Shanimal

BariMelt Brand Multivitamin, Calcium & Iron, and Biotin Bariatric Advantage B1 Capsule Bariatric Advantage Calcium Citrate Chews Nature Made Collagen Gummies

I think it's very dependent on your starting weight and your overall diet and activity levels. I've also heard that some people are "slow losers". I've lost 27 pounds in about the same timeframe and I'm ecstatic - if I kept up this pace I will reach my goal in just a few months!

I think it really depends on you and the amount of fill in your band, but I had a hard time with certain meats, eggs, toasty breads, and fibrous fruits (oranges, pineapple, etc). Because of complications with the band, I had a revision last week to the sleeve.

I had surgery on 3/1 and had a few complications but still got to go home after about 24 hours. I had a band to sleeve revision and my band had slipped and was doing some damage to my liver - so I have a lovely drain on my side for another few days. Thankfully very little nausea or pain. The worst has been the gas pain that is near the drain site - it is stabbing. Showering has been difficult but I still get up and (slowly) walk as much as I can. Staying hydrated too. Looking forward to getting the drain removed next week which I think will make me feel 1000% better.

March 1st for me! 😬

I was banded in March 2011, lost about 70 pounds and over the past few years I've regained it all. I went back to my surgeon who advised that the band slipped and I had all CCs removed. I've been overall disappointed with the side effects of the band and know that I want, at minimum, to get the band removed. I've been considering doing the sleeve since my insurance will cover it. Does anyone have similar experience?

No one here is going to push you into undergoing a surgery that you're not sure of yourself. But we all felt the same way I'm sure. Yes, I felt that getting banded was the best decision I could make, but I had the exact same fears you did: How could I never eat Pasta again? How am I going to deal with saggy skin when I'm only 26? Will I find someone who will love my body? What about the scars? Etc, etc etc. But guess what? I realized that being healthy, not having to worry about diabetes or heart disease or joint pain or anxiety and having my LIFE back was absolutely worth it. I love food and am not afraid to admit that I have a terrible addiction to it. Happy, sad, elated or depressed? Food was the answer. I went to counseling and attended OA meetings. I came to terms with the fact that life has so many opportunities and if it means I might not be able to enjoy lasagna, so be it. When you accept "eat to live, not live to eat" it changes your perspective and you can come to terms with it. Saggy skin? Yeah it's likely to happen. I've already started saving up for the plastic surgery and I have faith that I'll have a tight little figure when this is all said and done As far as finding someone: yes, it's something I ultimately want. But from my past experiences, I've noticed that men tend to flock to women with confidence. The more weight I lose, the more confident I feel. I have no doubts that even if I have some saggy skin on my arms and tummy I'll find a wonderful partner who will appreciate my body much more than anyone could appreciate my frame at close to 300 pounds. Scars? You'll also have them. Mine are still fresh, but I'm going to steal this comment from a friend of mine who has some unforgiving surgical scars. If anyone asks about them, I'm just going to say "Yeah I was involved in a pretty dicey knife fight when I was a gangsta." It's funny, and allows you to elaborate if you want to. Since the surgery is laproscopic, the scars really aren't anything to write home about.

I didn't have the hiatal hernia, but I remember my surgeon discussing that if I had one that he would repair it during my surgery. I would talk to your surgeon about it and ask if he's going to repair it. Also, if you're going through insurance for your surgery and have a hiatal hernia, I believe they are more lenient on approval. I talked with a gal in the waiting room who went through her insurance and she only had to pay $5000 out of pocket for the surgery total since her insurance covered a large chunk due to the hernia repair.

Since I was self-pay I didn't have to go through a 6-month diet, but I can let you know what worked for me on my pre-op diet. Counseling was the first step. It wasn't required, but I knew it was the right step for me. I found someone who handled food addiction, started going to Overeaters Anonymous meetings and, while I know religion is a very personal thing to everyone, I started praying and meditating when I was feeling weak. The counseling and meetings helped me figure out the root of my food addiction (overeating and poor choices) and the meetings gave me a lot of support. I also looked at my bank statements and calculated that I spent just over $300 a month on fast food, which is a foolish amount of money - how could I justify that when getting the LapBand would essentially pay for itself in about 4 years if I continued on the same path? Once you start losing weight, it's almost euphoric. I feel stronger mentally knowing that I'm going through the day making positive changes and choices. Every week when I step on my scale and see a lower number, I get excited! As far as food choices go, I'm more enthusiastic about finding recipes and making new meals. I'm still in the "thicker liquid" stage of my post-op diet but I'm having fun making different Soups (I may have to puree them, but they are still delicious!). Tonight I modified a Buffalo chicken Soup recipe I found and it was yummy. I love that I'm eating yummy foods and still seeing the weight loss - that keeps me from feeling like I'm "missing out". I hope this helps! We all falter, but the best thing you can do is move on after it happens.

