Search the Community

So I had my first consultation this week, the system is very different in Australia to what I have read about the surgery elsewhere. Things went very well, loved the team I spoke to, the Dr I saw was not the surgeon, but a very good bariatric physician, and after our consultation it would appear that I have the choice of; Signing up for top Health insurance, paying premiums for a year and then getting the surgery. Approx $5-7k AUD out of pocket and $5-8k in premiums for the 12 months Going through a semi subsidised model which would be in about 6 months Approx $10k AUD Paying for the surgery myself which would be in a matter of weeks. Appox $22k AUD Good news is I can do any of the above, am healthy and a good candidate, there is little requirements to do a lot of the pre-surgery requirements that other country/systems have, so I guess I now just have to decide.

when were you banded? I am about 7 weeks out at the moment, and I dont really have any restriction just yet. I get my first fill next Wed. I called my Dr. and he told me that I was still in the "healing phase" and it was kind of normal. Right now I can eat almost whatever I want, and I only have the full feeling when I have real food. Especially real Protein and not in the liquid form. I still had the hunger when I would drink Protein shakes and it went away when I was allowed to eat things like cottage cheese, and pudding ect.......

**Raising hand wildly** Ooooohhh....me, me, me!!!! I do normally have painful knees due to arthritis but since my surgery, the pain has been absolutely ridiculous! Exactly like you mentioned too, can't keep your legs one on top of the other if I sleep on my side because of the knee pain! What in the world is this from??? I have 2 follow up appts this coming week, I hope I remember to ask at both appts what could be causing this?

Water, water, water! I have had a few stalls myself, and when I focus on drinking lots and lots of water, that seems to help. I know stalls are normal, but that doesn't make them any less frustrating!! Keep up your great work.

Thanks really trying to stay motivated to keep moving. I have been really tired as of late. I just made an appt with my PCP to see if my blood pressure meds are maybe too high for me now and making me super sleepy. It's also been very hot here on Long Island, but I have been OK with the heat and humidity, just really really tired. I pushed through and went to the gym today. Walked for 45 minutes. I wonder if there is anyone out there who might be able to advise a good fitness routine for someone just starting out that doesn't have a whole lot of time to spend in the gym throughout the day. At first I was walking way too fast at 3.0 for my target heart rate, so I have slowed down and walk in the range for weight loss and monitor it at intervals and I have increased the amount of time I am walking by 15 minutes. I try to use the bike a couple of times a week, for 20 minutes to shift things up. I am not really seeing the scale move, though I am feeling good and I can tell the inches are shifting in the way things fit. I'd love to hear any advice you all have. I'm trying to stay motivated to get fit and keep losing the weight.

You're doing great! 5 days per week is SUPER! Keep doing your thing and you'll be jogging/running in no time. A few things I've started doing- added 5 lb weights to work my arms while I'm walking (not running) on the treadmill and I've also been doing the 30 day squat challenge and WOW...I can feel a difference. Keep up the great work!

I know exactly where you're coming from. I was sleeved 1 month before you and at 22 months, I've let myself slip into old habits - eating when I'm bored or stressed or in a hurry (eating something convenient). My weight loss has stopped because of that. I switched jobs 2 months ago and now I'm working 6 to 7 days a week. And I've used that as an excuse to slack off on sticking to my diet. I too am going to have to become more viligant over how many calories I'm taking in. Hang in there, it's only a setback, nothing that can't be undone.

What a week! <A style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; CLEAR: right; cssfloat: right" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XY28b1Yte7Y/Tc7ls5jjiFI/AAAAAAAAALw/fV5JfT8plVw/s1600/treadmill.gif" imageanchor="1">Well I have had an exhausting week! I went back to work on Monday! OH BOY! I have so much catching up to do (Paperwork)! I must tell you how nice it is though; I went back to work and the folks (developmentally/intellectally challenged) were so happy to see me! They showered me with hugs and kisses! It made me feel so good to know I make that much of an impact on their lives! I am so happy to get back into routine and I missed work so much! It is just great to be back! So let's get to business! This pic over here on the left is me last week! I took this pic and was amazed at what I saw! I was looking at this pic and feeling proud of all the things I went through to get to this point! Going through everything I did... it was a HUGE eye opener! It really makes you cherish life for what it is worth! I went to the Lung Dr. this week! I have a major NON SCALE VICTORY (NSV)... I am no longer on my inhalers for Asthma! This is HUGE! HUGE!!! My numbers are excellent! My Dr. could tell I was exercising cause my pulse and blood pressure were much lower than they ever had been! I am so much HEALTHIER! That is all I wanted out of all this! To be Healthy! Guess what.... I AM! I must tell you how much I have missed "FOOD"! I am stickin to my healthy lifestyle though and making good choices! I am actually eating a meal! Not a few bites; A MEAL! I am still trying to stear clear of the Carbs!!! Those are my worst enemy! Cause I love them oh so much! I have been walking! EVERY DAY I walk! I am now up to 3 miles a day! It takes me about 45 minutes to walk! But boy it feels GREAT! I love the rush it gives me; the way I feel after! It really makes me proud to know I can walk 3 miles! Then I come home and do a bit of resistance bands for some toning! I am getting into a great workout routine! This week was my first week really doing this on my own again! Back to Weight Watchers! So I really thought I would have gained because of the amount of food I had been eating! I lost .6 this week! I keep thinking to myself it is better than NOTHING!!! But I guess because I was so used to the big weight losses every week, I was a bit bummed! I feel good though! I am proud of myself! A total of 89.4!! Wooo Hooo Well I hope everyone is doing well! I have been so busy I am really falling behind on blogging! I haven't read blogs in about a week! Shame on me! Well till next time! Take care and stay healthy! ~Mandy

Last week and the week before I could eat way more than I can the past few days. This week I havent been able to finish my meals and last night I fekt so nausous. How does one go from very little restriction to a lot ? Confused...

I am 8 months post up and I started running again in November with the couch to 5K app. Now I'm doing up to 14 miles averaging 25 miles a week. I've also registered for a couple half marathons this year and I will move on to full marathons next year.... baby steps:) I do water or water/gatorade mix when I run for over 2hours. I also take GU with me. It has caffiene and I know we're not suppose to have that but I one use it on my long weekend runs. Post run I have chocolate milk and a scoop of protein for recovery. I also cut a banana in have and have a piece before my run with a slice of whole wheat toast and pnb, eat the other half after workout. I haven't had any reactions to anything... After burning 1600 calories during a run, I wanna eat the whole house but it's weird only being able to consume so much....I find the liquid goes down faster than trying to eat a meal post run since you have to get in in within 30 minutes. I also make a shake with the chocolate milk, scoop of pnb, chocolate protein, frozen banana pieces and a tsp of decaf coffee granules.....So yummy!

Tomorrow makes 7 weeks out from my lower body lift, and I still have a seroma - I've been going to the doctor for the past three weeks to get it repeatedly drained. If it is still there next week I will have to get a drain put back in for a while. I keep telling myself to take the long view, but this has been a real drag!

I am extremely tired and frustrated. At least two nights a week I awake choking on stomach acid! Tonight it really scared me because it seemed to burn the heck out of my vocal chords! It took at least an hour for the burning to stop. I was literally crying. I had surgery in Mexico so my family doctor has been trying to help me.. First I was on Nexium. That didn't solve the problem so now I'm on Dexilant! I am wondering what else may work.. I am 10 weeks out, I eat the right foods, and I don't eat too late. Now, I'm scared to sleep for fear of choking!! Has anyone else had a similar issue or know of a medication that may help?????

I'm having a lot of pain in my back in the area of my kidneys. It's not a stabbing pain, more like I'm just really achy. I just want to go curl up in bed, but that doesn't seem to help either. I know I'm staying hydrated, so it's not that, but would love to have some input on whether this is common at this point (close to three weeks out), and what I might do to relieve it. CC

You're doing great!!! I read somewhere that a stall was when you aren't losing pounds or inches...

I understand the frustration. I have been in a stall for the last 4 months. Trying to break it.....

The worst thing for me was the leak test the next morning (an AWFUL TASTE). I was a bit loopy for the first day, then I was walking around the ward floor 2-3 times a day - VERY SLOWLY. What to pack: 1- a Positive Attitude, 2- a loose fitting warmup suit for the trip home, 3- something to read and something to listen to, 4- COMFORTABLE SHOES. I made a travel bag of stuff that I never even opened - pack LIGHT and be EXCITED for the New Life you are about to enter into!

I don't respond well to the traditional no pain no gain, sadistic trainer, the kind who says just 3 more! And then after those 3 says, only 5 more! That sort of hooey makes me go into a blind rage. That is one reason why I love Xfit so much, the guys at the box are so enthusiastic and in love with Xfit that they just radiate joy in getting stronger and better, which makes you want to try your hardest.

Ugh, I didn't even think about that - sodium being too high = Fluid retention. It's amazing - I went through all this nutrition stuff in health class in high school and sure, I learned it superficially, but now it's sinking in how everything is linked to everything else! Oy! The nutritionist and surgeon's office gave me a binder - this GBMC-COMP program really is comprehensive as all get-out - with all kinds of resources, sample diets, etc. It also has all the rx forms for my preop testing and explanations of what each test is, plus information on the postop diet that doesn't even apply to me (yet!) and stuff like that. The numbers I should be meeting are: <200g carbs, 70-90g Protein, <60g fats, 1800 cals. Right now I'm meeting the carbs and cals and working hard on the protein. The fats is still high so that will be my next big focus, and, of course, the sodium. (Goodbye my best friend salt, how I will miss you...) Haha. I haven't had soda in a whole week. Nothing carbonated at all. It's been surprisingly easy after the first couple days, but I am drinking a lot of mix-ins - Crystal Light and stuff. Maybe that is not helping the sodium - I'll check into it. I'm starting from 'scratch' - no lap-band before sleeving, so I don't know how my weight loss will go. I expect it'll be quick for a month or so and then will start to slow down - hoping that I'm wrong. Thanks for your support here. It means a lot, even though I'm so far out from a surgery date still. Just gotta walk the path and make it there - the gateway to the rest of my life!

Hi Everyone! I am back with an update. I am having my band removed on June 4, 2015 and six months later will have the gastric bypass procedure. I did lose 34 pounds with the band, which is awesome. The weight loss has helped me be more active. However, I am almost seven years out and I am having band issues, which include port pain which is not associated to a fill; loss of a lot of fill Fluid within weeks of a fill; and being stuck which landed me in the hospital. So, to the banded veterans, are you having your band removed or is it removed already? AND are you having another WLS procedure? Please share. Thanks,

I get pretty bad anesthesia hangovers. Honestly it probably took me 3 or 4 days to feel completely awake afterwards. All I really used out of what I packed were slipper socks, my pillows, a heating pad and gas X strips. You will probably be sleeping most of the day after your surgery and most of us get sent home the next day. Make sure you have non constricting clothes like sweatpants to wear home because your stomach will be sore. I had some pain upon first waking but that was quickly dealt with and some nausea the first night. They changed my nausea med and I went back to sleep. Honestly the gas pain was probably the worst but didn't last longer than a few hours. I did fall asleep on the toilet on and off for a couple of hours when they told me I needed to pee or get a catheter, lol. I was NOT having a catheter so I just sat there fading in and out until it came out. I always wake up feeling totally awful after surgery but that's just my own personal reaction to being put under. My husband stayed overnight with me and the staff at the hospital was super helpful and on top of all of my problems.

Thanks for the feedback, it was a little scary to me because in the two week that I have taking those pills I never experienced this feeling of throwing up!

Hey all, So today I had a small scary episode I'm two weeks in on my surgery, on Friday I was told to start puree foods, as every morning I wake up and have my protein shake, and sip water throughout the day at about 12pm I had some pureed Calabasas (pumpkin) lightly season with sea salt and a hint of cayanne pepper. I waited about 1 hour an half so I can't take omeprazol, once I had it Lord I thought I was going to die, I got light headed,chills and stomach cramps, as if I need to use the bathroom but nothing! Two minutes later I start gagging and I was throwing up an acid sour throw up ( my guess the pill) I guess the force of having throw up I felt all my stomach muscles cramp up! It was horrible!! Is this normal? My LPN told me I should continue pill for the next 3 months? But this was before this episode! Who has experienced this? Please any feedback is greatly appreciated! Last question how long after surgery did those belly sleepers start to sleep on your tummy's, without any discomfort?

I had a stall from week 3 to 5 I upped my calories goal to 800, still couldn't get that much in, I'm averaging 700-750, but my scale did start moving again right before I hit 6 weeks. I think the stalls are a normal part of the process. Follow your dr's orders, get your water and protein in and you'll be fine.

Thank you everyone. No @@judyoz we aren't having it done the same time and for that very reason. I think my hubby should go first. He's 8 yrs older then me and has multiple health issues. I don't have any except for sore knees. Our Hannah is small for her age (she's 21 but only 50 lbs) but it's still 50lbs. When asked if I exercise I like to say "I lift 50lbs several times a day.... does that count" lol We will request our surgeries to be about 6 weeks apart to be sure we're healed completely.