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I'm only almost half way thru in my weight loss journey. People are noticing and clothes are fitting better BUT my tummy is in the way. I can't wear anything besides frumpy if I want to cover it. I know when I'm done losing I will need a tummy tuck but do any of you know of any treatments at any of these med spas that actually work? I've seen body wraps and lipo injections etc.

:guess i was banded march 22 and didn't get filled until 3 weeks ago. that was my first fill. for maybe the 1st day i was full. then after that 1st day i could eat wutever. i gained a half a pound. but the 11th of july i had gotten filled agien. the band was pretty tight. i could only eat about 3 baby spoons of pudding. but now the 13th i can eat like 15 spoons of pudding. why does tht happen?:faint:

Well, I am officially APPROVED and scheduled for my RNY on June 3rd! For those of you that saw my introduction, I had mentioned that I had a weird insurance deal (small company policy) that made it questionable as to how long of a supervised weight loss was required. It was written as if it was 12 months, and I kind of settled into that in my mind as just how it would be. However, my insurance nurse is awesome. She really stepped up for me and worked so hard to clear the road blocks. Amazing.... So now I have a kind of mental whiplash, but a good one! Feeling excited, nervous and above all else, BLESSED.

I didn't start working out until a few months after my surgery. There is a normal "down feeling" or "blues" that comes from being under anesthesia. Honestly, I think I was really going through grief and loss issues regarding my loss of the relationship I once had with food. Me and food still had a thing, but it had changed and it just wasn't the same....not being able to do emotional eating because the "go to" foods I used to eat gave me dumping syndrome or I couldnt digest. I had no motivation either until I went to my first post-op fill appointment and sat in the waiting room talking to other WLS patients. It was motivating to hear about their successes. Oh and I also read success stories on here and watched videos that lap-banders posted on youtube. It helped to see others losing weight and I told myself that since I went through the surgery i was not going to make it be for nothing. I started out just taking 2 to 3 mile walks with my IPod, listening to music that really got me pumped up and then I started working out with a friend so that we could motivate eachother. Have faith that this lifestyle change is going to work if you work it. You will find your motivation somewhere inside of you....if you didn't want to ultimately lose the weight, you wouldnt have had the surgery. So, maybe you just need time or that certain something to click and ignite your motivation.

I've seen multiple guidelines given and have been advised by my surgeons office, but I was wondering what your real-world experience has been. I am having a very hard time figuring out how much time I'll REALLY need off from work. I have a slightly unusual situation: I am self employed and work from a home office, but I have a fairly physical component to my job. I do many tradeshows throughout the year and carry a heavy sample case (about 60lbs.) to client appointments in their offices. For the shows, I pack and unpack my car with the display itself, materials for the display, catalogs (10-15 cases, usually about 40lbs each) and samples, and carry all this in and out of the tradeshow location 2x per day (set up and breakdown) for 5 days running. I also drive in between cities (2-4 hrs per day) and start all over again. For regular client visits, I just have my sample case and individual sample bags I make for my clients (3-4 lbs each.) My case is on wheels, but I do have to lift it in and out of my car. The bags go into a wheeled cart but again, need to be loaded in and out of the car. I am thinking I'll take a week off from everything, then hoping to do "office" type work the 2nd week (booking appointments, quote and project followup, email blasts and the like- all phone and computer work.) Do you think I'll be able to do client visits on week 3? Will I be able to do a tradeshow by week 6? While I'll be eligible for surgery in March, I know I'll have to put it off until May when I am pretty much done with the spring shows. I just need to make sure I'll be ready for a show in mid- July if my surgery doesn't end up happening until mid or late May. (FWIW, I do all this stuff now with all the extra weight I am carrying, so I am fairly strong. Hoping this helps my recovery and the whole tradeshow process becomes easier when I'm not schlepping my own weight in addition to the other stuff! :smile2:) Thanks for any advice you can offer! kagead

@@Sara51692 thank you so much! Also, it's kinda cool to know someone else who started around the same weight. I see lots of people who started in, say, the 250's...and I'm totally baffled at what that's like, lol. No judgement though! I've also been in therapy for a while. It's what finally led me to this decision. My therapist was the first person who had the courage to tell me I looked as awful as I felt! It sounds like you're doing great! PM me anytime if you need a buddy!

