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So Friday was a normal day felt pretty good stopped to see a friend and ended up having a drink which led to to many and proceeded to eat and drink all night long boy did i feel like **** Saturday at work ate a lot of bad stuff not alot of it just bar food(deep fried garbage ) still paying for it today feeling like i failed over the weekend and now i must be more diligent about what i eat and drink period did all the wrong things over the weekend and i know it first time in ten months i have really slipped off so feeling really guilty about it and through all of this i was able to drop below 200lbs still do not fell good about it i know it only 1 pound that was a bugger of a 1lb so back on the horse that threw me now and staying focused on me not the good time (that really was not that much fun ) oh by the way ALM is not as good at drinking as i once was for sure rant over thanks for listening

I had surgery May 27th, 2008. I've had 6 fills. Before each fill, my doctor retracts the Fluid from the band and every time it is only holding 2.5cc's. Even though I've had fills as high as 6cc's. Yes, I had the leak test done and it was negative. My doctor believes it could be leaking from the silicone port but thinks it will fix itself because it has for other patients. I will have restriction for about 10 days and loose 5-7lbs. However, once I stop the 48hr liquid phase after each fill, and put any solid food in my mouth... the weight loss stops and I gain back almost all of what I just lost. So, for the rest of the month I drink Protein shakes and eat 2 ounces of food 2-3 times a day. Yes, my overall weight loss looks good, but I'm tired of loosing 5lbs during the liquid phase just to struggle all month to keep it off. Is this just how it is for some of us... A liquid diet??? Or should I push my doctor into replacing my port??? Please advise... I'm going crazy!!! :w00t: I've lost 52lbs Total - 35lbs After Surgery (in 10 months) Not what I expected!!! :lunch:

i am in the mushies stage and have been good 90% of the time, and not so good 10% of the time . i can eat everthing ! and i mean EVERTHING !! can anyone tell me if ive done any damage to my band when im only a few weeks out from surgery ? holidays are hell food wise ! anyone else been through this and do you have any advice ? my 1st post op drs appt is jan 9th. ive lost 12 lbs total, 6 before and 6 afterwards , but have;nt lost anymore because my appetite has returned and no exercising except for walking until jan 9th, per drs orders. HELP !!! need advice !

Greetings again from sunny Florida! I'm a lot older than most here 56. I was banded 10/15/12 so even though I'm old, I'm still a newbie. I've been hanging with these wonderful ppl for almost 8mths now and they've taught me most of what I need to know to succeed with LBS. I love them all! Glad to have you with us also!

Thank you guys so much. I think it is just the fear of not having post op documentation for 10 + years. I'm so excited & I love having the support of you guys to answer my questions. I hope all is well with everyone.

I remember the 3 week stall but is there also a big stall at the 6-7 month mark. I am 10-15 from goal and haven't lost anything in about 3 weeks. Just wondering if everyone stalls or am I leveling off? Hw was 232. Sw 218 and current weight 155. DOS 3/26/13.

The baby spoon suggestion above is absolutely the best suggestion I can give you in terms of avoiding taking in too much at a time. Typically even if you are taking one bite after another, you should not be able to take too much. The other thing that worked really well for me was to divide my meal into three parts and eat them 10 minutes apart. That way I was sure to spread it out over the course of the full 30 minutes and then using the baby spoon helped tremendously. I am one eyar psot op and I still have a fond attachment to eating icecream with a baby spoon lol.

@@stephh, my daughter has that. Scared the hell out of us. She's 19 now. Doctor said she should get more sodium in her diet. She's six feet tall. I've read different articles about taller girls having it.

Do you get indigestion? If sleep apnea fails, and since you're a snorer better than average chance you will have it, GERD is another comorbility. I knew I probably would have it and i do. My daddy had it, I had a score of 25, anything above 10 is positive and my pulse OX went down to 71% normal reading about 98% so I have and sleep with a CPAP machine. Took a little time getting used to it but I don't have the vivid nightmares and waking up startled I used to have. Will it be better after I have surgery and lose more weight? Jury out on that one, I've seen a lot of people say they don't need it anymore. Since mine has a heredity component I might not be so lucky. My family says i look like a jet pilot with it on, if it works I'll take it as a compliment. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

This is exactly what happened this past week, wings and all! You're right, before I could eat 10-15 wings no problem, and now I'm worrying about finishing 5 lol. I just go worried that I was slipping back into my old habits. This made me feel a lot better, especially since this literally happened a few days go lol

