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I was taken off metformin by my primary prior to surgery because he assumed I wouldn't need it because I was going "lose weight". I have most of the signs of pcos and he thought I had it but was never told definatively that I did have it. I have facial hair, but I'm blond so I'm lucky and shave. Have/had type II diabetes Have so many skin tags that I can't count and want to wear turtlenecks all the time! My periods are six weeks apart give or take a day or a week or whatever but I'm almost 48 and don't plan on having anymore children anyway Can't go on the pill because I get/had blood clots in my legs Really bad dandruff Had a few uterine cysts but got an oblation Forgot on meds for anxiety and depression clonapen and cymbalta Naturally I have a weight problem and have put 20 pounds plus since surgery Anyone with advice. I was put on synthroid for an inactive thyroid that was just discovered prior to surgery but still gained back all my weight and feel like a loooooser!!! but not the right kind of loser!!!! Never lost weight after being banded 7 months ago, lost it during the medifast phase. I see my surgeon on the 22nd of this month so I don't know what he's going to do with me:confused: Thanks, brandyII

Hello Fellow Michigander- Do not give up, my friend. You were given a tool, and you have forgotten how to use it. Go back to a week or two of just liquids, then do mushies, start all over again. Write down all the reasons you decided to have the surgery in the beginning. Did you think about the flabby skin when you made your decision? I did. I knew I was going to have some body image problems along the line. For now, I can cover everything with clothing. Later, when I am closer to goal I will start looking for solutions that I can afford. Are you exercising? Drinking enough Water? Go back to the beginning, get out your pre-surgery literature and just commit yourself to using this tool to your best advantage. If you still can't muster up the resolve, you may want to ask the surgeon to take the second step and give you a gastric bypass. Lots of super obese people start with the sleeve, and work toward bypass. Don't give up on yourself!!!

It really depends on the person and the circumstances. Some people have bouncier flesh, others haven't been as big as long, etc. Also, there's a number of people who go out for plastic surgery right after getting to goal, whereas your skin may bounce back some if you give it a year or two (depending on how much skin is there, etc).

Andree, Im sorry your mom acted that way . I honestly told my parents because I thought they would understand and be supportive . My dad is a GOOD 100lbs overwt at least. So i thought of all people he would understand. They didnt. They just think I have not done everything I COULD/SHOULD to loose it. I told them " Just because you dont think i have done everything to YOUR satisfaction doesnt mean I havent done evrything I KNOW I CAN and its not about YOU its about me and MY Satisfaction and my life " I Hope you get the surgery soon as well. Feel free to email me anytime .

Wow... well it appears I haven't checked in here in a few days... whoops!! It's not for any reason other than the fact I have been extremely busy at both work and at home. I haven't had a lot of time for posts at work which in all honesty is where I do most of this. At home I've been giving at least an hour a night to my workouts and that comes first! I need to be able to post here someday that I have made goal. Right now I am averaging a - (Neg) on my calories in and calories out. I burn about 400-500 more calories per day than what I'm consuming in food. Then there is also the lovely BMR... which I adore!!! Thank goodness for burning calories every second of the day huh?? LOL It seems I will end up with about -2,000 or -1,500 calories for the day. Awesome!!! That's about half a pound a day! Of course in my body it doesn't happen like that. I just stall until my body wants to *finally* release some pounds and then I'll lose like, 5-6 Lbs in one week. Crazy stuff... I don't know the science behind it, but it is what it is and I know as long as I'm doing the right things I'll see my big losses really soon. I realized just recently that I have been in the 190's for the last 2 months. This is NOT okay! In fact in the last 2 months I'd only been posting about 5-6 Lbs loss each. That just stinks to be honest... I know I'm capable of doing so much more. I guess that's why I started up the Journey to Goal forums. I needed some kind of motivation to get me back to my workout routines 100% and to eating as good as I can. I was slipping up way too much and it showed. I guess in my latter years I would have gained significantly otherwise. Now that I'm sleeved I'm still losing weight even when I'm not being ultra strict. Well I'm definitely back to that now! Pushing tons of water, eating proteins first then veggies... and the occasional carb. I'm averaging about 80-100g protein per day and 60g carbs. I'm fitting in all my fiber too, so yeah I'm really kicking butt. I'm also getting in about 2-3 hours of physical fitness per day. My running is the mainstay of what I do. I cannot give enough good word about this activity. It really raises the heart rate, gets you all crazy sweaty and out of breath but when you complete your task its the BEST FEELING!! Yes YOU CAN!! OMG I just love it. I'm doing this 6 days per week now. Ohhh yeahhh!!! Not only that the side benefits of this is I notice my skin is really snapping back great. My muscle tone underneath looks nice and best of all its burning off that stubborn FAT on my thighs!! That has always been my biggest foe in weight loss and I looked in the mirror yesterday and was actually pleased with what I saw! I can't remember ever feeling that way when looking at my thighs... So with that I will KEEP IT MOVING!! As I always say. I can't get the last two months back but I can look forward to the next two and say they will be much better. I hope everyone is reaching for that elusive goal -- we will get there!! Blessings!! Source: Diva's journey to GOAL

