lifebegins2012

Mine too. I had poached salmon, mashed potato and mushy peas alot when I was on mushies

Glad all went well:) I get my first fill next Saturday so am very interested people's experiences x

Hi. My consultant had said that he might put some in when he fitted my band as he sometimes did. The following morning I was told he has 'primed' it with 4mls. I have a 10mls lapband and the dietician has booked my first 2 fills to happen in May(5th and 31st). She told me that restriction is normally achieved around 7mls. I am self pay and wonder if the prime is done to save on the amout of follow up appointments as I bought a package so fills/unfills are included in the price for the first 2 years:)

Hi. Once I'd booked my consult and op date I planned on only telling one of my sons(as he still lives at home) and one sister( who I was going to be relying on for a lift to the hospital). I got excited. I brought the dates forward and told my family and collegues at work one by one- about 14 altogether-even our lovely cleaning lady!!

At work it was amusing as I swore people to secrecy and they only knew one or two other people were also sworn to secrecy so there was no gossiping. Now I've had surgery everyone has been supportive and ask how it's all going.They are curious.

There are two people who haven't chatted much so I wondered if they see it as cutting corners to lose weight but I was really pleasantly suprised when one of the two ladies offerred me her size 14's as she's lost weight and is determined to stay at a size 12. She wears lovely clothes so this could be a treat (not that I'll be able to wear them for a while).

I'm generally quite open and didn't want to lie to people but I haven't told friends who I only meet up with once in a while. I want the buzz from their reactions.

This surgery has cost me thousands of pounds and a social life for the next year or so (while I pay it off). I plan on giving myself a pat on the back with every pound and inch lost. I need to be careful tho... 2 days ago I called to pick a friend up and her partner came out to the car. He asked how I was doing and almost instinctively I went to lift my blouse up to show him my scars. Oops!!! ;0)

I was lucky in a way as just as I was booking for a free consultation, they knocked £1,000 off and I researched for a credit card with a long interest free period ( I hate paying interest). I'd been considering it for years but didn't think I would be able to afford it then managed to get more hours at work so decided to use the etra wage on this.

There were a couple of things like info early on and not speaking to a dietician until she rang 2weeks after surgery that were a bit of a bug bear. My bmi was 39 or almost 39 two weeks pre op and 35 point something on day of surgery. I'm looking at this as kind of like a mortgage and that I'm investing in myself for the future. I'm hoping the rest of my 40's are better than the whole of my 30's.

I'm only 5'2" and top heavy so look quite dumpy. I've lost good amounts of weight short term in the past but just can't maintain the losses. People might say it's drastic but I've been a lifelong dieter who has lost her self confidence and wants it back!!

I told my family one by one and also work collegues. A couple of friends know too. I wasn't going to tell one of my sons or one sister as they can be very judgemental but ended up telling them too before surgery. I've only had a couple of comments like' why don't you just go on a diet.. go to weight watchers... i'll tell you how to lose weight...' etc. My dad just didn't get it. For over a decade I've been at least 4stone overweight and long to be 9 1/2 stone again.

Before I changed to become a Practice nurse at a Gp surgery, I was a Staff Nurse in a hospital and worked on the bariactric clinics. I laid trays up ready for band fills and had limited knowledge on the surgery. It seems now that my knowledge was almost nil!

My aim is to be 9-9 1/2 stone by my surgery anniversary but also to have paid it all off by then too

I joined a weightloss support group who meet every 3rd Monday and that has proved really useful too. My first meeting was a week before surgery and there is a good mixture of people who have had bypasses, sleeves and bands. One person has lost 3 1/2 stone since she had her band in January!!! They have a closed(secret) Facebook page where only members can see your comments on there and they have given lots of tips for this and that.

I've invested in a treadmill and cross trainer(2nd hand, love ebay) and am allowed to use them from this weekend.

At the moment I am still obsessed with reading stuff and working out my food allowances etc. One tip I was given by my dietician is to add potato to your Soups as the starch helps to get the full sensation.x

We have lost around the same in the same time Deanne:)

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My surgery was in Bromsgrove. I lost 9lb on 2 week pre op calorie counting and have lost another 9lb since.

I was self pay and was only away from my hospital room( number 13 as it turned out) for one hour in total when I had the surgery. I had absolutely no pain or nausea but did have some shoulder discomfort in the early hours of the next morning.

