Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

Hi, My name is Tashar. I was banded on 3/3/10. 6 weeks after surgery i got pregnant with my 3rd child. Had to have all fluid removed from band. Had lost 15lbs before getting pregnant. Gained 15lbs while pregnant. I have since had my lil Angel & lost all pregnancy weight. I am right back where i started before getting pregnant. But i am at a stand still now I am getting married in 7 months & still want to lose at least 50lbs b4 then!!

So here is my story: I am a 33 year old gal who has suffered from obesity for over TWO decades!!! With each new year I found myslef easily gaining 10 pounds or more. The straw that broke the camel's back for me was seeing myself in a picture standing next to my sister where I looked double her size. (And, I actually am exactly double her weight.) That was that day I decided that it was time to make a change. I am a mommy of two toddlers and wife of a pretty awesome guy who I've been with for over 12 years. After learning about the sleeve gastrectomy, I felt that this was the best fit for me and I am being sleeved on April 27th. I am totally over the nervousness and now…

Hi! I am new to the board and wanted to introduce myself. I had a lapband put in 11/06 and lost about 60 lbs. not nearly what I was hoping. I had trouble with the lapband and fills so I had to keep my band unfilled and in 5/10 had to have surgery to remove it. At that time I did not want to do a revision. I had not eaten for about a month b/c the band was so tight and I threw everything up, didn't sleep b/c of reflux, etc. I felt like such a failure and thought I would never lose. Fast forward to now. I have continued to gain weight and I cannot enjoy family activities b/c of my weight and decided I needed to do something ASAP. RNY scares me and so I began resea…

I had my VSG on March 16, 2011. I thought that I was doing well with the weight loss and I've been at a stall for the past week. Its so frustrating. I went from 251 down to 239 and the scale has not moved. I'm currently on the mush diet, getting in my Protein shakes and even started back at the gym. I've read through the different threads and I guess I'm just at the "3 week stall". Its even more frustrating because I had surgery with a gal I met at the hospital and she's already lost 26 lbs. I'm truly happy for her, but I just don't know what else I can do at this point besides wait it out. I know how many people feel that hit the stall and it feels like the end of the wo…

I'm 15 days post op. I'm SO HUNGRY! Well, not really- more like I smell food, and I want to eat it. I cooked for my boyfriend yesterday and it was the first time since before surgery, and I almost lost that battle! But anywho! I had the powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury chicken Soup flavored protein- let me just say I hurled all over the counter- that was by far the nastiest thing I've ever tasted. Next, are the slim fast protein- too too sweet, I hate to have sweet drinks. Then I went and bought the Isopure water- this is finally something I can drink. I hate the after taste, but I can drink …

Hello everyone! Im a 40 yr old mom of 2. I've struggled with 90 to 100 lbs to lose since I was 24 and had an unfortunate reaction to the Norplant birth control....that caused me to gain over 90 lbs in less than 3 months. I went from a nice 130 lbs right after the birth of my 1st child, to 230 lbs. In the past 16 yrs I have managed to lose those 90-100 lbs no less than5 times. It ALWAYS comes back. I'm at the age now where I want to spend time doing other things than feeling fat and sluggish and out of breath. I don't want to live the rest of my life worrying about my weight.....I want to LIVE!!!! I'm hoping this surgery will be the tool that helps me do just that. I'm …

I joined the forum november 2010, never posted, just reading alot. I had my sleeve november 15, 2010 and so far i am down 97 pounds. I have had no problems at all. healing was a breeze, I have adjusted to my new diet and eating habits just fine. I excersise alot and feel great. I am sorry for those that are still struggling after surgery, maybe i am an exception. The sleeve was a very good decision for me.

Let me preface this story with the fact that I know that my current relationship with alcohol is and will be different than it was before surgery. What i'm basically saying is, "INB4 outrage & judgement" Before surgery, I was an avid and enthusiastic party girl. I have an extremely stressful full-time, 24x7 boys'-club, mind-numbing soul-crushing (albeit high-paying) career, filled to the brim with heavy drinkers. More than once a week, I find myself out after work either enjoying cocktails with co-workers or going to vendor/customer dinners, where it's not uncommon to have drinks at the restaurant bar before, wine throughout dinner, scotch after, followed by d…

Hello fellow "banders"~ I am brand new to this site and pretty much to the band. I was banded on 3/29/11 by Dr. Johnson in Rochester, NY. There are some issues that I'm hoping to get some help with. Like I said, I'm 3 wks post op and I'm feeling very... blah! I'm done with the liquid, the soft and now I'm beginning the lifestyle diet. I have lost 8lbs and that's it! As I read on here I see that people are kinda saying the same thing. Has somebody out there had the same thing happen? I feel like I can eat anything (just about) and I don't really see a decrease in portion! I'm scheduled for the 1st fill on May 24th, which seems like forever away.. any words o…

Hey Everyone , I was recently Banded on 4/12 and was told I can have diet plain yogurt and Jello along with my liquids ... but after much reading online and feeling a sense of disappointment coming on due to only losing 1llb in 6 days.. im thinking.. did I mess up? Was I not supposed to have Jello or Yogurt? So much stuff online .. im so confused. Please help..

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to share my progress so far with my sleeve. I started my weight loss journey with a lapband at 286 pounds. My band leaked, slipped, and broke apart in my body. No fun and it never really worked. I had my revision to the sleeve on December 27, 2010. One of the best days of my life! So far, I am down 47 pounds in three and a half months. I feel amazing and I am so happy! A few recent NSVs. I made it to ONE-DERLAND! I went to a wedding, was gone for a weekend with no calorie or carb counting, and I LOST two pounds. I have to shop in the "normal" section of the store and I still can't believe it! Sleeve life is great! Don't hesitate i…

Sleeved dec 5 and I've lost 85 pounds. It feels so good. It feels good to see my bones and feel a small waist. it seemed in the beginning I would never be this small but then it just happens and the beat part you can't cheat! When your full your done. 30 more and then it's tighten up this body!

I spoke with a surgeon in my area about having the surgery with a BMI of 30, they said they didn't think it would be a problem to get insurance to pay for my surgery since I have sleep apnea but I am not so certain. I am not hopeful that they will approve it but I am going to give it a shot anyway. Anyone else had any experience with the new "low" BMI requirements and insurance?

I have had the band -2 times now- and have had no success. ABsolutely none. So in the beginning stages of looking at sleeve. Have read some about Mexico doctors. Wonderng if anybody has experiences with doctors in Denver or Albuquerque. I don't know if insurance will pay again (they paid for one lapband). Also curious if get it done in Mexico if something happens back here, some complication....will insurance help with it?? Thanks for any help....

I joined the Lapbandtalk.com today. I am from South Africa and have not had the surgery done yet. My Story: I lost 28kg by following the Weigh-Less program in South Africe. Very successful. That was 16 years ago. Since then we moved to the farm and as an extreme extrovert I really battled with the being alone on this 800ha piece of earth. When my father fell ill I nursed him. The day he died he weighed 29kg. I told myself that I would never ever worry about my body again and should I gain weight just think of him who wanted to eat but couldn't. Well it is 28kg later and I weigh 95kg. The powers to be of normal weight is not with my father, or with a weight …

My name is Kim I am a School Nurse and a mother of four that range from ages 25-7. I was banded 6/14/10 at Baptist Hospital, in Pensacola FL by Dr. Jeffery Friedman. He gave me my life back. I started at 265 and a size 20 and am now 196 and a size 12/14. Before surgery I had high blood pressure, and was a type II Diabetic. Now I have TONS of energy and NO MORE high blood pressure or diabetes!! I wish I had done this years ago. I talk to everyone about this surgery. A few I know have had the surgery and they are like me! WHY DID WE WAIT SOOOO LONG!

Hi- I just joined this forum on my three month anniversary of getting my sleeve. Just a short history- Highest weight 360+ in 2006 Consult for RnY 1 Nov 07, weight 339 Scheduled for RnY 27 May, 08 with Dr. Garth Davis. Found out I might have Lupus 14 May, 08 Had surgery for Lap-Band 30 May, 08, weight 285 Had 18 months of hell with the band- my stomach kept slipping- lowest weight with band 249 after being very ill for 3 weeks- normal weight 265. Band removed 29 Dec 09, weight 266. I was told by Dr. Davis that if I did his medically supervised diet for two months he might preform a sleeve. At one month into the diet, he changed his mind due to all the trouble…

Hi everyone! I'd like to hear opinions on protein shakes/drinks....everyone has their favorites so I'm hoping to find out what tastes good, what you've tried, what NOT to try, etc. I love milkshakes and like chocolate milk, but I want to find things I can buy that will get me through my pre-op and post-op..... Also, if you recommend something, please list where you purchased it in case I'd like to try it too! I'm trying to get a varied diet of protein and other "liquid" food sources so I can have it handy!!! Thanks!

Hello everyone, I am not new here but always have browsed. I just want to know can you feel the lap band, I mean i no you feel the port, but when you cough our move ,or sneeze. See i drive a truck and I bounce all day i will hate to feel that , do you no its there . I am due to get banded June7 and i have alot of question but this is the one that always pop up. Do you feel as normal as before like its nothing there....????? hope this is not a dumb question.

Hey everyone!! I'm all smiles because today I have lost 100.2 pounds!! I had wanted to "give" myself a birthday present of losing 100 pounds by my birthday but the present came 10 days early -- not that I'm complaining! Here's a link to my YouTube celebration: (Dance with me) I hadn't posted my "Tell Your Story" up until today because I felt it was much like everyone else's -- but here goes a hopefully short, but sweet version: I was always a thin kid -- I was active, but loved reading more (still do). I went off to college weighing 135 lbs at 5'9" -- soon gained the freshman 15, but that wasn't a big deal -- lost 10, then gained 20, then lost 25, then gai…

Hi...my first post! I am scheduled for VSG surgery on June 7, 2011 with Dr. Naim in LA/Orange County. I am excited and nervous. It seems like every surgeon is a little bit different, but I actually don't start my pre-op diet until 3 weeks before my surgery. Does this seem unusual? I also had a bi-lateral pulmonary embolism in December, so my surgery is being coordinated with my pulmonologist to make sure all goes well, and I'll have to be extremely diligent after surgery to ensure I do everything I am supposed to in order to avoid another blood clot. I am hopeful that the surgery will help with my diabetes and PCOS. I've done a lot of reading on this forum and o…

I'm so excited! Surgery is at 7:30am, tomorrow, April 6th. Although I haven't posted a lot on this site, I've been reading so many of your stories and have been so inspired. Can't wait to get to focus on the post-op now! I keep waiting for the nerves to kick in, but nothing yet...just excitement!!!

This seemed like the best place to introduce myself and dip my feet into posting... I'm 10 days away from my sleeve procedure (scheduled for April 26), and six days into a two-week liquid diet (actually 16 days, but who's counting, right?). The first couple of days went smoothly, but I've been craving food more the last two days. I thought it would be the opposite! It's not like I'm ready to raid the fridge or anything, but I thought/hoped that after adjusting it would become second nature. I miss food - it kinda feels like when your best friend goes away for camp in the summer. You know you'll be together again soon enough, but you just miss them SOOOO MUCH!! And…

Hi.. my name is Trea. I have my first consult on April 26 2011. I am doing as much reading as I can about the surgery. I think my main concern is the diet adjustments, and planning healthy meals that wont overfill but yet provide enough Vitamins .

Just wanted to introduce myself! I have been going thru the preapproval surgery requirements/process with my Dr's office since late Dec. 2010 and now it's finally here! Surgery is scheduled for next Thursday, April 28th. Now on day 5 of my 2 week pre-op liquid diet. Going well so far. tTrying to find some variety of liquids/protein is a little challenging. Looking forward to a new lifestyle and progress!

Been thinking about this for a long time and I'm just so unhappy with myself. I am hugely active. I have a physically demanding job and I eat ok not great but not awful either. Just used the BMI calculator and OMG still crying its 47. How is that possible I am 5' 4 and weigh about 270 but I am active. I can run around all day not one of those women bitching about their weight and they sit on the couch all day. in my job I walk between 5-7 miles a day. I need to do something. I have done weight watchers and medi fast. It always takes 30-40 off bit then I get stuck and it all seems to come back and then some. My friends and my boy friend love me just the way I am god ble…

Greetings all! I've been reading the forum topics for some time now, and just got approved from my insurance company, so I figured, now that it's really real, that I better introduce myself. The path to get to this point has been frustrating, as the medical group I have been working with is going through a change, and just hasn't gotten their act together just quite yet. Here I thought the most frustrating and stressful part was going to be waiting for insurance approval. Nonetheless, I look forward to sharing my experiences and look forward to reading everyone elses to help ease me through this whole process. Thanks for reading!

Hello, I was told to share my story, so here I am. I am a single mom of an adult daughter and a handicap teenager. Two years after being diagnosed with diabetes I decided to have the lapband. I'm in Springfield, MA. and chose Dr. Fiallo as my surgeon. After dealing with a lot of hurdles, I finally had the surgery done on April 7th, a week and 2 days ago. There has been days when I feel awefully weak. I don't really feel hungry. I try to stay hydrated. My daughter's help has been a blessing, especially in the first days when you can't really be walking around and don't want to be in a kitchen. It is important to alternate your liquids so you don't get bored. Hot te…

Hey everyone! I'm Sarah, i'm 22 in less than a month (wooo!) and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I have been considering getting Lap-band Surgery for awhile now, however, being a surgery phobic, I have put it off. After a very early mid-life crisis moment, I have finally decided to get it done, so I can become the healthy, fit person I want to be and follow my dreams of working in the Australian Police Force Everytime I have googled a question regarding lap-band surgery, I have always been referred onto this forum, so I decided it was probably time to just join up! I look forward to taking this journey with you all

Hello All: My name is Robyn and I'm a new member on LapBand Talk. I was banded on June 7th, 2010 by Dr. Ferrera of Fort Worth Lap Band. I have lost 30 lbs. so far but have lost lots of inches. I took the WLS journey with my mother who had the surgery a week before I did. I look forward to chatting with others on the same journey as me. Robyn June 2010-265 lbs./April 2011-230-lbs.

