouse a WFPD for all their surgical patients. Look one of them up and make the transition now. I will also tell you that I DO have a bias. I am pro-low carb and pro-lower healthy fat for the quickest losses and maintenance is done by adding healthy fats rather than adding protein or more fast acting carbs. I would have never gotten to my goal nor been maintaining had I been eating the grains and lots of fruit. I wouldn't. I have too many metabolic strikes against me. And not that it can't be done, but I think the life of a vegan or vegetarian WLS patient is very hard. The ones I know of in real life have either not gotten to goal ever or they have suffered big time regain. But I do know of a couple of women here who are very successful following a WFPD. But, they are also endurance athletes and as such, they're as much outliers as I am... I encourage you to look at other bariatric teams who are more closely aligned with your belief system. Studies show that long term success is directly linked to after care by a team of bari pros.

I am considering having a revision now due to weight gain during pregnancy. I didn’t gain back all my weight. 50 lbs out of the 117 I lost but I have been dieting for months and it’s just not coming off.

So, ready for my surgery but my surgeon is already 30 minutes late. I called the nurse and he's supposed to be on his way. So ready to get this over with. I'm having a sleeve revision, hernia repair and some other big word I didn't know, lol.

I too am on tpn. I had surgery 11/7 and have been in and out of hospital several times. I have had 3 stricture dilations that have not helped. Mainly due to sleeve being twisted. I am barely able to eat or drink anything. I'm lucky to drink 10oz a day and have maybe 2 to 5 bites of food. Maybe 100 calories a day. They want to do another dilation I have told them this has gone on too long needs to be fixed. They say only other option is revision to bypass. But seeing the above reply I'm concerned I wish you the best I hope they fix your issue so you can feel better! Hugs!

Dr Spann was also involved with my surgery and he is AWESOME too! You won’t be disappointed with your choice! The online support group is THE BEST - highly recommend you join as soon as you’re a patient. Mine was a revision from a previously messed up revision so can’t really help you with the insurance process BUT as soon as you become a member of online group ( they’ll give u access when you go for your appointment- pose the question to the group - you will get LOTS of info