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I go back in forth. In general, caution is a good thing. On the other hand, caution has a cost too- extra time, extra resources, extra doing-without, etc. The trick is to not go too far to either side. Truthfully, some people are terrible at this balancing act, and for them, it is better to have a rule-set they can follow. But then there are some of us who are quite good at it. For example, your instincts kicked right in and said "NO" to black bean soup- so the doctor's advice was good. You listened to yourself, and yourself urged slowness. Mine urged speed. I was intensely satisfied by meat on the fourth day, and felt much better for having eaten it. And a lot of the agony I read on this site is people trying to stick some liquid only diet when their body is telling them very strongly something different- they are ready for more. Most of them would be better served by listening to their own bodies, IMO. As to the risk of slippage, it is determined far more by surgical technique and band type than by a liquid diet, although vomiting in the early stages is not helpful. But the research shows a very significant drop in slippage using the pars flaccida technique for instance- the slippage rates drop from around 8-10% to around 2%. Also, the 4.5 cc band is really too small, and is not being used any longer in Europe- they have found the larger bands have better slippage and erosion rates. It seems to me as long as your are not gagging or vomiting and are well able to be cautious and a good listener to your body, there is no reason not to 'follow your instincts'.

Hello! My name is Connie. I was banded on 12/12/07 in Dallas, TX by Dr. Benavides w/ Lap Band Solutions. I am from (and live) in MAINE- but made the choice to travel to Dr. B for my surgery because of his stellar reputation etc. My pre-diet (and highest ever!) weight was 296 lbs. At 4 months post op I was at 244 lbs. It's SO amazing to me!! I had my last fill on 01/29/08 and my next one is scheduled for 05/06/08. I stretched it out a little longer the I should have, as I'm feeling as though I would benefit from a fill N-O-W, now! I have an AP-S band. If someone could tell me how to 1)post pictures and 2) get those cute ticker things...that would be really cool! Connie:teeth_smile:

I post this in my blog, but I've gotten so much personal feedback about my journey from these pictures, I'd thought I'd share it on here as well. Thursday is actually my 5 month Surgiversary- but this past weekend I attended a friends birthday party and they took a lot of candid shots of me, I compared them to some candids from last summer. Pretty amazing difference at this point and I"m not even at my official optimal goal yet. I am the brunette in the top pictures wearing the orange/reddish dress. Height: 5'9 Highest (Surgery) Weight: 216 1st Primary Goal Weight: 169 (Achieved 11/27) 2nd Optimal Goal Weight: 145 Sleeve Journey: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 8/17/12- PreOp/Surgery Day w/Pics Posted in Blog Week 1 (8/24): 204.8 (-11.2) Week 2 (8/31): 200.6 (-4.2) Week 3 (9/7): 196.8 (-3.8) Week 4 (9/14): 193.5 (-3.3) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 9/17/12- 1 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog (-22.5 lbs) Week 5 (9/21): 191.6 (-1.9) Week 6 (9/28): 190.1 (-1.5) Week 7 (10/5): 187.0 (-3.1) Week 8 (10/12): 181.9 (-5.1) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 10/17/12- 2 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog (-11.6 lbs) Week 9 (10/19): 181.4 (-.5) Week 10 (10/26): 177.9 (-3.5) Week 11 (11/02): 176.8 (-1.1) Week 12 (11/09): 174.7 (-2.1) Week 13 (11/16): 173.3 (-1.4) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 11/17/12- 3 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog (-8.6 lbs) Week 14 (11/23): 173.1 (-.2) Week 15 (11/30): 167.3 (-5.8) Week 16 (12/7): 168.1 (+.8) Week 17 (12/14): 164.6 (-3.5) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 12/17/12- 4 Month Anniversary (-8.7 lbs) Week 18 (12/21): Holiday Break/Vacation- No scale Available Week 19 (12/28): Holiday Break/Vacation- No Scale Available Week 20 (1/4/13): 164.5 (-.1) Week 21 (1/11): 161.5 (-3.0) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 01/17/13- 5 Month Anniversary (-3.1 lbs)

In about 10 minutes I would have drunk 32oz and I don't feel full at all!!! I can eat 4oz of applesauce and still don't feel full....call me crazy but if it wasn't for the incisions and little pain I would've thought they never did anything lol

I have what feels like spasms in my tummy when I eat or drink something. I also have the feeling in my tummy that moves it reminds me of being pregnant. Has anyone else experienced this weird feeling?

I was sleeved on 8/10/11. I had 1 day stay in hospitial. I slept the majority of the first 3 days. Yesterday was the first day able to stay awake all day. Each day has gotten better and seem to get more energy with each day. It was almost like recovering from a very bad case of the flu (in regards to energy level). I go and have staples removed tomorrow. I find it difficult drinking the G2 as I was a devoted water drinker prior to surgery. As each day passes I am able to get in more fluids. I was very concerned about making sure I took in enough fluids. So far so good. Plan to return to work on Wed. My husband and I went downtown and walked through the shops today and had a wonderful time. I was able to make in through several shops and had a great time spending time with my husband. Also love the antique shops

The fluoroscope (barium swallow) with fills is a normal procedure and many doctors (not all) utilize it to ensure proper restriction. The amount of radiation you receive is low. You would get more radiation from a 3 hour flight on an airplane than from this simple and quick procedure. I was a nuclear medicine technologist and am well versed in radiation safety. I have no concerns what so ever in the amount of radiaiton I will receive from this procedure, even if I have to have 10 fills in one year. Besides I'd rather have my fills by fluoro than not; how would the doctor know if the barium can pass through the newly adjusted opening? But please talk to your doctor for reassurance. (If you are pregnant you MUST inform your doctor.)

I just returned from a week in the Caribbean.... I have lost 215 lbs and I am clocking in at 162. I wear a 8/10 or medium on the bottom and 6/8 or small on top. I am 5'9"'and I felt like the largest girl on the beach. Now I know deep down I wasn't and I could easily identify heavier people than me but still I would look at someone and say to hubby...gee I want to be her size and he would say... You are!!! I don't know when that stops.... If anyone has the secret... I am all ears. PS I lost 3 lbs on vacay!

Wow Gingerbug! thanks for sharing-that helps! Its good to know it's not permanent for a little fall off the wagon. You're almost at your goal- I bet that feels great! Hopefully this year for me. I'm back on track & have lost 10 pounds so far. 65 to go!

Welcome to the other side! Each day it gets better and better. I was sleeved on 10/15.

Hey! I have MVP!!! There are one of the best insurances! I got approved after 1 DAY!..I got banded 08/10/2005,They cover EVERYTHING! I haven't had any problems! Kristen

Hello all! I was sleeved 9/3! Yay! Surgery went without complications! Praise the Lord! I know I am being impatient, but when I got home I weighed myself and was 10 pounds heavier! For those that have been in my shoes, how long before you start to notice a change? How long before the swelling goes down? I have been following the diet to the T and have been drinking my water. I am so excited to continue working on new me!

Order these off Amazon and test yourself, they were only $10. I've attached the link... Hope this helps... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KAQ3RA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I am sorry to hear about your mother Mariposa, I will keep her and you in my thoughts and prayers. I had a neurologist advise me once that I needed the steroid shot in my neck to help my migraines...I told him no thanks, cause I knew a lady that had it done and had a migraine for 2weeks after hers and it didn't even help after she recovered. Over the counter meds work for some, not for me, excedrine migraine, excedrine extra strength, and excedrine tension headache all have the same meds in them they are just labeled like they are to promote selling. I tried all of them too and they didn't work. The funny thing is I was shopping with my then boyfriend when excedrine tension headache came out on the market and I stopped and said to him " I wonder if this will work?" He said well lets compare the ingredients so will pulled all the excedrines down off the shelf and read the ingredients label... come to find out they all had the same thing. I had never paid attention to ingredients before I met him but now if something new comes out I always read the ingredients. I envy those that can control their migraines with over the counter stuff!! Anyways, there are several different migraine meds on the market now (perscription that is) I went thru alot of them and found that the imitrex works best for me. Imitrex is not without its side effects though and some find that they are allergic to the #1 ingredient in them. The only side effect I get from them is a scratchy throat. I used to give myself the injection form of it man that worked with a quickness, no joke I'd give myself a shot and 5mins later I was fine. Now that they reformulated the 100mg tablet it works almost as well, it takes about 10-15 mins for relief. Imitrex also has a nasal spray which I have heard works fast like the shot but I hate nasal sprays so I stick with the pill. The best thing to do is pester your doc to keep trying meds until you find one that is right for you! Plus most of the migraine med makers give them samples for just that purpose so you wouldn't have to buy a whole perscription. I pestered my doc until she went into her trial arsenal and pulled out every kind and gave me samples....she had me keep a diary and list the time I took it and how long it took to take effect. She also made me see a neurologist and after 3 I told her I didn't want to go to them anymore and that we would just do trial and error until I found something that worked. Don't take no for an answer, keep going back until you find something that works for you. Some people take narcotic based meds to combat the pain of the migraine, while I don't suggest this sometimes it is the only thing that works for one individual. I do know that most narcotic based perscriptions like loritab or anything with codine in it makes mine worse. Hey, I am not trying to knock codine based meds, I especially love the codine caugh syrup they gave me after having my tonsils out....man I was 20years old and me and my friends partied on that stuff all summer long. Sorry for the flash back, what I am trying to say, is that there is something out there that will work for you the trick is finding it. Lucky for me my doc is wonderful and handled my pestering very well. Don't suffer any more than you have too!!

I lost 30 pounds my first 2 weeks from surgery. Now I have not lost a pound for 10 days. Is this normal? I regularly exercise and eat as my surgeon suggest. I have lost inches during this phase. I am just wondering how long will these plateaus last and what should I do while experiencing them?

Hi all. I had my sleeve surgery on 8/13. I've had no real complications (minus constipation). I did hit a major stall (17 days) about 10 days post op. Since then I've lost about another 4lbs, making for a total of 23lbs lost in 5 1/2 weeks. I'm stalled again. I did have a surgeon's appointment and before I even brought up the stalls he said he wanted to mention something to me. He asked if I had been diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome. I said no and he said that when he saw inside of my body my fat distribution was consistent with those with Metabolic Syndrome and said he has no doubt that I would have been diagnosed soon without surgery. I asked him what that even meant. He said I would probably lose weight more slowly because it was resilient fat that did NOT want to come off, but once it came off the other fat would start "melting off". When I got home I looked up Metabolic Syndrome. I do sometimes have high blood pressure if I eat high sodium foods, but have never had high blood sugar or triglycerides or any other risk factor. Wondering if anyone else has been diagnosed with this and how slow is slow on weight loss? I don't want to make an excuse for slow weight loss or all these stalls and get complacent. Is it possible this surgery will fail because of this? I'm so nervous now and have a million questions I never thought to ask.

Yes to hiccups, also when I have eaten enough! I am 10 months postop and actually I consider I have overeaten once I start hiccuping. I prefer to stop before they arrive. Your sweating is possibly related to vagus nerve stimulation.

I was banded on 10/17, I'm having pain/tightness in my upper back, shoulders,& neck. I'm also having a lot of burping/more like air pockets that i can feel rising up its can be pretty painful. I did clear liquid for 3 days & have now added protein shakes to it also, all together I only drink about 3-4 cups of liquid a day I have taken mylanta for the gas but maybe I should switch to gas x. any help will be greatly appreciated.

My BMI was 33 when I got banded. I lost 60 ish lbs so far and have another 10 before I get to where I really want to be. I was self pay though so less hassle getting approved. Since your BMI is low, your liver probably isnt fatty. I didnt have to do a pre op diet and my doctor said my liver was ok. In the first 4 months I lost about 40lbs I think

You look great!!! You look 10 years younger too!

This was a great story and you look wonderful. Mt surgery is scheduled for 6/3/10 and I am scared of failure....stories like yours are inspirational.

My pre-op diet sucks. I don't feel that way every minute of every day but there is that very strong underlying feeling.:tired It's not that I'm that hungry. It's more that there are just times that I've used food and I'm not supposed to use it now during those times. When my mood gets in a negative funk I like to feed it. I had a real hard time today. It is day 10 of my 30 day pre-op diet. And today I wanted to eat everything. Once again I did cheat. I ate a chicken strip. But once again I didn't have my last slim fast to help balance it out. I wanted to eat a hell of a lot more. One good thing is we don't really have any goodie foods or foods that are real easy in our house. At least not things that I like. Tomorrow has got to go smoother! The weight records I need still havn't been faxed to the surgeon. I called and requested the others I mentioned from the Primary Health. They said it would take at least a week. At least I've covered my bases as well as I can. The surgeons office faxed the info they had to BCBS to see if they would approve me without 2004's records. I doubt it but they thought it was worth a shot. Total cals today was 1550. and I rode my bike the 30 prescribed minutes. Good luck to all!

I had VSG 3/25/19. I lost 15 pounds in first couple of weeks but not an ounce since. I am getting over 60g of protein, drinking my water and walking. Getting frustrated. Is this common?

Hey You Guys !! So glad to see someonelse is going to go thru the same thing on the same day !! I guess it's true, misery does love company! My Dr. makes his people lose 10 lbs. before he will do surgery and I'm down 5 lbs, and we have to keep it off until our surgery date. The 1st 3 days were AWFUL! The headaches , being hungry, and couldn't sleep but doing better now!