Search the Community

True, true! I don't know how it is in the UK, Canada, or Australia but also trying to get in even for non-severe mental/emotional issues is....CRAZY. I remember primary referring family member to get a little more help with SITUATIONAL depression..although it was a severe case..and they were told left and right...6 months minimum..um...excuse me? I will say we have come a long way with like coverage and access (as well as free for those who need it) to things like mammograms..now if they could just do that with all the other things we need access to more quickly. My pet peeve, especially with specialists is seeing that my plan only has like..let's say 10 docs in my area that cover that specialty...but 99% are no longer taking new patients...um...so there is only 1? And dang if it is not going to be the one furthest away or the one with the worst reviews..lol. Sometimes healthcare..and we all know it from insurance hoops to get surgery if not self-pay..is like trying to plan a military campaign.. You last sentence made me laugh though...the irony of it

banded in 2009, lost from 232# to 143#... in March 2017 got the flu... band slipped. No WLS for 2.5+ years.... revised to the sleeve 8/28/19.... lost the 30# i regained and 9ish plus.

Hi friends!! I had my sleeve surgery 12-27-19. Pre-surgical weight 260. Weight today, almost 4 weeks out 238. It's been quite a ride. My husband had the sleeve 18 months ago, so he was helpful with my lovenox shots, wound care, etc.. What I was not expecting is how sad I feel, tired bc of the insomnia, worried that I am not losing enough even though my surgeon says I am doing great, and the food struggle. I do understand how you felt djgirl. Everyone else is eating whatever the eff they want and I am drinking my shake, eating oatmeal , whatever. I am hoping that this plateau I've hit will run its course bc its frustrating. Next week I can go back to the gym, so I will start out with the treadmill and eventually do some weights, situps etc.. I would like to know what healthy options everyone is eating? Thanks! Meg

I have contacted a legal firm in Vancouver that already has a class action against the company that makes Lap-Band. Since we already have many people interested in a class action against Slimband, they might just take the case on a contingency basis (i.e. they would get 10% of any money recovered). I will let you know if/when I hear back from them. Since the Slimband clinic is closed, that would not be our target. And unfortunately it wouldn't be Dr. Patrick Yau either. It would be the owner of BOTH Slimband clinic and CreditMedical.com where many of us got our medical loans from, as it is still practicing and making TONS of money charging huge interest rates on medical loans. Where there's big money, you can bet a lawyer is going to be interested - especially since they've probably already done a lot of research into banding for their initial suit. Personally I will probably have the band removed at some point but not until I can find a surgeon that will revise my RNY to make the pouch smaller. I had an RNY in 2002 and the pouch expanded so I got the Slimband in 2013 to increase restriction again. If I take the band off, I will still have the big pouch, and I don't want that. I expect that with missed work due to Slimband complications since January 2013, I will be owed in the tens of thousands of dollars easily.

I'm in! Thanks for the info Fluffychix & Sheribear68! I need all the help I can get to make the MOST of this journey as possible! In recent discussions with Fluffy and others, we did the math and my average amount of weight lost per month SINCE surgery is actual a bit over 12 pounds per month and that would actually have been higher if my exercise hadn't taken a nosedive in the past..well, I was thinking it was a week, but it's been more like 10 days. My INITIAL Months 1-3 weight loss was...when I compared to my siblings was not as large as theirs was so yeah...it bothered me. I tried to be careful (and yeah, we probably shouldn't compare but I did) and only compare with others IF they were in a similar situation to me. i.e. for me that was: female, 50+, menopausal, sedentary, known slow metabolism DUE to hormones, lack of exercise, medications, illness/conditions, 20+ years of yo-yo dieting and/or anything else that contributed to the slowness - some things WITHIN my control, some things NOT. On some days when I was doing better mentally, I figured well, I may be starting out slower but my rate per month may be more sustainable than theirs after the first few mos. I need to get back on my surgery sibling thread but I ALREADY know now that in looking at my weight loss data over a MORE SUFFICIENT amount of time to evaluate a truer picture of 'weight loss per mo), I'm at least an AVERAGE loser and if I deal with some recent bad habits that crept back in suddenly, I feel that with not a ton of effort I can hit a 'AVERAGE-HIGH' amt of weight loss per mo. I wanted to post as some of you know I'm very data driven. The first 2 - 3 mos of surgery, including that critical 1st mo where some of us wonder based on SO VERY VERY little calories, why weight loss wasn't higher..it's kinda of like when we were kids...I always used to say when asked..."I'm 5 and 1/2 years old"...because I was PROUD of that '1/2'...and the age I'm at now, man, I round DOWN!!! When we are little though...at young ages, our time on this earth is so SMALL at that point, that our experiences for the first let's just say..5 yrs...is obviously the BULK of our entire little life at that point. Flash forward to today and being..cough..like around 50...and ages 0-5 is nothing but a BLINK. Statistically barely factors. I realize now that while yes...my first 2 mos especially I found to be a bit disappointing at the time, in hindsight, just 4 more months out, the math is showing that DESPITE my true challenges and even for me, some emotional/mental ones, I am at least an AVERAGE loser. I'm posting this hoping to give those who are only a couple of months out and may be fighting with disappointment...some hope and another way to consider things..and to stay on track and let the time pass...then look back at what has happened. My wish for all of us is we become part of..someday...a "We WERE slow losers but look at us now" type of thread..lol. I realize that there are ppl with much more severe issues than what I'm dealing with so in no way do I mean to do your situation any disservice. Oh...and along with realizing I'm at least 'average'...I had a small NSV on my way to taking my laptop back into my office...my PJ bottoms (yeah, I work from home) fell down and I almost fell over my own feet..LOL. I LOVE these PJ botttoms so much I'm seriously considering taking them to a tailor!!

