Leena

I had the strangest experience today. For Breakfast I was eating egg whites and grilled chicken breast (skinless). Anyway I had 2 egg whites and 1/3 cup of chicken cut into strips, didn't finish it all. It took me 40 minutes to eat and stopped when I felt full. About 15 minutes later I felt like there was a golf ball in my pouch. It lasted for 3 hours until I finally drank a cup of pineapple juice and took some gas-x. The rest of the day I've just been on liquids, maily my protien shake and Water. And I'm planning on having liquids tomorrow, then calling my doctor to see what's going on. This is my first really uncomfortable food experience with chicken. There was no sliming or pbing. And I'm a little over 4 months post op, haven't had a fill since the beginning of december and don't need one. Thanks, Leena

I had the farewell to food tour. I highly recommend it. If I could do it again I would add bread with dipping oils to it. That's only because post-op I haven't been able to eat bread, and I'm 4 months post-op. I had everything else that I love in my tour (mostly all carb based-yes I'm a recovering carb addict). It seems my band doesn't like bread, Pasta or rice, all of my old vices. I have yet to find a new food vice, hmm maybe Water but it's not a vice. If you want your last goodbye to food weekend then by all means take it. Persoanlly I have NEVER been able to eat like I did pre-band since being banded, even when I needed a fill.

My advice on work out wear is Wal-Mart. They always have plus sizes. I think the plus sizes run big as i can fit into their 16Ws in workout pants but am in no way a 16, more like a 20. But their 20Ws are way too big. I'm waiting for them to put out their capri work out pants, especially the plain ones, as I can't see myself wearing ones that say juicy or hot stuff on the butt.

I'd also look to the grams of carbs that you're eating as well as the sodium. Personally high sodium foods, like ham tends to be, make me reatin Water like a balloon. I'm also one who can't loose on higher carbs. Does your protien shake have higher carbs? This is the frist that I've heard of eating 6 small meals with the band. My bariatric team says 3 small meals, no snacking in between them either. Considering you're just about 2 weeks post-op your diet has advanced much further than mine. At that point I was still on liquids. Most doctors won't fill until 4 weeks post-op at the earliest, some wait as long as 6-12. My 3rd week opst-op I didn't loose a single pound, then weight loss picked up again. Bodies sometimes just take breaks once in a while.

Thanks julie, atleast I know I'm not walking around with some freakish looking privates, atleast not more freakish looking than others my weight or former weight. I'm thinking a tummy tuck may be in my future at some point. I didn't realize they could lipo there though. That's good to know.

I would say go for the sushi. California rolls were one of my favorite things before. And now I can't tolerate rice. I'm okay with it now. I had my farewell to food tour. My pre-op diet was 2 protien shakes a day and one meal of what-ever I wanted. My dr. didn't require a pre-op diet for me but said I could do one if I wanted. I din't go crazy, but I enjoyed what I ate. I mostly had things that give people problems post-banding (RECOVERING CARB ADDICT HERE), so Pasta, rice, bread, etc. As for the wine, I've had 2 glasses post-op. I'm not a huge fan of wine. I have had about 5 mixed drinks though, just have to pay the price working out the next day.

Body Issue 1: This morning in the shower I realized that my belly flop/apron/deflating stomach/etc is getting really deflated, looks like a beat up loaf of uncooked bread. Anyway, I never paid a whole lot of attention to it before but my pubic area is still really fat and chubby. I look like a Ken doll. Ok, I know this is not normal what so ever. Do I need to call my obgyn, or has it been this way. I don't want to ask DH because I know he'll end up laughing about it. It definately doesn't look like Jenna Jameson there or any other woman in her line of work. Am I normal? Body issue 2: So then I'm looking in the mirro as I dry off and realize my nipple are pointing to the floor. This is something new as they used to be where they were supposed to be. What is going on? Thanks!

I short term goal is to reach the 100 pound lost mark. I'm so close to it I'm drooling. My short term goal is under 200 by my birthday, end of April. And to get rid of my obesity related heart arythmia which I'll get tested for then as well.

I have a friend who had the bypass 4 years ago with a BMI of 34, granted she was over 200 pounds as she's 5'10" tall. Now she weighs 140-145 pounds. She even had insurance pay for it. So surgeons will do it.

My kids and dh take fish oil, actually it's cor or core Omega. It's comes in a ketchup packet type of container and is orange/chocolate flavored. So it is bandster appropriate. I can not take it however as I have a heart arythmia and there are a few studies out there that say those with arythmias shouldn't take it, also my pcp doesn't approve of it for people with arythmias as well. You'll also want to make sure that your fish oil is mercury free too.

Week 1 post-op I lost 20 pounds and week 2 was another 10. Trust me it will start to slow down, but then exercise will help you speed it up again. I'm 4 months post-op and lost 7 pounds in the last week and 8 the week before that. Exercise and watching what you eat helps a lot.

I guess I need to be here too. I was 350 this summer and 333 on the day of surgery. I still have a lot to go.

Port placement varies from person to person. I know people who have the same dr. as I do and we have our ports in different places, similar but different. As far as ports, I know there is the standard circle shape type and the low profile. These are the only 2 I have heard of, and I have the standard circle type.

I've been at 2cc in my 4cc band since the beginning of december. I think I may be at my sweet spot. I skipped my January fill because I just didn't need it. Just wondering how long this sweet spot will last.

I wasn't an emotional eater before, at least not in the extreme sense of it. I did go through grad school exams and needed a small milk shake a day for a week. My big problem was that I was portion control , ie 3 huge huge meals a day with dinner being around 8pm. I have noticed post-band that when I get upset or stressed out it's very difficult for me to eat. I feel an even greater sense of restriction to the point that Water even goes down slower. For me I delt with my emotional milk shake addiction during exam time prior to banding. I knew what the root of the problem was, in my case fear of failing an exam, even although to date it's never happened. My mentor had me enroll in a class on stress management to get me to where I am today. You can't avoid all the stress in life, but there are better ways to manage it. Hope this helps, Leena

I love salads, obviously I skip the dressing when eating out. At home I have fat free 20 cal per 2 tbsp dressing and love it.

I only eat egg whites, usually 2 at a time. On most days I'm able to finish 2, but sometimes my dh or kids have to have the last few bites.

My surgeon recc. the bypass for me, as it's easier to loose weight with the bypass. I was against having it done, not due to other health issues but due to the riskiness of the surgery in general as well as its side effects. Stick to what you think will work best for you. Afterall it's your body that has to live with the operation, not your doctor's.

Pre-op I bought 24 cans of low sodium chicken broth, 12 of beef and 12 of veggie. Trust me you won't need that many, and you'll get sick of it really fast. I have broth out of the wazzooo.

I'm 4 months post-op and had my labs done at 3 months to check protien levels, Vitamin and mineral levels and a bunch of other bloodwork my doctor wanted. Everything was normal, just thinning hair. Oh and I have more than my fair share of protien, even supplement with 1-2 shakes a day. I think in my case it's just rapid weight loss, nearing the 100 pound mark since my 1st consultation to 4 months post-op. So today I went out and bought 2 wigs and 4 hats. I prefer wearing a hat over a wig any day. So for now I'll be wearing hats, but when dh and I go out with his friends who don't know I'm banded or cut my hair I'll be wearing a wig.

Well, dh asked me yesterday why I'm "going bald." I've been noticing the thinning for a while, but thought it just might be me. Now that he's noticing it I know everyone else is too. My hair is really short too and dark brown, so it's hard to hide my white scalp. It just sticks out. I'm actually considering buying a wig, or atleast a few more hats. I have one hat that I've practically been living in. DH thinks I'd look cute in scarves, so we'll see. You know it's bad when a dh who doesn't notice a hair cut or eyebrow waxing notices you're going bald/thinning.

I was self-pay in NJ. Total was $14,500 including 3 months of aftercare/fills and one night in the hospital. I went to Mehta Bariatric Center in New Brunswick. I live in south jersey and it only takes me an hour and 10 minutes to get to his office.

That does sound expensive. My surgery was self-pay-financed. I pay $400/month for the next three years for surgery costs of 13,000. $600 month for 5 years sounds high, that would mean you'd pay back $36,000 in 5 years, with a certain percent of that being interest. But it sounds like the intial cost of your lap-band surgery is on the higher side as well.

Dh found out what I weighed a few weeks ago, when I was at 270. I was so pissed at him. My scale is in the kitchen, so I weigh every morning. I always make sure he's out of the kitchen when I do so. Well he snuck around the corner while I was waiting for my digital scale to display my weight. So, then he has the balls to ask what my starting weight was. Well he slept on the couch for 3 nights because my weight is just something I don't like to tell people I know (well at least thin ones or ones who haven't had WLS). As long as my mother and sister don't know I'll be okay.

Well 2-3 pounds seems a little slow after the 1st week post-op I lost 20 pounds and the 2nd I lost 10. So 2-3 is a whole lot slower than 20 pounds. I knew going into it that 1-2 weeks was what I could expect to loose. But I am religious about exercising so I know I can loose more than 1-2 on most weeks. I've always exercised, my big problem prior to lap-band was eating large large portions.