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Delarla, I am so sorry that you are feeling bummed out, I've been really depressed cause of the problems I had with my fill last week, I can't even begin to imagine How I could cope with what you have been through. You have to give yourself credit, you are a very strong woman and a great example for us all. You have shown so much courage through all of your problems, you are greatly admired by many of us. I pray and hope that what ever shall come, comes with ease and doesn't bring you down. If you decide to have your band removed, use what you have learned to maintain the weight off, the band is only a tool, you are the one doing the work, so keep working at it and everything will work out just fine. I am truly sorry for all your financial hardships, I know how you feel, I paid for my surgery out of pocket and had an even larger bill from the hospital visit I had after surgery from complications (I don't have health insurance), they did three MRI's and some x rays so my hospital bill for a four hour visit totaled $12,000, yep twice as much as my surgery did. I know how frustating and depressing it is. So, I have been thinking of putting donation jars at the convenience stores to finance all the plastic surgery I will need after my weightloss, so maybe you can do the same. LOL So what do you think I should put on my donation jar, besides my picture??? Lets come up with something really clever to get everyone to drop some change in the jars... So what do you say, will you help me by placing some donation jars where your at? Let me know, I'll get the pictures printed. I'll be waiting for any other clever money making ideas, let me know if you have any, maybe we can have a bake sale? Probably not a good idea, sweets are my weekness.... Cheer up and let put our heads together and come up with some great money making ideas..

I am 56 and 5'8". I was 232 the day of surgery less than 3 months ago and I'm 194 today. No complications and no problems healing. I also had a big hiatal hernia repaired at the same time. I say go for it!

Thanks Diane, I'm excited but scared to death also-esp after reading the complications thread...I'm worried about allergic reactions/rejection since I have really bad allergies.. -Sara

I was very mad when I heard about the things that were being said about Dr. Kelly. I believed he was a great surgeon and my sister and cousin, who had their surgery with him, also believed that. A Lighter Me was insinuating that there was a problem with Dr. Kelly regarding safety but did not elaborate. So I decided to look into these allegations myself so I could prove them wrong. I was shocked by what I found! Besides doing surgery at florence, there are 3 other hospitals that I found where Dr. Kelly has performed surgery. I called all 3 of them. I called INT Hospital (01152-664-634-7408) and they told me that in no way is Dr. Kelly allowed to perform surgery in their hospital. They would not tell me why. I called Angeles Hospital (01152-664-635-1800). They also said that Dr. Kelly cannot perform surgeries there. Then I called Mi Doctor Hospital (800-969-1654 / they have a U.S. 800 number). I spoke directly to Dr. Tepperman who told me that he owns the hospital. He also said that Dr. Kelly is not welcome in his hospital any longer! I spoke to the person that was at Florence Hospital with her daughter that had surgery with Dr. Kelly when that patient died back in June. Here is the link of what was discussed on one of the forums, http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/20830-two-people-dying-recently-in-mexico-on-the-operating-table/page__hl__%20kelly%20%20died__st__20 This woman’s daughter had surgery first then the girl that died had her surgery next. She said when they went looking for Debbie, Dr. Kelly told them that she had a complication and was transported to another hospital from Florence. He didn’t tell them what hospital. Then they said he finally admitted that she died in surgery. He told them she had a pulmonary embolism. Trish later came in and told them that the patient went into shock and had bled to death. The woman called Debbie’s family when she returned home and they told her that Debbie died after bleeding to death from a nicked artery. I don’t know much about pulmonary embolisms but I thought that if that happened it would take a little while. Doesn’t a blood clot have to form, then break off and travel to the lungs? How can that happen immediately while the patient is on the table? I checked this site and cannot find Dr. Kelly’s license. http://www.cedulapro...Avanzada.action I also researched A Lighter Me and found that they have been in business for 7 years and they are members of the BBB with no complaints. I don’t know if that means they completely tell the truth, but I just thought I would mention this because I looked into it. I don’t know if anyone will find the full truth. Several people didn’t want to give me details, but I am not going to recommend Dr. Kelly anymore since I have found these things. There are other doctor’s that don’t have this kind of doubt attached to them. Here are the phone numbers for the hospitals that I called. INT Hospital 01152-664-634-7408 Hospital MI Doctor 800-969-1654 Hospital Angeles 01152-664-635-1800

I posted about this on the sleeve forum before. I developed GERD after my sleeve and was able to control it with one PPI a day until the end of 2020 where it's increased to two PPIs, 1 H2 and tums all day. Had issues with vomiting, nausea, stomach and chest pain. Difficulty swallowing. Sore throat since December. Had an endoscopy 3/3. Lax LES causing GERD, gastritis and a nodule in the antrum of the stomach that appears to be benign but will be removed in an endoscopic ultrasound in June as a precaution as it has a small risk of turning cancerous later on. Gastroenterologist referred me to my bariatric surgeon believing revision is needed. My surgeon wasn't sure on revision because I have lost all my excess weight with no regain. I have only been in maintenance for 4 months though. He sent me for a barium swallow. Had the barium swallow and the radiologist found esophogeal dysmotility and a hernia that the endoscopy had missed. Radiologist said I will either need a nissen fundoplication or revision to bypass along with hernia repair When I called my surgeon's office to schedule a follow up the nurse said something about maybe a hernia repair would be enough which left me feeling confused. I told her I want do whatever has the best chance of not having more complications or needing more surgery in the future. I had my galbladder out June 2020 after sleeve June 2019 and really just want to be healthy with no more surgery. My follow up is on Tuesday. I am not sure what my surgeon is going to recommend. From posts here it seems nissen isn't the best option for sleeve patients. Would hernia repair be enough or is revision to bypass the best option? I just don't want to be getting hernia repair and then still have reflux be a problem due to my esophagus and end up needing a revision later on.

I realize that a lot of people have higher BMI's than me. I turned 60 this year which almost makes me feel if when the insurance receives these pre-certs if that plays into their decision. I feel my age might be used against me here but idk. The thing is both of my parents died in their 60's due to complications of diabetes. They both had heart disease and heart surgery. They had many different illnesses and I have been fortunate so far as far as that goes. I just want to make a positive change now before it is too late!

I start my Pre Op diet in the morning.. My Doctor has me on 3 protein shakes day and 2 frozen dinners with less than 30 calories and less than 30 Carbs.. I had 3 choices to choose from but decided to go this route.. I hope my Liver shrinks in the 2 weeks so I do not have complication on the 16th of April when I have my surgery..

I stayed 2 days. They said I could be released after the first night because I was doing well, but I was really dizzy and opted to stay an additional night. No complications here.

Thank you Marie, Alex, Vicki and Donali for your replies and support. I feel so strangely. LIke 2 people fighting in my head. One calm and rational, thinking " I knew it! I was right!" and angry that my doctor chose to think of me as a hysterical hypocondriac. I know at some level that I can't wait, and I know I don't have to tell if I don't want, and I know what comes next so I should be less scared. And then, there is Ms. hysterical hypocondriac ( which means my doctor must have been dealing with her and not me all this time and had no choice but to think I was exagerating) wanting to run away and have this magically fixed without going through surgery again, wondering whether I should have the band removed instead, rather than going through this again in the future. I wanted to have another baby next year and now, with this "complication" it just seems that my band and pregnancy dont mix (specially when last time I was throwing up all day every day for 6 months, and a horrible retching attack while changing a diaper moved my band 2 months ago). Then the guilt of "lying". I read Gail's post and thought "she shouldn't feel guilty! She doesnt have to tell!" But now, after avoiding lying the first time, I get to go through this again! and instead of just dissappearing for a few weeks, i will have to avoid and tell them im having the reflux fixed, which is true, if not the whole truth. I am working on my husband, explaining that if he sticks to " fixing the reflux" its not actually a lie. But his mother is so nosy! Called the Dr. and told him what happened. He sounded a bit annoyed, but said he highly recomends this surgeon, so I guess thats a good thing. Talking to him, I felt like a child, terrified of dissappointing a parent. I have serious issues! Thank you all. Sorry I made it so long! Tellie

hi everyone, I am a recent sleever, currently living in Thailand. I had my VSG on the 18th of February by a wonderful surgeon, and I am receving tremendous support from my nutritionist as I work through the post-op diet. I had minimal complications (that I am aware of), and I as home within 2 days after surgery. I decided to join the forum for some moral support, as Thailand currently does not have the neccesary support system post-op, yet. I have a question I am hoping someone could help me figure out. I started the whole journey at 104kg, and lost 6kg pre-op, left the hospital after surgery at 100kg(I did not urinate much for 1000mg of IV for 2 days) and went down to 92kg within 2 weeks(I think it was all Water weigh, though) I've been on the post-op diet regime for the past 3 weeks, eating average of 600-700cal and 50-60gm of Protein per day. I've also recently gotten back to the gym for light cardio. However, it seems I have not lost any weigh for the past 1 week! It just seems strange to not lose anything with such low calories consumption! Have I hit the starvation mode button on my body? Any help, thoughts, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

Unfortunately, though for most of us recovery very mild, for some there is some pain. All I can say right now is tomorrow will be better, and the next day will be even better than tomorrow. Barring any complications, a week from now your biggest problems will be head hunger and making sure to get all your liquids. I know it doesn't make sense right now, but in a month today will actually be a fond memory. This is the beginings of your new, much improved life.

A big hello to all my special May 06'er friends! It has been a while since I have checked in and I do hope you are all doing well. I am in decent health....no major complications....and still a walking miracle! My wt loss .... well, that falls short of what I wanted and expected for this amount of time post surgery! As you may recall, my first fill was delayed until Jan 07.....then my secong fill a few months later, turned out to be too tight. It took me a couple of months to get the time to go and have the unfill and the doc did a floro to be sure everything was in place. It was and yet to my dismay he totally unfilled me for a few months just for observation. Fast forward to Jan 08 (a week ago) and I have just had my first fill since the unfill. He only gave me a whopping 0.50 to start with. I don't even feel any restriction, but he wants to go very slow with me as "I am special" Lol! In the meantime, I joined a motivational wt loss seminar given at a nearby hospital and it is getting me mentally back in the wt loss zone. We are targeting a 2lb loss per week and I have lost 4 lbs in 2 weeks....right on the mark. Small steps...but hopefully the start of my real long term success. I am so very ready...as I have waited way too long. I am sure you have all done super and lost tons of wt by now. I am so happy for all of you......it is certainly a long journey. I'd love to hear how near to your goals you have become.....and how absolutely stunning you are all now! My warmest wishes and Happy New Year.....smiles....Diane : )

Actually that's not true at all. In fact, studies show the band has a very low failure rate and the majority of Lap Band patients maintain their weight loss long term. It also shows that 2 year weight loss results are comparable to the Gastric Bypass or Sleeve. Here is the study: http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/weight-stays-off-long-after-lap-band-surgery/ The main cause of revision to other WLS isn't band failure, it's patient failure. The exception to that rule would be in the case of the old 4cc bands- which have been discontinued in the UK and US due to a high complication rate.

@@emsgirl114, hematomas are a very common complication and it doesn't mean that something went wrong. However, when a hematoma is that extensive it is typically opened up, drained, and sometimes a JP device is placed for 2 or 3 days to allow further drainage of the wound, and patients are placed on antibiotics. If your hematoma was large enough that it caused your blood pressure to drop when it burst opened, your surgeon should have had you come in for treatment. Your second picture does look better but the dehiscence of that surgical site will need medical care.

Angie, I'm sticking with my theory that the new placement site is the difference. It will be an interesting question to ask your doctor. I am betting it feels nice to be able to eat without pain, but scary as well for fear of regain. Insurance companies do pay for life-threatening complications. I'd think a slip that severe qualifies, but I am no expert. I'd be concerned as well. I does sound as though your surgeon has had experience with insurance and going the ER route. That might have been very wise. Keep us posted as to how you are doing!!

I know scheduling is rough, but you need to make going back to your doctor for a slight unfill a priority. A band too tight can lead to slips and worse complications. You definitely don't want to mess with that.

DonnaGT, Don't be scared and PLEASE PLEASE don't regret that you had the surgery! You just took a HUGE step to get healthy :clap2: and to take control of your life and live happily w/out health problems, self-esteem issues, etc. Yes, there will be a tiny % of people that do develop problems with the band but you will find that with any WLS. No surgery will work for EVERY PERSON. The band is by far the least invasive and you have a much better chance of remaining complication-free from this than the bypass. If you do have a problem down the road, oftentimes it is fixable. Please take this time to heal and remain positive. You are on your way to a happier, thinner you! :biggrin1: ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 Dr.Ortiz 241 highest/237 surgery/205/150 5'7''

Hello, Jenny. I was very interested in your allergic reaction, and that you had seen warnings about this in the manufacturer's brochures. I was not aware of any such possible complications, and had planned to keep my band in for the rest of my life. This past May, I started having severe pain and feeling generally rotten. One doctor (who obviously knew nothing about reading CT scans and x-rays, but who does install lapbands!) said my band was "upside down and out of place, and had to come out). He tried to take the saline out of my band and only succeeded in hurting me. I elected to go all the way back to NJ to the surgeon who had put the band in before we moved. The band was not "upside down," nor out of place, but my esophogus was badly swollen, part of my pouch was above the band, and I needed to have my gall bladder out, plus I was full of infections and had to be on antibiotics before and after surgery. He said he'd try to keep my band in, but had to remove it because of the swelling of my esophogus. I gained 27 pounds quickly and have been filled with panic. However, in one week, I managed to lose 5 pounds, and have been going twice a week to a cardiac rehab class working out on machines. I still attend a bariatric support group which also helps. The one thing that has really helped me food-wise is making homemade Soups, and having a mug of hot Soup to start the day. Somehow, this seems to keep my hunger level down! Plus, making the soupos myself, I know what's in them, and can keep the sodium level way down. I cook a whole bunch of veggies (some frozen, some fresh, depending on my mood) and 3-5 chickn thighs. Then I use a slotted spoon to take out all the solids and dump them with a little of the liquid into the blender. Blend, then dump back into the liquid still in the pot. After it all cools down, I pour some into about 5 containers to put in the freezer, leaving just one out for immediate use. Sometimes, I add a jar of baby food (like chicken,rice and veggy meal) too. It tastes better than the store soup, has almost no salt at all, and I know I have a constant supply in the freezer in 2-day amounts. After hearing what some others have gone through, I am thinking twice about having another band put in after 6 months of healing. Now I think I should use that one year I had (lost 100 pounds) as a wonderful jumpstart, and have lots of soups and drink lots of ice Water, plus several small meals daily. My hope is that I can lose another 75 pounds and learn to live this better way. My NJ surgeon had wondered if I wanted to consider gastric bypass, but I have heard too many horror stories about that to think about doing such a drastic thing and possibly dying in the effort to lose the weight! I too have a lot of allergies but not as many as you have. It has taken me about 2 months to recover from the surgery when my band was removed and at the same time, my gall bladder. I'm starting to feel human again & am determined to do the few exercises I can do (I'm in a wheelchair some of the time, and use crutches to walk the rest of the time, so I can not work out the same way as most people can, but there are some good exercises I can do.) Also, I'm training myself to use commercials on TV as an exercise time -- when the ads come on, I can do all sorts of arm exercises and even rotate my feet back and forth until the program comes back on. Stretching a few minutes upon waking up in the morning seems to calm my hunger too; I have always awakened RAVENOUS! I do hope you will gain strength back soon and maybe find a bariatric support group where you live. Being with people who have experienced this is so helpful. Doctors may have lots of knowledge, but few of them understand at a gut level what this Life Battle is really about for us. Try the soup routine? Take care. "C.J." (user name CJBD)

