LAP-BAND Surgery Forums

Was at my Beautician today.. Early AM haircut and three of the girls were discussing their Weight Watchers diet. They were talking about how many points were in celery and stuff and how they were starving. I was sitting there thinking "that was me at one tme" Before the band I constantly thought about food. How much I could eat, How much I ate and How much I shouldn't eat. It was on my mind 24/7. These girls were sharing ideas on how they could get enough to eat and stay within their points. I felt so liberated today. My hairdresser knows I had a lapband and she said to me, "Aren't you glad you don't have to do this ?". I told her I still had to watch what I ate a…

A couple months back I had to get a complete unfill due to stomach bacteria and my one year EGD check. I was in the green zone losing steadily. Now it has been a battle ever since to get back in the green. Not losing weight... just frustrated. Thoughts??!!!

I'm 1 week postoperative and finding it really hard to sleep at night, I'm only managing 2-3 hours at the most, I'm thinking it could be down to the amont calories I'm having, is anyone else having the same or had the same?? Jo x

I am being banded on 11/15/14 and would like a buddy for support/questions. I will be having my surgery with Dr Bradley Schwack at NYU.

I like little appetizers these days. Sometimes a little of this, a little of that. I can usually only eat 3-4. Today, I cut up some leftover chicken breast into squares, not too thick put a little dab of mayo (I use Veganaise) salt & pepper and topped it with avacado YUM! little finger food bites. Does anyone else have any surprisingly yummy, hi Protein, low carb "bites" they've come up with?

I scrambled an egg with a sprinkle of cheddar. Then on warmed thin slice of ham, rolled it up. Yummy meal... 2 rolls with one egg.

Mornings are always hectic, finding clothes for the kids and myself and getting everyone out the door, well I'm sure you know how it goes. So this morning I'm getting ready and I hear my son say Mom I found my clothes and I'm all ready to go BUT, these jeans......where did you get them, they fit but they're way too long. So I come out to see what he was talking about and immediately start laughing, he grabbed my skinny jeans thinking they were his:-) He was right they fit around his stomach but were about 12" too long. When I told him they were mine he just started laughing and said wow mom, you can wear my jeans now as capris:-) Have a great day everyone!

I'm 1week postoperative and still in a lot of pain is this normal?? When did you all start to feel better?. TIA Jo x

So I have been in bandster hell since about one week post op. I had the band placed on August 27, 2014. I went to the doctor this past Monday and was feeling so discouraged and disgusted I had kept my weight the same, but I had not lost any. I got a fill. He only put in 0.75 cc which brings me too a little over 4 cc out of a 10 cc band. It is working. I am now feeling full on the amount that was recommended to eat. I really have to learn to control my emotional hunger because it is so easy at night to grab a slider food. Does this get any easier on differentiating real hunger from those emotional hunger? I just hope that it stays like this because until Monday I was hun…

Have been struggling with my weight since the age of 13, I had tried many things to lose weight many diets some more successful than others. Moving to Texas and finding out that, here my insurance covers the procedure, I decided to look into having the surgery. Now that I have been approved by the doctor, I super excited to get healthy and stay healthy, and I am glad that I didn't wait til I was 50 or super BBW to do it. Does anyone have experience with true results? Anyone in the southwest Houston area?

Dr told me to not use straws but I'm just more comfortable using a straw as opposed to sipping. He said u get more air using a straw. Anybody else prefer straws to sipping....

I am currently shopping on a budget and usually buy my households groceries at Walmart (sometimes at Pathmark or Stop and Shop). Can anyone recommend what items they buy that are HEALTHY and diet friendly on a budget?

So I started the Optifast program last week and have lost 4.0kg!!! I don't know why but I am actually quite amazed. 2 weeks to go until my surgery date and I am getting very excited..

for the last 4 or 5 days i have had some incredible indigestion. at first i thought it was my coffee habit finally catching up with me so i cut that back to almost nothing. i only seem to get it during the day and it's not right when i wake up it's usually later after i have had something small to drink or eat. This morning i woke up just fine and was on my way to work drinking my V8 splash - about the time i got to work i was ready to throw up. i don't have any issues with eating no more than norm - meaning if i rush i have the usual probs but if i eat right and take my time all is good. Has any one else had unexplained indigestion? i have my normal appointment on the 26…

Hi i am Karla I am not sure this is the correct form I had a bypass a looooong time ago when i was a teenager. Fast forward to now my surgon has recomend i get a band over bypass or the rose procudre (tighting the pouch). The probelm is that he has stopped doing all surgery and he is just doing followup for a few months. His office is great about helping me find a new dr (closer to home moved cross country). My surgey got me down by more than 150lbs but he thinks i would be well served by loosing more. I was over 500lbs He tried to explain what i should expect but after a very long flight that was delayed, rental car issues ect and the idea of a new dr i am super c…

Scheduled for 10/20, scared and excited....1,000,000,000,000 questions. I love reading everyones stories and tips.

I bought some Nature Valley Protein Crunchy Dark Chocolate Granola yesterday. I love it! It would be so easy to eat the whole bag all at once but of course DO NOT lol. Only ½ a cup per serving. It does have 32g of carbs but has 10g of Protein. For someone who has a sweet tooth like I do, I know it's better than a Hershey bar for you if you get a craving!

I am so tired of being the fat one! I have a family member who I love dearly but she hurts my feelings so bad when she says, yeah he/she would make 2 of you. Even though the remark isn't directed at ME , why do I have to be the one you are comparing anybody to. And it's rude as hell to be judging anybody anyways. She doesn't know their back story. And I just love this one....I recently said yeah I lost 5lbs in the last few weeks and she says really, I can't tell. Really? Wth? She is about 5'6 and about 150-160lbs. I am doing this for me and my health but if I get smaller than her...it's going to feel good putting her in her place. The rudeness of some people just piss me …

Because of certain medications my mouth is always dry. I drink a lot not because I am thirsty but to swallow without gagging. So I also drink at meals as well as during the day. My concern is whether drinking at meals on top of my 'cup' of food max is stretching my stomach. I am not more hungry or anything. My surgery was Sept 19.

I've read that some do a short time of liquids only for a few days to get their restriction back on track. What do you include when you do this? Just protein shakes? What else do you eat? Thanks for your help!

Obviously, if you can't get water down, you are too tight. If you can get a full cup of water down in one continuous drink- not sipping, are you too loose? If your food goes right past your band with no stopping, but you can eat smaller portions and feel satisfied for two hours, are you too loose? If your food stays with you for four or more hours, feeling satisfied and not hungry, are you too tight? If all you can think about is food, are you hungry and obsessed ? Or just obsessed? If you never think of food, but know you have ate very little that day, are you too tight? What is a portion size? Is it 1/4 cup of dense protein? One slice of deli meat? Veterans of t…

Just wanted to stop in and say hello to everyone...its been awhile since I have been on here...and wanted ya to know that although I am not losing like I'd like to yet...I am still hanging in there...and trying my best to stay on track and am still going to the pool. I think of you often but am so very busy with my new job I don't get a chance to be on here much. So I wish you all well and think of alot of you alot...miss ya loads!!!

Hi everyone I am on day 6 of the 21 day Optifast Diet and I am so far doing pretty well. Have managed to attend a couple of events without the nibblys bothering me. I have concluded the strawberry shakes are the best by a country mile....

Anyone want to connect on MFP? I am briefs99 (not 199). Let me know if you want to connect. I find it's another way to get support and to track your protein etc.

It would be nice to know I have neighbors.

So I am up to 4 miles a day running 10 total with the daily walking. I was banded in April have had a 120 lbs loss thus far. I can think of only one day since a month before my surgery I have missed a work out. I eat high protein and low carb, and take in an average of 860 calories a day. I have amped up my runs to 6 miles a day as of today. My worry is my caloric intake is to low, I want to continue to lose but feel I need more calories. I have asked dietitians and never seem to get a solid answer. I feel energized and better than I ever have before, but just not sure how to proceed calories wise with my exercise regiment . Any advice would be great,.

I've been stalking this forum for over a year now, and appreciate all the advice and support you've provided on here. I've recently made the decision to go forward with the Lap Band and could not be more pleased and confident in my decision. The only thing holding me back at this point is support (financial and emotional) from my family. I will be a self-pay, and I'm 95% certain I want to go with Dr. John Weaver in CO. Unfortunately, I was not able to qualify for enough CareCredit on my own, and asked my father to jointly apply with me, and we qualified for enough to cover the costs (WOOHOO!!). The caveat is, he will only allow me to use the CareCredit if my mother supp…

Needing some serious advice...so how does everyone deal and what are your secrets for breaking old habits? I am an emotional eater and probably almost always munched on things through out the day. What tips does anyone have for battling the need vs. Wanting to eat? I could not be hungry and semi-unknowingly pick and eat things....this gets tough because i love to cook and i am always making lunches or deserts for family...ugh :/ help!

Hello everyone... I have not really spent much time here, but I am having some odd symptoms since my band removal and I am wondering if anyone else has had similar issues. I got my band back in 2006 and had pretty good success for about 6 years. I had a stress induced heart attack in 2011 and the medication they put me on, really slowed me down, literally!!! So, in March of 2014, I ended up with severe food poisioning. Vomiting like I have never before...couldnt keep food or Water down. I assumed it was just a holdover from the food poisoning. After 4 days of not even keeping water down, I went to my bariatric surgeon. Said, something is not right!! He told me, chanc…

Hello everyone ! I posted a couple of days ago about some port issues I am having.I saw my surgeon today and he had no answer for the redness to the skin on the outside (on top of my port). He did say that my port might be rubbing against muscle/muscle tissue and he says why it was sticking out a couple of days ago was possibly because it flipped. He will be doing a surgery to just move the port to another location. He didnt run any tests on me which I was surprised by. He told me the other stomach issues I am having is unrelated to the port/band. Anyone else have this surgery? What can I expect ? Thank you !

Day five post Lap band surgery and I am HANGRY. Thats Hungry and angry smushed together. I went to see my surgeon today because my incision in my belly button was leaking. Once in there they fixed it up and put me on the scale. Down 16 pounds in five days. Great....but I reallly dont like how my attitude has changed over the last few days. I had no energy, I was snappy and mopey. I guess food made me happy. lol Sort of pathetic...but still. I feel like I should be just dancing a jig or something but all I feel is pissed off bc my husband who stopped drinking soda two weeks ago has his bowl of ice cream sitting on his 6pack that reappeared las week. I know Im doing this fo…

Well today is day 1 of my pre-op diet. So far so good. I have had a shake for Breakfast and some vegies and a Meal Replacement bar for lunch. Hopefully I don't find it too difficult to stick to. I weighed myself this morning and have jotted down my numbers. I'm not quite ready to divulge those numbers publicly yet, but I will in good time. I can't believe that my surgery is in exactly 3 weeks time - it is all starting to feel very real now. I want to say a huge big thanks to a couple of my girlfriends who are doing the pre-op phase with me for moral support, and it is very much appreciated. I will check in again soon and let you know how I…

I had lap band surgery in 2006. I need to locate a more affordable place for continuing care and fills. Since I live in Friday Harbor, I'd like to find someone from Seattle north. Does anyone know of a clinic that will accept other doctors' patients for fills and who accepts Medicare and/or other insurance payment?

So I'm stressing! Just found out my cardiologist requires stress test to clear his patients for lap band its a 2 week process. My appointment is Oct 30.I have to have the lap band surgery done before the end of the year. I have BCBS Il and I'm flipping out thinking I'm not going to be approved in time... Anyone have words of hope

stay the course.......continue what you are doing and it will happen...... whether you like it or not, the first month or two or (three) if you are newly banded or any WLS... you are healing...you are swollen, your not hungry and then you get hungry, trust me the hunger will return...(head hunger is real btw) NOW is the time to get your mind into the game...if you are struggling now, what will you do when the scale/weight loss does slow down for real.......this is where you need to measure your (true and actual weight loss in inches aka clothes getting too big or you need to buy smaller ones...that is a GREAT feeling).. ps: not eating/starving yourself d…

Hi, I started my WLS journey back in May I had to lose 5% of my weight for insurance purposes so I had to go to the Dr. for 6 months, I lost 62 pounds on this alone I started from 321 pounds. Now people who were supportive at 1st are asking me "You've lost so much, why don't you just do it on your own?" Is there a good answer for this, right now I'm on 4 weeks of slim fast I started that 2 weeks ago and tend to be a little irritable these days my surgery date is Nov 21st.

Does anyone have Instagram I'm always looking for fellow banners or any weightloss surgery friends to follow! My user name is samjomomma That way we can see each other's progress, I don't post a lot about my surgery but every day life usually

I am scheduled for surgery March 8th 2013. I've been type 1 diabetic since I was 13 (29 now) and currently using an insulin pump to control my diabetes. I am on my 3nd day of my pre-op diet and having a hard time keeping my sugars up but working with my Dr on getting that fixed. If you have dealt with the whole diabetes and band, how was your experience? How did you do on your pre-op diet? How did it affect your sugar after surgery? Need some feed back

I am so frustrated this morning. I am finally in the green zone over the past three weeks for the most part. I've had trouble eating but that was mostly swelling I assume at this point since I am able to get fish down. No chicken though.One week ago I was down 5 pounds and this morning now that I have eaten three or four legit meals I am up three.I haven't been able to work out at all really this past three weeks because I have been pretty weak from not being able to eat.I just don't understand what's going to take for me to see some results. I haven't even lost 20 pounds since May. I know everybody is different and the Green zone is different for everyone to but I'm pret…

So, I've posted comments about making broth-bases in a few threads.This is a correction/ revision to what I've posted about making beef broth from bones. I posted that I don't skim the fat off the broth after boiling, because there's a negligible amount per serving in the finished product (Soup or au jus) if you make a big vat. It's been a long time since I've made beef broth, so I thought since I've been posting about it and it's that time of year, I'd make some. I do save and freeze steak bones and when making beef broth from these bones, it's true, the total fat is negligible per serving when making big vats from these. Since I don't eat that many steaks and my…

About 24 hours away. I'm scheduled to go at 4:30pm. I was hoping to be the first one!!! Need to be at the hospital at 2pm.

Ok..I am walking, riding bikes, no starches, no soda and it just feels like I can't lose the weight. I have a little under 2 months to lose 22 lbs that I was told was required. Is there any shakes or something I can just drink to replace my meals. I will lose this weight if I gotta just not eat period. I won't let that be the reason I don't get approved for my surgery.

Seems I find my self eating a 1/2 c Soup... maybe a slice of cheese... a Protein drink... Vegys are tough to get down unless it's green Beans and meats are few and far between. Also, what I can eat one day I might have an issue with the next day. If anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears!!! Thanks!

Hope it's not a slipped band again...last time he took saline out and it went back. What happens after it slips twice surgery or do they take saline out again. Any advice would be good Thank u

I got banded in April 2014, I lost 10 lbs pre-op, then 7 lbs post-op and then NOTHING I am filled at 4.5cc I have lost a few inches my clothes is incredibly loose now. No weight loss though. I am scared and wondering when something is actually going to happen ** sigh**

Horrible date for my first day of Preop Diet. All of my coworkers have brought in leftover candy from Halloween. Chocolate everywhere! Then on top of that, it's also my first day of smoking rehab. But I'm determined to push thru... Surgery date 11/12/14. So excited!!! and impatient... Reading everything I can find, journaling and taking notes. This journey initiated over 2 years ago, started the process and backed out thinking that I could lose and keep the weight off without surgical intervention. Well here I am again with an additional 30 lbs to lose. Good luck to all of us November Banders!

I'm filled probably where I need to be--my hunger is under control, but I'm just not thirsty. I'm sure I'm dehydrated frequently, though. I find it a chore to drink Water. Pre-band, I used to be a chugger and could down a bottle of water in seconds. Now that I have to go slow I'm just like Meh. Any tips?

Hello. Yesterday I had my lap band removed. I had it placed 8 years ago and was very successful. Lost a bit over 100 lbs. However it slipped and had to have it removed. I know day 2 is usually the hardest but am very sore and have a lot of shoulder pain. If you have gone through this and can let me know how it went for you I would really appreciate it. Is the shoulder pain normal? Thanks in advance for your replies.