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So the big day is closing in…and I’m starting to freak the hell out!!! I’m scared as frack for a multitude of reasons and my trepidation is increasing with each passing day. Tomorrow I start my pre-op diet. I did try to be good this past week, at least in the beginning. But then I seemed honestly, legitimately more hungry than usual and my junk food cravings were unbearable. I would be good all day then come home and give in to the ice cream in the refrigerator or feel the intense need to stop at 7-11 on the way home and pick up a candy bar (or two). This definitely didn’t help my nerves. If I can’t even go two days without chocolate, how the heck am I supposed to go two months without solid food? What if I really can’t do this? What if I fail? Sure, I’d considered the possibility of failure going into this. I know the statistics. I know it doesn’t work for everyone. I know a lot of people find ways to eat around the band and manage to eventually gain back any weight they lost in the beginning stages. I knew that I might never reach my goal or that I might, in the long run, not lose any significant amount of weight at all. I knew these things from the beginning, but all those images of skinny me at my sister’s wedding this fall, or my ten year high school reunion next year, or me in a sexy outfit in a bar in the city getting hit on by cute boys sometime in the foreseeable future, were the possibilities my head focused in on. I figured once the changes had been made to my body from this surgery I wouldn’t be allowed to pig out. I wouldn’t be able to binge on junk food. And I’m a good girl; when there’s a rule I follow it. So long as I had a hard and fast reason to eat better, I would stop being able to rationalize the bad things I ate, and I would succeed. Or at least that’s what I believed—or what I wanted to believe. But I know it’s not going to be that easy. I’m going to be fighting those cravings all the time, especially in the beginning and If I couldn’t say ‘no’ this week, how will I do it next week, and the week after that, and for the rest of my life? Will I find a way? Or will this just be another failed attempt of mine to lose weight? And that’s not all that scares me. Because let’s be honest here—I didn’t get to be 315 lbs by not liking food. In fact, I love food. And I don’t just love food. I love sitting down and stuffing my face with mass quantities of disgusting, bad for me food. Right now I’m living at my parents house, since I had no money when I graduated vet school, and decided to stay at home for a year or so and save up money to buy my own place (which I will be moving into in a couple of months, but that’s a blog for another day.) Anyhow, the point is that even though I’m living at home, I’m 27, an adult and a doctor who is responsible for many lives on a daily basis. I should be adult enough to be responsible for my own life. My choices should be my own and I shouldn’t have to hide things from my parents just because I’m living under their roof at the moment. And yet, I do. I don’t hide boys, or pot, or alcohol--I hide food. When they go away and I know I’m going to have the house to myself, I think—“oh yay! I can stay in and watch a movie and order an entire pizza and eat it by myself.” I know this is not a healthy view to have on food, or on life in general, but it’s the way my mind thinks. I actually look forward to the opportunity to binge. And now I won’t be able to do that again—ever. Which is good. I shouldn’t ever do that. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to. And knowing that I can’t use large quantities of food to comfort myself is scary. Now I might actually have to deal with my emotions and to be perfectly honest, I don’t even think I know what my emotions are any more, I’ve been eating them down for so long. And then there are the minor scary things. I’ve never had anesthesia before or even spent a night in the hospital (except the sleep studies I had to do) both of which I will have to do next week for the surgery. How will the recovery go? Will I be in much pain? How will I survive a week at home with my mother without the possibility of escaping to work? (that last one is definitely the scariest.) So well, the freak-out isn’t exactly over, but I guess I’m done ranting about it for now. I’ll probably be back a few more times this week as D-day approaches. Tomorrow I think I’m getting weighed and measured by my PT at the gym so I’ll have some accurate starting stats to share with you. Until then, I’m going to try and convince myself that a week of Medi-Fast and fat-free, no sugar added yogurt sounds delicious.

The band has changed a lot since then. I think the truth is though, the band is a foreign object in the body. It only does so much. So if people are unhappy you have to see why. I had my band done, one incision through the belly button, I ended up with an infection, other than that, I have been golden. The band is a medical device that is put into your body, of course there are chances of complications. Having the Gastric Bypass you can leak and poison your body, the sleeve has complications, etc. I do not recommend doing something like this unless someone has tried EVERY OTHER OPTION.... Honestly, I hope to get down to a good weight, then I would like them to remove all the liquid from the band and give myself six months and see if I can keep it off. To me this is a tool, not the cure all. IF you read lots of posts, you will still gain weight if you make poor dietary choices, or drink alcohol (lots of empty calories) and don't exercise. Many people over restrict and cause trouble for themselves. Some people it just doesn't work for. In the end this is a very personal decision and one that should not be taken lightly. I believe if you have concerns about the media coverage, talk to your doctor. They can tell you the changes that have been made to the band, etc. Good luck, I did it and I don't regret it at all. I am nearly half way to my goal. To me that is amazing. I am in a size 16, haven't been there in 8 years, no matter how much I watched what I ate and exercised. I have medical things that were going on that once I put on the weight it is nearly impossible to take off. I think for me, it was the right decision, maybe not for others.

