Losing_It_In_Texas

After I get a fill I gurgle every single time I swallow....whether its liquid or food. I have read on here where someone explained it as water/food going down a sink drain and the similar sound that makes. Maybe you'll get some better answers, but I know that it is not uncommon.

Mine was 1 week of clear liquids then cream based soups the second week. I was allowed to add sf pudding and jello at that time on the advice of my nutritionist. I would really check with your doc before you make any additional choices though....every doc is different. Good luck!!

I was told to resume "sexual activity"...(my Dr's term) whenever I felt like it although I had read on here about some people experiencing pain at their port. We waited nearly a week and I was a little scared it would hurt but it was a breeze. It didn't hurt then and it has never hurt since even when getting a little overzealous:wub:. Maybe port placement has something to do with it or the size of the participants tummy...mine still has plenty of fat on it unfortunately and my port is pretty high up (between breasts and navel) and to the right a bit from my incision.

Hello all. I am 47 y/o, 5'5, and was 250 at my first consultation. I was 233 the day of my surgery (9-22) and am currently at 211. My goal is 140, but if I lose to 120 that would be even better. I began researching the surgery when I got to where just moving off the couch became a struggle, along with sore ankles, feet, and back. I wanted to be able to live my life again and not be a prisoner in my own home. My health has always been good....no diabetes and no high blood pressure but I'm sure those things would have developed at some point. Also, I wanted to look good again.

I had a really enjoyable Thanksgiving, but thank goodness its over....at least the food part! I didn't do nearly as bad this year as years past but I still ate more than I should have and had a 2 lb weight gain....OVERNIGHT!! I'm sure that it will fall off in a couple of days though, I'm not terribly concerned about it. I didn't even attempt the turkey cuz turkey is usually a bit dry even for the un-banded so unfortuantely everything I did eat was of the soft, slider-type foods. What was weird about the the whole day was I checked out everyones plates to see how mine measured up (they are all "normal" size people, I'm the only overweight one in the entire family) and their servings were HUGE,,,,much like mine used to be. That made me feel good that my servings were so much smaller than the "normals". Hope everyone had a great day!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! I am thankful for so many things, so to just list a few: I am happy to have my whole family together for the weekend. I am happy that at least I still have my job....my husband got laid off on Friday from his job that he had been at for 15 years. So there goes our health insurance. But at least I had my surgery 2 months ago so I am thankful for that. I am thankful to be in good health as is the rest of my family, currently. ANd last but least, I am thankful for this forum....it has helped me thru so many obstacles. Hope everyone has a wonderful day, and that we all remain thankful even when times are hard.

Thanks to all of you who have decided to get in on the New Year challenge. I think accountability will help all of us stay on track and hopefully not pig out too much on Thanksgiving day. I wish I had more restriction right now, but I think I'm up to it as I LOVE a challenge. Plus, right after my surgery I promised my DH a special treat :wub:when I got under 200....I think it must have been the drugs talking! LOL! Good luck everyone, and lets all meet up on New Years DAY to see how we did.

I love this thread!! 1) I will not miss having to roll onto all fours and needing to have something industrial strength to push up on to get off the floor 2) I will not miss having to hold my lower belly up while I wash under it 3) I will not miss being overlooked or looked away from by "normal" size people 4) I will not miss BEING FAT!!! YEAHHHHHHH!!!

OK, I'm officially putting it out here for accountability's sake. I am going to strive really hard to be under 200 lbs by the new year. Thats 11 pounds in 5 weeks and 3 days (from today (11-24) which probably seems reasonable to most of you, but I am really struggling to lose 1 pound a week right now and the turkey with all the goodies isn't even on the table yet. I need to do this to be accountable and maybe you will join me in the quest of a mini goal by new years day. Who's up for it??

Hello, I was banded a few days after you (9-22) and I have lost 23 lbs since surgery. I am really struggling with my weight loss right now. I have had 2 fills and I believe I am at 7.6cc in a 10cc band. The first fill on 10-20, surprisingly enough, gave me lots of restriction.... I lost 14 pounds that month (Oct); lost 4 pounds in the 8 days after my surgery (Sept); and have only lost 5 lbs this month. I had another fill on Nov 10 and it has been sadly lacking, I have been REALLY hungry! I am trying to eat the amounts that I am supposed to, but it is all willpower right now not the band. I have another fill on Dec 8 but I might try to move it to next week so hopefully I won't do too much damage. Best of luck to you!!

I was sooooo swollen for about a month. I had gained 5 lbs overnight from my surgery. My stomach is still taking the longest to go down. It was always the biggest part of me. Its so weird how different parts of my body are losing at different rates.

I would say that it would probably be possible...thats 3 pounds a week. How fast are you losing right now? Have you had fills already? Do you have any ore scheduled before then? I think all of these things would be factors. I'm not currently losing that fast...only about 1.5 - 2 lbs a week but I'm sure if I really tried I could bump it up to 3 pounds. Good luck to you!!

What I mean is does the tight feeling you get in your chest that signifies you are full feel like it does when you first know that you are stuck? I've only been banded for 2 months and I'm still struggling with the signals although I'm just beginning to listen to my body a tiny bit...just not there 100% yet. Thank you!

Hi Susie, I never would have thought I'd be sharing BM stories with virtual strangers...LOL! I have never asked my doc how often I should be going, but thats a good question. I was as regular as clockwork before my surgery so I never took the time to think much about going, then afterwards when the constipation set in it became my goal to have a BM at least every other day. I'm sure that due to the reduced volume of food as well as that we are having less fat in our diets, it is probably going to be less frequent than pre-surgery. The apricots have kep me going every day but much less volume.....EWWWW, I know thats gross!!! Even if its only every other day I would be ok with that too. Best of luck to you.

Sorry that I didn't see your post sooner, but someone that I met on here told me about the Bolthouse drinks and you are right....they are awesome!! I like the Mocha one best but there is also a good one called HAzelnut something. My doc doesn't recommend protein drinks now that I can eat "real" food but I drink them after fills since I'm supposed to stay on liquids for 24 hours. They sell them in Wal Mart and HEB also. Glad you found them!

I felt the EXACT same way that you do, just please don't give up. It definitely does get better, you are just going thru what I considered the very hardest part. I am only 2 months out so I am no expert but I have surely been where you are. Just keep doing what you are doing and one day you'll wake up and realize that time has passed and you are losing weight and you'll be on here passing your encouragement on to someone else who's in the same boat. Hugs to you!!

Loads- my doctor is Mark Sherrod of Southwest Bariatrics in Austin.

I have the Allergan 10cc band....i just think I have an agressive doctor, or maybe he is just filling it up quicker so he'll have to see me less....LOL

Thanks so much Jack! Thats a very good and reasonable explanation.

Hello again!! I just thought of this. My understanding and what I have read about the lap band is that it only will hold 3-4 oz. of food at a time and is about the size of an egg. That must be one big-ass egg. Doesn't that sound contradictory to yall? Besides, I personally was told to eat a cup of food per meal and from what I read in this forum, thats approximately what y'all are eating as well. I'm sorry to be splitting hairs here, but I always forget to ask these types of questions when I'm with my doctor. Just wondering what y'all think. Mary

Jazie - The apricots I buy are Sun-Maid Mediterranean Apricots...they come in a red zip-top foil pouch and they are just the inside of the fruit, no peel. I bought mine at HEB but I bet they have them at Wal Mart, or other major grocers also. Someone posted that they had a hard time getting them down, but I cut mine into 4 tiny pieces and eat them that way. Good luck to you!

Hi Becky - its hard to tell about restriction yet since its only day 2...tomorrow should tell me more. Really, the only restriction (or what I thought was restriction) was after my first fill, but only lasted 2 weeks. I sure hope my restriction will last longer with this fill. I do know that every sip I take gurgles after it goes down...i hope thats not a bad sign. Thank you for your response and good luck to you!

Julie - after my first fill I felt pretty good restriction for the first 2 weeks then BAM, i was all of the sudden starving on week 3 and eating what I feel like was more than I should have been able to and I was hungry between meals. Its only been 1 day since this fill and I'm not sure what I'm feeling....I'm really hungry but still on liquids so I guess thats to bbe expected. I'll see how tomorrow goes with mushies. Thanks for your response!

My BMI is around 34 or 35 now....it just seems like my doc is filling my really fast...not timewise necessarily, but amountwise. I'm really having to use willpower to lose weight right now...but I know its early days. Thanks for the responses!!

How is your restriction level, and how much are you eating per meal?