SD Chick

I was banded the 23 and once in a great while I do have a little twinge of pain - nothing serious but mine is mostly at my waist where there is no incision - not sure of that reason at all but there feels like a pulled stitch there at times. My port site really doesn't hurt unless I bump it. Seems to be about the height of my kitchen sink.

Lets try this again I have only been banded for 3 weeks but already things are changing in my life :drum: 1. Losing weight 2. Clothing fits better 3. Compliments are begining 4. My weight Watcher Lecturer complimented me today, she said I look happier, more content, and she is happy that I had the LapBand! All in all - - I am a HAPPY Bander!

<p>I have only been banded 3 weeks but things are already changing in my life.</p> <p>1.</p>

I tried the chicken salad and it is great but instead of the ff cream cheese (my store doesn't carry it) I used unflavored ff yogurt. I really liked it and it was nice and moist. SEND MORE recipes

I am wondering if you have kept track of exactly what you are eating. It may be just a little thing that is stopping you from loosing weight - with all that exercise you should be loosing something! I know it is discouraging but hang in there and it has to come if you are doing everything right! Good Luck to you!

Keith so sorry to hear of your bad experience, I too wondered if you would try the Lap Band again. I am lucky to have not had any problems but you always worry that you could be an unlucky one. I am truly thankful that I had mine and pray that it will stay that way. Good luck to you and I hope you find something that works for you. Keep us posted.

Girls, I only lost 8# on two weeks of OptiFast -- only 800 calories per day and yes the first three days were tough but I MADE IT and you can too. It does get easier. I had the choice of 2 different bars, soup??, and a protein drink. You can doctor up lots of things to make it taste better. Good Luck! and you can do it! After the first week of the band you will know how much better you feel and will be glad you did this

I think you should call the dr as well, but it sounds like gas to me - makes you feel like you are having a heart attack. I had pain in my chest, also in my shoulder - walk, walk, walk, gas-x, walk, walk, walk, and if all else fails use some liquid tylenol or your pain meds. After a week or two you will feel great! Good Luck and hope your discomfort passes soon for you!

That yahoo feeling will come when that scale continues to go down after you are banded and it doesn't come back - not meaning that your weight doesn't fluctuate, because it does but the next day it is usually down again! My husband gets excited for me when I say ----Yahoo another pound.

I HOPE I have to put duct tape over my port some day!

I love wine also - my dietitican said not to drink empty calories but hey we have to live too - I have chose to drink wine 3 times since surgery and have never been able to finish a glass. It still tastes great tho and I will keep trying till I get that whole glass down Thinking11 if you are even considering lapband - go for it. I am 3 weeks post op and I would not change a thing. I need to only change one thing so far and that is trying to stay off the scale. I keep thinking that I will stay off for a week but am still on the every day thing yet and I don't want to get hung up on that little black box again! It can be very depresing.

I ate soup almost all the time - i took cans of ready to eat soups, blended them well, strained them and ate them very slowly. I also drank Slim Fast Ultimate Protein and mixed sugar free Jello with it - threw in some ice and made a great drink. I live with my Magic Bullet at my side!

I also would veto walking and picking up your son - my Dr. wouldn't let me drive when I was taking any pain meds at all - I waited about a week but even after 3 weeks I wouldn't want to drive more than a couple of hours.

I was on 2 week OptiFast for pre-op and then on full liquid when I left the hospital - after my 2 week check - I got to the mushy stage which is where I am now for 4 weeks and then hopefully have a fill.

Try mixing your protein shake with some sugar free jello and ice and blend really good - - it is great and makes you feel full.

I did Optifast for 2 weeks pre-op and the days 1-3 were the worst then I wasn't hungry anymore but I did lots of things with my shakes, the best one is take your Protein liquid - vanilla slim fast or whatever and pour it in a blender - add some sugar free Jello, to taste, add ice and blend - it is great. I expected to loose a great amount of weight but only lost 8# but I made it through and have sailed through the surgery and now have lost a total of 24# and will be 3 weeks on Monday. Hang in there - IT IS WORTH IT

Crazluay, actually I was gone and cooked it for about at hour at 330. It was covered with the tomatoes and also covered it with foil. Very delicious! Enjoy. This is the first time I had tried it and it just turned out well.

Maryjo - try using gas-x either strips or chewable. That should help your heartburn a lot. My Dr. told me to take them before meals and at bedtime. Hope this helps!

Tonight I ate cod fillets and I knew I had to make them very moist as I am still in soft and mushy so this is what I did. 3-4 cod fillets - seasoned how you like them - I used cajun seasoning, celery salt, pepper, and whatever else I felt like. 1 can of diced tomatoes baked in 330 oven till flaky and opaque sprinkled with shredded mozzerella and broiled till brown. My husband says it is one of the best fish dishes he has had in a long time. Very juicy, moist and delicious. I served it with rice and had all my sides for a full meal. Chew well and enjoy!

