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Hi Ladies, I am getting married next month and still don't have a dress. I went to davids Bridal to buy one off the rack. I have lost 66 lbs and I still need a size 26 wedding dress but i can wear size 22 pants. This was very disappointing. My question is does anyone have a beautiful dress in a 26 they want to sell or know where I can purchase one off the rack in ohio, chicago, or Indiana? Any help would be great ahving a small vegas wedding. Trying to get rid of at lest 10 lbs in 2 weeks....lol Thanks for your help.

Try alternating between your clear liquids and your protein shakes every hour... At the start of each hour, pour four little one ounce cups, and try to make a goal of drinking one every 15 minutes in 10 or more tiny little sips. Rest between sips and keep them really teeny. Don't take naps...you'll lose precious drinking time. If you just actively make this the goal of your life....you'll get your fluids and protein in. You won't get much else done...but you'll start to feel better and drinking will become much easier the more you drink.

For me I had to fly out of province to get my band, so the after care and fills was a huge deciding factor in making my decision. At first I thought I'd have to drive 1.5 hour away to a fill Dr. (and me without a car) but if that was my only choice then I would find a way to make it work - I had reached the end of my list of options and need the band to help me with my weight loss, so I was willing to do just about anything! If I want to fly back to the clinic then they will do the fill adjustments for me at n/c but luckily they now have a Dr. that is only a 10 minute walk from where I live! Each clinic have their own list of fill Dr. that the surgeon has trained to properly do the fills and some will even train your own family Dr., if they go to the clinic for the training. Do lots of research and ask lots of questions about the follow up care and where/who does the fills - for me this info decided which clinic I chose. Good luck to you!

How long ago did your Dr tell you this? At 10 months out, you should have progressed to eating a balanced diet of Protein and veggies. Are you trying to do low carb? If so, I can almost assure you that is the reason why your energy is low. Carbs are quickly converted to glycogen and stored in your liver. Glycogen is what your body needs for energy. Did you have your surgery in the U.S.? Do you have access to a nutritionist? Have you tried Premier Protein shakes from Costco/Sam's Club? Many, many folks who have struggled with protein shakes have found them tasty. But, I'm more concerned that you aren't able to eat a balanced diet. Are you to tell me all you eat all day long is meat or meat type products?

Its official. I'M APPROVED. Surgery on the 1/10.

I was sleeved 5/10 with hernia repair. The pain was way worse than I expected. I even needed morphine in the hospital. The gas pains are terrible. The surgeon told me that the incision should start to hurt Friday as that is when the local anthestsia wears off. I have been using the liquid hydrocodone/Tylenol and it helps immensely. Everyone is different but I know you can't use any NSAIDS. Sent from my SM-N910T using the BariatricPal App

The surgery went great I was told. When I woke after surgery there was not too much pain but I was highly nauseous and could not wake up. This has been going on all day so I have only been out of bed twice to use the restroom. It's 10 pm now and I am waking longer and the nausea has subsided some. No eat or drink till the morning though. Which is fine because I am not hungry anyway. Will keep you all posted!

I woke up this morning thinking of all the things that I can't have. Not the greatest, most positive thinking, but that is where I was. So I decided to go off a thread here and focus today on what I will gain. 1. freedom from food 2. smaller clothes 3. the ability to buy cute clothes anywhere for MUCH LESS MONEY 4. more room in my suit case (fat clothes take a lot of space!) 5. getting in and out of the bathtub without getting stuck. 6. sitting at a booth in a restaurant without getting stuck or feeling my gut hang over the table 7. more comfortable in movie theatre seating 8. better sex 9. look better 10. feel better I will have to continue adding to this list in the days ahead to keep my mind on the positive things rather than the negative. YOU CAN DO THIS, SHARI!!!! REMEMBER YOU ARE STUBBORN - LET THAT WORK FOR YOU!

I am new here also & have been using this site for research as well. I have this to be an excellent place to get some of my questions answered. I am just starting the process & will be attending a seminar on the 16th. I have my consultation on 11/10/10. I am so excited & can't wait!

The only real help i needed was driving since i was not aloud to drive for the first 10 days or so. No vomiting and very little pain. Best of luck.

Hi everyone! I am new to this site, my Daughter has had her surgery 2/10/16. We need help with food ideas, she is not hungry at all. She is lactose intolerant, we have a couple GENEPRO samples on the way in the mail, I hope she loves that protein! Today she can add fish!!! Yay!!! It just seems like the there would be other things she could add also! Any advise? Barb Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I was also sleeved on the 29th of october. I was on protein drinks from 10/15 - 11/15. I have been on mushie foods (yougart, eggs, cheese, refried beans, canned tuna, chicken, salmon and string cheese and sliced cheese. I feel your pain. Initially when I began to introduce my belly to food it was unhappy. My stomach griped and had issues. Today is my 5th day on mushie foods and my stomach is ok, but when you eat to much, to fast it will let you know. I also started my vitamins when I started. While on protein drinks I felt the same way. Once you get on food it will be better, but know this there is a new sheriff in town called your new belly. lol U are doing fine.

1 egg omelet with bacon and cheese is my favorite breakfasts Quest bar or Natures Valley Protein Bar when I'm in a super rush Huevos rancheros sans tortilla..... Refried Beans, egg, cheese and green chilis. I make a crustless quiche out of eggs, unflavored Protein Powder, turkey, spinach, cheese and mushrooms. The protein powder kind of stiffens up the quiche so I can cut it into squares, freeze them, and then pop in the microwave for a quick, easy breakfast. I do the same with protein pancakes (just add extra eggs and unflavored protein powder to Kodiac Cakes mix)....make a big batch, freeze them and pop in the microwave for 30 seconds. Bobs Red Mill 10 grain hot Cereal two ways...."sweet" by adding vanilla protein powder and blueberries, or "savory" with unflavored protein powder, cheese and Hormel bacon pieces. Greek yogurt with Kashi Go Lean Cereal or All Bran cereal (gotta have my fiber!)

12/19/16 will always be a part of my life. I'm blessed that I had such an amazing support system yesterday. So nauseous today with a ton of gas. And ready to get this drain out Sleeved

As mscafe32 stated, I have also lurked on the boards for months, but this is my first post. I started this journey on almost a fluke - I had a friend that sent one of those "16 things people don't know about you) that circulates on facebook...one of her 16 things was regarding her lapband. Prior to that I had never heard of it. As I researched and researched and researched some more, it seemed the tool for me. Not until about 5 days ago did I start wondering otherwise...in hindsight, it was probably the surgery, missing work, etc. that had me nervous, not the procedure itself. With that said, I had my band put in on 7/21/09 - so i am 3 days in at this point. I have found the Clear liquids to be a bit boring, but tomorrow I get to go to full liquids for another 10-14 days. During the time I was researching, I found that most people found the "gas pains" to be the worst, I concur. It is tolerable, but occasionally flares up. I do find more relief with the gas pains by using children's Motrin than with the narcotic subscribed by the doctor. I am still very excited for the potential of this tool. I applaud anyone who is going through this.

-fitting my butt in my office chair comfortably. :cursing: -not having to adjust my clothes every 5 minutes:blush: -buying fashionable clothes at walmart for $10 :thumbup: -walking up the staircase without the feeling of death!:frown: -riding my bike without tired flattening and butt bone hurting:blush: -fitting in to my 5 different sizes of smaller clothes i have stored away :drool: -not having to pull down my shirt to cover my ugly belly :wink2: -to stop my undies from rolling when i sit. -more energy!!!!! -less $$ on food :redface: add anything else???

Hi, Ryan!!! My name is Patty, and I live outside of Boston. I, too have been overweight since I was a kid, and have lost hundreds of pounds over the years. I got banded on July 1, and have lost about 70 lbs (about 50 pre op since may). It is by far the best decision I have made for myself in years. I wish I did it 10 years ago when I was thinking about it! So listen, you've got a great advantage!! Your youth!!!! seriously, the pounds come off easier, and with the band, they'll stay off.....plus your doing it early before doing too much damage to your heart and body. I applaud you on a great decision to take control of your life at such a young age!!!! The other thing about you being so young, is that you likely wont have many issues with excess skin, etc, as your body will rebound well, and work with your weight loss...if you were 40, yeah, not so much.....just remember when you're feeling up to it to put some exercise in your life...you will need strength training, along with cardio, and I bet your skin will look fantastic!!! Dont sweat the surgery...I didnt have any serious pain except some gas pain in my shoulder, and I was up walking that afternoon.....some pain in my port, but thats mostly due to my kids. I have 3 yr old triplets and my youngest has cerebral palsy, so I have no choice but to do some lifting.... so listen to your doctor and follow your pre op and post of diet. I use the EAS shakes (you can find them at Wal mart pretty cheap) and I use Protein powder as well (look for about 25 grams per scoop and as low carb as you can get...I get that from wal mart too) The eas shakes are really high in protein compared to the instant Breakfast and slim fast, and you dont need the carbs anyway... would love to keep in touch....give me a shout if you have any questions!! take care!!!