My name is Becca, and I am 32 and will finally be welcoming my new life in 17 days!!! I will be getting my tummy hugger on May 5th!! I am jumping for joy! Well in my head I am I cant physically jump for joy. I currently weigh in 278 on my scale at home. We will see when I go to the Doctor. I cant wait to be able to climb stairs and I am planning on climbing the Sauk Mountain in Rockport, Wa. I have been tring to get healthy enough to do it. I WILL DO IT!!

I just wanted to say hello. I am new to forums so I feel kinda lost but I think the support everyone gives each other here is great. I was sleeved on 4/11/11 and so far I am down 12 pounds. Yay! Other than that I am hungry and I want to lick my TV whenever there is a food commercial on.

I'm going to Mexico! Surgery is April 28th with Dr. Alvarez. I liked the idea of being able to drive from Dallas rather than fly to San Diego (and it would actually take less time). Not that it was a primary consideration, but a nice benefit. Now I need to get going on the Protein samples, finding out what to bring to hospital, what to have ready at home, etc. I think I may need to get some meals cooked for the fam before i go, too. Keeping a family of ten fed is a challenge on the best of days...may be Herculean for the first few days, weeks (months?) after surgery! Glad to have decided on a sleeve vs. RNY, though, and to have found this forum. Great info! Sooooo ho…

Hey, I had my band fitted on the 5th November 2010. Since then iv lost 2 stone, which is great as I was not hugely overweight to start with. After my first fill I was still able to eat a fair amount of food if I chewed it properly so I had another fill almost 2 weeks ago. I am struggling! I am throwing up after ever meal and can feel even smooth yogurt gurgling to come back up. Will this settle down? I know tat after my first fill I struggled to keep anything down and that eased- but it was not to this extent.

Hi All I am seriously considering lap band surgery. I have struggled with weight 20 of my 28 years on this earth. I am scheduled for my first appointment in 2 weeks. I am a little nervous that my insurance won't cover it as my BMI is right at 40.6 and I don't have any current health issues. I am considering self pay if they don't cover it. Does anyone have advice on the self pay route? I live in new york city and would appreciate any feed back on the surgeons here in the city. Take Care Petunia!

So Im back. I was meaning to do more updates from my well-appointed hospital suite in Mexicali Mexico but I was actually too high to type anything. Anyone who is considering going there must consider this first: their drugs are amazing. Also once you're embroiled in something so wildly outrageous there's not much time to put too many sentences together but I didn't forget about you guys. I am...sleeved. In an earlier post I mentioned that I was late to my surgery, which does not bode well for how timely I'll be to my own funeral. I woke up late. The bus was leaving the hotel without me. I told them to go. And I had a good twenty minutes to recalibrate my options.…

Well I just looked back and its 2 1/2 weeks since I hit onederland, and I really couldn't imagine ANYTHING feeling so good as that did, but I guess it has been a good couple of weeks all in all, and it does!! First I hit onderland, :cheer2: :cheer2: then my next aim was to be overweight, and no longer obese, which I hit a week ago :clap2::clap2: , and today I got back into the 13 stone bracket AND hit the 40lb loss marker :dance: :dance: I'm 2lb off 3 stone loss, and 6lb away form being the same weight as my wedding day (After not seeing that for 8 years of self abuse, and 2 pregancnies!). So here is my next set of promises to myself; I am going to go bac…

Started on my journey towards a healthy me and started a blog to share my journey with others and also to help keep me on track if I know that someone is watching. www.workingtoloseit.com Steve NE Ohio St. Vincent Charity Hospital Initial Consult 4/21/2011 Psych eval 4/26/2011

Hello, my name is Khristy. I am new to Lap-Band talk. I had my surgery 18 days ago. I go for my first fill on May 5th. I have a lot of questions about it. My first question is..... after my band fill, will it be like the first few days after surgery? I mean.... for the first three days after surgery, I could barely drink 4 oz at a time. As time went on, I could drink and eat more. Right now, I have very little restriction. I assume and I hope, that this will change when I have a fill. Do any of you have an answer?

I am 3 days post op and feel like I have terrible heartburn :-( Does anyone know if I can take antacids? I will call the Dr in the morning but since it is Sunday I was hoping someone out there could help me. Amy

Hi, I am new here and very excited to be beginning my journey towards WLS. I have many people in my life who feel strongly one way or another about this choice I have made and so I am spending my presurgery time researching lap-band and blogging about my personal experiences throughout the process. Does anyone else have family members who disapprove?? Ugh!!! If you have a WLS (before or after) blog you'd like me to follow reply below with it and please follow mine at http://banderella.org/

Hi this is Julie74 i was just wondering about pain i got up to fast yesterday and felt pain strait away bad pain and i hope i have not hurt the band still in pain to day but not as bad hope i will be ok for work tomorrow first day back .

Thank You Dr. Oliak and Staff, Four months ago I came to you weighing 330 and now I am down to 239. 91 life draining pounds gone for good. I learned that the magic of the Oliak Center isn't that Dr. Oliak is a great surgeon ( I'm sure he is but hey I slept through the whole thing) The magic that is the Oliak Center is Dr. Oliak's vision and commitment to the patient after surgery. The encouragment, educational classes, support meetings are great. His staff is awesome! His PA Allie is a wonderful teacher and extremely knowledgable in all things bariatric. PA Kay is a great surgical assistant , attentive to my concerns and was very compassionate to my very nervous wife. Di…

Well, I am at the end of the line here. I am currently at the heaviest I have ever been. I am serious about having surgery and have an appointment on the 29th of this month at a nearby center. It is a group type meeting and I guess I would make an appointment for a consultation afterwards. My sister and bil are doing the lap band, my bil who is an md in the army is adamant about not doing gastric sleeve. What are the differences really? Is gastric sleeve really that more risky? In the booklet they have sent me it looks like the risks and benefits are pretty much the same. I like the gastric sleeve because it seems the weight loss is quicker. Does anyone want to talk abou…

I start my liquid diet in 3 days and surgery on April 29! So excited!!! Looking for suggestions on what to bring to the hospital.

Hi Everyone, I am totally NEW to chat rooms -- I guess that's what this is? I am not very computer savvy. I just received a pre-auth from TriWest Insurance Company :confused3: for 4 visits with a surgeon. Which, I guess is the first step--then what can I expect? I found this website (GREAT idea, by the way -- kudos to Alex) while I was doing a little on-line research about the lap band procedure -- mostly at THIS point I'm interested in what I have to do to get my insurance company to approve :not_ripe: the actual surgery itself. My understanding is that I will have to have a psych eval -- ee-gads, I'm worried about that and some dietary tr…

So at 5:30 this morning I was on my way to Good Sam for my lap band surgery. Surprisingly I honestly had about 6 seconds of nervousness and then was fine. Got down there, got in my gown, stats were taken and I was good to go by 7. Had to take out my tongue ring but luckily it didn't close lol. At about 7:10 I was in the room getting nice and looped up on what the anesthesiologist liked to call my double margarita lol. They rolled me in to the OR around 7:20 and then "sent me to the Bahamas". Next thing I knew I was waking up. Very groggy but I recovered very quickly. They expected me to be in recovery for about 2 hours before taking my xrays and moving …

I just got back yesterday from my vgs surgery in Tijuana, I am doing great. No pain, gas, dry heaves, vomiting, or cramping. Everything went very well. I followed the liquid/soft food diet for 10 days prior to the surgery, and the last 3 days I had nothing but clear broth and water. My coordinator was a God send, her name is Nina Mehrabani, and she was by far one of the best people I came in contact with. She recently moved to Tijuana from Orange County CA, so she could use her own private residence as a recovery house for her patients, and it was absolutely beautiful! She had her housekeeper who is also trained for our medical needs, take us shopping in Tijuana on Tue an…

I am from NC.I had my surgery on 3/25/2011. I have lost 21lbs. My doctor is Dr. Enochs.I am really doing good. I am on pureed foods this week and next week. Dr. Enochs also performed the newest procedure to go with my lap band and it is called Gastric Plication. Is there anyone else that have had this additional procedure to go with their lap band? Anyway, I am 3 weeks out and I am not having any problems, except one thing and I saw it mentioned on here and that is constipation. I am having plenty of water and such, but still having problems. Right after my surgery I had the diarrhea, but not now. I have gone from one extreme to the other. I know that is TMI, but I know t…

start liquid diet on 4/18/11 have surgery date set for 4/25/11 any advise well help