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I know there were quite a few of us getting sleeved on the same day so i wanted to check in on you all and see how it went? Would love to use this thread to thread to document our progress! I'll start: SW: 222lbs Day of surgery: 213lbs Surgery went well. They fixed a hiatal hernia and sleeved me. Went in at 7:30, woke up first at 10:30, walking by 2pm and out of the hospital by 4:30. They gave dialuds (sp?) for pain management and i was able to get water and broth in pretty easily. At home I switched to liquid hydrocodones and they're helping but not a lot. At rest my stomach doesn't really bother me, but when i try to eat something it hurts. Even to drink the medication it feels like i'm in the middle of a gastritis flair up and drank straight citric juice. It burns! But it goes right away too. Anyone experiencing this? Sorry for any typos. Like I said, liquid hydrocodones [emoji38]

Hey there Cindy, well I have to say that I've been having a few "off" weeks here lately and have not been very good....but I will give you an excerpt from my food journal from a week when I' was being a good girl...here it is: Sunday 4/20/08 Breakfast – NONE lunch – Ate at Wendy’s: Sante Fe chicken salad ate the chicken and cukes w/dressing: Total Carbs = 6 grams dinner – Ate at Home: Lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, chick peas sunflower seeds, Caesar dressing: Total Carbs = 6 grams Exercise: Treadmill 167/52.2 / 6.4/1.60 / 44:00 / 3.5 – 1.5 / 2.0 – 2.5 Feelings: Okay day; wishing I hadn’t screwed up so badly yesterday but making it right today! Monday 4/21/08 Breakfast – NONE Lunch – Ate at Home: Low carb Tuna recipe: 2/3 cup of tuna w/8 butter crisps: Total Carbs = 11 grams Dinner – Ate at Home: Low carb Tuna recipe: 2/3 cup of tuna w/8 butter crisps: Total Carbs = 11 grams Exercise: NONE…too tired from cleaning and making beds and laundry! Feelings: Good day, back on track w/eating…very tired from taking care of sickie and sleeping in guest bedroom! Tuesday 4/22/08 Breakfast – NONE Lunch – Ate at Subway: Chicken breast salad w/cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, black olives, jalapeños, o/v, s/p, and ranch dressing (ate only ½): Total Carbs = 11 grams Dinner – Ate at Home: Low carb Tuna recipe: 1 ½ cups of tuna w/12 butter crisps: Total Carbs = 18 grams Exercise: Stat Bike: cals 710/ fat 221 / time 60:09 / miles 14.15 / speed 13 – 16 Feelings: Good day, not too hungry, back on track!!! Felt more in control of cravings today! Started period too. Wednesday 4/23/08 Breakfast – NONE Lunch – Ate at Chik-fil-a: SW Chrgrld Chik Salad (took out carrots & cabbage) (ate entire salad): Total Carbs = 10 grams Dinner – NONE: made the decision to drink a Venti Breve Latte from Starbucks w/splenda: Total Carbs = 25 grams Exercise: No formal - Walked around Target for 1 hour Feelings: Good day except that I decided to drink my dinner and went over carb allowance, but it was a thought out decision so I’m not going to berate myself about it. Surprisingly I did not get hungry for the rest of the night! Thursday 4/24/08 Breakfast – NONE Lunch – Ate at Mc D’s: Sante Fe Chicken Salad – ate chicken breast w/ranch dressing: Total Carbs = 9 grams Dinner – Ate at Home: cup of tuna and 5 crisps: Total Carbs = 10 grams Exercise: Stat Bike: cals 360 / fat 112 / time 30:03 / miles 7.17 / speed 13 – 15 / played at park for 45 minutes with Hunter – basketball; running, walking and standing while dribbling Feelings: Pretty good day, high energy! Felt great after playing at the park w/Hunter; doesn’t hurt to be on my feet for longer periods now. Friday 4/25/08 Breakfast – NONE Lunch – Ate at Chili’s: Marguerita Grilled Chicken Breast w/steamed broccoli, melted butter and ranch for dipping (ate about 1/2 of breast w/ranch) Total Carbs = 7 grams Dinner – Ate at Home: cup of tuna and 5 crisps: Total Carbs = 10 grams Exercise: Treadmill: 154/48.2 / 6.1/1.54 / 41:15 / 3.5-1.5 / 2.1 Feelings: Pretty good day, high energy! Felt great after playing at the park w/Hunter; doesn’t hurt to be on my feet for longer periods now. Saturday 4/26/08 Breakfast – NONE Lunch – Ate at Home: Rotisserie Chicken – ate from the breast meat dipped in horseradish sauce and sliced tomatoes on side: Total Carbs = 2 grams Dinner – Ate at Home: Slices of Roast Beef from deli dipped in horseradish sauce and sliced tomatoes on the side: Total Carbs = 2 grams Exercise: No formal – Walked around Wal-mart for about 1 hour Feelings: Okay day, felt very tired and kinda achy all day. Sunday 4/27/08 Breakfast – NONE Lunch – Ate at Home: Slices of Roast Beef from deli dipped in horseradish sauce and sliced tomatoes on the side: Total Carbs = 2 grams Dinner – Ate at Outback: Seared Ahi Tuna appetizer and side house salad w/ranch dressing: Total Carbs = 12 grams Exercise: Stat Bike: cals 725 / fat 226 / time 60:40 / miles 14.47 / speed 13 – 15 Feelings: Good day, never very energetic, tired; late night no sleep. Tried on size 26/28 clothes and they all fit! Yea! Hope this helps w/your decision to eat low carb. And like I said, even though your body stops craving carbs, your mind is still your WORST enemy on this journey and as I've proven to myself this past week, I have NOT gained control over this beast! Be well. KKG

