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Even though I had surgery before you2/4/19... I lost 25 lbs between my March 21st check up and yesterday.. with a few days when the scale showed a gain here and there and a few stalls... do t beat yourself up!!! You got this !!! You are doing well..

I had tried everything.. Camomile tea, melatonin 10 mgs, zoplicon.. you name it. I would be sleepy enough to be miserable but not enough to fall asleep. I would then increase the dose, not sleep all night and end up going to work like a zombie. After the surgery, I can sleep for 12 hours and still be hugging my pillow when it's time to get up. I don't take any sleeping aides and I have not added anything to my routine apart from the weight loss process. After having to go through years of no sleep of 3-4 hours maximum, I now wonder how anyone can be grumpy through out the day with 8+ hours of sleep every night. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My VGS surgery is scheduled for July 13. My insurance company did not require me to do complete 6 months of dieting. My doctor wants me to go on a 10 day pre-op diet that consists mainly of liquids. I've been trying to get a head start by eating healthier foods and smaller portions, and have lost 7 pounds since Sunday. (However, I was sick on Monday and could barely keep anything down, so that probably accounts for a big portion of the Water weight lost.) My highest weight was 232---I am 225, as of today. I would love to be at 215 on the day of my surgery. Is it possible to lose 10 pounds in the next 13 days?

Day 1 - loading days 178.2 Day 2 - 178.5 (another loading day) Day 3 - First day of VLCD 179.8 Day 4 - 176.2 Day 5 - 175.6 Day 6 - 173.4 Day 7 - 172.4 Day 8 - 171.1 Day 9 - 168.9 Day 10 - 168.9 Day 11 - 168.8 Day 12 - 169.0 Day 13 - 168.2 Day 14 - 167.6 Day 15 - 167.5 Day 16 - 166.9 Day 17 - 165.8 Day 18 - 165.4 Its so nice getting on the scales and seeing them continue to go down. And its nice not experiencing any hunger! Today's menu Bfast 1/2 grapefruit, 2 cups of green tea snack melba toast Lunch Shrimp salad, celery Dinner HCG approved chili Applie crisp made with stevia - yum Wt this morning - 165.4

I was sleeved on 01-14-13 and have not had any problems whatsoever until this past Wednesday night. I have eaten everything exactly like they told me to eat. I had my soup for dinner and about 1 1/2 hours later I had the terrible dry heaves. Last night no problem until 1:30 a.m. (7 hours after dinner) and I threw up nothing but yellow liquid. Anybody having these problems? Somebody said it could be gallbladder. Any ideas? Thanks

Does anyone know about a doctor named Chris Sanborn? He is coming to the Chattanooga, Tn area from a military hospital in Kentucky. Please anyone knows about him I need to know asap!! I have already had my surgery ,but I have a friend of mine that is needing surgery. This doctor is coming to the Chattanooga area and we need to know what his surgery results have been. My friend is very scared about the surgery period and then having to use a new doctor over the one that has been doing surgery in the area well over 10 years. So if there is anyone that knows anything about this doctor please let me know..

So as most of you know I had me sleeve done 3-20-19. This was the best decision I made for myself. Since my surgery I have only lost 25 lbs. I have been doing everything they have asked, just can't lose it. I work out, get my protein and water. I'm not gaining just don't know what else to do. I'm so scary this will not work for me after I went through a year and a half working for it. The one day of the week that I don't go to the gym I feel guilty about it At first I was thinking this is a stall but come on I'm in week 9. I just don't know what to do anymore, hoping this wasn't a waste of time. Sent from my Moto E (4) using BariatricPal mobile app

