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I'm 21 days out since my surgery. I haven't drank any soda, too afraid of possible pain or messing up my band, which I paid for myself. I don't drink alcohol at all, but I do know others do, but in moderation, as they are empty calories. How weird that your doctor does your fills by the amount of weight you lose! Mine does it based on my hunger level. I've eaten tiny bites of a Pillsbury crescent roll, maybe 1/4 of one roll. I've had 1/2 slice whole grain bread, well toasted. I've had a tiny bit of tortilla. I've eaten turkey, chicken, ham, beef meatballs, pot roast, without problems so far. I cut them into tiny pieces and chew the heck out of them. I haven't tried steak or pork yet. I haven't had any issues yet with something being stuck (except perhaps one of my antibiotics that I didn't cut in half), but I definitely do feel full with around 3/4 to one cup of food, sometimes less. I expect once I get my first fills, that will change. Good luck!

Exactly! I have suffered from this for as long as I can remember! I've done the alcohol scrubs, betadine scrubs, to the extreme rock scrubs u know the one u use on ur feet! It is not dirt and does not go away. I have gotten it to lighten up but it comes right back. All the doctors and dermatologist I've been to all said "just lose weight and it will go away!" I didn't find out what it was until I did my own research and found Acanthosis. I can't even begin to describe the ridicule from family, "friends" making such ignorant and hurtful comments. And for someone who suffered with it too she should've known better!

My surgeon told me the two main reasons for no alcohol is healing in the beginning, and then empty calories after healing. He said an occasional drink is not an issue but you should wait a minimum of 3 months, preferably 6. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Hey all.. I was sleeved 12/1 HW 432 SW 416 and current weight fluctuates between 378 and 370. Im not losing inches or pounds. I have multiple chronic illnesses, including PCOS. Goals consistently met, following plan. Its been almost a month and a half stalled. Ive tried everything- sugar, alcohol, carbs, protein. Cannot workout due to POTS, so doing what I can at home. Frustrated beyond belief. Sent from my SM-N986U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hello All, I have been considering lap band surgery since Nov. 2011. I met with a the surgeon's nurse practitioner and she was great! Answered many of my questions and was not pushy in my process. I attempted to lose weight on my own (again), but just seem to gain. I have insulin resistance and high cholesterol. I am 23, work full time as a paramedic and on call firefighter. I have become so discouraged, it seems I just keep gaining. I figure I now need to lose about 105lbs to be at a healthy weight ( I can't remember when I was at a healthy weight, but I have never been this big before) I am glad I found this forum, as I have read quite a few threads and I feel like I can get answers from people who have had the surgery. A few of my questions that I forgot to ask the nurse practitioner: Is 23 too young for this surgery? I have not had any children. Has anyone here had the surgery and then become pregnant? Does it increase any complications with pregnancy with having the surgery? I know the lap band won't take away emotional eating (something I have a problem with), but does it help to stop thinking about food? While I don't think I drink excessively for someone my age, I do enjoy going out and having drinks every now and then. How does the surgery affect consuming alcohol? Not that I would be embarrassed about having the surgery, I would like to keep it quiet. Is this the wrong attitude to have going into it? I am not sure how having the surgery and getting back to full time work as I do alot of heavy lifting and strenuous activity. I hope this isn't too many questions! I just want to feel confident and pretty again, I guess I just worry that this surgery won't work as I have decreased my calorie intake and I still seem to be gaining. Thanks so much for answers and advice!!! Kaylee

Yes, I heard of it. Not sure what to think about it though since I'm no English native speaker and the slight nuances of a language are often difficult to get for a non-native speaker. If you're in doubt I would take the advice of the person having more experience with this issue. Personally I'm an advocate of the "people first" language. I absolutely abhor the use of expressions like "the obese", "a diabetic", "an alcoholic", "an addict" etc. and I can't understand why people would label themselves as such. Nobody would say e. g. that a person/a patient is "a lymphomic" when talking about a patient with a lymphoma. Sorry, I guess that was not very helpful.

