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I don't think anything like the SLEEVE was around50-70years ago! I do know they have data that is 10+ yrs post op. maybe longer.

I love my fitbit alta. I like how it keeps me motivated without being in the way, as i am not really a watch person. The one issue i had was that its kinda ugly. My husband is fixing that by getting me a fancy bracelet for it for christmas. Tamalynparedes@gmail.com HW 385 SW 359 CW 331 (54lbs down!) Sleeved 10/5/16

One word for you... ENEMAS. Go get you a double pack of Fleet and use both of them. You'll get some relief IMMEDIATELY! TRUST ME! ~Leticia **HW: 259**PreOp: 216**SURG: 3/21/13 **Discharged @: 221** 3 mons post op. CW: 160.0 lbs. --- Only 10 lbs to my goal ---

Had mind out 20 plus years ago after loosing a hundred pounds (I was 19 at the time). Regular incision. That scar is much worse/noticeable than my port scar. Don't mess with a gall baldder. The pains can be HORRIFIC. Lie on the bed in a fetal position and feel like you can't breath horrific! And I have a VERY HIGH pain threshold. I was a young and come hell or high Water I was going back to college after spring break. Someone I worked with (super thin) had it removed had complications and was out of work for 3 months. Another reason to not mess with the gall bladder.

How hard is walking for you? Is it like super pain, a little pain, or no problem at all? For me, when I started, I could only stand on my feet for like 10 mins before the pain got too bad so I did laps around the kitchen island pushing my desk chair in case it hurt too much and then sat down and rested and got up and pushed it more. When it got easier I started going outside and walking a couple houses down and then back and then the next day aim for another house or a stop sign or whatever to get to til I could do it around the block. My first time around the block I said to myself ok, it's the same distance to walk back as it is to keep going and if I keep going the way home is downhill...keep going it is. I'm up to 2.5 miles now although that last 1/2 is a beast lately! Maybe because I added in a 30 minute floor stretch/resistance band workout to the day 5x a wk. Though I really don't have any great insights for reaching those 10000 steps, I struggle with it myself, I just wanted to say congratulations @@Sajijoma! What an awesome job you are doing. Such a great example of how far you can go once you take that first 'baby step'. I am inspired and very proud of you

I found this. Not promoting it, just fyi http://www.walmart.com/ip/Slim-Fast-3-2-1-Low-Carb-Diet-Creamy-Chocolate-4-pk-10-fl-oz/19399640

The place between plus and regular size was the worst for me. After my surgery I went from size 22 to size 14 plus. It was easy. I just kept buying the next smallest size of pants - the same kind. I was buying style&eco jeans at Macy's. then I got to the 14s, and I just did not know what to do! I went to Macy's regular women's dept to buy jeans and it was like they totally re-invented buying jeans in the years I was in the plus sizes. I almost had a nervous breakdown right in the store. Rather than embarrass myself, I left. I called a friend, and she told me to go to Costco and buy some Gloria Vanderbuilts in a few sizes. they are very cheap And very easy to return. I bought 14 and 12s. the 12s fit - I returned the 14s and bought a second pair of the 12s. since then, I've shrunk into size 10s. since then, somebody gave me a few pairs of size 10 Gap jeans which were perfect. Now I'm ready for the size eights. I think that will be my size. Shopping was really hard for me. it is getting better. I did not want to spend a fortune on clothes while I was shrinking. the Costco idea was really helpful. I bought leggings there. And when I was thin enough, I bought shorts. my surgery last October 28,2014. So it was about 11 months ago. I've lost 107 pounds and think I can lose maybe 10 more. what an amazing journey. I'm so grateful.

hello! wow you live in huntersville? I work there! So im in the process of getting a lap band (I hope). I had my initial consult, had my labs, got the 5-year weight history, and have my psych consult and nutritionist consult on Monday. From my undertanding it will take 10 days to get the psych report back and then it will all be submitted to BCBSNC for approval. two questions:: ON my 5 year history, it shows that I have had weight problems (40+) for 3 years, but not 5. Will that hurt me? Also, how long after the info was submitted did it take you be approved?? Thanks for any info!!

I am almost 2 years out now, but I can tell you that I have changed my life. I did get an unfill after hitting goal. I look at food very differently now, and it is about eating for life, not eating to live. I know the calorie count of just about everything I eat. I like it that way. I holpe it continues 10 years from now... I am still here for the friends and support. I know really at any point I could fall off the wagon.

Hi Bansters, I am seriously considering getting banded. One area of concern/question is what happens 3,5 10 years out? Once you reach your goal weight do you loosen up the band? Do you eat different? Does life change (from a food intake perspective) once you have reached the goal weight? If so how? I don't see these questions being discussed too much here. It seems like this forum is a place to come when your in the process, but once your "done" you stop talking about it. I hope to hear from some long time vets! Thanks Archer

I used heat Patches, no issues Sent from my HTC 10 using the BariatricPal App

I am in Calgary too... Scheduled for surgery on November 10 through OCC in Tijuana. Nervous and would love to meet other sleevers!

