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When I first started posting on this forum in August 2013, I loved, and still do love, reading the stories of people who had hit certain goals. My surgery was in September 2013, and I knew the three postings that I wanted to make....the one year surgiversary post, the 100 pounds lost post (which is the exact pound that puts me into the normal BMI range), and of course, the day I reached my final goal weight. My one year surgiversary was in September, so knocked that one out, but as of today I have lost 100 pounds and I am finally in the "normal" range on a BMI chart! In the past I have lost 80-90 pounds a few times, but never 100, and I am now 1 pound thinner than I have ever been over the age of 21. Also, 137 is the cut-off for my height between "normal" and "overweight", so technically my entire adult life I have been classified as "overweight" according to the evil BMI chart, and as of this morning, I am normal!! Thirteen months ago I was sitting at my computer reading through all of these posts wondering if I should risk my life (surgery freaks me out) in the hope that maybe I could lose weight with a sleeve. I am now totally in the group of people that can say that the only thing I regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I have 8 pounds to my original goal and 18 pounds to 119 which was always my goal when I was younger. Fingers-crossed I will get to make my third posting sometime soon! Thanks to everyone for all of their postings over the last year- it has been nice to not feel alone on the sleeve journey!

Your experience is completely normal. There will be stalls. Lots of them. Just work your program, be patient and trust that the weight will go. It will. It's all good.

I was wondering about appeals. I have not yet started the process, so this is me just thinking of all the avenues and I am dedicated in getting this this year soon as I am done with not being able to enjoy life how I want to (that is for another post). But I just switched to my husband's insurance that does cover gastric surgery. The plan says you must try other avenues for a year. On that note, while I was on my own insurance plan that did not cover it I have been under a doctors care for weight loss and diabetes. Do you think I can appeal under the notion that I am under a doctors'a care for a year because of obesity? Otherwise I would wait a whole other year with this new insurance or find another means of getting banding done. Any thoughts on the likelihood of an appeal working? BTW I should add I have been on a leave from work due to all these medical conditions, the weight has aggravated my sciatic nerve and I haven't been able to withstand standing or sitting for any period of time. Yes odd part is I have lost about 50lbs from the previous year I worked. I also have had nerve surgery in my arm and most likely will need it again before returning to work (also due to weight issues); and suffered a major fall which has done nothing but set me back in any rehabilitation I have done. I guess my overall question is with an accumulation of medical issues documented for years is an appeal likely?

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

I have Oxford United healthcare and am not allowed to lose below 40bmi. Some insurances go by the starting weight, many do not.

Okay, y'all, deep breath! :-) I know it's seriously frustrating. We just went through possibly the worst season for eating healthfully that we have. You have each lost a substantial amount of weight already. Bodies lose weight at different rates and in different ways. You may each be experiencing a stair-step loss, like I did and like thousands of other people do, in which you lose on a pretty straight line down for a while, then level off--then you'll lose some, then level off--then lose some, then level off, etc. etc. repeat. And the further away from surgery you get and the less careful you are with your diet (smile), the longer those plateaus grow. So here's what I suggest: Check your intake and do what you can to clean it up. Focus on Protein first, then veggies. Try to eliminate really high-carb foods (flour, sugar, fruit juice) and added fats that you don't really need. If you eat carbs, be sure they have additional nutritional value (for me, this means dairy and fruit are in). Put simply, no flour, sugar, or junk--eat real food, protein first. Next, move a little every day. Find a sustainable exercise program, maybe even just walking, that you can do every day. Nothing radical, nothing dreadful, just moderate, get-off-the-couch moving around every day. At some point, we will all stop losing weight because we will get to our body's ideal for our intake and energy expenditure. It's going to happen. But if you're still a ways off from your surgeon's goal, you still have opportunity for loss. Use your sleeve to best advantage! Be sure you're taking in plenty of fluid--dehydration can actually slow your loss and make you feel fatigued and icky. HUGS, y'all. All is definitely not lost--you're just hitting a new place in the weightloss process. :-) When you hit a plateau, be sure to stay on your program and measure; that's when I lose inches as my body sort of reshapes.

