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Earlier I posted this post about being sick of the sleeve and desperate and doing the duodenal switch...blablabla...yada,yada,yada........ Then I went back to the gym to play a game of squash.We played hard and fast and my goodness it felt soooo good. This all made me decide that I will lose more weight.Even if I have to learn to run a hundred km at a time.I will do whatever I can to lose the last 38 pounds. My friend is a personal trainer and I will start train with him next week.I need to start doing some serious muscle building. My goodness,why would I not lose weight if I really work hard?Why do I feel that its not fair that my weight loss have stopped?Who said life was fair? No more chip on my shoulder about this.Yes,I might have terrible days where the scale might affect my mind but I will think positively about losing weight and getting to goal. Tomorrow morning before we go out with friends I will do some exercise and in the afternoon I will either go and swim in the sea or I will go walk while it is still 97 degrees!(swim sounds like fun!)

It is your choice, but in your shoes I would have still chosen the sleeve. Based on its success rate, and its complication risks. Its a tool, just like a bypass would be. How successful that tool is to you depends on how well you use it, and how well you make the necessary changes in your life to make that tool do its job.

I think its a personal choice. i had heard somethings from people i knew who had the bypass and i felt it wasnt for me. I started out at 325lbs and my drs as well as my goal for me was 160. Thats a total of 165lbs to lose....im 5'8'' by the way and im 25 yrs old. I had surgery just shy of 5 months ago on May 10th 2012. and im 97lbs down, i have 68lbs to go. Its still a ways to go but i cant believe its happening so soon. i hope to be at goal by january? (hopefully!) i wish you the best of luck in whatever you choose!! the sleeve has given me a whole new life to look forward to!

I believe you can lose as much weight as you need to ... but with a twist. It really is up to you, how compliant with the rules you are willing to be and the exercise regimen you are committed to. I am 15 months out and been at goal since last March. I have lost 120 pounds and still have excellent restriction. I know that if I wanted to, I could lose more, but at this point, I am afraid that would mostly be muscle. If you read the boards, you will see posts from many folks who will complain about not losing weight, but will also say that they are not exercising or they are not eating the right foods. As far as the foods go, I think we all probably started out with a poor relationship with food and the sleeve doesn't really address that. So, unless you are willing to confront and correct that, this may be an issue for you, too. Exercise can also be a challenge for us as it may have never been a part of our lives and starting it now is difficult. Bottom line is, you will get out of the sleeve exactly what you put into it. If you can be compliant and do the right thing, I don't believe there is any limit to the amount of weight a sleever can lose.

I recently purchase a pack of whole wheat pita pockets, they are round and if you slice them in half they make a little pocket. Once half is less calories than a slice of whole what toast and taste great. I have been making myself and my hubs sandwiches with these. My hubs like to put laughing cow chipolte cheese and ham in one and heat heat for a hot ham and cheese - low cal and high protein. I had an peanut butter and banana pita - got my protein and my fruit in. The pitas are so thin, it gives you just enough bread to feel like it's a sandwich, but not so much it gets stuck. These pita's are great for stuffing with deli slices and cheese, chicken or tuna salad, PB and banana or even a scrabled egg and cheese for morning breakfast. We are loving these things- if you have tried them but like a sandwhich or need an easy holder for chicken or tuna salad while you are on the go you gotta try them. What lapband friendly items have you found that are awesome?

I also have a 180+ pound weight loss goal. When I first went for my info session and initial surgeon consult, I thought I would be considering bypass only and even then I wasn;t sure. After a discussion with the surgeon, PA, nutritionist, and extensive review of this and other sites, I decided the sleeve was a better fit for me. Not everyone would come to the same conclusion, and you have to weigh each option for you and your health. I personally was swayed by the slightly lower overall complication rate of the sleeve (compared to RNY bypass), less concern for malabsorption syndromes, and no dumping. The figures quoted to me were expected 70-80% loss of excess weight with the bypass, and 60-70% loss of excess weight with the sleeve. The bypass with the duodenal switch might have slightly different pros/cons, but overall, again it comes down to what might seem like the best fit for you and the nutritional and overall lifestyle you will have post-surgery. I am now both excited and nervous as I have just over 3 weeks left until surgery. Good luck to you and use these forums and this community as an excellent source of info and support system though this process!

Congratulations on your decision, Good Luck!!

I made it through my first full anesthesia surgery and everything went well. the doctor performed a Single Incision placement of my band so I only really have one scar (currently healing very nicely) in my belly button. For some reason I was more worried about the anesthesia than the actual surgery, and boy did it seem like one second. The surgery lasted around 1 1/2 hours and my first recollection happened in recovery staring up at my mom in pain. Geez, did I not expect the gas pain. I felt like an elephant was trying to sit in my upper chest and boy did that hurt so badly. In the next few hours, I ended up in a recliner because lying down was too painful. My incision decided to bleed a lot so I had to get it redressed, and the pain meds had me in another planet so I couldn't even walk very much even though they wanted me to walk as much as possible. Luckily I was able to go home that night. But, what I did not expect was that I could not lie down flat, not even a little bit. The most i could muster was sitting in my couch with my feet raised. I stayed in that position for the most part for almost 3 days. The gas would move up and down between my chest and right shoulder and it was agony sometimes. When I was finally able to lie on my side I could have cried out in happiness. Today is day 5 and I feel a lot better, so much so that I made it to work, but taking it very easy and not pushing any limits. I'm not sure if its because I'm still in recovery or because of the lack of food, but I do feel sort of weak and a bit out of it. I can't wait to start my mushy/puree phase. I've lost 24 pounds since starting my pre-op liquid diet, have not had any nausea or issues with my liquids. They all go down very easily and took me two days to feel my first sense of hunger. Feeling the band is such an undescribable feeling, its tight first thing in the morning but once i've been up for an hour or so its ready to go. Now I am hungry but I want to heal right, so I have been making sure I have been hydrated and taking at least 2 protein shakes a day. All i need now is to get rid of the last bit of gas pain and I can continue this journey!!! Have a great day everyone!

I thought with me eating much less my grocery bill would go down, but it hasn't, but it hasn't gone up either. Instead of buying crap (little debbie / french fries) I buy healthy things - fruit and veggies. I no longer buy any soft drinks, just crystal light flavor packs for water. I am married so I do have to buy for the hubs, but while he isn't banded he opted to adopted the banded life. He eats the same healthy foods I do just in a large quantity, but hey that is a step. We have opted to oust junk foods all together. So I no longer go down the junk isles. I use to buy a lb of sugar monthly, I have purchased one in 4 months now - don't use it any more. I use to buy hamburger, chicken and pork. Now I still buy chicken, but opt for ground turkey instead of beef and still do a little pork sometimes and a lot more fish. We also use eggs instead of meat - I made an awesome veggie quiche last night and it gave us dinner last night and breaksfast for today and tomorrow- that is the way to stretch a buck. I have learned that Mrs. Dash makes fish better grilled and broiled than it was when we ate it fried. So while my bill hasn't gone down, I feel like the quality of food I purchase is better and I like that. Fresh veggies and fruit are great. My hubs has given up high cal yogurt for apple slices and likes it better. So I don't mind that the bill hasn't gone down quality means more than quantity so that is the aim these days. What has being banded done for your grocery bill?

Saramoni, we will be experiencing our weight loss journey together. My surgery is 8.23. I look forward to change and Dooter thanks for letting us know how drastic things may be during the healing process but eventually a new normal will kick in. Good stuff!