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You are going to be fine! Your surgeon I am sure has done many lap bands and nothing is being cut on just added. ( : your emotions are normal, we have all had them. I am a nurse and went back to work in 10 days and have done just fine. As far as the pain goes its not bad, I'm sure your c/s was worse. Just remember to walk as soon as possible to break up the gas. Good luck!!! Very excited for u!!!

I had quite a bit of "cramping" pain the first 10 days or so. Usually it was when I was drinking. If I took a sip that was slightly bigger (and I was being quite careful), it felt like my stomach was spasming and jabbing at me. It did get better after 10 days though. My surgeon reassured me by letting me know that the discomfort was due to the trauma my stomach had been through and it was normal for it to be extra sensitive during the early stages of my recovery. Afterall, it was cut open, most of it taken out, stapled back together and then sewn. So obviously there was alot of damaged tissue in there, trying to heal. And here I was sending liquid down quite often during the day, irritating it (not to mention my stomach acid also eating away at the wounds). If the pain is too intense, constant and not linked to something explainable (like a "normal" early-stage reaction to eating/drinking), it is important that you consult your physician. In fact if you feel like anything is wrong, don't hesitate to seek medical advice. If they check you out and find that everything is fine, all you've done is use up a bit of time. Worth it to reassure yourself. If on the other hand there is something "off", it's best to catch it early and get it treated!

STARTING WEIGHT (256.6) I went on a 10 day pre-op diet with which I lost 16 pounds. My 5th day post op I had reached 28 pounds lost. On the 26th I had gone back to 236 pounds. My coordinator with whom I still speak with has told me that it can be excess Water. I'm in my second week post op. What should I be drinking/doing to see some significant weight loss? PLEASE HELP ME!

I was sleeved on March 5th at approx 0800. My journey started a few years ago. I started tossing the idea of bariatric surgery around when I kept gaining and gaining weight. My dr kept doing test to see if there was a reason, and adding meds to my regimen because I was being diagnosed with different things. I talked to my dr about it and went through the initial seminar that the local bariatric surgeon has. That's as far as I went that time. I met my wife and realized that I wanted to be healthy. I wanted to be around for her and my children. Her and I talked and she pushed me to go back to the dr and start the process again. I am a paramedic for the city we live in and she is an EMT. A nurse at one of the ER's had recently had gastric bypass. My wife spent about an hour one night talking with her and her experience. She recommeneded the surgeon she used. He had practiced at the local trauma hospital and done the gastric surgeries there. Our friend had had great success and had nothing but great things to say about Dr. Allen. I did some research into the different types of surgeries that were being performed and decided that I really wanted the sleeve. I contacted Dr. Allen's office and scheduled to go through the seminar again. By this time I had almost completed the 6 month weight loss study with my primary dr. After the seminar I submitted the appropriate paperwork and was pre-approved. I met with Dr. Allen and informed that at that time he was not doing the sleeve. He suggested the bypass for me. I decided it was the next best thing; I was NOT having the band done. lol Dr. Allen wanted a few approvals from my primary physician before surgery. I had to have a EKG, and Pulminary Function Test. The PFT came back obstructed at the dr's office so I was sent to a pulmonologist. I was very discouraged. I met with the pulmonologist he sent me to and was told there was a chance I had COPD. Again, more discouragement. The pulmonologist was not about to sign off on letting me have surgery since the intubation could be bad for me. He wanted me to use an inhaler and CPAP at night for 6 weeks and come back for a follow up PFT. 6 Weeks later I was back. The PFT was enormously better, and I felt ENORMOUSLY better. Best of all, he APPROVED ME FOR SURGERY. My primary physician signed off ok'ing it as well. It was time for the waiting game with the insurance company for approval. A few weeks later on Feburary 5th at 1300, I recieved a phone call from the surgeon's office that I had been approved and my surgery date was March 5th. They gave me the date and time for the pre-op meeting and test. And the best of all, the information on the 1500 calorie diet I was to follow for 2 weeks prior to my surgery. 2-weeks prior to surgery my wife went to the store, stocked up on slim-fast shakes and frozen lean cusines and I started this crazy 1500 calorie diet. I was approx 390-400 lbs. It wasn't as bad as I expected. The day before surgery a few of my friends from work and my wife took me out for my "last meal". I went to the local BBQ shack and had a full rack of ribs. Normally, before the diet I could clean them off and still be hungry, however, I ended up sending almost half of them home with a co-worker! We then had a small desert and sat and talked for about an hour. It was the last time I really ate "real" food. The next morning my wife and I were up at 0430 getting showers and packing bags for my hospital stay. I was told to be prepared for a 3 day hospital stay. Surgery began at around 0900 and I was out and in recovery by 1030. No problems with sedation or intubation. However, I was slightly oversedated and sent to the ICU for the night because they were worried about the sedation and my sleep apnea becoming a problem. I don't remember much of this. The most I remember is having a cathader that I kept asking to be taken out and waking up with the CPAP mask on at one point. The next day at around 0800 I was taken for a swollow study (worse tasting stuff in my life). Everything looked great! Cathader was taken out and I was released to drink clear liquids! A few hours later I was moved out of ICU up to a regular floor bed. My wife spent hours with me at the hospital, encouraging me to get up out of bed to walk and get the gas off my stomach. She made sure that I was getting adequate nutrition as well as enough Water to drink. She even brought me fat free milk! On the Friday after surgery I called her to come get me. They removed my JP drain and got me ready to go. I was able to go home and get a FULL NAP!!! I actually felt good enough when I woke up to go to the grocery with her to get some broth, Soups, and yogurts. Since then, I am down to only 1 pain pill a day if I go out for a long period of time. I haven't gone back to work, but don't have a follow up until Monday. I'm hoping to get the staples taken out of the incisions on Monday as well. They itch like crazy. And I'm super excited to start the mushy stage of my diet. I'm ready to get back to the gym and start walking and riding the bike and lose some of this weight a little quicker. I'm amazed at the little amout that I'm eating and it's keeping me satisfied. I already have more energy than I did before the surgery and I am able to stay awake longer during the day. I did cheat yesterday and had 1 lean hotdog. I ate it very slowly and didn't drink anything with it or afterwards. I didn't get sick, but I felt 100x's better afterwards. Guess, we're not all perfect lol Hope everyone else that has been sleeved is doing well also, and everyone getting ready to be sleeved is excited!

