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Hello everyone! I am chugging along, feeling great 86 pounds lighter 4.5 months post op from my fantastic new tool, my VSG. This is one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I was well prepared, I feel, and have been fortunate to have no complications as of yet. I exercise an hour a day aiming for 6 days per week since I learned research shows that long term weight maintenance after weight loss requires 250-300 minutes of exercise per week. I am still eating about 1/4-1/3 cup of protein per meal, along with about the same serving size of veg or fruit. For milk and protein supplement, I'm drinking Fairlife milk. My pants are down 8 sizes, tops are down 4 sizes. My wedding ring is in danger of being lost it is so loose, so I am going to buy an inexpensive gold band until my weight stabilizes, then will have my ring resized. I was normal size until my first pregnancy at age 27 when I felt nauseous unless I had something in my stomach. I successfully took off my pregnancy weight but quickly regained it. Thus began 24 years of ups and down with my weight. I tried (and succeeded short term) with Weight Watchers, Overeaters Anonymous, and my own fitness improvement plans many times over the past 20+ years. I added it up once, and I have taken off and regained more than 500 pounds prior to surgery. I always regained my weight plus some. After 8 years of consistent, concerted, professionally assisted (psychologist, nutritionist) traditional weight loss effort (not counting WW or OA), I began to explore WLS. I interviewed friends who had done it, and I couldn't be happier. I have about 40 pounds yet I want to take off. Here's to all of us, gettin it done and getting healthier! Don't judge- no make up or freshly done hair today. Just running some errands...

Hey everyone!! I've been stalking this forum for a few months now as I've been jumping through all the hoops my insurance required for surgery. I finished up all my requirements last month and found out yesterday that my surgery has been approved and scheduled for October 2nd, 2018. I'm a 24yr old female, 230lbs, 5'2 and this will be my first surgery. I'm extremely anxious about it and have had the last 6 months to drive myself crazy looking up all the information I can about it. I go back and forth from almost giving myself a panic attack to being eerily calm about the whole thing. I'm not worried about backing out, I'm simply not that type of person. I'm more worried about how to keep my anxiety in check as my surgery date moves closer. I'm worried over all the normal things such as the possibility of death, complications and extreme pain. Everyone seems to have such varied experiences that I really have no idea what to expect, which has me expecting the worse. I'm mainly just looking for advice, support, words of encouragement, prayers.. etc. Thank you guys!

I wanted the RNY from the beginning but was told that it was irreversible and the band was. I chose the band which was a big mistake. When I had the revision to remove the band I once again wanted the RNY. Again I was told the sleeve was effective with less complications. A year later I was suffering from bile reflux and ultimately ended up getting the RNY which I originally wanted 9 years ago.

It can happen at any time (immediately or years) but when it is not well controlled with medication or specifically tested for that your team will determine if you have develop a complication. Are you (still) on a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) ? Update your team if your reflux doesn't get better.

How much you lose is dependent partially upon what you do--how well you stick to the plan, how much exercise you get--and partially upon your starting weight. (The rest is effectively random, because bodies are complicated.) My team says it's reasonable to expect to lose 30% of your excess weight (weight on day of surgery minus ideal weight) in the first 3 months. 6 weeks is half that. So if your excess weight is at least 130 pounds, yeah, that's a super reasonable goal! If you have less than 100 pounds to lose, it is probably a less reasonable goal. And I don't know about you, but focusing entirely on the scale is a recipe to make me crazy. I need to focus on the things I can control--what I eat, what I drink, what exercise I do--instead of my weight, which isn't entirely up to me.

Yeah it's coming quick and I will keep you in my prayers to. I pray that God be the surgeon on our surgery days and that all goes well and we recover fully and quickly without ANY COMPLICATIONS and we lose the weight and keep if off. In Jesus Name. AMEN! See you on the Bypass side. Until then later.

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Hi, I am on day 13 of my 2 week liquid diet, however yesterday I had to start on clear liquids only. Broth and water. am dying. I am starving, weak, and have a massive headache. My surgery is Monday at 1:30pm. I don't know how I am going to survive. I am not supposed to have sodium. I was told low or no sodium broth. I have been having the herb-ox which is what my surgeon prefers but I cannot do it without adding salt or other salted liquid broth to it. I am not sure if this is going to be a problem or not, or even if my surgeon would be able to tell. I have been doing pretty ok until I had to eliminate my protein shakes. I have lost between 12-14 pounds, and I am on the smaller side for surgery to begin with. I am in this more for the health benefits as I am an uncontrolled diabetic and lost both of my parents to complications from diabetes. I have high blood pressure and cholesterol also. I also do need to lose weight and I tell myself that is an added bonus to the other health benefits. This not having the protein is killing me. Frustr8 thank you for the stats on the liver shrinking diet because I was not sure there would be much benefit in such a long time. I know that I also have a fatty liver. I also am having really bad heartburn all of a sudden and not sure I can take anything.

