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So I have posted several times about my difficulty in taking my bariatric Vitamins. I take the Celebrate brand chewables: Multivitamin, the Calcium, and twice a week, the sub-lingual B-12. The multivitamin is the one that makes me the most queasy. I try to take it with a bit of food, but it is so unpleasant to my stomach that I have to lay down afterwards, sometimes with a bucket, "just in case" (although "in case" hasn't actually happened). Today, I was upset and couldn't eat, so I didn't eat anything and took my multivitamin with just some of my daily coffee/Muscle Milk drink. Within 30 minutes, I had crushing chest pain. My husband was at the airport, leaving the country for work, so I packed a bag and tried to get myself to the ER. I just couldn't get the courage to drive there! But I was afraid to call for an ambulance or bother my neighbor or friends because I was sure it would subside and maybe it was just gas or something stupid. Or, maybe stuck food (although I hadn't eaten - go figure). I wanted to get to the hospital where I had my surgery, so that they would know my situation, and where my surgeon practices - but that is maybe 15 miles. I couldn't drive there in my condition in case I caused an accident and hurt someone. So I drove part way through my neighborhood, changed my mind, pulled over and considered calling 911, and then most of the pain subsided. This is the same reaction I have to codeine, which is an allergy of mine. I don't have many allergies, just codeine and guinea pigs, and bleach. Codeine does this exact same thing to me, or at least it did the last time I took it, maybe 25 years ago. I did go on to the hospital. They took me back immediately in a wheelchair, so I bypassed the full waiting room and all the forms. I had an EKG, blood tests, and chest x-ray. The EKG had some slight irregularity, supposedly not heart attack related, but everything else was normal. My alarm for low breaths per minute (or whatever) kept going off. They wanted me to stay over for monitoring but I desperately wanted to go home, especially with my husband out of the country. I agreed to get a stress test from their cardiologist tomorrow and I agreed to no physical activity until then. Bummer because I wanted to start Water aerobics tomorrow. I am a healthy woman, 47, no comorbidities, pretty active. I am 99% sure it is an allergy, but will do what I was told and update. The first nurse I encountered today was kind of a know-it-all and told me it wasn't an allergy because I didn't have hives. Hello, I never had hives with codeine either. Also, she cut off my circulation (to the point of immediate pins and needles) with the blood pressure cuff, which has never happened before, and when I mentioned that, she acted like that happens when blood pressure is taken.

Hello, My name is Ann and I am considering Lap-band. I work in the healthcare industry and have seen a lot of patients that have gone though with bypass surgery. I have seen the great successes and the not so successful. In my department alone, there have been over 10 people that have had the surgery. And in other areas as well. I ran into a nurse that I see often and she had te lap band. It really turned me on o the alternative. I think this may just be the fit for me. I am a full time worker as a radiology technologist, wife and mother of two beautiful girls Emma and Grace. I just want so much to be able to keep up with them and be a part of their life. I am tired of shooping in what I call the fat girl section only to come home empty handed because noth fit or looked right. I have tried time and time again with Weight watchers, whch I have had minor success with, but after having Emma...I weigh more now than I did before I gave birth to her. UGH!! I have taken up Zumba and love it. I know I can do it, I just have to make up my mind and go for it. I hope to find support and answers to questions on this site and forums. I look forward to "meeting" many of you. Thanks for reading. Take care. BTW - I am 5'3, and 265 lbs...

I have been banded for almost 2 years. I have lost almost 150 pounds since my surgery but have had several issues. I have had 3 additional surgeries since my initial LAP-BAND® surgery. I have had 2 port replacements and 1 surgery to move my port to make it easier for the doctor access it. My last port replacement was in November of 2009 and I need to go in for an unfill (I had my last fill in on December 30, 2009), I am having night coughs and reflux. I am scared because I do not want to gain any weight and I do not want to get another leak. I know this is stupid since I am doing myself more harm than good but I cannot afford any more expenses....I need help (mental encouragement). Thank you, Amy

Body temperature is the result of your body generating and radiating heat. The body is adept at keeping its temperature within a narrow range even though ambient air conditions vary. A normal body temperature is 98.6°F. It is common during the period of rapid weight loss for bariatric patients to feel cold or chilled, even when their temperature reads normal. People who experience the massive weight loss associated with weight loss surgery experience feeling cold for two reasons: loss of insulation and less energy generation. Fat is a highly efficient insulator. Consider animals native to cold climates: for example sea lions and polar bears. They are loaded with insulation and thrive in cold climates. When gastric bypass patients follow the rules: eating Protein and exercising, the weight lost can only come from fat or stored energy. In effect you are losing your insulation. Less insulation increases the likelihood that you will feel cold. The second reason for feeling chilled is that the metabolic cell processes are not working as hard as when you were heavier; it takes fewer calories and less energy to maintain and move a smaller body. Think about using an electric mixer: if you are whipping egg whites for a meringue the mixer will do this task effortlessly. But use the same mixer to knead bread dough and it will become warm to the touch, it is working harder because it is moving more mass. The same thing happens with your body; the more mass it must move, the harder it works. As a result more heat is generated. Rule #2: Lots of Water The body has two well-tuned mechanisms for regulating body temperature: sweating and shivering. What overweight person hasn’t been embarrassed by a sticky bout of sweating at the most inappropriate time? Sweating is a mechanism for cooling your body when it becomes too hot inside. The body rids itself of excess heat by expanding the blood vessels in the skin so the heat may be carried to the surface. When this energy or heat in the form of sweat reaches the skin’s surface it evaporates and helps cool the body. Gastric bypass patients become more familiar with the second temperature regulator, shivering, as they lose weight. When you are too cold your blood vessels will contract reducing blood flow to the skin. The body responds by shivering which creates extra muscle activity to help generate more heat. If you allow your body to shiver it will begin to feel warmer. But this is also a good clue that it’s time to put on a sweater or turn up the heat. I think most weight loss patients will happily wear a sweater – a sweater is much easier to shed than that insulation we’ve worked so hard to lose! Most weight loss patients report that their body temperature regulates after their weight is stabilized, usually eighteen to twenty-four months after surgery. Keep in mind your body is rapidly losing weight and the rest of your body’s functions are caught off guard when this weight loss begins. The body’s thermostat needs time to catch up to the weight loss, and it will. Patients who incorporate exercise in their weight loss program experience less chilling than patients who do not exercise.

Hi everyone, I just made the call and have my consultation, April 9th. I have been going back and forth so many times with the decision wether or not to get the surgery. I came close to getting the Gastric Bypass surgery about five years ago but I chickened out, then my insurance would have paid for everything, now I will have to do self pay. My biggest concern is that this will again be one of the many, many, many weight loss strategies that I have falied at. I don't have faith in myself that I will be able to do what I am supposed to do and that I will fail at this too and not to mention the financial loss this would be if I did! I have read alot on this site and it sounds like everyone has such great success. I hope I can handle it!!:phanvan

Stuff is no joke. Been up for past two hours with stomach cramps. Ugh Every so often with caution .... you can say that again! HW 242, SW 236- (Bypass 12/20/17) GW#1- 199 [emoji736] (2/11/18) GW#2- 180 [emoji736] (4/2/18) GW#3- 160 CW 175 5’6”

I have 2 little girls (3 and 6 yrs old) and I'm still trying to figure out how to talk with them about all this. I'm in the beginning stages, pre-op. I am 290 now and hope to get closer to 150. Leaning toward bypass, but not completely decided against sleeve. Surgery timeframe is likely October. Folks with little kids: How did you prepare your kids for the surgery? Your recover time? The dramatic change in your size? In meal changes? What words did you use (knowing kids repeat everything to everyone, I'm trying to be careful in how I phrase my explanations). I don't want them to be in the dark, but I want them to only know what's important for their developmental age. I don't want them to worry about me, nor get a weight / identity complex themselves. Would love your thoughts. Resource material? Anything. I'll be discussing this with my psychologist next month, but all insight is helpful. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I think it really just depends on your doctor and schedule my surgery was approved on November 20. When my doctors office called to schedule the earliest that they had with the December the 19th.

That stinks.. I had gerd prior to surgery and my surgeon said it may come back post surgery even with my repair. It seems common for sleeve patients to develop it. He advised me that I may have to get the bypass later on to relieve it. Praying it doesn't come back.

Hi All, I am new to this site and I am looking for some advice and wondering if anyone out there can set me straight. I am a 29 year old female who lives in London and decided over the summer to have the single incision LAP-BAND®® surgery as I did not want to obese anymore, be the largest member of my immediate family and the largest lady in my office (I am 5'3, size 22/24 and weighed until recently 18 stone). I contacted Healthier Weight and have booked to have surgery on 21 November in Manchester. I had strong objection from my family who felt I should just diet and exercise (my family is a mix of sizes) but I still booked the surgery and had a consultation with Dr Ashton in London. I have only told one friend who has also had the LAP-BAND®® surgery in Australia and she does not regret it and my partner has said he will stand by me whatever I decide. So I was all set and went on a 3 week holiday in California with my partner with the idea to start the pre-op diet when I returned which means starting tomorrow, but I am now in complete doubt as to whether I should go ahead with the surgery. I have been overweight my whole life and diets don't seem to work for me. However, I know that I don't look that large and on returning from the USA, some of the women there are a lot bigger and just seem to get on with it. I don't know whether choosing the LAP-BAND® is just the easier option, have I given diet and exercise a proper chance. Will I be able to stick to the pre-op and post-op diet especially with the Xmas period coming up? But on the other hand I know that doing this surgery is the best way to ensure that I have a healthier life. I am able to diet and exercise for a couple of months max and then fall off the wagon. I want to be healthy and I want to be slim and not have any problems when I decide to start a family but is surgery the way to go? If anyone could offer any advice or let me know whether they also struggled with the decision it would be much appreciated. :w00t:

I had my Lap Band done with Dr Alvarez in November. He is great! His staff is wonderful. His patient coordinator Susan is always there if you need anything. The hospital is old and kinda scary at first but it was all in all fine.

Hey all I still haven't gotten banded but here is the problem after my last post I changed docs and had to start over again. Never change docs if your in the kaiser program no matter how bad your doctor is. Well I am back on the trail and now kaiser wants to do the gastric bypass sleeve. Saying the lap band will only lose 10-20% of your weight. LIES!! I know for a fact that's not true I got a few friends who have been banded and lost 200lbs. The problem is my weight loss has slowed and now I am starting to have problems with health from being overweight. Thus causing a major problem. I am really thinking of saying screw it and go to Mexico. But I am scared if I do that kaiser will not honor what they did in Mexico. I also just found out I haven't met with my surgeon. The guy I was in contact with isn't even the surgeon he's just a N.P. Any help on getting kaiser to work would help or should I just go to Mexico and do it?

Hey fellow banders! My name is Lindsay and I am approaching my surg-iversary on April 19th. Starting this journey at 290lbs, I have successfully lost 75lbs and my goal is to be in onederland by July. My long term goal is to be a curvy 145-150lb bombshell. I like to keep that 5lb buffer just in case. It's been a slow, but steady weight loss since my surgery. Frustrating, exciting, and challenging all in one. Some days it's the best decision I've ever made and somedays I second guess myself. Did I choose the right surgery for me? My friend just got the gastric sleeve and boy did we go head to head when she announced her choice for wls. She's committed to the argument that my surgery will ultimately fail me, and I think that she was looking for fast results without considering the future. I chose the Lapband because I've never had trouble loosing weight. Rather, I had trouble with maintenance and loosing motivation at every brick wall. Considering my ripe age of 24, I thought the band would offer me more control over my body. With a sleeve stomach or gastic bypass theres more room to stretch out over time, the band offered adjustments. Having kids wouldn't terrify me as much because my band will be there to back me up at postbaby. Its hard to stay optimistic sometimes when I see her creeping up on my weightloss markers faster than I did post-op, but I try to remind myself why I choose the band. But it's hard not to wonder if I chose the right path. Do any of you ever think what if?

415 to under 235 I had to do this twice so Never again and Never forget! About 8 years ago i found myself over 400 lbs. I wont put blame but I do have to say I was in an abusive relationship with a women that drank.. So I ate and ate and ate some more. I Decided one January morning that everything was going to change. I advised her unless she stopped drinking it was over. SImple as that and i walked out the door of my home in NH and started walking.. Every day i walked and walked a little longer every week i would increase my walking . Well come May I had done away with her and it was all about me at that point. I ended up getting to about 250 lbs on my own. No surgery this time.. I was happy but had a ton of excess skin. I did my legwork and found a plastic surgeon who did 2 seperate surgeries. My Upper body and my lower body. I will say the upper body surgery was not to bad to remove the "man boobs". The Lower Body the Pandectomy procedure was something I would never do again and glad I dont have to.. Very painful procedure and a scar all the way around my body. Im glad I had it done and im glad the second time around my tummy went back to being flat as a board. So back to my story.. I had both surgeries feeling good no issues and then one day out of the blue, and ill never forget it was a couple of days before Thanksgiving I stopped going to the gym.. Dont ask me why I have no clue why i did this. I was invisible. I was working out 6-7 days per week and felt good and i just stopped! The weight started going back on. You all know the struggles of a YOYO person. Up and down and up and down. Well soon after that my father passed away. Very very mixed emotions and a heavy heart. I balooned back up to 415lbs + or -.. I stayed that way for the last couple of years.. At almost 45 years old I didnt know what to do. I knew I needed help. I didnt think i could do it on my own again. I found Dr Jiser the chief bariatric surgeon at Lowell general Hospital in Ma. He advised me I was a great candidate for the "Sleeve". he said i would see amazing results and the sleeve was slowly catching up to the bypass as far as results go, So I went for it. I started in April at 415lbs. I got down to 372 on Surgery date June 24th 2013. I kissed my wife and my mom and said lets do this. i was dedicated. I worked out and walked and walked and walked and then started lifting weights again. Well here we are Jan 11th 2014 9 months after taking the initial step in April.. I weighed in just the other day at 232lbs. Thats -183lbs in 9 months. Amazing. Even Dr Jiser said i was so far ahead of schedule. i went from a 52inch waist to a 34. I went from a 4x shirt to a large. I am off all medications!!! I will never ever go back. I am happy. all the frightening stupid things that "NORMAL" people can do I can now do. We all know how frightful it was to get on an airplane or go to a show. Nothing worse then needing an extended seat belt or wondering if you would fit in the movie theater seat. Well No More. never ever again will i be worried about having to get an aisle seat so i wouldnt bother the person next to me. i recently went back to Aruba. We go everyyear and the reactions were funny and amazing. Hardly anyone knew who I was. It was funny but it showed me i was such a different person. The weight loss has also opened my eyes to the discrimination we all face or faced. We all know that people looked at us "heavy" people differently.. I have noticed so many people have a different attitude towards me. It is for the better now but it also shows me how my weight before made people discriminate against me. Well here I am about 20lbs from my high school weight. I want so badly to be able to take this and help others. Id love to start a support group.. Id love to be a counselor at say a weight watchers but amazingly enough to do that I would have to weigh about 180lbs. Yes that is not happening. I have never been that low and will never get that low. I would look unhealthy. Im trying to break through and figure out ways to reach out to people in similiar situations and help. This weight loss has changed my whole life. I will never look back but I will never forget!! Christian Zaccone Zacconechris@yahoo.com

I am in the process of completing my weight management courses in order to hopefully get approved in November. I am teacher (and in Pennsylvania ) and will have to have surgery over winter break. Is anyone else scheduled for the same time frame? Looking for a sleeve buddy.

After a year of waiting i'm finally being banded on the 15th of November! Having it done at St Richards in Chichester by by Mr John. I'm feeling quite tired at the moment as i've been following the milk diet for the past four days, suprisingly though i'm no where near as hungry as I thought I would be . Would love to hear from anyone who's been banded at St Richards or by Mr John. Or anyone that has any words of advice really. Sally

I Can't Wait November 29 Is My Date ! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I haven’t posted in so long, or even on the site. Since my surgery back in May 2012, life has flown by and I have been happy to say I do NOT regret my decision to have this surgery. One thing I have learned is that with anything, nothing is a “quick fix”. You have to put in the work to get the results you want. Losing weight doesn’t change who you are, and neither does the demons you are fighting in your life every “go away.” I still struggle with some of the same issues I did before the surgery, such as food addiction. No matter how hard I try, I realize now that it will never go away. The reality is that even though I may not be “hungry” or even want to eat, I still have the urge to do so out of habit. Currently I am at 168lbs. My goal was 180, but I was around 155 for almost year (been as low as 153)..until this summer. That’s when the weight gain began to creep up on me. Currently I am back in the gym and tracking everything that goes in this mouth, so I am hoping to be back in the 150s sometime by the end of October/Beginning of November. I am very determined not carry this extra weight with me to Thanksgiving! I hope all of you are doing well, and I look forward to being active again on the site!

I am three yrs and one month post op and I do feel as though my band has tightened up on me. My last fill was done the first week in August and somewhere around November just before Thanksgiving I was seriously considering getting a small unfill but decided against it. I can eat and drink just about anything but I have to take teeny weeny bites and sip my drinks. There are some days that I'm just not hungry so a protein shake, water, coffee, and tea are what I have on those days. Other days I can literally eat all day. Nibbling that is.

I was just looking at this thing and realized I hadn't made an entry in a long time. So, I'll record everything that's happened here. My daughter and I came to Sherman, TX the next day as I entered in my first entry. We got to her duplex about 2:00 am and she showed me around the house. Now mind you, she rented this duplex for a September 15th move in date, but when we arrived, it was still totally empty! She had moved a few of her clothes, but nothing else. So, after unloading most of the stuff from the bed of her truck, we went to Wal-mart and spent a fortune on stuff we absolutely had to have, like and air mattress to sleep on, sheets, blanket, etc. She went and got some of her personal things from the house where she was living with a room mate, but all of my furniture and big screen tv and stuff is still not here. My tv and my stereo are still at her old house and I hope her friend hasn't sold them by now! The next day I called my mom and she said my daughter had miscounted the due date of the puppies, so they shouldn't be born until the following week. :faint: Finally, on October 23rd, the following Monday evening, she started having the puppies at about 6:30 pm. She had been panting for 24 hours by this point, mind you. I was asleep when my daughter yelled at me to wake up, we had a puppy! :clap2: She said I moved faster than she had ever seen me move in her life! I got up to help and my daughter had the puppy helping our female remove the sac from around it, but she was all red eyed and crying! I said, "for Gods sake child, what are you crying about?" She told me she was crying because her baby was having babies; and she was because my daughter can't have children. I told her to stop the crying and get busy because we didn't have time to be crying! So, the dog was in labor until around 2:30 am when she finally delivered the last of the 7 puppies. We helped deliver every one of them and suctioned their little mouths and nostrils out to make sure they were breathing well. We also cut all of the umbilical cords. What a blessing to see and to be able to help her too! We have 4 males and 3 females. 1 white male and 1 white female! We were shocked because both of our dogs are fawn with flash on them. But, we didn't lose 1 puppy and we have heard that is remarkable for a first litter. Needless to say, I have been very busy cooking for our female 3 times a day. She eats hamburger meat, powdered milk, and scrambled eggs with some dog food mixed in 3 times everyday. Needless to say, she's a little spoiled! I've learned to cook for 2 meals and put it in the frig to save me some time in the kitchen. We took the puppies to the vet on the 27th and had their tails cut off. I felt really bad, but it had to be done. The vet was shocked about the 2 white ones to, but she said they were all beautiful puppies and looked healthy. Whew! What a relief. So, now it's November 14th. We took the puppies and their mom, Baylee, to the vet today. The pups had to be wormed, and Baylee has a fungus in her ear. The puppies are doing extremely well and are growing like little weeds. The white male looks like he's twice the age of the other 6. He's huge! He has a brown spot on his back, so we call him Spot, of course. We are giving my niece a puppy and made the decision which puppy we were going to give her today. We are giving her a little fawn female with white flash on her. She's just adorable. But, they all are! They are all walking around now and starting to bark and growl. They are soooo funny! It's really gonna be hard to let any of them go, but it has to be done. I'm using part of the money to pay for my co-pay on my surgery! The best thing that happened today is I finally got an appointment with Dr. David Provost in Dallas for January 4, 2007. I called his office 2 weeks ago and talked to a woman who took down some medical history and told me a nurse would probably call me the following Monday. Well, I waited all week for her to call, but no call. I even gave her all day yesterday, but no call. So, today I called back and the lady I talked to 2 weeks ago made me the appointment. Why didn't she do that 2 weeks ago? Makes ya' wonder sometimes. So, I have my consult scheduled and I'm very excited about it. I wish I could have seen him before the end of the year, but what a way to start the new year!!!! WHOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I'm going to spend Thanksgiving here at our home alone because my daughter, Desiree, has to work. We are going to celebrate Thanksgiving on Wednesday since she has to work. I got to see my precious brother last week when he was in town, so the world is good today. I hope I can say the same next week. Sunday, the 12th, I mailed a letter to an old boyfriend of mine that I've located about an hour away from here. I hope he calls, writes, or emails, but I've decided I would always wonder what would have happened if..., so I mailed it. A really big step for me!

:mad:Only the Lord knows why! My dear friend Rita and my daughters future mother in law died this morning from a Massive Heart Attack! My daughter who is an RN tried to revive her but could not! I am so sad and hurt this morning, I could hardly eat anything yesterday from stress and now I find it hard to drink a protein shake. When I get upset my band tightens! I don't know why but I have to be relaxed to eat. Is anyone else having this experience? Please pray for me and my family and Rita's Family today as the shock wears off and reality sets in. Rita had a gastric bypass five years ago, lost 90 lbs and felt terrific, looked terrific and enjoyed life to the fullest, we just did not get to the wedding of our children this Oct together and to see OUR grandchildren, she wanted so badly! I will miss her terribly in our lives.

Third time since November ... I am not sure how many more bumps in the road I can take . November 14th was surgery, five days later was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism and was back in the hospital for three more days... And now I am back since yesterday afternoon when I was rushed to the ER from work. I am hopefully having my gallbladder taken out in the morning but will have to wait on my blood work to come back because I am on blood thinners they can not do it right away. I will say though that I am in good hands with the Mercy team and Dr. Roller just sucks that I have to do it! Prayers would greatly be accepted ... I'm a bit nervous :/. Thank u all for being great supporters

I have been preparing for my surgery for months, and my little sister has been very supportive. She is also very heavy, and has been taking Phentermine for a few months. She had a check in with her primary doctoday and told the doc the meds aren't doing anything for her. She asked for information about bariatric surgery and was told by her doctor that it is a cosmetic procedure that most insurance won't pay for!!!! I'm utterly shocked! When my sis said she isn't interested in a bypass but a sleeve, the doc then told her it's not called a sleeve, it's called a lap-band. I told my sis I would be looking for a new doctor. That shocked me!!

I used to take meloxam for my knees and can no longer take this due to my bypass as it is an Nsaid .. Also had to replace one of my larger pill for an easier to swallow smaller one

Yay! I had my psych exam this morning and everything is great there as I knew it would be. I have my nutrition class on May 8th and exercise class on June 12th. Then June 12th is preparing for surgery class / Pre-Op education then surgery. I'm so excited and getting closer to my Gastric Bypass surgery.