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Congrats and welcome to Bandland! Glad you aren't feeling any pain. My went smooth too. We had a woman in my pre-op class that was being banded over her bypass.

Hello everyone! I have been researching about WLS for many years. And have finally decided to do it. Ive been reading things here and there but now that Im serious I want to know all I can. I have at least 100 pounds to lose and think that the Lap Band is for me. I like the idea of it not being so permanent as Gastric bypass. I have so much to get healthy for. I have two kids and two young grandkids. I want to be able to run and play with them. but I also want to tie my shoes with ease and walk a flight of stairs without wanting to pass out. Im looking forward to the journey and hope I meet lots of people who have allready been through it or are like me, starting out on this new journey. Thanks everyone!:cursing:

Hi there and welcome. I cannot give you my results yet, but I can tell you why I chose the sleeve. Based on current medical research the sleeve provides almost comparable results to gastric-bypass and in many cases, surpasses that of the lap band. I prefer the sleeve because there is less tinkering with the small intestine, and I have an autoimmune disease that impacts my small intestine. Tiffy's response provides great information on moving forward once you've had the surgery. I know I'll listen to her...she's been so successful with her journey and generous with her knowledge. To our good health! Fit

Tommorow is my four month sleeve-iversary and I have lost 75 pounds. I am still fairly new at everything, but it has been great so far. I am consistently losing and have found food choices easy now that the hunger is gone. I am currently losing some hair but I am told it is temporary and for me a small price to pay for finally having control over food. I love that there are no malabsorption issues with the sleeve, that was one thing that kept me away from the gastric bypass. I would do it again in a heartbeat. My life has changed completely for the positive.

Robert, Of course this is a scary decision. Heck I took one of my friends to a seminar and was very supportive of her gastric bypass surgery and was astonished as to why she was scared when it was her week to have it done. Well, when it came to my turn to have a lap band done ...I was SCARED. April 17 is my new birthday because I was banded and have now lost 31 pounds. For me this is the best decision I could have ever made. I am proud of you and you will be in my prayers along with all the others who are with us on this journey. Please do the liquid diet because it does prepare you mentally and physically for what to expect when you see food and don't react "normally." I am on solid food but am also taking the liquid diet supplies from the surgeon's office for Breakfast. Feel free to ask me any questions regarding my experiences after the surgery. I've talked to many folks and several of us had the same experiences. Take care and let us know how you are doing. Best regards, Dolores

It's funny I found this post that was from a ways back. I never went through with the surgery then but I am now scheduled in 3 days November 4th for surgery in Alb. NM. I am so ready for this i can't wait.

Hi everyone, my name is Bonnie. I am 5 feet tall and was 223 lb when i started my journey last November. I have insulin-dependent diabetes, sleep apnea (using CPAP at night), high blood pressure and have had both knees operated on. Since November, i have been working toward my life changing surgery. I am 62 years old and have finally come to realize that if i do not do something now, especially when i have all the tools in my reach, i would be crazy. I jumped in with both feet. My first step was going to the seminar. My doctor was so confident and knowledgeable. I was given the pamphlets and appointments were made. Then the work began, losing the 10% required for the surgery. It was hard work and i worried that I was not going to be able to do it. I had failed on every other diet (i wish i had all the money i spent in my lifetime on diets of all sorts). It was taking too long for me to lose the 22.3 lbs i needed to lose. At my next weigh-in appointment, one of the nurses talked with me about my worry. She was so supportive and understanding that i pushed forward. I did not make the goal by the time my surgery was scheduled, but by the time the surgery was to be performed, but by the grace of God, i made it !!! ... i went through the dieting, appointments with the pulmonologist, cardiologist, psychologist, labs and GI testing. I was doing it. i really did get caught up in the optimism and support. Last Wednesday night, the night before the surgery, i was worried, really worried. Like most, i was worried about the unknown. I heard some horror stories about not being able to handle certain foods, the nausea and the vomiting. I was told and i believe that if you listen to the doctor and follow her instruction, you will not be sick. From the beginning, if you do not drink when you are supposed to drink or eat when you are supposed to eat, the possibility of these things happening is very real. No drinking when eating. Stop drinking 1/2 hour before eating and begin 2 hours after. Must follow progression of foods, clear liquids (see through liquids) for 5 days, full liquids for 2 days, then pureed foods. I struggled and did this for a week AND i lost 8 lbs. I feel great (don't get me wrong, it was still surgery on your abdomen with the incisions and piercing pain when you cough) BUT it goes away. I keep thinking over and over, i will not have to ask for a seatbelt extender this year on the airplane for vacation and i will not have to take pain meds for my legs. My journey is moving forward ...I hope everyone who is contemplating this surgery goes forward and succeeds. Don't wait until you are 62. I feel wonderful right now, even with the fear of sneezing, about the 30-some lbs i have lost so far. Good Luck to everyone. Thank you for listening.

Think twice about getting the Lap Band Surgery......Look under CBS News Lap Band.....Study done by the physician that started this surgery. Results are not good. 20 yr study Another physician stated that he used to do 50% Lab Band now he only does 5% or less. Please read everything. They only tell you the good stuff. And if you want support you can forget that also. A once a month support group......what a joke. I went to a few of the support groups but it was a waste of time. I have done well with the Lap Band, but very few do. If I had a choice and knew what I do now I would have the gastic bypass. Lap Band is very hard to do.....you have to accept that everything will change or not. I was in a room with about 50 other patients for a band fill not to long ago and only two of us had lost weight. Myself and a male patient. Lap Band done June 2009

Complications are possible with any surgery, but the lap-band was designed to be much, much safer than the gastric bypass. That sad story about the poor man who died of a heart attack made the news because it was a very unusual occurance. There are many people who die from gastric bypass that never make the news. I am another Port Huron bandster. I think Dr. Boutt and Dr. Bhesania are both excellent, very experienced lap-band surgeons. You'll be in good hands. Regarding the issue of being around for your child, well, your losing the weight will probably be a good thing for your child as well. After this surgery, you'll probably have more energy to be able to spend quality time with your kid! Good luck to you.

Hello :] My name is Kaylee, I am 20 years old and am 9 days post op from my RNY gastric bypass. My heaviest recorded weight was 276lbs and my weight before surgery was 263lbs and as of today I weigh 252lbs. Still in a decent amount of pain and am relying on my pain killer every 4-6 hrs, but am finally able to walk around a bit without holding my left side (my most painful incision) Required to consume a minimum of 80g/protein and 64oz/fluid a day, is that similar to your experience? If I didn't drink 2 Protein shakes a day (20g/protein each) I'd never make that protein quota. Can't wait to get off pureed foods, but am thankful for eggs and sugar free popsicles :] Can't wait to get to know all of you!

I never realized or read how hard the first few days were going to be. The gas hurts, it hurts to walk. I can't stand straight up. I'm running a low grade fever, they said to increase my fluids which I have been. I'm not having any trouble getting my protein or clear fluids down. It's just the constant pain in my abdomen! How long does it last?

This is the first time I'm posting on this site , so I'd like to tell my weight loss journey up to now. I had my gastric bypass surgery on 1/29/2013. Doctors told me it was a textbook surgery , no complacations& I was home in 5 days. Once I was home I had a hard time keeping anything down, after a few calls& some trial & error we found out that I can't tolerate the vitimans. Once I stopped them things were going better. My first weigh in was 3wks post op& I lost 30 lbs ( sorry my weight the of surgery was 386). I weighed myself 2days ago & I now weigh 298! I can't even remember the last time I was this weight. I have chronic RA&Fibromyalgia, so I have these problems to deal with,along with the weight thing,but I have a hard time getting my family to understand,that sometimes I just can't get up &go & do everything they want, for instance my granddaughters birthday party I ended up missing , cause I was vomiting,so much that day I just couldn't get there, I felt so terrible,but my son is still mad at me& won't let me see the girls. Anyway I digress, does anyone else have some similar problems? I'd love to hear you. Sorry this is long & rambling,but I'm writing this at 3am , I have no one to talk to. Thanks for listening.

