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I've had my lap-band for 19 months now and for the past 2 1/2 months I have been having diarrhea/stomach aches everyday. So I went to a gastro. Dr. and am to get a colonoscopy and an endoscopy in 2 wks so went to my lap-band Dr for a total unfil for my endo. Well, that very day I did start feeling better after my unfill, I only had 5.5 in my band so I didn't think it would make such a difference in how I felt but it did and now I don't have the stomache aches anymore and the diarrhea is gone. I really think it's my band that was making me feel this way. Has anybody else experienced this??? Thanks, Alice

Hi Kelly I am getting banded on Jan 17. I have only told two people and don't plan on telling others because I don't want to deal with their comments. I weigh 238 lbs my all time high and I am ready to do something drastic. I am going to focus one day at a time on what I am supposed to eat or do. I am afraid of failing like I have so many diets before. I'll be going through the same thing in 10 days. I have to think positive. You have to think positive too. You need to care about yourself and do this for yourself. You can do it. Focus on other things besides food (our favourite friend for a long time). Go for a walk, take a long bubble bath, visit a friend, buy something non food ie a new nail polish. Start talking positive to yourself inside your head - I can do this, I can do this, ... Keep posting. There are lots of successful bandsters on this site. Lynda soon to be banded too

I am having surgery tuesday , I am shocked I got the approval so quickly after having lots of trouble with the Insurance all this time . But I am happy:w00t: . The pre op diet has been really difficult..The nurse said shakes shakes and more shakes she also mention a atkins diet too so I mixed it up!!! and I have lost 10 pounds as of today.. Does anyone think this is okay? I would like some help deciding if i should do all liquids the last five days....

stay on liquids as much as possible...You don't want the surgeons telling at the last minute that they won't do the surgery because all of the foods that's in your system...I knew a patient that was turned away on surgery date because she was eating foods on a regular...If you get hungry...Try sugar free applessauce, sugar free pudding...things that won't stick in your system.....GOOD LUCK...I HAD MY LAP BAND SURGERY ON 3-25-10..AND SO FAR I LOST 30LBS. I AM STILL EXCITED AND MOTIVATED....GOOD LUCK...YOU CAN DO IT...WE ALL CAN IF WE PUT OUR MINDS TO IT.

I love it! THATS JUST KEEPING IT REAL!!!!! LOL my kind of girl! I can relate to the same things. I will share a embarrassing story. I went to Knotts Berry farm in July with my 2 kiddos and my sister. I ATTEMPTED to get on a ride with my daughter...can u guess the ending??? LOL BAR WUD NOT CLOSE! If I wud have sucked it up a little more it probably wud have but not safe for my 3 year old. So this was one of my main reasons to have this done was so that I can do fun things with my kids. I was able to with my son cuz I wasn't that big back then...he's 10 now. This is why I believe in karma cuz about 3 yrs ago my husband tried to get on a ride with our son and they kicked him off and I laughed!!! LAUGHED WITH HIM...I wud have never laughed if it hurt his feelings! So becuz I laughed it kicked me in the butt too! Lol ok so I totally get u on ur reasons! Best of luck to u!

Hello everybody , Iam Dr.Samar from Sudan , I lives in UAE , unfortunetely I am an obese doctor and this makes things worse because being a doctor you will now all the complication of obesity in and out , morever it is very shameful to advice your patients to loose weight while you are very fat, so i decide to do gastric sleeve on 10 / 3/ 2011 , I was vary scuured and hesitated but after i read the success storeies in this website i decide to do the surgery , for my health , my family and my beloved job, thanks ,,for all who share us with their storeies and iwill continue my story after surgery ,, Dr. SAMAR

Hi! I also have BCBS FED.... My last NUT appointment is in April. They best advice I could give is to read through your policy and call customer service if you have any questions. My BMI is 40 with no co morb. BCBS doesnt make you lose weight but your surgeon may have you lose some. I had to lose 10% of my excess body weight and that was 8 pounds. It is my understanding that BCBS uses your start weight.

