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Diva, First I'm sorry that you are going through this. In all honesty, I think it's pretty normal. I was pretty weepy and emotional the first 3-4 weeks. Then I hit a stall and was super bummed and started questioning myself and the surgery. This is my 3rd surgery so I am a bit more experienced but I still went through some of these things. As far as following the post-op diet I think you are on a pretty strict diet. I was allowed mushy meats and foods at around 3-4 weeks and I definitely started feeling better after that. I haven't really eaten anything that wasn't allowed but I have definitely over-eaten and grazed more than I "should" have. I think that we need to remember that we've had surgery to become healthy - healthy people eat "junk" on occasion and take small tastes of high calorie food. That will be okay eventually. In the meantime, make sure that you have healed and that you are thinking about what you are eating before you eat. I have found that pre-planning my food has helped but I still go off the rails every once in a while. No one is perfect, give yourself lots of credit for taking the steps you already have. You may want to try to find a WLS support group in your area. Although you most likely won't find anyone who's had plication, you may find people who are going through similar things. Take care of yourself! Go on a walk and take a deep breath

I know! I had to practically cry to get another prescription. Luckily DH had horrible acid reflux before he started losing weight and he was prescribed the same PPI so I can always use those as back-up (shhh!).If u can't get a prescription then u'll have to buy it OTC - it's cheaper at costco or u can get coupons on-line.

PS I'm still taking a PPI daily and I do think that helps in reducing acid and hunger pangs. I could be totally wrong but I dont plan on going off it.

Hi all! I definitely can eat more but I make sure that I measure everything I can. I follow the philosophy "just because I can doesn't mean I should". I can probably eat 4 oz of dense protein but I don't want to stuff my new tummy. Do I still overeat at times? Yes. Do I still eat too often because I "think" I'm hungry? Yes.There are days when I eat closer to 1400 calories because I tend to eat out often for my business. On those days I try to work out a bit more. Please remember that I had a Lapband for almost 10 years prior to plication so I've had a lot of time to get used to measuring, chewing and eating this way. It takes time. I have been very interested in how naturally thin people live and eat. Some of the things I've noticed are they almost always keep a loose track of their calories, if they are going to eat out or eat a large meal then they cut back on calories in other meals and they are active on an almost daily basis. I am trying to live this way as well. My goal for the plication is to not only lose weight but to keep it off forever, something I didn't do with the band.

I own a plus size Rockabilly, swing and vintage online clothing store. You can email or message me if you want more info. I like Torrid a lot as I tend to prefer the 40s and 50s look too but they are pretty expensive.

Thanks everyone!! I'm bouncing around 252, 253, 254 this week so I'm going to increase my protein a bit and decrease the amount of food I'm eating at night. I tend to be a night eater (was before surgery also) but I found that I need a little snack about 30 minutes before bedtime. I don't get "hungry" but do feel a bit empty. Hunger that I experienced before WLS and even with an empty band has been greatly diminished with the plication. I'm seeing Dr. Billy on Thursday and want his scale to register at least a 30 lb. loss as well (you know how doctor's scales are - Grrrr!). I'm including a meal from today to give an idea of what I'm eating 2+ months out. Bfast: 1/2 GNC lean protein shake (85 calories, 12.5g protein), Water - about 8-10 oz. Snack: 1/2 yogurt (3 oz, 40 calories) w/ 1/4 c. of Kashi Go Lean Crunch (48 calories) = 78 calories, Water - about 8-10 oz. Lunch: 3/8 of a turkey burger with 3/8 of the bottom bun only - I know it's a weird fraction but it's more than 1/4 but not quite 1/2! ,about 4 grapes (I was pretty full) (about 280 calories) No Food Snack, I drank 20 oz of Vitamin Zero water about 1 hour after lunch Dinner: About 4 Tbsp of Egg Salad, 6 Special K crackers, 3 blueberries (guessing about 220 calories), 8-10 oz of water Snack: (will be) 1 container of yogurt mixed with 2 strawberries and 1/2 c. of Kashi Go Lean crunch (180 calories) *more often than not I can't eat all of this and will save it for tomorrow night's snack, 8-10 oz of water and 1/2 Vitamin Zero water (10 oz.) My total calories will be around 860 for the day. I worked out this morning and burned 450 calories and plan on doing a Zumba or walking video later tonight to burn about 200 more. Hope this helps~

Congrats!! You are doing great and I totally agree about keeping the weight off this time. Are you exercising and getting enough water? I found that those were 2 key factors to help me. Good luck on your journey and congrats again on your weight loss!

Yesterday was my 2 month anniversary since surgery and I've lost 30 pounds. The first month I lost pretty quickly and was down about 20 pounds the first 3 weeks. I stalled from Feb. 28 until Mar. 15 and finally lost 1 pound. Over the next 2 weeks, I lost another 3 pounds. So my weight loss definitely slowed down. These past couple of weeks I increased my water intake and my activity level. I have exercised pretty much every day since about mid-March. Even if I go on a quick 20 minute walk with my dog, I do some form of exercise every day. I am usually at the gym for at least 1 hour. My workout routine looks like this: Mon - Zumba (1 hr.) Tues - Walk/Jog (40 min. or 2 milesish) Wed - Zumba (1 hr.) Thurs - Walk/Jog (40 min. or 2 milesish) plus I take a dance class with my husband at night. Fri - Walk/Jog (40 min. or 2 milesish) or Zumba (1 hr.) If I miss the gym I will do a walking or dancing video at home. I'm very happy and proud of my results. I feel like I've worked hard for my results. I exercise now with purpose. Before surgery (even with my band) I felt like exercise was almost worthless because no matter how much I worked out, I almost couldn't compensate for all the food I was consuming! Now I eat anywhere from 900-1200 calories a day. Somedays I eat more, especially if I eat out (which I do quite a bit for my business) but if I eat out I add in extra activity to try to make up for the extra calories. I had this surgery to feel "normal" which I didn't with my band. I had difficulty eating healthy food with the band and now I don't. I do eat protein first, I drink Isopure and a lot of water and try to keep my carbs down. Hope this helps anyone who is struggling or considering WLS. Take care of you!!

Congrats! My dr has worked with Dr W before and had good things to say about him! KUP

The Isopure Apple is pretty good. I also mix the Alpoine Punch with crystal light and some water and drink it at the gym. Not bad and the big bottles have 40g of protein.

Just wanted to say Congratulations to you again Olivia! I lost 22 lbs while banded with our first child and he came out big and healthy! Just make sure you inform your ob/gyn of your surgery because they may want to monitor you more closely.

Wow! Congrats! That's an amazing feat.

Olivia, Wow! Congratulations!! My doctor was adamant about his patients using birth control for at least the first year after WLS and I waited 5 years after WLS to get pregnant so I don't have any advice for you along those lines. I was banded with both my pregnancies though and lost 22 pounds with our son during the first 7 months - mainly due to all-day "morning" sickness. When he was born he weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz. and was 23 inches long so my weight loss didn't affect him negatively. You may have to see the ob/gyn more frequently just to monitor the baby's development and growth. Good luck to you and congrats again!!

Thanks everyone!!

I forgot to mention that I also increased my water intake. I was drinking about 48 ounces and I increased it to about 80. I think that has helped as well. I'm at 255 as of this morning so something I'm doing is working!?!

Oh Diva~ Sorry you are having a difficult time with the recovery period. I agree that the gas pains can be nasty!! I also threw up quite a bit the day of surgery - I always have a bad reaction to anesthesia so I expected it. I was on clear liquid for only 2-3 days after surgery, then full liquids starting on day 3 after surgery. I was eating chicken soup broth with all the good stuff strained out! I went to Mexican restaurants and order caldo de pollo (chicken soup) and ate the broth. On day 5 I started mixing about 1 teaspoon of beans with 1 teaspoon of broth and it was like heaven and I felt sooo much better after that! Get yourself some Isopure or other clear protein drink, this will help your energy level as well. Good luck - hope you feel better soon!

I had my lapband replaced and a plication done by Dr. Billy in Thousand Oaks,CA. It's been 7 weeks and I've lost about 28 pounds - I'm on my phone so i cant update my ticker Good luck to you!!

I was pretty much stuck most of the month of March. When I went from liquids to mushies I figured I was going to stall for a bit but I increased my exercise to make up for the additional calories that I was getting. During the liquid phase I was probably eating/drinking around 400-500 calories. Once I got to the mushie phase I was eating/drinking about 600-800 calories and now that I'm on pretty much regular food I eat anywhere from 800-1200 calories, depending on the day and my activity level. I was stuck at 260 from the end of February until March 15. However, I stuck with everything that I was doing with my eating plan. I followed my doctor's plan about 95% of the time which includes eating 2-3 oz. of dense protein first, 2-3 bites of potatoes or mushy veg and eating every 3 hours. I kept my exercise level consistent except for 1-2 days per week when I increased my time at the gym by about 10 minutes. I've lost 2 pounds in 2 days this week and I didn't go to the gym at all this week yet! I've been taking 15 minute walks with my dog at night, I did a Zumba DVD in the morning and yesterday I took my son to the museum and we walked around and played for about 2 hours. I was too tired last night to do an exercise video and somehow, I dropped another pound! So I think the thing about stalls is to remain consistent. If there is something in your diet that needs tweaking, like maybe getting too many carbs or not enough carbs, go ahead and tweak it but following the doctor's plan does seem to work for most people. Of course, I was banded for almost 10 years so I think that has helped me with certain eating rules like chewing food really well and slowing down to eat. The biggest rule that I have a hard time with is not drinking while eating as I get pretty thirsty when I'm eating. The thing I learned while being banded is that it doesn't really matter how long it took me to lose weight, what mattered was that I had a difficult time keeping the weight off once I lost it. I am more concerned with long-term diet and exercise changes than losing weight quickly. When I lose it, I want it to stay lost!! Good luck to those of you struggling~

Hi! I have been on a PPI since the day of surgery. With PPIs you need to take them daily to be the most effective so if you aren't taking one daily, you should see if you can get a prescription. Also make sure you take it on an empty stomach. I have noticed that my stomach is very noisy and active as compared to before surgery. I haven't really had any hunger pangs yet (6 weeks out) but I do feel empty and cranky if I don't eat. I also eat about every 2-3 hours and eat something high in protein (lf string cheese w/ a piece of turkey) about 20 minutes before bed. This seems to help settle everything. Hopefully this will be resolved for you! Here's some info: patients take their PPI on an EMPTY stomach...30 to 60 minutes BEFORE meals. that it can take up to 3 or 4 days of daily medication before they'll have full benefit. more info here: http://www.stopheartburn.com/channels/treatment/when-should-i-take-my-heartburn-medication

First im sorry you r feeling this way - it's normal. My first week I drank Isopure and made protein shakes in a blender. I made sure I used nice glasses too! Even now I make sure to use pretty, small plates to eat on. I think it helps. Remember you can eat a variety of soups just make sure you blend them. Make a trip to a restaurant or a nicer grocery store and buy some premade yummy soups - not the canned variety! Don't worry too much about calories or fat right now because u r probably not eating enough anyway. You may want to mix Unjury unflavored protein in your soup too for some added protein. Take care!

Yeah! I'm going back today. I've been to Zumba about 3 times and I really like it. I've discovered that the instructor makes a big difference and I've already found my favorite! My city offers a Zumba class once a week at a park - I'm going to try that one too. Olivia - You are doing great!!

Yup I gained weight too after surgery. Very frustrating but it did come off very quickly. Good luck and KUP!

I have the banded plication. I was banded originally in Dec, 2001 and did well with the band for about 7 years. After our daughter was born I never could get the *right* fill amount plus my port had flipped almost immediately so fills were problematic. Over about a 2 year period I regained about 80 pounds with pregnancies, a torn achilles and 5 months of bed rest. I went to Dr. Billy after consulting with my doctors at Cedars-Sinai for a second opinion on a revision. I, like a lot of plication patients, researched the sleeve gastrectomy. I liked it a lot but had difficulty with the idea of my stomach being cut out and discarded. After a few months of research and speaking with 4 doctors, I decided plication was best for me. I have a lot of experience with Drs. Ortiz and Corvala so Tijuana was an option but I was lucky enough to find Dr Billy here in Southern California. I chose to get rebanded mainly for insurance purposes as they don't pay for plication. I don't plan to ever fill my band but it is there if needed. I am happy with the plication but like others have said WLS is a tool. I exercise almost every day in some form and try to stick with protein first, water then fruits and veg (I'm not allowed many yet). I've lost about 26 pounds in 6 weeks. I'd like it to be more but so far, I'm happy with my surgery and results. I have about 60-70 more pounds to go and I'm okay with it taking me a year to lose. So far the plication is everything I thought the band would be. I get full on about 1/4 of what I used to eat and more importantly, I'm not constantly hungry!! Head hunger is a b*tch but I'm dealing with it with the help of a therapist. Good luck to you in whatever path you choose.

I'm going to sign up for a Zumba class with the city program also. I think being in a class environment makes it more fun but I'm sure doing it on the Wii is great too. Anything is good as long as you are moving.

Amy, Good luck. It will be over before you know it, then you'll be on the road to recovery. Wishing you an easy surgery and nice recovery. KUP