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I met with the dietician last week and will be doing my dietary consult on 9/19. The dietician explained that they advise use of Bariatric fusion Meal Replacements. Has anyone used these and if so which flavors are good? Just want to know what to buy on 9/19! Thanks!

:banana I am so happy because I have been waiting to be banded for over a year. As you read my stats at the bottom, I have been monitoring every ounce. I just had my first fill on Monday, April 5 (2.5 cc). I didn't think it was restricting me because I never felt full until yesterday. I also found out I lost weight! (6 lbs. in the last 2 weeks) Yippeee! My surgery was outpatient and I was back to work in a week. I've had no problems at all and thank God everyday that my appearance is changing. My friends and co-workers are constantly complimenting me on how good I look. My knees don't hurt anymore and I can breathe when I walk as well. This is the best money I have every spent. Happy to be banded! Carolyn

Nope, but I use the Mystic tan once a week and I dont streak at all....Princess, ur suposed to wear those booties on ur feet!!! I love it, and Ive been doing it for almost 2 yrs now. If u buy a big package its really not too expensive. I would suggest buying 2 tans to start (i know its expensive to do it that way but if u dont like it at least u didnt blow 100 bucks on a package.) They should show u a video on how to put on the booties and stand so u dont streak. I also use a bottle of stuff in between tans. Clarion is THE BEST! But it is kinda expensive too and u have to go to the dumb mall to get it...and girls we all know what happens when we go to the mall to get one thing..............."ohhhhh look at those shoes............"

Hello all. I was sleeved on October 22 2012, on my second week of purée and almost finished... Only problems I have right now is horrible chest pain in the area where my hiatal hernia was removed. Along with the chest pain I am starting to not be able to tolerate liquids, even just plain water keeps coming back up as a slimy mess... has eanyone ever has these problems? my biggest fear is that my hernia is coming back. ???? Any advice would be great.water.

Hello, good to meet you. My name is Clara. I will be banded on Aug 27th. I have started my liquid diet this week. Today is much better than yesterday. Good to have you to the group.

Hello! I am a 40 yr old female from Cape Cod Mass. I have been overweight forever, but in the past few years I reached my highest peak @ 255lbs. In January of this year I looked into bariatric weight loss thru BI in Boston. They have a comprehensive and long program, which I completed in about 3-4 months and was told I would be a good candiate for surgery. I waited a few more months, as I was trying to decide what was best for me. Once I decided to go forward, I had to pick GBP or Lap Band. Since I was not a diebetic and on medications for health problems and the gbp seemed so severe, I opted for Lap Band surgery. My date was set for Monday 8/30/10. The week prior I did a partial liquid diet using mostly the unjury protein drinks. They taste good and filled me up. It was easier than I thought and I lost 10 lbs prior to surgery, just as my doctor wanted. I was super exicted and nervous but my surgeon is renowned in thie field and I was confident. Unfortunatley for me things did not go as planned. As I woke up in recovery, a nurse who did not seem to know about bariatrics, handed me 2 containers of liquid percocet and some water, telling me to drink it all down. I did as I was told, only to be hit with such pain in my chest, I thought I was dying. I could not breathe, I vomited, I was sweating and very upset. Nothing s/b given orally so soon after surgery and I will never know if that caused what happened next or not, but it was a long road for me. As a mom with a 6 yr old who was due to start first grade, I was happy to have my surgery scheduled before her school started, knowing I would be in the hospital for just one night. Well, for me it turned into a long 6 days! On day 3 my Dr stuck a needle in the band and took out all the water (15 cc) trying to loosen things up. 4 days after surgery I still could not keep 15 cc of water down and he decided to go back in and pop 2 stiches to loosen me up. This is called a revision and he said he had only see this happen in 2 patients prior to me...and he has done this since the surgery came about. I had to go backunder general anthesia and into the OR again. By the next day I was drinking some water and by Sunday afternoon I was finally released. I am 2 weeks out from my 2nd surgery and down a total of 30 lbs. I had my 2 week follow up with my doc and he says I am doing better than most. I am back to walking 3 miles a day (which I had started the month prior to surgery). My main issues now are with constipation and all that fun stuff.. Some days I don't want to get out of bed. I am cranky as I miss food. I loved to eat and it is harder than I expected to go without. On Saturday I tried on some jeans than are a size 20 (I was in 24/26) and they were a bit loose. This was exciting but only temporarily lifted my spirits. I still feel a bit off...not sure why exactly but trying to move ahead and getting stronger. I am on stage 4 diet...some solids, and so far, so good. This is my first time on a blog, and I am anxious to read other people's stories as well as chronicle my own. Thanks for reading:))

