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This week I had my pre-op appointments. We met classroom style with someone from exercise, as well as the dietician. Exercise talked about why we need to start now, and the steps we will go through. Nutrition was a TON of information, as well as the purchase of the pre-op diet food. For two weeks we have an 800-900 calorie diet we have to follow. Then we talked with the PA about surgery. We're supposed to go back for another appointment the week before surgery, but I can't take any more time off work, so the PA did that exam as well. It was just a basic look over, and then went over all the surgery stuff. She gave me all my paperwork to sign, and the hospital info, everything. I also had to purchase my 2 week post-op food. So, 3 bags of groceries later, I AM READY FOR SURGERY!! Diet starts Monday. Two weeks from Monday my new life begins ! YAHOO!

I am 64 and was sleeved July 10, 3 weeks and 16 lbs ago! Dr. Found a hiatal hernia and a cancerous tumor and six polyps in the stomach. The tumor is a Gist type tumor and caught it very early so no chemo needed now. Will scope the remaining part of the stomach in 6 to 12 months for the next few years. I am very blessed as I was going for the Lapland and this tumor would never have been found until possible it was large and treatment a must. I won the lottery three times on one day, July 10th!!!

My name is Daren, I am 42, married to an awesome man who is my rock. Together we have 4 daughters who are 15, 6, 5 and 3. I began my journey towards the lap band about a year ago. A friend of mine who was my doctor (sadly our insurance changed so he is no longer my physician) suggested that I think about a bariatric procedure of some kind. I have been overweight since the onset of puberty though I was amongst the fortunate few who was never teased about my weight, well not from other kids, but my mother had no problem pointing it out every chance she got. I remember being 13 and weighing in at about 130 pounds...and it just continued up from there. My six year old daughter is the only "genetic" child I was fortunate to give birth to (the others are of my heart, no my body) and when I went for my first prenatal exam I weighed in at 234. Did I mention that I stand a mere 5'4"? I worked very hard while I was pregnant to not gain weight and was unfortunate to gain 29 lbs the last 12 weeks that I was pregnant. My friend chewed me out every visit reminding me that since I was diabetic (gestational at that point) with every pound I gained I was endagering the baby that took my 16 years to concieve. I swore to him I wasn't doing ANYTHING I was not supposed to be doing and I was even exercising...something completely unheard of for me! I tried to no avail to convince him that it was all water and baby. Seldom in a large womans lifetime is she believed to not be overeating...but I honestly was NOT. I was validated the day after she was born and stepped on the scale outside of my room and showed him that literally overnight I had lost 35 lbs! I really was all water. Thankfully she weighed in at a mere 6lbs 13 ounces...so I was mightly proud. I was warned that because I was a gestational diabetic that if I did not lost a significant amount of weight I would likely become a type 2 diabetic in the next 5 years. I decided since I could lose weight while pregnant I could do it when I wasn't. I didn't take into consideration that I had lost my mother a mere 9 months previous to my daughters birth (you do the math...she was a gift if I ever saw one!!!) postpartum depression and how cut off you are when you go from a full time working woman to a stay at home mom all of a sudden. I am a VERY social person and didn't realize until I was sitting on my kitchen floor in tears sobbing that I was totally and completely depressed. I worked on that and with the help of modern medicine, found some relief from the crying jags but continued to decline as I discovered over the next few years that I also had fibromyalgia. This coupled with depression, untreated sleep apnea made life a living hell. I got treatment for the sleep apnea and hoped that it would relieve all of my symptoms...sadly I was mistaken in this hope. I still have fibromyalgia and in March of this year discovered that I had type 2 diabetes. I weighed in at a whopping 273 pounds (9 more than the day I walked into the hospital to give birth to my daughter...youch!) and decided that it was time for a life change. I started researching and discovered that many of the life changes required for the lap band I had already accomplished without even knowing anything about the lapband. I stopped drinking soda when I got pregnant and aside from an ocassional one here and there never really developed the taste for them again. I used to be the pasta queen but stopped altogether when I was pregnant and never really missed it so I figured I didn't like it nearly as much as I thought I did. I started working on some exercising, though with fibromyalgia, it is difficult...but I have discovered that the Wii is an incredible invention and that coupled with the Wii fit software, I exercise far more regularly now than I have ever done so before...and the kids get to play with me so it fun for the whole family. I just finished a 14 week class with Kaiser on Healthy Lifestyles and have finished most of the pre-surgery requirements for their program. I was told I had to lose a total of 20 pounds from my initial weigh in at their orientation (259) and am happy to say that I am only 1 pound away from the goal weight. I want to take it down an extra 10 just as a cushion since every single scale that I get on says something different!!! With luck and some pushiness on my part I am hoping to be banded before the end of the year!!! My six year old asked me if I would still look like her mommy when I was "skinny" and I told her that I would be the new and improved healthy versions of mommy. My 15 year old promises to share her clothes with me (and steal mine) when we are the same size...can't wait for that!!! Anyway, that's where I am at right now... Daren

My name is Daren, I am 42, married to an awesome man who is my rock. Together we have 4 daughters who are 15, 6, 5 and 3. I began my journey towards the lap band about a year ago. A friend of mine who was my doctor (sadly our insurance changed so he is no longer my physician) suggested that I think about a bariatric procedure of some kind. I have been overweight since the onset of puberty though I was amongst the fortunate few who was never teased about my weight, well not from other kids, but my mother had no problem pointing it out every chance she got. I remember being 13 and weighing in at about 130 pounds...and it just continued up from there. My six year old daughter is the only "genetic" child I was fortunate to give birth to (the others are of my heart, no my body) and when I went for my first prenatal exam I weighed in at 234. Did I mention that I stand a mere 5'4"? I worked very hard while I was pregnant to not gain weight and was unfortunate to gain 29 lbs the last 12 weeks that I was pregnant. My friend chewed me out every visit reminding me that since I was diabetic (gestational at that point) with every pound I gained I was endagering the baby that took my 16 years to concieve. I swore to him I wasn't doing ANYTHING I was not supposed to be doing and I was even exercising...something completely unheard of for me! I tried to no avail to convince him that it was all water and baby. Seldom in a large womans lifetime is she believed to not be overeating...but I honestly was NOT. I was validated the day after she was born and stepped on the scale outside of my room and showed him that literally overnight I had lost 35 lbs! I really was all water. Thankfully she weighed in at a mere 6lbs 13 ounces...so I was mightly proud. I was warned that because I was a gestational diabetic that if I did not lost a significant amount of weight I would likely become a type 2 diabetic in the next 5 years. I decided since I could lose weight while pregnant I could do it when I wasn't. I didn't take into consideration that I had lost my mother a mere 9 months previous to my daughters birth (you do the math...she was a gift if I ever saw one!!!) postpartum depression and how cut off you are when you go from a full time working woman to a stay at home mom all of a sudden. I am a VERY social person and didn't realize until I was sitting on my kitchen floor in tears sobbing that I was totally and completely depressed. I worked on that and with the help of modern medicine, found some relief from the crying jags but continued to decline as I discovered over the next few years that I also had fibromyalgia. This coupled with depression, untreated sleep apnea made life a living hell. I got treatment for the sleep apnea and hoped that it would relieve all of my symptoms...sadly I was mistaken in this hope. I still have fibromyalgia and in March of this year discovered that I had type 2 diabetes. I weighed in at a whopping 273 pounds (9 more than the day I walked into the hospital to give birth to my daughter...youch!) and decided that it was time for a life change. I started researching and discovered that many of the life changes required for the lap band I had already accomplished without even knowing anything about the lapband. I stopped drinking soda when I got pregnant and aside from an ocassional one here and there never really developed the taste for them again. I used to be the pasta queen but stopped altogether when I was pregnant and never really missed it so I figured I didn't like it nearly as much as I thought I did. I started working on some exercising, though with fibromyalgia, it is difficult...but I have discovered that the Wii is an incredible invention and that coupled with the Wii fit software, I exercise far more regularly now than I have ever done so before...and the kids get to play with me so it fun for the whole family. I just finished a 14 week class with Kaiser on Healthy Lifestyles and have finished most of the pre-surgery requirements for their program. I was told I had to lose a total of 20 pounds from my initial weigh in at their orientation (259) and am happy to say that I am only 1 pound away from the goal weight. I want to take it down an extra 10 just as a cushion since every single scale that I get on says something different!!! With luck and some pushiness on my part I am hoping to be banded before the end of the year!!! My six year old asked me if I would still look like her mommy when I was "skinny" and I told her that I would be the new and improved healthy versions of mommy. My 15 year old promises to share her clothes with me (and steal mine) when we are the same size...can't wait for that!!! Anyway, that's where I am at right now... Daren

