jeninpink

You brought tears to my eyes. Everything you wrote and described. I could relate to. I am allllmost 2 months out....thanks for the inspiration and keep up the good work. You look amazing.

Hello, My surgery was May 20th. On first day of pre op I weighed 241, 233 the day of surgery, this morning I weighed in at 217.4. I get upset when I see how slow my weight is coming off in comparison to others, but then I realize I am not "others" I am myself and down is down. Slow and steady wins the race right? lol Anyway, I started the Couch 2 5k program last week, and I am beginning week 2 tonight. Last week was a stall, the entire week, didnt lose a lb and now I have lost a lb a day for the last 3 days, ILL TAKE IT! My surgeon set a goal of 180lb for me. Ill get there, then set a new goal. I am lucky that I don't vomit (at least haven't) I do occasionally get hiccups, those can be annoying, but at least its not pain. Sometimes I Find it hard to get my Water in..and thats just pure ignorance and neglect on my part. Any favorite easy "snacks" that you all take to work or out the door with you? I eat my yogurt daily, but I'd like a little something else.

Hello, I am scheduled for surgery May 20. They are doing my surgery robotic, with the DaVinci Robotic system, I will be sleeved. I am in pre op diet phase, so far I have lost 8lbs. Not too bad I guess. I was hoping for a bit more, but Ill take it. I have had a few slips here, I know shame on me, nothing drastic, but at one point I knew it would rid the headache, so I had had a few bites. My current weight as of today is 233lbs, when I started pre op I was 241lbs. I will keep you all posted on my progress. I will be having my surgery at Lutheran General in Park Ridge. Talk soon & best wishes. J.

Hi everyone, I have received my surgery date, all approved for one procedure! Converting from band to sleeve on March 18! I am very excited and NERVOUS! Any others in the same boat? I am nervous about drains, heparin shots etc. I didnt have any of that with the band. Looking for some advice and insight! If you've been coverted already, please let me know your success, problems, fears! Thanks Jen

I would definitely rather have everything go smoothly. I was just mentally ready. So I'm bummed. Its okay though. Two months isn't so bad I guess. Ill have to do the pre op diet again lol yay jk. I'm going to try & get scheduled for a Friday, so that I won't have too many work issues.

Well I had my surgery today. I'm very bummed they couldn't do the sleeve today. There was too much scar tissue, so they only removed my lap band. I will go back in two months to have the revision to sleeve and v the hernia repair. I'm in a fair amount of pain right now, feeling disappointed, I know its best this way. Ill keep you posted. Hope all you who were sleeved today are doing ok. Hugs! Jen

So you really do feel full? Can u compare it to anything? Is it like the feeling you get after a big meal? I know its a strange question. Lol. Tomorrow is my surgery at 1pm. I'm nervous!

My surgeon takes the drain out right b4 I go home, I'm guessing that's a good thing.

I wss fine with the band. All these heparin shots are terrifying me. (Wimp) I am dreading leaving my baby, but I have to get it done before he starts crawling, which is like weeks away. I am looking forward to a thin me!

Barbie, Tuesday is my day. I'm nervous. I'm trying not to think about it. I just want to be several weeks post op, and have this all be a distant memory. Oh, and be losin!

So, surgery is Tuesday. I'm nervous. I've been on a very low cal diet.. mainly liquid for two weeks. I have a fear my liver won't be smaller? Or that they won't be able to do band to sleeve in one surgery. Why am I constantly worried?

So, surgery is Tuesday. I'm nervous. I've been on a very low cal diet.. mainly liquid for two weeks. I have a fear my liver won't be smaller? Or that they won't be able to do band to sleeve in one surgery. Why am I constantly worried?

I am getting a drain, I'm afraid of the pain when they take it out. Is that super painful?

