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I go back to work next Monday and I'm scared!!! My surgeon wanted me off work until Sept 12th and OMG would that have been amazing! Mostly I'm worried about the fatigue. I am almost 1-week post op and I'm pretty much exhausted all the time. I had my post-op checkup today and by the time I got home I was dragging and needed a nap.

I'm getting around really well. Last week I walked a mile every morning with small breaks to stop and rest. I was prescribed gabapentin. The one day I took it, I did not feel safe to drive. Except for that I could totally drive now one week post-op!

I started back to work late last week. I was getting really stir crazy. I actually feel great and am just ready to settle into my new routine. My energy has been up by the end of the day which I was really worried about. I even got some extra steps in last night on the tredmill. Everyone is different in their recovery!

Yes! I had mine on Monday, Aug 8th and I was back working remotely from home by Friday. By 3pm I was really tired, but I feel like I have much more energy this week.

Half way through the month! Good luck to everyone coming up this week and I hope those who have gone before are having a good recovery! Anyone who already had it already back at work? This has been my biggest worry.

Here is my rate of loss. We are all different. We all hit stalls at different times. Surgery Date was April 18th. and i take measurements and weight on the 4th of every month. So last measurement was August 4th.

Good luck everyone having surgery this week and speedy recovery to all. Just got my time for tomorrow and my heart jumped into my throat when I saw the hospital name on the caller ID. I have to be at the hospital at 7:30 am … not sure if I’m their first of the day, but at least I’m before lunch… so hopefully by this time tomorrow I am in my room and resting comfortably… or taking a lap. Lol. Deep breaths… calm, relaxing & positive thoughts… 😊

Good luck to everyone who is having surgery this week. You've got this. You're going to do great.

Oh bless you! Sorry you had to go through that but like you say it was worth it in the end, thankyou! I'm so ready for it now ! I have lost 3 stone on my own in the last couple of years , I just need that tool now to help me

The others are correct, weight loss, especially after WLS is never linear. If you were to graph it out, it would look more like exponential decay (with lots of fits and starts and even deviations up). At one point. I even tried graphing out my potential loss based on a decay constant but realized it was all based on my previous experience losing weight in the past. The decay constant will undoubtedly be different than my past attempts. If it helps, I saw a couple of references in the scientific literature that suggest the AVERAGE across large population groups shows the weight lost at 2-4 months will be roughly 50% of that lost at 12 months. As an example using totally made up numbers to make the math simple, let's say you lose 50 pounds in 3 months post-op. Then the average above would suggest you'd lose another 50 pounds in the next 9 months. Again, these are averages. Your loss may be higher or lower than that depending on a lot of factors such as amount and type of exercise done, how compliant you are with your plan, total calories consumed, etc.

Most insurance requires at least 3 and often 6 months of monitored weight loss attempt in addition to the psyc eval, nutritionist visit and medical clearances. Once approved, it just depends on how busy your surgeon is. I had to do the six months of weigh ins, labs, psyc eval and nutritionist. My surgery was about a month after I completed all my requirements.

Agree with others. Everyone is different and your body does not work linearly. I mean, I'm no where near goal and I have slowed to a crawl the past two to three months, without changing my eating (might be all the exercise, but hard to know, I'm just keeping on keeping on). Other people with my same stats could be dropping 2 or 3 times the weight I am - until their bodies decide not to and stop. It's not predictable and I find comparing myself to others does nothing helpful or useful.

When I lost about 60lbs I had to begin buying new clothes and wearing the old baggy stuff at home. When buying new stuff I'm naughty. I go into my local M & S store and try clothes on to see which size I fit now. I buy M & S items new from Ebay at a fraction of the cost. As I dont go out that much I can get away with 3 outfits and a dress for special occasions. My old stuff that does not fit anymore goes to a charity shop. I seem to be going down sizes quite quick so I am always on the look out for a bargain

Hi , so I have my first appointment in the next couple of weeks, exciting! I'm getting mine through the nhs as I have no ways of self funding, I can't get a loan as I wouldn't be accepted , anyway my question is has anyone had their op at luton and dunstable hospital? How long did you have to wait for surgery from your first appointment at the hospital? I'm hoping my surgery will be this year . Thanks

I didn't have to do all that. I did bloodwork, ekg, 1 psych eval, 1 nutritionist appt. I had my initial appt, did that stuff, got the call with my surgery date, had the surgery 2 weeks later. From day 1 to insurance approval was 2 1/2 months.

Thank you!! I’m in La Mirada and having my surgery in Orange. I had my lapband back in 2009 in Fountain Valley at Orange Coast. I had the band removed due to port flipping 3 times. I’m doing fairly well with my liquid diet and counting down for the 22nd. Wish you the best and a speedy recovery after surgery.

I have Blue Shield my surgery was approved a week after PC Dr submitted. They have a lot of things they want you to complete but all in all I feel more prepared because of all the meetings (virtual) I attended. I learned a lot and am as ready as one can get (I think)! Sent from my SM-A135U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hey all, it's been a bit since I was on here last. So, I figured I'd talk about the appointments so far. I'm still pre op and don't have a surgery date yet and I more than likely won't for awhile. Which sucks🤷‍♀️ but oh well, we all know it takes time. I had my first official appointment last month with my first official weigh in! They gave me a weight loss goal to reach which they want me to be in 150 to 155. According to the BMI chart that still makes me overweight, but that gave my that goal so that I dont get discouraged and its more realistic.My ultimate weight loss goal is to get down to 125. I've been overweight/obese my whole life and I just want my weight to be considered a normal weight, you know? Probably not a good mind set right? I already had one of the classes I need to take required by the surgical team. Which was the importance of exercise. Which went great. I also met up with the bariatric psychiatrist for a mental health evaluation. This week I have a huge appointment coming up on Friday. The appointment consists of a bundle of testing. Blood work, EKG, chest xray(I believe). I meet up with the nutritionist, I meet up with the physical therapist too (I think that is what it is) and after all of that I have a regular followup appointment to go over the bundle testing that day. So Friday is going to be a long day haha. The next appointment after that is another follow up and lastly I have a behavior modification class scheduled for October. After those appointments I think all that's left is another appointment with the nutritionist, another class and follow up appointments. What are the appointments you guys have to go through before even getting a surgery date? sorry for all the writing, but this is the only place I can really talk about it since I want to keep this journey to myself. Until I am ready to announce to people. Which that won't be until I lose a significant amount of weight. Thanks for listening!

it's not super common, but then again, it's not UNcommon. I've had bouts with it, and I know a few others who have as well. I was told to eat something every 3-4 hours - preferably a protein, but if I have a carb, then be sure to pair it with a protein. Seems to have worked. Although it sounds like you may have a more severe case, or there's something else going on. I'm glad they're sending you for testing. I hope everything is OK...

Hi Shannon, I live in Pennsylvania, and I am scheduled for surgery Tuesday (16th)… I’m 48 and have similar goals as you. While I’m not a veteran, I have friends who are 7-15 years out and I grilled them about several of these things so I will share my experience this far and some of theirs. Let me just say there are tons of people who will help with their experience also… and one of the things I learned from this board is everyone is different. (I love this app and the people on here - they are so awesome!) 1) I have IBS (largely well managed) and dealt with constipation after my c-sections as well. The high protein pre-op diet made that flair up for me. In addition to water (I struggle with that) and hitting my other liquid goals, I add miralax once or twice a day (depending on my needs) to help keep things moving. Also moving around - walk, walk walk… even puttering around the house. Moving helps keep things moving. At the first sign of things not cooperating I take an approved laxative by my program. That’s my last resort (because that is never fun) but I know my body and I know when it’s necessary - so if I catch things early enough a partial dose (I prefer liquid to pills) is usually enough to keep things productive. 2) I have digestive issues with artificial sweeteners. So I like Sodastreams water enhancers (Bubly) zero calories, zero carbs. But lately I’ve enjoyed my zero water filter enough to not bother with the flavor. I can easily work 3 20 oz bottles of water (some days 4 or 5). Keep in mind I’m pre op… but I’m hoping that post surgery I will be able to get back into that habit after surgery, because I too have kidney stones and am eager to avoid that. Right after surgery they all warned me I won’t make my goals most likely - but to do my best. With time it will come. Broth and bouillon have been helpful in hitting (and exceeding) my goals. So I will use those to work towards my daily goals. 3) Depending on your surgery - will depend on the long term possible side effects, one of the reasons I’m having sleeve (shorter potential list). However my surgeon balanced it by saying the potential side effects of not doing it the surgery or taking other steps to loose weight (prolonged joint deterioration, effects of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiac disease, elevated risk of cancers and although I’m not diabetic - eventually I’m likely to be, liver disease, etc) are equal or greater. On balance the surgery is a toll that helps me improve more than it risks in my case. 4. Hormones can be real - hunger, menstrual, general emotional. I was told that some women who stopped menstruating, would start again… (also warned to watch out for later in life babies), some women who have fertility issues, see a reversal… weight loss - especially large amounts, can result in an estrogen release (hormone swings). There’s no guarantee of if my hunger hormone will be gone - or how long. Everyone is different in that area. My hubby and I had a talk of what to possibly expect after (throw back to postpartum depression). Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I have Virtual appointment already scheduled with my therapist for the week following surgery and recurring every two weeks after (with the options to call if I need to see sooner and ability to cancel if I need to rest and not up to it as long as I check in). I’ve been seeing him for a while now to adjust to life after a car accident. I also have my pcp follow up scheduled and my endocrinologist scheduled within a few weeks after my surgery so I will have those check-Ins to help with anything non-surgical that might pop up. I have some help lined up (kids, husband and one friend I told what I was doing) just in case I need a little extra help right after. However the rest of my family (siblings, parents, extended family and others) know only that I’m getting a hernia repair and that I started working with a nutritionist pre-op and will continue post op due to some other health issues … which is not untrue, just not the whole truth. I’m taking care of me first for the pre-op and the post-op recovery. I’m hoping by doing that, I can reduce my stress and help manage any of the hormone fluctuations that MIGHT pop up and well as focus on meeting my nutritional and water goals. I hope this helps!

Hi. I've been suffering from pcos since teenage, having all the symptoms like weight gain, facial hair, irregular periods etc.. I have had my gastric sleeve in november 2020 and lost 25 kg in total. I have seen improvement with my pcos symptoms, for example getting a regular period cycle, less facial hair and obviously weight loss. Now, almost after 2 years my period cycle is getting irregular again. Increasing 2-4 days every month. For example, 30 days cycle in June, 34 days in July and 36 days plus (still missing) in August, and I'm definitely bot pregnant. Has anyone else had the same problem? I'm really worried that my Pcos might kick.in again. My weight is on a stall, as I'm not doing much at the moment. Please share your experiences Thank you Sent from my SM-N960F using BariatricPal mobile app

Not yet I go see my Dr next week Sent from my WTCELERO5G using BariatricPal mobile app

I may need to have a hiatal hernia repair after mine. It’s been 9 months, I take 80mg omeprazole, sleep on an incline and the heartburn still wakes me up every morning. Surgeon said the he would only do it after it had been 6 months since my last surgery (gall bladder). I’m worry that it will be nearly as bad as my first surgery, DS, which took 5 weeks before I could work again.

I had to buy smaller clothes after 2 weeks because of the presurgical liquid diet (2 weeks), then I lost a lot immediately post surgery, and it hurt to much to put on any pants other than sweats. I only bought sweats as I lost over the past year since I had kept all my smaller sizes from years back. I only just bought real clothes after 6 months out. I didn't buy anything before surgery. 9 months later and I have given away my entire wardrobe, sizes 14-28, and am only buying 2 outfits for any given size while I wait to level out.