Angelsma

First, congratulations on meeting your individual goals together! Secondly, it does sound like your wife is still having food issues but in the opposite to over eating - now under eating. Melba toast and peanuts don't sound healthy at all. Maybe you should contact your surgeon's office and speak to the nutrionist. It may be as simple as having your wife meet with the nutrionist for meal planning or it could be that she needs a complete check up. I just wouldn't act like there isn't something going on that needs a doctor's attention.

All sounded normal until you said you had tingling in your arms. You should be calling your surgeon or primary care physician. It could be a pinched nerve or results of how your were positoned on the operating table but it could mean something more serious. I don't mean to be an alarmist but it is better safe than sorry.

Gas is a universal problem post surgery. Lying on your side along with lots of walking, Gas-X, and sipping lots of water after protein drinks helps.

Looking at your weight tracker it seems like you're actually on target. Tell me if I'm reading that wrong...you started at 280 (pre-op) and now 248? You have lost 32 lbs in about 12 weeks with only one fill!!! That is fantastic Where do you think you should be??? Unless you can honestly say that you're sticking to the recommended food plan minus lots of surgary / fatty food then you're doing fine. Otherwise, I think you need to change your thinking about the band and not be so hard on yourself. Remember the band isn't like gastric bypass where you lose a 1 a day...this is is more realistic i.e. 1 to 3 lbs per week. I hope this helps.

You'll find that surgeons around the world give different instructions about how long to wait until their patients can move through the varying food stages. Remember doctors are coming from a medical and sometimes liabiilty perspective. Here in America, they know people will sue if they get a hang nail so doctors will generally give everyone the same cautious advice rather than tell "Susie" she can eat creamed corn and "Bob" can only eat cream of wheat. Your question is valid but I would just stick with what your doctor says. If there is something in particular that you want to eat - ask and see what he/she says. All the best.

:crying:This is my first experience w/ getting sick post band. I was running late this morning and didn't eat breakfast or take time to pack my lunch so I bought a toasted bagel w/ cream cheese at work. First clue should have been...I haven't eaten any bread since my surgery (duh). I must have eaten too fast and not chewed enough because now I feel like I'm on the verge of throwing up i.e sweaty, queezy, and overall sick nausea. Anyone else experienced this? If so, what should I do - just wait it out or drink water to push it through? :confused2:

CONGRATULATIONS!! In addition what everyone has said before...I found the following helpful. Although I have a desk job I took off a week from work to recoup. Others here said they took 2-3 days but I was sooooo tired and needed frequent naps or least the option to lay down. Stock up on low sodium Soups cream and broth based as well as powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury chicken broth(20 grams protein) you can order from Unjury.com Fat Free/Sugar Free Jello and pudding cups. Gas-X (I used the CVS brand and it was fine) If you don't have a recyliner to sleep in seriously practice getting up w/out using your stomach muscles (harder than you think) by pressing your pillow up against your stomach firmly - your dr's may have a one-pager on this.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for telling the our story. If the truth be told, I believe that's why many of us overeat (unknowlingly)...to hide, to become invisible. However, when the truth hits us in the face; it hurts. (I wish someone would do a study on it) I can pin point when I became invisible, when people began to treat me differently, and the most hurtful is when people began to be mean and disrespectful to me.

for telling our story. I believe we can all relate to every point made in your article. All the best to you now that you've been adopted:thumbup:

Congratulations to your new life. I can't believe you got coffee and didn't need any pain meds....I am sooo jealous!!:thumbup:

Several things come to mind...First, welcome to the site. I believe you will gain some much information here. This site has been a God-send to me. I check in at least once day....most days 2 or 3 times. I search by a topics i.e. gas, recipes, before and after pics etc. Secondly, please know that you will probably begin to feel like yourself again in two weeks. Rest as you need to but remember you're on a life-long journey. Lastly, and pardon me for being so personal but you didn't say how much weight you had to lose which may be an indication as to how uncomfortable you are. At 5-days post op you should be feeling much better, taking care of yourself and walking as much as possible (at least that's what was outlined in my post surgery info). Last question..have you contacted your surgeon?

I am 4 weeks post op (meet w/ my surgeon tomorrow). At this point I am walking 30-40 minutes a day and only able to stand in the pool now that my incisions have healed (no swimming)after my dr's appt. Both exercises are so invigorating and provides a great sense of relaxation.

Are you drinking enough water??? It sounds like you're not keeping yourself well hydrated?

I believe every person's experience is different and every doctor's instructions are different. There's no need to project into the situation in order to get them to follow instructions. Simply put, if a person goes off plan and has doubts as whether they have caused damaged to their band they should always consult with their own doctor. Otherwise, fear-mongering and brow beating only offers guilt and shame vs. encouragement. I hope this helps.

If you're not getting enough protein and fiber you should seriously consider more protein shakes i.e Slimfast, Glycerna etc. for at least one or two of your meals until you can talk to your surgeon about what is happening.

Welcome, from one Buckeye to another (even if you have transplanted to Michigian). Glad to see you here.

Welcome Barbara! I'm glad you found the site too. You will find a great deal of support and information here. Come back often, post, reply and read, read and read some more! This sight has been a real blessing for me in preparing for my surgery and what to expect post-op, recipes and things that I would never think to ask my doctor...I found it here. All the best to you! Keep up the good work.

Charles, my first thought is (please don't take offense)...maybe the lapband isn't for you if all you want is to continue eating the way you have that got you into trouble in the first place. We have all had to take a personal inventory of our motives and actions that has caused us to become obese. So, unless you change your way of thinking about food and portion control nothing is going to work for you.

Please know you're not alone in thinking this. From what I can tell on some of the blogs we've all had the same thoughts (I had it this morning while stepping on the scale only to see 1 more lb gone). However, you need to remember this is not a diet. You have a entirely new way of life waiting for you. With the band you cannot eat (maybe in the beginning before you get it tightened) huge amounts of food because you will get sick or something will get stuck (you will never do that again). Stick with connecting with your local support group and this support group and you will learn alot and get tons of support. Begin to journal your experience, thoughts, and fears as well as your hopes and dreams for your future. You will be fine.

Great question. This was one of my primary concerns because I have approx 100 lbs to lose. Despite my weight gain I don't have any stretch marks (had my baby at age 20 when my skin elasticity was probably optimal). However, I believe there are several factors that determine whether we will have saggy skin i.e your skin type, genes, and how active you were before surgery. But, as importantly I believe we have to stick to the high protein, high fiber, low fat diet (whatever your surgeon prescribed) with tons of water/fluids to help with elasticity.

Thank you for posting this blog entry. I am starting my fourth week post op, and obviously no fill yet. So, I started out last week playing the "see how much /what I can eat game" with myself. Fortunately, I didn't get sick but I did get "thanksgiving full" at least twice. I finally had to have "the talk" with myself. First and foremost, I had to express how immature my behavior was. Ulitimately, I had to admit "who was I fooling? My doctor, the nurses? Yeah right! They're not the ones with the weight problem and co-morbidities. So, I snapped out of it and got serious. I'm planning my meals, logging my intake, and getting in at least 30 minutes of walking everyday (I generally swim but can't until after my first dr's appt.). I'm so glad to see that I am not the only one to have the "falling off the wagon" experience (even if I'm only 3 weeks post op) but more important, I'm glad to know that support is out there for us to get back on. All the best.

Thank you :smile2: I love to exercise and can't wait until I can return to the gym after my first post op dr's appt (8/5). Currently, I walk everyday as much as possible and no I'm not eating more - it's just dealing with what my dr said is normal i.e not being able to use food as a crutch any longer. It's all just been compounded by the unusually high level of stress that I'm dealing with right now. Thank you again for your prayers.

Thank you :thumbup:

I seriously need your prayer as I walk into the future with a new attitude about food. I am under a tremendous amount of stress for a variety of reasons that I won't list here. In the past I've used food as a drug to calm my nerves, and sooth my hurts etc. When I am unable to do that I find myself very sad at times. Although I haven't had a fill, and I am able to eat just about anything I know that I shouldn't. I am 3 weeks post op and I've eaten things that I know that I shouldn't i.e. potato chips, cheese cake. :thumbup: Thank you.

Whew. It's great to know that I'm not the only one nearly 3 weeks post op still experiencing bloating, farting, and burping. It probably doesn't help that I chew gum that only pulls air down into the stomach - Duh! Yesterday, I was walking down the hall at work (on the way to the ladies room) and to my surprise (and thank God no one was behind me) gas bubbled down and out before I could make it there. How embarassing. Gee, now I know what my grandpa was going through.