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Hello everyone! I was banded on 4/28/10 by Dr. Kelly of St. Paul Surgeons in St. Paul, MN. I'm here to receive support, advice and to share my weight loss experience.

So today I had a great day of eating NOTHING! LOL!!! I wanted to feed my emotions a giant cheeseburger and fries, with a side of chicken strips from the local Casey's store! BUT I didn't! I am proud of myself for staying strong! My boyfriend got admitted into the hospital right before I went to work today to work 13 long hours! He's ok though, just needed to get hydrated and his blood sugar back to normal. I'll be sleeping along tonight So I had a protein shake w/ banana for breakfast around 10 a.m., another one for supper around 5 p.m., and a yogurt, and some sugar free jello around 9:30 p.m. My tummy is growling, but I'm not hungry, just a tad gassy, it's weird. I didn't get a workout in today, but feel good about eating liquids only. OH! I also had 64 ounces of water both days and a YUCKY flinstones chewable multivitamin UCKY!!! So, I have my pre op class tomorrow as well as my last required diet/nutrition class. I'm SO HAPPY there is no snow in the forecast and I pray it stays that way!!! My 2 hour drive there and 2 hour drive back already causes me much anxiety without the snow! I will have my panick attack med on hand in case I need it, but really pray I don't!!! Anyway, thanks for reading about my day and DAY THREE HERE I COME!!!! I'll be in classes until 10:30 at the hospital and then have to have labs drawn FASTING, so I won't get my first liquids/food until around 11 tomorrow! That's gonna be tough! Leaving my house at 6 a.m. for dr appts/classes and not being able to eat/drink anything until 11 a.m. and THEN when I can, it can only be LIQUIDS!??? WTF! LOL, I'll get it done though.... I have to! Good night all!

This has been quite the journey thus far! I was a low BMI bander so I knew I was not going to lose a lot until 3-4 month mark. It is finally happening. I think what helped jump start it is 1) I had the flu-lost about 4#'s, then I had a fill that put me at 6.25CC (I think). This was way too much but I waited a month before going in to have some Fluid removed. I couldn't drink/eat any thing until about 11am and then maybe a bit and often times that would come up. I lost about 10#'s. Obviously that was not good, so when I went in for my next appt they removed 1CC. I was a little bummed b/c I wanted them to put me where I was at just prior to the Constricted fill but they said absolutely not. So, I have to work my way back:) I think one of the most challenging aspects of the band, which will forever be changed, is there are certain foods I just can't eat, no matter how small of a bit and no matter how well and slow I chew and swallow. I stay away from chicken, unless it is very juicy. The only type of bread products is flat bread and that I have to take baby bites and chew chew chew. Pasta-which I didn't eat a lot before, but craved here and there, is in very small portions. What I find odd is that I can eat my dense Protein bar with no problems, lol. I can see how people do gain wait on the Band and can abuse it. When I was beyond restricted, I would get a shake or anything liquid to try and fill me up. Yu really have to re-evaluate foods and items you once loved, you might have to sacrifice and not have them anymore (Sushi). So my stats to date: Starting weight pre-surgery 207. Weight at surgery 198 (they didn't want me to do the pre-op diet for the week or 2 because I couldn't fall below a certain BMI). Today's weight 179.2!!! I work out 5 times a week, 2 with a trainer and 3 on my own. My trainer wanted me eating every 2 hours a day and I just couldn't do it. For so long I forced my self to eat even when I was full I would still eat, now I am listening to my body. If I am hungry I eat, if I am not, I don't! So simple in theory right;) I hope you all are doing fabulous!!

