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I just had my surgery with Dr. Ortiz in Mexico, TJ and it was above and beyond what I could have ever expected. I know everyone told me great things about getting banded in Mexico, but experiencing it myself, it exceeded all my expectations. I am day 4 post op and feel very good. I feel a little swelling and have restriction. One 4 oz. yogurt is enough to fill me to the limit. They have been doing banding longer over there than here. I know Dr. Ortiz has done over 4000. I give it a 10+ Audree

My surgery is scheduled for 5/7/19. I’m nervous but excited. I haven’t had many problems with the 6 months preparation. You got this! Sending good vibes!

Hi there! I was put on mushies on Day 11 after my surgery and it was a welcome relief. I could eat things that were really soft and mushy and didn't really require much in the way of chewing. . .like refried Beans, soft scrambled egg, Peanut Butter, cottage cheese, yogurt etc. I went home from the hospital (after 3 days) on pureed foods so was only on Clear Liquids just in the hospital. So I was pureeing lots of Soups etc just to get some decent tastes going. It gets so much easier as time goes on. Alot of people told me that but when I was in my first two weeks I thought I would never make it through! But I promise, it really does get better. The most important thing now is to get your liquids in and maybe use some non-flavored Protein powder with everything that you consume to get in the extra protein. One of my favorites now is the Kellogg's K2O drink mix that has 5 grams of protein. I drink 2 of those every day so that takes care of part of my Water intake and also 10 grams of protein. What was the date of your surgery and what diet plan do they have you on? (it seems like every surgeon is a little different with the diet plans)

Just got my flu shot, so I'm ready for Fall! :confused: Last night I had a few moments of thought about my journery. I'm in my "small" range. I'm within 10-15 pounds of my lowest weights as an adult. I wondered briefly if this could be it for me. I mean, I look pretty great! I've gotten into almost every "skinny" piece of clothing I have. What can I really expect? And then I started looking at some pictures. My SIL was finally able to send me pics from my 5K. As I was looking at them, I realized that if I can do THAT...I can do MORE! It might take 3 years, but who cares? I'm loving my life right now and I'm going at a pace that I can continue for as long as I need. Sometimes, I guess I just need to remind myself. :thumbup: Speaking of my 5K pictures, I have attached a few. As I mentioned before, my SIL was absolutely awesome! I'm truly not sure I could have done it without her. Today I'm committing to running 2 miles at lunch and Jazzercising for an hour tonight. Fun NSV: I was able to wear a dress today that I have had for YEARS, but it hasn't fit. It looks really nice and I've gotten several compliments!! Have a wonderful day!!

As of now, my surgery is scheduled for November 20th, the Monday before Thanksgiving. I really hope that the surgeon can stick with this date b/c it will really really work out well with my and my boyfriend's school and work schedule. I find it hard to believe that it is just over a month away...I have done so much work to get to this point and now I am facing the 10 day liquid diet... I am not sure what I am actually feeling at this point...when I think about it, for the most part I am excited and anxious...honestly I think that I am trying to bury any other negative thoughts at this time b/c it would be so easy to get scared. I am changing my life and that is such a wonderful, yet nervewracking process to go through. I feel that few people in my life actually understand...in ways I think they are nervous too about me being different, I have been overweight my entire life and I do belive that it has helped define (or limit) who I am today...

Just got home from my first post op follow up and I am down 10.5 lbs!!!! I am not at 207....I haven't seen this number in years!!! I started my journey at 232.....that makes 25lbs since July!!!! He did tell me not to expect a 10 lb wieght loss every week...but I still have two weeks of liquid to do...now I moved up to my protein shakes 3x daily and 64 oz of clear liquids...plus my chewable vitamin! I picked up those viactiv chocolate flavor vitamins, I ate one and now I am too full for my protein shake....maybe I should take the vitamin at bed time? Anyways...Had a super fatastic day! (although I don't see much of a change, maybe i am blind to that extra 25lbs...who knows...my boobs are smaller though..I guess that is a good thing!):cursing:

Got my surgery date today! Yay! My tummy was all in knots after getting that call. Excitement and nerves both! Will start preop diet on 1/16/2013. Not lookin forward to that but will be so worth it! Preop appointment is 1/15/2013, it last all day! 10:30 til about 4:00....wow! Labs,EKG,Dr visit,nurse visit,financial counselor and last NUT! I'll be exhausted after that day,lol!

Hi All! I am a newbie here, I have stalked a lot of threads but never posted. I am on day 7 of my 10 day liquid diet and I have lost 14lbs so far, but I did cheat a little last night and I have been beating myself up over it all day long. I even had a dream that I was told no for my surgery Wednesday because I didn't loose enough weight. I am terrified and as soon as my daughter wakes up from her nap I am going to bit the gym at full force with what energy I can gather from the sole liquid diet:/ I don't want to sound pathetic, but I have been seriously obsessing over what the scale says every day and I don't want to get to the date that I waited so long for and my surgeon tell me he can't do it:/ anyone else feel this way?