Like the others have said, what you can and can't eat really depends on how you react to your band. Also, every surgeon has vastly different criteria for things they will limit or restrict. For instance, my surgeon doesn't want me to drink any carbonated beverages, pasta, rice or bread. However, lots of banders have no issues with those items. I'll say that I've only been banded about a week and a half now, so I don't have a lot of first hand experience. However, after being on a liquid and protein shake diet for essentially 3 weeks (2 weeks pre-op + 1 week post-op) and a few days into a thicker liquid diet - I did find something that had me regretting a decision. This evening I went to grab some coffee with a friend and had a iced latte. Warning: TMI!! All the wonderful soup I ate for dinner, combined with whatever amount of sugar and caffeine from the coffee, gave my tummy a rumble and I almost had an accident running to the bathroom! Explosive diarrhea would be putting it lightly. Not to mention a very tense drive home afterwards. I'm going to check this as "positive reinforcement" and will NOT be drinking that ever again.

I really like the Whey Isolate Protein powder. I buy mine at Walmart. Mix one scoop with one cup of skim milk, one cup of chopped fruit and a dash of sugar-free pudding mix. Delicioso!

I am fortunate that I grew up with two amazing parents who have always supported me in any endeavor. However, obesity runs in my Dad's family and I am a carbon copy of that gene pool I was normal-sized as a child and I was always active. However, I started puberty early (age 11) and I got "curves" and that extra padding earlier than any other girl in my class. I vividly remember when my entire 5th grade class had to go to the school nurse to record our height and weight and I was the only person to weigh over 100 pounds - at 102. I was so humiliated, you know because they announced the numbers to an aide in front of everyone, that I tried getting out of school for weeks. The summer before I turned 13, I was at a girl's house down the street, and due to my insecurities, I had a few drinks with her, her older brother, and his friends. One of those boys almost raped me in a closet that night, but thankfully he was interrupted by another party-goer. I feel like I've used food as a buffer between me and men since then. I was lucky that I was active most of high school, so even though I had a few extra pounds, I never was heavier than about 160, wore a size 12, and had a good social life. However, I indulged in all the bad foods I loved - sausage kolaches, deli sandwiches, hamburgers and sodas. I think this is partly because my parents TRIED to curb my bad food choices, but indulged my younger brother in anything he wanted. When I went off to college, my activity level dropped to... well, to nothing and I continued to eat worse than ever. By the time I came home after that 1st semester, I had put on over 30 pounds and was well over 200. I was having irregular periods, so I went to the doctor and she diagnosed me with PCOS. The next year and a half of college were terrible academically for me, so I moved back home - with an additional 20 pounds under my belt. While living at home and going to college close by, I maintained that weight for about 5 years with varying success at Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, diet pills and gym memberships. The last two years were when I really packed it on. I had a desk job where, as an incentive to stay at the office, they provided restaurant lunches every day. It was awesome that I wasn't spending any of my dollars and in return I was getting large portions of my favorite fatty foods. I moved out of my parent's house into my own place which really allowed me the freedom to order large pizzas, grab late-night fast food, or drink vats of sugary sodas. In addition, for extra income, I started working a second job in retail which added extra stress and more food binges, particularly the kind that involve Mexican food. When I went for my first consultation for LapBand, I weighed in at 265. I know it's because I have an emotional addiction to food combined with a family history. I'm 5 days post-op now and am down to 249. I'm hungry and still struggling with how I'm going to have a healthy relationship with food, but I'm so excited and optimistic for this change! Knowing that I have the tools at my disposal (LapBand, nutrition and fitness nutrition) and a wide range of support from family, friends and my workplace! Good luck to all!