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I agree with the above entirely. The only thing I look at, if I feel the need to, is the surgery date and their current BMI. That gives me a good indicator of progress.. But since I passed month 5, I've even given up doing that. Horses for courses. But and for your information - I'm 5ft 10

That's not fair. You can't discount everything someone writes because of age. Sometimes younger folks have it together quite well. I believe the person you are writing to does have it together, she merely disagrees with you. As I do. Destroying your metabolism? Not possible. It is quite literally impossible to have a destroyed metabolism and live through it. It's another dieting myth. Yes, it is harder to lose weight at 45 vs. 19 for many people but that isn't due to a destroyed metabolism. Having a band does not change your metabolism, it changes the quantity of food you eat. If what you say is true, a band would do you no good whatsoever because you could eat 12 calories a day and still gain weight. If people could just lose weight and get healthy on their own, people like you and me wouldn't need a band. For WHATEVER reason, (call it anything you wish, no self esteem, lazy behaviors, no will power, chemical imbalances, biological issues, physical problems...) it doesn't happen. Sometimes people need help and these issues are just as real for teens as they are we old folks at the ripe old age of 45. To say someone should just try harder because while they have the same exact problem as you and I, they are younger so they need to suffer through it the way the rest of us did is just simply morally wrong and unfair. We should want better for younger people, we should want them to learn from our mistakes, not their own. Not when it can be prevented. It is NO easier for a 15 year old to lose weight when they have the SAME problems as you and I as it is for you and I. I sincerely believe you called this one wrong on several levels.

wasabubblebutt, and all, You are correct. A "destroyed" metabolism isn't a good description. I believe it is that you can slow your metabolism way down by bad dieting habits over the years. Eating certain foods and no exercise and your metabolism will be slower then a person who eats good food and exercises. Most of us on this forum probably have slowed our metabolism down to a crawl before the band. The minute you "diet" your metabolism crawls because most of he time your body thinks it is in starvation mode. And I was NOT discounting what she said just because she was 19. But to say "I know it all" is a common example of a 19 year old point of view, and the fact that certain parts of the brain do not mature until 25 (like the part that says 'look before you leap because you may not like where you land') is a fact (at least in the latest 'discoveries')). So, age does have to do with perspective on things and giving advice. I do not believe that the person is unintelligent or anything like that. You know, what you said is true, IF a 15 year old is going through what we are...but that could NEVER be the case because we are NOT 15. And she is NOT 45. I didn't have this done at certain ages because i was not 'ready". You have to exhaust all avenues first. surgery is and should always be a LAST choice. (although i am NOT promoting "dieting" but a change of lifestyle). She would have to have a change of life style AFTER the band anyway, or she will just get fat again or not lose much to begin with). All i am saying is that in the teenage years, IF she made the other changes , truly made the other changes, she probably would not need the band, because having bad habits for 10 years is not as bad as having them for 30 or 45 years in some folks cases. Most of us have found the dedication after the band, because it helped us with discipline (pre-op diet even started this) and we learned nutritional information (some in classes pre-op and from this forum, and in general as we have become more dedicated). Yes, the feeling full helped, but it is alot easier to keep to 300 calories until dinner then it was before the band because i eat better food to fill that void (yes the void is smaller). But, I could eat ice cream at lunch instead of my fat free yogurt that is 60 cal. i could eat that snickers instead of the fat free pudding that is 100 cals for snack. But again, we are not 15. When I needed to lose at 15, and even 20, 25, whenever i felt i had gained, i would have discipline and ate less and worked out more. At one time, I had a gym for he weekend and a gym for during the week. I got fat when I stopped watching what I ate, stopped working out and got a sit down job, and all the self esteem issues were smothering me all at once. I should have taken care of those self esteem issue FIRST, when young, and paid attention more to me so that as i got older and life didn't go my way, I could have handled it better. I believe, and I truly do, that a teens self esteem needs to come from within FIRST, then deal with the body issues. I got the band, because I dealt with the "me" first. Or I wouldn't have been successful, thus far. I realize that each of us is unique and do not have the exact same issues as all bodies are unique. Some heal quicker, some heal slower etc. But the one thing that is most common is the lumping of age groups. As a rule, 15 year olds will lose easier then 25 year olds. 15 year olds will run rings around 35 year olds. easy? no. easier? yes. The band is good, but surgery isn't. I don't believe, and this is just MY belief, that at 15, such a young age, not even really out of puberty yet, body changing so dramatically still, one could explore all avenues honestly and wholeheartedly and still come up with surgery as the only answer. Would you let your child get lasix surgery done at 15 (IF you could get a doctor to perform it at that age)knowing her eyes haven't fully developed/grown? Why should her stomach be so different? Because we are sensitive to it? Because we made mistakes as youths (and it wasn't NOT getting the surgery) so why should she? I will shut up now,, (I know you are saying (finally lol)) and will not reply no matter what (lol).

Hey Robgoblin87, for 19 you sure are one smart kid! Jx

Well your surgery is still fresh. My doc kept me on clear liquids first 10 days post op. If you puke early you can get a leak so don't push. Water is he only importance right now for you. I am 14 days post op and he added cream soup 4 days ago. In 4 days I have tried it twice. Our taste and want have changed but enjoy it because we will not feel like this forever and should take advantage of the rapid weight loss

My surgery was 8/10 and I lost 32lbs in the first 4 weeks, but have not lost anything in 2 weeks Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had an aggressive fill yesterday. I drank a hot slim fast for dinner around 7:00. I went to sleep about 10:30 and kept waking up, coughing and choking. I did not pb or slime but I ended up sleeping with lots of pillow at my back so I was somewhat sitting up. The coughing scares me. Today i had small coffee, and a cup of tea. I also have been drinking a warm slim fast over the last three hours. Since i just had the fill, I would like to tough it out and see if things loosen up. However, that coughing...I am going to have nothing to drink after 6:00 tonight in hopes I won't repeat last nights experience. My chest is pretty tight right now. Any advice?

You may not want to stock up on post-op foods just yet. I remember my taste buds being out of whack for a few weeks and things I liked pre-op just didn't taste the same. Pre-op, I bought a case of chicken Soup - 6 months later, I gave it away. I never want to see chicken soup again! :-p You will also be surprised at how little you are going to eat post-op. I had to keep reminding myself of that when I was planning for post-op eating. My 1st 10 days, post-op meals consisted of sugar free popsicles, sugar free Jello and Crystal Light. If I were to do it over again, I'd buy a few bottles of my favorite Protein shakes, sugar free jello, and sugar free popsicles and maybe some chicken broth.

Well, today is March 19, 2007. I got up this morning and gave myself an I V anti-biotic. I took three more anti-biotics orally. I will repeat this process every eight hours all day, for at least the rest of this week. On March 8th I went to the hospital to be banded. Everything went well. I remember waking up in recovery thinking, wow, the pain really isn't that bad. I remember going to my room for my overnight stay. I was happy that the worst was over, and that I would finally have control over my out of control weight gain. Sometime later that evening, I was given ice chips to let melt, and that was when I knew something was bad wrong. As the liquid hit my stomach, I felt a searing hot pain spread from my stomach to my left side. The pain continued unabated all night long. I took morphine every time it was allowed and counted the minutes until I could get more relief from what I know was the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life. Sometime in the middle of the night I spiked a temperature of 102.9. I knew this wasn't normal either. In the morning I was taken for a sip test. (btw, that stuff tastes terrible) A few minutes later I was back in my room still in pain. My doctor came to my room and told me the sip test had revealed a hole in my stomach. Gastric juices and Water had been leaking into my abdomin all night. At 2:30 that afternoon, I went back to surgery. The band was removed, and the hole was repaired. I spent the next three days in TCU with an NG tube keeping my stomach empty. During that three days all I had was ice chips. On the Monday after my surgery I was taken back downstairs for another sip test to insure that the hole had been repaired. After finding no leaks, the NG tube was removed and I was given a clear liquid diet for a couple of days. During all this time I was also in the care of an infectious disease doctor, who cultured the stuff growing in my abdomin It was determined that I had a staf infection. On Thursday, eight days later, I was finally released from the hospital with a pic line.(sp) I have to continue on IV medications at home at least through the end of the week. Before I had surgery, I had done alot of research. I felt that this option was the safest option out there, and it may be. The point I guess that I am making is that nothing is for sure. I don't know where I will go from here. I have a lot of thinking and healing left to do. I know the band has been a blessing for many people, but it very nearly killed me. For those of you about to be banded I wish you luck, and pray for you to be successful. I have dealt with being overweight practically all of my adult life, and understand the desperation people feel over these issues. Just understand that odds of 200:1 are pretty good as long as you are not the "1". Regards, Keith

