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Hi All, Unfortunately my primary care physician is not a fan of weight loss surgery. I asked him whether or not he would recommend lap band and his response was that he does not recommend it for any of his patients. So, I am curious if there is anyone on here that has a primary care physician in Montgomery County MD (or even Frederick MD) that has recommended weight loss surgery. Thanks in advance for the help!

HW= 324 lbs. SW= 299 lbs. CW= 275 lbs. Height= 6' Age= 61 Surgery= 8/19/14 Better yet, no more diabetic drugs, no more cholesterol drugs, no more CPAP, down 4" in waist size, prior to my weight loss I had an arthritic hip and couldn't walk without unbearable pain, now it's easily bearable and getting better. The sleeve and I are getting along, it's working great, I can't overeat but I still enjoy foods and flavors, and I don't feel constantly hungry. Once I made the decision to go for the sleeve there was no turning back and I don't regret it for a moment.

Remember teenage PMS...that's what this is like. Hormone surges due to weight loss, and we can't self medicated with food like usual. Our stamina is down, Our world has changed, we are different now and see our friends and family differently. Follow Dr.s orders, rest, walk, drink. Find things to keep your brain busy. Game books like sudoku, I bought adult coloring books and paint by numbers, that a friend recommended! Stack of magazines and a handful of new books. Messy closets are the plan for the last week before returning to work. Dream, plan and breathe! This is the how the "change" happens! I warned my husband that they were taking away my pacifier so I may whimper and cry a bit!

I was initially super freaked about the hair loss thing too, then I realized that I can afford to go buy hair extensions with all the money I'm NOT spending on groceries, fast food, ect. Don't sweat it, take 2000 mg of Biotin a day to keep the hair loss at bay. I'd rather be skinny with thin hair than fat with thick hair

When I was applying for approval, I didn't have complete weight records either. So I gathered everything I could, and the weight loss program coordinator recommended that I write a letter of my own to the insurance company that she would submit with the rest of my paperwork. I didn't have official records, but IU had a good idea in my head of how much I weighed and when, so I put it all down. This is the letter I wrote, and my insurance approved: Maybe something like this would help you?

I was in a stall or so I thought that was what it was. Went almost two weeks without losing anything. I was getting really disappointed. Then, I weighed and had lost another six pounds. I was happy again. I was beginning to think I was doing something wrong. Sometimes, I get constipated and think maybe that is what's wrong. I use to eat lots of veggies, but not, it is mostly Protein. Then again, sometimes I thiink I am not going to make it to the restroom quick enough. It's a little strange but I guess it just takes getting use to. I have lost 63 pounds total since liquid diet before surgery. It will be two months on the 25th..I'm not too disappointed. I know I didn't put all the weight on over night and it will take time. Just get impatient sometimes thats all. I see how much everyone around me eats and I eat like three or four bites and thats it..just feels it should be a greater loss. I sometimes get this weird feeling, its not that I'm hungry, or indigestion, its just a weird like feeling. I can't really explain it, so I have gotten in the habit of carrying sunflower seeds around with me. I just suck on those. They have the flavored ones. It seems to help with the wanting food when I see others around me eating. That isn't all the time though, just some time. I know, I'm weird..right? lol ldpbell

When I first visited with my surgeon for weight loss surgery he asked me which procedure I was interest in then he advised me of the procedure he would recommend for me. The choice was ultimately mine. I oringally wanted the lap band but due to the amount of weight I need to lose I really was not considered a candidate for the lap band procedure. My second option was the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. Why, because with the VSG the natural flow of food would not be altered in any way. Food would enter and exit the stomach in the same manner in which I feel we were created. With the Gastric Bypass the way food leaves your stomach and entered the intestines I could not mentall grasp. The thought of re0routing the natural flow of the intestines bothered me and I could not get past it. Yes, you lose weight a lot quicker with the Bypass; however, there is a higher risk of malnutrition with this procedure. Yes, we all will take Vitamins before and after surgery; however, I personally have a cousin who had the Gastric Bypass seven years ago and from the minute her surgery was conducted she has had problems. She says she would not have changed anything for her; however, she's still sick today. I am not pointing fingers about probelms; only trying to express my mindset between the two procedures. My initial visit with my surgeon was in April, 2012. My procedure was done on September 18, 2012 so I am a little over four months post-op. My weight at my initial consult was 293; today I weigh 214 which is a total weight loss of 79 lbs. The day of surgery I weighed in at 268 which equals a total of 54 lbs. down since surgery. GREAT! I can't express how happy I am for this weight loss. I'm looking forward to the next 50 lbs. My goal weight has not been set yet. The only I have set for myself and shared with my doctor is "whenever I can do whatever i choose to do whenever I choose to do it" with regard to energy level. Choose a doctor that YOU are comfortable with and that you feel is GOOD for YOU. The office staff is important because you need a support group. The doctor I used here in Fort Worth provides a lifetime support group that you can attend at no additional cost. That's a GREAT extra you don't hear about a lot. Research the doctors in your area and go for who will be BEST for YOU. I wish you nothing but the best for your journey. Which ever procedure you decide on please follow your heart because once you have had the procedure there is no undoing it. God Bless - Have a wonderful day!

Whoo hoo! Way to go you! I'm so glad to hear about your success. It must feel so good to see less of yourself and achieve such a tremenous weight loss. I'm sure your joints thank you. Being able to get in a 16 is amazing. Pretty soon it'll be a 14, then a 12, and the nrxt thing you know you'll bbe inthe single digits club. Keep it up and keep us posted!

Hi everyone. Just wanted to update that I am 4 days post op and 7 lbs down. I was sleeved on 12/5 and it has been very little discomfort. My belly is sore of course. I have one incision site that is very sore. I have a total of 6 lap sites though. I don't have nausea really though, knock on wood. Day of surgery I felt really sick but I'm okay now. I am so grateful to have had this surgery. I know this is going to change my life. I challenge the dec groupers to post monthly photos so that we can encourage each other and see each other's weight loss. Highest weight- 242 lbs Surgery weight 12/5/16 -219 lbs Current weight- 212 lbs Goal weight- 150 lbs

Hi! I'm Chris and I am new on vertical sleeve talk. I'm currently pre-op with my surgery scheduled on September 4th. I am both extremely excited and completely nervous. I know that the VSG is the right move for me but I am nervous about the potential complications. I have had a lifelong issue with my weight. I remember going on my first diet in the third grade. I got to a point when I turned thirty that I was considering weight loss surgery, but I wanted to try and give it another shot on my own. I didn't really like the idea of the Lapband or the gastric bypass for myself, so I didn't really want to do surgery at that time. I worked with a bariatric doctor and a nutritionist and went from 326 to 207. But then the my portions grew again and the scale started to creep back up. Now at age 35, I knew I had to do something and talked with my doctor who gave me a surgical referral. When I began talking with them they told me about another surgery I didn't know about, the sleeve. After some research, I realized that was the surgery for me, it was the one I was waiting for. When I began this process I weighed 301. Right now I'm at about 270. I appreciate anybody who has advice, encouragement, or even complications to watch for. Thanks! Talk to you guys soon!

@@Swamprat hey Tex welcome welcome welcome to Bariatric Pal i've been waiting for you clean/put on your glasses look straight ahead sleeveland is right around the corner!! age (and weight) are just numbers i've seen younguns in their late teens, 20's etc on the board and more "mature" people in their 50's, 60's + "we're" as young as we feel, right!!! one month post op i turned 58 years OLD 4.5 years later i am 62 years YOUNG absorb a lot of good info from these boards plenty of books to read that will help you through WLS process ex. - "Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies" good luck enjoy the ride kathy

Hi Mary 3726, My dad lives in Conroe Texas!! I love it there. Good luck with your weight loss journey:)

