Alexandra

Yep, I'm knocking on the door of bandster hell. My appetite is coming back, and a Protein shake just is NOT cutting it. Last night I went to an expensive supermarket and bought salmon salad, chopped chicken liver, whitefish salad, premium yogurt, goat-cheese brie, all sorts of those yummylicious things I never buy normally because they're so expensive. I also got new small Ziploc containers so I can bring my yummy mushies with me. Experience tells me the way to avoid counterproductive and dangerous pigouts is to not let myself get too hungry. I've lost less than 10 lbs on liquids but I am not going to worry about losing any more at this point. Starting this weekend exercise will be back in my life and maybe that will help, but for now I'm just concentrating on staying not-hungry.

Rainer, I COMPLETELY relate to what you're going through. My best approach was literally to get an MP3 player and CLOSE MY EYES when doing my workout. After a few visits you realize that really, people AREN'T looking at you. And in any event, I'm certain you will be surprised at how many bigger people you'll be working out with. That's the difference about the Y--it attracts normal people to exercise, not sexy tight bodies paying a lot to see and be seen. If your Y is anything like mine, any time of day you'll see a wide variety of people working out. You might also want to try a class that is designed for people who are beginning or trying to get back in the swing after a baby or injury or whatever. My Y has a class called "Back In Shape" which is a gentler sort of aerobic class. That's what I started with, and was very happy to find larger women and lots of older women in the class with me. Doing something like that in a group really helped build my self-confidence, I found.

I take Trader Joe's High Potency chewable multivitamin and minerals. They're fine, not supposed to be yummy but certainly palatable enough.

I'm doing great! My doctor's post-op instructions are pretty flexible: 1-3 days clears, 3-5 more days of full liquids, 2 weeks or so of mushies. All stages are dependent on how everything feels. Right now I'm on full liquids and adding a little mushy stuff here and there. I don't expect to go on full mushies until this weekend, when my family leaves for vacation. I feel great!! Thanks for asking!

Thanks, Wendy & Sunta!! Each day is a little bit better; by this weekend I expect to be feeling 100% myself. Yay!

Congratulations, Chris!!! You did and are doing great!!!

I'll take care of it for you.

I'm doing great, thanks for asking! A week out all my bandages are off, I'm only feeling a twinge here and there, and working my way toward the wondrous mushy diet. On the topic at hand I completely understand how if being banded makes one miserable it makes sense to have it out. But I'm THRILLED to be rebanded and look forward to eating normally--and lightly--again.

The first time I had the surgery I just told people I was taking a few days off for personal days. It was midsummer, everyone else had been taking vacations here and there and I figured it was my turn. No one I hadn't told personally about it was aware that I'd had anything done when I returned the next week. This time I said I was having "minor abdominal surgery." In my small office it's no secret that I've lost a lot of weight, but I don't relish discussing the details with my three male bosses. So I just gloss over it and no one is rude enough to pry.

Unless your company is a large one it's very unlikely they'll be purchasing "riders" for various conditions. Most small- and mid-size company plans are off-the-shelf products from carriers. So your boyfriend is probably right. But there's no reason you can't make your preferences known. Very often employers count their employees' desires as an important part of the decision-making process. Is there a carrier your doctor likes over another one? Try to find that out, and then let your company know, for example, that XXX carrier is better for you just because more of your doctors are in the network (or some such reason). That's something I hear all the time from my clients -- no company wants to make their employees unhappy by switching to a carrier that none of them can use with their own doctors.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield is an association of companies, and each state has its own. Unfortunately, insurance in this country is regulated by the states, so no insurance company is subject to the same laws across state borders. Stupid, I know, but there it is. BCBS is actually cleaner in this regard than the big "national" carriers (Aetna, Cigna, UHC) because BCBS really doesn't even pretend to be one huge company. They're different entities in each state, period.

Hi Hammer, I remember very clearly being exactly where you are now. This is where the head work of being banded comes into play. You need to take things VERY slowly, and try to really learn the new way that your stomach works. When you feel a blockage coming on, or that you've had enough that one more bite might bring it back up, STOP EATING. Put your fork down and close your eyes. Feel the way your stomach feels right at that very moment, and recognize that THIS IS WHAT FULL FEELS LIKE. It is a different feeling than what we experienced before banding, but if you wait 10, 15 minutes you will definitely come to understand that you are no longer hungry. You will have eaten a lot less than you might have wanted to, but this is indeed how we lose weight with the band. I know it's not easy, but it's a passage we all MUST make if we want to be successful in losing weight. There will be more food later, if you decide you really want it. But for now, BEFORE you PB or get uncomfortable, it is time to STOP EATING. Enough really can become enough, but only if you let the band teach you what this new ENOUGH is. Your stomach is smaller than before, but your mental perception was not changed in surgery. That takes a bit of work. Good luck!!

Everyone's different, and of course it depends on the kind of job you have. I was banded last Monday and went back to my desk job on Thursday. That might have been pushing it a tad, but I was bored at home. No ill effects.

Wow, Judi, Thanks! You're like me: give me the ocean, salt air, a porch, a book and I'm happy. The kids like a little more action, though. We've been going for years to Cape Cod until finally someone recommended OBX and we compared prices. We're getting three times as much house for 2/3 the money, and (we hope we hope) it will be WARMER than the Cape at this time of year. I'm so glad to hear it's laid-back; I was a little worried it would be all touristy and built-up. We can't wait!! Saturday we roll out. Yay!

Hi bandmate! It is very unlikely that you'll be feeling anything akin to restriction once your internal swelling goes away, and no one can say how long that might take. Once your innards return to normal, you won't know there's anything new going on inside. It's only after significant adjustments have been done (in most people) that any difference is felt. That said, you may find that you get full quicker when you get back on more-solid food, so take it very slow. I know I did, but not everyone does.

AP is the newest kind of band, recently released by Allergan. I think it stands for Advanced Platform or something. Pretty soon all doctors will be using it; it's not that I'm so special or something. (In fact, I think I'll take that out of my signature, since it's not really anything I had a choice about.)

I'm going there next week for the first time! What shouldn't we miss? We're going to Duck. Do tell!!

Smooth ice cream and frozen yogurt are indeed full liquids. If you're progressed on to that portion of the postop diet (and off clear liquids), this is not a problem at all. You may get more calories than you want, of course, so don't be surprised if you don't lose as quickly as those who don't add calories this way, but it's all good.

The statistics given for slippage have consistently been like 3-6%, and for erosion in the neighborhood of 1-2%. We hear about these problems more here, because people with the problems are the ones most likely to COME here. The best source of information on this is your doctor's office, which tracks its patients' progress closely. It wouldn't surprise me, though, if the slippage rates rise over time as more and more people live years of banded life. My doctor thinks 20% will be the number after 7 years or so. But I'm here to tell you that slippage is NOT the end of the world, and even having the band removed and re-inserted months later (total of three operations) I'd still do it all again. This simple band of silicone inside me is the only thing I've ever found that gives me any control over my weight, and it's worth all the "complications" I've had.

I was able to sleep on my left side after about the fourth night. The first couple of nights I slept on my back/right side, which I just hate. Now I'm back to my left-side fetal position and sleeping like a baby.

200 calories is fine! You are supposed to be using these as meal replacements, and that's not much for a meal. Three of these throughout the day will give you 600 calories, plus Soups or whatever for meals and you're good! That's real nutrition. This is not supposed to be a starvation situation. I'm not sure about the sugar content of real Protein Drinks is, though. Are there GNC stores near you, or some other health food place that can advise you?

These are either/or situations and you would seem to fit the latter. According to the standards of the American Medical Association, those falling into either of these categories ARE medically qualified for bariatric surgery. So you're in there. Whether your insurance carrier will cover the treatment is a whole other story. But medically, you do indeed fit the bill.

Hi Pemy, Sounds like your wounds are just taking a bit longer to heal than some. Definitely call your doctor tomorrow, and in the meantime try not to worry!! And on the other thing, I too got my period many days earlier than expected after being banded on 8/13. I have no idea what the physiological cause might be, but you're not alone. Personally, I'm glad since I'm going on vacation this coming Saturday and now won't have to worry about it!!

Hi Momto1, My band was removed in April due to a significant slippage that couldn't be repaired in surgery. I don't know what makes the difference; I know other people who were able to have slips repaired in surgery and could keep their bands. Good luck with yours! Removal surgery was remarkably easy--I could have gone back to work the next day if I had to. Getting banded again is a bit harder, the surgery was longer and the body has more to adjust to afterwards. But I'm feeling fine and just glad to be banded again!!

Becky, try to find mushies that have more protein in them. I use this stage to explore the marvelous world of soft cheeses, pates and spreads, hummus, liverwursts and all the other yummy things that normally seem like condiments. They're densely caloric but can have lots of nutrients in small amounts too, and that's what you want. Go to somewhere like Trader Joe's or a high-end supermarket and look at the deli counter with new eyes. There's lots of amazing stuff out there!