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BBGirl you lost $144.00?? Hee Hee - i know where it is!!! you had WLS june 2011 - benefit of the doubt - you might have lost the 144 lbs in 14 months or so???? bringing us to about september, october 2012? this is an awful long stall - and i can't imagine how bad you must feel I hate to say it but "maybe" your body has adjusted to where your weight is now it (your body) might be saying ............... "hey bud you've lost 144 lbs - maybe thats where we're gonna stop) but maybe its not saying that gotta cover my a ssssssssss you are eating sooo little at 2 years PO you are physically unable to eat more than 5 or so bites??? I agree maybe upping your calories a bit would help congrats on your amazing weight loss of 144 lbs (not $'s LOL) good luck kathy

I wish someone had suggested that for me. I got the lapband first. I loved it at first but then with all the fills, unfills, food getting stuck, and finally a slip, I had a revision to sleeve. I wish I had known about it first. Yes, I did know there could be complications and I hoped for the best and went through with the lapband but the sleeve has been a godsend. I was lucky in that my revision went very smoothly. I've lost a lot more weight with the sleeve and I don't have the same problems I did with the band. The band works great for many people and it did for me at first. I loved the restriction but I didn't like food getting stuck and having to run to the bathroom all of the time. It was always a guessing game with each fill on what I would be able to eat and sometimes you can eat one thing and with the next fill you can't eat that thing anymore. I went with the lapband first because of the idea of it being reversible. I thought that sounded appealing even though I knew I didn't and wouldn't want it reversed. I had no will power at all. With my sleeve I can still only eat 1/2 to 3/4 cup of food but I don't fear what I eat anymore. It is still a struggle some days to get in all of my Protein but I am thankful I went with a permanent low maintenance alternative. I used to have to drive 2 hours for a fill and my husband has now changed jobs and our new insurance would not have covered the fills or a revision surgery. Revision surgeries don't always good and I can tell you from experience that if you have a band failure, it is heart breaking to know that you may have so much damage done that you don't have any other options plus you could have permanent damage it the band erodes into your stomach. I was lucky in that mine just slipped up my esophagus. They had to unfill my band and I gained 20 lbs back waiting on my revision surgery. I knew I couldn't lose or maintain the weight I lost without help. I revised to the sleeve 2 years ago. I feel normal like I did before the band, no throwing up, getting food stuck, worries at all. Now I can only eat a small amount and I feel full a lot faster and stop eating. The same downfall with the band is that you can't drink anything while you eat and you have to wait until your stomach empties after eating before you can drink anything because there is simply no room for it to go anywhere except back up. Please take some time to visit the sleeve forum and also the band to sleeve revision forum just to be able to make an informed decision of just how many people have complications. I wish I had done that but I so desperately wanted help and knew my insurance would pay for the band that I just went through with it. I was lucky in that my revision surgery for the sleeve took only 45 minutes to remove the band and to perform the sleeve. My surgeon was very skilled and I have had very successful weight loss where a lot of revisions experience slower weight loss than had they had the sleeve surgery from the beginning. Best of luck to you sunshine.

It's your muscles swelling/rataining Fluid because you've stressed them. They inflame as the result of that stress. It's just Water, keep running and move on. It takes months to add actual muscle mass, and it's rare to add muscle mass during a weight loss period. You need a calorie surplus to add muscle mass.

Hey everyone, Just wanted to share some exciting news. Yesterday, I was getting ready for my daughters 4k graduation and I put some pants on that were really tight on me before. Now they are Huge. I guess that's the last time I'll be able to wear those. That was really the first time that I have really noticed the weight loss. It is so exciting, just wanted to share with others how knows how it feels. So, how are all of you doing?

I lost until I was on mushies and then "real" food. Some do "diet"....I didn't. My loss has been slow but fairly easy. I can and have dieted; I dieted myself to 405 pounds. Diets don't work for everyone; they didn't for me. I became food obsessed. (When can I eat how MUCH can I eat what if I overeat OMG I'm up a pound is it fat is it water? I'm HUNGRY) LOL I'm trying to totally change how I look at food, not think about it 24/7. And for me, diet = all food, all the time. I'm doing well now that I have restriction. I am in "diet mode" in that I don't buy junk food, and I don't let myself snack, but what I eat and when isn't weighed, counted, portioned, or so on. If I want some butter on my steamed veggies I use it. If I want a chick fil a I get it; I can only eat about 1/2 of one anyway. I don't choose that stuff all the time, but nothing is "off limits" as long as I'm not snacking. That works for me...dieting the "old" way may or may not work for you. But no, we don't really lose once we are on "real" food before we get good restriction (for me, fill #7) unless we "diet".

