maynellrmnderm

You are doing great! I am 4 days post op and still have the diareaha. I'm still on liquids and really want nothing but cold beverages to drink. I am down 17 pounds from pre op weight.

I'm almost one month out and I rarely feel hungry but rather I feel light headed and get a headache which is more a blood sugar reaction. I have to get something in pretty quick when I have that feeling.

Enjoy this time of not having hunger and try to maximize it by doing exactly what your doc said about getting in Protein and fluids. Your weight loss is fastest right at the beginning, so the less hunger you have now the better in my opinion.

Yes, it is normal not to have any hunger initially, mainly because of the trauma and swelling in our stomachs. Make sure to keep those fluids and Protein Shakes up, though. It's very easy to get dehydrated this early on, plus you need the Protein to help with healing and to keep from getting weak. In regards to not losing weight, don't panic. Most people gain several pounds after surgery because of Water retention from the IV Fluid they give you. It can take up to a week or more to lose that. Also your body is in shock from the drastic change in nutritional intake, surgery, etc. Don't worry, the weight will start dropping off soon. Hang in there and KUP!

Makes sense to me!!

Spice,
good luck to you on your journey. I also have a lapband with plication, however, I am a revision patient. I was originally a banded in 2001. You can read more about it on the blog in my signature if you want more information. I have lost about 65 pounds so far and would like to lose about another 40 more. My band is completely empty and I plan on leaving it that way. Take care and please let us know how it goes.

I have read that there is such a thing as "innocent" gallstones. Basically, if they are not causing you any trouble, the recommendation is to leave them(according to what I have read on the Internet). WLS is a culprit (and any weight loss in general, or just being overweight in the first place) in developing gallstones, and if you already have them and they are not causing you trouble, your doc might think that there is no reason to perform another surgery unnecessarily. That being said, if you are having any trouble, I would talk to him about it again. Looking back, I realize that I was having pains from my GB as far back as January (had surgery the end of April). I just thought they were muscle pains in my back. They actually went away for awhile after my surgery (I'm sure from the reduced fat in my diet post plication). Knowing what I know now though, I probably should have had it out with my plication, as it was already causing issues. You can also try to request a HIDA scan to see if your GB is functioning. If it's not, your doc might take that into consideration and re-think taking it out at the same time, or he may still say no. I'm not a doc, but if you are not having any issues right now and you already have the stones, and your doctor thinks you don't need to remove the GB, then he probably has a pretty good reason for not messing with it.
Whatever you and your doc decide, I wish you the best of luck!

Hi there Spice,
Did my Bandication (as someone referred to it once...) on July 14. I had a GB filled with stones for a few years and my doc knew that it had to come out; at first he did not want to remove it until months after the surgery after weight loss... Apparently it's a lot easier to remove it laparoscopically if you weigh less. I was ok with that except that my insurance did not cover any type of WLS & being broke and all I thought if the surgeries are combined, since the insurance will have to cover the GB removal part, it'll help me a lot. So I convinced him to do it. Fast forward to the day of the surgery now... Went in the OR at around 9:15 a.m., expecting to be out by 11 or so... When I woke up in the recovery room, it was 6:15 p.m. Later i learned that the surgery ended at 3:30... Almost 6.5 hrs of anesthesia... It was brutal indeed & I ended up staying at the hospital for 3 days as my heartrate was high & my potassium was low & some other things due to the length of the surgery and the GB. Surgeon later said the removal of the GB was to be blamed. It took him the most as it was "gigantic" but he still managed to do it laparoscopically, for which I was grateful. He had to fix a huge hernia which obviously contributed to the lengthiness of the surgery. It took me a good month or so to shake off the whole anesthesia and a bit more to just get adjusted to the new me--I had no nausea really and took very little liquid pain med; had 0 gas pain; but did have lots of what I want to call discomfort around my incision areas in general, but that was expected as I've always been in a wheelchair (rare birth defect totally unrelated to any of this), so transferring myself from bed to chair and other places was excruciating for a while...
Look, I am not going to sugarcoat this... It wasn't easy FOR ME at all, but I'll do it ten million times over (except I'd wait on the GB removal until after the WLS surgery) again as the prize has been well worth the trouble... I've been losing an average of 11 lbs. per month. I've lost a total of 48.5 lbs. since I started this journey in June. I'm only 33 and still cannot remember the time I weighed around 204... Been fat all my life pretty much. I'm now so used to eating very little and also to avoiding carbs and all the nastiness they offer. My carb intake is never more than 30 grams per day. I try to drink plenty of Water and eat lots of animal Protein. It's been much easier than I ever imagined to avoid sweets, etc. and it's been so rewarding... Still working on my strength to be able to add more physical activity to my routine, but definitely getting there...
Having said all this said, do not worry at all for good things (really good things) are in store for you and you don't even know the beginning of it yet... Put off the GB removal until after your WLS surgery just like your doctor suggests and I think you'll be good to go.
Good luck and keep us posted please!

Ah, OK yeah, GB removal shouldn't really be necessary when performing the plication.

His name is Dr. Brett Cohen in Hollywood Florida. And he didn't say that he wouldn't take it out because I'm heavy... but rather that if the GB isnt causing any problems now then he wouldnt suggest taking it out PRIOR to the plication band, (because I'm heavy) which makes surgery riskier. And he didnt want remove it DURING because it can cause infection... So he said to leave it in and if it causes trouble then remove it at a later stage, because it may not cause trouble at all and if it does, then I'll be lighter and surgery will be less risky then to do it prior.

That sounds very odd. Who's your doc? I know it's standard to have your gallbladder removed during Duodenal Switch surgery and DS patients are generally very heavy.

In the battle to lose weight, stop overeating, or break free from emotional eating, it’s important to pay attention to the things that trigger your eating to go awry. Learn about the 5 most common triggers now!


In the battle to lose weight, stop overeating, or break free from emotional eating, it’s important to pay attention to the things that trigger your eating to go awry. Simply focusing on what to eat misses an essential point–Your eating choices may be strongly affected by your emotions and your environment. And your food plan is useless if something is preventing you from following it.
Here are five common overeating triggers that you can take control of by taking some smart, proactive action before they sabotage your weight loss efforts.
1. Getting too hungry
Do you stick to your plan through Breakfast and lunch only to find yourself irritable, craving carbs, and ready to eat everything in sight by the time late afternoon or evening rolls around? The end of the day tends to be stressful for many. The transition between work and home, mealtime decisions, and other peoples’ hunger or tiredness can push a busy woman over the edge. When I start coaching a new private client, it’s not unusual to hear that this is THE most difficult time of day.
The key here: take control of what you can. This means doing what you can so that you don’t arrive at the end of the day feeling exhausted and starved. Too many women who are trying to lose weight, eat too little in the middle of the day and, as a result, lose control and overeat before, during, or after dinner (or all three). Make sure you are eating a balanced lunch (with protein) and then calculate the hours you are expecting yourself to last before eating again. Most women do well with a small snack midafternoon. Again, adding in Protein can make all the difference.
2. Evening eating
Evening (and late night) is a strong overeating trigger time for many busy women. If you are working hard all day long, it’s easy to come to see the quiet of evening as your reward. And if you are too tired and depleted to really enjoy it, food and emotional eating can become a big part of the evening ritual. “I eat in the evening because I want to treat myself.” “It’s my me-time.” “It’s the only time of the day where no one expects anything of me.” Women also overeat in the evening because they are tired (but don’t want to go to bed because this is the only alone time they have).
Breaking free of the evening overeating triggers can be challenging, but it’s essential. Start by creating a policy for yourself about eating after dinner. Be realistic but be firm. Now, identify the bedtime you need to honor so that you are getting a minimum of 7.5 hours of sleep a night. This alone can make a huge difference in your overeating. Trust me. Create a new wind-down ritual that includes some nice things for you but that doesn’t include food. Finally, start carving out some me-time (even ten minutes) on the front-end of your day. You might need to get up earlier, but you’ll be focusing on you when you have the energy to do it.
3. Snacking on treats at work
Are you overeating or grazing at work on the sugary treats that your coworkers leave all over the office or the break room? Make it easy on yourself by making one decision instead of hundreds. Set a policy with yourself about your eating at work. Make sure it’s a policy you can stick with. Sometimes something as simple as “I’ll only eat homemade food that is truly a treat that I can’t easily have any time” will do the trick. Spend a bit of time strategizing how you will avoid temptation and how you will reward yourself for doing so. And don’t forget to enlist support. If you are putting on pounds at the office, I guarantee that you aren’t the only one being haunted by the food.
4. Stress eating and overeating
Emotional eating—using food to cope with feelings—is one of the biggest causes of overeating and weight gain. Smart women take this one seriously! Take the time to check in with yourself before you eat. Try to identify how you are feeling. Become aware of patterns. Are you a stress eater? Comfort eater? Boredom eater? The key to taking control of emotional eating is to create better strategies—ones that really address the emotions you are having. Start creating ways of addressing your feelings that you can use INSTEAD of turning to food.
5. Too much on your plate
When you are too busy, stressed, and overloaded, overeating can seem like an easy way to sneak in a reward, some comfort, or a much-needed energy boost. The problem is that any benefits tend to be short-lived and the costs and negative consequences aren’t. If you want to take control of your weight, your eating, and your relationship with food, you MUST take control of your life. Learn to say no, cut back your schedule, carve out time that’s just for you and start practicing the art of asking for help.
The best part of addressing overeating triggers is that when you take charge of what drives your overeating and emotional eating, you are almost always fixing a problem that’s bigger than food. When you get to the root cause of your overeating and address it head on, the triggers often lose their power. When you find strategies for dealing with stress, overeating, and overload, you are also creating strategies for living a better life.

Yeah, I agree about not eating the right kinds of foods before! And, yeah, I'm still taking my calcium. As women, I think that's really important. Thanks for the input!

I don't think taking a multivitamin is a bad idea, with or without surgery. Having said that though, I agree that at 1200-1600 calories you are probably getting in most of your vitamins/minerals. A Calcium pill might still be in order (depending on what you eat and your age), but I doubt your Vitamin level, or lack thereof, is that different than it was before surgery. Just cause we were eating a lot before surgery, doesn't mean we were eating the kind of foods necessary to get the nutrition we need!

I stocked up, so I'm still taking mine just be sure I'm doing OK. I can chow down plenty since my op and don't feel very restricted.

I have not started taking Vitamins yet. They never settled well before surgery and I am worried they won't now. Is there anything to the Vitamin Water hype?
I am continuing on my blog journey and am having a give away for a $20.00 Starbucks gift card. Stop by and enter to win.
http://morethenonereason.blogspot.com/

So, I was told to take a multivitamin for life after my Plication surgery. Or at least that's what I remember. But! I'm eating 1200-1600 calories a day and feel I'm definitely getting in a variety of foods with that, although I am trying to concentrate on my Protein and vegetables first. I'm still trying to gag through the chewable vitamins I bought before surgery since I thought I wasn't going to be able to swallow pills just after surgery (not true). What does everyone else think about taking a daily Vitamin?

Do we REALLY have to take our Vitamins? Aside with the nutrients acquire from the foods we eat, for me we really have to take our vitamins. It depends on the condition of one's body, what particular vitamins needs. In my case, I'm taking MX Vitamin C for almost 1 year now. Vitamin C is recommended for the whole family to balance any dietary deficiency. We all know that Vitamin C helps protect us against colds and flu. That's my main reason why i take Vitamin C. For my immune system. Because before I'm frequent on having sick the doctors told me that i'm lack with vitamin c.

Which is just perfect! Thank you ray for sharing. I have another month to go before my plication and I'm sure I will have more questions then!

No not too uncomfortable. I haven't tested my new stomach and really overeaten so it just feels full. Just like you have eaten a big meal. That's the best that I can describe it.

Bos123, I will try and answer your question the best way that I can. Now this is MY thoughts on this. Others may feel different. I was banded 7 years ago and when the band and I were in complete harmony, it was a feeling of "putting on the brakes"! You suddenly knew and felt when to stop eating or you could get "stuck". Or I could help wash it down with liquids which totally defeats the whole idea and purpose of the band. So far, with my I-Band (band with plication), I am getting a genuine full feeling that comes about gradually. I am only 13 days out of surgery, so perhaps this may change. I hope not! I am getting full on 3/4 - 1 cup of pureeded food! My new band is empty so this is most likely all from the plication! One thing that I am seeing though is that my "fullness" only lasts for about 2-3 hours. Maybe when I start eating foods with more Fiber and substance, the full feeling will last longer. I hope this helps you.

So those of you with an empty band, would that be compared to those of us that have ( am getting) the plication? I guess you wouldn't really know if you have both lol. I'm just wondering if the feeling
Of restriction (feeling full quicker) continues in after months years etc with the plication?

That's good for 11 days. Please keep me posted I'm sure I will have more questions as my surgery date gets closer.

I think about 10lbs. To tell you the truth, I am not really too concerned about weight loss untill I can eat real food and exercise like I want to. This weight loss now is not the kind of weight loss that I am looking for. I know that sounds crazy but I want to maintain muscle mass.