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22 lbs in 5 weeks in awesome. Nothing to be concerned about at all. You don't say how long you've been at your plateau? Can't be very long? It's not really a plateau until it's a month long. There are so many things that affect your weight. TOM, sodium intake, carb intake, anxiety, stress, meds all can make your body hold excess fluids. Most of us find that we can go a week or two with no weight loss and then over a few days we drop 3-5 lbs. It's mostly water retention most likely? tmf

Yep. My doctor has me on fluids for 3 weeks post op. No Jello. Nothing puréed, etc.

I have Aetna insurance and they require a three month supervised diet/exercise/psych program. I had my first appt with the psych guy today. This was our "intro" meeting and doesn't count toward the three month deal. Darn! Oh, well...I'll end up seeing him four times. I guess it depends on insurance requirements. Good luck to you on your journey!! :tongue2::biggrin:

Take it slow and easy. This is a guideline not set in stone. I had to go slower advancing my diet stages. If you have any issues just back off and go back to clear or the stage below were you are advancing to. I had some trouble but at 4 weeks out this coming Monday I'm on a pureed/soft diet and doing much better. Eat really slowly, like several minutes between bites and allow plenty of time after eating before resuming drinking and a min. of 15-30 minutes of nothing before eating. If you are constipated or not pooping at all that needs to be addressed or eating will be difficult. Gas also will cause problems. There are solutions for these issues. Also indigestion can cause trouble. If you have any problems call your doctor and let them help you and don't get discouraged. They can give advice and solutions to make things better for you. Good luck and God bless you and keep you!

I have no idea what might be happening with your knee, but I do think you should go see primary care if it still feels that way after a week or 10 days. This is great advice. If you start working it too early you could hurt it further...water exercise is smart.

Sounds like you've got it covered with the echo and EKG I'm doing well. I'm down a total of 103, 43 since surgery. My old 5X and some 6X clothes are hanging on me. Even my underwear is baggy and my bras are loose! My mother had gotten me a new 5X outfit for Christmas, and I asked her to return it for a smaller size, since I knew I wouldn't be in them for long. She mailed the replacements in a 3X last week. I tried them on - a pair of black knit pants and a long sleeve cotton knit sweater. They actually almost fit! A little more snug than I would like to wear them comfortably, but since my stomach isn't as lumpy, they were presentable! Too bad the weather is now too warm to wear them, and by the time it's cold enough for them again, I will (hopefully) be out of the X's altogether! Hope things go well for you!

Hey all, I got on the scale tonight to find I'm down 42 pounds from the day I started my pre-op diet on 3/16! I almost can't believe it! Tomorrow will be 6 weeks post-op for me and I have not one regret on getting this surgery. Compared to all of the diets I've tried and failed on in the past, the last 6 weeks with the sleeve have been so easy! I finally feel like a normal person who doesn't think about food all of the time. I have been very diligent on tracking every calorie, carb, and gram of Protein since surgery, but I've been so-so with exercising. My goal for the next 6 weeks is to work out six days a week so I can keep this downward scale momentum going!

You do feel like that? It's been a week and two days...and I just have like a lingering heavy feeling in my belly....went to the regular dr yesterday, not my band dr, he said it must be my band, cuz everything else seems fine? Who knows, but it hurts, so called where I got my band, and will probably end up going there this evening. Thanks for sharing, I'm ok w/ TMI, because it helps to know someone has the same thing as me! :eek:

Perth bridetobe, yes they are it was in a report released a few weeks ago when they were approved for the rate increase. I'm not sure which health funds are dropping the cover but I think NIB was one of them. Just be careful and check with the fund prior to taking out your insurance, or alternatively, if you already have insurance and find you aren't covered, move to one that does cover it. Most will waive the waiting period if you have already had similar cover with another health fund. Pyretta

On Monday it will be three weeks for me too. I can't believe how I used to smell, now that I can smell other people. My house stinks but I can't do anything about it unless my husband gets the urge to quit. We are just getting more and more healthier aren't we. Josephine

Hello and welcome. I am currently on my 2 week pre-op diet. my surgery is on week from today...aug 16th. I work in the same field as you (i'm a psych tech) and i have suffered with hypoglycemia as well. i havent had any problems so far with this on the diet. I did get some sugar free popsicles and fudge pops as well as sugar free Jello to help me through the cravings. I'm sure the hard candy..as long as its sugar free wont be bad, but i would ask your surgeon about the juice. it might spike that blood sugar a little to much, as well as take you out of ketosis. i have been cranky on this diet, but it usually is around the times that i have to prepair food for my family to eat, and relize that i wont be able to eat anything for weeks. lol ....good luck to you, welcome again, and im sure you will do great!

Today I spent hours going through the binder of information given to me by the bariatric team. I am one of those super organized, Type A personalities, so it was necessary for my peace of mind to have dividers and tabs and plastic sheaths for the important papers. Kinda crazy, I suppose, but that's me! Next I went through all my diabetic magazines and clipped the yummiest sounding recipes. :-) So far on this journey toward surgery-- 1. I established the insurance requirements (a complicated story I may share at another time) and got the preliminary clearance. That was a relief! 2. I discussed my desire with my personal physician, a fabulous doctor and man I respect greatly who has been my GP since moving to KY 3 years ago. His approval and support was not a deal breaker, necessarily, as I was 80-90% sure surgery was my best course, but it was important to me for him to be on board. It was a relief when he not only didn't disagree but also confirmed the positive reports I had read about the local surgeon and bariatric program. 3. I (and my husband) attended the informational seminar offered by the Bariatric Weight Loss Program here in my home town. The surgeon was at the meeting, as well as others on the team, and the info was very thorough. So far nothing to give me pause! I filled out the request form, then waited.... 4. The wait wasn't too long. Gayle, the program coordinator, called me about a week later to set up my first appointment with the surgeon Dr. Farrell. 5. August 4 was my appointment with Dr. Farrell. Before meeting him I also had brief meetings with the dietician and again with Gayle. A binder containing detailed information about the pre-approval process and appointments, the surgery itself and surgery prep, diet pre- and post-op, possible complications, exercise, recipes, and much more. VERY thorough! I even got a few samples of protein powder and shakes. 6. August 11 was my appointment with a cardiologist for "surgical clearance." I had seen this doctor just over a year ago, before my diagnosis of sleep apnea, to rule out any cardiac issues. Nothing had shown up at that time, and as a prior patient I was able to get in to see him quickly. Unfortunately, I have been very sick with bronchiolitis and possible pneumonia, on strong cough medicine and steroids. The latter (I'm convinced) is why my heart rate was high, and of course my chest wasn't as clear as it should have been. For this reason the doctor recommended a follow up ECHO and treadmill test to be sure all was well before surgery. As an RN, I could not argue the logic even if it adds more to the process. Better safe than sorry! 7. Gayle called the next day to give me dates for all the various appointments: Psych Eval, Support Group meetings, endoscopy, Nutritional Eval, Exercise Eval, and a Healthy Lifestyle Class. These, along with the cardio followup, are scheduled over the next month, beginning tomorrow. No set surgery date as yet. The initial estimate was early November, but it seems to me mid to late October makes more sense. My birthday is on October 26, and while it doesn't sound like too much fun to spend one's birthday in the hospital, in pain, and unable to eat at least a small piece of cake, I am willing to make the sacrifice if it means getting the rest of my better-health-and-skinnier-life started! I'm ready!

Hi all! I'm new to this forum. I have some concerns about the pre-op diet. I have to be on a strict liquid diet of protein shakes for two weeks, and it's limited to 800 calories. I tend to get symptoms of what may be hypoglycemia when I get hungry, so I worry about this. The symptom I worry about most is the really irritable mood and fogginess. I work in the mental health field, which means a very high stress job. I don't want to snap at people! Will the doctor know I've cheated if I drink a little juice or have a hard candy or something to bring my blood sugar back up??

Hi all: Banded a little over a week ago in Mexico. REALLY having trouble with this post-op diet. Diets and me just don't do well. When hunger kicks in, will-power goes. I feel good, but a little sore from surgery. My questions is this: how important is the post-op diet? (Week of Clear liquids, then week of Soups, then week of purreed foods, etc.) What dangers exist if I were to just start eating lightly? I confess, I have eaten some solid foods this past week and have had no problems at all. So, what does everyone think? I'm sure I'm not the only one that has wanted to skip the post-op diet and go straight to eating a little solid food. If I have no problems doing it, can it still hurt? Are there reasons for the post-op diet that I don't know about? Lost about 5 lbs since surgery. No problems or complecations that I can tell. :hungry:

Hi everyone! Thanks for the warm welcome. I am three days out from my surgery and feeling better. I went to work today for about 5 hours and it was ok but I was about to collapse when I came home! Is there another get together already set up? I definitely want to try and make it.

My husband has been INCREDIBLE. The first month or so were the hardest for me emotionally so he often fixed food for him and our son. After that, I use our crockpot often. I really don't eat much at all of what he eats but I am hyper sensitive to sodium and fat makes me nauseous. This week, I started mixing up the extra tuna, chicken, or egg salad that I eat and he gladly eats it now too. I wish everyone had a guy like mine. :-)

Yes it happened to me last month. Awful!! I kept to saltines and liquids for almost a week. To avoid dehydration I drank Gatorade. I also made sure to give my doc's office a call since the vomiting can be dangerous w/ the band.

I would think that if the plasters are still on after 8 weeks post-op, then call your Dr, and seek their advice. My plasters came off with in 2 weeks post op. So call.....

I had my pre-op pap come back and they told me there wasn't enough cells...and I have to wait 3-4 months to get it redone....has this happen to anyone? This is literally the last thing I needed before I got my surgery date. I do see my dr for my follow up on pre op appts in two weeks...

My oh my - this is such a wonderful forum and folks are so open - the only advice I can offer which may be helpful - is that of my nutritionest. Consume liquids 45 mins before or after a meal Make the liquids something like crystal lite, or power aid zero (no calories) Eat ONLY 3 oz of lean Protein (actually 7 grams per oz) If your still hungry after eating the protein - eat up to 1.5 cups of cooked veggies per meal Substitute a Protein shake 2-4 times a week Shakes: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=WP-1070 That simple advice took me down 35 lbs - don't eat till your full - eat the perscribed plan. I know its not easy, I am a comfort food eater, a grazer, and eat out of boredom. Fortunatly the surgery made me loose my appetite - I wish you the very best !

Hello everyone.. I hope what I am writing is correct for this forum. Im Brand New and just spoke to my Doctor last week about having Lap Band surgery done.. She said sure did I want to start the process.. I didnt expect that quick of an answer from her... Yes I do want to start the process.. My only concern is that I am 60 years old.. I dont have any major medical problems except that my Chol has gone up in the last 6 months. I do take Blood Pressure meds.. But my blood pressure is perfect.. Is there anyone in my age bracket that can give me any information. I have never had any Surgery and Im a little scared. I sure would like to hear the good and bad about the Lap Band... I am also seeing that there may be different styles of this Lap Band, if that is the case can someone give me that info also.. I hope I have asked to much of anyone.. I still have some years left and would like to enjoy it with my Grand-kids.. If i dont do something soon I will not fit in a seat on the plane...lol... Can anyone help me out.. Thank you

I too, prefer Worldwide Protein shakes. Atkins was on my list from the dietician for a ready to drink, but it only has about 9 or 15g protein (I forget how much), and it is full of Vitamins, which is fine, but we are taking Vitamin supplements, so why drink more? Taste-wise WW shakes are better than Atkins. They are available at Trader Joe's (cheapest--$2.29 each for 35s and they have 21g version for $1.69), The Vitamin Shoppe (next cheapest--$2.79 but I bought a 12 pack for $27.99 which is about $2.33 each), and GNC (most expensive--$2.99 each). All three carry vanilla Cream and chocolate. The Vitamin Shoppe carries all the flavors (strawberry Cream, Cookies n' Cream, and banana Cream). I don't care for banana flavored stuff, but the Cookies n' Cream tastes like liquid Oreos, and the Strawberry is pretty good too. Calories 160-170, maybe 1g fat/0.5 sat fat, and 1g sugar, no added vitamins. It is a milk-based protein (in case you are lactose intolerant). I don't work for them (honest) but I have been drinking them since before surgery, and I still drink one just about every day. As for vitamins, Bariatricadvantage.com sells chewables and liquids just for surgery patients. I use Centrum Silver chewables (even though our dietician pooh-poohs them) and Twin Labs calcium citrate with Magnesium and D (after I started using I found it on the list of approved supplements for Brigham Womens Hospital Bariatric Program--someone here had a link and I clicked on it). Best price is online at vitacost.com, about $7.67 a bottle for 60 wafers (15 day supply). In stores it is anywhere from $13 to $18 for the same thing. There is a $4.99 s/h charge, for any size order, so I order 5 bottles on an auto ship plan for every 60 days. I am experimenting with the MVI, and right now can get down sizeable capsules so I take one with supplements for the eyes since mine are crap after 3 eye surgeries. If you have a lot of restriction chewables or liquids are better.

I am stressing a little because I went on vacation for a week and ate everything that I used to eat prior to being sleeved in 1/11 and the bad part was I didn't get sick, it was good and now I have to truly start all over! These are the habits that kept me fat all my life! I didn't stuff myself but I did eat more than three times a day and I gained 2 lbs. Anybody been there and how hard was it to get refocused?

Had it on the 15th of august. Doing pretty good Im almost all healed up already after 1 week and 3 days. I did 15 mins on stairmaster today too. I lost almost 13 pounds already because I am still on all liquid diet. Its not easy to eat like this but I only have a week and a few days left of liquids. First couple days after surgery were the toughest pain wise but the pain killers worked good.