I like Syntrax Nectar powders. You can get samples of the different flavors, I find them less sweet than the ready-to-drink ones and no sugar alcohols to anger my healing tummy. BariatricPal also sells protein shots that are 3 ounces, fruit flavors, and pack a nice protein punch. They are sweet but go down easy when I need something quick.

Well I'll jump in the pool for VSG. I am 2.5 years out and I've been at goal for over 1.5 years. With VSG, your stomach can stretch some but not all that much once it has finished healing ( somewhere between 6 months and a year most people reach their lifetime capacity. ) Weight regain generally occurs from eating too often and eating high calorie "slider foods". If your stomach stretches a lot, the surgery wasn't performed correctly (it happens). Rules about what to eat, when to eat it, and how much to eat vary widely, but it's generally no drinking 30 minutes after meals, Protein first, and never more than a cup at one time. Alcohol is allowed after 6 months in many programs. Many programs don't require lifetime Vitamins (mine does), but some people do develop Vitamin deficiencies. Most people can eventually return to eating anything they did before surgery, just less of it. For me, greasy foods, spaghetti with meat sauce, dairy, and tortillas still bother me and at 2.5 years out, I'm guessing they always will. I have my blood tested annually for a wide variety of vitamins. With VSG, you can take anti-inflammatory drugs, such as NSAIDs. Welcome everyone! I'm especially looking forward to meeting a few more long term vets. Lynda

I found this post really interesting because I still have not come up with an answer to "Are you glad you had the surgery done?". Even though I have had few complications and great results so far, my answer usually starts out with, "Wellll,...." But I have to say I felt this was the last resort for me to get some kind of normal life back. A friend of mine who is a recovering alcoholic and AA group leader has said that an alcoholic/addict will ask for help once they get to the point that they are willing to do anything to stop from feeling the way they do. That any other existence is better than the one they are living in. That is probably the closest description I have heard to what made my decision to have the surgery. I woke up one morning and was just sick and tired of being sick and tired, realizing that ANYTHING would be better than where I was at and I was willing to do anything to bring about that change. But I also know that nobody can make the decision for us. Countless doctors and well-meaning friends and family had tried for years to convince me. But I had to be ready and I was willing to accept all the risks that came with it. I think it is reasonable to assume that your co-worker went through a similar experience, so please don't feel responsible for her situation. I do hope that she gets through her challenges soon and her pain is abated. Please keep sharing your story, keeping in mind that it will be their decision. You may even save a life someday.

The best reassurance I can give you is that anesthesiologists who are associated with bariatric groups generally have extensive experience with obese patients and are probably your best bet for a safe anesthesia episode. If you share ever aspect of your health with them, being 100% truthful about the good, bad and ugly, they can do the job they need to do. They need to know if you have sleep apnea or suspect sleep apnea, your drug/alcohol usage (both prescribed and OTC drugs as well as any herbal/vitamins/etc), your activity level, and so on and so forth. There's no guarantee for any of us, but we can up the odds we'll get through surgery safely but being honest and trusting our caregivers with all of our information. Good luck to you!

I never thought I'd let myself get to goal (120) and then regain. But like so many others before me I know what I have to do to get back on track. As of now I am 170. 2 years out last month. January last year I was 125lbs and loving life. It has been an incredibly rough year, but I can't let that be an excuse. I'm no expert, but that's pretty significant regain I had the surgery for my health and now I'm getting back to where I was at the beginning at an astonishing rate. My food choices are terrible, I put alcohol and soda back in my "diet" and I went back to snacking. Ugh! Anyone else in a similar boat? What has helped you besides getting back to the basics? Is there anything in particular that has helped you the most with losing the regain? Any support and encouragement is welcome--I've been pretty down on myself lately. But I know I can get back to at least a healthy weight. This time I'll probably aim for 130-135. I came back here since this community was so incredibly supportive to me early post op. And for that I thank you all!

