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I am so sorry I failed to respond in a timely manner. I have been out of town working. When I say "shocked" I was just a bit surprised by the 14.9% finance charge when financed through Care Credit. It seems rather high, however, I don't have any experience in pricing a elective or medically necessary procedures. But thank goodness there is that option for anyone who does not have insurance coverage. I had my first appointment on a Monday, my pre-op seminar and meeting on Wednesday. I received a call on the following Monday that I was approved for surgery 3 weeks later (March 9). It was a very seamless process and was actually a pleasant experience. Best wishes to you folks using True Results and Dr. Hollis. I really enjoyed meeting him and that staff. I felt he was quite informative and very thorough with the seminar. Keep me posted on your surgery dates and I will try to do better about checking back with LBT. I think I need to check my settings and notifications. I didn't even know anyone had responded to my post. Steph

I noticed a lump above my belly button and saw my doctor who told me I have a hernia and would have to have surgery. Ok that's fine but my concern is my surgery is two weeks away and I have been having sharp pains in my left leg that keeps waking me out of my sleep at night which has just started. I don't want anything more serious to happen. Should I call my doctor? Has anyone experienced this? Please help!!

Thanks for the advice. I only took 2 doses Imodium and it has slowed but not stopped the diarrhea. I will definitely not take anymore. Got my stool sample already and started flagyl. So glad animals and people take similar Meds! Any thoughts on the oral vanco being hard on my sleeve since I'm only 6 weeks out?

I was banded on March 18, 2013 - over a year ago. I remember when I was thinking about having the surgery, I was obsessed with the speed... I had upcoming events (weddings, vacations, etc.) and I continued imagining what I would look like in 3 months, 6 months, etc. I was so frustrated and disappointed as I read on this site about everyone just dropping weight left and right. I lost about 20 pounds pre op (and so my real starting weight was about 240) and then another 10 or so in the first 6 months. I had fill after fill after fill... I took small bites and ate high Protein, but I was still pretty hungry and could eat 1.5 cup portions without a problem. So, I read - these pages and posts and guess what? My story was a dime a dozen, so I just didn't post or complain, because what everyone says - and what I needed to hear, was that THIS IS MY JOURNEY. It might not be the same as everyone else's. Not everyone starts losing immediately... I needed 7 fills before I reached the green zone and I really didn't start losing until 8 months after my surgery. BUT, I learned a ton about patience and I believe I needed those months to adjust to my lifestyle and to learn to love myself a little more. So, today I'm just under 180 and I feel great. My goal is to be 150 - 160, but I'm happy at the pace I'm losing (about a pound a week). Slow losers, don't get discouraged. Stay in contact with your doctor and just keep going For those of you that do post often, thank you - although I wasn't posting, I was certainly reading and feeling supported. Peace, Rina

My doctor says no eating or drinking for three hours before the fill. It's on my appointment slip.

2 weeks post op..hmm it could stil lbe some gas trapped, many experience gas in their shoulders weeks after surgery. It is also for many bandsters their soft stop signal when they are full.

I had my first restriction on Tuesday and was back on solid foods today. I didn't follow the rules, I think I ate too fast or didn't chew enough and I was schooled by the Band! It was a fast and ugly lesson. Within 5 minutes I had pain and next thing you know it was the 50 yard dash to the bathroom. Back to liquids for next 24 hours. I don't believe I can ever eat any chicken again. I'm so mad at myself, doctor even said to me Tuesday this is where we start getting into it for real, you will not be able to eat like you could and you must slow down. Eating today was nothing like the first few weeks after post-op. All the vomiting think maybe I lost a pound????? Just kidding

I'm just the opposite. I can eat anything. I had one fill over a week ago and still no restriction. It's frustrating cuz right now I am applying will power like crazy. I'm hungry and want to eat. I admit I eat a bit less than I did before the band, but I have no real restriction and I'm amazed how much I can eat. I go back in 2 weeks for another fill. I'm crossing my fingers this time I will get some restriction. I'm afraid my will power will fade soon as it has always done in the past!

Connie, I hope this makes sense...but I was banded 17 months ago. The band never did work for me and I finally had it out 2 weeks ago (mainly due to the phrenic nerve pain it was causing). It never consistently controlled my hunger and it certainly didn't control my quantities *BUT* I don't regret it at all because what it did do was make me work harder at trying to find out exactly why I eat and how to fix it...and I did. What I discovered is that I don't need the band...but that's not the point. I may not have worked quite so diligently and reached that point if it hadn't been for getting banded! Ok, so the band will not stop you from grazing all day if you like *BUT* you might, because of going through the process, be more mindful of how you're eating and not thoughtlessly (as you put it) eat all day. It might be what you need to make your head finally commit to getting control of your eating and create new, better eating habits. That would be worth the money, and not half as expensive as hiring someone to act as food police for you (which would do the same thing) yes? .

I had my first fill today! I've been mostly able to keep it to three meals per day leading up to this, but was still just a little hungry. The PA gave me the choice of fill or no fill. I went ahead and did it. So far I'm down 23 lbs since surgery 3 weeks ago and seem to be slowing down on losing weight. Here's hoping I keep up a good pace! Nick

Went to Walmart to try to get some stuff.. Surgery in 3 weeks. Go to the Protein section, its all basically written in Chinese to me. whey Protein powder, soy protein powder, pure protein, lean protein, protein plus. Huh? Go to the Vitamin section, so much stuff.. try to look at it all and its too much. Trying to put together my shopping list of food and other stuff needed.. so hard.

It's probably just swelling. It takes several weeks for all the swelling to go down. Hang in there!

1. for how long? the first day and a half i pretty much stuck to small sips of Water and that was fine. but you should listen to your doc. your tummy is swollen and hurt-y and he probs knows what's best. 2. broth/juice/protein shakes.. yep. i wasnt to have milk either, although i've seen that some people drink it and are just fine. 3. i had to have some stitches removed because they started poking out about a month after surgery and it scared the poop out of me. but the nurse told me that sometimes they dissolve and sometimes they dont. having them removed didn't hurt at all. 4. chewable multi-Vitamins are the way to go. i try to have 3 a day along with natural supplements my hippie doctor gives me to take. i wouldnt recommend swallowing pills until a month or so out. (of course check with your docs office about that) 5. the first two weeks SUCK. all liquids. everything liquid. Soup is great. i got a hand blender and used it for lentil soup. and i added water to thin out split pea soup and that was great. i was told tomato soup would be too acidic and hurt my tummy, so i stayed away. start of 3rd week i finally was on mushies.... lowfat cottage cheese is awesome and not as bad for you as eating a lot of mashed potatoes. mashed cauliflower (after cooked) is good... anything mushy. scrambled eggs are good. there are threads on here with lots of mushy ideas. i took advantage of of my slow-cooker during my mushies phase. and after a month (i'm at a month and a half) i can pretty much eat whatever. dry chicken breast is basically off the table for me, as is any meat that's too dry. if you take little bites, getting things stuck is really not nearly as much of a nightmare as you might think it will be. everyone is different! you will find what works for you through trial and error. i've found i don't lose weight if i do carbs so i try to stick with things high in Protein, veggies and some fruit. add lowfat cheeses to things for extra protein. 6. take gas-x! it totally helps. they say the chewable is better than the strips. it has more... gassy...fighting...power... or something. this was a long response. anyway. good luck! it gets infinitely easier once the pain is gone and a couple weeks have passed. oh! duh. also. yes. my surgeon was and still is basically invisible. he didnt show his face before OR after the procedure and i still, a month and a half later, havent really talked to him. this, i hear, is pretty common. especially amongst highly sought after surgeons. Mine has a couple offices here in southern california (los Angeles area) and is always busy. but his staff is great and if/when i have questions i call them and they always get back to me right away, tho not the actual surgeon himself... hope that this ends up being the case with you. ok, really. i'm done now.

Like everyone else, I can so relate. I went to the information session on 3/3/10 and have thought of nothing else since. I am doing my 6 month diet that is required and I need about another month and a half. I want to have everything set to send hopefully by the second week in September. I have had my nutritional consult. Tomorrow is my Psych eval. I have a cardiologist appt next month (the nurse at the bariatric office said I will most likely need cardiac and pulmonary clearance since I have High blood pressure and sleep apnea and asthma). So those are scheduled and ready to go. My husband is really supportive and wants me to do whatever I think is best. But, I can tell he get tired of the "when I have surgery______" commnets. So I try to tame it down a bit. These boards certainly help. Good luck to you.

I started my two week pre-op diet yesterday. Surgery is on the 4th. I'm excited but NERVOUS. On my diet, the doc says I can have two Protein Shakes a day and a "sensible meal" all to be under 1000. Yesterday was TOUGH. Today at work has been super hard too. Does it get easier? I have a "friend" telling me to cheat. I dont want to, I'm scared enough of surgery!! Any suggestions? How did you guys get through it?

Was sleeved April 14 of this year, and have been doing a pretty good job of cutting out everything I can, focusing on Proteins, etc, and even starting to finally work out for the past six weeks (Couch to 5k - running), and have gone from 333 lbs starting, to 254 lbs! I initially thought 240 was a good number to shoot for, and it seems to be one I'm happy with looking towards hitting if I can. This has been crazy fast...much faster than I thought it would have happened. I know most guys lose weight faster than women, but this is ridiculous! Just wanted to share some positivity with people that would understand. Keep working on getting healthier, everyone! You can do it!!! NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Fluffylinks- that is atleast a little comforting to know others are going through the same thing. My stomach is growling so loud right now! The first three days were rough, and then my pre-op has not been to bad. But I am nearing the two week mark and the last two days I have been getting hungrier! I only have a few more days- I can do it, I can do it, I can do it! Ha!

What you are experiencing is perfectly normal. The first 4 to 6 weeks after being banded is about healing, not losing weight. I know it is frustrating, but once you get your first fill, you will start losing.

The plateaus really suck and there seems to be no rhyme or reason for them. You cant anticipate them and you dont know when they're going to end or why they happen. As long as you stick to your diet, do your exercise, you just have to learn not to rely on what the scale says every day. Its evil and we shouldnt weigh daily but most of us do. I've had the same thing recently. I'm due back to the doc on Friday for a checkup and I feel I've lost a fair bit of restriction, but in actual fact its there if I choose to look for it properly and not cheat it with easy to eat foods. Up until Sunday I'd lost nothing all the entire month since I last saw him. Suddenly, despite an huge mothers day weekend involving lots of chardonnay and several pizzas (not all down my gob), not to mention a bang up Breakfast of bacon, eggs, danishes, I've suddenly dropped a kilo. What's even weirder is that since the weekend I appear to have dropped an entire dress size. Its insane. Dont try to figure it out, just have faith that it works over the long term and every day, heck even week to week fluctuations just dont reflect the true picture.

I was just banded yeterday.. IT IS SO WORTH THE TWO WEEKS!! I am so excited.... You can do THIS!! don't think if it as two weeks of this think of it as 1 day of cottage cheese that you have to do 14 times... Take it one day at a time.... It will be over before you know it.. Good luck and if you feel weak let us know and we will all (((SLAP)))) you back.. LOL You can do it!

AFternoon... It took me a good 2-3 weeks to even feel normal. That weird feeling in your mouth could be Thrush. I had that and so hated it. I had to be put on two medications to clear this. The pain from the gas took, like it seemed forever, to get rid of. When I had my surgery in November, I did not drink any Protein shakes, my stomach said NO ... I did drink every 10 mnutes a sip of Water which kept me hydrated. I cried alot because I lacked the energy, which no one let me know would happen. You will get over this hump, I promise. I, do however, agree with one of the statements above. Please contact your surgeon's office.

Our family eats a ton of beans and I love finding new recipes with them. This sounds GREAT and my kids LOVE limas. I will make this later in the week and come back and post the review!

I agree with the others, I think that the people that are doing great for the most part are out living their lives. I have been banded almost 1 year and feel great. I am less than 20 pounds from goal and I wouldn't trade my band for the world. I did have some gas/shoulder pain for a few days after surgery but that is the extent of my band complications. I was on pain meds for all of 2 or 3 doses and then regular liquid tylenol did the trick for me. I have gone from a size 22/24 to a 12 in just 11 months. Feel free to PM or ask any questions you may have. I am going with my sister for her lap-band seminar next week and I am trying to talk my mom into researching it further. I think the band is good enough to reccomend it to my mom, does that tell you anything? ~Mandy

That is the experience I am having. I had my first fill 1 week ago and thought it was great the amount of restriction I was having. I have a 9cc band and have 4cc in it. Today I was telling my husband I wish I did not have to wait until Dec 22 to have a fill because I dont think it is tight enough. I have some restriction when actually eatting but then am hungry 2 hours later. I am not just a little hungry but for the first time in as long as I can remember I am starving. My stomach will make so much and be so loud that anyone in the same room can hear it. Plus I lost 2 lbs the first couple of days after my fill and nothing since monday. The same thing happened after the banding. I lost weight weeks 1-3 and then nothing up until week 6 when I was filled. I am feeling discouraged.

I started about 6 weeks ago, I replaced one meal a day with a protein shake, then 2 meals a day. Then I went straight into my pre-op Liquid fast (5 Optifast shakes a day) I opted to start that a week early for 3 weeks instead of 2. I lost about 4 pounds just doing the protein shake meal replacement, and I have lost 7 this week doing the first week of Optifast. I expect to lose 3-4 more in the next 2 weeks prior to surgery. That's around 15 total (about 2 months), maybe a little less. This way I could ease into it and it really didn't shock my body to go from eating to liquid fast all at once. I just started breaking bad habits one at a time and it's been pretty painless.....