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Wow that is awful about the strictures. Glad they were easy fixes and you haven’t had any other issues. You’re weight loss is amazing. I live in Orting, Washington. It’s only about a 3hr drive to Portland from my house. My husband and I were just in Cannon Beach Oregon this weekend for our anniversary. It’s so beautiful there. So cool that our stats are pretty close. I’m starting off about 7-8lbs heavier but your current weight is my “fantasy” goal weight. I’m praying the sleeve will help me get there. This week I start getting very serious about my nutrition. I’ve slacked off because I knew we were having our anniversary weekend but I have to buckle down and get through the holidays. I’m hoping to have surgery by the end of March. I have all the insurance restrictions to deal with in the meantime. I’ve thought about how terrible sweet n low must be for us if it can be used for that. Lol I’ve tried the T-Gel before and it doesn’t really do much for me anymore. I use Argan Oil shampoo and conditioner (no parabens or sulfates that can aggravate psoriasis). I also use Dermarest from Walgreens. It kinda helps too. It’s a frustrating condition. Omg it would be great to live close to someone understands what this is all about! But we do have the good ole internet and we really aren’t terribly far away. Lots of liquid sunshine now with scattered flurries up this way. I’m Julie, by the way. It’s great chatting with you and is really nice to know I’m not completely alone in this.

I live in florence and Coos Bay is just a hop away from here. There is a clinic in Eugene that does the Lap Band, but there is no way I am going there, I have never hear a thing from them, but I have hear things about this clinic in Coos Bay that they are great, and I have seen results. they have a great website Bay Bariatrics - Steve Tersigni, MD - Coos Bay, Oregon Ofcourse I have not made even my first appointment yet, but I did called and they are sending me an information packet. They have a special for December for 10,000. Unfortunally I can't have mine until January, I want the Hollidays to be over, and I am self pay so even if I probably will have it all by then, I am not wanting to deal with the tax part of it until then. But if the price goes up quite a bit more after Christmas, I might decide to pay it and just go for it. I will be making my appointment probably next week to talk to him about all this and meet him. Denise, was wondering how fast does the process from getting ready to the actually surgery goes? I am nervous, I knew I wanted to do this a few months ago, but it has been in the last two months that I finally decided for sure and told my husband,, I been saving since and I will have it I know in one month. I have two little kids with autism, I need to have energy, and this is not on ly for them, but for me :cool: well,, anywho, I said enough lol, for now :faint:

I can see why you need to "drink" alot most of the day so you stay hydrated and then when you get to mushies or soft foods, you should eat every three hours or so (no more than 4 oz.) and continually drink the rest of the time. You should be concentrating on protein shakes and mushies if he has cleared you for that. When you get to soft/solid foods, there are alot of options that are easy to take with you like cheese sticks, cottage cheese, StarKist sandwich ready albacore tuna iun a pouch that does not have to be refrigerated, hard boiled eggs, etc. But it's hard for me to understand why you would be eating real food at three weeks. I have never heard of that. Your sleeve needs time to heal before it starts taking in solid regular food. If you are on pureed foods, you can still have all the sf jello or sf pudding or yogurt you want and those are considered full liquids.

The hoops weren't too bad. I just didn't want to wait that long! I needed to meet with the dietitian for six months before they would approve surgery. Last week was my final meeting. In hind sight, I wish I had used those months to really begin adjusting my eating and exercise routine, but I was at 43 BMI and worried I might lose too much and drop the BMI to an "acceptable" amount. It wasn't until the past few weeks that I really knuckled down. I have friends who had the surgery, and their insurance company only required 2 months of dietitian visits and a psych eval, so I call BCBS of TX's procedure "hoops." (It really wasn't that bad.)

Hi All, I had my lap band placed on 11/22 :-) Feeling like myself again already! Got a question though...my surgeon and nurses all told me to have a pureed Protein diet for the next 4-6 weeks...no mention of a strict liquid only diet...has anyone else been told this? Thanks!

