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I went into the office to pay my program fee and receive orders for pre-op testing. My doctor then asked me why I won't consider bypass surgery instead and people don't usually lose but 50lbs with the band. Has this happened to anyone else? I'm not considering bypass but I'm curious to know if anyone else's doctor recommended bypass instead lap band. Thanks J right

I can believe it Carrie Carrie. I just think bypass is too dangerous. I was just wondering if anyone else's doctor recommended bypass to them instead of the band. I know first hand experience (mom had bypass) how bypass works and I dont want to go that route. Jbright

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I was banded in April of 2008 & after 14 fills I lost 75 lbs. I got to where I was able to eat more & more & I started gaining weight back. It was like I didn't even have weight loss surgery cause I was following the same pattern I did before the band. Recently I started having stomach pains & gerd.When I finally went to my Dr. he had an endoscopy done & found I had prolasped & my esophigus was inflamed so he did a biopsy. My wife & I met with him on Monday & he said the biopsy came back OK but we needed to select one of the 4 options he had for me. 1. He could empty the band & allow the stomah to go back in place & bigin fills again, 2. Remove the band & return to original stomach, 3.replace the band, 4. remove the band & revise to a sleeve or gastric bypass. We all agreed that the gastric sleeve would be the best option. I need to get another phyc. eval. & apply for approval from my insc. again. I'm feeling good about this because after this surgery I don't have to keep going back for fills & worrying about prolapsing again. This is where I'm at right now.

Hi Everyone; I was banded this Tues.11/25 at The University of Massachusettes Hospital. I am somewhat uncomfortable & tired just as some of the others have posted. I have to say I am glad to have found this site, reading some of the posts has eased my mind and answered some of the questions I have been thinking of since the surgery. Someone had mentioned a group of November fellow banders, I'd like to find them, anyone know how I can get the link? I'm also interested in posting a timeticker & can't seem to figure it out:) Any info would be helpful:)

I have been lurking on these boards for months, and finally decided to create an account a couple weeks ago. I am a 31-year-old middle school teacher who has battled weight problems since 3rd grade. Five years ago, I lost over 60 pounds on Weight Watchers, which I loved!!!! The point thing was so easy, I was working out like a madwoman, life was great.... until my father, who I loved more than anything, died unexpectedly (heart attack, diabetes, sleep apnea-- I have no idea... my mom did not want to do an autopsy). Over the next 11 months, I also lost my dog (who I adored), my great uncle, my uncle, and my grandfather (my last living grandparent). Needless to say, the weight came back on, and then some. I battled depression during this time, but came out on top. My father's death inspired me to do what I love, so I went back to school and got my teaching credential. Last year was my first year teaching and it is the best decision I have ever made. I went back on Weight Watchers earlier this year, and got down to 289. At this time, i began researching WLS. One of my co-workers got the lap band, so initially I wanted that as well. I even went to an amazing seminar (Dr. Billy in Ventura, CA). His office said I need to contact my insurance, which I did. My PCP referred me to the Options program though Kaiser. I went to my first orientation, where the sleeve was mentioned. Since that day in May, I have researched tirelessly online while (not so) patiently waiting for my first Options class at the end of July. Thanks to all of you amazing posters, I am truly looking forward to this journey. I am hoping to be sleeved in November while on my Thanksgiving break from school. You have all been so informative.... I ordered unjury Protein powder, a blender ball cup, and picked up a bunch of sugar-free Torani syrups at Smart & Final. Had my first Protein shake for Breakfast this morning (Unjury chocolate Splendor and Water with a little bit of the Chocolate and Salted Caramel sugar-free Toranis)... it was great!!!!! I just wanted to introduce myself and thank you for sharing your experiences......I am so motivated to begin this next chapter of my life. Sleeve me!!!! Allison

I don't understand how refusing to settle would make you a "victim". If you don't want the band 100%, don't get it. It takes lots of work, adjustments, aftercare. There are people who wanted it desperately who HATE it when they get it, so I can only imagine how unhappy someone would be who didn't really want it but was getting it anyway. If you want bypass, check around, find a good price, and get it. Seriously. You'll pay for the band in other ways, especially if you don't want it and feel it is 2nd best.

