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Update** tomorrow is my labs, EKG and stress test... getting nervous, we are 2 weeks away and its actually setting now. Next week i start my pre op diet

Hi all! I am new to this website, i have managed to finally book my lap band surgery for november 2011 after fighting with myself for so many years! I am 176 cms tall and weigh almost 139kgs.. sigh... i never thought it would be that hard letting that out..... i have a high high cholesterol of almost 9.0, and although i am getting this done because i want a healthier and longer life in the future, i am looking forward to being able to feel like a normal "young" person like i should be feeling at my age! i turn 21 in a couple of weeks and do wish all my weight loss methods would have worked till now, because i have literally tried everything under the face of the sun, terry white, weight watchers, jenny craig, personal trainers, xenical, naturopathy... this was my last and final option! im so scared of the operation because i have been researching all the bad things that could come out of it but i am concentrating on the positive for now and cannot wait to have it done! the one thing i am scared of is failure.. so far all the weight loss methods i have tried have failed and ended up with me gaining triple of what i lost... i started dieting at 12 and have not been able to buy normal clothes for many years now.... i just hope it all works out well! anyone else getting it done anytime soon?

I got my surgery date today for 6/30/11 (fingers crossed for the FINAL ok from the insurance)! This is going to be long winded but I am really glad I have found this forum of people that truly understand! I decided on LapBand as a last resort. I have tried everything gone up and down 70 lbs here and there but have never been able to maintain it. My goal was to be thin by the time my daughter started Kindergarten in order to avoid embarrassment for her – that came and went…. Then my goal was to be skinny by my 30th b-day – that is in two weeks….. I have now decided that instead of moping about 30 I am going to make a change for me that is lasting. I started nutrition counseling back in February and even through the counseling, I was not 100% sure that this is what I wanted to do. Last month, I made the firm decision to proceed and now I can’t wait to start a new life at 30! I am terrified of surgery so I am hoping that part goes smoothly. I am also terrified of giving up food. I know I can do it… Someone else on here described it as getting a divorce from your best friend or something similar. I cannot agree more with this statement! I am addicted to food….. It is there for me. I have been slightly panicked about not being able to eat this or that…. I am hoping that the surgery will ease that constant want for food. I am trying my best to make a lot of changes prior to surgery so that I am not in a complete panic after. Then there is always the lingering question of “what if it doesn’t work?” Any advice, thoughts, support, etc. is greatly appreciated. I have a great support system; however, the majority of them are thin so while they are GREAT they can’t really understand the full struggle with weight and food!

Hi All - This is my first official post to ALL. I have been doing all of the pre op things that you have to do and now my journey will begin tomorrow. Tomorrow I will begin a 2 week Pre-op liquid diet. I have been reading everyone's posts and trying to prepare myself for this. I have been having the same feelings as some of you - Will I ever be able to eat bread again? Today I want to eat the items I will not be able to eat again for a while. I really think I will struggle with the mental hunger and have been trying to identify triggers - so I can avoid them. I am hoping to keep myself busy the next couple of weeks so I don't make everyone around me crazy. I am a pretty steady person and I can not believe I am having stress about it. I think it is just like the first day of school and a new job. The unknown is a little disturbing. I can focus on the things I have control over. Making sure I eat the right food and making sure I stay active will help quite a bit. Here's to a wonderful new year - I wish all of you the best. This will be an interesting year.

Hello, I had my proceedure 8 weeks ago this Wednesday, I was recovering very nicely with no problems or infections and I was cleared to do anything I wanted to physically but 1 day after Christmas my largest scar starting leaking something. I don't have fever but it's getting worse (leaking more) not better and I'm scheduled to see my doctor tomorrow. Until then I was able to walk the 10k steps daily and ride my stationary bike for 45 minutes x 5 with no porblems whatsoever. Has anybody else experienced this? I have been following all the lapband recovery protocols (food types and consistancies & exercise to the letter. I have lost 56 pounds since November 14th but I actually cannot eat anything at all until after noon daily without the left shoulder pain nerve going off the scale. By anything I mean nothing at all. No water or anything. I only try to eat something twice a day. At this point I really don't care if I lose another oz. I was able to actually drink/swallow more 10 days after the surgery than now. I don't like this at all. Best regards, niteal

I have been on a waiting list for surgery. I got a call from my doctors nurse. November 24th is the date. I need to go and get my physical finding from my PCP and then see the surgeon and the anasticiologist to give them the report and get their clearance for surgery. I never thought that I could feel so excited and scared at the same time. His nurse said at my BMI pre-op diet isn't needed. However, I think I will go for at least a week on 2 protein shakes a day and then a low carb meal in late afternoon. Has anyone heard of not having to do the pre-op diet? I just think that it would be easier to do to start because of the diet after surgery. Anyone else around my date?

Hi, I am also fairly new to this. I too have been struggling with my weight for years and have hit my all time high. I have been on every diet imagineable, lose 20-30 lbs., get discouraged and gain it back. I had my first Lap band meeting December 7,2010. I had an endoscopy on December 15th and did the sleep study on January 4, 2011. I got the call 2 days ago that I am approved and scheduled my Lap band for March 31. I had to stall it because I just had foot surgery on February 11 and I am supposed to keep it iced and elevated for 2 weeks and no weight bearing for 6 weeks. So I am excited to follow you on your journey. I start my pre surgery diet on March 17th. You will have to keep me up to date on how its going. Take Care....Hope to hear from you soon.

Hi ladies I went to my 1 week post-op and Ilost 15lbs, my doc removed all the steri strips from my wounds and they all were healed:thumbup:. He said that everything looked great and that I could start on a full liquid and incorporate mashed potatoes, grits, oatmeal, pudding and apple sauce. Next week I will be on a mush diet. So far I feel great I went walking and it relieved so much of my gas and I felt so much better. I took three small bites of grits and was full so I guess I am getting some restriction. I noticed yesterday that I could drink more without as much sipping and my gas was down alot (walking & gas x) but I didnt really fill full and I took in about 12oz fluids only on yesterday and today I added the grits and they had me stuffed so I could barely drink anything today. Any pointers on what to do? All in all I am pleased with my surgery now!

My consultation is next week, my endo and psych will be scheduled after that, and we're tentatively scheduling for the second week of October. After looking at my friend's before and after pictures, I'm beyond excited! Anyone else sleeving in October? How about in Michigan? With my insurance, my BMI qualifies me to have the surgery without jumping through so many hoops, but that means I can't lose any weight before my final weigh in. Since I enjoy working out, this is a struggle, but it's worth it! Anyone know how long it usually takes to be able to get back to working out post-op?

Im in the same boat!! Now After having my daughter im having a harder time loosing weight then i did the first time after surgery. Recently had a fill and lost 2 pounds first week of fill. Calorie intake is about 700-800 for the day with most of that being protein i get about 64g of it a day. I admit i could do more for exercise but after falling off the wagon im slowly getting back on. Wish you luck ladies!!

Hi All, Someone posted this website on our Bariatric forum, so I thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Viki and I had the lapband in January 2006. I've only lost 50 lbs since then, but it's 50 lbs I'm happy with. Now I've got to lose some more, but an at a plateau and can't get out. I exercise 3-5 days a week in the summer and 6 days a week in the winter. I'm going this Friday to have my band refilled and will probably get it tighter. How tight is everyone's bands????? how many cc's does everyone have???? Maybe mine isn't tight enough yet.

