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I'm also getting my band out due to problems I'm having with it. Personally, if someone can get their head around removing half their stomach (which I'm still working on), the sleeve seems a better option. Yes the band is less invasive, but with the sleeve you're not constantly trying to find that sweet spot. Plus, I discovered on my last doctor's visit (maybe I was already told but forgot) that these bands were not really expected to last for life...that at some point many will find their way back into surgery to have them removed/replaced within 10 years or so. They still don't know how long they'll actually last. .

It took about 10 days to get my approval with UHC.

Hi I have the 10 ml band and have had 7 fills. Up until the last one my restriction was lasting about 1 to 2 weeks before going. I prayed it would last but never did till this time. It has lasted a month this time...I have had a binging session the last few days but thats nothing to do with restriction because when I eat good food I have restriction, I only dont have it as Im eating every little it of junk I can get my hands on. In most cases it does take longer to get restriction in the bigger band. But it will come.

Hi Everyone, This is for the Newbies who have had or are going to have "sleeve" WLS. I have posted these before & have had people ask me to repost them. I know that different doctors have different requirements for what you should eat the 1st month after surgery. Please follow YOUR doctors directions for what you have. I am posting what my doctor wanted me to do. VOL # 1 Hi Everyone, I decided that I would make a list of things for new people who are thinking about having WLS that might be helpful to them. This is long so please PRINT THIS OUT TO READ if you don’t want to read it all at one time. First thing is to start asking people on the board is all kinds of questions—make of list of things you want to ask and keep coming back and ask more questions as time goes on. The more questions that ask the more you educate yourself about WLS and the process and what doctor they liked. Don’t rely on just one source of information. It is really normal to have all kind of feeling and emotions when trying to decide if you want to have Weight Loss Surgery. I must have talked myself in and out of doing this at least 50 times during my 6 months of research. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. This is a big step. But if diet and exercise worked for us then we still wouldn’t be fat and would have lost the weight a long time ago and never regained it. It takes a lot of courage to have Weight Loss Surgery. I am very proud of you for looking into this. Don’t give any more days of your life being overweight, and your body hurting along with being unhealthy. WLS really is your answer. How do you select your surgeon? First of all this is NOT a time to price shop for the cheapest doctor to do your WLS—that is just the wrong way to go at this. There are a lot of doctors who advertise on the Internet doing sleeve surgery for a lot less than some other doctors. I found one posting from a person who had the following concerns after having surgery in Tijuana, Mexico. (a) They put NO name band on her to be able to ID her when giving medications or anything else. ( NO one asked if she had any allergies to foods or medications—thank goodness this person didn’t have any. ( The lab did NOT label tubes of blood with the person’s name on it—very dangerous. © Day after surgery they gave this person ice chips, tea and apple juice. The next day (day 2) they gave this person NOTHING so this person asked why and the nurse said this person wasn’t allowed to eat anything. Well, this person then said I had Clear liquids the day before and they wanted to know WHO gave it to this person?? (d) This person was told that they would get a copy of the operative report on their discharge to take home with them—This person has not received it yet and that was about 2 weeks ago. So make sure have positive feedback about the Surgeon and Staff and Hospital that you choose who is best for you. I can only speak about my experience and my research that I did before I made him my choice for a surgeon. I know that there are other good doctors out there too. Do you research and be careful. Take your time and be comfortable with your choice. Pack lightly for your WLS. So many of us have gone to Mexico, so you want a small suitcase with wheels, a laptop & a cell phone. The clothing that you wear to Mexico are the same ones you can wear home—slip on shoes work great too. Make sure that the clothing is loose fitting. Something just comfortable for your ride home. While in Mexico—that is if you go to Mexico for WLS make sure you take GAS-X. They have nothing in Mexico that they give your for gas, and the use gas in your abdominal area during surgery. It is painful after the surgery, so GAS-X STRIPS are easy to use by just placing them on your tongue. Take a couple of boxes with you—you will be glad you did. If you are going to use a credit card make sure you tell your credit card company and your Bank if you use your debit card or credit card. Sometimes if you DO NOT let these companies know you are outside of the US they block your charges. Use a credit card or debit card vs. cash. The debit card or credit card is much easier to use. Take small amounts of cash for tips—I took $65.00 in 1’s for tip money for various things. If you go to any hospital anywhere leave ALL jewelry at home –just a watch and no rings or other jewelry. I never had any problems at all leaving my purse and computer& cell phone in my room while I was in surgery, but they recommend that you leave all jewelry at home. If you are a lady please remove all nail polish—they need it removed to see your nail beds during surgery. The first month you do after surgery is the HARDEST month you will ever have to do. You do 10 days of nothing but clear liquids to start with—that means you have to be able to see through the liquid. Do not panic if you can not get the Protein they want you to have the 1st 10 days—I couldn’t find anything I liked that was clear during the 1st 10 days. They want you to try to drink 64 oz. each day, and it is difficult—it is like a job because you will need to be sipping Water ALL day long. I want you to give it your very best effort to drink as much as you can. Getting your liquids in each day is so very important to your recovery. You DO NOT want to get dehydrated; you could end up in the hospital. Your new stomach has just had major surgery and it is swollen and will only hold something about the size of your thumb. The next 10 days gets much better—you are now on creamy liquids for these 10 days—don’t forget to drink you water. You can now have some creamy Soups, yogurt, and pudding—sugar free and find a Protein Drink that you like. For me it is Premier Protein Drink and I get mine at costco. When looking for a protein drink, make sure they are low in calories, high in Protein—Premier has 30 grams of protein in each drink box and make sure you have low carbs too. I know there are a lot of other Protein drinks out there that people like. When it comes to carbs I tried to keep mine at no more than 20 carbs per day. Ask others what kind of Protein drinks they liked and where they get them. The last 10 days are mushy foods—Don’t forget to drink your water. Mushy foods are a bit of a challenge. How many foods can I make mushy? I even considered using some baby foods. Start thinking about what will work as mushy foods for you. Starting the 2nd month is quite an adventure. You can eat regular food. Here is where the relearning process takes place. You now will take tiny BABY BITES of food and chew each bit about 30 times or until it is like a liquid. From here on out you will need to take small bites of food and chew and chew and chew. I found out that chicken and fish were a lot easier to chew up. I don’t eat much red meat—your tastes will change and things you didn’t like a lot might taste good and something that you used to love don’t taste that great anymore. Keep track of what you are eating and keep your calories at about 800 calories per day and no more than 20 carbs per day—whole grain carbs are the best to have—NO white or refined carbs. I highly suggest that you keep track by writing them down or using some of the Internet sites that offers you this. I suggest this site it works great there are other sites to use this is just a suggestion. hair 3 or 4 months after having WLS. I would find a lot of hair in the shower after washing my hair. That is pretty normal for a lot of us—this does not happen to everyone. There is no magical cure for hair loss—some people use different shampoo’s or take Biotin. It happens and you live with it. YES, it will grow back. For me I had pencil straight hair and mine grew back natural curly and I love it now. I already had thin hair so for me, I got some cute wigs and wore them for about 9 months until my hair looked a lot better. It was worth the hair loss to lose 105 pounds. Because we eat a lot of protein we suffer from constipation. You need to have at least 70 grams of protein EACH day. So I mix my protein drink each morning with MIRALAX. It is NOT habit forming and is tasteless and it is just a good way to start off the day. I put the protein and a cap full of Miralax in the blender with about 5 small ice cubes and that is my Breakfast. 3 years later I still have this for breakfast and nothing else, it just works for me. You may have periods where you have what we call STALLS. You may be doing everything right and eating and exercising and you have NO weight loss for a week or more. This is normal—mine lasted 9 days. Don’t panic the weight loss will start up again, just keep doing what you are doing. Our heads play games with us sometimes it is ugly what our brain tried to convince us of—We call these “Head Games” and they really are tough times to work though, but you can do it. Your head is still thinking with your old brain and way of thinking that you have been doing for most of your life. You now are eating VERY small amount of food, but your head is used to you eating LARGE amounts of food and that is what your brain wants—so it tries to tell you the you should be eating more—NOT true at all. So you need to have a talk with yourself. Do I just WAN T to eat or do I really NEED to eat? You are not on a diet, but you are making a LIFESTYLE change and that is good because you can do this for the rest of your life. You will NEVER be able to eat like you used to. That is good because that is how we got fat. You will morn the loss of food—you will look around and see others inhaling all this food and you think to yourself—I used to eat like that. You will notice how fast people eat and inhale their food and talk and hardly chew what they are eating. That is pretty normal feeling to have—because you are now eating such small amounts of food and chewing and chewing. You will never be able to guzzle a bottle of water again—that is OK too. These are all good things. In time you will look at all the food people are eating and thinking to yourself oh my gosh I could never eat that much again—it is way too much food. When you have issues or problems come back to the board and ask others who have already done this. We are here to help and support you. Give or exchange all your fat clothes away. You will never need them again after they become too big for you. This weight loss is something you will be able to maintain for the rest of your life. You have earned the right to have new clothes. Make sure you have the VERY best doctor that has had a lot of experience with sleeve surgery and check his success rates out. Check the doctor for HIGH patient reviews from the people who have gone to him or her. I can NOT STRESSS this enough. Make sure that your surgery is being done in a hospital NOT a Clinic. Ask where you recovery will be. YOU are worth the extra money that it cost to have this WLS in a Hospital and by the best Doctor you can have. You want to have a happy and GREAT life and having the RIGHT Doctor and Hospital are the key to this. Sorry if this is long, but it is intended to have as a reference and answer a lot of your questions that you might have. For some of you, you are very lucky because your health insurance is now starting to pay for Weight Loss Surgery. For many of us, we did not have your luck, so we are self pay patients. There are companies that loan money for this surgery—be aware that their interest rate is high. Once you pick your doctor ask them about these companies that give loans for surgery if you are a self pay patient. You know we never think twice about making car payments. If you have to borrow the money for this surgery just look at this as “body payment.” It will be the best money you have ever borrowed. Please PRINT this out to read later. If you have any questions for me please feel free to contact me. I had surgery almost 3 ½ years ago, so I do have quite a bit of experience. I really am here to help you along your journey. It took me 14 months to lose this weight and I was 63 when I had the surgery, so it is NEVER too late in life to do this. *********************************************************** VOL # 2 Here are some more things I want you to know about if you are thinking about having WLS and you are having the “Sleeve.” 1. We have talked a little or a lot about “slimming or phlegming” In case you missed it, when you first start eating regular food you have to re-learn how to eat again and chew. With your new stomach you will need to take small tiny bites and chew until the food in your mouth is almost liquid like. This is nothing like what you had been doing your entire life. In the past you eat and talk and put big bite in your mouth along with a few chews and then swallowing—this will NO LONGER WORK FOR YOU. This is a very difficult thing to change. So with your new stomach and just having surgery you may experience slimming or phlegming. First you will feel like the food is stuck, then it comes back up in a clear liquid –your saliva. It isn’t vomit, so that is why it is called slimming or Fleming. It’s a wakeup call to slow down you eating and chew, and chew and chew some more. Just go to the bathroom or have a napkin ready for the slimming or phlegming if you are eating out. If you try to overeat—which is bad you may experience this too sometimes. For me it was always about not chewing enough. 2. What are some signs that you are full? At first I wasn’t sure, but sometimes I just got tired of all the chewing, so I stopped eating. I now get the hiccups or my noise will start to run when I am full. I know that other people have said they experienced this too. 3. It does take some time to retrain yourself on how to eating and I know that the first month it is such a process just trying to get all the food & liquid in that you need to get in because of your new restrictions. In time it does get a lot easier. Some people actually mourn the loss of food, because you will NEVER EAT the quantity of food that we used to eat---YEAH that is how we are going to lose the fat and maintain that goal weight that we want to have for the rest of our lives. 4. If you think you are hungry and you are positive that you are having physical symptoms of hunger this is YOUR OLD thinking brain playing those tricks we have talked about. You now have to start learning to educate this OLD brain into being your NEW thinking brain. Ask yourself do you just "want to eat" or do you really "need to eat" because it has been 3 or 4 hours since you have eaten anything. It is amazing what our brains can and will do to sabotage our way of thinking. You may be challenged by this OLD brains way of thinking for many years. For me I just have to have some self-talks with myself. We have an addiction to food. There is no way around avoiding food, so we need to find the set of skills that will allow us to change our lifestyle. I eat to live, I NO LONGER live to eat! Food is not my main focus in life. 5. I have seen so many times where people are going along and doing great with their weight loss. Then all of a sudden they are NOT losing anything—they panic—I did when it happened to me. We call these “Stalls.” We have stalled and are not losing anything. Most of the time you are eating all the same and correct things that you have in the past when you were losing weight. Our body just does this naturally--stalls. Mine lasted 9 days one time. This is really normal. I have a few suggestions. Use this site or something like it to track everything you are putting in your mouth.http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/ you might be surprised at what you are eating—that is why I say track it. Remember keep your total calories at 800 per day—if you exercise then you can eat more. This site will help you figure that out how much more you can it by what kind of exercise you did. You also need to make sure that you are not eating more than 20 carbs per day. No white or refined carbs. They should ONLY be whole grain carbs—not whole wheat, BUT Whole Grain carbs—do the best you can when it comes to carbs. If you are having problems with the weight loss you can kick up the amount of exercise you are doing too. The weight loss will start back up again, so don’t panic. 6. We all stumble and fall along the way, don’t beat yourself up over it. Move on and have a better day the next day. 7. Be aware that your friends and family may not be supportive of you having WLS. For your family, first they really may NOT understand it and they are scared for you. This is pretty normal. You have been on the Internet, and been educating yourself and doing a lot of reading—you know much more than they do about weight loss surgery and your choice is the sleeve. They have only heard the horror stories that the media puts out there or one of their uneducated family or friends have told them. Your friends are scared they may lose you as a friend because you are going to lose the weight and they will remain fat—yes I call it fat. I know there are a lot of politically correct terms to use, but if I can say I was fat you will one day too. Some of your friends will be jealous. My suggestion is that you can try to educate them some, but take your time and effort right now and use it for yourself. After you have had WLS and they see you are becoming healthy and you are alive and well they may come around. I want you to put yourself FIRST, for the very first time. If they are truly your friends they will be there when you are skinny. 8. The first month will be the hardest month you will have to do. You are changing everything about how you eat. I want you to keep saying to yourself that it is ONLY 30 days and I can do ANYTHING for 30 days. Once you start the 2nd month and can have regular food, it gets easier. 9. What do you do about getting smaller clothes? One of my adventures used to be to go to Resale clothing places and sell or trade my larger clothing to them, and then finding some smaller sizes. Just buy what you need to get by for a while until you need a smaller size. It was like a treasure hunt or an adventure for me. I found some places like Goodwill that had brand name label NEW clothing that the local stores gave them. I found some great deals at these places. So consider doing something like this or getting together with some of your friends and trading clothing. I also donated a lot of mine for a tax deduction to nonprofit organizations that give tax receipts—it is really great when it is tax time rolls around and I had all these deductions. I would make a list of everything I was going to donate and how much weight I had lost. I kept that all together in case the IRS asked why I gave away 20 some dress and 10 pair of pants, and 30 tops! 10.Make sure that you go see your Primary Care Doctor when you have had WLS if you have gone outside of the US for your surgery. I went to see my PCP before I went to let her know what I was doing—I wanted a doctor who would support me in my efforts. I had to do a bit of education and after she had time to read all of the information I left her, she was behind me all the way. She said come back in to see her after being home for 2 weeks and she would check me over and run a blood panel to see how I was doing. She did this every month for a while and started taking me of meds that I no longer needed. I did need to start taking potassium—mine was low after having WLS and I knew this when I left Dr. Aceves—they had run a blood panel after I had my “Sleeve surgery.” I loved the fact that my PCP took me off 4 of my other medications within 3months of me having WLS. 11. Exercise is important for you in a lot of ways. Walking and swimming are the ones that work best for me. I know that there have been a few people who said they did nothing. Walking helped me lose a little faster and was good cardio too. I try to walk at least 4 or 5 times a week. When I can I try to swim on the days I don’t walk. I know at first it is difficult to start to exercise, but walk around your home then, down the block a little. When the weather is bad—I live in Oregon and we have a lot of rain, we walk inside the Mall during those times. They open up the Mall at 6:00 am where I live, so you can start early. Buy a used treadmill and see if you like walking on it. My last words of wisdom are the following 1. Saying yes means you will do something new, meet someone new most likely and make a difference in your life. 2. Be true to yourself. It is you, your authentic self, the one you were in the first grade, before you leaned to massage your personality into a form that would suit others. 3. Sometimes it is hard to hear the message because of all the external voices and they are so loud. 4. Voices that are loud are always meant to bully. DO NOT BE BULLIED. 5. So carry your courage in an easily accessible place. Be your OWN authentic person when it comes to Weight Loss Surgery. This is ALL about you and NO one else. 6. Last you don’t need the approval of the Bully. You know what is right for you, follow your heart and go for it. I am always here if you want to ask me more questions, or I didn’t cover something that you are thinking about. I read my E-mail daily. I know it is a BIG step to take and there are a lot of things to think about, you can and will be success. My last bit of knowledge is making sure you keep drinking your water each day. It is so VERY important that you do this. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi everyone !! I found something else that will satisfy your crunch need and yet melt into nothing for your pouch !!! Special K makes cracker chips, I just tried the Southwest Ranch and they are awesome.... I only ate about 10 and that was good. A serving is 27 chips for 110 calories, 2.5g fat, 1g Sugar, 2g protein. It really satisfied my crunch need !!!

