Search the Community

Well back in July 2012 I was having a hard time swallowing and food keep getting stuck in my throat. I went to see my primary doct and he said that I thrush and proscribed me meds to correct the problem. Well after taken the meds I didnt see any improvement, so them I went to see my lapband doct. He removed all the fluids from my band and put me on a liquid diet for a few days. After day 2 started soft foods, but I still had the same problem, so I went back to my lapband doct and he did another barium test. He didnt see any problem and everthing was okay. I waited 2 more day on liquid and tried again with no luck. He scheduled me for a EGD which showed that the band had so much scare tissue that is had not much of an opening for food to go thru and that I had also developed Esophageal Dysmobility and the only way to correct it is to remove the band. After much research, I have decided to remove the band and get a gastric sleeve revision. We submitted the paperwork for insurance approval and crossed our fingers (my insurance is very picky and we have a 1 WLS per life time). We I got the approve last week from my doct and I go to surgery November 1st. Please keep me in your prayers and on your minds as I head to my next course of my weight loss journey. I cant wait to get this over with, Ive been on and liquid diet since July and cant keep most if not all foods down and sometimes I cant keep protein drinks down also. I WILL ALWAYS BE A BANDSTER FOR LIFE.

We all lose weight at different rates. Your doing good so keep on ROCKIN that SLEEVE! Congrats.....

Surgery was May 12, 2012, pre-op weight 316. Today 198..WOW I just said ONE. So awesome to be back in ONEderland and I do not plan to leave it again. 48 pounds to go...

Thank you. I had forgotten to update my weight on my ticker signature line. I actually am now down to 298.5.

Girl, you make 316 look really beautiful. I can't wait to see your photos when you get (close) to your goal weight. Keep up the good work!

yes i got up this morning and gained them both back. Calorie counting was easy, but this lapband is hard. If I eat more than 1/2 cup at each meal i gain. this does not make since to me at all. I get a fill loose then gain this is so discouraging! any help please! advice this is crazy and im mad!!!

had fill 0n 6th down 2 more pounds, but today is first day back on solids. Sure hope don't gain any.did anyone gain after back on solids?

I'd say the weight definitely came off my upper body first. My face was the first noticeable place. My arms have decreased a lot, however because they were so big I do have considerable excess skin on them. Honestly, I'm fine with that though. Skin I can easily hide with clothes but there's no hiding fat. I'll take the excess skin over the fat any day. Best wishes.

You'll be tired like that for a couple weeks. Your body is burning a lot of fuel to heal you after the traumatic event it feels it's experienced. That's also why we drop so much weight the first 2 weeks (18lbs for me)

had my first post-op visit yesterday also. I was sleeved on 9/24--highest preop 345 weight day of surgery 323 (after two weeks of full liguids)--weight yesterday 313. I am down 32 lbs total and 23 lbs since began prep for surgery. Why am I disappointed? Has anyone else experienced this?

i also wanted to mention that u do not necessarily need to have rashes and skin disorders in order for ur insurance to cover a panniculectomy...eventually that weight of the excess skin will start giving you back problems and enable u to fully exercise...i looked at ur ticker with the amount of weight u want to lose...im 99.9% sure u will need some type of plastic surgery...i am 30 years old and have lost about 140 pounds...i weight in 2morrow when i get my stitches taken out...i dont want to get u down...but i dont want to sugar coat it either...even when i had my apron of excess skin i was still much happier at 160 pounds than i was at 296. i wouldnt worry about it now... ask ur band surgeon to refer u to a plastic surgeon when ur about 10 pounds from goal and mention to the plastic surgeon that u want to go through insurance...they r usually very helpful...and skin tighten creams do not get rid of pounds of extra skin...thats a myth...lol

Hey! When I began this process I was 332 lbs. I am 5'3". I had type 2 diabetes, High BP, sleep Apnea, to name a few. I am 1 week out of surgery and my diabetes and high bp are in remission! I have amazing blood sugars and my blood pressure is perfect! No more insulin or medicine for HBP. This is a life changing event. It is not to be taken lightly. The reason you are getting this surgery is to lose weight to get to your proper BMI and to be HEALTHY! If you don't change your eating habits the surgery will NOT work! You will have a hard time with the diet and when you can you will regain. Am I saying no, you wont ever get to enjoy the foods you like now? No, I'm saying you will want to make healthier choices for yourself. You could still have wings but MODERATION! and only every once in awhile. This surgery is a tool and not a miracle. If you don't use your tool properly it just won't work.

Good news is that I am not that far from my BMI ideal weight. It is only 40 lbs away and I have already lost 121 lb in 5 months. So it got me thinking abut what really is my target weight and when should I achieve it? Given that 10 lb a month is pretty standard, an easy calculations reveals that I wold hit BMI ideal weight in about 4 months, give or take a couple weeks depending on how slow or fast the scale weight moves. That is fine with me and places my target of 180 lb in the middle of feb. 2013. The question is whether BMI is a good goal to shoot for. My doctor, NUT and supporting staff have not talked to me explicitly about a target yet and I always assumed it would be BMI for my height of 5 ' 11 ". However, feb 2013 is the 9 month mark for me which statistically places me 1/2 way through my golden period of sleeve effectiveness. Should I stop there? What happens if I reach goal at new year instead because I have been getting pretty serious about exercise and weight lifting in the last month? My wife and mother in law have told me on numerous occasions that they think I might look unhealthy at BMI because my bone mass is medium to large and I have muscle on me. They might be saying these things with some self motivation. for example, my mother in law is constantly on a diet losing and gaining the same 10 lb. my wife is a candidate for sleeve, so may not quite understand the whole less is better attitude. not sure. I certainly feel good now and think 20 lbs more lbs would put me into a solid state of health, even if 20 lb over the BMI for my height. The last thing I want is to develop some kind of need to lose weight into the unhealthy zone, below BMI. Not saying this would be from anorexic tendencies because I am not starving myself in my diet nor am I doing crazy exercises ( max 1 hour a day, most of the time 45 min). However, I do see that I need to be careful to not lose too much and get unhealthy. I will continue to be active in my exercises, not just in my home gym but also running 5ks, hiking and other things. These will all contribute to my metabolism burning, burning and burning calories. I look pretty healthy in the mirror with and without clothes on. Not a lot of lose skin and am shaping up like a swimmer ( broad shoulders and narrow waist). My caloric intake is currently around 600-900 and consists mostly of Protein for 6 meals a day. I feel ok with this eating, am not hungry except to refuel and have a lot of energy from this eating, from exercise and also from coffee. Can I continue to eat like this? Not sure. I think I would like to eat more fruit and veggies at some point, eat more like a wholesome and natural Mediterranean style diet. That is a goal of mine for when I stop losing scale weight. It is going to take me a few weeks of transition time to moderate my eating patterns from high protein to Mediterranean style. Have not crossed that bridge yet, but know it is soon arriving on my journey. Appreciate the thoughts from others, especially mature sleevers that have "been there, done that."

There is a pad of fat around the outside of your stomach and it is inbetween your stomach and the band when it is fitted. The pad reduces in size as you loose weight but you don't really notice it until you get some restriction. You get restriction and then lose some weight and the fat pad shrinks a little and the band get looser, I did this a few times in a regular 4 week cycle and then the last fill I had in December made it hard to eat anything. It took 3 weeks to loosen this time and I've not had one since as I don't want to be as tight again. I can pretty much eat whatever I want now but I don't usually feel hungry until after midday and I can stop sooner than before I was banded. It's good you'll get to check with your doc tomorrow.

He's normal. food in the digestive tract absorbs huge amounts of Water, and water weighs 8.33 pounds per gallon. When he goes back on solid food, he can expect a weight regain as his body absorbs water to keep the food in his digestive tract in a semi-solid state.

I have had good restriction before but now since I have had an unfill and been slowly refilled my restriction isn't there. Its close, but not quite where it was before. I can't explain it but feel like I wasn't where I was before my unfill. I am a bit weary as I had a prolapse before from being too tight. Just wondering what to do. Last fill I had was last Monday. I still work out 4-5 times a week for 2 hours a time, and still maintaining my weight with no loss since last fill.

I think it would be a good idea to get a little fill. It is possible that as you maintained (CONGRATULATIONS!!!!) the 140 pounds you body composition changed and you lost fat and weight between your band and stomach. This would make the band a little looser. I can't tell you how proud of you I am for maintaining, because it is the one thing I am afraid I will fail at. I know how to gain and I know how to lose, but maintenance is a new story!!! Good luck, Mimi

I do because I have always been secretive about how much i weighed...especially being so close to 350lb...and i have lost almost 70 lbs but I am still huge. Ppl noticed that I have lost weight but i feel like if i tell people i have lost 60 something lbs they will be like really where

I was banded 3-20-09 and today I have met my first goal. I am down 40lbs since my surgery. Wooohoo!!:glare: A co-worker yesterday said my stomach has really went down. I am so excited. However, I remember a few years ago when I was at this weight and I wore a smaller size. Funny. I wish everyone luck on their journey.

It came as no surprise to me today that my most recent bone density test showed that I had osteoporosis because two years ago I had osteopenia. Mostly this is due to my breast cancer meds which are anti-estrogen and hard on the bones. My weight loss hasn't helped either. Has anyone gone on Boniva, Fosomax or Actenol? And if so, are the pills hard to tolerate with the band? I don't have very tight restriction and haven't had any problems with pills. I just joined a gym and started weight bearing exercises to add to my aerobic exercising. Hope that will help. Thanks.

I love the weight loss, but between the wrinkles on my face, the hanging skin and my boobs looking like what I image a 90 year old's boob would look like this is getting a little gross!:sad: I have lost a cup size and that does not make me happy! Hubby liked the fun bags! (he is banded also so he is very understanding even though no excess skin on him...urrrrrrrrrrrrrrr:angry:) How is everyone else doing with this! I have about 100 pounds to go so I can't even image how much worse this is going to get and I never realized how the excess weight kept my face unwrinkled... What are you all doing to fight back! One thing I realize is I now understand why people have plastic surgery... I figure I will need about 30K worth to make me happy when this is all done:thumbup: Chime in... I would love to hear all my sista's stories so I no I am not alone in this irony of losing weight feeling great and the flip side of what the hell is happening to my body! :wub:

Boy, that sounds like the green zone to me. I'm even wondering if you overshot and are in the red a tiny bit. All of that PBing/vomiting doesn't sound right. The chart in the doctor's office claims that we are hungry in the red zone. I don't understand how that is possible, but it's strange that what you describe is similar to what is described as the red zone. I'm kind of where you are at. Three PB episodes this week. All of them avoidable though. I just need to slow down, chew more and eat less. Right now my focus is zero PB/vomiting episodes. I'm concerned getting stuck and vomiting is the reason for band erosion and slips for a lot of people. Just a guess. I personally think you are right where you should be and just need to practice on eating slower, eating less and chewing more. How's the weight? Another sign of the red zone according to the doctor's chart is not losing weight.

Hi! My name is Libby and I had lapband surgery on the 22nd of May 2008....I am experiencing lots of gas and pain in my stomach .....but as you have gone through ......I am losing weight dramatically......About three months ago I was at a point where I was having trouble leaving my lounge chair and this was very scarey for me.....I am a mother of five wonderful children and a supportive husband as well as that I am also a high school teacher.....it was funny at the end of last year I decided that I needed a year off and gave notice and thought that it was for me to go back to study and then maybe to Abu Dhabi for a new job but it really was my body telling me to get fixed....so I embarked on this journey as well.....I was 211.6kgs and now one week after my surgery I am 192.4kgs....I still have a long way to go but now I can move again.....I want to start an advocacy agency to help people who are morbidly or super obese...how can't afford the surgery to get sponsorship from businesses and our government ...so I would love to invite you to help or give support ...if you are interested ......you see this surgery is not elective/plastic surgery .....it is life-saving!

Luscious: Sounds like alot of fun. I think one of the things that will help us maintain our weight after we're at goal is finding an exercise that's so much fun that we forget we're exercising. Right now I'm trikking and loving it. I'll keep your post in mind for the winter when I cannot trikke. Keep up the good work. Sue

After being single for more than 30 years, I've finally found a lady that likes hanging out with me. I haven't told her anything beyond the fact that I've lost a lot of weight and I have to limit how much of certain foods I eat. I've told her that I can't eat a whole bunch of anything if I want to keep the weight off. That seems to be enough info to share with her for now. When we go out, I told her right from the start that I would not be eating much and I was going out, not to eat, but to hang out with her and enjoy her conversation and company. But if you are going to be dating later in the year, that means you'll be further along in the healing process and will probably be able to eat much more than you can now. At 6 months, I was up to eating 1 cup of food per meal. I know that's isn't much, but it's more than 4 bites. As far as scars go, I'm going to try to make a joke of it by telling her that the big scar is where the alien popped out. If she laughs at that, then I'll feel comfortable telling her the rest of the story. But seriously, 4 out of 5 scars I have are faded and look like big freckles. The 5th one is very faded and in low light, very difficult to notice.