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The place between plus and regular size was the worst for me. After my surgery I went from size 22 to size 14 plus. It was easy. I just kept buying the next smallest size of pants - the same kind. I was buying style&eco jeans at Macy's. then I got to the 14s, and I just did not know what to do! I went to Macy's regular women's dept to buy jeans and it was like they totally re-invented buying jeans in the years I was in the plus sizes. I almost had a nervous breakdown right in the store. Rather than embarrass myself, I left. I called a friend, and she told me to go to Costco and buy some Gloria Vanderbuilts in a few sizes. they are very cheap And very easy to return. I bought 14 and 12s. the 12s fit - I returned the 14s and bought a second pair of the 12s. since then, I've shrunk into size 10s. since then, somebody gave me a few pairs of size 10 Gap jeans which were perfect. Now I'm ready for the size eights. I think that will be my size. Shopping was really hard for me. it is getting better. I did not want to spend a fortune on clothes while I was shrinking. the Costco idea was really helpful. I bought leggings there. And when I was thin enough, I bought shorts. my surgery last October 28,2014. So it was about 11 months ago. I've lost 107 pounds and think I can lose maybe 10 more. what an amazing journey. I'm so grateful.

My doc asked me if I would be happy with a 50 pound loss... I said yes, but wanted to try for more. after 4 1/2 years, I'm at a about 74% loss.... I'm feeling a little bit more like a fat person than a normal one now... but still so happy I did it. I have made many lifestyle changes that have stuck, but a few have slipped a little.... I really don't want to get to that "50 pounds" he talked about... hope I can maintain here at a 70 pound loss..... @@feedyoureye Thanks for the post. I think the numbers are fairly consistent with what I was told to expect, and it makes sense that comorbidities would also return if people gain weight. I was one with a lot of weight to lose, and my surgeon told me the bypass would probably be better, but I was a candidate for either. I often think I could have lost that last 10 pounds if I'd had bypass, but I'm still not sorry I made this choice (sleeve). I think the outcome would be the same in the long term for me. I am currently struggling a lot to not gain. It's getting harder and harder, and I really wasn't prepared for this. Either way, I lost over 90% of my excess weight, and at nearly three years out, I find it's 90% me, and 10% sleeve. When I went into this, I knew long term I might settle at a 60% reduction from where I started. Now that I've lost so much and gotten to a normal size, the idea of that much regain is devastating to me. I'm going to do my best to not become a statistic!

@@nicky2221 High weight 254. I'm about 5'5". I'm a year and 9 months out. I maintain in the 130's http://www.bariatricpal.com/videos/view-10-goal/

During my graduating year in High School (1977) I got the biggest kick out of the TV commercial featuring the winners of the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. The two mild mannered, plainly dressed, farm folk declared (with more drawl and twang than Gomer Pile) “What luck! We Mays are in luck. We have just won a million dollars! Our lives will never be the same!” Yep, they are lucky, I thought. I am a May too, so how come I’m not so lucky? Though many spend a considerable amount of time, effort, and energy entering sweepstakes – hoping to get ‘lucky,’ I have adopted a different philosophy. “The harder you work the luckier you get!” Time and time again that has proven to be the case. Following my weight-loss surgery in 1995, I recall mustering up the nerve to call a few of my friends to tell them what I had done. The first call I made was to a long time nurse friend. I will forever remember her immediate reply after I told her where I was and that I had just had a gastric bypass. “You are so lucky!” she exclaimed. “Lucky?” I replied. “What do you mean lucky?” I have spent my entire life fighting my weight and finally, finally, I had the courage to make this gigantic commitment. It took great thought, planning, preparation, prayer, not to mention a support of my family, and a 2nd mortgage to do this. Luck had nothing to do with it!” The first year was a dream come true. The weight seemed to fall off. I lost 125 pounds. No complications, no bumps, and very little effort on my part. Wow was I lucky! I would find myself eating something I shouldn’t. Or skipping a few days of exercise only to weigh in to find that I lost another pound! “Dodged a bullet this week; Man I am so lucky!” I thought. And then…. I found that the next month, was not so lucky. I learned by experience that I was not invincible, and that maintaining my weight loss requires much more than luck. It requires dedication, commitment, thought, focus, and constant effort. Indeed I found, that in weight issues too, the harder I work, the luckier I am. It has been over 19 years now and my weight continues to fluctuate up and down 20 pounds or so. Interesting, when I work hard at it, I lose - when I don’t, I gain. Go figure. It seems that this weight management thing will always require effort. Throughout your journey, you too, will have ups and downs, good days and bad days. We have a remarkable tool, but we will always reap what we sow. As you work to reach and maintain your weight-loss goals, remember to stay committed to your Success Habits, stay in tune with your body, work hard; and oh, good luck!

sounds delish but it's only about 3 grams of protein per serving. I try not to eat anything that has less than 10 grams. Maybe you could add an unflavored protein powder to up the grams?

