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Including my 1 week pre-op liquid diet, I've only lost 13 lbs. I just thought it would be more. I know Im not getting in enough liquids, but that seems to be getting easier every day. Just wondering what others are seeing who have sleeved around the same time (8/13)?

If I was your husband the 85% divorse rate after you loose the weight would be more of a concern, or not? 60% is the statistic used to describe how much excess weight is lost by the average person that under goes this surgery. It has nothing to do with remission back to your current weight. Have you husband actually read the statistics. In my case, at 2 weeks out I was off all medications. At 7 weeks my knees no longer hurt when walking up or down stairs. The fatality rate is close to having a tooth pulled at .01%. Complications are low if you go to a good surgeon. My surgeon has had one leak and no deaths. He has been doing bariatric surgery for over 10 years at about 500 surgeries in the last year alone. This surgery is all about you. Dont let others interfer if its your decision.

I had stalls when I gained weight so I expect them when I lose. I remember times when I was eating horribly and thinking, "wow, I haven't even gained", then wham 10 pound gain.

William C Frey1 and John Pilcher2 (1) Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX, USA (2) Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX, USA Published online: 01 October 2003 Background: Obesity is a well known risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Medical therapy is not effective for morbid obesity. Bariatric surgery is therefore a reasonable option for weight reduction for patients with clinically severe obesity. Unrecognized OSA, especially in those patients receiving abdominal surgery, has influenced perioperative morbidity and morality. The incidence of OSA for patients being evaluated for bariatric surgery has not been previously defined. Methods: 40 consecutive patients being evaluated for bariatric surgery were examined with a history, physical examination and laboratory data. Polysomnography (PSG) was conducted in all patients regardless of symptoms. Results: An obstructive sleep-related breathing disorder (OSRBD) was present in 88% of the patients. OSA was present in 29 of 41 (71%) and upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) in 7 of 41 (17%). The mean low oxygen desaturation was 84% and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) was 10 cm H2O pressure. The majority of the patients were women and mean BMI was 47 kg/m2. Patient characteristics failed to predict the severity of OSRBD. Conclusions: This population of clinically severe obese patients being evaluated for bariatric surgery had an 88% incidence of an OSRBD, 71% with OSA. Appropriate therapy with CPAP perioperatively would theoretically prevent hypoxic complications associated with OSRBD. Providers should have a low threshold for ordering a PSG as part of the preoperative evaluation for bariatric surgery. Empiric CPAP at 10 cm H2O should be considered for those patients who cannot complete a PSG before surgery.

I recently heard about Zonegran, a new drug that may help with weight loss. Here's an article about it and another drug called Axokine that makes it sound promising: http://webmd.lycos.com/content/article/63/71964.htm Now obviously, these weight loss drugs are still too new to be sure if they will be useful to MO patients. I'm surely glad I got the band! But such developments give me hope that in 5 or 10 years there may be some amazing advances in curing obesity without surgery. Perhaps something that will make it easier than it is with the band. If that is the case, I will be grateful that I chose the band instead of the RNY or DS. If some easier method of weight control comes along in a few years, I have the option to get unbanded and will be essentially back to normal. Reversing an RNY or DS is far, far more complicated and risky. So, it really makes me feel bad for all the young people out there who are going for the RNY. That is such a drastic, permanent choice to be making. The band makes sense as a first choice. The RNY and DS are only justified as last resorts, in my opinion.

It's not Covid 19 because I'm a chronic asthmatic. It'd be in my lungs and my lungs are fine. I was told even before my surgery that I had an increased risk due to the malabsorptive nature of the surgery. I even have someone in my nutrition support group that had the same surgery and suffered chronic issues with his vitamin levels to where not only was he hospitalized, but he ended up eventually having to have his intestines re-connected because of it. That's part of the reason I'm so mad at myself, because I KNOW better!

Hi everyone, It will be 8 weeks this Tuesday since I had my Roux-en-Y surgery. Today I got on the scale and I weigh less than 300 pounds! I haven't been less than 300 pounds for 10 years I was almost in tears when I saw that number 298! I feel so blessed and lucky to have had the surgery done! I had a very smooth recovery and I am a rule follower so I have never vomited I've never had dumping syndrome and I'm a fiend for exercise now. I'm walking 7 miles a day and going to do my first 5K next weekend. Thanks for all of your support and role modeling that you have given me!! Namaste, Mamie60

Hello, I have been banded for 10 years now. I fill and remove fill from my band every few months. 10 days after my last fill, my port itches very bad. Does anyone of you have a similar experience? Any idea what it could be? Thanks, Joe Sent from my SM-N920C using the BariatricPal App

I had the RNY on April 10. Highest weight was 220lbs which dropped to 206lbs on the day of surgery. My progression is as follows: Apr 10: 206lbs Apr 24: 196.4lbs May 10: 192lbs June 10: 176.2lbs July 10: 168lbs Aug 10: 161lbs Sep 10: 152.6 lbs Oct 10: 148.8lbs Today, Oct 19: 146.8lbs I am 5'4". As you can see, I initially lost weight slowly. I also had times where I lost rapidly and times where the scale barely moved. I tracked my progress with body measurements (lost 14inches off my waist!), dress sizes (size 18-6/8; size XL/XXL to S/XS), and body fat (39% to 23.4%). Don't rely on the scale! Good luck!

Is it 10% of the hospital bill or is that 10% up until you meet your deductible? If it is until you hit your deductibe limit you could at least plan on the total cost not being more than that - say $1500 (which is what mine is)

Yup, that friggin pizza smell gets me every time. And have you seen how many commercials there are for pizza, seriously? Only 10 days out, cannot even think of pizza right now.

Thanks!!! Congrats jillw8!!! I had some hurdles a couple of weeks after the sleeve, but this feeling is amazing!!! I can play with my 5 yr old and 19 mth old, and not be so tired!!!

I know some of the stomach swelling was from gas. but I am two weeks out, and my stomach is still so swollen. I can tell by my pants being tight on my waist - pants that were loose before surgery and I have lost about 10 lbs since surgery. . i m sure muscles, etc are still swollen and healing in there, right? its not really painful, just uncomfortable sometimes.

Hi Antliz, Well I am only 7 months post-op but I have lost 65 pounds since being banded and so it is very possible that I will hit the 100 pounds loss mark by my first band-aversary. I am only 4' 10" tall. My pre-op weight was 248 pounds. I have had a wonderful experience with the lap band and I hope you do also. Best of luck to you.

I was banded on 3/19 and while I am not on foods yet I have read a few posts about food getting stuck. This was breifly mentioned in my class as well. My questions are how can you tell? and what happends to you? :huh2:

Is this wellness doctor submitting claims to your insurance company? If so, it could be that she's afraid to note these charges as "obesity/weight related" because if records are requested by your insurance company it may not be a coverable expense. That's the only thing I can think of.... About 10 years ago when I had a consultation with a surgeon for gastric bypass (which I did not go through with) I ordered chart notes from an orthopedist I had seen for back pain and she had the comment in reference to me, "her massive form". I wasn't there about weight issues, but back pain. I have never forgotten that reference in her notes. And I mention it here because it's a reference to the fact that if you are discussing your weight and general nutrition with this person you would definitely think that she would have that recorded in your chart notes.

I know I know that I have self-pity for not losing more weight. I can't stand the fact that I am tied to the scale. I weigh when I wake up and when I get home and before bed. If I am at the same weight when I get home from work as I was when I woke up I'll eat some protein but if I have gained any weight I'll just have a shake and then I get depressed. All I wanted was this last 2 lbs to come off before Tuesday because that is when I go for my fill. I don't want to have gained weight. What kind of message does that send to my doctor and I know I went overboard for the 4 days I had off. But is my body really punishing me for that. How can someone gain 10 lbs in 4 days? It doesn't make sense. I am losing sleep over this. Today I actually slept in and woke up at 5:30 so that was good for a change. I have this weekend off and hope to sleep in until at least 7:00. I have to take a xanax to help me sleep along with the other 3 prescription nighttime pills I already take. It is a cocktail that keeps me sane. I want to get off some of the pills I am on because most of them are for mood stabalizing and anti-depressants but how many does one person have to take before they feel like they can make it through the day without cutting themselves or the thought of suicide enters their head. That is what I have when I am not on my pills, I have cutter personality, I think about suicide all the time, I am a mean and hateful person and can't take a day with any stress in it. That is why I am on what I am on and now with the surgery and hopefully losing the weight will help my self-esteem enough that I can face people without the help of medication but I doubt it. I will probably be on something for the rest of my life. My grandmother gave me all her traits and she ended up having shock treatments done on her. Before the shock treatment she was delusional, hated the world, you just couldn't stand to be around her for very long because she was so negative and then after her treatment she was the best I had ever seen her. She and I were so close and I miss her so much. She is always on my mind and the good times we had when I was growing up and how we are so much alike. I just wish my husband could have met her because then he would understand where I get my personality and the things that I do came from her. When we first got together there was some stress because I was insecure and had been hurt so many times in the past. Robert was still close friends with his ex-wife and I couldn't see how 2 people that were involved could divorce and remain friends so everytime she would call I would get upset and cut myself. It made the world stand still and the pain go away. He didn't know how to handle it but since he saw how it hurt me he stopped talking to her. I didn't want her to know what was going on in our lives, it was none of her business and she always bragged about how good her life was and what she bought and how she did this and did that so well that he would tell me and I would feel like I was dirt compared to what she was, how could he go from that---a 5'2" 100 lbs beautiful woman to me...5'6" 200 lb not so pretty and then I gained another 70 lbs on top of it. What could he possibly see in me? All I have going for me is I have a great personality most of the time. I am caring, honest, protective, loving, I would give the shirt off my back if you needed one. I have a big heart to match my big body is what Robert says. He is silly. For our one year anniversary we decided it was time for me to get an engagement ring, well I told him I was a big girl and I needed a big ring, So he went out and bought me a 2.75 carat diamond ring, it is beautiful but sometimes I ask myself am I even worth it? He is a CPA so he has his tax and bookkeeping clients and works out of the house. He does all the housework and takes care of the 2 dogs. All I have to worry about is doing my laundry (which I am doing right now as we speak). He takes care of getting the groceries, making the dinners which has become even easier since I don't eat alot. We usually eat the chili he makes or hot wings from pizza hut. Right now I am on a hot dog kick where everynight I have one hot dog. It fills me up and it is protein so I don't mind eating it all the time. I go on kicks, I am sure you do too. Where all you want to eat is one thing and you can never get tired of it but after eating it for 2 weeks you are sick of it but it tasted so good while you were on the binge. That is what I do, my husband says I take everything to the extreme instead of eating a hot dog one night I eat them for 2 weeks, instead of making chili and eating it a couple of times, we make enough so I can take it for the week and I don't get tired of it. We had nothing yesterday for me to take for lunch so I took a can of artichoke hearts and ate them. They were low calorie and not too many carbs so it wasn't a waste and it filled me up enough to last until dinner. After reading on here I see where some doctors say no caffeine and others say it is fine, well coffee is my best friend in the morning, I usually have about 6-8 cups and then go to work and have another 20 oz's. It fills me up so I have a protein shake and then coffee in the morning and that is my breakfast. I figure as long as I have my protein I am doing good. By lunch I am hungry so the cup of food that I take I really enjoy. Sometimes depending on my mood I eat it real slow and take 20 min to eat it and then other times, I am so hungry I just want to get it down so it will fill my belly and I won't feel the hunger pains....is anyone else like that? I get so tired of people on here bitching because they have only lost 30 lbs in 2 months please people I would kill to lose that. It has taken me 9 months to lose this 15 lbs and I'm still fighting to lose. It is like a constant battle to try and keep the weight I have lost off and then to try and lose more, it just isn't happening. At work yesterday my team found out that we get to take the day off from working the front counter and go to Denver because we won "The Midas Award" which is a big deal for the company I work for. We usually see about 9,000 customers in a month and that is working with 9 employees on the team (most days there are 7-8 because of people taking vacation and days off) so last month with this transition we did with cable we saw 30,000 so we got this award and so we get to travel to Denver to meet with the head of the company and have lunch and get our picture taken. It should be fun, a day off from dealing with angry customers to having a leisure day to go meet new people and be recognized for what we achieved, what we did. It was 3 times the volume of people and our little lobby isn't met for that many people so most days they were out the door down the sidewalk waiting 30 minutes just to make a payment... I've been to the post office and had days like that. At our post office there is one lady who looks like she hasn't had a bath in a week, her hair is so oily it just hangs and she pulls it back with clips, but she takes forever with a customer and the sad thing is people in line have been there before and know she is the slowest person. She wants to sell you a PO Box, Stamps, Tape, Shipping Boxes...anything she can sell she tries. I know she is just doing her job but please lady there is a line out the door and sometimes you just have to go with it and get them through. I know we are supposed to sell at my job and I do get my sales every month and a nice commission but I get through the people. The average receipts for last month was 1,700 and I did 1.995 so I know I do my share of work. It is very nerve racking to have a line out the door and when people leave to take lunch or break you can just hear the customer's getting upset. It is so nice to take that 15 min and just relax and read. I have read just about every lap-band book out there and wish I would have read them before I had surgery but what I am learning now makes sense with how I feel and what I should be eating and how I should be losing weight...well we know the story behind losing the weight. I read the "Before and After" book but she had the gastric bypass but there are somethings she says that make sense even for lap band patients. The one thing she says that has stuck in my mind is nothing tastes as good as thin feels. I say that everytime I want to eat that big burger from Red Robins. Now I just eat it wrapped in lettuce but before I had restriction I would eat the whole thing. How could someone with the band eat the whole burgery and not get sick? That is how I was. I just ate whatever I wanted, now I look back on it and say how stupid I was for doing that. Well I am now off my soap box so hope you have enjoyed reading about a day in the life of Kelly. Have a good day and good luck with losing.

Hey everyone... Okay so I'm getting nervous now... My surgery is 10 days away and I start my Pre op diet in 2 days... Can all the veterans or people on their Pre Op diet give me some tips, and also brands or ideas of protein shakes or broths they made. Thanks I appreciate it

I am having a hard time finding out, with aetna's requirement that there is "no net gain". Is that from month to month, or overall from start to finish? I started at 440 lbs, and lost 10 pounds the first month. So if I weight 435 next weigh in is that going to possibly disqualify me?

Well, average weight loss per month is about 10-13 pounds, so it looks like you are above average on losing the pounds. I would not be disappointed by any means. Patience! Lol

So I had a fill about a two weeks ago and it was going fine I was able to eat and drink things without any PBing and then the last few nights I've been waking up with really bad reflux. Not sure if i'm just eating too much or what? Has anyone had this problem. I'm now up to about 9 cc in a 10 cc band.

Thanks..we are very proud of her. I am just so glad they only 10 mins from me. I haven't seen her in over 24 hours, I was trying to give mom and dad some time yesterday, but I might have to and get my fix today.

I've come to realise that fat is just fat, its just a symptom of an illness that a large percentage of the population suffers from. To me, body image and acceptance is not tied to being fat. I have as many issues now and I'm freaking skinny! My BMI has dropped to 19 and I *STILL* see fat on my body that I'd like gone. If I actually see a photo of myself, I'm shocked - I'm much thinner than I see in the mirror. I am tryign to gain a little weight, but its on a superficial level to please my surgeon and oncologist and not because I see how skinny I am and realise I'd look better with a few more pounds on. I look in the mirror and see 80% satisifcation at a normal weight body with a bit of flab at hips and thighs and, frankly, terrible tits, lol. I think the thing about fat acceptance is the moral issues we attach to obesity - I personally am quite disciplined in my eating now, I think about what I eat, and I ignore impulses to eat rubbish most of the time. I exercise almost fanatically. I really take care of myself. So I do find myself passing judgement on people sitting in the food court pushing KFC down their gobs - see, I even say it in a derogatory way! That's why obese people feel judged, becuase truthfully, they are. I even feel disgust for my own kids and the way they will eat if I let them. But that's so not fair. I think the problem is people these days give into their every whim and desire becuase they can, they want instant gratification every seond of the day, becuase its available. That's what leads to fatness. But its human nature to want that! It makes evolutionary sense to take the easy road, to eat food when its there, to eat food that will sustain. Lettuce or KFC, which is going to keep you alive the longest? Personally, i think dealing with that kind of stuff is what it takes to accept yourself as a fat person. But I dont believe you have to accept yourself AS fat, if that makes sense, you dont have to say "I'm a big person and I'm happy this way" (which none of us are or we wouldnt be here). I think it means "I've fallen prey to the dangers society presents, just like most other people have. This is the effect its had on my body, but I'm smart and I'm going to do something about it". That way, ANY weight loss, ANY improvement in lifestyle behavour is a triumph and it doenst all become about losing ALL your weigh tor fitting into a certain size, but more about your ability to choose your own path and stick to it.

The last 10 pounds were the hardest. Now it is just maintenance. The journey continues every day!