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Hooray for you!!! It really IS amazing, isn't it? The weight just seems to evaporate. Way to go Lily! Cinderella

Hi to All, I was banded yesterday in S.F. by Dr Cirangle. I was so scared. The night was alittle rough, but today I feel good. My stomach is sore but only feels as if I worked out hard. That's been years. Was anyone else banded yesterday? I would love to hear from you. My support group is very small. My spouse and son are the only ones that know of my decision. I come from a large Italian family:hungry: My start weight was 261 we will see how it goes!

Hi all, I'm from the beaches of Virginia but left my bikini body behind some 30 years ago! My appointment with the surgeon is this Wednesday, so I guess I'll find out then if I can be banded. I sure hope so. Been fighting weight all my life; and now I have diabetes, heart disease, and a host of other lovelies. God blessed me with a loving, supportive husband of 24 years and a wonderful 19 year old son who is currently in college. Life is good and full; in more ways than one! I've been reading for several weeks; learning as much as I can from you fine folks. My surgeon is Anthony Terracino if anyone is familiar with him... Well, other than the fact that I'm retired on disability since 1995 due to complications from a craniotomy (lupus related); that's about all there is to tell about me. I enjoy gardening when I am able, our church family, and we like to travel but haven't been able to this past year because of my loss of mobility. And I have a ton of great friends! They really keep me going. Looking forward to sharing more with you soon. Hugs, Susie

Howdy, all. I'm Lissa from Florida. I'm 44 and I've been heavy since I was 23. I did a major injury to my leg at 9 months pregnant and, since I was having a c-section, the injury went untreated. It's difficult to walk on crutches when you've been cut from hip to hip. So, I spent two years barely walking and gained a TON of weight. I've never been able to get it off and, instead, I've added a bunch more so that I'm now over 330 pounts. I've been exploring Lap Band Surgery for about six months, including going to a seminar and talking to a surgeon. I lost 50 lbs on Atkins and then quit smoking. A week after I quit smoking, I ended up in the hospital with drug-resistant pneumonia. After steroids, russian roullette with antibiotics and enough other drugs to kill a mule, I emerged from the hospital still sick. I lost another 40+ pounds in about 7 days, then gained it all back in 7 days, plus more. THEN I developed blood clots in my legs and a couple of pulmonary embolisms. Now I'm on blood thinners to take care of the PEs and not allowed to do any exercise except "gentle" walking. Not sure what that is.... I finally got into the weight loss surgeon and he is agreeable to doing the surgery, even with me on blood thinners, but he wants to do VSG instead of the lap band. I'm cool with his reasoning and it makes sense, but I need more information abotu what happens after VSG, which is why I'm here.

Congratulations on the weight lost.

Lets see I had my surgery March 12, 2012. As of today I have lost 16 pounds. I have been walking daily and feel great, but I lost more before surgery. I know it is going to take awhile for the weight to come off. Cannot wait to see it in the scale, my clothes feel lose. I read more pages and by now peop le seem to be losing more. PLEASE TELL ME WHAT ELSE I CAN DO! I know I cannot snack. My doctor stated that by now I can eat anything and he wants me to stay away from sweets, carbs. Protein Protein Protein. I am so constipated at times.

I am not in your situation, however I did consider briefly, Gastric Bypass. I say briefly because I really feel it is a personal decision. I have struggled with losing and gaining the same 100lbs. over and over again probably 8 times in the last 20 yrs. Never able to maintain longer than about 2 months. I know what I am supposed to do, I just can't maintain. (I was also a candidate for Bypass) The only health issues I had going into this (blessing) was severe Osteoarthritis, and borderline HTN. All which is managed when I lose the weight. When I researched the lifestyle changes and recovery....The band took it, hands down! AND....if need be, it can be adjusted OR removed. Speak honestly with your surgeon and do your own research. Good luck on your decision!:scared2:

Hi, Lismivel! Don't be discouraged! Others here who are further post-surgery than I am will be able to give you good advice on how best to keep up your intake, as my experience is limited, since I am still in the clear fluids stage. Just so you know you aren't the only one worrying about your weight loss, when I was weighed at my first follow-up appointment last Thursday (9 days post-op) I was one kilo more (yes, more!) than I had been on the same scales two weeks previously - after four days of no food while on the IV, six days on clear fluids only and a huge portion of my stomach having been removed! Of course, I had read the average weight loss statistics and was therefore doubly disappointed. The surgeon said (from what I can remember between my tears!) that all sorts of things could be responsible, but that in days of yore I would have been ideally positioned to survive in periods of famine, as my body is so good at hanging on to what it has accumulated during times of plenty! He warned that it could also mean that I can expect long stalls as I move through the weight loss process, but for both of us, if the loss isn't showing at the moment, once it does show, it should be well worth seeing! Keep your chin up and all the best!

If you're talking about vertical sleeve, then it's very successful for patients with 35-55 BMI. My starting BMI was just over 49 and I lost all my excess weight plus some. Vertical sleeve is the first stage of the 2part surgery duodenal switch, and the reason it became a stand alone procedure is because patients were having great success without having to have the actual switch performed, and the sleeve was enough of a tool to get them to or below their goal weight. Vertical banding (lap band or realize) does not have as great success with higher BMI patients and usually only lose 50% of the excess weight over a 5-7 year period.

