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LOL yup. Tore revision came up. Interesting. Never heard of that before.

I’ve started with the Flintstones with iron. I have B vitamins in a meltable tab for under the tongue. Then there’s chewable calcium citrate with vitamin D. I had a bypass, other surgeries have different requirements. I might have to change up my vitamins when I get blood work done. Right now I’m seeing if the Flintstones is ok for me. I would call your dietitian. At my center they kind of run the show.

I have read just a little on lap banding. I am planning to attend a seminar, but honestly I don't want to do this because someone is selling/pushing me on it. I want to hear from real people who have had it done, and how it has affected your life. My sister has had gastric bypass, and even though she has lost the weight, she hates that she has ever had it done. I have a couple of questions, please. #1 What does it mean to get a fill? Why do you have to have fills? How is that done? Is something left on the outside of your body? How costly are the fills (my insurance does not pay for them)? How often are they done? #2 What kind of diet restrictions are there with the band other than you get full faster? #3 My sister and niece lost a lot of their hair with gastric bypass. Does this happen with the band? #4 I am overweight (260 lbs.) and have tried everything. I love to eat; therefore, I am scared if I go through this I might just end up stretching or breaking the band. Any words of wisdom or advice would be appreciated!!

Afterward, meaning after you have healed, for the most part, unless you are eating you will not have any different feelings, nor abilities than you have now. The ability to do more things will increase as your weight decreases. Your port and tubing do not just flop around freely inside you. They stitch the port, tightly into muscle, which holds it securely, and the tube simply runs from it, to the band,and you do not have sensation of it being there at all. I am quite close to my goal weight and I must still push firmly to feel my port. I ride motorcycles with my husband, as well as 4 wheelers, ride horses, haul firewood, jump on a trampoline, swim, wrestle with my grandbabies on the floor, use a variety of exercise equipment (not nearly as much as I should tho!)....heck the list could go on forever! I do a lot of these things thanks to the band, I was too heavy to do them before. The problem with stats when it comes to this surgery is the fact that they are operating on some seriously obese people. I am talking Super obesity, of over 500 pounds at times, and when you begin looking at that type of weight the health issues are monumental, and death is more common due to blood clots following surgery as they are not often mobile....but once the surgery is done, it is reported as a surgical statistic. This was a simple surgery for me, and I was very close to your weight. I was up and walking within hours, and back to my normal life in a week. We were remodeling a home with my Daughter at the time, and I was back to weilding a paintbrush and making Home Depot runs within that week. I am able to eat all foods. There are a few I opt not to eat....but that is a personal choice. I eat much much less than I did before, I am now in control of the food as opposed to the food being in control of me. I chose banding over bypass for several reasons. #1 being I am a cancer survivor and if I ever need to increase nutritional intake I can. #2. I had serious fears of my insides being cut and rerouted and removed. #3. I do not do well with deprivation. Being told I could NOT eat sweets was a deal breaker! I wanted to have a piece of birthday cake with my grandkids on their special days. So banding was the ideal choice for me, I eat that small piece of cake and am good, no longer wanting to eat the entire cake!!! The choice was an easy one for me. I do understand it is a very personal choice for everyone. I hope you do take into consideration the risks associated with obesity as compared to the risks associated with lap band surgery. At the risk of sounding like a mastercard commercial, getting your life back is priceless......being able to run, and sit in any chair, climb any ladder, fit on all amusement park rides----and not stand out in the crowd because of my size----those and a host of other reasons make me happy every day I chose to override my fears and be banded. I hope you come to peace with a decision soon. Did your wife go to the seminar with you? They can be super informative! Kat

