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I looked at it this way. The surgery probably added 10 years to my life. Great investment even at x10000000 the price.

Today it has been 10 months since I started this journey to find my other butt! Ten months have gone by so fast, and so much has happened, I don't know where to begin. So I will try to be brief, and let a couple of photos speak the volumes that I have to say! I am down more than 130 pounds, and I've honestly lost track of how many sizes. Let's see.. I'm wearing a size 28 waist jeans now.. not sure how that translates but I'm guessing it's a size 8, maybe 7. I only have 1 pair of jeans that fits perfectly right now, the rest get held up with a belt! I'm okay with that for awhile. I wear a size large shirt.. sometimes a medium, depending on style. The girls have begun to shrink. And I must say, on that note, to be careful what you wish for.. I now have pancake boobs... or darn close to pancakes anyway, and bra style is EVERYTHING!! hehe! Most of my shoes are big on me now which is something that still surprises me ten months later, because I never thought of how fat my feet used to be. I may have mentioned in an earlier post how much my wardrobe has increased because I now have three closets to choose from instead of just one.. definitely a bonus! I continue to be unrecognizable to lots of people. I still find it entertaining, and funny! When I look at old pictures of myself, I'm stunned, and can't believe the difference... so I completely understand how people who I don't see very often have no idea who I am!! My life has changed in all of the ways you might have guessed, and in many ways that I never would have expected. I am understanding even more why lap-banders are required to go through a psychiatric evaluation before they can be approved for surgery. Such huge life-changing things happening inside of such a relatively small space in time could truly send a person spinning off into nutzoid land. I think I'm doing pretty well at keeping my distance from said nutzoid land most of the time, but others may disagree! Here's a couple of photos taken this morning by my daughter-in-law who had me laughing hard the whole time! I have to say I still look at photos and think I look a little fat. I guess I'll always have issues. A friend of mine reminded me this morning that the camera adds ten pounds so maybe I should just go with that! I'm not done yet, but getting very close! It's after 3am and I can't remember the other things I was going to write, so I'll just call this good! Thanks for stopping by! Oh.. and NO I didn't dye my hair red! The lighting kinda makes the natural red in my hair shine in these pics though huh?! Looks like I could only add one photo for whatever reason.. you can see one more if you visit my blog at: http://www.myotherbutt.blogspot.com

Great success story!! I'm just now starting down this road. I will get my surgery date on Tuesday. I hope 10 months from now I will have my own success story to share. Keep up the great job.

Hello! First of all I'd like to say that even though this is my first post, I've received a lot of advice and encouragement from many of you here so thank you! I had my laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery on December 2nd, 2014 and I'm happy to say I've had an amazing recovery! I started my journey at 5'6 weighing 265lbs at my heaviest, 256lbs on surgery date and 10 days post op am now at 240lbs ????????I stopped taking my pain meds about 4 days after surgery, I can sleep in whatever position I want, I've been trying pureed foods and have never felt nausea, haven't vomited or felt uncomfortably full. I'm feeling great....but Just a couple of hours ago I fell down the steps...only 5 steps, but I hurt my bum and my elbow, and of course I'm concerned about my insides, I just had major surgery a few days ago. I feel ok, my incisions look fine and everything seems normal but I'm still a little nervous. Will be calling my surgeons office tomorrow to see what she says. Did anyone ever go through something like this? Should I be more worried? Help. ????

