Search the Community

I am starting 5 weeks today. I have bad shoulder pain today so I am wondering if I over ate and opened up my stomach. I can eat one egg and maybe 4 Vienna sausages different times of course. I had a few chips and salsa yesterday at th restaurant maybe 5 but chewed them very well. How do I know if I am over eating? I really need to up my calories and protein so is it okay that I am eating every couple of hours? Mushy foods stage. I have lost 14 since surgery. Past 3 weeks the scale hasn't moved I am a low BMi to start with revision from band to sleeve. I am 148 now and am wondering if I will lose this extra weight and get to my 120 goal. Don't want this surgery to have Been a waste for me...... Help!!!! What I'd you all eat at 5 weeks as such??? Stalls etc?!?!

I'm glad someone re-activated this thread. I would agree with it not being fair to give someone a chance when you get thin that wouldn't when you were heavy. But, I will say its not always that easy. When I had my first surgery and I was really starting to see a different and thinner me, I was in a situation through a mutual friendship a guy who was quite overweight, probably about #100. He was as sweet as they come, and I could tell he was just enamored with me- but I pretty much gave him the cold shoulder. If I'm honest, I was scared to date someone heavier at that time because I was afraid of being involved with someone that was living a lifestyle that might put me back in my old world. It wasn't fair to him, it really wasn't. Now, talking about the professional world. I know I projected much more confidence and overall was just a happier person and I saw huge differences in career opportunities at that time. I spoke with more confidence, willing to take more risks and step forward with my ideas not worrying about whether someone will be looking at how fat I was verses how good my ideas were. That being said, I do understand about being resentful of being treated differently when you are thin verses overweight. It isn't fair - it just isn't. I guess we are all human and I just hope that when I have my revision done that I will be able to remember these things and give the compassion to others regardless of their size. Everyone has a skinny person inside, its just a lot harder for some to show it than others (me included).

I know, it's weird--I thought it was some sort of deformity at first, was all set to call my surgeon and ask him what-the-heck-kind-of-alien-device-he'd-inserted-as-an-experiment... Heehee. Seriously though...I've been wearing size 10 for the last month-and-some, and I'll be into size 8 jeans by mid-December. I actually LOST weight over Thanksgiving!!! It's been almost 5 months post-op. And I'm starting to think I might have to revise my target weight upward. If I hit 130, I'm honest-to-god going to look like a coat-hanger. I'm thinking that 140 is a good goal for someone of my height and build.

Wow that's amazing! Yeah I'm already fighting weight gain but it's so hard because since I no where have no fluid in my band everything goes through and I'm hungry all the time!! I have to control myself...especiallly since I'm able to eat EVERYTHING with no restriction. I just want this out and revised to be 100% on track with my weight loss goals. Being hungry all the time I still terrible! I really hope I have similar success as you have had!!!

Oh my! I'm so sorry you've had such terrible issues! Fortunately once the fluid was taken out of my band I was able to eat and drink normally again. I plan on getting this moving as quickly as possible because my appetite since my band was completely unfilled has been insatiable!! My dr put in a request for band removal in to my insurance today so hopefully I will hear something back soon. I just wish my surgeon wouldn't do the removal and revision at the same time.

I had what I term to be a persistent leak. I had two port replacements (both unsuccessful at stopping the leak) because I was leaking 'slowly' so they were sure it wasn't the actual band. I went through a period of being very disillusioned (and gaining weight) before deciding that someone had better listen to me or else. 2 months ago I had a full band replacement. They never did discover where my band was leaking from despite a barium swallow, and now I'm finally experiencing restriction that 'sticks'. The leak was considered a band fault and not a patient fault and therefore my revision (as well as my port replacements) were covered by my insurance. The fact that I was consistently losing Fluid from my band - to me- meant that there was proof that the band was leaking. I didn't think they needed to actually locate the leak for them to fix it.

I know this is a little late but in case anyone still wanted to know I wanted to let you know about my revision. My surgeon tightened up my pouch by making it smaller as well as making the original opening smaller. Pretty much the same exact procedure just not from scratch. It actually has been incredibly painful this time around and my weight loss is much slower then the first time. So far my loss is about 23lbs at 5 weeks which is about 21% of my excess weight. It's actually really good but hard to see it that way since I lost almost 100 in 5 months in 2005.

The choice is ultimately yours But IMHO My suggestion is if you already have Reflux choose the better bet at fixing it, the Bypass. If it gets worse with VSG you will need to control it with meds indefinitely or revise. And by no means (would i in your shoes knowing what i know) bank on the no hunger thing... You may eventually feel hunger again, some surgeons suggest its inevitable but to what extent varies. ❤ Good Luck ❤

are you throwing up every few minutes, (your saliva filling your stomach) if so get back to a doctor immediately. Sometimes when you get a fill you have some swelling and that makes it worse the first few days, but you should always be able to get water and broth type stuff down. If you cant you are in real danger of dehydration and that is nothing to fool around with. After my port revision surgery they overfilled me and I could not even swallow my own spit, this is no fun and not worth it, so get this taken care of.

I don't think your doing anything wrong. Some people just loose slower than others, and its hard to stop comparing yourself to others. I do it all the time on this site. When I was revised I first started to loose weight slow then it sped up like at rapid rate and slowed right back down. This cycle continues for me, but everybody's story is different. That's awesome you are down 23 pounds! Rock on, you got this. Keep up the good work.

Whomever lists the names and dates, could you please add to My name for 6-27 that my surgeon is Edward Mun and I am a revision. Thanks.

Welcome to the boards Rhonda there are several on here who have had the revision or are in the process of getting it. Stay away from the crap food and you won't dump. Rny is a tool to help you lose weight. The things I worry about is getting all my protein in and exercising. It will all come together... Again welcome to the boards!!

I had the revision from lap band to gastric bypass 2 days ago. To the great surprise to my doctors,I was up and walking and passing the mandatory fluids so I only needed one night in the hospital. I'm just on clear liquids but so far so good. Originally (11 years ago) the lap band worked for me and I lost about 100 pounds but when I had my gall bladder removed the band had flipped and it was replaced. The new band never worked for me. I constantly needed adjustments and fills. Over the last 5 years I gained back 55 pounds. My esophagus is enflamed. I have been dehydrated for years because I could not tolerate water. I had difficulty taking any medications because they would just sit in my esophagus. Now that the band is out I can drink water, soup, protein shakes and take all my vitamins and supplements. I am feeling tired but excessively positive

Many have come back and posted after weight regain. You are not alone. Your options are to have a surgery revision or Get back on track. The only way to know if you stretched your sleeve is to have it diagnosed by a surgeon. Many sleeves have less restriction years out, but our stomachs are not back to full size. I can hold more food volume. I had to find strategies to fill the extra space and satisfy hunger with out regain. Many people confuse grazing/ eating around your surgery with stretching. Grazing is eating many small meals healthy or unhealthy choices that total over your weight loss/maintaining calories. When you eat small meals, you don’t feel your surgery restriction. The calories quickly add up and you will gain weight. When you eat around your surgery the sleeve will no longer works. If you get back to basics and control what you eat again, you can start losing weight. Getting back to basics and finding the right mindset and discipline is not as easy as it sounds years out. I would suggest getting a counselor and dietician to support you through all this. Bariatric Basics. Eat your bariatric real food plan - Weigh your food on a scale, log your food in a food app,(my fitness pal or baritastic) drink a minimum of 64 oz of water, exercise. **stay within your weight loss calories and macros ** You can ask a dietician for a meal plan and calorie range. Other people here that are years out are willing to share their plans. I'm five years out with the sleeve. Some do the pouch reset suggested above. Some find it too restrictive. Real food plan can be more satisfying.

Hi Boubette! I am so sorry I just now saw your question. I received my original surgery date just before my all day session. I was worried they weren't moving fast enough to get surgery done last year (and they weren't, lol!) so I hounded them incessantly until they told me when it would be. The actual gastric bypass surgery was scheduled at the beginning of March during a followup visit for my band removal. I know that every doctor is different, though. Are you doing a revision from band to bypass, too?

Hi Everyone, I have been away for a few years and now I am back. I had lap band 7/8/08, lost about 40#s but have had 5 slips so not it is time to take it out. I have been as patient as I can be, tried to stay positive and not give up on the band, but I realize it was not right for me. Went to see surgeon about revision to RNY, have started the pre-work up and hope to have everything completed for surgery in Feb 2015. Fingers crossed that this will work, I am getting too old and my body can't keep up with all this extra weight. I hope to learn lots from those of you that have the experience.

I had band done 6/16/2009 lost 25 pounds had a slip they removed all my fluid gained 9 pounds back while waiting for the slip to resolve. Had my band filled again and within 4 weeks slipped again with severe acid reflux. My doctor has deemed my band no longer functional and we are now starting the revision process to RNY.

I used them with my band surgery, tried to use them with my revision, but they were too sweettart'ish for me to tolerate. There is some controversy on the quality of Protein that these are comprised of. It's mainly a collagen protein and not whey or soy which is supposed to the premium protein choices. Some people are adamantly against them, some say at least you are getting in some form of protein. When I did use them with my band surgery, I only could tolerate the fruit punch New Whey flavor. I tried using them with my revision, but even diluted down with gatorade or sugar-free popsicles mushed up, they were just way too sweet.

Who did your rny to ds revision?

I have a friend who is totally against me getting WLS, He is very big into the "Fat Positive" Community and thinks that surgery is a horrible idea. We got into a heated argument about it and he had a bunch of his friends who also have had WLS at some point and regretted it email me. One girl wrote this: "I'll start this by saying, I'm not totally against it. I have seen it work for a few ppl. However, it is literally a lifestyle change. I thought I was ready to have the surgery when I was 19 (24 now). I weighed 427 pounds the day I went to surgery. I am currently down to 302 and have maintained this weight for most of the five years. I don't plan on losing anymore weight bc of the surgery. I am mentally still the person/eater I was before the surgery. Because of the surgery, I no longer can eat meat, carbs (breads, pastas, potatoes) or anything that is not basically a vegetable, fruit, liquid or junk food. I throw up daily because of this. I regurgitate food every time I eat. I get food blockages that can only be alleviated by purging. Basically, I'm a fat girl with an eating disorder. I have to explain to people why it takes me 1 1/2 hours to each lunch or why I have to constantly get up and go to the bathroom at restaurants. My whole life has been surrounded by this weight loss surgery. Because of my age at the time, I was only allowed to get the Lap-Band put in, instead of the actual gastric bypass. So I have a plastic tube around the opening of my stomach and a port in my stomach that gets injected every so often to make my band tighter. When it's tight, food doesn't pass through and then I get sick. After the surgery, I lost 75% of my hair, now deal with adult acne, and have lessened my chances of pregnancy (although it has happened, but I lost the baby). My suggestion would be, if you truly think this is something you want to do, please make sure that mentally you are ready. I thought I was and on day 2 I sat at my kitchen table crying while eating because my brain said I was hungry and my stomach said I wasn't. To this day, I still struggle with the fact that I have a fat person's appetite but the stomach of a 6 year old. upon hearing this I questioned why she simply didn't have the thing removed... Her response: "Because to have the surgery all over again just to have it removed is unheard of and doctors will only remove it if 1. You're getting a different weight loss procedure to replace it or 2. You have been completely successful with it for more than 10-12 years." Is this True?...Can it only be removed if one is to choose another surgery to replace it, or have success with it for 10-12 years?..I'm not trusting one of his friends, This could possibly be a scare tactic to make me sway from getting WLS.. I asked her why not get a revision to band and she gave me some hoopla about not having time and not wanting to put herself through it all again.

So I had an eroded band just removed. Doctor suggested a bypass will minimize risk of a leak for a revision and that I might have as high as a 30 percent chance of a leak if I get sleeved because of the location of the erosion. Of course there will be things Dr. Aceves will do to minimize risk (including enlarging the sleeve in the vicinity of the erosion) but I am wondering what exactly it means to have a leak and how a leak is fixed....is is a chronic condition, will I die, will they just reopen me and patch me up? Anyone have a leak and survive to tell the tale? For those who have had leaks, would you do the sleeve again, regardless? All I know is that the bypass seems like a bad choice for me for a lot of different reasons.

Well, you are pretty low BMI compared to many of us (including me!). My BMI is now 35 and my weight loss has slowed alot compared to when it was in the 40s. I suspect that people who are revised when they have less to lose are going to be quite slow BUT it will help keep you from regaining too. Looking at your stats, you are a success in my book even if it is slow going!

Anything can have its downsides...I originally considered the band, but after researching possible slippage, corrosion of the stomach where the band was placed that could end up being a revision to sleeve afterward which would mean two surgeries, two recoveries, etc...also the constant needles and having to mess with fills as well as dealing with the entire lifestyle change that comes along with any weight loss surgery just wasn't what I wanted....the foreign body was the deal breaker though over all. The sleeve may be irreversible, but that seems to be the only downside aside from possible complications that are relatively low...I want something that is for life, something I can count on..something I can't just remove if I'm having a hard time or if I just want to give up....that's my two sense anyway...everything has its good and bad, it's ur body, uve done the research, now just weigh the pros and cons and make a decision....you will do great either way! What works for one won't work the same for another good luck! Also I hope no one with or who has had the band takes any offense to what I've said ❤️

I am scheduled for sleeve revision to bypass May 2nd. Who else is having surgery and would like to support each other?

Got an email from Aetna that they got the additional documentation today and its in review (7-10 days). I wont count on hearing anything until after Thanksgiving. Hopefully the have what the need and will consider my request for a revision. Thanks!