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I will be in your October club. Mine is hopefully 10/7. Just waiting for final insurance approval.

Once you are healed you can drink more than a beverage or two and it will not hurt your sleeve any more than it would have hurt your regular stomach. I haven't been a big drinker since college like 10 years ago and since having the sleeve I have had two nights of drinking. The first was like 4 shots of tequila at about 8 months out and the second was this past weekend where we drank frozen drinks all day and then knocked out a bottle of tequila at night. Much as I have read you're supposed to be impacted far more from drinking with the sleeve than with a normal stomach, my tolerance is not much different. Since I rarely drank as it was, I'm a lightweight. I woke up Tuesday without a hangover, so I suppose at 20 months this was a good test of alcohol with a sleeve.

It will be a slow but mist likely a full recovery from diabetes. I was a type II diabetic till I got sleeved on Dec 21, '09. There was a gradual reduction in sugar levels. In about 10 days I was totally off medication. I am now off medication for over 5 months now and check myself at least 4 times a week only to find that I am perfectly normal. My suggestion is to stick to your medication till the doc tells you to let go. On my surgery day, my sugar levels were high and worried the doctor a bit. Had oral medication and insulin to control it. I wish you a medication free future ! Life is simply fantastic.

Had surgery 6-27-13. It has taken this long to figure out how to post.. If you read my story you will understand the topic. Thanks

Even if the band only works 10 years I still would want it. There may be some people over in Europe that see this post. I don't think US patients have had them more than 7 or 8 years. I plan on having mine for life. There is no reason why I can't.

WOW!!! DINALI, Thank you so much for your post, if I could touch you, I would give you a big hug... So kind of you to take your time for me.. Your post hast already helped me today, My left sholder was hurting so I stoped eating and within 30 sec. I could feel a fullness. Then 10 min. later or so, it felt as though my port was throbing??? And I have had this before but just thought is was part of the healing process, well now I know that its a sign....And thanks for the heads up on not to swallow the saliva because I'm sure that would have been the first thing that I did...Again THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!! Your the bomb!!! Tara

hi[emoji3] well first id like to wish you a lot of luck !! this is the first day of your new life!! i was sleeved a week ago, 2/10. im gonna be completely honest with my experience.. so here it goes. i got to the hospital at 545am.. did all my final paperwork and they put me in a room to wait for doc. they hooked me up to IVS and asked me questions.. blah blah blah.. i was feeling so nervous- i almost wanted to back out. but i told myself that ive wanted this for so long and come so far in this process so there was no turning back! i went in and doc told my family itd be a 1 to 2 hour surgery.. but it only took 40 min because everything went perfect! (so blessed) so i woke up in recovery all drugged up.. not knowing where i was lol. all that was on my mind was where was my family.. i was told i had to wait.. i felt tired and nothing really else.. fast forward to an hour and i was wheeled to my room with family right behind me. still drugged up and sleepy- i didnt know much of what was going on. i felt like i was in a fog. i started getting nauseous as heck.. so unbearingly nauseous. i demanded meds and after a few diff ones the nausea went away. i tried sleeping but they kept waking me up every 3 hours to walk. the first time i was thinking there was no way i could walk after surgery. but it wasnt bad! i took it slow and by the next time i got up i just wanted to get it done with to go back to bed lol. the first night wasnt too bad .. i had plenty of pain meds and slept mostly good. the next day i woke up and was told i needed to drink 10 medicine cups of fluids in order to go home.. piece a cake.. or so i thought. it took me 8 hours to drink 5 cups so needless to say i didnt go home. it was so hard for me to keep liquids down. it felt tight and it felt like the fluid was the girl from charlie and the chocolate factory and my digestive system was the chocolate tube she got stuck in. lol only way i knew how to put it.. so the 2nd night for me was hellll.. i woke up every 10 minutes. the oxygen i had to wear was annoying.. i just wanted my own bed. the next morning i woke up determined to drink those ten cups! it took me 3 hours to drink 5 medicine cups so i was determined to drink those last 5.. and i did! i definitely made progress from the day before. so i go home.. ride home is a bit bumpy so bring a pillow to hold against your tummy.. for me that was a life saver.. so i get home and my bed was waiting for me for the past week ive been sleeping a lot lately. no stomach pains really my incisions are healing nicely. just a little sore. i was frustrated because everytime id drink liquids i would have to use the bathroom and then id be hungry. im still hungry often but its because im not consuming food. honestly the first few days i had about 4 breakdowns a day. i cried and cried and told my family i regretted getting sleeved.. it was SO hard to meet my fluids and protein goal. but that feeling of regret it gone. im doing better everyday.. and it gets easier everyday. all i can do is try my best. and make sure i get my walking in. i was instructed to wall 10-15 min a day. on valentines day (four days post op) i checked in with doc.. 16 pounds down!! he says im on right track.. ive had some shoulder pain..thats normal. gas x strips helped a lot with that. i wish you the best during your journey. youre gonna do fabulous !! make sure you take your vitamins. very important! dont stress - take it day by day and if you have any questions please feel free to message me. also im not too far ahead of you.. id love to hear about your experiences too sorry for the book lol happy sleeve day!

I was originally thinking 10 mins every 10 mins im on computer, watching tv or just sitting around! So yes, I can do that, I think I started out with 5 just to get the feel of it (: I will start 10mins for every ten mins tomorrow (: And calories if you get stuck at a weight and wont budge then switch it up I have so many things I want to do for exercise or workouts and I know I won't get bored of it and I can find some days where I'll walk after class and then do this I hope to lose 21 pounds by my 21st bday which is Dec. 20th (:

Its been a long Month, things in my life have been hectic, my knee surgery really put a damper on things. My house flooding was a total nightmare, and my grandmothers passing was a heartache. As they say, Old habits are hard to break. I realized just how much I was an emotional eater. I did it before I even realized I was eating for comfort. I am trying to "think" before I eat now and it seems to be working. I'm trying to get back to the basics and follow the rules. They are easy to sway away from the longer you have the band. But let me tell you, they are rules that you need to follow for the rest of your life. At least, I need to follow them. My knee is improving everyday. I'M OFF MY CRUTCHES officially today!!!! I'm so excited!!!! I still have my brace on, but soon, that will be leaving too! I'm still tight, and I still have to ice it down throughout the day, but I can deal with that. I am going to probably get to start out SLOWLY next week on the elliptical machine. YAY. My house, it looks so pretty now. Still have a lot of tiny things to do, but it looks like a home again!!!! I love my new wood floors, I love my new tile in the bathroom, I love my new paint in the bedrooms and new carpet. It looks like a totally new home (its about 40 years old). My restriction has really kicked in, I have to slow down on drinking and eating. I get full quickly, so I'm making sure I eat good healthy protein that my body needs. I'm taking the quickslim 30 (on my 2nd day of it), so I'm anxious to see if this will help me as well. I don't feel any different taking it, I don't feel like I have a lot of energy, or don't feel like I don't. I really feel the same. I do think it could be helping me with my appetite. I was going to "try" and stay off scales, but I couldn't do it, I ended up weighing this morning and it said 170.4. So, I'm losing!!!!! I am hoping by Monday, I will see the 160's! OMG, I can't believe I'm going to weigh in the 160's. Thats so hard for me to comprehend. when I say it out loud, or type it out loud, it just seems so unreal to me. It makes me want to cry. My eyes are tearing up now. I just can't believe I'm no longer morbidly obese. I am no longer Severe overweight, but the charts show Overweight and getting close to the "healthy weight" range. I'm out of the Red Zone on the charts. I never want to go back to my old self, never ever ever! I feel so much better now. I love my new me. I'm trying to look past my imprefections (stretch marks, scars, sagging skin etc) and see what my DH tells me all the time - That I'm beautiful. Thats so hard for me, I still see myself as a fat ugly person. I know others don't see me that way, I get told I'm beautiful all the time, however it is hard to have a good self image of myself when I let myself go for so long.....but this is something I am working on. I want to be happy with my body and my looks and accept the things that I cannot change. Okay - back to work I go............

My hubby was sleeved 7/18 his starting weight was 441 lbs 6/28. Day of surgery (after 18 day pre op diet) he was 411 lbs 7/18. On 7/25 396 lbs 8/1 388 lbs 8/15 381 lbs 8/22 377 lbs 8/29 372 lbs on tuesday at his 6wk check up he weight 367 lbs (^;^) yay!!! He has not been under 370 in prob 10 yrs. I am so proud of him, his new attitude, his determination and will power! I am his biggest supporter and together we will reach his goal Hope everybody else is doing great, keep it up youre worth it!!!

I am 10 wks out and can have ground beef..lean now..nut says no steaks till 6months out

My doc reported to me that only 10% of WLS are Lap Bands these days.

I am considering WLS and really need some straight answers from those of you that have experienced the band. I have read sooo much on both surgeries and have looked at the good , the bad, and the ugly. The sleeve has me scared because if in the next 10-20 yrs something happens to me like getting sick or cancer, I will not have a stomach to withstand treatments since it is not reversible. However I have also read that so many with the band has reverted to the sleeve because of no success. I know that both are considered a TOOL for weightloss and like all programs, if you don't work the program correctly, it won't work. So my question is to you -- do any of you regret getting the lapband and if so, why?

