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It looks like you have two separate issues: your surgeon/hospital, and the decision to have WLS. As some of the other replies have said, I think you should consider changing surgeons. You probably have other options, and you are a customer -- if you don't like the treatment you're getting, you have the right to go elsewhere (this, of course, depends on where you live and how your surgery is being funded). Getting WLS is not just about the cutting. It's a lifelong journey, and the followup visits are a big part of that. I've read that patients who go to all of their scheduled followups are more successful than those who don't. My program requires 8 followup visits in the first two years (once/year thereafter), and you probably don't want the hassle of going to such a disorganized office so many times. The most concerning thing to me is that you don't know which surgery you're getting. That is a pretty big deal, and you should be the one to make that decision, even though the surgeon may have strong recommendations. Now, he could refuse to do a certain procedure because it would be harmful to you, but you still have to agree to whatever procedure he does recommend. I actually wouldn't have a problem with the informal tone of his e-mail. Doctors are people, too. I bet some people like the fact that he acts like a normal person and doesn't insist on being addressed as "Doctor." When I was looking into surgery, I was concerned about the hospital's reviews, too, but it turns out that pretty much every hospital in my area has bad ratings. I suspect that very few people have good experiences at hospitals, because you only go to a hospital if you're sick or injured. There are always complaints about wait times (because there are a lot of patients), billing (because medical care is crazy expensive and billing is complicated), and outcomes (because not every patient can be saved, and sometimes it takes trial and error to solve problems). Now, about the decision to have WLS, I went through some very similar doubts before surgery. I lost over 60 pounds on my own before surgery, and I started to think, "Maybe I can keep going on my own instead of going through with this." I have yo-yo dieted most of my life, but I had never lost that much weight before. About 10 years ago, I lost 50 pounds and kept it off for several years, but I eventually gained it all back plus 30 more pounds. I took some pre-surgery pictures of myself the day before surgery -- after I had already lost over 60 pounds -- and that made me realize how far I have left to go. If I lose 100 pounds from my surgery weight, I'll still be obese. And every pound is a little harder to lose than the last, so the chances that I could lose that much without surgery are... slim. This is a very personal decision that you have to make for yourself, though, and if you're not ready to do it now, you can always wait and see how far you can get on your own. P.S. If you want your stats (like starting weight, weight lost, and surgery date) to show up when you post, you can click on your user name on the top right of the screen, then select "My surgery" under Settings.

I realize there's unlikely to be a one-size-fits-all equation to measure one's weight loss progress objectively, but are there any guidelines, i.e.: With a starting weight on date of surgery of N, if I am weight Z at X days post-surgery, am I on target, ahead of schedule, or behind schedule? In other words, where am I? My medical team really hasn't given me any guidelines. When I entered the assessment program in June of 2019 I was 382. I was 337 on date of surgery July 13, 2020. So 6 weeks post-op I'm now at 311, a subsequent loss of 26 pounds since date of surgery, and a cumulative loss of 71 pounds since start of journey. I know that I'm prone both to diet cheating and being lazy, so I like to keep a bit closer tabs on progress than others might need to, so if I see myself falling behind, I know that I need to go back to shakes & soups for a while and/or get off my fat *ss and go for some extra walks. Thanks.

Hello everyone! My name is Emily and I got the gastric sleeve surgery 8/19/20. I'm new to this app and I wanted to know how I edit the part of the page that says your surgery date, current weight, ect. Thanks☺️♥️

when I started out (at over 300 lbs), I had to lose A LOT of weight before I could go down a size. And others didn't start noticing my weight loss until I'd lost around 70 or 80 lbs. Now, at normal weight, a drop in just 5 or 10 lbs will take me down a size. Just keep at it - the more you lose, the more often you'll start changing sizes.

I saw the surgeon in December of 2018. There are requirements I had to meet like weight tracking, approval of primary care doctor, psychiatric approval, classes and appointments with a dietician. My surgery was finally scheduled for April of 2019. Then I got Bacterial Pneumonia and Sepsis most likely due to aspirating food caused by my upper respiratory blockage. So I spent 3 weeks in an induced coma in intensive care, 1 week in transition in the hospital and 3 weeks in rehab. My primary care doctor wouldn't approve me for surgery until after a year. I was scheduled for June of 2020 but then COVID hit and surgeries were cancelled. I was again scheduled for July 6th, my birthday and I made the mistake of continuing hormone replacement therapy so I had to stop it and wait another month. I finally had my surgery on August 3rd. No regrets. Just thought you guys would get a chuckle out of my journey.

