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I thought this rule was funny - but I have to say, it's not an issue because I simply cannot drink after a meal. And if I drink within 10 minutes of eating, you can bet I will see it again. If I drink when I am eating, it hurts. If I drink to soon after, it comes back up. Doesn't take any discipline for me - it's simply not possible. But, my band is TIIIIIGGGGHHHTTTT.

Damo, hope your feeling a bit better today. I guess with each passing day you SHOULD start to get better. My op was 4th November and I guess I was one of the lucky ones - all I've ever had is pain at the port site which is now almost all gone. Started mushies on the weekend - only 10 days until some real food. Feel better soon - SIP, SIP SIP and you'll be fine.

PB is productive burp. I'm only 10 days post op and I haven't experienced it yet. I'm sure I will soon enough.

Sleeved May 28. Lost 10# prior to surgery, 20# more by end of June, then up and down all through July. My daily caloric intake as a pretty sedentary person is around 3500 calories. My daily workout adds another 350 or so. I routinely eat around 1100 cals/day and never more than 1500 but the weight is not coming off. I'm tempted to go back to pre-surgery diet but I don't know how long I can last on that. Since surgery, I sometimes get very dizzy to the point of almost passing out accompanied by a partial hearing loss. I know my blood pressure is lower now but normal, not low. Wondering if any guys can input about whether I'm eating too much, not enough, or whatever.

I feel ridiculous for even asking this here because I got my band 3 years ago and other than the 4 to 5 fills I had in the 1st year I have been bouncing along happy as can be. The last 6 months I have noticed I am hungry more often as the full feeling just doesnt last as long. So I made an appointment to get a fill after gaining more than 10 lbs. I once heard someone at a support group say they go in once a year for a fill. Is there truth to this or what have those of you who've been banded a while found to be necessary? Ive kind of just taken the same approach all along, wait and see if I need it do it.

oh vicenza, i have spent 2 months there, actually stayed at Longare barracks. i love that place. there is a restaurant that we would go to just a little walk from the barracks, and there was another downtown, i think it was Annies, Amies, something like that but the food was DEVINE!! pm is private message, so people can post one on one. kinda like instant messaging, but delayed. if that makes sense. 10 years of experience sounds pretty good to me, i always wondered why those italian women were so small and had big boobs!! hahah now I know the secret. good for you for taking the step to be healthy. what will your whole process be for the pre op and post op requirements? g2s

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and now it's my anniversary as well. It's our first anniversary but probably not going to do anything since I spent our anniversary money on surgery LOL. Next year though , there are going to be some rocking costumes since we will both be close to goal. We got married in Vegas and I want to spend our second anniversary in Vegas again doing all the cool stuff. HW 385 SW 359 Sleeved 10/5/16

I am in the same boat. I'm three weeks out tomorrow. I lost 15 pounds pre-op, another 10 in the first week and a half, and I've been gaining and losing the next 3 ever since. I haven't even moved on from strained liquids yet- not til tomorrow, so I know it's not over eating. I struggle with the Protein (mixed without ice or anything - too thick per Dr. - I can barely tolerated any I've tried). I'm about to think I'm going to be that 1% who never loses more than 20-25 lbs no matter what they do!

At my three month appointment, my doc said, "no restrictions"...My body says something different. I'm almost 9 months out and still have problems with lettuce - I can eat about 1/4 cup of finely (very finely) chopped romaine lettuce. I can have strawberries or blueberries in my shakes with no issues. I'm OK with some cooked veggies, but raw is hit or miss - some days I might be able to eat some carrot or tomato and another day, I can't. This time of year cherries are a local favorite...I ate 10 cherries the other day and was in excruciating pain. I can have one or two at a time, that's it.

Hey there! I had gastric sleeve surgery on 1/31/2020 and here's my story. I attended the free 12 week orientation classes June 2019 thru Sept 2019 at Kaiser. My insurance paid for everything and I had no issues getting approved. My only out of pocket expense was a $100 co-pay for the hospital stay. Wonderful insurance, I know. Luckily, I had no medical issues making me very low risk for the surgery. My surgeon recommended that I get the Bypass and I changed my mind on procedure the day of surgery and switched to the Sleeve. My reasoning is simple...I didn't want to reroute my intestines and I didn't want to chance vitamin deficiencies or dumping syndrome. I fasted on clear liquids the day prior to surgery and it was hell. I had an interview on fasting day and wanted so badly to stuff my face, being an emotional eater (i did get the job!). I went to bed super early the night before surgery because I had a massive headache and mood swings from fasting. My surgery was at 1pm and because of the fasting... I wish I scheduled a morning surgery. The nurse that prepped me for surgery was an idiot. Why on earth would I be able to pee for a pregnancy test after having no fluids since the day before?! I could barely pee and what I did pee didn't make it in the cup lol I got 2 tiny drops of pee in the cup and guess what? It was enough for the pregnancy test. The nurse stuck me 7 times looking for a vein. 7 times. Not just a poke either, like she was really digging. She tried my forearm, the top of my arm, and both hands before calling for help. I woke up in recovery in extreme pain, nausea and was thirsty. I said "I'm thirsty and my stomach hurts really bad" and the nurse said yeah you just had stomach surgery. I wanted to sock her in the face. They made me wait 6 hours for pain medication and water. The night nurses sucked and the day nurses were great. I used the call button every 1-2 hours for more pain meds which they could only give me every two hours. I called after 45 mins and said "did you give me a full or half dose?" lmao but I was serious. The built up gas hurt and my throat was sore. I tried really hard to push the gas out and ended up sharting in my bed. I walked often because I badly wanted to go home. Coming home was nice and I wasn't hungry but still thought about food a lot. I followed the rules and sipped my water and protein shakes and jello. I only took a week off from work because I wanted my routine back. The doctor told me it was too soon because of brain function is usually low this early on. He said "do you want to go back because you're bored or because it's a money thing" and I said "I'm bored as hell" and he said "then no, you can't go back yet." I didn't listen and have no regrets. I started taking the pill form of multivitamin early on because the the ones you eat made me gag. I slowly introduce foods as instructed and my staples are yogurt, protein shakes, salmon, cottage cheese, and veggies. I keep my meals simple. I had my 3 month check up today and I'm on track. I've lost 50 lbs total since surgery. I'm aware that weight loss with the sleeve is slower but I'm okay with it. Each week I can physically feel and see my body changing for the better. I exercise daily by walking 1-2 miles, I feel great, and I have more energy. This is the one and only time that I've had surgery. It was rough at times but overall a good experience. I am happy that I did it and have a long road ahead

Don't feel so bad , many of us have fallen off the wagon before too. I gained 10 lbs back over the winter because of a foot injury and baking way too much ! Sweets are my downfall !! But I 've lost the 10 and an additional 5 !! I just find that when Im full of protien, fruit and veggies, I dont crave the sweets as much. That , and adding in some exercise that I really like helped me drop the weight. Maybe you could try those ideas ?? Results = more motivation !! Good luck !!

I work in a high school. We returned on Jan. 3 from Winter Break. My surgery was scheduled for Jan. 10. I started telling people I would be out for 2 weeks with surgery on the 4th. No one asked, not even my principal and assistant principals. My doctor wrote a note on plain letterhead versus the Weight Loss Surgery Center letterhead, by my request. I didn't need to complete FMLA since it was only 2 weeks. I just used my leave. While I was out, several people texted and emailed with well wishes and asking if they could do anything. When I returned, a few people asked what I had done. I told them that I had a hiatal hernia repaired, which was true. They were mainly glad that I was back and ok. I was really weak that first week back. The first day I overdid it and stayed home the next day. My principal was very supportive and told me I should never have pushed myself so soon. But he's respected my privacy. It's no one's business IMO.

Hi all, This will be a long post about my journey 6.5 weeks post-op and its a bit tough (like everyone else's!) So I have not updated in a while due going through a major stall. After surgery my weight went up 5lbs, dropped by 4 then again up by 2. I started feeling very lousy and discouraged. Was blaming it all on the fill... etc (naturally) But little by little I regained my will, well still trying, Put reminders to eat slow, eat little, drink Water and exercise will beep on my phone FOREVER. Yes, every 30 minutes I set up my phone to drink water. Funny when my hubs is at home he counts how many I missed I have 25 oz bottle and know exactly how much I drink. Four of those and I feel accomplished. Three and I am happy too! Two I know I have to get back on track. I can gulp for now as I am only 2cc so pretty loose. Second, I log my food on MFP for nutrients counting. Started right when I finished cake from my son's 2nd bday... I have now the 2 bad days to compare with... then I threw out all the sweet stuff (except my dark chocolate!). I still cheat a tiny bit (i know, booooooo!) my hubby had to make homemade ice-cream! but I only had a cup about when I had 300 cal def and made him feel so guilty for making ice-cream and not frozen yogurt haha Plus I walk 1.5 - 2 miles at least 5 days a week. Wish I could do 3 miles, but my little monster gets annoyed. Plus weather in NYC is not so friendly. No excuses, so I did my first day of exercise following an app on iPhone. Just 19 minutes, light one to prove how out of shape I am! Still soar and feels great. So thats it, eat & count calories, carbs, fat and Protein. Eating about half a cup per meal. Drinking water every 30 minutes, but not 30 min before and after meals and get moving! Oh and I did buy Alex & Natalie's "The big book on lap band" just for support still reading ... Finally, I am down to 225.8 lbs! Its a tough journey but I chose the perfect tool. Thank you for reading and hope to hear some stories too. lula

Wow that is great!!! How long did you have to do pre op diet? I only ask because I started at 399 and my doctor had me do a 37 day pre op diet. I still have 10 days to go. I have lost 23 pounds. I hope I still have a huge weight loss like you after surgery.

@@tobysgirl Holy cow you can go back and find me complaining about losing too slowly and stalling constantly! I finally decided to just worry about what I could control and not what I couldn't and moved on with my life and guess what? I got to goal! And now I'm maintaining about 10 pounds below it for like 9 months! We are all so darn impatient with the process and cause so much undo stress on ourselves, it tends to de motivate and sabotage us. If we just learn to chill and work our programs, we realize that we will get there. And then the hard part starts.....

My mom is 73 and has a 2nd meeting with the surgeon in July. She has a band that was placed in 2006 which has failed. If she can get the weight off and have 10 years quality of life it is well worth it. She has bad knees from the weight but otherwise is in good health.

I was tempted to do too much too fast, but I listened to my surgeon. I did cardio right away, as much as I could tolerate, mostly treadmill and walking, some recumbent bike. I wasn't allowed to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds until after my post-op appointment three weeks post surgery, and even then they told me to go slow with lifting or using resistance equipment at the gym. Now at 90-days post-op I can do anything I want.

I just got my fourth fill yesterday 10/28/08 and i'm down another nine pounds. I am so happy...:w00t:

I have cardiomyopathy from rhematic fever (heart damage) and pregnancy related heart failure. They told me that I probably wouldn't live through another pregnancy. Your heart becomes enlarged when you have cardiomyopathy and it has to work harder to carry all your excess weight. I was told that the cardiomyopathy won't necessarily kill me (unless I got pregnant) but I will die with it. I was terribly worried about my heart condition during surgery even though the cardiologist said I would be fine. My heart condition has improved since my diagnosis 10 years ago and I am counting on it improving as I lose weight and become more active. I've never heard of cardiomyopathy being stress induced. I know stress can worsen the condition. I wish you luck and hope your condition improves!

