Leena

Mandi- My surgeon has patients stay under 1000 calories a day. What's a typical day of eating like for you? You may need to eliminate some of the calories. Also are you exercising? I'm almost a week post fill and started loosing again, but am only eating one solid meal and 2 protien shake liquid ones due to tightness.

But, something I decided a long time ago - Sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission! I know what you mean. I didn't tell my family prior to surgery, of course DH and the kids knew, but there's that fear of telling them. I let the cat out of the bag post-op while I was still on intense pain killers. My mother was surprisingly supportive but concerned that I ruined my body, LOL. It's not like I ruined it at all. My sister was insanely jealous and has made a point of it to completely pig out infront of me. Thankfully I could care less about it since I'm really not hungry much and get full so easily. She has expressed her opinion that she's very anti-surgery. She's probably about my size right now, works out but then eats more than she needs to inorder to actually loose weight (I don't even dare mention it). So for anyone esle out there as Nike says "Just Do It".

I had a fill almost a week ago, 1 cc in a 4 cc band. Overall I think it's a good fill, as the scale has moved. But in the morning I feel really tight and have to slowly sip my protien shake. By 1pm I can eat lunch and end up staying full for the rest of the day. I really only have protien shakes after that along with water. Is it normal to be tight in the morning or do I need a slight unfill? Or should I just wait another week and see how I feel then. I'm scheduled for another fill the end of November, but I know if I feel anything like I do now I'm not going to need it. Thanks, Leena

I had my first fill 5 days ago and still feel restriction. For my restriction seems to mean that I stay full longer. Pre-fill I would eat about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of food at a time and be hungry in 2 hours then drink lots of fluids to tame my hunger. Post-fill I'm really struggling to get in calories because I am just not hungry. So I'm sipping on a protien shakes all day and eating one meal. I don't feel as restricted as I did the first week post-op, but I've heard that I'll never feel that restricted again (thank god- as it was hard to even sip water). My band is 25% full, 1cc in a 4cc band.

I found that I lost week 1-3 post op and then stalled. Week 6 I got a fill and started loosing again. I think it also depends upon the size of your fill too. I had 1cc put in a 4cc band and am definately restricted.

Post-op I had to be trained to give myself shots of Lovenox. It was not fun at all. I recently had my first fill (my surgeon did it) and there is no way on earth I would ever consider doing it. It hurt and it took the surgeon time to find the port and get in. He kept on slipping off. There is no way I would do it. As Jaiode mentioned I think I would fall into trap #2, overfilling myself.

I say tell the truth. I went to my dr yesterday and ended up getting a fill. He asked how much I could eat and how much I have lost week by week. I definate weight loss the first 2 weeks and after that I had a few weeks with nothing or 1 pound. I did have a few days of being hungry but was able to control it. So the dr filled me. Not telling the truth can really hurt you in the end, so I say tell the truth and ask for a fill. The worst he can say is "No, come back in a few weeks". -Leena

I had my first fill today and OUCH. My dr doesn't use a fluro to locate the port, just goes by feel. It took a bent needle, then he numbbed the area (thank you god). I asked him about numbing it before trying and he said it wouldn't hurt. I am not a needle person at all, and to get poked over and over again just sucked. So I ended up with a 1cc fill in my band. So I said that doesn't seem like a lot since I have a 10cc band that holds 10ccs. Well apparently the medical receptionist gave me the wrong card as the dr thinks I have a 4cc band. The coolest part was that I got to see a photo of my band in place, taken during the surgery. Pretty cool. At least now I know where the port is, thankfully I have a little freckle directly above it so I'll know for the next fill to be on 11/29. Let the weight loss begin again. -Leena

Personally the band has been a huge help for me. I was not an unhealthy eater before, just had issues with the quantity of food that I was eating. With the band I am now forced to limit my quantity unless I want to be sick (trust me I hate hate hate puking and pbing). For me it's a great tool to know when to stop. And I don't even have a fill yet, am hoping for one soon though. I feel like it was probably the best $14,500 I ever spent. And I know I won't screw it up because let's face it you could buy a small car for that amount. So I don't want to throw away something the price of a car. -Leena

Last night I tried the crust of a panera roll and it didn't go well with me. I ended up PBing in the car on the way home. I will never even try bread again. It was by far the worst PBing experience I've had. -Leena

I like the hormel turkey pepperoni, but can only have a few slices (it gets a bit salty after a few). Regular pepperoni makes me PB immediately (very greasy). You may or may not be able to tollerate it. I have developed a love affair with roast beef though (very yummy). -Leena

Karen- I'll be joining you in repeating week one. I was exhausted today. I can't imagine how week 2 is going to make me feel.

