Biddy zz 🏳️🌈

I see many people discuss food relationships in post-sugery forums. While I'm scared, I know I did the right thing by taking a year in a binge eating treatment program to give me the tools & skils to be successful long-term. I will promote this every chance I get. I did not want to go thru surgery only to rebound. My program taught me how to regard food as other than a reward system or addiction. I do still need the surgery to lose the weight & control my diabetes. The program taught me to maintain and follow a plan. We all should have this training before surgery to better influence success. I will share so much more.

Thank you and looking forward to your shares- there obviously are many of us that struggle with food addictions and obsessions!

I am on the same journey. I lost 56 pounds with my lap band but gained it back, plus more. I now have Barrett's Esophagus from gerd and a hiatal hernia, probably from getting food stuck and throwing up daily. My revision to bypass is scheduled for 12/14/17. I hope you don't have to wait too long. Good luck[emoji255]

Hi everyone,
My name is Amy. I had the band on 8/24/10, I lost almost 50 pounds with the band but never reached my goal because I had a lot of problems. I kept having to have Fluid put in and out, I put up with reflux WAY TOO LONG because I didn't want more fluid removed because I was gaining weight. I ended up with an esophageal ulcer and became anemic from it. I had all the fluid removed in early 2017. I am almost back to my pre-surgery weight of 256. I am very unhappy with my weight and it is making me depressed.
My insurance recently approved a conversion from band to bypass. I need to wait to build up some time off at work so I am looking at sometime early next year for surgery. Having the surgery makes me nervous but reading your posts here are helpful.

Tomorrow is my 4-month surgeversary, and since I usually don't do technology on Saturdays, I thought I'd write my update today.
Here's what I can now do that I couldn't right after surgery:
-Go out to eat and have grilled salmon
-Stop the post-surgery Prilosec
-Actually feel hunger
-Wean myself off of sugar substitutes
-Eat cooked fruit & veggies
-Cook more complex dishes for myself
-Eat some salad.

Here's what's different from before my surgery:
-All of my old clothes are way too big, so I have some new ones
-I was able to buy dress boots in a regular shoe store, not in a plus-size or wide-calf specialty place
-I can try on clothes in a store that are too big and have to go down a size
-I can see a tattoo on my hip that I hadn't been able to see easily for awhile
-I had to readjust the seat in my car because now I can get closer to the steering wheel if I want to
-I can sit more comfortably in the armchairs in my PTs office

Here's what I'm currently struggling with:
-I am incredibly happy to be losing weight fairly rapidly at this point, but I'm a little freaked out as I approach the 100lb loss mark. Why? Because I still have a lot more to go. And because it's weird to think about losing so much weight in less than a year.
-I find myself worrying about calories even though I almost never top 900, and get in all my Protein. I can too easily slip into the mindset of trying to eat fewer and fewer calories, which in the past has led to a deprivation/binging cycle. I don't want to do that anymore.

I have not been on here since before my operation. Today is day 19, I think I am doing oka, the weight loss has slowed down a lot. my heaviest was 265 (my first weigh in), the day of my operation I was 240, today I am 227. I have not dumped, taking everything slowly... getting excited I get to eat food I can chew tomorrow!!! It is kinda strange, some of my friends that have had the operation said they would be there for me and I have not heard a word from them.... yet my best friend, who was against my operation from the start, spent 15 hours with me the day of my operation, and has called me every day, and text me to. so now my goal is to wake up my digestive track, I feel like I am backed up still..... I know I am only "eating" about 3/4 of a cup of food a day but I think by now I should be able to go, with out "help"

I'm HEADED HOME,I COULD HAVE LEFT YESTERDAY, BUT I TOLD THE DR.. MY 6 KIDS WOULD BEE WAITING FOR ME... HE TOLD HIS STAFF "NO NO SHE'LLBE STAYING,IT DOESN'T EVEN FEEL LIKE I HAD SURGERY.NICE STAFF, EVERYONE WAS SOOOOOO PLEASANT
Sent from my SM-J700T using BariatricPal mobile app

Welcome!! It is so exciting when things seem to be going well!! This weight loss surgery will become even more exciting as you go along. Good Luck in whichever course you take. Keep us posted. I look forward to following your journey.

Hello my name is Melissa. I'm new to the forum. I was just approved through Molina for a case manager and i have my first phone meeting with her on Friday. Tomorrow i will go to the informational meeting. In not sure if i expected to be approved so when i find out today i am really excited and really nervous. I've been reading posts from people on this site so I've gathered a lot of insight. And i believe this forum is going to be a life saver for me. I have supportive friends but they don't really understand what I'm going through.

It's normal to be nervous about any surgery. I wasn't a failure with the band until I needed emergency surgery to remove it. However, I did regain some, which I've lost with the bypass. Don't stress too much. It's worth it!

I'm a little over 3 years out and some tastes have changed. French fries I can rest a very few so I just don't eat them really. pizza I don't like as much and had to be thin and crispy crust. I am so tired of pain Water so I get those sugar free flavorings you dump into the water bottles. I used to love good coffee but now it kills my stomach so I drink it very rarely. Also some spicy foods make me salivate a lot and I feel sick and sometimes vomit. I guess as far as real changes in taste, I don't think anything for me changed. After a few years I think you'll maybe add some things back in moderation. Just make sure you don't slide back into bad habits and start gaining weight back.

So many... I use a normal towel after I shower instead of a beach towel. I use a normal public bathroom stall instead of the handicap stall. I cross my legs all the time. I don't sweat as much. I am never out of breath. I can run up the stairs at my house instead of hanging on the banister all the way up. I'm in single digit clothing. I don't dread being in a picture... In fact I'm front and center now. So many more.... I smile all the time now!!!

After what feels like a long and strenuous journey, I finally have a surgery date! I am so excited. (And a little nervous). This past month has been super challenging, and I've sometimes wondered if I should be getting surgery right now. I feel guilty because my husband has stage 4 metastatic kidney cancer. He will be starting a new cancer drug, and I will be out of town for close to a week for the surgery. He is fine about me having the surgery, though. He knows I need to get healthy.
Anyway!!! Who else is having surgery in March or the end of February? And did I mention the surgery is the day after my birthday? I am asking my family for ramekins (custard cups), tiny sauce cups, dip bowls, appetizer plates and silverware, and whatever else I find might be good to have in my post surgery life. My surgery is at St. Lukes in Phoenix, and My doc is Dr. Juarez. I'm having an open gastric bypass revising an old 1989 stomach stapling.

I am 226 today, being careful before the op. Worried about this bloody band, but a gastrectomy today (swallowing a camera is NOT fun) showed no band erosion, and no s new surgeon inks the band has come undone and is pressing my diaphragm!
Been out on a Protein Tasting journey today, getting ready.
5 weeks til op. I hadn’t heard that revisionists loose weight slower that first timers. I know we shouldn’t want to rush, but that is hard, huh?

My being afraid of bypass is what led me to the disasterous decision to do a band to begin with. I have realized very much the hard way that I should not make medical decisions based on things I am afraid of that I have no expertise whatsoever in and that I should listen to the people who do have the expertise.
I went to my revision doctor wanting the sleeve. He suggested bypass as a better option. Thankfully this time i listened. I ultimately realized this was the best course to take to avoid the risk of yet another revision. And I'm done with bariatric surgery!
He was right and I'm mad at myself for wasting 11 years of my life in denial with the band where I could have just had success and eliminated my health issues in one fell swoop instead of trading them in for The new ones the band caused.

I did this, minus the band journey. I went from Sleeve to Bypass and haven't looked back! Now, I'm only nearly 3 weeks out, so I can't testify to the weight loss results yet, but as far as the GERD that change in my life has been MAGICAL! It feels so good to sleep on my back, to drink Water before bed and in the night if I am thristy, to not have to sabotage my weight loss by relying on carbs to temper down the acid, and to free myself from the fear of developing Barrett's Esophagus or esophageal legions or ulcers. Trust me, living with chronic severe GERD is no way to live. Come on back to the civilized side, DO IT! You will certainly thank yourself later.

Thank you both for your reply. I suppose I watched too many you tube dumping episodes. BlackCatMatt, I think I probably made it sound a lot worse than it is. I actually love my job and welcome the challenges. It's only stressful because you do have other people who watch over your shoulder, but most people are pretty good about it -- they requested our help after all. The sometimes long days stink, but I almost always have the ability to push it an extra day and rearrange my travel.
I'm glad to know about the Protein Drinks being ok. I consumed them a lot at the beginning of the lap band, and I still have them for Breakfast and lunch.
Other than candy/pastries/cookies/cake, are there foods that can no longer be consumed? I realize that food is what got me to where I am today, but I don't want to be stuck eating toast (or some other bland food) forever.
Maybe the best question I should have asked is "What do you wish you would have known before you got the revision?"

Thanks again

I just had my band removed and converted to RNY on Monday. I’m at the point of recovery asking why I did this because I’m in a lot of pain. Everyone keeps telling me I’ll be happy in a few days to a week. I do have to say I haven’t felt hungry at all, so this is a big deal for me! I remember when I had the band put in and I felt hungry right away. I also failed my band and ate a lot of crap but decided I needed to make a change once and for all. I actually lost 21 lbs on the pre op diet they put you on for two weeks.


HW 367
SW 346
Revision from band to gastric bypass RNY on 11/6/17

U look awesome, my 6 months was Oct 4th , HW 290 SW 259 CW 180.   

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using BariatricPal mobile app

I am having band revision to gastric bypass on 11/07, removing the band and hopefully doing the bypass all in one surgery. I have BC/BS. I still had to go through nutrition classes, have cardiology clearance and have an upper GI done this go around, but did not have to go through psychiatric testing or the 6 months of weigh ins that I had to go through the first go around. Since your band was removed so long ago though, it's a possibility that your insurance will require you go through everything again. I know the bariatric program I am in said most of their requirements have to have been completed in the last year.

So exciting. I am having lap band revised to RNY as well, on 14 December. I look forward to reading your first month of posts so that I know more about what I am in for!!

Hi there. I am 5’7 and 230 lbs so pretty close.
I am having lab band revision to gastric bypass, on 14 December.
Bit nervous but looking forward to getting back to the healthier, no knee-pain, clothes off the rack position I was before band failed, 5 years ago.