LindaD

I'm not sure how to answer. I was banded May 29th and he put 1.4ccs in at the time of the installation. I just went in a week or so ago for my first fill, 1 more cc. So I'm at 2.4 ccs. In the 6 weeks before my first fill, I lost something like 12 pounds, I guess. And though I could feel a bit of restriction, I could still eat just about anything. Now at 2.4ccs, I can DEFINITELY feel restriction and it has impacted what and how I eat. So I think this could be it?? I don't know. I'll see how it goes over the next few weeks. If I'm losing weight and if I can continue to eat decently but not too much, then I guess I'll call it. I haven't tried steak or salad yet. I had a deviled egg the other night and was really surprised when it caused me an issue - I thought it would be soft enough not to. I'm still getting the hang of all this.

I'm here now, after my first fill. I'll eat and totally feel too full. (I need to learn to gauge the amounts better so I don't keep doing that! But my first fill was just last week so it's only been a few times.) And then I'll go and log every bite of food and realize it wasn't hardly anything. I think that's what I mean by surreal. (In a really, really awesome way! haha)

I am about 6 weeks post surgery and I haven't gone to one yet. I have young children and work full time and so it's difficult to sneak away too much. I've preferred my away time to be at the gym. Does this board take the place of a face to face support group? Does it fulfill the same purpose? Or is there something about a face to face meeting that I'm missing? I want to optimize my success, and I think this board gives me what I need to stay focused, to learn, to compare my experiences with others. I believe that's what a face to face support group would do. However, I want to make sure I'm not missing something. What are your thoughts? Are they different, do you need both? Or does one suffice to meet the need for connection?

I talked to my doc about this because I travel a lot. I had the need to go to India. He suggested I wait 8 weeks for that trip, because food and Water in India is a bit risk - many travelers over end up getting ill and he didn't want to chance that. But domestic travel he told me was OK once I had recovered from the procedure. I was just in Argentina a few weeks before my surgery - food there is fine - I'd imagine you could easily find/order things that would work post-op.

I was banded in May. I still haven't tried beef (other than ground beef) or salad. My surgeon asks us to wait for 8 weeks for that and I'm not yet there. And I haven't tried rice. But I find that I can eat most other things, and yes even a bit of bread. I'm still new enough that I have a lot to learn on what works better than what else, but I feel like I can still enjoy food. My appetite is diminished and my ability to take much in is significantly restricted, but that's all good. This past weekend was my first real test. We were hosting a large group of guests, big BBQ. I was hungry, I put one (pork) rib on my plate, a few pieces of Pasta from the pasta salad, a tiny piece of garlic bread. It seemed like such a reasonable amount. I had one or two bites of each and that was it. (I had earlier had hummus and pita chips, so that's probably why.) It's really weird. I mean, it seems so surreal. I'm still adjusting to it all.

My surgery was on a Friday, so I took that day off, of course. :lol On Monday and Tuesday, I worked from home. I wanted to stay close in case I needed to lie down and rest or whatever. It was fine, though - in retrospect, I know I would have been fine going to the office. (My job is a desk one - very sedentary.) I did go back to the office on Wednesday. So in total, I missed one day of work, the day of surgery. But I worked remotely (and am very lucky to have the option of doing that with my job) for two additional days.

Yeah, the breath thing is normal for a low-carb way of eating. I'm dealing with that too. I had my first fill over a week ago and it still feels tight. I'm still trying to figure out it. Like, right now I just ate some pistachios for my Breakfast. They are controlled bite sizes and I chewed well. But I can feel the tightness, like I'm waiting for them to go down. I don't think that's the same as a full episode of being "stuck" but whatever it is, it's happening quite frequently. I can't see a pattern. Like, some people say they're fine in the morning and tight in the evening (or vice versa). It seems pretty random. I have a business trip next week - 5 days in the company of others for most of my meals. I need to be REALLY careful and very selective. I think I'll pick up some prepackaged Protein shakes to help keep my nutrition up because I imagine I will refrain from eating for worry of being stuck. On the upside, I expect the scale to move next week. :lol One other thing - I'm cold a lot. My feet have been so cold. I feel like I've lost my ability to properly regulate my body temp. I hope that passes....

I'm finding my way. I feel like I have had the good fortune to have access to a short-cut map that many do not have. It doesn't mean I don't have to do the work to get through the maze, just that I have a much better chance of success than I did before. Things are great for me. I believe there is WAY too much misinformation out there and I worry for other people who continue to struggle without the benefit of this tool that I have. I wish that those who lead us in this area were more forthcoming with the truth - including all of the things they DON'T know and are just guessing on - rather than being driven by ego and money and patents and grants and such. I wish we could trust our government and research institutions on the topic of obesity and nutrition. I wish there wasn't so much crap information out there.

