kbrown465

Thanks everyone. Once again, you've calmed my fears and given my great information. I hadn't been told about the Protein first rule, but that makes a lot of sense. I just keep hearing "the weight will just fall off" and I keep expecting that, but obviously those people don't know what they're talking about.

I had my second fill a couple of weeks ago. With each fill I've experienced the same thing. I feel restricted for the first few days, and then I'm back to eating fairly normal meal sizes. Now, I'm eating probably half what I did before surgery and feel full longer, but I keep expecting with each fill that I should be eating less and less. That doesn't seem to be happening. I'm really worried that my pouch is stretching. I've mentioned my concerns to the nurse/dr, and they've told me that I couldn't possibly "accidentally" stretch my pouch, but I would have to actively be TRYING to stretch my pouch. I've never experienced the "productive burps" or any vomiting, so I don't think I'm over eating, just not feeling much restriction. Anybody else experience this?

Hi everyone! I had my surgery 7 days ago (lost about 10 lbs so far, yay!). On Monday, 4 days after surgery, I went back to work. On Wed, I started feeling REALLY dizzy and had to go home. I tried to go back Thurs, and the same thing. I've finally given up on work this week. My Dr hasn't had seen anyone with serious dizziness before, we've run all the blood tests which are normal, so he took me off the blood thinners thinking it could be a reaction. I've been off them for 2 days and feel better, but still dizzy. Has anybody else experienced this?

Hi! Look up Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) online. There are many youtube videos showing you how to get rid of this. I figured out that was what was bothering me. (see my response #5). The videos will show you some simple movements/positions to move the crystals in your inner ear back into place. If that is what you are experiencing you should feel immediate improvement. I was 100% dizzy-free within 24 hrs. Good luck!

That actually sounds phenomenal! I'm finally past my "mushy" stage, but never had any issues with any food so far. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Mine too! Right at the port site. It's so painful. And it's been swelling pretty badly. I hope that's all normal. I really feel like the past two weeks my body has been saying "what the heck is this? Get it out of here!" LOL But EVERYBODY I've spoken to whose had it done says it's worth it in the end. Three steps forward, two steps back, but we're still moving forward.

You know, I'm having a similar problem. Of course I'm only 2 wks out of surgery, but I really don't feel like there's much restriction. Some, but not much. I've been eating very little, and at first lost 16 lbs, but in the last few days the scale says I've gained 3! This is very frustrating for all the pain I've been through.

I guess I didn't know there was a difference. It was definitely vertigo. If I closed my eyes, it felt like the whole room flipped upside down around me. Very scary feeling. I did the exercises I found on youtube, and it I am about 98% better. I think now what I am feeling is mild dizziness from my pain meds. Feels so good to feel like I'm on solid ground again!

That's what I was wondering as well. I'm trying to stay hydrated. My husband also remembered when he had a similar issue last year. The Dr told him is called Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). I guess there are little crystals in your inner ear that help with your balance and they can get trapped up in the tunnels of your ear canal. They gave him some exercises that cleared it right up. I've tried them and they've helped some, so I'm not sure. I'm going to see how that goes. I'm thinking maybe because I was flat on my back for a couple of days these crystals got settled in the wrong place? Don't know..

Had my blood pressure checked the same day as blood work. 124 over 92, so that's not the problem. I really don't know what's going on. Just feel really light headed when I get up. I'm mostly ok the rest of the time unless I turn really quickly or lean back with my eyes closed. But, I guess I'm not dead yet, so it must not be serious.. :/

I'm so glad I saw this comment. I too, have been having severe pain at my port site. I was stupid and went back to work after 4 days, and I think that sitting, and bending and all of these things that you do when you don't even realize your using your stomach muscles have aggravated it. It is a sharp stabbing pain that takes my breath away. I had been off of my pain meds, but am now back on them. I'm ok through most of the day, but by evening need to take something. I'm glad to hear that this is common. I was really worried that I had torn something and was very concerned about internal bleeding. Ice has been helping as well. Good luck. Hopefully only a few more days of this, because I'm getting bored out of my skull sitting around the house.

I made the mistake of going for the baby food as suggested by my Dr. Had to go hug my daughter and apologize for EVER feeding that nasty stuff to her! LOL But I found if I poured it over mashed potatoes like gravy, it was actually quite good and low cal.

I had my surgery about the same time and my glue is also peeling. I've been clipping the edges off (very carefully of course), because I'm paranoid of it catching on something and ripping off. Seems to be working out well.

I never really had too much concern over that. When you're overweight, you live on a daily basis with others' judgment. I'm always amazed by the fact that I could be at the gas station buying a donut, and the lady next to me looks me up and down like "do you really need that?" while asking for her pack of Camels! Really?? The way I see it, we all have our vices. Some of ours are just more visible to the public. At least mine only hurts me - hers could actually kill me. Bottom line. We are who we are - we all have people in our lives who love us big, small or in between. God made us perfectly and we have value in this world. You rock!

Just had my surgery yesterday. Just wondering how long the pain will last? I'm hoping to go back to work on Monday, but if I still feel like this, there's no way. What have been your experiences?

I do feel a little bit better this evening. Hopefully I'll be able to get to work on Monday - I'm at a desk all day, so not strenuous. Thanks for all of the encouragement!

I'm happy to have found this website. I'm scheduled for surgery on 9/19 and am really starting to worry whether this is a good decision for me. I don't personally know anybody who's done it and have no one to talk to. I've tried several diets and workout routines over the years, and while I'm always fairly successful, I can never maintain the weight loss long term. Let's face it, I can only eat chicken breast, cottage cheese, and salad for so many months before I start to gag on my dinner. As soon as I go back to "normal" foods, the weight comes back. This was the reason that I looked into lap band surgery. I'm hoping that this way I will not be limited to fish and broccoli but can still eat the foods I enjoy, just in smaller amounts and not feel hungry. Of course, I know that I cannot spend my days eating cookies and ice cream, but realistically, I know that I won't give up breads, pastas and rice forever. Am I just kidding myself? Is this procedure going to be a complete failure for me? I don't have much time to make the final decision and don't want to go through surgery if I'm completely misunderstanding how this will work for me.

Thanks again everyone! My surgery actually got postponed by a month because I have a Schatzki Ring or something like that, so I guess I need to have that resolved before they'll do it. I was all geared up to do it tomorrow and had been on my liquid diet for 10 days and lost 11 lbs. Ugh!

Thanks everyone! This really helps my decision and calms my fears. I keep reading that you have to eat healthy and completely change your lifestyle and I feel like - if I could have done that, I wouldn't need the surgery in the first place, right? Anyway, thanks again. I'm glad to know I won't have to eat like a rabbit to be successful. XD