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4leafclover-Really? What time is your appointment? I haven't actually made mine with the aftercare center yet but that is the day of my appt w/ Dr B so I'm hoping to get my fill appt. that day too. I need to get in gear and call to make the appt. I hope to get mine early morning so I can get back to work. We will be doing Halloween preparations that day. Halloween is always a huge competition at my work. Did they tell you that you could start mushies on day 10? That's what they told us even though the sheet says 2 weeks. I'm starting mine this weekend!!! Has your largest incision scabbed over yet?

Thank you for the info just had surgery 11/19/11 and Im having the same symptoms!

I have been banded almost 2 years and I still struggle with head hunger. I went from 235 pd to 144pd and have been maintaining for the last year. I do not ever say I cannot have a piece of pie, that is trouble brewing in my mind to be told that I can never have what I love again. I have had no fills and have perfect restriction ( odd bird, I know). I am off all meds and feel like a teenager again. Love these websites to see how everyone else is doing. It is worth every dollar I paid out of pocket to be in my size 8-10's. Good luck everybody!

I found the surgeon excellent. He does not speak english, but his Asst Surgeon and Nutrition person both do. I heard many comments how this surgeon just does it fast and right. I have a video of my surgery, would it help if I uploaded it to youtube? (I still am not sure I have the stomach to watch it). =) Care at INT was fine, not great but fine. Only about 30% of nurses I had spoke English. It is a different setting than the USA hospital system but never was I scared or threatened. I think people just have to think about a USA hospital 10-15 years ago. I probably had the wrong expectation coming in. My decision was very quick (was going to do it between Thanksgiving and Christmas), but decided what the hell... being healthy a month sooner is not a bad thing. So Monday I made a decision to have Surgery Thursday. They all laughed at my quick decision (but it really has been weighing on my mind for 10 years, probably like the rest of you). I used BariatricPal as the coordinator. It was OK. I went alone and liked the idea of a recovery condo better than a hotel so I would have others to heal with (hear a lot about "sleeve sisters", and I wanted that). I never met or talked to another patient at the hospital or the recovery condo because of my timing of doing this a week before Thanksgiving. I am sure my experience would have been a little better had other people been at the condo and the hospital that I could bond with. Especially with traveling by myself. I remember on the day of my discharge from INT that they gave me this blue drink (the leak test), and I was like "This isn't bad. What were all those people complaining about!" The blue drink is first used to see if the blue leaks into your drain. The actual drink for radiology is clear and you drink that while in Radiology doing the leak test (you watch the liquid go down on screen, which you also get a video of). That clear drink is HORRIBLE!

Hi banisters! I was banded aug 5th and had second fill a week ago. Feeling great I do have loud burps randomly. Is this normal? Other than that I think I may be green zoned. Have 3.5 cc in 10 cc band.

Well, it has finally happened...I have less than 100 pounds to lose until I am at my doc's "ideal" weight goal for me!!! I am completely ecstatic!! It will be 15 weeks on 9/10/8 and so far, I have lost 84 pounds!!! This is, by far, the best decision I have made in my life!!! If anyone out there is sitting on the fence, especially if you have health issues, seriously consider getting this done!! It has saved my life. My diabetes is basically gone, my sleep apnea is gone and I no longer hurt like I was tied to a whipping post at the end of every day. I will not mislead anyone...it takes more than "work", it takes a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MINDSET!!! You have to let your past life go...forget your diet history, your bad habits and previous failures!! Focus on your new life...one filled with health and fun. Don't think of being on a diet ever again--but make wise food choices. In all honesty, food holds no joy for me anymore...and I love it. My biggest fear was giving up this comfort blanket that I had so desperately clung to all of my life. But after several physically uncomfortable meals, I have let it go!!! So, everybody out there--good luck!! I mean it sincerely...stay focused and remember that you have life waiting for you out there!!!

Well, it has finally happened...I have less than 100 pounds to lose until I am at my doc's "ideal" weight goal for me!!! I am completely ecstatic!! It will be 15 weeks on 9/10/8 and so far, I have lost 84 pounds!!! This is, by far, the best decision I have made in my life!!! If anyone out there is sitting on the fence, especially if you have health issues, seriously consider getting this done!! It has saved my life. My diabetes is basically gone, my sleep apnea is gone and I no longer hurt like I was tied to a whipping post at the end of every day. I will not mislead anyone...it takes more than "work", it takes a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MINDSET!!! You have to let your past life go...forget your diet history, your bad habits and previous failures!! Focus on your new life...one filled with health and fun. Don't think of being on a diet ever again--but make wise food choices. In all honesty, food holds no joy for me anymore...and I love it. My biggest fear was giving up this comfort blanket that I had so desperately clung to all of my life. But after several physically uncomfortable meals, I have let it go!!! So, everybody out there--good luck!! I mean it sincerely...stay focused and remember that you have life waiting for you out there!!!

Well, over 7 months have passed since my first entry. I had my surgery on my son's 6th birthday, 10/21/09. I lost 17 lbs pre-op and have currently lost 30 post. I just had my first fill today, which wasn't as bad as I built it up in my mind to be. I am just worried that there is hardly anything in there. I kind of expected to be hungry all day like I was either. What the heck? I am about 40 lbs away from my goal and I can see it dangling in front of me like a 3 Musketeers bar :thumbup:. My will power has gotten me this far post-op. Let's hope this fill kicks in and my tool gives me a little more help!

Walking was the best medicine for me. Sept 10-11 were my absolute worst days, bar none. When I first woke up they made me cough, I simply passed out. What I did find was that while they were giving me Dilaudid it did not work nearly as well as Vicodin/Hydrocodon. As others have said don't skip sipping, etc. You need to stay hydrated. Keep in mind they would have pumped you full of CO2 during surgery and it will eventually make its way out. Take your meds religiously - don't leave much of a gap if any. If you are still in the hospital make sure they don't leave much of a gap. Get up and walk around, just laps around the floor really helped me. Do you have a drain in? I had terrible muscle spasms from mine, made me unable to walk with it in. That was a 3rd day occurrence for me & once they took it out it made me a lot more comfortable. I don't think anyone can prepare you for the pain but 13 days out I'm sore but not in crippling pain. The pain lasted a good 5-6 days but the only saving grace is that your body can't remember it so once you are past it you are done. Best of luck, stick with it.

I had this. My research revealed it can also be nerves healing. My pain was gone from my surgery then I got this burning tearing pain around week 2.5-3. It lasted 10 or so days.

I am the "I have not noticed vote." I really have not - but I am not at goal yet either. I am down by 52 lbs. at this point and feel the same. But I never realized in my head that I weighted as much as I did. When I see pics of me I can't believe I weighed that much. Now I look "normal" to me in pictures and such but I have almost always hovered around a size 12 or 14. We will see what the world looks like at a 8 or 10.

Hi angie, Yes I did have most of the Fluid taken out when I was about 10 weeks because I had really bad 'all day' sickness! I'm 25 weeks now, but only noticed the port site getting sore around 22 weeks.

Girl I do not disagree with you! I do have to keep up with my walking / running though. I'm doing a 5K next month and I've let my running go out of shape. I can't run for more than 10 minutes at a time yet, so I have to keep that moving. I also feel bad if I don't do my elliptical / stationary bike... lol What to do... what to do...

