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I live in Birmingham, Alabama. I had lap band surgery on May 30th, 2008. Hospitals are never fun and my surgery went ok, with a few minor issues. I had surgery 6 years ago for sleep apnea and then gained some weight and the apnea came back with out me knowing it. I stopped breathing during my lap band surgery and had to be intubated. Then because my O2 levels were so low , they made me spend the night. By the following day I was better and went home. The surgery was not very painful and the day I went home I was just a little sore but the doc gave me lortab . I had a lot of nausea from anesthesia. So I also took phenegren. I had some issues with feeling really severe pain in my chest and back. It turned out to be caused from swelling and air bubbles. My best advice is to never drink and eat at the same time. when you drink you swallow air. The air gets trapped between the slow moving food particles and the liquid, creating bubbles. It feels like a heart attack. It helps to try and burp. It will pass after a few minutes. I think that the physical aspects of the lap band, are easy to deal with in comparison to the emotional and metal aspects. I can only speak for myself in this regard but for me it's the honest truth. I am addicted to food, I have suffered from emotional eating my whole life. I believe it is a learn behavior that I developed in childhood. I had serious issues with the liquid diet even after just a few days. I was starving! I cheated and ate food way too early. But it's part of the reason I didn't loose as much weight as some people. Once I realize I could eat, psychologically I felt better but at the same time I was disappointed that the band didn't seem to be "policing" my eating habits. I went through weeks of being depressed and sometimes really upset with myself for spending so much money on something that didn't seem to be working. I paid out of pocket because my insurance wouldn't cover it. About 8 years ago when I was much thinner, I had a tummy tuck and breast reduction. I developed MRSA which is a staff infection. It became septic and I almost died. Since then my body has been colonize with MRSA. Now all of us have staff that naturally grows on our skin, but the kind I now have is resistant to antibiotics. I was sent by my surgeon to an infectious disease doctor before surgery, he had me take two different antibiotics for 30 days prior and after my surgery to minimize the risk of another life threatening infection. These antibiotics cause the natural bacteria in my digestive system to die. So I had a lot of diarrhea and still do. I have also felt very tired since surgery. I have missed a lot of work and it has all been a big struggle. Almost 2 weeks ago I found this website. It took me a while to sign up and get the nerve to start posting and blogging. Since I have been here I have learned a ton. I started taking probiotic which help replace the natural flora lost from antibiotics, I also have taken since surgery a muti vitamin called Vitaband. It's chew able and taste pretty good. I also take a calcium supplement by Vitaband. They are cinnamon and are so good! I added Vitamin D, 1000 milligrams and plan to talk to my doctor about getting a B12 shot for some much needed energy. I take glucosomine chondrotin for my joints, as a heavy person I have bad knees and this seems to help. For me the key to vitamins is consistency. It takes a while for my body to tell the difference from taking them. I feel much more "proactive" since coming to this website. I feel empowered by the answers that I have gotten and by the support of the people here. It's great to hear success stories, they keep me hopefull. I have the realize band instead of some of the other band's on the market. I love the realize website. I have started keeping track of my progress there and it has really helped. It has a place to sign in and I can fill out every thing from recipes and food diary to triggers and emotional issues. I keep track of my workouts, glasses of water, vitamins, band tightness ect. A year or so ago, I bought the biggest loser books. I never used them and just brought them out the other day. It turns out that the things they preach in the books go along with the eating and workouts with the lap band. I have found so many really great recipes that are low fat, low carb with portion control. There is also a great workout and great advice on how the body works, what it takes to loose weight and keep it off. If you google "biggest loser books" amazon as sets of them for sale, all three books for 20.99 right now. Or the biggest loser website sells them. My diet.. I am trying to limit my calories to 1800 daily. I know that sounds like a lot to most people but what I have learned is that if you starve your body, it will hold on to fat! I also try to eat consistently every 4 or 5 hours, eating small snacks at a time. this keeps the metabolism balanced and working for me, without having ups and down with blood sugar. This keeps the weight coming off. I try to get in 100g of protein each day and I keep my carbs as low as possible. I have did a bunch of research on protein shakes and finally settled on one. I ready several reports online about obese people and soy protein. Apparently it helps obese people loose weight faster than whey or wheat protein. I have order some and when it gets here and I try it, i will blog my thoughts and the brand. My doc also recommended VHT Evtreme smoothee. They are a simple good tasting drink that helps when you don't have anything for breakfast or a snack. they are made for people who have had the lap band, Ebay has the best price I have found. Chocolate is my favorite. It's great when I crave chocolate like for those PMS moments. I joined a gym and it came with a few personal training sessions. I got some great tips from my instructor. He said the more protein the better within the calorie range for me. He also advised that I eat my carbs in the morning. They will give me some energy to work out and also give me time to burn them off before they have a chance to turn to fat. I would say the hardest thing for me so far is to stay away from sugar. I love sweets and I love a good cup of coffee with real cream and sugar. I am having coffee in the morning and using the splenda that is part sugar part splenda. I plan to ween myself slowly off of the sugar. It turns out that carbs actually make you more hungry!! I just learned that. That's totally why I am so fat! i was a carb junkie! In turn protein makes you feel full longer Let see... what else am I doing? Oh, yes... I still don't think my band is tight enough as I can eat big bites. I think from what everyone told me in chat, that I need to be tightened again. So Monday am, I am calling to request it. I do really well on my diet all day.. then late at night I want to eat. I was thinking about trying a diet pill but I haven't found one for the evening. I don't want it to keep me up. I think tonight I am going to try and go to bed if I start feeling hungry or read a book. Well, that's all I can think of for now. I am just happy to be here, happy my fever went away and happy I am re hydrated from yesterday. I am going to keep drinking my clear liquids and stay hydrated, as for the diarrhea issue. If it comes back today, I may have to go to my general care doc and find out what the heck is going on. I am so tired of going to doctors that I hope that won't happen. Maybe my body just needs a bit more time to adjust to this new life style. Thanks for reading! Stay strong! We can all do it! Rachelle Perrin As of today I have lost 14lbs in almost 6weeks. Slow and steady wins the race!

I had that as well right after surgery. They told me to take Colace each day post surgery so as soon as I started with the loose bowel movements, I quit taking it and that solved it for me.

The band doesn't cure diabetes. It is a tool that assists weight loss. Some patients loose weight and no longer require certain meds. I was taking high blood pressure meds pre band. Now, after loosing 68lbs my blood pressure is normal without any medication. The same happens with some diabetic patients.

Is there such a thing as too much too fast? I Started my pre op diet on Oct 12, 2012, my begin wieght was 337, yesterday was my 4 week post op mark, and I wieghed myself this morning and I am down to 278, if i am not mistaken thats 59lbs. Granted I was down to 309 the day of the surgery on Oct 22, 2012. but altogether it seems like its a lot of lbs to loose in a short amount of time. I beleave I will slow down as soon as I can start to eat better, but as it is now I am not holding down much, I can do a protien shake, it takes about an hour to get down, I can eat some soft foods like yogurt and apple sauce but only about three very small bites at a time, then i am done for hours. I had my surgery done out of the US, for a couple reasons, first of all the bariatric surgen would not even talk to me because I take narcartics for pain, plus the local surgen wants 25K to 30K so I went out of the country (Mexico), The doctors and nurses were exeplery they were so nice and accomidating to our every need it seemed like, but the only problem is there is no follow up care which i would have thought that if you follow the diet like it says there should not be any problems, but to my surprise there are unforseen things that one just does not think about, like I think the doctor might have made my stomach pouch too small be cause it is really hard to keep anything down, but maybe this is the way its suppose to be, time will tell.

Thank you. As much as thought I had prepared myself for dealing with stress so that I wouldn't turn to food for comfort it still happened. I'm thankful that I can't eat the amounts I used to and that I continued to follow the rules my dietician gave me of no fluids with food and waiting an hour after eating to start drinking again otherwise I'm certain I would have gained it all back. After I wrote this anniversary reflection I spoke with a dietician/"health coach" offered through my work. She made a comment that struck me. "Because of the RNY there are severe consequences to not providing highly nutritious food to your body. If you want to live a disease free, healthy life you need to eat nutrient dense food." Of course I have heard that before but for whatever reason it really stuck in my head this time. Since April 1st I have been focusing on logging my intake and getting at least 64 ounces of water every day. I refuse to weigh myself for at least another week but my pants are looser and according to my daughter my "turkey-waddle", all of that loose wrinkly skin under my chin, isn't as waddly. I hope our lives see less stress soon and that we gain healthier coping mechanisms too. Good luck to us!!!

SO I got my fill yesterday, getting to that point where I am taking fills slowly and being careful...and fearful of if I get overfilled. So I decided I'd take it easy and went to do some xmas shopping (I have a fair bit more to do DOH!!) but whilst there I tried on some clothes for myself. It is hard because my mind is still in 'fatter mode' where I think that certain sizes will def NOT fit. but I thought what the hey I'll give it a go. So I tried on two tops and they fit!! I haven't been able to buy a size 16 in years!!! So I had to buy them...I realised I need some tops to get me through the summer :tt1:~ I also have a pair of pants I bought too small for me for $5.00 (that were on sale having been $100) I didn't try them on thinking I had a lot more to go before they'd fit but I tried them on a few weeks ago and they were really loose and now I think they are too big!! ARRGHH!! Then I got a hair cut and colour...Amazing how a day can make you feel better about yourself :tt1:

The first 4-6 weeks are for healing you should not be trying to lose during that time. If you don't understand how much healing you need go watch a video of the surgery. After healing, around four weeks in you'll notice changes in how things fit, assuming you're losing around 2 lbs/week. Around three months post op you'll see your face changing. Around 4-5 months others will start to notice. This assumes you have over 125 lbs to lose and lose between 1-2 lbs per week. Which is ideal. More than that and you risk gallbladder issues, loose skin, and more.

Can I ask if u don't mind what is your begin weight and did u have a tummy tuck? Your stomach looks so great you have no loose skin. Great job you look great. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I dont post much but by gosh I read alot and its been helpful to know that everyone goes through their moments. I feel like Im kinda stuck where Im at, and not sure how to push past it. But I finally had one of those moments that was like WOW.... people have of course noticed and I always say thank you, but I had to recently pull out the winter jeans and I of course go through to start trying on what I can and cant wear, I have a whole new wardrobe of clothing that fits!!!! Woooo hooo jeans I havent had on my fat butt in 6+ years are now fitting perfectly if a little snug or a little loose depending on the style. Sweaters and Sweatshirts that people bought for me or I bought that never fit right or fit only once as I was climbing the scale on upward mobility. Now.... I have rubbermaid containers full of clothes that are too big and that Im scared to give away because I want to make sure that I am not going to climb the scale upward. :whoo::whoo::whoo:. My stuck part is that I have been at the same weight for a month now, not really seeing anything move, I know part of it is what Im eating as there are times I fee soooooooo tight that once I start the regurgitation process Im like that all day, and then by the next day Im back to normal. Im hoping someone knows what Im talkin about and can help me with some advice to get past it. It always starts in the morning and if I eat the wrong thing I get the bowling ball in the throat, then I spend the morning tossing it back up, and then I cant keep anything down all day. I get to sleep that night, and start fresh the next morning. :help::help: Me

loose loose and even looser pj. Make sure you have your liquids read.

Fat carries estrogen. As you loose it, the estrogen is released into your body. That can really mess with mood. Also, the above post is right. Major surgery plays a huge part. Plys, if you were an emotional eater, you don't have that crutch anymore. It will take time for your body to get used to the changes and hormones and new diet, etc. Please!... reach out to those who support you and to your Dr and let them know. There are options to help . Don't suffer in silence. You made a great choice for your health by having surgery. It will get better!

I am three weeks post op and I just started noticing that my skin is flaking off, especially on my stomach. My arms and legs are incredibly dry as well. Does anyone else have this similar problem with their skin?

I think you will loose the weight just fine after your fill. You have come along way so far... Do not give up! I have just joined the group today, and I am not banded yet. I am scared because I want to go to Mexico, but am afraid I will not be able to find a doc in Florida to provide fills.

This is fascinating, Babs, thanks so much! It's not surprising that the existence of a small silicone band around a part of our anatomy should have an effect. Let's hope we find out these are minor changes that don't matter any more than a small scar on our skin does.

My food plan allows me to be on some "modified solids" such as soft cheeses and refried beans. I have been militantly measuring out my 2 oz portions of everything so for a meal I might have 1 oz yogurt and 1 oz string cheese, 1 babybel light or 1 wedge of laughing cow. I have not felt any restriction or "fullness" until tonight. We had to go to Costco and my daughter wanted dinner . . . I let her get a piece of cheese pizza. Since she never finishes the pizza I figured I'd just skin some of the cheese off hers (avoiding the tomato sauce) and that could be my dinner. I think I had the equivalent of about 2 oz, but I didn't have the ability to measure/weight it out, and I think I might have eaten a bit too fast - but I THINK I felt my first feeling of fullness. I did NOT like it, I had a little discomfort in my chest and it sort of felt like the chunks of food could come back up. They didn't, and I was counting the minutes to my 30-minute mark so I could wash it down . . . but I think I learned my lesson of measuring EVERYTHING very early on!!

So I'm back from my visit with the Wizard. Dr. Audencio Alanis - Audencio Alanis M.D. - Bariatric Surgeon, Weight Loss Surgery, LapBand Surgery, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio He the great. The hospital was great. I'm feeling ok. Each day the pain is less and less. The only thing I can't do right now is bend over freely. I got 4 cuts on my stomach. One right under my left breast. The other 3 almost in a line across my stomach. I have pictures of me pre and post op here...Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum - Heft_Bandit's Album: Heft Bandit I had a revelation while reading the boards last night...I can take my pain meds when ever I like. So since then, my pain level has been pretty low. In addition to the pain meds my dr order me some Carafate and Pepcide Complete. The Carafate seems to be like pepto or something. So I don't have any issues right now. (knock on wood). Gonna call a Dermo tomorrow and hopefully get an appointment. I have keloid skin and really don't want the scars to get out of control. ..."there's no place like bandland..., there's no place like bandland..."

My DH's aunt has bypass 4 years ago and lost 200 lbs, then promply regained at least 50 back. she probaly weighs 250 right now. Granted she is thinner then before BUT she is also one of those people who wont exercise at all, not once has she. not even walk. She asked my why my skin wasn't swinging in the wind like hers. exercise really helps me and sure I will need a TT , and my arm wings wave at people But I am a true believer in exercise. My band is a tool , just a tool that I am using to help me lose and keep off the weight. She still refuses to exercise. Said if she wanted to exercise she wouldnt have had the surgery. Sigh oh well you can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves...

It seems like one hundred is just coming so slow. I want to loose more than what i am but I'm not complaining at all. Sleeved 12-28-13 Sw 260 Hw 283 Cw 220 (the last time I checked)

Hi, I was banded on July 24. I am 4 weeks out (this Thursday) from my surgery. I've been doing really well. I've been holding my own. I have not gained any of the weight back. My first fill is Sept. 3. I also learned that it is NOT unusual to gain weight at this time. This is the time that your stomach is healing. Weight loss is not expected at this time. I lost my feeling of fullness ( 2-3 oz), a week and a half after my 1 week post-op check-up. I've been concentrating on protein. It feels kinda weird.. like I'm doing the Adkins thing. I've been staying away from bread. Whether it be at resturants or if I go out for a burger, I just eat the meat and loose the bun. I've been eating a wide variety of things, but concious of how much. I can eat about 6-10 oz at a meal. I also stop eating before I feel full. I figure that's enough, and I was lucky to have it. I know once I get my fill, I'll be back to 2-3 oz a meal. BUt that will be OK and I will be satisfied. Hang in there. The flat tire has been fixed now it 's just smooth sailing on the road to being thin.:wink2:

I dunno. When I got pregnant with my first kid I was about 125 lbs. When I delivered I was 200. Good skin elasticity does NOT run in my family. I remember seeing the big red stretch marks making their way up my stomach - then they brought their friends. My stomach looks like a road map. Arggghhh! I heard strivectin is good - of course this was an infomercial - so would they really say it was bad??? I bought some at 90 something a tube and it has maybe helped a little - although I don't use it all the time. Cocoa butter is supposed to be good, too. I know that sucks... if your stomach doesn't stretch any more, then maybe they'll cease and desist.

Hi everyone. I was sleeved 3/4/13. I was on a liquid diet 2weeks prior to my surgery. I was also getting very frustrated because I was following ALL the drs orders, walking & drinking what I was told. After surgery I was still on liquid diet till my 1week check up. I was on the scale every day and the scale DIDN'T move at all for 3 days. I was so devastated. At my 1week check up the dr said, 1) stay off the scale, 2) if you have less body fat to loose it will come off slower than those who have more body fat to loose. 3) keep getting at least 90g of protein in. Try increasing your protein, defiantly get your water in, and continue to exercise (walk unless cleared by you dr). Good luck to all of us!!

You can trim the loose edges off with small scissors, just leave what's still adhered to your skin there.

So I got sleeved exactly a week ago. The following was posted by me at OH for those of you who frequent both sites. I'm just trying to get some insight into a really frustrating situation. I was on IV fluids only until Monday, when I started clears. I was on clears until Tuesday afternoon when my info packet said I could move to purees (including mashed potatoes). So since Tuesday, I've been eating the following: -Refried Beans (made me a bit bloated and unhappy) -Yogurt drinkables with splendaa(very pleasant, easy on my stomach) -pudding cups (fill me up fast, but pleasantly satisfying) -Soup with the chunks strained out, though not necessarily clear broth (ie, tortilla soup and hot & sour) -Soft tofu mashed into thin paste -Runny oatmeal with milk and Splenda -Starbucks Iced Latte with no sugar Now bear in mind I just got back. Protein drinks and sugar free options were very slim down in Mexico, so I had to commit minor carbicide a few times, just to get something in me. But is there anything on this list I should definitely NOT be having one week out? Only the beans felt like a bit too much. I'm also trying to better understand the when and when not to drink in relation to meals, even if the meals are mostly liquid. My doctor's diet schedule is incredibly vague "Softs: 3 days to three weeks" and a lot of the other ones overlap. The confusion comes because Angeles Health's own literature is so damned inconsistent. I dug up one version of their post-op plan that outlines Week1: Clears, Week2: Protein shakes, Week3: Puree, etc. But my doctor's nutritionist handed me a paper packet that said to go from clears to puree on Day 4! So I did, and it even listed mashed potatoes as an option! I'm so confused! And now you all have me worried. My own nutritionist isn't seeing me because she thinks there's no point since my diet is so restrictive. I flat-out told my surgeon and his team I was having yogurt drinkables, strained soup (not necessarily clear), and mashed potatoes and they voiced no objection. *sigh* Another issue is that when you're released from the hospital, they cut you loose and want you to stick to the diet plan. We found no easy protein shakes in Tijuana, nor did we find anything low-carb that I could eat in the pureed category. We really were left to our own devices. My stomach feels okay. I was eating mashed potatoes extremely slowly, licking little bits from my spoon and could only eat an ounce or so before feeling full. I'm perfectly happy to scale it back now that I'm back in the States. Should I just go back to my pre-op protein shakes? How do I know if my sleeve is okay and didn't get stretched?? The potatoes were okay at first, but now I just feel a bit bloated. I guess I'm trying to get some peace of mind that I haven't done any permanent damage to my new sleeve. PS - The coffee dried me out, so I think I've learned my lesson on that.

No nothing. Not until I got my first fill. Also with the weight I loose I can feel my port more.

Weight loss happens in funny places, huh? Sometimes I notice saggy skin, but a couples of weeks later, it looks better.