Trick Master

Thank you for the post. I am considering surgery and I was wondering about what happens to the staples. your post was extremely helpful and provided me with some question to ask surgeons.

As a newbie to this forum, the article was encouraging. I am still on the fence about surgery, it just seems so permanent and I guess there is a part of me that believes that I should be able to do this on my own. So, thanks again.

Just a thought.........how about you figure how many calories you drink over a period of say......a month. Maybe that will help you see how this social activity is actually adding to your misery instead of your happiness. Will your drinking friends like you less if you cut back on the booze? Do you need to be drinking / drunk to have fun?
Maybe, just maybe, if you have surgery and lose enough weight to be able to embrace regular activity and exercise, you could find friends who like to hike instead of drink. Your current friends may be the only people in your current social universe, but they don't have to be.
One thing I have found out about losing weight is that we also lose inhibitions that were holding us back, too. That new thin you that is trapped inside the current hefty you may be an entirely different person. A healthier body and healthier outlook changes us. It is no secret that bariatric surgery exposes the raw dynamics of relationships, and there are a lot of examples on this site. Once you do lose weight and become thin and healthy, you my find that your current "friends" are threatened by the competition you will present. Think really hard about whether they treat you like a friend or like a joke.
I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do. Just don't let your current friendships determine your future health. Believe me, the health problems escalate quickly with obesity. You have to decide where the greater value is.
Hugs from Miss Mac in Chicago.

@@Sun Godess let me first say welcome, and thank you for posting and sharing your questions. There are many out there who are right where you are and I am sure have many of the same questions.
You will find lots of support here and even more stories and advice. If you keep in mind that for every person there is an opinion and not all of them are going to align with each other then you are that far ahead. Every journey is subjective to the person experiencing it. For example my husband and I are both banded and were banded 3 days apart, so we have our bands from the same time, and went through the pre- and post op together. That said we are very different in our approach to food, our issues with food, and our weight loss. None of it bad...just different.
So here are my answers to your questions
1. Are you satisfied with your lap band? Are you happy you chose the band over vsg?
I am very happy I chose the band over VSG. I may have had more success with VSG in the early stages and with the lapband my weight loss is much slower and steadier, however I chose the lapband to accommodate my life style. I am not able to "adjust" any other WLS tool as I am with the lapband. I do not do so on a whim but for things like surgery, and sickness etc. with the lapband I am afforded that option and I like that.
The lapband requires much more follow up and maintenance than the other WLS tools and I also like the fact that it keeps me accountable as well as my Dr. accountable to my health and well being.

2. I'm afraid of the unkown. Do you feel normal...like just living and being your normal self and don't know it's there?
I am not afraid of the unknown. I am very in tune with my body and with my lapband Dr. to understand how it works and how it will work best for me. I live my life normally and I rarely think about my "band" I do not feel it inside though the port is accessible and can be felt under the skin it doesn't bother me at all. I eat and live my life fully as a banded patient.
3. Do you get used to eating little portions? Do you feel deprived?
I never feel deprived. I eat the portions I am hungry for. I allow my hunger to dictate how much I am going to eat. There are days I am very hungry and require a little more than on other days when I am hardly hungry at all. So portions can fluctuate for me though they are much smaller than any thing I ate before surgery. If I am still hungry for something after I have had a good portion I will wait it out and ask myself if it's truly hunger or something else. It's usually something else.
4. I work on a team, and we eat lunch together and chat daily at work. I don't want to tell anyone at work. I'm afraid I won't be able to do this without them and or me having eating issues in front of them? Do you think I will be able to? What are your experiences?
This is a tricky one. Your eating habits pre op and post op are going to change. You are going to be on liquid diets for a bit and you are also going to be eating foods that maybe different from what they are sitting down to eat. Sandwiches are probably going to be off your menu for a while (I don't eat bread at all in any form) Salads are something you will return to but not right away or all the time (not a bad thing since there isn't much Protein there and you can find lots of extra calories there also)
I still eat with my co-workers and I go out to dinner with friends and events and parties. I chose to let everyone know about my surgery and they never question me about my choice of food. My eating habits are the same as they were before, though I will eat much slower now, I will chew much better, I take much smaller bites, and I rarely finish an entire meal on my own.
If I am out with friends or my husband we will often share a meal or I have a nice lunch of left overs the next day to bring to work:)

5. I've heard many people say "oh, the band is only 25% of the help...It's really me." I'm hoping the band is A LOT of help, not a magic wand.
No WLS is a magic wand. With the band your weight loss is going to be slow and steady. You are not going to lose 100 pounds over night. The more you work at it the more you will lose and the more success you will have with it.
Other WLS will have a large amount of weight loss up front and then begin to taper off either way you have to work the tool to be successful.

a GREAT help...more than 25% else wise, what's the point! What is your opinion/experience? How much help is the band for you?
The band is a great help and an excellent tool when it is being used just like any other tool. If you don't take it out of the tool box then you are not working it just having it doesn't allow it to do it's job, you have to work it. You can make the band work for you 100% it shows up ever single day, it just needs you to show up for it as well. All WLS is the same. None of them affect our minds..WE have to put them to use.
I love my band, when I want to have an emotional day of pigging out and just eating my face off because I am having a rough time (this is my personal issue...stress eating and emotional eating.) the band is there to remind me that I shouldn't be doing this to myself and when I push anyway it's there to smack me in the head and often stops me right in my tracks.

6. I need appetite suppression... Does the band actually do that? What exactly does the band do you for you? n How would you describe it?
The band is all about appetite suppression. Many think that the band provides "restriction" this is not what the band is designed for. A properly adjusted band should allow you to eat and drink in proper proportion so you are satisfied at least 4 hours between meals. This is again provided you are following the proper direction and eating the proper foods. Foods that are soft and high calorie are going to slip right past the band without triggering the nerves that send satisfied signals to the brain. This in turn will cause you to eat more and usually those soft foods are high in calories and sugar. Things like ice cream and fried foods are things to watch out for.
When I have a "meal" it consists of a solid dense Protein. Chewing and eating allow me to feel full and the need to have additional food is not there. I am not hungry. Even when faced with the option of having more food, or sweets etc. I simply do not want it. As you go through the journey of learning to work with and live with your band you learn to eat mindfully and choose the right foods to hold you over. Though I will admit if you are like me, this is a big challenge. I often find myself wanting something...just because. However if I do try to have something just because...I am only able to eat a bite or two and I no longer want it and am turned off by it. This is what the band does for me.

7. Looking back, do you think you could have lost your weight without the band?

I have lost weight many many times without surgery. I have lost it and found it again and again and usually when I would find it, it would bring along a few friends with it.
I would lose 40 pounds only to gain 50. I would start exercise programs only to find myself ravenous and eating more and more and not losing an ounce.
I have not for one second since I have been banded regretted my decision. Even when I had a few complications, such as a dilation, and had to have the Fluid removed from the band, or after surgery having one of the incisions become infected. The band has helped me to lose the weight in a healthy way, I have been able to keep off the all the weight I have lost and continue to keep losing.

8. I hear a lot about eating slow and small bites...I am very afraid of this! I don't want to be a spectacle in front of others or feel weirded out and miserable having to eat with baby spoons and pea size bites. I want to eat normal. How is this for you?
I eat totally normally. Actually eating slowly and taking normal bites is how we should be eating all the time. Shoveling food into our mouths swallowing before we even had a chance to taste the food is not the normal way to eat.
I don't obsess about cutting my pieces and no one at a party or out at dinner or events even notices. In fact they notice more the faster and more you eat I think.
Even when my husband and I share a meal, no one even raises an eye brow. We were at an event just yesterday where we shared Eggplant rollatini. There were 4 huge rolls on the plate along with the Pasta side dish (neither of us ate that.) We shared some Calamari prior and shared the dinner. Even the waiter brought out extra plates for us and no one raised an eyebrow.

9. Any personal testimonies, advice or warnings? Please share and
I am not specifically a lapband advocate but I am a WLS advocate who is banded!! I will tell anyone who asks me that if you are not healthy and you are experiencing co-morbidity due to your weight that looking into WLS is a positive thing to do for yourself. Having surgery has changed my life in many positive ways, and I feel healthy and more alive now than I had in years simply because I am not dragging all the extra weight around with me. I am not at goal, I am working my way there gradually. Eating what I like, making healthy choices, taking the time incorporate the changes and make them a part of my every day life. This is what I wanted and the way I wanted for it to be.
Yes of course we all want a magic wand, and turn back the clock to when I was 16 and do it all over again...but that is not reality so the best thing I could aim for is working to be healthier and happier me. I didn't get to be morbidly obese overnight and I didn't want to find myself on the other side of that over night either. I wanted a healthy gradual weight loss emphasis on the healthy part of it since my health was not so great and I couldn't walk without feeling that heart attack was imminent.

My best advice to you is to continue to research. Go out and meet Dr.'s not just one but a few. Ask them their opinions. If they tell you the sleeve or the bypass are better...ask them why they feel that way pick their brains and then of course share the results with all of us!!
Research the other surgeries, there may be a reason why your Dr. recommends one over the others, and don't take anything off the table and don't do anything unless you are 100% sure and you have a Dr. who fully supports you.
After care and follow up are very important no matter your WLS in my opinion this KEY. Having a good working relationship with your Dr. before, during and most importantly after surgery.

I wish you all the best, and keep us updated on your progress and decision!!

As a newbie to this forum, the article was encouraging. I am still on the fence about surgery, it just seems so permanent and I guess there is a part of me that believes that I should be able to do this on my own. So, thanks again.

The weight loss surgery journey is easier for some than for others. That’s true not only mentally, but physically as well. Some patients are confident as they get the surgery, follow their prescribed diets, and lose weight until they approach their goal weights.
But most have doubts at some point. Those doubts can be strong especially in the first few weeks after surgery.


I see this lack of confidence time and time again in the forums. Weeks or a month after surgery, gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, lap-band, and other Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) patients start to wonder whether Weight Loss Surgery was the right choice. Most often, they are disappointing in the number of pounds they have lost, and they wonder, “Am I going to be the Weight Loss Surgery patient who fails?”
I can say this with confidence: If you follow the Weight Loss Surgery diet, you’ll lose weight.
“I’m Not Losing Weight Fast Enough!”
That’s a common post on BariatricPal. The poster is usually a week or a few weeks post-op, and worries their weight loss isn’t fast enough. They think their “slow” rate of weight loss means Weight Loss Surgery didn’t “work” for them. They think they will never be able to lose significant amounts of weight, since WLS was a last-ditch effort to lose weight and get healthy after years of dieting didn’t work.
But in most cases, these fears just aren’t true. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying these fears are unreasonable. I understand them perfectly. I, and probably every Weight Loss Surgery patient, wondered whether it would work for me. And the answer for me, and for everyone who followed their Weight Loss Surgery diet, was “YES!”
The Perfect Storm for Frustration
So why the panic? I like to think of the first few weeks or even months after weight loss surgery as a perfect storm for generating doubts. It’s a time when the following are true.
You realize you have made a decision that led to a change to your body that is irreversible (in the case of sleeve gastrectomy) or meant to be permanent (in the case of the gastric bypass), or
You realize a lifetime commitment to changing your eating habits and lifestyle is a pretty big deal.
You have not eaten solid foods for weeks, or even more if you had a liquid diet for long before surgery, and it’s getting you down.
You are struggling in your daily life as you try to make time for exercise or you find your family members continue to eat junk food in front of you.

All that is enough to get anyone down before you even start thinking about the reason you got the surgery in the first place – to lose weight! If you doubt you’re losing weight “fast enough”, you might start wondering if you made the wrong decision when you got Weight Loss Surgery – and that’s a depressing thought.
Crunching the Numbers
Almost without fail, the BariatricPal member who posts about disappointing early weight loss is losing weight quite quickly. The only person who is disappointed in this number, typically, is the member him or herself. I’ve seen members post with concerns about losing “only” 20 pounds in the first month, or “only” 10 pounds in the first week. Guess what. That’s great!
Think about it. A general round number for great first-year weight loss after Weight Loss Surgery is 100 pounds. That’s an average of 2 pounds a week, or 8 pounds a month. If you lost 20 lbs in your first month, you’re doing fantastic! To hit 100 pounds in your first year, you won’t even lose a pound every three days! So don’t worry if the scale doesn’t plummet every single day. If you’re eating right, you’ll lose weight.
Try to keep yourself motivated by keeping it all in perspective. Another motivating thought is to consider how long it took you to gain the extra weight. 5 years? 10 years? Your whole life? And now you have a chance to lose it within 1 or 2 or 5 years? That’s a pretty good bargain, right?
Recovery Now for Weight Loss Later
Now, I know you’ve prepared for Weight Loss Surgery for a long time, and you’re eager to lose weight. But really, you’re not quite ready to focus on weight loss if you’re still recovering from surgery. It’s far more important to heal properly. That’ll help you lose weight faster later and avoid complications that’ll set you back, not to mention cause possibly serious health problems.
So, no matter how frustrated you are, stay positive, and focus on following your surgeon and nutritionist’s instructions to the letter. Continue to eat a liquid diet and then pureed foods without cheating and sneaking in solid foods. Use this time to establish a pattern for your long-term success. Learn to measure your food, and to set aside time for food prep and for exercise.
Weight loss surgery is a lifetime adventure, and that realization can really hit hard in the early days and weeks post-op. You can get through this tough period by focusing on one day at a time and not worrying about your rate of weight loss. Measure your success not by the scale number, but by how well you stick to your plan.

DISCLAIMER: This FAQ is in no way intended to replace or undermine the advice of your physician. Every person is different, every surgeon has different guidelines, and no two situations are identical. Therefore if any of the answers below are unclear or contradict your physicians’ instructions, always follow your physicians’ instructions. The responses given are a compilation from multiple sources and references.
How do I embed the weight loss ticker? Click on the liquid stage? During your clear liquid stage you can have anything that you can sip through a straw that is translucent, meaning see through. For instance: Water, juice, broth, sugar free popsicles, sugar free Jello, Isopure Protein Drinks, Gatorade, Powerade, Decaf tea just to name a few. Once you move on to full liquids you may add liquids that are not translucent. For instance: creamed Soups, soups with the chunks strained out, milk, Protein shakes etc…
When do I start mushies/purees? Every surgeon has different guidelines for the progression of your post-op diet. The majority of post-op diets progress as follows:
Day 1-7 Clear Liquids
Day 8-14 Full liquids
Day 15-21 Purees
Day 22-50 Mushies
What’s the difference between mushies and purees? The major difference is that purees are anything that has been blenderized/pureed to a baby food consistency and has no chunks. These should not be watery, but instead a thicker pudding like consistency. Mushies are soft foods that have not been pureed.< /p>
Should I be counting calories or carbs or both? Both. Again, every surgeon is different, but the majority of sleevers will be on a 600-1000 calorie/day diet with carbs kept at 60-80g or less. The general guideline is this: When eating, protein is always first, veggies are second, and if you have room carbs/starch last. The majority will rarely have room for the carbs.
How much protein should I be getting per day? The recommended protein intake may vary from 55 to 100g per day, depending on your individual needs and the bariatric diet provided by your surgeon or dietitian. The generally accepted minimum protein requirement for women is about 50 to 60g per day and men need at least 60 to 70g of protein per day.
How much liquid do i need for the day? About 60-80oz
When can I eat salad? Once you reach the point where you’re on normal solids you can try salad. Start with a small amount and see how your sleeve tolerates it as it can be difficult to digest.
Best Protein Shakes? This one depends on your particular tastes, however most seem to enjoy powders? utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury.

