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I lost 12 lbs the first week and weighed 220. Then I gained 3 back and held that weight for 2.5 weeks! My surgeon warned me that I would likely stall for a couple weeks while my body recovers from the shock of surgery. I'm now 4 weeks post op and losing again steadily. So yes, what you're going through is normal. Stay hydrated and get your protein in! I still lost a lot of inches while stalled, going from size 18 to a loose 16.

Unfortunately, no. Apparently I am very sensitive and anything over .5 filled At once and I swell up like crazy. But I couldn't even get down thick liquids like protein drinks and such. As soon ad they unfilled me and the swelling went down I was pretty loose again . But the next fill got me where I am now and I'm definately in the green zone! I just have top take it slow with fills and I'm okay with that. But think liquids and purees should never be a problem or hurt going down.

I am about 8 weeks post op and have about .75 ccs in my 10cc band, I have lost about 18lbs all together and have been stuck at 212.5 for about a week and a half. I go for a second fill in about a week. In regards to you saying that you have had the willpower to eat right and change thus far and hope that you will continue to have willpower after the newness wears off. I am loosing steam and my willpower is fading. I do eat less than before and I have always been aware of the right type of food so I try to make the best choices possible but it is starting to get hard and I am frustrated that I have not lost any more weight. I need to kick the exercising into gear and count my calories but at this point I feel like I am back to the old "start a diet, do well for 4-6 weeks, loose motivation, back to old habits" cycle. I can eat anything and quite a bit of it to full me up. We are also struggling a bit financially right now so my grocery budget is has room for milk, bread and diapers and thats about it so I am eating whatever I can scrape together to make for the family. Ugggggh, I need something to pick me up. Anyways, I just wanted to comment on your concern with the motivation dying out bc I definately have experienced that. Best Wishes.

I'm suffering from several symptoms of PCOs: weight gain, hirsutism (increased hair growth on the face, arms and belly), irregular and often nonexistent menses, "spotting" and Patches of darker, velvety skin on the legs. I read that the surgery might solve it. Mine is due in less than 2 weeks (yay!). However I am still worried that my eating habits caused some permanent, irreversible damage to my body. For instance, ovarian cysts, which tend to evolve into tumors sometimes. If I lose weight and kiss the other PCOs symptoms goodbye, do the cysts disappear or do they stay for good? If you could tell from your own experiences, I'd love to hear.

We got some freshly picked corn at a farm stand. Last night I had half an ear for dinner, then half an ear for a snack later. Today I ate a whole ear and had a tummy ache. Ouch! (That would be my big, lower belly.) Of course, I have a mild allergy to corn, but it seems to affect me more now that I eat less. I've tried popcorn and the skins feel like they stick in my throat -- nowhere near my band. My throat is fairly sensitive. So I gave it up for fear of getting stuck or irritated. I'm still gonna eat corn!

Ya I’m down to 265 right now and according to surgeon am prob carrying 10 to 15 pounds of skin so in reality I’m about 250 ish so I’m thinking 15 more pounds of loss and I’ll be good. Best thing is I feel great now and should only get better so I really could live with where I’m at now and be fine.

See how great you are! Helping so many of us and I for one appriciate it. You've got friends here. I think that will be the worst part for me... I am usually pretty concerned about other ppls opinions of me... stupid I know. I will definatly be willing to make new friends! Thanks for sharing I did want to ask how your skin has recovered so far.

I have signed up for a personal trainer I am 3 months post op an have lost 41 lbs. Am I starting this too early? Should I wait until I've lost some more? I already have some sagging skin and I want to try and tone those areas now so to hopefully eliminate too much sag! I have been working out consistently since surgery I am up to 6 days a week at least 30 mins a day all cardio and wanted to add a bit of variety an get strength and flexibility workouts in too!! Any suggestions or advise welcome!!!!

you are reaching your first stall... you will have more stalls along your journey. I am 3 weeks post op and i am currently in a stall. I have not lost weight in almost a week and actually gained about a pound. It will run its course and will loose again.

What your eating and drinking is a huge question only you can answer.... GO BACK TO THE BASICS , start again and eat like you have just been banded. Also up your exercise amount ALOT MORE, you wanna loose you have to do cardio at least 20 mins a day MINIMUM. The fill shouldnt be the only thing that makes you loose the weight, everyone rely's way too much on the fill. I am a 4 cc band and have had 2 fills and I am full to the brim, I have to loose the weight mainly on exercise or eating habits, also I find that I think I'm hungry but really thirsty and this happens all the time. GOOD LUCK

Most in here have answered your questions very well. From my personal experience I love the weight loss my band has provided but at the same time it can be a pain in the ass. The constant tweaking to get to a good restriction almost always tempts people to get too tight with disastrous results. Let me list some things that annoy me about the band. 1) I can't drink liquids quickly. I can't tell you how much I would love to down a bottle of Water in a couple of gulps right now! Lol. 2) Can't go straight to bed after eating or it's very uncomfortable. 3) Veggies can go down slow and hurt sometimes. 4) Daily heartburn if I don't take Prilosec. 5) TIGHT DAYS...out of nowhere my band can tighten up like crazy...causes can be drinking alcohol, stress, exercise, dehydration, early in the morning. 6) LOOSE DAYS...sometimes I'm just loose and can eat more than normal and then I'm hungry. 7) Hunger. Yes. I get hungry. No I don't need a fill. If I get a fill I will be too tight and bad things will happen. 8) Fills can be annoying...I had to get over 20 adjustments to get good restriction. I currently have over 14cc in a 14cc band. 9) I can't sleep on my stomach. If I sleep on my stomach I get reflux. No I do not have a dilated pouch. 10) Sinus drainage wakes me up at night because the nasty Fluid pools in the back of my throat. Gross! This can wake me up choking and is quite disgusting. I'm sure operations like the sleeve has its own bag of nasty tricks but those are some that annoy me about this particular surgery and applies to me. Your mileage may vary. If I had the choice to make over again I would SERIOUSLY consider the sleeve. Would I get the band again? Yes. If I didn't think the sleeve was all people make it out to be after research then I'd get banded again. Getting lapband surgery because you think it is a 'gentle' surgery is a mistake. To anyone that thinks they don't want to get the sleeve or bypass because it's too invasive and they want a gentle surgery then you need to diet and exercise and stay away from a doctor with a knife completley. Surgery is surgery and there's no 'easy' way about it even with the lap band. Look at what a band does to a stomach after 5 years and it's not all daises and sunshine. Don't even get me started on erosion or a slip. Lapband surgery is SURGERY and alters your body. Don't choose it because you're scared of something else. That's not a good reason to make a decision in my opinion. Good reasons to choose lap band are that it's adjustable and you can control, to a point, the speed at which you lose weight. You can usually opt for sleeve or bypass if your band fails which is a plus. Anyway, I've listed reasons why it's a pain in the ass above, but you can still lose weight with it and that's what matters. Is it better than the sleeve? I don't know. All I can tell you is what I do know. Good luck with your choice.

Do you just have to exercise to lose weight? I was planning on starting to walk after my surgery. But I've been on a high protein low carb diet before my surgery, and I use MFP to keep track of my calories and keep in mind I'm not exercising. I'm suppose to be able to eat 1800 and some calories, seems like a lot to me , but that's what it said. I'm not loosing anything. I thought it was calories in calories out kind of thing. Is it simply a matter of exercise or is it to many calories or both? And yes I hate exercise and have a bad knee, but do plan I doing it I know I have to. But I was just curious why I am not losing something. I don't want this to be what happens with the band. Can you just be unable to lose. I am 5'3 and 277 pounds, plus I am 47 yrs old, and was thinking my metabolism might be shot or something. I do have a thyroid (hypo) problem but it is OK on meds. I'm guessing the answers going to be to exercise Actually I hope it is that simple. Not easy but simple. BTW my nut said he has no calorie or quantity restrictions for me he said just eating healthy would take care of everything when I get the band..

remember FAT has less density than muscle. so while your scale is stalled your body is still burning the fat and thus you are loosing inches but not poundage... hope that makes sense

Please don't be hard on yourself! You have an average loss of over 5 lbs. a week-that's a terrific average! I'm hoping to lose 4 lbs. a week on average, so that's 16 a month. If I lose more one month-terrific, but I know another month I may not meet my monthly goal....so... I've computed my month to month goals and if I could lose 16 a month I'll be almost at goal in a year. Remember, slow and steady wins the race (and has nicer looking skin and hair!) 

So I'm getting pretty nervous... Two things that are weighing heavy on my mind are loose skin and alcohol. I love having a good scotch or glass of wine. I don't drink everyday, so that's not a problem. It I hope I can still drink in moderation! Obviously I won't be crushing 12-18. Were while trolling for salmon all day, lol. Has anybody had their loose skin removed? How much does that cost?

I'm not sure if that will necessarily cause problems, but you'll probably be dealing with loose skin again after you lose weight...

I felt that every month for the first 5 or 6 fills. I'd start off good and then it would get loose. It was a combination of getting used to the tightness and losing fat on my stomach making it looser, like a belt. Just sounds like time for a fill to me.

Hi Lisa, I was sleeved Jan. 7. My signature lists everything my insurance required me to go through. You are going to get a lot of different answers about what everyone had to do to prepare for surgery. For me I had to loose 10% of my weight prior to surgery. I don't regret the surgery at all, but that's not to say it's been easy. I would have never imagined something so simple like drinking Water could be so difficult. Or making sure you are getting in your Protein. Foods I loved pre-op I can no longer tolerate post-op. It definitely is a life changing surgery. I have stumbled a lot, but I am more conscious of carbs, sugar and protein (but not obsessed, yet lol). It does begin to get a little easier with time. Everyone's time frame (recovery) is very different. Congrats on your decision! Enjoy your journey.

@Nomorethickchick I had gastric sleeve surgery just this past March 24th at age 59 because I have congenital heart failure and couldn't loose weight fast enough to take the load off my heart. Both my dad and his mother died at my age of heart failure and they were not obese, as I was. I had surgery to save my life. I have lost 92 lbs in FIVE MONTHS and have a LONG way yet to go. At this point in the journey, I am healed well enough to eat what I choose and this is where the same old DISCIPLINES of CHOOSING the right foods and exercise are mandatory. Weight loss slows to a crawl if your head is not where it should be, even with the pouch. It is a DISCIPLINE for the rest of your life. The pouch is a TOOL in this discipline. It helps, but it is not a cure. My caution to you as an older woman is just to very carefully weigh abdominal surgery to remove 7/8 of your stomach and the natural effects of menopause and aging with a 65 lb. weight loss. We simply are not 24 anymore. Only you can make this determination for yourself and your health.

I was 67, 4 years ago. I went to the hospital, about 6 am, had sleeve by 10 am, went to room, slept, walked, had swallow test, and was home in 8 hours. Never looked at my phone, or needed anything. Wore loose clothes there, and wore them home. Took one pain pill when I got home. Drove to the grocery store late the next day. Never felt like I even had surgery. I walked in the mall about four days later. I wish everyone had such an experience.

Its been said over and over again....you have to eat in order to loose weight. Journal your calories/carbs/fats/protiens and find out the trends where you loose the most. I was on Atkins many years ago to drop (and kept off) 85lbs, I found that my body type dropped the most eating 60% protien/ 35%fat and 5% carbs.....over the last 2 yrs though, I noticed I can loose when I eat about 50% protien 40% carb. I just don't like the way the carbs make me feel. Good luck, and tweak your eating periodically to shake things up and see where your specific body type looses the best.

Same story--my surgeon told me my acid reflux could be enhanced by the Band and with the bypass, I could "lose 100 pounds in a year" (he does mostly bypass). (Note: my acid reflux is GONE!) Hey, at my age (60 then) I didn't want anything so invasive, and I've read it will take us 3 years to lose as much weight as the bypass patients lose in one--so what?!!! No dumping syndrome or any of the other problems associated with non-laproscopic surgery. So I'm taking my good old time--losing an average of 2 pounds a week and working out 4 times a week--who's going to have the saggier skin?? Not me says I!! :glare: PS Check with your insurance company and find another surgeon who will do it laproscopically, m'dear!

I agree excersise is key! I was at a stall in weight loss and uped the intensity and frequency of excersise. It got that scale moving again. Are you journaling? Are you getting enough fluids in? You may want to take your measurments, sometimes people don't loose weight but loose inches. Try not to beat yourself up and move on from here. Everyday is an opportunity to do the right thing.

This is in a more natural postion so a little harder to see, but compared to other women... a developed upper arm. At this angle, it does not look odd to me, but with the arm raised it does. I was at a friends house today and asked her to compare and her arms are not defined even though she works out. Mine are covered in loose skin so hard to see when relaxed, but in my mind it is out of proportion. Or, i am actually out of my mind and i would not rule that option out.

I'm also pre-fill and go back and forth with thinking the band is tight to thinking it's too loose. I'm getting a fill on 3/21 and my doctor said things will get better. He said I wasn't chewing well enough if stuff was getting stuck at this point. I hate to admit but he's most likely right. I think I'm chewing well but put too big of a bite in, then swallow part and chew chew chew the rest. Well that first swallow is the big chunk that's getting stuck. I'm trying to learn but it's a hard habit.