JaxBandster

Jaylow, once you have been on the low carb diet for about a week you will suddenly not feel so hungry anymore. Carbs increase your appetite and your body will miss them at first. I had all sorts of side effects while my body was getting used to living without carbs. Also, you can have all the meat you want. Ham, chicken, steak, pork, fish, etc. Just make sure they are lean cuts. You can also have all the green leafy veggies you want. Read labels on salad dressings. You can find some really good ones that are very low carb. Stay away from fruit for now especially bananas which are loaded with carbs. Believe me, I was a carb addict (and still am). It is still hard to live without all those things that I loved to overeat. But I am really amazed at the difference I feel now that I have gotten through withdrawal.

This could be carb withdrawal. I've been on a low carb diet for two weeks now and I am finally starting to feel normal again. I had headaches, nausea, fatique, light headedness, etc. It is finally starting to level out.

I would first suggest maybe not doing NO carbs but just low carb. At least reduce your processed sugars and stay with natural ones like in fruit. Are you exercising at all? I've heard that at some point you plateau and you need to exercise to kick your metabolism into gear. Also as far as fills are concerned, some people don't feel restriction until after 4 or 5 fills or maybe more. Just keep going to get your fills. You will feel restriction eventually. I know it is discouraging, but you will get there. We are behind you.

Good luck Danny! When is your band date?

Hi apples First of all, you aren't going to die. Hundreds if not thousands of people have this surgery every day. My understanding is that there have been no deaths from this surgery and that the post-op mortality rate is extremely low. You will be fine! Piece of cake! I don't know what your pre-op diet consists of. Mine is high protein/low carb up until two days before surgery and then it's Clear Liquids. Just follow your doctor's instructions to the letter and you will be good to go! One more thing, do not go out and have "a last meal". That can result in your liver swelling and making the surgery more difficult. Work on reducing your carb intake so that the sugar in your liver is burned off and the liver shrinks. That will help make your surgery go much easier and you will lose some weight pre-op to boot! Good luck!

I don't know why he said what he did. He may have been speaking in general. I guess he has seen a lot of bad banding jobs and that is what he based his judgement on. I don't know how he feels about Dr. Ortiz specifically. I know from being on the boards and researching reference materials that Dr. Ortiz is a leader in the field and has trained many American doctors. Like I said, I don't know if he was speaking in general terms or what. I was just repeating what he said. I didn't interrogate him as to the reasons for his opinion.

Congratulations Karen!!!!! It sounds like you are doing great!!!!!!! I hope mine goes as smoothly!! Keep us posted!

This is my crew! First my baby. Her name is Annia (pronounced Ahn-ya) and she is 8 months old This is Annia on the night we got her. She was so tired from her long trip home. This is Annia with her new buddy Gracie who showed up on our driveway right before Christmas, flea infested and with hook worms. We believe she is about 2-3 years old and is a Corgi mix Of course we can't forget the kitties. The black one is Stormy. He is about 12-13 years old now. The other one is Willow. He is about 8.

Hi I'm Karen, I live in Ponte Vedra, FL which is about halfway between Jacksonville and St. Augustine on the east coast of the state. I am 48, married to my third (and last!) husband who absolutely loves ample women and hence doesn't think there is a thing in the world wrong with me! He is very supportive though and is even on my pre-op diet with me which can't hurt as he is a Type II diabetic. My soon to be 16 year old daughter lives with us along with two dogs, an eight month old Rottweiler and 2-3 year old Corgi mix who showed up in our drive way right before Christmas, and also two fuzz ball cats who still insist that they are the top beasts in the house. I also have a 21 year old son who lives down in Tampa. My husband and I both have Harleys and we ride a lot! My band date is February 7th and Dr. Cywes is doing my surgery. My start weight was 270 (277 was my highest several years back) and my doctor's goal is 170. I wouldn't mind getting to 160 though. My current weight is 256 and I've been on the pre-op high protein/low carb diet for less than two weeks now. I think that's about it for me! Looking forward to tracking everyone's journey!

Hi Cindy Congratulations on your date! From what I have read the people who regret getting banded are VERY few and far between. Most people, even those who have had a difficult time, say they would do it again in a heartbeat. My date is February 7th. I am still at the nervous and excited stage and probably will be even past surgery! LOL All I know is that I want to be thin again and I'm determined to get there! Good luck!

I was absolutely shocked by the amount of high carb food we had in our house. We literally got rid of 3/4 of the food we had on hand and gave it to my best friend and her two kids. I am having to maintain a high protein/low carb diet and I knew that having the stuff around the house would be way too tempting and difficult to handle mentally so I got it out of the house. My husband is a Type II diabetic so it can only help him and my 15 year old daughter is 5'9 and 205 lbs so she could use to drop some lbs as well. The only advice I would have is be VERY careful with the fruit. Berries are the best as far as carbs go. Bananas are terrible!!!! Apples and pears aren't good either. Use a site like fitday.com or some other food journaling site (there are tons) and keep track of your daily food intake on there. It really helps. Good luck!

Wow Mark! Absolutely outstanding!!!!! Are you at goal or do you have more to go? Whatever you are doing, keep it up!!!

I tell you what. Low carb can really kick you into gear. My pre-op diet is high protein/low carb (30 mg a day) and I have lost 12.5 lbs in just under two weeks. Congrats on your weight loss so far and good luck in your journey!

Food/carb addiction is as devious as any other addiction. You are off the wagon and need to get back on. I think Jane had good advice. Find an OA or other support group to help you get back on track. Trust me, I have lost a large amount of weight only to put it back on and felt the lack of self esteem and dissappointment that comes along with it. Don't waste all the time, energy and money you have spent to lose such a large amount of weight. Time to get re-determined and re-motivated. You don't want to feel the way you used to when you had that 100 lbs on your body. If you have kept a journal, go back and read it. Remember the pain and sadness of being obese. Sometimes you have to go back to go forward. I really wish you the very best. Good luck.

How are you feeling? There is another woman on the boards here who just had an ultrasound today and it looks like she has gall stones. She is waiting to hear from the surgeon. If you have a severe attack, please go to the ER as soon as possible.

Hopefully the surgeon will contact you soon! I know how miserable you are. I was never so anxious to have a surgery in my life! I was like "get this thing out of me"! (Pretty much the same way I felt when I was in labor! LOLOL) Let us know what the surgeon says. I'm glad you got your question answered.

100 carbs a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh man I wish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL My pre-op AND post-op diet require me to eat no more than 30!! I'll tell you what though. I am losing weight like crazy. So may try reducing the carbs and see if it helps?

It may take a little time before depressions rears it's ugly head after stopping meds. I went off mine once for an extended period of time and was fine. But a year or two later I could tell I needed them again and got back on them. She is most definitely depressed and at this point I would recommend getting back on them at least until she gets through the rough spots of the banding journey. Counseling would help as well to get to the bottom of her issues if any.

I have to agree with Shortgal and Anne. Stopping your medication suddenly is not good. In addition, the combination of anesthesia and post-op pain medication can also make you depressed even if you don't have a history of depression! So yeah, you are just getting pounded from all sides. Add to the fact that you have been house bound and I can imagine that you are feeling pretty down. If you can, I would try to get back on your meds. You have a lot of challenges ahead of you and you need to be in a good head space to be successful. Good luck!

You know what? I know you are eager and really want to get this done. But there is a voice inside you telling you that something isn't quite right here. I would trust that voice. Have you researched this surgeon? How many bands has he done? Ask around on the boards and see who else has used him? Even if you are slightly overweight you can have a fatty liver. If you liver is enlarged it raises the risk of complication significantly. I am right on the threshold for BMI required and I am still having to shrink my liver. My surgeon had pictures showing the difference between a properly prepared liver and one from a surgery where the patient didn't follow pre-op instructions. The difference was remarkable. It was so bad, he closed her up and wouldn't do the operation. So yes, I would be asking a lot of questions and finding out why he doesn't feel shrinking the liver is neccessary. Good luck!

The fee for my surgery is $14,500 which includes a year of follow up visits, doesn't matter how many. He also gives his cell phone number to all of his patients and they can call him at anytime and he will answer. He also will not touch a patient who was banded in Mexico. He says they are too high risk.

You know how when you fall asleep at night and you wake up the next morning and it seems like you had just fallen asleep? It's just like that. Even the groggy feeling of waking up is the same. Believe me, you are VERY relaxed! 1st adjustments are done usually from 4 to 6 weeks depending on the physician. My doctor does it at 4 weeks. During that time you are on Clear liquids, then full liquids and then slowly make your way to what are called mushies or blended/soft foods before completing the transition to real food. You are also usually on a pre-op diet where you lose weight as well so it is entirely possibly to lose that much. I have only been on my pre-op diet for a week and a half and have lost 12.5 lbs. So yes, you lose a lot of weight before your first fill.

My understanding is that you don't feel the band around your stomach. You can sometimes feel the port beneath your skin but you have to really feel for it. As far as recovery, it varies per person. My surgeon told me that he had actually had people go back to work the same day and they have told me that I will be okay to ride my motorcycle 3-4 days after surgery. (Since then they have determined they will fix my hiatal hernia which will extend my recovery for about a week). It appears that you should be able to get around pretty well after a couple of days as long as everything goes well. Good luck!

Congratulations from one Karen to another!!!!!!!!!!! I hope I feel as calm as you do before my surgery! I am exactly two weeks to the day away from mine. You are going to do great. Welcome to the other side!!!!