steph_co

Yay! Good luck to everybody! I'm excited for you! Keep us updated on your progress!

Here's a post you guys can truly appreciate: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f99/beauty-only-skin-deep-45817/#post634297 I'm having a hard time not saying anything just because it's INSANE that a doctor would do that to somebody, but I am a newbie, so maybe I should shut my trap.

:faint:This boggles the mind. I read and re-read and I'm still having a tough time wrapping my brain around it. NOBODY gets a fill within the first two weeks. If their doctor gave them a fill that early, I'd say he/she deserves to be sued for malpractice! I know that some doctors fill earlier than this: but Allergan (maker of Lap Band) recommends not doing any fills before SIX WEEKS. This allows your body time to get used to the band, allows your body to heal inside the stomach and outside, and lets you adjust to new eating guidelines. I'd say eating a regular diet too soon can cause great risk for slippage! If you don't mind my asking - how many Lap Bands has your surgeon placed? I can't believe your doc didn't set you on a post-op diet. Did you even meet with a nutritionist??

LOL!! I am so right there with you on that one. Poor DH. Before I started the pre-op diet, I told him that I'd likely be insane and to not take anything I say personally. haha As for mini-goals. Well, I'm going by BMI some of the time or a number or a size. Depending on what I feel is reasonable. I'm not setting dates yet because I'm not technically in the losing phase yet. But for instance, my first goal was to get from "severely obese" to just "obese." I'm there. It was only 10 lbs. My next goal will be to get to Onederland. I'm hoping by the end of the year since I hear the first month is usually the easiest to lose the weight and I haven't weighed myself in several days. After I get to Onederland, my next goal will be to go from "obese" to "overweight," which will be 191. Don't know what date I'll put on that. We'll see what my rate of loss is. Depending on how my loss goes, I may start to set a goal size instead of weight. We'll see as it goes along. If it were me, I'd set conservative goals because you'll be more likely to reach them and then if you over-reach them by your "due date," you can feel that much better about yourself. You just have to go by what your body is able to do.

I was also told 3 meals a day, no snacking. But lots of water in between meals.

Oh, whoops. Select "complaints" in the drop-down menu. The ACLU has sued for less.

OMFG!! I am former TSA, worked with them 18 months total and the treatment you got was WAY out of line. I'm looking for a consumer complaint number or website or email for you. They stress over and over and over customer service, so what happened to you is SO WRONG. I have worked in 4 different airports (Salt Lake Int'l, Grand Junction, Telluride and Aspen), so it's not like my airport was just weird. In the future, do not even bring up the band if you beep. It may have been something else that caused you to beep, but because you drew attention to it, that's what they focused on. And, NOOOOOO, a male is to NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER wand a female. If one starts to wand you, you tell them you want a FEMALE screener, or that you need to see a screening manager NOW. There are only RARE exceptions for opposite sex wanding and those are in airports out in the boonies of Alaska, for instance where there may only BE two male screeners working the whole lane. If the wand beeps on the port, then all they have to do is pat that area. Then just say, "I have a port under my skin for medical injections." That's all they need to know. They'll be able to tell by patting OVER THE CLOTHING that it's not a knife. They do NOT need to see bare skin. OMG, who the hell trained these people? And I do want to give one more note about those medical cards that people carry. Something that you get to understand from reading SSI documents that are passed down from the CIA, FBI, whatever, is that terrorists will use whatever they can to conceal what they need to get the job done. All they would have to do then, is get a severe break to the leg (you think they wouldn't go that far? THINK AGAIN...I've seen pure craziness in security briefs that you wouldn't even imagine!), get some pins/screws/plates in there. Let it get all healed up, then strap a gun down there. Wala! "Oh, I have a card. I don't have a weapon and you don't need to search me." You gotta think like a criminal, I guess. It's a sad, scary world we live in. Here: TSA | Transportation Security Administration PLEASE complain away. I am not kidding. You may think this gets nowhere, but when it's about a specific airport, they generally get slapped on the hand. If you ever have a problem with a particular screener, then you need to get that screener's name so that you can put it in the complaint. Make sure when you do the complaint that you put in the time and date that you were there so they can pinpoint what shift it was. Somebody needs some major retraining. This kind of stuff makes me SO angry because it shone a really bad light on the GOOD people in TSA (who I happened to be one of).

Could you tell me where you found this information? I'm not being argumentative, I seriously want to know. I couldn't find anything supporting that statement. I found FDA approval for STUDIES back in 2005 which would include banding selected teens: Newswise Medical News | FDA Approval to Study Safety of Gastric Banding Surgery on Teens And then I found a hospital in California that is working on specializing in the field of teenage gastric-banding: Putting the squeeze on fat with new weight-loss surgery for teen - Lucile Packard Children's Hospital It says in that article that: I just would think that would be a big announcement - FDA approving Lap Band for teens. Heck, approval for the J&J band seemed to be big news, I just imagine I would have seen something. When I was researching the band, I remember 18 being the minimum age.

I had that feeling like I had to carry my belly around just to keep that pulling feeling away. Yes - it hurt. I want to say that around 5 days post-op, that pulling feeling subsided for the most part. I took Vicodin up until about 8 days post-op (only one when the pain was unbearable while I was working days 4-8 post-op), but mostly just because parts of my job are physical and getting in and out of a vehicle so much wasn't helping. I'm now 10 days post-op and the port site is FINALLY starting to feel "normal." It twinges a little in the morning and when I'm getting in and out of the patrol vehicle, but feels fine most of the time.

Follow what your doctor says. Always, always, always. You paid him for his expertise/advice.

I am 10 days post op and still just getting to the point where I could probably comfortably lay on my left side (port side). If I lay on the right side, I feel like the port is pulling. I don't know why that is. I tried the body pillow thing - didn't work for me. I've even tried tucking some of the comforter under my tummy. I'm sick of laying on my back, too! It gets old. I think time is the only thing that'll really help. Well...let me add - surprisingly, fully clothed on the couch, I can lay on my right side with the back of the couch supporting me. Maybe you could try sleeping on the couch just to get a different position.

Geneen Roth's books are very good. She has several.

From what I've read, because it's not approved by the FDA, the answer in the U.S. would be 'no.' 18 is the minimum age. But I swear I have heard of some doctor somewhere that took a patient a year or two younger. But I don't think any doctor would touch 14...too much liability.

I saw the post you're referring to and I agree fully with what you have posted here. I think the post in question is one of the reasons my nutritionist looked terrified when I told her at my consult that I had been reading LBT. LOL I had to explain to her that I have common sense and don't blindly take advice from strangers on forums.

I thought I was so fully prepared that it would be a breeze. But then the night before surgery I had a panic attack. I had tears running down my face sitting in pre-op with DH. This is such a huge change. Yes - I was scared. But I would definitely go back and do it again. As for Protein, I use Slim Fast low carb shakes. They have 20 grams of protein and actually don't taste half bad. It's the only protein I've tried so far that doesn't have a funky taste that seems to be because of the protein.

How awful. I can't even imagine. I think I avoid public places because I don't want anything similar to happen! I think the worst thing that ever happened to me was when I got into my old Nissan Altima a couple years ago and the driver-side front shock snapped. I was by myself, in my garage, but I then had to call off from work. I realize both front shocks were actually quite rusted from all the ice-melting stuff they use on the roads here and I hadn't paid enough attention to cleaning under there. But it still made me feel AWFUL. And one time I sat down on the couch and heard a loud pop under my rear end. Yeah. Dang pants. Thankfully it was just me and DH. I made jokes out of it to him so I wouldn't cry. That stuff does not feel good, but it's something for me to remember when this road may get rough.

Mine is recommended for 6 weeks after, but that's right around Christmas, so I'll probably wait until January. Too much going on for a 3 1/2 hour drive one way.

You'll feel more and more hungry as the swelling goes down - that's normal. Just continue to eat healthy with reasonable portions and get your protein in! The lack of hunger won't kick in until you have GOOD restriction, which could take several fills.

