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Agree with Laura about the shot glass. Set a clock by your chair or bedside. Aim for one ounce every 15 minutes while you are awake - either Water or your Protein drink of choice. I used a 1 cup measuring cup like a little pitcher to keep refilling the shot glass. It was a lot easier for me to drink when I broke it down like that instead of facing a big glass of water. I took my pain meds for almost two weeks and I didn't have any complications. It will get better. Lynda

I don't know what the issue with it is, it was written in Comic sans size 12 there's no cursive so i'm re~posting it in Arial size 18. If you can't see I don't know what else to do no one else has said they cant read it. Sorry in advance if this is long and I ramble a bit, I just need to say something's out loud and I am hoping you all understand and don't mind me talkin' :} My surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday the 19th in Las Vegas with Dr. Thomas Umbach. I have been on my pre surgery diet for a few days now and am finally doing ok and not wanting to attack and steal crackers from a 2 y/o who was eating them as he passed me by on Sunday....lol I have been soooooooooo freaking emotional the past week, i'm sure part of it is the lack of food, caffeine, nerves about surgery and being that time of month didn't help. I have only had 1 surgery before and it was foot surgery so I know everything about this surgery is going to be very different. When I had that surgery I did not come out of the anesthesia very well made me very nauseous and I was looped out for several hours. I do have my fears that something will happen to me during surgery and I won't come thru it. But I trust my Dr and his experience with doing this surgery. I would be stupid to think there are no risks or complications (I usually see all the bad before the good has a chance to peek thru) I think my biggest fears are how will I do with the anesthesia & the "not knowing" what to expect (like how much pain I will be in, how hard it will be to drink, how i'm going to handle new things for the 1st time after my new tummy) I know I will lose weight and I have already made up my mind that I didn't get this big over night and i'm not going to lose it all over night either. My goal is to lose 10lbs a month and become a healthier better me, to get off the insulin, have less pain from my arthritis, fibro & nuropathy. I have never really been one to exercise but I have been walking as much as I can and I have already gotten things started with a personal trainer and a program once I am cleared for exercise and until i'm cleared I will continue to walk and get my stamina built up. I want to say THANK YOU to Alex Brecher for this website and for making it possible for people like us to talk to others who know where were coming from and understand our feelings. The staff here have been awesome also and to A LOT of the members here who share there journey & photo's with the rest of us. Who give us support and are willing to answer questions (even dumb ones....lol) give us a kick in the pants when we need it and the courage to keep going. I have learned so much from reading post after post, my daughter thinks i'm crazy because I "take notes". I hope at some point I will be able to help someone else out and inspire someone to keep plugging along and take the steps needed to become healthy and happy :} Thank you in advance if you read this, I do appreciate you all. I just needed to say it all out loud I guess and I only have a few supporters that I can talk to without judgement and cruel words. Thanks again, Katrina :} God bless all those who have upcoming surgeries. I will be looking out for your stories & updates.

-how many VSGs he/she has done -complication rate -average weight lost -amount of time in hospital -what does pre-op testing involve -what about post-op testing...leak test? -post-op care provided by surgeon's office (dietitian, PAs, surgeon, primary care) -what kind of pre-op diet -what kind of post-op diet -is VSG right for you or would he/she recommend a different procedure -does he/she correct hiatal hernias if needed during surgery? in what percentage of patients? -do all patients go on a PPI post-op (gastric protective agent)? -will you get a drain and when does it come out? -will have an abdominal binder post-op (loved mine)? -will you have a catheter in the hospital -how long after surgery can you drink

read up on the surgeries (all of them) to see what would be a good fit for you...remember any WLS works and none are better than the other no matter what anyone says.....WLS is a complete life (lifestyle) change and for best results, always do what the dr who operates on you advises.. unless you decide to eat better, exercise, no WLS will help.......people get one surgery, it dont work for them and off they go to another one......the person looking at oneself in the mirror is a HUGE reason a WLS can work or not work.......(granted some complication can and does happen on any WLS) but those are small risks in my opinion to gain a longer life. so if you want to be healthy and get healthy do it....but expect to do some work...

