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I chose the VSG for the same reasons as everyone else: no rearranging of intestines, no dumping, etc. My surgeon warned me that having more than 100# to lose & having a history of problems with sweets, I may never lose all the weight with VSG but he'd do whatever I was most comfortable with. I wish I'd done RNY. My sleeve has been nothing but a PITA since day one, & I'm still 100+ lbs overweight, 2 years out. And not because I don't follow the plan (that's always the 1st thing ppl accuse you of when you stop losing at 5-6 months post op).

I chose the sleeve because able I needed to be able to take NSAIDS, I didn't want the malabsorption, and I didn't want dumping. I wasn't diabetic and didn't comorbidities. I knew that statistically I would lose more with the bypass, but at the time I was over 300 pounds and it ALL seemed too good to be true. I figured 60% EWL would be good enough. So, fast forward 2 1/2 years, and I am happy with my decision. I lost about 90% of my excess weight, though it could be 100% if I changed my goal . My labs are normal and I don't need an excess of Vitamins to keep them there. I have never dumped or thrown up, and now I eat small normal size portions. (I do take vitamins, and I do follow the Bariatric Eating plan). I will admit there are times I wonder if I could have lost that last 5-10 pounds with the bypass, but it's a fleeting thought.

Hi, i've heared more stories about stalling after a few weeks. I don't think you should be worried just yet. To be clear i had my surgery on monday but I have read stories where people stalled after few weeks. Your body has been totally reset but I am sure you will lose weight again soon. So keep it up and remember when you start walking more or excersising you will train your muscles etc so weightloss is expected to be slower! Sent from my SM-G920F using the BariatricPal App

This is so sad for me. I was never very big. When I was fat I was about a 42C. I went for a bra fitting at Victoria Secret. There is no Somas here. I live in the middle of nowhere and in fact, had to go to Victoria Secret 100 miles away. Anyway, they didn't have a bra to fit me . Since losing weight, I have completely lost my boobs. I tried on several A cups but they were all too big. For some reason, I am smaller than I was in H. S. when I weighed less than this. I've gained a little weight back but not in my boobs! Baahhh!

I have BCBS TN my paperwork was sent out today but I haven't lost any weight and its frustrating that you spend so much time money and effort and that your insurance can deny you for not losing enough BEFORE surgery! But Im crossing my fingers that it gets approved!! Good luck! :-)

Thanks for your responses and I'm so glad to hearth at people have been satisfied with b BCBSTN, because I've heard otherwise. I'm not in TN, I work in DC, but my company is a TN based one, so it's been difficult because there not much in network choices here. Luckily, the hospital that is in network is good and a center of excellence. My requirements are 10% weight loss from high lest weight, BMI 40, Nut appointment, Psyh eval (must include a eating disorder inventory and MMPI personality inventory), 5 years documented weight loss. I'm 13 pounds away from my 10% and it's just frustrating because its been really hard to loose it. It's good to see others with this insurance because its taken me a while to find some ppl with it, so thanks for replying.

If you get your Water, virtually eliminate unnecessary carbs, eat lean Protein first and then a bit of veges/low sugar fruit, chew like crazy, you will lose. The plateaus are tough to get through, but already I am seeing lots of weight coming off.

Hello, I am new to this forum. I was banded 12/20/06. I have lost about 30 pounds. I have been stuck at the same weight for 2 months. I just started working out(last week). I have not been dealing with stress well lately either-wanting to overeat Any suggestions on how to break this plateau or replace stress eating/habit?

Hey there, I wanted to know if anyone has gotten approved with UHC Choice Plus (PPO). if so, how long did it take? Also, I am missing some of my 5 year weight history, and I know that my BMI was under 35 for some of the years. My current BMI is 44-45 and I have PCOS/Hypothyroidism/insulin resistant. Has anyone been approved on weight/BMI alone, or submitted to insurance without a complete history. My patient advocate said my insurance is wonderful and feels i will have no problems getting approved. I am just getting a little anxious about the entire process as I am hoping I will get approved. Thanks, Courtney

I have the same insurance only thing is it is probably a different employer which means our requirements are probably different... I can tell you that with mine if your BMI is over 40 you get approved without jumping thru all the hoops.. if you are under you will need a letter of pre determination from your dr, 5 years of weights and one co morbidity...

