Search the Community

Walking is whats best, my surgery was 10/30 I started to get relief about day 5 when I started passing at both ends lol doctor did offer me a RX for gas but I didnt fill it

Thanks to all of you for your input. I am having surgery with Dr. Rumbaut in Monterrey on 8/10. I was feeling at peace with my decision but am becoming more nervous as the date gets closer. I start liquids next week and will be in Mexico for my 35th birthday. :faint: Kelli

I'm a self pay patient with Dr. Schroder, Dr. Brengman's partner! My surgery date is coming up soon -- 2/19.

I'm 10 weeks out and have been experiencing this for 2-3 weeks now. The only thing I enjoy consuming is coffee. Getting my Water and Protein in is difficult and I rarely come close to my goals.

Hi...I had surgery on 8/29/18, I am diabetic as well, I am actually losing weight rather quickly 10 lbs in the first 7 days, 21 lbs down since surgery and my A1C was bad also, almost 10, since surgery I have come off all meds and my blood sugars are between 100-120, my endocrinologist took me off the meds. As I lose more weight and exercise my numbers should get even better. I don’t eat many carbs but berries and such a small amount, I choose less carbs because I want to have good control of my blood sugars. I wish you the best!

I was banded on 8/19/09 and until yesterday would been able to tell you I'd never been stuck. But yesterday, it happened to me. I hadn't eaten much but what I did eat didn't want to go down. I've had 5 fills and I'm at 7.5cc.

My surgeon had told me at the very beginning to stay on my program as strictly as I could for the first six months because after that it often slows down. That proved true for me. I had lost just about all I was going to lose (105) pounds by 10 months out. (My start weight was 252). Of course all this depends on so many things, but it is a good rule of thumb to follow. Those first six months are the time when you want to be vigilent with getting the most weight off that you can. Keep up your good work! Sometimes hard, but always worth it!

oh darn it I wished I had seen this before I ordered. I could have saved 10 instead of the 5% I did. Oh well maybe next year as I just ordered for the next 2 months. So glad you opened the store and I know I will be a steady customer. Thanks for the tips on Halloween as I have a party to go to in about 2 1/2 hours and will use some of these to stay away from the foods.

Usually an employer offer EAP (employee assistance programs) this includes visit to see a therapist and consulattaions to se an atty. I'm not married so I won't weigh in on your situation but just know there are low to no cost options to seek help of any kind. Most employers EAP plans offer 3 or 5 therapist visits free per yr and after that its on a sliding scale - as little as 10 bucks a visit. If both of your work check with each employers HR department

I was only required to do the 2 weeks Protein and there was no emphasis on weight loss it was just going in with a healthy liver and the will power to do it. I lost 9lbs on the 2 week liquid diet and 10 lbs from surgery to 1 week post op, I think I have gained 2-3 lbs back now that I am eating more that I was immediatly post op. I am sure that my body is in starvation mode and just hanging onto everything right now. But I am upping my calories and protein daily and start mushies on Wed - yippee. Good luck with your surgery.

My doc asked me to lose 10 lbs. b4 surgery. I started watching what I ate the day after I went to the information seminar. I log what I eat on Myfitnesspal.com, it really helps to know what you are eating as the day progress'. I lost 30 lbs. before surgery, felt so good and got me into a new way to eating. I also started going to Curves right away too and started walking. You go ahead and lose as much as you want it all makes life so much nicer!!!! happy you are on the road to Bandster land!

I also have celiac disease and will be getting my band on Feb 7, 2007. I am borderline celiac, it happens only when I am under stress. I am having a crisis right now.... I wonder why ( 10 days before surgery)

Oh, thank you all so much for the kind words. I just had to share my happiness and knew this was the place to do it! I have had some issues and apparently I am a slow learner b/c I have PB'd a lot but now I am getting better at just looking at something and knowing if it will be ok. Although sometimes I am still wrong or my band likes to play games with me...:thumbdown: Thank goodness, with the exception of one time, I was always at home when I had a problem. It has always been that I ate too much or that I ate something like bread. That will do it. To ahb08, I had gained and lost the same 2lbs for 3 weeks and was so frustrated. I spoke to the nutritionist and she said I was eating too much? Eating too much? hhmmmm I remembered that Wendie plan from WW and how she changes up her points to be some days really high and other days lower and that's what worked. I also read on Calorie Count that once you lose 10-20% of your body weight your body stops losing weight and rests a while. That made me feel better and since I had been in starvation mode for those weeks I just started eating more and low and behold 4lbs came off. If you start so low where do you have to go after that? I would have been like 800 calories? TO ME, and I am no expert or Dr. that is way too low. I also read that women shouldn't go below 1200 b/c it is unhealthy. I believe that. But this is what worked for me, for now. Believe me I'm not foolish enough to think that I wont be on here again crying about my newest plateau...but at least I'll get support again! lol Thanks guys, for caring. Poodles

I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Constipation was a huge thing for me for several months post-op. (And I still have a moment or two at 19 months post-op.) Milk of Magnesia always worked for me. Feel better...

