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I actually have the same joint pain, I associated to maybe a need to add potassium into my diet. I do exercise 3-4 times a week, but I don't think is related to that. My surgery was 8/19/11 and I'm also down 38lbs.

I finally got a seminar in today. This is my 3rd try. Each time I went before they had changed the date and I did not know until I got there. My insurance requires that I do 6 months of WW(ect) while under the monthly care of my regular Dr. for weigh loss also. I started that about a week ago. So it will be awhile before I can have surgery. I also have to lose 10% of my body weight while on WW. I have tried many times to lose, even WW(weight watchers) but could only lose about 20 pounds then it would not move down anymore for nothing(weeks on end). So I know that this site is more for the lap band but what about the sleeve, anyone? The dr at the seminar says that he won't tell anyone which sugery to have but he made it seem like the sleeve was the better choice...he says is has less risk than the lap band and that he does about 35% lap band and 65% sleeve. He said that weigh loss was better with the sleeve. ......I am tore now as to which I might want to have done.

I started about over a year ago. I was taking 1cc of a higher concentrate every 2 weeks. I wasn't getting enough so they upped it to every 10 days and I was at a good level. Between 300 and 600 trough and peak. 200 is the lower limit 900 is the upper. You run a higher risk of prostate cancer with a VERY high level. Then I got sleeved. After a few months, I was feeling pretty enraged all the time, pissed at EVERYTHING, so I went in early for my check. My level went up to 1050! We cut back on the dosage to 1/2 CC. 8 weeks later and a few more pounds off I went back in, the level was 1200! I was like the incredible Hulk! Growling and snapping at everyone and everything. It see-sawed like this for bout 6 more months till I finally got the dosage right at 1/2 CC every 10 days of a half strength stuff. My top level fell to 600. To answer your question; It all depends. My problem is that I hardly produce any naturally. I probably have NOT all my life but until it started to fall off even MORE as I aged I started to feel the effects more pronounced. So in my case I will probably NOT be able to get off it. Your hubby may or may NOT be the same.

Hi Heather, your doing great. Yea I do a shake in morning too just cause I like doing shake for breakfast unless eating breakfast with friends, stuck to eggs when do. I don't really count calories so much but thinking about probably around 10 00 - most days. Honestly I habe not paid attention to carb count so I need to start keeping eye on that cause might be why at first plateau now. Have increased pace when walking for exercise & also increasing amount exercise more now too but thanks for mentioning carbs because I forgot about keeping in check also.

Sleeved 9/19, awesome recovery; able to get in all protein/water/vitamin requirements, back at work FT, etc., etc., trying to squeeze in a little walking in between hectic schedule. I'm hungry though! I thought I wouldn't be, but I'm at 2 weeks out and need some sort of solid food. I'm having 2 ounces of smoked salmon, and that holds me. I kind of skipped the week of puree/mush/cream Soups and have one "meal" of salmon or pureed ground turkey mixed in pureed chili -- about one half cup. Then I can get by with the Water and Protein shakes, but I was going crazy on all liquids, and broth wasn't cutting it. I lost 14 pre-op, 6 the first week, only 2 the second week. I know, I know, healing, not a race, don't compare, yada, yada, yada, but I feel like this is kinda slow for the first big month of loss! I expected a slowdown in month 2-3, not week 2-3!

Great day all! I was sleeved on 9/6. I'm feeling pretty good. I didn't take any pain meds yesterday. It's becoming easier to swallow.Im taking a chewable Multivitamin twice daily which I think is helping a lot with my energy levels. I am looking forward to eating with my family again. I have my post op appt on Tuesday. I plan to return to work on 9/19. Thanks for this thread! Female NC HW:280 HT:5'9" VSG:9/6/16

It's been 10 years since I had my VSG. I honestly never really think about the fact I've had surgery due to how long it's been. I'm used to eating small portions. I typically either share meals or order kids meals. I will admit there have been times when I'm eating somewhere that has amazing food that I really want mentally but my stomach says I have no more room. That rarely happens, maybe once a year.

I am really sucking at my diet. REALLY sucking. OK maybe not but I am still beating myself up. In addition to my three shakes and sensible dinner I had about 6 bites of sons potatoes this evening. Plus a piece of sausage and just had some fruit salad. The birthday weekend did not go well. I had a lot of wine on Saturday and had cake for breakfast Sunday morning. I am still down 10 pounds but am really worried that I haven't been perfect like I should. DAMMIT I have been starving. Pray for me Thursday when I HAVE to be on Meal Replacement drinks only. YUM.

Good luck with your new journey. Because of my age and my local hospital being taken over by a big Boston one, from my first appointment until my banding was 10 months. I survived. I went to all the monthly meetings and still do go to them. They are very helpful and you learn from other WLS people. Also, I have seen on this site that people do not go to their doctor's as much as they should. That is very important. Good luck to you and your mother. Arlene

Bungle69- Hakuna Matata- No Worries, you'll do great! I just had my band placed on 10/4. They had to give me double the anasthesia (apparantly, I was pretty fociued on the picture of my wife and kiddos in front of me!). Even with the extra amount, I thought recovery was no problem. I was pretty sore for the first 2 days, but it was very manageable. I took every suggestion that they gave me for quick recovery from anasthesia: Get up and move (even if it's slow!), take lots of deep, slow breaths (this expands you lungs and protects you from pnuemonia), and hold a pillow to your stomach and try to push out little coughs (this also helps get the anasthesia out and the lungs working best). The coughing was tough....but getting out of bed as much as I could without overdoing it felt very good. The Morphine in the hospital and the Percocet out of the hospital made for a big help with pain, too. I really feel great now...and it's only been 5 days! And to make it all worthwhile...I'm already down another 6 pounds. It's going to be just fine. Do you have somebody at the hospital with you...some "cheerleaders" and people who'll pray for you? That helps! Best of luck to you. Grace and peace to you today.

I had surgery October 10. I was 207 and 5'5".

I am 5'4 and weigh 208 I had a BMI 35 and I did not qualify but I paid cash so I had the surgery 10/24/2008

Today I hopped on my scales, and I am now 22 Ib (10 kg) away from my stretch goal! So, I am still losing weight, yay Bit slower now, but still losing!

@@doingitmyway Thank you! Yes, you have done great! The 8-10 Ibs per month loss is a good loss. I was told the same. With regular and steady loss (not super fast) I have healthy hair (no hair loss) and the only loose skin I have is in my upper arms. So, count your blessings. At 3 months post op I saw my face was changing and I could cross my legs, and the weight loss was noticeable. Now, at 6 months post op, the change is even bigger and better. You will get there. It takes time, but it happens. So, be happy to steadily plod along. All the best!

That's awesome. I'm 5 weeks out. I've lost 18 pounds, 26 if you include the preop diet. I was just cleared for exercise yesterday. I feel like I've barely lost anything but my doctor said I've done great and to expect 8-10 lbs a month if I'm working on it. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi everyone I'm 13 weeks out today and have lost 19 kg in total. Experiencing my 2nd stall nowadays. When did you guys have the 2nd stall? How long did it last and what helped you to break it? Thanx in advance x Sent from my SM-N960F using BariatricPal mobile app

Willowcat - You hit the nail on the head. If I lose the weight, I will no longer have that easy out of "it's not me, it's their bias against the weight. If I wasn't fat, they wouldn't reject me/treat me that way/ whatever." I am definitely going back to therapy! I was in therapy before, but after a point, just kept running into the obstacle of my weight and felt I needed to start dealing with that before I could really progress. I would recommend therapy for anyone who is interested in it - it does work if you are really committed to overcoming and changing! yes I use it as a barrier, a cusion, etc Yup this is me, My Dr Phil and what is your pay off......... I start counseling MONDAY! AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH I have had a rough day... confronting my eating disorder niece who has been living with me for 6 months. After finding a raw potato that fell out of her back back......... We had a good talk......... we both cried together........ good bonding moment. I love her so much. She is 19 and I am afraid for her.

I have seen 10 dress sizes go away and I have lost 80+ lbs. BUT I was very triangular shaped, almost retangle, so alot of it has been directly off my waist and such. Depending on where you lose it will determine sizes...but I have noticed that people who say this may not realize how much they have lost in thier face, or thighs, or lower hips, etc.

Congrats to you that's awesome! I got mine planned for 8/19 and feeling hopeful

Do you know how much your fills were? Also, what size band do you have? I have a 4 cc band with a total of 1.9 cc fills, and that puts me in a pretty good spot. My husband has a 10 cc band and has three fills totalling 7 cc, and he can still eat more than he should. Proper fills geared to each individual is what makes this thing work. Don't give up yet!

Most definitely male! I think I had left before 10. I believe there are 3 of us getting the new Realize band on the 6th from Kramer/Ponce in order to complete Dr. Kramer's certification. I'm 6'3" very short black/grey hair. Hope to see you Friday! I'm going on a 275mile trip on next Wednesday...I hope I'll be able!

