Longhorn

Good luck, tomorrow, to all of y'all! We'll be thinking about you!

I hope all went well! We'll look forward to hearing from you when you're up to it! Congratulations!

The compliments are always great but especially from those who don't know that you had the surgery! I'm glad your first days back at work are so uplifting! It's nice to be missed!

We were visiting with the in-laws at their house last night and everyone else was having pizza so I brought the fixings for my new favorite treat: refried Beans with melted cheese, topped with cottage cheese. I am clearly having trouble getting used to how much I can eat. I mixed up a batch -- maybe a half-cup of the beans, two slices of American cheese, and a couple of spoonfulls of cottage cheese -- and I was only able to eat about one-fourth of it! I had to throw the rest away since it wouldn't have been any good reheating with the cottage cheese on top. I didn't feel physically full and I didn't feel uncomfortable. I just felt finished. I ate it pretty slowly so I'm sure that helped and I haven't been drinking while I eat. It's an interesting situation, one that I'm watching carefully to make sure I learn new habits. I don't know when my appetite is going to come back but it is sure nice not to obsess about food all day. And it didn't bother me a bit that everyone around me was eating pizza and drinking wine. I wouldn't have minded the wine but I've decided to allow myself a little on Thanksgiving so it didn't bother me to wait. How have your encounters with food and/or socializing going?

After you create your ticker and the code is created, copy and paste the code in the top box to your signature box. If you just edit the ticker, rather than create a new one, the new information will automatically be picked up -- you don't have to do anything to your signature.

It's been 18 days since my surgery and I still haven't really been hungry, not the way hunger used to feel. I can tell sometimes that I should eat but it's because I begin to feel a little weak. But none of that deep in my pit kind of hunger and not even any head hunger. A couple of times my senses have perked up because my husband made something for himself. The aroma of food has always tempted me more than seeing it. I have felt completely normal since a week ago, as far as no pain or fatigue. I've been back to work for two weeks and the first week, I was a little tired and it still hurt when I bent over but it was still not really a big deal. My port was infected but the only symptom I could feel was soreness. However, it started getting better almost immediately after I started taking antibiotics. Just try to give yourself as much time to recuperate as possible and take it easy. You can always do more if you're able! Good luck!

I don't think so. I think that's the new Johnson & Johnson REALIZE band: FDA Approves REALIZE™ Adjustable Gastric Band For Morbid Obesity

I would definitely be sure that I was following all of the rules for eating and getting adjustments before I considered another surgery. Frankly, gastric bypass has rules, too, and you could find yourself not losing again if you're not following them. I agree with kacee that you should see your doctor and discuss whether you need an adjustment. Good luck!

Thanks, kacee! I've only been banded for two weeks and haven't noticed any changes, of course, but this seems like any easy remedy to try if it becomes an issue. Let us know if it works for you!

Kristin: Your doctor sounds a lot like mine. I agree that there are different views out there but I specifically chose my doctor because I agreed with his philosophy. I almost decided against surgery after reading about the unpleasant details that people love to share on this board. My doctor believes that many of those incidents can be avoided by being more careful in adding foods and being conservative about adding Fluid to the band to give me time to adjust. I don't care if it takes me longer to lose weight if I can do it comfortably and know that it won't come back! In fact, I consider my band more of a maintenance tool than a weight-loss tool. I understand that there are others who have a different view and I hope they found a compatible surgeon, too!

Glad you're doing well! Keep babying yourself even as you're feeling better. Unfortunately, you sometimes don't know when you've overdone it until it's too late! Congratulations!

I don't know if my pains were the same but there was a period about a week after my surgery that I was convinced that things were pulled loose inside of me and all mashed together when I would lay on my left side. I mentioned it to my doctor at my post-op visit and it was clear this was normal. Within a couple of days, it felt fine again. My advice would be to keep an eye on it and any other symptoms such as fever or increased redness or swelling around your incisions and if it doesn't subside, call your doctor. But hopefully, it's just part of the healing. Take care!

Phil: I used to be a constant weigher whenever I was on a diet. I told myself that it didn't affect me if I didn't lose weight but it did. I'd follow my program but there would still be this negative aspect to the whole thing. I've always been a slow loser so that meant that I spent a lot of my time on a diet feeling down or disappointed or discouraged. That's bad enough for a relatively short-term diet but I'm going to be on this "diet" for the rest of my life! I decided that I do not want my measure of success to be the damn scale! I'm as interested in losing weight as anyone else and I'd love to lose it quickly like anyone else but I just don't want the roller coaster of emotions that, for me, comes with stepping on the scale. Gosh, even when I lost, it wasn't enough! After a day of staying on my plan, drinking all my Water, getting in good exercise, noticing that something fits better or is too big, receiving compliments from friends and family -- after a day of successes, I step on the scale and feel like a failure because I didn't lose a pound? Not for me! I come across post after post on this and any diet board from people who are upset and discouraged because they didn't lose or gained a couple of pounds since yesterday. Yet at the end of the month, they probably lost eight to ten pounds. I think I'll just wait until the end of the month and never know about the daily ups and downs.

I've had it now and then, especially since I started on mushies. It hasn't been terribly bad or spontaneous, nor have I had any pain or bloating often associated with it. I assume my body is just getting used to all these changes! Your shoulder pain should occur less and less each day. I get a twinge now and then and then it's gone. Welcome to the board!

Well done! You get an A! :clap2:

I'd do it for you but I'm a teacher! It's always best to learn by doing, right?

Just copy the LATEST list, paste it into your reply, and add yourself to the 15th!

My surgery was $12,500, including the hospital, anesthesia, surgeon's fees, and a year of aftercare, including fills. Here are the other charges: Post: Pshic evaluation: $150 Blood work, PFT, Chest X-ray, Doctor's Exam: I'm afraid I don't have the breakdown. My doctor was able to use some tests that I had done in the summer. I know I had a metabolic workup as part of the blood work. The total for labs, EKG, Pulmonary Function Test, chest X-ray, and examination by my GP was about $550. Upper GI (barium swallow): Didn't have to do. Classes: Nutritionist ( I read some have had to ): $75.00 Initial Consultation: $250 Fills (sepcify what type-Water or?): Included with surgery price. So for me, about $1000 in addition to the $13,500.

I was very bloated high up on my abdomen. I laid down on my stomach and my husband massaged my back. Then he left and some of the gas moved. He did the same the next day. I also took Gas-X. Both seemed to help and it was gone in a couple of days. Good luck!

Great reminder! Also, I've tried other whey Proteins before and had terrible cramping and bloating. I'm not normally lactose intolerant but that pushed me over the edge! But I haven't had any trouble with the unjury, which is whey potein isolate. Thanks!

I think Bobbi's right. I feel so much better than I did a week ago. I can bend over now and it doesn't hurt at all. In fact, I don't have any soreness at all any more but I was still sore a week ago. Also, I think there are other variables involved besides age, such as how we respond to anesthesia, pain thresholds, etc. I had an infected incision that has been clearing up this week. There are certainly days that I couldn't wait to get home and go to bed! You might try to get in a little more Protein. My doctor told me 70 grams per day! Take care!

I hope you like it! I didn't read it until the first few days after surgery but she helped verify a lot of my understandings and gave me an idea of how things were going to proceed. The doctors write parts of the book, too. My real name is a bit too unique for me to post on a public board. Sorry but if you don't like Longhorns, you're welcome to call me L.

Kevin: I was on clear liquids for two weeks, also. However, I was allowed to have protein shakes mixed with skim milk. I figured that Low-Carb SlimFast would qualify since it has 20 grams of protein per can so that's what I had and I found it very filling. When I saw my doctor for my one-week post-op, I told him I had been drinking the SlimFast and he said that was fine. I also found chicken broth mixed with chicken-flavored Unjury protein powder was also filling and I still have that when I'm at work, even though I'm now on full liquids/pureed foods. I don't think you could order it and get it before your two weeks are up but you might enjoy it later. Also, I had Sugar Free Jell-O with a dollop of Sugar Free Cool Whip -- just that little bit of creaminess really helped. And I had sugar-free popsicles sometimes. I wasn't that hungry but I think it's because these foods, especially the ones with lots of protein, really helped. Good luck!

That's great news, Don! I hope it works out for you soon! If you get a chance, you might also read Khaliah Ali's book, Fighting Weight, which is specific to lap-band surgery. Lots of good info in there, too, and it's a quick read. Good luck!

Thanks for the update, Phil! And congratulations on your amazing success! I can't tell if I've had any success yet. I'm not weighing myself. My clothes feel a little bit looser but it could be my imagination. Were you able to figure out why you PB'd? Was it the food or size of the bite or how well it was chewed? Thanks and keep up the good work!:clap2: