gentylwind

My doc gave me Phenargan to have on hand to help if nausea/vomiting due to illness comes along.

Do your best to relax. I had never had surgery ever prior to having my band placed and I got myself so worked up and anxious. I cried in the waiting room I was so scared. All for nothing. It was a piece of cake compared to how I blew it up in my mind. The pain was manageable. The outcome has been positive. Do your best to relax. For most people its far far easier than they ever imagined.

Oh...and anyone who thinks this is the easy way out has no idea what they are talking about. This is HARD with a capital H. We still have to make all the same good choices and exercise and watch what we eat. Any loss comes from effort. Its super easy to eat around the band and not only not lose, but gain. Don't listen to the negativity and don't let toxic people influence your goal. If you want to do it, you can.

I just didn't tell the people I didn't want to know and emphasized to those I did tell that this is absolutely confidential and I purposefully only told a few. Just don't tell her. The recovery and change is not dramatic enough for anyone to notice you had surgery.

Twisties are red licorice candy I think...

Look at it this way. Do you love cheese more than you hate being fat? There's no telling whether you will be able to eat cheese. Probably yes. But you have to go into this with the assumption that ANY food you once loved may be off the menu at some point. I personally have been able to eat anything except tortillas so far. But there was not one food I was unwilling to give up forever if it meant I would be healthy, lighter and more confident. Food is not a major factor in my quality of life now.

There is no telling for those who paid cash how long they researched the band prior to actually going in and scheduling surgery. I have looked into this for four years. I had one month between my initial visit and surgery. And, granted, I am only two and a half months out, but I am doing great, following what I am supposed to do, working out and seeing fantastic results so far. So in my opinion, no, there is no correlation. I did a TON of research prior to making this decision. I got to act fast once the decision was made because I had the cash to pay for this and did not have to go through insurance.

Medicare does not cover WLS, or at least that is what they said in the seminar I attended. Medicaid does for some people. EVERYONE is looking for a way to have this done with zero or low cost. I second above trying Google and the like, but if you were to find something, the competition for it would be intense. Lots of people wanting WLS who can't afford to pay for it. I am sorry you are having a hard time. I hope you can figure something out.

Yes, it is normal. You will start losing again soon, even sooner if you are or start exercising regularly. I was worried at your stage too. Don't fret. It will start again, though you most likely will not lose at the same pace as you were. 1-2 pounds per week.

Yes, it is normal. Now is the time to heal, not necessarily lose. Be patient.

I am very grateful not to be one of those people.

With each of my three fills I have found it took about a week to ten days to feel the restriction really take hold. I hope it makes itself known for you soon. In the meantime kgloverii sounds like she has good advice.

WannaB, are you exercising at all? Have you talked to your doctor yet about getting your thyroid checked? Do you have PCOS? I think I asked you these before but you never answered. All can lead to slower than optimal weight loss. I agree with Old Goat...start using www.thedailyplate.com and weighing/measuring your portions to get a grip on how much you are really taking in in terms of volume, fat and calories. If you are doing everything right and still not losing , you need to see a doctor to find out why your metabolism is so low. Either way, you should feel relieved to get some answers, whether its poor food choices and amounts, lack of exercise or a medical issue. Once you have answers you can go forward to get where you want to be.

Lacasst, you look like you are doing pretty darn good to me! I am glad if anything I said was helpful.

I don't know if I am at THE sweet spot, but I am at my first "sweet spot" until I shrink down out of it again. I can eat 2-4 oz of food at a time. 5-6 if I eat a bit too much. I stay full for 4-5 hours. I have 6.5 cc in a 10 cc band. I went from 6 cc to 6.5 cc on the 20th of January and its made all the difference in the world.

I miss being able to eat in large volumes. But my proportion of missing that is far smaller than how much I am enjoying shrinking out of my clothing!

Yes. This. Its a club. Anyone can join. Most people want in. But it does have entry requirements that many are unable to make themselves do. The band is not one of those entry requirements. The band just makes doing those entry requirements a little bit easier, when it is utilized. You don't lose weight from the band any more than you lose weight from buying a treadmill. It takes regular, consistent, proper use.