I have a lapband, but I understand your pain. I want to tell you, failing to lose has many causes--I know, I lived on less than 1000 calories a day for years and never lost an ounce. My lapband didn't help me lose much and my first doctor wouldn't give me a fill. So I found another who did. I am practically wheelchair bound (can only hobble around the house). So I started to lose--slowly. the big help was I didn't regain what I lost. One thing I've never heard a doctor explain to me is that excessive hunger can be giving you a message. So many diets I went on ended with me lying in bed, weak and starving within weeks. What I didn't realize was that my body was telling me those diets weren't nutritionally what I needed. I've tried low fat-high fiber, low calorie, vegetarian, all raw salads, lot's of nuts, praying the weight away, self-hypnosis, bodybuilding, lots of exercise...you get the idea. All of them failed because I wasn't listening to my body. When I got so hungry I would eat nails if there was ketchup to put on them, my body was telling me I was on the wrong diet. This isn't a normal,"Gee, that looks tasty." But was more like a weak pathetic cry from my bed that I was dying and had to eat. I kept experimenting and discovered a ketogenic diet helped, but I gained everything back quickly. As I worked with the keto diet, I learned I wasn't drinking enough water, and I wasn't sleeping enough. But the high protein with lots of greens was definitely a better choice than the others. Then I got the lapband, and the slow weight loss with no restriction was discouraging. But it was a tool. And once I got restriction, I used that tool. I mostly stayed on the ketogenic diet. Lots of protein was just a necessity for me. The fat I ate made the diet more enjoyable. The lapband made me eat small bites, or I spent days puking. If I got sick, I had to reduce what I ate because sickness caused my stomach to swell, and I puked. Over the last ten years I've lived on the ketogenic diet, except for two years when I lost control, (I gained 50 pounds and found I had cancer. I believe the sugar cravings after being in control so long were a result of the cancer.) Back in control, and the 50 pounds went away. I've managed to lose 160 pounds. Not a large amount, and I still have over 100 pounds to go. But I am happy not to be the woman I was. I don't know if the ketogenic diet will help you, but I'm sharing my experience to show you have to experiment to find the right diet. And you have to sleep enough to lose weight. So, get the junk out of your house--the chips, crackers, cake mixes, candy, soda, snack food, juices (fruit juice is just liquid sugar water with a few minerals, eat whole fruit instead), and the alcohol (You can go back to 1 drink a day after you've lost weight). And start the eating pattern you feel best on. Just practice eating a healthy diet for a bit. Don't eat much at a time and keep any easy to snack on food (like grapes or nuts) in the refrigerator. Then start working your tool. go longer between small meals, see what happens when you delete starches, or what foods change how you feel. I had to stop vegetarian because beans make me uncontrollably hungry(love those beans, yumm, yumm). Your body is unique, and just because you haven't found what works for you doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you haven't found the balance of diet, sleep and exercise that works for you. The important thing is NEVER GIVE UP. After 10 years with the band, I'm revising to a sleeve this spring. I love my band, but there is evidence it doesn't do well after 10 years or so. I feel I will do even better on the sleeve.

Thanks everyone! It does seem like the dehydration is the main concern. I had a cup of real tea today and I felt so much more productive. I’m going to stick with that for another couple of weeks is I can and then switch to coffee. It always did bother my stomach a bit, so I want to be careful. I’m going to try and avoid alcohol for a year if I can. I always eat too much when I drink and the worst foods-chips and crackers and chocolate.

So today is my 3 week surgiversary. I have lost 22 pounds and have gone down one jean size so far. I am still eating soups and yogurts because of the tight feeling I get when I try to eat anything thicker. I have really started to want a glass of wine. Just to relax some nights. But Im scared. Everything I read says 3 months or more. Socially it has been weird too. Some people ask why Im not drinking alcohol anymore or at a meeting when lunch is served, I have to make excuses. One friend always declares how bad something tastes in my presence as to make me feel better about not being able to eat whatever she's eating. So there has been lots to get used to but at night when I get home and I see how nicely my cheek bones are becoming defined, I don't care about the excuses or the giant chocolate chip cookie I wasn't able to enjoy. I had my surgery in Monterrey, Mexico. I live (because of work) in Mexico City. I will be going home (to Chicago) in a week to see my family for the first time since the surgery. I know they are going to look me up and down for changes. Hopefully, they can see them right away. I fear hearing...you look the same. Anyway, these are just my random thoughts I have been having. Stuff I don't bother telling my friends because the novelty of my surgery and it's little issues has worn off for them. Happy holidays all!!

