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I was 59 when I had bypass surgery. Prior that I had moderate to severe pain in my right knee, particularly when walking up stairs. After losing 110 pounds it has essentially disappeared.

Hey November 07 bandsters! I've noticed everyone with such huge numbers, I've only lost 10 lbs. I was banded November 14 went in weighing 240lbs. I lost 20 lbs in 2 weeks from being on only liquids and have since put on 10 of those 20. I've been filled twice. I'm up to 5 in a 10 band. help! I feel like a failure. I'm really proud of everyone but what am I doing wrong? I can still eat pretty large portions without getting full.

I absolutely love my band. Originally I was supposed to have gastric bypass but at the last minute cancelled. I couldn't justify cutting up and re-routing perfectly working organs. I also couldn't just justify something irreversible without trying something less drastic first. So, I got the band, and I'm SO glad I did. I've lost 63 pounds in the 3 months since I was banded. I can eat anything so long as I chew thoroughly and eat small bites, and I've never once thrown up/slimed/spit up.

Okay, this is the thing .... My insurance - Cigna told me they do not cover gastric bypass, but they will cover the LapBand, BUT, (and the person on the phone made this emphatically clear), ONLY IF IT'S A MEDICAL NECESSITY. Okay, if it wasn't a "medical necessity", I wouldn't be asking about it. Or, do they think I just want to have unnecessary surgery because they'll pay for it? Soooo, I went to my doctor, who is NOT a supporter of weight loss surgery, and would not support me. Fine, I'm seeing another doctor later this month. I'm going to let this doctor know bluntly I'm having this surgery. You can support and help me with this, or I will find another doctor who will. I'm not playing games here. I'm 120 lbs. overweight, cant' sleep on my back, and my knees and ankles are beginning to feel the effects of the weight. I also injured my back in the military (many years ago) and receive a medical pension. They diagnosed me with degenerative arthritis so trying to exercise makes it a problem as well. If the insurance will not cover this, then I'm going to the doctor for every lilttle thing I come up with - and it WILL be weight related. If they want to play the game, so will I. They are going to get so fed up with me - they will approve me just to get rid of me!

Last night I was able to attend my very first support group. The two hours flew by and before you knew it we were leaving. I learned so much from that session. It was nice to have gastric bypass people in the group too so we could compare our experiences. Majority of the group were lapbanders. I have not experienced much of what the others have gone through. I don't venture outside of what is on my approved food list, but some said the rice cakes go down pretty good. Me, I am still a bit afraid to test them. I haven't even added bread. I do pretty good with flour tortillas, but that was before my 2nd fill. Guess you can eat pretty much anything when you don't have restriction. Can't say I don't have some now. It takes me longer to eat and I can't have the same portions I had just last week. Before my 2nd fill the nutritionist allowed me to have a cup and a half of food because I was so hungry between meals. Now I am doing good if I can get close to a cup. I still was losing weight though because in this day of Super Size me this and Super Size me that...a cup and a half is considered nuts. I was satisfied though and I continue to be very happy with my progress. I can't believe it's been two months already. Man it just goes so fast. I am very proud of myself. I have made the adjustments and the mind changes as well as added more activity to my day with at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. Cravings have gone away. I don't really have a "taste" for anything. My tummy tells me when I am hungry and I stick to a schedule as much as I can. Sometimes that's hard when you are a Realtor but I keep things in the car so I don't get off track. I have to say it sure was nice to put a real face to a name. I met someone in group last night who I have befriended here on Lap Band Talk. She had her surgery in March and is doing fantastic. All I can keep thinking now is....life is going to be great. Sure, we all go through ups and downs but when you are fat...well they become more of an issue. The stares, the laughs, the jokes, the cruel remarks. Nope...no more for me. I am on my way....this butterfly is breaking away from the cocoon.:smile2:

