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OH MY GOSH!!!! I WENT ON THIS SITE TONITE TO SEE IF SOMEONE ELSE WAS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM!! Mine is intermittent but I do find when I can "release" the air, it does get better for a short period of time. My question is.......how long is it going to last??? HELP!!!! By the way, my surgeon said the SAME THING so it must be the culprit!!! TRODMOM

I ate thin crust pizza slice I was fine. I ate a fiery taco from Taco Bell I was fine. However, those are not good choices! I want to make my own lunches for work but I don't need a lot. I wondering what type of wrap y'all have tried or pita bread and how did it do? I'm 4 months out and down 78 lbs that's with a 2 week stall which I broke a couple days ago. Am I losing too fast? Was a 54 in my waist and now I'm a 40 and dropping. I think it's working to good!

I'm at wits end..... My husband has since high school been very thin. Almost skinny. He put on weight as he aged, but it was healthy weight and he looked GOOD. I on the other hand went out of control. Now that I'm losing, HE is the one who is out of control and he's gaining dangerously fast. Why would this be happening now? I'm finally of the weight where I can dance again, get in and out of a kayak with him, hike in the woods while on vacation, enjoy pretzel shapes during lovemaking..... and now he gains the weight and is having trouble doing things. His back is always out, he snores horribly, and he doesn't want to do anything. It's like we traded places. Why NOW???? I'm so discouraged and disgusted. He's so heavy I even have trouble bearing his weight in a missionary position. He won't listen to my gentle urgings. Why is he doing this???? I can finally enjoy life WITH him and he's turning in the other direction. Coincidence or is there an underlying reason?

I had regrets in the first few weeks. That seems to be pretty common. When you are miserable and frustrated and wondering if you will ever feel "normal" again. But now, over a year out, definitely no regrets! Every once in a while, I will hear/see something about foods I used to love and have a brief moment of sadness that I can't enjoy them anymore, but that passes quickly. Notice I said "enjoy" them. That's because I am physically capable of eating anything at this point, but much of my enjoyment of things like pizza or Pasta or eating large meals out came from the sheer VOLUME of food I could eat, not necessarily the taste. So while I can eat those things now if I choose to, I don't enjoy them the way I used to, so I usually just skip them. As for cocktails, why couldn't you have those in the future? I was allowed alcohol at 3 months post-op and I do occasionally partake in social situations. I miss beer (can't have carbonation anymore), but I can have mixed drinks. I do get drunk VERY fast now. I'm a SUPER light-weight now. But, I also sober up really fast.

I too, along with my hubby and parents (who were banded at the same time) all too Arnica... helped heal fast, no pain with healing either! Good for you! Bobbi.... as you again can tell, I am a big fan of coconut oil, but it is EXCELLENT for gut issues.... please read up on it... it may be something you are interested in....

Yummy Protein shakes... they really arent that bad. I am trying EAS Myoflex in chocolate. You could probably do the low carb Slim fast shakes too... But best to talk to your surgeon or the nutritionist

I am super excited but nervous as hell too! My surgery date is Aug. 7... coming fast! I can't wait to see the weight come off... I will finally be able to feel like I am living and not just "here". I have no quality of life right now, ahhh the most exciting thing will be too have energy and enjoy being a person!! Good luck to everyone.

All the above responses to this post are spot on. It is your decision and your life. There's no wrong decision but make sure it's what YOU want. In my situation I didn't even research any of the other surgeries, in fact I didn't even know what the sleeve was until I went in for the group consultation where all procedures were explained. I'm 5'1 and weighed 289lbs., I'm now almost 1 year post op and am down 142lbs, weighing 147lbs, so I've lost almost 100% of my weight so whatever doctor is telling you that you have too much weight to lose for the band to work is full of shit!!:-) Anyone know matter what your starting weight has just as much of a chance for success with the band as they do anyother procedure. Yes, you will have to work harder, and no it may not melt off as fast as some of the other surgeries but it's the least invasive and most flexible option. Good luck on your decision and just remember this is for YOU!!

Hey guys, In need of some suggestions. My total caloric intake is between 800-900 cals/day. I have a rigorous workout schedule four nights/week. Monday & Tuesday: Cycling Wednesday & Thursday: Zumba. I aso walk the days I don't do my classes just to slow it down a bit. I burn at least 600 calories in each workout class because I am moving at a fast pace. That is what my fitness pal says anyway. Does anyone see a problem with by the end of the day having burned more calories than taken in? Or even taken in only 100 calories/day due to my rigid workout schedule? I need some feedback, I don't see my dietician for two weeks! Thanks! Xo Alexa

Its funny that you mention Dr. wheelers product. That was the very last diet i tryed before my band! It did work, and the shakes did fill you up pretty fast. But in the end, it worked out just like every other shake diet i tried, it got boring. But if you must try it, i have some left over, if you want it. i think i have the chocolate and the vanilla. If you want to bye it, let me know. Talk to you soon! Carly

Xavier-- That is what I needed to hear. My husband and I have done it so many times and always gain it back. A couple of weeks ago as I was starting weight watchers again I just started crying. I was crying because I knew the hard work ahead of me. The hours at the gym and the food sacrifices that it takes to lose weight. The worse part was knowing that after all that there would be a strong chance that it would all come back. A week later I remembered the promise that I made to myself last year. Another waste of a year...this year lapband! I am eager and hoping that this pre surgery process goes smoothly and fast because I am too afraid to change my mind. I am eager to get in the gym with the band and really start seeing my new self int he mirror!!!! THANKS!!!!!!

WARNING.. Long read... But I feel I have to write this.... I have debated on posting this.. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to admit about myself. That everything I wanted is falling apart.. And I feel like such a failure. I started this process with a goal! Be that patient that is a rock star! Walk when I should. Drink when I should... Eat the exactly right thing at the right time... Take super good care of myself.. My fiancé would be the one who was by my side the entire time... And It wouldn't hurt that much. In the beginning Everything was going according to plan. It was a really rough first day... But the second was so much better! And the third!! A breeze. No one in the hospital could believe how well I was doing. The Bariatric team all made special trips just to say hi! Everyone was so happy. Assuring me I was gonna rock this recovery. While in the hospital.. My fiancé was there for maybe a few hours two of the three days.. And wouldn't come near me... Wouldn't even look at me. This just broke me. But I pushed through. When I came home... Our room was so dirty my mother wouldn't even let me stay in it out of fear of infection. No bother. I slept int the recliner anyways (which let me tell you... A godsend!) and he said he was "very sick and didn't want to get me sick" so he went to stay at his parents. Still raw from everything... In tons of pain... And feeling so alone... I thought "fine, no big deal! My family is here and will take care of me" and god bless my little sister. That girl changed my bandages 4 times a day like clockwork. Never complaining how gross my JP drain was... Or how needy I was. She made sure I got my fluids in. And I am so lucky for her. But I kept thinking..."he should be here!" "He should be the one doing this!" If he loved me so much... How could he be like this? So I went on with a broken heart. My family didn't Celebrate Christmas this year... My other sister is down in Texas and they said no celebrating without everyone... Which I was honestly fine with... It's not about the presents right? It's about the joy of the season. It's about family. Except for the fact that all my mother did was cry. The Friday after Christmas everyone but my sister left for vacation in Florida. You see my mother couldn't take the day of my surgery off because she had to save her PTO for vacation. (That's also why she didn't come to a single doctors appointment or seminar before the surgery). Priorities right? So my sister and I were alone for what seemed like forever. To make it even better I started getting so ill. My wound hurt. The stitches on that pert ocular site looked wrong. Very tight and too big. There should have been three small instead of two big ones that were strained. To top it off I had a terrible fever... And I couldn't keep anything down. I broke down and let my fiancé come home. That night I woke up on the living room floor. Severe pain in my surgical site and sweating bullets. They took my temp which was 100.1 They called my doctor and he confirmed it defiantly sounded like an infection. We were pulled in first thing that morning to see the surgeon. He walked in and treated me like an inconvenience. He began telling me all about how he had just treated a woman who thought hers was infected... And of course it wasn't. And he was sure it's fine... He pulled off my warping and took one look at it. His eyes got a little wider and his voice more serious. "Haven't had one of these in a while. Very rarely actually" he said in a very nonchalant manner. Great just what I need to hear! He told me that the wound had to be packed (sorry for the gross detail) it was so painful. I asked for my someone to get my sister. Since she changed my bandages and there would be no way for me to do it myself if I can't see. He blew me off and just went for it. He just started stuffing gauze in with a long Q-Tip almost 6 inches deep. Of course big chested ladies understand that it's hard to see over the Tatas so I couldn't see what he was doing. He told me no antibiotics that the surgeon on call ordered for me the night before. I was in so much pain I just ignored his obvious indifference and left. The next morning we had to change it. My sister had no clue how to pack it.. And I was the blind leading the blind. We dressed it the best we could and called the center. No one answered. The answering service wasn't even connecting. And then I fainted again. Amy sister called the hospital three times. Only to get ignored and forwarded to the nonfunctional answering service. Out of options we called the nurse in ER. They were very concerned with my temp and getting the wound packed and that the doctor didn't show is how. She told us that because it was a weekend I couldn't wait the two days for the practice to be open and to come in. She was so nice and told is to get to the Er and they would show us. I got there... And upon being wheeled into the entrance immediately got sick. Needless to say the receptionist and I didn't hit it off. I feel pretty bad about her desk :/ I saw two doctors who both looked at my bandages and looked very concerned. They pumped me up on IV fluids and antibiotics immediately. I told them 4 times I am allergic to penicillin. The nurse starts to hook up this bag when a woman in a white lab coat runs into the room. She grabs the bag out of the nurses hand and pulls him just outside of my door. "She's allergic to penicillin. That cod have been really bad. Throw the bag out and credit her account. I'll figure out what to give her!" Close call huh? Honestly after the three bags of fluids I did feel better. I had been so dehydrated my skin was flaking. They told me that my surgeon was busy and sending his intern. So in walks this woman. I had my right leg bent at the knee and tucked under the left under the blanket. She looks at me wide eyed. I had no clue you were An amputee! I swear I would have seen that In your chart. We all looked at her dumbstruck... I dryly muttered... "I'm not?!" She stared feeling the blanket over the empty bed below my leg looking for the rest of my leg asking " where is it?" I just looked at her and unfolded it. Needless to say not a good first impression. She barely let me talk. Then proceeded to ignore me and jam Q-tips into my wound to "open it up!" I'm pretty sure it was open considering I had been through tons of gauze just while being there three hours. It hurt so bad I felt sick. She proceeded to tell me that they shouldn't have given me the antibiotic... And I basically needed to suck it up and let them jam me full of gauze three times a day for a few weeks. I was so upset I just stopped talking. After 20 minutes of condescension she told me... I'm inclined to send you home. Let me touch base with your surgeon. So I waited. Two minutes later she throws open my door and says very loudly... "You didn't tell me you were throwing up." Like I had the chance?! I had only told every doctor and every nurse and been sick there.. Let's play a game called "WHO DIDNT REALLY READ THE CHART". She just bluntly told me... Well that could change you going home.. Let me check with the doctor. Well she strolls by almost 30 minutes later dressed in surgical gear and nonchalantly says "you can go! They'll be in to discharge you". And leaves as fast as she came. An hour later I was home. I felt like I was such an inconvenience. That's not fair to a patient. I get they do stuff like this every day... But here I am scared and in pain... And infected (which is apparently rare) and all I get is lectured by a woman who can tell a leg tucked under a blanket? I'm so upset I'm afraid to even call my surgeon. I was supposed to see him 2 days later and was so traumatized and depressed I just never made the appointment. My follow up is in a few days and I don't even want to deal with him. I'm just so fed up and so tired of throwing up at least 3 times a day for a month. I am a failure. I feel so raw. I literally feel like I'm wasting away. Not just physically... But I'm a shell of the happy person I was. I just feel so lost. I am not writing this to discourage anyone from the surgery! I am dropping weight so fast and I m sure I will look back at all of this healthy and happy and think it was well worth it... But I'm really struggling right now. And unhappy just isn't me. I don't know what to do... Get a new doctor? Ride it out? Confront my surgeon about his bedside manner? I just don't know. ????

Ok, so most people on here know of me and know that I work 6-7 days a week in a fast pace restaurant. Most days I work 12 hour shifts and hardly get to sit down , especially in the weekends. I was sleeved July 7 and I've gone from 250 to 210 since my preop. I try to work out on my off days or the half days I get. Do you all think in doing ok? Thanks for the opinions .

This is my second round of hiccups. They are loud and annoying and a bot painful. At 6pm I drank Water (maybe too big of sips) and I hiccuped for 45 mins. 5 hours later a Protein shake and big annoying, hurtful on going loud hiccups that I feel from my belly all the way up. I did not drink too fast this time and not too much- same premade Protein Shake I've been having all along. It's not a burp, or 1-3 hiccups. I'm talking 45 mins. I can't take it! I did not eat too much today. I am 10 days post op, on a liquid diet. These huccups just started tonight after I drink. If it happens after my morning drink I might need to call the doctor. DOes anyone know what this could be?

Alright, I made my June goal by the excess skin of my teeth so I will go with this one too. My goal is to be below 260 at the end of the month which will put me at 100lbs lost, and if I get to 258 I will officially be obese:confused:, down from a BMI of 49 which is almost Super Obese:embarassed:. DW & I are going to Vegas in August because we both need new wardrobes so I am going to try & drop as much weight as I can so I dont shrink out of those clothes so fast. Andrew

Thank you. No one mentioned it. I'm going to call the office tomorrow as I'm concerned as I never knew I had one. It's so easy to replace one compulsion (eating) with another (scale) that I have spent most of my time trying to get my mind right for surgery. It's hard as I want to go super fast but I know in the long run that won't be beneficial for me. I'm excited I made the ultimate decision. Good luck to you to. Hope your journey is going well.

if in doubt, always call and ask you doctor as they can answer all your questions...i have hiccups also when i eat. that is my bands way of telling me i have had enough to eat. i also know it happens if you eat too fast or take too big a bite..

Update here: I'm now nearly 8 months post surgery and I can honestly say that this was the best decision of my life. I've lost 84 pounds since my weigh-in the morning before the operation and just last week I tipped the scales within the "normal" BMI range. I feel great, look better than ever before and haven't really had any issues beyond the original complications immediately after the surgery. I keep buying clothes as my old ones keep getting too big very fast - I think the money saved on food goes on clothes these days! I'm aiming at losing about 12-15 pounds more but I'm eating a little more already as I'm not sure how easy it is to stop losing weight. To anyone still wondering whether to take the plunge, I say: go for it. There are risks involved but living with obesity is risk filled too.

Anna is right! Plus, whatever you are eating or drinking do it SLOW! Give it time to hit and fill your tummy. If I eat fast I can pack it down then when it hits OMG I'm STUFFED but when I eat slow I don't eat as much! I'm six weeks out and go for my check up today!

When I hiccup... I know it is time to stop eating. If I am just getting started... I know I am eating to fast. If I am near the end of my meal... I take it as my sign that I am full. Crazy... I never used to hiccup before surgery. I don't mind it though. :thumbup:

Hmph. Boys and their fast weight loss piss me off. Grrrrr.... He looks awesome!

Although I had my surgery in February - I hosted my husband's three day family reunion not long after my surgery. I cooked, baked cakes, bought bakery goods, etc - and served food throughout the three days. I had decided before the surgery what I could eat and when, and just set my mind to it - with little or no problems. I sat at the table with the family - ate my meals - and talked up a storm with folks I hadn't seen in a year. Everyone knew I had gone through the surgery, and eveyone was supportive. Looking back on the reunion - it was a lot of fun and I have great memories of it - and I don't remember any feelings of deprivation. Once, years ago, I was on the modi-fast diet. For nine months, I mixed powdered Protein mix into smoothies (no calories added except the protein powder) and ate nothing but smoothies and broth. I went through Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations with the family. My sister and law and I cooked the whole shebang for both celebrations. She was suffering from really bad inflammatory bowel syndrome at the time - and all she was eating was mashed potatoes. She had her potatoes, and I had my smoothie and my broth. We had a great time during those holidays. It really came home to both of us that the celebration of the holiday with the family is about so much more than just eating a great meal. It is about family and friends, and sharing accomplishments, and catching up on what people are doing. Both holidays have much deeper meaning than just a gift exhange and a calorie festival. The important thing is making up your mind before hand, and making a plan. Then - you just do it. It got to the point that it really didn't bother me. Good luck with your surgery. If you do go through the holidays on the pre-op diet or just after surgery - my thoughts and prayers will be with you.

I used Spiegel for my surgery in December and it took me 8 months to get insurance approval. I was required to complete a 6 month weight loss program with my MD before I could even be submitted for approval. Do you know what your insurance guidelines for approval were? I have never heard of getting an approval that fast. And most insurance companies have 30 days. Hope that helps!!! Good luck to you. It has been an awesome journey. :biggrin2:

Hi Ronnie. Welcome. I was just like you 2 1/2 years ago. Scared to death of the surgery and how my life would change without having food to look forward to. Thing is....I only looked forward to the food because I couldn't do anything else. My hips were so bad that each step was torture. I was so heavy that I couldn't fit anywhere and spent so much of my time on the sidelines. Fast forward to today and I've lost 150 lbs. My hips were replaced and I can walk with virtually no pain. I can go up and down stairs again and with living in NYC, walking is vital. I went to London a few weeks ago and walked all over the city and even biked in the parks. I've got my life back again...better than it's been in years. I'm even in a relationship again..and I never expected that for sure. Like I said Ronnie...I've been where you are so take what I say and know that you will get your quality of life back and see your surgery as a second chance. Good luck and keep us posted.

OMG this is so awful I have to log everything that goes into my mouth for 1 whole week. This is day one. I am starving to death but can't bring myself to eat the rest of my McSkillet Burrito because I know that the dietitian is going to be looking at the log and saying to herself "yep I know what this one's problem is" I think I'll eat the whole thing and skip lunch then it won't look so bad right? I mean after I have the surgery there won't be anymore fast food for me so why not live it up. I know that's the attitude that got me here or at least part of the problem not all of it. So long for now I have a date with the rest of my burrito.