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Hello all Today was my first visit with my surgeon . So I'm at the beginning stage of my journey. I'm excited and nervous at the same time . I have battled with my weight for the last 10 years and beginning to get progressively worst . As a mother of five I want be around for my children . Aside from being morbidly obese I really don't have any other health issues. I joking call myself the healthiest fat chick I know. I researched this for over a year . I have decided on going with the sleeve as it's better for me and my lifestyle. I am comfortable with my surgeon and his stats. The office staff was very friendly. The host of other doctors is going to be a killer for me because I'm trying to get as much done before September when I go back to work .( I'm a teacher) My insurance company requires 4 month weight loss program which is not as bad as I initially thought considering I only have three more to go . Also my dr said we are looking at a possible date in December which works great for me. Around the break so I don't miss any time from work

Barb, I too had doubts as my surgery got closer. I think some doubts are normal. It is a major life style change, and one that you can't change your mind when you get tired of doing it. A week before my surgery, I started wondering if I was doing the right thing. I have always been fat, and have tried EVERYTHING under the sun to loose weight. I would always loose 40-50 pounds when I joined Weight Watchers (would you believe I joined 17 times!?!) But always gain it back when I got bored with the diet and quit. Usually gained another 5-10 lbs along with the 40-50 I had lost. Also tired Diet Center, Curves, Redux (the miracle diet pill. One of the side effects was supposed to be erotic dreams. I was really bummed when that didn't happen to me, and I didn't even loose that much weight on it!) Also tired Weigh Down Workshop, NutriSystem, Medifast, Optifast, Jenny Craig, Overeaters Annon., Overeaters Victorious, Slim Fast, etc., etc., etc. But now my health is at stake. As I enter my 60's (OMG that sounds old!) I find that I am (was) pre-diabetic, my blood pressure was creeping up, my cholesterol was up (I was on statin meds for that), I had really bad gastric reflux (on meds for that too), sleep apnea (breathing machine at night), bad arthritis (more meds) and the only thing I could see was more medical problems heading my way. I am (I think) a YOUNG 62, and want to live and enjoy my life for years to come yet. So I decided to commit to this and do it! I am bound and determined to get down to a normal weight and stay there. I wrote to a good friend who had a Roux N Y surgery 6-8 years ago, and asked her if she would do it again if she had it to do over. She said "in a heartbeat!" She has really struggled, and gained some of her weight loss back (lost over 120 lbs and gained 40-50 back). But says she is so much more comfortable and healthy now that she wouldn't go back for anything.I think you need to concentrate on one of the last things you said in your post "You ARE worth the effort!" Best of luck. Keep us all posted on how you are doing!

I haven't been on forever! After losing and gaining the same bit of weight I was getting extremely frustrated. Then I stopped and stayed at 138 for a few weeks... So I thought something has to give. My husband was trying a low sodium diet so I thought why not try it out? He recently quit smoking and had gained a few pounds and wanted to get the pounds off before vacation. I have been doing this eating plan for about 10 days and have lost 5 pounds, he has lost 10. I stepped on the scale and it said 133! I stared at it probably for a full minute and my eyes filled with tears. I wasn't even this thin in high school! Not that it's just about the numbers, I can't believe how great I feel!!! Only 13 more until goal!

I just got a call from my dr, insurance has been approved and I'm looking at a surgery date of July 19. I'm so excited, but now my nerves are getting to me. I'm happy and I know this is best for me, just the reality of surgery is kicking in! Does anyone else feel this way?? Guess I'll be a july sleever

05-22-19

I still get sugar cravings especially in the evening, but I have found that I can drink a chocolate protien shake and wait about 10 minutes and the craving is gone and I am full.