I am having a great year. As of today I have lost 68 lbs 2 from goal. Feel great. Banded with plication November 6 2012

Hello all> I was banded in November and have been doing ok with my diet. Was being REALLY good with avoiding the heavy carbs like bread, rice, pasta, and cereal but still picking at sweets and sugars in fruits. Down 100 pounds feeling good, then I went on vacation and it all went to hell. I knew I was not going to be sticking to my diet guidelines while on vacation but I planned for it and tried to bring alternatives. I ate the fruit and protein bars I brought plus the other crap that was available on vacation: mashed potatoes, bagel!! ice cream, even pizza etc. SUGAR,carbs and more sugar and carbs. Now i am craving carbs and sweets- in carb withdrawal, trying to be good but I have been fighting it all month and everytime I give in its like starting all over again. Have only lost about 3 pounds this month and I know its because of all the crap I ate. What have you guys found to help handle the carb cravings? I want to get through one entire month without cheating!!:thumbup:

Hi everyone, My mom had bypass a few yrs ago and lost 80 pds but she needed to loose 120. She did put back on 35 because unfortunately she dealt with a lot of stress with my young cousin dying tragically, my uncle dying dying from cancer and finally her being diagnosed with cancer herself. Now that her oncologist said, she could go back to her WLS surgeon. He tells her he wants to perform this operation- put a band over her bypass. Did any of you ever hear of that? He swears its a great option! Has any of you had it or heard of someone who did? My moms been through so much so I don't want to jump on something we just "heard" of. Any help is appreciated

Hi Tami, I am 7 weeks post op and there's not a day where I don't give thanks for having made the decision to have the bypass surgery. I can identify with all you have written and can tell you that life is about to turn around for you. Be happy, be positive and be prepared for life as you always hoped it would be. A useful book is Life After Gastric Bypass. Buy it, read it and keep it at hand as it will help so much. I look forward to reading of your journey and new life.

It was a band not bypass

Hello to everyone on this journey! I have read many stories here and I am very hopeful now in my journey. I had my first meeting with the caseworker and nutritonist today. I have my first meeting with Dr. Metz on Sept 19th. I was very down after my meeting today because the nutritionist said that very few lapband diabetics get off insulin and meds. I want to lose weight but I really want to get my diabetes under control and off meds if possible. After reading the stories here, I am more sure I want the band instead ob bypass which is what she stated is best for diabetics. I have DM2, hypertension, fibromyalgia, exercise indused asthma, and a BMI near 40. I have a Vitamix ordered and am looking forward to experimenting with it before my surgery. I hope to have some good high Protein recipes ready to use after my banding. I will share anything that is good in a Vitamix topic. I live alone except for my 2 dogs so I hope this site/forum will help me saty the coarse. I have had laprascopic surgery when I had my appendix out in March 2008. I was emergent surgery. The MD ordered Torodal IV post-op and as I am an ICU RN I know all about this med. I have given it often but I was amazed at how well it helped with the pain. I got 2 doses and the 2nd dose was given right before they pulled my IV for me to go home. I plan fo asking Dr. Metz for this med post-op. One important issue with this med is good renal function which thankfully I have. FYI - Torodal helps with the inflammatory reaction to surgery. It can best be described as juiced up Ibuprofen IV. I am not an exercise person due to my fibromyalgia. My pain is centered in my hips and even walking hurts. I am really trying to fight through this as I know exercise will help in this journey. I actually to a long 45 min/2 mile walk this afternoon. Yeah me! I look forward to meeting all of you as we travel this journey together. We may be at different places along the path but we are all on the same journey to good health and happiness. May God bless each and everyone as we travel the hills and valleys I am sure we all will face during the life long journey.

