Search the Community

great work. I just started running (pretty much first time ever) have my times down to a 10 minute mile. heart is no longer pounding through my chest. I can imagine in a few months I will be doing even that much better. great work. keep it up!!!

Today was my first day of orintation for the lap band, I was told it is required to do 24 weeks of weekly visits to a prep class prior to surgery. Also, they require that you loose 10% of your body weight before surgery as well. My class will begin 9/3/08 and we have the option of doing the opifast diet during this time. Has anyone else had to go through something similar to get the surgery? I did not know the process was sooo long.

I just got banded yesterday 10/25. I am trying to stay up and moving around but I am still very groggy from the anesthesia. I still have over half of my protein drink to get down today, but I have had not problem sipping water all day. I feel like I just finished 500 sit-ups. I get a little down when I think about the next full week of just clear liquids but my husband keeps reminding me that this part is only temporary. I am hoping to return to work 11/08 but today I am torn between staying up and pushing myself or just lay around and rest for the next couple days.:thumbup:

Thank you for your posts. I am having surgery with him on June 12th And its good to hear of others experiences. He did my band 10 years ago and is now doing my revision. I am also an RN so I loved hearing your point of view. I do speak Spanish though so I will be asking for those guantes!! LoL please keep us posted on your progress.

Youknowit, the rules are pretty similar to the band but for somewhat different reasons. No drinking with meals. (The reason is there isn't room, not because you can flush the food out.) Chew, chew, chew Take 20-30 min. per meal but no longer I tend to eat my 1-2 oz. in about 10 min. and I know if I slowed down I could eat more, plus I wouldn't get the foamies as much. I'm just having trouble with it.

After almost 10 years of battling with insurance companies and a long growing list of medical problems, the day has finally arrived. I'm 31 years old and take more mediations than both of my parents combined (and they take a lot). The process is moving so fast that it's all surreal. I'm super nervous and excited. I can't sleep just counting down the days. :-) Thank you ladies for all your success stories, they have been very inspirational and have kept my spirits up not to quit trying. I will continue to check in as I'm sure I will need a lot of guidance through the journey of my new life.

Keep trying different ways of getting in your Protein. Those protein goals take time to build up to so don't panic if you don't meet them right away. Keep trying protein drinks/powders until you find what you like. I tried at least 10 different ones as a trial run pre-op and I've probably gone through another 4 -5 post-op. A few I still have occasionally, but there are 2 I consistently use; Isopure unflavored and CVS whey protein vanilla flavor. I don't think I hit my protein goals until somewhere between weeks 1 and 2 post-op and that was just the basic goal of 60gms. I know hit between 80 - 100 everyday. Unflavored powder that can be mixed with Soups is a nice break from the sweet drinks. Mixing them with Water helps you meet you Fluid goals and lesson the super sweet taste. If you are allowed yogurt, 0% greek yogurt will also cut the sweet taste. Try mixing the Protein Powder with water and a bit of greek yogurt until it's a thinner drinkable consistency. The greek yogurt (I use FAGE 0%) adds a bit more protein and the slightly sour taste will cut some of the sweet of the protein powder.

Yes sweetz428. I'm having the same problem I'm 10 months post gastric bypass. If anybody has help please pass the help on to us Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

05-22-19

It gets better, but slowly. I am at week 10 and I still have struggles, but they are less and less. In the meantime, as the payoff for my struggles, I have lost 78 pounds. I can stand up without exhaustion and walk every day on my treadmill and people don't look at me like I'm an alien anymore. So it's worth it. Those people who say this is the "easy way out", just don't know. Keep on keeping on!

Hey Gibson, sorry to hear you're under the weather and injured on top of it all. Hope things perk up for you soon. As far as being the slowest loser, maybe not, or maybe I'm tied with you. I've lost all of 9 pounds since my surgery on 2/15. The other 8 showing on my ticker is what I lost the week before surgery. How sad is that???? I lost more in 1 week than I have lost in the past 10 weeks after surgery.:frown: I do agree with what the others have said. Losing slowly is better than losing a lot fast. Your body has a chance to adjust to it's new size and the skin will hopefull shrink back down so you won't need ps down the line. Hang in there, we're all here for you.

