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Through this whole process what was the hardest thing for you?

I started Welbutrin on Tuesday, and I'm about to crawl out of my skin. I feel nervous and jittery. I also have constant ringing in my ears. I can't wait until tomorrow when I can call my Dr. and ask how to stop taking this. My Dr. and I were trying this to see if it would help with weight loss--I have not been banded yet. I suffered from depression years ago and took Prozac. I never had any problems with it, so I didn't think anyting of taking Welbutrin. It's definitely helped with my appetite. I don't feel like eating anything, partly because I feel nauseas. I would rather be fat than feel this way. I don't think I want to wait a month to see if the symptoms will go away. Has anyone had a similar experience with horrible side effects?

I'm assuming my new tummy is pretty swollen because I'm definitely not getting in the ounces or calories I thought I would be. I was actually pretty nervous about following the post-op liquids only diet but it's been much better than I thought. I am trying to stay hydrated and not be overly concerned with Protein right now. My liquid diet so far is as follows: Breakfast - 3 oz. of warm tea mixed with 1 spoonful of unjury unflavored Protein powder Snack - 2-3 oz. of Water or water mixed w/ crystal light lunch - 2-3 oz. of warm low sodium chicken broth mixed with 1 spoonful of Unjury Snack - about 1/2 a container of Jell-O, 2-3 oz water dinner - 3 oz. of warm tea (or broth) mixed with 1 spoonful of Unjury unflavored protein powder Water whenever I think of it. Sip, sip, sip! Gas pains are getting better as I've been walking. I haven't walked outside yet because we are having nasty Santa Ana winds today I am following this liquid diet for another 9 days so hopefully it'll be this easy next week! genepha lapband replaced, plication performed 2-7-11 Starting weight 281, I gained 2 lbs. in the hospital so my SW was 283 , Today I weigh 274

Hi Wendy, I had my sleeve on May 7, lost almost 60 lbs (yay me!) and have not had my belly button hernia repaired. I have not had any pain, I thought that as I lost the weight, the bulge would become more prominent but I honestly can't see it anymore, I do have a bit of excess skin so that's definitely a factor. I'm scheduled for an ultrasound in a couple of weeks and my PCP thinks it was a good decision from my Mexico doctor not to touch it. I'll have to wait and see. Since every case is unique, I hope you find the doctor, group or facilitator that fits your needs. Seems like most of the folks on this site are very happy with the service and the support. I'm 50+ and was initially traveling to Tijuana alone so I looked for a facilitator that would cater to that. I did not want a mini-vacation or shopping trips, I wanted to focus on my surgery and recovery. In the end my daughter came with me which was great, but my facilitator was golden. Let me know if you have any questions about the process and I'll be happy to share what I know.

Hi all! Just checking in. So far I'm down about 12 pounds from my weight the date of the surgery. I've been walking almost daily, except the last two days. Got back on the treadmill with a vengeance today. 64 minutes walking plus about 15 minutes of yoga. This is the last weekend before I go back to work. Each day, I learn something a little different about how to be successful. Like organizing my meds and vitamins. Hope everyone is doing great!

Yes, it is certainly is a good feeling to see that scale drop! But just remember, it isn't real. You have not had anything to eat in weeks. Eventually you will return to normal, and begin to eat normal food again. So don't get bummed out when that begins. You will then begin the next phase of being banded, and then you will see the real-permanent weight loss begin.

Welcome! My weight gain came on with hypo-thyroidism also. Welcome to the group! My surgery is April 8th.

Hello! My name is Heather and I am 25 years old. I have been battling with being obese since the age of 13. When I was 13 I gained 73 lbs. in 1 yr and no clue why. When I was 15 I was told that I have hypothyrodism and that was the reason for my weight gain. I have had a stable TSH level for over 1 yr now. I was just put on medication for having hypertension and also acid reflux. I seen my bariatric coordinator today and I have decided that the sleeve is the way to go. I am 5'4", 224 lbs and I have a BMI of 38.6. I am waiting for the call from my surgeon after they recieve the papers from my family doctor. I am hoping to have surgery the middle or end of July. I am ready to become more healthy and prove to my children that being obese is not the way to live.