Here is my cheer**- Be a loser! Be Be a loser! GIVE ME A S! GIVE ME A! GIVE ME A M! GIVE ME A U! GIVE ME A R! GIVE ME AN A! GIVE ME AN I! Be a Samurai LOSER!!!! ** by loser, I mean weight loss!!! :biggrin::thumbup::thumbup::frown:

Yes ma'am. It's very normal. Your stoma is an opening, which drains into the lower stomach - picture a funnel. Any liquid will most often flow pretty freely. It may be a bit slower than without the band, but most folks can sip pretty continuously. I wouldn't try guzzling at this point, you're liable to backup and flow over, but normal drinking or sipping should not be a problem. Once you begin mushies/soft foods you'll also notice you can pretty much eat as much of that as you want to. This is where we tell you ' just because you CAN doesn't mean you should' and you have no restriction yet so you will feel wide open until you get a fill or two which causes some restriction. Having said all of that... there are those who DO wake up with restriction right out of surgery. Remember, this is healing time. Any weight loss before your fills begin are purely bonus! Welcome to the forum! Please feel free to take the time to gather as much information as possible from all the many threads in this forum. There are so many answers free for the taking. Also, we'd love for you to go to the Introductions section and tell us a bit about how you come to get the lapband and find this forum. Again, welcome! Congrats on your banding!

What you really need to understand is that most peoples banded life will be as good as the surgeon who installs it, the aftercare they receive and patient compliance, so you have various factors of why someone may love or hate their bands. 1 How long does a band last before having to be replaced? No one knows, some people have had a band for over 12 years with no problems, some people don't last but a few months. What REALLY helps the longevity of the bands is following up with your surgeon when you need to, and reporting any adverse side effects immediately, band problems can be taken care of quickly, but time is of essence, if the patient has issues and ignore them and wait too late, a complication can happen that may require band removal. However, the band is meant to last a lifetime, but can be removed or replaced if any issues occur. I don't want to burst your bubble but with RNY IT IS NOT EFFECTIVE FOREVER EITHER, rerouting your insides and taking the required Vitamins ARE FOREVER, but the effectiveness of RNY where it HELPS with weight loss is temporary, some people dump forever (which has no correlation with keeping weight off, I have many friends that still dump over 9 years out and are STILL obese, they learned how to eat around dumping, ), which is something that many do not want. 2. Did you lose the weight faster with the plication ( more than an ave. bander)? I did not have plication. 3. How uncomfortable are refills? It depends, with some people they can be painful, can't access the port, etc, but for me, I've never had issues with fills, they only last for 1 minute, just a slight pinch and I am done. 4. What side effects, if any, are commonly experienced? Side effects will depend on how tight you keep the band (which is a choice), the tighter the band the more unpleasant side effects. But most with optimal restriction may experience slimming if they eat too fast or eat food that is too thick to pass through the band, this can be easily avoided by eating band friendly food. I've had my band for almost 8 years and I've had two bands, got the old one replaced with a new one due to a hiatal hernia, I would not change to any other procedure. Good luck

I had a bleeding ulcer also! One week out of surgery. It was very scary ! I became very sick I was also 3 days back in the hospital Like you ! I am now just 3 months out and feel much better. No issues with ulcers or gastric bleeding ! Weight loss has been steady! I'm Down 47lbs

Yes it was medically supervised weight loss I saw the doctor monthly and the weight loss program for me was self driven. Just cut way down on carbs and sugar. Lots of Protein and light exercise As for postop I don't feel like I am really doing much at this point. Just staying hydrated and getting the Protein shakes down. Stomach aches pretty much all the time but it's only been just over a week. I'm very happy I went through with the process and really feel like it will work for me long term

No Vitamin deficiency here and hair started dropping for me at the 3 month mark. I've been taking Biotin and all the other usual Vitamins we take. Still losing loads of hair. However, with my pregnancies and hysterectomy I lost zero when most lose it then too. Some people just lose it, some don't. I'm 6 months post op now and its calming down finally.

Hi everyone, I have finally made the decision to move forward with weight loss surgery. I am in my mid-40s and married with two college age kids. I was that skinny kid growing up that could eat anything. Getting pregnant was like flipping a switch. Each year, I gained more weight until reaching my highest today at 263. I have tried Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, diet pills, Vitamin shots and even denial. None have worked for me. I have a BMI of 42.4. My inner skinny girl is anxious to come out! After extensive research, I am considering the sleeve gastrectomy. So far, I attended a seminar. My appointment with the surgeon is June 18. Looks like my insurance is requiring a psych consult and nutritionist consult. Nutritionist will be done the same day. This site has already been extremely helpful. Thank you all for sharing such personal information. It really makes a difference. I will try to follow your example and do the same. Hospital - Emory Johns Creek/Atlanta Bariatric Center Surgeon - Undecided, probably William H. Johnson, MD, FACS

Congratulations! Your fears are normal. I think we all probably went through that a bit. This is actually a pretty simple surgery. Blood loss is minimal. I think the hardest part for me was the shoulder pain from the gas. But for me, that was only on and off for a couple of days. Also, the gurgling sounds that came from my stomach when I would lay down at night. I've lost almost 35 pounds now and I know I could have never done this with WW! I have no regrets! Keep checking in on the site. This is where you'll get the best encouragement and advice.

Been banded nearly 1 year now and I can tell you that after many fills and un-fills I am at a good place. I eat slowly, but I find I dont have to eat as slowly as I did when I was filled tighter. I eat anything - there is nothing off limits to me. Im at 6 cc's and I dont get anything stuck anymore. However, I spent 8 months getting stuck and throwing up. Dont thinkk going tighter means more weight loss... it didnt for me. Like others have said, not allowing anything to pass over your throat until its mush is KEY. So, no matter what you eat, IF YOU ARENT OVER FILLED, it shouldnt be a problem

Great news! Just be careful not to do too much while healing. May your continue on the path to weight loss and good health. Cheers!

I think that those of us who lost a significant amount of weight prior to surgery and are closer to goal can lose more slowly than those with more to lose or who have been losing for longer. My weight loss is slow and seems to happen in small bursts since my Jan 3 surgery. I'm finding that less weighing myself helps me not fixate on it so much. Keep doing what you need to be doing and you will get there - that's what they tell me!

@@AudreyDarling I totally feel your pain Im a Cyster as well... Here is snippet of a journal entry from last year and what I was going through briefly: Thursday 4/30 I have been working my buns off in the gym. I have to keep it up. I really want to see what would happen if I work out for 5-6 days a week straight for about 1 month. If it goes well—I’ll keep doing it. So far nothing as far as I know. No new small victories. 1 or 2 people at work complimented me and told me I was looking good. I weigh in with WW at work tomorrow. I’m hoping for 5-7lbs BUT I think it’ll be more like 2 or 3. I really wished I didn’t have to weigh because it makes things more difficult. I hate obsessing over the scale. BUT I didn’t relax this past weekend- I stayed on top of things so I don’t have many regrets. Maybe 1 or 2 which is not bad. I tried on some clothes at Lane Bryant annnnnd lets just say... it didn’t go well. I always have bad experiences there. I have to remember the last time I really shopped there, I was about 217 lbs and I felt bad then. I mean really really bad that I was such a fatty that I even had to shop there. I mean, I always looked at that store with such pity because there's no way I would ever have to shop there. REALITY CHECK!!! I think that was the first time that I accepted what I was took a deep breath and said I would just continue to try and look nice even in fat girl clothes until I get where I want to be. AND here it is Now I’m 20 lbs heavier than I was then and that’s after losing 17 lbs! So even if I get down to 217 before Vegas, I’ll still be at the weight that I was when we went up North with the family and bought a few fat girl clothes from LB for the first time but I guess I should be happy to be here than where I was 2 months ago. Hopefully in July I’ll be in the 190’s But If I can get there in June—by Vegas! I’d be Totally Happy! WHAAAAT! You couldn’t tell me NOTHING. Friday May 1 Womp womp womp. Sooooo I didn’t lose even the stupid 3 lbs that I thought I would. I only lost 0.6lbs UGH! 0.6?!? not even a full 1 lb. Really??? Ok time to get out my feelings… I knew how this would go I just had faith that it would go a lot better that I thought it would. I can’t be mad. I tracked, I exercised, I watched my portions and I didn’t use my weekly allowance. SO either I’ve gained muscle, lost inches (or an inch)or I’m retaining water and the whoosh fairy will visit me soon. Hopefully next week—That’s why I hate weighing. I’m going to keep at it though because its got to go somewhere. Until next time… Oh haven’t thought much of him today—good sign? Until 5/5--His b-day. If I can get past that (why is it so important for me I don’t know). I don’t have urges to text him or FB message him so hopefully I will stick with it. Sigh… hopefully this weekend goes ok. Its Jerry’s bday so cutting up may be in order! Cake, Hot dogs, junk in general! LOL. No I have to be good though. (sigh) SO Anyways... the above mentioned is my journal entry, the agonizing, the exercise, the battle with the scale the struggle to go no where. All the effort, all the rigidity and I wouldn't get very far. This would go in for a month and then 2 then 3 and then Id get discouraged and give up. Since I've had the surgery, I do realize that I wasn't as rigid as I'd like to believe I was. I mean I was a lot more physically active BUT I'd sneak in a bite of this and a bite of that and have a drink here and there even keeping track of it all however, if you have PCOS, you know-- there is no room for error. ZERO. You will be punished for every morsel that you think about eating. And then there was this time I got a trainer (I've worked with trainers in my thinner days) This was my first trainer since I accepted that I was officially a fat girl. He put me on this strict diet for 14 days, and we were working out 5 days a week and I was eating eggs, grilled chicken and like orange slices. Drinking a gallon a day, although I could only manage to get in 70 oz... The time came to weigh in and I was supposed to lose like 10 lbs or more. Well I only lost like 2 or 3 maybe. He was scratching his head, asking if I had cheated but deep down he knew how committed I was to this journey and finally said. Ok well we just have to do the work. It was a devastating blow not because I have to do the work but because I was only 32 and having trouble losing weight to that extreme. I didn't want to believe that pCOS could do this to ME! I finally threw in the towel. I had the surgery. Because although I probably could do it on my own-- I couldn't do it on my own. The calorie restriction, the carb restriction without the sleeve, I couldn't do it. So on those days where I probably would have a little more on my plate, or have a little extra bite here or there the sleeve reminds me mentally FIRST, then physically... NO. I'm 6 weeks, and I've lost 30lbs. Most people lose weight during the period leading up to surgery, and then a few more lbs during the 2 week pre op diet. So the weight loss varies from person to person. I did not lose much weight prior to surgery. (actually this journal entry was 3 months into my medically supervised weight loss program with my surgical team) I was doing weight watchers at work, and exercise programs offered on site at my job (Zumba, Kickboxing) plus going to the gym, riding my bike etc. So far, I think the sleeve is great! And for the first time In a long time I feel like I'm getting somewhere, which only peaks my confidence and makes me WANT to do more to help the process along. I'm starting to feel more energetic, I'm increasing my activity level, I spent Sunday doing Meal prep for the week and I enjoyed it!!!! I'm already thinking of ideas for next week. I've gotten my 12 year old daughter involved in the process of exercising and planning back to school lunches and Snacks. She's overweight and although I didn't have PCOS until 29, I'm aware that she could have it. I have to lead by example and everything that I do affects her. I don't want to lose the weight and leave her behind. I want her to get there with me!! She's lost 4 lbs this week!! GOOD luck to you!!!!!!!!

I think it would be a great idea for you to talk to your doctor about this and maybe get an xray. Loss of height can be incredibly abnormal. Sure, some shrinkage is normal with age, but if your loss was 1.5 inches in a short amount of time then it might be a symptom of something more sinister. Vertebral crush fractures will cause height loss, these can happen if osteoporosis runs in your family or for a number of other reasons. In any case, call your primary care physician and get seen. Don't sit on it.