My surgery is scheduled for thursday 01-17 and I plan on being back at work the following monday. I have a desk job and actually live on the farm where I work so I'm sure if I need to go lay down for a bit it will be fine. At least I'm hoping I feel up to it. My dr. seems to think I should be fine to do this, although I am really seeing alot of ppl who took more time.

Totally discouraged at the moment... Received a Realize Band on 2/4/08. Waited 6 weeks for my first fill of 3 cc. After another 3 weeks, I went in for an additional fill because I felt I was eating too much. Received an additional 1.5cc. That worked for about a week until I tried some very well chewed steak. After throwing that up, I haven't been able to get my tummy to settle down. Nothing goes down well. I went 10 days throwing up daily. The dr. removed 1.5cc yesterday in an effort to help me consume liquids, but as of yet, I haven't noticed much of a change. It feels like I swallowed a baseball, yet the lower part of my stomach is VERY hungry. Has anyone else experienced extreme irritation? How long does it take to calm back down? The dr. wants an upper GI in 2 days and the thought of that has me cringing. Need your insight!!

My first fill was yesterday afternoon. I was excited and nervous and came here to read on what to expect. Well, I arrived and chit-chatted with the PA for a few minutes and then proceded to lay down so he could find the port. He numbed the area and all was good. After a few minutes I was asking did you find the port entry? he said no. Several minutes passed and I am trying to keep my cool and not gross out or get worried. He said he was having difficulty. Then responded to me that he needed to get a new syringe because he had extracted blood into the syringe. GROSS! I am still trying to keep it together. He told me to relax and sit upward, push my stomach out, suck my stomach in, pretend to do a sit up etc. He called for reinformcement and went to the "go to" guy. Which was another PA who had me do the same thing but wanted a new syringe. So this is syringe #3. By this time I was freaking out and I would say it has been half an hour. I asked if this was going to happen every time and he assured me, No that once I lose weight the port would be more prominent. The 2nd PA suggested that I might even have to have another procedure to replace the port. What the...? They saw my fear and went to get Dr. Le Port (Fountain Valley Regional Hospital). Well, they left me alone!! I sat up and noticed the syringe still stuck in my abdomen. The horror! it isn't even Halloween yet. I am trying so hard to keep the tears back and just keep taking breaths and my stomach is falling in sync with my breaths and I can feel the syringe moving. So, the Dr. storms in and gently takes hold of the syringe the PA's are talking at the same time and the Dr. says that he has seen this occur before. That because the Realize band is Low pro and low pressure that it is diffiult to extract saline. What the...? again. So, the first PA had injected some saline when he attempted and the 2nd PA injected some saline into the port when he attempted and the Dr. had injected saline when he attempted and no-one was able to tell me how many cc's I had in my 9cc band. ARGHH!!! I drank 4 gulps of Water and on the 3rd I felt the bubble, the heartburn feeling and I was happy that I did have some restriction. So, the Dr. thinks I might have a kink. I proceded to have X-rays and the Byreum (sp?) drink and sure enough it showed restriction. I hand delivered the x-rays back to the surgeon, ate 5 Wheat Thins sips of water and all is fine. But now I am still scared thinking that in 6 weeks I have to go through this ordeal all over again. (This whole ordeal lasted 3 hours). They said that as I lose weight the port will be more prominent but come on give me a break how much can I lose in 6 weeks? 5-10 pounds. Is that really going to make a difference? What are the chances that I have to get a new port? Anybody else have difficulty the first time and now its easy breezy? :smile:

Gosh I am so sorry that you had to go through that. I have the realize band and I always thought the port was easy to find and hit. Now the first time he did bend the needle but he just got a new one and went back in, I am numbed so I feel nothing, completely painless!!! WOW and he left you in there alone that I agree was careless!!!! I was excited this last time to sit up with that needle in my tummy tum tum, but of course under different circumstances as you. I also have had my band 4 months and just yesterday got 8ccs in my 9css band!!! (not at once) YIKES huh??? We looked under fluro and I definately will have restriction it's what we all want right but I think seeing it first hand I am so scared to eat becasue if it took 10 seconds for water to go down what will happen with food, I think "stuck" and I haven't had my first nothing yet, stuck, slim, nothing so I am pretty scared of it happening so scared I have a headache today prolly form not eating. Ok sorry I got off subject...good luck next time keep us posted!!!