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From what I have heard the Med Grp decides if you are approved for the referral letter and once BCBS has that you get the surgery. The nurse told me not to lose much weight during the diet or I would not get the referral. What med grp are you with? My med grp used to have a 12 month diet for HMO and 10% wt loss but recently changed that because so many people were complaining. Im sure some day these 6 month diets will be a thing of the past. I have a 25 year diet that I could tell them all about.:thumbup: Please keep us posted on your progress.

Just wanted to let you know that there are a couple of other doctors in the Columbus area. They work in the Mount Carmel Hospital system and their practice is Mid Ohio Surgical. I think the names are Timothy Price & Philip Custer. I'm not 100% sure of the first names but I know the last names are correct. I called OSU and they tried to convince me to choose the bypass, so I got away from them quick. I am going to Dr. Duckett in Maumee Ohio because of insurance reasons. Good luck in your journey! My surgery is scheduled for Jan 19. Sheila

Hi I lose about 6-8 pounds fast and then I "adjust" (lol) for about 10 days.Then I lose fast again and thats been my pattern.Dont do long stalls. How much weight have you lost?You had your surgery about 2 weeks after me.

NYU dietician suggested up to six premier Protein shakes and 2 cups of vegetables a day. 2 tbsp fat free dressing. coffee with artificial sweetener and skim milk, sugar free popsicles. No carbs. I lost 10 pounds in two weeks and was never hungry. Those shakes are the best ones IMO. Sent from my Nexus 10 using the BariatricPal App

I am 10 weeks post op. I never lost my hunger but this last few days the hunger pains have been really intense. So much so that before a meal my stomach hurts because of hunger, a bad pain not just rumbling. Then the hunger returns less than an hour after eating. I don't drink with meals and I eat my protein. I tried taking tums to help and it helped a little but it's still there. I'm getting 700/900 cal and exercising daily. Does anyone have any suggestions? Yesterday I felt persistently hungry all day even though I ate 1000 cal.

I had it on 10/23 and have had a rough go of it. Seems my stomach didn't like being messed with. I had to stay in hospital for four days and am slowly improving. Some cramping but am told that is because I was drinking too fast and too much at once. Hope this bad feeling isn't permanent. Too sick to enjoy the weight loss yet....hope for a better week!

We just drove from Jill's house to her son's, which was only 10 miles away. Holy icicles, Batpeople! You can't stop at a red light too long or the car freezes over! It's friggen cold & icy out here and only 32 degrees with cars a-slidin' and accidents on the news. No plans for traveling at this point

Ty is the best man for me! Today after we both had to work 10 hour overtime shifts at work (yuck, but the money is to good to not go in) wehad to drive to a near by city to drop is car off for work. It was about an hour and 15 minute car ride, so we had time to talk on the way home, and I asked him what he wanted me to do with the appointments. And he asked me what I wanted, and I told him the truth, that I wanted to keep the appointments and for him to come home in december and for us to get banded in December like we originally planned. And then he said no matter what, we would be banded in December! He said that if he gets extended, he'll just fly home and take a bit of time off, then fly back. My night has been made. I know that this is short, but I'm just so happy! Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!!

This gets better and better as the days go by! My bmi is now 49.7... Whooo hoooo! I aimed for it to be below 50 by month end and with 8 days to spare I'm down to 308 today. This week was really, really, really did I say really?, STRESSFUL!!!!! There were days when I went up to over 1500 cals and I didn't exercise a single day this week but still I lost. Last night I stepped on the scale and it was still saying 310 and I said to myself at least I did not gain under all that stress. But sure enough when I got on this morning, it gave up the 2lbs. Wheeew! Cause of all the stress this past week, I do appreciate the 2lb loss this week even more than the 5lb last week, plus it did put my bmi under 50 for the first time in almost 10 years!!!! I am also elated over the fact that I can now pull on and off my favourite jeans without unbuttoning them, not to mention how much fun I'm having boasting about my skin 'wings' and having my sons crack up. (They're 10,8 and 2 yrs old .... so cute!) lol My husband is now happy that he's seeing our investment finally working. I secretly giggled when I heard him bragging about the weight his wife has recently lost, to someone on the phone. 44lbs and counting... On my weigh down...

I had a fill on Monday at Dr. Spiegel's office. My appt was 3:00 and I saw him at 3:50. The room was filled with about 30 people. He makes you drink a bottle of Water, which you bring with you, before you can leave. I had asked for an extended office visit, but of course that wasn't in the cards. However, I just had my say. I have very difficult fills and don't react for 6-10 days after a fill. He thought my case was unusual and looked to me like he was just tollerating my story. Anyway, he decided to give me only .2, like I was going to let him give me anymore. Unfortunatley, if you want to get anywhere with him or his office you just have to be tough. You have to take charge of your own care. I hope I don't have a reaction to this fill, because an unfill for me would spell disaster. Since I can't tollerate much more than .2 or .3, it would take me a very long time to get back to where I was before the complete unfill. I will definitely fight that. His office staff are just overworked and not knowledgeable. I don't think he has a clue how bad his office staff really is. At least I want to believe that. Well, we'll just have to see how this goes. He said he gave the surgicenter a year to get it right and they couldn't, so he isn't letting them touch his patients. That's all I know for now. Good luck everyone.

I WAS BANDED ON 2/19/08 AND I HAD TO BE A CLEAR LIQUID 24 hours and full liquied 1 week now I can start with mushies. IT IS SO WIERD HOW ALL OF OUR DR'S HAVE DIFFERENT DIET RULES. WOW, SOME PEOPLE HAVE TO BE ON LIQUIDS FOR WEEKS!!! ANY HOW, I HAVE NOTICED IF I JUST GO A TAD OVER MY 2 OZ'S AT A TIME I WILL GET A PAIN IN MY SHOULDER. IS THIS LIKE A WARNING SIGN THAT WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE OR IS IT JUST POST OP??

Hi all, I am not often a poster, but I figured that if there was any group I might feel comfortable with, this should be the one. My name is Gary. I have a marginal BMI (39) for the surgery, but enough co-morbidities to make the grim reaper drool on his scythe. Thus my HMO gracefully allowed my band. Its been 10 days and I though I am only on the liquid diet, I am chafing at the bit to expand my intake. I actually gained 10 pounds of Fluid during my 36 hours in the hospital, and lost that and another 6 or 7 in the 8 days since. Since I am only at about 500 calories, I have stopped losing, but I hope that will change with the next diet phase soon. I see my nutritionist tomorrow. Anyway, I look forward to reading all your stories, comments and concerns. Just my opinion... I could be wrong! Good luck everyone.

I had the same feelings of hunger all the time! I was taking protonix and my stomach would still grumble. I would eat every few hours, all Protein to try to fill me up and last longer. I have to say now at 10 weeks out the hunger pains have lessened quite a bit. In the last few weeks I eat and I'm not even hungry. I know lots of ppl didnt feel hunger for the first few months, but I was the opposite. I know they make other proton inhibitors, maybe trying a different one would help? I'm not sure but for me it was just a waiting thing and it got better over time.

