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I know I did this in the wrong order. [emoji849] I had an abdominoplasty and lipo a couple of yes ago after losing a bunch of weight only to go through a divorce and gain all my weight back. I am going to a group meeting and my consultation on Monday. I'm curious to know if anyone has done this and what complications could arise. I'm concerned it will cause problems due to fibrous spots and my belly button being rerouted. Am I a lost cause? Sent from my SM-S908U using BariatricPal mobile app

I agree. I am 9 months PO, and had you told me that I would be able to reach the weight I currently am, I would not have believed you. I didn't set a firm goal at the beginning, because I had no idea where I "should" end up. I did some math with weights around the top of the "normal" BMI numbers for my height, to see what the percentages were so I could have some idea of my progress at 3 and 6 months. Then I ended up dropping weight faster than predicted. The only time I had an actual number in mind was after my 6 month appointment when the APRN told me what they had written down as my "ideal weight" in the computer. It messed with my head some, because I couldn't ever remember weighing that little, so when I got into the range with the same number in the tens place, I was psyching myself out. I had to work to get over that. I still don't believe the number on my jeans (6 - I had to buy new ones because my saved clothes only went down to 10). It's insane to me that I can wear size small t-shirts. I can feel bones in all kinds of places that I never did before. I am still slowly losing, letting my body decide what it wants to do, but my brain is still catching up with what I see in the mirror. I also agree with wearing things you have saved as soon as they fit and as often as possible. Sizes can go by quickly sometimes. Sent from my Pixel 4a using BariatricPal mobile app

If I could give it less stars I would. I had surgery at OCC in Mexico over ten years ago (lap band) and the surgery center was state of the art, clean and everyone spoke english. The care was impeccable. This time, after reading many positive reviews, I chose Mexico Bariatric Ctr. Unfortunately, my experience there was the opposite. They were extremely fraudulent in their advertising and the entire was nothing less than DANGEROUS! Here is a list of things that were fraudulent: 1. Only one nurse out of about 20 spoke English. When I asked for jello, they brought me a pillow. They did not know how to use translators on their phone. When I began having complications this is where things could have gone very wrong. I'll explain more later. 2. The conditions of the hospital (pictures below). There was no hot water in our bathroom. The shower was full of thick green mold. The shower doors were broken off and unusable. The floor drain is held by duct tape. The mirror fell off the wall and sat on the floor. We had no handsoap (luckily I brought sanitizer to Mexico with me). The air conditioner was BROKEN. It was so hot they opened the window for us for our entire stay. Unfortunately there is ALOT of construction and traffic noise 24 hrs p/day so sleep was impossible. The trash was overflowing and never changed over a 4 day stay. Needles, bloody bandages were on the floor. The hospital building is dilapidated and should be condemned. Many patients were told that MBC is moving to a new building in April, but when I asked the administrators they said maybe next year and they have no building chosen yet. Ice was made into chips by the pulling a bag out of the freezer and smashing it with a metal weight (like for fishing) for each cup ...this went on outside our room 24 hrs per day. They picked it up with their bare hands, off of a counter that was not wiped clean first, and put it in a cup for you. 3. My doctor never met me before or after surgery until I finally told a specialist doctor and she reached out to him. The anesthesiologist also did not speak to me before surgery. 4. The toilets in the waiting area were dirtier than most gas station bathrooms. The one in our room was about the same. 5. When we requested pain meds the first 24 hours after surgery the nurse stated it was only allowed every 12 hours and we had to request them. On the third day when a specialist had to come see me, we learned that they were written for every 6 hours WITHOUT request necessary. Both my roommate and I were in excruciating pain the first 24 hours and only got two doses of pain meds rather than four. 6. DANGEROUSLY LOW OXYGEN LEVEL. I let them know ahead of time that I brought my cpap and sometimes have difficulties with oxygen exchange after anesthesia. Right after surgery my oxygen level dropped to 80 (normal is 95-100). They gave me a canula (hose that goes under your nose to administer oxygen) but it wasn't giving me enough. So they gave me a full mask. But when night time came and I needed to use a cpap they told me to not use my cpap, but for me that is super dangerous so then they said stop using oxygen....my level dropped to 78! Organ damage can begin at that low of a level. The nurse stated I didn't need oxygen anymore (luckily this was the nurse who spoke english). I asked for a doctor and the specialist came in. They did not have any idea what to do for me. So I decided to wear the canula under my cpap mask. Karla (administrator for MBC came by and said "Don't worry about the canula, the water in your cpap will mix with the air and make oxygen". Ok, first of all Karla is not a medical professional, not a nurse and clearly had no idea what she was talking about and luckily I knew enough not to listen to her. My oxygen level did straighten out the next day thank goodness. 7. I came home with two of my incisions infected. They were red and swollen in about a 3" radius each. Two weeks of doxycycline before they cleared up. Nothing was sterile at this hospital. Nurses did not wear gloves for wound care but when you ask them to, they CANNOT UNDERSTAND YOU! With all that they charge it seems they could buy an ice machine for sterile ice chips, a/c that works etc. Even our toilet seat was broken and you had to be super careful how you sat on it. It doesn't appear that ANY MONEY goes into the hospital. 8. I was charged 450$ in extra fees that they refuse to explain what they are for. You must pay before they will take you to the border. 9. I was overcharged, their receipt shows a $300 overpayment but they won't send it for 12 weeks! 10. I called to speak with Mr. Ron Elli in San Diego who is the director. He refused to speak to me, hear my complaints or respond in any way. I am now 5 weeks post op. I understand that there are quite a few good reviews, but in reviewing them upon my return home I realized they are from 2019 and 2020. Perhaps the hospital was in better shape then, I don't know. Useful Funny Cool

