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Hey everyone! Im new to this site and my surg is Mar 19. Im nervous about anestheia and leaving my kids. Any words of wisdom?

10 lbs usually = a dress size for me. However, I can only say this about going UP a dress size b/c I haven't been sleeved yet and haven't lost 10 lbs in a long time to go DOWN a size! lol!

I feel maybe a little out of place posting here, because I'm not a mother, so please forgive me if you would have preferred if I stayed out of the fray. My perspective as a graduate research assistant that works about 8-10 hours a day, most often including weekends with a new husband and a VERY demanding volunteer role that takes up the rest of my spare time, is that I had to sit down and have a frank discussion with my husband. I'm making 0 assumptions about your relationship, so perhaps this won't be relevant to your situation. I had to sit down with my husband when I made a commitment to regular exercise. I told him very seriously that this was important to me. And in order to successfully commit to exercise I needed XY and Z from him. I find at least my husband is very responsive when I present things that way. It sounds like you're very tired in the evening (understandable!) but very busy in the morning. If morning is a time when you feel like you're ready to exercise is there a tradeoff you can make with your husband ? For example, "I'll take morning duty Tuesday/Thursday and weekends if you take MWF ?" Or something like that ? Best of luck ! I hope you get a plan worked out !!

Tomorrow @10...this is just driving me crazy. I hate waiting. I hate not knowing if they'll get me in before the end of December. For some reason I'm feeling depressed more. I should be happier I'm almost there. I'm not afraid of the surgery. I guess it's just that we're struggling right now with me out of work and I've been tracking all my food but I'm not seeing any difference. I'm usually under 1200 cal. I just want results it's been a rough week,drama, every time I turn around. My dogs health is going downhill fast. I've been chasing him around with a mop and his leash. The insurance company took out a large pymt 3 days early and bounced my checking acct. Just keeping decent food on the table is a struggle. I had a great pcp and she left the practice and the new doctor is an idiot. I'm in constant pain with my back and she isn't listening to me. It's the anniversary of my mother's death and my son's birthday at the same time. I'm sorry I didn't mean this to be a rant our I would have put it in that category. I just don't know how to get out of this funk. I'm sorry y'all. I'm just having a pity party.

Also, think about if you have to carry a book bag for your books- you'll be on a lifting restriction for 4-6 weeks after surgery, usually nothing over 10-15 pounds. Otherwise you may give yourself a hernia!

How far out from surgery are you? I had RNY and constipation is a constant companion since surgery. My doctor put me on Linzess and it really truly helps. I did not start that though until i was post op a year and still having trouble with it. There are times even with the Linzess that I have to take a stool softener with laxative but that is maybe once a month or so. Prior to RNY I always had the other problem......and i have decided I would much rather have the other problem than constipation. That is about the only negative thing for me post RNY and I am 28 months post op and it is not that difficult for me to deal with. If you are newly post op, I would give the surgeon a call and ask for the best remedy for you. I know mine had me using Milk of Magnesia and even suppositories when it got really bad. I went 10 days post op before I was able to go and only with the help of the items mentioned.

I have used MFP for almost 10 months now. I find it easy to use and a must do for anyone tracking food intake, which I highly recommend. One of the best features for me is tracking of Protein and carbs. I found this very helpful as time progressed. I am eight months post surgery and every time weight loss slowed for me, I was able to increase calories in the right places to continue weight loss. I also make regular adjustments in what I eat each day depending on how the day has gone for me Pay particular note when trying to increase activity or exercise levels. I found that I needed to increase carbs to get the energy I need to increase exercise levels. I have gone from 600 to 1200 calories during the last eight months and weight loss has been very steady for me. MFP has been a very useful tool in managing the food intake. I have also aded a Fitbit Flex which syncs seamlessly with MFP

Hi Gina! I'm going to Dr. Ortiz as well. My surgery date is November 16th. Are there certain things you are worried about? I've done a lot of research on him and the OCC and haven't really found anything negative. He seems to be a very well-respected, educated and wonderful surgeon. He's not the cheapest down there, but also not the most expensive. I think there are some threads on this site about other people's experience with him. I'm very excited to go down there. And no, you are not crazy! A lot of people hear "Mexico" and they think of chickens in the operating room in some dirty strip mall clinic. The OCC is top notch from what I've heard. Have you gotten on the OCC's website and watched their testimonial videos?Hi! Yes. I've been all over the website. Googled. Yelped. And your right I haven't heard anything negative. I think it's a great choice, I just need some confirmation and you have given it to me. Thank you. When did you schedule? I was wondering how long I would have to wait after I scheduled. Thanks so much for your input! I just scheduled a few weeks ago and sent in my deposit. My health insurance, of course, would not pay for the surgery, and paying out of pocket was ridiculous. The coordinator I've been working with at OCC, Ora, said that you can schedule anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months out. Do you have a date in mind? I decided to set my date for Nov. 16th, right before the holidays. That's a time that I normally put on a good 10-15 pounds. Have you done searches on this site for Dr. Ortiz? I think you can even just search "Mexico" and find a lot of good info like what to expect when getting picked up at the airport, crossing the border, the hotel, what to bring with you, etc. I'm already making lists! I've also found a few videos on YouTube that were helpful. Do you have someone who can go with you?

Hello all!!! Tomm im getting sleeved! 9/13/2021 im excited and nervous!!! Can anyone tell me what to expect I have to be at Hospital at 8am surgery is 10:30. Im saying goodbye to be overweight, sleep apnea, and all other unhealthy issues/habits!

I don't have good news for you! You may have only lost 7 lbs since the beginning of the year, but you may have lost 15 lbs of fat and added 8 lbs of muscle? Losing fat is not a linear line on a chart. It seesaws with the food we eat and the exercise we do. Fitness is good but it can rob you of lbs lost. But again, it's a good thing. 10 lbs a month is usually much more than most any bander loses. Usually it's in the 4-8 lb range so you're pretty close to where you should be. It's so much easier the first 3 months post surgery to lose more weight but as we progress it gets harder. The math doesn't lie. 3500 calories equal one lb. You must burn 3500 more than you consume to lose 1 lb of fat.

@@Deborah Bennett Thank-you for pointing out the nightguard! That is also part of the treatment plan, I just forgot to mention it. My treatment plan just for the top teeth is like 3 pages long, but somewhere on there is a nightguard. I would be very upset if I broke my brand new teeth, lol. Apparently they also want me to wear flouride trays at night? And when invisalign is done a retainer? I'm like...I'm going to choke to death in my sleep with all that stuff in my mouth. Unfortunately, because the two crowns I have in the front are "unstable" the dentist and I were both concerned they would pop out of my mouth again if I did the invisalign first, so the current plan is to do the top 10 crowns and Zoom the bottom to match the top, then use invisalign to even everything out. Then after invisalign is done, then we will put two bridges in the back of my mouth where I had molars pulled. Like you, he said the best plan would be to do invisalign first, but the chance that my crowns fail between now and when the straightening process is finished is high and I'm afraid of being in a meeting and having my tooth fall out. You also make a good point about telling surgeons about dental work. Hopefully they aren't resting the laryngoscope on my teeth to intubate, but they might be even more motivated to not do that if they know how much those front teeth cost to replace, haha. I think the 010 color is closest to the Bl1 and 0M1 I was looking at. I've read online a lot more people being bummed that they didn't go light enough than that they ended up with teeth that were too bright. I wonder if the dentist can do half my temporaries in the brightest shade and half in the second brightest so I can have a better idea...

I gained 10 pounds in the hospital. It took me 2 days to lose it all after I got home.

Hi thanks the 100 pounds was from 2007-2014 then I began slowly gaining it back after a Hysterectomy, That's when I decided I needed help from the sleeve. I think the hormonal shifts got me lol HW 330 CW 235 Surgery date 1/19/17-Sleeve

It's a choice that you would have to make that works best for you. I was going for the sleeve and decided to go for RNY because I wanted to get rid of acid reflex and not have to deal with diabetes or high blood pressure or sleep apnea. My surgeon sat down and told me the differences and he said for long run RNY is a better way to go than sleeve. And I also didn't want to revise anything later on and wanted to do what's right for me. As far as being on anti-depressants, I stopped taking them the day I came home from my surgery. Typically I would have spoken to the psych and decrease the dosage and slowly get rid of it completely. But of course I didn't do that and just stopped them on my own. Do I feel depressed? Nope I don't. But I do still get anxious...so next week is my first follow up after my surgery which has been 10 days now and I will speak to them about my anxiety. Either way I think you can only make the best decision for yourself and what works best for you. Being scared of the surgery was the last thing on my mind cause I am an RN and I am ok with surgeries. Best of luck and I know you will make the right decision for yourself.

If you haven't already ordered from Bariatric Choice, I highly recommend it. The barbecue Protein chips are AMAZING!! You can also get Vitamins and supplements here, plus you earn credit towards future orders with each purchase. I'm hooked! Http://www.bariatricchoice.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/106452/ To get your $20 off, make sure you click "Maximize my discounts with rewards credit" in your shopping cart. Seriously...the barbecue chips. Oh.my.god.

Hi all - I am getting so much out of reading these forums. Thank you to everyone who contributes. I am speeding my way through my 6 months of weigh-ins, and have had surgery scheduled for February 5th 2019. I'm fine with the timeframe - I have 3 more months to get my house in order. Llike, my literal house - am trying to declutter and deep clean to make things easier post-surgery. I liken it to being 6 months pregnant, and going into nesting mode, LOL. Anyway - I have an unhelpful husband, and two unhelpful daughters (aged 11 and 10). The youngest will sometimes do a surprise clean up for me - but it's very surface and doesn't involve things like washing dishes or doing laundry. I have read, heard, and experienced that very pale redheads like me feel more pain, and need more anaesthesia and painkillers. I have felt it first hand at the dentist and during my c-sections: it takes far more medication to numb me than a normal person. And I do not bounce back fast from surgery typically - with both c-sections it was several weeks, and with the breast reduction that I had 5 years ago it did take me about 6 weeks to get back to normal. Back then, though, my mum was here to help me. She took care of the kids, cooked and cleaned, and made me gorgeous breakfasts. She can't come this time though (she lives in Ireland). Back then I also didn't have an outsde-the-home job to worry about, like I do now. I ran my own business (still do), but I can take whatever time I need for that. Now I also work part time - mostly behind a desk, but with kids who can sometimes run into me by mistake (I run a supervised visitation centre for our local domestic violence agency). I have it set now so I work per diem, so I'm not contracted for specific hours or times (my boss did this 2 years ago so that I could keep working my set hours as usual, but could also take 6 weeks off every summer to go home to Ireland without being penalised. Because I will never give up my summers in Ireland). So I basically can be available for work when I say I'm available. I am planning on taking 4 weeks off. Does that sound excessive? I want to give myself a chance to heal, and to get used to my new reality. I don't have to work there, we don't need the money, and I bascially just do it to get out of the house - so I'm in no rush to go back. My design business that run from home is my main job and my passion. Which leads me to another question - how soon after can I knit? I know some of you do needle crafts. I am a knitwear desiger, so I make all the samples for the patterns I publish. It's not imperative I knit asap - most of my job is writing and maths to be honest - but for my mental health I need to get those needles in my hands as soon as I can. Lastly - how much will I be able to do around the house? My husband is very, very, messy. Like scrubbing the sofa because he has spilled stuff is a daily occurance for me. He goes through clothes so fast that I do a load of laundry a day, and will use clean dish and after clean dish rather than rinse something. I am aiming to recruit my daughters - they are good girls and will be able to help a bit. But I'm fussy, and their standards are not mine, if you know what I mean? It's no good saying that I should make my husband do this or that - I'm no more capable of forcing him to do someting than he is of forcing me to do something. He is a lot older than me (25 years), domestic tasks are like a foreign language to him, and he has the attention span of a gnat and does everything half-assed. Let's just say, I wouldn't eat off a dish he had washed. In 17 years he has never used the washing machine, never vacuumed, never made me a meal, or even a cup of tea. I anticipate a lot of take out (for the kids) and frozen dinners (for him). But am I going to need to get a person in to clean for me? What has your experience been as the sole responsible person when you have been out of action? This is worrying me a lot - I am a planner and a worrier. Our local walmart has just started a grocery pick up service - so I can do that online and just have him pick it up. I have a robot vacuum cleaner (best thing ever), so that helps too. But the bathroom and kitchen will get grungy fast. How long will it be until I can de-grunge them?

Thank you! I was wearing a size 18-20 jeans and XXL tops. I am now wearing a size 8-10 jeans and a Med-Large top. It is so weird looking at myself now and before.

Igualmente cuidate mucho surgery 10/09/2012

I was sleeved 10/6/14. As of this morning I have lost 113 lbs. started at 322 the week before surgery to 209 this morning. It is work. Get up 6 of 7 days of the week at 4am to get cardio in. To celebrate family went Las Vegas for Spring Break. Actually lost a lbs over the week. I was not especially good on the diet either. Just had to have red bull and vodka while playing at craps table. Wow, first time drinking after surgery. Hits quick but I think red bull had more effect then vodka it seemed like. Anyway, just had to post the 6 month success.

Here are some basic guidelines from the lapband.com web site. This site is full of valuable information for new bandsters. In the early months of my journey I lived on this web site and have read pretty much all the articles. I wanted to be as informed as I could be so I could be successful in my journey and work through the frustrations. So far this has worked well for me, I am 19 months post surgery and 103 lbs lost with 17 to go to goal. Good luck to you and I hope this helps. http://www.lapbandta...l-instrucitons/

Here's my info: Surgery Date: July 26, 2011 (received a small fill) 1st fill - 4 weeks later - no restriction 2nd fill - 3 weeks later - no restriction 3rd fill - 2 weeks later - still no restriction (I think I'm at 5 cc's) Next Fill 10/26 (4 weeks later) - feeling a bit restricted. Think I may be close to the green zone As you can see, I went 4 weeks, 3 weeks, 2 weeks and 4 weeks. I go back in 6 weeks next time and hopefully I will be in the green zone! I'm sure all doctors are different though

I go for my first fill on 11/10. I know they say it can take up to many fills before you get to your sweet spot and have that full feeling and that everyone is diffrent but how often can you get filled?? Do they make you wait a certain time frame and then if you want to be filled again you go back?

Glad to see some of us old banders are still around....still working the lifestyle ... 9 1/2 years here and continuing ... Still staying under inflated a bit....same size for years. Hurrah. Happy to be a size 10 mostly. 12 if cut smaller Continuing working out faithfully 2x a week. (HARD WORKOUTS! It works better if I have a trainer pushing me. I'm too easy on myself) Hope some others surface here and give us an update. Good and bad. There is always hope! I miss the lap bander community input. This has not been a linear journey... Some ups. Some downs. But I refuse to go back. My appetite comes back if I don't use a shake or protein bar to minimize input... Always a balancing act...

I am kind of distressed over how much I've gained so far in my pregnancy, and also still having about 10 weeks to go. My goal was to gain 15lbs TOTAL and for my past two check ups (still going once a month) I have gained 15lbs EACH time! So I am up to 30lbs gained at 29 weeks. I am so afraid to put any more weight on. I lost 75lbs before I got pregnant and watching the scale go back up is really upsetting. I understand I have to gain for the baby etc...but I never intended to gain twice as much as I *should* have gained. So what did you guys gain during your pregnancy? Did you find it easier or harder to get it off (or, the bigger question, HAVE you been able to get it off?) Thanks!