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I decided that today I needed to get up and get going. I went into work for an hour, and then I went to the YMCA with my best friend. got in30 minutes on the treadmill. Not near as fast as I usually walk, and with no incline today, but I am very pleased that I was able to do the whole thirty minutes only three days out from surgery. The added benefit, was that it seemed to help a bit with all the gas!!

I'm two months away from my surgery date. I'm still eating like I usually do, but am watching the scale as I don't want to gain anymore and make it harder on myself to lose the required amount of weight during my pre-op diet. I scheduled surgery way back in Oct. for Feb....gave my weight at the time, so if I don't arrive at the hospital in Feb. having lost 5% from that starting point, my surgery could be cancelled. Still though, I am acutely aware when eating of how things will change once I'm sleeved...I'm mentally checking off things I won't be able to continue...drinking with my meals, taking big bites (the kind that hurt going down!), gulping, eating super fast, cleaning my plate, having large quantities, and so on. This has changed my habits a little already in that I am more mindful of at least HOW I'm eating. Still not changing much WHAT I'm eating....working on that though! Getting our heads in the right place is the biggest part of this process I do believe Sorry...that was kinda rambling.....but YES! I have been having "last meals"..or at least plan on not visiting them again for a good while down the road after surgery!

During rapid weight loss, most patients experience up and down mood swings. It's really common. Along with the changes and challenges we're facing every day, our hormones are out of whack. Estrogen is stored in fat cells, and when we're losing weight fast, it's all being released into our bodies. It does get better, but my PMS crankiness right before my period is actually worse now than it ever was before surgery. It'll come in ebbs and waves.

4 pounds is such a small amount that I would say most or all of those pounds are water (now that you're taking in salt again) and just food that's being processed through your digestive system after it being so empty for weeks. These and many more will go away soon! I know it's discouraging when you just want to lose as much as possible as fast as possible, but your doctor almost certainly knows what she is doing. Try not to obsess about it and instead make sure you're doing everything you need to do - water/liquids, protein, vitamins, and getting good rest. This will pass. Hang in there!

It's a sign of eating too much or too fast or not chewing well enough. It's just 1 step below a full blown PB. I get it occasionally...more recently as I got a fill and am adjusting to how to chew again. It's work. jayme

Hi I was also banded 2/11, have not weighed myself yet but i think i have lost a few pounds. I find Fiber supplements added to everything really helps me. and low calorie rice pudding with mushed fruit fills me up for hours. 10 calorie jelly is a great snack to. it takes me 1 hour or more to drink a slim fast shake so i usually have half for Breakfast and half for dinner. and anyone with a upset stomach/indigestion,bloating should try Bio yoghurt it works straight away for me. keep up the good work guys. Jennie

Ok...run as fast as you can and never look back. Thankfully there are no children involved and you're still young enough to repair your life. Take it from someone who knows, they don't change. Congratulations on your very brave and mature decision!

Hi I already lost 35 lbs and it hasn't been a month since surgery. However, in the last few days I've been having crazy cravings for fries, burgers, pizza, chicken nuggets. I know that if I try to have any of that at the very least I'll throw up. But still, I could kill someone for their nuggets. I want to stab someone with a carrot.

I had to do the liver shrinking diet pre-surgery. My Dr. told me if I did not loose the weight, He would postpone the surgery to another date. My surgery was a monday morning. My final appoinment / weigh in was the friday before. So, guess what I did Saturday?? Had my final meal. I went somewhere I knew I would never set foot in again...a Chinese "All You Can Eat" Buffet. Savored every minute. The Sunday, I went on a 24 hr fast for mondays surgery. I had heard stories where people where under full anesthesia in the OR, and the Dr. stopped the surgery because the liver was too enlarged and he did not want to risk it. Also, I take exception to you saying you're a poor candidate for lap band surgery. If you, and we for that matter were so good at controlling our hunger, we wouldn't need this surgery. You're trying to act like someone who has been banded a year and you haven't had the surgery yet. Lighten up on yourself.

I had horrible shoulder pain too after my surgery on March 14th. I didn't take any painkillers but in hindsight I probably should have so I didn't have to suffer as much as I did. The only thing that helps me is walking and deep breathing. It's pretty much gone now but I will still get it if I drink fluids too fast, so I take it as my body's way of telling me to slow down. They definitely didn't warn me about this before my surgery! But you're not the only one. I hope you are feeling better!

GUYS ROOM Hey, that is great. glad you are recovering fast. first month is super exciting. brace yourself for the week 3 stall. take care!!!

I am about 4 weeks out and am having a problem with the SLIMES (we have got to get a better name, but I will admit it is perfectly descriptive). I guess as I am transitioning to more solids, I am eating too fast. It seems to hit me when I am reading or eating lunch at work. I think what happens is that I am distracted by what I am doing and not paying attention to eating slowly. I am taking little bits, but not paying attention to the speed. I do not eat too much because i am only putting a small portion on the plate. For me it feels like you have to burp, but can't. I have on 4 occasions thrown-up. But it is not really like throwing up, it is more like burping up a ton of siliva - sounds wicked gross - really not that bad. It is nothing like real throwing up where you feel out of control. And it feels like it is coming from the bottom of your feet. For me anyway, it is just like a ... bluuuuurp - and I am done. No food is coming up at all. And as soon as I have blorped (technical medical term) I feel instantly 100% back to normal. Weird, but sounds like it seldom lasts for more than a few months. I am not sure if it cures itself, or if blorping simply teaches us to eat slower and the cause is then eliminated.

Hi everyone, I'm new here and have a few questions. I have spent the past few months, almost a year on lapbandtalk.com forum because that was the surgery I wanted, and at the time the only one my Surgeon would perform on me. My surgeon was admit that because I have Crohns Disease the only true safe WLS surgery would be the band, or maybe an outside chance at the sleeve, but he felt best about band. Obviously at that appointment he gave me a list of stuff to get done before he would see me again, lose 18 lbs, see the food shrink, see the nutritionist, see the Diabeties dr, and all the normal WLS stuff. The Dr had told me it normally takes 6 moths to a year to complete the list, and get the ok from all the different doctors, Nutritionist and so on. I lost the 18 lbs in 10 days, and had all the doctors signed off on this within 3 weeks. When I went back to see my surgeon nobody at his office could believe I completed the check list that fast, and they put in my approval request for Band surgery. My insurance, which is good insurance, and the dr office says approves damn near everyone denied me, stating they needed more information. I gathered up all the info my surgeon told me to, it was resubmitted, and denied stating not medically necessary at this time. The surgeon then resubmitted the request, and it came back denied, Due to Crohns disease, and requested my surgeon call the med director at Blue Choice. Turns out the insurance company is worried about corrosion from the band, and with Crohns this could be really bad. My surgeons stance was that the band is really the safest way to go because if the crohns flares up they can drain the band, or even remove it if really needed. Long story longer, I got denied again, I called Blue choice Insurance myself, and asked to speak to the med director and was told they only talk to doctors, not policy holders. I have called Blue choice three and four times a week for months now, they still wont give in and let me speak to a med director. I would think as a paying policy holder I should be able to speak to the person who is making med decisions regarding my health, right? My surgeon keeps pushing too, without much luck. Last week my surgeon calls me and says come in tomorrow I need to talk to you. I go in to the office, and the girl behind the desk tells me, no charge for today, doctors orders, ok great, a free bee. Instead of taking me to a exam room they walk me to the surgeons office, and he says have a seat, at this point I'm thinking oh crap, he is gonna tell its all over and no surgery at all for me. I was amazed at what did actually say, and confused by it at the same time. The surgeon proceeds to tell me that if I agree to switch procedures he has been lead to believe that the insurance company will cover me for the sleeve. This really blows my mind! I have crohns, which is a mouth to anus disease, meaning it can show up anywhere between those two places. While my Crohns has been restricted to my Intestine, and has not been active, it is always a concern, which is why I can't have the full bypass. My Surgeon says we can most likely move forward very quickly avoiding the 6 moth wait for the sleeve due to the fact that I have been in a holding pattern for almost a year now. I want to get this done ASAP, but I also want to know what I'm walking into, so I'm going to continue to read every damn thread on this board that I can right up until surgery. I have spent the past six days reading online about the sleeve, and trying to research the sleeve with Crohns patients, but I can not find any info regarding the two of them together. Does anyone on this forum have crohns? If so how is the sleeve working for you? Has anyone heard of someone with crohns having the sleeve? Has anyone here had the band and switched to the sleeve? Would you get sleeved again if given the choice? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I would always stay away from fast food. Too many hidden sugars and fats. Time to take control and responsibility for what you are choosing to eat. People here will tell you go back to your basics, drink your Meal Replacement shakes and be sure you are drinking enough Water. Add soft foods slowly that you cook yourself so you know exactly what is in the food. You are going to do great. Remember to move your body doing things you enjoy.???? Sent from my SM-G925V using the BariatricPal App

On the liquid stage it can be a bit tricky. You definitely need fiber. Try adding some liquid fiber supplement to some of your Water and over time it will help. In the mean time, seeing as it's been 6 days you may want to try something more fast acting. I won't suggest anything because I'm not sure what your Dr. may approve of or not. For me personally it was more liquids in and liquids out. However this is not true for everyone. I'm well into my solids, but as it is now majority of my carbohydrates do contain fiber. I get at least 16-18g per day. I also "go" every day too... if I notice I miss a day I bump up my fiber immediately. I don't joke around with that, and won't worry about losing two more pounds to avoid fiber. Believe me, pooping weighs pounds too... LOL Good luck!!!

I need to loose 10lbs pre-op so I can move on to the next step so I can get a surgery date. Anyone have any tips to loose it fast & healthy?

I could give you a million words of wisdom, but I don't think they'd fit in a single post! I'd be happy to answer any questions you have, but it's hard for me to predict what they might be. I hope your insurance gives you the OK fast, and wish you the best for the start of your WLS journey. Hang in there! Jean

I just bought a pill crusher. For me it is easier to get it down fast. I have my liquid ready, dump the crushed pills to the back of my throat, then chase it down quickly with milk or water...whatever I am drinking.

I was sleeved on the 30th. Moving onto pureed tomorrow, can't come fast enough -- absolutely sick of soup!

Every doctor has different pre-op rules. I was banded with 6 other people, and some ate a huge meal the night before surgery. I was told to fast for 24 hours on clear liquids. One of the women didn't get any instructions, so she ate peanuts on the plane, which caused problems for her since she needed to get her labwork done before surgery - the peanuts did something to her blood sugar level, so she got tied up in the lab an extra hour. Good luck to you!

I had egg drop soup today and again for supper. About 6 oz over the course of a few hours. Also some sf jello but I ate it too fast and oh my the gas pains. I'm happy to be at MY home tonight with my hubby so we can snuggle. I'm sure I'll sleep better in his arms.

I'm so fortunate to have people like you all on this site to still give me hope and motivation! After reading the replies, I already feel that boost of energy to just go on and do it. Thank you so much...what would I do without you all? I have a 10 cc band and I've been filled to 9.5 cc. My surgeon wasn't too keen on filling me even to 9.5 cc because he said that the hole being created by the lap band was almost closed completely. I definitely feel restricted, but even when I eat Protein (chicken, steak, sausages- all lean!), I can most definitely eat more than 2-3 ounces. I can probably eat about 5 ounces of protein and then even eat around 2-3 ounces of fruit or veggies or carbs along with it. My food intake has lessened significantly, but my surgeon and others in the WLS office have told me that I shouldn't be able to eat more than 4 ounces of food, tops! Am I doing something wrong maybe? I don't drink with my meals or 30-45 minutes after them, and I start with the protein on my plate and make sure to chew it pretty well before swallowing. Maybe I'm eating too fast....I thought about that the other day. By the way, my surgeon is SO mean. I'm terrified of him. Don't get me wrong..he's one of the best surgeon's in the Southeast (he's incredible) and that's why I chose him to perform my surgery. I'm scared to go in and tell him that I might need another fill. I know that sounds ridiculous, but the thought of him weighing me and seeing no progress is making me nervous already. Phew...

Maryb, I can so relate to your incident. Last night I ordered a jr burger at Sonic which is usually not a problem for me, but I was hungry and ate it too fast. After eating about 1/3 of the thing, I got a BAD case of slime. I was driving and pulled over......multiple times. Got rid of an unbelievable amount of slime. Thought I was done, drove a little farther, took a sip of tea to help clear my throat. WRONG THING TO DO. I nearly ran into an 18-wheeler before I could pull over. Without going into any further gross detail, let's just say I had to pull in to the next fast food place and clean up. Whew, I've had a hard time holding anything down today, so I guess I really made my band mad! I'm going to take it easy for the next couple of days. As a newbie, I too wondered what was this "PB" and "slime" everyone talked about. I guess you have to experience it (unfortunately) before you fully understand it. It's one of those things you don't wish on your worst enemy........or maybe you do.

Hey everyone! This is my first post even though I've been reading avidly here for months. I am so happy I found this site, because I have learned tons and it helped me really make the decision to pursue Lap Band surgery. I found out a little over a week ago that I was approved by Ins. and scheduled for surgery on May 16th. I was thrilled that it is was happening so fast, but now that it is only days away, I'm absolutely terrified and having second thoughts. I'm not really sure what it is I'm afraid of. I'm frightened of the actual procedure, simply because I'm not great with anesthesia, but I don't think that's my real fear. I really think my underlying panic is the fear of failure. I've tried so many diets, and the weight always comes back. I just want to be healthy and look decent. I think I have gotten to the point of giving up that anything can fix this. I am praying that this is the real solution for me, and that I'm strong enough to use it to its potential.

Yes it happens and it's most definitely not only you! Sometimes it's our own fault - I know when I've eaten too much, or too fast, or too dry - but sometimes it happens for no apparent reason. They say it gets better over time. Good luck to you! :-)