I am pretty sure I've finally hit the green zone - as the above poster, I can go hours and hours without thinking about food or feeling hungry. It's NEVER been like that in my life for me. I have had 4 or 5 fills (I forgot to write down so not certain) and have 4.5 ccs in my band. However, my one question about it is that I haven't lost all that much. I hit a plateau and stayed there more than a month. Since this last fill and feeling GREAT finally, I did finally lose some weight but my overall is way less than I'd thought/hoped at this far out. I will give it a few more weeks before saying for sure one way or the other but I feel good so I think this is it. I'm afraid any more of a fill I'd have trouble keeping anything down. I'm good with a cup or less of food.

YES!!! I have!! Like you I had tried many many different diets and would always gain back even more than I had lost. I had my RNY July 2, 2013. I had problems starting like right after my surgery but...I thought it was normal. I had 5 Endoscopes with 4 dilations. I lost 132#'s in 6 months. I had a small gain. And then I maintained my weight of 125-129 for 3 and 1/2 years. I was on insulin 2 times a day 100units and Metformin for my Diabetes. Also, I took 12 different medication. Now I am off all diabetic meds and I only take 4 meds now plus my vitamins. My health has improved so much it is almost like day and night. I can now exercise, I walk 3 to 4 miles 3 to 4 times a week. I no way had the problems you've had for sure. Thank Goodness it is in your past. May you get everything your heart desires. Hang tight!!

I hear ya! I get full off one soft taco at our favorite place ($1.75 -- cheap date), minus the tortilla and lettuce. That said, three bananas? I wouldn't poo for a month!

I am sorry you are hurting but chicken probably wasn't a good choice for a soft food as it is one that many experienced bandsters even have trouble with. For the soft food stage try fish, ground beef, beans that sort of thing. I have to say I am surprised that your doc ok'd you to soft foods at 16 days post op most are just starting mushies at that point. But just take it easy if something hurts don't eat it again for few days or a couple of weeks and when you do experience pain or irritation to your newly banded stomach stay on liquids the rest of the day to hopefully avoid a pb. Good luck and grats on being banded

I'll have to get that and try it. I hope it works for me. I still get tired after being up about 5 or 6 hours. I have started taking a one a day vitamin and b12. So I hope that's helps. I am down 21 pounds in 2 weeks. Good luck with going back to work.

I did pretty well. I cooked everything just as fattening as always, I figured it was a special meal, no need to give up things we have once a year. Difference was I only took a few bites of each thing. I still took in more calories than I should have, but it was probably a third of what I would have eaten before so I consider it a victory. It was really nice to enjoy the meal without the food coma wasn't it! I've kind of let my plan slide a little this week with the kids home and the holiday and all and had a couple of ups and downs on the scale but came out with no gain or loss overall so I consider that a victory also.

I am 6 weeks out as of Thursday, however, Monday evening I began to feel nauseas anytime I ate or drank anything. By today I am throwing up and just feeling nasty I'm not worried about a leak. This is the first time in my whole six weeks I have thrown up and it had nothing to do with food!! Has anyone experienced their first flu since having the sleeve and what did you do to stay hydrated and get over it quickly?? Sprite is usually my go to when I have the flu but that's obviously not an option!! Any advice???

I do. Our gas bill was sky high the month after surgery. Since then, I just dress warm. I also resort to drinking hot water, warming my blanket in the dryer for a few minutes (feels great!!) and lingering in a really hot shower. If I get up and move around enough, I warm up, but if I am just sitting still reading or on the computer, I am cold. I know I will need extra clothes this winter, but I am waiting to buy warm stuff because I don't know what size I will be. I plan to wear scarves, undershirts, and boots this winter to help stay warm. I'm hoping the chill goes away as weight loss slows. I will put up with a lot in return for averaging more than 2 lbs. per week in weight loss! Lynda

I've been banded since July 25th and haven't had a fill yet. I was pretty loose until about 2 weeks ago. I scheduled a fill three weeks ago for Sept. 29th (soonest with work that I could go). I've been under some stress and 2 weeks ago I had what I think was food poisoning. Stomach cramps, etc. I felt horrible and put myself on liquids for 3 days. Since then, I've been very restricted. I can eat about one fourth of a sandwhich and a couple of bites of fruit or a few carrots at one sitting. Before this, I was back to eating close to my pre-band amounts. Suddenly, I'm able to stop easily again when eating and I've stopped wanting to snack. I guess I will keep my fill appt. since I scheduled the time off and this happy place will probably evaporate by then. What do you all suggest?? Now, I notice that whenever I feel stress, I think I feel my band. I know it is probably in my head but it is freaking me out, lol. I'm continually surprised by how the band is IN charge, lol.

I have the same pain. I had it a few weeks after surgery and it went away. Now I'm experiencing it 6 weeks post op. It happens when ever I bend over or twist certain ways. Bending over is super hard. I've been picking up my kids too and they are both little, but one weighs more then 24lbs.

Howdy y'all! I'm so sorry I haven't been keeping up on here, things have been a whirlwind! Here I am 6 months post op and some days I can't believe the number on the scale. Guys, I found a journal I kept in high school, maybe junior-ish year and I had noted my weight in the nurse's office from beginning of school weigh in at 256lbs...as I sit and write this, this past week I weighed in at 255.7lbs. I haven't been this light since high school...we are talking uhm....maybe 16 years old, maybe 17? That boggles my mind. My surgeon's goal for me is 193, mine is probably closer to 140-150 if I can get my lazy ass off the couch. It is now summer in Texas and guys, I HATE Texas in the summer, it's like living in hellfires. My dog hates it, I hate it, it's a bad time all around. So now that I've enjoyed being lazy for 6 months(not counting some hiking we did this past spring) it's time to nut up and get my **** together. I am paying money for my Fitbit premium and I have a Wii fit game I really enjoy just lately we have been so slammed at work and so, SO shortstaffed I feel like I live at work and just come home to sleep...My days off are usually spent overwhelmed with how far behind I am with housework, schoolwork(started vet tech school back in February when I had hope), house is filthy, schoolwork hasn't been touched for almost 2 months(I'm doing an online only program) and I am always so tired. But that changes now. Boundaries for how late I stay at work will be set(the clinic closes at 6pm, most techs and doctors leave between 6:30-7pm, for the past I don't know how many weeks the receptionists have had to stay till close to 9pm to finish tasks that we just don't have the time/staff to get to while we are open. So if any of you have been nasty to your vet(and I'm sure some of you have been because people lately have sucked hard ass) you should probably by your vet clinic people food or alcohol...but that's a rant for another day. ANYWAY, back to the matter at hand, my crappy eating and lack of movement. I'm on the band wagon of the "I can have whatever I want in moderation" group but I'm sick of stalling so frequently and my crap food choices so first order of business is to trash the sugar. I know, it's BAD, I know, I quit it prior to surgery and it inched its' way back into my life...time to kill it for good...it isn't even the same "high" I got before surgery it is basically just a habit, my brain tricks me into thinking this time it will be tastier, like it was before that it will make my exhaustion ease some and guess what? It doesn't. It lies. I eat it and I'm still miserable. Step 1: kick sugar to the curb...again. Step 2: Develop some sort of exercise routine that I can enjoy enough to make into a habit, key word is ENJOY. I ENJOY hiking-but preferably in drizzly 40-50 degrees and certainly not in 95 degrees...also, I am inherently lazy even though I KNOW exercise makes me feel good if it is something I enjoy doing. It's gonna be trial and error, but I need to get into shape, going on vacation in the North Carolina mountains in September and I remember what the elevation is like and I am NOT where I need to be to fully enjoy the trails I wanna go on. I digress from most of this, I'm sure some of you are here to see what the last 6 months have been like and if I have regrets etc. The first 2 weeks after surgery physically wasn't the worst thing ever, did it suck? Absolutely, especially when I found out the hard way that while I LOVE my adjustable bed it was to high off the ground for me to get in and out without having to stretch my body...imagine me trying desperately to get my feet to get the floor and sliding while laying on my back but that doesn't work because that stretches my abdomen---and it HURT, well it burned/stung/something and it made me cry a little. Lesson learned, my happy ass slept on my MUCH lower couch for the 2 weeks and I learned to pull myself up to sitting positions from laying down or standing from sitting with nothing but my arms. Each day was gradually better, went to work 2 weeks post op, sitting up straight(not reclining or on an angle but like sitting with decent posture) put tension on my abdomen and work for the 2 days I worked before I had off for Christimas(previously asked off) were exhausting as was my commute to and from work which is an hour each way. However, after coming back from Christmas break(a 5 day reprieve) it was much better and I didn't have much if any problems after that. I don't know if my surgeon is extremely skilled at getting the gas out after they were done with the surgery but I had zero gas pain, just the incisions pulling and burning. No nausea except a little when waking up from surgery and maybe a couple of days post op. Biggest struggles so far: eating the best choices with my work schedule, with my hair loss that was inevitable I did incorporate protein shakes to help make sure I am getting the minimum amount--I shoot for 2 shakes a day, sometimes I make that sometimes not. Water intake. This has been the single hardest thing for me, as someone that routinely drank 100+oz a day and enjoyed flavored waters to struggle to get in around 44oz has been a huge bummer. Exacerbated by that is my stomach is not a morning stomach and has been known to be extra nauseous when I give it water in the morning and it hasn't woken up enough-granted that is me in a nutshell since I am not a fan of mornings but still, really annoying...especially when it tolerates my Java Monster just fine(yes, I drink one a few times a week, just no bubbles). Most flavors of water taste like fake fruit chemicals and I can't really tolerate them for the most part but I did find a couple of products to help minimize dehydration: Hoist which is a premade flavored beverage that touts itself as "IV level hydration" and was apparently made for soliders on the battlefield. I also found Banana Bag powder, basically it is what you would find in a banana bag for iv fluids. The WHO has recognized it as being used for dehydration, decently priced, I stumbled on it on Amazon and loved I could try it by only buying 5 packets or 15 or 30. It is not the tastiest thing, I would say expect it to taste like a VERY salty lemon lime gatorade--MILD hints of the lemon lime. Luckily it is made to be mixed in only 8-10oz of water so it isn't a huge chore to drink it. I look forward to trying it to keep my dehydration migraines at bay when I do hike later this year because those are quite possibly the worst things ever...I KNOW to get rid of it I have to drink but a lot of times at that point I hurt so bad I'm not even thirsty...yuck. Anyway, I have rambled enough, i plan on getting on the forums more to hopefully kickstart my restart on food and exercise and hopefully help others with their journeys. Until next time-could be a couple of days, could be a solid 6 months, Amanda

In total I took off eight work days (one of those days was the Fourth of July). I'm kind of a wimpy girl when it comes to pain, so I needed that time. I'm very glad I did, I took like three hour naps every day, I was VERY exhausted. It's important for healing to make sure you feel strong. Even after a week and a half off, I was still pretty weak and woozy on my first day back on the job (seated work).

Welcome! I go back to work tomorrow morning. I work as a Direct Support Professional (similiar to a nurse aide) and there is lifting and lots of physical activity involved. I am still on restriction for another week (nothing over 20lbs). I had surgery July 29th. I know some people only take two or three days, but I am SO glad I took ten days. It just depends on you and what you do for a living.

@@CANDI254 oh, I'm 3 weeks out, eating oatmeal...my Nutritionist didn't really say anything.../:

Hello - I have not gotten the band yet but am looking into it. However, there is a book out by Dr Ian Smith (supported by Steve Harvey, Dr Oz and many other celbs) and it is called the SHRED diet. This book is about food confusion to keep your motabolism going and get you over plateaus. It is a 6 week diet and the book tells you exactly what to eat. I did this diet and lost 15 lbs in 5 weeks. I went on vacation and got off the diet and now am having a hard time committing. My portion sizes are out of control which is why I am considering the band. But if you are going through all that to get over that plateau, you might want to try this. It works if you are dedicated. Most of the foods you eat are soup, chicken/fish, salad etc.

Hi Chris, I don't know any Mich docs but wanted to throw a hello your way since I had the same problem. What is your incision problem? Mine started leaking a week after surgery like a faucet and never stopped. Soon the area became infected. Leaking can be quite normal as long as the area stays infection free. What is your wound doing?

I agree. It sounds like you've got adware or spyware. There are some good free programs out there that can take care of that for you - though heck if any of the names come to mind right now. What browser are you using? I used to use IE and was constantly getting adware, spyware, trojans, and pop-ups. I switched to mozilla firefox about 6 weeks ago and it is much better than IE and Netscape in that respect. And it's free.

I forgot to mention that a weeping wound happens with any type of surgery. My friend had a major breast reduction and leaked for 8 weeks. I leaked for 8 months. First, the original port got infected so they removed it. Then I got a new port, but they put the port in the same old infected wound, so that 2nd port got infected, too. I had the 2nd one removed in January. I need a new port, but $$$ is an issue since I'm still paying off all these complications.