I agree that education is the answer. When you know better, you do better. When you learn, doors open in your mind and then you know how to go open doors in your life, hopefully. When you get down to core nutritional philosophy, though, I still don't believe we have a full consensus on what the right answer is. So many approaches look to maximize the nutritional potential of what we take in without really considering how well it satiates the appetite. Until we can help people quiet the roaring lion inside (and no amount of carrots will do THAT), they will struggle to follow an eating plan that leaves them constantly wanting. This part is less about education, I think, and more about trying to find your way through a dark maze with many dead ends and a lot of frustration. At least that's what it has been for me.

I couldn't afford the exorbitant prices of 7-11 :lol but sometimes it's all I could get to. I got home from work at 6PM and the kids needed to go to bed by 8. If I had tried to take them with me on public transportation, it would have meant, what, giving up baths? Having NO down-time at all? A grocery trip with 2 young children in the dark of the evening on public transportation in the city where I've already compromised on where to live so I could afford the rent... Hmmm... Not a good idea. Plus, as I said, I was a teen mother. I was young and certainly had not yet acquired a whole lot of wisdom on the ins and outs of cooking and nutrition. This - ignorance - is another thing highly associated with poverty. Not stupidity, but ignorance. I didn't have a subscription to Good Housekeeping nor time to read it. It's all sort of inter-dependent. Shortage of time, shortage of money, shortage of knowledge, shortage of means/mode to seek better options. I'm quite sure my salvation was that I had grown up middle-class and I had the education of my childhood, which meant I always knew what I was striving for. Some people don't even have THAT. No, I wasn't boiling up leftover veggies to make and freeze soup. Perhaps I should have been. Being poor and trying to make ends me takes all one's energy. Something has to give, and sometimes corners are cut in certain areas just to get through the day. Sure, the poor SHOULD do better, take the bus with the kids to buy the veggies and make the soup and freeze it. Perhaps they should use birth control better and finish school and take jobs with advancement instead of jobs close to home and and and.... I hear what you're saying. I don't mean to make excuses for poor choices (mine or others) but it's just easier to armchair quarterback it (as we say in the States) than to do it all right when you're in the thick of it. I appreciate everyday that I'm no longer in such dire circumstances, but I also remember and appreciate the difficulty of them. (And lest I be viewed as over-dramatic, my 'dire' circumstances were not nearly so dire as those of others, nor did I have to endure them for very long compared to the many years others do... I was lucky, relatively speaking. My poverty was mild and fairly short-lived. I can't imagine how much harder it would be to live that year after year. It must stuck the hope and will to do better right out of you...)

I beg to differ about poverty and its association with low-nutrition foods. I was a teen mother and I spend a few years under the poverty line. I had two children and was pulling a single mother gig. I worked full time, didn't have my own vehicle for a period, etc. I absolutely could not buy foods that would go to waste (ie fresh fruits and vegetables). The only market I could walk to was a Seven-Eleven convenience store (where price inflation is the norm). When I did get to the bigger market, I had to stock up on items that would go far - last long, cost little. We ate a lot of ramen Soup, pot pies, mac-n-cheese, Cereal, Peanut Butter and jelly (often on crackers as they were more durable than bread). There is an UNDENIABLE association between poverty and low-nutrition. It's not just because someone is too stupid or too lazy. In my case, I was doing it all alone with 2 kids, a full time job (6 days a week) and no vehicle. I was merely making the best decisions I could to get by. Fruits and vegetables were a BAD decision when I couldn't get to the market regularly and they would be likely to go bad. We shouldn't over simplify it and act as if the poor are just lazy idiots - they have some very REAL challenges in the area of access to places to acquire "good" food and the costs the surround them. I buy TONS of fresh stuff now and to act as if it's not more expensive is an exercise of denial - at least in the US. Prices don't drop at the close of the market. If the items get over-ripe, they toss them in the rubbish and put new ones out but the price doesn't change - all of that is factored into the costs we pay. I could buy 20 packages of ramen or 8 pot pies for the same price I'd pay for a few bananas AND I wouldn't have to worry about loss due to spoilage on the ramen and pot pies.

Caffeine affects different people in different ways. It's been used to treat ADHD before because of the reverse effect it has on some people. I'm 44 and have enjoyed one cup of coffee on workdays for much of my adult life. I know exactly how caffeine impacts me - I've never been sensitive to it at all. It wasn't because of fewer carbs as I had been restricting carbs for quite some time prior to this. For whatever reason, in the first few weeks after surgery, it had a much different effect on me than usual. Everything has gone back to normal now.

I highly recommend the book Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. Yes, he, like anyone else who writes on this, clearly has his own bias. But the book seeks really to question the bias of many of those who set policy and write the food pyramid etc. He questions many of the theories that have been adopted as Truth but are not. I consider it one of the most important books I have ever read.

I thought of two more things: 1) I am going to buy some fabulously awesome boots this fall/winter without worrying about whether they will fit over my calves!!! 2) When my oldest daughter graduates from college in December, I cannot WAIT to see my ex-husband's face when I walk in. I think I'll plan to arrive a little late just so I can savor the moment. (He used to criticize me for my weight quite a bit.)

