Search the Community

For what it's worth (n=1), my migraines disappeared once my weight started to drop. And while I used to like coffee, it tastes so strange now . . . I just don't want it anymore.

I had my sleeve 8 years ago and have been battling severe GERD for two years and serious weight gain since my hysterectomy just last December. Now, I am miserable and weak. 10-20 tums a day, unable to properly take my medications because I throw them up. Cannot eat because I throw it all up too. Just ordered some syntax iced tea and protein soups. I’m taking 80mg protonix daily and wake up choking on my bile bile at night. My PCP dismissed me. Saw her PA and at no time did she even look down my throat. Got a referral to a GI and they called to have a consult in a month! A consult! Only! Called my old bariatric surgeon and he’s not in my insurance network and I can’t afford him. Called one in town and have an appointment on the 9th. But if it requires a revision, I don’t know if it’s covered on my insurance. I’m losing hope. I feel like everyone else has since I’ve been dismissed at every turn. My brain is fuzzy, my eyes are sunken. Work is hard. I pretend I’m fine and eat at company meetings then go quietly to the bathroom to throw everything up. I’m miserable. I need an answer but no medical professionals seem to be in a hurry.

Hi Rachel! Our stats are almost identical. My VSG procedure is in October and I'm a bit nervous and sooooo ready. Right now, I'm looking into weight training so that I can get a headstart on tightening up my skin. Best of luck on your journey!

I have the same thing going on with me. I am 4 years out 8/9 VSG and 14 months revised RNY. My relationship with food has changed. Its a chore to eat and I am not in the mood most of the time. My weight is starting to drop again. I weighed in at 148.8 this morning. So I made some mac n cheese to go with some leftover meatloaf. I was actually excited to eat, lol. Yeah, so depending on what the food is makes a lot of difference too. I didnt have this issue with VSG and I think its because I still felt normal when I ate and could still eat what I wanted just in smaller portions. My views and relationship with food in maintenance were the same pre surgery as far as what I ate. RNY not the same. I dont have the same sense of fullness as I did before I ever had surgeries or the way it did with VSG. In fact I mostly dont feel anything but if I eat one bite over I am deathly ill and the same thing goes if I eat the wrong foods. So I feel this is why I not interested and I rarely feel hungry so why bother . SIGH

The best advice that I can offer is to breathe and remember why you are having the procedure. I, too, freaked out a couple days before surgery. I thought to myself that if I am losing weight without having my anatomy altered, then why do it. Then I remembered that I also struggled for so long and give up when it seems as if the weight wasn’t dropping fast enough. I also remembered that I don’t want the diseases associated with obesity. Just remember your “Why”.

Today is 68 days since my VSG surgery. I am down 26.9 pounds. But still the same sized clothing though they are looser. Seems like my weight has been the same for a while. However, June 30th I was at 235.6 and today I am at 228.8 so I am down and that is a good thing. I can eat pretty much anything I want. I am hungry all the time. I do get in my protein most days and that is by eating and not by shakes. Though I do still drink shakes now and then. I have not started working out. That is my plan for this coming week. I want to start walking 3 days a week and working out the other 3 with one day of rest. I hope you all are dong well. How is your progress?

@angel22 Are you a weight loss patient/future weight loss patient?

Yeah, one of the things I like to remind those starting out is to take regular pictures throughout the process…its really cool to look at them all side by side later! 😂 I was pretty much normal-sized up to about age 30. Started packing on the pounds after I popped out the Kid. I’m guessing i got to obese level in my mid-30’s, and morbidly obese level in my early 40’s. I’m 49 today. Lol, there’s no secret: i ate ALOT less and moved around ALOT more (i was lucky to have no known medical conditions that would impede weight loss, so my body operated on “calories-in-calories-out” pretty predictably). Oh, and i was on Team Very-very-Little-Net-Carbs throughout….i know the carb topic can get “lively” on here, so I’ll just leave it at that, lol. Good Luck!❤️

Thank you so much for posting this! It's really inspiring! I'm at the same starting weight and hoping to get to similar place. What is your secret! A Also, a question if you don't mind... were you heavy for a long time? I'm hoping my skin shrinks as well as yours pre-ps (I'm only 3 weeks post op, so long time to go). But I've been overweight/obese my entire life and scared it won't have a baseline to shrink to

I had RNY, but my liver enzymes were elevated the first year or so. My PCP said thought it was probably fatty liver, but then I read online (some reliable medical site) that elevated liver enzymes were not uncommon after WLS because the rapid weight loss can be really hard on livers. I had them re-tested later, and they were normal - so I think that's what was going on. Not sure why this possibility didn't occur to my PCP, but maybe she doesn't see many bariatric patients. I'm not saying this the cause of yours, but I think it was in my case. In any case, mine are normal now. EDITED to add I just re-read your post and you said your liver was enlarged. So your enzyme levels may be due to something else. I don't know if my liver was enlarged since that was never checked - but my enzyme levels were definitely high.

