POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

What kind of daily vitamins do you take? I was taking GNC megavitains but I found them difficult to swallow then I tried a liquid vitamin that was better but I was ordering them online and they were pretty pricey with the shipping and handling for a one month supply now I'm trying a gummy chewable but I don't think they have enough vitamins in them. I was wondering what you were taking. Thanks

So I thought that it would be a cool idea if you want if we can add each other as friends on facebook. I know it may a lil' confusing if you have a lot of friends from high school, college, work, etc. So what I do is I organize my list of friends by groups. I'm personally going to add a specific group for friends from Lapbandtalk.com and youtube. So if you want to be friend add me. Feel free to post your facebook profile link on here if you want. http://www.facebook.com/jessica.kolman?ref=profile

Initially, (the first 6 weeks out of surgery) I had emotional/anxiety/depression issues and was terrified of my 40lb weight loss, in such a short time. Now that my emotional issues are being managed, (more or less), through medical/medicine intervention...and food no longer is repulsive to me, I am eating/drinking approximately 600-800 cals a day. I'm weighing myself for the past two weeks and the scale fluctuates between 186-188lbs. I don't get it! I workout on the treadmill at the local Ballys and use some of the exercise equipment but the lbs are just not budging. At this rate, I can't even imagine myself even near goal...my hopes and dreams of a fit and lean body are …

I am 9 weeks out and Ive had 3 fills! and I feel no restriction. ZIP I can eat like I did pre band. Shouldnt I feel something by now? A little bit? Ive lost 80 lbs but its because I exercise like crazy and only eat 1300 calories a day but I cant do this on willpower forever. I have this deep down fear that the band isnt going to stop my hunger! I dont want to have to fight the urge to eat more.I dont want to think about food 24 7

Hi Everyone, It is so hard to believe, but I have finally lost 100 pounds! I started trying to lose last January at 419 pounds, and I currently weigh 319! I am very excited about that! I know that my goal is 185, but I will be happy if I am anywhere on the downside of 250! Wish me luck!:thumbup:

October 20 I received my first fill of 2cc. Last week I felt that I could eat more and scheduled another fill date with my Dr. on Nov.20. I answered all the answers correctly and he gave me an extra 1.5 cc. I sat in the waiting room and drank my water and it went down fine. I forgot that he told me liquid diet for two days and i had a cheese stick when I got home. I threw up and threw up and I found it impossible to drink last night. I was hoping for a miracle this morning, but found I was unable to keep down the sips from my protein drink. Now Its just sitting there a little hung up. What is happening......... My band wasn't tight last night . Is it tight now because I t…

I was banded 10/14/09 and I have a 10 cc lap band. I got my first fill of 4 ccs yesterday. My question is...how many ccs does it take (I know everyone is different) did it take to get you to your "sweet spot"? I am hoping to get some restriction and start putting this baby to work! I only lost 1 pound since 2 weeks ago at my doctor.

:thumbup:Hi everyone, Wth the holidays rolling around I figured I had better get back on here for some much needed pep talks!!! I only lost 1 pound this past month and am a bit upset with myself! I really wanted to be at 200 or under by Christmas and was well on track to being there....but this past month has thrown a real challenge at me. I need to drop 12.5 pounds this month and need some real encouragement to accomplish! So, my fellow Lap Band buddies....I am turning to you for some great food ideas, exercise ideas and whatever else you can throw at me!!! Thank you so much for being there for me!!! Dot

I woke up today with a pain on the inside of my right leg about 2 " above my ankle and imediately I am worring about DVT should I be worried 18 days out of surgery or am I being an idiot ! would someone please put my mind at rest . Bren :confused1:

I was very surprised when my dr. gave me the all clear to eat solids but so happy. I was doing much better and feeling fuller on the mushies but it is nice eating "normal" food. I have noticed that I have more gas and discomfort again...like what I first had surgery. I asked him to give me a fill but he, of course, said he wanted to wait a couple more weeks. I feel like I'm eating more than I should but still not as much as before. It's so nice to be able to eat 1 slice of pizza and be full!!!!! 2 wks can't come soon enough, though.

