Search the Community

I am 6 weeks post op from VSG. I am exhausted all the time. I rarely make it through the day without a nap. The nurse practitioner at my surgeon's office says I need to increase my calories to 600-800 calories a day. The problem is I am only able to get 400 calories in and that is on a good day. I just started solids in the last week and I thought that would make it easier. However, I get full so fast that I am not eating much so I am still not getting the calories. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App

Congrats! This is how it happened to me too :cry_smile: I still try to wear my clothes too long.. I usually dont switch to the next size till I have excess material hanging off my butt. My hubby hates it haha. I can't believe that once I lost one size they just started snowballing down. I went from a 22/24 to a 14 in 50 pounds. Just wait a few more weeks and u will probably have a nsv again Those are the best!

My first fill is coming up in a little over a week, not sure what to expect! Since my surgery on 3/1 I have lost 29 pounds, with no fill. By reading many of the posts in different areas of this web site the way I feel when I eat certain foods (bread for example) now is how I should feel after I have a fill.....so I am a little concerned how restrictive things will be after that fill is done! I am consistantly losing 3 to 4 pounds a week already. Not a bad thing I guess, and maybe this is just working better than I had imagined, but I am a little curious and a lot nervous about getting the fill. It is nice to hear people say "Wow, it really shows on you". I just think to myself, you aint seen nothin' yet!

Hi everyone. I can totally understand why most people go for their first fill 6 weeks after surgery. I was losing steadily for almost 4 weeks and then hit a wall. I'll go up a few pounds, then down a few pounds. It's been up and down like this for the 3-4 weeks and I'm tired of it! At the same time I hit the wall was when I started doing 3 hours of cardio and 3 hours of weightlifting each week. I don't know if there is a parallel there, but other than that I eat between 1000 and 1200 calories a day. It just doesn't seem possible that I am eating much less, and exercising and the scale ain't budging!! I am hungry a lot of the time, which is why I am dying to get a fill. I want to eat 600 to 800 calories and be satisfied. Virginia

hey there... I am filled & back @ work... according to their scales I have lost 15 lbs in a month... filled 1.5cc with saline and I will go back in 4 weeks for the "sticky" solution as she called it... Saw everything on the xray machine as well.. very cool... My port was a little bt harder to find and a little bit sore in that area but other than me getting lost downtown.. I was in & out of there... funny how different dr's can be though.. I am on liquids for today and mushies for 2 days... skinny days are ahead!

I know three weeks isn't long - but I suppose I'm more scared of putting weight back on before I get my fill. Well only a week to go no so must try to be very very careful of what I eat between now and then.

I'm still healing and takes more than 2 weeks to fully heal and you def don't want to push it. My nutritionist said in the beginning i wouldn't be able to fit much in my new pouch, boy was she right! Eventually I should be able to eat 1/2c to a full cup during meals but for now I'm not forcing it I'm just listening to my body. I am not a graceful puker, I'm like the exorcist so i avoid that at all cost.

I have 2 weeks low carb, (which I'm currently on week 2 and FAILING miserably...whimper) and then 1 week full fluids, one week clear fluids. Is this the same as you?