Hello. It’s been a while since I posted here but I have been busy figuring out how to get past a months long stall and some sugar addiction. First, I found out that I have lipedema which is a connective tissue disorder. It’s an abnormal collection of fat that is no longer in it’s original spongy condition. It is literally scar tissue and adhesions under the skin that do not let go of fat easily. I have huge amounts of it on the lower body and some on my arms. The change that worked for me was specific exercises using a vibration plate on the fat deposits and other mechanisms that can be found on the internet. Second, I ended up switching to healthy keto and that made a great difference in the movement of the scale. I’m down a few pounds now and I no longer have the sugar cravings. I also have gotten better about setting limits on other people monopolizing my time. I’m prioritizing myself and it is really starting to show. I’d be happy to share more if anyone is interested in the connection between stalled weight loss after Bariatric surgery and the condition known as lipedema. It’s not a broadly known condition but it is starting to get attention. I can share some of the resources that I have used in the past few months. To learn more, start here: https://lipedemaproject.org

Yes 311 starting weight to 180 first year VSG.

Congratulations on your weight loss! I posted some of my before and after pics. I was 348 at my heaviest. I was 330 in July 2020 when I began the approval process. I was 310 on December 23, 2020, the day of surgery. I am now 247. My weight loss isn’t going as fast as some. I do eat a bit more in carbs and I work out 4-5 days a week including strength training. I have never felt or looked as good as I do now.

It depends upon how much you want to lose. And everyone loses at their own rate - lots of factors influence this (age, gender, weight loss history, metabolic rate, activity, etc.). Generally you lose more quickly to begin & then slow as you get closer to goal. I took 6 months to lose the 31kgs (68lbs) to my goal. I lost an additional about 11kgs I over a year as I was trying to find my way in maintenance. You’ve lost 81lbs in your first 6 months that’s great. You’ll get to where you want to be. It’s not a race.

It depends on a lot of factors like starting weight/bmi but to answer your question… yes it definitely can be done. I lost 145lbs in ten months with the sleeve. My starting BMI was 40, now at 24.7

I would just keep asking questions, and keep doing your own research on here and by watching YouTube (I recommend Dr. Matthew Weiner). That's what I've done to keep myself sane during this 6 months I've been waiting. I have found the wait to be incredibly frustrating because my surgery center is understaffed, so I have to wait a long time for the scheduler to call me back for the next appointments - like weeks! So I've just read everything I could. I think I would feel a lot more scared if I hadn't read so much. The Mayo clinic (Mayo.org) is also a good resource. They have good health information on everything, including weight loss surgery. Also ASMBS.org (the bariatric surgery professional group).

I had my surgery in the end of October 2020- I’ve lost 100 pounds or so. I’m a size 8ish now- I would like to lose maybe 10-15 more pounds ideally - but I am in the very top of my healthy BMI range and feeling better all the time. My weight loss really slowed down after the first 6 months - but I’m still losing 4-6 pounds each month and I figure I’ll just keep chipping away at it. I have been getting rid of clothing that are too big this week but I’m having a hard time letting go of things- what if I gain weight again! All of this is hard. My mind hasn’t really caught up yet.

Had my surgery in October 2020. Ilost 73 lbs in the first 7 months and now my weight loss is starting to taper off. I only lost 11 lbs in the last 3 lbs and I am wearinga size 12 but I would like to settle in at wearing a size 10. Have a complicated surgey coming up on August 16 so this might be the reason I feel stuck. I'll see howq it goes after my upcoming surgery/

Thank you so much for your response! When I saw that I was losing weight daily, it kind of got addictive. Now it has completely backfired since I'm staying at the same weight and completely discouraged me. However, I can agree with CKmommy since this is the lowest I've been in 4 years and I've never lost 20 pounds in a month before. I think I will try a new approach of weighing every Wednesday or just feeling how my clothes fit me.