What else counts as a liquid? Anything that can be sipped through a straw or that will reduce back to a liquid. For example: Jello, sugar free popsicles, frozen yogurt/ice cream (these are generally no no foods)
How long will my surgery last? Typically about 45mins assuming there are no complications or other procedures (ie: hernia repairs) being done at the time of your surgery. Every surgeon is different so for a more accurate answer you should consult your respective surgeon.
Why can't I tolerate plain water, is this normal? It’s called water nausea and it is completely normal. This is very common during the first few weeks following surgery and should eventually subside.
What is sliming/slimes? Sliming or slimes occur when you eat or drink something and then regurgitate a slimy, foamy, saliva like substance, usually when belching.
What is grazing? Grazing is when instead of consuming your standard 3 small meals and 2 small Snacks per day, you simply munch all day grabbing a handful here or a bite there. The rule is that your meals should take you 20-30 minutes to eat and should be about 3 hours apart with only fluids in between.
What do all these acronyms mean?
In no particular order:
WLS – Weight Loss Surgery
NSV – Non scale Victory (ie: smaller clothes, compliments, climbing a flight of stairs etc…)
NUT – Nutritionist
PCP – Primary Care Physician
VSG – Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
TOM – Time of the Month
SF – Sugar Free
WFL/WFD – What’s for Lunch/Dinner
How much did you lose at 1 month etc.? How much can I expect to lose in what time frame? Everyone’s body is different and so is everyone’s journey. There is no set amount you should expect lose in a set amount of time, and you should never compare your journey or your progress to someone elses. As long as you’re sticking with the program and following your surgeons guidelines, the weight will come off.
What is a stall? How long does it last and how do I break it? A stall is a point at which the scale stops moving for a period of time. The length of the stall varies from a few days to a few weeks and sometimes a few months. Non VSG’ers typically call it a plateau. Stalls are perfectly normal and to be expected. As we lose weight so dramatically, our bodies need time to catch up physically - this typically happens during a stall. While the scale may not be moving, you may notice an increase in compliments. This is because while the number on the scale isn’t getting any smaller, you are physically getting smaller. There are many tips and tricks for breaking a stall (increase your fluids and protein, increase your activity, up your calories…) but the reality is it will break on its own.
When can I have sex? When you’re ready. Keep it simple for the first few weeks post-op and don’t attempt any tricky positions. Be careful until you’ve been cleared by your surgeon for strenuous activity.
When can I start exercising? Typically right away, though the types of exercises you can do will be limited. Most surgeons restrict weight training/resistance training for about 3-4 weeks after surgery, but you should be walking/speed walking at least 30-45min daily starting from the day you get home.
What do I do with flabby skin? What's the best exercise etc.? The severity of the flab will vary based on many different factors. While there’s no way to tell how bad it will be or whether it will even be bad, there are a couple of proactive measures you can take. Make sure you’re using a moisturizing lotion with Vitamin E and Keratin several times daily. The vitamin E will help add elasticity back to your skin and the keratin will add moisture, both of which may help your skin bounce back as the weight falls off. The best exercises to target your problem areas are resistance and strength training in order to tone and build muscle to replace the fat. Lastly, be patient. Just as your weight stalls while your waist catches up to it, your skin will sag until it gets the signal to shrink. While it probably won’t ever be as tight as you’d like, it will shrink.
Will I lose hair? How much? What causes it? When does it return? Do Vitamins help? The truth is, yes, you probably will lose hair. Because of the drastic changes going on that are caused by the extreme reduction in protein and vitamins coming in as well as the hormonal fluctuations caused by the rapid weight loss, it takes our bodies a while to adjust. Don’t worry, as our hormones level out and our bodies get used to the new us, it will come back. There is no set time frame for it to do so however.
I’m constipated - what is it okay to take, especially in the beginning when newly sleeved? Will it get better? Worse? In the beginning a simple stool softener like Colace should do the trick. You don’t want to take a laxative or anything that may irritate your new sleeve. While you’re in the liquid/puree stage, Constipation shouldn’t be an issue, but as you reintroduce solids you may have to go back to your stool softeners. If you do find that stool softners are only offering temporary relief, try increasing your fluids and Fiber and decreasing your cheeses.
I’m having very loose bowel movements, is this normal? Totally. You do need to monitor stools of this consistency to ensure they contain no blood, but very loose stools, even watery stools, are completely normal for a few weeks post-op. When in doubt – ask your surgeon.
Will I feel fatigue? Will fatigue go away? Yes and yes. Your body has just undergone major surgery and it needs to heal. While it’s healing you will feel more fatigued than normal. Subsequent to having such a large portion of your stomach removed is the fact that you can no longer take in as much food (read: fuel) and therefore your body has to adjust and find a new fuel source. Your body will eventually begin to burn fat for fuel and some of the fatigue will subside. Your surgeon should also prescribe a B12 supplement which will also help with energy.
When can I go back to work? How much time should I take off? That will be entirely up to your surgeon. Most return to work within 2-3 weeks.
How many days in the hospital? Your hospital stay will depend on your recovery. When you are able to keep down liquids, are up and about and walking as directed, and your surgeon and nursing staff are confident there are no complications, you’ll be released. Your surgeon should be able to give you an expectation of the length of your stay.
Do the staples dissolve? No. The staples used to close the stomach are titanium and do not dissolve. The stomach tissue will eventually grow over the staple line. Your staples do not make metal detectors go off or make you ineligible for an MRI. They are completely benign.
Why am I always hungry? The most likely culprit is either head hunger or reflux/heartburn. Head hunger is a false sense of hunger triggered by boredom/emotions/the clock or any number of things which make you think you’re hungry when you’re really not. Heartburn is the most common culprit of constant hunger. Even though you may not feel as though you have heartburn, you may find that a simple antacid will eliminate that constant hungry feeling.
What is a stricture? A stricture is what happens when scar tissue builds up in your esophagus (sometimes caused by reflux) that causes your esophagus to narrow and makes swallowing difficult.
What is a leak and what are the symptoms? A leak is an opening along the suture line of your sleeve that allows bile and other digestive fluids to leak into your abdominal cavity. The symptoms of a leak vary but the most common symptoms are pain radiating across the abdomen, fever, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, dizziness, vomiting, nausea, fatigue, and abdominal cramping. It is important to note that leaks are rare and only occur in about 1 out of every 100 cases.
Can you get a leak any time after surgery? Or is it just immediate? Most leaks happen very soon after surgery, but there is still a risk for about 4-6 weeks after. Again, it is important to note that leaks are rare and only occur in about 1 out of every 100 cases.
Some of my incisions are oozing - is this normal? If they’re oozing a green or yellowish Fluid, absolutely not. Green and yellow are the colors of infection and should be reported to your surgeon immediately. If your incisions are oozing a pinkish or clear watery fluid it’s your body’s way of keeping your incisions clean and isn’t usually a concern. When in doubt, ask your surgeon.