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I'm 19 days out my incision is like 4 inches away from my boob so it drives my crazy iv been up since 430 am and I have a 3 yr old who won't let me nap lol I'm getting about 4 hrs asleep every might

Krista, I don't know anything about Dr Alvarez since I didn't research him or use him. But I can tell you my experience with Dr Aceves was positive. My insurance did not cover the sleeve and even if it had I wouldn't have been covered since I was a lightweight. I chose Dr Aceves for many of the reasons that Tiffykins listed and also because I had wasted so much time researching the lapband and when I decided I the sleeve was the way to go I just wanted it done before too much more time had passed. I wanted a date without waiting too much longer or jumping through hoops. Money wasn't an issue for me (self-pay lapbad was going to be $20,000 locally and that didn't include fills or followup). So I knew I had to go out of state since at the time no one was doing the sleeve locally. Going to Mexico to Dr Aceves was a no brainer since the recovery was in a hospital and everything was taken care of - and he has tons of experience and great reviews/stats. I had briefly checked out some US physicians and wasn't 100% impressed. If I had wanted to wait longer I might have stayed in the US and gone to Cirangle or Jossart but like I said by that time I just wanted it done. I am a nurse so I am picky and not easily impressed. I would certainly recommend going to Dr Aceves for surgery. Good luck in your journey. Frankie VSG 03/22/10

I have been working on my file since beginning of September and it was finally submitted to BCBS TX 10/22. Today they informed me that they won't even review my file regardless of my multiple comorbidities due to exclusion. My Dr. said they will appeal and they are positive I will win on approval. However, the Insurance company states nothing will change their decision. I have been fighting my weight forever, so waiting won't change much. But am I fighting a battle with them that I can't win? Any help or information is much appreciated. WAITING.......:sad:

Hi, I was just banded 10/4/10 and I am feeling better then ever. I too lost 32 lbs, but I came to realize most of it is Fluid weight. The problem I had is I NEVER felt hungry or full before. I felt stuffed from overeating, but never hungry. Eating was a way of life and now it is changing. I am now paying more attention to the foods and how they are feeling after chewing chewing chewing. So I guess I feel the same as you, it IS part band and part the mind. After all it is a life changing system. Keep up the good work and never feel like you failed. That is other people who will look at you and say "you didn't lose that much". But we all know the healthy way to lose and keep it off is losing 1 -2 lbs a week. That is our goal. :w00t::sneaky:

I use the overnight method because it's so easy. I think to cook steelcut oats the regular way takes 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how done you like them. I like getting up in the morning and the cooking is already done. Organic Steel Cut Oats - Bob's Red Mill

Hello, My name is Wisteria and I have gone through all of the necessary steps to get lap-band surgery; I am just waiting for approval from my insurance company. I am 34 years old and have been majorly overweight for about 10 years now and I cannot get it off! So here I am! I weigh 211.5, my BMI is 41%, and height 5'0". I am pre-diabetic on medication so that is a MAJOR part of my decision. Also of course heart attack and heart disease are both in my family. I have asthma since gaining all of the weight as well as back issues. Had surgery on my back and gained A LOT of weight since then (MAJOR part of my weight gain by the way). Also have sleep apnea and acid reflux. Take several meds and need to sleep with a mask at night. I am just not healthy. I exercise, but it is so hard to when you are big. I have hiked, biked, kayaked, ran, walked, jogged, etc... And I end up quitting after a few months. It is just so hard... especially walking/hiking up a hill! All this weight is killing me... literally! Nice to meet all of you. Glad I am here. I cannot wait for surgery. All the best to you all on your journeys.

I'm so excited but my nerves are starting to show their ugly face---not gonna lie getting nervous too---why I don't know---my surgeon is amazing and I know that he does this day in and day out for the past 10 years but still....lol---been on opti fast diet for 6 days and down 10 pounds, more week of these shakes to go then it GO TIME

Today was the first day that I am recommitting myself back to the lap band ways. Today was rough I had to break a lot of bad habbits. It is very hard because I spend over 10 hours in a kitchen. It is hard not just putting things in your mouth and not think about it. I always have to stop myself, and let it go. Today I feel good about doing it, and I was honestly not all that hungry. I had a couple of hunger spells but I got through them. I feel very good about this on my first day. I am recommiting to what I thought I committed to a long time ago. I just wasnt get the tune ups.