I've had 4 friends who have had gastric bypass surgery. While all are losing weight they've all had some form of malabsorbtion issues post-op and have to take alot of liquid Vitamins and stuff. One also has problems where she will just suddenly throw up for no reason. They were all laid up for almost a month after surgery and 3 required open not laproscopic due to their size. I took a serious look at gastric bypass but in the end the mortality rate scared me. Also another thing I did was find a message board for gastric bypass. I was looking around one day and found a Memoriam page after having made some posts there. It was a list of all the people who had died who had posted there. There were alot of names on that list. I looked up their posts and saw the hope and comments like "I can't wait for my surgery and my new life!"..... then a few days later there would be an admin message "this person passed due to xxxxx" after surgery. There is no comparing the two procedures. I've had some people say "well bypass is reversable". No it's not. They can hook the plumbing back up but it is NEVER the same imo. With the lapband it's completely reversible and they're not rearranging anything. It's a much much much safer procedure. I'm on day 6 post-op and feel great. By comparison if I was post-op for bypass I'd just be getting out of the hospital today and would have 4-5 weeks of hometime before going back to work (what they told me). Instead I'll be back to work on Monday. Like I said no comparison. Just follow the doctors directions, get on your feet and walk as soon as after surgery as possible to prevent DVT and drink plenty of fluids as tolerated. If you do what they tell you to you'll be find and the risk of the unknown will be greatly reduced. Yes it's an elective surgery but I view it as medically necessary. Cormorbid conditions WILL kill you eventually. This surgery can stop those conditions in their tracks and set you on the right course for your life. ErikMesa :regular_smile:

So, here I am...19 days post-op. I'm feeling good, considering that I've stopped taking my anti-depressants and given up caffeine since surgery. I'm down 12 pounds and keeping a positive outlook. It's really bothered me because a rumor started around my school (cosmetology school, nonetheless) that I'd had gastric bypass. I've just shrugged it off for the most part, but I'm gonna admit that hearing that bothered me. I feel that more severe obesity cases opt for gastric bypass and I feel slightly insulted that it's even a topic amongst my peers. I would think that my being fat wasn't an issue to them as well as my having LAP Band isn't a topic that's up for discussion. I'm probably being silly for even worrying about it, but that's what cosmetology school is for. Drama and girlfights. Even though I feel generally better, I have noticed that I'm really lethargic at the end of the day. I've been honestly forcing myself to walk for thirty minutes here and there. I'm only up this late because I made it a point to prepare dishes that my sister and I could eat while everyone else eats the high fat/calorie stuff for Thanksgiving. I took a bunch of recipes from Hungry-girl.com and made them into "mashies approved" casseroles. I ended up with a cauliflower bake (pureed), smashed sweet potatoes (made with sugar-free maple syrup and Splenda), and a crustless pumpkin pie. I'm pretty pleased with how everything looks. So hopefully, everything with taste good as well. We had a potluck today at school and I had a teaspoon of stuffing and I can safely say...their stuffing was terrible! I'm really glad I couldn't eat much because I couldn't imagine eating something like that and pretending to enjoy it. Blech. Anyway, I'm gonna go ahead and close by saying that I'm trying to keep my chin up and stay hopeful that I'm going to (one day soon) be much smaller! I've had a lot of heartache in the past year that's made a huge impact on my life and I really need to make this work. For me. This time it's not for anyone else. Keep your fingers crossed!

Penni, there was a period of about 36 hours while I was being tested in the hospital for a slipped band where I had to comtemplate my path... I didn't know if they would be able to place a new band, so I had to make a choice: 1. tell them to go ahead and give me a bypass 2. tell them to take out the band and leave me flying solo (I was REALLY tempted to just say screw it) 3. tell them to put in a new band if possible I thought really hard about my options and knew that I wanted another band. I know you lost your band due to erosion, which is (imo) much scarier than slippage. But, if the doctor is fully supportive of rebanding you, my honest opinion is to go for it. In the meantime, if you're a bad grazer, I think your only option is to de-crapify your kitchen. If your only snacking options are fruits and vegetables, you're not going to gain. And (brace yourself - this is some really creative advice!) start exercising. It will help the depression. We are all pulling for you! You're going to do this with or without a band. (((HUGS)))

Hi White06...I most definately think either you have a problem with the band, or you are overfilled. A healthy, properly filled band is a tool that enables us to eat hard Protein, not liquid meals. Trust me, I've been there. Please get an unfill ASAP before you damage your esophagus or band, if it isn't already. What does your doctor say about all this? I'm not trying to be judgemental; I went through hell with my band before finally having it revised to RNY, and I hate to see you suffer like this. Take care,

I belonged to an all woman gym after my lapband surgery in 2009 (I'm now a a sleeve revision). I paid $60 a week for a personal trainer. Loved her. She kicked my butt every week. We spent 90 mins (30 on nutrition choices and 60 on weight training/cardio intervals). I told her I didn't like the elliptical cuz it was hard and made my legs feel like noodles. Guess what she chose for my 3 mins cardio intervals? Yep, the damn elliptical. By the time I left, I felt like Jello. Had a hard time walking to the car. After about 2 mths, I cut back to every 2 weeks (just cound't afford the $240 every month). I would weigh, we'd discuss my food intake and then she'd work me out. Everytime I got on the scale, I saw a loss. Even after not making the wisest choices at times. After a couple more months, I cut her back to once a month. Still saw losses every month. Then I met my now-husband. He had a membership at the Y, so I started going with him. He couldn't go to the all female gym with me and we didn't want to work out alone. So I gave up my trainer. Something she told me early on that I still remember: "You don't have to give up ur favorite foods. Just take a few bites and throw the rest away. U still have the taste but also have the control over what ur eating". She got me off my almost daily Tamale Pie (Found at Vons and Safeway on the West Coast). I cut back to once a week. Not giving it up but cutting back on it. I rarely eat them now.

Thank you so much for this. Yeah, our bypass is usually 3-4x longer than you guys', so that would make a bunch of sense. I'll ask about RH!

So just an update on my consultation for the ESG procedure. My day started by ordering a Starbucks latte for my hour commute, after paying the cashier, I drove away WITHOUT my latte. What a dope. My appointment was scheduled for 11am in NYC which takes me a little over an hour without traffic. I checked in at 10:45, and waited patiently for two bleepin hours. At this point my caffeine withdrawal is setting in and my tummy is A rumbling. The doctor was pleasant and I didn't feel rushed. She informed me that they had me scheduled for a 5 minute follow up appointment today. Fortunately, the doctor honored my consultation, and spent plenty of time with me. After my consultation, she gave me a Pre-Op Evaluation form. I will attach a picture of it below. I was able to complete my bloodwork at the office today, I figured what's another hour. They weighed me, which I have been dreading. I have gained 20 pounds over the last 8 weeks. So my official start weight is ..... 194lbs. Dr. Sharaiha asked that besides the bloodwork and H-Pylori test, that I meet with a nutritionist. While I was waiting to get my blood drawn, I scheduled an appointment with the Nutritionist (December 15th) . I attempted to schedule a surgery date but was denied. She said I could not schedule an appointment for surgery until the meeting with nutritionist was complete. I wonder if it's because when she asked me what I had for breakfast, I frankly replied, "a cupcake" and when she laughed, I said, "well since I'm being honest, I had two". Maybe it was a red flag that I have an eating disorder...yikes. I just assumed the majority of overweight people eat disorderly.... Dr. Sharaiha reported that they have 4 years worth of data in the US to measure results. She stated that the US has been doing the procedure the longest. I assume she does not equate the ESG to the similar procedure performed in other countries. She reported that most people do not need revisions. She compared the ESG revision to that of the lap-band. She said that some individuals needed a little tightening to increase their restriction. She warned against relying on possibility of future tightening as a crutch to possible slack.. She reported that in over 200 ESG procedures she has performed, she has revised(tightened) very few. She reported that the average amount of ESG's lost 19% of their total body weight compared to 30% of VSG's She stated that the part of the stomach that is "stitched off" from the rest is not susceptible to disease or ulcers. Comparison of complications to a VSG is, that leaks and ruptures can, and do occur with ESG, however it is rare. She was not concerned about my history of scar tissue and inflammatory disease associated with an autoimmune disorder. For me the food I eat negatively impacts my health to the degree in which surgery is worth the risk. My goal is to cut out sugar/flour/wheat/grains and eat 3 meals a day until my surgery. I want to get my weight down as much as possible to maximize the surgery assisted total weight loss. I'm sure I have missed some stuff but my brain is starting to putter out. I"ll be back.... I welcome any and all questions. If you are out there browsing this site and afraid to speak up in the forum...private message me. You are not alone, it takes a village.

Hello all! I didn’t see a May thread started yet for bypass. I’m scheduled for RNY May 24, 2022. 

Try not to be too hard on yourself, this journey is TOUGH! You're actually doing quite well, as others have said. My gastric bypass surgery was 3/29. I started at 204 lbs day of surgery, and I'm down 36 lbs as of last week. Very similar results and my team says I'm right on track. The hair loss is devastating, I totally get it. Today has been the worst by far, but I have to keep reminding myself it's temporary. Hang in there and stay with it - you are doing very well!! Sent from my SM-F926U using BariatricPal mobile app

No way in hell. Sorry, but the longer I've gone after erosion, the more I'm convinced that the band should only be a short-term implant. This is just based on my own personal experience, but I have one F-d up stomach these days. I know another girl in my same shoes (both banded & de-banded about the same time.) Penni, you already eroded once... do you really want to take that chance again of possibly having another erosion, not knowing what shape it could leave your belly? I'm already convinced that if I get back to 300, I will look into a bypass as my last hope of life, but no more band for me. Ouch, YIKES! Mind you, I'm in my 40s with no children and my future seems kind of bleak considering how bad I struggle with food each day. I was pre-suicidal pre-band, which is why I decided to take such a drastic measure and run off to Mexico for a band. I know I'd feel the same way again at 300, which is why a bypass wouldn't seem as harsh as suicide. Is that too honest?

I had bypass, but the first two weeks my kcals/day ranged from 50-500. 500 per day at two weeks is great! Some of us WLS folks struggle with 300 kcals at week two. I have also seen a good number of folks on here that stay at 500 kcals until they reach goal. You are doing awesome! 💕

Thanks so much for all your replies. I did try the phentermine but that didn’t work because I mainly snack at night and it wears off before then. And unfortunately with my other meds that’s the only one I was able to try so now she has me trying sleeping pills thinking if I can sleep through the night I won’t get up and snack but I think I need a stronger MG cause they don’t work. Another dr told me I can try taking like one and a half but I haven’t tried it yet cause I also read that it’s not good to take this medicine every night so I want to talk to her about that. I talked to a surgeon and he was very surprised that I am able to eat a whole 6 inch sandwich now at only two years out. That was his way of knowing how much my stomach can hold I guess was to ask how many inches of that I could eat if we went to a sandwich shop. I told him that I have been able to eat more than expected at every given stage from day one but when the hunger was gone I was able to eat what I was expected to. But after hunger returned it’s like I had no help without the restriction. I definitely couldn’t get my moneys worth at an all you can eat buffet anymore after surgery BUT, I could eat a normal serving pretty early out if I chose to. He said that I definitely need a smaller pouch which they can do with the bypass so that sounded promising that maybe it could be different?? I just wonder if like others have mentioned if all or part of the work needs to be done in my head. I am by no means opposed to trying therapy. I keep trying to find a therapist and even put a call in to see if the surgeon has any pull with one because in my area they are just not accepting new patients other than for the evaluations for surgery. He’s hasn’t called back yet but I am getting another opinion about whether going with bypass will be okay with my psyc meds since they advised against it the first time around so I will also ask him if he knows anyone that he can get me into. i have read on here that the revision weight loss is slower. I forgot about that. I hope it will still be as much though if I’m patient. I guess I am wondering if my hunger will go away the second time?? I just don’t want to yo yo down then right back up again like I did this time. I already know I sorta let everyone else down along with myself that was rooting me on and it has been very embarrassing to publicly fail at this. I almost think it would be easier to stay heavy than to fail at this again.

help! I can't decide between gastric bypass and gastric sleeve! ugh..please share reasons why you chose...any pro n cons u wanna share is much appreciated!

Hey, We may be surgery twins. I am slated for 9 February, however, my egd is on 29 January. Assuming all goes well, I will have revision. Wishing you well!

Hi, My sleeve surgery was on Monday, I went into it not knowing if I was getting the bypass or sleeve. I had a lapband that failed so there was a lot of scar tissue

Hi everyone I just had my lap band taken out and a revision to a sleeve almost 2 weeks ago. I don't know what is going on with me but this only liquid thing has me so depressed. It was a month with the band and for the most part I did fine but this time is totally different. The last few days I just feel like I have made the wrong choice. I have just been watching my son and husband eat and wondering why I chose to do this to myself, I don't feel normal now. I guess this is hitting me so hard because this one is permanent. Has anyone else felt this way and how did you deal with it? Thanks

Hi - My husband and I read this article on MSNBC today concerning bariatric surgery. I was really bothered by the very negative tone of the article. It discusses the downside of both bypass and lapband surgery. Which it is true that there are risks and complications, AND it is true that someone who does this without making the proper life changes will not have success, it seemed that the article was surprisingly one sided and negative. It did not mention one success story. I understand trying to show the truth (risks and big lifestyle changes) as opposed to painting the surgery as a miracle cure but this seemed excessive to me. Given that this is a 3 page article on a major news website, I felt it was really misleading and inappropriate. Am I alone in this? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Given that I have just started this path, I don't feel that I can truly argue with the author - I am not YET a success story. How many long term success stories do we have on this site? Not one of them was available for an interview to show the other side of the coin? Anyway, given how many people are researching the lapband to decide if it is right for them, and given how big a news agency MSNBC is, I really thought I should post this article and let actual lapband patients respond to it. That way, if someone reads the article and comes here for research, they can get a more balanced outlook. Here is the article, thanks for reading the rant.... The miracle weight loss that isn’t - Diet and nutrition- msnbc.com

HELLO, I HAVE HAD A DISAPPOINTING YEAR WITH THE LAP-BAND AND WISH I CHOSE THE BYPASS INSTEAD.I HAVE BEEN BANDED 9/13/07 WITH ONLY 18LBS WT. LOSS SO FAR (7 LBS. WAS 5 DAYS POST-OP). MY ONE YEAR BAND ANNIVERSARY WAS HORRIBLE. DID I MENTION THAT THE DAY I WAS BANDED, 2 HOURS AFTER MY DAD VISITED ME IN THE HOSPITAL HE DROPPED DEAD OF A MASSIVE HEART ATTACK, SO NEEDLESS TO SAY THAT 9/13 IS A VERY EMONTIONAL DAY FOR ME PLUS BAND FAILURE DOESN'T HELP. I HAVE A 4CC BAND I'VE HAD 11 FILLS IN 11 MONTHS NO RESTRICTION UNTIL I WAS FILLED TO 4 CC WHICH ONLY LASTED A FEW WEEKS. BOTTOM LINE I HAD PORT REPLACEMENT SURGERY ON 8/28/08 BECAUSE MY PORT HAD A SLOOOOOOOOOOOW LEAK IN IT. BOY DO I WISH I WENT THE BYPASS ROUTE, I MAYBE WOULD OF BEEN DOWN ALOT MORE WEIGHT THAN PRESENT. I CANNOT GET A FILL UNTIL 10/7/08. SO NOW MY BAND IS COMPLETELY EMPTY FOR A MONTH....NOT A GOOD THING.I THINK I'LL WAIT UNTIL THE NEW YEAR AND SEE HOW THINGS GO WITH THE NEW PORT, FILLS AND RESTRICTION THEN MAYBE I'LL DECIDE ABOUT BYPASS. SO BEFORE ANYONE DECIDED TO GO LAP-BAND ROUTE PLEASE RESEARCH IT FULLY BECAUSE LAP-BAND IS A VERY LONG PROCESS AND YOU DON'T HAVE SURGERY AND IMMEDIATE LOSE WEIGHT FOR MOST PEOPLE IT TAKES TIME TO FIND THE RIGHT RESTRICTION. ANYWAY GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!:embaressed_smile:

I chose bypass because of the "bypass" part of it!! You will be able to eat more (eventually) with the Sleeve and everything you eat is absorbed. With bypass, I knew I would get the best results because of the bypass... yes you have to take supplements the rest of your life, but it's worth it. I believe the success rate for RNY is higher than Sleeve. You don't want to have a second surgery, if the sleeve fails you would have to go back in for RNY. I just did it from the git go! Good luck!

LARA: I try to keep "normal" illness in mind and to be honest, I hoped it was sleeve not flu. Frankly, a sleeve round of ick seems to pass faster and since I was settled back down and holding Water and light foods by noon, I guess it was just a sleeve boo boo. But I'll tell you this. While I didn't eat anything "bad", this sure felt like dumping. Yes, I know we don't do that but it met every standard except possible massive sweating but I'm in that freezing mode. So I don't think it was anything serious. I did call my program and they said that if it doesn't last more than that few hours, it's probably not anything serious but your stomach fighting back. Bad day. But I am sure glad it timed out the way it did and I was at home for the worst. Thanks all for reading and offering comfort and clear minded thoughts. ***Oh, you know something funny....A friend who had gastric bypass suggested I go to a dollar store and buy several cheap large bowls for just such an occasion. That's a new thing to add to the household list for surgery prep because I was very happy with her that I followed through. Made it much easier.***

Hello kimmr... I am a band to sleeve revision too. I'm still alive!! I'm also healthier than I've ever been in my life, smaller than I've been in 2 decades and best of all HAPPIER than I can ever remember being. All the best to you in your journey.