The best decision ever! Sleeved on 10/18 and 108 lbs lost 🙌🙌🙌

I'll be 4 yrs post OP this July. I initially lost 125lbs, I've unfortunately gained back about 18lbs, I went from a 24/26 to a 10/14 depending on brand. I'm 5'3" and will be 50 this July. Besides marrying my hubby...30 yrs this June... this was the best decision I've ever made. If you're on the fence about having surgery, weigh the options, pros and cons, keep taking meds, not keeping up with the family, feeling tired.. all the time, I could go on and on, trust me or take back control of your life and health, eat better, walk more, enjoy outings with friends and family.. and be able to keep up, learn to love yourself again. It's up to you, but I will say, if you decide to... you will never regret it. Good luck on this crazy journey we call weight loss surgery y'all... Tracy Johnson

This is wonderful! I’ll be honest and admit that I still very much feel like a bariatric patient. I too don’t eat all of the food that I prep and log, so even though my logs say one thing, the truth of the matter is that many times I’m eating 3/4-7/8 of the food I’m packing and logging. I wish MFP had an option where you could just autocorrect the calories and macros down by 10-20% across the board bc then that would be a lot more accurate. My carb struggle is a very real and daily thing. Yesterday I logged over 40gm and it felt very odd and reflexively I wanted to cut back today to “make up” for it. Gotta get over that mindset bc I’m in the high 130’s and I don’t want to slide too much farther down. It’s a mind game. I’m wondering what on earth my subconscious is doing , and I’m working on working through it.

I had my vsg surgery 9/10/19. I’m down about 66lbs. I still have a way to go, but I’m happy with my decision. My pics: my 2nd day in the hospital. I got engaged at the beginning of December and decided to try on wedding dresses at the end of it. The others from earlier this month.

My husband knows..... that's it. When i had the band i eventually told everyone. Biggest mistake ever. This time with the sleeve, only my husband. I didn't tell my kids, my family, my friends (none of them), my co workers.... NO ONE. So much better. When people started to notice the WL i just told them the truth.... doing crossfit and portion control. I moved to another state which makes it easier i think. No one except my kids have seen me since SX Aug, 28, 2019 I can promise yall one thing.... you tell one person besides your spouse.... it will get out.... especially if you tell a friend and that friend is a woman.... we love to gossip... and eventually she will get jealous and blabbb... Let me give you the scenario.... Hey sue.. chris sure has lost a lot of weight.... Well, don't say that i said anything... but she has WLS... BAMMMM

I do not think size has a lot to do with it. People are judgmental regardless. What was worse was having friends of 10 years + turn cold shoulder and that people have to hide or consider telling people what they are having done, to help with their health. People don't judge when you have gall bladder removed or kidney stones crushed, but you have operation that is life changing and majorly benefiting your health and (most) lose their minds. Its just sad overall.

Yesterday Wednesday, Jan 22 Maintenance : 5'2" / 1.25 yr PO Sleeve / 114.8 lbs ---------------------------------------- It was getting harder to NOT engage in evening snacking last night. I had a good 5-10 minute inner conversation with myself about the harmlessness of eating ONE ginger molasses cookie. After drinking a cup of tea and finding myself still thinking about that darn cookie, I decided to just go upstairs and put some physical distance between me and said cookie and go to bed. It worked, LOL. Plus I got a really good night's sleep 😎 I am sitting in the kitchen now with those cookies in my line of sight, and I don't really care for them vs. last night. I'd rather be enjoying my tea. Which I am. My scale says I got under 115 this morning. Now I know this is mostly water weight so I am going to have to sustain sub 115 for at least a week for it to really count. ---------------------------------------- 9:30pm - 1 black coffee w/ stevia + 1 skinny tea latte 2:00pm - 1 skinny tea latte + salad w/ vinaigrette + 1/2 oz avocado + 1 tbsp sour cream + 1/2 tbsp salsa + 1/8 cup taco meat filling (ground beef, red onions, jalapeño peppers) + 4 oz pan fried/roasted duck breast 7:00pm - 1 skinny tea latte + salad w/ vinaigrette+ carrots + cucumber + 1 oz avocado + 2.5 tbsp sour cream + 2 tbsp salsa + 1/3 cup taco meat filling + 2.5 oz pan fried/roasted duck breast ---------------------------------------- Totals: 649 cals - 43g Protein - 12g NET carbs - 45g fat

Quite the oppisite for those who turned a cold shoulder. P was one of those who could eat and eat and eat and lose weight. (10 years knowing her and shes still just as skinny). L was one of those who grew up in a family that worked out 2 hours a day since she could remember so shes always been extremely skinny. Those that seemed to give the greatest support were those who had already had the operation or those who were of the larger size. Many to scared to get it, but are giving support. ((Though I did have one larger friend who when I talked about it rambled on about how they want it but hate having to cut back on pizza and burgers *shakes head*))

I had my surgery 12/10/19 and I have lots of temptations and I've slipped up bc food kinda was an addiction for me and I "quit cold turkey" and the diet planning is hard when you live on a budget. Anyone have any ideas on which brands or food are good bc I've run out of protein shakes so I may not be getting enough not sure but overall it's still successful I've lost 34 lbs since then and don't need to take blood pressure pills or diabetic medicine so that's pretty cool to me Sent from my Z557BL using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi, I didn’t even think about this but I had RNY surgery 12/30/19 And have had multiple abdominal surgeries (exploratory due to cyst/ Fallopian tube issue, abdomoplasty, gall bladder, and a scope to cut scar tissue that was pulling on my ovary and intestines). My surgery went great and they actually found a Hiatal hernia and fixed that, too. I’m pretty good with pain but admit the first two days were rough. I discovered the fentanyl was making me feel ill and switched to oral oxy and was sooo much better. 3 days post surgery I was taking my kids (adopted g-daughters) to school and taking Tylenol for pain although I had two sore/tired days in week 2. I’ve been working from home 4+ hours a day and caring for pets and kids after the first couple of days. The hard part is no lifting so be careful as walking my big dog was painful when he pulled. I’m 3.5 weeks out and feel a bit weak/woozy when I push too hard but otherwise I feel great! Wishing you an easy surgery and recovery!

I think that is the crux of it ... I'm ok with with subtle results from low cost options. But for real money, I'd be beyond disappointed at some of the "afters I've seen! That's great you see results in your neck. I definitely need some help in that area I also have one of those microneedling rollers. I don't think it has any effect either. What I am interested in is a combo of RF & Microneedling. One of the machines/companies is called Profound RF. Their before and afters are pretty dramatic. In the office where I got my filler, they had posters up for a different machine/company, and their neck example was AMAZING. But the prices I have seen are high, like over $1K. I'm just not willing to take that kind of financial risk In my plastic surgery thread @ms.sss brought up a facelift vs. theses non-surgical alternatives. I think it is a good question. If a facelift will cost $10-$12K, and be dramatic. How much does it make sense to pay for these more subtle alternatives?

Like you, SheriBear, I am focused on whole foods, as nutritionally dense as possible. No junk, nothing artificial or processed. Since going plant based, I am eating way more than I ever thought possible, and much more carbohydrates in the form of whole cooked grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and fruit. It has been a real challenge to overcome the "low carb" mindset, now that I am maintaining. I feel absolutely fantastic, have more energy than I ever thought possible, absolutely no soreness after workouts, and still slowly losing weight - about a pound a month. I could lose a total of 10 pounds more, but absolutely no more than that. I am fine the way I am in the low 140s. I get plenty of protein, even with very little supplementation with protein powder now. I log all my food, but do not count calories any more. I still practice 16: 8 IF. I have become a fan of Dr. Michael Gregor, author of "How Not to DIe," and "How Not to Diet." The books are summaries of tens of thousands of studies about weight loss and longevity - and all the information is evidence based. There are lots of small tweaks that can be made - like timing of exercise, timing of eating, cognitive behavioral changes, etc, that are based on science. Anyway, one of the huge take-aways I am trying to wrap my mind around is that portion limitation usually fails in the long run, but if you eat the right foods, you can eat as much as you want and still lose weight. This is more successful than any form of deprivation. (Now I am talking from a maintenance perspective - not fresh post op patients.) I have been testing it on myself, and I can honestly say that I cannot eat all that I usually outline for the day. I feel stuffed all the time, yet still lose weight. I am shocked each morning when I weigh and the scale continues to edge downward. It is counter intuitive to all my previous experiences with dieting or even the prevailing information that is out there. This year has been absolutely amazing. I love how I look, how I feel, and how much of my life has been regained. I honestly think I feel better than I did 20 years ago! Wooo Hooooo!

There are quite a few unflavored protein powders out there, on this site and others. I started back in July of 2019 and did a lot of research and got a few samples of stuff to try out. If you click your screen name in upper right you can choose "My Surgery" to fill out your surgery details. Click on "My Ticker" to create one for your signature. Can't remember what I did to get things to show up, but it is a switch on one of the profile settings.

Yes, surgery was performed yesterday early a.m. and in her state-of-the-art surgery center. I was released by 6:00pm that evening. By 8:00 pm I was snuggled in my own bed at home and slept like a baby. Hubby was given all the pertinent directions + procedures for aftercare AND has done famously. However, he's probably the more exhausted one than me! Haha. My surgeon is younger and 10 years out in private practice with different surgery perspectives (I liked her cutting edge view point but with relevant experience, too) and, the entire staff are women. My anesthesiologist was a doll from Mississippi. Robert, my hubby, brought them in his amazing homemade carrot cake. This is an example of the cake from another party... You know what they say, a way into your surgeons heart and their staff is dessert after a very, very long day of procedures! LOL. ;]

My surgery was 12/28 and I'm down a little over 19 lbs. I just got out of the 3 week stall that lasted about 9 days. It was torture!! I do have to make sure I keep up on my water. I'm still on purees until this Saturday then I move to "soft foods." I'm looking forward to that after a month of liquids and purees. But I'm mostly not all that hungry and I get full so fast. I can eat about 2 oz of refried beans or ricotta with marinara sauce and I'm done. I still do a lot of protein shakes to get my protein in. I use it in my coffee and always bring a shake with me in the car when I'm out and about.

I would definitely take all 10 days so you can be prepared. However the other tip I would offer is to not start back on a Monday. So maybe if you go back on Thursday then you can push through those first few days and have a weekend to recover before going to work for an entire week straight. Also try to preplan if you usually carry something heavy from your car to your classroom to get a cart or have it already in your room etc. so you don't have to carry anything.

Hey ,November11 here still lurking on you guys page..lol… I just love you guys journey... and yes I am enjoying mine as well.. Happy Anniversary February 2019 babies...…!!!!! You guys look great !!!!!

Nope. Before surgery I was obsessed with food and eating and eating large volumes. Now, I do 2 no-brainer 5 minute meals...snacks as needed. And then an easy dinner. I usually cook the protein 1-2x for the week and then morph dinners into lucky leftovers. So meals are like 10-15 minutes from fridge to table for 2. If I'm not hungry, I skip whatever meal was planned and move along little dogey. Example: B1 - Protein Latte x 3 (cuz it's mah jam and I love it) Breakfast - Egg/ham/light cheese/salsa steamed egg (<5mins total prep and cooking) Lunch - Turkey Cheese Wrap with arugula, po, rbp and WF Italian dressing + baby carrots or grape toms Dinner - Made IP French Chicken last week and also have leftover enchilada sauce, so this week am making Tex-Mex Chicken Lasagna Boats with mixed salad side. BS - Protein banana puddin' if needed.

I had a bypass and returned to work two weeks after surgery. It was a 10 hour shift and I was EXHAUSTED. Take as long as you can!