juditha

I. Also thing my body was so happy with getting food after suffering from the band... Im now 10.5 months post revision ... Down 120 pounds. !!! And feeling great. I was never a big loser week by week, the weight was lost slowly with the help of alot of sport and i think also not panicking too much. I took/take everyday by day. Never getting too obsessed by the scale and by enjoying every bit i can now manage to put in my mouth. I am SO enjoying feeling full and not suffering with the horrible effects of the band

Hi- i had by band in '04.... At 244 never lost more 40 pounds. Always chokes always puked. Got to point that i felt like i was drowning each night...i was too scared to sleep sometimes. Finally went to talk to my band surgeon to ask what options i had. He just said " what do u want from me.. I gave u what you wanted, to eatless why are complaining!" .... Ahhhh . I went straight away to the internet to look for my options. I was lucky to find that a top surgeon from Houston had returned home to Israel. It took me 4 months to get all the paper work sorted out. I had (at 282 pounds) the revision op plus gallbladder removal in the same op. i found the recovery good, not too hard . Now i feel , seven months out, great. 105 pounds down, fitter than i have ever been. The band was like a mediEVIL torture device!! It should be banned!! I feel like going back to the band surgeons waiting room and telling them of their options!!

I had revision seven months ago, and feel so happy with it. I just feel normal, long gone are those choking feeling, no gagging, no forced or non forced puking, i can sit down and eat with my family (before i had to stand to eat, and that usually ended up with a rush to the bathroom)). With the band i was always hungry or thinking of food or feeding on sweet stuff that me feel better. Now i eat a small meal and im satisfied. I do not live to eat. I just live. I have lost just about 105 pounds, feel great and best of all get to live the life of an active mum! The only down thing of my weight lose in one of my daughters eyes is now she can't play hide and seek behind me!!! Good luck with the op! It will change your life!

Congratulation!!! That must make u feel so good! And healthy!!

But im in hospital.. :-( Since before the op seven months ago, i would some times have strange coloured pee. I always put it down too living in a very hot climate and not drinking enough. Straight after the op i had alot of blood in my pee but my surgeon said it was usual after the op to have a bladder infection. Over the next few months i had a few other "attacks" of blood in pee and pain in my ribs/ stomach area - which i just put it down to aches and pains from all the exercise i have been doing. And the nurse or doc where i lived never gave me an impression that i should worry. Finally the sent me for an ultra sound ... I got the results in on tuesday morning, got sent straight to the nearest hospital (1 and half hours away) for a check up, which on the way they changed to admittance... Then i got here to be told that i would be having an op the next day to remove a "growth" from my bladder. So now im one day out not in pain. But bored crazy and stuck in a room with a very loud ( and gassy) russian who is on the phone constantly !! Ahhhhh i have to be in hospital until sunday and i dont know how i will make through without going crazy. I will get the results from the bi-opsie of the growth only on two weeks- and even if the news isn't good - the treatment will be localized to the bladder and will not make me sick/ lose hair etc. Im kind off in denial about it all and find it very ironic that finally i feel so good that i am in hospital. I suppose the moral of this story is not to be too passive when it comes too our bodies. Please send me " dont go crazy in hospital" vibes... And i will try not to scream at the russian lady!! ( im in Israel and just to prove that its a multi- cultural society- im in a room with a Russian, a beduim , an arab and an israeli ... And I'm english! .... Im sure theres a joke in there somewhere!!) :-)

Yesterday i was very down, sobbing behind my cubicle curtain, watching the 3 inch tv until midnight ( when the last of the visitors of the other patients left!!)... Today im in crazy mood-- chatting to all and watching the indian soap opera channel!!! I have to be here at least two more days... I might not make it out sane ( not that i was before hand)... At least my kids are finally coming to visit...:-)

I would tell her ... "My BMI is ..... Do you want me check online what yours is?? That might stop her...

It could just gas pain or just your insides healing but if you are worried, contact your doc. Hope you feel better soon...