I went to the library and did some research. Here is the abstract from a study done in the U.S from 2000-2008: The effectiveness of adjustable gastric banding: a retrospective 6-year U.S. follow-up study source: Surgical Endoscopy Feb. 2011, vol 25 issue 2, p397-403 abstract: Background: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) during a 6-year follow-up period. Methods: A retrospective database analysis of patients who underwent LAGB at New York University Medical Center between 1 January 2000 and 29 February 2008 was conducted. Patients were included for the efficacy analysis if they were 18 years old or older at the surgery date and had one or more visits with a recorded weight after surgery. Efficacy was assessed using percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL) at 1-year intervals after surgery. Missing weight values were interpolated using a cubic spline function. Linear regression models were used to assess the characteristics that affected the last available %EWL. All patients had implantation of the LAP-BAND system. Results: The inclusion criteria for the efficacy analysis were met by 2,909 patients. The majority of the patients were white (83.3%) and female (68.4%). The mean patient age was 44.6 years, and the mean baseline body mass index (BMI) was 45.3 kg/m. The %EWL 3 years after surgery was 52.9%, which was sustained thereafter. In multivariate models, increased number of office visits, younger age, female gender, and Caucasian race were significantly associated with a higher maximum %EWL. Conclusions: The LAP-BAND patients achieved a substantial and sustainable weight loss of approximately 50% at 6 years after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] I don't really understand how they can say that there was a weight loss of 50% at 6 years after surgery when some of the patients included in the surgery have only had their band for 3 years. But they lump them all together nevertheless. I also read an article that quoted a study saying the Swedish adjustable gastric band had more incidence of erosion than the LAP BAND. I don't know if they even use the Swedish one here anymore. Here's another one from Switzerland: A 10-year experience with laparoscopic gastric banding for morbid obesity: high long-term complication and failure rates. Suter M, Calmes JM, Paroz A, Giusti V. Department of Surgery, Hôpital du Chablais, Aigle-Monthey, Switzerland. Abstract BACKGROUND: Since its introduction about 10 years ago, and because of its encouraging early results regarding weight loss and morbidity, laparoscopic gastric banding (LGB) has been considered by many as the treatment of choice for morbid obesity. Few long-term studies have been published. We present our results after up to 8 years (mean 74 months) of follow-up. METHODS: Prospective data of patients who had LGB have been collected since 1995, with exclusion of the first 30 patients (learning curve). Major late complications are defined as those requiring band removal (major reoperation), with or without conversion to another procedure. Failure is defined as an excess weight loss (EWL) of <25%, or major reoperation. RESULTS: Between June 1997 and June 2003, LGB was performed in 317 patients, 43 men and 274 women. Mean age was 38 years (19-69), mean weight was 119 kg (79-179), and mean BMI was 43.5 kg/m(2) (34-78). 97.8% of the patients were available for follow-up after 3 years, 88.2% after 5 years, and 81.5% after 7 years. Overall, 105 (33.1%) of the patients developed late complications, including band erosion in 9.5%, pouch dilatation/slippage in 6.3%, and catheter- or port-related problems in 7.6%. Major reoperation was required in 21.7% of the patients. The mean EWL at 5 years was 58.5% in patients with the band still in place. The failure rate increased from 13.2% after 18 months to 23.8% at 3, 31.5% at 5, and 36.9% at 7 years. CONCLUSIONS: LGB appeared promising during the first few years after its introduction, but results worsen over time, despite improvements in the operative technique and material. Only about 60% of the patients without major complication maintain an acceptable EWL in the long term. Each year adds 3-4% to the major complication rate, which contributes to the total failure rate. With a nearly 40% 5-year failure rate, and a 43% 7-year success rate (EWL >50%), LGB should no longer be considered as the procedure of choice for obesity. Until reliable selection criteria for patients at low risk for long-term complications are developed, other longer lasting procedures should be used. This one has a pessimistic view of Lap Band overall but to me 60% with acceptable EWL is pretty darn good. I'm wondering if the authors of this study are investing in the sleeve or some other technique. There are more. For anyone who is also interested go to the library and ask for help accessing EBSCO Host or another periodical database and search for "long-term" and "LAGB". I really don't have the time or energy to sift through all the articles but just from what I skimmed the worst conclusion had something like a 33% success rate after 5 years. By success they can mean anything from 40% and up of excess weight loss. Here's what I'm thinking so far: Without the band I have probably more than a 33% chance of NOT losing the weight. I also have more than a 33% change of developing more weight-related health problems. If I lose 40% of my excess weight in the next 5 years I will be better off than if I did nothing. The mortality rate from having the band is no more than for any abdominal surgery. The complication rate may be somewhat high (but a lot lower than for bypass) but the band is reversible and removable. So I am going ahead with my plans for the band. If anyone can talk me out of it please try. I want to be sure I'm making a good decision.

