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Ah Darlin', this is not a normal and logical situation sweet Frustr8 is in. I am the rarer , watch out for your surgeon might have skimmed over talking about. I have a stomal stricture in Precious Pouch, and she has 2 ulcers also, on the back wall of my jejunem- the portion of small intestine the pouch attaches to, I have 3 more angry ulcers and the potential to ulcerate on down toward the ileum. I have had 4 endoscopy scopings, on every EGJ is still was not healing up, solider foods can't pass through, so I was on a liquid diet and still am, in theory. After my last scope I was hospitalized, that was November 28th, on the 29th a PICC LINE was established in my upper left arm, snakes through the venous tree, 48 cm, roughly 19 inches long, the tip is located in my superior Vena Cava, and rests only a couple inches from the right atrium , the upper chamber of my ❤. The line rested for a day then on the 30th TPN, which stands for Total Parenterel Nutrition, I get a feeding solution pumped in, I was on 14 hours on, 10 off daily, I just graduated? to a 12-12 cycle on January 1sr, I can try 1 meal of liquid something daily if I desire but the solution supplies my nutritional needs as it is. 1430 calories of goodness, Wowser that's about twice what I was taking when I was feeding by mouth. I simply count not ingest the 90-120 grams of protein Dr Noria says I needed to heal the verdompt ulcers, so this is an easier way for me. Oh I wasn't TOO THRILLED to have this happen to me, my son and I learned the steps so we do it all ourself, no stupid home health nurses having to do it. Twice a week I have blood draws, luckily they can remove blood from the PICC line, better than having someone go up and down my arms looking for an non- rolling surface vein. I used to look like someone threw rocks at me. I have lost over 100 pounds from my highest weight, lost 15 pounds on my liver shrinking diet in August , and close to 50 since my surgery September 5th, for a while I was protein poor and nearly malnourished , I was losing weight like a sea-sick anorexic sailor, nice losing but it was pushing me me into a depletion corner. Weighed myself last week at my Primary Care while my son was doing his appointment, looked like I was stalled by came home , did a giant #2, had to flush 3 times so I have to weigh less, tomorrow is blood draw and then appointment at Primary care for me, why they couldn't have booked us same day, is beyond my comprehension. But anyhoo, I shall weigh and see.And PICC stands for Peripherally Inserted Central Cathetern see you're getting a mini-tutorial today. How much longer will I have it? I have a surgeon appointment the 15th, another endoscopy the 25th with his Partner Dr Noria who love love loves doing them, she is also is a super competent Bariatric, Gastrointestinal and does do General Surgery but Endoscopy is her " Bang Zone" I really like her and Dr,Needleman, and have to believe they have a Plan of Care and have my best interests at ❤ but this sure is not the scenario I had planned for myself.👈😡👉💉💊

Hi everyone, I am so glad I found this site. My name is Dona Cross. I am a married mother of three. My kids are 21, 19 and soon to be 18. Two oldest are sons, youngest a daughter. I am 48 years old and morbidly obese. Morbidly obese sounds horrifying....I thought I was just fat! Anyway, I have been preparing for lap band since January 2008. In September of 2007 I found out that I have diabetes. This didn't come as a surprise to me...my brother and 6 first cousins are diabetic, my grandmother was also. My sons weighed 10lb. 3oz. and 10 lb. 11 oz. at birth. We thought my daughter was tiny; she weighed 8 lbs. 14 oz.! After the diagnosis of diabetes I got serious about my health. I don't want to be one of those old ladies in the nursing home weighing 270 lbs. with no legs having to have overworked and underpaid CNA's taking care of me. So, I went to a lap band seminar, got my doctor's wholehearted approval and started meeting requirements for surgery. I have documented diet and exercise requirements almost done and received a O.K. from my insurance to have the psych. eval. After that, my bariatric clinician will set up my pre-op requirements. I am so excited about this. I have tried not to have unrealistic expectations, but I am looking forward to good health again. I am so happy to have contact with others who are experiencing the same journey. Some of my friends are not as supportive as I would have hoped they would be. They think I should just go to Weight Watchers and the gym and I will be fine. Don't they think I've tried that? I do however have a supportive family and an amazing church family to help me. Anyway, thanks in advance for your support. I'm looking forward to making new friends.

How do you know when it is time to get a tummy tuck? How do you know if what you have is a bunch of loose skin, or if you just need to lose more weight? I have lost 80 lbs. and had surgery 7 months ago. I think I may only want to lose another 10 or so, and I wouldn't be able to have surgery for at least another 6 months. Any help would be appreciated!

Hubby and I were sleeved Nov/Dec. 2013. Very minor pain (1 dose pain med at home after sleeving, no acid reflux, no heartburn, no spasms, no hunger pangs. Within a few days hardly felt as if we had surgery. We take Omeprazole only I think to prevent an ulcer. Biggest problem? Little burps that tell you when to stop eating LOL! Best wishes. We bypassed all WLS for 10 years til we could have the sleeve. The band stories really scare me. I know there are thousands of success stories, but even so many revisions..... Just so happy with the sleeve. Our only regret is that we did not have it before our health worsened.

Hello! I had surgery this past Monday (on the 21st). Supposedly at this point I am able to drink 43 ounces of clear liquids. However, I haven't even been able to hit 10 ounces! I take about 3 sips an hour and it's taking me forever. Iv'e had about 3-4 tablespoons of sf jello throughout the day also. I'm not sure what to do. I feel kinda full. At least, I think it's full. I don't even know what I'm feeling to be honest. I just feel heavy in my stomach. Is this normal? I'm just concerned I'm not getting in enough liquids. Your input is appreciated! Oh and btw, besides some expected soreness at the incision sites, I'm doing pretty good! I haven't felt too much gas (unless THAT'S the heavyness I'm feeling??) and I haven't even had to take any pain medication. No nausea either. I've been trying to walk around the house as much as possible. I've taken a couple of 1 hour naps throuhout the day but I suspect that's more due to boredom than actually being tired.

After 10 days post OP I went from liquids to puree. Liquids: shakes, sugar free or fat free versions of pudding, Jello, popsicles, Soup broth, gatorade, yogurt, milk. Puree: eggs, melted cheese or string cheese, mashed potatoes, bananas, peanut butter, applesauce, lean ground meats like turkey, and cooked carrots. Cheese and potatoes are not foods you want to plan to eat everyday in your future diet plan. The Puree stage is short so I had one string cheese stick everyday. I only had mashed potatoes once.

So this is my first entry....i'm pretty excited and hope everything will run as smooth as I can invision. I've been waiting for something like this all my life. I think the most fitting would be where I am at now so I can look back at this and see how far I have come. So here are the current stats: Height: 5'8" Age: 19 Weight: 315 BMI: 49 My mother called call me together and next week thursday @ 9:30am is my first appointment with my home doctor to get him to approve this and hopefully send the approval letters to everyone who will need them.. I'm pretty unsure about who he has to send them to, but I believe we will get a copy to send in to insurance. I read a lot of people who have the same insurance I have (Medical Mutual) and they had to jump a lot of fences (you have to show 6 months of weight loss attempt, which i only have 3 months of documented weight loss so i don't know if i should start WW again and waste more money or not...but i know it will really get to me if they tell me i have to wait another 6 months for approval when i've been basically waiting my entire life for this opportunity). However we shall see. I am just hoping and praying for the best. I will update this again after my appointment next week. Wish me luck! Allysia

I had my surgery 4/13 and am already eating a little finely minced tuna, and was able to eat 3 ozs of broiled flounder last night. I was told that I would not feel hungry but I do, I was making my self 2 oz egg white omletts 7 days after surgery with no problem, I have lost 25 lbs in 10 days so I'm not too worried now, but I thought I would feel way more restricted. I still do two protein shakes a day and at first I had to drink it over 2 hours. Now I can finish it in less than 1/2 hr. Some people are still on liquids three weeks after surgery, and I'm justd that I'm not going to see the full benefit of this life altering procedure. Comments???

