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I am going for my session Sept 10 and my consult Sept 14. I was wondering how long the whole process took for everyone. From consult to surgery. Also, what kind of testing needs to be done before surgery. I know that the session/consult will answer these questions but, I like to have a little knowledge ahead of time! Thanks!

I got two new ones today at Target on clearance for about $10 each...but that doesn't beat the trip I made to Kohls today where I found one on clearance for$6 something and another for $9 something and then had a coupon for additional 15% off. I was super excited to discover the non-plus size ones actually fit me this time (I could never find plus-sze on clearance).

Hi, I am new here and scared shitless. I did so well for so long, even when my eating became more or less normal. I didn't go back to binging, but I wasn't sticking to the plan. I have slowly been allowing my weight to creep up. I didn't worry I guess because I still felt good, my clothes felt good, I felt sexy, I am active.....but now my size 10 jeans are tight, I really see the weight in my pictures, and I FEEL like that fat girl is trying to reemerge. I am trying desperately to get back on a plan, shrink my pouch, protein first, no sugar......but I am spiraling out of control. I can't be that girl again, I don't want to live at all if it has to be fat. I guess I just needed to say it. No one else in my family is heavy or ever has been. No one understands what it feels like to be addicted to food.

Not counting calories is where I completely disagree with your dietician to a point. Calories absolutely do matter, and the lower you can keep them the more you will lose. However, if you are eating 80g of LEAN Protein per day and keeping under 30 net carbs coming from non-starchy veggies, your calories should still be fairly low. That is, if you don't add in other things like sauces, dressings, cheeses, etc to what you are eating. I say this not just as someone who is very strict with themselves, but someone who has charted weight for a group of women who had the sleeve at the same time I did last year. There are six of us who all started out at approximately the same weight, are within a 10 year age range (none of us over 40), and had the same co-morbidities before surgery. Three of us counted calories while the other three based their diets solely on counting carbs and protein. Out of the three of us who were restrictive, I was the most restrictive, never eating more than 800 calories in one day and averaging 75g of protein and only 30g net carbs from non-starchy sources. The results: those of us who counted calories and kept them low lost more weight over our counterparts who did not watch calories. Out of the three of us who did watch calories, I lost the most. One year out, I am only 6 pounds from my goal weight, while the other two who were restrictive with calories are 25 and 34 pounds away from goal. Those who only counted protein and carbs and did not restrict calories still have an average of 75 pounds of weight to lose (+/-15 pounds). Calories absolutely DO matter, and if you are not losing it is probably because your calories are too high. You are NOT eating enough protein, and you are NOT eating frequently enough. If you are having trouble eating because you fear gaining the weight, you might need to seek counselling for a disorder called Post-Surgical Eating Avoidance Disorder. It is more common than people in the WLS community want to talk about. Otherwise, it shouldn't be that hard at your stage to squeeze in 75g of protein for less than 400 calories per day, and you can fill the other 400 with low-carb items such as vegetables, a little bit of good fat, etc. You don't have to eat six times per day, but you need to eat frequently enough to get your baseline protein. Hope this helps!

I would go buy two more cases during the sale and return them with your original receipt. They will be unopened and costco takes back everything. $10 bucks is $10 bucks!! LOL

My surgeon okays coffee, even with real cream. He says he drinks coffee and understands the need for it, and doesn't poo poo it. I usually drink two cups a day in the morning, sometimes three if it's a rough day. I'll have iced tea in the afternoon, sometimes. But I also get in all of my water, and my meals. I usually will drink my coffee before I eat my breakfast. If I need that extra cup, I have it around 10 am, which is usually an hour after I've eaten breakfast. I was never told to go decaf. As usual, follow your doctor's guidelines.

I am preop and preparing for my grocery list and favorite variety of protein shakes. I am going to spend the next 10 days trying different ones. I start my preop liquid diet July 25. So far I have tried muscle milk. I can live with that one. I want a variety as I get bored easily. I will try the one from Costco everyone is talking about. Please feel free to keep recommending drinks. This is going to be a long 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after!

I was sleeved 10/22 and took my bipap with me. I did have gas, but I don't think any extra than I would have. Can't wait to be off my machine!

Can't see mine anymore if i'm standing, but if i bend over, there is one on the larger upper right scar. It sinks it pretty far. BTW this one was also very sore for a while after surg. VSG 10/25/12 Sw 300 Cw. 220 F/51. 5'10"

It may help to go to a WLS hospital support group in your area so you can ask questions and hear how others eat. To be successful you really do have to change your eating habits dramatically for a long time. That is more difficult psychologically than some people realize. Once your healed and a few months out you'll be able to digest anything so it's not a matter of whether you can eat something but how you can fit it into your plan. The first few months are hard if your not prepared for the amount of restriction. It's easier with time. Now I feel in control of my eating and don't want to go back to my old ways. I'm 10 months post op and down almost 80 lbs.

Sublingual (flavoured) vitamins. My B12 is sublingual cherry. My Iron is sublingual grape. My Centrum Multivitamin Men's 50+ is blueberry but not sublingual. SUBLINGUAL = under the tongue. i.e. stick it in your mouth and it melts under your tongue is 10-25 seconds. Some brands of sublingual vitamins use the TRADEMARK "Rapimelt". Rapid melting!

Welcome KristyLee!! Just 10 days and you will have your band. This is a great site and you will love it!!! Keep reading and asking questions. All of the tips, advice, and support I received here on LBT helped me to be so much more comfortable the morning of my surgery. And I have made some really good friends here too. It is so nice to talk with, and read about, people who know exactly how you feel and what you are going through. Good luck with your pre-op diet and your surgery. Take care, keep in touch, and let me know if I can do anything to help you. Becky

Hello everyone. I'm from Easton, Pennsylvania and I'm scheduled for my banding on 10/28. I've been looking around the forum it it looks great. Everyone seems very supportive. I'm very, very excited. I start my liquid diet in 3 days. It's starting to seem a little scary. Everything I'm going through I'm sure everyone else has too. It'll be great to hear other experiences with the banding. Can't wait! :w00t:

I know several people who have experienced success with the lapband and not had any problems. My sister has had her band for 10+ years and lost over 100 pounds and has maintained the loss. Work with your health care team and be honest with yourself about your ability to be compliant with any surgery. I now have the band and I'm losing 10 pounds a month. I'm happy with this and knew going in my loses will be slower, which I wanted. Slow and steady. Banded 10/12/16

Hi everyone, My name is Amy. I had the band on 8/24/10, I lost almost 50 pounds with the band but never reached my goal because I had a lot of problems. I kept having to have fluid put in and out, I put up with reflux WAY TOO LONG because I didn't want more fluid removed because I was gaining weight. I ended up with an esophageal ulcer and became anemic from it. I had all the fluid removed in early 2017. I am almost back to my pre-surgery weight of 256. I am very unhappy with my weight and it is making me depressed. My insurance recently approved a conversion from band to bypass. I need to wait to build up some time off at work so I am looking at sometime early next year for surgery. Having the surgery makes me nervous but reading your posts here are helpful.

Ughh! Well I'm waiting on the news from my 2nd level appeal and honestly hoping this flu will help me in needing to lose my 10 lbs per doc. Lose my appetite. But feel horrible none the less. Hope everyone stays well during this crazy flu season!!!

Trader Joes I am trying out Protein drinks before I am sleeved 10/22. I picked up 2 cans of prepared protein drinks at a trader Joes and liked them. The chocolate has 35 grams of protein, 170 calories and 4 grams of carbs. The vanilla has 21 grams of protein, 4 grams of Fiber,and 110 calories. I don't know how it will taste to me after surgery bit now it is good.

I had to go back to the hospital early in my recovery too. I fought it for an entire week. I had flulike symptoms that I just tolerated and ignored because my experience in my complicated, lengthy original hospital stay had been so miserable. Finally, my doctor ordered me back. I DID NOT want to go, but I went. Turns out I had a kidney infection, and had I continued to struggle at home, I could have been in very serious trouble. Now, looking back, I'm glad I went in. I jumpstarted my recovery. If you can't stay hydrated, you should go back in. Being seriously dehydrated will compromise your ability to heal and recovery, and is dangerous anyway. The first month of my recovery was pretty hellish. But then things even out. I'm now 10 weeks out, and yes, it does get better. I have lost a lot of weight (31 pounds), and I'm not sick anymore. I just live my day to day life. The suffering was definitely worth it. You'll get over the hump too, even if now, it doesn't look like it. Hang in there.

Hi everyone! I'm new here. I'm Samantha and I'm 10 wks post op. Have good/bad days. Nice to meet u all

Congratulations! I just passed my 3 month anniversary also (surgery on July 10, 2009). I've lost 65 pounds too. I'm not sure about your skin but mine is terrible! I'm not sure it will shrink because I was chubby even as a child and have been overweight ever since. I'm going to start a good core workout next week and trying to use weights now. I'm hoping that'll help because my insurance won't pay for plastic surgery of course! :laugh: I'm really excited and happy about my weight loss and my experinece so far! You're done wonderfully! Awesome job!:blushing:

i was banded 5/3 and other than my port site i don't feel anything anymore. I don't know what your doc has you doing, as youve seen on here everyones is different. Mine had me walking from post op to my room. I would look into scopamine patches if you don't already have them for the nausea. For the gas, my doc said the best thing to do is walk. And sure enough for the first few days post op it seemed like every step i took a burp or two would slip out. He hammered on my walk walk walk. I know everybody's experience is different. Im not sure why your in so much pain. But each day gets better. i battled some slight nausea then about day 10 it was gone. I hope you feel better and everything is ok!

I was banded on May 3. Anesthesia is NOT my friend. I had 3 tough days of pain and nausea, then it passed. I slept sitting up in a comfy chair for a few days. I would call the doc if you are concerned that this isn't normal. I'm doing great now. Just had my 2nd week follow up appt. and I'm going in next week for my first fill. I'm down 10 pounds in 2.5 weeks. I feel pretty good. My knees are killing me from trying to walk and exercise a bit. I'm hoping that will subside once I get some of the weight off of them. Good luck to you... and I hope you feel better.

Starting Weight 223. Goal 135. Banded 01/13/2012

I can't tell you how many times I have read on the forum not to expect too much if you are over 50!! That is just nutty. My mantra is "Who's Universe is this?" IF I buy into someone else's Belief System [bS], then THAT is what I am stuck with. Hey--I was stuck in a rut before my WLS. Dr. Aceves told me before surgery in a 45 minute consulation about what to expect with the RESULTS from this surgery that HE would deliver 50% to me -- but the other 50% was up to ME. 10 words 20 letters IF IT IS TO BE -- IT IS UP TO ME No one is going to do this for you. NOW is the time to get into relationship with your body in a way that you never have done before. Learn how to be a Body Listener--not a Body Big Mouth. What do I mean? I was told to TEST one food at a time. NOW just because suzy-q on the Forum can eat something post-op, does not mean that I can eat the same thing. So testing means I try to eat something--and if--my body says NO...then it is a NO. Don't try to override in your HEAD what your BODY is communicating to you.I read about the number of people who are NOT losing, who have gained __# of pounds and are shocked, or they are throwing up all of the time. To those people I would say to use a little SALT: Stop-Action ... Listen-Think. IF IT IS TO BE -- IT IS UP TO ME Stop what HURTS, stop what makes you throw up, stop trying to be your old SELF, stop trying to be like someone else. Stop those Actions. LISTEN to your body. Obey your body. THINK about it. THINK about what is no longer working, TEST it for yourself, Test it again and again if you need proof, and then BELIEVE what your body is telling you. Are you using a food journal? IF so, this is a great place to post your discoveries. For example, here we are in the middle of the summer and there are lots of BBQ's going on. Body Big Mouth wanted a BBQ'd cheese burger with dill pickles. So I tested. I ate 2-3 bites and the food was so HEAVY that I did throw up, then I had to sleep for a couple of hours to feel better. But Body Big Mouth did not give up. I waited a week or two and I wanted what I wanted. Test it. SSDD Same Stuff Different Day I ate 2-3 bites and the meat was so HEAVY that I threw up, and then had to sleep for a couple of hours to feel better. Now Body Big Mouth still wanted what I wanted, waited a week or two and decided to test it again. I ate 2-3 bites, the meat was so heavy that my body hurt. SSDD Stop-Action ... Listen-Think IF IT IS TO BE -- IT IS UP TO ME After three tests, notes in my journal, I realized that I was not being a Body Listener ... I was being a Body Big Mouth--I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it--I did not want the results that I was getting--my Ego was louder than my Body-Talk and I was not listening. So back to being a Body Listener. Back to doing what works for my body. I have lost 45 pounds in 90 days by realizing that Dr. Aceves gave me the vehicle for a new body. Now I have to retrain my MIND and my MOUTH to be in relationship with my new vehicle. I need to know when to throw on the BREAKS and Stop-Action...Listen-Think. I have to understand that this is a journey of Self determination and my surgeon gave me the support that I need. He did all he could do--he did his part. Now I have to do my part. IF IT IS TO BE -- IT IS UP TO ME Be a Body Listener. Will you please post your thoughts on how you have become a body listener for yourself? Here are my Before - After pictures [so far] on YouTubes

im going to try week 3. DH is out of town for the next 10 days so not sure how consistent i can be with wee one...