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I wonder how much he's lost vs how much he needs to lose? My mom only lost about 60 lbs with her band - which is why she revised to the sleeve.

Hi there I also had a band fitted and then within 6 months was diagnosed with cervical cancer, now 6 years on had the band removed and am on a pathway to revision to sleeve or bypass. Both bypass and sleeve are restrictive so they will restrict the amount you can eat but if you graze all day you can overeat. Sent from my VFD 700 using BariatricPal mobile app

you can actually kill yourself. i read about a woman in the UK who has bypass and she continued to binge eat and the food began backing up into her esophagus. eventually she stretched the esophagus to the point where the excess food in there suffocated her. obviously, a very rare occurrence, but i cant imagine what that must have felt like... the inquest said it was over a period of months that she did this to herself.

Hi Nicki, I'm having revision from lapband to bypass and I can tell you, I wish I would have just gone with the bypass to begin with. For me, the gas pains from having the lapband was terrible and I'm not looking forward to that again and the lapband didn't work at all for me. I do have a sweet tooth so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I dump to keep me away from those foods, not that I'm even thinking of having those things anytime soon after my surgery. Ultimately the choice is yours and you have to do what makes you feel comfortable. Good luck in your journey!!! Heather Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@Nicki24 my BMI is extremely high and I'm only 22. I'm going with bypass. It'll get me closer to my goals, and, like you said I would like the other restrictions! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Bypass they do specifically to cure diabetes. PCOS is a metabolic/insulin type issue. Usually just losing weight cures it. If you have diabetes in the family. Bypass is a good option but it has to be the insulin resistant one. I'm not sure if that's type 1 or type 2. [emoji16]

Congrats on your upcoming surgery! I had the Loop DS 18 months ago. And in my own experience the bowel prep bit was absolutely miserable. And I felt like I got hit by a truck when I woke up from surgery, but I was up and walking after about three hours. It really helps with getting rid of the gas. Some people (myself included) vomit old blood after the surgery (it was only 4x for me, but super painful) so I'm telling you incase it happens to you because they didn't tell me it was a possibility and I freaked the hell out! I went home after three days in the hospital and I stopped taking pain meds at home after two days (so on day 5 post-op was the last day I took pain meds). The part where they take your stomach out will hurt the most, especially when you get up or sit down and you may need help showering (I did), but I was a lot better by week two. I struggled to get fluids in at the hospital and they almost kept me a fourth day because I was getting all my fluid in via ice chips so they weren't able to count so they gave me a bunch of 1oz cups and told me I had to drink a certain amount for them to release me (I didn't get released until after 6pm, so they seriously almost kept me another night). Broth tasted like heaven lol, but I couldn't eat sugar free jello at all because it made me feel like my stomach was flipping (I'm odd, I guess lol). It's hard to get the protein in (in the beginning) and the powder was wayyy too sweet, I had to drink the pre-made protein drinks instead so I had one in the morning that I nursed for several hours and then one at night, that I again nursed for several hours. Fluids were a struggle for several months for me, but some don't have the same kind of issue that I had. Also, they never told me, but there is something like a 3% chance that you can get either a wheat allergy or Celiac's Disease after surgery (this is for any WLS with malabsorption. So DS/Loop DS/Gastric Bypass). It's only 3% so only 3 out a 100 people so the chances are low, but my luck is terrible and I developed a wheat allergy so if you end up getting what feels very much like dumping syndrome when eating something with wheat in it... you might want to get tested (that's how I found out). My allergy has progressed to where I break out in a rash if I even TOUCH something with wheat in it like dried noodles that aren't even cooked or hand crackers or a cookie to my niece or wipe off bread crumbs while looking after my nieces (I always have benadryl when watching my nieces lol. My 12 year old niece is always asking why I didn't just ask her to clean up so I don't end up breaking out in a rash. I just clean out of habit). Anyway, the recovery in the beginning can be tough and for the first few days I kept asking myself "why in the hell did I do this to myself", but things do get better and I'm sooooo glad that I made this choice for myself. I've reached my own personal goal weight and am hoping I can even lose a couple extra pounds before I hit maintenance! Try and stay positive and stick to nutrition guidelines you're given to the best of your ability and you'll do great, I'm sure! I wish the best in your journey and if you have any questions feel free to ask!