As far as pre-op "blues" I figured i didn't have a corner on this. I was so blue, i unfortunately did the worst thing in the world. I figured I would eat some food i should not have, since i know i couldn't later. I.E. Cookies, and other stuff like that :nonod: Over the past 6 weeks i actually have gained 20 lbs :confused5: Boy is it easy to gain weight. I'm so upset this happened. There's nothing i can do of course now. My dr. didn't require a 5% weight loss, so i over ate!! After Thanksgiving I'm gonna put myself on a strict liquid diet, maybe to lose 5-10 lbs. So i just wanted to unload. Thanx WLS 12/6/11 kathy :nonod:

Treasureb22 I feel you, you are not alone. I am bipolar and keeping it in check with meds is rough. I am just a newbie my surgery was on 9/19/13 but for this whole month I have been having trouble with taking them cause of the high dosage. I've been on them for four years but now it's like I just started on them. The only thing I can say is you gotta reach out I know it is very hard. at my worst I alienated myself from my friends and family. I guess what im trying to say is that it will get better. I know it sounds corny , but im here today able to type this message.

You have received some great advice, and I'm not going to repeat it. There are many of us who were in your shoes and have gone on to have very successful surgeries and post-op results. My BMI was over 60, I weighed 331 on my first doctor's visit and I am only 5'2". Now, I was only asked to lose 20 pounds, but I lost 40 pounds in the three months leading up to surgery. I used MyFitnessPal.com. A free website / app that has become a very powerful tool for me. I am over a year post-op, and still use it every day. I have lost 205 pounds (I weighed 127 this morning) and for the first time in my life, my BMI is in the 'normal' range. I am not a kid - I am 49 years old - if I can do this anybody can! MyFitnessPal is an amazing tool. You use it to track what you are eating. It will help you set goals for how much weight you want to lose and how fast you want to lose it. After surgery I have found it invaluable to help me track how many grams of Protein I am getting every day. Now that I am on a maintenance plan, I am using it to help me keep my weight where I want it. Beyond that here are a couple more tips that helped me. Obviously, stop eating out - anywhere. No restaurant food is as healthy as something that you can make at home - you just don't know for sure what is in it. Wherever possible, replace carbs with protein. No more oatmeal for breakfast - or if you really love it like I do, then make sure that you are having something with it that has at least 10 grams of protein. This is a hard one, but one that you will need to do for the rest of you life post surgery - separate drinking and eating. Begin following the 30/30/30 rule. No fluids 30 minutes prior to eating, Chew every bite of food 30 times, no fluids for 30 minutes following a meal. It is really amazing how much fuller I felt when I didn't drink when I ate. Chewing your food more slows your eating down and you actually feel full faster as well. Finally, I also had horrible joint pain. My knees were so bad that I couldn't walk - not even 20 minutes on a treadmill. I joined my local YMCA and found a recumbent elliptical that I was able to do. You sit, so it isn't as hard on your knees and back. I saw a chiropractor every week for my neck and low back - it was hard to just stand for 20 minutes let alone walk. But I was able to do this elliptical. I started with just 20 minutes three times a week and worked up from there as the weight began to come off. I had a VERY easy recovery from my RNY. I really believe that the exercise leading up to surgery made all the difference for me. I think you have seen that this can be done! One thing the clinic is looking for is your level of commitment and determination - they want you to be successful. Setting up this roadblock is your test to see if you have what it takes to make this a life long change. It is not an easy journey - even after surgery - or after reaching goal. You have to be committed to doing the hard work. YOU CAN DO IT!!! Believe me, life on the other side is SO much better!! I never want to go back to the prison my old body was. Life is just too much fun!! Feel free to message me. I would be happy to help you in any way I can. Carol