Hi y'all - OP here. I had to go to the ER with bad lower right abdominal pain. I'm 10 days out now and they told me they think my stomach muscles are strained and need to heal. Has this happened to any of you? Basically if I sit for a while then get up, it's BAD pain for a few minutes and then it settles down and I can walk around. So nerve wracking. Needing more reassurance

I went nuts and I don't regret a bite. But everyone is different. I know me. I would still be mourning the things I didn't taste "one last time." I don't plan to visit Krispy Kreme anymore or eat half the junk I used to. It truly is dead to me, so I'm glad I said goodbye. I think I gained 10 pounds after I made the appt. I crave good food now. It's a good thing

Okay, you made a mistake, let's not beat ourselves up over it. Learn from it and call your doctor and let he/she know what is going on. Most importantly get back on where you should be at for your post-op diet. If you are suppose to be on liquids still then get back on liquids. If you are suppose to be on mushies then start mushies. It is really important to follow your doctor's post op diet instructions. Your stomach incisions are healing, so don't take a chance with your health. Get back on track! At 10 days post-op, I was on the mushie stage, not solid foods.

Overall I lost about 55 lbs in 10 months. I was on the lower end of overweight when I got banded at the age of 57. I was always a sturdy grrl, but I started gaining weight once I hit menopause. Every year I got fatter and fatter. In this I was just like my mum. In fact I gained weight in exactly the same way she did thus proving that genetics play a role. We were both apples with skinny arms and legs. My mum would say that she looked like a pregnant spider. So did I. People would often ask me if I was pregnant even though that ship had long since sailed! lol I personally found the band a very good tool for losing weight. My problem was that I was a glutton. I ate fairly well but I just loved eating. With the band I filled up quickly and did not feel hungry for hours and hours. I did spend a lot more time reading the nutritional facts info on prepared foods - this info must be printed on everything up here in Canada by law - and was often surprised and dismayed at how hi-cal and empty of nutrients these often are. Even such items as soups are fairly empty of vitamins and other nutrients! My personal challenge became finding stuff to eat that did not require a lot of prep (because I am lazy), was healthy for me, and that I like to eat. I am lucky that my husband, who is still working, makes his own meals. We usually eat at different times. I also made a point of doing a lot of walking. It is the only form of exercise that I really like. I would combine this with doing a chore, like walking to the store in order to pick up fresh vegetables....

I presume you guys have seen this on CNN already but guess what? I JOINED A GYM - and actually went today! Well, i met my personal trainer and did a two minute practice on all "my machines" - 5 min warm up on a bike thingy, 10 mins on a cross trainer, 10 mins on a strider and 8 mins on the treadmill, then weights and cool down stretches (what ever they are!) I amost died of shock at how much he expected me to do and would have punched his lights out only he had a really cute Northern Irish Accent, and v cute butt . He even wanted me to do some stuff with a giant beach ball but I quietly declined! Had long soak in the jacuzzi to calm down!!! Joking aside, I'm really looking forward to getting fit and healthy. By the way, my port is in the lower left hand side of my stomach, and I'm wondering if I can do sit ups or whatever with it there? Does anyone know?

I am pretty much in the same boat as you and my post op was on 6/19 as well. Just wondering what your MD said?

I am so glad to hear you say that... because I thought I was doing something wrong! For most of my journey I averaged 10 lbs per month.... now its more like 5... which gets pretty frustrating. I have found that if I up my Water intake sometimes that helps. Other than that I wish I could offer other suggestions.... Its still coming off... but just so slow. Congrats on your loss thus far!

Maybe it's how you structure your food intake throughout the day. I had to experiment and play around with mine until I found what works for me to keep me from being hungry. I was at first, but now, am rarely hungry unless it's close to meal time. I start off the morning with a high-protein shake on my way to work. At work, I eat 1/2 a protein bar. (This came throught experimentation too - because along with protein comes calories!) Around 10:30 a.m. I start drinking a can (11.5 oz) of V8 vegetable juice. This is a great way to get your veggies in and curbs hunger til lunch. Then at 3 I have a snack, usually something with protein, like yogurt or the other 1/2 of the bar I had for breakfast. Then supper is around 6. For my beverages throughout the day, I drink Crystal Light - they have a strawberry-banana flavor that suppresses hunger. The also have other flavors that boost energy, increase metabolism, etc. The key is to make one change at a time so you can tell if that one change makes a difference - and give it time too - it usually doesn't make a difference right away, but after 2-3 days, you'll notice. Hope these tips help, everybody's different!

I'm loving the new tool. I do have a few concerns, I'm not eating much, I'm struggling to get my protein in, and working hard on drinking enough water - its tough! I just cannot eat more without getting sick! This morning, I made an 8 oz protein shake, could only drink 1/2 - I was about to vomit even thinking about drinking more - protein taken in about 10! My menu yesterday - Bfast 1 fried egg with cheese - ate about 3/4 lunch 1/2 cup of cottage cheese dinner 1/2 cup of refried beans (these seem to work best for me) Exercise needs to pick up for me. I've been slacking on my walking. My goals for the rest of the week 1) Focus on getting my water in 2) Increase my walking - make it a priority 3) Work on my protein! PS - another NSV - good-bye to my size 18's forever, they are just too big now, and hello to my comfortable 16's! I am wearing a pair of 16 jeans today that look darn good on me, I feel very slim & sexy in them. I haven't worn them in a while - probably 2 years? DH also can't keep his hands off me either, he keeps telling me how good I look. I love the new me! My kids keep telling us "get a room" LOL.

My daughter had her LBL, breast lift, yahoo lift and fat injections in her butt on June 4 by Dr. LoMonaco in Houston (from TV show Big Medicine). I have to say I am totally amazed at how quick her recovery has been. She had her surgery on a Thursday and exactly two weeks later she was on a plane flying back to NYC. She went back to work exactly two and a half weeks after surgery (granted it was four hours a day for the first week). I would have been down forever if it had been me. She only had one day of the crying spell of "what have I done." But that's it. Some suggestions for anyone contemplating a lower body lift: Rent one of the recliners that raise you up almost to a standing position. Also, Dr L had a massage therapist in his office that did a lymphatic massage at about a week and a half. She now goes to one in NYC once a week and then will switch to every couple of weeks. The massage helps your body release fluids from the swelling. Plus, she's showing her how to massage the incisions. She wasn't massaging hard enough. Her only complaint is one of the incisions at the breast may have to be tweaked. The incision along the front along the pubic hairline was the last for the scabs to come off. But the rest are amazingly looking great at barely just six weeks. She's not had any regrets at all, especially buying bikinis from Victoria Secret has made it all worth it. She still swells because she works on her feet (a hair colorist). So by the end of the day she's ready to take the compression garment off. She now only has one more procedure to do but not until next year and that's to remove the excess skin on her sides like underneath the armpit. I know all people are different on their pain levels. She was sent home with a pain drip that went directly to her midcore section. So she was discharged with five tubes. the dr. had her remove her tubes herself, the pain med one after 3-4 days when meds were done. Breast tubes once the discharge had dropped to almost nothing and then he removed the lower drains when she went in for first week follow-up. So all tubes were out in a week. And she was religious about taking her Vicodin every four hours around the clock whether she needed it or not for the first 10 days. So talking to her on the phone, if it wasn't within the first hour of taking meds was out of the question. She was big time loopy. So good luck to all are considering surgery but I know she has felt it was worthing every dollar of the thousands she spent..:wink2: Trisha

My surgery was on 7/6. I went in at 11:30. They did all the preop stuff, paperwork etc. I was given a patch behind my ear for nausea as well as a shot for nausea. It seemed to take forever before my surgery finally got started. All I remember is the anesthesiologist giving me a shot of something in the IV. He and the nurse kept talking to me all the way to the OR. I remember about 10 seconds in the OR and then I was in recovery. I had very little pain, just difficulty breathing from the anesthesia. I can remember thinking my blood sugar feels so low I wish they would give me something to eat. I was taken up to my room and the nurse right away brought me sugar free jello and some broth. I was able to eat it right away and get up and walk. The night went pretty well. I did get regular pain shots because I wanted to keep feeling good instead of waiting until I didn't. I was released around 9:30 the next morning. I came home and pretty much stayed in bed and did a little bit of walking just inside the house. Sleep that night was a bit challenging without the hospital bed. The next day I felt completely fine. I have not been using the vicodin since the first day home. I actually went with my kids to chuck e cheese and then to the grocery store yesterday and then went to Mothers of Multiples last night. I already feel more energetic than ever and can't wait to really start seeing the weight fall off!! This went better than I thought it would, no gas pain, no nausea, very little pain at the incision. All of you waiting good luck!! I know I made the right decision.