It does take a while for you to feel it. I had my surgery 9/10 and I have now lost 130 lbs. I wear a size 12 pants and medium top. Even fitting into smaller clothing it didn't register. And just recently I feel like I have lost weight. When I look in the mirror and do say to myself I am skinny. I have been so used to not looking at myself in the mirror. Everyone else has been saying it for a long time. My mother and husband say I look frail. So good luck and keep up the good work. Our mind plays such games with us. Take a lot of pictures and you will also notice it.

Congratulations! Your starting weight was very close to mine (252). I lost 10 pounds on the 6 month diet my insurance required, and was put on a liquid pre-op diet that lasted 3 weeks because I caught a cold and my surgery was moved, but only by a week, not enough time to stop and start up again so I stayed on it an extra week. I found I do boring really well (the liquid diet is boring). Lost 25 on that. The rest is post-op. I don't think I ever would have been able to do this on my own. The band helped curtail portion size, and I did the rest. I always knew what to eat; I just ate too much of it (plus the pizza, subs, etc.) Now I eat healthy and the band is there to remind me if I am eating too much. I am really glad I did it. My surgeon is pretty happy with my results too.:sad_smile:

Hello fellow/soon to be sleevers I have never joined one of these sites, I have been looking at the site as a none member since I discovered it last week when I was 3 days post sleeve, the first day I went on it I couldnt belive how informative it was and I could so identify with a lot of what other people were going through, I was on the site till 2 in the morning the first day I was on the site. Any how something about me, I have steadily put weight on over the last thirty years and at one time I could diet and lose most of the weight but the weight would never stay off. I suppose it was yoyo dieting but the closer I got to 50 years of age I think the string got stuck I would lose less weight then put it back on plus alot more at my heaviest I was 20 and a half stone or 287 lb for my American friends. Life was getting unbearable I was becoming quite down about my weight and loosing any confidence I had. In December 2009 I went to my Doctor and told him how I was feeling, he really listened to me but because he knew how the NHS worked (I couldnt afford to self finance the surgery), he said I would need to prove that I was serious about loosing the weight this way and I most exhaust all other avenues, I had already taken Xenical twice previously so he started me on Reductil, an appetite supressant, I was given a months supply and I took it with apprehension as I knew of the side effects but I was so desperate to lose the weight. I went to get a further presciption and discovered it had been banned in the UK that week. The doctor then referred me to an exercise and diet programme which was a 2 year programme but it was the pathway I needed to be on to get the surgery. I'm a qualified nurse so I do know what I should be doing and what I should or should not be eating but doing the right thing is another thing, however the programme got me back to the gym and my new found love of zumba. I was seen by a dietition who kept on trying to change my mind about the surgery,a bit of a devils advocate, when she was convinced I was serious she referred me to a psychologist who I saw once and she and the dietition made a report and sent it to my local PCT, who would then decide either to fund or not to fund the surgeryon the NHS it was then a waiting game. At last I got the letter I was sent by the PCT in June 2011 to a private Consultant Mr Decadt at the Spire Regency Hospital, Maccelsfield about an hours drive from my home, thank god for sat nav, I was so excited. He agreed to do the surgery but it would have to go back to the PCT to ensure they agreed with the funding,I made lots of phone calls to the hospital and to the PCT followed to see what was happening I suddenly got a phone call on the 27th September to arrange two pre-op appointments before the op date on the 17th of October I couldnt stop smiling I was so excited. And I remained excited right up untill the op. I am now 10 days post sleeve and the scale is steadily going down and I am feeling great though I am very easily tired. I know its early days but I dont think I will ever regret the decision I made to have this surgery. I have three Grandchildren, three year old triplets, the light of my life I want to be able to keep up with them and to be there when they have their children and I feel I have a better chance of that happening. Hope to be talking to many of you in the future Maureen

@bgtribble We have almost the identical stats. I am also 5' 6" and my heaviest weight was 259 pounds. As an adult I had always maintained a healthy weight for my female frame - about 145 - and was a lifeguard, canoe trip instructor, avid backpacker... never a 'small' person but fairly 'trim' and definitely healthy. I got married and had a baby and then the weight started to creep up on me... 10 pounds heavier, 20 pounds heavier... and over the past 15 years, I ballooned up to 259. Now that I'm back in 100's again I feel I have regained my 'old' Self. I'm not at goal weight yet, however I am feeling SO much better even at this interim stage of the process 65 pounds down! Like dear Bandista above (she is a guru - listen to her!) I also love food and cooking, and am able to still enjoy beautiful food and meals out... but in smaller portions. The best thing is having the background of satiety constantly there. The "Hunger Monster" that derailed my weight loss attempts in the past is no longer there. Now I have a can of tuna & mayo or a small piece of tender steak or 5 Tbsps of egg salad and that's it. Give me three slices of roast duck, a few spears of asparagus and no starch (potatoes, rice and breads are out for me) and BOOM. I'm sated. No desire for anything more. Happy for you, jiggyjiggy120 - you are about to embark on getting control back and feeling better. It's a tremendous thing!

Hi everyone, I wanted to introduce myself. I'm very excited to be on this board. You all are so very supportive of each other and I know that will help me as I begin this journey. I'm Jen, I've been married almost 10 years to a very wonderful and supportive husband. We have one son together. He'll be 6 in a couple of months. I've been overweight most of my life. It's just in the last 12 years though that I've become extremely overweight. I started at around 400lbs and I'm currently at 350lbs. It's taken alot of ups and downs over the last 5 years to get to this weight. I have already talked to my insurance company and I'll need 6 months of supervised diet. So I called yesterday and made an appt with Dr. Stiles to start that process. I am not using my regular PCP because he is very old fashioned and will barely give me medicine when I'm sick, much less help me get approved for surgery. So one of the bariatric surgeon's offices recommended Dr. Stiles. Well, I look forward to sharing in all your journeys.

My story is I was over weight since I was little. I have lost and gained so many times. I finally found out our insurance paid for the surgery. I told my parents I was seeing a nutritionist, as I run a home daycare and my mom is my back up provider. I went to the seminar in January followed all the appts needed by my insurance and had surgery on June 15. I lost about 10 lbs before surgery and since I have lost 34 1/2 lbs. I am excited that I have so much energy. I walk 5-6 days a week about 3-4 miles. I am eating just about anything I want. But I can only eat about 3 ozs at a time. Drinking all the water I can. I can not stand protein shakes and have not drank a single one since surgery. I am only eating protein and getting just as much as I was before surgery. I didn't eat a lot of meat before surgery, so I think my body is used to it. I went out and bought an up Jawbone which keeps track of your steps, activity levels, and food intake. I bought my husband one too and you can compete for who can take the most steps as he is dieting too. I have gotten sick a few times from eating something that didn't set well with my new tummy. But I have been doing great! I ate lettus and tomatoes on my meat yesterday for the first time and have not had an issue. I love me some tomatoes, so I was excited! Hope everyone else is doing good!

Good Morning, My name is BlueRose and I am new at all of this. I have been morbidily obese though for a long time now. I have just recently found out that Medicaid will pay for this surgery now, where as before they did not. It may be changed, but as it stands right now my husband and son and I have an appointment with Dr. Bell who is in Morehead City NC, for July 10th at 10:30 Am for a consultation. This is my very first appointment and they said that I need to take with me a record of what my weight has been like for the past five years. Any ways, I was wondering if anyone had anything to tell me about this surgery that I should know or maybe ask Dr. Bell about. I am very happy that medicaid is now paying for this, but at the same time I am now also very nervous.

Hi all!!! I am from denison,tx and was banded on 10-29-2008 . I'm still on liquids for two more weeks.i'm also 5"3' and weigh 229lbs i'm down 10lbs from the fourteen day liquid pre-op. I'm looking for a buddy to share our progress and trade recipes.

Hi, Like my title says I can't believe I'm doing this! I am a 30 yr old single mom to 3 wonderful boys. They are 14, 6 and 1 1/2. I decided to join a support forum because I am having LAP-BAND® surgery performed on Tuesday!!! Even just thinking those words chokes me! Tomorrow well in a couple of hours I have to go to the hospital for all of the pre- op testing!!! I'm so nervous I can't sleep!!! My life is very complicated! I don't work right now mostly because I am ashamed to be seen in public. I am 4' 10 and weigh 210 lbs I'm always in pain and have become so heavy for myself that it is actually causing a sore in th bottom of my foot! Well I'm going to go read some of your posts! I hope to hear from some of you real soon! Lets take this journey together because I haven't really told anyone in my life and I can't do this alone. :thumbup:

Hi Cely, welcome to the forum. I am the husband of the banded one, but I'm the one that does the posting. Congratulations on getting banded and on your weight loss. 19 lbs is fantastic!!! And that is without even being filled. Imagine how it will be after you hit that sweet spot. As for the heartburn and burping, a couple of things come to mind. First, my wife was advised not to eat beef...well...don't eat steak. It is stringy and some people have trouble getting it thru the stoma. The not being able to breath or burp thing sounds to me like my wife's signal that YOU'RE FULL ! With you band you have to relearn a few things and one of the biggest things is "listening" to your body. When a little bit of your food came back up, that could have been a lot of things. You ate too much, too fast, too spicy, too big a bite. So s-l-o-w down and enjoy your food, chew it till it doesn't have any "lumps". As far as helping with your meals, check out www.FitDay.com And keep coming back to LBT, ask questions, do research.

So I am 19 almost 20 I have a 5 month old son and a wonderful boyfriend.. I want the lap band SO BAD! I have always been a chubby girl but after I went to college I ballooned to 240 and now after giving birth and gaining 60 lbs while prego I now weigh 256 lbs its a terrible feeling like I said I have always been chubby but now I can feel it starting to affect my health.. I cant get around as easy I'm so much more lazy I have a hard time breathing and I just feel completely uncomfortable in my OWN skin.. I attend the first step at my hospital which is the seminar on Thursday and I have my appt on Feb 9th for consultation! I'm so excited and PRAY I get approved.. I just have a few questions abou the lap band.. the lady at the seminar said that I wont be able to drink caffine or alchol.. which I am fine with but I am not fine with NEVER EVER being able to EVER drink it again.. so that is one of my questions and my second question is.. does the lap band ever get removed or is it something I will have for the rest of my life? and my 3rd question is.. I know that the weight comes off slowly but will I ever be able to lose about 100 lbs I'd like to loose a little more then that but would be fine with 100 Thanks everyone :thumbdown:

My nut put me on a 1400 calorie diet. It is hard for me to meet that goal. She also wants me to eat 25 g of protein a day. The protein feels me up. I have lost some weight. My next appointment is July 10. I was nervous that I will lose too much weight. I am working out three days a week. I waiting to see what she says on Jul 10. I am also logging everything. If I do not lose enough I am hoping she gives me more pointers on what I am doing wrong.

Are u drinking plenty of water? I am almost 3 weeks out and I get hungry,although I thought the removal of Grehlin was taking care of hungry.. :/ I have found that if I don't drink enough fluids I get hungry more often. When I wake up in the morning,I require myself to drink 20 ozs of clear liquids before I put any food in my mouth,10 more ozs before lunch and at least 10 more ounces before dinner. This keeps me full and works on getting the required amounts of liquid in too.

So, I've been lurking for a while and have decided to join the fold. I decided about 10 years ago that I was never going to 'diet' again and would have to either make piece with my size or have surgery. I have made piece to a certain extent, but I have recently made a huge investment in myself by returning to school. I have one more year left. It has been a huge time and financial commitment and I feel like my size will likely hurt me as I seek employment in a competative field. So...for the last year or so I have thought about surgery more earnestly. My insurance expressly does not cover any weight loss surgery so I will be self pay (or self borrow) as the case may be. I live in the Pacific NW and surgery seems cost prohibitive, so I am leaning towards Mexico. I have tons of questions, of course, but mainly I am looking for support as I have isolated myself quite a bit over the years. In that vein, if one tavels to Mx, can you go alone? I don't have anyone to go with. Also if anyone knows of good support groups in the Seattle area that are open to the public I would love to start going and learning. Thanks for your ear.

Hi Everyone. My journey started in 1996 with my gastric bypass. I'm now 18 years post-op and have maintained a 130 pound weight loss. I have had 2 pregnancies post-op. My kids are now 15 & 16 years old. My surgery was open and lapriscopy wasn't an option then. I've dealt with issues of birth control and anemia. I had no setbacks until my 10 year anniversary when I developed an internal strangulation hernia that required surgical correction. I also had an upper Gi bleed this past January. Other than those items, my surgery enabled me to have the lifestyle and become the wife and mother I had only dreamed of previously. I keep within a 10 pound window for maintenance. It gets harder to keep within that window as I get older; however it is achievable by keeping to the same rules used for weight loss to maintain. We all need to be mindful of our Protein, limit the carbs, exercise and keep hydrated. I think having support is so important and I'm greatful to have found this site.

AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!! Sounds like me, I too lost 10 lbs and felt great! Get ready for the pounds to start sliding down, then a little stall at 3 weeks then down down down after that and feeling amazing and lots of energy! Best of luck!!

I would get edema and to even take lasix pills before my journey. I haven't had the edema since the surgery on 1/29/19 Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Aw, I hate to hear that for you!! I know that feeling also, of cringing at myself in the mirror. I still do! What about starting smaller, maybe! I'm 234 lbs and even though I'd love to be in a 10, I think I may go out and purchase a pair of 14's. I don't know what size I can get into with my med bones and my child bearing hips. Hehe. If I bought a 10 and came to realize its not a healthy attainable weight for my frame, I think that might depresse again. I think you will do fabulous!!

Ok so feeling better...I DO have a funny story about my stay.....they listed me as a regular diet....the nurse said it would be easier for me to stay on my pre-op diet thta way so I could pick and choose (fruits plus veggies etc) so my lap band buddy brought up my shakes..hospital didn't have them and I ordered off the menu for example I would order a chicken broth...extra hot water...2 crystal lights.....an apple....and a skim milk....and this would do for breakfast/snack.....well the 287lb girl only ordering like this must have put up some red flags......dietary keep sending up ensure shakes to me....I would send them back...and sure enough 10 min later the girl would be knocking on my door saying "the dietitian says you have to get something in your body or you won't heal" so i would show her my shakes in the room and tried to reassure her....no luck, they kept sending them....lol when I left there was a pile by the door!!!!

My husband has Blue Cross Blue Shield and they paid. It has to be presented as a medical issue. We had to give them a five year history from the primary doctor showing he has been over a certain weight for 5 years or more. Plus he has high blood pressure, sleep apnea and diabetes runs in his family. If you have medical issues over your weight, I do not understand how they can turn you down? Did your doctor present the case properly? My husband just had his surgery this month, 8/10. But it took us a good portion of the year to get the packet together for insurance approval. Oh.. one more thing his primary doctor had to write a letter of recommendation as well. Not sure if this helps.

I am excited to get the lap band after trying every diet under the sun. I am happy that there is lots of support out there to help me out.