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Hello all - I am a banded Mainer (Mainah....) Where from? I'm in So. Portland. Banded last November and avid reader of the "Slow Losers" thread - yes, slow weight loss, but NOT ONE REGRET!! Welcome!

I have a question. After bypass or any WLS are many people noticing a huge amount of excess skin ? If so what are the options and if not what have you done ???

yes I am. I can feel it in my pants, every thing is so loose. Loving it. I just did the waist because it was there and I like to "see" results . I am not tracking anything else. Have too much to do with the protein count and water and exercize. Enough wiht all the journaling already. How is the weather in Riyadh? R U military? I have been told Afganistan is down to 20 at night. For a california raised girl, that is cold for November. My source is not complaining, he has just learned not to drink after 6 PM. (tent heated, latrine not)

I would like to meet more members that had the DS or revision from RNY to DS. I am in Arizona and my doctor has been outstanding from the beginning to the end. I had my revision 12/29 ; preoperative testing on 12/17 then postoperative testing 12/30 to check for leaks . The radiologist said he did a wonderful job on my surgery especially since I had a ton of scar tissue. I want to get meal ideas and chat with more people. Also they say there was no good Duodenal switch doctors in Arizona which wasn't true there was a lady the travel outside of AZ to come here for her surgery. Good luck to your weight loss journey and your decision

Go back to basics. Log your food. Stay within your weight loss calories and macros, hydrate and exercise. Join the October weight loss challenge (November challenge) and Doing the head work

Hey guys name is Joan I am 25 and I am a mother of two, been over weight my whole life and on my 25th bday had a break down and decided to make a change in my life And get the vertical sleeve surgery. I have tried so many diets but nothing. I even work out and didn't see little change. Well I started my process on November 21, 2012 and finally I got a surgery date which is April 5, 2013. I am scared and nervous but after finding this site I feel so better.

Hi! I am new here. I have a follow up with my surgeon on 9/21 and he said if all my tests were good and I had lost 5-10% of my weight we could be looking at surgery in October or November. I think I am down 2 lbs and will need to drop 15 more! I am having a hard time losing weight. I dieted for so many years and always managed to lose some weight but always gained it back. I quit drinking 3 years ago and since then have gained 60 lbs and have not been able to get much off. I am 340 now and my highest was 350. Work is super stressful and my best coping skill is exercise but my back and neck hurt and my asthma is out of control at this weight. I am looking for some cheerleading and any support/tips from anyone! Thanks!

Hey, RNYTalk members!We’re into the long, lazy days of summer – but there’s plenty going on at RNYTalk.com! So why don’t you use this newsletter as a reminder to get on over to the boards? It’ll help you stay on track or motivate you to get back on board if you’ve gotten off track a little. Here’s what you’ll find in this newsletter. Burning question: What’s the Big Deal about Protein? Member Spotlight: Meet Mamiof3kids! Bypass Challenge: Record Your Diet! Become a Board Expert: How to Get More Involved We hope you’re having a great summer and feeling great about meeting your weight loss and healthy lifestyle goals. Enjoy the newsletter, and of course please contact me any time with suggestions, comments or any other feedback. See you on the boards! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder RNYTalk.com Burning Question: What’s the Big Deal about Protein? Okay, anyone who’s gotten weight loss surgery or who is seriously thinking about it has probably already heard a ton about protein. You’re supposed to get about 60 to 80 grams per day, and eat your protein foods first at each meal so that you finish them before getting full. Also, your breakfast should be high in protein to give you a good start for the day. But why is protein so important? First, it’s an essential nutrient for your immune system and as a part of your muscles, skin, bones and other body tissues. But it’s even more important when you’re losing weight so fast, like you are after your gastric bypass surgery. When you lose weight, you’re losing body fat, of course. But if you’re not careful to get enough protein, you’re going to lose a noticeable amount of lean body mass, too. That means you’ll lose some muscle mass and your metabolism will slow down. Another benefit of protein is that it actually helps you stick to your low-calorie post-surgery diet so that you lose weight faster. Protein takes a longer time to digest than carbohydrates. That means that eating a high-protein meal will help you stay full for longer than a high-carbohydrate meal without much protein. So don’t forget to hit your protein at each meal! Aim for one to two servings per meal, and if you have a snack, include some protein. What are the best sources of protein? Stay tuned for the answer coming up in a future newsletter! If you have a burning question that you’d like to see answered in the newsletter, just send Alex a PM over in the forums. It can be about anything – roux-en-Y problems, food, fitness, weight loss, health…just let us know! Member Spotlight – Meet Mamiof3kids! This week’s spotlight is on Mamiof3kids, also known as Maybelin from New York, New York. At 5 feet even, this 33-year-old mother weighed 211 pounds at her highest weight. She decided to get the bypass because she was always tired and her knees were always hurting. Maybelin got her gastric bypass done on May 30, 2012, and she’s already down to 167 pounds! One of the best things about her surgery and weight loss is that spending time with her children is way more fun. As she puts it, she has a 15-year old teenager baby girl, a 3-year-old baby girl and a 2-year-old baby boy. She uses LapBandTalk.com to get advice on how to eat after the bypass, and encourages others who are struggling with their eating to find a dietitian for good advice. Keep enjoying your family and working toward your goal weight, Maybelin. Thanks for sharing your story and being in our member spotlight! We feature a different RNYTalk.com member each week in our Member Spotlight section. Let us know in the member spotlight forum if there’s someone you want to learn more about or if you want to be our spotlighted member! Nominating yourself isn’t bragging. We all want to learn more about you if you’re willing to share your trials, triumphs, tricks and tips! If you’re shy, just PM Alex with the message that you want to be in the spotlight. Thanks! Bypass Challenge – Record Your Diet! Each newsletter, we challenge you with another Bypass Challenge. It’s a chance to push yourself a little outside of your comfort zone or get you thinking about ways to make your weight loss journey even more successful. The challenge can inspire you to try things that you’d never thought about but that can make you more successful and confident in your weight loss journey. The challenge is completely non-competitive, but we hope you’ll post your results in the Challenge Forum so that other members can be motivated by your own challenge actions. Study after study proves that the most successful losers – and maintainers – record their diets. If you don’t already do it, now’s a good time to get into the habit. This newsletter’s challenge is for you to record your diet for three days. Include what you eat, how much and what time you had each meal and snack. You can also put in details like how hungry you were before you ate and afterwards, whether you ate exactly what you’d planned, and whether you were eating with people or alone. Did you learn anything new about your diet? Is there anything you can change so that your choices are healthier? Let us know how it went in the Challenge Forum! There, you can always look back at the previous challenges and post your results. It’s never too late to try something new. Better Boarding Tips – Getting into the Swing of Things For some members, jumping right into the conversations on the board feels natural. You know exactly what to say and have no trouble asking for help and providing your own support. For the rest of us, it can be a little tougher. We may not always know what to say to someone who needs help or how to reach out for support when we need it. How can you improve your social boarding skills? Practice! The more you post, the more comfortable you’ll feel. Start by filling in your profile, if you haven’t already. Head on over to the Tell Your Story Forum (or you can get there from the front page) and welcome a few new members. Then browse the forums until you see some topics that call to you. You might be able to answer some member questions about food choices or some of the pros and cons that you’ve experienced with your weight loss surgery. You’ll soon feel like an old pro with so much practice, and the other members will sure appreciate your input! That’s about it for this week’s newsletter. You can always find the old newsletters in the newsletter forum if you ever miss one. Thanks as always for your support, and we’re looking forward to seeing you out on the boards! Take care of yourself and each other, Alex ==============================================================If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: http://www.rnytalk.c...&tab=newsletter

I have not had surgery yet...I actually just had my first consultation this morning. I'm just wondering if everyone who has had(or will have) gastric bypass has told their friends and family? And do you regret the decision you made about telling or not telling? Has anyone you've told been unsupportive?

You will do great I had the rny bypass and went back to work three days later. Just know when to slow down. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi everyone, my name is Tammy. My surgery date is November 18th- 2013 ( it's coming fast) - I've done a lot of research but am finding that although some books touch on gastric sleeve, I haven't found one specific book that just focuses on gastric sleeve. I'm looking for a book that has it all, surgery info, stages after surgery! Basically, i'm looking for a bible like book on the gastric sleeve. Anyone have any thoughts or info to point me in the right direction. Please let me know... I'm looking forward to chatting and having support as well as offering support to anyone. Thanks

So I start my two week liquid diet on Monday the 24th. I am so scared. It only took 3 days for my insurance to approve my surgery and that was back in August. I set my surgery date for Oct. 8 thinking that is so far away. Well guess what people, it’s almost here. I stay up at night just thinking about the liquid diet and what I'm going to eat and what I'm going to miss. I have been having that last supper syndrome, but not too bad. I have only been focusing on my favorite foods and not stuffing myself. Like I had to have a cheeseburger and fries from my favorite restaurant yesterday and I will have to get in McDonalds fries and a vanilla shake. I'll have to get in buffalo wings and some Mexican food of course cuz that is like my favorite. I need some cold stone ice cream and the list goes on. But all before Monday!! I have been practicing chewing for days and not drinking liquids with my meals. Do you know how hard that is? But I'm lucky; I have two of my favorite cousins doing the liquid diet with me. One has already had bypass but the other is doing it just to support me. That is so sweet. We'll see how long she lasts. Anyhow, thanks for listening.

Hello all, I thought it was about time I made a post. I have been looking on the site for a few weeks now. My name is Chastity, and I live in Florida. I am 26 yr old, happily married to a very support husband. I started thinking about the band 1 ago, but changed my mind (thinking I could do it with just self control). Well I weight even more now. I had my first appointment with the surgeon today. I am starting opifast in the morning(Tuesday). My surgery is going to be November 18th. I am going to be self pay :tongue:. I feel ready this time. I really enjoy reading about everyones journey, no matter where they are in it. I am 5'4 1/2 ( weird I know) and starting weight 286lbs(SHH). Hoping that the Optifast will taste ok:w00t:

Sounds like a lot to consider. I would talk with your surgeon about your feelings and see if he/she is able to help. I chose the lapband because of minimal invasive to the body, with bypass they cut your intestines and re-route things. The lapband does not mess with your nutrients and is only a tool "radar detector". There is still a lot of work involved but well worth the effort.

Hey everyone ! im new to this havent been banded yet my date is for november 14th , i had recently sent in everything i needed now im just waiting ! love this site and really enjoy reading everyones journeys its so inspiring . i know once i am banded i have somewhere to go for support

Hi there. Pushing towards a 11/14/13 surgery date. I have filled out my paperwork and need one more form signed by my local doctor. Waiting to hear back from the patient coordinator - it's only been a day since I've had communication with her, but I want to lock in that date. I'm prepping myself for that date. Looking forward to hearing from other November sleevers as it gets closer! Have a great night. McButterpants

So I got the call yesterday and lucky for me there was another patient who had to cancel and that's how the November 14 date became available....the other dates were very few and far between. The reason given was holiday schedules. Believe me I wish I could schedule it for tomorrow. I guess it's tricky this time of year so you have to pause and say to yourself at least you got the approval and your done with all of those preliminary appointments...that too (at least for me) seemed like it was such a long way out...but really time does fly and we'll be on our way to check in on surgery day. I would still call everyday and see if there was a cancellation that you can slide into...just blame it on your excitement. I'm sure they're completely used to it. Are you already assigned to a specific surgeon? I do try to pass the time reading all of the forums on here .[emoji4][emoji12]

It sounds like you are at the front end of the process so I will discuss the steps along the way from my experience. I attended an introductory seminar at a hospital that specialized in bariatric surgery. In this seminar, the various types of surgery were discussed, I underwent an initial screening, I met with the surgeon and selected the surgery, and I met with the liaisons on insurance. Insurance is an important consideration for this type of surgery. My insurance required that I undergo a 6 month medically supervised weight loss and exercise program in order to qualify. So I began this program. I underwent a mandatory psychological review to see if I would qualify. Many of the weight loss problems have a psychological component to them. I began attending free bariatric surgery support group meetings once per month. I began to diet and exercise on a daily program. I went cold turkey on caffeine and carbonated beverages. I had been on a 6 diet-coke per day habit for many decades. I went through a week of terrible withdrawal syndromes after I went cold turkey. After 6 months my insurance indicated that I qualified for the surgery. I underwent a one day pre-op physical exam to uncover any physical problems that might endanger my operation or recovery. These uncovered a few problems, so I underwent a second round of pre-op exams with specialist in their respective fields to resolve these issues. I attended a one-day training session that went into fine detail about the surgery, the vitamin/protein/fluid/meal volume allocation after surgery. I underwent a RNY gastric bypass operation 17 months ago. I lost 110 pounds. I am now at 150 pounds. My diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, frequent urination problems, profuse sweating have all gone into remission. In clothes, I went from a size 3X in shirts down to a size small. In pants, I went from a size 46 down to a size 33.

Hey guys! I am new to this forum. First let me say that it is so inspiring to see how supportive y'all are with each other. I am so excited to get this surgery and feel some support from other people going through the same thing. I'm 23. I got the lap band 3 years ago. At this point the sleeve hadnt been approved yet. And before surgery I was 250. After surgery I really got on the bandwagon, but I just couldn't lose the weight. I struggled with trying to eat constantly. I threw up constantly. Even Protein that I was supposed to eat, I couldn't get down. It was depressing. It was enbarassing. I couldn't go out to eat without staying in the bathroom throwing up all my food. It was awful. I got down to 230 and that's where I stayed. After 2 years my stomach started growing over my band and I had to get all the Fluid taken outta my band and I've gained all my weight back and more. I am now today July 4th at 265 and these past few months have been the most depressing of my life. One night last month I laid awake at night and couldn't stop thinking about getting weight loss surgery again. I considered bypass but that's just too major for me and idk about having children after that. The sleeve sounds perfect! I really hate the band. I hate throwing up constantly and being on the bathroom at all social occasions cause I can't get food down. Are there any quirks I need to know about? Foods that make you sick or what happens if you eat too fast? I'm waiting to hear back on my insurance but Im pretty sure they're going to approve it. I've already called and asked. So I'm very excited!! And I can't wait! I just hope I don't have to do the 6 month criteria. I look forward to the support from y'all and I'm excited to start this journey!

Chinamom, I live in the fredericksburg area of Virginia, and was banded on 9/26/2006. I have lost a little over 50 pounds. To be honest if I didn't have help after surgery I truly think I would have been fine on my own. You will need for someone to pick you up from the hospital. I only took one pain pill the day after surgery. Bending over is the hardest part.(to feed the cats). Struck my husband with that chore for as long as I could get away with it. My only advice is to be helpful with the Richmond area hospitals, I know of 3 or 4 people how had gastric bypass surgery in richmond and ended up with really bad infections. I truly think the band was the best decision I made. Any of us can do anything we set our minds to. Catfish (Lisa) :biggrin1:

November 14th!!!!!! Im kind of disappointed though I could have got it done next month but due to this major asthma attack I had wednesday I was put on steroids. So I have to wait till I'm off of that for a month. But i was given a 1 week Pre-Op diet and a 1200 calorie diet till surgery

I have been lurking on these boards for months, and finally decided to create an account a couple weeks ago. I am a 31-year-old middle school teacher who has battled weight problems since 3rd grade. Five years ago, I lost over 60 pounds on Weight Watchers, which I loved!!!! The point thing was so easy, I was working out like a madwoman, life was great.... until my father, who I loved more than anything, died unexpectedly (heart attack, diabetes, sleep apnea-- I have no idea... my mom did not want to do an autopsy). Over the next 11 months, I also lost my dog (who I adored), my great uncle, my uncle, and my grandfather (my last living grandparent). Needless to say, the weight came back on, and then some. I battled depression during this time, but came out on top. My father's death inspired me to do what I love, so I went back to school and got my teaching credential. Last year was my first year teaching and it is the best decision I have ever made. I went back on Weight Watchers earlier this year, and got down to 289. At this time, i began researching WLS. One of my co-workers got the lap band, so initially I wanted that as well. I even went to an amazing seminar (Dr. Billy in Ventura, CA). His office said I need to contact my insurance, which I did. My PCP referred me to the Options program though Kaiser. I went to my first orientation, where the sleeve was mentioned. Since that day in May, I have researched tirelessly online while (not so) patiently waiting for my first Options class at the end of July. Thanks to all of you amazing posters, I am truly looking forward to this journey. I am hoping to be sleeved in November while on my Thanksgiving break from school. You have all been so informative.... I ordered unjury Protein powder, a blender ball cup, and picked up a bunch of sugar-free Torani syrups at Smart & Final. Had my first Protein shake for Breakfast this morning (Unjury chocolate Splendor and Water with a little bit of the Chocolate and Salted Caramel sugar-free Toranis)... it was great!!!!! I just wanted to introduce myself and thank you for sharing your experiences......I am so motivated to begin this next chapter of my life. Sleeve me!!!! Allison

Hello, I have had my band for 5 years.. The only weight I ever lost was in the first year then I just had problems getting my band to the right tightness. I developed heart burn and acid reflux problems not to mention it has turned me bulimic. I am at my pre surgery weight and I have nothing left in my band yet everything seems to get stuck. Has anyone had the Lap band removed and did the sleeve? I just want this band out and I don't feel like bypass is for me. I just need some advice.. What were the pros and cons, have you had any problems? I want the good and the bad! TIA