Yeah I had 2 weeks preop and that was during July 4th lol. Went to two cookouts. Think I "ate" about 10 pounds of ice lol. Just remember, the better you stick to this, the easier and safer the surgery will be. I lost 16 lbs during the two weeks, my surgery took less than 30 min. Dr said it was the cleanest he has seen in awhile and it was due to sticking rigidly to the diet, getting the liver down. You can do it...Just trust yourself!!

trace10.. What I mean by restriction is that I'm hungry just like before I got my surgery. No I'm not on mushy foods. I was on liquid for the first week and mushy for the second week, after that it was soft solids. At the moment I am able to eat anything that I put in my mouth. It might be different for you as every doctor is different. Some people will have restriction for longer than a week and some will not. I was hoping I was one to be restricted till my first fill but unfortunately not. I lost 10 pounds on the first week and a half, but after that, once the swelling went down I was hungry all the time. Now I just have to watch what I eat and for the most part I'm just maintaining my 10 pound lost.This is why I said that I can't wait for my first fill, I need restriction. I will not complain because I know my time will come and I'm just so happy that I had the surgery. I hope this help and good luck on your new journey:smile:

Well I just returned from weighing in and lost 10 lbs. this first week following surgery. That combimed with the 14 I had lost the week and a half before surgery comes to a total of 24 lbs. total loss. I know I have to increase the activity to keep losing. So this week I will begin walking daily.

On vacation with my husband and am eating like a crazy person. Still eating little portions but eating things I know I shouldn't! Eating out for every meal. Ice cream, bread, had a drink at dinner tonight. I am feeling a bit out of control and although at the moment I eat something I shouldn't I enjoy it I Immediately feel horrible about it afterwards. I did walk 4 miles today so I hope that helps combat the Chipwich I just ate at 10 pm I am really disappointed in myself and afraid that I will start going backwards and never reach my goal. Thanks for letting me vent.

I spent over 10 years in cosmetics, that being said.... don't waste your money on expensive creams/lotions. Keep your skin well exfoliated, and moisturized. You may see a little difference with the expensive products, but once you stop using them the benefits go away- same with cellulite creams. Cosmetic companies send us all of the products to try- free, which is nice because when you leave the cosmetic industry, you know what to spend money on, and what to pass. If you do choose to spend some money, I think Clarins products are the best bang for your buck, and my favorite would be Erno Lazlo's skin firming cream- but that is pricey. I love aveno, and jergen's products. Nivea seems to sit ontop of my skin, unless I exfoliate and apply it immediately after when my skin is still wet. Another thing that works great is Nutragena's skin oil. I exfoliate, and apply in the shower when my skin is wet and let it soak in. Just before I put my clothes on, I make sure to remove excess oil, as it can stain your clothes. Don't get me wrong, some of the expensive creams are nice, but if you are expecting a miracle you will be disappointed. If I had a bunch of money sitting around, I'd probably spend it on creams, and a personal trainer, spa appointments, etc.... but I don't! lol

I haven't had my NUT appt. yet, it's 10/23 & I start liquids 10/24. If I have the option of one meal I plan on doing it at lunch as well. I'm not a nutritionist - but I honestly can't see any reason why it would change anything just based on the time you eat it. I'd rather do lunch so my body has longer to work off the calories and ppl at work won't ask why I'm not eating.

I walked starting 4 hours after my surgery. I set a goal of 10 minutes at the top of every hour. When the TV shows changed. I would get up and walk walk walk. I would just keep doing it till my time was up. If I didn;t get in at least 7-10 laps I wo0ud not go back and watch tv. I did this every hour and I truly felt the best when walking. I hated sitting or laying. There was far too much pressure in my chest.

That's encouraging that you were approved w/ similar #'s. hopefully my file will be submitted tomorrow. I have supplied all my weights for the past 5 years and are all in the range of plus or minus 10 lbs. It is all I can think about.

I took off about 10 days from work. I wish I had taken the full 2 weeks, because I was pretty tired when I went back to work. I have a desk job but I work long hours and have a long commute to and from the office. If you have the time take it and take care of yourself. If you don't a week will do it for a desk job, but you will need longer if you have to lift or carry anything heavy. I wasn't in much pain after surgery, the port was the most tender part for me for a while. Here are some tips of things to have on hand: Ice Pops (they help getting the fluids in after surgery and help with internal swelling as well as throat irritation) Decaf Tea (warm tea helped me with gas pain as well as soothing my stomach and getting fluids in) Hot Water bottle and/or heating pad (not to be used on wounds, but for under your shoulders or back for gas pain relief) Gas-Ex or Beano (for obvious reasons) Ice pack (To place on wound sites to help with swelling and pain. This was awesome for me at the port site) Tylenol (for pain. I didn't take anything stronger then this) Best of luck to you and let us know how your doing!

1. Metabolife 2. Trimspa 3. Stacker 2 4. Lipozene 5. Jillian Michaels cleanse 6. Raspberry Ketone 7. Garcinia Cambogia 8. Hip Hop Abs (feels good, but hard on my knees) 9. Rebounding 10. Cardio Glide 11. Gazelle (which I still own and LOVE!) 12. Thighmaster 13. Nutrisystem (20 lb loss in 8 mos, 40 lb gain) I know there's a few others I've tried. Terrible!

@@stephh, my daughter has that. Scared the hell out of us. She's 19 now. Doctor said she should get more sodium in her diet. She's six feet tall. I've read different articles about taller girls having it.

I'm going to meet with a doctor regarding the LAP-BAND® on 10/4 and they wanted two weights from 2008 and 2009. The highest weight I was in 2008 & 2009 made me a 34.2 BMI and my highest weights in 2010 put me at around 36.8. The ONLY reason I had gone down in weight is because of a very stressful situation where I just couldn't eat. I have diabetes (2 metformins per day) and hypothyroidism and my triglicerides are thru the roof....do I have a chance of being approved?? I'm also turning 41 on 10/3 and definitely spiraling into menopause after a partial hysterectomy in 2006. I'm not losing no matter what I do - i'm only maintaining and gaining. I'm scared to take such drastic measures but i'm running out of options.... I'd appreciate any encouragement, words of advice, support...... What do you think my chances are of getting approved (i have aetna)

This has been so accurate for me! I will drop 10-15 lbs really fast, and then it will slow down/stop for a bit, and then drop fast again. Repeat. I have to give myself a pep talk every time it happens!

Well, today I am 10 day post op and officially back to work. :thumbup: I got off to a rocky start. I thought I had my routine down, so this morning I took my vitamins and drank 2 oz of my protein shake before I left the house. By the time I got to work I felt so sick. I didn't vomit or anything but I broke out in a sweat and just got really hot. It was a horrible feeling. I settled down and decided to go with putting something warm in my stomach first so I had some decaf tea. the day got better , I had a little less than 1/2 a cup of soup for lunch and have been sipping my water. I have developed a fluid/protein intake schedule I will try to follow tomorrow to ensure I am getting it all in...hopefully with no discomfort or sweats.:thumbup: Looking forward to my tomato soup for dinner. :w00t: The journey continues!

