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Thank you! (Blush!) that's a 1st for me! & I'll take it bc she's gorgeous.

Let me start of by saying how excited I was to get banded. My bestfriend's husband was banded in March of 2010 and had great success from his surgery. I first decided to get banded on an emergency visit to my doctor in August of 2011 after a wrist incident. I went in and did the regular weight, height checks, etc. As always, I dreaded getting my weight checked because it has never been good. Number came back in the 250's and I was fed up at that point. I then asked my Doctor if I would qualify for weight loss surgery. He went back in his office, crunched some numbers and came back and told me yes. He then gave me the name and number of a local doctor to call to set-up a consultation. Fast-forward 3 months (my insurance only requires 3. I've heard many requires 6 months plus a mandary 20 pounds weight loss) of visits to my doctor for regular checks, visits with a nutritionist, blood work, and finally the phycologist appointment which i was super nervous about. This was the final string and didn't want this woman declaring me unstable and unfit to get banded! I was finally banded on 12-29. I was super excited and a tad bit nervous. I was given my happy juice and felt nothing in the very beginning. I even remember being rolled into the operating room. It's when I looked up at the time is when I was out. I think I have figured out whey nurses tell you to count backwards. Once you're brain focuses on something, that's when you're out for the count. When I was awaken after surgery, I was suprised because it seemed as if I closed my eyes for just a second. I was in the recovery room for about an hour before I was given the greenlight to be transferred to my room. My dear husband and my 3 year old soon followed me into the room, got settled in, they had their dinner and I slept. I actually slept well throughout the night because my nurse made sure to keep the morphine drip flowing every 4hours or so, Good Man! Here is where the story turns sour. My night nurse's shift was over at 7am. Before he left, I asked about when I was scheduled for the Upper GI tract exam. For those of you who do not know, the Upper GI tract exam is a test done in the Radiology department. You drink about 8 oz of this nasty, pasty substance, and they take pictures of how it goes down. They do this to ensure there's no holes, or leaks that were created by the surgery. You cannot have anything to drink until this test is done. I woke up that morning very very thirsty. My night nurse told me the Radiology dept will come in between 8-10am to take me to the lab. When my day nurse came on, I told her that I was scheduled for this testing and to see where I am on the list so I can have a better idea. She said, don't worry, they usually come in between 8-10am and not to worry. 10:30am comes around and no word yet from the Radiology Dept. I called my day nurse and asked her to call the Radiology dept to get an update on when they are coming to get me. She reluctantly called only to tell me that I was never put on their scheduled for a GI Tract exam for that day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so pissed off. It is now Friday morning around 10:45am and the last time I had anything to drink was Wednesday night at 12 midnight. Needless to say, I was beyond thirsty to the point where I was loosing my voice and could hardly speak. I texted my husband earlier that morning and told him not to rush and come in, to make josh a good breakfast and take their time coming in so I wasn't expecting them until around noon. So, i didn't have anyone to speak on my behalf, I felt so alone and frustrated. I texted my husband and told him to rush down to the hospital. And with having a 3 year old, there's not much rushing you can actually do unfortunately. They nurse apologized and said she went ahead and put me on the schedule for the exam and that the earliest they can have someone come get me was 2pm. At this point, I can't speak because my throat is dessert dry so I agrily nodded. With the shaking of my head, and rolling my eyes, I think the clueless nurse got the picture that I was upset. Naturely, and as expected, 2:30pm came and I'm still sitting in my bed. I once again called the nurse to get an update. Luckily for her, Radiology came to get me around 2:45. With the transport to the dept, and the testing, and transportig back, that whole ordeal lasted about an hour. I was finally given a sip of water around 3:45pm that day!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the best water I've ever had. Was also given some clear soup broth and jello. YUMMO! My advise for fellow banders, find out about if and when GI tract exam is scheduled for and have your nurse confirm you're on the schedule. May seem like a small thing but it was a big ordeal for me and turned my hospital experience into a not so pleasant one. I've given birth at this hospital, had two thryroid gland removed at this hospital due to thyroid cancer and all of the hospital stays were steller! This one put a damper in my memory but does not take away too much from my overall impression of this award-winning hospital.

