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I have been lurking on here for the past month & thought its time to join!!! I like reading all the encouraging helpful posts. I started my appointments back in December & all my documentation was sent in to the ins company last Thursday! My date is set for March 28 BUT I could possibly reschedule for Mar 21 IF I get my final approval this week..needless to say Im really stressed:( I left a message for am & I hope she still calls today. My last apt I had gained 4lbs so Im kicking myself & I hope & pray they don't get finicky! Im so ready, I have been doing the liquid portion here & there....not full speed ahead until I get the day in stone but today Im having a hard time & just want to eat eat eat. My reasons for doing the surgery beside the weight which has been a struggle all my adult life..the usual, I lose 20 lbs, gain it back etc.....I am an avid exerciser, I LOVE working out!! I tend to get obsessed with it at times. BUT I have a knee issue, I have had 4 surgeries & I will be faced with a replacement some day if I don't lose weight & keep it off. Also, I have high blood pressure (1 med), high cholesterol (2 meds) & I am borderline diabetic. I really hoping for a complete lifestyle change & I cannot weight!! In fact, I haven't bought any clothes in months because I want to buy a smaller size:) Anyway, I think you will see me here, asking questions, seeking advice & sharing my progress etc. Im excited to be a part of this group!!!

I am also a new fellow lurker I am working on getting a loan since my insurance does not cover weight loss surgery. I am shooting for September to be the month I change my life. I also have a knee injury and it is the main reason I decided to try weight loss surgery. I just want to be able to do my job as well as I used to before the injury. Good luck to you Scarolann! Sent from my LG-E980 using the BariatricPal App

So has anyone ever gotten a 6 pack after having bariatric surgery? Losing weight and retaining muscle is one thing, but are you able to get definition and put on more muscle after this procedure? Just wondering what the likelihood is considering the dramatic decrease in food intake and the whole sagging skin syndrome. Thanks guys.

Im trying to loose some weight b4 my last weight in! How many shakes should I do a day? Sent from my SM-G920R4 using the BariatricPal App

Hi all, anyone know if the weight loss, of lack thereof, prior to surgery has anything to do with or w/o the gas and shoulder pain I'm reading about? (i.e., more room more gas more pain, vs. more "room", and therefore less gas needed to forcefully inflate the abdominal area...)

Hiya all, sorry i have not been around lately, been moving home and various other things, just thought i would give you an update, my surgery was 1st of Feb 2011, and i have now lost the grand total of 6 stone, (about 80lbs), as you can imagine i am really pleased, at first i was pretty doubtful that the surgery would work, after all when has anything 'really' worked?? but i can honestly say i am so pleased with the results so far, i have another stone to lose until i reach my first goal, but then another 4-5 stone to go after that to reach my final goal, i have found that i can eat most things, apart from lettuce, never ever eating that again!! Pizza is not good for me either, pasta is ok but i get full very quickly, i've had only a few bad moments, mainly when i have tried to eat more than my stomache will allow, or drinking and eating at the same time, anyway hope everyone is doing great viv

Good luck new sleevers. Y'all are gonna love it and the weight loss will be awesome.

When I had mine done, the 1st time, they hooked me up to monitors, etc. Since there were irregularities, I went for a 2nd night. I was hooked up to the same stuff as before, but this time I also slept with a CPAP mask on. The CPAP stopped my sleep apnea. Even better, it was no time at all after my surgery that I didn't need it anymore. Just one more great benefit from having weight loss surgery.

My last class is the 2nd and I'm scared as well. I've come so far to not finish strong. But I think the cigarettes is way more important then the weight. Hell if I could lose weight I wouldn't be here lol. But I understand why they want us to lose the weight so I'll keep trying until I make it.

