Search the Community

My heartetw was in the 50s the first week. It's back to normal now. Lynda

I'm two weeks post op and ten pounds lighter. Only 70 more to go! Does anyone have recommendations for lotions that help improve elasticity to the skin?

Hello everyone, My name is Kimberly Coyle and I am 20 years old. I got banded when I was 19 on February 4, 2011. So far I have been quite successful in not gaining any weight back. But that definitely does not mean that I have had no problems in my journey. The first two weeks before my first appointment back to the office after my surgery I had lost a total of 13-14 pounds. The first couple of months I was able to easily adjust to the new diets and routines and managed to not throw up any food or get any food stuck in my pouch. But like they say, all good things come to an end. lol It wasn't until a couple months later did I start having some problems with my band, such as food getting stuck, not being able to hold anything down, or recently having acid reflux. All of these problems were obviously fixed with me going back to the doctor's and having some Fluid drained. Now one of my biggest problems is exercise. It seems like I can exercise everyday for an hour to two hours and still not be able to lose any weight. Of course dieting goes hand in hand with the exercise, and I do admit that I don't always eat 3 times a day. As of late I've been eating only twice a day with no snacking (I know shame shame) and have maintained a busy schedule. Though I am up moving around and focusing on other things, I can't say that I am not disappointed every time I step on that scale and see that I have made no further progress. All together I have lost about 50 pounds since last year. Hurray for me! But my goal weight is to be around 140-150. At the moment I am standing at 214 and it's been on that number for as long as I remember. My surgeon was Dr. Soong, at the Weight Loss and Surgery Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. He did a beautiful job on my surgery and I have scars that are not noticeable at all, which I am very thankful for. I hope to hear back from some of you and how you're progressing as well.

By 'call the doctor' do you mean to schedule another fill? I think most wait about 3 wks between fills in the beginning. If you mean call him because you are hungry, there's nothing he can do about that....only you can handle that. This is the hardest time for a bandster.....the time between surgery and the time the restriction begins....which may take 2-3 fills...the first one rarely does anything for you but it's necessary to work up gradually. So in the meantime you have to be in charge of your life and your body and your future and eat right. By eating right I mean 1) getting in enough Protein (80-100 gr/day)....I hope you are using a good quality supplement that you like. 2)eating your protein food first ....beans, meat, eggs, etc 3) eliminating all white carbs (pasta, potatoes, corn, rice, bread)....this will keep your blood sugar on an even keel and keep the 'starving' feeling from haunting you 4) drinking at least 64 oz of liquids a day. Those eating guidelines will help control your hunger and will start the weight loss process while you are waiting for the 'band' to go to work. And if you will stay with those guidelines afterward you'll lose much faster. Best wishes and stay strong!!!

It depends on a number of things... A biggie is protein intake. Your body has to have protein to heal itself. This was a real problem for me my first week post op. I did not consume much protein at all and my incisions healed verrrryyy slooowwwly. When I moved on to full liquids though they started healing well. It took about a month for my incisions to be fully healed (no scabs). Hope that helps!

I am not losing any weight preop. I have been dieting and exercising. I have been charting my meals and got a jawbone up to keep me on track. I have cut out soda and am drinking solely Water. I measure and weight everything I put into my mouth. I am getting discouraged because I have not lost anything in almost 2 weeks. In fact I have gained a pound. I just wanna cry. I have just started my journey ( month 2 of my 6 month preop) and I have only gained weight. My nutritionist says my goal calories a day should be 1800.....any ideas? Sent from my BLU LIFE ONE using the BariatricPal App

Follow the 1st week to pre op or post op diet and it will kick start you into weight loss. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I was supposed to have the sleeve done on Sept. 9, was on the very low calorie pre surgery diet, mostly shakes, bars and a few approved veggies. Was on it for 11 days, then death in family, cancelled. I have over the last few weeks developed a mild pain, turning into a sharp pain occasionally (once ever other day maybe), started the diet again last Wednesday, by Saturday I'm having sharp pain very frequent and more intense. Got into see GP on tuesday, had an ultrasound yesterday (the pain is under my ribs towards the side on my left side (up high)). Dr. said maybe spleen, maybe constipation (up so high??) Those power bars are dense and i'm having three a day. Well this morning at 5am i woke in bad pain, took a tramadol and did manage to fall back asleep. Called my gastric Dr.s office and am waiting for a reply. I guess my question is has anyone experienced this? I searched "Protein overdose' "power bar side effects" and the symptom is diareah(sp). I'm so scared i'm going to have to cancel again and I just don't want to go there, it was hard enough doing the pre surgery prep diet the second time around. Really frustrated.

