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I ate wendy's chili today..... 10 days post op. I chewed and chewed. IT went down fine..... I guess I am a cheater too. However, I have not been hungry at all until the past two days.............. I will try to stick to liquids only for the next 7 days.......... Who knows?

I'll be 64 on October 1 & just had my sleeve four days ago. I wish I could have had this done many, many years ago, but I had to wait for medicine to get to where I needed it to be. As a nurse I was just never comfortable with the malabsorption aspects of gastric bypass & I was excited to find out about the VSG & that my insurance covers it. I researched the surgeons covered by my insurance & made the call. My doctor is particularly strict & I have followed his instructions from my first consult on April 25. From the time I left his office that day I was on a high protein/low carb diet until 2 weeks prior to surgery when I went on a modified clear liquid diet of 4 Protein shakes & all the Clear liquids I wanted a day. I had also done a 1-week "trial" of the clear liquids back in June to see how I tolerated it. I took that 3+ months to wean myself off of caffeine & carbonated drinks by having a little less each day until I was off & can honestly say I haven't missed them. My starting weight at that first consult was 303 pounds & the day before surgery I was 259! A loss of 44 pounds in just under 4 months! I do weigh myself daily on my Withings WS-30 digital wireless scale but I don't obsess about the numbers. As expected, I did gain "Water weight" in the hospital & went up to 264.9 pounds. But, today, on post-op day 4, I'm down to 263.6. I never expected to be able to lose the 10% of my weight pre-op as I've always been one who not only gains back what I lose but have a very difficult time losing in the first place. I am continuing to follow my surgeon's instructions to the letter because it sure has worked so far.

I will be having mine done in Cincinnati, Ohio for $13k. You will find people on here paying anywhere from $10-$20k. It really depends on what part of the country that you live in. Some people go to Mexico to have it done cheaper.... BUT, with the Lap-Band your aftercare is essential to be successful. It's very important to have a local or accessible Doctor to do your fills/aftercare. Some people travel across country to save $5k and have trouble finding a Doctor to do fills/aftercare. My advice would be to research local surgeons and their cost (you can search surgeons on this website). Some people are successful with out of state Doctors but for me it seemed to make more sense to choose a local Doc because of how important aftercare is to success with Lap-Band. Good luck! Forgot to mention that 2 years of fills/office visits are included in this price. $100 after two years.

Did your doc not give you some post-op instructions and guidelines?? I have tape over my incisions on my stomach. I was told to just continue to shower regularly with them and eventually they will get looser and fall (be able to be pulled lightly) off.... and I can attest to this because I had the some type of tape for my first surgery and this is what they did. About 10 days post-op they were pretty loose and I made sure they were loose enough to pull off so I didn't rip any of the scab (big no-no). My doc has us start taking our Vitamins and supplements at 10 days post-op. The post-op diet for us is 10 days of clears, 10 days of full, 10 days of mushies then you can go on to normal foods (as your sleeve will allow). If I were you I wouldn't worry about calories right now, you shouldn't be consuming enough to even worry about it. What you should be focusing on is trying to get your Protein in, which will aid in fat loss (versus muscle loss) and also is a natural appetite suppressant. If you're not already, I highly suggest joining a site like myfitnesspal.com or dailyplate.com!! I wish you luck!

