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I was sleeved 7 June 16. Starting weight was 140kg or 310lbs, current weight is 86kg or 190lbs. I was worried about loose skin as well and I defs see a tummy tuck and breast lift or augmentation in my future. But when you drop 10 dress sizes to a size you never remember being as an adult you stop worrying about it so much lol I'm lucky with regard to my arms, I notice the loose skin but no one else seems too and I'm still comfortable wearing short sleeves. Loose skin or not this was defs the best decision I've ever made for myself and I feel amazing I'm now able to play competitive sport again and kill it at the gym. I'm also able to shop for clothes anywhere I want and they're not super expensive. All the benefits far out weigh the loose skin and exercising will help a little if you set up a routine and stick to it as soon as you're cleared by your surgeon. Hope this helps

Shanny You look awesome! Congrats on your weight loss.

i was band Oct 08. my experience has been a learn as i go process; i did not attend an extensive educational class prior to surgery. Since Oct i've lost 25 pounds. i am proud of this accomplishment (started at 200 pounds) but as i read many of your stories, i think this is nothing and prehaps i should be farther along. The fact is, my journey has not been all peaches and cream. maybe this is the result of not having gone through an extensive education process, maybe not. this is what i want to know from you. i love my lap band, but it is not the quick fix i'd imagined it to be. i have to work at losing every pound and inch! i have 5 cc's. daily exercise and good nutrition are at the top of my daily to do list. some days i'm on it and other days i'm not! anyone relate? recently i realized i am most successful at weight loss and getting on with my daily life (i'm 57, female, type A working professional) if i consume a diet consisting primarily of vitiman and protein rich liquids for two meals a day and a balanced third meal. doing so seems so much less complicated. i would appreciate hearing from those of you that have been band for several months, have very busy schedules and consider your weight loss journey successful, but not w/o its challenges. how so? whats working for you?

i just had surgery at kaiser richmond. We did a pre op diet of 3oz Protein with veggies and a carb (1/2 cup potato/ sweet potato/squash or slice toast whole grain bread less 80 cals) for lunch and dinner, or a fruit instead of veggies at Breakfast. Add to that 64 oz of Water, stop drinking 10 minutes before eating and don't drink until an hour after eating. Chew every bite 30 times. No caffeine, alcohol, carbonated drinks, no Protein Drinks or drinks with more than 20 cals/ cup, no straws, no gum, no Pasta, rice, fried foods, etc. It was hard at first, but i lost hella weight and after a couple of weeks started having a better connection with my hunger and more energy.

PROUD GRAMMY: Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement. I feel like a whole new person, yesterday I even dyed my hair blonde to Celebrate my "so-far" success. I will have to figure out something really exciting to do to celebrate goal weight. I always love reading your posts because you are so kind and always positive. Congratulations on all of your success!

You will likely lose a lot of weight with WLS. I don't even think it's possible to compare someone else's loss pics with might happen with your body. Women just have different shapes and sizes and lose weight differently. After weight loss, if you still perceive an imbalance of proportion, I suggest wearing clothes that hug you right under the bust and loser from that point on down. You will look fabulous!

BTW, I do NOT think the sleeve stop working, we might, but the sleeve does not. If I'm up two pounds, losing it is not a problem. It might be more difficult if you have eight or ten to lose, but I am certain it can be done. I have a friend who was injured, had back surgery and ended up gaining 30 pounds, she lost almost 150 the first ten months, so she KNEW what to do and she did. She's lost it and is maintaining!

I've struggled with anxiety for the last year, but I feel like I have been on a roller coaster the last few months. I made a special appeal to change my insurance provider from one that required a 9 month physcian supervised weight management to one that required none of that with a BMI over 45 (mine is 54). I finally got my insurance verification from the weight management center I am working with for the surgery, which means I have a two hour appointment on Nov. 6th which includes meeting the surgeon, a psych consult, and lots of paperwork. Part of me feels relieved that I finally have a date to look forward to, even if it is only the next step and not a surgery date. I've found it incredibly difficult to concentrate on school work rather than fixating on this surgery, but I know this something that I need done. I'm excited to be moving toward the surgery, but this anxiety is so difficult to deal with!