I understand completely- I have high tolerance for pain myself. 3 natural childbirths, no pain meds to assist. Yet, this pain in my stomach, did make me cry. Please call his office and try to see another surgeon in his/her practice. My pain started on Saturday morning, woke up with it. by noon I had taken two pain pills and took more every two hours after speaking to the doctor on call. at 2 am i ended up in the ER. I didn't even take my pain pills after surgery and in 1 day I took like 10 pills.

Congrats on your surgery, you have taken a big step towards better health. Burping is common with this surgery. My doctor had me drinking 10 ml every 15 minutes that I was awake the day after surgery. It sounds like you are heading towards dehydration and if you are still uncomfortable tomorrow you should call your surgeon for advice. I was in the hospital for 4 days and can't imagine being home any earlier, but I know a lot of people have very little time in the hospital following this surgery. Hang in there it gets better I promise!

I have lost 30 lbs and it has improved my diabetes I was maxed out on my oral meds 10 pills a day, now I am down to 2 pills a day. I also had high blood pressure, it's all gone. I still have 50 lbs to go but looking forward to not taking any meds. I am very grateful for this surgery and very happy I got it done. It's still alit of work, but I just added years to my life!

everything I have read and heard (and experienced through other people) about the band has not been favorable. I did my research and the sleeve was the best option for me. Even at one of the classes I went to, the instructor had RnY done(10 years ago) and said, if she could do it all over again, she would choose the sleeve; also another one said that if you have 100 pounds or more to lose the band is not for you... I didn't like the idea of it anyway... I've had minimal problems with the sleeve, loving who I am these days!

My beginning weight was 279 and surgery I was 271(2/19/13) and I'm still 222 as of 6/10/13

I was banded on 2/17 as well. My Dr. told me to progress from clear liquids to full liquids to soft solids then regular diet as soon as I was comfortable. I did clear liquids only on 2/17. This included popsicles, sorbet, iced tea, and Jell-o. On 2/18, I started full liquids, including protein shakes, pudding and applesauce. On 2/19, I started soft solids. I had some very moist grilled chicken for lunch and chicken lo mein for dinner. Today, I'm still doing soft solids--pudding for breakfast, pizza for lunch and some lunch meat for dinner. my Dr. Defines soft solids as anything that can be chewed to the consistency of applesauce.

I was told to not lift more than 10 lbs for at least 4 weeks. A busy/moving/wiggly toddler, I'd imagine feels many pounds more than they actually weigh. Consider starting to train him to climb in and out of the crib with maybe a step stool. I did that with my twins being that it was 2 of them and combined they were HEAVY (that was pre-op). One word of advice...don't forget and leave the step stool in there...oh the stories I could tell being sleep deprived and forgetting that stool.

Hi, I am almost six months post op, and the first picture is my weight gain after lap band, and the second is after gastric sleeve surgery. Size 16 to 12/ 10.

I am selling career clothes that no longer fit. I will be posting several "lots" and hope someone going on this weight loss journey can use the clothes. I am askin $150 for all. Estimated shipping of $34.17 is included. I estimate the value of these clothes to be well over $500. I am larger in the hips and thigh so all are relaxed cut. 1. gray slacks -size 22 - Lane Bryant 2. black slacks- size 22- George (Walmart career brand) 3. dark gray slacks- size 22- Lane Bryant 4. denim capri- size 22- Cato 5. black slacks- size 22- George 6. khaki professional capri- size 22- Cato 7. black skirt- xxl- George (It's a skirt that makes you want to twirl around! I liked it so much I went & bought another in my new size) 8. khaki slacks- size 22- Worthington (JC Penney) 9. black pin stipe suit with blazer & skirt- size 22- TJ Milano 10. Riders cargo denim Capri- size 20w- new with tags 11. denim jeans- size 20w- ana (JC Penney brand) 12. white lace spaghetti strap under shirt 13. another white lace spaghetti strap under shirt 14. Black lace spaghetti strap under shirt 15. brown pant suit (blazer & slacks)- size 22- T Milano I can't post pictures from iPad but can email pics if you'd like.

Ive lost 31lbs since June 1st - I was sleeved June 9th - since the 9th I have lost 24 lbs Since my surgery I have been eating basically 0% fat Greek Yogurt - Fage is a good brand. You can mix with Splenda for taste if you like. Also, Progresso Light Soups in the blender so there will be no chunks. Campbells Select Harvest is really good too. I eat 2oz at a time, 3 times a day.... and do sugar free popsicles as a filler in between - WORKS GREAT! I also do 2 Protein drinks, Mid morning - and a few hrs before dinner. 25 grams each to give me 50 for the day. ( i need 40-60). Highly recommend the GNC Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 - leanest that i have found and tastes good. (chocolate tastes like choc milk ) My Dr says to walk 10-20 min right after eating. So I follow orders! One time I didnt... and felt the difference Walking right after helps it settle, and helps you burp etc if you need to. I highly recommend it. I must be doing something right 31 lbs since June 1 baby! Good luck you will do great!!!!

I like the Trader Joe's High Potency Chewable Multi's. The bariatric formulations, ironically enough, have too many calories and carbs for me to be comfortable taking them. I tried adding them up one time and it would cost me something like 60 calories and 12 carbs to get my vitamins, calcium, and iron from bariatric formulations. Instead I use Trader Joe's, Citracal Petites, and for iron, whatever is on sale at CVS or the grocery store. This gets my needs met for 10 calories and 2 carbs . . . and about a fifth of the price of the special bariatric stuff! Yes, I am cheap with my dollars, calories, and carbs. I get my labs drawn regularly and my vitamin and mineral levels have always been excellent.

I use infant sippy cups.... Measure out my target for 15 minutes and keep it by me... So every time I see it, I take a sip. I learned this trick on my Lapband journey nearly 10 years ago.

I love these election results! Congrats on your weight loss. However, if I were you, I'd really add those 10 extra lbs on because they do count. You have lost at least 120 ls! Keep it up!

Got my approval today and scheduled surgery for October 10. October sleever! Yay! I am so psyched. Anybody else getting sleeved around then?

Ask your dr about the Vitamins you need...you can also go to InsureNutrition.com and fill out the form to see if you qualify for free vitamins, Protein shakes and/or scar cream. For me, I have to take D3, CoQ-10 with a Multivitamin, and of course, B-12 every morning...but everyone is different... Good luck...

I have found meals and Snacks that work for me- I don't have a ton of variety in my food intake. Breakfast- a low carb protien shake (I am very tight in the am.) Lunch/dinner Protien: Perdue perfect portion chicken breast Lean pork loin, tuna on kavili garlic crackers (only 50 cals and 10 g carb), fish, boca burger Veggie- brussel sprouts, asperagus, spinach, canned grean Beans, yellow squash Snacks low fat cheese sticks cottage cheese (they come in a snack pack- perfect size) berries (they are low in carbs) almonds (1/4 cup) Hope this helps! Good luck!

The wait usually depends on the insurance requirements you have to meet. In my instance, I went to my first seminar Oct. 29, got an appointment to see the surgery Nov. 6, decided on the sleeve and was approved on Nov. 10, as long as all my tests came back ok. I chose to be sleeved on Dec. 29th, as it gave me enough time to get all my testing done before the date I selected to be operated. Today my Dr. turned in my clearance forms and I'm officially good to go for the 29th!!!!