I had my sleeve surgery about 10 days ago. Saw the Doc at 1 week post-op check up. I was discussing this very topic with him, and while the article posted above goes into a lot of detail, a key aspect of early stall is simply related to the fact that while you were in the hospital, they pumped lots and lots of fluids into you (remember the frequent IV bag changes?). Well, that adds a lot of Water weight to the body and it takes some time to get the body into a rhythm of reducing. I think this dovetails into what the article says in greater detail. -RC-

I'm on one of those plans where you have to lose as much as you can for 6 months before you can get approved and then start the real pre op stuff. Anyway I'm about 8 - 9 weeks in on the plan which is low carb high protein and I'm really struggling. Not with food, the food is fine but the weight is not melting off like it should on a low carb plan. My doctor made some tweaks to my diet last week and I'm trying that now and it did help stop the slow climb I was having but my body seems not to want to go beyond 10 pounds loss. Now here is my real fear... if I'm struggling this much on a pretty liberal diet where I still get to eat all the things I like with the exception of highly processed foods, sweets, grains, bread. Which honestly I really don't miss at all.... what is it going to be like when I get to the real highly restrictive diet I'm expected to follow pre and post op? I don't know, I'm beginning to have doubts that maybe surgery won't help and all sorts of crazy thoughts like maybe something is just wrong with me. I swear I have not been cheating at all! Yet I've only loss about 10 pounds???? what is wrong with my body... sigh... The fear that I might go through surgery and nothing changes wakes me up in the middle of the night in a panic.....

I have lost 105 pounds it sound like your too tight. Sometimesyou find yourself eating easier food but it may be higher in calories. I lost 100 pounds in 10 months. Its possible.

Hi everybody, I've been lurking on the boards for so long that I felt it was time to come out of hiding and say how much inspiration you've all given to me without knowing it. You are a great source of information, comfort, and camaraderie -- it feels wonderful to know that I'm not alone. My real name is Michele. I'm originally from St. Louis, MO but I've been living in the Houston area (The Woodlands to be more exact) for 14 years. I'm 49 years old and I have a host of problems that I hope are going to be greatly improved by the surgery -- diabetes, high blood pressure, low thyroid, high cholesterol. Diabetes is the main one. My mom was about 100 lbs. overweight and died when she was 62 from the complications of diabetes. It's taken several of my friends too, and I just don't want to go out that way if I can help it. It's funny, I'm a conservative Republican but I tell everyone "Thank you President Obama!" If it weren't for Obamacare I don't know where I'd be. Because of the PCIP program which is part of the Affordable Care Act, I am able to get insurance and I couldn't afford it previously. I was turned down for other insurance and the Texas Risk Pool insurance was twice as expensive as what I pay for deductibles now. Anyway, my insurance covers bariatric surgery. I had to be on medically supervised weight loss for 6 months, then they approved me. Because of previous surgery I had on my ears this year, I've already met my out of pocket maximum so this surgery is free for me. I have been truly blessed. This past year has been an epic saga trying to get to this point. After doing everything I needed to do for six months and gaining approval for the surgery on the first try, I found out my surgeon was out of network because the medical group he was a part of fell apart and he joined with a new group and my insurance couldn't find him on their network anymore. Finally my insurance suggested that I find a different surgeon so I looked around and found one who has a lot of good reviews online -- and this is going to be my hero - Dr. Dexter Turnquest. My surgery is scheduled for Monday the 19th at 1:00 pm. I'm so excited that it's finally happening yet I'm feeling more nervous and I have more trepidation than I thought I would. My surgeon allows only Clear Liquids for the first week (yep the week of thanksgiving - maybe i can find some turkey broth). Then after that I go on the soft diet. He said he wants his patients eating their Protein, not drinking Liquid Protein, so I'm glad I won't have to be on the Protein Shakes -- I'm sorry, they're mostly awful. I worry what it's going to be like to be at home and not chowing down. I wonder what it's going to be like not to eat certain things, not to eat as much as I used to eat. I wonder if I'll get really depressed because that's been my coping source all these years. But I know that God is on my side and He has brought me to this and He'll help me get through it. But I can't help wondering and worrying a little if it's going to be really hard. Can anyone recommend things I should have on hand for that first week when I'm home that I would regret if I didn't get? My friend is going to spend the night with me the night I come home (which will be Tuesday afteroon) but after that I'm mostly going to be on my own sitting in my little apartment. Please let me know if there were things, medicines, food items, that you were really glad you had around. Anyone else live in The Woodlands area? I would love to go to a support group and make some new friends. I think it would help me get out of myself and help me take the focus off ME. There's so much more I could say so I'll just leave it at that for right now -- thanks again to all of you for being here!

Time to start this journey [03 Sep 2006|10:57am] [music | The first time ever I saw your face [03 Sep 2006|10:57am When did it hit me? When Chris said, "think of all the things you would have done in Alaska had you not had a mobility issue"(?) Probably. It all seem to come to synchronicity (great album BTW). Half day at school, I needed to renew my prescriptions and see the doctor about that darn rash. I went to my dentist after school let out and had that off bite drilled down since it hadn't really felt right since doing the new filling. It took but a brief five minutes and I found myself back out in my car and heading towards Main Street. Left. I think I'll get those prescriptions in person rather than waiting for the pharmacy to call them in. Five blocks away and I was parking right next to the front door. How often does that happen? I walked up to the window and signed in and sat down. "Mrs. Reeves did you have an appointment?", a new receptionist peered out from the glass partition, "No I just happened to be in New Port Richey for a dentist appointment and need to have a rash looked at" (TMI I though to myself, too much information) but it seemed to appease her and I waited. Less than ten minutes and I was walking down the hallway past the examination rooms, going, going, to the last room which I know to be my doctor's preferred examination room. Wednesday, he's not there on Wednesdays, it's his day off. "What are you here for today?". I like the older staff. I know them, they take their time and I can ask about the issue "downunda" without feeling like the PHCC grad staff is "sewgrossing" about it at lunch. I tell her all of the truth, that I have a rash down there and that I have another rash on my arm. My back is killing me ( couldn't be that extra 200 pounds could it..answer your own question Patty, YES!) The list is long. She smiles, she comforts me and takes my blood pressure. She leaves. I'm waiting for the nurse practioner to come in but I hear my doctor's familiar pitch and tone. It's Wednesday, he isn't here on Wednesdays. The door opens and my nurse has returned, "Is Dr. Sichelman here?" "yes" "he isn't here on Wednesdays it's his day off" I tell her, "Dr. Galadi is on vacation so he is covering" she tells me. (how often does that happen?) This is going to be a day for unexpected things. My doctor comes in, I show him my rash on my arm, it's not really anything what else? There is the lump on my stomach in the mass of large fat on my belly I feel a pea like object, he feels it, it's nothing. He notices the rash below my stomach. I've been treating it with ointment for how long? (should I tell him years? Should I tell him two baths a day?) "it's been there awhile" I managed. He pulls at my underpants and notices another flush of skin below that. I admitted sex hadn't been what it use to be and he tells me to go to my OBGYN, "we really don't deal with that". Before I know it the conversation has turned with the problem at the moment and he begins examining me. This is a man of medicine, a healer at heart and I never appreciate him more than this moment. I have a staph infection and then a yeast infection. Before I leave there I will end up have a stack of nine separate prescriptions. I cover myself back up and sit down on the bench. He sits down at the other end and the nurse is stationed with my chart and a pen at the desk. The greater question, the greater issue, my weight. "So when are we going to get this weight off?" It's a question, a subject that he and I have talked about for years. My doctor of 16 years. Through the phase of Phen-Fen, Meridian, Redux, 1200 calories, 1800 calories, over the counter products into last year and the diagnosis of Type I Diabetes, rehabilitation to begin some type of activity until now. It's serious. My back is giving under the pressure, I take Lasix for water retention, blood pressure medication and he switches me today to two types of medication. "I know Doctor. I don't know what to do. I've tried, I've tried for years." This is a moment of honesty, the reality that my life is on the line. He tells me I'm looking at ten years. (ten years until my body breaks a blood vessel in my brain, tens years until my heart faults, ten years of semi goodness left in my body) He goes on to tell me about another patient. "He had the same problem as you. He had the gastric surgery, came in a few months back and I hardly recognized him." *A year ago I couldn't have, wouldn't have entertained this procedure* I can do this on my own I said. But a year later and an increase in 25 pounds told me that there comes a time when one has to admit they are in over their head. I was in over my head and I knew it. "Where did he go?" I was ready. I'll take some fries with that bypass [05 Sep 2006|11:59am] I refused to go to Community Hospital. Some how my brain is in 1983 with my first pregnancy and the halting news of things that had happened in this antiquated facility. But that was then, this is now. Reconstruction, new specialists are the norm for hospitals. This one has taken on the issue of obesity with a center for Weight Loss Surgery. I called three gastric doctors before realizing that there was going to be more than just a surgery. I went online and found the center's information site and read. I read for perhaps an hour. There was gastric bypass surgery, there was another type of surgery that was invasive. There was also the type of incision. I was quickly opting for laproscopic surgery. Small incision, scope to aid the doctor to see what was inside. Less invasive, quicker recovery(...I'll take some fries with that). I phoned the center and the voice on the other end was a rich accent (Jamaica?) and gentle. She asked all the questions I anticipated. I'd been down this road with my children and their pediatric disorders. Who? What? What kind of insurance? The quicker route would be to have my doctor's office call this center because everything is a referral. Making a decision to have a procedure like this is the first step the second, step is the business of it. Is it covered by insurance? The following Monday was a holiday and as it just happened to be, she was having a seminar with a few other patients. I would attend. That weekend went fast and Monday morning I was on my way down to New Port Richey, to the hospital, to the empty parking lot (holiday) to the office of Ivy. The first thing I did was sit down OF COURSE that is what fat people do when they first enter a room! (note to self: send that joke to Louis). We made our way across the hall to the meeting room. There is something about conference rooms that put me at ease. I expect a lecture, a Power Point because the screen is down and soon we are joined by a couple. Later I would exchange email addresses with "Patti" who happened to have a favorite color too...PURPLE! She saw my "Pattypreferspurple" email address on the sign up sheet and we clicked from that moment on. She had come with her husband. Then there was Gerry. I looked at them and we all seemed to have this spiritual connection. I was past being shy about my obesity, I'm big and I know it. After a few hours I was hungry and my sugar was getting low. I asked Ivy for a banana or something to raise my sugar, FOOD? She called down to the cafeteria and ordered up a few breakfast items and coffee. What do fat people love to do when they come together? ORDER IN! What did I care that there were pastries on the tray, I was here for a procedure that wouldn't allow me to eat more than 1 oz. of food, " A shot glass" as I put it. We laughed, ate, drank and got down to the business of filling out paperwork, copying identification cards and preparing ourselves for the business of weight loss. and it occurred to me. These people were smart, well articulated and with the collective as a group, we were already breaking down the percentages of the data on the Power Point and realizing that a large % of the group did not return post the procedure in the study group. So I admit that I too have the misperception that fat people are stupid, food numbed individuals who wile the hours away in front of a television doing everything but being nutritiously sound in mind and spirit. I'm beginning to learn a lot of WRONG things that like the rest of the world, I believe to be true.

I was at 8 CCs of a 10 CC band but it was too tight and caused me too throw up a lot which escalated my bulimia. I was brought back down over time to 4 CCs. Once I get more comfortable just eating until satiated I may go to a local lap band fill center and ask for another CC or Two which I think would bring me to green. I am really forcing past being stuck and eating till I'm sick. Sometimes I purge and then return to eating. I know I have restriction. So I need to learn to work with instead of against the band. I intend to keep it and overcome this. I have been doing good the past two days, especially journaling my intake and trying to stick with a healthy meal plan.

I don't have to lose 10% - I just have to fulfill the requirements of the program above by meeting multiple times over the 90 days with a psychologist for behavior mod, a NUT to learn how to eat better, and a personal trainer (certified) to increase pulmonary function and learn how to exercise for optimum post-surgery outcomes. And I have to see my surgeon 1x a month to oversee all of the areas and document them thoroughly (they all have forms to fill out and submit to him). I don't have to lose 10% though. I'm sure every plan is different though. Mine is just the basically outline on Aetna's website without anything additional. And my surgeon doesn't require anything beyond what insurance does. Thanks for all the responses - I was just hoping for some clarification prior to meeting with my surgeon's coordinator in a couple of weeks, but they felt sorry for me after I pestered them with calls and explained on the phone so I could start with the NUT, psych and PT now.

i haven't had the surgery myself, i'm in the begining stages. my story is similar to yours except for the medical problems. i've been obese all my life and never had any surgery except for dental. i'm an ob/gyn and do surgeries all the time. there are no guarantees in anything, for the most part the complication rates are minimal. one of the keys is making sure your surgeon has enough experience (make sure he or she is a bariatric surgeon), don't be afraid to ask for his complication rate. first find out if your insurance covers bariatric surgery and what their requirements are. then find a bariatric surgeon. they will guide you from there. my insurance requires me to lose weight (10%) first and since i don't have any comorbidities i'm don't know if i will get approve. if not i am heading to mexico (it's going to cost about the same as my copay for surgery here anyway), that's how serious i'm about being at a healthier weight and prevent my family's medical problem from becoming my own. weight loss has been shown to significantly improve morbidity/mortality. you may end up having to take less pills everyday for blood pressure and even require none at all. good luck with everything.