kacee

I was just fixing to echo that same comment when I saw yours, shelli16415! We can't even BEGIN to compare our metabolism with men. They have a larger capacity for food and caloric intake than we do. What would pack on 50 pounds for us would be the equivalent of "maintenance" for them. No comparison whatsoever.

My gosh....that seems the height of vanity to me to feel the need to greasepaint yourself up for surgery? And just who are you going to impress?...the doctor who has you spread out like a slab of fish on a cutting board?

Oh please....That ranks up there with the guy who gets drunk in the bar and winds up in the bathtub of ice without a kidney....In some back alley third world country these things might happen, but not normally, not mainstream. You'd have a much better chance getting struck by lightening or eaten by a shark.

Check out index You can get clear Protein drinks and they are actually good. Each bottle has 42mg of protein and these are great for the liquids and mushies stage. I had these just post surgery and they are fine for the clear liquid stage.

For me it would definitely be a GO for the holiday time. Otherwise you're probably just going to stuff your face through the holiday period. Why start out 5 pounds heavier just because of the holidays? And holidays definitely give me license to eat anything. It's always been like a "get out of jail free" card for some reason. I have zero control over the holidays and have never even TRIED to keep myself from eating everything in sight. This is a great time to start.

Just had a typical instance at work yesterday. Someone was leaving and they were having a breakfast down the hall. I went down to say hi. A lot of these folks I had not seen in months...since way before banding. As I walked up I got a lot of raised eyebrows from folks and a bunch came up to me and commented that I was losing so much weight and how was I doing it. I told them straight out. "I got a lapband and it was the best decision of my life!" Without exception the response was more questions about the procedure. One woman said "Hey, I saw an advertisement on that just this morning on TV!" Honestly folks....it's like karma....what you sow so shall you reap...I am perfectly comfortable telling people and you know what they all say? They say, "You are so bubbley now!" I am so positive about it and about everything, I have never gotten so much as a lukewarm response! Even if someone didn't like that for a decision for themselves, they are happy for me in my excitement and happiness!

Hey cagstorm...welcome dude! You are to be commended for being proactive and getting this done at this time in your life. I agree 100% about setting an example for your kids. I see so many obese parents with obese kids...it's one thing to do it to yourself, but to allow a child to get in that predicament is a crime. Your boys will have a healthy father to raise them and get them pointed in the right direction. Good for you and welcome to the club!

I didn't set out to have a last meal, but I did have Chinese and I really regretted it. I ate WAY too much and had a stomach ache all night before surgery. It was STUPID STUPID STUPID!!! I half expected my doctor to scold me after the operation. A few bites of something is one thing, but some kind of weird panic mode set in and I proceeded to eat everything but the kitchen sink. It was a BAD CHOICE.

You're going to love Dr. S....he's wonderful! You can also have cottage cheese and fish as "soft" foods. The fish was wonderful because it was the most "solid" feeling food. I got a lot of the Grotons flavored (Cajun mainly for me) fish filets...just the right size. I didn't do solids until the 30 days. Maybe he has changed the protocol recently.

How did you find him? I'm gonna be game for lipo on my thighs and a neck lift, at the bare minimum. Don't you just LOVE Spivak? He's a cutie!

You can feel, and sometimes see the port, and the port ONLY. The band is way down deep and around your stomach. No way could you see that. This guy sounds weird. I'd switch doctors.

We're all here for you, so don't you get all bummed out. You've done it kiddo! You're on the green side of the fence! Take your pain meds and take them regularly. WALK for the gas pains. Sip sip sip liquids constantly! This too shall pass and you'll be up and motoring around in no time. It always just seems kindof bleak when you're trying to do it by yourself. Keep a stiff upper lip kiddo! We're all here and cheering you on!

White meat of any kind, especially chicken and turkey, are big offenders because they are naturally dry. Too bad because I ONLY eat white meat. It takes some concentration.

Excellent food for thought there! It hadn't even crossed my mind that the cold could have influenced it, but it most definitely could have! I rmember thinking "But I didn't take that big a bite or not chew enough or anything"...I bet I just froze "my pipe" and it shut down!

But Trivon....didn't you JUST get banded? Aren't you in your first 30 days? If that is so, don't worry about it at all. This is the HEALING month, not a time for working on losing. Concentrate on getting you proteins and liquids in (even ice cream ocasionally). You have plenty of time for losing when your fills start.

hlyndes - Yep, Leslie's a dream. She "omni'd" me too because I live in Clear Lake area and didn't want to have to make too many visits. I got my 4th fill from her last Thursday and Dr. S. even stopped in. Hadn't seen him since surgery (he's such a cutie!). I think I am finally at my PERFECT spot. Was ALMOST there on number 3, but then it kindof slipped away. I have vacation in three weeks and wanted to get my fill early so if I had a delayed reaction (super tightness after week 2) I'd be here and not out in California when it happens, if I need to have a fast unfill.

A large number of people, including myself, said the BIG turnaround was day 5. I woke up a human being on Day 5. That was the day before I went back to work. I felt good physically, but I wouldn't have wanted to run any marathons. You do tend to tire a lot easier for the first few weeks after surgery.

The PB I had at Taco Cabana I had about 3-4 minutes warning. Enough time to gather my stuff, toss my margarita in the trash (*sniff*) and get into the car and grab the water bottle.

It's not a question of "going away". It's whether you learn how to eat or not. If you continue to eat in the same fashion, no, it will not go away. There is definitely a learning curve to this. You HAVE to modify your behavior to accommodate the band. Some people are better at it than others....some never learn I imagine.

I can go about 3 hours and then my stomach growls up a storm. I am actually thinking that it is because I am hungry. Now, I say, what is hunger? Never experienced it before. Not the same thing as HEAD hunger (appetite). I think it growls when it is empty and it's ready for some food. I THINK that is the way a normal stomach is. Then when I feed it, the growling goes away and I feel better. So it must be "hunger" in the strictest sense of the word. That is a word as foreign to many of us as "full" is.

Hey Bloo....wouldn't think you'd have to worry too much because you have a furry tummy and that will help hide the scars. They will be very minimal. I am three months out and really don't notice mine at all. Even tho they are still kindof pink, within a year or so they will probably not be noticable at all.

It's NOT like throwing up (which is accompanied by violent stomach contractions to push the food up and out). This is more like a drain that is clogged. Ever flushed a toilet and watched it start filling up the bowl instead of going down? That's exactly what happens. Problem is, it comes up your esophagus....it just starts backing up, sometimes fast, sometimes slow....but steady. It just comes up and spills out and there's not a darned thing you can do about it except find a place to put it (that's why the water bottle was so bad...it comes up in more bulk and faster than you could "spew" daintily into the top of a water bottle...)

23 pounds in the first 30 days after surgery before the first fill.

Let me tell you, if you have a full blown PB, you do NOT want to be figuring out the logistics on how to get it to squeeze into a water bottle (that's what I had when this happened to me). It was the equivalent of projectile vomiting through a straw (not really, but you get my drift). Here's a link to where I ordered it.... REDEBAG a sickness collection bag for morning sickness and more I'll just keep it in my purse when I travel.

Yep, not cheap. But unfortunately, I am one of the last of the red hot gizzy freaks and I love this kind of stuff. Also, I can't exactly drag around cups and stuff when I'm on the plane, on the road, etc. I wouldn't normally worry about it but I just got one WHALE of a fill on Thursday, and I am going to work with this, come hell or high water. I do NOT want to have an unfill because I know that it'll just be a matter of time before I lose more weight and the band gets looser anyway.