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I was banded on 12/15 in TJ by Dr.Ortiz. Everything was great and I leave tomorrow from NY to San Diego (then TJ) for my fill- my fill is tuesday. I have been on a medical leave from my job (starting last thurs)b/c I had a huge ovarian cyst (larger than a grapefruit) on my ovary and my ovary needed to be removed (which my doctor never warned me of the possibility of potentially losing an ovary nor did she pick up the cyst this past year- in which I have had 5 dr visits) But that is besides the point. After my band surgery i had placed my passport and birth certificate in my safe deposit box- which is on the 1st floor of the building in which i work. So basically I have my drivers license and ss card as proof of id. Is this sufficient to go over the border. I know to fly to mexico you now need a passport but I'm driving over the border. If its not sufficent I need to go to the bank before my 10 oclock flight tomorrow. And I aslo risk running into a coworker at the bank (im on a medical leave until next monday). Any info will help. Thank You.

For those of us who post on the boards all the time and are several months out we see this post all the time. In a few months you will smile when you see a post like this because you will remember how stressed you were and now know it is part of the process. My token advice is this - when I gained or stalled I was still losing inches. To me inches were more important than the weight. I am an athlete and trying to get into the police academy. My workouts are all about gaining muscle. In the end I know that means my weight will go up. No worries though I have gone from a size 22 to a size 8-10. I went from 2-3xl shirts to a s-m. In my soccer game last night I felt like I was a teenager. I scored two goals and could run the entire game. That is what matters. You mentioned you hit a goal by hiking last week. Now set a new goal and go get it!! Anything is within your reaches now! Now with that said I am anxiously waiting to hit 100 lbs lost and that last damn pound will not come off. Keep the faith and keep doing what you are supposed to and it will all work out. Try not to get to wrapped up in a number and remember you did this to get healthy!

I can't wait 10 days until surgery! I'm so excited! I have lost 11 pounds and still going:)

hi there, its normal to waiver back and forth but i found that when i had done my homework, i felt very secure with my decision to get banded. i was a thin child too, but started having a little weight gain around 30 yrs old and it just went from a little to alot. im 54 now, i was banded last december starting at 225 lbs. i followed the dr.s rules 95% of the time and have had almost no discomfort at all. (the 1st 10 days felt like a badly pulled muscle, i didnt use the pain reliever after the 3rd day, didnt need to) im now 170 lbs, and my days just keep getting better and better ! i swim 3x a week, and im starting with a ymca running program ! (tommorrow ! Me ? a runner ?? No way !!!!) i no longer have sleep apnea, my digestive problems are gone, i get compliments on how i look all the time, ive gone from frumpy, stretchy old lady size 18-1x clothes to size 14 skinny jeans and cute attractive tops. need i go on ? My only regret is i didnt do it sooner ! You MUST make a decision for YOU, not based on others feelings , cause its not them that has to live in YOUR body. hope all goes well for, good luck !

Well I am now on the post op side!!!!! Yea me!!!! Had surgery at 10 this morning and doing pretty good. No drain ( praise the Lord), mo major pain just discomfort and no vomiting...(praise The Lord again). Really need to sleep but no rest in the hospital.

I know how you feel. I feel very overwhelmed everyday about EVERYTHING. I have 10 more days til surgery.. but what helps me is saying 'It's either live this unhealthy life, same crap / different day.. or CHANGE'

So at 5:30 this morning I was on my way to Good Sam for my lap band surgery. Surprisingly I honestly had about 6 seconds of nervousness and then was fine. Got down there, got in my gown, stats were taken and I was good to go by 7. Had to take out my tongue ring but luckily it didn't close lol. At about 7:10 I was in the room getting nice and looped up on what the anesthesiologist liked to call my double margarita lol. They rolled me in to the OR around 7:20 and then "sent me to the Bahamas". Next thing I knew I was waking up. Very groggy but I recovered very quickly. They expected me to be in recovery for about 2 hours before taking my xrays and moving me and within about 40 minutes I was up and ready to go. Drank that HORRIBLE contrast for my xrays and then everything seemed good so they moved me to another room. My dad and Kev came in. I talked to them for a while and then I slept for about 20 minutes. Woke up talked a few more minutes and they said they wanted me to pee. They had me drink some apple juice and my dad and Kev went out. By the time they came back I had peed and gotten dressed into my normal clothes. The nurses kept calling me "Miss Independent" because I didn't ask or wait for help from anyone. I even started to straighten up the room a little when I came back in lol. They then offered me a job lmao. I was expected to be released around 4 but being I was improving so quickly I was on my way home by 12:30. Dr. Pucci and the entire Good Sam staff were amazing. I could not have asked for better people to deal with! They told me to expect gas pains from what they filled my stomach with in my shoulders and it would probably move around. I have been in and out of sleep all day but have stayed awake for the better part. I even went to my cousins house to visit with her and my aunt. With the exception of the gas pain the surgical part of it isn't unbearable. I will probably feel worse tomorrow but today it feels like I just took a really powerful punch to the stomach. I ate some broth and Jello and have been drinking my Protein and Water when I can actually breath. The air bubbles are right beneath my rib cage right now so breathing is a bit of a chore lol. Anyway I will keep everyone posted on whats going on but I really from the bottom of my heart appreciate all the prayers, well wishes, and love. You have no idea how much that means to me

I am new to the forum. I was sleeved on Oct 23rd and as of today 10/26) feel much better. I had to stay in the hospital for two days because I coudn't get my fluids down. I had such bad nausea most of the time in the hopital. By the 3rd day felt better. I didn't have a cathitor or tube but did have the blood thinning shots. My body tried to throw up several times while there but never actually did. That was pretty painful on a newly constructed stomach. My focus has been trying to get 3 protein shakes in a day and the fluid. It's pretty hard work to get everything in on a daily basis but I am doing my best. I am not sure that I quite understand what I am feeling just yet though. When you become full, does that mean that it will cause a small pain in your side? Not sure how to tell if I'm full. I haven't been taking in anything other than what my dietician told me to take but hope I'm not doing anything wrong. Also, I can't really feel my bladder urges either. I have to just go sit and I do usually have to go. Anyone had that issue?

I feel the same way! I have done pretty well with the band and my subsequent lifestyle changes—but my head still needs to catch up! I still dress like I am trying to hide my body (even my boss told me to buy new cloths)… And I have found that when I look in my full length mirror I eyes go straight to my tummy. My friend also told me that when I am out, I tend to put my hand on my stomach (or where more of it used to be!) like I am trying to hid it. I think when the weight comes off- we start to get greedy… I want it to come faster and in the “right” places (I didn’t notice how big my thighs were until my tummy got smaller!). I still hate pictures—especially the ones which are still unflattering after all my hard work. What helps me is to remember back to before the surgery… how hard weight watchers was (and how much hard it was when I gained the weight back and plus 10)… how I would sometimes have to leave a button undone on my pants….. How much I ate when I binged and how it made me feel…. And I especially remember the feeling of lying in bed and hopelessly wondering what life would be like if I was a “normal” weight. I may not be at normal weight… yet… but at least it is not hopeless! I try to keep those memories because the tend to fade with time and I need too keep the perspective that I am a healthier person now emotionally and physically no matter what the reflection looks like!

No Pre-Op Diet Surgery (8/11/09) 232 lbs. 1 Month Post-Op (9/14/09) 207 (-25) 2 Months Post-Op (10/12/09) 197 (-10) Today (10/27/09) 193 (-4) Total Weight Loss To Date - 39 Pounds So far, so good! Anybody else care to share your stats with us all? It motivates me to read about everybody's successes!

It's at my mother-in-law's. It was supposed to be a chill, small Christmas with the 6 of us and it snowballed. Yes, it'll be within 10 days of surgery. I'm nervous about the number of people and I'll be on the liquid diet and don't want the "Why arent you eating?" question. Normally, I'd go to town so it'll be obvious. My immediate family knows, but not everyone who will be there.

They are taken for precautionary or if u have a history of blood clots, i know my surgeon gives it to every patient the day of surgery and 10-12 days after surgery.

Hello! I'm new, and was just banded Monday. I have been reading on the site and for about six months and have a quick question. Did anyone else have a hiatal hernia repair with their band surgery? I had and enormous tear in my diaphram (about the size of a fist) and that had to be repaired at the same time. The Dr also pulled my stomach down and stiched it in place. I was in massive pain and wasn't even able to get liquids down until today. :sick I ended up in the hospital for a few days this week on IV fluids. This surgery seemed to be about 10 times more painful than I thought it would be, plus the complications with the hosital stay and stuff. Anyone else has trouble getting liquids through at first? My stomach has been so swollen inside that nothing would go through. I feel like this has been going so bad, I hope everything works out! :nervous Thanks for being such a great support! I'll try to keep my chin up.

