Kathy JB

You are so right! Time passes, no matter what. Given perserverence, we will eventually meet our goals. Like you say, we won't have to look back and wish that we had gotten with it earlier. Any loss is a great loss, and if you are stopping smoking as well, you are really cool! Your body must love your efforts!

My suggestion would be for you to keep a food diary. Write down every item that passes your lips. Nothing, no matter how small, should be omitted. I'll bet that there will be quite a few calories listed that might make the difference in your not loosing. If you can cut some of those non-meal calories, and if you can exercise just a little bit more, you might break the cycle and start dropping pounds. It might be slow, but as long as the scales are going in the downward direction, you will be successful.

Hi Diana, You are just stating out, aren't you? Well, you will be happy that you did. All the pre-op stuff takes a long time, especially if you have insurance that requires referrals, etc. But time does pass and you will get those tests done, and in the meantime, you can start working on changing habits. The doctor is probably going to require some amount of pre-op weight loss, and it felt good to know that I was already loosing, even before the surgery. I've written others today that everyone is an individual when it comes to how and when they loose weight after the surgery. I am a slow looser, but others loose quite quickly; some don't loose until they hit their "sweet spot" after a few fills, but as long as you stick to your doctor's program, the weight will come off, and you will be so happy. One gal decided that she was going to keep a journal. Good idea! You kind of forget how hard you work to get your band, and reading back might inspire you to stick to the program. Many doctors recommend keeping a food journal, and that is an eye-opener, too. All those little bites of food add up to the calories that make up the pounds. Be patient and know that time passes no matter what; imagine yourself a year from now. This is going to be great for you.

Hi Pam, You are just beginning a wonderful journey and you will have lots of supporters here. I can tell that you are really enthusiastic about this, and that will help make you successful. If you commit yourself to following the program, you'll do it. Lap-band is not a quick cure; it is a tool, but you still have to do all the choosing of what you will eat and how much you will eat. Those two choices will determine your success. We are all different in how we do after surgery, so you can't really compare yourself to others. You're special....just think of it that way. I thought it would be easy to loose 5 pounds a month, and it was at first. Now it is harder, but I'm still not at my "sweet spot." However, I am making progress and have lost about 48 pounds since my surgery in July. Slow, but sure....I'm real tortoise. My advice is "eat small; exercise large." Be happy about every pound that you loose and don't compare your loss to someone else's. This process is a lesson in patience. Have a good day.....Kathy

Hi Sam, I don't know what happened to my first attempt to write to you but it floated off into cyberspace before I could finish telling you congratulations on getting your date. It will be a wonderful way to start the new year. Keeping a journal will be helpful later because it is often recommended that you keep a food journal, so starting now, you will be in the habit when the big day comes. I was banded on July 3rd and have had a very easy time of it. I've lost about 48 pounds, pre- and post-op. I feel very well, and have had no problems with eating with this smaller stomach. I am on a plateau right now, which is kind of discouraging, but I go Wednesday for a fill, and hopefully that will get things started again. This site is really helpful, isn't it? Just remember every person is an individual when it comes to how things go after surgery. Personally, I am a slow looser; others have a really big initial loss and then slow down; still others don't really start loosing a lot until they have hit their "sweet spot." So you really can't compare yourself to anyone. The nice thing about lapbandtalk.com is that you will have the opportunity to ask questions, and out there someplace will be someone who has had a similar experience. Have faith that you have made a great decision to do this, and stick to whatever program your doctor suggests. Just think where you will be a year from now. Have a happy day.... Kathy

Hi Sam, Congratulations

There are never too many questions, and we all had them before we had surgery. Keep reading on this site, and I imagine that you will find the answers before you even have to ask them. The one thing you will notice is that this is a very individual thing that you are contemplating. What one doctor requires, another won't. What causes problems in one patient, may not bother another. What you can tolerate to eat and how much varies. But overall, almost all of us think that the effort is worth it, and lap-band is life-changing. I'm 64, and I've had no problems at all. For me, other than head-hunger (that's wanting the things that we can't have while we are dieting), it's been easy. That's not the case with everyone, but you don't have to be a twenty-something to have success with this. My weight loss is slow, but it has been steady, and I feel great. Keep on learning about this so you will feel confident that it is the right thing for you. Good luck!

You have the right attitude, and that's the key. Just know that you can work through the hard parts and come out a new you! Best of luck.

You are doing great! All those lessons learned! Keep up the good work and don't get discouraged. Wa-hoo, you are really doing this!

My doctor said that it is manufactured that way. I guess bands are different and some have some saline in them to start with, and some don't. My doctor put in a 14 cc band, and I didn't have my first fill for two months. When I asked him how much he put in, he said two cc's, for a total of 5 cc's. It came with 3 cc's in it. I was blessed that I never had the hunger that some people have between the operation and the first fill. I don't know if that is why, or not.

Most people have their fills at the doctor's office who preformed the surgery. I have heard that it is a bit difficult to find a doctor who will do fills on patients that they did not work on themselves. I guess that is why there are businesses like Fill Centers USA (which advertises at the top of this page) where you can go to get fills. Their ad says that they have centers in 30 cities, but I imagine that your insurance will want you do deal with the same doctor that does the surgery. The fill centers probably charge more, although I don't really know that. Good luck with your surgery. You will be glad you did it. Kathy

Do not fear! Some of us don't even experience the discomfort from gas that vsnowrn did. I had my surgery in Santa Barbara at Cottage Hospital. I went in at 5 a.m., and surgery was at 7:15. Those two hours were spent getting ready. They gave me two or three kinds of anti-nausea meds before surgery, so I wouldn't have to deal with being sick afterwards. That's a good thing, and I'd ask your doctor if he does the same thing. The surgery was easy on me. I just remember being sleepy most of the afternoon after they took me to my recovery room. I spoke to the doctor and one of his residents during that time, and I believe that I was given some pain meds in my IV because I had minimal pain. I left the hospital at about 5 p.m. (I think he kept me so long because I lived far enough away that he wanted to make sure everything was o.k.) When I got home, I had company waiting for me, so I was up walking around quite a bit, and I think that was a positive thing for me. The following day and a half, I took some pain meds, mainly because the doctor felt that it is better to attack pain before it gets a hold and says that on a scale of 1-10, start taking it when you hit a 3. I did and had minimal discomfort. I was up and about normally on day three, although I would take little naps in the afternoon. The discomfort from the gas they put in you was more in my back, and pain meds don't help that a lot. Just walk and the best thing I did was sit on a chair and put my arms above my head and lean back a bit. It stretched my back, without pulling on my stomach, and it gave me relief.

OllieGator... I spoke to a dietician who had not worked with a lot of bariatric patients. She was a little negative, too, but not as much as yours. She was not sold on Lap Band because most of the patients she had seen had not followed the program closely, nor gotten exercise. She readily admitted that her perspective was a bit skewed because she just saw the "problem children." I hope to be a better example of how well lap band works. Good luck...

Dear Minime, Welcome to the group! Wow, I am impressed that you can get so much done in 2 days. My tests took more than 2 months. Lucky you! It sounds as though the pre-op stuff you have to go through is just about what we have to go through here in the States. It will be worth it all. I am 64 years old, and I have been blessed to have no problems whatsoever with the band. I got mine on July 3. I've never had any burping up, sliming or any of those problems. I had a bit of heart burn for a month or so at night, but even that is pretty much gone. This isn't a fast weight loss; I'd be disappointed if I had thought it was. I began getting ready for this the beginning of March, didn't have surgery till July, and so far I've lost 42 pounds since I started the whole process. That's an average of 7 pounds a month. But I figure that is a healthy amount, and I haven't been uncomfortable or especially hungry. Some do experience hunger between getting the band and getting their first fill (sometimes 2nd or 3rd fill), but I didn't get my first fill until 8 weeks had passed, and fortunately, I had no real discomfort. Anyway, I just want to encourage you to go for it. I've heard that when you are older, the weight comes off a bit slower. However, you are still a youngster at 54, so you are going to be just fine. Just stick to a diet and exercise. Enjoy the ride! Best wishes..... Kathy

eggs were really successful for me. I used Costco's brand of egg beaters, which aren't quite as good a real eggs, but certainly acceptable. I would make an omlet, using a teaspoon of perhaps tomatoes, one of chopped mushrooms, one of shredded cheese, one of bell pepper....any low carb (although I wasn't restricted to a certain number of carbs) veggie. You might want to use one egg and one-quarter cup of egg substitute. It is a few more calories because of the fat in the yolk, but it is a bit better, to. Have you tried cottage cheese? It was good in a pinch, too. I use it for lunch a lot. Good luck...

My port is about 2 1/2 inches above my naval, and I couldn't tell where it was until the doctor told me. I couldn't feel it. I'm 3 weeks out, and now that the swelling and gas seem to be almost gone, I can push around a feel it a bit.

