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Had the sleeve done at the age of 60. lost 85lbs and six years later gained eight back and despite my best efforts I cannot shed them. I tell everyone that I lost my weight loss super powers and now I am a mere mortal when it comes to taking weight off. One word of advice that I give to anyone getting WLS. It is not permanent the weight will come come back if you dont work to keep it off.

I don't tell people and didn't tell many people beforehand. Maybe 5 people know (at least directly know) Who knows what rumors have traveled or who ran their mouth. haha Anyway, I get asked "what is my trick", "how are you loosing weight" ETC!.... A LOT, I simply say, "eat less and count calories". Which is exactly what I am doing.

Like @catwoman7 I tell overweight people who genuinely want to know how I did it. Skinny people - I just say I do a low or no carb diet. If they say how much weight have I lost, I just say a lot and laugh or have I ? My family I tell the truth when ever I meet them. Its too late for them to have an opinion. I have found that nobody understands my tiny meals. Eating out is really tough.

I feel that some people are genuinely interested to know so that can do something about their own weight. But some are just nosy. Like you I also suggest things that might help (consuming less carbs, exercising etc) but omit the WLS part.

So sorry you’ve been experiencing this. It makes me so angry for you that much of what you have experienced could have been prevented right from when you had your bypass surgery. Your surgeon should have gone through your medications, explained about absorption issues with a bypass so you could discuss alternative medications with your prescribing doctor. I’m also cranky it took so long for doctors to identify that malabsorption was causing your meds not to work. And I’m cranky that you’ve been unable to find support & answers from medical professionals. I wonder if you are are now in a viscous cycle of anxiety & anxiety causing experiences. Anxiety meds are known to cause an increase in appetite & weight gain & your anxiety increases when yiu do gain weight. The anxiety causes stress responses in your body like IBS & hair loss causing more anxiety. You’re not being supported by your medical community increasing your anxiety so you need their help more but aren’t getting it making you more anxious, stressed & frustrated. Etc.,, etc. Like @catwoman7, I too think your heart issues were more likely caused by your pre surgery status & lifestyle not the bypass. I hope you soon find some doctors who will actually work together to support you & find solutions or ways to better manage your mental & physical health issues. All the best.

Simply that I grew a gall stone. Just one. It may have been from the sudden weight loss. Could have been because I was/am menopausal, or have high bilirubin levels (have Gilbert’s). All of which can cause gall stones. The only thing I know is mine wasn’t caused by high cholesterol - my cholesterol was always ok. We discovered it about 8 months after surgery during a liver function scan. First & only symptom was horrendous pain some 16 months later. Had the gall removed about two weeks later. My surgeon said: if you’ve grown one stone, you’ll likely grow more so better it goes. It’s not an uncommon surgery during or after weight loss surgery. Some are discovered during the pre surgery testing and the gall is removed in the same surgery. These are often the high cholesterol caused stones. Others have their stones discovered & their gall removed some time after surgery. These are often caused by the dramatic weight loss. There are always exceptions to this of course.

This is just a stall! Calories in & calories out is THE universal rule & you will continue to lose weight after this little hump. I've had multiple stalls & Im still losing. just stick to your plan & you will see your desired results

I think much like @ms.sss about snacking: it’s regular & planned. Portions & nutrition are considered. To me grazing is random eating of whatever you want, often emotionally/head hunger driven. Portion size or nutrition is if minimal or no concern. I think small meals are planned too & are more rounded like the part serve of a full meal. You might prepare three meals a day but only eat part of one meal at a sitting finishing it a little later on. Like have a first breakfast & then later have a second breakfast to finish the meal. When I was trying to stabilise my weight loss I was snacking about 5 times a day as I my meals were still smaller - couldn’tt eat more.. Once my meals became a little larger & equal to or closer to the recommended portion sizes, I didn’t need to snack as much for my needed calories & protein so I dropped 1or 2 of them a day. Oh & I eat more across a day & more regularly than I did before surgery too. (Was a meal skipper before.) But I eat better - healthier, more nutritionally dense foods - now & my body burns those calories more efficiently than before (thank you surgery).

Hi, I’m a year out from the Sleeve. Had it feb 23 rd 2022. I’m down almost 69 pounds, would like to lose another 11, that puts me back within normal weight range ( although at the top of the range) I’ve had to work for every pound that came off. My appetite is back to normal now I believe, so trying not to put any weight back on. I eat a lot healthier than I used to. Still have a sweet tooth but try to keep protein cookies around instead of regular ones. I don’t crave the super high fat foods I used to eat. Good luck to all just beginning their adventure! Nothing better than seeing pounds fall off!

