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I've replaced my entire closet about four times since starting this last December. I decided early on that my new life was too important to continue to wear clothes that didn't fit right. As things began to get to be too large, I set them aside. When there was enough to fill a trash bag or two or three, I took them to Goodwill, or to a homeless shelter in my town, and even to a coworker whose father and brothers are big guys. Donating them made me feel good, because all my stuff was in great shape and had a lot of life left in them. I told the coworker to do what she wanted with whatever her family couldn't use, including putting them in her next garage sale. She was delighted, because guys used clothes at garage sales tend to be stained or ripped or worn out. She was happy to get nice stuff from me. Then I bought new stuff on sale in various places, most often JC Penney (their online site has the best selection and some killer sales.) When THOSE clothes got to be too big, I started over, and did the same thing, donating what I didn't need anymore. I've gone from 3XL and 4XL shirts down to size Large, and my 44-46 waist pants are down to a 34 inch waist. To justify the cost of buying more clothes, I started figuring out how much money I WASN'T spending on food. Groceries, restaurants, junk food and Snacks, soda, beer - the repetitive costs of that much food was enormous. After banding, my food expenses are SO much lower, I have a lot more disposable income. I figure I can spend that money on new clothes. They make me feel right, I look great in them, and it helps me adjust to my new life. Now that my weight loss has slowed way down, I'm not needing to shop like I was. So it's all tapered off, and I had a great journey along the way. And as for those jeans you're waiting to buy? WalMart has great jeans that wear well and cost less than $10 a pair. Check them out. Dave

I can sympathize with you! I lost 10 my first week...then only like 4 lbs over the next 4 weeks! I was shocked because I was hardly eating. I felt horrible but after week 5 I got into a steady loss cycle. I only get on the scale every 7 - 10 days and I stay away all the other days. I was obsessing about the scale and it was not good. Now 12.5 weeks post op I am down 63 total from my highest weight. Hang in there! Don't get discouraged it really has not been that long. I know it feels like that number should be moving faster - I do know! Keep drinking water, get your protein, exercise...take your vitamins!

I had my surgery on Feb. 18 and flew on Feb. 29. The surgeon had said it should be safe to fly 7-10 days after. For me, that flight was torture. I could not even sip Water. It was so bad that I cancelled my flight home and won't be flying back until the 17th. I'll get my first fill on the 18th and then have another flight scheduled for the 20th. The surgeon said that I shouldn't have any problems after the fill as long as the nurse filling is careful not to have any air in the needle. He said that people have had issues with flights when there is air in the band which can get there during a fill if the nurse is not careful. I guess I'll know for sure when I fly on the 20th. Sent from my SM-G920P using the BariatricPal App

Hi...I was banded in Monterey, MX by Dr. Sanchez. I could not be banded in the US at that time because I was not considered "morbidly obese". I did the yo yo with my weight most of my adult life and was never able to maintain a constant healthy weight. At that time the lap band was very new and a lot of people were going to MX for placement. I have not had a fill in over 10 years and still have restriction. I still have to eat slow, chew well and am not able to eat certain foods unless I have had a drink or two (which loosens the band...relaxes me). I still have a difficult time eating out .... I eat much better at home. I can't eat in the mornings and have carnation instant usually. I try to get my protein in with cottage cheese, yogurt, organic chicken and eggs (eggs don't always do well). I juice occasionally to get my veggies and fruits. I am considering removing my band this next year because I would like to be able to eat salads and fruit naturally and I do have to work at getting my nutrients in. Unfortunately, ice cream, candy and white russians go through very well, lol. I know I would lose another ten pounds if I would cut out the sugar. I still slime a lot and that concerns me. Im not really sure what I will do. I am not being followed by a doctor and have not been for 10 years. I do have a lot of heart burn and am sure it is because of the sliming. I am going to see a doc to get checked out this year for that. I do not regret getting the band as it has helped me in the long run. The band is the boss as you all know. Any questions, feel free to ask. Also, I had a tummy tuck in Monterey with Dr Cardenas about a year after my weight loss and that was the best thing I ever did for ME....

I'm always confused by terms people use. When I attempt to follow the 'feeling full/feeling restricted' range of thought, I never seem to find any behavioral control or meal satisfaction. What has worked well for me, is the notion of "hunger" means 'eat' and 'not hunger' means 'NO eat'. Whether one bite or 10, when I'm under 'good control' and 'being Bandlike' in my meals, the absolute most meaningful management tool I could rely on, was my newly learned skill of recognizing when I was actually 'hungry'. In the bad old preOp days, I NEVER knew what 'hunger' and 'not hunger' were....cause I was always eating so I wouldn't become a dreadful 'hungry' person.

Hey everyone... Okay so I'm getting nervous now... My surgery is 10 days away and I start my Pre op diet in 2 days... Can all the veterans or people on their Pre Op diet give me some tips, and also brands or ideas of protein shakes or broths they made. Thanks I appreciate it

Yes! I have the exact same situation going on! My surgery was the 27th of March. I feel a sharp pulling pain when I try to sleep on my side, so for 10 days I have been sleeping on my back. I have a bruise the size of a luncheon plate around my belly button. It is huge, dark, and gross!!! I think the pulling pain will just take time to go away. Best wishes! Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Unjury makes what it calls Nectar protein powder that you can mix with water. Very light and you can order a sample box that has maybe 8-10 different flavor packets to try. My favorite two are peach and lemonade.

I had Gastric Sleeve surgery in January of 2016. Since the pre-surgery diet, I have lost around 115 lbs. Long story short, a few months ago- I got sick every time I ate. Didn't matter if it was yogurt, chicken, beef, etc. Within 30-60 mins of eating, I was in the bathroom with severe diarrhea, vomited once, had a pain in my upper stomach when eating ,etc. My surgeon did a CT with contrast and found that I had a blood clot in my stomach as well as pancreatitis. I went on a pretty low key "diet" of just Soups, yogurt, liquids just to calm things down. He also gave me some Carafate to take before eating. After a few days, the problem resolved. Long story short- the same symptoms have come up again, only this time I have blood in my stool and quite a bit of it. I called and they had me go to the local ER last week for a CT with contrast again to make sure I didn't have a leak. CT looked good, blood work, and urine tests came back fine. Once again I was given Carafate and sent home. Here I am on about day 10 of the symptoms and nothing has changed. Still getting sick when I eat, always on the verge of vomiting, blood in my stool, diarrhea, pain in my stomach when I eat, etc. Any one else have these same symptoms before? If so- what has helped? I don't want to be a pain to my doctor, but I'm really worried about the blood. I have lost 4 lbs this past week. Mostly due to the fact that I can't eat anything. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

How's everyone doing? I am honking along but not losing weight as fast as I liked so I went back to tracking and discovering some nasty little carbs that have mysteriously come back. Hoping to get back on track. I'd like to drop 10 more pounds before I start driving a truck again. At least I am not gaining which is important!

Hi all, so I am exactly one month out today and am down 21 lbs., which is what I was down on 1/10/13 at my follow-up with my surgeon...soooo apparently I hit the dreaded 3 week stall. I did take my measurements and have lost 8.5", all from my waist up! It needs to switch to below the belt next month.....keeping my fingers crossed. lol

For me after post op I didn't have any cravings or hunger. I was focused on sip sip sipping fluid and protein shakes all day and then after that; learning to eat again. Tiny slow bites. By that time I hadn't had any refined sugars in weeks and sugar is what triggers my cravings so I didn't have any cravings or hunger for about 10 months when I ate some sugar. I had lost the majority of my weight at that point so I was learning and testing the waters of the next phase... Maintenance!! I am almost two years post op and I do have cravings, and some hunger. I just know that for me as long as I keep my carb count low then the cravings are almost non existent. However, I do have periods where I eat treats and then just get right back on my plan. With weight loss surgery it seems like it is a little easier to get back on track. I agree with JamieLogical that it is the huge change in the food relationship that makes the most difference. Not to sugar coat it, for me I do have to have constant vigilance.