I also lost my band due to erosion around my 18th month. Something tells me you're going to start feeling better soon. There still aren't enough long-term studies for any doctor to know 100% of potential band complications, and I don't believe the band is for everybody. One of my many surgeons diagnosed me with "band rejection." Even though he isn't the most admired man around here, he has been doing bands for over a decade, so who knows? Maybe band rejection or allergic reactions really are potential complications? Good luck, and I hope you start feeling better soon.

Hi marys. Thanks so much - I am feeling much better now that I've been de-banded. I haven't had a fever since having the band removed. I still get a little dizziness and vertigo from time to time - but it is GREATLY improved and getting better every day. My doctors say it can take years for the vestibular system (the balance system) to get back to normal, so it's not surprizing that I'm still a little dizzy. To answer your question - yes, I have the Inamed LapBand. My surgeon wants to see me again in a few months to see if I'm still feeling better - and to see if my blood work supports my improvement. At that point (if all is well) she said she would write it up and submit my case to the FDA and possibly a medical journal article to let other doctors know of my complication. I must stress that my case is EXTREMELY rare. So far there has only been one case of an allergic reaction to the LapBand - my case would be number two. So I'm six weeks band removal post-op. I've finally been given the go-ahead for exercising. Yeah! I really miss it! Besides, I've been so inactive for the past year or so, that I really need to get my butt moving to try to shed these extra pounds! The weight loss is going slow (I guess that's good in the long run anyway - right?), but I've managed to lose 12 pounds in the past 6 weeks! I'm using Weight Watchers this time around, and I think it's something I can stick with for life. I'll keep everyone posted on my recovery. And I'll let you know if my doctors end up sumbitting my case to the FDA.

OKAY, SOOO sorry for confusion. THIS IS for CHAMPVA folks. Now I feel REALLY stupid.........But, seems like we should really push for TRICARE to adopt this, too. I mean, how much money can they be saving with the complications from RNY?? Cathy

Sorry if the lede was misleading--long intro thread, unrelated to the surgeon in GA, a former poster in the Lap-Band forum, or a grocer who sold toilet tissue. Also not a BM discussion, although I gather those are popular 'round these parts. Hello, all. Apologies for the length; maybe the info or discussions will help some in the future. Like many here, I’ve battled obesity my entire life, from Husky-sized jeans to a HW of 453 in 2017. Through a counselor, I connected with a weight loss PCP, and by working with him and a NUT have lost 130 lbs in 2 years. I was content with this method and pace, but circumstances had other plans. This past summer, I presented with symptoms consistent with gallstones. After an external ultrasound showed nothing, PCP ordered an EUS. Surprise, pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET), on my birthday, no less! Consults with surgical and medical oncologists ensued, and while I have the kind of cancer that killed Steve Jobs, as long as I don’t treat it with carrot juice and happy thoughts, it probably won’t kill me tomorrow. That’s good, since as a husband and father, I want to stick around. The (hopefully not) killer, though, is that my cancer doesn’t show up on bloodwork or CT, and only marginally on PET. Med and surg onc, per secondary and tertiary opinions, concur that the best treatment plan is to cut it out. What has this to do with WLS, you ask? As I wrote above, I was happy to keep losing my 5 lbs/month, see where I landed, and make further lifestyle changes when I plateaued. However, the cancer I have, according to World-Class Oncologists ™, can flip a switch any time and go from not-a-problem to Patrick Swayze-level, and nobody understands exactly why or how. WLS enters the picture as a catalyst to accelerate treatment. The thinking is that VSG (my recommended procedure, based on my initial consult with Dr. Hussain and the bariatric team at UC) will drastically en-rapidate my weight loss, possibly helping me drop as much as 70-90% of my excess body weight in the next 9-12 months. In that way, the surg onc should be able to operate on a healthier patient with fewer complications, especially if, as seems likely, he has to pivot to what would be, at worst, a laparoscopic Whipple procedure. Being a lesser man at the time of that surgery should make the whole process less risky overall, but that’s just one of the questions for the surgical team that I’ll begin to firm up once I start the formal pre-op process. I’ve been assessed as a near-ideal bariatric candidate by psych based on my previous work, and by NUT based on the low-carb high-protein changes we’ve institutionalized in our family lifestyle. We even gave the NUT two recipes she said she’d share with her patients! I have concerns in both areas, though, that I’m working to get a handle on—psych, given my history with depression, and nutrition, since some of the strategies I’ve used to be successful up to now might not be compatible with VSG. Anyway, thanks for letting me introduce myself and overshare. If you have any relevant thoughts or experience on the above, especially if you have had, or know anyone who has had, a Whipple procedure after a VSG, I’d REALLY like to hear from you, since there’s not much in the open literature on it. I’ll maybe post more details, questions, etc., in the relevant sub-forums if I can’t find something through search, but again, thanks for letting me vent and share.

Oh ok Friday! You got this Good Luck 🍀 and know we're rooting for you. Take advantage of the pain meds to get up and walk as soon as you can. Walking all the air they put into you before going home. Make sure you have all your pills you'll need at home to stay comfortable. Don't push yourself to do too much too fast. Stick to your surgeons instructions. They're not mean they're trying to help you so there are no complications. Be patient with yourself. New normal is weird. If your surgeon is like mine he wants you to have best possible outcome (then his numbers look good too) 😂 You go GIRL! 👏🏻 🎉

I belonged to the CPC (Clean Plate Club) for over 50 years, so I consider myself something of an expert on it (and I am, after all, The World’s Greatest Living Expert on Everything). I thought it was a lifetime membership, but my bariatric surgeon rescued me from the CPC Cult – oh, excuse me, Club - and deprogrammed me so that I’m able to function more or less like a normal person now. Here’s my story. I was inducted to the CPC as a child, when I was too young to realize that the promise of going to heaven if I always cleaned my plate was a bit more complicated than it sounded at the time. All I wanted to do at the time was to please the cult leaders: my mother and my grandmother. I have reason to believe that my grandmother, whom I called Dranny, was the original founder of the CPC. Orphaned as a small child, she was passed around the family like a piece of unwanted furniture, and she raised her own children during the Great Depression. Through the combination of those circumstances and her own peculiar (and wonderful) character, Dranny was a pack rat. She didn’t live in filth and disorder (just the opposite, actually), but she couldn’t bear to throw anything away, especially not food. If three green peas were leftover from a meal and she hadn’t been able to persuade someone to eat them, she would lovingly place them in a custard cup covered with a shower-cap style cover (this was in the days before Glad Wrap), and store them in the fridge, where they would remain until someone ate them (or my mother threw them out while Dranny was in another room). I’m a lot like my grandmother in various ways, and also something of a pack rat. So after eating my way through hundreds of childhood meals with Dranny and my mom (who was not a pack rat, but who was offended by the idea of wasting food that she’d worked so hard to procure and prepare), I emerged into adolescence with warring impulses – part of me still wanted to clean my plate, and part of me wanted to starve so that I could lose weight and be as skinny as the British supermodel, Twiggy. 101 WAYS TO CLEAN YOUR PLATE One of my problems with meal planning and storage is that it's hard for me to predict how much food I'll be able to eat at a future meal. Often I don't know that until I've eaten several bites. My basic strategy for dealing with this unpredictability is to keep my plate clean from the very start so that the food I leave behind doesn't overwhelm me or provoke an attack of guilt that could bring down Dranny's loving wrath upon me. A simple way to keep your plate clean is to prepare smaller batches of food so you won't be tempted by serving dishes overflowing with food or burdened with an excess of leftovers. I can't speak to recipes for baked goods (not my department), but most other recipes can be easily cut in half, thirds, or even quarters through the use of simple arithmetic. Sometimes I prepare the whole recipe, subdivide into 2 or 3 batches, serve one batch immediately and freeze the other 2 for future use. When we lived in the northeast, the elderly widow who lived next door was delighted when we shared excess food with her. Sharing food with family, friends, and coworkers can yield multiple benefits. When I'm craving a food or recipe whose leftovers would be a problem for me to store (or resist), I prepare a big batch of it for whatever social event is on the horizon and keep only one or two portions of it at home so that we get to enjoy it without having to worry about to do with all that food. I use cheap, recycled, throw-away packaging so that no one can insist that I take my corning ware, Pyrex or Tupperware container of leftovers home with me. You can also keep your plate clean by using the portioning technique I recommend for bandsters who are