NWgirl

I am sick of eating Soup and I am only week and 4days post op. is there anything else to eat??

I know everyone will chime in with what they're allowed to eat on their diets, but please remember to follow the instructions outlined by your surgeon/nutritionist. I have seen widely varied post-op diets in my time here, some ranging from back to normal foods in less than a week to liquids for 6- each doctor has a set program that works for them and it really behooves you to do exactly as your doctor has outlined because that is what has proven successful for them.

I have found that if the Water is at faucet temperature (not refrigerated) and my band isn't tight, I can drink water just like I used to. I guess everyone varies, but I do avoid ice, etc because it causes my band opening to tighten up due to cold.

The actual fill is a pretty painless procedure. My surgeon has me lay on a table, put my hands under my head and almost do a 1/2 crunch to pop the port up. She then inserts the needle into the port and fills with the desired amount of Fluid. The process is very quick so don't be worried about that.

I am told not to eat anything for a few hours prior as they don't want you to have eaten something that doesn't go through the band before the fill and may get stuck after the fill.

I am also supposed to be on a liquid diet for approx 48 hours post fill and then gradually add foods back in. Sometimes fills can irritate the stomach and cause swelling, so it's best to do liquids so you're not trying to learn possible new limitations when it comes to foods at the same time the stomach area is swollen.

Wonderful advice and beautiful post

Definitely lost my boobs first. I was hoping age would be on my side but didn't happen to be so lucky.

Now I'm saving for new boobs, a tt, and brachioplasty. Dont get me wrong, I love my body and wouldn't ever go back to the old one, but boy does it suck having loose skin and no boobs at 25!

I only eat until I'm not hungry, I do not focus on full. Full for me with the band is very uncomfortable- hiccups, pressure in chest, hard time swallowing, possible pb's, etc.

It took me awhile to figure out that I didn't need to be full at the end of my meals. I stop eating when I am in the middle of hungry and not hungry, not when I feel like what I would have considered full pre-band.

So glad when I see positive stories

Research all you can about the band and ask all the questions you need to before getting surgery. Remember this is a journey and there will be ups and downs.

Dont expect to lose weight until your band is properly adjusted, which could take a couple months.

It seems the most common theme I see among newly banded people is that they expected to lose weight from the start and that they did not know enough about the post-op phase diet and tend to make mistakes.

Mine was two months. I did not have to do any supervised diet.

How did you know you were too tight ?

Hard time eating foods/over reliance on soft foods or sliders, pb's, hard to drink liquids. I also get an actual tight sensation in my chest and gurgle a lot.

In the last four months I have lost around 15 but have gone from a 12/14 to 6/8. Sometimes actual body composition changes faster than weight, that's why it's good to realize weight is just a number and to not hype it up and make it the end all factor in if you are successful or not.

I remember when that happened to me. It's still very surreal to see hip bones, collar bones, rib cage, etc. I dont know if I'll ever get used to it

There's a lot more initial physical restriction with other types. Make sure to consult with your surgeon about all options.

Where in Oregon? I am seriously considering relocating to Oregon from Washington.

I'm in the Portland metro area

You should be on a liquid diet for the first phase after surgery. You should be drinking liquids only- broths, Water, Protein Shakes, etc.

Make sure to review the nutritional info you received from your surgical team for every phase of post-op healing and if you have questions you should contact your Dr for clarification because each Dr has their own requirements.

Some people don't really lose any weight before reaching the green zone whereas others do. There are differing factors that contribute, but as long as you follow the rules set forth by your surgical team and monitor your food/water intake and exercise, you will get there.

I remember when I was newly banded and how obsessed I was with my definition of success, but as time has gone on I have settled into a wonderful lifestyle that I feel blessed to have. Don't force it because it will come.

Well I'm biased to Oregon because that's where I'm from. If you live in the metro area, you're only a couple hours away from beaches, hiking, skiing, etc. It's a beautiful place.

I weigh myself every two weeks or so. When I was actively losing, I weighed every day but now that I'm close to goal the weight loss has slowed drastically.

I found as I hit milestones, regardless of a weight or clothing size, my mind says "hmmm I expected this to be/look different." I think everyone goes through this.

I'm 24. I always had larger arms and have noticed as the weight comes off, the skin sags more. I also had stretch marks on the underside of my arms, so I know my skin is damaged.

I moisturize often, but am not sure if I will have lots of loose skin or not. Thighs, belly, even boobs look ok. If I did go in for a brachioplasty, I would also get a boob job due to issues I've had with my breasts before banding.

I'm around 5 out of a 10cc band over four fills. I am at my perfect spot and will go in for another checkup at the end of the year to see where i'm at.

As always, you are a great inspiration!

I would also add :

- small travel pillow to hold against stomach

- peppermint tea for gas. Gas X is for digestive gas issues (surgery is cO2) and some say it works. For me, it did nothing.

2 weeks ago' date=' I went with my brother to see him get a fill because I want to see how it is done but also introduce myself so hopefully he can help with my after care. My aftercare doctor is 4 hours away and my brothers LB doctor is only 1 hour away.

Anyway, I noticed the doctor would not tell my brother how much Fluid he took out of his band. Apparently, this is his custom and practice with my brother. And I thought to myself, WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD A DOCTOR NEVER TELL THE PATIENT HOW MUCH Fluid HE TOOK OUT FROM THEM? My brother would press him...but to know avail. On a side note...my brother has done extremely well with losing almost 270lbs since having the surgery.

The only conclusion is as follows:

1) Doctors don't want to deal with paranoid bandsters if some fluid was missing from the previous fill

2) They don't want attentive and organized bandsters documenting how much fluid is in the band...just in case something goes wrong (e.g. like accidentally poking the tube in the port area...causing fluid to drain). They can never be made accountable since the patient never knows how much fluid the doctor puts in or out....sneaky technique if a doctor ever had to go to court over an unintended issue with the band.

I could be wrong...but there is NO GOOD REASON to not tell the patient how much fluid they put in the patient or how much he took out. The only motivation to not tell the patient (or if they did....be vague about it like saying....around 2 CC's) is protect themselves from a potential lawsuit down the road...should something go wrong. Nothing more than protecting their own *ss at the expense of an uninformed and uneducated patient.

Thoughts/Opinions?[/quote']

The reason that I've heard from bandsters whose drs do this is that the Dr doesn't want them focusing on the amount of fluid and using that to judge if they're at good resriction.

I had my first PBing (I think) tonight and I'm not sure why. I ate about a cup of food' date=' went down fine, but then I felt like I was full in my chest and back, drank a few sips to try to help things go down a bit easier, started to hiccup, burped a little, and felt a little different like something was about to come up so I ran to the bathroom and sure enough slime and liquid came up, but no food. Any clue what happened here? Did the drink put me over my limit and it had to come up? It's been about a 1/2 hour and now I feel fine and the full feeling subsided.[/quote']

Nope, that is a PB.