SolracSpree

I had a hard time in surgery as well and I pain was much harder than most. I was on pain meds for 10 days and it was about day 9 when I probably could have stopped. Most people only need pain meds 2-5 days. Hopefully that will include you! Trust me I know how much the pain suck, spent many a nights crying myself to sleep and just wanting the band out of my body. Needless to say I am on week 5 and not so depressed anymore

I was on Lortab for 10 days

LoL Dont scare me like that!!

Went to the Doc office today. Brother went with me this time. I found out I dropped a pound since I was there last week. Funny when I actually start eating again and not as stressing about my calories I lose weight. Anywho surgeon took a good look at my stitches. He told me that there was still infection and he was putting me on a major antibiotic - Biaxin. So when I finish this antibiotic that means I will have been on 30 days on antibiotics. Wow. Surgeon also asked how I was doing in general and I told him everything else was ok, had some heartburn off and on, but most of all I was just hungry. He told me to eat 5-6 small meals a day, low fat, and low sugar, didn't say anything about calories... I also asked how long until I could get a fill. Answer - possibly a month. Greeeaattttt. If this antibiotic doesn't work then the next step is for them to cut out the infected and stitch me back up . I 100% do not want this to happen! I return back to work the middle of August and I just dont need that additional hassle in my life. I also have to get a abdominal support (?) because the weight of my belly is pulling my incision apart. Healing rate is estimated from 2 - 4 more weeks. Which means no swimming, no amusement park, no vacation. Good bye summer I guess.

Im in Bandster hell and yeah it sucks, but it is manageable. Unfortunately I have to wait possibly 9 weeks after surgery to get my first fill.

You only ate a cup of food a day? I was told 1/2 - 1 cup per meal.

I didnt lose any weight for about from week 2 - 4. Now I am at week 5 and losing again. I think my body had to kick out of starvation mode.

My Doc usually fills 4-6 weeks after surgery as long as the incisions from surgery have healed

What about things that can not be helped, like a stomach flu. That is discouraging that so much damage can come from vomiting even if it is not band related

thank you for keeping me in mind. Without support from this group I don't know what I'd do.

Some people do and some dont. I think its all about your own body. I do total of 1,200 cal and dont increase them because of my workout. Now I think that it is different if you do Zumba everyday because you are going to need more energy than 1000cal can provide. So for me it depends on if this is a 1 or 2 time a week thing. Or an everyday thing. If that helps at all???

Hey faithster, I was banded June 20th. I have the same yo-yo with weight the last 3 weeks. Up 2 pds, down 2 pds, up 1 pd. Its completely normal to feel this way until you can satisfy your hunger longer, which will come more fills in the future. Just know that several things can change your weight. Like water retention, bloating, not using the bathroom. Don't get discouraged! We are too soon out of surgery to be expecting AMAZZINGG results. We will get there in time. Think of this as a test of dedication. You cant binge eat if you measure your food. And you defiantly dont want to damage your stomach by eating too much now that you do have a fill. If you need a band buddy on here let me know, its always good to talk even if you just need to vent for 10 minutes.

Chloe, I felt the same way as you did the week after I got the lap-band. I am 23, not quite 17, but I had this lingering feeling that I should have waited, I could have done this on my own. Soon I realized at this point in time regret is a useless emotion. Accept your decision and try to move on, these negative emotions of coulda shoulda woulda cant really get your anywhere. All you can do is embrace your surgery. If you still feel this way later on then hey the lapband IS removable.

So. After a confrontational 3-way called between me, my brother and my doc office. I now have an Appt to see the SURGEON. Not the nurses, or assistants. Hopefully I will get some answers about my incision infection. My brother is going with me as well. He is being very demanding, makes me think that maybe this is more serious than I was thinking? who knows we will see. On another note. Fooooddd. LoL. Been having problems with hunger, today not so much. Woke up had 1/2 cup grits. Then a taco from taco bell, sushi for dinner (been craving sushi), and a new desert that I can guilt free Reese Pie. (1 serving of greek yogurt/ 1 scoop chocolate protein/ 1 tlb peanut butter with granola) All under my 1,200 cal limit andddddddd. IM NOT HUNGRYYYYY!!! Yay Last thing. I am moving this weekend and I am not moving a thing. With the exception of some blankets. My family has already told me I am not to lift a finger and further damage my incision site. Kinda nice thinking that I don't have to move everything up 3 flights of stairs. Poor boyfriend has to box up most of the stuff around the house. But he goes back to work tomorrow. Thinking about a packing party ::::whootwhoot::::

I have the same problem as you. I have learned to not measure based on how my stomach feels. I will eat between 1/2 cup - 1 cup of food per meal and no more!. If you find that 1 cup makes you feel "full" and is too much. Take it down to 3/4 cup. I wish I could tell when my stomach, is like "Hey i'm good!" But I dont. I feel "satisfied" after 3 bites but if I stopped eating then I would be eating in another hour. So I measure, better safe than sorry. Being "full" too much will stretch your pouch i've heard. DONT want that to happen. I wish you luck !

What really puts things into perspective is the comments from YouTube users. Like wow, some people.

Loss of words. Just...watch

I am in the same boat as you. I am now 1 month post op with no fill. I am always hungry. I eat chicken at 2 and hungry again by 4. I was doing well with sticking to my caloric intake (1,000cal) but here in the past 3 days, I have been going over. But I am not going to sit here in misery while hunger consumes my every thought. I am making smart choices in what I eat, and only eating no more than 1 cup of food at a time. But instead of 3 meals a day its more like 5.

So here it comes, a rant. If was bound to happen and here it is. WARNING: there will be lots of negativity Okay so today must just not be my day. I couldnt fall asleep until 5:00am. Then woke up at 8:30am from a nightmare. I was hungry and I wanted something to keep me full. So I chose 1/2cup baked beans and 1/2cup refied beans. They kept me full all of what 2 hours, normally it keeps me full longer. GREAT. So 11:00am i'm hungry again, I ignore it for an hour at noon I cant do it anymore. I have a protein drink. No joke an hour later Im doing chores and my stomach says hello again. So I saw screw it im taking a nap. I nap until 4:00pm, wake up hungry. So im thinking grits & eggs because normally they keep me full. Overcooked the egg, threw it out. Ate 3/4 cup of organic grits. It seems to be setting on my stomach just fine but who knows how long this will last. So far 618 calories and 45 grams of protein. I plan on have quiona and chicken for dinner. Which will put me right at my 1,000 calorie limit and put me at 65 - 75 grams of protein, depending on how much I can eat. I am really discouraged right now. I am trying to look at the grand scheme of things but it is hard. I teach the rest of the year and it is a tough school. I 100% need my summer break to recover and have some fun before school sucks the life out of me again and it seems like this summer I haven't been able to do that. One complication after another. Its 4.5 weeks out my stitch is open, i'm always hungry and I wont be able to get a fill until my stitch heals. Well judging by the looks of things that wont be for a while. So im just destined to be hungry for the rest of summer? I would eat more but im terrified of my band slipping, and even dense protein like grilled chicken keeps me full for like an hour or two. I cant exercise because my weight pulls down my stitch and makes my wound open more. It has honestly increased in size since 2 weeks ago. The doctors are not comforting. Its pretty much 1)antibiotics will heal your wound and 2)hunger is part of the game, get over it. I think too, I dont have anyone or anything to blame. Blame myself? No its not my fault (other than being this big in the first place) Is it the docs fault, no? Its just life. There is no one to blame Im doing to start another drawing hopefully this can ease my mind.

Thanks everyone. BillieG - most peoples stitches dont look like this. Mine have opened and developed an infection

Combining yesterday and today. YESTERDAY: Not much to say other than I went out to eat for the first time last night. A friend of mine and my boyfriend went out to TGI Fridays. I got an appetizer plate to share with everyone for 1 variety and 2 portion. Food was great, no idea of the calories but I hadnt gone anywhere near my calories for the day. I planned what I thought was 1 cup of food but must have been 1.5 cups because I was finished and full. This got me worried because I have heard about bands slipping and all sort of stuff. I dont have a fill so no PBing or sliming. About 30 minutes later I felt fine so I dont think I overdid it took much but I am going to really have to stuff my measuring cups so I can figure out what 1 cup looks like when I can physically measure it. Or maybe I should put a measuring cup in my purse? Who knows. But after my full feeling passed I felt great. I had went out, ate awesome food (for the most part healthy) and didn't drink with my meal. WHICH I ALWAYS DID BEFORE. Baby steps I guess. I have talked to someone else on here who has told me that we dont magically become experts at this after we have the band, you have to learn along the way. Strangest thing was after I got home I weighed in and the scale was the lowest I have seen it ever (ive stalled the past 3 weeks). Went down 2 pounds. So that was odd. TODAY: Today uneventful except it marks 1 week until I move!!! YAY. But because of my stitches being stupid I have been given instructions to not do any lifting. This means my boyfriend and the males of my family are moving me instead ( to the 3rd floor) ::::evil grin:::: Also ate out today as well. No food in house, gotta fix that. This time was Chili's. i got the kids meal grilled chicken breast with sweet potato fries. I had 3/4 of the chicken breast and 5 fries. My boyfriend ate the rest along with his pizza. So this kept me full for 3 hours maybe? I can eat a cup of grits and it keeps me full for 5 hours. I feel like the strangest foods keep me full while others do nothing. I will be experimenting with food over the next week and see if I can find a trend. Well good night and best wishes to my fellow bandsters.

Do you have any restriction?

I had a Wii and now have a WiiU. I like it for a mild workout like Wii Fit (tracks my weight and progress). Then I have work workout games like Zumba for more intense cardio (and boy it will get you sweating). I have several friends with XBOX kinect who love it too though.

I prefer scrambled eggs to hard boiled but my doc actually recommends hardboiled to scrambled eggs because they are better tolerated. Sorry your band doesnt agree! I learned apples are a no-no