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Wow. Congrats. I struggled with fertility issues for years. I was sleeved 6/15 (lost almost 100 pounds and gained back around 15) and was shocked a couple of weeks ago to find out that I was pregnant - currently 11wks4days. I'm 42 and this is my first child. I'm convinced the sleeve caused my weight loss and that helped tremendously. My hubby and I had given up on having kids. So, congratulations again!!!

@@autymn You should be okay with regular calcium pills in a couple of days if you aren't right now. That leave of swelling doesn't last much past a week or two. Some people cut their calcium pills in half to make them a little more manageable.

Look at it however you want. Now is the time to learn all your new eating habits and drinking habits. This is a full time job for awhile. I am almost 3 weeks post op and it is still a challenge. Keep up the good work and best of luck.

Well it finally happened! I got my band on Tuesday and so far so good. I am a little sore and finding it harder to get around than I thought. Some gas but I am moving to get that up and out. It is hard to sip but I am doing it. Ate some liquified chicken soup and so far so good. It is only day three and hope I can keep the variety in my diet. Any recipes for mush and slush food please share. Thanks for all the advice before surgery it helped and I made it so far!

Just a question. Does your doctor consider yogurt the same as creamy soup? I could have creamy soup at day 8 but it was another week before I could have yogurt. Also I thinned out the Greek yogurt at that point with fat free milk because it is really thick.

Hehe! Try being infertile and going through all the tests, exams, etc! Sometimes I felt like telling everyone to form a line!!! :thumbup: LOL!!! Seriously had to go back and look again b/c I just didn't pay attention the first time! Sooo funny!! I have my surgeon's appt., ekg and chest x-ray on Friday. Kinda figured the x-ray was just a general check of everything. Does everyone have to have an x-ray? I have asthma too and wonder if maybe that's the reason for it. It'll be interesting to see what pops up. I had bronchitis a few weeks ago and can still feel a slight heaviness in my chest so I'm hoping they don't freak out about it. I'll have to let them know about it so if they see something, then they aren't thinking I am coming down with it. It seems so far away but yet it's getting so close now! Friday's appt then start the 10 day pre-op liquids on the 15th, then surgery the 25th!

have you tried the Kashi Go Lean shakes another bandster recommended them and it has been my lifeline. No funky after taste! I have to be on clear liquids for 2 weeks and I am just sipping water, broth and juices plus 2 or 3 shakes a day. I am sure I am not doing enough but between the gas and severe port pain don't want much except to take pain meds and sleep

Hi everyone I'm pretty new to the site but I love it already! I've just been reading and soaking in all the information for a couple of weeks. So much information and support!! I'm am in my 6 month monitored diet that my insurance requires right now, but my surgery will be Nov 20th!!!!!!!

You will only be able to "slam" the capacity of your stomach. But the good news is that Water really flows through your stomach very quickly. For example, right now I am 10 weeks post op & have a stomach capacity of about 4-5oz. Therefore I can quickly drink 4 oz of water, wait a few seconds and do another 4oz. & repeat. I can drink a .5L(16.9oz) bottle of water in under a minute, not that I make a habit of this. At 1year post-op my stomach capacity will be 10oz which will allow me to drink 1/2 of the same bottle, breath for a couple seconds then finish it.

I lost about 15 pounds in 2 weeks. That is the exact diet my doctor put me on too minus the vegetables. Wt. loss is different for everyone though. You may lose more or less. I have not used Bariatric fusion but as for flavor, I thought the unflavored one worked the best as I could add my own flavors. I was allowed to add frozen berries to my shakes. My doc did not allow any tea or coffee. Good luck!

I am coming up on my 4 month anniversary next week. 40 lbs down. 18 to first mini goal. A great start on my journey. Walking and movement are my recommendation to everyone.

@@lachellove how are you feeling?@@Gaelsmom how are you feeling? I'm feeling okay the hardest thing for me mentally is blood clots and pneumonia haven't had time to care about not eating lolHi guysI think today had been my best day. I walked about four miles and haven't taken five naps through the day or had the bad gas pain through my shoulders. I'm having a hard time taking in fluids. I tried to eat jello but could only do one tablespoon. I'm not hungry but my sense of smell and memories are strong. I just want to be able to drink normally, especially on a hot day. I just can't wait til I'm weeks out so I can get active without being tired. This is a slow road to recovery ... I'm already wishing my two weeks go by fast ..Yes. I feel the same way about getting active. I walked as slow as a turtle and preop I was jogging here and there. Are you taking in b12 to keep your energy up? yes I am doesn't seem to help with energy though I still be tired. Hoping it changes soon

Stinking auto correct 6-8 weeks

I had the band a week ago, and I plan to weigh myself only once a week.

