Search the Community

Hey Susannah, That was definitely the norm for me (eating more than one cup), but from what I hear, everyone is different. I did ask the doctor about it at the time and both Mr. Crosthwaite and Dr. Korin seemed to think that was fine. I stressed heaps too. I'm a Water chugger - always have been. Even now, I drink pretty fast for a bandster. The only time I feel it is if its a *really* cold drink or if its first thing in the morning. Dunno- maybe I'm a bad bandster lol. Don't let it all get to you too much though. At the end of the day, if you're eating healthy and trying to follow the bandster rules as much as possible, you're doing great! Any major concerns, make sure to phone the doc. Another month and it'll all be second nature to you Oh - and good luck w/ that first fill next week! Don't forget, you probably won't get restriction from that first one, so don't get frustrated - it will come!

Hi LeeAnn, if you want to start eating like a bandster drop your calories to 800-1k a day. You will drop the weight fast. I bet you could lose that 15 lbs in 4-6 weeks easily. Good luck. Julie

Hey all... just wanted to get some opinions and see if anyone else had any similar situations... I'm around 5 months out and doing great. I've lost 100lbs. I feel good, great energy levels, I should be exercising more but I'm very active. I just moved from the DC area to Dallas about 1.5 months ago. We are seeing record highs here with 30+ days of 105+ temps. Yesterday I was outside for a while and I overheated. It was about 104 ish and I had been drinking Water (but I'm guessing not enough.) I've never experienced this. I'm sure I'm still getting used to this weather. But I wanted to check and see if folks have noticed any issues post op with dealing with the heat and such. Once the light-headedness hit I sat down and started drinking water as fast as I could. Post op I'm not able to drink water as fast as I could pre-op and I'm guessing the played into how long it took to recover. Does anyone have an experience with heat and activity? Any tips? Anyone drinking Gatorade? I think they have a low/no sugar version? Thanks!

Yay, congratulations! I have been following you from the beginning of your journey and am so excited to see you near goal. I had surgery a month after you and I'm a slow loser too. I had the same reaction; a few months of insanity over the slow loss to an acceptance and appreciation for the big picture. Of course I'd still like to lose fast but I know that's not going to happen and I'm hoping the one benefit I have is less loose skin.

The diarrhea was pretty normal for me. Fluids in, fluids out. I am on day 18 and I've had my highs and lows so far. I did have a drain in the hospital but it was removed on day 3. The soreness in my abdomen improved greatly once they took it out. It was like whipping off a band-aid really fast except there was no lingering stinging afterwards. I did clears, full liquids, and I advanced to softs/mushies this evening. Technically I am not supposed to advance until Monday but I don't want my first experience with soft food to be at work! I am taking it really slow. The sip, gurgle, burp has been pretty normal for me. Usually when I first start to eat or drink something, I'll get a burp. My thought is there isn't much room for gas AND food/drink so I'd rather have the gas out. I had a small issue with acid/heartburn about 7 days out. I talked to my doc and he had me double to Nexium dose daily for 5 days and quit drinking citrus juices (i.e. lemonade) and the problem has cleared up. Good luck! It does get better with each stage. The sleeve is definitely a practice in patience.

Congrats! Mine went really fast, like that. I had two weeks to the day from being all approved and going in for surgery. Fortunately for me, it was the date I had been hoping for. (It was the Wednesday one week before Thanksgiving, so I had Thanksgiving break to use for recovery!) It will fly by and you'll be on the losing side soon! Congrats! pam

Yes, your band could have slipped from the bad cough, but just being sick (especially with head and chest congestion) can cause similar symptoms. My band slipped (probably due to my untreated hiatal hernia) and the symptoms were constant chest pain (so bad I thought it was a heart attack), inability to even drink Clear Liquids, reflux and a sore throat from the reflux. A complete unfill and 6-week rest period fixed it. I know of other bandsters with band slips whose slippage symptoms were intermittent rather than continuous like mine. You might want to call your surgeon's office and tell them what's been going on, just for your peace of mind. If necessary, your surgeon can do an upper GI study to make sure everything's in the right place. Good luck! Jean

Hello World, I'm feeling great. It's been 9 days since my lap band was removed and my surgeon performed a Gastric Bypass and I feel terrific. I'm really shocked at how fast the recovery has been. I am just starting the puree diet, having met with my surgeon. I'd love to hear from folks about what they like to eat post-puree. I am DETERMINED to lose the weight and I want to make sure I do the best I can to achieve that goal. Kind regards.

So my story is that I had a lapband and it was giving me lots of issues and lets be honest, I challanged it. I ate pieces that were too big and ate too fast. I really tried but failed. And when I did try I wss not loosing. I mafe a decision and had it removed. My fear is that if I get a sleeve I will do same. Did anyone else have this issue? If I am a fast eater and big biter sleeve will not be successful for me.

My weight loss was ridiculously fast at first- I was losing 2 lbs a day for the first 10 days. And then it came to a halt and slowed wayyyy down. It drops a little bit here and there, but anywhere close to my original high rate. It's normal for your weight to fluctuate. It can be anything from hormones to Water retention to your body just being frustrating (I know I've felt that way). You didn't really gain the weight, so don't worry! So early in the game, it's practically impossible for us to gain weight. Over 100 lbs to lose can seem like a daunting task. I have 80 lbs to lose and it feels unreachable at times. We have the sleeve to help us, and it will help us. I'm only 3 weeks post-op, so I might not be the best source of information. If you want a companion in the same boat as you, feel free to PM me or add me as a friend.

The sensations you're feeling are not due to malnutrition. They're due to recent anesthesia and surgery--and will pass. Your body has ample fuel reserves to keep you going, even on dramatically reduced calories. As you recover from the surgery, the weakness, dizziness, and so on will resolve Do make sure that you get adequate fluid--that is very important. But otherwise, don't try to project too far into the future. You will not continue to feel this way. (It's also very typical to be scared and panicky and emotionally labile after surgery--so don't feel as though your response is unusual.) I hope you feel better fast!

Hi, I'm a newbie here from the other land Down Under (New Zealand). I had roux en y gastric bypass two years ago and while the lead-up to my surgery wasn't without its hassles, my recovery and life since has been almost boringly easy. Touch wood! I've been overweight nearly all my life: I arrived kicking and screaming into this world weighing a healthy 9 pounds and was pretty much "normal" weight until I hit my early teen years. It was then the weight just piled on, and stayed there. I managed to lose a decent chunk of weight a couple of times through old-fashioned healthy eating and exercise, once in my late teens and then again in my mid-30s. But as we all know, losing it and keeping it off are two entirely different things and as much as those who have never struggled with their weight like to insist it's simply a matter of eating less and doing more, that is so much easier said than done. And let's face it, if it was really as easy as all that, there wouldn't be a multi-billion dollar industry built around weight loss. We have free major medical care here, which is funded by our taxes, but because demand far outstrips availability of surgical care, there are waiting lists for pretty much everything and even if someone has been scheduled for a particular surgery, they can still be bumped from their spot by emergency procedures (accidental injuries etc). Aside from that, some of us do have private medical insurance, often subsidised by our employers. However, our major insurers have weight-loss surgery listed as one of their exclusions. I was fortunate enough to have chosen an insurer that does fund it with some qualifications (basically at the recommendation of your primary doctor). There are a very small number of procedures done on the public health dollar (in my region, with a population of around 50,000 people, I believe about a dozen cases are funded per year). Most people I know who have had the surgery have actually self-funded via personal loans or extending their mortgages. About 8 years ago, I developed gallstones and had my gallbladder removed. While organising the claim with my insurer for that hospital stay, I noticed a one-line mention of weight-loss surgery in my policy and phoned the company to ask about it. I was told I didn't qualify because I needed to have at least one co-morbidity. I was still recovering from my emergency gallbladder surgery and was also probably a little naive, so I didn't question their response. Then, about three years ago, I was looking over my policy again and decided I should go back to my insurer and question them further ... demand some answers and justifications on why the co-morbidity was needed when it wasn't actually mentioned in the policy. Interestingly, the person I dealt with immediately agreed that yes, they would generally fund the surgery if a bariatric surgeon recommended it. At that point, there was no bariatric surgeon in my home city so I booked an appointment with one a two-hour plane trip away and started counting down to my initial consultation. During that time, I'd been feeling a bit unwell and things got a lot worse very quickly: I became incredibly short of breath and tired and just felt terrible. As it turned out, I'd developed dilated cardiomyopathy with a bundle branch blockage, incredibly high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes for good measure! Yep, I felt like death warmed up: heart failure will do that for you! That meant the surgery was, of course, put on hold. My cardiologist reckons the cardiomyopathy was probably caused by a virus and that the heart condition was likely what caused the diabetes because I'd been tested just a few months earlier and had been fine (family history ... mother was type 1, father type 2) so I'd gone from healthy blood sugar to HbA1c of 85 in just 4 months. The next year was spent dealing with the heart problem and I have to admit, I was a bit stunned by the whole situation: I really just wanted to survive at that point, to get well enough to have the heart surgery my cardiologist said I needed (an implanted cardioverter defibrillator) but was at that stage too sick to have done. A year later I'd had quite a remarkable turnaround, still in heart failure of course, but my heart had reduced in size and everything was looking a lot brighter. Bright enough, in fact, for my cardiologist to decided I perhaps didn't need the defibrillator surgery after all. I was about then I decided to push ahead with the bariatric surgery. I'd lost quite a bit of weight when first diagnosed with the heart condition but had come to a screaming halt, I just couldn't shift another pound. I had to get a cardiac clearance from the anaesthesiologist, which he was happy to do (said my blood pressure, blood sugars and cholesterol were better than those of his marathon-running, vegan wife!) Meanwhile, a New Zealand surgeon who has spent several years working in America as a bariatric surgeon had returned to NZ and set up shop in my home town, so I was able to have my surgery much closer to home. I got had my consult, phoned my insurer, got approval that same day and was booked in for three weeks later. It all happened so fast my head was spinning! The surgery itself had one little hiccup: my heart went out of rhythm and gave them all quite a fright. However, they phoned my cardiologist and she told them that so long as it went back into rhythm on its own, they were good to go ahead (I knew nothing of any of this until after the surgery of course, I was already knocked out). Aside from being incredibly tired when I woke up, and for the next day (they reckon because of the heart rhythm thing), being left with a lineup of fist-sized bruises across my ample tummy from the blood thinning injections, topping off those bruises with some impressive red welts after a cracking delayed reaction to those same injections on day 4, and developing a weird all-over itch for just one day a week after surgery that we never found a cause for, my recovery was pretty good! I wasn't able to sleep in my own bed for about three weeks because our bed is quite high (I'm 5ft 4 and it's hip height on me), so I have to climb on to it. However, I just slept on a recliner chair and it was all good. Oh good lord, and sorry for what turned to be something of a novel!

You don't necessarily have to give them up for good, I certainly haven't. Before I was banded, my family and I would eat fast food 4-5 times a week :ohmy: ... now maybe it's once or twice and I just "modify" my order (yeah the people taking the order get pissy with me but oh well) Last time we went to Taco Bell, I ordered an all beef burrito and asked them to keep the tortilla and just dump the insides into a bowl. (They were extremely confused by this and it took them 3 times to get it right ) When we go to Wendy's I get chili (double check for fingers :frown: LOL) Any other burger place I either get chicken nuggets or a burger and just remove the bun. So it's possible to eat fast food with the fam and not feel left out

You go! So happy for you. I do know exactly how you feel. I put on my three sizes smaller clothes and stand in front of the mirror and just stare. I just can't believe that I am changing so fast. It really is amazing. Sent from my iPhone using VST

My sleeve surgery was 1 year ago tomorrow and I have to tell you one of the hardest part was the pre op fasting. The 1st week was the hardest, the 2nd week for me was the 7 day countdown, which helped me alot when I was struggling and sleeping helped too. Hang in there, the best is yet to come. I waivered back and forth up to surgery date and even felt a little off balance from the pre op diet because I was hungry and everything I saw looked good, even food I really never cared for. I look at myself today and can't believe I actually did it, all I can say is you have reached the top of the hill and now its downhill from here on out. You will do great, just think a week from today it will be all over and a new you is evolving. Good Luck, hope my words helped a little.

Snack foods always seem to be the easiest food for me to get down.. I hate that.. You probably really need to be getting in some healthy Protein. Have you tried eating Beans? Baked beans or something like that? I'm not a fan of beans but they're loaded with protein and they're much mushier than meats. Maybe beef Jerky if you can get something like that down? My doctor suggested beef jerky whenever I crave salt because its full of protein, and it's better than eating chips. eggs are always good to have, or maybe chicken salad if it's mushed up enough? When I was on my mushy stage I used to make a mashed potato fish bake. It was just mashed potatoes, made with skim milk, low fat mozzerella cheese, fat free sour cream, non-fat spray butter (just poured it out of the bottle) salt & pepper I would cook the talapia (with whatever seasonings i was in the mood for) in olive oil or pan spray then I would add it to the mashed potatoes and mix it all in, mixed it into a mushy mess lol, and baked it. I added alot of fish so it was more fish than potato. I really liked it and it did the job, it was pretty easy to get down and was filling. You could doctor it up, use different fish or even chicken, different cheeses and even veggies. Hope this helps a little. Have you tried the brand "Pure Protein" Protein shakes? they come in powder and also pre made ones in cans. I cannot stand the taste of powdered protein, it literally makes me nauseous. But the pre-made shakes don't have that whey taste. They're similar to slim fast shakes taste wise. I have a hard time eating in the morning so I have a shake for breakfast everyday. Sometimes I pour the can into a blender with ice and add frozen fruit to bulk it up, it makes it taste even better too. Or I'll add a scoop of non-fat low sugar ice cream. These cans certainly helped me out of my hating protein shakes funk. Good luck!

Hi there I was wonder if having to burp for hours after eating is common? Does this mean something? eating too much too fast?? I have noticed it more after my last fill. I would welcome any comments or suggestions. Thank you Sue

Hi all... Today is Day 6 of my two week pre-op liquid Protein fast... I have been doing the pre-made shakes for work and when I am out and about... at home, I use the powder because I can mix it with ice cubes and make it a little thicker... but it still needed something. Today, I picked up some sugar free Hershey choc syrup... only 15 cal and 5 gr of carbs for two tablespoons. One squirt makes a HUGE difference in my choc shakes... MUCH more satisfying. Oh, and I use skim or almond milk (almond milk has only 40 cal for a cup) and it makes it more filling as well. I alternate between the filling choc above, or I use the GNC mixed berry powder with 1 c. milk, about 4 ice cubes and 1/2 c. frozen mixed berries. The addition of the frozen berries and milk make it SO much more filling and satifying... I only do one shake a day like this though... my dinner one. Gives me something to look forward to while my family is eating pasta! )

i feel fabulous and really feel like i'm right on track. i am incredibly thankful that my GI issues are minor and i haven't had anything more than a few burps here and there. i feel blessed that SO FAR, my intake of my Protein shakes is easy and goes pretty fast too. so far no problems getting my fluids or protein, doing one of these 32 oz shakes in the AM and one in the PM and this meets my protein requirements. i don't know if 30 minutes is good, bad, fast, slow, etc for having my shakes and i'm not 'gulping' huge amounts, just drinking comfortable amounts. how is everyone else doing? anyone else around 11 days out?

Hi everyone. Just wanted to put down my experience for that first week for those who need lifting up. =) My personal experience was hell. Now that doesn't mean yours will be. I see people on here all the time who have truly stellar experiences! But for those of us who didn't. Here I am! Firstly, if you've read my story, you know I"m a liver patient, more than a bariatric patient. In the hospital I had trouble with pain control, blown IV's and pretty much just existed on Water. I was there for two days. I had made my own bone broth and Jello and brought it with me. I didn't even use it I was sick. However, after I got home I felt somewhat better. I had to find a comfortable way to lay on my back. That never happened. In the OR while laying on my back something shifted. It still isn't quite right. I attribute that from my Spondylitis in my SI joint. Chiro hopefully and my massage therapist will be able to help. Anyway, I was nauseated quite a lot the first few days and in a drug induced stupor. I threw up the second night home. That was a horrible experience. I am not one of those people who "ralph" very well. I think it was s combination of taking my liquid pain meds too fast. THEN I did my incentive spirometer, but I think I sucked in air. And out everything came! So be careful with that. That was day two, at home. I pushed through day three with a vengeance, because my grandmother always told me day three of a surgery is always the worst. And it has been. Day four was better....everything seemed clearer and I was able to drink more effectively and even take a few liquid supplements. Not all, but some. Day five. I felt this burst of energy. It was crazy. Mind was willing, body was not! So I walked around the house. Did try to bend, not a good idea... LOL. I was able to get all my Vitamins down this day. I was really proud of myself. But I was still short on the liquids. Day six. Weakness.... I just felt like a wet noodle. I think it was from not getting in the requisite amounts of Protein and liquids for as many days. Day seven. One week post-op. Woo! I finally "felt" hungry. Liquids didn't seem to be cutting it and I started craving fish. Which is a big deal for me because my liver disease had taken all hunger pains away for the past two years. I called my doc's office and asked if I could tolerate the foods on Phase 3 if I could have them? They said yes. I was over the moon about that. Not knowing what I was getting myself into. LOL Day eight. I decided to order the fish. I got sea scallops. And mashed potatoes. I was able to eat the scallop and about a teaspoon of mashed potatoes. It was heaven, it was also hell... I felt way full. I can tell you what they say about "real" food protein staying with you longer, is the truth. These Protein shakes don't last long. I am still drinking two a day to get enough protein in. Day nine. Same weakness. I just feel so weak. All over. And thirsty all the time. Ate scallop and potatoes again for one meal. Still got in all the vitamins. And today, day ten. I still feel weak. I'm hoping this will pass when I am able to actually get in all the protein at least a week in a row. I'm thinking the body has gone into survival mode or something. Two things. I had a bowel movement without taking anything on the second day home, and then again on day five. So I'm not going to take anything unless I have to. Second thing. I found this protein supplement called Reserveage, they taste awesome! Mix very well. Come in vanilla and chocolate. So that has become my go to supplement for protein. I still get individual packets of different flavors to shake things up a bit. I have an order into unjury that hasn't shown up yet. I'll let you know how that tastes when it gets here. So I hope this helps someone. Keep pushing though those first days. It does get easier. I'm excited about the future. =) Have a great day!

I can't go too fast, but I like to use the incline to burn more calories. Since it is a cardio workout, do you have a way to monitor your heart rate to keep it in the ideal range for your age? Only thing with the incline is that the sides of left heel start to bother me after awhile--think I may have a few sore tendons from over doing it when I started.

i read where people have been on this and lost 25-40 within their first couple of months. I know exactly what you are going through. I had my surgery on Aug. 18 and have only lost 17 pounds. I am always reading on this site where people have lost alot more weight and here I am stuck on 17 pounds. I am on my 3rd fill with 7cc in my 9cc band. I am also really bummed and wonder if this band is even going to work for me. Unlike you, I AM able to exercise. I walk 4 miles every other day (but since the kids are finished with cheerleading and football), now I will be down to 2 miles a day due to gas prices and not wanting to run out my gas so fast. It seems that no matter what I do, I can't get this weight off and it is really driving me NUTS!!!!

I hear ya!!!! My 6 months started on 3/8, and waiting is not fun. I figured it would go by fast, but wow time is dragginngggggg! I should have waited until now to quit the Diet Coke- which to me has been the hardest part!! It seems like all I do is go to the doctor. When I have my surgery, I am also having my ovaries removed and a bladder sling thing done. One surgery, versus three. I was already hitting my out of pocket max this year, so I figured i might as well. Luckily the docs are all good with it- but getting all the prep appts for all three surgeries is CRAZY. I have never been to the doctor more in my life lol! Happy Waiting.

Hi, these 2 weeks has been very different, and taking some time to getting use to. Learning to eat has never been so difficult and once you intake the small portion you realize oooh my I can't eat anymore. I wasn't sure if I couldn't take no more or I didn't want anymore lol. I'm now on a full liquid diet not bad at all; but I get full extremely fast. If your newly out like myself hows it going for you.

I have no idea why I think I can keep doing this to my body. Three weeks ago I had most of my stomach taken out and then today I had two teeth pulled (one on the left and one on the right). To be honest, I think the teeth pulling was worse than the sleeve. At least I got good drugs with the sleeve surgery. Also, I had better doctors who were nice and caring. This doctor was fast and rough and I only like that every once in a while (wink) but not in a doctor's office with a man I don't know. I figure if you voluntarily go into a place where people actually hold you down while another person does soemthing to you, you probably aren't going to enjoy it very much and if you do enjoy it, it's probably not something we should be talking about on here. Needless to say, my mouth hurts and both sides are swollen. The cold liquids feel good but the idea of trying to eat any type of pureed food right now isn't sounding to good. So, because I am not feeling very comical today I wanted to take this time to thank you all for reading my blog. When I started this, I figured no one would really read it but it would give me an out to vent and talk about going through this in a funny way. It was therapy in a way. We all know that if our family members haven't been through it, they really don't understand what we're going through. That's not to say they don't try, but unless you go through it all, you can't understand the ups and downs of our emotions and our scales. That is if you even have a scale. I'm still a little ticked my husband hid mine from me. LOL So, thank you. Thank you all for taking the time and reading my crazy rants. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Thank you to all the people who leave me comments. I really look forward to reading what you have to say and I love knowing that I can make your day a little better with my words. As long as I can make someone laugh, then I've done my job. So, I will keep writing if you keep reading. Let me know if there is anything that bothers you while going through this and maybe I can write about going through the same thing. Now with all that mushy stuff out of the way, I am going to go ice my face and hope that my body doesn't start turning against me. I have promised it that I won't take anything else out of it (that I know of). Hopefully that promise will keep it working for a little bit longer. But for now, I need to give it what it wants...REST!!! Tomorrow I promise to write something a little more comical and sleeve based....if my body lets me, who knows, my fingers may go on strike because of the teeth. I'll have to wait and see.