cutlass6521

i am on day 134 since my revision from lapband to sleeve revision. everything started out ok. Now, not so much. I have periodic acid reflux (even with presciption meds). extreme fatigue, and I give myself a shot of B12 once a week. Now I have severe dumping syndrome every morning after breakfast. Doesn't matter if I eat oatmeal or a scrambled egg. The only thing that calms it down is metamucil. My surgeon suggested that I drink a glass of Metamucil when I wake up in the morning prior to coffee or breakfast. This has helped. Now eating is a different story...I feel like that band is still in there. Could it be scar tissue? I eat a small amount and I am almost sick. Severe stomach cramping. I keep wondering if it is dehydration. I don't drink water or those sickly sweet sugar free hydration drinks. Anyway...I am regretting this surgery every single day.

This is happening to me too!!! I had my surgery may 17th and I almost convinced myself that they took out the gastric band and didn't do the sleeve. Liquids and protein drinks went down with ease the first week...started getting hungry. Went to puree, that helped curb the hunger. Contacted my surgeon, he advised that everyone is different. If you can tolerate puree, then try soft foods. After that try a little more regular food. That sure cured the hunger issue, and I am only 22 days out of surgery. I use the Baritastic app install of myfitnesspal. This one tracks your protein, calories, carbs and water intake. I am currently eating around 700 to 800 calories per day and I am satisfied. They told me to sip sip sip my water, hell I can gulp gulp gulp. I really watch how much food I am stuffing into that little stomach at one time. It is still trying to heal. On a side note: Baritastic does Not reduce the amount of your calorie intake when you exercise-this keeps you to the 1200 cal range. My Fitness Pal subtracts your exercise from you calories telling you can eat more. We are not suppose to eat more...

Yup...gaining water weight every day! Super depressing looking at that stupid scale. I used to have a diuretics everyday...now Dr. says no more diuretics. Don't have a clue what to do next. It is impossible to gain real weight eating between 500 & 600 calories/day.

Good Day I am going to have my gastric band removed and the gastric sleeve done on May 17, 2024 due to complications from the band. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on recovery, foods, exercise etc for the first few days after the surgery. When I had the band installed i was on a liquid diet, then puree and finally real food. Lots of gas pains in chest and shoulders back then. Now I am on a new journey at the end of the month. Any success stories?

Good Morning: I am currently on day 9 since my revision surgery. For some really strange reason I am no longer having any issues like I did on day 1. No pain, no stomach spasms, very minimal nausea. I am now craving something with substance. Contacted my surgeon today and he advised that if I am tolerating liquids...move to the next stage-puree. If in a week I tolerate this well...move to soft foods, then the next stage and so on. It almost feels surreal. Every clinics website states two week for every stage. I wonder since I was a band patient previously that my stomach is accustomed to the sleeve diet. I was very fortunate to loose 150lbs total with that gastric band and good food choices. It seems revision patients have it a little different...we know what is going to happen.

the surgery is the easy part. the surgeons know what they are doing to help with anxiety...try some exercise. remember to follow the doctors rules for a smooth recovery. let the journey begin

Day 3 post-op from band removal to gastric sleeve. Yikes, this was way worse than what I thought. They took longer to get that band out-appears previous surgeon was making sure that bugger wasn't moving. 2 days of sleeping and sipping water. Can't even think about food. I hope this gets easier as the week goes by.

Hello Everyone: I am getting my gastric band removed on May 17 and going with the gastric sleeve as per my surgeon's suggestion. He feels I will do well with it. I managed to lose 150lbs with the band ( surgeon told me it was not a typical result). I started having trouble getting food to go down. I guess I created a pouch and have a lot of scar tissue. Had to have all the fluid taken out of the band while I was in Nevada. The surgeon performing this (not easy to find anyone in Las Vegas who would even look at removing the fluid) advised what was going on. There are only 5% of surgeons still installing the band in the entire country. Many, many complications with it. I was fine until a year ago. Had fluid put in (the doctor back home put too much in), then the chest and back pains started. Food would go down sometimes and sometimes not. I managed to regain 15lbs. Struggling every day. I hope the revision to the sleeve will be a success.

My experience with alcohol (wine) and the lapband is that I don't feel the effects of the booze immediately. Then like someone flipped the switch and I am bombed, almost passed out (have passed out). I also purchased an alcohol breath testing machine. It takes 3 times as long to the booze to leave my system as my husbands when having the same amount of drinks. The machine will read triple zeros for him and I will have a .045 blood alcohol level. We are wondering with the band is the alcohol residue is staying above the band longer.

I recently started seeing a doctor that has a handle on the band concept. Before, I was doing yo-yo fills and defills. She explained there is a fine line between under filled and over filled. I had to remove all fluid because the acid reflux was so bad I couldn’t even sleep. Tests were performed and you could see the first sip of fluid would go down. A big sip of liquid backed up, burped and then went down. Way too tight. The doctor started refilling slowly. Now my latest fill was .1 of a millimeter. Things are getting back on track.

