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Something I heard just last weekend, in a group I was attending. Is that Victoria Secret will take back a bra as long as you have your receipt Now the lady was telling us that she went to be sized at VS and 3 weeks later she went back to get resized and then is when they told her as long as you have your receipt they will take it back. I'm going to guess that they expect you to purchase another one. It might be worth checking out. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I felt the same way. My surgery was 3 weeks ago. You will do fine!!! You can do this!!!!

Hi and congrats on getting banded. I, as do many bandsters, had the same problem with major constipation. After over a week, I finally took Milk of Magnesia and within an hour things were "moving".

I take my vitamins and my protein I even exercise three to four times a week. It just was weird. I felt really weak.

Whether or not you have excess skin relies on lots of things---but rate of loss is not one of them. (People who have gastric bypass may seem to more dramatically develop the issue, but that is simply because their loss is more rapid. The rapid loss does not CAUSE the problem; the loss causes the problem--which means that yes, it can indeed occur after banding.) The things that influence the degree to which you are affected include age, genetics, smoking history, sun exposure history, how much excess weight you carried, how long you were overweight, how many pregnancies you have had, how many times you had large fluctuations in weight, and so on. Losing fast, losing slow---it doesn't really matter. Think of a balloon. If you blow it up to capacity, then let the air out, it looks pretty much the same. If you do this many times, it starts to change. It gets less elastic, striations appear in the latex. Your skin is pretty similar. If it's stretched and stretched, then the tension is released (again, fast or slow, doesn't matter), then elasticity is lost, especially if there is yo-yoing. There isn't much one can do about this other than hope for good luck and good genetics. Meeting your nutritional needs can give skin what it needs, too---that for sure is important. (Get enough Protein and Fluid, get adequate heart-healthy fat, take a good-quality bariatric Multivitamin.) Exercise to build a good "scaffold" for your skin to drape on. Know that exercise will not tighten skin, but will improve your health and appearance anyway. I'm almost 49, am almost 90 down from banding almost 10 months ago (and over 100 down from my highest), and have been very, very pleased with how many of my body parts have rebounded. OTOH, I have had 3 pregnancies, breastfed, and am no spring chicken; I have a plastic surgery consult scheduled for May, when I'll be in the surgeon's city for my daughter's graduation. I am nearing goal. I look pretty darn good in clothes. I look a HELL of a lot better naked than I did before losing weight. If I decide to proceed with surgery, it will really just be icing on the cake, something to do for MYSELF, to complete the journey. But the laxity of the skin is not something that torments me----really, it is weirdly symbolic of the positive changes I've made. ETA: To answer your other questions: I am aiming for the lower end of the normal BMI scale because my frame is small. Since yours is large, I'd go for a bit higher on the BMI scale. "Normal" BMI is defined as 18.9-24.9. At your height, you'd hit the high end at 159 pounds. I've had great success! I'm 0.4 pounds away from 90 pounds down, and have not yet hit the 10-month mark. The band has really addressed my particular weight issues, and I've found it quite easy to work with. I was taken aback by the hair loss that occurred beginning around 4 months postop. This is a result of an interruption in the hair growth cycle caused by the trauma of surgery and anesthesia. While it's important to make sure you get the right nutrients (protein, fluid, Biotin, zinc), and it can be helpful to use growth-promoting shampoos/conditioners such as Nioxin, really---it's just a matter of time. Just when I thought it would really become noticeable to others, my normal hair growth resumed---no harm, no foul. Otherwise, it's been pretty smooth sailing for me. I accepted the lifestyle changes (permanent eating changes, a lifelong need for daily exercise) pretty happily---so I have no real complaints.

Everyone is different. I couldn't drive for 2 weeks due to fatigue.

I'm sure there are others who know way more than me but here's some that I found to be good. Fish- Just about any kind although I think cod is up towards the top as far as protein, also calamari is a great source of protein but be careful as it can be chewy and don't get it fried. Cottage cheese- It's basic but gives you good protein Eggs- I usually have them scrambled or boiled Hamburger- Make sure you get the extra lean type Those are some of my big ones. Hope this helps you. For the first few weeks it will probably be hard to get enough protein without powders and supplements but once you get to mushies and regular food it gets much easier. Make sure you follow your doctors guidelines no matter what as some of these foods you wont be able to have for several weeks. Good luck!! Christy

thank you! I know it will get better, but I can't picture having this pain for 3 weeks since im only 5 days post op! I wish they had something for pulled muscles

I haven't weighed myself, im only 5 days post op, I will wait until I go to my 2week visit. I feel if I lose 25lbs in 3 Weeks I would jumping with joy. I would be so worried if I were you. Stress doesn't help losing lbs. Sent from my DROID RAZR using LapBandTalk

I was allowed to drink coffee one week post op, call your doctor and ask.

My doctor told me to wait 2 weeks after surgery

I started the journey of getting approved for surgery in July. I've finished everything asked of me. Now, I've been waiting a week for my surgeon or whomever receive my psych evaluation from Dr. Roderick Lilly. I am ready to pull my hair out waiting for everything. I'm so ready to get this surgery done. And the not knowing when it will happen...ugh!!! How long does it take for my psych evaluation to be turned in? Am I just over anxious? Surgeon: Dr. Roc Bauman at Carolinas Weight Loss Center, Concord, NC Psy Eval: Dr. Roderick Lilly at Carolinas Healthcare System Psychiatric Associates, Concord, NC

Hi Everyone. My name is Cindy and I am waiting for my primary insurance to send their denial letter so my surgery can be scheduled. My primary insurance will not pay, but my secondary insurance will pay. Plus secondary insurance does not do pre-authorization letters. So, as soon as the denial letter is received from the primary insurance we can schedule my surgery. My surgeon said it will most likely be mid-May. I have thought of myself as being overweight most of my life. Looking back on it, I was a twig when I graduated from high school. It's just that those who were around me were so petite. I had one successful pregnancy 30 years ago and was never able to lose the excess weight I gained then. Over the years I have tried every diet, sensible and fad, that I could find with varying results. But every time I lost weight on a "diet" I would put it back on and then some when the "diet" was over or I got sick of it. Over the last 3-5 years my weight has been steadily creeping up and I am so tired of being tired and out of breath all the time. I want to be able to do things with my grand-children but I am not able to do much of anything for more than a few minutes at a time before I need to rest. I am winded just walking up one flight of stairs to our bedroom so I avoid having to up and down as much as possible. I started my surgical weight loss journey about 5 months ago. It took longer for me to decide this was really what I needed to do than it has to do all the prerequisite visits, tests, and screenings. I really wanted to get the gastric sleeve but it is excluded by my insurance, so I will be getting the by-pass instead. The reason I wanted the sleeve was to avoid the malabsorbsion (sp?) and to be able to continue taking my anti-inflammatories for my osteo-arthritis. However, I have made peace with having the bypass and having to make the commitment to be really careful to get the proper nutrients and supplements to keep my healthy; because that is what this is all about anyway. I want my life back. I am sick of living a half life. In February I joined a gym and hired a personal trainer. I have not lost any weight, though my body composition has improved, I have more lean and less fat than I did when I started exercising. The best thing about doing this is that I have found something that I love to do. I can't believe I would ever say that I love going to the gym and working out with a trainer. It is fantastic and I am really looking forward to the improvements I will see after I begin working out again after I am healed from the surgery. I am sure the that the walking that I will be doing during the healing process will get me ready for even more intense work outs than I have been able to do to this point. My husband had this same surgery 14 1/2 years ago. He never had the kind of support that is available today and is amazed at the amount of pre-surgical preparation and information that I am getting. He lost about 80 pounds when he had his surgery and over the years had put some of it back on. But since I have started my journey he has been using the things that I have been learning and has lost nearly 15 pounds since December. He is nearing his lowest post-surgical weight. I think he is even more excited about me having this surgery than I am. He is being very supportive. When I told my family back in January that I was considering having surgery they were all very supportive. My best friend, who is more like a sister than merely a friend, decided that it was time for her to have bariatric surgery as well. She had not heard of the gastric sleeve before, so as soon as I told her about it she started researching it for herself. Last month she flew to Mexico and had it done. When I talked with her several days ago she had lost a total of 29 pounds (including the pre-surgery weight loss). Anyway, I feel like I have a great support system in place. And I am SOOOO ready to make this change in my life and to make it a permanent change. It's funny, I have never felt so certain about, or committed to, any of my previous weight loss attempts. This is my year for change.

OMG girl me too. Its aweful isn't it. It was low when I went for my post op appt Monday and I felt very jittery today so I went to my local md. and my bp was regular. (they even took it 3 xs) and the average was low. I wasn't anemic, I did ask for a B12 shot and he said most people who have these kind of surgerys will need them . and I have not started exercising so I know for me it can't be that yet. I told him Im suppose to eat the size of my fist and he looked at my fist and said you are probably starving yourself, eat alittle more. Its definitely a balance of eating the proteins versus the carbs. I have contacted a nutritionst so hopefully that will help me. Someone else mentioned the low blood sugar. because we do eat more proteins then carbs sometimes, go to your local md as suggested, there shouldn't be a charge to just check your bp. Let us know what you find out!

Once I stopped the pain pills I didn't even start taking Tylenol. The pain wasn't bad at all, just tender enough to let me know it was there. I was driving and back at work after two weeks.

I was off the pain pills by the second week. It was still tender for about a month.

Everything you need for your first week of post op diet. I'd just take your food list to the store with you. Start trying different Protein shakes to find one you like now, otherwise you may be stuck with a yucky one after surgery.

Already started my journey and I meet with my surgeon on the 30th to talk all about the surgery...but today has been a bad day. Went to go get dressed for the day and I noticed that I have so many new stretch marks all over my stomach that I'm in so much pain! For gaining 100 lbs in one year I'm so uncomfortable... I've been on prednisone for 3 years and the weight gain is so bad. I have been so strong about this because I know its the medication but going to my moms today.... I broke down. I am so looking forward to the surgery. . I want to just be comfortable and have a day where I go to put on a T-shirt I bought last week and have it fit!! Feel like I'm moving in slow motion!!!!

Good to know it's not just me & my body bing weird. I had to have my priming saline removed at week two post op because the burping progressed to severe chest pain. Couldn't even deal with pressure from a sports bra. Doc says most likely my stomach swelled inside the band make things worse. Been kinda Bah-Hum-Buggie since he removed that saline. Haven't been staying full since my purée diet was falling straight through. It's subsided some since I started soft solids but still not staying full/content. Haven't thought about smoking since I quit for my surgery and I've been thinking about them for days to avoid eating more than I should. Need to hang on till I can get a fill & keeping myself busy. Harder to do since husband is traveling a lot this month & it's just me & the kiddos. One. Which is a cranky teen boy

Ever surgeon/nutritionist has different requirements. Unfortunately mine is VERY strict. I'm allowed three Protein shakes per day (with specific nutrition requirements), one green salad with calorie free dressing, and two Snacks of either sugar-free popsicles or sugar-free Jello. I'm on day four and it's not TERRIBLE, but it's not fun. Monday was the worst. I had a bad headache all day and I was dead tired. Once I got over that hump, it hasn't been nearly as bad. Oh, and I'm supposed to keep working out throughout these two weeks. I skipped Monday and went to bed, but I've been working out the rest of the days.

Dear LBT, I confess, I have sinned. I am on week 2 1/2 of a 3 week liquid diet and I am failing. I am sneaking bites:hungry: and so I decided to come out of the closet and post my 1st thread and make a journal so that I can be more accountable. Thanks so FaithMD for opening my eyes.

I had surgery on 1/10/08. This is how recovery went for me. For 24 hours after surgery I had very sharp "gas" pains that came and went almost like contractions. I guess they fill you up with a form of gas during surgery to work around things. This pain was totally unexpected for me but pretty common. The incision pain lasted for 3-4 days (of course it is still tender now but nothing that stops you from doing anything). The only pain I currently have now is where my port is sewn into my stomach muscle about 6 inches to the left of my belly button. Port pain and tenderness has by far been the worst pain and longest lasting. I have not returned to work yet only because I am an EMT and have to do lots of heavy lifting. Had I had an office job, I could have easily returned to work within 4-5 days. Some things that increase my pain where my port is, is sneezing, coughing and bending over. Also, I have recently started lying and sleeping on that side and not being able to was a nuisance. I do not feel my port at all but I think some people do as they lose weight and get smaller around the waist. You feeling nothing actually around your stomach but you do feel food actually going down. It's kind of weird. Take care, good luck and CONGRATULATIONS!

I am 11 days out form bypass surgery. I love my new life already! The only issue I am having is no energy a all. Everything exhausts me! I am on at least 4 oz protein liquid every hour and liquid in between for 2 weeks post op. Anyone else have this problem and what did you do? Thanks!

Really need some help with meal planning i have no idea and i wasent given much info from the doctor about it ive been banded a year and a half and lost about 90 pounds, but i seam to be stuck any idea on helping with meal plans? i work up in camp for 2 weeks so i cant just go out and buy what i need , i kinda have to make do with what is here, Thanks In Advance!!