Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

Day 5 of the preop diet . I am sooooo sick of soup with no substance in it. I am staying satsified, but I miss chewing. Been adding ice to my shakes to give it more texture, (and the splash of Kalula doesn't hurt ). I know why and I know I can get through it, but I would give my kingdom for a piece of meat. Just need to vent

Hello my Name is Caroline ... I am getting banded on Jan 21st . I had my pre op appointment today and the doctor was great. I feel little more less nervous . Im still a little scared about the protein shake thing ... Any advice you can give me would be great . Would also like to meet someone who is getting banded around same time so we can support one another ~!

I weighed in this morning and I've reached onederland, I have not seen a one on the scale for years. If feels so good, thank you sleeve.

Can anyone give me a timeframe of how long it took them to get the pending to approved from tricare prime south

My journey to have weight loss surgery began two years ago. To make a long story short, the doctor's office I used was not highly recommended. According to the OH website, he had great reviews and when I went to the seminar I liked what I heard but my experience with his office was horrible. It's was often difficult to speak to someone in his office. You always had to email them or leave a message. It would take 2, sometimes 3 days or more to get a return phone call or email from them. Needless to say, I became very frustrated and gave up Back in November when I went to see my PCP for an annual checkup she told me about another program and that several of her patie…

Got my date for surgery today. February 9th is it! Pre-op physical January 24th. All good to go. Took just about exactly 6 months from the initial info meeting till today when I got my date.

Im thinking of getting the Lap Band and have done a TON of research...then I get to this site and Im starting to get a little more than concerned. I will be a self pay patient and I keep reading about the hundreds of people who arent losing wieght, feeling unsuccessful, or have had out and out complications! Are there people out there who havent had any complications and their band is working to help them lose wieght at a steady pace? Anyone who isnt disappointed and the band is working as intended? Being self pay I think my biggest dear is leakage or some other small compication. Any input would be appreciated. Id love to have the surgery, I just dont want to waste …

Hi all, My name is Amy. I am 34 years old. I was banded on 08/09. I have had a really tough year and have lost no wieght. I was doing the overnight shift at my job and I had gotten very ill after my surgery. I thought going into surgery would solve everything but really does not. When they tell you it is a life style change it really is. I have struggled with my wieght for my whole life. I thought my first year after being banded I would be half the wieght I am but it didnt. I think I gave up on myself. But you really shouldn't do that . As of this past monday I made a choice to get thin if it kills me! lol.... I went back to my surgeron because I got so mad tha…

I have tricare standard so i havent talked to my PCM about the surgery, i dont think she would be very supportive. I am 5/6 or 7 and I am 225, with a BMI of 36. I have high blood pressure, depression, and knee pain. I want the surgery so bad and I am scared they will say no. Has anyone else that is not over 100 lbs got approved? I went to the seminar today and should be getting a call from the surgeons office next week.

Well, I have IEHP Medical insurance and just found out that they will cover lap band surgery if they deem it to be medically necessary. I'm 28 year old 5' 7 and weigh 267lbs. My BMI is 40.3 and I have chronic high blood pressure, a pace maker and have had congestive heart failure. I have an appointment with my general practitioner this week and will begin Weight Watchers as my 6 months of medically supervised weight loss program. I really want to be approved and don't want to mess anything up. Can anyone who's been banded tell me more about the insurance approval process and if there's anything I can do to ensure I get approved?

