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Your alright Emerald. I was banded on 8/16 and I had no pain either from the surgery and minimal gas pain. When someone asked if I felt like I had done a lot of sit-ups I couldn't even say it felt that bad. If I didn't have this port sticking out I would wonder if I'm really banded :biggrin: We are the fortunate ones. count your blessings. Dee

I've had more gas since being banded than I've had in my whole life but I have noticed that it is a lot less than it was. I was sleeping with a can of air freshener next to my bed. :biggrin::blushing: I hope it stays that way but if not I do walk with Gas-X chewables in my bag and I have 2 big bottles of papaya enzyme.

What your experiencing sounds like gas pains. Many suffer with that after banding and most say that walking relieves it. Why don't you try some Gas-X that may relieve some of your discomfort. Hope you feel better.

Thank you for this. I put off my surgery for close to 3 years because of coming in and reading so much negativity about the band. I am going through a rough time with my band now but I know what I'm doing wrong. I am calling it "bandster hell" because that's all I've heard around here . I still love my band and I have a hope now that I have not had for years. Thanks for keeping it real. Dee

I don't know how I got quoted as saying that but I didn't. I am bored with this subject already . I will never understand why people on the net want to tell others what to say and feel and get into "e" fights. Really, it's not that serious. I was not being unsupportive in agreeing with the post of the person I guess you were trying to quote. When you post a very negative thread to begin with not everyone is gonna come in and agree with you. I don't think the response was snide or unsupportive she was just expressing what a lot of people thought but did not post. I was one of the fortunate ones that had no pain or discomfort after my surgery and I know I was blessed because of that. I did tons of research though before hand and I was prepared for a lot worse. So when I read OP's post I agreed with the comment of the poster. I just happen to feel that 1 week after having major surgery some pain and discomfort is to be expected . I put off my surgery for almost 3 years because of coming here and reading all of the not so good experiences. I see from this thread though that there are many that did not have a good experience and the OP has a lot of sympathizers and persons telling her what she is experiencing is somewhat normal and I guess it is for some. However, it is not everyone's experience. Take heart though I am being punished and the band that I was so happy with at first now has me in "bandster hell" and I'm not so happy but I don't feel like I want out and I don't want my band removed. I know what I am experiencing now is part of the journey for some. As badly as I wanted to wake up after the first month and be down 50 lbs. it's not happening for me. I hope time and experience heals us all and makes our dreams come true. Dee

I didn't think it would be a big deal but I'm finding it very hard. I try to be aware of it but mindlessly I find myself picking up a glass to sip while I'm eating and sometimes I sip to make something that feels like it may get stuck go down. I'm struggling and I think I may be defeating myself. Tonight I don't feel banded I just feel like I'm failing on yet another diet. Dee

So far at my Surgeons office I have met 2 people that have been banded 8 and 8 1/2 years. They are both happy , maintaining goal and have not had any problems to speak of. Dee

Now I'm craving salad.:smile: I have had one chicken caesar salad since being banded and it went down no problem but that was before my first fill. I managed to eat the whole thing. I may try another one today.

I agree with this view to a degree. I'm newly banded so I can't speak from much experience but I found out that I did have 1.5 cc put in my band at surgery. I was hungry as the time for my next fill came up but I did have restriction with just that little bit of Fluid. I did have my 1 stuck incident before getting my next fill at this point I'm just a little over 3.5cc and I can barely eat anything not to a serious degree like not being able to eat healthy things but I find that eating very little has me full. I don't know about Sara but I would think that she does have at least a little restriction from the band. I'm not a surgeon but I would think that having the band placed around the top of your stomach w/o any fluid will make you full on a little less from just that. I have read on here and seen people on Youtube lose most of their weight with little to no fill. I don't know if she likes it I love it good for her. ElfiePoo...there is a big difference btwn 7cc and 8.5 maybe somewhere in there would give you your sweet spot. I've read and heard that even taking or adding .1cc makes a big difference. Congrats on what you've done so far.

I think you're doing great to lose 70lbs in 5 months is awesome. This site is great but one problem I see including for me is that we can get caught up in what someone else is doing and eating and think we should be able to do or eat that too. Your band is yours and you don't sound like your suffering you sound like your doing great for you. Your not doing anything wrong because its working great for you. I read of some of the things some eat here and I haven't tried it and I don't want to. Maybe later I will though. Some won't eat what I eat ,like today I had a pc. of ckn .wing because I was out and felt so hungry so I stopped at Popeyes. I had 2 drumette pcs and the flat pc whatever that's called. It took me a couple of hours to eat that but that's ok as long as I'm losing I'm Ok. I have a long way to go so I can't torture myself.

Inquiring minds want to know. How do you know that? Like I said in another thread because WLS is more mainstream now every time someone loses a significant amount of weight from now on it's going to be assumed they had surgery. Did she admit that she had it? I wouldn't be surprised if she did but I don't want to be that skeptical and jaded yet. Dee

Yes and I wish I had known about it years ago.

Very nice Katy. I just checked you out and subscribed. I also follow BandedWendy, Skymoon1982 and anume1109 and Blakkandi. They have all reached goal but looking back at their old vids is very inspiring to me. I was looking for someone new to follow that's currently in the fight. Your channel is layed out very nicely too. I have a channel but I'm so not tech savvy. I haven't even figured out how to post a pic on there yet. Oh, there is another lady on here that has a channel her screen name is Moo but on youtube you can find her as creamymoo.

I asked the nutritionist ystrday too. She said no WW. Just concentrate on the Protein and veggies and eating healthy. She said that you won't be able to eat that much anyway. She also said to stop the Protein shakes and to concentrate on getting my protein from real food. I don't see the harm in following the plan if you need to though for some structure. I think I may do that. However, after having a fill ystrday I'm only at 3.5cc but I'm really not hungry. I'm expecting that feeling to go away soon though.

Wow, that's deep. Who exactly is this Dr. Lucky? Obviously , you're very hurt and I wish I could say something to console you. Maybe someone else will have more words of wisdom. One thing I know for sure though is that "what goes around comes around " just give it time. Wishing you the best.

Because WLS is so out there now. I think from now on anytime somebody loses a significant amount of weight people are going to suspect they had WLS. She's in her 20's. When I was in my 20's I could lose weight in a flash and look dramatically different too. I believe that she did do WW but if I find out otherwise I would not be surprised. Why not? I wish I had known about lap band years ago. I would have done it back then and it would have saved me years of hurt, embarassment, self loathing and low self-esteem. So I say more power to all of them. Dee

Well time will tell. The first surgeon I chose , Dr. George Fielding said that if you see a person lose a good amount of weight and they keep it off most likely they have had WLS. Of course, not every WLS patient keeps their weight off but they have a better chance than someone who loses "on their own" with the help of a personal trainer a chef and Whatever else.

Carnie Wilson had GB they showed it on the net the day she did it. Dee

Unless Sharon Osborne had a revision of some sort I remember her clearly saying that she had GB not lap band. My BIL plays for the Jets and Rex Ryan has Had lap band surgery as Loseit said. When I saw a pic of Drew Carey I did think that he had surgery but then on the other hand Men really do lose faster and more dramatically than women do. I never thought that JHud had surgery but I wouldn't be surprised. She said that she lost it doing WW and because she's an actress I don't think she would have surgery because what if she wants to do a part where she has to gain a lot. One thing I do know for sure is that if I were Oprah I would have had the surgery long ago and it would be called the O-Band. I know she's mega-rich and famous but I feel sorry for her weight loss struggle. She is clearly uncomfortable in her own skin and I know all too well how that feels. Dee

The fact that so many have had WLS makes me afraid that the show is going to be sending a message that WLS is too drastic and doesn't work. I'm newly banded and I really don't want to hear it. I love BL but it is also a false perception of permanent weight loss. What person that has a life can exercise 7-8 hours everyday and have personal trainers there to motivate them and work with them 1 on 1, show them what and how to eat and I'm sure pay them a nice chunk of change to take 2-3 months off from their life? I've also read former contestants say that as the finale comes up they fast , do cleanses and purges and all other kinds of tricks to win the big prize. I'm glad I didn't tell most people that I had surgery because I don't want to hear it. Dee

Thanks for the heads up I just set my TIVO. Shurmeka , you're brave. I thought about it but couldn't imagine standing in front of the world with the spandex shorts on and sports bra :thumbup: Dee

I am 5 weeks out and feel like I can eat almost anything too. Last week I had a craving for a sandwich of course I didn't have big slices of bread but I got a tip from another bandster to use the flat out wrap and I did that. That turkey sandwich was soooooo good. I'm due for my 1st fill on Wednesday the 22nd and I can't wait. I'm so afraid that I did all of this just to be on another starvation diet and it's making me very depressed. I don't want to have this feeling because other than this "bandster hell" I am so happy about my band and the hope I feel.

My pain right after surgery was btwn a 0-1. I could not believe it !! I asked for pain meds the 1st night so that I could sleep not for pain. I should have just ask for a sleep med cause i still didn't sleep at all. I just can't sleep in hospitals. The gas pains were not bad at all either really negligible. I chewed some Gas-X and that resolved that. So from all the answers I guess that you will have to see for yourself what yours will be. It seems to vary from case to case.

I made that white chicken chili off the Bariatric Eating site last week. It was really good but next time I think I'll add more spice to it. I like spicy. That site has a lot of good recipes for us. Hormel also has a white chicken chili in a can that is not too bad. I keep it in the cabinet for those days when I don't feel like cooking for myself and need something filing.