lipstix64

wHY WOULD YOUR DOCTOR TELL YOU THAT YOU CAN HAVE eggs AND VEGETABLES 5 DAYS OUT OF SURGERY? YOU HAVE TO HEAL AND YOUR BAND HAS TO STAY IN PLACE WITH STITCHES, WHICH VOMITING CAN POP. EVERYON I KNOW WAS ON 1 shake PER DAY PLUS BROTHS, sugar-free POPSICLES, NO solid food UNTIL TWO WEEKS LATER AND THAT WAS JUST MUSHIES, LIKE HUMMUS, pureed FOODS, puddings, chicken salad, EGG SALAD AND SO ON.

Relax! Your band is healing, swelling going down and hunger coming back. Be prepared. your first fill might not work. Sometimes, it take more fills before you feel restriction. I finally got restriction on the 3rd fill. Up until then, you will have to count on your willpower. No one said it was going to be easy. Good luck!:eek:

My doc and nutritionist told me not to drink Slim Fast. I forgot why not.

I LOVE Isopure perfect low carb Protein shakes. I but them at www.vitaminshoppe.com and get a freat price. Usually under $35.00 for the big container. I like the vanilla and the chocolate. Those are the only flavors I tried. They ship out to you ASAP and you get it in about three days.

Youre concerned about losing too fast??? You feel like you're wasting away??? Are you kidding?? And, you're eating Pasta already?? If you are having luids for two week, of course you will lose fast, especially since your'e overweight it comes off fast. You are not wastimg away with 13 lbs lost. Why would you eat pasta nine days out?? You could bust stiches keeping your band in place. You seem determined to mess this up. Why???:confused:

I hear that cottage cheese w/ a drop of vanilla and cinnamon is delish!

How bout egg salad, hummus, cottage cheese.

Relax! Its normal to be freaked out. I was! Its scary wondering if you are doing the right thing. But , once its over you will know this is what had to be done. I was petrified of going under anesthesia and not waking up. I was scared of what it feel like once it is in. Let me tell you. This is my experience as well as many others: Bring loose clothes, chapstick, and apillow for sealtbelt on ride home. You wont know your under anesthesia, surgery takes 45 mins to 1 hour, you wake up, you feel like something is in there, your chest might hurt, they give you sips of Water and send you to recovery. I was there in recovery for a total of 6 hours, went home that day. You take your pains meds(hardly any pain I had), walked around alot to get rid of gas, which is not like regular gas, it is pain in your shoulders arm and neck, so dont panic. I had Protein shakes for 2 weeks, plus Soup, sugar-free ice pops. I stayed home from work for a week. You wont get stitches and they cover the incisions with gauze that falls off after 3-5 days and underneath they are covered with (steri-strips) and they fall off about 2 weeks. I slept in a recliner, took my meds whether I had pain or not because they help you sleep. Thats it, no big deal. You dont feel the band in your stomach ever. You will never know it is in there. Once you heal, you will feel hungry and it is time for your first fill and it maight not take the first time you get a fill, mine didnt. It wwas agradual thing anf my 3rd fill was a charm. I had my surgery on Oct 16th and I'm down from 272 to 220. Feel good, look good and I'm so glad I did this. Here I am 6 months later and cant believe how fast it went and how scared I was. Time flew and here I am 52 lbs later and so happy I did it. Good luck!

You got that right! I grew up with an alcoholic and it was horrible!

Hi, Elgrad. I have Aetna and had my surgery in October. They require 6 months thru them or 3 months thru my doctor. I chose my doctor and had to got to 3 support groups, 3 nutritionist meetings with my doctors, had to get ok from heart doc, lung doc, and therapist. I also had to lose 5% of my body weight and couldnt gain more than 2 pounds, otherwise I would be denied. Once that was done, it was clear sailing. They shouldnt deny you and if they do at first, my insurance girl at the docs would fight it until they give in. Good luck

