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Does anyone know if the titanium staples would set of a metal detector (at the airport, for instance), or if they would make us ineligible for an MRI?

Best of luck to you!

There's an interesting book called "Do One Thing Different" that I enjoyed. It's about stopping those "automatic" behaviors by changing just one simple thing that sort of jars the "automatic" behavior out of being automatic, and makes you make a conscious choice. I have to remind myself to use the tools in it, but I managed to quit picking up fast food on the way home by purposely changing what exit I get off the highway, for instance. Anyway, it might be worth the read. I'm sure after surgery I will have to have a slew of new tools to use to replace the way I've been using food.

Oh, sorry! I wasn't sure if we were allowed to put links. The scale I have is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Tanita-HD351-Digital-Memory-Function/dp/B0000U6F2M/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1332767263&sr=8-7 And their list of 550 lb capacity scales is here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Dhpc&field-keywords=550+pound+scale&sprefix=550+pound%2Chpc%2C131

I have a Tanita HD-351. It was expensive for a scale (I think I paid about $75), but it weighs up to 440 pounds. I weigh every day, so a good scale is invaluable to me. If you check Amazon, there are 550 lb capacity scales starting at about $50.00. No idea how reliable they are, though.

Congrats! I hope I'm there someday, too!

I'm having my band removed and I'm being sleeved. My doc said that he can do it in one procedure provided there isn't an excess of scar tissue or other issues when he opens me up. If there's a lot of scar tissue, he'll just remove the band and he wants to give it 3 months to heal before doing the sleeve. I'm pretty confident he'll be able to do it one procedure, but there's no guarantee. I'm okay with that.

I just had my first appointment. I had already pretty much decided on the sleeve, and I had done a lot of research on the sleeve already, so my questions were more surgeon specific. I asked... How many sleeve operations they had done. What their complication rate was. What type of complications do they see? What percentage weight loss do they average? I asked a bunch of questions about removal of my lap band and complications...that's just me. Do they use a drain after surgery? How long would my hospital stay be? What pre-op testing do they do? We discussed an IVC filter in detail because I have to get one before surgery. I can't remember what else. I was very confident in my surgeon's answers. He knows his stuff. I think the whole appointment lasted about a half hour or 45 minutes.

Oh thank you. Yes, I'm hoping that the weight loss means I'll get a few more years out of my knees before they require replacement. The recliner seems to be the way to go after surgery. I'll plan on that, then.

I think it's great that you're thinking about it at your age. Certainly, you need to be certain that you're ready to give up some things. But if you are mature enough to handle it, I say go for it. I wish I had made this decision long ago, frankly.

I had a lap band put in almost ten years ago. It worked for about three months, then I had zero restriction. My surgeon kept insisting there was nothing wrong with the band and it was just me. We did fill after fill after fill...and nothing. Well, a decade later, my current surgeon did a fill under fluroscopy and found out that, indeed, my band is broken. Soooo...I'm self-pay and hoping to have the lap band removed and be sleeved at the same time. My surgeon says he will try, but he can't guarantee he can do the two procedures together. It will depend on how much scar tissue I have.

Hello all. I'm new, but thought I would introduce myself. I'm going to be self-pay and hope to get my surgery date in about a month. I still have to have my psych eval and since there is a history of a genetic clotting disorder in my family, I have to see a hematologist this week to see if I have the disorder so my surgeon knows what special steps (if any) he needs to take. I had a lap band surgery about ten years ago, but I only had restriction for three months before my band broke. I've sinced moved to a different state and this surgeon hopes he can remove my defective band and do the sleeve in one procedure. I'm hoping that's the case. I know that most of y'all are post surgery, but I have real concerns about surviving the surgery. I know most of that is probably in my head. But I have such shortness of breath, that I worry I'll just konk out on the table. My surgeon is so sweet and he doesn't seem concerned with the measures they take, but I'm nervous. Also...my mobility is not great because I have bone-on-bone arthritis in both knees and I'm so large. Getting in and out of chairs, my bed, etc. takes lots of effort. I can't even imagine what it will be like with a painful stomach. Is it doable? I guess it will have to be...

I think I've decided I'm going to be completely open about it. Part of me wants to go into the "it's none of your business" area, but I figure if I'm taking three weeks off from work for the surgery, and then I (hopefully) will drop a hundred pounds in six to nine months, I think it's going to be pretty obvious.

Do you mean to add a picture of you as an icon? Or just on your profile? You would go up to the upper right hand corner and click your username, then select "my profile". Once you're in the profile area you can click in the upper right to edit your profile and the first option is to load an icon. Not sure how to add one just to your profile page; maybe someone else can assist there.

I'm new here, but I know that if you have a fever you should call your surgeon ASAP. You could have an infection or a leak. I hope you have gotten ahold of him or her.

I just went through my surgeon's "webinar" about the surgery and they indicated patients do a high Protein diet (I'm assuming Optifast, but I don't know yet) for four weeks before surgery. Gah. I am having two surgeries, actually. I need to have a broken lap band removed, and then afterwards I want to have the sleeve. So, that's two four-week periods of the pre-op diet. Well, that should bring my weight down before the surgery so I guess it's not a bad thing, but I'm not looking forward to it.