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I've experienced the same thing. I did NOT gain weight from fluids in the hospital. I was in the hospi 2 nights and 3 days and when I came home I was 9lbs down. When I weighed after surgery I was 3lbs down. I am having a difficult time with gas, bloating, discomfort and fullness, yet I can't hardly keep anything down and I have diarrhea too. I'm worried about getting dehydrated but not worried about rapid weight loss. Doc said people who are nauseated and discomforted after surgery tolerate food best later on down the road and lose the most weight.

What did your doc say? If it were ME...I'd cut out the protein shakes (my doc is adamant that they are a meal REPLACEMENT, not adjunct or snack) and just eat the food. Also count your calories just for a couple of days (for data only, not as a new way of life) and make sure you're getting enough. With the exercise you're doing, adding 100-200 cals a day may make a big difference in your weight loss (seems counter-intuitive, but it's true. As you are building muscle your body NEEDS more than "normal")

I need some help! I'm about 5 weeks post op and about 3 days ago I started feeling pretty yucky. The sight and smell of food really makes me nauseated. I've only been able to take in a few protein shakes, water, and some soup. I was doing really really good up until now. Monday, I started taking birth control pills again at the request of my surgeon. I know my hormones are already out of whack from the weight loss and surgery. When I try to take in something solid, it's hard to get it down, swallow, and keep it down. Has anyone experienced this? Could it be my hormones trying to figure out what the hell is going on? Or something more serious like a stricture or leak? My husband also had the surgery about 11 weeks ago and never experienced this.

Great job on your weight loss! 3ccs is a lot for a first fill, how do you feel? Any restriction? Is water staying down?

Im glad for all the posts about stalls.. I have yet to stall and im at 4mo and down 90lbs.. and I know its going to happen..and I know even with all the posts Im gonna freak a lil.. but ty all for posting on ways to maybe jump start the loss again.. I know im going to need all the advice I can get.. so thank you all for the suggestions.

I have lost 47 pounds and I feel like the bottoms of my feet are bruised. I also felt like this when I lost a lot of weight on Atkins. I walk anywhere from 3-7 miles . . . almost daily. Is it the loss of fat on the bottoms of my feet? Is it from so much walking? It's just kind of annoying. I'm okay if I'm in running shoes or wearing comfy shoes . . . but I can barely go barefoot at all anymore. Isn't that weird?

..... but I think I my body might have finally "got it". I am nearly 5 months post op and up until tthe last month or so I have been so frustrated and discouraged. My weight loss is still lower where I want it to be, I am 21 weeks out (147 days) and down 34.3 pounds since my day of surgery. 14 pounds of that on the last 40 days or so. I actually lost 3.2 in the last 8 days!!! I still have a long way to go, and I know that weight loss starts slowing down a bit at around 6 months (Yikes). Since I started out so slow (20 pounds in the first nearly 4 months). I am hoping that will not be the case for me. I am just happy to see the scale, or, in my case, Wii go down. (I had my hubby hide the scale, and have felt much better since then. Even though I weigh myself every day or 3 I am no longer obsessesd with the number any more.) What a relief!!!

That's very interesting. I also had a Vitamin D deficiency according to my surgeon. He ran a bunch of lab work before surgery. I didn't know it was linked to slow weight loss though. He just told me that a daily multivitamin should take care of it.

Hi there! I suggest a book"weight loss surgery" for dummies. It is very informative. If u have iPhone u can download a sample for free. And buy later( nook, android too)

Tabitha, Weight loss surgery is only a tool to help us lose those excess pounds. You also have to learn how to eat the right foods and in the proper amounts. Most surgeons work in tandem with hospitals and offer support groups lead by nurses, dietitians, and other experts. I would highly suggest joining one of these groups or start seeing a nutritionist on your own. You will be surprised how well the combination of being banded and eating the right foods really is! Take care and I am looking forward to hearing about you successes soon! Dennis

Or, if you are a "slow loser" like me, most times you lose 0.2. I hope your losses increase until you meet your goals. Good luck. Oh, no worries. I've made peace with it. As long as the scale is moving down, however slowly, I will get to where I'm going eventually. Good luck to you and congrats on your success so far!

First of all congratulations on deciding to go with the sleve. As for the questions, it would be best asking your surgeon at the first consult as you should be following his guidelines with regards to questions 2,4,and 5. You will get a range of answers here but I will answer the few that I can from my own experience. 1) It really depends on how long you are staying in for but the things I took and used were: Change of clothes for going home (baggy dress as I couldnt stand anything round my tummy) Toiletries/hair brush GasX strips Lip balm (dont use Vasaline if you are on oxygen after the surgery!!) Mobile and charger Ipad/kindle and charger Some magazines 3 nightdresses (I stayed in 5 nights) For the drive home, my husband brought a pillow so I could put the seat belt round it. 2) I can but never 6oz.. Most I have eaten at 17 months out is 4 oz Protein and tiny bit of veg. 3) Biotin didnt do a thing for me (I used it for the first 12 months) and now I use Nioxin thickening shampoo which has made a heck of a difference to how my hair looks. I wasted a LOT of money. As for vitamins, your surgeon will advise on these. I take a multi Vitamin, Vit D, Vit K, Calcium and Vit C (my own choice as I have just had skin surgery) Hope the first consult goes well and you get your questions answered !! Kate

hi king what a great loss - you are really close to being in the famous onederland club. congrats - and see you around the Water cooler. best kathy

For me, eliminating all processed sugars and white flour...had an immediate impact on my weight loss. I lost like crazy just doing these two things. I still ate a ton of carbs, but I ate good whole carbs with dietary fiber...beans, potatos, chickpeas, nuts, whole grains, whole fruits and veggies....and stayed away from white bread, processed foods, stuff with added sugar and no fiber like juices and jellies. I also eliminated processed products with fats, fried stuff, and fatty meats. Learned to put low fat plain yogurt and salt and pepper on my baked potatoes....replaced butter and animal fat in cooking with extra virgin olive oil. Everyone has a different diet they prefer...I tend to follow Mediterannian or Mayo Clinic diet. Getting your steps is brilliant and will get your metabolism going like crazy. I started at 5000 steps a day and gradually increased in little baby steps to 12,000 a day. I get 20,000 some days now because I really enjoy walking and being active...but most days are 10 to 12,000 now. Being active will help you so much. Best wishes! You got this!

Thanks so much Carly, I will talk to my surgeon about the heartburn and good luck with your weight loss journey.

I'm reluctant to join the, "you're not eating enough" crowd because everyone's needs are so, so different. I, for example, do not lose unless I'm in the 800-1000 calorie range--with exercise. Any more than that, and I stall. Or, worse, gain. The thing is, Meg, that the scale doesn't always reflect our hard work on our timetable. Our bodies are going through big changes, and the body sometimes resists. It's an evolutionary benefit that is geared to help us survive--but it's a pain in the neck when we want to lose! (ETA: I just checked your stats---holy moly! You've lost 45 pounds in 7 weeks! No wonder your body is regrouping--that's a huge loss!) You certainly can experiment to see if you lose better at a different calorie intake. But you might have just as much success hanging in and waiting it out. When I have stalls, it makes me want to pull my hair out---but invariably, the loss starts again. Not fast enough for my liking--but still! You say that you're getting most of your Protein from food, and supplementing some to meet your protein goals. That's good. But what proportion of your diet comes from protein? What other foods are you eating? I ask, because while I lose very well at 800 calories, I don't lose if those 800 calories aren't made up of the right balance of foods. Your body might be picky, too. Can you post a typical day or two of meals? Try not to be discouraged. The learning curve is steep. And it takes a while to see the loss-stall-loss patterns. Do you graph your weight loss over time? I journal on Fitday, and after watching my loss pattern for a while, it became evident to me that there really was a pattern; after a certain number of pounds, I get a tiny upward blip (for no rhyme or reason), drop it immediately, then stall...and then lather, rinse, repeat. It happens over and over. Knowing this makes it less nerve-wracking. Another thing that has helped me when I'm going nuts over a stall is that I record my measurements. If I don't see the scale moving, I often still find that my measurements are decreasing. Another thing to remember is that, as you're losing fat, you're also gaining lean muscle tissue. This isn't a fast process--so the scale doesn't go up. But it can appear to cause stalls. I say "appear" because you still are losing fat. But your hard-working muscles retain Fluid after exercise and, ultimately, gain mass--both of which influence what the scale tells you. Ultimately, exercise-related "stalls" (again, not really stalling, because your body is, in fact, losing fat even if you can't see it on the scale) will be something you learn to embrace because they are part of a process that is making your body a more efficient calorie-burner. Hang in there! You will get rewards from the scale!