Today was my first day back at work after a month off due to my LB and hernia surgery. All went well, went to lunch with friends and was not tempted, came home and had my turkey burger, but I must admit I was a little hungry when I got home, more head hunger than actual hunger. So I will have to come up with a plan for that, I think it is because I had my first protein shake at 5am, just made it seem later. Also, I am tired so I will be going to bed as soon as Big Bang Theory is over. Back to the grindstone. The positive note is everyone could tell I had lost weight even those who did not know I had surgery. I thought about my goals for weight loss, so I am hoping for at least 10 pounds a month till I get this baggage off me. Hope everyone else is doing well. Oh I should mention the shirts I usually wear to work were TOO big so, I wore a shirt I have not wore in a few years :w00t:

I really think that I need a smaller fill. Every time I go for a fill I have to go back and get it taken out because of getting sick. He usually puts in 1cc. The last time I had a fill was 8/27/10 and he had to take it out the following two days. Yesterday I got .5cc and felt fine. I drank water in his office. Now today I have only drank two sips of water and have already gotten sick three times. I am so frustrated because I am not losing but I think next time I will ask him to only put in a small amount.

I got a slight unfil. I was mistaken. Before my last fill on Friday I had 6.2 cc in my 10 cc band. So, .08 cc was added on Friday to make 7 cc's total and made me to tight. I was trying to wait and see if it'd wear off but, I didn't think I could sit at work sliming all day. Gross! My husband said he was going to get me a spitoon! So, I went to doc's ofc first this morning and got about 1/2 of my last fill out. I'm about 6.5 cc now. I think I was really getting dehydrated and was starting to get really fatigued. I feel better now, getting fluids down and even had some soup. Hopefully, I'm at my sweetspot. I still think I'm alittle on the tight side but, as long as I'm getting fluids down, I'm ok!

I am 10 days post op and I am having bad pains in my left, should/neck area. It started yesterday and I have taken Gas-x strips. Does this go away when I am able to eat solids? I have been on mushes for a few days and my stomach hurts from gas and when I eat, well it does not last long lol. Please let me know! Thanks!

You will be fine. I was terrified, too. I was banded on Monday and 6 days later, I have lost 10 pounds. I feel great and my only regret is waiting so long before I got banded. I am never hungry. I already see that the band works. I hope you feel better about your decision soon. This is a piece of cake!

Hi, Well I just wanted to tell you the best advice I got was sip sip sip and walk walk walk.....The gas x strips did not help me at all.......ok, now.... The other side to this is that I am almost 10 months from being banded and I know this is going to sound STRANGE, but when I get hungry my left shoulder will start hurting. I dont have "tummy" hunger any more, my shoulder always lets me know. The cure to this is that I drink something warm and it seems to go away or I will nibble on something. This usually tends to happen between 3 and 6 in the afternoon. If it gets really bad around the 6 oclock dinner time, I will have to eat to get it to stop hurting.... Good luck! Carrie

Hi: I have an Inamed 10 cc band. My first fill was 3 cc, but I was belching and sliming, and had to get 1cc taken back out. Pretty good on this and get my next fill this coming Thursday. Have had some chest pain and sliming and pb'ing, especially the first week after my first fill, but I now feel really ready for another fill, as I seem to be able to eat more than I want to be eating.

I was just banded 1-19-09. I'm hungry all the time. If I didn't have the cuts or pain to show I had surgery I would never know. I see the surgeon next Thurs.Does anyone feel this way or felt this way right after surgery? Another question is I have gas and burp all the time.Is this normal? I Know the gas is but the burps and gas are all the time. I thought the gas would of passed by now since it's been over a week now.Thanks....

Hi. My name is Mary and I found you guys by typing in a problem I was having in a search engine. It must have been fate I have been watching and reading your stories for a couple days and you have all been quite helpful and inspirational. I started my journey at 301 pounds. I knew when I crossed that 300 line that was it for me. I was a insulin dependant diabetic with liver and thyroid problems and high cholesterol. It was time to change. I went to the seminar in February and started working out and seeing my surgeon and a few other docs regularly. I got down to 283. I started my liquid diet on July 20 and had my surgery on July 27. Life sure is different I am only 10 days out and down to 264. I am on puree and tolerating it well. I have not taken any insulin since the liquid diet started. I feel great I'm glad this forum is here so I can talk to/listen to people going through the same things as me. Thanks for being here!

Wt this morning 227.4 - Scale is moving REAL slow. Yes, today marks 1 month away from my band surgery. Its exactly 31 days until banded date. Yay. I have to say also, I MADE IT TO THE GYM last night. Thats right, I got off my ASS and exercised. I did 20 min on the elliptical machine, and then 10 min on the treadmill. I know its only 30 minutes, but I felt good and I will continue doing a minimum of 30 min. of exercise EVERYDAY until banding date. I'm getting my body in shape for surgery.

Wt this morning 227.4 - Scale is moving REAL slow. Yes, today marks 1 month away from my band surgery. Its exactly 31 days until banded date. Yay. I have to say also, I MADE IT TO THE GYM last night. Thats right, I got off my ASS and exercised. I did 20 min on the elliptical machine, and then 10 min on the treadmill. I know its only 30 minutes, but I felt good and I will continue doing a minimum of 30 min. of exercise EVERYDAY until banding date. I'm getting my body in shape for surgery.

Yepper, 30 more days until Band Date!!!! I went to the gym AGAIN last night. I did another 20 minutes on the Elliptical - Then 10 min on treadmill. I almost talked myself out of going to the gym. My DH was trying to talk me out of going, telling me to stay home with him. He even said, its fun being fat. LOL. He is 6'1 and weighs 180lbs, perfect size, no fat. But he didn't want me to leave him last night, so was trying everything to get me to stay home. I told him I was only doing 30 minutes and would be back. The big baby. I did make it to the gym and it took me about 10 minutes to really get into the exercising, I kept watching the time and thinking (I can't believe its only been 3 min etc. ) I didn't think I was going to be able to do it, I just didn't have it in me last night. But I forced myself to do it, and I'm happy I did. Today is a party at work and lots of goodies. I plan on enjoying myself and not feeling guilty with whatever I eat. I was offered some homemade cinnamon rolls this morning, but I declined since I know I will be eating more than I should for lunch. I am not going to over do it, but I am sure I will eat more than I should. I will exercise again tonight. Well, off to get a little work done before my party.....30 more days until my band date - YAY!

I dunno, I can show you pics from me being born compared to my siblings, and despite being 2lbs smaller than my brother, I looked like a 'fat' baby compared to normal baby fat.. then from 1,2,3,4,5,6-etc.. I was always a large kid.. Fat & tall. Both my siblings ended up fat & tall eventually (like after the 10 year old phase I guess you guys are talking about), but they were both bean poles growing up. I was never a bean pole, I was 5 years old and my mom had to hand-make dresses for me because she couldn't find anything to fit me, by about 8 years old I was wearing old womens clothing because they did not make plus-childrens clothing.(I have plenty of fun pics of my spandex shorts, with long old women shirts with sequins all over and shoulder pads) Then in 4th grade I found men's pants and shirts that fit. When I was in 8th grade my mom found plus size 'trendy' clothes that would fit me via the internet. I have a painting my nanny did of me in 1st grade, and I was wearing this hideous zebra print shirt, made for women. With my 2 front teeth missing and all that fun stuff.

Jacqui, I agree with you. Unless they (government) are looking at it as just a monitoring process to see what happens with these kids. I do know in my own family, when you look at pictures of my mom and sister as babies, they were already fat. Now my mom is one of 8 and only her other sister (6 boys!) had/have weight problems. My sister is younger than I am and we both ate the same foods. She was born a normal, healthy weight (we were both within ounces of each other) but by the time she was a year, she was a fat baby. Me, on the other hand, had NO weight issues (other than my own perception of being the smallest fattie in a family of fatties, when I was anything BUT fat) until I hit my 20's. Then I started gaining. My mom and sister both had bypass 5 and 8 years ago. Both had tried everything to lose weight. Nothing worked for them. They couldn't even LOSE weight! They both have done great with their surgeries. My sister has had 3 more kids since her surgery. I was able to lose weight but couldn't keep it off. DD was adopted and I have no clue about her birthfather, but her birthmother's family is all normal sized with a few minor weight issues (say 10-20 over weight, kinda thing). Even at 2 she loves sports and being active so I'm hoping just by teaching her well, how to eat and how to be active (and getting healthy myself) that even if she does end up with some extra weight, she'll be able to control it and not have serious issues. We'll see. Anyway, just a picture of my family. Kind of both sides of the coin that Jacqui was talking about. Sorry it's so long. I talk too much! LOL!

Great ideas! Love the 3 10 min. walk idea and photos of food eaten in a day! Thanks for posting. linkoop

I only have a drink now and then and thats usually when i go out with friends..I had surgery 8/10/2005 and i think i MAYBE has 4 drinks between now and thenKristen

This is my story of having my Lap-Band surgery with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana, Mexico. He can be found at Celebrate and enjoy myself with a wonderful BBQ dinner with the family. Oh, how I love those fried pickles! At least they won't be completely gone from my life in the future, though they may be the meal, and not just the appetizer. Since I was a So.Cal local, I decided to meet the clinic shuttle at the San Diego International Airport. Considering the long term parking fee was $9 per day, I was pleased to find the lot was literally next door to Terminal Two baggage claim. After a five minute walk, I was waiting for the shuttle driver. At the San Diego Airport, there are escalators with descending arrivees. I waited at the bottom, looking in the same direction that the arriving passengers would be looking. With that vantage point, I easily saw a Hispanic gentlemen holding a passenger's name up, and wearing an OCC i.d. tag. I approached him to let him know I was here. The driver, Francisco, informed me we had a third person to wait for, but her flight wouldn't be here for another 40 minutes or so. Oh well... back to sitting I go. Fast forward, and all three patients were accounted for. We walked out into the short term parking lot, boarded a large late model van, and made our way out of the lot and towards the border. Because today was Sunday, there was no clinic to go to, so we headed straight for the Lucerna Hotel. Crossing into Mexico was easy. However, glancing across the border at the traffic headed back to the U.S., we knew we had a fun wait ahead of us when we returned. The driver estimated we'd have a 2-3 hour wait coming back-- unless you decided to return in the middle of the night. It was ALWAYS this long. *sigh* Before we arrived, I asked what time we'd be picked up from the hotel. The driver said 8:00am. If you brought a companion with you, you wouldn't need to check out. Less than 10 minutes inside Tijuana, I knew we were getting close to the hotel. I knew we were close, because Francisco began to point out the Domino's and pizza Hut nearby (did he KNOW why we were even here?). And at last, the Hotel Lucerna appeared. On the outside, it looked like any standard older hotel. Six storeys tall, and each room seemed to have a balcony. Our luggage was taken out of the van and brought alongside the front desk for us to check in. When it was my turn, I identified myself, and was presented the documents to sign-- payment for the room was taken care of. Since I saw the sign as I entered, I asked for the internet code so I could access the free wireless internet. They wrote it down on my key envelope. The bellman offered to take my luggage up, but it was no big deal, so I took it up with me to the fifth floor. I found my room, and used the electronic keycard. Inside, I found a king-size bed, marble bathroom countertop, two 600ml bottles of complimentary Water, and complimentary soaps, shampoo, and hair dryer. Ironing board and Iron in the closet. No ice bucket. Hair dryer didn't work. Placard advertising order pizza on the room table. I hid that. I've stayed in worse rooms, but have definitely stayed in better. Personally I wouldn't give it any better than three starts The television has free channels, and some premium movie channels. No Pay Per View, but ports on the front indicate you could bring a portable DVD player or game system to hook up. I brought my laptop, so I could always use that to watch movies. Ahh, the laptop! Time to log in and let the wife know I made it ok (the kids prevented her from joining me). The wireless router name is unsecured and easy to connect to. However, as soon as you try to go to a website, the Lucerna security page pops up and asks you for your code. And after numerous attempts, it STILL wouldn't work. I headed downstairs, and realized that my front desk clerk had bad writing. The Access code is "lucernaXXX", with XXX being the room number you're in. The password is a five digit code they'll give you. Once I set down my free bag of ice (still no bucket) and entered it in all correctly, it worked. Slow and spotty, but it worked, and better to use Skype at $.02 per minute than my cellphone at $1.10 per minute. I set a trashcan as an ice bucket and iced down my final diet shake. Final shake, but not yet... time to go across the street to the local convenience store for a couple small bags of chips and a diet soda. THE last carbonated soda. Ahhhh... delicious. I looked out the window at the traffic circle of not so late cars and taxis circling endlessly, and the obligatory siren in the distance. This seems to ALWAYS be a siren somewhere within earshot. If you like sirens, Tijuana is for you. I never left the room again that day. Enjoyed my final shake and water, and nodded off at 10:30pm. THE SURGERY DAY (9/4/06) The surgery day came roughly, with me being awoken numerous times during the night by sirens, my dreams, and a bed that was decidedly not like home. But 7:00am was here, and time for me to kick it into gear for an 8:00am pick-up. I had just enough water left in my complimentary water bottle to brush my teeth with. Packed it all up, and headed downstairs. I emerged from the elevator to find the two people I met at the airport, plus some new arrivals. Right on time, Mrs. Ortiz (The Doc's mom), a small, spry, short-white haired lady with more energy than the room, and took us in two separate trips. I was in trip #1. With my luggage, I got into her late model Volvo S80 along with others, and we headed to the clinic. About a 5 minute trip. We parked in the underneath parking at the nice looking clinic building and took the elevator up. The elevator doors opened into the clinic reception area. We identified ourselves, and Mrs. Ortiz left to pick up the rest of the patients. We went to the receptionist's desk and signed the legal paperwork that basically releases them for just about anything. I signed. I was also asked whether I had brought my original paperwork that I faxed back. No, I said, I didn't. No problem-- they had a copy. (and I thought "then why ask me for one"?) I sat down and picked out a magazine to read. If you're a guy and REALLY into yachts, you'll be very happy with your reading choices. Other than that, good luck. Luckily, the movie Batman was playing on a TV in the corner of the waiting room. I didn't have to wait long. Shortly thereafter, I was called back for them to draw blood. They stuck a port in the side of my left wrist, and drew what blood they needed. They then taped the port in place-- this would be the port they would use for the duration of my stay. Back to the waiting room I go. I was then called to the receptionist desk to get my photo digitally snapped-- for what, I had no idea. Sat back down. Got called up again to see the cardiologist. He asked me a few questions about my health, then had me blow in a device for as hard and as long as I could. I expected some sort of resistance as I blew, but I was wrong. I ran out of air mighty quick, but the cardiologist keep encouraging me to keep on blowing... keep on blowing... I did until the machine beeped. Phew! Then I got up and into a back room where he started to place his sticker collection all over my body. Well, that's what it seemed like. Actually, he was placing sensors on key parts for an EKG. Once hooked up, it took about 30 seconds for a full reading. Between the lung thingy, and the EKG, I passed. No one came back to me in a panic over my blood test, so I could only assume that went well, too. ...and then I was called again to meet with the nutritionist, Dr. Miranda. She struck me as much younger than I had expected, and spoke better English than I expected. Don't ask me.why I thought she'd be older and less fluent. She had me weigh-in and measure my height. Then she handed me a nutrition guide, and I followed along with a Powerpoint. I was encouraged to write notes. She said I had done well on my diet, and based on that and no other medical problems, my surgery should take nine minutes. NINE? Are you kidding? No.. once I was under anesthesia, it should only take nine minutes, unless they ran into a hiatal hernia, in which case they'd repair it and it would take longer. Wow. I asked a few other questions, and we were done.... ...and BACK to the waiting room. I found the page in "GENERIC YACHING JOURNAL #836" that I had left off from... and then I was called in. This time, I was told to bring my luggage with me. Everyone else in the waiting room wished we luck, and I passed through the doors to the back. I was led to my room where I'd be for the next day. I was told to strip to my birthday suit, and to put on the gown open at the back, and a most flattering set of paper undies that do nothing for support. I did this, left the room to use the bathroom, and returned to my room. I was invited to use the phone in the room of I'd like to make any calls, including anywhere in the U.S. for free, AND they could call me using the clinic's toll-free line. That was a VERY nice, and I proceeded to do so. Earlier, I was also shown two computer terminals for internet access while I was there. My nurse, Josefa, came in and asked me to lie down on the bed. She set up an i.v. and I was also handed a cup with two pills... one to relax, and the other an anti nausea. I was told to place them under my tongue so they'd dissolve then I could swallow them if and when I chose. No water, though. I laid back down and the anesthesiologist came in. I made the obligatory joke about putting me to sleep for the right time, and he joked back that that was easy-- WAKING me would be the tricky part! No problems with anesthetics in the past, so he left. Dr. Ortiz came in and we chatted comfortably about the surgery, how men do well with weight loss under the band, etc etc. He left. Some time later they called me in, and I walked into the surgery room. Climbed onto the bed, and they strapped both my arms on extending planks reminiscent of a crucifixion. I asked why I needed to be strapped, but I don't recall getting a reply. After asking which one of them was going to scratch my itchy nose, a strap was loosened and I scratched. Back the arm went, and back on went the straps. That's the last I remember... ....I then woke up, back in my hospital bed in my room, with a mask blowing oxygen in my face, and I was told to wake up and breathe. I did... slowly. I was told it was done, and the lumps and soreness on my abdomen confirmed it. I wasn't in any great deal of pain, but I would have the occasional pain in my chest for about 5 seconds before it dies down. I was told that was residual air. Ok. My hospital room had DirectTV (they all did), but my remote wouldn't control the volume or power, so the staff became my volume control. Later I found out that my surgery took eleven minutes, since there was a small hiatal hernia that a couple stitches remedies. After I was in my room about 1-2 hours, I decided to try walking. I ended up walking three laps around the floor, but near the end of the third lap, I started to feel light headed. Off to bed again, and I felt better. I noticed on my way back into my room, they had an ID card letting the world know I had a lap band-- the back had a VG sticker on it. So, I got a Vanguard belt. A couple hours later, I decided to take some laps, but I ended up sitting at one of the community terminals to pound out a quick status report to the forum. My wife called and they transferred it there. But after 10 minutes of sitting, I started to feel light headed. Or was it nausea? I wasn't sure, and knew I didn't want to find out. I made a beeline to my room to lie down, and felt better. Phew! During that evening, I had some ice chips, a Capri Sun juice, an Otter Pop, and some chicken broth. I tolerated it all well. On an earlier venture to the bathroom, I lifted my gown and found my incisions looking much neater that I thought they would, all nicely glued in place. It almost looked like I had gotten into a nasty tangle with an alley cat. THE DAY AFTER The next morning, I had some more juice and chicken broth, and they told me to go ahead and change into my street clothes. Guess that was my subtle hint that I was being deported to the hotel. They offered me the chance to shower, but I decided I could do that just as easily at the hotel, so I packed up. While I was in the waiting room, another patient asked me if I was having my procedure today. They were surprised to hear I had already had it done yesterday! Another was surprised I was wearing jeans comfortably. Both comments made me feel good; that I had tolerated the whole affair well. So, I'm now in my room, pounding this little recap for all of you and waiting for tomorrow's 7:00am shuttle back to San Diego. I'm going to have a nice shower, go downstairs for some chicken broth and juice, and maybe walk. And there's a basket of fruit in my room, unlike the first room, I had. Who said Mexicans don't have a sense of humor? I hope this isn't just the end of the story. I hope this is the beginning of a brand new life where I can enjoy 99% of all life has to offer. And for that other 1%? When you have that delicious Diet Pepsi, think of me, would ya?

Thanks Heather, I think I know all of this, but I stumble when it comes to social eating. I never realized how much food I am offered at work until I started all of this. I calculated it one day and think the if I ate "right" every where else, I'd still gain 10 pounds a year from eating everything offered. Yeah, a year from now, this will be an amusing story to tell other Bandsters. I'll do some Zen meditation and see if the future me will give me a pat on the head and tell me to quiet down. :biggrin2:

That is GREAT...it is crazy when you think of what we carry and are losing. Im down 50lbs but I often think of that as 10 - 5 lb bags of potatoes. Try going to the store and picking all that up in your arms at once. It blows my mind. I can't imagine how it feel to lose 100, 125, 150 and more like many here have been successful doing....However, I do look forward to that day. Thanks for sharing that great story!