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Sure, everyone has this. How much did you lose presurgery? And you've lost 10 pounds in three weeks. Not Too Shabby!

Thanks everyone for your support and help. I am just starting to figure out what to do. I have had my band almost 10 years and it is time to come out. I am scared of what damage they will find when they get there and I am trying to select a new Doctor. I looked locally at what my insurance company recommends as Centers of Excellence and I also see that there are some top hospitals outside of my region, such as The Cleveland Clinic. I am wondering if it will be worth it for peace of mind, to see if I can go to one of these more experienced hospitals for a revision? It would be a 1 hour plane ride and around $200 from Chicago or a $150 train ride for 5 hours each way. I would not want to drive it, that would be about 6 hours. Am I being unreasonable or am I just reading too deeply into horror stories and assuming that I will have problems? Any recommendations for an excellent surgeon in the Chicago area...when I say excellent, I mean world renowned. I care less about personality than I do skills.

Hi, I'm knew here but could relate to your post. I have not had surgery yet, still waiting for a date here in UK. But totally terrified of hospitals and surgery! My son had a horrific accident many years ago when he was 10 years old (he is now 31) and I spent months in hospital with him as he underwent one procedure after another, it took its toll on both of us but thankfully he survived. I have chosen bypass because I'm diabetic and have fibromyalgia. It will help diabetes get under better control but won't cure the fibro in fact I've been told that it will probably make that worse to begin with so except a lot of pain after surgery due to the fibro, this hasn't helped my nerves! I'm going to see a hypnotherapist at end of September to get some help with this fear. The dying part is a normal fear after all we are choosing this surgery to better our lives not end it! But it depends on any other health issues you have and your surgeon, have you asked him/her what percentage of patients have had complications or death with them? All surgery comes with a risk and many surgeries have a much higher risk than the bypass. No surgeon wants to have patient death rates, it doesn't bode well for their career, so if you were a big risk they wouldn't be doing it until you had lost some weight first, maybe inserting a ballon to help you. It's the complications that concern me, I'm already anaemic and they can't fund out why, this will get worse after surgery. The diabetes is known as the "silent killer" but the fibromyalgia affects my quality of life much more and I live with daily pain, to add to that with further complications would finish me off anyway - It's important to focus on why you are doing or wanting this and try to stay positive, I know that's hard but if you can be positive about it, you almost always get a positive outcome. Take care x

I am newly banded - 12/10. Doing fine but feeling full all the time. I guess from swelling? On full liquids and looking forward to my favorite mashed cauliflower in 2 weeks. So far so good.

Hi again. I was banded on 12/10 and had my 2nd follow up appt today. From the 2 weeks prior to my surgery til today I have lost 23 lbs!! Almost a pound per day since the band. I am so psyched. I feel great but still have some twinges in the incisions. Trying not to bend or stretch too much. Overall I am feeling great. Glad I did it.

erikaz, glad you asked that question? I was banded 6/3/09 and since I started the optifast 2 weeks before surgery, I've lost 30 pounds. I'm afraid my dr is not going to give me a fill on 7/10. I seem to have restriction even without any fluid but want a fill so I stay fuller longer. I get full fast, but it doesn't last too long. I'm not complaining about the weight loss but I really would like a fill.

Na, I hit a great consignment sale and got a ton of stuff ($10/bag) so I have a lot of smaller sizes and I did try them all on. I went down 2 legit sizes. I'm almost in a regular XL shirt, but my bewbies are still ginormous, so they look like...well....like I'm trying to hard if I wear them. I feel more comfortable in the 1x for now. <sigh> Soon. Hopefully by the time I'm feeling almost back to normal post op, I'll be able to fit back into regular sizes. :::fingers crossed:::

When I hit a size 12 I was so excited. It seemed like for the first time I hit a "normal" or "average" size. But then it seemed like just a week later I was in a 10! Go figure. I was sure it was a fluke so I had to keep trying different stores and brands to believe I was really a 10. Now, being able to pick up something at Costco off the table and not even try it on, is so odd to me. I used to really regret that I couldn't even look at that stuff before, being a size 22. They say it takes 10 lbs to go down a size. This was not so true at plus sizes, but now I can see it. It's motivating to think that if I lose 10 lbs I'll be in a size 8. What? That's crazy talk...but I'm trying!

