LapBandit

The swelling started going down for me in about three days or so. I didn't take any serious pain meds like vicodin during recovery...luckily I didn't need them. But, I have taken vicodin for back problems in the past...it made me feel light headed. But, if you are truly feeling woozy and lightheaded I would call the surgeon's office and ask if it's OK. Good luck!

I don't know about this, it might be true over an extended period of time. But, pretty much all of us had to do at least some sort of liquid diet and I haven't heard of anyone having a medical problem because of it. I was on liquids for one full week prior to and after surgery and didn't experience any issues. But, if you don't feel comfortable or have concerns then you should definately discuss it with your doctor.

Great ideas, thanks for the help! I'm still debating if it would be dorky or not. Perhaps I will wait until (if) I ever get to my goal. My doctor said he wants my goal to be 150. What the heck, man?! 150 is so stinking tiny and sooooooo far away! LOL. I'm going to try though. But, I'd like to see what 175 or so looks like and feels for me. It would be in the healthy range for my height and healthy is MY goal..."ideal" weight is my doctor's goal! But, gosh...my first objective is to at least get into Onderland! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I think it's best to talk to your doc. Maybe there's a reason he wants you to wait. But, my doc gave me full exercise clearance at one week post-op! I can't imagine why you'd need to wait three months?! Talk to him again.

My PCP wasn't supportive either. So, I called the Bariatric Center on my own and just let them send the paperwork to my PCP who signed off no problem. Maybe they realized I was serious when I took the initiative to get the ball rolling on my own? At any rate, I'm glad the same worked out for you too! Good luck on your journey!

I had this exact thing you're describing immediately post-op. I mentioned it to my surgeon and he diagnosed it as nerve damage from the "seat belts" they have to use to keep you on the table during surgery. He estimated a six month recovery and that is almost exactly how long it took until it stopped bugging me. I'd feel numbness, tingling, burning and it was a real pain to deal with. BUT-I'd definately recommend sharing your symptoms with your own doctor and make sure that is what is wrong. Also, your doctor might have some suggestions to help. Mine pretty much told me that nerve damage is just a waiting game and if it really bugged me then I could see a neurologist.

Yeah, I've used bariatriceating.com too! I got the sampler pack which was a cool way to test several brands before I had to buy some big old jug of a powder I might hate!

I agree! I had a similar day last week...I started out OK but my Vitamin went down crooked and got stuck. (First time I've ever had a problem swallowing a pill.) Anyway...the rest of the day was shot because I must've been irritated or swollen from the PB. The next day I felt much better.

Yep, we're all going to have a different answer for this! For example, I've had some fills that felt OK for a few weeks. My last one made a difference for about 8 days! Fills are a crazy adventure to a magical land called the "sweet spot" and hopefully one day I'll finally get there!

I agree with Jachut completely. I don't think this was too much food either. And, although jello and stuff is OK once in awhile I, too, save that kind of stuff for meal times when I'm not real hungry for the same reason Jachut mentions...mushy stuff slips through too fast. An apple or some low-fat cottage cheese will stick with you a little longer. Now, I don't eat bread -just personal choice- so for my complex carb at each meal I might have a few whole-grain crackers to go with my turkey then an apple. In fact, I have this exact "meal" for lunch a few times per week!

Hi Melissa, this is how I would've described myself too. I don't really feel like I have an emotional tie to my eating. Sure, PMS kicks in and I crave junk food for a day or so but typically I'd say I don't really have "food issues". But, pre-band I always ate huge volumes of food at each meal. I don't know if this is you too, but one of the things I did pre-band that contributed to my eating habits was that I had no set eating schedule. I'd wait until I was hungry then I'd eat til I was stuffed. So, some days I didn't eat until 7PM at night but that one meal was literally an entire frozen pizza and then an enormous amount of ice-cream or something for dessert. Any way, part of my bariatric center's requirement was to switch to 6 small meals a day spread out throughout the day. It has made all the difference in the world to me---honestly. Part of my weight problem was that my eating schedule was so random that my body never knew when it would be fed again so my hunger pains were out of control and I'd just eat til the cows came home. Now, my body has a schedule. I feel better and I don't experience those huge spikes in blood sugar. Perhaps this is something you could look into for yourself? For me, if I had been doing this all along I honestly believe I could've controlled my weight way better over the past few years. I hope this story helps!

I think you'll be fine. Just don't forget to chew! It's a small piece of bread but if it's unleavened bread it'll be chewy. Just make as mushy as you can in your mouth before swallowing.

