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Surgery was Dec 19. Lost 21 lbs pre op Lost 15 lbs post op For a total of 36lbs!

My surgery was 12/19/12. I weighed in at 291. Today I am at 257.2 but am so stuck! I loose a pound or two over night but put it right back on during the day.

I'm going to start out by telling you about my journey. Sorry for the babble. I started my journey in April of last year. I went through all of my testing, dietitian, psych eval, plus some. I was originally scheduled for my op in November. It got pushed to December. A month before my operation, the insurance coordinator came in and told me that the doctor was leaving. I couldn't believe it. Luckily, I was able to transfer to another doctor and saw him at the beginning of December. I had planned to have my surgery over Christmas break. I attend school online and it is virtually impossible to miss class. Also, my husband was scheduled to have a break as well. Things got pushed back..again. The insurance coordinator at the new place was totally confused. She submitted my paperwork to the wrong insurance company, she got my name mixed up with someone else, and she didn't submit the correct documentation. BCBS IL determined that they wouldn't cover me. I was under 40 BMI and I didn't have the required comorbidities, although I do have asthma, gerd, and high cholesterol. I was crushed but I had come too far. I had looked as far as going to Mexico which I thought I would never do. I called the office and scheduled a weigh in. I put 5 lb weight around my ankles, wore heavy clothes, put stuff in my pockets. It was pretty nerve wracking and amusing....but I weighed in over 40 BMI so I was happy. Meanwhile, the insurance coordinator told me to appeal. I wrote a letter, my husband wrote a letter, the whole nine yards. Turned out all they needed was a submission of my weight. It was a predetermination letter not a denial! I took the initiative and submitted the paperwork myself. I about had it by then! I figure I will get news soon. A week later I get a call and the doctor needs to see me. There was no way that I would weigh in if they put me in a gown. I was determined so I ate a bunch of crap. Two weeks later, I went in with weights...in my bra this time (just 2 lbs) and I weighed in. They didn't even put me in a gown. I saw the doctor and he went all through my history AGAIN. It was so frustrating because they introduced a new system the day of my first appointment. Soooo....the doctor speaks to me and tells me that the information has to be resubmitted. Here we go again! I leave the office and they call me and tell me that my psych exam is not there. I knew for a fact they had it. I had the pile of files with me, psych exam and all on the day of my first visit. I told them and this time I was firm. Anyways, I waited for a few days then called the insurance company myself and my submission passed me for a "yes" for predetermination. I was so happy, I called the office and left a message...no call back then straight to voicemail. The following day I had the bright idea of using my husbands phone and I got to the coordinator. Turns out the original coordinator left and the job was handed to the scheduler and she admitted to me that she had absolutely no clue of what she was doing. I guided her through everything and my surgery was scheduled for Feb 10! Thank God! I have had periods of severe anxiety, depression, and mania. They have determined that I have bipolar but it has been up in the air for about 10 years. This whole situation left me on pins and needles. I felt fantastic for the past year (2013) but in December I came close to a mental breakdown. Everything was happening so haphazard and I honestly thought that God wanted me to lose the weight the natural way. I started to have anxiety so bad that it was hard to leave the house. It was really bad. I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and she increased my Effexor. Most of you may be aware of the mania that can occur with an increase in dosage.So here I am. My anxiety is soooo bad and my mania is driving me insane. Unlike many people, I do not enjoy mania. It makes me feel out of control and I HATE it. I'm trying to do my school work and I cannot put my thoughts into clear sentences. I'm anxious about the surgery, school, finances, everything. It is a vicious cycle. I'm concerned with recovery and my mental health. I know that the transition will be difficult but I suppose I need some insight on how any of you have dealt with your situation. I suppose I'm looking for a friend that I can share my journey with that understands how bipolar and mental illness can change with surgery. If anyone uses prayer, that would also be helpful. God is the only thing that keeps me going.

Hi there I was also scheduled for 10/2 and rescheduled for 10/4 due to storm Irma. I am in Central Fl . Deltona. I am also nervios and excited at the same time I am so ready for this I am on my 2 week liquids diet down to 1 more week which has not been so bad. I am 5.6 288 lbs goal weight 190 [emoji3]

My Dr. is a little less conservative I think. I started with mushies after 4 days. As long as I don't drink while eating, or wait 30 minutes after eating, I still get full pretty quick. I have been walking alot. Went to the gym 2 days ago, and did 10 minutes of light cardio, elliptical (no pulling with arms). Although would have been nice to use as an excuse for about 6 weeks, even ventured out and did some yard work, in the 100 degree So Cal climate. Definately loving so far, just hop I am not pushing it too fast, was planning on trying some golf tomorrow.

Dear Paula I can relate I to did mine in 2012 and thanksgiving was horrible... But trust me just keep focused on the end result of you getting healthy and loosing the Weight that will give you confidence.... Be careful though when I lost the weight about a year later I started craving sweets I would eat my desert before I would even want food... It was the craziest thing... I gradually started to see the weight come on little at a time like 10 lbs I gained. After 4 years and my Iron was down my sugars were up and I had a wake up call. I figured I had been doing this it was OK... So I started at 224 lbs before my surgery then I was 162-164 then went to 174....I'm now back to what I need to do for the rest of my life back to the right foods no carbs no sugars I'm now down to 156lbs no excersize.. I have never liked excersize. That's why I never lost over 100 lbs the first go round in 2012. So if you can do excersize you will feel better and see the results faster..... Hope this helps... Btw! I forgot to mention when I did the surgery in 2012 it to was at thanksgiving and I had a complete meltdown.. Like literally!!!!! But this year no problem.... I'm not going to lie the desert was tempting.... But I choose not to.... Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App

It'll be ok. I started at 389 and my 10 day visit, I dropped 10lbs. So dont beat yourself up over it. Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

Some great suggestions here for you to follow. Since you are only about 6 weeks post-op you need to be careful that you are following your surgeon's post-op food plan and not introducing solid foods or difficult to digest food too quickly. You stomach has been through a MAJOR TRAUMA and you need to give it time to heal properly. It can take up to 6 months for the swelling to completely subside and the healing to complete! My second focus is to suggest you adjust your state of mind..........you've lost 35 lbs! In 6 weeks! When was the last time you lost 6 lbs/week? Not losing much? Wow! I am 10 months post-op and my average loss right now (over those 10 months) is 2.85 lbs/week. You are losing LOTS! Believe me! And if you happen to be stuck (or stalled) right now, that is completely normal. Type "Week 3 stall" into the search box in the top right corner of this website. You'll see alot of people stop losing weight temporarily around this time period. It's great that you're looking for advice on protein intake (perhaps you should start logging your food on a website/app such as MyFitnessPall?). Just remember that your weight loss is a journey that is non-linear and you will have stalls, periods of fast loss (that sometimes don't make sense!) and some slow periods (but still losing). Your body is trying to figure out what's going on. It's making adjustments and adapting to it's changing physiology and energy stores. Give your body time, and your mental health with thank you! Good luck!

Hi all, my name is Janet and i am a band-failure. :-( i got banded in 2008, lost about 30 pounds total and then started regaining. I've had four fills but have never felt really restricted. I have yoyo-ed up and down the same 10 to 15 pounds for the last few years and have been at my heaviest weight ever for a while. i have an appointment for a consult set for 10/3 at the same place i was banded...they now have a new medical director and some new aftercare stuff going. they're a center of excellence in bariatric surgery so i'm not worried much about that aspect. what I AM worried about is that i'm going to be told NO. if you failed with the band why should we revise to a sleeve etc etc?? I am soooooo sick of feeling like crap. I am nearly 200 lbs overweight. my legs hurt. i don't want to do anything or go anywhere that isn't my job. i am ashamed of the way i look. i am so self concious. any tips for my consult? i just want to get this done, start losing and start living.

I have met my surgeon only once. That was for the two hour class. I also met with nurse and NUT that same day. I have a pre-op appointment on Sept 10 and then surgery on Sept 24. I was given a manual which tells me what to do before surgery and also what I will be eating after surgery. Good Luck with your surgery.

hi....i ve been banded on 17th march...and I had no pain at all...ofcourse we are given painkillers thru saline...and then orally also.. But I did have gas and vomitting....first 10 days I had a lot of gas....and weakness... all the best !!

HW 271.5 SW 246.9 CW 205.8 Goal 150. Surgeon's goal (70% of excess weight) 179. So I'm 26 pounds from my surgeon's goal. Surgery was August 23. That 179 puts me about where I was when my hubby and I got married 19 years ago. My main goal right now is to be in onederland by New Year's. I've lost 65.7 pounds. I am sometimes disappointed with myself, but I need to cut myself some slack and just stay with the program.

During surgery they put a tube down your throat. This is what is probably causing this feeling. I had it after my surgery and it was so annoying. I would wake up in the middle of the night from it, would lose my voice because of it during class while teaching etc. I called my doc and went to see him right away because it was freaking me out. He explained it was common and happens because of the tube. Here is my experience http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/week-two-post-op/

Hi all, This will be a long post about my journey 6.5 weeks post-op and its a bit tough (like everyone else's!) So I have not updated in a while due going through a major stall. After surgery my weight went up 5lbs, dropped by 4 then again up by 2. I started feeling very lousy and discouraged. Was blaming it all on the fill... etc (naturally) But little by little I regained my will, well still trying, Put reminders to eat slow, eat little, drink Water and exercise will beep on my phone FOREVER. Yes, every 30 minutes I set up my phone to drink water. Funny when my hubs is at home he counts how many I missed I have 25 oz bottle and know exactly how much I drink. Four of those and I feel accomplished. Three and I am happy too! Two I know I have to get back on track. I can gulp for now as I am only 2cc so pretty loose. Second, I log my food on MFP for nutrients counting. Started right when I finished cake from my son's 2nd bday... I have now the 2 bad days to compare with... then I threw out all the sweet stuff (except my dark chocolate!). I still cheat a tiny bit (i know, booooooo!) my hubby had to make homemade ice-cream! but I only had a cup about when I had 300 cal def and made him feel so guilty for making ice-cream and not frozen yogurt haha Plus I walk 1.5 - 2 miles at least 5 days a week. Wish I could do 3 miles, but my little monster gets annoyed. Plus weather in NYC is not so friendly. No excuses, so I did my first day of exercise following an app on iPhone. Just 19 minutes, light one to prove how out of shape I am! Still soar and feels great. So thats it, eat & count calories, carbs, fat and Protein. Eating about half a cup per meal. Drinking water every 30 minutes, but not 30 min before and after meals and get moving! Oh and I did buy Alex & Natalie's "The big book on lap band" just for support still reading ... Finally, I am down to 225.8 lbs! Its a tough journey but I chose the perfect tool. Thank you for reading and hope to hear some stories too. lula

Get your potassium checked. That happened to me and I was admitted to replenish fluids and get 10 bags of potassium.

I agree!!! I am still about 10 pounds from my goal. I know if I worked a little harder I could make it. However, a few weeks ago I decided to "live like I was a goal",and to focus on non weight related goals. It has been wonderful. This Thursday night I am going to a Pole Dance fitness class- something that I would never have done before. Also this weekend will be my first ever camping trip and kayaking. I still want to zip line and go to a water park this summer and then all my short term goals will be met and I can make new ones. Chasing after the perfect number on a scale isn't near as much fun as chasing after a fun filled life!!! Good topic.

My surgery was June 4, 2018. Today is June7. Just had my first shower and feeling like million bucks. First couple of days were rough but now I can actually stand up without lots of pain. Feeling very optimistic. I can do this. Sent from my XT1635-01 using BariatricPal mobile app

Help I am two years post op and just can't get my crap together. I don't over eat, however I haven't been making good food choices. I lost 123 lbs and have gained 30 lbs back. I am in a size 12 and honestly that is the size I wanted to be, considering I was a size 24 when i started. I got down to a 10 and now that I had a taste of it I want it so badly, but just cant seem to get back on track. I know these may seem like excuses, but life has thrown me some major punches this past year. My husband started a job that requires him to be gone most of the week and we have 13 children. I only have 11 home now but as you can imagine it is a busy job and I find very little time for myself. Any suggestions on how to get my crap together and get back on track? I have noticed since surgery, I have developed major anxiety and had many panic attacks. These are all new to me. Has anyone developed anxiety since surgery? If anyone has anything that has helped them get back on track please feel free to share>

Hi friends, My 4cc band is currently filled at 2cc's. Dec 15th I had my last adjustment (a .25 unfill). I believed I finally was at the so called "sweet spot". :clap2: However, I experienced a few occasions where where it felt like I could eat almost like prior to banding :hungry: without much problem and I wondered if my band was restricted enough. Knowing there are tight days and lose days, I felt I was probably at a at a good restriction point. BTW, I'm down 25 lbs in 3 months and 3 adjustments. :huggie: Things have really changed for me this past week. :think I have been in pain and cannot eat or drink at all. The last few days I have been really sore. It feels like I am all burned up inside and swollen as a result of a bad habit of self-induced puking and from acid reflux. I feel better standing than sitting. My surgeon thinks this is the result of throwing up too often and recommends that I have a slight unfill. I have one scheduled but must wait 10 days for my appointment. This probably all stems from some bad habits that I developed. If I ate something that felt uncomfortable in my stomach pouch, then I would simply go off to the bathroom, put my finger down my throat and force myself to throw up. Then I felt immediately better. I did this at least once a day if not more. Most of the time I think the discomfort was the result of me failing to chew just 1 of those bites well enough. Or maybe I ate too fast. Or maybe it was just a bad food choice. My recent problems with pain seemed to begin right after this particular event.... Last Monday night, managed to eat half a bag of Smartfood popcorn :pop2:with no problems (bad, bad - I know). Later that evening I drank a shot of nightquil to help me sleep. :notagree I do this every night practically. The nightquil didn't go all the way down and just sat in my pouch and gave me an icky warm sensation. In an attempt to better wash it down I drank about 6 ozs. of aloe-vera juice. I made the mistake of drinking the aloe-vera juice it too fast and didn't consider the fact that it was cold right out of the fridge. The cold sensation made it feel like it was expanding in my chest. Moments later the pain - yowsa - major chest PAIN!!! I ran to the bathroom and purged out the whole nasty concoction. Later that night, matters were made worse when I experienced acid reflux followed by a coughing fit. The next day I found my band was too tight to eat Breakfast or even drink coffee, but this isn't all that unusual for me. I had a lunch date. I ate small meal of 4 little shrimp from the top of my uneaten salad. I came home feeling uncomfortably full and and increasing sensation of pain in my pouch. But I didn't purge. I haven't been able to eat or drink since then without major pain. :tape2: It feels like a pulled muscle in my chest. Not even Water, tea or Soup. This situation continues still today and it's now Friday. Besides puking, another nasty side-effect of my band that I should mention is this... After food or drink, I often will convulse my esophogus and then spit out slime. :spit: I know slime is not all that uncommon with bandsters, but this happens several times a day. I imagine this convulsion thing cannot be good for me either. Here's the thing, a week ago I felt like I was at the sweet spot. Maybe I don't need a slight unfill. Maybe I just need to heal and really work on improving my eating habits. I self-pay so it will cost me $150 for another slight unfill, so I hate to do it and then need a fill (another $150). What do you all think? :noidea: :help:Have any of you had problems with burning pain and inflamation similar to this? I know some of you are going to suggest that I might have slipped my band. Geez, I don't even want to consider that possibility. Thanks in advance for your advice and feedback. Sincere regards from SweetSue (who's lovin the smiley's)

I'm new to navigating in this site, but I found what looked like a 'friend' request and sent it to you, Nicole. My name is actually Klisa...Lisa with a K in the front of it (lisawithak). Ohhh, I'm so jealous that you had sushi! I've been dying for something to CHEW on! I was on the phone laughing with my Mom about how I was going to wrap a steak in a pair of nylons so that I could chew on it to get the flavor but still maintain the 'liquid only' diet because I wouldn't be able to swallow any of it. Hahaha! I have to be at the facility at 10:30 am tomorrow (PT), so my surgery will probably be 12:30-1:00...hopefully things aren't delayed much... surgeries always seem to get backed up. Rheaosun - 35 lbs in 9 weeks?! That's so wonderful!!! I was only planning on taking a couple days off of work...surgery tomorrow, return to work on Tuesday, HOWEVER, I work from home (programmer), so I don't have to move much at all to work. We'll see how it goes.

If it's already been 4 days, it does sound like you are a teenie bit tight. My doctor and dietician said that when you have proper restriction you should be able to eat 7-10 bites of food.. and you shouldn't feel stuck with water.. at the restriction I'm at right now, this is what I can achieve and I'm not miserable. It sounds like your body is going to be deprived with the little you are eating and drinking.. you don't have to be miserable like this. If it's still like this in the next few days I would seriously just have a little bit taken out.

Well, I said that I was going to do a happy dance when and if this happened. I am sitting in Starbucks right now, near two attractive, seemingly single women. I noticed them when I came in, I've been here for like 10 min. Well, one of them just looked my direction, look back at her friend and then her head snapped back to me and she checked me out!! *huge grin* I don't think I have ever had anyone do a double take for any reason other than my enormity. Woot! I'm pumped!!!

http://www.iflo.com/...onq_classic.php I went to a class at my hospital I'm scheduled at on 10/1 and was told that my doctor sends his patients home with an onq pain pump (see link above). Can anyone who has used one for pain management share their experience? I had no idea I would receive one.

I'm almost 4 months out and I eat about 2 oz of a sirloin burger, 93/7 or 90/10 and 1 slice of 2% cheese. I might put salsa or hummus on it but that is all for my meal.

Hi there - glad you are asking these questions! I would recommend that you stay with full liquids/mushie foods for another couple of days. When you start to add solids again, GO SLOWLY. At the very first sign of any distress, stop eating and consciously try to relax. I'd say if you continue to have this issue after 10 days, consider going in for a slight unfill. If it gets WORSE it could mean you've irritated your stoma with trying to get solids in too fast. If at any time you are having trouble getting liquids down, call your doctor. I am amazed at how many people will go days without being able to get liquids down and become dangerously dehydrated. DO NOT let that happen! Good luck!