Don't worry after the 3 week stall you will start to loose fast again. The stalls are just part of the process, you get worried you are doing some thing wrong or the surgery stopped working. The stalls are the way your body looses weight, you are putting your body through a big change.

On the way home I was listening to John Tesh and he said , people shouldn't use straws because it causes the skin around the mouth to stretch when you pucker, and as we age it will be more visible...and look more aged...

Hi, I to would love to feel sexy! I always here you have such a pretty face... I shy away from many gatherings & events due to my weight & not feeling comfortable in my own skin. I am 1 week post op, doing well & cant wait for this new journey. Not to hide any more & let fat stop me from living life.

I think you should have a talk with the Nut. I don't think it is really possible to loose 13 pounds a week consistently. My surgeon wanted to put me on a preop diet for like 3 months that was 500 calories a day (crazy) and he said well you could lose a pound a day. That would only be 7 pounds. I did not loose any weight on his diet after 5 days. It was giving me allergic reactions so I stopped. I am 26 days post op and have lost 15 pounds (which I think is all fat because I had lost over 80 pounds preop so I don't think there was much water weight to be had.).

Hello Friends, I was banded on 08/20/2010 and have lost 16lbs so far. I was reading other posts and don't feel I am loosing as much as others. I was on the liquid diet post opp for almost 2 weeks, but started soft foods three days ago. Everything seems to go down fine and not having any issues. I am starting to feel hungry and I could eat more (doing my best to not). Will I start loosing more once I have a fill? I have been walking at least every other day and drinking 64 ounces of Water. Any input would be great.

I had my surgery on July 31 and have lost 82 pounds but recently I have had my port move. It is pointing out of my skin. The first time it happen it felt like a pop and then I was looking at and could really see it. I told the dr but he said he had never heard of it. All I have to do is push on it and it goes back in place. Has this happened to any one else:confused:

So I get a blog here? I have never blogged before. Hmmmmm, I do love to talk so maybe this is a good thing. Does anyone read these things? Well, who am I? 39 year old SAHM mom, that has my own Travel Agency at home, and substitute teaches when I can. Active in the PTA and other organizations my kids are involved in. I have an amazing, patient and loving husband and 2 daughters, 13 and 9. Teen girl attitude has invaded my house.:thumbdown: Oh, and I am overweight. Apparently not just overweight, OBESE. God I hate that word. It has to be one of the grossest, most ugly words in the world. I actually prefer just FAT over obese. I have been fighting this fat for 20 years. I am not even sure how I got here. I guess a combination of some emotional issues from childhood, and a lot of bad choices. I hate to exercise. But I also hate to sit still. I love to go places and do things. Come on! Let's go to the park or a museum, or for a walk, or to the beach, or shopping or. . . I have tried it all. Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers (3x), Jenny Craig (even worked there!), Atkins, South Beach, Slimfast, Dr Phil, Oprah, and all sorts of crazy stuff I came up with on my own. The weight comes off but not much before I give up. Then it all comes back on and brings extra with it. About 6 years ago I started having problems with my feet. Heel Spurs? Bone Spur? Plantar Fasciitis? I got several different diagnosis and treatments. Stay off your feet, use crutches etc... Things got a bit better for a year or two but then the pain came back. I found a great podiatrist and with stretching and ice and cortisone shots I had some relief. But each time it came back it was worse than before. Finally I had exhausted all conservative treatments and the pain was so bad that I couldn't walk at all without horrible pain. Surgery was next. One simple procedure, a few days recovery and I would be back on my feet. Didn't happen. Things got much worse. I was now confined to a wheelchair to leave my house. Just walking from the couch to the bathroom was excruciating and I would cry the entire trip. Time for Surgery #2. More intensive but will fix it and you will be pain free. Nope. Didn't work. Well, I guess it did some. I could get around the house on my feet for a few minutes without the horrible pain. But still needed a wheelchair when I was out. By now it had been nearly 2 years with this pain and I had gone from active and always on the go to sitting on the couch not going anywhere. Of course depression set in. And with no activity and depression eating the weight got higher. I finally decided I was done sitting around my house and we found a used scooter that allows me to at least be independent and get out of the house. 38 and using a scooter.:cursing: My first podiatrist and I parted ways amicably. I was still in tons of pain and he wanted me to see someone else that had been in the field longer. New doctor and on to surgery #3! Still recovering 7 months later and still in pain. But all along I have been told that loosing weight would make the most difference. I did lose 20 pounds last year, but it made no difference. So of course I gave up and gained it back, along with its friends. So here I sit at 228 pounds. Feet are in so much pain that I can only stand or walk for about 5 minutes. You would think that the idea that this is what I am facing the rest of my life would be the kick in the pants to make me change my eating habits and lose the weight and keep it off. So why doesn't it. Hmm, this was a lot to read for one sitting. I will stop here and continue later. This last week has been a whirlwind of emotions, research and revelations. I will discuss that in the next entry.

