The Icy One

I had staples. (Yuk.) My incisions are healing nicely but still quite red. I had surgery in March, had staples on those incisions, as well and those scars are still pretty red, too. Maybe because I am so fair skinned? I don't know.

Congratulations! Wishing you a speedy and smooth recovery. Welcome to your new life.

My pre op diet went three weeks and was two Protein shakes into which I could blend frozen fruit, if I wished and one lean and green meal of plenty of salad greens, a cup of green veg and six to eight ounces of lean protein of my choice. Not too horrid, really. I kept on drinking my usual buckets of fully leaded coffee and favorite sugar free creamer. No one told me I couldn't and it didn't muck up the works. I don't get why some surgeons forbid caffeine pre surgery or post band. I have never had difficulty with it when having surgery and my band doesn’t seem to mind it and my surgeon doesn't forbid it... Lucky for him... 3:)

The thing is, if you read the long range stats, turns out, Lap Band is comparable with other surgeries as far as weight lost. Yes, people who have RNY and the sleeve can loose more weight, faster, in the short term but when you go out a few years... Hello! Here is our little silicone friend, hanging tough, doing the job and producing results. That was one big reason why I chose the Lap Band. Not just short term but going out long term. I need this baby to keep on keeping on for me.

I am still on mushies. I will be one month out on the 21st and I hope by then, cleared for solids. Mushies were the best thing ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! when I got off liquids. Now? Gah! I want some frakking food! But the chart says I eat the mush until I am a month out so I eat the mush. I don't know exactly how much weigh I have lost by the numbers. I am staying off the scale until my first aftercare appointment on the 19th. I am all about healing and hanging loose, right now. My husband keeps telling me he sees a difference. I see a difference in the mirror. And, when I went in to see my surgeon for my follow up/staples out, he told me that I have lost weight, too. So, I've lost weight. I feel pretty good, I am having trouble regulating my gut... For some weird reason, this time having surgery my body decided to take exception to it and is refusing to settle and regulate my gut. We're working on it. Hopefully it'll all settle, soon. I'm feeling the urge to start getting out and walking and so on but right now? Uh... Not happening. I don't regret getting my surgery, tho. I am so happy with my band, It's working.

Finally got my staples out, today. Such a relief! I hated those freaky things! And I am so much more comfortable, now. When my surgeon had me lift my shirt to look at my incisions his eyes got big and he said, "You've lost weight!" And smiled. That made me feel good. I am looking forward to my first aftercare appointment on the 19th. I'll get weighed, see how I'm doing numbers - wise and see if I am ready for an adjustment. Should be an interesting day. I like my band.

Good luck! See you on the other side. 5:00 is disgustingly early but it means that you are probably the first one in. First one done. I had that time, too... I didn't have to wait for anyone to be done and while others were waiting, I was done and home, chillin' like a villain in my recliner.

As long as you are okay. We're just worried about you.

I agree... Get thee to the ER. Womens heart attack symptoms can often be weird and very different from men. Better safe than sorry. Please take care and I hope you are okay. ♡

I am prone to leg cramps. Unfortunately, the bar of soap trick didn't work for me. Things that help are staying as well hydrated as possible and taking Magnesium. I now have to break up the tablets to make them work with my band but anywhere from 500 to 750 a day help keep me cramp free. If I do notice that pre cramp feeling coming on, getting up and walking around and doing gentle stretches until it passes helps. I hate leg cramps and I wish there were a way to prevent them, altogether.

Busy! I was running around tying up last minute loose ends, making sure I had everything, taking required showers, and so forth. Then I tried to settle down and sleep a little before leaving for the surgical center.

I am scheduled for my first aftercare on the 19th, four weeks out. At this point I am not sure what will happen, I am still not getting all that hungry or eating a great deal. I know that can change as time goes by but I am feeling really smooth, right now.

