Search the Community

How long were y ou in surgery?I was in surgery for 35-45 minutes my family tells me. Did you have a private room post op? Yes, it had a lounge chair, and my own bathroom. Very modern and up to date and nice! How many days did you stay? I checked in on a Monday at like 5am and checked out the next day at 5pm. At the worst point, how would you rate your pain? (o-10 with 0 being the least amt of pain) Worst point 10, but that was RIGHT when I came to and then they started the morphine! What kind of pain killers did they use? Did they work? Morphine and YES it worked, and I took home Lortab and it was wonderful as well. What did you do to pass the time? (I don't like to sit for long and I will walk the hospital all day long if they let me) I brought magazines and books and my laptop. Didn't need any of it I was sooooo out of it and tired. I took lots of naps and watched some tv. What did you take for entertainment? Anything? See above. How did you pack and what would you leave at home if you were to do it over again? Robe and slippers (to walk post surgery since you need to and they make you!), change of clothes, heating pad, toiletries etc. Good luck!

I had my first fill on 7/19 and have been on liquids since. Tomorrow I get to start soft food and was wondering if low carb tortilla wraps are considered soft? I'm not sure and don't want to mess anything up. I know people have trouble with it, but figure I won't know till I try. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

Im in AZ. Getting sleeved 10/26 at Banner Gateway. Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App

How on earth are you getting that much Water in. I'm lucky if I get 16 oz in, and 10 grams of Protein.. Sorry I wish I could help, I have never experienced pain at all, but definately have a distended stomach and can't understand why it won't go down (larger than it was prior to surgery) I was sleeved on Sept 14th.

NYdad..... this is just my personal opinion, but, not a good idea to get all that at once. I go on the chat site and for the most part people who have had huge fills at once... normally have to get an Unfill not long after. Filling the band slowly so your stomach, body and mind have time to adjust. I'm almost two years out and i too at firs wanted to hurry up and be thin, but my dr. explained to me that if i want the best results in the long run.... it's better to go at it slow......You want to be the tortoise and NOT the hare.. banded 11/10/09..... start weight 223, height 5'2".............now 146.......14cc band with 10.9 cc in it..... but it took 7 fills to get to that. Best of luck.....

66lbs is a decent amount but when I have 171.5 total to lose, it's a drop in the bucket. I started out at 311.5 lbs. I'm 5'11" and my dr has set an unrealistic goal of 140lbs for me. At 200lbs, I'm a size 11. My 19 year old daughter is 145lbs in a size 5. I don't need to be that thin. I think his goal has put me in a bad place. Thanks for the words of advice. I am fighting hormones this week and everything is so dramatic. I've been on my period more than I've been off since surgery. Blah! Good luck everyone.

I thought this rule was funny - but I have to say, it's not an issue because I simply cannot drink after a meal. And if I drink within 10 minutes of eating, you can bet I will see it again. If I drink when I am eating, it hurts. If I drink to soon after, it comes back up. Doesn't take any discipline for me - it's simply not possible. But, my band is TIIIIIGGGGHHHTTTT.

Yes! I am 10 days post op and around day 6 -7 was craving food. I think it was just that i though i was hungry. I had a couple of days where i had extra serves of soup but, then i had no weight loss. Yesterday i kept myself busy all day and stuck to my shakes and soup and it was a much better day. I also keep diet jelly (jello) in the fridge to eat when i need something. Returning to work next week will help so i wont be sitting around thinking about food. It is also hard when you have to cook for the rest of the family.

I know that it takes longer than that to get the passport, I sent in my son's application on Feb. 17th and we still haven't gotten it. The website for Passports says it takes 10 weeks, and we are on week 12!! I already have a passport as I went to Belgium a few years ago. My son and I are going to Croc, Mexico outside of Monterrey for a missions trip in June, so I hope his passport comes soon! ----- Anyone have any comments about Dr. Zapata and the Mexico banding?

After todays exercise (which will be my LBWO), and tomorrows cardio session, I will have completed 2 weeks of the Body for Life Challenge - which leave me 10 week sto go or 70 days. I will complete this challenge! I'm excited about not missing any workouts, eating pretty clean for the most part. Things I need to work on - 1) Need to plan my meals better (if you don't plan, you plan to fail) 2) Need to make sure I do my carido in the am on empty stomach - burns more calories this way. 3) Need to plan my workouts so I know what I'm going to do before I go the gym - this will save some time. 4) Going to try and add 2 extra cardio session my 3rd week. 5) Will work on getting some additional supplements (Betagen - helps build muscle)

Dont stress out. You are not filled enough yet. You will know it when you are. I did the same thing you did at first. Its been a year for me and I have only lost 46 lbs total. Im now back to a size 10. When you are filled about half way - stay there!!! Dont go tighter. You need to learn HOW to eat and when you do that the fat will come off. I still occasionally have the foods I like but mostly I eat clean. Research what eating clean means and follow that diet. If you are serious about losing the fat you will stay on track.

Today I felt so sick just looking at myself in the mirror. I have been wondering lately how did I get to this size and how would it be if I were to lose the weight. I have watched my mother and sister go through getting the band and it has seemed to work so wonderful for them. I guess I'm just tired of waiting and so ready to get my life back. I am ready to get back out with some of my old classmates and play ball or to go to the park and run around with my daughter without having to take mutiple 10 min breaks. I guess this year should be the year to look forward to many changes and hoping to re-gain the old sexy teddy bear I use to be.

This is exactly how I felt after having mushroom/cheese eggs this morning. I had surgery Nov. 19, 2007 and have never had a problem with mushrooms before. Well, after my last fill (This was my 3rd fill, a month ago. I have 8 cc in a 10cc band.) I have gotten a whole lot more sensitive. I can tell you without a doubt that it will be a very long time before I eat mushrooms again. What foods have you become more sensitive to???

I really like the Special K meal bar. They have 10 g Protein. edie Not the snack bar

Just thought I would post these really delicious Protein bars and if anyone else has favourites they recommend please tell us them. I use Protein Bars as a Meal Replacement several times a week if I am on the run or somewhere there is no good food choices to pick from. I only like them if they are really tasty and it satisfies my chocolate craving because they are solid they also keep me feeling full for a long time. My favourite so far is an energy bar called "six star body fuel" that has 15 g of protein. I love the double chocolate chip flavoured one that has a real brownie cake taste. It tastes best when you unwrap it and microwave on high for 10 seconds. It costs about $1.67 at the Real Superstores and at 45 grams it has only 170 calories. My next fave Protein Bar is "PowerBar triple threat", the Chocolate Caramel fusion flavour. It has 225 calories and 10 g of protein and is 53 grams. It sells for about $1.99 each at the Real Superstore. Donna VBG/87 Revised By Dr. Cobourn to Lapband/06 251/164/125 goal

1. What was the best part of surgery for you? The jumpstart to weight loss was obviously amazing, but I was surprised how quickly my usual body pain & aches stopped bothering me. My knee problems have basically vanished, and the lower back pain I had gotten so used to living with has gotten so much better. I can breath easier when doing things that used to have me out of breath -- going up 2 flights of stairs, for example. 2. What was the worst part of surgery for you? The pre-OP shakes -- I'm lactose intolerant and have trouble with stevia, and there were no shakes my care team could find for me that didn't have one-or-both things, so I spent a good 8-9 days barely keeping anything down. The surgery itself went off without a problem, and the pain wasn't as bad as I thought -- other than the car ride home! If you get WLS, bring a pillow to clutch to you afterwards!! 3. Did you have any complications (minor or major) during or after your surgery? Nothing during, nor after -- but I'm only 10wks post-OP tomorrow. 4. How has adjusting to your new life been for you? I too am on SSRIs for long-time depression & anxiety. Most days have been awesome and cheery. Even during the initial aches and pains of recovery, just knowing that things were going to start changing for the better improved my mental state. I still have bad moments / days but once I started seeing all the improvements to my life it makes it easier to push through. It certainly helps to have a good support system -- people in my life, but also honestly this forum. TBH I was in a #$%& mood all day and feeling lethargic, but logging in here I know that everyone here understands and it just makes me feel more settled. 5. How long did it take you to feel comfortable eating food? I am currently having a ton of problems with chicken breast. I hate 'dark meat' poultry, but tried chicken thighs recently and it's not too bad but still leaves me with a heavy feeling in my stomach -- still better than the stuck feeling in my chest that the white meat gave. I feel like no matter what I put on it or how I cook it, it's just clearly a No for now. That said, for the most part everything else has gone down well as long as I eat slowly, and make choices consistent with my care team's plan / schedule. Going from puree to soft foods was probably the hardest for me physically, because it felt so different in my stomach. 6. Is there anything you can’t eat anymore that you used to enjoy? It's early on for me, but the changes in my body's hormones seems to have stopped most of my cravings. When I'm having a rough time emotionally, I still have momentary yearnings for old 'comfort foods' but honestly just the thought of some of them will turn me off within a few minutes. (For some reason if I think about fatty oils too long, I just get nauseated). And many of my old comfort foods have just updated into healthier things I can eat. Instead of my mum's Dutch mashed potatoes, I have a smaller bowl of healthier mashed potatoes (or cauliflower, or heart of palm) with a scoop of bone broth powder to up the protein. Instead of spaghetti and meatballs, I have homemade meatballs and extra sauce -- or a ricotta bake instead of lasagna. 7. What was your recovery like? Any vomiting or dumping syndrome? I've had one instance of dumping syndrome so far, and it was 100% my own fault. I knew what the culprit was immediately (white-flour leftover tortilla and more difficult chicken breast). I won't lie, I seriously wanted to die for probably an hour, and then slept the rest of the day away. It's horrid. I'm hoping that I've learned enough to take better care / caution and avoid any more instances. Other than that, recovery has been pretty smooth. All my incisions healed up without issue, the gas pain only lasted a few weeks and then there was just a strange tightness / mild soreness on one side of my body for the first 5-6 weeks. 8. How long did it take you to feel semi-normal after surgery? I want to say 2-3 weeks. Around the time I started eating puree (week 3), my energy levels started bouncing back much more rapidly -- which let me walk more easily. 9. Did you experience higher energy level post surgery? 100% yes. NGL, sometimes I feel like skipping even though it's not suitable for someone my age, LOL. I feel like I've been more efficient at work post-OP just because of the energy improvement, and physically I notice the increased stamina every time I go on an errand or for a walk with my dog. (I tire her out now!) 10. Did surgery affect your mental health? For the better. Some of it is because the energy and the physical improvements make me feel better about myself in general, but part of it is kind of a trickle-down effect. I spend more time making good, healthy choices for myself, spend more time being mindful whether it's while I'm eating, or making a grocery list, cooking, etc. It's so much time spent on self-improvement and self-care. So I have less time to worry about what other people's secret thoughts or judgments might be and take people more at face value. I have less time to waste on people that bring toxicity to my life or can't respect my boundaries. It's like this microcosm of self-care made by investing my energy in my current journey has expanded it's hooks into the rest of my life. I feel like for the first time in my life, I am actually one of my top priorities. 11. Do you regret it? Would you recommend it? I had moments of regret during dumping syndrome, for sure. But as soon as I recovered from that one bout, I was still happy I'd done the surgery. I think it definitely forces us to take ownership of our own health and making the best decisions we can towards that. I would recommend it to anyone who has struggled with weight loss and can honestly look at their life and see themselves living in this framework for the rest of their lives. By all accounts it seems to be incredibly important to keep it all up -- the vitamins and supplements, the healthy choices and portion sizes, etc. I would NOT recommend it for anyone looking for a magic pill. This takes work, will continue to take work.

@gmanbat how have things been going these past 10 days?? keep your spirits UP while your weight goes DOWN! good luck kathy

My doc's orders: 1-2 days clear liquids 1-2 days full liquids 2-3 weeks mushies 1-2 weeks soft food slowly encorporate regular food from that point on. I have struggled with hunger a little bit. The 2nd day was the worst for me. I had a complete emotional breakdown and cried. I think I didn't get enough calories for the day though because I only got like 350 calories that whole day. Ideas for protein are those protein 'bullets' you get from he health food store. They have helped me a lot. I drink 1/2 of one of them in the morning and the other 1/2 at night for a total of 42 grams of protein. That is on top of what I am getting from my diet. Every day is a little better, but it is tough. Anyone who thinks this is the 'easy' way out is nuts, that is for sure! Banded: 07/01/08

I was told by Dr Fox, 10 day pre-op clear liquids, 5 weeks after surgery clear liquids, then in weeks 5-9 it will be the puree foods with solid food after week 9. Part is due to how he puts the band in. Clear Liquids also include SF Jello, and SF Popsicle.

I had bypass on 10/4/17 and after about day 4 the gas pain was gone. Things are going to move quick. Sent from my Pixel using BariatricPal mobile app

Quest bars are high in protein, low in sugars and carbs. But they are also pretty high in fiber. I didn't have the wrapper with me to ask my NUT about this. I'm not sure how much fiber you can eat after you have the sleeve. Here's the nutrition label from a chocolate brownie quest bar. (you can also top it with peanut butter for extra protein) 1 Bar Calories 170 Calories from fat 50 Total fat 6 gm Total Carbohydrates 24 gm Dietary fiber 19 gm Sugars 1 gm Protein 20 gm Other Ingredients: Protein Blend (Whey Protein Isolate, Milk Protein Isolate), Isomalto-Oligosaccharides (100% Natural Prebiotic Fiber), Almonds, Cocoa, Water, Natural Flavors, Sea Salt, Lo Han Guo, Sucralose. Hope this helps. It's not been easy for me to find a protein bar that is low in sugars and carbs.

I seen a lot of people on this forum not receiving family Support and getting called weak well i have a confession to make i didnt get any support i was laughed at and made fun of called weak called will less was told its all in my mind and was told several time I will fail most of the people were so called friends and family who themselves are not in perfect shape but have a lot to say . I feel it is your strength that you are taking this step also all you are getting is a tool to help you win this battle. I went to hospital with one of of my friends cause family wouldn't support me and thought i am wasting time.Guess what Surgery weight height 6 ft wt 287.5 in 5 days ( my surgery was on 8th of this month) today weight 264.... With ought this tool it's a very hard battle something I read at New York Times..... Shows Why It’s Hard to Keep Weight Off For years, studies of obesity have found that soon after fat people lost weight, their metabolism slowed and they experienced hormonal changes that increased their appetites. Scientists hypothesized that these biological changes could explain why most obese dieters quickly gained back much of what they had so painfully lost. GETTY IMAGES But now a group of Australian researchers have taken those investigations a step further to see if the changes persist over a longer time frame. They recruited healthy people who were either overweight or obese and put them on a highly restricted diet that led them to lose at least 10 percent of their body weight. They then kept them on a diet to maintain that weight loss. A year later, the researchers found that the participants’ metabolism and hormone levels had not returned to the levels before the study started. The study, being published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, is small and far from perfect, but confirms their convictions about why it is so hard to lose weight and keep it off, say obesity researchers who were not involved the study. They cautioned that the study had only 50 subjects, and 16 of them quit or did not lose the required 10 percent of body weight. And while the hormones studied have a logical connection with weight gain, the researchers did not show that the hormones were causing the subjects to gain back their weight. Nonetheless, said Dr. Rudolph Leibel, an obesity researcher at Columbia, while it is no surprise that hormone levels changed shortly after the participants lost weight, “what is impressive is that these changes don’t go away.” Dr. Stephen Bloom, an obesity researcher at Hammersmith Hospital in London, said the study needed to be repeated under more rigorous conditions, but added, “It is showing something I believe in deeply — it is very hard to lose weight.” And the reason, he said, is that “your hormones work against you.” In the study, Joseph Proietto and his colleagues at the University of Melbourne recruited people who weighed an average of 209 pounds. At the start of the study, his team measured the participants’ hormone levels and assessed their hunger and appetites after they ate a boiled egg, toast, margarine, orange juice and crackers for Breakfast. The dieters then spent 10 weeks on a very low calorie regimen of 500 to 550 calories a day intended to makes them lose 10 percent of their body weight. In fact, their weight loss averaged 14 percent, or 29 pounds. As expected, their hormone levels changed in a way that increased their appetites, and indeed they were hungrier than when they started the study. They were then given diets intended to maintain their weight loss. A year after the subjects had lost the weight, the researchers repeated their measurements. The subjects were gaining the weight back despite the maintenance diet — on average, gaining back half of what they had lost — and the hormone levels offered a possible explanation. One hormone, leptin, which tells the brain how much body fat is present, fell by two-thirds immediately after the subjects lost weight. When leptin falls, appetite increases and metabolism slows. A year after the weight loss diet, leptin levels were still one-third lower than they were at the start of the study, and leptin levels increased as subjects regained their weight. Other hormones that stimulate hunger, in particular ghrelin, whose levels increased, and peptide YY, whose levels decreased, were also changed a year later in a way that made the subjects’ appetites stronger than at the start of the study. The results show, once again, Dr. Leibel said, that losing weight “is not a neutral event,” and that it is no accident that more than 90 percent of people who lose a lot of weight gain it back. “You are putting your body into a circumstance it will resist,” he said. “You are, in a sense, more metabolically normal when you are at a higher body weight.” A solution might be to restore hormones to normal levels by giving drugs after dieters lose weight. But it is also possible, said Dr. Jules Hirsch of Rockefeller University, that researchers just do not know enough about obesity to prescribe solutions. One thing is clear, he said: “A vast effort to persuade the public to change its habits just hasn’t prevented or cured obesity.” “We need more knowledge,” Dr. Hirsch said. “Condemning the public for their uncontrollable hedonism and the food industry for its inequities just doesn’t seem to be turning the tide.”

I saw my surgeon, Dr Schneider, in Boston, MA yesterday and was cleared for surgery. Surgery date is 2/24. I need to lose 10 lbs before then, and pre op diet starts two weeks prior. I am excited and nervous! 2 months and counting!

I'm 10 days post op today and I'm having trouble getting in all of my protein and water for the day. My doctor didn't give me a minimum caloric intake at this point but said i should have about 3 oz per meal. According to my doctor I can start soft solids today. I'm getting in roughly 200 calories/day and around 30 grams of protein and about 24-30 ounces of water. I'm afraid that I won't be losing weight well, if I don't up my protein/ calorie/ water but I'm very very afraid not to stretch my pouch. So here's my question how many calories should I eat at this point? And should I keep eating to get in enough protein even if I'm not hungry? I would appreciate any input, thanks!