I had my surgery last Thursday 12/10. Honestly for me the procedure itself was ok & I also had a hernia repair also. Truly the worst part of it was having that darn IV pole attached to me every time I wanted to get up and walk. Stay positive & go into it knowing you chose a great Dr and you'll do great. Best wishes for a fast recovery.

You are right i have lost 50 lbs and im not worried about my wieght anymore. i dont panic when i get on the scale now. and i sometimes forget about the scale because not only am i looking better i feel better even thought im bot a size 10 hell im not a size 20 but i look good as hell and i am as sexxy as they come. so people dont panic the weight will come off slow or fast it doesnt matter just go with it and be a better you. automatically you will lose the weight that what the surgery does it makes you lose weight, so dont worry do your part and it will come off lb by lb slow or fast the sleeve helps you to lose weght. im glad i did it becuase i could never lose weight without gaining it back 3 weeks later...............so enjoy the hard part is getting sleeved and weve done that so grow in your mind and lose in your body...

I'm assuming you are pre op? Well if you are, good for you. During my pre op I was starving for the first 8 to 9 days, and I was drinking the meal replacement shakes. And I was eating a small protein meal at the end of the day. I was suffering from carb withdrawals big time. Now if you are post op, that's a different story. I was on approx 50 calories a day for 10 days and never felt hungry. I was low energy, but not hungry. Most people struggle with major hunger during the pre op liquid diet. If you are pre op and not hungry, CONGRATS!

Hello everyone, we can do this!!! 10 more days until my surgery. I'm feeling good, staying hydrated & praying that everyone's surgery & pre-post op liquid diets go well. I'm on a 1200 diet calorie liquid diet. My calorie in take is no more than 620. My protein shakes are 30 grams of protein. I thought I would have 2 shakes per meal but I'm full after the 1st one.

Hey look through this pot and you will see what we've all tried, good luck cause I know ow you feel. The ducolax worked the best for me in the end, but I had to take three. That is a amount recommended. SD: 10/10/12, Converted from Lapband to RNY, HW (before band) 263, HW (RNY) 230, Preop 219, after surgery 223, current 202

Ok, so I'm once again constipated! What are you using that can give immediate relief other than an enema .......Is anyone taking a daily stool softener to stay regular? I've tried ducolax as fast acting reliever but this time it's not working! Sorry this is my wonderful early morning CONVO! Lol SD: 10/10/12, Converted from Lapband to RNY, HW (before band) 263, HW (RNY) 230, Preop 219, after surgery 223, current 209

I am 10 1/2 weeks out and my doctor just cleared me for any food. When you get cleared for regular foods, it's better to try to get your protein from food rather than protein drinks. I haven't used any protein drinks since 6 weeks, and then I was down to one 30gr Premier shake a day. It will depend on how many oz. of food you can get in without feeling too full whether you will need to keep using the drinks. I can have 8 oz. of food at one time, but I still can't get that in, but I eat so much protein (you need to eat your protein first at each meal) Remember though that the protein drinks are considered liquids and not food. You will be able to eat what everyone else eats, but of course smaller portions! Good luck! Don't worry about that now. Just take it a week at a time. You will do fine.