Last night I was able to attend my very first support group. The two hours flew by and before you knew it we were leaving. I learned so much from that session. It was nice to have gastric bypass people in the group too so we could compare our experiences. Majority of the group were lapbanders. I have not experienced much of what the others have gone through. I don't venture outside of what is on my approved food list, but some said the rice cakes go down pretty good. Me, I am still a bit afraid to test them. I haven't even added bread. I do pretty good with flour tortillas, but that was before my 2nd fill. Guess you can eat pretty much anything when you don't have restriction. Can't say I don't have some now. It takes me longer to eat and I can't have the same portions I had just last week. Before my 2nd fill the nutritionist allowed me to have a cup and a half of food because I was so hungry between meals. Now I am doing good if I can get close to a cup. I still was losing weight though because in this day of Super Size me this and Super Size me that...a cup and a half is considered nuts. I was satisfied though and I continue to be very happy with my progress. I can't believe it's been two months already. Man it just goes so fast. I am very proud of myself. I have made the adjustments and the mind changes as well as added more activity to my day with at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. Cravings have gone away. I don't really have a "taste" for anything. My tummy tells me when I am hungry and I stick to a schedule as much as I can. Sometimes that's hard when you are a Realtor but I keep things in the car so I don't get off track. I have to say it sure was nice to put a real face to a name. I met someone in group last night who I have befriended here on Lap Band Talk. She had her surgery in March and is doing fantastic. All I can keep thinking now is....life is going to be great. Sure, we all go through ups and downs but when you are fat...well they become more of an issue. The stares, the laughs, the jokes, the cruel remarks. Nope...no more for me. I am on my way....this butterfly is breaking away from the cocoon.