Nervous is perfectly normal. It is your mind's way of working through the unknown. Until you get your band placed and actually start living with it, it is a huge unknown for you and all of the questions in your head, the conflicting emotions, the going back and forth, the what if's... It's all normal. From the moment I decided that I wanted to have a band, I was rock steady sure in my decision. No second thoughts, no regret. Just the calm surety that this surgery was the right thing for me. My subconscious, however? Bwahahaha!!!! What if? What if I don't like it? What if I miss bags of fish tacos from Del Taco? What if I get a slip? What if someone rags on me for not losing fast enough? What if I get stuck? What if I go under anesthesia and don't wake up? What if Dr. Nirmul gets in there and my liver is so huge I don't get my band? What if? What if? What if? Yeah... Couldn't shut it up. I had to listen, suffer the nervous cold feet of my subconscious and work through it. It was crazy. Being so sure and ready and yet on that level, nervous and weirding out. In the end, tho, it all worked out. My surgeon went in, my liver was fine, my band was placed, lickety-split. I woke from the anesthesia just fine. I don't miss bags of fish tacos. At least right now. If I do, in the future, I'll deal. Will I get a slip? I suppose it is possible... Again, if it happens, I'll deal. I am going to work to be a compliant bandster so that hopefully, it doesn't happen. I am not going to drive myself crazy worrying about it. I am not worried about what others think about my weight loss. This is my life, my body, my health. worrying about what others think is not on my radar. Life is too short for that brand of f*ckery. I guess what I am trying to say here is, it's going to work out. Let yourself feel the nerves. They are there for a reason. Validate and work through the feelings. Respect them and practice good self care, but don't let them overwhelm and frighten you. Don't let the natural what if's and cold feet scare you or keep you from your goals.

. Thanks CG..... I think that's the biggest reason people fail.... They do not commit! So much wisdom in so few words.

Looking great! Keep it up.

Right?!? I just never listened, before I got my band.

Welcome! I echo previous posters... This is a very friendly and supportive site full of great people with much knowledge to share. The pre op stage blows, doesn't it? Happily, it doesn't last too long. Mine was three frakking weeks... But I survived. You will, too. And soon you will have your band.

Doing all right, thank you. I am still trying to regulate my gut... It is stubborn but unrelated to my surgery recovery, which is going swimmingly. I love my little hourglass... I never realized, before I started using it just how fast I used to gulp my food down. I still have to fight with myself to use my timer and slow down. It is going to take time for me to relearn how to pace myself. LOL Happily, that little tool is a big help to me. I kind of love it.

Hi LeahJ. Welcome. I don't bite, I promise. I just nipped Undertaker... A little. I admit, I should not have risen to the bait and let her provoke me and responded as I did, I am not one who normally indulges in slap fights on message boards. Undertaker took a swipe at me and I allowed myself to swing back. It was silly and juvenile. I own what I said, however, I don't feel as if I was in the wrong. Anywhoozle... The post op diet that is given to us by our surgeon is crucial to our recovery. The exact progression will vary from doctor to doctor but follows liquids, full liquids, mushies then, finally, when healing is thought to be complete, solids. We are kept on very soft, mild food so that our stomach can fully heal and the band can settle into place, ready to do it's work. Even if you only eat a few bites and it seems to go down okay, is it really worth the remote possibility that you might jeopardize your healing for those few bites? I seem to be lucky... I am sixteen days out and while my stomach gets a bit growl-y now and again, and I get mildly hungry on occasion, I am still just not all that hungry, not all that interested in food, certainly not feeling that old, nagging HONGRY that used to plague me, before my band. I am aware that it may not last... I could wake up tomorrow in Bandster H*ll but I am still not willing to mess up my so far smooth recovery by testing my still healing gut with foods I am not cleared to be chomping on. That's just how I feel about it.

oh sweetheart...you've just started. first of all, ten pounds is amazing. second...you will have stalls, weight gains, plateaus, etc. just focus on following your doc's protocol, which it sounds like you are doing, and the weight will come off. Remember...you didn't gain it overnight, and you won't lose it that way either. I bet that three months from now, you'll have a nice weight loss and maybe even be in smaller sizes. WORD. While you are healing from surgery, your body is going to change and your weight is going to naturally fluctuate. I am sixteen days out and only stepped in a scale once because I needed to be seen by a primary care health care provider. Otherwise, I am avoiding scales except for when i am seen at my surgeon's office because I feel so strongly that right now is not the time to be worrying about weight loss, but to be concentrating on healing, recovering and setting myself up for a healthier future.

The waiting for approval wasteland is a hot, dry, terrible, lonely place, isn't it? I languished there for five weeks, while my insurance company kept me waiting for their decision. It was h*ll. H*ll, I tell ya! Hang in there. You'll hear, soon, get your surgery date and be all set to go.

That is all highly individual. At 13 days out each person is eating what their surgeon says to. Weight loss varies widely from person to person. Don't worry about comparing yourself to others or an "average." Just do your own thing in your own time. That will be right for you and that is what matters, most.

Not at first... Some surgeons say never. Give it time.

Looking good, girl.

I could feel my band for about the first week after surgery. I was hyper aware of it. It didn't hurt, it was just super present. As my swelling went down, that sensation abated and I don't feel it anymore. I don't get much gurgling. A little whisper, on a rare occasion. I guess my band doesn’t have much to say to me.