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From what they told me when I was in the hospital it seems to be a pretty common thing for people to come down with pneumonia after surgery. They wanted me to take something to prevent it when I was being discharged but it would have taken them another hour to get the meds so I passed. I had already stayed overnight and waited all morning for them to release me I was ready to be out of there. I hope you feel better soon.

I have the New whey Protein. It's alright but I don't like the smell as you raise the drink to your mouth. I got through one tube by mixing it in with my Crystal lite or Diet Snapple. The other ones I threw in a drawer , out of sight out of mind.

Yeah....Costco is the bidness!! I'm gonna have to check out more high Protein options when I go back. I just bought the big bag of frozen shrimp from them and a case of Diet Snapple tea.

Oooh, glad to hear I was not alone. I too had not told my Hubby just how much I weighed. I was so ashamed of myself. So my actual weight was a well guarded secret. I've been married for 21 years and the heavier I got the worse I felt. Especially because my Hubby is tall , very handsome, a little younger than me and very fit. He works out regularly. A couple of days before my surgery I decided I had to come clean because he was going to the hospital with me and I was afraid it would come up with him sitting there. I sat him down and told him the truth and he was shocked. He said he didn't realize that I was that heavy and that was it. He was even nicer to me after that and very loving and caring . When I was being rolled out of the OR following surgery he saw me and yelled out "I love you Dee!!" I made a good choice and I feel so much better that I don't have that secret between us any more.

I'm going to start this on MOnday. I've had the app on my iPhone since forever now that I'm banded it's time to get it going. Sounds like a good way to increase my losses.

I have GHI through the city of NY. I don't know whether it's a PPO. I know its not an HMO. The only thing I can tell you is that it takes them at least a month to approve . I never heard from them that you have to be a certain BMI however, mine was over 40 and I had co-morbidities. I had to do a 6 month supervised diet. My Dr's staff was negligent in submitting my papers on time but when I contacted GHI they were very nice and even though the surgeon's office told me it would take from 6-8 weeks for GHI to approve when me and my DH got on the case they approved in about 3 1/2 wks. I know the OP's post is very old but when I went to NYU they did not accept GHI. They were my 1st choice. If you need a surgeons rec that accepts GHI PM me even though his staff was horrible to me the surgeon himself was great. He did my surgery and I had no pain at all and minor gas pain I feel funny to say the word pain because it wasn't even like that. I just had my surgery 8/16/10 and I know how you feel.

I kinda feel that way too as long as it doesn't bother me I will not bother it.

Yes most likely that large lump right above your largest incision is your port. My port is about the size of a quarter and it is right under my breasts more towards the right side . It sticks out noticeably. I'm going to ask my surgeon about it when I go for my 1st fill.

Wow, congrats!! You've lost 95lbs in a year with all that you've had to deal with???!!! Girl, you give me hope. I just may be able to do this with a couple of cheat days and all. I hope your load lightens soon but I think you have this on lock. You go!!

My experience was that my Dr. had me stay in the hospital overnight the day of surgery. I was up walking and feeling great. I didn't want to do it but now that it's over I'm glad I did. In his words I had a perfect surgery and I had really no pain and not even the horrible gas pains that some have. I only took the pain meds the first couple of days more so to make me sleep than for pain. My Husband went to work but he put the dog out in the am when he left so I wouldn't have to do much. I just wanted to be home alone to sleep Many bandsters go home the same day and have no problems at all. If you want a friend to stay with you the first day you should be alright but to pay a nurse ...unless you have a complication which you will not ,will be a waste of good money. This is just my humble opinion.

Her biography explains why she was not successful. She thought it was a miracle cure and she has bad habits that she was afraid she was passing on to her Son. She is probably very busy working with Bey , traveling on the road and does not have time to plan and eat proper meals among other factors. I hope that she or the show does not go on about how WLS is not a viable option. I like the Biggest Loser though I know it is very unrealistic. Who the heck can work out 7-8 hours a day to keep their weight in check?

Oh thank you..I tried every variation of that and I couldn't get it to work. As you can see. I went to Myfitnesspal and did their ticker . To me it was much easier to do and update. Easy, peasy that's the way I like it!! Dee

This is so true. Also that is not a question that I would ask any Dr. unless I knew they were behind the lapband. You are going to get from them many and varied personal opinions just like you would get from any other assortment of people . If you ask a bunch of construction workers some will say I have a friend that did it and was successful. Some will say "I don't believe in that" and some will say "go for it!!" Make up your mind to work this tool the best you can . Work towards changing your lifestyle and mind set as far as food and exercise and you have a great chance of losing and keeping your weight off. That's what I'm gonna do.

I say this in almost every thread about this "friend" thing. It's unfortunate but people like to put others in categories in relation to themselves. You may have been the good and faithful but "fat" friend so it made those who were smaller than you very comfortable with you as in you were no threat to them . When we start to take charge of our health and lose the weight they are no longer comfy with how they feel about themselves and see you as a threat. I'm only down a few lbs from before surgery and I have a long way to go but some so called "friends " have already told me "OMG, I have to lose weight !!! I can't let you get to be smaller than me" One I thought close friend that I confided in told her DH and he told someone else that I really didn't want to share the info with and it's already caused a rift between us. So I see that I will be doing this basically on my own with only the support of a couple of people . There will also be some "friends" that will set themselves up in competition with me which will be totally 1 sided. It's really a shame but keep on doing what you're doing. If someone stops associating with you because your getting healthier are they really your friend? I'm going to make myself so busy with planning my meals and exercising that I will not have much time for fake friends and their issues anyway.

Congrats to you!! 50 lbs in 7 weeks...I'm uber jealous but guys do lose faster than women . NO fair!! Dee

Can you please explain to me how to update the ticker ...like I'm a 2 year old. It took me forever to get it now I can't update it. Dee

Hey Amanda, Different Dr's place the port in different places but in my experience a lot of folks have theirs where mine is. My port is towards the middle of my chest closer to my right breast. I was just banded 8/16 but my port protrudes so I can visibly see where mine is already it doesn't bother me for now. I'm hoping it will be easier to get fills. I've heard of some being placed around the waist area too. If you gently poke around and feel for an object about the size of a quarter you might feel it. I hope this helps. To get a ticker just click on someone elses like mine and that will take you to the site. If you find out how to change the ticker PM me and let me know.:blushing: Dee

Very good advice here. I think everyone has to find what works best for them and it seems that most posters here have figured out what works best for them. I was looking at a vid on Youtube yesterday where a Vlogger was saying that she didn't regret her band but in actuality it seemed she did because she was saying that you have to think very hard before doing it because you can never have a drink again, you can never have sweets again, you can never chew gum again, you can never drink from a straw again and on and on. I chose the band because I did not want to be severely restricted for the rest of my life. I do plan on doing all of those things again within reason and with restriction. I'm not much of a sweet eater but I know one day I will crave a warm cookie or a good piece of cake or a nice cocktail and I will have them and enjoy them.

I'm sorry to hear this and hope you start to turn around soon. I am the opposite. I was miserable and hopeless before my surgery but since I've been banded on 8/16 I have hope that I won't have to die obese with a stroke or heart attack. I feel better mentally. I have not had the peace at home that I thought I would have because of illness in the family and having to have houseguests at the most inopportune time but I made up my mind to not have an attitude so I wouldn't have tension in my house and it has been good. I've lost 19 lbs since being banded and I feel so much better. I still have about 90 lbs to lose but I feel so much more confident and like I'm ready to just do this and reach goal.

Different Drs have different diets, on my puree list I can have scrambled eggs, toast and mashed potatoes so if you were with my surgeon you would be fine. You're not a failure. Just go back to whatever is on your surgeon's list right away. Feel better.

Just to add on to my last post...I haven't even had my first fill yet but I'm down 19lbs since surgery date and my port already protrudes a lot. I know it won't be a problem finding it for a fill but I'm thinking as I get smaller and smaller this thing will really stick out a lot more. It is already quite obvious, if I were to bare my belly now I know people would notice. I don't plan on wearing bikini's but this may be bothersome later on . When I go for my 1st fill I will ask my surgeon already.

YOU ATE A SANDWICH!!!!! 11 days post op!!! I would be so scared. I agree with above poster if I were you I think I would go back to soft or even liquids for a few days to calm things down. I hope it gets better.

Drinking alcohol helped to get me where I am weight wise. Alcohol bloats me terribly. I have not had any wine since a couple of days before my surgery and I have already released so much of the bloat . I won't be doing alcohol for a long time to come. It's not worth it to me. Losing weight is my top priority now.

I was just banded on 8/16 so maybe I should be quiet right now but I absolutely have no regrets. If any I regret that I didn't do this when I was in my 40's . I regret that I really had not heard of it when I was younger and yo-yoing and I regret that I didn't jump on it as soon as my Dr. told me about it. I've lost 18lbs since surgery date and I'm extremely happy right now . Even though I have about 90 more lbs to go. I already feel so much better and I have a different outlook. I know I will be successful with the band. Failure is not an option.

I was excited reading your 1st post because my 1st fill is coming up on 9/22 and I was hoping that my Dr would give me an aggressive fill too, not this 1cc at a time business . Please keep us informed as to how this goes for you. Hopefully when you start eating solids again you'll feel a difference. I already know I'm going to ask my surgeon to give me a more aggressive fill not 1cc at a time. Hopefully, he'll say yes.