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I don't know about you, but I chose the sleeve over gastric bypass because I don't want to never be able to eat another piece of birthday cake! Forgive yourself. The fact that you feel guilty about it is a good sign. You wouldn't have cared about it a year ago, so consider the progress you've made. The only problem is now you've seen the danger of being able to eat slider foods. Why can't they just fill us up like chicken does! Why do they go down so easy and why did the whole piece of cake fit in my sleeve! (This is how I feel about popcorn). We should all enjoy birthday cake once in awhile, especially our own. They key is "once in awhile" like normal folks do! Congratulations on your weight loss so far.

Wish you all the best! If you ever want to chat I'll be around. (9 weeks post-op-gastric bypass.)

Do you have a REALIZE band? There was some issue with the port become detached from the tubing or something along those lines. Perhaps your doctor can determine whether your band fits within the recall and you might be able to make a claim to the manufacturer. Here is the information: FDA Classifies Previous Field Action of Ethicon Endo-Surgery's REALIZE® Adjustable Gastric Band As Class II Recall Cincinnati - November 04, 2010 Obtech Medical Sàrl, a medical device manufacturer, and Ethicon Endo-Surgery (EES), today announced the U.S. food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified the companies' previous field action related to adjustable gastric band systems sold under the brand name REALIZE® Adjustable Gastric Bands as a Class II recall, as expected. The voluntary recall, initiated on October 11, 2010 involves existing inventory only. Healthcare facilities were notified to immediately discontinue use of the device and return all unused REALIZE® Bands to EES. Since then, customers have been receiving an enhanced product, recently approved by the FDA, to replace the recalled inventory and for all new orders. There is no action required for patients who already have received these gastric bands, and removal (explantation) of the gastric band is not required. EES initiated the voluntary worldwide recall of existing inventory of adjustable gastric band systems sold under the brand name REALIZE® Adjustable Gastric Bands due to reports of the potential for the Tubing Strain Relief, a small (2 centimeter) flexible sheath on the band’s Injection Port, to slide out of its intended position. Movement of the Tubing Strain Relief is highly unlikely to cause any serious injury or adverse health consequences and it rarely affects the band’s function. In the extremely rare instance (1 in 10,000) when tube kinking occurs at the Injection Port, the physician might be unable to adjust Fluid volume within the gastric band, which may require additional surgery to correct. In most instances, this procedure can be performed under local anesthesia and in an outpatient setting. There have been no cases of gastric band removal due to the Strain Relief sliding out of position. Patient health and safety is our utmost concern. EES identified the Tubing Strain Relief issue through its continuous quality monitoring program. With the full knowledge of the FDA, healthcare facilities were notified of the recall by official letter beginning October 11, 2010, and then by subsequent communications from EES sales representatives. The initial letter included detailed recall instructions, including the specific product codes and lot numbers affected. EES also has provided customers and third-party advocacy organizations with information for patients on the recall. Regulatory authorities worldwide also have been informed. If surgeons or patients have any additional questions about the REALIZE® Band recall, they may call our Customer Support Center at 1-866-REALIZE (1-866-732-5493) between 7:30 am and 6:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Monday through Friday. For media inquiries, please contact: Bridgett Golden Manager, Corporate Communications 513-337-7387 About the REALIZE® Adjustable Gastric Band The REALIZE® Adjustable Gastric Band is used in one type of weight-loss surgery. It contains two main components: the first is a fluid-filled balloon that is placed around the stomach; the second is an injection port to adjust the degree of fluid in the band. Thin flexible tubing connects these two main components. The recall involves an ancillary component called the Tubing Strain Relief.

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled. :phanvan And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14. So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast. God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. :hungry: And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof. God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food." God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds. Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds. :faint: God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes! And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest. God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. Then Satan created HMOs.

I am pre-op and have a surgery date of May 21. I am having laprascopic gastric bypass. Can anyone share with me when they were able to start exercising after this type of surgery? I have joined a gym and am now wondering if it will be a long time after my surgery before I can start exercising again. Thanks!

I am still in the decision phase of this all...I have talked things over with my husband and I have made up in my mind that I want to go through with the "lapband" surgery instead of the "bypass" My biggest question(s) are: With the weight loss being slower and more consistent...how does your body feel/adapt? Will I come out looking like some "bypass" post ops? I have two friends and they look entirely different one looks healthy and the other sickly..... WHERE DOES THE SALINE GO....ONCE INJECTED INTO THE BAND??????? I ALSO HEARD THAT IT'S NOT SALINE, IT'S SILICONE????????????? DOES THE LIQUID ABSORB INTO OUR BODIES AFTER SOO LONG??????? Can anyone out there help me....answer these questions?:confused:

Hi PrettyLady Yep you need some more information. I don't even think you have enough to make an informed decision on the LapBand over the ByPass (or any WLS). Im not coming down on you. I just want you to have the correct information on all your surgical choices. Over at Obesity Help .com (Weight Loss Surgery ) they have good information all the surgical options. For information on the Bands go over to: Official Site: the LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System for weight loss surgery or Home - REALIZEBand.com These are the 2 makers of the bands. You can find technical information there on how the bands work and what they are made of. Generally the band are made of solid silicone(apposed to the gel in breast implants), are hollow(like an inner tube) and when you need more restriction they are filled with saline. Don't get me wrong I think the Band is great. I can't think of living without it now. I just think you need to be well informed before you have any surgery. Also anyone who has had any of these surgeries will tell you it's not the surgery that "does the work" it is you. You have to wrap your mind around a lifestyle change. Food, exercise and accepting yourself in all phases of your life. Poke around on the LBT forums. Most any question you have has already been asked and answered a few times. :thumbup: Good luck on your journey Amanda

Is anyone from south Alabama ? I'm 7 days post surgery . I had the gastric bypass .

I will be the first to admit that with getting back into the swing of life and work and a new love, it is easy to let those old bad habits creep back into our lives. We all fall victim to this in some sort or fashion and it is the one thing as weight loss patients that we fear. This is probably the one thing we fear the most that we will start up our old bad habits that got us to being overweight in the first place. I am about 16 months out and I am the first admit that I have allowed bad habits to sneak back into my life, not as bad as before surgery but regardless they did creep back in. My bad habits include soda, and occasional fast food. We call this the comfortable phase, you are now comfortable with how you have to live and eat post surgery and then life in general just happens and we can tend to slip back into those old habits. Alot of people suffer from this problem they lose all the weight then think “hey I can reward myself with a cookie, or stopping for fast food, or a soda” But I remember seeing a saying a long time ago that said we are not dogs, we do not need to reward ourselves with food and this is so true. Why do we always use food as a reward, or something to make us feel better. The truth is food is something we need to survive, it should not be used as reward. If you are thinking of having weight loss surgery, you need to understand that the surgery is not a cure all. Your mind is a powerful tool and is something we need to work on or it will sabotage our weight loss journey. The one thing I noticed is my bad habits creeping back in and I refuse to let them ruin my weight loss or rule my life. The most important thing to remember is that we will have trips and falls along the way, the difference is are you going to let this slips and falls define your new life or are you going to get up dust yourself off and start over. For me I am going back to putting protein first in my diet, being good about making sure I get my vitamins in and staying honest by providing a weekly food journal to give you all an idea on how much I eat and what I eat throughout the week. For More Great Recipes and Articles please visit my blog Bypass Princess today and follow me on my journey to getting healthy and happy!

Stay away from slimfast if at all possible. There is usually a very high content of sugars. Even Ensure is way to high in that respect. There are plenty of product our there that will fit your needs as a new bandster that is low in sugar and carbs. Bariatrix makes a good product. You can find quite a few different things at Bariatric Advantage. (Nutritional supplements for Gastric Bypass Bariatric Surgery Patients from Bariatric Advantage) Hope that helps.

I’m 7 months out, was having this pain. I had a cat scan done just to see what was wrong and they were like it’s nothing you maybe had gastritis (they didn’t even knowwwww). I’ve been taking Prilosec for the last two weeks and symptoms are the same. My co-worker whose mom had gastric bypass said that she had scar tissue form around the stomach area that was cut. If I keep having this pain I will definitely get an endoscopy so they can see if that’s the case.

Hey all I still haven't gotten banded but here is the problem after my last post I changed docs and had to start over again. Never change docs if your in the kaiser program no matter how bad your doctor is. Well I am back on the trail and now kaiser wants to do the gastric bypass sleeve. Saying the lap band will only lose 10-20% of your weight. LIES!! I know for a fact that's not true I got a few friends who have been banded and lost 200lbs. The problem is my weight loss has slowed and now I am starting to have problems with health from being overweight. Thus causing a major problem. I am really thinking of saying screw it and go to Mexico. But I am scared if I do that kaiser will not honor what they did in Mexico. I also just found out I haven't met with my surgeon. The guy I was in contact with isn't even the surgeon he's just a N.P. Any help on getting kaiser to work would help or should I just go to Mexico and do it?