OK so here it is the night before (well early morning of..) my pre op testing!! to be 100% honest, I am a Nervous wreck!! I have literally made myself sick in the last 48 hours. I could not figure out why all of sudden my stomach is nauseous and I had diarrhea..(sorry for the tmi)...but I just figured out..its my NERVES!! I am a nervous wreck and didn't even realize it. I just got off the phone with my best friend who had to remind me to breath bc I was beginning to have what I THINK is an anxiety attack! I know I have made the right decision to get banded, after a lot of time and research,but now as I lay in bed the night before Pre Op testing,I am having second thoughts !I know deep down its the best decision but right now Its not so clear!! I was always a "strong" person,so right now I am surprised at how much In freaking out on the inside! I know a lot of people start feeling like this a few days before surgery,but I still have 10 whole days! Im not scheduled until August 12th. is this too soon for me to be freaking out? has anyone else experienced these feelings this far away from surgery day?? my stomach is bubbling,I feel like I have a lump in my throat, my chest is heavy and overall I think I might just sh*t my pants before surgery day arrives!! LOL MY NERVES are SHOT!!! I only told a handful of people about my surgery plans,so I think the fact that there are ppl close to me whose shoulder Im used to leaning on when I need support,that dont even have a clue as to what Im in the process of doing is also playing a role in my Pre surgery Jitters.(they dont know bc I dont think they'd be as supportive as I'd need them to be) So pretty Much this site is my NUMBER 1 person (people) to turn to! SO I NEED ALL OF YOUR HELP!! PLEASE tell me about your pre op jitters stories. I would like to hear from any and everyone. any advice,tips,stories etc are greatly appreciated!! Also I would REALLY LOVE to befriend other August banders..ESPECIALLY those of you with the same surgery day of August 12th!! Also anyone else who is pre or post op that would like to be band buddies I would love that too! I need as much support as possible!!

I'd say because I've tried all that and it doesn't work. Stats show 90-95% of people can't lose like 10% of the weight and keep it off. You see people in the news that do it because it is so rare. The tool helps you, if you use the tool right.

Hi everyone. I'm new on BP and am struggling a bit with everything. I'll just lay out my whole story in one go and hopefully I don't sound too crazy. I'm 22 and live in Melbourne Australia. Was sleeved on 19-October-2015 weighing 131kgs or 289 pounds. I'm 12 weeks and 1 day out and am 102 kgs which makes for a loss of 29kgs or 63 pounds. I don't feel like I've had a journey like anyone else so far, or at least anyone I've watched or read. After op I was on liquids for 10 days the was able to go on to solids no problems. No puréed food at all. I dropped 10kgs in the first week then have lost a few kilos a week since. I was able to eat more to start off with but now I find I will eat less than a fist sized amount of food a day plus 1-3 litres of water/fluid. I am always under 500 calories a day, but usually 100-200. I'm never hungry, but crave foods most of the day unless I'm busy. I can't eat more than 4 bites in any sitting and am usually in pain by that point. I find I eat later in the day/night and usually drink Water till about 3pm and will then be peckish. Then I will eat at 7/8pm and then snack before I sleep at about 11 on my worst days. Most days I will skip the 7 or 11 feed for water or ice cubes happily. I am sick often, probably 5 out of 7 days. So when I eat I do t nessasarily digest that food. As bad as this sounds I am for the most part happy with that set up. I miss food but could live like this for the rest of my life happily. But I'd like to hear about everyone else. Now on to my main problems... I'm terribly unhappy in myself. I don't see the results like other people do. Today I had a 4kg loss from yesterday an was ecstatic, which lasted about 3 minuets. And then back on to being sad. I'm really lonely. My op I have chosen to not tell people about except my immediate family who although mean well are not particularly helpful. My family are all obese and my dad intends to be sleeved this year which would be nice to have someone to relate to. My mothers sense of motivation is not terribly helpful, it's a mix of shaming when eating 'bad foods' and trying to help by saying there's no use in being sad about life. My ex husband is emotionally supportive but will give in to my cravings and his, I don't believe this is intentional I think he's just a typical 23yo boy who doesn't think XD. My daughter is so supportive well past her years. She tells me off if I go to eat unhealthy foods and comforts me when I'm sick, always spreading the love to her mummy. So I'm blessed in that regards and I can't love her enough in gratitude. To top this all off I have other 'personal' problems at the moment which I fear are holding me back. As a child I was sexually abused by a family member who is currently on trial which has been long and drawn out. It was ment to finish in November and I was going to have a fresh start in 2016, but a preliminary decision has been appealed and we won't be back in court for trial until April/May. I find this whole debacle to be obviously emotionally trying but unhelpful in my journey. My daughter is starting school in a few weeks and I'm in tears at the thought of it. I try to not let it show but the loss of our little bond is heartbreaking for me and to be honest I don't entirely know how I'll survive the first week with out her. Silly - I know. I have a complex relationship with my family, especially because of the trial since it was family members who did this to me and others. I also don't think I can be myself in my family which doesn't really help in this journey to find myself again. And more than anything, I don't really have any friends. It sounds silly to say, but I am rather alone. Sometimes I just want to talk things through and Idont really have anyone. I have one close friend and his wife who I see regularly, and a few other friends who a talk to through fb and what not on a regular basis but that's it. I am happy with my loss so far, but just wished I was a normal size for once. My unrealistic visions are probably holding me back the most. So how about it, anyone else feeling like joining on this crazy train for the ride? Hope everyone is reaching their goals. Good luck xx

Im exactly the same starving at times, but I had a 10 cal low jelly today, but I also had a small cake at work, I know frown but I wasnt sick or anything all was ok, Im worried I caved in, but only had soup and jacket potatoe today, being back at work and all sins around, I thought it would make me ill but it didnt but I havent been to the toilet for a few days either. Im at week 4 Fay

