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Welcome MMK. I'm from Lawrenceburg, TN, and everyone i know that has had WLS all had the bypass went to Centennial (that is where Dr. Lynch is from I believe I heard someone mention his name at my support group), and had nothing but good things to say. I was suppose to go to Vanderbilt, but I ran into a road block, I'm trying to cross over now. Good luck on your surgery, and let me tell you this site is awesome, you will learn alot on here. I know I have. Keep us posted.

Oh Wow! Thanks so much for the advice! Congratulations on you being 5 weeks out. How are you feeling? I am so scared about having complications after the surgery. I have one friend who had the Bypass and had numerous issues the first couple of months, but is super skinny now and is a little over a year out. My other friend was sleeved and had no pain, no nausea, no nothing! I was like, "Really?!?!?" I want and am hoping for the same thing. My doc only put me on a 4 day liquid pre-op diet. How come I am seeing people posting different lengths of time for them? Does it depend on how heavy you are? Some say 7 days, some 2 weeks, etc.

I get asked this question all the time; How were you able to lose weight with Lap Band? Simple I followed the rules! I read on this web site all the time about every one hoping to get restriction and frustrated because their band is not tight enough, worried that they need more restriction. Well bandsters, the band and our weight loss is not about restriction, that is not the purpose of the band. The purpose is to slow down your eating so you eat less and become satisfied sooner. So if you are new or struggling, read below. I have lived by the rules of lapband throughout my 2 year journey. It has not always been easy and yes there were times I was hungry. This is not easy, it is a very emotional and personal journey. No two people react to the band alike and you have to have a lot of will power and want power. If you are on this site and had surgery, I know you have tried everything else and our now hoping the band is the answer to your prayers. Well it can be but it can also be the beginning of your nightmares if you do not make healthy choices. You and only you can make the band work and the sooner you figure this out the more successful you will be. I am now in my maintenance phase of this journey and living happy with lapband. I have worked hard and continue to work hard to make healthy choices to sustain everything I have worked hard to achieve. Is is easy no, but it gets easier everyday. You can be successful with lapband but you have to follow the rules. You have to become knowledgeable about the band and how it works. You have to deal with your behavioral issues surrounding food and you have to modify your behavior. If you do not do these things, you may lose weight but research has proved that successful WLS patients modify behavior. Below is an article from another site I wanted to share for all of you who are new and for those that are struggling and of course a reminder for us that have been successful. Good luck and success to all new and old, LovetheNewMe! EDIT/Addition added after original post: Just to give credit where credit is due this post came from Dr. Simpson's web site. This was a site I found very early in my band journey and have referenced it many times. It taught me things about the band that I was not aware of, it also is the site that helped me lose my last 30 lbs. this is the web address, check it out. He is one MD who coaches his patients that they can lose all of their weight. I read his book , "Losing the Last 30lbs" and it was very helpful. http://drsimpson.net/index.htm Weight loss surgery works by decreasing appetite-allowing people to eat less and utilize their fat stores more efficiently. What successful weight loss surgery DOES NOT stop you from eating anything. Whenever a patient says they don’t “feel restricted” it means they want the operation to do something that they won’t do for themselves. In this case, they want the operation to keep them from eating too much, or eating something. Successful patients DO NOT describe appetite suppression in that manner. This became clear when several groups showed that food remains above a well adjusted band for only a minute or less, not longer. It is not that the band keeps food from going through it - -it is the act of food going through the band that allows the satiety mechanism to go into effect. The study was simple – take a patient who is losing weight, and feels their band is at a good point. Give them food that they say satisfies them for a long time, and label the food with something we can see on an x-ray. We were shocked, and others repeated this experiment. But, then it all made sense. Whether they have a band, a bypass, a sleeve, or a DS – all of the operations allow a smaller amount of food to provide appetite suppression. Without that, appetite suppression does not occur. This is revolutionary in all aspects of patients – it is not “restrictive,” and having the band tight is not helpful. The bottom line is simple: solid food, slowly eaten, provides prolonged appetite suppression. This can be all overcome by: eating too fast (for band patients this leads to esophageal dilation, erosion, or slips or by drinking liquid calories, or soft food. What works for our patients who have had long term success: Measuring the food they eat Not depending on the band to tell them when to stop Not depending on the band to tell them when they are too full The Lap-band will NOT tell you when you are “full” The band will NOT stop you from eating “more” food So the latest revolution in weight loss is not in a new tool, it is in those four simple words that will keep your tool sharp: eat small portions slowly.

I checked off another requirement today!! Woot! I had an endoscopy today with my surgeon. It was rather easy but as the day has gone on my throat is getting more and more sore. Drinking lots of COLD H2O is helping. I also spoke to my patient advocate who let me know that we are a go for Dec 2019 (that’s month 6 so I was scared we wouldn’t get it in- it trying to rush the process but want to make the most of the whole “deductible” thing) Woot! I am to call in November to get a date but it’s starting to feel real!! Anyone else get giddy when they check off something on the pre-op list or am I just being a nerd? Soo ready for this to be behind me!!

My best friend had the bypass surgery 5 years ago, which is even worse to get through. She doesn't even remember all the hassle. She's just mad she didn't do it sooner!

Ya even my surgeon calls it the bypass he says its in the same family Sent from my SM-G925W8 using the BariatricPal App

I got my surgery date today! I will be sleeved on November 13th. So excited, can't wait to start my journey....

I choose the sleeve for three reasons: 1. My surgeon okayed drinking alcohol (down the road) with the sleeve and recommend lifelong abstinence with bypass. 2. My surgeon said the same about NSAID'S. I have quite a bit of arthritis and even down 80 lbs, I still need my ibuprofen. 3. I like the idea of just cutting off some of my stomach as opposed to all the plumbing rerouting and the whole dead stomach thing. I'm not sure about the whole hunger thing. If I avoid simple carbs, I'm not hungry, but if I eat them, I still want more (I'm in month 4).

Hi! I'm Stephanie. I originally posted in the wrong section, so forgive me. I have been banded for 5 years! I have been noted as being one of the success stories for my area. I lost a total of 137 pounds with hard work and then assistance of my band! After losing the weight, I had 10 pounds of excess skin removed and I was ready to move on with my life! My surgeon that removed the skin told me that in some band patients, as the swelling from my skin removal subsided, my band could potentially tighten. Did it ever! I got down to 147 pounds and eventually had trouble drinking Water (all of a sudden one morning). I went and talked with my lap band doc and he decided to take all of my Fluid out. He scheduled an upper GI and I was unable to have my X-ray done because I found that I was pregnant. I told myself, "you know what to do, so just take care of you and baby." To my dismay, I miscarried at about 10 weeks. Since then, I emotionally ate because I was sad. One morning, I looked in the mirror (after gaining 36 pounds) and realized, "this is how you got as big as you were, get it together." So, I started working with a nutritionist and a trainer 3 months ago. In that time, despite my hard work, I have only managed to lose 4 pounds. Weightloss is good, though! I was tired all of the time and never had energy. I am also hypothyroid diagnosed. I met with an endocrinologist at the beginning of the week to have a complete blood panel and talk about my struggles. He told me with a smirk that patients with hypothyroid only can be purely successful with the assistance of WLS. Then proceeds to tell me that my surgeon no longer offers banding. That my doctor saw that the failure rate was far too high. He's strictly sleeve and bypass now. I suggests converting my band to sleeve since I ran into so many complications. So, I contacted my band surgeon's office to tell all of this to. An upper GI has been ordered and I have an appointment with my band doctor next week. I was told he only converts band patients to sleeve if they meet certain requirements. What I'm wondering now is if I actually weigh enough to qualify. SW: 268 GW: 145 CW: 179 Has anyone else gone through any of these struggles or have similar personal experiences? I know that I'll officially know next week during my doctor's visit if I qualify but I worry and stress over things like this ahead of time. Any kind words, similar stories or advice would be much obliged. I'm feeling like a failure at this point and need some friends. Thanks for reading, Stephanie Memphis, TN

Hopefully all of our insurance are quick with approvals! My dr is saying November for surgery! I'm so nervous about being approved. I have a high bmi but no co-morbidities unless my sleep test tonight shows slight apnea. My aprn says insurance will approve because my bmi is high. I am only 27 so I want to have this surgery before the co-morbids begin to creep up on me!