Hi! My band was working great, then despite several expensive adjustments it just wasn't right. I gave off and felt that maybe I would deal with all the problems for the rest of my life. I went through stages of vomiting pretty much every time I would eat but then there were times when I could eat anything I wanted it was very strange I became pregnant in December of 2012and gave birth in July of 2013 it was then that I decided enough was enough and I was going to see my surgeon I went to a new growth group at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge after imaging they thought I had a hiatal herniaI went for an EGD and my band is so tight even though they drain the fluid that they had difficulty getting the camera through I guess it all depends on if my stomach is in a relaxed state or not I'm not sure because at times I can eat at other times I cannot constraining the band I've gained back quite a bit of weight I I am currently about 230 pounds I was down to 165 with the band so it works I just had too many problems and hoping the sleeve will be much different from what I hear it does not carry the same effects but you still get the restriction I need.

Hi everyone, I'm being sleeved (revision from failed band) on the 18th, at Lutheran General, I'm on day 4 of pre op diet, my head is killlllling me and I'm so tired (carb withdrawl) I hope that I am happy with the sleeve, the band was a nightmare. How are u all doing?

Hello everyone! Today is day 3 of my pre op diet. Well...first let me give you my daily menu: breakfast: 1 scoop protein powder and 8oz milk morning snack: sugar free jello lunch: 1 scoop protein powder afternoon snack: sugar free jello dinner: 3 oz chicken, turkey, or fish with 2 cups salad or 1 cup cooked veggies. 1TB of dressing or oil and water.....water.....water......did I say water? So its the third day, I have had a headache now for three days to match. I think its the lack of carbs, maybe a carb withdrawl. Im not supposed to have caffeine, today I just poured a cup of coffee, and used a dash of my milk that was for my protein shake...I need to rid myself of the headaches, I cant deal with it all day. Im a bit tired and my brain is foggy. Ive read this happens on Atkin type diets from lack of carbs, and supposedly passes. PLEASE PASS QUICKLY. Once you get over the idea that you aren't going to eat you start to forget about it. All doctors have differet preps prior to surgery. What are yours? What about post op? Post op I am a week of the same diet I am on now and then followed by two weeks of pureed foods, then gradually into regular foods. When I did my pre op diet for the band it was similar to this, but no dinner, only liquids and one "cream of.." soup, strained a day. I dont remember being this lethargic or the headaches. I had my pre op appointment on Tuesday. I lost four lbs, which was nice. I also met with the exercise physiologist, who gave me post op instructions, the nutrionist, who gave me 4 one ounce cups to show me what I will be drinking/eating (4 cups is the total quanity to equal a half cup, for each is 1 oz) we practiced how I should sip after surgery, take a sip, breathe out, swallow slowly. The reason for this is to expel any gas from the tummy. Otherwise you get painful gas, and have to be BURPED, OMG! They also gave me a spoon, to remind me of the size bites I should eat..funny, my 7 month old has the same one! I met with my surgeon, he is awesome, he went over the procedure from the moment I am checked into the hosptial. Reassuring me of statistics and my safety. We discussed the dreaded drain that is used after surgery, the good news is, its taken out before I leave "phew" the bad news is...OMG THEY PULL IT OUT WHILE YOURE AWAKE! Finally I met with the nurse who showed me how I will inject my Heparin, 3 shots a day for two weeks, to avoid any clots. Yikes. I hate needles but I definitely dont want to suffer a stroke, embolism, or DVT. So, I will comply. I left with my prescriptions, my shopping list...and here I am today. I will keep you posted! I have to schedule my pre surgical clearance appt with my primary care doctor, and get some blood work too. Report back later. Take care! Jen

I am having my surgery the 18th and today is the first day of my pre op diet. My diet consists of 3 Protein shakes a day, two Snacks (such as sugar free Jello or sugar free popsicles) and a meal of 3 oz of grilled chicken or turkey with 2 cups of veggies (non starches) Its not so bad so far. TONS of Water, with Crystal Lite--helps too! When I had my band I was on liquid only, so Protein Shakes and broth for two weeks, this is a bit better. Although I cant exceed 900 calories, so I will have to knock off a Protein shake if I decide on a dinner with chicken.

