want2beme

I talked to my doctor today about this after reading this thread. She said it is VERY common for pts to have a lot of restriction in the morning, and that's why her office doesn't do fills before 11:00am. Weird huh!?

Kat! That's great! Way to go...

I think that as we get closer to goal, we almost 'get comfortable', and start eating, forgetting how we SHOULD eat as a lap bander. We still have to chew our food as if we did 5 weeks post-op... I have a hard time remembering this and I am finding myself frequently irritating my band. I am making a promise to myself at this very moment that I will not do this anymore. I will CHEW MY FOOD!!!!

I found a great protein drink today at GNC... since I irritated my stoma and my doc put me on clear liquids for 3 days, I have to drink it... It's called ISOPURE an dit has 40 grams of protein... AND ITS CONSIDERED A CLEAR LIQUID! You can use this immediately after surgery... they didn't have this when I had surgery a year ago. I bought Iced Tea flavor, but they also have apple-melon, pineapple-orange-banana, blue berry, etc. They are about $5.00 per bottle (20 oz.).

Oh yeah, I travelled alone and the Southwest Air Staff was helpful with lifting my luggage.

I was banded in Mexico and had to deal with traveling after surgery as well. I could wear a bra, but it was a little uncomfortable. I'd suggest wearing one only if you HAVE TO! And yes, big grandma underwear are suggested. I too had surgery at Hospital Angeles. Great place! I had Dr. Lopez. Good Luck!

I've had the band for 11 months and still don't know what PB is? haha

thanks for starting this thread. i have been banded for almost a year and just recently have good restriction to the point where sometimes its just too much of a pain in the butt to eat... so i have been light headed lately as well. i think i need more carbs.

Welcome. It can take anywhere from 5 weeks to a year. Don't get too excited too fast. But when they do set your date, PREPARE!

Haven't been able to eat breakfast for about a month now. 10am I can eat a tiny bit and finally eat decent around 2pm. HOWEVER, although I absolutely cannot stand oatmeal, I tried it this morning around 9am and was able to eat it. They say your tastes change after weight loss surgery and I think it finally happened to me. I actaully liked the oatmeal and plan on trying it again tomorrow. Since its a mushy, I think it goes down nicely in the morning for us who have problems eating in the am. :cool2:

OMG! I am revisiting my own thread. It happened again... Well, let me at least update y'all! After my last fill, I felt pretty good. The last 5 weeks or so have been nice. I think I even felt that 'sweet spot'. However, my restriction has been up and down. I feel like if I eat too fast or if I chew only 24 times instead of 31 times, I swell and it changes everything. Today, and for the past few days, I have felt my restriction getting tighter and tighter... is that weird? Today I drank 1/2 pomagranite martini. Felt fine. Coughed, AND OMG! Everything came flying out of my mouth! Holy Crap! I threw up martini all over my computer, bills, purse, etc. GREAT! So, right now I am having some anxiety b/c I just can't have that feeling of not being able to drink anything, ya know!? I am working on hot tea right now. One more thing... When you are having 'good' restriction, are you feeling a little light headed? Like dizzy? I have been looking for a thread on here that talks about this, but haven't found anything yet. Lately, I have been feeling dizzy starting at around 2pm or so, and going for a few hours. I usually can't eat before noon or so, then try to eat 1/2 cup of food or so. Usually Protein. I am wondering if I need to introduce more carbs into my diet?? I don't really do any carbs at all... besides Beans. HELP!

Well, I found a job! But, my restriction is still up and down. And that worries me to death. I find myself not eating much, getting dizzy, headaches, then I think I have a brain tumor... I don't know what my problem is. I have no health insurance right now, so it makes me worry even more. I always think there's something wrong with me. I want to get my boobs done eventually and I don't think I'll be able to b/c if I'm acting like this NOW, then what the hell am I going to do when I have 3 implants instead of just 1?

Hi y'all! I'm back! It's been over a month now (?) since my last fill. I feel good. I stayed on liquids for a few days and then after that went to solids. My restriction has been up and down. I think for a coupld of reasons: first off, swelling of the stoma from being filled. then when the swelling went down, I was able to eat more. Then I didn't chew well enough and irritated my stoma again (I think), so right now my restriction is 'great', or really tight. I had an issue with drinking liquids today and that makes me a bit uneasy. I think I'll stay on liquids for a few days till I heel. I've been losing more weight, that's for sure. Probably about 10-12 pounds in the last month. for the past couple of weeks, I almost feel like I am at my sweet spot. I like it. I can't eat as much as I want. I really like the feeling. I do not crave food anymore at all. I stay full for long periods of time... about five hours or so. Sometimes I think I don't eat enough and have been thinking about keeping a food journal tomake sure I get enough calories. I think I am under 600 calories per day. That's not a lot. Thanks! Dana