Hello Everyone! So I am currently 2 Months and a Half Post-Op from my Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (5/13/19). So far, I have had a great recovery and have had no problems getting food down. Today though, I threw up for the first time in this whole entire journey. I ate a Dill Pickle wrapped in Ham and Cheese. Is it normal for my first vomit experience to have come this late into my journey? Could it have been the acid in the vinegar from the pickle? What do you all think?

I was banded on 10/13/08. I have lost 38 pounds to date. This has all been post-op. I was not required to be on a pre-op diet. I love my band!!!

I guess I should have read more before I posted. I was given very specific dietary rules. I met with a nutritionist twice before and twice after my banding and can meet with her again any time I have questions. I was given a target amount protein to eat and advised to eat that first then noon-starchy vegetables if I was still hungry. I was told the quantity to expect when I hit my "green zone" and given a list of foods that go through the band easily and have high calories so I could avoid them (my doctor has a thing against nuts and milk). They spent time with me on Vitamin supplements and what I 'd need if I followed the plan. It works for me. Averaging 10 pounds a month isn't exactly as fast as I would like, but it is where my doctor wants me to be (hacked me off he wouldn't give me a fill last visit).

Not sure on this totally..but my Doctor offered me the option of doing a single incision through my belly button for $1500 cash.. My insurance is covering my sleeve on 5/10 however he explained to me that he would need to do between 6-7 incisions .. He said the one incision in the belly button is quick and less painful with no scaring. Maybe you can ask if your Doctor overs this

I had 7 & was told it was bc of adhesions. They couldn't get a good angle on the camera. Three C-sections will do that I suppose. They are very small & at 10 day post-op they're all healed & 2 I can't find anymore. My biggest one is the only noticeable one & it's right in line with my belly button which is a little bit of a bummer. I can live with it though! IMHO, it's the 2 week liquid diet that has been the challenge. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Not sure on this totally..but my Doctor offered me the option of doing a single incision through my belly button for $1500 cash.. My insurance is covering my sleeve on 5/10 however he explained to me that he would need to do between 6-7 incisions .. He said the one incision in the belly button is quick and less painful with no scaring. Maybe you can ask if your Doctor overs this Yes, that is the surgery I asked him about. Apparently it's called SPIDER procedure, but he said sleeve is not possible with a single incision so I guess I'll just have to take his word for it since I really have no proof otherwise. He says it's a gimmick. I do worry though, that if it's NOT a gimmick then that would mean he is either a bit behind on the times OR he is lying to me. Most likely the former but that would worry me just as much as the latter since I would expect someone operating on people to keep up to date on things that could make surgery more comfortable and have a much shorter recovery time as well as less scarring in the end.

I'm just about 4 weeks post op as well. I eat turkey cold cuts. I recommend taking little bites and chewing to oblivion. Take about 10-15 minutes to eat one slice. Works for me! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Being cold is something I read that is very common post op. I don't know if it is because we are losing all of our insulation or what. The best thing I have found so far are fleece leggings from WalMart. They are under $10 a pair and fit under all of my pants. They definitely make a huge difference.

I've lost about 70 lbs. I do gain and loose. I've had some problems with my foot for the past year and have not been able to exercise like I want. So I've gained about 10 lbs this year!!!!! I do notice a huge correlation with my weight and exercise. I must exercise. I think the doctors have my foot manageable so I'm exercising again. I've already lost 3 lbs. Like I said...it's still a struggle but I've gone from a woman size 22 to a 'normal' size 14 which I'm satisfied with. I'd still really like to make the 100 lbs lost mark but I'm healthier, happier and more active than I ever have been! I have not been to Dr. Trahan in a year. I'm comfortable with the tightness of the band and feel if I get another adjustment, I would not be. Hope your's hasn't slipped...probably hasn't . It is something I think about too!!!!

I finally got approved and had my surgery on 10/7. Southern Health is really picky. You have to be on a well documented diet for 3 months, exercise program, and my doctor provided behavior modification material for me to read. Your doctor needs to do a really good job documenting everything. Southern Health can provide you with a list of what is required too. Good luck! Feel free to email me with questions.