still learning their band eating skills, food portion sizes, and stop signals. Here's how it works for me. When planning my day's food (which I commit to my food log and my accountability partner every morning), I might decide that I'll eat 4 ounces (by weight) of chicken thigh and 1/2 cup of barley and veggy salad for dinner. Come dinner time, I grab my small plate (a salad plate) and put half of my planned meal on it: 2 ounces of chicken and ¼ cup of the salad. If I'm able to finish that, great. If I'm still physically hungry when I'm done with it, I go back to the kitchen and dish up the remaining 2 ounces of chicken and ¼ cup of salad. At the end of the meal, I'll probably have only 1 or 2 tablespoons worth of food to save or throw out instead of a plateful of food, therefore much less guilt to deal with. When I do have a plateful of food leftover, I usually scrape it into a small plastic container that I can quickly grab and stick in my lunch bag when I go to work the next day. Fortunately, we actually like leftovers at our house, and arguments occasionally break out over unauthorized consumption of leftover food ("Who ate the rest of the eggplant Parmesan?!?"). The same approach works with restaurant meals. We're happy to take leftovers home in what used to be called a doggy bag (as if I'd share my Maryland crab cakes with a dog!). My sister-in-law used to scrape leftover food into a bucket to add to her garden compost pile. I have no idea if that's a good practice. We'd have to have a 40' high electrified fence dug 20' into the ground and topped with razor wire in order to keep dogs, cats, deer, rats, raccoons, and other critters out of that kind of compost pile. I've also known people (including my mother) who fed leftover food to their 4-footed garbage disposals (dogs & cats), another practice that we avoid because why would you want to cultivate a fussy eater? Our pets have survived eating (stolen) candies (complete with foil wrappers), latex paint, and kip tails (fishing flies), and at our house, a fussy eater will end up starving because someone else is always willing to clean your plate for you, sometimes long before you've decided you're finished with it. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE STARVING CHILDREN? After over 6 years of post-WLS life, I'm now better able to detach myself from my emotional attachment to the food on my plate enough to throw out what's left. If it didn't taste right because my tummy was in an odd mood, if it caused me eating problems, if it wouldn't reheat or store well, I let it go. I haven't been struck by lightning for doing that, nor has God punished me with plagues, floods, or infestations (apart from the dog infestation, that is). Like many, I was raised to eat every meal while listening to a chorus singing the Children Are Starving in (fill in the blank) hymn. I agree that in world where so many children (and adults, and animals) go hungry, it is just plain wrong for an overfed middle-class person like me to waste or throw out food. But the fact is that me eating more food than my body needs (rather than throwing out) is not the solution to the problem of world hunger. The solution to world hunger, and to diminishing global food resources, is far, far more complicated than that. Working in your community (be it a village, a city, a country, or a planet) to solve that problem is a worthwhile effort, but you taking personal responsibility for causing the death of a starving, unknown child in India or Appalachia because you threw out a chicken wing and 5 green beans last night is (in my opinion) a misguided and foolish use of your energy. And you eating that extra bite of food just because you can't bear the thought of throwing it away is also foolish from a medical standpoint. If that extra bite causes you to PB, get stuck, or over-pack your pouch, it could lead to messy and expensive medical complications like esophageal or pouch dilation and/or band slips, especially if you eat that way on a regular basis. Finally, as long as overeating endangers your health through co-morbidities and through disrespecting your band, you may never be able to help deal with the hunger problem, whether on an individual, local, or global basis. So, first things first: make a top priority of eating sensibly for your own sake before you tackle the rest of the world.

Sounds like things are going well. Good for you. I hope everyone else is doing well. I got okayed to get in the pool and walk around, which I have been doing. Getting in no problem being in no problem getting out - I do feel a bit of tugging and pulling on my tummy and that's due to that silly thing we call gravity. While inside the pool your body is compressed by the water, the 1/2 way in with the belly and 1/2 way out is not that comfy. My incisions are healed, but I have a few annoying white stitches (suppose to be dissolvable sticking out that will need to be trimmed which irritate me a bit. I'm still on full liquids, though I have gotten in some watery instant mashed with added unjury unflavored protein, I did try watery scrambled eggs (less than 1/2 egg (eggbeaters) and a few teaspoons of 1% cottage cheese (these are considered Pureed - but the protein shakes were gagging me and I had to try something). I live mostly on seriously pureed and watered down bean and bacon soup I can get in less than 1/4 cup of soup for dinner. I had Cream of asparagus last night, which was pureed first before adding skim and cooking. I can only get in 1/4 of a cup of soup a day, plus 1/2 small container of yogurt or 1/2 a sugar free pudding. I'm still hitting on 450-489 calories a day. I'm doing better on my protein. I bought the nectar, which I had yesterday but though I decided to try my frosty chocolate this morning to see if I am doing better than Monday, each sip is still hit or miss, but I'm getting it down better today than Monday. I try to get in 6-8 isopure a day too. I have had a lot of personal tragedies in my personal life which has been painful lost a friend and a beloved pet last week, but I'm trying to stay positive, though I admit I am getting cranky. 5 week post-op check up and meeting with nutritionist is Monday. I better....be allowed pureeds...I would like to try pureed tuna and I have had the stupid pouches in the fridge for 2 weeks hoping for the day I get to move along. Sometimes I worry that I will never be able to get down more than a 3 teaspoons of anything down at a sitting and I will always be abnormal. It's not really about the food, it's about the fact that I take a few sips of soup or 2 teaspoons of cottage cheese and I felt like I had a 16 ounce steak and baked potato. Poop talk below - beware! BM's are hard to come by. For those suffering liquid in liquid out, I miss those moments. I miss the gas and water. I am taking a prescription of amitiza (like colace) and resorted to suppositories for now and am waiting to see if I can start metamucil or something else soon, because ....I know I'm a girl, but I miss farting and I miss pooping. I have had severe issues with intestines in the past with adhesions around them, and I have had diverticulitis and I get polyps and I just know that going potty is good for you, not going potty is not good for you and that's playing with my head a bit. The weather is humid and hitting a 100 and nobody in my family really wants to go walking with me at night. I almost went this morning but it was already miserable out. I am going to attempt the gazelle again, but it pulled a bit too much on my tummy a few days ago when I tried. Unfortunately, I had a hernia repair and of course some pretty good complications so I have to take it light, but I would really like to get more exercise in. Weight loss has slowed to a crawl, I have weighed the same basically for almost a week (i've gotten on the scale in the afternoon to enjoy a 3+ on the scale just to be down the next day) and it's probably due to the heat and I'm going to cut myself some slack though it gets on my nerves a bit. Everyone says I look like I lost a lot more weight, so maybe it's inches though my tummy is still nice and swollen. I would think after 5 weeks it would have dropped by now. I have nice curves on my sides but 2 inches above my belly button is jetted out still. Obviously I'm healing slow, maybe my age and Lupus is causing me to be a slower healer. I'm still happy I had the surgery. I had a goal of 199 by July 18th, the way I was losing I was certain I would make it, but this up & down thing has me crawling. I hope everyone else if feeling well and every day is a little better than the day before. Good luck healing and enjoying the loser's bench.