This past Wednesday night I had my sleep study. I was feeling a little apprehensive because everyone that told me about them said its not a good night's sleep since they are constantly interrupting you and I already have problems sleeping because the slightest interruption keeps me up for hours. Well...like I constantly read on this site, everyone is different with this process, because I slept like a baby and was only interrupted by a full bladder that screamed for release around 3am. Getting up in a hotel without the comforts of my home was the worst part for me, but I slept like a rock. The technician told me I had slight sleep apenea because I only stopped when I was in REM and lying on my back and it was brief. She is not sure if I will have to be treated or come back for the 2nd appointment they have scheduled for 9/9 but I guess by the end of this upcoming week I will find out. On Monday, Mr. Wilson decided it was time to change our morning routine and started working out with me. I know his reason is hoping it will deter me from having the operation but I appreciated it because he got me motivated to do something that has to become a norm for me eventually. I didnt realize I was so out of freakin shape! After a brisk 10 minute walk on the treadmill I was sweating like I had been chased by 10 hungry lions. I hate the treadmill. It sits in my basement and the entire time I am on it I just look around at the laundry that needs to be done or stuff that should be put away. It bores the hell out of me. By the 3rd day I told him I was bored and we needed to mix it up because it became very obvious to me that he didnt have anything really planned and he was just "winging it" so on Wednesday morning we went to the track and I walked a mile. Before I gained the extra weight that aggravates my back walking was my exercise of choice and the track was my best friend. It felt good to be out there and although my back ached, I finished it. Since I had the sleep study on Wed and wasnt home on Thursday we didnt exercise (when I talked to Mr. Wilson later in the day he confessed he didnt exercise without me) and since then, we have both been so tired from work, the old routine returned. I think I am going to just order the Walk Away the Pounds DVD because I had used the VHS tape in the past and I loved it. Leslie Sansonne really made it funny and easy. I would rather do the tape with my daughter at home than workout with Mr. Wilson because he expects me to go at his pace instead of my own and right now, its just imperative that I do it! This week I also got a new person in my office to provide assistance with work. She had gastric and formed a quick comradery with the other woman in my office that had it. A conversation was started with me and the other pre op coworker who is getting gastric when I told her about my sleep study and the new girl shared her story. She said she had been 315 but never shared her current weight. She admitted gaining some weight back and is very bottom heavy but I imagine she is around 200 because she is small at the top and her ID picture shows her with a much fuller face. She talked about how many of her other friends had gastric and how great it was. She then looked at me and said, she didnt mean to be negative (whenever someone starts off with that line, you KNOWs something negative is coming out their mouth) but people she knew that had lapband was less successful, gained their weight back or didnt lose weight at all. I just looked at her and dismissed her words because I know gastric is not an option for me so it would be pointless to go back and forth with her because I have seen pictures on this website and read post of MANY successful lapband patients and know all and all my success is going to depend upon what I do or don't do. But you know what they say..opinions are like a** holes...everyone has one. Unless I have the 2nd sleep study, I am not due to do anything else until for another 3 weeks when I see the surgeon again. By then I hope to have lost the weight I gained when I saw him last and will be moving towards my final stages, which really is just my unscheduled $200 nutrionist appt and the sleep study doctor appt. After that I assume its just a matter of the insurance company approving the surgery and getting a date. In the meantime I will just continue to try to do as much as I can to prepare for the changes that may soon come.

I am almost 10 weeks post surgery. I have been doing really well - eating the right foods, being mindful of my new satisfied/full feelings...but tonight was a different story. I had a pretty big slice of cake. It didn't really even taste good - and I know I was full but continued to eat. I feel awful - not physically but really unhappy with my decision to do that. I was hoping that I would get some type of physical reaction to remind myself that my system is no longer capable of processing and handling that type of "food". And, in the past, when on a "diet", once I allowed myself something "restricted" then that was pretty much the end of a somewhat successful weight loss attempt. I know this may sound silly but I feel like I have already gained weight. I have a wonderful supportive husband but am too embarrassed to tell him what I did. And yes, I am planning to tell my therapist during my next appointment. But in the meantime, I had to get it off my chest and share this with you all. Has this happened to anyone else? If so, how did you make sure that it wasn't the beginning of returning to poor eating habits?

I can understand the hesitation with sharing. I didn't want to tell my mom or sister for many of the reasons you all listed but when I did tell them, I was TOTALLY surprised at their reactions. They are way more supportive than I could have imagined. Of course it is your decision whether or not to disclose but I've adopted the mentality that I am doing this for me. Who cares what they say? I know it's easier said than done but you really have to think about what matters to you. You are your first priority and have no reason to feel ashamed for taking control of your life. You said it yourself, they have no idea what it is like to be 100 lbs overweight so there is no way they could ever relate. Do you plan on ever telling them or will you keep it to yourself forever? Also, I have 2 sons ages 7 and 10 and I decided to tell them and I made sure to explain what was going on and why and to answered all of their questions. I even showed them one of the videos from www.weightlosssurgerychannel.com Check it out if you haven't already! Very informative,

I GUESS THE SAVEING GRACE FOR ME IS THAT I KEPT EXCERSISEING QUITE A BIT LIFTING 4 TIMES A WEEK AND CARDIO 4 HOURS A WEEK THATS PROBALY THE ONLY REASON I DIDNT GAIN 10 OR 15

Its s roller coster, its still very early stay on the plan. Your taste buds will level out and give yourself tine the weight will fall off. T has surgery 2/20/19 at 306lbs and today i am 191lbs. I went from a size 22 to a size 12. I thought early in that there was no way was going to lose a lot f weight and the out of no where the weight fell off. Hang in there

I felt that way a week before my surgery... the morning of I was questioning my sanity and my choice. I started self doubting. Could I really be successful? What if it doesn't work for me? Today I am 19 days post-op and I feel really good. I am learning to listen to my stomach and not my brain. Well and the fact that you can truly only eat so much...getting that actual "full feeling" is something I've never really experienced. It's still a bit scary but I know in my wart this was the right choice.

It's pretty normal, I had the surgery 10 days ago, and I didn't sleep that well in the nights leading up to the surgery. I'm pretty sure I was still thinking about backing out even as I changed into my hospital gown. It's fine, the first 24 hours suck, the second 24 hours aren't great, and then things improve really quickly.

I really like the Special K meal bar. They have 10 g Protein. edie Not the snack bar

Just thought I would post these really delicious Protein bars and if anyone else has favourites they recommend please tell us them. I use Protein Bars as a Meal Replacement several times a week if I am on the run or somewhere there is no good food choices to pick from. I only like them if they are really tasty and it satisfies my chocolate craving because they are solid they also keep me feeling full for a long time. My favourite so far is an energy bar called "six star body fuel" that has 15 g of protein. I love the double chocolate chip flavoured one that has a real brownie cake taste. It tastes best when you unwrap it and microwave on high for 10 seconds. It costs about $1.67 at the Real Superstores and at 45 grams it has only 170 calories. My next fave Protein Bar is "PowerBar triple threat", the Chocolate Caramel fusion flavour. It has 225 calories and 10 g of protein and is 53 grams. It sells for about $1.99 each at the Real Superstore. Donna VBG/87 Revised By Dr. Cobourn to Lapband/06 251/164/125 goal

