Makulafamy

Congrats on your new band! The only time you should be real careful with coughing is during the healing phase. not bc of slipping, but you dont want to rip any stitches on the inside. The occasional cough shouldt cause worry. You arent supposed to do crunches until the doc gives you the all clear for exercising. I asked my doc if there was anything I couldnt do...specifically tubing (behind a boat). I lay on my stomach and hit some pretty hard bumps. Once I was healed he said I could do anything that i did before. I think what causes the majority of slippage is constant PBing and/or being too tight. You will read a lot of stories on here about after getting a fill someone can be too tight and they will start to have acid reflux or heartburn, can't sleep laying down, or constant PBing due to the restriction. If you ignore these signs then you can cause a slip. For me, I try not to be too greedy with my fills (which is hard bc sometimes I wish I was tighter), and try to be careful and eat slow and choose the right foods. Hope that helps, Amy

hahahah. Good for him! But not too long ago I stumbled across some info that suggests that weighing yourself on a daily basis is better for you! I had to search my blog to find the dang thing, but here it is...It's number 3! I am reading this months Women's Health, which I have recently discovered to be pretty interesting. I stumbled across this article "How to Resist Temptation", and some of the tips are familiar reminders, but some of them are a little novel. Move No.1: Eat smaller, more frequent meals. We have all heard this, but here is what the study from Florida State University found-- Going too long without eating makes your blood sugar plummet and that leaves you with a raging appetite...thus making you more likely to binge later in the day. It also goes on to show how a blood sugar is directly tied to willpower. Move No.2: Eat With Your Other Hand. Pretty self-explanatory. I thought this would make a good bandster tip. If you find yourself eating too fast, try this. It's probably also good for your brain! Move No.3. (This is especially good news for those of us who think we weigh ourselves too much) Weigh Yourself Regularly. A study of over 1800 people who successfully shed pound found that 40% weighed themselves daily or weekly. AND...here it comes...Those that stepped on the scale more frequently, lost the most. 12 pounds on average more for daily weighers compared to 6 pounds for weekly weighers. People who shunned the scale gained an average of 5 pounds. Hmmm...

For me it is WHAT i eat. If I eat chicken breast or a pork chop then 3/4 to one cup would fill me up. However, if I eat a couple bites of chicken, a some green Beans, a nibble of cornbread, etc...I eat over a cup. Thats why you are supposed to focus on Protein first. If you get full and stay full for several hours that is pretty good restriction (even at 1 cup). Some people want more restriction...its just depends! Is that any help? Amy

I asked my doc this very question (not just about water but about liquid Soup as well). he said No. You can't stretch you pouch with liquids. They go straight through.

Just one word for you...FIBER! Dr. Oz answered this question on Oprah a couple of weeks ago...and I have been eating Fiber one bars for Breakfast so I can answer it too Your homeade granola packed a lot of fiber. If you body is not used to all that fiber, it works extra hard to digest it (thats a good thing), and that means a lot of gas or farting...haha.. Dr. Oz said as you continue to eat fiber, you body gets used to eat and there will be less gas, etc. That would be my guess! Maybe it was gas but couldnt get out...maybe try a gas-x strip after eating that?

You would know if you had good restriction or not. Good restriction means you stay full longer and you get full faster. It is hard to describe...but I will try. For me, when I am "full" I am right on the edge of feeling uncomfortable. I am not in pain, but I know if I take one more bite I will probably pb. I cannot eat as much as I could before...not even by a long shot. I am not as restricted as some are (I can still occassionaly have a small piece of bread), but I cannot finish a pork chop, or chicken breast....you will know. It took me 3 fills to feel anything. As for slipping or stretching my pouch, I dont worry to much about that. I follow the rules...except when I take the bite that pushes me over the edge of full...

Hi Tonya-if you click on my blog link in my signature it will take you to my blog. Go back to January or Feb of my posts and there are pics of my belly after surgery. You cannot see the port. My biggest scar is where I thought my port was. I can feel (not see) hardness under there. Turns out my port is about 2 inches below my biggest scar and I can't feel it at all. What I was feeling under the big scar (incision) was scar tissue. Hope that helps!

Hey and welcome to bandland! I am in pensacola. Not very far from you!

hey everyone! I just wanted to remind you to measure! lol...i just now measured (73 pounds down). I recently started a bootcamp and have been working my butt off and havent been losing much weight...but at the suggestion of other bandsters, I have started measuring myself...so if the scale isnt moving I can still see my progress!