Name........................Starting….......Curren t …...Goal….....To Go losingjusme...................293..............287 ...........266...........21 juliegeraci....................226..............22 6...........206...........20 areellady.....................251.5...........239 .........230..............9 punkeyb88...................306.............238.. ..........225..........13 Chris_NJ......................326.............304. ...........290..........14 PaulaD........................222..............222 ............200..........22 MM............................248...............24 8............230.........18 sdakotaRN..................255...............255.. ..........230..........22.2 Babygrl1234...............224................218.. .........199..........19 faithmd.....................312...............308. ..........285...........23 Jan421......................267...............262. ...........247..........15 Metalband.................203...............196... ..........183...........13 tann........................223................208 ............198...........10 Banannie..................182..............175.2.. .........162...........13.2 Josette....................322...............322.. ..........299...........23 chickatee.................217...............213... ..........199...........16 beachgirl..................270................220. ...............155.........65 Marlluvia...................220...............220. ..............200...........20 Jennifur....................222…............219... .........200..........19 KariK.......................179..............179.. ..........155..........24 MarCar.....................296............ 285.............276...........9 Punkeyb88................238............238....... ..... 220......... 18 Jadrad7....................243............230..... .......220..........23 Denise......................265...........259... .........240..........25 Wen.........................303...........299.. ...........285.........14 SWEETY...................217...........207........ ......199.........8 Lochnagar................249...........249.... ........221..........28 glinadb....................285…........278.6...... .....260..........18.6 Denise....................330............265...... .......240..........25 mel........................254.4........237.6..... .....230..........7.6 Amelia40..................285...........288....... .....255...........33 Crabby54.................257...........245........ ....232.........25 Sunny 112...............219...........181.............16 5........16 God willing I am going to make this goal! :whoo:

I also have sleep apnea and I took mine to the hospital and used it only at night. I would try using the nose mask - just fits into the nose holes - I am also claustrophobic (sp) and couldn't stand the others but I really like my new mask and have been able to wear it all night since day one. I hope you find one that works for you because it makes you sleep and feel so much better. I think it is normal to have some anxiety but I try not to worry about it too much - - have many other things to worry about.

I had my first "real" meal tonight - exactly 2 weeks after surgery. I had mashed potatoes with Ricotta cheese mixed in for protein, a little bit of chicken, green beans and a couple of bites of cantalope. It has been over an hr since I ate and so far so good and no pressure but I too was scared to death. 2 days after surgery I had a bout with sliming and dry heaves from getting potato soup stuck - must have been a tiny chunk and too thick. It wasn't fun and I was scared but I lived and everything is okay - - by the way 22#'s gone since I had my first appointment with my surgeon!!! :whoo:

I have been on full liquids for 2 weeks and have been living on soups. I take any type of soup and run it through my Magic Bullet (Love it) and strain if necessary and eat with a spoon. My favorite I made is: V8 Juice Beef Broth Baby Carrots Diced Potatoes Onions Celery salt Pepper to taste Boil till done and run through that blender and enjoy! If you need more liquid - add water.

Name........................Starting….......Curren t …...Goal….....To Go losingjusme...................293..............287 ...........266...........21 juliegeraci....................226..............22 6...........206...........20 areellady.....................251.5...........239 .........230..............9 punkeyb88...................306.............238.. ..........225..........13 Chris_NJ......................326.............304. ...........290..........14 PaulaD........................222..............222 ............200..........22 MM............................248...............24 8............230.........18 sdakotaRN..................255...............255.. ..........230..........22.2 Babygrl1234...............224................218.. .........199..........19 faithmd.....................312...............308. ..........285...........23 Jan421......................267...............262. ...........247..........15 Metalband.................203...............196... ..........183...........13 tann........................223................208 ............198...........10 Banannie..................182..............175.2.. .........162...........13.2 Josette....................322...............322.. ..........299...........23 chickatee.................217...............213... ..........199...........16 beachgirl..................270................220. ...............155.........65 Marlluvia...................220...............220. ..............200...........20 Jennifur....................222…............219... .........200..........19 KariK.......................179..............179.. ..........155..........24 MarCar.....................296............ 285.............276...........9 Punkeyb88................238............238....... ..... 220......... 18 Jadrad7....................243............230..... .......220..........23 Denise......................265...........259... .........240..........25 Wen.........................303...........299.. ...........285.........14 SWEETY...................217...........207........ ......199.........8 Lochnagar................249...........249.... ........221..........28 glinadb....................285…........278.6...... .....260..........18.6 Denise....................330............265...... .......240..........25 mel........................254.4........238.6..... .....230..........8.6 Amelia40..................285...........288....... .....255...........33 Crabby54.................257...........245........ ....232.........25 Sunny 112...............219...........181.............16 5........16 :update: Just updating my weighloss! :whoo:

I am taking Centrum Silver chewable - does not contain Nutra Sweet which some of the others do.