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I've also read that losing 10% of your body weight does a number of things. It can bring down blood pressure, stress on heart and lungs. I also agree that some doctors want to see how focused and committed you are and realize that this takes work. So if you are willing to put in the work and lose 10% of your body weight you'll put in the work to succeed at surgery. Sheena :-)

*putting on nurse hat* 10% weight loss is considered acute weight loss. In acute weight loss, the fat mostly comes off the internal organs, making laparoscopic surgery safer. Fat is slippery (think raw chicken breasts) and manipulating fatty organs leaves an increased risk for injury. Also, a fatty liver is friable (crumbles easily) and can be deadly. This is why my surgeon requires a 10% weight loss.... I can't speak for others. Hope that helps!

Hi. I'm just wondering if anyone has experienced vomiting old blood (dark, rust colored)? My other symptoms are: severe constipation, in ability to hold down food or water that only last a few days and then I can eat and drink normally again. When I can't hold anything down I have mild to moderate abdominal pain on the right side. Also, even sipping water causes bile to come up. I have only vomited the blood 4 times in 2 1/2 months. It feels nothing like the sensation of food becoming stuck and feels more like the flu without the other symptoms. None of this makes sense to the surgeon who did my lap band surgery but the general surgeon I've been seeing wants to blame the band. I really think I have a bleeding ulcer. Most recently I couldn't hold anything down for 3 days and the pain was becoming worse so I went to ER. The next day I ate fairly normally, although I took it easy and I was back to drinking my 8-10 glasses of water a day while just the day before water made me vomit? I have been unable to find anybody with my symptoms on here. If we ignore the presence of the band it all points to ulcer. I should also mention my band has been in for 1 year and 9 months, I have just over 5cc's. The nurse at the Bariatric surgeons took out 2 cc's tonight so we can rule that out. I'm not very happy about it because I was finally starting to make some progress. My surgeon will only allow very small fills each visit and it took more then a year of monthly fills to finally see some progress. I feel like I've gone back a year of this weight loss journey with the removal of fluid.

I was told I could start swallowing my pills again after 10 days post-op. I am really looking forward to that!

Me too! I was always hot before and now I am always freezing! I think it's because we don't eat all that comfort food anymore...lol...or cause we don't have as much weight to keep us warm anymore...lol I was sleeved on 9/19...down 53 lbs...started at size 20-22 down to a 12-13! I am loving my new look and life.

I'm glad to hear this too. I had my sleeve on 9-10 and yesterday and today I have been able to drink my protein quicker. I was worried, my post op paper said 1-2 oz over an hour...but I think that's more for the first couple days when your stomach is swollen inside. Jealous of the soup though....I'm on liquids for the first 2 weeks.

Hi, I was sleeved Sept 10, 2014. One thing I have found to help with trying to get in enough Protein, is the unjury brand carries a chicken flavored Protein Powder, ad a unflavored protein powder. the other cool thing is that you can order them in canisters or in packets (so you can toss them in your purse or lunch bag). I mix the unflavored into V-8 juice, XXX Zero Water, regular real fruit juice, iced decaf coffee. It has been a life saver for me. I like the premade Premier brand, but they are too thick for me. I usually add some skim milk to mine. If I want to change the Vanilla flavor, I add frozen fruit juice, and to the chocolate, I add a couple of Tbsp. of creamy peanut and shake it up. It helps. My new problem is that I can start to add in mushy meat like tuna fish & canned chicken. When I add mayo to either, then want to make a sandwich! Does anyone have any other ideas of what to mix with with canned tuna or canned chicken?

Those are very good points. I did lose 60 pounds on my own over the year prior to deciding to have the surgery. My girlfriend, the champ with the 6ccs in her band lol, she had quite a bit more to lose than I did. Perhaps that's all it is. Or maybe my body just can't take 'large adjustments' at one given time. I have heard of people that hit a certain point and simply could not take any more fluid in their band. I also noticed that many people on our website here are increased in MUCH smaller increments. I'm at 4 ccs in a 10 cc band, 2 mos out of surgery, and I've seen some people take 6 fills to get that point. So I think I'll just do what I know works, and see what happens on January 4th at my next fill. Thanks to you both for answering!!!

Hey sleevers, Idk if anyone remembers me, but I was scheduled for my sleeve 10/14/13 and backed out 12 days before surgery. I told myself I had to give it one good shot, since I hadn't really tried on my own since having my baby in May. Well, I lost 30 lbs but I'm stuck at 260 and I'm back in this vicious mental cycle that I have been in for years. I called my surgeon today, and most of the paperwork is still valid. My insurance changed from bcbs to healthplus of Michigan which is an HMO so I have to get prior auth and stuff, so that part sucks, but I'm hoping to be rescheduled for surgery within the next couple of months. I'm kicking myself in the ass every time I get an email notification from the October sleevers group. I could be looking and feeling fantastic like all of them by now. It's all part of the process, I suppose. Anyway I just wanted to say I'm here for good. One of the reasons I backed out is because the Preop diet made me feel like death and there was no way I could take proper care of my patients feeling that way. I know now I will have to take that period of time off from work. If anyone has experience with health plus hmo I would love to hear about it. I'm glad to be back! Thanks for reading.

Nausea will pass. When anyone asks "how was it?" my response is always the same. 'First 2 weeks SUCKED, first 2 months were, eh.' A lot of trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. Now I'm 11 months out. Down 60 lbs. Went from a size 18-20 to an 8-10. Would do it ALL OVER AGAIN! It gets better, I promise

At first u feel nauseous and ur in some pain. But it is so worth it. I am 9 months out and 93 lbs down. I would do it all over again in a second. It has been the best thing I have ever done. From 2x scrubs to mediums too big. I wear medium t shirts from xxl. Size 10 jeans from 22. Stick with it. Follow ur drs plan and u will see results. Each day u feel better. Hang in there.

You are so positive. I am only post op day 4 and cannot stop reading about complications. I think I am going to drive myself crazy. I know that only God knows what the future holds but I cannot wait to be past 10 days when my doc said I would be out of the woods.

Lillmissy YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GIVE UP.. WE are going to get through this part TOGETHER.. Today is my first day on the fast, and I get banded the day before you, so let's get on with it. I want you to write down the top 10 reasons you are going to succeed on this pre op diet, and start each sentence with I will succeed because.. Forget about what you just ate, and get refocused. You need to tell youself that right now you are going to focus on this one hour at a time. Drink skim milk when you get hunger pain, its filling. Carry a water bottle with you and continually take sips to keep your belly full. DO NOT GIVE UP.. I am counting on you to be there with me after surgery..

I am 5'9" and weigh 280. I am looking to loose about 100 pounds which would put me somewhere near 180. I would like to get to a size 10, but everyone is telling me that I would look sick. I have asked my doctor and he said 100 pounds at least is a good goal.

I have a question regarding HIPAA laws; is it possible to sue an insurance company for sending confidential information regarding myself to another party (my father, also policy holder of my insurance...whom I've had no contact with in 10 years) after its been alerted on the insurance companies system to only send information to my home address? Long story short last year around this time my sister had the VSG and her approval letter was sent to my dad. Yesterday I found out the same thing happened to me and the only thing the insurance company says, is sorry. I have fought for 2 years to terminate my dad as my representative and I successfully did that...or I thought I did. But is it possible to go after a big multi-million dollar insurance company for screwing up this big? I'm so frustrated because my dad willingly chose to walk out of my life and he doesn't get the right to know what's going on with me medically. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Best wishes, for the first day of your new life, tomorrow! My banding date is 19 Aug. I'm excited & a bit nervous. Sure a lot of people have felt that way. was supposed to begin my 2-wk pre=op diet tomorrow, but my daughter & family were here on vacation and I lost track of time on ordering my protein powder; ordered this past Fri. a.m. Hopefully, it'll be delivered no later than this Tuesday.

My surgery is scheduled for June 19

It took until I was about 25 lbs down for anyone who didn't know about my surgery to notice. That was more than 10% of my body weight (I started at 230), so it sounds like that may be the magical point! Definitely take your measurements if you haven't already. It feels great to be able to see how many inches you are losing, especially when (a) the scale is moving slowly; and ( you have a hard time seeing the change on yourself because it is so gradual. Photos are good landmarks, too! Congrats on being 30 down! Catherine

I LOVE some of these answers to you! IGNORE, IGNORE, IGNORE (To which I would add: DELETE, DELETE, DELETE) ". . . you don't look like my Dr." ". . . looks like you don't have any tact." Too funny! But imagine carrying around three 10-lb bowling balls! That's how much you shed! That's totally awesome! I lost just under 30 pounds since my banding, and nobody has said anything yet, except the woman at the Korean restaurant we go to. As I was leaving, she ran up to me and grabbed me by the shoulders, "You lose weight? You lose much weight?! You look awesome!" I almost shed a few tears! People who don't see you often will notice. Even if they don't, be proud! Be VERY proud! :wink2:

I think it is ok to buy smaller clothes but do not go over board because I tell you I had to give away so many nice clothes and buy more because you go through sizes quickly. now shop at concession stores until i reach my goal weight and just maintain. I bought a size 12 pants in January of this year and now i can wear them which is a big improvement from a size 32 pants. LOL. my idea size will be between a size 8 or 10 pants depending on how i look because I do not want to be a bobble head.

Good morning! So, it’s been over 2 weeks since I’ve actually stepped on the scale. Bad? Good? Neither, more like a huge sigh of relief. My scale has been living my life for me for the last 6 years. It has defined who I was, and it was the precursor on how I would feel that day. I go up a few pounds? Bad day and everyone around me look out! I go down a few pounds? The world is a beautiful place and everyone and everything are super duper!! Why is this? In the very beginning of my Sleeve journey (not my pre-band and not my band journey) I was only weighing in once a week. Every Wednesday I would jump on the scale and see how my week went. Pretty much every single time I stepped on I was down at least a few pounds. Awesome! Some weeks it would drop huge numbers, sometimes only one pound. They were all fine with me – if you only knew what I went through with my band, you’d know that for ME EVERY SINGLE POUND lost WAS A BLESSING!! For the record that has not changed. I’ll tell you what has changed. How often I was stepping on that scale. Over time my weigh-ins would increase. From a few times per week, then up to a few times per day. For me, this really started to mess with my mind! In the beginning it was no big deal. But the closer I started to get to some very huge weight milestones I started to really let it affect my mood. NOT GOOD!! I did always promise that if it did affect me negatively then I would take a step back and not do it anymore. …and that leads me to today. Today I have not weighed in two weeks! I think this is for sure the longest I’ve gone since my sleeve surgery. I think I’m almost ready to get back on. *Almost*. Wednesdays have always been my weigh day – but I may change that. Before my sleeve I always liked to weigh in on Fridays. I think I may go back to that. The reason for this is during my workweek I am excellent!! I do my workouts, I eat perfect – I’m just really on point during these days. It’s always nice to see the fruits of my labors at pretty much the end of this. The weekends are a lot harder to manage. Hubby and I are always really busy and whatnot, it’s just not as structured. I’d rather not see the bounces if at all possible. Is this avoiding the truth? Who cares??? My sanity is at stake here!! LOL!! IMO as long as the scale is going down, I’m happy. Even if it’s one little pound – ya know that’s still ONE POUND closer to GOAL!! Gotta love that. Especially since I’ve only got about 30 or so to go. Most folks tell me that I don’t look like what I weigh. Awesome! I wish I did though. I would most likely at this point just try to wiggle myself into maintenance mode at this point. However, the fact is I DO still weigh what I do (199.6 at last check) so I still have a little bit to go. I was going to go for the maximum weight according to the ridiculous BMI charts. For me that would be 154 Lbs being that I’m 5’6”. Knowing this I’d still have 45.6 Lbs to lose. Ummm… no. I’m already fitting in some 10’s and mostly all 12’s now. My 14’s are pretty much ready for donation but I’m wearing them until they fall off me… LOL… which is not too far from now. Who knows what size I’ll be in 30-35 more Lbs. I will surely be done by then. Anyway like my title said, My Scale Does Not Define ME!!! I do. Blessings to all on your journeys. I know this is long winded – but that’s how I do things...

Thanks guys for the responses. My girls are going to be 10 and 5, they are from China and we worked very hard to get them! I probably need to resign myself that I will need to wait and that it would be the best idea. I've waited since Nov of last year...what is a few more weeks? Thanks again, Tracy W.

I'd like to find someone to go thru this process together for the next year. Anyone game? I was banded May 10th. Marti

I had my surgery 10 days ago. I think being with family for 10 days might be more painful than the surgery . Plus, surely most family members can't take the whole 10 days off either. Just tell everyone you are doing Atkins and drink their Protein shakes. That should explain why you don't have any carbs. I had to go back to work 3 days after my surgery. I teach second grade with 24 seven and eight year olds. We had field day the day that I went back. The only thing I think you should have problems with is not swimming, but I haven't been in a bathing suit for years, so no one would question that. Walking, boating, etc. shouldn't give you any problems. I bet your doctor team can help with food ideas, etc. Good luck and have fun!

A new month, a new week, and new focus, new goals! My husband wants to get back to the gym, so we are going tonight. I also went down to the gym today on break and did 20 min on the elliptical machine. I'm going to focus on exercise this month! I know I say it all the time, but I really really am trying, I don't know why I do so good for a week then fall off the wagon. I think if my husband gets to the gym, that will help to have a buddy. wt was up a bit this morning 170.6 grrrrrr I brought my lunch today, I brought some roasted chicken, i'm headed down to the cafe to get a small tosses salad to go with my chicken. I also scheduled yet another fill. grrrr. I'm sick of fills, but I'm not giving up until I have my sweet spot. My next fill is next week at 10:00 am. Yay. I can't wait to get a fill and hopefully have my sweet spot. This fill is pretty good, I just think I need a tad more. Wt 170.6 Exercise - 10:00 am - 20 min on elliptical 3:00 pm - 30 min brisk walk around my building spines a few time. 8:30 pm - upper body workout 30 min on elliptical