Search the Community

I am 4 weeks post op (2/17/14). Today is my own personal weigh in day. I lost a pound in a week. One lousy, measly pound. But I feel great. My body is changing daily. My clothes don't fit and I look like a slob. But the weight is not coming off as quickly as I thought it would. Am I getting in enough Protein? Yes. Most days I hit 60 grams with no problem. There was only 1 day that I didn't do that. My caloric intake most days is between 700 and 900. Am I exercising? 3 days a week. Am I getting enough Water in? No, I am definitely not. i am having a hard time on that, and I have been really focusing on getting that in, and that it's just water. Anyone else having a similar issue? Any suggestions on how to make that damn scale move?!?

I had my sleep study last night. They told me that I would have a split test. They would do the sleep first and then halfway through switch over and work on the mask. I did pick a mask. How ever the never did to the mask. They said that my numbers were below but that I had several issues. They were notsure if I needed a C-pap, V-pap or Bi-pap etc. Not really sure what all of it means. Will have to wait for the doctor. I have some questions for every one 1) How many people have been put on the diffeant type of Pap machines? 2) How long after surgery was it before you could be taken off and did you have to have another sleep study? How much weight did you loose before getting off of the machine. 3) Did any one have jaw surgery instead of using the machine? I have read some information about this and just wondering. Chris Pre Band St. Louis

Not a bad experience at all. The surgery went well, although I'm sore at the five places he went in. It feels like I have such a weight inside me, especially when I get up from a sitting or laying position. That gets better each day. It's been a little tricky getting used to what to eat, drink, and waiting half an hour before and after each. I know I'm getting too few calories right now, but I'll work on that. I really want to be a good lapband patient. Never perfect I'm sure, but I do want to follow the rules. Thanks to eveyone who has wished me well, and helped with my protien shake selections. I ordered unjury last Tuesday (four days ago) but it hasn't arrived yet. Going to check on my order tomorrow. For those who are still up, don't forget to set your clocks back an hour. Barbara

Found another one! TriCare North - Weight Loss Surgery Insurance - RenewedReflections I know when someone is at a loss for information it can be very discouraging. I really hope these forums help you!

I DONT WANT TO SCARE YOU BUT I HAD MY SURGERY ON SEPTEMBER 9 2010 LOST 30 LBS I WAS A STRICT DIETER FOR MONTHS AND DIDN'T LOSE A LBS. I HAVENT GAINED ANY WEIGHT BUT I AM STILL STUCK TRYING TO GET TO THE SWEET SPOT. I AM AT 7 CC AND I AM FEELING LIKE THIS IS THE SPOT. AS YOU CAN SEE I AM ALMOST HITTING A YEAR. IT TAKES TIME FOR SOME PEOPLE AND IT IS HARD NOT TO GET DISCOURAGED I HAVE CHEATED SEVERAL TIMES CAUSE OF DEPRESSION OF NOT LOSING. JUST HANG IN THERE

I feel like I am the first Gastric Bypass failure. I lost weight before I could eat solid food and I have gained back 2 pounds since. I rarely feel full...I know I have to work at losing weight but I was hoping the sleeve would be a tool that helped. Honestly I sometimes think I am the placebo test patient, they removed my lapband but did they forget I wanted the sleeve when they were in there? Being able to eat as much as I did before ( and some days I do) makes me feel horrible. I know "hunger" is in my head but I was hoping the sleeve would make it easier for me to feel full. Every time I read that people can consume a cup of food at some meals ( like that is a lot) makes me nuts, I can easily eat 2 - 3 cups at a meal ( if not more!) Am I the ONLY one?

You have done so amazing! My surgery is 6 days from now, on June 12th. PLEASE tell me what you've been doing to have such awesome weight loss!

I have a sweet tooth but it has not stopped me from losing weight. Today my husband and I went out to lunch to Celebrate our 22nd Anniversary. Toward the end of the meal he asked if I would like dessert. I answered, "NO", which surprised me. I never turn down dessert, but my band was in control. I honestly did not want dessert. I was satisfied eating only 1/3 of my meal with no dessert. You can do it!

I hear you. I was banded 5/21 and I lost 16 lbs the first week but nothing the second. I'm still on the post op diet and it was so exciting to lose the 16 lbs, but NOTHING the second week??? I know not to expect that kind of weight loss again but I'm probably only having 800 calories a day so how can I have lost NOTHING???

My husband was very worried about the surgery. He wanted me to be healthy, and he was worried I was doing something that was going to ultimately be unhealthy. His aunt had gastric by-pass, and she has issues and was pretty sick after her surgery. I pushed the surgery. He made sure to tell me he loved me like I was and that he thought I was beautiful. He wasn't trying to talk me out of it, but he wanted to make sure I knew I didn't have to do it. I thought of it a bit differently. I was losing the battle with weight and every year was going higher on the scale. I didn't think I could just stay at the status quo. He went to a support group with me before the surgery, which was good for him since it included a wide range of people. He has been a great support, but his initial reaction was very nervous about the surgery and the risks involved. He didn't want me to put myself at risk unnecessarily. To me, it was a necessary risk to put me back on the healthy track.

You won't really lose weight if you don't eat enough food. You have to have the fine balance of what your body needs and don't under-eat nor over-eat. Plus, keep walking. I lost 47 pounds from April - Oct. after getting my band, now have maintained that for over a year and a half, only ready to get the next 20 pounds off. For me it now is up to exercise mostly. My band is only a tool, I still have to work hard at this just like before. hang in there!

I'm having the same frustration and I'm a week out from my banding. I think that our bodies are adjusting and that they will eventually line out. I was excited on Friday to see that I was down 2 lbs from my pre-surgical weight only to find this morning that they're back. I just keep plugging away and figure that my body will eventually catch-up to what is going on. It just takes some time. Plus, we won't have our first fills for a while, so that's when the REAL restriction starts. Right now is just practice. :thumbup:

So...here's the scoop. Upper GI showed a "major league" slip (doctor's words). No Fluid passed through the band for more than 15 minutes. I was admitted on Friday for emergency surgery. Surgery was postponed, but then performed on Saturday morning. My band was removed and now I am in healing mode. I am scheduled to have a new band put in between Christmas and New Years. The doctor said that, while a slip is a rare complication (about 2 - 3% of cases), they most often happen after a person has lost a lot of weight. My issue, I think, was that I had lost a lot of weight, band was too tight. I started vomiting, which agitated the band/stoma. Doctor failed to diagnose it multiple times and kept unfilling me. I kept telling him that the unfills were doing no good, but he waited almost 6 months to schedule an upper GI. I can't blame him though. I simply wasn't forceful enough about him scheduling an upper GI. I'm on the mend, but my advice to people, after having gone through what I've gone through over the past 6 months, is to be firm with your doctor. If you are having problems swallowing/keeping liquids and solids down after a significant unfill, insist on an upper GI. My understanding is that the sooner a slip is diagnosed, the better chance that it can be corrected without surgery.

Oooh! Sorry that you had to have th eband removed, be careful of weight gain! Just my personal waring. I only had a revision in November of k]last eyar. I am just now starting to lose again since my intial weight gain while empty and it has been a battle of my own wits, not surgeon's. He is satisfied, but I am not. I am back to being overweight! Anyway, glad to hear that you are on the mend. It can happen to anyone, but it is not as common as people on this board seem to think. Mine was my 2nd slip, the 1st one was approxiamtely a year and half before, and it was easily fixed by an unfill for a month. I think the 2nd was because I sick and then let myself get dehydrated. People, take care, call your surgeon even if its Sunday, and don't do what I did, i didn't want to disturb him and flet it coudl wait for Monday! Good luck.Karen

Thanks for posting. I'm at 5 months and I wonder alot where I will be at 7 and 9 and 11 months. I hope, like you, I can continue to loose slowly. I get very scared sometimes the the loss will stop. This month I only lost 3 lbs and I worked out like crazy (maybe I'm gaining muscle mass). I have 19lbs to loose and its soo soo stubborn. The problem is, I work really really hard, follow all the rules, exercise all the time.... and still only 3lb loss in 4 weeks. I am worried.... what if I slip even a little.... I might not loose at all. Well.... anyway.... enough about my stuff. Your doing great!!!! Even just a little exercise will go a long way. Just start slow.... don't push yourself to the point of pain... I believe exercise is about feeling good. take care... you'll be at goal before you know it stacey

Yes I am 6 months out and down 74lbs. I have though being exercising lots. I have spent a lot of time biking the last few months. Some days over 50K so I have put on a certain amount of muscle on my legs. I also have just started back to the Y and have begun lifting weights again so that will cause me to have more muscle/weight in my upper body. All the best Russ

Hey fellow sleevers, Today is my 8-week surgiversary. I have lost 42 pounds and still have a lot to go. But I have gone from a size 26/28 to a size 20 on the top and 22 on the bottom. My shoe size has gone down from a 12W to an 11-1/2 normal width (I'm 6'2", and my mom used to say that if I had smaller feet, I'd blow over in a high wind, LOL). I made my first purchase from the “regular” size women’s clothing section the other day—an XL T-shirt that fits beautifully (yes, it’s stretchy!). I have learned how to eat—what to eat, how much, and when. I have also, through repeated trial and error, learned how NOT to eat—fast, thoughtlessly, without a PPI on board, with a beverage, one bite past satisfaction. I have found Protein sources that work and that I enjoy. I have learned the importance of being disciplined about taking medication and Vitamins. I have learned that my scale will eventually move again and in the right direction. I have eaten out numerous times and have found sleeve-friendly food everywhere; it may not be the precise thing I was craving, but I can eat in public with friends and/or family. My goals have changed. My mother-in-law, after watching me eat 3 shrimp for lunch yesterday at a local seafood restaurant, asked me, “Are you full?” I said yes. She then asked the more important question, “But are you satisfied?” I said yes and was happy to realize that I was, indeed. Food is no longer my drug of choice, nor is it at the center of my decisions. What I enjoy about eating out has changed; now, I really focus on my companions, on the conversation, on enjoying the smells and texture and all the elements of the food. I have given up quantity for quality. In the beginning, I really wasn’t happy about being forced to do so—but I knew that’s what this surgery meant. I awoke from surgery with a serious case of buyer’s remorse. Today I know that I would do it again, because I honestly believe it is the only way I would ever be able to lose the weight that was threatening my health and my long-term happiness. I know a lot of us got into our overweight status for a variety of reasons—inactivity due to physical limitation, thyroid issues, pregnancy, emotional or binge eating. For me, one of the big triggers was fear; I was sexually abused as a child and I wore my “fat suit” sort of like a suit of armor—let’s face it, fat people are invisible in our society, unless someone just wants a handy target to say something ugly to. For decades, I wore my protection on the outside because of fear on the inside. I worked with a therapist last summer because I didn’t want to continually be a victim of my childhood trauma. I changed on the inside. Having this surgery done is an affirmation of that change, getting rid of the “fat suit” and allowing me to be me, strong enough and capable enough to deal with whatever comes along, able to trust and love and relax. The sleeve is helping me become on the outside what I already am on the inside, and that is satisfying in a way that food can't touch. Cheers to my fellow 4/18 sleevers, and a happy next 8 weeks to everyone. Meg

Hello Everyone, I just had my gastric sleeve done on 02/28. To date so far I have lost 13 pounds in on week. I have about a 130 pounds to lose but I am happy I am on my way. I really dont have much pain. I am little slow moving around because I still have a little discomfort. The first week was a little difficult because whenever I would eat or drink I would get a bubble feeling in my chest. After reading many of the posts I started taking prilosec. It has helped tremendously! I am getting ready to start walking everyday and once I am feeling better I will start running. I am not starving but the smell of food I used to eat does attract to me but I am still staying on course. My only problem has been the Protein shakes. I was taking the Bariatric Advantage shakes but they are just disgusting to me now. I also tried the Isopure but I cant stand it. So now I am doing the Atkins and muscle Mlike shakes. At first I was having some regrets but after seeing my weight loss in the last week I am feeling much better.

I haven't seen the scale move in one month exactly... what in the world is going on?? I have never experienced a stall like this... Any tips to get that scale moving again? Could this be the end of the losing pounds? I have lost 41lbs since surgery.

I agree with MIS73 post. You have to find out what works for you, i was stuck for 6 months and I almost drove myself crazy looking at what I was eating and trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Honestly I am not sure I was doing anything wrong, I think my body was just stalling at different times and adjusting to the weight loss. I did continue to lose inches even when I was not losing lbs though. I started dropping weight again at the end of Jan of this year after I had a fill. I currently eat 90-120 gms of protein a day, try to stay under 70 carbs and about 30% fat. So my diet basically is 40% protein, 20% carbs and 40% fat. It seems to work for me. I rarely eat, rice, pasta or bread and I don't snack between meals, my snacks are planned and consistent of protein bar or drink. I know it is frustrating but don't get caught up in the fact your weight has stalled, use this time to develop your healthy choices and changes in eating, because remember this is for a life time and we all need the practice.

I am starting to get depressed..I was banded on 10-22 and Ive only lost 25 Lbs..does anyone ha e any tips for quicker weight loss? Everyone that Ive seen banded close to the same date as me have lost alot more. HELP !

Congrats....I have been in a stall for this past week, stuck at 188. After having a great meeting with the nutritionist for my 6 week followup and she documented an average of 4.5 lbs a week and now nothing. But I have not gained and hopefully the weather will warm up so I can get out and walk some more.

Ok! So I have been struggling for about a month with my weight, steady at 202/200. Well, I stayed off the scale for about 2 weeks, did my routine, and had great support from family, friends and this site. Is the suspense killing you? I dropped to 194. I AM IN THE ONES NOW!!!! Thank you everyone! I appreciate you all.

I have two friends who are banded, one for 3 yrs one for 5 months.. one has followed the diet to a t and the other not so much. the one who followed seemed to lose weight more easily/quickly and hasnt had any problems so far.. my other friend had vomiting and her band slipped and she got it replaced. BUT with all the trouble she had (most prob cuz she didnt follow rules) she has still lost a tremendous amount of weight and she says she would do it again even w the probs. Personally, i think it will be easier for me to just stick to the rules since i have seen her struggle, but on the other hand i know if i slip up it wont be the end of the world.

Thats a lot of weight loss! Congrats! Any tips for us newbies?