:scared2:This liquid diet sucks! I know its for a good cause....I really need to get my health back. I want to feel better. This is why I have decided to do the surgery. My son keeps telling me that it's "mind over matter"! Yeah, whateva! It's a lot harder then I thought it was going to be. :confused: I can't believe that I have actually gone 4 whole days without eating food!! 6 more to go! I have lost 10 lbs. in 3 days, so that is a good thing, but truthfully that's the only good thing I can say about this. I have my surgery next Monday! 1 week from today. I am so nervous and excited at the same time. I have doubts creeping in...I keep wondering if I am doing the right thing? Am I making a mistake by doing this? What if I die? What if something goes wrong? I guess this is normal. Also, this liquid diet has taken away all of my energy. I don't feel like doing anything. I think I could sleep all day. I'd like to say, that at least when I'm asleep, I don't think about food! However, I can't say that! One night this week, I was actually dreaming of cooking bacon, frying tenderloins and fried potatoes!! The smell was heavenly! Thank goodness it was only a dream...I'm not sure I could've resisted the temptation! LOL Ok, I've rambled on enough...I just want to remember what I felt like at the beginning of my journey....TIRED, HUNGRY, SCARED, NERVOUS, EXCITED, HUNGRY, READY FOR A CHANGE.

Hey, so exciting. This site is a great resource and hope you find everything you are looking for. Like me, you were a lower bmi starting out. My weightloss has been slow, didn't start until 10 weeks after surgery (with a fill and restriction). I have lost about 15 pounds and all this after my 2nd fill. I have about 30 to go. Good luck!

Hi Caroline........ So nice to meet you!! England!! WOW I would love to see where you live!! I had WLS 10/29/07 I have lost 29.5 lbs to date!! How are you doing so far?? Good luck to you!! Connie in South Alabama USA

I know I'm a few days late replying to this topic , but I just wanted to share my store with you. My whole life I was over weight. At 13 I finally got my period, but I knew something wasn't right because I got it once and it didn't come back for months. when I finally went to the gyno I was referred to a reproductive endocrinologist to find out i had PCOS. I did a few years of hormones and birth control to try and control it but it made me feel out of my mind (basically a maniac 24/7). I had to have a few surgeries due to growths inside of my uterus. And still till this day I don't get my period for months at a time. But ultimately I was told if I didn't lose weight I wouldn't be able to conceive naturally. Which no girl at all wants to hear. So at 19 I finally decided to get the lap band done. my starting weight being 305 getting down to 220. this making my body magically work and me getting pregnant only 6 months after getting the surgery. It wasn't planned but I was so excited. Now fast forward 2 years . I'm at my heaviest I've ever been 315 and my PCOS is deff worse. So I decided to get the sleeve done in June. I'm getting married in a year and I want to have another baby a few months after that. If I were to try it now it wouldn't happen so I'm using that as my biggest motivation!!! Stay positive and don't give up!

I was sleeved 10/11/12 and have lost 33 post op. (This week I lost nothing - boo!)

I had my surgery on Oct. 19, 2011 and for about a month I had severe sporadic pain in my neck that would radiate to my hand. It went away and it was pain free for 2-3 weeks and then I got a fill yesterday and it came back. It's excruciating! It stopped after I went to sleep last night and I hope it stays away. Last time I asked the surgeon about it she said she thought I "slept" on it wrong during surgery. Does anybody else have this problem?

Hello. I am counting down the remaining days until I am sleeved by Dr Pompa at Limarp on 4/5/10. Anyone else going to be there at that same time?? I am going alone and could really use a buddy.:001_unsure:

I was sleeved 10/11/12. I saw the Dr. today. I've lost 34 lbs. He was very happy with that. He said I will lose slower than some people because I have less to lose. I was 205 the day of surgery, today I'm 171 lbs.

I have never measured. Wish I had. I just use sizes to measure. I have gone from and 18/20 pants to 10 or 11 pants now. XXL shirts to L. My boobs are rather large so I'm not sure I will ever get below a Med. But will shall see! Congratulation on all of your successes!!! Proud to be on such a wonderful site with a great group of amazing people!

Awesome! I know just what you mean. Now I seek out a mirror several times a day to make sure my outfit is properly adjusted, etc., where I probably went 10 years avoiding them before. I love my band too!

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I started last week trying to elimanate caffeine from my diet and adding the 64 oz of Water that I will be required to get in after surgery. I have had a caffeine headache almost everyday. (I'm addicted to caramel frappes and NOS energy drinks) I have one week without them now and I do still get a headache at times but not as bad now. I really could use one right this minute though, this is always in my head. It doesn't help that my hubby loves them too! lol I have been taste testing Protein shakes and have one now in place of b'fast now. I really do like the chocolate Ensure High Protein Shakes. I too am still worried about nothing but liquids for the next month! 10 day liquid diet, then 3 days of clears, then 2 weeks of full liquids post op......scarry!

I had my band from 2007 - 2011 (it worked for me until it eroded and had to be removed). I am looking at converting to a sleeve now as well. Obviously I can't give you any insight to the sleeve yet but I can tell you that the first year I had my band, I didn't lose that much weight either. However year 2 was when the weight really came off of me. How many adjustments/fills have you had so far? I had a 4cc band and I didn't start to really lose weight until my band was at least 1/2 full and felt real restriction. My program was really conservative and I must have had 5-10 fills before I reached that point. But once I got to the point where I could only get in about 800-1000 calories a day (liquids, soft foods), the weight came off my rapidly. The band loosens as you lose weight and lose fat around your stomach, so eventually you can eat more and need to get another fill to keep that restriction. I went every 1-2 months for a fill. I lost about 50% of the weight I needed to lose with the band alone and light exercise (walking a few times a week). The rest of the weight melted off of me once I started working out more regularly and heavily (I started running instead of walking 5 x week, added yoga and pilates into the mix). I plateaued with the band when I had the last 20 pounds to lose. I am 5'3" and was 220 lbs (size 18-20) when I was first banded and the lowest I ever got was 2.5 years out at 145 lbs (size 6-8). As well as the Lap band worked for me (until it didn't), going through erosion was hell. My body just did not want a foreign object inside of me and rejected the band. Unfortunately VSG was not an option yet when I was banded, but if given the choice I would have opted for the sleeve over the band for sure.

Shepard’s Pie This will look like the traditional recipe when it comes out of the oven, but the topping is made from pureed turnips and cauliflower flavored with butter! You can steam the veg's for the topping while you make the filling. FOR THE FILLING 1 medium onion - 1/2 inch diced 3 garlic cloves - crushed and minced 4 ribs celery - 1/2 inch diced 1 cup green Beans - chopped into 1/2 inch pieces 1 small turnip - 1/2 inch diced or 1 small rutabega, diced+steamed 15 minutes *1 lb ground beef, turkey, lamb or other meat 1 roma tomato - diced (optional) 3 tablespoons Water 1/2 teaspoon margoram - optional sea salt & pepper to taste *rutabegas take longer to cook than all the other ingredients for the filling so its important to pre-cook it. In a large skillet with lid: heat the water over medium flame. Add ground beef and cook until getting crumbly, breaking it up with your spoon. Add all the diced veggies and stir well to combine. Cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes, add a little water if you need to so that they can actually simmer. just enough so there's some liquid bubbling, veg's shouldn't be swimming. Add marjoram, sea salt & pepper to taste and pour into 9x9 baking dish, or a large pie dish. FOR THE TOPPING 1 large head cauliflower - chopped 2 medium turnips, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes butter, sea salt & pepper to taste Steam the cauliflower and turnips until very soft. Put them into a Cuisinart fitted with the double blade and puree with some butter -2 or 3 tablespoons, salt & pepper to taste. If you don’t have a Cuisinart, mash them with a potato masher, they will be a bit more lumpy, but just as good! Spoon the cauliflower mixture over the top of the beef mixture, gently spreading it to cover all the way to the edges of the dish. Sprinkle with a few dashes of paprika and place on a baking sheet (to catch any drips so as not to mess up your oven). Place into a preheated 350 oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or just until you can see it getting bubbly, and the edges of the topping are a bit browned. Every oven is different, so its a good idea to check it after 10 minutes! Then keep an eye on it. A great winter warmer, and it really is quite easy once you've diced & chopped... Lovely with some chopped parsley on top for garnish.

Guess my liver was very fatty he had little room to work. Fixed a hernia also. Surgery took 5 hours I have two slipped disks In back a d they lefte in that operating table for 6 hrs. Can't keep anything down...have intestinal infection. Dry heaved for 10 mi Straight 5 times today.

@@josiek1988 In my case, I didn't have "classic" symptoms like slippage or an infection at the port site. The first sign I had was a return of my acid reflux. I had it before banding and it went away for about 2 years but then it came back. That happens to a lot of folks so no one seemed concerned. The second symptom (which no one thought was band-related at the time) was a horrible sharp pain that started in my side and radiated to my back. It would last about 3-4 days, then go away for a few weeks, then come back. Everyone thought it was muscular but I knew it wasn't, it was deeper and it was debilitating - it hurt to do anything active (I could no longer run), heck even going over a bump in the road while driving caused agony. I had every test known to man -xray, CAT scan, MRI, dye tests, endoscopy, colonoscopy - you name it. Nothing. I think they started to think it was psycho-somatic. FInally during a barium swallow my surgeon saw a small pocket of air but said it was nothing to be concerned with and couldn't be causing the pain. Eventually I just stopped complaining about it and it lessened over time. I kept getting band fills and would feel restriction on some days but others I could eat anything without issue. I slowly started regain weight - I assumed it was because I couldn't work out. Then one weekend I came down with a high fever and what I thought was the flu and ended up in the hospital for 10 days. Whatever infection I had made me septic, my kidneys had shut down. I got so dehydrated I ended up with a bowel obstruction and that is really what kept me in the hospital for so long, waiting for that to clear up. While I was there more tests showed my band had completely eroded into my stomach. The reason I was feeling restriction sometimes was that not only had my band eroded, but my stomach actually birfucated and grew around the band so the food had two paths to go down, one banded and one not. I am convinced that mysterious infection was either caused by the eroded band or my immune system had been so weakened by it, I couldn't fight strep or whatever it was I had (they never figured it out). Long story short, symptoms may seem unrelated because pain may manifest in other areas, or because of secondary infections. If you feel anything abnormal a simple swallow study and an upper GI can help determine if the band has slipped or is eroding. it is a foreign object and erosion is often caused by your body trying to reject it.