I am not sure if anyone goes on Obesityhelp.com but I posted something there and I thought I would share it with my Texas family(lapbandtalk.com). It is quite long so grab a 32oz. bottle of Water, get comfortable and start reading. I believe alot of people will relate to this testimony of mine but for my mind I had to write this. food ADDICTION JODI’S LIFE STORY (MY BATTLE WITH FOOD) THIS IS WRITTEN FOR MY MAINTENANCE I am 41 years of age and I can’t believe I finally figured out the meaning, and the importance of food. Growing up in my home, food was plentiful. During my time as a child, it was so important to eat everything on your plate because of all the starving children of the third world countries. We didn’t know how fortunate we were and how unfortunate other children were because we didn’t understand the differences. I must say though that my addiction has never been and never will be my mother’s doing. She didn’t stuff the food in my mouth. In fact, she was a very healthy cook. She always made sure we had the five food groups like we are supposed to. I ate everything under the sun behind her back. I wasn’t going to allow anyone to disrupt my favorite (unhealthy) foods. For a while though I thought it was a lot of her fault and at this time I want to apologize to her for even having those thoughts. To give you a little background on this, I remember in second grade my mother noticed I was having a weight problem. She brought me to a doctor who put me, I believe, on a diet. The only thing I can truly remember is diet sodas and skim milk. Candy was allowed during Halloween in which we broke the bank in our neighborhood. They gave out big bars, not the bite size or fun size like they do now. With that said we were allowed one piece a day. Of course I didn’t listen. I had the candy underneath my bed and enjoyed every morsel. Our Easter basket hunt my mother had panties, socks, trinkets, fruit and jelly Beans. Till this day I HATE JELLY BEANS. I can say at that time I hated her for this. It was so unfair. As of today, I was so unfair to think that of her. I love her with all my heart and can’t thank her enough for everything that she has done for me and all the care, love and understanding she has given me all of my life. Even during this time when I am struggling with my food addiction she is supporting me 100% and has always been worried about me only for health reasons. She loves me unconditionally for who I am and is not disgusted by the way I had looked. My mother has always been my rock. My husband is an unbelievable man. What he has put up with in his lifetime with me, I believe any man would have left their wife. There are many other reasons besides my weight problem but this is what I need to write about. I thank God on my knees for bringing him in my life. He is caring, loving, understanding, most of the time, and no one has more patience than him. I love him so much too and unfortunately I don’t tell him enough. I will be letting him read this and I want him to understand from this letter that I was never much for I love you, hugs and kisses. I want him to ask my family what a cold person I used to be. They know. I hated myself so much and I was so stand offish. I was just a hateful child even as an adult because of my weight issues. I realize now it was because I hated myself. I was very unhappy with myself. The more I hated, the more I ate. Who me? I eat fruits and vegetables, right? I was only getting bigger and bigger. Who in the hell was I kidding………………………………… I was just killing myself inside. Probably in my lifetime I have lost close to 1000 pounds. Up and down, up and down. I have tried Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Adkins Diet, Cabbage Soup diet, starvation diet, that was one salad a day and fried chicken on Fridays only and if I couldn’t stand the hunger I used to eat some popcorn. I even took 8 Exlax chocolates a day to get rid of my food. At that time I was losing my hair so I went to GNC to ask why I could be losing my hair. There was a doctor there and he put one finger on my upper chest area and he said, you are taking Exlax and you better get off it. I didn’t say a word to him and I turned around and left. I did stop taking them. I was fine medically for the moment but then once I got to 254 pounds I started noticing my knees hurting. I walk my dog daily and every time I went up a few steps my knees were hurting. I just dealt with it because on the outside I was just accepting myself for being obese because I truly believed there was no hope for me. I have been through the ringer with dieting, losing and gaining. I was in a lot of pain mentally though with myself. I am a pro at fake smiles. I soon was turning 41 years old, at this time my knees were burning going up those stairs to walk my dog and I thought, what am I doing to myself, I have to stop allowing this food to run my life. It is slowly killing me, I thought. I finally said to myself I have to do something about this but then I was afraid. I didn’t know what to do. One day at work, God must have spoke to my friend Jalinda because she came one day to me and told me about a weight loss procedure she knew about. It is called Lap Band. It is a Laparoscopic Banding procedure and it is a minimally invasive procedure. I thought that was perfect for me. I went to a seminar one Saturday to learn about it and that is when my new life began. I went to see Dr. Snow with the appt. that I had made from the seminar. It was two weeks after the seminar and I was over anxious to get the preliminaries over with. I wasn’t even sure if the insurance would cover this much less approve me. I was severely obese according to my BMI reading. I believe I was approved by my insurance 3 weeks later. My surgery was scheduled for November 10, 2005. Five days prior to the surgery I had to go on a liquid diet. I told my crew at work that if I am crabby, I am sorry for that. What a starvation diet this was going to be. It wasn’t bad at all probably because I was still able to drink my coffee. During that time I lost 12 pounds and that was a hell of a jump start for me to keep me motivated, even though that was just water weight I’m sure. On the day of surgery I remember Dr. Snow coming to see me before he performed the procedure. He said, with percentages possibly being wrong, it is 20% the band and 80% you’re doing. I truly took that to heart. I believe at that moment I was hooked on changing my lifestyle. I am not going to live to eat anymore. I am going to eat to live. I am on the road to becoming healthy and enjoying it too. Today is my 7 month band anniversary and I have lost a total of 103 pounds. I have 3 more pounds to go to get to my goal weight and I am excited to get there. My struggles now are not losing the weight. I have proven that to myself. I am now terrified to be able to keep it off. Maintenance has always been an issue with me. Once I get to my goal weight I have to figure out how to stop losing weight. Then I have to figure out how the scale is going to stay at 145 lbs. People have said to me that there is no way you would ever be able to gain that weight back. They don’t know about my history though so there isn’t much baring on what they said. I am a food addict. To be more specific, I am a fast food junkie. Till this day it still bothers me to smell deep fried food cooking. I used to say if I could just lick a French fry it would satisfy me but I know that I am just fooling myself. I would have grabbed the bag of fries, run into the bathroom and eat them. I am a very good closet eater and I was a pro at eating in my car. I will never do that again unless I have no choice but my food choice will be extremely different. I don’t crave that food at all but smelling it is a different story. I know that I am able to see Dr. Snow if I start falling off the band wagon. He would be able to give me an adjustment to help with restriction but I haven’t needed that so far and I would like to say that I have conquered my food addiction some day and I never would have to be restricted; if the need arises though I will run to his office to get help. Food can be very addictive. For some, it is a drug. We need to understand what food is for. We need to fuel our system to survive. It is not to be taken advantage of. I don’t understand what happened in this country and the food intake. It isn’t the amount that you put in your system that makes it better; it is the taste of the food that satisfies you. We need to listen to our stomachs that is telling us, “Hey you are stuffing me” and you have had enough. STOP EATING when your stomach is satisfied. Be thankful for what we have. There are so many starving people in our country as well as in other countries. If you are plentiful, give to the ones who really need to eat it. The restaurants put enough food on our plates to feed two people. We need to be realistic about our food intake. Take your time eating your meal and realize how lucky you are to be able to eat. I am in dire need for a lot of support now. I made a lifestyle change and I still do not trust myself. I am hoping I can make it this time. The struggle is all in my mind and not in my stomach. I still see myself as obese. Not in the sense of looking at myself but my mind. I will go to support group meetings just like an alcoholic would to AA. They are considered, I believe, an alcoholic the rest of their life and I consider myself a food addict all my life. Hopefully I am on the road to recovery but it will be a life long struggle for me. To my husband, all of my family members, Jalinda, and Dr. Robert Snow I want to Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support you have given me thus far. My journey is not finished yet though. It has only just begun…………………… With Loving Thoughts Josephine (Jodi) Darugar June 10, 2006

Awe gurl!! Its all talk.HATER's!!! I say..you learn to bypass all that negitave stuff. Your going if not already! start to feel and looking good, all that talk it not going to phase you.Just keep on doing what your doing..Best of luck to both of you..Best choice I ever made.Stay Strong!