I was wondering the same thing. I had my last fill about two months ago. It was a decent fill. I think I'm at 3.4 in a 4cc band. I stayed on liquids for a 3 days, then moved into solids. Since my last fill I've felt I am at my SWEET SPOT (I've been hearing SO much about for the past 11 months!). My issue is that I think I irritated my stoma (again) and its swelling. I've had a hard time eating over the past few days. I start to eat a cup of Beans and it takes me 20 min to eat the first 10%, then its like my stomach gets warmed up or something... then I can eat the rest within 10 or 15 min. Today I ate string cheese, avocado and some turkey. I munched on a few sunflower seeds (no shell), but I don't think I chewed well enough... when I got home about an hour ago, I thought I'd make myself a pomagranite martini. (mmm) I drank 1/2 of it. I coughed and BOOM! I threw up all over my desk/paperwork/purse/computer.... omg, I'm so happy nobody was home to see the mess. I am really anxious right now b/c I feel like I messed things up. I know I shouldn't have been drinking the martini in the first place... I KNOW I KNOW!!! :cool2: So now I am trying to get down some hot tea. I feel like I screwed up. Does this make any sense at all? AAhhhh!!!

First time I've heard of this. What type of band do you have? Just want to let you know that you've done a great job with your weight loss since November! Once your band is fixed, you'll soar to the end!

Hi. My name is Dana. I'm 32 years old. I'm a single mom of a 21 months old boy, Vance Anthony. I live in Folsom, CA... NOR CAL BABY! I am a restaurant general manager. I was banded in August of 2007 (I can't believe it's almost been a year!) My best friend had bypass on June 10th and we are in the process of writing a book about our experiences. I really like this website a lot and have met some great people. I just hit 163 pounds today, something I haven't seen in a loooonnnggggggggggggggg time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Glad to hear your surgery went well. I was at Hospital Angeles today for a fill. I saw Dr. Corvalla... he's a very nice man. I have a few questions for anybody who wants to answer: 1) What causes erosion? 2) What is Dr. Corvall's erosion rate? 3) As of TODAY, how many surgeries has Juan done? 4) If you had complications with your Corvalla surgery, when did you contact them and what was their response? 5) When you say you 'almost died', do you mean on the operating table? What happened? After? Infection? Reaction to meds? Please tell me... 6) Are there any surgeons in the US that have had zero pt erosions? If so, please give me their names. (My friend is having surgery soon...) I'll share with you my stats when you respond. Thanks.

HI! I'M BACK! Everything went well!!! She put in 1.0ccs. I had a hard time drinking water in the waiting room and had some tightness in my chest area, so I had her take out .2ccs. I hope I made the right decision. So, I got a fill of .8. I asked if she could take out all the saline to see how much I have in there. She said no. She said it risks introducing air into the line and that's bad for it. I'm trying to figure out how much I have in my 4cc band... 1st fill: 1.5 2nd fill: 1.5 Unfill: -.6 3rd fill: .8 duh................ like...... 3.2cc's ???? Seems like a lot for a 4 cc band... hhhmmmmmmmmmmm........

www.obesitycontrolclinic.com $8K cash (you can always get financing too) Dr. Juan Antonio Lopez Corvala - surgeon Dr. Carmen & Dr. Claysa - Doctors that work under him... (both female) Tijuana, Mexico I live in Sacramento, CA I WENT TO TJ FOR A FILL TODAY AND GOT TO SEE Dr. Lopez AND DR. CLAYSA! IT WAS SO GREAT TO SEE THEM BOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off"></TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">Can stress really tighten you up? I have been stressed out, I lost my job. Hmmm... I am going in for a fill tomorrow. Everything is better now, but I still worry all the time. Especially being a cash pt. Yikes. </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">Sometimes I wish I had bypass... ya feel me? I ended up being swollen for a week. Even had to cancel my fill apt. I'm ok now. Going in for a fill tomorrow. Viva Mexico! *********************************************************** </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Well, I'm looking forward to my fill tomorrow... IN MEXICO! (Not looking forward to a whole day of round-trip travel!) I had my 2nd fill in January and it was too tight, I had to return to Mexico 3 days later and have an unfill. I think I've been too loose since then. I've only lost about 12 pounds since Jan. I can't eat ANYTHING, but I can eat more that I should. I WANT to be able to eat 3-4 oz of chicken breast for dinner and feel full. Or a 2 oz turkey sausage and an egg for breakfast... that sounds perfect for me. I swell easily after fills, so I am getting a little scared. Especially since I was laid off from work a month ago, can't find a job, single mom and broke as a joke... can't really afford to go back to Mexico for an unfill, ya know! I'll write again tomorrow night when I get back. Thanks for all the replies. I haven't yet felt that sweet spot for more than maybe a week during my whole lap band adventure. 1 MORE THING: How do you change your ticker? I am at 170 and I've been trying to update it, and it just wont let me! I don't understand. Thanks! Dana

I think its awesome that you would do this for your daughter. Yes, there are doctors who will do the surgery on a minor... you just have to do your research. You are such a cool mom! I wish my mom would have helped me at a young age. Instead she just fed me like it was my last supper. Way to go! PS - I remember seeing a video on this site regarding a 14 year old who had lap-band. It was a news station interviewing the girl and her monther. Maybe look under "news stories" on this site and find it.... Good Luck!

Grace, you can drink soda? I haven't tried. Thank you for all of the responses. I can't wait for my fill... Can any of you eat salad?