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i had the obera balloon in may 2017 seriously if i was able to go back i wouldnt have wasted my money i woke up on the 4 th day after having the balloon and felt fine like nothing had been done i lost 17lbs in total the balloon was removed nov 15th. what they dont tell you is you will probably only lose weight the first month unless you are one of the ones who throw up for the whole 6 months that its in. i wish i had just gone for the gastric sleeve in the first place. i feel like the balloon is a waste of money but good luck on your journey.

Thanks! I don't really have any secrets, other than following my doctor's and nutritionist's advice. High Protein, low carbs. I use the elliptical machine a few times a week, and just recently started adding in some weights.

ok. heres the plan, k? i should of done this from the beginning. start to tell people: im so hungry, but im cutting back. every once in a while, just throw in a " geez im hungry". that way, when you start to really drop the lbs, they will already be condtioned to your weight loss. i should of done that. two neices and a close girlfriend know ive been banded. none of my family knows. i have found out that having 'someone' know is good. i really really try not to bore my few confidants, but its hard. like i have to share the daily/weekly successes im going through. good luck to you! -r

I like my scale, but they are expensive. but they will show your weight/ body fat /lean mass and also keep all info online so you can see your progress. Withings Scale

if you do lose 100 lbs, you'll likely have at least some excess skin. that is something so many pre-ops and early post-ops obsess about, and I did as well, but from where I now am five years out and over 200 lbs lighter, I can tell you that I have no idea why I wasted even one brain cell worrying about it. In the grand scheme of things, the loose skin is kind of a minor issue. And I think a lot of vets would agree with me. I'd take the loose skin any day of the week over being morbidly obese again, and plus, it's easy enough for most of us to hide. You'll likely be the only one who'll know it's there. And if it really bothers you, there's always plastic surgery P.S. this is me after losing 235 lbs (I've since gained a few back). I had a ton of excess skin here (have since had it removed)

So I have just finished my 6 months under my doctor and nutritionist. I have 1 last appointment with my Doc nest Thurs, then they will be submitting my request to the Insurance Company. I have read on here that a lot of people had Pre-Op diets. My question was, When did you find out about the pre-op diet? What was the purpose of the diet? Do you still do the diet if you lose weight prior to your Band date. Thank you again for the support and the knowledge that you are all sharing! <3 I appreciate it! I just want to be successful in the journey! GIve*LOVE*Back - Diana

Are you referring to a 6 month supervised diet required by your insurance company? if so, my insurance company will not cover the surgery if you don't lose weight each month or more specifically gain weight. I just finished up my first month and lost 4 lbs.

Hello everyone. I am coming up on my third month of my 6 month pre op diet. Has anyone that has had to do this not lost a lot of weight? I have lost a little over the past couple months but not much. What does the nutritionist do if you do not lose weight between visits?

I had the option to do 3 months with my surgeon or 6 months with my primary doctor. I opted to do it with the surgeon and was told that if I gained or didn't lose weight at each appt., my insurance would deny coverage. I've been following a strict diabetic/low carb lifestyle from about two weeks before my 1st appt. with my surgeon and started an exercise program (couch to 5k) about a week before that 1st appt. It feels like I'm going to keel over and die every time I open that app to workout but it's worth every step in the long run. So far it's been going about how I thought it would. I lost about 10 pounds in the two weeks from when I started to when I saw the surgeon on the 15th and since then I've come down another 3-4 pounds. I'll see her again the end of next month and I'm determined not to screw this one up, lol.

Hello everyone, I am currently down 130 pounds since my surgery in January. I lost 100 pounds pretty quickly (like in the first few months) and the rest is slowly coming off (lost about 30 pounds from mid May to mid September). But now my weight loss has literally just stopped! I have not lost any weight in about 2 months. I still weigh 238 pounds. I still have a lot more weight to lose!! I am eating a little more now than I could when I first had surgery. But I still eat A LOT less than I did before. I do eat some carbs but they are complex carbs. Sweet potatoes, 100% whole wheat, oatmeal. Stuff like that. But I was told it was okay to incorporate that stuff back in as long as you avoided the simple carbs. I also exercise A LOT. Like 2 or 3 times a day. I have been obsessed with trying to get off of this plateau but nothing seems to be working. Any advice would be helpful!! I am so frustrated right now!

