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I will pass on this web site next week to increase joint support....great job on the weight loss. Keep it up

u will feel better day by day . i agree ...day 2 is bad !!! try tying a belt to your headboard .itll help make getting out of bed easier ! i had my surgery on dec 8 and am feeling great !!! the day before surgery i weighed 228...now at 208 and stalled .you will experience different things day by day .....shoulder pain is a real b****....(from the gas)...it took me close to two weeks to overcome but that 2nd week was worse in that regards . GAS X STRIPS helped me out alot . Not that i had belches or farts ...i wish i did ...lol....but just overall pain . i really relied on them!i am a hospice tech and asked the surgeon at my follow up if i could PLEEEEEASE be off for 6 weeks....i hve over 400 hrs of sick time accrued , and i got my mds note to be off 6 weeks !!!!! BUT realistically.....i was physically able to go back after week 2!!!! my biggest thing to learn to do right after surgery was to sip and not swallow !!!!ugh!!!!! now, its sooooo much better !!!but the problem i am having now is putting tooo much in my tummy at once .....like 3 turkey meatballs and i am ready to explode !!! its really weird how very lil will now fill u up !!!! i went out to eat w some friends last night and was amazed at the food on their plates and thinkin ....omg!!!i actually ate that before surgery !!!!...lol!!!..........every day is a new experience and new challenge !!! i spent thos past weekend emptying my whole closet out !!!Nothing , i mean nothing fits .....and i counted 76, yes 76 scrub tops ......they all hang on me !!!!....its been 3 !/2 weeks !!! prior to my surgery i quit smoking as well ........so i am saving me a TON of money !!!!!:)good luck......i know u will do just fine...and if u have any questions....ask away !!!!....... this site has given me sooooooooo much useful info ......soo much more than i got with my surgeon!!!also ....google bariatric support groups in your area ..and go to them !!!!! its actually pretty neat to go and have ppl look at you askin questions ,knowing you were in their exact same spot ...and to share what u are experiencing is pretty darn cool !!!!Wish u the best !!!

I have just had to have surgery to fix a leak in the tubing about a inch from the port, so basically it was trimmed and re fixed. The doctor doing the fixing said that it was caused during a fill. Now I always pay extra to have my fill done under x-ray. And the fill provider as still managed to stick the needle in the tubing. Its has cost me 5 weeks of very bad pain, apparently this is caused by the leak, 1 week in hospital - we thought it was my gallbladder. And $1600 to repaire through surgery, I had this done under local anticeptic, which I found very traumatic, I know a lot of people say its a walk in the park, but I found it extremely difficult. Would you file a claim against the fill provider to get your cost back?

I met with the dietician last week and will be doing my dietary consult on 9/19. The dietician explained that they advise use of Bariatric fusion Meal Replacements. Has anyone used these and if so which flavors are good? Just want to know what to buy on 9/19! Thanks!

:banana I am so happy because I have been waiting to be banded for over a year. As you read my stats at the bottom, I have been monitoring every ounce. I just had my first fill on Monday, April 5 (2.5 cc). I didn't think it was restricting me because I never felt full until yesterday. I also found out I lost weight! (6 lbs. in the last 2 weeks) Yippeee! My surgery was outpatient and I was back to work in a week. I've had no problems at all and thank God everyday that my appearance is changing. My friends and co-workers are constantly complimenting me on how good I look. My knees don't hurt anymore and I can breathe when I walk as well. This is the best money I have every spent. Happy to be banded! Carolyn

Nope, but I use the Mystic tan once a week and I dont streak at all....Princess, ur suposed to wear those booties on ur feet!!! I love it, and Ive been doing it for almost 2 yrs now. If u buy a big package its really not too expensive. I would suggest buying 2 tans to start (i know its expensive to do it that way but if u dont like it at least u didnt blow 100 bucks on a package.) They should show u a video on how to put on the booties and stand so u dont streak. I also use a bottle of stuff in between tans. Clarion is THE BEST! But it is kinda expensive too and u have to go to the dumb mall to get it...and girls we all know what happens when we go to the mall to get one thing..............."ohhhhh look at those shoes............"

Hello all. I was sleeved on October 22 2012, on my second week of purée and almost finished... Only problems I have right now is horrible chest pain in the area where my hiatal hernia was removed. Along with the chest pain I am starting to not be able to tolerate liquids, even just plain water keeps coming back up as a slimy mess... has eanyone ever has these problems? my biggest fear is that my hernia is coming back. ???? Any advice would be great.water.