I was invited to go out to dinner while on mushies. Any ideas what I could order? I don't think there will be eggs. Is pasta of any kind considered mushy?

3 weeks post surgery and I am starving. does this suppose to happen????? it is getting worse since I moved to mushies. today I came back home VERY VERY HUNGRY and was ready to eat anything. let the doctor's program get lost. it is true very little fills me up but again after 2 hours I get the same feeling. does this suppose to happen????????????I hate this feeling. it is stressing me out. I ended up eating 1/4 of a mashed potato and 1/2 cup of skimmed milk with two spoons of cereals. I know this is little. before the operation, I would have needed a huge quantity of food to shut up my hunger.

I looked this product up on the Net and see that it used to be Rx, but not now. It states 1 dosage in a glass of liquids, and drink. It also says not to be used for more than 2 weeks. What is proper dosage to just soften stools without becoming dependent on a laxative? Let me know what you guys do. I don't usually have a problem, but lately have been straining, in my opinion, too much and don't want to do that any more. Thanks......

HEYYYY ALL! Had my second fill on the 19th. had lost only 2 pound since my first fill. :-( so this takes me from 196lb to 176lb - soo i guess i should be stoked with 20lb lost in 2 months. (was banded on the 24th of september) BUT i had my second fill... and i can't get anything down comfortably. brought up cherry tomato and then everything from banana to celery just sits uncomfortably for 10 minutes.. is this the band just starting to work? and its time for the behaviour modification? or is this not normal? I am trying to stick to Optifast and mushies for a few days. just because i feel like i need a break before i start my uni exams on tuesday.. hope…

Hi I have been trying to get into the chat room for 2 days & I'm not succeding it just says "logging in now" and sticks there forever help !!! what am I doing wrong ? Bren:mad:

Hi, just back from my pre-op in Vancouver. All went very well except my surgeon said that they don't expect patients to lose any weight in the six weeks between surgery and the first fill. That doesn't seem to match with what I've been reading on the forum. Please let me know what your experience has been at this particular stage of the journey. Thanks:ohmy:

I was banded on Oct 15th and my surgery was textbook. I had no gas pain, recovered as expected, proceeded thru liquids, mushies, and to my regular diet without hunger and have lost about 20 lbs since surgery. I really thought I may be one of the "LUCKY ONES" who was gonna miss experiencing bandster hell. OMG!!!!!! It's like I woke up two days ago famished. I now understand why the term is referred to as bandster hell. I am counting calories, walking for exercise, and satrving. I have my next dr appointment on Dec 2nd. Do you all feel like I will get my first fill then? I sooooooooooooooooo hope so.

I am post op day 3 and feeling much better today. I have not had near the amount of chest pain and am able to take about 4oz of liquid in at a time. I made a small (4 oz ) Protein drink today from skim milk and unflavored protein and some sugar free caramel flavoring (used in coffee alot).. it was yummy.. I will have one of those later as well with it warmed up a little. I can't tell you how good it feels to not be as concerned with all the post op chest pain and worries about not getting in enough fluids. ... today I have had ENERGY.. to boot... not sure where it's coming from but I have been trying to make myself take it slow in case I crash later.... still to wake…

So I got banded on the 13th. I am just ending the 4th day of the clear liquid diet. All I can say is that I am so hungry! Is this normal? I figured it would be since I don't get a fill for a few more weeks. Any suggestions on how you get this hunger to go away? lol

I was banded on 10/28 and have dropped about 20 pounds with the pre-op diet and the post-op diet. My primary care doctor told me to stop taking my diabetes meds (Metformin) when I got the surgery done, but to continue with my blood pressure meds (Micardis). I had my first post-surgical appointment yesterday with that doctor today and my sugars were great and my blood pressure was low enough to take me off the blood pressure meds too! Woo hoo! I'm officially med free - and astounded that all it took was 3 weeks! :thumbup:

It really helped, everybody was so honest and we could all totally relate to each other..about everything. It was wonderful. My surgeon totally rocks and so does his bariatric life coach. I am completely back on track because of it. If anybody has a WLS support group, I highly recommend going. God Bless!

For the past couple of days my whole stomach area has been sore again - especially when I take a big breath intake like a yawn. Plus it hurts to hiccup/burp in my oesophagus even though I'm still taking my Pariet. Is it possible that I've slept wrong and damaged the incision points? Before this I hadn't had any pain since the first week and a half. I've also been really lethargic, weak feeling and less hungry. Need help... What does it feel like to have a leak? What should I look out for?

when I get food stuck and it feels like all my saliva is coming up, I chew 2 tums and it goes away instantly. I had to tell you guys this because it was a painful thing before I discovered this. It feels like a miracle. try it and see

I got my first fill 6 weeks ago. 3cc's. not sure how large my band is, I have the realize band. Everything was ok, I could tolerate pretty much anything. I haven't lost much weight in those 6 weeks, only 5 lbs. Now, yesterday I got my second fill, an additional 1.5 cc's. I cannot eat ANYthing. I tried to eat a little chicken today and I thought I was going to DIE. For about 20 minutes I thought I really was going to DIE. I kept spitting up, exteme pain, finally I threw up. Now, 2 hours later I just feel terrible. Really horrible physically. Did I mess up my band by throwing up? Do I need to go back for an unfill? Any advice would be appreciated. I'm a little freaked…

Ok, not really. I just couldn't eat for 4 days. :wink2: When I had my surgery at the end of July, the surgeon put in 2cc. I had a fill 5 weeks later and he put in another 2cc. Then a second fill a month later, he put in 1cc. Still not really any restriction. I went back in this past Monday for my 3rd fill. He wanted to check how much saline I had in, since I still wasn't feeling really any restriction, so he took out what was in my band and it equaled what it should (5cc). He put in another 1cc initially, but when I drank it was a little uncomfortable, so he took out .5cc. I drank fine, felt fine. I started driving home and it started to get excrucia…

Okay, this may sound totally stupid, but since I have started taking weight off, I have one or two spots that are itching me to death. I have put lotion on them, thinking it was dry skin. I have tried anti-itch creams. Right under my breast and in the folds of my legs where my underwear lays. Is anyone else having a problem like this, or is it in my head. HELP!! What will make it stop.

Ok, I am not sure if I am too tight or what is going on. I have 6.5 cc's in my band and things have been going well for me.. But in the last few days everything seems to get stuck.. I have hardly eaten today and tried to have dinner with my family and ate one pickle slice and one fry and it got stuck.. completely RUINED my whole meal as I was unable to eat a lick of anything else so I sat there and watched everyone else enjoy their meal. I am getting discouraged with this band and am honestly wishing I had done gastric instead. I want to enjoy my meals with my family.. I hate this getting stuck crap and watching everyone else eat. Is this really worth it to me?? I am s…

....the rest of my company is in the conference room having a freaking pizza party (and yes, I'm having a mini-pity party)! Luckily, I brought yummy lunch (salsa chicken and some green beans--left over from last night). Pizza is like my favorite thing ever (and not saying I'll never have it again), but I think it would be bad to try it now, as I'm still on soft and I have been STALLED for 2 weeks with the weight loss!! Anyway, needed to vent. I miss pizza!!!

I am finally up to solid food , but am having a difficult time with bacon . Also have not had good luck with pork roast. Small portion , shredded and still I feel like I am being stabbed when I try to eat either of these things. Bread is the biggest NO NO .. OMg -- tried it once - won't be putting that demon food in my mouth again. For a treat we went outlast night for frozen custard. I had about 4 teaspoons and I was DONE .. I used to eat a whole big bopper sundae by myself ..

Anyone else have to have this done? I have been following the instructions closely...even more so the past month.... and I had to have an unfill today. He said it was weird because as soon as he took it all out everything looked normal.... and usually that is not the case?

My BMI is now 30.1 vs 38.7 when I started. I'm now just overweight vs severely obese or just obese!!!

Need help urgently.....I am taking my Nexium faithfully...but the last two days have been feeling like I want to throw up. Today after my protein shake....the nausea was back and I actually dry heaved...OMG....I am so freaked out......what do I do? Can I take something else for the nausea? Any suggestions would be helpful....

Hi my wonderful support! Just to refresh....surgery on 11/12, problem getting liquids down, dehydrated, vomiting 1X, and nausea. I saw the surgeon this morning. I was down 13lbs from last Thursday and he was concerned. After talking and really listening to me, he thought what might be happening is that I had a gas bubble stuck in my band! He goes to my port and sure enough......1/2cc of saline AND 1cc of air!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Almost instant relief when it was removed. The nurse brought me a cup of water and i had more drank in 5 minutes than I was able to get down all morning long! I AM SOOOOO HAPPY! He also sent me for bloodwork to see how low my electrolytes were …

I celebrated reaching my goal weight this week. I have lost 100 pounds! I was banded on 3/12/09 and have had two fills. My high weight was 297 and I am currently 195. I currently have 4cc's in my band and my last fill was in May. I have gone from wearing a sized 48 pant to a 34 pant. While I don't advocate this, I have lost my weight without doing any additional exercise. It really feels good to not be carrying the additional weight around any more. I still enjoy having my morning protein shake for breakfast, typically a high protein lean cuisine meal for lunch, whatever my wife makes for dinner (in appropriate amounts) and a skinny cow ice cream sandwich for dessert. I f…

How many CC's does the Mid-Band hold. My band is wide open and when I went to the doctor for my fill I had 10cc's in it, they added 2 cc's and it is still wide open. I called the doc in Mexico but they do not respond. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

ok guys, just got my bill from my surgery. I have BCBS. My main question is how much did the actual band itself cost??? THe bill for JUST THE BAND itself is over 7000. anyone else have a different rate. I just want to be sure that I am not getting screwed here. Its not very fun at the moment! thanks

Some may find this beneficial... I attended a monthly support meeting/dinner hosted by my Dr last night. This was a very nice affair w/cooking demonstration by the general practioner in his ofice - the food he prepared was both delicious and healthy. The benefit... I spoke with both my Dr and the Dietician - bascially complaining (in a nice way) that I hadn't lost an ounce w/n the past 3 weeks. I recently had a fill (last Tuesday), I'm at 6.2ml(cc's) and don't have any restriction. So, I informed my Doc that instead of returning in 8 wks (his normal schedule), I would see him in 4-6 wks. He didn't argue, just said I'll see you then. Then I spoke with the dietician at…

Hi, I am 1 month and 2 days post op. Everything went well with my surgeon, but afterwards he had me start going to a nutritionist for her to tell me what I should be eating. Before the surgery my surgeon told me in 6 weeks I should be eating normally. I went to the nutritionist two days ago hoping to move from Mushies to something more solid and thought in two weeks I would be eating normal food, but small portions. Instead my nutritionist gave me a weekly menu (as normal). I hate this. I can't still to a weekly menu for every meal I eat. She did add a few more foods and told me to start eating 3 oz. of chicken or fish for lunch and dinner and said she would see me …

i've been getting a lot of private messages and have seen some post about how to handle thanksgiving...luckily for me...my mom's cooking is horrible and my interest in food is very minimal....i'm more interested in BLACK FRIDAY!!!!!!!! why ur sitting there watching everyone stuff their faces...just remember the very next day YOU can go buy a pair of pants or a sweater that would not have fit u the year b4...y ur watching everyone eat pie....remember this loss is soooooooooooooo much sweeter then the pie...the statisfaction u'll get from eating a thanksgiving meal will last a few hours...the satisfaction u'll get from taking ur weight off will last 4-ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KEE…

Hey guys. I made a video to let you guys know how I'm doing. I've recently been switched over to mushies!!! Yay!! So this video update of what I'm eating and whatnot. Enjoy! YouTube - LapBand Day 6 - So far what I'm eating - 11/19/09

I don't think it was really overeating, I think it was what I ate. I had a fill of 2 cc (total of 4 now) last Thursday but I am still starving. I have been able to eat whatever I want but have tried to watch. I had some salsa and tostitos last night without a problem Tonight I had fish with orange ginger marinade (Aldi's $.98 for a single serving) and some canned peas (my favorite veggetable). The pea skins were kind of crunchy, not soft like the kind I usually buy. I had almost finished the fish and took a forkful of the peas. On the 2nd forkful the pain began. I was able to drink some water without a problem so I am not sure if it was stuck or what. I …

Has everyone worked through or read the book 100 Days of Weight Loss by Linda Spangle? It is a book and workbook that is supposed to work although with any diet. I am planning on ordering the book and was wondering if anyone had comments on it. Thanks much!

So I'm planning on going back to the gym sometime, but I'm obviously planning on healing first. I was just curious - how soon did you guys wait till you went to the gym and worked out?:confused:

I have heard of people posting about them on their mushy cassaroles and eating them with tuna. Have you had them on your mushy stage? I know they normally them to melt in mouth if chewed correctly.

Hi, i was just banded yesterday. Feeling pretty good today. Yesterday was awful. The gas is slowly going away but my port incision is really sore. Also, i seem to be getting a sore throat, is that normal? Thanks for your help.

I was doing so well, in the first four weeks I lost 31lbs! I was cruising along until my body caught on and STOPPED!!!! I have now been at a stall for 2 weeks. I am losing my motivation fast and the desire to exercise is quickly fading but still exercising. When I first realized I was at a stall I told myself that I didn't need to post anything as I have read so many other posts and seems almost everyone stalls......but I can't take it any longer. Seems to me most of you stall for a few days or a week, anyone have a longer stall this early post op? My frustrations are growing quickly. I didn't measure myself so not sure if I'm losing any inches, however my clothes d…

Has anyone had any travel restirctions after getting banded? I might be able to fit my band in this years (come on 9lbs!) but I have to take my grandmother to florida in mid-January. Im a little worried my travel plans my prevent me from getting banded this year... and under the good health insurance coverage. Thanks!

I all, i have a few questions, i was fielledon monday and i dont think this has anything withthat as i was having this before - I have a discomfort feeling in my stomache, below my sternu, but in my stomache, with a little pain and growling and gurlging lol sometimes witha wave of nausea.. wondering what is going on.. am i not eating enough maybe? I have lost 22 lb since the band on 10-13 no weight loss this week yet- i cant eat alot i feel very full very soon, is it common to have discomfort from not eating enough .? what are the symptoms of an ulcer or band slippage do you think i need to worry about that at this point? could it be heart burn? any and all advice wo…

Greetings! i have been putting this off for some time and need some help. First, my story. I started pre-op dieting on 8/1, and had my surgery on 8/27. I was 311 on 8/1, 295 on 8/27, 272 for my first fill on 11/03. I have seen 262 on my home scale, but I am lingering at about 265. So, obviously, I'm thrilled about my numbers, if you will, but again, they're just numbers. My weight loss is not consistent, but i must say that i am partially satisfied with my results. I am realizing how much work this is! If I dont go to the gym, or exercise on my hamster wheel (treadmill) in my home, the scale doesnt move. If I make some poor food choices, the scale doesnt m…

For those bandsters who have had success...what have been the keys to your success? I've seen this thread, but am interested in more details. Was it the support groups, using this site, exercising 7 days a week, eating more strict? I'm preparing to be banded and really want to make this work for me. I love to hear your knowledge. Thank you!