Our food is killing us. Today's families are fat and diseased from a diet of processed foods, and our children will be the first generation to live shorter lives than their parents. Time is of the essence: We must change course right now. It’s time to start eating real food and stop eating ‘frankenfood.’ This is not just another fad diet. It’s about saving lives. Gastric bypass weight-loss surgery was my wake-up call in 2003 to reverse my personal obesity epidemic and diabetes and hypertension — the death triad as I now call it (read my story). To borrow a phrase, I was sick, fat, and nearly dead in my 30s, a processed food junkie on ~10 prescription medications. Without bariatric surgery and lifestyle changes I would not be alive today. I would have missed out on my grandchildren. That’s a very sobering and humbling thought. Instead, I cheated death, I surely did, thank you, G-d. The problem underlying these health conditions is the modern American diet heavily-laden with grains, refined sugars, unhealthy fats, and toxic food additives. Obesity is even harder to treat than the diseases/health conditions it causes. The low treatment success rate associated with obesity is likely because people need to commit to changing patterns deeply woven into social fabric, food and beverage commerce patterns, personal eating habits, and sedentary lifestyle. And if you think the bariatric surgery is an easy pass to skinny, then I’m here to tell you that it isn’t. My approach is one of replacing grains, refined sugars, and unhealthy fats with fresh, local and seasonal food that is chemical-free, sustainable, and nutrient-dense. That was a complete turnaround for me. I had a career that kept me away from my home, and my kitchen, 45-60-hours per week. I did not want to cook after a long day, but I wanted to serve a nice meal to my family. So I relied on processed foods, aka frankenfood, like frozen stuffed chicken cordon blue, frozen broccoli in cheese sauce, and a white rice pilaf from a box. However I learned to develop fast and simple recipes -- typically 5-ingredients that could be prepared in about 30-minutes. The food industry is very deceiving in their marketing. They craftily paint a picture of health and convenience for us, labelling processed food products as “healthy” or “all natural” and use words like wholesome goodness, when these claims in reality are not backed by truth. There are no regulations or standards that define “healthy” so just because something is labelled healthy doesn’t mean that it is. And generally-speaking, if a food was “all natural” it would not be packaged in a box with an ingredients label. The food industry also has somehow convinced us that it takes too long to cook a meal from scratch. I know, I used to believe that lie! It’s really not much trouble to grill a chicken breast and some vegetables and serve it with a salad. In fact, in the amount of time it took me to serve up a dinner of processed foods, I was able to serve up a much tastier and far healthier meal of real food to my family — and the rewards are tremendous. Dinner in my house typically is a grilled or roasted protein with fresh grilled or roasted vegetables and a salad. Sometimes I’ll make a stir-fry served over quinoa, or a homemade soup, or crockpot chili. These are all examples of how I make real food real simple in my home, and anyone can learn to cook like this. By the way, this is the way my daughter cooks for her family, too, as cooking skills whether good or bad are passed down from generation to generation. What cooking skills are you teaching your children? I use some minimally-processed foods. I try to avoid at all costs those foods with any chemical ingredients, or ingredients list that contains more than 5 items. And I never bring any processed foods desserts into my home, such as boxed cake mixes, frozen donuts, brownies from the supermarket bakery aisle. If I want dessert then I have to make it from scratch and that’s fairly involved. Because it’s so much work I won’t make dessert every day; heck I won’t even make it once a month! You won’t, either. Living larger than ever, My Bariatric Life www.mybariatriclife.org

I am still here. I went home for 2 days but am back today they were prepared to do a revision tomorrow but we have decided to do a few more tests.The doctors are dumb founded at my condition and have never seen this happen before and my doctor has been in Bariatrics for years..,

