jen_1381

Hi Kimie! I'm in Camas, very very close to Vancouver. Send me a message, I'd love to chat with you! I'm about 5 months post-op and could use a bandster friend!

I've been at a stand-still for about 7 weeks. It can take a huge toll on you mentally. I've had to take a step back and be proud of my progress, or else I would have lost my mind by now. Just know you're body is changing and adjusting. You'll get there.

Exactly what Missy said. I think in addition, it helps you prepare for the post-op diet. Most doctors require liquids for a period after surgery, sometimes up to 3-4 weeks. It was a good way for my body to get used to only liquids so post wasn't such a shock.

I lost 13 lbs, started at 243 and was right around 230 the day of surgery. I wasn't given a pre-op diet per se, just clear liquids the day before. I opted to do protein shakes during the day and a salad at night, then 5 days before surgery went to all protein shakes.

I risk it with gum Call me a rebel, but it's the only thing that keeps my mouth moist when I'm out for a jog. I don't like to carry anything that won't clip to me (keys, MP3) so don't bring the water. I just keep it towards the front of my mouth. So far, no accidental swallowing, but my doc wasn't thrilled when I told him. He said though, for only an hour a day, it's probably okay just not all day long.

I would call your doctors office, maybe run it past his nurse. The thing with hard candy is (god forbid) you swallow it on accident. That's not something that should be going through your pouch so early post-op. Good idea with the popsicle.

You can TOTALLY do this! It's a mind-over-matter thing. Just know that your body is getting the nourisment it needs and everything else doesn't matter. The pre-op diet is the first exercise in will power we get to do. Good luck!

Good luck to you all!! The nerves are totally normal. I had to stop and remind myself over and over why I was doing this. So far, so good!

I haven't heard that, and hope it's not true since vomiting is not something most of us can do easily anymore. I haven't had any stomach issues (knock on wood!) and I've been banded almost 5 months. I would ask your doctor maybe.

I'm excited for you! Most of us happy bandsters will agree, our only regret is not doing it sooner. At 19, I weighed 235 lbs. You know the only change that happened over the next 10 years, despite countless diets and work-out routines? I gained 10 lbs. A month shy of my 29th bday I got my band, and have lost over 50 lbs so far. I'm not saying that doing it without the band isn't possible, but you sound like you've really got your head on straight and have made a well-informed decision. Don't let other peoples opinions sway you; you are the only one that has to wake up every morning in your skin.

I would definitely pass it by your doctor, but life after gallbaldder removal is different The gallbladder is your "grease trap", and without it there, greasy or high-fat foods can make a quick exit. There are some foods I completely avoid because of that factor.

Some peoples bodies just work differently. I had abdominal pain for about 5 months. Had everything worked up, it was all negative, and I was miserable. My surgeon was certain it was my appendix but diagnostically it was completely normal. He finally decided just to take it out, and sure enough it was completely calcified. The calcifications wouldn't show up on the scans but it was certainly the root of the problem. Same thing with my gallbladder, I had stones that showed up on one ultrasound but not the second...but the symptoms all correlated with a bad gallbaldder. What you're describing sounds like gallbladder to me. I also had to have mine out after weight loss last year. If you have gallstones, your gb can still function properly, and the stones may be small enough that they move through by the time you had the scans. It wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion though. Whatever the outcome, I wish you luck and a speedy recovery.

I'm with Sojourner - if it's one thing I've learned it's just to listen to your body. Learn to read your signals. My "soft" warning that I'm getting full is a gurgle that goes from my stomach to my throat. Once I have that, I can get about 1 more bite before I'm full. If I feel full, and try one more bite, I will without a doubt feel sick or get stuck.

Sliming is when your GI tract starts producing lots of saliva in order to help pass the food that is stuck. Your mouth waters like a faucet. Also - Lyndeboo - one that took me a bit to figure out was "PB" - productive burping. What you can do when you're stuck to get the food up. Different than vomiting, you're just producing what is stuck above the band. Some peoples "stuck" episodes require a PB. I've been stuck a handful of times and not needed to PB at all. I just try to relax, breathe, walk around, and let it pass.

There are so many factors that can tweak your weight up and down. Water retention, your amount of activity (I ran a little test and weighed 2 more pounds right after working out than I did before I started), and so many other things. I always weigh myself in the morning, as soon as I wake up right after I go to the bathroom and stark naked. That's the only weight I take to heart. All the other scales are different than yours, and your body is different at certain times of day. I know that won't make you feel better, but please don't be so hard on yourself. I am the same way with the weight loss and gain fluctuations, and it really takes its toll on your spirit after a few months. Look at big picture.

I'm pretty sure that I am in, if not very close to, the Green Zone. I have 6.5 cc's in my 11 cc band. I don't feel very much difference when I eat. I have to take smaller bites and chew thoroughly. The big change for me with this last fill is I am able to stick to the 1 cup rule without getting hungry between meals. I'm eating 1 cup of meal 3 times a day, and sometimes a small snack in the afternoon (less than a cup) if I work out. My weight has been plateau-d for about 7 weeks but I think if I can keep with the 1 cup without getting hungry, my body will adjust eventually and start losing again.

I am almost 5 months post-op and my answer is YES, I would do it again!! My band has been my motivation to be better. My kick in the butt to get off the couch. My constant reminder that I need to eat to live, not live to eat. I don't remember the first few days post-op being horrible. I remember the air pain was uncomfortable, but keeping the heating pad close made it better. Walking helped. Obviously I wasn't in too much pain if I don't remember it very well!! My band was the kick I needed to get my journey started. Even though I haven't lost a single pound the past 6 weeks (darn plateaus!) I'm SO extremely thankful for the 50+ pounds I have lost so far, and that alone gives me the inspiration to keep at it.

It basically comes down to you. No weight loss surgery will work if you don't make the lifestyle changes to make it work. There's successful lap band and bypass patients, and there's unsuccessful of both. Each surgery has their own set of challenges. I myself chose the band because I wasn't really to re-arrange my internal organs. I knew that worst case scenario, the band could come out and I could return to "normal". With bypass or sleeve, there's no going back (bypass is reversible but the surgeons I've spoke with say that 1 - it's VERY rare to reverse one and 2 - it's even more rare to get one reversed successfully). But, my goal is to lose 80 lbs. I think if I had more to lose (like over 150 lbs) I might have opted for a more invasive procedure. So far, my band and I are getting along just fine

Whew! Glad he is being supportive. I had to be careful when I presented it to my husband - I thought about it a while, then told him that this is something that I want to do for ME, and I'm not a selfish person but I need this to hopefully get to a place one day in my life that I'm comfortable in my own skin. I know men are self-conscious also, but telling him that what I saw in the mirror never made me happy, he understood.

I'm not a fan of Dr. Oz I know a lot of people value his opinion, but I'm not one. It will be interesting to see how Lisa does though. I read a comment that she had towards Dr. Oz that he was one of those "skinny people we hate". She's very outspoken...should be an interesting show!

I found that the Sandwich Thins, Pita Bread, or Tortillas are my safest bet. Now that I'm at/near the Green Zone, regular bread doesn't go down as well.

For me, "stuck" is when I swallow a bite too big, or I get my full signal but take another bite anyway. What does it feel like? It feels horrible. It's not the worst pain ever but it's not fantastic. It feels to me like the absolute worst indigestion you could imagine. It feels like a rock sitting in your esophagus. My mouth starts watering and I get that little panic feeling. It doesn't interrupt your breathing or anything like that, but it feels scary. My worst one passed after about 3 minutes, mostly it's just a minute or so of that pain. I've never had to vomit, or "PB" (productive burp) to get food back up. I've always just paced and taken slow, steady breaths until it passed. PBing it back up would probably help but I'm honestly scared to death to make anything come back up.

My job is about 75% office and 25% up and down/back and forth/moving around. I had surgery on a Friday was back to work Monday. I didn't feel fantastic, but made it through the day just fine.