Like getting on a bus and not seeing the look of dread on peoples face at the thought i might sit next too them.. Like sitting on a bus and not have my body "spill out" of my seat onto the person next to me. Like going in to a clothes shop and not having little or no choice ... Or having to ask if they have it in a bigger size ( even in a "big girls" shop. ) Like eating out and not finishing everything on my plate... And the plate of my husband/ kids... Like getting a hug from my kids and they ate so so happy that their arms now go all the way around me!! ... What small things make u happy?

Please take things easy... 25 lbs is alo of weight i think in 3 weeks. I would cut back on the exercise and give your body time to heal. I understand the drive to get your weight loss going, but i believe that sometimes taking it slowly is a good thing. Our bodies need time to heal and our minds time to understand our new way of life. The weight will be lost, there's no need to fall in a"whirlwind" mode.... I find the less i jump on the scales, the more i lose. Im just over six months out, and down about 95lbs and with some long stalls but through it all i never felt that pressure of failure that has always made me give up on all the other diets i have tried. Please take it easy...

Hope things are ok... How long are you post-pp?

I think i having problems ... Not with the pain but usually once a month i get a pain in the side, or lback ( but nothing too strong) then i pee blood for a few days! I have an ultrasound next week. I did have strange colored pee sometimes before the op too but my blood / urine results always came back ok. Feel good

Amazing! You must feel so good!

Right side pain could also be gallstones. Did you have any pre-op?

When i was pregnant ( pre- op) i suffered from really bad heart burn and found that cucumbers really helped as well as ginger . I hope you Feel better soon.

Kat! Im so glad that you are back at home. Take things slowly and i hope you will be 100% asap

The only thing that has made me feel like i was dumping was watermelon, which is really sad as my husband grows them! If you havent tried it before, try watermelon with some feta cheese! It sounds strange but its amazing ... And adds protein to your snack!

I had revision from the horrible lapband to bypass in september... It was the best decision ever. I had the LB eight years, never lost more than 30 pounds, i was always having problems and the last six months it was like i was drowning each night. Now i feel just a normal person feels... Finally i know what it feels like to be full i never had that with the LB ... Only that horrible stuck feeling) I so enjoying sitting down and eating even a small meal with my family inside if standing up and hitting my port hoping it would let some food ( other than icecream!) go down .- my port was. Right between my boobs so i also felt that i looked like trazan! Good luck with the new better life without that band! By the way im six months out and down 93 pounds... Slightly addicted to sport and just signing up for a triathlon in june!!

I think you should try to give your some slack. You are only human, and I'm sure that you would have eaten far more if you hadn't had the op. i am allowed to eat anything, I'm 6 months out, and just let myself be" norma"l... Which means now and again eating things that are not the most healthy (but no sugar...) and when i do its maybe 10%of what it would have been. I try to ask myself before eating it if its really what i want/ need and if theres a healthier option. I try not to have things that i would crave for at home ... Such as pringles!!!! You are doing great with your weight loss and please dont feel guilt about it... Hugs

Thinking of you and sending loads of healing vibes . I hope that the worst is behind you and you get to be back with your family asap. Judith

and i just wanted to share how happy im feeling!. i have just got under 200 pounds from a starting weight of 283. to prove to myself that this is a hell of a lot of weight, i tried picking up to large Water bottles, you know the kind that fit of water cooler. two of them weigh 38 kgs which is the amount i have lost. i could believe how heavy they were, no wonder it was so hard for me to do things like get up from a chair, walk or even climb stairs. i didnt last 2 minutes with the bottles in my hands before i gave up. it made the weight loss SO real. my hair was falling out alot of late, so last week i went and had it cut very short and dyed red. i feel 20 years younger! the best thing of this operation is that i feel so normal. i have got into a routine of what to eat, exercising and just being without that horrible pressure of trying to control my eating. i have stalled a lot during the months, but as i knew it would happen, i didn't worry too much which would never have happen pre-op. i have become a bit addicted to sport... something i never thought would happen. I walk every morning for about an hour, and go to spinning classes twice a week and fat girls aerobics class also twice a week too... the aerobic studio loves me as im a great advertising for them ! lol everything someone asks me what im doing to lose weight i say that i go to the aerobics studio..... i eat basically anything within reason, no sugar of course, but i dont feel limited by my food intake. This could be due to the fact that i suffered from years of nothing being able to eat nearly anything without being sick (due to the horrible lap band). For me, a meal that i can sit down and eat with my family - no matter what the portion size- is brilliant. i tried to find photos of me pre op today, and could only find 6 photos of myself that i have kept in the last 2 years! i would always either shy away from the camera, or delete them from the computer/camera asap. i thought how sad it would be for my children not to have any photos of me with them. i am going to change that!

and i just wanted to share how happy im feeling!. i have just got under 200 pounds from a starting weight of 283. to prove to myself that this is a hell of a lot of weight, i tried picking up to large Water bottles, you know the kind that fit of water cooler. two of them weigh 38 kgs which is the amount i have lost. i could believe how heavy they were, no wonder it was so hard for me to do things like get up from a chair, walk or even climb stairs. i didnt last 2 minutes with the bottles in my hands before i gave up. it made the weight loss SO real. my hair was falling out alot of late, so last week i went and had it cut very short and dyed red. i feel 20 years younger! the best thing of this operation is that i feel so normal. i have got into a routine of what to eat, exercising and just being without that horrible pressure of trying to control my eating. i have stalled a lot during the months, but as i knew it would happen, i didn't worry too much which would never have happen pre-op. i have become a bit addicted to sport... something i never thought would happen. I walk every morning for about an hour, and go to spinning classes twice a week and fat girls aerobics class also twice a week too... the aerobic studio loves me as im a great advertising for them ! lol everything someone asks me what im doing to lose weight i say that i go to the aerobics studio..... i eat basically anything within reason, no sugar of course, but i dont feel limited by my food intake. This could be due to the fact that i suffered from years of nothing being able to eat nearly anything without being sick (due to the horrible lap band). For me, a meal that i can sit down and eat with my family - no matter what the portion size- is brilliant. i tried to find photos of me pre op today, and could only find 6 photos of myself that i have kept in the last 2 years! i would always either shy away from the camera, or delete them from the computer/camera asap. i thought how sad it would be for my children not to have any photos of me with them. i am going to change that! i am so happy that i had this operation. judith

sorry for the double post.. dont know why it happen. i just want to add a photo. i cant work out out to remove the double post.. sorry

i am sorry that i didnt reply to your post earlier. it sounds like you have had such a horrible time, post op. i wish i had loads of useful advice, that would make your days easier, but im sure you have heard it all before. i am finding that exercise is the key for losing, for me. Even a short walk makes me feel mentaly better, which then helps me with handle the day better. i use the iphone app called moves - it counts the amount of steps i do daily and each day i try to do a little more. the app gives me the push to try a bit more... it must be really hard to be at home, not working. that alone would make the strongest person depressed, especially if you are used to working alot. being at home just gives us more time to think of food or lack of it and drive ourselves crazy over thinking everything. have you talked to your doctor? it sounds that you are in a loop of not eating enough, which makes you nauseous, which makes you have no energy, which makes you feel depressed which makes you have troubled sleeping, which leads to having no energy..... What can you do to break this? maybe you can have some come and cook a few meals for you, which would save you the energy of cooking, and also give you more energy by eating them.... maybe you could try having planned naps in the day, say just after noon, then you would not be so tired in the afternoon and hopefully make it to a proper sleep at night. maybe put your books out reach at night so that you dont automatically start to read if you wake up. i used to not sleep more that 3 to 4 hours a night, due to being depressed i believe, and so i know how hard it is to function after so little sleep. i sleep now 6 and still wish i could sleep more... i wish you only the best. take everyday as a new day, buy a scale (because im sure you have lost alot more that you think you have) and dont worry about lumpy legs! you are not pathetic and unsuccessful, you are on the way,,, even if the path seems to be very winding... please talk to your doctor or nut about how you are feeling, im sure that they have better advice. please keep us updated