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Saw my surgeon today for my first post op visit. Down 25 lbs since starting this whole thing in January. Sleeve surgery was done 5/12/14 & I weighted 284 on that day. I was told I could now have soft/pureed foods. I made the mistake of not THINNING my avocado. Wasn't a good thing. For the first time I felt really awful. I drank water to try & make the food go thru my stomach faster but I have no idea if this worked. I felt so awful that I took a nap & got up felling a lot better. Believe me, all foods will be thinned for a while. I have had very little in the way of nausea but this came close. Would I do this again? Absolutely. I'm very happy with my progress & so was my surgeon. Onward & downward.

You are now in the official weight loss groove. Doesn't it feel like a victory? It is you know, and now you move on to become a veteran and mentor all the newbies and to me, because I still haven't made it to the Triumphful Losers Bench. Ah but I shall--- for as long as I draw breath ---there is still hope for me! Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

Are you getting in all your Water? The gain is most likely due to being backup up. You don't want it to go on too long, you might want to give your doctor a call. He may tell you to take something stronger than Colace. Good luck!

it will be interesting to see how my surgeon differs from what the nurses were telling us in my Options classes. My surgery is supposed to be July 15. I've got to get busy losing weight before then. Also gotta find my paperwork and get all my tests done before then.

Yes, I had that problem when I first began this journey. You will find that a lot of the bariatric rules are different than normal nutrition rules. Especially the newer nutritional finds. For example, the latest consensus that sugar free products are bad for you, the margarine vs butter health debate and other food things like that. But with this surgery, some of that changes..lol. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sleeved 11/16/16 Starting weight :415 Pre surgery appt :412 Current :402

I had the Lapband surgery back in 2010. Lost over 120lbs in two years. I had a baby in April 2013 and all fluid was removed from the band during pregnancy. I started to get fills again three months after my baby was born. These fills have not been the same since my pregnanacy. I no longer feel they are working. I have gained back 60lbs total and have had the hardiest time trying to no continue to gain back more. Recently I had an upper GI and no problems with the band. I continuously tell the doctors that I am having bad heart burn/reflux and able to eat EVERYTHING. The just gave me prescription for acid and filled me again. I am at 7.5cc now. Although this is my third fill I have had and now I can't even keep water down at night and must return to have fluid removed. I keep thinking that there may be an erosion or slip because of a weird cold sensation I keep getting in my abdomen area. I have never heard of this feeling for the band before. I am unsure where to go from here. On one hand I need to loose this weight on the other I want this fluid removed because of the issues I am having. And these doctors don't seem to have any accurate answers.

Well he did it, but he talked only about lap band I went to his web site and left a comment about he the fact he really owes it to the public to review the pros and cons off ALL WL surgeries! I feel his show today did a dis service to public.

Hi, I suggest opening up to your family and tell them how they are making you feel. It's your life and you are the one who has to live it. You are old enough to make your own decisions. If they cannot be happy for you and only bring negativity into your life you then you should pull away and do what's best for YOU and your family. I'm sorry you are going through this. I truly hope they realize how negative they are being.at the end of the day, your life is your business. 5'4" Starting weight 297 VSG on 7/31/19 Surgery wt: 266 CW 233 GW 135 Sent from my [samsung Galaxy] using BariatricPal mobile app

Did you find that it helped with your weight loss only weight once a week? I'm scared to do it

So, I'm pretty good at taking care of my teeth and gums and usually never have cavities. You can imagine my surprise when at my bi-yearly cleaning at the dentist I had 4 cavities ... FOUR!!! WTH! The dentist wanted to know what has changed in my life and how that has effected my eating habits. My last cleaning was in March. I started my lap-band process in July and was banded at the end of October. Pre packaged Protein shakes, fruit juice with my doses of miralax, milk based Protein Shakes, and not drinking with or after eating ... BINGO! You can imagine my surprise! Apparently when we banders, thinking we are doing great things for our weight loss, eat the things that are recommended and don't drink for as long as we can tolerate it, those fructose filled cavity makers are sitting on our teeth having a party. So just a word of advice, if you don't want to end up like me, after eating, or drinking any protein type things or fruit juices, take a mouth full of Water, swish it around and spit it out. Your teeth will thank you

Oh this is great to hear! I will look into Zocdoc and go from there. I am hoping for the same results. Did you have to give 2yr weight history from cop or anything ?

@@Seagull - Yes. Lost a bunch pre-op (you quit drinking alcohol and work to shrink your liver, good things will happen). I actually gained 10 at the hospital thanks to all the IV Fluid they pumped in me. But after 10 days of healing, everything started "moving" inside again, the weight really came off fast.

Day #8, 330AM beginning to lose a lot of weight suddenly, as I've been glued to the toilet Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I was banded six years ago. Lost 70 pounds. Two years ago I began vomiting, etc. Saw the G I guy who has done all my colonoscopies. After all those barium tests he said my band had slipped and I should call my bariatric guy. When I did, he informed me that his bands do not slip and he made me take the tests all over again. His conclusion was that the band had "repositioned itself". I chose not to ask how that is different from slippage. At any rate, he replaced the band. I lost another 30 pounds but have had a lot of nausea. More G I tests. Apparently they show Barrets and a structure at bottom of esophagus. I am terrified that I'll have to have the band removed and I'll gain 100 pounds or maybe even more. I have one more test, then see both doctors in early February. Meanwhile, the proton pump inhibitor that the G I prescribed last month really helps. I guess I had GERD, but didn't know it because no pain. Also, I've given up bedtime snacks. I've eaten them all my 70+ years and I miss them, but no more.

I copied and pasted, below, some of my early posts from the first few months after band surgery. I was so enthusiastic and on board with my new lifestyle. I was fully committed to learning everything I needed to know in order to succeed. I did not want to hear anything from anyone who was saying their band didn't work out. There were people who posted that they followed band rules and lost their band due to slips, erosion or esophageal dilation. I countered that very few complications are band caused. I suggested that perhaps they over ate, ate too fast...you get the picture. I was wrong to do that. It's true that early in our band journey we NEED to hear positive reinforcement that we made the "right" decision. That's why you won't see me post negative information on a post from someone who is doing well, newly banded or had decided to band and isn't asking for help deciding. If I posted in a way that seemed insensitive or overtly negative anywhere but on the complications forum, I apologize. I try to avoid that, but I'm human. I believed, as many of you do, that if I did all the right things, I'd keep my band for the rest of my life. I cannot convey the disappointment and even grief I'm feeling over the impending loss of my band. I'm also feeling a lot of anxiety about post removal. That might be bleeding thru in my posts. I'm in constant discomfort, unable to eat much of anything and generally not feeling very well at the moment. My point in this post is to encourage everyone who has WLS to listen, sympathize and file away posts about band complications. As I've stated in more than one post, the information might help you save your band one day. I don't want to scare anyone. I just want to share my experience within a community that might benefit from it one day. Don't be afraid to read my message. It can't hurt you. This was 2 months post op: Tonight I am going to a play with friends...I subscribe and we go out about every two months Nov-July. Yesterday I figured I should try on some of my smaller (size 24) clothes to see what I should wear. NONE OF THEM FIT! THEY ARE ALL TOO BIG! I am between a 20-22 so all the 24-26 and 3x are going to the donation pile or to my ebay collection. I went to the Talbot's outlet and bought two pairs of 22 WP shorts, very nice for $27 including tax. I now have one pair of jeans, a pair of capris and two shorts that I can wear. We always go to Maui in October and was trying on my dresses that I take with me and got into some of my Blue Ginger dresses I haven't been able to wear for a long time...some of the others are way too big.... Any way enough rambling on! Happy day for me! My first fill: I got my first fill today and it went very well...no pain and so far so good with water. I lost 5 lb in almost 5 weeks and due to travel plans in September and October opted to go ahead and get it now. My surgeon's office does them under flouro and it took about 10 min to do...port was flat on the abdominal wall and very easy to access. It did feel weird as she was numbing me up, but other than that couldn't feel it. I am hoping to up my loss to about 1.75 lb per week or 7-8 lbs per month with this fill... whew...glad to have that under my belt! A post on accountability: This morning it occurred to me that I have not lost any weight since the 30th of August. My first impulse was to post something on the forum regarding a stall, frustrated, etc, but then I got to thinking about it HONESTLY. I have not logged my food since the middle of July! I looked back and I remember thinking that this is so easy, I don't have to log every bite! WRONG! I lost consistently (even without a fill) 1-1.5 lbs per week while logging. Since I stopped logging I have lost a total of 6 lbs in 6 weeks, but nothing for the last two weeks. I don't think I am eating as much as I am burning, but how do I know??? This could be the 20% stall, but without documentation of my intake, I cannot really tell. My highest weight was 290 about 2 years ago. 20% of 290 is 58 and I am down 51 lbs from that weight so it is close enough to be called that, but most likely it is what I am eating, rather than how much. I have been eating more carbs... There have been numerous social events, so I have been drinking a bit of wine... And I have had some dessert... here and there... So now I recommit to journalling my food intake so I can assess why I am stalled and what to do to change it WITH SOME CERTAINTY.... I have lost an inch or so since the stall started, so it isn't really a stall, but a great opportunity to refocus my efforts towards meeting my goal of 1.5 lbs per week on average. I do have restriction and I need to do a better job of utilizing it to my advantage. Me, defending the band: Many folks who are anti-band will use a study that was published in 2003 and followed lap-band patients from 1997-2002...that would be like car and driver only reviewing cars made from 1920-1970 and holding them to today's standards of road-worthiness... The bands in use today are much more "user-friendly" and the surgeons who "install" them know a lot more about the causes of complications like those cited in the early study and MOST complications are caused by overstuffing the pouch and eating around the band (grazing, sliders etc) as well as over zealous docs who overfill bands. Go to the WLS failure forum, complications forum or regrets forum and read about the issues the people who have chosen many different surgeries experience, then you can be satisfied with your decision, whatever it may be. I also question why certain individuals feel the need to hang out here and tout their surgery. If they were as knowledgeable as they claim, they would be publishing a book on their surgery, pointing out the benefits vs the risks, and it would speak for itself. Here is an example of a study on VSG and it's failure rate...I found this doing a quick search and now it is out there and will be quoted by the VSG haters to support their position.... The exact failure rate of sleeve gastrectomy is unknown. Using the Spanish National Registry for bariatric surgery, Sanchez-Santos et al[7] reviewed 540 patients who had undergone SG either as a primary or staged procedure over a six-year period. The authors reported excellent overall outcomes; however, 15 percent of the subjects were considered failures based on weight recidivism in the first three years, with 3.3 percent of patients submitting to a second bariatric procedure. Younger age, lower body mass index (BMI), and thinner bougie size were attributed to improved sustainable outcomes. Similarly, Himpens, in an article by Deitel et al,[8] presented his early five-year results after sleeve gastrectomy at the First International Consensus Summit for Sleeve Gastrectomy in 2007. In 46 such patients, he reported a disappointing 37 and 23 percent inadequate weight loss and second procedure rates, respectively. More recent unpublished presentations by Himpens indicate failure rates as high as 30 percent in five years.[9] Studying the Austrian experience with SG as a stand-alone operation, Felberbauer et al[10] reported a seven-percent failure rate at three years based on a cutoff of 25 percent excess weight loss (EWL). Applying the traditional 50-percent EWL criteria, the failure rate increased to 25 percent.[10] Me supporting a struggling poster: Good for you Tanya....that is why the forums are here, to share and hopefully keep us from getting too complacent and not utilizing our chosen tool. The side note that I have been meaning to post since the day after I wrote this is that though I haven't lost pounds, I have lost a full size, so it isn't about just the weight. Perhaps it is time for a fill or a talk with your nutritionist to help you to get back on track... Congratulations on your recommittal and I will look for you to post your success!! This was me the first year. I was afraid to hear what might go wrong, just like many others. This is a support site for ALL banded people, not just those who don't have complications. Seeing the words can't hurt you, but ignoring signs of trouble can. Just an FYI to those who keep calling me a "basher", "full of bs as usual", "100% incorrect"...every time you call me a name, I will respond politely. I will also continue to post. I don't back down when attacked, but I refuse to attack back.

Excellent weight loss! "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them" Einstein

Hi there, I 've been sincerely enjoying your messages so much. So I thought tonight I would stop lurking and introduce myself. I am now at day 4 post-op and day 18 into my liquid diet. So far I am doing perfect plus I have lost 15lbs. I am so excited to be back into bandland after a year without a functioning band. I pray all here will have a great exsperence and all of us will far exceed our goals to loss weight and run from our food bondage. I look forward to getting to know more of you and gaining your support as well. Sincerely,:clap2:

I'm on the same boat but at 5 weeks and I haven't lost since the 2nd week after my surgery (-12lbs) It's very discouraging but hopefully it'll pass soon! Meanwhile I had my hubby hide my scale, maybe if I don't see how much weight I'm not loosing I'll stop being upset about it! Good luck and if you figure out how to loose again please let us know!!!

Look at it this way 45 lbs is fantastic, Rome was not built in a day, sometimes we concentrate on the weight to much and forget about the inches, with being a yoyo since I was 30 , I have learnt the scale is not always our friend, inches are a big thing also, chin up it will come off, patience, like some said change it up, a tad, it is just your body saying let me catch up with your plan.

I would try increasing protein to at least 80 to 100 grams. I hear you should try to get half your weight in grams. Are you taking vitamins & biotin? Mine started about 2 wks out and been steady. I keep praying it will stop soon.

Iron deficiency is the number one Vitamin deficiency in VSG patients. Studies show up to 90% of female weight loss patients develop iron deficiency within 10 years. Have you been taking the recommended iron supplements since your surgery? I was told 60-200mg taken with 500mg Vitamin C. And you shouldn't take it with Calcium, Multivitamins or meals as this can interfere with absorption. What I actually take is Vitamin Code Healthy Blood that has just 28mg iron, B Vitamins, Folate, vitamin C and a raw veggie/mineral/probiotic/enzyme blend that is super gentle and very readily absorbable. Have you had the recommended bloodwork done at 3 and 6 months and then annually? Were your iron levels normal or dropping at those times? What about your B12 levels? Low B12 can cause anemia, too and we should be taking sublingual or injectable B12 since we can't absorb oral B12 as well after VSG. My 3 month numbers were normal and my 6 month iron and calcium were actually high. I dropped both supplements to only a couple times /week and of course I will recheck values at least annually. There was another post on here recently about low iron and ferritin 3 years out. You may do a search for that thread.

It’s been 5 months post GS surgery and I get hungry every few hours. Is this normal ? Has something gone wrong? I’ve lost 25kgs and I’m too scared to weigh myself incase I’ve put on weight. Is anyone else feeling the hunger pangs and how do you deal with them ??

I'm really glad to hear that this will help PCOS symptoms. My endo said it would, but if you've been struggling with PCOS for awhile, I'm guessing you know how hard weight loss is with it. I dont' have a surgery date yet, but I'm getting excited--just worried about how effective it will be considering the PCOS and insulin resistance.

I am having a similar problem. I am 9 months out and have lost 115lbs, but have gaind 5lbs in the last week and a half so am to a weight loss of 110lbs. I have started working out a lot harder and am hoping that it is all muscle gain, but I hate seeing the scale move this way. I still have about 30lbs to lose and need help! I don't think I am over eating, but I know that I do eat a little fast. I am also not getting full at the same point I used to, but don't think I am over eating. I am still stopping after eating a small portion of food, but because I want to not because my tummy hurts. Thoughts? I think I am going to watch my carbs more closely. HELP ME! I am really sad and starting to worry. I have come too far to go back now.

Disregard this. Don't weigh yourself more than once a week. I know, it's hard! Right now, your body is adjusting to some serious changes and going through a pretty major shock. Focus on your post-op instructions and follow them to a "T". Everything will fall into place, and the weight will come off...quickly. Soon you will be dealing with the (welcome) problem of having to shop for clothes constantly because the pants you bought 2 weeks ago are already too big. I promise!