The docs came in today and said that if my swallow study doesn't show a problem that it may be a sign the my earlier issue with my sleeve being a long "J" shape may be the culprit. They think it may be twisting on itself when I eat or drink. If this is the case a revision surgery to a bypass will be necessary. Please continue to pray for me as I appreciate it and I will keep you updated - Kali

Hi, I am now planning to have surgery in Mexico as a self-pay after being denied twice by insurance. I am wondering what type of medical follow ups are usually needed after gastric bypass? I have a nutritionist at home that specializes in bariatrics so feel that I'm ok there, but what about hands-on medically? Are there any stitches that have to come out etc after returning home? For anyone who chose to go to Mexico, can you please share your post-surgery experiences for follow up care? I will be able to contact my surgeon as needed with any concerns etc, indefinitely and will stay in Mexico for 6 days after the surgery, but I am wondering about any medical things I would need to have done when I return home where I have to be physically present. My US surgeon (before insurance denied me) is not supportive of my decision to go to Mexico, but I feel comfortable with the surgeon and hospital I've chosen - but I think it would be awkward to have to go back to the US surgeon after surgery in Mexico. Thanks so much!

This was not a hard decision for me. I chose the gastric bypass because I needed to have the ability to lose the most weight, as I started at at least 150 pounds overweight. My surgeon and I never even discussed anything else, though he did ask me if I wanted to.

I’m just wondering if they will maybe take the band out separately since it is causing problems and then have me wait for the revision

Sounds more like dumping than foamies but??? You don’t tend to sweat (cold sweats) with the foamies. It passes quickly & you only vomit a couple of times & it’s more regurgitation than vomiting - much gentler almost bubbling up of the last thing or two you ate that caused the problem. Did your heart rate increase? Did you feel drained or tired? That’s dumping. Did you have discomfort like something was stuck & lots of saliva you had to spit up? That’s the foamies. The rice could have caused your blood sugar to rise. There could have been sugar in the sauce in the stir fry. Sugar & blood sugar spikes contribute to dumping. Being so soon out after surgery, your digestive system is still pretty sensitive & it doesn’t take much to react negatively. Plus bypass makes you more likely to experience dumping. Whichever you had, both are not pleasant. Tread lightly & slowly to begin. Don’t think you need to go back to purées. More just be extra careful with your food choices. And, as Tek advised, test new foods at home first.

Thank you all. Very wise words. We are officially together but I am still scared to tell him. I think I know he wouldn't care but I believe he might have his stigmas on WLS. He's kind of an al natural guy and that's what I fear the most. I know eventually it's going to have to come out. My scars are super faint. He's seen my lower belly and hasn't said anything about them but he could also just be polite lol. I think though if there's anything I've learned from getting a gastric bypass, it's that people do not understand how it works and won't take your word for it either when you try to educate them. I guess I'm also scared about that. I don't know. He's lived a pretty crazy life I'm sure he's seen it all. I will come around one day. Might just be too soon for me. Beyond being a private person, I am still crazy insecure talking about my body journey. That conversation would be hard for more than one reason. But I always love the words of wisdom here. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

First off, Congratulations for getting back out there in your new life. And also preparing for a marathon! That is fantastic! Now from a Man's point of view. You found a guy that is into health & fitness which is a good thing for you. He is "super encouraging" and supportative in a positive manner. You actully DID go on a "restrictive calorie" diet to achieve your superb weight loss. You just used another tool in the box called gastirc bypass to assist you. You should be very proud of yourself for doing that. Now to answer the question. Yes IF reaching that point of seriousness in your relationship. The disclosure most likely won't matter to him but will give you peace of mind to continue your relationship. Don't make it a confessional type of discussion where you sound ashamed, but rather matter-of-factly in discussing your nutritional needs. Consdering his background, he probaly will be eager to assist you in your journey. If he is serious about you, your relationship willl continue to grow. It is no big deal for a guy (even a fitness buff). Would he care if you previously had facelifts or breast implants? Would you even mention that? If he is serious, he likes you for who you are NOW. Good luck and stay postive!

I may not understand completely exactly what your dealing with but 5 weeks out was tough for me including soup I was getting about 15-20oz total a day for everything. Food never stayed in me I puked all food up pretty much so I just went back to soups and even then I started puking that up too. In fluid today I do like 25-30oz a day now this includes ice poles I am 3 and half months out and eat total in the whole day about 5oz of food if I am lucky. It got to the point I did get mad and kicked off at them that’s when they told me to go back a couple of stages and cut down how much I tried to eat the standard 40z thing half a cup was too much for me, its still too much for me now I only eat 1oz portions and drinking 4 or 5 mouthfuls and I have to wait about 20mins mins or up it comes again. They were gonna check me for scare tissue but when I cut back on portion size and stopped trying to drink so much I puke way less not completely never again half a teaspoon more than I should and blugh up it all comes but its easier not trying to be the standard this is what you do at this stage cookie cutter info and tailor it to my own personal needs. I do what I can manage if I can’t increase my intake in 3 months to 4oz at a sitting they will check for scare tissue. I just personally don’t see how moving your intestines will fix the issues with your stomach they can’t reopen your stomach put it back then do the bypass you don’t have the rest of your stomach to do that with. Going bypass to sleeve is easy because you keep the rest of your stomach in bypass its just closed off so they can convert. I’m not a medical doctor just going by what I know of the 2 ops and my own personal experience of having a hard time drinking and eating, so I am wondering how this is meant to help you eat and drink when all it will do is make you absorb even less of what you can barely take in right now. Like are they thinking if they do the intestine move you will loose more weight so that’s the end result they are happy with? Or do they honestly think it will make you eat and drink more?

I don’t; get why you would have bypass the only thing they can do from the bypass is move your intestines that doesn’t solve your stomach issue. Btw you can take the full 8 weeks or more to heal that’s why they say 6-8 weeks for internal healing some people heal slower so if you’re a 8 weeks or longer person your going to be sore and swollen for more than 8 weeks. To me its jumping the gun I was swollen still past 8 weeks, even the small amount fo food I eat in one sitting I can see my stomach stick out like I binge ate and stuffed myself with buckets of chicken and pizzas its kinda funny considering its just 1oz of food nothing at all crazy but it sticks out when its full! I think we also worry and over stress about everything in the early stages so the tight full feeling from being swollen turns into oh my god it went wrong its too small I have a leak I will never be able to eat/drink more I did such a bad thing to myself fix me fix me!!! Your doctor should have told you to maybe cut back n portion size and wait a few more weeks for the swelling to go down. I had to backtrack to the soft stages and work my way forward again because when I hit solids it was ridicules and I just puked all the time.

Hello, has anyone had revision from sleeve to bypass? Was it hard to get insurance to cover it?

Welcone sk8!!!! If you have any any questions about before during and after we are all here for you. Lapband is the safest and only reviseable surgery, like i wanted mine out cos it was placed wrong so no matter what fill i had i was always chucking. 18 months ago after i got it taken out i never thought i would want it again. But i no it works and at least melb has such a great parnrship and the docs let you know in advance what they expect from the start till the rest of your life which i never got in hobart or geelong. Were you given the blue book that also has a dvd 8 golden rules? Watch the dvd and a couple chapters of the book, my mums friend got stomach stapling and she lost tons of weight then over a couple years gained close to 50kg back. And last year her staples burts and she was very nearlly dead from all the gut juices going every were and she was in icu for a while. In my first visit with mr burton i told him a band would be good but i asked him is there a better one you think i should have? I know the sleeve stretches and after a while not good. We must all be 32 here!!!! Thats a long wait till january!!! I had just under 2 weeks to wait and that seemed like forever!! Ask us anything from basically never going to the loo to never being able to take part in burping compitions!!

Hello fellow bandsters, I'm brand new to all this, stumbled on this website and have been hooked on it ever since. I live near Joliet IL and hopefully (pending insurance approval) sometime in May. I've been doing the 6 mo Dr. supervised diet, and going to all of my required dr visits getting their approval. My surgury is going to be at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet by Dr Lahmann. The center is called BMI. He does gastric bypass and the LapBand. Would love to get to know anyone else out there from this area. (and elsewere):smile:

Wow! The sister thing is awesome! Welcome! I have been banded since January & I still meet opposition when people talk to me about being banded. You're right, there is a great misconception about the band being the same as the bypass. Hang in there! Only you know what is right for you! This was the best & the easiest thing I have ever done! Keep us posted! Best wishes! .....Jess

So today was my weigh in date and I'm down 17 pounds since my band to sleeve revision. I was on business travel for 10 days (one week post op) and have glad to be home. I had to ship Protein bullets to myself and did lots of soups while I was gone...the hotel provided me with a refigerator and even had sugar free Jello for me ( I told them I had surgery and they were very accomodating) My tip if you have to travel is call and ask for a fridge and microwave in your room, most hotels will provide for free...or ask to have your minibar emptied so you can you the fridge. The hardest part of the trip was a couple of days in Vegas with two friends who are both significantly overweight and focus losts of time and energy on eating..you know...the where...when...what...I managed to do ok but it was a physical and somewhat spirtitual reminder of why I decided to change my life and have the band to sleeve revision. A win on the trip was I didn't need to us a seatbelt extendedr on my flight from Chicago to Vegas...at least on United airlines I'm ok :thumbup1: Usair...I still carry mine with my....I'm looking forward to the day I can ceremonially get rid of that damn thing!! Any ideas? I fly 100k miles a year so this a big darn deal for me. I'm still feeling good and healing nicely...and plan to hit the treadmill this week. This is my first full week at my office since I went to Mexicali. Sending everyone my very best intentions for healing and hope.

Hi, I've been feeling like I'm eating too much, and think I'm already going back to my old bad habits, my NUT program says Protein shake for Breakfast and dinner, a 1cup size of a kinda regular meal at noon (very little carbs and fat) and 2 Snacks in between (fruit). The problem is, I can't stand the flavor of the Protein Shake, I made my own recipe of a high protein dessert which is made of 1 scoop of Protein powder (24 grams) + Greek yogurt (12.9) + milk powder (7.8) + cocoa powder or frozen strawberries and I have it once a day, besides that I try to eat as much protein as I can even in snacks. I know some of you will call me crazy but I feel hunger since 2-3 weeks ago, and I eat mostly out of hunger, let's say, lentils Soup for breakfast 1 cup, fruit with yogurt for snack, my regular lunch (1 cup), protein dessert and another soup or meat for dinner, some times I have a double snack. I don't really have so much trouble with my liquids, 84 Oz, most of the time half Water half 2% milk because I don't like the taste of water. My waiting time between eat - drink - eat is about 10 minutes, some times less without consequences. I stalled at week 3, had dumping syndrome once because I forgot I'm not allowed to have sugary drinks and once out of refried Beans ( and I mean real Mexican REFRIED beans), learned the lesson and never suffered again. I've been losing very slowly for the last 2 week's and I want to know if any of you heard about a stretched pouch this early. I had a gastric bypass last April 29th, initial weight 308, current weight 266. It sounds a lot for 6 weeks, am I living this too fast? Sent from my Sony Xperia

Hello all, My name is Bryn, I was previously on lapbandtalk.com; but after my consultation with the doctor today, I am choosing to go along with the vertical sleeve surgery. AI first went with the band, then bypass and now i'm decided on VS What made me choose the sleeve is that i really was not comfortable with my intestines being re-routed. and i didn't want to deal with the hassle of fills/unfills, erosion, etc with the band I see the bariatric surgeon in 2 months. within those two months, i need to complete my psych eval, meet with dietician, attend bariatric exercise classes, meet with my PCP, get a sleep study and any other tests i can squeeze in :thumbup: it's going to be a challenge since i attend school full time and work full time, but i'm dedicated to do it. thanks all for sharing your stories/experiences for us newbies :thumbup: