Search the Community

Thanks. Val is someone new in the office. I've been between 800-1000 everyday and I've lost about 10 pounds.

I joined Curves in Feb. They had a special so I paid half of the usual fee. The woman told me they run specials all the time, even offering free sign-ups (membership fee) from time to time. I met someone from obesityhelp.com. She had a by-pass from the same doc that did my the lap-band (both done in Jan 2004). We have a great time. My best tip is find someone to exercise with, we talk so much we generally go for an hour and it seems like 10 minutes. Good luck......Gabby ( and I'm down 40 lbs!)

I went about 2 weeks ago to our Curves and they wanted $ 160.00 just to sign up! That was crazy to me! Did u have to do that? One in another city close by waived the sign up fee if you brought in 10 can goods, but the one close to me said that if I signed up in another city I could not work out at that one. However, the other one in the other city said that I could. Never got the same answer from either Curves. I would like to join but it is crazy to me that you have to pay $ 160.00 just to sign up....Good Luck to you!!

I lost 100lbs with my band with 700 Cals a day and no stalls. I worked out 5-6 times per week. I lost the weight in 9 months. This time I've lost about 35lbs in about 2 1/2 months. I guess my body doesn't know about starvation. I lost 100lbs with my band with 700 Cals a day and no stalls. I worked out 5-6 times per week. I lost the weight in 9 months. This time I've lost about 35lbs in about 2 1/2 months. I guess my body doesn't know about starvation. I lost 100 in 8 months with the band. Gained it all back. Have had the sleeve since 8/10 and not eating much of anything. I've lost 3lbs with working out 5 times a week.

The first part of this post is copied from the About Me part in my profile. I decided to use it here because I would like some feedback please. I was banded in March 2009. I came home, somewhat in discomfort and over the following days I progressed into agony. I ended up back in hospital having emergency surgery at 2am five days after the placement. I had been nicked in the first surgery and had an infection. The band was removed and I spent four days in ICU and then another four or five in the ward. It was the most PAINFUL experience in my life and it wasn't too good emotionally either. After I returned home there was a long recovery period and I initially thought I could not face hospital again with rebanding. My surgeon explained that I may have to be opened up again (I have a huge scar down my middle because of the emergency surgery) if it proved impossible to do it keyhole. I had to gather up all my strength and return to try again in August 2009 because I didn't want all that pain and money wasted... with no outcome except a scar to show for it. Fortunately the second banding went without a hitch and it was a keyhole op. It hasn't been an easy journey. I can't seem to tolerate a decent fill without severe reflux and choking during the night etc. So, I only have enough fill to make sure I don't suffer those symptoms but then it means I can fit way more in than I would like to. I initially lost a decent amount... but only after low carbing combined with 3 or 4 days at gym every week. I have the metabolism of a slug!! Over the past 12 months I have regained 10 kgs (22 lbs). I am just beginning again to try to start from scratch in my mindset. Force myself to eat less, chew more, don't drink with meals etc. People who look at banding as 'cheating' and 'easy' have NO IDEA. Us banders still need colossal willpower and determination. It is a life-long struggle and the trick is to remain proactive in our journey and not give up. I always knew banding was just another tool in my arsenal and not a magic fix... I just have to sharpen this particular tool at this point in time and make it work for me. Don't get me wrong though I WISH THIS BLOODY BAND WAS A MAGIC FIX and I didn't have to diet or exercise!!!!! Now... first of all I am not vying for sympathy here or wish to put off any potential banders. I am just saying it as it is for me. The band has been a wonderful tool for many on this site as the many glowing posts attest to and I wish all you newbies the best of luck. I would like to hear from others who have been on a similar journey. Having a fairly successful honeymoon period... putting in the hard yards with diet and exercise... and then grinding to a halt. I would like to know how others who suffer from severe reflux and choking from having the band at a level where restriction is effective but need to unfill it enough so that those symptoms don't occur... and therefore can eat more than they should on the band. I have considered changing to a sleeve but from what I have read they too have a honeymoon period of losing and then the same problems can occur... starting to eat more etc. I don't want to change one set of problems for another... I want the band to work for me... I want me to work for me. I am at bit of a standstill. I am still having the same problems that I have had all my life. I hate people harping on about willpower. I have lost 1000s of pounds in my life and put them all back on. The periods of self denial and exercise are far more than most people ever endure. I have also enjoyed the times when I have got into the zone and eating well and going to gym etc has been easy and something that has become a pleasant daily ritual... and I believe that 'yes, I can do this for the rest of my life'. But life long habits are insidious... and creep stealthily back... and before I know it... here I am... asking for some advice from you guys because I honestly don't know what to do anymore. I wish I could get my band filled more without the painful and scary side effects. I wish I could maintain control as an ongoing thing rather than in spurts. I wish I wasn't failing... and no matter how you dress it that's what I'm doing. I know I have to climb back on the will power horse and just do it. I just feel like I'm on this endless cycle. I hoped before I got banded that I would be able to break the cycle. I was wrong. Thanks for listening.

Is this about right? I am super excited but im guessing the the process will slow down a little or my scale is just broken lol. But i went from 278 surgery day to 266 when i was hospitalized 5days post op to 259ish 9 days post op!!! WOW. I was just wondering how other people felt about their initial weight loss especially when im on this liquid diet. ONce i incorporate food will things change alot?

My insurance requires one as well, but what I did was ask the Surgs office who they recommend or work with since I did not have a PCP and I went to see him, I was in and out in 10 minutes, paper signed and faxed over.

You are not alone. I am 4 weeks out and have lost 19lbs since surgery. The doctors told me I will lose about 10-14lbs the first week but that didn't happen. I get frustrated occasionally but I am trying to remain focused and trust the process. I really did have this illusion that the weight would start falling off. Not so much!

Surgery was completed 2 days ago. I arrived at 8:45, went into surgery at 10:30, recovery room until 12:30, then an outpatient room. Was able to go home at 4:00 pm. I am a little sore, but not anywhere near the pain I had with my c-sections. I do have quite a bit of gas build up but fortunately am able to burp. The journey has begun!

YES we are all so different! I am one that is a SLOW loser and it is taking me longer becasue I am not so hard on myself I "fail" alot but I get back up and march on. I am glad my trasnsitioning is taking time in 10 months I have only lost 60lbs but you know what I am fine with that...just this last appointment and 2 months down not needing a fill the doctor said I was a perfect stastic 2lbs a week the norm I'll take it! good luck the rest of your journey!!!

Our first seminar on WLS was well over 10 years ago. I feel if the sleeve had been around then it would have added years to my husband's life. But he is a 67 y/o new man now. Still has lots of health problems, but has lost 90 lbs since November 2013. We are no longer sitting on the sofa with no life. Just got back from a 7 day cruise. The sleeve has changed our lives completely. Go for it!

I don't think there is a normal or not normal for VSG. Everybody varies. I've found that if you just keep doing the right things through the stall...your time will come. I'll have weeks where I don't lose a thing, but when I look back over the months I have consistently lost between 10 to12 pounds each month after the first month (20lbs the first month). Sometimes it's frustrating to see that some people lose 100 pounds in 4 months, but you know what...this is me. Gotta say...I'm QUITE pleased with my 67 pound loss! I've gone from a size 20 pants and 18/20 shirts from Lane Bryant to a size 8 or 10 depending on the fabric pants and medium or large shirts depending on the cut from Old Navy. If you do what you're supposed to do...it will happen. It might not be as quickly (or as slowly) as someone else, but you will be successful! Chin up.

Michelle, I can't offer any suggestions on Mexico but there are plenty of people on here who have gone to Mexico and had wonderful experiences. I defer to them and their experience. As for being fearful, here's my take. horror stories about Lap Band There are thousands upon thousands of people who never, ever go to any internet forum and post their comments and stories. People who have bad experiences are often the FIRST ones to find a place to vent. I've read a lot of stuff but no "horror" stories. Yes, some stories of complications (a few who have had their bands slip; a few ports getting flipped) but nothing horrific. The risk of complications with lap band is statistically 0.1%; with bypass it is .10%. That's a big difference. Mechelle voiced a very common concern: Scared it wont work. Most of us have had that fear. After alll, just how many diets have we been on where we didn't lose and gave up or lost a lot of pounds and then "fell off the wagon" and gained it all back with a few extra for good measure? I will tell you that I personally haven't been able to lose more than 30 pounds without falling off the wagon in quite a few years. But I'm down 52 and really haven't even thought about eating some of the crap I used to. Now, that doesn't mean I haven't eaten a little bit of birthday cake (a very little bit, just enough to get the taste) and I've snitched a few fries when I made them for my granddaughter who lives with me but I most definitely haven't gone crazy. This is a lifestyle that comes with enforcement. Your band, once you reach your sweet spot, will keep you from overeating. Yes, you will still have to make good choices, but you will have help. There are bypass patients who have eaten around their bypass surgery and regained some if not all of their weight AND GOTTEN A LAP BAND AFTER. You can eat around any surgery. "Slider foods" like ice cream and stuff has a lot of calories and can get you in a heap of trouble. But guess what? Same problem with other WLS. There is no magic in this. You have to be willing to make the lifestyle changes ... and if you choose the band, you will have a great tool. I can say that because I have the band. I can't say more than I have about bypass because I didn't have that; I've only done my research comparing the band (my choice) with GB. And I know next to nothing about the sleeve so I can't say anything definite about that.

I am in the same boat!!! My surgery is scheduled for Jan 19!! This diet sucks but at the same time i am realizing how much my life (or lack thereof) was revolved around food!! I feel like I have more time on my hands and my brain is free to think about other things!! lol its reallllllly hard doing this... You are lucky you get to at least eat some food still !! My diet is strictly liquids, including Soup but soup that has NO chunks or anything in it.... Plain ol' Cream soup! Oh yum.. =/ The only trick I have, is to keep busy and also keep a bottle of Water or whatever you can drink in hand at all times!! Good luck to you!!

Oh I'm sorry Kim! I forgot that I said I'd call you. We went to our usuall spot, Showmars. We missed you. Pls if I do something again like that don't hesitate to call me. Tomorrow I have an appointment at 10 we could meet tomorrow if you'd like? I'll be in the Ivy building.

Your scale isn't "off". You aren't supposed to weight yourself repeatedly (or any other object weighing exactly the same) on a home digital scale repeatedly. You have to wait at least five minutes between readings. Even when the display goes off, it's still going. If you don't want to wait five minutes, you could take the battery out, which would reset the scale, but that whole process would probably take you five minutes anyway. Why do you need to weigh yourself three times in a row? Is it OCD? If it's OCD, a scale with a dial would be a much better choice for you. You can hop on and off of one of those 10, 20, 30 times in a row and see the exact same results over and over if you want.

I start mine next week so am also keen on any tips and think it will be a challenging two weeks for myself. Good luck to you!! Sent from my HTC 10 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hot chocolate and a milkshake two days out from band surgery? Your post-surgery diet is a far cry from the one I've been told to follow. Week 1: Breakfast: 1/2 cup diet Gelatin 8-10 oz of unsweetened beverage Lunch: 1/2 cup Crystal light 8-10oz unsweetened beverage Dinner: 1/2 cup broth 8-10oz unsweetened beverage Snack: 1 sugar-free popsicle Perhaps you are trying too much too soon?

How's it going? I'm doing well. I stay at one spot for a couple weeks then lose 10 lbs quickly. I'm still working on being under 200 by my 28th birthday on May 23rd. I hope everyone is doing great!

In response to the question of why my lap band failed after 10 years, I have to say I do not know. It was never effective and i was able to cheat. but I had a bad time with it. I would vomit and wretch for hours at times when I over ate. And recently, the cheating foods did not pass through. The surgeon thought there may be some narrowing from all the vomiting. We could not find any slippage. I elected to have the band removed and sleeve done. It was the best decision. No more hunger. No vomiting no wretching and down 30 lbs.

I always find it interesting when they tout how unsuccessful the Lapband is yet they ignore the statistic that at 5 years the average weight loss with the RNY is 50% of excess weight loss. Yep, 50%. There are plenty of RNYers who are thrilled with the band as a choice but for their own reasons decided against is. Not a biggie. But there are others out there who are poorly educated and refuse to acnknowledge that they have no real information about banding, only hearsay and conjecture. It's a very american attitude to sway towards the solution offering instant gratification. Myself, I prefer to look 5, 10, 15 years down the road at where I could end up with either surgery. I personally chose the less invasive route that was not going to compromise my absorption over the long term and that is ADJUSTABLE. The majority of RNYers screaming that loudly are either preop, newly postop or under 2 years postop (really--take a good look at who is spewing this stuff). The FACTS are you can gain ALL YOUR WEIGHT back with ANY bariatric surgery if you're motivated enough. There are groups on yahoogroups with several thousand people who are struggling with this post-RNY issue. Groups like OSSG-hungry come to mind. With all of the surgeries permanent behavioral changes are neccessary to sustain success. There is no magical solution. And honestly? I think for some people it makes them angry to have struggled so hard to come to terms with the RNY--the risks, the extremeness of it, and then to learn about banding. It's a much safer mental place to be in to convince yourself it "doesn't work". Therefore you don't have to acknowledge that you could have made a different decision. Insurances are coming around to covering banding, but for goodness sakes it was only just approved by the FDA two years ago! It's a relatively new procedure and it takes time to convince insurance companies to cover it. How quickly people forget that roughly five years ago it was almost impossible to ge them to cover bypasses. Use your common sense and do your own research. And most importantly--when you read an OPINION take into the consideration where the poster is in their journey and that they may have personal biases. Oh--and by the way I was very successful with the band .

Hi there, I pay £90 for a fill in London. It costs me £130 to have a fluro fill in Belgium. You can also have them with the same company as I have them with. I had my surgery with EOC in February 2007 have just got back from having a scond surgery as my port detatched from tubing, so I will be having another fill soon. 3mls doesnt sound that much. Do you have a 10 ml band or a 4 ml band? anyway, £90 is good in the UK. European Obesity Care check it out - they will always fit you in even if you didnt have your surgery with them, Bunny

Thank you MouseCrazy. I could not believe that my little district was given almost 10 MILLION dollars to run, but they never seem to have enough money for things. But somehow they manage to give Administration a hefty raise every year. HMMMMM.... I do wish more parents would become involved. We seem to lose them at the HS level. Honestly at open house I counted myself lucky to see 10 parents, and that is sad.

Hi, I'm 37 years old, married, mother of 3 beautiful girls and have been overweight my entire life. I remember being in kindergarten and realizing then, that I was bigger then everyone else. I attended my first Weight Watchers meeting at the age of 10 and have been fighting this battle ever since. I have completed my pre-op requirements and have been scheduled for surgery on May 10th. I'm excited, scared, but most of all ready!!! I guess I'm more afraid that I will fail at this attempt to lose weight as well as every other time I've tried. I have read over many posts and have been both educated and encouraged as well as, a little afraid of what all of you have written. But I feel that the more information I have, the more equipped I'll be for my journey. I look forward to reading more of your posts and seeing the successes, as well as posting my own successes.