Molly-we're both having an aniversary in April!! Anyone else banded last April? My official anniversary will be the 18th, but I've got my one year checkup on the 12th. I'm a little nervous about "graduating" from my doctor's program. My bariatric center has quite a comprehensive program that you must participate in for the first year. I'll still see him, but it will expand to a visit every three months. I wish there was something I could do for him to express my thanks. What do you guys think about that?

OOPS, I'm so sorry Carol! I didn't even notice that your "To Go" column was at zero! WAY TO GO! We've got a winner! Yep, I like challenges too. I usually hit my goal...a little after the end of the challenge, but I eventually get there! Next time I'll have to aim for a little more reasonable goal! Anyway, we'll probably vote to do another one...it's kindof our "thing"! Maybe a Fourth of July challenge?? If someone thinks of something throw it out there!

There ya go, Juliegeraci! Excellent job by the way! Tax Day Challenge! (April 15th) Week Six of Eight Name..........................Starting…...…..Current….…..Goal…....To Go Juliegeraci.......................238............. .........233.................228..............5 Lapbandit.......................231............... ........210………….199.............11 Waterlily........................300.............. .........280.................264.............16 Roiansmom....................299.................. .....299.................270.............29 Libra..............................248............ ............236.................228.............8 JulieNYC.......................212................ .......199.................185.............14 Elisabethsew.................282.................. ......274.................264 ............10 PeaCeJ..........................338............... .........333.................318.............15 RidinMyHDDream.......297........................28 1 ................281..............0 Babygirl1234................260................... .....246.................240..............6 eecelove70....................228................. .......228.................200.............28 Josette...........................351............. ...........342.................335.............7 Lizrbit...........................289............. ...........289.................279.............10 Lizrbit-I love this thread too!! I have issues sometimes with my thread subscriptions not working correctly too. Sometimes I unsubscribe from a thread, get back into the thread then subscribe again. Just an idea you could try.

Tax Day Challenge! (April 15th) Week Six of Eight Name..........................Starting…...…..Current….…..Goal…....To Go Juliegeraci.......................238......................236.................228..............8 Lapbandit.......................231.......................210………….199.............11 Waterlily........................300.......................280.................264.............16 Roiansmom....................299.......................299.................270.............29 Libra..............................248........................236.................228.............8 JulieNYC.......................212.......................199.................185.............14 Elisabethsew.................282........................274.................264 ............10 PeaCeJ..........................338........................333.................318.............15 RidinMyHDDream.......297........................281 ................281..............0 Babygirl1234................260........................246.................240..............6 eecelove70....................228........................228.................200.............28 Josette...........................351........................342.................335.............7 Lizrbit...........................289........................289.................279.............10

Lizrbit-welcome to the Tax Day Challenge! Good luck! Speaking of our challenge...Tax Day is usually April 15th, right?? Well, I just found out that this year they're giving everyone til April 17th. I heard it was because the 15th is a Sunday then Monday is a holiday. Oh well, April 15th is the traditional day. I'm sticking with the original plan (unless I don't make my goal in which case I'm using the grace-days! Ha Ha) Good work babygirl! A 4 lb week is AWESOME! I didn't update my chart last week but I'll check this Thursday.

Molly, you're too funny! I can just hear your body discussing the situation with itself..."I need to redistribute...now let me take this slowly because I've got to stay symetrical!" You crack me up!!!! You are SO right about stinkin' Walmart clothes...they always seem to run on the small side. When I was comfortably in a 26 at Walmart I was also comfortable in a 24 at Cato's Fashions. Do you have one of those around you? I bet you'll be in 24 any day...can you believe it?!! I'm excited for you and Libra both....too bad we're not all rich because we'd have a blast if we all just flew to NY or somewhere and went clothes shopping together!!

I agree with Julie that I've found when I feel like my overall size has changed that the scale usually starts dropping numbers. So, I'd probably stick with what you're doing too. Now, I've got different views than most about how many calories to eat per day but that's because a little higher number than 700-1000 works better for ME. But, if you're comfortable there and it's working for you then I'd say stick with it. It's when I hear someone stating they aren't losing and feel hungry all the time then I can't help but think they are not giving themselves enough nutrition to support all of the changes our bodies go through during weight loss. For me it's real important to me to make sure I'm eating enough to keep my metabolism running at full potential. But, regardless...my opinion is that I think you're seeing such an improvement in shape is because you're doing your track laps! That's great! Sometimes switching up my exercise routine is enough to spark a weight loss increase so my guess is if you continue to work on increasing your laps you will continue to see great results!

