Search the Community

Clear liquids will mostly go straight through the sleeve and into the duodenum. The pyloric valve immediately lets most thin liquids through pretty quickly. I'm 3 weeks post-op and can drink probably 6-8 oz of clear liquids most of the time pretty quickly, then repeat ~10 minutes later. Thicker protein shakes or soups though - only 2-3 oz at most then must wait about 30 minutes. With the bypass liquids should just flow through the anastomosis.

I am now three years post op. Man has alot changed in three years. I cant believe how fast time flies. It really is crazy. I was banded on April 11, 2003. I weighed 235-240 I did awesome listening to the band and working with it. I lost down to 160 and i was feeling awesome! I started dating, met my husband and life was wonderful. I dont know where i started to slide. I started trying to eat more when we went to dinner. I started drinking with my meals and figured out if i drink with them i can eat more. I dont know what happend. I just really wanted to be normal. My husband and i were working out on a very regular basis. Dieting good. (he is into bodybuilding... so he had me eating like i was an athelete...lol) I realized that i was gonna hurt myself and my band if i continuted this way, so i went to the doctor and told them that i really wanted to try it on my own for awhile. Well it took a few minutes of convincing her to do it but finally she did. I ended up moving to Memphis shortly after that. So i was about 5-6 hours away from the doctor. So i didnt go back much. With the move we werent working out like we were. We were eating ALOT of fast food because we were tired and it was easy. I ended up gaining about 35 pounds, from when i had the band loosened... My lowest weight was 160 but after we started working out i gained 10 pounds and i was 170... after my pouch packing and drinking with meals i gained 5... so i was about 175..) So my weight now is 205 ish... I think that in the last few days i have been really reading my old journals and reading everyone elses post and i started following the rules again i am down to 200 now. WOO HOO!! We had a problem getting my adjustment right... I went for three adjustments and she wouldnt put me back where i was so we had to start over adding a little at a time. So I couldn't understand when i was supposed to have a 2.5 fill and i could still eat a WHOLE value meal... So i went back well somewhere along the line there was a mix up and i only had about 1.3cc's in my band. She said my tubing was never accounted for. So we filled that puppy up! LOL it is great now. I feel like i did in the beginning. I am doing well not drinking with my meals. It is just gonna be breaking the habit. I still reach for my drink and i have to stop myself. But things are going GREAT!! I am so excited to finally have the passion and drive that i had when i first had the surgery!

I believe eggs/scrambled eggs, and airfried seabass were the first two things I ate. I tried ground beef too and it wasn't a good idea, but around the 10 to 12 week mark it improved Eggs aren’t so bad but meat is a killer!!!

It's been 10 days post op and I feel like I have poison ivy on my back. Can't stand it just took two Benadryl. Crushed of course. Anyone else having this problem?

@ DebbieDeb....wow, eating 1000 calories a day and working out 5-6 days a week....and you're stuck on a plateau.....that's discouraging....I've been at 145 for 7 weeks and I think I'm getting 1500-1700 calories in and I should be at 1200-1400.....I've been grazing too much so I really need to concentrate as I feel I'm slipping into some bad habits and denial. So this week I am really going to work on tracking my food intake. I'm 5 lbs from goal but 10 lbs from where I want to be; surely I can do this. And you can too.....maybe increase your water intake? I'm also going to increase my workout by 15 minutes and see if that helps. Let's check in again next Monday.

Could be right after Christmas but my personal bet, either January 4th or January 7th 2019. But I would be HAPPY to be proved Wrong!👈👸👉

So today im 3 weeks post op. Im still on pucc line for nutrition. Surgeon said maybe nxt thursday hell take it out. I was down 39 lbs but I have gained 10 since being on this nutrition. Surgeons not concerned. He says its all liquids and once im off theme weight will come off. Im basically starting over. I wasnt able to drink nething until this past weekend. W.o the nutrition id be so dehyrated. Im lucky if im getting 5-10oz fluids in. I was given permission to start trying liquids again. Im good with water, G2 & sf popcicles. Just made some noodles and im drinking the broth.so far so good. I bought some girl scout thin mint creamer for coffee today. I dont drink coffee but I was going to add some to my proteon shakes to see if that helps my stomache tolerate it. So far not hungry or thirsty. Im actually scared to try stuff. Dr said once I tolerate fluids again I can start a few bites of yogurt. Im so scared. Did neone else feel like this??

Mine did, but keep in mind that doesn't mean yours will. Some people continue the struggle, just with a little mechanical will power. For me, pre-op, I looked forward to eating. I would get exited if we were going to a buffet and hope they had certain foods. I f we planned a vacation, I would instantly wonder what kind of foods they had. Food helped me pass time - if I was watching tv, I was also eating, regardless of hunger. If I was studying, I had a bowl of chips with me. Etc. Now eating is pretty much a chore. I could count on both hands the times I've truly felt hungry since banding, even when I'm getting ready for bed and haven't yet eaten anything. I'm just not hungry anymore. This has been very liberating, because even though hunger rarely spurred my overeating, it was definitely a factor (OMG - I'm hungry?! I better go eat a lot because that's HORRIBLE!) I call it my shift from "live to eat" into "eat to live" -- I finally get what all the psychos who say that mean. As for cravings, I don't believe in stopping them. I think that denying a craving does more harm than good. If I want something, I have it - only now isntead of having ALL of it, a piece fills me up. If it's something I am craving but I just can't bring myself to give into, I will look for a healthier alternative. I love Peanut Butter. Sometimes I will crave a peanut butter cookie. Sometimes I will have the cookie, but sometimes I'm too tight, or they aren't available, or I have to buy 20 (which means I'm eating 20 or throwing 19 in the trash), so instead I will make my Protein drink with peanut butter in it. When you have a strong craving, and don't do something to address it, IMO most of the time it becomes a bit of an obsession. And when you tell yourself you can't have it, or try t ignore your obsessing, is when you "crack" and binge on it... whereas if you'd just eaten the damn cookie, all would be ok. :smile:

yes its not the same doctor. the one im talking about is dr.robert l. miles and dr.lee schmitt. they are at 52 medical park east ste. 307 birrmingham, alabama. 35235 if you can add them that wopuld be great. doctor miles done my surgery and about 10 others thats on this board everyweek. you can go to this Alabama Local Lap-Band Support - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum and look at the first thread and see all the people that go to them. thanks jason r

I was banded by Dr. Ortiz in Mexico in January 2005. My total weight loss over the next three years was 130 pounds from my highest weight, 110 pounds after banding. My decision to go to Dr. Ortiz was cost - my insurance didn't cover bariatric surgery and I absolutely do not regret my decision. The procedure was still new in US in 2004/2005. I had a surgeon friend who performed my fills "blind" whenever I needed more restriction and we truthfully were "winging" it. I did ultimately have an overfill, but ignored the signs because I loved the weight loss. The price I paid was that I needed an emergency unfill (my surgeon friend moved to another state). I went a year with no/minimal restriction but had actually gotten too thin and needed to gain 15 pounds. I maintained that for about a year, then decided to get a fill. It was then (I only had approximately 2 cc in a 4 cc band) that we figured out something was really wrong because I became severely restricted and had an unfill again. The UGI revealed band slippage. I am waiting until after January 1, 2009 to meet with my new band doctor to decide what to do. I am self-pay because I no longer meet the criteria for bariatric surgery (or do I?). I'm not counting on BCBS to pay for this but I will probably go along with the surgeon's recommendation. I hate going into debt for this, but I hate being fat more. This is my story. Whatever I have had to go through, it was worth it to be thin again. FYI, my mother was one of the first gastric bypass patients in the US in the early 70's. She die four years ago, it did extend her life, but the quality of her life the last 10 years was pitiful. Land Band surgery spoke to my heart. I liked having my stomach and intestines and not dealing with malabsorption, etc. Looking forward to hearing from anyone who identifies with my issues and now problem of band slippage. I did it to myself - stress, overeating and mad vomiting. It still involves being able to control yourself and I wonder if I can do it without being banded. Probably not . . .

My skin really itched also. I rub some cortizone-10 onto my skin but not directly on the incisions just all around it. It seems to do the trick.

I'm from Edmonton Ab I'm heading to Vancouver as I type this my surgery is Wednesday I went through SWLC as well and Dr. Philip Mitchell who is from Calgary is doing my surgery...have u considered going to Vancouver? Only a short reasonably priced flight or 1100 air miles return flight or drive like we r its a beautiful drive we broke it into 2 days so its not so bad and my husband and daughter are coming...we don't pay for fuel though so that's the main reason we drove. Anyways I'm hear if u have questions and at the moment I'm pretty nervous!! Just got off the phone my surgery is at 10 am on wed yikes!!

I was banded by Dr. Hollis on 8/19/2007! Go to HoustonAreaBandsters@yahoo.com and there is all kinds of info on local support groups. Dr. Hollis is on the site as well as "LapBandDoc". You and I have almost identical weight loss since our surgeries. Do you get your fills at True Results? What has your experience been? There is a huge difference between the two women who do fills and I have had issues...just wondered if you had too.

You think your lunch is early... oy! Mine is at 10:50 this year! How crazy is that?

Got banded in september 25, it was the greatest birthday present ever! I lost 63lbs but unfortunatley gained back 10. Ive been eating a lot of fast food lately but im getting back to healthy foods slowly. Anyway i think some support and any advice would be great! I'd loce to help anyone out as well!

I have that same scale and it is very easy to use...first step is to turn it on and then check that it is reading ounces instead of kilograms (sounds like it is)...if you need to switch it, hit the "unit" button once to switch measuring mode. If you are measuring food outside of a container, put it directly on the scale and read the number...the number on the left side of the decimal is the "full" ounces, and the number on the right side of the decimal is the "portion" of the ounce...so 2.6 would be 2 ounces with 6/10 of another ounce. If you are measuring multiple items to get to a total, just add together the totals you get (so, 1.1 oz + 2.6 oz + .4 oz would = 4.1 oz) Then, if you have a container that you don't want to be included in the total you see on the scale, then you place the empty container on the scale BEFORE you turn it on, then hit the "tare" button on the right...wait a second and it will show a 0 number on the scale and then you can add in food to the container and it will only count the "net" weight of the food (so, if you placed 3 oz of food into a container that weighs 6 oz, the scale will only show the 3 oz food portion)

If you do a search on this topic you will find hundreds of posts on this topic. I know as a newbie loose skin and hair loss were two of the biggies that concerned me. I recently went back and posted a picture of myself 11 months out from surgery exposing all of my goods on an thread titled - "My top 10 ways to prevent loose skin." I'm convinced genetics and how long you spent over weight have the most influence on whether or not you will have excess skin. I also was a sloooow loser. I once read it takes skin 2-3 months to adjust every time you lose. There were times my thighs look horrific and a few months later they snapped back into place. If you lose too much too quickly, your skin may newer fully snap back. My loose skin is limited to my lower stomach. I have had two very large babies and my lower abdomen had Freddy Kruger stretch marks on it. There is no way that's going back to normal without a tummy tuck! There's likely some tell-take signs you will have loose skin in areas. For example, if you have fat pockets that start right above your elbows, you will probably have bat wings. I carried most of my excess weight in my mid-section, so it doesn't surprise me this is where I have excess skin. It doesn't look bad standing up, but when I bend over, I look like I would whelp a litter of puppies! What I can tell you is part of this journey is accepting our new bodies. I decided to post a pic of myself exposed because I noticed most people are wearing pants and long shirts in their after photos on this site. It always made me wonder what was lurking underneath. Many of us will be left with more excess skin than what we are comfortable with. Some can afford plastics. Many cant. Regardless, I wouldn't trade the new active lifestyle I live for anything. For reference, I am a woman in my mid-40's. 5'7" and was 241 at my heaviest. I was 226 the day of surgery. I was 152 when I took this picture a few days ago. I am currently 7 pounds away from my stretch goal of 145. I haven't exercised with much consistently during the 11 months post surgery. I took this photo as my "before" picture and hope to see how tone I can get after I start doing squats, sit-ups, and lifting weights! I have to say I'm a tad more motivated now that I can actually SEE my muscles! Who would have thunk I had abdominal muscles? Albeit pretty separated post child-bearing, I'm sure!

Babylvrrn, you're just a few days ahead of me in this experience and I feel exactly how you do with this liquid diet. It's driving me bonkers too. I would pay big money just to eat some cottage cheese right now. It's gotten to the point that no matter what I drink, it all tastes the same. My doctor said I could start pureed food at about 10 days, and I'm only on day 3. He won't let me eat solid food until week 4, which seems like an eternity. I guess we just have to tough it out.

Yes I'm now 10 days out and only fighting "head hunger". I now truly understand what that means. I have not really had any physical hunger yet. I really hope it stays that way!! Today is my first post op. I'm down 13 pounds.

Hi everyone, I'm having trouble deciding who to listen to - my surgeon or my nutritionist. HW 243 SW (day of surgery after pre op diet) 234. 2 month post op I was 214.5. I'll also mention that I had a lap band for 10 years and had it removed almost 3 years ago- gained back anything I had lost with it. When I went to my 2 month post op appointment, my surgeon was unimpressed by my weight loss. So was I. He asked what I was eating and I told him I was getting about 700 calories a day but getting in all of my Protein. He said I was eating WAY too much and this is why I wasn't losing. He said only eat when hungry, forget about protein, stop Protein shakes, and live off my fat. I pointed out that is very different guidance than I had received from the nutritionist that I had seen right there in that very office. He said something like "yeah, yeah, I know. She gets all focused on that and it is really not necessary - this is an ongoing conversation I am having with her". Because I was on a stall at the time, I decided to go with his advice and see what happens. I lost about 10 pounds the following month. Also during this month I upped my exercise, getting 10,000 steps most days with a combination of walking and jogging (using couch to 5k, up to week 4). But now I am on a stall again, and wondering what I should do nutrition wise. I am getting around 700 calories still most days but really never over 40ish grams of protein. It is hard to figure out what to do when your 2 resources are telling you different things. I haven't seen anyone else on the boards who are being told to forget about protein. What should I do? Forget my surgeon's advice and go with the nutritionist even though my weight loss was slow when following that plan? Follow my surgeon's advice even though it is not consistent with any of my research or reading others' experience? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My surgery is scheduled for September 10 and I'm trying to prepare as best as I can. I've seen people talking about meal prepping for themselves after surgery. What is it that you're prepping? Sent from my Pixel 3 using BariatricPal mobile app

I am 15 weeks out today. I lost 1 pound this week. I almost said "ONLY" before that 1, but I am not going to do that! A loss is a loss. It's ONE pound gone forever! I'm just going to be happy that the scale is moving in the right direction. I started working out this week, so maybe I am building some muscle. I think I was really dehydrated the week before, so this past week I have been drinking a lot more. I also ate some pretty bad stuff this past week, so I am going to make sure to stay on track this week. I weighed in at 278 pounds today! It feels so weird to say that. Last week when I was 279, I wrote 297 in my notebook where I keep a weekly record of my weight. Either I am dyslexic or just not use to that "7" in there. So, here are some NSV: Some I have shared before, but I felt they needed to be re-shared 1. I am up to 10 mins on the elpitical machine (HUGE FOR ME) 2. I went to the cardiologist for a re-check last week. Haven't been there since a few months before surgery. My BP, with no meds since date of surgery, was 122/84, and pulse was 72! Can I get a "WOOT WOOT"..........the doctor shook my hand 3. I could squeeze my butt into size 20 jeans Still tight, but I could zip them I put my size 24's in the dryer and they are still baggy. But I don't have any 22's and don't want to buy any. I went to a store where I know the stuff is cheap, and NO size 22's!! So, I just bought a few 20's. Just bought some sweat pants for $3 to wear until I fit into the 20's. 4. I got a job! Not a RN job, but it's a job for now. I got a nanny job for a family I have known for 8 years. It's just part time, but it gets me out of the house 5. I can walk from my basement (up 3 sets of small steps- quad level house) carrying laundry and still have the energy to fold it and put it away without sitting or resting! 6. While working, I can run up the steps to check on the kids, and not feel like my heart is gonna jump out of my chest I couldn't walk to my mailbox before surgery without the need to lean over the counter when I got inside to be able to breathe. 7. I can shower and get out and not have to sit down and rest. Sometimes, before surgery, I would have to lay in bed naked because I couldn't do anything else. 8. I shoveled the snow from my entire driveway and sidewalks with no break I couldn't even shovel 1 path last year. 9. I fit into a booth at a resturant without moving the table. 10. My periods are freaking NORMAL!!! 11. I met a friend for lunch the other day that I haven't seen since I was 6 weeks post-op and she said "WOW, where did the rest of you go" 12. I can play with my dogs, and run around (somewhat) with them and play hide and seek, which they love. I can take them for walks (which I need to do more of). Okay, now some # victories: 1. I am in the 270's! 2. I am 11 pounds away from being half way to goal!! 3. I am 9 pounds away from losing 100 pounds!! 4. Starting BMI was 53.... today.... 39!!!!! I know I say this a lot, but I am SO glad I have you guys to share all my victories with :D For anyone just starting this journey, trust me, it gets better, and it will all be worth it!!!

I am 10 days post op and just got back from the doctors. I had a clear, little red liquid leaking from my large incision and he said it is an infection. You may want to go to your doctor and check just to be safe. You don't want to let it go and then get into serious problems.

Hi Guys, I'm right there with you. Surgery April 1st. Started all liquid a day early. Day 10 and feeling hungry for the first time in a long time. Going to have my last shake now and that ought to do it for the night. Down 11 pounds. Not one single bite of food in 10 days. Wednesday will be here before we know it. The end and the beginning is in sight.

Had my procedure on March 19 and I am at 4ccs right now. Dr T is about to give me another 2ccs. I've been feeling like it hasn't been working but I have noticed my clothes fitting differently. I've lost a total of 14 lbs and I'm anxiously awaiting for the other 80 to disappear. I'm sure it will all be fine, I just alwys seem to have reservations......I've tried to diet almost my whole life. Cross your fingers.....by the way my name is Joey. :-)