Thank you, ChubRub! Your progress is amazing! How have you found maintaining your loss so far? Easier than before surgery, I hope?

ETA - I apologize, I am a year slow apparently...I meant to be checking out the September 2012 board...however, my post below could still be helpful! I had lost over 80 pounds and have gained back almost 40 of that. I weighed this morning and weighed 260.6. OMG. Over 260. For some reason it didn't bother me as much when I was back into the 250s... I am in the process of reading a book called Crave - about binge eating. So far, it is really good and has some really good insight if you struggle with it like I do. The part I am on right now talks about journaling what you eat, why you feel you eat it (are you truly hungry, or bored, or avoiding something - I eat to avoid work and emotions). I use myfitnesspal and have been using the "today's food notes" on it to write down everything I am thinking about food - and the time. I am also going back to the gym at lunch (today was day 1)...it stinks...I am waiting for the magic day that it no longer feels like a chore...I am so not there yet. LOL. Guess it will take more than one day and more than sporadic attendance. And I also came back to this site...for more support. I have my support group tonight IRL but use all the support I have available to me. I have a tendency to look at my weight loss journey as an all or nothing thing - that I should go from where I am right now, to perfect overnight...I have to remind myself it doesn't work that way. I am going to try to pick ONE thing to work on each week. This week - more Water... Hope something out of my brain dump helps...and I hope it made sense LOL Kelly

I was told the hair loss is from the shock your body took to have surgery. It has to do with the chemicals in your body it switched to say its time to shed. That's why it isn't permanent lost. But yeah I think to help new hair growth is to take your vitamins and up your protein.

Rainbow, what a sad and yet, uplifting, tale. My condolences for your loss. Helping family is a wonderful reason to take control of your health!

Liz, glad you are feeling better. If in the future you are finding you may need the services of the ER for your band, I have some information that may make things go more smoothly for you. If you have access to one, go to a medical center with a Surgical Weight Loss center (preferably a Center of Excellence) that way if you do go to the ER with a surgical emergency, they can take care of it there and don't have to transfer you-which costs alot of $$. If you do research now, then you will know which hospital to go to in the event you need one. Also, if you need to find a surgeon in the states (for non emergency care), a Center of Excellence has to accept you. Now, they may require some type of payment up front, but they cannot turn you away outright. THis is part of their COE accreditation. Secondly, any emergency department (county or otherwise) cannot turn you away regardless of ability to pay. A federal law entitles you to receive a medical screening exam and any stabilizing treatment necessary regardless of ability to pay. Now you may have a long wait in the ER (hours- alot of hours), but you will get seen eventually. I just wanted to be of some help in case you find yourself in this situation again. Hope this wasn't too much info. Best wishes!!!

Hi All, I had my appointment this morning and it couldn't have gone any better. Surgeon basically told me if he had it his way we would set a surgery date today. Only thing holding things up is the mandatory 6 month monitored diet. He is very impressed with my progress and current weight loss. He told me I was very healthy for 460 pounds and that he is anxious to help me on my way to a healthy BMI. Bonus...I stepped on the scale and down another 2lbs. I am shooting for 400 by surgery date. thank you all for the encouragement and support!!!

How awful!! I'm sorry about your experience!! Tell your surgeon...!! Also, maybe try switching up your routine. Example: if you usually use certain machines at the gym, try out others. Or if u usually have 3 meals try having 5 small meals etc. Sometimes when we change out routine a little bit, our bodies snap back into weight loss mode, and stop plateauing. I am currently carb cycling and am so far (knock on wood!!) out of my plateau and am losing. This may work for you, too

I thought I had posted the link, but you can search her on YouTube. Her Name is Connie Stapleton PhD. She also wrote a book "Eat It Up", the Complete Mind / Body / Spirit guide to a Full Life After Weight Loss Surgery. I ordered the book. I'll post a review once I get it and read it.

mine is located under my right rib although every doc has there spot that they pick. If I am lying flat and I push firmly I can feel it otherwise I cant. I am sure you can feel it better after weight loss. It kinda feel like a ball under your skin maybe the size of one of those kids bouncy balls. It's there as long as your band is there. I figure if I am evey skinny enough for it to show I'll get a cool tattoo over it!