piercedqt78

I was banded in July of 2005, so almost 8 years.

I am 5 months postop and can tell you that the sleeve was much much more effective than my band. I have lost 58 pounds in just under 5 months.

I am almost 5 months postop and I'm a band to sleeve revision. I have lost 58 pounds. And I had to have a rotator cuff repair so for the last 8 weeks I have NOT been able to exercise. I am almost at goal, and love my sleeve.

I know this sounds crazy, but look in the garden dept for light bulbs that mimic sunshine. They do help. When we lived in Chicago I suffered from seasonal affective mood disorder too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder and that was one of the few things that helped me feel like myself again.

Sleeved May 8th, I'm down 58 pounds since then. I was a lapband revision, and was told that I would lose slower than most because of that, but I seem to be right on target with everyone else. I went from 206 to 148, and from a size 22 down to a 12.

As long as it isn't super cold I can chug liquids no problem. If it is too cold I get a spasmy feeling in my stomach.

My surgery was an emergency, I had a lapband and my stomach had prolapsed into the band. I wasn't able to keep anything down and was approved and surgery was the next morning. I wasn't as prepared at home as I would have liked. My only advice is to get the post-op diet and purchase at least 2 weeks worth of your post-op supplies. I just didn't feel like going to the store for about 10 days. And I had to send my hubby, he bought the correct stuff, but I wish I would have already stock piled what I needed. And I wish I had been more prepared for the time in the hospital, I didn't pack anything but my phone and charger, and was bored out of my mind for 3 days. Other than that I regret not taking more pictures along my journey. I wish I had taken week pics at first, since I lost so quickly. It seems like one day I was fat, and then next I was already "normal" I take a pic monthly, but like I said the first few months weekly would have been a better idea. I don't regret surgery at all, in fact it's the best thing I've ever done for myself.

Maybe check for a second hand suit to get you to goal? I would put the old suit up and when you hit goal take a picture of yourself in it to show how far you have come. I have the outfit I wore to the hospital the day of my surgery put away for just that purpose. I have been donating to a domestic violence shelter, they run a thrift store to pay their bills. Since I buy my smaller clothes there really cheap, I don't mind re-donating them when they are baggy. I have been through so many sizes that my hubby jokes that I only rent my stuff, since it goes back to them when I'm done. And since I'm there so often, and such a good customer, they call me when they get a large donation of things in my current or next smaller size. I'm in a 12 right now but have bought some 8's and 10's because they were cheap, and really nice brand name things.

Here is a 47 second party for you, with confetti, balloons, and even some fireworks!!! Congrats quitting is a HUGE milestone, and one you should be super proud of!!!!

Both Cracker Barrel, and most local grocery stores make a take out meal that you just have to heat up. Might be worth looking into for your family. We did that a few years ago when it was just going to be 3 people at my house. I have a really large family, and usually cook for about 25 or so people, but that particular year we were on a vacation, and staying in a rental condo. All I had to do was put the pre-cooked turkey in the oven for about an hour to heat it, and the sides in the oven or microwave. It even included dinner rolls and pie. And was cheaper than if I would have bought and cooked everything from scratch.

Every insurance company and policy is different. I know that I would have had to start over if I wasn't able to be revised all at once, but the insurance coordinator in my surgeons office told me that isn't always the case. It would be best to call and get an explanation of benefits from your provider.

The Finder, Bones, The Finder, The Glades and if you are into Zombie shows, The Walking Dead.

I use a veggie peeler on whole dill pickles and just eat the insides. My dogs love the peels.

I was able to get those amounts in once the swelling went down. And for a bit of help with the BM, warm the apple juice.

I'm 5 months post-op, and after half of a highball sized glass of a vodka & cranberry and my hubby had to help me to the car. I didn't get the chance to do a pre-op diet as my surgery was rushed due to complications with a lapband and I was only given about 18 hours notice to be at the hospital. I know the surgeon said the operation is easier with the pre-op diet but not total required. Just remember the pre-op and post-op restrictions are a minimal tradeoff for the health improvement, and confidence that you will gain. In my 5 months since surgery I have had 2 drinks, the vodka cranberry and about 1/2 of a cidre (an apple cider from Budweiser) I live near the Budweiser plant here in Jacksonville and if you take the free tour they give samples to those over 21, that's where the Cidre came from. And it was amazing, even for me as a super rare drinker. And FYI I was ok with the carbonation.

www.modelmydiet.com http://www.mybodygallery.com/ www.cockeyed.com Are all awesome sites to get a great idea of body size, with weight and height.

www.modelmydiet.com is a very cool website that you can make a virtual SIMS type character of yourself get an idea of how you will look at goal.