As others have stated, it is simply a matter of keeping Water with you all the time. At 2 months post-op, carrying a water bottle and sipping regularly has just become second nature. I don't even think about it, I just do it. I buy cases of water in 16.9 oz bottles at costco. They come out to about 10 cents per bottle. It tastes much better than my tap water or even filtered water, and I can put a Crystal Light packet in if I want. When I'm done it goes in the recycle bin at home or work. I'm up to 5 a day at this point, or just over 80 oz. The point being, whatever you decide to do, it quickly just becomes part of your routine. I no longer have to remind myself to drink, it just happens. Plus, extended weight loss will reduce your risk of kidney stones.

I was banded 8/05 and I still regret the day it was done. I have been miserable the entire time. I wanted this to work, but for me, it hasn't. I lost about 60 lbs and haved gained about 10 lbs back. I can't stand to have a fill because it causes me so much agony. I have to have my fill drained. I vomit continuously from eating broth and Jello and I don't think this is right. I think that I may just be a person that is not a good candidate. I understand that this is a life altering thing, but I eat more junk now than before because I can't get the good stuff to go down. I'm tired of hurting. I am happy for all of the success stories, but it makes me sad that my entire experience with the band has been horrible. I don't think that it is right to have to hurt everytime you try to eat something or have to run to the restroom to vomit after every bite. This is not healthy!! Also, I'm not particularly in love with my doctor because he tries to make me feel like I am the enemy instead of trying to understand why I feel the way I do. I have had the fluoroscope twice, but nothing really shows up. Regardless of what they say, I think something is wrong. I am waiting now to get approval from my insurance company. They paid 100% to have it done and now I hope they will do the same to have the reversal. I have been successful in the past with weight loss. After this reversal, I am looking forward to doing what I should have done at first - exercise, drink water and three healthy squares a day. If anyone else feels this way, please respond!

So true! I found a scrap piece of paper with all my surgery paperwork where I computed my losses based on 'statistics'! Sooo funny to read afterwards! I'm thrilled to lose an average of 10 lbs. a month, by my calculations Pre-op I should almost be at goal! I'm almost out of the 200's so I'm sure as I get closer to my goal my loss will really slow down. But my math cracked me up percentages, division.. I didn't work that hard in math class!

My surgery was June 4, 2018. Today is June7. Just had my first shower and feeling like million bucks. First couple of days were rough but now I can actually stand up without lots of pain. Feeling very optimistic. I can do this. Sent from my XT1635-01 using BariatricPal mobile app

Are you eating too quickly? The first 8-10 months after I had the sleeve I rarely puked and then ever since then my stomach has no tolerance for sugar, oil, milk, and periodically random things like chicken and crackers that it doesn't usually have an issue with. So, in my experience you can develop food intolerance, however I also notice that I get much sicker, much faster if I am not careful with how fast I eat. Every once in awhile I'll be in a hurry and choke down 1/4 of a chicken sandwich, or a few too many spoons of vegetables too fast and almost instantly I have to throw up. For foods that my stomach tolerates, the barfing is usually because I didn't chew enough or ate too fast. Also, now I am paranoid about getting sick in public places, so before I even start eating my stomach wants to barf because of stress more so than the actual food. So, my post wasn't a very organized response, but I would try consciously eating slower and chewing longer. If that doesn't work, then it may be a sensitivity. I am the opposite of you...I am fine with moist chicken, but fish makes me barf. This was another sensitivity that only developed months after the surgery had been over and fully healed. Also, you're not bulimic if you're barfing because you feel sick. I had a member of my family feel nosy and say she thought I was bulimic which was offensive because I literally see her maybe once a year and she knows nothing about me. I puke a few times a week- not because I'm trying to spare myself calories, but because I open my mouth and the food I just ate comes spewing right back out. As long as you're barfing because you feel sick, you're unlikely to be developing an eating disorder. The trick though is to know when you're physically sick and when you are psychologically making yourself sick, so if you are uncertain, perhaps ask your doctor what he thinks.

I am about 10 weeks post op, my doctor said I shouldn't have a problem at all. My primary reason for loosing the weight and getting healthy is so that my husband and I can have the family we've been wanting. I was told it will be a high risk pregnancy in that they will not wanting me gaining excess weight, but that it shouldn't be a problem getting pregnant and having a healthy child once I am at goal!

10 1/2 weeks out-43 lbs lost since surgery, 129.5 lbs total lost

Okay here's a paleo version of Shepherd's pie made with mashed cauliflower. Pictures & nutritional facts at: http://sleevers.wordpress.com/2013/11/09/paleo-low-carb-shepherds-pie/ My older son has always loved shepherd’s pie. When he was little, he’d sit on the kitchen counter and watch me make it for him. So one day, when he was about 3, I asked him how Mummy made shepherd’s pie. He thought for a bit, and then said “First you catch a shepherd and then you kill him!” Boys. Such ghouls. So I decided to try a paleo, low-carb version, which meant substituting mashed cauliflower for the potatoes. Technically this is a cottage pie, since I used ground beef. Makes 2 meals for 2 sleevers. Ingredients For the Topping: 8 oz bag of cauliflower florets, either fresh or frozen 1 tsp coconut oil/ghee salt and pepper to taste For the Pie: 1/2 lb ground beef 1/8 c chopped onion 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1 tsp coconut oil/ghee 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 4 oz tomato sauce (can substitute 1 tbsp tomato paste) Salt & Pepper to taste 1 egg beaten Paprika Method Steam cauliflower in it’s bag for 5 mins in the microwave When done, put into bowl of food processor. Include all the water it generated as well. Add coconut oil, salt, and pepper and process until smooth and light. Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a pan until hot. Add onions and garlic. Prepare to inhale wonderful aromas and for your spouse, kid, and dog to walk in wondering what smells so good. Brown ground beef. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, & tomato sauce. Remove from heat and let it cool for 10 minutes. Beat the egg and mix into the meat mixture Spread in a pie plate or an 8-inch square pan that has been lightly sprayed. Spread meat in an even mixture. With a light hand, spread the pureed cauliflower. Rake gently with a tine to create peaks and valleys so it looks pretty when browned. Sprinkle with paprika Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

So, as most here who know me know is that I walk everywhere. In fact my morning PT includes a 6.7 mile walk at 19:00/minutes per mile. I wind up with 10-12 miles a day. So my best friend on Earth was a Marine, when I was in the Army, and we've had this friendly back and forth for the last 25 years or so, over who is tougher. I'm much bigger, and much more trained, but we have a great time trying to outdo each other, it's just good man stuff. So I challenged him. In the spring (it's too late in the year weather and logistic wise to pull it off) we are going to walk, From my front door, 20 miles to Manchester, get a room, spend the night, and walk back the next day. Yah, 40 miles in 2 days. I am going to work on my stamina over the winter, as I wanted to see how far I could get at full speed yesterday, so I did my usual walk, then kept going, I got to 11 miles and was spent. It's possible I may have been okay if I had eaten something, no idea. Any tips from marathon runners? Or Marathon walkers? The issue, and it's a real issue, is that once we leave, we MUST arrive in Manchester, the path is a combination of trails and road walking. Google says we can do it in 6 hours. I say 10 at the outside. The gear load-out will be pretty basic, camel hydration packs, food, perhaps MRE's if I can find some that don't suck and I can eat. A good first aid kit, map, compass (for the parts in the woods) I love technology but when it's my life on the line, I go old school)) That is about it, NUUN tablets in the camels. The issue is, and it is a big one, neither of us will quit. Ever. I'd fucking crawl on my hands and knees before I gave up. So would he, so I HAVE to have the stamina to make this trip. We cannot get 15 miles in an call a cab, for to do so would forever skew the balance of 'manliness' to one side, and we cannot have that. Additionally, anyone in the NH area that is interested drop me a PM, if you got the goods and think you can cut it, we'd love to have more aboard.