Hi All, I was sleeved about 8 months ago and I was pretty active on VST in the 3 months leading up to my surgery until about a month or so after surgery and I've been pretty absent since then. There are a variety of reasons for this, including the fact that I am a grad student working on my Master's thesis and I don't have a lot of free time right now, but probably the biggest reason that I have been absent is because I hit a months-long stall from about 2 months post-surgery until the 7th month after surgery and I was feeling very much like a failure. I lost around 40 pounds within the first 2 months of surgery and then virtually nothing--well, maybe 3 pounds that I kept gaining and losing--for 5 months! I know that I am not the only person to have this type of experience and it seems logical to come to this forum for support, but I personally have this tendency to withdraw when I should reach out for support the most (and I suspect that others do too). I can only speak for myself, but I also didn't post for a while because I didn't want to come across as negative about the surgery and wind up discouraging anyone because I would definitely still choose to do this if I had it to do over again. For whatever reasons, I think that a lot of the people who are struggling don't post on here nearly as much as the success stories, so it gives a skewed view for both the newbies who are considering surgery and the veterans who feel like they are somehow failing at this. I know that when I was reading here pre-op, I definitely felt that losing quickly was the norm and slow losers were in the minority and mostly people who started out with a lower BMI. I think this forum is a wonderful resource and I'm not trying to scare anyone, but my number one advice to anyone considering surgery or anyone who has had surgery and feels like it's not working or that they've failed is to remember that this is not magic and to know that there may be a fair amount of work on your part (mentally, physically, and emotionally) beyond surgery to reach your goals. My number one wish for everyone, on the other hand, is that the pounds just fly off quickly with no stalls and that maintaining goal is a breeze, but I don't think that's terribly realistic. Anyway, I had gotten really discouraged because I felt like I had tried everything (exercise, more calories, fewer calories, more carbs, fewer carbs, more fluids, etc) but then I talked to someone I know in real life who has had the surgery and, although I'm convinced that her surgeon made her stomach really, really tiny - she's 4-5 years out and can still only eat very small amounts, like 3/4 of a hot dog w/o bun, based on our conversation I changed my diet to consume fewer calories but much more Protein and this seems to be working. I have lost 10 pounds in the past month and I have a renewed hopefulness that I can and will get to goal. Now that I'm not in the deepest part of despair, I have come to my senses that it is helpful to have support on this journey, so I'm reaching out to the VST community again. I'm also on MyFitnessPal with the same username if you care to add me. My school quarter starts tomorrow and I have to finish my MA thesis within 10 weeks, so I may still not be online very often until I'm done, but I will try to check in on both sites as much as possible. Best of luck and/or continued success to everyone!

And what are some of these yummy meals? That's an awesome idea!!!! Are you banded, sleeved or bypassed -- just out of curiosity? I was sleeved April 2014 and now maintaining at 150ish (although I may still try to push myself to my stretch goal of 145!) I love Pioneer Woman and often tweek her recipes to double the Protein. Yesterday I made skillet chicken lasagna but I doubled the chicken, added an extra clove of garlic and put 1.5 teaspoons of red pepper flakes in it as I found the original recipe a tad bland. It's easy to make and delish! I stayed away from carbs early on but started eating a small portion of Pasta once I hit my goal weight at 10 months out. Another staple I make is Pioneer Woman Hamburger Soup. The first time I made it, it turned out really bland. The next time I tweaked the seasonings until it had more flavor to it. It's loaded with meat and vegetables and reheats nicely. Both recipes can be found by googling Pioneer Woman and then the recipe name. Super easy to make. I store them in the ziplock 1 cup plastic containers which stack nicely in the freezer.

It probably has different definitions for different people. For me it was the two day pre-op period and the first 10 days after surgery, when I could only have protein shakes, broth and Jello. I just couldn't choke down any more vile broth. I was dying for some yogurt or cottage cheese or oatmeal. I NEEDED my mushies!!!! Fortunately, I went in for my post-op, and got the approval to start with soft foods.

Good for you!!! It still hurts to wear pants w all my incisions. I look like I've been in a knife fight. Lol. I've def been a slow loser. (10 pounds in 8 weeks!). But last week when I was being prepped for my gallbladder surgery, my surgeon looked me over and said, 'there is NO way you've only lost a few pounds. You are def losing inches. For some people the scale just doesn't ring true.' That comment made me feel so good!! Keep up your spirits! Don't be bummed. Come on here and we will cheer you up!!! Big hugs!

Ok so I made a huge error when I wrote this. My surgery date was 2/5/19. That’s what happens when you have a huge thumb and do not proofread. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

Your doing fine, I have lost only 32.4 #s since 4 Jan 10. I have had 3 fills. I have slowed down some, but when I am active-working outside all day I loose 2 #s. Going back to the basics works for me and that's what I am doing again, soups, mushies, etc. Give it a try on your own first before another fill, as I too am contemplating another fill, my 4th. Stay the course, your doing fine, maybe resort back to the basics like me. Good luck.