I still count - just my way of holding myself accountable. I spent a ton of $$$ on this, and I am determined to get to my goal weight. With that said, I don't feel deprived or that I am missing anything really. Today I have had 597 calories so far, burned 450 calories at the gym. Part of those 597 calories was a brownie sundae to celebrate an accomplishment of my oldest son. I weighed it out, just a tiny serving because that's all I can eat, added each item into my tracker and here I am sitting just under 600 calories. It was sure yummy. Diet?...what diet? Still low on protein, so probably will need to add something late tonight, or up it a bit tomorrow. My sleeve allows me to have these treats occasionally but helps me control the amount. In the past, I would have eaten 10 times the volume and it would have completely thrown me off the diet wagon. (How on earth do you eat and track a 2100 calorie dessert and say you're dieting?) Basically, my sleeve helps me eat like a skinny person.

I'm from northeast phila ( Mayfair ). Having surgery dec 30! See the surgeon and nutritionist on the 19 to start my pre op diet..... Can't wait. University of penn is my location

Whisky Just kidding....kind of. At least that's what I used to relieve stress preop. My therapist has taught me some great little tidbits to help with both stress and sleep. 1) SLEEP I often wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. I typically turn on the TV and lay there like a zombie for 2, 3, even 4 hours until it's actually time to get up. Solution....restore rhythmic breathing pattern. Lay there with eyes closed, inhale while slowly counting to 4. Then exhale while slowly counting to 6. Repeat. After just a few of these I find myself dozing off and forget to count. If I briefly regain consciousness, I keep counting and breathing. In a very short period of time I'm back sound asleep until my alarm goes off. Yeah! 2) STRESSFUL EVENTS. When I find myself getting worked up over something someone said or did, or over an event I have no control over, my therapist explained how to use the "holocaust scale". On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a minor annoyance and 10 being an unbearably horrible event like the holocaust, where exactly does my current issue fall? Take some time to put things into perspective and react accordingly.....i.e., don't give a 3 the attention and reaction of an 8. 3) STOP IT! I tend to have obsessive thoughts that cloud my mood, push me deeper into depression and leave me feeling very negative. When I find myself buried with one if these thoughts I am supposed to literally shout loudly "Stop It!" and/or physically jolt myself to put a punctuated end to that thought. Then make a conscious effort to think about positive things that make me happy.....picture being on a relaxing horseback ride, playing with my dog, skiing, lying on a beach, being with my family, whatever. But basically just STOP thinking the bad things and switch to thinking good things. The last one has been the hardest one so far. Head games take a lot if work!

Happy Halloween from BariatricPal!#subject#> body,div,dl,dt,dd,ul,ol,li,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,pre,form,fieldset,input,textarea,p,blockquote,th,td { margin:0; padding:0; } table { border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0; } fieldset,img { border:0; } address,caption,cite,code,dfn,th,var { font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; } caption,th { text-align:left; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { font-size:100%; font-weight:normal; } q:before,q:after { content:''; } abbr,acronym { border:0; } address{ display: inline; } html, body { background-color: #d8dde8; color: #5a5a5a; } body { font: normal 13px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; position: relative; } h3, strong { font-weight: bold; } em { font-style: italic; } img, .input_check, .input_radio { vertical-align: middle; } legend { display: none; } table { width: 100%; } td { padding: 3px; } a { color: #225985; text-decoration: none; } a:hover { color: #328586; } div.outer { margin: 0 auto; padding: 14px; } table.wrap { max-width: 800px; margin: 0 auto; } td.logo { background-color: #0f3854; padding: 8px; } td.content { background-color: #fff; font-size: 14px !important; color: black !important; line-height: 150% !important; padding: 8px; } ul { margin-left: 25px; } Hey BariatricPal Members! Happy Halloween! It’s a fun time and the beginning of the holiday season. We’re celebrating a lot here at BariatricPal, and we’re super excited to share it with you! Here’s what’s in this newsletter. The BariatricPal Store: Grand Opening! Your Ready for the Holidays? Thanks for your support and for making it possible for BariatricPal continue to grow. There’s no way we could do it without you. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder, BariatricPal Grand Opening of The BariatricPal Store! We are so excited to announce the grand opening of The BariatricPal Store! We know, The BariatricPal Store doesn’t fit into a Halloween newsletter because it’s anything but spooky, but we just can’t stop talking about it! That’s why we’re offering 10% off all orders with coupon code SPOOKY10 just for you! Your Source for Bariatric Protein, Meals, Snacks, and supplements Weight loss surgery changes everything, especially your diet. You need to get enough protein without too many calories; eat a nutritious diet while keeping portions in check; and get your Vitamins and minerals without fail. It can be overwhelming and time-consuming…unless you have help. The BariatricPal Store can give you the help you need. We have the protein supplements, meals, snacks, and vitamins to help you lose weight and get healthy. Protein bars, shakes, and powders. Low-calorie, high-protein snacks, Entrees and breakfasts. Bariatric vitamins and Fiber supplements. Make Weight Loss Shopping Easy We know you need the top products, and they need to be healthy, nutritionist-approved, and convenient. We have all that! We also have: Tons of BariatricPal brand products. Product packages so you can pick up a bundle at once for a discounted price. meal plans for the pre-op and post-op diets, plus maintenance and back-on-track diets, so you can easily pick up the foods you need to stay on track. Sampler packs of different items so you can try different varieties to see which you like best. Other Reasons to Shop The BariatricPal Store We truly believe we’re number one. Here are just a few more reasons why. Subscribe and Save options on every product so you can get automatic re-delivery, 5% discounts, and free shipping on each order. Lowest prices – guaranteed. Free shipping on orders over $69. Save money with sales and discounts plus our Refer-A-Friend program. For help, you can look at the FAQs, give us a call at 855 WLS-BPAL (855 957-725), or use our live chat with a customer service specialist during business hours. Visit store.bariatricpal.com often to see current specials, and check out our blog for updates on promotions and new products. We can’t wait to take this next step in helping you reach your weight loss and health goals! Your Healthy Halloween Plan Halloween is about costumes, haunted houses, and scares. Unfortunately, some of the “scares” are the ones that show up on the scale if you eat too many Halloween treats, or the “scares” that come from feeling sick from too much sugar. You don’t have to experience the bad scares this Halloween, though. The trick? Plan ahead! Here are a few things to think about as Halloween approaches. Trick-Or-Treating Almost everyone is affected by trick-or-treating. If you have kids, you’ll probably find one or several big bags of Halloween candy showing up at your home when they come back from trick-or-treating. Your best defense here is to have a healthy dinner before taking them out. Then, focus on anything other than candy – you might fix your children’s costumes, be the flashlight holder, or designate yourself as the neighborhood crossing guard to keep kids safe. If you don’t have children, you may be the one handing out candy to the neighborhood children, which probably means buying a bunch of candy to give out. If that’s the case, you’re best off choosing candy that you don’t like that much, so you’re less tempted to eat it. Again, have a healthy dinner, and focus on other things besides candy for the evening. You might work on answering the door in a scary way, or taking photos of the cute costumes you see to share with the kids’ parents tomorrow. The Aftermath No matter what happens on your weight loss surgery journey, there’s always tomorrow. After Halloween, “tomorrow” is November 1. Take inventory. See what’s in your home that shouldn’t be there. Get rid of the extra candy. If you must keep some candy in your house because of your kids, make sure it’s not tempting you. You can always ask them to hide it away in their rooms. You can also make a game out of it: have them label each piece so they and you will both know if you “steal” some. Go for a walk. There’s nothing like a walk to clear your head and get you ready to go back to healthy eating patterns. Halloween’s scary, but it shouldn’t be scary because of the weight gain. It should be scary because of the fun things you get to do. With a little planning, that’s exactly how your Halloween can be. Healthy Halloween Tips Did you know there are tons of fun things you can do to get into the Halloween spirit without touching a piece of candy? Here are a few ideas! Go for a Walk It’s true…walking is really quite a good answer to most questions. How to burn off a few extra calories before Halloween? Go for a walk. How to enjoy the Halloween decorations in your neighborhood? Go for a walk. How to let your kids show off their Halloween costumes to all the neighbors? Go for a walk. Get the point? Get moving! Volunteer That’s right. You may think that volunteering is just asking for trouble, since you may be faced with a lot of candy. In truth, it’s a chance to be surrounded by the Halloween spirit while being so busy you don’t have time to grab a treat. Volunteering at a local school, homeless shelter, or retirement home can be the perfect way to immerse yourself in Halloween. Help decorate for a party, serve treats, clean up afterwards, or help make costumes. You’ll be appreciated, and you’ll get to be a part of the holiday in a way that’s healthy for your body and soul. Make Healthy Treats It’s true…treats make Halloween so much better. But you can do better than chocolate, candy corn, and decorated Cookies and cupcakes. Here are a few ideas. Greek yogurt popsicles: Use a little sweetener and keep them white for ghosts, or add some pumpkin and cinnamon and shape them into pumpkin shapes. Then you can decorate them like jack-o-lanterns! Jack-o-lantern orange protein cups: hollow out oranges to leave the peel mostly intact. You can “carve” a face in the peel shell to make it look like a jack-o-lantern, and fill it with cottage cheese or fruit. Greek yogurt “eyes:” freeze circular spoonfuls of Greek yogurt with blueberries for eyes. A happy, safe, and healthy Halloween however you choose to Celebrate it. Don’t forget to come talk about yours on the boards at BariatricPal! See you there!

So at 5:30 this morning I was on my way to Good Sam for my lap band surgery. Surprisingly I honestly had about 6 seconds of nervousness and then was fine. Got down there, got in my gown, stats were taken and I was good to go by 7. Had to take out my tongue ring but luckily it didn't close lol. At about 7:10 I was in the room getting nice and looped up on what the anesthesiologist liked to call my double margarita lol. They rolled me in to the OR around 7:20 and then "sent me to the Bahamas". Next thing I knew I was waking up. Very groggy but I recovered very quickly. They expected me to be in recovery for about 2 hours before taking my xrays and moving me and within about 40 minutes I was up and ready to go. Drank that HORRIBLE contrast for my xrays and then everything seemed good so they moved me to another room. My dad and Kev came in. I talked to them for a while and then I slept for about 20 minutes. Woke up talked a few more minutes and they said they wanted me to pee. They had me drink some apple juice and my dad and Kev went out. By the time they came back I had peed and gotten dressed into my normal clothes. The nurses kept calling me "Miss Independent" because I didn't ask or wait for help from anyone. I even started to straighten up the room a little when I came back in lol. They then offered me a job lmao. I was expected to be released around 4 but being I was improving so quickly I was on my way home by 12:30. Dr. Pucci and the entire Good Sam staff were amazing. I could not have asked for better people to deal with! They told me to expect gas pains from what they filled my stomach with in my shoulders and it would probably move around. I have been in and out of sleep all day but have stayed awake for the better part. I even went to my cousins house to visit with her and my aunt. With the exception of the gas pain the surgical part of it isn't unbearable. I will probably feel worse tomorrow but today it feels like I just took a really powerful punch to the stomach. I ate some broth and Jello and have been drinking my Protein and Water when I can actually breath. The air bubbles are right beneath my rib cage right now so breathing is a bit of a chore lol. Anyway I will keep everyone posted on whats going on but I really from the bottom of my heart appreciate all the prayers, well wishes, and love. You have no idea how much that means to me

Hang in there! This seems to be a common problem. I'm slated for a band on 10/26, so I'm keenly interested in this. But a friend suggested that I do all that was suggested to you and it will go away. Don't lose heart! Did you try a hot bath? Liquid Tylenol? I've read repeatedly that you must walk, walk, walk.....apparently it moves those gas molecules around and ...out! :Banane10:)

well I guess you're right - I had to drop from an average of 1700 kcal/day to 1500 kcal/day to lose these extra 10 (now eight) lbs I want to get rid of, and it was tough at first, but I've kind of gotten used to it. I could never go back to what I was eating the first year, though (600-800 kcal/day). Or at least not that calorie level.

You are under general anesthesia for the surgery, so you16 will be intubated, but just like everyone else said, you want know it. My surgery was 10 days ago, and I got the IV in pre-op and then went to the O.R. got on the table and they told me to have a nice dream, put the mask on me and the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. I did not have a sore throat, or have to stay overnight. I was in at 7:00am and leaving by 11:00. I did lose 16 pounds on my 2 week pre-op diet! My insurance did not require a supervised diet of any length, you just have to have the BMI to qualify. The longest I have head of is 6 month's. Don't let the surgery itself scare you off...it is the easy part! I don't have any regrets:smile2:

Hello everyone, I am new here. I finished my Options Class on Oct. 5. got my referral number last week and I receive a call from PB in San Diego last week for my 3 consultation. I am schedule for Nov. 10. I was told they are currently scheduling surgery for the end of December early January.

I am also having surgery at University of Colorado Hospital and my surgeon is also Dr. Rothchild. I have a weight loss goal of 20-25 pounds and so far I have lost about 10 of that. I am currently working on my 3 month multi disciplinary plan. I have 2 more appointments left. Last one being August 14th. It actually turned out to be 4 visits rather than 3 since the 90 days was spread out weird. I am so excited to meet other people in my area experiencing the same thing as me. Sounds like we could all help encourage one another.

Hey Bee my pre op diet starts may 19. Argh... Has to be done though! 3 weeks to go til pre op diet, 5 weeks til op. How are you feeling today? Thanks Leanne for the tip about driving. I figured it would take a while to start driving. How are you going with everything??