Hello, Thank you for visiting my blog. It is my hope that sharing my journey with you will help along yours. I have an amazing surgical team, nutritionist, & exercise physiologist, but I would have loved to have a "go to" person to answer any of my questions and address any concerns. I hope to be that person for you. A little background about myself. I am a married mother of two children. I have been overweight, obese, and morbidly obese for as long as I remember. I was a yo yo dieter, a fad dieter, a "I WILL DO ANYTHING" dieter, and yet here I am still overweight. My weight has gone up from its highest at 264lbs to its lowest at 170lbs. I underwent Lap Band© in November 2008. I had what all the doctors would consider success, I felt successful. I went from 264lbs to about 175lbs through the course of 2 years. I felt amazing, I was exercising and really enjoying life. I had a few fills here and there trying to find that "sweet spot" we hear so much of. All at once, about four years into my band things started to go sour. I had difficulty eating pretty much anything that wasn't a slip food. By slip food I mean something that would go right through my band, with ZERO difficulty. Slip foods are usually horrilbe foods, ice cream, candy...you know the healthy stuff (sarcasm). If I ate regular food, healthy food, pretty much everything at somepoint came back up. I would be in the bathroom throwing up food that didn't pass through the band, or did pass and...well..it was not pleasant and certainly was getting to be too much. I saw a surgeon after I had my second child because I decided at 33 years old, I couldn't live like this, something had to be done. My surgeon and his staff are AMAZING. After my first visit Dr. said that he would like to do an Upper GI barium swallow in flouroscopy. He saw that I had a hiatal hernia, he then drained my band. That was on Christmas eve. On Feb 10, I had an EGD, it was painless, and quick, I remember pretty much nothing. The dr. did find that my band was so tight he had difficulty passing the camera into the stoma. Yikes! It was empty! No wonder. On the 21st of Feb I had my follow up with the surgeon. We deteremined that I was going to remove the band, and convert to sleeve. After 3 short days insurance approved both procedures at once! I have my pre-op appointment tomorrow at noon. It will last 3 hours. It is there I will learn exactly what will be done, I will be taught how to inject heparin into myself (OMG HELP ME---IM DREADING IT!) my liquid diet etc. I will keep you all posted. I am excited to enter this new stage of my life. I feel like I am a thin person in hiding, I cant wait to come out! Please feel free to share your thoughts, your feelings etc. If you have been there, done that I would love to hear as well! Stay tuned....

Good luck!

I really needed to see your post. The band pain was bearable. So that's good to hear you handled it so well. I have an infant at home that I'm DREADING being away from. It will be fine, I know, just more nervous jitters. I did very well with the band, until the problems started do I'm eager to be a few weeks post op. My dr. Requires heparin 3x daily, for two weeks, I keep the drain til my fluid is below 59cc (gah, I'm so squeemish). I'm looking forward to the weight loss jump start, liquid diet starts Wednesday. How do you feel today? What is doc having u do now,

Hi Jeninpink . I had by revision this past Tuesday and I was worried about all that too but it actually wasn't that bad. No more pain that when I had the band. I actually opted for 0 pain medication at all at the hospital. I was there 1 night and received 2 Heparin shots in my tummy but they use such a tiny needle if you can have a lap band fill, heparin is a walk in the park. I can't comment on the drain tube because my dr doesn't use them. I came home Wed and I've been drinking just fine. Already up making my niece lunch today

:confused:Hi Everyone, This is my very first posting.... I had my surgery in Nov 2006. I pre surgery I was 265lbs, at 5'5. I was down to about 170lbs, and have now, started to gain weight, I am about 190! OUCH!!!! Do you suggest a fill?? Do you think this will help?! Any advice! Thanks!!!

Yes, thanks for the advice I really appreciate it.

Well, for one, I wasnt sure if it was me, and I was doing something wrong (although my eating habits are the same) I find that it just seems like I need a fill. Quite honestly, I just need to find a place that is a little cheaper than the 250 or 300 I need to pay for fills, where I had my surgery. I know it sounds silly but with 4 kids...lol..that is how I stumbled on this site actually, searching for a place for a fill, other than my original doctor here in Chicago, I am calling a place just outside the city, in Oak Brook, I hear they are 100 dollars cheaper. Lets hope!!!! You are giving me hope.

I had only 2 fills after my surgery, one fill, then, just a tweek the following week, bc it wasnt full enough. So, I do see people have had several fills....do you think it will help?! Its making me feel awful the last thing I want is gains!