My LapBand was nothing but problems from the very beginning - Everything I was supposed to eat got stuck and everything I should have stayed away from went down just fine. The fill in my band was unpredictable. Some days water would gurgle, others I could mindlessly eat a huge chunk of chicken or pasta and slip on through no problem. It would change depending on the time of month and there was no "sweet spot fill" everyone talks about. To make matters worse, if you ever get the flu or food poisoning it is an EMERGENT issue. (No one ever told me this was a "thing.") If your doctor is only a few minutes away and available after hours, no biggie. (Until you have to move years later or he does.) Mine was a 3 hour drive away. Imagine me heaving for hours upon hours in the backseat of the car after eating bad sashimi - My stomach was in obscene amounts of pain..I could physically feel it trying to come up, only to get stuck under the band. My ordeal started at 4am and didn't make it to the doctor until almost 12hrs later - I'm surprised that much wretching didn't cause a slip. This whole situation scared me so much, it wasn't until over a year later I went back to re-fill. There are a lot more issues people talk about above I don't have to mention again here and I know it works for some people - But it never did for me. I'm being revised to a sleeve next month and I couldn't be more excited. I want this thing OUT before it causes more damage. My doctor already mentioned he more often than not sees damage from these bands when being removed...It scars the esophagus over time, regardless of complications. My advice, do what's right for you...It is your choice and your body! I, on the other hand, would still never recommend this surgery to anyone!

It could also be what each surgeon performs. I’ve seen surgeons in my area that only do one procedure, so maybe that’s all that is offered to them that their insurance will cover. Could also be a health risk thing too, i’ve seen surgeons refuse to perform the switch due to complications and recommend either the sleeve or bypass. And some people aren’t really given options but rather told what they need by their surgeon.

Hey everyone. I could not wait to get home from work to begin writing. I have read on this forum that there is something referred to as "resetting" the pouch. I am wondering if this is what I need to do. Here's why...I had absolutely no complications from the surgery. I lost ten pounds prior to surgery and now have lost 24 in all. My surgery date was July 6th and I feel that I should have lost more weight by now. I have to be honest, though, to let you all know that I have not exercised at all. I walked religiously in the hospital and the hotel prior to coming home, but once I got here I just wanted to sleep. I have felt like I have no energy. I am taking the recommended supplements but I truly don't have much of an appetite. Food seems to almost repulse me but I make myself eat. Weight loss has been slow and steady, which is the best. However, several weeks ago, I was at 196.4 and the scales would not budge. I started eating red grapes and they were so delicious and loaded with fiber that they helped relieve me of some extra weight and I got down to 194. Somewhere during that period of time I went down four pounds in one week. I have now gone back up to 196 and I am not cheating on anything. I promise. I am just not exercising. I am drinking all of the water and liquids and taking in all the protein I can handle. I don't recall overeating, but it's so difficult to know when the food feels like it does in the pouch. I almost always feel full. I am not drinking anything carbonated, so there is no risk of the pouch having stretched because of bubbles. Have any of you had any experience like this? Has anyone tried resetting the pouch? If so, did it work? I am going to begin exercising again. Prior to surgery I was lifting weights and going to kick boxing. I loved it. I am by nature very athletic, with muscle tone and I really want the muscle tone back. I refuse to accept that this surgery won't be completely successful for me and I know I have to do my part with the exercise. I know it will lead to more energy, then more, then more. I have ordered lots of things from the store on this site so that I can get more protein. That might help with the energy level, as well. I hope to get some good feedback from this post. Thank you.

