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Great discussion. When I was a teen with a BMI of 33, I would have been on the borderline. I ended up getting down to a slightly-over-normal body weight by age 21, but spent years after that going up and down, never able to get low enough (for long enough). So in retrospect, I would not have been a good candidate yet as a teen. However, I wish I had done the surgery 10 to 15 years earlier. My own children are obese, even after our family has changed so much nutritionally (due to my changing first). I am willing to pay for my own children to have it if/when they are good candidates, and want it, when they are young adults. If they were more obese, I might feel differently about getting them considered for surgery earlier. But I wonder what the qualifications are for teens to be recommended for WLS, and if they are different than for adults. There have to be some good reasons why the AAP would recommend this for some teens, that the pros outweigh the cons.

Gastric sleeve is such a common surgery these days that I don't think I'd make the trek to New York for it. If the place in Orlando has been doing weight loss surgeries for awhile and you've heard good things about it, I'd just do it there. I did travel for my plastic surgery because I wanted someone who was really top notch, but I don't think it makes as much difference with sleeve or bypass (maybe duodenal switch - or various revisions - but not straight sleeve or bypass) P.S. to answer your question - no, I haven't had experience with either one. But I've never heard of people traveling that far for sleeve (or bypass) surgeries - unless you're talking going to a place like Mexico to have it done for much less than most places charge in the US. P.P.S. I just googled reviews of the bariatric surgery unit at Advent Health. Those surgeons all have stellar reviews. And I'm not talking 10 reviews - there are over 100 reviews for each of them. I don't think you'd have to worry about going there...

I had a revision due to gerd back in August. I didn't really have any stalls but the first couple of weeks, I had Water weight (over 10 lbs) gain due to the IV fluids so that always appears to be a stall. It took over 3 weeks to get rid of all that water. I am guessing that is what you are experiencing right now or something similar. They told me that I won't lose as fast as the VSG but that was not the case for me. I was content at 160 lbs (post vsg weight) but I got down to 108 lbs after revision. I learned a lot of tools while I had my vsg, and they continue to work through the revision.If you gained weight with vsg, to continue losing after revision, your eating habits must change from when you had your vsg. Unfortunately, the surgery itself will not make you lose weight as faster than vsg. Statistically, it is more effective than vsg but not by much. Like the sleeve, it is an effective tool if used correctly. Are you logging your intake? What are your calories per day? If it is below what you daily expend, the weight will continue to come off and you can shrug those pesky stalls off.

I had my bypass revision on 12/13/2022, my period came down a few days after. It has now been close to 4 weeks of it non stop. Some days it's bright, other days its brown but the one thing is that its been constant. Previous to my surgery I had a Mirena for 1 year, I had not had a period for over 10 months. The Mirena was removed in November, a few days later I got the depo shot. So my depo was fairly recent to my bypass. I called my gyno and she is not concerned at this point since there is no odor, pain or fever. Has anyone experienced this? Do you guys think its the shock of surgery? A mix of all the BC hormones recently?

I am curious the process people went through for Sleeve to Bypass? I've been seeing a gastroenterologist for pain, nausea, vomiting. I have had 2 EGD's, both show chronic inflammation and gastritis, due to reflux. My surgeon is sounding very reluctant to do this surgery. I did get down to 115 lbs and have put on 50 lbs since my lowest. He is blaming the reflux on the weight gain, but I was at my lowest, when the first EGD showed inflammation due to reflux. He just ordered a barium swallow, and all came back normal. I am seeing the nutritionist, she said she spoke with the surgeon, and we would be going over the new pre-op diet, since it is different than the sleeve and has changed since I had the sleeve in 2019. I am afraid he will refuse to do the surgery and I will be left with this pain, nausea and vomiting; I have been battling for almost 3 years, with no relief. My gastroenterologist is at his wits end and doesn't want to continue seeing me go through this. I wake up choking on acid, had tests run by my pulmonologist and cardiologist. My asthma had gone away but returned. The surgeon also blames that on the weight gain. Pre-sleeve, I had walked 27,000 steps in a year. This year, I am at 1.7 million steps and ride a stationary bike 10-15 miles a day. This is huge for me, I have something called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Pre-sleeve, I was knocking on deaths door. I only found this "terminal" illness, from my pre-op tests for the sleeve. Since the weight loss, I went from 6 months to live, to medication that has me at "normal/high" levels vs "high". My specialist is afraid the weight gain is spiraling and illness progressing. What changed for me, the medication I take for PAH, you have to consume 250-300 calories per dose with 30-50% fat content. Otherwise, you get violently ill. I take 3 doses a day. When I was diagnosed and first 2 years, I was on a CADD pump and that medication didn't have dietary requirements. Sorry for the long story........I just can't take the reflux (even though the barium swallow does not show but EGD definitely does and has, in 3 different tests) and the weight gain is scaring me to death. What was your process with your surgeons, going from sleeve to bypass? Is this a long process? Did you have a difficult time with insurance approval? Any suggestions on getting this done? Your experience and help, is greatly appreciated!