Below is an encounter I had with a exceptionally thoughtful gentleman whom help me decide on weight loss surgery in a strange sort of way. I recalled attending a TCOYD (Taking Care of Your Diabetes) Conference approx 3 years ago in Kenner Louisiana. In the lobby of the conference center I met an extremely nice middle age man who happened to be morbidly obese, body weight around 375 to 400 lbs. We discuss things such as diets, glucose meters, and other things pertaining to the seminar. We walked slowly around the building, the gentleman began to tired quite rapidly. As a result, I suggested we take seat on a couch until the exhausted gentleman regained his energy. After 10 minutes or so we decided to attend a few breakout sessions together. One of the things I most remembered about that encounter was that pleasant and polite gentleman could not get up on his own from the sofa, he struggled from side to side as each attempted to push himself up from the setting position. It was quite strenuous and very demanding, he was helpless and powerless to regained his standing posture. I asked him did he needed help, and his reply was yes. At that moment I convinced myself to look into weight reduction surgery. After the conference I never met the man again. Strangely, I would like to see him, maybe to thank him or offer suggestions about WLS. My accomplishment from the sleeve (85 lbs in seven months and off all meds including diabetes) and everyday struggles occur by many experiences. So as to that one day is very difficult to forget.

WOW....you must have a very sensitive scale. I am only 8 weeks out and I have had 3 weeks in a row with no loss or a gain. Hope that others read this about your eating too much during your birthday. It is ok to have an occassional treat but if you do it several days in a row it is not good. That is how I got to where I was in the beginning. Maybe I will have just one and then I had 3-4. Best of luck on your return to the good life.

You are so close to providence hospital, have you considered going there? They are a weight loss surgery center of excellence. It was a great experience...

You probably lost a lot of Fluid even if you are properly hydrated. It would be impossible to lose 19 pounds of fat in 5 days! That is 66,500 calories burned. I lost 10 in the first 7 days, but I also knew that it was mostly Water. I then went 5 weeks and only lost 3 1/2 pounds. Now I am losing a bunch rapidly and it is fat because my pants are falling off my butt. You will lose in waves so don't get frustrated if you don't see consistant weight loss. It will happen! Keep up the good work.

Hi all, happy Friday!! I have an odd thing happening when I swallow, I'm wondering if it happends to any of you and what your Dr's say about it, mine is of no help. I had surgery in February, all of my anatomy pre-surgery tests came back perfect, surgery went perfectly, nothing was out of the ordinary. 5-6 weeks after surgery I went in for my first follow up appt and (hopefully) a fill... my Dr does fills using an x-ray, I stand in front of it, my band shows up, I swallow the barium Fluid and we watch it go down, pool up a little and then slowly flow through my band. It's pretty cool! Except here's the odd thing that happends - when I swallow, it doens't ALL go through the band, it will pool up, sit there for a few seconds, and then here and there the fluid will start to drain through the band. After watching for a few minutes it still doesn't ALL drain through, there is still a bit left handing out above the band, eventually it does all go through. So the first time we saw this (6 weeks post op) my Dr said he never saw it before and I must have some food stuck in there, or I must be too tight, he gave me a total unfill (I had fluid in there coming out of surgery, although he doesn't know how much, maybe 6cc's he said - but I TOTALLY don't believe him that I had 6cc's, I would put money on that, he made that number up, yes, my Dr lies to me and I can prove it). He said come back in a week. After a week, the same exact thing happend (remember I now have NO fill AND that day from first thing in the morning until my appt I didn't eat a thing, only drank) so this confirms that it isn't because of a stuck peice of food and it isn't because I'm too tight. He gave me a 2.5cc fill that day, told me to come back in a month. Went back Wednesday of this week, SAME THING happends still. He did not want to give me a fill, but he also isn't doing anything else to figure it all out and he's just wasting my time (SO many issues with my Dr). I told him that I can't keep waiting for this to change on it's own, it hasn't changed in the month and a week that we've been watching it, if we're not going to do some tests or something different then I want to ignore it for now and move on with my weight loss, please give me a fill and get me back to some restriction - PLEASE! So he did, I'm at good restriction now and hopefully will see some weight loss results. Anyone have anything similar happening? Dr is now calling it a "spasm" that happends in my throat when I swallow. Some facts that might be helpful to know: 1. I've never been stuck 2. I've never felt discomfort from it, never have felt like I was choking or couldn't get food down 3. Remember that it isn't because I was over full, because it happends when I have NO fill Thanks for your 2 cents!! Melissa

The cold feeling happens with weight loss in general. You lose insulation which = cold feeling. I love the cold feeling as i get hot easily now. It's kind of a type of trade off. There are pros and cons to each. But I would rather have a useless piece of stomach cut out than run the risk of an infection or ulcer in the fold. That just my opinion though.