I always tried to keep my breakfast low carb and high protein, like the rest of my meals. Just because it's breakfast doesn't mean I need to eat a bunch of crappy carb-laden food. Now that I'm free to eat raw veggies I usually make a salad with about 3 ounces of steak and one ounce of raw baby spinach leaves. It is a great breakfast! Back when I was on soft foods I often had something like a poached egg over a piece of turkey sausage or slice of light spam; or Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with a spoonful of peanut butter or almond butter stirred in. No grains!

I am a 35 year old mom of 6 that went to Juarez 3 weeks ago to get the sleeve surgery done. I went to Star medica with Dr. Rodriguez. It has been a roll a coaster ride for me. I love the fact that I have taken control but I am still learning quit a bit. If you have any feed back it would be nice to hear from other that are going through the same thing. I can truely say I am Happy.:001_rolleyes:

WTF????? I do not understand what is going on with me and my scale. I got my latest fill a few weeks ago. It worked very well, I was so motivated and lost 8 pounds pretty fast. Then last week, TOM, and Water weight gain + cravings. I didn't give in to cravings, etc. Now, understand that I retain SERIOUS water - like 5 to 10 lbs of water. It sucks. Okay, so water gone, scale went back to normal. I fully admit I fell off the wagon on Friday night and gave in to temptation (Marble Slab Creamery is the of the devil). I logged my food at thedailyplate, and yes, I was way over, but not enough to even gain a pound, much less the NINE pounds that my scale reflected Saturday. I thought it was a fluke, but it was still there Sunday and this morning. NINE pounds - as in, heavier than before my fill. Again - WTF??????

I know that smoking isn't good for you, but, I do it anyways. I want to quit and have tried to but with 3 other adults in the house with me smoking, it makes it very hard to do so. I have made up my mind that I am going to quit and plan on getting the patches or something to help me quit but I wont be able to do it until the beginning of next yr. Anyways, I was just wondering, does smoking affect the band by making it tighter than normal or does anyone know?

You must be retaining Water - that can only be the problem. Is it around that time of the month? before or just after? Even up to two weeks before can do it. I had a hysterectomy in 2004 and and have one ovary left -but i still have pms symptoms as if it was still there bright as day. I just don't get on the scale when I know I am retaining water... weigh again on Saturday - if it is still there, then you may need to up your water intake to flush the retention out. Makes no sense, I know but that is what I was told works.

I need to give a little back story here. My husband is 26 (will be 27 on Sunday), he's a great looking, attractive, naturally fit/lean guy. He's 6'0" and 165lbs dripping wet. He is currently deployed to Afghanistan and will be returning late September/early October (4 months after my post op revision). Ever since I told him I was moving forward with the revision surgery, his mentality has changed. He's working out, weightlifting to what I consider an extreme. He's bragged that he's "getting bigger" and I will be able to see a difference. I asked him "why are you working out?" He brushed it off that he was was just "passing the time". Now today, he has ordered a whey Protein supplement online from a bodybuilding website. He overpaid for what he is getting, and the email I sent, once the email confirmation came through, let him know that he overpaid for something I could of gotten here and shipped to him for less. I could care less about the money, or that he had ordered a supplement, just the fact that I asked him about that a couple weeks ago, he said he had no desire to "bulk up". My question is: Have any of ya'll experienced this with your husband/significant other? I almost feel like he is threatened by the fact that I will be losing weight. Kind of like he wants or feels the need to 'one up' me. We've never had jealousy/insecurity issues in our relationship/marriage. We've dealt with long distance relationship for over half of 3 years together. This is our 1st deployment as a married couple, I'm just really perplexed by all of this. He isn't the work out type. He hates working out when he is here. He has always loved me for me regardless of my pant size. He was and still is extremely supportive of my WLS decisions. He has mentioned a few times about me changing, but after the initial surgery back in October all of that was never mentioned again. We did talk about me sending him progress pictures. He decided that he wanted it to be a surprise. . . I just need to know if this is normal. I kind of feel like he is threatened by the thought of me losing weight. He knows that I get hit on now as a "hot fat chick". I feel like he is doubting me, or my fidelity, and he wants to make sure when he comes home that I am going to still want him, or even worse that he is the "better looking half". I may be overthinking all of this, but I can't shake this feeling that something other than "passing the time" is the driving force behind his 5-6 day a week working out/weightlifting. Thanks for any input. I appreciate it. . .

Started my liquid diet today. My surgery is August 13th!! I have tried my protein shakes now 3 times (all different days), and every time I feel very nauseated. I talked to the nutritionist today and she suggested I try soy or eggwhite protein. Going to try that out tonight. I don't know if I could deal with that feeling all the time. Ugh! First real disappointment in this whole process. But a major disappointment. Has anyone else had that type of reaction to protein shakes?

Good luck with your upcoming surgery. 1. I had laproscoptic gall bladder surgery a few years ago, and the scars on only faint white lines now. I had staples and stitches with that surgery, but this time the surgeon used glue. I'm using an aloe vera and Vitamin D lotion. It's been just under three months since my surgery, and the lines are still red. I wish I remembered how long it took those other scars to go pale, but it was so gradual, I guess I really didn't notice. 2. I left the hospital with a bag of pain medication going directly into my stomach area, sort of like an IV, but it wasn't a needle, to my great relief. I carried the bag in little fanny pack that came with it. I've read that some people took theirs out right away, but I left mine in until the meds ran out after a couple of days. It really kept the surgical sites numb. I also had a narcotic med to take orally. I weaned off those after a couple of days and stuck with liquid Tylenol. 3. I'm a SAHM, but I think I would have felt fine going back to work in about a week, if I had a desk job. I think the half days auntlucy mentioned would be helpful, if your company would allow that. I was still achy in the port area, so sitting up for eight hours straight would have been pretty uncomfortable.

1. I am one week postop (8 days). My dermabond is drying and flaking off my incision sites, which are still obvious but are also healed shut. They itch like mad. 2. I came home with liquid Lortab. I used it a little less every day and by the fourth day postop I was not using it at all. Get adult liquid Tylenol to transition to. The pain for me honestly was not at all bad. 3. I went back to work on the fourth day after surgery. Hope this helps. Good luck!

I know this was wrote somee month ago. Anyhow - if some one else comes by Havent vbeen operated yet, but building up my body I have purchased B12 Iron Calcium with D-vitamins Normal Multivitamins. Omega 3 oil My surgeon hasnt told me anything - but I will ask him. Just my own idea to buy these. I will not overdoo it, every other day, I forget to take them. Maybe it is not nessesary - but it is my choise And do not take Calcium and Iron at the same time. The uptake will not be as good.

This is my first attempt at a poll so I hope this works lol! Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions I've listed them all here (if I missed one please forgive me). Poll will be open for one week!

A week or less. Doctor should have given you something

Mine is very predictable but I started a week early about a day and a half after surgery

My TOM has been the woooooorst!!! I got it one week after surgery and it has literally knocked me on my hurt and the couch all week. I'm so tired. Bleeding and clots like I've never seen before (sorry if tmi) I can't wait for this to be OVER!!

I have pcos, but have Fairly regular cycles. I was due the day of surgery and the preop nurse said I'd probably wake up from surgery with it. As it turned out, it didn't start until 2 weeks after surgery.

I'm so thankful my surgeon only requires a two week pre-op diet of sugar free, low carb/high Protein foods. This diet will also shrink your liver. However he is strict with his post-op diet, as we are required to stay on clear liquid for 10 days then advance to full liquids for 10 days & after that its 10 days of puréed food. I know others sleeved patient who are cleared to start eating soft foods just one week post-op. The diets really seems to very with each surgeon. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App