I had a gastric sleeve over 10 years ago. I weighed 320 and was 5'2" and 54 years old. I also have asthma - life long and I needed a surgery that would allow me to take oral steroids and other life sustaining medications that also cause weight gain... but breathing is an important concept. I could not have a bypass surgery, as my pulmonary docs said that the surgery would make the use of oral steroids impossible and I am prone to pneumonia from years of impaired airways. (And yes, I am working from home right now !!!) I went from 320 pounds to 180 pounds. I unfortunately gained 40 pounds back in the last few years, mostly due to not being able to exercise much and well.... life. I got pissed off at myself last July and went back to high protein, and low carb and more veggies and cut out the slider foods... and I have lost 25 pounds. Yes, I am still obese, but for me, who weighed 320 pounds, I now weight 193. (27 pounds down actually) since this July. At 64 years old I will probably stick around the 180s to 190. Yes - it could and should be less, but my doctors are pleased and I have been pretty darn healthy for me. I take care of my critters, keep up a house, a career as a social work supervisor, I garden and am active. For me, I have kept off over 100 pounds and now am back to having lost 137 pounds and holding. I highly recommend it. Oh, I was in the hospital 2 nights after surgery. Mostly to stabilize my lungs. And I had surgery at 54 years old

Terrific job!! VSG 10/11/17 HW = 360 SW = 292 GW = 220 3/7/18 CW = 216.6 (6'5") [emoji256]

Hey! I had my lapband surgery in 2008 in Nov. I had lost about 50 lbs in a year and a half. I think that's slow! Anyway I then lost about 75 lbs. by the summer of 2010 and had a penniculectomy(more than a tummy tuck) as I had a lot of hanging fat! I weighed 236 when I had lapb. so at the time of the stomach surgery probably weighed 160(can't remember exactly). I had many, many stiches across my lower abdomen and drains on both sides. I had virtually no pain, just discomfort trying to sleep and etc. After about 1 month the swelling was gone and I then lost about 25 more lbs. During the time b/f the stomach surg. I had may 4 or 5 fills. Then about a year ago in this coming up April, my band seemed to tighted. I was having indigestion almost constantly and I would throw up my food, etc. I went to my surgeon and he took almost all my saline. I then gained about 20-25 lbs. Very discouraging!!! Then I began to get a little at a time put back in and I have lost about 10 of those 25 lbs. So I went from being in a 6 to some 8's and mostly now 10's. That is great considering I was wearing a 22 at the beginning! But it was also very depressing for me. I loved the 6!!! MY friends and family thought I looked too thin and sick though and think I look much better and healthier now. I am trying to exercise each day doing something. Also in the last 2 or 3 weeks I think my band has tightened again b/c it's very easy for me to get indigestion if I don't eat just about a palm full of food at one time. I'm trying to live with this though b/c I don't want to have saline taken out b/c I know I'll eat again too much a gain weight. I think from talking to friends that had the surgery after me that it's just going to be a struggle all the time. I'm trying to live with it. I do know I would not change the fact that I had the surgery. I don't ever want to be big again. like right now I have indigestion adn I've only had to eat this morning about 1/4 cup of sugerless cereal and about that much milk and my vitamins. Usually when I start out with indiges. I'll have it all day long. It's miserable!!

I am pretty new to this site. I have had a Lap band for almost 5 years now. I've put back almost all of the weight I lost with it the first year. I've been really considering getting revised to a sleeve, but I've read and read and read about all the possible complications. These stories terrify me. I'm 40 years old and have 4 kids. I have to be here for them. I cannot spend months of my life in a hospital or laying in bed struggling to recover from complications from surgery. I'm basically healthy. I don't want to trade good health for losing some weight. One of the things that worries me is the lack of long-term info available on life after being sleeved. Are there any sleevers that are more than 5, maybe even 10 years out from their surgery? I'm just so scared of the possible things that can and do go wrong that I don't know that I'm going to be able to go through with it. My insurance will cover it, so that is a good thing. I've already attended my surgeon's seminar. Does anyone have any advice for me?