I just asked this question to my nutritionist last week. She said that my surgeon's protocol is to loosen the band after a certain number of years (I can't remember how many) at goal weight. The reason for this is to avoid any complications linked with a potentially-inflammatory implanted device, especially as one gets older. My surgeon has observed that by that time...(the certain number of years maintaining), the patient has acquired the eating and exercise habit/mindset etc that will prevent him/her from gaining the weight back. If the patient observes weight gain after the band losening, he/she is instructed to return for a fill immediately.

It is 3 years today that I went for my life saving surgery. I had no idea of the positives or negatives that would befall me on this journey. I wonder if I knew then what I know now would I have done it at all. I think the answer is yes! With all the complications and difficulties I personally faced and still am facing I am a changed girl. One that is free to walk long distances. Go anywhere with out people staring or making unkind remarks. I have become invisible to the masses. I like that a lot. Soon I will undergo skin removal surgery and will really be changed forever. ( always being watchful of my addiction of course ) I live in a different world now. I started my own business and now work for a organization that appreciates my efforts. My journey is unfolding before my eyes. For the good may I say. I don't feel the same about anything in my life. I can't remember being this happy and it all began with the approval for WLS. I know who I am better. My weaknesses and I have much more compassion for others. The complications I still have are a strict reminder of where I have been and how far I have come. It has been quite a ride! Thank you everyone for being part of it. Couldn't have done it without the support of so many on this site. Thank you Alex for giving us a place to discuss freely the ups and downs of WLS. Jane

I am starting to think about the next step in plastic surgery for me. I have lost 184 pounds, want to lose another ~50 to get me around 200 pounds before I go under the knife again. I say "again" because I had a panniculectomy about 100 pounds ago. My pannus was such a problem that I had it removed when I was only partially down, knowing that I would still need a full lower body lift when I get to goal weight. Now looking at my body, I know I will need a lower body lift, inner thigh lift, breast lift with probable implants, and possible brachioplasty. And lipo in various spots for sure. I know this is two operations, possibly three. So since I know it will be complicated and expensive I want to start researching options now. Obviously I can go back to the doctor who did my panni (which was covered by insurance), but I am hesitating for two reasons. First, I was not 100% pleased with the results. In the end it turned out OK but not great. Second, he is expensive. As is virtually any plastic surgeon in the San Francisco Bay Area. So I'm hoping any of you regulars on this forum can give me any links or advice on having plastic surgery done outside the US, or other options for less expensive surgery when you have to pay out of pocket. Thank you!

Lol- yup, MFP always said I was near death with my low calories, low carb and low fat diet so stopped using MFP after that. Besides I am not really a tracker. I like to keep post op things ultra simple as life is complicated as is. Stopped tracking after month 1 and never looked back. All turned out fine in the end.

I have little experience, but I would say you certainly should see your lapband surgeon. And, I think you are supposed to have a checkup with him at least annually anyway. I know mine insists on doing that scope test to look at the band every year which I think is a good idea. You should probably take this question to the complication thread. Good luck to you and please come back and tell us what you learn

Which physician did you choose? How and why did you choose them? I'm not sure if this is an option for me...I worry because my insurance has an exclusion that specifically outlines they will not cover complications or after care from any non-emergent surgery performed outside the US. But I want to do plenty of research into my other options. My insurance is a self-funded "aetna" plan that is run by a third party administrator. That TPA was intentionally misleading about my requirements. And my worry is if I now jump through this set of hoops they are setting out, what happens when there is another set of hoops. And another. And another. Etc etc etc. So please give me the skinny on how you came to your decision...I am sure I'm not the only one out there whose insurance has this type of exclusion. I just know that I need to do something ASAP. There are so many programs and physicians to choose from, I just don't know where to start.

I'm pre-op and still not 100% about actually getting the surgery. This post might be a mess. 1.My dietician is saying because I am young (26) I should get the sleeve because there are less complications but I already have heartburn. I did a barium swallow and she says I don't have reflux but do have a small hernia. 2.Another is not eating and drinking at the same time is SO difficult. And I'm worried that I'll regain from it being able to do it. 3.My SO isn't too thrilled about it because he's worried about complications and that I won't be good at post-op lifestyle changes and that's a little discouraging. I'm hardly taking his opinion into consideration though. 4.And lastly, does anyone post-op have something similar to dumping? Diarrhea, runny stools, frequent bathroom trips etc? Sent from my SM-S515DL using BariatricPal mobile app

I had a band to sleeve revision in March with Dr.Aceves. My liver was also adhered to my stomach. I chose Dr.Aceves because of his experience in revisions. I would not have gone to anyone who had so few previous revisions. Can you speak to the surgeon near you and see if they would help if you had any issues? My doctor here does my follow up (bloodwork). If I had other complications I would have had to go back to Mexicali, and it is not a quick trip for me (about a day of travel. A few flights, hours and hours of driving). I just felt more confident going to someone who had more experience since a revision is riskier. Good luck

Hi Donna. Several of the other board members here have had their plications longer than I at this point, so they may have more experience to share. I only had my plicatino done June 6, so I'm just 15 days out from surgery. The only complications have been nausea for the first couple of days after surgery and having to adjust my sleeping position because I can't lie on my side/stomach now. I definitely feel restriction when I eat and need to eat slowly. I have to be careful and eat slowly. I've had a time or two where my brain was not caught up with my stomach in realizing that I was full. I'd eat an extra bite or two and feel like I might lose my lunch, but that's something I'm trying to get used to. I'm finding that I get hungry every couple of hours which is different from before, but eat in small quantities when I am. I lost about 12 pounds prior to surgery on the liquid diet and have lost about 8 pounds in the two weeks since surgery. I started at 290.5 and was at 269.6 yesterday on the scale. I've been walking most days at least 20 minutes. I was really worried about giving up soda (was a diet Coke addict), but it's been over two weeks and really haven't missed them. I do struggle to get in enough Water each day. I was actually better about drinking water before! So far, I don't regret having it done, but it's early on for me.

Thank you Marie, Alex, Vicki and Donali for your replies and support. I feel so strangely. LIke 2 people fighting in my head. One calm and rational, thinking " I knew it! I was right!" and angry that my doctor chose to think of me as a hysterical hypocondriac. I know at some level that I can't wait, and I know I don't have to tell if I don't want, and I know what comes next so I should be less scared. And then, there is Ms. hysterical hypocondriac ( which means my doctor must have been dealing with her and not me all this time and had no choice but to think I was exagerating) wanting to run away and have this magically fixed without going through surgery again, wondering whether I should have the band removed instead, rather than going through this again in the future. I wanted to have another baby next year and now, with this "complication" it just seems that my band and pregnancy dont mix (specially when last time I was throwing up all day every day for 6 months, and a horrible retching attack while changing a diaper moved my band 2 months ago). Then the guilt of "lying". I read Gail's post and thought "she shouldn't feel guilty! She doesnt have to tell!" But now, after avoiding lying the first time, I get to go through this again! and instead of just dissappearing for a few weeks, i will have to avoid and tell them im having the reflux fixed, which is true, if not the whole truth. I am working on my husband, explaining that if he sticks to " fixing the reflux" its not actually a lie. But his mother is so nosy! Called the Dr. and told him what happened. He sounded a bit annoyed, but said he highly recomends this surgeon, so I guess thats a good thing. Talking to him, I felt like a child, terrified of dissappointing a parent. I have serious issues! Thank you all. Sorry I made it so long! Tellie

Try taking your vits at bedtime with some yogurt to coat your stomach. Try introducing foods that get you nauseous at a very slow pace. This is hard work to get to know our body. I have been very lucky with no complications or nauseousness. However, I do under eat my sleeve so I don't get uncomfortable. Keep trying, it will get better when you take your PPI.

Hey KVP glad to offer up answers to your questions: How have you come to the decision lapband is/was right for you? Because I had tried every diet on the planet and continued to lose but gain more after the end of that diet. This procedure did not involve cutting my intestines and sewing them together. (something I wasn't prepared to do) Is anyone disappointed in thier procedure? Not one day since I awoke from the surgery. I awoke with HOPE. I loved the methodical way my doctor answered my questions, how he was not in a rush, how I felt more informed after talking to him (and I hadn't paid him a dime). Does the reward outweigh the risk? In my case I had sleep apnea (you stop breathing in your sleep), diabetes, high blood pressure...I already had risks from being fat. How do you deal with the complications? I have had no complications from my Lap-Band. I did have a complication with certain foods running through me that my MD was not able to resolve. My Lap-Band surgeon suggested a plan of action that worked. I have read several threads with people complaining that the band isn't working for them I will tell you this. If you are looking for a CURE for obesity, the band is not a cure. The band is a tool to help people like me who have a heck of a time with portion control. It restricts food intact but you still must maintain a healthy diet. Listen to yourself. Do what is best for YOU. No one else has to live with the journey of choice but you. Best to you.

I went on the Adkins diet many years ago (among many others) and wound up with kidney stones. My PCP at the time said it was a common complication of a high protein, high fat diet. I hadn't heard that before, but I sure had them. I stopped that type of Adkins and never had another one. Some people say they're as bad as giving birth (I wouldn't know), but I sure don't want another.

Hope you're feeling better. Why did he remove your gallbladder, did you know he was planning on removing it. What was the indication that your gallbladder needed to be removed? Your surgery time was very late, what type of complications were the others having?

I'm 8 months post op 85 lbs gone total. No complications...not even nausea. I just felt like I had done hundreds of sit up the first few days after surgery. Word of advice. Stay away from slider/bad for you foods!

Tina, Congratulations to you! It's a tough decision, and it takes courage to decide to change. Change is the most frightening thing we go through in life. Many people stay fat and unhealthy because of this fear. I was afraid that the Band, or any WLS surgery for that matter, would change everything about my life. And so far it has. But the changes have been good. I no longer fear change, I welcome it. People in our lives have no idea how to be supportive, I'm convinced of that. I'm also convinced that many of the people who seem so unsupportive think they are being just the opposite. But remember, change is a frightening for them as it is for you. They too are afraid. After all, any change in you could result in a change in your relationships. They are afraid, and their fear has no reason behind it. They forget that you will still be YOU whether you band or not. They forget that your quality will shine through. You are afraid, and it's normal. Change is scary. Everyone you talk to knows someone who's best friend's aunt, had an acquaintance whose youngest daughter had the surgery and she only lost the weight on one side then her left leg blew up like a zeppelin and they went in and found the band broken into seventeen pieces and lodged near a perfectly preserved donut in her uterus. (preceding ludicrous story for illustration purposes only). So, if that kind of thing bothers you, by all means, keep it all on the down low. It's your life, and your business. But fear not. The beauty of the band is it's safety. Low complication rate. Non invasiveness, and ease of reversibility. Of all the courses out there it is the logical choice. I had to decide. I picked this, and now I'm one month out, it was easy, fast, and nearly painless. Well, a lot less painful than my overactive imagination had drawn it for me. Diet and exercise do not work. Lose the weight, gain it back, plus a little bonus. Will power is good for the next meal, and maybe for months, but sooner or later the will power fades, and we fall into our old ways. If the will power worked there would be no fat people, no alchoholics, no addicts of any kind. The way I saw it the only way to go was to choose between a short life and a longer one. Keeping my messed up relationship with food was the short life, the band was the longer one. Follow your own star. Make your own decision based on who you are. One thing about these people here, they know how to be supportive, visit often, read the old threads. Contemplate. But move yourself to action. As Red says in "Shawshank Redemption" it's time to get busy living, or get busy dying. I suggest living with the band, you'll smile more than you do now, you'll laugh daily. Good luck, and glad to see you here.

Today I am regretting the heck out of wearing jeans that have been sitting in the back of my closet for over 10 years. Kidding. There could be complications. There could be excess skin. In my situation, it was worth the risk. I have a list of reasons I hated being fat. Only you can decide if it's worth the risk for you.

The surgery was easy. I went home the same day. By the middle of the following week I started to feel that taking in fluids and protein was a chore. I didn't want to move away from my recliner. That was the first signs of a problem. My reasons for surgery were that I am a diabetic and had an aortic valve replaced in my heart eight years ago. That surgery was tough. The heart valve is a composite material that requires me to be on blood thinners for the rest of my life. In preparation for the Lap Band my Dr took me off of the pill form of thinner and had me using an injectable thinner twice a day. The day of surgery all of the surgical team were happy with the INR value of my blood. After surgery the surgeon assisting my Dr came by to discharge me and said that they had a tough time with bleeding. By Thursday of the next week my INR level was coming up but I was not feeling the greatest. That evening I blacked out when trying to get up from my chair. I asked my wife for her auto blood pressure machine only to find that my b/p was 65/45. I called my Dr and he said go to the ER. The paramedic on the ambulance told me that he would try to help me feel better before we went to the hospital by giving me IV fluids. Three liters latter my bp was the same. I was brought to the local hospital given whole blood and transfered to the hospital where the surgery was done. Ten pints of blood, several bags of plasma and many liters of fluids I'm back to making a good recovery. Don't look at this as a minor surgery. This is serious business and please think to ask about what kind of problems can happen to you and be ready.

Nurse Sophie I'm only trying to make people aware of potential problems. Your right my blood thinners and medical history only complicated the surgery. I just thought that I'll be out of work for a week and everything will be fine. Most people will do fine. Just keep the fact that surgery is not always cut and dry. Thanks for your comments.

My surgeon never gave me a pre-op diet, just directions to lower the carbs, go high protein, and try to lose 10-15 pounds before surgery. He said the most important thing is to shrink the liver to allow better access to the stomach and reduce chances of complications. It's also a chance to practice what you'll have to do more stringently after surgery, so that you don't go into emotional shock in the first two phases after surgery (liquids and full liquids). So I just dieted like normal with salads, veggies, no soda, cut out sugary stuff, ate lots of chicken, tried out a few protein shakes. But I still made time to have some of my favorites, just in very small bites. Then of course, clears 24 hours before surgery for anesthesia reasons.

Now I don’t want to make anyone else jealous, but I just finished my psychiatric evaluation over the phone and it took all of 15 minutes. That’s it. No paperwork. No questionnaires. Done over the phone. No sweat. Granted, this did cost me $400 and it is not covered by my PPO. There was also the option of doing it via skype but since I'd have to do it during work hours and i can't use my company laptop for personal use, so I opted for phone. We arranged for a time for me to call her last week so I called her right on time as planned. She first asked why I was pursuing the surgery. I explained that while my eating has not gotten out of control, my various ailments including a bad back that may require surgery, arthritis in my shoulders and bone spurs in both big toes have made it difficult if not impossible to exercise without pain. I have not been increasing my portion sizes over the last few years as my weight climbed, but without the ability to burn off the excess calories I just kept getting bigger. Next, she asked some medical history questions (I never drink to excess because I’m allergic to alcohol and I’ve never smoked or taken illegal drugs) then asked if I was an emotional eater, a binge eater, a habitual eater or a miscellaneous eater, i.e. problems like portion control, which we’d already covered and I’d already identified myself as being. We went into a little detail about my current eating habits and previous weight loss attempts, which had mostly been successful when I could exercise freely. She asked about the kind of support I’ll have for the surgery and during my recovery at home. I explained that my daughter (who graduates from college this Friday with a BS in psych and a 3.7 GPA, thank you very much) will be taking me to and from the surgery. That’s because when I have it in late May/early June, my wife will still be recovering from knee replacement surgery. So, my kids (my freshman son was nominated by a professor for membership in an honors society that only admits 15 kids from each graduating class at his school, again, thank you very much) will be taking care of both of us. We consider it only a tiny portion of the payback they owe us for putting them through a private college. Finally, she went into a little detail about the required post-surgical changes in habits, such as measuring and logging food and sticking to the prescribed post-surgical plans, and asked if I thought I’d be able to handle. Having read through this board, some FB groups and all the literature I got from the surgeon’s office at my initial consult, I repeated everything back to her chapter and verse to confirm I know exactly what’s expected of me. I also told her that I’m far too cheap to spend all the money on the surgery only to throw it all away with bad habits. She asked if I knew about the types of complications that could arise, so again I referenced this board and the FB groups, explaining I’ve learned a lot about the types of problems that come up most frequently. She asked if I had any fear of the surgery and I said I’ve had many surgeries in my life, so I’m not afraid of it, plus I know that for each person who complains about a post-surgical ailment, there are probably fifty who do not have that problem so the odds are clearly in favor of not having complications. That was pretty much it. She said the approval will be on its way to my surgeon by the end of the day. I gave her my email address so she could send me some literature she likes to send all of her patients and her contact information in case I had any further questions. I am not kidding when I say it took me twice as long to write this as the phone call itself. With this and my endoscopy both out of the way, all I’ve got left before submitting for approval is my final visit with the nutritionist and the pre-op visit with my PCP who’ll also take care of my chest x-ray and EKG. The only real problem between now and the surgery is avoiding the temptation of pigging out at my daughter's graduation party...