I want to genuinely thank everybody who has responded............I am happy to report that the mere act of my taking the time to write my story and share it with all of you has begun sparking a bit of a change in me, I am feeling a little more hopeful again, feeling like maybe I can still make it work, I have even been eating better since my first post, it seems to have been a bit cathartic.....I also recently went to a 12 step AA meeting (although I am not an alcoholic) and found it very powerful too.......I simply substituted the word food everywhere they used the word alcohol...... In fairness to all here I think I owe it to admit that I just found out my un-supportive wife was doing things far worse than simply not caring about what foods I ate..............I don't care to go into details but any adult ought to understand what I am saying..... I must have been aware of this at some subconscious level and that caused my food addiction or compulsions to be extra hard to manage................... I plan to go ahead and get the study done to make sure the band has not slipped, and I am going to give it my all once again.... For those considering the band I just want to say that my experience shows that the lapband is not magic, it can and does fail if you are not ready for it.....Weight loss is an an all encompassing process of changing many things in your life...............The band will reduce your hunger and you will feel full quicker...............but if you are using food as a drug to make you feel better (as I was) you CAN and WILL find ways to defeat it........ The work is not over once the band is on, frankly it has only just begun...........all it does is gives you a little boost, head-start or helping hand in the process, but it does not run the race for you......... I think I will spend more time on this forum, I can see that the support, tips, tricks and experiences of others can be truly valuable in helping us succeed......... Thanks again, I'll keep you all posted, I need to go weigh in quick tonight before I start losing weight without knowing it!

Butterthebean...your post should be required reading for all people using this site! I will say, without judgement implied, that I am daily amazed by some of the things posted here...how long did you wait to have macaroni and cheese, or a milkshake, or to drink alcohol, or to smoke pot, or whatever other unhealthy thing you can imagine....and I wonder (usually to myself)..."Have you learned nothing about why you ended up needing this surgery??" Most of us had (and, I dare to say, still have) no real concept and understanding of "moderation.". We didn't track every bite we put in our mouths prior to surgery, so how can we know what is "moderate" in comparison? Without honest tracking, we rarely have a realistic impression of what was consumed (there have been amazing studies done on the disparities between what we "think we ate" versus what we actually ate!). Like you, I have made the conscious choice to not eat things that are harmful to me...to continue to do so, after having gone through the pain of surgery, makes absolutely no sense to me. While I understand I can't do anything to directly help anyone else on their journey (and I often get "smacked" on here for trying), I do sincerely worry for those who give every indication of not having changed their relationship with food. Best of luck, to each of us, as we continue on our journey to better health! Laura

Okay, went on vacation, drank lots of alcohol and ate lots of seafood. I'm out of ONEDERLAND :thumbup:, but it's my own fault. I NEVER drink, but we had so much fun!!! I'm a little surprised that it is so much because we walked all OVER the place and I limited my portions too, but oh well... I'll see ONEDERLAND again...back on track I go!!!!!! 202.6:nopity:

I can't believe it's only been 4 months for me being sleeved. It seems like a year ago! I drink out of a straw quite a bit.....yet don't do it all day long. I eat sweets rarely. That was my downfall. Fortunately, they sorta hurt my tummy now. But a small bite now and then won't kill you. You need to wait a year for alcohol. I have a friend who is 3 yrs out and she can only sip on a margarita and will not finish it. I have a cup of coffee every morning/w caffine and steamed milk. However, I wait at least 30 mins after I've had my egg so I don't wash away my Protein. Protein is a big problem for me. The best thing for me to do is track it on a phone app, "Lose It". I do get around 60 grams a day in regular food for protein. I probably eat a hamburger once a week with the top bun off. I can't eat the whole thing.....but it makes me feel so normal to be able to eat it.

Thank you, unfortunately however i had to start a very strict diet . . . i'm glad i have the sleeve cause it helps with the hunger, I don't feel it anymore. . . i do only about 900 calories or less a day and no more then 30-40 g of carbs a day, less if possible, and tons of water. . . i've cut all diet sodas, alcohol, sweets, flour products, fruit, etc. . . reminds me of my olden days before the sleeve, only this time it's easier cause again, the sleeve helps combat the hunger. . . good luck to you and i'll let you know when i hit onderland in hopefully 5 weeks!

Make sure you eat breakfast in the morning which includes some sort of protein -- Greek yogurt, weight smart oatmeal, scrambled eggs... If you have a smart phone try using My Fittness Pal to track your progress. and keep you honest. Cut out all soda and alcohol ... its evil!

I think it's more the thought. I smell the alcohol and get dizzy. Lol

Not alcohol kind of drinker. I have Water, crystal light or tea with me 24/7. My 1 medication gives me horrible cotton mouth.