Defining Myself after Weight Loss Surgery In order to define who you are after weight loss surgery, it’s important to answer a few questions. The most important question may be “Who do you want to be”? However, before you answer that question, let’s walk down the road of your past and define who you have been. You will discover qualities about yourself that you want to hold on to and develop as you move forward in life. You will also discover some things about yourself that it is time to permanently abandon. Life after bariatric surgery is most assuredly about redefining yourself. You have gone from seeing yourself, and being seen by others, as “the fat person” to being “that person who had bariatric surgery and has lost so much weight”. It’s easy to find yourself wondering who you are at this point, many pounds lighter than you were not so very long ago. You’re probably tired of all of the comments and questions related to how much weight you have lost and how you have done it. It’s time to start living the new life you have worked so hard for. However, you may be confused about who you are now that you have lost so much weight and the hype of the weight-loss process is over. You may find yourself staring into the mirror wondering, “WHO AM I”? Let’s find out, starting by identifying your “titles” or the “hats that you wear”. Imagine you have a wall in your house with a great big board affixed to it. On the board are a number of hooks. On each hook hangs a hat and under each hat is a small sign with a label, one for each of the roles you play. For example, you may have a multicolored, floppy hat to represent the many dimensions and of being a “mom”. There may be a fedora or a nursing cap or a chef hat with a label underneath that says “working professional”. Is there a whimsical hat with a sign that says “friend”? A hat to represent yourself as a daughter? a woman? a spouse or partner? a dancer? a pianist? a photographer? a volunteer? a mentor? a student? Make a list of your titles and alongside the list, state the benefits and drawbacks for you in each of these roles. Are there any roles that you want to eliminate? Are you at a place in your life where you no longer want to play some role on your list and that you can responsibly let go of? Maybe your parents forced you to play a musical instrument as a child and you continue to play in a community orchestra even though you don’t want to. Would now be a good time to say good-bye to being a “musician”? There are some roles you may have that you wish you didn’t, but you accept them because you are a responsible person. For example, you might wish you had a sun visor on the wall where your professional hat is because you want to be retired. However, you keep the hat of the working professional because you are a responsible person and have a family to feed. (Idea: Hang the visor underneath the professional hat as a reminder that the retirement hat is one you will be wearing one day!) Is there a role you would like to add to your life? Would you like to become a tap dancer and add a top hat to your wall? Are there some roles you love that you already have but would like to improve on? Would taking parenting class help you to be an improved version of “mother”? Now make a list of words that you use to describe yourself and that other people use to describe you. Make this list of words descriptive of your personality. For example, are you “bubbly”, “grumpy”, “responsible”, “gossipy”, “adventurous”, “whiney”, “moody”, “outgoing”, “a good listener”, “lazy”, “serious”, “silly”, “friendly”, “mean”, “motivated”, “introverted”, “lively”, etc.? Be sure to include the names you have been called related to your obesity, such as “fat”, “chunky”, and “husky”. Were you called “smart”, “stupid”, “idiot”, “baby doll”, “princess”, “daddy’s girl”, “spoiled”, or “alcoholic”? Next to each of these descriptive words, write down your feelings related to each of these labels. Which of these things do you want to continue to be? Which do hope to never hear again in reference to you? Okay. You’ve got a really great start toward answering the question, “Who Am I”? You have identified the roles you currently play in life. You have identified words and labels that describe you. You have chosen which ones you like for yourself and which ones you are ready to leave behind. To get rid of the ones you are ready to discard from your life, write the words or labels on separate pieces of paper. Next, light a fire in the fireplace or a large coffee can and drop each piece of paper into the fire, and say out loud, “I am no longer a ‘fatso’”. Then throw the word into the fire and refuse to ever refer to yourself as that again. Do this with each word and label you are getting rid of. The final steps to figuring out who you are at this time in your life are to verbalize and write down who you want to be! Simply state out loud and then write down, “I want to be and will be “a person who thinks positively about myself and others”. “I want to be and will be “a person who plans what I eat every day and sticks to my plan”. I want to be and will be “a person who exercises 60 minutes a day, five days a week”. I want to be and will be “a person who focuses on gratitude throughout the day”. That’s the easy part. The more difficult part is to determine specifically what you are going to DO in order to be each of the things in your list. For example, “I will be a person who thinks positively about myself and others by stopping all judgmental thoughts as soon as I am aware that I am having them and by immediately replacing all negative thoughts with positive ones”. “I will be a person who focuses on gratitude throughout the day by writing down one thing I am grateful for three times each day”. By specifically defining your goals and visualizing yourself doing them, you will do them and become the person you imagine yourself to be. Picture yourself eating healthy meals. See yourself walking the dogs. Imagine yourself giving genuine compliments to others. Picture yourself looking into the mirror and smiling kindly at yourself. Decide who you want to be by: identifying who you have been deciding what parts of your previous self you want to keep and what parts you want to discard determining specific things you want to do and specific ways you want to behave. Choose to become the person you were born to be before the “genuine you” got lost beneath unhealthy extra weight. “Who Am I”? Whoever you choose to be! Connie Stapleton, Ph.D. 4/12 WLS Magazine

Thanks for the feedback everyone... I think the biggest issue is that I don't have any vices. No alcohol, no caffeine, no nicotine, no food, etc. I don't know what to do with myself. Im only in the 3rd day of this pre-op diet and I'm feeling miserable. I had to leave work early today cause I just didn't feel well. I can tell my boss thinks I'm just being a baby, but Im basically worthless at work right now. Complete lack of ability to concentrate and super tired. Does anyone know if dill pickles are okay pre-op? There is no sugar, less then 1 carb and only 5 calories per pickle.

Just wondering what the rules are on alcohol during my 2 week pre-op diet are. I am going to a cookout and didn't know if it was ok to have a "drink". Any feedback would be GREAT!!

I have wrote on here before about my marriage issues. I don't know where else to turn bc my friends and family want me to leave my husband A little background information, We are high school sweethearts that got reunited after my first marriage. He was the one that got away. But during that time he got addicted to marijuana. I always dabbled too, but it was more social for me. After a while, I started smoking 3, 4 times a day. My weight started going up and up. Finally I got it under control, but hubby has not My kids are now smelling it, it's causing major fights between us. Financially it's killing us too. My husband has left countless jobs, wrecked numerous cars and has a family history of alcohol ism and I see him going down that path too We fight constantly bc I keep trying to control everything, which then leads me exhausted mentally with my children. I feel my 11 year old gets the brunt of my lack of patience. I work 40 to 65 hours a week. I cook, clean, run all the errands while my husband sits back and does bare minimum. He is finally working in an amazing job, but surprise surprise he hates that too. He plans on leaving in a year when he gets called for another job. However, this job drugs tests. When I write this all out, I feel like the answer is to leave. Well have him leave. We have been going to therapy for over 4 years and he has made very little change. I don't know what to do. I feel so good about myself. I lost over 120lbs. I got my plastics too. Everything is great but my marriage. I gave him an ultimatum It's us or the drugs. But if it's not the pot then it will be alcohol. I just need help from other married folks. Should I get divorced again, should I try to make this work. I do love him but not all the drama he brings to the table. Thank u for letting me vent