Looking preferably for someone in the DFW area, but will travel farther if I need to (i.e. Austin or Houston). Looking for surgery on upper arms, a breast lift Unsure if I want anything inserted into my breasts like implants but also not sure if a lift will look good without putting something back into the deflated balloons that are my chest now. My upper arms and chest (and all the loose skin that flows out from under my bra, from the sides of any bra I've tried, etc.) are the things that bother me the most. I've always thought I probably couldn't handle (pain-wise) getting my abdominal area done but obviously there is PLENTY of loose skin there and I wouldn't mind having my mons...looking better. I just need some names/referrals so I can start shopping and I don't know if my priorities might change based on costs and whichever doctor I end up selecting. I've tried just general Google searches but honestly I don't trust them and asking on local Facebook groups is not the same as talking with people who may have used doctors somewhere I can get to...and you have all been on the journey of losing a large amount of weight and the issues that came with that so I would prefer to have a surgeon who has a lot of experience with operating on people who have lost a great deal of weight which is the main reason behind their quest for surgery. Ugh..just got diagnosed with COVID so apologies in advance if I didn't string together coherent questions....

Yeah. There is one guy who always comments on my weight loss every time we cross paths. It was fun at first but now it is annoys me. Now I tell that I've hardly lost any weight, laugh and walk away.

Depending on who is asking I will tell them I had the surgery others i just say "really, you think I have lost weight?" then shrug my shoulders when they say "yeah you are disppearing before my eyes."

i had my surgery through the surgical weight control center in Las Vegas, and I highly recommend!

This week we have a lot of visitors from the head office (I work in a remote site) and I've not seen some of them for quite sometime. Some even before Covid hit. I was the star of this week with everyone talking about my weight loss and all kinds of praise and encouragement. Almost everyone asked me how did I lose the weight including the big bosses from the client and the contractors. I've only told my direct boss and the company managing director about my surgery. I took time-off to do it and told everyone else that I was going on vacation. It helped that we were still working from home while I was recovering so nobody noticed any change during that period. I chose not to tell my coworkers because I didn't want the unsolicited advice and opinions some might have about the WLS and also the follow-up questions. I learned that from when I was on KETO and made the mistake of telling a few coworkers about it. Suddenly I would have people come over to talk to me about it or advising against it etc. It was too much. One guy in particular would come in a for a weekly update on how much weight did I lose etc. Outside work, only my wife, my direct family and two of my closest friends know about my WLS. They have been very supportive and helped me throughout. I've been telling people that I was on KETO, then started a low-carb diet and exercising. I even have a photo of me on my maintain bike to prove it 😂. I would love to hear how did you respond to such questions / remarks?

No, Instantt fullness is less likely, weight will come off slower( you are smaller than before). it takes a bit longer to feel full. No issues really, positive experience.

med absorption can definitely be an issue. I would think they could find SOME med that would work for you - you're certainly not the only person with anxiety and depression who's had weight loss surgery. I'm sorry that they don't seem to be willing to work with you on this. I'd be surprised if your heart issues are related to your bypass surgery. Plus you said you had your first heart attack before you even had the surgery. I'm thinking it's unlikely those two things are related. I wonder if the hair loss could be related to your stress. That can definitely cause hair loss for some people.

I like to say I "paused" smoking for 4 years and then returned to smoking for another 15 years. I quit smoking 3 years ago. At the end I was a 2 pack/day smoker and I smoked for close to 35 years. Both times I quit smoking I gained 70 pounds within 3 months. 20 years ago I was able to get most of that weight back off....but not anymore. This is the main reason I am in need of WLS.

I am new to all of this. I met with my bariatric surgeon last Monday and I have just begun my 6 month program. I was wondering about losing weight prior to surgery and then being "too skinny" for surgery. But I am curious....isn't losing 65 pounds on Ozempic prior to surgery a great thing? I have 100 pounds to lose. I would love to be prescribed Ozempic, lose 65lbs and skip surgery altogether. I'm not criticizing, just asking.....wouldn't Ozempic be preferred? Comments are very welcome.

62, and scheduled for my sleeve Feb 23. I did the lap band in 2007 and it was life changing. I reached my goal weight. Then had all the complications and had to have it removed. I was told I wouldn't be a candidate for the sleeve even as I gained some weight back after the removal as I was too close to my goal weight. Now here I am 40 lbs. heavier than when I initially had the band.

I wanted bypass and my doctor was pushing me towards sleeve. I had two friends that had sleeve and also easy regained weight. I knew one other person who had bypass and kept the majority of weight off 10+ years. The GERD was the tipping point for the doctor. He gets paid the same for sleeve and bypass but bypass takes longer for him to do. Yeah, I got the bypass!