I tend to be honest with other obese people. As far as normal weight or skinny people, unless I'm pretty close to them (in which case, they knew about the surgery from the get-go), I just give them the lifestyle answer ("I'm on a low carb diet, exercise a lot, and am working with a dietitian"). All true - I just omit the surgery part.

I told NO ONE except my husband, brother, and my kids. My parents, friends and co-workers do not know I had surgery. When asked, I have two responses: 1) "Over 90% of people who lose weight gain it all back. Please ask me in a year and if I am successful in this process, I will share with you then." 2) "I am working very hard to lose and maintain permanent weight loss. You are welcome to do what I am doing: NO wheat, no sugar, no alcohol, no soda, no juice, no caffeine (by this time I have already lost them), no processed food, no refined grains, no artificial sweeteners/colors/flavors, low carb, high protein, lots of veggies, intermittent fasting, and a 1-2 hours of exercise a day." I would consider a heart-to-heart with an obese person who seems to be at rock bottom and willing to do whatever it takes. BUT... interestingly, no morbidly obese people have asked - only overweight people who need to lose 20 or 30 pounds. Surgery is not for them, but healthy lifestyle is what they need to focus on, so that is what I share. Some have appeared genuinely interested, but a couple of days later I see them eating cupcakes and junk, so it seems there are more curiosity seekers than those who are really ready to make changes.

I suppose that’s the benefit of forums such as this. It allows you to express ALL you feel/go through with weight loss surgery, good, bad or otherwise. Least you can vent here and connect with people who can relate you know.

Is this true of all VSG patients? Your post makes me concerned. I’ve never had sgy but am willing to do this to get my health back on track now before I really develop serious issues. Many of mine all stem from being obese. I would hate to lose the weight, only to regain it all back and be back at square one. I suppose all I can do is try.

I understand your frustration. If I had it to do again I wouldn’t have the surgery. Having the runs, general discomfort with eating one bite too much and food not tasting as good as it once did. I’ve been hammered for expressing my thoughts but, so be it. I’ve also noticed others that have had the surgery, in a few years, have gained their weight back. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm sorry you had a rough recovery. I had a mini bypass March 16th and couldn't be happier. Have you discussed your concerns with your surgeon or dr? Weight loss surgery does change your internal body rhythm so you might need to adjust diet and speak with a dietician? Good luck xx

My name is Susi, and this is my first time here on this forum. I have not been banded yet, but am starting to take the first baby steps towards getting the surgery!. I am 47n yrs old, and I have 3 grown kids:Jesse,age 24, Jeremy,age 23 and Kaity, age 19. I am a kindergarten teacher by profession, but am not currently working because of health issues. Much of the weight that I have gained has been in the past 3 years that I have not been working. I have struggled with my weight ever since I had my first son. I've not done the diet thing, I always thought I would fail. I did lose a considerable amount of weight caused by the side effects of medications I was taking at the time which caused me to have a sort of anorexia. But I soon began to gain weight again, this time again due to medications I was taking. I am called an undereater by some because I really don't eat much, but others say that I am a grazer... so I don't know what category you'd put me in! All I know is that I am extremely overweight and want to do something about it! I have many questions, and I think I'll be able to get them answered here! I am glad that I found the forum!

This is true, as is Water weight gain, that can happen too, but it will come off. That's why once you start the mushie stage, you will begin to see what is really coming off. You will count calories, and slowly see it come off. Go to myfitnesspal.com and sign up. It's free, and allot of us are there keeping track of calories, Protein, exercise, and more. It can even calculate what you could lose it a number of weeks. You can view other peoples Diary, and see how, and what they are eating. Also it's all kept in memory. That's why I say a loss is a loss. Sometimes it will keep going, or plateau, or gain some back. So Celebrate ! Your trying to do this, and your getting there one way or the other. I am Losingintime on MFP site.

I had my surgery on the 10th. I was lost 8 pounds on the pre op diet (I weighed myself the morning I went to the hospital). The day I got home from the hospital, I gained back the 8 pounds because they constantly pump you with fluids. I weighed myself again this morning and I am down a total of 15 pounds. It will happen. Some people are slower losers, some are quick. In the past, I have been a very slow loser so I expect this rapid weight loss to slow down. As long as the scale is going down, I am okay with that. You will lose weight if you follow all your doctor recommendations.

