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Somewhere on here there's a recipe for ricotta bake, it's ricotta, eggs, seasoning, and spaghetti sauce. Baked until bubbly. It was my first 'real' food and it was delish!! HW 312, pre-op (RNY) 255, current weight 198

5 days later... Nothin'. ???? Still the same weight. I know... It will come off eventually. So frustrating!!!

Your body can hang onto water while it's healing. This is not the time to stress about your weight. It will be falling off soon enough. You are going to succeed at this. I promise. Just follow the plan and keep your eyes on the prize.

ChangingMichelle, I hear you girl. It's been such a life long issue with watching the scale, our mood changes depending on what the scale said. They pumped a lot of fluids in me in the hospital, I too gained but it came off quickly once it did. It took about 4 days after the surgery for me but I know we're all different. I will have 4-5 days without any weight loss and then the next few days losing a few ounces to a few pounds. I am exercising and eating as I was told. It's been 5 weeks and my starting weight was 282lbs the day of surgery, now I'm 262.3 lbs, not exceptional like some of the people that post on here but I can say it is coming off - slowly but surely. Hang in there, I know you will be successful. We didn't gain it overnight and I guess, it's not coming off overnight. My biggest problem is trying to get all the fluids in. We can only keep at it and success has to follow. Good luck to all of you fellow sleevers......

Well our company is nationwide and a co worker of mine just found out today that Anthem BCBS no longer covers it. I had originally called to inquire about PS. Then the lady said we dont cover that ( the bariatric surgery ) so they wouldnt cover the PS. I told her well I had it a year ago , apparently they changed their rules in January. They no longer cover it. I feel so bad for her, its the only thing she has had to look forward too. So I guess it doesnt matter what the company size. I was lucky I got in before it changed, but for those who are having issues. Many insurance companies have been sucessfully sued for weight discrimination. You might want to research just to have your own ammo. I do know zerox was one that got nailed for it.

As long as you are getting enough fluids and nutrients (protein but maybe mushy, not meat) you are fine and will probably lose weight easily. You do not need to be eating chunks of meat for now and once you lose a few pounds it will probably loosen up. I had good restriction and then lost it and had to get filled twice as I lost weight and fat is lost under the band.

Hi, i just found this: Effectiveness and Safety Study of LAP-BAND Treatment in Subjects With BMI >/= 30 kg/m2 and < 40 kg/m2 - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov Its a study looking into the outcomes of BMI 30 banders. It hasnt finished yet, however, if you select the tabular view and then scroll down and select the link next to "change history" there is a list of trial study kind of stuff. Its all a bit basic, but from what i understood, it said that BMI 30 banders can lose a minimum of 30% of their excess weight in the first year. Might be worth coming back to in 2012 when the study finishes. Hope this helps, Dune

Yes, the scale can be your worst enemy. The only weight I hold myself accountable to is my PCP's and my bariatric surgeon. I get weighed once a month on my surgeon's scale and that's the number that counts. I will occasionally weigh myself at home but weight don't count. It becomes a frustrating obsession if you keep weighing yourself constantly.

You have only had one fill and sometimes it can take a lot more before you get the sign to stop eating. I know someone personally who had his band completely unfilled because he was going on a cruise and he wanted to binge eat on everything. After the cruise he decided not to get re-filled because he liked his food too much. What was his point in getting the band if food was more important than a weight loss? What's my point in saying this? You probably will need a couple more fills before you feel like there is a stop point. With binge eating there is no stop point. You had this surgery for a reason, it is not a lose weight fast scheme. It takes time for the body to adjust. My friend who had his band unfilled has gained all his weight back plus more! Do you really want that? If you stick with it and choose healthy eating the binge eating will take a back burner to healthy eating habits. There are times when I feel like I could eat the whole world. I choose not to. I didn't have major surgery just to see it all come back. If you feel you must talk to a psychologist and by all means let your bariatric surgeon know. By the way, you can still go on a cruise and lose weight. I've done it and lost 10 lbs on a cruise. I did not deprive myself of anything. I just ate smaller portions. I know you can do this. It just takes time, perseverance and a lot of determination. Good luck and I know you can do this!

A nurse that I hadn't seen in a couple of months (he works night shift) said WOW, you've lost a lot of weight! And a patient that comes for scans every six months said the same thing and suggested that I get a new uniform!!

Hello. Being that my BMi is 39 and might or not be getting insurance approval, hopefully my doc will push it for me. My issue is as I'm in my six month phase and hopefully will get sleeved in June, should I be losing weight? I asked my surgeon and he said he wants me to start the good eating habits now , but his nurse told me since I a little under the 40 BMi that for insurance reasons I should drop the weight until I get approved. Very confused.......

I agree with Shelprice. I had horrible pain after my surgery (Surgery date June 27th) and I was given the same advice and it helped. The only other thing I would suggest is to hold a pillow on your stomach whenever you sit up or move around. I can tell you that it does get better. Do you have good meds? I was given Rixocet - which is like a liquid form of Vicidin. Worked very well but I had to use it sparingly because there were no refills. :-( Sorry that your hubby is not more supportive. No one can know your pain but you!! When I was going through I received a lot of support from the kind people on this forum. I wish you well. Hang in there. It will be worth it once the weight starts to drop. Just keep repeating..."This too shall pass!" Take care!

I had my conversion surgery from band to sleeve on june first, i had it done in the Dominican republic because my company excluded bariatric from my policy. i was so scare and even felt regrets the day after surgery. Six week later those regrets are way off my mind, I have never felt better. I've lost 30lbs and I'm static My Self-esteem over the top, as supposed to six weeks earlier I wouldn't look my self in the mirror and today I'm jumping for joy. I've had my my ups and down, when my weight loss stalled I thought I failed, coming to this site has been a blessing. Can't wait so reach my goal weight, only 47lbs to go and I made a promise to myself to not drive my self crazy and enjoy the journey. Any other June first sleever. Share your story

You can STILL eat many of the things you love.... just a lot less of it. I am almost 1 year out and I will answer this to let you in on how I am doing. Can you eat a whole apple? Yes Can you eat rice and Pasta without discomfort? Yes, I can eat these, however, eating too much of it is not good for weight loss. I know of some people who can not tolerate these foods with the sleeve and some that can only slightly tolerate it. Then there are others, like me who can eat this just fine. Do you ever have the occasional glass of wine with dinner? I am not a drinker so I no wine for me, but I do have drinks with my meals. Is it a no-no? I think this is dependent upon who you ask. Also, I have noticed that when I do have drinks with my meals it fills me up faster so I dont eat as much- but then I do get hungrier later on. How have your close relationships been effected by your weight loss? Everyone around me has been real supportive. I have been honest with those close to me as much as I wanted them to know without becoming the 'food police' over me. My relationship with my husband has improved and so has our late night activities Are you able to quickly drink a glass of Water on a hot day or after a workout? I can down a 16 oz bottle of water in 10 minutes. A glass... maybe 5 min If you were an emotional eater, what behavior have you replaced the emotional eating with? This is a good one. I am still struggling with this. As I ate out of boredom, stress, excitement, and sadness. The boredom usually exists when I am at the computer typing and that is here to stay. I have to always have something to drink next to me, and I am not talking about Crystal Crack (Crystal Lite). The a drink like water with frozen blueberries often will fill me up and keep me hydrated. Do you have any sadness associated with the inablilty to eat a large portion of something incredibly delicious? Oh boy! I did at first. I was a huge foodie and loved really good foods. In fact Food was often seen as a good friend back then. It really hit me when I was able to move into solid foods and hubby started making Texas sized steaks (that cover the whole dinner plate) and I looked at it as if I could still eat it all, but physically i couldn't and it didn't quite register in my brain that it wasn't possible. When Fondue night came around a buffet of little delights was all around me and all i could do was nibble on a few things while everyone else was gorging themselves full with delight. I WANTED TO BE LIKE THAT at that time period but ONLY in that moment. That was when I realized that I did have an eating problem and I let my emotions take over me. Not only was I eating HUGE portions but I would often eat to feel happy. I think around 5 months PO I became more settled with the thought that this was indeed permanent and old behaviors fell to the way side and new behaviors kicked in.

I lose weight in my legs and butt first (while holding onto weight from my waist up). Therefore, the 30 pounds I've lost so far have all been legs and butt!

Hello There, I'm 59 years young and am so happy to have found this group. I hope this group includes folks who are almost out of their 50's too. My name is WeeWers and I weigh 300 pounds. I'm 5-6 and my goal is 140. We are paying for this out of pocket (exclusion with our insurance that I signed). My big concern is how I'm going to look at goal. I have seen lots of before and after photos of older folks who lost *a lot* of weight -- and they look thin -- but they also look terrible! Skin is hanging everywhere! At our age, the skin does not have the elasticity it once did. So the skin just hangs !!! Since we are paying out of pocket, it will take us a long time to save up for plastic surgeries. My breasts already hang down to almost my navel, and my tummy hangs down mid thigh. Man, I'm tearing as I write this. Have any of you thought about this. Especially the ones who can't have plastic surgery right away. I know many (most maybe) plastic surgeons make you wait a year before they will operate. I'm wanting some encouragement so very much -- but facts are facts -- my skin is just gonna hang. I'll bet the answer is just being grateful that the weight is off. Maybe that's the only solution. Thank you for listening, WeeWers

HI everyone. I had a Lap band to a Mini Bypass revision on July 5th. So far. I have lost 23 pounds, but somehow I keep feeling that it should be a bit more. after some difficulty in the first two months with my eating. With a lot of food rejection, I now feel that I can eat quite well. I can eat a small size of fish, or one whole very well cooked and soft chicken thigh. I avoid carbohydrates to maybe one dry diet cracker in the morning with cottage and s bit at lunch (at the most have half a potato or a spoonful of carrots or zucchini with the protein) and concentrate on the protein. I walk a lot on my job (I am a tour guide) sometimes for two whole hours.. I try to drink enough ( I usually mix water with sugarless ice tea powder, as flavoured water goes down easier for me ) I completely avoid sweets, pasta, bread, and eat very little fruit. Also I am not experiencing any cravings really, and because I am eating protein 3 times a day I think that I am getting enough protein and still the weight loss seems to stall. Or am I being unrealistic?? Or maybe I am doing something wrong? Last week. I was at 24 pounds less, this week it came back to 23., I am starting to feel frustrated with this up and down effect!! I would really appreciate some feedback from those of you who went through this before, and how you managed to overcome this! For the record, as this might be an important detail, I am 61. Thanks a lot for taking the time to read and answer. All the best to everyone. Sent from my D6603 using BariatricPal mobile app Sent from my D6603 using BariatricPal mobile app

I lost my band for the same reasons two years ago. The band looked fine but I couldn't keep even water down. I went two years without the band and started to gain back. I was re-banded in December. I couldn't do it without my band

Thank you! You sound good! I find that having lost 80 pounds I can exercise a lot more easily, so Im hoping that when the band is out and I feel good again, I'll be able to exercise to keep weight off. Hopefully my diet will have me losing weight, as well. Im scared about the same things you are. I love being at this lower weight and hope that continues to motivate me. I just know that in the past, emotionally I can get to a point of "I don't care" - so I still need to adress what brings that on. Thank you for sharing from the point of having problems with the band thru the removal! You have been really helpful to me. Keep going in the positive direction and don't let anything stop you! ~hiddn

That is so sad to hear. I know if I lost my band I would immediately look at either replacing it or switching to another WLS surgery. I would do willing to go to great lengths to make sure I won't gain the weight back and I know I can't do it without some kind of WLS tool. Good luck. I know it's not going to be an easy road.

I had my band out for 6 months before I could get my revision to RNY...I gained 30 pounds :/. I won't tell you what to do, there are risks associated with each surgery. I will say I love my RNY and feel better then I ever did with my band. There's no reflux or getting stuck, I don't feel like I'm starving all the time. I'm 5 months out and averaging 2-3 pounds a week loss consistently (doc says revisions tend to lose slower...as long as I keep losing I don't really care how long it takes!). I do have dumping if I get crazy with carbs but have absolutely no problem with normal healthy foods. Good luck! I wish you the best!

I'm almost 14 months post op. Can you eat a whole apple? Yes, easily. Can you eat rice and Pasta without discomfort? Yes, no discomfort for me. I can eat anything. Do you ever have the occasional glass of wine with dinner? Once or twice. I used to love wine, but lately it just tastes bitter to me. I don't think this is a sleeve issue. How have your close relationships been effected by your weight loss? I don't think they have been affected much, honestly. I'm a bit more confident in my day to day encounters, but that's about it. Are you able to quickly drink a glass of Water on a hot day or after a workout? Yes, not a problem. If you were an emotional eater, what behavior have you replaced the emotional eating with? Shopping Do you have any sadness associated with the inablilty to eat a large portion of something incredibly delicious? No, not at all. Maybe a little in the beginning. I'm content with the amount of food I can eat. Not too much, not too little.

Hi! I have a Van Guard 10cc band and I was just reading the thread about how it's taking sometimes 7 fills before people feel the right restriction. I was wondering if theres anyone who has the 10cc band and gets their fills done under fluroscopy. Does the fluroscopy help to be more aggressive with fills so that you dont need so many? I dont go back to see my surgeon until the first week of July and I'm constantly starving and can eat just as much as I did before the band so it was really depressing to read about so many people having such a difficult time getting restriction. I'm losing weight under sheer willpower at this point. My surgeon does all of his fills under fluroscopy so I am hoping that I wont need so many. Any thoughts on this? Thanks!

Alright so the easy part is over right? Now comes the hard work? Isn't he weight supposed to just fall off now? Surgery went well though I would have thought the doctor could have made a stait incision? I'll have to start drafting my knife fight story I guess. Its weird drinking something and then feeling like I would imagine a clogged drain pipe would feel as you can feel the fluid kind of just gurgling down the clogged pipe... Tomorrow starts the gym. I actually like working out. I lost 6 pounds just on the Pre op liquid diet, so I am excited about what's to come. Any words of encouragement are welcome! Good luck to all!!

I am booked for a hysterectomy at the end of Oct. Surgeon likes to unfill the band for the actual procedure. This was worrying me as my surgeon is about 1.5hrs drive each way. Not a problem for the unfill but I was concerned about when and how I was going to get refilled after surgery. I managed to find a surgeon in the same town as the hospital where I am having the hysterectomy who was willing to take me on.I have an appointment for an unfill the day before surgery and he has said that he will come and see me in the hospital to put the fill back in again. I was quite relieved. I can imagine that otherwise being stuck at home bored and unable to drive anywhere I would comfort eat and put weight back on again. Good luck with your op. Jacqui, I hope everything is going well.