Your body can only shed weight so fast. I think losing fast in the begining will cause things to go a little slower after that. I lost a lot the first month, pretty good the second month, then 8 pounds the third. I was really disappointed too. Having an unrealistic expectation contributes to anxiety and frustration.Then I realized the secret is in doing this long term. Just keep doing things right and it will come off. No way to know how fast it will go, but since we absorb every calorie we eat, about 2 pounds a week is great!

Hey there! I just had my band taken out yesterday due to a major slip. Having a lot of gas shoulder pain and my stomach muscles are very sore. How long did it take you to recover? Plus I've lost 170lbs and I've had the band for 3 years and I'm so nervous about gaining the weight back. Have any advice?

You have all my sympathy; I'm so sorry you are in this situation. Your surgeon will give you post-op directives. In terms of maintaining your loss, just know it will be tough. Be very mindful of how you were pre-surgery and how you never want to have to lose that weight again. It is extremely difficult to maintain a good loss such as the one you've had (we all know this, having dieted forever) but now that you are at a healthy weight, it won't be impossible. If I were in your position, I'd get right to a nutritionist and get advice on how best to keep you loss maintained as an unbanded person. It will involve more willpower than with the band, certainly, but it is not impossible. Wishing you a good recovery and much strength.

My carrier, Independent Health does cover Vertical Sleeve, and my BMI is certainly high enough (50+). They do require a pre-surgery weight loss of 5% starting weight. Last time I was at the surgeons office he gave me a hard time because I barely lost anything. I am journaling, exercising, and have been eating right. I keep getting depressed because I'm so afraid that when I go back on february 17 that he'll put me on the backburner and make me wait forever. Self-pay for this surgery, including the hospital stay and necessary consults is $29,000. If I can't lose this 5% by then (it's been 3 months of dieting like this), can I ask him to make a petition to my insurance company to see if they will cover it anyway? I've been jumping through hoops for this surgery since May 2010.

Wow! 21 to 2! Mine are 17 to 5. I've always been over weight too. My smallest weight was 155 but I starved myself and worked out excessively. It lasted about 2 years then I went back up. My biggest was 314 but I'm 294 now. I can't wait to have my surgery so I can be a.healthy 155. It's amazing how fast you lost your weight. If you don't mind me asking, did ypu end up with loose skin?