I only lost 30 lbs with the lap band (had it in for 1 year). I then developed massive Reflux (I actually had stopped taking nexium for 6 months...then it got so bad I was stuck drinking EAS protein drinks and my med was upped to Dexalant (a stronger more expensive drug for Reflex..which still doesn't cut it). My Dr. Thinks I have scarred tissue around the band area and wants to remove it to give me 6-8 weeks before bypass (without anything). Today I am having the band out...I am so scared to be without anything but I plan on eating healthy and working out (for this week it will be lots of walking)...My Dr seemed to think bypass is a better it for me (when they reroute your stomach you will not have Reflex at all) and He thinks I will be more successful in my weight loss journey....I am 250lb now and have approx 110 lbs to lose...I got this!

I am having a similar problem. I am 9 months out and have lost 115lbs, but have gaind 5lbs in the last week and a half so am to a weight loss of 110lbs. I have started working out a lot harder and am hoping that it is all muscle gain, but I hate seeing the scale move this way. I still have about 30lbs to lose and need help! I don't think I am over eating, but I know that I do eat a little fast. I am also not getting full at the same point I used to, but don't think I am over eating. I am still stopping after eating a small portion of food, but because I want to not because my tummy hurts. Thoughts? I think I am going to watch my carbs more closely. HELP ME! I am really sad and starting to worry. I have come too far to go back now.

I hate to tell y'all that it's probably not going anywhere! It's crazy because as much research as I did I never heard about permanent gas. Before surgery I had gas maybe a couple times a week now it's all day everyday. Thank God I have my own office. It's sometimes painful. I asked the PA about it and she told me that for some patients it never goes away, but if that's a side effect of amazing weight loss, well, I guess I'll take it.

congrats on your 100 pound weight loss annie..That is great!!And running now too...wow..just what I want to do too!! You are doing great!!!

So I was banded on 1/29. SO far I am feeling great, much better than I anticipated. I am tolerating most of the foods on my list. I seriously need to find something to fill my time because being off of work is going to drive me crazy. I really have not thought much about food and I am not hungry. So far so good. It is a bit hard to explain to friends and family why you are not eating things they think you should eat but otherwise its ok. I am excited about the weight loss, which I got a lettle taste of from my pre-op diet. According to my surgeon everything went exceptionally well. Ofcourse I do have thoughts about the fill process but I am trying not to let my imagination run wild and just take things as they come.

So I was banded on 1/29. SO far I am feeling great, much better than I anticipated. I am tolerating most of the foods on my list. I seriously need to find something to fill my time because being off of work is going to drive me crazy. I really have not thought much about food and I am not hungry. So far so good. It is a bit hard to explain to friends and family why you are not eating things they think you should eat but otherwise its ok. I am excited about the weight loss, which I got a lettle taste of from my pre-op diet. According to my surgeon everything went exceptionally well. Ofcourse I do have thoughts about the fill process but I am trying not to let my imagination run wild and just take things as they come.

13 lbs is very good for still being within the 4-6 healing window after surgery. Slow weight loss is better for your body and better for your mental adjustment (losing weight too quickly can cause severe depression). Keep doing what you're doing and expect (and desire) a loss of 1-2 lbs a week and you'll do great.

I assumed I did if I used water but I didn't want to mess my intake up. I am really not a milk drinker but I will definitely try it with the protein shakes. It seems like it would make them taste better. I am ordering samples of different brands to try and see what I like. I plan on having enough for pre and post op so I can see what I like after surgery before buying a large quantity. Thanks and any other suggests that you have for pre or post of are greatly appreciated!! I am going to Mexico and I am worried about not having a strict diet to go by afterwards. I do best if I am told exactly what to have and how much and when. I am thinking about trying to find a bariatric nutritionist for post op to keep me on track. My insurance does not pay for anything relating to weight loss so I don't know if that would be excluded or not. Ugh! I am just worrying about everything. I have so many lists of what I need, and do's and don'ts from posts I have read on here. I am driving myself crazy thinking about it!!

Lap Band 9/2007 by Dr Spivak in Houston: 20 lb weight loss immediately after band. Lost another 60 with running, boot camp, exercise and benefit of band as tool to eat less. Reached weight of 135 and felt great, but intermittent episodes of severe restriction, vomiting. Dr Spivak had moved out of the country and his website directed his patient to the physicians at TLC Surgery in Houston. Made an appointment with Dr Sherman Yu. Found out in July that my esophagus and pouch were dilated and i had reflux esophagitis (asymptomatic). All Fluid had to be removed from band and I returned to bad habits. Gained 50 lbs back and felt miserable. I was approved for band removal and revision to sleeve right away, but I chickened out and canceled my surgery in February thinking I could do it on my own. Wrong! i rescheduled and had my revision on 5/12/14 at Park Plaza Hospital. In the hospital, I received IV acetaminophen, dilaudid PCA and the On-Q painbuster ball. I walked 4 hrs after surgery and went home around noon the next day. The staff at PPH was amazing. Dr Yu gave me prescriptions for pain and nausea meds at my preop appt so it would be available when I got home from the hospital. He also is using new compounded lotions/creams for scar, nausea and pain which I am using as well. It is pod#4 today and feel great!! Of course, I have some incisional pain, but I really cannot complain at all. The last time I took pain meds was 2 days ago. I was sent home with the On-Q pain ball and removed it myself on pod#2. No nausea or vomiting, able to drink without problems. I drove myself to the movies yesterday and walked 2 miles today. I hope I'm not speaking too soon and jynxing myself, but I really don't think so. I just wanted to put a positive experience out there for those folks who have heard the horror stories. Best of luck to all!

I watch BL every week...Tivo is the best! I think Vicky and Brady are doing some sneaky stuff and I hope they get voted off! I think that it is really unrealistic for the real world. A good kick off for weight loss, but there doesn't seem to be any post-show support. I went to a fat farm (weight loss spa) for 2 months a few years ago and did fine for a while, but gained it all back. I did see that Matt has been struggling and I'm sure some other people are too. They also don't really focus much on what they are eating other than to promote certain brands.

Hi Donna I just wanted to say well done with the weight loss its fantastic, if your losing weight steadily and not eating too much then I wouldn't worry about a fill for the time being. I was banded on the 27/8/04 and have had three fills up to now but i didn't feel any lasting restriction untill after my third fill. Helenxx.

Hi y'all my name is Felicia and I had my surgery June 27th at 1030am I was a nervous wreck my highest point of anxiety was the IV being put in which ended up not being that bad. The surgery itself was fast of coarse because your under. Upon waking up I felt no soreness just very groggy and was asked to take deep breaths I did and thank god I had no nausea or vomiting, they transferred me to my room where I slept most of the day away. Once I snapped out of my drowsiness I immediately asked to walk and they allowed me to. I had no help getting out of bed there was pain but I could handle it. I walked the same day of surgery 4 times it was the best way to help with the gas in my chest and stomach, I did have a drainage tube which was removed the following morning and ill tell you it was the weirdest feeling ever kind of like my belly button was being pulled into my body that's the only way I can describe it. I was released on June 28th at around 530pm and my recovery has been fine there has been pain but I only ended up taking half my dosage of loritab at a time I've had no problems thus far drinking Water or Protein shakes or eating the Jello and broths. As of today Saturday I'm 9 days post op and I'm super excited to start my soft foods tomorrow I guess y'all want some stats my highest weight Nov. 2012 I was 317 I lost 10lbs by December and then started seeing a weight loss doctor at this time surgery wasn't an option for me but after blood tests and talking to nutritionists I started to think about it. From December 2012 to Surgery day I lost a total of 44lbs plus the ten I'd lost pre doctors makes 54 yay me! I was so excited the morning of surgery to weigh 263 it just amazed me. Today I weigh 255 so since June 27th I've lost 8lbs this journey is amazing! I have no regrets and can't wait to connect with others. Thank you for reading

I’m 25 months post my sleeve. I was almost 54 when I had my surgery and I’m so glad I did. I had a friend who’d had sleeve surgery & I did a lot of reading before seeing my surgeon so generally I felt pretty prepared. But because we’re different, there will be differences in our experience too. You just never know how your body will respond after surgery to the change. For example my occasional blood pressure drops have become something that occurs every day - annoying but manageable. The parasite that hid out in my tummy (multiple antibiotics over years couldn’t kill it) was cut out with the bulk of my tummy & now I’m not sensitive to lactose anymore - unexpected win! As @Creekimp13 said the surgery will give you a tool to aid weight loss by reducing your tummy but it doesn’t do anything for what drives us to eat. That’s the work you have to do. Many do the head work with the help of a therapist, short or long term, others do it alone. It’s an essential component to the success of your surgery because the things that drove you to eat will always be there. You just have to learn & develop strategies to manage those drives. The surgery doesn’t educate us on how to eat better & in a healthier way either. Keep in touch with your dietician while you lose & maintain. I also did a lot of reading, ignored all the fad diet stuff & worked out how I wanted to eat long term to maintain my weight loss & still enjoy my life without feeling I’m missing out. What drove us to eat & bad eating habits & food choices are the reason why we always regained after we lost in the past. I don’t know what the further will bring. None of us do. Life can throw a heap of sh*t at us sometimes. But I do know I’m going to try to keep working at this every day.

So I’m 18 days post op, and haven’t lost weight in a week. I’m eating 1/4 cup of cottage cheese, 2 protein shakes a day and getting 64 oz ow liquids in a day. Is this common???