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Thanks everyone. I checked with my sister who is an nurse amd she assured me that I wouldn't have it in both legs and it sounds more circulatory. I will check with my doc last week. I am/ was morbidly obese so she things it was to do with nerves and weight.

Hi folks... I'm a newbie to the forum but I'll be going in on July 2nd with Dr Alverez. My wife is coming but since she doesn't have a passport she'll have to stay in San Antonio until I get back from Mexico. She'll be on vacation and I'll be...well you know. I just turned 59, retired at 56 and have been able to do almost nothing like I use to. I'm 6' and had a high of 332. I started my liquid diet on 5/30 about a week early at 320 pounds and have dropped 15 pounds already to 305. Maybe by the time I get there the doctor will look and ask what I'm there for..Ha! I sometimes wonder if it's the right thing to do, but with type II and heart issues I kinda figure it's now or I might not get another chance. I just married off my second granddaughter and would like to be around for the third one. Let's see, things I'd like to do... Not shop at Big Dog or Casual Mens XL Hopefully get rid of this CPAP machine Walk the dogs further then the mailbox Put on my socks without getting outta breath Getting a pair of tie sneakers instead of velcro Sit in a booth at the resturant. Oh yeah, and have doggie bags to take home Well that's enough for now... Actually, the name is Ron. My Corgi is named Grady and 691 is just an address number.... To much information?

For most people, pretty much whenever. As long as you are NOT taking your pain meds there is no reason why you can't drive. As my doctor loves to say "if it hurts, don't do it". I was a bit uncomfortable even a week later, however I drive a manual car... so I had to use both legs (and since I'm short I have to really reach with my leg to reach the clutch) and both arms... so my stomach twinged a little bit. But honestly, it didn't last long. I would say that you should be fine to drive at that point. Good luck!!

21 down in a month sounds fantastic! You should be very happy. I think though you should reduce your weight visits to the scale to one a week. Weighing yourself everyday will do nothing but drive you crazy!!! Once again, congrats!!!

I thought mine was up to date but found that it had expired just months before I was to leave - of course I didn't bother to pull it out and check it till then I paid an expediting company, it was highway robbery at something like $400, the companies expediting fee and the governments expediting fee. Sucks, but I had to pay it to ensure prompt delivery. I got BOTH the passport AND the card in like 1 week.

Well after a month of back and forth calling the doctor and insurance and wrong things being filed - I had a call last week from drs office saying they expect it to be another 20 days till we hear anything and she was going on vacation for a week or so- SO yesterday I thought I would just call my insurance and see if they all went on vacation too- and they said I was approved last week and don't know why the doctors office didn't let me know that- SO after being upset for a while- I finally got ahold of someone at the doctors office and again was told that yet another person in the office is not going to be back in the office till monday to schedule my surgery or let me know what I need to do next- I was upset yet again- but I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason and there is a time and purpose - God works in His time- not mine- right- SO- waiting till Monday to get irrate again- I have been really questioning my motives- why am I doing this- do I really want yet another surgery- am I really that addicted to food- and after watching what I do to myself- Yes I am addicted to food- and found myself just this morning eating a McDonalds burrito and hashbrown and after I was done- and being miserable- I wasn't even hungry- then I got frustrated at myself- I know many of you have all been thru this and know what I am talking about- and in a sence I can see where someone who has not had a weight problem can not fathom what this surgery is about or why we choose to do this to ourselves - I have to have a tool to jerk me out of my rut and say HEY YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH STOP IT! Ok sorry I ramble- but I think I just needed to get a bit out- to people who are not tired of me talking about the surgery lol. Thanks

I am beyond stressing! My surgery was approved and scheduled for 9/29. I had my medical clearance appointment this past weekend. My doctor never sent the script for a spleen ultrasound he wants done because on existing issue I have with my platelets. Fine. That's now scheduled for the Tuesday before the surgery. I had the ekg, blood work, and chest X-ray. The nurse at the hospital said it has to be sent over to my primary doctor for the clearance but everything looks great. I get to my primary today and he reviews it and says there is a problem with my ekg and he wants to repeat it. He does and the problem is still there. Inverted t waves. Said I need a stress test before he can clear me. I go to schedule it and nothing free until mid October. They are going to try and fit me in Monday. I go home and Google inverted t waves and now think I am about to have a heart attack any second! Im so nervous about my heart and I don't think the surgery is going to happen next week! Just venting. Thanks for getting this far lol. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@j16 There's a bunch you can use. If you go to a CVS or Walgreens look in the hair coloring section for "root concealers" or "root touch ups". They look like little spray bottles. One I like that isn't overly expensive is: http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod6481430# There's also products that coat your hair with little fibers giving it the illusion of being less sparce. An example is this: https://www.amazon.com/TOPPIK-Hair-Building-Fibers-Brown/dp/B000CBVAQ0 I prefer the root touch up spray just because it's easier. I tried Toppik last week after I rn out of the root concealer. I was in a hurry and when I applied it, I made a mess. It definately concealed the thinness though. Just takes a little practice. Also, don't waste your money ($120.00 for the 3 step "system") on Aveeda Invati. It claims to reduce hair loss by 33%. I started using it right after my surgery and still lost half my hair.

Well I put in an order for a Terrific Tuesday, but let's see what I can do to insure that! This is an every- other-day week for me. Yesterday was Urology. My former urologist Dr Clemens decided to confine his practice to Franklin County and Columbus so I now belong to his partner, Dr Jed Henry. Seems very nice, a little older(42) than Dr Clemens but still young enough to be my kid. That happens a lot when you're 73. Going to call me back on Wednesday with a proper antibiotic instead of prescribing an antibiotic willy- Billy. Said I don't like the color and consistency of your urine, well Duh, I don't either, and that's why I came in. We had a good laugh at the expense of my PCP who told me last Thursday he would give me a 5 day script for Microbid and never faxed it over to Wal-Mart, my usual pharmacy. If I knew he was gonna forget, I should have asked for a hand-written script, He's only 50 or so, young for senility, maybe a transient stupid attack? Wednesday I also go over to my local hospital, Knox Community aka the "Band-Aid Station" dubbed this by the Columbus hospitals. They have a habit of treating what they want and sending the rest by land or helicopter transport to Columbus. Hence the sarcasm. When I was getting ready for my endoscopy on April 12th, the anesthesia doctor had a low-grade hissy because she heard a Frank heart murmer. Had my PCP. talked with me about it? Well he MIGHT have mentioned it but I thought it was mild, functional and probably part of aging. She still was a less' than- happy - camper, would not let her resident do my sedation, did it herself, and must have sent a little note to PCP because I got more cardiac testing tomorrow at 1 pm. Oh Happy Happy Joy 😂 Joy! Then on Friday I see my ENT, Dr Suzie Helming, she is a really sweet person. I have had a noticable huskiness coming over my voice, usually a high alto/low soprano quality. Now I think I sound like Lauren Bacall & why is this? Is it the culmative effect of all those years of Gerd, is my recently found thyroid nodule pressing on a vocal cord, could it have some sort of heredity basis, my late Mama was also husky- sounding the last few years of her life( died 16 years ago at 87, I was 57 then) or could it be something else? Saw her hubby Dr Jarrett, the orthopaedic surgeon, he did my 1st knee in 2014. Asked why I was sitting outside the office building on a bench, told him about going to visit his wife on Friday, we joked about that I didn't have to go to such lengths to see here, he had pictures on his wallet of her and the kids. Their daughter Charleigh is petite like her, but poor child, she otherwise looks just like her daddy. Maybe she'll outgrow it? Must going to be 3 in June, and their son Dylan, gosh I do not see a resemblance to either of them. The last picture I saw of him, he looked like Suzie had gone somewhere for Donor IVF, maybe he resembles Suzie's Dad or Jarrett's Mama? Funny how genes work! One of the cousins, Brandee, on late hubby side, spitting image of their Aunt Lois, but her grandma Aunt Woneta and Aunt Lois looked nothing alike. My hubby was the son of the oldest sister Faye, then came Aunt Ruth ,Aunt Lois and lastly Aunt Woneta. If you saw them on the street, didn't know them, you would never suspect they were sisters. So we Will see how this week pans out. And next week on the 30th I go to Columbus to be seen at the Bariatric Clinic , my paperwork says I see Dr Noria, my surgeons partner, but one of the nurses I spoke to the other day said No I merely see Valerie the head Nurse- Practitioner. Well no big thing either way! In the meantime celebrating being down to 228 from alk- time high of 365+, I say + because I got to the point I would not get on a scale unless you jabbed me with a sharpened stick. Knew all scales carried a grudge and wouldn't say anything nice about me! Suffice it to say my BMI was in the 50s and now it's mid 30s and lowering by the day! Yippee Skipee Yahoo!👍😝👍🍀🌈

Weight loss rates will all be around 1-2 lbs/week on the average, since your body is only able to burn so many calories a week. Initially, weight loss will be faster because your body burns glycogen instead of fat, which has lower energy density (it takes more grams glycogen to produce a given amount of energy than it would fat) and you lose a lot of Water in the process. Counting calories is crucial during the initial weeks/months of lap band until proper restriction is achieved. At that point, many people stop and rely on the band to do the work, others keep logging to keep overall control of their intake (most of us gained their weight by simply not paying attention). I usually log everything in Daily Plate, but dinners like yesterday's are impossible...two coworkers and I were at a Tapas restaurant and ordered 6 different small plates to share (if turned out too much food). All complex dishes with unknown ingredients and I had a bite of each....how to log? I've never done weight watchers, but from what I understand, the counting there never becomes optional. Lastly, there seem to be quite a few people who are afraid of being too tight (higher restriction levels often associated with long-term side effects) and intentionally or not stop before reaching the green zone. Some of them still have some restriction , but overall the weight loss is done by counting cals/carbs etc I say, do whatever works for you :-)

They found the same things on my upper endoscopy- a hiatal hernia and stomach inflammation which they biopsied. It didn't change anything with my surgery except that he fixed the hernia. I am happy with no complications five weeks out. Good luck! Amanda

I'm just fact-finding as of now and have been reading posts about keeping track of calories, etc. and only losing 1-2 lbs per week. How is this different from weight watchers?

Im going through the same thing. My surgery is set for 9/1 and I have been doing good during the day at work but of course when I get home is when I cave. It hasn't been consistent but I have had some slip ups. Gonna refocus today and be on point from today until next week. I would hate to be told I have to reschedule for something I have full control over.

My gastric sleeve surgery is scheduled for this coming Thursday. I have been panicking, and as a result, I have been eating one big meal per day since my two week liquid pre-op diet started! I have been doing liquids for the majority of the day, but end up caving by the time evening comes. Yesterday was a good day because I stuck to the liquids. However, I'm petrified now because it's so close to my surgery, and this evening was not a good one. Any words of encouragement or advice on what to do? Is there any way that i will still be ok by Thursday?

Hi, my name is Chris - I was just banded on Wed 1/23 by Dr. James Davidson in Dallas. I'm 44 and have been fighting my weight since college. it has been a slow upward spiral with lots of weight loss followed by even more weight gain. I finally decided to do something about it as I hit an all time high of 304 and a BMI of 40+. My insurance excludes bariatric surgery so I had to go the self-pay route, fortunately Dr. Davidson was running a $9500 special and I decided to go for it. I lost 18 pounds on the pre-op diet (but have my expectations set a lot lower for the next few weeks based on all the posts about stagnant weight during the post-surgery period). anyway, just wanted to say hello to everyone. I'm looking forward to the journey! Chris

Today is one week since my surgery. I am having horrible terrible chest pain. I have my "exit appoinment" wednesday, but I am going to the hospital where I had it done tomorrow morning instead. I am on my second bottle of liquid vicodin. I have been crying and sweating since last Thursday. Has ANYONE else had terible chest pain? I am fallowing all the rules; breathing thing, walking, eating right ect. any advice? Im not quite to the point of going to the ER, but I do have another night to make it through!

I just had surgery a week ago also and was experiencing the same thing only when i took deep breaths, if thats the case with u then i was told it was from the gas. They just told me to keep walking but def. call ur dr. i was scared as well

For my bypass my insurance paid over $70k. I paid $3500 out of pocket. It's crazy how much this cost! 6 weeks post op I ended up back in the hospital for dehydration, UTI, and a stricture. For my 2.5 day stay and EGD my insurance paid 20k. Just crazy!! Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

Hello everyone. Although I don't post often, I always here reading and learning from all of you. Thanks for your insights and for sharing your stories. I'm doing great. I've found a new love for exercise! I work out 5 days a week, eat my Protein and stay on my diet. I was sleeved on March 15th and weighed 226. I'm down 50 pounds TODAY. I feel great. I look great and it is hard to complain when life has so many blessings. Thanks again!

Hi Jana... I feel your fear my surgery is next Monday April 11... And nerves are definitely flying!. I'm not afraid of the pain..it's the whole surgery process..I'm a needle phob!...and the fear of what's to come. This Optifast 2 week diet is so hard but I'm getting through it. I totally get the nerves!, Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Hello, So i am a newwwwbie! i just got a call from Kaiser in So Cal saying that before they even sign me up for the orientation i need to get a nicotine test done first. and the results can take a week. Did anyone else have to do this first?

i'm 2 months out and i have NOT lost any hair so far. i had the lapband done in 2008 and my hair started falling out within 2 weeks of surgery. i'm hoping that it doesn't start coming out now, but if it does, i know it will grow back.

Hi Randall, I'm a week before you for surgery so I'll keep you posted on what to expect. Welcome aboard.

I struggled this weekends, it was really hard. I do better during the week because I'm at work and I'm very busy. To make things worse I have been sick. I just got finish telling myself you can do this, so I got up and got a protein drink. I want a bag of chips so bad right now. It is a mind thing. If I get to hungry, I have been eating eggs or broth with white chicken meat in it. In my house Sunday is pasta night, this was the worse night yet. I love, no, I am addicted to pasta. ????. Not being able to eat pasta last night made me very depressed ????. It even made me rethink about having the procedure. I went to my room closed the door and I survived. 10 more days, seems so long. I have lost 15 pounds already.