I have always been happy with myself. It has never really mattered to me what others have thought of me - because only I can control how I feel. If others don't like me because I'm heavy - well that's their loss. So in that regard, I'm probably not your typical morbidly obese person. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2003. My A1C was just over 7 - so not too awful. In the years following, it had remained in the low 7's. In the last year it has leaped up to the high 7's. My doc still says that I don't need an endocrinologist - I just need to loose weight. But he has no suggestions on how to do that. So, I research and try different diets just to have my weight increase to the highest I have ever been. Yup, that worked... NOT. But still, that wasn't the tipping point for me. In 2005, my back started bothering me. My doc has me do physical therapy and it helped. Then 2 years later, it acted up again - this time the pain went down my right leg and I woke up one day and was not able to get out of bed. I had to use the restroom of course, but it took me 2 hours to get out of bed so that I could walk to the bathroom - just 10 steps away from my bed! At this point the MRI showed I had a bulging disc and they did surgery to fix it. Now, 4 years later, I am finally able to stand straight, but can't stand for more than 5 minutes without breaking out in a sweat. I also can't walk more than 10 minutes without having issues. My health has really gone downhill since that surgery and I regret having it. My left leg is getting the same pain that my right leg had, but I will deal with that pain for as long as possible before having that surgery again. I know that loosing weight will help my back (at least that's what every doctor says), but again, that's not the tipping point for me. In 2008, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and given a CPAP. I tried it for a year, trying different masks and machines, but felt that it was actually making my sleep worse and not better (I was more tired after using it), so I stopped using the CPAP. But this was not a tipping point for me. In the last year, I have had to get new clothes - size 28w. I have never in my life had to wear clothes that big. That was depressing - but still not the tipping point for me. My new avatar was a picture taken at Christmas last year. I was helping out at a Christmas program, and decided that I would dress as an elf since there was already a Santa. I found the largest elf costume that I could find - and it barely fit. The tights weren't even close to fitting, but luckily, I had a pair of dark green pants that worked well with the costume top. The gentleman who played Santa used a pillow to make him "fat" like Santa is supposed to be. But, as you can see from the picture, his elf was larger than he was! That was depressing! But again, it's not the tipping point for me. Over the past year or so, I've noticed I have had more issues getting myself "clean" after #2. It's been harder and harder to wipe everything. It just occurred to me that it's probably because I'm bigger and thus can't reach as well now. So, yeah, this is a definite factor in my decision - but still not the tipping point for me. (Sorry for the TMI.) So with all of that said, what really is the tipping point for me? It's the fact that although I have insomnia big time, I could fall asleep easily during the day and I am so lethargic that I don't do activities that I used to. It's getting worse too. I've seen my parents do this, and some friends and I hate that they do this. I have realized I am becoming like them and I really do not want that to happen. So how crazy is it that the reason I finally decided to do this is because I am literally tired of being so tired?

Wow- best of luck to you Monday people! I sure am nervous too... It has to be a natural reaction to an elective (but so necessary) surgery. 9 days and counting for me but with all of this anxiety it's a damn good thing I'm on this 2 week liquid diet... I would have gained 10 instead of losing 10lbs. Kind of feel like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff with safety below... So grateful for the people on this forum!

Hi Mellisa, I also have bipolar and am pre-op. I was diagnosed in July and put on depakote and gained 10 lbs in 2 months because of it! After informing my psychiatrist of my decision to get the band and my strong feelings that the depakote was making me gain weight AND worsen my anxiety (I was worrying about gaining weight lol), she changed my medication to trileptyl. My suggestion is to inform your psychiatrist of your plans to get the band. Mine had many patients that had it done actually and she started changing my medication right away. I haven't had any weight gain on this medication and had enough time pre-surgery to get my body adjusted to the new meds. I know changing can be a pain in the butt, but when the medication is counteracting what you're trying to do with the surgery, it's going to make it much more frustrating and stressful. I hope that helped! Good luck to you!

Pouch enlargement Pouch enlargement (type-III prolapse) is diagnosed when dilation of the proximal gastric pouch is present with or without change in the angle of the band and in the absence of signs of obstruction. The lower esophagus may or may not be dilated. Pouch enlargement is a pressure-related phenomenon that may be surgically induced by band overinflation or overeating with resulting high pressure in the pouch. Symptoms of pouch enlargement include lack of satiety, heartburn, regurgitation and occasional chest pain. Nonoperative treatment includes complete band deflation, low-calorie diet, re-enforcement of portion size and follow-up contrast study in 4–6 weeks. If the band position and the pouch size return to normal, then the band can be incrementally reinflated. A study by Moser and colleagues9demonstrated that this conservative approach to pouch enlargement was successful in up to 77% of patients. Conservative treatment is considered unsuccessful when the pouch fails to recover its original size after 8–10 weeks. In this circumstance, surgical treatment with either band removal or replacement is indicated. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038361/#__abstractid852845title

