Search the Community

I had gastric by pass 3 years ago. Lost 107 lbs. Now I have gained 10 lbs and would like to get it off. Any suggestions would be so wonderful. Dom IN NEED OF HELP

Hi... I am in South Jersey too. Burlington County. I went to Dr Kirkland. He is awesome! I was banded on 10/4. I have lost 45 pounds so far. He believes in fill & not making you wait. I could have had 3-4 fills by now but i have only had 1- 1/2 cc's put in & I do not need any right now. It feels great! Good luck!

My seminar was 2-10-07 and my surgery is set for 4-2-07. My first consult with the Doc. Was 2-27-07, misc. appointments, then pre-op diet is tomarrow 3-19-07 for two weeks and my last Doc. visit is 3-22-07, and I will be banded on 4-2-07 = less than 60 days from seminar to surgey - self-pay!!!! GOOD LUCK AND HEALTH TO YOU AND ALL!!

If you do not have insurance to cover, there are many places to have this done. I know Mexico is a bit far and I would think a little scary, but there is a lady in Cincy that is cheaper than that. Just ask around on here, tons of self pay's under 10 grand. Most say they would do it again in a heartbeat.

Hi all> I was banded Feb. 19 by Dr. Earl Fox in Richland, WA. He and his staff are great! Only issues since banding have been that I am not pain-free as soon as I wanted to be (wanted to wake up next day without pain) and even consumming less than 600 calories a day, still no weight loss. Doctor and friends tell me to be patient but it is tough.

I am soooo excited!!! I lost another 10 pounds!! I was going to go and get another fill, but Ruben told me the thought I should try to take the QuickSlim30 again since I was pbing and was tight at leat 1 week or more out of the month. So I did and lost 10 pounds!!! I am at 153 now, only 7 pounds from my all time goal!!!

This happened to me. Did all the testing day prior to surg cancel insurance denial And I did 3 appeals and lost I had proof of weight watchers. Diet pills etc. they wouldn’t take. I have Cigna. 2/10 I am leaving for Mexico ! I have no choice

#3 08-30-2006, 10:37 AM wavydaby vbmenu_register("postmenu_288891", true); Crazy about cavies Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 470 I know exactly how you feel!!!!! I was ready to roll and my lab work came back that I had H pylori. Stupid bacteria. At least iron pills are itty bitty. I had to take 3 horse pill antibiotics and a prilosec in the morning and at night. Trust me, the two months will go by fast. I got my band two weeks ago and Im still wondering where the time went. __________________ Jill Banded on August 15th:clap2: Dr Bauman, NC 297/283/170 Let the loss begin! Christmas Goal 275

Hi there. My name is Read and I was banded in July. I live in MD and am married with 2 kids. I'm just figuring out what's going on here so I thought I'd start with an introduction. I've lost 30 total pounds; 25 since surgery. I don't really have good restriction yet - I'm more in a really good headspace to be successful on a fairly restrictive diet - but I'll take it. My doctor is Dr. von Rudeun and I need more data to recommend him. I think his medical skills are certainly fine, but the jury is still out on the rest. I look forward to getting to know some people.

No problems yet. I've only had a couple fills and not getting the restriction I'm looking for but, I'm told that's normal. I started with a low BMI of 33. I've lost a total of 19 pounds including the 3 day pre op. So far I'm happy I made this choice. Do you know when your. Surgery might be?

I have only been considering lap band surgery since August. I have been to a seminar on 9/17 and I have a consultation appt. on 10/7. I am reading as many posts as I can to get a "feel" for this world and search for things to consider and questions to ask at my consultation. I really appreciate these posts. This is the first time I have posted to a forum so I am also trying to learn the etiquette. I am 58 year mom of a 27 old son. My family has alot of us that have had problems with obesity since childhood. I really am undecided as to whether I am ready for the surgery. I am really scared. I lost my husband of 30 years, 4 1/2 years ago after his being sick, having many surgeries and being in the hospital for most of 2 years. I am not really sure I am ready to put myself in that environment as a patient yet.:rolleyes2:

Oh sorry you did ask a question. You and I are only 5 months apart. So basically were at the same stage. Go back to the beginning where you started in MAINTANANCE. cuz that's when the "Honeymoon' phase ended. One awesome thing about this pouch is..it has the ability to make you lose weight quickly if you start behaving properly again...love thattt!!!.., Go back and follow your maintenance rules, That's why food logging is so important...I've give my self a 10 lb leeway, 10 lbs up Im still ok, but need to BACK IT UP...10 down ( happens when I going going going, busy busy busy, and not eating enough food for weeks). The 10 lbs either way gives me a instant alarm to PAY ATTENENTION DEE, your body's in distress!!!! I always jump back to my shakes & Snacks and up my exercise time in the gym or whatever, I like to walk, ALOT to the beat of my music..and I like Katy Perry!!!...lolol

My insureance required me to have documentation for the last 3 years that I was at 35 BMI or over with at least 1 comormid disease. So make sure your not required to do that before you gain 10 pounds!

I gotta tell ya, I step on the scale every day, I see it go down (15 lbs / 10 days post op) , but was blown away yesterday when I did my measurements. I have lost 12.5 inches , that's a foot long gone !!!! I just was so shocked

Hi,I had my surgery last Wed 2/6/10 and it seemed to go well.I had a Hiatus hernia repaired at the same time.Unfortunately i had a cold all week as well so still feel a bit under the weather.I have some left shoulder tip pain and have been taking Paracetamol only so far since discharge as well as in hospital.I did not have any gas pain just some tightness around my sternum and I was wondering if anyone has any idea how long the shoulder tip pain goes on for ?I have been using hot packs for it but it is really annoying.Also is it normal to feel a bit lightheaded and have a slight headache all the time even though it is 5 days after surgery? Any ideas would be great.

I just got my callback!..... I go see my surgeon monday morning....... I have been waiting for 10 months! Now what I would really like to know....is how long do I wait now? ...how much more time until my surgery? Im nurvous ....excited.... happy! and surprised...I thought I was going to have to wait until 2010 for my call....sorry if I sound so excited.....but I only told 2 pple.... reason is Im choosing NOT to tell pple........ no thank you...Im finally doing something for myself and I feel great about my decision....I don't need other people giving me any negitive feedback! I have my mothers sholder...and my hubbies..... thats all I need!:closedeyes:

Different doctors, different post-op diets -- Mine was 10 days clear, 10 days full (that's where the milk comes in) and 10 days mushies ...

Some of it can be attributed to a slower metabolism, but if you're realistic with what you are eating and stray calories are not slipping in due to mistakes in measurements or calculations, try doing the calculations for how much you should realistically be losing according to Calories Consumed minus TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). For example, here is my calculation when I started: Height: 5'11" Weight: 265 Exercise level: pretty low TDEE: 2,522 Calories: 800 Deficit: 1,722 * 7 days is 12,054 One pound = 3,500 so expected loss is 12,054/3,500 = 3.4 lbs per week! Surprising huh? Of course, in the beginning excess Water weight is lost, so the rate of loss may be higher. I actually have lost around 2-2.5 pounds per week, but I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, both of which reduce my metabolic rate by about 10% each. Now, here's my calculation for last week: Exercise level: High (5 days of 10,000+ steps including Couch to 5K training) Weight: 199 TDEE: 2,793 (higher because of exercise. If exercise was the same as before it would be 2,162 because of a lower weight) Calories: 1,000 (I'm 6 mo post op) Deficit: 1,793 * 7 days is 12,551 One pound = 3,500 so expected loss is 12,551/3,500 = 3.6 lbs per week! I actually lost 4.5 lbs last week, so I probably had some water loss. Have you tried doing this calculation?

When the dr asked me that question at my first consult In my mind I recalled being 175 and comfortable once after a liquid diet... He said that was too high. I am 5'9". He suggested 150 and I freaked out. We settled on 160... Insurmountable really since that was either 217 or 227 lbs I had to lose. So I decided to take it 10 lbs at a time and see what happened. Well today I am 157... And while the race to 150 isn't imperative I would like to get there one day...just because. But don't get me wrong I am thrilled to be in a size 8 and happier with myself than I have ever been in my life.

:biggrin1: :biggrin1: I just wanna say a big thankyou to everyone for their support I have done it! got banded at 3pm on wednesday I was a little sick after and the wind pain wasn't very nice but I got up and walked around for ages! had a good snooze then came ut of hospital on the thursday morning all glued up and ready to roll!!! This is the first day of the rest of my life I thought you only live once and I am goona make the most of it! Lost 10 pounds on my pre op which I was impressed with!!!!! Thanks fellow bandsters:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

i was banded a week ago... i got to the hospital at 630 am, went into surgery at 715am, and i woke up from my anestethia (spelled wrong, sorry!) at around 9-930. i made two trips the the radiology floor (shoulda been one, but it was two due to the incompetence of some "doctor" who didnt even no what he was looking for om my floroscope...*sign*) took a nap in recovery for 2 hours, and left at around 5pm. it was a one day deal, but o man.. i still feel it! yesterday and today are really the first time ive felt even remotly normal again. got up, walked around, drove a bit.. the first week will be rough, but after that every day you will feel better and better. ...just make sure you have someone to help you get up when you need to, your going to be sore. on a scale from one to ten, one being effotless, 10 being a major what the hell did i just do pain in my ass, id rate my surgery and post op week at a 7. coulda been worse, also coulda been alot better.. hope this helps, and dont be scared!!!! the first day is the worst, once you get through that, youve gone thru the worst part (pain wise) and remember, the doctors give you pain pills for a reason! no point in suffering when you can just sleep the pain away. thats what i did o, and good luck!

My surgery was yesterday. They pushed me back frommarriving at 6 a.m. two arriving at 8:30 a.m., so that's what I did. They had me taken to pre-op at 8:40, where I was supposed to get an IV and all of that and then my husband would come back and hang out with me until they move me to holding and then he would head for the waiting room when I headed for the OR... But I ended up in pre-op until sometime after 10... without my spouse.. because I had a complete and utter meltdown. :-( I have no idea what happened but the minute they came at me with that IV, I thought about what my husband said as we walked into the hospital which was "last chance ... are you sure you want to do this?" And I just started bawling! Sobbing and sputtering& scared to death that I was going to end up regretting doing this! And it took four different nurses, my surgeon and his helper, Amy anesthesiologist to come in and get me calmed down. I have no idea what came over me. One of my best friends had this surgery about a year-and-a-half ago ... and she works for a lighter me ... so I called her and she helped me a lot and eventually I did sign everything get my IV and agree to go into surgery. I was out of recovery and in a room by around 3:00 pm. My husband and my son came to visit me after I got into a room. They stayed until 8 p.m. and then headed home. Around 6:30 I had them help me get up and I sat in a chair for a while which felt better I hadn't really had a lot of pain at that point... but man was I bloated and that gas is very uncomfortable! I have not had my week test yet, so I haven't been allowed anything to drink... I keep getting a headache off and on it feels like a dehydration headache even though I'm not dehydrated because I'm on IV fluids. Maybe it's a lack of food headache because I haven't eaten anything since the day before yesterday. I walked one time around the ward, felt very tired, and decided to lie down. Around 9 or 10:00 last night the gas became very very painful... at that point they had given me Toradol around 6 p.m. and I had a pump for morphine that I had not used it all yet. I used it like 3 times and it did not touch the pain so I had them get me out of bed. Once I was sitting up in a chair it was better and then I decided I needed to walk to start getting this gas moving... I walked around the ward twice, took a break, walked around the ward three times, took another break, walked around the ward twice, and didn't really get back into bed until around 3 or 4 this morning. (I I'm unable to sleep without taking my Seroquel and I'm unable to have my Seroquel because I'm unable to swallow anything). I dozed off in a straight backed chair for a few, then slept in the bed, partially on my right side, until about 6 this morning... it is 7 a.m. now and I'm hoping to go for another walk very soon. The only gas I have moved has been a few very small burps... and they won't take my catheter out until after I've had my leak test. I am using Gas-X strips they're just not helping much. At this point the gas is uncomfortable and a little painful but the only pain I've had from my stomach has been when I cough which I've done, thankfully, just a couple of times. Also a stomach sleeper so my back and hips and butt are killing me :-P That's about it for now I'll come back and update more after my leak test which hopefully will be in the next few hours. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

