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Hi there, here is my story and I am very open to ideas: I am back at 1 1/2 yrs out. lost 45lbs, had major back surgery in January so 6 months of no or little exercise. Thank goodnes for the band. I had a weird problem. I think I need to have a little taken out of the band but I am scared. If I eat three hours before bed and it is not practically liquid, I wake up choking. I try real hard not to do that.I am now really aware of what I am eating, definatly Protein. I cannot eat in the early morn so I have a warm Protein Drink, the warmth seems to open the band. If I have some removed I am worried that I will be able to get too much in. I finally got filled to what I felt was the right amount. I just hate choking and figure it is really a must to pay attention and not eat meat that is not ground, or anything too heavy at dinner. I have stayed at this weight, otherwise without the band and a surgery( had 7 knee replacement revision in 5 years) why I gained so much, I would surely have gained again. I have not read of anyone being maybe overfilled and choking and or coughing during the night..... It does not happen if I am very aware of dinner and lots of Water, but I would love to hear if anyone has had this... ??? Info would be great. Debra

Hey I was banded yesterday by Dr. Sim's in Waco, TX I had surgery at 7:30AM and I was in recovery around 9:00AM and went to my room at providence around 9:30AM. I never knew what hit me once in surgery. However I can say that I really hurt today and my stomach is just growling big time too! But I only desire the liquid diet at the moment. I did find out that if your not having the gastric bypass then things at the hospital are different than it states in the Patient Manual at least it was for me. I was really disappointed. The 4th floor is not just for Bariatric/Lap Band patients it is for all having surgery. Whe you have the foot pumps on well good luck when having to get them off to go to the bathroom. I was not able to bed forward so I had to wait on someone to come and help me and well after an hour of waiting last night to go to the bathroom and yes the dam was ready to break someone finally came in to help me. I was told if you had bariatric surgery not the lap band then you get 2 nurses and 2 assistants per patient if you had the lap band you get who ever you can get. Now Dr. Sims was vary nice and professional I seen him 3 times before going home. He seems to be a very nice person and I was glad to have had him as my Dr. I cannot wait for my first fill. I passed the fast food resturant test this evening while waiting for my perscription at be filled at Walmart my hubby and I went and sat down in McDonalds he ate a fish sandwich and I just sat there, trust me I had no desire to eat it much less smell it. Well good luck with your up coming surgery. Sharon

You know what is so funny lol...after I read your blog about what your mom said, I spent the entire night looking up youtube videos and posts about the negative effects of wls...one of which with somebody that died, and the persons family member that died is really trying hard to talk people out of getting it...a lot of the comments though were geared toward the person probably not doing what they were supposed to, and that they were a success so they don't know what they are talking about. I am getting mixed signals everywhere I turn.. My mom had gastric bypass over 10 years ago and kept her 100 pounds that she lost OFF..so obviously she is totally % FOR me getting the lap band...because she had complications, and this is safer...shes my biggest supporter..my whole family and boyfriend is. We know people too that had gastric bypass and the lap band done and it didn't work for them at all...they lost some and then gained it back..so I think for some people who aren't all in it, yeah thats exactly why it doesn't work for them...but it doesn't mean I'm not having second thoughts...because I am...even though I'm still doing every single thing I need to do...I'm just one step away...but after reading that blog I just got terrified and then reading all of the other awful things..I think it will be worth it in the long run. I see soo many people on here and all over who have had so much success with it and its changed their lives...so why wouldn't it work for me when I'm % in it, and I've already lost 30 pounds on my own?

I found this the other day and I think it will be very helpful to me, and I hope to those here. https://www.obesitycoverage.com/the-big-gastric-bypass-diet-guide/

Hi everyone! I’m about a month away from my gastric bypass surgery and I have started to do some research on the vitamins and other medications I will be taking after surgery I’m regards to headaches and pain I usually take Advil, but due to the risk of ulcers after surgery I cannot take it anymore. I find Tylenol doesn’t work for me and I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what they use to manage headaches and pain that won’t do any harm. Thanks all!

I’ve been an ibuprofen user my whole life. I had to switch after my bypass. I take the liquid Tylenol if something is really hurting, like cramps or a headache. It has been an adjustment for sure.

Hi I too feel that this type of surgery and being surgery it is absolutely necessary for your husband to know. There is always the potential for complications that could necessitate a serious or emergency situation. Best Wishes, Donna VBG/87 Revised To Lapband/06 By Dr. Cobourn 251/162/125 goal

This subject came up at an eating/behavior class! The dietician said that if you are eating enough protein ... the usual cause for hair loss with weightloss surgery patients is... not enough fat in the diet!!! It will cause you hair to become dry, brittle, and fall out!! It may take some time to reverse this process. It is rare that a dietician says "eat more fat"- but she recommends eat more "good fats". (not more fries). She said that this is more common with gastric bypass, but is showing up a lot with lap-banders now too!! I hate to say it ... but try to add more fats into your diet....nuts, olive oil, fish oils etc. and , you may see a great improvement.GOOD LUCK.

I have an acquaintance who had a bypass 5yrs ago. He said he eats all the time even gets up in the night to eat. Does anyone else have this experience? I'm confused. :-\

Hello my name is Dona. I am 53 years old, married going on 26 years. I have one son that is 25 years old. I started my journey in January of this year. I was 262 lbs and miserable, so my personal Dr. approved me for for Bypass surgery.I went to 2 seminars and one support group. It took me a long time to really get serious about the surgery mentally and physically. Anyway, I just had my Bypass Surgery on Nov. 30th of this year. I was scared, but I finally made the decision to get out of my rut that I was in. The last 2 weeks have been hard. I got through the pain and now I am starting on the Stage 3 plan. I have lost 17 lbs. Now I have to get in the process of exercising and getting fit. Changing mentally is the hardest part, but each day is getting better. Thank you for letting me join this group, and I am looking forward to taking this journey with all of you here.

so dona my surgeon dr dovec does her insisons thry the belly button and two on the sides of the stomach for bypass, where were yours done and what did they use to seal them. also my pre-op diet is basically phase 1 of atkins its just 3 weeks of no starches with 2 days of clear liquids does this sound to leanent and should i like maybe do a more liquid ish diet. the reason for her for just the no all liquids pre surgery is because she wants us to always get protien from real food

I'm still on the mush stage so I eat Oatmeal, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs sugar free instant breakfast or applesauce Lunch I eat soups, sugarfree jello or pudding and i drink Adkins shakes Dinner Again soup I'm a big soup lover so thats no problem having it all the time, sweet potatoes mashed potatoes, chili tuna w/ lots of lo fat mayo or egg saled again w/ lo fat mayo and once in a while small amount of mac and cheese. Hope this helps I was Banded Mar 14 2007 and have lost 25 lbs already which is fabulous for me, when and where were you banded? There is a thread in here that talks about a cook book just for gastic bypass people, I forgot what its called but it is in the thread for foods. I have found that thread very help for ideas and recipes. Check it out. Don't get discouraged Also addicted to sugar free popsicles Best of Luck Mattie

I phoned the receptionist at my Surgeons office and OMG, she was soooo angry! But finally, after two weeks to calm down and trying not think about this, I sent off my objection letter to the insurance company. I explained the surgery and I pointed out that it was not gastric bypass (I understand from the receptionist there can be major complications after gastric bypass). I explained I was healthy before the surgery and healthy after the surgery and that my Doctor's have extensive tests to prove just that! I've asked the insurance company what documentation I would need from my Doctor's to get this insurance. Hopefully I will hear something soon. I will keep you all posted. Thanks for the replies. Suzie Q

:help: Hi Everyone, I havent been here in a while and I hate to rain on folks parade, but I am seriously contemplating having my band removed and having revision surgery to something else. My first two years of banding, I was very successful. I started with a BMI of 54 and managed to get down to a 28 BMI which equates to a loss of 155 pounds. After two years, I quit smoking to have plastic surgery and gained 13 pounds. I had plastic surgery in August 2005 and left the hospital at 189 lbs. MY lowest weight was 180 ever from a start of 334 lbs. During my plastic surgery, the saline was accidently removed from my band by the plastic surgeon. My problems started before this with lack of restriction, so I dont want to say this was the cause of all my issues with lack of restriction, but I am sure that this was a contributor. A month later, I visited my original band surgeon to get my restriction back and was informed my band was bone dry. I was given 1 cc and sent home and told to wait a few months and he would up it back to the 2.5 I had before. He wanted to do it slowly since normally patients who have their bands refilled usually need less than before to achieve the same level of restriction. I was worried about regain and told to just comply and keep portions small. Two months later, I now have gained an additional 10-15 pounds, so I go to get a fill from a doc in Dallas who takes me to 2.25. THings are fine for a short while and then I start losing restriction. By August 06, I have now gained 38 lbs. I go back for another fill and I am told I have pouch dilation. All the fill was removed from my band and I am put on a liquid diet for a month. I go to a lapband surgeon who was not my original surgeon due to insurance change and he tells me that I have a concentric slip, partial prolapse and that I will need a new band. I go for a second opinion with another band surgeon who does an endoscopy, tells me that although my pouch is a little large, I dont need a new band though and refills me to 2.00 CC. One year later: I am still gaining weight. I have moved to GA and no one here will take me as a patient because they did not band me. My new insurance does not cover my band at all, nor will they cover a removal or revision. I will have to pay for fills. This is not a problem, but I am reluctant to start again here and have someone fill me and then have dilation or slippage problems due to a too tight band. I fear I have dilation issues again and getting another fill wont help me anyway and a saline removal will just result in starting the process all over again. I am not looking for someone to just do a fill. I am looking for a doc who can tell me if my band is fine and I am looking for someone who can really take care of me due to the fact that I have had problems in the past. It never ceases to amaze me that the docs here have no interest in me as a patient because someone else banded me, only want cash for fills or that my new insurance wont pay for a removal, but they will pay for me to have a gastric bypass. I am not obese enough for this to be an option anyway and my provider is notoriiously bad at making people jump through hoops to qualify anyway. I dont have comorbidites and my BMI is not high enough anyway. I am obese but not obese enough with a 34-35 bmi. I am really sad that my band is not working for me. I have had 14 fills and several unfills. I am tired of trying. I also refuse to blame myself. I have been compliant and clearly I have the ability to stick to the plan when I have good restriction. Its like the cart before the horse. Some folks here might say the the dilation was caused by my overeating. THis would be partially true because to gain weight, you have to be eating too much. But if one does not have the ability to overeat with a properly working band then they cannot overeat. I make healthy choices, but I dont have any restriction and can eat a very big portion. Its easy to say only eat 3-4 ounces when you have restriction, but when you dont, then its a problem. So then one would say the solution is to get more fill. What if everytime you were filled, it was either too little or too much with really small increments? The most I have ever had in my band was 2.6 and this was too tight. The 2:00 I have now is too little. I have been at 2;25, 2.3 2.4, 2.5 and these amounts have resulted in too little or too much. All were done with flouroscopy. I dont have a leak, but clearly dilation is an issue and has been in the past. I am really sad and worried that if I get a fill and its too tight, then I will have to go for more fills and unfills at my own expense. Worse, if I had a medical emergency that required band removal, it would be at my own expense. I feel like maybe its time to move on. I am now considering the gastric sleeve and removal of my band as a self pay. No post op hassles, no maintenance, no fills . Whaddya yall think?? I would love to hear from newbies and oldies. Babs in GA 334/180/225?

Yeah, my DH was very leary about it at first but then he saw Kahlia Ali (Muhammad Ali's oldest daughter) who has a band on a Fox news show and now he is all for it. When we watch Big Medicine on the discovery channel, he always says (about the ones getting gastic bypass) "why don't they just get the lapband"? LOL It's cute.

Thanks guys. So happy to hear Meemee is Starting to feel better. My Stricture was caused by misinsertation of the bougie ( being pushed in to far) And the tauntness of the stomach being pulled across the bougie before stapleing. It is a complication of the surgery. Complications DO NOT happen often but when they do it is 100% you. My doctors had never seen this before. They are a centre of excellence. I am so grateful I had such careing doctors. And that I didnt end up with a gastric bypass or worse massive medical bills. As I am a Canadian with ironically no medical coverage in the states. I live very close to seattle so I would drive down with my husband for care. Any questions are welcome. Oh, by the way I feel great now with no major issues just reflux that I take omeprizol for. And I am 10 lbs away from goal!

Robin The one major reason I had lapband surgery over gastric bypass is mainly because with the band you can still eat almost all foods. What I mean is, you shouldn't eat them in order to lose weight but.....if you've got a craving for something, go ahead......have it and then get bqck with the program. With the bypass surgery, certain things will make you very sick. Example is ANYTHING with sugar. When I looked at the big picture, I knew I needed help. That I couldn't do it alone. It was too overwhelming. Hence, the lapband for me. I had the surgery 7-16 and have already lost 39 pounds and I go in tomorrow for my first fill.

I got my 1st fill a month ago. He put in a little over 1 cc in a 4 cc band. I have trouble eating. I can eat soft, mushy food fine. But if I eat solids, I get a golf ball feeling in the chest with pain after 4-5 bites. Don't even mention chicken. Everytime I eat chicken, after 2 or 3 bites I get pain and end up PBing. I feel I am too tight. I was talking with a friend who had gastric bypass and she said I was just right. I should just eat 4-5 bites 6 times and day and make sure I get enough Protein with shakes. I thought this was a life style change and that is not the life style I want. I thought you would be able to eat 1/2 to 1 cup food total each time and you lose weight by controling volume consumed vs dieting. I have not lost weight in the last 2 weeks. Most of the mushy stuff is higher in calories and fat (potatos, noodles, ice cream ..) Please advise. do you think my band is too tight? Is my friend right? Are my expectations wrong? I just don't know what to do.

Well I attended DR. Maremas Seminar tonight in st. augustine, fl. It was pretty good i think. He seemed alright he seemed to push the gastric bypass more than the band, but i know i will NOT get bypass, he also seemed to like the realize band more than lapband, not sure why he said he likes the contour more i dont know, but i will research both, does anyone have the realize band? Well i weighed in my weight was still 230, bmi was 40.5. So i'm not sure if when i go approval they will go off that what that says, or whatever weight i am at when they submit my approval, i still have to do the 6 month diet.But the insurance lady said my bcbs ppo state employee plan was the best one to have that they take cause she said they are easy to get approval from. And with my bmi at 40 i dont have to have 2 co-morbilities. Not sure when the procedure will be, still have to talk further to them, about all the info that i need for approval, also i'm stll no sure if they want the several thousand upfront, phew still quite a bit i have left to do i think, but we'll see the 6 month diet will be the hardest and longest part to get thru.......... So yeah anyone know the difference between realize and lapband and do the insurance company go off your bmi from your weigh in, or do they go off of the latest weight before approval? thanks LaLa

Because of my history of crohn's disease and feeding tubes my Dr. will only to the sleeve. I was hoping for bypass. I am disappointed. I also have a hernia and an enlarged node on my pancreas. I'm irritated.

I have limited knowledge about the sleeve. I will research it. I have studied and had prepared myself for bypass. We'll see. Insurance will have to approve the sleeve or I won't be getting anything except fatter I guess. I don't think sleeve is covered. I'm very discouraged at this point especially because I have paid my $700 program fee and I can't get that back.

I have no tips on handling the revision, but wanted to wish you all luck. Sept 12th is my birthday, so you guys are getting sleeved at a great time! I'm a week shy of one year out and I am loving life! Good luck!!

I'm finally scheduled for surgery in 3wks...I'm just looking for the basics on what to expect the first few days after surgery. Besides tired anyways. Soreness and so on. I am actually having a revision from lap-band to the sleeve...anyone who has had it done this way with any tips, I would greatly appreciate it!

I am 2 years post Lap Band with 90 lbs weightloss. I am happy with my success, but have suffered with horrible acid reflux and terrible restiction, and lack of sleep many nights due to aspirating. I am trying to get a revision approved with insurance. Dr. thinks lap has slipped. Would really appreciate response about your experience with revisions. My Dr. states that newly improved stitching methods have been developed to prevent slippage. What do you think? Thanks so much! Bullit

I am still pretty nervous about the whole thing in general. I am a nurse, so a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Surgery always seemed like such a sell out for me, personally. My sister had gastric bypass and looks horrendous. Hair loss, skin sagging and generally unhealthy. On the flipside, my sister in law had the LB and looks phenomenal. I don't even know if my insurance will pay for this procedure, so that is another subject. The one thing that seems to bother me is the lump that you can feel just under the skin (the port?). My sister in law let me feel it, and I have to admit, it creeps me out a bit. I would be excited to put weight gain behind me once and for all. I am so frustrated with yo yo dieting, and all the strenuous psychological and physical work that I have put in over the years.