Yes, you can. I'm 19 months out and eat pretty much whatever I want, just in small portions. That said, I have ridiculous restriction and one scrambled egg fills me up. So for me, drinking one Protein coffee or tea each morning is a great way to boost my protein intake to where I like to be (90+ grams a day) without eating all day long. But my situation is a bit different as I'm stranded in Central Asia. When I'm stateside and have access to hundreds of different protein options it's definitely easier to reach my nutritional goals each day. Though honestly, I just don't like to sit down to four heavy meals of meat or eggs a day and drinking a shake is an easier way for me to get there. But if you don't like them, it's not something you're going to have to do beyond the first six to nine months. I'm not going to lie, though. If I had to drink a Protein Shake every single day for the rest of my life and the trade off was being this size, I'd do it in a heartbeat. ~Cheri

Getting into a size 8 slacks! Oh and a size 10 jeans! Oh and not to mention my elbow clanging against my hip bone! Love these.

Things went very well. Try to get to recovery house as soon as possible as it is great. You will have lots of people looking after you, making sure you are comfortable. My biggest tip is to start walking as soon as you can as it releases the nasty gas they fill you with. This is the thing that gives you excessive chest pains. Also, do the heavy in and out breathing which will do the same. They will let you take GAS-X strips the day after and it also relieves pressure. Go shopping when you can as it is a good way to forget about pain and great for gas release. I am now 10 days post-op and started pureed foods - 2 oz. max otherwise you feel sick. Stitches healing and I have lost 16 pounds since July 4th. The pain is pretty much gone but energy level low as I have been on liquids for almost a month (pre-op and post-op). Now that I am on pureed foods, I feel so much better with energy level but portion is still minute - hard to believe how quickly you get filled. Dr. Ponce and his team of people are great - I felt like royalty and they treat the guests who can eat even better than I could ever expect - cook their meals, etc ... Can't say enough great things about them !!! Good luck and welcome to your new life - losing weight feels great !!

Hi Pam Your story is very much like mine, except I'm still waiting to have my surgery done.:clap2: As a child and a teenager I was thin and athletic. Upon getting my driver's license I started to gain weight. I continued eating whatever I wanted although I wasn't getting the exercise like I used to. (on the basketball team and just bike riding everywhere)I remember my senior prom, I weighed 157 and was soo mad that I couldn't get down to 150. :mad:If I only knew than what I know now....I'm weighing in at 260 now and would kill to be 200. I think I can blame some of my weight gain on my marriage right out of high school. Or at least my low self esteem. :rain:Why do you never realize who some people are until after you've married them. Let's just say he was a controlling, emotionally, and verbally abusive jerk. I spent alot of time at home eating while he was out having fun, because it was clear that he needed "guy" time and I wasn't invitied. Finally, 6 years later I got a clue and told him I didn't think he should come home. ANYWAY>>>gotten off the subject.....I had a blood work up about 2 months ago-first ever that I can recall- and I'm very healthy! No high blood sugar, cholesterol. Even my good cholesterol is high. I'm a healthy person with the exception that i'm just about 100+ pounds overweight. Plus I was adopted so me or my parents have no idea what my medical history entales. Three years ago this coming March, my fiance left me after being together for the last 10 years. I think alot of it was my weight. I couldn't or didn't want to participate in alot of acitivities that we particiapted in regulary. I've been doing the diet thing for the last 20 years. I've been thinking about Lap band for the last year when finally I decided to pursue it. Now I'm 1&1/2 months from having my paperwork ready to be sent off to my insurance company. I can't wait!!!My lifestyle and the person that I feel that I am, needs to be healthy and look good. I hope that I don't need to have any type of skin removal, which is why I'm going to give working out my best, although I hate it like you do. But I am looking forward to a boob job. Never had much there to begin with and everything always drooped alittle anyway. Already see a psych. for the obvious reasons, and am really going to get into the finding out why I eat when I'm not hungry. I know that the Band isn't a miracle, you have to work the program. The band is just a tool to help you achieve your goals. Sorry to ramble on and on, but your blog inspired me to tell mine as I'm sure mine will inspire others to tell theirs. :bounce: Susan