Just remember this feeling and one day do the same for freshly sleeved people. Offer a kind word, or encouragement. We were all new to WLS at one point in time, I know I remember how scary it was in the weeks leading to getting my lapband. This time around I didn't have that time to think about anything, or worry since my stomach prolapsed into my band and I had to have emergency surgery. I got the thumbs up from insurance on may 7th at like 6pm, and had surgery on May 8th and 7am. I had to stop and buy my post-op diet on my way home from the hospital. I had done my research, and knew what I wanted to do, but I didn't think it would be an emergency surgery. I didn't have to do the pre-op diet, because of my band issues I was on clear liquids for several weeks prior to surgery, since anything I attempted to eat came right back up. And my advice for getting liquids in, I was told by the nurse when I was discharged to get a medicine cup from the pharmacy, and fill it to the 15 ML (one tablespoon) try to get that in my every 10 mins. That's what I did and it was soooo much easier than staring at a huge cup of liquids. It was a mental game, but it worked, and I felt like I was doing amazing because every 10 mins I was accomplishing something.

I'm almost 5 months post-op and have had rice a number of times without issue. We have a tradition that we eat at Chipotle once a week and I can eat the better part of a single soft chicken taco, with very little rice, their mild salsa, some cheese and I have them go light on the sour cream, I eat most of the filling, and about half the tortilla. Or I have them make it in a side cup, skip the tortilla and have a little more rice. Also one of my favorite lunches is a wheat tortilla with grilled chicken, low fat cheese and avocado. I got that recipe from the doctor's packet. I also like to sprinkle a few black beans over it before grilling. It's like a loaded quesadilla. I don't do bread, but have tried it without any issues, other than after 3 bites I was unable to eat any of my meal. I too am a former bandster and can tell you that I wish I had known about the sleeve when I had my band put in in 2005.

I was about a week. But I had to have a lapband removed, and I would say that 90% of my pain was from my port being cut away from the muscle.

the before pic was June 2012 the after pic was in July. I have lost even more since that pic was taken, but I haven't been able to get updated pics. I tore a rotator cuff in my left arm and it's hard to capture a size change with a big sling in front of your body. I will attempt new pics this week.

Unfortunately I don't have any experience with this other than caring for an elderly woman that struggled with chewing and retaining solid food. She also struggled to get an entire Ensure down. We discovered they make a kids ensure, and it's smaller with the same fats, and calories. It's just more concentrated. She also did a generic Muscle Milk. I am only about 13 pounds from my goal, and I have some fears that I will be in your shoes. I was a band to sleeve revision, and have lost almost 60 pounds since May. My surgeon told me my weight loss would be slower and I would most likely only get to about 160ish. (I'm 5'4) but here I am at 148 already and still losing without even trying. I lost so much so quickly that I feel like my skin didn't bounce back at all, so now I'm looking into plastics as well. I wanted to be healthy, and comfortable in my own skin. The only thing I'm not happy with is that I went from a 38DD down to a 36C. And the plastics doc told me at my consultation that I have somewhere between 8-15 pounds of skin to be removed. So if I lose anymore I will be under a healthy BMI if his predictions of skin removal are accurate. I see my surgeon again in Oct and I will be asking him what he suggests. Please let us know what your doc says. I'm always curious about the different methods by different doctors.

https://www.facebook.com/CrockpotDivas https://www.facebook.com/CrockPot https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crock-Pot-Recipe-Exchange/132953486751094 https://www.facebook.com/fixitandforgetit?hc_location=stream https://www.facebook.com/crockpotgirl?hc_location=stream

I follow a few crockpot pages on facebook. I have made some amazing meals from the crock. Also I discovered "recipe makers" at the store. We LOVED the pot roast, and also the bbq. http://www.kraftrecipes.com/products/kraft-recipe-makers.aspx

I didn't read all the other replies. I had my band removed and was converted to a sleeve May 8th, 4 1/2 months ago. I can eat half a sandwich, I do better if it's toasted. And when I say sandwich I mean on regular wheat or multigrain bread, not on a sub roll. I have had half of a breadstick (like the kind from Olive Garden). I can also eat whole grain pita without issues, but only about a 1/4 of it. And in that 4 1/2 months I have lost 56 pounds. I was told by my doctor that my weight loss would be slower due to the revision from the band. I went from a size 22, and today I was able to put on a size 12 with no problem. I was also told by my doctor that occasionally having a treat or indulgence would not stop my journey. The only thing I can't see to eat is ice cream, and I can't thin my cream soups with milk. I do fine with sour cream, cheese, yogurt etc, but pure milk is not my friend.