Hello Everyone!! My name is Callie and I'm a 40 year old wife, mother of 3 and live near LaCrosse, WI. I will be having a bypass after band surgery on August 13th. I had my band put in on May 14. 2009. Life was pretty good until I started getting "fills and unfills". I was in and out of the hospital too many times to count. Then last summer we went on vacation to Seattle on the way there I had to have emergency surgery to remove the band. A year later, my weight is back up to 200 and all the co-morbities are back. The postive thing I've learn through my journey, is to set goals. Since my May of 2012, I've walked over 1500 miles, Started walking and then running 5K's and to date I've done 3 1/2 marathons. I can't wait to get healthy so I can starting running again.

I pray all goes well this time

1 year ago (and 88#'s ago) I took the plunge and decided I had enough of diabetes, high blood pressure, depression and a multitude of other ailments. I decided lap band was the tool I needed. And although I didn't quite meet my 1 year goal of 100 lbs lost I am sooooo much closer than I would have ever been before. Thank you Dr. Jamie McDowell and the staff at Baptist Metabolic Surgery Center. I could NEVER have done this without you. And everyone who cheered me on at home, and at Zander, I owe you a huge debt of gratitude. You have been the best cheering section someone could have.

Hello everyone

I had VSG surgery on 30th June this year. After I met a member of the surgical team in Jan this year and had a real talking to I lost 3 and a half stone before my pre op diet. I have lost nearly 2 stone since the surgery. Whilst I don't feel hunger just an emptiness I do feel head hunger. I make sure I have fat free chicken breast in my fridge to nibble on when needed. I did start eating bad stuff when on holiday and was lucky to keep losing weight mainly because of the walking I did. I am off to the gym today and need to get back to that. I have to say that even with eating bad snacks I have still been under 800 calories a day. Need to get more veggies in to prevent toilet trouble as I am sure you all know what I mean!!!

Hello, I am Annette, 42 in North Carolina. I had RNY in Feb 2004 where I lost 130 lbs. I ended up going back to bad habits so I gained back 80lbs. I had a RNY Revision on 6/28/12 and am working on my lifestyle changes forever!

Hi

Lisa here , sleeve date is set for 9-6-12, I am actually doing this with my sister who is having RYN 8-27-12. I have great support from family and friends....... actually some friends on obesityhelp.com WLS site told me about this site to track my food intake even though I usually use another site thought I would see what all the hype is about. I have noticed while browsing forums there are allot of WLS bashers on here, Hopefully this is a more positive forum with real people wanting ot share real ideas & thoughts.

anyhow glad to be here , I am down 20 lbs so far and 150 to go !!! whoo hooo , hit me up with friend request if you like , lets share some ideas, tips, recipes , thoughts what ever .

Talk to you soon
on my way to a new me

Hello everyone,
I had gastric sleeve surgery on June 4th. I've lost 22 pounds so far. The weight has started to come off much slower now. I know part of the problem is not enough liquid. Anyway, I seem to be stuck right now.
I am looking forward to sharing and making lost of new friends.
Take care. :flowerforyou:

I'm really enjoying hearing the WLS stories here. I'm currently considering getting a sleeve or a bypass, leaning towards the sleeve. I've been overweight my whole life, though was healthy ad active for the first 30 some years. Then i got a hair and decided to run off to france and get a lapband 11 years ago (before they were US approved). I came back to no support, no doc that would touch me and spent some time figuring out how to get filled/unfilled. I lost 170 lbs then. I couldn't swallow my own saliva eventually and had the fluid taken out by someone. I still struggled to eat however, and then one day, i could eat a bite of a hot dog, which then quickly became "i could eat anything" and I gained 10 lbs a month for the next couple years until i was almost 400 lbs. I pretty much gave up. These last couple years i have decided to try to get healthy...my blood pressure was in the gutter, i was having anxiety attacks, and well lots of little things healthwise, like apnea and gallbladder issues. I've lost about 60 lbs this last year, but am moving towards having my band removed. I've had a surgeon who has taken a look at it, and all that jazz, but basically it just isn't working for me and seems to be causing me pain. I'm proud that i've been able to lose this 60 lbs by learning to eat a little better and such, but i'm so worried that i will not be successful on my own and that i need another tool to help me along. I'm hoping because my habits are overall "better" that i will be successful with another WLS, but of course i also see that such a large portion of it, especially for the long term, is not a free ride, but rather paying attention and being healthy for always. At this point i don't know if i'll do it or not (i will remove my "useless" and troublesome band but not sure if i will do the sleeve or bypass or not yet) but am going through the process while i have good insurance. I am so glad there is a group of people here that have done it, or considered it, and i'd love to have info/support, etc...I want to be healthy, and for life, not just for a time. I'm 44 and have two grown boys (20 and 21) and am a single mom for many years. I've loved the support from MFP folks, but also wanted to join a WLS specific group since it's been on my mind a lot lately. I would appreciate any friends/info. And of course i'd love to offer regular ol' support as well. I'm not an everyday poster (i tend to get lost in message boards) lol, but i'm definately here!

Hi Folks, I had RNY Gastric Bypass on 16th august 2012. I have been using Myfitnesspal since I was on pre-op diet and found it very useful. I would like more 'WLS' friends for food ideas and encouragement.

ckdjvio

Hello.
My name is Rebecca. I am considering having the gastric sleeve. I say considering even though I have started all the pre-surgery doctors appointments because I am scared and feel like I will probably back out at the last minute.

I have shared with people at work and family that I am considering the surgery. I've had mixed reactions. My aunt told me I was lazy, a co-worker said I was taking the easy way out, some said to really think about it before doing something so drastic. My husband has been supportive. He has told me it would make no sense to have the surgery if I'm not willing to change my diet, I have a really bad sweet tooth.

Anyway, I'm glad I found this group here,

I was lucky that everyone I told seemed to show support. If they felt any different they did well at keeping it to themselves! My boss, husband and family were all 100% behind me. I did not hide it all. I owned my decision and was proud to share it.

On another note, one reason I chose surgery, is because I needed a new TOOL to HELP me figure out how to eat correctly. My body now rejects inappropriate food choices! As for the easy way out... who in their right mind would do this to their body and call it easy. There is nothing easy about it. Your head does not catch up with your body over night, so it is a constant struggle to remind your self that certain choices will be regretted soon after consumption. There is nothing lazy about it. As you begin to loose weight, you have amazing energy that you have been missing for so long. I find myself doing little things like, not looking for the closest parking space because i don't wanna walk. or not grabbing a cart at the store to lean on, or not thinking twice when Im in a hurry and don't wanna wait for the elevator. Energy is restored.

Please feel free to friend me! I would be happy to answer any questions!

My name is Sandy and I had sleeve surgery on 7/10/2012. I have lost almost 40 pounds so far. I was going to the gym 6 days a week before surgery, but now I am finding it hard to get back to a regular routine. I think I started back a little too soon and got really dizzy and nauseated the first couple times so that has kind of set me back a little. When I go, I am walking on the treadmill for about 45 minutes but I am noticing that my biggest fear is starting to happen....saggy skin, yuck! Anyone have any suggestions on things to really help with this? Thanks and good luck on shedding those LBS. :flowerforyou: :bigsmile:

My name is Sandy and I had sleeve surgery on 7/10/2012. I have lost almost 40 pounds so far. I was going to the gym 6 days a week before surgery, but now I am finding it hard to get back to a regular routine. I think I started back a little too soon and got really dizzy and nauseated the first couple times so that has kind of set me back a little. When I go, I am walking on the treadmill for about 45 minutes but I am noticing that my biggest fear is starting to happen....saggy skin, yuck! Anyone have any suggestions on things to really help with this? Thanks and good luck on shedding those LBS. :flowerforyou: :bigsmile:

Nope...feeling your pain though. I am starting to look like a melting candle I just keep exercising and moisturizing! How well your skin snaps back depends on so many factors....how long you were over weight, how much yo[yo weight loss you have had before, your age, genetics, etc. I am just going to hope for the best and once I get to goal and stay there awhile I will look into plastics.

Hello all. I had a gastric bypass on 8/22/2012. I am sort of at a loss of what to say. I have wanted this surgery for years, but things didn't come together until this year. I would like to get down to a size 16 at least, so I have a very long row to hoe.

Good for you Robin for catching it before it gets totally out of hand. Best to you!