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aj, i think you are normal. you are half way home! give a call to your physician to see what suggestions they might have or if you can step up to mushies. the one thing that I have learned about this process is ....the rules are all over the place! some have liquids for 1 week some have a few days and then some have it for weeks. I am only speaking about surgeries without any complications here. The one thing I will tell you is that first bite of mushy food will be heaven! to this day my poached egg is and was the best thing in the world! you can do this!

Hi there, Dr. Lopez and his wife Dr. Osuna did my surgery in Tijuana 20 months ago (Oct, 2012). At that time he was booking through "A Lighter Me". I was very happy with my care. The reason that I went with him in particular was that he supposedly specialized in higher BMI and at risk patients. (Previous heart attack/diabetes). However Candy Pants had some great questions on her list that I wish I had asked. "Like how many surgeries per day". At that time Dr. Lopez was traveling to 3 cities a month, and in my opinion A Lighter Me severely overbooked him. I was scheduled to have Surgery on a Monday, he had 5 surgeries that day. The Dr. decides after conferring with patients what order he will do the surgeries in. The first 3 surgeries were long with other procedures added as well. 2 - were bypasses with abdominal hernias, all that being said I finally got into surgery at 2AM on Tuesday. Out of recovery at 5:30AM, then at 8 the nurses were insisting that I get into the shower. My recovery went very well with no complications. I've done well with my weight loss, not where I want to be yet, but I have faith that I will get there.

Since the Band has only been FDA approved in the US since 2001, longer term reports from the US are only beginning to come out now. As I posted in another thread, in this month's Journal of the American College of Surgeons, there is a report from a group in Atlanta, detailing their results with over 1000 bands. See the thread : http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10835 No operative procedure is without risks, but I think the data clearly shows that risk of severe complications, such as death, is much lower with the Band than with GB. To each their own, when GB works, it works great. My personal opinion is that the Band has a much better safety profile for similar results.

From what I read I see that there are some suggestions that banding MAY not be as good as bypass, and MAY have more complications, and MAY not have as much weight loss.... but they need to do studies to prove that theory. THAT means, it's NOT a proven fact, it's just opinions. If you read this carefully, you'll find it contradicts itself somewhat. It theorizes that there MAY be less weight loss, and there MAY be more side effects. But over a period of years, the amount of overall weight loss is closer to bypass. Look at the news today... 1 in 29 chance of bypass death? I'll take 2 in 100 chance of reflux over 1 in 29 of death. These quotes tell me a lot about the whole article. <<"that concluded that LASGB had an identical weight loss curve to the open VBG performed by the same surgeons. Kellum (2003) concluded that “t is obvious that only a prospective, randomized series would definitively establish which operation is best in terms of safety and efficacy.” >> <<"The researchers concluded that more study is required to determine the long-term efficacy of LASGB." >> <<“For laparoscopic gastric banding, the available evidence suggests that weight loss at one year is less than that achieved with gastric bypass. More limited evidence on three-year weight loss suggests that this difference in weight loss may lessen over time.">> <<" Early adverse event rates are low following laparoscopic gastric banding, and are probably lower than gastric bypass.">>

I didn't have any. You can Google complications to find out more.

During my first consultation with the surgeon, he asked me a bunch of questions regarding my past efforts with trying to lose weight. He asked about my support system, my reasons for wanting the surgery, and he asked my ideal weight. We also discussed my goal weight based on my body type. The bulk of the session was the opportunity for me to ask questions. Here are some of the things i asked the doctor that may be good to bring up. 1. How soon after the surgery would I be able to start trying to get pregnant? 2. What are the risks/complications and the chances of them occurring? 3. What are the stages of the approval process and what classes/doctors appointments will i need for approval? 4. What is the average amount of weight a person my size would lose in 6 months after the surgery? 5. Why is gastric sleeve better/worse than other procedures...lap band/gastric bypass/etc? 6. What is the recommended goal weight that I should ultimately reach based on my body type? 7. What exactly happens during the procedure and how long will it last? 8. How many years experience does the surgeon have and how many patients has he lost during the operation and why? (this is a pretty hard question to ask, but i did so that i would at least know. My doctor has lost 2 patients but they were almost 500 pounds, high risk, and had multiple commorbidies and were going to die if they did not have the surgery). Since I am a low risk patient, he assured me that he had done thousands of surgeries and that i would be fine. Good luck to you!!

Ted~ Thank you for your reply and I am glad you posted as I did not get your initial response. We are getting very nervous and I being a worry wart am wondering if I made the right decision. So your post has eased my mind somewhat. I am nervous about the flight (although my daughter loves to fly), travel, surgery and any after problems. I will never know if I have made the right decision until after we are back home safe and hopefully with no complications. I hear so many wonderful things about Dr. Kuri. I am more nervous about going out of the country, more so than having Dr. Kuri. My daughter looks much older than her 15 yrs so I am going to get her a state id made. I am worried we will have problems getting back into the US with it being more strict now. Any more information you would like to share would be wonderful. I need someone to ease my mind as possible. Thank you!!

Don't know how many of you know, but we homeschool. We are starting back Aug.3! I'm both excited & nervous. I'm still working with my DS6 on reading & that will be our biggest challenge for the year. I am determined to get him reading fluently on grade level by the end of our school year. We are trying a different curriculum this year because he absolutely hated the Abeka we did last year. He's very smart, but he prefers math over reading/phonics. He loves to add & counting money is his favorite skill to practice (he's just like his dad :lol0:). My dd8 is a wonderful, self motivated student so she doesn't give me much problems. The main problems that occur with her is that she is a perfectionist...if she misses one problem she gets terribly upset. We're working on that each day. I'm also going to be starting pre-k with my dd4 this time. She is eager to learn her letter & sounds so we'll concentrate on that. I also homeschool my baby sister (she's 11). Her school work is getting more complicated now so it requires more "studying" on my part. It's been 11 years since I've been in school, so I still need to refresh myself on some of the concepts she is learning. :lol0: My ds2 will just be "going with the flow"...probably getting into everything he can while Mommy is distracted with teaching. :lol0: He's my baby & is the last one (barring a miracle from God), so he gets away with A LOT! Anyway, just wanted to share with you all. I may be hit and miss on the forums once school starts back. Our days are usually filled & my nights are spent either at softball practice, football practice, cheerleading practice, or preparing lessons. (Sometimes I manage to squeeze in some quiet time with the dh).:001_tt2: If you really need to contact me, email is the better way...I check it almost every day.

FYI people: Kristina has been my mentor on here - i had a little bumpy road starting here and she helped me with my social retardation lol To be totally honest I don't feel scared or anxious anymore I think in most part because of this site. I've had a breast reduction and it was painful but to style worth it. Biggest fear is having complications on the flight home - that would be a little scary haha And the diet I have w Garcia is now light bfast day before surgery then liquids - I CAN TOTALLY CAN DO THAT!! lol I'm flying into LA for 2 days (shopping for size S clothes) and need to book my flights to SD, not sure how long my layover will be but on the way home could be easier?...

I ultimately told UHC to go f@*& themselves and wound up self funding. They can kiss my large arse and the sting of the cost is subsiding with every pound I lose. My experience, though, came from me following up on a number of health issues over the last year. Each surgeon/doctor I met with coached me to have bariatric surgery. I took their referrals and went straight into THE bariatric program. Seemed a logical progression. The problem is that THE program, while affiliated with the area's most prestigious hospital (out of 6 hospitals) wasn't yet certified as a "center of excellence" (bariatric certificate). They had a great staff, very supportive....and each were former bariatric patients, too.......excellent surgeon...etc, etc. They told me that it'd be no problem to continue and they'd had UHC patients go through all the time. 1/2 way through the deal UHC....who'd been supportive....all the sudden balks over the lacking "center of excellence" bullcrap. I involved the HR department of my employer......and found out that we were actually dropping UHC and moving over to BCBS. The games continued. Our policy with UHC would have only covered me at 50% anyway.....and UHC was delaying. It was looking as if the surgery would be delayed to 2016....by then I'd be under new insurance and no telling how long I'd wait then. Good news was for me, that when I did contact the center of excellence program they were fast in getting me started. They also had been at this for a while longer and had special self-funding insurance safeguards....you self fund and part of your money purchases a policy that covers ANY complication that comes from your bariatric surgery for out to 8 months. This was very appealing to me and I jumped all over it. I'd already met most of my pre-op requirements for the surgeon and my patient advocate at the new center was extremely fast, aggressive and organized. She and I stayed in contact and had everything wrapped up swiftly. The end result was that I had my surgery on October 13, 2015.......when it was looking like at best it would be late December or beyond. By self funding I was able to anchor down the timeframe and it actually cost me less than it would've to use my insurance. Wild ride. The upshot of my story is this.....when working with UHC, or any of them for that matter.......stay in step with them upfront and avoid any bs later on. Involve your HR department at work if/when you are able to. It's amazing how much they can help. Best wishes.

I'm 3 days post op n no serious complications. Came home yesterday n only real complaint is back pain. Today walking around n sitting on my recliner to ease. So funny, on the day of surgery I almost walked out while getting prepped also. Lol

Just a thought, local is not always better, even if the price is the same. Research the local Dr's you might look into (if you come up the the 9000) because some surgeons are not nearly as experienced as others. Dr. Aceves has done well over 1500 sleeves and the local surgeons I checked into where I live had done 40 and 150 at the time I was looking into surgery. I agree with others who said really research each Dr before making a final decision. I wanted to have my surgery in a Hospital, not a clinic. You may be fine with either and that's great. I just wanted the 'one on one' with my Dr. and I got that (actually had 2 Dr.'s checking on me) every day I was there. I know there are many here who have had great experiences with Almanza with no problems whatsoever. I just didn't want to be that ONE patient that had a complication and so I chose Aceves to have a Hospital with a full Emergency Room just in case. That's just the kind of luck I have, so that was my thinking. I had a great experience with Dr. Aceves and could not recommend him more. He went above and beyond and I am glad I chose him. Good luck with your decision.

I still make a very real effort to control my intake, because I dont want to train myself to aim for a feeling if total fullness, and I don't ever want to fall into eating or drinking being a passive thing. With that said, I had some complications, I dont know if I am typical but I could take a small/moderate drink after about a week, but only a few.

after seeing so many complications that are occurring with the lap band that people have. I'm surprised more doctors aren't opting out of performing that surgery. Just seems like a slew of complications and annoying things you have to do if the lap band is life long. I hope you make your decision wisely and I hope that you have a very successful surgery with either option you chose.

Go, no RUN, and kiss that surgeon. I can tell you firsthand that your surgeon just did you a huge favor. The sleeve is far superior to the band not just with weight loss stats, but with far less complications, and minimal follow-up and maintenance like you'd have with the band. I've had both, and can tell you that the sleeve is amazing ! ! ! Pre-op advice: Stop eating and drinking at the same time now so you can break this habit before the sleeve. Sit your eating utensil down in between bites so you can slow down your meals Start eating your meat first, and make your meal last 20-30 minutes Prepare mentally for the changes, if you have food issues i.e. emotional eating, reward eating, tackle those issues now, don't want for the sleeve to do it for you because you'll be disappointed when you realize that they've operated on your stomach, not your brain, and it takes time for your brain to catch up Do not compare yourself to other people. You are an individual, your body is different than everyone else, and you might not lose at the same rate as others, BUT you will lose Get Protein samples (check out the Protein Drink forum for places to order samples and do not buy in bulk, your taste might change, and you might not like or be able to tolerate that huge tub of protein that you loved pre-op) Take measurements of your body, neck, breast, waist, hips, thighs and calves Take before pictures Prepare yourself mentally for stalls, and weeks where you may only lose 1 pound, but Celebrate that 1 pound as it's 1 less pound you have to lose to get to goal Come here often, read, read, read and reach out for support and questions Post-op advice Use common sense and stick to your post-op diet (your stomach has just been cut, sliced, stapled off and removed from your body) don't put food in there too early Do not eat and drink at the same time Take your Vitamins Walk, walk, walk, walk Sip, Sip, Sip, Sip Set a schedule, make a menu, be prepared Come here often, read, read, read, reach out to us and questions Edit to add: You're starting off with similar pre-op stats that I had. I'm 5'2" and started with the sleeve at 263. Got to goal in 6.5 months with 115lbs lost, and then continued to lose another 23-25lbs over 4 months which got me to my current weight of 123-125lbs on any given day. I bounce up and down on a regular basis, and have gained up to 131lbs (which did NOT freak me out because I knew what caused it, DAMN that Halloween candy, parties, and several mixed drinks LOL), and I went back to eating my normal foods, and dropped 8lbs in less than a week. So, don't get discouraged because you are starting off with a high BMI. If I can lose all my excess weight so can you, and I did it by sticking to the rules, and listening to my body. I went from a size 22/24W pant, 3-4XL top, to a size 0/2/4 jean(depending on where I buy them, but I wear 0 at the Gap, 0 and 2 at Old Navy, and Levis are mostly 3-4s), and an xsmall to small tops ! ! !

Even though this thread is so old, I am so glad I found it and hope that we can renew it again. I had that thought all day today, " I don't think I can do this anymore" I am not even a month post-op and I feel like I am already a failure and back to my old ways of eating. Why can't this be easier? It was the first three weeks and all of a sudden the last few days, I feel so out of control and I am eating to the point that my lower stomach is stretched and hurts so much! I feel miserable! I am not doing the right things-taking my time ,taking small bites, chewing enough and it is just slipping right through the band, making me so full and horrible like I always used to. I feel like I gained back the 30 lbs I lost. I know this isn't true but my mind is so confused and I DON"T KNOW HOW TO LISTEN TO MY BODY!!!! I never did before, so why did I think this would be the magic to cure a behavior I have carried with me for 30 years? The difference is now I am in so much pain from overeating and I risk complications of all sorts because now I have to worry about hurting the band, too!!!! I feel helpless. I know I will probably wake up with my period tomorrow and that has to do with it but right now I can't take this feeling!!!!! I feel like I am suffocating. Can anyone relate? Give me some advise? I know tomorrow is another day, the minute I get this in writing, I can think of it as a cleansing and the next minute is a new one! I know I can pull myself together, but why does it have to be so F****ing Hard!:thumbup::wub::w00t::thumbs_down::w00t::thumbs_down::thumbs_down::thumbs_down:Thanks for letting me vent here.

About two years after being banded, I had a panniculectomy with rectus muscle repair. I had a complication (one of those resistant infections--had to be readmitted and on IV antibiotics for about ten days), but I was MO at the time and the supervising surgeon told me that the complication rate for that surgery on an MO patient is 100%. A year later, still MO, I had a breast reduction and he tweaked the panniculectomy a little to remove dog ears. My "wisdom" such as it is, is that the belly probably could have waited, had I been in search of perfection. What I went for at the time was relief from that hangy thing. But I'm glad I didn't wait for the boobs. It is NOT a painful surgery and the recovery goes pretty fast (all things considered) and I think I can get by with what I have even when I lose more weight. Also, I went to our daughter's (she wore a 36-J bra) PS for the boobs and the panniculectomy revision. I told him I didn't want to look like Paris Hilton, I wanted a more Rubenesque shape. He "got" that and had no problem doing the surgery on someone who was not at any "goal" weight. Good luck with this!

One of the reasons I never post on the other boards is because of the reactions to various posts, particularly the ones of people that had real problems. There is some good advice, so I stayed a member so I could learn about stuff from a broader bandster base. Because I had such a rare complication, I felt it ethically correct to post to all the boards I am a member of, even though they really have no idea who I am, since I never participate over there. To be fair, as far as they are concerned, some total stranger came in, dumped a big problem (which may or may not even be true), and then started challenging valued members of the board who dole out 85% of the advice. Just as some of you rushed to my side and defended me to the "death", so to speak ( ), the members of that board were defending their beloved advice givers. It is unfortunate for some of the more tender souls over there that the atmosphere is not more nurturing, but boards tend to develop their own personalities, and newcomers are attracted or repulsed by the atmosphere, and the board tends to grow in the direction of personalities that it appeals to. I'm glad that this board has developed such a warm, kind and caring atmosphere. I like to hear it straight, but I don't care to hear it mean. Thanks to all who were concerned for my feelings - I am not damaged emotionally in any way, so please do not feel badly on my behalf. I have no further need to post updates to any of my other memberships. A few of them I never even read, but delete the digests as they appear. And to be honest, I can't help but feel hesitant about continuing to dole out my advice - I would really, really, really hate it if this erosion was somehow my fault, and others had problems because of my advice. I do think I am tainted in that regard, since the cause of my erosion can neither be proved nor disproved. I can't even give out advice on how to avoid erosion for sure - I wish I knew. One thing the Inamed guy was able to tell me today, though, was that most of the erosions that are reported are asymptomatic, and are discovered through a routine endoscopy. So I can advise everyone to make sure you have your annual endoscopy, as you may not have any signs or symptoms that your band has eroded until it has gotten very bad. Apparently the band is much easier to remove if it has not totally eroded into the stomach. Thanks again for all of your support and caring. Just 3 more days of banded life for me... STILL have not hit my century mark! But I'm having a second menstrual cycle this month, maybe that's why. I tell you, I have the WORST menopause ever... lol

LOL, you guys are too much. If it's any consolation. I basically got the same treatment on DFW Bandsters today because of my current situation and my concern over the lack of care for people who relocate. Most of these boards are moderated or started by people in the banding business. Either they are nurses for doctors or they're selling banding support. Which is great, but you say one thing that might cause a prospective patient to think twice and they are all over you. Admittedly, I've created something to think about, but I've not once said I hate the band or I'm sorry I got it. I love my band. I'm deeply disturbed that I have this current issue. I'm even more disturbed that the docs are all adopting this rule not to see previously banded patients. To me, those who go before others should give them a heads up about such things, but anyway.. I digress. .. anyway, I understand what it feels like to be asked to basically 'shut up' about certain issues. I'm such a wimp. I even cried this morning when one of them basically negated everything I had been saying as if my experience had no importance whatsoever. Only those who are the 'long term' bandsters with success were valid experiences. Of course I let her know I resented her connotation and I was then asked to drop the thread because it had become 'decidedly' negative.. sigh... oh well. I left the board too, otherwise it really would have gotten decidely negative. Anyway, for those reading. I would get my band over again, even with my current complications and hardship in finding a local doctor, so don't take me wrong. I just think there are some big issues that Inamed and the docs need to address to provide continuous care to their consumer. I rest my case..

Cat, Welcome and congrats! One thing I will say is you may still be on pain meds at that point so you will not be able to drive. I would plan for the following week. Also, that will give you time if you have complications. I did and there was no way I could go back in two weeks. Also, I am Sr. HR person with my company and a lot of companies have medical leave options if you are not yet qualified for FMLA. I had mine at 6 months. I know you are excited to have your surgery but make sure you plan for complications and contingency plans if you maybe not reacting well to the surgery. I did not tell really anyone at work, not even my manager. However, she did see my return to work note from the bariatric center.

It seems that this is a person that just doesn't want to listen to reason. They claim to be a medical student, but yet it seems they knew absolutely nothing about this surgery before committing to it. I had complications dealing with surgery. I was in the hospital three times, including an ER visit, within the first two weeks post-op. So I know this surgery isn't a magical, stress-free solution. Heck, at 3.5 months out, I still have trouble following a suitable diet plan. I overeat sometimes, and usually that makes me sick. Slowly, I'm learning. I know I have food issues, and this is a great forum to come and deal with it, whether you want to vent, inquire, or just learn from other people. Whining about the surgery because you refuse to follow the plan isn't going to solve anything. Is your surgeon frustrated with you? Or do you just act this way on the internet, and all sweet towards her and don't tell her all the problems you're having? I have a feeling karma is going to bite you in the butt once you become a doctor and you have patients who refuse to listen to you. Should this forum be all unicorns and rainbows? No, not really. People need to see the ups and downs, the pros and cons, the good and the bad of this surgery. It's a lifelong commitment. This surgery may help you with the physical aspect, but it doesn't help the emotional or mental one. You didn't get fat overnight. You didn't develop food related issues (because, really, pretty much all overweight/obese people have them) overnight. So this surgery isn't going to fix it overnight. I hope your journey goes better for you.

Oh Donali... my heart is breaking for you! I'm so sorry that this is happening and I pray that all of us can somehow keep your spirits up as your stomach heals. This is a complication that we could all potentially face and a fear that everyone that is banded must carry... I'm not even banded and I'm already attatched to the damn thing still sitting in it's package. You do have many things to be grateful for and you have a huge fan base here waiting to give you any support we can to help you through whatever the future holds. The option I had decided upon, if I was declined for the Lap Band, was the VGB... Is that a surgeical procedure you would ever consider??? I didn't do very much research on that option but know Dr. Chua does the Vertical Gastic Banding often with good results???? (((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))))))

Complications...you should know about them and be aware of them and get yourself to your doctor/hospital, should you experience any of them! It is important that you understand what you have done and it is obvious that you are concerned about your decision. We all make decisions, daily, that have multiple best and worst case outcomes. For me, doing something about being morbidly obese, outweighed many of those other issues. I am one of the many best case outcomes on this site, I am losing weight, I am no longer obese and I am headed towards my goal weight. Good luck with your journey and keep asking questions.

Oh boy! It has finally crossed my mind. I was banded 5/15/12 and I'm thinking, what have I done? I was in the Complications thread and reading all the things that has gone wrong with ppl and ppl dying from complications has me in tears and deep fear. I want to LIVE and I want to be here with my kids and live a healthy life. That's the reason I got the surgery. Now I'm feeling like I signed my own death certificate. I'm just venting and I'm not trying to bring anyone down. I'm scared and afraid of failing once again.

I didn't even know there was a complications section on here. I'm not going looking for problems! Of course there can be complications, but if you are compliant with your instructions and you know and listen to your body, worst case scenario would probably be band removal. Now, just out of curiosity, I'm going to go briefly glance at the complications section !