Tomorrow, I will be 7 weeks post op (October 18)!!! This has been an amazing journey to date. I have committed to making this work and have lost over 20% of my excess body weight!!! PreOp 465lbs, now 405lbs. 1 rough 45min stretch post-op the first night home, needed pain meds but only took twice once home. Slept in my recliner the rest of the night, felt much better than flat bed. Diabetic Meds - Gone!!! Acid Reflux - Gone!!! Back Pain - Gone!! Knee Pain - Gone!! Blood Pressure - Down below normal ranges!!! Cholesterol- Down below normal ranges!! Blood Sugar/A1C - Down to normal ranges!!! Wearing clothes that are 3-5 years old!!! Walking stride is improving and moving faster!! Doing 45min of Cardio on Elliptical!!! Walked in the mall in the first couple of weeks!!! No Fast food in over 3 months!!! Not hungry, no cravings!!! My wife has stated that I have a positive disposition and have tackled this in the right manner. Doctor and nurses all say I am making great progress. I have moved beyond the purée stage and working to learn the soft diet stage. Taking my time!!! Advice to others.... 1 - Go to Support Group before/after surgery and get comfortable 2 - Find a person to share progress. 3 - Go to the grocery store and read labels. 4 - Walk, Walk, Walk - Advance to cardio machines if you have access 5 - Water, Water, Water 6 - Protein ( I started Protein shakes 2 months before just to get use to them) 7 - Be Patient (Trust the process) 8 - Vitamins and supplements 9 - Plan ahead (this was my weaknesses prior to surgery and one day after - I learned quick) 10 - Challenge your tastebuds to try new healthy foods!!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I 100% I got the super sleeve done 7-12-10 and I love it. My sister has a lot of issues with her lap band that I do not with my super sleeve. What sold me was the fact that they do not cut my stomach. The whole idea of WLS is scary and that just helped with my fears. And if you are worried you won?t lose as much weight think again! Check out my tracker and pictures.. They speak for them selves!

Well last week I went from exercising 3 days a week to 5 days a week. I actually tried a stairstepper today and was able to do 10 minutes on manual without breaking a sweat! In just 5 weeks I have moved from a 4 pound hand weight to an 8 pound handweight. I lost 5 pounds last month and then regained it when I put on muscle and then lost it again with the help of those muscles! I have finally lost a new pound - down to 171. However, in just 4 weeks of exercising for about 30 minutes a day I have lost a whole clothing size and I feel muscle for the first time. I am up to 100 situps without stopping. Feels really good. Last week I walked after dinner and I will do it again tonight. I am hoping by the end of October walk every night so that I get exercise in twice a day. The scale is moving slowly but the body is definitely changing. How are you doing???

Well hello everyone. Buttercup, I had alot of questions about the surgery too before hand. Since the surgery (which has been 3 weeks now) Yeah!!! I would be lying if I say the first week was rough for me after surgery. If you look at my posts you will see I ended up with extreme pains due to air left in band after surgery. But honestly, The 5th day when i could not take it anymore, I called the office and they fit me right in.! I just want you to know that when dr. snyder and his staff say they are there for you before and after surgery THEY ARE. I have had to call Dr. snyder on the saturday after surgery and he answered and helped me through the nausea with sending a prescription within 10 minutes. I personally think that means alot for your surgeon to take that much time and care for his patients. That was one of the things that attracted me to dr snyder. I was orginally scheduled to have lapband with another doctor and could never get a call back. So that was it for me. If they couldnt get it together before my case then what would happen if something went wrong. So definitely research your surgeon. I have looked on this site and others and that doctor has a bad followup care. After saying all that Dr. snyder was everything that I was looking for and I never went back to the other office. I knew 2 people that had surgery with Dr. Snyder one was a bypass and one lapband. It has been a huge difference in my life. The lapband is wonderful! I have only had it 3 weeks but I love it so far. Surgery was good. I was proably in pain for like a complete week. I still have pains in my shoulder but its bearable. I am back to work. Although I am on a weight restriction as far as work. But you ask would I do this again? As of right now DEFINITELY!!!!! I feel my life coming back 100%. I feel better all the way around. Since sugery I have lost 15 pounds. i know its not tons of weight but its 15pounds less than 3 weeks ago.! If you have any questions or you want to pm me. I'm always here. Good luck to you, you will do great!!!!

Hey brownsugar ~ I have an appointment on the 15th too I had my first fill on 12/01, so this is a follow up appointment. I feel restriction now, but I wish I even felt more, so I may ask them to give me a little more. Good luck with your first fill ~ it was way easier than I thought it would be.