I’m on day 10 post op. I had the sleeve too and I got the hunger feeling started yesterday but I noticed I didn’t have enough protein intake. I guess I have a mindset of 40-48g of protein but my dietitian advised me today that I can take more proteins. I was counting the bone broth as my protein intake which made me hungry a bit although I’m using the Paleo/Keto friendly broth with 10g of protein. I changed it today and I’m not hungry. Can’t wait for the soft/puréed stage next week. I started watching videos on YouTube and it’s interesting and I found them helpful for our next stage.

im totally on an egg salad and tuna fish kick right now... hopefully only another week or so of mushies so we'll see!

I'm about 8 weeks post-op and I'm still learning my new "plumbing" and signals! It definitely takes some time. I think it gets a little easier once you move to soft foods; the liquid & puree phases are mostly to allow time for healing. Also, some people do have hunger sensations post-op, though it is uncommon, so don't be concerned if you don't completely lose those feelings. Continue to focus on fluid intake and resting, and give yourself time to learn your new body!

Lala I just started my liquid diet today.. last week was a 800 calorie diet, I bought vanilla whey Protein from GNC, mixed it this morning with half frozen banana 4 oz skim milk and 4 oz Water and some ice and it was good!! I used the blender and it thick like a shake. Had a little broth today also...trying to watch the sodium in that its really high...tried the propel and Vitamin water also not a big fan..tomorrow i'll try to mix it up with sugar free juice...but i've tried to google different protein shakes and there are a lot out there just try to find what you like : )

Thanks everyone. I checked with my sister who is an nurse amd she assured me that I wouldn't have it in both legs and it sounds more circulatory. I will check with my doc last week. I am/ was morbidly obese so she things it was to do with nerves and weight.

I am beyond stressing! My surgery was approved and scheduled for 9/29. I had my medical clearance appointment this past weekend. My doctor never sent the script for a spleen ultrasound he wants done because on existing issue I have with my platelets. Fine. That's now scheduled for the Tuesday before the surgery. I had the ekg, blood work, and chest X-ray. The nurse at the hospital said it has to be sent over to my primary doctor for the clearance but everything looks great. I get to my primary today and he reviews it and says there is a problem with my ekg and he wants to repeat it. He does and the problem is still there. Inverted t waves. Said I need a stress test before he can clear me. I go to schedule it and nothing free until mid October. They are going to try and fit me in Monday. I go home and Google inverted t waves and now think I am about to have a heart attack any second! Im so nervous about my heart and I don't think the surgery is going to happen next week! Just venting. Thanks for getting this far lol. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Weight loss rates will all be around 1-2 lbs/week on the average, since your body is only able to burn so many calories a week. Initially, weight loss will be faster because your body burns glycogen instead of fat, which has lower energy density (it takes more grams glycogen to produce a given amount of energy than it would fat) and you lose a lot of Water in the process. Counting calories is crucial during the initial weeks/months of lap band until proper restriction is achieved. At that point, many people stop and rely on the band to do the work, others keep logging to keep overall control of their intake (most of us gained their weight by simply not paying attention). I usually log everything in Daily Plate, but dinners like yesterday's are impossible...two coworkers and I were at a Tapas restaurant and ordered 6 different small plates to share (if turned out too much food). All complex dishes with unknown ingredients and I had a bite of each....how to log? I've never done weight watchers, but from what I understand, the counting there never becomes optional. Lastly, there seem to be quite a few people who are afraid of being too tight (higher restriction levels often associated with long-term side effects) and intentionally or not stop before reaching the green zone. Some of them still have some restriction , but overall the weight loss is done by counting cals/carbs etc I say, do whatever works for you :-)

I'm just fact-finding as of now and have been reading posts about keeping track of calories, etc. and only losing 1-2 lbs per week. How is this different from weight watchers?

Im going through the same thing. My surgery is set for 9/1 and I have been doing good during the day at work but of course when I get home is when I cave. It hasn't been consistent but I have had some slip ups. Gonna refocus today and be on point from today until next week. I would hate to be told I have to reschedule for something I have full control over.

My gastric sleeve surgery is scheduled for this coming Thursday. I have been panicking, and as a result, I have been eating one big meal per day since my two week liquid pre-op diet started! I have been doing liquids for the majority of the day, but end up caving by the time evening comes. Yesterday was a good day because I stuck to the liquids. However, I'm petrified now because it's so close to my surgery, and this evening was not a good one. Any words of encouragement or advice on what to do? Is there any way that i will still be ok by Thursday?

For my bypass my insurance paid over $70k. I paid $3500 out of pocket. It's crazy how much this cost! 6 weeks post op I ended up back in the hospital for dehydration, UTI, and a stricture. For my 2.5 day stay and EGD my insurance paid 20k. Just crazy!! Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

Hi Randall, I'm a week before you for surgery so I'll keep you posted on what to expect. Welcome aboard.

I struggled this weekends, it was really hard. I do better during the week because I'm at work and I'm very busy. To make things worse I have been sick. I just got finish telling myself you can do this, so I got up and got a protein drink. I want a bag of chips so bad right now. It is a mind thing. If I get to hungry, I have been eating eggs or broth with white chicken meat in it. In my house Sunday is pasta night, this was the worse night yet. I love, no, I am addicted to pasta. ????. Not being able to eat pasta last night made me very depressed ????. It even made me rethink about having the procedure. I went to my room closed the door and I survived. 10 more days, seems so long. I have lost 15 pounds already.

Before surgery I would have one, then go months and months without a period, since surgery I have been having mine regular now, it might be a day or two off from the previous month, but it's always the last week of the month. Sent from my iPhone using VST

I have had a really hard time managing my diabetes (type 2). My A1c climbed to over 14 and now is back under 10 and going down, but I had an eye appointment this morning, and moderate retinopathy was found in my left eye. It's not serious enough to require treatment, but I do worry very much about the damage long-term high blood sugar levels have done to my eyes and the rest of my body. Improving my diabetes is second only to improving mobility as a motivator for having RNY in the spring. My main worry in this process is my depression. I have had pretty serious depression for most of my life. I have been in the best place in my adult life over these last 18 months, which is by far the longest stretch I haven't been in despair. There have been some low periods, but I've been able to come out of them more quickly and manage through them. I have the best combination of medications I have been on and have a good therapist and psychiatrist for medication management. Coming up for air like this is what is enabling me to envision a better future and start the path toward surgery. However, I am worried about relapse. When I am very depressed, I devote what very little energy I have to work, and self-care becomes a mighty struggle . Exercise or moving at all is sporadic at best, and anything more than opening a package to prepare a "meal" (even microwaving) is often too much (which leads to things like an A1c of 14). I understand that many people experience depression after surgery, and that was in fact one of the first things my surgeon told me at the consult. I am very concerned about going down the hole and what will happen if I can't care for myself in the way I will need to. Right now, in preparation for surgery in the spring, I am eating three relatively healthy meals, taking my vitamins, keeping a food diary, drinking fluids, exercising, even cooking a little, and things are going well...it's like a different world. I'm not sure what will happen if I become depressed again. I am really working on mindfulness and a meditation practice to keep me grounded through tough times, but I do not know if that will be enough. If anyone else has had similar struggles, how are you coping?

I went thru too. Am 8 weeks out and the sleepiness is better. Just another way our bodies are healing.

How did you qualify ?? I go next week for a seminar then get an appt !!! I'm excited and I can't wait to get approved !!!