Hi, VSG friends!! I know this question has been asked a million times but every one of us has different circumstances! So, here I go, and I apologize for this being kinda long to begin with! My name is Dana and I've been married 12 years to my wonderful hubby! We have 2 gorgeous girls (ages 9 & 6) who I homeschool! We've been trying to have one more baby over the last 5 years, but have been unsuccesful. I have PCOS and have been on fertility meds off and on and every time I take the meds, I gain 10 lbs. So, I started out 5 years ago weighing about 225 lbs and I now weigh 288 lbs. We've decided to leave the fertility drugs alone forever, choosing VSG instead and if we have another baby when I get healthy, we'll be overjoyed.....if I don't get pg, we'll count our blessings and move on! I had a friend ask me the other day if we were still trying to get pg. I paused before I answered her because I just didn't want to tell her about WLS!! So, I told her we weren't trying anymore, but I was going to see a dietician in January (not a lie, I am to meet my pre-op requirements!) and see if I can get some help losing weight. Ok, I don't mind telling people I'm having WLS AFTER I've already had it. It's the before part! My hubby is chairman of our church's deacon body and although our church is loving and supportive, I will be the FIRST person to have VSG or gastric bypass in our whole church, not to mention as a person who holds several leadership positions. I'm not at all sure of what reaction I'm going to get. I KNOW a few people would try to talk me out of it and tell me I just need to pray for more self-control....just a few, but I'd really rather avoid any negativity altogether! Do you agree?? If you were me, would you wait until after to tell? The other issue I have is when to tell our parents. With my in-laws, I'm not worried about them being unsupportive necessarily. They won't be thrilled, but I don't think they'd discourage me. It's more that my MIL worries and when she worries she gets horrible migraines! With my parents, it's a bit stickier. I don't have a good relationship with my parents right now. My mom tried to committ suicide for the second time a year ago and it was then that I finally realized that we've had a co-dependent relationship my whole life. I started setting healthy boundaries, my parents didn't like it, so we only see them on holidays/birthdays now. Their choice, not mine, but I decided a year ago that I would be healthy mentally and this year decided that my body needed to reflect the new health on my insides!! Anyway, what would you do? I was thinking about calling and telling both sets of parents the night before my surgery. I think they'd all be upset if we told them after the fact!! I'm having my sleep study done on January 5th, my diet consult and psych eval on January 12th, then we submit everything to my insurance company and I should have a surgery date in February! I'm so excited and feel so blessed that I have a hubby that is so incredibly supportive. I can't hardly wait to start my new life!!! Thank you to those of you who made it through all that!!

I need to hear from you . . . how do I turn this around as I've been heading down the wrong road since nine months after banding in Jan. 2010....I had lost 44 lbs by Sept. 2010 and since then have regained 12 lbs...and am at standstill since the first of 2011. I'm wondering the the band is tight enough....but I usually am not hungry until around 5:00 pm each day and sometimes force myself to eat breakfast (to go along with meds I take), then a very light lunch.....and then for dinner, it's difficult to eat, but by that time, I'm really hungry. Plus I have been having a beer or two along the way........other than cutting out the alcohol, what direction should I go???? Your replying will be appreciated.

You should be eating the amount recommended by surgeon or nutritionist. You don't want to feel full. Many of those foods are sliders. Be careful.I just thought my body would signal more. I don't know. Same goes with Protein shakes. No feeling of fullness. I have stuck mainly to eggs and cheese and protein shakes. Bc I know those hold more nutritional value and more protein than pudding or potatoes. He didn't give me a specific ounce per meal nor a calorie goal. He did give me protein goals and Fluid goals, obviously. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Your body won't send full signals until its too late. Protein shakes, yogurt, pudding are all foods that go quickly through your sleeve so you can usually eat more. My plan says 1-2 Oz's every 3 hours (eat over 20 mins or less). I don't know if that's the same as yours. That's only for food - not liquids. I would just be concerned of overeating and getting sick. You can really hurt yourself this early out. Congrats on your weight loss! Sent from my KFFOWI using the BariatricPal App

@@1Cor2:9 Well done and Congratulations! Awesome result! I am 1Ib away from being a sleeve success. I lost 60Ibs 5 months post op. Well, my revised goal is another 22Ibs down, and my stretch goal is 33Ibs away. I most certainly don't want to stop at my current weight. I want to keep losing until I reach my goal, then maintain it. My motivation is like yours, so I wish you all the best! We can do it

If you your insurance company has a bariatric coordinator then the best thing you can do is ask. In the long run studies have shown that insurance companies save money by covering weight loss surgery. The health problems associated with obesity are expensive. But honestly you are having surgery next week! In my experience once your approved and have a date then your submission process is over. It sounds like you have good coverage. Most likely what people who work with benefits call a "cadillac plan". How generous your insurance plan is allowed to be determines how you are treated.

I was banded in 2007; it worked lovely for me, I lost almost everything I wanted in 1 year -- then I got pregnant & it broke, gained it all back, had a baby, revised band -- lost it all again, got pregnant again & it broke again -- gained it all back again, had a baby, revised band. Worked again, but slower... broke again.. gained it back... this has continued on and on.. I have had a total of 2 replacements & 6 revisions. The last revision didn't take, I don't feel the same as I use to, and that revision was early 2015. This is between 2 surgeons. Back to my original 2007 pre-op weight, my band has been bothering me... Found out it is slipped & has to go. They had to move my port from belly, chest, belly... port has flipped 4 times... port disconnected once... tubing broke once... and now slipped. Keep in mind, since day 1 I am self-pay, so I could have bought a house by now with all I have paid. Doctor said we either revise the band again, remove it, or convert it. I refuse to revise the band again, I hate the booger at this point. It will be $9k to remove it -- $22k to revise it to a sleeve. I am too afraid of GP, even after all this time as a bariatric patient. In 2012 I wanted to convert to the sleeve, but the price difference was too much to justify everytime I had to go under the knife (if I only knew how many more surgeries I'd be paying for since then because of the band!!). This time, I decided -- remove it, and be done. When I can eat 'normal' again for the first time in years, I'll work on eating things like fruit, veggies & salads -- which I can't eat now. I thought a little more & talked with family, and we've all decided I should just take out a 2nd mortgage and bite the bullet, because I'm not healthy anymore and would very much like to be, and if I decided later on I want the sleeve, it's going to be another 20k+ the 9k I pay now. So, I have it all scheduled now. Surgery first week of January 2017 (for tax purposes, I asked to wait until the new year). I've been absent from the forum for years, feeling that I have nothing to contribute as a lap-band failure, and the great friendships I made through this forum, I talk to all the time. But I am back, now that I am going to be a 'newbie' in the sleeve world. I am very excited now that I've gotten over the initial shock of how much money I'm going to be shelling out..... again. Here's to my new success, and good riddance to the band!!!!

I had two NSVs this weekend! The first happened yesterday. Yesterday me, my son, my girlfriend and her cousin played 2 on 2 basketball in the park. It was the WORST game in history because none of us are any good. But, for 45 minutes I ran around the court, guarded my son, ran after the ball, dribbled, shot and played. I wasn't winded or anything, my knees and back didn't hurt, either. In fact, I felt great during and afterward! I finally lost enough weight to be active and play with my son again! I had SOOOOOO much fun!!! I can't wait to do it again! For years I've been watching everyone around me run around and have fun, and I was finally able to join in and do it too. Then, I took a shower. When I got out, I wrapped a towel around me...it went all the way around! There were no gaps in the bottom of the towel where it doesn't close all the way! Thank you sleeve!