Hello...I had gastric bypass surgery in October of 2012. Biggest mistake of my life. I got to my goal weight in 2014. I felt pretty good. All of a sudden I started waking up several times a night with severe panic attacks (I had been suffering from this prior to surgery). I was on the right meds for this and they were manageable. All of a sudden they came back with vengeance. I asked my med doc what was happening and she said she didn't know how to help me. Yes, a med provider said she couldn't help me and that the meds I were on were working before. So this shocked me and I was on the search for another doctor. Was having a real difficult time finding someone to help me. I finally found one and what a strange person he was. He was arguing with my primary doc about what meds I should be on. It went on too long. My attacks got more intense during the night. Then they began during the day. It was nonstop anxiety with depression. I joined a CBT program because I became suicidal. The psychiatrist with the program noticed right away that I had had gastric bypass. He knew immediately what was happening. My meds weren't absorbing. He put me on a liquid medication. One that made me gain weight in the first place (ugh). It took a while for the liquid med to work so I was suffering badly. It was hard handing on. CBT program was done and I had to check myself in for my depression and anxiety. They wanted to send me to the CBT program. I was like...I just finished it! Went home to suffer some more. I was losing more weight because everytime I ate, my anxiety got worse. Never will understand that and no one can explain that to me to this day. I would start shaking after I ate and anxiety is got very strong. It still happens. Months later I had a heart attack. 3 stents. I couldn't believe all this was happening. I finally found a great med provider and therapist. On a different liquid medication but my health has worsen. I have IBS so badly, lost a lot of hair. I'm taking my vitamins and protein but still losing hair. My mental state is worse then it ever was. I was handing and living with my mental health before surgery and now worse then ever. I had this surgery because I was 80 pds overweight. I had had my 1st heart attack before surgery and my primary doc said I should have the surgery. Worse decision of my life. Sorry for long story but I just want to know if anyone is having these same complications. I went back to my gastric surgeon and she said Gastric bypass doesn't affect your meds and because I had gained 8 pds back, she rudely said..."well you're absorbing something" and looked me up and down. At that point I was done with her. This has been a nightmare

I'm on the liver shrinking diet and my sleeve is on 2/21. From what I understand there are several variations of these pre-surgical diets. In my case I am allowed to have 'free' foods like plain cucumbers, celery, and sugar free jell-o. I am also supposed to have three protein shakes per day, and one meal consisting of 4oz of a lean protein, and 1 cup of cooked veggies. I'm almost supposed to have 64oz of water as well to keep me hydrated. (It's been really hard to do the water thing on TOP of the shakes). Not going to lie - this has not been easy, but I keep thinking about all of the time I've spent with doctors over the past 6 months getting ready for this surgery, and all of the weight I've already lost and it keeps me going. It helps me to weigh myself every other day - seeing a few pounds come off every few days is an added bonus. In 8 days I have dropped 14 pounds. If you don't have as much weight to lose, you may see smaller numbers, but if you follow the diet they gave you, I promise you'll see results in the short term - and your surgery will be here before you know it! Don't worry - you got this!!

Has anyone in here had the procedure done through the Vanderbilt Weight Loss Center? If so, I would love to pick your brain!

It's not uncommon for some people to continue to have the habit of snacking, even after weight loss surgery. However, it's important to make sure that the snacks you choose are in line with your bariatric diet and do not sabotage your weight loss goals. You can try to determine if the snacking is related to hunger or if it's a habit or emotional response. If you feel it's the latter, you may want to consider seeking the help of a therapist or counselor to work through any underlying emotional issues. Additionally, finding new activities to occupy your time, such as exercise or hobbies, can help reduce the urge to snack. The BariatricPal Store carries a huge selection of Bariatric friendly Protein Snacks & Desserts at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/bariatric-high-protein-low-calorie-snacks-and-desserts Here are some other bariatric-friendly ideas as well: Chips and Crunchy Snacks: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-chips-and-crunchy-protein-snacks Chocolate Bars & Candies: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/bariatric-friendly-chocolate-bars-chocolate-candies Cakes, Cookies & Wafers: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/cookies-wafers Sugar-Free Candy: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/sugar-free-candy Cheese Snacks: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/cheese-snacks Meat & Jerky Snacks: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/meat-snacks Fish Snacks: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/fish-snacks Protein Bars: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-bars Pretzels: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/pretzels Nuts: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/nut-snacks

There are many ways you can document your weight loss journey after gastric sleeve surgery. Here are a few suggestions: Monthly Photos: Take a photo of yourself in the same spot and clothing every month, just like you mentioned. This will give you a visual representation of your progress and can be motivating. Journal: Keeping a journal can be helpful in tracking your thoughts, feelings, and experiences throughout your journey. You can write about your challenges, successes, and what you have learned. Food Diary: Document what you eat, how much, and how you feel after each meal. This can help you identify patterns and make changes to your diet as needed. Video Diary: Consider recording a short video each week or month to document your progress and share your story. Remember, this journey is about you and your health, and it's important to find what works best for you in terms of documenting and tracking your progress.