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Kat...Take a deep cleansing breath! You are doing an awesome job just by realizing that you need the help! I was banded Feb 10 ,2006 on March 19, 2006 my husband was diagnosed with Cancer....my stress level hit mach 9!! The things that kept me going were these.... I kept reminding myself that life is real, things happen and sometimes those things are messy and ugly. All we can do is move forward and eating everything that isn't bolted down is not going to make it all better. If I felt like losing my mind (aka...eating everything in sight) I would do one of the following... walk around the block real quick drink a bunch of Water allow myself a small snack that was ok (100 calorie pack etc) if I was hungry turn up some music that made me want to dance turn on some music that made me mellow Put a pillow over my face and scream as loud as I could Find those things that you can do that don't involve icky foods. Also stick to your guns! I learned from personal experience that one "this cookie won't matter" leads to two...then three...see a pattern here? Your doing great keep up the great work and don't let the jerks get you down!!

I am 10 days post op and I don't feel well at all. I had the surgery last Thursday came home Friday and was admitted again on Saturday for dehydration and gastritis.... I'm on all types of meds for my stomach including a cocktail of mylanta and some other stomach medicines. Every time I swallow anything to drink I get a horrible pain in my belly. I get a weird feeling in my throat that starts to bubble then I burp but it feels like I wanna vomit. I contracted shingles while being admitted so I'm on antibiotics for that now also. I'm borderline depressed and questioning why did I do this to myself. Hoping and praying things get better but woke up today feeling like I have a chest cold. I don't think I'm taking in E ought fluids because like I said it hurts going down. I have a appt tomorrow with my Dr hopefully he can give me so positive info and say this to shall pass. Anyone else go thru anything similar. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Yes I'm 10 days out and I've lost only 15. I'm going to start going to the gym and getting on the treadmill for 30 mins and see if it start coming off more, but we have to remember it's a long process Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App It's a life change Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I think it would take a long time. It took me a year to regain 10 lbs and that was eating lots of sweets and just crap. Before sleeve I would have gained 40-50 back in that time frame. I learned my lesson though, I've lost 11 lbs this month and am going to lose an extra 15 just for insurance. lol

I ordered some fruit protein drink powder from American Bariatrics - it is a little like Crystal Light. It comes in several flavors. I couldn't do the shakes, but I really enjoy these fruit drinks. They are 90 calories and have 15 grams of protein! Mix it with 8 or 10 ounces of water, and you are getting in liquids, calories, AND protein! They have really helped me to meet my minimums. And yes - take those supplements. I have known others who have not and have landed back in the hospital with complications.

Hi there! I’m 3 months into my surgery and since 2 months i haven’t really felt like myself, the first month of Gastric Sleeve was perfect no pain no nausea no vomiting no discomfort, but right after that 1 month mark passed everything went downhill, i have no appetite I’m always nauseous to the point where i vomit for relief, food portion wise I’m eating like a 4 month old, I’ve consulted my doctor and he proscribed meds. Took the dosage and term of meds and still nothing, was suppose to do a endoscopy can’t due to covid-19 situation, so I’m wondering is there anyone else out there who’s experienced this, I’ve asked my buddies if they’ve felt this and 15/15 said no, my symptoms consist of nausea dizziness vomiting loss of appetite lower stomach pain dull kind of. Food doesn’t go down easy. liquids sometimes hurt. And heartburn. I’ve taken antacids. Antibiotics. Gas meds. And a liquid coating to help, and it’s like nothing ever helps, the only a quick solution and it’s for maybe a hour is peppermint tums, like this made my surgery a bad decision for me cause there’s times i can go days without eating and just drink liquids, really hope someone can help with some suggestions. Thanks and sorry for the long message lol

I know exactly how you feel. I had my surgery on 3/5 and my first fill 4/16. I still don't have that feeling of restriction that is always discussed on this board. I keep my portions reasonable and don't get that "full" feeling until much after I am finished eating. I think that part of my problem is that I am still eating too quickly and don't chew as much as I should. Part of this comes from the fact that I don't have restriction. My next fill isn't until 5/24. I am currently at 2.5cc in a 10cc band. I was told that I probably won't feel restricted until approximately 7cc's. It is a much harder process than I had expected, but I am SO happy that I did this. We have to keep plugging along - good luck!!! Banded 3/5/10 350lb Current 4/26/10 317lb

Since being denied for WLS by my insurance in early Feb. 2010, I have been in a major depression about my weight and desperate to do something about it. I scheduled a Lab Band surgery in Mexico for the end of this coming April. However, I am having a lot of mixed emotions because my husband and close friend are completly against me going out of the country for this surgery. And If I do go through with it I will be traveling alone with no support. I am so emotionally torn because I desperately want this surgery but I am very afraid of the risks of being out of the U.S. Can anyone please share your experience if you've been to Mexico for this procedure. I appreciate it very much. :smile:

Welcome to band land and yes you will feel normal soon. The tightness in your chest is your belly feeling the swelling. I was worried too, but that goes away in about 10 days or so. Walk a lot, that will help. Congrats and welcome!!

