greyhoundmom

hi! if it's blended with 2 fruits it must have sugar and carbs. unless they are using a sugar-free syrup instead of real fruits..?

i have to admit my palms were sweating and i was anxious while at the dr's office waiting for my first fill! but it was no big deal. being on clear liquids for 2 days (then full for 2 tho i probably won't mind that part so much) is not much fun to - when i feel healthy and ready to eat! i'm so hungry! headache and all. but it's just 2 days. i admit i had very watery cream of wheat a little while ago because i was going nuts but i'll just take it one hunger pain at a time! that settled me down for a while!

hi, did you have a hernia repair during surgery? i did and i thought for sure it was related to that. UNTIL the PT who helped me last summer with my back, had look/feel! i was very surprised i had nerve/muscle thing going on at that rib (in my back, between my shoulder blade and my spine). it definately got worse, once it started up, with each breath - like a knife stabbing me. and in the car, every bump stabbed me - even hitting the brakes! i also have been taking papaya enzyme which was recommended to me at a local support group. it helps your stomach somehow - with acid i think. that helped me too. but i am sure for me, the rib was the biggest cause of the pain i was having. good luck! oh, my PT told me to use my thumb to rub little circles over each incision to avoid scar tissue/adhesion? so i have been. she said she gets a lot of people who come in after surgery with joint/muscle/nerve issues due to the surgerical process itself.

hi, just had my first fill today at 3 (just like you huggiebear!)! no big deal! my band was prefilled at surgery with 5cc's and since i'm losing weight already (not very fast but the scale is moving down) and i can't eat much - she only put .5 cc more in there. next fill, august 25th. my dr. requires clear liquids for 2 days and then full liquids for 2 days. bleck - liquids for the next 4 days. not looking forward to it. tho the scale will go down i'm sure! it was a needle stick then a weird pulling sensation that was not painful. i felt it in my chest a bit but also not painful. having some tea and that is going down fine. with such a small fill, i don't expect much trouble. i have acid reflux tho so hopefully the fill process did not upset my stomach. time will tell. this is an exciting day! i admit i was a bit anxious about this fill thing. piece of cake (oh, don't i wish... i do love cake).

hi, i have tiny red itchy bumps around 3 of my incisions. i had the dermglue - no bandages. the dr. has checked them out and told me they are just a localized reaction to the dermaglue and that it would go away. she said to take benedryl if they were really bothering me a lot but they don't bother me that bad so i've haven't taken anything for it so far.

hi slaburz1963, i am only 5 weeks out but i went to a physical therapist for severe pain in my back/shoulder area and she found i had a rib out of joint! have you had a PT have a look? it didn't hurt all the time but definately extreme after i ate or even drank and then for hours afterwards. it was miserable. i hope you find relief!

hi georgebals, i too find the support group meetings that i've attended are somewhat upsetting. i'm not sure i'll continue going. they aren't a generally positive experience - tho i have gotten a few good tidbits of advice from them. i know a lot of people are experiencing frustration and me too sometimes and a support group is an outlet for that - i guess. i just think the support group experience should 'pump us up' not 'bring us down'. what is the lance burton twist - no fills? i am not sure if that's a joke or a real thing (really i don't know)!

hi there renewedhope! thanks so much for your post - being almost 5 weeks out - i too wonder if this is going to really work or not. but i will do all i can to make it work - i do know that! looks like we are/were about the same starting weight. i'm so glad to hear of your success! and i too am wondering what am i going to wear in that i've been buying 'what fits' v.s. 'what i would like to wear' for years and now the thought of what to wear is a little daunting (when i lose the weight of course - 26lbs down so far - no new clothes yet). not meaning to complain about having to buy new clothes of course! plus my husband offerred to buy me a new wardrobe when i'm ready (how nice is that??!) but i mean just what you said - i don't even know what style to wear or anything. i get a lot of catalogs - and i look thru them now thinking, maybe i'll be able to wear that or that or that!? and what would that look like on a smaller me? i have no idea. and while exciting it's overwhelming too! congratulations! you are at my personal goal- size 12 jeans! you are so inspiring! way to go!

hi! snuffy65, i don't see that one as werid - i see that one as miraculous and i'm very very happy for you!! way to go!

i love the crystal light white grape - it's my favorite! and putting a little of the lemonade powder in my iced tea! i have chewable Vitamins too - and they aren't nearly as good as the chocolate mint viactiv chews. get to have one now in fact. yum!

hi Brad, i don't see this as an easy solution. i did a while back (and i've heard many people, including Oprah, hint that this is the 'easy way out') but now that i've been thru it - first hand experience - this is NOT EASY. yes, it is EFFECTIVE. but the surgery was not easy. the work up before the surgery was not easy. the waiting and anguish of should i do this? and why can't i get this done and over with (the wait was awful for me - i was in the process one way or another for 3 years), the way to eat after banding is not easy - it's a whole new world of rules and things to remember (till it becomes second nature - not yet for me). the emotional and attutide related experiences are not easy. it is actually rather drastic! not to scare any pre-ops but this is definately NOT easy. it is exciting, it is positive, it is effective if we work it right, but it's not easy. now, because it works, does that mean it's easier than what hasn't worked in the past? maybe. i just don't see this as easy. we are allowing someone to surgically implant a device in our bodies forever. how is that easy? my sister asked me yesterday what happens if i overeat - i said i expect pain (have had that happen for a few minutes) and the food might come back up (haven't done that yet). is that easy? easy would be to not do it and stay fat forever. that'd be easy. miserable, but easy. i'm glad you are taking care of yourself! this is a brave thing to do - and i'm proud of us all!

hi there! i got a small bumpy rash around 3 of my incisions 4 weeks after surgery! they are still there (week 5) and they itch like crazy. i went to the surgeon's office and they told me it's a minor reaction to the dermaglue and they told me to use Vitamin E cream or an anti-itch cream on the bumps - but don't get it on the incisions (not easy when i sit, and the skin above and below them rolls and thus spreads the cream all over the place). anyway, mine has not gotten worse. but not better either -yet. i'm tempted to try benedryl tonight just to see if the rash goes away. do you have any bumps? if no bumps maybe it just normal healing? ps i still have soreness moving around near the port site and sometimes off to the other side - when i've just eaten - maybe too full? i don't know yet. this is a bunch of new experiences that's for sure!

hi Amisha, that might be your diaphragm - when you yawn it is used and maybe it is still upset from surgery - causing pain when you yawn. just a thought (i'm not a dr. or nurse tho)! BEFORE surgery, i would yawn and yawn and yawn - for years. i had a hiatal hernia right near my diaphragm. now i barely yawn at all! that's my weirdest thing..

hi Brad, i am picking up on something here - MAYBE - maybe i'm off tho. are you ashamed of getting banded yourself? i ask because i have struggled with this - with hot anger at myself for NOT being able to lose the weight the 'normal' way. i have tried so hard in the past (torturing myself with hard exercise, drastic dieting even going all natural, organic, etc. for about 20 years!) with such little or short-lived results. in a pre-op class (6 classes required by the program i am in- at first an annoying commitment but then an invaluable experience!), i brought this anger up and was counselled that i had to accept that this is where i'm at in life and take positive action, the band, to move forward. my anger was me not accepting the situation as it was. i had to pretty much surrender and say nothing to date has worked, not for lack of effort or intelligence or education even for that matter. my body needs something different to solve this problem and thank God it's available - surgery. that was great advice and now 4 weeks post banding, my attitude is very good. weight loss is slow but i expected that. a bandster who i talked to before hand told me 'it's a uniquely individual journey' and i agree completely! while we may share some common banding experiences, we have so much to learn about ourselves and what role food plays in our lives. we have so much to be proud of (we are taking positive action!) and we have shame and a host of emotions to dissolve! good luck!

hi! i too have been surprised by how good things taste - things i never really even thought much of before - just ate but didn't really taste them! i find this funny - my dr. has me on vaictiv Calcium chews. i've never had them before. they have GREAT flavors to pick from and they are SO GOOD! they are like a little piece of candy but they are allowed and are good for me! i truly savor each one (2 per day). i bite off tiny pieces and let them melt in my mouth. YUM! my sister, who doesn't agree with the banding at all, thinks that is just sick that i can like a Vitamin chew so much. she just doesn't know what happens to taste buds during this process. they seem to come alive! and for me it doesn't take much to satisfy them (luckily!). i was on the Optifast program for 5 weeks before surgery so i think that 'cleansed my taste buds'. who knows. enjoy these new sensations! i am! in tiny amounts..!

thanks for the tips!! there are 2 good books out (i got them from www.amazon.com) that are about lap-band. i have them both and they are very helpful, info such as your post above and pre and post op subjects too. very helpful! i recommend them! "lap-band for life" (a quicker read) and "laproscopic adjustable gastric banding" (thicker book) looks like there are others but these are the 2 i have. i have the "eating well after weight loss surgery" book too but the recipies are a little too fancy for me. tho they sound very good!

hi! oddly, my dr. didn't expect this either and told me i must have caught a bug. i didn't feel sick tho. from what i've read here, it happens to many people!

hi all, saw the dr's PA- it's just as you said - small allergic reaction to the glue. can use anti-itch cream (around not on the incisions) and need to keep the waist of my pants off them for a while. thanks all!

hi all! by tight do you mean you feel a little sick to your stomach? or you try to eat and it doesn't work out? i feel sick to my stomach (not enough to get sick tho) every morning when i wake up. i wonder if that is my band being tight? i'm a jazzy june 2008 bandster so i'm not sure yet what this means. i have already noticed that i feel the band in the morning when i wake up - especially if i slept on my side. mentally, i'm working on getting used to looking forward to my little meal and then realizing sometimes i can't really eat much of even the tiny portion! it's a big learning experience. someone posted here somewhere that even the barimetric pressure (i.e. a storm coming) can affect our bands. that definately affects my sinuses and has forever so i can see it could effect the band as well. thanks!

hi there, anyone having trouble with any foods in particular? i have tried canned salmon (like tuna but i don't like tuna) with low-fat mayo 2 times now and even with mashing it with a fork then chewing it like mad - it feels stuck - can't eat much of it. first time, i got pain across my stomach to both sides so i stopped immediately. today, just got a lot of pressure but not the pain - that's only after a 2-3 ounces at most. so far that's it for me. i have been cautious and haven't tried too much yet. i'm on full soft foods now. had fun grocery shopping today - getting some REAL food!

hi, this is just a suggestion, but it might be helpful to see a physical therapist if the pain persists. i did for my shoulder pain and found out a rib was displaced -probably during the procedure - severe pain that the dr. did not know the cause of. my regular dr. referred me to the PT to have it checked out. the PT told me she gets a lot of post-surgery people from all kinds of procedures for misc. pain that is due to pulled muscles, scar tissue adhesion (i'm not sure what that is), pinched nerves, etc. from the surgery itself. i too had to get more roxicet (pain meds) and the dr. was hesitant to do it - told me to take motrin which i can't take. so she gave me 1/2 a prescription and that did the trick. it seemed like 24 hours more on the medication made all the difference for me. i understand why they hesitate - it's addicting - but still - how can we get addicted to it if we can't get it? access to the meds for a couple of weeks after surgery sems reasonable to me if needed. hope you are feeling better! this is my 4th week annniversary today and other than a small rash, i'm feeling great. it really gets better! i'm looking forward to working with my band now that i feel well and my first fill is coming next week!

hi! thanks for your replies and tips! i kept my waist band off the area today and it seemed to help. hasn't spread any so that's good too!

hi, working today so can't sleep! darn! and my gorgeous greyhound just loves naps too! no nap today tho. i have my pants down under my tummy - so not rubbing on the incisions - and the itch is not that bad. maybe my pants have been bothering them. my incisions are all right across my stomach where my pants hit. will have to buy some 'low riders' tho not till i'm smaller! the surgeon said i'm 'short waisted' and she had no where else to put the incisions. small sacrifice in my opinion! thanks for the tips on claritin or zyrtec - i've had claritin before when it was a prescription for seasonal allergies so maybe i'll get that!

hi there! my incisions have been itchy all along (i itch around them and that helps and i figured that was normal healing), so maybe this rash was under the glue and i didn't know it. but the glue is almost all off of them now (banded 4 weeks ago today!) and 3 of the incisions have a tiny rash of little bumps around them - not a lot of bumps but man are they itchy! i called the surgeon's office and they are going to have a look tomorrow morning. they said to take liquid benedryl but i think i'll try not to since the rashes are so small. they also said NOT to use any kind of anti-itch cream on them. anyone get a rash like this - not hives, weird to be not till now? unless it was hiding.. thanks!

hi there! glad you are feeling better! i lost 11 lbs post-surgery and have leveled off and now am not losing. i have lost 25 total since i started Optifast on 5/1 (stopped that just before surgery - was to lose some pre-surgery weight). that is a miracle for me - to say i've lost 25 lbs. it has been at least 10 years since i was able to do that. what's odd to me is i can't eat much of anything and i'm not losing. even tho i haven't had my first fill (july 14th). i hear people saying they don't lose but that they can eat whatever they want. i can't - 1 cup max and that's only if it's a very mushy thing. sometimes 1/2 cup. it's a 'wait and see' kind of thing i think. i am not up to my pre-surgery exercise level yet - just slow walking on the treadmill and dog walking every day. i could do a much harder cardio workout before. and weights. off weights until 6 weeks. i have found since surgery that i have to listen closely to my body (and i think this is a good thing to learn). if i am tired - i stop and rest. if not, i do my normal stuff. this is such a HUGE learning experience for me. i'm really enjoying that part of it. i like a challenge and learing how to make this band work for me is a great (huge, interesting) challenge. not that i don't get down when i weigh myself and nothing's going on - i just say give it time. i will figure this out! today, i said, heck no scale. i am lucky - it's not going up. hope you all made it thru 4th of july with no food problems. i did well. i think some of it is fear of eating and hurting myself! for now, that works.