BandedApril

Banded July 12. Today is my 3 week bandiversary and I am down 21 lbs from first consultation. I didn't do a liquid preop diet, so I only lost about 5 lbs doing the low carb thing. All the rest has come post-op, from the band doing it's job!

Congrats! That's amazing! Before you know it, you won't be able to shop at LB at all!!

Well, the stomach pain feels better today, but the side pain keeps making a reappearance. It tends to happen after I eat or drink and then try to start moving around. Maybe I just need to rest before being active. Walking does not help. It just makes it worse. Maybe if I walked long enough it would help, but it hurts too bad to keep going. I'm a wimp!

Cool! Maybe we'll meet up at one of the support meetings at True Results. I plan to go to the August one. You can probably move to a thicker liquid and be fine. I moved to full liquids early, and I moved to mushies early and have had no problems tolerating anything. Try a protein shake and see how you feel. I'm going to take it easy today. I think sometimes I forget that I just had surgery.

Looks like we had the same surgeon, Serifa! Are you in Austin also? Guys, I am now 16 days post-op and I was feeling amazing until today I don't know if I overdid it cleaning or what, but I started have pain in my stomach similar to those like when I was just a few days post-op. AND I have been getting weird pain in my lower side. Gas maybe? Not sure what to do? Hoping that as time goes on I can finally be pain free!

Man, what a bummer! I'm so sorry to hear about this. As someone else mentioned, you should have been on a very low carb, high Protein diet prior to surgery. Did you stick to the diet if recommended? My doctor mentioned that he had patients before who did not do the diet and he was unable to operate as well. If you give it another shot, and I think you should, I would ask the doctor about the pre-op diet. I wish you all the best!

Yeah, I'm a very nervous eater unless I'm eating liquids. I'm SO afraid of PB'ing or getting stuck. I'm hoping that as I get more comfortable with the band that I can learn to relax. Hope you enjoy your meal more than I did!

OMG, Amy. That's sucks! Hope they are able to fix your car cheaply and quickly! I'm so proud of you for recognizing the urge to eat and beating it. That's what this new lifestyle is all about.

4 hours at a jump place??!! After 2 hours I am dragging my son to the door! LOL Glad you feel better though! I moved to full liquids and mushies early and I've had no problems. It was definitely the right thing to do because I had no energy either.

Go, Shauna! Congrats!

Deb, for some lapbanders, they feel exactly as they did pre-op when it comes to the amount of food they need to eat to feel full until they get their first (or maybe more) fill. I have been very lucky in that I have a lot of restriction without a fill (so far!) and I am 2 weels post-op. Some people start feeling hungry right away after surgery and find it takes willpower to stop eating since the band isn't working properly just yet. When you have good restriction you should be able to eat just a little food before your tummy says "I'm full!". P.S. I'm down 15 lbs since surgery! Yay!

Hi, all! Just wanted to suggest a fabulous site for tracking your food/water/exercise. It's Livestrong.com, and go to the MyPlate section. I've used this before and found it really helpful for keeping me accountable, so I'm starting it again. You can put in your height/weight and weight loss goals and it will tell you how many calories you need a day to get there. It's very user-friendly, so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do! Day 12 Post-Op and feeling FABULOUS!

Emily, you will eventually be able to lay any way you want, but give it time. I am 12 days out and finally feeling more comfort sleeping at night. As for PB'ing, it is a "productive burp", a nice way of saying throwing up. It's one of those nasty side effects that banders have to be careful of. It happens if you eat too much too fast or without chewing well. I suggest you buy the book Bandwagon by Jean McMillan. It will tell you everything to need to know about this new lifestyle. I read it in like 2 days -- such a good read. She is knowledgeable and funny too. I think you'll really like it.

Aly, hang in there! I do have a suggestion for you. Try to measure your portions so that you don't eat more than 1/2 cup at a time. This is what I was told to do, and I haven't PB'd yet! If you PB too much, your band can slip and you will lose restriction, so try not to do it anymore. Congrats on the baggy jeans! I bet that feels great!

Hello, my banded friends! Well, today I went out to eat my first meal since getting banded 11 days ago, and let's just say I was completely paranoid! My husband said he could tell I was soooo not used to this new lifestyle. I was taking super tiny nibbles and just dipping my fork in the refried Beans and licking it off. I think I probably only ate maybe 1/8 of a cup of food because I was so nervous that I was eating too fast or too much or the wrong thing (I moved to mushies early because I couldn't stand to drink my food for one more day). So, it wasn't the most relaxing meal I've ever had, but at least I survived without any sliming or getting stuck. P.S. 11 days post op and down 13 lbs! Onward and upward!

Hey, you said "rebanded"...why did you have to get banded twice?? Yikes. I don't think I would go through it again.

Great advice! It is very discouraging when the scale doesn't move (or doesn't move in the right direction), but we have to remember that being healthy -- mentally and physically -- should be the goal, not necessarily a number on the scale. I wish everyone a ton of success and HAPPINESS!