Chris

I've struggled a fair bit. Sometimes I do have that full sensation- I found very early on it seemed 'tight' in a morning. Having read lots on here that can be common. Some days I could eat a full meal including pudding but have to force myself not to. I'm managing to stay around 800 cals a day and it seems i have a wobble every 3 days or so. At this point it's only calorie counting that helping to lose weight but my dietician says 1-2 lb loss per week is good. It doesn't feel it when you see the big losses on here tho lol.

I ate chicken(when it wasn't minced) too early and was sick . Minced chicken, poached salmon, baked potatoes(mashed no skin) and mushy peas have got me through this stage and I can have normal food from this Thursday. Oh and I've had porridge every night which is lovely and filling and helps me have a good sleep.< /p>

I'm trying to plan my first meal and hope I can tolerate pitta bread. God I miss bread!!

Oops, forgot to mention I live in Staffordshire:)

Hi both. I had my band fitted 29th March so am almost 4 weeks post op. I had it done with The Hospital Group and had 4mls put in at time of surgery. My first fill will be 5th May and 2nd 31st May. My band holds 10mls and I've been told I'll feel restriction at around 7mls full.x

I should have been on 2 week pre op diet but opted to calorie count- 1,000-1,200. After the first week my co-ordinator said since I had lost 5lb I could continue. I lost 9lb pre-op altogether. I ate right until 11.30pm the day before surgery( I didn't have to go in until midday).

If you've achieved a decent loss, I wouldn't knock yourself too much. I've only ever heard of 2 people go in for banding and the surgeon stopped the procedure due to the liver being too large/fatty. One of those was through here and the other was through a girl in my support group-the dietician had mentioned it.

Both of these could even be just hearsay. Tried hard from now on and have fluids every hour to help fill you up . Best of luck xx

HI. I would get some more from the chemist and put them on. I put some on and changed them for more. I think I had them on for 12days on total- there were 2 sites That didnt look like they would close together without additional support.

Hi Pixie. I'm quite new to the band part of my weightloss journey and had my band 29th March. Initially I was doing well, am still finding it hard to have the amount of recommended fluids tho but my literature from the hospital tells me everyone's requirements are different. I've had a number of wobbles along the way and my dietician told me it's all part of the process. She says it's not cheating ( as cheating is achieving something without following the 'rules' ) when you give in to having something,it's more like a 'stall' and to think of it this way... many of us are lifelong dieters so how can we expect to brake habits in such a short time without a few blips along the way? Changing eating habits will lead to your tastes in foods changing/adapting too. At the moment I adore mushy peas lol.

I'm not brilliant at eating in the morning but do go to bed late so I've found drinking mugs of tea in a morning is adequate and my 3 meals a day begin at lunchtime. Having my monthly 'munchies'/craving week and infrequent BM's don't help but I'm now more focused and am still counting my calories. My first fill is May 5th and am expecting 1ml to take me to 5 (had 4 put in at time of surgery) and my second will be May 31st.

Good luck with your journey and thanks for sharing the Burroca tip

HI. For the first two weeks post op my teeth felt 'furry' even after a good clean. I did wonder if it was surgery related but forgot to mention it to both the nurse and dietician when they rang. Thanks for mentioning this!

Hi. It can be a shock going from daily to once every 4-5 days before a bowel movement. For me I have tried prune juice early on but have a sip of milk of magnesium daily. It still takes at least 4 days but isn't as uncomfortable as it has been. I'm 22 days post op.

I do weight myself daily but am aware that since I dont have a daily BM, I can't expect the scales to go down all the time:)

Sorry, I assumed you were post op and replied as such.

Your guilt should help get you through. The journey is well worth it x

My hunger started on day four too. I'm almost 3 weeks post op and have had many slip ups! For me it happens when I've not had enough Fluid. My dietician has reassured me but do remember you are currently healing and by having the solids so early on, you are making your stomach work when it should be resting. I was told to add potato to my Soups as it thickens them plus the starch will help to fill you up. It really did help. The sugar free jellies are lovely, sweet and a good distraction too.

Make yourself a planner and try and plan your meals and fluids. This does help you focus. Also coming on here when you feel like you're about to have a wobble and reading the posts helps to inspire and drive you on!.

Good luck ;0)

I woke up on the 4th morning after surgery and found I was on my stomach. I'd had a really good sleep! I regularly wake up now on my stomach with no discomfort. I do however feel my port might be a little tilted but after getting a few people to have a feel at my WLS support group, I am reassured that it is nothing out of the ordinary and the nurse should have no problems giving me the fills:)

Hi Everyone. I'm 3 weeks post op tomorrow and have lost a total of 16lb(9lb was pre-op). This last week I have stayed pretty much the same ( I weigh daily for the guide) but feel the scales will show a bit of a loss tomorrow. Some days I can stick to 800 cals and feel really positive but other days I could eat the equivilent of a 3 course evening meal! I've not oftenbeen feeling that full sensation at the back of my throat and have been trying to have a small evening meal but found I'm then in and out the kitchen having a bit of this then back for that. It's almost like I'm pushing myself to try and feel full. It is my time of the month tho

Today I had only a cup of tea before work( bearing in mind I ate loads last night, even in bed) and arrived at a meeting with little time to eat lunch before the speaker began. The softest thing I could see was a chicken and chorizo casserole(creamy sauce) and i had 2 spoons of cous cous. I tried to shred the chicken with my fork( I'm still on mushies officially) and had only one tiny piece of chorizo (it was a little spicy). I had to eat fast and tried to chew chew chew but managed about 1/4 of a plateful in total and got that full feeling. I hadn't had it for days and days!!

Not feeling particularly hungry but aware I hadnt had many calories, for my evening meal I had 1/2 small tin of sardines for tea and slowly followed this with a small baked potato(no skin). My total calories so far today are under 550. I don't feel I'll have more than 100cals tonight and am almost buzzing that I'm not in and out the cupboard.

I have 4mls put in my 10ml band at time of surgery and have an appts for 2 fills in May.

My dietician says 1000cals is a guide only, we all need different amounts. She told me not to focus on the amount of calories but a loss of 1-2lb per week is good. I've been told not to exercise until I'm 4weeks post-op but have bought a treadmill and from tonight will be just walking for 20mins if I don't walk to work.

It had suited me to have a Protein Shake for Breakfast and a cup a Soup or other soup for lunch with something like poached salmon, mashed potato and mushy peas for dinner but after today It was a relief not to be raiding the cupboards si I'm going to eat more than soup for lunch tomorrow and see if I have another good day.x

Hi. I'm a RGN and working as a Practice Nurse at a Gp surgery. I was going to go back to work after one week but would have only worked one day before having the long Easter weekend. I'm glad I had a 12 day run as out of the blue, I had a bit of an emotional day on day 9. I had sat as a passenger in my parents car while we went to visit a relative. I think my stomach became very tense from riding over all the potholes and by the time I was home, I was washed out. I did a small chore, something broke and the tears started.

Actually going back to work gave me a buzz and a better routine but sitting at my desk/computer gave me a severe backache. It happened for the first 3 days but the nurse at hospital did not feel it was band related( i had even wondered if it was due to new shoes). I changed chairs, took analgesia and used a hot waterbottle on my back. It has been alot better from day 4. Strange ;0/

HI. I had read alot on here about using a heat pad so I borrowed 2 hot Water bottles off my sister and used one for my stomach and put the second on my right shouder( i didnt get left shoulder discomfort). They weren't 'painful' as such but uncomfortable so they felt nice and helped me sleep. I walked round the room little but oftenish and also rotated my arms( like making big wheel motions) a few times which also helped.

Make sure you have something to help with Constipation though as You probably won't go for a few days anyway but it can be uncomfortable when you do and for the following few times. I tried prune juice but am sticking to milk of magnesia which is great.

Hope you're feeling better soon but rest loads and keep up with the fluids xx

Hi. It's my 3rd day on mushies and when the dietican rang me on Thursday, she said I can have some of the tiny Pasta now. I bought some and cooked it up last night but unfortunately the Tomato sauce I used was too sharp so I didnt enjoy it( but did finish that portion). I had no problem keeping it down tho.

I stupidly tried a small piece of poached chicken after I did my son a chicken/bacon/philly cheese and BBQ Sauce panini at lunchtime today and that made me sick for about 30mins. I feel washed out so will be sticking to poached salmon, mashed potato and mushy peas!!

I'm really hoping that chicken won't be a problem for me longterm as I'm used to having it at least 3 times every wek. I should have stuck to the rules and only had minced chicken during this fortnight!

Thanks. I did end up measuring on the morning of my surgery- 29th March. I thought I had lost the post-it I wrote on but found it. 3 days ago I measured and have already lost 2 inches off hips and 2 1/2 " off my waist(or other way round). Very pleased I did