suzcomptime

I went to the seminar prepared to do the band last November 2011. I liked the fact that if there was a problem, it could be taken out. It seemed less invasive, no overnight in hospital. Overall less of a procedure. I had my first consult with the lapband Dr. in December but someone at work was going for the sleeve and so I decided to consult with the sleeve Dr. too. I went to a couple of support meetings and were surprised that there were band people there who were switching over to either sleeve or bypass. I also read a lot of stories where people seemed to have a hard time finding that right spot between not enough restriction and too much. I also read about bands eroding and slipping and after giving it some thought and not wanting to do it twice, I decided to just go for the sleeve. I am so glad. I have been so successful, I feel so good and so normal. Including the 8 lbs that I lost from my first appt with the Dr until my surgery in May, I have lost 75 lbs and have 15 more to go. Each person has to weigh the pros and cons and make their own decision. Someone else I know from work has been very successful with the band and her husband is having it done this week. I also do not know if there will be complications in the future because of my sleeve. It was the chance I took. You weigh all the pros and cons and get input from people both that have had the sleeve and the band. It seems like there is more eating restriction with the band and maybe more nausea. I have not been nauseous but the girl I know with the band seemed to be but that may not statistically be the norm for these two surgeries, just happens to be our different experiences.

Where did you get this information? I have read other articles about the link of increasing ghrelin in lab mice, increasing memory. Yours was the first post I have seen that said the opposite. Can you provide a source? That being said, I haven't really noticed a loss or gain either way. I still forget things but before surgery I was putting it to "old age"....but I really don't think it is much different than any one else. I was glad that I didn't have some type of obvious memory loss or I probably wouldn't be able to do my job....I have to keep a lot in my head! Almost 3 months out and it is a non-issue.

Like someone else said, being able to eat more is normal at the beginning because you are very swollen after surgery. Also, just think of this as temporary. Where you are right now, is not where you will be in 3 or 4 months. It is a temporary price to pay for a life changing choice you made for your health. You will be able to eat regular food again, just in smaller quantities. Of course, making healthy choices is start part of the plan in order to reach your goal. Get 60 Protein a day and you are set. If you buy powdered you can mix it double strength to have less too drink but it may taste too sweet. That is the biggest problem I am having that things taste too sweet or too strong. The other option is mix it weaker and just sip for a few hours and do that a few times.....gives you your protein and your other liquid. Oh, and my birthday is in a few weeks and I will not be eating cake. I may make some protein icecream though: The World According to Egg Face

I would suggest getting Unjury unflavored protein to supplement. You can put it into soups, yogurt, etc because some of the mushy/puree food does not have enough protein without supplementing with 1 or more protein shakes. If you can't stand the shakes, than at least try and get some protein in with the food you can eat.

Thanks for the responses. I hope I can be patient as well.

I belong to another group that were sleeved in May. People talk a lot about stalls and slowing down. My theory from scanning through the profiles and signatures that provide enough detail from members a few months out, is that you lose fastest the first couple of months but then things slow to more of an average of around 10 lbs. Can you comment to your personal experience? I feel that many are getting discouraged and may be expecting to keep up their 14 lb per week weight loss. How did your weight loss go? Thanks

Unjury chicken broth has been my life saver as warm is what I tolerate best. You have to be careful not too overheat the water as I guess it can make the texture weird. I actually use my meat probe thermometer and make sure it is 130 degrees or less before I add the Unjury to the cup of hot water.

I was told to leave the surgistrips on the two small incisions until they fell off. When I shower, I don't srub them, just let Water wash over and than pat dry gently. For my big incision, which I can't even really see since it is inside my belly button, he said to take the large bandaid off, pull out the gauze stuffed in my belly button, take my shower and then gently pat inside my belly button dry, put fresh gauze in there and recover with another large bandaid. So far, so good. I am 8 days out. Sue

So sorry about this tragedy I am sure your surgeon will be understanding and may help get you in when the time is right.

I hit onerland today, it sure does feel good.

I already switched to decaf well before surgery because I didn't want to deal with too many things at once. I was told that caffeine is hard on your stomach and it would be best to do decaf from now out. Since I've switched, I think I'll try to stay there and not go back to caffeine. I am surprised Candyman that your Dr. said it had to be cold. Why would that make a difference? In fact, I am 1 week out and warm liquids work much better than cold for now but I am not drinking anything hot, hot because my stomach is still healing.

Ha, good try on using mind over matter I am going to try egg face's homemade Protein icecream: http://theworldaccor...-ice-cream.html

Haha, great mind control.....It reminded me of a book I read years ago that talked about mayo and how much oil was in it and other unhealthy foods. After reading the book that visualization kept me from eating mayo for quite some time.