I'm so scared I'm not going to lose this weight. I was doing fine until I quit smoking and I gained weight I lost back. And trying to get this back off has been so hard, I don't crave for cigarettes I'm not lunch and anymore on candy. But it still not coming off

Best thing I could suggest to to basically do the pre-op diet. Focus on getting protein in and cut out nearly all the carbs. When I did my pre-op phase before I got my sleeve it was 3 shakes a day plus some special protein soups/drink mixes that I got from my doc's office. If you can't get anything like that you could substitute with chicken broth or bullion. When you do low carb it takes a few days for ketosis to really kick in, but when it does it sheds a fair amount of weight quickly. Granted a good chunk of that initial loss is shedding extra water but every pound counts. You just need to be sure you're getting your vitamins in. Good luck to you!

We were warned in our pre-op class that gaining 10 pounds in the hospital was average. I only gained 6 pounds, but it did take a week to lose that.

I had a lap band 5 yrs ago I weighed 235 pounds I went down to 150-155 my goal is to stay at 155 I lost the weight in less than a year which was great I have gained 20 pounds which is a lot to me having a hard time staying on tract I went back for a fill 6 weeks ago I am going back thurs for another fill I do not feel the restriction I feel I need

Congratulations on your current weight loss and decision to get healthy. Sometimes it takes that one thing that will push you over the edge to make it happen. For me it was a diagnosis of stage 3 kidney disease. Unfortunately I waited too long and my health suffered but now I am down 96lbs and much healthier because I made this choice. I have never regretted it for one second. WLS gave me my life back! Good luck on your journey and if there is anything you need please feel free to reach out.

Hi everyone, Some of you may remember me and some may not, but I thought it would be a good time for an update on myself and my daughter. I also have a question regarding VSG and diabetes. I had VSG in November of 2010. My highest weight was 251. My lowest weight was 104 (too low for my 5'5" frame) and now I am holding steady between 108 - 112 (has been this low for over a year now). My regular doctor still thinks I am too thin, but my labs have been great so he isn't nagging me too much. My biggest problem other than what I address below is that I have a hard time finding clothes that are small enough (yeah, I know - stop complaining). My daughter had surgery the same day as I. Unfortunately, she developed a leak and was in the hospital for quite a long time. She has since lost over 200 pounds and feels terrific. She has new-found confidence (she is 23) and is much happier than she used to be. She has always been beautiful, but now the way she feels about herself makes her even more so. Now for my question. I went to my PCP on Friday and he is concerned because he said that my blood sugar could be going too low. I "had" type II diabetes but haven't been on any medication since the surgery. So, I got a new meter and have been checking my blood sugar levels. They have been about as perfect as they can get, with the exception of me gorging on a lot of candy last night (I'd like to say it was an experiment, but I love candy and eat too much of it, too often). About 1/2 hour to 1 hour after eating a lot of sugary candy, my blood glucose level was 179. Within another half hour, it came back down to 103. So technically, if I had waited until the 2-hour mark after eating, my glucose level would have been fine. I don't like the 179 though. I have been craving candy, especially in the evening. It is almost as if I am a junkie and have to have my fix. But, once I start eating it, I can't seem to stop until I brush my teeth before bed! I've always had a sweet tooth, but never this bad. My husband tells everyone that I have a "tootsie roll pop problem." Also, if I don't eat candy, I start losing weight again. (Yes, I've tried Protein or good carb Snacks.) Anyone with any insight on this issue? One theory I have thought about is either that my blood sugar is going low so I crave sweets to bring it back up or that my body goes after sweets because I am so thin and it is trying to get me to not lose anymore. Or, something I don't like to think about - I am tempting my diabetes to come back and need to kick the sugar habit asap! Oh, and one thing I neglected to say - my current weight also includes my extra skin, which my PCP figures is somewhere in the 10-12 pound range. So, I'm actually a lot thinner than the scales say. Thanks. Marilee Quote MultiQuote Edit Report

My name is Cheryl and I was sleeved a little over a year ago. At the start of my journey I weighed 542 pounds. Now I'm excited to say that I only tip the scales at 330 lbs. Needless to say, life has been somewhat of an adventure over the last year or so. I have been amazed at the doors opened to me. Everything has changed that's for sure! I no longer have to sit on the side lines of life, for once I actually get to play in the game. Not really sure what else to say. I've never been on one of these before. So...I guess I'm just hoping to make some new friends that can understand what life is like following WLS. Got one question. Just curious, has any of you lost weight just to find that you've lost friends too. I've been kicked out of the "fat chick club." I just don't get it. I'm still fat! Fatter than most of them. I'm still the same person, just a more positive outlook on life.