I have officially joined the "Losers Club" and I am so excited. I was sleeved on November 10 by Dr. Aceves. From the pre-opt diet to now I have lost 11lbs. Wow....Yah for me! Dr. Aceves and his team were wonderful. I still am experiencing some pain and lots and lots of gas. My only struggle is trying to ensure that I am getting all of my fluids in.

I have to agree with both of you. When your in the medical field a long time (20+ years for me), you see how this all works. I was really impressed that my doctor never tried to talk me into a bypass, even given my high starting BMI. In fact, I was told I would do well and that at 2 years out, most of their band patients had the same weight loss as their bypass patients. Sometimes I wonder if all this negative talk about lapband success has much more to do with the poor lapband aftercare at some practices than it does with the lapband itself. Surgeons like to do surgery. They like to cut something and fix it on the spot. The lapband isn't like that and the aftercare is at least 50% of this process. A successful lapband experience takes much more than a beautiful placement of the band. If you truly want a lapband, understand what you are getting and how the entire treatment plan works, not just the surgery. See which WLS fits into your lifestyle, not which one the surgeon likes to do. Cindy

Just remember that this choice is yours, this is the rest of your life that you are making a decision about and you don't want to regret it! There are plenty of people on this site to show that the sleeve is what you make it. I believe if you are dedicated to changing your health and lifestyle that you can lose all the weight you need to with the sleeve. I kind of struggle with this at first because I do want to lose as much weight as possible but I also wanted the least restrictive surgery and also do not want the malabsorption problems that I see in many bypass patients. Whatever it is that you decide, best wishes to you on your journey!

My BCBS is the same, bypass fine if medically necessary. Lap Band is excluded. I paid cash and went to Mexico!

Kickiegirl--I am a medical provider and my advice is research, research, research!! The bypass is VERY serious and lots of longterm complications/effects on your body. 1 in 200 die from bypass, you need Vit B12 injections the rest of your life, etc....they do lose the weight quicker much of the time. The Lapband has < 1% complication rate....you need to read and read some more. The Lapband does have some negatives but FAR LESS than the risk of morbid obesity!!!! I was banded 3/20/06 and very pleased so far. Walking almost 2mi a day and feeling SO MUCH more energetic in less than a month since surgery! THe recovery time is much quicker in banding. I could go on and on but don't want to bore you!! You check things out and ask as many questions as you can and you will know which one is for you. God Bless, Melody Banded 3/20/06 -29lbs

Chinamom, I live in the fredericksburg area of Virginia, and was banded on 9/26/2006. I have lost a little over 50 pounds. To be honest if I didn't have help after surgery I truly think I would have been fine on my own. You will need for someone to pick you up from the hospital. I only took one pain pill the day after surgery. Bending over is the hardest part.(to feed the cats). Struck my husband with that chore for as long as I could get away with it. My only advice is to be helpful with the Richmond area hospitals, I know of 3 or 4 people how had gastric bypass surgery in richmond and ended up with really bad infections. I truly think the band was the best decision I made. Any of us can do anything we set our minds to. Catfish (Lisa) :biggrin1:

Hi, I don't really have any information about the sleeve or being approved, but I did just have bypass and have Dilated Cardiomyopathy. At least your heart looks good enough to proceed. Has your Cardiologist approved or you haven't asked yet? Fortunately my EF is also at the normal range now, 57% with minimal regurgitation. Good luck to you.

I had bypass surgery on July 20th. It was nearly impossible to eat or drink when I transitioned to the purées stage. I have an appointment scheduled on August 24th for an X-ray with contrast die to see if there are any issues. I’m supposed to be transitioning to soft food in two weeks, which I’m excited about. I’ve been eating yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, protein shakes, low fat cream of mushroom soup, and retried beans. I was able to swallow scrambled eggs this morning. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. How are you or have you been making it through the early stages after surgery? Any food ideas?

I understand what you are saying. I always called my VSG my sleeve or stomach, not pouch. I can kind of understand the pouch idea with the gastric bypass because things get stuck in our "pouch", which is the size of an egg, and not our stomach. Thank you for your response. I only threw up once with my VSG in many years. Then again, I had a very conservative surgeon who made it 10 ounces instead of the 3 - 5 ounces. I wish I could say the same thing that I never foamed or threw up about my revision to RNY. 😆

I’m a sleever & I’ve found vomiting is different too. I wonder if it’s because we have fewer stomach muscles as well cause, on the handful of occasions I have vomited, it doesn’t feel like all my muscles are heaving. A win is I don’t have sore muscles after like I used to either. Plus I only need to throw up a small volume of food to empty my tummy. I hate the foamies! I get them if my food is too dry, too coarse or fibrous. Begins with my restriction being more severe, followed by hacking & then spitting up small amounts of that foamy, gunky saliva. Can occur up to an hour after I’ve eaten. My dad was told the same thing about the flattened cola with his chemo. It’s also useful for getting rid of the bad taste & reducing the coated tongue after chronic vomiting with chemo. Best of luck with your continued recovery, @Jacks133. PS - Personally, I’ve never understood the whole ‘pouch’ description thing. Our tummies are exactly the same organ as they were before the surgery. They function in the same way as they did before (maybe a bit fussier). They are only smaller & for bypass have had a little shortcut rerouting to the intestines. They’re still stomachs.

OK guys we changed the meeting to Wednesday November 15th. We will be meeting at Ninfa's at The Shops store in the Houston Center. Time will be 11:45. PM me if you plan on attending so I can make sure we have a table to accommodate us. We meet at one of the tables outside the restaurant facing the food court. Hope to see a few of you Houston downtowners!

If you don't mind me asking , has anyone had or has had a stomach ulcer ? staple line ulcer ? marginal ulcer ? and if you did have an ulcer at some point. Can you shed some insight and truth on preventive measures, and how to deal with them? You can be honest with me and direct message me about drugs , or alcohol, or weed, or cigarettes or whatever, you took, that caused the ulcers, if you do not want to make it public you can Direct message me , and explain . I would really appreciate any real world facts on this please . thanks so much So far I found out from my dietitian and surgeon : 1, they can heal themselves. 2. there is medication someone can take to heal the ulcer. 3. dying from sepsis is the worst case scenario which is extremely rare according to my doctor and dietitian ?!! thanks so much

there are fewer complications with sleeve, but on the other hand, complications with either surgery aren't very common. And if you do have them, most (for both surgeries) are minor and "fixable". I personally would not let that make or break your decision because most of us sail through these surgeries just fine and don't experience complications. However, since you have GERD and choose the sleeve, know that you have about a 30% chance of that getting worse. That was the reason I went with bypass instead (and I've been very happy with that decision). Of course, you may be one of the 70% for whom it does NOT get worse. I wasn't willing to take the chance, but you might be.

I believe in month my doctor will set the day for my surgery. So I need start getting ready and I need Help with what to buy for the 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after bypass surgery. Please , can you all help me with names of proteins , drinks,.... What I can buy (what I will be allowed to each or drink) to keep at home for those 4 weeks? I really don’t go out for nothing since the pandemic start. Almost everything is buy online or my husband go get to me. Thanks

I notice that several of you mentioned GERD after bypass. I suffered from mild to moderate GERD before surgery, and one of the reasons I chose bypass over the sleeve was the fact that it (theoretically) eliminated GERD. Thankfully, I haven't had any problems since bypass surgery. I'm curious to know whether your GERD came back gradually or was it a problem from the very beginning after bypass surgery? Did your doctors tell you why it was happening?