After this last fill, WOW what a difference. I can't believe it. I am less hungry. I am making better food choices just like my surgeon said I would and I am losing weight. I am now down to 25 lbs lost. I really feel it now. My clothes are falling off. I started on the Unjury protein powder at least once a day. I have one scoop in plain yogart. It is ok. Not great wonderful, but ok. I am working out 2 to 3 times per week. I can't believe what a change after this last fill. I am now at 3.75 cc in my 10 cc band. I go back in 2 weeks for a weigh in and another fill. Maybe just a small 0.25 cc is needed to get me to 4 cc. I can't imagine more than that. My body is changing and it feels wonderful. I am learning to play nice with the band..... :thumbdown:

Welcome Jon ! I too am male and did really well on Phen-Fen, lost almost 80 lbs, then POOF I went back to the human yo-yo game. In regards to the men to women ratio I think the guys just do a lot more reading than posting. This site has been an amazing resourse for me, without it I would have given up on the insurance game and would not have been any where near as well prepared prior to and immediately after my banding. I was banded this past Monday 10/20 and thanks to all the info, and the fact that I followed the advise for a change, I actually feel pretty good today. You'll be amazed at how much info is available on this site. Best of luck . . . .

My name is Amanda and I am 34 years old, located in Delaware! I began my journey in November 2013 when I made the decision to have surgery. I was 219 pounds at 5 feet 1 inch. I had heart trouble, high blood pressure, pain in my joints, a substantial inoperable back injury with nerve damage, border line diabetes, and a whole list of other ailments. In the beginning, I had very little support from my family. My surgeon required an info seminar followed by every physician's clearance known to man, nutrition classes, and life skills classes. I attended my 3 nutrition classes and when I entered my first life skills class, I wanted to back out!! A friend of mine, who also had surgery (bypass) was going through the classes as well. She encouraged me to continue this journey, that I needed to look at my quality of life, and that it was either now or never. I decided to push forward. I can still remember pulling into the hospital parking garage the day of surgery. I was a nervous wreck! Good thing I wasn't driving, otherwise, I may have just turned back around and returned home!! This was the first day of the rest of my life! I was pretty fortunate that I didn't have any complications, and faired well. After three months, I was completely off of all of my meds, other than my gastric meds for surgery! I had more energy, and just felt better in general. It was/is not an easy trip. However, I would not change it for the world! I am now 8 1/2 months post op, and down 83 pounds with approximately 10 more to go! I have little pain in my back, and finally feel as though I am free of the shackles that I was in due to being so overweight. I had to have another major surgery, a hysterectomy, in September, and since then I feel like I have hit my plateau. I also have started to slide into some old bad habits with refined sugars, and wraps. I need a little help from my bariatric friends to support me and to get through the last ten pounds. Thanks for welcoming me! Amanda

Here's my embarrassing secret.... I have probably gained about 10 pounds since I decided to get the band!!! It's like a binge that I can't stop and I still have over a month to go!