I'm going through the pre-op testing in preparation for banding May 10. Today I had a chemical stress test. The cardiologist said the EKG portion looked great, and they would call with the results of the pictures. He warned me that in obese patients there are frequently "false positive" results. Sure enough, I got a call mid-afternoon by the doctor reading the tests who said there was a possibility of a small blockage, and that they only way to determine for sure if there is a blockage or if it is a false positive is to perform a cardiac catheterization. Has this happened to anyone else in band land? I've researched the cardiac cath and it sounds like it's major testing and more down time, and likely will push back my band date if I can't get one scheduled quickly. I'm very frustrated. Any insight, anyone? :help:

Honestly, I love to shop right now wherever the deals are! i find great buys at Kohls', Hamricks, Charlotte Rouse, anywhere!! And it's fun to pay less than $10 for tops. I find Walmart $15 jeans to be just as good a fit (I will say Lee's are about the only brand that I like in fit...) Sadly though, I owuld love to wear Buckles, but I find them to be fitted more for the juniors. Still too snug in the shldr/bust area even though I''m in a misses med/lg.

As if I were looking in the mirror...I found someone who put what I've been feeling into words. Except for the part about pre-surgery sourness. I never had that. But other than that...I couldn't have described that better myself! Wish I had a tip for you. But I think we're both at the same impass. I really hope there is another sleever out there who knows something more about it. I had my surgery on 09/29/10. I started at 250. Day of surgery I was 236. The last couple weeks I've hovered around 195. So I too have lost 55 lbs.

Sleeved 12/6/10, lost 56 lbs from my fattest, some before pre-op diet some during and the bulk after the sleeve. Gross and vague, but here are my symptoms. This week I have noticed that I have a slight tummy ache, just a little "sick" feeling in my stomach, more or less constant. Nothing debilitating and nothing I'd really call painful just a nuisance. Something between a sour stomach and a stomach ache. It's worse at night. I wouldn't say it was heartburn either as I take a tums and it doesn't really help. Burping helps but it never really goes away. I've also been plagued by frothy spit in the back of my throat and a coated tongue. I've "overeaten" ONCE and had a lot of pain that lasted maybe 10-15 minutes, felt like I was socked in the belly afterwards. So I know my present feeling isn't like that. As I noted elsewhere in the forums I am really turned OFF by food, so I most likely UNDER eating. I am also under a hell of a lot of stress at work - always have been and used to have mild stomach issues before the sleeve, so this all might just be the same thing but amplified because of the new size of my stomach. I'm not worried sick about it but am a bit concerned that it hasn't let up at all this week. Any theories?

when i got mine after surgery it was 2 weeks late. mine finally regulated after 2 cycles. and i have hard the first one lasts the longest. mine lasted 10 days

:sad0: Pennie; I am having a hard time too. Sometimes I am ok and other times....wow! I want to go to a cognitive behavioral therapist. Since I don't do drugs or alcohol the food was my DOC (drug of choice) and now my stomach is dictating to me what and how much I can eat. Since I have had this done (VSG 6/9/10) I feel like it is something I had to do because I was killing myself. Boy did it feel like I was dying...slowly. I feel like the Matthew 5:30; "If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell." I want to eat so much of the gooooooooooooooooooooooood food that is out there. Oh man. Now my addiction is controlling me. It won't let me eat certain things or I get a stomach ache or if I want to take more than 3 bites.....AHHHHHH!!!!:drool5: It's terrible. I know how you feel. I know it is necessary. I know I will feel better. But boy, can your mind make you crave. Now I have to do mental work on that! I know the boat you are in and you are not alone. Feel free to contact me anytime or even e-mail me if you need to talk. I need support too. This is tough. I knew it would be....but mannnnnnnnn! Tlynnles tlynnles4@yahoo.com VSG on 6/9/10 Dr. Aceves