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Female age 47. 5'4" Starting weight 297 VSG on 7/31/19 Surgery wt: 266 CW 211 GW 135 Sent from my [samsung Galaxy] using BariatricPal mobile app

I was lucky that my surgeon will do the revision in one surgery. It was nice only having one hospitalization, recovery, etc. My lap band was over 10 years old so I'm not sure the age of the band is a factor as much as the scar tissue is and once it forms it might not get worse the longer it's there. Good luck, y'all! However you do it, it is TOTALLY worth getting that useless band and port out. I can lay on my stomach without the port sticking into me without pain now!

Great advice! Happy Birthday 🥳 5'4" Starting weight 297 VSG on 7/31/19 Surgery wt: 266 CW 211 GW 135 Sent from my [samsung Galaxy] using BariatricPal mobile app

I had a 10 year old band slip and it was miserable. I got a fear of eating since I didn't know if each meal was going to stay down or cause vomiting. My surgeon wouldn't even consider trying to fix the band, so it came out and I now have a RNY. Best thing I could have done after fighting that band for a year. I get what SpaceCowboy74 is saying about food. I don't think he's talking about eating a whole loaf of bread in one sitting--he'd just like to eat a small amount without it binding up in his band. With me it was eggs. Never could eat them with my band. Now that the band is gone, I can eat them again. Would I eat a dozen at once? No, but it's nice to be able to eat one without fear! I wouldn't stay with a surgeon that was trying to fix a lap band problem. Most surgeons today won't even place one. The 10 year failure rate is somewhere around 50%. You might want to look into a RNY--if you have GERD, or even if you don't, lots of people develop it after a sleeve, Good luck!

I started at 285, my surgery date was 12/4/19 I had the Rouen Y Gastric Bypass. My current weight 4 weeks out is 255.9 and I am 5'6". My goal weight is 140. It was the best decision I have ever made in my life and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Good luck to you!!!

Nothing wrong with being over prepared. I'm making a list and checking it twice, lol. My Bariatric Dr. called me to follow up with in regards to the last 10 pounds I need to lose and prescribed something to help me due to the deranged hormone imbalances that plague me. I was so nervous about my surgery being canceled, but I'm honestly doing right and eating right. I was reassured that I will have my surgery, just stay the course and it will be here soon. I started this journey in September 2018, I'm so excited for all of you and myself. I never saw this in my life or even knew this was needed, the closer the 31st gets the more emotional I'm becoming (in a good way). I still have supplies to purchase and cleaning to keep me occupied. I need a surgery journal, lol but seriously.

If I had to, I would have been able to tie my shoelaces and put on my socks pants, etc by myself (I didn't though cuz I had Mr. and the Kid do it for me). Anything bending down or reaching down was doable, even on the first day back home. It's when I had to do anything that required lifting my arms up that I had/have issue with. In terms of reachability for colouring hair, I was able to comb/brush the ends of my short hair by end of 1st week. I could reach the top of my head about 10 days PO...but I had to duck my head down. I still have to duck it down a bit today at 2 weeks post-op. Right now the highest I can raise my arms is the point where my elbows are maybe an inch just below my shoulders. Anything higher and I can feel a tightness/stretching that is uncomfortable. With that said, everyone is different. @mousecat88 was able to do so much so soon afterwards. She was able to do more at 2 days post op than I can do now at 2 weeks post-op... 🤷🏼‍♀️

Checking in 24 days post op Random thoughts Overall I feel surprisingly good most of the time. Biggest issue is continued swelling and stiffness. That looks like it will continue for the time being. The more I move the less stiff I am. But of course once I'm stiff it is hard to be motivated to move. My left breast subtlety, but not so subtlety dropped and softened a bit overnight. But now I am getting sharp pain in the bottom of my breast. Apparently normal, but it takes my breath away sometimes. Went out for NYE and felt great, even did some dancing (just call me @mousecat88 🤣). It surprised me because I was busy working and relatively immobile most of the day. I was in some pretty major discomfort from stiffness getting ready that evening. Grossness alert. My crack ooziness is starting to not smell great, it smells sour. Apparently no cause for concern, but major yuck. I ordered some silver infused gauze that will hopefully help. I hope it does because it's expensive. I am taking Advil when my stiffness is at it's worse. I know this is a no no for most WLS programs. But long ago my GI ex and I discussed it. He thought since I have no issues with stomach acid, and never have, it would be fine on occasion. I was glad to see @ms.sss also drank on NYE, I was feeling pretty guilty. I actually drank lightly 3 days straight, and then moderately on NYE. I had planned to abstain because I figured my body was already going through a lot, but I failed. Good news is, seems to have had no negative consequences. My skin near my incisions is sooo dry! I'm flaking all over all my black clothes 🤣. I haven't moisturized because I don't want to get anything on my incisions. But maybe some coconut oil might be ok? Sleeping is challenging. I have a hard time staying comfortable, so I toss and turn. I have been taking Ambien on occasion and that helps. My scabs are starting to come off. I'm excited, I think once my incision flattens out they will be very straight and thin scars. Gives me hope I can eventually get an am lift, if I don't scar terribly from my LBL. My weight is down, despite the swelling. 2 days pre op 126.4 (this is low for me), 19 days post op 126.4, 20 days post op 125.2, 24 days post op 126.4

I’m here to lend support, I lost slow but I did get there. It was super frustrating at times. I started working out and posting here around 6 months post-op and it really helped. I had many months where I lost 2-6 pounds. Here is my 1 year chart. 8/13/18 to 8/13/19. It looks smoother than reality, I didn’t record the slight bumps up and down. I was only eating an average of 700 calories a day and I knew I had not gained. I had to keep my head in the game and kept record of everything I ate. I still do.

Ask if your surgeon can use exparel. It is injected at the incision sites and does a great job in reducing pain after surgery. Just something to ask when you meet with them. Don't be afraid to let them know you have low threshold for pain. They will ask you on scale of 1 to 10 what your comfort level is that you can tolerate before you need pain med. For me that is a 4, but if for you that if it is lower then tell them that. If offered pain med take it! Don't wait until you need it as that will be too late because you will have to wait for it to kick in. Don't chase pain, stay ahead of it! At least until you have healed for a bit and are feeling comfortable.

No arm lift here, but tummy tuck and breast aug. I drove for the first time 17 days post op, ran errands etc. I had no issue, and could have done it probably at 10-12 days post op if I needed to. But ould have n=been more winded from the errands earlier in my recovery

Female, 47 yrs 5’2” Starting weight, 10-Oct-2018 : 235 lbs Sleeved 24-Oct-2018 Goal reached May 2019: 125 lbs (110 lbs lost) Current weight Jan 2020: 115 lbs (120 lbs lost)

I lost 155 lbs in 10 months and have been at goal weight since month 11

Female, 49 yrs 5’4” Starting weight 286 VSG 8/12/19 Current weight 208

<! -- Begin Random Brain Dump --> So....there was a post on another thread that brought up the existence of studies that proposed that WLS patients who have plastic surgery to remove excess skin after massive weight loss are more likely to keep the weight off further down the road than those who didn't. I remember reading something to that effect a while back, so I did a little digging, and yep, there are studies that suggest this idea. Here is is just two that were on the first page of my search results: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131001104541.htm https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(15)00850-3/fulltext So as I often do, I went down the research rabbit hole. I wanted see what other theories were out there that isolate certain behaviours or circumstances that increase the likelihood of long term weight control after bariatric surgery. The regular stuff that we already know came up about the positive co-relation of the following with short & long term success in weight loss: daily weighing (of body, not food, LOL) logging/tracking food intake weight training to maintain or increase lean muscle mass the above-mentioned body contouring Then there was one that sort of resonated with me, for some reason. That the likelihood of long term success is related to the amount of (or lack of) sedentary activities a person participates in. Those who spend less time watching TV, sitting at a desk, or spend time on their devices are more likely than their sedentary counterparts to keep the weight off longer term. And that this was the bigger indicator of "success" than the 4 points made above. Since the PS, I have been pretty sedentary. I looked at my steps and I averaged less than 1000 steps a day the first 10 days post op. I felt ick and lazy and tired and really just didn't want to move (mind you, I was in recovery so there's that). Then I purposefully made the effort to walk around every couple of hours and felt better. Then I started going outside for longer and longer walks and started to feel normal. After yesterday's 2+ hours outside and this morning's 1 hour (with more to come throughout the day) I feel aaaalmost awesome. The more I moved, the more I wanted to move; and on the flip side of that I realized that the more I stayed still the more I didn't want to move. Funny cuz this is probably obvious to some/most of you, but it was like a light-bulb moment for me, duh. 🙄 So moral of the story: Keep moving, people. <! -- End Random Brain Dump -->

Female 5’7” Starting weight 288 lbs Bypass 7/10/18 Current weight 155lbs

It’s hard when there are so many varied plans , and you read all different do’s and don’ts , and what is and isn’t ok. I would rather err on the side of caution , although I did have a terrific thirst all the time and found it really hard not to drink for 30 mins either side of a meal. My meals used to get later and later because I just couldn’t wait to drink . I used to suck ice cubes , and bought a box of over 200 sugar free popsicles - then it went I’ve used about 10 of the popsicles !

Yesterday, Wednesday, Jan. 1 Maintenance : 5'2" / 1yr PO Sleeve / ??? lbs (last weigh in 115.0 lbs on Dec 18th) ---------------------------------------- Getting back to some regular activity! I completed cumulative 10.6 km outdoor walks yesterday and it felt really good. I even did 10 squats LOL. It still amazes me to this day that I actually like getting some exercise now 😎. Got 3.6 km in earlier this morning, aiming to ger over 10km again by EOD. ---------------------------------------- 9:30am - coffee-cayenne w/ stevia 2:00pm - salad w/ vinaigrette + cucumber + carrots + 1 oz cheddar + 1.5 oz roast beef + 1 oz grilled squid + 1/2 oz grilled chicken + 1 fl oz imitation crab + 4 mini cocktail sausages 5:00pm - the leftovers from my 2:00pm meal + 2 seed crackers w/ peppercorn paté 9:00 pm - salad w/ vinaigrette + cucumber + carrots + 1/2 avocado + 2.5 oz steak + 1 glass red wine 12:30am - 2.5 oz steak ---------------------------------------- Totals: 913 cals - 72g Protein - 24g NET carbs - 48g fat

Height 6ft - 183cm 35y male Started at 322lbs. (8/27/19) BMI 43.9 Surgery weight 255lbs (10/28/19) BMI 34.6 Currently 204lbs (01/01/20) BMI 27.5 Aiming for goal of 185lbs BMI 25

I am 7 years post VSG. I lost 145 pounds and kept it off 3-4 years, had plastics and looked and felt great, and then life happened. I cared for Sick parents, husband with early onset dementia and dearth subsequent death, a year of grieving....then one day I woke up and faced the truth of a 55 pound weight gain. September 2019 I began focusing on my health and goals again, and I’ve lost 22 pounds. I had a barium swallow which revealed I have a normal capacity stomach, so really, no restriction. I never had the restriction others describe. Anyway, as much as I hated to do it, I joined WW. I basically eat like a Bariatric patient, using WW as guardrails. I also have increased my exercise and am totally in the Peloton “cult”, which is great because I am loving exercise for the first time ever. I never thought I’d be here..yet here I am, living proof that stomachs DO stretch and even smart, determined people can end up with regain. I believe it will take me until June or July to get back to goal, but every pound lost is a great feeling of accomplishment.

I do have a very serious girlfriend but since she has younger two girls and her mom living with her, so there is no hope for marriage at this time, i have a 19 and 16 year old and they are with me full time in college, plus a X wife who stays here more then her own house, Wierd set up but it works for all of us in terms of family structure and financially. Not possible to bring in two younger girls into this mix - we tri,ed for two weeks and was a disaster, Sorry I am just done raising kids, She is ok with me being a hell raiser every now and then, as long as i do not embarrass her or lie. I actually told her about my Cuban wife and she laughed, Her comment was How and the hell did you end up with a 20 year old for the week, Oh i figured it out its called a K-12 visa or was it your regular visa? , or she really cared for you. I have a gut feeling it was the visa thing. Down the road when all the kids are off to college or life maybe but for now its easier to switch back and forth between each others houses.

Hello All, Im so anxious my surgery is in 27 Days And Im Sooooooo Ready. What was your Starting weight, height, current weight? Before and After Pictures would be great also. My starting weight 03/19 was 404lbs Im 5’4 my Current weight is 372 i was 365 last month but gained weight due to being sick not exercising and eating poorly. My highest weight was about 430 my goal weight is 150lbs what is yours? My plan is to lose at least 20lbs more before surgery.

Hello All, my surgery is scheduled for 01/28 and im nervous about the pain being that my tolerance for pain is very low and pain medicine don’t really work well unless its a strong medicine or i take more than recommend(which i think is due to my size). I’ve had my gallbladder removed and that pain was almost unbearable so the thought that this surgery could possibly be more painful scares me. What pain meds were you sent home with? How long were you in pain? I dont want to be bed ridden for more than a week due to pain I want to be able to be almost back to normal within 2-3 weeks.

Congrats, you look fabulous!! 5'4" Starting weight 297 VSG on 7/31/19 Surgery wt: 266 CW 211 GW 135 Sent from my [samsung Galaxy] using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi, I have lost a lot of hair since my surgery 7/31/19. It sheds throughout the day. My doctor says to increase my folic acid intake and continue taking my supplements and follow my eating plan and my hair will grow back. I'm also taking e biotin and collagen and I use Viviscal shampoo and conditioner and supplements. 5'4" Starting weight 297 VSG on 7/31/19 Surgery wt: 266 CW 211 GW 135 Sent from my [samsung Galaxy] using BariatricPal mobile app