Diane, wish I could help you more, the only thing I try to remember is an article I read, only you can change the way you think about yourself. You have done so great so far with your lifestyle change, now for the really hard part - convincing the inside Body image influences behavior, self esteem, and our psyche. When we feel bad about our body, our satisfaction and mood plummets. If we are constantly trying to push, reshape or remake our bodies, our sense of self becomes unhealthy. We lose confidence in our abilities. It’s not uncommon for people who think poorly of their bodies to have problems in other areas of their lives, including sexuality, careers and relationships. A healthy body image occurs when a person’s feelings about his/her body is positive, confident and self caring. This image is necessary to care for the body, find outlets for self-expression, develop confidence in one’s physical abilities and feel comfortable with who you are. Self esteem is a personal evaluation of one’s worth as a person. It measures how much you respect yourself. physically: (how happy you are with the way you look) intellectually (how well you feel you can accomplish your goals) emotionally (how much you feel loved) morally (how you think of yourself as a person) How you see yourself affects every part of your life. High self esteem makes for a happier life. It allows you to be your own person and not have others define you. Self esteem, self confidence and self respect are all related. Self esteem is also defined as the judgments a person makes about themselves and is affected by self confidence and respect. Self confidence is believing in our ability to take action and meet our goals. Self respect is the degree to which we believe we deserve to be happy, have rewarding relationships and stand up for our rights and values. All these factors affect whether or not we will have a healthy body image. Think of it as the three A's.... Attention -- Refers to listening for and responding to internal cues (i.e., hunger, satiety, fatigue). Appreciation -- Refers to appreciating the pleasures your body can provide. Acceptance -- Refers to accepting what is -- instead of longing for what is not. Acceptance is probably the hardest thing for anyone with a weight problem or poor body image to deal with. 1. Affirm that your body is perfect just the way it is. 2. Think of your body as a tool. Create an inventory of all the things you can do with it. 3. Walk with your head high with pride and confidence in yourself as a person, not a size. 4. Create a list of people you admire who have contributed to your life, your community, or the world. Was their appearance important to their success and accomplishments? 5. Don't let your size keep you from doing things you enjoy. 6. Replace the time you spend criticizing your appearance with more positive, satisfying pursuits. 7. Let your inner beauty and individuality shine. 8. Think back to a time in your life when you liked and enjoyed your body. Get in touch with those feelings now. 9. Be your body's ally and advocate, not its enemy. 10. Beauty is not just skin-deep. It is a reflection of your whole self. Love and enjoy the person inside. Hope this helps some. You are no longer the funny fat girl, but think of yourself as the funny hot mama!

Curvy, Was the CPAP an insurance requirement? Or was this ordered by your doc because of a condition? I have sleep apnea that has been untreated for years I'm talking 10 plus years. Surgeon required new sleep study which confirmed I have obstructive sleep apnea. I was required to sleep on it for 3 weeks prior to my surgery or no surgery.Plus having the sleep apnea helps with the WLS approval as well because with most insurance companies sleep apnea is a comorbidity. Well I know u know that already being a utilization review nursing professional lol. Had I known earlier I would have worried u sick everyday asking u " do u think they r going to approve me" lmbo. They came back with an approval in 3 days so that was awesome.

I am a frequent flyer and travel way too much. I flew 10 days after being banded and many flights since and have never noticed 1 iota of anything band related. Have a great trip.

Thanks everyone & hello fellow 4/28 sleevers out there. Yes I am doing fine otherwise. I do get full on water alone which is kind of frustrating because before the sleeve I drank at least 80 oz. of water a day. I always had a 32 oz. water bottle with me. Now I feel like my mouth is constantly dry and when I try to drink I can't get more than 1.5 to 2oz. in before my stomach starts feeling wierd. I actually prefer water to any other fluids, I just wish I could drink more. I even started sucking on ice chips since the hospital to help quinch the dry mouth which provides about 10 seconds of relief before I get the dry mouth again. This morning my nurse told me since stomach is swollen it may be the reason why I can't drink as much so guess I will have to just wait it out...unfortunately. Thanks again for all the great suggestions! I will keep everyone posted. :tongue_smilie:

Hi everyone, My bmi is at 40.3. I was a size 10-12 most of my life. Then when I hit about 42 I gained weight and no matter what I did to lose it, it did not work. I just kept gaining. I am 50 now. I talked to my doctor about weight loss surgery. He was very supportive. I am now about a month away from possibly getting surgery and visited a nutritionist the other day. After the 1 hour session I started to have doubts about the surgery. He showed me the 1 and 2 oz containers and said that is how much your will eat the first few months. Then he showed me a 1 cup container and said that is how much you will eat after that. I was shocked! Will I ever be able to go out to eat with my husband again? I just went out the eat last night and had a plate full of Mexican food with chips and salsa! Will I never be able to eat chips and salsa and burritos again? Do you still enjoy eating? How do you handle eating out? I am thinking that maybe the new gastric balloon procedure is better for me. HELP.

Hi. I'm Joshlyn. I'm 23, 24 in 21 days. I don't work, well I kind of do, I sell Scentsy Wickless Candles, similar to a Mary Kay style company. But I do go to school full time. I am having my surgery on the 23rd of this month. It's taken 10 months, it was only supposed to take 6. But instead I got denied the first time for my psychological clearance, then had trouble getting cardiac clearance. I almost gave up. I thought... I'm never going to get approved, I am just going to be fat forever. And I'm almost 300, I'm about 295. Don't give up. just try your damndest to get your surgery and just know, even if there's hurdles, they aren't a brick wall, they can be overcome.

I'm trying to figure out if I've met my sweet spot. I have lost 58 lbs since I had my surgery on April 03, 09. 20 lbs came from the pre-diet. I think I have about 5cc in a 10 cc band. Most of my appetite is in the p.m. hours. I drink 2 cups of coffee in the morning and can go without breakfast. If I have breakfast I have to really take it slow and do not eat very much. I have lunch at 1:00 and It doesn't take much for me to fill full but by dinner time I seem to be starving and can tolerate almost any type of food. My last fill was Oct 22 and my next one is Nov 30. I've probaly lost 5 lbs this month. I have cheated by snacking later in the day. I've had 4 episodes of pb and its from not chewing my food well and eating to fast. I'm afraid if I don't get a fill then I want lose any weight. I want to be able to lose some weight in December. I've always gained in December due to the holidays. The month that I went without a fill I only lost 1 lb so when I went in Oct he put in 1cc. I think I need a small fill. Just curious as to what others think.

I am doing some research on Ghrelin and would appreciate any information anyone could share with me. I will be asking my doctor at my next fill on 02/09/11 also. I am 10 weeks post op from getting a lapband and still have had no hunger. I am not complaining, it has been great to not feel hungry at all, but I am pretty sure it's not typical. My doctor's office said most people regain hunger within 3 weeks, but there is nothing wrong with me not regaining mine after so long. I read a thread about people who get the sleeve having the same issues because the part of the stomach that produces Ghrelin is cut out, which started me looking into everything Ghrelin controls. So this is where my problem is. I am a full time student with a very heavy schedule this semester and since the semester began 3 weeks ago, I have no ambition to do any homework or study. I also feel like I am having a hard time comprehending what is being taught. Since going back to school 2 semesters ago, I have carried straight A's, so I am very concerned my grades will drop. I read that Ghrelin is also connected to learning and some other things. Has anyone else had a similar experience, or know anything about this? I'd appreciate any information anyone can give, thank you in advance

I am 19 days away from surgery!! I have my endoscopy on Thursday. I’m so afraid of pain. What was your pain level? Were you in much pain? This will be my first surgery & my first time under anesthesia.