I had my surgery on 08/20/07, I lined up one of the best doctors of Bariatrics in Missouri. 5 weeks later I awoke from a medicinal induced coma in ICU. My Laproscoptic procedure failed when my surgeon accidentally cut my colon and didn't know it. I was in recovery when my wife asked a nurse if the drainage bag was supposed to be red like blood. Yes yes she answered, at three the next morning my surgeon called her and said I was in trouble and he doesn't think he'll be able to save me. However I suppose it wasn't my time, I kept right on breathing, my wife said my blood pressure got down to 60/32 but it was there. The surgeon, of course, had to open me from sternum to belly button and for five weeks they just used some kind of hose to temporarily close me up, because they packed and changed salt packs in me about three times a day the 5 weeks I was out. After sewing me up the final time, I developed leaking fistulas, meaning I could drink a glass of Water and see it leak out of my tummy after it's trek down my gullet. My surgeon sent me to a rehab facility soon afterwards to die. Even the most seasoned doctor was surprised I hadn't kicked the bucket. One young dynamo told me they had just gotten back from a large doctor gathering in Phoenix the night before, and I was the topic of conversation! Anyway, the rehab hospital had never had a bariatric patient before so with my leaking fistulas they had me eating the same thing as everyone else. I got stronger, they pulled the god awful trach thing out of my neck, I must've sounded like a monster to my children! However, the fistulas continued to leak my bile from my innards and being horizontal, the bile kept my skin from healing. Two emergency surgeries at a large famous hospital next door (w/out) my wife's permission or knowledge led her to talk my original surgeon to transfer me back to University of Missouri Med Center. While there I was visited by Dr James Kraatz (my absolute hero), he said he thought he could fix me up, stop the fistulas, 50/50 chance. Okie dokie, when do we get started. This was in December of 2007. He transferred me to the Burn and Wound ICU (wonderful place!). I had my first surgery in December, stay in hospital thru January. He sent me home with intravenous feeding, (nothing by mouth for 5 months), and a drain (nasty). Lots of great medicine!! In June of 2008, he operated and fixed my fistulas and sent me home with a wound vac, I never leaked again but was fearful for months and uber careful. (He had to wait for 6 mos. for the final surgery because of the trauma inside me from the previous 25 surgeries.) I never had the dramatic weight loss that most people experience with gastric bypass. Today I weigh 280, 100 pounds lighter, no diabetes, but hypoglycemia. No joint pain, reminders are a big honking scar on my gut, I've thought about tattooing it as a tree of life. People ask me if I'd do the surgery again, of course I wouldn't knowing how it turned out, if I told you it wasn't hell I'd be lying. Am I satisfied today, I'm satisfied with living.

At my 3 week post op visit with my surgeon she said i can start taking full size pills, just don't go taking a handful all at once.

Are we really starting it tomorrow? Thought we start it on this Monday coming up since it'll be 2 weeks before surgery?

You're doing well. We all fluctuate up and down. Heck, month-long stalls are normal too. Maybe it's related to that time of the month? Or some junkfood? I'm 9 months out and still loves me those potato chips. Try not to get down because of the numbers on the scale. They don't define you. You've already succeeded by taking the courageous step to have bypass surgery and change your life for the better.

Hi there, I hear you on the solar plexus pain -- just went through this yesterday myself when I got stuck on mushrooms. I have heard that eggs can be problematic because they are often two textures -- the whites can be rubbery, for example. I think every one is different as far as how and when their bands feel tighter or how long it takes to completely feel the effect of a fill -- and of course other factors like flying, weather, time of the month, etc. Isn't it something figuring all this out!? I am feeling tighter myself all of the sudden. Had my last fill on January 6th and am scheduled to go back the 20th. I have had four fills and I will not get another next week since I'm feeling restriction, not eating more than my tennis-ball sized portion, etc. Sometimes I do get hungry again before the 4-5 hours have elapsed but I think I need to be with my band the way it is for a while while I get used to everything. It may be that I'm in the green zone already.

Hi! I'm 2.5 weeks post op. The first week was rough everything hurt i used a walker the first 4 days. If i stood to long it felt like my stomach was filled with bricks. Walking and sipping is what my days consisted of, i had to do 2 weeks of clear liquids i could not tolerate the protien shakes our powder so getting my protien in the first 2weeks was really hard. I just went to puree/soft food 3 days ago i can only eat about 2tbsp each meal, i did get a whole egg in today. Eat slow chew well. Good luck!

Not sure if anyone else has posted this in the past. WLS was one of those items that my insurance would not pay regardless of your health condition. But they will pay several hundreds a month in medications to treat the side effects of being overweight. I have a 401K at work that I had been paying into and inquired if it was possible to withdraw funds from it for WLS. Their answer was yes, but any distribution would have a major penalty. But they suggested that I do a loan against my 401K. The advantage is that the interest rate is very low, 4.0%, and that any interest you pay on the loan goes back into your own account. There is the risk of losing your job and the loan gets treated as a withdrawal. But I was able to apply and actually have the funds in my hands within a week. I would have even considered it with insurance since it could cut out the 6-12 month approval timeline for medically supervised diets, studies etc. It may not be an option for everyone, but for some it may be worth looking into. I don't know if an IRA works the same way.

