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Hah, my first time around I cried and had tantrums, screaming in my car alone going "IF I COULD DO THIS I WOULDN'T NEED THE BAND!" hahaha. and I only had to do 7 days. I start my pre op diet in 10 days. It's hard not "getting the pizza in while I can" but I can't seem to help myself.

Congrats. Hope your doing well besides the liquids. Your band maybe too tight in hear that's one thing. I also tried sport drinks sugar free. We should be on pure liquids now but my menu is so short. Only says far free puding yogurt cream Soups very nasty in cans cream of wheat farina. Skim milk that's about it for the next 10 days. I hope I can survive.

Hey everyone, I'm researching the Lap Band procedure and any info is appreciated. I do not have insurance, however, I have access to the fees it will take to get the procedure done, so anyone out there who also did not have insurance and you have any info, also appreciated!!! Please share with me your thoughts, your progress, your feelings...... I am 48 years old, and I am emotionally and physically drained. I can't go on at this weight I carry around. I isolate and avoid social situations, and of course this is why I have not enjoyed a relationship with a man for the last 10 years. I know this sounds silly, but I don't want to die alone. I have no children, the sense of loss and feelings of regret and time lost haunts me every day, and I need to, well, "get a life." I look forward to sharing with you....

Three days out and there are times I pretty well feel starving. It's really hard to think that it's going to be 10 days until I get on the pureed diet. I really appreciate all the suggestions here.

I am at goal after just over two years with my band. I lost 87 pounds & weigh 131 now, you can do the math. I don't want to have my band removed, but I had to have it unfilled. I really pushed it to keep it filled long enough to loss the last 10 pounds. I knew it had slipped. It took work for me to even get enough liquid down. It was one small swallow at a time. I couldn't eat much of anything. I had bouts of nighttime acid reflux, & by the time I reached goal & went to TJ for, at least a partial refill, I had a pretty severe case of gastritis. When the fill doctor looked at the floroscope he said I had to totally unfill the band. Of course I dreaded this, fearing immediate weight gain, but he left me no choice and I wasn't surprised. He also said about 80% of the people whose band looked like this had to have them out, but then also noted a couple of things in favor of me beating those odds. It's been more than a month & the gastritis has almost resolved & after 3 weeks on liquids & mushies, I can eat most anything. I still have restriction on certain things; chicken, salad, sticky rice,etc., but mainly I can eat most anything. The really great thing is that after almost 5 weeks, I haven't gained weight. I have been on Weight Watchers all along. It's just before it was easy, now I have to work at it, but so far so good. I made it to goal & am a Lifetime member. I want to keep my band so I can get it refilled if I need to. I am cautiously optimistic. By the way - I look great, at least to me, and I'm enjoying the heck out of buying size 8 clothes.

Hi Felicity, My starting weight\size is as follows: WT 227; Size 16. Not 5.5 month later and I can fit into a size 10\ WT 178lbs

THis is such an awesome feeling! A size 10 in jeans. So proud of everyone here! keep Rockin our Sleeves! :wub:

That's great! My starting size is a 16 and now they are literally falling off of me 1 month post op and need to buy some 14's. I have some 12's from years ago but they won't fit for a while. I can't wait to buy a size 10! That is amazing! I hope to be as successful as you.

Two questions for those a little further down the line post op. I am 2 1/2 months post op and just started getting what I would call acid reflux, If I eat anything even close to bedtime I wake up 30 min to an hour later with stomach acid coming up in my throat... UGH. My Dr did not prescribe anthing for acid, but I take one occasionally. Would you just start taking one every day or continue only as needed. Or is this a sign of something more serious. This just started recently. And I might add, I can only eat very small portions. 2nd. My brother whom I am very close to and was my inspiraton for having WLS was sleeved by the same doctor in April. He now says his appetite has returned in full force and has gained 10 pounds back! I am terrified this will happen to me, I want to lose weight not gain it back! He does have an issue with his foot which is making it impossible to exercise. But still to regain your appitite after 5 months or so is scary. Is this normal?

I have almost waist length hair, so hair toys are a bit of a hobby for me. I have found 2 recently that are wonderful!!!!!! First is my new brush - the tangle teezer ($10 @ Sally's). I love, love, love this thing. It's a palm held brush, which takes a little getting used to, but I loose about 1/4 of the hairs I do with combing or other brushes. Highly recommend! Secondly is my new hair clip.......if you've used the plastic jaw clips and hate having to lean forward in a seat, you'll love this - Flexi 8 (*think* $10 - $20 depending on size). It functions like a clip, but is the most comfortable thing I have ever worn in my hair, again, no hair loss, unlike any other hair toys. They have a website (no, I'm not associated with either company, in case you're wondering) just google flexi 8 - I can also wear this all day with a bun and when I take my hair down no headache. Hope this helps somebody, especially with the summer heat around the corner

Hi Shanna, Like you I am also a Registered Nurse, been fat all of my life, tried every diet only to lose some weight and gain it all back and I also think this is the best WLS to have. For the last 10 years I have researched every WLS procedure and have settled on the Sleeve. By nature and trade I worry because I know of al the possible complications. Now that I have been approved I am thinking more about the " what ifs". However I know that if I don't get the weight off now at the age of 52 I will more than likely have serious health problems in the future. I have a 20 year old daughter and I want to live to see her become an old lady!

Surgery went well, after a few hours of being in the hospital it became so overwhelming. I had an anxioity attact. I came home yesterday. Still overwhelmed. Please keep me on prayer. Sharon

I started drinking decaf a few days after surgery, then real coffee again (the leaded stuff, no decaf! ) at about 5-6 weeks. I'm a little over a year out and I now drink about 6-8...sometimes 10 cups a day. Splenda, a little Hershey's cocoa powder and/or sugar-free vanilla Coffee-Mate. I know, I know...that's a lot of coffee and it's really bad for me and my heart will probably explode and it affects global warming and...whatever! I enjoy it and thus far it hasn't had a negative impact, so I'm drinkin' it! Some folks tolerate it fine and others have issues. Good luck and Godspeed on your journey!

I'm assuming you are pre op? Well if you are, good for you. During my pre op I was starving for the first 8 to 9 days, and I was drinking the meal replacement shakes. And I was eating a small protein meal at the end of the day. I was suffering from carb withdrawals big time. Now if you are post op, that's a different story. I was on approx 50 calories a day for 10 days and never felt hungry. I was low energy, but not hungry. Most people struggle with major hunger during the pre op liquid diet. If you are pre op and not hungry, CONGRATS!

men metabolize different than women so they tend to lose faster and also the heavier a person is the first to go is always water so the weight loss at first can go faster then it slows when you are working off the fat. I lost 40lbs first month at 10 lbs a week first month then it slowed to about 2 lbs a week.

Hello everyone, we can do this!!! 10 more days until my surgery. I'm feeling good, staying hydrated & praying that everyone's surgery & pre-post op liquid diets go well. I'm on a 1200 diet calorie liquid diet. My calorie in take is no more than 620. My protein shakes are 30 grams of protein. I thought I would have 2 shakes per meal but I'm full after the 1st one.

This and the other success stories have me more optimistic then ever before. Presently with the 50 lbs I lost pre op my last A1C was 6.9 my average novo rapid usage is down to maybe 10-14 units a day usually after supper. Traditionally my biggest meal of the day. I take 2 g of metformin in a day 1g in morning And 1 g supper time. I take Victoza and invokana in the morning and about 35 units of Humilin N at night time. So it's my hope to be med free with the next 50 lbs and post op surgery date is may 31 and it's a gastric bypass. Cheers, Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

If you use myfitnesspal.com, share a few of your daily menus. If you don't, recreate them here as best as you can. It isn't going to be 100% menu - but it's a place to start. My loss with the sleeve is definitely slower & WAY more irregular than with my band. Believe it or not, I was kind of in your shoes. II lost more than 6 pounds initially, way more, but most if it was in 2 weeks (i.e. fluid). Then about a week after that, I hit a stall that lasted... 10 - 11 weeks. So had my initial weightloss been less, which it would've been if I'd had a "real" pre-op diet (I only had 2 days of SF liquids), I could've said the same thing you're saying now. Considering that, my best advice is to hang in there. I think in your heart of hearts you know it has to work, and that something's gotta give. If you can sustain no weightloss with a sleeve long term, you're going to be doing some shopping because that $1.5M prize money that comes with winning the Nobel peace prize for curing world hunger will be in the mail. I really thought loss would be at least comparable, if not faster. I mean, I could easily splurge with the band as long as all the planets were aligned, which is not the case now. It's a bot of a head scratcher. Lots of popular theories. As a former hare who has turned into a relative tortoise - bah!

Newgrandmother...glad to hear you are OK, although it sounds like a rough experience. I think we were sleeved the same day (9/10) and I am feeling a tiny better each day but knw that there can still be some complications. Hopefully being at home and getting a good nights sleep will be a big step. Keep us posted!

My insurance required that I go to a Center for Excellence, so that only gave me two options. I think all of your options were things I considered in my decision, but ultimately I have to say I went with my gut. What sold me, more than anything, was the video I saw of my surgeon. His compassion and care for the work he did was so evident in that video it reduced me to tears because I knew I had found someone who understood - really understood - the complexity of morbid obesity. I was not disappointed when I went to my first visit. This is the first physician I've seen since the age of 10 who did not denigrate me, lecture me or treat me as sub-human. His staff was equally compassionate and professional and the hospital was truly amazing in their friendliness and care of me during my stay. I do not regret my decision one iota.

Boy, are we on the same wave length! However, I found out today when I made my appointment for 4 weeks post band that my doctor also just wants patients to heal for the first few weeks. I was banded on July 23, and was getting a little anxious. My brother and his son were both banded a year ago (different doctor) and the weight started coming off quickly but now has slowed. I had begun to think that it was another one of those "guys just lose faster than gals" things. But I feel too good now, even with a minimal (8 pound) loss, and since I found out that there is basically no restriction for me yet, I can hardly wait for my first fill. All of my other systems are ready and set for launch! I think we really to have to be patient at first, get well, and then use the lap band as the tool it is. As for pain--well, I have survived 7 orthopedic surgeries in the past 10 years. Because of my weight my joints were shot. Believe me, the pain from the lap band is minimal to a total knee replacement, and THEY want you to get up and stand on that lovely implant on the first day too. Just take it easy and get well!:clap2:

Thank You all.. In the original post I had talked about how I was having pain in my left shoulder "above the left breast, bellow the collar bone" and how it was down in my left ribs. I had called my surgeons office about it and they said it sounded like normal excess gas pains from surgery "They have some patiants that complain with gas pains 3 months out" They told me to take it easy and if it didn't get better in a few days to call them back. That was Tuesday that I was finally able to talk to them. Friday I called back because I couldn't take them pain any longer. It was to much for me to be comfortable with, and I was already a big cry baby that day because I was hurting all week. Anyway off subject I called the surgeons office back and they told me that if its hurting still then I need to go to the nearest ER and get it looked at it didn't sound like it was gas pains any longer. The first hospital I went to was in our home town. We sat there and waited for hours before finally getting called back and after they took me back they stuck me twice to put an iv in. Finally i went back for what I thought was a complete CT Scan of my abdomin "boy was I wrong" They scanned my heart and the top part of my lungs for blood clots said everything was clear and perfect and that I could go home. The following night "Saturday" we had dinner with hubby's boss and co-workers. I felt ok "still in pain" so I sat back and listened to everyone chat around 8 I couldn't take it anymore we had to go home. By the time we left the restaraunt and got home my temp was 103.2 I took some tyelnol and a cool shower and went to bed. All night long I ran fever as high as 104.7 and as low as 102.9. Finally hubby was able to get ahold of my surgeon and thank goodness for that. He told hubby to bring me straight to the hospital he was calling ahead for test, but he wanted me here asap. That was around 9:30 we live an hour away so I got here around noon. Got checked in and the test started. First on the list was the chest x-ray which showed pneumonia 2nd on the list was blood work which showed elevated white blood cell count. 3rd on the list came around 10 that night and that was the Contrast CT Scan of my abdonimal area all the way down to my pelvis. That is what showed the fluid build up around the diaphragm and the absess on the outside of the lung. It was from that ever so scary OMG What if It happens to Me Leak!! I never knew I had it and never felt any pain in my stomach/abdominal area. It was always in my chest/shoulder and down my ribs all where the pain from pneumonia presents. I am not pleased with the hospital in our home town and will probably never use them again simply because had they found this Friday Night I would probably be typing this at home instead of in a hospital room over an hour away from my family,,

Sorry if they are sidways, I don't know how to turn them.... Fat picture was 10 months ago on day of surgery.......... Skinny Picture was last week at Dr appointment.

I have pair of size 14 jeans I bought when I lost a bunch of weight 10 years ago. They are at the top of my NSV list (but about 120lbs away). Gettin my band December 18th. Congrats to you on your NSV!

It is interesting what is being proposed in the United Kingdom. The NHS will ban patients from surgery indefinitely unless they lose weight or quit smoking, under controversial plans drawn up in Hertfordshire. The restrictions mean those with a Body Mass Index of 30 or more will be set targets to reduce their weight by 10 per cent over nine months, with those with a BMI over 40 will be told to cut their weight by 15 per cent. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/17/nhs-provokes-fury-indefinite-surgery-ban-smokers-obese/ The National Health Service (NHS) is the public health services of England, Scotland and Wales, and is commonly used to refer to those of Northern Ireland.