Am I the only one going crazy over all the sipping? I’m told drink 1 oz every 15 minutes and take 15 minutes to drink it. That’s a sip every 5 minutes rite? I’m sooooo full! FYI: I gained 1 pound overnight!!! How??

make sure you're drinking lots of fluids - that can help flush things out. Even for those who aren't having potential kidney-related issues, lots of fluids are recommended if you're on a high-protein diet. I just read that being obese can also affect kidneys and their related values - so it could be that your urea level was high even before surgery (did they do a baseline on your blood values prior to surgery, including your urea levels?). I also read that having WLS normally improves all this. I agree with Arabesque - we sometimes have abnormal readings of certain values (high liver values seems to be a common one, for one) when we're in the rapid weight loss phase. They usually normalize after a few months, when weight loss slows way down. But your surgeon and/or dietitian should be aware of that. I hope someone gets back to you on this - if nothing else, for peace of mind.

Just my weekly check in. Another good week, even with less activity. While I did not lose power, we had an ice storm that took out power to most of my area and closing my gym. I've done little to no walking since Wednesday and no weight lifting since then either. I also have a tendonitis strain in my left arm that's really bothering me. I can barely lift a pot of coffee. So, forced rest is probably justified. Posting a new low today. I'm happy but also concerned that it appears I'm losing muscle mass. I may need to add a new supplement to my shakes to help. But if weight were my only concern and goal... I'm still heading the right direction. See ya next week.

I had VSG surgery in September 2021, and had a REALLY rough go of it recovering. I had a really rare set of complications, ended up in the hospital for a week, and generally felt like I was starving to death for 4 or 5 months. About six months before my surgery, my husband had purchased me a motorcycle. I'm very short, and it was one of the few bikes I had even a prayer of being able to reach the ground on and be able to hold up on my own. I attempted to take the class to learn how to ride and because of the stress of attempting to hold up a 400 pound machine when it was clear my pre-surgery body was still struggling to just carry 150 extra pounds. It was too much. I couldn't finish the class, never got my endorsement on my license, and the bike sat while I was completely terrified of it. After my surgery and I got to a point where I was alert, able to safely drive my car and didn't have concerns about fainting...we traded the too-tall bike for a three-wheeled one that I didn't have to worry about being able to hold up, that fit my dimensions perfectly. At the time I was doing much better than in the beginning, but I was still struggling to eat. I was 5 months out from surgery and still only eating 4-500 calories a day because it was all that would fit. Once I got my license and started being able to ride my new toy, though, I was hooked. It BECAME the reason I pushed myself to eat more, the reason I pushed myself to keep myself hydrated, because I needed to make sure I was nourished enough to be safe, and properly fueled enough to keep going as long as I wanted to. Operating the bike also helped build back a lot of the muscle mass I lost while recovering because it's quite a workout on the shoulders, core, and hips to steer and corner. In a matter of a couple months I went from still incredibly weak, and almost still regretting the surgery, to being stronger, more confident, and having successfully lost more weight than I could have imagined when I started this process. 18 months out, I'm in so much better shape than in the beginning, I'm already considering giving two wheels a shot again, and the confidence I gained by coming out the other side of this life-changing process makes me wonder what else I am capable of that I never dreamed I would be. TL;Dr this is the story of how my weird little motorcycle helped me recover from bariatric surgery. What is your weird thing that helped you recover and get to know your "new" self?

It sounds like you are out of the honeymoon stage, that is, less restriction and more hunger. It is common for many to be able to eat more after a year and get hunger again too. Your doctor is right, and it is generally true that our stomach will never go back to original size BUT some people learn to eat around their WLS and unfortunately gain their weight back. The honeymoon phase is the best time on learning to eat correctly to maintain long-term weightloss.

I am starting a hybrid liquid for breakfast and lunch and a 400 calorie dinner effective Sunday 2/26 through 3/5 and then 3/6-3/7 full liquid ahead of 3/8 surgery. I have hit food fatigue though after having eaten at my favorite restaurants in December and January in preparation for my life change (but while still losing weight and reaching a calorie deficit).

Thanks for your replies. It is definitely baffling and very frustrating. I am limited to the amount of exercise I can do. 5/6 years ago I could run 5k- I now walk maybe 2k most days. Muscle stiffness stops me doing much. I walk the dogs most days and my main hobby is vegetable gardening which keeps me active. I used to do some weight training but have been advised to avoid this by the neurologist. My own research into muscle weakness /myopathy etc tells me that most of the more common forms of it are irreversible and there is no real treatment available. What bothers me though is that if the neurologist is correct and it is a consequence of the bypass - the it could be possible to reverse the situation. Thanks again for your replies.

It can take ages for our heads to catch up with the reality of how we look when we’re losing & have lost the weight. I’m almost 4 years out & last week I was folding my knickers & wondered how these tiny things actually fit around my butt. But they do. Same with how other people see you. It takes time for their image of you to change from the overweight you to the slimmer you. It’s why we get all those how much more weight are you going to lose & you should stop losing you’re getting too thin comments. I picked my goal weight based on the lowest weight I was always able to get down to so I was able to visualise what I’d look like & what size clothing I’d be able to wear. Well that fell to pieces when I lost more. I couldn’t see myself at all. Would be shocked when I realised reflections in stores mirrors & shop windows were actually me. I haven’t weighed this since I was 12 (almost 46 yrs ago now) & I didn’t know how much I actually weighed then so it makes sense I couldn’t understand or visualise it. Proved it to myself by putting on the tutu I wore then but it was super freaky & weird me out at the time at the time. I also did something that probably sounds a bit odd but I used to google the weight & height of celebrities I thought might be about my size to get a better idea of what I may look like. Oh & I second @Smanky’s advice to get in & wear those beloved old smaller sizes when you can. I remember I was only able to rewear a beautiful Dries Van Noten outfit I’d kept twice because in 4 weeks it was simply too big. I also lost my window to wear some clothing because the seasons were wrong. 😩 For a laugh, here’s a pxt of me in 2021 wearing the one tutu I kept & one of me at 12 in 1977 wearing the other tutu I wore at the same concert. (Wish my arms & thighs were still that slim - dang loose skin. 😁)

While the surgery will help with some things, it’s real success depends upon choices you make. Regardless of which surgery you have you will lose your appetite/hunger for a period of time (there are a few people who don’t & it’s with either surgery). You will also temporarily lose your taste for certain foods. It’s often sugar, as foods can become super sweet but it can be any food that smells &/or tastes awful. Neither surgery will do anything about your desire for sweet & your emotional eating. These are things you have to work through yourself. As we often say the surgery only removes some of your tummy/changes your digestive system. It doesn’t remove the part of your brain that drives your head hunger. It’s why many chose to seek therapy to learn the reasons behind their head hunger & develop strategies to help them better manage their emotional eating, cravings, etc. Both surgeries will reset your body’s set point. This is the weight your body is happiest at & is easiest to maintain. What your set point becomes can’t be predicted. Can you lose more than your set point? Yes, but it is harder to do & maintain. Can you weigh more than your set point? Yes because lifestyle demands or choice, medical conditions & medications, etc. can mean we carry more weight. Remember the average weight loss statistic at the three year mark for both surgeries is about 65% of the weight to be lost to put the person in a healthy weight range. Some will lose more & others less. I have a sleeve. I felt it would suit my life better & was less drastic than bypass. I made a number of choices to benefit my success that I knew I could sustainably follow for the long term & not feel like I was missing out. I took advantage of the too sweet phase & decided not to introduce sweet back into my diet - or avoid as much as I could - & so rarely eat real or artificially sweet foods or drinks. I chose to rarely eat take away or fast foods. I prep & cook most of what I eat from scratch & rarely eat medium or high processed foods or ingredients. I also chose not to include a lot of exercise in my life - I simply don’t enjoy it. But these are my choices. You’ll make choices that best complement you & your lifestyle. I also lost all my weight & more & have maintained. All the best with whichever surgery you chose to have.

I haven't heard this one before, and I've been hanging out here for eight years. People do lose muscle as they lose weight, but getting enough protein and regular exercise keeps will keep you from getting too weak. And you're right - you would think nutrient deficiencies would show up on your blood tests. I agree with toodlerue - this is kind of baffling.

in response to what someone said above, most people lose their hunger for several months with bypass, too. I'm currently taking a graduate-level nutrition course on weight loss and obesity, and ghrelin level was extremely low on RNY patients at one year out in a fairly large research study. both sleeve and RNY are good surgeries, and both have their pros and cons. There are some conditions that make one surgery more appropriate for you than the other, but if you don't have those conditions (which from what you said, it doesn't sound like you do), it really comes down to personal preference. lots of people who've had WLS - both RNY and sleeve folks - take antidepressants. Shouldn't be a problem. With some medications they need to adjust your dosage or put you on a different med, but there are workarounds for almost everything.

Congratulations on your approval. When it comes to choosing your surgery you are the boss. Get the surgery you want and know why you want it. Your Doc is right that relatively speaking you don't have much weight to lose, but once you cross the hurdle to choose surgery, which surgery would be based on all the same in depth decission making process we all should do. Before you choose to have GB as your husband did, note that we don't all respond the same ways to any surgery, it's a very individual thing. Medications are also quite individual considerations. Baby aspirin would very likely not be an issue as it's so ridiculously low dose. My Doctor did not declare Aspirin off limits but becasue of liver issues he didn't want me taking Tylenol if I could avoid it. If we are going to take Aspirin then like virutally everyone else that takes Aspirin, heck we should do this for any medication, we need to monitor for negative side effects and report them quickly. Other medications you would have to discuss with your medical team. All of this should be part of deciding to have GB or Sleeve or DS or Band or whatever. No surgery can be counted to remove cravings. Some people claim that some foods taste differently post-op. Don't count on such idiosyncratic results. I had GB and fortunately for me I dump on sugars and fats. It takes an amazingly small number of dumping episodes before you simply choose to avoid sugars and fats. Not everyone is as enthusiastic about dumping as I am. It is absolutely no fun and it can be very embarassing if you manage it in public. Since you have relatively little weight to lose I'm not sure why you would want to put yourself through it. The Sleeve is a perfectly fine surgery. No dumping. Good restriction. Fewer medication concerns. It is a less complicated surgery. Suppmentation, though still necessary, is less critical than with GB. You can get there from here. You can be happy with the Sleeve. Good luck, Tek

Thanks for the replies everyone, this forum is so much more supportive than Facebook or WhatsApp groups! It's amazing to hear people lose at the pace I am and hit their target. I spoke with my dietician and he said I've actually surprised what they expected me to lose so that has made me feel a lot better. I've already lost 25% of my excess weight from my highest weight. He said I should include the weight I lost since the day I contacted them, I was just counting what I lost since surgery You're all so helpful, thank you Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using BariatricPal mobile app

Just approved, no date yet but I am obsessing over sleeve vs bypass. My Dr wants me to have the sleeve and I agreed but I’m worried that it won’t be as effective as bypass and because I’m an emotional eater and addicted to sugar, I’m worried about gaining weight back. My husband had bypass 3 years ago and lost 120 and said it made him lose desire for certain foods like sugar. I need to lose 70 or 80, I’m 5’6 and 220 and my Dr thought I don’t need to lose that much so sleeve is best but I disagree on how much I should lose. I do have to take a baby aspirin for risk of stroke along with antidepressants so I know he is worried about ulcers but my husband takes a aspirin every once and awhile and is on Prozac and never had any problems. If anyone can put my mind at ease that the sleeve is best I’d appreciate it!

So I read an interesting article early on in my research obsession that stuck with me. It said most people who get weight loss surgery are shocked when they "actually loose the weight". Meaning we are all so used to yo yo diets and unsuccessful attempts that when we ACTUALLY loose a significant amount we are shocked. Its almost like we are wired to not really believe its going to happen for us until it does and we are surprised. I think about that article a lot when "goal weights" are mentioned to me. I feel super unsure about setting a goal weight for myself.

