1. < Bariatric Surgery & Weight Loss

How successful where you after bariatric surgery?

Posted by deere5010 @deere5010, Mar 13, 2023

I am so neverous but excited to get approved for sugery. I struggled with weightloss my whole life. What are your positive and negative thoughts going thru the whole process

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Mentor
Laurie, Volunteer Mentor | @roch | Apr 28 7:20am
In reply to @mholpit63 "I had the lap band surgery in 2007. I lost 20lbs the first year. After the..." + (show)
@mholpit63

I had the lap band surgery in 2007. I lost 20lbs the first year. After the first year I started to lose weight quickly. By 2017 I got very sick. It felt like there were shards of glass in my stomach. I had an abscess. It turned out that the band eroded into my stomach. They surgically removed the band and port. When they cut me open there was an awful smell that stunk up the OR. I was down to 113 lbs malnourished and dehydrated with infection through my abdomen and blood. I was in the hospital for about a month. I wish they had the sleeve back then.

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@mholpit63
Thanks for sharing your story. What a dreadful experience you had. Weight loss surgery has improved and many newer options exist then just 15 years ago.

How are you doing now?

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mholpit63 | @mholpit63 | Apr 26 7:53pm

I had the lap band surgery in 2007. I lost 20lbs the first year. After the first year I started to lose weight quickly. By 2017 I got very sick. It felt like there were shards of glass in my stomach. I had an abscess. It turned out that the band eroded into my stomach. They surgically removed the band and port. When they cut me open there was an awful smell that stunk up the OR. I was down to 113 lbs malnourished and dehydrated with infection through my abdomen and blood. I was in the hospital for about a month. I wish they had the sleeve back then.

REPLY
1 reply
mcordeiro | @mcordeiro | Apr 23 5:01pm
In reply to @joysmiley64 "I had my Roux N-Y surgery on August 19, 2024. I weighed at about 270 pounds..." + (show)
@joysmiley64

I had my Roux N-Y surgery on August 19, 2024. I weighed at about 270 pounds in February of 2024 and lost 30 pounds on my own before surgery. I have currently lost 93 pounds and down from a size 20 to size 14 in jeans, and from a size 3x to an Xtra large top, 8 months later. I have lost overall a total of 52 inches. Most of it is 36 inches from my waist and hips. I feel fantastic!!! I have learned that I cannot eat anything with a lot of sugar, or I would end up with Dumping Syndrome. Running to the bathroom is no fun, and you quickly learn what you cannot eat or drink. I am Diabetic, and losing the weight has helped me considerably with keeping my numbers down and I am not taking as much insulin as I used to. I am hoping with meeting my weight loss goal, which is 150 or less, that I will be off insulin all together. I have been able to go for longer walks now as I couldn't do it before losing weight. It is easier on my hips and knees! I continue taking all the required vitamins that they suggest. It is a good idea to follow up with the Post-op meetings every month online or talk with your doctor or nutritionist about any concerns you have. I have had great success and only wish I could have done this years ago when I first learned of this. I didn't have the right insurance that helped cover the costs. Most of all, I thank the Lord for providing the right people to help get me where I am at today. My before pic before surgery and 2nd pic is 8 months later

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Good for you. You look great and I bet you feel fantastic too, once you got the dumping syndrome under control.

REPLY
klch | @klch | Apr 22 12:00pm
In reply to @joysmiley64 "I had my Roux N-Y surgery on August 19, 2024. I weighed at about 270 pounds..." + (show)
@joysmiley64

I had my Roux N-Y surgery on August 19, 2024. I weighed at about 270 pounds in February of 2024 and lost 30 pounds on my own before surgery. I have currently lost 93 pounds and down from a size 20 to size 14 in jeans, and from a size 3x to an Xtra large top, 8 months later. I have lost overall a total of 52 inches. Most of it is 36 inches from my waist and hips. I feel fantastic!!! I have learned that I cannot eat anything with a lot of sugar, or I would end up with Dumping Syndrome. Running to the bathroom is no fun, and you quickly learn what you cannot eat or drink. I am Diabetic, and losing the weight has helped me considerably with keeping my numbers down and I am not taking as much insulin as I used to. I am hoping with meeting my weight loss goal, which is 150 or less, that I will be off insulin all together. I have been able to go for longer walks now as I couldn't do it before losing weight. It is easier on my hips and knees! I continue taking all the required vitamins that they suggest. It is a good idea to follow up with the Post-op meetings every month online or talk with your doctor or nutritionist about any concerns you have. I have had great success and only wish I could have done this years ago when I first learned of this. I didn't have the right insurance that helped cover the costs. Most of all, I thank the Lord for providing the right people to help get me where I am at today. My before pic before surgery and 2nd pic is 8 months later

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Thank you for sharing. You look remarkable.

