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What kind of broths did you drink post-op? That's kind of a dumb question, I know. Just wondering if you cracked open cans/containers of organic low-sodium chicken/beef/veggie broth, poured it into mugs, nuked and then drank, or if we're supposed to go the bouillon route and mixed the powdered stuff with warm/hot Water. I've got three weeks of a post-op liquid diet - Clear Liquids - so I'm trying to get a little creative here. Err, as creative as one can get with broth.

I had alot of discomfort around my port. All I did was go from the bed, bathroom, computer for the first few days. But each day was easier and easier. I took 3 weeks off from work. I'm a sec. in the Labor Room, so they felt I didn't need anymore time than that. Well, let me tell you I work 4 12 shifts with alot of up and down during those 12 hours. I was in so much discomfort that first week. But by the 4th week I was back to the normal and on the road to lossing. I didn't get my first fill until something in Oct. didn't feel much of a difference and weight loss was slow. Got a 2nd fill 4 weeks latter and a 3rd fill in Dec. Still a low weight loss. Thought I would have lost alot more by the time Dec. had rolled around but hey 20lbs gone is better than gain. Well I must have gotten a piece of steak stuck so off to Dr. Bass's to have a unfill. Not too HAPPY about it at all.:angry And of course what did I do but gain 2lbs when I went back for another fill.

I never see anyone talking about eating salad. I will be 4 weeks post-op on Wednesday, and still on mushies but hoping that after I see my doc next Tuesday that he will let me proceed to a more normal diet. I'm craving salad! Just a small spinach salad with grilled chicken and a little light raspberry vinagrette sounds awesome to me! Do VSG'rs tend to have a problem with salad? I hope not.........but do tell!

hi everyone... so I did a gastric bypass November 7th and I'm 23 years old start weight was 112 and now just under 100kg. The first 2 weeks were wonderful after surgery, but since then till today 3 weeks after I feel the worst thing. 1st thing I have regretted the surgery because I can't eat or drink anything if I don't feel sick or not well 2nd thing I can't work because I'm always tired. 3rd thing today I've started to feel the worst pain on the side of my stomach so exactly where my kidney is... never had a problem before. 4th thing I have got urine problem every time I go toilet i feel like peeing but nothing comes. 5th thing I need you guys to help me know if anyone has experienced any of this before. I feel lost and don't like anything anymore. Sent from my SM-G935F using the BariatricPal App

Today is day three for me I had my surgery Wednesday and I feel okay the worst part is the pain in my shoulders and food is going down okay but I'm only eating Jell-O cream of broccoli soup with broth mixed in that seem to really cut that the saltiness and lots of water and some frozen yogurt which is really nice not the ice cream kind but just yogurt in the freezer hope everyone's well

Appetite, for me i just started getting it back today, day 7. Been on liquids n forcefeeding myself all week. Mushy foods starting tda, so far so good. Good luck, everyones journey is different, hope yours goes smoothly. Feel better. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using the BariatricPal App

I was on liquids for 2 weeks post op. Meaning low fat soups strained. Broth, sugar free popsicles, protein shakes, sugar free jello..... etc. it was not easy for me the first 2 weeks to get in all the required liquids. When the swelling went down everything got easier!

When was your surgery? I am 6 wks. and I can drink and eat anything I want! I have been this way though since wk 3. I am at a stall right now though! My weight going up and down! I don't understand this but I am hanging in there!

What's weird is in my case, increasing my calories seemed to do the trick to speed things up after 6 months. I went from 800-900 calories at about 6 months, to gradually increasing to my current 1200-1250. I also do cardio (running, elliptical) and weights 4-5 days a week. It has come off pretty darn steadily this last four months. You're so close! You can do this!

