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I had lost 100 lbs 8 years ago but had gained 80 of it back in about 5 years and I had developed asthma. I was no longer enjoying the meals I was eating and had even developed GERD. I was baking every day during the pandemic and eating a ton of sweets and even though I didn't have any major health problems, the little health problems were adding up. And I know that my doctor and even my parents were suggesting it years earlier but I wasn't ready to hear it. Not sure what the actual moment was, but I remember being really uncomfortable in my own skin, and I emailed my PCP and asked for a referral, then started reading everything I could find on WLS.

I had bypass, but the hair loss issue is the same since it's due to trauma to the body (from the surgery) and the super low number of calories we're eating the first few months. it's pretty rare for it to fall out in clumps. It's usually just shedding. And not everyone loses hair. I lost a little, but not enough for anyone to notice. In fact for most of us, we're the only ones who notice it. the jury is out on biotin. Some people say it helps, others say it did nothing at all. Honestly, I'd focus on making sure you're meeting your supplement and protein requirements so it's not any worse than it would be otherwise. Mine lasted from months 5-9. it grows back. I think i can speak for those of us a ways out in that in the grand scheme of things, the hair loss is a blip on the screen and is a small price to pay for being able to lose all that weight.

I would imagine you are going to have to maintain this 11lb weight loss until surgery. That will be the hard part. There are lots of different diets to try, finding one that fits you is best. Do you cook or buy in ready made foods ? What foods would you find most difficult to give up ? My biggest downfall would have been my love of noodles and rice dishes so I had to find replacements for them. You will loose weight on the protein shakes but it will be difficult to maintain it unless you continue through to your surgery. What diets have you tried before ?

1week post opp had surgery march 31 went to see my doc on April 7th lost 20 pds Sent from my SM-A326U using BariatricPal mobile app

Well, I intuitively ate myself into morbid obesity, so I'm very much in the calorie counting camp. I need the structure and control. I'm gaining a sense of calories by sight the further along I am, which will be as intuitive as I get. More power to people who can intuitively eat and not relapse into the same errors and disordered eating, but I don't believe I'll ever be one of those.

So I’m in the part of the bariatric program where I have to lose a percentage of weight to qualify. Now that may not sound like very much but for someone who doesn’t lose weight easily at all it’s a little bit more harder for me. This is only 11 pounds, once I lose that I do a weight check in and then I get my surgery date. Once I get closer to that surgery date then I have the two week preop liquid diet. I need help and support as to how to start the weight loss going? Should I just go ahead and go into the liquid pre-op diet to lose the initial wait to get in and get my date?

it's actually a lot more common to not make it to goal than it is to lose too much weight. Only about 10-15% of bariatric patients make it to a normal BMI, let alone lose too much. You will find some who do - but they're few and far between.

I'm not afraid of losing too much weight, I'm more concerned that I won't lose enough. But my BIG worry is what I'm hearing about how bad the gas pain is. I had my gallbladder out in 97 when I was 4 1/2 months pregnant with my son. I remember being more uncomfortable with the incisions (4 lap scars) then anything else. But now I'm seeing that the gas pain is so bad with the bariatric surgery (gallbladder surgery inflated my stomach, so I was thinking it would feel the same way). But now I'm really uneasy.

Thanks so much Tilly! I'm new to blogs so it's a confidence booster to be able to reach out and learn how to communicate with other patients. I'm not afraid of losing too much weight, but of the recovery time right after surgery and getting through the first month so any helpful hints you can give me about that would be appreciated. My date is May 18 Judy

I wondered after I was rapidly losing weight. At one point I cried so hard thinking I would wiggle down to nothing. My other half hugged me for a long time and explained that my body would hit a set point and stop there or around there. I contacted my bariatric program. They reassured me that this is a normal feeling but not to worry. That I have regular checkups and they closely monitor us. I still have those random thoughts even 18 months out. Tilli

Nope. I had the band, revised to RNY, and had this and every other problem with it. Never lost a single pound with it either. Can't help with the weight gain unfortunately.

Just want to thank you Guru . . . I'm 5 weeks out from surgery (May 18) and struggling with fear, negative feedback from friends and general anxiety. I don't have as much weight to lose as some, but the VSG was recommended by my (Harvard trained) internist who has watched me struggle for many years now with one diet after another. At 78, carrying around 50 extra pounds and sometimes 25 more more is no joke and I would love to spend the last part of my life being able to move better and with less pain. Other than the weight, I've been blessed with great health although I'm 78, am still very active. Your post this morning helped me more than I can tell you and reinforces that I should not cancel the surgery out of fear that I will not be able to make it out of the "dark hole" that inevitably follows a major surgery. You are an inspiration!

Hi! I'm new here, I just googled "Weight Loss Surgery Discussion Boards" and this is the first site that popped up. I hope I'm in the right place... I had Open RNY GB in May of 2002. My weight the morning of surgery was 310lbs. I lost over 100 lbs in the first 10 months and got down to my lowest weight of 153lbs about 2 years after surgery. I was feeling fabulous! However, over the years, I was able to maintain at about 170-180lbs consistently, until I gave birth to my son in 2012. After he was born, I wasn't able to lose all of the weight I gained during pregnancy. I was around 200 - 205 lbs at my lowest after he was born. But, due to some other life circumstances and traumatic life experiences that happened to me in 2016, I have gained back over 100lbs and am now sitting at about 268lbs. I'm crushed. In May 2021 I decided to research revisions and found a surgeon in my area (St. Louis, MO) who specializes in revisions and I found out that I am a candidate for a revision to Duodenal Switch. After meeting with a dietician for 6 months, psychologist, primary care physician, etc. I'm finally having my revision next week... April 14, 2022!! I'm so scared and nervous this time around. I don't know what to do or where to go. I wasn't this nervous before my first surgery and I think it's because I didn't have as much to lose back then when I was 21. Now I have a 10 year old son who is everything to me and I'm terrified that if something goes wrong, he won't have a mom. Has anyone else in the forum gone through this and if so, can you please share your experience with me?

Have you thought of revision to VSG or another surgery? Unfortunately without restriction, it'll be very difficult for you.I know because I was one of the unlucky ones that if there is an extreme side effect with a WLS, I would fall in that category... Lapband (erosion) and VSG (severe gerd, esophagitis). Surgeons have stressed that it was no fault of my own. It just happens. I finally had a revision to RNY and feel so much better. Tracking food helped me before my revisions. While I had some weight gain, it wasn't too much. Looking at the list of food in my food diary always helps me realize it is head hunger vs real hunger. Sent from my SM-S908U using BariatricPal mobile app

Mindful eating works for SOME, but many of us can't "intuitively" know what eating an amount of calories that will keep us at a good weight feels like. And, in the end, our weight depends mostly on the amount of calories you consume. Whether you count them or not. The only times in my life I've ever lost weight have been when I'm counting calories. I don't trust my intuition.

Im actually interested as well. Find myself trying to sip more and end up with a belly ache. I find myself so dry and either Im trying to eat or drinking and have to slow down. My surgery was two weeks ago but weight loss is sooooo slow and Im nervous.