Jaffa Steve: My surgeons office had no eating plan to follow after surgery. All that was said was 1/2 cup protein and 1/2 cup veggies. Drink 60 + ounces of water. The nurse here doesn't want us to use ANY sugar subsitute. No crystal light, no splenda, no diet foods and no fruit juice and she's not crazy about protein shakes. I have stalled on my weight loss and need to try eating differently. I have 6cc in a 10 band and don't really want another fill because I do have some restriction and I'm afraid that another fill would have me PB'ing. That is no fun. So that's the reason for me.

Good luck to you all. I remember that excitement. One thing for sure, the hospital stay, surgery, and recovery was 10 times easier than expected. I was bored, driving and shopping four days after the sleeve.

I can only speak for myself.... I needed to EXERCISE..... This is coming from a 53 year old certified COUCH POTATO. Exercising + Lapband = SUCCESS I couldn't walk more than two city blocks on our last family vacation (Aug., '12). Actually used a wheel chair going through museums in Chicago. My husband and I joined Planet Fitness this past June (June '13). Couldn't walk more than 10 minutes on the treadmill. Now doing an hour a day on elliptical SIX days a week.... Husband has lost 43 pounds (exercising and watching refined carbs). I find that exercising is helping me with the weight loss (and most definitely the energy level ) until I get in the green zone. It was a killer at first..... But, it's what I needed. 2014~~~~ GET MOVING!!!!! Start with a fifteen (or ten) minute walk. Then, do that AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN. I also find that when I exercise, I make better food choices bc I don't want to blow all of that hard work! YOU CAN DO IT! YOU CAN DO IT! YOU WILL DO IT!!!!!!

Hi, all.. I've had several inquiries and got lazy about answering them, so I hope you don't mind my making a lengthy Sue-Post. (Okay, not lazy, loaded, Vicodin...just let me say that you NEVER want to hear the phrases "urethral stenosis" and "urethral dilation" coming out of your urologist's mouth.) For the innocent...My band surgery was October 15th, 2002, in Monterrey, Mexico, with Roberto Rumbaut Diaz, a band pioneer surgeon and a band patient and a really nice, down-to-earth guy. Prior to banding, I went from my all time high of a BMI 52+ to about a BMI of 48 on the day of surgery. For the first several months, I did okay. I recall that for my mom's 80th birthday, I finally hit a BMI of under 40...I was not morbidly obese! But shortly thereafter, I started dealing with reflux. I had to sleep sitting up. I took various drugs, but they merely lessened the problem. One day, I was having Breakfast with my cousin (an RN) and her husband (an MD) and was able to eat only about two tablespoons of oatmeal at 10:30 a.m. and realized that THEY were looking at someone with a bizarre eating program...maybe an eating disorder. I hopped on a train (I just happened to get to the station seven minutes before departure) and went to Tijuana and had Dr. Kuri unfill me. My reflux immediately resolved. And my weight loss began to resolve. So I eventually went in for mini-adjustments. I had unfills for my panniculectomy surgery and for my breast reduction surgery. In between, I had small re-fills. In two or so years, I had a dozen adjustments. But then I started to feel like my food was bouncing around in my esophagus. It would happen once in a while, and then more often. Not every time, and not just after I had eaten too much. Sometimes, I'd be having a cup of coffee before dinner and the coffee would bounce around. Other times, it would be Water. One day, I could eat a considerable amount of foods. The next day, one stupid bite of oven baked fish, and that was all I could eat. Well...after you do that for a while, you tend to get a little nuts. Especially when well-meaning people start telling you you just have to "work your tool." And when a doctor who doesn't have a band wants you to go to a support group meeting so that you can hear other successful banded people telling you they ALL go through that, with every meal. (Yeah, right.) I finally got to the point that most of what I was eating was Soup and ice cream. Because it would usually go down. I decided that, since I was within ten pounds of my pre-op weight, I wanted to consider the DS. I had an upper GI done. My esophagus is widened. In doctor talk, it's "esophageal dilatation." I went to Dr. Ara Keshshian in Delano, California and told him my story. He said, "Are you expecting me to look surprised? This is NOT the first time I've heard this story." He told me that I needed to have my band emptied...but that he didn't have the needles because he didn't DO bands. So I went to Tijuana and saw dr. verboonen, as he was available right away. He, his partner, the lab tech and my husband watched as I drank the barium and it just sat there in my esophagus. Didn't move. When stuff that isn't blocked just sits, the additional diagnosis is "esophageal dysmotility," in other words, the esophagus is NOT moving the food toward the stomach. (Ignore doctors who tell you that EVERYONE does this.) So, I'm scheduled for an endoscopy, to make sure that I'm not dealing with erosion as well. If that checks out, I'll be having the band removed and DS surgery within the next month or two. So...wisdom? I learned when checking with European surgeons that band removal is a booming business there. One surgeon said that 20% of his practice is revising bands to Rny or DS. (Remember, bands have been there longer, so more people have had more time to encounter problems.) That doesn't mean I think they are a bad thing. I just think that the band is good for whomever it's good for...but that certainly is not everyone. In fact, my insurance began covering the band after I self-paid, but is no longer covering it for people with BMI's in excess of 49...because they lose the same percentage of excess weight which leaves them still MO. And older people have more problems. I was 55. Esophageal dysmotility or "dysperistalsis" is more frequent in older people. Adding the band may just make the problem appear sooner and with more vigor. Not here, but at another site where it is mostly newer people, the band-enthusiasm is not tempered by experience or reason. Here, there are old timers who have been through problems. For many, the band is the answer. For many others, it is not. I am one of the latter. Thanks for your time, Sue

huberslave - I just had my surgery done and would be glad to answer any questions you have. I know before I had mine done I had alot and alot of personal questions too. When I woke up from surgery I was more groggy than anything. I just wanted to go to sleep. No Pain at all. After drinking the barium solution to have xray to make sure no leakage then i hurt a little. more like discomfort, and let me tell you as soon as you say discomfort they load you up with percaset so then you just fall asleep anyway. All bathroom and showering duties I did on my own with no pain. Setting up not hard but getting up from a lying position was tough. I have more gas pain in my shoulders and chest from the co2 they pumped in me than from the band. I have been taking tylenol for 2 days now and I feel ok. I was out shopping the very next day. You have to get up and walk as much as possible. My dr. told me not to be picking up anything over 20 pounds until my 2 week visit. Can't tell you much about the food because i'm still on liquid diet for a little bit longer but i hope this helps. I have a really bad fear of needles and hospitals but it wasn't what i thought at all. It was very easy for someone like me. It took me 18 months to decide and now i wish i had done it earlier. GOOD LUCK and let us all know. Tigger 33 banded 10/17/06 Dr. Abkin St. Clares Hospial

this is my fave from Walmart. about 19 dollars i mix it with FF milk (or blend for a wendy's like slush) or simply put in freezer and eat as ice cream (which is what i am about to do right now)

Thanks pixie dust! Went from a size 22 to a 10

I think people understand when people are trying to change their lifestyles (surgery or not) and eat healthier. I was 10 days post op (still on liquids only) when my daughter's softball team went to pizza and I had to go. Pizza is my kryptonite!! But I'm obviously heavy, so I just had a glass of water (while my husband ate an entire medium pizza!). I got a couple "you aren't having anything?" And I simply said "I'm really trying to be good" and it wasn't awkward at all. This happened a few times during my liquid or purée stage and I just said I ate earlier or explained I was trying to be healthier. No one really cares! I think if you are obviously heavy, people will be sensitive enough to maybe ask one question, but then leave it alone.

The list is under "general" topic... http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/10081-the-official-what-you-will-need-for-your-surgery-thread/ I also used my heating pad, hardly used pain pills (I think I took them twice after I left the hospital and that was it), definitely have a RTD Protein shake that you can just grab from the fridge and sip (I like Premier Protein you can buy a whole case at costco or Sams) and I also used straws (I think some people think that straws are a no no after surgery {because theoretically you can drink too fast}, but just about every sip I take is from a straw and I don't have a single issue!) Also I used sugar-free Halls Vitamin drops, because I had a sore throat for a good 10 days post-op, thanks to intubating, etc. That is all I can think off the top of my head. Good luck with everything!

I was banded in December and I've had 3 fills since. A week after surgery they removed all the fluid in my band because I was very nauseated so as of right now I'm still a little behind fill wise according to my Dr. After my last fill, about a month ago, when I eat certain foods (for some reason fries in particular, I KNOW BAD BAD!) I get this awful pain that radiates to my shoulder and I have to stop eating and wait 10-15 minutes before I start to eat again. I'm assuming that this is food getting stuck. I'm about to be off my dad's insurance in a month or so and wondered if I should try to get another fill even with this recent development. I've noticed that I have been eating a slightly larger portion than in the first 3 weeks since my last fill but I'm kinda worried that I shouldn't get it until I get this problem under control!