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I went band to bypass in one op in Jan. I have lost all my excess weight and am sitting around goal. My diet is much healthier than with the band. It is lovely to be able to go out to eat and not spend the evening in the bathroom throwing up.

Awesome...thanks for the info on the Unjury chicken soup! Makes it easier to spend the money ordering it. I just found another option, and I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before because we use it at our hospital: Beneprotein. According to the Nestle website, it has 6g of protein per scoop with 0g carbs and mixes into anything hot or cold. I will probably give that one a try too...the only ingredients are whey protein and soy protein. I don't even have my date yet (I've been approved but need to pay my co-insurance before getting a date, and I'm trying to stretch that out because late November is the earliest I can do it work-wise, and I'll need an extension on the approval to get it then), but I'm sooo nervous about the protein shakes!!! It sounds like you have the same taste buds...I start gagging at stuff I don't like, especially if I have to repeatedly eat/drink something, so two weeks is going to be torture. Why are you on 10? Are you referring to the post-surgery period when you're eating other stuff in addition to the shakes?

Here are the details. My surgeons only operate on Tuesdays. The 29th of September is out. If I were to have the surgery on October 6th, how would I feel on October 24th at my daughters wedding? I do not care about what I can or cannot eat. I just want to be able to dance with my husband (her father). All comments or suggestions are helpful and much appreciated. FYI: I have a "back up" date planned for November 3rd, but I'd rather not wait that long.

Thank you all for your responses. I had gallbladder surgery 3 years ago. I went to work (office) for an hour the next day (Friday) and was back at work full-time on Monday. I recovered very well. I believe I would be fine, but I am going to take y'alls advise and wait till November. My daughters wedding is a big to-do, so I will need all my strenght. Thanks so much, again.

I went to a meeting at a hospital, got all the paperwork, and dates for 2 required seminars for the lap band or gastric bypass, in that packet you will get all the info u need, psycolgical evaluation, 6month weight list from your doctor go to doc to get weighed every month 4 6 mos. doctor letter,medical neccesity letter, pre op test, and meeting for the surgery then surgery date then walla !I'ts a long process most insurance want u to do all of these things, plan ahead good luck

I need to create a macro where I can assign the phrase "Restless Monkey is Correct" to ONE key....because I'm tired of typing it....I type it ALL the time. But she is. And I'll chime in here about the idea of not being able to lose weight on a sub-1000 calorie diet. That would REALLY indicate a super-absorbtion problem. Some people simply cannot eat very much without gaining. Those are the superabsorbers. And those people are candidates for Bypass, rather than a restrictive procedure like the Band. The Band simply RESTRICTS your intake. The Bypass does that as well, BUT it keeps you from absorbing a certain portion of what you DO eat. So, if this is the problem you think you may have, talk to your Doctor. Bypass is not the "boogeyman" some people have made it out to be. They have been performing it quite successfully for nearly 50 years, and if the patient follows the prescribed protocol, then they can almost always predict exactly what the outcome will be. But DO talk to your Doctor about it. AFTER you've listened to Restless, that is... :biggrin: HH

No did not research bypass - i stopped at the point which talked about resecting intestines and malapsorption... that is too drastic for me - plus there seem to be many effects I would rather not deal with. If lap band doesn't work i would consider it.... but lap band will work just slower than others. I am severely insulin resistant w/ PCOS. THe heavier you are the more your body works to keep fat. Its a vicious circle. If i lose weight and not rebound (and the lap band will help that cuz i rebound when i slip and eat too many carbs... then i end up eating out of control).. I'm good. To me losing something is better than nothing or continuously gaining. Two doctors told me to do lap band they would not advise on bypass as the first thing in my case. I didn't really get into it w/ my surgeon because she doesn't know my history as well as my endocrine doctor and GP. I didn't say I don't lose on 1300 cals a day - i just don't lose a lot or quickly. If I end up losing more - then great. Maybe i lost my sense of calorie counting - thats always possible too as the other poster mentioned people's perception's are off. The lap band will keep me honest. My issue is not really behavioral but physical - I don't plan on eating icecream to cheat the band. I just need the ability to keep to really tiny portions and very low cal diet indefinitely. I can prob be disciplined enough on my own for a few months till full restriction.