Hi this is Lisa, and I had my VGS on 12/14. I started my pre op diet at 434 lbs and now I am down to 400. The problem is, I have been at 400 for 6 days now. I am freaking out. Is that all the weight I am going to lose? I get all my water and protien in, walking is hard for me so I am doing a little bit but not 30 minutes. Will I lose any more weight I didn't go through this to lose just 34 pounds. Oh my gosh I am frustrated. How can I not lose with the small amount of food I am eating? I really need some reassurances here if anyone has some. Thanks

Hey guys! I'm new here, I was banded on 12/20/10, so I am almost exactly 3 weeks out. I have done very well, however I am still pretty sore, I don't know, for some reason I just thought this surgery would be a walk in the park. Anyway no pain no gain I guess! I have lost 22 lbs since my surgery date which I'm told is great. I am struggling with a couple things tho and hope that someone can shed some light on this for me. 1) I am trying so hard to get my Water in but just never seem to get more than 30-36 oz a day in so about 1/2 of what I should be consuming. Any suggestions there? 2) I am still on mushy foods until my 6 week appointment and I tell ya I am st…

hello my name is mahlon and im now 7 days from surgery and i cant wait although i am quite nervous! I was just surfing the web and found this site so i figured i drop in a nd see how it was. I now have a pure hatred for chocolate and strawberry protein shakes but other than that my pre op diet is going well i cant belive that ive lost 14 pounds just this week its crazy but exciting. i have a question if anyone could help me. i was diagnosed with a mild sleep apnea i think he said my # was like 8 whatever that means but never the less i have a cpap machine and i can not sllep at all with it! i have not used it and i am worried about what problems this will cause i was t…

My Quest for weight loss surgery started approx. over two years ago, it’s been a series of lows and highs from my stand point. First my primary care physician suggested I should consider bariatric surgery because of my body weight, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, high uric acid levels, high blood pressure, and sleep problems. At the time my insurance carrier was Blue Cross Blue Shield who covers bariatric surgery, but my employer did not put weight loss surgery in their group plain needless to say I did not qualify. A few months later I was laid off. My hope to lose 100 pounds was fading fast. In late May of 2010 I was covered under my wife group plain with Aetn…

Hi all! I am newly banded as of 12/30/10 at 8:30 am. I am from south of Houston and have been getting ready for this for over a year. If my original doctor's group or surgeon's office could screw it up any more, I would have been shocked. I almost didn't get things done in time. Gotta say the soreness is more than I anticipated and I have had a few outpatient surgeries. The gas is still stuck in my left shoulder and although I have never had acid indigestion, I have had an awful time of it since being banded. Do any of you have any hints or helpful tricks to overcome the heartburn? Goodness knows I don't want to have any further surgery because of it. Also…

Hi everyone! I was supposed to have my gallbladder removed & get my sleeve on Monday January 3rd. But...my gallbladder decided it no longer wanted to be in me. I went fir my pre op on December 30 and was in so much pain that my surgeon sent me directly to the ER. He said it looked bad & he couldn't help me. I ended up having emergency surgery on Friday morning. I have a new date to get sleeved. February 22, 2011. I'm nervous & I'm having doubts now. I didn't want 2 surgeries. Do I want to go through that again? The anesthesia is this scary part. I'm at home recovering from this one and I'm stressing about the other.

Hi Everyone, I was just banded on Jan 5th, 2011 and am in Winnipeg, MB Canada. I`m doing okay, 3 days post op and looking forward to getting to know some of you here. I am down about 20lbs from the pre-op diet but I hear this may stall for the next few weeks. In Canada this is a surgery that is not covered by health care so I had to pay out of pocket. Generally the first fill is 6 weeks post op. It`s quite a journey to be on but I`m looking forward to being able to do a lot more with my 3 kids. I`ve chosen not to tell anyone about the surgery except my husband of course and my dad who is in another province. I`m curious to know what other people have chosen in th…

Well my BMI is over 50, therefore I qualify for an unheard of FOUR WEEK pre-op diet. Looks like I'm purchasing a lot more Slimfast shakes from Amazon, plus more Protein drinks! I'm also starting a YouTube journal, will post a link once I get it up and running.

Hi! I just started a blog about dealing with being a 'foodie' and having a lap band. Please let me know what you think...thanks! http://bravefoodworld.blogspot.com/

Hello all, I am new to banding as of 12/20/10. Seems like I am one of the rare males on this site, although I just found this today so I haven't read all that many posts. My starting weight pre-surgery was 346, as of this morning I am at 311. My first fill is on 1/21, I am really looking forward to it, as of now I feel like there is nothing there, other than when I don't chew something right. My hunger and appetite hasn't gone down, but I am doing a pretty good job of policing myself and holding on until the first fill!!!!

Hello.I am 35 years old.I live in Georgia.i have 3 boys and I am married.i went for an appt last week with a surgeon.His staff was very friendly.I have to get another EGD next week.I look forward to reading about other peoples journey and sharing mine.I have waited so long to have this procedure.Insurance on my previous jobs would not cover it.I finally have a job that will.Now it just waiting to see.

Hi everyone! I just joined today and am excited to be apart of the community. I am not banded, nor do I have a date yet. I have a seminar at the end of the month which is my jumping off point. I'm nervous that i won't be accepted to get the lap band because I don't meet the BMI requirement but I continue to remain optimistic. Being only 24 and having high blood pressure has been the key contributor to realizing I can't loose weight (and keep it off) on my own. I look forward to the guidence that I will no doubtingly be needing through this journey.

Sorry to post this here, but I can't find the information I need nor can I get to the correct forum. I'm not loving the new site! A friend of mine just told me that my personal picture is showing up next to my posts instead of the profile picture that I uploaded. I'd rather not show my personal pic as I've not told very many people about my surgery. I can't find where to change this. Any help would be much appreciated! I can't even find where LBT got this picture from!

My rebirth is fast approaching.. Hello all I'm a 30 year old middle school Language Arts teacher. Its taken me about a year to get approval fro Humana and we are scheduled for Jan. 18th. Five days after my 31st birthday. So for me this is a re-birth. I've had a count down going on FB about the "New Me" thats on her way. Iknow a great deal of things will change in my life and all will be for the better. I started my Clear liquids diet on Jan. 4, by the 7th I felt as if I were starving to death. I gave in to cheese and some meat. This landed me in bed sick as a dog. So lets say I learned my lesson. This surgery means so much to me. I've been the "big gurl" all my …

Hello everyone! I'm almost finished with the six month supervised diet and exercise. Also will have the eval with the pysch completed on the 21st. Then one more visit with my PCP then everything will be submitted to UHC. YAY!!!!!!! I'm hopeful that I can get a surgery date end of February or maybe the begining of March. (depending on how long the approval process takes and having to go and get pre-admitted at the hospital and schedule one more visit with the surgeon) I can not believe that it is almost here. Neither can my family. They have been so supportive. I know I can count on them being there for me. Including my extended family here on this forum. I will update…

Hi Everyone! I am new to this online support stuff. I will just introduce myself. My name is Chandra and I am from Texas. I have been overweight my whole life. When I was 18 I was diagnosed with PCOS and told I would never have children. That led to a depression which led to even more weight gain ontop of what I had already gained. (which was the reason I went to the doc in the first place) I began thinking of the lap band in 2008 when I had my gallbladder removed and my surgeon said that I really really needed to lose weight if I was going to consider children. Well I have a very difficult time losing the weight due to the PCOS. I began the approval proccess once befo…

I just found out my surgery date is 2/14/11. I'm having it done in Cincinnati, OH at Journey Lite by Dr. Curry/mobley. Has anyone had their band surgery done here. Any advice, opinions? Thanks!

i was banded on jan3. i went to dr.marley in windber, pa - his team is absolutely wonderful!! i spent this past week relaxing while my body healed, a lot of sleeping, pogo games, movies and reading. i feel much better, except for the tenderness in my abdomen. but its not that bad! i am down 8lbs so far =) i return to work on jan17, i am a med nurse at a very busy skilled nursing home. so can't follow the 20lb wt restriction there! my husband, family and friends have been so supportive. i love reading everyone's posts on here, the advice is great! i am so excited to start losing this fat!!!!

