brianb

Congrats miznikkie! I'm also on my second fill. At 4.6 and feel some restriction finally! Many things slide right on past, but the things I really like such as chicken do not so I have to follow the rules now. Been waiting for this day for a while. Yeah, it sounds like the doc didn't give you enough on the first fill either. Mine was the same way, but it was my own fault. The fill freaked me out so much when I took a drink that he took too much out. I have a third fill scheduled for the end of the month and can't wait. Think I'm close, but I would like a bit more restriction.

Congrats lolarose13! Couldn't agree more with your post. Sounds a lot like my story. Hope you drop in and let us know how it's going. Doing good here.

B-52, thank you for posting. Your posts have been some of the most interesting, helpful and honest posts I've seen on these boards. I can't imagine I would do my own fill / unfill, but it is interesting. Also, I think you are right about the restriction. Please keep that in your signature. Think for a lot of us it is dead on accurate and it has helped me.

Sorry Mandy. At least you don't have to pay for the fills. That is a good thing. Of course the doctor being overly cautious is a good thing in that it's probably less likely to result in a slip. Hang in there! I'll bet you start getting restriction soon.

It sounds like your doctor isn't giving you enough saline on the fill, but have no suggestions on how to fix that. There seem to be many different methods doctors use to determine how much to give, but I think some are better than others. How did your doctor determine how much to give you? My doc overfills then has the patient drink Water and slowly takes saline out until the water starts to go down. It's pretty aggresive compared to some other doctors, but getting restriction seems to not be an issue. Are you paying for the fills? Usually the first year is free.

Congrats, I think you will be very happy with your decision!

Great question. I somehow managed to get through my 2 week liquid diet without cheating, but boy, I was bad post surgery. Think a big part of my issues post surgery was the ridiculous pre-op diet. It was absolute hell. I dealt with it by sleeping a lot and drinking tons of crystal light and eating tons of sugar free Jello. I doubt you will be in trouble from cheating, but I've read a few posts where the doctor will stop the surgery if the liver is too large. I can't imagine how horrible that would be.

Congrats and hang in there. My first 7 days after surgery were hard, but then it's like nothing happened. I felt like you. A new life is right!

Mine stopped very suddenly. Days 1 through 7 were the same and horrible. Day 8 was okay, but still annoying. Day 9 and after has been nearly pain free. Most days I can't even tell that I had surgery. I've said this many times on the board, but I think most of my pain came from drinking milk based products like Protein shakes. I've read several others that suddenly have an adverse reaction to milk.

What a jerk of a doctor. That doctor is a complete idiot. That makes me so mad! I'm sooooo sorry you had to go through this. It's hard enough when things go right. Great job switching doctors though!

I cheated as well. I just couldn't hack it anymore... But, I also think some of these post op diets are way too restrictive and probably overly cautious. But if I could have hung in there, I would have. Why take the risk? The stomach is trying to heal and it makes sense that we want to tax it as little as possible.

I was starving from about day 4 on. You are lucky. But, a tiny bit of food would fill me up. So, it was no big deal.

Congrats! You think you are happy now, just wait a week! It just keeps getting better : )

I felt it was hell days 1 through 7. On day 7 though I started suspecting the milk in the shakes and stopped drinking them. Day 8 was so much better and days 9 and on have been 100% gas and pain free. Thinking it's coincidence, but thought I would mention it.

I had a lot of pain post op as well, but not from drinking Clear liquids. Protein shakes though caused tremendous gas and nausea (believe it was the milk in them). The gas pains were horrible. Hang in there. It will pass before you know it. By day 9, nothing hurt anymore. But days 1 through 7 were hell.

Great post first off. Thanks for starting this. In my opinion, the more fun exercise is the easier it is to get motivated to go. We all know how important it is, but it also has to be easy. If it's a chore or too painful, most of us won't go. At least that is my thought. So, I focus on making it as enjoyable as possible. I do this by: - Listening to fast paced music that I like while on the treadmill - Switch up exercises often. Rarely do I do more than 30 minutes on any single machine. - Watch movies while on the eliptical or stationary bike - At max do 15 minutes of weights because it is so boring - Limit exercise to 1 hour max to avoid burnout - Limit exercise to 5 days max to avoid burnout Main thing that helps me is movies. I try to stick to action movies as they work much better in the gym than a comedy or drama. Watching something like 300 really meshes well why working out. Also, I avoid outdoors for the following reasons: - Less Annoying - No cars, bikes, or pedestrians with dogs trying to run me over and trip me - Safer - Same as above, plus no uneven sidewalks to trip on and no worries about a sun burn (skin cancer) - Easier - Just hit a number on the treadmill and shut the brain off. Don't have to set a pace. - Motivational - Being around others doing the same thing - Fun - Nature is awesome, but can get kind of boring. Movies to me are the way to go. Last thing that I sometimes do is play games on my phone while on the bike. If I'm going for an easy bike workout that day, games can make the time fly. This only works on the bike and only if I'm going slow.

In Saint Petersburg Florida it was $9,900 and covered every single thing. This is the low BMI rate (BMI under 35). The other rate I believe is right at $15,000. http://www.obesitynomorefl.com/ My surgeon was Dr Ernest Rehnke. My understanding is that he has done well over a thousand bands over several years. Everything was great and doing well.

Sorry to hear about your allergies. That definitely makes things hard, but you are doing good. Hang in there. I'm sure you will make it all the way. You are close now.

Amazing, it's not all the band. Lot of that is you. Good job!!!

Nice work, looking good!

Post op was hell for me, but only for 7 days. The 8th day was no big deal and the 9th day I felt 100% and was so happy with my decision. Now, you do have to be careful with the band if you don't already know it. It's very easy to over eat and have something get stuck. I'm not sure what causes it, but you really don't want to irritate your band so much that you start throwing up. I suspect that getting stuck could cause this. From what I've read it sounds like every time you throw up, you risk a chance of causing a band slippage. Supposedly rare, but I'm skeptical as there are a ton of posts on this board about people who have had slipped bands. Just something to consider... Now, what is awesome about the band in my opinion is that if you have a change of heart, you can have the saline removed until you are ready to get on track. And for that reason alone I think it's the #1 WLS. Anyway, the emotional journey for me was pretty simple. - 2 weeks of pre-op liquid diet hell - 1 week of post-op hell - blue skies ever after

Oops, just read your follow up post. Congrats!

Boy our stories sound similar. I was low BMI starting out (30 BMI and 27 by the day of the surgery). Also self pay... I had 14 day pre-op liquid and it was the worst 14 days of my life. Slept a ton and also stopped exercising because it drove my hunger to new levels. So far I think it's by far the best money I ever spent and am happy. Hang in there. You will be on the other side before you know it!

Another post earlier recommended almond milk. If you find that regular milk is giving you gas pains (as it seemed to do for me), you might give that a shot. Highly recommend staying true to the liquids as long as you can stand it. I was supposed to be on Clear Liquids for two weeks, but with the 2 week pre-op liquid diet, just didn't have the will power to go that long. I made it 8 days post op before caving and going to mushies. Hang in there!

Mine was 2 weeks of liquids and only 3 opti fast drinks a day allowed. Truly the most miserable days of my life. For me it got significantly easier after day 8. I could see the light at that point. I slept a ton and would fill up on sugar free Jello, Water and crystal light. It's over, but thinking back on it nearly makes me cry.