I am being banded the 23rd of September. I lose pretty easily but gain back. I feel like I have a slow metabolism as well but not that slow. I have been told unless you have a thyroid problem, the key to increasing your metabolism is to increase muscle mass through exercise. I know I, and many others find this to be a daunting task as when we start we are usually close to 100 pounds or more overweight. I used to be a runner in high school. I ran every day, lost 40 pounds and it stayed off as long as I exercised. And could eat pretty much whatever I wanted. Look at the biggest loser show. They take it to the extreme but the principals are sound. I am starting with Baby steps. I am getting back on the treadmill and I believe this will be my key to success. My Dr. said that if you incorporate exercise into the lap band program your results will be similar to those of a bypass. Not rocket science here, just Physics.

Just wanted to know when do you think lap banding will be more popular than gastric bypass it is less invasive and shorter hospital stay it is new technology even the doctors seem to press for gastric bypass just dont understand

This is kind of longwinded, but hoping I can get answers from others, as well as provide info for those in the same boat. Here goes: I'm in Northern Virginia (OK, I live in WV, but my Doctors are in No.Va.) and have Kaiser Permanente insurance. My PCP looked at me when I asked about WLS in May and basically said I wasn't fat or sick enough (Hello->Sleep apnea, Family Hx of diabetes with me having recently elevated fasting glucose levels, knee, ankle, and back pain, Weight=298 pounds, and BMI of >45?!?!). Long story short, got a referral anyway. Nutritionist aptmt 6/8/09, weight 298 :drool:. A-OK to start the loooooooong 6 month program (she said I definitely qualify and let that appointment be "Class One"). Scheduled weight loss class the next a.m. to get it out of the way. Had my psych eval 7/28 (:angry:that office messed things up-didn't even have the correct patient file when I checked in) and am waiting for the results to get sent to my Nutritionist and PCP. Kaiser screwed up and scheduled me for "Class Two" (which should have been my 4th visit), instead of a followup the next month (7/13, weight-283.3:smile:) with the nutritionist. Luckily I won't have to take the "Class Two" thing over, just have to do all individual followups until my approval and meeting with the surgeons. Followup appointment 8/3, wt-280.8:tongue_smilie: So here are some of my questions: My next visit (9/15) with the nutritionist will be my 4th visit. They say they require 6 visits total, all about one month apart. That makes November month 6. Who has been through this process in NoVa and what is next? I've heard there are support group classes you have to take but was busy asking questions about other things and didn't ask the nutritionist specifically. How soon after starting did you actually meet with the surgeon? What about additional testing? BW, EKG, etc...? Has anyone been denied by Kaiser NoVa based on their psych eval? I was on antidepressants over 3 years ago. As I mentioned, the psych office didn't have my file (grrrr), and no matter what I told him I was SUCCESSFULLY doing/using for depression, stress, and anxiety (meditation, yoga, exercising, relying on support of friends and family), he's been going on and on about my "underlying condition" and saying he can't see where I would be an ideal candidate for WLS. It sounds like he wants me back on medication, which I do not currently need. Trust me, if I needed it i'd ask for it! I'm really determined to make this work. I've been working on sip, sip, sipping (it's kinda hard to sip every 10 minutes, especially when you're working), have tried a few Protein supplements to find recipes I like BEFORE surgery, and have been working on finding some decent puree-able foods that are appetizing. How long after approval did you have to wait to actually schedule you're surgery? Like, my first visit was 6/8, final should be in November, so do I have to wait days? weeks?? months??? before surgery is scheduled? I'm impatient enough as it is Thanks everyone for any answers you may be able to provide!! Best of luck to all. :tongue: & :cool: Blessed Be.

Here is a part of one of my postings on this forum in the insurance threads: the Duodenal Switch was being performed on patients, but if the patient had a very high BMI and health problems which made it more risky to have the Duodenal Switch, then doctors would perform the Sleeve (Which is the First part of the duodenal surgery and only restrictive), hoping that the patient would lose weight down to a SAFER, LOWER BMI, then the other part of the Duodenal surgery which is Malabsorptive could be performed without all the risks that were present before the Sleeve, so that the patient could lose more weight to reach their goal. ------------>>>>> What many doctors were discovering was that many patients continued to lose the weight and was reaching their goals with only the Sleeve, and the second part of the surgery did not need to be performed. So then many doctors started performing The SLEEVE as a STAND-ALONE RESTRICTIVE PROCEDURE. Now the sleeve is becoming a more sought after surgery by doctors and patients, because it is a less expensive, less evasive, and less risky surgery. Also the doctors know that there are less complications and healing time is faster with the Sleeve vs. the other procedures.--------------->>>>>>>> Medicaid and Medicare are now approving some Sleeve procedures. I hope this helps to explain the sleeve and how it came to be. Some insurance companies and doctors still consider it to be an experimental surgery. The procedure has been performed on many patients as the first part of the Dueodenal Switch for quite some time. Now it is a procedure that some doctors and some insurance companies are willing to have patients to consider having done instead of having the more evasive surgery. Maybe as time goes by and more understanding of this procedure takes place, then more insurance companies will cover it and more doctors will perform this procedure. Then we will possibly see more advertizing of this procedure. I live in Somerset Ky and my surgeon is Dr. Husted. He has a commercial on TV during the show "THE BIGGEST LOSER". He lets people know that he does different procedures. Some doctors only perform the Band and some do other ones. Dr. Husted created a new procedure called "THE VERGITO". It is a combination of 3 different procedures, using some of each to do one New Procedure The Vergito from what I understand it to be. Before I had the sleeve on Dec. 2, Medicaid here in Ky did not cover the sleeve until in November. Also the sleeve was done with 5 incisions laprascopically up until right before I had mine done, then Dr. Husted started doing the sleeve with only one 2 inch incision right above the belly button. I was his 2nd patient which he performed the one incision. The only pain I had was from gas pain after surgery, No pain at the one incision site. They are constantly learning more and more about bariatric surgery and different procedures. I hope I have helped you to understand a little more about the sleeve. I wish you all the best and a happy journey.

I'm having the band. My docs nutritionist told us to start taking vitamins like we are having gastric bypass because we won't be getting the nessicary vits. from the amount of food we are eating (or drinking). They also said that when we are on a regular diet again we will take like half as many. Isn't everyone required to take vits.? they told me my hair will "thin out" if I don't get the nutrition my body needs with these suppliments. Basically they scared me into submission, oh yea, and they don't sell the vits. Do you have to take any?

I spoke with my surgeon yesterday and I had asked specifically about Ghrelin, PYY, GLP-1 and Leptin. I asked if the hormone levels return over time or stay reduced. He replied with a combination of a yes and no. The body is an amazing system. It will always try and compensate to homeostasis. Below is a great article with research regarding the hormones for sleeve and bypass. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/578906

There’s no doubt weight loss surgery helps you eat less. Whichever type you get replaces your regular stomach with a smaller pouch (or stoma or sleeve). But your struggle with food isn’t automatically over the minute you get out of surgery. The sooner you accept and confront this, the more weight you can lose, and the easier your weight loss journey is likely to be. Whether you get the adjustable gastric band, gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, or another type of Weight Loss Surgery, your Weight Loss Surgery is a restrictive procedure. It helps you fill up sooner, stay full longer, or be unable to tolerate certain foods. (And yes, some procedures such as the gastric bypass are malabsorptive – they reduce nutrient absorption – but all of them restrict food intake). The Struggle Often Continues For some patients, Weight Loss Surgery can lower your interest in food, so you are not constantly thinking about it. There’s no question Weight Loss Surgery can help you gain control of your eating, but it’s unlikely to eliminate your struggles with food disappear. A few lucky Weight Loss Surgery patients really do stop being tempted by food. The rest, who make up the vast majority of Weight Loss Surgery patients, continue to struggle. You still may be hungry, enjoy salt, fat, starch, or sugar, or be tempted to use food as an emotional crutch. Your family members may continue to insist on keeping high-calorie foods in the house, or pressure you to eat things you shouldn’t. Your friends may still be going out to eat and inviting you to join them in ordering high-fat, high-sugar items. “Why Me?” Isn’t Appropriate It’s easy, even natural, to think of yourself as unlucky. Why should you have to struggle with food? Why should you have to monitor every bite you take, while some people don’t? The fact is, almost everyone does. Ask almost any skinny person how they stay skinny, and you’ll get some variation of the same answer: “I work hard for it.” Just like you, they are aware of what goes into their bodies. They sometimes may be hungry; they sometimes may want to eat more than they should. But they, like you now, take responsibility for their decisions. They may: Skimp on portions if they over ate at the previous meal. Choose healthy foods first. Have a strategy for dealing with emotions and boredom that doesn’t involve eating. Have a support system that promotes healthy behaviors. Accept It and Manage It If you find you still have a rocky relationship with food after weight loss surgery, don’t conclude that WLS didn’t work for you. Instead, accept that you will need to fight the cravings and urges for months, years, or life, and start making a plan. Don’t be afraid to ask for help in developing strategies – whether you ask other BariatricPal members or an always-thin person you admire! Persist in Order to Get the Answers You Need We all want to be able to trust our doctors. You want to believe your surgeon takes care of all aspects of your Weight Loss Surgery, including your post-op, long-term nutrition. But it doesn’t always happen like that. Nutritional counseling may not be part of your surgery package, or you may only get a limited amount of generic information. Or, your surgeon may simply not know how to help you nutritionally. Remember that many doctors have no more than an hour of nutrition education in medical school. To become a weight loss surgeon, doctors need to learn surgery. There is no dietary education requirement. If you need help finding strategies to satisfy hunger – physical or head hunger – and your surgeon and primary care doctor are not able to help, keep looking. A session with a nutritionist may be more affordable than you think, and worth every penny. Your Emotional Support System and Your Relationship with Food The support system you built so carefully can come in handy right about now. Take advantage of your ability to talk to a therapist or psychologist if you have one to bring up your concerns. Discussing your ongoing struggles with portion sizes, food choices, and over-frequent nibbling with a mental health professional can help you come up with some strategies that work for you. Group sessions are also appropriate forums to talk about food struggles and strategies. Though it may feel embarrassing at first to admit you’re still thinking about food a lot, you will find nearly everyone in that room did or does have that same experience. Most Weight Loss Surgery patients do not find their surgery instantly eliminates their food struggles. You can take months or years to come to terms with a food addiction, and it may be something you need to learn to live with for life, but in a healthier manner than before Weight Loss Surgery. Be honest with yourself and those around you, and be open to suggestions, and you can figure out strategies that work for you. Do not assume WLS did not work for you!

Because I get over technical, I'm still not quite sure what a slider food is. And really, the patients of these procedures largely make this up as they go. So it's just some word someone threw out to mean something at some point in time, that has probably been grossly bastardized since then. I've seen some people say that chips are a slider, or watermelon. Well, both chips and watermelon chew up to almost nothing. So in terms of raw volume, there's a lot. But in terms of the volume it takes up in your sleeve, there's not much at all. To me, that would NOT be a slider because it's not "bypassing" your restriction, you just have to eat a large raw volume of it to occupy the same space as something that did not mash up so much. That rationale seems kind of like saying "cotton candy is a slider because I could eat a whole tub" (even though the melted volume was maybe 1 tablespoon). To me, a slider would be something that retained most of its volume, but did not trigger your full sensation, or restriction, or whatever. Like let's say -- eggs. If I could eat 3 eggs, but only 1 piece of beef, I'd probably consider eggs a slider food.

Hello, You feel pretty much as I do right now. I have also gone through all the necessary steps for my surgery. I acutallly had a date, it was October 6th then 2 days before my surgery, I called and postponed it. I also think can I do this on my own, I tried Atkins diet & lost 38 lbs then gained it back, I also tried WW but it didn't work. A coworker of mine lost around 100 lbs on weight watchers & everytime I see her I think I can do it to, but in reality I cant I think I need some help I never thought I would turn to weight loss surgery, but I know Lap Band is the less invasive surgery, and if it doesn't go well you know It can be removed, that's why I think I am going to go ahead with Lap Band. I am not mentally ready for gastric bypass and Lap Band good for me. I have another date Nov 27th. I hope you choose the right choice for yourself, I am tired of yoyo dieting also you have to at least give yourself credit for all the efforts and attempts you tried on losing weight. Good luck with your decision.

Hi everyone, just wanted to say hi to all on the forum. I am from England, just outside of London and have not been banded yet. I have my consultation 27th Oct and hopefully surgery sometime in November. I am very exicted about this as have been overweight for a very long time now (BMI 36). I just wanted to say that this forum is fantastic and I have been reading many of your comments and it has given me that extra push to go ahead and do this. You are all so positive about this procedure and have done so well with your weight loss. Sometimes I feel like a bit of a failure that I havent been able to do this with just diet and exercise, particularly as my husband is a personal fitness trainer, but after 10 years of being overweight enough is enough! Thanks Gillian

Thanks for the replies and encouragement. Like I said in my original post, I am 95% sure I am going to go through with this. It's more for health reasons than vanity's sake. You all have given me a lot of good information to move forward with this. I am attending a WLS support group on Monday evening with a friend who had gastric bypass (RNY) in December. I am hoping to connect with banded folks face to face to get more information. Plus, the doctor who did my friend's RNY is the doctor I would choose to do the banding, so this is all good.

I think that there is a difference between grazing and eating toward target macros throughout the day. In my case, I eat 8 small meals per day, approximately 2 hours apart (1.5 hours apart in the evenings) between 10am and about 11pm. This strategy has worked well for me since my surgery last November. I have gradually inched my calories up to about 1600, and I have always done this by adding additional meals, not by adding volume to existing meals. I never eat until I am full. I eat specified amounts at a time, and I know that I am going to be eating again in a couple of hours.

That's great! I recently met a lady who was passing on all of her food over to her husband after having gastric bypass and he had packed on 75 lbs in the year since her surgery! It could have gone the other direction!

Hi all, Things are moving along slowly, but surely. I have been told a few times at the clinic that "grazers" are more successful with the bypass rather than the band. They will give me what I want, which is the band of course, but they feel I really, really have to work on the snacking. Ayone else with this problem of constantly eating, and how does problem work out with the band? I am never really hungry or full. Thanks again. This is really such a great site. PS: The snacking is a big problem..that is what got me here in the first place. What is I still can't control myself??? http://www.smileycentral.com/sig.jsp?pc=ZSzeb098&pp=ZNxdm824IRUS

use the search function at the top of the page and put in hair loss or hairloss or Biotin There TONS of threads around here about it and I think the consensus is that bypass patients usually have worse trouble with it than bandsters. I'll try to dig up one of the threads and put the link here.

Well where do i start..im so sad and disappointed! I 'm scheduled for lapband on June 30th but I might be cancelling it today. Yesterday I went for an EGD and the doc told me I have a very large hiatal hernia and he does not recomend going ahead with the surgery because of future possible complications (erotion, heart burn, removal etc.) He said he recomends me to have gastric bypass and that is a definate no!! I want to go ahead and do the lap band but then again is it worth all the pain in the future...I feel like I am mourning today because I was suppose to go for my pre-op Wednesday and start my pre-op diet Thursday. I was so prepared for this...especially mentally and now don't know how to feel....other than i'm going to be fat forever!! Have any of you been thru this? I need some advise..would you go ahead or just forget all the hard work I have put into this!

I miss diet sodas but can we really drink this after having WLS? I had gastric bypass and I am almost 6 weeks op. I thought we can't have carbonated drinks due to stretching the pouch.

I can tolerate foods very well. I haven't had pasta, but I've had a little rice and potatoes. I'm not really nauseous. I'm doing my fitness pal to make sure I'm getting my protein in. I average 800-1000 cals/day. I'm so scared to try sugar or fatty foods, I don't want to dump. I think everyone is different. I have a bypass friend who can tolerate sugar and one who cannot. It's easy stay on track now but I'll be sad if later on I don't get the dumping to keep me in line, it wasn't my fail safe but was a back up plan lol. I think I'm holding off on trying sugar and alcohol till I'm at goal. But I'm truly satisfied with my food right now.....