I am very happy to be here and have enjoyed reading this site over the past few weeks. I would love to get down some of my thoughts and hear any feedback anyone has for me. I tend to write essays so I apologize for the length. I am scheduled to meet with a surgeon in two weeks. I also have the psych eval and nutritionist appointment as well as some medical tests that day. The hospital is almost two hours away so I'm packing as much as I can into each trip. I have bcbs fep so still have the 3 months supervised program which has not started. I weigh 278 and have been around this weight or higher (highest around 300) for at least 10 years. I am 35, normal weight as a young child but as soon as I hit puberty quickly became obese. I am not saying it is all genetic, but I know that is part of it. My parents and brother all suffered with obesity or morbid obesity. My brother had gastric bypass surgery several years ago, and to make a long story short he had complications, and died two years after the surgery at age 30. This was not from the surgery but was medically fragile since the surgery. My parents blame the surgery although I do not. They have made it clear that they would be very, very upset if I chose bariatric surgery. Despite this, I have considered this for years. I try to base most of my major decisions on good data. I know that long term weight loss in significant amounts (like, 100 lbs) is quite statistically improbable. I have successfully kept 20-30 lbs (back and forth in this range) off for 6 years. Despite that I am concerned about my health. I have high blood pressure and take three medications to maintain this. I am in the prediabetic range for blood sugar. I see my dad with worsening neuropathy from diabetes type 2 despite really hard work on a very low carb diet. My paternal grandpa lost 3 of his limbs from this disease before he died. Despite being fairly young my knees are starting to hurt when using stairs. I worry that I won't have very long ahead of me. I honestly have come to terms with how I look and while being thinner would be nice, that is not a major motivation for me. Sickness and early death from health consequences of morbid obesity terrifies me. I work full time as a clinical psychologist at a Veterans Affairs. The work is my passion and I would not want to do anything else. However it can be very stressful. It is also very cognitively and emotionally demanding and therefore exhausting while being super sendentary. My salary also supports my family (son and sahd husband). I have recurrent major depression. I am doing very well, taking medication and when needed connect back with therapy. I always live with the fear of depression relapse due to fear not being able to keep up at work and how hard the last one was on me and my family (4 years ago). Fears: will such low amounts of calories allow me to have sufficient cognitive energy to do my job well? Will the mood effects bring on another episode of depression? Should I hide having surgery to my parents, which feels dishonest, or tell them the truth and live with their anger and fear of losing their only remaining child? Will I be able to regularly engage in moderate exercise which honestly I haven't done since my early 20's? If you made it to the end, thank you. I don't expect answers to the above questions but feels good to tell them to people who might relate. Any thoughts welcome. Any experiences of going through this while maintaining a demanding job are appreciated.

I "slimed" again today. I only do it when I eat too fast. 10 weeks post op, I can't believe I am still doing this! I have gotten very good about measuring the AMOUNT I can eat... But it seems like - especially when distracted like at work - I can easily just ... eat... and before I know it, I have this pain in my chest that is only relieved by regurgitating SLIME. I assume I am sliming because I am not throwing up what I ate - just...well, SLIME. I feel dirty and ashamed afterwards. You know how a dog will hurk up his dinner and then look at you all embarassed? (before re-eating it) How long before I get this under control? I feel like I am learning - I only THROW UP after eating one bite too many... and have gotten much better about avoiding that...but if I eat too fast, I slime. I have read some posters have NEVER thrown up... I guess I should feel lucky I never got dumping syndrome - that sounds awful.

I lost 32 lbs over 4 months. My program required me to lose 10% before they would schedule surgery. They provided a pre op diet, which I followed pretty closely. I was very motivated because I felt it was my last chance to get the extra weight off. Lynda

First congrats on your success. I think that you are doing so well. I too didn't feel restriction for quite some time, but managed to lose an average of 10 lbs a month. I think much of it is in our heads. I still struggle with head hunger (2yrs out). And I still have sweets - just something small everyday so I don't feel I am depriving myself. You are doing fantastic.

I used to suffer from another PCOS system that is not as commonly experienced. While most PCOS people suffer from too few periods, I had the joy of having them excessively. Mine would come every 17 days, would last anywhere from 8 to 10 days, and was incredibly heavy. And the entire time in between I had horrible PMS. Finally, about two years ago my gynecologist did some testing and discovered my lining in my uterus was about 7 inches thicker than normal. So, she did an endometrial ablation on me. When you have that done, it basically kills any chances of you getting pregnant in the future, but I was done having children so I was OK with that. Since having the procedure, my period comes about every 28 days, lasts about one day and is so light it is just like a bit of spotting and that is it. It is so wonderful now. As for the girls, whenever I lose weight, I don't lose any in that area. So, my plan is to just have them lifted at some point.