Hi, my name is Christine. I live in LA, California and am awaiting my surgery date! I am being banded on 1.17.11. I am a teacher and am going to take 5 working days off. The 17th is a holiday, so I will not go back to work until the following Tuesday (1.25.11). Does that sound right? Is anyone else getting banded on the 17th?

Hello all! I'm Dora..mother of 4, 2 of which are 19month old twins and I have decided to have my Lap Band! I need it now more than ever! I want to be able to run and chase my kids around without the worry of the extra weight and the high blood pressure. Wish me luck on my journey. I know that it won't be easy, but I'm ready for the challenge. Anyone else in the midwest...Central Indiana? I'm being banded by Dr. Inman at the Bariatric Center of Excellence at St. Vincent Hospital, hopefully in the next 8 weeks.

i have been faithfully on my 14 day liquid diet and i must say that at day 10, i feel kinda wierd. I am exhausted to being with. but i am also very...full? its like there's just no room for anything else. i force my liquids and i squeeze in 2, and if i am lucky, 3, protein shakes a day. anyone else feel this way? has my tummy shrunk that much??!!

I had VGS on July 27, 2010. I have lost 70 pounds and most of my hair so far. I have had problems with excessive belching and vomiting since day one. Any time I eat it might stay down and might not. My surgeon is not very responsive to my issues. I have told him from the beginning that something was wrong and he just kept telling me that it was just too soon after surgery. I saw my primary care doctor and she felt that I had an obstruction of some kind. Called the surgeon and they ordered an upper gi series which showed a partial stricture which eventually opened up and an ulcer. Now I am waiting for the surgeon to get back with me and let me know how to fix…

Surgery 2 years ago...120 lbs lost has left me with a lot of excess skin even after hours and hours of exercise/toning. This summer going to get some of the skin on belly, arms taken off and liposuction on bra bulge and neck liposuctions. Can't wait to move on to this new phase. Angie

Hi there! Happy New Years! I am scheduled for surgery on Jan 11th. I am 4 days into the pre-op diet. First few days were really hard - but it feels like it's getting easier!! Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with Dr. Bradley Schwack or the Langone Weight Center? I've had all the other tests, but I still haven't had the psych exam - trying to get it scheduled! It would be a bummer if that held me up! Would love to hear others experiences! Thanks Ann

I just found out my surgery date is 2/14/11. I'm having it done in Cincinnati, OH at Journey Lite by Dr. Curry/mobley. Has anyone had their band surgery done here. Any advice, opinions? Thanks!

just wondering if any one that has had the sleeve regrets having it done!!! i hope to have lost my weight and be ready for surgery around first of feb!!!!

Hello, just starting jumping thur all the hoops to get approved. Seeing a dietitan monthly tell surgery is scheduled, done alot of blood work, had my gallbladder ultrasound and mammogram. Had my visit with psychiatrist and passed! Now waiting to see if Empire BC/BS will cover the sleeve. Don't know what I will do if they don't. I know I dont want to have bypass or lap-band. I know I have to get my weight down and I really think the sleeve is my best chance. It still really scares me some night I can't sleep just thinking about if I get approved. I lay there thinking about how much pain I will be in. What if it takes me forever to recover. So many what ifs!! If I do get…

I have been trying my best to have this operation. i was sent a book from my insurance company and found a few sergeons. The first one, went to the seminor and followed throw with all my appts.When I was to meet the nutrinoust, boy how things have changed. I was to pay a total of 4,000. for food pills and so on. I even had to get a co-signer.Well I called and told them I would go with a different plan, (much less) than I call my doctors office after 3 weeks of waiting to hear from them. I had no idea what I was in for," Oh, we don't take your insur. anymore".....that was it, my depression had ski-rocketed.I had lost a total of 18 lbs since , I was 350lbs and my BMI was 5…

Hi. I'm Katie (as you prbably guessed from my display name. Lol). I'm 20 years old, and a full-time college student studying music. I was born and raised in Northern Illinois, and have lived there my entire life. I was banded on Monday, January 3, 2011. I honestly wish that I had found this place earlier. I have an awesome support system at home, but it would have been cool to hear about everyone's stories. You all inspire me .So, I hope to get to know everyone better, and I'm glad to have a place to talk to people about what I'm going through where people will understand me, because they've been there too. I'm going to look around here a bit more now, and start talking t…

just thought i would see if there is anyone else out there in central florida just getting started with the process like me.

Hi all, I am sure you've all been where I am today, waiting for the insurance company to say OK. Right now I am at 372 pounds 12 pounds short of my all time high of 384. I am 62 years old and a 6'5" male. I have and continue to work out in the gym 3+ days a week 1 hour aerobic, 1/2 hour walking and 1/2 hour weight training. The lowest weights I use are 100 pounds for overhead press, In short I am quite muscular under a protective layer of blubber, I have become a human walrus. In was pretty stable at 220-240 pounds until 20 years ago and the weight has been steadily creeping on my frame since then. Now I have hypertension, painful joints and I fear I am pre-diabetic. …

Hi Everyone! Obviously, I'm new to thesite and of course, I have questions. First question starts withthe lap-band itself. I haven't seen my doctor yet, as being in the militarywe need referrals for everything (really annoying) and I have yet to make myappointment. What should I expect andhow long would they make me wait until I can have the surgery. In mymind, I am 120 + lbs over my ideal weight and I've been fighting this issue fornearly five and a half years...(and I've recently gained over 40 lbs in the lasttwo). I know a lot has to do with my location and my eating habits, butit is still hard to deal with, when we've been trying to get p…

Hi, i am new to the group. I am in the stage of preparing for the lapband surgery. I was diagnosed with PCOS this year and would feel like this would really help me. Any ideas would be very helpful, because i am new to this.

I had my surgery on Nov 26th and now, for last one-two weeks or so, I can sometimes have a very light color of diarreah, though in very small amounts. sometimes it can be 5 times a day, and other days it can be none at all. Any ideas?

Hey there, just got the call today and I'll be banded on January 31st! I'm feeling so many emotions right now but first and foremost I want a buddy. Also I'm a type 1 diabetic on the pump.

Hi All - I will be having my surgery next Monday, January 10th - I am excited and nervous! But mostly I am looking forward to starting my new healthy life! I am having it done at Duke Raleigh in Raleigh, NC. Anyone else in NC or having the surgery done on the 10th? I have also started a blog for my journey...would love for you to check it out! http://thebandontherun.blogspot.com/ Amanda

I am getting a little closer on meeting my insurance companies requirements. I have one more physician supervised weight loss session and 2 more months of support group meetings. Psych eval was today and since they didn't lock me up, I am hopeful that everything there will be fine.

Hey everyone, I am Kelly.. I am 27 years old.. I have my surgery set for Jan 13th.. I am excited.. havent felt any "bad" feelings just yet though lol.. hoping not too.. I have tried several other "diets" and well none worked.

One-month since my VSG I have been thinking about my last few months and how I desperately read every post I could fine before surgery to get as many opinions and experiences as I could. I decided that I would post some things about my experience so I can maybe help the same way all of those others helped me. My surgery was 6 December at a Naval Medical Center San Diego. I had fantastic care while in the hospital and the only stumbling blocks were I was so dehydrated from the pre-op diet and colon prep that they had a very hard time finding my veins and on the second day my vein gave out and they could not find another vein to use. After 10 sticks they finally call…

Hi! I am new to this site, and am looking for friends and advise. I had my lapband on 9/24/10, since then I lost 30lbs in the first month and nothing since. I have just had my second fill on 12/23/10, I do now feel restriction meat always gets stuck and have vomitted a few times. Because of that I am very careful about what I will eat, I am back to thick liquids, like pudding consistency. I don't understand why I am having such a hard time loosing anymore weight!! I don't eat alot and do skip meals and have slacked off on my protein shakes. Could that be the reason? I can understand maybe not loosing, but gaining???? I do drink like 5 bottles of water a day so I…