@John M...felt like deja vu reading your experience of the process leading up to surgery. I am of the Canadian persuasion as well (Ont.) but I went through it pre-covid. Other than the advised diet they asked you to adhere to before the 2-week liquid one (I wasn't given a diet other than the 2-wk one). and the fact that my appts were done in person, sounds like we pretty much got the same info/services (or lack thereof) pre-op. The only bloodwork/labs I had done were the first set in the beginning (which included an EKG...did you get one of those?) Nothing after that until AFTER surgery. Pre-surgery, I had one appt with social worker, 1 with dietitian and 2 with nurse (oh and 2 with the surgeon)...all of which lasted well under 15 mins each. Now AFTER surgery I had tonnes of bloodwork/labs done, but thats another story. So I'm not sure, at least in our respective cases, it was any better in terms of quality of care to go through this pre-covid (well, except for the delays, of course!). But you def won out at least on not having to drive 1.5 hours round trip for every appt, nor pay $23 in parking fees each time. Sigh. I got the majority (if not all) of my information though my own research. Even post-op, I did not really follow my dietitians advice, as I chose to do an alternate "program"...she knew this (as I told her), and would often lightly chastise me during our many appts together. Personally, I felt like the advise dispensed was a one-size-fits all type of thing that wasn't adjusted at all to the individual. But that's just me. I mean, the guy beside me in the waiting room is like over 1 foot taller than me, and probably almost 3 times my weight...and you are going to tell us both to consume 1500 calories?? ***NOTE*** To be clear, I'm NOT advocating not listening to your team! Ask questions as you said, and if you are not satisfied for with the answer, look elsewhere. In the end, this same dietitian who would shake her head sadly at my food log was the first one to high five me when I got to goal. My nurse and surgeon were both pleased with me the entire time because I healed uneventfully with no issues, I was able to get off all my meds by end of month 1, I was losing weight steadily, and my labs always came back satisfactorily. I never saw the social worker again. In my opinion, the support services provided to barbaric patients by our health care program (i'm just talking dietitians/nutritionists and social workers/psychologists...as the nurses and docs seem to be doing exactly what they should be doing) are severely lacking. You are better off shopping around and getting a private nutritionist and/or therapist on your own if you feel you need them. Good Luck! ❤️ P.S. Not counting the months that I changed my mind TWICE about having the surgery, the entire process from referral to surgery was about 8 months. P.P.S. Sorry this was so long.

Doctor's will sometimes give what they consider a successful average goal weight for you surgery. My surgeon's office didn't give me a set goal, instead they asked me what MY goal was. I told them 180. I, honestly, thought they'd tell me that my expectations were too high , but instead, they told me that was a good realistic goal weight. Several people on this site have said that their surgeons set goal weights that they weren't happy with, so they were determined to surpass their surgeons goals. And many have succeeded. Personally, I feel like a goal weight is something personal and you just have to reflect on what weight you can see yourself being happy at. That's how I decided my goal weight and I'm happy that I got there (I think it'd just be like icing on the cake if I could even get down to 170. I'd be okay if I hit maintenance before then because I AM happy where I'm at, but 170 would be really nice).

Im a couple inches shorter than you, and started out with a lower starting weight (235), so at BMI 43. No known medical issues that would impede weight loss. Got to goal weight (sort of…i aimed for 120lbs, but stopped at 127lbs cuz i felt I was getting too small) in 7 months. That was over two years ago. I lost a few more pounds in first couple months of maintenance and have been sitting at 115 for the past 2 years (BMI 21). One thing to keep in mind when reading others’ responses to your question is that everyone will have a different goal weight. Some people may start off at say a BMI of 60, so common sense would indicate it would take them longer to reach goal than someone who started off at BMI 40. Further, some may aim for the “normal” BMI of 25, some more, some less…so the duration would vary based on how low each individual actually wants to go. Oh, and who knows, you may (like many others here - including me) adjust your goal down the line…it really depends on what size/weight you are comfortable at and can maintain vs. some number on the scale. Good Luck! ❤️

a lot of surgeons don't even give you a goal weight. Mine never did. He asked me what I'd like to weigh and then told me by personal goal (which at the time was 200 lbs) was definitely do-able if I worked at it (I ended up losing much more than that). average weight loss on these surgeries is about 60-70% of excess weight. However, that's just an average - there are always people who fall on either side of that. Some people are extremely successful and end up losing 90% or 100% - others not so successful and may only lose 20% or 30%. If you're very committed, you should be able to at least lose the average - if not quite a bit more.

food progression depends on the surgeon. I never had a post-op liquid progression - I was eating purees while I was still in the hospital (although this isn't common) the first few weeks can be a challenge and a lot of trial and error to see what your stomach is going to tolerate. The gassiness/etc that you're feeling could just be the normal adjustment or it could be that you've developed an intolerance to lactose or some artificial sweetener (both common - sometimes the intolerance is permanent, sometimes temporary). Just keep working on it. I know what you mean about food. I actually got to the point where I didn't like food and eating was a challenge. I had to remind myself that it was time to eat. It was annoying at first, but then I realized how easy it was to lose weight when I really didn't give a flip about food and (in my case) was never hungry. Unfortunately, that only lasted about five months (for those of us who lose our hunger and our interest in food, that period typically only lasts a few weeks or months - for some up to a year - before food interest & hunger return, and then it becomes a lot more challenging to stick to the program)

20 months - but I evidently started out a much higher weight than you. As NovaLuna said, it's different for everyone.