KartMan

I watch a lot of WLS YouTube videos and have heard a number of bloggers mention "food funerals" pre-op. Did any of you have a final feast of your favorite non-friendly post-WLS foods to lay them to rest for good before surgery?

We all have weak moments, I get that. But actually planning for a food funeral seems like the first step in a failure of your future lifestyle. If one excessive and unhealthy meal means that much to you, maybe you aren't ready for this change yet?

I had the band in 2009 and lost all of my excess weight. Unfortunately, it has since failed and I need a revision. It felt great to be normal and thin - but it required work and commitment. If you can't be strong now in pre-op, do you think you will be strong enough to cope in post-op? Choose wisely.

I am getting the revision from behind to a sleeve. Does anyone know what the time frame and process is to getting this done. I was told first they remove the lap band and then after a month or two they can do the sleeve. I would like to hear if anyone else had this done.

I had the band placed in 2009. I am scheduled to have it removed and the sleeve done on the same day September 7, 2017

It seems some doctors will do it in one setting while others insist on waiting to let the band area heal before doing the sleeve.

Awesome news! Are they removing the Band and giving you the sleeve all at once? I just had my band removed a week ago. My sleeve is scheduled for November 13. Good luck to you!!

That is the plan. I've had my band unfilled for about 2 months so hopefully as long as there are no hidden complications they can do both at once.

Good news, liver blood test came back ok so I have a new date of 9/7/2017 set.

Good news, liver blood test came back ok so I have a new date of 9/7/2017 set.

I am so frustrated I am doing what I am supposed to do. Was sleeved 8 days ago and have only lost 2 pounds.

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Keep in mind that they pump in a lot of IV Fluid during surgery and you may be restraining Water from all the trauma and the meds. Your goal right now should be healing and sticking to the program. Worry about the scale later.

I'm a 37 year old male and my surgery is scheduled for 8/28/17. I'm honestly not sure what to expect with the sleeve. I have yet to encounter any post-op sleevers that regret having this surgery. As my surgery date gets closer, my mood goes from excited to anxious to nervous. I keep telling myself that this is for my benefit in the long run. It's great to be surrounded by people who are in the same situation as me because I need all the support that I can get. Does anyone who's post-op have any suggestions on dealing with the anxiety/nervousness?

Hey Joonburg,
We (guys) are in the minority on this site and most WLS social media. I think the women outnumber the men in terms of getting the surgery and in posting about it. I haven't gotten my sleeve yet (a little pre-op limbo) but I did great with the LapBand back in 2009. Surgery went great and I lost all my excess weight (went from 282 down to 170, I'm 5'11) in the first year. My sister had it at the same time, and I can tell you it was easier for me to lose than her. I think us guys get a little advantage with muscle mass and not having to deal with monthly hormones.

As for anxiety, all I can say is try to relax. It's a quick procedure and the incisions are actually quite small (same for band and sleeve). I felt little or no pain at the incisions and only had minor gas pains. The gas pains aren't typical stomach gas pains, it's in your upper back. Yes it can be quite uncomfortable - but it isn't excruciating and it will go away in a few days. My best advice is walk early and often to help it to dissipate.

Best of luck to you.

Weldone! I alsohad the reduce blood preasure, i had melignent hypertention, blured vision headaches, on high dose of meds. was completely of my meds in under 2 weeks , because my bp was going low ! [emoji4] so amazing. i have not even lost much but the change is just amazing

Good for you! Weight loss is only part of the story. Reducing or ending those comorbidities is equally important.

Thanks for the suggestion. No, I hadn't considered Mexico. I spent the last 13 years going from Philly to NYC for band stuff, I'm looking to keep it local this time. But if something happens with my new insurance I am going to pursue self pay options.

Best of luck to you in whichever path you end up on.

I always say extra skin is way better than extra fat. Worry about it later. Depending on your age and body type, it might not even be that bad.

I would say set your BMI goal to the upper und of normal (24.9). You can always reassess once you get there.

Have you considered Mexico? Significantly cheaper than US and none of the insurance hassles. Of course it means you might have to travel and will have out pocket self pay costs, it was worth it for me.