Why would they kick you out. you need to talk to them and be up front about this issue. You need them now more than ever and they could definitely learn from you.. Maybe they are afraid you are going to lecture them about their weight. We can guess all kinds of things but you need to talk it out and get to the bottom of it.

Ell up to 12 pounds lst preop last test on the 10 then wait for insurance to approve

You lost 12 or gained 12? Good luck on approval. Hope it is quick for you!!

The prerequisites for surgery will vary from one insurance provider to the next. In my case I had to undergo 6 months of medically monitored weight loss and exercise program to qualify and it seemed like the insurance company fought me every step along the way.

LOL!! My surgery is May 3 in Bristol CT. I'm very excited but also nervous. I'm down 8 pounds on the pre-op diet but have stayed the same the past few days, but I think it's that time of the month. So I'm hoping for a couple more pounds before Friday, when I have to weight in at the doctors. Where are you having your surgery?

Make it up as you think you remember. I can't remember last week never mind 10 years of failures. I do know that as I dieted I always gained more weight in the end than when I started.

Visualizing the future is a great tool when it comes to weight loss! All of things you mentioned are true at the 3 month mark. You may still be obsessing over food, but only to the point of "did I get enough Protein in today" type of things. Congrats on getting so far in your pre-op diet. According to my surgeon, TONS of people never stick it out and either end up paying out of pocket or just never come back. I truly think it is one of the hardest parts of the journey. The hardest being waiting for your insurance approval, followed by waiting for you date! Be happy You are doing great and it is obvious in your post!

So I have a friend who has RNY in 2009. She started off at 410 pounds and at surgery day she was 398 pounds. 6 months later she was 185 pounds. She was telling me all about how she felt and how everything worked for her. She felt she was losing too fast and was scared and nervous. She also wasn't use to being able to feel her bones or other people feeling them either. She was losing more down to 174 lbs and felt she was losing too much, so she asked her doctor about gaining back up to 185 lbs. She has stayed within 10 lbs of this weight for the last 4 years, she has recently gone back down to 175 lbs after she had a tummy tuck. She hasn't had any complications besides 1 stuck moment because she ate taco salad too soon, she said she was 8 weeks out at that time. I'm so lucky to have someone who has already done this and been successful to be around to help. So with her story I'm even more encouraged and happy to move on with this journey.

HAVE YOU GAINED WEIGHT AFTER YOUR SLEEVE. Hello everyone. I haven been on this forum for quite a while. I was sleeved back in June 2012. I had the lapband revision to sleeve. So far I've lost 45lbs give or take. My starting weight was 216. I lost my first 20 very quickly but from there on its was like pulling teeth.LOL. Anyhow a year to the day I had emergency gallbladder surgery and had to stop working out for a few month, gained a couple of pounds I was able to loose them again. For the past year and half I had endured Iron infusion for my low iron and hemoglobin. In December my OB/GYN decided I needed a total hysterectomy had the surgery done December 19 again had to stop working out and again gained roughly about 10 this lbs I haven't been able to loose it. I'm very worried and upset that I will be gaining more and more. I'm back working out and I'm very careful with what I eat and nothing scale won't move I know I haven't lost inches either because my clothes still fit tight. Everyone keeps telling it's because of the last surgery and that I look fine. It's sad because I don't like what I see in the mirror. And upsetting because I've put my body through so much and I don't want to be I vain.