Hello all, I was banded in 2008 at 433 lbs and lost 250 pounds to get my weight down to ~180 in a few years. Kept the band almost 10 years but the acid reflux got too bad and I had to have it removed a little over 6 months ago. My weight had been creeping up to 240 before the lap band removal and up to 280 now. I am strongly considering the RNY but am concerned about the permanent rearrangement of my insides. That's why I went with the band in the first place, because it was reversible. I am concerned about developing malnourishment, although I am good about taking supplements (which I do every day even now with no bariatric surgery in place). I am looking for success stories. Who has had their band removed and then put in a RYN and had a good experience? I need to lose at least 100 pounds now and want to keep it off for life this time.

Today is my one-year revision sleeve-iversary..... So happy I chose to do this. Banded 2009 @232lbs. size 18-20 down to 143 size 6, ER band removal 2017 @143lbs (slip due to stomach virus). Sleeved 8/28/19 @173lbs size 10ish, today 120lbs size 0

My body fought me tooth and nail but I fought back. I felt like my body got comfortable or settled on a weight for periods of time. I lost weight pretty slowly and I practically came to a screeching halt 6 months in. It was incredibly frustrating. I started reading and researching more. The following videos were probably the biggest help for me personally and still are. Dr Weiner is a Bariatric surgeon who posts on YouTube. Here are 2 videos that were “lightbulb moments” for me and really helped me understand and stick with it. Weight loss science Metabolic Thermostat Giving up before I reached my goal weight was never an option for me. I began posting and participating on this board at the end of March 2019. I was a lurker for about a year. Shortly after that I joined a gym. Having support here, increasing my activity and feeling more confident about the “why” I’m losing slower made a difference, but most importantly kept me motivated and still does. Keeping your head in the game when it gets tough is the hardest part of this. You have the right attitude, and you’ve got this. You should consider printIng out your post and putting it in your jewelry box . I hope you get some reassurance like I did from Dr Weiner’s video.

I got lucky (?) and only have to do the liquid pre-op diet for 5 days. I'm thinking of it like I did when I quit smoking 10 years ago...just sort of grit my teeth and get through it. Mind over matter... [emoji1696]

It took forever to get my date. Finished everything June 17th. Called the office beginning of July and they said I was on the audit list for August but they moved me to July. They did not send for insurance approval until July 30th and I got my surgery date on 8/19. Finally!

You are far from the only person who had gained weight during quarantine! There was a very intense thread about it on this forum recently (so intense, it had to be shut down). Nobody should judge you for that — it’s a tough time for everyone. Some insurance companies, and maybe some bariatric programs, do have a requirement that you not gain any more weight before the surgery. This may or may not be the case for you, but you might want to check. I bet you can lose 10 pounds, or close to it, before September 10. You said you track everything in MyFitnessPal, and that’s a great start. I lost over 60 pounds in the 5 months before surgery just by doing two things: tracking everything in MyFitnessPal (and staying well under my calorie limit) and intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting really helped me to get out of the habit of snacking. I did 16 hour fasts every day, starting after dinner and ending with lunch the next day. It was hard at first, but not so bad once I got used to it. I could push through the hunger and temptation knowing that I could have an indulgent dinner. I think it was a good workout for my willpower. Look for foods that are filling and tasty but relatively low in calories. Look at the foods you normally eat and figure out which ones are the healthiest. Salads are great, especially if you use light dressing. You can have a big salad with lots of grilled chicken for under 300 calories. Popcorn was another one of my favorites. Not exactly the healthiest snack, but a mini bag of “blast o butter” microwave popcorn Is just 210 calories and really filling (even lower in calories if you pop your own with an air popper, but you have to start somewhere). I LOVE Built Bars (protein bars). Some flavors used to be 110 calories and made a great daily treat (they recently changed and now they’re 130, but still a heck of a lot better than a candy bar).

3 weeks! I was called on 8/19 and my surgery is 9/10.

