LapBandit

I am not a doctor, but this is what I understand about the questions you've asked.... You will make it through this, we all did and are none the worse for it. No, it's not enjoyable right now but you're getting yourself prepped for your new lifestyle. Use this time to adjust to seeing food in a different light. For example, I used to live to eat-now, I eat to live. I've developed a whole new attitude to food and what it does for my body. You'll get there, I know you will! Happy Healing!

I've not heard of the band causing back pain, but I know I had discomfort due to the surgery. Mainly from laying on the table. Perhaps that's all it is. If it's a lot of pain you need to call your doctor. Good luck and sorry you're having a rough recovery.

Well everyone...I just had to share that yet again chicken has been a villian in my life! What is it about chicken that causes me so much trouble some times? It hurt SO bad! Even after I pb'ed my chest still throbbed for about an hour. It really messed up my dinner schedule. By the time I was able to eat again it was 9PM and I was hesitant to eat anything too solid so I had cereal. (I know...a bowl of carbs at 9PM isn't a good thing.) Oh well. I just had to share my love/hate relationship with chicken! I hope everyone else's dinner wasn't as "fowl" as mine, ha ha!

The only advice I had is to gradually move back into regular foods following a fill. Each doc seems to have their own plan, but mine says one day of liquids then go ahead and test things out until you see how restricted you are. As to how many fills it takes...we're all going to be different. After a fill is what I call the honeymoon stage where you feel good restriction for a few days, but for me it is usually because my belly is swollen. This might be what's happening for you too. You might see your restriction loosen up in a week or so, this is normal. I've had four fills and are still looking for the sweet spot. We'll all get there and as frustrating as it might be...it's still better to creep up on it rather than be so tight that you can't swallow your own spit. I'll choose multiple fills over that any day! Good luck!

My surgeon said that there is a nerve which is near the stomach/band and when it gets irritated it can cause referred pain in the shoulder. Perhaps this is what is going on with you. It should subside soon, if it still hurts by next week then you might want to call your doctor. Good luck!

It's natural to have nervousness prior to a major surgery. Especially WLS because you're right...you are making a major lifestyle change. But, if you are prepared to do your best and stay committed to making your band work for you then that's what you should try to focus on. The band will help you gain some control over your hunger so don't be too worried about discipline unless you already know that you are not willing to give up sweets and junk food. If you're ready to follow doctor's orders then I suspect you'll be just fine! Good luck!

A lot of surgeons place their incisions in different positions so it's hard for me to know which incision is sore for you. The incision site for the camera for me was close to my belly button and this one got a little gross for me. It depends on how rough they were on each incision as to how much damage was done. My gross one seeped and had some pus, but wasn't warm or red which can indicate infection. Now, my incision for my port was my largest and although it didn't hurt either, it did feel hard and lumpy. So, if it isn't red, warm or painful then you are probably OK. But, you should call your doctor if you suspect there's something wrong. Congrats on your band and happy healing!

I like that plan...lose weight, gain a refund. We should get tax credits for each pound we lose...wonder if DubYa could pass THAT through congress??!! Molly-we love hearing from you so yes, keep on checking in! Welcome to the new challenge members! Yep, our little thread is growing and I like it! What I don't like is Winter...when is Summer coming?????? I'm cold.

This is great everyone! I would LOVE to hit this goal. If I can do it then it would put me just inside Onderland's front gate!!!! Can you believe that?? I was basically 400 lbs last year at this time. I would just cry with joy to get into Onderland this year! Honestly, I probably haven't been in the 100's since Jr. High. I know I've set a really high goal but with your support I think I might have a chance to reach it.

Tax Day Challenge! (April 15th) Week Zero of Eight Name.............................Starting……..Curre nt……..Goal……..To Go Juliegeraci.......................238....................238.................228.............10 Lapbandit.......................231....................231………….199.............32 Waterlily.........................300....................300.................264.............39

I agree, let's start our new Challenge tomorrow (Thursday). But, to get a head start, here's the new sheet. I'm going for a big one since this challenge is a bit longer this time. We will check in on Thursdays this time around. Good luck all! Just copy this chart and add in your name/info if you're participating whenever you're ready to start. Tax Day Challenge! (April 15th) Week Zero of Eight Name.............................Starting……..Current……..Goal……..To Go Lapbandit.......................231...................231………….199.............32

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! I'm a little bummed. Not only did I not reach my Valentine's goal...I appear to be up a pound. Not sure what's going on. I know I've increased my exercise, but my eating has been good. So, perhaps my bod is adjusting to the extra exercise?? I'm trying to not get discouraged. Anyway, here's my final Valentine's check in: Valentine's Check In Week 6/6 Final Check In!! Name....................Current Weight......Valentine's Goal......To Go Juliegeraci................237.................... .10................Done! 5lbs Bonus Lapbandit.................231..................... 20........................4 Bummer. Libra....................... 248......................20....................... ...3 Indianlight................ 266......................20....................... ...7 JulieNYC.................. 215.....................212...................... ....-3 Elisabethsew............ 282 (-12)..............282..........................0

Hey Indianlight, great NSV's! Although...I still don't really understand the whole stone conversion! Why can't they just use pounds so us Americans can follow along?? HA HA HA! Same way with metric...who needs it? Just kidding! But, I definately understand the difference between a size 22 and a 20, so big congrats on that one! I love changing sizes! OK, I think we mostly have decided that we're OK with whatever for our next challenge so I'm going to start a Tax Day Challenge on Wednesday so put on your thinking caps and figure out what you plan to shoot for!! I have already figured out mine! This will be interesting because it will come out to be an eight week challenge with like three bonus days so...this way we'll have a little padding in case we need an extra day or two to hit our goal. I'm excited about it! It will end right around my one year bandiversary!