Yesterday I packed up a whole bunch of too big clothes to donate. I didn't start out planning to do this, but was getting annoyed that everytime I go in my closet lately, I have to rummage through my closet to try to find something that doesn't look sloppy on me. I've always worn stuff (especially shirts) on the loose side so even though I haven't lost a ton of weight yet, I had a lot of stuff that was looking ridiculously large. Then, I went into my two 'Stage 1' boxes to see what I could get out of there that fits now. Let me explain... last year when I was waiting and waiting and waiting for insurance approval, a friend of mine came over and we went through ALL my old clothes. I had tons of different sizes. And, we got rid of everything that I wouldn't want to wear again. And, sorted the rest into 'Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3' boxes. Stage 1 is sizes 14-18 and 1X, Stage 2 is 12-14 and XL, and Stage 3 is 10-12 and L. OK, so I went through the Stage 1 stuff and got out a few things that work now. Woohoo! Its like free clothes!!! :scared2: But, I found that I have very few t-shirts that are my current size. So, when I was out today I bought three new t-shirts. Nothing fancy, but it feels good to have some new items that fit. I wore a new t-shirt to Jazzercise yesterday and got lots of compliments on my weightloss. I think its hard for people to see it if you don't wear clothes that fit. So for any of you that are feeling like people aren't noticing or you don't feel any different, I highly recommend some t-shirt therapy. Only $10 each and made me feel great!

Yesterday I packed up a whole bunch of too big clothes to donate. I didn't start out planning to do this, but was getting annoyed that everytime I go in my closet lately, I have to rummage through my closet to try to find something that doesn't look sloppy on me. I've always worn stuff (especially shirts) on the loose side so even though I haven't lost a ton of weight yet, I had a lot of stuff that was looking ridiculously large.:thumbup: Then, I went into my two 'Stage 1' boxes to see what I could get out of there that fits now. Let me explain... last year when I was waiting and waiting and waiting for insurance approval, a friend of mine came over and we went through ALL my old clothes. I had tons of different sizes. And, we got rid of everything that I wouldn't want to wear again. And, sorted the rest into 'Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3' boxes. Stage 1 is sizes 14-18 and 1X, Stage 2 is 12-14 and XL, and Stage 3 is 10-12 and L. OK, so I went through the Stage 1 stuff and got out a few things that work now. Woohoo! Its like free clothes!!! :biggrin: But, I found that I have very few t-shirts that are my current size. So, when I was out today I bought three new t-shirts. Nothing fancy, but it feels good to have some new items that fit. I wore a new t-shirt to Jazzercise yesterday and got lots of compliments on my weightloss. I think its hard for people to see it if you don't wear clothes that fit. So for any of you that are feeling like people aren't noticing or you don't feel any different, I highly recommend some t-shirt therapy. Only $10 each and made me feel great! :smile:

Well I joined the gym December 17th with my husband. We try to go 3-5 times a week. Just got home and must say the 2 of us have improved our work outs. I can now do the bike for 20 minutes. When I started I was at 10 minutes and level 1 and now up to level 4 or 5. I try other machines for the legs and arms. My husband has been very sick and extremely weak and he is enjoying the gym. He once was a work out nut, like 30 something years ago. My husband almost died 15 months ago and is still not good, he collects SSD at age 61. It sucks. The gym is helping him a lot and making him feel better about himself. We only go for about 1/2 hour right now but at least we are moving We live in the Boston area and it's around 10 tonight or maybe colder with the wind chill so you have to do in door exercises. They gym is cheap, $10. per month a person. Best $20. we have spent in years! Enjoy your evening. Arlene

Hi, I had my sleeve surgery on August 6th, 2012. I actually tried to get the lap band back in 2006 but due to insurance regulations and morbidity-lacking qualifications, I was unsuccessful back in 2006. Jump forward a couple of years to 2012 and I finally had the right insurance and actually had some morbidities that helped me get the desired surgery. I kinda felt alone having to do this surgery because none of my family members have had some type of weight loss surgery, or had any friends that has gone thru this type of surgery. My husband was not very supportive in my decision and basically said "why ask my opinion when your mind is set already". Pretty much it was a true statement. All of my friends, coworkers, and mom stated that I didnt need the surgery, "your beautiful just the way you are". I appreciated all the kind words and concerns BUT none of them could even start to comprend what I see every day. Im not talking about being on a scale, Im talking about seeing myself in the mirror every day. Before finding this site, I started blogging my thoughts, my journey on www.blogger.com (Rhelm of Droopy). I hope you take the time to check it out, you will see my pre-surgery picture and my monthly pictures that I try to update on the 6th of every month give or take a few days. Lets make my first blog entry short, my consultation weight was 235. My two-week liquid diet before surgery weight was 210. My two-week follow up weight was 191. My two month post-surgery weight was 189 and just this past Tuesday, November 13th, I weighed in at 176. So give or take, Im losing 10 pounds a month, Im going to be honest, wish it was more but Im happy nontheless. Clothes are starting to be baggy, I've gone thru alot of clothes and have given some to the salvation army. My face is alot thinner and thou my double chin still is visibily seen, its not as much as before. In my blogs I mention how a chubby girl notices weird things. I noticed that my inner thighs got thinner. By this I mean, when I walked my thighs would rub sometimes even chaffe from the friction. I guess you have to be chubby to understand this feeling but now I have notices that they dont rub as much as before. There are so many things that a chubby girl notices that a slimmer individual would take for granted. Yes, I have lost some pounds, BUT I'm looking for particular things in my weight loss and they may seem weird but it's something I personally want to see. Im not saying that everyone is the same, Im saying these are things I want to see personally in my "transformation". They are, naturally the weight loss, duh who doesnt! I want to see my collar bone popping out, I want to see the bone on the top of my shoulder's popping out, I want to see my torso start slendering rather than see my love handles sticking out or as I call them "my arm rest" defining my pants. I hope this makes sense because honestly in my head it does lol. Getting rid of my clothes gave me anxiety. I kept telling myself "no save that or save this, what if you dont loose your weight, you wont have any clothes". I swear my mind is my own worse enemy. I did however get rid of alot of clothes and kept telling myself "you will loose weight". I was an 18/20 and currently Im a snug 14. My tops that I normally would buy in a XL or 1X are falling off my shoulders. My pants that are 16 or 14/16 are real bagging in the crotch area but I refuse to buy any clothes for the simple reason that Im going to try to reach my goal weight and to be buying clothes every time I go down a size is just really crazy. I dont know about you but I know I surely dont have money growing on my tree in the back yard. So yes, Im wearing baggy crotchy pants, and the shirts/blouses I have are in the 14/16 range in size. I actually went to the store yesterday and just window shopped. Funny how I would like a blouse and automatically would look for a 1X or an X-Large when clearly I could possibly may fit in a Large now. My mind is so used to being a certain way that even thou I see my full figure transformation I refuse to see my Skinny figure transformation. My mind is my worse enemy! Im not going to lie, I am my own worse critic, I still see the chubby me every day in that mirror. You would think that im on a scale daily to see my progress BUT im not. I have fear of gaining and a bigger fear of not losing. Make sense? Im not saying that this will happen to you, Im telling you that this is what Im dealing and going thru on a daily basis. Im glad I found this sight, I hope that I can read some of the blogs and in some way compare notes, take pointers on how someone is dealing with particular things, find some sort of comfort knowing that Im not the only one that may feel this way or that way and most importantly, find moral support that we may have in common.

