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My mom has had a rather bad hiatal hernia for the past 3 years. In the last year and a half it seemed to give her hell- nausea, inablity to eat, not able to drink much. In that year she went from the 170's to the 120's. But my mom refused to do anything about it because she was caring for my dying grandmother. Grandma passed in Oct, so mom finally agreed to see a surgeon. My lapband doc also happens to do these types of surgery as well. I spoke to him about her and he said to get her to come in. After talking he agreed that her nausea and in ablity to eat much if at all was due to having 1/3 of her stomach in her chest and that surgery needed to be done soon. Yesterday was surgery day. I don't mind being the patient, but I hate it when I have to watch those that I love go through pain. The doc came in and saw us pre-op and assured us everything would be fine. Mom went in and in about 2 hours the doc came out and said things went great, however instead of having 1/3 of her stomach in her chest she had over half of her stomach in her chest putting pressure on her heart and lungs. I have not idea what this could have done in the long run, but I am glad it's fixed. The doc said he had an easy time getting everything back into place and he did a plication to prevent her stomach from moving and put mesh in to repair the hold in the diaphram. When we finally saw her she was in horrible pain, which I expected. However, the insurance would not allow her to stay over night. So the doc told her the best thing to do was to go back to my house, which is only 20 min away verses her house which is an hour and a half away. So she came and stayed with me. This morning the gas pain was better, but she said she was sore to just breath. The doctor said this would happen since he had to work in her chest cavity. She is onl liquids for the next couple of days before going to mushy, but I know she can do it. Surgery, while painful and the afterward can often times make the need seem less evil, surgery is an amazing thing. Doctors have the ability to give us our life back. Mom lost weight because of illness and had to have surgery so she can eat, I had to have surgery to lose weight. Thank goodness for doctors with the knowledge and skill to do this. I have no doubt that what my mom had done was more technical since as he said he was looking at her heart, but he was skilled enough to do what needed to be done, to help her get better. A doctor with this much skill and ability to do these procedures well, don't you think we should listen to them. Use them for what they are there for- to help us heal and answer our questions along the way. If you have a great doc, let him or her know how you appreciate them and their ability not only by telling them, but by listening to them and asking questions.

I'm definitely not the standard on here or the person you should follow when it comes to eating the right amount of calories, protein or carbs so i'm not at ALL recommending you do what I did, it just worked for me. I did not calorie count at all or count my protein or carb in take. I got these little bowls and plates that I ate out of and that how I ate. I used yum yum dishes that helped me with my portion sizes. I still can not eat or drink alot but these portions bowls are what I used to eat out of and I was full. http://yumyumdish.com/ My water intake I keep a bottle with me most of the time and sipped on through out the day during my first few months though it was hard for me to get enough water in me so my NP suggested that I eat ice chips or make crystal light popsicles so that's what I did. Again by NO means am I advocating that my way is the way to do this - I just learned to listen to my body during my journey. I knew to be successful I needed to control my eating but I was never good at counting calories before but I knew I couldn't eat as much anymore so I took advance of that and just used small portion controlled dishes and I still use them. I know that I have to exercise so I got into the gym but before the gym I just walked in my neighborhood I knew at this point anything I did now would be positive and I would see the result now because of the surgery and it worked for me.

i am almost six months out from my surgery date. i never weigh myself at home. i only weigh in at my monthly doctor appointments. i would be so stressed otherwise. i may be experiencing a three week stall right now but i do not know it.

Just keep doing what you are doing. You might want to eat something with more protein in it at breakfast. I never do good with carbs for breakfast. If you can eat eggs then do it if not then eat the greek yogurt for breakfast. Remember protein burns fat so the more you eat the more you will lose.

My weight isn't as low as I thought it would be either. My highest was in March and I was banded the end of July. Since the band I am down 40lbs. I don't think that is super but it beats a gain. Since March I am down 68 total. Before the band I gave up breakfast foods for a protein shake and that helped me lose weight and I became more aware since seeing the dietitian for pre surgery. The band is a slower process than other WLS and that is why I chose it and also I didn't like the sounds of the others, too drastic for.I have been around 199-203 for 2-3 months now. I see the doctor Friday for another fill. But I have joined a gym and do some weight type machines. Who knows Just remember, any lose is wonderful even if an once.

I feel your pain, Kime! I had to retire on disability 6 years ago due to spinal stenosis and SI joint disfunction and knew going into my surgery that I would not be compliant with the exercise part of the equation. I also have a knee that is in need of total replacement. I've lost 91 lb and not in the way I imagined. The first year, I lost about 60 lb, second year, 10 +- lb and in year 3, so far almost 20 lb. In the second year, I was basically maintaining, away from home for extended periods of time and enjoying a wide variety of foods, and living life. I also started developing some problems and at the end of my second year thought I was going to lose my band. In this, the third year, I've learned some important things about band related complications and being proactive, seeking second opinions and sticking with my band friendly food plan, with modifications, even with no fill...I'm still losing. One of the things you might consider is increasing protein calories, change your diet up for a few weeks. This is a tactic my nutritionist taught me. I don't lower overall calories, just add a protein snack mid afternoon. Things don't always go according to plan. That doesn't mean we're not successful, it just means we're on a little side road, enjoying the scenery while others are on the interstate, zooming to their destination. Enjoy the journey