So coming up on my 4 month post sleeve I needed going back in to have my gallbladder removed. Yep I’m that lucky 25% ish of WLS patients who need it removed. I had asymptotic stones prior to surgery but the loss of almost 80lbs in 4-5 months likely is what tipped it to angry and needing the gallbladder out. Surgery and recovery are less painful than the sleeve so far. However the pain leading up to needing it removed was no joke. Leading up to needing it out had me at urgent care who sent me to ER who ended up passing me off with a if it pain gets worse or additional symptoms to come back. The Mr and I weren’t happy. Went to my sleeve’s surgeons office the next day who took one look at me and my lab work up then said if she had the surgery slot that day would have done it. She didn’t have a slot so back to the ER I go but she called ahead. This time they gave me pain meds pretty much once I got back to an ER room (2-3 hours after I walked in). Got my 2nd ultrasound (same tech from night before and was floored they didn’t take it out the night before). 2nd ultrasound showed my gallbladder was even more angry. Got scheduled for surgery the next am and was checked in to the hospital overnight. My sleeve surgeon was doing rounds that morning and came in and checked in on me. She wasn’t the one doing my surgery but it was totally surprising to see her check in on me. So now I have 9 scars on my belly from laparoscopic surgery. 5 from the sleeve and 4 from the gallbladder. At some point I’m going to connect all the dots to see what fun shapes they form;) Surgeon’s comment once I was back in my room was oh it was super angry and needing to come out. Moral of the story: pain in upper right quadrant is something not to mess with. I’m hoping to getting back to my walking and eating schedule in the next few days. Hard part is I can’t lift anything over a gallon of milk for at least 2-4 weeks. So that means the dog can’t got with me nor can I start back up with yoga or some of the other cardio type classes I was looking at. Nor can I really work in my yard which I love doing. Does mean my Mr gets to pick up most of the chores until I can again.

My date is 10/15/18. I am getting more excited/nervous every day. I've been working on getting approval for a little over a year. I am an (traveling) operating room nurse and I know exactly how/what goes on pre-op and during surgery. It's more of what happens post op that has me nervous. I don't want to wake up thinking "WTF did I just do to myself?" I want to heal properly, with no complications, and be able to follow all the rules/recommendations. I want it to be an uneventful recovery. I know I'm letting my nerves get to me. I'm not generally an anxious person. (Except when flying.) However, this is the biggest life changing experience that I've ever faced. How do you deal with all the emotions/nerves?

I am grateful for your services, I am a very spiritual person and pray frequently, I would also ask that you pray for me. My name is Desiree and my daughter is Morgan, we are having surgery on the same day and we could you all the prayers we can get for a successful surgery without complications. Peace, love and blessings to all.

I had my sleeve done Jan '17 and then a tummy tuck exactly a year later. At that time, I was also considering a breast lift, inner thigh lift and an arm lift (with the skin tightening extending down to the arm pits). For the most part my feelings are mixed. The stomach area looks great and I have been able to squeeze into size 00 pants. I get plenty of compliments about my figure when wearing a figure hugging outfit. Having said that, there were some complications with the surgery with a somewhat disfigured belly button so I don't usually wear bikini/crop tops. There is another aspect that I didn't anticipate. When you are overweight and/or you have extra skin, an extra inch doesn't make too much difference. Now that I have a tiny 24'' waist, a "little" extra, whether it's from just bloating or a ever-so-slight relaxation of my diet, will eliminate the possibility of wearing something that clings to that area. Finally, the surgery and ensuing complications took me out of commission exercise-wise for at least three months and even now I still do not have much core strength at least relative to my other muscles. As for the other areas that I did not get surgery on, a diligent weight routine combined with intermittent fasting has helped. There is still loose skin in the upper arms but muscle has filled out most of the space such that when I wear sleeveless tops it looks comparable to an "average" female. The part of the legs that would show past a skirt or shorts are very toned with no trace of loose skin. For both the arms and legs, I would say that it would not be worthwhile to get the additional aesthetic benefits from the surgery when you consider the resulting scars. The only problematic area remains the under arms. If I raise my arms above my head, you can see the muscle definition (again from doing a high amount of resistance training on the back muscles) but in a normal position the loose skin bunches. As a result, I still don't wear anything that reveals the area like spaghetti strap or strapless tops.