Banded 12/7/09 First Fill 1/5/10 (4cc's) Second Fill 2/2/10 (1.5cc's) Total 5.5cc's in an 11cc Band and guess what.. NO RESTRICTION! I was so looking forward to being banded and having this "tool" to help me along the way, but the tool isn't working yet, so it's so hard for me to get motivated to do anything different than I did pre-band because I still feel PRE-BANDED. I log on here and read all the success stories and see all the weight loss tickers moving and it seems like everyone is having such success and here's little (pun intended) ole' me with the scale not moving and eating what I want with no problem. I haven't had ONE episode of food getting stuck, no PB'ing, nothing to even let me actually feel that the band is there! I know from reading other's experiences that those things are "no fun" but believe it or not, I am actually looking forward to going thru something like that, at least I will know that the band is in there and it's making it's presence known. No, I'm not exercising. I'm not motivated to exercise. I wasn't a huge eater before the band, I just ate the wrong things. I know everyone's band experience is different, but I thought some things were across the board, like bread and guess what... 6 inch subway sandwich is not a problem for me. I go back next month for a 3rd fill but it just seems unlikely that I can go from not feeling anything to the 3rd fill being the "magical one" that turns the switch on. I thought this was a process, a gradual increase to the beloved "sweet spot" and I have yet to begin the climb. I'm just frustrated and venting. I was supposed to take my monthly "progress pictures" but I don't even want to do that because they will look the same as the December and January pictures! CONGRATUALTIONS to all of you who are having sucess and reaching milestones and goals. I am happy for you and I hope you keep up the good work. Your stories are an inspiration....

Look for great changes to come your way. I got sleeved on 10/11 so I know just how you are feeling.

My surgery was on October 27th, 2009. To be honest, I wasnt nervous at all. I got to the hospital at 6am to finish my registration. I was told I didnt have to have my $500 co-pay and that it would be billed with the cost of surgery. By the time I was done with registration, it was 6:30am and I was told to go to the Ambulatory Unit for pre-op preparation. I sat in a chair, waiting my turn for about fifteen minutes before I was taken to a bed. First I had to have my vitals taken and my nose swabbed. WEIRD! I was given this weird fabric gown to put on and some slippers. Then bloodwork is drawn and an IV started. I sat in that bed for nearly an hour and a half before I was taken to the "holding" room for surgery. I spent another hour in the holding room before I was taken to the OR. I dont remember much in the OR. Just the warm sensation of the anestesia going up my arm. I found it easier to just close my eyes and not try to keep them open. When I woke up I was in immense pain. I couldnt breathe very well and kept repeating, "OW" over and over. It tooks about 50 OWs before a nurse came over to give me some pain medication. Not sure if the pain was the breathing tube having been in my throat or the hernia being repaired. I was only awake for about 10-20mins before I was wheeled to my room. I was jazzed to have my own recovery room! I wasnt jazzed that it was across from the nurses station. A few hours after entering my room I was up and walking, and a couple hours later I was able to get up to use the bathroom on my own. I found this useful because the nurses were EXTREMELY busy and took FOREVER to come and help me. I would walk around the halls, doing 10 minutes intervals. I think that this helped with the gas, because during my night there, I had no pain. I was discharged the next morning around noon. Of course, I had to wait my turn for my upper GI and since my room was almost one of the last, the other two women that had just had surgery following me, had already been discharged. Breathing was not a problem. It was the incisions that caused me pain, and later, at home the gas. The gas was HORRIBLE!!!!!! It kept me up all night and caused me to sleep in a chair with my feet on another chair. I was constipated for two weeks! TWO WEEKS! That sucked. I have just now started to be able to comfortably sleep on my side, flat on my back, and on my stomach. THANK GOD! I am also currently having problems drinking my protein powder. I think I need to get some unflavored powder and blend it into things. This chocolate isnt doing it for me. I am also getting my mushy food "stuck" and that is painful for hours at a time. IT SUCKS!!!!!! Other than that, I am doing well. I drool at the smell of other food and dream of eating the foods I cant have. But with 25 pounds gone, I really have no complaint!

I just had VSG this last Thursday 1/5. So far so good. I can tell my stomach is still inflamed and it's hard to get liquids down currently but each day gets better. I have already lost 10 pds which was surprising to me as I thought I would be heavier after surgery. Glad to find a forum with people who are in a similar stage. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Even us as guy's go through this adjustment, it will pass. Good luck. Sent from my HTC 10 using the BariatricPal App

Also, who says you have to sip your water. I drink pretty healthy drinks of water and am downing a 16 ounce glass in about 10 - 15 minutes. This will probably change once I have restriction but for now, I drink at whatever rate I am comfortable with.

