Preparing to have bariatric surgery

daniellee419

Hey all! I am new to this board, and never really talked to anyone about this, so I am hoping maybe someone on here could help a sister out!

I have been going through the whole long bariatric surgery prep for the past 4 months now... supervised diet, meeting monthly with a nurse, behavioral counselor, dietician, exercise specialist, cardiologist, pulmonary specialist, sleep specialist, primary care physician, psychiatrist...

I got engaged last week, and we are planning on a wedding in Fall 2016. My question, and dilemma I am having is...

When do you begin searching for a dress? I am supposed to be having surgery before the end of the year (don't have an exact date yet). I want to start looking for a dress, because that's one of the exciting parts of preparing for your wedding, but I don't know when to go, since I will be loosing weight at a rapid pace for a couple months.

Sorry for the novel! I just don't know what to do!

Thanks Ladies!

kaos16

daniellee419 said:

Hey all! I am new to this board, and never really talked to anyone about this, so I am hoping maybe someone on here could help a sister out!

I have been going through the whole long bariatric surgery prep for the past 4 months now... supervised diet, meeting monthly with a nurse, behavioral counselor, dietician, exercise specialist, cardiologist, pulmonary specialist, sleep specialist, primary care physician, psychiatrist...

I got engaged last week, and we are planning on a wedding in Fall 2016. My question, and dilemma I am having is...

When do you begin searching for a dress? I am supposed to be having surgery before the end of the year (don't have an exact date yet). I want to start looking for a dress, because that's one of the exciting parts of preparing for your wedding, but I don't know when to go, since I will be loosing weight at a rapid pace for a couple months.

Sorry for the novel! I just don't know what to do!

Thanks Ladies!

First, I hope that your procedure goes well and you heal quickly!  Perhaps you can start looking online or in bridal magazines for styles that you like now.  I would wait to try anything on, as it could be discouraging when you are still in a period of significant weight loss and body changes.  Maybe ask your doctor for a timeframe of when to expect the rapid weight loss to slow.  Go after that.  

If you go to a chain, like a David's Bridal, the turn around for a dress really isn't too long.

MesmrEwe

Quite honestly, I'd hold off... On both! 

As the PP mentioned, David's - you can walk in there on a Monday to purchase, and have a dress fully altered by Friday when it comes to the dress.  Once you've dropped the pounds your entire body composition very well may change.  Getting over the mental challenges of weight loss is sometimes harder than dropping the weight instead when it comes to all things new body shopping. 

But more than that, in regards to the surgery, the recovery/etc. for bariatric anything is over a year and then there are the necessary follow-up procedures that you need to account for (abdominoplasty, loose skin removal, etc. that you should also factor in.  Abdominoplasty alone has a year-long recovery - 6 weeks to functional, 6 months to standing up straight again, and 12mo to 100% back)...  I'd also research more into the options available when thinking all things bariatric and the health risks post-op, and more than that, the failure rates from the procedure in the long-term.  I know at least three people who've had beyond horrible complications from the procedure and what it has put not only themselves, but their family/friends through that are worse than their size ever could have and in the end, really didn't drop that much weight long-term.  After watching one life-long friend go through those complications (and still isn't out of the woods four years later), my reaction to anyone considering the procedure is become a hardened gym rat to rival any pro-circuit bodybuilder (don't rely on your image from the magazine - they look that way for about two weeks before a contest when they do all their photo shoots) because that is how the weight is dropped after the surgery anyway.  The scary looking dudes (dudettes) in the gym who aren't going to let anything get in their way - become one! (they're actually teddy bears but they aren't ones who will allow themselves to fail nor anyone who enters their circle).  I've got friends right now who've made 100+ pound transformations this way and kept it off for the long-term.  They're healthier now than they've ever been because they've "been there" and didn't get their weight loss and fitness advice from people who really aren't qualified to be dolling out advice in the first place. There are some fantastic coaches out there, but it's not easy to first find, then do the actual grind, and you need to remember it's the same amount of work to get that weight gone whether you go through surgery or not.  It's something to really consider.  You'll find these people at hardcore gyms, not the ones with fancy signs out front.  Ultimately, you've got to decide what you want to do and how you want to do it but make sure you're going in with the right mental attitude because it's not the surgery that's going to "work", it's you, in the gym, in the kitchen, surgery or not.  Best of luck to you for whatever you decide to do!

