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I have hypothyroidism and hope that it won't prevent, slow down, or stall weight loss too much. Keep us posted. Wishing you all the best! I hope you get a speedy surgery date and all goes smoothly! God Bless! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hello everyone, I had the RNY Gastric Bypass Surgery on June 20, 2016. My weight at my first surgery consultation was 288 lbs. My weight after my pre surgery diet was 265 lbs. Today, October 22, 2016, I am 213 lbs. So far, so good! I'm happy! I can't exercise because I have vascular necrosis of the right hip. One of the purposes of getting the surgery is to be approved for hip replacement surgery. My orthopedic surgeon wanted me to loose at least 100 lbs in order to not damage the prosthetic hip and also to alleviate any risk of infection. Since my bypass surgery, it's still hard for me to digest any kind of meat, Pasta, rice or bread. But, I think this will eventually reverse it's self. I hope so, because I really loved meat! It's so nice to have your "skinny" clothes "bag" and "sag" on you!! If you want a more detailed account of my weight loss journey, please go to my YouTube channel at Valerie Chowdhury. Sent from my SM-N910T using the BariatricPal App

Today I had my 4 month post surgery checkup. I am no longer in the obese category! Per my doc’s PA I have lost 62% of my excess weight. She said that their goal for all patients is to make it under a bmi of 30 and I am now 28.73. Woohoo for just being overweight!! Can’t wait to see what month 5 brings along with the new year. Let’s do this!! [emoji851][emoji1392][emoji1322]‍♀️[emoji322][emoji323]

No worries, this won't be a full recap of my life. I just feel that my story is one that should be shared because of how the band changed my life and then unfortunately had to be removed 4 years later. Before I jump into the story I will say that if you are feeling ANY unusual pain - not necessarily in your port area or stomach - see your surgeon. We have a foreign object in our bodies and it's not unusual for our bodies to try and reject it... Before the band: I've been overweight my entire life. Like many others I couldn't latch onto the right tools to lose that unwanted weight. My level of discipline is something that I continuously struggle to build up - especially when it comes to food. I was an anxious kid who turned to food in times when I needed comfort or was under stress. Although I was always active - playing multiple sports throughout life - I couldn't seem to maintain a healthy weight. My junior year of college was spent abroad in Italy. It was there that I gained a new confidence in myself and my abilities. I've always been an outgoing and confident person but it took experiencing another culture to make me feel like I had the control to make a change in myself. When I got home I went to the initial lap band seminar to get an overview. From there on it was a whirlwind of appointments and all that pre-op stuff we all had to go through. Four months after that seminar I was in for surgery - November 2009. At the time I was one of the youngest to get the band - only 21 years old. Life with the band: It felt like the weight was melting off of my body. I barely worked out the first year with the band and had lost the first 40 pounds with almost no physical effort. I changed the way I was eating, that's for sure. The band did its job - it restricted how much I could eat, how quickly I was eating and just made me more conscious of the choices I made. I noticed that every time I was getting a fill, I could barely eat for the following days. Looking back, I don't think that's the right way to do it but in my mind I was thinking, "great, here's an easy 3-4 pounds gone." I became a better me. As the weight fell off, I became even more confident in all areas of my life. I had my first serious relationship, I was fiercely going after my career goals and just felt happier and healthier of course. It became harder to lose weight as I got closer to my goal weight (which by the way, I'm still not quite there). I added in exercise and it helped me shed more pounds. As of summer 2010 (year and a half post-surgery), I wasn't able to get anymore fills. I had a fill where almost immediately after the solution was injected I started to feel back pain. They sent me home anyway and told me to come back if it worsened. Oh boy did it ever... it turned into radiating pain throughout my entire body. My jaw, neck, legs, everything. I couldn't even drink water. So, they took the last fill out and I returned to normal state. They couldn't really explain why the pain was occurring other than maybe my band was at its max capacity at 10cc's. So needless to say after that experience, I stayed away for a year. I didn't want to go through that pain and felt that my band was telling me that it has done its job and now its my turn. After a year of unsuccessful weight loss, I went back for another fill but had the same experience. The doctor took even more solution out this time just to see how my body would react. It was around summer of 2012 when this back pain really began. It was the same pain I was feeling when I had the fills that needed to be removed. It's pain that starts in the mid to upper back and then radiates throughout my lower back and through my sides...almost always coinciding with nausea and after I ate something. In the back of my mind, I knew it had to be from my band. I was only 24 years old and shouldn't be feeling that kind of pain. But of course, like many of us do, I dealt with the pain for months hoping it would go away. I altered my desk and computer at work thinking it was my posture. I tried changing how I was sleeping. And by this point, I was on a serious workout regiment - a lot of weight lifting and hard cardio so I thought it could be from that. The turning point: During Fall and winter of 2012 I had back pain every single day. Some days it was so debilitating that I'd have to leave work. The only remedies were laying down on my back and wait for the pain to subside or occasionally ib profeun. The pain and frustration brought me to tears. It was affecting my life at work and my social life (not fun having an episode while you're out to dinner with friends). So in April 2013 I decided it was time to just make a call to my primary care doctor. I needed to start somewhere. I was in the middle of an "attack" at work and walked outside to call my doctor because I was so fed up. They couldn't see me that day so they sent me to the night clinic the next day. I explained my situation and also happened to mention that many of the women in my family have had their gallbladders removed. While he didn't seem to think it was my gallbladder (because of my young age) he decided to "rule it out" by scheduling an ultrasound for me the following day. I had the ultrasound. The tech was awfully quiet and wouldn't share my results with me. They had me wait as the results were sent to the referring physician. Then, they told me the doctor was on the phone and needed to speak with me. "You have huge stones!" he said. "And we need to remove your gallbladder immediately." I couldn't believe it. At that moment, I was relieved that I knew something was wrong and that I followed through to find the solution but I was scared too. So I thought that the gallstones were the cause of all my pain. But then, I scheduled a pre-op consult with my bariatric surgeon so he could perform the gallbladder surgery. He wanted to remove my gallbladder the next day. "No problem, see ya then" type of conversation. But before he walked out of the room he happened to ask how my band was doing and I said, "eh." I told him my suspicions for the cause of back pain were initially due to the band. Because of that he insisted that while I was there they should just see how much fluid is in the band. Thank goodness he did! What went wrong: The doctor pulled out brown fluid from my band. "Hmmm..." he said. He tried again just to be sure he made it into the port and didn't collect fluid from stomach cavity instead. I've never seen him lost for words or for explanation. He sat down and stared at the brown fluid and said he had never seen anything like it. The brown fluid suggested that there may be an infection somewhere but that would mean that somehow there was a puncture in the band itself and therefore stomach fluid was leaking inside the band creating a bacteria. He sent the fluid for culture testing immediately and shipped me down to radiology for a CT scan so he could see a full picture of the band. Hours later, he came in the room and said that the band looked unharmed. Therefore, he had no idea what was causing the bad fluid. We discussed taking the band out. And since I felt like it wasn't working for me anymore anyway, he was most comfortable with taking the whole thing out. Back in the OR: So 10 days from my first call to my primary care, I was back in the OR. And not only was my gallbladder being removed, we were also taking out my band in the same surgery. I was scared of course but also praying for pain relief. And it was unnerving that the doctor wasn't even sure what he was going to find when he got in there. When I came to, I was in the exact same recovery room that I was in just 4 years ago! Itching like crazy again because apparently I'm allergic to morphine and a little more uncomfortable than when I got my band in. The doctor came to explain what he found and how he removed the band. Gallbladder was no issue, he removed it and moved onto the band. He found that the band part that is wrapped around the stomach (the part that restricts your intake), had eroded into my stomach lining. The CT scan didn't show him this part of my body so he was surprised to find this. In his thousands of patients, I was the first he had seen this happen to. There was no research to back up his findings. We're still not sure how this happened or why. Even better, the way he took the band out... he cut it into pieces and then removed it through my mouth. Yuck! Needless to say, the recovery process was more difficult because of the two surgeries and complications with removing the band. They had me there for almost 2 full days because of all the follow-up tests they needed to provide to be sure my esophagus and stomach weren't leaking. Another CT scan, a barium swallow a JP drain and 2 days of itching from pain meds later...they let me go home. Life after the band: I can't believe it's no longer part of me. For so long I felt like it was my safety blanket. I'm disappointed that it didn't get me further and that it caused me so much pain. The gallstones were just a coincidental find that led to finding the real issue with my band. I'm almost 4 months out from surgery and have adjusted fine to life without a band. It's what I learned while I had the band that is making me maintain weight. My discipline is stronger than it's ever been but needs to be even stronger when it comes to nutrition. The back pain has subsided and I no longer anticipate feeling like that on a daily basis. I'm still working toward my goal weight and almost there! Moral of the story: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! I waited too long to see my doctor about the pain. I suffered for months and months because part of me didn't want to know the truth. I was scared that it was the band's fault because the band had given me so much and I didn't want to believe it. So if you're feeling any unusual pain, anywhere, just talk to your doctor. And tell them everything. If I hadn't mentioned family history of gallstones then I might never have had the ultrasound and therefore never have gone back to bariatric surgeon when I did.

Great information. I had my band for almost 3 years. I got my band at 24yrs old. I lost more than my goal weight. From 230lbs I got to 137lbs happy as can be and with no exercise. I got pregnant and needed to get my band unfilled due to hard pregnancy. I gained 60lbs I had my baby 9 months ago today and I only lost 25lbs. I been going back and forth to get fills and unfills for the past 6 months. Last unfill was in April because I had extreme acid reflux and would wake up from my sleep chocking with vomit in my mouth. I finally got tired of sleepness nights and went to dr today! My band has slipped pretty bad. They unfilled completely and hoping my stomach goes back into place. I also have gallstones and I thought that was the reason why I was so sick. Im so devastated that my band slipped. Im scared of gaining weight I dont know what to do.

It really does get better! My husband had his surgery 2 weeks before me and its like we are both different people in the bed now! Can't wait till we lose more weight to see how much more fun we have... Lol

Well, I know every doctor is different but that sure isn't what mine said. In fact, he said if you go back to eating the wrong foods, even in small amounts, you won't lose much at all after a while. I've read in a couple of places that the majority of people only lose like 40% of their "excess" weight. I would imagine that's because they eat the wrong foods. My doctor told me to eat lean meat and vegetables and stay away from breads, potatoes, Pasta, anything fried....basically eat the way we've always known we should be eating. He did say that it's ok to splurge once in a while, but you can't eat "normal" and lose. I was on vacation last week and it was that week before my first fill and I was hungrier than I had been. I ate more normal foods, but in very small portions and gained 3 pounds! Since I've been back home, I've been back on my "plan" and lost that 3 pounds already. I got my first fill yesterday and am very excited with how full I am on just liquids! The nurse said it would probably be Monday, when I'm back on solids before I really noticed it, but I have had one 4 oz. Protein drink, Water and 1/2 cup of tomato Soup all day and feel very full. I wish it felt like this all the time!

Wow! Absolutely stunning wild life photos John! They look good enough to be on the cover of a magazine or in a calendar. Are you a professional photographer? If not, you could probably do very well in that area!$!$ Your weight loss is incredible! Great job! I think you're right about maintaining at 200lbs. You are looking very slim! Measure those biceps, triceps, deltoids and everything else before you start shaping.... you've proven you can succeed and I bet the results will be stunning. All the best,

Mommymj1, You are going to have days like that. Days you totally get off track. The main point is not to have tooooooooo many days like that. I have had those days myself (my weakness chips and chocolate). But I have to say that the band has limited my craving so much. When I do eat these, I am only able to eat very, very little. Not enough to make a difference, (I have great restriction after only 2 fills) it slows down my weight loss very little. With in a few days after that I lose quite a bit. The point is when you see yourself getting off track, the next day get right back on track with a vengence!!!!! So you made a mistake...............we all do. Pick up your feet, dust them off, and keep pushing forward.

I agree I think it was mean of them to do that to you. They do know that it is not healthy to eat right? If they do not already have a weight problem that is a good way to start. I know been there done that!

Hello fello Aussies I am from Australia as well..... I am currently 90 kilos was 95 kilos but I have been on opti for 2 weeks surgery next Tuesday yahhhhhhhhhh so I just qualified I am 1.68 tall so I am probably on the smaller size for weight loss surgery but as I told my doctor I have to get off this merry go round of yo yo dieting let me just say after being on opti for 2 weeks enjoy your food while you can cause right now I could go a big Mac lol

Congrats on the 100 lb weight loss...that is major!!!

Same here , I'm type one and worried about slow weight loss.

Like everything regarding diets and weight loss, ask here and get a million different answers. I wasn't given a carb limit or number. I was given a calorie range. Along with my protein and fluid goals that is the only limitation my nutritionist gave me. I do not eat low carb and my NUT doesn't push it. However I do pay close attention to the source of my carbs. Plant based carbs I don't worry about. I avoid "white carbs", like those found in breads, pastas, white rice and refined sugar. I try to eat as cleanly as possible. No "diet" food . On the occasions I use butter, I use real butter. However those occasions are few and far between. I buy plain yogurt and add my own fruit. I eat whole plants and grains. I am never constipated and have been losing steadily.

I have a sister that went from one extreme to another. She was over 400lbs when she started and lost over 200lbs in less then a year. She is over 6ft tall and she got so obsessed with food and weight that once she hit goal weight she still wouldn't eat and began starving herself and this lead her to be put in the hospital and her organs started shutting down. They fed her intravenous for weeks and she had to take a lot of vitamins and drink protein. You need to speak to a nutritionist and find out how many calories you need for your body to function correctly

OMG! I can't believe I found another "me"! I had first RNY in 04/2003, highest weight EVER was at least 275. Surgery weight was 255, maintained at 145ish, after plastics, UNTIL, I developed an ulcer at the anastomosis of stoma site. Long story short- couldn't eat/drink, ended up in hospital for almost 4 months, on IV Nutrition, lost down to 98 lbs. Had to have ulcer removed, bypass site was "altered"- 1/2005. Sooo many gastric issues developed over the next few years- histamine hernia, gastroparesis, severe GERD, adhesions, scar tissue, gained about 100 lbs- up and down, extreme PAIN. FINALLY, after 17 years, found a doctor that said he thought he could help. 8/2020 I had my bypass BYPASSED. Surgeon said that he'd never done a procedure exactly like mine, but, he felt like the bypass would give me the best chance at real relief. He was right. Im now down to 157 lbs, and feel great!! It CAN be done. Hasn't been easy. Definitely worth it!

Thanks for responding. Yes it's true there is a chemical imbalance in the brain. I used to go threw depression stages now I'm just super happy. My kids makes me happy. Losing weight super plus. I might not stay in this marriage but I will be happy slim & with my kids.

Thanks for the information, NYCPAULA! How is weight loss with the sleeve?

Luck!! My mind has been awful with it. I have some autoimmune issues already suffering with fatigue- took myself off those meds as I truly believe this surgery and weight loss will help- but in the process of jumping through hoops I've gained a bunch. And it's hot and humid and I don't do well with that. I feel like a whiner. I am . Really though- lots of luck and happiness sent your way :-)

I am doing everything I am supposed to do but sometimes I have restriction and can't eat and sometimes I don't so I may eat a little too much but overall not eating near what I was and I am not losing - it is weird to say but I feel like if I had eaten as few calories as I am now without the band I would have lost at least as much or maybe more - I was banded on June 27 and I think I am down about 10 lbs. I went in for one fill but had a sinus infection so I only got 1 cc and should have gotten another .5 so I am getting it next Monday maybe that will help. I get depressed about how slow it is coming off and I feel guilty if I eat because I want to lose weight so badly. This is just a venting post more than anything. Thanks.

You can be losing inches and not weight.

You should definitely be trying to build or maintain your muscle during "losing" -- you'll have lots of extra skin if you don't -- more than likely there'd be loose skin with such a big weight loss anyway - but w/out weight training it will be even more -- it helps your body work for itself and burn calories even when you're not exercising. If the stomach is still fat & not loose skin - have patience - it will eventually fall off. Good Luck!

I feel the same way as you all-i was banded may 22, 2008 and filled twice and to date only lost 18lbs. I have gained faith from reading on this site that as the fills approach 4-6cc that the weight loss increases. So I am going to hang in there plus my husband just got a new gym in our basement so my body is going to be moving more and losing more. :thumbup: Thanks for all the info everyone-

I don't avoid carbs, I avoid highly processed or refined carbs (bread, Pasta, rice, sugar). But I eat plenty of fruit, Beans and lentils. I average about 80g-90g a day. Sometimes as high as 110g-115g. I have lost extremely fast, so I can't imagine the carbs slowed my weight loss at all. I've lost 162lbs in a little less than 8 months.

Congratulations on being so persistent and dedicated to your new journey! I just turned 60 and a few weeks before my birthday I got the sleeve. I chose it because it's less invasive, even though my starting weight was 361, which is pretty high on the spectrum, 5 months out now and I'm two pounds away from my 100-pound mark. Just keep asking questions and choose whichever surgery you feel comfortable with. I'm so glad I chose the sleeve but agree with one of the posters who mentioned something about problems with heartburn, which started in my sixth week, but has really gotten so much better. My doctor has me on famotidine which is less problematic for the future. I only take it when I really need it. Good luck! Sent from my LG-H740 using the BariatricPal App