My doctor told me optimal weight loss occurs when you intake between 1000-1300 calories a day.

What site is it that you graph your loss on? A visual would definitely help when experiencing stall. Like you said, you kind of know what to expect. P.S. I like following your progress, I kinda watch your ticker ( for) I noticed a long time ago that we are the same height and started around the same weight. I know everyone is different but it is inspiring. thanks

Thanks! I made the graph myself in excel. I can send it to you if you want it and you can tweak it to your own. You just change the weight values in the first column and the dates on the last column but leave the middle ones alone. The graph shows a starting line at the top, 1/4 done, half done, 3/4 done and goal. It also shows a trend line if you were to loose at a rate of 1 lb a week, 2 lbs a week and 3 lbs a week. Its very colorful. Your weight trend line will be in bright yellow. Its all on a dark gray background. You can change all the colors to your taste. PM me and I will email it to you if you would like. That goes for anyone who is interested in it. :regular_smile:

Hey Nicole , Thanks for your response, I just read about some not being able to handle the Protein shakes. I'll let my daughter know. And thanks for the reassurance about the lump not being a hernia because that is exactly what I thought it was lol.... .My daughter is 22 I didn't want her riding the same roller coaster as me, so when we both shot up to exactly the same weight we decided it was time.. i hope to catch you on here again ... night

Hi Tabby! Welcome to the boards! This is a great place to be while starting your journey. Congrats on the approval - the hard part is done...now you just have to go through the information sessions and get ready to be banded! :wink2: I was banded on May 19th. Like you, I have tried every diet known to man, miserably failing and gaining even more weight. I decided to get banded and it was the best decision I have ever made!! I feel great knowing that I can and will finally lose the weight. I wish you the best of luck! :thumbup:

That's good news for your husband! I am sorry that you are going through all this. Would you be denied from your surgeon or insurance? I thought it was pretty common these days to have the revision. I started at 40 bmi (back in August) and was so nervous I was going to drop below and get denied - that I unintentionally gained more weight over the course of 9 months. My process was a bit longer than most, because I was on anti-depressants, but not seeing a therapist. They wanted me to do 12 weeks of therapy. When that was completed, I was weighed in and was told I needed to lose 15lbs to before I was even allowed to meet with my surgeon. It never dawned on me that sleep apnea (I had just been diagnosed) would be considered a co-morbidity, until my nurse confirmed it. Extra anxiety over nothing. You should contact your insurance/surgeon and ask, just in case. Keep me posted on how you both are doing!

Your past experience sounds so much like what I am experiencing right now, thank you so much for giving me the hope, if I lost 83 lbs I would be one happy camper. It shows that you got banded in June of 07, and you said that the weight came off naturally, do you think it is because of you eating the mini multiple meals, and another question, do you think that it might of came off faster if you had not put your body into starvation mode before you became banded.

Hello all! This is my first post here and I am thrilled to have this resource available at my fingertips. I have been reading posts for about two weeks and decided it was my turn to ask for your opinion. My relationship with food has been a lifelong struggle. After a while I gave up hating myself and tried to work on self love, which really just turned into justifying my bad habits. I started this gastric surgery journey at over 300 pounds after seeing a candid photograph of myself. I didn't recognize the person I saw in the photo. I had been ignoring health issues far too long that I knew were related to my habits. I began to make small changes like eliminating soda and fast food. I knew, though, that I needed to make a longer lasting change and the sleeve sounded like a great tool to reset my eating habits and relationship with food. My first appointment with the surgeon was June 8 2017. I weighed in at 294. I had four months worth of nutritionist visits, all of which I fluctuated between 295 and 297. Then I had my psychiatric evaluation on August 23 2017. My weight that visit was 299. The psychiatrist cleared me, but was very insistent that he typically wouldn't clear someone who had gained five pounds since their first visit and that my surgeon wouldn't perform the surgery unless I was down 5-10 pounds. My current weight is 290. My pre-op appointment is November 8 2017 and my surgery is scheduled for November 13, 2017. I am a nervous wreck. I have started going to the gym five days a week and doing half an hour of cardio. I don't restrict what I eat, only how much of it I eat. I know I will lose some weight as a result of the liquid pre-op diet but the psychiatrist's words haunt me. I am convinced after paying such a high deductible and all I've already been through that for some reason my surgery will be postponed. Has anyone else had a similar issue? How was it resolved?

Hiya Lynsay, I Get My Band Fitted On 15th Nov At Bromsgrove. I Am Constantly Thinking About Food (nothin New There Lol) But With A Bmi Of 47 Have Been Told That I Have To Lose A Stone Before The Op And Also The Week Before Go On A Milk & Yoghurt Diet. Its Going To Kill Me As I Will Be On A Shopping Break To New York 8-13 Nov With Only 1 Day To Recover From The Flight. Have You Not Been Advised To Lose Any Weight Or Go On Any Specail Diets? I Wasnt Very Pleased At The Though Of Having To Diet Before They Would Operate As Thats Why I Need The Band. Good Luck, Flatz

Hi guys, I'm having my operation in Prague soon in Nov. I havent stopped eating since I've known I'm going. I've gained about 10lbs and I feel really uncomfortable. I've got a constant stitch feeling on the right hand side of my chest which means I've gone too far, my body just can't take it. Did anyone else eat like this before the operation?

Hi, I am 42, 5'8", and used to weigh 220 lbs and rising. Every year was a little more weight, and a little more, and a little more. At age 36 I was sick of being the fat person in my circle of friends. I had a band installed in Monterrey, Mexico in 2001 by Dr. Rumbaut and worked with Dr. Fox in Tacoma, WA afterward for follow up. The weight loss was slow but steady and I got down to 160 and hit a plateau for a year. Then I went through a divorce and the stress caused/helped me lose more weight and got down to 145. Husband 1.0 was a very jealous man and wanted me to stay heavy so no one else would ever look at me. :paranoid Husband 2.0 and I got married April 1, 2006 and he constantly wants me to dress like a prostitute . Talk about opposites. I'm pretty conservative so I generally dress business casual/professional, at least in public. Unfortunately, I started having symptoms of acid reflux about 2 years ago. Gradually over time things have worsened to the point that now I can barely sleep at night. I gradually got the point of vomiting every night before bed because I couldn't sleep with even a molecule of food in my stomach. When my esophogus started bleeding, I finally went into the doctor and got the news I knew deep down I was going to get. My band has slipped and the X-ray shows that it has turned at an angle and is causing somewhat of a blockage. It's pretty bad and they recommended that I get it repaired as soon as possible. "Soon" means probably another month from now despite my severe symptoms. I am now considering three options: -- get the band completely removed (my insurance would pay, but I would likely gain weight over time) -- get the band removed but convert to VG (no worries about slipped band again but my insurance will probably not pay) -- get the band repaired (still have the band but would worry about another slippage down the road and don't know if insurance would pay) Since I am pretty close to my goal weight, I don't think I would consider a conversion to gastric bypass. I don't really want my plumbing re-routed and at this point my main concern is to be sure I don't gain the weight back in future years with no band in place. I NEVER would have lost 75 lbs without it. Even with a divorce 3 years ago and the nasty symptoms I am dealing with now, I have zero regrets about getting it done. I truly hated being fat and I never want to go back. Never. My question to this wonderful group of people is this: For those of you with a slipped band, why did you choose what you did for repair or removal and are you happy with your choice? Thank you.

I also wanted to mention for the benefit of those people who have been more recently banded or will be banded that this tool is something that I should have treated more carefully. I am not beating myself up here, but I really need to be honest and say that I think my own behavior contributed to my band slipping. I have had it in place for more than 5 years and after a while, complacency sets in and sometimes frustration over not being able to eat like a "normal" person. This truly is a lifelong decision and I was not as diligent as I should have been in caring for this tool over the long term. Five years of Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas dinners and restaurant eating and being surrounded by people who don't know that I had surgery all those years ago and ask me "what was wrong with your food, you didn't hardly eat anything". I started developing bulemic behaviors and would overeat and then go purge. This was partly because I got sick of having to explain to people that I have a band around my stomach and partly because I would go into frustration mode because I could only eat 5 bites of food at a time and then sit there at the dinner table while everyone else ate like a starved football player. So, the bottom line is that you really, really must stay diligent in not overeating/purging or gulping down large quantities of liquids and learning to manage stress for the rest of your life. I feel that these are the things that eventually contributed to me damaging my band. Which brings me to another potential poll question: What do you tell people when they ask you in a restuarant or at a party or other dinner party type of function: "What's wrong with your food, you didn't hardly eat anything?" My answers have ranged from the truth: I had weight loss surgery and this is all I can eat at one sitting, but the food was really good and I enjoyed it. or: It was really good, but I just wasn't as hungry as I thought. or: It was so good, I wanted to save some for leftovers tomorrow. or maybe I should go with: The food was terrible and I want a refund for my dinner. I could save a lot of money this way, ha ha ha. Just kidding.

I am not in your situation, but I know I would regain my weight without the band, so Im pretty sure I would opt to repair repar repair....and if eventually it failed again, I'd do gastric. I just know that new habits won't overcome my cravings without the band.

My sympathies are with you. I am insurance auth nurse at my job.(getting auths for our patients) and believe me the insurance companies will do all they can do give a denial. Even after we get the auth after they review the clinical they can change their minds and say we are not paying. In the last year I have seen so many more denials it is scary. Our insurance even denies auths for our own employees and I never saw that before. My daughter went through 6 months of testing and counseling only to be denied because her company had a no weight loss surgery clause and she did not know. And when she started the pre auth process with Horizon they told her sure you can have the surgery just do all these tests and then wham they denied her. She just came back yesterday from Mexico where it cost about $6800 for everything. I was not happy with her going there but the insurance company gave us no choice. Good luck it can be a long process.

Veronica: Keep your chin up & have extreme confidence in your decision. Who cares if there are some that don't support you? You are doing this for yourself...not them...always remember that. It doesn't matter that we all had to resort to surgery, at least we did something about it. This is absolutely the best thing I've ever done for myself. Yes I could have lost the weight but eventually it would come back on again. A quick story you'll relate to. I got my surgery date on July 20th & they told me Aug. 16th. Well that happens to be the 6th anniversary of my 23 year old sister's sudden death while in her sleep so OF COURSE I had thoughts about it but when I told my mom she plainly said "It doesn't have anything to do with it". I never looked back & I had the best surgery & I've really had a very easy recovery. On day 9 I feel AMAZING. We went out to P.F. Chang's last night & never in my wildest dreams did I think I would merely sip on Won Ton soup broth there!!! Best of luck & please let us know how you did! Hang in there & if you have any questions we are here for you!:cheer2:

If any of us could do it alone, we wouldn't do this. 99% of people who lose weight on diets gain it back plus more weight. We are no more flawed then other people. Some people are drug addicts, alcoholics, smokers, batterers etc. Its just that our addiction shows up on our body as extra weight. I think having the lap band isnt a cop out. I think it is smart. Because we are taking responsibility for our lives and our health. Its nothing to be ashamed of. But we don't have to tell everyone either. Its a personal choice to take care of ourselves.

I had my 1st fill monday dec 21st n rcv 6cc's. yes i do have restriction. Now im ready 2 see the weight loss because I was at a stand still before my fill. I wish u well in ur journey. kit happy holidays :-)

Oh man, that is so encouraging! I also have PCOS and one of the biggest reasons I want to have the band and lose weight is to help with my fertility issues. I will go forever without a period then I will have it for weeks and weeks. (my last period lasted 7 months. 7 MONTHS of bleeding...) It is encouraging to see that you are already starting to go back to normal!

This past weekend we went camping with some friends and we were on the lake with kayaks and paddle boards. I am looking forward to the moment post surgery when I don't wonder- what is the weight limit on this thing? I hope I don't look like an idiot. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App