catwoman7

lapband? It's an outdated surgery that was largely replaced by the sleeve. You might be hard pressed to find a surgeon who'll even place them anymore - most don't because there were too many complications with them. Most people who revise from sleeve go with RNY or DS.

we were told not to count calories early out. With as little as you're likely eating, calorie intake isn't going to be a problem. We only were told to count protein grams and fluids.

most of us don't start feeling the restriction until we move to solid foods.

I don't know about Kaiser specifically, but most insurance companies generally won't cover this unless you've had medical problems with the excess skin that don't respond to traditional treatments - for example, chronic rashes. If you're experiencing something like that, be sure to see a doctor for it and make sure it's documented, because the insurance company will want to see documentation that it's not responding to more conservative treatments before approving the surgery. None of mine was covered - but for some of us, yes, insurance does cover - but again, it really depends on the situation.

I was always able to drink more than they said I'd be able to it. I was worried about it as well, but the PA at my clinic said not to worry about it - fluids go through you pretty fast. He said my stomach would tell me if I was drinking too much/too fast.

you're also what we call a "light weight". You started out at only 209 lbs. Many of us started out at 250+. Starting BMI is one of the factors that determines how fast or slow the weight comes off. Given your starting weight, I'm not surprised at all at your loss so far. But as long as the overall trend is down, you're good!

it probably varies. I think it was about two weeks for me.

1-3 weeks is pretty common for a stall - but a month is not unheard of. You're only 11 days into it - so it's not an issue yet.

P.S. dumping affects about 30% of RNY patients. It's much less common in sleeve patients. It's from eating too much sugar or fat in one sitting. It causes heart palpitations, cramping, chills or sweating, and diarrhea. is there real sugar in your protein powder, or is it an artificial sweetener? If the latter, it's not dumping - but you could have an intolerance to whatever sweetener they use. That's not uncommon...

most "normal" WLS patients (i.e., those of us not the size of the people on "My 600 lb Life", which the vast majority of us are not) lose about 15-25 lbs the first month. You've lost 11 in two weeks - so you're right on track!

like Arabesque said, the DS used to be done in two phases - first they'd do a sleeve, then they'd go back in later and bypass the small intestine. So as long as things work out with your pancreas, they can always go back in and do phase 2. meanwhile, it's a good thing they found the problem so they can deal with it now before it gets worse (that is, if it would have gotten worse).

I think I was a good four months out before I could comfortably eat those. Some people may be able to eat them earlier, though. Your stomach will let you know if it's ready or not.

that IS pretty expensive. My facelift was around $7000, so it wouldn't take too many years for the cost of the vials to catch up to that. (I'm also in my 60s)

I finally broke down and had a facelift. Honestly, I think that's probably the only permanent solution - but I'd hold off awhile because sometimes things shift around during year 2 or 3 and you look less gaunt. As far as full vs lower face lift, it just depends on your situation. Another WLS patient and I went to the same plastic surgeon. He recommended a lower face lift for me, and a full face lift for her - so it depends on the sagging (where it is and how much).

it's almost always temporary. The first few weeks post-op are hard. And yes, unfortunately, you will enjoy food again, and at that point this all becomes a lot more challenging. I know it probably sounds odd to you now, but there are days I wish it was like at the beginning when I was never hungry and didn't give a flip about food.

I would never even consider a Lapband. So many people have had theirs removed because of complications. VSG and RNY are both proven, excellent surgeries (DS is not nearly as common - and yes, there tend to be more complications with it. So sorry about your sister!). I'd go with one of the proven ones (VSG or RNY) - both are excellent surgeries with few complications - and any complications that do crop up tend to be minor and "fixable".

Hard to say - ulcer? Liver? Gall bladder? Make an appt with your doctor - they'll likely check all of those things.

It's really contingent on how well you do and what kind of job you have. I had a desk job (I'm now retired). I took three weeks off but could have gone back after two. I'm glad I had the third week because I was still pretty tired and it was nice having the time to get used to the eating progression, but yes, I COULD have gone back after two weeks.

there shouldn't be a need to re-do the sleeve - it's already been done. The sleeve historically was part 1 of the DS procedure, which used to often be done in two stages. They'd first create a sleeved stomach, and a few months later, they'd come back in and bypass most of the small intestine. Some people lost enough weight with just part 1 that they didn't end up doing part 2. Thus, the sleeve surgery was born.

I'm a bypass patient. I was told I could take anything the size of a pencil eraser or smaller as soon as I got home from the hospital (which covered all but two of my pills - I had to wait 2-3 weeks before trying those - and it did "work" - I was able to swallow everything perfectly after the 2-3 week wait on the two larger ones)

if you can afford to pay the difference, I'd go for the full tummy tuck. The results are going to look a lot more natural.

you won't have food restrictions once you're a few months out. That said, you may have trouble TOLERATING some foods, but your clinic will lift all restrictions at some point ice cream is one of those things that some people have trouble with though, even though they're technically not "dumpers". Unfortunately, I'm not one of them (a dumper OR an ice-cream intolerant person). I can easily eat a cup of it. I just try not to have it very often or else have one scoop if I'm at an ice cream store.

I remember hearing about him a few years back. He had several patients die, I believe. I'm shocked that he's still licensed..and I'm so sorry you're dealing with this...

here are the 15K+ posts (and no, I am NOT kidding) from members who've experienced the infamous "three-week stall" (i.e, just about everyone...): https://www.bariatricpal.com/search/?q=three-week stall

I know - yuck! But...it's a lot harder to reach around when you're carrying a bunch of excess weight. One of those things that few people talk about, but...