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I take 4,000 mcg of Biotin you can also take selenium for your hair as well! Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

Anewday, amazing!!! Thanks so much for sharing your weight losses with us. I'm sure you will really spark some hope into many. Big Hugs and here's to you losing that last 13 Lbs. Rock on!!

This is my journey after WLS. As you can see I don’t post on the message boards. However, I have been an avid reader of the forum for over a year. I have learned so much from other people’s experience and advice. I thought it only appropriate to share mine. I’m a 41 year old woman and 5 foot 3 inches tall. I have a husband of 16 years and a 12 year old daughter. I was sleeved on October 25, 2010. My weight before I walked into surgery was 227. I had surgery in San Francisco. My surgery went fine and I stayed in the hospital for 1 day. The pain I experienced was in my shoulder. I was told it was from gas they pumped into me at surgery. All I know is it hurt. I went home and had a restless night. I couldn’t sleep in the bed because it was uncomfortable to lay flat. So I slept on the couch in an upright position. Not much sleep. I nodded off from the pain meds here and there. The next 3 days is kind of a blur for me. I remember taking my pain meds and tracking my Water and Protein intake. I also remember doing laps around the house because I was so worried that I would get a blood clot. On day 4 I stopped taking the pain meds. Day 5 is the day that I started to get excited about my journey ahead. Sipping water and Protein shakes was definitely a learning process for me. I did the post diet – liquids, soft protein, protein, protein and more protein. I drank and still drink nectar protein. I like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and Cappuccino. I tried tropical and orange and they were ok but I didn’t buy again. Below are my weight loss stats: October 25, 2010 – 227lbs. Day of surgery. November 1, 2010 – 210lbs. November 15, 2010 – 203lbs. December 6, 2010 – 200lbs. 6 weeks post-op lost 27lbs. December 13, 2010 – 197lbs. December 25, 2010 – 192lbs. January 25, 2011 – 185lbs. February 2, 2011 – 182lbs. February 9, 2011 – 179lbs. March 1, 2011 – 178lbs. March 15, 2011 – 173lbs. March 31, 2011 – 167lbs. April 25, 2011 – 160lbs, 6 months anniversary - Lost 67lbs May 16, 2011 – 159lbs. May 30, 2011 – 155lbs. June 13, 2011 – 153lbs. July 2, 2011 – 159lbs. July 14, 2011 – 148lbs. August 2, 2011 – 147lbs. – 80lbs. lost August 25, 2011 – 145lbs. September 6, 2011 – 147lbs. - gained 2lbs. yikes! September 25, 2011 – 145lbs. October 25, 2011 – 145lbs – One year anniversary Lost 82lbs. November 12, 2011 – 142lbs. December 6, 2011 – 139lbs. – 13lbs to goal! Ok, so that’s my weight loss history. I’m so glad I had the surgery. I love my new stomach. It gives me a freedom from food that I never had. It worked for me and I would do it again. Thanks for listening and I wish everyone a successful and rewarding journey.