Hi all....I have heard that this sometimes happens but it's a first for me. Gonna give some background info here. Banded 3/24/10 First fill 5/4/10 and got 4.4ccs in a 10 cc band. Last 2 weeks have really had not much of an appetite and Surgeons office said that's ok, just keep hydrated and get Protein in which I have been doing faithfully. Last night, I was REALLY hungry so me and my partner went out for dinner. I ate till I was a bit over full but did not vomit or PB or anything. It all went down fine.... This morning I have some serious restriction. The thought of one bite of food makes me feel awful....I have had Water and a Protein Drink coffee, which is my normal routine. I never am hungry til later in the morning... I am also having a bit of pain....??? The pain is all around my upper rib cage in the front and the back. I would describe the pain as if I wore a bra and the band size was way too small...I know it's not my heart....maybe my lungs? or just the muscles all around my rib cage....??? I have read posts about people being tight in the morning and I usually am just a bit but this feels really tight.... Any thoughts or suggestions anyone??? Thanks, Meg

My summary after 1 week: 1. Room temp and warm fluids tolerated best. 2. New stomach did lots of "growling" but rejected nothing. 3. Nausea meds gave me a headache and made me dizzy. 4. Hunger still lives on! Surprised -- didn't expect that at all! 5. Cravings for a graham cracker on day 5, then club crackers on day 6. 6. Advice? Don't try to rush things - slow and steady gets you there. Stay ahead of hunger with proteins. 7. Regrets? Wish I had added 1 tsp Benefiber to each protein drink to avoid constipation. 8. Haven't managed 64oz fluids daily - only up to 48oz 9. Naps are wonderful. 10. Making grocery list for things I can soon have - cottage cheese, V8, creamy soups, spinach added to smoothies, applesauce, etc How does this compare with other experiences after one week?

Fill #1 - 3/6/07 - 2.2cc's Fill #2 - 4/17/07 - 3.0cc's Fill #3 - 7/6/07 - 3.5 cc's (I think it was only 2.5cc's because when I went back for fill #4, he could only w/draw 1.8 cc's) Fill #4 - 7/20/07 - filled me back to 3.0 ccs - He should have filled me more! Fill #5 - 8/17/07 - 3.4cc's Fill #6 - 10/08/07 - filled me to 3.8cc's - the best restriction I've ever had,but still could eat big bites of food, so I figured I needed to be tighter. Fill #7 - 11/21/07 filled to 4.0 cc's. By the evening could not hold anything down, not even my saliva. PBing all night - horrilble experieince UNFILL #1 - 11/23/07 - unfilled to somewhere between 2.5 to 3.0 cc's - NO RESTRICTIONS AGAIN :cursing: Fill #8 - 1/18/08 Went in and the doc filled me back up to just right under 4.0, according to Flouro, it was perfect. Well, by next morning, could not hold down saliva again, ended up back in hospital UNFILL #2 - 1/19/08 - Doctor had to unfill me to 3.0 again because of the swelling from all the PBing for being too tight. Again, NO RESTRICTION - :frown: Fill #9 - 2/12/08 - 3.5 cc's - was tight for about a week, now feel lose again. grrrr, still have "some" restriction, just not quite enough! Next fill scheduled for 4/7/08 - I hate that it takes sooooooo long to get in to see the fill doc. FILL #10 - 4/7/08 The doc just added .4cc's, making me at 3.9cc's. I think this might be the one! FILL #11 - Was scheduled on 6/25/08 - but the doc did not fill me up, I was leaving for a cruise on 6/27 so he didn't want to risk me being too tight, so did not get a fill. FILL #11 - 8/5/08 Went for a fill, this time the doc took all my fill out and all he could get out was 2.4 cc's. Filled me up to 4.0 cc's, I left, had to go right back because I could not drink, he took out a little over .2 cc's, he said I'm somewhere between 3.5 to 3.7 cc's. - I had great restriction for 2 weeks, but It has now loosened some. I feel I might need a tad more. I'm worried I have a very slow leak. UNFILL #3 - 8/5/08 - Took a little over .2 cc's out, had pretty good restriction, but still a tad too lose. FILL #12 - 9/17/08 - Added just 1/10th of a cc - I think I'm somewhere between 3.8 to 3.9 cc in a 4cc band. I am hoping and praying this is the fill that I stop with! I do not have another appointment for another fill, will wait this one out and see.