I haven't had the surgery yet, but I'm really appreciating the responses to this question. Thanks for asking it, @KymmerShimmer! I can say I chose the sleeve over the lap band mostly because of statistics. The failure rate on the lap band is high--not even all that much better than diet and exercise alone (which has a 95+% failure rate, just btw); the failure rate on the sleeve is so much lower. The risk of complications on the band over time is comparatively high, too. The chance of scarring on the outside of the stomach is something I couldn't handle (which is maybe a weird stance for me to have, since I'm fine with them chopping out part of my stomach and making a line of staples ... OK, I am freaked out by there being metal staples in my squishy organ area, but I'm less freaked out by that than I am by a band full of saline floating around in there). And my sister in law had the lap band, lost a lot of weight, had complications, and has regained a bunch back. She's planning to get a sleeve, but she's having trouble finding a doctor who'll do it, since (some stuff that's specific to her, PLUS) it's harder to make the staple line close up cleanly after someone's had a lap band. So, there was a personal story to go with the statistics, you know? What I'm saying is, I never seriously considered the band. Which is for the best, since my surgeon also doesn't offer it. The bypass is considered the "gold standard" of bariatric surgery, and the sleeve is the most commonly performed bariatric surgery nowadays; at the risk of making some folks mad at me, I'll be honest and say that, having seen the statistics, I think it's a little unethical for a doctor to even offer the lap band, anymore.

I'm going for the sleeve (and I am over 300 pounds and shorter than you and also not male), because I need to be able to take NSAIDs and probably methotrexate for my arthritis. (Sometimes WLS clears up arthritis. That's why I'm seeking it, not the weight itself.) With the bypass, NSAIDs are off the table for, as I understand it, forever. And Tylenol does almost nothing for arthritis. (Also, I'm self-pay in the US, and the sleeve is less expensive; I have enough money in savings for the sleeve, but I do not have enough money for the bypass, I suspect--I didn't ask for a price, already having made up my mind. Also, the sleeve has a lower rate of complications. Not enough lower that that alone should be the deciding factor, but it certainly factored into my decision. The long-term difference in weight loss is only about 10% of excess weight, on average--50-60% for sleeve and 60-70% for bypass. I can live with that difference; it'll still be life-changing.) They'll know after they do the upper endoscopy whether you have GERD or not. I had a little damage on my esophagus, and they couldn't tell if it was esophagitis or GERD. (It may also have been due to the massive amount of NSAIDs I took for several years.) Since it was a small enough amount of damage, I'm still cleared for surgery and still planning on the sleeve; I'm just starting the PPI sooner than expected. I know they'll keep me on them for 3 months after surgery, but I'm OK with the fact that that could turn into a year or (I hope not) forever. Ultimately, everyone in this forum is going to be invested in their own choice, the same way that newly married people try to push all their friends to get married. (I can say that without getting in trouble. I'm married. ) We all had good reasons for what we picked, or maybe we didn't but now that we've picked it we need to believe it was the best possible choice. You probably knew that coming in. But just a reminder: this is up to you, and you've gotta do what seems right for your body, in consultation with your surgical team. 👍

1. What made you choose the Sleeve over the Lap Band? High rate of complications and failure with lap band. 2. Have you had Hair loss with the Sleeve? Yes. It is not falling out in clumps or anything like that, but I definitely notice more "shedding" in the shower and on my comb, and some loose hairs on my shoulders throughout the day. Nobody else has noticed; not even my hairdresser. 3. What can you absolutely NOT eat now with the Sleeve? Any intolerances or aversions I had prior to surgery got worse. And I have trouble with foods that are dry or hard. 4. At what point did you know you made the right decision with the Sleeve surgery? About a month out. The first month was very hard. 5. What as been the best tool you've used in keeping your weight loss progressing? I write down every single thing I put in my mouth, using My Fitness Pal to track calories and protein. And I exercise an average of 5 days per week. These are all good questions. Good luck to you!

According to the internet: Nausea and vomiting are the most common complaints after bariatric surgery, and they are typically associated with inappropriate diet and noncompliance with a gastroplasty diet (ie, eat undisturbed, chew meticulously, never drink with meals, and wait 2 hours before drinking after solid food is consumed). If these symptoms are associated with epigastric pain, significant dehydration, or not explained by dietary indiscretions, an alternative diagnosis must be explored. One of the most common complications causing nausea and vomiting in gastric bypass patients is anastomotic ulcers, with and without stomal stenosis. Ulceration or stenosis at the gastrojejunostomy of the gastric bypass has a reported incidence of 3% to 20%. Although no unifying explanation for the etiology of anastomotic ulcers exists, most experts agree that the pathogenesis is likely multifactorial. These ulcers are thought to be due to a combination of preserved acid secretion in the pouch, tension from the Roux limb, ischemia from the operation, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, and perhaps Helicobacter pylori infection. Evidence suggests that little acid is secreted in the gastric bypass pouch; however, staple line dehiscence may lead to excessive acid bathing of the anastomosis. Treatment for both marginal ulcers and stomal ulcers should include (1) avoidance of NSAIDs, (2) antisecretory therapy with proton-pump inhibitors, and/or sucralfate. In addition,(3) H pylori infection should be identified and treated, if present. The other area that you should explore is the fact that you might have a stricture.

I had the lapband switched to the gastric bypass in March of 2012. My heaviest was 280. Now I am 113. My surgeon gave me a feeding tube which did nothing and hurt like hell. I have zero appetite. No food looks or tastes good to me anymore. I am always nauseous. I have zero energy, and some days cannot even get out of bed. Everything I eat makes me sick. My hubby and I try to find a pattern to what causes my dumping syndrome. But we are at a loss. The worst part is, I have a son who is going to be 5 next week. I am lucky to have lots of help w him from my mom and my hubby. But he sees how weak I am. I can’t keep up w him and take him to a park even. I cannot find much at all online about loosing too much weight. I only find about regaining. My bariatric surgeon’s answer to every complication I’ve had is to cut me open, again, and again and again. He’s done 6 surgeries on me (not including initial lapbad, and revision to bypass). I moved overseas to Israel last September and have been getting iron infusions twice a week. I haven’t felt a difference. Nothing helps. It’s a total mind f**k to go from 280 to 113. Als to go from so big to so small. Also to be told by all those around me to eat eat. How can I swallow food when I’m constantly nauseous? I’ve always struggled to keep all of the vitamins down. I throw them all up. Ive asked if I can do a vitamin drip, any alternative to oral vitamins. It’s hard. My Dr even prescribed me marinol, to stimulate my appetite and help with nausea. It’s generally given to chemo patients, didn’t help me at all. I feel No one understands. I Don’t even understand, It’s so very confusing. Any one else experience this? I feel if things don’t change I’ll be dead within 10 years. I’m 42 in a 65 year olds body. What upsets me most is how this affects my sweet little boy. He is old enough now to know and see and hear, that mommy is not well. I will never know all of the negative ways in which this probably already has and will continue to affect him. I have an appt with a bariatric nutritionist but, by now, I generally know more than they do. Any words of wisdom or advice would be greatly appreciated. Here are pics from size 28 to 00

I found it! This isn't the exact source I remember (I think it was a fashion documentary on Netflix), but this will have to do. Not a bad source either, I suppose. The only downside is that this is a very dated source. For many women, finding the perfect dress or outfit is only half the battle. Then, it must be altered. Women frequently have to pay for such services, though basic alterations have commonly been provided to men at no charge. Stores and tailors say altering women's garments is generally more complicated than it is for men's. But Saks Fifth Avenue has begun providing basic alterations to skirts and dresses at no charge as part of a settlement of a sex-discrimination suit brought by two California women. Saks no longer charges to hem unlined and unpleated skirts, shorten or lengthen sleeves, take in or let out center and side seams in unlined garments and add shoulder pads to dresses. Previously, each of these services cost $12 to $18. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/01/style/fashion-in-fitting-room-a-little-more-equality.html

1. What made you choose the Sleeve over the Lap Band? Lap bands have a lot of long term complications 2. Have you had Hair loss with the Sleeve? Yes. 3. What can you absolutely NOT eat now with the Sleeve? Salmon, Tuna 4. At what point did you know you made the right decision with the Sleeve surgery? Less than 4 months out, so no verdict yet, but I am down 66 pounds already since surgery. 5. What as been the best tool you've used in keeping your weight loss progressing? The sleeve itself. Not so much the limiting capacity because you can still graze--but most of the time, I am just not hungry, And a scale. People love their NSV and more power to them--but numbers don't lie. The scale will always keep you honest.

The best explanation of the difference between the two that I have seen is on poster's surgeon's advice was that if you call me up in five year's time complaining of nausea and vomiting and you have a band, I would tell you to go the the ER ASAP; if you had a VSG, I would tell you that you just ate some bad fish. While the bands are simple to install and have a low initial complication rate, that complication rate increases over time, and while it is a removable device and the procedure can be reversed, often times the damage that it does to your stomach can't be reversed, so you wind up getting revised to a sleeve, bypass or DS.

I understand where you are coming from because I wouldn't swallow my gum either especially knowing that it could cause complications. I definitely don't want to cause any complications to a procedure that I have worked so hard for. @nikkiF22 How has your post op been so far besides the food thing?

How's it going? You're amazing[emoji4] as i can imagine with type 1 diabetes it makes everything a lot more complicated Sent from my SM-G950F using BariatricPal mobile app