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My cycles have been wonky ever since surgery. My last cycle lasted two weeks. I am sure it gets better as time goes on

UPDATE: Should have posted last week: Well guys, I haven't posted in a while because I have just be out here living life to it's fullest. Grandkids, hunting, chasing the love of my life around(my dearest Lisa) and catching her every once in a while . . LOL, new temp job. . Yes, back in the working stiff arena getting some extra cash for all the hunting licenses I have to buy . . . Colorado Archery, Elk, Illinois Archer, Firearms, and Muzzleloader, Michigan Archery and Firearms/Muzzleloader, . . . etc. etc. . etc. . . see what I mean. I kinda like the work as it is challenging and pays pretty well. Back to the subject here . . . my WL has been going really well. . . down to 226(from a LB surgery high of 366) now and feeling pretty darned good and healthy. Exercise couldn't be better. As you probably already know I have become a fanatical Race/Walker with my buddy Jolly. We have now covered 392 miles since last August just prior to my LB to Sleeve conversion. We walked an 8K(5mi) event here in lansing 10 days after that surgery which was awesome. But, I am ready for another one. We have entered the half-marathon here in Lansing, MI. This is the inaugural event . . . Marathon(26 mi), Half-Marathon(13.1 mi), 5k, and 1k(kids race). You can find the details for this event at www.lansingmarathon.com . . Since I am going to be kicking off this race at about 9-9:15 am on Sunday April 22nd I thought you all just might like to watch the event from whereever you are. Well at least follow my progress on the computer. I have a GPS program that runs on my smartphone that tracks me and gives me my split times so I can keep up to a expected pace. If you are so inclined to peek in on my progress just follow this link: http://runkeeper.com...ndJolly/profile . . .. Then click on the Activities tab. Select the top activity and you should be able to follow my progress as I walk this route. You can point to the spots on the route to see my distance, pace, speed, etc. . . during the race. Hope you have a little fun with this. I will post pics from the pre-race, during the race, and after. . . This exercise is part of the reason that I have done so well after surgery. For any of you guys that are having trouble getting that exercise started. . . believe me it was difficult in the beginning. I just started with small walks and charted distance and times. Always either tried to go farther or faster and sometimes both. . . it hasn't stopped yet. Say a little prayer for me that I can suck it all up and finish this race. My cardio is awesome and my times on distances up to 8 miles are really good. Today I did an 8 mile walk with an average of 12:26 mi/mile. I am hoping to finish this race with about a 13 min/mi average. This would surely have me coming in under 3 hours. This is my best WOW moment . . . can you believe this 64 year old "former fat guy" is even going to try to finish this race. . . and now with such good times. I am feeling so good about this . . . Thank you Barix staff for everything you have done for me. And to all the folks here that give the great support to each other . . . "Hats off to you!!!". . keep up the good work and those that are just starting be sure to stick around and give aide and comfort to those just getting started down the line someday. That's all for now. See you on Sunday night when I post some new pics. UPDATE Last Sunday: Well guys . . this is the day . . . half-marathon starts at 9:30 am. I will be trying to update pics throughout the race from a new app on my Android phone so you can see the race route and what it looks like to me. Should take me about 2:50 hrs/mins to finish the race. That is my goal. About 13 min/mile. Check out the pics on my Facebook page . . . https://www.facebook.../#!/bob.scriver Couldn't have done this without Dr. Taylor and the Barix staff. . . . Thank you. Current Posting: Check out the FB page link above. . I FINISHED Lansing's 1st half-marathon. I have posted pics and Run keeper links to the race details. Pinch me. . I still can't believe it. My time was 2:50:06 for the 13.1 miles. . . My RunKeeper program calculated my average race time at 12:50 min/mile average. Not bad for a 64 year old former fat guy . . . LOL I have now lost a total of 140 lbs credited to both my surgeries(LB and VGS) along with a total of over 600 miles walking over the past 2.5 years.

Well tomorrow morning at 5:45 am I have my surgery. I made it through 2 weeks of liquids and have lost 13 pounds with exercise. I am so excited about where I have come from and where I am going. The past two weeks have been so much more psychological than physical. See you on the otherside. 110lbs. to go!!:smile:

Hi everyone, I'm a 31 female from NY who's been struggling with her weight since childhood. I've tried every diet you can name of. I'm sure we all can relate to it. However, now I have high blood pressure and I'm pre-diabetic, which scares me because my grandfather died from complications from diabetes. I'm so apprehensive because like all other "tools" or diets I've failed. Also, I've seen on here that a lot of people weren't full until they received their first adjustment. That is just too scary! I've lost 11 pounds on the liquid diet for the last 10 days. Basically, I'm asking what did you consume that had enough Protein that kept you full, and also assisted in your weightloss for the first 4-6 weeks? I can't imagine being able to drink my protein replacement shakes that are 8ounces and have 27grams of protein since, they say you can only sip 2 ounces at once. If you have any tips or foods you suggest, please advise, as I will be going shopping this weekend. Thanks from your, SCARED PREOP NEWBIE PS: I heard that sometimes food gets stuck and you should eat a scoop of butter? TRUE OR NOT? [sharedmedia=trackers:tickers:4417]

What part of the liquid diet are you having issues with, the semi-thick liquid and/or the clear liquid stage, care to expand? Liquids will be a primary component even post-op for at least a week for most so getting into the correct mind-set will help you overcome any issues.

