Search the Community

Kind of a dumb question... How does this work?? I've had it under my tongue for 10 minutes and it is still there. At what point do I swallow it? Hubby think once it's mushy, I feel like it needs to dissolve and be liquidy? Instructions aren't helpful LOL!

I lived through that too. I laid awake. I worried as I was a self-pay. Complications could bankrupt us. Here is what kept me going. I had the benefit of knowing someone who had a lap and now looks AMAZING. And, just had a successful pregnancy. GOOD FOR HER!!!!! Plus, I asked myself what was my next plan was if i let this option go--- and I had none. I had a talk with my mom and dad who were supportive. (I am nearly 50 years old- so this is kinda funny to me). And I talked to the hubby. He was not so sure..........but he was like me. The options were dwindling, however. l was looking at High Blood Pressure, High Cholesteral and the early signs of type 2 diabetis. I had to do SOMETHING, as I was beginning to be a health train wreck. AND, so far, (banded 2/15) I think I made a good decision. The anesthesiologist and i talked for a while before my surgery, and he said it best: You are choosing to take a risk now while you are healthy in order to change the future. Where, if you make no change, you will have to face even more health risks in a less healthy state..... Does that make sense? BTW- I had a rou-en-y sheduled 10 years ago and backed out: For me it was a mutilation that I could not do to myself. (I apologize if this offends anyone-but this is honestly how I felt). And laps were still too new. Now, the lap is fully developed and FULLY REVERSIBLE. For goodness sakes, its a 35 minute OUT PATIENT surgery. (I kept telling mysef this over and over again.) From my heart, I can say to you, that I am so proud of myself. I now have the power to change my life and impact my health. I already have seen results. BP meds were just cut in half!!!!!!! I pray that I can keep on track. Good luck ladies, I'm here if you want to ask me anything. But I am no expert.

i have my surgery at 6/2/2011 i have lost 10 kilos or a little more but now i stop losing i dont know why I have no special diet and i don't know what i have to eat my doctor told me to drink juice only for 2 months but now i hate juice and started ti eat is this wrong ? I dont know also im not taking Vitamins or any thing my skin became dry help me with your experience

Congrats! Savor the moments!! VSG 10/11/17 HW = 360 SW = 292 GW = 220 3/7/18 CW = 214.6 (6'5") [emoji256]

Dr. Watkins, My wife is losing weight during the pre-op diet, but she cannot stand the Protein shakes. She has been substituting chicken broth with a little Grilled Chicken in it. She has 10 days to go on a 14 day regimate. Is it crucial that she drink the shakes, if so why? Or is losing the weight with a low carb diet the most important part. She is doing Water, tea, Crystal Lite Lemonade (once a day) 2-3 all green salads with some mushrooms, 2 Chicken Broth with Grilled Chicken and a Healthy Choice meal for dinner. Thanks, SD

I understand totally. I have gone from a 26/28 to an 8/10 and I still just see the old me in the mirror. Now if I look at a side by side I can see the difference of course but daily in the mirror not so much.

I had my surgery 11-19-08 and I remember being starved for the first 2 weeks. I thought I knew what it was like to be hungry and found out I haven't been hungry a day in my life up to that point. I have lost 47 pounds since surgery and I am due for 2nd fill on 2-25-09. Can't wait cuz I don't feel any restriction and I am hungry right now.:biggrin:

You can always create an "Adventure List" with your kids and together ya'll can choose 10 'adventures' to go on with you as you lose weight. Fun, silly, or creative stuff that you may not be able to do easily now. That way she'll look at it not only as fun and something to look forward to, but it can also show her that change isn't scary and that good things can come from it. Write it up, decorate it with glitter/stickers/whatever and put it on the fridge so that they can see it every day.

I have my surgery on 10/24/2011 and I am extremely nervouse...I have read some very discouraging things about plication to where I'm almost ready to give up on the surgery that I have been waiting for so long to receive...If anyone out there has recently had this surgery please give me some good words of advice...

I had surgery on Thursday April 19 with Dr Ortiz. I am down 13 lbs since pre-op diet! I hope you continue to do well- I am nervous because I am so very hungry in the evenings! I hope I can keep the momentum going! Best of luck to ou!

And, here's another question: It's been 19 days since my surgery and I'm still feeling a dull ache in my stomach. I don't feel it most of the time, but sometimes late in the day, or if my stomach is empty, or if I bend over or lean over the washer, tub or sink, for example. Or, if I press on my belly right over the stomach area - it's sore. Not sharp pains - just tender and sore. Is that normal? And, if so, when - if ever - does that go away? -Anne

bread I ate toasted around 10 weeks. Couldnt wait for salads but waited till 12 weeks. I eat veggies that r mushy not raw.

Every diet is specific to what dr. u are with, my pre op was 10 days of 2 proteins, and small dinner, but it really prepares you for afterward, the biggest 3 things I can tell u since I am post op since june10th is 1,don't get discouraged, your body is used to eating a lot, eventually u adjust. And your new stomach size will help. 2, learn to sip now, it was a big problem for me, but if u start training your body and mind to sip it will get u ahead, I am at 50-60oz now. 3, right after surgery when you are alert enough walk walk walk walk............... As much as you can, you will feel so much better and even better the second day. I was at 388lbs in January, 362.2 on my first Dr. visit in April, 346 on June 10th surgery, and Friday at my dr. Appt I was at 324.0, and 6 waist sizes down, put yourself and body into it and don't look back, wait for the small bumps in the road but don't sweat them, it gets much better.

preop diet can be really hard. I'm hungry tonight but just trying to occupy myself with other things. I have 10 days til surgery

The next one is Wednesday 10/14 at 6:30pm at the meeting room next to Dr. Bonnor's office. November's meeting is on 11/11 and December's is on 12/16. Hope to see you there!

Got my Sleeve on the 16th. everything went really well, no pain. still a little gas. so far have only drank Water, Gatorade g2 and Syntrax nectar fuzzy navel. Haven't had any problems drinking anything, have to take slow sips on the Protein, seems like that gets caught up in the gas still. Think I may try broths or Soup sometime later this week. my doc want me on liquids, everything strained for 2 weeks then on to pureed. Oh, no hunger at all yet. haven't got on the scale, think I'm gonna wait till my 2 week followup visit. lost 15 lbs on the pre-op liquid diet (10 days)

My insurance paid 90% and my 10% came out to about $3500 after a negotiated price from $40,000 to $35,000. That 40 grand was a lot higher than I expected but I love my surgeon and the hospital so I wouldn't change a thing.

I am experiencing the same thing. I was sleeved on 8-16-10 and have lost $22 lbs (including pre-op). It's been 2 weeks I am on mushy foods and the scale has been wicked. Does not want to move. I am so disappointed at this time and get horrible thoughts too. What if the weight does not come off.

I am with you. Though I must confess, slipping into an 8/10 dress today felt pretty good. Still can't get small jeans on.

Already posted this in the pre op category, but I think it belongs here more! I'm Nicole, I'm 19, and I'm waiting on approval for my RNY! You are probably thinking, “Wow, she’s only 19, why they heck is she getting a Gastric Bypass surgery so young?" so I just wanted to make this post to kind of give you guys an idea of why I am getting the surgery, why I think it’s the best choice for me, and what has been happening lately! So, originally I opted for the Sleeve Gastrectomy, because I liked the fact that they didn’t mess around with your intestines and all that jazz like they do with the bypass, so I went to my surgeon, and I did all of my pre-op stuff, like my nutritionist visits and psychiatrist visits,and it turns out I was diagnosed with binge-eating disorder, so I had to do a month of group therapy before she would clear me for surgery. You have to make sure you are mentally prepared before you put your body through anything, which I get. I started this whole process the first of December. After all of my tests and appointments and stuff got finished, and I had lost enough pre-op weight, they sent away to the insurance company at the beginning of May. I waited and waited until just this week when my mom was finally like we should call and see what’s up. So she called the insurance company, and it turns out that my insurance doesn’t cover sleeves, but I was a clear candidate for bariatric surgery so I would have to re-submit for the bypass or the lap-band, So I made an appointment with my surgeon and we decided to go ahead and switch to the Roux en Y. So now I have to wait for this approval and to schedule a surgery date! As for my age, and having surgery, I have a lot of medical problems that no 19 year old should ever have to deal with. I take 7 pills in the morning and 4 at night. I have high blood pressure that I am on two different types of medication for, just to maintain it, I have asthma, I have poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, which causes me not to ovulate, and my OB-GYN said I may never be able to have children. I’ve been medicated for it in the past, but bariatric surgery has been proven to take this away in most cases. Also, when I was 18, i suffered from kidney failure and was in the hospital for almost a week. It just sucks to know that your body is so unhealthy that your organs are beginning to shut down. At this point, I know if I don’t make a change I will just end up getting worse and worse. I’m going to have to work my ass off every day, and my new stomach pouch is only going to be a tool to help me get to where I need to be, not an easy way out, and everyone who thinks that is horribly wrong. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be worth it. Peace & Love