I wouldn't recommend using Blue Valley Surgical Associates for your surgery. This place has been a nightmare... from lies, fraud and being given the run around! I started the process back in May. I was required to go to 6 nutritional appointments. the last one was completed on 11/5/18. I was led to believe that at that time they would submit my file to insurance and get me a surgery date. 3 days later I logged into my insurance portal to see if I could see the pre-auth and if a decision had been made. There was nothing there. I called United Health to see if maybe it was a fluke or a mistake, it wasn't. Nothing had been submitted by BVSA. United called BVSA to see what the hold up was and they lied to him and told him that I hadn't agreed to a surgery date yet. I called BVSA to see what the heck was going on and the was told that there was a hold up with their new hospital in taking my insurance. I asked why I couldn't go to Overland Park where I was originally scheduled to have surgery and was told they weren't "allowed" to take my insurance. Allowed? What a funny word to use... Why cant the hospital I was referred to bill my insurance. I started googling "Blue Valley Hospital". It turns out they had lost their Medicaid/Medicare certification back in May. Evidently they thought they would win their appeal and was still taking patients with that insurance. When that didn't pan out for them and they were putting off surgeries they went out and purchased a new hospital that was certified for Medicaid/Medicare. But by this time they had patients backed up as far back as May that were supposed to have had surgeries already. I met one of them who had been put off since July, she had no idea it was because they had lost their certification for FRAUD. On November 8th, I left a negative review on BVSA's Facebook page about how they had "dropped the ball" and had been giving patients the run around. I also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The very next morning I received a phone call from a lady that said she was the compliance officer for the corporate office of Blue Valley Hospital. She promised to make things right and get me a surgery date right away so long as I didn't post anything else about them lying to patients and losing their certification. I told her about my new friend that has been trying to get a surgery date since July. In 15 minutes time she had both of us a surgery date. I was impressed at how quickly it was fixed. All it took was a bad review on their Facebook page. Fast forward to today... I've been on a liquid diet since Thanksgiving to prepare for surgery in 2 more days. BVSA told me when I left my pre-op appointment last week that the hospital would be in touch with me a few days prior to my surgery date. I hadn't heard from them yet and I had questions so I called them. "Anna, who? Are you sure it isn't under a different name?" Ummm. WHAT?!! Turns out I'm not even on the schedule!! After 3 phone calls it still isn't fixed and at this point I am wondering if I have been on this liquid diet for absolutely nothing!! Less than 48 hours from surgery and they dropped the ball AGAIN!!! So, if you have someone ask you, or mention BVSA, tell them to RUN! Run far, far away from BVSA! They will have much better luck with another program!

Tomorrow is the big day. 16 hours away!! Only my immediate family and my best friend know about this. I'm feeling nervous. A bit overwhelmed by the bad what if's. My doctor is at Riverside Hospital in Columbus, OH. His name is Dr. Sonnanstine. He seems like a great surgeon. His staff just loves him. I can tell it's not fake. Biggest fear with surgery is death, next to that I'd say diminished quality of life. I have 3 daughter's who mean the world to me. I'm doing this not just for me. It's for my family too. With high bp, dislocated disc and knee pain, I feel this is my last resort after many unsuccessful attempts to lose weight, including being put on weight watchers at 8 years old! Please say prayers for me. Prayers for peacefulness and rest. Prayers for the medical staff. Prayers for my family. Thanks all! Jamie

CONGRATULATIONS JAMIE I JUST HAD MY RNY BYPASS 12/24 (CHRISTMAS EVE). EVERYTHING WENT SMOOTH & I'M SURE IT WILL WITH YOU AS WELL. I HAD NERVOUS EXCITEMENT BUILDING UP TO MY DAY, BUT NO FEAR. GOD'S GOT YOU. JUST RELAX & BREATH. THIS WILL SOON BE A MEMORY. I'LL BE PRAYING FOR YOU. THINK OF HOW GREAT IT'S GOING TO BE TO BE FULL OF ENERGY AND HAVE HEALTH ISSUES THAT YOU COULDN'T SEE YOU WAY OUT OF REVERSED OR MADE MUCH BETTER. I'M EXCITED FOR YOU. MY POST OP 1ST WEEK VISIT IS TOMORROW. I'LL BE LIFTING YOU UP. BE BLESSED DENISE

