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You may find that you go in and out of green over the first year. I did. Your weight loss each week is impressive. I don't advise too tight either but listen to your doc about why he wants another fill. My NP talked me into two tiny tiny fills I didn't think I wanted and she was right. I also have found that, a year out, I cannot lose while eating or drinking more than 1200 calories per day. And I have started exercising. Middle age sux.

You could ask you doc about it. Just remember that your hormones are wacky with all the changes in your body, so your cycle is bound to change. If you're anemic, find out from you doc when you can start iron supplements. I was told week five, but every doc is different. The iron will make you feel much better!

I do have one but would really like to weigh on the same scales each time. Plus the one at the surgery is so high tech, I might get a totally different reading at home. I'm happy to weigh once a month and then stalls etc shouldn't bother me too much :-)

I have my band date set at March 7th. My Dr. decided to double check my thyroid since I had been off of medication for a few years due to some bad side effects due to the high dosage I was on earlier. So the TSH test came back a little high. Dr. said I need a letter of clearance from an endocrinologist or my PCP that treated me before. To me this surely signified a postponement of the surgery date. So today I contact my PCP and leave him my test results and his nurse said she will get back with me later after the PCP has time to look things over. So today at about 5:45 I get a call back from the nurse. She tells me the doctor is calling in a prescription for the thyroid medicine, and as long as I start taking it right away, he will clear me for surgery and write the letter up for me next week. So right now I am overjoyed!!!! I had been eating light and preparing myself for the surgery so now my work is not in vain like I thought. I just hope something else doesn't come up-because things like this make me so nervous as I like to have a controlled and scheduled life-lol lol.... YAHOOOOOOOO--- I sure hope my Band Doctor is ready--becasue I sure am!!! T

Congratulations! I have a somewhat unrelated question to ask however, brought on by the statement above. Am I on some sort of fast-track with my LapBand, or is six-plus months an unusually long time to go through the process? Reason I ask is that from beginning (first meeting with doctor) to end (surgery) my entire process will be under three months - and that long only because I've drawn it out a little. In reality I could've had my operation perhaps as early as Christmas-time had I not had outside factors intervene. I'm not necessarily wondering why it would take so long to get all the I's dotted and T's crossed, but merely if it's the norm.

Right on Gibson!!! So happy for you...when is your date? Mac...I was one of the lucky ones. My whole process from orientation to insurance approval took 6 weeks!!

Ahh you guys were right I'm slowly starting to feel better! Thank you. It's hard getting these liquids in and every time I try to get some protein in my body wants to come to a complete stop. Your first week how much liquids were you able to get in?

6 weeks according to my doctor to do any lifting over 20 lbs & working out. Except waking. Height: 5'0" Weight for WLS consultation: 216 lbs. Surgery date: 2/13/17 Goal: -71 lbs for healthy BMI (about 145 lbs). Current weight: 158.4 lbs My profile picture is not me. It's my "FITspiration" body.

I work in a bank. I took two weeks but could've gone back in one. My surgeon considers this light duty. A more physical job w/lifting would need 4-6 weeks.

It's a great feeling isn't it! I went to my pcp last week which was 6 weeks post op. my A1c was down to 5.6 and cholesterol had dropped tremendously as well. Go us!

He did a show on weight loss surgery earlier this week. He advocates it completely. I just love him. He's a great guy :0)

I was banded Wednesday July 6th and today I am 4 days post op. I spent 2 nights in the hospital due to elevated white blood cells which went back to normal a little slow. I did also have a hernia repair. I feel like my recovery is a bit slower from everyone else's I've read about. I am exhausted and very weak. I feel like I should be moving more which would help with the lingering gas pain but the little bit I move around wears me out. Yesterday I wanted out of the house and rode out to the lake and sat in a chair for about 2 hours while my son played in the Water, and I couldn't get home fast enough on the way home. I was in crazy pain and felt like I could barely move! I came home and slept the rest of the day and night. Today I woke up feeling a lot better and decided to take my dad to walmart (only walked to toy section to get a gift then to register) then took and my son to a birthday party where I walked in and sat for nearly 2 hours. By the time this was over I came home and slept nearly 5 hours. I probably didn't walk even 30 minutes total for the day and felt completely worn out. On top of being so tired, I am having the weirdest dreams ever! I keep dreaming of sneaking food, being mad at my husband for not letting me eat, and dreams of being in biggest looser temptation rooms and binging. I'm not even hungry at all! I'm doing everything I can to drink all my water and feel water logged. (only got in 40 oz today which is my best yet since surgery) I'm suppose to go back to work Wednesday but can't imagine having enough energy to get through a day at work. I keep reading people who are cleaning house, going walking, and feeling great their first week out. Should I be worried something is wrong??...