Hello, my name is Julie. I am a wife and the proud mother of 3 wonderful children. I am also a Lucky patient of Dr. Thomas Byrne at MUSC’s Bariatric Surgery Program. My journey truly began in 2010; I weighed in at 226 pounds. I had spoken with my general physician on several occasions about my weight and the attempts that I had made (weight watchers, Jenny Craig, etc). My doctor suggested that I call MUSC’s bariatric surgery program for a consultation. I went home that day and researched weight loss surgery. I called that same afternoon for a consult appointment. My first sign that I was doing the right thing should have been the caring voice of Lisa Jackson. She helped get my consult set up and all of my questions answered. My consult went awesome. Dr. Byrne made me feel so welcome and most of all I felt that he cared about me, I was not just another fat chick in his office telling him "I am fat, please fix it". We went over the three different surgery options available, along with the risks and benefits to each. We discussed my goals and expectations as well as spending a great deal of time going over my health history. I also got to meet with one of the Registered Dieticians on staff. After consulting with Dr. Byrne, we decided that the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy was my best option for me. I felt so prepared after this appointment; all I needed to do was to set the date. After several months of research and red tape with my insurance I had the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery in August of 2011. I had a slight bump in the road during recovery but nothing that Dr. Byrne and his amazing staff could not handle! I had developed a small blood clot in my abdominal cavity. Dr. Byrne and his physician’s assistant Diana quickly had me on the mend with the utmost care and compassion! Every day was better and better! I am now 7 months post VSG; I must say that I have never felt better! I wake up every day thankful for Dr. Byrne giving me this amazing "tool" to help me to become a healthy ME. This "tool" has worked so well for me with the help of Dr. Byrne’s team of registered dietician’s as well, Debbie and Nina. I have learned how to make healthier choices at home as well as at the supermarket (thanks to the supermarket tours and monthly support group meetings). I can’t say thank you enough! Thank You!!!! I am so happy to say that I have lost 70% of my excess body weight! I have lost 75 pounds and feel amazing. I am riding my bike at least 3 times per week, I go to an awesome Zumba class (Zumba with Alma) two to three times per week, and I am doing the 10 minute trainer videos at home. I try to stay current with support group meetings and other activities when I can. They are so informative, even for non surgical folks. I will tell anyone that asks me; Dr. Byrne and his staff (Diana, Debbie, Nina, Lisa, and the amazing nurses) are the best!!! I have seen other surgeons talk about weight loss surgery so I can truly tell you that I would send anyone to see Dr. Byrne! I actually did send my mother and my sister in law. My mother had Gastric Bypass in July 2011 and my sister in law is planning to have VSG in the next couple of months.

I weigh everyday and log it in a monthly calendar. I try not to let the daily weights bother me, I look for a pattern of loss and calculate my loss monthly. I measure myself monthly and I haven't been good about taking taking pictures. Good Luck with your plan.

@ Thanks for your honesty. With weight loss surgery the work is never over..Right? Bravo to you for getting back on the horse. No point in beating yourself up over the weight gain. Push forward. We know you have done this before and you can do it again.

Oh, and another thing...how fast you lose weight depends on more than just your fill level. Men usually lose weight faster because they have greater muscle mass than women (but we women compensate with greater wisdom). Heavier people of either gender usually lose faster than lighter people because their bodies need more calories just to stay alive. And weight loss slows down for most of us as we get lighter, because we have less to lose and because our bodies are trying to fight the weight loss. Hang in there!

Somehow your numbers are not adding up. From 379 to 238 lbs is a 141 lb. weight loss. That can't be only 25% of your excess weight. If you add your 58 lb loss with your 43 lb. pre-surgery loss that is a 101 lb total, still more than 25% of your excess weight. If your goal were 179 lbs. you would have needed to lose 200 lbs. and it seems you have lost 50% of that so far. I am on a bit of a plateau myself so I feel for you. I do hope the pounds start coming off soon.

That's good. The weight loss part not the dumping part. It was horrible I am assuming? What did you dump on?

Hey my surgery is monday and my bag is packed ... I have metal free scrunchies for my hair (because no metal in the operating room) and hair brush, my toothbrush and toothpaste, my deodorant, I have my sports bra and underwear, I have my loose fuzzy pj bottoms, and non skid socks for walking the halls, and I also got a loose tank top and cut the top of the strap and put buttons on them so I could slide it on over my legs like pants up to my top and then button it so it dosent effect my IVs.. That way no hospital gown and I also got a very loose tshirt and sweat pants and house shoes to wear home, and I am bringing a book and 2 stuffed animals that my kids wanted me to bring

WOW... what quick weight loss you have had... amazing!! I too wish it was melting off me...lol =]