I agree with @@Christinamo7 and my triggers are just like @@AvaFern so I love they both responded and shared. Thank you both because I'm in the same boat and pre-op until my surgery on July 13th. I never wanted to have surgery, but I've tried every diet in the book for 25 years. Gained it all back and then some. YES I'm a statistic! When my weight started to affect my health, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high A1C, I decided to make a change because my daughter is only 24 yrs old, I have yet to see her marry or have children and at the rate I'm getting ill, I felt I'd never see those things happen in my lifetime. I was really worried when I saw one of my blood panel results that said my heart was the same as an "86 yr old" and I'm only 49 yrs old. I'm not doing this surgery to be thin, although that part will be very nice, I'm doing it to live.. live a long healthy life and to enjoy time with my family and friends. Even if this surgery only buys me "time"...what wouldn't a person do to have more lifetime?!

In my experience, it is what you make it. While yes, your stomach is gone forever, the benefits are not forever. Most people many years out have learned to eat around the sleeve so that if they did not learn good food habits while they had restriction, they just return to their old ways. I am three months short of three years out from surgery. I hit goal in April of last year and I have maintained within 3-4 pounds. This morning I woke up a few ounces heavier than usual, so today I get to pay more attention to my food and exercise. Every single day is going to be a fight for the rest of your life, although the sleeve makes it substantially easier. I am never going to get to go on vacation for a week, eat whatever I want like those damn naturally skinny people do, and come back and have gained no weight. I could easily gain 5-8 pounds in a week if I ate sweets, which is my big "gain weight fast" food. Because I like being thin, I don't eat sweets anymore. I wake up and I weigh myself every morning. I missed a day in MyFitnessPal about 2 weeks ago and broke a 230+ day streak, so the last two weeks I haven't been recording my food intake, but really I don't need to anymore. I know what I can and cannot eat. This time three years ago I was 237-ish pounds, I could not manage to lose weight, and I was ashamed and miserable. This morning I weighed 132.8 pounds, I have a closet full of clothes that are 0-4, and I feel like a different person. The sleeve is not something that will make you thin and happy forever, but rather it is something that makes it a lot easier for you to reach and maintain a healthy weight if you are willing to make the sacrifices to do so. Where I live it is 95 degree outside already, I do NOT want to go workout, but in a little bit, I'm going to spray myself with sunscreen, whine as I get into workout clothes, and get my butt outside. I'll log my food today because I gained a bit over the weekend, I'll probably do my ab video, and I won't have any dessert at the Memorial Day party this afternoon. Sure, the sleeve made it easier to get to this size, but at this point the only thing keeping me here are my own daily decisions. So, the sleeve itself is forever, the benefits it provides are great the first year or two and then slowly drop, but you have the potential to use the tool to your advantage to achieve and maintain good health. In the end, it's entirely up to you- not what happens to be left of your stomach.

I think you have to decide what you consider "success" I know there is probably a minority who get to and stay at a normal BMI. a lot of them are here, and boy do they inspire me to reach for it! for me success will be defined as not being a diabetic, and being less than 160#. I want to be obviously less weight than my husband. I think my chances of achieving this and keeping this success for at the minimum 5-10 years is pretty darn good. I'm committed. if it adds a decade to my life it will be a success even if I don't stay at my goal for the rest of my life. Already this year my quality of life is so vastly improved I know it was worth my time and effort. I will just keep following the program and see where this wild ride takes me! my motivation for the surgery was to be healthier and extend my life so I can see my grandchildren grow up. If I get to anything close to normal BMI, well that will just be gravy. I don't want to rule it out, but I also don't want a number on the scale to completely define my success/failure. I posted a thread a while ago about my inspiration - my uncle's story. I believe the surgery saved his life and even though he is almost 70 and probably lost half what he could have - he is still alive with us and healthier than I remember him being. I consider him a success too. How will you choose to define success? what are your motivations for the surgery?

:eek:Looks like I gained back 2.3 lbs. overnight!!! Guess I over did it yesterday!! I am going to be extra careful today!! Did this happen to anyone else when you went from clear liquids to full liquids?? Thanks

You will bounce between 2 and 3 pounds, lol this is just the beging. It takes 3500 caloires to gain or loose one pound. Soups are LOADED with sodium and salt will make you swell and retain Water. good luck! Carrie

I had my surgery on August 13th, 2007. I thought that was it and the weight would just fall off......boy was I wrong. First of all, I stopped breathing while they were putting me under and had to do a emergency trachiotimy. You would think that almost dying would be enough incentive to be serious about losing weight and eating healthy, well, to my surprise, when I got home from surgery after 5 days in the hospital, I would eat whatever I could tolerate. I did lose about 20 lbs in the hosptial. One day after I had gotten a fill that put me up to 8cc's, I was eating a sandwich (up to that point, I had no trouble eating bread) well my wife and I were enjoying a picnic lunch and the bread clogged me up and I hyperventilated and passed out, scared my wife to death....well, you'd think I would get serious...nope, I really thought that the surgery would be enough...I have lost a total of 48lbs but I know I could do better. I never really feel full, if I chew my food up well, I can eat whatever I want, even bread if I'm careful....I am just frustrated with it. I have 9cc's out of 10 available and I think I shouldn't eat as much as I do...however, I should use this as a tool to not eat whatever I want. Also, I need to excercise, cause I don't....I'm just lazy when it comes to that. I feel like I'm rambling...RT

After four months of back and forth and actually losing too much weight to qualify and then having to regain some to appease the insurance gods...I have been approved and finally have a date! I will be an official sleever on June 13th. I have a class with the dietitian on June 6th, which I'm assuming is going to be all about the nitty-gritty details of the dos and do nots when living with the sleeve, then it's another day of appointments with anesthesia and pre-op stuff on June 10th, and then the big day. I'm not gonna lie...I'm a lot nervous and I honestly can't even believe that the day is almost here. It felt like just yesterday I made the call to inquire!

I'm nearly 4 months out, so still a newb, but I had the same concerns you did, so I thought I'd chime in on my experience thus far. I started back running at 6 weeks post-op. Around 2-2/12 months I was back to my pre-surgery lifting weight. At first I felt off...little dizzy, weak, just not 100%, or even 75%. However, with each week it got better and I listened to my body vs. pushing through. Around 10 weeks post-op I started to feel much better. I'm running farther and faster than I have in over a decade. I am trying to figure when/what to eat before an intense workout because I now get nauseated and heart burn easier.

I haven't been posting as much with the new forum, but just thinking about my friends on here. Wondering how you are doing, and honestly could use a pep talk, I am still losing, I am still doing mostly what I need to, but I can feel myself becoming more and more complacent and it scares me. Last week was my boyfriend and my best friend's birthday and I find myself using all these events as excuses to indulge, which is fine, but I can tell it makes the next day harder and I found myself having a full week of 1200 calorie days, and that is not where I want to be! A little advice or encouragement from you would mean a lot to me. My weight loss is much slower, I have been monitoring what I actually burn daily and as I weigh less, obviously I burn less (I only burn about 2000 calories daily.) I am getting scared. I know that statistically if we don't get to goal within the first 12 months, the likelihood of it happening rapidly decreases! And the last couple months I am only losing about 8 lbs. Anna

I'm taking Baratric Advantage for my Pre-Op diet that I'm currently on. They are very filling and have about 26g of Protein in two scoops (serving size). I bought mine through my doctors office for 50.00 bucks a bag and I got two bags with chocolate and vanilla. They have a webstie you can get on and order or just to check them out (I think they are 60.00 bucks online). My surgeon and dietician recommened them to me at my Pre-Op appointment. I'm also on a low carb high caliorie diet. I have been eating Weight Watcher Smart ones for the past 7 days and they are pretty good! I drink 3 protien shakes and day and they do keep me over till dinner time and they are tasty!! Let me know if you have any questions!! -Amine