I think this is a great example of why NOT to keep it a secret. I am in the same boat with some of the others about sharing my experience and being an open book. For me, there is no shame in my game and if someone asks how I am losing weight I tell them. It's a chance to educate people and to be an example of how the band can work! There will be people who say crap like "oh no...i know someone who did that and...blah blah"...but bad things can happen with any surgery...not just WLS. In the past 5 months I have only had 1 person say something like that to me....and he didnt know what he was talking about. Now he thinks the band was a great choice for me. There will also be those people who think you took the easy way out. HA HA I say. And you really cares. Those people obviously dont know me well enough to know this is not easy. 95% of people who diet and lose a great deal of weight will gain it all back plus some within 5 years. I wanted better odds for myself and so did you! Oh..and the grey thing...I have heard that too, but when people say that I think they are thinking about people who had bypass bc some of them do have the tendancy to get a certain tone to to their skin after a big weight loss (lack of nutrients)....but again...that's not the surgery we chose. Stay positive. There will always be haters.

My doc has performed over 600 lapband surgeries and told me that he has NEVER filled a patients band to the max...there was no need. Yes. You need another fill. It took me 4 fills until I felt proper restriction. If your band works like it is supposed to, with proper restriction you will not be able to eat as much as you want (unless you are cheating the band and eating/drinking things that slide right down). You are able to eat more over time bc you are losing weight and thus losing the fat that surrounds your band. As the fat around your band decreases, you have less pressure on you band, allowing it to loosen up a little. Also, there is a small amount of evaporation of the liquid in your band over time. Dont spend your time and energy worrying about the What If's. Focus on the now. Make good choices and talk to your doc. When is your next fill scheduled? Can you call and get in sooner? After my first fill I didnt feel anything so I called and went back in 2 weeks later. I didnt feel anything after my second fill so I called and went in 1 week later. Same story...I called and went in again until I finally felt restriction! You can do this.

lol...this is the second poop post i have commented on today. I should become a Poopologist. It had to be from the grease. Your body was not used to that stuff and was telling you it did not like it! That happened to me the other day after I had some onion thingies from Chilis.

It gets better, but I wouldnt place all my hope on your first fill. It took me three to feel a difference. You have to change the way you are thinking! You are failing bc you ate 2 pieces of pizza. We all have those times where we eat too much or make the wrong choices. however, you have to keep reminding yourself what you want from the band, why you went through the surgery, paid money for it, etc. When you binge or make poor choices over and over...you aren't doing yourself any favors. You want this band to work. You have imagined and dreamt of all the good that can come from it. GET IT GIRL! During bandster hell is sucks ass...this willpower business! But dont give up and don't move backwards!

yes ma'am. Most people hit that first little plateau after surgery...especially when you start to move from liquids to mushies. You body has to figure out what the heck is going on. It will start moving again! As for your energy, its a gradual thing as well. Could be you might benefit from some b-12. I would bet though that bc you arent taking in very many calories, your body might need some more fuel for your fire. I was on Clear Liquids for a week after surgery and eventually had to call my doc and ask if I could at least move to full liquids bc I was so tired and getting light headed. Talk to you doc about it! That's awesome you are walking though!

hahah...i talk about poop all the time on my blog. That's how we learn! I used to go at least twice a day before I started this journey. Now...not so much. here are somethings to think about: 1. You are eating a lot less (I assume) and if you are only 2 weeks post op I bet you havent been eating much solid food. Less solid food = less poop. 2. Are you drinking enough water? You get to have enough water to make a healthy stinker. 3. If you are still on liquids you could do the occasional smoothy from a chain place like Smoothie King. Check out the nutritional info when you go in bc some are not that good for you...but you can have a shot of fiber added to your smoothy. 4. Once you can eat again you can try fiber bars, etc. 5. If I feel like I am really backed up I take a stool softner. Just hang out near a toliet bc about 5 hours after taking one its GO TIME. I feel so much better after I do it though. I have come to the conclusion i will never again have that healthy c-shaped poop that dr. oz talks about on Oprah. Nowadays I settle for chicken nugget shape. Good luck. You can doo it!