Hello, everyone. I scheduled a surgery with Dr. Alamanza a few months back and my surgery date is just about 6 weeks away. Since Ive been waiting for my surgery date(I had to wait a little while because I didn't have a passport and had to apply and wait for it), while waiting, I didn't more research and have read some things about dr alamanza and am considering switching to the bariatricpal mx with dr Illian. Dr alamanza is a lot cheaper but I have children so want as little risk as possible. Dr Alamanza seemed to have a very open schedule, which was helpful because I need to do my surgery around my husband's vacation time from work so he can care for our children while I am gone. Anyone who has used dr. illian, do they only do surgeries on certain days? How long did you stay in mexico before you could return home? If I change from dr alamanzo, they will likely keep my deposit. How much of a deposit did you pay for dr illian? Did you pay the whole price before you went to mexico or did you pay in mexico? I get nervous about sending a lot of money to another country before I even get to the facility. I will do it if needed but would rather make sure I actually get there and the surgery will for sure happen. Any input would be helpful. Ive already requested a quote and am waiting for them to get back to me.

I had severe migraines before surgery. I was averaging about 6 a week even with medication. Now I am 11 months post op, and until recently, I hadn't had any at all. This last couple of weeks though I've had 3-4 cluster migraines. I have lupus though so it might be different for normal folks, but for me, generally they did decrease.

I am 10 weeks post sleeve surgery. I love the support meetings I attend. I am actually going to one this evening. There are people in the group who report on the complications they may have had but for the most part the meetings are really supportive.

My surgeon says four weeks.

I am a newbie and have been very inspired and informed from this website. I too am getting ready to take on the journey with the Lap-Band. I have done all my intitial testing and meetings. I go next week to meet with the bariatric Dr to discuss pre-op information. All my information is being turned over to the insurance and i hope it will be a quick process. I just wanted to say thanks for all that post because it really prepares you for you post op days. I do know from what i read is to make sure you have liquid gas drops and walk as much as possible. I am really excited about this adventure into becoming a new me. Thanks again for all the great information.:w00t:

Hello, good to meet you. My name is Clara. I will be banded on Aug 27th. I have started my liquid diet this week. Today is much better than yesterday. Good to have you to the group.

Hello! I am a 40 yr old female from Cape Cod Mass. I have been overweight forever, but in the past few years I reached my highest peak @ 255lbs. In January of this year I looked into bariatric weight loss thru BI in Boston. They have a comprehensive and long program, which I completed in about 3-4 months and was told I would be a good candiate for surgery. I waited a few more months, as I was trying to decide what was best for me. Once I decided to go forward, I had to pick GBP or Lap Band. Since I was not a diebetic and on medications for health problems and the gbp seemed so severe, I opted for Lap Band surgery. My date was set for Monday 8/30/10. The week prior I did a partial liquid diet using mostly the unjury protein drinks. They taste good and filled me up. It was easier than I thought and I lost 10 lbs prior to surgery, just as my doctor wanted. I was super exicted and nervous but my surgeon is renowned in thie field and I was confident. Unfortunatley for me things did not go as planned. As I woke up in recovery, a nurse who did not seem to know about bariatrics, handed me 2 containers of liquid percocet and some water, telling me to drink it all down. I did as I was told, only to be hit with such pain in my chest, I thought I was dying. I could not breathe, I vomited, I was sweating and very upset. Nothing s/b given orally so soon after surgery and I will never know if that caused what happened next or not, but it was a long road for me. As a mom with a 6 yr old who was due to start first grade, I was happy to have my surgery scheduled before her school started, knowing I would be in the hospital for just one night. Well, for me it turned into a long 6 days! On day 3 my Dr stuck a needle in the band and took out all the water (15 cc) trying to loosen things up. 4 days after surgery I still could not keep 15 cc of water down and he decided to go back in and pop 2 stiches to loosen me up. This is called a revision and he said he had only see this happen in 2 patients prior to me...and he has done this since the surgery came about. I had to go backunder general anthesia and into the OR again. By the next day I was drinking some water and by Sunday afternoon I was finally released. I am 2 weeks out from my 2nd surgery and down a total of 30 lbs. I had my 2 week follow up with my doc and he says I am doing better than most. I am back to walking 3 miles a day (which I had started the month prior to surgery). My main issues now are with constipation and all that fun stuff.. Some days I don't want to get out of bed. I am cranky as I miss food. I loved to eat and it is harder than I expected to go without. On Saturday I tried on some jeans than are a size 20 (I was in 24/26) and they were a bit loose. This was exciting but only temporarily lifted my spirits. I still feel a bit off...not sure why exactly but trying to move ahead and getting stronger. I am on stage 4 diet...some solids, and so far, so good. This is my first time on a blog, and I am anxious to read other people's stories as well as chronicle my own. Thanks for reading:))

I’m on day 10 post op. I had the sleeve too and I got the hunger feeling started yesterday but I noticed I didn’t have enough protein intake. I guess I have a mindset of 40-48g of protein but my dietitian advised me today that I can take more proteins. I was counting the bone broth as my protein intake which made me hungry a bit although I’m using the Paleo/Keto friendly broth with 10g of protein. I changed it today and I’m not hungry. Can’t wait for the soft/puréed stage next week. I started watching videos on YouTube and it’s interesting and I found them helpful for our next stage.

im totally on an egg salad and tuna fish kick right now... hopefully only another week or so of mushies so we'll see!

Each time I read that someone is headed in for their surgery, I get that nervous jangle. Three weeks left for me. It felt so far away when I started the process now, gulp, the time is almost here.

I'm about 8 weeks post-op and I'm still learning my new "plumbing" and signals! It definitely takes some time. I think it gets a little easier once you move to soft foods; the liquid & puree phases are mostly to allow time for healing. Also, some people do have hunger sensations post-op, though it is uncommon, so don't be concerned if you don't completely lose those feelings. Continue to focus on fluid intake and resting, and give yourself time to learn your new body!

Lala I just started my liquid diet today.. last week was a 800 calorie diet, I bought vanilla whey Protein from GNC, mixed it this morning with half frozen banana 4 oz skim milk and 4 oz Water and some ice and it was good!! I used the blender and it thick like a shake. Had a little broth today also...trying to watch the sodium in that its really high...tried the propel and Vitamin water also not a big fan..tomorrow i'll try to mix it up with sugar free juice...but i've tried to google different protein shakes and there are a lot out there just try to find what you like : )

Thanks everyone. I checked with my sister who is an nurse amd she assured me that I wouldn't have it in both legs and it sounds more circulatory. I will check with my doc last week. I am/ was morbidly obese so she things it was to do with nerves and weight.

21 down in a month sounds fantastic! You should be very happy. I think though you should reduce your weight visits to the scale to one a week. Weighing yourself everyday will do nothing but drive you crazy!!! Once again, congrats!!!

I am beyond stressing! My surgery was approved and scheduled for 9/29. I had my medical clearance appointment this past weekend. My doctor never sent the script for a spleen ultrasound he wants done because on existing issue I have with my platelets. Fine. That's now scheduled for the Tuesday before the surgery. I had the ekg, blood work, and chest X-ray. The nurse at the hospital said it has to be sent over to my primary doctor for the clearance but everything looks great. I get to my primary today and he reviews it and says there is a problem with my ekg and he wants to repeat it. He does and the problem is still there. Inverted t waves. Said I need a stress test before he can clear me. I go to schedule it and nothing free until mid October. They are going to try and fit me in Monday. I go home and Google inverted t waves and now think I am about to have a heart attack any second! Im so nervous about my heart and I don't think the surgery is going to happen next week! Just venting. Thanks for getting this far lol. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Weight loss rates will all be around 1-2 lbs/week on the average, since your body is only able to burn so many calories a week. Initially, weight loss will be faster because your body burns glycogen instead of fat, which has lower energy density (it takes more grams glycogen to produce a given amount of energy than it would fat) and you lose a lot of Water in the process. Counting calories is crucial during the initial weeks/months of lap band until proper restriction is achieved. At that point, many people stop and rely on the band to do the work, others keep logging to keep overall control of their intake (most of us gained their weight by simply not paying attention). I usually log everything in Daily Plate, but dinners like yesterday's are impossible...two coworkers and I were at a Tapas restaurant and ordered 6 different small plates to share (if turned out too much food). All complex dishes with unknown ingredients and I had a bite of each....how to log? I've never done weight watchers, but from what I understand, the counting there never becomes optional. Lastly, there seem to be quite a few people who are afraid of being too tight (higher restriction levels often associated with long-term side effects) and intentionally or not stop before reaching the green zone. Some of them still have some restriction , but overall the weight loss is done by counting cals/carbs etc I say, do whatever works for you :-)