Hi Doxiegal, I have to say that I doubt you'll be successful in this Quest, at least now. Insurance carriers are really not interested in investing money for preventive procedures, which is what banding you would be. At this point you are close enough to a normal weight for conventional methods to make a big difference in your health (or so the thinking would go). The day may come when the insurance community takes a longer view at health care, and realizes that a healthier society now will save them (and us all) money down the road. But sad to say that day is not yet here. Just my POV, and I would very much like to be wrong. Good luck!

Depending on your insurance requirements and the requirements of the surgeon, you will complete pre-op testing (usually a psychologist visit, physical therapist, nutrititional evaluation, metabolic testing, complete blood tests, sleep study, etc). Some insurance companies require a 3-6 month diet. Some require a list of all diets you've ever tried with corresponding time frames and weight lost. It really can vary.

Interesting...I wonder if this is a long-term outcome that was unanticipated. I had a Lap-Band that slipped within 2 months and I waited almost 1 year until insurance would pay to fix it. It was ridiculous-I had to lie down to eat without throwing up. I had the sleeve revision on 12/27/11. It was actually pretty good for the first 2-3 years although I am now 100% reliant on Prevacid daily. It is AWFUL if I am even a few hours later with the dosage. Some days the 1 Prevacid won't cut it and I need to chew on Tums or something because it feels like a heart attack. Fast forward 7 years out. The GERD is over the top ridiculous and I find myself eating things to just keep my tummy from throwing up the food I eat. Last year I started having huge problems with malabsorption. My surgeon told me I was crazy because the sleeve doesn't cause that. My typical "blame it on myself" alongside my "I am embarrassed I have gained weight back" self just went quietly on while watching my blood chemistry get all jacked up. When I had to get IV transfusions of iron I knew I had to get answers. I have bounced from specialist to specialist. I do not have a disease based issue. It has to be anatomical. I am seeking an opinion from a new surgeon to get a new point of view. Hope she is worth her salt because I am truly sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am starving nutritionally even though the sleeve isn't supposed to do that. I can only pray that answers are found and insurance will pay for a revision. I have been reading quite a few peer-reviewed journal articles about this phenomena. They correlate what I am finding and say what I am claiming is indeed real and a duodenal switch or RNY is my answer. I avoided bypass due to malabsorption but I think I need to stop crying over spilled milk because I am indeed here and the issues need to be addressed. I am currently 33.8 BMI so "obese" but nowhere near where I started. I have read that RNY is a better bet than the switch for my situation. The duodenal switch promises permanent weight loss but GERD is still prevalent in those revisions. All I can say is: NOOOOO! Bad road! Long post to ask if anyone has had similar issues and found success with RNY revision from their sleeve? Is anyone in the same place I am and just trying to find answers? I feel so dumb that all of my initial research was worthless because here I am with basically a self-inflicted life long problem. Add in the "I failed" thoughts and psychologically I have regressed to the blame game stage. Ugh! Would love to hear from you if you can relate to this posting. Please tell me if you are RNY patient and love it. I really fear it for the exact reason I am seeking help-the malabsorption and GERD. Teachkdz0507

My nutritionist explained it this way. Our bodies need a certain amount of Protein and Vitamins and minerals every day to stay healthy and keep our muscle mass. This can be done on 800-1000 calories with nearly PERFECT food choices. Fat people have excess energy stored (as fat). So as long as we've covered what we need to stay healthy and keep our muscle mass (the 800-1000 calories of healthy food to get in the new vitamins, minerals, protein we need), no matter how much you exercise, you don't "need" extra food because you have stored energy for your body to burn. That said, if you do very long workouts (high cardio workouts over 90 minutes -- i.e. distance biking, running, etc.), your body uses all the glycogen (readily available energy in the blood) it has and you can feel weak until your body has a chance to convert fat in storage into glycogen. Hence why endurance athletes, even ones with excess fat, sometimes need to eat/drink calories while exercising or just after exercising. When I'm in heavy marathon training (weeks where I'm running more than 30 miles per week), I probably eat 400 calories more per day than other times. I wake up hungry at 2 a.m., something that was never a problem for me, even when dieting, before I was an endurance athlete. I guess what it comes down to is, I don't believe you need excess calories overall TO BE HEALTHY in terms of your vitamins, minerals, and protein just because you're an endurance athlete, if you're still trying to lose weight, except possibly WHILE you're exercising. That's not to say that you won't be hungrier -- you might be -- and if you are and if it works for you to eat a little more, that's ok too. But you don't "need" it, if that makes sense.