I was banded on March 18, 2013 - over a year ago. I remember when I was thinking about having the surgery, I was obsessed with the speed... I had upcoming events (weddings, vacations, etc.) and I continued imagining what I would look like in 3 months, 6 months, etc. I was so frustrated and disappointed as I read on this site about everyone just dropping weight left and right. I lost about 20 pounds pre op (and so my real starting weight was about 240) and then another 10 or so in the first 6 months. I had fill after fill after fill... I took small bites and ate high Protein, but I was still pretty hungry and could eat 1.5 cup portions without a problem. So, I read - these pages and posts and guess what? My story was a dime a dozen, so I just didn't post or complain, because what everyone says - and what I needed to hear, was that THIS IS MY JOURNEY. It might not be the same as everyone else's. Not everyone starts losing immediately... I needed 7 fills before I reached the green zone and I really didn't start losing until 8 months after my surgery. BUT, I learned a ton about patience and I believe I needed those months to adjust to my lifestyle and to learn to love myself a little more. So, today I'm just under 180 and I feel great. My goal is to be 150 - 160, but I'm happy at the pace I'm losing (about a pound a week). Slow losers, don't get discouraged. Stay in contact with your doctor and just keep going For those of you that do post often, thank you - although I wasn't posting, I was certainly reading and feeling supported. Peace, Rina

Usually a BMI of 40+ is all that is needed as far as weight. 35+ is what needs accompanying co-morbidities Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had my first fill today! I've been mostly able to keep it to three meals per day leading up to this, but was still just a little hungry. The PA gave me the choice of fill or no fill. I went ahead and did it. So far I'm down 23 lbs since surgery 3 weeks ago and seem to be slowing down on losing weight. Here's hoping I keep up a good pace! Nick

Sorry, that's not acceptable. Their "insurance girl" is on vacation!! What? The surgeon needs to make a phone call first and follow up in writing. If you have your insurance through work, your HR department should be able to help. However, if the policy specifically says "weight loss surgery is excluded" then you are probably out of luck. I get the point. This is an expensive procedure, which over time make you healthier. The problem is, in the US we change insurance so often, that the company will probably expect you to move on before they realize the benefit of your improved health. By the way, Medicare (and all Medicare Advantage programs) will cover it. Obamacare (except for a few states) will not. From what I hear, the large clinics in Mexico are priced so reasonably, it is probably worth looking into. And they do LOTS of surgeries. And if experience is the teacher, they know what they're doing. Good luck.

1. for how long? the first day and a half i pretty much stuck to small sips of Water and that was fine. but you should listen to your doc. your tummy is swollen and hurt-y and he probs knows what's best. 2. broth/juice/protein shakes.. yep. i wasnt to have milk either, although i've seen that some people drink it and are just fine. 3. i had to have some stitches removed because they started poking out about a month after surgery and it scared the poop out of me. but the nurse told me that sometimes they dissolve and sometimes they dont. having them removed didn't hurt at all. 4. chewable multi-Vitamins are the way to go. i try to have 3 a day along with natural supplements my hippie doctor gives me to take. i wouldnt recommend swallowing pills until a month or so out. (of course check with your docs office about that) 5. the first two weeks SUCK. all liquids. everything liquid. Soup is great. i got a hand blender and used it for lentil soup. and i added water to thin out split pea soup and that was great. i was told tomato soup would be too acidic and hurt my tummy, so i stayed away. start of 3rd week i finally was on mushies.... lowfat cottage cheese is awesome and not as bad for you as eating a lot of mashed potatoes. mashed cauliflower (after cooked) is good... anything mushy. scrambled eggs are good. there are threads on here with lots of mushy ideas. i took advantage of of my slow-cooker during my mushies phase. and after a month (i'm at a month and a half) i can pretty much eat whatever. dry chicken breast is basically off the table for me, as is any meat that's too dry. if you take little bites, getting things stuck is really not nearly as much of a nightmare as you might think it will be. everyone is different! you will find what works for you through trial and error. i've found i don't lose weight if i do carbs so i try to stick with things high in Protein, veggies and some fruit. add lowfat cheeses to things for extra protein. 6. take gas-x! it totally helps. they say the chewable is better than the strips. it has more... gassy...fighting...power... or something. this was a long response. anyway. good luck! it gets infinitely easier once the pain is gone and a couple weeks have passed. oh! duh. also. yes. my surgeon was and still is basically invisible. he didnt show his face before OR after the procedure and i still, a month and a half later, havent really talked to him. this, i hear, is pretty common. especially amongst highly sought after surgeons. Mine has a couple offices here in southern california (los Angeles area) and is always busy. but his staff is great and if/when i have questions i call them and they always get back to me right away, tho not the actual surgeon himself... hope that this ends up being the case with you. ok, really. i'm done now.

I was diagnosed with Diabetes about one month before I was to have my surgery. My doctor was going to put me on several medications to control my bood sugar. Since my surgery was coming up, we held off on the medication to see how the surgery and weight loss would affect my blood sugar. My surgery was 5-25-2011 and my blood sugar numbers are now normal. I did not have to go on any Diabetic medication. I think the Diabetes alone is enough of an issue to have the surgery, it seems to have helped many on this forum beat this horrible disease.

