samomom

I diagnosed myself with a B12 deficiency about two weeks ago, I couldn't figure out why I was waking up all shaky and lightheaded, constantly felt like my arms were super heavy and going to fall off, out of breath just sitting, etc. I knew it wasn't my blood sugar, so remembered when I was prengant with my first one 12 years ago how I felt similar. Anemia. I Googled a bit and found that having any WLS that involves removal of part of the stomach or the RNY, bypass, etc, can cause severe B12 deficiency. Plus, I am on heavy antacids which blocks the absorption of B12. Bingo! I went to Whole Foods and bought liquid sublingual drops from Vitality Works($9.99). They are raspberry flavored and really tasty. It has 1000mcg of B12, 10 mg B6, and 400mcg Folic Acid. The B12 is Methylcolbalamin which is supposedly a better form for people to absorb over the standard which is in most multi Vitamins and other sublingual tablets. I also bought Solaray brand B12 Gumlets. It looks like a chewable, but turns into a gum. It also has 1000mcg of the B12 in Methyl form. I split them up in the day. So far I feel about 80% better.

The post op papers say 24 hours, but you will be too tired. I drove 3 days later. I had to get my kids somewhere. It was fine. Felt good to move and get out of the house.

Thank you so much for that link!! That gives me some new perspective on this whole stall BS!! Maybe I'll actually eat a bit more today before I head to my physical therapy. I always get a good workout there.

I was sleeved and unbanded on July 9th. Honestly, I'm less than thrilled with the results. I had the stupid band done Sept 28th, 2010. Worst thing ever!! I went from 238 down to 205 in 5 months and then hit a wall and went up to 222 at one point. I was 217 the day of the sleeve surgery. I lost 14 pounds in two weeks and since then it's been torturous. After the first 14, I have only managed to eeek out 9 pounds in 8 1/2 weeks despite the plethora of protein items and kick ass physical therapy workouts for my knee 3 times a week to get me in shape for ski season in two months. I honestly thought that I would have been down 35 by now. I was looking for 2 pounds a week based on my intake and exercise for the first few months. I don't think that that is too much to ask for considering that I physically can't consume large quantities of food. I don't cheat with high calorie treats, sugar taste horrible to me, I only drink water and the occasional Starbucks Refresher which is 90 calories. I do allow myself small amounts of carbs earlier in the day to have quick energy to burn for workouts. I'l even go to bed hungry just to force my body to live with what I've fed it. I won't lie and say that it's not depressing to read the success stories of others here. You would think after two WLS that my body would get the hint. My blood sugars are fabulous, my cholesterol levels are enviable, my blood pressure is wonderful;it's the fat that clings to my body that pisses me off. Why won't it vacate the premises?

Ok, first of all, you aren't even one full month out. Your body can not loose a pound or more of fat a day unless you are exercising like Michael Phelps.One pound of fat loss takes burning 3500 calories. You will lose water and some fat, but I am here to bring you back to reality and to tell you that I am jealous of your loss so far. I had the sleeve done on July 9th and I have only lost 23 pounds so there is some perspective for you.I would have been thrilled to lose 25 pounds as fast as you have. Most people who lose drastic amounts of weight are very heavy to begin with. The less you weigh going into this, the slower you will be to lose it. Give yourself time and congrats on your success so far!

I have taken Ambien in the past and just recently after surgery because I have been having major sleep issues. I will only take one or two nights of it, that was, until last Friday night...I guess I have started metablolizing meds differently after surgery(happened to my sister after her sleeve too) and the f'ing Ambien did a 180 on me and kept me up all damn night!!! I was so pissed and a complete wreck on Saturday. No more Ambien for me.

Talk about being jealous. I'm nearly two months and have eeked out only 15 pounds and have lost 1 freakin' pound in 5 1/2 weeks. My body doesn't want to let go of the fat despite the healthy eating and exercise. Every one of my doctors is baffeled. I know one of them is really waiting for me to confess to hoards of secret ice cream binges, McDonalds trips and laziness, but none of that is happening. I'm beyond frustrated and pissed off. First the crapband, and now the sleeve and I can not lose the weight. Congrats and keep up the good work.

Think of it ths way- It would be physically impossible for you to gain 6 pounds of fat in two days when you aren't eating.

Its most likely acid reflux. You should call your doctor and tell him/her because you need to get on some acid reducders if that's the case. I'm dealing with the same issue. I saw an ENT two weeks ago because I thought the anesthesiologist messed up my vocal chords. After 4 weeks I was still sore and felt tight and like there was food stuck. She took a look with a camera and showed me the redness from the reflux and prescribed 300 mg of Zantac and Delexant. It was working ok, but the past two days have been a bit icky.