Hello all. I just wanted to give a little encouragement to the newbies out there. Today I am 4 years post op. I am still in love with my band. I have been filled and unfilled, I have pbed. I have gotten stuck and yet I still love my band. It has taken some time but I have learned to live with it as many of my fellow veterans have as well. I have learned what I can eat and what I can't eat with my band. I do drink a little sprite or orange soda every once in a while. I can't stand coke any more which used to be my favorite soda. I can honestly say I haven't had it in over 4 years. What I do drink on the regular is orange juice because I can't eat oranges any more. I can eat apples but I choose to drink apple juice. I still have my coffee every morning and tea every week as well. In regards to foods, well I eat just about anything except pasta that you use for lasagna. I do eat spaghetti every blue moon and I will eat a little mac and cheese only if it's really cheesy. Other than that, I eat bread, rice, etc. I actually had a couple slices of thin crust pizza for supper yesterday. Speaking of supper. I have learned that I can't eat past 8 p.m. If I do, I will fall asleep but in the middle of the night I will start coughing and coughing and then I'll fall back to sleep. Later I will cough some more and eventually water will start coming out of my nose. That will go on until I finally throw up the last whatever that was in my stomach before I went to bed. So that means I have to get in all my food and drink by 7 p.m. 7:30 at the latest. When I do eat before 7, I have no problems. I sleep like a baby. What can I say, my band doesn't want me eating late I can dig that. That was a problem before I was banded that aided in me gaining weight in the first place eating late at night and snacking watching tv. Well I can honestly say those days are definitely over. I do eat chips but only when I crave them. I eat popcorn as well but only when I have a taste for it and that isn't often. My last fill was August 2012 which put me at 7.1 ccs in my 10 cc band. So I will leave you with this final note, don't give up. Don't get discouraged. The weight isn't going to fall off over night, every week, everyday, etc. Stop stressing. Follow your bariatric team's instructions/guidelines because all our bodies and problems within our bodies are different. We all have different medical issues so what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. Sometimes it will but in other cases it won't. If you aren't sure about what's happening in your body, don't be afraid to call your doctor and find out. After all, it is YOUR BODY. Take care everyone and happy holidays. I'm 95 lbs down and loving it.

I am 10 1/2 weeks out and my doctor just cleared me for any food. When you get cleared for regular foods, it's better to try to get your protein from food rather than protein drinks. I haven't used any protein drinks since 6 weeks, and then I was down to one 30gr Premier shake a day. It will depend on how many oz. of food you can get in without feeling too full whether you will need to keep using the drinks. I can have 8 oz. of food at one time, but I still can't get that in, but I eat so much protein (you need to eat your protein first at each meal) Remember though that the protein drinks are considered liquids and not food. You will be able to eat what everyone else eats, but of course smaller portions! Good luck! Don't worry about that now. Just take it a week at a time. You will do fine.

I don't know what the moving down stuff means. Since your waist has measured smaller in the past couple of months, have you lost weight in those months? Also, are you doing any kind of resistance training lie squats, deadlifts or even ab work such as crunches, burpees? If so, you could be adding some core muscle which adds muscle thickness to waist while not losing inches there. I've not dropped a waist size in 6-8 months, but I've lost 10-12 pounds since my last waist size drop. I know I've lost some fat on my waist during that time, but I also have new muscle there since I've been training my core pretty hard, which equals no smaller waist, but a fitter waist, so I'm cool with that. There also may be other factors like sagging skin, water retention, etc. Do any of these apply in your situation?

Amazing how fast the last few months have gone. I am finishing up grad school this week (last test is Tuesday woot woot!) and soon thereafter I will be embarking on another huge undertaking – getting sleeved. I’ve complained about this on the boards a couple of times but will say it one more time…the pre-op classes are simply ridiculous. I can honestly say I got nothing out of them. The only semi-interesting class was a one-year post-op RNY patient who talked about the challenges and victories he had experienced. The rest were beyond lame. But, it’s over now Once I completed my last class, the surgeon’s nurse navigator got my paperwork submitted to Aetna and exactly 7 days later called to say I was approved! I was really expecting it to be more difficult than that. I met with the Surgeon 6/1 (before this, had only seen him at the seminar in December 2010) and had a good conversation in which he answered all of my questions and made me feel 100% comfortable with my decision to move forward. After we were done he had me talk with his scheduler, who got me on the roster for June 20. Sweet! I probably still won’t believe it until I’m driving to the hospital that morning. Since I don’t have a PCP the surgeon will just do my H&P the morning of surgery. He doesn’t do any type of pre-op testing. Interesting because here on the boards some people need sleep apnea studies, testing for hernias or h-pylori, etc. He does not require any of that. Which is cool because I am pretty sure all of those are negative for me and I hate when unnecessary testing is done. I have to go to one more nutrition class on June 9, which revolves around how to eat pre- and post-op. I actually start the pre-op diet June 10…the first few days will be challenging because I have visitors in town that I rarely get to see, and usually we eat out and drink wine, etc. But I will manage. The good news is that from the literature the surgeon’s office has given me, I think it’s pretty good as pre-op diets go. It’s only 10 days and I get mushy stuff, am not restricted to liquids like others sometimes are. Emotionally, I feel great. I feel ready to kick fat in the ass. I am not nervous at all. This may change as the date approaches, but as of now I feel at peace with my decision. The main issue on my mind right now about two weeks out is, whether or not to tell anyone. I do have a great family but truly just want to keep this private. Maybe I still have a little shame, I don’t know. My mom is a true supporter of me, however she has been through a lot the last few years (cancer, heart failure) and has developed a pretty significant amount of anxiety. I rarely see my siblings due to distance and they are great people however…skinny people. And I don’t think they would understand. Co-workers, I absolutely do NOT want to know because I feel they will forever scrutinize what I eat. That leaves friends. There are a few close ones I have considered telling. Despite the fact that they are thin I think they’d be on board with my decision because they have seen me fluctuate so much over the years. Anyway, still not sure. As surgery approaches I’ll decide what to do.

Yes, you can. I'm 19 months out and eat pretty much whatever I want, just in small portions. That said, I have ridiculous restriction and one scrambled egg fills me up. So for me, drinking one Protein coffee or tea each morning is a great way to boost my protein intake to where I like to be (90+ grams a day) without eating all day long. But my situation is a bit different as I'm stranded in Central Asia. When I'm stateside and have access to hundreds of different protein options it's definitely easier to reach my nutritional goals each day. Though honestly, I just don't like to sit down to four heavy meals of meat or eggs a day and drinking a shake is an easier way for me to get there. But if you don't like them, it's not something you're going to have to do beyond the first six to nine months. I'm not going to lie, though. If I had to drink a Protein Shake every single day for the rest of my life and the trade off was being this size, I'd do it in a heartbeat. ~Cheri

10 months out now. My doctor originally told me a good target I could expect to hit was 205lbs. My plans were to hit 200lbs. At the time that sounded so unreal I knew I'd be thrilled if it ever happened. When I hit 200 I was thrilled. But I went ahead and set a new goal for 185lbs. That seemed achievable at that point. Today I hit the 185 goal. Yea!!!! Now comes the strange feeling. For so long before sleeve and after I've been in constant thought mode about losing weight. If I was not losing weight then I was likely gaining weight. So my focus has been on losing, losing, losing. My reaction right now is to establish a new goal (say 175lbs) to aim for. I don't really need to lose any more weight. But my fear is if I'm not losing then I'll be gaining. Maintenance is something I have no experiecne with either in actions or in mindset. I've read others discussion on their maintenance transition. It seems to have come fairly natural for many. Maybe it will for me as well. For now I'm staying more on the keep losing mentality cause I can't help myself. Having said all that....God bless the sleeve and the health that has been restored to me. I could not be happier and would not want to imply otherwise. Although maintenance mode is foreign to me if its like everything else it won't be too hard to figure out.

I felt restriction along the way after almost every fill, but it was fleeting. It was when I got my last fill at about 10 months that I knew it was the "one". The other fills gave me restriction for a few weeks but then the feeling of satiety after meals started to diminish, but this time it took. It's been a little over two months now, and it feels the restriction feels the same today as it did two months ago. It's also a stronger feeling of staying satisfied between meals then I ever had prior to this past fill.