Never have had a PB. Ever. Never vomited, never gagged, never gotten stuck. I DO get that "full feeling", not just tightness in my chest. I have to eat slowly though to get it. If I inhale my food, I end up too full and miserable, having blown through it completely. I have yet to find any food I physically cannot eat. I have 6.5 cc in a 10 cc band. I personally must control what goes into my mouth. I have not eaten bread since my surgery and probably never will again. I'd like to make the same commitment regarding chips. I mourn those a little more. Potatoes too. Every time I eat chips, potatoes or any kind of sweets, I stall my weight loss completely even though I am eating way less. I am fat. I have an insulin intolerance due to that fact, as do MOST obese people. This causes a hyper reaction to any food that either is sugar already or turns to sugar after ingestion. Insulin promotes the formation and retention of fat. This is why so many doctors stress to eat high protein. Controlling surges of insulin release into the blood stream is vital to weight loss in the obese. I thoroughly believe you will get out of this journey what you put into it. There are exceptions, but the vast majority who come here complaining of not losing since surgery know very well that it is because they are not doing what they are supposed to, because they hoped the band itself would be enough and because they are resistant to give up their drug of choice and change their own behavior. The mantra seems to be "If I could do that, I would not have needed the band!". I always wonder if they told their nutritionist and psychiatric evaluator that prior to surgery. Its pretty well documented by good surgeons that the band itself will not help you until YOU help you. The truth for most people is that until they are ready to change what they are or are not doing, their results are not going to be what they hoped. Cutting portions is not always enough. For people with metabolic syndrome, which most fat people have, its WHAT you eat as much as how much you eat. Controlling insulin surges leads to weight loss. Is it an illness and not a character flaw? I absolutely believe that it is. But until they find the cause and the cure, we have to do it ourselves the really hard way. We have to change, resist, retrain, refocus. Sorry about our luck. Being sorry about our luck doesn't change that reality. Exercise actually has beneficial effects on chronic fatigue. Make yourself take a walk. It doesn't have to be "gym rat" level. Just get outside and move some, stroll, enjoy your life and your surroundings. Tell yourself its not even for exercise, that its just for mental health and pleasure. You may find your spirits and energy level lift. So far my band has been exactly what they said it would be. A tool. And when I do my part, it does its part. My experience has been positive and I encourage you to get a slight unfill, change your food choices, make yourself start walking small distances and become the dream you hoped for when you embarked on this journey. I wish you the best of luck.

I have found that not allowing myself to fantasize about food has had a very strong impact on my rate of loss. I highly recommend finding ways to interrupt the "craving" thought process. It helps!

Gas and swelling. It goes away in time. For me it took about three weeks.

Pretty much as often as I want, though he recommends two weeks between. But if really struggling he is willing to do them at weekly intervals.

My doctor mentioned diverticulitis when I was having tummy pain. Have you had a colonoscopy? Also I personally have become gluten and lactose intolerant since surgery. Doc also said its not uncommon for banding to "unmask" those intolerances. Gluten in particular gives me SEVERE stomach pain. I avoid it now completely.

I have given up bread completely. I do eat brown rice and have no trouble with it. Since my surgery bread or anything with gluten in it gives me awful belly pain and gas that makes me wish I would just go ahead and get it over with and die. My doctor feels my band has unmasked a gluten intolerance. I find the more I go without it, the less I miss it. There's nothing bread gives me that I can't get from other sources.

The only thing I have found I can't eat are french fries and tortillas (wraps). I have not had bread since my surgery and don't intend to try it.

I struggle with the same thing and also have 7 cc in my 10 cc band. Carbs and sweets will always be easier to eat and restriction isn't really going to do a lot to help that. Have you considered doing a 5 day pouch test to help break the carb cycling that your body goes through (spikes your insulin when you eat carbs/sweets, which leads to too much insulin in your blood, which leads you to crave more carbs to give that insulin something to do, which spikes your insulin even more and round and round it goes). I wish you luck. Dropping back to the five day pouch test helped break my carb cravings and I am back to losing now.