What does your program recommend? My regimen was: 2 weeks clears (I did 17 days) 2 weeks of full liquids (my surgeon let me just do one week) 2 weeks of mushies 2 weeks of soft solids then slowly progress to regular solid food I followed a few different variations of surgeon's post-op diet. This one is from Dr. Aceves, and it gave me some ideas to break up the monotony of the "regular" stuff on the full liquid and mushy stage. POST-OP DIET: Here are a few ideas concerning the post op diet Day 1 thru 5 ( Clear Liquids Only ) fruit juice ( apple, grape, cranberry ) Propel broth Jello-O Water Tea Protein Water by Kellogg’s Water popsicles Clear Protein drinks only ( example Isopure, unjury ) Day 6-10 ( thin liquids ) All of the above and: Natural Vegetable Juices ( example Carrot, V-8 juice ) Protein drinks mixed with water ( example Matrix ) whey nectar Protein Mix Day 11 thru 20 ( full liquids ) Cream Soups Yogurt Jello-O Boiled pureed fruit ( example apple, pear) applesauce Watermelon, papaya or melon in small pieces Low fat milk 1 or 2% Water, Propel, tea Soy beverages sugar free pudding Protein shakes and protein powders mixed with milk Day 21 thru 30 ( soft food ) Soft food should be the consistency of a thick liquid ( no chunks or solid material ) and it should be chewed very well before swallowing until it is a liquid consistency ) Tofu Low fat cottage cheese Cereal oatmeal Precooked pureed rice Low fat Yogurt Yogurt mixed with fruit very well blended Cream soups eggs Boiled pureed fruit ( example pear, apple ) Watermelon, papaya or melon in small pieces Boiled pureed vegetables Beans Day 31st and beyond ( solid food ) Fish, Chiken meat Turkey Vegetables Fruit A diet consisting of 800 calories and 70 grams of protein should be your goal. There is a book called " Weight loss Surgery for Dummies" Authors: Kurian, Thompson and Davidson You might find it helpful. I contains several recipes and ideas on what to eat after surgery Grilled Marinated Tuna with Lime Herbed Beef Patties Turkey Meatballs Seafood salad chicken Salad A diet consisting of 600-800 calories and about 70 grams of protein should be the goal Protein will not only help you heal and build muscle mass but acts as a natural appetite suppressant. Concerning protein supplements here are a few ideas: Isopure protein drinks - 40 grams of protein per bottle. Isopure you mix with water - 50 grams of protein. You can find them at GNC. "Protein Water" by Kellogg’s - 5 grams of protein per drink. You can find it at WallMart Unjuryclear protein drinks - UNJURY Medical Quality Whey Protein Isolate. Great Tasting Whey Protein Supplements for Everyday Health! High Protein and High Quality. Not so good tasting. New Whey Nectar Protein mixis very good but it is kind of expensive. It is said to be one of the best tasting protein products in the market today. You can get itat GNC or on line www.google.com/products?client=safari&rls=en&q=whey+nectar+protei n&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title Some patients enjoymaking popsicles and Jell-O Jigglers out ofproteinliquid. Others enjoy Swanson Clearbroth that comes in a can . But most enjoydelicious homemade broth using chayote squash for flavor ( they strain the broth to make it clear) CHICKEN AND FRESH VEGETABLE BROTH 2-3 pieces of chicken for every 2 bowls of broth1 celery stalk 1chayote (hispanic grocery stores)1 carrot 2zucchini2 small tomatoes 2small onionscilantro (optional) salt to taste - BOIL chicken pieces for approx. 20 minutes - ADD celery, chayote, and carrot - SIMMER 30 minutes - ADD zucchini,m tomatoes and onions - SIMMER15 more minutes (cilantro is optional) - STRAIN and serve. You can also buy powder chicken broth that contains 10 grams protein per serving. You can find it on Amazon.com, it is called ProCel When you start on full liquids try Matrix 5.0 protein drinks. Protein shakes and mixes are very good tasking.You will need to wait until they are allowed in you food stage. Advocare high protein drinks called “Meal Replacement shakes “have Vitamins added to them andare a great optiontoo FOLLOWING THE POST OP DIET IS VERY IMPORTANT REMEMBERWE ARE TRYING TO PROTECT THE STAPLE LINE THE SCAR TISSUE IS STILL FORMING AROUND IT DO NOT OVERFILL YOUR STOMACH AND DO NOT JUMP ANY FOOD STAGES

Please help me! Idk what to do! I had my sleeve on Feb 8 and with in a week from Feb 8-12 I lost 10 pounds but this week I haven't lost any weight ???? Idk if it's me or my sleeve, I'm doing everything I can possibly do, I know it's only my second week but I'm already having doubts that it's going to work for me etc ???? I'm starting to get depressed thinking it's not going to help anymore and I don't want to think that but it's hard mostly since my family are also doubting me

Alicia I was not bedridden but I did spend most of my time on the couch. I was more sore then anything not much pain - and I am a chicken when it comes to pain. After a few days I would walk around the house to get my body going and when that got boring about a week and a half after surgery I would walk on the treadmill at a VERY low speed just to keep myself moving fpr about 10-15 minutes at a time. It was November so it was too cold to walk outside so thats why I used the treadmill. I do remember getting winded quickly but I would take my time and just do what I could.

So i meet with the surgeon for the first time on 10-20 and i have completed all the evals tests and seminars pre appt ...anyone care to share how long from first appt to actual surgery they waited? Sent from my LGMS631 using the BariatricPal App

Do bands always need to be slightly unfilled when you start to experience slime and pb when you eat. I was able to eat a meal 48 hours after my last fill on 11-10-08 with no problem, but ever since that meal I have barely been able to drink hot tea with out some slime coming up. I have managed to swallow down a few bites of food about mid-day, but morning and evening, even if I chew slow and eat slow, I can only do about half a spoon of food before I start to feel slime and severe pain and eventually pb. Can I wait this out or should I get a little unfill?:thumbup: