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Hi everyone - I remember in my pre-op research that ibuprophen was a strict no-no with Gastric Bypass. However, I don't remember what the rules are for us sleeved folks. I know that I had to be off it for 10 days prior to surgery, but now that I'm 2 weeks post-op, can I take it? Thanks for any thoughts.

Hi. 5 weeks out and still feel the port from time to time. I feel it when I bend down low especially. Picking up the kids and going to the store will be fine. I picked up a 20 lb. bag of dog food the other day and thought I would croak. Wasn't ready for that! Good luck.

Sorry you are feeling down. Fast food was a real dowfall for me too. I was pretty good at not buying junk at the store, but would go out for fast food instead of eating the healthy stuff I bought. I find since I haven't had it in so long, I don't miss it very much. I would just go cold turkey and break the habit. Just tell yourself fast food is not an option for you. That's what I did anyway. Also, are you excersising? It has so many benefits, just one being weight loss. It's tough to start, but it will become a matter of routine. It took me about 4 months post op to hit the gym. Now I go about 5 days a week. Good luck, you can do it!

I lost 4# on my 1 week pre-op. However, I lost 8# in the the month before doing a modified version of pre-op (self imposed) of 2 shakes 2x 100cal Snacks & 1meal of anything I wanted. allons-y

I took 7 weeks off my company offers 12 weeks a year 100% pay . I am in week 3 and could go back but prefer to wait till I am on full solids and comfortable with my diet. It would suck to get sick at work.

I took two off originally but ended up making it 3. The pain, nausea, and gas will subside but you are going to be tired. I was drained until about my sixth week. The first two weeks back to work I was zapped when I got home. I even dropped my class at school because I was too tired to do the work. Take as much time as you can. You can always go back sooner if you feel well but it's the pits to ask for an extension.

I took off 3 weeks. I needed every bit of it. You really have to get use to eating again because it is so different after surgery.

I took about 1 week off. I have a job where I sit so it was approved by my surgeon. She just wants everyone to get up and walk as much as possible.

Depends on what kind of work you do. I do hair so I'm always on my feet and get very little breaks. I took two weeks off but was not ready to go back, so I took an extra week.

Going to do another lab this week since the test numbers were off the chart. Doctor was not concerned at all with the low BUN/Creat Ratio.

My blood pressure and blood sugar was fine all week so I'm off those medications

I wonder why the diets vary so much from Dr to Dr? I'm one week out from surgery and on clear liquids only. I've lost 8 lbs since surgery but I feel like I could eat the hind end of a horse. I have a week to go one this insane diet but I'm actually afraid that when I can eat real food I'll quit loseing.

Of course you can...you're only a week out from surgery and you're eating cottage cheese. However, don't get too fixated on the band physically restricting how much you can eat. It doesn't work that way for a lot of people. Pay attention to your hunger level. When you're eating normally again (meaning not mushy slider foods), you should be able to eat a reasonable meal (e.g. 3 oz Protein, 1/2-1 c. vegies) and go about 4 hours without hunger. If you can't, it means you still need a fill. So pay attention to the hunger...not how much you can eat. .

I was banded on Oct. 21 with Dr. Rich Pucci at the Oradell Ambulatory Surgery Center in Oradell NJ. Let me just say for anyone still considering the lapband in the NY/NJ area, please please please go see the Pucci brothers (there are three of them) and use this facility in Oradell. It was pristine!! I got such amazing attention and I you wouldnt even know I was being operated on. I felt like I had made some friends there :-) As for the Lapband, my name says it all. Most people dont know that I have the lapband. My spouse knows, my parents know and some of my close friends know, but that's it. I dont have a lot of supportive people in my life that would give me positive feedback if they knew that I chose WLS to assist in my weight loss decision. I'm a working mommy, which is challenging, but fun. I hope to get to know everyone and make some support buddies :-)

I'm self pay- no endo either, just an ekg and chest xray. My surgeon said the gummy Vitamins are fine to start a week post op as I didn't like the chalky ones either. I bought chewable Calcium to replace the horse pills I take now. Big day on Monday.

I had my 1st fill about 3 weeks ago and did not feel any different at all for about a week, then I felt a very small amount of restriction. I had another fill last Wednesday and it took until yesterday for me to feel any restriction. I have 4ccs in a 14cc band. When they access my port, I can feel the needle go into the port, it's not pain, it's more like pressure? It doesn't hurt at all, but I can feel some pressure as the saline goes into the band. I found I had restriction the hard way. I have not had any problems eating anything, so I have not been chewing very well. Last night I took a bite of my daughter's steak, didn't chew very well, and had my 1st sliming experience. It was AWFUL and painful. Good luck to you

I'm am super nauseous! I went to the dr and said it could last up to 6 weeks! I'm feel sick all the time. Is anyone feeling like this? Sent from my iPhone using VST

I had a sleeve done in August 2010. Had typical post surgery issues, but lost and kept off 100+. Had hernia surgery 2x but reflux and gerd required revision. 3 weeks bypass post op. Now back to beginning but with less weight loss, excess terrible gas, insomnia, and depression. Need someone to talk through ledge sitting and weepiness.

Im thinking no reserves after infection, wasn't c-diff so placed on Cipro. Infection cleared up about a week ago but still fatigues. My Iron was slightly low but will check lab work next week to see it's come up.

Well I had to get an unfill yesturday, and I just lost 22 pounds in about 9 weeks, very strange, I should have to get a fill, not an unfill, has this ever happened to anyone out there? I became very tight after losing the weight, so I have a appt for an upper GI on Tuesday to see if anything is ging on in there with the band?

Pcindy - 3 weeks? Be strong babe..... I did one week and found that bearable.....it sounds like you have your head in the right place tho.....this is a long term thing, and the more you can shift during pre op the better. I figured with mine that hubby paid for the op (from inheritance money) and the least I could do to honor the relative was stick to my side of the bargain and be 100%. If they opened you up then said not doing it you'd be gutted..... so i do think your advice to follow a vague pre op is a good one. It can't hurt anyway!! Good luck with your 3 weeks..... we're here for you, when you want to cheat come and post on here and we'll put you off bigtime!! Kathy

One great idea I got from another post many weeks ago was 1/2c canned pumpkin (not pie filling but pure pumpkin) 1c almond milk, 1 scoop vanilla Protein powder, a dash of pumpkin pie spice , 1 tsp sugar free caramel davinci syrup. I blend all together the night before and it "sets" in the fridge and can eat with a spoon. Delish!! Nutritional value - 28 grams protein, 3 grams fat, 13 grams carbs - 210 calories. Keeps me satisfied for easily 5 hours. Another thing I'll try is 1/2c yogurt or fat free cottage with 1 scoop unflavored soy protein mixed in. Also very satisfying. 20gms protein in soy powder and additional protein in cottage cheese but not so much in yogurt. I have a hard time finding the greek hi protein yogurt that everyone seems to love. You could even mix in a 1/8th or 1/4 cup of Kashi Go Lean Cereal for a bit more protein but additional carbs. These are usually quick and convenient for leaving the house by 6:30 am, and are options for something other than just having a shake everyday. I like to mix things up. Good luck!!

A thread here to see how we all feel. I for one wished I'd never said a word. Now I never offer it up. Most people forget it until they see progress. The thing that gets me is this. Several folks see me jogging around town, you know co-workers and friends. Eating healthy and some I bump into at the gym. Now how they turn that into this, You have that band in you, right? No wonder you lose weight so easy. Easy? Never easy for me. I definately changed ny lifesstyle when I decided to have the band. To do over again, naw I'd of been out sick a week and said look, "Get with the program folks, just diet and exercise". Thats just me..

HI Eazes, You will discover everyone's experience is slightly different; there is no common uniform answer! For what it is worth: I went to the clinic at 11, operated on at 12 and out the door (walking slowly) by 4. This happened on a Friday and Monday (3 days later) I was back at my desk job. By Thursday I was back to walking home from work - about 30 minutes normally; about 45 minutes for the first week or so.

Thanks for all the feedback yesterday! Two weeks from Saturday, I will have the cut. So, stay tuned, I'm sure there will be pics by October 18th!! I watched the Biggest Loser last night. I know that it is the most realistic approach to weight loss seeing that we wouldn't have time to work out 8-10 hours a day. But I just love seeing what people can do. The first thing that struck me is that I'm not sure if I could do a Biggest Loser work out! I work out a lot, but what they were doing was amazing. I was so proud of myself for jogging on a 5.0 incline yesterday for 30 seconds. She was having them at a 7.0 incline for longer!! I realize they are puking and I don't push myself to that point, but it is still amazing what you can do if someone is pushing you and you are receptive. Second thing that struck me was when one of the guys had a bit of a breakdown and he questioned how he had gotten there. That really struck home for me. I grew up "the fat girl." Looking at the pictures from my past, I wasn't that big. Even my dad said to me that when he looks back at old pictures he doesn't remember me being that small. I think part of it was that I weigh heavy. I was roughly the same size as some of my friends, but I weighed a good 20-30 pounds more than they did. That remains true today. My mom & I are wearing the same size clothes (for the most part), but she weighs over 40 pounds less than I do. So I think that we had a mindset from the beginning that I was FAT, when maybe I wasn't really. Then I think we (I) became so focused on it. I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting in 4th grade. At the time, I just wanted to be smaller, but in retrospect, there were probably better ways to focus my attention. I was on NutriSystem in high school and I consistently snuck food. My parents found out and (rightly so) got angry for wasting money. I just felt like a big, fat failure. I remember going to fast food restaurants with my family and my brother ordered french fries, but I couldn't. Now I wonder if I really wasn't allowed to, or if I just felt too guilty (fat) to order them. I honestly do not know. When I got to college, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. However, my Freshman year I didn't have a car and I walked all over the place, including to my job which was several blocks away from campus. My sophomore year I had a car, but by December I had moved into the Sorority quad which in my case meant a 4th floor walk up! I think walking those 3 flights of stairs multiple times a day kept me in check through the end of my junior year. My senior year I moved off campus. I was only a block away from where I was before, but it was on the first floor and instead of walking to classes, I drove. It was ridiculous and I'm quite sure that I gained 40-50 pounds that year. I entered college around 185 and I left college around 250. I fluctuated between 200 and 260 for 13 years until I decided I had enough. I have been to Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig. I have worked out, taken pills prescribed by the doctor and over the counter. I have done Atkins and South Beach. But nothing worked or it did for a little while until I couldn't stay at it. In November 2009 I weighed a whopping 285 pounds. I weighed more that my (hefty) dad. It was hard at the time to see how I got there, but now it doesn't matter. I have a tool that actually works for me! I am working hard, but I'm successful! I have another 6-12 months of weight loss to go, but I'm not at all intimidated by that. That's a first! For the first time, I'm in control! And it feels darn good. I'm over 70 pounds down since January and I fully expect to be under 200 by Thanksgiving! I would like to have lost 100 pounds by 1/31/10. Even if I don't make every goal, I'm going in the right direction and THAT is enough to keep me moving!! Anyway, I was a little "rambly" today, but The Biggest Loser will do that for me. Have a great day, y'all!!