Hello, Everyone! New here...so glad I found this site!! I have been researching the Band for years and was going to have it done in September, but have changed my mind and am now doing the SLEEVE! Yay! So, SO 'cited :Banane03: My only questions are these - since I knew all the 'Band rules' inside and out and was totally prepared for that way of life, I need to figure out the "Sleeve Rules". For instance, with the band, you need to chew, chew, chew and then when you think you're done, chew some more, until your food is basically mush before you swallow. Also, your bites need to be really tiny, toddler-food style. All this to avoid getting stuck since your stoma/stomach opening is so restricted. Also, you cannot eat 'slider' foods or drink with meals as this will wash out your pouch of food, leaving you hungry again right away. No Soup, no 'runny' oatmeal. :sign44: And the other big band rule, you can almost never eat bread/pasta/rice, etc again as it's gluey and starchy and will get stuck, also. Now, don't get me wrong here! I don't need a lecture about how you shouldn't eat those things anyway, as I know that, very well - been dieting for years, just like most of us . But my reason for doing this is so I can be a 'normal, regular' person and eat like a 'naturally thin' person. LIke the nutritionists, say, be good 90% of the time, play 10% of the time. Those times I may want to splurge and have a half sandwich, or some Pasta, or a piece of pizza, I want to be able to have a little bit every once in a GREAT while - like I said, be normal!! One of my main reasons for doing this is so I can have a normal, healthy relationship with food. Not obsess over soup or a roll, or stress if I'm going to party for crying out loud!! And no popcorn, my favorite food!! :scared0: So, Sleevers, aside from the fact that you need to obviously eat slowly and we all need to take smaller bites and chew more within reason, are these things such a big deal with a sleeve? I am guessing it's not AS imperative since the stoma/stomach opening is not made any smaller with the VSG, but I don't know for sure?? Any band-to-sleeve revisioners that can outline the differences? And, honestly, do you vomit if you eat too much, or don't pay attention to yoru full signals? With the band, vomiting and "PB''ing" are VERY common, but how common with the sleeve??? Thank you guys, so very, very much, for all your willingness to help, support, and share with us "newbies". SO many of us would be lost without our experienced trailblazers to lean on. Love you guys and so glad I found a 'home!" Started 6 month supervised diet - 3/11 Psych Eval - 3/11 Band Surg Consult - 3/11 VSG Surg Consult - 6/11 (Dr. Lauter) Final Insurance Approval - ?? Surgery Date - 9/?/11?

That's awesome. I am in the process of setting up my sleeve date of Jan 30th and I am ready. I had my lapband removed after it eroded into my stomach and gained the 70 pounds I lost. I have to lose over 200 pounds so I am ready to use my tool and get active also. I am confidence, but I see it as a "big girl" confidence because I have a good sense of humor. I am ready to feel sexy and actually be sexy. My children are 16, 15, and 10, and 10 years is too long to still have to lose baby weight. We are in the same boat. It makes me feel better. I am going to Dr. Garcia in Mexico by the way. So here's to our journey!

Yeah, you'll feel that way, as far as no appetite. I didn't start really having an appetite till about a week after the procedure. I mainly stuck to drinking Propel Zero water (for some flavor) as I was concentrating on getting over the gas pain. If no one has mentioned, buy some Gas-X strips. I didn't discover the power of these strips until I was just about over the gas pains, lol. You won't regain most of your mobility (as far as stretching or moving around) until around 10 or so days after the procedure. Of course, these are ballpark figures, as recovery varies from person to person. Just try to take it easy, and do a little bit of walking around to help dissipate the gas.

I had surgery on 8/16. I read and read and read entries on this site. It made a world of difference for me. I was on a 2 week pre-op, almost harder than the surgery itself. On that morning, I was scared and apprehensive. Praying did calm and center me. When I came in, they asked a lot of questions I answered 13 times already...lol. What meds am I on? What's my name and date, checking the wrist band. Met with various nurses and Drs that "prepped" me. Got my IV. Surgery was done about 2 1/2 hrs after I arrived. It took about 1 hr 15 min. Woke up in recovery room, felt kinda like hit by a Mack truck, just confused, out of sorts, thirsty!!! Once in my room, got the pain pump. Used more in the first 3-4 hours and tappered off to maybe 6-8 "hits" per day. Pain went from a 9 to a 6 in a matter of a few hours, then down to a 4. I asked for no bladder catheter, I get bad UTIs. So schlepping all the stuff (IV and pain meds stand) in and out of the bathroom was a nuisance. I walked around the unit twice that day. I stayed 2 nights because I had issues with my heart rate dropping. The 2nd day walked 4 times around the unit. Ate minimally while I was there. Rested on and off. Was very bloated. I had to keep mindful that the first week wasn't about weight loss, but recovering. Detoxing from the anesthesia and meds took a few days too. Now feeling really good. The "worst" is behind me and I can't wait to getting better and better and more "normal". It's just a couple weeks of inconvenience, sacrafice and being uncomforatble for hopfeully a lifetime of better living. Good luck, we're all here for you. Keep us posted. Melinda Sleeved 8/16/10 by Dr Lynch HW 333, pre-op diet start 323, surgery weight, 309, weight today 300! Yippee!!!