FINALLY! SOMEONE AFTER MY OWN HEART!!!! Not weighing yourself every second! i used to do that too! Weigh only at the drs office. I had my surgery came home and tossed the scale out into the trash. . it was the best thing i ever did! At my 7th week i went to the doctor and had lost a whooping 53 lbs! I was so proud of myself it made it all worth while. Now at 10 1/2 months out and a loss of 140 lbs I'm really happy with myself. . . . YES pureed chicken and beef is just like paste no matter what you do to it. . .don't get upset with life at thanksgiving, you won't be able to eat much, only a bite here and there and you'll feel sorry for yourself. . . but you know what? It's ok! It's normal. . . we are so used to eating sooo much food all our lives and then suddenly overnight our tummy's are snatched away from us and we are EXPECTED to change our ways. . . It's really hard, but in time you will learn what to do. . I still have some problems at times in that I don't have time to eat properly and eat junk food. . .thank god for pork rinds though! I eat those alot. . . no carbs~!!!!! But you will do fine! Just wrap your head around the new you and take it easy. . .don't beat yourself up and keep on doing what you do! Have a blessed thanksgiving and give blessing to the ones around you and not on what you have lost. Good luck!

I am 2 weeks post op as of today

Hi, I would follow the docs instructions to the letter. I had my surgery done in TJ Mexico too on 2/4/10. I was on clear liquids for 7 days then full liquids (included liquid yogurt) 2 weeks after then solid. No mushies at all. Liquid for 21 days sucks but I'm glad I did it. Many of the posts on here are helpful but the food information is really conflicting so I just followed my doctors orders. I would ask him questions about what others had done and he had his reasons why they shouldn't do that and he had been doing this surgery a lot longer than many docs in the US so I did exactly what he said. I too was self pay and I'll be darned if I am going to pitch that money away and have the potential of losing my band later for a quick gratification now. But that's me. I do know it' s not easy. So good luck with your will power. I needed mine I'm sure you will need yours too.

I was told that I have to do a 2 week pre-op diet by my surgeon's office. I decided to begin a week early and do 2 Protein shakes per day along with one healthy meal. Today I had to start the surgeon required portion of the diet and I was told that I could have 2 shakes per day, and could only eat Soup, SF Jello, and SF popsicles, though no specific calorie limit was set so now, I have absolutely no idea how many calories I should be eating. Last week I kept it at 1200 per day with a lot of success, I wasn't hungry and I lost 6.5 pounds. Today I've had only 535 calories and I'm not starving, but I am hungry and am not sure if it's ok for me to go up to 800 or if I should try to keep it around 500 - 600 per day. Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome! Thanks Erin

I am pre-sleeve but from what I have read you should see you GP (general physician/practitioner) about 2 weeks post op just to many sure you are ok, check your blood work, etc. Then your GP should monitor your CBC and other levels regularly thereafter to make sure you don't become malnourished, dehydrated etc. The beauty of the sleeve is you are not in and out constantly getting adjusted but for at least awhile (not sure how often of for how long, you may want to ask your surgeon about that) you need to keeps tabs on your blood work so that you know what your body is lacking that it needs. Someone, please, correct me if I am wrong but from what I have read that's what *I* have gleaned from it. HTH! Good luck!!

I was on a two week liquids/lean and green diet. I had a Protein shake for breakfast/lunch, then a salad for dinner with chicken, shrimp or pork. Large salads with lots of other stuff, too. Artichoke hearts, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli ... everything. Large restuarant size. Lost 10 pounds and the Dr said my liver looked great and was easy to work with. BTW, I did not eat anything the day before surgery as I didn't want to be sitting in the bathroom a couple hours after surgery ... if you know what I mean.

I had my surgery in May 2011 and I have lost about 58lbs but I have the same issues day in and day out. I am always "stuck" after a few bites. They drained my band down to 2 ccs from 6ccs and I also had the spams and was on medication to relax my esophogus. I just recently had a upper GI this week to rule out any issues. The Dr now wants to drain my band completely to see if I can eat and start to lose weight again. I also live on scrambled and greek yogur amd protein shakest and If I do try to eat anything it has to be drowned in fat free salad dressing in order for it to go down. I am discouraged at this moment but would not give back those 58 lbs for nothing! I need to lose about 55 more lbs!

my band was too tight for 7 months i only lost 8 lbs in that time. i was throwing up after a few bites too, i just thought that was life with the band. i had some taken out right away but it wasn't enough. now i am seeing my dietitian and eating better. i lost 3.2 lbs in two weeks, not a lot but at least it was a loss. sounds to me like your bands are too tight. i thought i would lose a lot of weight since i couldn't eat but it doesn't work that way. good luck

Today I thought I would try to post some before pictures on the website. Looking through all my pictures, it was near impossible to find any of myself. And certainly very few posed pictures. Only ones that I hadn't wanted taken... It makes me so sad. To see all my friends take family photos. (We haven't taken one in five years) To see them post pictures on FB of kids and moms together on the first day of school, knowing I would *never* do that. But, Who am I kidding?? I walk around all the time, people can clearly *see* how big I am. It is no secret. But still how I hate to see myself in pictures. And the reason is -- It is my reality, I can't pretend I "am not so big" when I look at these pictures. It hurts so much to see the pictures, to know that is what I look like when I *feel* so different. So normal. So regular. But I am not. I am so very big. But I have never felt that big, I have always felt fairly comfortable in my skin. Well, for most of my life, until I gained enormous amounts of weight after having my first son. And I tried so hard to lose it. But then I was pregnant again...And again... and even though I worked hard to only gain 15 pounds with my second and third pregnancies, I was never able to break 200 pounds again. I haven't weighed under 200 pounds since 2003. That is my first goal. To weigh 200 pounds on Valentines Day. I am not sure if this is realistic or not. about 20 pounds or so in 6 weeks. But I am hopeful for it. I am so hopeful for this change and this chance at a new life for me and for my family.

I am glad your back and doing well. Minus the gas pain and animal people it sounds like you are doing well. get well soon and welcome to bandland. I will be joining you in two weeks.

Hi all- I started my pre op diet yesterday and things went pretty well. I was a little tired and ended up going to bed earlier than normal. I'm curious, how much weight did you lose on your pre op diet? My surgeon's diet is two weeks, a shake for Breakfast, shake for lunch, yogurt/fruit/veggies for a snack, and a small dinner. I must admit I'm quite hungry and even dreamed about fried chicken and mac & cheese last night. I found that quite funny because the last time I had a piece of chicken was 7 years ago!

It wasn't that fun really. Immediately after surgery I was tired, grouchy, and just didn't want to bother with the daily chores and child rearing. As you know, it didn't matter what I wanted. Life goes on regardless of how Mom feels on a given day. You can do it. Rest all you can while the kids are at school, make them help you all they can when they are home, and let go of things like keeping a spotless house and keeping the laundry folded perfectly. They can wait. In a few weeks you will be much better and able to keep up. It will all work out. You will make it just fine.

I lost 15 pounds before the surgery, and after the surgery I lost in a total of 25 pounds. But now I am very disappointed, I had the fill last week, about 4 cc. I still feel hungry and am not loosing anymore weight. Besides that, I feel I can eat everything and drink any amount, I do not feel any difference in having the Lap Band.

Stay positive. you are doing great. It took me 5 fills to reach my sweet spot as of last week. i am at 9cc right now and feel great. I may be a little hungry in the morning but after my coffee and protein shake, I am good for about 4 hours. Eat your protein first and veggies last and you will stay fuller longer. It took us a long time to put on this weight and it wont come off overnight. It has taken me some months to reach this philosophy. Each day is a new day. If I screw up there is always the next day to do it over again the right way. Now I just need to start exercising on a regular basis. Stay strong I know you can do it.

That makes me feel so better I was so worried about not doing the first week. Yea the medifast soups are pretty much just liquids too.

Mine was one week of not complete liquids. 870 cal/day. 3-4 protein shakes during the day and a Healthy Choice or similar tv dinner at night. First 3 days felt like torture, but after that, it wasn't a problem.

My pre op was 3-4 shakes a day, unsweetened applesauce, light yogurt, SF pudding, broth, Water, unlimited raw veg for 2 weeks. then i was liquids only for 48 hrs prior to surgery and Clear Liquids the day before. i did Protein shots POST op for the first 48 hrs as directed by my nut. the protein in the shots is not as absorbed by the body so not the preferred option, but a lot of protein in a small amount.

Every doctor is different...Mine was two shakes and one "lean and green" dinner (4-6 ounces of lean meat and a veggie). I had to this for 2 weeks. For me, the first couple of days was hard - really hard. Then I got in a groove and my body just "went with it". Decaf Green tea helped with the hunger - I drank a lot of it (my doc required me to be off caffeine prior to surgery). I can tell you that 8 months later - it's totally worth the sacrifice. Everything I have been thru has been totally worth it.

Dear Jane, Thank you for your reply; just took a call from my surgeon secretary and my op has been put back a week to the 20th as they do not have an anesatist to put me to sleep! I suppose it's only one week longer to wait! Feel a little disapointed as had told work and had the 13th in my head! Where did you have yours done if you dont mind me asking?