It's funny that since my procedure 1 week ago , i have so much more time on my hands.Just 3 weeks ago, I was a was a step away from getting the sleeve surgery . I had already had most of the tests and was sitting in the psychs office when he asked me If i had any concerns. And, at that moment It dawned upon me that besides that typical elective surgery fears, I was most fearful of the stomach stretching back as I heard that it was possible. I truly got that there was no 100% sure fire way to prevent myself from gaining it back again. The sleeve was supposedly permanent . And yet, I had been up and down most of life, always praying when I was at goal weight, that I wouldn't gain it back... This time it took 4 years and boom there I was, no longer fitting into my clothes, isolating, planning my next food adventure. I was miserable, numb and although I am quite active in my social and work life, i was all alone. My 2 friends that I was sharing this can be called by their procedure names, "Lap-band" and"Sleeve". Lap-band was a6 year success of 80lbs. She attributed it to monthly check ins and group support. "Sleeve" was new to the game. She wasn't utilizing the support and I noticed a difference. It's not about the perfection of eating. It's the how and why. No one is better at finding"tricks" to eating basically the same, under this new regime than I.

So, here I am , day 8 and i'm going to spend the next 51 weeks learning how to eat. This week I got to watch and live through every moment that I would have previously used food to substitute, comfort, numb, kill time, avoid etc... We are on 2 sides of the same street. I know that without support I will fail. Even if I lose all of the weight on my own, I know the inevitable. I'm going to use the phone, see my Dr , attend support and really be present. Oh, and keep drinking that h20!

Edited October 24, 201510 yr by lifeofbry

Yes I had my doctor appt yesterday and was not happy to say the least. They put me on a very strict diet. Basically I don't have many options and it's about 900 calories. Which I was eating only around 1000 anyway. In 2 weeks if there is still no chance they will put me on weight loss medicine. So frustrating not to see any weight loss.

So I went to Hawaii this last week and people complimented how I looked. I am glad I got the balloon.I'm only down 15 lbs but I only wanted to lose about 30-40 to begin with. Tomorrow will be 2 months. I made it through the holidays and two big vacations while losing or maintaining my weight. I go to new York this weekend and then after that, I will be focusing on losing the other 15 lbs.

People have begun noticing my weight loss. (I lost 20 on my own before the balloon and then stalled and started to gain weight back) I am down 29 lbs in a year and I'm so happy people can finally tell.

Edited February 4, 201610 yr by SLSH

Yes I had my doctor appt yesterday and was not happy to say the least. They put me on a very strict diet. Basically I don't have many options and it's about 900 calories. Which I was eating only around 1000 anyway. In 2 weeks if there is still no chance they will put me on weight loss medicine. So frustrating not to see any weight loss.

That would be so frustrating. Did he say anything like, "I should have filled it up more?"

No she didn't say that at all. Let me tell you I'm not very nice when I'm in there lol. I will ask when I see her again or I will call about that. Thanks for asking!

No she didn't say that at all. Let me tell you I'm not very nice when I'm in there lol. I will ask when I see her again or I will call about that. Thanks for asking!

I saw my thyroid doctor today who said my thyroid levels are perfect so I can't blame the lack of weight loss on that! He gave me a long boring lecture on cultural changes that have cause obesity to sky rocket. And I should be thrilled with a 1 pound per week weight loss. Really?? Not at the price I paid! LOL. Well, I can happily say I am fully adjusted to this abdominal intruder. No more nausea in the morning. And I only get the severe cramping if I eat more than Soup or shake for dinner.

No she didn't say that at all. Let me tell you I'm not very nice when I'm in there lol. I will ask when I see her again or I will call about that. Thanks for asking!

I saw my thyroid doctor today who said my thyroid levels are perfect so I can't blame the lack of weight loss on that! He gave me a long boring lecture on cultural changes that have cause obesity to sky rocket. And I should be thrilled with a 1 pound per week weight loss. Really?? Not at the price I paid! LOL. Well, I can happily say I am fully adjusted to this abdominal intruder. No more nausea in the morning. And I only get the severe cramping if I eat more than soup or shake for dinner.

I'm sorry both of you have had less than desirable results.

This balloon is a pain and I almost had it taken out a few weeks ago, but I hope I can see some more success.

I feel like the balloon works BECAUSE it makes me feel sick. The days I don't feel sick, I can eat almost normal portions. I try not to, but I don't really feel full. It just keeps me from feeling hungry. ( I am probably not making sense.)

Basically, nothing ever sounds good, so I don't feel like eating. Most of the weight I lost came from the first two weeks when I was so sick I wanted it out. And again a few weeks ago when I almost had it taken out. Anyway, just some random observations.

No she didn't say that at all. Let me tell you I'm not very nice when I'm in there lol. I will ask when I see her again or I will call about that. Thanks for asking!

I saw my thyroid doctor today who said my thyroid levels are perfect so I can't blame the lack of weight loss on that! He gave me a long boring lecture on cultural changes that have cause obesity to sky rocket. And I should be thrilled with a 1 pound per week weight loss. Really?? Not at the price I paid! LOL. Well, I can happily say I am fully adjusted to this abdominal intruder. No more nausea in the morning. And I only get the severe cramping if I eat more than soup or shake for dinner.

I'm sorry both of you have had less than desirable results.

This balloon is a pain and I almost had it taken out a few weeks ago, but I hope I can see some more success.

I feel like the balloon works BECAUSE it makes me feel sick. The days I don't feel sick, I can eat almost normal portions. I try not to, but I don't really feel full. It just keeps me from feeling hungry. ( I am probably not making sense.)

Basically, nothing ever sounds good, so I don't feel like eating. Most of the weight I lost came from the first two weeks when I was so sick I wanted it out. And again a few weeks ago when I almost had it taken out. Anyway, just some random observations.

hmmm...you are probably right!! I feel great today and have been hungry all day! Maybe I should do a downward dog and get this thing to shift to make me nauseas again!

hmmm...you are probably right!! I feel great today and have been hungry all day! Maybe I should do a downward dog and get this thing to shift to make me nauseas again!

Ha ha!

I really do that type of thing sometimes! Because if I feel too good, I eat more.

Has anyone taken prescribed weight loss medicine? If so what and did it work?

Has anyone taken prescribed weight loss medicine? If so what and did it work?

I took phentramine pre-balloon. I lost twenty lbs. I did that on half a dose as well. I liked it but you can only take it for a few months because your body gets use to it.

20 pounds in how many months? Half a dose? So does it make you not hungry?

It was about 3 months. I only took half a dose because that was working for me and that's what the doctor told me to do in the beginning. And even then I skipped every few days. So I would take it for 3 or 4 days in a row and then I would forget to take it. Then I would notice that I would start to feel tired so I would take it again. It gave me energy and made it so I wasn't hungry.

So glad I found this forum! I had Orbera inserted exactly one month ago today. All in all its been OK, but definitely not easy. Nausea and some vomiting the first few weeks, allergic reaction (hives) to the nausea patch I was given, which was really unpleasant. Now, my biggest problem is that I don't feel great and have NO energy (a lot like morning sickness when I was pregnant with my kids). I've lost 13 pounds so far, and am happy with that, but really need to start exercising again. Started at 185, want to get down to 130. I was not given much guidance from my doctor about what, when, how to eat. From poking around on the internet, I've figured out not to ever drink while eating, no fried foods, focus on Protein. Ive also found that any kind of alcohol does not agree with me, so while I miss my glass of wine before dinner, dont have those calories to worry about. Are most of you exercising regularly? How and when is best?

I've had my Ballon for 3 months now and just went back to the gym about 3 weeks ago! I felt the same way as you for the first 2 months! I was advised by the nutritionist to just lift weights in the beginning and don't worry about cardio too much. Since I've been back at the gym I've been able to take classes but I do feel nauseous some times. I find that chewing gum helps me get through my workouts!

Edited February 9, 201610 yr by monniet50

I've had the balloon in for just over 3weeks and I'm down about 18 pounds. The hardest part so far has been finding ways to cope with boredom, stress, etc. because with the balloon in, it has become very apparent when I am actually hungry or just want to eat something. I've been having some increased acid reflux, has anyone taken additional antacids, besides the prescribed one? Like tums, Rolaids, etc. any recommendations?