I try to stay at a restriction level which allows me to stay satisfied for 3 hours. When I am eating right (following the rules) and it seems like you are doing the same but get hungry again before 3 hours then I talk to my doctor about a fill. He agrees that 3 hours of satisfaction from eating is an optimal way to guage restriction. However, sometimes I just plain haven't eaten enough and get hungry sooner. So, make sure you're eating a reasonable portion of food and if it doesn't last for more than an hour or two I'd say that you probably need a fill. Good luck!

Way to go Elisabeth!!!

LOL...it does feel weird and mine feels gross. You can just feel that the extra skin isn't really a meaningful part of my body any more and it just doesn't belong there any longer. It's a very strange thing! I've never heard of the orange peel thing or at least it doesn't seem to happen to me. I guess everyone has different "stuff" happen to them!

Great progress Elisabeth and Molly! I'm proud of you both! It's TOM for me and I passed up the strong, strong urge I had today to eat a cinnamon roll at work today so that's my victory of the day!! I get some wicked cravings during TOM and its really hard to keep focused when my brain keeps telling me to comfort myself with junk!

I can vouch for this too! If I drink with my meals I definately feel hungrier much sooner. It's a hard habit to break at first but now I don't need to drink with meals. I don't drink for at least 15 min before eating and for at least an half hour after. If I can hold out it's better to wait a full hour after eating. I really do feel like the water flushes the food through my pouch.

I don't know if overeating is the ONLY cause but I'd venture to say that it's the major cause. But, if you are only eating until satisfied and not stuffed then I'd guess you are fine and shouldn't have to worry too much about it! I don't except if I do accidently eat a little too much then I, too, think "oh gosh...please don't get messed up little band!!"

Now, I thought I was feeling my port around the same time as you post-op and mentioned it to my doctor who told me it was still inflamation because the port is sutured against the muscle wall which takes a while to heal. I guess it took a few weeks for my general belly swelling to go down enough for me to even feel the port swelling. Mine didn't hurt at all though, so I'm not sure if that's the same thing you're feeling.

Congrats! Are you excited?!?!

These folks are right. Focus on healing. Just don't eat until "stuffed". Otherwise, it's important to make sure you're getting enough nutrition right now so that things can heal properly. Let us know how you're doing!

I'm glad you started this thread because I'm facing the same issue. I've found that my skin hasn't been keeping up with me for the past couple months. For me, I want surgery to fix it for me...it has nothing to do with vanity. It's because I've worked damn hard to lose this weight and I want to be able to feel comfortable in my own skin. Those of us who started at a high BMI will most likely have extra skin. It's not a vanity issue of a little flappy stuff under our arms...it's EXTRA SKIN. It doesn't lay properly and feels gross. So, I completely am in support of anyone who want to get that taken care of. I can only hope that when the time comes that I can find some way to pay for it. I fear I wont be able to, though. It would make my transformation complete to feel as good about my outside as I do my inside. I've talked to my doctor about this issue in the hopes that there was some Vitamin or something he would recommend to help. All he said was that I need to focus on losing the rest of my weight and try not to worry about it right now. He said that sometimes our skin just needs more time to catch up. He said that filling my body with good muscle will help hide some of it. So, that's what I'm doing. PS--I'm also probably wasting money, but...I'm using a firming lotion all over every day. I think it has helped a little, it hasn't fixed the problem but I think it might be preventing it from getting too much worse. It just seems to be helping my skin stay pliable. Plus, like a good little patient...I'm working out and doing my strength training. He's been right about everything else so far so I'm trusting him on the staying fit idea that it will help out the extra skin problem!

Valentine's Challenge Check In Week 5/6 Name....................Current Weight......Valentine's Goal......To Go Juliegeraci................237.................... ..10................Done! 5lbs Bonus Lapbandit.................231..................... .20..........................4 Libra....................... 251......................20....................... ...6 Indianlight................ 268......................20....................... .9 JulieNYC.................. 215......................215...................... ...0 Elisabethsew............ 283 (-11)...............282........................1 OK folks, I've got 4lbs to go to meet my challenge. I'm gonna try, but I don't see it happening. But, I'll be darn close! Molly-You are MY inspiration right now. I love your attitude and I just know you're going to great with your new objectives! I'm glad to see you back on the boards! So, let's take a vote. I'm in for a new challenge seeing as our Valentine's challenge will end next week. These darn challenges help keep me on track. So...we had mentioned doing a St. Paddy's challenge, but that's only one month away basically. We could stick with that...or...what about an Uncle Sam challenge and we stick it to tax day, April 15??? That would be a two month challenge. Just an idea. Let 'em rip folks and vote if you're interested in another challenge and what kind of challenge you'd like this time. Good luck all as we wrap up our final week of the Valentine's challenge!!

Julie, you're unstoppable! Congrats!