I can see that if you've kept your calories that low the whole time. But by six months many have stopped tracking and the calories are creeping higher and they aren't aware. So tracking is gonna show Anyone where they are at and then they can make adjustments accordingly. If they aren't aware that they've crept up to 1500 or so they can adjust downwards if they realize they are consistently 600-800 they can adjust upwards. Tracking is a tool. Yeah, and I wasn't losing that much and stalling ALL THE TIME. Funny, it took me a while to figure out I just needed to increase my calories. Slow learner, I guess 1200-1300 seems to be my sweet spot right now, because I've been losing pretty consistently the last few months.

I was on a clear liquid diet my first week....nothing else. I just moved to a full liquid diet this week, but my band hasn't been filled yet as well. Have another four weeks until I get first fill. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Your body is adjusting and attempting to reach homeostasis. It's very normal and it will pass. I wish I had listened to advice from veterans like JamieLogical who suggest staying off the scale. At about 8 weeks out I stopped weighing daily and weighed once a week. This gives me a better view of my weight and even when in a stall, I can see an ounce or two gone. You may find that you are smaller in size even if the weight is stalled. You'll get through it just fine! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

The Week 3 Stall is because your body is freaking out about everything you've put it through in the past few weeks. I *highly* recommend you stay off the scale for a bit and focus on your healing, getting in your protein and water, walking as much as possible, and taking your vitamins. If you do all of those things, you WILL lose weight. But your body needs a minute to catch up.

Hey there! I was just banded on 10/22/09 and my 1st fill is scheduled for 12/01. I am in Federal Way, WA. I am 39 years old and starting weight at time of surgery was 390 lbs. My goal is to reach 200. I am really concerned that I feel almost no restriction in what I can eat right now. My first fill was scheduled on 11/24 but they rescheduled it because of Thanksgiving. Something about having to be available for 48 hours after a fill. So now it is set for 12/01. Seems soooo far away. I am working out 4 days a week for 45 mins. Doing Water aerobics at Bally in Kent M, T, Th, F at 5:00AM by myself. Then I treat myself to 10 minutes in the steam room! I lost 5 lbs since surgery. That's IT!!! I am eatting 3 small meals a day and 1 snack. Somedays I have 2 Snacks. My meals are no more than 1 cup of food. 4oz of meat and lots of steamed cauliflower. For lunches I am eatting tuna salad (4oz of tuna with 2 teaspoons of lite mayo) and a piece of whole weat toast. For Breakfast I have 1/2 c. of 2% cottage cheese. For snacks I am having 16 lite wheat thins with 2 oz of turkey ham and 1 oz of provolone cheese. That's it! And 5 lbs??? I don't really know what I am doing wrong. And I am starving!!! I used to only eat once or twice a day. But once I eat breakfast I am hungry throughout the entire day. Any advice?

Be grateful! It took me two weeks to recover but I feel fantastic 8 months out.

I always had my protein drink with me at that point and sometimes held on to it and gripped it in frustration as well as anger at times. Sip that and remember not to take the first bite. I know others did but I didn't want to take a chance with my sleeve. I'm a rule follower, so I would look things up in the booklet with the program I was suppose to follow and decide ahead of time what I would have. I brought food with me. Had my surgery a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. Stayed home for most of the day, and then went to son's for dessert. I took my pumpkin shake with me and my protein pudding. It takes planning. Other people may disagree but that is just me. Hope this helps a little. I did the same when we went to a movie and I didn't eat popcorn.

It's all about mindful eating. You need to be fully aware of everything you are putting in your mouth. I know all programs are different, so please don't be offended about my question. Did you have to attend behavioral modification classes prior to your surgery? With my program I had to go through 6 weeks of 2hrs classes and then attend monthly 2 hour meetings until approved for surgery. This is a lifestyle change and be mindlessly eating or grazing are going to sabotage our efforts. Hope I helped a little!

I was sleeved a week after you were, 12/12/12, and I am the cook for my family, too. I don't know how restricted your diet is but I can certainly taste my cooking. I make a lot of the same dishes as I used to, I just tweaked them. For instance I switched spaghetti noodles (yes I've eaten my homemade spaghetti) for spaghetti squash. No one was the wiser, and the meal was now sleeve friendly.

Why would you not be able to at least taste the food to check seasoning? I am the family cook and the only time I avoided this was immediately post op, but you're more than a month out. Don't make yourself crazier than you need to! Listen, steak isn't likely to go over well at this point. But it's not gone forever. Depending on where you are in your post op diet (I'm assuming soft foods) there are options out there besides beans! Food is an addiction for many of us. Having the sleeve only controls the portion side of the equation but never addresses the emotions, habits and rituals we have tied up in food. It takes a long time to sort through all that and get a normal, healthy relationship out of the mess. The frustration you're feeling is normal and it will pass more quickly than you think. In the meantime, focus on introducing foods you might not have eaten prior to surgery. Make spices work for you. Get creative. This phase is short, but it will still be some time before you sit down and enjoy what will be a normal meal for you from now on. It takes a while but in just a few more weeks you should be able to sit down and eat a few bites of whatever you made for your family. You'll just have a much smaller portion. And why not prepare part of the meal as something you can enjoy with them now? I made about half of my meals to my family's tastes but half again to suit what I was able to eat. Including a nice, tasty Soup or some soft grain/seed salads each evening could enable you to feel like you're part of the ritual that your family enjoys. At some point you'll be there and able to eat as much as you'd like, but for a long time you'll find that you might pass on a dish they eat or skip over certain foods. So I guess what I'm saying is not to deny yourself this time with your family because it may be a long while before you're eating everything they eat. It's a hurdle you'll have to tackle at some point, so why not now? It's normal to feel frustration but I think that this doesn't need to be as difficult as it is for you right now. If all else fails, you'll still only be in this phase for a short while. Good luck, and congrats on your sleeve, ~Cheri

MystrysA, I think I'm a younger you. I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue (developed after a virus in July 2009 that wouldn't go away), in lots of pain, weird Vitamin deficiencies, unable to move move, not really having any kind of eating disorder or being a junk food junkie, just ate... too much. Too much GOOD food, but still too much. As part of (either cause or symptom) my chronic fatigue, I have very very bad chronic sinusitis... the swelling in my sinuses is almost completely solid (flesh, ew), and my immune system is constantly activated due to it, chronic inflammation too, but the same immune system wouldn't respond to minor things and I have caught EVERYTHING, had seriously crazy immune system overreactions to new/minor allergens, ended up in the ER after having a brand new food allergy, etc. I weighed about 308lbs (sans Water weight) and 312 with, just before surgery. In short: I'm a freakin mess. BUT there's an upside! I just had my sleeve on May 25 and I am already so glad I did. It caused a minor fibro flare but that's already died down. You know what's freaky? My sinuses are less clogged. They used to lock up like cement at night, or any other time I laid down, no matter where. That has improved immensely, just over a week later. The puffy black swelling around my eyes is almost gone too. For whatever reason, this surgery really works. And I feel "free" of food. My surgeon lets me have mushy foods this early out (9 days) and honestly? It's great. I don't want to eat everything. I love it. I already feel much better physically AND I feel more free. So, I'm obviously no doctor, but based on my experience, it sounds like you're making the right decision. The one other thing that's helped me is a book which you should absolutely buy, called From Fatigued to Fantastic. It's by a doctor who specializes in cfs/fms, and I've started some of his suggestions (Desyrel to improve my sleep, Diflucan to work against yeast in the sinuses/gut, D-Ribose and Magnesium for the muscles, Rhodiola Rosea for energy... had to stop that for a few weeks before/after surgery cuz it's a blood thinner tho!) and they have helped immensely as well. It's been a real life saver for me. It helped me feel human again before surgery. Please send me a private message if I can help you with anything fibro-and-sleeve related!!

Greetings All~ I am turning 42 this year and have decided I want to have a VS done. I have made a ton of amazing changes in the last 3 years of my life. I was medically dependent for 4 1/2 years on Fentanyl Patches for pain and spent a relatively short period of time coming off this highly addictive medication. All in all, from the last day of my last patch to the last day of my last Suboxone pill(medication used to detox from opiates), it only took me an amazing 106 days!!! This is after cancer, living with the pain of severe fibromyalgia, a leaking valve in my heart and OA in my feet, ankles, knees back and shoulders. If you also factor in 4 herniated discs in my spine and and constant injections in my knees, I would have to give myself a HUGE pat on the back for my intestinal fortitude and perseverance. So...given the fact i can and have been strong enough to battle something like this,you can imagine my frustration at still being 5'7" and 309 pounds!!!! I have been overweight my whole life. I just cannot understand the inability to beat this weight problem. I cannot move as much as I'd like to due to the pain but I do bellydance 2-3 x a week. I park so I have to walk, I take the stairs, etc. I do not eat ANY fast food, junk food or a lot of sweets. We do not eat many packaged or highly processed foods either. I eat a balanced, organic diet...just too much of it!! My problem is I LOVE TO COOK...and therefore i love to eat. I will overeat when it comes to savory meals. I'm all about it. I've spent the 6 months with my PCP documenting weight loss attempts, attended the bariatric surgery seminar, gotten the PCP letter, my Psych eval, and am ready to schedule with the surgeon. Here is my biggest question/concern: Through all my research in the last year, I have come across info that states that people who undergo any bariatric surgery will have a significant reduction in the co-morbidities that I have( hypertension, insulin dependent Type 2 Diabetes, high triglycerides, and Obstructive sleep apnea, GERD, and OA) BUT...these studies state that even IF an equal amount of weight is lost by someone on their own and NOT with a bariatric surgery, the results are not as significant in these issues. Can anyone here tell me why that is? I get the common sense issues like losing weight, PERIOD, can help reduce blood pressure, pressure on joints and even lower your glucose levels, but these studies seem to indicate something quite different happens when you have a bariatric surgery. I am curious if anyone here knows the mechanism or even has an idea why it works this way? Why is it more effective in getting rid of these things than anything else? I have tried so many diets and plans I have lost count. I cannot stand this constant stress about what will go wrong next with my aging and obviously rebelling body. I need to get this weight off and I'm torn because I have Medicare/Medicaid as my only insurance and we all know what that means. At this point, NO VS FOR ME!! ( unless I can come up with the $ on my own...won't happen) This all came as a lovely surprise while reading this forum but also was solidified by the surgeon at the bariatric seminar I attended. I am terrified to have the ReY or the DS. I can't imagine never being able to eat a balanced diet again. The minuscule amounts of veggies and greens people can eat does not seem healthy. Not to mention the inability to eat them as they are meant to be...RAW! I am SOOOOOO scared of this. It just seems so out of balance with nature yet I am desperate because I, myself, have not been able to eat these things in the moderation that is necessary.....leaving me to find moire extreme measures to deal with my addiction to food. If I could just eat less and move more....but I can't at this point. I need help. To make the matter worse, I already have severe B12 and Vitamin D deficiencies that require constant monitoring and meds. The idea of having to worry even more because of malabsorption issues..... I am at a loss. I have no idea what to do. I feel completely overwhelmed. Thanks for listening, ~K~

Greetings all. I am a 65 year old woman living in Mesa, Arizona who is in the second month of a three month preoperative period. Medicare will not cover the sleeve and because I have a short torso creating a "belt line" I am not a candidate for lap RNY. Age and scar tissue make an open RNY out of the question. Guess I am saying that I come to the Realize Lap Band by default, not by choice since I need to lose around 100 pounds. I am looking forward to learning from all of you!

I used goo gone to take it off but it wasn't in my actual incisions just around them. I did have tape on three of my incisions and they said if that didn't fall off in 5-7 days I could remove it.

Iam 4 weeks out and I have some Fluid in my band. I will know more on Monday when I get a fill. about 2 weeks after surgery I knew I needed a fill. Chris

Congrats!! I'm a week post-op. Can't wait to see where I am in a month!! You've done great! Good luck!