Good luck to both of you, I also have just received insurance approval and see the surgeon on Feb 25 and will get a surgery date then too. I've been on my journey since November and think I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and general anxiety disorder 7 years ago. I gained so much weight from meds, that gastric bypass was my best option. Even though I found a great cocktail of meds now, I still had some issues with anxiety after surgery. I just continue with my meds and see my therapist once a week. She really helps me with my eating issues, and that I need to make sure to look at food as fuel. I use to constantly eat my emotions. It has really helped. Hang in there, and feel free to chat with me anytime about how you're feeling.

Some of my nausea could have been from the liquid pain meds but I ruled that out by stopping it all together. Those prob wasnt great because I feel like it took me Longer than it should have to get moving, but it was so gross I couldn't stomach it. I've just been without. But still need the zofran. I agree if they told us everything we probably would have gone with a Lucerne of diets And failures instead of getting this tool now to change our lives. I keep telling myself it will pay off as I know it will. The carnation Breakfast essentials and the nectar are low carb. The carnation is the No sugar added one it's a blue box. It has 60 calories And 12g of carbs. This is what they had me on during my pre op liquid diet. I mix it with skim milk. It can be purchased at your local grocery store or Wal-Mart although my local Wal-Mart is usually out I usually have to go to the regular grocery store for it The nectar brand has 15 flavors. Ive only tried 3. It is 100 calories per scoop and 0 carbs and 23g of Protein. It came highly v recommend by my dietician bcuz he said it is a protein isolate and not a protein blend which means u absorb all of the protein. The cheapest place I've found this is online. At my location Vitamin shoppe it was $45-$55, but it is cheaper at www.mybariatricpantry.com shipping was under a week and they also have a sample pack for like $20 where they will send you 10 different individual flavors to try. For another great flavor a patient who had the bypass came in to one of our classes and mixed the 2 together (which makes a couple servings) And it was great. A strawberry chocolate concoction but not too sweet

Hey Everybody I just got my date for my testing before surgery for April 15th and I am so so excited to be getting closer and closer to the kick-off of my metamorphosis from obese to fit and fabulous!!! My gastric bypass surgery date is April 21st #ICantWait!!!

Hello everyone. My name is Michelle and this is my first post on here. I am really excited to get to meet some other people to share my thoughts as I go through this life long journey. If everything goes as planned I will be having gastric bypass surgery in October. It seems like such a long time away but I know it will be here before I know it. My surgeon is Robert Richard of Gainesville GA. I am currently going on my 3rd nutritional visit out of 6, for my insurance company. I have already seen the psychologist and he cleared me. He said I was pleasant and that I had a clear grasp of everything that was expected before and after the surgery. I am looking for a friend to talk to, someone who is maybe going through pre-op or someone who has gone through surgery who could give me some insight on what to expect. Bye for now, I can't wait to meet some wonderful people on here.

This is Deb, I'm back at work and doing fine. I get very tired (expected), and I'm having trouble with some back pain but doing great. I've lost 25 lbs. since November 27th and am very excited. The folks at work were very surprised by the weight loss as was I. I told everyone not to expect to see any difference, I surprised us all. I hope everyone is doing well and Happy New Year!

On November 11, 2013 my chance had arrived. I was going to have my Gastric Sleeve surgery. I had planned on three weeks from work hoping they would be understanding given the fact that I would return stronger and more motivated to continue a position I had held for nearly 14 years. I checked into the hospital bright and early and waited for my surgeon to arrive. Now I'm all prepped and have my husband and youngest daughter with me for support when the surgeon comes in and let's us know he'll be using "The Robot" to do my sleeve. Well I probably got a 4 min introduction to this procedure and it was time to go so I said ok, I trust you. About 90 minutes later the surgeon came out to my husband and daughter and announced there had been a slight problem and that a leak had been found but that he "fixed it by throwing a few stitches in it" and that I should be fine. I'm transferred into my room and must say I felt pretty good. Not heavily medicated but still pretty good. I had meds to control any nausea I had, warmed blankets' good. By day 2 I had that pain in my left shoulder and was told it was the gas they use during surgery trying to disparate. So as told I kept breathing deep, walking around trying to stay active as much as I could. It vas very difficult to stay hydrated because I just didn't have the desire to eat or drink, I was just tired by day 3. They decided to keep me an extra day just because of the leak they thought would take care of itself. I had my upper GI the morning before I left which showed no leak so I was discharged home! Yay. Within the next several days I saw tried to do clear liquids but still it was very challenging to force yourself to do something you know you must do. I was weak tired and slightly nauseas but hung in. I still had that pain in my shoulder. Breathing deep and walking wasn't helping. I resorted to a heating pad just to get some rest. Day 7 post VGS I was seen at my surgeons office. I told them about the pain in my shoulder and that I was having trouble meeting my fluid intake. They assured me this was normal removed my steri strips and sent me on my way. Work was only a week or 2 away now. I couldn't even imaging being strong enough for that but it was my goal. So 2 days after seeing my Dr I was told I could try soft foods jello pudding refried beans".. So I did just that. Tablespoon servings of corse but it sure tasted good. BMT still that pain in my shoulder and I'm continuing to be very weak. By day 11 post op I called my daughter and asked her to run my to our local hospital because I had started vomiting and was sure I just needed some fluids. Dehydrated ya know. So off we go. Upon arrival I could barely stand I was so weak, I had a 102* temp which I had been oblivious to and that there was my RED FLAG. I knew fevers were not good. Could be a infection right. They admitted me over night where I continued to become worse. I became delirious my fever was climbing. I was indeed severely dehydrated , had developed pneumonia and needed to be transferred back to the hospital where I had the surgery! When I arrived it was like a race going on, blood work, x-rays, CT scan I was becoming aware of the severity of it all. The CT showed I had a leak in the upper back portion of my sleeve which had leaked the contents of which I had consumed into my gut and up under my diaphragm. Emergency surgery was needed, the options were explained to me and at that point I just didn't want to die! I agreed to the surgery which consisted of cleaning out my abdomen and placing a feeding J tube into my small intestine and a drain into my abdomen. When I awoke I felt like my entire mid section was filled with cement! The pain was horrible. For the next week I honestly can't tell you much I was on so much Morphine it was horrible. For the 2nd week was filled with training on how to use my feeding tube because for the next 3-6 months I was allowed NOTHING by mouth. Just knowing I chose to do this... It was tough. So I would be fed through this tube directly onto my intestines my formula, my meds and my water. It sucked! Ok so now I'm out of work a month. Not my plan but I had no other choice. I had diarrhea all the time and I was miserable. After 2 weeks I was allowed to go home. I had a hospital bed in my living room because my bathroom was on the first floor. I had visiting nurse coming to change my pic line dressing and to make sure my drain was working properly. I was on the phone with my Dr office almost daily for check ins. Ugh awful. After about another week and a half my diarrhea continued and I was vomiting again. Yes even though you don't eat you can vomit! It was awful to I think about where it was coming from. So it was back to the hospital where I would spend yet another week being treated for a intestinal virus I picked up IN THE HOSPITAL! Lord help me. Ok so now I'm about 2 months from work hoping I'll be good. My feeding tube and drain would be removed after about 3 1/2 months. Thank you God! I have one more procedure in Boston to have. They would go down my throat to check the leak which had formed a bubble. They needed to make sure it was going to hold up and not rupture. They came to the conclusion that it was healed well and that I could return to work. Finally after almost 4 months I return to work. Happy to part of society again and making a paycheck. I drew 1 check from STD while I was out and the others arrived about 2 weeks after I returned to work. Ultimately 4 short weeks after returning to work I was laid off do to "salary cut backs" bullshit! Pure bullshit! So my weight loss isn't typical because of my delays. The first three months were spent in high calorie formula so I could heal and recover. Here it is 5 months later and 8 have lost a total of 47 lbs. not ideal but I'll take it. I'm averaging about 2 lbs a week now. I'm currently job hunting and trying to keep my chin up. I don't see to many stories of complications anywhere. Is it just that uncommon or are they not allowed? People should know all the facts and all the remedies to problems that could arise. Let me hear from you if you had similar outcomes. I need support too but am having trouble finding it. Thanks Lori