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If I don't get my fluids in (I don't say Water, because I do a lot of SF decaf iced tea) my weight loss stalls....good enough reason to keep me drinking!!! Keep sipping away, it will become habit, and get easier! Kat

Wow! Sounds like you're doing great! It is normal. Keep eating well and the weight loss will continue. .

I have type 2. no insulin. I am hoping to get rid of type 2 diabetes with the help of weight loss. Good luck on your journey. I look forward to my journey.

I had surgery on December 21st. I have lost close to 30 pounds since my pre-op visit. My doctor said losing 3 pounds a week is about average. This morning I weighed myself and I had gained 2 pounds. Has anyone else had this happen? And if so, is there a reason behind it?

Revision might be an option for you. Have you talked with a sergon? Methodist Hospital has a weight loss center Sent from my SM-J727T1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Scrapbooking of your weight loss journey, research and document your family history (or history if your town), learn a new language and plan vacation to the country where it is spoken, learn a new skill (playing virtual piano for example), write a novel/poetry/music.

Yup sounds very normal. Most docs will say not to really count weight loss until you are off the liquids and onto regular food. My doctor said to count that as bonus weight. And the longer post op you will probably find yourself hungrier. It's the hardest part for most as you havent had a fill yet. As for the BM, your not eating anything solid so you will probably have much less in the way of BM's. I will sometimes, even six months out, go two weeks withough a BM and will have to do something to help things along :thumbup: The sodium in soups can defanitely be an explenation for weight gain. I will carry up to three pounds just in water retention if I have too much sodium. Up to five pounds during my period. Try some mom to move the bowels and lower your sodium and drink lots of water and see what happens.

Congratulations on your surgery and the loss you have had so far. I am not from MN but I wanted to say Hello.

Hi Deb. I am from Minnesota as well. I am about and hour north. My information is all with the insurance company right now. They have had it for a week. So I am just WAITING for the approavl and the surgery date. Good luck on your weight loss. What Hosp did you go through? I am using Unity in Fridley. Heather

Hi everybody, I am a first time poster, but I've been lurking on these forums for weeks and I can't express how helpful I have found everyone to be. My name is Julie, and I am 29 years old. I have been thinking about weight loss surgery for a number of years, and recently made the decision to get sleeved. I started my pre op diet in October, and have been working with my surgeon's nutritionist monthly. I just received dates for all of my testing, so for the first time, this is all starting to feel real. I have my second appointment with the surgeon next week, and will finish all of the testing the second week of February. I'm guessing I'm on track for a late March surgery date. I can't wait! I'd love to hear from people who are at the same stage as me or who have/had similar stats. My husband is incredibly supportive of my decision to so this, but I don't have anyone else in my 'real life' who even remotely understands what I'm about to go through. My progress so far... I lost 5 pounds during month 1 of my supervised diet, and 7 in month 2. As is par for the course for me when I diet on my own, the loss has really stalled in month 3. I've been averaging 950-1100 calories per day, 60-80 grams of Protein. I started swapping out one meal per day for a premier Protein shake about 2 weeks ago. I don't get much exercise but try to hit my fitbit steps goal most days of the week. I haven't figured out how to set up a profile yet, so for now, here are my stats. (I'm only 5'2".) HW 230 SW 228 CW 212 GW 130 (This is my goal, not the doc's. I'm anxious to ask him about this at the next appointment.)

Hello Everyone, I just had my gastric sleeve done on 02/28. To date so far I have lost 13 pounds in on week. I have about a 130 pounds to lose but I am happy I am on my way. I really dont have much pain. I am little slow moving around because I still have a little discomfort. The first week was a little difficult because whenever I would eat or drink I would get a bubble feeling in my chest. After reading many of the posts I started taking prilosec. It has helped tremendously! I am getting ready to start walking everyday and once I am feeling better I will start running. I am not starving but the smell of food I used to eat does attract to me but I am still staying on course. My only problem has been the Protein shakes. I was taking the Bariatric Advantage shakes but they are just disgusting to me now. I also tried the Isopure but I cant stand it. So now I am doing the Atkins and muscle Mlike shakes. At first I was having some regrets but after seeing my weight loss in the last week I am feeling much better.

So for those of you who dont know i had lapband two years ago. At first i did well but for many reasons i relapsed into my emotional eating habit not too many months after having the procedure. Now after two years of more weight gain and much regret i am finally ready to give myself another chance at a better future. Im ashamed that I allowed myself to continue to gain weight after having weight loss surgery but i have to let go of all the regret. I have decided after many encouraging words i received on this site last night to begin my journey again. I ask that everyone please help me with this, for i know that starting over can be difficult. I am ready to begin a healthy lifestyle so i can have a better way of life. i no longer am doing this for my family who for years have made me feel so bad about myself for being the "fat one". This is a new day and a new me and I hope everyone on here will help provide me strength and power to finally end my bad eating habits and finally start the life I have always wanted and the life I was meant to have. thanks h

So for those of you who dont know i had lapband two years ago. At first i did well but for many reasons i relapsed into my emotional eating habit not too many months after having the procedure. Now after two years of more weight gain and much regret i am finally ready to give myself another chance at a better future. Im ashamed that I allowed myself to continue to gain weight after having weight loss surgery but i have to let go of all the regret. I have decided after many encouraging words i received on this site last night to begin my journey again. I ask that everyone please help me with this, for i know that starting over can be difficult. I am ready to begin a healthy lifestyle so i can have a better way of life. i no longer am doing this for my family who for years have made me feel so bad about myself for being the "fat one". This is a new day and a new me and I hope everyone on here will help provide me strength and power to finally end my bad eating habits and finally start the life I have always wanted and the life I was meant to have. thanks h

Perhaps you were a little more emotional than most, but it is a serious step. One most of us are ashamed at some level, that we let ourselves get to. And one, like you say that is hard to leave behind. It didn't matter if it was happy news, or sad news, food was always there to share the burden. We grew up celebrating with food, and mourning with food---it is a very close and personal friend. It is hard to imagine eating less and being satisfied and happy with that. So the mourning is natural, as is anger at the situation sometimes. However---eating less, and being satisfied, and happy with it is VERY possible! I like you just simply could not wrap my mind around that. I thought it would be a constant battle---but one I felt I had to try---I was out of options, I was sick of and sick from dieting! It is such a different life being banded than I imagined it to be! The first weeks were tough, I won't lie to you. But hell I lived through many weeks of tough diets! I knew I could do it at least one more time, and that was the last time!!! It does take some work to get to the point that food is not an issue anymore. I eat for the flavor, and the nourishment, but not the hunger now. It is no longer the driving force behind decisions. I don't decide what to order when I go out, wondering if it will be enough---whatever I order it will be more than enough. I order what sounds good, and will be good for me, and I enjoy it! I don't feel like every eye in the restaurant is on me and my plate anymore. I don't skimp at the restaurant, and come home and gorge. The things you will be gaining vastly outnumber the things you will be losing. Yes for a period of weeks you will not be able to have most types of food---but after the healing phase, you will be able to eat most of the food you do now. Some people have particular items they cannot eat, but just a few. You will be friends with the food you eat, because you are going to enjoy the few bites it takes for you to be satisfied. It is not a love/hate relationship anymore. You can love it, and there is no need to hate it for the way it makes you act anymore! Try to calm down---and imagine yourself eating like you see others eat. Imagine yourself losing weight, almost effortlessly! Yes you do have to watch what you eat to help with the weight loss, but that is so easy to do when you are not hungry 24/7! Imagine walking into any store and buying clothing, no plus sizes necessary. Imagine walking into a gym, and no one staring at you! Imagine living to be a ripe old age---something obesity will not let us do. The things you lose are mostly temporary, and you are getting more than a band---you are getting your life back!!! Hope your nerves settle down soon.... (hugs) Kat

congrats!!! is the hair loss really that bad?

I don't want to discourage you but I think you should be prepared. I too am a Kaiser member. I received a referral from my practitioner to go to the weight loss center around the corner from my home. The referral was for Lapband. When I got to the orientation, they informed about 50 of us that Kaiser was not performing this surgery at this time, they were only performing bypass. They do not have a surgeon to perform Lapband at this time. I was 75 Lbs overweight and they require that you be over 100 Lbs for bypass. I live in Riverside,CA. I decided to go to Tijuana,MX for my surgery. My surgeon was Dr Kuri and I paid 7,500. I hope that they have more resouces in Northern CA than they do here and that you can have your surgery. Good luck!

hi ladies, you are not alone in feeling what you are feeling.we've all been there and definitely dont need any negativity from anyone. You and only YOU know about your struggles firsthand and no one is to judge you for doing what you think is right for you. I am 3 days post op and can tell you that I feel great! not hungry at all and other than some mild discomfort at the port site, i feel so good. I cant wait until I can get my hair done and start feeling good in my clothes again.

Hi folks, I'm intreagued as to how we all weigh in. Basically I am longing to get to the 6 stone loss marker, and this morning my scale is flickering between that weight, and two tenths of a pound over that weight. So I want to Celebrate, but feel a bit of a cheat. My question is do you guys A: Count the lowest weight if thr scale can't quite decide, or B: Wait until it is official and a bit more weight has dropped? Ta x

I guess I should update my Journey a bit. I have been kind of moving slow since my consult. I don?t know if it is because I am afraid of being denied. Or it maybe I am hoping that by the time I finish the 6 month diet, they will approve the sleeve and I won?t have to deal with deal with the appeal process. I am 99.9% sure they will deny me on the first try. I just turned in my release of information to my PCP yesterday. They need to send 3 years of records to the surgeon and get my psych evaluation before they will submit to the insurance company. I haven?t scheduled the psych evaluation yet either. When I talked to the receptionist to turn in my release form to my PCP, I told them to just send the records to me. I figured I could make copies, and keep a set for myself. That way if I decide to seek a 2nd consult, I?ll already have them. The receptionist was somewhat concerned about releasing the records to me. She said they might have to charge me for them if they release them to me, but don?t charge anything if it is being sent to a Dr. That makes no sense to me at all. The records lady is supposed to call me and discuss my options. I am also waffling on if I should go to another surgeon. There are not many sleeve surgeons in my area that I know of. The one I consulted (Dr. Lamasters) who has only done a dozen. She has done hundreds of RNY bypasses though. I don?t know if there is anyone in Iowa who has much experience at sleeves since hardly any insurance companies will pay for it. Kind of a catch 22. I don?t know if I should contact Dr. Gary J. Anthone, I know he is a highly regarded DS (duodenal switch) surgeon, so you would think he would be good at doing sleeves as he has 1600 DS surgeries. It also says he has done 250 Open VSG?s, and 25 VSG (I assume these were done Lap). My only concern is he may be great at Open, but are his LAP skills up to snuff? I think I also have concerns that they may try and talk me into getting a DS. I don?t really think I want to deal with the severe malabsorption issues. Ironically, my insurance company would pay for the DS. I have also been looking at appeal strategies. I think I have a good case that the VSG is the only acceptable WLS for me, since I take NSAIDS twice a day for my ruptured disc in my back, and my father died of stomach cancer. Once concern I have is that according to the WLS policy for wellmark BCBS, they state the following. ?Surgery for morbid obesity, also known as bariatric surgery is based on intestinal malabsorption and gastric reduction. Surgery is considered successful if weight loss is maintained at greater than or equal to 50% of excess body weight for more than 10 years.? Are they going to wait for 10 years before they approve the sleeve? Well I guess I should get off my butt, and schedule a psych evaluation and get the ball rolling. I won?t ever get anything done procrastinating. I suppose I can wait to choose a surgeon once I know i've jumped through my insurance hoops. Wish me luck!

Hey it's ok... dust yourself off and start fresh. Today is a new day! I know the pre-op is hard, but if you stick to it by the 3rd or 4th day you'll pass the hump and be fine. Besides it will give you a nice little head start on your weight loss and a safer surgery. Good Luck you can do this!!

I was told that they would by the insurance gurus at my docs office. I was approved with an overall net loss/gain of 0. ETA I started at bmi 35 so I made it a point not to lose or gain anything. Oddly stressful but very worth it in the end.

Not at all everyone is different! It sounds like you might be a quick loser! Get well and celebrate the loss!

I was banded 4/12 too! Relax Follow what you were told to eat. After surgery your body panics and tries to hold on to fat stores at all cost, so the weight doesn't drop off immediately. Also, you probably gained 5-10 pounds of fluids in the hospital during the surgery. Keep doing what you were told and the weight WILL start coming off. (and in case your wondering, my ticker includes my pre-band weight loss, it's not all in the past 6 days!)

oooohhh... as with any weight loss program, including banding, you are bound to experience times where the weight just doesn't move, period. You might not be eating enough calories or too many, you might be eating the wrong calories, and you might have to add 10 or 15 more minutes to your exercise plan, or you may be increasing muscle mass AND losing weight. You did not say if you have gained weight, so I am going to assume you haven't, and that is something to be proud of! Don't get down in the dumps! Nothing is wrong with you, just step back and take a close look at what your current eating plan is as well as your current exercise plan. It has taken 20 years for me to pack on 120+ pounds, I expect it to take at least 2 and perhaps 3 years to take it off. It didn't go on overnight, it won't come off overnight. DollyRose

you can definitely lose as much weight as you want through the lapband, it just depends on you. mortality rate for lapband is 1 in 2000 mortality rate for gastric bypass is 1 in 200, the thing about the bypass that i would not like is the dumping syndrome, I dont have time to stay on the commode all day long. with the lapband I have retrained my body on how to eat properly because that is what the tool does, my indigestion is gone, my bowels are regular and I can still enjoy all the foods I like just in smaller portions. the advantage of the bypass i would say is the weight loss if very rapid where as with the lap band it is slower for some. the lapband is reversable and the bypass is not. you should do some research and compare the 2 and then decide for yourself. I cant really compare because i dont know much about the bypass other than the things I have read but the lapband is good for me because I feel like for once in my life I am in control of the food that I eat. good luck to you and your decision