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I never had it before surgery. My surgeon's program calls for 3 months of prescription PPI after surgery. After 3 months the instructions are to stop the daily dose. Holy hell ! Did I experience a backlash when I stopped! To the point where it made me vomit. I spoke with my surgeon, and he said this happens to about 10% of patients. Per his recommendation, I am treating with an OTC as needed. H2 blockers can be used as needed - PPI's can be taken daily or if you know your triggers you can take them preventively as needed. I'm trying to take only as needed, but it seems to be almost every day. Good news is that the medicine does take care of it. Small price to pay imo, for all the many other benefits of getting this weight off!

I just made a post about this elsewhere yesterday, but I'll just copy/paste most of it here too since I'm just so thrilled about this discovery: pumpkin seed protein. It has all the essential amino acids to make it a complete protein (plus most of the non-essential ones as well). Per 100g it has 63g of protein, 6.7g of fat (but it's good fat, including the ever important omegas), and 10g of carbs (all 10 of which are fiber!). And the best part is, it doesn't really taste like protein! It just tastes kinda "green." It's nice, sort of smokey. I've been putting it everything savory: soup, salad dressing, stir-fry, salsa, hummus, etc. I love it! It was a little expensive, but totally worth it. The company is called "Sun & Seed" (though I believe other organic food companies in the US make something similar). They have a website, but it looks like it might be under construction (sunandseed.com). It seems like they're a UK company though, so I don't know how the availability of this specific brand would be in the US. All I can say is, I really, really recommend it, not just for vegans, but for anyone getting sick of the taste of other protein powders.

I have been really careful not to get back into a daily coffee routine because I had not realized how dependent I had gotten on that prior to surgery. However, my program does allow 8-10 ounces of caffeinated beverages per day. i.e. coffee or tea.

Well we will be the Global August Banders!! I'm Australian Sarah so I work in Kilos and I had to look up what it would be in pounds too! Are you guys all on Optifast for pre-op or do you have a different brand of shakes elsewhere in the world? I think the nerves will kick in for me on the morning I am driving to the hospital. EEEEK! I have my mum flying over from the East coast to look after me for 10 days which I am looking forward to as I havent seen her for awhile. We are a 5 hour flight away from each other on opposite sides of our big island So glad I have more August mates! Catch you soon

Thank you everyone...I appreciate your responses. Only 10 days to go!! I am praying constantly and know that God paved the path ahead of me. I love that there are so many people that are in so many different places and we can all come together and share w/each other.... may we all be on the loosers bench <3

Like you, I weigh every single day....going up or down does not bother me, it's part of it. The thing is, if I'm up 2 or 3, I KNOW and I can do something about it, easy! If I weighed once a week or once a month - yikes. We all know how quickly we can gain 10 lbs.....that would not be as simple to get a grip on. Dr. Davidson told me to weigh, so I could nip it in the bud if the scale went up.

I keep my proteins between 70-90 grams daily and have been active and getting in my water daily but have hit a two week stall. The scale has not moved and I am doing everything as directed. I too am discouraged but see that I am not alone. Any suggestions on how to break out of this? I was sleeved on 2/19 and I am 38 lbs down including pre-op.

I'm right with you, a slow loser. I've accepted it and try to look at it in different ways. I'm averaging about 10 pounds a month, so far. That means in 10 months, I will be down 100 pounds, and that makes me extremely happy. Also, I'm hoping that by losing slow, I maybe won't have to deal with the horrible hair loss that everyone talks about. LOL

I've been cursing whoever came up with the liquid diet today! I was soooo hungry! This is only day 3 and surgery is 10/14. When I get that hungry, I try to drink a bunch of Water. It's hard, but it will all be worth it right!? (I would LOVE to get some good ideas for what to do with/for broth! I'm already sick of it!) Karen