You look great!! I had surgery 1/10 and am stuck in a stall. We started at the same weight and by you posting this just have me a huge amount of hope back so Thank you!!!!! I think you should do what is comfortable for you!! You look great and are feeling good!!! If you get to skinny you might lose your energy. Good luck!

It really just depends. I've had it happen quick within a few minutes of taking a bite I shouldn't have taken, to thinking I was okay for half an hour or so, and THEN feeling the pressure in my chest for a while (10 minutes, to maybe even an hour), and THEN PBing after that. Probably the longest amount of time I've felt the pressure in my chest is 3 hours (as a guess, I don't really time it), and that doesn't always lead to a PB, just an uncomfortable amount of time.

Hi everyone! I've lurked on here for a couple of months and have sat idlely just reading. And learning a wealth of information!!! My name is Ginny, and I'm 27 years old. I'm 5'3", and 279.5 lbs. (wow, talk about brave, admitting that to everyone!). I have no children, YET, and live in Holliston, MA. I have sleep apnea, and have had difficulty getting pregnant/carrying to term. Luckily, I do not have anything else, yet. However, I have the family history of all sorts of things and do not want to get them!! I went to a seminar at Brigham & Women's hospital in Boston in September of 2008. The next day I called Tufts, my insurance, and asked them what was required of me. They said according to my particular plan there would be no co-pay for the hospital itself, just for each individual doctor's visit (which thankfully is only $5/a time), and that I had to go through their 6 month "I can change" program. Well, here I am. Month 4. Down 5 lbs so far. Seeing a personal trainer 3 days a week, working out on my own 1 day a week, and doing cardio for 20 minutes the other 3 days. I'm maintaining a healthy diet of 1300-1500 calories a day and truly am trying very hard to loose another 10 lbs before my surgery. I just got a call from my surgeons office today (2/13/09). My surgery date is May 14th!!! OMG!! That's only 13 weeks away?!?! I can't believe it!! My 6 month program with Tufts will be up on April 22nd. I hope I'll have my approval from them by my surgery date! Anyways, I'll keep this it for now. No need to bore everyone with more details! LOL. I'm looking for support, friends, and supportive friends lol. Feel free to drop me a line sometime. BTW, my surgeon is Dr. Ali Tavakkoli-zadeh. He seems SO nice so far! I'm very impressed. I just hope he's there through the rest of this and keeps me just as impressed! Thanks for reading, Ginny :ohmy:

I was banded on 6/19/12 in Idaho, have my first fill August 1st, how ever I'm going to be moving down to San Diego by the end of the year. I'm worried I wont be in the "green zone" and will be needing fills after I move.. Can anyone recommend a dr with reasonable full costs??

When did you decide to eat fruit again post op? For example, apples and bananas. I am almost 10 months post op and think it is time to start adding fruit as I have been maintaining for a few months now. I think fruit will help me fuel better for lifting and running. I used to really like fruit, but have "forgotten" my like for it as May 2012 was the last time I ate any fruit (1-2 months pre op). My diet includes fruits now as part of a green drink (71 different veggie and fruits). Let me know what you think.

Decaf coffee seems to have broken my 10 day stall. I have had three cups and each time was practically running to the bathroom.

I agree with you, Minerva! All I can get in is protein, and that still leaves me at 45-55 grams a day. Those Birdseye protein blends look great, but they have stuff we aren't supposed to have: corn, grains, beans, etc. Nuts are off the table too. I drink half a protein shake a day, and I want to do a full one for the extra protein, but I'm trying to make the transition to food. It's tough! I do drink half a Clear Protein drink most days, which is 10 grams of protein -- worth it to me, despite the 45 calories. If you haven't tried them, I highly recommend them. Premier Protein makes them.

Hey everyone! I just got my first fill today, and it wasn't bad at all. I have a very ticklish stomach, so it was a little embarrassing, but other than that it was good! He used flouroscopy and he numbed my stomach, and I didn't feel anything. It took about 10 min and I was done! I was worrying for nothing!