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Agreed. I'm slowing down and think 2lbs per week is awesome compared to a big FAT ZERO....which used to be the case. Smile, you're doing great!

Ok I had my surgery 4 weeks ago tomorrow. Now I'm having pain in my right side around my incision areas. It's uncomfortable and seems to be becoming more noticeable daily. At fist it started just when my clothing would touch the areas but now nothing has to be in contact with this area for it to become painful. I'm just curious if there's anyone else having these same issues & how you're handling it???

I was banded about the same time as you and have been taking my regular Multivitamin each day since my six week checkup. I take it at night with my other meds (BC and Zoloft). I also take two Calcium citrate pills that are rather large. I split them in half. I take two halves in the AM and two halves in the PM. I currently have 4cc's in the standard AP (10cc) band. I don't have any trouble getting them down. And these were my doctors orders. Hope this helps. Sheila

I planned on taking 2 weeks off, and if I didn't have complications that wound up keeping me out an additional 2 weeks, I'd have been fine with returning to work after 2 weeks. Of course I think it depends on the type of work you do. I'm at a desk all day, and sitting was a little uncomfortable at first. Getting in and out of cars can be uncomfortable for some. In my case, I wasn't able to get into my car until the 3 week mark I think without pain. I got fatigued easily the first few days out of the hospital, but it didn't stop me from doing things around the house and going for walks outside.

700 calories and intense exercise = never losing anymore. Try increasing your calories. What do you eat EXACTLY? Do you keep a food log? How many grams of Protein do you have a day? Carbs? Why can you only eat 2 ounces at a time at 1.5 years? Do you have a stricture? You had surgery 2 weeks before me and I can eat 4 ounces of dense protein and have been able to for at least 6 months. If you can really only eat 2 ounces at time then eat every 2 hours and make sure you get your calories and protein in. If that means adding a Protein shake to get your calories and protein up then do it. Are you taking Iron pills? Are you taking a Multivitamin? Are you taking B-12? I got really anemic a couple months ago after slacking off on iron pills and I could hardly function. I was dizzy all the time. I take these iron pills https://www.nowfoods.com/supplements/iron-18-mg-veg-capsules They do no cause constipation and they don't make me sick like most iron pills.

Stay far, far, far away from popcorn! Corn on the cob too. Once your teeth settle down from the trauma of getting the braces on, you should be able to eat just about any food, although unpeeled apples and the aforementioned corn on the cob will be a nightmare. I always had a bit of trouble with strawberries, kiwi and poppy bagels because the seeds get stuck in everything. That doesn't mean you can't eat them, but if you're going to have them you will probably have to brush your teeth soon after. Start carrying a small toothbrush kit with one of those collapsable toothbrushes. Usually the ortho gives them out for free. When I got my braces my ortho decided to go with a very heavy gauge wire and brace. I didn't eat for three weeks. To this day I've never seen another person who had the same braces I did, with the exception of Ugly Betty.

I went to the doctors today and got my first fill! Yahoooooo!! Finally I feel like I am getting somewhere. This unbelievable hunger has come over me the past ten days or so. I think it was because I was totally healed and no inflammation was left after the surgery, at least that is what my nutritionist explained to me sometimes happens, but I think with me going to stage 5, I had free range and cravings I could have fresh food, fruit &veggies ohhh I have missed them. Anyway it didn't help but i have maintained so I am glad, but I could have gained easily if not for exercise and telling myself over and over over the fill is around the corner. I had 3 cc put in and will go back in two weeks. I had no pain, the needle sting was super quick and I could feel something going on, it was strange but not uncomfortable and I noticed at dinner a difference. I think this week is going to be interesting, seeing if I notice a difference. Hopefully another fill or two & I can wear my bandster tiara & my big girl panties and start to my path of getting under the 200 lb mark, oh to be able to put my wedding band on, my fingers have been too fat for years, it is a goal I set. I went down two sizes but, I feel like I am one of those that needs to lose 50lbs before I really can see it. I mean I see it in my face and my midsection, but nothing significant. Time to start trying some exercise dvds, hip hop abs looks good, I found some cool workouts on interest for tightening your bum and legs. Anyhow that is all for now.

I love all of the talk on not needing a fill! I always get so worried for people that keep getting fills, but don't seem to be following the eating rules. I am so proud of all of you! I was scared shitless when I got my band and even more when I read about problems people have. So I only had one initial fill. I eat right and am losing. Even though I have had a couple stalls I am happy with my loss so far.

I've been having a soury taste in my mouth, I guess it's acid, I dont take PPI's any more, 7 weeks out, but it doesn't really bother me (the starnge taste) and since I stopped taking them I'm hardly hungry anymore! Will ask my surgeon on thursday if i still need tto take them cause i ran out

Hey All! I'm a newbie here, but I've finally decided to start the process and get information about VSG. I feel mentally ready for it and that it's time, as I've been going round and round with the decision for years. I go back to my new PCP on 3/10 of this month to discuss it more and get bloodwork. I gave her a head's up at my initial consult that this was something I wanted, and she said let's see if you are a candidate at your next appointment. I already made my appointment with the weight loss center for the information center on 3/25. They advised they do not need a referral from my PCP, but to have my most recent labs sent over. When I called the weight loss center, I was advised that after the information session, you will be contacted within a week for the actual consult with the surgeon. I've been doing a ton of research so far, and I see a lot of folks have a 6-12 month supervised diet mandate with the insurance. After contacting my insurance company, they sent me the policy and advised that they have lifted their 6 month restriction. My policy states the following is needed for approval. BMI 40 and over or BMI of 35-39 with co-morbidity. Individuals should have documented to respond to conservative measures for weight reduction prior to the consideration of bariatric surgery and these attempts should be reviewed by the practitioner prior to seeking approval for the surgical procedure. HOWEVER, following that statement, it says "As a Result, some centers require active participation in a formal weight reduction program that includes frequent documentation of weight, dietary regimen, and exercise. However there is a lack of evidence on the optimal timing, intensity and duration of non-surgical attempts at weight loss, and whether a medical weight loss program immediately preceding surgery improves outcomes." HELP- what does this mean? Psych consult I'm pretty clear on the other first and last requirement, but the 2nd one has me spinning my wheels slightly. When I called my insurance to ask for clarification, I was advised that a letter of support from my PCP would likely suffice. My only hesitancy is that I just started with a new PCP, and I'm wondering if she will approve me off my BMI alone, or want to try conservative measures first since I am new patient there. If she doesn't provide letter of support, will the nutrition classes that the surgeon will inevitable require satisfy the letter requirement, can he be the one that writes it or does this text indicate that it needs to come from my PCP? I plan on calling the center during their business hours to ask if they've encountered this insurance wise tomorrow, as they were closed today. Any one run into this issue with their insurance policy? Any insight or perspective offered would be awesome.

Hi Everyone! I'm Jason and I'd like to join the group. Here's the twist. I was banded in December 2009. Issue is that it was completely devoid of any saline and was never filled until 2 days ago. The surgeon believed waiting 6 months before the first fill and in that time I lost my job and also my insurance. I'm thankful that I found a new job last summer and I love it, but it's a small company and the insurance covers NOTHING regarding the lap bands, not fills, not the doctor's visit, not even the cup of Water they give you when you walk out the door. So, I'm finally filled. I have the "big" lap band (14cc's I think) and he put 5.5 cc's in there under a fluroscope. He said with that, I should feel very uncomfortable if I continue to eat like I've been. 2 nights before I went to a Sushi buffet and closed the place down. I've had ZERO restriction and could eat unlimited amounts of anything. Right now I'm on yogurt and pudding and tomorrow I can start with blended stuff. (or just scrambled eggs since there's NO WAY I'm blending food) Sad thing is that the day of surgery I weiged 290. The post op, mostly liquid and no carb diet brought me down to 251 at my lowest in March 2010. As of 2 days ago I was 319. That's a gain of 68 pounds since surgery. Needless to say, I'm ashamed. I've been able to save up over the last year and have found a new surgon who will take credit cards so I'm paying for follow up myself. This is motivator #2 or 3 for me. So for all intents and purposes, it's like I was just banded but worse because I don't remember the protocol very well. I found a new surgeon. I finally have Fluid in my band, and I'm scared to death of what lies ahead. The new sugeon's support groups start up again in 3 weeks so this site is all I've got. Please adopt me. I have to succeed. I'm 36 years old, fat, diabetic. have apnea and a 3 year old daughter I want to be around for. Help....please. Thanks Jason

I don't want to discourage, but cravings are super hard to get rid of! It's like in your stage, you want what you can't have! I was really hungry too. Here's what I did. I bought a whole chicken, an onion, carrots, celery and made some chicken broth by cooking it all together. Then I took the meat off one thigh, a small amount of the veggies and blended them really well and stirred them back into the broth. It made the broth soooo yummy! About 2 weeks post op I added a little instant potatoes until they were super runny and ate it with a fork so I only got what stayed on the tines. It saved me! PS... I added unflavored protein powder too!

The first week I was so frustrated because I was in the hospital 2 nights and came home to weigh myself and I had GAINED 10 pounds! I realized later that much of it was swelling from the surgery. I didn't start losing any weight until about 9 days post-op. I'm sure it's different for everyone. Don't worry! It's still very early. You'll see the scale move, almost before your very eyes! lol

I have also been stalled for almost 2 months. I fluctuate up and down 5 pounds and it's driving me crazy. I have started jogging (only 1 mile-it's all I can do at this point) and I just gained another pound. How did you keep yourself motivated and keep from giving up. I'm quickly losing hope that I will ever lose weight again!

My mom had her surgery one week ago today, so she went from clear liquids to adding a protein shake today. She had horrible diarrhea all day from just one shake. Is this normal? She thinks maybe its because she hasn't had anything heavy in over a week, but I've never heard that before. Thanks!

Hi all, Im Noura, Let me just say thank you for all who post everyone has been an inspiration to me from day one I am currently waiting formy date. hopefully first week in january. my employer cant give me an time off right now. I dont wanna tell them why so I cant exactly fight them.... I have not told anyone no friends or family everyone was totally against it when i mentioned it a year ago so have not done so since my questions are how do i explain my way of eating afterwards? , my goal the oc gave me is set pretty high I am 252 and 5'6, he gave me 195, but I know I need to lose more than that . if I follow the rules will I lose more and how do I keep from getting saggy? should I start to lift weights now or just wait till i get clearance? if anyone has any thoughts or coments....I will def. embrace what i can get... Thank You again for all that post and congrats and goodluck on all your ventures.

Immediately after surgery, the 3 most important requirements are Protein, Vitamins and fluids. These are key. food is secondary, especially because the volume of food is very limited in the beginning. Your body is converting your stored fat into energy that drives you body. As a result you are losing weight. In my opinion most of the protein shakes taste terrible. But it is very important that you take in the required protein each day. As time goes on and your meal volume increases, you can gain most of your protein from your meals, provided you consume high protein meals. But that is not the stage you are in, so experiment and find the protein shakes that you can tolerate. There are a wide variety of powder and premix protein shakes available. For me Muscle Milk Light powder mixed with a half a banana in a Ninja single serving size blender worked well. Your protein requirement is a combination of the protein you consume from meals combined with the protein from supplements (protein shakes, protein bars). It is equally important that you take in the required amount of fluids each day. I use to like to drink a glass of Water with ice cubes several times a day prior to surgery. But that changed after the operation. After surgery, I found that flavored water (Crystal Light) was good. Also I began drinking fine teas. The Fluid requirement is the total amount of fluids that you take in each day. It included the fluids you consume in your protein shakes. It is also equally important that you meet your Vitamin requirement. Your body does not convert food into the essential vitamins that you need. That is why you must use supplements. In the area of foods, I found that Soups and chili went down easier. Therefore that is what I used. I wanted to get off the protein shakes as soon as possible, so I made my own soups and chili with about twice the protein as store bought variety. I have include some of the recipes in the link below. It also gave me good control over the volume of the meals that I consumed. I would make up a pot of food and store it and eat it all week. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

I need some help from my surgical pals! We need to represent and support each other. Please help me out below. They just posted an article on the FitBit website about my journey. I am trying to get as many people as I can to comment on the article. Right now the story with the most comments only has 40 and it been a year. I want to set the lofty goal of having 100 comments in two weeks. Would you be able to help me out with this? Please share it around and get as many people involved as you can! http://blog.fitbit.com/fitbit-success-stories-jonathan-b/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=success%20stories%20jonathan%20b

hello fellow sleevers. i am so excited today i lost 5lbs for the week, yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. also i am out of the 250's and now in the 40's yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. i also had a nsv. my daughter gave me some of her cloths and there were a pair of tight jeans that i couldnt get past my hip welllllllllllllllllllllllllll guess what they are on me and with room, so exciting when she saw me in them yesterday she was like who is this lady? hee hee hee. i am going to continue to do what is working for me that is eating every 2-3 hrs getting my Water and Protein in. i no longer need shakes because i get it from the food now another yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. doing the happy dance and singing (im so excited, and i just cant hide it) also i lost a total of 30 since surgery and plus the 16 i lost before surgery. 46lbs total yayyyyyyyyyyy

I have not sleep on that side and I have that too.. To scared to sleep in my side cause I don't want to hurt anything and I'm 5 weeks out

Just went through my first stall. Yes it is normal. It's still upsetting. You need to look at the whole picture in two weeks you lost 18#'s. Heck I'm 5 weeks out and I've lost 19 total. Keep doing everything required for your plan. If your following that then you are doing all you can do. The rest is up to your body. Maybe try staying off scale will help.

I had that feeling in my throat after surgery but it only lasted about a week.

Well I've done pretty good so far except the first night home! Gonna wait till next week to even worry about the protein when I'm on fulls I think as long as I get my water and liquids to keep me hydrated that is the point of the first week! Tonight was heaven! I was so sick of beef or ck brooth I remembered they said we could have veg soup but drain out the vegs!! I think that just saved me! It was Wonderful!! Just wanted to share for those that are so sick of just the broth!

Hi Everyone! Is anyone going to be in Mexico the week of 2/13? I am seeing Dr. Ortiz

Typically they say wait for about 6 weeks for strenuous activities. This will allow the incisions to heal all the way through. If it's just paddling around in a pool then maybe less but why chance it?