Well, first of all, I can't believe it's been 4 months already. I'm really loving my sleeve. I'm down -41 lbs. since pre-op diet. Went from size 16 to very loose size 12 pants. Have already cleaned out my closet once, but soon I'll have to get rid of the 12's too. So happy about that. Also, went from XL shirts to M. Lessons learned ... I don't have a great metabolism. I have to exercise (and do so about 3 times a week) and watch my carbs to lose weight, and even then it's pretty slow progress. As soon as I just watch calories, I don't lose. I don't gain either, which I'll keep in mind for maintenance phase. I can eat just about anything, so I really have to chose to eat the right things. Only things that give me a little trouble if I eat too fast and don't chew enough are: salmon, thick cuts of beef, dense bread. I don't eat bread anymore, but I did try it once or twice. I also have to space out my supplements. If I take too many at a time, I get the slimees. I have about 29 lbs. to go for my initial goal of 140. I will reevaluate how I feel/look at that time, and may lower my weight goal... who knows. I would highly recommend that all new sleeves look at this surgery as an opportunity to start over and live a healthy lifestyle. If we were to keep our old ways, the results might not be as permanent as you think. Sure, you will lose a whole bunch at first because you just can't consume as much as before... but, even amount of food you can consume will change. It's those permanent (and healthy) changes that will help us get to goal and stay there. I don't know.. just my thoughts. Not lecturing or anything... really just self-reflecting. I really don't want to ever be in the morbidly obese or obese range again. I already feel so much better physically and mentally, and still have a ways to go.

I WAS BANDED AUG 2 2011.I HAVE LOST 50 LBS SO FAR BUT TOOK 7 MOS FOR RESTRICTION.I NEED TO LOOSE 150 MORE.I LOVE THIS BAND AND IT WILL SAVE MY LIFE.WOULD DO IT AGAIN AND ONLY WISH I WOULD HAVE DONE THIS ALOT SOONER....

Exercise is amazing for our hearts, keeping and building the muscle lost with the weight loss, but technically is only a small part of losing weight. It's actually 90% diet. I have seen many people have this surgery and lose without any exercise at all. That being said, I'm a huge advocate of exercise for the reasons mentioned above. At almost 50, I'm in the best shape of my life thanks to 2 years of steady exercise. I've also managed to reduce some sagging skin a bit. I also think exercise is more important during the maintenance phase to KEEP the weight off than it is during the losing phase.

I had a I had a Lap band removal and vsg conversion in June 2014. I started at 252 as my highest weight and 237 as my surgery weighty. My lowest weight was 201. I followed the diet faithfully for almost 2 years and kept the weight off give or take a couple of pounds.. I found that's spinning was my favorite exercise and still is. I was active on and off the 4 years because of complication so with my knee and then plantar fascititis. The last year has been hard cause I my plantar fasciitis and lower back pain. ( which restarted since I've put on weight again) has been really bothering me... so new activities that I love like 5k and 8k runs... well their increasingly difficult to complete. I now weigh 248. Which is above my surgery weight. My GERD isa real problem... I still drink my proteins shakes... take my vitamins.. I eat most things but not in excess because of my sleeve...my weight gain has been a plateau for about for almost 2 years now.. I have not gained and only loose 5lbs here Andy there's and regain it back. I guess give the fact that I really didn't lose as much weight as I expected to with the vsg and gaining all that weight back, has me thinking that the malabsorption piece of weight loss surgery is the tool that would help me final loose weight and be healthier. This extra weight gain is causing me physical pain now and I wann do something about it.

Mis73 so very true! I asked a friend that have the sleeve how she felt about the excess skin and she said the exact same thing!

Cant wait for people to not say oh yea the fat girl, oh yea the fat smart girl, or we dont carry that size, u might not fit, and ur still gonna have desert!, i cant believe u hungry, oh my isnt she big, loose some weight, ur so lazy( no im tierd bc of all this damn wait) u should excersice ( oh yea try that with an extra 130 on u n c) and finally that doesnt look good on u ( like we dont aready kno) Wat do u want to stop hearing.. Vent

I packed pajamas, makeup, slippers and a book, none of which left my bag. I wore the same clothes home (loose sweats). I couldn't wear jeans for a week. I had an hour drive home so wish I would have taken a throw blanket and a pillow for my belly. Chapstick is a must!

Just change of clothes loose sweat pants , slippers tooth brush that's all oh and don't forget the phone charger ... Sent from my iPhone 5 using VST

Thursday, April 17, 2008. So how important is this to me, really? I saw my doctor, and I don't know what I was expecting, but I didn't get it. I guess I was hoping she'd submit a referral for the surgery. What she said was that she wasn't sure how much Pacificare would pay for, that she could refer me to surgeons but she didn't think anyone at the medical center where I see her had experience with bariatric surgery, and we both agreed that it would be best to have someone who knew what they were doing. It's not that she wasn't supportive, but she wasn't as happy as I thought she would be, and she was the one who brought it up during my last visit. She did agree that it might be the best way for me to go, but she also encouraged me to talk to my therapist about behavioral modification. I almost feel that she wants me to try other things before I decide on the lap band or maybe she'd rather I do something else altogether. It just seems like she should be more involved, to me. I told her about going to OA, but not my entire weight loss struggle, or journey, or whatever you'd call it. Maybe she can only submit requests to my IPA, maybe it's because I'm scared, and that's why I'm letting her reaction bother me. I don't know how to explain to someone who's never been there, that I need something that's going to give me portion control. Sometimes, yes, I can have a piece of something, but most of the time that ain't hapenin. Chewing gum, drinking water, not buying the stuff doesn't work with, as my doctor said, any consistency. I feel like just giving up. All this time I've been researching, and now--just like that!--I give up? Did I really want it? I felt some excitement, and hope, too. I was seeing myself thin. I have the names of two doctors, one has been banded, the other, I know, offers free seminars. I wrote down the address and phone numbers. I just assume Pacificare won't pay. Do I want to? What a sorry son of a bitch I am! I went to the vending machine at work, because I just had to have something sweet. Thinking I'd bought three packages of Oreos, and it turned out I had three packages of corn nuts! One of my co workers bought them from me because she loves them, and I got my Oreos, but jeeze! what atrip! I've just eaten two. It's no problem for me to eat twelve cookies just like that! There's a song by a singer-songwriter with the title, "Look Within." I know as I'm crunching down on those suckers that even though they taste good, I'm trying to erase feelings? Looking for instant gratification? I guess I feel like I want to jump out of my skin. Sometimes I want to scream. I wish I could be satisfied with one cookie, or a piece of cake or pie. Well, I'm still going to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Something just won't let me do otherwise. Debbie

I noticed I missed a couple of questions, on a scale of 1-10 I would score it a 9 and my goal is to loose 120lbs so I have 80lbs to go!!!

1. How long have you been banded? I was banded 2/13/12, so about 4mths 2. How much weight did want to lose? 108 lbs 3. How much weight have you lost? 69 lbs (25 lbs are pre-op weight loss) 4. How happy are you that you have been banded: scale of 1-10 (1 being regretful, 10 being elated) 7- I had a lot of health problems directly after surgery, and it took awhile for the problems to resolve. I did loose 45 lbs after surgery, but I was told that it was all me, since my band was completely empty and tests showed zero restriction. I was finally able to get a fill about 3 weeks ago, but it didn't do anything. I am hoping once I get to a good restriction, I can change my 7 to a 10, since this is getting harder without restriction!

Terrisioux and others, I can't feel my band, but my port is noticable. It feels like a bean sized bump just under my skin. It isn't sensitive.

Hi everyone!! Starting weight on day of surgery: 106kg Todays weight: 77kg Goal weight: 67kg I was sleeved 6th September '12 so just over 4 months ago. So pleased with my results. I've got no excess skin at all - just need to tone up my muscles.