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Very nice video My husband and I both will be doing the sleeve on July 19 2011 !! Thanks for the video it helped a lot !!

I got my band in 1996 and struggled all these years. I was revised ok April 2016. It's been the best thing I've ever done. I'm about 10 lbs away from my goal. I've had.no issues at all.

I also feel pretty weak and tired. I had my sleeve 12/19 and also feel uncomfortable when I eat. I do get my water, protein, and all my vitamins in every day. Some days I feel like I just can't put one foot in front of the other! I'm sure hoping this passes soon! I'm also interested if anyone else has had this experience?

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you to all the members that contributed these mouth watering recipes. Here are the winners of the $200 BariatricPal Store giveaway: Djmohr padremama Elode Amy Wolfe You'll receive a PM with your $50 gift card shortly. Here's a $10 coupon that's valid for 48 hours for everyone else who participated: 10OFF24

Hey all, 9.5 days post op and fealing prety good. 19 lbs lost already! Here is my question for all of you; I started to introduce mushy foods today i.e. mashed potatos, pureed scrambled eggs, thinned out oatmeal ect. I am supposed to be on a liquid diet for three weeks but i sure am enjoying the mushies. What diets did your doctors have you guys on? when did you start eating pureed and mushy foods? When did you start eating solid foods? Looking forward to hearing from you.

Hi, I had my surgery on 5/22. I had to do clear liquids for the first week. I am now on the second week and I can have full liquids. Next week I can have soft foods for 1 week and then the next week I can eat whatever I want. I am eating a lot of the same foods as you and I feel fine as long as I don't eat too fast. I think you should be ok. Congrats on the 19 pounds!!

I have been waiting a long time. So many doctors so many tests. Then when that's over you have to wait for ins to be approved. That's another two weeks. But it was great because I found out in a week and August 5th is my day at 10 am tomorrow. I am so excited, over night stay and home on Wed. Then my first week of what I do not know. If anyone has advice on how the first week is I would love to hear Thank you Lisa :cool2:

Hello TIA. Unfortunately my insurance doesn't cover any weight loss surgery so I am a self pay. I am getting lapband with plication surgery and the total cost for me is $16,500. I am sure the cost will vary based on the doctor you go too. Although part of me was extremely angry that my insurance didn't cover it, I was almost glad in a way because I didn't want to wait 7 - 10 months going through everything insurance requires to get the surgery. I saw my doctor on August 9th, completed all the testing on Aug 11th (including meeting with the nutrisionist), was cleared for surgery on August 12th and am scheduled for surgery on August 29th. Hope that information helped answer some of your questions. Best of luck to you!!!

You know I want to start out by saying that I am going to get a little whiney and for those of you who cannot sympathize with Goal Limbo then you are going to hate this post. But I come here to voice my NSV, my SV and so I will post my whining too. I will attach a couple of pictures here. These are my 1 year full body pictures. I have my pre-op pics on my profile page if you want to see. I'm not at my home comptuer or I would upload those. I am so very not happy with my body. I'm not talking about the drooping girls in front. I have to expect that after losing 115 lbs. I am talking about my "big" tummy and the fact that from the side I have no waiste. AT ALL! How depressing is that? When I see myself in the mirror and in pictures (which is the real test) I am actually pretty happy with my front view. I have never had to worry about hips like one of my sisters. I am broad acrose the back, but that has gotten more propotionate lately and with my "sucker-inner" as I call my cami-body hugger I don't have a lot of loose looking skin and it help keeps the girls up. (without the sucker-inner it isn't quite as pretty ) From the side I have absolutely no waste. Infact I think my belt in is direct allignment to the girls up top. People at work call me skinny, which doesn't tick me off like it used to when I thought they were kind of making fun of me. I had a girl at work that thought I weighed 130 lbs. Okay that made me wonder if she was making fun of me again, but I don't think she was. I weigh 170 and I told her so, but I am pretty fit and wear a size 11/12. I would LOVE to go down one more size and hit a 9/10 comfortablly. But I digress..... What is wrong with me? What is wrong with my body. I am a short little thing. Only 5'4". I know that makes a big difference in the way I carry my weight. I know that one year ago when I was wearing a size 22/24 I would have swore when I fit into a size 11/12 that I would be estatic with my body. Now all I see is fat when I look at my profile in the mirror. Oh another thing on these pictures is that I still have a !@#$% double chin! WHAT? I thought I got rid of that. I will have to walk around with my nose in the air so that thing isn't as noticable! Oh I know what some of you are thinking....."What is she complaining about? If I could lose that weight I would be so happy I would never complain" Yeah, I hope that is true because it is what I thought a year ago. Maybe this is good. I have been so happy with my weight and my body that I have gone into maintaince mode. I guess maybe I needed to get to point where I am not happy to get my weight loss moving again. I am so frustrated, but on the bright side it makes me want to go to the gym. It is funny when I first hit this weight and this size I thought I looked good. I am starting to see how skinny girls can actually with a straight face say they think they are fat. I always kind of thought that it was a ploy to get attention, but they actually look in the mirror and don't see a nice figure. Oh this sucks. I guess I will ride the rollercoaster, hopefully get a few more pounds off of my body and hope for a waist line. I have to wait another 4 years before my surgery is paid off and I can get a tummy tuck/ lipo and a breast lift. I hope the next four years seem to go as fast as the last one!

I can really relate with you on this one. People, like my husband, just can't understand why I am still unhappy with the way I look in the mirror. Sure, it is fun to shop for new smaller size clothes (now a 10, before a 18)- but to be honest, the second I take my clothes off to get in the shower & I see my self in the mirror, all is see is fat! I am 144lbs and you would think by loosing 75lbs, I would be ecstatic. However, I really was happier fat- as bad as that sounds. I never thought I looked fat when I was fat- it was everyone else who thought I was overweight. Now... everyone thinks I look great & I feel like crap! I know this sounds so ungreatful and maybe it is, but I can't relate to myself anymore. I look in the mirror and pick every little thing appart. Now, don't get me wrong, there are days when I feel on top of the world (normally weightloss days) and the second I gain even a half a pound I feel like crap again! So, I'm going to tell you as an outsider looking in...you look AMAZING and you have done a phenominal job, but I do relate to you and understand where you are coming from. We can only hope with time, we can relate better to ourselves and start to accept our "new" flaws. Great job & congrats on your success.

I was banded on 10/29/07 and I'm taking small walks outside about 10 minutes twice a day. I'm a little anxious so I'm walking around inside the house too. I don't want to do too much but I don't want to baby myself? What is everyone else doing? Anne

Hi Kim, I have never been to a psychiatrist and the only psycholgist I have seen was a couple of weeks ago for my psy eval, but my first thought when I read your thread was that perhaps Dr. Phil's book, Ultimate Weight Solution, may offer some help. I have the book and still have not read it. Maybe I'm afraid to face the reasons I eat emotionally. :rolleyes Check it out if your a reader. I do have experience with Effexor XR for depression and with my level of knowledge, which is small, that most antidepressants need to build up and stay in your system to be effective. The Effexor doesn't and hasn't had any effect on my eating habits. I just had a discussion about 10 min ago with my husband about birth control b/c I am about to start and a bit crabby. I was on Seasonale for about 2 years and recently went back to monthly birth control. With the Seasonale you only have your period ONCE every three mos. which makes life much better for all of us. I think I will go back on it since I am getting the band and won't be having more children anytime soon. I highly recommend it if it's something your OB would approve. Best of luck in finding your solution!!

Wow 57 lbs in 10 days that's amazing!! Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

Wish I had some tips for you, but I was still in after surgery weight loss when I got pregnant. I was only 8m out. I actually lost 10 lbs during the first trimester, I gained almost all of my weight during the last 10w or so. I was 333 when I started my preop diet. 247 when I got pregnant, and 249 day before delivery.

My husband has some of the same issues. He keeps telling me he doesn't want me to die, he can't live without me, the kids would suffer, etc.... I told him that if I can't have the surgery I would probably get diabetes, have a heart attack or stroke, or shave about 10-15 years off my life. If I had the surgery: I could play more with the kids, be more active with him (walking, hiking), feel better about myself, and want to have more sex, maybe even with the lights ON!!! :wink_smile: I pretty much told him that I was doing this, and I would love his support, but if he couldn't support me, I was still doing this anyway. It is for me and for how I want to live the rest of my life: long, healthy and happy! Just pray, ask God to open your husband's heart, and everything will turn out right!!!

Had my consult with a sleeve surgeon and was told that I'm unlikely a candidate for the sleeve. I was so disappointed, I started crying right there in front of the doctor. He said there is a 5% chance someone who has NEVER had reflux will develop it after the sleeve. There is a 10% chance people with reflux that have no symptoms will develop reflux symptoms. Of course I HAVE symptoms, which increases the chance of getting reflux that cannot be controlled with drugs - I have been on an on/off regimen of Omeprazole and Pepcid for several years. He said getting the gastric bypass would completely cure the reflux and I could lose weight, so in essence - "kill 2 birds with one stone". I told him I couldn't wrap my head around bypass at this time. He agreed to re-visit the possibility of getting the sleeve after getting pathology from an endoscopy... Anyone been in my situation and went ahead with Sleeve surgery? PS - The doctor also said he had 2 patients just like me who insisted on getting the sleeve and he revised them to bypass 2 years later (they were already skinny for bypass surgery!) to cure the reflux because it had gotten so bad and could not be controlled with meds. Please reply, thanks!

I'm in the same boat. I'm 33, no real Co-morbities. BMI: 42-ish. I already had CXR, blood work, etc completed when I met with my surgeon. Later that day I received clearance from a cardiologist. I see the psych/nutritionist next week and am too planning on an April surgery date. I'm so excited, and completely ready I've been researching and contemplating WLS for >10 years! 2013 is my year!!

I have now completed almost 10 months with the Lapband and I am very excited about the results. When I started in May 2013 I weighed 360 pounds and I could feel myself slowly dying. My life consisted of my office chair and my recliner chair at home. Otherwise I did very little. Now I weigh 220 pounds and am 20 pounds away from my goal. I really can't believe it has gone so well. I have only 2.5cc in my band and I have only had two PB incidents since I started (both were my fault-eating way to fast). I can eat pretty much anything I want (in a lot less quantities) and really the only thing I have had to give up was carbonated beverages. I am now approaching what I consider the most critical stage and that is weight maintenance which has always been the most difficult thing for me. I don't ever get really hungry anymore and the biggest challenge/temptation for me is late night Snacks. I can go all day long till 9pm and have no cravings, but when I sit down to watch TV after that the head hunger returns. I have tried to keep my calorie input a bit lower in the day so that I do not go over when I snack. I think I may have to change what type of foods I snack on to find something more filling. Any suggestions? For those of you beginning on your journey I am proof it can be done. I simply followed my doctors rules as strictly as possible, I try to exercise a half hour to an hour a day. You need to be patient as it took most of us a lot longer to gain the weight than it does to lose it. The three most important things are to 1) Eat slowly and chew your food well, 2) Track every calorie (thank god for My Fitness Pal), and 3) Exercise everyday for at least a half hour. If you have a bad day, don't beat yourself up, just start back the next day. We all slip a little, just don't make it an excuse to quit or fail. This message board has been extremely helpful to me. I have tried to focus on the positive messages that I have read, and try to use the negative ones as things to be careful about. Thank all of you for your help.

You did great girl!! I'm glad you're ok from your scare,sounds scary!! I had my surgery on the same day as you and I couldn't be happier with my new sleeve!!! I have lost 10 lbs in 8 days!

I have 2 girls aged 13 and 10 so they are not babies and I can't completely fool them. But 7 yrs ago I lost a lot of weight through diet and exercise and got a tummy tuck which was a big surgery, they visited me in hospital and were both very upset about it and made me promise them I would never do that again! Well sadly I've regained a lot of the weight I've lost and I'm certain the best solution for me is the Gastric Sleeve surgery. I'm thinking of scheduling the surgery and just not telling them but not sure how I'd explain a 3 night absence when I'm a stay at home mum who's always with them??! Did you tell your kids? I just can't bear the thought of my youngest crying and begging me not to have it done as I know she will so I think I need to do this without then knowing its going to be hard to keep it from then though!

Anyone else scared that the weight loss will just stop when they hit a pause? This week I didn't lose any but didn't gain any and it always makes me nervous. I know its completely ridiculous to think it will just quit, but I don't want to have suffered so much for it to stop now. Had the surgery 10-25 and down 59 lbs.

August 22, 2006..I remember that day like it was yesterday. I arrived at the hospital so happy so excited so full of joy and ready to prove my doctor WRONG. You see my pre-op weight was 416lbs and the surgeon wanted me to undergo a gastric bypass or a duodenal switch (which I don't think they do anymore) because my BMI was so high. But at that time I was only 20 years old no serious medical issues and my mother didn't want me to have either of those surgeries so lapband it was. Moreover, my bariatric doctor made it very clear that I wasn't going to lose any weight and in two years I'd be back for a gastric bypass. Fast forward a few years and I was making tremendous progress. I'll never forget when I walked into Dr. Prachand's office in August 2008 for my two year post-op appt and I was down 138 lbs. And he looked at me with a smile and said "well Liqui you proved me wrong" that was the best feeling I ever felt. I was on a mission..I had a point to prove. Needless to say a few years went by and the weight slowly stop coming off...I was getting discouraged...I was losing my motivation and I had to switch doctors (I started a job and my health insurance changed). In 2011, I started seeing a new bariatric doctor (who I'm stilling seeing today) and it was like starting all over again at the time I had gained some weight back and I was about 310. At my first appointment with Dr. Mihil he told me to tell him my journey to this point...although he had my huge file in front of him. I told him my story anyway and he said "so let's start campaign prove Dr. Prachand wrong again." I laughed through my tears of disappointment and agreed. He proceed to say "I don't know Prachand personally but I want you to succeed because he wrote everywhere in your file. Placed band despite better judgement." When I tell you that doctor was AGAINST the band he was AGAINST the band and if I'm not mistaken he doesn't place them anymore at all. Moreover, my motivation started to come back I was checking in regular with the new doctor, losing weight, then BAM in 2013 I found out I was pregnant with TWINS. I was sooooo happy and excited yet sad because I knew I was going to gain weight. Well needless to say I gained more weight than I and the doctor expected. During my pregnancy I gained 73lbs I was mortified. I delivered my twins 4weeks early so I can't imagine how much more weight I would've gained if I carried them full term lol. My babies were born completely healthy but I was left with almost 60lbs of weight to loss. I avoided the bariatric doctor for two years...I kept saying "I wanna loss the weight before I go see him." I hadn't seen him since I was 4 months pregnant and he removed all my Fluid from my band. Then one day a few months ago I realized that I wasn't going to lose the weight on my own (which is why I needed weight loss surgery in the first place). And I finally made in appointment to go see him. I felt like a dead man walking.. I weighed in at 359. Which I was okay with considering I was 374lbs post babies. So I had lost weight but I still wasn't where I started. I was sitting in the room so nervous I thought the doctor was going to chew me out for waiting two years to see him and gaining so much weigh. He came in the room, gave me a hug and asked to see the babies. I just started to cry. I felt like I let him down. But he reminded me that "you're doing this for YOU and now those babies not me." That visit was such a breath of fresh air until he tried to give me a fill and to our surprise my port has flipped around. We played around with it for a while but no luck he couldn't get the fluid in. Another doctor came in and tried to give me a fill as well... No luck So I left that day with no fill but gained my sense of hope back. I have an appointment in the 26th of this month. And we're going to try it again or discuss possibly going in for a revision surgery which I really don't want. But I know something has to be done because right now I have no fluid in my band and feel no restrictions. I know everyone feels differently about the band and although weight wise I'm not were I want to be I'm still pretty happy with it because I haven't had as many complications like I hear about from the other WLS. And when I have fluid in my band it works of course with exercise and eating right. Moreover, I just really hope at my next appointment they can find the top of my port and give me a fill. Has anyone had a lap band revision surgery? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi guys, Are any of you having surgery the 19th....I AM!!!!! Would love to keep up with everyone

I also lost about 1/3 of my hair, with 3 distinct bald patches. It was quite troubling, but a nearly 100# weight loss (so far) is definitely worth it. I don't think I was getting enough protein for awhile so I increased it plus using special shampoo and biotin supplements. It fell out from about 4-7 months postop...started growing back at about 10-11 months. I'm at 14 months postop now and alot of new hair is coming in. But the strangest thing...I've always had straight hair but it's grown in curly!!! Not kinky or frizzy, but beautiful curls! And I can pull it out straight too. My hairdresser cut a beautiful style and the curls help cover the small bald patches left. Anyone else have their hair grow in different? I've heard of cancer patient's hair growing in differently, but they usually lose it all.

Welcome to the other side! You need rest in the beginning but walk if gas attacks you!!! You will feel horrible for 2 days and then start feeling better after that - get some tissue to handle the crying... I thought I would never stop. If you can stand it, walk for 10 minutes every hour.