Search the Community

Thanks, guys Even though all of us are HELLA sick right now, it feels good to have something to celebrate. 39 pounds and I'm under 300!!! I now have less weight to lose to get to my first goal than I've already lost. That feels REALLY good to say Edited to add: I'm averaging 16.66 pounds per month lost. That's 5.55 pounds per week. Average weight loss is roughly 2-3 pounds per week, and I'm double that! When I break it down like this, it really helps me recognize and celebrate my accomplishments. Especially when it sometimes feels like it's taking soooo loooong.

just realized I said the loose skin was really bad on my arms and legs. I meant my stomach and legs. My arms have some but I never had really big arms for my size so it doesn't bother me there. But my stomach and legs are bad, and my back around my waist and upper back. I'm not gonna lie. Sometimes I look in the mirror and it makes me feel sad. After losing so much weight, it would be nice to look in the mirror and see a nice, toned body, but whatever. My face is actually what bothers me most, because I have the under eye bags that run in my family now and wrinkles I didn't have before. I always heard "you have such a pretty face if only you'd lose weight." Well now I don't have that. Sigh. But my husband still thinks I'm beautiful, although he always has even at my highest weight. I've done so much soul searching over the years and there was a time that I felt that no matter what accomplishment, I would never be good enough because I was still fat. At some point I realized that was ridiculous and accepted myself fat or not, so I went into this with a pretty good attitude about my body, but that doesn't mean I don't look in the mirror sometimes and think wtf!!?! But then I put my size medium or large clothes on and feel pretty darn good, because I wear an AVERAGE size now. Like you, I'll probably not get plastics, except possibly a panniculectomy because I have issues with that area. I have a consult next month. The rest of it, I'll just have to live with. And like you said, it is better than those extra 200 pounds I was carrying around. I am proud I was able to lose over 200 pounds, and I know you know that feeling. There aren't a lot of people who have that much to lose! I think it sounds like you had realistic expectations and again, what you have accomplished is amazing! Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app

Had my surgery 7/22. I had no gas pain but definitely pain from the Laproscopic surgery, especially on the right side. I was the last surgery of the day and I stayed overnight in recovery. They didn't have me up and walking until about 5:00am to go to the bathroom. Getting out of bed that first time was painful. It gets better though. I barely lost weight on the Pre-op diet - maybe 4 lbs. I weighed myself the second day after surgery and was up 4.2 lbs. I was bloated from the IV and constipated. Will weigh again when I feel my bloat has gone away. Things I was immediately grateful for after surgery were chapstick, extra long phone charging cord, and my sleeping mask that has built-in speakers. Seriously, those were the only items I used out of my well-packed and well-prepared hospital bag. I stopped taking the oxycodone after the second day and am just on extra strength Tylenol, muscle relaxer, and stool softener. I don't feel hungry and am drinking a combination of protein shakes, chicken broth and popsicles. I am almost up to 64 ounces of water too.

Yes! Between the weight loss and getting started on HRT (I’m 52 and menopausal) my libido is as high as it’s ever been. One of the many benefits of this surgery :)

Congrats on your weight loss. I feel you about the stalls. I'm glad yours broke.

Congrats on the weight loss!!

My plan lists 3 months of medically supervised weight loss program and nutrition classes, nutritional counseling, as well as psych eval. It was the 1 year @ BMI 40 and evidence of attempted weight loss which threw me. I think I found a good program, but will wait to see how the first consult goes and see if I need another. I just got a new PCP and didn't discuss with her... but also doesn't say a referral is required soooo 😬

It's kind of hard to describe, but even though I'm tired and weak, it is offset by the fact that getting around is so much easier without the extra 200 pounds. It is a different kind of tired, I guess. I wouldn't say I have a lot of saggy skin on my face, but I look older because my face just looks boney, compared to the youthful chubby cheeks I used to have. I didn't do this for looks, but if that is important to you, weight is the #1 most important thing to how most people perceive your looks. No matter how saggy your face gets, society, in general, is so fat-phobic that people will still think you look better thin than fat. I don't think skin removal surgery is a must, but I do think it's important to be realistic and know that just because you weigh a lot less doesn't mean you'll necessarily have a bikini-ready body. It's good that you are thinking about these issues before surgery! I see so many people on this forum who have the surgery without really knowing what to expect and having a lot of unpleasant surprises. I think if you make your decision with your eyes wide open, you can be confident that you did the right thing even when things are rough.

