Rachel412

I'd try some other protein sources. Lots of people have to g from brand to brand to get one they like. If you buy from a GNC store you can return any flavors you don't like, even if they're opened. Or you can go online and order samples of different drinks to try before you spend a ton on them. I know vitalady.com does samples- not sure what other sites do.

I don't have any experience to lend, but I'm glad you're finally getting a fill. Maybe you can tell yourself to see this fill as starting over- like, pretend you've just had surgery and this fill marks the beginning of a big change back to the "right" way of eating. I hope it works wonders for you!

My family had pulled pork sandwiches, made in the slow cooker, with coleslaw on the side. I put my pork in a low carb wrap and had a good amount of coleslaw. Yum!

I read that when you lose fat, your fat releases estrogen, and that may affect your sex drive.

What are you eating? Tell us a normal day's worth of food.

Sugar is a carb, so if you're trying to stay in a low carb range, you might want to ask them to make your latte with Splenda, which will cut down the calories dramatically. If you try to stick to 100g of carbs a day, well, your latte is half of that. If you're trying to stick to 50g... you're in trouble One teaspoon is about 5 grams of sugar- so your drink has 8+ teaspoons of sugar!

Yep I miss it. DH and I were on a cruise last week and I tried to be good, but by the end of the week I was eating foods I knew I shouldn't (like chicken fingers and fries) and drinking with my meals, and desserts after lunch and dinner. It was hard to come back home Friday and have to remember oh yeah, I'm not supposed to do xyz. I KNOW I wasn't hungry, but that didn't stop me from eating!

I felt a minor change after my first fill- any idea how much your second fill was? Seems to me like if it doesn't make a difference after 2 weeks, it's time to head back for fill #3.

Hmm, I had no restrictions about eating or drinking before the fill... just liquids for 24 hours after, then mushy foods the next 24 hours, then regular foods with caution.

Yep, you'll feel like crap. Also you'll be hungrier throughout the day.

I have a problem with moderation so if I'm craving something, or I just want to eat but I'm not hungry, I'll make myself a hot chai with Splenda. Usually it's sweet enough to hit the spot. If it's that I want to chew, I chew on sugar free gum.

Well congratulations!

It's hard because almost all of us have the band. We're not really able to give you our unbiased opinions I did some wavering between the two options myself. I can tell you what I think I've learned in the past year or so of researching and attending support groups that have people who had both surgeries... With bypass, you'll lose a lot faster. With bypass, you'll have issues with absorption that mean you'll need to take Vitamins and supplements for the rest of your life. With bypass, you probably won't be able to eat sweets because they'll make you very sick. With the band, you will have to control what you put in your mouth. The band will help you to be satisfied with smaller meals, and stay satisfied longer, but it won't keep you from eating "bad" foods. The band requires maintenance to work properly, and it likely won't be much help to you until you get to a good fill level... normally 3-4 fills after surgery, then additional fills as needed as you lose the fat around your stomach. The band can be removed if needed (though it still may cause permanent changes to your body). The bypass is permanent. I don't know if any of that will help you, but it did for me

Ugh you poor thing! I hope you've continued to stay healthy...

Amazing!!!!

What you don't know is that surgery is just the beginning- then the REAL hard work starts. Make sure you speak in depth with your doctor's team about what your diet will be like after surgery- not just the healing time, but when you get back to eating "real" food. Make sure you know if your office is aggressive about fills or not, if they make you wait a certain amount of time in between fills, how much they charge, what other follow up care you'll receive.

Gum isn't a problem with my doctor, either. They recommend it to help give your mouth something to do when you want to eat.

I guess only time will tell if we'll be able to keep our bands forever. I try to read stories from people who have band problems as well as people who don't, and those who have problems seem to think it'd be impossible for someone's band to last their whole life. Right now, it's a waiting game for those who have been banded for years and years... but yes, according to the companies, we can keep and use our bands for the rest of our lives. It'll be interesting to look back in 20 years and see what we know then that we don't know now! Lap Bands became legal in the US in 2001... Realize Bands in 2007.

My advice is, if you're a person who has a hard time dieting, this might not be the surgery for you. The band helps, but you still have to do all of the hard work- i.e. choosing what to put in your mouth every day. Seems to me like lots of people are not aware of this before surgery and are disappointed that the band doesn't magically make them lose weight. That said, plenty of people do get the band even when they're not super overweight, and often they do pretty well with it.

Buffy, I definitely think you're too tight. To me, the "sweet spot" is feeling satisfied for 4-5 hours after eating about a cup of food, but not being so tight that I'm getting stuck a lot or having to resort to slider foods all the time. Also, it sounds to me like low carb might be beneficial to you. I personally don't lose weight unless I cut out carbs. I can restrict foods all day, but if I'm still eating mostly carbs, I don't lose. I currently aim for 50-100g of carbs a day and that works for me.

Wow... I've never heard of nicotine testing before surgery! Clearly I am of no help

Oh go ahead and complain, I haven't met anyone yet who didn't complain after band surgery It sucks! But it'll get better. I felt like a whole new person 2 weeks post surgery.

Be GLAD you haven't experienced it so far! And you might not at all... we have people here who got banded, never needed a fill, and lost like crazy. For me, I started feeling the hell around 3 weeks post-op. My hunger came back at 1 week but it was easy to quell... around 3 weeks was when it really kicked in for me.

The total cost of my surgery was $22,000 and we had to pay 20% of that. Fun fun fun.