Well, for the longest time that was one of the only places besides Avenue that I could buy clothes I could fit into. Besides Kmart who had a great plus sized selection. I'm so glad I'm not plus sized anymore and shop on the regular side of the store (notice how they have it all separated in stores so you felt all horrible going to the plus side?) Guess I couldn't have picked a better time to finally loose the weight.

I am sooo happy to say that I can wear a size 10. I went shopping the day before Christmas and went in different stores just to try them on.... This was one of the best Christmas presents ever!!!!!:kiss2: :kiss2: :kiss2: :kiss2: Please, Please continue on with everyones weight lost and stay healthy.

The only two surgeries that guarantee a "cure" are the rny and the DS. IF her diabetes can be controlled by diet, then the VS would work for her. Keep in mind, most patients do low carb after surgery to get the weight off and then keep it off. If this works to control her blood sugars, then yeah, the vs is probably for her. Keep in mind, I don't have the cool white coat OR the MD behind my name, this was just what I found to be true during my research phase of WLS. Renee`

Was sleeved April 14 of this year, and have been doing a pretty good job of cutting out everything I can, focusing on Proteins, etc, and even starting to finally work out for the past six weeks (Couch to 5k - running), and have gone from 333 lbs starting, to 254 lbs! I initially thought 240 was a good number to shoot for, and it seems to be one I'm happy with looking towards hitting if I can. This has been crazy fast...much faster than I thought it would have happened. I know most guys lose weight faster than women, but this is ridiculous! Just wanted to share some positivity with people that would understand. Keep working on getting healthier, everyone! You can do it!!! NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Me too... I'm also 4 moths out how much weight have u lost

Can you just imagine the future of bands? Someday perhaps they will "auto" adjust? This is exciting. But (there's always a "but" for me) if I were being banded when it's available it would be a lot to consider... something fresh from the trials vs products that have been in use in the real world longer. If the electronic components break, do you have to get a whole new band or just a new port? Will a microwave make it fill and unfill, if it's on the fritz? Silly yes, but what might interfere with it? Magnets? I don't know. What's the life expectancy of the electronics? I do think it's very very exciting that the future looks even more promising for banding. But I have to ask the questions, it's my nature. It took two years of my husband being banded to convince me that this might work for me. LOL I figured if he could succeed maybe I can. I had to SEE with my own eyes that he could lose weight and not feel starved or miserable before I did it. I couldn't just trust clinical trials and I didn't know anyone personally who was banded during that two years besides him. (Note: when I say "know anyone personally" I mean having a relationship with someone that's more than just having a couple of conversations with an acquaintance.) But again, I do believe the future will be better and better, thanks for posting the info.

Any other Dr. Trieu patients in here? Dr. Trieu did my surgery on March 26th. I have had a great experience with both him and the hospital. I had my first fill today. It went well, no pain. I thought it would be much worse. I am hoping my fill speeds up my weight loss. I am down 23 pounds including my preop weight loss but have been at a standstill the last 4 weeks. Anyone have any insight on how their weight changed following their first fills?

Well, I found myself not losing any weight over the last three weeks, so I went to see Tina and got another fill yesterday. I'm feeling a little too tight, but not sure that I am. I think I just need to take my time and chew better. I'm actually full after only a few bites, but I have had the feeling of being stuck and pb'ing too. I guess I'll wait and see if it loosens up a bit by next week. If not I guess I'll go in and have a little taken out. How's everyone doing out there in band land? It's been crazy for me, not much time on the net lately.

What you are experiencing is perfectly normal. The first 4 to 6 weeks after being banded is about healing, not losing weight. I know it is frustrating, but once you get your first fill, you will start losing.

I know things seem hopeless right now (God knows we've ALL been there), but I promise you that you'll feel a sense of peace after your surgery, just knowing you have REAL help with your weight loss efforts makes a world of difference. It's really hard for me to describe how it feels for me, it's almost like it gives me the strength to keep going and try and stay away from all the garbage I love to eat. I feel restriction now after my second fill, it's so weird to eat so little and feel so full. It's like a miracle, literally. I had my surgery at the TLBC and went through the cottage cheese/yogurt diet as well. The first couple of days were hard but you'll get used to it and you'll make it. You're worth it, you can do it..once your weight loss begins you'll feel SO much better, I promise. GO FOR IT!!!

I just recently got a number weight for the first time in a long time. It is so nice to know that I no longer weigh Error. I haven't had my band yet, and have been doing this HORRIBLE liquid diet that I hate. But I am losing weight, and I know that the surgery has much less complications if you shrink your liver. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!! If I can, you can. Keep your head up!

congrats on all the weight you've lost! this is an amazing sight where you can find all sorts of good info.