Ah, true Libra! I liked what you said. I wish I would've had that insight when I was younger. When I a kid my parent's answer to this situation was to try to limit my food and it felt like a punishment. I don't blame them for my weight problem...I'm definately not saying that. It's just a testament to how family dynamics play a part in how a person views weight as they get older. I wish, wish, wish I had a magic mirror 25 years ago to see how important exercise and eating right are so that I could've avoided years and years of pure torture! But, we're all to that point now and we're doing fabulous so at least we are taking care of it now. Perhaps it is a bit of jealousy that makes me feel nasty when someone complains about the 20 lbs they want to lose. Especially when they do the complaining as they belly up to the snack table at work to have a donut and I'm there struggling, avoiding eye contact with said donuts knowing I still have a long road to toll! Ha Ha!

I agree Lois! I hate when skinny people complain about their weight too. But, the difference for me is that usually I find these people are complaining about it because they think other people care about how they look and they want to be skinnier for someone else. Whereas, I'm doing this for ME and I could give a poop what someone else thinks of my weight or how I look! Just think of it that way...they're living for someone else and we're living for ourselves, because we're worth it!!

You're preachin' to the choir babygirl! I had a terrible restriction day too!! Except my barfing was pill-related. My Vitamins must've gone down wrong and WOW...so that started my morning and the rest of the day I was sore and tight. I must've really ticked off my band today!! Almonds??!!! Darn. I LOVE almonds, any nut really. Nuts are one of my "trigger" foods which means I cannot control myself and I'll eat the whole can in a day. I don't have many foods like that but nuts are one. So, can someone ration out my 8 almonds every day and mail them to me so that I don't have to keep a can around?!!

That's a good point Lee, my trainer is also very familiar with the surgery so she was really helpful in knowing what I should be able to handle immediately post-op. Very helpful in avoiding an unnecessary post-op injury. PS-I hate abs too!!

You guys are so sweet! Thanks for the nice comments. I started out struggling BAD. I just couldn't let go of those old "diet tricks" that we all have come to try over and over again. And, I would still watch infomercials about new pills or gadgets that should magically help me lose weight. All of this was really messing with my head so I basically had a meltdown in front of my doctor and admitted that I felt like I was messing this up...because I was still "dieting" and I wasn't losing weight at first. So my doc set me straight and told me that I needed to trust that he was trying to teach me a healthy way to lose this weight. He also said two of the best things ever...he told me that it was HIS responsibility to see that I was successful and he told me to eat. His exact phrase was "eat-just make sure it's healthy food". I was only eating about 600 calories a day and I was miserable. So, I spent a weekend thinking about all of this drama I had created and decided that I was going to trust him and follow his advice as closely as I could. And by him saying he was taking responsibility for my weight loss helped relieve some of the pressure I was putting on myself. That weekend was the turning point...from then on out I considered us a "team" and it was the absolute best thing I could've done for myself. I wasn't alone, I wasn't dieting, I had a game plan and if I failed I could blame him (ha ha). So, I don't believe I'm anything special. And, there are lots of people on this board who have done better than me. In fact, I probably had it easier than most because I'm young"ish" and had no major physical or medical issues to contend with. But, what I do have is the attitude that I'm committed to doing whatever I need to do to be successful. I want this FOR ME. Sorry for the long post but I hope this info might help someone else who might be struggling like I was. Plus, I'm feeling nostalgic because my one year is coming soon! PS-The eating plan my doctor has us follow is called "Eating For Life" by Bill Phillips. I have learned how to properly fuel my body with foods I truly enjoy. I can't say enough how much of an impact this book has made on my life.

What is up with that? I've got "issues" that require me to use Metamucil too. It's the strangest thing...I eat better now than I ever have and now I have issues??? Doesn't make sense. But, it helps to know I'm not alone. Perhaps it a weight-loss induced thing?? I can't see how having a band makes a difference because we all still eat real food. Now, I know we eat less food than before but still...two days with nothing just isn't right. Very weird. DO NOT LET YOURSELF GET DISCOURAGED MOLLY!!!!!! Remember, you're coming off of a pretty good weight loss spurt so just hang in there and let your body catch up again. I know it's hard---trust me---I know it's hard. But keep fighting the good fight and it will pay off, I promise!! I KNOW you can do it!