I got banded in sept 2007. Had my first fill in Oct (5 wks post op) I was fine for a few weeks then it hit me, couldnt even swallow my spit. this was during thanksgiving and my dr was gone so i suffered for 5 days ended up in hospital for dehydration -- i guess i didnt really understand what was happening to me -- i knew something was wrong obviously but i didnt think it would get as bad as it did... so needless to say i got an unfill. this was dec 1st. I have been fine but started to eat as if i didnt even have the band. just got my second fill friday -- not even as much as my original -- 3cc band now im at 1.2 fill -- and i cant even swallow Water without discomfort. Protein shake -- no way i will try in the morning -- but evenings i can do it but it takes me 20 - 30 minutes to get one shake down. I have lost a couple pounds of course since friday.. so my question is -- do i stick it out and just stay on liquids for a couple weeks and lose weight or do a get slight unfill? :help:

Hi: I have nausea issues so I got my completely unfilled the day before tt. I'm glad I did because I was hurling for almost 24 hours after surgery. Got refilled almost 3 weeks after tummy tuck because I didn't want to stretch the surgical area in order to get my port accessible to my surgeon. Still wasn't comfortable, but wasn't too bad to get the refill. Best wishes to you. Sue

Hi there looking for others in this area ... Just had the operation 1 week & 1/2 ago!

Rick, I'm sorry to hear that. I went through that three times before I said, F&%K it and paid for it myself. It's the best money I've ever spent...

Annie, I am new to this forum but have been reading a lot this past week. I am also scheduled for the surgery this week - same day as you. I am having the surgery here in Kansas. I finally gave up on my insurance paying for the surgery and am self-pay. I have tried for a year to get approval and they have continually refused even though they say they cover the surgery. I finally decided that I just needed to take the plunge, take care of ME and pay myself. Good luck with your surgery. I am excited and know you are also.

Hi Leah! Thanks for the response. Here is the way to look at it... YOU DESERVE THIS! Have you been to any of the seminars? I really enjoyed the ones I went to when I was researching this procedure. They helped me to see I am not a bad person because I am fat. I have looked into WLS for a couple of years, like you, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to afford it. AND I wasn't prepared to have my intestines re-routed through by-pass. A friend told me about this lap band thing he heard on the news, so I started to look into it. First off, its alot cheaper then by-pass and I love the idea that its less invasive and adjustable. And the complications post op are much less. I am self pay as well. I don't have ins. and even when I did it didn't cover WLS. Even though I knew it was something I needed to have I wasn't prepared for a very long time to admit to myself none the less to anyone else. Being over weight is a constant struggle in every second of one's life. But you already know that. I decided on Dr. Rumbaut in Monterrey for three reasons, first off, his experience, he has amazing credintials and tons of experience, along with alot experience in higher BMI patients, second was because he himself has the band, he knows how it feels to be us, he knows the day in and day out struggles, thirdly price. He was much cheaper than here in the US however I do know Tallgrass in Topeka is about the price of Dr. Rumbaut. For the first time in my entire life I don't feel ashamed to be me. I don't feel horrible from the mention of myself. I think I feel like this because of these boards, I no longer feel alone. I am so proud of myself and happy for myself to take on this new journey for me! There are several places out there that will finance this surgery, many programs that even offer it. I finally came to the decision I cannot nor will I deny myself this procedure, I cannot NOT afford to have this surgery. I want to live, and I want to be healthy. This is no longer an option. I had to come up with the money. And as you go through the process which I have, you will see that you deserve this more than anything. and you will find a way to pay for it. So hang in there, stay up to date on new information, talk with other etc... there are also some great chat sites on yahoo, one for Kansas lap band patients, I love the people there too! If ever you want to chat message me! hang in there and Good luck! ANNIE

Everyones doct differs in their post op plan. I've seen people on here that can eat solids after less than a week. My dr. had me on clear liquids, week one, full liquids week 2, muhies/purees week 3, ground/chopped foods week 4, and solids week 5.

my docter in shreveport has a schedule set up for post band where you stay on liquids through five weeks but i have heard people on here start to try eating one week after surgery....just wondering if this my docters standard or if it is the standard everyone follows? thanks

I think for most people weightloss slows down after 6 months. It may very well take you longer than a year to lose all your weight, but that's ok, right? I've seen several people with under 100 lbs to lose taking 2+ years to reach goal, but they're committed and they get there. To answer your core question, there is no expiration date with the sleeve. You will lose as long as you continue putting in the work. You will probably have stalls, but keep at it.