REPLY
joysmiley64 | @joysmiley64 | Apr 21 2:31pm

I had my Roux N-Y surgery on August 19, 2024. I weighed at about 270 pounds in February of 2024 and lost 30 pounds on my own before surgery. I have currently lost 93 pounds and down from a size 20 to size 14 in jeans, and from a size 3x to an Xtra large top, 8 months later. I have lost overall a total of 52 inches. Most of it is 36 inches from my waist and hips. I feel fantastic!!! I have learned that I cannot eat anything with a lot of sugar, or I would end up with Dumping Syndrome. Running to the bathroom is no fun, and you quickly learn what you cannot eat or drink. I am Diabetic, and losing the weight has helped me considerably with keeping my numbers down and I am not taking as much insulin as I used to. I am hoping with meeting my weight loss goal, which is 150 or less, that I will be off insulin all together. I have been able to go for longer walks now as I couldn't do it before losing weight. It is easier on my hips and knees! I continue taking all the required vitamins that they suggest. It is a good idea to follow up with the Post-op meetings every month online or talk with your doctor or nutritionist about any concerns you have. I have had great success and only wish I could have done this years ago when I first learned of this. I didn't have the right insurance that helped cover the costs. Most of all, I thank the Lord for providing the right people to help get me where I am at today. My before pic before surgery and 2nd pic is 8 months later
REPLY
2 replies
klch | @klch | Apr 14 5:27am
In reply to @gmacookie "I had the surgery in 2004. I lost 50 lbs fairly quickly then another 50 a..." + (show)
@gmacookie

I had the surgery in 2004. I lost 50 lbs fairly quickly then another 50 a little slower over the years.
I just don't lose weight fast which is good I guess. I have been able to keep off 85 of it over the years. It stops being as effective over the years. I still can't eat a lot of food at a sitting but I have to be careful not to graze...
It's only a tool not magic. You still have to work at it.

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Thank you I appreciate your comment. Especially the part that it is only a tool, not magic. I just recently had surgery, and found when cooking for the family, I started sampling here a sampling there an easy way to pick up the habit of grazing. Thank you for the reminder.

REPLY
projfan | @projfan | Apr 13 9:54am
In reply to @dlc1953 "Good morning. My daughter had gastric bypass surgery in 2005. Recently, she (for some reason) was..." + (show)
@dlc1953

Good morning. My daughter had gastric bypass surgery in 2005. Recently, she (for some reason) was starting to keep an eye on blood sugars (she’s non diabetic). Her readings are so low in the 50’s. When she eats they might spike to 125 but within 30 minutes they’re down into the 50’s again. This could have been giving her issues for years, but, no doctor was able to determine what was making her feel ill. She did have an A1C years ago, which was 4.5. I’m surprised the Dr. didn’t pick up on the fact that it was on the low side. Hopefully she can go forward and have these issues resolved.

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Back at the time when your daughter had surgery, the medical world was not taking bariatric hypoglycemia seriously. By and large, they now do. Sounds like your daughter has been using a CGM, which is an excellent idea (for anyone else who might be interested in trying one, just make sure it is as accurate for low blood sugar reads as high sugar -- that's not necessarily true for the CGMs that do not require a prescription). The 50s would definitely explain her symptoms. And A1cs do not capture volatility, which is the problem here.

I've found I can better manage the hypoglycemia through learning to time my eating of fats/proteins. In fact, I learned that eating a small amount (like an egg) before going to sleep helped my morning migraines, which were a symptom of the hypoglycemia.

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dlc1953 | @dlc1953 | Apr 12 8:47am
In reply to @deere5010 "I was told I had to do a 6 month class before I even have sugery...." + (show)
@deere5010

I was told I had to do a 6 month class before I even have sugery. Did anyone else do this? And work out class?

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I had my surgery in 2005. Before surgery and after surgery I had to meet with a Nutritionist and a Psychiatrist. I also had to lose 30 pounds on my own. Follow up care was very regimented with my surgeon. Even 20 years later I can contact the surgeons office for advice. They’ve update all the vitamins and minerals I need to take every day. Good luck.

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gmacookie | @gmacookie | Apr 11 8:34am
In reply to @roch "@dirtco Wishing you luck during summer on continue weight loss. You always have option to do..." + (show)
@roch

@dirtco
Wishing you luck during summer on continue weight loss. You always have option to do surgery or other solutions in future. I have always found losing or maintain weight easier in summer.

Jump to this post

I had the surgery in 2004. I lost 50 lbs fairly quickly then another 50 a little slower over the years.
I just don't lose weight fast which is good I guess. I have been able to keep off 85 of it over the years. It stops being as effective over the years. I still can't eat a lot of food at a sitting but I have to be careful not to graze...
It's only a tool not magic. You still have to work at it.

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
Laurie, Volunteer Mentor | @roch | Apr 10 4:29pm
In reply to @dirtco "I am cancelling my surgery for now and continue my current path of weight loss this..." + (show)
@dirtco

I am cancelling my surgery for now and continue my current path of weight loss this summer I would like slow loss over rapid drop

Jump to this post

@dirtco
Wishing you luck during summer on continue weight loss. You always have option to do surgery or other solutions in future. I have always found losing or maintain weight easier in summer.

REPLY
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