Kalipso2

try, try, try to stick to the doctor prescribed post-op diet!!! it's so vitally important to your health and the health of your band!

i'm sure you knew coming into this that it was going to be hard but honestly, it's not going to get easier for awhile.

just make sure you get back on track tomorrow! we ALL have been through the pureed stage and the mushie stage... you can do it!!!

i developed acid reflux after surgery... i know it's no fun!! i've been woken up by choking and it's scary.

you can try taking an over the counter acid reflux medication like Prilosec but you might benefit from just a tiny unfill.

you should call your surgeon!

they treat the seminars like you've never heard of weight loss surgery before. if you've done research here, you're already ahead of the game!

they talk about the surgery itself, the complications that can occur, background on the surgeon, talk about eating habits, post-op patients are on hand to talk about their experiences...

i'm by NO means trying to discourage you... i just wish i had done more research. i was (am) a binge eater. i couldn't eat one of anything. having the surgery doesn't stop still wanting that.

i always say its like having an angel (the band) on one shoulder and the devil (your brain) on the other shoulder. the angel will tell you you're full but the devil will tell you that the food is tasting SO good so don't stop eating.

if you listen to the band, you'll lose weight. if you listen to the devil, you'll spend a lot of time throwing up. this is WAY more mental than i ever expected.

with that being said, i'm almost 3 years post-op. i'm only a few pounds away from my goal weight and i'm skinny : )

please don't wait it out! call your doctor and go in for a slight unfill. you should have NO problems drinking liquids after a fill.

even a slight unfill of .25cc could make all the difference!

if you feel like things are moving too fast then they probably are. there is no shame in putting the surgery off for a couple of weeks!! you should NOT have the surgery until YOU are ready!!

with that being said, i didn't start research on the band until January 2008. I went to one seminiar January 2008 but the doctor didn't take self-pay patients. i found a surgeon i liked early February 2008 and went in for my consultation the end of February 2008. i did my psych, nutrition and pre-op testing mid-March 2008 and had surgery mid-April 2008. so from research to surgery it was less than 4 months.

when i look back on things, i wish i would have waited a bit because i don't think i did enough research. i hadn't talked to anyone who had the surgery. i didn't truly understand what life post-op was going to be like. i thought it would be easy... just not eating much... but it's hard. while your stomach may feel full, your brain wants you to keep eating so it's a tug-of-war each meal for me.

so, if you don't feel 100% ready, don't let your surgeon talk you into surgery until you are ready. i'm impressed that you may hold off a bit! most people just want to jump right in... and that's probably why he's moving so quickly.

i didn't watch any videos before my surgery. i hadn't thought about it back then but i don't know if it would have changed my mind either.

i've watched a couple since my surgery and it wasn't bad but i didn't get any benefit from it that i didn't get from the drawn pictures lol

yep... Bandster Hell.

i want to say not to be worried if you eat over the 1/2 cup food because you don't have restriction but i don't want anyone to yell at me : )

its hard right now because your healing and you have no restriction so you're hungry like you would have been before surgery.

just be aware, if you increase to 3/4 or 1 cup of food, you might gain a few pounds back!

the swelling should be gone by the 2nd day after a fill so what you're feeling could very well be restriction.

just be careful of how much you eat and how fast because the full feeling sneaks up on you!

it sounds like the food is "stuck". some people can't eat eggs... you might be one of them : (

i think people take papaya enzyme pills that cut thru the stuck food. i've never tried it though.

walking helps... with the hands over the head too... to get rid of the tightness.

your band, i'm sure, is fine so try to relax about that but i know its scary!

there could be so many reasons for the acid reflux... over filled, the spicy food, eating too close to bedtime, not sticking to liquids right after a fill, if its going to be that time of the month your band could get tighter. i could go on and on (since i'm a sufferer of acid reflux post-banding).

believe me... i've been where you are. i can't tell you how many times i've woken up choking. i would try an over the counter acid reflux med (like prilosec). i've also read that if you sleep on your left side you're less likely to have reflux problems. i've tried that and its hit or miss.

just try to eat light today and don't eat for 3 hours before bed. i hope you feel better!

i'm a lot older than you but i was in a similar situation where i did not like my best friend's boyfriend at ALL. we fought all the time because i didn't want to hear anything about him or their dates. it ruined our friendship.

they ended up getting engaged and getting married and having kids. i wasn't asked to be in the wedding but i would have said no. i was invited to the wedding but didn't attend or send a gift. i wasn't invited to anything baby related.

10 years later, they are still together and she and i reconnected on Facebook. we've gotten together a few times but its not the same... it will never be the same. i still don't like the guy and she's still married to him.

i guess what it comes down to is whether you can let your friendship go. if you tell her what you're feeling most likely she will stop talking to you. "Love is Blind" as they say.

the only advice i can give is to be there to support her if/when he breaks her heart!

welcome to the forum and congratulations on your decision!

there is a boat load of information here so i hope you're up for plenty of reading but ask any questions and someone will have advice for you!

i'm 3 years post-op and can almost guarantee you'll feel years younger when the weight starts falling off.

congratulations! the day of my surgery i was 213... today i'm 145'ish and i'm almost 3 years post-op. i continue to lose weight but it has slowed down drastically but i'm okay with that. i hope to lose another 5 pounds so when i go into "maintenance mode" i'll have a few pounds to work with so i stay in a normal bmi.

keep up the good work!

i usually order Water just to stop the questions. i have to remember to push it out of my reach though because its a habit if its right in front of me. i DO get funny looks when i order off the kids menu though!

i'm not able to drink as much anymore since i've been banded. i get both full and tipsy faster but maybe its because i don't eat while i'm drinking? long island ice teas are my drink of choice so i'm feeling pretty good after 1 now when i used to be able to handle 3 or 4... but i was eating while i was drinking.

each surgeon is different... my surgeon said no soda or alcohol 3 monts post-op. i've been drinking 20 ounces of diet pepsi a day for the past 2 years and have been fine BUT follow your doctor's orders!!

i'm just getting over bronchitis and my nasal drainage was causing me major nausea. i've been surviving on liquids too for the past 7 days AND i hit my goal weight lol

i'm sure i'll gain the 5 pounds back as soon as i start eating again but it felt SO nice getting on the scale and knowing i'm finally "normal" according to the BMI chart!!

i hope you feel better soon!

oh i know exactly what you're talking about. jeans are a bitch for me... some styles i wear a 6 others an 8 and even a 10 here or there.

congratulations!! it always brings a smile to my face when going to a lower size!

i'm almost 3 years post-op and i can still remember eating all of my "last meals"! in all honesty, it will be awhile before you can eat any of those foods again and you'll never be able to eat the volume ever again. the volume is what i still have a problem accepting. the most difficult part of this journey will be in your head. but the outcome is worth it!

my surgeon is one of the most respected surgeons in Ohio. he's the reason i chose to drive 4 hours to his office and hosptial for my surgery. i met him during my initial consultation and liked him on the spot.

i saw him for a few minutes before my surgery and then never saw him again. i thought for SURE he'd check up on me in the hospital but he didn't. i thought for sure i'd see him for my first post-op appointment but i didn't. i admit, i was a little pissed off. after all the money i spent, i expected to see my surgeon.

then i thought about it. his job is to perform the surgery to the best of his ability... not necessarily post-op care unless there are complications. i wanted HIM to perform my surgery... and he does a lot of surgeries a week... he just doesn't have time to do the follow-up care.

but, he does answer all his emails himself and they're usually answered within 24 hours. i've had some scary episodes that i needed his advice on and he WAS there when i needed him. he surrounds himself with the best office staff too.

so, i was upset in the beginning about not seeing him post-op but now i understand that he needs to continue to do what he does best... surgery!

i'm one of the believers that you shouldn't deprive yourself of any foods, in moderation of course, IF your band lets you.

unfortunately, my band doesn't allow me to eat bread, ground meat or french fries (pizza included). if i try to eat them i throw up.

with that being said, i don't see anything wrong with occasionally eating at Sonic. i usually eat chicken fingers if i have to eat fast food. i usually order a kids meal when i eat out.

i worried about this before my surgery. not so much the band but i worried about being able to feel the tubing from the port to the band. i mean, its just "floating" inside the body, right? lol

anyway, i've never felt anything except my port.

what you didn't mention is your weight loss. are you losing weight?

whether its 3 "big" meals, 3 small meals with Snacks or 6 small meals a day, what it comes down to is weight loss.

i know this is going to sound horrible... and it is... but i'm almost 3 years post-op and i haven't exercised at all. it's not that i hate exercising, i just hate sweating!

right after i was banded i took a running class because i wanted to run a 5k. i couldn't even run a half mile so i gave up.

now, i'm only a few pounds away from my goal weight but it's taken f-o-r-e-v-e-r! now i'm starting to seriously consider adding exercise to my maintenance plan. i really, really do want to run a 5k. that's been my dream from the beginning of this journey.

most people who frequent this site are 100% happy with their band and would probably do it all over again. if i was given the opportunity to do it over again with what i know now, i honestly don't know what i would do. don't get me wrong... i'm EXTREMELY happy with the results but it hasn't been an easy journey for me at all.

i'm (relatively) young and thought i'd breeze through the surgery and lose weight quickly but that just wasn't the case for me. i had never had surgery before so i don't have anything to compare it to but it is painful for the first 3+ days. i suggest taking the prescribed pain killers as directed. i live 4 hours away from my surgeon so my first few fills were aggressive. i ended up being over-filled. i threw up constantly and gained acid reflux on top of it. i was losing weight so i didn't say anything to my surgeon. (totally MY mistake. i don't blame him at all). when i finally scared myself straight by the acid reflux causing me to vomit in my sleep and choking on it, thankfully my band hadn't slipped.

i'm almost 3 years post-op and i'm so close to my goal weight i can almost taste it... but its been an uphill battle for every single pound... not the cake walk like i thought it would be when i started out. the most difficult part of this whole journey is learning to listen to your body. your band will tell you when your full but your brain will tell you its still hungry. its like the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. which one you listen to will determine whether you lose weight or not.

as for sleeping... i'm a stomach sleeper and a week after surgery i was sleeping on my stomach again. the port is a little freaky. thankfully, i didn't think about it much before surgery. now, when i'm stressed i run my hand over my port and its like a comfort to me... like a reminder that i can't eat to ease the stress. i don't think its visible but for some people the port is visible under the skin.

i've lost 65 pounds and still continuing to lose. i have never gained any weight back. i've gone from a size 16 to a size 6. i'm not the biggest girl at work anymore. i'm more confident. i'm healthier. but what i wouldn't give to eat 1 normal sized meal again.... its an every day battle.