This is the approach that I use: I strictly avoid processed sugars. I have a sweet tooth and that is one of the major causes that contributed to my weight gain over my lifetime. I limit myself to artificial sweeteners (such as Splenda and sugar alcohols), to natural low calorie sweeteners (such as Stevia) and to the natural sugars found in fruits and milk. I had diabetes. That went into remission when I left the hospital two days after surgery and I have not taken any diabetic medicine ever since and my blood sugar levels are good. I test my blood sugar levels periodically. [Currently over 5 years post-op] I read the labels of all food that I consume. I look at the grams of sugar per serving. If it is above 5 grams, I look at the ingredients. The ingredients are listed in order by highest percentage, and if the first 5 ingredients contain processed sugar (in any of its many forms), then I avoid this food, like a plague. I also restrict myself to about one meal per day containing complex carbohydrates (such as pasta and bread). I also avoid all carbonated beverages. I lost 20 pounds pre-op solely on eliminating carbonated beverages from my diet and I will not go back.

i think awareness is the key. If you check in with yourself regularly and are honest about your patterns and internal pain, you can keep from going down a bad rabbit hole. Food was my transfer addiction. My family has a strong genetic disposition for alcoholism, so i was always paranoid and over cautious when it came to alcohol. Instead I was blind to how i was binging on food instead of alcohol. Making that connection along with some other circumstances has helped me be in “remission” with binging. There are still urges, but I can be in control. I am aware now and regularly look at my life if anything is going down an unwanted path.

I like Quest and Oh Yeah One bars (the "One" in Oh Yeah One means one gram of sugar - that's the one you want since the other Oh Yeah versions have a lot more sugar) I don't know if sugar alcohols make people dump (I'm not a dumper at all..), but I know they bother some people's stomachs.

I'm just 2 weeks out, but I'm wondering if there are any good choices in Protein bars? I don't want to have to order them, just something from the local market. Also, do sugar alcohols cause dumping as well? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

It's pretty common, and if you're taking Tums or Rolaids the lovely Calcium carbonate and sugar alcohols are probably responsible for the gas and rebound reflux. I would get back on a true PPI, take it on an empty stomach and wait about 30 minutes to eat anything other than liquids.

Sugar alcohols come out of the carb count. But as Laura said, they are also good laxatives, lol. The calories are still the same. In my humble opinion, you are doing yourself more of a disservice by eating the 'fake' chocolate with the fake sweeteners. Eat REAL chocolate, but in moderation. Those fake sugars screw with your metabolism. That's why you are not seeing weight loss. There is plenty of science out there that shows sugar free is NOT the way to go. Nor is the Fat free stuff. Off my soap box now. :wink:

My therapist (who I got to help combat my food issues) said cravings usually last 30 mins or less. Try to keep that in mind when you are craving something. I think you are like me. I am going to have to be very careful around certain foods (carb heavy hitters like bread and pasta for me). If I start, I won't stop. Kind of like an alcoholic in recovery. Some people can have a little bit and not suffer from "withdrawals", but if I were to have a little bit then my cravings spike and can spin out of control fast. My recommendations: 1. Track what you are eating in an app if possible cause sometimes that will help reign it in 2. Wait 30 mins when craving something and drink water. Go for a walk or pick an activity to distract you. After 30 mins, see how you are feeling and what your body may really be after (protein/more water/?) 3. Try to find healthy substitutes for what you are wanting. Pizza? Find a low carb recipe that tastes good and fills that urge. Sweets? Are some sugar free options or low carb options a possibility? 4. Journal and track when these cravings are happening. What's going on when they do? Are you stressed/bored/angry? Are you around others who are eating things you want? Are you out of the house and having to do fast food as quick options? Etc. See where your weak points are and then start identifying ways to help deal with them. 5. Get a supportive therapist to help you deal with your mindset around food. You can outeat wls. For many of us, this is going to be a lifelong addiction that we can defeat but will always have to be mindful of.

I would caution real food is not a great idea at 4 weeks, and the way you are defining your portions might need to be revisited ("small", "bite", "half"). The foods you are describing come straight off my no-no list straight to this day, so I cannot say that you can eat those things and be ok. Stay away from foods you cannot measure and keep a calorie count, give yourself no excuses, keep a food log. You did not mention what you were drinking - Water, juices, dairy? Alcohol?

Per my post-surgery diet plan, I'll be on regular foods starting at 4 weeks, although the idea is to ramp up slowly, so I don't necessarily think that being on "real foods" is a problem. I do think that the choice of real foods might be an issue, though. As others have already said, the sleeve is a tool, not magic - we still have to work at having an appropriate diet and exercise. In fact, it's probably even harder since the volume of food is so much smaller. You need to make sure that you are getting your nutritional needs first before anything else. I know you've heard it all before, but go back to Protein first, then produce. Once you get to maintenance, then is the time to think about the occasional treat like ice cream or Pasta. For now, focus on taking maximum advantage of the so-called "honeymoon" period where your weight loss is at its best. I'd also recommend going back to tracking for now. You may find you don't need to do so stringently after a little while, when your good habits are set, but for now, especially if you're concerned about not losing, it's helpful to know exactly what's going in your mouth. When you can, weigh it or measure it. If you know you'll have to eat out once in a while, master the art of measuring by eye - my NUT made me measure things out for a month so I KNOW what 3 oz. of chicken looks like, or a 1/4 cup of peas, or a tablespoon of salad dressing. It's still better to measure when you can in the early stages of the game, but real life does make that difficult As Pookeyism asked, what are you drinking? Are you getting enough liquids? Avoiding alcohol and empty calorie beverages? Not getting enough Water can impact your weight loss, too. A 1 lb. fluctuation is minor, as well, and could simply be a factor of what you ate and drank in the last couple of hours, if you happen to be holding onto a bit more water than usual, or when you last visited the bathroom! When you do weigh yourself, try and do so at the same time of day, under the same conditions - I choose to do so after I get up and visit the toilet, but before I get dressed for the day, so I'm typically wearing similar sleepwear, haven't eaten or had significant amount of water yet, and I'm pretty much at my base weight for the day. I plan to continue that once I have my surgery, and I've vowed to myself to ignore the scale between weekly weigh-ins I know for a fact that my weight can fluctuate as much as 3-4 lbs depending on the time of the month, too, so I take that into account before I panic about a gain. Did you take measurements before you started your weight loss? You might check to see if you're still losing inches. As you've probably read, it's fairly common to have a weight loss stall but find that your body is just playing catch-up, and the inches are still coming off. Are you getting more exercise than you used to? Remember that you could be building muscle, which weighs more than fat. The big thing is to not panic or get discouraged, take a deep breath, and go back to basics: take care in what you eat and drink, get some exercise, and get plenty of sleep. If you do that, I'll bet the weight starts coming off again!

The oddest reaction I've gotten is when I told someone who weighs about 80 - 100 pounds more than I do; she just stared at me and didn't say a thing. A dear friend of 28 years says she'll still be my friend, but won't do a thing to support the decision like take me to the surgeon...This friend and I have been to WW together, talked about food/weight since we met, and I have listened to her struggles with alcoholism. My husband had an absolute hissy-fit, but now says he was being selfish and apologized - he will be supportive now of whatever decision I make. My 6' tall beautiful daughter who wears a size 6-8, naturally, said that she is totally supportive and has worried about me for the past 2 years. She said, "Mom why bother with trying to lose weight the way you have for years. Why not take the help?! It's not like you have to suffer in order to deserve being good to yourself." ALL of these reactions AND I haven't even seen a doctor yet! I'm at the first step of calling to find out about it after doing a lot of online research. The person I expected would not understand is my very thin daughter. She, however, could not be more understanding and helpful. I guess we just never know! "I had WLS, I don't eat very much and my stomach is smaller, it's none of your business, or ..." is our choice just like the choice to get the sleeve. Geeze, I talk like I've already had the procedure done!

If there was a surgery that cured alcoholism or other addictions you better believe it would be performed frequently! I'm so thankful that this surgery helped me cheat (translaticfon, it worked) and experience this level of health and happiness. Wow I never thought before surgery I'd have such exuberant posts but wow!

The only reason why I didn't have gastric bypass was I didn't want everything rerouted. I also wanted to still eat sweets and drink alcohol. Good luck with your decision.