Thanks Lorie. Im laying here in my post Op hospital room about 24 hours after the surgery. So far so good. Having done this before, even though I don’t remember much for that first time 10 years ago has helped. I too look at it as a chance to not make the same mistakes twice. I lost 20 lbs (8% EBW) just in the 2 week Optifast preop diet and I’m taking that as a win. Defiantly a bit skittish about stressing this little pouch so I’ll sipping slowly. Only clear fluids in hospital and certainly no hunger yet. Incision sites are painful, walking around the ward seems to help with the gas. No GERD or coughing so that’s the real blessing! Anything else is just extra

Hi Dan, I am just checking in to see how your revision went. I am 10 years out from my sleeve and getting a revision on 1/15/23. I am kind of sad about this as well since I really love my Sleeve. However, the severe GERD has prevented me from staying on track and I have had regain over the years. I am hoping the Bypass will not only get rid of the GERD, but also help me shed some of the regain. I wish you well!

yes - I had the same problem since I had the same reaction to either the surgical glue or the tape that my plastic surgeon used. I broke out in hives a day or two after surgery, but it was too early for him to remove the tape, so he put me on prednisone (I think for a week or maybe 10 days) to calm down my immune system until it was safe for him to remove the tape. There were no issues with that and my RNY.

the other thing is, most people do experience a 10-20 lb rebound from their lowest weight during years 2 or 3 - so your regain is normal That's not to say that you can't take it off again, but yea - it'll take work. Good luck to you!! (as I mentioned above, I'm working on that myself!)

Hey yall! This is my first post. I had a VSG in 07/2017, everything was wonderful. I went from a HW of 390 to a LW of 200. The weight came off EXTREMELY quickly. COVID came and it just completely derailed me. Due to regain and heartburn, I just had a VSG revision to Bypass on 12/13/2022. I will be 4 weeks post op tomorrow. Everything was going amazingly great post op, I felt great from day 1 and did not even need pain meds (as opposed with my sleeve). I have been at a stall for 2+weeks and it is driving me absolutely insane. I have lost a total of 26lbs since preop diet (12/01/2022), I have spent the last week walking a TON at the Disney parks and did not weigh myself all week HOPING that when I came home the stall would be broken. I thought maybe the stall was because I was not having frequent BM's but all the walking did help in that area. Much to my surprise, I actually gained a pound when I got home. I am eating well, I am hydrating but just very confused as to why I am stalling for so long. I try to not associate it with my sleeve as my VSG the weight was coming off very rapidly, I was also way heavier. My doctor did warn that I will not lose as much and as fast as the sleeve since this is a revision. I just want to be on the losing path again, has this happened to any of you specifically with a revision?

I dump on sugars and fats. There is early and late dumping. It isn't just a WLS thing as non-ops can dump. Gastric Bypass just makes it easier in many cases. Early dumping usually hits 20-30 minutes after eating. After 20-30 minutes if there is still food in reach there can be vomiting but generally it's just dry heaving with nothing coming up. There is also sweating profusely, weakness, diarrhea, and rapid heart rate, sometimes a headache. Late dumping happens an hour or three later with similar symptoms except for dry heaves. Usually I just start sweating and the other symptoms, if they occur, seem much milder. Dumping is a great educator as it's not something I wanted to repeat so I learned quickly to avoid certain foods. 19 years out from surgery I know what foods in what quantities generally make me dump. But if I am tired, stressed, med conflicts, or a myriad of other situations my dumping threshold could move and I get surprised. At this point it's just something I take as part of the joy of being me. Good luck, Tek

if you're anywhere close to a normal BMI (including the "overweight" category), weight loss is going to be excruciatingly slow. I put on 10 lbs over the past year and am now trying to take it off. About 1/2 lb a week is about all I can manage. The reason is, your calorie intake now is probably MUCH lower than before you had surgery. So there are a lot fewer calories you can afford to cut. For example, when I weighed well over 300 lbs, I was probably eating over 3000 calories a day. Pretty easy to find 1000 - or even 1500 - calories in there that could be cut. That means it was theoretically possible for me to lose 2-3 lbs a week (since a pound is 3500 calories). Now, after my weight loss, my maintenance level is about 1600 calories/day. Cutting 1000 calories from that would put me at 600 cal/day. Ah...no way. You'd have to be under medical supervision to eat at that level. And deducting 1500 calories? That would put me at 100 calories a day. So....no. About the most I can cut and still maintain my health - and not be under medical supervision - is 300-400 calories a day. At a 300 kcal deficit per day, that's a 2100 calorie deficit a week - so a little over 1/2 a pound. If I dropped down to 1200 cal/day, then we're talking a 2800 calorie deficit, so maybe 3/4 of a pound a week (and of course, things like activity level, how muscular you are, etc, would also factor into this - but it probably wouldn't make a significant difference). So I have been eating about 1300 calories a day for the last six weeks, so theoretically I would be down 3.6 lbs. I'm actually down about 5 lbs, so I'm doing very well! if I had dieted for six weeks when I weighed over 300 lbs, I probably could have lost 15-20 lbs by now. But nope - 5. my point of all this is, you may be losing, but at a much lower weight, it's going to be S-L-O-W. And if you're at a normal - or near-normal - BMI, we're talking ounces rather than pounds. It WILL come off - but it'll be slow. I used to mentally roll my eyes at these barely overweight women who would moan and complain at how hard it was to lose 10 lbs. "Ha", I thought, "try losing 200 pounds!". Now I get it...

10 weeks post mini bypass and I cannot seem to eat anything as majority of food has an off putting of odour attached to it living on plain biscuits and coffee made with frothed protein milk anyone else experience this , very very disenchanted , have tried loads of foods but nothing is working

I’m 30 days post, I still can’t drink the 96oz of water required. I might drink 8oz of water a day. Anything over 8oz and it’s butterflies in my stomach and light headedness. I was switched from liquid to soft foods but I can only handle 3 bites of anything. I’m down 27lbs but My energy level is trash, I spend about 19 hours in bed. I only wanted to lose 30 lbs total and get my A1c under control. The vitamin patches I got from bariatricpals give me hives everywhere so that’s60.00, haven’t been able to swallow pills as of yet

liveboard15 - it looks like your measurements haven't changed in 3 months but you lost 10 pounds so you could be gaining muscle too. Looks like even though the numbers don't scream huge loss you are still going. Good luck and congratulations on the loss so far.

wow - so many positive things happening in your life right now! That's fantastic! And congrats on your loss - you look great!! and re; tight pants - they'll never be able to get me out of leggings! I'm built like a linebacker (broad shoulders, broad chest, muscular arms, no waistline) - and have no butt, no hips, and thin thighs. So I tend to gravitate toward slightly oversized tops (preferably with a V-neck so I don't have a huge horizontal span across my chest), and leggings, since the bottom half of me is fine - as in perfectly normal (even on the thin side). Then people are more apt to notice my legs first (at least, I hope so!). If I wear skirts, or dresses, or baggy pants, I look at least 10 lbs heavier than I am. So - no baggy pants for me! (besides, I'm in my 60s - I don't give a hoot about what's in style any more!)

I’m a bit nervous since I’m five months past surgery tomorrow and I’ve only lost a little over half of my excess weight. I spent most of October and November in a stall, did well in December and so far in January I’ve lost a little bit but not a lot. I still have 17-18 kilos to go to get to a healthy BMI, and I’m not going to get there in a year if I will only lose a kilo a month from now on. I lost a total of 19 kilos in the first five months, most of it in the beginning and then in December.

I'm post-op 10/19. Stalled 2 weeks then bam down 4.5#. Down 40#. After 7 weeks it has jumped by at least 3#. Patience. I'm on regular food now and using Myfitness to see how much protein fat, calories and carbs I'm getting.

As soon as I put a deposit down for my surgery I started binge eating massive amounts of food. Like a dozen donuts in one day, an entire large bag of m & Ms. I feel so uncomfortable all the time. I bet I will have gained 10 pounds before date of surgery. I am out of control. I guess I want to ask if this has happened to anyone else but I’m afraid I’m alone in this behavior. What will happen if the surgery doesn’t happen?! I’m in a mess.

Maybe finding a good therapist & a dietician will help your cousin get back on track. They can be very helpful during this process - supporting her through the emotional turmoil & sorting out her dietary concerns & issues. Also speaking with her surgeon (via Skype or similar) or asking them for a referral to another surgeon close to her now may be helpful too. There is no need to go back to the very low calorie, shake diet. This was in place for a specific period of time to support healing. Sure people lose weight on very low calorie shake diets but they are not sustainable & regain is usually inevitable. Eating in a way that was more like what she was doing when she well into her weight loss (say the 6 or 12 month mark) would be more beneficial: observing portions, protein & fluid goals, & eating a range of vegetables, fruit, dairy, & small amounts of low processed multi/whole grains. As @catwoman7 said a bounce back regain of 10-20lbs is very common in the 2nd/3rd years so her regain could be just that. Also I wonder if she was given reasonable expectations as to what her weight loss could be after surgery? The average weight loss after sleeve or bypass is about 65%+/- of the weight you have to lose to put you in the healthy BMI weight range. (Yes, the healthy BMI range is not always the best weight range for someone & yes, some people do exceed the average result.) She may be beating herself up with somewhat unrealistic goals ( though I understand her desire to lose more). This video may be of assistance to help your cousin look at her achievement of losing 175lbs in a different way: a success.

"journey" "3 week stall" "only x lbs" (in a dismissive way in referring to lbs lost) and, similar to @Tomo, i have a pet peeve about the ANGST folks unnecessarily put upon themselves when comparing their own results to others without CONTEXT. Yes, Sally may drop 30 lbs the first month because she started off at 350 lbs, vs Jane who lost "only" 10 and started off at 200. And yes, Joe, who is also 350 lbs lost 50 lbs, but he is like 8 inches shorter than Sally and is a dude. and there is brenda who lost 5 lbs cuz she has a medical condition and hasn't yet learned how to adjust her lifestyle around it. we all have the same goal: to lose weight. in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter sh*t if i lost faster/slower more/less than some random stranger on the internet. *rant over*

Have you tried any other appetite suppressants? If you go on Wegovy, it'll work but if you ever have to go off it (like if there's a nation wide back log again) you'll gain everything back and then some. My friend was on Ozempic and this happened to her. It might be better to look at an appetite suppressant and a metabolism booster and carb blocker (I use those) and do a reset on your stomach to get it used to eating smaller portions and better foods, and try drinking some brewed teas (I drink hibiscus tea, green tea, white tea, yerba mate tea, and black tea. Sometimes I switch some of those out for oolong tea and pu-erh tea.) They help with fat burning, suppressing appetite, some have a bit of caffeine in them for a natural energy boost. I would try that stuff before you go on a medication that will likely go back out of stock, and will cause major weight regain as soon as you have to stop taking it (my friend was working out, changed her diet, and taking Ozempic and within 10 days of being off the Ozempic, she had already regained 5 pounds. After a month, she gained back everything she lost, and after 2 months, she gained an extra 5 pounds).

as long as you know how many calories it takes to maintain your weight - and track your food intake to be sure you're not going over that (except for an occasional "splurge" day, like on a holiday - in which case you just get right back on track the next day), you should be OK. Also, decide on what your top acceptable weight is, and once you get there, it's all hands on deck to get it back down again before it gets out of hand. as for the hunger, I'm guessing your body is probably happy where it is and doesn't want to lose weight. That's not to say you can't, but it'll be a struggle, because you'll be fighting biology. I'm dealing with the same thing right now. I want to lose 10 lbs - but the old body doesn't. You'll have to decide if it's worth the struggle. For some people it is, for others it's not. If you want to lose but the hunger is really bad, there are medications to control that (Wegovy might be one (??) - not sure - but they're out there). Some clinics are fine with prescribing those to you, others aren't - but it sounds like your is OK with it.

at two years out, she should be getting double the number of calories she's getting now (if not more - depends on her height, weight, activity level, etc) - unless she's super short or has really screwed up metabolism or something. 662 calories is only common in the first few months after surgery, not at two years out. re: the 10 lb gain, most of us gain 10-20 lbs after hitting our lowest weight, so that's not uncommon. It's almost expected...(not inevitable, but it happens to most people) protein - most of us are encouraged to get 60-80 grams a day. I need 100, but that's because we discovered early on that I malabsorb it - my prealbumin level tanks if I don't get that much. But I'm not the norm. 300 is crazy. No one needs that much - not even body builders. That's so weird that the app is telling her that!! you mentioned an RD - might be a good idea for her to see one to get some good advice and guidelines on what/how she should be eating. She may have some issues that we don't necessarily know about (like me and my protein issue....)

CROSS POST Hey all! I'm a 3 timer (I've had all 3 surgeries: lap band, sleeve, and bypass, currently underweight, struggling to keep weight up after losing colon in emergency surgery about 10mths ago but still remember what being overweight was like). My cousin had the VSG about 2 yrs ago at almost 400 lbs and has been semi successful and has lost close to 175lbs but over the past 9 mths or so has plateaued becuz of numerous "reasons" (moving across country marital woes, works stress, you name the stress, heredity,, etc.). She has reached out to me for help, as I admin a FB group for people with wls's + i was fairly successful (before I lost my colon, lol ) as she's desperate for help before it gets out of hand. She's gained 10 lbs in the past 10 mths since moving cross country and doesn't want to continue on. So, for the past month (and yes, even during the holidays), she's kept a strict journal which she always during her active losing phase. She sent me the last few days worth. I was dismayed to see her intake/output. Literally I think she's starving herself. She's taking in 662 calories a day and exercising 280 . This means she's getting in maybe 380 cals a day. And shes' a special needs teacher and a mom of a 6 yr old! OMG! She's drinking a lo cal protein shake for bfast and lunch and eating a super lo cal protein/veg dinner. She's getting in plenty of water and her vits, luckily. I think she's starving. But she said she's tried every variation of every single meal variation out there and she's frustrated she wants to cry. She's been on every "diet" her entire life and this sleeve was her saving grace and the only thing that worked - for a minute. Until the honeymoon was over. It's been about 2 yrs and now the hard work actually starts and I've told her this. Ok, I just got this info from her when I asked her how much protein she was getting: 109 gms a day. MFP shows only 35%. And she downloaded the ACTUAL MFP pie chart to prove to me this WAS the case and OMG! This is TRUE. Since when is MFP encouraging people to get almost 300 gms of protein a day? What protein u don't use, u pee out. Unless u r an unlucky few that r prone to kidney disease and then u get kidney dz! Seems ridiculous. Almost 300 gms!? And now they charge u? I told her she really doesn't need more than 70-80. I need some input on how to help her. Some ,meal/snacking solutions. I dont think she needs to know that she needs to increase her protein as she's already getting an overabundance in that department. Maybe something her dr can do for her? Tests or something? Metabolism tests? Is this done with blood or what? Or can it be done by a RD? HELP! Marci X POSTED