I love reading about everybody! Thanks for sharing, you guys, and thanks for starting the thread, Linda! I'm Stephanie (27) married to Richard (42) for 4 years come February. I love him so much - he is my best friend. I think he's the only person on the planet that I can stand to spend so much time around. LOL We don't have any kids between us (unexplained infertility and 1 miscarriage), but he has 5 children that live with their mother and come out for visits. We live in the western part of Colorado about an hour east of Grand Junction. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it here. I'm a transplant. Originally from North Salt Lake, UT. I don't ever want to go back to UT. I am HOOKED on Colorado. And after 2 1/2 years of living in the western half of this state, the fitness crazies are contagious. There are so many things I plan to do this next year as becomes possible - snowboarding, kayaking, biking, and running. We have a German Shepherd mix named Moegli (like the boy on the Jungle Book), two cats named Annabelle and Willie, two mice named Kinkajou and Daisy (haha...any fans of Meerkat Manor?), and two hermit crabs named Tarzan and France. It's a regular zoo. We used to have 3 chickens, but had to give them up when we moved because we don't have a yard anymore. I vow to get chickens when I have a yard again! LOL Oh...I work as a night security officer. I patrol properties several times per night, do lock-ups, let people in that are locked out, respond to alarms (burglar, fire and environmental). Not a bad job. Probably the easiest one I've had. I like it because I get to decide what to do while I'm working, as long as it all gets done. And I get some good down time to do my own thing like be on the internet. LOL Like now.

Welcome to the group! I'm glad you've had minimal pain. Keep us updated on your progress!

I paid $10,850. My surgeon, it looks like, just lowered his price to $9,900: Colorado Bariatric Surgery Institute - Morbid Obesity,

I'm 27 - banded 11/15/07. I toyed with the idea of LapBand for a year. Then really started into the hardcore researching in Sept/Oct. Thought I was so prepared and so ready and the night before my surgery, I had the first panic attack of my life. I was so freaked out. Head issues with the whole getting skinny thing. Long post and not for here. But physically, feeling pretty good. I didn't have the incredible shoulder pain that people talk about. Gas pains weren't too bad, either. 2 days after surgery I walked a mile total. My only problem is port pain right now. Everything else seems to be going quite well. I swear my belly is getting flatter by the day...and I mean flatter than it was BEFORE the surgery when they puffed in all that CO2. I'm doing my best to stay away from the scale because I know this part is not about weight loss - it's about healing. My incisions are starting to itch indicating they are healing. Nothing major. Yes, I had pain, but if I had to do it all over again - I would in a heartbeat. Nothing to it.

I am so there with you. I had a free Thanksgiving dinner and could have had TONS, but all I got was maybe 15 tiny bites total. You better believe that for the rest of the day and all the next day I was OBSESSING over how good that stuff tasted and how much it sucked that I hadn't been able to have more. But I made it through. Food has been a longtime friend of mine (well...not much of a friend...more like an ENEMY!). It's hard saying goodbye to a parasitic relationship like that sometimes. On the surface it seems like a good relationship, but really what it comes down to is that I was being hurt by it. I have to keep reminding myself of that. Food (the bad stuff) is no friend of mine! I want to eat to live, not live to eat. My first Thanksgiving banded and I hope it's a sign of things to come that I was able to control myself! You deserve a huge pat on the back for getting past it. Give yourself a couple of days...things will come into perspective.

Linda - I think it's common to worry about something as life-changing as this. I don't think you should let it over-run your mind, though - that can be very stressful and I think I'd be wanting to eat a whole lot if I was thinking about it that much. I find that sometimes I have to just go find something else to do when I'm getting too obsessed on this board or researching or whatever. We're here for you, though - it is really nice to have people right around the same time as me for surgery to compare experiences. Don't overanalyze. I don't want to just come right out and say, "You'll be fine," because you never know...but that is what keeps coming to my mind. Just have faith in yourself, your body and the work your surgeon did. They wouldn't be able to tell a slip until your first fill (if they do it under flouro), anyway, and if you're not having a severe reaction to it, then there's no point checking before then. It's hard to relax when somebody tells you to...but I think that's what might help you the most. It could be pure NERVES that's causing your twinge feeling. I think focusing on something more enjoyable would help. Think of something you enjoy doing and can get lost in and go do that for awhile. Let your brain take a break.

Sounds to me like you can eat soft foods and just mush them up in your mouth. For me, at 2 weeks post-op, I can graduate to soft foods just like how your instructions read - to chew until mush. Man, I look forward to chewing. *sigh* I can't say I haven't chewed ANYTHING, but I've kept it to a minimum as much as possible to keep from having any problems. But to be able to actually EAT something...aaahhhh. Sounds too good to be true. LOL