Travelher

Mine are in my ticker below only regret was not doing RNY to begin with and wasting 11 years of my life on the band.

Don't recall anyone posting that they were eating any of the above. this reads like the pharmaceutical propaganda regurgitated. Lucky you that you haven't had complications, but about 50% of the people who have been banded have been permanently maimed by the band. I hope you don't end up like one of us. seriously, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. My hospital roommate was in the OR for 4 hours while they were removing the adhesions from his band to his liver and other organs. There is a reason it has been banned in some countries...and it is not because of ice cream. My province estimates it is costing the healthcare system 100k in ER visits for every band in the province (prior to revision). The revision rate I've heard from the local bariatric center is around 80%. Every single band study done (even the positive ones) show a complication rate (that requires surgery) in the 30-50% range. You are in the lucky 50%...

you could do the old hernia repair story. need to eat purees while it heals. Ulcer? bring your protein shakes too. you will need to supplement protien. I like chocolate premier with a shot of decaf espresso.

Mine was smooth sailing. One thing that i encountered that was a surprise was dumping. conventional thinking says sugar=dumping. No problem, just avoid sugar, right?...Well in my case speed/volume causes dumping. I dumped on one big gulp of my protein shake. did it twice before I figured out the trigger. that was almost a year ago. now when I have a shake (like premier with espresso) I never gulp, I don't rush...small sips only .. have not dumped since. I also do not dump with sugar...I can have a cookie and be fine. now I have not tried binge eating sugar...I bet that would be problematic, but i'm usually fine with just a taste.

best of luck to you.

for starters the lap band fails everyone eventually. RNY is infinitely better! my recovery was smooth sailing but it very much is individual because it will depend on how much damage the band has done. Having an RNY is like feeling normal. no more stuck episodes, you can eat healthy food again. my results are evident in my surgery info. Good luck!

very very very bad idea. Lap bands have terrible complications and as of right now a 50% failure rate. the odds are extremely high you will do irreversible damage. there are Bariatric patients out there who have done band over RNY (never heard it for sleeve) and they can never have another revision because it could be fatal for them. my local center of excellence currently has an 80% removal rate...80%. there are countries that have banned the band. the conventional revision path from a sleeve for lack of weight loss is either RNY or DS (the sleeve is the first stage of the DS). Honestly, I"m shocked any doctor would recommend a band. my doctor says any doctor still putting them in should be sued for malpractice.

the reality is that with a band, it is unlikely you'll be able to eat anything other than an smoothie for breakfast or soup for lunch. Once I had my fills I could only eat real food for dinner. One of the many downsides of the band. so I'd say if you arent doing simple carbs in your smoothie. go for it.

totally normal. you need to take a lot of pictures. the mirror lies, even the scale sometimes lies. Pictures seem to be the most reliable. Body dysmorphia is common. it takes a long time for the brain to catch up. I'm wearing a size 2 now! and I still often think I need to lose more...when I'm in that mindset i take a picture and go...right, never mind it was just my fat brain talking.

you may want to check out dr. Weiner on you tube. He has some good videos on why bariatric surgery works and dietary changes alone tends to not. being obese changes our metabolisms. Bariatric surgery is a metabolic surgery. His videos indicate that long term it is not about restriction...the reason it works is the metabolic changes that happen when they surgically remove or interrupt your hormones produced in the stomach. I was a healthy eating fat person...because of my years of yoyo dieting I tanked my metabolism. when I was young, i would fight to get to a normal weight, when i was in my 30's i was fighting to get to overweight.. in my 40's the fight was to stay at a lower level of obesity... the stats do say 5% will be able to maintain weight loss. they also say that for the most part those people in the 5% tend to work in the fitness/weight loss industry. They are people who are 100% all in because their livelihood depends on continued success with maintenance.

size has nothing to do with it. Dating is a numbers game. My experience was that the super charming guys were that way because they had a LOT of practice....so those ones got weeded out pretty quickly. Also, for the most part, if a man makes it to his 40's never married or in a serious relationship...there is a reason. Seems to be different for women...but men...usually an indication of a maturity issue..at least it was on almost every single date I was on. I found the pool to be better quality in the divorced/separated crowd...just my experience. I assume you are internet dating, thank god for that because that is for the most part where the singles are. one of my biggest revelations was that I wasn't going to meet someone sitting on my couch hanging out with my best friend. and as a woman in your 40's if your experience is like mine. not many friends know single men in our age range or the ones they do know they would never set anyone up with. You need to go to a target rich environment...which nowadays is online. I have a friend who used to meet guys at bars and dated a lot of alcoholics, so would not recommend that as a venue for meeting people. Fact is online dating is the best place to meet people who are also looking to meet people. I used to do short chats, then a short coffee date where I could assess whether I wanted to get to know the person further. it is just a screening process. I really needed to think about what I really wanted and get away from my pattern of dating charming hot guys who were never going to be long term material. You need to do a lot of self examining and figure out what patterns you may need to consciously break. I went on a lot of dates before I found someone who was relationship material. you need to change your way of looking at things. It is not about you it is about them, they aren't meeting your criteria, why are your making it about you? I met more than one good guy while dating. When I met my husband I was worried he might even be too nice for me, then I gave my head a shake. 2 things I did that helped when I was dating. 1. did it with a single friend that I could connect with and download with after a date. 2. We created a blog for a creative outlet. dating became more fun with that because the bigger the disaster, the better the story (and a lot less depressing). Also I would take occasional breaks if I found it getting to me.

I think you can't go wrong following a nutrition first outlook. no need to follow "diet plans". ask yourself if this gives you the highest number of nutrients? Post RNY nutrient dense food is critical. I don't avoid carbs, about 35% of my diet is nutrient dense carbs like fruits and vegetables, seeds, sometimes beans etc. 40% is protein (critical post op) and the remainder are healthy fats like salmon and avocado, nuts. I avoid processed foods and simple carbs because they have little nutritional value. post op there isn't a lot of real estate in your stomach so nutrient dense food needs to take priority. Now that I'm in maintenance and eating more. I may have the occasional simple carb choice...but i treat it like a condiment in terms of portion.

I like the celebrate soft chews (Berry) they taste like starbursts. also like the celebrate protein and calcium bars

I did balanced macros from around 3 months post op onwards...so 40% protein 35% carb, 25% fat. early days was lower carb by default as calories were lower and it was tough to get protein in.

Are you on a PPI? if you are early post op...hunger pangs are often stomach acid. as soon as I went on prevacid my hunger pangs were gone. I stayed on the prevacid for about 2 months and then weaned myself off and was fine after that. Looks like you were sleeved so you will need to stay on top of it. GERD is a potential complication of being sleeved and is not something you want to let continue untreated.

i can relate. I can recall in my first months post op posting something that read something like. "my husband just made fresh buttered popcorn and I really want to go bop him on the head and steal his popcorn" I went and had a bath instead. I agree with others, we had the surgery not them. i have to deal with the temptations, they will always be there. I would also do the grocery shopping...so other than snacks for my kids lunch, i was not buying junk....if hubby wanted it, he'd have to put the effort out to go get it...or order it in. My husband has never had a weight issue, but having said all this I did bring him to get a dexa scan with me at the beginning of the summer. He was horrified to find out his body fat put him in the obese category (even though his BMI was just a teeny overweight). My bodyfat was healthy. Boy did his perspective turn around fast. He decided to change his eating to my plan and has lost 10lbs. lol.

I started in a size 20, am now wearing a size 2 or xs. I thought a size 6 was ambitious when i was starting.

For starters Gallstones are not a complication of any one surgery or even surgery at all they are a complication of obesity. if someone wants to lower the risk of gallstones they should not become obese to begin with. it can become exacerbated by weight loss (of any kind). Weight loss is the goal of weight loss surgery so they will be a risk regardless of surgery choice (about 30% vs. 12% in the general population). Strictures, deficiencies and ulcers can also occur with either surgery. You will be given instructions like no NSAIDs to help avoid conditions that can invite ulcers. Strictures are treatable as are deficiencies (with supplementation) both surgeries are viable options. I chose bypass as I had a history of reflux and could not afford the risk of a second revision and Gerd is the #1 reason for Sleeve to bypass revisions. also my doctor recommended it. Having said that, sleeve was my back up should the band damage have been so bad as to prevent a bypass. I strongly suggest you talk to your surgeon for guidance and for his/her own practice results and complication comparisons. every doctor should be able to provide that. I looked at the comparison between the two and found the complication rates to be negligible between them. eg at most a 1% difference. eg. in his practice RNY vitamin deficiency was 2% RNY vs. 1% sleeve. the only big difference being anemia 10% vs 5%. Dumping syndrome happens for about 30% of patients and if you are lucky enough to get it, it really works as a deterrent. research shows that the size of the pouch is not the determinant of long term weight loss. that people who regain typically have pouches the same size as people who do not regain. it is healthy eating and lifestyle habits that are the greatest determinant in long term success. the surgery buys you a metabolic reset for a period of time and rapid weight loss. that period is ideally used to develop good eating and lifestyle habits so that you can maximize loss and maintain it in the long run.

Get it out! they can do permanent damage. I revised to RNY (self pay) and would do it ten times over. wish i'd just saved myself the 11 years of torture and done it years ago.

Yes, they turn the sleeve into a pouch and remove the pyloric valve and do the bypass. revisions are usually pricier than virgin surgeries because of the degree of complexity. Most revisions from sleeves to bypass though are done for medical reasons most common being severe GERD.

restriction didn't really happen for me until purees (and only on some). keep in mind that nerves have been severed with the surgery. it may take a while for full feeling to come back...so stick to your portions and don't worry about it.

agree with the others. the stall will break on it's own.

I am totally out of shape and yet it applies to me. I gained 3lbs of muscle in 5 months...don't ask me how.. But i am in love with Dexa scans (I'm a data junkie). and I love that I can ignore the scale.

one thing to be careful about with this calculator is that it is likely underestimating the lean mass. It was off for me by about 7 grams of protein (too low). as former or current obese people we have more bone density and more muscle (from carrying around extra weight) in general than the regular population (at least I do).