I'm not actually at the very beginning, but now that I have a surgery date and I've completed all the pre-op classes, it feels real. I'm 53, currently weigh 334 (on my home scale--and that's what I'm going by!) My highest weight was 359 about a year and a half ago. Also a year and a half ago I swore I would never get WLS. It seemed contrary to all my convictions about being body positive, the ability to change eating habits, rejecting societal pressures for people (women, especially but no exclusively) to physical harm their bodies in order to diminish their presence, a lifetime of trying to be good enough just as I was...all that and more. So I went to the Bariatric Nutrition center with the intent of finding support for addressing food addiction through a mindful eating practice. No one pressured me about surgery, which was great, and I started a series of uninspiring appointments with a variety of nutritionists. I did lose 20 lbs and then I gained 15 lbs and the self-loathing and frustration amped up. At the same time, I was diagnosed with a degenerative condition in both of my heels. I had all sorts of treatments and therapies, but the reality was that it can’t be fixed, only managed. It really interferes with my daily life and makes it difficult for me to do everything from walk the dog to travel. The doc said that the most effective way of managing it was to lose a lot of weight. I still didn’t want surgery. I thought I would just double down on the dieting. I have no other co-morbidities: heart is fine, blood pressure is fine, no diabetes, only borderline cholesterol. I had waited my whole life for some diagnosis that would be the magic switch in my brain to get me to stop overeating. One day I was talking to someone at work who happens to be a doctor and when he asked me how my heels were doing, I told him what the other doc had said. Very simply, he said: “you should get wls.” At any other moment, with any other person, I would have been offended, or defensive, or upset, but for some reason, I knew he was right. I then found out the next obstacle: my insurance would not cover it and I am not willing to incur the kind of debt necessary to cover the cost on my own. In truth, I was relieved. I now had an excuse to not do it! And then, another person encouraged me to write a letter to the hospital, and used her influence to get it into the correct hands. Within weeks, I got the word that my appeal was accepted. I felt like someone had called my bluff!!! So I started doing the pre-op classes in January. I was still very reluctant, and not at all a good sport. Everything I heard made the whole process sound miserable, but I figured I could change my mind up to the moment I was on the operating table. Over the months I talked to some friends who had the surgery and talked to close family and friends. It was their gentle support that helped me come to some sense of peace. I am very, very blessed to have that. My plan was to finish all the pre-op stuff in the spring, have the surgery early in the summer while I’m on a break from work, and be ready to start the school year by the time I was starting to eat solid foods again. That’s pretty much how it is working out, though my surgery will be in early August because I decided to have RNY instead of sleeve. I made this decision because I do have some acid reflux and didn’t want to have that be an issue, and also I figured I’d get the most bang for my buck. I need the most effective tool I can get in order to lose and maintain the weight. Now I am getting into the home stretch. I’m trying not to eat everything in sight, as if I’ll never eat again, and I’m trying to stay focused on the positive outcomes and not the challenges to getting there. Surgery still freaks me out. The post surgery eating and digestion issues definitely freak me out. But I’m going to keep going, in spite of everything, and keep reminding myself that I am worth the effort.

Hi. I was sleeved 7/17 but my doctor allowed soft foods after 2 weeks. I eat just about anything chewed very well. Eggs, chicken, fish, tuna with light mayo, low fat cheeses, I also mix unflavored unjury in my crystal light fruit punch or mio flavors and like that better than the creamy sweet chocolate shakes. It's too much sometimes. I stay away from a lot of carbs and eat protein, veggies/fruits and then carbs if there is any room (usually not). I also find using myfitnesspal app is so helpful for me to keep track on the summary.

I'm only a week out. Felt incredible day 1-3 and after that just wasn't feeling right, each day got worse. Day 6 was miserable!!! More liquid didn't help. More sleep didn't help. More Protein didn't help. THANK YOU to the sleever that posted something that I stored in my memory for some reason... I can't recall who you are or what post but you saved my life. I took an Iron pill last night and woke up feeling amazing again. I took the other half tonight and felt even more improvement! Better mood, more energy, and looking at life with hopeful eyes again! Sweet dreams everyone!! Woohooooo.....

Yes. It took me at least 6 weeks to even have some resemblence of energy. Your body has had major surgery and my surgeon said it can take up to 6 months to feel back to normal. I just rested as much as possible. I took naps when I needed to.

So I'm nearly a month post op, rny. My surgery was uncomplicated, as well as my recovery so far. HW was 335, SW 315 CW 304. I'd be lying if I said that I'm thrilled with my rate of weight loss since surgery, but it's consistent losses, something I haven't been able to achieve without surgery. My mind wants so badly to see 299... So I figure it's toying with me. I have lost inches, I'm in a smaller bra size already though. Adapting to eating had been surprisingly easy. It's just a fact off life of what I can/can't have. My hubby made the comment that he lost his eating buddy yesterday. I think him eating junk alone makes him uncomfortably aware of just how much junk he's eating (good!). I seem to tolerate sugars ok so far, things I've read others have dumped on (ketchup) hasn't phased me. The only thing that I regret was stealing a piece of sausage off of the kids pizza... Felt like a flaming metal ball going down...ugh! I've been having a lot of pain from one incision site, my doc said I was doing too much too soon. So I took it easy again and hope to add in exercise this week as I move on to soft foods. I'm not getting all my Water in and I won't drive myself crazy over it, I'm close though. I do need one Protein shake a day to meet my protein goal. After a walk yesterday I understand why they encourage protein after exercise, I felt dizzy and out of sorts. I'm also battling a bad cold.... Coughing makes the side pain worse though (uhh again!) I phone conference my NUT on Wednesday. There is no way I could take in the amount of food on her sample diet, I think I'm good with two meals and one snack a day.

today I went to the swap meet.i saw a gorgeous yet petite jumper outfit so I walked in cautiouslyand asked the foreign saleslady how much for it. she quickly [goofy smirk] replies : it not for you no fit you haha nonono! . thats all I needed......that was it. I willing answered her with : " no.....its not for me." smiled with courage and happiness not sadness and kindly in my head finally spoke these words to myself: "so long...goodbye...i must leave you behind now" referring to all of my 230 pounds n five foot three old me. with 6 days left til surgery I have parted ways with that 18 years of extra weight extras and extras of 18 years of tears heartache and sadness 18 years of being buried under this rubble of my skin... today I said bye and so long........

Just sharing my experience with pregnancy and lap band. I had lapband through True Results about 2 years ago. I tipped the scales around 300lbs. At surgery time I was around 281. My lowest weight I reached was 206. At that weight I ended up being dehydrated and as far as food went, it wasnt an option. I had 8ccs and no food wnet down. But I was losing weight so I was happy. I had some fluid removed to about 6ccs then I became pregnant. My weight shot up to 271lbs at the time I had my daughter was Jan. 1, 2016. I am currently at 223 lbs. I developed severe acid reflux in my pregancy. I thought it was normal. I found out my band has almost slipped. I had to have all the fluid removed. I am on a liquid diet for 2 weeks and soft food for a week, then I will go back for a fill at that time if everything is healed. My band went back into place after the fluid was removed. This is my current status with my lap band. I was told this is common in pregnancy with lap band.

I got the same thing.. Was told that it is because is the surgery and cutting muscle... Put a heating pad on it.. 20 mins at a time.. It lasted a couple of weeks .. I am much Better.. Sleeved on 10/6.. No more pain!

If you get a chance, visit Baptist medical Center in Okie City to see if they can't help, at least talk to them. I really don't have any business giving advice, only having been banded three days, but I had such a wonderful experience at an ACS Center of Excellence (of which Baptist Medical is one) that I have become sort of an evangelist for them. Just try them if you can, you won't regret it. Whatever you decide, best of luck to you.

I got banded Oct.1!! First week all I really had for breakfast lunch and dinner was liquid vicodin! I was in alot of pain and felt extremely full of air and gas on my left side where the port is. I have a swollen bump where my port is..that's where all my pain is no where else. Doctor said it should heal with time he said it's like a bruise with blood on the inside. Other than that im feeling alot better. Today is 15 days later and a huge difference from last week. Still on liquids been making chicken soup like crazy and just drinking protein drinks and water. My husband took 2 weeks off work to help me, I'm a stay home mom with 4 beautiful kids so my days are hecka busy 24/7.

Hello VSG Family, I had my surgery on 09/21/11 in Juarez, MX. My surgeon was Dr. Jose Rodriguez and staff! Fantastic people!!! I would do it again if I got the same set of people. I am 3 weeks out, and down 22lbs. *Note: My photos have not been edited. They will load up to a large size on your screen. ("Close button is on the bottom right hand side.")They were taken on my cell phone while I was in the hospital, so please excuse any darkness and discrepencies. I get alot of questions like; What was it like? (Great Experience for me) Have you ever been there before? (Nope! Had to get a Passport and everything.) Where you scared? (Of course, but I needed this surgery -- so fear was not an option!) Keep in touch all.. *Note: There were 2 bathrooms in my room. *Note: There were 2 tv's in my room also.

You shouldn't get defensive if someone questions a food you eat. All of us have different food plans from our surgeons, I think that the previous poster was just questioning a cupcake (whether sugar free or not) because I'm guessing most of us wouldn't be allowed something like that on our food plans at 3 weeks out. I'm still on full liquids for 4 weeks so I would definitely not be allowed something like that.

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum glad to be a member. No sure if it's women only, the colors seem to be aimed at women. Anywhoo.. just wanted to share my experience. Using both the surgery and the supplement I lost around 55 lbs and I'm still slowly losing more and more each week. The sleeve went amazingly and I was VERY VERY happy with my results. My doctor is one of the best in Canada so I felt really confortable with the process. Anyways just wanted to share my story.. hopefully I can add something to your great community. Thanks for reading Dean

Hi all, I was banded 10/24/08. I lost 16lbs the first week and a half and now i am at a stand still. I wonder if anyone has experienced a slow weight loss because of the birth control pills. I will not have my first fill til Dec 4. But i am eating 3 4oz meals, sometimes a snack lots of water and lots of protein????? Any ideas:tounge_smile: