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Had the band in 2005, out in 2009. Sleeved 4/10/18. The recovery for the sleeve was much harder. Not sure if it was because I was a little older or what. I do know that my surgeon said that there was a lot of scar tissue from the band. That might have made recovery harder, they did more work in there. I am more restricted with the sleeve than I was with the band. I couldn't tolerate fills with the band, so never really had a lot of restriction. With the sleeve, I am noticing food intolerance that I never had with the band. Bread is not my friend with the sleeve. I can eat it, but must be committed to the consequences (it hurts and takes up a lot of room needed for proteins). One REALLY good thing about the sleeve is that I have very little appetite. At this point, I eat to live a happier life rather than living to eat.

I was banded on 10/09/09 and was 269 & now I am 245 & I can not get passed 245. I don't know what to do:frown: I have had my 5th fill some months back. I am eating very little, I have started to get brittle nails, I do excersie but I can not get passed the 245 mark. Help any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, I don't think I'm getting enough protein either. I tried one vitiam it was for hair, skin & nails & I could not digest it. Again any & all suggestions are welcomed please

I was told two weeks before returning to swimming. 10 hours is a long drive. Soon after surgery you may need to be concerned about blood clots sitting for long periods of time. I did find holding a couch pillow in my lap between me and the seatbelt made riding in the car more comfortable.

My band was put in april 07 i weighed 240. I lost 40 lbs in about 3 months. next two 10 more only 50 total. Since then i've been filled and unfilled because it's always to tight. I got tired of going in so i left if open now i just maintain my weight at 190. but recently i couldn't keep anything down and they told me it closed up. I've never seen anything written about a closed band. Has anyone ever had this? They did a egd and reopened it but they said it might not stay open. which i know it's not cause i'm still having problems holding liquids down. They say i might have to have it replaced. It just hasn't worked for me like it has others. I'm afraid to go thru it again. Any help or suggestions please.....

If you eliminate most or all carbs you will greatly reduce your food cravings making pre op diet easier. You will feel way less hungry. However, your pre opt may even be a low carb or adkins diet. Mine was, I didnt have to do shakes at all. Lost 10 lbs and surgeon was happy. Pre op is to make your liver small enough to do the proceedure so it is not in the way. You can also practice eating slower and smaller bites. That was and is very hard for me. You cannot take more than one small bite in a minute or 1.5 minutes. It is a very difficult change to adapt to. Otherwise, I am excited for you!

Hey all I have my EDG scheduled for tomorrow at 12 PST and right now my anxiety on a scale of 1-10 I'm a 10+ can anyone help me and tell me what I can expect before during and after? Thanks.

When I flew to London, I stopped over in Paris, and in the airport, they had these little lunch places. The French people were sitting in there eating these tiny slices of pizza, like the size if you cut one of our regular slices of pizza into three, and that was their one piece. The yogurt containers were about three ounces, and the sodas were about 6 ounces. I never saw anything like it. I also read an article once that said the average caloric intake for a French person is 1,200 per day! When they're not on a diet! In the same article, it said these French people went into a Mcdonald's and ordered a happy meal and they were "stuffed". In another article I read, a British woman and her mother came here to the states and went out to dinner, and when the plates came out, they burst out laughing because they thought it was a joke because the portions were so enormous. They were horrified to find out that it was a "normal" restaurant portion. When a friend of mine (who is very slender and eats very sparingly as it is) went to Paris, he stayed with a friend, and the friend would give him a tiny slice of quiche for breakfast, and my friend was ready to pass out! His friend was disgusted with him for being hungry all the time. The French also do not snack in between meals, ever. In my old job a few years ago, there was an intern from France, and one day we ordered Chinese food. It came in one of those round metal containers (about 10 inches in diameter). She said to me "no offense, but I have to say, you Americans wonder why you're all so fat, and the reason is this" (she pointed to the container) "Back home", she said "this would be lunch for me and four other people. Here, it's lunch for one person." Also, I met a girl from Germany who had moved here to the states, and she said that since coming here, she had gained 18 pounds without changing her portion sizes or the type of foods she normally ate back home. She attributed this weight gain to the fact that all of our food is so heavily processed. She said in the UK, all foods are fresh and often organic, and that they purchase foods fresh every day instead of relying on canned, frozen, and boxed foods like we do here. So, my two cents is that yes, we eat waaaaay more than the rest of the world and our food is crap. My best friend is Indian, and she said their plates are much, much smaller, and their large pizza is the size of an individual pizza here. Also, she says all their food is fresh and unprocessed. I believe that if Americans ate like the rest of the world, a large percentage of obesity would go away.

Sleeved 12-19-2016 Hw-274 Sw-268 Cw- 203 Gw- 175 This forum is totally my sounding board.. lol Here I sit, almost, 5 months out of surgery, 71 lbs down from my high weight, and feeling bad about my progress... I feel like my lose has slowed dramatically. Only losing about 10lbs a month. Hair falling out by the handfuls. Still struggle with my protein intake. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE seeing the overall progress I've made, just the day to day is a struggle. Also, anyone avoiding buying cloths? I find myself avoiding buying cloths because I am afraid to try things on that may be too small.... I have been wearing the same pants to work since right after surgery. As you can imagine, they look ridiculous but I can't seem to give them up. In the back of my head, I think, "save them for when you're fatter again"..... surgery doesn't fix the mind.. that's all on us. I also find myself hating when people say I'm "getting skinny". My head says, "I'm nowhere close to skinny and never will be" and "Sssshhhh, don't jinx it!!" Anyway.. just ranting really.. I hope everyone is progressing and loving life!!!!

I had mine done in Denver Colorado 2 weeks ago. Is is also much closer or me than Toronto. The cost of the Sugery was 9950$, with freel fill for 3 months than 10$ afill after. Having said that I have mad arangements with a local Dr. who will do my fills. He was trained by TWLC and apperently does a lot of fills. My Dr. has made arrangements with the radiologist at the hospital and he does fills under fluoro if I have any problems getting them dome. Thewse fills are covered by Alberta Heaith becauce they are done in outpaitients. I Talked to Alberta Health before I went down and any type of procedure done for slippage , erosion or what ever will be done in Alberta and paid for by Alberta Health.There are several surgons who do the surgery in Alb erta . I decided not to wait the 9 months it was to take to get it done on Red Deer. I have no regrets either and had a wonderfull experience in Denver. Lizzieann

Hi everyone, I have not posted in awhile, I have had many things going on. I was suppose to have my first fill today however the dr nor his nurse could find my port. So I have toschedule for teh flouroscopy. He wanted me to schedule next week or 2 weeks, however I leave for vacation on 3/22 -4/1 so I will not be able to get until after I return. My Dr's comment to was you don't want this before vacation anyways. I had gone back and forth but the nurse convinced me to have it (it did not take much convincing). I guess a higher power had other plans. I did not loose nor have a gained. I was the same. I have been having some other medical issues since surgery that have been getting worse. I started with right after surgery the outside of my left thigh was/is numb. The Dr had order an EMG/NSV to check nerve responses. While I was waiting for this test, a couple of weeks ago I began not being able to feel when I go to the bathroom (sorry for being graphic). So the Dr order and MRI. it should that I have a central disc protrusion, the Dr. still wanted me to have the MRI to find out how bad the nerves are. The results of the EMG/NSV is that there is no muscle response in the left foot and that there is abnormalities in pertty much up through a portion of my back. The worse in the foot. Since I resently had a few surgeries on teh left foot I need to have another MRI of the left foot and ankle to make sure that a nerve was not servered during the surgeries. Also the protrusion in back is not what's causing the numbness in my leg. My primary care asked that I also see a neurologist for a 2nd opinion. So I have my MRI tomorrow morning, then next Wed I have my appointment with the Neurologist and then when I come back from vacation I will have to have my fill and I also have another appointment with a urogynecologist who preformed surgery 12/26, from which I have not been allowed to do any aerobic excercise, weights excetera. The only thing I can do it walk on the treadmill. On a positive note when I actually am able to get my fill he told me that he make sure that the band tightens so that I do not have to keep going back and will have go restriction with the first fill. He ususlly does 4 cc then 2 then 1 in the 10 cc band which is what I have.

I am on pre-op and my morning Water glass has a capful of Mira lax. I'm usually constipated and with this I'm able to go daily. Hope this helps HW 330 CW 235 Surgery date 1/19/17-Sleeve

I was banded Wednesday. I was scared and nervous and had second thoughts right up until the day before surgery. I think you can still party just limit your drinks or have something non alcoholic. Congrats on stopping smoking. That is great. Smoking would prevent you from healing as quickly. I quit soft drinks and caffeine about 3 months ago. I only drink Vitamin Water Zero. You will only be as successful as you want to be. Remember this is just a tool. I have friends who had it and they "cheat" and have only lost 10 lbs in 4 months. Keep blogging on here and find some new friends that will walk through this with you! I am here if you need any encouragement or help.

Help me. I'm at work. I tried to eat lunch about an hour ago. tuna and cracker, and cooked veggies. I did okay. Didn't finish as I started to hiccup. Then the slime started. It won't stop. Every 10 minutes or so I toss up big wads of slime. No food. Just slime. I'm hanging over the trash bin. I had a fill last Friday. Have been fine up until now. I've been able to eat my meals. Smaller, but was doing fine. why now?......suggestions?????

Hey, just wanted to know if anyone has over 10 cc's in band but can still eat over 1200 calories a day?

I started my pre-op liquid diet today. I have 10 days of this, but I'm allowed tomato soup, cream soups, low-fat cottage cheese, sugar free applesauce, sugar free puddings and jello's, and cream of wheat and oatmeal. My only worry is, how much of this stuff can I have? I could easily eat until I'm full with oatmeal, but I'm sure that's not what they intend for me to do. I'm trying to be really strict and for breakfast had an Isopure shake - that stuff is nasty! I don't know how I will ever find a protein drink that I can stomach. Does anyone have a suggestion? I hate milk, so mixing it with milk doesn't help at all.

This meal issue post op is puzzling to me, but I guess it's because every doctor is different. My post-op diet is to have clear liquids for 10 days, and another 10 of liquids along with protein shakes, milk, yogurt, and jello... I cannot eat mushies till day 21... It's interesting to see that everyone starts food at different times post-op.

labandster-- Am I reading this right? You are down about 100 pounds and are embarrassed and feel like you failed? I got to say, I bet if you hadn't been banded not only would you be 100 pounds heavier but if you were like me, you would have gained another 10 to 20 pounds a year too! I am going to challenge you to look at the big picture. Your Dr works for you, you pay his salary. He is there to help you. He has your $19K and he owes you! Get your moneys worth! He has seen worse I promise! I am a firm believer that when you go through a life changing transformation sometimes you need to take a break and let your mind accept where you are now before you can continue your journey. Maybe now you are ready. If it were me I would start with 1 thing, and add 1 new thing a week until I had the process going. Its kind of like that running program couch to 5K. Instead of starting running a full race you start a little at a time and improve every week, that way you ease yourself into it and its not a big shock to your body and you quit. So my philosophy is like that. This week start journaling your food. Next week go and get a fill. The week after you will have 2 weeks worth of food journals and you can look for somewhere to cut. The next week start walking a few days a week. Then every week after that find 1 thing that you can improve. Everyone can fix one thing a week. In your mind say " OK Sunday night I am going to sit down and decide what the 1 thing is and then I am going to do that 1 thing for the next week." I hope this helps. Think positive thoughts and remember if you did it before you can do it again!

im up for my first fill in a week. i have an empty 10 cc band and am wondering in general, how many cc's do they put in for the first fill. id rather not have to go back 4-5 times at 1 cc at a time. id rather them be a bit more aggressive than to nickel and dime me to death. i have to drive a long way for a fill and there 250 each. could add up fast.

Down 5 Pounds...wish the tickers would post on the blog. Here's the food diary for the day: B: 2 mini crustless quiche (180 cal / 16 protein), 1/2 cup cottage cheese (80 cal /10 protein). S: 1 tbsp peanut butter (100 cal / 4 protein) L: 1 cup taco meat (200 cal / 20 protein), lettuce, salsa, 2 tbsp light sour cream (80 cal / 4 protein), 2 tbsp shredded cheddar (110 cal / 5 protein), 1 avocado (300 cal / 4 protein) D: assorted cheeses (300 cal / 15 protein), 2 slices summer sausage (120 cal/ 7 protein), 1/2 cup pistachios (200 cal/ 6 protein), 1 glass wine (150 cal/0 protein). Grand total for today is 1820 calories, and 91 gm protein. Went a little over on calories today...but it was my day off and splurged a little while watching a movie. Gotta keep it up.:thumbup: Surgery Date: 8/5/05 Starting Weight: 384 pounds Lowest Weight 1/2/07: 226 pounds Starting over Date: 1/4/09 at 320 pounds Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

Just got word Friday that I was put back on the health insurance my soon to be ex took me off of just to be mean. So now I can go back and get my fill without paying the full price for a fill, $200! Weight loss has been very very tough. I've been working out at gym 4 times a week and now up to an hour of cardio 3 days, 2 days of circuit training with 30 minutes of cardio one day a week. And the inches are just falling off, but the weight doesn't budge. Which I guess is good, but there is no way I can stay this weight and ever be a size 10 again, unless I plan on heavy weight body building!!! No thanks, not my thing. But once the band starts getting fills, I think it will make a big difference. Why the heck did I have the surgery if I couldn't have the fills??? The ex was one week away from court and possible jail time, so I guess he wised up and realized he was in trouble for taking me off. I did find out one thing.....with the lap band surgery I have to wait 3 years before I could be eligible for individual health insurance from one major company!!! I had no idea that would happen nor did I think about it. Luckily with a divorce I can get 36 months of COBRA, then lose weight, get healthy and be eligible for my own insurance. Good to know this now! Maybe that's why I had to go through this process! So even though your insurance company may approve the surgery, they may make you wait a time period before you can get individual health insurance.

Hello, My name is Ann and I am considering Lap-band. I work in the healthcare industry and have seen a lot of patients that have gone though with bypass surgery. I have seen the great successes and the not so successful. In my department alone, there have been over 10 people that have had the surgery. And in other areas as well. I ran into a nurse that I see often and she had te lap band. It really turned me on o the alternative. I think this may just be the fit for me. I am a full time worker as a radiology technologist, wife and mother of two beautiful girls Emma and Grace. I just want so much to be able to keep up with them and be a part of their life. I am tired of shooping in what I call the fat girl section only to come home empty handed because noth fit or looked right. I have tried time and time again with Weight watchers, whch I have had minor success with, but after having Emma...I weigh more now than I did before I gave birth to her. UGH!! I have taken up Zumba and love it. I know I can do it, I just have to make up my mind and go for it. I hope to find support and answers to questions on this site and forums. I look forward to "meeting" many of you. Thanks for reading. Take care. BTW - I am 5'3, and 265 lbs...

Good luck! A lot of ur story mirrors my own. Had the lapbad and only lost 30lbs (that was in 2007). Now on Sept 13 2017 (10 yrs later), I had bypass. I thought this was going to finally be the tool to help me. In 1 month since my bypass, I've only lost 12lbs, and 9 of those 12 were lost in the first week post op! So frustrating! Especially with how excited i was to get bypass surgery! I am not trying to discourage you by any means, I just want to put realistic expectations out there for u. All the wonder tales posted here and told in group settings, about 40lbs lost 1st month or 70lbs down in 3 months, stuff like that, isn't necessarily a given. I dont know how they're doing that kind of loss and I'm not, but everybody's different. This procedures gotta help tho, right?! I gotta keep telling myself that. [emoji4] I hope your journey goes better than mine has so far. I wish i could give u advice to ensure urs goes amazingly but I'm following by the book and none too happy, so not sure what advice to give u. Although, the MOST positive thing is that I've had zero postop complications. None. That is fantastic and I'm happy about that part. On a separate note, Valley of the Sun, huh? Awesome! I am here too!! Who's your bypass surgeon, if ur comfortable answering? Mine is Dr Swain, whom I adore!

Isopure Dutch chocolate low carb from GNC. I used to prefer Slim Fast low carb, but the Isopure is actually better. A bit thinner but without the aftertaste. Best of all it has 40 gm Protein vs the 10 in Slim Fast. Imagine drinking 4 12oz cans of slim fast after the surgery just to get the same amount of protein. :confused: .

Stephanie. You've lost a lot of weight! Thats awesome. Just like the person above, its been 9 months for me and I have only lost 32 lbs also so Im envious of your success. I have been exactly where you are. I had to have all my fluid removed due to throwing up all the time and not being able to get anything down. I just went in for the last fill that my doc will give me. Im at about 7 cc in 10 cc band and he said that is it. At this point my stomach is only open about the size of a dime. I was afraid to get the last fill ( which was only .3) because I didnt want to be sick. I think Im where I should be and I am losing about 1 lb a week now. I drink a protein shake with 25 grams of protein after 11 am, then make sure that everything I eat after that has protein in it. Im still able to eat whatever I want, even bread. Im just very careful and only eat a small amount.....very.....slowly! I havent had a problem since. I make sure to get 100 grams of protein a day. I also drink 1 gram of liquid L Carnitine 2x a day. That has really helped. It metabolises sugar and fat. I have 30 more pounds to go, but I know I will get there. I needed to lose 60 lbs from the beginning... and I knew it would take me about 2 years to do. I work out very hard but still this process for me is crazy slow. You will get there!!!!!! Hope this has helped

Although my surgeon isn't requiring weight loss as a condition of surgery; he would like to see me lose 10-15 pounds before. The two week liquid diet prior to surgery will likely achieve that goal without any additional effort on my part.