1cc is basically almost no restriction. If you try very hard to stick to the eating plan, you will lose but you will experience hunger. Getting stuck has nothing to do with having any restriction. It can happen before your first fill. A few comments .... corn is a starchy vegetable and probably not a good choice. Dry Protein of any variety is likely to stick. Put some kind of sauce on it or soak it in broth. My doctor suggests eating your protein, then your veggie and then waiting 15 minutes. If you still feel hungry, then have a single serving of whole grain carb (not potato or corn or similar starchy vegetable). If you get hungry before 4 hours, eat an ounce of low fat cheese, 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese, or even an ounce of meat. Eventually, if you eat slowly and chew well (and have more restriction than 1cc), you will feel full. If won't be that Thanksgiving Day stuffed feeling but full nonetheless. If you eat fast, you'll just run right past that feeling, so eat slowly and enjoy your meal [your protein, then your veggie and then waiting 15 minutes. If you still feel hungry, then have a single serving of whole grain carb]. Don't eat chips and salsa (and other "slider" food) just because you can! Eat by the meal plan. I've had 4 fills (on top of .6cc in my band after surgery) and I am at 5.6 and feel that I am at my sweet spot. My surgery was 2/10 and my 4th fill was just 2 weeks ago. Patience is something you're going to have to find, and I know it's hard. You feel like you've finally done something to fix this problem and damn-it-all it isn't working as fast as you want.

After a stall that felt like it lasted an eternity- I am actually down 3 whole pounds this week. It has been forever since I have lost 3 pounds in one week. I am thrilled. 187!! I haven’t seen this weight for more than 10 years.

Hey all. So i need some advice. Ive been at my current job for 2 months and 10 days. still on probation technically. the reason why im so confused and dont know what to do is because this is my first real job, before this i had been working temp. I dont know how to go about telling my employer i need time off. am i supposed to tell my supervisor, my manager or?? and what exactly should i have as far as paperwork when i tell them? what do i tell them? can they let me go? can i file for disability for the time ill need off? can i get disability if i get let go? i have no idea how to go about this. my surgery is May 10th so its literally 4 weeks from today on thursday. thanks everyone!

I have an amazing pair of size 10 jeans from the Limited that I used to wear all the time when I was at my thinnest (before my band slipped). They're tucked away in a storage bin at the moment, but I plan on getting them out soon in preparation for my upcoming journey with the sleeve :-)

Hi Time to Love Me, Did you end up having your surgery at Lahey Clinic after all? My surgery is on Monday 10/30/06 with Dr. Nepomnashy. I'm nervous and excited. So far the center at Lahey has been wonderful. Any comments you have are appreciated. Thanks. Baylee

Anecdotal experiences of individuals are often attention-grabbing. However, the following facts about alcohol abuse and dependence among the general population and among WLS populations offer context for the experience of the WLS patient shown in the above video. Alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance in the U.S. 17.6 million people, or one in every 12 adults, suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence along with several million more who engage in risky drinking patterns that could lead to alcohol problems. More than half of all adults have a family history of alcoholism or problem drinking, and more than seven million children live in a household where at least one parent is dependent or has abused alcohol. https://ncadd.org/for-the-media/alcohol-a-drug-information Here are the findings from one study published in 2012 about transfer alcohol addiction after WLS (in this case RnY): In addition to the potential for weight regain, WLS patients, RYGB patients in particular, are at risk for emergence of alcohol use disorders by 2 years post-WLS, with 16.5% of patients engaging in hazardous alcohol use and nearly 10% having an alcohol use disorder [37] http://turner-white.com/pdf/jcom_oct13_bariatric.pdf The same study referenced these earlier study's findings: In a large-scale longitudinal study, rates of alcohol use disorders did not differ from 1 year before to 1 year after surgery, but by 2 years post-WLS the rate of problematic alcohol use increased significantly. Specifically, drinking ≥ 4 times per week and meeting alcohol dependence criteria both increased from about 3% to 5% of patients from baseline to year 2, and any form of alcohol use disorder increased from 7.6% to 9.6% during this same time frame. Notably, the escalation of problematic alcohol use was significant only among RYGB patients, not those who underwent adjustable gastric banding.

Thank you for sharing. I was sleeved on the 13th. Gas is a killer no matter what I do. I have 10 burps for every sip of water. I hope it gets better soon. Keep us posted on how it goes. I too have no hunger though miss food but I know it will hurt me so can easily abstain. Take care!

Well I wish I could say that I posted the same day as my surgery, but I didn't. It was about 24 hours after the surgery. Not saying I was in a lot of pain for those hours, but not up to doing anything but sleeping and walking. Not sure how the staying up all night part worked out. About 2am I started to think twice as I couldn't have anything to drink. I was happy that I was totally knocked out while waiting for the Dr. in Pre-op as I'm a very impatient person, and would have been upset if he wasn't there on time, which we know Dr.'s usually aren't. But after the surgery I was soo sleepy. The entire night, I didn't stay awake for more then 30 minutes when I was in my room. The nurse would come in to walk me, I'd walk for like 15 minutes or so, and then get back in the bed or chair. The tv was on, but I could even pay attention to it long enought to figure out what was going on. Well I'm home now. Acutally left the hospital at about 2pm. Stopped off and got the drugs. Had a little layover at a friends house as I forgot my keys and had to wait for my brother to get home. I get home at 5:30ish and fix my first meal as I'm now acutally hungry for the first time since my surgery. Well at least I think that's hungr. So it takes me about 2 hours to finish my 4 oz of beef broth which tasted totally horrible. I also took about 4 sips from an 8oz Water. Then I walked on the treadmill for about 10 minutes at a pace of .6 for a whopping 0.1 miles. Now I'm hurting, but must do my breathing exercises and then the drugs for the pain. HEFT!

@@Tiffany2015 HUGS x 10! I am so very sorry that you are going through such a tough time. I hope that you take the time to speak with a therapist who can help you with the grief that you feel. You seem like a very positive person and positivity always helps me through tough situations so leverage it as much as you can. As others have said, menopause sucks but it does differ for each individual. I had a hysterectomy in 2003 but they left my ovaries. Now I am going through menopause and I have some pretty severe symptoms. I have chosen not to take anything for them. One thing I will tell you is gaining weight is not one of them. Leverage what you learned to help manage your weight. I actually am struggling to stop losing at this point having reached my goal in the spring. There are tricks that you learn to deal with the hot flashes which for me truly are the worst. They leave me soaked to the bone and then of course I get very cold. So I try to ensure that I do things to not trigger as many of them. I have a fan next to me in the living room and I sleep with a fan on in the bedroom. I try not to wear clothing that I know will make me warmer because just being overly warm will trigger one for me. I always have a light jacket with me because if I am not flashing I am freezing cold to the bone. Hopefully you will have little to no symptoms, you have certainly had enough stuff to deal with and you deserve a break. I will say prayers to help you through this. We will be thinking about you. Please keep us posted and reach out if you need anything.

....about a 6-8. To see this 10 be so big on me. Brought me to tears. I don't know this life. HW: 265 lbs SW: 255 lbs June 2017 CW: 128 lbs

I'm not quite as light, but 250 at 5'10", I was 37 BMI a week before my surgery (10/6). I admit that I had a pizza before the first weigh-in to top the scales at 281 (BMI 40.2), but all of my co-morbities were marginal and I knew if I didn't qualify, I may never do it. As soon as I weighed in, I started very tough dieting (5:2, then 1500 calories/day cut out booze, coffee, and diet soda). I Lost 30 pounds in 6 weeks and my mother said "forget the surgery, you're fine" (thanks Mom). I admit thinking that I was half way to 225, which was a very comfortable weight for me. Anyway, I kept coming back to two things; first, I really believe it was now or never. Sure, I could lose another 25 pounds, but was there any doubt that I'd see 260/270 again? Second, if I projected where my diabetes, fatty liver, and arthritis were heading, I really believed it was about having a life after 80 versus being dead or in a nursing home. Fast forward, I'm home 3 days post surgery and I'm already feeling better than I did at 281. I'm on the blended diet and it's fine. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and know I'll be eating normal food in 6 weeks and sipping wine with my (small) Christmas dinner. No brainier - hang in there and keep your eyes on the bigger picture.

apologies for re-posting this, but I think I posted it in the wrong forum initially Hi everyone, first time poster here! I am scheduled for a gastric sleeve on 10/19. I am currently 184 lbs, 5'4, bmi 31. After I first met with the surgeon and scheduled the surgery I was very sure this was the right thing to do. I have battled my weight for almost 10 years (I'm 30) and have tried every diet and drug under the sun with no success. My only success has ever come from a combination of medically supervised protein-sparing diet combined with phentermine. But even that 30 lb loss came back on pretty quickly. Now I'm starting to question this choice. It just seems so completely elective -- I'm healthy and young, I even completed a triathlon this weekend! But the choice goes beyond vanity, I struggle with significant depression that I never dealt with prior to the weight gain, I feel constantly exhausted (possibly from sleep apnea) and just generally feel that I'm living my life in someone else's body under a cloud of failure. I'd love to hear from others who had the surgery at a low BMI - are you happy with your choice? I'd especially love to hear from anyone who went on to have healthy pregnancies afterwards, the concern about pregnancy at my current weight has led me to hold off on having kids! Any other thoughts would be much appreciated, I do think this is the right choice for me but I struggle with feeling selfish to put my loved ones through the stress of worrying about the outcome when I'm not facing an immediate health crisis. And God forbid something happened, I wouldn't blame them for hating me for putting them through that.

Ok, so, I'm having a lot of sob. I am having trouble even walking up stairs in my house. I can't stand more than 10 minutes before feeling like I am about to cry! Why?????? Dos aug 15 Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have had T2 for about 15 years and was on oral meds. May of 2012, I was put on injected insulin because things got out of control. I was sleeved on Sept. 20 - my numbers are technically still high and I will probably end up back on oral meds, but my surgeon said not to worry about it until 6 months out. If I get too high, I'm to take fast acting insulin on a sliding scale as needed. I've lost about 50 lbs since surgery and notice the side effects of diabeties have all but gone away - thirst, frequent urination, etc... If I could do the sleeve over again, I would 10 more times! There are other things to consider with each of your options - not just diabeties. With the RNY, you don't absorb calories, but you don't absorb nutrients either. The weight loss will happen very quickly, but if you're not careful, you could have long term problems other than diabeties. With the sleeve, the weight comes of slower. You still need to make sure you're extremely careful with what and how you eat, but there's less problems. As far as the diabeties, I'm fully prepared to go back on oral meds. Hoping I won't have to, but preparing myself for it nonetheless. Not sure if anything I'm saying will help... It's just my opinion.

@@briefs199 It would definitely be great to see you at our support group in NYC the date is 10/25. Your making a big change in your life and that is something that is positive change for you, and if you work at it together for your spouse as well. It's not always easy when one person makes a change even if the change is personal and beneficial for health etc. It can open a gap in the relationship, leaving area's of grey where the other person had definition before. For example, perhaps he knows your favorite food, and now that will change. Perhaps he enjoys going out for beers with you and now that will change. He is thinking about what this surgery is going to mean for him and his relationship with you and who you are and who you are going to be...and how he is going to cope with that...but you are who you are and your husband might need some reassurance that a new "body" a thinner more healthy you is not going to change who you are, or how you feel about him. The key to all of this is communication!! You must sit down and talk with your husband. If a psych exam is part of your surgery, make an appointment to sit with your spouse and bring these topics up and give him the space to be able to ask the Dr.'s all the questions he might have even if you think he doesn't care I'm sure he's just afraid to voice his concerns and his fears about your choice. Most of all remember that this was YOUR choice. You can not force him to change his eating habits or his behavior to suit you. You must make the changes required of you for yourself, and adapt those changes in your life style to fit into your partnership. These are all do able and if you don't force your choices and changes on him or anyone you have a relationship with for that matter, you will find that they are more accepting and will be better able to embrace your new way of being rather then being resistant to it. The key to everything though is communication. You must speak out and let them know what you need and don't need and what is a trigger for you, if you clearly state your needs that does not mean that at the next party there won't be chips and dip but it does mean that when you don't stick your hand in the bowl your hostess is not offended that you are not eating her food, but understands that you have dietary restrictions. When you go out to eat with your husband you might not order the steak at his favorite steak place but you will sit and enjoy the Soup or the salad or what ever it is that is on your dietary menu even if it means your on a liquid diet and you drink your shake while he dines you will have a friend there who is on your side and ready to be your cheer leader because they will realize you are not trying to change them, you are only trying to make changes to give yourself a better life.

I was banded on December 19, 2007 and they told me no baths as well. I just wanted to ask do your left side hurt and if someone could tell me how long this should last? I am in pain!!