so im 10 months post op. kinda at goal (ish) might go a little lower. i work in a place with 2000 people. every single day i have to hear something about my weight. you look great! or OMG you're so skinny (not in a good way). or you're wasting away! etc etc. is it bad that i just don't want to talk about it anymore??? i'm just over it. the journey is long and hard and now i just want to move on and "BE" without having to think or talk about my weight or body anymore. i just want this to be the existing 'me' and not have to be reminded every single second of every minute of every hour. am i gonna have to quit my job so i can go somewhere where people just see this me as the regular me they've met and will know moving forward? when does the journey become something in my past that gets to stay there? i feel like im not even getting to be THIS me cuz the old me is on my back still. end rant

I was banded on March 23, 5 days ago. From about the 20th of Feb until March 19, I had lost 20 pounds! And in the last week, another 8. I went back to work and people are already noticing in my face and upper body that I am loosing. I am feeling it some, but since I still have lots of swelling in my tummy, my clothes are a little tighter that I would like. I have been cooking for my hubby & son, and doing ok...but last night the hungar pangs started. Since I was making sketti, I took some of the meat chewed it up until I got all of the flaovoring out, then spit it out. It was good, but just for the flavoring!!! That is what I miss is the different flavors...although adding extracts to the protein drinks help, my pallet is not very forgiving of me keeping all those good flavors from it! My 1st goal is 75 pounds by Christmas...I want to stay on that track. As soon as I am released to swim, we will be going to the Y Friday-Sunday so I can start that way, then back to walking and hopefully bike riding in the near future!

Thanks for all the kind words everyone! The pain in my chest is a bit better today. Before bed last night I experienced very sharp pain in my right shoulder.. it lasted about an hour. It was so bad that it brought me to tears.... thankfully it didn't last all that long. I've been prescribed liquid codine for the pain and haven't had to take any since 10:30 last night... it's around 5:00 am now (I'm still jet lagged) and I'm getting ready to have my first taste of clear Soup broth. Hoping that my recovery will continue to go smoothly. I'm flying back home tomorrow (about a 3 hour flight) so I'm hoping that I'll be feeling comfortable and don't have any pain sitting on the plane for that long. To anyone who's considering having this done... the first day kind of sucks. But if the way I'm feeling now is any indication of how my recovery will continually progress, I should be back to normal in no time.

i am new here and desperate. I really need help/advice. History: I was banded in Oct. 2005 over the years I was not the ideal patient. I had to reschedule and miss appointments due to not being able to take off work. So, I have not been able to utilize the band to its fullest potential. I could not eat until around 10:30 or after daily. Also I had begun eating tons of ice cream because it went down easily and I love it:( I have lost from 265lbs or so down to 223lbs. Not very much. This is what I need HELP with: In August of 2010 due to the X-ray with Barium my Dr. realized my esphagus had been enlarged. Nothing was going down. Apparently the food I was able to eat was just sitting in my esophagus until acids dissolved it. So, Dr. decided to completely unfill my band. I was supposed to go back in 6 months and have the esophagus checked, unfortunately becasue of work I haven't done so. I know I have been able to eat more food than before, especially ice cream becasue I have gained 24pounds. For the past 72 hours I have been unable to get anything but broth and water down. Today I can barely get the broth or water down. I have to force it down and it hurts. I have been reguritating everything I try to get down from broth and water to ice cream jello and tea. My Dr. doesn't see patients on Fri, and I am wondering what I should do or need to do. am very miserable and tired of hurting.Anu insight you have and will share is greatly appreciated. Amber

I was banded on 8/13/07 and then re-banded on 8/17/07 due to slippage and herniation. I didn't have any complications after that except starting my fills later than most people do. Since about the end of this September (2008) I've been experiencing some vomiting after eating. This was attributed (by my dietitian and surgeon) to not chewing well enough and eating too fast. I took the advice to chew better and slow down. The vomiting was almost instant and the relief was as well. I'm sure that some of you know that feeling of relief when the food isn't stuck anymore. This past week, I had a BAD experience with lunch and was vomiting for almost an hour after only eating a couple of bites of my lunch. It hurt-I had pains in my stomach that I had never had before and I've never vomited more than once after eating a meal and this time it was 3 times. In between vomiting, I had these awful sharp pains that traveled from my stomach up my esophagus and then nothing happened, and I would get another one that started in my stomach and traveled up. I had never experienced this much pain from vomiting before. I was scared, because of my complications so early on-that I decided to contact my surgeon's office. They again said it was from not chewing well enough and/or eating too fast. (This was food that I had tolerated before and not had any problems before that day) They told me to do Clear liquids the rest of the day and if I couldn't keep anything else down or got the sharp pains in my stomach again, that I would need to go to the Emergency room of the hospital that she is in-which is 2 hours from where I live. Luckily, I was able to keep some Soup down for dinner and avoided exercising for the night, just to let my body settle down. The soup made me sick to my stomach, but I think my stomach was just sensitive from the vomiting earlier that day. So needless to say, I didn't have to make the 2 hour trip to the ER. Well, this past weekend, it happened again. I had dinner on Saturday night (leftovers from dinner on Friday night, that I had tolerated fine on Friday night) and this time I had the same thing happen- I felt sick for about 10 minutes before I finally threw it up, then still felt like I needed to vomit again. This time I vomited twice, and it hurt again. The pains in my stomach weren't nearly as bad as they had been during the week when I got sick, but I still felt like it hurt more than it should have. Now I am having pain/discomfort/pressure in my port area. Sometimes I experience discomfort just because it's there and sometimes it's when I'm exercising. I had a fill on 10/14/08 and now have 2.5ccs in a 4cc band. So I am a little over half full. I still don't feel like I am all that restricted, although I have lost quite a bit of weight since surgery (although I am discouraged by losing weight slowly and wish I could lose more) The prospect of needing an "unfill" has come up, but I feel like it's counterproductive to my weight loss. I have to drive 2 hours for everything and I don't want to drive up there again to get Fluid taken out of my band- it's discouraging to think that might be a possibility. Soooo, basically- I am kind of worried because I'm afraid that my band might slip again, or might be slipping, or eroding-or some other BAD thing. I don't think my surgeon would do another band on me, and the idea of having to have surgery again is UNTHINKABLE! I had such a hard time having it twice in one week, I don't think I could do it again. Has ANYONE out there experienced anything like this? To be vomiting at this stage in the game is frustrating because you think it's something would deal with in the beginning-not over a year out. And does anyone know if a band will slip suddenly, or can is slowly slip until it's completely slipped? I know what signs to look for-because I had a slip before and it was absolutely awful. It was right after surgery, so I thought the pain and stuff was normal, until I started to vomit blood-that's when I knew something was wrong. I haven't vomited blood this time, but I'm just paranoid about this. Does anyone have anything for me? Trying to be patient and positive about this...

I had two weeks liver shrinking diet.. consisted of protein bar or shake for bkfst, lunch and lean cuisine for dinner. I dropped 10 lbs. it really wasn't too difficult

BMI has dropped 5.4 points! Lost 31lbs (including what I lost 10 day pre-op diet) Starting weight 252lbs Today's weight 221lbs It's been SO hard and I've struggled with the puréed stage, only 4 more days of it!!! But I've gotten some energy back, I'm sleeping better!!! Can't wait to see what the next 5 weeks has to offer!! Kim

Hi Clv I had my surgery 10/3/08 - I also drink Isopure - they have 40 grams of protein and they come in different flavors, punch, rasberry, applemelon, pineapple, etc. There are also NEW WHEY bullets. They are 3 oz, 42 grams of protein. They are also different fruit flavored. You can get them at health food stores, GNC, etc. Hope this helps.

I agree with that. I have bad knees and cannot circuit train or taebo like I used to. Bike riding is out to because of the friction it would cause in my knee from a bone spur. My knee specialist has limited my exercise to walking but has also said it is imperitive that I relieve my knees of some of the weight. He said he wants my knees to last 10 more years. At this point, I believe I can lose the weight but I want to get it all off and keep it off. I feel that this procedure will help me maintain as well as lose it.

stupid bitches! haha they're so pretty. It's not even my style but I just love tan, blonde, tall beauty queens. Probably because my mother was one. Here I am pale, short, chubby, and have dyed my blonde hair dark for 10 years. I wonder if I will ever be a "babe". I have always wanted to secretly be "mainstream attractive" but my heart just sort of gravitates to an alternative look. I think it stems from my attraction towards alternative ways of thinking. and now i have all these tattoos and piercings. I dont look like a PUNK. At least I don't think so. You can tell I'm edgy.. but thats like how the kids are these days. haha! and I was such a weirdo in high school. Oh... i got married today. It was sweet. At the waterfall by a witch and two witnesses. The real big wedding is in October, but we had to shot gun it for insurance reasons. I am happy to be a MRS. but I will not change my name until October since no one knows about it. SHHHH! I also get my wedding band then, too. It was special and sweet. I love my husband!!!

I bought one from Bed, Bath and Beyond a few months ago. It wasnt worth the $10-12 dollars that I paid. It was hard to get the simplest veggie to spiral. Just my opinion.