My Dr visit today went well, I had an upper GI done and blood work done. My Dr is going on vacation so my physiological and nutrition appointments are scheduled for June 16, stress test is scheduled for July 1, EGD is scheduled for July 10 and hopefully per my Dr an August surgery date. My deductible is met,so all costs will be 20% out of pocket which should be okay since I do not have to do a sleep study nor a supervised diet. If my EGD goes well with out any signs of stomach lining separating I will be a sleeved woman....praying for a successful surgery and recovery in Jesus Name

Congrats on beginning the journey to a whole new you! It is a wild ride getting through all of the testing and requirements but always remember why you made the decision you did and what your goal is at the end. I was banded on 9/19 (only a few months ago) and it has already had such a tremendous impact on me and my 2 small kids and my ever supportive hubby. Life is already so different ( in the best of ways)....I especially love the extra energy I have and when I look in the mirror I am (finally) beginning to see a smaller me. My confidence is so much improved and I really feel good just about ME! The weight loss is just a part of this journey and I am happy to say I have lost 65 pounds. Choosing the band with plication was the best decision ever. You will find tremendous support here and some great people...but like B-52 said, your doctor and their team should ALWAYS be the people you listen to first and foremost. You will also find some negative nellies on here, at times, do not let them scare you away. If you have questions, silly or not, ask your doctor and get clarification from them. And my most important piece of advice, in the few months of this new lifestyle, is to remember that this is a JOURNEY not a quick road trip. We did not gain our weight over night and it is not going to come off over night. Try not to compare yourself to others here. Rates of weight loss are so individual and the type of surgery and your body type play such an important and individual role in your outcomes....but always remember....YOU CAN AND WILL BE ABLE TO DO IT...NO MATTER HOW HARD IT MAY GET AT TIMES! Wishing the best of New Year's and all the best in 2014....it's going to be a wonderful year!

Ha, sure did! Just updated my thread. Here's a bonus progress pic for anyone else playing along. Only 10 pounds until Onederland!!

Just thought I'd share a study I found in one of my medical journey subscriptions. Interesting read! Sleeve Gastrectomy Improves Testosterone Levels in Obese Men Thu, 10/08/15 - 11:39 Sleeve gastrectomy can normalize testosterone levels in men with obesity-related hypogonadism, according to a recent study. Previous research has suggested both the potential benefits of bariatric surgery to overall health and potential adverse effects of testosterone replacement therapy. For this reason, researchers aimed to investigate the effects of surgery-related weight loss on serum testosterone and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ RELATED CONTENT Bariatric Surgery Helps Relieve Asthma Symptoms Bariatric Surgery Can Lower Diabetes Risk by 80% ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In their study, they followed 24 men undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, measuring their serum testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and PSA levels before surgery, then again 3, 6, and 12 months after. Overall, the amount of men in the study with low serum testosterone levels dropped from 63% to 41% 12 months after surgery. “Our cohort experienced a significant increase in average serum testosterone as quickly as 3 months after sleeve gastrectomy and by 12 months, this value had increased from 295 to 423 ng/dL (p=0.003). DHEA showed a trend toward increase, from 12.8 to 39.6 ng/mL (p=0.12) and serum PSA concentration rose over 12 months from 0.62 to 0.75 ng/mL (p=0.047) with no change in PSA mass.” “The take home message is that if you are an obese man with low testosterone your therapy should be weight loss not testosterone replacement, and a successful way to achieve meaningful weight loss is through a bariatric operation,” they concluded. “This is a unique and beneficial finding for sleeve gastrectomy hasn’t been studied before, demonstrating for the first time, that testosterone levels are improved in a group of obese male patients following sleeve gastrectomy.” —Michael Potts References: Morton JM, Mokhrati T, Nair AA, et al. Male sex hormones normalize after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Paper presented at: The 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. Chicago, IL. October 5, 2015. American College of Surgeons. Testosterone Levels Improve in Obese Men Following a Common Weight-Loss Operation [press release]. October 5, 2015. https://www.facs.org/media/press-releases/2015/morton. ‹ PREVIOUS ARTICLENEXT ARTICLE ›

I am hoping for an October surgery. I was reading some post surgery paperwork from my surgeon just now and it says tips for life with a bad to cut food into the size of a pencil eraser and chew 10-20 times! Is this true? I understand small bites and chewing a lot, but that seems VERY small. Like non existent!

tomorrow preop appt, history, physical and anesthesia consult. at 10 and 10:30am

I am 10 Days post op. I am starved!! I want mashed potatoes so bad I dream of them....ha ha! Not really but think of them probably more often than the normal Joe. I go to the Dr for my follow up on the 28 th. By then I will be 12 days out and praying he let's me have mushies. I am so so sick of soup!!! Broth!!! And Crystal light. Any more ideas on mushies besides mashed potatoes? I am sure that will get old just as quick as the broth and soups. And this is the best site!! I love all the support and knowing someone's out there going through the same challenges or has been there. Thanks so much!!

I have no experience with weight loss drugs. I would be hesitant too. There are ways to accelerate weight loss ( I just typed it up on another thread..haha) ... and also accepting that we all lose at a different rate and speed and that is okay too! Edited to add... I just cut and paste what I typed in another post. Not exactly on topic, but maybe some thoughts for you.... I started at 308, and about 7 months post op my weight loss slowed to a CRAWL. i mean like 2# a month. I still weighed in the 190s and at 5'5" had a ways to go. I found out that for me I had to do a couple of things to get going again. #1 I had to really face the fact that at 190 I was physically pretty comfortable and still had an nice emotionally shielding fat suit. I looked great according to my friends, but in truth, I looked matronly which was safe for me. #2 I came to realize that I needed to go low carb to get the weight off. For me, Protein bars where the number one issue - I was having 1-2 a day and that is ALOT of carbs. I had to stop buying them. #3 I had to change my exercise routine. I was making NO progress spending long times on an eliptical and using the weight machines. I switched to high intensity interval training - using a spinning bike. I went back to losing 10-12# a month and got to my goal of 158# 14 months post op. I have since lost a few more pounds during maintenance and now weigh about 140ish.

Good morning I'll be going through with this procedure January 10 and I have a lot of mix emotions imagine I rescheduled this surgery twice , my thing is I wait 220 pounds maybe by now . I was at 215 but my question is after all the weight loss would I be hanging? that's were im concern .... and what I would eat after the surgery... plz someone reach out and help me with this decision... I know at the end if this, it will be my decision to make but you will help make it easier for me . Sent from my SM-G928P using the BariatricPal App

Hey guys! Don't compare yourself to other 'loser's'. We will all lose at different paces. I am about 4 1/2 months out and stalled yet again. Oh, and I GAIN! I have a 3 pound gain right now. I only lose about 10 per month after the first month or so. Yes I am a turtle. Yes I am frustrated. Yes I am silently panicking inside but I know it will come off. Well, it least it better! Just keep doing what you are doing. I know I need more exercise right now. I had work travel last week and it threw me way off but back on the horse. Hang in there!!!

Hi, on a scale of 1 - 10 for coffee freak I was a 13 !!! I could not go without coffee, typically drinking 4 cups b/4 leaving house for work, then 2 pots of coffee @ work through the day... I LOVE COFFEE. I gave it up... I wanted this surgery so bad and I wanted it to work and to lose weight, I totally and faithfully followed everything my doc & nut said for the first 4 months...then summer came and I figured I have went this long without coffee why go back to drinking it now... my husband does have coffee on the weekend and OMG, it smells so incredibly awesome... I feel once winter comes I will have a cup of coffee, or maybe two.... but I will not go back to being a coffeeholic like I was! LOL... Set a short term goal...comitt yourself to following all your doc & nut recommendations to the letter....and you will see better results... Good Luck!!

Thank you. 135 by December. Sent from my XT1635-01 using the BariatricPal App

Thank you. Congratulations on your anniversary and your success!! Sent from my XT1635-01 using the BariatricPal App

Mine was 10 minutes long. Basically asking if I was a binge eater. Easy peazy.

http://www.zetacap.us/ I can't imagine this being for obese people. If I only had 10 lbs to lose I might try it.

June 7th for me, and that feels too far away! My doc isn't putting me on a liquid diet prior to the surgery, but DOES ask that I do a low-carb (no more than 50/day) diet for 10 days prior to surgery to help shrink my liver, allowing easier access to my stomach. After gaining all but 30 pounds back from the 100+ I lost with my horribly slipped LapBand (removed in March 2013), I'm STOKED and so ready for this journey!