For the past year I have been having my band filled and defilled with fluid. I will have a session of stuck episodes, then episodes of uncontrolled hunger. I don't understand why this is happening. I have had xray tests and sometimes it shows fluid slow to go down and other times it is okay. Has anyone else had this problem with their band? I am looking for clues as to why I am having this grief

Four years ago the surgical group that installed my band, only performed this surgery. They now perform the gastric sleeve as well. The last time I visited one of the surgeons in their group I asked which was really better...the band or the sleeve. He said from a patient perspective the band was a wonderful tool because it can be tailored/adjusted to each individual. He believes it really does work, if the patient listens to what it is telling you. He also said there is a movement towards the sleeve. He said the slogan used by surgeons today is "sleeve em & leave em" I guess it is a cost of aftercare, a nurse to perform fills etc.

I was banded in January 2014. Everything was going great up until about 9 months ago. I has .2 cc of Fluid added and I would have days of feeling very tight, then days of ok. I went back to the surgeon and he took .5cc out about 3 months ago.. I was ok, until a week ago. Now for no reason at all everything is getting stuck. My rings are loose and I don't feel swollen. I have been tested for the band placement, nothing has moved. Does anyone know what is causing this? How can you go from eating everything ok to extreme tight without an adjustment?

Hello, I had my surgery with Smart Shape in Jan 2014 at the Mississauga office. For some ridiculous reason-Alberta Health-my BMI was too high to have surgery in Alberta, but ok in Ontario. On the flip side, I think it was good to go to the head office in Mississauga to have the procedure. I had a chance to meet the staff, nurses, dietician, and Dr Cobourn. All the administrative was smooth for me, the after care, webinars etc all good. Booking my fills at first went through the head office, now in Calgary you can contact the nurse direct and book your appointment. Very helpful and informative. If you are looking for medical advise after the surgery....don't contact Smart Shape. I believe they are not allowed to give their insight into any issue you may be having. According to them, nothing is related to the surgery or the changes in your body due to the weight loss. The standard answer is ...book an appointment with your family doctor. That being said, if there is a bariatric surgeon affiliated with Smart Shape in your area, you will be referred to that doctor for a follow up Good luck in your weight loss journey.

I was diagnosed with lipedema today. Is there anyone out there that has this disease? From my understanding it is the pooling of fat and Fluid in your legs. My cardiologist described it as a redistribution of fluids and fats. Since I have had WLS, the fat is looking for somewhere to go and it has chosen my legs. I currently wear support stocking to help control the pooling, but I am fighting a losing battle. Does anyone have experience with this?

The one food I miss since being banded is spaghetti and meatballs. Tried this carb friendly version, 5 strands of spaghetti noodles with zucchini and long squash. 3 cups zucchini and long squash slivered ( I used a veggie peeler) 1/2 c diced onion 2 cloves garlic chopped 1 cup sliced mushrooms 1/4 c white wine (or water) 1 c diced tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes) 1/4 c parmesan cheese 1 tsp olive oil pinch of salt pepper to taste Add onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and oil to a skillet. Saute until onions are soft. Add mushrooms and brown. Deglaze pan with white wine, add zucchini and cook to soften. Add tomatoes to warm. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve. Makes 3 servings at approx. 114 calories/serving. I added 5 strands of cooked spaghetti, 1/4 cup of marina sauce and 2 meatballs to my dish to give it the Italian Pasta night feel.

I eat between 1200 and 1300 calories per day. under a 1000 and your brain does not function properly. if I happen to eat a little too much I go for a walk. don't forget about the Water. I personally hate the stuff, but plain water helps drop the weight. I have no idea how it works, but it does.

I follow about 95% of the rules. Life happens and I learned not to stress. if friends want to go out for pizza, I go and enjoy a couple pieces of thin crust pizza. Big deal! We got this band for life and the idea was to teach us not to consume food to excess, but to learn how to eat normally. I still weigh all my food, it is more of a habit than a necessity. Yes, I hop on the scale every morning, gotta keep myself honest. More importantly, you have to do what works for you!

Hello I had Dr Cobourn perform my surgery in January 2014 He is very honest. This is not a miracle cure. You must follow the rules! As one lady says on this site, "A compliant bandster is a successful bandster". I have kept this thought in my mind throughout the past 12 months The staff are wonderful and very helpful. Keep in mind they cannot give medical advise that only your family doctor can give you. If you need nutritional advise, guidance etc they have it there for you. Do All the webinars. Very helpful to get you on the right track. Go back and redo them if you feel confused. I have lost over 100 pounds since my journey began jan 2014. It had its ups and downs. Just like the trans Canada highway has a few potholes too. Lol My only regret....not doing this sooner. Good luck

Recently found this program called W5 from Canada. It follows 2 teenagers and their Quest for weight loss. The sleeve is gaining popularity among the medical profession. I have added the link to the show. http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=522642&playlistId=1.2169271&binId=1.811589&playlistPageNum=1&binPageNum=1

I use the fitbit in conjunction with my fitness pal. it keeps me honest. I can look back each week ad see how lazy I really am

this is just an observation, but how much bread and cheese are you eating? Bread expands when Water is added and cheese is very binding. Would you put a piece of bread and cheese down your kitchen sink drain and add water? My suggestion is to go back to the basics on eating. Lean Protein and cooked veggie. Skip all the refined carbs and high fat cheese.