Don't be scurred! Here is the deal. Usually, doing the pre and post op phase of liquids, you are losing a lot of weight fast. Water weight and some fat. You are usually on a really low calorie intake and you are sort of shocking your body (from what we ate before we ever started thinking about the band). You body is confused. SO, when you start to eat a little more, add real foods back in...you body gets all excited again and wants to hold on to everything you are eating...it needs time to adjust and so does your metabolism...which probably slowed down during the liquid phase. I didnt gain any weight when I started solids again, but my weight loss stopped for about a week. I started walking and set a goal to do my first 5k...and that helped me stay motivated. As soon as I upped my exercise, the scale started to move in the right direction again.

Although you didnt ask me (lol...)I will respond to this one too. I started losing my hair about 2.5 months after surgery. Suprised by this I was (I sound like yoda). I am still losing hair and I am now 4 months out. I started taking prenatals and really am keeping with my Multivitamins (I get plenty of protein). I asked my doc about it and he recommended a few other meds to help, but I already have a prob with facial hair and I dont want more of that! My hairdresser swears she can tell when someone has had WLS. In fact, the first time I went she was touching my hair and asked me if I had had WLS. I said yes. She says the hair feels different, gets a little more dull, and of course falls out. But she also added she sees this a lot after any major surgery.

i agree with Restless Monkey on what full feels like. Trust me, you would know. How many CC's do you have in your band? have you ever PB'd? I have a pretty good restriction, but if I eat slowly and the chicken is moist enough...I can polish one off. Not a huge one, but a small to medium sized chicken breast.

Christine! I am sorry you feel alone in this journey. I do understand that there are somethings that only bandsters can understand. Have you read any of the bandster blogs out there? I started blogging right before my surgery date on 1/27/09 and have "met" wonderful ladies. For real, I have learned so much from them and you really feel like you have a circle of people that understand you. If you click on my blog link in my signature it will take you to my blog. Once you get there, you can click on the blog "followers" and find more bandsters with their own blogs. Just an idea. As for how much of a fill you should get..I got 4.5ccs my first fill. I have a 10ish cc band. I didnt feel anything and went in 2 weeks later (bc I called and asked for one) and got another cc...still didnt feel anything and called again and went in a week later for .5ccs and finally felt a difference. it would be hard to recommend what you should get bc we are all so different. Just talk to your doc and tell him what you are feeling and what you can and can't eat. Good luck!

Wow, why are you only eating 500 calories? That is not enough so I agree that you should up your calories a little more. At least to 1000. Or, instead of listening to us...could you ask your nutritionist? But, like others have mentioned...this temporary plateau or weight gain during the first few weeks after surgery is normal! Dont stress. It happened to most of us:)

My first day home I was by myself...and stayed that way during the day for the remainder of the week. My BF had to work...so it was just me and the animals. I walked the neighborhood the very first day back...to help with gas and prevent blood clots. I had to bend over slowly...but there was not a problem.

This may sound so silly...but are you sure it is hunger pain and not gas? Just a thought bc I havent ever been so hungry I am in pain. Are you drinking your Protein shakes? They didnt taste that good but they helped a little with the hunger. It will pass one way or the other :cursing: Just hang on!

Hey everyone! Dr. Friedman and his staff at Baptist Hospital are GREAT! I would be happy to answer any questions :eek: Amy

Hey so-sweet, I am 29 and started at 327 pounds. I get annoyed when people tell me that bc I am younger, I wont have as much extra skin. I am not sure where they get this information from. Take my stomach for example. My stomach has stretch marks. A stretch mark is rip in the skin. My skin is torn. If I lose enough weight, I will...without a doubt...have saggy skin there. It cannot go back to how my stomach looked when I was 14 and pre-stretch mark. Other places on my body (and yours) that is stretch mark free, does have a better chance of tightening up than say someone is who 50. I would love to be wrong! LOL...if i wake up a year from now with no excess skin I will let you know :eek: But, I can deal with all of that when the time comes. Right now I am working the band, focusing on my WL first!

This is totally bandster hell and it is just the beginning. After I went to mushies my weight loss stalled. I had to start walking to get it to move again. SO, if you havent done that yet, start walking at a good pace for at least 30 minutes 3-4 times a day. You body was in starvation mode, existing on a really low number of calories...and now you are feeding it a little more...it will take time to adjust. Dont give up. Stick to the rules. Drink your water! Get your Protein, and move. Once your body figures out what in the hell is going on, things will get better. Even after you get your first fill, you may not feel restriction...and still have to rely on willpower! It took me 3 pretty aggressive fills until I felt restriction! You can do this! Amy