It's been a year this week. I am headed to the beach. It's also my husband and my 5 year anniversary. My surgon never set a goal and my personal goal was based on bmi. I haven't technically hit reached that personal numbers goal yet but here are some goals I have met: I can now run 20 minutes comfortably without walking so I jog 40 mins 5-6 days a week. Couldn't even shuffle quickly forward (what jogging used to look like) for 3 minutes pre surgery without gasping like a fish out of water. I had to buy all new clothes. All new. Bras undies and shoes too! I sleep naked and walk around naked IN FRONT of my husband. I used to be too ashamed and would change clothes quickly hiding in the closet. Extra details probably belong in the ladies forum but you can imagine there have been other improvements... No more fat girl waddle. I feel pretty. Out and out pretty. Men smile at me. People are nicer. That goal is harder to explain but it impacts every facet of my life. I have low blood pressure. I am no longer pre diabetic. I don't snore any more. I am not dreading the bathing suit part of the beach. Not wearing a two piece, but even at 19 I wasn't a two piece kinda girl. Goal is a fluid concept. Would do this sleeve again every time.

I agree with everyone else. I see a counselor (a psychiatrist every six weeks) and a licensed therapist every week. (Wow, just saying that makes me sound really messed up lol) but I started going because of anxiety. I agree with the others also....about the numbers. 40% seems low..and I heard ore like 60% but it varies from person to person...(I am at almost 82% loss of my excess weight, 3 lbs away from my goal (or 10 depending on whether I wanna be in the 150s) and can honestly say counseling has helped GREATLY. So many things bring us to fill the voids in our lives with food (In my opinion) and my counselor has helped me figure those out. He has also helped me to embrace my accomplishments and look at myself differently. Internal dialogue is so very important here. It can be hard, there is crying, there is anger...there is self realization. But in the end, so worth it for me. Good Luck!

I agree with you 100%. For me I realized at about 10 months post op that the issue wasn't "not knowing what foods to eat" to be successful, but was more "why do I sabotage myself". So, I sought out a therapist who specialized in eating disorders and, besides the surgery itself, that was the single best decision I've made for myself in my life. I've been going weekly for 3 years now and it's made all the difference in keeping the weight off, but also in changing the war that is constantly going on in my head with food.

Hi Dana, I'm getting sleeved on 12/19. I bought a binder from Walmart for like $5, not sure how it'll work since I haven't tried it yet, but from what I hear they do help when moving alot. Good luck on your journey and I hope you have a quick recovery.

Clearly you are not short of dedication, drive and willingness to succeed. Your exercise program is impressive. I am no expert when it comes to the fine anatomical details that contribute to a highly functional metabolism. However, I can succinctly enumerate some ideas that might help you as they have worked for me in achieving and maintaining an athletic build at my ideal weight. 1. Nutrition and diet: They say 80% or more success of weight loss comes from the kitchen, outside of the gym. Eating at the right time, the right types of food in the right quantities to match your body type are going to make a difference. Let us break those items down: 1. The right time: The body needs a constant source of the macros every 2-3 hours to keep the insulin response consistent in the blood stream. Ideally, one should eat a small meal of 200-300 calories when waking up, every 3 hours, until going to bed. This is especially important if you are very active to prevent the body from going into starvation mode due to a net negative of calories from working out the amount you do. The first meal at rise will " wake up your metabolism" and the last meal at bedtime will keep the metabolism burning throughout the night. However, it is important that these two meals be of the right food. I do not fast. Period. I have read a lot of good things about IF and 5:2, but it is just something I have no practical experience with for maintaining a healthy body weight with an athletic body fat percentage. For this reason, I cannot offer any advice on it. 2. The right food: the first meal should.be a fast digesting Protein such as whey because your body has gone all night without food. The last meal should be a slow digesting protein such as casein (shake, pudding, etc). The casein molecule are larger than whey molecules and take longer to absorb. This will keep your metabolism burning during the night. The meals during the day should be protein first. Try and target about 30 g of protein every meal. All meals should be low carbohydrate except for before and after working out. Before working out, your meal should target a 2:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein. Keep the carbohydrate one that is low on the glycemic index so it does not burn up too quickly. The carbohydrates consumed after a workout should be the faster burning variety in order to assist in transporting nutrients to your muscles faster. 3. The right quantities: each meal should be about 200-300 calories. It is enough to satisfy hunger and fill you up, but not too much. We want to prevent insulin spikes that result in storage of fat. 4. Body type: Each body type is going to respond differently to food types. This is true if you are a pear, an apple or a box body type. Look up what foods are best for your body type. Now that we have stressed the importance of nutrition, let us look at exercise. 2: Exercise: you have quite a comprehensive exercise program, but I cannot help but wonder if your body has become too efficient at it. Your body needs a constantly changing set of intensity in order to respond. For me, cross fit workouts fit the bill because every workout is different and very intense. They are short too. Most workouts fall between 10-20 minutes with some on the shorter side and some on the longer side. However, I am not in a workout for longer than 30 minutes. All the lifts are compound (both power and Olympic lifts) and all the cardio falls under what is called metabolic conditioning. Metabolic conditioning is designed to push you every single time. Here are some example workouts I did this last week: 95/65 lb Thrusters x 20 reps 5 Muscle-Ups Thrusters x 15 reps 4 Muscle-Ups Thrusters x 10 reps 3 Muscle-Ups Thrusters x 5 reps 2 Muscle-Ups Thursday February 6th, 2014: (Compare Results to January 3rd WOD) EMOM for 12 Minutes: Full Squat Snatch x 1 with 3 second hold at bottom of OH squat then Seven sets of (total of 28 minutes): 30 seconds of Rowing (for max meters) Rest 30 seconds 30 seconds of Handstand Push-Ups Rest 30 seconds 30 seconds of 24″/20″ Box Jump Rest 30 seconds 30 seconds of Push-ups Rest 30 seconds Wednesday February 5th, 2014: EMOM for 8 minutes: 3 Front Squats @ 75-80% then For Time: 1000m Row 50 Wall Balls 20#/14# 30 Thrusters 95#/65# Tuesday February 3rd, 2014: "Open WOD 11.1" 10 min AMRAP: 30 Double Unders 15 Power Snatches 75#/55# The Power snatch loads are as follows: Men and Masters Men 45-49, 50-54: 75lbs/35kg Women and Masters Women 45-54: 55lbs/25kg Masters Men 55-59, 60+: 65lbs/30kg Masters Women 55-59, 60+: 45lbs/20kg Rest Exactly 5 Minutes then... "Open WOD 12.1" 7 min AMRAP of: Burpees This workout begins from the standing position. The Athlete will move from flat on the ground to touching an object with both hands that is 6 inches above their max reach. Score is total reps completed in 7 minutes. Monday February 2nd, 2014: 15 minutes to find heavy Push Press then 7 Minute AMRAP: 10 Chest to Bar Pull-Ups 10 Alternating Pistols 10 Handstand Push-Ups Rest exactly 2 minutes, and then… 7 Minute AMRAP: 10 Burpee Box Jumps 24"/20" 10 Shoulder to Overhead 115#/75# The lifting portions of the workouts are done at a weight that makes sense for me. Consider moving away from the machines for your weight lifting and into free weights where more emphasis uis placed on correct for and correct muscle activation. Free weights also require a bigger emphasis on balance and agility then machines. I know this is a big step and may not be right for you at this time, but I offer it for your consideration.

