MammaJamma42

Hi there! I've never done this before, so I'll introduce myself. I have been married for 31 years and have one son who is 26 years old, married, and gave me a beautiful grandson 6 months ago. I absolutely adore my grandson and LOVE being a grandma!!!! I am SOOOOO happy I had the surgery and have not regretted it for even one single moment since I had it. My only regret is that I didn't do it at least 10 years ago. My doctor here in Tulsa is great - Dr. Ladd Atkins. I love this forum and everyone on it. It has been a lifesaver during the time before and since my surgery! Name, real or screen~ Cheryl (aka MammaJamma42) Goal weight for November 30th~ 250 Weight on November 1st~ 258 Age~ 51 City/State~ Tulsa, Oklahoma Dietary goal for November~ Be able to eat solid foods again - think I need a slight unfill to be able to do so. Exercise goal for November~ Start doing some type of light exercise 3x/week for 15 minutes each time. Personal goal for November~ Be thankful for all I have and show that appreciation to someone every day. Date banded~ 7/18/13 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~ 50 lbs. Favorite Thanksgiving Activity~ Being with family - spending time together & good food!

I've been on myfitnesspal since my pre-op diet, and it is great! My doctor isn't that concerned with calories, but he does want to make sure I'm getting in enough protein every day, and I like how it tracks all of that for you, plus your weight. It's so great too for tracking what you eat, with the bar code reader and all. I just love it! If anyone gets on it, add me as a friend! I'm MammaJamma42 on there too. We can help support each other there and here!

I was banded July 18th, and I've lost 47.6 pounds so far. I've had two fills of one cc each since my surgery, the last one being a couple weeks ago. I'm still really tight from the last one, and haven't been able to progress much from soups and liquids yet. Not sure whether it's because I also had plication or what, but small fills really seem to affect me more than they do others. I'm still thrilled with my progress though and haven't regretted doing this for even one second! Only wish I'd done it 10 years ago!

I couldn't agree more! I don't think you can get truly comfortable for the first week. I sat in a recliner a lot - I just couldn't get comfortable anywhere else. And I used an ice pack on my port incision, as that was the most uncomfortable spot. I slept with a body pillow too, and only slept on my right side, since my port is on my left side. Be sure to keep taking your pain meds. They are your friend during that first week, and will help you sleep!

WOW!! That is amazing!! WAY TO GO!!!!! What an inspiration!

Popsicles! They were heaven for me post-op! And chewable gas-x tablets. And chicken broth.

My husband and I eat out a lot too, and since my surgery we're saving SOOOO much money! We usually share a meal, and by that I mean, he eats about 75% of it, and I eat about 25%. I'll eat a few bites of whatever meat he orders, and a few bites of whatever side dish, and then I'm good. If I've recently gotten a fill, I'll just order a cup of soup, or a side of beans or something like that. It's actually surprisingly easy to eat out with my band. I've quit ordering soft drinks because I can't drink it once the meal gets there. I just order water and sip on that until the food gets there. Good luck with your decision!

I had lapband with plication on July 18, 2013. I think I've seen several other people on here that have had the same. Do you have questions about the procedure, or just looking for support? I think the plication probably definitely helps!

I was self-pay in Oklahoma, and it was right at $12,000, and included the first year's maintenance and after-care. After that, I'll have to pay for fills, etc. I haven't had any trouble at all with mine. I've been into the office monthly since my surgery in July, and have had two fills. I'll consider it well worth every penny if it continues to help me lose weight as it has so far! Good luck!

I think I figured out the real culprit in this mystery (although I do believe that sleeping on my back does make my band tighter in the mornings than it usually is anyway). It happened again Saturday morning when I woke up, and I retraced what I had done Friday night before I went to bed and what I had done the other night before I went to bed when I had trouble the whole next day trying to eat absolutely anything. It was that delicious chocolatey goodness from Satan - Nutella!! I was craving something sweet before I went to bed, and we had some Nutella leftover from a cookout we had a while back when we used it to make s'mores. I thought a couple of spoonfuls of that surely wouldn't be too bad for me. Well, here's the problem - I've thought I had a slight sensitivity to hazelnuts because whenever I have hazelnut flavored coffee, or even nutella previously, my tongue would get little sore spots, almost like blisters on it. When I woke up on Saturday morning, that's what it felt like in my esophagus, and in my band - like the whole thing was covered with blisters. I could only swallow clear liquids pretty much all day. I took a couple of Benadryl and tried to just sip on clear liquids all day to make it through the day. I took a couple more Benadryl before I went to bed, and was fine when I woke up yesterday. Sore esophagus gone, could eat (albeit soups & mushies) again, and will NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, try to eat NUTELLA ever again!!!!! JEEZ!! I feel so stupid!!!!! I think I'm going to call this a full-fledged allergy to hazelnuts at this point. Thanks to you all for your input! Appreciate your help and advice, and just being there for me as I tried to solve this mystery.

Well, that's kind of the thing - I think I am seeing a trend. I am most tight on the mornings when I have slept on my back. That's interesting what you've read about blood seeking a level throughout the body. I'll have to do some research on this. Thanks for your input!