Ahhh...yes, I had those leg squeezers on too, but I had a catheter so I got to rest ~ well sorta! I too had a nausea aversion to the pain meds so they had to give me an anti nausea med to help me not want to barf. I still felt like I might so each time I pushed the pain pump, I grabbed the handy pink pail & stuck it under my mouth...just in case. Never did vomit tho ~ thankfully. I was sent home with anti nausea meds too as well as pain meds. What made my experience horrendous was that I was in the room with a crazy lady! She had the bed by the window & she screamed all night long. So nurses & techs were coming & going all night long with machines on carts & each time they passed my bed, they bumped into it, sending me jolting half out of my bed! Same with just walking back & forth, I can't tell you how many times some worker tripped on my bed, which jolted my bed again. At one point the lady started screaming to the nurses "Kill me, please Kill me!" By that point, I was ready to chirp up & say to the nurses "if you don't, I WILL!" So much for being a good Christian! OMG that lady just about killed me that night, not letting me rest for more than 10 mins at a time. So I complained to anyone & everyone who would listen to me & about 6am, they moved me to another room! I went from Hell to Heaven. They moved me into a room with the SWEETEST 92 y/o lady! I would have brought her home with me if I could. She was so concerned if her TV was too loud for me (where the other crazy one left her TV on all night at the loudest volume). Her machine kept going off & beeping if she moved her right arm for some reason & she'd be all upset that I had to hear the beeping. By that point, after what I had endured in the other room, it really didn't bother me but I did ring the nurses to ask if they could unbeep her arm (haha). One of them showed me how to do it too but I was afraid, just in case it meant something. We both nearly cried when it was time for me to be released....I hope she's doing fine but she had heart & renal problems....poor thing. Anyway, I got both the bad & the good all rolled up in one 24 hour period at the hospital! I also was assigned a nurse's assistant who had been on the job (from school) for her second day. She was the BEST assistant ever too. So gentle, so kind & so caring. Hope she will remain that way as time goes on. The nurses were abusing her ~ making her do everything while they did nothing. Then again, I don't know how hard the nurses were working with others. I can only post what I saw happening to me. So that's my story & I'm sticking to it!

Research, research, research and talk to people who have had both. Go to support groups in your area and talk to people. For me, 36 BMI on day of surgery, VSG was my best option. And, I had acid reflux for years before surgery. My reflux was really bad post op for the first 8 - 10 weeks. Now I'm doing great. My main reason for VSG was the nutritional data. All I'm required to take post op are daily OTC Vitamins and OTC B12. My digestive system is intact and works like anyone else, just with a smaller stomach.

Even if you get a .25 out or .10 whatever you probably need to get some out- Just so you feel better. Just want to share with you I order a product called NEW WHEY liquid protein on Health Supplements & Vitamins at FreakyNutrition.com It has 42 grams of protein 0 sugar, 0 fat. They come in shots (this is the cheapest I've found them dozen for 22.95 ) That might help you feel better/ stronger and able to cope with your day!!! It sure has helped me!!!!!

5 years, 4 months and 19 days. That is how long my friend Kim lasted after we did our kidney transplant. On May 7, the phone rang with the news of Kim's passing. Although I knew it was coming it still set me back. Kim was so young. Way to young to die now. It should have been Kim coming to my funeral rather than me going to hers. Kim's family treated us so well. Better than some of our own extended family in fact. I worry about her husband and daughter. I know that he sat with Kim every 113 days that she was in the hospital this last time. He will be so lost without her. I know that at some point in his life he will find love again, but he had better make darn sure that we all approve of his choice first or it will be hell to pay! I really miss my friend. I've wanted to pick up the phone and call so many times in this past week. I've still got her home/work/cell #'s on our phones. I can't bring my self to erase them yet. I know that at some point I will but just not now. It seems strange to realize that 300 miles away in a cemetery that several years ago I never knew of lay 3 friends. First came Cheryl, then Kim's mother, now Kim. I'm not sure if I'll be up there any more, I know that I don't need to keep butting into peoples lives, but maybe I will if nothing else to go visit their graves and sit and talk a while. I did tell Sam that the offer/promise that I made to Kim is still on. May of 2010 I'm paying for a cabin in Pigeon Forge for no less than a week. All Sam and Ashley need to do is show up. Rest in peace my friend. You were loved and will be forever missed.

I was on soft food 10 days after my revision but all my Dr. has me shooting for is 94g of Protein daily. I found some great ideas on a website called The World According to Eggface - give it a google if you are looking for ideas