@@Bee healthy Are you only using the app or do you use the website also? I am assuming you have premium since you are able to set goals. I set all my targets and everything using the website. Start by setting your goal weight and your calorie target. The app is going to tell you that your calorie target is too low, ignore that. Then set your other goals. My goals are Protein 100g a day minimum. Carbs 10-12% Fat 40-45%

I just realized I didn't read your whole post... I understand chronic pain VERY well! ESPECIALLY nerve pain! I have TN (Trigeminal Neuralgia) and had brain surgery 3 years ago in an attempt to relieve myself of the agony even if it would likely be temporary (there isn't a cure for TN the surgery just stops the pain for a few years). I have atypical trigeminal neuralgia. It's on both sides and I had both type 1 and 2 pains on the left side and only type 2 on the right. I can handle the type 2 pains, but the type 1 pains... there is nothing comparable to it. It's the worst sort of agony imaginable. NOTHING has ever equaled or surpassed it. The best description for it I can give is most times it felt like I had a scalding hot poker jab into my face where it would twist and twist and twist and twist before pulling out only to repeat itself endlessly. I had the surgery (Microvascular Decompression) on the left side of my brain to get rid of the type 1 pain and it amazingly got rid of the flare ups and I had no pain for 2 amazing years. Around the time I started my weight loss journey last year I started having type 2 pains again on the left side. I couldn't stop CRYING! I was paranoid and panicking and CONVINCED that the type 1 pain was going to return. If my surgery hadn't worked to get rid of the type 1 pain I wouldn't be here. TN is called suicides disease for a REASON. It's recognized as one the most painfully excruciating conditions know to mankind. I was in absolute agony with my TN with a flare that lasted for 10 MONTHS before I had my surgery. I was barely sleeping because it was worse at night. Everything set it off. I was in a never ending world of absolute AGONY and I only held out for my family. I had overdosed on my meds on at least 3 occasions... 1 particular one I was incredibly lucky that I didn't end up in a coma because I'd taken 600mg over my dose (900mg was my dose and overdose for me was 1000mg, I'd taken 1500mg). If the surgery hadn't worked... I wouldn't be here. I was BARELY holding out for my family. I thought I was losing my mind from lack of sleep and pain and I wanted to cry all the damn time but I didn't have the energy or the tears because I'd cried myself dry months before. EVERYTHING set it off. Sleeping, eating, bathing, talking, touching my face, brushing my hair or my teeth. The happiest day of my life was my surgery day. I woke up with the worse headache of my LIFE and at that point the worst nausea I'd had in my life (only beaten by dumping syndrome), but it was 100% WORTH IT! When my TN came back in the form of the type 2 pain I felt like my life was over. I had been so strong and held out to make it to my surgery, but I just didn't know if I could have that kind of strength again. I didn't think I'd survive a repeat. So I fell into a very deep depression. My doctor put me on anti-depression and anxiety meds and when I saw the psyche doc at the bariatric clinic I told her my TN coming back to how it was before my surgery was my absolute worst fear. I honestly don't know how I even passed my psyche eval because I was a MESS! While I was going through that I read a lot. It DID help to take my mind off it a bit, even if it was still there lurking in the back of my head. I also watched quite a bit of anime to distract myself lol. I'm 33 and yes, I watch anime. It's an outlet and very easy for me to turn my brain off when reading doesn't work. Also like watching home renovation shows and anything that'll make me laugh and let me turn my brain off. I ended up getting a really bad rash due to the anti-depression and anxiety meds and had to get off them, but by that time my mind was in a much better place. I made the determination that the very SECOND I get the type 1 pains back I'm calling up my neurosurgeon and scheduling another surgery lol. I won't wait it out. I won't let it EVER get that bad again! And if for some reason he recommends me to do the Gamma Knife instead, I'll do that (my surgery was really difficult as I had a lot of tissue damage and my 3 hour surgery turned into a 6 hour surgery. I had a lot of brain swelling and there was talk of putting a stint in, but I didn't end up having to have one. I did end up with meningitus though... so I just have the feeling he'd probably want me to do Gamma Knife instead). I'm so incredibly sorry that you're going through chronic pain issues. I don't wish that kind of pain on ANYONE! It feels impossible and makes you feel so helpless. I felt so very, very, very alone. Like nobody understood it. Understood me or what I was going through... So that's the reason I told you about my own experience. I just want you to know that you are NOT alone in living with chronic pain. I really hope that the pain clinic gets back to you soon. My mom has fibromyalgia and they gave her Gabapentin for it (it also helps her neuropathy too and helps her sleep). I don't know what meds they'll start you off with, but I hope the first one they give you works for you!