So, normally I sleep on my side or side/stomach, but a few times since I got my band, when I woke up in the morning, I had been sleeping on my back most of the night (according to my husband). On those days, my band felt much tighter. I had trouble swallowing pills, drinking my protein shake in the morning, etc. Yesterday was one of those days, and it was REALLY tight! I got a fill last Wednesday, the 16th, and he put in 1 cc. This was my second fill, and he had originally put in 1 1/2 cc, but when he had me try to drink water, and it took too long to go down, he took out 1/2 cc. I had been doing fine up until yesterday. I hadn't had a stuck episode or anything, but yesterday was the worst day I've had since I got my band, literally. Like worse than the day after surgery. It was SO tight and uncomfortable, painful even - I couldn't drink my normal protein shake for breakfast, couldn't get soup down for lunch; couldn't even suck on crackers or anything really. I ended up just trying to stay hydrated by sipping on water & lemonade and went to bed early. I made sure to sleep on my side and stomach last night, and am having only liquids today, but that tightness seems to be past now. I was able to get my protein shake down this morning and just had some thin broccoli cheddar soup for lunch. Anybody else have this experience with their band? I was starting to panic that something had gone wrong, that my band had slipped or something, even though I have never thrown up or even PB'd. I just think it's weird that sleeping on my back can affect the tightness of my band so dramatically, and I've never heard anyone else mention this. It's the only thing I can think of that could be causing this for me.

Woo hoo!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! SOOOOOO happy for you!!!!

I would use the cookies and cream muscle milk powder, just because it's low in carbs, or the plain whey protein powder, if I were you. I order my protein powder online, and I really like it. It's called Prograde Protein, and it's whey protein, but it has no artificial sweeteners - no aspartame or sucralose, or sugar, for that matter. It's sweetened with stevia. My go-to protein shake is always two scoops of the chocolate Prograde Protein powder with 12 oz. of the Blue Diamond unsweetened almond/coconut milk blend with 2 tablespoons of PB2 peanut butter powder, a banana, and probably a cup of ice cubes, all chopped up in the blender. This is SOOOO yummy to me! I have it every single morning for breakfast, and any other time when I need extra protein (32 grams all together), or when I'm on liquids after a fill or something. Good luck! Let me know how you're doing!

It probably is. I think it goes into starvation mode if you go below a certain level of calories and really just shuts down. I find that if I stay at around 1300-1400 calories/day, I lose around 2-2 1/2 pounds per week, which is the rate at which I want to lose. Try increasing your calories a little, and see if that doesn't help. My doctor always tells me not to count calories, that he's more concerned with the quality of what I'm eating (especially wants me to make sure I'm getting in at least 60 grams of protein per day), but I like knowing, so I use myfitnesspal, since it tracks protein, carbs, calories, etc. Sounds like that's what your app does as well. I just know that when I stalled on my weight loss, I was only having around 600-800 calories per day, and when I increased it to around 1200 calories/day, I started losing again. Go figure! Crazy body!!

Same thing happened to me, nmsinclaire1, a couple weeks after my surgery. And it also caused me to freak out until I got on here and saw how common it is. I actually increased my calories a little by adding a couple of protein shakes a day, and started losing weight again. I think the important thing to remember, as several people have already said, is that this is the time when your body is still healing, and I guess during that time, it reacts in some weird ways. Just hang in there, and try not to focus too much on the scale. It will start moving again - promise!!

I think if you go to this link, you should be able to find somebody near you: http://www.lapband.com/find-a-specialist/ Good luck!

I've never been stuck, but I've heard that papaya enzymes are good for clearing things out. Might be worth a shot. Good luck!

Welcome zingy to our July band buddies group! Sounds like you're off to an amazing start! And from Ireland - very cool! I've always wanted to visit Ireland. I have a lot of ancestors from there. You are TALL! Lucky you! My husband and son are both 6'5", so I know some of the challenges of being tall, but also some of the rewards. I am only 5'6", but lucky to have them around to reach anything for me when I need it. Great to meet you!

Congratulations on your decision and welcome! Best decision I ever made for myself and my family!

Adding my prayers for Shantelle and Missy and their blood clots. That sounds like scary stuff, but I believe like PT and am sending positive thoughts and prayers your way too! Take care and let us know how it goes!

No kidding! I'd be happy to wait several hours for that!

You'll do great, and you'll be so happy you took this step! Let us know how you're doing when you're awake!

That is SOOOOOO cool!! I would love it if that ever happened to me! I went in yesterday for my two-month post-op visit, and was 4 pounds heavier in the doctor's office than I was at home on my scale. Granted I was in my nightgown first thing in the morning when I weighed on my scale, and fully clothed (minus shoes), after breakfast and lunch when I weighed on their scale, but still... I think I would have been jumping for joy if I were you! I always tell them their scale weighs heavier than mine, and I always feel like I'm trying to justify my weight loss. I hate that. But yay for you - what an inspiration! That is beyond AWESOME!!!!!

I had my surgery on 7/18, and I just went for my two-month post-op appointment this afternoon. I'm down a total of 37.2 pounds (10 pounds over the last four weeks). He didn't do a fill this time because he said I didn't need one, since I'm in the green zone). Everything is going great - not hungry, haven't had any stuck episodes, no throwing up, no problems at all! I haven't regretted my decision for even one moment. Best choice I ever made as well!