Jodi_620

I was told to go for the stimulant free products so I use Milk of Magnesia when it is really bad. There are also the glycerine suppositories that help so you don't have to strain so hard. Like getthin suggested, if you are not taking fiber supplements you should do so now it should help you to avoid the problem in the future.

Congratulations and hope you have a speedy recovery!! Soup broth, Protein shakes, sugar free popsickles, milk. Yes the "windy" pains are normal. I was told that the air usually settles on the left side (shoulder) and it proved to be true for me. It decreased after about 2 1/2 weeks and was compeltely gone in about a month. I didn't have stitches, I had glue and steri-strips. So I was able to shower after 24 hours.

I do agree that I wished several times that I had a recliner. I did do fine on the couch though. You definitely won't want to lie flat in bed for a few days. A bunch of pillows to prop yourself up on the couch will probably work fine too...I did it that way for a week.

Congratulations on getting your date. Make sure you get a script for nausea along with pain meds just in case. I also got prescription antacids. Gas X Clear broth sugar free Popsicles (help with sore throat) Loose fitting undies and pants (I wore light night gowns as much as possible for the first few days--they don't irritate the incisions as much. ) Shoes that you can step into without bending Oh and tongs...they work great if you need to pick something up from the floor (bending over hurts!)

Congratulations on your weight loss! Yes it is normal...you lose fat from around your stomach then your band gets loose.

Well besides the fact that we need protein for the nutritive value, protein fills you up. So as you try to get in more protein you may find you are not as hungry.

Caffeine, if you can handle it and your doctor has not said no, is pretty much your choice. I was told that it is a stimulant and can increase your appetite. I choose not to use it...I brew my own caffeine free tea with sweet n low. Carbonation is no-no forever. As Juliana said, the carbonation can stretch your pouch which would take away from the effectiveness of your band. Some people here say they drink soda and that their doctors say it is OK but everything I read said no and it just isn't worth the risk to me. I keep those little Crystal Light on the go packets in my purse and glove box in case I need to add a little flavor to my Water. But truth be told, being and ex-Diet Pepsi addict (almost three months now), I enjoy my water now and prefer it over flavored drinks. I enjoy CF tea in the evening sometimes.

I am also told no NSAIDS like ibuprofin and naproxin found in Advil, Motrin and Alieve.

I don't fly but my surgeon told me that the port can sometimes set off those hand-held wands that they use at security checkpoints, he told me to carry my "I have a lap band" card if I ever fly...just in case.

Not always...Just wanted to add that although foods naturally low in fat are a good choice, items marketed as "low fat" or "fat free" usually replace the fat with sugar (or dextrose, fructose, lactrose, maltose, maltodexin etc. which are just hidden words for sugar)

You and I are in the same place on our journey. You are going through what I and most bandsters go through, you are not doing anything wrong and you have no reason to be afraid to see your doctor. I had my second fill yesterday. I had only lost around 4 pounds between the first and second and it was a struggle to do that. The last week waiting for my second fill I had absolutely no restriction and ate way more than I wanted to. I let my doctor know that and he gave me a good fill this time. There was no judging. It is just trial and error until your doctor gets you to the proper restriction. He will see that you didn't have any weight loss and you will tell him that you are struggling and hopefully he will give you a good fill. If you had good weight loss he probably would not give you a fill at all. Unless your doctor has one, there is no set diet for you to follow. Mine likes me to have 80g of Protein a day, 60 of those coming from food and save the shakes and bullets for in between meal supplements. I am supposed to eat my protein first then my veggies then if necessary carbs. Once you get to the proper restriction, the band will take care of reducing the calorie intake. I eat denser foods that stay in my pouch and keep me full longer. Softer foods, the consistency of oatmeal, mashed potato, Soup etc. don't stay in the pouch as long so they don't keep me satiated as well as say meat and veggies. I don't obsess over fat grams but keep aware of what types of food I eat and how it is prepared. I do low carb because I know that is best for me to keep the head hunger away. (I eat fruits, veggies and dairy but no flour, Pasta, rice, starchy veggies or sugar. ) Just be patient once you get to the right restriction your band will start making things much easier.

You are probably getting stuck or maybe too full. Did you ever take too hard a swallow on your drink and get a pain? (kinda feels like a large air bubble traveling downward--throat to stomach). To me getting stuck feels a lot like that only the pain travels upward and can last longer. I also get a choking/gagging feeling in my throat when I've had enough or too much to eat, could that be it?

It is perfectly normal to gain a few pounds in the healing period between surgery and your first couple of fills. Weight loss will come.

No food four hours before Liquids for the first two days after Mushies for days 3 and 4 Slowly add solids and come back immediately if I am unable to handle food.

You have not had any solid food for what, two or three weeks. It is perfectly normal for your mind to keep turning to those foods, especially in a world where we are surrounded by it--tv commercials , McDonalds on ever block...everyone is eating except you. While I was still on the post-op diet I was the same way as you are right now. I kept planning out what I was going to eat when I got on solids again. I wanted to cry when I would see a Papa John's or an Olive Garden commercial...I was tormented by a Long John Silvers commerical that played over and over again on TV and Radio (and I don't ever eat there, LOL). But when solids came, I ate the appropriate foods and was completely satisfied with just having real food. I am amazed at how satisfied I get on a small amount of healthy food. There really isn't anything that you have to completely deny yourself once you are on sold food. There may be some things that you can't tolerate but you will be able to have an occasional treat from your favorite restaraunt. I still fear being a failure at this too, I also have failed to keep the weight off all my life and I just can't wrap my mind around the idea that I will be successful this time. I think you will be just fine, as someone else suggested-just take this one-day-at-a-time and soon you will see things looking up.

Hmm...lets see now that would have been when I was four years old :cry_smile: (LOL) This is a good question Laurinda. I was asked during my psych evaluation what my goal weight was and for someone like me who has always been overweight, that is not an easy question to answer. I can't imagine myself at a normal weight and had no idea what the normal weight was for me. During my adult life I had struggled with all of the diets and at one point I was able to get down to my lowest adult weight which was 170 (which didn't last very long) so I answered her with a weight of 150 and she frowned and said that I could do better than that. The goal weight we arrived at is strange because it is not a round number. But what we did was look at the BMI chart for my height and picked a weight that is smack dab in the middle of the normal weight BMI range...137 for me.

No, you should not be feeling pain. Besides taking smaller bites (use baby utensils) and chewing it to mush (the food should be smaller than a pencil eraser when swallowed) make sure you put your fork down between bites and give the food time to go down. Pay attention to which foods you ate when you get this feeling, there may be certain foods that you do not tolerate well and those foods can be different for everyone. I get that pain if I don't eat properly, if I eat too much or if I eat the wrong foods. If you do not think that any of this is contributing to your pain then I would make an appointment to talk it over with your doctor.

I had a hiatal hernia. I didn't know I had it until they did the upper GI during my pre-approval process. I rarely had indigestion or reflux and had no pain. I did get the hiccups every morning but didn't think anything of it also belched a lot but I also drank a lot of Diet Pepsi. Either way I didn't know enough about a hernia to relate any of that to having one. So an upper GI (barium swallow) should show whether you have one. Mine was apparently a slight hernia so that is probably why I didn't know I had it. A lot of people have them and don't know it until it becomes more severe. The symptoms are: acid reflux, frequent hiccups, frequent burping and if really severe, abdominal pain. Your diaphragm muscle runs across your middle and holds your digestive organs down in the abdomen. With a severe hiatal hernia (tear in your diaphragm) your stomach and other organs can start migrating up into your chest which causes the symptoms.

That is not a stupid question. You can stretch your pouch (not your band). Some people do have restriction even without a fill and if they consistently eat more than they should then the pouch (your new little stomach) can stretch, and you can't "un-stretch" your pouch. Your band can slip at any time if you don't eat properly especially during the healing stage. Sometimes an unfill or a fill can put the band back in place sometimes not.

Even without those issues I was not on soft food 1 week post-op, I did two weeks liquid then progressed to two weeks puree. Go for the high protein items and get some liquid vitamins. Once you heal you shouldn't have that feeling when taking in food.

I was also told to take in as much water as I could tolerate but to avoid gulping. I was told that it may be difficult to take in water the first couple days but try to work up to 64oz per day as soon as I could.

My nutritionist asked questions about my eating habits like, Do I eat Breakfast, Do I eat out often, What kinds of foods I eat and what kind of Snacks and gave suggestions on my problem areas. But mostly what she did was educate me on what I would need to eat pre-op and post-op. How to eat (small bites and chewing thoroughly etc.) She determined that I am a grazer and a carb addict and told me to try and eat only 3 meals a day and watch my carbs. I actually had two visits with her...first visit was a one-on-one where she discussed my eating habits and my second was a classroom type meeting where she taught us what and how to eat, what products to buy to prepare for pre-op and post op diets etc.

You are still healing. The pain completely went away in about a month for me. For me there was a lot of incision pain for a week or two. Two weeks out, it didn't hurt steadily but if I moved a certain way or bumped it I would get pain inside. Two months out I can twist, bend and poke at it and not feel any pain.

There are reasons why bypass is better for some people. With the Lap Band, you do have to do your part to make it work. The band will get rid of your hunger and keep you from overeating but you still have to eat right and fight the "head hunger". Here are some good points to Lap Band vs Gastric Bypass: Less invasive (whereas with bypass they re-route, cut/staple the stomach and bowels) Often out-patient surgery with small incisions, less scarring, less pain and recovery time. Most bandsters are ready to resume normal activities within a week. Ten times lower mortality rate than bypass Less risk of of nutritional deficiencies and hair loss and no dumping syndrome. Adjustable so you get personalized, steady and healthier rate of weight loss. Works better for long-term weight maintenance due it being adjustable. The band is fairly new in the US so we don't know what will happen in 20 years but the important thing is that it is replaceable, repairable and removable. When you have bypass, if there are complications there is no reversing what has been done.

No there is no dumping with the Lap band. The weight loss is slower with the Lap Band but besides the fact that there is no dumping, the mortality rate is 10 times lower, lower risk of nutritional deficiencies, lower risk of hair loss, less invasive with faster recovery and most important to me, it is adjustable and reversible. If you were to eat your meal in five minutes, you would not be doing it right and risking getting sick. You eat very slowly with the Lap Band, it is recommended that you take 20-30 minutes to eat your meal. You take very small bites and chew well then put your fork down between bites. I have found that most people eat way too fast and a couple times when I went out with family they were done before me.