Hi love! It sounds like my insurance and I have Blue Cross Blue Shield. They're pretty lenient on what considers a comorbidity. Mine is PCOS and just having the disease of being obese. I basically told my program "Throughout my whole life I have tried numerous diets and it is always the yo-yo effect of an up and down weight" Not really evidence I had to show but a good amount of backstory of why different diets and other weight loss program didn't work. Do you take any medication for high cholesterol?

According to the benefits brochure in the bariatric surgery section an "individual with a BMI of 35 or more with one or more comorbidities" is eligible for the procedures listed. What are the specific comorbidities have you been approved with if you had a BMI between 35-40. I have had documented high cholesterol in the last year, but I am not sure it is enough. I am currently at a BMI over 40, but that was only documented at a doc visit in May, I've been over 35 for years though. Additionally, were you required to show "Evidence that attempts at weight loss in the 1-year period prior to surgery have been ineffective". Has anyone used their data from Peloton classes? I did those consistently last year, but not this year... regardless, they didn't move me below a BMI of 35. Hoping all this plus that I am now over BMI 40 is in my favor. Meeting with the doc in the next couple weeks.

My OBGYN said my periods would get less heavy as I lose more weight. Still waiting for that to happen. I am in week 8 with 40lbs down, periods are same as before. Right on time and heavy. Sent from my SM-G986U using BariatricPal mobile app

Yeah, I didn't do this for my looks, either, but sometimes it can be jarring to see myself. I also have that sense of not recognizing myself (and yet, when I see pictures of myself from before, I also think, "Woah, was I really that big?!"). I never planned to have plastic surgery. I like to think my expectations were pretty realistic, and I knew that I would have loose skin but that it would be a lot better than having all that extra weight. I considered it for a while because of all the people on this site who have done it and are glad they did, but now I'm back to thinking that I just need to remember how far I've come and that I'm lucky to look the way I do now. It's cool to find other people who have come as far as I have because there aren't a lot of people in the world who know what it's like to lose 200 pounds!

Every Aetna plan is different. Choice POS II is the network, meaning you can see in or out of network providers. If you have coverage through an employer sponsored plan, you need to review the plan details because some employers exclude bariatric surgery. Aetna does require six months of an approved weight loss plan as part of their clinical review-this seems to be standard across the board. Your best bet is to call Aetna Customer Service directly who can give you the rundown on if it's covered, what is covered, clinical criteria, estimated out of pocket expense, and recommended providers.

Well my BMI is only 35 and now I’ve lost weight my surgery is about at the end of the year. I know I can get off my weight even 10% but it comes back soon. So I’d like to hope surgery helps to remain weight loss as my body doesn’t feel so much hunger after MGB? Am I right?

I think you should get the surgery done. I was sort of in similar boat few YEARS ago. Basically I finally build the courage to go with the surgery and started my research and started to lose some weight I think it was 40lbs and then though oh if I can lose this much I don’t need surgery. I was wrong. Soon I hit a stall and to move the stall I was told to have some extra carbs and calories and then it was just so hard. I regret not getting the surgery. so few years later I’m back on researching gastric bypass and scheduled my seminars at 2 hospitals.

Currently on Pre-op Diet and I lost 8 then stalled a day and now I'm up an lb. I'm assuming water weight but of course, It was frustrating seeing the scale go back up. Our bodies are so weird in how they work!