Thanks so much for your touching story. I only had to wait 5 months due to having to appeal a denial, but here I am 6 weeks out and moving forward every day. Welcome to the losers bench. Looking forward to your future posts.

I am post op week # 2. My band was inserted May 11 th. I just started getting on and off left sided pain. Worse when I stand up. It seems worse by the end of the day. No pain in the am. any suggestions ???

I am scheduled for surgery on April 4. I had a required three month session, which included 2 small pre-op classes, 2 large group post-op sesssions, 2 with nutrionist, 1 psychologist, 2 registered nurse visits, pcp visit, 1 surgeon visit, bloodwork, and an ultra sound. All of my requirements have been met the end of Feb. I have surgery scheduled, but am waiting for the "go ahead" from insurance that can take 4-6 weeks. It was not bad at all. You really learn a lot from the sessions and I looked forward to them. I would not be as prepared today without them. Good luck to you!!

Hi everyone, I am so happy to have found this website. The others seem more dedicated to the RnY WLS and I had the sleeve done exactly 1 week ago. I weighed 256 pounds prior to the surgery, down from about 300 at my highest. I had been hovering around 250 for the past 8 years. Anyway, I had Kaiser Insurance and they have a program that is extremely rigourous. First, you have to prove that you have tried all other weight loss options. You need solid proof, like your Weight Watchers log or documentation that is extensive. Once you pass that hurdle you wait to go into a class that lasts 6 months! You go once a week for 2 hours for 6 months where you learn about the surgery, nutrition, hear success stories. If you miss a class, you MUST make it up. If you miss 3, you are out of the program. After finishing the 6 month class, you are evaluated. If, during the 6 months, you have lost 10% of your weight (in my case, 26 pounds) then you go to the next step. I did not lost the 10 % and, in fact, only lost about 3 pounds in 6 months (so depressing) so I was referred back to the Dr. for another consultation. After being approved by him, it's on to a gall bladder scan and a fitness test. With Kaiser, you have to wait 3 months for a gall bladder scan (very frustrating). The exercise fitness test consisted of walking three times around a rather small building. This was the easy part for me because I go to the gym several times a week, love to exercise but for whatever reason, my exercise did not lead to weight lost, only maintenence of 250 pounds. After the fitness test and gall bladder scan, you are assinged a series of three appointments. One is for the shrink, who spends about 20 minutes making sure you are sane, then the nutritionist who gives you the same information you have gotten in the class and finally, a consult with the surgeon where you decide which of the three surgeries you are going to have. lap band; RnY, or Sleeve. For medical reasons, my surgeion pushed the sleeve. I was happy with that choice because I don't want to be fooling around with lap band adjustments and also, at 55 years old, I feel I needed a permanent fix. Then FINALLY, you get a surgery date. This whole process, including the 6 month class took a year. It was a long long year. Very frustrating because I could not lost that 10% and that slowed me down by a month or two. I had to get through Thanksgiving and Xms without gaining weight because in the pre op appt and in bold black letter in the pre-op instructions, it is stated "If you gain weight prior to the surgery, your surgery will be cancellled." That is a sobering thought after waiting for a year. Needless to say, I pigged out at Thanksgiving and gained about 5 pounds which was hard to get off by Xmas. My surgery was scheduled for Dec 29, so I really watched myself at Xmas and managed to check in on the 28th at the exact weight of 255.1, a whole 9/10ths of a pound lower than the last appointment. Whew! So on the 29th of Dec, I checked into Scripps Mercy Hospital in downtown San Diego (this is who Kaiser is contracted with for bariatric surgery) and waited to go under the knife. My surgery was delayed by about 3 hours but they gave me a bunch of Morphine and Versed so i didn't care. Finally, they wheeled me in and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in recovery, feeling so weird but actually, not in a lot of pain. My biggist problem was the after effects of the anathesia and, of course, the bloating from the CO2 they pump into you to do a laproscopic surgery. I was up walking within about 5 hours. Conditions at this hospital were amazing. The staff was the best I have ever had and all they cared about was my comfort. Their goals were to control nausea and pain. I didn't have nausea and the pain control was a morphine pump which I used liberally. I also got liquid Ativan to help my bad back so all in all I was pretty damn high at the hospital. I got out Sat. morning and things have been pretty smooth sailing since. I'm still obsessed with food and can't wait to get a little something on Monday (12 days after surgery after bargainaing my doctor down from 14 days) I'm so happy to have found this site to help with my recovery and to answer all my questions. My surgeon was Dr. Janos Taller who is with Pacific Bariatric Surgery. I personallly thought he was excellent. Thanks for reading and good luck to all contemplating this surgery. If you have Kaiser in San Diego, now you know the protocol. Smillzee

After 2 yrs of having a lapband i had to have my band removed last week because of a major slip! i was very heart broke because ive done extremely well ive lost 200 lbs ive still have a ways to go! Has anyone went from the band to the sleeve cause im really looking in that direction? could you give me pros and cons and info thank you

Wow it seems like yesterday I was wanting to get this surgery and now it has been two months. I am down 50 pds and 2 sizes in my clothes. again wow! lol Well I am leaving for my cruise tomorrow and I am worried because I dont want to mess up and gain weight. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice on how to handle the trip. I hope everyone is doing well and we all have a good week. :bored:

have fun on the cruise! Post how you did when you get back. I just had surgery two weeks ago and I have a mexico vacation at two months so I could use some tips as well.

Keep in mind that just because you are scheduled for a adjustment, does not mean you will get one. You will be weighed, # lost dived by # weeks will determine how much you are averaging per week. They'll ask a few questions, maybe show you the Yellow-Green-Red chart and ask you where do you think you are, then either give you an adjustment or send you home saying you're doing fine. See you in another 4 weeks. At least that is how it has happened to me.

I let my employers know approximately six weeks in advance so we could plan for my absence and I would have time to train someone to take over a few of my critical duties during my absence. I also needed to submit FMLA paperwork and short-term disability paperwork 30 days ahead, so made sure the doctor's office had all of their pieces of that paperwork filled out prior to submitting.

Hey Ronnie, I definately can relate to feeling no restriction with my band currently and I get my first fill on Friday so i am anxious. Please keep us updated on how yours went on Thursday since it is the day before mine and I am a little nervous about the whole procedure of getting a fill. This week is my first week eating regular foods so i took a while to eat anything and have lost 20lbs without the restriction and I am praying for restriction as well to help shed more pounds. Well Good Luck and hopefully after this week we both will be happy with the restriction from the first fill! Happy Monday!

I know how you feel about food guilt. But I have to really put it in perspective because I know that I used to be able to eat 2-3 cups of mac and cheese and now my doctors diet says that I can have 1/2 cup of Pasta. So I eat my protien first and veg 1/2 cup. Then if I still want the mac and cheese I eat my half cup serving. But to be truthful because it takes me so long to eat the first two when I get to the mac and cheese I have so far had like three bites and I am full. Now if I didnt have it on my plate as an option then I would feel really deprived but this way I know it is there if i want it. I go for my first fill this morning. I wish you the best luck on your journey.

I had 1 pair of white Capri's, that are the same size as the ones that are falling off my butt, finally fit TODAY ! Different company, so made smaller. These are like Linen, they breath. So in this Heat Wave, I thought I would try them on again "they didn't fit last month" Well with that 6 Lbs. that I lost,,, they fit ! This is the last of my big summer cloths. After this,,, Gee Whizz, I have to buy all new cloths :welldoneclap: My Heart is breaking wright? Wrong ! I earned that, and I'm looking forward to this. So I guess by the end of next month maybe "cause I go in for a fill next week" later. I will put all my big size 22 cloths, in our clothing exchange. So I will be looking forward to some cloths from there too. Just sharing the good news. Shirley.

I also had a hernia repair with my surgery. I'm almost three years out have met my goal and is still losing. U will be fine. Congratulations!!!