If you are only taking BC to regulate periods I have a healthy and successful alternative (at least for me). There's a product called Fem20 at www.Advocare.com that regulated my period naturally in about 2 months. Be careful though, I got pregnant after 5 months on this product (after being married for 10 years and off BC for 7) and got pregnant again the last time I took it after 2 months. Each time I had lost over 50 pounds prior to. The last time is right now. It's not marketed to get women pregnant. I took it because it was supposed to regulate hormones, especially for pms and bad periods. It just regulated me to pregnancy. Just an idea. By the way, the product is 100% guaranteed with no time limits. It's a very good nutrition company.

Hi Newbeginnings I am scheduled to be banded on the 27th of March..19 more days! I have a one year old daughter (who rocks) and am expecting an other kid in August (don't know the sex yet). From what I've seen on this website it seems like weight loss is highly variable between differant folks. In my case I have a pretty big frame which means I won't be able to lose as much, at least not easily. My surgeon thought 235 would be a good goal for me (186lb is my ideal weight by the books). I'm hoping to get a little below 235, but it won't be easy I am sure. The most important thing is how determined you are to stick with the guidlines that we have to follow as new bandsters. Like staying away from the cheater foods like shakes and juice. Best of luck to you, let me know how your surgery goes!?!

to ever get this far, and then have second thoughts. I've done my seminar, first doc's visit, seen the nutruitionist (love the Protein shakes). My doc said I had to lose 10 percent of my body weight, which for me is 33 pounds. By the end of the first 3 1/2 weeks, I've lost 21 pounds. I've never been on a high protein diet before, and I seem to be thriving on it. I'm not hungry, and, so far, no uncontrollable cravings. I'm so confused. I had myself prepared and ready to have this surgery, and now I find myself wanting to back out and keep on dieting. I didn't know that he would put me on a diet like this. I only knew about the very strict diet I would be on, a couple of weeks before the surgery. The office will be getting me qualified with my insurance after I go in, in another month. I only need to lose 9 more pounds. I don't have much time to change my mind if I really don't want to do this. Any thoughts or opinion--no matter what they are--would be appreciated.

Every dr. is different so I think all is ok on your diet.. I was told I couldn't pick up anything over 10 pounds for 2 weeks, but again every dr is different.. Are you hurting?? Do you feel like something is wrong?? If yes, then you should call your dr. If not, I would try and not pick up your 2 yr old from a standing position, do it from seating down, if possible.. If you still aren't sure, call you dr and see what they have to say..

Tuesday is my "Sleeve" day also & I am so nervous. I had a 2 week pre-op liquid diet and thouht things were going well. On last Tuesday I had lost 7lbs, then my "friend" came 10 days early and with alk the bloating I habr water weight and I am so nervous of what my surgeon is gonna say. I will be so glad when Tuesday gets here. Best wishes to so all my 'Sleevers' for 3-13:)

Hi I had vsg April 21st and am down 38 pounds total (from beginning of process not since surgery date). The past two days have been really hard because I have been eating continuously. The first day I thought it was just a weird day but today it has happened again to the point my stomach feels upset but no dumping yet. I bought a bunch of new foods and felt the need to try ALL of them in the past 2 days. I am overeating and I know it!! All of the things I purchased are high in protein but I am eating way past the point of being full and then having to drink fluids to get it down. Great way to start stretching the sleeve at only 8 weeks out I know. Just wondering if anyone else is going though this around the 8 week mark. Thinking it is because of the past 10 weeks of restriction I want to go crazy now but I need to get this in check fast. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I never had a band, and I think I'm fairly lucky with my sleeve. Eveyone is different. I don't have anything that I 'can't tolerate'. I eat everything, white meat, dark meat, chicken meat, beef meat...lol, you get the idea The drier things are (white meat chicken) the heavier they sit in my stomach, I always liked my meat rare, now I like it bloody rare. I get an overly bloated puffy feeling if I eat too many carbs such as bread an Pasta, but I can still eat them. The worst thing for me is carbonation, it's a blessing and a curse really. It's a blessing because I can't drink soda anymore, but a curse because evey now and then there is an occasion that calls for champagne and I can only swirl my glass until it's practically flat before drinking a few sips. Some people have GERD and heartburn, others, like myself do not. If I eat too much, I puke. I haven't puked more than 5 times in almost 19 months, most of the time it was early out, I think once was from just being dumb and not listening to my body. I don't have hunger anymore. I have a little bit of ghrelin now, but nothing like I used to. The grehlin comes back after the first year or so, but by then I was already in control of my portions. I still drink one Protein shake a day to meet my requirements, but otherwise I just eat whatever, I subscribe to protein first then veggies followed by carbs if there is room. I don't drink while eating, and I do still occasionally have a treat like ice cream or cake or a bite of dessert. Id' talk to your Dr. and see if he thinks sleeve might be right for you, based on your history with the band, only he can probably help you make the right choice. Good luck!!

I have my CPAP study scheduled for next Tuesday evening. I don't have to have the "initial" Sleep Study because I had one 2 yrs ago and insurance accepted it. The Sleep Lab just called me and told me my score is not high enough. Mine was at a 3 out of 24. Insurance only covers it if its a 10 or more. So the sleep lab changed all my numbers. She seemed surprised that I don't fall asleep doing little things, however I would not sleep at night if it weren't for Ambien. I just don't understand why they are making me lie about this. I don't feel comfortable doing it at all. I was borderline on sleep study until my roomate told them that he can hear me snore from down the hall and my neck is big. Hello.. I'm big. I'm hoping to have my surgery in June. Just feel like a trained circuis animal jumping thru the hoops to get this done.

Fast loser, slow loser, I am a half-fast loser! On average, I lose about 3 lbs each week. But on the other hand, I'm eating good and haven't really had to exercise hard. I walk 5 days a week and am working my way up to 5 miles per day. I've managed to get to 5 miles only 2 times since I've started. Knee and hip pain sometimes interfere with my walking. How I wanted to be one of those posters who could say they lost 100 lbs in 6 months, but it doesn't look like it's in the cards for me. But I try to be satisfied with a steady down tick of the scale. If I can maintain this downward pace, I'll be down 150 lbs in 10 months. That would be freakin awesome! That would put me at my lowest weight since high school - 27 years ago! And at 190 - my ideal body weight. Jeeze, until I wrote that last sentence, I hadn't taken time to do the math! 190 seems like a weight someone else is, not me. I don't know if I can handle being normal. It seems like one of those daydreams that only comes true in the movies. Ok, back on topic - the one thing most fast losers don't mention in their posts is, what they had to do to have such fast results. Did they workout 7 days a week on the treadmill for hours, living on Unjury and water? Or do they have a naturally fast metabolism? Or are they just attention whores, looking for approval and praise? ***Disclaimer, I know of no one that has lied about their weight loss! And no animals were harmed in the writing of this post. But my cat thinks I'm starving him!*** Anyway, the whole point of this post was supposed to be, be satisfied that you are losing weight - whatever the speed! If you want to lose faster: move a little more, eat a little better, and stick with the guidelines from your NUT. Oh, and don't forget to have a support group like the good folks here on verticlesleevetalk. You don't have to post anything, it helps me just seeing that others have the same questions and concerns keeps me from feeling alone.

I have had my band since 9/22/10. Today I had my 4th fill. I never felt the needle before going in and today I did. I guess because I have lost a lot of fat in my stomach. It really didn't hurt. I guess because he also was pushing down on it. He gave me a fill but said I probably didn't need it. He added .2 saline. I think I have 5.0 in a 10.0 band. Today I am on liquids. Tomorrow I can go back to eating, he said if I have a problem then go back to liquids for a couple of more days. Hopefully everything will stay down. I just have to remember to chew, chew and eat very slowly. I have lost 80 lbs so far.

Hi Kiwiladydee, you look great. You were beautiful before but I'm sure u feel it more now that your at a healthier weight. How are you doing now? Are you exercising daily or every other day. And what type of diet r u on? Do you do protein shakes? I ask because my best friend had this surgery almost 10 years ago and she has never taken vitamins and luckily never had any issues.

Hello, My name is Wisteria and I have gone through all of the necessary steps to get lap-band surgery; I am just waiting for approval from my insurance company. I am 34 years old and have been majorly overweight for about 10 years now and I cannot get it off! So here I am! I weigh 211.5, my BMI is 41%, and height 5'0". I am pre-diabetic on medication so that is a MAJOR part of my decision. Also of course heart attack and heart disease are both in my family. I have asthma since gaining all of the weight as well as back issues. Had surgery on my back and gained A LOT of weight since then (MAJOR part of my weight gain by the way). Also have sleep apnea and acid reflux. Take several meds and need to sleep with a mask at night. I am just not healthy. I exercise, but it is so hard to when you are big. I have hiked, biked, kayaked, ran, walked, jogged, etc... And I end up quitting after a few months. It is just so hard... especially walking/hiking up a hill! All this weight is killing me... literally! Nice to meet all of you. Glad I am here. I cannot wait for surgery. All the best to you all on your journeys.

One of my pictures after my son was a year old looks as though I was still pregnant!:cool2::smile::smile: When I saw that I knew I had to do something. I did Atkins for 10 months and lost 80 pounds but I have gained it all back. I look forward to taking pictures again.

i lost 30 pounds before surgery and was approved. i gained 10 back due to meidcation and i am sure youll be approved! Good luck and if you have to do 3 more month just think its only 3 more months! I had to do 6 months also and aetna approved me. I would think 10 pounds would show them you need the surgery badly!

Today My weight is the same than last week but I am doing good.No gin and tonics..lol,clean eating! Cauliflour does not agree with me,even when pulverized in the food prosessor,dont know why. ThenI decided to put what I ate in December,lost nearly 17 pounds in 6 weeks,into fitday to see how many of what I was eating.Calories worked out to 1200 plus per day.Fats were 55 plus and carbs were about 70. At first I thought I must have made a mistake.But I did it twice and the results came out the same. This is shocking as all I ate for weeks were the following.I would take chicken breast,cup into atrips or veal cut into strips or pork cut into strips and dust it with flour.17oz of chicken takes about a cup of flour.Then I would put olive oil in the bottom of the wok and fry it.When the oil was gone,I would add more!I didnt measure it but I am sure that it was a lot that I used! Now,maybe I didnt eat as much as I think I did.Maybe I ate less of it after a week or so as usually when I eat protein only I gradually start eating less.I had 5 cups of tea with milk and 2 dolci gusto cappuchinos per day.Very little water,maybe one small bottel during the day and half at night. With only 2 pounds to goal I am going to try that again this week. At 10 and a half months out I do feel that I can eat more and should start weighing my food again.I ate like this because I regularly get a stomach ache when I eat veggies.Any veggies.I also cannot eat fruit as this causes acid even though I am on a PPI. Now to just reach goal already and then to decide if I should drop more weight.Acouple of my friend's husbands no less,have commented that I am now getting to skinny.Thr girls just say they dont recognize me!I just wish I could see what other people say they see.(they might always be lying..lol) I now wear a size 12 pants and top even though I havent lost more weight but it is very clear that my shape is changing,and not all for the good.I have saddlebags on my upper legs that appeared over the past couple of weeks and my boobs are now a size 36 C.One thing I never realized was that as we get older our waistline increases even when there isnt fat anymore.I use to be very curvy when I was young but now I am straight as a plank and my waist seems to have widened...lol.But I need to just get this weight loss phase over and done with now.It still takes up too much of the space in my head and I just dont want this anymore. I had a bit of a realitly check today when I witnessed a motorcyclist die in an accident.Life is short and all this seems so much less important tonight and in the bigger scheme of things.Accepting myself and others and living life the way the Lord has intended fo me to do is what my focus should be on all the time.I am second!But while Im counting and weighing and logging and cooking and posting I do get a bit consumed with myself which is not the way I should live my life! One more week to goal (positive self talk..lol)

Kimber Lilly - To me it helped to stay on Disney property, Not a disney hotel, but one close. There is a Hilton, Wyndham palce that is nice. I stayed there for a week with my daughter. Great pool and walk right across the street. We drove from IL. I drove straight through each way. My daugter slept while I drove at night and I took my laptop so she could watch movies in the back. I took lots of food and drinkings with us. I even have a cooler back pack we used for the day at Disney with ice packs. This really did save a lot of money( even just on bottles of Water and snacks). If you are going to go to disney for more then two days I would go on line a pre buy your multi day passes you will save a little bit of money doing that. Also if you go to sea World when you go in go right to the left. You can have your photo taken and added to your ticket and you will get a second day for free. You will also be able to avoid parking by taking the disney shuttle. There are tons of places to eat right around the hotels the should not be more then a 10 cab ride - lots of places for kids. Hope this helps, also if you travel at all and have any "Hotel Points" you can use for at least one night that helps as well. also check the hotel rates everywhere. like - travelnow.com, expedia.com, and the hotel's website. Also make sure you call as you never know where you will find the best rate. Also of course try to avoid the "Hot Dates" when the rates are really high. One other tip if you ave a daughter and plan to eat in Cinderella's Castle for lunch call now and make your reservations. When we got there they could give me one in two weeks. I laughed walked away and waited for another lady and thank god someone did not show up and she got us in. It was great cause Cinderella was there and my daughter got her picture taken and all that fun stuff. Good luck and have a great time.