Kie, Your weight loss is actually right in line with mine and I was sleeved August 30, 2011. Take a deep breath and drop the gym membership. Use that money to buy better food to fuel your body with. Let go of all the stress and start working out by walking, then adding in some weights ($10 for 2-2 lb weights at walmart). Once you get yourself in the habit of working out, it will be easier to increase your workouts. Don't think you have to be perfect. This is a journey and we all stumble. What's important is that we get back up and keep working on it. You will learn to eat better. Make it a priority to get in your Water and Protein every day and then worry about adding in other foods. Goodness knows that we're all tough enough on ourselves without beating ourselves up for everything under the sun! I suggest you get back into the online forums, which you're already doing by posting today. Try going to a support group meeting, just one, and see if it doesn't make you feel much better. I know that the members of my group are terrific! This is not a race and you don't have to be perfect every day. You just need to work on you a little at a time. You've made the biggest choice for yourself by getting sleeved...now use that opportunity to improve the rest of your life. Good luck on your journey!!

However you spell it, this is my first post to BariatricPal! Got a "welcome message" when I joined this group that suggested I give some background, so here's a little about me. I hope to get a surgery date next week. I've jumped through all the hoops other than the 4-hr educational class and whatever pre-op is required. I'm hoping to get it done either the week before Christmas or the first week of January. Now that I've finally decided to do this, it can't happen soon enough as far as I'm concerned! The nearest WLS center is 2 hrs away but my GP is very supportive and has other WLS patients, so I am not worried about the distance. The WLS is a " Center of excellence I've toyed with the idea of WLS for more than 10 years. Each time I started thinking seriously about it, I'd give healthy eating one more try-- usually with minimal results. About 6 years ago, though, I adopted a low-fat, plant-based diet and lost almost 50 lbs -- way more than I'd ever lost on Weight Watchers (9 times), Jenny Craig, OptifSt, Atkins, the Zone,...you know the story! And even though I felt fantastic, somehow the crap started sneaking back in and I regained all the weight (plus some extra, of course). A couple of months ago the idea of WLS popped into my head out of the blue, and it just felt right. Since then I've gone full bore on meeting the requirements. Once I go through the mandatory 4-hr class, I'll have met all the program's requirements and they will submit my paperwork for insurance approval. If I understand the process correctly, I can get a surgery date once insurance approves me. Since I've met all the insurance requirements, it is not supposed to take them long. I am 5'6" and weigh about 255-265 lbs. I think that makes my excess weight about 130-140 lbs (assuming an ideal weight of 125 lbs). Supposedly most WLS patients stabilize at 50-70% of excess weight lost. If I'm using the right calculations, that would be 164 to 195 lbs. I'd really like to stabilize at 145-150 lbs, though if I stabilized at 15-170 and didn't have to struggle to stay there, I'd be satisfied. But boy, I sure would hate to get my guts rearranged to end up at almost 200 lbs!

Ok, I am going to post this since it has been quite the trip being here with Renee. As is with most surgery patients, Renee doesn't remember the first day and a half of her hospital stay, which is probably a good thing. We said that we would tell the good, the bad, and the ugly. Renee and I have talked at great length about this post and she is aware of everything that will be posted and is in full agreement with what will be put out here. When she is feeling better and can get around better she plans on expounding on things. Renee had a really rough time with the surgery for a couple of reasons. 1) She has a hard time with anesthesia and 2) because of the fibro/cfs she had developed a very high tolerance to narcotics and lastly 3) anxiety. Our biggest concern going into the surgery was how was Renee's body going to respond to the surgery with the fibro. Was she going to come out of surgery in a full-fledged flare and be in uncontrollable pain? Fortunately for everyone, the fibro did not play a part other than her high tolerance to pain meds; which ended up being a detriment, but I will go into detail about this later. Renee came back from the recovery room in pain, but it was normal surgery pain, nothing more. Renee gets very emotional coming out from under anesthesia, and this time was no different. There were a lot of tears; she didn't want to stay in the bed. As a matter of fact she hadn't been back from the recovery room much more than 10 minutes when she sat straight up in bed - on her own, with no assistance, put her feet on the ground and announced to God and country that she was hot and then "FLASH!" She took both edges of her hospital gown and whipped them up as high as she could and started flapping! Fortunately, her son Logan wasn't in the room. It was at this point that I decided it was probably a good idea to put her shorts on her. This was something she was absolutely convinced she could do on her own...NOT! We got her shorts on her and got her back into the bed. If any of you own a dog, you know how they will circle, circle, circle trying to find a comfortable spot? Well, that is what it was like watching Renee after surgery, and it started right after Renee returned from the recovery room – around 5:45 pm. She was in a lot of pain and we had to ask for pain meds every couple of hours. She’d be able to sleep for 45 minutes to an hour at a time and we’d start the process all over again. At around midnight, Renee started dry heaving. Nothing was helping. When I went out the last time and the nurse said there were no more meds to give Renee, I said to call the doctor. The doctor made it in quite quickly, I was very impressed. After looking over everything, he came in and gave Renee a strong dose of nausea medication and then stated that part of the problem was that Renee had a very high tolerance for narcotics and that in fact he had only known of one other person that had as high a tolerance as she had in the 8 years he had been in bariatrics. I asked him at the time if we could be dealing with an addiction and could she be going through withdrawals. He said it was very possible. At that point I was actually more concerned about the Lyrica and Effexor. He then gave her a healthy dose of something and said it would make her sleep for 3-4 hours. Remember that circling dog thing? Well, I had walked out to talk to the doctor in the hallway. In a split second Renee managed to do a face plant on the floor, she had fallen out of the bed. It only took me a few seconds to get in the room with the doctor on my heels. Renee had managed to end up halfway under the hospital bed. She must have hit the IV pole full on and had a pretty good cut on her ear. I don’t know how he managed it, but the doctor was down on the floor and had gotten Renee pulled up on his lap and was cradling her head on his shoulder. I have never seen a more caring physician in my life. They finally managed to get Renee back in the bed and she was down for the count, but only for about an hour. It was when she woke up dry heaving again that the doctor explained the difference between dry heaving and nausea/throwing up. Dry heaving is a reflex action that can be controlled by deep breathing, the new stomach flexing its muscle if you will. Nausea/throwing up are mechanical, the stomach contracting, the contents coming up, etc. It was at that point that Renee made a turnaround and started getting better. From my standpoint, we were worried about how the surgery was going to affect the fibro/cfs, more from a flare perspective. In the end, it was her high tolerance to narcotics that was the actual problem and that came out of left field, something that wasn’t even considered. Withdrawal symptoms of all three medications she takes for the fibro/cfs – Lyrica, Effexor and Loritab have the same withdrawal symptoms – nausea, vomiting, high anxiety. All these things combined made for the ‘perfect storm,’ if you will. This had nothing to do with Dr. Aceves’ surgical abilities; I have the highest respect for the man as a surgeon and still feel he was the best surgeon for Renee. This is about things to be aware of, nothing more. The hospital staff, Dr. Acevas and Dr. Campos, and even the hotel staff were fantastic! So if anyone out there has the fibro/cfs issues please keep this in mind so that this same situation can be averted. The withdrawal symptoms combined with anxiety attack = the pain not being able to be controlled and ensuing dry heaving/nausea. Just my opinion.

I had my band from 2007 - 2011 (it worked for me until it eroded and had to be removed). I am looking at converting to a sleeve now as well. Obviously I can't give you any insight to the sleeve yet but I can tell you that the first year I had my band, I didn't lose that much weight either. However year 2 was when the weight really came off of me. How many adjustments/fills have you had so far? I had a 4cc band and I didn't start to really lose weight until my band was at least 1/2 full and felt real restriction. My program was really conservative and I must have had 5-10 fills before I reached that point. But once I got to the point where I could only get in about 800-1000 calories a day (liquids, soft foods), the weight came off my rapidly. The band loosens as you lose weight and lose fat around your stomach, so eventually you can eat more and need to get another fill to keep that restriction. I went every 1-2 months for a fill. I lost about 50% of the weight I needed to lose with the band alone and light exercise (walking a few times a week). The rest of the weight melted off of me once I started working out more regularly and heavily (I started running instead of walking 5 x week, added yoga and pilates into the mix). I plateaued with the band when I had the last 20 pounds to lose. I am 5'3" and was 220 lbs (size 18-20) when I was first banded and the lowest I ever got was 2.5 years out at 145 lbs (size 6-8). As well as the Lap band worked for me (until it didn't), going through erosion was hell. My body just did not want a foreign object inside of me and rejected the band. Unfortunately VSG was not an option yet when I was banded, but if given the choice I would have opted for the sleeve over the band for sure.

I can't believe I got my date for 2/19. I won't believe it until I'm in that hospital bed. Hopefully there's no bumps in the approval process. I'm guessing these people know what the ins companies need since they do this on a regular basis. I've even read on this site where it take several weeks to get an approval from the insurance company. Worried, happy, and scared all at once!!

At 2 weeks I was just transitioning from full liquids to puree/soft food. I was having a Protein Shake 11 oz in the am and would take me almost 90 min to eat, sf popsicles, egg drop Soup (broth only) and another shake at night plus Water & sf drinks. After 2 weeks added in scrambled eggs, soft mozzarella cheese, chicken. Even now at almost 6 weeks, can only eat few bites at a time. Liquids don't hold as much restriction as you will feel once you eat more dense things. I lost 10# @ 2 wks and 18# @ 1 month. Don't worry too much about the numbers. I'm up to about 26# post op.

Tuesday for me too! Thank God my dr didn't do the 10 day clears. 1 days clears starts rt now!!

Some people worry before surgery, others don't. That being said, I have had many operations/procedures which required general anesthesia or an epidural anesthetic (10 at last count). I get nervous before each - I think for me its because I am completely giving up control of the situation and putting myself in the surgeon and anesthesiologist's hands. And that's tough for me because I'm a control freak. So, it's ok to worry. But know that the likelihood of a surgical mishap is incredibly small. There is a calculator put together by one of the surgeon's groups using all kinds of statistics. Put in your surgery - I made some assumptions - that you were under 65, and had a BMI over 35 (therefore qualifying for a sleeve) and it came up with a 0.1% chance of death due to surgery. So, by that calculation - it's more dangerous to cross the street. Be careful going to your car! Or flying home. It's ok to have anxiety. It will be fine.

Good luck. I have lost about 10 - 12 but I had the liquid diet for about 2 weeks. It's been a rough 2 weeks but I made it till now so that's good. My surgery is at 1pm. Hope urs goes well too. Sent from my SM-N920R6 using the BariatricPal App

yes please would love to keep in contact with everyone Linda Ras surgery done 10/17/16 Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My surgery is scheduled for May 10 and is done as an outpatient. I have to be at the hospital at 5:15 am and have been told that I'll be home by noon. My friend had it done by the same doctor and she took the whole week off but was fine on her own the 2nd day. I am only taking 3 days off from work, so I'm hoping that I do as well. Good luck...

Well I must say I did a lot of worrying for nothing. I arrived at the hospital at 6:30 am, registered, went right in the waiting operating rooms, they took my vitals, hooked up my iv, gave me meds, the surgeon came in and then the anteslogist (sp?). By that time it was close to 8 am, then they walked me to operating room and it was over by 10:30. I remember waking up and then I did an x-ray, then I urined, and my vitals were okay and I was released. I was home by 1:00 pm. I've been up walking around and I keep drinking lots of Water. I just tried drinking some broth and that was great. I am not in too much pain, just my shoulders feel sore and a little pain around the stitches. Otherwise, I feel real good. I've just been thinking how it's going to be for the full liquids stage next. Thanks for all of he support

I am on day 3 of liquid shakes and HATE it. But I did find two ingredients to add to make them much more tasty..and u can use vanilla or chocolate powder... TRY THIS: it's like a Starbucks Frappacino! Invented this myself- it's amazing how creative you can be when you are STARVING and willing to try anything!! Ro's Liquid Lapband shake 1 vanilla or chocolate packet 12 ice cubs (or as many as you like- the more you add the more "slush" it gets!) 1 tablespoon instant coffee (Any flavours) 3 small packets of splenda (add more splenda if you like it sweeter!) 1 cup cold Water *use blender and purée icecubes into small chunks 10-15seconds. **use spoon to eat like ice-cream!! Soooo much more tolerable- barely even taste the "protein" shake!! Let me know what you think- If you have tried it!!

most of us gain weight from the IV fluids they give us in the hospital (some people gain up to 10 lbs), and it can take a few days for it to work it's way out of our system. I wouldn't worry yet.

I used to think "how am I ever going to get all this in". Here's my eating routine: 8oz coffee on my ride into work. Protein shake and turkey sausage patty when I get to work (or sugar free oatmeal, eggs, etc) at 9 am. 10 am I start Water in take. I drink 16 oz of water. Sometime between 11 and 12 I have a snack. usually a piece of turkey deli meat and a piece of cheese or greek yogurt, etc. Then more water. Around 2 or 3 I have my lunch. Then more water. Then at 4-ish I have a snack before I go work out at 5. During work out I drink water. When I get home I drink water. Then around 8 we eat dinner. So, yeah, it pretty much revolves around food and water.

I was having the same problem and it wasn't gas. Sometimes the muscles around the largest incision spasm... dI'd your surgeon give you a muscle relaxer? I complained of the same thing at my 10 day post op and they told me to resume the muscle relaxer that I had quit taken. That helped a lot and almost immediately.

Hey everyone! I've had my band for a year now, and after the past two months of struggling with it.. .I finally went to see the Dr. The x-ray techs were not in that day, but based on my symptoms (vomiting up everything for 2-4 days, then being able to eat a normal meal) the nurse thought I had a slip. So she removed all the liquid from my band. I believe I had 6.4 ccs in a 10 cc band. I could definitely feel the soreness at the top of my stomach for a day or two after the unfill. My question is this: People that have been in the same boat as me, what kind of diet did your doctor ask you to follow? I have the diet plan my dr recommended which seems strange to me in a sense. Week 1--liquids only, except high Protein Greek yogurt (that stuff is super thick!), no soft mushy stuff, no blended Soups... .weird Week 2-- mushies--chicken salad, tuna salad, scrambled eggs, etc Week 3--solids Just looking for some other input. I am currently still in week 1 with the liquid phase and am definitely eating blended soups, because its still thinner than the yogurt. Thanks, Lisa