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Lab Band hopeful

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Thoughts

I spend a LOT of time to think about my new life.   I crossed the big 20 pounds weight loss since the Lap band surgery yay. Very happy about that. And I got my third fill on August 5th. I'm going to talk to my doctor about the edema problem I had. I don't know if I want to or can experience it again. Maybe he will give me some meds for that in case it happens again. I stole a tablet from my mom. I hope he won't see it as an excuse to loose weight faster or something. I guess he's heard it all.. oh dear.   Anyway, last night when I just turned of the lights in bed, I was thinking about what's going on and the best feeling is to feel good when going to bed. Not full and not hungry, just good. That did not happen before. I was usually hungry or just stuffed my mouth with something and was full. It feels nice to yeah feel good haha.   I've also spent some time reading messageboards from all over the internet about WLS questions. Where people ask questions and explain they are not ready about this and that change. I can tell you that a person that has a WLS surgery is someone who has tried it all! And most likely couldn't manage because they were not ready or it was too difficult. At least that was me. I'm a food addict or a foodaholic as I call it. Love eating.   But the Lap band has given me something that I didn't think it would do. I enjoy food a lot more now than before. I am now forced to eat slow, slooooooooow so yeah I get to enjoy the taste longer. I also don't bother eating food I don't like anymore. And at dinner when there are lots of stuff on the table, meat, veggies, potatoes, I have begun to pick the food I really like. We don't get to eat that much now, so why bother with food that we don't love??   But bred. I'm noticing how much I love bread. I didn't know that we shouldn't eat bread before the lap band and you can imagine the shock I had when I heard I couldn't !! I still haven't gotten over that. But I can have a tortilla and thin crusted pizza. I have no problem with that so I guess I can eat bread. BUT I don't want to open that can of worms because who knows what will happen after the next fill. Maybe I won't be able to eat any of it, no pizza (omg!) and no tortilla. But I'm glad I didn't know about the bread thing because I seriously don't know if I had gone through with the lap band.   But today I love my lap band and I hope I can keep it for the rest of my life
lapband78

lapband78

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No 3rd fill

I saw my doctor/Surgeon yesterday for my third visit after the lap band. I was supposed to have my 3rd fill but he decided against it because he was so happy with how I'm doing yay   On average I'm loosing ca 0,800 grams or 1.7 pounds a week and he said I was on the speed that her prefers the most. I'm so happy. I was so nervous since I wanted to loose more before my visit and usually when I'm on extreme diets, the weight goes down faster than this, but then again, I've never lasted more than 4 months on Extreme diets. Lap band is not a diet but a lifestyle, so I'm extremely happy   I had also been thinking that I didn't want another fill yet. I have had a few "stuck" episodes and I have problems eating when I wake up. I think that my band is balanced now and I know when, how and what I can eat.   I also talked about me eating to fast sometimes and that I am afraid of band slippage. He told me not to worry about that too much. The band was stuck where it is. But I should eat slowly and practice doing that. But that I wont damage anything. Even though I have a PB or I have a "stuck" episode, I shouldn't worry about damaging anything.   I also talked to him about me going abroad on a plane and what I should do, that I was worried I would gain weight. He told me to relax and he would see me again after the trip because he doesn't want to make any changes before the trip, in case I feel bad after it. He also told me not to eat on the plane, only fluids. It's a 4 hour flight so I think I will be able to manage but good to know though.   Today at work we had pork for lunch. I felt it a bit dry after the first bite and it felt like it wasn't going through very well. I stopped eating the pork and ate the potato, veggies and some cottage cheese. I never threw out food before the lap band. I always finished everything on my plate. So this is a very new thing, not finishing everything on my plate. I'm becoming a food snob! haha, yes I my stomach is not a trash can anymore. Only gets A+ food   Happy girl today
lapband78

lapband78

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Finally

Hi,   Not sure if anyone will read this but maybe it will help me writing about my experience.   After years and years of dieting, all kinds of programs, exercising and nothing happening, I finally had the Lab Band Surgery. I decided a few years ago to have it but as I live in Iceland, I would have to travel to UK to have the surgery and I didn't want that. Finally after 5 years, they offer the surgery in Iceland and I jumped on board.   I read LOTS of pros and cons about the surgery and let me tell you, the cons they sucked big time!! But I am willing to sacrifice so much to be healthy and to be able to enjoy life again. The pros for this surgery is so much more than the cons. I was in a line up for a gastric bypass. I had gone through a 3 year program to get that surgery but I thought it was to invasive. And there was no turning back. But because of that 3 year program with specialists, I think I'm prepared for the Lab Band.   I had the surgery on May 8th and it all went really well. The worst thing was waking up, I couldn't keep my eyes open and the drive home from the hospital was terrible! 1 day post op, I was full of gas, every where and it was so painful but I didn't feel any pain anywhere else. Well except for a headache that I don't seem to get rid of. 2nd post op, tired, sore, gas. Same on 3rd but on the 4th day, I feel like a new person. Hardly any gas pain and the headache is better.   Last night I did feel terrible hunger though when I went to sleep. I went to the kitchen and brought a smoothie to my bed. I drank a few sips and then again later in the night. That helped.   I have been really low on energy so I decided to eat what ever I was allowed to eat, no matter the calories. I think that's a good choice since fluid diet has hardly no calories. Like the smoothie is only 58 cal.   I'm on liquid pain killers that I take 2 times a day. It's supposed to work for the gas pain and headache. I had lots of re flux before surgery but I haven't had any post op so I have stopped taking those medicines yay!!. I'm on blood thinners since I hated the flight socks! stopped wearing them yesterday after talking to my doctor but I still have "ghost pain" from wearing them.   That's all for now. I hope I'll be active here and I'm sure other blogs will help me through my journey
lapband78

lapband78

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Day 5 post op

Itchy itchy itchy!! The bandages were driving me crazy (the big white ones) but my doctor gave me permission to remove them on Monday May 11th. Today I gave up, removed them and ohhh gosh it felt so good! I still have bandages over the stitches so I have to be careful about them.   I've been drinking a lot of water today and been careful eating on schedule so now I don't feel that hungry as yesterday. And I can burp! and I loved it! There came a huge burp and it was such a relief! Glad I was alone in the room because it would have been borderline rude to burp like that haha.   I went to the store today and I was exhausted after it and went to have a nap when I came back. I have no energy to do anything. So happy I decided to stay home from work for a full week.   I'm learning how to bring more calories to my liquid diet, like adding butter to my soups. I would never do that before, ever!   But I 'm longing for some food! real Food. Can't wait until I get to taste some again. I'm dreaming about food but I know that my life with food will never be the same again and I actually look forward to a healthy relationship with food! And to finally feel full! Because before the lap band, I hardly ever felt full, except when I went to a buffet haha.  
lapband78

lapband78

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First day at work

Today is 10 days post op and my first day at work.   I was looking so much forward to go back to work! I sit at a desk and oh my it was more difficult than I thought.   When I'm home, I'm leaning back a bit when I'm on my laptop or watching tv, reading or what ever. But today I had to sit up straight and it was difficult. It felt like my upper half of my body was just pressuring my incisions and I felt all kind of pain that I hadn't felt before.   When I came home it was so good to lie down and relax. My body was full of air and I feel that lying on my right side helps releasing the air.   I'm hoping tomorrow will be better, I'm sure it will.   Other than this little work issue, I am feeling ok. The energy is coming back slowly, after I began eating cream soup (thin). I've stopped loosing weight though, even though I am eating half the amount I used to do before the surgery. But I guess it's the survival system of the body, it's holding on to everything it can.   I've read that once you begin to eat more, the weight starts to go down again. But also the doctors don't want you to worry about any weight issues for the first month. It's all about the stomach pouch and trying to get some energy. After the first month when you get the fill, the real work begins where you have to watch how much you eat. I am ready for that work!! bring it on !
lapband78

lapband78

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Hungry!

12 Days post op today.   I am hungry! I'm almost always hungry. My bet is the swelling around the lap band is almost gone or completely gone. I should be able to eat soft food now but I'm gonna stick to the doctors orders and start my soft food diet on Saturday, on day 15 or 2 weeks after the operation. Maybe I should begin on Friday hmm. Gonna think about it.   I've begun to gain weight again! I am not eating that much over the day, about 1000 Cal I think. I'm not trying to starve myself, It's just difficult to get Calories from fluids. But I think the body is trying to hold on to every energy it can get.   I talked about this in my last blog, the weight. Of course it's on my mind. That's why I had the surgery but I'm going to keep calm and positive about this and I know once I start on soft food, the body will get more energy source and also I will be allowed to go out for walks and burn some of them calories enemies.   I removed ALL bandages yesterday and put some new ones over the scars so that they will heal properly. I'm really really pleased with how they look. The larges scar is very well healed and I actually don't think anyone would notice that if they saw my bare stomach (not like that's gonna happen anytime soon haha). It even made me think if my doctor had done some plastics hmm..   The only real problem I have now is that after sitting at work for 8 hours, I am full with gas, like everywhere. It hurts all the way up to my shoulders. Today I tried to stand up and walk around a few times today and it helped. Also my bra feels so tight that I am always trying to adjust it (without looking like I'm touching my boobs haha) I hope that will go away soon. Oh that brings me back to the beginning of this blog.. I guess I'm still swollen since this is bugging me hmm.   That's all for now
lapband78

lapband78

0
 

Listen to your pain

It's been 2 weeks since my surgery. I should start on soft food today.   I've been feeling ok for the past days, just had smal pain where I've got the scars and then around that area. So yesterday I played a bit with my nieces just by sitting on the floor with them. Then I went to the theater that evening.   Today I feel so bad! I didn‘t want to go to work since my stomach is hurting all over. I should have listened to the small pain I had. It hurt a little when a was bending to talk to my nieces and then it was exhausting to sit for 3 hours at the theater.   I was looking so much forward to have scrambled eggs to breakfast but I didn‘t feel up to it. I didn‘t want to put extra stress on my stomach. I had a fruit smoothie but at lunch I had a soup with some boiled red peppers (just a tiny amount) and I ate it really slowly. When I get home, I‘m going to try some soft foods. I didn‘t want to feel more sick while at work.   So, if you are feeling any pain at all, be careful! You are not healed, you should still take good care of yourself. I‘m going to use the weekend to rest a lot! Almost like the 2-3 days after the surgery.   Regarding my weight, turns out that I haven‘t gained any weight. But I haven‘t lost any either. I‘m very pleased about that. I should stop stepping on the scale every day and just step on it on Fridays, same day of the week as I had the surgery done.   Then after a few days of calling my doctors office, I FINALLY got an appointment. I‘m going to have my fill (hopefully) on June 5th! I know some people don‘t get any fills 4 weeks after the surgery so I‘m prepared for that. But I would love for that to be the day for the journey to begin for real.   That‘s it for now
lapband78

lapband78

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Getting better

Today is day 23 post op.   I‘m doing so much better now than last week. My port pain is getting better and I‘m also more careful. I also had LOT of gas in my body but that‘s almost gone now. I can burp and I purp a LOT. That‘s something that has changed since pre op. But at least I can burp. At work, I of course don‘t burp out loud but people around me can hear the air moving inside of me. Like a lion roaring. But it doesn‘t bother me since it‘s not happening a lot at work. It‘s mostly in the evenings I have to burp     I‘m eating mashed soft food now and ohhh so good and nice to eat real food. I was kinda sick of the liquid diet! I feel it‘s difficult to eat around other people though, since I have to eat really slowly but when eating with others, I tend to get on their speed. So for now, while learning to eat slowly, I prefer to eat alone.   I have restrictions sometimes, if I eat too quick. It‘s not very comfortable but nothing that I can‘t handle. I just stop eating and wait until I feel better and then continue eating. I just have to chew better and eat slowly! And it‘s not like I have to chew much since the food is mashed, but sometimes there are a few pieces that I have to chew.   I guess my biggest problem right now is the drinking liquid part. Before the lap band, I usually drank most of my daily fluids while eating. But now I am not allowed to drink 15 minutes before a meal and 30 minutes after. That means I have to drink a lot inbetween meals. I sometimes have apple juice or orange juice because drinking only water is boring. I know I shouldn‘t drink a lot of juices so I try to limit it. Coffee, I only manage about a cup a day. I used to drink 3 cups a day but now I don‘t like coffee as much! (what‘s wrong with me??) and I used to love carbonated water but that‘s not allowed. So Juices it is! And what if the food is too hot to eat? I used to cool my mouth down with cold water. What happens in the future if I‘m eating spicy food and can‘t drink with it.. well ok that‘s future problems haha.   But yeah this sure is life changing. Oh one thing I forgot. Even though my stomach can‘t handle as much food as before, my mouth craves food! It craves sweet stuff. That does NOT change! My mouth loves eating food! But I‘m doing good in that area. I sometimes have a mousse as a snack (not a lot) but that‘s going to change when I get on Solid food. One step at a time for better life J
lapband78

lapband78

0
 

3 weeks

Today is 3 weeks since I had the Lap band operation. I didn't have a good day   I was taking some medicine, 2 tablets that I broke in half but after taking them I felt like I had to throw up and following that I had a stomach ache. I ended up taking 2 hours off from work and was feeling terrible. For dinner I decided to have a soup (yes back to liquid for 1 meal) and that fixed EVERYTHING! I feel so much better. So weird because I ate lunch and had a snack after the medicine. But ok I'm still learning. I need to break medicine into 4 pieces, need to eat more slowly and eat less. Those are the 3 things I need to figure out. I thought I was doing a good job but guess not.   I lost 0.5 kg this week or 1.1 pound. I like pounds more than kg because the pound number is always higher haha. I'm actually not expecting to loose more kg until I get the fill and can start to exercise for real. Yes I know the fill doesn't do the job but I'm eating more than a cup a meal like you should do after the fill. I want to get to the point where I only have to eat 3 meals a day and only 1 cup at a time. I know it will take time, I'm not unrealistic but I'm working towards that goal. I know they take the first year to figure out the correct fill. And I never in my entire life thought I would be excited to exercise! But now I can't wait, so weird. But I have a feeling that with my much better diet and exercise, I will get the weight down.   I really appreciate this forum here, it has been such a great help and lots of different opinions and stories from people. I wish I had known about this site before the surgery, I could have learn so much from it
lapband78

lapband78

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Mind Games

Oh gosh, I haven't heard stomach growling as often and so loud as since I got banded! Usually I always thought I was hungry when my stomach was growling but now I have to change those thoughts. I am not hungry I'm not hungry I'm not hungry. I've read that it's a common thing to have your stomach growling after getting banded so I'm at ease with it. It's just weird. Specially if I'm lying on my back, it's so loud that I could possibly record it on my phone! But no haha I wont.   Yesterday my family had homemade pizza. Raise your hands if you love how pizza smells! OMG, it was driving me crazy! I'm telling you. I got into bad mood and thought my family wasn't supportive enough. My mind even got into this dark place, regretting what I had done, that I could never eat pizza again or go to a fast food place and eat my heart out. Yes my mind really got there and it was the first time since the surgery day that I had these negative thoughts.   But those dark thoughts didn't last for long. I began thinking about all the great things I will experience if I reach my goal. Like being able to sit in an airplane without feeling like I'm a giant. Being able to walk into any clothes store to see if they have something I like. Being able to exercise and participate in family walks. Being able to move around like normal people without looking like a penguin. Walking up stairs without being out of breath. Feeling better in my back. Not feeling so conscious when walking into a room and thinking everyone is watching you because of your weight. Not being afraid to meet family or friends you haven't seen for a long time. Going to the pool without thinking about what other people think (well that will probably never go away but at least it's not because of your weight)   So not being able to binge eat on fast food VS all that! Yes I can do it!! And I don't have to binge eat. I can have a pizza slice, or cut a burger in half. Well if my stomach can handle that kind of food. And it's not like I have this kind of food all the time. Maybe 1-2 times a month.   I guess being on liquid diet and then soft food is playing with my mind now but only 5 more days!! I can do it! But don't worry, I know my fight is not finished after the 5 days. I know what will happen after that. I will have to slowly find out what food suits me, and gradually try out stuff. No fast food for me, I know! Even though I crave it, I am not going to have it.. yet.   The mind is a tricky thing
lapband78

lapband78

0
 

Tomorrow

Tomorrow will be 4 weeks since I had the lap band. I will meet with the surgeon and go over what has happening. I don't really know what to expect. I hope I will get a fill so I can begin my journey of eating normally with a lap band (1 cup a meal) but from what I've read here on the site and other places, I know that not everyone is getting a fill.   I can eat more than I used to. I guess I eat maybe 2-2.5 cups for lunch and dinner. Not sure though, I haven't measured. But I think I eat a lot more than on week 1 or 2.   Today I ate more than I should and I felt so full! First time in 4 weeks that I've felt so full but not so much that I felt sick, just full   I'm having trouble with water. I bought a 1 liter bottle to keep track of how much I drink. I only empty it once a day. And then I have maybe 2-3 glasses of other drinks than water. I read I should drink up to 3 liters a day! ugh, I need to see what my doctor wants me to drink.   I don't have any pain from my port anymore!! yay, that's good news! So happy because last week it was driving me crazy and I was worried it would be like that always. My scars are healing really well. I've removed all bandages but they are a bit sore. Like if my desk presses on the big scar. But nothing that bothers me. Burping continues, and I accidentally burped out loud at work, that was a bit embarrassing haha.   So over all it almost feels like I haven't had the surgery at all..... almost!!   Hoping for the best tomorrow.. what ever that will be
lapband78

lapband78

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