I started my journey towards lapband on 6/24/08 at a start weight of 258. I work at a hospital as a CNA and unit clerk, and I'm on their insurance. We have a baractric center inside and I never paid much attention. Many times I passed the posters in the hall and looked at the huge wheelchair near the entrance, and I even work on the unit that takes care of people after their weight loss surgery but I never gave it much thought. A nurse I work with told me the reason we take care of so many of our co-workers after surgery is because they are all getting banded because our insurance only charges $250. I couldn't believe my ears. I asked her for more details. She said how you only have to have a BMI of 40 or even less if you had co-morbidity's and I'd be shocked if I knew how many co-workers I worked with had it done. Everything clicked. It was like God was telling me what I needed to hear. I talked to another co-worker that night who I knew had the gastric bypass at my job and asked her if the info I got was true and she confirmed it and told me all I had to do was go to an info session and they were having another one in 2 days. I went. I knew right that night of the info session I was doing this. I promised myself January 2007 that my goal was to finally loose the weight. But I say that every year. The last time I really lost weight was 2006 (hence the screen name) where I got down to 221 on Weight Watchers. I got so much praise from family and friends then. Of course I gained it all back. It seemed like I sped right along thru the program. I did their 1 month of one night a week classes and weekly weigh in. Thats where you learn all the bandster rules and how to eat better, exercize, etc. I met the psych doctor twice, meet the dietitian twice, and had my surgical appointment, and gave up my 8 can a day diet coke obsession. I'm glad I did that early in the process. I did suffer from a few days of headaches. I broke it to my family and everyone was sorta shocked. But no one gave me any real flack and my Mom who lost a lot of weight about 15 years ago from doing speed and crash dieting (and told me never to do it that way) and kept her weight off was super happy for me. She said this was going to completely change my life. The two week liquid only diet was hell. Towards the end anyway. I had to take the night before surgery off at my job because I knew I wouldn't be able to do the work. I was that worn down. Before I took my leave at work I did tell a few co-workers I was having the surgery done. I even bought a really great pedometer that syncs to your home computer and decided for now that was the exercise for me. Now 2 weeks post opt my goal is 12,000 steps a day. I'm just a little over 2 weeks post opt. I'm taking a month off of work because I do lift heavy patients at my job and don't want to take any risks. I have to say I've learned a lot about myself these past few weeks. I needed this last month of summer off to do this for myself. With out this I wouldn't have lost any weight this year. In a way I wish I didn't tell as many co-workers I was having the surgery done because I'm afraid when I go back to work they won't notice a big difference because right now I'm only 23 pounds down and they might think I'm some sort of failure. I secretly feel pressure inside because I told to many people. Now I'm getting to the point I know I'm going back to my job in 2 weeks (which was a lot of physical labor taking care of patients for 8 solid hours walking and lifting all night) and have no clue how I did the job being that huge. Looking back now I realize it was complete hell doing that job that heavy. I'm also taking 2 fall classes at the community college starting in 2 weeks. After I finish those classes I will be able to start my Respiratory Therapy clinicals. My whole life is about to change. I'm finally making strides to getting away from a job I'm completely unsatisfied with and finishing college. I've been working part time to also chug along slowly in school, and driving my paid off 99 Chevy Cavalier with a dent in the back side because its what I can afford on this pay. And working only part time because I really don't like my job, but I'm stuck at it which is an hour drive each way from my home to the good pay and good benefits, and free school. I live with my boyfriend who is handicap and in a wheelchair, and his mom. They each own half of the house we live in. I've been here 4 years now and have made no real great progress in my life the last 4 years. But I'm finally getting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. I can't wait to be in ONEDERLAND (199 or less) by christmas. Can't wait to buy a new winter coat for the first time in years. :redface:

I am coming up on my one year anniversary of my surgery and have appt with my doctor to go over everything, lab work, etc. which is required at one year post-op. Anyway, back to my question. I think I am too tight but I don't want an unfill because then I am worried I will be too loose - I haven't lost any weight in two months even though I have had restriction so I am starting to wonder what is going on. In the morning I can barely get my protein shake down it sort of hurts going down by lunch I can only eat about a portion of chicken salad or something like that and then dinner I usually have a cup of hot tea and a lean cuisine - what do you think? Thanks.

Well, the doc and I finally decided on the bypass over the sleeve. My surgery date is this coming Thursday. It’s unbelievable to me that less than 45 days ago I had my first consultation about weight loss surgery and now BAM!! Here we go…. I start the bowel prep tomorrow, and man…I so am not looking forward to it. I don’t have the luxury of taking the day off from work (as I’m taking almost all my vacation time for the recovery), so I’ve got to suck it up and down that stuff between 10am – Noon. An entire gallon of it!! And of course making sure I have a beeline to the crapper. That and the fact I’m done eating solid food for...well, I guess 3 week after the surgery. It’s funny the relationship I have with food. I’m having real remorse about not eating. Not that I’m hungry, just, not being able to eat with my family. I can deal with not eating, but I think I’ll have a tuff time watching my family eat “real food” while I have my bowl of Jell-O…sigh Anyway, it’s what we have to go thru though. It’s what’s required…damnit I hope I can get through tomorrow without any bathroom accidents….YIKES. -Jason

This is what my trainer said too. Do weights first, then cardio if you're going to do them both in the same session.