@summerseeker you are wise, and I love that positive thinking! I am going to write a few for myself because I love your way of thinking! First and foremost, I am doing this for my health— goals for me: reduce pain and inflammation in my joints, be able to sleep comfortably again and reduce knee and foot pain due to extra weight Walk for 30 minutes without getting winded Not use food to soothe my anxiety Find other ways to show myself or others love Powerful thinking — thank you!

The one thing I've learned from this thread is: Different strokes for different folks. It's a big thing to learn. There are multiple paths to success, and amazinging the same paths lead to success for some people and failure for others. To point, if I had to live my life on a restrictive, even draconian diet, or if I had to keep track of every last morsel I ate, I would have rebelled big time or just ignored the whole thing and chalked up another failure. Honestly, if the plan was not one I knew I could sustain, I would not have had surgery. But I know that on the flip side, there are people that could not thrive on my plan. The one point of commonality in all these exceptoinal exeriences is: Do what you can sustain. I can do anything draconian, or painful, or torturous for a month, even six months, or if there is an expiration date within sight. I can't, or won't, do it forever. This applies to your diet plan, exercise plan (or not), and just about every aspect of life. If you can suffer forever when you have a choice not to, more power to you. So my advice: make the post-op plan you are given into YOUR plan, one that is or can be adjusted to something that you can sustain. The first year is the perfect time to do this as you will have months of success after success as you follow your sustainable plan and keep losing weight, which will make you feel good about your plan. This success will carry you into maintenance. There has been exceptional experience and advice in this thread. Take the parts that will work for you and make them your own. Don't make promises you can't keep, do what you can sustain. Success and good luck, Tek

Are you taking 30 minutes to consume your meals? Are you avoiding drinking 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after your meal? If you're questioning whether or not to be concerned, there's probably a reason you're feeling that way. Food is fuel. It's taken me over 40 years to truly get a grasp on the concept. My understanding is that you can have whatever surgery you want to drop some weight, but if your habits don't change, you may end up right back where you started, or even heavier. These procedures are tools - there's still a lot of work that needs to be done to maintain weight loss that resulted from one of them. WLS is not an easy way out - and it doesn't give you a free pass. I agree with the suggestion to talk to a therapist about your relationship with food - I had to do that and it's been helping me a lot. I used to binge eat, skip meals, then scarf down dinner right before bed. The greatest path to success on any program is loving yourself enough to sacrifice the 'wants' so that you can improve your quality of life. Best of luck to you!

There's nothing wrong with setting a higher goal for now and reassessing once you get to that weight. If 170 is all you can invision, make that your goal and once you get there, you may have a much better sense of exactly how much lower you can go. If anything, I think way too many people set an unrealistically low goal and then find themselves disappointed when they can't get there. Keep in mind that obese people have heavier bones, enlarged hearts, more blood volume, etc. You may find that at 150, you look and feel as healthy as someone that was never obese is at 135.

THIS exactly… I also don’t want to set a goal too low, even though I believe in the power of “stretch” goals. When it comes to my weight, I’ve tried and failed so many times that failing a goal after having a surgery like this feels almost unacceptable if you know what I mean.

I wondered if it was just the to be expected slowing or a prolonged stall too. Though I am leaning towards stall because your calorie intake is still low. Certainly too low to be maintaining for your activity level. (Though a little taller than you, I eat about 1400+/- calories to maintain at my weight & I really don’t exercise.) I slowed right down & the last kilo to my goal was a b*tch to lose. I was only eating a bare 900 calories like you but I did keep slowly losing for another 11 odd months (another 11kg) until my caloric intake equalised what my body needed to maintain. Have a chat with your surgeon & dietician. They know you & your needs best.

I feel like you may have a misunderstanding here? (Unfortunately a very common one!) From the sound of it, you're expecting restriction to be the thing that keeps you from gaining weight, but that's rarely true for most post-surgical patients. A cursory glance at these forums should be proof enough of that. Look at all the posts from people asking for help because they gained a bunch of weight back and don't know what to do now. Some recommendations: Consider finding a therapist that specializes in eating disorders and work with them to reset your relationship with food. As long as you have a desire to be "full" and keep pushing the envelope, regain is going to be a real possibility. Talk to a nutritionist to get a handle on proper amounts and types of food that will work for you to maintain your weight. Track your calories and macros. If you don't know how much you're really eating, it's hard to know how much is enough, and how much is too much. Find a way to have your Resting or Basal Metabolic Rate tested (Google it). This will tell you how many calories you're actually burning per day. Use this, along with your food log to make sure you're not eating more than your burning.