AW3380

I will say this, I am in the middle of a program where I am losing weight fairly quickly.  Not quite as quickly as surgery but a much faster pace than I was used to before.  I called around and asked some advice from some of the bridal salons in my area and they all said that on average you need to order your dress around 8-9 months out.  In my case, I ordered my dress late August/early September for my May wedding.  The designer was estimating my dress to ship around late December/early January.  

Pretty much any salon will always tell you to order the dress in the size you are when you place the order.  I also selected a corset back dress which allows for some size flexibility.  The seamstress that contracts with the salon I ordered from was there the day I made my decision and ordered my dress and she told me that for any larger bride losing a significant amount of weight, a corset back is the way to go.  She told me it can save me a lot of money on alterations. 

 A previous poster was correct that places like David's Bridal may be able to give you more flexibility on when you have to order.  My suggestion to you now is do your research and compile a list of the designers who have styles you like.  Then start calling around to the bridal salons that carry those designers and styles.  Its important to make sure the salons carry the particular styles you find so you can try on the sample.  Then I would ask them the estimated shipping time frames the designers are quoting and what is their recommendation for the latest you could place the order and still get the dress in time for alterations.  Good Luck with everything!!!

[Deleted User]

My husband is finishing up his requirement for weight loss. I would put it off for a while because your size and shape will change. That will change how certain dresses look on you too. What you think looks great on you know, you may hate 6 months from now. What I would do is contact different bridal shops in your area and find out what is the latest you can put in an order for a dress and not have to worry about timing or paying a rush fee. Then when dress shopping, when you find a dress you love, have a seamstress come out (most places have them on site) and tell her that about your situation and if needed, how much can the dress be taken in and what the cost is. Depending on the detail and style of the dress, you could possible spend as much on alterations as you do for the dress itself.

I agree that David's Bridal probably has the most flexability for getting dresses in a short time frame. In fact you general buy it off the rack if you want. So with them, you can wait until the last two months to get a dress based on the size you are then & then have minimal alterations to do. Just make sure you do a good job looking over the rack sample for stains or tears. If you are uncomfortable about buying one off the rack, buy it & then have it dry cleaned, it will be as good as new

Knottie1426615607

I had gastric bypass on 9/28/15.  I was engaged and postponed my wedding due to my surgery date.  I am getting married on 5/7/16.  I've lost 92 lbs so far. I was super stressed about the dress situation, I knew early on I couldn't go look because my body would change so much.  I'm at the point that I'm still losing but not as rapidly as I was.  In the beginning I was losing at least a lb a day.  Anyhow, I just now felt comfortable going to try and find something as I don't think my losses from now until the big day will drastically change the way the dress would fit, and I knew I would have to get a dress off the rack as ordering it wouldn't be an option this close to my wedding date so I needed to have enough time for alterations.  So this weekend I went looking for the first time, and found my dress!  It needs zero alterations, and is just snug enough that a little loss won't matter.  Also, pre wls i would never have felt confident in a big pretty dress.  It helps that ive gone frm a size 28 to an 18 (but my dress is a 22) Not sure if my story helps, but my advice is wait.  I waited until I felt comfortable with the rate of loss.

karen818-2

I'm in your situation - just started prepping for bariatric surgery and we're planning a Dec 2017 wedding. Looking to see how it went for you.

No Delusion of Grandeur

Thank you for asking this! 

I just started my 6 month program this week to qualify for the surgery through my insurance.  I estimated, should everything go well, that my surgery would be sometime in April or May 2017.  Our wedding date is September 30, 2017.  I am wondering about a timeline as well, so I thank all that gave suggestions. 

CMGragain

No Delusion of Grandeur said:

Thank you for asking this! 

I just started my 6 month program this week to qualify for the surgery through my insurance.  I estimated, should everything go well, that my surgery would be sometime in April or May 2017.  Our wedding date is September 30, 2017.  I am wondering about a timeline as well, so I thank all that gave suggestions. 

This thread is more than a year old.  Please don't resurrect old (Zombie) threads.  Just post any new question that you may have in a new thread.