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A good phlebotomist once said it's not about what you see, but what you feel. I don't have any medical issues that relate to vein issues, but many many times it was a hunt for a vein to have my blood drawn. I've been poked up to 3 times and have had to have blood taken from the top of my hands on several occasions and once from my wrist (do not recommend that one hurt like a /@%$*). On the day of surgery, the anesthesiologist also poked me 3 times before finally placing the IV and that was with the use of a sonogram thingy(?). I won't lie, that hurt like heck - one because i'm already not a fan of needles and two that one is larger than a standard blood draw needle. Thankfully that was honestly the worst part of my entire in hospital experience start to finish. I was also told that drinking plenty of water helps a lot to plump the veins and I have found that has worked. Obviously that won't always be fail proof when you are restricted from both eating and drinking several hours beforehand. Oh and nothing really changed for me from before or after major weight loss as far as visually finding veins. I've just been lucky the last few blood draws to have someone who knows how to feel around for a good one and only poke me one time.

Thank you all for your replies. It sounds like I’m going to have to go back since it’s so different for everyone. I was hoping it was just a couple extra tests I could ask the NP to add on easily. It’s always such a big deal cause I had a lymph node biopsy under one arm which rules that out and my veins in the other apparently Aren’t great anymore. sorta wondered if it was just the girl at my primary dr at first because the issue started when I started doing it there but I can’t see any veins in that arm anymore either. She had someone else helping her today and between the two of them they found one (the third try) and told me to remember the location of it cause it was a good one they said. My friend told me that if I go to hospital they have actual phlebotomist that know stuff that the nurses do not though so if he does order more I will just ask him to send the order to the hospital this time. I am curious to know if this hard to find veins issue coorelates with weight. I am hoping maybe it will get better after surgery. Wishful thinking probably.

Hello All, I am very new to the group and have not had my surgery yet but am scheduled for June 13th and I am excited to start losing weight exponentially even though I already have while on weight loss meds and starting a gym regimen while in the pre-op stages. My question for you all is if anyone traveled abroad within their first year post op? I am planning on going to Peru in Dec-Jan for two weeks and while I realize I will still have minimal portion sizes I feel I can make it work due to the wide variety of delicious/nutritious foods in the region that dont necessarily have to be carb-loaded. If anyone has experience with traveling to South America/Peru specifically your input would be much appreciated! I am hopeful that by that time I will be able to swim, walk and overall be active around touristy areas with ease but please let me know if there is anything else I should be aware of or try to pack before my travels to ensure I meet all of my nutritional needs.

Using my day of surgery weight, the calculator suggests I'll be 195lbs at 3 months. I'm 204.4 today, but assuming this blasted week-long stall breaks soon, it seems likely I'll be somewhere around there in another 26 days. It tells me to expect 178lbs at 3 months and 158lbs at a year, with a low of 151lbs at 18 months. I would be pleased as punch with that if it happens! That would be exactly 100lbs down from my highest weight, which seems unreal.

yep - most of us lose our sense of hunger for up to a year. I know it seems weird at first, but honestly, I found it very liberating after a while. I was free of "food noise" for the first time in forever! I hoped I'd be one of the very lucky few whose hunger never comes back, but I was not. it came back at five months out. Anyway, yes, norrmal. and take full advantage of that!! It's never going to be easier to lose weight than it will be right now. when you're never hungry and don't give a flip about food!

I had surgery on Monday (22nd) and I was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. The scales show me having gained weight but I’m sure that’s the IV’s they gave me constantly. My question is, I don’t feel hungry in the typical way as I did prior my sleeve surgery. Instead I feel pain? Or is it just gas? Or is it just surgical pain? How can I tell when I’m hungry and I need to eat?? I never thought eating was going to be so confusing. I don’t want to eat anything, I’m not hungry, but I know I have to eat too. Two days out and it all seems so foreign to me still. Help?

