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The emotional rollecoaster prior to surgery is not uncommon. :thumbup1: Why we continued to persecute ourselves for our "lack of will power" is kind of nuts--because obese people tend to overmanufacture Gherlin, the hunger hormone, we are hungry all the time. Trying to fight that without surgery is a never ending battle. We would have to literally starve ourselves indefinitely to be successful. It is our will power and determination that allows us to be successful in the short term with weight loss. Many of us have lost 50 to 100 lbs multiple times in our lives on "diets and exercise plans". However, we "fail and regain" what we have lost as soon as we allow ourselves to eat again--our metabolism works against us and our body prefers to store food as fat rather than use it. Those are the reasons that sleeve surgery is such a great tool for us--without the gherlin, we don't feel hungry all the time. That allows us to change our relationship with food and actually eat to live rather than live to eat. Keep posting and finding support on VST. You will be understood and supported here.

I too am a type 2 diabetic. My sugar was pretty well regulated with medication and insulin but found I was insulin resistant and gained 5 or more pounds per month for the past 18 months. I had RNY last Friday 26th April for the same reasons as you are. I have not had to take insulin since surgery and am on minimal meds right now. Sugar is higher than I hoped but they say that is to be expected at the beginning. Good luck to you.

Hmmm, I have blue shield ppo here in California and I had to go through six months of mtgs with dietitian kinda thing and also write down all if my previous weight loss attempts but not really in actual medically super vised diet I was approved with out loosing any real weight. Sorry this is so late hope ur still around here...new to the boards and first time checking out this area

3/17/10 had lapband. Never, never, never had a problem with the band that I knew of. The problem I had was my surgeon quit the practice 10 months after I had surgery. Ended up switching to the NP in that WLS clinic. Never once in those three years did they ever fluoroscope that band, only right after surgery. But there again I didn't seem to have any problems, or so I thought. Anyway the nurse was to have called me regarding laps, after waiting six months (I had gotten the laps myself, but she had already po'd me) I switched doctors. He did the fluoroscope and found the band had slipped. I ended up having to have the band out and 10 weeks later had bypass. I did a lot of research during this waiting period, including the complications with the band which is now coming in. The doctor recommended bypass vs sleeve for me because I'm a diabetic and there are better results getting this in remission than with the sleeve. In my research bypass has been so perfected in the past 30 years I had to agree with the doctor. I'm not sorry I had the band as it started my weight loss journey, just wish more research had been done three years ago and I would have eliminated two surgeries. So I would definitely research all the major hospitals, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland, all of them and then determine what would be best for you.

I am currently finishing up all the things my insurance is requiring me to do. I had to do six consecutive months of doctor visits for weight lost attempts, and Thursday well be my last one. Does anyone know how fast this process will move after that?

It's a frustrating process, you definitely need more fill to get to green zone. Hopefully you're close. I was there for two whole weeks and this last week I've noticed I've slipped out if the zone. I seem to be loosing a lot ofy weight Fromm tummy area do that's affecting my fills. I'm going in this Tuesday for another very small fill to get me back in the zone. Hang in there, there is no magic amount of fill that is the same for everyone. Some people are fine with a few cc's others need more. Fingers crossed you get your full next appointment and it makes a difference for you. Great weightloss so far too!!

Banded in 2001 and did well with weight loss for a while. A series of fills and unfills caused severe shoulder pain, esophagitis, gastritis, and a hiatal hernia. I was miserable for such a long time. Went through a complete unfill in 2012 and regained all my weight. Converted to sleeve in October of 2015 after 14 years with the band and could not be happier. I have in these 4+ months lost what took me almost a year with the band and am more confident that I will reach the goal I never did with the band now that I have my sleeve. My hiatal hernia was repaired when I converted so my reflux and heartburn also resolved.

I had the band in 2011, revision in 2013, and converted to sleeve in 2015. I lost 85 pounds with the band, but gained back 35 of that (started close to 300) I have lost much more with the sleeve than I ever did with the band. Good luck with your journey.

Hello! It’s been a bit since I’ve been on here. I had the sleeve on June 27, 2016. I lost 100 pounds, had a baby, gained about 40. I’m starting weight watchers now and hopefully going to get pregnant again. Anyone in a similar situation??

