Corrigan

Hi Heather, You've come to the right place. I envy your weight loss, but I've got my appointment tomorrow and then we'll see who's the biggest loser (that doesn't sound too good). Anyway , welcome.

Two months you should be OK, just try to take everything you might need for as long as you're gone.

PB is a productive burp, a burp that brings part of your lunch with it, and slimming is when you bring up a mouthful of.........slime. If you're stuck now, try lifting your arms above your head. Drinking wil only make it worse. Try to wait it out, some people use meat tenderizer? or as a last resort, the OR.

From the information I can find, if I was going to have the surgery, I'd chose Dr, Small. The Meritus Medical Center is a Center of Excellence, which is usually a good recommendation, Dr. Small has good credentials and would probably do a excellent job, but you need to research that yourself. Lots of luck

Look for Centers of Excellence on Google to find one close to you, (there's one in Flint), and give them a call to see if they can help you. I had such good service from them that I recommend CoEs whenever I can.

Here's something I received a while ago that may help: Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of Water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet. As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a sabertooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

This answer will probably be unpopular, but it's always been my opinion that if you burn more calories than you eat, you'll lose weight, and if you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain. The band helps with hunger and fills restrict the band pouch opening to give the feeling of fullness. The amount of food that a person puts in their mouth, however, is strictly up to them. I know there are many problems that cause people to overeat, but most of us had them before surgery, and the band, by itself, won't cure those problems. That's up to us. For jsea, don't be too impatient, if after your third fill you still don't see any loss, I'd be very surprised. I do hope things go well for you.

Look up the five day band test on this site or on Google. It takes you back through the post op steps and some people are finding it useful. If you have a bleeding ulcer, It'll have to heal before you can continue with your weight loss.

The whole process was as easy as any I've ever done. I had no pain except for a little at incision sites. So far I haven't experienced any down side. I hope it goes as well for you.

This is the period when your stomach is healing, maybe the most important part of your surgery although you don't feel anything but hungry. You probably shouldn't worry about losing weight just now, even though you want to get on with it. You're probably scheduled for your first fill any day, and then you may feel some restriction for a while. Be patient, eat the way you were told and at this time next year, you'll be a hundred pounds lighter.

Here is a web site that explaines it pretty definitively. It's on a web site "who's name must not be spoken", but it is a good explanation. http://www.obesityhe...e-band-faq.html

Good for you. I wondered how you were doing. Take care of yourself and stop in from time to time.

My nutritionist said to count to 25 between bites with a small spoon. I guess you just take your pick.

Do you think you could be swallowing air? It seems that most foods that produce gas, do it in the intestines. I know chewing gum will cause you to swallow air, but I can't think of anything that produces gas in the stomach. Maybe someone will come along with some real knowledge that can help.

We like 5 minute oatmeal with dried fruit cut up in it, a cheese danish would be good, that's a joke, son. I'm an old time beer maker and have a lot of grain around (oats,wheat and barley) that I like, but that won't help you. Greek yogurt is popular. I (when I'm lazy) eat wheat toast with Peanut Butter, supposedly quinoa is good for breakfast, but I've never tried it. There was a thread in the food section that had a number of breakfast things. Then there's always Dennys :>).

I don't know if you were talking to me or not. I'm pretty old, 74, but I thought I'd like the rest of my life to be a little more comfortable so I decided on the band. I had diabetes and a few more so approval was easy. I had a very easy surgery and turned out to be one of the boring people who don't get very hungry, in fact at my appointment Tuesday, I'll opt out of a fill because I don't need it. I've been losing 5-6 lbs a week, that's a little much but I'm not really trying, that's just what it is. I hope you have as easy a time.

Zana, Just click on anyone's ticker and it'll take you to the site and you go from there.

Don't forget your PJs and slippers.

You did well. that was an excellent post. Just keep smiling.

Before you give up on the band, try the 5 day band test, (look it up on Google) it just might get you back on track. If you know you're chewing enough and doing everything else correctly, maybe you need a slight unfill. It's worth thinking about.

Keep your shakes, Ted. They come in handy for a little extra Protein. I'm like you, trying not to gain weight before an appointment. When you're trying to figure carbs and protein in packaged products, use the label. They have the amounts of most everything in the package. If you really want to be accurate, buy a scale. Don't stress out over this period though, If you just hold your weight steady, you've done well. It's going to be a challenging period with no restriction. Hunger will be hard to overcome, you'll need a bit of will power. Get as low fat cottage cheese and milk as you can. We need a little fat and a few carbohydrates in our diet, but in this healing period try to keep them as low as you can. Just think of the hundred pounds you'll have lost at this time next year.

If you mash a Burger King bacon cheeseburger into a cup, you'd have about 3500 calories, I'm sure nobody meant for us to do that, but it is possible to get enough calories in a cupful.

I almost hate to talk about it any more, but I had absolutely no pain, I went home the next day and we went for a 2 mile walk. Not everyone is that lucky, but you may be. Let me know. I like to hear from folks who went to a CoE.

This is pretty easy surgery, all you really have to do is show up. You'll be wheeled into the OR and wake up in recovery. Almost that easy. Don't forget your slippers and PJs. You don't want your butt hanging out of your gown as you walk down the hall. This time next month, You'll wonder what you were worried about. Best of luck.

Sure, it's normal and I'll probably get worse, but as your body gets used to being hungry it should ease up some. I use hot chicken broth (it comes in a big jar from Costco) with protein isolate powder, for extra protein. That helps me a lot. I don't think I'll get any fills for a while, but once in a while I do get hungry and the broth helps. Sometime a cup of tea helps, but you're just going to have to find out what works for you. As for the gas, walking a lot helps most people. You're going to find a lot of new stuff about your digestive system, it's had a substantial change. It'll all be worth it next year.