Want2surf

I know this is an old thread but thought maybe people are still interested. I was interested enough to click on it.
I'm at 8 years, 2 months.
I lost 15 pounds below goal weight in 14 months and maintained for several years. I eventually gained back 50 pounds. Then I lost 45 pounds and now I've gained back 20. I'm in process to get the band removed and a revision to gastric sleeve. My band is too tight even when unfilled. Most foods won't go through even after sitting in the pouch for hours. I was able to gain weight because I found certain, unhealthy foods (cheetos, cookies) would pass through. Thus the revision. My diet has been horrible since banding because even Water won't go through a lot of the time. The sleeve will let me eat a variety of healthy foods.

work hard at slowing down your eating, it helps , a lot. I still have ,ajor liquids issues and I am working hard at staying hydrated. Some days , yes i dont feel like eating at all. and i had a good month or so where i really ate less than i should, and stalled hard because of it. Use Protein shakes as an adjunct to your diet. They meet both Protein requirements and liquids too. so you get a two fer on those.
Keep with it, you can do this and you will!

Are you on a PPI? Maybe you have some reflux that is presenting as feeling yucky.
How are the shakes making you feel? You may want to go back to shakes and purees. That may be what your stomach is ready for right now.
For liquids play with temperature. Some people do better with hot, some with cold and some warm. Early on I preferred hot Decaf or herbal tea. Now I prefer very cold.
I don't like plain Water and drink much more if it is flavored with Mio or Crystal Lite. I sometimes Water down Chick fil A diet lemonade. I will drink watered down iced tea when out. I make decaf at home. Don't tell my doctor or NUT but drinking with a straw has also helped my liquid consumption.

Yup. Totally. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
My husband had RNY almost 9 years ago. Back then, they didn't really give them many "rules" to follow. Or they did, and he just didn't follow them.
Although he got more active, he never exercised formally, ate whatever he wanted (yes, that includes sweets and carbs..he didn't really dump ever) and in almost a year, had lost 130lbs. He went from 300 pounds the day of surgery to 170 lbs in less than a year. He has maintained most of it aside from an initial 20lb gain (he looked healthier after that) and then another 30lb gain after quitting smoking. He has since lost the 30, but has learned now that it's a slippery slope, and he cannot eat whatever he wants anymore without gaining. His pouch has stretched considerably.
Fast forward 8 years. I decided to have WLS. But I had also decided to have the sleeve, not the bypass. I really thought I would be able to do the same things and lose the weight. Thanks to my NUT and this site, I learned that was absolutely false. And on top of it, Karma kicked me in the ass with slower than average weight loss.
I work my butt off. I adhere to my plan 98% of the time, and I have turned into a gym rat. Has it been frustrating at times? HELL YES. But I am happy I've learned to love exercise and have learned so much more about proper nutrition. If it had just fallen off of me with little effort like it had my husband, I would have never cemented the habits I have today. I feel I at least I have a fighting chance of maintenance when I finally hit my goal. And hubby has learned good habits from me

My doc does a 90% sleeve. 90% of my stomach - GONE! wasn't sure how a person can live like this... BUT I DO! And happily too! Looking back, I did the work... take supplements, still focus on Protein, exercise 5x per week, etc and it was really manageable for the first year and 1/2. But now... Now I have to WORK to maintain. (Like everyone else). I put on a few pounds and it's a struggle to get it off again, but it DOES come off when I work at it and force a return to good habits. Definitely NOT easy but so worth it!

Nah, I expected it to be hard work, and it is. But not nearly as hard as it would be without the sleeve! I get full now. That didn't used to happen. Or if it did, 20 minutes later I felt empty again. Now I can refill with Crystal Light and I'm good to go for a while. So if you're not already, make sure you get the fluids in. The more the better!

I never once thought about that. My biggest worry was... I thought they would put a thing in my weenie...forgive me I can't think of the medical term... but the thing that allows you to pee through a tube... so please find humor in that.
I knew that it was not reversible and knowing that this is what they would do for people who had stomach cancer and it actually worked made me feel a lot better.
I am happy I can't eat two extra large pizzas any longer in one sitting. I'm happy I'm not drinking 6 two litter diet cokes a day. I'm happy I'm not eating 6 double cheese burgers from McDonalds as a snack any longer. I'm just amazingly happy.

I am having my surgery on Tuesday, 5/26 - and I have to admit this topic has me nervous and concerned. More nervous than when I first read this thread. Did I not choose the right surgery? But some of these expectations feel so out of the realm of possibility (I would kill for for a 10lb weight loss in a month!).
I have a fabulous surgeon, a wonderful support system and I am going to trust that this surgery is the right choice for me. I will get what i put into this process.

my surgeon told me exactly what to expect if i followed my plan - he told me how much weight i could expect to lose and in how much time it would take me to lose it and as long as i stuck to the plan he laid out i would meet those goals and prob pass them and he was right - i am almost one year post op and i am 25 pounds from my goal weight that he set at my consultation. Do i allow myself to have some foods that are not on my plan - hell yes i do - what's life without some pie in it? Dang! But i also follow my Protein guidelines and drink my Water and exercise. And i have the best doctor in the state of Texas and his staff is wonderful too. ( i love to brag on him - he gave me back my life so i shout it from the rooftops every chance i get) We have to work this tool we have folks - we all know this.

Congratulations! You have reached The Dreaded Week-3 Stall. It's perfectly normal, and just about all of us have suffered through it. You're not crazy, and your doctor didn't screw up. In fact, you might not lose any weight for two weeks or even longer. But don't worry – after that, the pounds will start falling off if you stick to your program. And, the inches will continue to come off even while the scale isn't budging. Here's a good article that explains why it happens and why we all have to go through it. Hang in there. Pretty soon it'll be in the rear-view mirror and you'll be dropping weight again!
(Apologies to BP regulars who have seen this repeatedly, but it's a big deal to those who are going through it!)

I just had surgery 5/4. I had low BMI and an existing lap band that I needed to have removed and revised to a sleeve . They still required me to go through the program. So...12 weeks of classes with a 2 week delay because of the holidays. Then labs, evaluation by Bariatrics doctor and evaluation by family therapist and finally pre op evaluation with the surgeon. Things moved quickly after classes ended. I had surgery 2 months after classes ended and others in my class got done a few weeks sooner than I did. I got delayed because my PMD wouldn't sign off without seeing me in person and it took awhile to get an appointment with her. We were told we could be denied if we gained weight. Most people in my class lost weight because they were motivated and really trying hard. Delays can result because of things like low Iron.< /p>

I'm 14 days post op and wishing the best for all of you!

I packed a little bag which my parents brought later. I packed my phone, IPad, toiletries (each room had a bathroom with shower), underwear and slip on tennis shoes. I had lap band removal, gastric sleeve and hernia repair. I was at the hospital 2 1/2 days and I was out of it much of the time. The hospital gave us a little bag with Chapstick and mouthwash which I did use. I never did watch TV, read or go online...mostly slept . I did put on the underwear and did use the slip on shoes to walk around to prevent clots and help with gas.

Chapstick is essential. Your lips will be soooooo dry.

Well, one week ago I was just about to undergo my initial anesthesia. What a crazy week! Today I am in almost no pain and my incisions have almost all healed. For anyone worried about the surgery, there is some pain, there is an inconvenience factor, but overall no big deal.

Had band to sleeve revision on May 4. I'm 14 days out. First day off liquids and on puréed foods. Doing great!

Yay for the June 10th Surgery date Mrs.Hansen88! That is so exciting!
Always looking for a good support group which is why I love this site! I'm also going through Kaiser Richmond. I'm hoping tomorrow that when I weigh in I'll be at Goal and then can schedule with the Case Manager to get my Date. Not knowing when has made me more anxious. I think that if I knew when it would settle me a little more.

That's encouraging to hear. My current BMI is the same and I'm hoping to get a referral to the bariatric surgery orientation this week. Your process seems to have gone a lot quicker than what I've read about. ☺

I do not have sleep apnea either and on 5/22 it will have been 4 years since I quit smoking. I am mentally preparing to give up caffeine but I don't want to cross that bridge until I am given the official referral to the program. As it is now, I drink one, maybe two cups of coffee a day and while I enjoy them greatly, I will gladly give them up in order to have this surgery.
I completely understand that this surgery is not going to be like a magic wand is waved over me and it will be easy. I'm prepared to do the work needed, I'm just so anxious to get started.

Hi All: My surgery was last Tuesday May 12th. So I'm on my 6 day post-op. I am feeling so much better. Stomach is healing nicely. My followup with my surgeon is Wednesday. I was in pain for 3 days then i started feeling better. I was lucky my doctor put me on soft/purée foods when I left the hospital because I had no problem drinking or keeping food down. So far I'm down 17 pounds since the surgery that also include the two week pre-op diet. My biggest problem is drinking enough Water. I never been a big Water drinker before the surgery. Now he want me to drink at least 64oz everyday to keep hydrated. I'm trying its tough.
I want to wish everyone luck who is having surgery this week. The first few days after surgery is rough but it does get better each day.

That's great!

Hi everyone!!
Ok, just went through the most horrific thing. As you may know, i am about 5 days post op now and it's been going great...I have even lost about 8 lbs. since surgery. My doc's only hiccup (not really a worry) was that I hadn't had a BM...ok, the crap literally hit me today and just did not want to come out and I know we are not supposed to push really hard, but sometimes you can't help it...nothing was working. Some background: I take Morphine twice a day anyway for degenerative disc disease in my low back, so I have prescription Colace to take with it...no help. I finally had to call the on call doc at my hospital and he said I could take my liquid Magnesium Citrate (already had some in house cause my Mom used to use it) and to add a Miralax to my daily pill list as well as double up on my Colace.
Well, I hadn't even drunk half of the Mag Cit (found mine at the local Dollar Tree! They are great for some stuff) when stuff started moving! The doc said that with that there may be more cramping, but at that point I didn't care, just wanted relief! I got it, after A TON of sweating, shaking, pleading, etc...it passed...THANK THE GODDESS!!! I feel so much better now!
Moral to my story? Be prepared...even if you have never had any troubles in that area, have some stuff on hand, better safe than sorry!
Sorry if this was too graphic for some, but we are talking about changing our anatomy and are all adults...this stuff is an issue and we need to talk about it...to help the next one be prepared if nothing else!
Good luck to all those waiting and Welcome to the other side for our post ops!
V

May 26th is my surgery date! Very Anxious..wish it was here already. How has your journey been so far pre-op?

I'm scheduled for May 19

May 21 here! Excited and scared at the same time.