Hi, thought I would chime in with my story. I too have been overweight most of my life, definitely since high school - LOL 33 years - wow time flies. I have dieted, lost some, gained back more - the usual story. My wakeup call was ending up in the hospital with Atrial Fibrillation. I have had HTN for 10 years, borderline diabetes, not too much joint pain luckily. Since the hospital last October, I really had to look at things for real. My cardiologist basically told me I needed WLS or I would probably die. My heart valve is enlarged due to the weight and if it gets much bigger it will mean uncontrolled A Fib. My PCP suggested a Lap Band, but I am Miss Allergy personified and I felt that having a foreign body left inside was a really bad idea. Besides I did a lot of research, I am a Medical Technologist and I understand all of the medical jargon etc. So, I decided on the VSG. Lo and Behold, my insurance has an exclusion for WLS. I did not even get my sleep study done in a very timely manner as my cardiologist wanted it in Nov, and I had to wait for Feb - it was excluded under last years policy but allowed this year. The sleep study results were if anything scarier than being in the hospital. I have complex sleep apnea - stopped breathing 34 times an hour and oxygen saturation dropped to 66%. My brother went into respiratory arrest with a Sat of 80 - he has very bad asthma. I really did not expect the sleep study results to be that bad, I don't even snore unless I have a cold!! But, got put on a VPAP Adapt, and have actually gotten more than 4 hours of sleep at a time - YAY!!! So, I knew a girl at work who had gone to Mexico for a Lap Band, and I talked to her about her experience. I have lived overseas, so the prospect of going to Mexico was not too daunting. I did some research on doctors on this site and at Obesity Help, and decided on Dr. Kelly. As I am self pay (am going to use my FSA) I knew I needed to go outside the US. So, saved my tax refund money, and with that and my bonus from work I am scheduled for 3/25/11. I am going alone because my options for travel comapnions, brother and father, both hate hsopitals. My mother was not an option - she can darken a room with her negativity. Last thing I need at this point, she knows I am having the surgery - but has so far not commented. My brother and his daughter live with me, and he is very supportive. His girlfriend had RNY maybe 5 years ago. She lost the weight, but also a lot of her hair, and is constantly struggling with the whole vitamin deficiency thing. She has been a really good example of why you do not overeat after WLS - I have seen her in misery after too much consumption. Unfortunately, my atopic dermatitis has been going crazy - and I have been on prednisone since March1st. So, decided to just deal with very little weight loss on the pre-op diet - probably will lose a ton of water weight when I am off the prednisone, but I need my skin - especially the belly to not be rashy and inflamed before the surgery. It is looking good right now - everyone keep their fingers crossed for me - only 5 days to go. You know, the weight kinda creeps on and you think - well I'm doing OK - I will get around to dealing with it - at some point in the future of course. Then you get that wake up call - I was really mad at myself for a while. But I am going to counseling and need to focus on the positives - this is a tool that can help me acheive better health. The pre-op diet (2 weeks) has not been too bad. I rarely get hungry now, so hopefully my liver is nicely shrunken, and the surgery will go well. My PCP, is in favor, but a bit leary about the Mexico aspect. I saw her last week and she was supportive, but concerned that she would get to deal with the complications. I told her I did not plan on having any complications, I know she is watching to see how it goes - maybe they will refer people. I did have to educate her about the VSG, and she understood my reservations about the band. So, my journey has begun. Highest weight 335, current weight 315, pre-op loss so far 9 pounds - with no excercise beyond work at the moment. If I get hot I get itchy and start scratching...bad bad idea. But, the skin really is much better and I will start excercising again post surgery. I am trying very hard not to stress, because that can cause the itchies as well. Got to have a very quiet week - it is spring break ending here and my brother went to his girlfriend's and my neice went down to her Mom - they are back tonight. I should be able to cope, am off tomorrow - work Tues and Wed, then fly on Thursday. Have an appt with Rorry (counselor)on Wed before I go. Sorry I know this is long, but the venting has been good. I have really enjoyed reading about everyone's stories so here is mine. I will keep you posted on progress.

Thanks everyone - I've been thinking hard on this all morning, and I've come to the conclusion of 'what will be, will be'.. Yes I'm still a little hurt, but I will get over it - I think some of you are right and I can see now it may be a trust issue.. The guys he is going with, we haven't heard from in 10 years - and there is a lot of history behind it all - These guys swapping girls, sharing girlsfriends, threesomes, orgies basically... no, neither myself or dh were involved - not my thing! If John really values our marriage, as he says he does, he won't be swayed. And if he does he knows we'll be straight to the divorce courts. A bit of boob doesn't worry me, don't get me wrong, but fruit and veg acts do! And tonight will not be just a bit of boob. So instead of sitting at home thinking about whats going on, I've invited a few friends over for a bbq... I've decided that I can't control everything in this world, but I can control the way I deal with things.