I have been a pretty slow loser. I lost about 33 pounds in the first 4-5 months. I had problems with reflux and had to get unfilled, then we visited with family for a month befre moving to another state. I went 3 months without being able to see a doctor to get adjustments. Once I found a doctor up here in MT and was able to get to a good place, I have been losing weight at a pretty good pace. I seem to lose it in spurts, but I think that is my bodies way of dealing with the lose. In Novemeber I lost 14lbs. in 3 weeks, but then I stayed the same for 2 weeks, then went through another spurt and lost 10 in 2 weeks. Oh, it took me about 5 fills (2 unfills in there too), to get to what I believe is my sweet spot. I, personally, believe that our bodies need time to adjust to everything that is going on with it. Surgery is a big thing and so is weight loss. Hope you get the restriction you need soon! Karyn :tt1:

Just wanted to share an experience with everyone. I recently went on a trip to Korea to see my daughter and 5 of my 9 grandkids. I am 10 months post sleeve and this was my first LONG distance trip. I had traveled by plane after the surgery (short flight of 2 hours) before and was prepared to only drink Water on the flight (though the soda was a temptation I resisted). Well...... the flight from San Francisco to Korea was 15 hours long. I had brought a shaker bottle and prepackaged samples of Protein shakes to get through the TSA thrill (no way was I going to hassle with getting pre made/packaged Protein Shakes through the screening). The flight out went as I had planned. I asked for water every time they brought around the tray. The meals provided were pretty good! I skipped the high carb foods (bread, potatoes, rice) and took my time eating (I tried to keep the meal under an hour though). I also skipped the iceberg lettuce salad since I was trying to eat the other veggies provided with the meal. Again, water after the meal. For "breakfast" I made my shake. All in all the trip up was a success in regards to traveling and dealing with meals/water intake. The trip back was a different beast. Maybe I had become over confident or maybe the 2 week vacation of being off my regular routine were the problem but I seemed to have a harder time with the return flight. I started out ok and made sure to ask for water frequently (I also had my water bottle that I purchased preflight) dinner was beef with rice (I had been eating rice every day for the past 2 weeks and knew to limit the amount to a tablespoon), spinach, roll and salad. I ate the beef, small amount of rice and the spinach. Skipped the roll and salad. After the meal I tried a glass of orange juice (the first time since the surgery. Hindsight being 20/20 I should have NEVER tried something new on a plane) The OJ did not sit well on my stomach. I started having heart burn almost immediately and knew the beverage choice was a mistake. Trying to get water down when my stomach was upset was a nightmare and I spent the remainder of the flight (about 10 hours) fearing I would throw up on the plane. I didn't dare eat anything else and stuck to sipping water as much as I could. I tried a sprite zero (mixed with water to get rid of the bubbles but it didn't seem to help. Of course I couldn't sleep because of the upset stomach (and the drunk man behind me who kept pulling on my chair to move around) so when I arrived in San Fran I was very jet lagged, sick and just wanted to sleep. I had a 6 hour layover to endure till I could get home to my bed. I spent the time in the lounge closest to the bathroom. Lets just say the OJ finally completed the trip before me. My fear of vomiting on the plane was not realized but I did have 1 episode at the airport (not sure why since I hadn't eaten for over 10 hours). My bum was sore from the diarrhea by the time I got on the plane again. Lessons learned: Don't try new things on a 15 hour international flight. BRING anti nausea medication (I forgot to pack my zofran and regretted this error) Stick to water, frequently, while flying.

I had RNY 10/11 surgery weight 211 and I'm 190 now. So about the same as you. I figure the slower it comes off the better chance of keeping off. I'm also hoping it will mean less saggy skin. Keep following the plan. You're doing great!

I don't think you stretch the pouch with one episode. I ate too fast at Thanksgiving and felt the same way, my whole body felt bad. I watched my intake for a couple days and still felt restriction. It just hit me that I was full but I had already taken like 10 bites past that. A big attention grabber, huh? It will get better, I think we all do it once. Hey kids don't believe its hot till they burn themselves right?

I had my surgery with Dr. Almanza at the Jerusalem Hospital. I live in the Atlanta, GA area. I made an appointment Dec 18th and specifically told my PCP that I needed my sutures / stitches removed 10 days after my surgery scheduled for the 3rd of Jan. They made the appointment and then told me yesterday that I had to see my surgeon... My surgeon is across the country, I say. They ask my Dr again and she won't touch me. The referral group called around and no one else will take them out. I can do it myself but really don't want to. It will be awkward and I get dizzy with my own wounds. I am going to try an Urgent Care center but Argh!! Anyone else having problems when their surgeon is not local?

I started mine 10 days early the day after my surgery! So strange that several have as well...