Hi, My name is Deb I am 54 yrs old , divorced, have 4 grown children, 5 grandchildren. I have battled my weight all my life( my grandfather and father decided I should be 25 lbs by the time I was 6 months) my highest weight was 302 lbs., I now weigh 279 lbs. I have fought diabetes, kidney disease, anemia, fibromyalgia and the list goes on . I take 20 different meds daily. I no longer work, ( I was a nurse for 36 yrs) . It hurts to walk, I try to exercise and end up hurting something else. I have looked into the weight loss surgery several times but was always told it " would kill me" because of issues I already have with my esophagus. I decided to check into surgery again since I obviously can't get rid of the weight by myself. This time they told me about the vertical sleeve and feel i can have this procedure safely. I have 2 more nutrition classes, then I will see the Dr and hopefully be scheduled. My insurance doesn't cover the procedure but the Dr is sure he can prove medical necessity and get it approved. I am hoping after surgery when the weight starts coming off, I will have less pain, and my kidney disease and diabetes will improve, and be able to get rid of that darn C-Pap. My 28 yr old daughter lives with me and is also planing to have the surgery sometime after I have mine. My brother and sister had the gastric by-pass several years ago and have done very well. I know I am still a high risk even with this procedure, but I am praying to God for him to guide and protect me as I start this new journey in my life.

I am about 3 month out (hopefully) from having surgery. My two biggest fears are having a leak and loosing my hair. Can someone that has experienced these comment on how bad it was an how you felt with it. Thanks in advance

I think those with thick hair are usually fine with the hair loss. No one has noticed except for me. I have a few friends with thinner hair who have cut their hair shorter, but it wasn't drastic - just a new hairstyle. The advice I was given was to take my Vitamins and get in as much Protein as possible.

Thanks so much for the insight. I have really thick hair as well but my solution to hair loss is just cut it short. I also agree I would rather be Shynad Oconner than fat..(lol). I can't wait to hv surgery and be on the losers side. Thanks again.

I had a VSG on 7/29/13 and was 310 lbs pre-op. It's now the six month mark and I've lost 135 lbs and feel comfortable at 175 lbs. My goal weight was 190, but I've now passed that by 15 lbs. I was curious to learn how some of you transitioned from being focused on the weight-loss to maintaining your goal weight (?).... How many calories are you consuming at the 6 month mark? What's your regular exercise routine? Do you still try to avoid carbs whenever possible? Any feedback would be appreciated!

What an amazing loss! Way to go!

Well went to my appt. My insurance change some requirements so now I will have to do 3 months consecutive medical supervised weight loss with my PCP. So I am looking at June or July before I can get the schedule funny thing is I was told not to lose much weight.

I wanted to add information that I was given by the nurse advisor at HMP. They do require 6 months of documented weight loss; however, they may be willing to look at surrounding situations that create a problem for the patient. BMI of 40 or more without comorbidities, under 40 with comorbidities, and all of the other stuff we already know, psych evaluation, referral, letter of medical necessity, and so on. A very awesome thing, it is a 2 week approval process so when everything is ready it will not be a long wait! In my particular case, I showed required weight loss and kept it off before another health issue took over my life and the weight was gained over more than a year’s time. For now, again I am waiting to hear from the nurse advisor for my insurance to see if their approval board will take these extenuating circumstances and allow me to move forward! Either way, I am back to the wl and have 3 months into it so the wait won’t be too long.

I just checked my stats and by your stage I had lost 70% of what I ended up losing overall. But honestly it is different for every single person. You have done amazingly well so far and you may (hopefully DO) have further to go. The best way to max out your loss is to stick like glue to your programme. Some (I think a lot) of where we end up is determined by what your body decides is its new set point. I hope you are celebrating your loss and the changes this will have made to your body. You must feel like a completely different person now. I totally understand the anxiety to lose as much as you can - I think most of us had (have!) that. Good luck.