Sue, excellent idea! I've heard a lot of people do that. I went to visit a friend of mine who just had a gastric bypass, and she swears by it. Thanks ... any suggestions on which is the best? I like the Lifesaver popsicles. They don't taste like lifesavers, but they're really yummy. I go through about 4 boxes a week.:frown: Enjoy!

I was like you no comorbities. I was a great sleeve candidate. I was a terribly slow loser which I learned to live with. I have since had some complications post pregnancy and will be revised to bypass soon. I have developed terrible GERD with my sleeve. Also, some sleeve drs still do not advise taking NSAIDS. I took them after my c-section and thought I was gonna have a heart attack. Since then my surgeon had told me to stop using them. I think this is an area that is still conflicting amongst the sleeve community. People have success with both and there can be complications with both.

November 1st. Down 37 pounds. Doing okay. Still feeling out daily meals.Also still hard to get down 64 ounces. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I experienced this same thing...back in Oct of '01 I had WLS and in Mar of '02 found out I was expecting. What a shocker! Not only was I a recent WLS patient, but I had high blood pressure, and I was approaching 40. Now 11 years later I have a beautiful daughter that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world! Here's what I can tell you about my experience...I did continue to lose weight during my pregnancy. I did have gestational diabetes, but that is not uncommon. My advice is to make sure you have an OB/GYN that is familiar with WLS (mine actually did a bariatric rotation with my weight loss surgeon). Don't forget to take care of yourself. The demands of a pregnancy and taking care of a newborn can be so overwhelming and for me it was very easy to lose sight of my weight loss goals. I just had a revision in November and although I don't regret it, I sure don't recommend it. Take care of yourself now. Don't lost sight of your goals. What you do now to take care of yourself will make you a better mom. Enjoy your pregnancy, but take care of yourself!

She is referring to Ghrelin. It's a hormone produced in your stomach that makes you feel hungry. In a sleeve they remove the part of your stomach that produces the bulk of Ghrelin, so for a period of time you will most likely not be hungry. In an RNY bypass, your stomach is still there but produces significantly less ghrelin as that portion of your stomach is not receiving any food and this somehow lowers Ghrelin production. I had RNY, and whatever the biological reason behind it, I can assure you I feel no hunger. I'm 5 weeks post op and have not felt even a touch of hunger. Occasional cravings, yes, but even those cravings are manageable because I know there is literally NO WAY I could eat what I'm actually craving without getting very sick.

May 21, 2014 will be 1 year post op from gastric bypass, my goal was 200 lbs, but have changed it to 199lbs., current weight after 11 months is 210, started at 340 lbs. may not make 199 by May 21, but should be close. have no regrets in doing this, feel so much better. I have had my ups and downs, but glad i did this a year ago

You might want to skip the Iron all together if you have already had gastric bypass surgery. I know this because my iron levels dropped a year after my surgery. This required me to have an iron infusion. My hematologist carefully explained that gastric bypass patients cannot absorb iron from supplements whether they are liquid, pill or chewable. It is impossible. Iron absorption occurs predominantly in the duodenum and upper jejunum. Our surgery bypasses the duodenum. You can see duodenum in this picture. All our food passes through our pouches. We no longer have access to the iron absorbing duodenum. http://bariatric.surgery.ucsf.edu/media/2234478/roux-en-y%20gastric%20bypass.jpg

Just anesthesia . HW 242, SW 236- Bypass 12/20/17 GW#1- 199 [emoji736]. GW#2- 175 CW 195 5’6”

Ok sho I'm barely able to type I'm in so much pain. I am 9 months post bypass and I thought it was a good idea to eat some dried okra chips. Hours later i took my vitamin tablet(broken up) i cant stop throwing up it feels like something is stuck I've drank hot water cold water and I throw up all of it. This is miserable and I don't know what to do. I'm crying real friggen tears somebody help!

I'm 8 weeks Post-Op Gastric Bypass... it was a struggle at first. Day 1 of surgery my doctor didn't staple my pouch all and left a quater sized hole, leaving me to bleed and throw up blood every hour on the hour. Day 2 go back under to fix problem. Day 6 released from hospital... don't remeber anything until after 3 weeks of surgey. So much pain, so much hate for what I did to myself. I wanted to end life... Week 5 horrible pain in the upper abdomen, trip to the er, ABSCESS, infection from blood left by the doctor on outside of the pouch. Day 1 drainage surgery, bag stunk so bad! Ugly green color it was horrible. . Day 7 drainage bag removed, released from hospital, no more infection... Week 8 solid foods... nothing solid stays down. I don't know anyone who has gastric bypass that I can turn to for help or to talk about stuff with, its hard I feel so alone because my parents (I'm 29yrs old) they dont understand what's going on or what I'm going through... which is why I became a member here.

Am 64 and am having revision - lap band to gastric bypass- on Aug 20. I know several folks who had bypass at or after 65 since Medicare covers it. I am very thrilled to be having the RNY as the lap vans caused such reflux that u have had repeated aspiration pneumonias for years winding up with a staph infection in my lungs. It took 5 years for them to figure it out! Looking for other 60 ers whomsy be having surgery in July/ Aug to buddy up with!

I chose bypass because I wanted the dual advantage of malabsorption and restriction. Also, I felt that was my surgeon's strongest skill, doing bypass procedures. I'm almost 10 months out and down 110#. I don't dump and can still eat sweets, I just try and avoid them. I think my surgery lasted about 3 hours... But I also had a hernia repair.

I've just joined the community today and have gone through most of the discussions. But stating this obvious question once again to gain some comfort in deciding to go under the knife. I desperately need your wisdom to help me decide. I’m obese, type-2 diabetic for the past 9 years (I’m 40 yrs now) with uncontrollable blood sugar levels all this while. This summer my tests had traces of Microalbumin and a follow-up test in autumn confirmed Microalbuminuria (Incipient Diabetic Nephropathy, early stages of Chronic Kidney Disease). It was like a bolt from the blue! If I do not take control, I could progress the stages of CKD and also risk having other complications (like hypertension, heart disease and eye diseases). I've consulted an Obesetologist and a Bariatric Surgeon to understand the bariatric surgery options for BMI 36.0 and my comorbidities. They've advised me Gastric Bypass Surgery. I can fund my surgery if Insurance declines. While engaging the doctors and follow-up tests I've also started to follow strict low-carb diet and follow a good exercise regime. In the last 3 months, I dropped weight and now at BMI 28.5 and blood sugar level is at normal levels for a month now. Here is where the confusion is - I know the risks of the chronic disease like Diabetes and Nephropathy + others. I'm only 40 and need to strictly follow the diet and exercise without getting a burn-out for the rest of my life and not let the diseases take over my life. On the other hand, Bariatric Surgery is promising with limited set of post surgery complications/risks. If I weigh the risks of not having surgery and having surgery done, on paper Surgery WINS hands down. I just need someone to tell me to go ahead with the surgery, so that I can focus on preparing myself. Thanks a lot...this advice will change my life and my family's.

How fantastic that you are both going on this journey together! You will have each other to support and encourage one another which is great. I am not getting sleeved until late October or early November and I cannot wait! This is a fantastic forum for support and advice so don't hesitate to ask any and all questions.

Thank you all so much! I cannot express how grateful I'm to your consoling and kind words. I've decided to go ahead with the surgery - Gastric Bypass as per my surgeon's advice. Since I've started a strict diet and exercise regime, I'm confident I'll be in a better position to continue the routine post-surgery. I shall remain in touch with you and seek further inputs as I embark on the bariatric journey / adventure

How fantastic that you are both going on this journey together! You will have each other to support and encourage one another which is great. I am not getting sleeved until late October or early November and I cannot wait! This is a fantastic forum for support and advice so don't hesitate to ask any and all questions.

How fantastic that you are both going on this journey together! You will have each other to support and encourage one another which is great. I am not getting sleeved until late October or early November and I cannot wait! This is a fantastic forum for support and advice so don't hesitate to ask any and all questions.