A year ago today I couldn't stand for more than 10 minutes without breaking into a sweat and needing to sit down. Today I finished my first 5K. The fastest guy in my age group finished it in 22 minutes - it took me 4 times as long but I finished it! What made this even more special was being able to walk it with people from my support group for which many was their first 5K as well.

I was banded on 9/10 also. I just started mushies today and had my first follow up today also. Am getting my first fill on 10/10.

Im that 1% kimteehee so I can definitely relate, but I promise you, it does get better. I had my surgery on 4/17/2014, went home and was fine for 2 weeks. Ended up in the Er, scar tissue wrapped around my intestines and completely shut it down (which is apparently odd since it usually takes months, not 2 weeks for scar tissue to form, 1%!) . Got surgery to fix that, was told everything was fine and I was going home tne next day. Woke up over a month later, told I pretty much died once, almost died quite a few times, had 2 more surgeries, my intestines apparently fell out at some point and I was in a coma and on life support for the last month. Well, imagine my surprise lol! I have an 8 year old who wasn't allowed in ICU to see me the whole time, my husband ended up in the hospital with an anxiety attack and my 19 year old had to run the house and take care of everything. I had to learn to walk, go to the bathroom, everything all over again (babies make it look easy lol). I completely understand the depression, the guilt, the "what the heck did I do to myself??" but you have to Let that go and realize you can't change it, so what do you do now?? You heal, you get better, you kick butt and you MAKE it worth it! I had to tell myself "I did not almost die for Nothing!!!" Stay positive and don't Let the depression consume you, or else all of this is for nothing.

Thanks for sharing! I too have had irregular periods since I was 10, and I have stiff hairs growing in the beard area on my face. ???? I am tired of being tired all the time. Looking for a change. ????

My general practitioner said he is concerned with my desire to keep losing weight. He said if I lose another 10 lbs and still feel like I need to lose more, than he wants to see me again to evaluate to body image issue. I just feel like I need to lose so much more. I am going to talk to a therapist soon though. And thank you very much for the compliment!

I'm 19 days post surgery, and I wouldn't go to the beach now. I do light driving, walking, and try to completely avoid lifting and bending. I have almost no pain and thank God, no leakage or other type of complications. However, I tire easily, especially in the sun and in crowded places. Too much noise, movement, action make me a bit dizzy and lightheaded. I went to the mall this past Saturday, and had to leave to the car 20 minutes after being inside. I wasn't like this before surgery, so I know it's part of the recuperation process. My body and mind are still in recovery, and I know I must be careful to what I expose them to. Another issue that has come up is depression, better yet: anxiety. This is something I wasn't familiar with either. Never had anxiety, only mild depression on PMS days. This time though, it's different! I panick easy, I become terrified and immensely emotional. It hits me at any moment. It's mindboggling and almost unbelievable given my pre-op personality. Be careful. I wasn't prepared for all the different physical changes and sensations. And I especially wasn't prepared for the emotional challenges. Given the way I've felt, I wouldn't go the beach on such a hot, crowded, noisy day. But, hopefully your experience will be different and you will be able to enjoy a day at the beach. Best wishes!

Everything I've heard and read is that Dr Cirangle is the best in San Francisco. I so wish I was close but I am in Ohio. I don't believe he is that expensive but people say his expertise is worth every penny. He has been doing the sleeve for 10 years or longer, a lot more than most in the eastern US. His success rate is very good so I have read. I called his nurse a few months ago and was willing to travel out there and stay for awhile but my insurance would pay nothing. Something about not living in Ca. Look him up and he also has a video of a sleeve that he did from beginning to end.

Well I did it today, I went out and bought 3 pair of pants and shirts. I have went from 3X or 4X just 10 months ago to buying size 38 pants today whoooohooooo! and Im wearing a lg shirt, not XL not 2X not 3x but lg....im so excited! just wanted to share the info.....thanx:thumbup:

So I’m officially one week post op. I haven’t posted until now because I’m just really trying to take it all in and enjoy this very special experience. Here’s a small recap of what I’ve been through thus far. My first seminar was on 6/11/09 I weighed 250. I met with the dietician on 6/20/09 and weighed 245. The day of my surgery is 7/7/09 and I weighed 237. Today I’m one week post op (7/14/09) and I weigh 228. I feel really good about that, and I can’t wait to see more weight melt away. Tuesday 7/7/09 Today is the date of my surgery and I weighed in at weighed in at 237 lbs. I’m really impressed with myself because that means I’ve lost 13 pounds since my first seminar on June 11th. Everyone at the hospital was great. I’m not going to fake it, I was nervous about having this surgery. I kept thinking did I rush this decision, could I truly have done this on my own, isn’t this a drastic measure, etc, etc. I could think of a million other things that I would rather be doing than having surgery, but this surgery was my one opportunity to truly change my life. I knew that then, and I know that now. How wonderfully exciting it is! My surgery was scheduled at 11:30 a.m. and everything started on time. By 1 p.m. I was wheeled into my room, and the rooms were new and very nice. Surprisingly I was not in very much pain. I couldn’t have any water or broth until 6 p.m. so they started having me walk a little after five, before I started the liquids. The first time I got up, I felt very warm and a bit nauseas. So I sat on the chair and waited a while until I took my first journey down the hall with my lovely IV. The gown that I had on was so big and long that my lovely husband went out and bought me a shorter gown and light robe (I don’t know why I didn’t bring one on my own) 6:15 p.m. until midnight that night I took in a total of 6.5 ounces of water/broth. They would allow me 15 ml’s every 15 minutes. I also walked roughly an hour that night (they even showed me a longer path) that way I wouldn’t have to keep turning around. That first day I didn’t nap or anything like they. I remember them waking me up just a little before midnight, at four the next morning, and at eight the next morning. Overall I got some decent sleep. The majority of my time in the hospital was spent seating in the hospital chairs. When I was in the bed I felt like a patient, when I was in the chair I felt like a visitor. I’m such a freak. Wednesday 7/8/09 So today I feel pretty good. I’m not hungry but I am a little thirsty. Again I could only have 15 mls of water/broth per 15 minutes and I ended up consuming roughly 16.5 ounces. Again the pain is under control and I’m just not in nearly as much pain as I anticipated. Thursday 7/9/09 Today is the first day I’m feeling some hunger. I can’t wait until tomorrow when I can have a protein shake. I spoke with my friend who had her Lap Band surgery a little over two years ago. She’s one heck of a mentor and an amazing example of how successful you can be with this Band. She has went from 243 pounds (a size 24) and is now 127 pounds (and a size 2/4). I told her that I am going through a small bout of buyer’s remorse. I know that a protein shake will help suppress my hunger, but I can’t wait until I get some normal food. I’m just excited at the thought of eating cottage cheese, yogurt, roasted veggies, cheese, and chicken, yum. This time I can tell that I’m having true physical hunger, not just head hunger. I walked with my husband and Adrie (our black Lab) around the block. Halfway through it my stomach had a lot of pain. The pain is near the incision where the port its. That’s where all my pain is, nowhere else. Today I’ve had 21 ounces of water and 4 ounces of light Tropicana Orange Juice (super delicious) for a total of 25 fluid ounces. Friday 7/10/09 Today I woke up hungry and I was glad to know that I could have a protein shake, thank goodness. My mom came down to see me today. She said that she was impressed that I was in regular clothes, and not all slouched out in pj’s. J Yes I get up every day I take a shower, put on some make up, and do my hair. I’m not a girly girl, but by doing so that way I feel better which I hope will help the whole process. I went with my mom and hubby to the bookstore. Instead of the “typical” lunch we had unsweetened tea and enjoyed an hour of reading magazines and books. I looked all over for a book on weight loss surgery. There was one book (besides two separate recipe books) called, Before & After: Living & Eating Well after Weight Loss Surgery by Susan Maria Leach. I really liked what she had to say and I could find myself relating to her story. Granted we had two separate weight loss procedures, but we’re both fighting the same battle. Today I had water, 4 ounces of prune juice, green tea, ½ cup of soup, and 1 ½ Bariatric Shakes. That’s a total of 37 ounces for today. Saturday 7/11/09 I woke up early and I decided that I was going to find a couple of garage sales to attend to. I found this one exceptional garage sale and I was in bargain heaven. J I drove by the farmers market, and I told myself that I could stop on over there next week (when I could actually purchase some veggies and fruits for the next stage of my post op diet). I had a total of 43 ounces today, mostly water, 4 ounces of OJ, 8 ounces of a Bariatric Shake, and ¼ cup soup. I feel asleep at 7 p.m. and didn’t wake up until 8 a.m. on Sunday. Now that’s so good sleep! Sunday 7/12/09 Today was the first day where I didn’t much hunger. I love that feeling. I feel so good not having food at the forefront of my mind, I have this new sense of peace and hope in my life. It’s an amazing feeling. My sleep is improving and I’m finally not waking up in the middle of the night. I’ve been having quite a bit of pain today and yesterday with the area around my port. I don’t like taking the liquid pain medicine, because it makes me feel a nauseous and I’m worried that it will make me vomit (and I haven’t done so yet, and I’m a bit scared). I went with my hubby and my little brother to watch Bruno. I had this scheduled for quite some time, but I told them that we would have to wait until Sunday before we could see the movie (I just didn’t think I could sit through a whole movie until then). The movie was totally out of control, but very funny and I laughed the whole time. Going to the movies now is a totally different experience. I didn’t have my diet coke, with popcorn, and sour gummy worms. Nope, this time I had water and I was completely satisfied. Instead of the movie experience being about the food, it was being with my family and just enjoying ourselves, with food not included. What a first. I had 2: 8 ounce protein shakes, 52 ounces of water, 4 ounces of OJ, for a total of 74 ounces of liquids. Monday 7/13/09 So this may be TMI, but I haven’t been having any bowel movements, and I’m thinking that’s why my lower belly is still so swollen. I miss my old bowel movements; I had worked my way into one bowel movement a day. Now they are pretty much non-existent. Is anyone else having any problems with their stomach looking very swollen? I’ve noticed it in my lower stomach, and I’m thinking that its gas related. I wonder when it will go away. Even though I’ve lost 21 pounds, I can still only get one of my pairs of jeans to button. I’d figured that I could wear some old pants that were too tight, but it looks like I’ll have to wait until the swelling goes down. I’m having some strange cravings, grilled cheese (because I’m thoroughly convinced I won’t be able to tolerate bread) and Mexican food, more specifically chips and salsa and corn tortillas. Today I had one protein shake, water, OJ, 4 ounces of prune juice, ½ cup of soup, and one serving of jello. I’ve had a total of 40 ounces of today.