I would say go for the homemade soup. My post-op diet had canned broth and my nutritionist said I could substitute with real homemade broth (less sodium and preservatives). Post-op I was also able to puree the chicken and carrots in the mushie stage.

Ok I have to laugh. I'm a little over a month out and DH was afraid to break me, LOL. We resumed "activities" recently and everything was fine. I did wait until I could sleep on my stomach though. I was given the medical "okay" at my 2 wk follow-up-it was included as "exercise" LOL. I would definately say wait until the gassy stage passes. -Leena

Ok, today I begin week 6 of post-op recovery. My surgeon said this is when I can start eating like I will for the rest of my life. I'm really at a loss for what to eat. I really liked the soft food stage and so for Breakfast ate 2 egg whites. I know my list has whole wheat/whole grain breads on it but I'm afraid of getting something stuck. I can also have fruits and veggies, but don't want to screw anything up. Ok maybe this is more psychological than anything else. But I tend to get really full with the soft foods. Do I really need to move on? Thanks, Leena

I was banded on 9/10 and just started sleeping in bed on 10/12. I can even sleep on my stomach. I'm so excited to be out of the recliner and get to cuddle again. YEAH! You'll make it to that point it just takes some time. If I were a back sleeper I could have been in bed a while ago, but I'm mostly a stomach/side sleeper so I needed to wait longer. In terms of intamacy there are a lot of different levels. About a week post-op we returned to some of those levels. A month out we returned to most activities, nothing crazy. -Leena

Well I ended up not telling them. There were only 4 of us there and not my closer friends from the group. So I just kept quiet about the whole thing. I have told my parents, husband, sons, some family members and a few select close friends. I guess fear of failure is a reason that I haven't told some people. And also the whole lecture of why that way. Oh, and it's so true that sometimes it's easier to tell a complete stranger. -Leena

I love this thread. I was thinking of doing this, and one of my first goals is a 5k. I downloaded the pod cast and will start tomorrow with a M/W/F schedule. Thankfully I have a treadmill here to that's going to help since it's getting cold. -Laura- I just bought great sports bras at walmart last week. They're the danskin brand and actually have cups. I've shrunk to about a 42 b/c from a 46 c/d. They're racer back style and really comfortable. _Leena

I live just outside of Philadelphia on the NJ side. I went to Mehta Bariatric in New Brunswick, NJ, about 1 hour 45 minutes from Philadelphia. Dr. Mehta's prices for lap band surgery (private pays) is 14,500. He's great at what he does in terms of surgery and support groups. I'm not sure what his exact BMI cut off is, but it's worth calling to find out. I know he does take into account body fat and fat distribution when he decides who has to do a pre-op diet. -Leena

I have a meeting tonight with some online friends. I've been active online in the group since August but was busy wrapping up grad school work before my surgery in September. So tonight it's a discussion over Snacks just after 7pm iwth about 9 of us. I will have already eaten my dinner and be mostly digested by then. I don't want to eat there because I tend to burp a lot after I eat and my stomach is a musical organ with loud sound effects. I know I won't be able to snack on anything there as I'm pretty much full of food by then. So I'll politely decline, but if I'm asked for an explanation I don't know how I feel about coming out of the band closet. Any advice? I went out to eat with my family this past weekend (for my commencement dinner) and just ate a bit of my hubby's food. The waiter was shocked I wasn't ordering a meal, and the people at the next table kept on looking at me eating super slow tiny bites. Thanks, Leena

The first week after surgery I had a prickley heat rash and looked very flushed. Apparently fat burning and surgery can do it to you. Mine was only on my face and arms as well.

It took me 5 days to go post-op with the help of Milk of Magnesia (recommended by my doctor). He also said no Fiber drinks or fiber Cereal in the pouch (could stretch it). You'll also have to get used to the small quanitity that comes out, as well as ummmm.... the consistancy. And it's totally normal to not go everytime you eat. -Leena

My port placement is very similar to Bellas, with the exception of the fact that I had stitches and steri-strips instead of staples.

I also had the compression boots after surgery for a day. Post-op I was on Lovenox for 7 days, every 12 hours. I was told to stop taking anything that thinned my blood for 10 days pre-op.

I have to wait untilo 10/25 for my first fill. I'm in the softfoods stage of eating right now, yeah variety of things to eat. I stopped loosing weight last week and have been the same. I'm hoping a fill will change this. Exercise isn't doing a thing for my weight. -Leena