Your initial couple weeks or so of loss includes a lot of water weight, as you body gets used to the large caloric deficit and struggles to get used to operating on so little (that initial loss is primarily glycogen - stored carbohydrate - which comes off quickly and includes a lot of water that keeps it in solution. Once that has burned off and the body gets the idea that you are serious about this caloric deficit thing, it finally decides that it needs to get serious and start drawing on your fat stores, which comes off more slowly. So, yes, it is normal to lose a lot the first couple of weeks, and also to stall a bit and not lose anything for a week or so, and then start losing again, but more slowly. Long to intermediate term, figure on 1-2 lb per week (5-10 lb per month) as a good sustainable loss rate, with some weeks or months being above or below trend. For instance, my loss, starting from a bit under 300 lb, was 32 lb the first month, followed by 15, 15, 10, 10, 10, by which time I was within about 10 lb of goal weight and started ramping up my calories to slow things down. Also, figure on your loss rate declining over time - it simply takes fewer calories to move your body around 24/7 when you weigh 250 vs. 350. This trips up some people, particularly if they increase their intake after a few months - increasing intake meets declining calorie burn and you reach stability, whether you are at goal or not.. So try to maintain a fairly low intake at least until you are within sight of your goal weight. Good luck!

While I'm a bargain shopper, I have a lot of really nice clothes, maybe not top designers, but from places like Macy's, Dillards, Kohls, Belk, Torrid, Venus, etc. Most are current and all are in excellent condition bc I've always taken great care of my clothes, hung everything to dry and such. I also know that to buy them again would be something I could NOT afford. I've realized I will have to do much less volume and be more creative about pairings and figuring out what flatters. I'm fortunate that I'm tall-ish (5'9") so a lot of my dresses and my cardigans can be worn for a long time before they're falling off I think. I wouldn't mind donating things but I'm also practical in my realization that much of this was bought when I was working and now that I'm retired, I don't have the disposable income I once had. I'm 56 so I've got a few years before I'm sitting on the sofa in sweatpants but not sure how to sell what I have and get back a little cash to re-buy some new duds. That idea sounds cool with reusing the fabrics but I don't see it being a viable day-to-day business bc it probably wouldn't be practical and while I can't speak for everyone, most of the things I've bought as my fat self were never sentimental or something I'd want to save, I can't wait to be in a size 8 or 10 and hope to never have to buy another piece of clothing with an X in the size! I want to shop at cute places in the non-plus section for Chico's, Boston Proper and Venus and have someone tell me how thin I am Vain I know but a girl's gotta dream p What part of Tn you in? I'm in Crossville, AL, about 45 min from TN/GA/AL junctions on I-59, just south of Ft. Payne myself. aL

You'll do great. I got my lapband 10 months ago - I down 103lbs. It feels great. I am older than you and wish that I had done it sooner.

Had surgery almost 10 weeks ago and I am half way to my 'goal' weight of 165!!! Im not that particular at what my goal weight was, I just chose half of what I started at. Started at 331, at 248 right now! Lost 83, 83 to go! Woohoo!

Went to the dr yesterday and he stated there is a time limit on my band 10 to 15 years top! I am 8 years out and have to do testing to see how things are going. What are my options after this, It didn't sound like he wanted to put another band on? Anyone else with this issue?? Lynne

What about a mid-afternoon snack so that you're not so hungry at dinner? A "trick" that the dietician taught me is called "water loading" where you drink 16 oz of water, crystal light, etc., about 10-15 minutes before you eat your dinner. These seems to fill up the stomach and signal the brain that you're full before you over eat. When I do this, I am unable to fit in a snack after dinner.

Hello! First of all I'd like to say that even though this is my first post, I've received a lot of advice and encouragement from many of you here so thank you! I had my laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery on December 2nd, 2014 and I'm happy to say I've had an amazing recovery! I started my journey at 5'6 weighing 265lbs at my heaviest, 256lbs on surgery date and 10 days post op am now at 240lbs ????????I stopped taking my pain meds about 4 days after surgery, I can sleep in whatever position I want, I've been trying pureed foods and have never felt nausea, haven't vomited or felt uncomfortably full. I'm feeling great....but Just a couple of hours ago I fell down the steps...only 5 steps, but I hurt my bum and my elbow, and of course I'm concerned about my insides, I just had major surgery a few days ago. I feel ok, my incisions look fine and everything seems normal but I'm still a little nervous. Will be calling my surgeons office tomorrow to see what she says. Did anyone ever go through something like this? Should I be more worried? Help. ????

I have bcbs is il and it took me about 7mos,.surgery date is 10/27 and my seminar was 3/25

WOW!!! 30 days. I was told that I could have it in 10 weeks possibly less. My consult is next Wednesday and then I want to hit the floor running with the other appointments needed. My husband and I are both doing it so I will have to appointments according to his schedule, on Wednesdays when the kids are in school he is off, I will schedule them. Maybe I could schedule more than 1 appointment each Wednsday to get it done fast.

I had surgery on April 24th. I had a 4 year old and a 10 month old at that time. Both Csections and recovery from the band was way easier... I had help for about 4 days after surgery, but found myself quite capable to do pretty much anything pretty quickly...I just had to adjust and do it a little slower. I have found the band really really helps with snacky kid foods that I can't eat...and honestly...now I see stuff like goldfish and have no desire to even put one in my mouth. If there is a snacky food that you really love...don't buy it...snacky foods go down pretty easily and its easy to end up "eating through the band" with them. Sometimes mealtimes are hard. My hubby is deployed so its just me and the kids. Often I make them a meal and have a Protein drink for my "dinner" then after I put them to bed make a "lapband appropriate" dinner for myself that is real food. I find that if I don't eat real food instead of just Protein drinks I'm hungry by 9pm. I had surgery on a Wednesday and went back to work on Monday. it was too soon. I also work from home and sit at a desk at home...it was still too soon. I wish I'd taken a full week at least. Hope that helps!

I had a Board celebration to attend last night (we just completed a $1.2 million fundraiser to renovate the stage in the theater I am Board president of) and was going through my closet in some frustration yesterday morning. They've seen this, they've seen that, they've seen that one a hundred times...Then, at the very back of the closet, was a black sheath with a floral jacket that I hadn't worn in over 10 years! I didn't know I even still had the thing! It was my favorite dress for a long time, and I used to wear it when I was this weight before, so....maybe.... I tried on the jacket, and voila! It fit! I was so excited all day, I could hardly wait to get dressed up for the fete! I have to attend 2 or 3 very dressy events each year for this theater, and I have never felt "pretty" even though I'm dressed to the nines. Last night, I felt pretty and the compliments were just rolling in! This morning I feel like I could go shopping...and I HATE shopping!

Hello Bariatric Buddies (corny right? lol) I thought I'd come on here and share my experience so far for those who may be thinking about weight loss surgery OR are scheduled to undergo surgery soon. I started my bariatric surgery journey May 4th 2021 after YEARS of wanting to do it but not having the courage to start. At that point i was 298LBS. At my heaviest i was 305LBS. What prompted me to just go for it and conquer my fears was just wanting to be healthy again. I was tired of making excuses and as sad as it sounds i was tired of looking in the mirror every day staring at myself morphing into this person i no longer wanted to be. Fortunately for me, i didn't have any MAJOR health issues, however i did/do suffer from PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome). For anyone who knows the struggles of PCOS you know trying fad diets and exercising isn't really helpful when trying to lose weight when your hormones are so imbalanced. Any who, going forward - i contacted my local bariatric surgery center and set up my initial consult. Since we're still being affected by covid, majority of my appointments were via video. My first consult they went over my eligibility requirements, health history and goals. After speaking with the nurse navigator they then scheduled my next visit with the Surgeon who would then change my life forever. So, two weeks later, i meet my surgeon VIA zoom (and let me say, i love that she was blunt, super honest and made sure my goals and perception of the surgery was realistic), she told me about herself, she asked me a few questions about my life, health history in depth, and she then went over my surgery options and what she felt would be my best choice (Gastric Bypass RNY). We ended the appointment on a good note. At that point i was feeling good, motivated and just proud of myself, like - GOSH, I'M FINALLY DOING THIS! At this point in the process, i have scheduled an appointment to get an EKG, chest X-RAY, cardiology, pulmonary, and a behavioral specialist. Over the course of 4 months i would complete each appointment and the specialists would send over their impressions over to the surgeon. September 3rd. I had my pre op class (with a dietitian). I signed a bunch of papers stating that i would not consume alcohol or use tobacco. I watched a video and then the dietitian stated that starting September 9th - until September 19th i will need to be on a full liquid pre op diet - at that point in the liquid diet you are not allowed to take any vitamin supplements, and or specific medications (they would go over that with you). September 9th came around and i started my three protein shakes a day, with drinking 64OZ of water until September 19th as advised. Let me tell you, that was the single most hardest thing that i have EVER done, but in the end i was so proud of myself. September 20th at 10:00AM i had to drink 10OZ of Magnesium Citrate to bowel cleanse in preparation for surgery the next morning. I spent all day in the bathroom. Around 1:30PM i received a call from the hospital letting me know what time i needed to be at the hospital for surgery the next day (9/21/21) which ended up being 7AM. I had so much trouble falling asleep that night as i was so excited yet SO nervous! Surgery day rolls around and i am up getting ready. We (my boyfriend and i) then make our way to the hospital, check in, and head to my pre op room to be prepped. They took my temperature, and my weight. When i started, i was 298 - the day of surgery i was 282LBS! At 9:40AM i went in for surgery and was in the OR for about 4HOURS. I spent about an hour and a half in recovery where they gave me 1OZ water every half hour, that would continue as i was transported to my room that i would stay for the next 24HOURS. My hospital stay wasn't bad, and my nurses/doctors were super attentive, supportive and courteous! They came in almost every hour to check my temperature, blood pressure, and incisions. I went home 9/22/21 at 9:40AM. 1st day home was challenging. I was in so much pain and discomfort. That quickly subsided as the days passed. But in those days, i attempted to drink water and protein and move around as much as possible because walking truly helps with the pain. Here i am 9 days post op and i am not at 100% yet but i am improving i still feel slight pain only where i have internal sutures, and i am gassy (like burping and stomach feeling bloated) - for that i use GAS-X - it's amazing! I currently weigh 273LBS which makes a total of 25LBS lost and 9LBS lost since surgery. 6 Day's post op i was back at work (I KNOW I KNOW I AM CRAZY - BUT I WORK IN AN OFFICE AT MY DESK MAJORITY OF THE DAY SO I AM OKAY).. Hopefully this helps! & if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask :)

I am having surgery on the 30th as well. For the hospital, I am keeping it very simple. I am going to wear the hospital gown during my stay so I don't need to pack pjs. I plan to wear the clothes I wear to the hospital home from the hospital. I am taking my phone charger, chapstick, gas -x strips, headphones, a sleep mask, extra undies. I want it all to fit in my purse. I did buy a heating pad for when I get home, I read that it can help with gas pain. My doctor is really conservative about advancing my diet post op. I will be on Clear liquids for 10 days, Day 10-14 I will add a clear Protein drink (Ensure Clear, Isopure etc), Day 14 Start full liquids. I have been on a liquid diet for a week now (one week to go) that includes 6 Protein shakes per day. The only one I can stomach from the list my doctor allows is Carnation Instant Breakfast-Sugar Free. Good luck!

Hello everyone, I just wanted to share my success. I have had a struggle with my first 10 weeks with my sleeve. It was not an easy initial transition. However I have stayed the course(no other option) and did my part to accept and embrace my sleeve and with good results. I went to my doctor for my 10 week follow up after my 2nd scope/dilation and things are looking up. I haven´t had complications since last Sunday and according to the scale ( I don´t have a scale-just wait until doc appointments to weigh in) I have lost a total of 55+ lbs as of yesterday. I am now 282.6. I am very pleases with myself and am even more motivated to continue my journey forward. I was cleared to go back to work next week too. I am getting better, feeling more motivated and getting ready to really take on the weight loss focus of this journey. I just wanted to share with those of you who may be struggling with adapting to your sleeve, or those recently post op. It can and will get better. We are all so unique and so are our journeys. If you are struggling today, just continue along the journey. It is okay to get frustrated, and even sad, but also know that you will get better and feel better at some point. After 9 weeks of feeling miserable, things finally fell into place for me. Thank you to all of the vets and newbies who offered me support either directly via post or by sharing their own struggles and successes. I would have struggled so much more if I had not had my VST community to support me these last 10 weeks. OMG....I have lost 55 lbs in 2 months....mind bomb! It is so surreal that it takes the mind time to acclimate. Next goal is to work on loosing another 45lbs. That will be a 100lb weight loss. I have to have milestone goals along this journey to enjoy those victories. Doctor wants me to get to 188ish as my goal weight(haven´t been that weight since senior year in HS). He said that is based upon my height(5´7) and wanting me to be below BMI of 30. Of course I had to ask, what the time frame was for that goal. He said within the next year and a half. I figure that is manageable. Before the sleeve, I would have not believed it possible. So onward and upwards. I guess I will try to figure out how to post some pics now. Have a great day my friends and stay positive.