Rachel412

The scars are similar to scars you'd get with other laproscopic surgeries, so you could probably say "I had my gallbladder out" or appendix when questioned, and 99% of people wouldn't think twice. What other questions do you have?

Well, the PA said she doesn't know if it's an infection or just some liquid that hadn't been absorbed yet. She gave me antibiotics just in case and I'm keeping my fill appointment for next week. Unfortunately if it it's not cleared up by then, they won't give me a fill

Yikes! That's part of why I'm not telling people either- where I used to live and work, there was a practice that banded a TON of people but seemingly provided no nutrition education, because they all lost 30 or 40 pounds and then ate a ton of slider foods and gained it all back plus more. Everyone knew they'd had the surgery, so my whole workplace pretty much decided that LapBands are a crock. Made me so glad I'm in the practice I'm in

Huh... interesting. Mine keeps changing from bright pink-y red and puffy to looking less puffy and sort of yellowy bruise-like... but then the red comes back late in the day or the next morning. I'm all sorts of confused

Yep. I can feel it in the morning, not any other time of day. I drink hot tea before breakfast to loosen it up.

I had the normal 4 tiny incisions and 1 "large" incision when my band was placed a month ago. The incisions have all healed nicely, but over the past few days I have noticed that there is a red area around my large incision. It's a bit puffy, and a bit sore, and warm when I touch it. I called my surgeon's office today and they want me to come in tomorrow to have it checked out. I'm just a little confused because the actual incision was all healed up nicely, so it's not like I have an open wound. I'm confused as to how I could have an infection that shows up AFTER the wound is closed. Anyone have any thoughts, or did anyone else deal with this? I'm a little worried because my first fill is scheduled in a week. I'm hoping that won't have to get delayed if there really is an infection.

It's true that only you can control what you put in your mouth, but remember, that's what all of US are doing. So while I can't control YOUR eating, if I can control mine- while in bandster hell with no fill whatsoever- then I know you can do, it too! Would it help you to have another bandster to be accountable to? Like a bite it, write it partner?

I agree with Laura Jean. Remember that you control what you put in your mouth still! I've tried a couple of different psych meds and they've never affected my weight- I did that all by myself

My doctor required it, but I didn't actually do it until a few days before surgery Don't tell! The headaches did go away after a few days. Do it now, before surgery so you don't have a raging headache when you're in the hospital. Trust me!

WOW!!! Amazing, congratulations!

My break was entering the program in October, being told that BCBS always approves quickly and scheduling surgery for December- then being told that whoops, my BCBS was different and I had to do a 6 month diet first. I admit, I wanted to give up right then and there, but I did it and now, looking back, that 6 months went so fast!

Wait... do you need her referral to go see the bariatric practice? She's making you do all of this before you can seek out surgery? I'm confused...

You'll always be able to eat more than you should, since food passes through your pouch really quickly and ends up in your (still large) stomach. If you eat the amount you're supposed to eat, are you satisfied? Or do you still feel hungry 30 minutes later? If you're still hungry, yes, you should probably get another fill.

You might want to check out Alien Bandit's blog, she takes a lot of stomach pictures and I know there are some of her pre-plastics, when her port was pretty obvious. http://alienbanditin....wordpress.com/ ETA: http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/the-end-is-coming-the-end-is-coming-pre-tummy-tuck-photos/

Congratulations! In my practice I saw the PA, nutritionist, social worker, and surgeon all in the same day. It was a long day but well worth it. The labs and EKG were in separate offices but they also arranged to have those on the same day. I had to do an upper GI too- done one the same day as the EKG. As for telling or not telling people, the only people that know about my surgery are my immediate family and my BFF. I don't want other people to know because I don't want them thinking I'm taking the easy way out- THIS IS NOT EASY- or comparing my weight loss to other people's.

That's great! But almost as importantly, did you find out what he was so mad at you about?

Yes, walk as much as you can, and I also found a heating pad to be very soothing on my aching back and shoulder and even on my incisions (with layers in between of course). I used the heating pad every time I sat on the couch for a good two weeks, mostly over my big incision/port area. The heat seemed to dull the pain.

What makes you think you have an infection?

Aww, I like goatees.

An important thing to remember/realize is that you're not going to get relief from your constant hunger the second you have surgery. We get the band in, and then we wait and heal. We start to get fills, but for MOST of us it takes a while and a few fills to curb that hunger. So yes, it'll help your real hunger, but not immediately. As for eating out... I've only done it a few times so far, but it's been fine. If I can't find anything else I'll get soup. Mexican places are good because it's easy to get a meal that is primarily meat and veggies, and Beans instead of rice. If I'm at a lunch place or a diner type restaurant, I get tuna or chicken salad on a salad instead of on bread. Oh and I don't order a drink. The waitresses get confused. The biggest key, for me, to eating out is controlling your portion. I eat 1/3 of the item (or 1/2 if it's "small") and then put the rest away. It's nice to have it for lunch the next day, sometimes I even stretch it to cover the next lunch AND dinner.

I also had to do 6 months of pre-op diet and I yo-yo'd for the whole 6 months. One weight in I'd lose 5, next I'd have gained them back. To be completely honest, the only reason I ended my pre-op diet at 11 pounds down was that I'd gotten a horrible throat infection in the last month of it and I could only have liquids for a week. It was VERY hard for me to stay focused and positive when I felt like the surgery was sooooo far away. Just letting you know you're not alone!

Awesome, congrats! I'm scared of Zumba. I'm pretty uncoordinated

My understanding is that our bodies can't process much more than 30g of Protein at once, so you can eat more than that- it just doesn't do you much good. That being said, I've used 2 types of protein so far: GNC Pro Performance 100% whey Protein (20g mixed with Water, 28g mixed with milk) and Gold Standard 100% Whey (24g mixed with water, 32g mixed with milk). I like the vanilla of the GNC stuff, can't stand their chocolate. For the Gold Standard I like their Double Rich Chocolate.

Congratulations!! Every time you post and I read your response, and then your sig, it gives me a little boost. You must be so, so thrilled to have lost so much in the past year and proven all of the people who say "banding is a waste of money/a crock" WRONG!

I know that you're really wanting to lose a lot of weight quickly, but I'm worried you're going to beat yourself up and be very negative and frustrated if your weight loss is closer to "normal" than "fast". That being said, I have lost 19.5 in the month since my surgery so I guess that puts me right around the loss range you're wanting. I can tell you what I eat now, but I think the big difference is 1) I didn't have to do any liquid diets pre-op and 2) my diet now is very different than what I used to eat. I don't do eggs so most of the time my breakfast is 1/2 cup of Chobani vanilla Greek yogurt and 1/4 c to 1/2 of Kashi GoLean Cereal (high Protein, high fiber) mixed together. I have tea before that to help open me up and take my meds. For lunch I'll do 3 oz. of canned chicken and a tablespoon or two of low fat mayo mixed together with some spices, and I eat it with 6 or so celery sticks to scoop it up and get that crunch. dinner, I'll measure out 4 oz. of whatever meat my family is having and I'll add a side of veggies. Honestly I'm not a big veggie fan so my veggie intake is pretty limited to salad, celery, fresh salsa, etc. If I'm hungry between meals and can't handle it I'll have a low fat cheese stick. If I want something sweet after dinner I have some Jello Temptations that are 100 calories but usually I'll try to just have a cup of tea or a piece of gum instead. I'm not a person who needs a lot of variety in my menu. I could probably eat the same 5 or 6 meals for a whole week and not really mind. Am I hungry? Heck yes I am. I'm in bandster hell and running on fumes, but each time I get hunger pains I drink a big glass of Water and usually it staves it off a bit.