Jean McMillan

As the saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too. In other words, you can't keep your old overeating habits and lose weight too. You must change your eating behavior in order to succeed with the band. If you're not ready to do that, then you're not ready for WLS. I love to eat and was a volume eater before surgery. For the first 6-7 months after I was banded, I was able to eat 1 cup of food at a time and lost a lot of weight. Now I can only eat 1/2 cup at a time. I find that I actually enjoy my food more now because I really pay attention to it rather than just shoveling it in. The Chinese have a saying: Eat a lot, taste little. Eat little, taste a lot. That has been true for me. Daily vomiting should not be a way of life with the band. If it is, you're not following the band eating rules or your band is too tight. Depression can be a problem when you stop using food for comfort, stress relief, entertainment, etc. Counseling can help. Jean

It can take several fills before you will have enough restriction to notice a difference in what and how much you can eat.

I agree 100%! Jean

September 2007 April 2008 1 week pre-op 7 mo post-op Size 22/2X Size 14/L

My surgeon asked me not to drive for 2 weeks after surgery. Jean

Since there is no malabsorption with the band, in theory you should have no problem processing alcohol. However, since you're eating so much less, it could mess with your blood sugar levels (alcohol increases blood sugar, and higher blood sugar causes irritability, excessive thirst, and increased hunger). I was told not to drink alcohol for 6 mos after surgery because it can irritate the stomach. At 6 mos I had lost quite a bit of weight. I had a martini and it hit me hard. Before surgery, I could drink a martini in 30 min. This one took me 90 min. and I was blitzed by it. I avoid alcohol because it is empty calories and clouds my judgment when it comes to food. Jean

It can take several fills before you feel adequate restriction to prevent hunger between meals. I just had my 2nd fill (have 2 cc in a 4 cc band) and can definitely tell the difference - have to eat smaller bites, chew more, eat more slowly - but am still getting hungry between meals. I deal with that by having Protein Snacks like LF cottage cheese, string cheese, SF/FF yogurt, or a Protein shake made with skim milk. Protein snacks keep me going longer than carb snacks. My surgeon & nutritionist emphasized before surgery that I would have to make major changes to my eating and lifestyle in order to succeed, and they were right. I went through a lot to have this surgery and am determined to make it work, so I'm following my nutritionist's plan to the letter, exercising every day, and losing 1-2 lbs/week. The band is only a tool. It won't solve all your problems - like food addiction and head hunger. I see a counselor every other week to deal with the emotional side of my eating. And I don't keep "bad" food in my house any more so I'm not tempted to eat the wrong things. Jean

My port is about 5" below my right breast. I wasn't given a choice of location. It's right at my waist so the waistband of my pants bothered me for the first few weeks, but it's OK now. Jean

I remember scooting my butt onto the operating table and absolutely nothing after that until I was in my bed in my own room with a nurse standing over me and my husband looking bored. I was very groggy and had some minor incision pain (nowhere near as bad as my hysterectomy incision was). Asked for paid meds and was given a shot of morphine, which made me groggier. When I got up to use the toilet, a nurse gave me a pillow to hold against my belly which helped a lot. Moving around in bed was awkward because of the incision discomfort and stupid IV but they gave me pain meds whenever I asked for them. I had to stay in the hospital overnight (SOP for my surgeon). I dozed and chewed on ice chips all night long. The next morning I felt much perkier. They took me to X-Ray, watched me swallow barium (yuck), brought me back to me room and gave me a popsicle to eat. It made me vomit (I think I ate it too fast) so they gave me nausea meds. Then I had to wait until 5:30 pm for my surgeon's PA to come over to the hospital and discharge me. My husband and I were so bored and restless by then that we didn't wait for Transport to bring me a wheelchair...just walked out of the hospital and drove straight to the nearest pharmacy to fill my pain and nausea RX's. For the 1 hr + 15 min. drive home, I lay in the back seat of the car with the pillow pressed against my belly. At home, I took a pain pill, went straight to bed, and slept well. Woke up next morning feeling good, if a little sore. I only took the pain meds for 2 more days. I had some gas pain in my shoulder for about 3 weeks but it was manageable (and again, nothing compared to the gas pain I had with my hysterectomy). Jean

My psych consult consisted of about 20 minutes with the psychologist answering extremely general questions and then about 40 minutes filling out a questionnaire that seemed designed to rule out the outright crazies. The questionnaire was a pain but no big deal. I talked to my therapist (who is a psychiatric social worker and not the same one that did my evaluation) about the WLS evaluations she does and she said that she looks for emotional stability, a good support system, and reasonable & realistic expectations of WLS. If she finds that someone is depressed, that doesn't necessarily disqualify them but she might give a referral so you can get meds for it. Jean

My pre-op diet was in 2 phases: 1) minimum 4 weeks (I did it for 5) Liver Shrinkage Diet - 1200 cal/day, low-sodium, low-fat 2) 3 days clear liquids I lost 19.5 lbs in the first phase but gained back 2 lbs on the second phase, I think because I was drinking so much high-sodium bouillon. Jean

I have a 4cc band and got my first fill of 1 cc at 8 wks post-op. It made it harder to get certain foods down (like dry meat or pasta), but not enough to prevent between-meals hunger. I just had a 2nd fill and am at 2 cc and it seems to be helping with the hunger, but I think I'll need another fill before I reach my "sweet spot". At any rate, I have been losing 1-2 lbs/wk steadily since surgery by eating 900-1000 cal/day including protein snacks and exercising every day.

I am 3.5 mos out and just got my 2nd fill, with 2 cc in my 4 cc band. I think I'm going to need another fill before I reach my "sweet spot".

I've had my band 3.5 mos and would do it again in a heartbeat!

I was on 800-900 cal/day and hungry all the time. When I was still hungry after my 1st fill, I was told to add Protein Snacks so now I'm doing 900-1000 cal/day and still losing 1-2lbs/wk.

My husband doesn't know my weight, but has occasionally asked how much weight I've lost since surgery (which I'm proud to share). I started out weighing the same as him and he's 9" taller than me. When I get to my goal, I'll probably tell him what I weigh.

I had my surgery on 9/19/07 and my scars are still pink. I had a breast reduction in Feb. 2007, used Mederma (Walgreen's version) on the scars and you can hardly see them now.