I had my surgery in Las Vegas. 9 years ago I had the lap band. Few months ago had issues with my esophagus. Of course, they opened my band. Come to find out it wasn't my band it was the scar tissue above causing restriction. Long story short band hand to be removed. But with all the hoopla of insurance and what not I gained 50 pounds. Plus the weight I gained beforehand. I was going to have the band removed. Fix my boo boo in my throat. I should have been trained long enough and no what to to. Oh noooo..... I am an addict. I eat! I needed a tool! With much research and talking with my doctor. The Gastric Sleeve was the answer. Sleeve is way different then the band. I learned the hard way. Protein drinks I have to watch the sugar. One I could drink was 3grams. The other was 5grams. Sorry for the babbling. No one understands.

I am at my 6 week post op mark. On my last visit I was only down 22 pounds total. I was told that was "average" loss. I am frustrated right now because tomorrow I have my checkup and I don't want to hear that same old well that's average loss. Is it wrong to think that every pound lost is a good thing? Should I not be able to celebrate and feel happy with my "average" weight loss?

Hey amourette! I'm around but between grad school and teaching full time I haven't been on the sight as much lately. I have at least three days at work where I don't get home until between 6 and 7 pm and then its all I can do to stay awake until bedtime. The fall semester is usually pretty busy up until November, then things begin to get back to normal. That's great about the uniform and less back pain. I'm beginning to realize that I need some smaller clothes as well. When I wear something a bit more fitted to work, everyone comments on how well I'm doing. I've been playing with the clothes in my closet and finding that some that I didn't think would fit, do fit, and that others are simply too big and must go. Unfortunately that means most of my tops are too big, so it looks like I need to hit the resale shops. There's a plus size resale shop close to my house and I'm thinking about seeing what they've got. It will be a whole lot cheaper to get one or two things there and then save my money for the big shopping spree that I know is coming. The best thing about all of this is that I know I will be going on job interviews in the spring, and whether they admit it or not, weight does play a factor in some of the positions I would like to look into. I'm looking into administrative positions for the next school year so that I can start putting my master's degree to work. I still love teaching, but if I want a pay raise I have to move into administration. That really sucks! picardy

I agree with the above. My twins were nearly three when I had surgery and my stepkids ranged in age from 11-20 years old (four of them are girls). The impact on all of them has been bigger than I thought. In fairness, my stepkids do not live with me, but seeing me shed weight in a way other than the extreme diets their mom does has been very positive for the girls. They would emulate their mother and simply skip meals over a perceived need to lose weight. Now their approach is more balanced. I can't help them all - I have four stepdaughters and one of them has battled anorexia (and other equally serious issues like drug addiction) for the past five years. The huge impact is on my kids and how I raise them. My children eat a very healthy and balanced diet. We do not follow the clean your plate rule; we eat until we're no longer hungry. Just that one change is huge. My kids don't eat from boredom and we're all more active. They do not remember big me. They sometimes know that the larger lady in older photos is me but they forget just as often. Their mom does not look like that. Furthermore, while it's still sometimes a struggle for me to be nice to myself, I am not raising my kids to look in the mirror and declare themselves fat or unattractive. We're trying very hard in this house not to put too much emphasis on size or weight. We focus on healthy choices and moderation. My kids know cake isn't a very healthy choice, but they also know that if they don't eat it every day, it's okay to enjoy it sometimes. Too many moms I run into on the playground these days wonder why their kids binge on candy and soda when they get the chance - but they told their kids those foods were bad and forbid them from being in the house. Well, you have to find a balance here and one extreme is just as damaging as the other. The only thing I'd be wary of is the portion sizes with your seven year old. Kids are very observant. What you don't want is for them to think that it's normal for everyone to eat a few bites or spoonfuls of food and declare themselves full. My one stepdaughter has a number of issues, but a huge factor in her body image problems is due to her mom's constant cycle of failed diets, coupled with continually putting herself down for not achieving her goals. Every one of those four girls has at times completely blasted their bodies and told me how fat they are. And every one of them is in truth, very thin. Do not ever underestimate the power you have over how your children feel about their bodies. You cannot control it all, but being mindful of what you do and what you say is incredibly important. Best of luck. Your kids will benefit from this as you become a healthier and more active person. I can actually play with my kids and chase them...I'm not just huffing and waddling behind them hollering at them to slow down for Mommy anymore. ~Cheri

The proof of attempts means you attempted to lose weight previously....I had documentation of talking with my PCM about my weight, increasing exercise, joining Weight Watchers, etc. I can't help you with the question about OBH visits...8 seems excessive. I have Tricare Prime in Western Region and I'm seen at a military treatment facility. I had 2 required OBH visits, one to fill out a LONG computer inventory and the other to meet with a psychologist to discuss the results.