Okay, hoping one of you guys can help me by sharing your expeirecnces with restriction and fills. I had my first fill three months ago and have lost about 5 pounds since (all in the first month after the fill). I do feel some restriction. Sometimes I PB, sometimes I'm very tight, and sometimes I'm very loose (like today when I ate a large order of chicken with cashew nuts and 10 fried wontons in a single sitting). But I rarely if ever have that "full" feeling 10 minutes past my meal. I'm thinking that I need a slight fill to keep the food in my pouch longer but I'm nervous because I know how tight I can get at times. What do you guys think?

Hello! First of all I'd like to say that even though this is my first post, I've received a lot of advice and encouragement from many of you here so thank you! I had my laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery on December 2nd, 2014 and I'm happy to say I've had an amazing recovery! I started my journey at 5'6 weighing 265lbs at my heaviest, 256lbs on surgery date and 10 days post op am now at 240lbs ????????I stopped taking my pain meds about 4 days after surgery, I can sleep in whatever position I want, I've been trying pureed foods and have never felt nausea, haven't vomited or felt uncomfortably full. I'm feeling great....but Just a couple of hours ago I fell down the steps...only 5 steps, but I hurt my bum and my elbow, and of course I'm concerned about my insides, I just had major surgery a few days ago. I feel ok, my incisions look fine and everything seems normal but I'm still a little nervous. Will be calling my surgeons office tomorrow to see what she says. Did anyone ever go through something like this? Should I be more worried? Help. ????

Noticed that I like mushy food that I would never have considered eating before, such as yogurt. You couldn't get me to eat that no matter what. Now Chobani (Greek yougurt) is my friend. It's VERY strange not being hungry. Was banded 3/2/11 and have lost 19 lbs. Lots of new found energy. As it is a 15 days, my body in space hasn't quite adjusted. As I can move faster with less effort if I turn too quickly, I have bounced into walls (2x)! So far, so good.

Tomorrow, I check in with my surgeon, 1/2 way through my soft/purée stage. I was hoping to be down 10 more pounds but I wasn't going to stress over it. I am happy to say, as of this morning, I am down 9 more pounds PLUS I ventured into the next set of 10 digits on the scale!! WOOT!!! For work today, I am rocking a shirt I haven't worn in 1.5 years because it was too tight. Not today!! AND I can put on/off my jeans without unzipping or unbuttoning them!! Can I say I LOVE my sleeve!!?! I am feeling so lucky, I think I need to buy a lottery ticket!

Gayle: 120 lbs: INSPIRATIONAL!!! I am not sleeved yet so I am basing this on all my other "weight loss knowledge". Isn't it possible that although the scale is not changing, you could be building some muscle and therefore not seeing the "loss"? I would take your measurements. I have heard of people losing inches, LOTS OF INCHES and the scale not changing. I would measure, and start fresh. Don't let your PERCEIVED "lack of loss" mess with you when you very well could be losing inches. If you want to add something to your exercise that tones and shows in inches, check out www.ttapp.com . You have done AMAZING! Celebrate your victory and get a fresh outlook on your journey. 120 lbs in 10 months?!?!?!?! Right now, you are my hero!!!!! Breath, take a little break from the stress and start fresh. H-E-R-O!!!!!!!!!

I am 10 months out and down 120 pounds with another 100 to go. For over a month now I haven't been losing weight and I have been trying so many things. On average I get between 30-100 g carbs a day (on the lower side majority of the time, including fiber) and like 20-30 grams of fat and 60+ g of protein. I even am trying taking alli even though I don't eat much fat. I exercise and get 7 thousand steps a day and 4 flights of stairs at minimum. I get all my liquids in and eat between 800-1000 calories. I have even tried calorie cycling by going up to 1500 and then back down to 800 but even though I lost some doing that it didn't last. I am at the end of my rope and need some help or advice or anything!

Hi Christi, I was wondering if you could PM me and let me know who the Dr. is, because I too was banded in Mexico on 3/3 and I have my first fill appointment on 4/19 with a Dr. in Dallas. I don't think you are being overly sensitive considering the amount of money it costs and the fact that you (we) don't have the luxury of ongoing care from the Dr. that did your surgery. The Dr. should give you his full attention when you are there and taking into consideration that you had your surgery in Mexico and may have further concerns and/or questions. I would find another doc or give this one another chance and stand up for yourself and demand his full attention. I am sorry you were made to feel unimportant and it is not right! Hope it all works out for you in the future. Kristi/Keller TX

I don't know which band you have, but I was an outlier, in that I needed more than my band "max" fill level to keep good and sustained restriction. I have a 9 cc Realize Band, and it wasn't until my fill level was past 10 cc that I finally had perfect "for me" restriction. My doctor checked the pressure my band was under, and while the pressure is on the high side of normal, it's still in the normal range. He said he had a few other patients who needed my level of fill before they had restriction. My last fill was several months ago, and while I can tell I've lost a little of the restriction that I had, it's a very small change. My band is not so tight that I can eat normal foods and lots of foods bandsters sometimes have trouble with such as steak and soft yeasty bread. I also have never had reflux of any kind, and I've only slimed a handful of times...all related to user error. I'm definitely not too tight. I don't know what you can do with this information, but your doctor is not working with you on this and it's not your fault or your weakness that you don't have restriction yet. Is there anyway you can change doctors? I wouldn't know how to go about doing that other than to start making phone calls explaining the situation. Also, there's FillCentersUSA who will do for band patients. You'd have to check their web site to see if there's one reasonably close to you. I'm sorry your doctor has taken this hard stand about your fills.

Congrats!!! I'm getting banded on 10/15. Pretty scarred bout the pain. So funny I have that book but have yet to open it. Got it wen the big bookstore here went out of business, it was tge last one, Luke waiting for me. Guess God wants me to start reading it today. On week 2 of pre-op had a meltdown yesterday Nd ate 6 cheetos Nd liked the bag LOL..... Praying for strength, hope ur feeling better too

Our company did the exact same thing!! We had our own version of The biggest loser over a 10 week time frame (WAY too long BTW) and our team won!! I was completely irked that I lost out of 1st place overall by less than one pound!! Keeping in mind our last weigh in was 2 days after we got back from a 2 week trip to WDW, and I STILL lost, but I digress! We didn't win anything, but our company matched $100 for every pound lost and donated it to our local food bank. We were lucky enough to walk the check to them (for $5800) and they were BEYOND excited! So we did win, and the fat we lost was turned into food and fed thousands!! CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR WIN!!!

I started shopping at 2 months and I probably buy a shirt every other week? But i can warr thise for a couple months. I bought one pair of jeans but waiting as long as I can to buy some shorts. Also check Gabriel brothers if you live up north, or Marshalls. I love those stores. You can get tops 7 bucks pants 10-12. I can't wait to get some new skirts and sundresses :-D

Dresses and tights! I just bought stuff off eBay. Dresses for $10 to $15. eBay has been a life saver. Nothing I used to own is in my closet anymore. I wear a dress everyday! I will wait until I am maintaining the same weight for awhile. Clothes can be expensive.