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I'm getting close to my sleeve date (10/29) and I feel the same way. I find my emotions range form lets do this to what am I thinking and everything in between. You are not alone.

I'm located in Northern California. I have Kaiser and Kaiser insurance (mom works there) 3 of my doctors request this I was just told 3 weeks ago. SURGERY WILL BE DONE IN ... SAN FRANCISCO !!!! I have class on the 10th. After Class I have to call my doctor. He will contact San Francisco For my appointment (: We tried do all this 2 weeks. I guess lol. I will have to go to the class first . And sounds like just one class. ANY ONE UP HERE PLEASE TELL ME YOUR STORY (: how fast did you get your call (my doctor said within 10 days they have to call you)

They're not saying that doctors shouldn't tell you you're overweight and they need to lose weight. They're saying that telling you you need to lose weight without giving you the proper tools on how to do anything about it is a negative. If I tell you to go cook a fancy dinner but don't tell you where to buy the ingredients for what recipe do you use you're just going to get frustrated and upset. The request and advice to lose weight it should be accompanied by solid information, or a specific treatment plan so that the patient doesn't feel discouraged. Weight loss is hard if you don't have the tools or the knowledge to do it. HW 385 SW 359 Sleeved 10/5/16

Long story short no, I did not go through with the surgery at that time. I started feeling apprehensive about my new surgeon and decided to try to drop some weight on my own. After about six months of that and not getting the results I wanted (lack of motivation on my part) I returned to my surgeon to reschedule the surgery. However, thanks to my 9 year old requiring an explanation of what will be happening to her dad and in an attempt to calm her about the associated risks didn't out weigh the gains I found a different procedure I wanted to check out called Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty. It is a procedure that done through the mouth that sutures the stomach into a sleeve shape providing the same benefit of the gastric sleeve without the hospital stay. After researching it, I found that it is a relatively new procedure that does not have the statics to go by like the gastric sleeve. I was lucky enough to find two doctors in the Houston area that could perform the procedure along with providing more insight into exactly what it was. I had my consult with one of the physicians who explained to me that while the procedure is effective he didn't think it would provide me with the results that I hoped for and recommended that I stick with the gastric sleeve procedure that I had scheduled but put off for this consultation. I learned two important things in that meeting 1) my hesitation was partly due to my apprehension about my initial surgeon (who did not go over a lot and did not make me feel comfortable) 2) I would be scheduling my surgery but with this new doctor who not only made my wife and I feel comfortable but was willing to explain every detail to me and calmed my fears. With all that said, I finally had the surgery on September 23, 2019 and will be celebrating 1 month of my new life this week. Which I can honestly at the moment SUCKS but I know it will get better.

I can't sit there and eat a whole 1/4 of a cup at once - it probably breaks down to about a tablespoon ever 10 minutes at the rate I eat it

So, I was reading a post about a gal's biggest fear, which got me thinking about my biggest fear. At this point I think my biggest fear is being thin. I have ALWAYS been a big girl, my first diet was age 10 when my mom took me to weight watchers. As an adult I take comfort in big sweatshirts and oversized sweatpants. I don't know know how to (as stupid as it sounds) to wear shorts or skirts or tank tops. I am use to hearing things like " oh, you have such a pretty face," and "you are so lively for a big girl ( thanks grandma!)." How am I going to deal with genuine complements? Am I the only one who has these types of feelings/ thoughts? I guess I just need some comfort in knowing that I'm not alone.

Bex: You can do this. If you are not already doing so, just limit yourself to 2 ounces of protein rich foods at a time, no more. Be sure to get in all 64 ounces of water or sugar free fluids. Limit your calorie intake, as well. Mine is around 800. I too, am a slow loser and have a low BMI. However; I have not had foods that aren't in my doctor's plan, and no matter how slow my weight has come off compared to others, I have not stopped trying. I had a long stall, and then ten pounds came off in 10 days! If I can do it, anyone can:) Good luck to you!