I have noticed lots of people coming to the forums in distress because they regret having the surgery, I too was one of them. I wanted to share some of my own experience to reassure those going through regret that for some of us this is completely normal and part of the journey. Its awful, you feel like crap and wonder what the hell you have done to yourself and for some we wonder if we will even survive this life changing decision we made. You may feel like you have ruined your life, you may feel like you will never eat or drink your favourite things again. You may think you will die of thirst or even starve to death, I am here to say you will get through it, you will feel better and you will eat/drink your favourite things again (even if you shouldn't 😉) I had my final check in with my mental health care worker the other day and to hear her read back my "statement" and how I was thinking 7 months ago made me cringe, was that really me, was I really down that dark hole ? Yes I was but thankfully I am a long way from that place now. What we go through is a number of things first and foremost grief, yes grief and you will go through all the stages, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance and for good measure throw some anxiety and remorse in there too. Then there is our hormones omg the hormones what a rollercoaster ride they send us on so hang on tight !! I remember a few bad moments, one that stands out is standing in the shower feeling incredibly weak from not eating or getting my fluids in screaming "why, why me why do I have to feel like this" (some of my friends had breezed through the surgery) lucky no one was home and I did feel a little better after.....so don't be afraid to cry, don't be afraid to shout and scream. Another outburst was at the family dinner table for fathers day screaming why did I do this ? why didn't anyone stop me? I told my team that they shouldn't have approved me and they hadn't screened me properly and they had failed me 😔. I could tell of many more "moments" but I think you get the picture. Some people especially those who have had an easy time after the surgery or haven't had the surgery wont understand why you feel like you do I mean you chose to do this right ? The hardest thing is even we don't understand why we feel the way we do, we wanted this, we paid the surgeon to have this done. Yes its normal to go through a whole range of feelings and some are really bad but it gets better and easier everyday. It might start with 1 good day in a week then 2 until eventually good days out weight the bad you will feel like you are going 1 step forward and 2 steps back but you are still going forward. Be Kind to yourself let people around you look after you but also make an effort to look after yourself even though you don't feel like it. Soon you will get to a point where you no longer have that deep regret and you finally arrive at acceptance and from there you realise you wouldn't have lost the weight without surgery, your life is going to be fine, you can have that coffee and cake with friends , you can eat a meal with your family and your health has improved and you post your weirdest non scale related victory !! You made it!! You got through it !!! There is no more regret !!!

Aww well I hope it improves as the weight falls off! 🤗

I would ask your surgeon why they want you to lose weight given that your BMI is below the cutoff for most insurance, and tell them your concerns. Many doctors don't think much about costs for patients. Talk also to the insurance coordinator at the surgery center and ask their opinion. They aren't a medical person, but they deal with getting insurance approval. Do you know if your insurance will cover surgery if your BMI is 40 or higher? If you are self-pay anyway, it's not a bad idea to lose weight because the lower your weight, the easier the surgery is on your body.

Well that's interesting. Any idea if losing weight will help improve the severity of the diverticulosis?

True keto is high fat, moderate protein, low carb or ultra low carb. So I think most bariatric patients don't really hit the actual macros to be considered real keto. We're told to do lower fat, higher protein and complex carbs only if we're still hungry after we eat our protein and veggies - well that's a generalization, it does vary widely. But I think weight loss patients do low carb if anything at all but very few do actual keto.

I'm a recovering keto bro. Whatever happens, on <600 cals a day you'll be in ketosis. Further on, after the first couple of months, I've made it my business to incorporate a little pasta, fruit etc. Why? Because the problem with keto is that it isn't forever. It can't be. And if you rely on being in the state of ketosis for health and weight loss you are doomed to fail. The reason I got this surgery is to be as normal as possible because it is only through normalcy that I can be successful long term.

Hi all, I'm wondering if anyone has some insight into losing weight before surgery and your BMI being too low to qualify. My BMI is 39.9. The doctor would like me to lose 10-15 lbs. That would bring my BMI down to about 37. I don't have any other medical conditions (High blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea). It seems like 40 BMI or higher is required to be approved by most insurers. Has anyone else run into this situation? My BMI was 50 when I had WLS 20 years ago so losing the pre-surgery 15 wasn't an issue. Sent from my Pixel 4a using BariatricPal mobile app

What insurance do you have? I have BCBS of Illinois, and I also have MS. I know once I've reached my goal weight I'm going to have to get the skin removed or else it'll make my back and mobility have issues. It never occurred to me that I could get insurance to cover any of it.

Watch the high fat content of the keto diet when you are losing. As you lose weight the fat dissolves into your blood stream & many find their cholesterol level goes up & your liver function is affected because it has to work harder to try to get rid of it without addicting additional fats to your body. The increase in protein (animal) you will be consuming will be enough extra fat for your body to cope with. Most diets while losing focus on high protein, low carb, low fat, low sugar. Maybe look into keto when you get to maintenance. But talk with your dietician.