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So the other day I couldn't find a before picture...found one and it's frightening! It's a weird pic because I have this NPPV mask on trying it out in class (I'm a Respiratory Therapy student). Also I am reposting the picture I took last week at 88 lbs total. In the picture I am probably 280 or so. After picture I am 214.

Some of the individuals on this website did have that condition and it caused them problems. It is important to get this condition treated before surgery. According to the internet: Therapy for H. pylori infection consists of 10 days to 2 weeks of one or two effective antibiotics, such as amoxicillin, tetracycline (not to be used for children <12 yrs.), metronidazole, or clarithromycin, plus either ranitidine bismuth citrate, bismuth subsalicylate, or a proton pump inhibitor. Another article says: Nausea and vomiting are the most common complaints after bariatric surgery, and they are typically associated with inappropriate diet and noncompliance with a gastroplasty diet (ie, eat undisturbed, chew meticulously, never drink with meals, and wait 2 hours before drinking after solid food is consumed). If these symptoms are associated with epigastric pain, significant dehydration, or not explained by dietary indiscretions, an alternative diagnosis must be explored. One of the most common complications causing nausea and vomiting in gastric bypass patients is anastomotic ulcers, with and without stomal stenosis. Ulceration or stenosis at the gastrojejunostomy of the gastric bypass has a reported incidence of 3% to 20%. Although no unifying explanation for the etiology of anastomotic ulcers exists, most experts agree that the pathogenesis is likely multifactorial. These ulcers are thought to be due to a combination of preserved acid secretion in the pouch, tension from the Roux limb, ischemia from the operation, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, and perhaps Helicobacter pylori infection. Evidence suggests that little acid is secreted in the gastric bypass pouch; however, staple line dehiscence may lead to excessive acid bathing of the anastomosis. Treatment for both marginal ulcers and stomal ulcers should include avoidance of NSAIDs, antisecretory therapy with proton-pump inhibitors, and/or sucralfate. In addition, H pylori infection should be identified and treated, if present.

Sometimes i feel like i just want to sit down and eat a steak and potato dinner. But honestly I think im obsessing about food. This week Im starting full liquids and its really nice to eat food with a little more substance. That being said, very little fills you up. I felt like i was hungry the first week and i couldnt wait for it to be over but now that it is, im feeling better. I think Im feeling better simply because I know I can have something more than clears. Im sure its all in my head. Good luck to you...when were you banded?

Thanks for sharing that. I don't know much about reading labels. Definitely will keep this in mind when I am looking at the labels in the future. There is a lot of fiber in those bars which leaves around 3g of carbs depending on which one you buy. I will get a few when I go shopping this week.

You will often have stalls of a few weeks at a time. That's the nature of weight loss. You may go up a pound or two just because of fluid balance (pooping, peeing, salty foods, etc), but it will come off again if you follow the plan. My surgery center also does not use a set number of calories. When I was 4 months out I told the nutritionist that I was eating about 800-1000 calories a day and she said that seemed in the right range. I'm 5 months out and eat about 900-1100 most days. I weigh every day that I'm home (I travel a lot). it helps me feel like I'm on track, but I don't worry if the number goes slightly up or doesn't move for a few days/week. It's normal, and I just look at the trends.

miangr per your profile - i see you were sleeved June18th your starting weight was 312 you have successfully lost 41 lbs!!!! bringing you to the magic # of 271!!!!! WooHoo WooHoo!!!! party dance party dance Protein bars are yummy, they can have alot of calories, and carbs too on an occassion, having one is terrifice - terrific taste some/many (me) OP try and stay away from Protein Bars cuz they are so good, (kindof like candy bar?? )very addicting some people do adjust their calories when a stall hits - to shake things up a bit "assuming" I need to increase................. hmmmmm - i "assume" LOL you know what happens when you "assume" something??? You make an assssss out of you and me you are only 7 weeks PO discuss with your NUT your situation/concerns she is the only one that OFFICIALLY should direct you to your calorie intake many/most times - you just have to "ride" out a stall some people might change this or that about their daily routine, and the stall breaks but whose to say if these changes helped break the stall or the stall was gonna break on its own coincidentally the same time changes were made???? you are doing great with your weight loss 41 lbs!!!! OMG!!!! keep up the good work kathy congrats

My understanding is it doesn't matter how much Protein, Water or Vitamins you take. Its just going to happen I started taking large doses of Biotin and B vitamins (hair vitamins) four months prior to surgery and following surgery. I absolutely refused to lose hair and was going to be different then everyone else. At almost 3 months to the day, I noticed hairs on my pillow but didn't think much of it (not true). While in the shower and rinsing my hair, a big clump came out in my hand while I was gently squeezing water out. And, it's been that way since (12/2/15 surgery). I've got thick curly hair and don't notice anything troublesome yet, but I'm only 5 months post surgery. I've looked at wigs, wiglets and weaves-just in case. I also color my hair and lose alot at the hairdresser-she's not as gentle as me. Instead of going every 4 weeks, I bought this product you can spray at your roots. I'm wondering if this will help hide patchy spots too? I try to limit washing my hair to once/week-coarse dry hair loves this. I wet it or spray leave-in in between. And, limit brushing to the underneath at night and morning. Let's face it, if it's going to come out, it's going to come out regardless of when/how much I touch it. There's a name for our hair loss: Telogen Effluvium Telogen effluvium is a phenomenon that occurs after pregnancy, major surgery, drastic weight loss, or extreme stress, in which you shed large amounts of hair every day, usually when shampooing, styling, or brushing. It can also be a side effect of certain medications, such as antidepressants, beta-blockers, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. During telogen effluvium, hair shifts faster than normal from its growing phase into the "resting" phase before moving quickly into the shedding, or telogen, phase. The symptoms: Women with telogen effluvium typically notice hair loss 6 weeks to 3 months after a stressful event. At its peak, you may lose handfuls of hair. How much hair have you lost and is it noticeable? Pam

I forgot to say you have to chew, chew, chew, chew until things are mushy. That also helps me with my eating issue. FYI- make sure the hunger you are feeling is true hunger and not head hunger. I am at 12 weeks and have to miss meals before I realize I need to eat something. Sent from my iPad using VST

I’m sorry you all are going through this, but I’m glad I’m not alone! It’s funny it happened to you with turkey because that’s what happened to me with turkey too. I am 3 weeks post op as well. I bought 99% lean ground turkey breast and the first time I tried it I got the lump in my chest with nausea. Felt like burping would help but it didn’t. Thought I was going to vomit but didn’t. Passed in a couple of hours. 2nd time I was at work and barely ate half of my 3oz when it happened again. Luckily my boss was out of the office so I could hide out in his office. Needless to say I’m done with turkey for a while.

Congrats on your surgery! This is pretty much exactly how I felt when I first started on foods and I didn't get off of purees until 4 weeks after surgery. It just felt like the food went down my esophagus then stopped instead of going down into my stomach pouch. Sometimes I couldn't even sit - I had to stand. When it was bad, I even had to take off my bra. Forget even thinking about lying down. I think that tightness is from the swelling which takes a long while to calm down and heal. I figured out pretty quickly what did not agree with me and then I just avoided those things. I had a tricky couple of weeks where so many foods had made me ill that I didn't want anything to do with them, but the foods that agreed with me I was so tired of they made me nauseous. Like mouth-watering, gagging nausea. But, thanks to the folks here, I just kept going. Skip the turkey chili - just leave it behind for now and try it again in a week. Move to the next food you want to try and you will find something that will work. Try tiny bites with a baby spoon spaced out by 5 min (set a timer!) Takes forever but you'll likely feel so much better. Don't worry too much - you are going to be feeling so much better in no time! You can do it!

Every doctor is different so you will want to follow what they tell you to do but for me, I did 4 weeks low carb, high protien then 2 weeks full liquid protien shakes. I lost about 15 pounds. It was rough but well worth it. Doc said my liver looked great!

Congrats on your loss. I too had the band for nearly 4 years. Went from 254 to 175 (at my low) and then it failed and I ballooned back up to 250 before I had my sleeve. I'm just 5 1/2 weeks out and I'm down 26 pounds...the last 2 weeks have been SLOW...but I know it's because my calories and Protein are so low. I'm sorry to hear of your dad...stress will do crazy things to our body. I was drinking way too much and gaining like crazy in the months before my surgery... I've got that back under control now though. It's very nice to hear you are still happy with your sleeve. I hope to be as successful as you! Crystal

I'm seeing alot of posts from folks with January surgery dates and I can't help but think about how I was a newbie this time a year ago. I joined this site just shy of a year ago and read lots and lots of posts because I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was scared to death of what the future would hold...whether or not I would be able to live successfully as a banded person...and mostly...would this work when nothing else did. A year ago I was morbidly obese, on blood pressure medication for years, and most importantly, in constant pain from arthritis in my knees. I was told by my doctor that I was not a good candidate for knee replacement and after seeing the report of my MRI, I knew I needed a new knee. I was risking not being able to walk and that was so scary that I decided WLS was what I needed to do. Mind you...I didn't want to do this...I needed to do this. So I was not in a great place psychologically but again...I had no choice. Fast forward almost one year and I have lost 100 pounds. It turns out that my hips were worse than my knees and I had to have both of them replaced. I was fortunate enough to have lost the weight fast enough to plan the surgery six months after being banded. I had the surgery in early October and am starting to see the progress. I am dealing now with post op pain and soreness and not the crippling pain that had me bedridden for two weeks before the surgery and on pain meds round the clock. I am walking much better, I can go up and down stairs better, I have more stamina and strength and my future as an able bodied person is right in front of me. I can reach out and touch it and I truly feel reborn. For those of you just starting out, please know that this can be you a year from now. You can post your own success stories and hope to inspire others and I am doing now. Oh....and as an aside, I'm off the BP meds and have seen all the other successes we've all dreamed about. I no longer fear airplane seats, restaurant booths, theater seats (oh how narrow they are in the old theaters in NYC), and chairs with arms. I can sit on the bus or the train and not have to worry about the fear in other people's eyes when they think I'm going to try to squeeze into the seat next to them. No one stares at me anymore. I'm not embarrassed by my cane anymore. I always thought people were judging me...a fat woman with a cane...yeah, look what she did to herself. Now no one thinks that. If anything, they see me as I am. Someone who is likely recuperating from some type of procedure. I know this because unfortunately, people are kinder. They notice and let me pass, or tell me to take my time. Such was not the case a year ago. But...I digress. This post is not about that...there are lots of other posts about society and how the overweight are treated. This post is to let all you scared and unsure folks out there know that you can do this. I have all the confidence in the world in all of you and am looking forward to hearing wonderful things. For those of you struggling...newbies and vets alike, stick with this site. The folks here will help and support you no matter what. Have a great day everyone. I'm off to the Y to do some biking before the snow starts. Bless you all!!

38 pounds in two weeks? I did not think that it was possible to loose over two pounds everyday for 16 days. Seriously?

Hello all you banders out there. I was banded two weeks ago Saturday June 28th I am doing great and I am down 38lbs not including my pre op diet this is all after surgery. I'm feeling full after 1/2 cup of good high Protein food. I'm on mushies and lots of Beans and tofu and lentils. Downfall my cucumber dip but has lots of protein. Cottage cheese is my other favorite for the week. eggs and many other things. Of course the baby bullet is perfect for me. I love it. Right size and blends great. I have not had a fill or any exercise with my plan. I will after I am 6 weeks out. I hope all your bands are working too. I wish you the best luck on your journey. No sugar, no soda and I'm following my plan to a tee. I haven't cheated or feel tempted yet. Hope your day is well tomorrow. Take care Kayleena Wa state age 29

Hi all. I'm 5 1/2 weeks post op. There are days when I just don't feel like eating. They are very far and few in between, and I usually get all my nutrition in on the other days. Does anyone else have those days? Is it ok to just go with the feeling and not eat as long as I get my fluids in. I feel like if I eat, I will get sick.

What about protein shakes on those days? Or a meal replacement drink? I would think liquids would be okay for a day. Your sleeve may need a rest. Just don't go without nutrition for more than a day. Then again that's just my opinion, probably best to ask your nutritionist or doctor. I have the opposite problem, I seem to have a strange empty feeling in my stomache even after eating. If I had to describe it, it feels like hunger. I'm 6 weeks out, hoping as time passes things will get better.

Started my 3 week pre-op diet today. I'm a nurse and even hospital food smelled so good today. Totally desperate!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I got that last week. Wanted to be my best friend. When I ask for more info I got "thanks, nice try" lol

Brenda, Just this last week the doctor had to remove .4 cc from my band. I have the allergy problem too and I also have had a cold for a couple of weeks. I take Claritin for my allergies. But with the cold I had a lot of the drainage thing going on. I was at 1cc and on the 12th he put in .7 well let me tell you. I thought I was going to die. By Thursday I was pbing on anything and everything. Water, the drainage, I had the reflux stuff going on it was awful. I tried to ride it out but by Monday with no sleep and not being able to keep anything down I called the doctor. I went in to get a unfill but no luck he couldn't hit the port. The flori tech wasn't in so I had to wait until Tuesday. He then removed the .4 cc and oh my gosh what a relief, I really think that I would have had the aspiration pneumonia I could feel it coming on. I still have my good restriction but it made the world of difference. I did loose 6 pounds in the process but not a good way to loose. So maybe it might be a good idea for you. I think Leatha is right on. You don't want to end up very sick. Trust me I really think I would have been worse had I had to wait much longer. I am going to be checking out the Alavert D it is worth a try. Best of luck to you, Kathy

I did ask a few doctors and they said about three weeks, however, none of them ride and may not realize all that is involved, like lifting the saddle (mine is light though) and the "core" is involved in riding... and the trotting or loping I am not sure how that will feel. So, I am hoping to hear from those that have experienced it first hand, because for some reason I am doubtful that three weeks it will be comfortable...but I could be wrong (that would be great if sooner than later). I even asked one doctor "If" I get bucked off will that injure my stomach...he said no. I have yet to discuss with current chosen doctor for surgery and I will ask before or after surgery.

I'm grateful to you as well. Although I was never banded I understand the ups and downs you encountered. I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. I lost my dad this year as well and I too drank a lot, granted it was before my sleeve but I did gain quite a bit of weight due to the stress of it all. I am just 17 days post op and started solid foods this week. I am not doing as we'll as I thought I would. My life is so rush rush that I know I am eating too fast and I get that awful pain between my shoulder blades. It comes on before I realize I am full. I need to learn to slow down. I have lost 26 lbs so far so I'm happy for that. I can't wait to be a size 8. It's been since high school that I was that size!! Thank you again for sharing your story. It's wonderful to hear about the sleeve veterans experiences. God bless!!!

i saw my surgeon and nut last week. i am so excited to start this journey, but i am also very scared. i have a terrible relationship with food. seriously, i eat all day long and tend to eat a bunch of crap. i have done every diet out there and I've always regained my weight. I'm scared when i read these stories about people regaining all of their weight even with the band. i don't want this to be just an expensive diet. I'm tired of feeling life crap everyday because i weigh too much. is anyone else having these same worries or am i crazy? going for my bariatrition and psych eval tomorrow. wish me luck.

I feel like I need to share my experience with others, as I wish someone would have shared the same with me years ago. My weight loss started over 20 years ago, never stopped since, culminating with a gastric sleeve in 2017 (SW 360, CW 250, GW<200). After the WLS I've lost about 70 lbs and hit the plateau which lasted a few months. I tried breaking it with intensive gym, calories counting, but no real impact. As a result, I've lost motivation, and over the next 2 years gained about 30 lb back (late night snacks, sugary treats), which was a huge frustration. Having a sleeve - the best WL tool one may ever have - I felt like being a "regain" statistics, not an individual with life and willpower. I still had my "pouch" restriction, but after 30-40 minutes after having a meal I was ready to eat again. It lasted till last November, when I hit 290 lbs. The frustration turned into anger. I spent days to research diets and practices. As a result, I'm back on track, losing rapidly about 3-4 lbs a week, full of energy. Here are my 3 key pillars, which brought me back: 1. Low carb diet. After researching multiple trendy diets, KETO seemed to be the most promising one. But I didn't like the idea to consume lots of fats, and avoid vegetables. I'm an old-fashioned guy. So I adjusted the KETO idea by adding a decent daily portion of green veggies (zucchinis, asparagus, green pepper, kale - those which have nearly no sugars, but lots of fibers), and limited my fats to avocados, brazil nuts, eggs and fatty fish (salmon) - no huge amounts of bacon, butter, cheese and oils. For protein those above also provided enough, plus I have some lean pork, beef or chicken. That type of diet keeps my in permanent ketosis, while I still have a decent amount of fibers and healthy protein. My nutrients are around 50-60% of fats, 25-30% of proteins and 10-15% of carbs. 2. Intermittent fasting (IF), 18:6. It means my eating "window" is 1pm - 7pm, during which I have 3 meals. Personally I believe that low carbs diet and IF are made for each other. Being in ketosis I feel no hunger at all, as my insulin is very low. That makes IF a simple task. Also once a week I do a 42 hours fast by skipping meals on Sundays - right before my weight check on Monday morning! ). IF is also a solution to plateaus. I adjust the fasting time to 12:12 for a few days and do a long fast after (48+ hours) to reset. 3. CICO (calories in, calories out) is the 3rd pillar. Keeping everything written down is not just a good habit, but also makes me feel I control the process better. My daily intake is around 1,100-1,300 calories, which creates a huge weekly calories deficit for weight loss. One may consider it's a bit too low, and I would rather agree. I'll certainly increase my calories after hitting my goal. A few more tips from my experience: - After 40+ gym can't be the only solution. Keeping yourself active (especially with this pandemic) is important for general health, but unless I'm a professional athlete, 1-1.5 hour walk every day (outside or a treadmill) is good enough. - Staying hydrated is a must, healthy weight loss won't work without it. Tracking water was always a pain for me, I was forgetting to do that. Now I have 6 magnets next to my water cooler. Each time I refill my bottle, I move one magnet to the other side, which helps me to see how many refills left. No fuss with writing down, takes a fraction of a second to move the magnet - while keeps me fully informed. Helps a lot! - Supplements!!! Lots of them! Since I'm restricted and have rather a distorted diet, I need to fill the gap of minerals and nutrients. Multivitamins, husk fiber, omega-3, collagen, cumin, ox bile, Vitamin D, electrolytes etc. It's 18 pills per day, in 2 batches! My latest blood work returned perfect results - no deficiencies, and the lowest sugar level I ever had in my life. As a conclusion - no hunger, no frustration, no cravings, energetic, clear mind, active, positive - and still losing weight! I even think that it would be very doable without my WLS, but in fact a restricted stomach makes everything much easier. So much easier, then it feels sometimes I'm actually cheating in this weight-loss game! I do hope someone will find it helpful. I wish I knew that years ago, but better late than never.

darlingkassy welcome gotta tell you girlfriend .....don't misunderstand, but........... you are "everyones" worst nightmare!!!! seeing a fellow sleever gain back their weight but.........its good to confirm/show us that it is possible to gain the weight back!!!!egads :ph34r: many/hopefully most people realize weight gain back is possible we tell ourselves it can't happen - but most of know better we have to work hard with all the rules we followed earlier so we can maintain i think its good to hear stories like yours, because it makes me/most of us realize that working with the sleeve is a must for the rest of our lives we always knew that - but i think many/some NEWBIES think once the weight is off - its permanent well it IS permanent - as long as we follow the lifestyle with water/protein et al that we've been taught I think many/most VETS are more aware/scared of gaining weight back knowing that there is/could be a prob with weight gain, is half the battle I/us most/all of us have always yo yo'd not able to keep the weight off now we are finally being given theis "tool" of the sleeve - we must abide by all the rules forever and a day!!!! guess i'm just repeating this to myself - because its so important - and i'm trying to convince myself of something i already know (about the possibility of weight gain) we've all gone through so much to lose this weight - KEEP it off my meds, comorbities are gone - i never want to go backwards!!!! I can't physically/mentally afford to go back to my old lifestyle I have in the past said this "spiel" to myself - to remind myself to stay on track!!!!! we/me still goof up sometimes - but hopefully/usually bounce back soon now............to finally answer your question darlingkassy :wub: my suggestion to you/and any of us in the future who fell off the wagon,,,,,,, go back to basics with the Protein shake drink as much Water as you can maybe stay on liquids only for a week - full liquids for another week this will give you that push, to start your weight loss again when back on solids - chew everything to death, eat very very slowly stop drinking about 30 minutes before you eat never drink with meals don't drink for about 45 minutes before you eat again drink at least 64 oz of H20 a day!!!! i'm repeating these essential rules in case you don't remember them, since its been a while since you were doing things correctly do some exercise - walking is great if you are just getting back into the groove glad you came here - we all do support each other, thats the name of the game the first step is the hardest and you made it by coming back here, realizing you have a problem, and wanting to go forward you can do this!!!! come back with any and all questions i'll be on the lookout for you glad you are here good luck kathy