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Hello all, My name is Hanna. I am 21 years old. I have started looking into the Lap Band for the past few months. I just go new insurance and just started looking into surgeons! I have heard nothing but great things about the lap band. I have struggled with my weight for my entire life. I've tried every diet under the sun, personal trainers and everything in between. Nothing works! I have goals that I want to live for! I think the Lap Band is the thing I need.

hi everyone! First off, sorry i havent been on in so long. Life has been pretty crazy. Anyways, I had my sugery in June 2010 when i was 18 years old. It is now January 2013 and i am 21 at beyond my goal weight. Thanks to family and friends. I will never regret having my sleeve done but i cant say id do it again. I have had so many health issues and mental issues from this sugery. Although, I am very blessed to have had the opportunity to have this experience... I didnt go about it the right way. I was 215lbs when i was 18 so my insurance didnt cover any WLS. I went to Tijuana Mexico. The experience was something I never expected to ever happen to me. But i will never forget it. I havent gained any weight since surgery but i do have a hard time keeping it on. If anyone has any questions or advice they would be willing to give im all ears congrats to everyone on their success! love , Casey K.

So if someone was properly motivated by receiving the lap band surgery by any means necessary, that he or she would just have to not lose weight during the 6/12 month weight loss program. It just seems like a waste of time.

I had my lap band slip after 7 years in April. I just had my sleeve on 6/26. I'm not going to lie. It hurt. A lot. But I did have some additional Complications due to chronic steroid use from arthritis. Surgery was 2.5 hours. So, I'm attributing it to that. I stayed an extra day bc they had to staple, stitch and glue my new stomach. But I'm completely independent now. No pain Meds for over 36 hours. Waiting on doc to show up so I can go Home. My Husband asked me on the Fay of surgery if it was worth it and I said no. Now, I'm saying yes as long as the post lap band weight comes off. Good Luck!!

Hey everyone, there's an awesome $500 giveaway contest being drawn, by Carnie Wilson, at the WLSFA (Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America) event on Saturday night. Everyone can enter. The info's below in case you want to take part! There's only 5 more hours to enter, before the contest closes! RealSelf.com $500 WLSFA Giveaway On Saturday, 18th May, 2013 RealSelf.com will be giving away a $500 prize, to one lucky person who has entered the RealSelf/WLSFA giveaway. RealSelf will also match this amount, by donating $500 to the WLSFA. In order to enter, you simply have to write a review of your WLS journey, which will then be shared on RealSelf.com. You can do this by using this link: http://www.realself.com/review/create If you're entering from a mobile device, please use the instructions below: Send an email, with your full name, to wlsfa@realself.com An automatic reply will be sent with a link to create a review on RealSelf.com: http://www.realself.com/review/create The participant must then create and submit a review of their WLS (Weight Loss Surgery) procedure Once this has occurred the participant will receive an email of confirmation, which also confirms their entry into the contest All entries must be receieved by 5pm PST, Saturday, 18th May, 2103. Terms and conditions apply. To see the Terms and Conditions, please go to: http://www.realself.com/forum/realself-and-wlsfa-1000-giveaway-contest-terms-and-conditions

This is the first time I'm posting on this site , so I'd like to tell my weight loss journey up to now. I had my gastric bypass surgery on 1/29/2013. Doctors told me it was a textbook surgery , no complacations& I was home in 5 days. Once I was home I had a hard time keeping anything down, after a few calls& some trial & error we found out that I can't tolerate the vitimans. Once I stopped them things were going better. My first weigh in was 3wks post op& I lost 30 lbs ( sorry my weight the of surgery was 386). I weighed myself 2days ago & I now weigh 298! I can't even remember the last time I was this weight. I have chronic RA&Fibromyalgia, so I have these problems to deal with,along with the weight thing,but I have a hard time getting my family to understand,that sometimes I just can't get up &go & do everything they want, for instance my granddaughters birthday party I ended up missing , cause I was vomiting,so much that day I just couldn't get there, I felt so terrible,but my son is still mad at me& won't let me see the girls. Anyway I digress, does anyone else have some similar problems? I'd love to hear you. Sorry this is long & rambling,but I'm writing this at 3am , I have no one to talk to. Thanks for listening.

Hey all, My name is Amy and I have had my band for a little over a year now. The day of my surgery I weighed 277 lbs and as of this morning I weighed 255. I was down to 249 but we went on vacation and I gained some back (although I don't know how because I threw up A LOT while we were gone). I originally decided on having the surgery because I tried EVERYTHING to lose weight. Every diet, every diet pill, exercise, you name it I probably tried it. I have diabetes, PCOS, anxiety and depression. My aunt who I was very close to passed away a few years ago from complications of diabetes. I am pretty much just like her when it comes to my health. I favor her in looks as well. As much as I love and miss her so much, I do NOT want to be like her and die in my 40's. I am 31 now and I have an 8 year old little boy who is my world. I know this is kind of jumbled up right now, I'm just typing as things come to me. I knew that having this surgery was just a tool and not a solution but most days, I feel like it was the WORST decision of my life. I have lost little weight and even though I don't always follow the rules of having a band, for the most part I stick to them. I am so discouraged and tired of throwing up. I told myself before having surgery that I would NEVER let myself throw up because I despise throwing up. And now its a weekly occurance it seems. I've had Fluid removed and then put back in and I am just now to the point where I feel FULL when I eat. I am a stress eater and this past year has definitely been stressful. My husband just returned from our second deployment in September and I feel like a failure. I had all this time to lose weight while he was gone and yet, I lost a measly 20 pounds. Sigh. Sorry for the rambling, but I guess I don't feel like I can really talk to anyone about all of this that REALLY understands. So I probably sound like Crazypants McGee, but I promise I'm not. I'm just a girl who is trying to regain her health and control of her life.

I think you've self identified some of the real problems like that you're a stress eater and you don't always follow the rules but 2 things really stick out to me. First of all you are dismissing the weight you've lost. You're describing it as a "measly 20 lbs" but when you were at 249 you'd lost 10% of your body weight. That's not a small accomplishment. Too often we get caught up on the # of lbs we've lost and don't take into consideration the fact that not only our our metabolisms different our entire body make-ups and structures are different. For instance I would love to weigh 277 that would be 10lbs less than I weighed in college at what definitely felt like the peak of my physical form but for you that was just a starting point. Don't dismiss your progress just because it doesn't fit your preconception. Second of all you've identified you have a behavioral component to your eating and as you've identified the band is just a tool but specifically it's a mechanical tool. It is easy to figure out how to eat around our bands which is why we have to focus on our habits first and foremost. I would really encourage you to try and find a bariatric support group where you can talk about your eating and exercise habits with others who understand. If you're too shy to do that or there isn't something available near you then I'd encourage you to identify a person on the forums here who posts frequently and generally says things you find insightful then ask them to be your friend and start exchanging messages or emails regularly. Having someone to talk to one on one can make a huge difference.

1500 calories and no exercise should give you about a 2 lb/month loss so you're just about where you should be. If you're not tracking calories you might want to start? It's very easy for we obese to overlook a few indiscretions here and there which can sabotage any weight loss. And Missy is right. Vomiting is not good. Why do you vomit and is it a real vomit or PBing?

Gastric Sleeve Aug 19,2013 Pre Op weight 346 3wks Post Op weight 310 Total lost 36 lbs

Highest weight 344 (05/01) Day of sugery 311 (08/22) Two week post op 288 (09/06)

Don't worry it'll come....I was also sleeved the 21st. I'm down 26 so far but I didn't weigh in pre surgery. That's my pre op diet starting weight. I find the better I get in my liquids and protein....(spread out the protein so you get it across the day) The more loss I have. I did stall earlier this week but I adjusted my intake to more protein and more water...voila! Losing again.... you're sleeve wont fail you... it just takes time and learning.

Hey, i live in Orlando, so i don't know wassup in Detroit & i'm not familiar with HAP insurance. I'll tell u what i do know- i had to see a Nutritionist twice, a Psychiatrist twice, a sleep study, and my lap band doctor every month to see where i stood. i first started off by attending a lap band seminar... which started my whole journey. i only had to lose like 8 pounds if that to get approved; along with the approval of the nutritionist, the psyc & sleep study; which i all passed. it's sorta almost like waiting a year just because of appointments alone really- i got approved once i finished these things... i've mentioned in my own topic about mystery left shoulder pain, turns out a lot of ppl get it after the surgery. it's weird but i've had no complications other than this (knock on wood). i had my surgery March 29th 2013. i healed up after surgery in less than a week. the gas pain was probably the worst of it honestly. after u heal, u r able 2 eat normal again, or howeva u ate before-... usually. I was able to eat normal again after a week. i got my 1st fill and felt nothing, got my 2nd fill and i feel something but just a little. I get my 3rd fill in two weeks and i have a feeling that will be the "one" for me. i'm already eating less. that was the hardest part for me. i use to eat once a day, a big meal and that would be it. NOW, i follow "the program" but i'm telling ya, without this band, i probably would not have the discipline to do so. SOooo, i eat a small meal like 3 times a day. i drink a lot of Water but NOT with my food....... don't do that ever. You'll be sick as a dog. Your new smaller pouch can only handle "small amounts" unless ure chugging down smoothies or icecream, if your gunna do that, forget it, you'll keep the weight. and clearly u have to consider everything. it's not easy but as they say; the lap band really IS a tool and i'm just now honestly getting a handle on it and it's pretty cool. i know when i weigh in, in 2 weeks that i'll have lost some more weight WITH THE HELP OF THE BAND... 4real. if u can lose weight on ure own; go 4 it. I used to be really fit until i was in an auto accident which hurt my lower back and i gained a lot of weight over a 3 year time period because i was unable to be active; this in turn made my lower back worse, etc etc- Now, i'm feeling better, my back is better (thank gawd) and i have this "tool" 2 help me shed the pounds i've basically lost control of. I feel more in control now and relieved to top it off. i don't know ure story but best wishes.

Hello all! I have been a member for a couple of months but have been a little shy about posting. I was sleeved April 19, 2012. I went to a free seminar that the surgeon had back in July of 2011. After much prayer and thought I decided to go through with the surgery. I had to do a 6 month supervised diet and at the time I was annoyed at the fact that I had to wait. Now that I am post op I am so glad that I had the 6 months to prepare. I think that if I hadn't had the 6 months I would be completely lost now. The day finally came for surgery. I wasn't nervous at all. My post op course has been uneventful. I have been truly blessed. The worst part for me was the first week and the 2 day stay in the hospital. The only thing that bothered me about the hospital is the On-Q pump was in the way and I did not like the effects of the anesthesia. The first week I was home was a little trying because I had a lot of head hunger and couldn't sleep. Now at 10 weeks out I feel back to normal (with the exception of not eating a ton and people bugging me about how much weight I have lost). I seriously feel like that I have not had anything done. I am not the faster loser and I have been fighting within not to compare myself to others. I understand that everyone is different. For all the pre-op people I pray that you have an amazing journey and are complication free. For all of the post-op people I pray that this journey will be the biggest gift you could have done for yourself and for strength to keep up with this lifestyle change.

I would suggest that you make an appt with your pcp to get checked out. There are lots of things, including thyroid conditions, that can cause fatigue. Be aware that they have recently lowered the "normal" range for TSH, so if you were borderline before, you might be considered hypo now. I tested high-normal for years before I became hypo, and I feel 100% better since I started taking meds. You may also be at point where you have to exercise to lose weight. In my experience, even before banding, if I eat 1200-1400 cal/day, don't exercise and don't drink enough Water, I won't lose any weight, and I might even gain a few lbs. I think that FitDay really overestimates the calories burned for basal metabolism. Good Luck! Melissa

Hello to everyone on this journey! I have read many stories here and I am very hopeful now in my journey. I had my first meeting with the caseworker and nutritonist today. I have my first meeting with Dr. Metz on Sept 19th. I was very down after my meeting today because the nutritionist said that very few lapband diabetics get off insulin and meds. I want to lose weight but I really want to get my diabetes under control and off meds if possible. After reading the stories here, I am more sure I want the band instead ob bypass which is what she stated is best for diabetics. I have DM2, hypertension, fibromyalgia, exercise indused asthma, and a BMI near 40. I have a Vitamix ordered and am looking forward to experimenting with it before my surgery. I hope to have some good high Protein recipes ready to use after my banding. I will share anything that is good in a Vitamix topic. I live alone except for my 2 dogs so I hope this site/forum will help me saty the coarse. I have had laprascopic surgery when I had my appendix out in March 2008. I was emergent surgery. The MD ordered Torodal IV post-op and as I am an ICU RN I know all about this med. I have given it often but I was amazed at how well it helped with the pain. I got 2 doses and the 2nd dose was given right before they pulled my IV for me to go home. I plan fo asking Dr. Metz for this med post-op. One important issue with this med is good renal function which thankfully I have. FYI - Torodal helps with the inflammatory reaction to surgery. It can best be described as juiced up Ibuprofen IV. I am not an exercise person due to my fibromyalgia. My pain is centered in my hips and even walking hurts. I am really trying to fight through this as I know exercise will help in this journey. I actually to a long 45 min/2 mile walk this afternoon. Yeah me! I look forward to meeting all of you as we travel this journey together. We may be at different places along the path but we are all on the same journey to good health and happiness. May God bless each and everyone as we travel the hills and valleys I am sure we all will face during the life long journey.

Hi, I havent had any experience with anxiety so I can t comment there, but I have had 2 kids whilst being extremely overweight and it was tough. What state are you in? I think the best thing you could do to help you and your husband understand about the lapband and all that is involved is to go to an information night. I know they have them regularly in Melb. One of the important things to realise is that people with as much weight to lose as most of us in this forum do, cant do it on there own. Without the band, we would never succeed at losing ALL our weight and keeping it off. This is a health issue, not a cosmetic issue. When I was deliberating about whether to be banded or not, my GP told me that if it was some other kind of surgery that i needed (knee, kidney, whatever) that I wouldnt think twice about having the surgery, so why hold back from getting this done. She was so right! I first started researching the band after the birth of my first child (2003 @ 110kg) and it took me 6 years and an extra 25kg to decide to do it. My only regret is that I didnt have it done sooner. This is the single best thing that I have ever done for myself. Everyone else benefits from me losing weight but I am the winner here. At the end of the day, you do need your husbands support in this, but this is something that you have to decide for you. Nobody can make you do it and they are not the ones that have to have fluids for weeks on end. If you truly feel that lapband is the way for you, then do it. I'm sure your hubby will back you up when you yourself have made the decision. hope this helps. Megs

Hi jgandg. A couple of comments; I've had several patients not lose weight for a while then "get it" and somehow they begin to understand how to use the band to lose weight and their weight comes off. It's very important to follow the eating principles that make the band work best. If you do this, then you will notice the decrease in hunger. Unfortunately, gastric banding doesn't work the same for everyone. All bariatric surgeons know this and we can't explain why (even though we have a lot of theories). But one thing is for sure, following the general guidelines, often provided by your surgeon, is absolutely necessary for long-term success.

It sounds as though you may be beating yourself up over non-issues. You said that you feel like you could have lost 50 pounds on any diet by now and guess what....? You could have. We ALL could have, and most of us have, more than once and for whatever the reasons it doesn't stick, and we continue to do what we do and gain it back plus some. The reason we got surgery is to jump off that crazy train and do something more permanent Permanent doesn't mean quick and easy though, unfortunately. Sometimes I wonder about what goes on or what gets said pre-op to people because I knew right from the get-go that regular food would be back on the menu at some point. The fact is that we can eat most things so we have to be careful. On a regular basis your diet should not consist of soft (mash it with a fork) type of stuff. You also shouldn't be having meats that are swimming in sauces, broths, gravies or cheese either. All of these things cause you to be able to consume more than is ideal for someone like us. If you are in a rut I suggest getting a costco membership or something like that - go shop somewhere different and look at other options besides whatever you've been having.

I had a personal trainer once that said the reason most women fail at weight loss is because they believe 2 things. #1. If we eat something we have deemed off limits then we reason that we blew our "diet" so we might as well eat what we want that day and start over tomorrow. #2. We lose some weight or get to our goal and feel we can now go back to eating what we want (we earned it or our job is done mentality) when what we want to eat is what got us in this trouble. He was right! That was exactly the roller coaster I was on. You have to change your way of thinking to change your outcome.

I know we all go through ups and downs. I know I'm going through a healing process and I know I can't expect overnight success. I have always been very weight loss resistant and it is a little disheartening to think maybe that's how it will always be. Through my pre op diet and now I've only lost 7lbs. Yes better than gaining, yes better than nothing, but still a little frustrating. Sometimes I feel like we aren't supposed to whine on here lol. So my apologies in advance. To me sometimes a forum is to talk about when you are feeling discouraged. Today I feel discouraged and I feel like I should be able to discuss here.

I go in for my 3rd fill in 2 days. I can't wait until I find my sweet spot. It is a weird process tho. I agree with you....sometimes i feel so much restriction then the next day i Feel no restriction. Oh well, as long as the weight drops off slowly but surely I'm happy..

This is Deb, I'm back at work and doing fine. I get very tired (expected), and I'm having trouble with some back pain but doing great. I've lost 25 lbs. since November 27th and am very excited. The folks at work were very surprised by the weight loss as was I. I told everyone not to expect to see any difference, I surprised us all. I hope everyone is doing well and Happy New Year!

