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Decided I am going to use this as a diary so I can look back on my thoughts and feelings pre-op and post op and hopefully see my progress!! I went into the clinic the other day and I paid the £500 deposit for my lapband. The operation itself is on the 18th april. Im going away on a cruise on the 7th-14th april and I start the milk diet on the same day as my journey home. I was a bit nervous about not doing the whole 10 day diet as recommended by the clinic, but i voiced my fears to the surgeons assistant and he assured me this was only necessary for the very big patients and that i would be ok with only 5 days, i hope to god this is true!! Ive spent the last few hours reading through various posts/groups/looking at photos on this website and i have to say im absolutely petrified!! There is such a range of success stories!! some people not losing much at all and feeling hungry all the time (which is my main fear as that is the main reason i am getting this operation-to not feel starving all day every day!!) and some people losing loads and saying it has changed their lives. Im just terrified im going to be one of those people that dont lose much or that dont have much restriction, as the thought of spending £7,500 on something that might not even work is heartbreaking!!! plus, im pinning all my hopes on this as i really dont think i could go on much longer living the life i am now, im so unhappy. Another thing that is worrying me is the fact that no one else seems to have had the operation with the birkdale clinic where i am getting mine done, i dont know if its a good thing or a bad thing that they havent been mentioned. seeing some of the terrible feedback of certain places (the hospital group for example which i thought seemed like a reputable company till i read this website) has scared me cos the birkdale clinic seems like such a good place and everyone seems so genuine, and when i mention things that could go wrong and problems people have (not having any restriction for example) they say it is because the people have not received the aftercare that i will receive. Im just going to have to pray that they are not just saying these things to get the money off me then jib me off once i have had the operation!! anyway i better go, got to have my blood taken monday and im paying then too so ill have to wait and see if anything changes once they have my money! fingers crossed not!!

Hi there everyone, I'm not banded yet (scheduled for 9/28), but I've read so many posts about bad tasting Protein drinks I thought I'd pass on what I discovered a couple of weeks ago. Buy unflavored whey protein (I use "Any Whey"). Make up a batch of any flavor of sugar free koolaid. Put 8 - 10 ounces of the koolaid in a blender, add one scoop of the unflavored Protein powder and a couple of ice cubes. Blend it till the ice is crushed. It tastes just like a fruit smoothie, is very high protein, and tastes good!! I also do the same thing with vanilla whey protein and sugar free koolaid and it makes it tastes even more like a Smoothie King Smoothie. Good luck! Lisa

dont give up .every dr does things different. i had my surgery dec 28 . i have a 10 cc band and 5cc was put during surgery. i had my first fill six weeks after surgery. my dr only fills .25cc at a time every 2 weeks if needed. i have only lost 23 lbs. im not frustrated because their r many things i could do different. its a learning process.

I was banded 9/19 and had my first fill on 10/24 (2cc in 5cc band) and feel no additional restriction and no weight loss since fill, I have however had a 7% body fat reduction and the office says to focus on that. I am having another fill on 11/28. The office also said it's very common to need another fill (or more). Don't be discouraged, you've only just started on the road, and it's a long one, just try and stick to the diet and keep exercising! Good luck!

A lot of times they do the supervised diet to make sure that you are willing and ready to make changes in your eating habits. I also have a thyroid condition and have been on meds for it for over 10 years now. A hypothyroid can also cause or at least help along weight gain and inability to lose weight. Good luck and I'm sure everything will go well. :eek: Take care.

Just wanted to share my progress so far. 41 pounds gone. Exercising 5x a week. The left photo was taken the first day of school this year in August 2013. I weighed 369. The right photo was taken last week because I felt "skinny" for some reason at work. I am now 328. My surgery was 10/2/13. I still have a lot of work to do, but: 1.) my clothes fit better 2.) I'm rediscovering old clothes I haven't worn in 4-5 years 3.) my shoes fit better! 4.) I'm not tired all the time 5.) people notice my weight loss now

Had bypass this morning, and took a total of 30 minute walk split in chucks of 5-10 minutes. The pain meds make me sleepy, which is what slowed my roll, but I was told to walk as much as possible.

I think my hernia repair was more painful than the band. It hurt everytime I would take a breath. I think it lasted about 10 days for me. It did get better each day though. I think 9 lbs is ok for the first week. I wouldn't worry about it. The pulling pain maybe your port. Just give it all some time. it is just a little fragment compared to the rest of your life.

I haven't had BOB (band over bypass) but know a few folks who did that. It didn't help one of them, another did fabulously well and lost all the weight she'd regained plus another 10 or so pounds and has been maintaining fine. I've lost track of the other BOBsters. I would urge anyone who's considering revision to think carefully about exactly how their original surgery "failed". Did your original surgical tool stop working, or did you stop working it, or a combination of both? You really need to have that clear in your head before you have more surgery. Every bariatric procedure requires some degree of hard work on the patient's part. If your regain after RNY has been medically shown to be due to a stretched pouch or dilated stoma, you also need to talk to your surgeon about how to avoid those conditions once you're banded. Good luck, and congrats on the baby!

I'm out in Crestwood, and have a club fitness membership. We go to the club at Watson and Laclede Station. I was banded 10/26/2011. Send me a message if you want to get together to work out, or maybe go to a zumba class I also had Wagner as my surgeon!

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My sense of smell was heightened for a while. Unfortunately everything smelled awful! Sometimes my own food would begin to stink in the middle of eating. It is not easy to continue eating when you associate your food with crap. It lasted about 10 -14 days and then it left.

I just had a fill about 10 days ago. It was my second fill, and I am up to 5 cc. Water went down fine as did liquids for day 1 and 2. Mushies were a bit harder day 3 and 4 as I ate a bit too fast or they were not mushie enough. But solids have been difficult. (They were the last time as well and it took me like two to three weeks to get to a comfort zone.) But this time I have had some real vomiting experiences. I have had this really full feeling for about 24 hours. Feels like the food is at the top of my stomach and end of my esophogus. I really don't want to unfill if this will pass. But I cannot seem to eat much at all. Had 1/2 an egg and 1/2 slice of cheee for breakfast and then a few almonds a few minutes ago. That is all along with some coffee and juice and I feel like I have eaten Thanksgiving dinner. I did have some PB late morning and then an actual wretch....UGHHH I am so scared I slipped the band. What does that actually feel like? Anyone know? CIndi

Oh how scary! I'm glad you caught it! Now I've got something else to fear post op. lol I actually scheduled my appt to get the drain removed already! lol 10 days after my surgery in 10 days! ????

Hi everyone! I'm 4 months post op (RNY) and I'm a little concerned regarding my weight loss journey in the upcoming months. The loss has started to slow down while I'm still very overweight and I'm worried about how to maintain a "normal" metabolism to be successful in long term maintenance. Would love to get your feedback as my nutritionist has not been very helpful in this sense. Some stats and specific concerns (sorry for the long post but I want to be thorough): Age: 28 yo female Height: 5'3 Starting weight: 297 lbs. Starting BMI: 52 Surgery weight (Dec '19): 259 lbs Current weight (4 months out): 191lbs. Current BMI: 34. Food: My daily average intake is of about 500 calories (450-650 range) and I get about 60 grams of protein (eat mostly protein and still use protein supplements). I follow my plan which is based on portion size and not weight or calories, but I weigh and track my intake because "eyeballing" doesn't really work for me. While I'm good in that range of food intake in terms of hunger, I could definitely eat more if "needed". I've been able to stick to my plan during coronavirus lockdown no problem. Exercise: Desk job. I do very light weight training about 3-4x a week and short walks on the treadmill 2x a week. I used to swim more often but now that's not a possibility. Other: I'm trying to up my water intake but it's about 40 - 65 oz a day. I take all my vitamins and supplements. I don't have diabetes or any hormonal issues that I'm aware of. While I have been consistently losing weight (60 pounds in 4 months), I'm starting to notice a slow down and have hit a couple stalls (one lasting 3 weeks). I want to make sure that I keep a good rate so naturally I thought about increasing exercise and maintaining my current diet (reducing is not a possibility) but I'm also concerned that: If I start exercising a lot now to try to speed it up, then as time progresses and I hit more stalls, they will be very hard to break as the exercise would have to be incremental and there is only so much time/energy/will power that I have. So do you recommend adding more exercise at this stage to maximize loss in the first months or should I "wait" until I need the extra kick? Same thing with food, by eating 500 calories a day, am I sabotaging future weight loss? It will be impossible for me to cut down on calories if I hit a stall. I'm also worried that as soon as I start increasing the calorie count I will gain a lot of it back or completely stop my weight loss. I know that 500 kcal a day is not sustainable in the long run. I have read so many threads trying to find an answer but there doesn't seem to be a right one. My nutritionist just tells me to "stick to portion size and allowed meals" and not look at calories when I ask these questions. My surgical team has told me to just follow her instructions and keep the focus on weight training. Any personal experiences, words of advise, etc would be highly appreciated. I'm starting to obsess over these concerns of balancing maximizing weight loss in the first months (which I understand are were biggest loss is achieved) and mid/long term success. I know comparing journeys is not ideal (it has definitely been a source of frustration as I see people with lower BMIs losing faster than me) Thanks!

I’m type II also – and yes – it is possible. I’m @ the 2 year post stage and maintaining a loss of 85 – 90 lbs. Prior I was very close to going to the pump for my diabetes. In fact – that help push me to the sleeve. I was on metformin 1000 mg twice a day, Glucotrol 10 mg once a day, Lantus 45 and also – when needed a fast acting insulin. Now, I only use Victoza - 1 shot a day and I am averaging a reading of ~ 105. I eat what I want – in fact I really think if I stop all the sugar intake I could stop the Victoza. I have also stopped taking most of the other pills – like Zetia, Ramiprill, tetracycline. Like I said – it has been 2 years and life is great. My only regret, as many others have said – I should have had it done years ago … I just turned 61 when I had the operation. Hope this helps

I just have to get this out.... In the last few days, I have reached what I think is a significant weight loss goal. I have lost my first 50 pounds! How exciting! Right? Well, I was quite excited... texting and calling family and friends. I called my mother in law... and instead of her congratulating me and telling me she was happy or proud or any such positive thing... the first thing out of her mouth.... "well good, now you can start working on the next 50". WTF?!?!?! Nothing like bursting my bubble! Sheesh! Made me want to go gorge on some donuts! Then today I was at the bank and I hadn't been in there in awhile because I ususally just use the drive through (it is easier then getting my kids out of carseats and trying to keep them from running around in the bank) Deep down, I hoped the ladies at the bank might notice my weight loss. Then, as I am heading out the door... one of the ladies asked me when my baby was due? WHAT?!?! Are you kdding me? This is the smallest I have been in 10 years! I went back to my car in tears. I'm glad my husband was with me and I didn't have to drive. Tonight I don't know how to feel. I am quite proud of my accomplishments so far. However, I feel hurt that I received what I felt to be negative feedback during a time that I was trying to Celebrate my success. Does it make any sense to have hurt feelings? Probably not. But I just can't seem to get over it. Maybe I need to keep my celebrations to myself in the future? Maybe I need to learn to not rely on others for positive feedback? Maybe I need to go get the damn donuts and get it over with and then just move on?? hahaha

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I have 5 more days of protein shakes only and i sm starting to feel nauseated everytime i drink one. I just cant stand them anymore. Anyone else having same problem. Banded 10/10

I am 10 weeks post-op (surgery date: October 3rd) and am struggling with staying focused. Now that I am able to eat restriction free I have been trying lots of things. I'm not indulging in foods that are bad for me (i.e. junk); however, I really am not measuring the quantity. I just eat until I am full and stop. I have only seen a 34 pound weight loss on the scale, which I know averages out to be 3.4 pounds a week but I have always been a slow loser when it comes to weight loss. Any tips from the veterans to navigate this journey we call being sleeved?

congrats...i can't wait til i get down to a size 10...still at 18

No, Lisa, your doc tells ALL of his patients that, not just you. My last fill was my 4th (always done under fluoro), and that was October 2003 - no problems noted. At my endoscopy June 19, 2004 I was at 40% erosion.

@Alex Brecher hi hope you are having a nice day. i was "fooling" around with things, pushing this and that, and somehow accidentally changed my pic to someone else on the board. i don't remember her name, i was looking at her info, somewhere it said "change profile pic" i pushed and her pretty face is now impersonating me LOL she might be on the 10 most wanted list!! LOL oh no...................LOL can you fix? if you know this profile - please come out and identify yourself!! LOL also i am an old pro at a ticker. trying to fix ticker, and page comes up yellow stripes over items?? whatttttt? please help kathy

I have 10 days left on my full fluids but I feel SO nauseas everyday ! I feel like if I could just eat something solid I wouldn't feel so yucky! Has anyone started eating soft foods before their liquid stage was done ?? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank you all, had my Gallbladder out in 1983 and started having issues with IBS about 10 years later. I hope my issues get better as well as all of yours too.