Geoff, Had to do a double take on your surgery date. It looks like 10/2013. I assume you mean 10/13/2014. As the others have said. First off, follow your surgeons guidelines. That being said, I have been going to the gym and doing cardio and complete weight regimens since 6 weeks PO. And I'm sure that without the workouts, this whole sleeve thing would not be working for me. Some cautions. - I had a unbilical hernia repair during my sleeve and subsequently avoided any strenuous stomach type exercises for a few months. And when doing workouts, keep the hydration up. Another point to keep in mind is to be able to build any muscle during the process and certainly avoid losing any while losing fat weight, you must get in your Protein. I do whatever is necessary to get in at least 100 grams of protein a day. At six months my weight loss has slowed alot, but my workouts have not. As I get stronger, I am able to do more and even with the low calorie diet, I need to maintain the workouts in order to keep losing weight to reach my goal. The process has convinced me that even when I reach my goal, exercise will be the only way of maintaining my weight and avoiding any weight gain. Good luck with your surgery. Keep us posted with your progress. FYI - Check into "My Fitness Pal". Makes it easy to keep track of your diet, your workouts and your weight goals.

Congrats!! My surgery is also on June 6th, Pre Surg class on the 5/19, Pre op on 6/1 and Covid on 6/3. Good luck and congrats again!!

Ummmm.... you sent me the pics the other night and you look great. I can see it in you face and neck. 30 lbs is huge! What an accomplishment! Look at it this way, go pick up a 10 lb weight (that's all you can pick up post op) and imagine carrying 3x that, walking around how long would you be able to walk carrying it in your arms!! You are getting there!! Congrats on your weight loss!

exercise is soooo important for your success. I know it is hard but try to fit in small 10 min sessions about 4 or 5 times per day. you can walk during your work breaks or at lunch take some bands along on your weekends. if you have a long trip stop at rest stops and walk walk walk. do jumping jacks or lunges etc. whether it is strength or cardio there are tons of short simple exercises that you can fit in. good luck to you.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/351046-embrace-the-stall/ Your body is still traumatized and pumped full of fluids and meds from surgery and usually you're lucky not to gain weight within the first week to 10 days. And the first stall usually hits around your third week. Your body has to take pauses every once in a while. No one loses weight steadily. Think of it as it needing a small rest break while it figures out whether this lower calorie/low carb thing is going to be permanent... it is? Well okay, guess we'll drop another few pounds and see what you're doing then. Still low cal/carb and adding in exercise? Well maybe it's time to build a bit of muscle and drop some fat so you won't see the numbers on the scale drop but you'll notice the difference in your clothing since a fat is way more bulky than lean muscle. Rinse and repeat for the next year with varying lengths of time spend in stalls. You'll be fine. Do read Inner Surfer Girl's post about Embracing the Stall and it will all make sense.

Most definitely male! I think I had left before 10. I believe there are 3 of us getting the new Realize band on the 6th from Kramer/Ponce in order to complete Dr. Kramer's certification. I'm 6'3" very short black/grey hair. Hope to see you Friday! I'm going on a 275mile trip on next Wednesday...I hope I'll be able!

Would like to add...I live my band and I'm 10 pounds to goal no regrets...just wanting to keep safe and healthy.

I had a meltdown at the gym early this morning (Saturday). I'm on the treadmill listening to music and all of a sudden I started thinking about the surgery on Tuesday and I got so emotional and started crying on the treadmill. I immediately left the gym, drove across the street to this restaurant, ordered a coffee with sweet n low, a cup of grits, 1 bacon and english muffins and I ate it all. Then I went to the grocery store to finish buying all the foods I need for after I come home from the hospital and the liquids I need for the day before surgery. My 10 day pre-op diet consists of 2 Protein shakes, 2 fruits, tons of Water and 2 healthy choice/smart ones/weight watcher meals per day. I hope I didnt mess myself up by eating that piece of bacon and the english muffins. I stopped crying once I ate that food. I wonder why did that happen to me like that. It happened so suddenly.