On November 11, 2013 my chance had arrived. I was going to have my Gastric Sleeve surgery. I had planned on three weeks from work hoping they would be understanding given the fact that I would return stronger and more motivated to continue a position I had held for nearly 14 years. I checked into the hospital bright and early and waited for my surgeon to arrive. Now I'm all prepped and have my husband and youngest daughter with me for support when the surgeon comes in and let's us know he'll be using "The Robot" to do my sleeve. Well I probably got a 4 min introduction to this procedure and it was time to go so I said ok, I trust you. About 90 minutes later the surgeon came out to my husband and daughter and announced there had been a slight problem and that a leak had been found but that he "fixed it by throwing a few stitches in it" and that I should be fine. I'm transferred into my room and must say I felt pretty good. Not heavily medicated but still pretty good. I had meds to control any nausea I had, warmed blankets' good. By day 2 I had that pain in my left shoulder and was told it was the gas they use during surgery trying to disparate. So as told I kept breathing deep, walking around trying to stay active as much as I could. It vas very difficult to stay hydrated because I just didn't have the desire to eat or drink, I was just tired by day 3. They decided to keep me an extra day just because of the leak they thought would take care of itself. I had my upper GI the morning before I left which showed no leak so I was discharged home! Yay. Within the next several days I saw tried to do clear liquids but still it was very challenging to force yourself to do something you know you must do. I was weak tired and slightly nauseas but hung in. I still had that pain in my shoulder. Breathing deep and walking wasn't helping. I resorted to a heating pad just to get some rest. Day 7 post VGS I was seen at my surgeons office. I told them about the pain in my shoulder and that I was having trouble meeting my fluid intake. They assured me this was normal removed my steri strips and sent me on my way. Work was only a week or 2 away now. I couldn't even imaging being strong enough for that but it was my goal. So 2 days after seeing my Dr I was told I could try soft foods jello pudding refried beans".. So I did just that. Tablespoon servings of corse but it sure tasted good. BMT still that pain in my shoulder and I'm continuing to be very weak. By day 11 post op I called my daughter and asked her to run my to our local hospital because I had started vomiting and was sure I just needed some fluids. Dehydrated ya know. So off we go. Upon arrival I could barely stand I was so weak, I had a 102* temp which I had been oblivious to and that there was my RED FLAG. I knew fevers were not good. Could be a infection right. They admitted me over night where I continued to become worse. I became delirious my fever was climbing. I was indeed severely dehydrated , had developed pneumonia and needed to be transferred back to the hospital where I had the surgery! When I arrived it was like a race going on, blood work, x-rays, CT scan I was becoming aware of the severity of it all. The CT showed I had a leak in the upper back portion of my sleeve which had leaked the contents of which I had consumed into my gut and up under my diaphragm. Emergency surgery was needed, the options were explained to me and at that point I just didn't want to die! I agreed to the surgery which consisted of cleaning out my abdomen and placing a feeding J tube into my small intestine and a drain into my abdomen. When I awoke I felt like my entire mid section was filled with cement! The pain was horrible. For the next week I honestly can't tell you much I was on so much Morphine it was horrible. For the 2nd week was filled with training on how to use my feeding tube because for the next 3-6 months I was allowed NOTHING by mouth. Just knowing I chose to do this... It was tough. So I would be fed through this tube directly onto my intestines my formula, my meds and my water. It sucked! Ok so now I'm out of work a month. Not my plan but I had no other choice. I had diarrhea all the time and I was miserable. After 2 weeks I was allowed to go home. I had a hospital bed in my living room because my bathroom was on the first floor. I had visiting nurse coming to change my pic line dressing and to make sure my drain was working properly. I was on the phone with my Dr office almost daily for check ins. Ugh awful. After about another week and a half my diarrhea continued and I was vomiting again. Yes even though you don't eat you can vomit! It was awful to I think about where it was coming from. So it was back to the hospital where I would spend yet another week being treated for a intestinal virus I picked up IN THE HOSPITAL! Lord help me. Ok so now I'm about 2 months from work hoping I'll be good. My feeding tube and drain would be removed after about 3 1/2 months. Thank you God! I have one more procedure in Boston to have. They would go down my throat to check the leak which had formed a bubble. They needed to make sure it was going to hold up and not rupture. They came to the conclusion that it was healed well and that I could return to work. Finally after almost 4 months I return to work. Happy to part of society again and making a paycheck. I drew 1 check from STD while I was out and the others arrived about 2 weeks after I returned to work. Ultimately 4 short weeks after returning to work I was laid off do to "salary cut backs" bullshit! Pure bullshit! So my weight loss isn't typical because of my delays. The first three months were spent in high calorie formula so I could heal and recover. Here it is 5 months later and 8 have lost a total of 47 lbs. not ideal but I'll take it. I'm averaging about 2 lbs a week now. I'm currently job hunting and trying to keep my chin up. I don't see to many stories of complications anywhere. Is it just that uncommon or are they not allowed? People should know all the facts and all the remedies to problems that could arise. Let me hear from you if you had similar outcomes. I need support too but am having trouble finding it. Thanks Lori