One more for June 17. Pre op testing tomorrow. Started pre surgical diet of Optifast. Not terrible, I can do this for 10 days!

This was one of the reasons I HATED my lapband. I had that sucker for 10 long years, most of the time with zero fill since I had horrible reflux if it had any fluid/fill. Even after all that time, with a stretched pouch and no fill - one bite of rice and i would vomit. On the other hand, I could eat unlimited quantities of many foods - it was really terrible and frustrating. I got to the point where i didn't vomit often, but in the first 2 years when I did have fill, I vomited ALOT. I have been sleeved since Dec 2011 - nearly 2 years. I HAVE vomited maybe 3 times and all for the same reason - eating too fast so I got to overfill without realizing it. In general, I do so well with the sleeve, I eat my Proteins first, add some veggies and go easy on carbs, but if I want a little rice or bread - I can have it without fear of hurling. Don't get me wrong, i do need to "work the sleeve". I have a mindset to eat until no longer hungry rather than looking to be "full". I have made a lot of changes since my lapband days that have helped me find success with the sleeve that always alluded me with the sleeve. Even so, for me, the sleeve has been a FAR FAR superiour tool! I was terrified of failing again and it took me a long time to get the courage to "try again" with a weight loss surgery but it was the BEST decision for me. It is amazing to finally get to a normal weight and size which I never did with the band.

Yes, I remember when I first got it. They warned not to do it more than 10 minutes at first or you would get bruising. I too spent the first 5 or so "10 minute workouts" bending over picking it up off my feet - it really was a workout still though LOL. I eventually got frustrated enough that I looked on utube for a tutorial and was able to do it after just a few tries then. The reason I bought it in the first place was because the company had indicated that you could burn up to 800 cal an hour and said that it burned the same calories as boot camp. Sounded good to me, hoola hoop or boot camp ?? Pretty easy choice.

I had one about 10 years ago and it does make a huge difference. It is quite painful but after about 3 days the pain starts subsiding. If I had to do it all over again, I would without hesitation. It was well worth the money and pain.

Hello, I am 10 days out from Surgery April 4th was the big day for me so far I am moving along. I will keep in touch as the journey continues.

It does depend on the insurance company. I had to do all requirements then submit to insurance and get approval. Once I got approval then made appointment with surgeon who I see Sept 10 and surgery is scheduled for Oct 7. Just keep on doing what needs to be done. As far as the sleep study, I already have sleep apnea and CPAP machine so all I had to do was get copy of study sent to surgeon's office. Good luck.

I had a c-section at midnight and was out of bed at 10 a.m. that morning and walking down to the nursery. I was back at work a little over 2 weeks later (teaching elementary school). Lap band surgery one morning, back to work half day the next day and then full-time after that. On a scale of 1 to 10 for pain....c-section was about a 6....lapband 1. Pain may be too strong of a word. It was more an uncomfortableness. I never filled my pain meds. Now, talk to me about paper cuts though. Those are a 10. .

He is doing my surgery on Thursday, July 19. Anyone else feel like you are just drifting at sea waiting on his office to call with information on scheduling, fees, etc?

SO much has changed in these past few weeks. I have experienced many different emotions. I stopped losing weight for a few weeks and went into that mindset of ill never lose weight no matter what I do, I'm destined to be fat. But things picked but up and this past week I've lost over 10 lbs. I started out in a 24 and 341 lbs. Today I weigh 286 and am wearing a pair of 18s. they are tight but nonetheless, they are 18s! I have been wearing 20s because they are more comfortable. Yesterday I went shopping for some new shirts and bought this really cute button up shirt. I of course got a larger size, because that's what I'm used to doing, ( its a 20/22) Being that I had the baby and she was cranky I didn't even try it on. Excited to say when i got home, it was WAY too big! So today I'm going back in hopes of getting a smaller size. I never in my life thought id say "oh that's too big" I have a new found confidence. I WANT to wear makeup and I WANT to dress up. I haven't been like that in over 4 years.I fit into the desk at school now too. I used to sit down and have to scoot in the desk and then hear the legs of the desk spread out. While the desk is still stressed when I sit in it, I dont have to scoot, i can just sit and not have my belly sit on top of it. That in itself is reassuring to me! I know that i have a very long ways to go, but i am getting there, one pound at a time! Just wanted to share my little happiness!

He has always known. It is not a secret. Its not a secret to anyone. It stoped being a secret quite a while ago. I'm fat. I think people noticed. Its ok to talk about. Not talking about is, I figure, the sort of thing that makes teens think everyone is supposed to weigh 120 or whatever. DH and I are the same height and I've always weight more than him. Though he has gained weight since I've gotten banded- I find that ironic. He went to the Dr. recently for an annual physical (it has been several years) because I made him. According to the BMI chart, he's a little overweight (almost halfway to obese-- that can't be right!) is how he puts it despairingly). He needs to lose 10 pounds. I'm not about to cry him a river. His blood pressure was also a bit high, and he gets stressed, and headaches, so he is supposed to start exercising on a regular basis, the doctor says. So now I remind him and encourage him to join me at the gym. I did laugh at him, just a little when I heard he was supposed to exercise. But that is because not only I, but also friends have been telling him this for a long time. Of course he also has this retainer he never wears (he has braces that recently came off after 3 years). Sometimes he is supportive- most of the time. But sometimes he nags about stuff, like when I eat some junk food. Then I remind him he drink way too much mountain dew and its really unheathy for him, and he eats honey buns by the case. I warn my husband that when I lose all the weight I'm getting my wedding dress taken way in and we have to get a picture retaken with him in his suite and me in the dress, looking all nice together.

Here do i begin... So i have Been thru all of the pre op stuff and insurance approval for the sleeve. I am currently banded but my port is detached and so my band has been empty for a while and unaccessable. I thought i was all prepared for the vsg until i recieved sone kinda scary news yesterday. My coworker who is a nurse in the surgical icu strongly recommended against the procedure. She said that she sees too many patients that have been severly septic 10 years after the procedure when there suture line ruptures. She said that the staple line can rupture anytime and when these people come in it is usually fatal. So now i am freaking out. I am only 37 and dont want to find myself in that situation in 10 years. I have been doing some real research and really cant find a lot regarding late complications involving staple lines but i am thinking it is because there is probablly not a whole lot available. As much as i woould like to dismiss her statements, she is usually a very reliable source. So my dilema is this....should i have my port repaired and start with the lap band program as though it is new.( i have had zero restriction for several years because of pior follow up) or should i go the more aggressive route in order to lose this excess 100 lbs? i did originally lose 50 lbs with the lap band and stopped when i got pregnant.

This is EXACTLY like my experience. I actually just cried reading this. I was 19 and went to Tijuana with my dad. I didn't go though any therapy. Which was a MISTAKE /: I had no clue how much this surgery was going to change my life. I don't regret it a day being a size 4 and 100lbs lighter a year later but my goodness. Looking back I should've prepared myself. Now I'm in intense therapy and doing better everyday. Working on getting more calories in so the weight loss will slow down. Let me know if you ever want to talk. I'm new on here and don't really know anyone with the surgery my age. Caseukrywalski@yahoo.com is my email if you'd like to!

I had gastric bypass surgery 19 days ago and all was going great until today! I woke up with pulsating sharp pains in my lower left side under my ribs but above my hip bone. It's not a blockage, I'm still able to pass gas, which is a relief! The only things I did different in the last 2 days was start to take the meds that prevent gallstones and I started to take the calcium chewable as well. It could be a side effect of one of those or maybe just constipation. Anyone else experiencing this?

I have bcbs is il and it took me about 7mos,.surgery date is 10/27 and my seminar was 3/25

My doctor prescribed me Colace (you can get it without a prescription at the drug store) and I have to take 1 twice a day for the two weeks at least or if I get diraeah then he said take 1 per day. I had surgery on 1/10 and I just had a small movement today. I hope this helps.

WOW!!! 30 days. I was told that I could have it in 10 weeks possibly less. My consult is next Wednesday and then I want to hit the floor running with the other appointments needed. My husband and I are both doing it so I will have to appointments according to his schedule, on Wednesdays when the kids are in school he is off, I will schedule them. Maybe I could schedule more than 1 appointment each Wednsday to get it done fast.

Hi All, It's been almost a year now and what a journey it has been for me. July 28th 2010 got my band all was ok there. 3 weeks later got a surgical site infection from the underwire of my bra ripping the beautiful scab, had a round of antibiotics and had to pack the infection site for almost two weeks. So then 8 weeks post-op my appendix had to come out. I still believe, even though 3 surgeons, the general surgeon and the 2 band surgeons said at the time there was no literature to back this up, that it was a direct result of the band surgery. Now, it's 12 weeks post band and my surgeons are happy at the healing and I schedule my first fill, 2cc's. I'm cool with that and happy to be on my way with my weight-loss journey. I was back to work full time again about two weeks when I began to have little twinges of pain on my right side but didn't think anything about it. I got up from my chair to go to the fax machine and said to my co-worker "gee, I'm having a funny pain in my right side", and laughingly said "watch next it will be my gallbladder". Ha Ha Ha. That friday night we went to a city street fair and my side really started to hurt bad and I was feeling really bloated and sick so I stayed in bed all Saturday and when I woke up on Sunday, knew it was back to the ER for me where I had a ultrasound that showed, you guessed it, inflammation and gallstones. The tech showed me because I had asked to see what the scan looked like and since I am an employee of the hospital I went to and know almost everyone who works there, she did. She showed me all of the stones and where my gallbladder was inflamed. Ok, I'm thinking great, I had to open my big mouth! Well the ER doc, whom I don't like at all, told me his diagnosis and said I would need to contact a surgeon to have it checked out. He diagnosed it as a lesser gallbladder problem of just stones instead of the with inflammation which indicates an infection and sent me home and said to contact the surgeon. I couldn't believe it! I was in such pain I almost couldn't stand it. I couldn't walk to the car and had to use a wheelchair. Anyway long story short because I was sent home. I called the surgeon's office the next moring and again because I wasn't admitted it was pre-determined by the office staff (before I spoke with my surgeon) that it wasn't an emergency and that I could schedule the surgery at my convienence so no one followed up with me for two days afterward and never told my surgeon that it was a priority. When I spoke to my surgeon he had told me that after reviewing my test results his diagnosis was Chronic Cholecystitis and that the gallbladder had to come out but again because I wasn't admitted at the time the Anesthesia dept didn't want to work me in to there already overloaded schedule. I waited 5 days in really bad pain to be able to get my surgery because of a misdiagnosis by the ED doc and miscommunication between my surgeon and his office. A few weeks later I went back to work and haven't had any more surgeries My progress was stalled and my motivation went by the wayside after all that and I decided not to get any fills until after Thanksgiving but did have one, another 2cc's before Christmas. I ws losing but very slowly like 2 lbs every 6 weeks. Finally by the end of February I got some real restriction and started to lose a little more quickly but in April I was up to 9cc's and stalled. I went to talk with the doc in the band office and got some counseling on foods to eat and exercising and stuff and scheduled another appointment 5 weeks later that I cancelled because I was just starting to do my Water aerobics and the scale hadn't changed. I finally went back the beginning of this month and by chance saw my band surgeon instead of the FP doc there. I had lost 7 lbs in 10 weeks and he said let's tweak you a little and gave me .05 cc's for a total of 9.5 and that with the exercising has really started to work. I have lost 5 lbs sind the beginning of the month and have gone down another size in clothes. I've lost 40lbs now and can't believe it. I went shopping for clothes yesterday and am now in a size 16 pant and an 18/20 top. I am so amazed and happy to finally be closer to my goal which was 100 lbs total. I hope to lose another 20 by the end of the year. Thanks for reading my epic saga!

Here goes my anxiety but now I'm nervous wreck that I'll end up with a leak.