I'm not sure if it's dumping but I found that I have a very similar reaction to sugar alcohols. Intense abdominal pain, sometimes with diarrhea.

After several phases of postOp changes, many of my long term life favorites simply aren't that appealing. And such as Pasta, spaghetti, sauces, mashed potatoes, french fiies, etc, have beome a "1% of the time" food....might have them one meal a QUARTER rather than 1 meal a day. I eat smaller portions by choice. I've been to McD ONCE in the last 12 years! Consider it a mistake at that. Eat home made or take-with about 90% of the time rather than eat out. Never cared for syruppy gooey sauces of any kind, at least since circa 1988 when Dx'd as diabetic. Actually carry bottled Water in vehicle and find it very refreshing. My liquid intake is water, a couple black coffees in the AM, perhaps 6 oz skim milk (or none) daily, never diet/aspartame anything. Have abstrained from alcohol nearly 30 years without any dire effects. Do have various cheeses about now & then. Protein/grain bar now & then. Like the little tangerine Cuties, fresh greens, of course the garden & fresh berries, now in decline....but plenty in the freezer. Nearly any restaurant meal requires take-home box. I do favor a decent corned beef hash now & then.

Well I'm 3 months out and I drink alcohol occasionally. I also had a vodka tonic because I didn't realize that's what it was. I thought my cousin was handing me water at the club on Saint Pat's... I should have known. Lol. I'm okay with the idea of not having carbonation ever again but alcohol I do love and need occasionally. Everything in moderation

Beer is a no no because of the gas. When you pour the beer, you see the gas on top, the foam. That is the part that is not good for you. As far as alcohol is concerned, you are able to drink it or course. In moderation also and that is only because you want to be able to chew your calories and not drink them. Try to remember, alcohol turns into sugar 3 days later and then sugar turns into fat. I haven't had a drink since Nov. 2005 and I don't miss it at all, like I was never really that fond of soda so I didn't have any problems. My doctor says that having a glass of wine is a good thing. Josephine

You can drink what you want- acording to my Doctor- just like the others said- some people can tolerate it and some can't. I drink diet soda with no problems- and no stomache expansion. You don't want too much alcohol, however, becuase of the calories.

most alcoholic beverage have a lot of calories, the Dr. don't want to waste calories on drinks that's calories you can eat.plus you will get drunk faster it will run right though you,:omg: you will be the life of the party

This is SO absolutely normal. I have no idea why, but this was my biggest complaint for about 6 months post op. My NP says this is one of the complaints she hears most often, too, so... I balanced it out by exercising more so that my body was tired, taking a warm bath right before bed, shutting off all electronics two hours before bed, blah blah blah. None of that worked. What worked was 1/2 Xanax and/or a small glass of wine once I was cleared for alcohol. And yes, my quack doctor was fine with it.

Aloha Njgurl! I am still losing. According to my doctor prior to surgery, I should have lost around 100 lbs at 1 year and slowed down after that. My problem was that I started loving my wine a little too much after surgery than I ever did before it. What I discovered is that for every week I had some, I would not lose for almost a month afterwards. The moment I stop for at least a week, I start dropping pounds again. The upside to that has been a slower loss than anticipated resulting in less lose skin for me. The downside is the disappointment I feel when the scale does not budge. The motivation comes in wanting to see movement on that scale. Thus, I return to accountability and following my plan like I am supposed to[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] That is why we are warned against alcohol because even if we still eat less, I find that I am not as mindful of carb intake when it comes to snacks with alcohol. I am still working my way towards at least 185. Like my doctor says, it did not take me a short amount of time putting on the weight so dont expect it all to disappear in a short time even with the surgery. I have heard some great success stories but again, everyone's journey is different, therefore we all lose differently. Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

It's pretty normal for all of us on the liquid stage. It goes away when then you will most likely have the opposite problem.. But the last poster has a good point about the sugar alcohols not helping.

@@charley27 There was a lot of stuff I thought I would never eat after surgery, but in reality my diet is pretty much the same. I would probably go for carby things. When I was eating on 4th of July before I started my pre-op I had sugar things, which was weird because I didn't even eat sugar at that point and hadn't in years. I had a funnel cake, a huge thing fo fries, a cheese steak and I think I got an alcoholic drink even though I didn't drink. So I took a few bites of funnel cake, didn't drink the liquor, ate 1/2 the fries, and made a decent dent in the cheese steak. I was really too hot to eat and I wasn't even mentally in a pig out space, even though I wanted to be. What is your favorite meal?