I think there is more worry and doubt in our minds during the qualifying waiting stage than the actual surgery. Are we gonna be approved? Are we gonna prove we can lose weight before surgery? Are we gonna gain weight? I don't care if I get approved? I've always failed at losing and this is no different. What if I don't change after surgery. I enjoy the food too much and don't want to give it up. I'm fooling myself ! ! I couldn't get my mind into the process and it just didn't seem real to me. I continued to eat as I always had. I even gained a few pounds and made excuses as to why when I went to the monthly PCP appointments. I felt guilty constantly thinking I should be trying to get used to the eating habits or I'd be in big trouble later. But at the same time it felt like I was being asked to kill my best friend and I wanted to cherish whatever time was left. So I ate. Not just normally. I went out of my way to re-visit my favorites to get in a farewell, so to speak. And while savoring those delectable dishes, my mind was reinforcing the thought I would never get used to "rabbit" food. During those moments I reveled in the pleasure of food and the thought of some undesirable WLS was the last thing on my mind. The months passed. I continued going to appointments to keep up appearances of my big deception. And as delays set in and additional tests were required, it just made it more likely that probably nothing was gonna change. I wasn't sure if I cared or not. Either way, why bother to try to adjust to some unnecessary weight loss requirement if the surgery wasn't gonna happen anyway. Hmmm, did I really think that or was I trying to subconsciously sabotage the process. Who knows. Out of the blue, the "call". Your approved......now pick a surgery date! After hanging up the phone, nervous anticipation sets in. It's real and the surgery doesn't even make me flinch. The life style change afterwards does. Can I really do this? I should have been getting used to this for the last 8 months. Damn, this is gonna be 10 times harder now. Two weeks. Are you kidding me. Pre-op diet tomorrow? Cold turkey? This is just too soon. Breathe..........think about the skinny you. Think about not dying from a heart attack. Whatever, just get on board, cause your life changes in two weeks. OK, panic is over. I've been on the pre-op for two weeks and it wasn't so bad. I really can do this. Surgery is tomorrow and I'm anxious to feel the pounds coming off and see me changing. Wow, that was fast. Surgery is over. Not as bad as I was prepared for. The post-op stages seem game-like. Drink this now. Walk. Now you can eat blended stuff. Not bad. Learn about nutrition. Choose the good stuff for the tiny stomach. Easy pesy. And I'm losing. I am doing it and really losing. Alot. It is gonna work and it appears I can adjust. And most importantly, life moves on and I adapt and change. Who would've believed it ? The food choices are fine. The nutrition requirements are fine. I'm satisfied and I don't feel I'm missing any foods from my pre-op life. My mind is set on the future and my goals and whatever doubts I had pre-op are distant memories of a past life. Message: Don't sweat the waiting period!

Sparkle, I had a similar situation but with my incisions. I was really confused on day 4 and pulled off my steristrips prematurely. I thought I was supposed to expose the sutures before taking a shower. Anyhow, I freaked out big time. I have high anxiety already so this put me through the roof. I called the surgeons office and the PA (who I love)said to tape gauze over the sites. This did not relieve my anxiety. The next day I woke up at 4am and sat around until my surgeons office opened at 8:30. I asked if I could see the surgeon to reapply the strips. They gave me an appointment right after the surgeon got out of surgery at 10:30. The surgeon came in and said everything healed nicely and I didn't need to worry. As soon as he said this I immediately felt better. The morale of the story is... Go demand to see your surgeon. You will feel immensely better once you are cleared.

YAY! I've found the secret to drinking water! This is the first time I've drank my Water without it coming through Power ade or Gatorade or tea!!! I started out doing it with 1/3 gatorade and 2/3 water, it did not make me sick at all. But today I tried a Detox water and it's awesome! Here is the recipe if any of you would like to try it! 2 lemons 1/2 cucumber 10 mint leaves 3 quarts of water let sit over night ENJOY! I hope this helps some of you that have had the side effect of not being able to tolerate plain water, like me! It was discouraging to me, something i didn't realize till a year later WAS a side effect! I thought it was just me.....and I always LOVED water! Good luck friends!

I’m just at the start of my 6-month diet for insurance. I’m impatient to have the sleeve, but I’m trying to make the best of the wait and lose as much as I can before the surgery. I’m doing well on my low-carb diet, but exercise is a tough one for me. I’ve been trying to make myself do at least 15 minutes of activity daily (I know it isn’t much, but I’ve been sedentary for so long that 15 minutes is all I can do.) I have some chair exercises that my NUT gave to me, but I’d like to start getting out of the chair and using more of my body. I’ve found that I am ok following along with exercise videos on YouTube for 10-15 minutes, but I often have to modify the exercises into ones that I can do. Does anyone have any favorite exercise videos that they like to use, especially ones that might be better for someone at a higher weight?