I had my surgery on Tuesday and was home by Friday am. Immediately after surgery I had zero pain or discomfort, but I was extremely dizzy. So I waited about 7 hours before venturing our of my bed after sitting up for about 5 minutes. By morning I was walking around like nothing. The main thing I'm dealing with is the water retention. My hand from where the IV was is still "swollen". I came back home and weighed myself after drinking only about 30 oz of water in 4 days to find I gained 5 pounds!!! Shocked isn't quite strong enough to describe how I felt. I'm assured that its all water weight and it will go away quickly. My incisions are nearly healed with mild bruising around. I walk everywhere, not without effort, and I sip water and clear protein drinks all day - 1 sip about every 5 mins or so. Absolutely no vomiting at all, which I am pleasantly surprised by. Guess I'll wait for this water to go away?? Oh, and a weird thing is I started my cycle 3 days after surgery. I still had 12 more days to go when it spontaneously started. I thought that was weird.

I felt like you. I got down to 150 and ran a half marathon. After a few years of starving just to maintain my weight, I eventually started gaining. Unlike you, I gained it all back and then some. I hated myself, felt weak, felt like I was a complete failure. I was ashamed that I turned to surgery (am getting ready to turn to surgery). Then I decided that it's unproductive to keep punishing myself. Who cares how I am successful as long as I'm successful. I could hold out and try to show my strength by trying to do it without any tools like surgery or pills but likely I'll just stay fat so that's a dumb idea. I'm going to do whatever it takes to lose weight and keep it off and I'm not going to feel one bit bad about it. Everyone who goes through this works their tush off (literally) so it's not the easy way out. Stop wasting time on feeling bad about yourself and start thinking about how great it will feel to easily keep that weight off next time.

As we all know, food comes in all shapes and sizes......and tastes (and numbers). It's all still "food" Now, of course, the trick is.....how much. No, you're not gonna gain weight......(that is as long as it was only one you popped one...and not the whole platter.) The deal is to try to monitor the "what" and the how much of the "what" as in counting all the nutrition values etc. As many others have suggested, I have used MyFitnessPal since my pre-op diet......Every day, every single thing that goes in my mouth. In maintaining daily goals, you'll learn to make better choices. Teeny amounts of useless, high calorie, low protein junk, just won't cut it anymore. So, don't fret the occasional venture to the "dark side" .........it's all part of the learning process.

I'm not sleeved yet (Sept. 1), but I lost 90 pounds "on my own" back in 2010/2011. After I lot the weight, I had an extended tummy tuck to remove my excess skin and I had a breast lift with implants for the same reason you're considering it. I never had large breast to begin with, but had gotten up to a C at my heaviest, so when I lost the weight and got down to an A/B again, they were very "deflated" looking. So I knew I wanted a lift and why not get implants as well, since my breasts had always been on the small side. I am SOOOOOOOOO happy I did it! I love love love them. And even though I've regained the weight (thus the need to be sleeved) I a hopeful that I won't have the same issue losing weight this time around, since the implants obviously won't shrink as I lose weight. One thing you have to be okay with though is the scarring, There will be scarring, so make sure you and your spouse are prepared for that. The amount of scarring will depend on what type of lift is necessary.

<p>Hello</p> <p> </p> <p>I was banded on November 15th and my starting weight was 272.6 as of this morning my weight is 250.1. I am not scheduled until 01/09/08 for my 1st fill.<img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/cry.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Think" smilieid="15" class="inlineimg" /></p>url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wSfG7Ny/] [/url]

Hey thats me! - Im famous - lol. I definately don't eat like that everyday - in fact I don't eat Bread - Pasta - Rice - or white potatoes. Every now and then I will indulge in a sub but its far and in between. You will find with time you can easily eat around the sleeve if you want to. Of course you will get fat again and undo all hard work you have done to lose the weight. You can eat quite a bit if you space it out over an hour or so or drinking with your meal you can obviously eat more because you flush the food out of your stomach. I still make it a rule to never drink while I eat. Just be careful - remember you DO NOT want to fall into these bad habits. I weight myself a few times a week, exercise, and do not allow my weight to fluctuate more than 5 pounds. I will never allow myself to be a miserable obese man again. Having a small stomach and less hunger hormones ROCKS because I like to feel full. Don't worry about the future - just follow your plan - Protein first - keep the carbs under control and enjoy the journey. There is more to life than stuffing our face with food anyway.