It’s day seven of my liquid diet, and today was the first time I really struggled. First, let me say that today was a great day in many respects. My husband and I took our oldest on a college visit today where he and other students auditioned and interviewed for theater scholarships. I’m not just saying this because I’m his mom—my son did great! Some of the professors even told me so afterwards. He had such a great experience today (this was our second visit), that he decided to commit to the school, which is a huge load off of all of our minds. My son really shined today, and I’m excited about this new chapter in his life. He's going to do amazing things! Okay, now here’s the crabby part. This, as many of you already know, is just a really hard time of year to be on a liquid diet. (Though I'm sure every time of the year has its own unique challenges.) While on campus today, we were treated to lunch in a recently updated dining hall that truly is more like a collection of restaurants. It puts my old college’s microwave eggs and frozen pizzas to shame! And it was a social lunch, one that was stretched out for an hour so that we could talk to the faculty and visit with other prospective students. I felt a little self-conscious about my tiny bowl of soup (which probably wasn’t even technically on my list) as people went back for seconds. Then, we were enthusiastically encouraged to hit the icecream bar. I got another diet soda—a no-no, I know, but at least it wasn’t the icecream bar, and it made me feel like I was having a treat. After a very long two hour drive, we got back into town right around supper time and stopped to pick up my two younger kids from my mom’s house. When we got there, my kids showed off the frosted Christmas sugar cookies they made and everyone endulged—except me. Now, I can see this as a small victory, and I do, but I felt bad because my 3 year old daughter didn’t entirely understand why I wasn’t eating her special cookies. And I felt like my mom was disappointed in me too. Maybe it was in my head, but she kept looking at me like, “Come on, Jennie, just eat one, for your kids.” Then Mom continued to talk about how excited that she was that her favorite pizza place was moving back into our neighborhood. I got out of there as quickly as I could. As soon as I got home, my phone was ringing. My little sis, who lives 3 hours away, is hosting a girls weekend at her place this weekend. It’s the first time she’s had many of the girls of the family down to visit since she moved there, and she’s especially excited because she has a beautiful new home and it’s all decked out for the holidays. Plus, she’s newly pregnant. If you haven’t noticed already—backing out of the trip is simply not a possibility. She is really supportive of what I’m doing, but in her defense, she’s been planning this weekend for a while, and certainly not just for me. So on the agenda for the weekend: a winery (and I LOVE wine—it’s kinda my thing), a local festival of fresh baked goods and Christmas crafts (the crafts should be cool), and then out on the town for dinner in Kansas City. Sigh. This is going to be a tough week, I can tell. But, here it is: I have 7 days left, and A LOT to do. I have to get sub plans ready for the 9 days I’ll miss work, and I pretty much need to have Christmas shopping and wrapping done before I leave town Friday. I teach a college night class, and the grades for that are due next week, and I have to take my student group out to buy gifts for ten area needy kids that we “adopted” for Christmas. I’m hoping that I’m so busy, I won’t have time to lament the loss of real food. Though this weekend will be tough. I’ll just have to keep focused on my surgery. It will be here before I know it. Writing this all down has really helped me get my head around where I am emotionally today. Maybe I wanted to eat more today because, even though it’s a really wonderful milestone, there’s something very bittersweet in my son’s final selection of a college. This is exactly the kind of thing that I would have celebrated by going out for a nice, high calorie dinner! And maybe it’s bothering me that I don’t feel as supported by my extended family as I wish I was. But on the other hand, I’m never going to change them, and I love them how they are. I’m sure I drive them nuts from time to time. And my husband has been amazing. He’s passing on food all the time just so that he’s not eating in front of me. He is even making all of the dinners for the kids right now, which allows me to make my shake/soup/yogurt/whatever and go sit and unwind a minute alone at the end of the day. So I have a lot to stay positive about—I’ve having the surgery, afterall. I’m only days away from something I’ve wanted for almost two years. So I just need to stay positive. Stay positive.

@@teedsg I'm going to call them this morning to see if they can tell me which state my insurance is out of and go from there! If I don't need the 6 month supervised diet, then I can submit all my paperwork to the insurance within this week or so. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App