You are where I was in late 2009. I researched the lap-band option for about 8 months last year. Went to 2 different lap-band presentations by 2 different doctors in 2 different cities. I did a lot of researching on the internet and found that "lapbandtalk.com" was the best source of education. On January 5th I had my day long briefing at my doctor's office and started my liquid diet for 2 weeks. I lost about 7lbs. On Janurary 18th I had my surgery and the worst thing for me was coming out of the anesthesia but this wore off pretty fast. I received lots of first class medical attention and can't say enough about the doctor, technicians, nurses, etc. I live about 100 miles from the hospital so I stayed there overnight and left early the next morning. Lot's of support from my wife (& best friend). I did "exactly" what they told me to do,i.e. what to eat, drink, etc. and stayed home from work for the entire week. When I started I weighed 250 lbs. (naked) and this moring I weighed in at 207 lbs. Thats 43 lbs. in just over 9 weeks! I take my Vitamins including B Complex, Optisource and Viactiv Calcium and I feel great! It's really all about how bad you really want to loose weight! In my case I had high blood pressure, sleep apnea and was tired all the time. Now it's all gone. No more pills and I feel great. 75% of my decision was for health reasons and 25% was for how I looked but that was me. You have to restate why "you" want to go for a lap-band and only you can make that decision. :Banane20:

Hi all, My name is Jill and I was banded on November 24th by Dr. Harris Dabideen in Flint, Michigan. I was lucky because insurance approval process was not difficult at all. I was seen by the doctor on September 23 and was scheduled for surgery on 11/24. I was very nervous before the surgery and the 10 day pre op diet was difficult, but I made it through. Surgery went very well and I was lucky to have no nausea at all. Weight before pre-op diet was 238, day of surgery 226 and at my 2 week check up today I was 216. Total of 22!!! I feel really great about my progress. Just found out today after talking with the doctor what type of band that was used and it was the lap band not the realize. I am new to this web site. Can someone tell me how to get those cute weight tracking bars at the bottom of your chats? Hopefully soon my diabetes will improve and I can live without taking insulin, which was why I really wanted this surgery. I also have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine hopefully soon I won't have to use that anymore. But I will probably need another sleep study completed. I have been walking everyday with my husband, who has been a wonderful support to me through the surgery process. Hope everyone has a great day!

I had thoughts just like you. I could give myself a million reasons not to finally go through with WLS. Not sure if I could handle it. Not sure if it could handle me... But it wasn't until I started having physical limitations that kept me from walking in a grocery store without crying from horrific back pain after only a 5 minute walk from the parking lot into the store. I got to the point where I was using a handi-capped plaquard in order to get close to the front door of the store, so I could ride around in one of those stupid go-cart to go grocery shopping. On top of all of that, I had an extreme thyroid condition, hypertension and pre-diabetes, (none of which was getting any better either). I had lots of swelling in my legs daily that created permanent red marks circling my shins. I think it was either the beginnings of lymphedema or some kind of ulceration that was happening. I went to a Chiropractor, an Orthopedic specialist and a Pain Management specialist with 3 years of medical care. The chronic pain I was experiencing was getting worse, not better. I finally had to do something. I knew in my heart that if I lost weight, some of these issues would get better. So I finally made the commitment and I'm very happy to say that after all the hard work I went through these last three years, it pales in comparison of what has happened in only the last month since my post-op. It took several months of planning, and along the way, I slowed down my eating habits before my pre-op and managed to lose 18 lbs before my pre-op. I lost 5 lbs during pre-op and an additional 20 lbs. post-op. What more important is that some of the horrific and painful physical issues have gotten better. My diabetes issue is gone, my hypertension is just about gone and will be med free soon. My thyroid, well, that will always be an issue, but it is better under control and less dosage on the meds. My back pain? WOW!... I haven't had to take a muscle relaxer or pain meds since the surgery. The swelling in my legs is gone. It's much easier to walk around. And even though I still park close to the store, I can now walk through the store with no problem. I still feel the stress, but it's not enough to stop me from walking. If I had any doubts before the surgery, I must have been out of my mind, because the results have been more successful than 3 years of physical therapy without the surgery. So... for me? This was a no brainer. Wheelchair bound, or freedom of walking. WLS was the best thing I could have ever done for myself and for my health. Hope this is a help to you.