I never had the three week stall... I had the four (going on 5) MONTH stall. 4 months after I had my surgery I stalled for 23 days! It was soooooo frustrating! I kept thinking what did I do wrong? Why wasn't I losing any more? But then I pulled up my weight loss chart and realized I lost 23 pounds the first month, 19 pounds the second month, 17 pounds the third, and 18 pounds the fourth. I somehow got out of the stall and lost 7 pounds in the last week of that month. I've lost slower ever since, but I still average 1-3 pounds a week instead of the 3-5 like I did in the beginning (i.e. I lost 8 pounds following the stall month, then 10 pounds, and this month I've lost 7 pounds). Stalls suck. They are disheartening and frustrating, but they are just our bodies way of adjusting to the rapid weight loss. It's trying to catch up with us and sometimes our system just needs to take a break. You'll get passed this!

I lost 15 pounds on the two week pre-op diet so maybe try to go on the pre-op diet a little early. I was 321 on my surgery date so I was also in the 300's so I can tell you it's definitely possible to lose those 10 pounds before you see the doctor.

Well today I officially joined the losers bench. Surgery went really well and for the first time, I didn’t experience any post op nausea which I normally do even with EGD’s, my hysterectomy and my ball bladder removal. Prior to surgery they gave me Tylenol, Celebrex and Gamapentin and that combination seemed to work well for me. I’ve been sleeping off and on all day . I’ve drank about 10 ounces of Water for far and I’ve walked the halls a few times. I did ask what size sleeve I was given and the fellow for my surgeon told me a 32 French.  I don’t have any clue if that’s small or not. I will say the care here at Cleveland Clinic has been amazing so far. My husband spent the better part of the day here and he has gone home now. If everyone continues to go well, I will get to go home tomorrow. One thing- my first trip to the bathroom was well, interesting, as I had no clue I was peeing and when I stood up thinking I was done I realized I was still going and had to clean myself up some 😂.

Pam Buggs Banded 2013 Removed 2019 Band eroded into stomach causing extensive tearing and port became an infected abcess☹

I don’t think you have anything to worry about, but I am confused. You say you told them you were 365, but you’re really 375, but your profile says 360. Perhaps you lost weight, but I wouldn’t worry about it. But for the sake of your health please be honest with your doctor and dietician, that’s the only way they can help you. Also, if it makes you feel any better I told my doctor and dietician I was 13 pounds lighter than I was; not because I didn’t want to be truthful, but I couldn’t bring myself to step on my home scale. It had probably been four months since I’d weighed myself, and I went with my last recorded weight. Then one day, about a month ago, I mustered the nerve to step on the scales. Not good, but I was honest and started doing something about it immediately. I lost the 13, and I’m on target to drop another 10 before my surgery in 4 days. Good luck.Try not to worry too much.

nope - you're fine. I also lost 10-12 lbs a month and I also started at over 300 lbs...

Today is my 6 month surgery anniversary. I am a slow loser... 10-12 lbs a month. My calorie intake is btween 600-700.... wondering if I am not eating enough ... starting weight 303

My surgery is scheduled for September 10 and I'm trying to prepare as best as I can. I've seen people talking about meal prepping for themselves after surgery. What is it that you're prepping? Sent from my Pixel 3 using BariatricPal mobile app

Yeah, 222 is a pretty low starting weight. You can’t expect to lose as quickly as someone who started 100 pounds higher. 10 pounds in a month is pretty good, considering your starting weight. And 1200 calories is quite high for a month out. I’m 6 weeks out and averaging just over 400 calories per day (I’m supposed to increase to 800-1000 now). By the way, if you want your info (surgery date, surgery type, starting weight, current weight) to show up when you post, you can update it by clicking on your username at the top of the screen and then “My surgery” under settings. If you want to share any of that info, it helps for people to see it as context when you post.

I had surgery at 7:30 am on a Thursday and went home at 1:30 pm on Friday... had to walk 10 laps, drink 32ozs of liquids and urinate before I was released. No complications... thank God!

8 month difference between these two photos. I had gastric bypass on 12/31/19 at 266 lbs. I am now 175. Still looking to lose 15 more pounds!

I'm glad to hear this as I'm wanting to get the band done as my insurance will cover that procedure. There's a great hospital in the area that only does Lap Band. I've read about complications and had some concerns. However, I've also read great comments on people who have had the band for over 10 years with no complications.

I am 5"1 and started at 222. I lost 10 in the weeks prior. Sent from my SM-N975U using BariatricPal mobile app