Hi everyone, I hesitate to post my surgery story because I know there are a lot of people still waiting for surgery. But since this was just my reaction to it all, I will post. Surgery was Friday. Supposed to be at 930am but apparantly someone forgot to tell me it was moved to 1030am. No biggie, just more waiting. They took me back to prep me. Started my IV etc. Surgeon came in and said hello. I told her I was very nervous. She said they would give me some versed and I would be fine. Surgery went fine. She came out and told my family at 1145am that I would be in recovery for about 45 minutes before they moved me to the bariatric unit. I was just to sit in a recliner because I wasn't an overnight stay. Well, that is when things went VERY wrong. My blood pressure went berserk! It took them HOURS to get it down. I didn't get up to the bariatric ward until 4pm. I was groggy, nauseas, miserable. Then my blood sugar spiked so to top it off, they gave me insulin. They wanted to me walk right away and eat right away. I could do neither. I walked 10 feet in the hallway and threw up all over the place. It was awful. I will spare the rest of the details but I didn't get home until almost midnight. Saturday I woke up with the gas. Sunday it was worse. I walked and walked and walked. Nothing helped. Took gas x, didn't do a darn thing. Finally Sunday night/monday morning I started passing gas. Relieved a little of the pressure but not much. I am still feeling it. Very uncomfortable. My port site is swollen and more sore than I expected, to be honest. I expected discomfort. It is extremely painful. I am moving around a little better today than yesterday. I am hoping I just improve a little bit each day until I don't remember this part. I am wishing I made a list of the reasons I wanted to do this because those first few days, I couldn't remember! I just keep telling myself it will get better and I know it will. Wishing everyone a smooth experience!

Go to the 2008 Support Groups, September 2008. We are getting quite a croud and everyone is fantastic:thumbup: You too can be a September Samurai I am scheduled for September 19, just a bit before you, but I think there are two or three with your date Debbie:wink_smile:

Good Job Krystyneh on the weight loss!!! you went down 10 points from your BMI in 8 months!! thats awesome

Hi Everyone: For me this journey started when I went to the doctor in February 2017 about fixing my hiatal hernia. I have lived with the Heidel hernia for more than 10 years but lately it was giving me problems and impacted my quality-of-life. The surgeon I went to (who would eventually do my gastric bypass) let me know that he could fix the Heidel hernia but that unless I lost a significant amount of weight it would return. So here I am 6 days out from surgery and healing well. Greatest Challenges: Finding a good sleeping position that lasts for hours. Gas pain in shoulders. Greatest Accomplishments: No vomiting, able to do 4oz of Protein shake, teas, water, popsicles. Consistently staying hydrated and I love the taste of my vitamins. [emoji23] I hope to continue to share my journey with you all. I am thankful for this new lease on life and plan to take full advantage of it. [emoji1420] Nikki RNY Gastric Bypass w/hiatal hernia repair on July 27th HW: 267 SW: 247 HospWeight: 266 (they say from the fluids) CW: 252 GW: 160

I copied this from a post I wrote about 4 days into the liquid diet. I hope it is helpful. I can say that a liquid diet after the sleeve is so much easier than the pre-op diet. This is the hard part--help (your sleeve) is on the way if you can tough it out a little bit longer. I am pretty sure we would all agree that....... LIQUID DIET SUCKS! Not just sucks a little bit but really really really sucks. So if you are all whiny and angry and down and thinking about driving up to a window for a heart attack in a sack....don't think there is anything wrong with you. If there is anyone out there who can say that the liquid diet was a breeze then they most likely wouldn't need surgery. The good news....it starts getting easier about day 3. Somewhere along day 3 you go into ketosis if you are on a high protein/low carb diet. This acts as a natural appetite suppressant. If I had to do 14 days of day 1 or 2 I would never make it. I am on day 4 and it was doable today. Not fun, not pleasant, but doable. To be honest, however, I have been an over-sensitive,emotional wreck for the past 3 days. If you are reading this on the first few days of your pre-op diet you are probably overly sensitive, tired, shaky, have a headache, and are absolutely starving. The entire world is probably ticking you off and you could come through the computer and slap someone that says "if you can't do the pre-op how are you going to do the post-op?" I caved and had a boiled chicken breast and asparagus on the first night, then a boiled chicken tender on day 2 and 3. Today I did ok. If you do cheat, make it a smart one. Don't cheat with carbs or you will kill the ketosis benefit. Good luck. My Nut. swears it is easier after the sleeve. Oh yeah--I am down 10 pounds in 4 days.

5k complete. Beautiful weather, and had a blast. I did much better than expected and ran it in 30:30 (mile splits were 9:42, 9:42, 10:13, so really close to sub 30). My 14-year old daughter finished first in the under 19 group with a time of 25:44. My 12 year old son (no training and never ran anything) finished 4th overall and 1st in the under 19 male group with a time of 21:44... so sub 7 min pace the little sh!?, lol. A figure a few more 5k's under my belt and I'll be ready to start working towards the 10K. Btw, today is my first surgiversary... reason I picked this 5k.

I have an opportunity to take early retirement with my company at the end of this year (I will be 55). In am considering all my options. If I try to get insurance on the open market, will I be insurable? Or, do insurance companies automatically deny post-VSG patients that want INDIVIDUAL coverage (not group)? I have the option now for insurance either through the company's retirement option or through COBRA, but I am looking ahead over the next 10 years until I reach 65. I wouldn't bet the company will be in existence in 10 years, so my insurance will probably go "poof" at some point. If I jump back into another corporate job, I could get insured with them, but the job market is tough for 55 year olds. My next job will likely be a contract (no benifits) one. If anyone has any experience with this, let me know. Thanks.

I'm July 18th also!! I can't believe it's almost here. I'm very nervous, mostly that I'm going to get there and maybe my liver didn't shrink enough or something and they won't be able to do it. I've been on clear liquids for a week, but I hate to admit I cheated a bit here and there. Nothing to crazy though, so now I'm upset with myself that I ruined this chance. Today and tomorrow is nothing but liquids so I hope that helps. I only lost 10 pounds pre-op though so yeah, I'm nervous. Good luck to all of you!!!

I was just banded March 19 and I was sleeping on my side. It didn't seem to hurt anything, however, on about day 9 or 10 I began to feel like some pulling inside so I called my surgeon's office and was told to try and not lie on my stomach, so I have tried to avoid lying on my side too just in case I was lying on my stomach some at the same time and the pulling sensation went away a few days later. As far as your cough goes, I had that too for about a week after coming home and I finally called the surgeon's office and asked about that too, they told me that I needed to call my regular doctor and tell them about the cough and to let them know I had lapband just done to get something for your cough. The nurse at the surgeon's office said it could dislodge your port. I think mine is ok and your's probably is too, but just letting you know what I was told. I'd call your doctor.

I'm a lot bigger than you but my Dr told me not to lose more than 10 lbs. So I kinda yo-yo'ed up and down on purpose. I know that sounds bad but I didn't want to risk not being covered. So one month I would lose 12 then next month gain 4 back. Your case is different since you are on the borderline. If I were you I would just maintain your current weight. Lose a lb or 2 here and there. I feel like I'm teaching you how to work the system, but sometimes you haves to!