Greetings. My name is Jacki, 41 years old from Norther California and I am new around these parts. Here is what my weight is looking like. First visit with surgeon after referal sent over, 11/28/23 I was 373 pounds. 4/19/2024 was 353 after my doctor told me to lose 20 pounds before my next appointment. My scale at home lied to me by like 5 pounds so we will go with the office scale. I left that appointment on the 19th with a surgery date of May 9th, 2024. Nervous and excited is an understatement. I start my 2 week pre-op diet tomorrow 4/25 and it is gonna suck because my birthday is 4/27 but I know this is the best birthday gift I can give myself. This is like the last piece of my puzzle of taking over my life and figuring out who I am and who I want to be. Anyways, I look forward to getting to know all of you guys. Have a great day.

Long story short - had gastric bypass in July of 2019. Highest weight 400. Current weight 167 to 173. I still feel some restriction to this day. Meals are small and I don't eat high fat, high sugar food. 2 yrs ago, I started having right sided pain. It felt like ovarian pain so saw OB & had 2 ultrasounds nothing showed up there. Pain worsened & had gall bladder removed 1.5 yrs ago. Adjusted diet again to deal with gal bladder being gone and things seemed ok. A few months after the right sided pain returned. About 4 mos ago, pain got so bad at times I'd be in a ball on my bed considering going to ER (which I HATE doing). Went back to primary got CT scan. Nothing found. findings. Then he referred me for colonoscopy & upper GI. I thought finally 'this was it, we've ruled out most other things'. I also had seen blood in my stools and it was old blood, like coffee grounds so I thought ok, not hemorrhoids? Just got back home from colonoscopy & upper GI. Good news is no polyps or other concerning things. Bad news is main finding was on bypass "Patient's surgical anastomosis noted to be widely dilated, raising possibility of Dumping Syndrome as a cause". OK, we know what dumping is. Thought it was post surgery when we ate food (i.e. sugar, high fat) that processed too fast, etc. & you had dumping. Is the type of dumping they mention different from post surgery dumping? They recommend I see revision specialist. Has anyone else had revision NOT due to 1st bariatric surgery not being successful but for a "medical reason" like this (other than GERD, heartburn). I'm not even sure insurance will pay, but I have 2 yrs worth of history on this. Even it if does pay, I dread what this means - more hair loss? If I do this, will I need another in 5 yrs?. I also still feel restriction kick in although yes, nothing like 1st 2 years My highest weight right now hovers at 173. I hoped I'd get to 150 but closest I've come is 167-168. Is revision another 'nuclear detonation option'? ANYONE have a revision specialist in the North Texas area they can recommend so I can at least get a consultation (north texas = Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Keller, Bedford, Euless, Hurst and Denton) I've also wondered if there is a chance of some straggler/stone from gallbladder surgery 1.5 yrs ago that should be considered? Any input would be appreciated. This is causing issues on my job as the pain hits out of nowhere (not X amount of time before OR after a meal, that I have been able to discern. Thank you!

Week 3 Post Op Sw: 155kg / 341 lbs Stats to date: - 11.6kg / 25.5 lbs I hit 3 full weeks post op yesterday and met with my surgeon + nutritionist So far so good, nut is happy with the progress i’ve made and have given the ok to move to solid food no restrictions. We looked at my hydration levels, all are good thank god because this particular subject is one of my biggest worries ! She gave me some ideas to up my protein but told me it’s quite normal to not be getting protein in yet and that month 2 is generally when you can build on that. We talked a lot about actually going up in food quantities. She told me that i should be eating 150g meals from month 1-3 then around 200 g from 3-6 months and ending up at 300g meals (standard portion size) from 6-12 months. She explained how to start adding quantity : adding one more spoonful per week. She and my surgeon are both pretty against weighing food they want me to start eyeballing as they both say the goal is to be able to live a normal life and be able to visually know one’s serving. Not sure how i feel about that and the whole upping the quantities thing is scary right now … we’ll see. My surgeon is completely happy and has provided my estimated weightloss curve. He estimates per his calculations a loss of around 60kg in 12 months - fingers crossed. He also gave me the ok to got back to work earlier than he had anticipated - but with a warning that i need to take particular care in having my daily vitamins because work means being more active and more fatigue. He did however not clear me for any physical activity on top of work. I work in an airport so i walk a LOT daily and he doesn’t want me to add more activity on top of my above average daily steps. I’ll be back in his office at month 3 now so early july ! I am officially stalled and have been for around 5 days so far weight wise which is expected and i’ve decided to just put the scale away and check back one week from now. I have survived my first ever restaurant with my boyfriend - and it went great ! I ate very slowly and was able to adapt my portion and my meal (steamed salmon and 1 baby potato) Incidentally we had a little conversation about his exclamations of « is that all you’re having are you sure, are you really sure » and i realised it’s strange for him to be seeing me eating so little and he has this kind of guilt about going all out and eating big portions. It made me feel ssooo good to get back into « normal » life, even at work i packed a snack box of individually portioned snacks (16g cheese slices, 30g watermelon, 30g strawberries and then a lunch of tuna salad and 3 crackers). It was so much easier than i thought to actually get into a real life normal routine - i love it !

I had gastric bypass in July of 2019. Highest weight was 400 before losing a bit on my own. Current weight varies from 167 to 173. I still feel some restriction to this day. My meals are usually small although I know we can all 'eat around' the restriction by eating smaller, but continuous meals and this was a slippery slope I fought back against. About 2 yrs ago, I started having right sided pain. It felt like the pain I used to feel when I ovulated so I assumed it was ovarian. Saw OB & had 2 ultrasounds and they couldn't even see right ovary (and the left was fine. Since they couldn't 'see' the right one, they said that was good since there was no obvious signs of..I don't know tumors, growths? The pain continued to worsen & I finally had gall bladder taken out 1.5 yrs ago. I adjusted diet again to deal with gal bladder being gone and things seemed ok. A few months after that the right sided pain returned. About 4 mos ago, the pain got so bad at times I'd be in a ball on my bed considering going to ER (which I HATE doing). Went back to primary got CT scan. CT came up with no findings. Then he referred me to GI doctor for colonoscopy & upper GI. I thought finally 'this was it, we've ruled out most other things'. I also had seen blood in my stools and it was old blood, like coffee grounds so I thought ok, not hemorrhoids? Just got back home from colonoscopy & upper GI. I thought doing prep was bad yrs ago, but much harder having had bypass surgery. Good news is no polyps or other concerning things. Bad news is main finding was on bypass "Patient's surgical anastomosis noted to be widely dilated, raising possibility of Dumping Syndrome as a cause". OK, most know what dumping is. I thought it was post surgery when we ate food (i.e. sugar, high fat) that processed too fast, etc. and you had dumping. Is the type of dumping they are alluding to different from our post surgery dumping? They recommended I see gastric bypass revision specialist. Has anyone else had revision NOT due to 1st bariatric surgery not being successful but for a "medical reason" like this (other than GERD, heartburn). I'm not even sure insurance will pay, but I have 2 yrs worth of history on this pain. Even it if does pay, I dread what this means for me - more hair loss? If I do this, will I need another revision in 5 yrs again at which point I'll be getting up there in age. I also still feel restriction kick in although yes, nothing like 1st 2 years My highest right now hovers at 173. I hoped I'd get to 150 but closest I've come is 167-168. Is revision another 'nuclear detonation option'? I've also wondered with the CT scan, etc. is there any chance of some straggler/stone from my gallbladder surgery 1.5 yrs ago that should be considered? Should I post this in the revision group instead? I read through some and was unsure. Are we allowed to cross-post? Any input would be appreciated. This is causing issues on my job as the pain hits out of nowhere (not X amount of time before OR after a meal, that I have been able to discern. Thank you!

Oh that is absolutely normal and actually still a great loss streak! The weight loss path is not a straight path down. It will slow and even stall as your body is adjusting. Weight training can add to it, but honestly your body will adjust throughout. And yes the smaller you get, the slower it gets. I lost about 30lbs in the first month and a half (including the pre-op diet) and yet it's taken me nearly 4 months to lose 12lbs. You are still early on since surgery and have done fantastic. We started about the same weight. We are in this for life so keep doing what you're doing and let everything else speak for itself - the way you feel, take pictures and measurements. The scale is just one factor.

