lorena st

Do I get frustrated and discouraged at times? Yes Do I regret getting the band? Absolutely not! I was banded on October 17, 2011 and other than the first couple of weeks after surgery, I have not regretted my decision to get the band. If I have a bad day, I just start over the next day and get myself back on track (follow the diet and exercise rules from your doctor). It's not always easy but it is worth it. So far, I haven't let the bad days turn into bad weeks or bad months (the longest I have gone is 3 bad days over christmas). I also keep a food/exercise diary, so I can figure out when and why things went off the rails (it's usually stress for me). It can be done, but it is hard work. Good luck with your struggles.

Thanks for the post! 90 pounds is a huge success (just go try and lift 90 pounds of anything and realize that you hauled that around on a daily basis). I really liked the guidelines you listed and will use some of them, myself. Congrats again and g'day.

Wow, great post! You are inspiring and keep up the good work. Perhaps I will get to the gym now!

Currently, I weight myself daily...but I may switch to the weekly version (as I think I am too obsessive about it!).

Benefibre and lots of water. I would also check with your doctor and make sure you are not impacted...if that is the case, you will need something more powerful to clear out your system (3 weeks without a BM is serious, get it checked out!)

For three days after surgery, I would take my liquid pain killers and a gasex strip every 3 hours (as soon as I felt the pain coming back). I had to sleep in a semi-upright position as well. I walked as much as I could, but to be honest, I didn't walk much. This allowed me to heal and the gas pains and other pains subsided after 3 days. It took about a week before I could sleep horizontally and I only had gas pains on a sporadic basis (which the gasex strips eased). It took approximately 4 weeks to feel completely normal again.

There are spammers/trolls on every forum. They just hang around and inject negativity. I just ignore them (Don't feed the trolls rule) and hopefully they get bored and move on. But, I can also see why some people might be disappointed with the band (not me, I'm very happy with it!) if they got it based on some of the advertising I have seen lately. Those ads seem to imply that you can lose weight without dieting, without exercise and very quickly. The ads don't even mention that surgery is involved. They are very misleading and if you believed them, you could be pretty disappointed.

Yes...I just had a 1/2 cup of yogurt for breakfast and I am full.

Excellent!

I like your idea of starting over. Start with the post-op diet (1 weeks liquids, 1 week smoothies/protein shakes, 1 week mushies and then normal food) and get your body and brain back on the program. Try not to beat yourself up too much and remember that you are still down over 60 pounds! You took a long break from dieting (try to figure out why you did this), but just start again. And as others have suggested, see your doctor and perhaps get a fill, to help you get going again...Good luck.

I'm still losing weight, but I am using Bio-oil daily on my scars and stretch marks and they appear to be getting less noticeable. Ask me again in about 6 months when, hopefully, I have lost a lot more weight.

There seem to be a lot of ads lately for the lapband...usually showing a woman who has lost 100+ pounds, apparently very easily, very quickly and without dieting. There is no mention that this is a surgical procedure (with associated risks) and that you must follow a calorie restricted diet and exercise regularly. And losing the weight is not easy, it takes patience and persistence and most of all it takes time (this is not a quick fix). I'm glad that people are getting to hear about the lapband...it's the misinformation that I have a problem with. I find the ads very misleading, but what do you guys think?

I'm not much of a drinker, but my surgeon sent me a book (written by Australian doctors) and they actually recommend a glass a wine per day! I have a glass of a really good red wine with a small amount of cheese 3 to 4 times per week. What a treat! As to party drinking, you may have to curb it (at least the amounts you described) while you are trying to lose weight. I'm sure your friends will understand and hopefully be supportive. When you get to your goal weight, then the maintainance diet will likely allow for more alcohol consumption.

I have donated all of my big clothes (8 bags, so far). I have lots of clothes in smaller sizes (I guess I'm either an optimist or a hoarder), but I will donate those too, when I shrink out of them! I've been picking up smaller size clothes at COSTCO (like jeans and t-shirts) that I will donate later, as well.

The first week was clear liquids, week 2 was cream soups, protein shakes (still all liquid), week 3 was soft food, mushies and week 4 was normal food (small portions and small pieces, chewed thoroughly).

I think the boobs will be the last to go and I wish they would go sooner. I used to be a 42F and now I am about a 38DD. Good thing I kept all my bras from my thinner days! I can hardly wait to go to Victoria's Secret and buy my skinny size bras (used to be a 36B).

Wow, How rude! Switch to the other dietician. The surgeon should be made aware of the behavior of his staff in his office. The comments she made were unprofessional and undermining to your future success. I cannot believe that the surgeon would condone this sort of behavior. Dieticians have to deal with individuals with all kinds of food issues, but they should never use embarrassment or humiliation as a tool to get anyone to change their eating habits!

I have problems with foods that I take bites of versus those that I cut up and eat with a fork. So things like sushi, salad rolls and hotdogs are a problem. My bites are too big!

From your description...it sounds like you are in "Bandster Hell" and you need a fill. Schedule an appointment with your doctor. What you are going through is completely normal. One thing that might help, is to keep a food diary/calorie count for a while. Just be honest about what and how much you eat and then you can make changes that would be better choices. I stop eating when I have hit 1400 calories in a day (although I usually only eat around 1000 calories per day). This really has helped me, especially through the Christmas season. Good luck with the struggles, this to, will pass.

Sorry to hear about the pains. Each day should get better and better. Just take your pain meds and the dissolveable gasex strips for the gas pain and rest as much as you can to speed the healing. It does take a few weeks until you are back to normal.

I have to start exercising!

My port site felt huge after surgery and the other incisions were bumpy too. My doctor said this was related to swelling and scar tissue after surgery. I can hardly feel the port site now that the swelling/scar tissue has decreased and I am about 7 weeks post surgery. Just give your body time to heal.

Because you have other medical issues, you really need to talk to your doctor about the post-op diet. I was on liquids only for the first week, then mushies for a week, then soft food for the third week and normal food by the fourth week.

The first thing to do is talk to your doctor. By this time, you should have progressed onto solid foods, so you need to get that checked out. I have found that my tastes have changed after surgery. I now eat more poultry and fish and really don't have an appetite for pork or beef. I also eat more dairy products (yogurt and cheese), vegetables and fruit. But I don't eat many starches (bread, potatoes, rice, chips). Maybe you should try eating different solid foods than the ones you are used to. You might be surprised at what now tastes and feels good! Good luck and I hope you sort this out.

I too, hated the protein shakes and could only manage one per day (I added crushed ice to them and that cut down the smell, which made me nauseous). I would also drink 2 cups of 1% white milk with a multivitamin as a protein shake replacement in the morning (the milk has the same calories, carbs, protein and fat as one of my protein shakes...so substituting was fine). Check with your doctor/dietician and see if that would be okay...it worked for me and got me through the first week of pre-diet. By the second week, I could occasionally manage two shakes per day (with ice added!)