It's the luck of the draw. 65% is average, which means some lost less, others more.
Personally I think it is that the surgery won't reset our set-points all the way down if we are more than 80-100lbs overweight.
So the surgery can do x-amount, and the rest is up to us. Many of us get bored with the constant battle, and at some point the effort isn't worth the payoff, so we stop. It's not wrong, it just IS. And that's ok.
The fat rats could lose it all and keep it off, but they never were double and triple their bodyweight.

It's not the luck of the draw. Surgery gives you a huge potential. If you use it correctly (I'm not saying its easy), you can succeed. Cheating (eating past the sleeve) and living a sedentary life will hinder success.

I keep reading the expected weight loss percentages per each of the different procedures. So if you are only expected to lose 65% of your excessive weight, what keeps you losing to lose to your goal or healthy weight. Wouldn't you be following the same eating plan from the time you start eating solid foods again? How do you get rid of the remaining 35%?

It's BS, it's statistics. The 65% comes from the average weight loss of the entire population in the study. Some people work the tool, and some don't. If you put in the work, there is no reason to believe you can't lose 100% of your excess weight.

I had LapBand in 2009 and lost all of my excess weight (about 110 lbs). I didn't actually start exercising till I was at about 80% from goal, and frankly not even a lot at that point. The most important factor was watching what I ate, because it is definitely possible to cheat. I kept the weight off for years too, it was only recently that my band failed that I started to gain weight.

I have my surgery scheduled for 8/24. My BMI is 36+. I met with my surgeon last week and asked what my goal weight is. She said for my height The charts say I should weigh 135 which we both agree is unrealistic. So I said what's the goal? She said I don't give my patients a "goal" weight. I just expect that they will lose about 40-50% of the excess weight within the first year. So that means about 50lbs. Which would put me at 180ish. Boy that is depressing. All this for 50lbs[emoji27]. That would still give me a BMI of 28.6. I was hoping to work down to 160-150 to try to get to a BMI under 25! Anyone else have this issue???

I had LapBand in 2009 and went from a BMI of about 39 (about 280lbs) down to a BMI of about 25 (about 180lbs). I looked great with that BMI and was also fine at about 28-29 BMI.

Don't fixate too much an the final weight or BMI till you get there. Everybody is a little different. Also, don't read too much into what they say statistically people will lose. You are an individual and have the potential to lose 100% of the excess weight.

I have my surgery scheduled for 8/24. My BMI is 36+. I met with my surgeon last week and asked what my goal weight is. She said for my height The charts say I should weigh 135 which we both agree is unrealistic. So I said what's the goal? She said I don't give my patients a "goal" weight. I just expect that they will lose about 40-50% of the excess weight within the first year. So that means about 50lbs. Which would put me at 180ish. Boy that is depressing. All this for 50lbs[emoji27]. That would still give me a BMI of 28.6. I was hoping to work down to 160-150 to try to get to a BMI under 25! Anyone else have this issue???

I had LapBand in 2009 and went from a BMI of about 39 (about 280lbs) down to a BMI of about 25 (about 180lbs). I looked great with that BMI and was also fine at about 28-29 BMI.

Don't fixate too much an the final weight or BMI till you get there. Everybody is a little different. Also, don't read too much into what they say statistically people will lose. You are an individual and have the potential to lose 100% of the excess weight.

Had my VSG revision (from LapBand) scheduled for tomorrow (8/15/17) in Mexico. Got down to do the pre-op testing. All was going well, vitals were all good, I lost the prescribed weight, but then...

Apparently either I missed the question or it wasn't recorded properly in the pre-screen that I have had Hepatitis B in the past. Mind you, my HepB was 30 years ago and was acute (meaning no ongoing symptoms). Also, I had LapBand 8 years ago and there were absolutely no liver issues then and I have numerous liver panels through the years with no ongoing liver function issues.

However, out of an abundance of caution - they want to run a fresh liver function blood test and the results take 10 days to process. Assuming it's good, they will reschedule. This means my surgery is postponed a minimum of two weeks and possibly longer depending on their availability. The real kick in the teeth is I have to stay on the pre-op diet the whole time.

Had my VSG revision (from LapBand) scheduled for tomorrow (8/15/17) in Mexico. Got down to do the pre-op testing. All was going well, vitals were all good, I lost the prescribed weight, but then...

Apparently either I missed the question or it wasn't recorded properly in the pre-screen that I have had Hepatitis B in the past. Mind you, my HepB was 30 years ago and was acute (meaning no ongoing symptoms). Also, I had LapBand 8 years ago and there were absolutely no liver issues then and I have numerous liver panels through the years with no ongoing liver function issues.

However, out of an abundance of caution - they want to run a fresh liver function blood test and the results take 10 days to process. Assuming it's good, they will reschedule. This means my surgery is postponed a minimum of two weeks and possibly longer depending on their availability. The real kick in the teeth is I have to stay on the pre-op diet the whole time.

Had my VSG revision (from LapBand) scheduled for tomorrow (8/15/17) in Mexico. Got down to do the pre-op testing. All was going well, vitals were all good, I lost the prescribed weight, but then...

Apparently either I missed the question or it wasn't recorded properly in the pre-screen that I have had Hepatitis B in the past. Mind you, my HepB was 30 years ago and was acute (meaning no ongoing symptoms). Also, I had LapBand 8 years ago and there were absolutely no liver issues then and I have numerous liver panels through the years with no ongoing liver function issues.

However, out of an abundance of caution - they want to run a fresh liver function blood test and the results take 10 days to process. Assuming it's good, they will reschedule. This means my surgery is postponed a minimum of two weeks and possibly longer depending on their availability. The real kick in the teeth is I have to stay on the pre-op diet the whole time.

Just confirmed band to sleeve revision 8/15/2017 with Dr. Ariel Ortiz @ OCC in Tijuana Mexico. Not really nervous at all. The band surgery was a breeze for me and I have had one other surgery (non weight loss) with no complications. I seem to recover well from injury and surgery, so it doesn't scare me much.

Banded 2/2009, had great success. Over 100 lbs lost, exceeded goal. Ran into trouble about a year ago with not being able to get the right adjustment and dealing with reflux. Decided the band has outlived it's life for me and I can't do it alone, so it's the sleeve for me.

Just confirmed band to sleeve revision 8/15/2017 with Dr. Ariel Ortiz @ OCC in Tijuana Mexico.

Banded 2/2009, had great success. Over 100 lbs lost, exceeded goal. Ran into trouble about a year ago with not being able to get the right adjustment and dealing with reflux. Decided the band has outlived it's life for me and I can't do it alone, so it's the sleeve for me.

I just signed up for a date. August 15, 2017 @ OCC with Dr Ariel Ortiz. I was banded in 2009, had good success but ran into some troubles this past year. Hoping there are no complications and I can have the band removed and Sleeve done in one operation.

g75funk,

I'm with you. Just a little over 3 years out for me, at goal weight, and loving exercise. I started out in the gym and totally loved, but then I discovered running and Triathlon and am now I’m even more hooked on it. I run, bike, or swim 6 days a week and positively LOVE it. I never liked to exercise when I was heavy because it was so awkward and difficult – now I can’t get enough.

Love the Band, Love to Exercise

Allison, thanks for the clarification. You make some very good points.

I actually loveeeee fitness now. Like many of you, I didn’t at first. It was a chore, but I did because I had a goal. But then I found something that I truly enjoy (for me, it’s running and Triathlon). Now I have a passion for it. I’m a middle of the pack guy in the races I compete in. I don’t ever see myself competing for a top spot on the podium but I do consider myself an athlete all the same. I run, bike, or swim 5-6 days a week and really really enjoy it. I no longer do it for weight loss because I am at goal, now I do it because I enjoy it and I know it is good for my overall health.

Allison, I don’t mean to be rude – but that is a careless comment and one that can give people false hope.. While there may not necessarily always be a link between exercise and weight loss, there is actually a concern about the type of weight you lose. You want to lose fat, not muscle. For the first 6 months after banding my weight was flying off without exercise, but I found out that I was losing too much muscle. I know this because I had proof by way of a hydrostatic dunk test. After that discovery, I started eating more Protein and got into a regular exercise routine. I was quickly able to turn the trend around and started to gain muscle and to lose fat. I got down to 15% body fat and have never looked back.