My doc says no caffiene or carbonation ever after surgery. I stopped back in feb and my surgery should be in November. Carbonation expands the pouch and caffiene can irritate your stomach. So I kicked both out of my diet already. Water is my best friend :w00t:

Hi Everyone, On Thursday will be one week that I had bypass. I can not handle smells of anything:/ help what can I do? it's making it very hard to be around any kind of food that I'm having trouble getting my Water in:/ idk what to do HELP!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am so glad there are so many of you that are going through what I am! I posted about a week ago pretty much the exact same, it's been so hard! But the relief just hearing it from you guys that what I am going through is normal...…...what a blessing! My bypass was on February 18th. I have been averaging 100-200 cals per day. This week (other than this morning, because I ran out of baby spinach and used four leaf mix and it made me gag too many times) I have been having a half cup or so of green smoothie. It takes a couple of hours to get down and makes me feel full (and honestly a little sore) for the WHOLE day. I feel like it is a bit of an accomplishment because I'm keeping it in and its nutritious! On the down side, I am too full to drink much plain water for the rest of the day.....just a few ounces.....but the smoothie itself has water in it! If I never had to eat ever again, I would be happy.....it such a chore and super stressful trying to keep up with everything and then feeling like a failure when you don't. Thinking of you all L x

Stick with the sleeve... sadly, 2 of my friends that have had gastric bypass haven't done well. I've worked in bariatrics are a loonngg time... if there is a will, there is a way! Hang in there!

I'm almost 3 yrs out from my surgery (Medicare coverage) but I'm also a vet. When I ad my surgery in 2009, the VA only covered gastric bypass. I've heard that they now cover lapband as well. My uncle (who only has the VA insurance) is actively seeking information on this. If anyone is in the know, I'd appreciate it! Marci

I was banded in 2006 and had issues from 2008 on but did keep the majority of my weight off. During that time I got the works done, lbl, arms, thighs and breasts. Then sept 2012 I became I expectantly pregnant. My band went haywire when I was about 4 months and never went back to normal. Between pregnancy and complete unfill I gained 45lbs. Surprisingly, my tummy fared well and only new scars are those from surgery on Wednesday. I am thankful I was given the opportunity to convert to bypass and will enjoy it once I get passed this hump. My goal is 50 but I'd like to try for 70 just to see if I can do it

Most insurance companies will only cover the lapband or bypass. The lapband is reversible. With the sleeve, they cut off a good portion of your stomach and toss it in the trash. Not reversible. The lapband is adjustable and can be tweaked as time goes on. The sleeve is a one time deal and once you stretch it, you're out of luck. I don't see the interest in the sleeve myself, I'd go bypass if not lapband. It is all personal preference. I wish you luck in whatever choice you make.

I am an NHS bandster, here in the UK. The way it works withthe NHS is that you are referred to a bariatric specialist who makes the decision for you...so I was given a band. I have obviously made contact with various other patients under the same specialist and the way it seems to work (I think) is that if your problem is just large portions you get the band, if you just eat junk, you get the bypass (malabsorptive and restrictive, but more of a focus on malabsorption), if you eat large portions of junk you get the sleeve. Having said that, I have to say this is just my observation and I could be entirely wrong - my job means that I have to stay away from asking too many questions of the people I encounter who have had bariatric surgery.:thumbup:

Errr, I believe the stomach is more comparable to a banana than an egg. An egg maybe for bypass patients? Also, men tend to be able to eat more as they are typically taller than women, so their stomachs are naturally a little longer. I can eat 4 ounces of seafood and a little veggie. That's a fairly normal meal for me. Just measure, so you don't risk stretching your stomach. It's normal for capacity to increase as swelling goes down. Disclaimer: This is not medical advice, just things I've learned from reading the forums. HTH!

Hello. I am a month out (yesterday) from gastric bypass. I have had a very difficult time getting fluids and food down since surgery. I have gone twice for fluids due to becoming dehydrated. My Dr. has me on nausea medication that helps some. I'm struggling the last few weeks with throwing up even if I'm not nauseated. I've thrown up Fairlife milk, chicken broth, Greek yogurt, applesauce, even Popsicles from time to time. Anytime I put food or liquids in my stomach, I feel heavy and bloated. Has anyone dealt with this? Did it get better quickly? I'm barely eating more than 3-5 Wheat Thins a day and drinking Gatorade. I'm miserable and am not sure what to do.