I had gastric bypass in July of 2019. Highest weight was 400 before losing a bit on my own. Current weight varies from 167 to 173. I still feel some restriction to this day. My meals are usually small although I know we can all 'eat around' the restriction by eating smaller, but continuous meals and this was a slippery slope I fought back against. About 2 yrs ago, I started experiencing right sided pain. It felt like the pain I used to feel when I ovulated so I assumed it was ovarian (post menopausal). Saw OB & had 2 ultrasounds and they couldn't even see my right ovary (like, where did it go?) and the left was fine. Since they couldn't 'see' the right one, they said that was good since there was no obvious signs of..I don't know tumors, growths? The pain continued to worsen & I finally had gall bladder taken out about 1.5 yrs ago. I adjusted diet again to deal with gal bladder being gone and things seemed to go ok. A ew months after that the right sided pain returned. About 4 mos ago, the pain got so bad at times I'd be in a ball on my bed considering going to the ER (which I HATE doing). Went back to primary and he sent me for CT scan. CT came up with no findings. Then he referred me to GI doctor for colonoscopy and upper GI. I thought finally 'this was it, we've ruled out most other things'. I also had seen blood in my stools and it was old blood, like coffee grounds so I thought ok, not hemorrhoids? Just got back home from colonoscopy & upper GI. I thought doing the prep was bad 10 yrs ago, but it is much harder having had bypass surgery. Good news is they found no polyps or other concerning things. Bad news is I was stunned their main finding was regarding my bypass "Patient's surgical anastomosis was noted to be widely dilated, raising the possibility of Dumping Syndrome as a cause for her complaints". OK, most know what dumping is. I thought it was post surgery when we ate food (i.e. sugar, high fat) that processed too fast or was too much for us to handle. They recommended I see a gastric bypass revision specialist. My question is, has anyone else had a revision NOT due to their 1st bariatric surgery not being successful but for a "medical reason" like this (other than GERD, heartburn). I'm not even sure insurance will pay, but I have 2 yrs worth of history on this pain. Even it if does pay, I dread what this means for me - even more hair loss? If I do this, will I need another revision in 5 yrs again at which point I'll be getting up there in age. I've also wondered with the CT scan, etc. is there any chance of some straggler/stone from my gallbladder surgery 1.5 yrs ago that should be considered? Should I post this in the revision group instead? I read through some and was unsure. Are we allowed to cross-post? Any input would be appreciated. This is causing issues on my job as the pain hits out of nowhere (not X amount of time before OR after a meal, that I have been able to discern. Thank you!

From what I've been reading and a video from Dr. John Pilcher I recently watched, it's definitely normal. You usually lose the most in your first 3 months, around 1/2 the weight you're going to lose. After doing some poking around to clarify, it seems that number is calculated using your day of surgery weight. Between 3 and 6 months, you continue losing at 1-2 lbs a week, and this slows to maybe just a few pounds per month between 6 months and a year. So, let's say you lost 50lbs in the first 3 months, it's going to take you 9 months to lose the other 50lbs, but you most likely will lose it as long as you keep doing the right things.

Hi Me again! So I am noticing that I am losing 1.5-2lbs a week last couple of weeks, I had surgery 1/24 for Gastric Sleeve so I am 14 weeks post op. I have lost a lot of weight fast in the beginning so I am assuming that's why its slowing down? I am incorporating a lot of exercise now including weights so maybe that's why too? I am trying to get into the mind set that I am focusing on how I feel and not so much what the scale says. Just want to make sure this is normal? Weight when I entered the bariatric program: 297lbs Surgery Day Weight: 266lbs CW: 205lbs GW: 170lbs

At my highest weight its tell me 188lbs at 18m but my pre-op weight its tell me its 179lbs. However in both scenarios I am weighing less than the 6months weight and I am 14weeks post op. So hey I call it a win!

I think a lot of us fall into numbers - we are bound to at least at some point. Unfortunately I don't ever think there is a doctor/scientific answer to really calculate it. It's almost the same as why we all have so many different programs - not only our bodies are different, but every doctor has a different take in their "expert opinion". I just had my 1 year post-op visit on Monday, and my surgeon definitely counts my weight loss total from the date I had my consult visit January 2023. I have always kept 2 running totals from before my pre-op diet to the day of surgery weight. Personally I feel like all pounds count and it's an accomplishment to see those numbers go down both before and after the surgery.

nah, i get it, i'm a numbers gal myself, and i LIVE for tracking and data and spreadsheets! ok,so if i were to respond to this specific statement then, my surgeon made his calculations with my weight when i first got accepted into the program...which was 2+ YEARS BEFORE my actual surgery (long story, but i backed out twice before i finally went through it). granted, for ME, it didn't really make a difference because i was the same weight on my acceptance date in 2016, as i was 2 weeks prior to my surgery date in 2018. but im sure many others could not say the same if they were to use the same barometer. long story short, "excess weight" is arbitrary, and the calculations are different depending on who you ask. your best measure of success and progress in the endeavour of weight loss is yourself. is your weight loss graph trending down? yes? then YAY! again, you are doing great...but you don't need me (or anyone else) to validate that, you can see it yourself in your numbers and hard work ❤️ .

I have a tendency in every aspect of my life to set unrealistically high expectations, so I'm trying to manage that, which is why it matters somewhat to me. For me, it provides peace of mind to see numbers (totally get that not everyone feels that way). For background, I was watching John Pilcher's "Real Weight Goals" video, and he says at the 3 month milestone (which is approaching for me), you've generally lost half the weight you're going to lose. He says "not the weight when you first met us, but the weight just before surgery." I got caught up on that phrasing and couldn't figure out if he meant literally the day of surgery or the day you start the pre-op prep, which is a pretty big difference for me. So I was hoping for a more definitive answer on how doctors calculate this type of thing.

like others have said, skin itself does not weigh alot. the stories you have heard about people losing 20-30-40 lbs after plastics, are either (A) folks who lost HUNDREDS of pounds, or (B) folks who had subcutanous fat under their skin, which was removed during plastics.). Most people fall under group B. plastics is more about visual aesthetics (or comfort/life quality) vs actual weight loss on the scale. My surgeon told me the "material" he removed from me weighed a grand total of 400g (less than 1 lb)....not at all significant on the scale, but VERY significant in the mirror. getting a dexa scan is a good idea if you want to know what your physiological make up is. you could use the results of this scan to discuss with your surgeon what they anticipate your end result would be. unfortunately there is no way to know for sure what your results will be until you actually go thru it. good luck! ❤️

From watching my 600lb life, it seems the fat does not weight as much as you think it does.

I feel so defeated.... it feels like every time I try to improve my health I make things worse. A small bit of back story first.... I had my WLS back in 2000, and was never told a lot of what they tell people now. I was simply told to take calcium, stool softeners and a multivitamin.... not what kind or what it should include etc. I was then told years later I was anemic, but after 2 years with that (PCP) doctor she never addressed it even though I inquired. Due to an extremely large hernia and pain I was having, I went to the bariatric doctor and he said to fix the hernia I would need to lose weight. I was losing weight again (after many years) and was feeling tired all the time. I asked my team about the low iron/anemia and asked if should I address it. I was advised to take 18 mg of iron daily so I bought the multivitamin with it included.... I bought a year's worth.... several days in, I became painfully constipated. Nothing worked but suppositories. I also increased my water intake and fiber both in food and with Benefiber. I was finally able to go without extreme pain after 2 days. One day of not using the suppositories and I am right back to not able to go again. I don't know if this is something that my body just needs to adjust to or if I messed myself up with all the years of taking stool softeners (that I don't even know if I was getting benefit of because I took soft gels)... I did message my team to ask advice, but with so many here going through similar stuff I thought I'd rant here also! I hate to think I wasted over $100 on the multivitamins that I can't take now. I'm a retired teacher with limited funds.....lol....

Hello! My name is Christine. I am 23 years post-op and due to how long ago I had my surgery and all they have learned since.... there is so much I need to learn. I have to keep telling my doctors "I wasn't told that..." I am now in the process of losing weight to repair hernias from my initial full cut surgery. I had a Gastric Bypass/Roux en y, back in 2000 (before so much was known and so many products were available). I thought I was ready with the proper mindset to have the surgery and be successful. I lost 95 lbs., but hit a plateau and became very discouraged. Over the years I put the weight back on plus some. I am now retired and realizing I need to get this weight off, not only to fix the hernias but to improve my quality of life in my "Golden Years".

Oh my gosh, this is exactly what I was looking for! Somehow I never came across an actual calculator, just paragraphs of text that say things like, "Let's say Jane weighs 290 lbs and her ideal weight is 110 lbs..." and then you're left to try to extrapolate what that means if you are nothing like Jane.