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Thanks, BG -- I know you've lost a bunch, too! I guess I'll repost this next week for a true update. I'm leaving to Mexico tomorrow for a week's vacation. And I put off having my fill until I get back to make darn sure I don't experience problems down there. So I'm pretty wide open at the moment - ack! : ) Actually, I'm not worried about weight gain. I'm going to go have a ball, not have a care in the world, and just chill on the beach. If there's a small weight gain, I'll just deal with it when I get back and get my next fill. : ) Happy Halloween, everybody - see ya' in a week!

Hello everyone, I had my 3rd fill on April 28th and lost another 5 pounds within a week. That's great, but for some reason I am stuck at 215 now. After my second fill, the same thing happened. I was 226 and then got down to 220 and just stayed there till this last fill. Is it suppossed to be this way? Do I have to keep getting fills or is this normal and can I still lose weight with this last fill?

Funny, I never felt I was "obese" until I saw pictures of myself. when I looked in the mirror I didn't see it. When I looked down at myself, I didn't see it. When I held my clothes out in front of me I didn't see it. I was unhappy with my weight gain the first several years, and then after a while it didn't really matter. I was happy with myself. I didn't consider the lap band until I started seeing physical health problems evolve as a result. My husband NEVER said anything about my weight so I felt secure and totally accepted. We started having sex less about 2 years ago. I just assumed it was him and a "man" problem. He was compliemntary, and sweet and it didn't ever occur to me that I was the problem. I got banded about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and this past weekend, I brought up the subject with my husband. It was only then that he dropped the bomb on me that he is no longer sexually attracted to me, and that he was fine physically. I'm devastated, and for the first time, I have TOTAL self loathing. I'm humiliated and literally sick. I just want to crawl under a rock. Now I don't even want him to look at me. It's earth shattering to realize your husband actually finds you repulsive. I don't remember when I've been this sad or depressed. My new band, which was bringing me so much self confidence, almost seems like a waste of time. What do I do?????? Great timing huh?

Days like yesterday were not supposed to happen. I was supposed to travel with my husband to our new home several states north to help with the first part of our move. He had to follow through with plans with the moving company, and I had to return to the hospital for imaging studies to determine what was wrong with my band. Tonight he is at our other house, and I've completed another day of a full liquid diet. I have been compliant with following a bandster lifestyle. I don't overeat, try everyday to get some exercise, make healthy food choices, and was very conservative with getting fills. After nearly 14 months, I had 4.5 cc in my 11 cc band. Major life changes were in our plans as a couple. My husband's retirement and our move were long in the planning stages. We had a timeline and were on schedule. No problem...I had been anticipating these major life events, and was doing well with my level of restriction and stress. Then one of our sons called to share his own major life event...and it was like falling off a cliff for me. I was emotionally upset, and within 3 days I was experiencing the type of reflux you read about with slipped bands. I began a controlled panic, as my worst fear with my band is experiencing complications which would necessitate it's removal. How could this be happening to me? I had vowed from the beginning of my journey to never be one of the people who aggressively seek fills as a way to assist with weight loss, preferring instead to take more of the responsibility for my weight loss by managing my hunger. It was a plan which had worked well for me. I could not believe the pain, similar to symptoms of a heart attack. I woke up choking several nights in a row. I resigned myself to sleeping in one of our recliners, and decided that my regular appointment with my surgeon in a week was close enough to wait it out. The imaging study showed that my band was way too tight. I had previously realized that stress created by driving sometimes made sipping Water difficult for me, but I never believed that stress would cause the band to tighten so much that 1/3 of the Fluid needed to be removed before the contrast could pass through. What I learned through this is that I was taking unnecessary risks with my health and band by delaying to call my surgeon at the first sign of severe reflux. I also learned that life stress can and sometimes does increase the tightness of the band. Sometimes so much so that a partial unfill is not an option but a necessity. In 6 weeks, I plan on beginning to replace the fluid which took me 18 weeks to acquire. By then, 2 of the 3 major life events will have been accomplished. To deal with the third, I just might have to take up meditation. I need to learn how to relax... Other's mileage may vary...

From my experience (I'm into day 9), I have good and bad days. There's no pain associated but you get full so fast that it's easy to 'over-fill' yourself and then you get the gag reflex. That's the negative reinforcement that makes it hard to drink enough. I have a problem with drinking Water so I've been adding a diet peach ice tea snapple package to my bottle of water and I'm getting about 60 oz of water down a day now (doctor said any liquids are better than dehydration). I have no appetite so if you're hungry, it's probably that you are not drinking enough water. 1st visit with Dr: April 6, 2010 weight 407 Pre-op weight: 380 Sleeve Date: Jan 31, 2011 with Dr. Mario Almanza, Tijuana, Mexico Current Weight: 355 (9 days out)

Hey there.. I am not upset about only losing 30lbs. I was at first but, After talking to all of you and starting to understand more about the weight loss with the band and that inches come off first then pounds im understanding it more. I am now at 33lbs and over 30 inch lost. I'm very happy with this loss.. I'm very excited about where im going and what the band has done for me. Thanks for all your advice and also congrats on the 71lbs.. thats awesome Angela

I forgot, the heart palpitations and high BP may help you get approved. These are cormobidities that you may have due to weight.

I’m so scared... my hair had been really growing nicely, and now all of a sudden every time I run my fingers through my hair I have several strands between my fingers, and my brush is full of hair every time I brush my hair. [emoji20]. My hair was looking so pretty and long, and I just don’t want it falling out. I have been using Nioxin shampoo since before surgery (gastric sleeve and hiatal hernia repair), which was on 9/11/17, and I’ve also been taking biotin, zinc, B12, and also I take my multi vitamin twice daily and calcium, as well as my iron, omprazole, and also started taking a collagen to help with hair, skin, joints, etc. The collagen is supposed to help hair, but it’s been since I started taking it that I’ve noticed my hair coming loose. Also, I’ve been at a standstill for about two weeks with no weight loss. Please help!

That's an awesome non scale victory! I know that feeling. I was excited to get a bra from Victoria's Secret for the first time ever! We have to count the small things, that are really major accomplishments for us. I used to be hot ALL the time, now I'm often cold. So I get the sweating thing being a big weight lifted off your shoulders...major congrats, keep it up!

so im 10 months post op. kinda at goal (ish) might go a little lower. i work in a place with 2000 people. every single day i have to hear something about my weight. you look great! or OMG you're so skinny (not in a good way). or you're wasting away! etc etc. is it bad that i just don't want to talk about it anymore??? i'm just over it. the journey is long and hard and now i just want to move on and "BE" without having to think or talk about my weight or body anymore. i just want this to be the existing 'me' and not have to be reminded every single second of every minute of every hour. am i gonna have to quit my job so i can go somewhere where people just see this me as the regular me they've met and will know moving forward? when does the journey become something in my past that gets to stay there? i feel like im not even getting to be THIS me cuz the old me is on my back still. end rant

@@Hiraeth This is one possibility... If you are losing weight rapidly due to a drastic drop in food and/or calorie intake, your body will naturally slow down its metabolism in order to conserve energy. It goes into kind of a hibernation mode. Your body thinks you are “starving” and holds onto every last calorie.

Gilta, I'll have to get you a weight tomorrow. I actually didn't get on the scale this AM! (Miracle!) Day got thrown off by having to get up early to take DH to work. UGH! I also wasn't sure what day we were going to do a WI. I'd thought maybe Saturdays b/c that's V-day. BUT now that I know it's Thursdays, I'll pay more attention! LOL! Thanks, Gilta!! And I'll check in with you tomorrow!

Krystal, I am glad you have another shot! And sleep apnea isn't so bad : ) I was diagnosed in January and got my cpap machine after my surgery in February. Seems the sleep apnea goes away for many people with weight loss. That is definitely what I am hoping for. I have adjusted to the machine fairly well, and I think I might be feeling a little better. If you do get one, see if they will let you have two masks. I started with the nostril pillows and about 2 weeks later also got a small mask. I rotate back and forth between the two; just depends on how I feel. good luck! I am hoping you will need the cpap just enough to qualify for surgery - then you can ditch it later! : )

My mother in law said the same kind of thing to me pre surgery and now that I'm post surgery she's saying 'you've lost enough weight you can stop now and be just fine.' Excuse me but I'm not going to take a major step like this and just stop! I haven't even made it to Onederland yet!

Once you start to lose weight chances are your diabetes will go away. I take 5 pills a day without a problem. I can take a standard pill size without having to split it. You may have to check with your pharmacist to see if you can split your pills. Good luck with your surgery. Julie

i am new here and desperate. I really need help/advice. History: I was banded in Oct. 2005 over the years I was not the ideal patient. I had to reschedule and miss appointments due to not being able to take off work. So, I have not been able to utilize the band to its fullest potential. I could not eat until around 10:30 or after daily. Also I had begun eating tons of ice cream because it went down easily and I love it:( I have lost from 265lbs or so down to 223lbs. Not very much. This is what I need HELP with: In August of 2010 due to the X-ray with Barium my Dr. realized my esphagus had been enlarged. Nothing was going down. Apparently the food I was able to eat was just sitting in my esophagus until acids dissolved it. So, Dr. decided to completely unfill my band. I was supposed to go back in 6 months and have the esophagus checked, unfortunately becasue of work I haven't done so. I know I have been able to eat more food than before, especially ice cream becasue I have gained 24pounds. For the past 72 hours I have been unable to get anything but broth and water down. Today I can barely get the broth or water down. I have to force it down and it hurts. I have been reguritating everything I try to get down from broth and water to ice cream jello and tea. My Dr. doesn't see patients on Fri, and I am wondering what I should do or need to do. am very miserable and tired of hurting.Anu insight you have and will share is greatly appreciated. Amber

I was banded on 8/13/07 and then re-banded on 8/17/07 due to slippage and herniation. I didn't have any complications after that except starting my fills later than most people do. Since about the end of this September (2008) I've been experiencing some vomiting after eating. This was attributed (by my dietitian and surgeon) to not chewing well enough and eating too fast. I took the advice to chew better and slow down. The vomiting was almost instant and the relief was as well. I'm sure that some of you know that feeling of relief when the food isn't stuck anymore. This past week, I had a BAD experience with lunch and was vomiting for almost an hour after only eating a couple of bites of my lunch. It hurt-I had pains in my stomach that I had never had before and I've never vomited more than once after eating a meal and this time it was 3 times. In between vomiting, I had these awful sharp pains that traveled from my stomach up my esophagus and then nothing happened, and I would get another one that started in my stomach and traveled up. I had never experienced this much pain from vomiting before. I was scared, because of my complications so early on-that I decided to contact my surgeon's office. They again said it was from not chewing well enough and/or eating too fast. (This was food that I had tolerated before and not had any problems before that day) They told me to do Clear liquids the rest of the day and if I couldn't keep anything else down or got the sharp pains in my stomach again, that I would need to go to the Emergency room of the hospital that she is in-which is 2 hours from where I live. Luckily, I was able to keep some Soup down for dinner and avoided exercising for the night, just to let my body settle down. The soup made me sick to my stomach, but I think my stomach was just sensitive from the vomiting earlier that day. So needless to say, I didn't have to make the 2 hour trip to the ER. Well, this past weekend, it happened again. I had dinner on Saturday night (leftovers from dinner on Friday night, that I had tolerated fine on Friday night) and this time I had the same thing happen- I felt sick for about 10 minutes before I finally threw it up, then still felt like I needed to vomit again. This time I vomited twice, and it hurt again. The pains in my stomach weren't nearly as bad as they had been during the week when I got sick, but I still felt like it hurt more than it should have. Now I am having pain/discomfort/pressure in my port area. Sometimes I experience discomfort just because it's there and sometimes it's when I'm exercising. I had a fill on 10/14/08 and now have 2.5ccs in a 4cc band. So I am a little over half full. I still don't feel like I am all that restricted, although I have lost quite a bit of weight since surgery (although I am discouraged by losing weight slowly and wish I could lose more) The prospect of needing an "unfill" has come up, but I feel like it's counterproductive to my weight loss. I have to drive 2 hours for everything and I don't want to drive up there again to get Fluid taken out of my band- it's discouraging to think that might be a possibility. Soooo, basically- I am kind of worried because I'm afraid that my band might slip again, or might be slipping, or eroding-or some other BAD thing. I don't think my surgeon would do another band on me, and the idea of having to have surgery again is UNTHINKABLE! I had such a hard time having it twice in one week, I don't think I could do it again. Has ANYONE out there experienced anything like this? To be vomiting at this stage in the game is frustrating because you think it's something would deal with in the beginning-not over a year out. And does anyone know if a band will slip suddenly, or can is slowly slip until it's completely slipped? I know what signs to look for-because I had a slip before and it was absolutely awful. It was right after surgery, so I thought the pain and stuff was normal, until I started to vomit blood-that's when I knew something was wrong. I haven't vomited blood this time, but I'm just paranoid about this. Does anyone have anything for me? Trying to be patient and positive about this...

Unfortunately, this is one of those things that's unique to each person. It depends on the doctor you go to and what insurance you have. I only had to do 2 weeks of a liquid only diet before surgery that included Protein shakes, Water, broth, sugar free popsicles, and sugar free Jello. Other people I know were allowed one small meal of protein and veggies in their diet. Some people only have to do a liquid diet a few days prior to surgery. My insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield, used to require a 3-6 month medically supervised diet before they would do surgery (it's even before the 2 week liquid diet), but they have since stopped making that common practice. Some insurance companies may still require it though. So you may not be dreaming about how fast it can go! I went to my first seminar about weight loss surgery in November of 2013 and I had my LapBand surgery in February of 2014! It can happen that fast, but not always. Depends on doctors appointments and such lining up just right. Best of luck to you!

@@2goldengirl I should start here, I have started many an amazing thing, Loosing weight, countless times, starting a new project, crafting something and then loosing interest, support or seeing progress. I have failed ME, there I said it, 1000 times over, I have failed me, I am crying and ashamed to type the words, but I have to own my truth, or I will not have my future. I am terrified I wont succeed, I am too old to stay stuck and live less than the life I dream of when I secretly allow myself to "go there" I am sorry this took a turn and here we are, but I guess it needed to be said..... I will fight for me, Like never before, I have too many big dreams and hopes, and pure joy I want to experience I wish it for everyone who reads this post thank you

Hi everyone! I am almost finished with my 6 month supervised diet that is required by BCBS AL My general practice MD told me to print my medical records from my patient portal online so I have the 3 years of height/weight records that I need (Hopefully the surgeon's office will accept a printout). Realistically, I don't think I have any reason to worry that I won't be approved but my anxiety is getting the best of me lately. I am getting so close to being finished with all the requirements and my anxiety is making me a nervous wreck. I am either constantly worrying that I won't get approved or worrying that I will get approved but have complications. I have called both my insurance company and my insurance coordinator but haven't heard back yet (and it's been over a week). The waiting and not knowing part is the worst part for me. Has anyone else dealt with similar feelings this close to surgery? I'm just hoping to find some words of encouragement from fellow patients. Thanks in advance!

I read a story of a vet sleeve patient that I could relate to all too well. I leaned on her for support as a mentor. She posted her reflections and it clicked for me. She told me that her choice to have surgery was like ending a toxic marriage. Kind of like divorcing that abusive, inconsiderate, doucehbag of a husband who was a person she loved to hate. The relationship was toxic, but they had good years similar to the good years we have with dieting/exercising/doing it the "old fashioned" way, and then those toxic behaviors, issues in the marriage would pop up again, and the marriage would go to pot, AGAIN. That made perfect sense to me, I could lose weight, I could diet and exercise, I knew the cause of my weight gain after each diet attempt and why I couldn't keep the weight off. I had a toxic relationship with food, quantity and my love of food with no consequence other than being fat were my issues. I wasn't an emotional or compulsive eater, volume was my issue. I just knew that I couldn't do it without surgical intervention. Just like some people can not leave a marriage/relationship without intervention from family, or a major trigger to make them see that they need to get out. I hope all of that makes sense. I never had any issues post-op with the acceptance of having to have surgery to be successful. I'm not one of those that believe this is the easy way out, it's easier because I had surgery, but so is driving to the store instead of walking.

I agree with that. I have bad knees and cannot circuit train or taebo like I used to. Bike riding is out to because of the friction it would cause in my knee from a bone spur. My knee specialist has limited my exercise to walking but has also said it is imperitive that I relieve my knees of some of the weight. He said he wants my knees to last 10 more years. At this point, I believe I can lose the weight but I want to get it all off and keep it off. I feel that this procedure will help me maintain as well as lose it.

They suggest 1 and 1/2 cups as my side and 6 oz of meat with it. When i refer to being 'tight' i mean it is hard for food to pass thur my pouch. I might be like that one day, then the next eat the same thing and it goes down without any problem. When you eat, do you feel every bite 'pass' thru? Im still new to this trying to figure it out. Every month i think i have a dilation but my nurse tells me i dont have any symptoms and im loosing weight and just need a fill. Im so terrified of getting a dilation. Thanks for your help!

It is an awfully big risk to take. Any surgeon will probably tell you its possible but they cant guarantee it and I've got two friends (which is only two, of course) one of whom had a reduction and one of whom had a lift and neither was able to breastfeed. There's no saying whether they would have been able to anyway of course. I'd be more worried about spending the money. Pregnancy itself let alone breastfeeding can do a lot of damage to your breasts, they can increase hugely in size during both and you might need reconstructive work again afterwards. Afterall, you're hardly going to spend the money having a lift, get pregnant, breastfeed a baby or two or three and then not worry when they've gone to pot after that. You'll get a better result with a lift if your weight and breast size stays stable after it's been done.

Congratulations! That's awesome, keep up the great job and before you know it you'll be at your goal weight. Yay for you! Good luck with the rest of your journey and best wishes! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using the BariatricPal App