As crAzy as this sounds, i have heard of this.... Its called fecal transplant. They prefer to use a spouse or other close relative for obvious infectious disease reasons.... I have a friend pursuing this, not bc she is heavy but she has a host of GI issues!

Sorry took so long for me to respond but I didn't have any problems with my insurance company. I never had to contact them at all. I just made the first initiate call asking if they cover the surgery. After that my doctor's office made the request. After I completed my six month weight management class the doctor sent in my request and in a week I had a yes, 2 weeks and 1 day later I had my surgery. PS I have Carefirst BC/BS.

Thank you i will get on that bc my caretaker is not only going back to work but he is starting his second job as well soo that would be a BIG help thank you 5 days untill WLS

Follow your dream Carmen, follow it. I, of course, never let my weight stand in my way. Two years ago I decided that I wanted to get a college education, I wanted a BS/BA degree. So, I just went for it. Damn the torpedos, full steam ahead!

Even when I was the lowest amount of weight in my mid twenties I still perceived myself as fat. Something else to work on I guess... I complained a lot one day about it and my Mom got fed up and drove me to the grocery store and had me hold up 2 thirty pound bags of potatoes and she told me that I used to carry that weight. That alone really put into perspective how my body had changed as I struggled to hold on to them and carry them around. You sometimes cant help how you feel but try to redirect your thoughts to remind yourself of where you have come from. Well done on your weight loss

I am trying to keep my carbs under 40 a day but that leaves me with no Fiber. Anyone subtracting fiber from carbs to get net carbs instead? I can't even eat a Quest bar bc it takes up all my carbs... But it's so much fiber. Nut isn't available right now so I'll just take the group consensus on this! Thoughts? Thanks

Hi Folks, I have a long tale of woe to tell, but I'm a bit rattled and emotional right now. So if I'm not making sense, please forgive me Went to the O-band center who shares an office in manhattan with new life, new look surgery. My first visit was in July, with 3 subsequent visits for diet, Seotemeber, October and November. In between I had blood tests, a psyche consult, endoscopy, and two sleep studies. The studies yielded me a cpap machine.. To make a long story short, I was approved for sleeve surgery on December 6. That's the good news. The bad news is that I was never told why I needed the above procedures, just "show up for a endo, now a sleep study, now another sleep study, etc". The communication was terrible and when I questioned them they were somewhat elusive about answering me. I understand now, that I needed these tests in order to get an approval. The process did discover sleep apnea, and diabetes. They knew what they were doing and they knew the set way to obtain an approval.Ok, fine. I began to suspect the only reasons for most of these visits was to bilk my insurance company for as much as they could. That the surgery would be icing on the cake, but that they were going to get as much $ as they could in the process. Now let me preface this to say that I was assured on more than one occasion that they would accept insurance as full payment (which I "think" they have.) I'll clarify that later on. So back to approval. Once I was approved they immediately tried to convince me to have the surgery done robotically. I was fine with that until they wanted to fly me to California. I live in NY. They were persistent saying they would fly myself and my wife, put me up in a hotel, then to ambulatory surgery, and finally back to hotel with a nurse to take care of me at no cost to me??. REALLY WTH is that? Anyway, I declined and insisted on having it done here in Brooklyn at the Verbukh medical center. That was a month ago and I haven't heard anything from them since. They will not return my calls. Further the receptionist is curt and difficult. Fed up, I contacted a local surgeon and asked if they would take the case. They will and I'm signing a release for them so they can get the records from Verbukh; who btw, were not thrilled about giving them up. I foresee problems obtain them Now, back to insurance payments I mentioned earlier. I decided to look at my insurance claims today and surprise surprise, Verbukh has billed Aetna over 40K!. Oh but that's not the best art. According to my Aetna, they have only paid about 25K leaving 15K owed ( my co-pay) Now, I have not gotten a bill from Verbukh and I may be wrong, they may simply have billed Aetna, and accepted that as full payment, but 40K?? For three visits, 2 sleep studies, a cpap mating and endo? Are they serious? On the other hand, I may be right and will eventually get a whopper bill. Anyway, thanks for listening. B

I caught on right away bc me too...i havenew little bones in my FEET too. Starting to feel bones in my legs occasionally, like in my calves. I"m sure thin people would laugh at that. I don't remember ever having them before.