I didn't have anything small except one item from college. I moved before I even thought about having surgery and purged my closets of anything I hadn't worn in the past 18 months, with the exception of that one item from college. As I was losing, as soon as my clothes were loose, they were gone. Either donated or trashed depending on the condition. I didn't even keep an item to fat shame myself with like people love to do in pictures. I have a friend that lost 200lbs and has kept it off for several years on her own without surgery and she told me as soon as you lose get rid of the clothes, constantly. She said keeping the clothes, you secretly give yourself permission to regain. So I got rid of everything, fast. I found that buying new clothes was the best way to show my weight loss to myself. The only things I haven't got rid of are my winter coats. I have some furs I will finally be able to wear. I have some leather jackets I am going to try and have tailored, but they need to be taken in so much not sure it is possible. I have coats I bought last year because I was losing and needed coats that fit and wouldn't let wind in. They are close to new, but they will definitely need to go before winter, they are all too big. My opinion is chuck it all ASAP, don't look back.

I'm months away from my surgery but I can tell you that this is something that I can't wait to do! I live in Japan so I've always been stuck with the double-whammy of not being able to buy clothes here and the fact that Japanese homes and apartments have very little closet space. For the former it's bad because I have to save everything, unless it is literally falling apart, in case I lose weight (!), but it's made worse by the latter because since virtually all my closets are bursting with boxes and boxes of extra clothes. I can't wait to have free space again! That said, I'm not getting rid of anything until I've actually had the surgery and I can see the weight coming off. Like others have said, I'll probably get rid of things when I'm 2 sizes out. This is definitely a NSV I'm looking forward to.

I have an outfit I absolutely loved from my skinny days (180 lbs, lol) (I think size 14, maybe its a 12), that when I thought my surgery was in January, planned to wear to my nephews wedding Sept. 10th. Now that my surgery isn't until Aug 10th, I'll only be 4 weeks out. I know what dress I plan to wear. Its one of those stretchy sleeveless dresses, I'll wear a light sweater because I hate my arms. But regardless if I have worn this dress when I'm a 14 to an 18. I think it says 16. Years ago when a doctor put me on a liquid diet and phentermine, I lost weight so fast; I was also much younger and exercised like crazy. I'm old now, have not really done much exercise at all. I do hope it comes off quickly like most are reporting here,

Greetings All~ I am turning 42 this year and have decided I want to have a VS done. I have made a ton of amazing changes in the last 3 years of my life. I was medically dependent for 4 1/2 years on Fentanyl Patches for pain and spent a relatively short period of time coming off this highly addictive medication. All in all, from the last day of my last patch to the last day of my last Suboxone pill(medication used to detox from opiates), it only took me an amazing 106 days!!! This is after cancer, living with the pain of severe fibromyalgia, a leaking valve in my heart and OA in my feet, ankles, knees back and shoulders. If you also factor in 4 herniated discs in my spine and and constant injections in my knees, I would have to give myself a HUGE pat on the back for my intestinal fortitude and perseverance. So...given the fact i can and have been strong enough to battle something like this,you can imagine my frustration at still being 5'7" and 309 pounds!!!! I have been overweight my whole life. I just cannot understand the inability to beat this weight problem. I cannot move as much as I'd like to due to the pain but I do bellydance 2-3 x a week. I park so I have to walk, I take the stairs, etc. I do not eat ANY fast food, junk food or a lot of sweets. We do not eat many packaged or highly processed foods either. I eat a balanced, organic diet...just too much of it!! My problem is I LOVE TO COOK...and therefore i love to eat. I will overeat when it comes to savory meals. I'm all about it. I've spent the 6 months with my PCP documenting weight loss attempts, attended the bariatric surgery seminar, gotten the PCP letter, my Psych eval, and am ready to schedule with the surgeon. Here is my biggest question/concern: Through all my research in the last year, I have come across info that states that people who undergo any bariatric surgery will have a significant reduction in the co-morbidities that I have( hypertension, insulin dependent Type 2 Diabetes, high triglycerides, and Obstructive sleep apnea, GERD, and OA) BUT...these studies state that even IF an equal amount of weight is lost by someone on their own and NOT with a bariatric surgery, the results are not as significant in these issues. Can anyone here tell me why that is? I get the common sense issues like losing weight, PERIOD, can help reduce blood pressure, pressure on joints and even lower your glucose levels, but these studies seem to indicate something quite different happens when you have a bariatric surgery. I am curious if anyone here knows the mechanism or even has an idea why it works this way? Why is it more effective in getting rid of these things than anything else? I have tried so many diets and plans I have lost count. I cannot stand this constant stress about what will go wrong next with my aging and obviously rebelling body. I need to get this weight off and I'm torn because I have Medicare/Medicaid as my only insurance and we all know what that means. At this point, NO VS FOR ME!! ( unless I can come up with the $ on my own...won't happen) This all came as a lovely surprise while reading this forum but also was solidified by the surgeon at the bariatric seminar I attended. I am terrified to have the ReY or the DS. I can't imagine never being able to eat a balanced diet again. The minuscule amounts of veggies and greens people can eat does not seem healthy. Not to mention the inability to eat them as they are meant to be...RAW! I am SOOOOOO scared of this. It just seems so out of balance with nature yet I am desperate because I, myself, have not been able to eat these things in the moderation that is necessary.....leaving me to find moire extreme measures to deal with my addiction to food. If I could just eat less and move more....but I can't at this point. I need help. To make the matter worse, I already have severe B12 and Vitamin D deficiencies that require constant monitoring and meds. The idea of having to worry even more because of malabsorption issues..... I am at a loss. I have no idea what to do. I feel completely overwhelmed. Thanks for listening, ~K~

I can totally relate and understand your dilemma. It is very overwhelming!! All of it! I have medical problems as well, deformities in my lower lunbar vertebrae, and a tilted hip due to it. Scoliosis. Fibromyalgia, Type 2 diabetes. I had struggled for a while to lose weight on my own to only get 35 lbs off. I had almost a 6 month stall, then I finally was able to have the sleeve. My glucose had improved some from my diet and small weight loss, but I now have normal glucose reading, and this was in the hospital! In all my 7 yrs of research, everything said I would need one of the intestinal rerouting procedures like RNY or DS to get rid of the diabetes, but I read on these boards and noticed a lot of VSG folks diabetes being cured, or "going into remission". I did NOT want to have any other procedure. I cannot explain HOW this happens and haven't found anything online to explain it, but I am happy I did this and thrilled my diabetes may be gone. The advise I would like to give you, is do NOT give up. I had 3 insurance companies deny me for surgery due to exclusions to any weight loss. I do not work, and have bad credit and could not finance. Once it looked like the funds came through for me, but something else of course came up. And I had even scheduled a date. Oh, and another time I was told by my father he would help me with the $ but then changed his mind(out of fear that something would go wrong while I was having it done). I had disappointment after disappointment trying to have this life changing life saving surgery. I went through depression due to this and out of fear of not being able to get it and leaving this world way too soon and leaving my kids without a mother. My health was getting worse, I didn't have diabetes at all when I very first started researching in 04. My mobility was severely affected by my back/hip/weight problem. I spent a LOT of time just locked up in my bedroom cause I couldn't get around without a lot of pain. I was not living. I was holding my family back from living. Well funds just suddenly kinda magically appeared out of nowhere, and was almost exactly what I needed to cover the surgery, flight, and a little extra. I feel like I have another chance at life now. I am so happy I am giddy right now from getting to be sleeved finally and already seeing major changes like my blood glucose and how I feel, and I've already lost 25 lbs just in 2wks+2days. I am so blessed and so amazed! Just keep reading, researching and never give up. If it's meant to be, it will happen!!! I am proof of that. Some state medicaid programs are beginning to cover the VSG, so start now with the dr supervised diet and making them weigh and NOTE it in your files and watch and make sure they do it. Those 6 months go a lot faster than you think. Your state may start covering it or keep a check on which states cover it. And in the meantime, watch for other ways people get to have this done. I have seen loans, inheritances, 401k's, church donations, fund raisers, there is even one Mexico dr that does some inhouse financing but usually requires a chunk of down payment.. I urge you just don't give up!! Oh and start making the changes in eating and cutting portions now, or try, so you won't be so shocked if/when you are able to do it. The worse thing that will happen is you will lose weight, even if its just a little it will help you with both the surgery and your overall goal. I hope you don't mind the advise, and good luck!!!

MystrysA, I think I'm a younger you. I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue (developed after a virus in July 2009 that wouldn't go away), in lots of pain, weird Vitamin deficiencies, unable to move move, not really having any kind of eating disorder or being a junk food junkie, just ate... too much. Too much GOOD food, but still too much. As part of (either cause or symptom) my chronic fatigue, I have very very bad chronic sinusitis... the swelling in my sinuses is almost completely solid (flesh, ew), and my immune system is constantly activated due to it, chronic inflammation too, but the same immune system wouldn't respond to minor things and I have caught EVERYTHING, had seriously crazy immune system overreactions to new/minor allergens, ended up in the ER after having a brand new food allergy, etc. I weighed about 308lbs (sans Water weight) and 312 with, just before surgery. In short: I'm a freakin mess. BUT there's an upside! I just had my sleeve on May 25 and I am already so glad I did. It caused a minor fibro flare but that's already died down. You know what's freaky? My sinuses are less clogged. They used to lock up like cement at night, or any other time I laid down, no matter where. That has improved immensely, just over a week later. The puffy black swelling around my eyes is almost gone too. For whatever reason, this surgery really works. And I feel "free" of food. My surgeon lets me have mushy foods this early out (9 days) and honestly? It's great. I don't want to eat everything. I love it. I already feel much better physically AND I feel more free. So, I'm obviously no doctor, but based on my experience, it sounds like you're making the right decision. The one other thing that's helped me is a book which you should absolutely buy, called From Fatigued to Fantastic. It's by a doctor who specializes in cfs/fms, and I've started some of his suggestions (Desyrel to improve my sleep, Diflucan to work against yeast in the sinuses/gut, D-Ribose and Magnesium for the muscles, Rhodiola Rosea for energy... had to stop that for a few weeks before/after surgery cuz it's a blood thinner tho!) and they have helped immensely as well. It's been a real life saver for me. It helped me feel human again before surgery. Please send me a private message if I can help you with anything fibro-and-sleeve related!!

great post! thank you. congratulations on your weight loss.

Hi my name is Kim. I had my bypass on 6/25/13 so I am 22 months in. I was 301 and I amd 5'7". I am niow 139. I just had my tummy tuck 4 weeks agio tiday. (3/21/15). So I am niw recovering from that. I would LOVE a buddy!!!!!!! My 'friends' that I had BEFORE surgery, most got very jealous. Said I took the easy way out. Being I amd now the thinnest one. I hear all the time, "You are TOO THIN" "YOU LOOK LIKE YOUR SICK" "When will you STOP loosing weight?" "Eat soimething" So I would love to talk to someone who is in the same shoes. My email is kimerick2008@gmail.com I am NOT a VIP so I guess we can't talk through thias website. I just found thia site 1 week ago. I wish I found it sooner. If anyone wants someone to talk to, I am HERE!!!! Look forwrd to hearing from you guys. Kim

How long did you up for calories for? You need to keep up calories for a min of a week to even see a difference. How many carbs are you getting? How many calories? Sounds to me like your body is adjusting to starvation mode and conserving itself. Don't give up, continue ahead but make changes. What worked for me during first 5 months was: no more than 35 carbs a day (I was carb sensitive and more carbs=less weight loss) 60 plus grams of protien a day Calories above 600 a day. I sometimes would be 600 and then would be 900 a day a few times a week. Then my body was not in starvation mode. You need to find what works for you. Everyone reacts differently,so don't give up. At goal, my carb limit and calories went up as I can now eat everything I did pre surgery, just less of it. Today I consume somewhere from 1200-1500 calories a day.

For those that did the 1 week liquid diet prior to surgery, how much weight did you loose during that week? I'm concerned about my BMI getting too low, so I'm curious! ????. Thanks!

I was like that yesterday and they were only ringing me to say i was been called in to start the weight loss diet so congrats and well done

Thank you Chandi. You have done an amazing job. Do you have any advice for us freshly sleeved people? In particular, so many people on hear are worried about stalls or slow weight loss. I am constantly reading that people are worried they are doing something wrong and won't be able to lose their weight. I would love your input.

I hope to be sleeved in August I have one more test tomorrow and one support group meeting and one more Nutritionists visit next month. Current weight 252 5'6/1/2.Goal is to lose 10lbs by next cisit on 8/1/13.Philly girl♥

We miss you around here! I can't believe it's been two years for you already - congrats on reaching goal but even more so for managing to keep it off with your healthier lifestyle. You're one of the few that actually looks younger now that you've lost weight, by the way. I think that the weight loss can make a lot of us that were heavy for a good while look older. I've heard many a lady lament that she swapped fat for wrinkles! Congrats again, and it's a shame you're not around speaking reason to the newbies but I understand. I take breaks now and again, too! ~Cheri

No. They go off of the weight you were prior to dieting.

Some insurances say BMI >40 and no comorbidities....call your insurance, they can tell ya! Good luck!!! HW 312, pre-op (lap-band) 294, pre-op (RNY) 255, surgery date 2/11/13, goal weight 154, current weight 225