As any tried the cleanse diet? I feel like I'm stuck on my weight & thinking this will be a boost to get me going again.

Just wondering is there anyone on here that lives in Nashville, TN and had weight loss surgery here ? And if so how did it go ? Sent from my iPod touch using the BariatricPal App

Hello all, I had my visit with my surgeon today Dr.Sherwinter very nice and reassuring visit. Before meeting him I was asked a few questions by the physician assistant weight,height,age ect....I told him I was 39 will be 40in January he said Wow!I thought you were 30....I just couldn't help to think after all this weight is gone I will look and feel 30...lol

thanks for this info cathychatts! i've never heard of this book - will look for it - sounds very interesting! i thought that stronger bones in heavier people was due to more weight load on the bones - they have to be stronger to bear the weight. probably that's just a small part of it!

They got back to me and told me that to be safe I should continue taking it until the rate of my weight loss slows down by 30-50%. **SIGH** I was really looking forward to not having to take them any more. I hate pills!

I am going to my first appointment with the surgeon, nurse, and nutritionist tomorrow. I have been to the Seminar but that is all so far. I am very nervous and trying to make a list of questions for when I go. I know that I will forget everything I have thought about when I step in her office. Any suggestions? I am so nervous. What if I don't weigh enough? I haven't been at BMI of 40 so I have been gaining weight to get there because I don't have comorbidities. What if I go through these 6 months and get denied? advice for this newbie please.

Hi everyone! I'm a 35 year old female new to this site, and I was wondering if it's possible to lose too much weight before insurance approval. My first appointment was on Sept 22, and at the time I was 355. I was told my insurance required 3 mos on a medically supervised weight loss plan before consideration. They instructed me to lose 20 lbs, eat 1200 cals/day, take in 70-90g of Protein, and start working in some exercise. It took about a week to work down to 1200 cals, but I got there and have worked up to walking my dogs 3x/day. Now my 3 month follow-up is on Monday (Dec 21- this is when they'll be submitting to insurance) and I'm down 66 lbs (289). I'm getting worried I'm going to be told that I'm perfectly capable of losing weight on my own and turned away. The GP who referred me outright told me last week to forget the surgery and keep doing what I'm doing. The thing is, I've always been able to lose weight when I get in the right mindset. That's not the problem. The problem is that there are usually YEARS between 'right mindsets', and the mindset is easily broken when I get sick (which of course always happens eventually). Like I told my husband, I'm only doing so well because I'm not TRYING to swim to shore this time - I'm just trying to get to the life raft over there that's going to help me the rest of the way. What do you guys think? Is there cause for concern ?

Chrissy, I understand why you are so disappointed and worried about your continued weight loss. I hope that Inamed can offer some support. Nancy

I lost about that much prior to surgery, too - and our starting weight is about the same. They absolutely won't tell you that they won't approve the surgery because you can lose it on your own. The whole purpose of those supervised diets is to see if you can stick to a plan long term - and you've clearly demonstrated that you can! The only issue with losing too much weight beforehand is if you end up with a lower BMI than what they'd normally approve (like below 35 or 40), but you're not at risk of that. Don't worry about it and lose away! You'll be glad you got rid of a lot of pounds before the surgery - I know I was!

B 1 EGG 70 L1/2 CHILLI 110+ 1/2 BAKED POT135 5 PC NUGGETS 220+ CRACKERS = 595 D1/2 CHILLI+1/2 BAKED POT+ 245= 840 NSV REGINE CAME IN...HASN'T SEEN ME SINCE B4 MY SURGERY...SHE LOOKED @ ME & SAID "DID YOU LOOSE WEIGHT?" I SMILED & SAID "YES"