Hi, as you might have read, my name is Carmen. I am a mother of two, a 13 year old daughter, and a 9 year old son. Currently after 15 years working I am taking a break to continue my education. I am an EMT, and I am going to school for cosmetology. I been in the retail industry all my life. When I became and EMT, it was one if my great accomplishments, I was very happy. I started to work for a busy system in the City of Syracuse, and I was doing OK. At the end of my 15 hour days, I was in serious pain, but i got up every morning at 4am to go to work and do it all over again. But the pain got worst, i was barely able to stand on my feet less carry a heavy bag with an oxygen tank. I took a medical leave to address my condition. Resulting that I have arthritis on my back and my knees are deteriorating and I have tendinitis on my wrist. Anyone with arthritis now that pain only gets worst and it never gets better, I started taking medications for the pain that wouldn't allow me to drive the ambulance in the state. So I had to extend my leave indefinitely. My neck started to hurt, along with my ankles, and even so I decided to start going to school for cosmetology more standing up and more wrist work, What was I thinking? I figure I need to continue working on something I like doing but I want to make more for my work, and I want to work when I want to ( when not in pain). Anyways Its been a journey I am half way my journey (http://bbgbeauty.blogspot.com). My brother ended up in the hospital, also my mother. My brother had developed sleepanea, a sleeping disorder mostly on obese people. He weight at almost 600 pounds. He had let himself go. He was in the hospital for many months until he was able to get out he now weights around 550. He can barely walk, or breathe he ended up with a tracheal tube for life or until he gets his weight under control. Now my mother is battling her foot to diabetes in the hospital and they ha to amputate all her toes. I go trough a lot with them and finally get them into my home and they doing a little better. But its far from over, my mom goes again more times to the hospital and still struggling to keep her leg now in top of everything my boyfriend ends up in the emergency room because of his diabetes. I said to my self no more... I decided I am not going to end up like them, to this date I don't have diabetes, I might be in the border of Sleepanea, I might already have it. I don't have high cholesterol but my blood pressure is very high and I take medications for these. I talk to them about loosing weight and that we could do it together, they seem reluctant to the idea of eating less and healthier. I guess I am on my own right now. Each person's health is their own decision. My mom is somewhat supportive, she "tried to keep me under control with sweats" and by trying i mean she waves them in front of me and says resist the temptations! lol . My boyfriend has gone so far to the info group and support groups in the area for me and have allow me to expend a little extra on healthy foods. We all know that healthy food is more expensive... but thats another topic. So I went to the information group to gather information about the Gastric Bypass Surgery, and I have learn a lot. I also went online to research, and I been to support groups in the area. I filled my paperwork and submitted to the surgeons. I am awaiting a date to start the process. It should be this week. They called me last week but I was missing my doctors referral, which hopefully they faxed today. I been on a diet on my own so i can gradually start my transition to better eating. Its been hard. I am limited to 1,400 calories a day, witch is not much compared to what I was eating before. its like torture, to the point that I don't want to leave my room into the world because everything is food, advertised, in commercials, int he internet, on games, in my kitchen, my family and kids, across the street next door, its everywhere, the temptations are all there, its worst than drugs. And for someone that has been big since a child, and never been restricted on what I can eat because my motto was, "I am going to die anyways might as well die happy" Well, i rather die happy but not suffering restricted to a bed or not able to enjoy life. I want to be able to fit in the roller coaster so when my daughter goes in a date I can follow her and get in the same rides as her and her boyfriend. I want to be able to fit on normal clothes and spend $20 less on a shirt. I want to be able to run after my future grand kids, I want to be able to have a snore free sleep, and wake up energized, I don't want to be afraid of a stroke or diabetes. I want to keep all my limbs, I want to be able to work and make money! I want to be able to wash the dishes with less pain on my back and knees, and I want to be able to go back to being a great EMT and live a long healthy life. And more than anything I want to go to my birth country and shove it on their faces that I was able to loose weight and I ams till beautiful as I was before. So this is why I decided to do the gastric bypass. Even thou a lot of people say you can do it without the surgery, I might... but YES i am opting for the easier way, where I will have less chance of failure. Once my stomach is smaller, I will able to be full with less food thus being different from now, that I eat less but i am still hungry. And I don't care if people don't agree with me on doing this surgery, it my decision, and if I am weak for doing it, so be it. Pre-Operation: Currently I weight 280 pounds I lost 3 pounds in 2 weeks. Here are some of my current pics, They are gross, but I want you to have an idea of the real situation and have a visual concept of my progress.

Todays plans Menu Bfast - I had 2 slices of bacon 1/2 sausage patte - full - couldn't eat my egg Lunch hmmm - lunch time right now, not even hungry, but will try and drink a protein shake Dinner fish, talapia - yum Workout Circuit training - upper body and cardio mixed. Planned on doing it last night, but didn't make it. wt - 178.1 Tommorow is another big weight in day for me, I weighed last Friday 178.7, so hoping to at least be in the 177 area. I've been averaging 1 freaken pound a week. But hey, I will take it I guess....what choice do I have anyhow. lol.

I have had constant stalls from day one! Some last as long as six weeks. Most times I still lose inches. The most important thing you can do is follow your plan....do not compare yourself to everyone else......we are all different. I recently started gaining....got so depressed and upset....thought her I go again and another failled attempt.....went to the doctor and my thyroid was way off. I have had to learn....I am older...I have different health needs....I will get there...it just may be at a slower rate.

Anyone else have an issue getting stuck on fish such as salmon and other meaty fish? I tried to order this a few times at business lunches and it's not been successful. I have learned to slow down and take small bites so it's not a complete stuck episode but I have to go to the bathroom and lean over to get it to go down. This last fill that I got last week is really giving me restriction. I have to be very mindful (not a bad thing!) of what I eat now.

I agree stalls will happend and we all hate them, just stay the course, I am almost 9 months post opt and I have had many stalls I am staying focus and now focusing on one day at a time. Good luck.

Has anyone suffered a second round of hair loss!? I had the classic first round between approx months 3-7...just as I thought I was going to be completely bald it stopped...new hairs started coming through and I cut my hair short and took a huge sigh of relief I had survived! Lol! Hair much thinner but starting to recover. Now, at almost 14 months out from surgery it seems to have started again I realise that when the hair loss stopped around month 7/8 it stopped completely, I really wasn't losing any hair at all - and I know a certain amount of shed is normal - and now it's started again with a vengeance. I'm pretty sure it's not just a normal amount and I can already see the affects, particularly at the front of my hairline where it was really bad last time. If it carries on for the months it did last time I'm afraid I really will end up bald! Does anyone have any experience of this at this point or further from surgery? I'm getting all my protein/water, taking my vits, recently had bloods done and all good there, and although I still have weight to lose its not coming off at the moment, bee stalled for about 6 weeks.

How long did it take for your incisions to heal? I am two weeks out and so far only the smallest incision has completely lost its scab. My abdomen is also has purple freckles from all of the heparin shots. I hope this is all cleared up within the next month or so.

I gained over 20 lbs. in the hospital !!! But a week and 2 days later I had not only lost all that but I also lost 13 " real " pounds !!! Now I am at a stall since Monday but everyone including my Dr. Say it's normal... Also, my stomach is still bigger than before surgery and I'm told in time that will go away. So don't fret over the weight, it's totally normal !

I stopped taking it too…. I was advised to stop taking it preop so I never started again. I have to go see my gynecologist next week so, I guess that's one of the questions I should be asking. I'm also not on my birth control pills – that was another thing they want to meet a stop preop i'm not sure if that will affect any weight gain or Water retention or anything of that nature… I'm on a relatively low dose one. But I can definitely feel the sis coming on and feeling them burst. It's not as bad or I should say frequent when I'm on my meds. What are y'all's experience with them?

You're not doing anything wrong. You started out at a lower weight. 11lbs in one month...that's a lot. I lost the same amount in my first month and we started around the same surgery weight. I've lost about 52 lbs since surgery and while others have lost more than me after 6 months, my body is different than others as is my journey and I would have never been able to lose 52 lbs on my own in 6 months if it weren't for the surgery. Your weight loss will be slow and you will hit plateaus but it's not a magic surgery that the weight will fall off every week...it doesn't work like that. I've learned throughout this process to have more realistic expectations of how this weight loss journey will work for me and i'm very happy with my "slow loss". Best of luck to you!

I had all the liquid removed from my band and had the removal and revision done in the same surgical procedure 4 weeks later. All went off with out a hitch and I am down 25 lbs in the last 6 weeks. Im very happy with my decision. Good luck.

E#1 I had my Gastic Band removed last Tuesday and all went fine. They did a special X-ray the next day while i swallowed an aniseed tasting drink. The Doctor said it all looked good. I am chomping at the bit to have my sleeve done but have to wait 12 weeks (24th March) so my stomach is fully healed. I see in the U.S. they often do both procedures together. I do understand taking the precaution of waiting but I have a very good reason for wanting it earlier than 12 weeks. I am a Bing Eater/Bulumic and already I can eat huge volumes of food. The other thing is after I reached my goal weight of 60kg after the Gastric Band I had all the surgery to tighten up my loose skin and frankly looked fabulous. If I keep up this eating I will stretch the skin out again and all those operations will be ruined. I will be talking to my Sugeon as soon as possible to discuss. HAS ANYONE ON THIS FORUM HAD THEIR SLEEVE CONVERSION DONE EARLIER THAN THE 12.WEEKS???

I started the process about a month ago. I went for a consult to see Dr. Artuso. 1st time meeting him. He answered all my 20 questions I had and said if this was want I want to do then I would be a perfect candidate. Leaving his office the receptionist who are amazing told me there was a openings to the needed consults the next day. I got my cardio and pulmonary consult done the next day. Received my letter of necessity from my primary on Friday of that week (talk about timing, when I called his office he was leaving that saturday for 3 weeks out of the country dr's without borders. ) I had my CXR that weekend. I had the echiogram done on Tuesday and a stress test on Wednesday. Saw my cardiologist on Wednesday and he said all is go and given his approval. Saw the nutritionist on Thursday and after a long chat she said I was an excellent candidate. I expressed a concern not getting approved as I do not have any comorbities. Not to steal someones quote but I too seem to be a healthy fat person. My BMI is 46.9 percent. My knees and feet hurt all the time. Even at night when I have them elevated. I work 2 jobs. One is a supervisor in a group for the state home. I often work over 8hours a day. Sometimes I am on my feet all day running around. My other job is a work as a LPN for a nursing agency doing per diem work. That is a 8 hrs of nonstop go go go. I barely get a chance to sit down to eat or even go to the bathroom. My decision to get the band came after a long thought of over 5yrs. I have had this dr. number for that long. I have talked to nurses who have had the gastric bypass. I dont know anyone personally who has had the lapband. I went 2yrs ago to a seminar at Westchester medical center sat thru it. Walking out feeling like you know what.. "I put this weight on by my own hand and mouth I need to take it off" I joined a gym days later. I would go to the gym 5-6 days a week and pound the hell out of myself. 2yrs later I had made little dent. I had gone to my primary and had routine bloodwork. Hoping my thryroid was to blame.. NOTHING. Back to the gym I go. Fast forward to this summer. In June I was at my sisters house. Wihin a matter of 1 hour I broke the stairs to her pool, and inflatable floatation device and 1 stair going up a set up steps. Thank god I was amongst family. I was humiliated. That was a breaking point for me. I am tired of living life not to the fullest. I would rather now sleep then go out shopping or stay at home watching tv. My feet hurt more often than not. So now I wait...:confused2:

I am 8 weeks post op and I love the sleeve most if all because I'm not throwing up at every meal now like with the band. I have lost 21 lbs so far. I wish it was coming off faster but I'm am at my most steady weight with the band and only 7 pounds away from being the lowest I have weighed in about 12 years! I couldn't be happier with the sleeve, I only wish I had it first.

I'm a little over 5 weeks since conversion and have lost 30 pounds. I am down about 60 pounds since my highest weight. My next goal is to be under 200 by my birthday in January. I should have no problem getting there!!

I'm 12 weeks post op and down 58lbs. Not losing too fast. Nice not throwing up all the time...learning how to eat is important but glad I'm getting this chance.

I am 10 weeks out and have lost 25 pounds. Almost at goal!

I have been banded for just about 1 year. I have had 2 fills and throw up about 2 or 3 times a week. All of this would be okay with me if I were loosing weight. I've lost 25 pounds altogether, including what I lost before surgery. I really thought this would be the answer for me. I've failed at every other diet I've ever tried and I'm a failure at this too. I'm sad.

Hello I know how you feel im on the 2 week per-op diet now it the end of my first week and its very hard now started of go but now i want food tired of liquids I hope this next week of liquid go real fast for me Im being band on oct 1, I cant wit until its all over.Your lucky that you have your cousin supporting you good luck and i hope you all well.:eek:

So I start my two week liquid diet on Monday the 24th. I am so scared. It only took 3 days for my insurance to approve my surgery and that was back in August. I set my surgery date for Oct. 8 thinking that is so far away. Well guess what people, it’s almost here. I stay up at night just thinking about the liquid diet and what I'm going to eat and what I'm going to miss. I have been having that last supper syndrome, but not too bad. I have only been focusing on my favorite foods and not stuffing myself. Like I had to have a cheeseburger and fries from my favorite restaurant yesterday and I will have to get in McDonalds fries and a vanilla shake. I'll have to get in buffalo wings and some Mexican food of course cuz that is like my favorite. I need some cold stone ice cream and the list goes on. But all before Monday!! I have been practicing chewing for days and not drinking liquids with my meals. Do you know how hard that is? But I'm lucky; I have two of my favorite cousins doing the liquid diet with me. One has already had bypass but the other is doing it just to support me. That is so sweet. We'll see how long she lasts. Anyhow, thanks for listening.