Good afternoon, I have Aetna. I was told that I have to complete 6 months of an approved weight loss plan. I started an approved weight loss plan a couple of months ago, but not sure if it's acceptable or not because it wasn't with a dietician. Prior to consulting with the surgeon, I contacted Aetna directly and asked what were some of the requirements, and what my out of pocket expense would be. I wish you much success!

I have Aetna Choice POS II and it paid for everything connected to my bypass three years ago (aside from my annual deductible). They did require six months of a structured weight loss program. I had finished one six months earlier (a last-ditch effort to lose weight), and they counted it even though it wasn't right before surgery. I would also note that Aetna turned me down the first time and my surgeon had to call them directly before they finally approved me. Good luck. It's worth it, no matter how long it takes to get approved!

I have PCOS and have super abnormal periods. I was spotting for almost a year (sometimes heavy) before surgery. When I was losing weight rapidly post-surgery in the first month my period stopped and became normal for the first time in my life. Now I have an IUD to drop my estrogen levels down so I don't end up having uterine cancer in the future. I don't have any kids and would love to be able to get pregnant so my doctor recommended the IUD for hormonal purposes.

Anyone else have a sex drive that has gone into overdrive since losing weight post WLS?

I was post-menopausal when I had surgery, so I wasn't affected at all, but many younger women experience changes in their cycles, moodiness, etc the first few months after surgery. It's supposedly because estrogen is stored in fat cells, and a lot of it is released during rapid weight loss. It stabilizes again after the first few months, though.

Ok, ladies… this is the stuff many of us wonder about but don’t talk enough about… we all understand the impact of our hormones and cycles on our lives, but how does the presurgical diets, surgery and post surgical steps impact your hormones and cycles? Did it have little to no impact? Leave you a quivering mess? Make periods come more or less often? Or randomly? experiences from any stage of the process and stage of life is helpful!! I am pre-surgical but have been loosing weight and my cycles have gotten longer and less consistent when I have them (it also could partially be my age of 42). I also used to feel a hormone surge right before my cycle would start and that has shifted. I am going to talk to my regular dr in two weeks about me, but wanted to hear other experiences. Thanks for sharing!!

You need to careful. It's awful early to start slipping. With this surgery there is a promise we make to ourselves to eat better. It would be upsetting to say the least if you went through major surgery and A) lost and then gained it all back or not lose all the weight you want to in the first place. You are also still healing. Be kind to your tummy. This is an opportunity to succeed where you may have struggled before, you got this. Shake off the slip and come back more committed then ever. You can do this!

you need to watch this. It's very easy to slip back into old habits and stall your weight loss permanently - or worse yet, gain all the weight back. I almost never went off plan until I hit maintenance at 20 months out.

So, here's the backstory... in 2016 I was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia (it's a condition that causes chronic facial pain that is so horrific that it's recognized as one the most painful conditions known to mankind and has garnered the nickname 'Suicide's Disease') and I have both 'Typical' and 'Atypical' TN and I had a flare that lasted 10 months and I was in so much pain that I had many moments where I would think of ending my life to escape the horrific pain. My family was the only reason that I held out. I tried to take it day by day, but it was horrific. It's like being dropped into hell while still being alive. Having to live every moment where every tooth in my mouth hurt from the inside out and it feels like needles were digging into my jaw. And THEN I would get stabbed in the face by a scalding hot poker that twists and twists and twists and twists and then pulls out and repeats endlessly. I was in excruciating pain every second of every single day for 10 MONTHS! I felt like I was slowly going insane. I would get 'power naps' of like 5-15 minutes when I would get a miraculous break in the stabbing pain, even though the tooth and jaw pain stayed, because I was so exhausted. On average the power naps would maybe equal 1-2 hours of sleep a day. Though there were days I didn't sleep at all. AND I had to sleep sitting up because laying down was a trigger. But finally after 10 months I had something called an MVD (Microvascular Decompression) in May 2017 which is a type of brain surgery and that was the end of that particular flare and the pain. However, Trigeminal Neuralgia doesn't have a cure. The brain surgery was basically putting a patch on it and hoping that it held out for years. The brain surgery was for the left side of my face, but I have Trigeminal Neuralgia on BOTH sides (just the right rarely flare and if it did it was usually only 3-5 days TOPS and then it wouldn't bother me for MONTHS. One time it didn't flare for 22 months which is almost two YEARS. For reference, I was officially diagnosed in 2016, but I've had TN since 2010). In September 2021 I started getting eye twitches (on both sides) and then other facial twitches and I KNEW it was coming back because the twitches are symptoms of an oncoming flare. I remarked to my family members in absolute fear and panic that I felt that it was going to come back. It's been my biggest fear of it coming back. Then in April of this year it hit. The right side started to flare (with random ass flares on the left as well) and at first I could withstand the pain, but it got worse and then I was put on Gabapentin and I gained 18 friggin' pounds! I couldn't stop taking it because I was in so much pain that the meds were keeping me sane. However, I kept having to increase the dose because the pain was getting worse and worse. I ended up taking the max dose and then one night the pain was so bad that I was sobbing on my bed and the thoughts of just taking a handful of the pills hit me and it scared me. I went to the ER the next day and they were so busy that I had to wait three hours in the waiting room while I was sobbing in pain in a chair while strangers kept staring at me because I was curled up in a fetal position in a chair sobbing my eyes out because I was in so much pain and it's breezy in there and that was making it WORSE! I knew from experience that I had to do the research myself because the doctors don't know crap about Trigeminal Neuralgia because it's rare and they don't know how to treat it (it's usually treated by a neurologist. But there are none in my county that take my insurance). So I gave the doctor my list of medications and told her that Oxcarbazepine worked well with Gabapentin and so she gave me enough to last me until I could get into see my PCP. And miraculously it WORKED! I was able to slowly lower my dosage of Gabapentin by HALF (I was taking 3600mg which is max dose. Now I take 1800mg) and take 900mg of Oxcarbazepine. And because I was able to drop my dosage of Gabapentin I've been able to drop 12 of the 18 pounds I gained, but the last 6 pounds just will not come off! I'm still having a flare. I still feel the pain in my face, but it's muted (mostly. Don't stick me in a breezy room or the pain worsens. And sometimes eating sets it off and makes it worse. And sometimes lying down sets it off too. Also, cold or hot things will sometimes set it off. Yeah, eating is not fun. At all. Also, I don't sleep at night because it flares worse at night). I'm supposed to be going to have acupuncture for my Trigeminal Neuralgia next week and my hope is that it'll fully take the flare away. I also FINALLY get to see a neurologist in three weeks though I have to drive two hours away to see one because no one near me takes my insurance. I have a sneaking suspicion that the flare is actually caused by my Mast Cell Activation Syndrome because I've been having more and more issues with rashes lately (though when my face originally started to flare in April my MCAS was fine. May and June too were fine, but this month my rashes have gotten bad and so has my joint pain which is caused by osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, which the fibromyalgia is suspected to be caused by the MCAS). To top it off I can't figure out why my face is so damn greasy. I mean I was using topical lidocaine on my face to help with pain management for my TN (in addition to the anticonvulsants, i.e the gabapentin and oxcarbazepine, I take over the counter stuff like Tylenol, Tumeric Curcumin, and Alpha Lipoic Acid to help with pain management) but I had an allergic reaction from overuse (I'm assuming) called Petechiae (which caused red spots on my eyelid) so I stopped using it, but my face has been super greasy every since. And I've been losing more hair lately almost like when I was in the weight loss phase of my surgery. I know it's one or both of the anticonvulsants, but I can't stop taking either one so I'm not sure what to do. So yeah. Just felt like venting my frustration. It's been a rough three months (almost four) and I just needed to unload. If you've read this far, thank you. If you have advice on the greasy face, hair loss, or how to lose the extra 6 pounds while taking two anticonvulsants that make it damn near impossible then please help! If you have any experience with Trigeminal Neuralgia or MCAS and have advice then please share that as well...