Ok I will be 3 weeks out on Wednesday. I went through something similar and I believe that's what caused my stall at a week and a half out. I wasn't eating crackers but I was making really cheesy dips that included chicken,velveeta cheese,etc. And I was eating snacks with my husband like a couple bites of cheesecake off his plate,a couple pieces of chex mix muddy buddy,etc. I had no room for the healthy stuff! At my one week post op appt my dr told me I was free to eat whatever(healthy) as long as I chewed it thoroughly and went slow. I started eating a bit of ice cream,a lil while later a couple bites of pudding,a while after that some of the velveeta dip stuff and so on...While I don't believe there is enough calories and or fat in the little bitty amounts I was sticking in my sleeve to make you gain a bunch of weight,I do believe all of this and the scale showed it with a 1 lb gain and then stall at a week and a half out: 1-Not eating planned out meals and just grazing throughout the day was getting in the way of my fluid intake. I had it in my mind that I could not tolerate protein shakes so that was being sabotoged as well,and none of these things are healthy. I was not coming to terms with the fact that my sleeve is still too small and new for me to be eating these things and still getting in the nutrition that I need. If I'm not getting in enough liquids or protein,my body is in starvation mode and will hang onto any little bit of fat it can to store for energy,I will feel weak and fatigued like I was,my hair will start falling out(one of my biggest fears). I gave my scale to my mom and made SURE to put lean protein foods first,and that's about all I can fit in my sleeve. My rule of thumb now is NO food goes into my mouth when I wake up until I have had at least 20 ozs of liquids,I follow that with a muscle milk light which has 20 grams of protein and my sleeve loves it compared to a protein shake. Then I have to have 10 more ounces of liquids b4 lunch. I can only stomach 1.5 ounces of chicken with hot sauce and a dab of blue cheese on it then I'm full. Wait about an hour and make myself finish off 10 more ounces of fluids before dinner. I then eat tuna,salmon,cheese,or chicken,something with protein for dinner. By then I have had more than 40 grams of protein and 40 ounces of liquids. I am free for the rest of the evening to drink liquids,eat a couple bites of SF pudding (I usually sprinkle some unflavored protein in it) or even eat a SF fruit bar-only 25 calories and soooo good! The reason I am saying all this is bc this: Since I put my foot down and started doing what I know I should be,my stall ended quickly and I have lost 3 more lbs in 3 days! I had to realize that I will eventually get to enjoy these things in moderation,but the whole reason I got the sleeve is so I can fill it with healthy,protein rich foods,vitamins and liquids consistently until my excess weight is gone. I will from now on save the junk food till I am farther out. That 1 lb gain and stall was enough to snap me out of it and remember what I was blessed with. Now,that being said it's just my opinion and I do believe everyone's body is different and everyone can handle things differently. I just kinda wanted to let u in on my experience thus far out and hope I can help in someway. ((HUGS)) and stay strong,we will get through this!

Hey Tita, My surgery was on June 21. I'll tell you truth it is scary. I was excited right until they were wheeling me into the surgery room then I got extremely nervous. Then when I woke up I was in shock like what did I just do to my body. The pain was tolerable for me but to some people it's awful. You'll feel like you're going to throw up once you wake up and your stomach will be sore. Once I got home everything was so much better. No one was poking me with needles or waking me up at 3am to go for a walk. I can now say that I'm doing well. After that first week you should be better. I hope you have people that's supporting you and help you through this. I couldn't imagine going through this without my mom. If you don't have help, to take a shower I put a hair band around my neck and pinned the drain to it. It helped me. But I wish you luck and I'll say a prayer for you.

On the third day I am to go back to solids. I think you are too full. Go back and have a slight unfill. There are a lot of people on this site who got their bands to full but liked the weight loss and kept it that way. Only problem is that it has led to the band slipping and having to be removed!

I was really scared too when I was going through the classes and when I met with the surgeon. I kinda had to just look at things as putting one foot in front of the other. I made it through all my classes, surgeon meeting, etc. and had my surgery on 4/30. It was the BEST decision I could have ever made for myself. I did not have much pain after surgery and have been using my new tool (my sleeve) to help me with my weight loss. I really can't tell you enough how happy this decision has made me. It's a life-changer. My advice to you would be to look at it as one foot in front of the other. Take things one at a time. I know my surgeon was very nice and that helped. I am sure your surgeon will do everything they can to help you too. Good luck!

Mine literally started falling off about 2 weeks ago and I'm 7weeks out tomorrow. Before very slow loss even a little gain. Now I lose about .5 lbs a day. I was disappointed at fist too just give it time Sent from my 5054N using the BariatricPal App