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BG, Reading your post, it reminded me that my port is on the left side. I didn't know I had a choice, or would I even care which side. But my port has moved and is tilted. The 2 inch scare is 1 inch higher than my port. I feel like mine sticks out when I am lying on my back, there is a puffyness left side. When I feel it with my fingers I fell the roundness of it. I go in on Aug.20th for the next fill. Haven't had much weight loss at all this month, maybe 2 lbs. BARBARA

One week post op. Feeling better every day. Weight loss is 3 lbs since surgery. total weight loss including the liquid diet prior to surgery. 13 lbs. I begin my thickened soups and puréed cooked veggiess and continue with protein drinks this week. Still have to constantly remember to sip and only small bites. I sure feel it if I forget. Doing better every say. Acid reflux is still a problem but I take Prilosec as directed and have it pretty much in control.

It's early days yet tbstacks! I know, every day feels like it drags on forever and it doesn't seem to be getting better. But you VERY slowing are improving and healing. And in another week or two, you will probably feel more positive. I am 3 weeks out today and the first 2 weeks were really tough. liquids are boring.....the weird taste in your mouth can drive you insane.....energy is low....changes are happening but not enough that people's jaws are dropping (they will in time though!).....you hubby might be trying not to focus on your weight so much to help you "normalize" (a positive way to look at it, no?).....and OF COURSE you're grieving the loss of food! But in a few months, when you're stable and back on solid foods and have figured out what works and doesn't work for you....how much you can eat in a regular meal...now much Protein and liquid works for you.....how to vary your diet to keep things interesting rather than a chore....it will seem so much better! There's a good chance you don't need meds for anti-depression right now (though if you feel strongly about it, you should see your primary care physician). Your energy is low due to the low calorie intake. Perhaps a B12 (sublingual) supplement daily will help with that, and maybe you need some Iron supplements as well? As soon as you can start doing a bit of exercise (even just walking now is very good!), it should help elevate your mood. The natural endorphins released by your body during exercise can do wonders to help combat depression and really make you feel alive again! Later on, you can try low-impact aerobics such as swimming or water-aerobics. Exercise bike is also good if you're not comfortable getting outside and jogging/running or even fast-walking. And of course, as you start to add "mushies" and find out what your new stomach's actual boundaries are, it will be a daily experiment to find out how your new eating life will be! That should keep you busy for a while. Remember, you've just gone through a MAJOR surgery! It takes time for the body to shake off the after-effects of the anaesthetic, the shock from the surgery, the stomach needs to heal, your metabolism is trying to survive (right now it thinks you're starving with the sudden drop in calories), and the fat you're losing is also releasing alot of hormones into your body in a flood and causing mood changes as well. There's alot going on inside of you! Hang in there. Things will "normalize" in the next couple of months, a little bit at a time. Until one day you'll wake up and it will feel "normal" again. Only a new better, slimmer, healthier "normal"!

I'm 58 years of age, male, 340 lbs, 5'11.5" and semi-retired from teaching. I made the decision to have gastric bypass of some kind in 2014. During the fall of 2014 I made an appointment with my physician, actually I think it was my annual checkup! When discussing my health issues, i.e. pre-diabetic, sleep apnea, morbid obesity, osteoarthritis, and borderline high blood pressure I brought up the possibility of having gastric bypass. I was VERY nervous to ask about this as I figured he would treat me as a failure for not wanting to lose the weight the old fashioned way (which I had done 3 or 4 times since I was married 34 years ago). Shockingly, he was very positive about it! This started the process, he said there were surgeons in the metro area, I live in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro, but on the Iowa side of the Missouri River. The bariatric surgeons were located in Omaha. So off I went, first I contacted a surgeon in Omaha who said I needed to do 6 months of nutrition counseling. I could do that through my general practitioner's office. During August and September 2014 I met with the nutritionist and was off on my journey, so I thought. Late September, my wife and I were stunned to find out she had advanced ovarian cancer, it was truly heartbreaking and awful for us, our daughters and other family and friends. She became quite ill very fast and we were so worried that she wasn't going to make it two months. My surgery plans, of course were put on HOLD. Anyway, through lots of prayers, great physicians and my wife's determination she licked the cancer and by January 2015 she had been through 3 rounds of chemo and surgery to remove the tumors. The pathology report came back with such good news about being in complete remission the surgeon called my wife personally to tell her, he was VERY excited that it went that well. My wife still had 3 more chemos in front of her, but finally on February 27, 2015 I restarted my process. Initially, I had begun the process through an Omaha bariatric unit, we quickly had found out in the fall at the same time my wife became ill that our insurance would not cover physicians in Nebraska. We were limited to Iowa. Because of the severity of the wife's illness she was able to get a waiver to get a specialist in Nebraska. My "illness" as such was not life threatening and they would not approve the surgeon in Omaha. I made my second shot at appointments with the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. This is a 3.5 hour drive from home but it was a major medical university and the original home of the "father of bariatric surgery". So I felt that this would work, even with the long drives on occasion. The first appointment went well, they sent me home with nutritional counseling, paperwork completed and a pre-surgical diet to follow. They told me to lose 35 lbs by May 22, 2015. I went home, two days later I had a eschemic colitis attack. Four days in the hospital, one partial colonoscopy, lots of bleeding etc. etc. etc. I had never had a problem with my colon before, let alone an attack. The diagnosis came back that the attack tends to be one and done. But could possibly happen again, more than likely it would not. Thank god. My biggest fear was that gastric bypass wouldn't be an option because of the colitis. Gratefully, the doctor's had no problem with me continuing. After a rocky start, I was back on track by the middle of March and the weight loss plan that the U of Iowa put me on was basically the soft diet that I would look forward to following surgery. I found their diet was very helpful and keep me from being very hungry. I think working on the 64 ounces of Water a day and the 3 cups of skim milk for Snacks was probably the key to my success during the pre-op period. I did start an exercise plan at that time which for me was 10,000 steps a day AND/OR 30 minutes on the treadmill. It took a few weeks to work up to 30 minutes as I started at 20 but within 3-4 weeks I was there. By late June, I had lost nearly 45 lbs! On or about June 27th I went in for my pre-op checkup and they were very pleased with my progress. All systems go! Surgery was now officially on July 1, 2015. Stopped at a BBQ place in Des Moines on the way home. I suppose this was a last supper sort of thing lol. My wife and I hit the road for Iowa City. Arriving the night before, as I didn't really want to get up at 4 a.m. to make it there for surgery at 7:30 a.m. Remarkably, surgery was very uneventful, took about 2.5 hours was in recovery for another couple of hours because my room was ready and then started walking around the hospital floor that evening. Pain was minimal, I have had some other abdominal surgeries so kind of knew what to expect after gallbladder surgery, hernia surgery, etc. This was my first laproscopic though. It looks like you have been shot with a machine gun as you have 5 holes in a circular pattern of sorts around your stomach. I had two drains. These stayed in for a week! I went home the next day, and the drive back was also very smooth. Kudos to my wife who is an excellent driver too :-). Way better than me....lol. I stayed home the rest of that week and the next Monday as that is when my post-op appointment was and another return trip for a 20 minute doctor appointment. (7 hours for 20 minutes, uggh). But I did get my drains removed, those are a pain in a couple of ways. First they dangle from your body, second you have to drain and measure the amount of Fluid that you are dispelling from your body for the doctor's information. Of course, my menu was full liquid at this point and for the most part that went pretty well. I couldn't get 64 ounces of water down very well, but usually 50 or so. Lots of blended, hmmm crap.

Thanks Judi and Becky, it was great to see the replies. Judi, I am going to Topeka as I'm closer to Topeka than KC. But had originally thought I going there, but I know Topeka better and can actually drive in it. I am so excited for you and will keep you in my thoughts and prayers on the 15th. Keep us informed on your surgery. Becky thanks for the warm welcome. And congrats on your weight loss. I've always wanted to travel to Australia...lucky you!!!!! Mary

Phili, I hear your frustration and haven't said anything up until now but maybe you need a bit of tough love? If not don't read on. My advice is to be 100% totally honest with your doctor about exactly what you are eating & drinking (heads-up: he's not stupid, your not fooling him, just be honest). Take in a full weeks food journal and weigh out the food - don't guess. The slimming shakes are keeping the weight on you - they do not help at all - they are liquid calories and your band doc should be telling you to stay far away from them - NO LIQUID CALORIES. If you weight isn't going down quite simply you are consuming too many calories for your body. If you consume less calories you will lose weight - this is what your doc is trying to achieve by giving you fills. If you drink slim shakes and eat food that goes straight through the band (crackers) you are working against him, not with him. You need to be eating solid food like chicken/beef (not deli sliced) to really work your band. Why have you swapped fish & vegetables for ham & cheese (fat) with crackers? The fish & vegetables were probably a much much better option for weight loss. How much chocolate are you eating a week? A 250g block of cadbury is equivallent to about 2 full days worth of food.... how often would you eat a block honestly? (don't have to tell me, but be honest with yourself). With the change in food choices and other things you have mentioned I think you probably do have 'restriction', but it's the big band type of restriction not the vomit type of restriction you had with the small band.... you don't need vomit restriction.... just need to learn to listen to the new band about when to stop (cause it will let any food through, just a bit uncomfortably). Are you hungry alot??? If you are not hungry are you eating when you are not hungry just because it's "meal time"??? As for exercise, what you are doing with your friend sounds great. You should be able to hold a conversation while you walk (not be too puffed out to) if you are wanting to exercise in your target heart rate to burn fat. Far too many people have dropped dead these last few months in Victoria following the sweating and pushing yourself to the extreme advice - only take health/exercise advice from doctors - remember anything you read here is just an opinion and not medical advice so clear stuff with your doc before you make serious changes. Sorry to be so brutally honest with you but it's been a really long time so maybe you needed to hear it.

Jacqui, I totally agree with you. Take this week for me. I had a fill on Tuesday, I haven't eaten much since then. You'd think I would have a huge loss for today. Nope. Lost an ounce. That's it. When I feel like I'm eating too much, I have better losses. Amy, if it works, keep playing up on the vanity angle. She will lose ALL of her hair if she doesn't start getting some better, overall, nutrition. I was getting plenty of Protein as that was my dr's instructions and I was still losing A LOT of hair. I found a good Iron supplement and added back my veggies and my hair loss has improved. Still losing some but it's not near the amount it was. Best wishes!

So I just started my weight-loss journey but on my initial consult visit I found out that I had h pylori bacteria. Then, when I got my blood test results I discovered I wad severely anemic and my vitamin D was very low. I never had problems like this before, so was curious if anyone else had discovered anybof these health issues pre-surgery?

OMG, you are doing so well. This is hard but take one day at a time. As for stress, I don't think there is an easy answer for this. Good luck with your weight loss & your license exam. It will be so worth every painful moment. I'm sure people notice that you have lost weight. I know that my family & friends notice my weight loss.

Hi! What all are you eating on your regular diet? Good job on the weight loss!!!

My back aches. Did anyone else have back pain through the weight loss stage? I've been a slacker, I've worked hard before, and it doesn't feel surgical.

I too was afraid at what my mom's response would be when I told her about my plans for surgery. I took the risk to tell her I was going to the informational seminar... just to get more info and then shared it all with her including how it worked, risks and how it differed from the bypass... I could tell that initally she was a bit taken back...But by the next morning, after sleeping on it, thinking about the many failed weight loss attempts I have had and how obesityy has impacted my life, she came around to being supportive.... In her words " I have prayed for years for you to find a way to manage your weight and maybe this is God's answer to that prayer". Best of luck!!!

Over the years I drank Cokes and later Diet Cokes. One of the requirements after surgery is to cut out all carbonated beverages and caffeine. I decided to implement this change when I entered the medically monitored diet and exercise program in order to qualify for surgery. That change alone caused me to drop 20 pounds. I believe the carbonation was the cause of the weight loss. Carbonation is like producing microscopic explosions in the stomach which causes it to expand. The larger the stomach, the more food you can eat and as a result the more weight one gains. This also turned out to be a good change because I suffered from withdrawal syndrome when I went cold turkey on a 6 coke a day habit. So it is important to flush your body from caffeine early because you don't want to go through these withdrawal syndrome combining it with the effects of the operation. The other thing I did pre-op was to become more conscientious about my calorie intake. I looked at the calories of everything I ate and changed my diet. I no longer ate ice cream or milk shakes. No more pizza. But Taco Bell tacos were O.K.

Hello Marylanders and welcome. I am also from Maryland (Southern Maryland, to be exact). Congraulations on being banded (and soon to be banded). This is a wonderful tool for weight loss. I love my band and love losing weight. I have also become pretty fond of exercise (which I never thought would happen). In fact, I'm beginning training for the three day breast cancer walk. It's a 60 mile walk. I'm pretty scared, but I know that I'll be able to do it. I'm hoping to reach my goal by then, so the sky is my limit. Good luck to everyone and enjoy the weight loss!!!!!

8 weeks post-op! The three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as Protein shakes. One thing to do now at this stage is to assess your protein intake. Your protein requirement is met by a combination of the protein from your meals combined with the protein from your supplements (protein shakes, protein bars). Since your meal volume is beginning to increase, that also means that the amount of protein from meals is increasing, especially if you concentrate on consuming high protein meals. Therefore you could be able to reduce your reliance on supplements and the calories they contain. I went from 3 protein shakes a day, down to 2, then 1 and finally zero when my meal volume increased to 1 cup per meal at a year and a half. I found that softer foods such as chili and Soups went down much easier than harder food such as steak, so I relied on them. I have included some recipes at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Heya one proud papa March sleeved here. I've had plenty of lows but cruising along slowly. No weight loss since discharge from hospital was in 10 days and lost 8 kilos. Gone down 3 dress sizes though. How u doin.

Well discovered that acid in my stomach was mimicking hunger so a couple days on Prilosec totally pulled that back under control. Great weight loss first 8 days then bam, dead stop. Really? I expected that at 3 weeks but not this soon. Getting about 60-70g protein, 50-65oz water. Walking alot in shopping mode and up and down stairs alot. Going out to do some light yard work today. Hoping it kick starts again because my mind is already saying great this won't work for me either. I know you all can't be wrong though.

Yes it is normal because you are changing your life. You are at a fork in the road. One leads to weight loss & a new life. The other has you going down a path of pain & suffering & a slow death. Wishing you well.

Copied this from "The Cardiologist's Wife's chocolate Too Diet: No Sugar, No Fat & Luscious." It's from the updated health information in the first section. Here goes: "1. Your blood sugar drops with just a 1-pound weight loss. In fact, with just the first ounces off, you’ve made yourself immediately healthier. (Overweight is also a huge risk factor for breast and ovarian cancer in women, prostate cancer in men, and colon cancer in both men and women.) 2. Your heart, which is the size of your closed fist, is a small, overworked muscle, pumping 24/7. And for every extra pound of fat you carry, your body has to grow seven new miles of blood vessels-- primarily capillaries but also small arteries (arterioles) and small veins (venules) -- and your heart has to work that much harder. Put on two pounds and that’s fourteen new miles of blood vessels; fifty extra pounds requires 350 miles of new blood vessels. On and on, do the math. But good news: the opposite is true. For every pound of fat you lose, your body sheds seven miles of blood vessels. They just re-absorb, break down, and get excreted. Lose two pounds and that’s fourteen miles of blood vessels gone, lightening your heart’s load. I’ve told you these two things so you’ll know that even a little is a lot. Repeat that out loud to yourself: even a little is a lot. Let it be your mantra. Because dieting is a slooow process, like watching the grass grow. Try to accept that, and the next time you catch yourself groaning, “Oh it’s almost a week and I’ve only lost two pounds” – understand that that’s good. You’ve already brought valuable change to your body; taken a literal load off your heart. Try this too for reinforcement: take a can off the shelf that weighs one or two pounds, and heft it. Or, in the supermarket, keeping your elbow straight, lift some wrapped meat weighing two pounds. It’s heavy. And you’ll think, Wow, I lost this much?" And another fun fact for every 1 pound you lose, you take 4 pounds of pressure off your knees. Wow, my knees are feeling 124 pounds lighter.

Hi. I was banded may 18th, I did 2week pre-op diet, including my pre op loss I'm down now 37 lbs. I've definitely slowed down, averaging about 2 lbs per week now, which is good for me. Sounds like everyone is doing really well, congrats!

Thank you all for the feedback. It makes sense that the Doctor would base his estimate on all the factors that would contribute to weight loss and a realistic goal at that. I’m just so psyched I hope this Covid business will settle down so those of us on a waiting list can get in for surgery.

When I had mine done, the 1st time, they hooked me up to monitors, etc. Since there were irregularities, I went for a 2nd night. I was hooked up to the same stuff as before, but this time I also slept with a CPAP mask on. The CPAP stopped my sleep apnea. Even better, it was no time at all after my surgery that I didn't need it anymore. Just one more great benefit from having weight loss surgery.

I am 2 1/2 weeks post up and am starting to see a difference in my hair too!! It's falling out a lot more and tangles more easily Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

no one WLS is better then the next..all WLS require work and a mental change and a def change in eating habits and begin to exercise to make the most of whatever surgery one gets. the plication as my dr told me is my stomach folded into itself and stitched to make a small banana like (sleeve) if you will..it will (and has) helped me eat less and since this is a new procedure and still in early trials, i had to sign waivers on it...my dr did it pro bono for me....i was super morbid obese and the dr wanted me to have the bypass and i said no.....so he offered me this with the band but STRESSED that if didnt follow the lap band rules (eating my allotted amounts, stop eating junk food and begin to (move), no WLS would help me...... most WLS can and will help one lose at the beginning (the pre and post op diets helps with fast mainly all Water weight loss) and its amazing and its a confidence booster......and then when people REALIZE that they cant eat what they use too and just push it and overeat anyhow or not follow the rules, then the surgery isnt working..and 10 or more posts a day on this forum saying what am i doing wrong etc.. get whatever one you want but understand that its not a miracle....it will help you if you help it...i am living proof of that......but i also know/understand if i dont do my part the bypass, the sleeve or the DS or the band or plication wont work..people rush into WLS in my opinion thinking i had surgery and now i will automatically lose 100 pounds in a week..doenst work that way....a total mindset and attitude change is a must for success..esp when one was as large as me when i started..i either did it the right way, or got bigger...i had no other options.

I'm asking this questions because I'm due to be sleeved on May 17, but for the past six months I have been dieting and exercising like I never have before in my life. I was 437 pounds when I started and now sit at 325, 112 pounds lost. I've also noticed that my weight loss has slowed down a considerable amount and was wondering if you guys believe it will speed back up again once I have the procedure. Any thoughts?