Thank you for the encouragement. It helps to know that I'm not in this completely alone. There are people out there that know exactly what I'm going through and the struggles I am having. I agree that it would do me a lot of good to talk to someone about my issues, I need to find a healthier way of coping with things. I've been telling mysef all day that "tomorrow is the day"!! I plan on loading my ipod with music and start with one lap around the block... it is certainly better than sitting in the house doing nothing. And your right, I would really regret not putting forth the effort for these past couple of years for nothing. If you don't mind me asking did you have to lose any weight before surgery? I'm finding it hard to find different variety of things to eat. I live in a very small town in the bootheel of Missouri and our two grocery stores don't carry a wide variety of fresh vegetables. I do have to say since my diet I cook a lot healthier for the whole family and they seem to like it. If you have any suggestions for meal plans or recipes I would be forever greatful. And again, thank you for your response.

I am weight training. I got a new book about lifting for women called "the new rules of lifting for women" and have begun using that as my starting off point in my workouts. Prior to that I was doing 2 small group weight training classes, 3 times a week. I have changed gyms and so am on my own right now, but I am thinking of setting up an appointment at least once a month with a personal trainer. Just to make sure that my training is covering all that it needs to and to keep me accountable.

I'm new to the whole forum thing, I don't really know where to start. I'm 30 years old and weigh 407 lbs, I have been over weight for most of my life. I'm planning on having Gastric Bypass Surgery, we're shooting for August... all I have to do is lose 50 lbs and stop smoking. I've accomplised the not smoking part and I have also cut out drinking any and all sodas (Coca Cola is my vice). My journey actually started about two years ago. In 2012 I found a surgeon who took my insurance and got an appoointment, I had to drive 4 hours to get to each and every appointment, I even got my physc eval out of the way. Several months later I found out that the surgery was being offered in a city less than two hours away from my hometown. I contacted that office and it was no problem at all transferring. I had to redo some of the appointments and evaluations but I was determined and willing to do whatever it took. I met with my nutritionist, I had to lose 50 lbs before I could meet with the surgeon to talk about surgery. So, I started my diet and exercise. Three weeks later I was down 17 lbs... I was over the moon and on the right track. A few weeks later I got a letter in the mail stating the my surgeon had left the hospital, so surgery was out of the question at this point. Many months went by and I ended up losing my job, my insurance, my motivation.... it became a really dark time for me. Now, here we are, it's 2014; I haven't worked in about 5 months... I feel as if not to many people are willing to hire a 400 lb woman (at least that's how I feel). Being couped up in the house over these past few months I have very anti-social and get anxiety when it comes to leaving the house. I was able to find another surgeon, had my physc eval, met with the dietician and have all my pre-op testings scheduled. Now all I have to lose 50 lbs and surgery is a go!! I've been really strict with what I am eating and I'm writing everything down. My husband thinks I'm being a little obcessive about it but I have to be strict with myself. It's been three weeks since I have started dieting and I'm down about 13 lbs but now I'm at a complete stand still. I'm still sticking to the diet, 1500 calories or less a day but I can't motivate myself to exercise. Every time I start my exercises there is always something else I think of that I need to do instead. I keep thinking that something is always going to stand in the way of me having surgery. And I realize the only person standing in my way, is me. I just don't know what to do to change how I'm feeling. I'm in need of some big time encouragement!!

You know, I never kept tabs of how much i lost month by month. I know I was at 171 day of my sleeve (down from 239 with the band). I do know by June I hit my goal of 139. However, the inches came flying off! And keep in mind, we all lose weight so differently. I see some folks on here are down 60 lbs after a few months (WOW!!). Envious of that..took me a year on the band to lose 68 lbs. ugh! I set baby goals for myself..10 lbs at a time... And as for how youll look, you'll look FABULOUS!!! no worries there honey.