Hi All! So, I have stalled for the past 10 days. I take in anywhere from 400-500 calories per day (50-65 g protein), currently have a boot on my foot and am limited with workouts but even with boot walk 4000-5000 steps. Fluids--minimum 50 oz, maximum 70 oz. Cardio was good lat week but not this week. Thinking this may be my issue but also am trying to be more consistent with fluids closer to 70 oz. Should I increase the cardio? fluids? both? decrease calories? If so, how do you not get lightheaded? Just feeling a little stuck. Happy with my 70 lbs down (42 since surgery 12/12) just wanted to hit 100 lbs by Easter. Must get this ball rolling again. What have you all done? Thanks!

Well here goes, my story. I have always had a weight problem, for as long as I can remember. I can remember my Dad grilling me about how much I weighed when I was in like third grade. My Dad was slim as a young adult, but put on a few pounds as he aged. My Mom struggled with her weight, but she is a strong minded woman, and has never been "fat". She loves to cook and bake, but she is great about not eating what she cooks. I am a "Mature" adult now, (translate that to read almost ready for Medicare), but feel much younger, and want to continue to feel years younger. I started thinking about bariatric procedures shortly after my cousin, who is a sugeon, had a Roux N Y procedure himself. He subsequently specialized in bariatric surgery and is currently doing mainly bariatric procedures. Throughout my adult life I have been or participated in Weight Watchers, Diet Center, Weight Down Workshop, Over Eaters Annon., TOPS, and a bunch more that I can't even remember, plus have tried almost every diet that has come along. I even went so far as to make an appointment and go see him last summer. But when I checked with our insurance company, they informed me they don't pay for ANY bariatric procedures. My cousin (bless his heart) offered to do the surgery for free, but I would still have to pay the hospital and anesthesia costs, which were going to run about $14,000. I didn't have $14,000 sitting around, so I started looking at options in Mexico. I choose to go to Tijuana and have the surgery there. I was sleeved three days ago, and so far am very happy with my choice.

I was referred to our pain clinic due to my arthritis but they want me to do 6-78th weeks of physical therapy and pay a bunch of money I dont have to then have a trial go off deadening a nerve in my back then if that helps thry will do it every 6 months. If I had money coming out my ears I would be talking to a dr about relief... Thank you for the reply though I will look up what I can!!

Hooray for all the gardeners! I'm almost three weeks out now and I can't wait until I feel more comfortable gardening in my knees...and maybe feel less sore!

Hey girl hey!! 60 lbs can you believe it! How are you doing? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App That's so amazing!!!! I'm doing well. I am waiting to get my cpap machine and am on my pre op diet!! I have 2 more weeks til surgery and I'm anxious but excited! How are you feeling? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I feel great but so ready to chew something!! I haven't had many complications but your tummy will get upset. I highly recommend pho broth when on Clear liquids and don't forget the power of seasonings. You're gonna do great! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I was told not to drink alcohol until i was at least 3 months out. . .you being out only at 6 weeks I can't answer that question for you, you must make that decision. . however you could have juice resembling the same color as wine in a wine glass and make the best of it. . . just a thought. . . happy birthday to you though!!!

That is life... I don't do the chewing forever, but if you are not having the surgery, it is recommended for you to do the practice. This helps you slow down and may make it possible for you to actually sense your full mark rather than eat fast and over fill witch is so easy to do. The losing to much is possible. I know, I did it. I looked gaunt and it took a while to regain. Then it was hard to stop the regain. Uhg. Try but drinking 1/2 hour before your meal, during, and 1/2 hour after. 15 minutes for snacks. Chew chew chew... Not to the point of gagging but enough to slow you down. If your not full in 1/2 hour (me it's 15 min) stop anyway. Focus on protein first, limit anything white (bad carbs) and see how you do. You should see a progress within a few weeks if you hold your self accountable. Take vitamins as well.... Good luck my friend