So I went to see my surgeon today for a 6 week follow up. What a way to completely ruin an otherwise good day! I got on the scale and I have lost 1 pound in 4 weeks. A freaking pound! I got the usual "what are you eating?' question that I got every single time I went in for a fill or unfill. I swear that he is trying to get me to confess to living at McDonald's or something that I'm not doing. This just sucks! I'm doing worse than with the f'ed up band. How can this go so wrong? I am doing everything I should be doing just like I did with the band. We went over the thyroid issue. My family has nasty problems and I have never had anyone take my concerns seriously. He said he'd prescribe me Synthroid after all this damn lab work I had done today should I look like I may need some, but that isn't good enough. I need to try it regardless. Rant over....

I'm back. So now I'm 6 weeks out and still haven't lost another pound from the original 14 after week two. I mean really.....How can a person who is eating loads of Protein and veggies, less calories, and getting on good exercise not lose a freaking pound? I just got back from a week in Maui last night. I brought my single serve Protein shakes for Breakfast and ate some eggs and meats off my kids plate. For lunch I would have either a chicken salad or one fish taco with grilled mahi mahi. dinner was either chicken or fish, no carbs. We swam, snorkled, and walked all week long. By yesterday before we got to the airport I was starving, really starving. I ate more yesterday that I have in the past 6 weeks. It scared me how truly hungry I was. This wasn't head hunger, dehydration or anything else but the need of food. I ate fish, chicken, almonds, pot stickers and even took two bites of my kid's turkey sandwich in about a 6 hour period. I kept drinking Water until I was too full just to make sure I wasn't really just thirsty. That didn't work. My body hates me. Who here has had a less that positive experience with the weight loss in the first few months? I need to know what's going on and what did you do? I have my 6 week follow up tomorrow which I am none to pleased about. I spoke with my family doctor who has known me for 11 years and knows all too well my weight struggles. She is convinced that there is some deeper metabolism issue going on that my endocrinologist isn't seeing. The doctor she really wanted to me go see is closing her practice and moving from Los Angeles to Ohio! I about cried when I found that out. I really need some encouragement here people. The Lapband sucked. The sleeve was supposed to be my last hope! Why is it when I play the game by the rules I always seem to get burned?

Way too soon to even be worried about that!

You should try some warm broth. Most stomachs don't tolerate cold drinks so well just out of surgery. You also don't have to stick to Nectar eaither. There are so many other types of proteins in liquid form that you can drink. I prefer the Muscle Milk powders mixed with milk.

I am 4 1/2 weeks small out and have had maybe a few tablespoons of rice, 6-8 pieces of Barilla Plus penne, and few bites of hash browns and a few pretzels dipped in tuna. I can't eat that much of any starch because it fills me up, triggers my carb brain, isn't appetizing like it used to be, and causes anxeity because I fear heading down the evil carb highway. I am super vigilant about the carbs I consume. I won't even try a piece of bread right now. It's just too filling and with such little room to fill, I'd rather be eating protein and veggies.

You totally hit the nail on the head with everthing you posted. I feel the same way. The band is a temporary procedure. Don't let any doctor tell you different. There was a thread on the lapband forum where a man posted after my comment that his sister wored for Allergan, maker or Lapband, and he was privy to studies stating that it was meant to be left in for life. Bullsh!t. There is no way that they can prove that until they have 30-40 years of following patients. I read a NIH(National Institute of Health) report that was very negative about the long term success of banding. I mistakenly allowed that piece of crap in my body and had it removed 4 1/2 weeks ago after about 19 months of hell. I can't ever suggest anyone do it. My husband had hernia surgery last week with my sleeve surgeon and in the recovery room was a patient of his who after 7 years had to have hers removed due to the port breaking off. I overheard him say that he had to send the whole band back to Allergan for research. You can find success stories with the band, but my question is how long will they last. I am happy for those who have found happiness with the band, but the complications far outweigh the risks in my opinion. My bets are that banding of any type will slowly disappear over the next 5-10 years. I will never look back on all the sliming, pain, misery and vomiting and have happy thoughts. Since the sleeve last month, I haven't had one issue with swallowing or feeling like I was going to throw up. I will never miss those fill/unfill games that I played, nor the ER visits for dehydration due to being too tight. Lapband proceedures are cash cows (no pun intended) for doctors. They are making obscene amounts of money so of course they will continute to do them despite the longterm results.

I only had about a day and a half of liquids before surgery. I had a Monday surgery so I could eat whatever until noon on Saturday and then clear liquids from that point until midnight Sunday. I've heard some crazy stories of doctors telling people to go 7 days on clear liquids which is downright dangerous and completely unnecessary. The point of the clear liquids is simply to clear your digestive system of all solids. It shouldn't be to starve anyone.

The same thing happened to be in April after I had knee surgery. I was taking Percocet for pain and after 6 days of hell from not wanting to or being able to eat or drink for whatever reason, I ended up at Urgent Care. I told the doctor that I felt like **** and I was full of ****. He could feel my abdomen and tell that is was severe. He said I could go to the ER or head to CVS and buy Mag Citrate, an enema and Miralax and take care of everything myself. I bought suppositories along with my other fun OTC meds and went home. By the next night I felt so much better. It's not often you wish for diarrhea.

Just wanted to say thanks for everyone's posts. I wasn't trying to whine, but the frustration just exploded today. It's been building nearly two years since I was banded and with few exceptions, it's been brewing until I couldn't take anymore. I'm sure the staff at the doctor's office thinks I'm a real gem of a patient now for leaving in tears. I told my husband that there must be a wall of shame in the back office and I'm looking to gold medal in failed Lapband and Sleeve. Not that I am happy that any of you are in the same boat, but it's nice to know that I'm not the only one. Hopefully we can all look back in a few months and be glad we got over this evil hump.

Depends on the day, but somewhere around 800 calories,probably less most days and plenty of protein. I go to physical therapy 2-3 times a week for and ACL repair that I had in April so I am getting some good muscle toning works out in, but I can't do any long distance walking right now due to some injections I had in my knee over the past three weeks. I'm not sitting on my butt all day at home( I wish!) I do a lot around the house and I'm always moving around so I am burning calories. I probably got a good workout today though when I stormed out of the doctor's office and walked about 45 minutes home. I'm looking into buying a bike for my husband and I to use in the house. I have a mountain bike, but for some reason I just don't get out with it like I used to. I'll have to take advantage of sunny So Cal and bike every day some where. I don't know if depressed is the right word entirely. I think defeated is more like it. I realize it's early, but my gut instinct tells me that this isn't going to go so well. I tell people that I couldn't be anorexic if I tried! When I told that to my Endocrinologist she laughed and agreed with me. Sad, but true.

So I'm not the only one I see! I should have said in my first post that I don't expect to lose 5 pounds a week from the get go. I had the lapband so this isn't my first rodeo and needing the band in the first place means that I am fat to begin with and have really tried everything to lose weight. I am really hoping that my body would act accordingly and get rid of 1-2 pounds(3 on a good week) of fat and we could all just happily move on. Being that I am eating nearly pure Protein and small amounts of veggies, I thought that this time(just like I mistakenly did with the band) that I could shed the pounds more consistantly. I'm not obsessive about the scale. Some mornings I get one, some I don't. I can't totally rely on mine anyways. I prefer the digital one at the doctor's office. Yes, I know how much protein I need and I usually get that. I can get 35 grams in at breakfast for only 260 calories with my veggie sausage patties and small protein shake from the doctor's office. I nibble on organic turkey breast, tuna, some cheese, and drink Muscle Milk. I'm very well aware of my Water intake, carbs, etc. I don't worry about sodium as I don't eat frozen meals or canned Soups and stuff like that. Any salt I get comes from what I would add from cooking which is little. I'm not a huge salt fan. What I think made today worse for me that maybe for someone else is that I'm on my second surgery and I am having deju vu. I see this turning out just like the damn lapband. I played the game and did everything that I was supposed to do with that band and it didn't work. You should see all the clothes that are hanging in my closet with tags still on them from the fall of 2010 when I was all excited about being skinny. This time around I didn't throw out a thing. I can't fall for that trap again. I know it's wrong to have such a negative outlook going into this, but I am just trying to protect myself against possible reality of failure once more. I refuse to have another surgery of this type again. Bypass, Roux-en Y, or whatever other new procedure may crop up will not be taking place in my body. My sister had the sleeve done on March 2, she lost 35, yes, 35 pounds in the first 4-5 weeks. She was pretty sick and dehydrated during that time and I wouldn't want to be in her shoes and wish the same for myself. She is now down 64 after 5 months. I'm not comparing myself to her, but I do use her experience to gauge what is possible.

I would cut myself bit more slack if it wasn't for the look I got last week from my surgeon when he was talking to me as soon as my husband was out of surgery. He asked how I was doing and I said that I wasn't losing any more. He had a displeased look face and said, "really?" That wasn't a positive sign.

Also make sure that you aren't consuming too much sugar in all those Protein shakes. If you are drinking the fully sugar loaded Isopure, you are possibly hiking your blood sugar up and then crashing. Those IsoPure drinks are death by sugar in my opinion! I had to stop drinking them. I stuck mainly with the Muscle Milk powder(can't stand the premade ones) mixed with 2% milk for the extra protein. Just one scoop and 8 oz of milk is 28 grams of protein. Try to find the powdered chicken Soup protein mix from either your doctor's office, online or at Rite Aid from the Lindora section. It's not great on it's own, but blended into your favorite cream of whatever soup will break the sweet Protein shake grind and give you some flavor and fullness. I bought some chicken tortilla soup in a carton from Target, blended it with my stick blender and added the broth powder for protein It save many days for me. The first two weeks can be hard. I gave in at day 10 to hard boiled egg and turkey slices. My doctor was really ok with that since I hadn't had any complications or pain. Today is 4 weeks for me since I had the evil CrapBand removed and the sleeve done.

No. You have to remove all jewelry. There is always a risk of shock, something getting snagged, etc. Just don't wear them to the surgery center.

Doesn't being a "virgin" Sleever give you more of or quicker of a weight loss than a Revisioner? As far as I know, it doesn't matter either way. You body doesn't know the difference. Honestly, the whole process before, during and after the surgery sounds like a royal pain in the ass. I'm coming off of a year off of work, hubby having 2 jobs and not making ends meet. I can't afford fatigue. How am I going to still work? I can't speak to whatever process your doctor and insurance makes you go through because I am a total anomoly when it comes to the ease of getting approved. Sorry, not to brag or anything, but I must have had the easiest time ever, both times. The band took one phone call the morning after I initially met with my surgeon to get approved. There was not even a question from the insurance company. The office called, asked if it was covered and that was it.I was approved.No one in his office could believe that they didn't have to fight for approval. I only did the standard physical, a 15 min 'psych' eval, which really was pretty humorous. I did have to clear with my cardiologist due to an arrhythmia, but she was all for it.I had the band done two weeks after my first doctor's appt. With the sleeve I just did an EKG, lab, had my family doc clear me by fax since she had seen me in April to clear me for knee surgery and that was it. The insurance approved me right away again. My husband's company offers some of the best insurance coverage in the country so we pay the higer monthly premium, but it sure as hell has been worth it. I have read some of the horror stories that people go through-sleep studies, therapy sessions, manditory weight loss pre-op, upper GI, etc. It take 6-9 months for some people to get approved. I would have not even bothered if I had to go through all of that BS. You shouldn't need to take a lot of time off for this surgery. I had mine done on a Monday and by Thursday I was grocery shopping, taking my kids where they needed to be, etc. I was tired and cranky, but functional. I haven't found anything to be a pain in the ass before or after surgery other than the true pain of the ass when you have to drink the magnesium citrate to clear you out. I even managed to worm my way out of that total misery by splitting up the doses of two days instead of one and in very small amounts so it wouldn't get ugly. I haven't had saline in four years and I still slime, throw up, PB. But isn't that just because I ate too fast or didn't chew enough? I hate to blame a tool that is already inside of me, minding it's own business, when it could be my fault it's not working. I'm not perfect, and neither is any WLS. That right there is enough reason to have the band removed. You can erode your esophagas with acid and that is dangerous. 4 years is crazy! More proof that your body can't handle the band inside you. I must not understand what soft foods are if you can eat ribs and chicken, etc. I can eat any soft Protein such as chicken, turkey, eggs, yes, pork rib(just two small pieces with the fat peeled off), ground beef, small amounts of cheese, fish, mushy vegetables which I prefer in Soups, fruit sauces, although I try to eat very small amounts of those due to the carbs. I could if I choose to, eat small amounts of Pasta, oatmeal and stuff like that, but why bother. Its is just evil fat producting carbs to me. I'm staying away, far, far away. What you are not supposed to eat in this period is tough meats like steak, pork, shrimp, fiberous veggies or fruits, seeds, beef Jerky, and other tough to digest items. As I type, I have a boneless turkey breast in the oven that I have been brining all day. I'm going to make a very low fat mushroom gravy with it. I have potatoes and corn for the family, but I'll pass on those for now. No craving for foods like that.

Obviously the band isn't the miracle you hoped for just like so many of us. If it isn't working, get rid of it. It is not the answer to and for every weight problem. I think it sucks! I tried to love it for nearly two years. I pretended that it was going to to be this miracle. I played the game. I ate what I was supposed to, didn't eat what I wasn't supposed to, I exercised more, I tried to ignore the hunger and I suffered through the f'ing horrible sliming and thowing up. I filled, unfilled, forced my doctor to show up at his office to unfill on a Saturday morning, went to the ER dehydrated because I couldn't swallow my own saliva(yeah, try that one. It sucked). Then I finally decided about 6 months ago that something had to change. I had lost 32 pounds in 5 months. That isn't exactly a stellar feat, but I took what I could. After the first 5, nothing happened. I couldn't lose a pound. I skied all winter trying to burn calories. Nothing. Then I gained two pounds. Then 4. Then before I knew it I was up 20! I gave up. I knew it wasn't my lack of effort, but the lack of the success of the band helping me. It was creating more issues that it was helping. The band had to go. I just needed to decide when. I had the rest of the ski season, a trip to Europe and two kids to deal with. Then my sister told me she was having the sleeve done in March. Since I was kind of the guinea pig for the band, she could be for the sleeve. My sister is a nurse. A good nurse and a smart one. She researched the procedure and doctors like you wouldn't believe. She had access to info that many don't. If she had setteled on the sleeve, I was pretty damn sure I would follow suit. She had her sleeve done March 2nd of this year. It's been 4 1/2 months and she is down 64 pounds. She looks hot! No issues other than the first few weeks of fatigue and a bit of dehydration. I talked to my surgeon in April. We talked about getting rid of the evil inside me. I said sleeve. He said go for it. He admitted that the band doesn't work for everyone. I had to wait a few months to actually have the surgery because my husband travels worldwide for work and we were heading to Europe for two weeks as soon as school got out. I didn't want to be a few weeks post-op in Europe just in case and let's face it, I was eating good food on vacation! I made him totally unfill the crapband before I left. I still slimed and threw up with no saline in it!!! Evil piece of crap. So fast forward to Monday, July 9th. I cruised on into the Beverly Hills Sunset Surgery Center(yeah, I do it Hollywood style! I live in West L.A) that afternoon. I even showed up late! Traffic. I had surgery later in the afternoon and remember coming to about 5 pm. I had a little pain, but since I have a delayed reaction to Versed, it takes me forever to really wake up from surgery. I was drinking Water and Vitamin Water within an hour or so. No problems. I had to stay overnight which I really could have skipped on. I didn't need that much in the way of pain meds. Went home about 8 the next morning and slept a lot the next few days. I only took liquid Lortab(Vicodin) twice. I really wasn't in pain. I drank Protein shakes and Vitamin Water for the first two weeks. I went to my 2 week check up and I had already lost 14 pounds. Today I think its more like 17. My underwear are sliding off my hips. I had to toss a bunch of shirts. I'm going to Macy's to shop for new clothes already as soon as everyone gets dressed and out the door. For the next three weeks I'm on soft foods. I have been eating stir fried chicken breast, pork ribs(minus any fat), avocados, sliced turkey breast, eggs, cheese, yogurts, etc. I don't have to chew like mad and eat slow or any different than before. I don't get heartburn or upset stomach. This has been the easiest thing ever! I don't fear having any leaking issues because my surgeon staples and oversews to prevent that. He also created a flap to prevent any acid reflux.There is no issue of malabsorption because you aren't bypassing anything. I seriously feel like nothing has even been done. It takes some trial and error to figure out what full looks like in a bowl before I eat, but other that that it's been all good. As for being able to eat whatever you want as you mentioned- Choosing to eat something and being able to eat whatever you want are two different things. Right now and for the forseeable future, I am choosing not to eat carbs. They aren't off any list, but they don't do any good for weight loss and because my stomach is smaller, why fill it with empty starchy calories when I can eat muscle preserving protein? If you are worried about not being able to eat something, then you need to evaluate your relationship with food. Don't take that the wrong way either. I'm just saying that if you have issues with food that bother you a lot, you should tackle those issues before proceding with any type of diet of surgery. For me, its all about carbs. Because I know they mess me up, I will not eat them. My underwear falling off my butt feels a lot better than a spoonful of rice in my mouth. There is this entire board of people who have had revision surgery for a reason. We aren't failures. We chose to have this done because the LapBand didn't work for us. People who swear by the band are lucky. Good for them. I wish I would have done my research the first time around and gone straight for the sleeve. Do your research about the longevity of the Lapband. It's not been around long enough to determine it's true sucess rate. People who claim that it's is meant to be left in for life- please...... no supporting research for that either. Go to the NIH.org site and see what they have to say. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.