I can't tell you how many times I have read on the forum not to expect too much if you are over 50!! That is just nutty. My mantra is "Who's Universe is this?" IF I buy into someone else's Belief System [bS], then THAT is what I am stuck with. Hey--I was stuck in a rut before my WLS. Dr. Aceves told me before surgery in a 45 minute consulation about what to expect with the RESULTS from this surgery that HE would deliver 50% to me -- but the other 50% was up to ME. 10 words 20 letters IF IT IS TO BE -- IT IS UP TO ME No one is going to do this for you. NOW is the time to get into relationship with your body in a way that you never have done before. Learn how to be a Body Listener--not a Body Big Mouth. What do I mean? I was told to TEST one food at a time. NOW just because suzy-q on the Forum can eat something post-op, does not mean that I can eat the same thing. So testing means I try to eat something--and if--my body says NO...then it is a NO. Don't try to override in your HEAD what your BODY is communicating to you.I read about the number of people who are NOT losing, who have gained __# of pounds and are shocked, or they are throwing up all of the time. To those people I would say to use a little SALT: Stop-Action ... Listen-Think. IF IT IS TO BE -- IT IS UP TO ME Stop what HURTS, stop what makes you throw up, stop trying to be your old SELF, stop trying to be like someone else. Stop those Actions. LISTEN to your body. Obey your body. THINK about it. THINK about what is no longer working, TEST it for yourself, Test it again and again if you need proof, and then BELIEVE what your body is telling you. Are you using a food journal? IF so, this is a great place to post your discoveries. For example, here we are in the middle of the summer and there are lots of BBQ's going on. Body Big Mouth wanted a BBQ'd cheese burger with dill pickles. So I tested. I ate 2-3 bites and the food was so HEAVY that I did throw up, then I had to sleep for a couple of hours to feel better. But Body Big Mouth did not give up. I waited a week or two and I wanted what I wanted. Test it. SSDD Same Stuff Different Day I ate 2-3 bites and the meat was so HEAVY that I threw up, and then had to sleep for a couple of hours to feel better. Now Body Big Mouth still wanted what I wanted, waited a week or two and decided to test it again. I ate 2-3 bites, the meat was so heavy that my body hurt. SSDD Stop-Action ... Listen-Think IF IT IS TO BE -- IT IS UP TO ME After three tests, notes in my journal, I realized that I was not being a Body Listener ... I was being a Body Big Mouth--I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it--I did not want the results that I was getting--my Ego was louder than my Body-Talk and I was not listening. So back to being a Body Listener. Back to doing what works for my body. I have lost 45 pounds in 90 days by realizing that Dr. Aceves gave me the vehicle for a new body. Now I have to retrain my MIND and my MOUTH to be in relationship with my new vehicle. I need to know when to throw on the BREAKS and Stop-Action...Listen-Think. I have to understand that this is a journey of Self determination and my surgeon gave me the support that I need. He did all he could do--he did his part. Now I have to do my part. IF IT IS TO BE -- IT IS UP TO ME Be a Body Listener. Will you please post your thoughts on how you have become a body listener for yourself? Here are my Before - After pictures [so far] on YouTubes

**** edited to include some pics! Hi there friends! I hope this post finds you well. Last time I posted I showed a pic of me in that gorgeous Alfred Angelo size 8 wedding dress. Sigh. I couldn't afford that dress. BUT I ENDED UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER!!!! hehe Here is our wedding fusion video PREVIEW! (make sure to play the sound with it!!) I can't believe this is only a sample of the one we will receive.. it's awesome!!! Standard pics can be viewed on my photog's website. Barb is amazing! All photos are courtesy of Y Studio Photography up close details union square photo shoot Papparazzi! I felt like a movie star To date, I have lost 95 lbs, which just absolutely blows my mind. Seriously... holy guac! I am down to a size 8 or 10 depending. Also, we leave for our honeymoon on Monday and we will be headed to Hawaii! This is the first time in about 12 years that I will be comfortable wearing a bikini. I have some yucky skin, but nothing too crazy. I bought a "mom bikini" and my husband told me he liked the skimpy one better! I was shocked bc I figured more coverage was better. I wrote a blog post today with pics from my day of surgery v. me now.... if you are interested, please feel free to check it out! I had a lot of fun writing it My Long Sleeved Story xoxo

Im 2 weeks post op...and last night for the first time I was like IM STARVING....so I made myself 2 scrambled eggs (runny)...it was an approved food on my list for this point...but after I ate them I felt satisfied...not overyly full...shouldnt I have felt stuffed....does this mean I need a fill soon????? Maybe Im not reading my body signals correctly bc I was able to eat a yogurt about 1 hour after that??? I was still at about 1100 calories for the whole day after eating the yogurt but still WHAT THE HELL? HELP! :smile2:

Its very odd to change my thinking around this bc i hot my surgery so i cant eat too much, but now i have to eat more than i feel i am capable of. Lol It is completely different from our pre-op life. Pre-op it was about maximizing volume and minimizing calories. Post-op, it is about maximizing nutrition and minimizing volume.

I am 6 weeks post op and didnt work out twice bc i was really sick. But i work out every day 3- 4 miles on the treadmill and use dumbells slowly increasing the number on each hand. For example today i went shopping literally alllll day went to about 20 stores, got back home at 7 pm and still worked out an hour and weights. I have lost 30 lbs.

Hi I read your post with interest. I had my band put in Aug 2008. In April 2014 I had further surgery to readjust it as it had slipped. I am no longer losing any weight. Almost back to where I started. But I can't swallow properly. Everything you described is how it is for me. 2 hours to eat a meal. Rushing to the toilet to purge all the time. Sometimes even fluids hurt like hell. Im thoroughly miserable & fed up with it now. I've had 2 episodes of the severe pains under the ribs that you described. I was crying in agony. It's got to point where I'm avoiding solid foods completely. I'm living on Soup. Just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you & wish you a speedy recovery. I have an appointment tomorrow with my Bariatric nurse. For the second time in a month. Last time she removed 2ml but it made very little difference.

Nope I have a band that I am getting removed and being sleeved tomorrow. I have trouble absorbing Vitamins unrelated to WLS. My body is just weird. I had to have an Iron infusion almost two months ago bc my iron got so low. I was commenting on why I chose the sleeve over gastric bypass. I don't want to have my intestines rerouted and have malnutrition problems more than you would have with the sleeve.

so... I've been saying I would stick with my doctor's office for the first year... but I am kind of at my breaking point with them again I think. I needed to cancel this up coming appointment. They called first, wanting to move the appointment to a day that I wouldn't have been available anyway. I asked if I could just cancel it and keep the appointment after. She said "hold on let me look at your file" ... I need to try and come in. To which I explain that I do not have the freedom in my schedule to just come in any day of the week, and that is why I scheduled all my appointments on the same day at the same time. It worked with all the conflicting schedules in my life. To which she replies that I should have gotten a different surgery then, because I knew when I got this surgery that I'd need to come in every month. To which I reply that as I am in school, will be traveling over the next month for family and work stuff, and working, I would rather not have to deal with the stress of trying to make it to a rescheduled appointment. She said some curt thing and said Fine but she was going to mark in my file that I CANCELLED the appointment. and then we got off the phone. I am so... like... really? REALLY!? This is so unprofessional. Between this and some of the comments I've received from the surgeon's assistant, and his refusal to give me information about my band (like how big it is and how much liquid is he's put in it), I am at the fed up point. I shouldn't have to deal with this type of stuff when it is health related. Has anyone switched surgeons within the first 3 months of surgery? Was it difficult?

I haven't been able to get on this website for about 3 weeks due to computer issues, and then family illness. Thankfully, that's all taken care of now! It's hard to believe that 2 months ago I had a life-changing, mind-blowing experience with the realization of getting my sleeve. After years of major struggles with the lap-band, and 2 years spent searching for a Doctor who would even consider seeing me, God opened the door for me at Dr. Kaler's office. Dr. Kaler had no hesitation in telling me, "Yes, I can do your revision". I remember sitting in his exam room with tears in my eyes, thinking "Finally, someone who can help me". The sense of relief that this ordeal was finally over was surreal. After years of struggling with the band, the sliming, the sticking, the not being able to eat out in front of anyone other than my DH, my mother's comments of "Oh honey, I just wish there was something that could be done for you", my revision was done in one surgery. The changes that have occurred in my life since have been amazing. No more sticking, no more sliming, eating out with friends, feeling like I'm 15 years younger, the energy, the ability to get out and move, the improved numbers from my bloodwork, actually enjoy life has been such a blessing. As of this morning, I am down 42lbs, and 3 dress sizes. I still struggle with my eyes being WAAAAYY bigger than my sleeve. I suspect this will be a challenge for quite a long time. But it's always surprising to me how much is left on my plate. My DH has enjoyed my leftovers many times and isn't complaining. To have the ability to eat without the expectation that it's going to be a painful experience, has made me realize that I have taken eating for granted. I no longer do that. I know truly enjoy my food, more as a true pleasure, and I'm focusing on making sure that those meals are well worth the effort. I'm learning new recipes, experiencing new foods, and focus on eating whole, healthy, fresh foods. And it's such a great time of the year to do this. With the Farmer's Markets that are open now, my vegetable garden, learning to can and freeze fresh fruits and vegetables, purchasing grass fed beef, free-range chicken, and the most recent addition to our little farm - a Devon pig, who will be filling our freezer this fall, our food quality has increased by leaps and bounds. No more pre-processed food, no more white carbs, a significant reduction in gluten in our lives has made a tremendous difference in not just my, but my DH's life. I never would have made these changes in our life had it not been for the sleeve. I'm eating pretty much anything I want, just in drastically smaller quantities, and the only thing I haven't tried yet is a salad. For some reason, that's the one thing that looms in my mind as the "The Big One". I'm sure it's just in my head that way, but I still see a Salad and think, "One day I'll be able to eat that and really enjoy it", but I haven't tried one yet. I'm not big on restaurant salads, but prefer to buy my own ingredients and make them at home. That way I can control what goes in to it. I will always encourage those who are thinking about getting the lapband toward the sleeve, and I will support those who want a revision by sharing my experience. Just as so many of the folks on this wonderful website have done for me.

Wishes - What is "AdBlock" and how do we do it?" Thanks! I'm fed up with them as well. The mobile site on iPad used to not show the ads that have always shown up on the right side of the regular web site version, but the new ads that are in the posts are showing up even on the iPad. Very frustrating when you are using a datacard to now have to use my data usage to pull down images of ads that I don't want in the first place. I honestly think I would rather pay a few dollars a month to be on the boards just to not put up with the ads. At least they could give us the option.

I've been waiting for 2011 for insurance reasons and it's FINALLY here. I see my surgeon for a follow up Tuesday morning and they are resubmitting everything that day or Wednesday. I've been through the whole process for approval and everything was put on hold back in May 2010 bc the company I work for required 5 years CONSECUTIVE coverage under the health insurance......they didn't care that I've been employed there for 10 years! I changed insurance back in 2005 for like 3 months when I married my husband but went right back to my own coverage as soon as I could...but it wasn't effective until Jan 2006......SO here I am....the 5 year requirement is met, everything else is done. I'm so ready to get my tool strapped in and start changing my life for good! :-)

I'm 5 months out and eat sushi all the time. Started at month 3 with no problem. Eat very slow bc all if the sudden you'll feel full, rice is weird!

I can only say, I hear you. I'm at 9 mos out and am stuck at 72lbs. I haven't lost for 8 weeks. Mind you, I still have 100 to go minimum. I don't know the answer bc I eat between 1200-1500 calories a day and the scale goes up 1, goes down 1. Playing that forever it seems.

Today is one week postop ... I feel pretty amazing considering how I felt .. I was very in tune with my body pre op and now I feel like I am getting to know myself again which can be challanging at times. On Saturday night my friend had a birthday at a steakhouse and I went. Had only Water and left before the food came out. My energy was up and I didn't want to miss it. I try to walk as much as I can. Physically and mentally I get better every day. I am very excited to finally have a new normal which I am realizing Takes time. I have been taking normal sips and even guzzled water the other day bc I forgot I couldn't and was actually OK. My throat and ear has been hurting so bad. I wasn't taking my acid reflux meds bc I really hate meds and once I did I instantly felt so much better. I've decided to just take them for the best couple of months. My next app is this Wednesday and I look forward to seeing the doctor. How are you doing ?

Congratulations on your surgery day and happiness! Your words made me cry bc I'm 2 months away from surgery and have all the emotions you listed! Best of luck! Can't wait to hear your progress! You got this!!