Just checking in to see how everyone is doing. All healed up and feeling good? Any lingering problems? How is life in general? I had a really easy recovery so nothing to complain about there. I am losing hair like CRAZY. I've researched it and will try a few supplements. I've lost hair before when the weight was coming off, or when I was going through major hormonal changes (like after pregnancy), so I hope it will eventually stop coming out. So far, it's not like it's noticeable but I'm getting a bit worried. I'm feeling great otherwise, losing weight and I have lots of energy. I had my first fill this past week. The only other weirdness is that I still have what I assume is nerve pressure? I have spots on my upper arms that feel numb, which is weird. And I can tell if I eat too much because it causes pain in my left shoulder. What's up with that? Anyone know? Does it happen to anyone else? Check in and share... how's the journey?

I was 224 this morning!!! I'm so excited. I got my first fill a few days ago and I can definitely tell.

I got my first fill today. I have 2.4cc's in my band. When I ate dinner, I could feel the difference, but that may just be because it's so new and perhaps some of it will settle down. I was still able to eat fairly easily, but I could tell it was a bit more restricted. Fingers crossed!! I have an appointment for a month from now for a 2nd fill, but I'd love to have a good month with some pounds lost. I'm not impatient yet, but I'd love to keep seeing progress. Good luck to all!!

I lost 1 pound, which puts me right at the half-way mark. I have my first fill in just a few days.

I know I've told my story elsewhere on this board, but I had spent about 9 months pursuing lap band surgery with a different surgeon. I didn't even get to MEET him until I jumped through a bunch of hoops (all the blood work, physical therapist appointment, psychologist, nutritionist, etc.). When I first went in, although I had registered to attend their seminar, they didn't have me on the list and it seemed that not having me on the list was a concern for some reason. Ultimately, they put me in the room with the group of people waiting for the seminar and the speaker (surgeon? someone else?) never showed up - they left us for 2 hours before apologizing and sending us home. Ultimately, at the end of all this, insurance denied me because we hadn't done all the things required, even though I had asked and expected them to help me understand all that and meet the requriements and they ASSURED me it was all in hand. I'm merely typing all that out to show what a FIASCO it was. The surgeon's office was so ineffective, and that cannot help but reflect on the surgeon in my opinion. Dr. Wagner himself was very genuine, came across professional and knowledgeable and passed all the other tests - his surgery statistics, center of excellence for bariatric surgeries, etc. And the quality of care from his whole office was outstanding. They obviously all believe in putting the patient first. They knew my name, checked in with me regularly, kept me updated on the status of everything - where the insurance approval process was, what paperwork they received or didn't receive form other specialists, etc. etc. It was outstanding patient care even if I wasn't contrasting it with the fiasco of my first experience.

I had my surgery as outpatient on a Friday. I worked from home on Monday and Tuesday and was back in the office on Wednesday. I could have gone to the office on Tuesday but decided to play it safe, just in case I wanted or needed to lie down.

Maybe it won't go away altogether, but it does seem to have at least quieted down a bit for now. LOL It's not gone but just not as constant as it was for awhile there. The rumbling tummy is almost all the way gone. The other? Just less, not gone. (Those burps ARE sneaky, though, aren't they??? Goodness!)

Yeah, I needed a new pic after my pre-op liquid diet 'cause I lost a bit and I could actually see it in my face! hahaha "Take my picture, take my picture!" (Fortunately my kids are happy to oblige me. LOL)

I wore my new size 18 swim suit in public for the first time on Saturday. I think I might order a 2nd swim suit. hahah I want more!! Many of my casual tees are drowning me, falling down off my shoulder and definitely showing too much cleavage, so I ordered a bunch of size 18 tops. And what was cool was that I could easily find many on clearance in this size and so I ended up getting 8 tops for $62 total, including shipping, from onestopplus.com.

I didn't get Protein shakes until week 2. That first week, I was on Clear liquids. Are you doing Soup broth? Something warm really felt good to me. If the protein is making you feel nausea, maybe back off that for now and stick with broths, Water, and more clear liquids. Maybe that's why some docs require that - to avoid that feeling of nausea?? I don't know, just speculating. As for not being able to get comfortable, that will resolve once the healing gets further along. I think it's pretty normal at this point so soon after the procedure... Good luck!

Well, if it helps you at all (and I hope you get as lucky), I didn't even take any of the nausea meds they prescribed for me after surgery. I never once felt like I might throw up, not even a little bit. And though I was sore, I slept in my bed from that first night and walked on the treadmill every day including the day I had the surgery. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. My surgery was Friday and I felt great by Monday. The whole thing was just almost a non-event from a pain standpoint. The only work I missed was the day of my surgery. I hope yours is as easy!! Good luck!