Don't worry. What's happening to you is not unusual. The surgeon likely didn't fill your band, so you don't have much restriction. At first, you were swollen inside and that gave the effect of a fill. Now that you're healing and losing weight, you loosened up. I don't have periods anymore, but I'm guessing that suddenly getting one has given you lots of bloat. I wouldn't be surprised if you lost the weight when your period is over. I had surgery 7/31 and I won't get a fill until 9/10. I don't have a lot of restriction right now and I'm hoping to get it. You're in early stages and it'll get better. Good luck! (And great job losing!)

i am 1wk shy of my 10 month post op date & i have 21lbs to lose before hitting my goal. i highly doubt i will lose 21lbs in 2 months but im pretty sure that if i tried really really really hard, i would & could. im going to start hitting the gym & im going to work hard at toning my body & losing these next 21lbs. im down 117lbs right now.

I was told to use the M and M as a guide too for the first 10 days and after that I could swallow them whole. I didn't have any big pills except calcium citrate and they were easy to cut in half. The calcium chews at bariatric advantage are delicious so I don't have to take those horse pills anymore.

Today I called my dr because 2 of my inscisions were red and pus-y. He put me on liquid augmentin...It makes me very nauseous. :omg: I remembered the suppositries I got just out of the hospital for nausea...I feel much better now. I feel very hungry today probaby because of PMS... oh goodie.

I'm a former smoker, so I really do empathize. BUT, wound-healing really will go so much more smoothly if you can hold off. Hold off as long as you can to give your body a chance to work its miracles. And then, really try to limit the amount you smoke. It really makes a huge difference. Maybe even more importantly in the short term: you were intubated just a very short time ago. Your body needs to mobilize the secretions from the surgery and adding more gunk to your lungs just isn't a good idea. I stayed in the hospital overnight (surgeon policy), and my O2 sats (as a 10-year nonsmoker) were lousy enough that if cigarette smoke were added, it really would have compromised my health. Add to that the increased chance of blood clots that smoking brings... It's not worth it. Your body can handle conquering more than once vice at a time. I understand the addiction; quitting was the hardest thing I've ever done. But now's not the time to pick up a cigarette. It can cost your life.

I've started in June , I wanted lap band now gong for sleeve , I decided to go sleeve because , seem more logical I'll be out anyway ,loose more weight 80 percent 60 on lap an Band Now am going 19 do research what is good for you.

I used my Protein shake as a 10 a.m. snack (64 gram) I could not gulp it..it took about 45 minutes to get the whole thing down. I siped, siped, siped all day and night. At the beginning of each day I would put crystal light or what ever powder flavor i was using into 4 16.9 oz bottles, all I had to do was make sure I drank all 4 bottles by the time i went to bed. My surgeon/nutritionist gave me all written instructions before the surgery and then sent me home from the hospital with more written instructions on exactly what I should be eating/drinking and when.. They game me the 3 day post op instuctions, 1 wk, 2 wk, 3 wk, 4 wk, etc. etc. I would contact your surgeon because each one is different in their post op instructions.

Hi, I noticed you had your surgery scheduled for 9/3 how are feeling? Did things go well with you? I am scheduled with Dr. Ponce DeLeon on 11/10 I am excited and nervous all at the same time. Can you please share your experience with me? Thanks.

I think it is very normal. At some point, you have to relinquish control (or lack thereof) and let the Good Lord (Or surgeon, if you will) take the wheel for you. Yeah, it's scary - and there are tons of opinions out there. I was asking lots of questions before I pulled the trigger. Motivation? Watch "My 600# life". That worked for me. Can I eat the yummy foods I used to? Maybe. Have I tried? Nope. Why? Well, I won't be the first to say this, but my body literally doesn't crave them (* most of the time). I've lost 100# in 7 months, lost 10 inches off my waist, I can walk up steps to my office, and I can work on my car without feeling like I'm going to have a heart attack. Also, I can fit in amusement park rides now, something I couldn't do before.