First of all... HUG!! Second, thank you so very much with your post. At 10 months in, I still have a way to go until I'm in a maintenance situation, but it is something I think about. Although I hate that you would have to go through any hardships, it is invaluable to me to hear your perspective. For most of us weightloss has been and will be a lifelong committment. I'm glad that there is a blogging community and LBT to help us go through it together.

*Post Deleted For Lap Band Book

I am 10 months out and down 152 pounds. The first few weeks i would not focus on anything weight related. focus on healing and getting protein and liquid requirement. it is normal to have some depression and some doubts, i had some depression because i had to come to terms with my monsters. Looking in the mirror and judging ourselves is the hardest thing to do. your sleeve is healing but you must heal mentally also. The sleeve is merely a tool for weight issues but not a fix. in order to be successful you must come to terms with your mental demons. Once you come to terms with your mental demons than you can move on and just focus on the physical part. VST is a great place for advise and support. You have come to the right place. Stay strong and stay positive.

143 pounds in 10 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm coming to hang out with u!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just got banded on Thursday, 12-23 and was on liquids for Christmas...oh, well. It is well worth it. My doctor has me on full liquids (anything through a straw) until January 4. Then I can have mushies (mashed potatoes, etc) for I think 10 days or so before graduating to food. PLEASE follow doctor's advice as this early stage is so critical to the healing of the stomach and the band in place. She should be getting 40 grams of protein (I use shakes) and 64 ounces of water. What about sugar free popsicles or creamed soup? Those are good. But remember, she must have at least 40 grams of protein. Good luck! Kim

Got sleeved early on a Wednesday morning (checked in at 8am, and surgery prob started around 10/10:30), and was discharged before noon on Friday...good luck, and excited for you!!

I take a Bariatric Chewable that you take once a day!! It's from ProCare Health and it's $10 a bottle for 30 pills. I usually just swallow it whole. I'm not much on chewing vitamins. I also take Biotin, Vit C and Calcium. Plus I get an Injection of B-12 monthly.

Like others have said, even if it is addiction transfer it is a healthy addiction, unless it takes over your life to the exclusion of everything else. Before surgery I worked out at Curves, and then would stop for a pizza on the way home. I live alone so I would consume the entire pizza for dinner. As I got closer to surgery I decided I had to bump up my exercise and started walking. I found a park near home with a 2 mile nature trail. I don't so much power walk as walk for distance. I carry peanuts to feed the squirrels (passive weight lifting) and how often I stop depends on how many of them show up for treats. The ducks like peanuts too. Anyway, I try to go around twice as a minimum (approx 4 miles). I noticed my slacks getting looser even before surgery. In the winter it is dark before I leave work, so I go to Curves about 3 x a week and hit the park on weekends. Now that I have daylight I go to the park almost daily, 2x around weekdays, and on weekends, depending on how I feel and how much time I have I may go 3 or 4x around. When it rains during the week I go to Curves. Perhaps not quite as much as you do, but I only take about 1 or 2 days off a week, if that. My surgeon said exercise is very important for having success with the band. You don't have to kill yourself at the gym, but you do have to make a committment. I can't say enough about plain old walking. I have gone from women's 22 to misses 10 in slacks. I was doing laundry over the weekend and had a WOW moment taking stuff out of the dryer. I held up a pair of size 10 pants and said to myself, "Wow, my ass really fits in that!" It was a warm fuzzy for sure!