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I've been the same weight for an entire week and I'm frustrated! I was just sleeved on 5/31 and including pre-op (2 weeks liquid) I'm down 22 lbs. 15 of those were from the pre-op diet. I'm doing everything by the book so I can't understand why I'm stuck. Anyone have advice? (I'm a once a week weigher, not daily) Thanks in advance!

Your doc will use a bougie to determine the size of what you will have left for a stomach. The question to ask is what size bougie your doc will use. Most fall somewhere in the middle with a medium size but some go smaller and some bigger for whatever reason, usually specific to the patient. I've heard others post on here that they thought their doc used a big bougie and they think this caused them to have slower weight loss. Consider this though....slower weight loss means more control over the excess skin you may or may not have. I can certainly relate to wanting it gone like yesterday but my body loses in phases and I have to work my sleeve. When people tell you it's a tool, they are right on.

Her weight loss is on her ticker... 75 pounds! Pretty good in my book!

Well I guess I wasn't very clear on my situation. Yes I have had fills. I guess I don't quite understand "BOB". I am unable to attend support group meetings as they are 75 miles away from me, that's why I joined this support group. I need to ask questions...just don't know what to ask yet. I really do not feel much of a restriction when I have a fill...what do I need to tell the doctor? I have an upcoming visit this Friday. How much weight should I expect to lose? Am I supposed to be on some kind of diet? These are the kind of questions that I have...I've searched the internet but there really isn't a whole lot of info there. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

After I gave birth in 2010, I attempted to lose weight quite a few times. I reverted back to my old fail safe...the south beach diet. This diet has worked for me numerous times and fairly quickly too. I also got a prescription for phentermine from a local doctor. In Hawaii, only one type of phentermine is prescribed, which is the non time-release pill. I used to get it in New York and have only used the time-release capsule in the past. I'm not sure if it was the pill or if it was me, but it didn't work for me this time around. I was able to eat through the symptoms. It wasn't as long lasting and didn't do much for my night time eating. My husband and I purchased an elliptical, but I rarely used that. I even tried to go walking with my cousins, but it was just different this time. Everything was different this time. I couldn't find my motivation, and when I didn't succeed my depression would take over. I have always been able to overcome, but not this time. Worst of all, was the pain. With every pound that added to my frame, I found a new nerve, muscle, or tendon that ached. I had pain when I stood too long. I had pain when I sat too long. My feet, heels, back, arms, shoulders, neck, and everything in between were in constant pain. Eventually my workouts subsided, and I entered the cycle of putting on weight and being in pain. I started to think of other options of losing weight. I saw an old co-worker on my facebook that used to be 400 lbs down to less than 200 lbs. I haven't seen any pictures of her in a long time and was surprised at how much weight she lost. I started searching her facebook page for any clues for her success. Alas, I finally found a discrete post from a year prior about her surgery. That was when I really started to think and wish about having weight loss surgery. I have thought about it when I was lighter, but I have always been what I like to call a "healthy fat person." I don't have diabetes, gout, high blood pressure...nothing. I was now a weight where the doctors would start to take surgery as a valid solution for my problem. I often wished that I wouldn't have cravings about food that was around me. I often wished I didn't always have this problem and that I could fix it somehow where it didn't dictate my life. So in June of 2013 I made my first move towards getting weight loss surgery. I called Dr. Fowler's office.

So happy 2015. Let's do a recap! Surgery May 5th, 2014. Program start weight 312 All time high 335 Current weight 210 Goal weight 150 Height 5'5" Age 37 going on fabulous. I feel like I'm in the home stretch. My immediate goal is to be 199.5 by February 7th. Why February 7th? That is my birthday. And my birthday is my favorite day, ever. So this year I want it to be fabulous by me being under 200 lbs by that day. I have a month to lose 10.5 lbs. Can I do it? Hell yes I can do it! (Despite my general downer attitude about society as a whole I'm remarkably positive about myself and my own motivations. LOL). I didn't gain any weight over the holidays, but I also did not lose any. But I'mma be honest, I had way too many coconut rum balls and I have no one to blame for those rum balls but myself because I made them. Dealing with ones own demons and weaknesses never gets easier, no matter how far along you are. Those weaknesses resurface. I got rid of all my old clothes. There was a post on the forums where someone wondered why they were keeping their old too big clothes. I had bags of too big clothes in my closet just taking up space. I kept saying I was going to donate them, but I never did. It was the fear. I took the step to throw them out. I was just keeping them as a crutch to my fears. So bite me, demons. I am not giving into the fear. I am not keeping those size 28s anymore. I will not go back to wearing them, ever.

Please help. I am having severe nausea sometimes with sometimes without vomiting. I am unable to tolerate anything. Water even makes me sick. Worried about malnourishment and dehydration. Fatigued and sleeping 18 hours per day. Not losing any weight. How long will this last? What can I do to get over this hump?

To be really honest I didnt do anything speical. Iam never ever hungry and I really couldnt stand the whey protien. I drank the atkins shakes ate cottage cheese and cheese sticks greek yogart. Walked some and drank water. Which iam still doing its working for me but cant wait to hit the gym then the weight will really come off

Yep, they just don't get it and they may never. That is why you have us here to support you, we get it. I can no longer eat eggs but thank goodness I can eat chicken. Congratulations on your weight loss!!

Thanks michellelei, I think you should keep track of your weight, but I also think month to month pics are important too. Sometimes the scales don't show much, however, inches do and your pictures will show the difference when the scales do not. Best wishes to you and congratulations on your surgery.

Consultation with Doc 11/24/06 - 248.9 Surgery Date 1/18/07 - 226 1 mo post op (Feb 18)- 206.8 2 mo post op (March 18) - 198 3 mo post op (April 18th)- 193 4 mo post op (May 18th)- 184.2 5 mo post op (June 18th(- 178 6 mo post op (July 18th)– 174 7 mo post op (Aug 18th)- 178 - went on vacation and ate big (7 day cruise) 8 mo post op (Sept 18th)- 174 9 mo post op (Oct 18th)- 170 10 mo post op (Nov 18th) - 167 11 mo post op (Dec 18th) - 170 - haven’t even been trying 12 mo post op (Jan 18th 2008)- 174 - again, not trying. But finally refocused - exactly where I was at 6 mos post op – so basically no weight loss in the past 6 mos 13 mo post op (Feb 18th) - 183 - Ouch! started taking steroids and made my weight go up, along with not eating right and no exercise! 14 mo post op (March 18th)- 185 - grrrrr 15 mo post op (April 18th)- 180 - weight is finally going down, but inches are actually coming off faster since I've been exercising a lot. 16 mo post op (May 18th)- 178 17 mo post op (June 18th)- 175 18 mo post op (July 18th)- 179- still not focussed:sad: 19 mo post op -(Aug 18th) - 178 - focussed again - This time I am committed to getting to goal and will not stray! I do not ever want to see the 180's again! 20 mo post op (Sept. 18) - 171 - :cool: 21 mo post op (Oct 18) - 168 22 mo post op (Nov 18) - 169 - I am focussed and doing good, but need to get back to exercising. I want to hit 160 by year end.

New Month, and new goals! This month, I WILL get back to the gym, not tomorrow, but TODAY. I have got to get back to exercising!!!!! On a good note, we had our District Convention (religion) this weekend - three day, and I ate great! I packed my lunch everyday and had hummus and carrot sticks, very filling. I would also throw in a yogurt or piece of fruit. Dinner consited of grilled, or smoked chicken. yum. When I left (Thursday I was at 159, this morning I am at 161). But my body bounces around until it decides what weight it wants to stay at. Also, traveling always makes me hold more fluid. I am upping my water today, and we'll see how tonights weigh in at weight watchers goes. I can't believe I'm getting so close to goal!!!!

Eating has been good, exercise on the other hand, not so good. I don't know what in the world is my problem, just seems I have lost my mojo! I gotta get my mind right, make no more excuses and get my butt moving! Weighed in at weight watchers and lost another .8 lbs. Thats a total of 9.8 lbs since joing weight watchers. It has taken my 3 months to lose it, but hey, I'm losing right? I know its slow, but I'll take anything right now. My weight keeps bouncing around from 158 to 162, I wish it would dip down into the 150's and stay. Maybe if I would exercise it would! I really gotta get to the gym! Menu today: Bfast 1/4 cantelop (1 pt) 1 ww yogurt (1 pt) Dark chocolate (organic) - (2 pts) Lunch talapia, 3 oz (3 pts) Broccoli (steamed) 2/3 cup (1 pt) Snack few almonds, humus (4 pts) Dinner 3 oz grilled chicken - (3 pts) green beans - ( zero pts) WW sugar free ice cream bar (2 pts) Wt - AM - 161.1

Well, once again, I can feel myself losening up. I think the swelling goes down and I get lose again. I still have some restriction, but not as much as I want. I'm going to call for another fill and have him do the fill just like he did this last time, not to take ANY out, and just add a little, I'm so close to that sweet spot. I can't eat a whole bunch, but can eat more than I should. I do force myself to stop eating before I eat too much. I've had fills in the past that got tighter after a few weeks, so I'm hoping this one will get tight again, so we'll see. In the meantime, I will make another appointment for another fill. NOTE TO SELF, time to exercise again and you will lose! Quit depending on the band to do all the work for you!!! ...End of Note to self. Last Monday when I woke up and stepped on the scales, the exact number was 171.6 - yikes! This morning, it was 164.5, so the weight has dropped a lot in the past 5 days. I'm sure in the morning I will probably weigh more than I did this morning, I went to my aunts house for a family get together. Well, had a peace of homemade chocolate cake, ate barbeque, and just ate more than I should have. I'm planning on hitting the gym tomorrow, and eating right so hopefully by the time I weigh in on Monday, I can be happy. I really really really want to see the 150's again! But more than that, I just want to be at goal. I'm almost embarrased that I've had the band as long as I have and not reached my goal. I knew when I got the band it was going to be a long process, but I seriously thought I would be at goal by 18 months. I'm now getting close to 3 years! January will be 3 years. I guess I should be happy with how far I've come, I'm down from a size 18 to a comfortable 10 and when I'm weighing around 160 I wear an 8 comfortable. Today I'm wearing my size 8 capris and they feel good. So I should be happy with my progress, and I am happy. I just want it all. I do not want to be the statistic bandster that usually only loses 60 to 70 % of their excess weight. I said from the very beginning I would lose 100% of it and by jolly I will! I need to THINK before I eat, I need to quit grabbing the chocolate out of the candy dish, and most of all I need to exercise! Time to refocuss and finish what I've started. So, as of tonight or this morning, Sunday at 12:45 am CST, 9/6/09, I promise to myself that I will recommit to the bandster program. Recommit myself and give me what I deserve. I deserve to reach my goal, I deserve to take time out for myself and exercise, I deserve it all! So, by my 3 year Band anniversary, which is 1/18/10, I will be at goal! My goal is somewhere between 140-150. I'm going blog my daily progress, or at least try and blog daily. I seem to do better when I blog....I want to keep myself accountable to my promises to myself so I'm putting it down in black and white! Here goes my final push.........time to cross the finish line and finsih this race!

Hi everyone, I have not posted in awhile, I have had many things going on. I was suppose to have my first fill today however the dr nor his nurse could find my port. So I have toschedule for teh flouroscopy. He wanted me to schedule next week or 2 weeks, however I leave for vacation on 3/22 -4/1 so I will not be able to get until after I return. My Dr's comment to was you don't want this before vacation anyways. I had gone back and forth but the nurse convinced me to have it (it did not take much convincing). I guess a higher power had other plans. I did not loose nor have a gained. I was the same. I have been having some other medical issues since surgery that have been getting worse. I started with right after surgery the outside of my left thigh was/is numb. The Dr had order an EMG/NSV to check nerve responses. While I was waiting for this test, a couple of weeks ago I began not being able to feel when I go to the bathroom (sorry for being graphic). So the Dr order and MRI. it should that I have a central disc protrusion, the Dr. still wanted me to have the MRI to find out how bad the nerves are. The results of the EMG/NSV is that there is no muscle response in the left foot and that there is abnormalities in pertty much up through a portion of my back. The worse in the foot. Since I resently had a few surgeries on teh left foot I need to have another MRI of the left foot and ankle to make sure that a nerve was not servered during the surgeries. Also the protrusion in back is not what's causing the numbness in my leg. My primary care asked that I also see a neurologist for a 2nd opinion. So I have my MRI tomorrow morning, then next Wed I have my appointment with the Neurologist and then when I come back from vacation I will have to have my fill and I also have another appointment with a urogynecologist who preformed surgery 12/26, from which I have not been allowed to do any aerobic excercise, weights excetera. The only thing I can do it walk on the treadmill. On a positive note when I actually am able to get my fill he told me that he make sure that the band tightens so that I do not have to keep going back and will have go restriction with the first fill. He ususlly does 4 cc then 2 then 1 in the 10 cc band which is what I have.

I am new to the fill stuff and I see I am not alone with my worries. I don't feel full at all. I am at 4cc's in a 14 band and the doc made it sound like I should be feeling really full with this last fill, but I am not! I heard it could take a few fills to find the right spot but seeing that others have six or more fills is reassuring, although I am sure hard on your end. I have been banded since Jan. 7 and have lost 16 lbs. but things have just stopped and it is too easy to cheat. I am getting so frustrated this is taking so long and feeling like I wish I had not done this for all the trouble it's been and the weight just doesn't seem to be coming off. Just so frustrated!

Well, eating has been going good, my restriction level seems to be good. I do have to slow down a bit, and I just don't eat as much. I've trying to make good choices on my eating, making sure I eat my protein first and that does make a big difference. I grilled some chicken last night on my george Foreman grill, and I had 1 1/2 tenders and I was done! That was about 2 oz of meat, I had a sliver of cantelope with it as well. My acid reflux is gone, no more waking up in the middle of the night coughing, so things seem to be good with this fill. I don't get too excited because this has happened to me before, then all of a sudden the restriction leaves, but we'll see how this one goes. Exercise - well I need to be more consistant. I have been sick all weekend, but feeling a little better today. I'm going to go to the gym today and get some cardio in! For me, its all or nothing, and lately if I can't do it all, I do nothing. I'm trying to change my mindset, one of the suggestions that Dr. Vuong's book made was to take some baby steps, just incorporate some type of exercise in each day, whether its taking the stairs, or parking further away at the store. I am going to have that attitude instead of "I blew it today, didn't make it to gym". Weight - I go thru spurts, most of the time I'm a total scale whore, I have to weigh every day, every evening, and sometimes in between. I'm going thru a phase where I just don't want to see the number. I am just not interested in that damn scale controlling my mood today, so I've stayed off it. I am just focussing on eating right and hoping when I do weigh, I will be pleasantly surprised and happy. I did wear a size 8 dress this weekend to my assembly and did I get a lot compliments, made me feel good. The dress was a little tight, but it wasn't too tight that I couldn't wear it. So maybe the scales are bouncing up and down, or maybe I haven't made it to the gym on a consistant basis lately - but what I can say is my size 8 dress is long way from my size 18 dress I used to wear. I've made a lot of changes in my life since getting the band, and a lot has changed on the inside of me. I still feel like a fat cow, and have a hard time thinking "I'm skinny", but then sometimes when I slip into a dress that I can look at and think "there is no way I'm fitting into that", and I do, wow.....it makes me realize how far I've come. I seem to focus on that ending number, that goal weight but today I'm going to pat myself on the back and say, Good Job Tonya, you've come a long way baby! No negative talk today....

Well, eating has been going good, my restriction level seems to be good. I do have to slow down a bit, and I just don't eat as much. I've trying to make good choices on my eating, making sure I eat my protein first and that does make a big difference. I grilled some chicken last night on my george Foreman grill, and I had 1 1/2 tenders and I was done! That was about 2 oz of meat, I had a sliver of cantelope with it as well. My acid reflux is gone, no more waking up in the middle of the night coughing, so things seem to be good with this fill. I don't get too excited because this has happened to me before, then all of a sudden the restriction leaves, but we'll see how this one goes. Exercise - well I need to be more consistant. I have been sick all weekend, but feeling a little better today. I'm going to go to the gym today and get some cardio in! For me, its all or nothing, and lately if I can't do it all, I do nothing. I'm trying to change my mindset, one of the suggestions that Dr. Vuong's book made was to take some baby steps, just incorporate some type of exercise in each day, whether its taking the stairs, or parking further away at the store. I am going to have that attitude instead of "I blew it today, didn't make it to gym". Weight - I go thru spurts, most of the time I'm a total scale whore, I have to weigh every day, every evening, and sometimes in between. I'm going thru a phase where I just don't want to see the number. I am just not interested in that damn scale controlling my mood today, so I've stayed off it. I am just focussing on eating right and hoping when I do weigh, I will be pleasantly surprised and happy. I did wear a size 8 dress this weekend to my assembly and did I get a lot compliments, made me feel good. The dress was a little tight, but it wasn't too tight that I couldn't wear it. So maybe the scales are bouncing up and down, or maybe I haven't made it to the gym on a consistant basis lately - but what I can say is my size 8 dress is long way from my size 18 dress I used to wear. I've made a lot of changes in my life since getting the band, and a lot has changed on the inside of me. I still feel like a fat cow, and have a hard time thinking "I'm skinny", but then sometimes when I slip into a dress that I can look at and think "there is no way I'm fitting into that", and I do, wow.....it makes me realize how far I've come. I seem to focus on that ending number, that goal weight but today I'm going to pat myself on the back and say, Good Job Tonya, you've come a long way baby! No negative talk today....

Nov 23,2009 Having reached my 60th birthday and given in to self-medicating with food all my life, I am considering the Lap-Band thing. Just read the Dr. Oz book You - Controlling the Waistband and learned that the morbidly obese have only a 7% chance of success with diet and exercise. So far I have managed to control all by body's signals with drugs: 1) for diabetes, 2) for high cholesterol, 3) for high LDL and 4) for low LDL. It’s been a life of hating exercise and even the word "diet". Everything that defines Metabolic Syndrome. Everything, that is, except high blood pressure. A few weeks ago, even that started to increase. I think that was the wake-up call. What happens when the drugs are increased until they no longer work? I can't afford to retire; waited too long before I started my 401k account. Can't afford not to have insurance... Medicare benefits suck. With the lousy drug benefit, I would go bankrupt or be unable to take prescriptions that would just hasten my death. I really have no passion in life, even to the point of saying that dying from a disease would be fine. But perhaps that is just an excuse not to change my lifestyle. I've half-heartedly tried diets since I was a teenager; always gained back the pounds and then some. Food is my best friend, my nuturance. Vacations are remembered. not by the Eiffel Tower, The Coliseum, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, but by restaurants and memorable meals. My honeymoon in Hawaii is remembered for coconut pancakes, plum pot soup, and Pina Coladas. To be perfectly honest, a while ago I told my therapist I was not willing to give up my food and now I am re-considering. The Lap-Band is not magic. It is just a tool to help your will power; just keeps you from eating too fast or too much without barfing. Instead of reaching for a cigarette, I reach for a connoli or a creamhorn. How am I going to fill my spare time, my boredom, my need for nurturance? How am I going to get started exercising. They say these are the hardest habits to break. Am I truly ready to make the change or am I just fooling myself? My therapist and I will need to pull all this apart and use a microscope to peer in to every corner of my being. I need to make every attempt to change before getting banded; to prove to myself that I really, really have the strength to choose a different path in these, perhaps my last 15 years of life. Do I want to suffer and continue down this self-loathing life of mine? or do I want to stay around and make a difference, somewhere, to some one?

Congratulations on the weight loss I'm only 10 days out so I can't eat/ drink much at all