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Hi everyone! I had the lap band in 2015 and thought I would be completely different within a year. I initially started to lose weight but even at the beginning felt like I shouldn't be able to eat as much as I could. I was constantly hungry and felt like I was starving all the time. I had several adjustments and even got to the max allowement then had to have it drained because I couldn't even drink Water.. It was aweful! My heaviest weight was 289.7 and I didn't even realize it! I seen a picture of myself and had no idea who that person was. I am 5'8 and have always been told that I'm curvy and look "good" so it never occurred to me that I was actually that big since I carry my weight well. Don't get me wrong, I knew I was a big girl but still felt like I wasn't that bad. My horrible motto and cop out was, "You can fix chubby but you can't fix ugly!" How horrible right?? Smh.. Well, I had pain, brusing on my belly button and could no longer hold down real food. But let me tell you that chips and candy went down super easy. I ate the big Reece's cups everyday! I felt like a complete and total failure and started feeling like everyone who loves me was being nice to me and telling me I was beautiful because they knew my heart. I am currently 33 and was 17 when my beautiful mother died and 19 when my amazing father died. I raised my 2 brothers and 1 sister when that happened and worked 3 jobs to make sure we had a roof over our heads. I sang in a band for many years and always felt like the fat girl. I even had a miscarriage 5 years ago that devastated me to the core. I was tired, and tired of being tired. Last week, October 19th I changed my life!! I had the revision to sleeve!! Let me tell you the honest raw uncut truth... I NEVER EXPECTED THIS! My amazing, supportive fiancé got me a scale yesterday as a surprise. I almost felt like maybe my doctor didn't actually do the sleeve since I don't notice any changes. I went into surgery at 281.7 and I weighed myself this morning at 262.4!!!!! I AM IN AWE!! I go to the doctor today for a follow up and am honestly in pain (mostly super tenderness) and man oh man do I want a cheeseburger.. Lol.. But this has been all worth it! I know that if I stay focused, stay connected, stay honest and give my all.. I will have amazing results! This site has been so inspirational. I have literally been reading stuff all night!! Haha.. I had to tell everyone a part of my story and really stay accountable. Thank you for reading my extremely long story. I hope that someone out there can relate and feel encouraged. My new motto is, "Live the life that you want to live and live it well!" Bee Sent from my LGMS550 using the BariatricPal App

Rode any ride I wanted without fear of being too big. Walked over 10 miles while at the park and my feet did not hurt. Was able to walk through turnstiles head-on instead of turning sideways. Did not succumb to eating junk while in the park and found healthy options. It is definitely now officially the happiest place on earth!

Ok, I'm going to give every bit of my story in detail so grab a glass of Water lol. It all started around the first of March, 2013 when my friend (who just scheduled with Dr Kelly for May 16) mentioned you could get weight loss surgery in Tijuana for about 5k. I laughed so hard I almost spit out my drink and was like YAH RIGHT, I'll get right on that. After I went home I did a ton of research and a few days later I said, ok, if I'm still this heavy next year I will schedule the surgery, possibly in the states. I've been a medical professional for 15 years and had that old Tijuana reputation in my mind. After researching for hours, days on end I found Dr Kelly's profile. Hey, this guy is a member of FACS and the American Society for Bariatrics etc and had done a transplant surgery residency in the US. Really? 7,000 surgeries? Really? Well ok, I was impressed. $5500, REALLY? lol.......ok. I prayed and thought about it for a long time and looked at other surgeons. I read all the Dr Kelly gossip, about his unfortunate death and him leaving his coordinators behind. I can totally relate. I'm a midwife and deal with major complications that are not something I cause or can avoid. He operates on the most at risk population possible. Then I read that the bariatric surgery death rate was 1 in 400. I prayed about it and felt totally at peace. I looked at Dr Aceves and he seems wonderful also, but I just couldn't justify the extra $3,000 when Dr Kelly had as much as more experience........he just never split from his coordinators and had them drag him through the mud. One of the most respected midwives in this area lost a baby a few months ago, which of course tore her and the family a hole in their hearts that will never close. Thankfully we support talented midwives (she had taught and trained so many over the years) when something out of control happens, in MX I guess they drag you through the mud for years. In MX I'm sure that all Drs have deaths, there is no way that they have escaped the 1 in 400 statistic if they have done thousands of surgeries. It is just impossible. I talked to Lora a lot and even had Dr Kelly call me. I prayed some more and decided instead of waiting until I gained another 100 pounds in a year to just go ahead and go for it, so I scheduled for April 9th. I texted Lora constantly, she was always so sweet and helpful. She was a patient of Dr Kelly's also and doesn't get paid per patient, just a salary. I even tried to trick her once to see if she was really a coordinator and asked her if there were any other surgeons she might suggest. She said I had a lot of options but she had chosen Dr Kelly. I was relieved to know she really did just work for him (I'm a suspicious person lol). The week before my scheduled surgery I started the pre-op diet. I had a higher BMI (50, 49.something at my actual surgery) so it was all liquids for me. Ugh.....terrible. Then on day 4 my husband developed pneumonia and my daughter caught the flu from him. Surgery cancelled. Lora was really nice and I rescheduled for April 22nd. Lucky me I got to do the preop diet again (I regained all the weight back from the 4 days before from pizza....i'm sick) and stuck to it the whole 7 days! I lost 11 lbs. The day of surgery I picked my mom up super early and we headed for our 7 hours of flights to San Diego. I tried to buckle my seat belt and it wouldn't buckle. Oh my goodness. I had to ask the stewardess what to do and she discreetly handed me an extender. Nothing more reassuring you need WLS than not being able to fit into a pretty large seat belt on the plane. When I got to San Diego I received a text from Alina telling me Dr Kelly's wife would be there in about 10 minutes. I had to sit in the sunshine for 10 minutes, oh the horror. A gorgeous, sweet lady got out of a very nice 15 passenger van and introduced herself and grabbed my luggage. It was Dr Kelly's wife Cecy. On the way to the hospital she apologized for her English, it is ok. We communicated pretty well and she told me about the areas we were passing etc. It was neat. When I pulled up to the hospital I was impressed. From hearing about it I thought it might be a bit run down but it was very nice. I was taken to lab, xray, seen the attending Dr and the cardiologist all within about an hour. They took care of you but there was no waiting around until that was over. After that I was in my bed having a nervous breakdown and praying with my mom. I asked for something to calm me. They gave me something and it helped a little. When they came to get me the Anesthesiologist came in and introduced himself. Ooops........Dr Kelly had already been in twice. I forgot to mention that. He took his time and answered my zillion questions, what a kind caring man. I got in the operating room and it looked much like the one I was in for my csections in the states. The anesthesiologist asked if I was ready and said slowly, ok ok bye bye and the next thing I realized I was waking up in my room. They had me in recovery for quite a while and I guess I was awake but it's all a blur. I was NAUSEOUS! I mean the kind of nausea you get when they twirl you in those things at the county fair that make you stick to your seat. They had given me a dose of Zofran already but it was awful. Dr Kelly ok'd it more often. Kudos to you that get up and walk. I couldn't because I would have fell over. I truly think it was a reaction to the anesthesia, I tend to be really sensitive to medications. It was the exact drugs they use in the states, (oh I checked) but people are different. I finally went to sleep and woke up about 11 hours later. This was the first time I asked for pain medicine. They gave it right away along with some Zofran. I had an IV with 5% dextrose so you won't get famished even though you aren't hungry. They don't use narcotic pain medicines unless you specifically really, really need them because you need to walk. I was given a strong IV NSAID and it worked lovely and controlled my pain. Yes, I was sore, I felt like someone punched me in the upper abdomen 100 times. The first day is definitely the hardest but you heal so quickly it is amazing. I've heard from some the nurses at Oasis speak English. Um, well, they speak enough to understand what you need and are very sweet but I met very few that were fluent. I used Google translate a few times with the free WiFi. There is an attending Dr there at all times and they all spoke English probably better than I do lol. Everyone went out of their way to be kind, and they cleaned the large room twice per day. My mother was very comfy with her twin size bed. She's about 5'2" and watching her lay there I figure someone 6ft or more would fit comfortably. It wasn't tiny and had drawers underneath. I also had a nice lil closet for my stuff. The hospital bedding is sooooooo warm and cozy, like a really thick comforter and all. Nice touch. By day 2 I was feeling good and ready to roll! I met a lot of patients, all happy, except one who was happy with the surgery/hospital but was angry with the booking agent for switching/downgrading her hotel at the very last minute. I told her about booking directly with Lora and the Dr. By that time I was so ready for something to drink that I snuck about an ounce or two of apple juice. I'm just going to admit it, don't follow my mistakes. Alina stopped in with a very nice packet outlining your food each step of the way and which medicines (antibiotics, prilosec and pain) to take when. We went to Hospital Angeles because they have a new, super cool machine for leak tests that is better than the one at Florence/Oasis. It's definitely an upgrade you don't get unless you book with the Dr because otherwise it is the agencies taking care of your hospital arrangements etc and it is out of the Dr's hands. The stuff you drink tastes gross and Dr Kelly came running over with some juice for me so I could get the taste out of my mouth quickly. He is very thoughtful. We all took pics together in the lobby afterward. Upon arrival at the Lucerna I was so excited. This isn't Hilton Nice, this is W nice. Huge hotel set up like Villas with a pool with a bridge over it, a courtyard with a fountain and fish etc. The broth was actually good, I was skeptical. We walked around the very safe area both days and felt like I was on vacation. I saw Dr Kelly everyday but the day I left (which is expected, seen him for 4 days). I rested and walked around, just had fun. On the last day Cecy told me to be ready about 9am but our flight didn't leave until 1pm so I figured it was border issues. We actually flew through the medical lane and was in San Diego by 10am. She was taking my mom, a breast cancer survivor to the Cancer Survivor's Park as a surprise. How sweet. It is beautiful by the water. We stayed and then said our goodbyes at the airport and she told me she knew plastic surgeon's, dentists, etc and they drive from the airport multiple times per day so if I wanted to follow up with Dr Kelly and come back to TJ just let her know and she'd pick me up. They are very kind, warm people. The flight home seemed like forever but it wasn't bad or painful. I'm 10 days post op today and have lost 22lbs already (11 preop and 11 post op). Oh, and the day I got to the Lucerna I weighed myself and I had gained back ALL the weight I lost preop. I kinda freaked but was told it was water. They were right! Don't fret. I loved my experiences and wouldn't have changed it a bit! I've been blessed by God every step of the way, from finding and good surgeon and guiding his hands to healing me very quickly. I'm still paranoid about complications, but that is just me. So far, so awesome! Feel free to PM me with any questions or just to say hi!! Everyone wants to hear the negatives........so I'll have to come up with some. The traffic is TJ is nuts. Cecy is a good driver but I'm a horrible passenger and it is like NYC going 60mph. They test you for HIV at the hospital without your permission in your preop labs, as a medical professional in the states I thought this was crazy.....but I could really care less. I would bring extra juice in your suitcase, I brought gatorade bottles and the little 10 oz apple juicy juices because I wanted them for my room and didn't feel like walking to get them although I walked for everything else lol. I can't do artificial sweeteners so I brought my own Jello too, the kind you find on the regular shelves that doesn't melt when it is warm.. I think it is called Juicy Jels or something. That's all I can come up with lol.

I am still on liquids. Full liquids for 10 more days. I wish I could start pureed. I had a family gathering today of course that revolved around food. It was really hard but I made it. Keep on keeping on!

I was about to answer someone’s post when I thought I'd rather not derail it and instead start my own. This is hard for me as I am not usually a person to open up to strangers so please bear with me. For a long time, even in my teenage years I would be a bit ‘chubby’, not fat but a little over weight. When I look back I can laugh, as my idea about dieting and losing weight, was to drop the 4 or 5 lbs I put on over Christmas or family holidays. I was about a UK 10 which is a USA 8. I heard from my Mum all the time, “If you could only lose a few pounds you’d be happy”. That confused me as I always thought I was happy!! My Mum had a 24 inch waist when she married and had a 24 inch waist after having me 7 years later. She came from the generation where you dressed to clean the house or do the gardening, so I don’t blame her mind set but it hurt me, a lot. When I married my first husband I was already a slim 8 stone 4lbs (116lbs) and only put weight on during my pregnancies and lost it afterwards and was around 10 stone (140lbs). Then my thyroid stopped working, my body ate it up and to cut short a 22 year story of hell and despair I put a lot of weight on. I tried so hard to lose weight but between my thyroid, depression, moving every 2 years (my ex-husband is military) AND my own inability to stop putting food into my mouth, I failed time and time again. Seventeen years ago my Mum told me that she was very disappointed in me. She had no complaints about me as a Mother, she felt I was an outstanding Mum however everything else disappointed her. I disappointed her. She told me, her only child, not to visit anymore as I was FAT and embarrassed her. I haven’t seen her since. I was unhappy in my first marriage and ate as a comfort. I also thought the fat would stop him wanting to touch me. It was a shield and if it was there nothing could hurt me. He wasn’t abusive, we had a good lifestyle and at times a good marriage but there was no real emotion there for me or the kids. I am not blaming him either, he just couldn’t do the connection thing on any levels. After 25 years of being together we divorced. Food was now my partner and I stayed fat. I met my second husband online 7 years ago. Online is easier isn’t it, you type and people don’t ‘see’. People can get to know you before they see the blubber. I was safe and felt secure. Even when we skyped about 4 months after sending emails and chatting on messenger, he only saw my face and you can always angle the webcam to make yourself look 40lbs lighter, only use it at night when the house lights are dimmed and wear black! We finally met and as the saying goes, ‘that was that!’ He saw past the fat. For 3 years he drove down from his home in the north of England to see me (I live in the south) every weekend. The drive was about 5/6 hours and he never ever missed a single weekend. We married 4 years ago this October. Not wanting to sound big headed but he worships me, loves and adores me. He accepts me for who and what I am and I am so blessed. I always kept it in mind in the past that I had to diet for ME. Now I have had the surgery for US. I want to be around for a long time so we can enjoy life together. Doing it for US doesn’t mean I don’t want to be able to buy ‘skinny women’s’ clothes and get into a swimming pool without feeling I was going to pass out with shame. I want to peel back the layers and open myself up to life, grab it with both hands and shake it till it bleeds. I don’t want to waste any more time. So yes ~ I keep to all the rules, yes ~ I’m not rushing to the next stage because I am tired of one week of soft foods, yes ~ I will wait to listen to my body and not my head or my fears, yes ~ I may make mistakes, learn from it and move on rather than sabotage it. Yes. I can begin to love me.

I have gone through this every morning of my six-month pre-op diet. I won't get an accurate weight until after about 10:00am or so. I am still ridding my body of liquid until that point. If I weigh super early (before 7am), it can easily be a 2ish pound difference. I've learned to know that and accept it -- but it was a hard pill to swallow in the beginning!

Hang in there...it gets better i promise...i had the knifing pains of gas for 10 days post op..and still sometimes have a few shooting pains in my shoulder STILL. I was banded on the 23rd. pepto might make you more constipaded...all i did was walk wallk and take my pain meds when i got unbearable. Get lots of rest and drink plenty of water. good luck!!

I am 3 days Post-Op and had my first instance of being "stuck" today. I went to swallow my blood pressure med, which is not a very large pill, but apparently it went down sideways or something. I felt a little tightness in my chest and then i got the worst case of the Hiccups I have ever had in my life...then came the slime...it passed after about 10 minutes or so, but it was a bit scary the first time not being sure exactly what it was that was happening. Thanks to these blogs though, I had a bit of an idea of what was going on...Good times.. :thumbup:

I lost weight easily on about that level and I was a relative lightweight at a BMI of 36 when I got banded. I am now 135lb, a BMI of 19 and i'm trying for around 1800 a day and STILL losing weight, so I need to increase over that. But I think you have to find what works for YOUR body - we all have different metabolisms and I think I did/do have a fairly fast and healthy one which really only means I must have eaten like a darn pig before banding to have gotten as fat as I did. Nonetheless, dont cut calories below what you really have to, the better nourished you are and the more activity you have the energy for, the better your metabolism will be.

Sounds like you have really prepared yourself well for your journey! You are clearly going to do incredibly well! I'm having surgery 10/24, so I'll see you on the loser's bench!

Hi Nursejen, I too am "starting over" but much closer to goal! I started at 284, got down to 212 in 10 months, then completely fell "off the wagon," eating slider foods and eating too much even though it made me feel terrible (physically and mentally). I gained back 24 lbs. That was a bummer to see- of course, I had stopped weighing myself too. As of August 1, I started over, and my first wid I had lost 5.5 lbs! I know a lot of it is Water weight, but it was still nice to see, LOL. I log everything into MyFitnessPal, it totally keeps me on track. And I portion control and eat by the rules, with Protein first and small bites, no drinking while eating and no soda at all (that is one rule I did keep, well two, I didnt' and don't drink with my meals and I gave up a 2+ liter a day soda habit before I was banded). The band is always here to help, but we definitely have to do our part! As CarolinaGirl says, every day we have is a new start! Good luck! Nicki

I concur...I've having Lap on 11/10 and I've spent like 20 hours out here I've read in several places that people who had hiatal hernias had them repaired at surgery...so hey that looks like a great twofer to me Good luck and welcome!

I'm 10 days post op and still experiencing a lot of abdominal pain around the largest incision area which I take to be my port site? (am I wrong in that assumption?) Is this normal? I'm trying not to take my pain meds as I didn't need them for several days but now feel as though I've suffered kick to the stomach from a large animal. LOL someone pleeeease put my mind at ease....:help:

My doctor said that the pre op diet varies from patient to patient and that some people including surgeons compare the requirements for Gastric Bypass to lap band. The Gastric Bypass requires a minimum of 2 weeks pre op liquid only diet to help remove fatty deposits from the liver because the surgeon must go under the liver for the bypass operation. The lap band requires manuevering under the liver as well so a pre op diet to reduce 10 lbs -i.e. liquid diet prior to lapband is all that is really required, but the surgeory can still be performed without it. It just makes it easier on the doctor and patient if there is at least a 10lb pre surgeory weight loss to deflate the liver by reducing fat. My surgeon said that most bariatric surgeons perform both bypass and lap band and stick with one platform to keep things simple, so they put all patients on the bypass preop plan.

At least you dont have to wait for 3 months to get a fill! My surgery was Feb. 24 and my first fill is may 24th, just be patient the weight will start to fall off. I am almost 5 weeks post op and I am down 35lbs, I am a male so I know we lose faster but the first couple of weeks I really didnt lose but 10-12 lbs but the last few weeks I have seen it come off fairly good, and my band is EMPTY with no fill in it at all. I just keep telling myself I didnt gain it all in a couple months I will not lose it all either. Good luck the hard part is over(waiting) and it is time to get your mind in the right place as far as food goes, eat good and excercise will get you there alot faster!

Hi All, I got my band on 16 Oct 06 and my first fill 6 Dec 2006. I have lost 30 pounds so far but most of that was pre-op diet for 2 weeks. During the post-op/pre-fill period I was quite hungry so I only lost a few pounds during that period. Because my clinic is closed over Christmas and I will not return to them until February my doctor gave me a 4cc fill. I have started walking 10 minutes a day on the treadmill and will be building that up to 30 minutes over the next couple of weeks. Can I finally expect the weight to fall off like magic or am I being dillusional. Good luck to all of you. Geoff

Hi everyone! I'm getting very excited about my upcoming lap-band surgery on 12/19/06! What a Christmas gift I'm giving myself! Believe it or not, the only person I've told about this so far is my orthodontist, because I don't want to hear anyone's negative comments before I have the procedure done. I'm hoping that my teeth will be straight at about the time I've lost all of my weight (I'm only two months in to a 28-month treatment plan). I went out and bought some high protein powdered drink mix, Tums for calcium, and a chewable multivitamin today. I also stocked up on sugar and fat-free Jello and Jello pudding, tomato soup, chicken broth, and sugar-free popsicles. I think I'm just about ready! I'm not especially worried about the surgery, but I'm just hoping I won't have complications and have to stay at the hospital for more than a day. My new year is going to REALLY be a new year!

Tonight on oprah focuses on teens that had weight loss surgery and a look inside a 340-pound boy who will have gastric bypass. Also itt features Cassie, a former patient from Mexicos Dr. Ortiz. I live in Ny so the channel over here wud be (WLNY 10) Tonight at 7pm. Check your listings.

Hi all! I was banded on 10/16. Things went well according to the doctor, but I can not get rid of the gas pain. I even spent an extra night in the hospital because of it. I am taking 4 "gas-x" pills a day to little or no help. My left shoulder feels like it was surgecially removed and sown back on. The worst part is the pain travels to my left ear and it feels like it will explode. Any advice? I also feel like I have been starving since a week after the surgery. I hate sugar free Jello so my diet is water/protein drink/and broth. Is it normal to feel like you are starving? Thanks All- Palangi

I have been on the pre-op diet for 9 days now, and have lost 10 lbs. I am on about 1000 cal a day consisting of 3 shakes and low glycemic veges. I'm starving all the time, but I like the see the scale dropping!

Hello all! I am still in the hospital, they tested me for a leak and there wasn't one! Yay! Then they scoped me and put in a drain thing( yuck) I felt like I had been hit by a train, but come to find out I was severely dehydrated ( I hadn't even been home for 24 hrs?) they gave me 4 bags of saline in surgery alone They had ivs going in both arms to get it in faster, so far between yesterday and today I've had over 10 bags! They think my fever got so high it just wiped everything out. They are stumped where the fevers coming from, and the blood that's coming up, but since they put the tube in it hasn't been to bad! I just hurt all over since they had to put me under and cut me open again! I have double the anesthesia but I must of lost some weight because they weighed me in my bathrobe and with all the fluid I had, i am 233 my preop weight. At At least I'm maintaining during this madness;) I am having terrible headaches also! Well thank you everyone for continued prayers, my babies need me and they haven't given me a date to home yet he just said we will see, whatever that means. Please disregard the run on sentences and misspellings , I'm a little loaded on morphine for the pain;)

Hi there I have an office job as well and I returned after 10 working days off. You may feel washed out for a few weeks but I had no problem returning after that amount of time. Good luck with it all!!

Hi all. I am researching this procedure to see if it is right for me. I have read alot of your posts and everyone seems to be very glad that they had this done. Does anyone out there regret it? Maybe had a bad post-op experience? I am interested to know. I almost did the RNY years ago until two of my chat buddies passed away from complications due to their procedures. It scared the heck put of me and, of course, I did not have it done.:cry Here I am, 6 years later, looking once again for a solution. I had a baby 10 months ago. I was diagnosed with postpartum cardiomyopathy (an enlarged heart) and was told that my heart was only functioning 10-15%. I also have high blood pressure and am a diabetic. I am at 261 lbs (last time I checked), possibly more. I need to do something before it is too late. I want to live long enough to see my baby grow up. Also, if anyone here is in the Miami area and has had or is in the process of having the lapband procedure done, I would like to hear from them. I would like to know what doctors they are seeing and what troubles, if any, they have had with insurance. I have United Healthcare but I do not know if they cover WLS. Anyways, I am sorry to have rambled on. I look forward to hearing from all of you.

I had the same experience. I had my sleeve done on Tuesday, July 16th. When I came home and weighed myself I had gained 10 pounds. Talk about being depressed - I'm glad I had some pain medication to get me to sleep. After being on the clear liquid diet now for two days at home, I have lost 5 pounds. Are you starving? I cannot believe how hungry I am and so lethargic.

I haven't been sleeved yet but I have had 2 c-sections and both times I weighted in 10-20lbs more after surgery. Everyone is different and I tend to swell badly for about 2-3 weeks after surgery. So you not the only one that goes thur this and in a couple weeks you will get in the scale and have a 20lbs loss because you swelling will go down. Good luck:)