Hi ArizonaGirl, Being a self-pay, you may be a bandster by the end of next week. A relative of mine went that fast, but she had a gastric bypass. Anyway, I'll bet there are as many different stories about how people fared as there are people who have had the band put on. It seems to be so individual, as you will read on this site. Personally, I have been very fortunate. I was banded July 3. I took pain medication for about 2 days, mostly because they stressed at the hospital to take it when the pain was mild so that it wouldn't get out of control. Most of the pain came from the gas going to my shoulders and back, but walking helped, along with the medication. After a couple of days, I was pretty comfortable, if a little less than energetic. It's not nice to sneeze or cough, but it won't kill you. I went through the two-week liquid only diet and was really bored with it by the time I "graduated" but again, it wasn't that bad. I'm on soft foods now, and that really is easy. I'm beginning to get at least half of my Protein (70 grams required) from food like baked salmon and cottage cheese, and the rest I still get from a shake made with powdered protein. I got my protein in a 6-lb bag at costco. ($39.95 for the bag of 72 servings = $.55 per serving, which is a lot cheaper than most protein drinks) Mixed in a blender with some Splenda and ice cubes, it's not bad. I'm not feeling any restriction when I eat, so I probably eat larger bites that I should; and probably eat faster. I will regret it after my first fill and I get some restriction. I'm trying to change my eating habits, but it takes Concentration! Even though I don't seem to have any restriction, I am not terribly hungry. Head hunger gets to me sometimes, but I try to ignore it. It was three weeks Thursday since I got the band and I felt ready to go back to exercising (aqua exercises) last Monday. The doctor had said o.k. at my 2 week check, so that's my exercise. Hope this gives you an idea of what to expect, but remember, everyone is different. I wish you the luck that I've had.

Opps! I must have hit something because my reply to you just flew off to England. I'm going to try to send a private message to you in a little while in which I'll tell you a bit about myself and where we live. KathyJB

Thanks for the reply, Debbie.... You are right; eating at night can be a problem because that's when we're not too active in the evening and through the night. It's impossible to burn off those calories. What kind of exercise do you plan to do? We all start off with walking, but after you have recuperated from the surgery, what's your plan? I am doing aqua exercise about 4 days a week, working up to at least 5. I'm lucky that I'm in that time of my life when I no longer am working, so I'm able to participate in a couple of aqua exercise classes at the YMCA and at a local college. My dietician told me that a little weight training (either with the weights alone or the weight machines) really helps, especially when you hit a plateau. When the weather gets colder, I will probably drop a couple days aqua exercise and go to the YMCA and use their facilities. Do you have YMCA's in England?

Hi... I just wrote "wickedme" (2 posts above yours) with a recipe for strawberry mousse that I made up about one week after surgery. It uses my Protein powder, berry Jello, 1/2 cup milk and Splenda and frozen strawberries. I'd copy it into this, but I can't find the copy on this google page. Anyway, it was o.k.'d for me by the bariatric nurse, as long as I could tolerate the strawberries. Since they are totally blended into the mouse, I've had no trouble. Hope you can get the recipe. If not, give me a quick reply and I'll try to do it again.

Here's an idea for something that you can eat a week or so after surgery. I asked my doctor's bariatric nurse and she said it was o.k. as long as I had no problems with the strawberries. Ask your dietician, just to make sure..... I make a Protein shake in a blender like this: 1/2 cup of milk (enough to cover the bottom of the blades) 2 scoops of vanilla Protein powder 3 pkts of Splenda Abt. 1 cup of sugar-free berry Jello Blend for one minute Throw in about 5 to 7 frozen strawberries (whole, unsweetened) Blend for about 2 minutes, or until the strawberries are totally gone. This makes a strawberry mousse that is filling because it sets up like a pudding. It is a great way to get your protein in. The protein I use is Premium Protein made by EAS (purchased at costco for $39.95 for a 6 pound bag (72 servings, which makes it $.55 a serving, which is way cheaper than most servings of protein drinks). It has 27 grams of protein per serving (2 scoops), plus the milk that I add (1/2 c. = 4 g.) which gives me 31 g. of protein per shake. Total calories is only 200, and you are really satisfied for hours. I can only eat 1/2 a shake at a meal, but the remainder stays good in the frig for later.

Hi Debbie, It sounds like you are on your way to being banded. It's hard to change eating habits (like no Breakfast or lunch), but it will be healthier for your body to be getting "gas in its tank" all through the day. Do many people in the UK get lap-band or gastric bypass surgery? I have a couple of relatives who had the bypass surgery, and it was really successful for them. One, however, had some complications that kept her in the hospital, but that was 17 years ago and she is and looks perfectly fine now. The other had hers in 2000 and is doing great, too. I didn't want to go with a surgery quite as "strenuous" as that, and I was banded on July 3rd. I'm doing great and loosing weight. What more could I ask for? I hope it is a happy summer for you and that you can get banded soon.

Hey Steve, You've sure shown that you know how to take the weight off. That's a great accomplishment. As soon as you are banded, you will have a little friend...a little tool...to help you keep it off. Good luck to you.

Hang in there, Choppie; it will get better. I sure felt discomfort more on my left side than anyplace else. You can comfort yourself that it is probably not appendix because the appendix is on the right side and it is very unusual for it to be anywhere else. Call your doctor; this is just the kind of question that they can answer and give you some peace of mind. You'll be o.k.

Kat, You sound so nice! Thanks for the encouragement for those of us who are just beginning on this journey. I was banded 7/3, and I'm a week out, feeling very tired. Your pep-talk helps!