Hi there. I haven't posted in a really long time -- I usually just see what everyone else is talking about. But this weight issue is something I think I can help out with. I, too, have put on a considerable amount of weight -- 40 lbs and I'm at 34 weeks. I talked to my OB about it and she told me this: how much weight you gain is not as important as how big the baby is. If the baby is right on target growth-wise, she doesn't care how much weight I gain. If I gain too much and the baby starts to get too big, then that's a problem. So far, my belly has been measuring dead-on for where I am gestation-wise, so my doctor said nothing when I gained almost 10 lbs in two weeks. She also explained weight gain like this -- a pregnant woman has little control over how much weight she will gain during pregnancy. The body is going to adjust your metabolism to gain the amount of weight it wants to. And so even if you're really counting calories and eating super-clean, your body may want to just put on additional weight for whatever reason. Of course, there are the extremes like certain celebraties who used their pregnancies as an excuse to eat nothing but donuts. Obviously, their bodies could only do one thing, which was to gain excessive weight. And so a certain amount of self-control is necessary. But craving milk, juice, fruit, and such is not a bad thing. Additionally, a friend of mine who is a raw vegan gained 60 pounds with her daughter. That really put things into perspective for me. I had a hard time believing that someone who only ate plants could even eat enough to gain 60 pounds -- but it's another example of how the body is going to do what it wants to do. Finally, there has been research that shows that women who lose a significant amount of weight and then get pregnant soon thereafter will tend to gain more than average during pregnancy. This is because the body uses the pregnancy as a way to store up what it needs. You really do not have any control over this. For me, I saw so many stories of banded women gaining 10 or 15 pounds during their entire pregnancies, and so I got it into my head that I was only going to gain 20 lbs. Well, I've doubled that. God-willing, I will be able to breastfeed and that will help with weight loss. Nevertheless, I just had to give up control on this issue and accept the fact that I was going to gain more than the average (25-35 lbs). Of course, I am 6 ft. tall and the doctor also told me that someone of my height and stature is going to gain more anyway. Hope that helps.

I lost 100lbs with my band with 700 Cals a day and no stalls. I worked out 5-6 times per week. I lost the weight in 9 months. This time I've lost about 35lbs in about 2 1/2 months. I guess my body doesn't know about starvation. I lost 100lbs with my band with 700 Cals a day and no stalls. I worked out 5-6 times per week. I lost the weight in 9 months. This time I've lost about 35lbs in about 2 1/2 months. I guess my body doesn't know about starvation. I lost 100 in 8 months with the band. Gained it all back. Have had the sleeve since 8/10 and not eating much of anything. I've lost 3lbs with working out 5 times a week.

Hello New Friends! I need some support and hope to make some new friends here. I had a Lapband down in Mexico in 2004 by Dr Kuri and lost 150 lbs then maintained that for about a decade. I started at 536lbs and got down to just under 400lbs which my surgeon said was a success. I never hit my goal weight of 300lbs but I was happy. After several gallstones and trips to the ER my doctor in Portland said I needed to have my gallbladder removed. The gallbladder surgeon in Portland offered to remove the 10 year old Lapband which was causing me trouble so I did it without even considering other options. At that point it was taking me 1.5 hours to eat half of a small meal and I had zero restriction. So his offer was a welcome relief. I thought I was doing fine. I knew I had gained a little but not 80 pounds. That scared me because it had only been a few months. I was getting to the point of having a hard time walking, and I had developed neuropathy in my feet. I also had a couple weight related injuries and then my knee got real bad. This was a real low point in my life. I visited a friend in Texas who had the sleeve and I didnt even recognize him! I was shocked at how much he had lost. So that was the start of my sleeve journey. When I got back to Portland I started off talking to Puget Sound Bariatrics in Washington and Legacy Emanual in Portland but both surgeons needed me to lose 30-40 pounds before they said they could operate on me for the sleeve. They said I had to be under 500lbs. One surgeon suggested I try a low carb diet. I didnt know what he was talking about! Thus I began learning about low carb eating. During the last 2 years I have been learning about the weight loss industry. Ive read The Obesity Code by Dr Jason Fung who is a doctor that helps cure diabetes, a supposedly incurable disease. Reading his book educated me on all the "great advice" weve been getting all these years about how to lose weight, advice that was pretty much worthless to people with obesity. Dr Jung examines all the recommendations passed down thru the years and then explains why they dont work, its a real education that answers a lot of questions. He also explains how foods we eat turn to glucose that is stored in our liver for the first few hours after we eat a meal. Then as our bodies use up the glucose and our insulin levels drop our bodies are able to access the stored body fat for the energy our bodies need. This is what causes weigh loss. Thats why intermittent fasting works so well. I learned about intermittent fasting and have found that to be fairly easy to implement into my lifestyle. I hired a personal trainer and spent a year in the gym doing water aerobics - inbetween injuries and weightloss restarts. I bought a few weeks worth of Adkins meals and then figured out how to use those concepts with regular food and even some fast foods. Ive learned about portion control and how important that is. Ive learned about carbs in food including veggies. I had no idea there were carbs in lettuce! Or that a banana contains 55 grams of carbs! I spent 2 weeks getting my body into ketosis which required frequent emergency trips to the bathroom for explosive diareah....no fun. Ive tracked all my meals and had to get honest with myself about late night snacking, the scale doesnt lie. But overall I havent maintained much weight loss. I admit Ive had some depression these last few months since my dad died, but Im moving forward now... A few months ago I was surfing the web and started hearing about guys bigger, older, and taller than me having the sleeve surgery with great success. Yet the 3 surgeons I dealt with in the Pacific Northwest all said I had to be under 500 lbs...BUT WHY??? I soon discovered it was because they dont have the equipment to handle patients over 500 pounds and they didnt want to lose me as a patient so they told me to lose weight instead. Seems crooked to me. Ive needlessly suffered for years now. If I had known better I could have had this surgery 3 years ago. Im now scheduled for January 26 with Dr Rodriguez down in Juarez. Im a snowbird this year so Im moving down to El Paso for the winter, surgery and recovery. The one mistake I made when I first got my lapband was I didnt make it the sole priortiy of my life. This time around my sole focus for the next two years will be losing weight and getting my health back. Im now looking forward to leaving Oregon for a few months and getting really focused on my health. Being in a sunny location will help me feel better and keep me motivated as I begin losing weight again. Today I discovered this forum and read some good stuff. I need your support and hope I can provide you some too! Thanks for reading, Free Stanley

Hey,everyone! I am about 3 1/2 weeks out and feel great. I am back to work and have lots of energy. I was advanced to stage 4/ full diet at 2 weeks, and so far there isn't any protein I haven't been able to eat as long as I go slow and chew, chew, chew. I do 60 Gm protein, 60 0z fluid a day, but I do really have to work at it. Certainly no room for carbs or junk! I walk a minimum of 10,000 steps a day, and down 19 lbs post-op for a total of about 55 lbs lost. Only problem I had was quite a lot of post op pain, particularly in the rt lower abd, and it persisted a good 3 weeks. Surg actually tested me for appendicitis, but it was fine, and he thought he may have injured a nerve down there with the trocar. I think the fact that I have absolutely NO core strength hasn't helped. I need to work on that. Other issue is I have to really fight those vitamins and calcium tabs down. I feel like I might as well just munch down a couple of sticks or chalk every morning! Glad to hear everyone is doing so well! I really believe this is the best single thing I have ever done for myself. Rebecca

Take a very deep breath and decide if you are truly ready for this to happen. If you are, none of the other stuff should matter at all. Take things one step, one day at a time and that is how it all becomes less overwhelming. This includes the 3 week diet. It really is not that bad and will kick start your weight loss, ensure you have a healthier liver and make things safer. I can tell you that every bit of this is worth it in the end. I am 14 months post op, down 135lbs and 10 lbs from my goal. I thank god everyday for putting the Bariatric community on this earth to help us get healthy. When you feel the stress practice breathing very deep, it can be calming. Good luck to you!