It sucks to be 49 ½, especially when you’re obese. So today I thought I’d recant my fall physical…as that sums it up. I remember my yearly physicals up until about 10 years ago I never had ANYTHING to complain about. After that my strategy soon became; pick the two most important issues and focus on them with the PCP. This year Mr.SA insisted I make a list…how sad is that, I have a LIST!:biggrin: Mr.SA gave me the lecture about how YOU don’t know what is related…give THEM all the info. and let THEM decide what’s important (can you tell his dad is a Dr?). This wasn’t my style…I’m not a complainer (I know, I get it all out here) but I typed up my list (I’m a little OCD) of about 6 or 7 things and off I went. I should mention here that this was the visit this fall that I also decided to ask about the Lap Band for the first time. I was a little nervous about my “list” as I sat waiting on the beloved crinkly paper on the exam table…I SWEAR they make it extra noisy just to make you more nervous. In walks a kid who could have been my son. OK, NOT my usual Dr.! He explains he’s an intern and would be doing my initial exam and then the Dr. would be in. Poor kid, this was NOT to be his day. I started into my list…and he’d ask me a few questions as I went along…then I forgot where I was, so I paused to actually go get out my type written list…BIG MISTAKE…his face got more flushed than mine:blushing: (and I think I need to add rosacea to my list) and I SWEAR his teenage acne was breaking out as I spoke. I tried to add a little humor saying my DH made me make a list because I was falling apart and needed a tune up:laugh:…no smile, no laughter…just looked more frightened:eek:…OK then:huh2:…on we went. I made it through to the end with a few raised eyebrows…I’m pretty sure my face was actually on fire at this point.:thumbup: So right about now I’m feeling like he must think I’m a hypochondriac or worse yet…what’s that thing people have when they want medical attention…munchausens? The LAST think I want is attention about all my health problems. Dear God,:biggrin: now he’s trying to recap my list and I suddenly realize he hasn’t taken down a single note. He’s about on number 4 on my list when his memory fails:out:…I toyed with the idea of just handing him my list, but then I remember he’s not a writer…do I dare suggest he write it down…I think not, he’s flustered enough. It’s like watching one of my kids practicing for speech class at school…I want to yell “Where are your index cards?” He tries reciting my list about 3 more times unsuccessfully (I'm starting to get a almost 50 year old hot flash and may go nuclear any minute) when I we hear a knock at the door. It’s my regular Dr. “Are you about done it there?”…Panic forms on the poor interns face. He’s frozen in fear, he opens his mouth but nothing comes out.:wub: I shout… “Oh, sorry Dr. ____, I’m keeping him tied up with my big list of problems…ha, ha…we’re almost done!” Relief flows back into the intern’s face. Loooong pause, then he finds new strength and says “What issues are the biggest problems that you would like us to focus on today?” OK, good boy, you may make a good Dr. yet…now we’re getting somewhere…I picked my “big 2” as always and recited back the details…off he went to get the Dr. In they came and he recited my “big 2” perfectly…I did eventually get in the rest of my “list” as if I’d just remembered them…my intern looked on gratefully. It went smoothly…I even got a phone number of a lap band surgeon from them even though I’m “…not that heavy and you’re not a metabolic nightmare, but you can look into it if you want”. Did I not just spend the last hour giving you my “list” of reasons why I need this? All is well…I had my surgeon’s phone number and my intern may not drop out of medical school, just yet. I think schools need to issue pens with all those medical books. Just wait until he sees my list at my 50 yr. old physical...next time I'll bring a copy!:eek:

My surgery is set for 3/29/10. I'm excited and it just now occured to me that I am completely unaware of the pain or recovery time afterwards. I could really use some info on others' experiences. Thanks!:smile:

Rules for 2008 Make realistic goals for yourself, write them down, pray about them and try to achieve them! Go through your cell phone, caller id, calendar, and email addresses and discard all the people and events that mean you no good or don't benefit your life! Stop making excuses about your life and make changes! If you are involved w/a person, job, or circumstance that is doing more harm than good, do yourself a favor - LET IT GO! Stop being someone’s mistress; especially if you are aware that you are!!!! If you a re between the ages of 22-35 please start listening to more than Hip-Hop! Take care of your kids and devote a weekend or two when you spend "quality" time with them. Who cares if you miss out on a "mix"! You can party anytime! Get your debt in order! Eventually you'll want a nice home and car in your name! Stop spreading senseless rumors and try to get your own life in order! Listen more! Talk Less! Give without worrying about it! Tell him no for once! Tell people you love them before you hear about some great tragedy in the world or lose a close friend! Speak clearly and not ignorantly! Anyone can be a fool. If you are married, stop cheating. If you're guilty of this, ask God to forgive you and don't do it again! Remember the Ten Commandments. Stop waiting on Tax Season and Save Now! Eat what you need and not just because you can! See how long you can go without checking your cell phone wh en it's not ringing. Be more positive and stop being a grouch! I didn't do it to you boo! STOP HATIN! If you don't like my style, kick rocks! DO YOU! Start telling your children that when you're having a "grown folks" conversation, they need to go play. Remember they are like sponges. Appreciate everyone. WHY do we put each other down for the most ridiculous things?!? If you are a person of color and you live w/or work in a white environment don't be the one showing the latest dances, singing the new Jay-Z or teaching Ebonics. Be better not bitter! Men and women! Cry more! It's therapeutic. Stop tripping about not being where you want to be! What have you been doing to get there?!? If you aren't in relationship, it's not the end of the world! Self love is more valuable! Keep your opinion to yourself! We all know what others should do, but what about you? If God delivers you from a messy relationship, friend or situation, why do you keep PULLING THEM BACK? Let it go! FORGIVE! FORGIVE! FORGIVE! All of us have been forgiven for some low life things! So open your heart! Remember - God forgave you. Men, stop trying to be so hard when it comes to relationships. Let that guard down before you lose the one that's meant for you! Speak up for yourself! Learn a new hobby! Broaden your mind. If you're single, start going on more dates with different types of people. Don't just stick to the same type of woman or man! Stop forwarding all the text messages you receive; everyone doesn't have unlimited text messaging!! Stop replying to ALL! Live like today is your last day, love like God taught us, and laugh like you've never laughed before! You'll live longer. Lastly, if it's only 5 minutes a day have a little talk with Jesus! Let Him know you want to be better today than you were yesterday and watch Him turn things around for you! Top 10 Predictions for 2008 The Bible will still have the answers. Prayer will still work. The Holy Spirit will still move. God will still inhabit the praises of His people. There will still be God-anointed preaching. There will still be singing of praise. God will still pour out blessings upon His people. There will still be room at the Cross. Jesus will still love you. Jesus will still save the lost. God whispers in your soul and speaks to your mind. Sometimes when you don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at you. It's your choice: Listen to the whisper, or wait for the brick. Author Unknown

Sometimes being a woman is just hard! I'm not sure what in the world is going on but 2 weeks ago on the 7th, I got my visit from TOM, which was 10 days early! Now, two weeks later, I get it a gain. This makes two visits in 1 month! I hate that. Heck, no wonder I can't lose weight. I keep having my monthly which bloats me up. No wonder my cravings are so intense. It all makes sense now. Its frustrating but what can I do about it. I've got horrible cramps today too. No wonder I felt so wide open this past week. I think I might get on the b/c pill just to regulate me, but I sure don't want to gain weight with b/c pills.

BG I just sold all my size 22/24 on ebay as you start getting smaller list them in lots I got almost a hundred bucks for 15 shirts and 79.00 for 10 pairs of pants then use the money to shop!! That bottom picture is the funniest thing I have ever seen!

I've dread them for almost 10 years now. Wish I could wake up and it's January 2nd.