I'm 58 years of age, male, 340 lbs, 5'11.5" and semi-retired from teaching. I made the decision to have gastric bypass of some kind in 2014. During the fall of 2014 I made an appointment with my physician, actually I think it was my annual checkup! When discussing my health issues, i.e. pre-diabetic, sleep apnea, morbid obesity, osteoarthritis, and borderline high blood pressure I brought up the possibility of having gastric bypass. I was VERY nervous to ask about this as I figured he would treat me as a failure for not wanting to lose the weight the old fashioned way (which I had done 3 or 4 times since I was married 34 years ago). Shockingly, he was very positive about it! This started the process, he said there were surgeons in the metro area, I live in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro, but on the Iowa side of the Missouri River. The bariatric surgeons were located in Omaha. So off I went, first I contacted a surgeon in Omaha who said I needed to do 6 months of nutrition counseling. I could do that through my general practitioner's office. During August and September 2014 I met with the nutritionist and was off on my journey, so I thought. Late September, my wife and I were stunned to find out she had advanced ovarian cancer, it was truly heartbreaking and awful for us, our daughters and other family and friends. She became quite ill very fast and we were so worried that she wasn't going to make it two months. My surgery plans, of course were put on HOLD. Anyway, through lots of prayers, great physicians and my wife's determination she licked the cancer and by January 2015 she had been through 3 rounds of chemo and surgery to remove the tumors. The pathology report came back with such good news about being in complete remission the surgeon called my wife personally to tell her, he was VERY excited that it went that well. My wife still had 3 more chemos in front of her, but finally on February 27, 2015 I restarted my process. Initially, I had begun the process through an Omaha bariatric unit, we quickly had found out in the fall at the same time my wife became ill that our insurance would not cover physicians in Nebraska. We were limited to Iowa. Because of the severity of the wife's illness she was able to get a waiver to get a specialist in Nebraska. My "illness" as such was not life threatening and they would not approve the surgeon in Omaha. I made my second shot at appointments with the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. This is a 3.5 hour drive from home but it was a major medical university and the original home of the "father of bariatric surgery". So I felt that this would work, even with the long drives on occasion. The first appointment went well, they sent me home with nutritional counseling, paperwork completed and a pre-surgical diet to follow. They told me to lose 35 lbs by May 22, 2015. I went home, two days later I had a eschemic colitis attack. Four days in the hospital, one partial colonoscopy, lots of bleeding etc. etc. etc. I had never had a problem with my colon before, let alone an attack. The diagnosis came back that the attack tends to be one and done. But could possibly happen again, more than likely it would not. Thank god. My biggest fear was that gastric bypass wouldn't be an option because of the colitis. Gratefully, the doctor's had no problem with me continuing. After a rocky start, I was back on track by the middle of March and the weight loss plan that the U of Iowa put me on was basically the soft diet that I would look forward to following surgery. I found their diet was very helpful and keep me from being very hungry. I think working on the 64 ounces of Water a day and the 3 cups of skim milk for Snacks was probably the key to my success during the pre-op period. I did start an exercise plan at that time which for me was 10,000 steps a day AND/OR 30 minutes on the treadmill. It took a few weeks to work up to 30 minutes as I started at 20 but within 3-4 weeks I was there. By late June, I had lost nearly 45 lbs! On or about June 27th I went in for my pre-op checkup and they were very pleased with my progress. All systems go! Surgery was now officially on July 1, 2015. Stopped at a BBQ place in Des Moines on the way home. I suppose this was a last supper sort of thing lol. My wife and I hit the road for Iowa City. Arriving the night before, as I didn't really want to get up at 4 a.m. to make it there for surgery at 7:30 a.m. Remarkably, surgery was very uneventful, took about 2.5 hours was in recovery for another couple of hours because my room was ready and then started walking around the hospital floor that evening. Pain was minimal, I have had some other abdominal surgeries so kind of knew what to expect after gallbladder surgery, hernia surgery, etc. This was my first laproscopic though. It looks like you have been shot with a machine gun as you have 5 holes in a circular pattern of sorts around your stomach. I had two drains. These stayed in for a week! I went home the next day, and the drive back was also very smooth. Kudos to my wife who is an excellent driver too :-). Way better than me....lol. I stayed home the rest of that week and the next Monday as that is when my post-op appointment was and another return trip for a 20 minute doctor appointment. (7 hours for 20 minutes, uggh). But I did get my drains removed, those are a pain in a couple of ways. First they dangle from your body, second you have to drain and measure the amount of Fluid that you are dispelling from your body for the doctor's information. Of course, my menu was full liquid at this point and for the most part that went pretty well. I couldn't get 64 ounces of water down very well, but usually 50 or so. Lots of blended, hmmm crap.

I had one of those hideous attacks last night where a stone tries to travel and I had to wait for it to dislodge itself. Took about 15 mins of deep breathing and rocking in a ball on the floor before it eased up and I'm still a bit sore this morning. My poor boyfriend was terrified! I was the one giving the reassurance! Haha. I'll definitely be glad to get rid of my gall bladder. I think it was some pistachio nuts which set it off this time, so I'll be avoiding nuts til after surgery for sure. I'm kinda jealous your surgery in Tuesday, I'm waiting til November for mine Best of luck!!! x

Your calories are the total of the calories in your meals combined with the calories in your Protein shakes or other protein supplements. The three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. So generally forget about counting calories but make sure you meet the protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as Protein Shakes.

I had my second visit with my surgeon today. I verified that he DOES in fact perform sleeves. However, he stated that he's only done 6 of them to date. Now, mind you he's had extensive experience with bypass and the lap band. So, my question is would you feel comfortable having him do your procedure? I mean someone's got to be the "firsts", right? Do you think that he'd be even more wary/alert because it's a new procedure to him? Just curious to get others opinions.

I'm scheduled for my lap band surgery on October 5th. I actually backed out of gastric bypass in June. I am wondering if its normal to be back and forth between the 2 surgeries. Im so confused. I feel like I want the band for the right reason, and I want the gastric bypass for the wrong reasons. I love the fact that with the bypass the weight just flies off, but I know that the risks are greater. I know that with the band, it will be a lot of work on my part. Please, someone tell me its normal to feel up in the air. :blushing:

I originally was to be sleeved in August. I too failed my sleep study and I also have mild sleep apnea. I ended up getting sleeved in November. At the time I was really discouraged, but I look at it as a blessing in disguise because it allowed me to really evaluate and appreciate the sleeve. I got my head in the game and here I am now.

Hello all! I'm new to the band community. A friend got banded a few months back & my best friend had gastric bypass a couple years ago. I know GBS is not the way to go for me, but I'm seriously considering the band. So much so, that I've begun the insurance phase & am about half way to my 6 month fulfillment. That would put my surgery at the end of April/early May. Just trying to get saturated in the world of bandsters to make a final decision. Please see my new band blog at Band on the Run

Hello to anyone reading Back in January I went to see my PCP about weight loss surgery, I've been considering it for at least 3 years now and always talked myself out of it by saying its the easy way out and trying to convince myself that all I have to do is eat less and work out more. Right! I have always been overweight. Even in my baby pics I look fat. Seriously, don't laugh! There wasn't a time when I wasn't bigger than everyone of my classmates, in addition to being fat, I was also taller! Odd ball, yes that's me. I'm 29 years old with no kids so I can't even use that as an excuse for my fatness, I'm really just fat! My family is fat! My mom has been overweight since a kid too and from what I hear so was her dad. Is there really a fat gene? Maybe that's my excuse...idk but I don't know why I'm fat. I don't think I eat anymore or any unhealthier than skinny people. In fact I know of some skinny people who won't stop eating. I grew up on a tiny island in the Caribbean where there wasn't access to junk food or fast food or endless options for dining out so I can't blame that but I have to say that at age 13 when I moved to NY, it was a different ball game. Cheap, quick and a variety of foods every where I looked. chips Cookies candy bars I didn't know what to eat first and i gained about 50 pounds in 1 year. Fast forward to today, I am 343 pounds! I don't have any obesity related ailments YET and that my friends is why I must do this. My first thought was to get the lapband done but the thought of having a foreign object in my forever really bothered me. Like really! 3 years of bothering me. So in the midst of researching lapband I was learning about other options. Bypass...thought it sounded good but I'm anemic, if they bypass the part of my stomach that absorbs Iron that I can't normally absorb anyway-this could be bad; very bad. Plus I am "paranoid" for a lack of better word about stomach cancer b/c my great grandma had it, also my grandma & mom has breast cancer and mom now has bone cancer. Obviously cancer is a big factor in my life. I want to a avoid this at any means possible- another reason why I need to do something about my weight. Not that skinny people don't get cancer but I would like to fit into the MRI machine if needs be to catch things early. Did I say I was paranoid?.... So I learned that with the bypass- the part of the stomach that just sits unused- well if there's cancer growing there; they can't stick a camera down there to check it out. Only way to spot it would be via CT scans that would be done every year. So lets say I get one in December and something starts growing in February...I won't know until the following December---if I'm still alive!! So...I'm sleeving it! I weighed all options and this seems to be the best of me. I've been reading some posts here about other people's experiences etc and a lot of new perspectives opened up to me. I seriously appreciate all of you for sharing. Even if you think it's minor and you post about it, it's helping someone and thats why I'm here. To learn as much as possible and to share as much as possible. I do want to post the documents I received from my doctor but will at a later time. Like what to eat etc and about the tests I have to do etc but will do that at a later time so if anyone was lurking like I was and kind of undecided or unsure...it may help. Anyway.. I welcome any info and will be glad to share any info I have, if you made it this far..(a lot I know) thanks for reading!!!

I had a lot of people including professionals tell me the same thing, that I really should consider bypass instead of the band. However, I have decided and am sticking with my decision to have the band. I think ultimately I know in my heart what is best for me. I think you do too! Good Luck!

I decided last May to begin steps toward getting LapBand surgery to lose the 100 pounds that I need to lose. I have no interest in the drastic and invasive gastric bypass surgery. However, since I began this program beginning with my Primary and on to the behavioralist, nutritionist, physician and surgeon, every one as encouraged the bypass and strongly discouraged the band. I have no health issues and have remained confident in my decision to stick with getting the band. I am about a month away from surgery. Has anyone else had this type of discouragement? If so, does anyone know why they encourage the bypass so much more? Is it more money for them? I feel that there are so many success stories with a much less invasive procedure, I'm bothered by the constant doubt.

If your gonna do it go with gastric bypass. You lose more weight & have more restrictions on your body. Plus you don't have to revise it like many other ppl.

I had my bypass almost a year ago now. I'm up in NY but I always love making new friends and helping/supporting anyone anyone I can. Feel free to friend me or message me anytime!

My wedding band actually cracked from having it resized several times after pregnancies and gaining weight etc. So it has been sitting in a box in my bureau for a couple of years. Just last month my husband suggested that I get it resized. We went together to the jewelers and jazzed up the band and I just picked it up last Friday. I feel like a new bride! I can't stop looking at my ring now! I'm so glad I did it. I am actually smaller than the original size too! Married 35 years this November.

Hi, I am very new to this - I live in New Mexico and was banded in Mexico. I have lost only 20 lbs. so far and got my first fill in late November. I have no idea if I am on track or totally off course. Can someone please share their experience with me? I need to do my part which I haven't been doing. I need to start exercising and watch what I eat. I am also considering getting another fill soon. In New Mexico we can only go to a fill center so I have had almost no aftercare. I just need to get my head on straight and reach out to others. Any response would be much appreciated. Thank you.

I lost 13lbs in 10 days following the liquid plan. Your surgeon is likely comfortable with this but the question is are you? I would call them and ask your question directly just to give you peace of mind. Honestly, many surgeons require the liquid diet for a much shorter period of time than mine. Then again, I met my plastic surgeon on Monday and had my Brachioplasty on Thursday. Had I had the chance to have my bypass long before I did I would have jumped at the chance. That's just me but I have had a lot of surgeries in my life so I was comfortable with it which is what matters. Are you comfortable? If not, take the original date.

Thanks so much Crystal for the encouraging words....guess I was expecting results more like the Gastric-bypass surgery...but then they lose their hair don't they? You're right, of course, slower is better...thanks again...pls

I know and I guess he did it because of my diabetes I think and by the way my sugars have been way better plus he also wanted to give me a bypass and I kept refusing. I want baby steps first with the band. I now know how important it is to sip sip sip 1 oz every 5 mins but sheesh this ribcage pain hurts lol and sneezing with it is NO better

I have the same thoughts. I'm being banded on 10/19. I wonder if I'm doing the right thing? Will this work? Can I live with it? Etc. I think if we didn't have doubts we wouldn't really be prepared. We have to remember that it's a tool - albiet a good tool - we still have to diet. Unlike bypass, we will have to work to loose weight. However, when I diet what ruins it for me is succumbing to comfort food - LOTS of comfort foot. With the band in the sweet spot that everyone talks about huge quantities of comfort food will not be possible. That's part of what worries me. But it will work - because I'll make it work.

We don't have pouches.....we've got sleeves, whereas gastric bypass patients have stomach pouches with simple stomas. The 5-day pouch reset was thought up by a quasi-journalist who regained several years after her bypass surgery. It is designed for bypass folks, not sleeved people. You can certainly complete a pouch reset with your sleeve. However, it will be ineffective without a permanent lifestyle change. To bust your stall, start doing the things that resulted in your 90+ pound post-op weight loss. Stop doing the things that have resulted in your current stall/plateau. Good luck to you. You got this.