Why would you tell anyone to get an unfill? For what purpose? This band is to teach us to eat in a certain way. What is the big deal with just having enough to be satisfied, like normal people? Why would you condone anyone getting an unfill just so they can eat like a slob?? What are you thinking? No one said you should be on a diet on vcations, cause I wouldnt be. But, gettiing an unfill to eat more??? Why?? That is such FAT MENTALITY!!! Isnt that what we are trying to get away from? You should re-think your stance on the un-fill subject. Its dangerous.:thumbup::eek:

Wow!! What you are asking for here is to be given the okay to eat like a pig just because you are on vacation. Why should going on vacation be a reason for you to pig out? Why cant you continue to do what you have been doing all along? I am Italian and we love to eat, but I couldnt care less about insulting my European relatives because I wont eat their food? You are trying to justify an unfill because YOU want to eat more on your trip. Why cant you just eat what everyone else is eating anyway? You just will get full faster? So what? why would you need a complete unfill? Isnt our band a way to keep up in check so we can eat like normal people, eating normal food without eating till we explode? Think about what you're saying. My doctor would never do an unfill because I'm gooing on vacation and dont want to insult people. If these people truly cared about you, they would understand and NOT be insulted. Admit it, you want to eat alot on vacation and using these relatives as a good excuse to do so. Sorry if your offended, but you need tough love, man!:thumbup:

Give yourself a break-ur too hard on yourself. You had a little setback. Its not the end of the world.

YOU NEED TO GO BACK TO YOUR DOCTOR AND GET ENOUGH OF A FILL TO FEEL RESTRICTION!!!! iT WILL NOT HELP YOU IF YOU DONT HAVE RESTRICTION!!

Maybe you dont have enough restriction and need a fill. Or, maybe you arent exercising enough or eating properly. Remember, the more Protein you eat, the more fst you will burn and lean muscle you will get. If you only lost 35 lbs in 9 months, you are definitely not doing soemthing right. This isnt a miracle cure, nothing is.:w00t:

You cant feel it. No one feels it. This is basically how it works: Since you have a band around your stomach and it gets filled with saline, that makes it harder for a lot of food to go through. Now, let me explain "restriction". Because once your band is filled enough for you to "feel restriction", then you will feel "full" faster and eat less. But feeling full is different from feeling restricted. Let me explain: You eat something and after a small amount of food is taken in, you ARE PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE OF EATING MORE, not because youre full, you just cant get in anymore, otherwise it will come back up or just feel like its stuck somewhere between your throat and your stomach and sometimes feel so annoying and uncomfortable that you get relief by throwing it up. Now, if you do get more food in and you eat fast, take big bites, and dont chew, then you will get pain in the upper part of your chest that feels horrible and sometimes the only relief you will get is if you throw it up once again. Now, dont get me wrong. Even though I cant get anymore food in, I still want to eat more, I just cant. And, after afew times of feeling like what I just described, I've learned to stop before I get to that point and I'm ok and I've been losing weight, so its a trade-off These are lessons you will learn the hard way, but it will teach you a lesson to slow down, take small bites, and eat slowly. Now sometimes, your band is just to tight and it might need to be unfilled a little so you can eat without all this happening, but more often than not, its just us being ourselves eating like we used to and thinking we can still eat that way. Its okay, though. I wouldnt change a thing

Honestly, I dont know why it hurt for you guys. I have had three fills already. The first two were done by Physician's assistants and I never had to have the area numbed and it was only a little pinch to get the needle in and a little pressure when they pulled it out. They made me do a half situp to find the port and thats all. My doctor did the 3rd fill and believe it or not, he was the one who hurt a little. But, if you have someone who knows what they are doing, I really dont know why it would hurt. No one that I personally know from the support groups ever has a problem with pain during fills. We all go to The Westchester Medical Center in White Plains, New York. We have a well-known team of people who specialize in Bariatric Surgery. Maybe you are all just tensing up too much in anticipation of the pain. Good luck next time.

Wow- Debby. Sorry to hear about your problem with the band, but maybe you had an inept surgeon who didnt know what he was doing. But, if you couldnt lose weight before the band, why did you get it to begin with? Your story is horrible, but it is very rare. I had a great surgeon with great results for everyone he has operated on and I lost 49 lbs since October. I cant eat alot anymore, sometimes cant keep it down, gets stuck, and so on. A lot of that is my fault because I eat fast and dont chew enough. I've lost weight before but always gained it back. I have the chance not to keep it off for good with as many fills as I need and the ability to get it unfilled as needed. I had a great surgery, easy recovery and I feel better than I have in years. It was worth it for me, but good luck to you in the future .:sneaky:

-OK- HERE IT GOES. I SPOKE TO DOCTORS AND NUTRITIONISTS AND IT SDOESNT MATTER IF YOU GET ALL YOUR Protein, VITIAMINS, MINERALS, Biotin OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU'RE TAKING. IT WILL NOT HELP. YOUR BODY HAS BEEN TRAUMATIZED WITH SURGERY AND UNTIL YOUR YOUR HORMONE LEVELS GET BACK TO NORMAL, THERE IS NO PILL OR SUPPLEMENT THAT WILL HELP. jUST KEEP DOING WHAT YOUR DOING, MAYBE TAKE BIOTIN , THATS WHAT i TAKE. ITS ONLY TEMPORARY AND YOUR ARE RIGHT AT THE MARK WHERE hair LOSS HAPPENS. JUST BE GLAD IT GROWS BACK, BUT THAT TAKES TIME. ITS FREAKING ME OUT TOO. I ALREADY HAD FINE HAIR. BUT AS LONG AS IT GROWS BACK, I"LL BE OKAY- YOU WILL TOO.

I agree with the post above. You dont need a needle to numb the spot. I heard that needle is worse. I have had three fills and there is a small pinch going in and a little pressure coming out. It also depends on the person giveing the fills. The first two were done by a physician's assistant and were great. The 2rd was done by my doc and he hurt. Go figure. But listen, everyone's experience is different. But dont worry. It will be fine. Its a small price to pay for such a big payoff. Also, my fills didnt give me restriction until the 3rd time. I really got what I wished for. My doc says he is aiming for 4 fills in the first year. Good luck

I dont know anyone who stayed overnite, so I'll tell you what I brought with me. Chapstick for your very dry lips after surgery and a pillow for the seatbelt in your car, so it wont irritate your incisions. Bring elastic waist pants and a big tshirt. That was it. I was in recovery very groggy, so I couldnt read. I was picked up that night from the hopsital and went home. Good luck

I agree with you 100% on the hunger matter. The stomach growling hunger we feel is not in our head. Would anyone say that to a skinny person? No. When I had surgery and had to stay on liquids for two weeks, I was VERY hungry. My nutrtionist said it was "head hunger". Bullshit!. Anyone, even a skinny person would have hunger if they are only drinking one shake a day and having broths and popsicles. I resent being told that everything is in my head. Granted, hunger would be in my head if I consumed a whole pizza and a liter of soda and then I daid I'm still hungry, but when I eat 4-6 oz at a time because I PHYSICALLY cant eat anymore, its safe to say I'm still hungry. The band is full, not me or my stomach. Thats the misperception. I still want ot eat because I'm still hungry, I just cant because it wont go down an gets stuck. Let get that straight. Thanks for letting me vent.

Actually, everyone on here has had there first fill about 6 weeks after surgery, because the swelling has gone done from the surgery and you are hungry again. Right after surgery, I could only have shakes and liquids for 2 weeks, then mushies for 1 more,and then soft Protein for the next couple weeks. But, I've nver heard of being on liquids for 10 days! That sounds really crazy to me. I think her doctor wants her to see results quickly, which isnt healthy. It was bad enough drinking liquids, shakes, and Soup for those first two weeks and I can barely get thru the two days after a fill. I feel bad for her. But, she doesnt have to do that. She should follow our plan. It cant hurt!

Your doctor is way too strict! My doctors are all part of a Bariatric GRoup in Westchseter County , New York, well-known, and experienced. I realize everyone is different, but I had 3 fills and after every one of them, I had to have liquids for 2 days, mushies for 2, soft proteins for 1 and then back to normal.

You really just need chapstick for you dry lips and a pillow for the ride home. No one I know had to stay overnite- I went home that night. Bring a nightgown if you have to sleep over. good luck.