If you don't want to read the whole dang story just move onto the colored text at the very bottom of this post. I am so conflicted right now! My husband and I have always planned on having a large family. However I'm starting to feel like I'd be the dumbest person alive to actually INTENTIONALLY get pregnant after getting WLS and reaching goal. Especially considering how much it costs out of pocket for us to get pregnant without insurance for my infertility issues!!! We can certainly afford both......but I can't help but feel like maybe I'm being stupid not waiting to get the VSG. But then, when the thought of waiting occurs to me.....I feel like hell because I know that we will have to wait at least 2 years (as usual) to even begin TTC, and with my infertility/pcos it'll be more like at least 3 years to actually fall pregnant. That is so long to remain unhealthy and unable to enjoy my life with my children. I fear becoming diabetic and getting hbp and high cholesterol as I'm already bordeline...and it's only getting worse the longer I wait to lose all this weight! I also feel like if I waited for the WLS, I'd be stealing a further 3 years plus from my children to have a normal healthy mom who can do everything with and for them that a mom should! UGH! So confused. The thing is.....Both times I've been pregnant, I have had IUGR babies due to my severe loss of appetite coupled with the first two trimesters of nausea. I lose 20-30 lbs everytime I become pregnant, and that effects the growth of the babies not getting enough nutrients like they should. I always thought that even if I wasn't getting any food, the baby was supposed to be fine as he would just take from my body, and the ill effects would just be mine, and mine alone! That is what the doctors told me the BOTH times. But apparently they changed their minds after I had my second child the same way! This last pregnancy I had gestational diabetes, which wasn't even a concern the first time. Both babies weighed approximately 4lbs at birth, and had stopped growing at 37 weeks, and were always measuring 2+ weeks smaller during all of the ultrasounds. Proving that they were not getting what they needed to grow properly. Thank goodness they are both incredibly healthy now and are doing exceptionally well and are not only caught up, but hitting milestones far ahead of their age groups! But the problem still remains, because of my weight and the ever looming PCOS, and pregnancy hormones making me severely ill and causing my loss of appetite due to the PCOS....it's a never ending cycle you know? I know that if I lost the weight, I'd no longer have PCOS, my hormones would be healthy and normal for once. And any pregnancy from then on forward could only be healthier. My doctors say the same thing. However, we are simply not ready to get pregnant so soon yet as the little one is only 8 months today. However, if I do get the WLS and hit goal by 1 year and maintain for the 2 years after, and THEN decide to get pregnant, I fear that I might just actually GAIN all the weight back trying to EAT and KEEP THINGS DOWN this time around. I know that any time I become pregnant in the future I am dedicated to eating ALOT, whether I can keep it down or not, and eating very healthy despite weight gain or whatever else. I CANNOT have IUGR babies any longer, and my doctor agrees that I am one of those women who absolutely need to eat twice as much in order to keep the growing child healthy. Because of this, I feel like I may ruin all of my success after WLS. Basically.....I just wanted to know if any of you knows what the likelyhood of gaining all of my weight back and becoming unhealthy like I am today after the procedure is? I don't want to get the procedure now, and have a pregnancy throw me off and back on the train to imminent disease and early death! But, I don't want to not have any more children either. That is just not fair to my husband, and not to myself. Very selfish of me if that thought ever even occurred to me, which it wouldn't! I know some of you will say that I simply should not have any more children, especially since I have 2 already and my pregnancies barely go well. But my doctor's have pinpointed the actual problem and are willing, as am I, to do anything (even if it means to become hospitalized for the first 2 trimesters in order to keep an eye on my food/appetite and the babies growth) to keep the same from happening again. My doctors have both suggested that WLS would be the best option for me, for my health AND for the health of my future pregnancies and children in so many ways. But............why can't I shake the fear that if I end up pregnant after the procedure and eat like I'm supposed to, and successfully gain weight (albeit 11-20 lbs only, since that is the goal my docs have for me since I always lose weight during pregnancy) that I won't be able to get rid of it and then I'll eventually be back where I am because my stomach will have stretched due to the eating!!! Am I losing my mind here (my doctor sure thinks I am) or are my fears legitimate and rational? In a nutshell: I am afraid of gaining the weight back if I fall pregnant 2-3 years after the procedure. I have a habit of losing too much weight DURING a pregnancy, and gaining it back plus some immediately afterwards when I regain my appetite that was suppressed due to my reaction to the hormones during gestation. I can't decide if I should have the surgery now or after I'm through having children. My dilemma is: If I have all of the children I want than I will be waiting 5+ years to have the WLS, and will be in a much much worse place health-wise by then, than I am now. I feel like I'll have stolen those years from my children's lives as well, they deserve all of their mommy...not just what she can barely give. Not to mention the fact that who knows where we may be financially in 5+ years, yes we do have it well planned....but goodness, in this day and age of recession ya never really know do you? Insurance so far, isn't an option, who's to say it would be in the future. I just want to know if you guys think what I fear is likely? If so, how likely is it? Has this happened to anyone after the VSG and having fallen pregnant? If I exercise and keep my calories/carbs down will that help. I just fear that the extra eating I'll have to do to gain enough healthy weight during a pregnancy will stretch my stomach and it will be a never-ending cycle afterwords.

Isn't this amazing? We are really going to go all ghe way to goal once and for all. Personally, before sleeve surgery, I had no vision of me ever reaching normal weight, and believed I would die fat, many years prematurely. YeeHaw! I love reading about everyones success!

Hello, my name is Annie, but I love the Beatles so I named myself Abbey I am 25 years old and I had weight loss surgery on 8/23/2010. My highest weight was 330 lbs and by that point I became really scared of reaching the 400lbs. I have always been overweight but I usually remained just 50lbs above my ideal weight (which for my hight it should range from 140 to 150). I began dieting one year before my surgery in hopes that I could lose the weight on my own, and I did lose about 20lbs. After a year of not being able to lose more I decided to have the vsg. My starting weight was 311lbs, on the day of my surgery I was 295 and currently I am 224. I used to be a size 28 and I am now size 18. I am currently at a stall and for the last three weeks I have not lost a pound. I am a big meat eater so my diet consists mostly of chicken or beef, I try to stick to the no carb diet. Usually I was eating three meals a day, but at the start of this month I began to snack still sticking to the no carbs. I believe that my snaking is the reason for me not losing this month. I exercise for about 2 hrs two or three days a week, I do cardio for 45 mins and the rest is weight lifting. I had my surgery in Laredo, TX at a hospital name LMC and it ran for about 8,500. I hope this is enough information but if you have any questiosn go ahead and ask I'd love to help. I also hope to have some of my questions answered I think it is an awsome idea that we have a forum to share info

Hello everyone!! I was recently banded almost 3 weeks ago and I lost 23 pounds. I'm not sure of a date for my first fill, I will find out at next doctors app. My weight loss is at a stand still and I cann't wait to get first fill. I can really notice that I am getting very hungry soon after meals. I am walking 3/4 of a mile in the morning amd the same in the evening. I am very excited about this fill so I can get this journey started.

What type of insurance do you have? Have you check with them to see what they require. I have an example of a letter that my wife and I used and we were approved with in 30 days. What most doctors and insurance requires is a certian amount of time showing the weights you have, have you tried to loose weight, what medical issues that you have Ie: irregular hear beat, asthama, high blood pressure, sleep apena, pre or diabetic. Knee and leg problems. If you would like e-mail me your address and I will forward you a copy of the letter wwe used. The biggest thing that takes some time is putting together all the weights from over the years together. You can use all the times you went to the doctor, obgyn etc. I was right a 39.5/40.0. I hope that this will help you out. Chris

Hi My Name is Lynne and I have struggled with weight all my life. My weight has ballooned to 275 pounds on a 5.2 frame - disgusting! I am completing my Masters degree , have three gorgeous children and I am only instrinsically motivated to go through with this bec of health concerns - I am diabetic, hypertensive . I manage all aspects of my life well except my weight - I am a complete whimp about surgery fearful of complications - anyone else have my fears? Anyone care to comment:eek:

Hello everyone, My name is Mark and I was banded on 4/5/2012. My starting weight was 300 lbs and I'm 5'11". I know that isn't a ton of weight and if you saw me you'd probably think I weigh 250 lbs or less but that is where the secret is. I have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, insulin resistance, and high blood pressure. My cardiologist and my primary care physician wanted me to loose weight and I tried for a year and lost a total of 15 lbs and gained it all back. The problem with me is that because of my HCM I am exercise restricted and can't work out very much. I "carry" my weight well. That is what people always tell me. The reason is that I have a barrel chest at 65" and all of my weight is in my stomach and inside my chest cavity. So I decided to get banded. I was given the option of gastric bypass but I was a little scared of that. I got the Realize band with Imbrication. So far I have had a pretty smooth recovery. The biggest problem is gas. I have never had so much gas in my entire life. The biggest life savers so far have been Gas X, my heating pad and really hot showers on my back. My doctor was Dr. Tyner in Cary, NC and I had my surgery at Rex Hospital. I was in the hospital for less than a day and went home pretty soon. I got my band one day before my insurance expires. I was relieved I was able to do that! So far so good!

I am almost a week post op and today feeling great. I was a little slow moving from the surgery but yesterday and today have been 100% better. I am starting to get really tired of liquids and have moved to some cream soups that help a lot. It has been nice reading the other posts and has helped keep me encouraged and motivated. I'm interested in hearing from anyone on their experiences. I am down 14 lbs. I weighed 293 the morning of surgery and weighed in at 280 this morning. I really haven't been focused on watching weight loss because I was just concentrating on getting well from surgery. I see my surgeon on Monday, 12/08 and should be ready to go back to work.

Having read everything I could get my hands on to about RNY I have come across a books called Weight Loss Surgery for dummy's & Weight Loss Surgery Cookbook for Dummy's . Out of all I have read I find these two most helpfull. And as close to what my doctor prescribes . May be others starting their Journy may want to read the first one and the cookbook well can't wait to try some of the recipes in it. Just my Opinion.

We're on a similar boat. I'm off my bp and diabetic meds, but I'm still on cholesterol meds and still have sleep apnea. I can't wait to get off of this CPAP machine for good! I'm hoping to lose a good bit more weight before I go back to see the sleep specialist to help me get off this machine. Congrats on what you've accomplished thus far!

So there for awhile I was training with the c25k. I would do it every other day. Then on the opposite days of not training I would do lifting 2lbs weights because that is what I was told to use. So I decided to just walk at a brisk pace with 1lbs wrist weights. I have been averaging 2 miles a day. Is this good? Is using wrists weights good? Should I continue my workout with 2 lbs weights too? I'm 5'1" 218 and I am 28 yrs old. Any advice would be great!

Hello! I would just like to hear some success story's. I've been struggling lately with my port flipping and all. (Just got it flipped back yesterday) was anyone banded in April and how are you doing?!!

Hey Becky, I'm Jeanette. I live in Lytle and I had my surgery with Dr. Carcamo at True Results in San Antonio on the 25th. I am sore, but the gas is bothering the most. I can't wait for that to go away. Congratulations on your surgery and good luck on your weight loss journey.

Hi, My name is Becky and I am from San Antonio, Texas. I am married and have 3 kids (15 yr. old daughter and 7 and 4 yr. old sons). I have 3 weimaraners and 3 cats so we have a full house! I just had surgery on Wed. June 25th at Foundation Bariatric Hosp. through Weight Wise. Dr. J.J. Gonzales did the surgery. I am doing good...just sore and REALLY tired of chicken broth. Looking forward to losing weight though.

By my first fill, I was so darned hungry it was strictly bare knuckles to not eat anything in the house (and since I don't live alone, there is stuff here that I certainly have no business eating, LOL). At my first fill (on 2/10), they drew out all the fluid in the band ... .6cc was left in when the doctor tested the band for leaks before he placed it. The nurse practitioner added 4 ccs and I was told to sit and drink a glass of water. And it just got tighter and tighter, until I couldn't swallow any water. So they drew out 1cc. It was like a rock in my chest melted away as she withdrew that little bit of saline. At 3.6, I certainly wasn't at my sweet spot, but I went on a cruise (can you say 24 hour food?) and didn't partake of the desserts, the french fries and cheeseburgers and pizza that was in my face. So I will say that the fill that I had was enough to get me going. When I got home, I weighed .... no loss, no gain. And I was very happy with that because I've read (and experienced) so many times that people gain an average of 10 pounds on a week long cruise. And after that, the weight started dropping consistently. I went for my second fill on 3/31. The NP and I discussed it and I really didn't want to go back to 4.6 and maybe experience being too full again...plus, I had been in a pretty bad car accident the day before and was bruised pretty badly across my chest and lower abdomen from the airbag and seat belt. The guy that caused the wreck got out of his car and he was fine. I have a broken finger and torn ligaments in my hand, too. Anyway, we mutually decided to go with .5cc, which puts me at 4.1. Still not at my sweet spot but closer. I still get hungry between lunch and dinner, mostly because I have to eat lunch 12:30 - 1:30 and don't get home until 7:00 and that is way too long between meals. My NP told me to eat solid protein at lunch (no soup, which of course is sooo easy) and to eat an ounce of cheese or an ounce of meat before I leave work at 5:30. That works for me. I'm losing consistently still, and a little fast than before the second fill. I'm happy! I hoped to lose 50 pounds by June 12 -- my 40th high school reunion is 6/12-13 anda 50 would take me to less than I weighed at the last one 5 years ago. Well, as you see by my ticker, I've already made it. I get my third fill on 4/30 and I'm planning on losing another 20 if I can by June 12. I've never met a weight loss goal like the one I just beat (setting a date and meeting it, much less beating it) and if I don't lose 20, I'll still be happy with whatever I do lose.

Hey Tammy, we were banded the same day. I can't believe how quickly you organised everything. What a great weight loss you've had so far. I'm staying away from the scales for a few weeks but we're of similar weight believe me. I agree, come and join us on the June, 2007 thread.