I'm a single mom and I'm struggling with whom will accompany me to the hospital the day of. My oldest childld is 20 and my youngest is 8. I also have a 10 and 14 yesr old. No outside suoport. Do i bring my children? To those of you who can relate, who did you have accompany you? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using Tapatalk

I had an appointment with my PCP on February 3. My first appointment with the surgeon's NP was March 3. My sixth appointment with the surgeon himself was August 10, and my surgery was September 28. Good luck!

Well, we did it, Dr. Seger and I. He'd had a tough time without my help. I went in at 10:00 AM and got to my room around 12:15 PM. I spent two nights in the hospital enjoying the best care a person could possibly get. I started this journey at 335 lbs and today weighted in at 299. I'm in the middle of my clear liquid diet and am doing well. I've had two total knee replacements in pervious years and can already feel the releif the weight loss is bringing to my joints. I am a diabetic and have not needed insulin at all since two days prior to going into the hospital; because of the pre-surgery weight loss diet. If you haven't already figured it out, I am excited about my future weight loss and I am happy to be on this journey with you all. One final note, a thank you to Forensikchic for her conviencing talk at the seminar I attended and her more recent encouragements.

Any advice? I have to lose 10 pounds by Oct 9th.

I am going crazy. I had my surgery 10/22. I feel no different. I have no trouble drinking, getting my protein in anything. Is there something wrong with me? I have been having my soups clear liquids. Am I doing something wrong? Can I have pudding at this stage? I am so confused and overwhelmed.

This is how I get my protein in. I have a protein shake for breakfast. Im up around 8am. It takes me until 11 or so to drink it all. That's 26 grams right there. Then I drink some water or propel zero. A little later, I have a 4oz container of Breakstone low fat cottage cheese. That's 11 grams right there and fills me up to boot. A few hours later, I puree 2oz of chicken with some soup that I make even more liquidy with low fat, low sodium vegetable broth and drink that as well. That's 13 grams of protein. Then a few hours later, I make another protein shake which is another 26 grams of protein. That's a total of 76grams. I usually dont get done drinking until 10:30-11pm but I get them in. In between I sip on water or propel zero but because everything I am consuming is liquid, I dont worry so much about getting in extra liquids because it's all adding up.

Hi all - this is repost from the financing forum. I was hoping to get your input on this as well if anyone is from Chicago area/Indiana...please chime in. ---------------------------- Of course I'm set with Dr. K in Colorado - but, I called all day Thurs & Fri - was unsuccesful in getting someone to accept me for local fills. fillcentersusa is not local for me. So... today, I begin considering going local and paying more. So, I'm posting messages to asking for prices locally (Chicagoland/Indiana). I do have 4 prices here so far. Actually found a couple good prices - just need to know if they will accept my current financing option which is all set and ready. RightWeigh Bariatric in Kentucky charges $12,500 - they also have a location in Indiana - I will call in the morning to see what they charge (hoping its so close to this). Lifeway Bariatrics in Downers Grove & Merriville, IN charge $15,500. Synchronyhealth: $16,000 Midwestbariatrics: $16,211 If any of the lower ones accept my financing and can band me sooner, I'm going to make the switch ASAP to free up that 10/30 date at Dr. K's office.

Obviously whatever you decide is okay. But I look at your age, you are 28.... I am 38 and I get banded on Monday... and I WISH TO GOD that I had done it at 28 instead of trying and failing for 10 years to lose weight. I lost 10 years of my life that I could have been healthier and happier with myself. I think that the vast majority of people who get the lap band probably have that little voice in the back of their head that says QUITTER...but come on... we are not quitting - we are brave and willing to do what it takes to ensure our success. My surgeon has a bunch of Q&As online and they are really good on this topic.... watch a couple!! Q/A Dr. Fielding | NYULMC Weight Management Program | NYU Langone Medical Center | New York, New York 10016