Woodys

I had sushi and sashimi, and later a yogurt cup with fresh fruit, honey and granola and a double shot of Scotch neat....I had horrible gas after surgery, I'm 2-1/2 weeks post-op and still have gas.....so I'm sure it wasn't the food. The Recovery nurse told me it was the anesthetic (sp), that it affects a lot of people that way. What's wrong with farting in front of your husband?....mine sure doesn't pinch them back! I wonder if the Queen farts in front of the Duke? Carol

Joyce: I haven't had the band log enough to give and experienced opinion, however.....I can tell you why I decided on the band. I am very good at taking the weight off....I have done it many times....100 lbs....60 lbs.....80 lbs....and gained it all back every time. I have done this severy times and have never had a problem sticking to a program and not failing on the plan once. However, I can not maintain. I have tried several times and the weight just keeps coming back. This is one thing that I know about myself....I will never be successfuly at keeping the weight off. So, I really do believe the band is my answer to maintaining a healthy weight. Carol

I was told no gum also because if swallowed it would cause a problem. I do chew gum because being on the post-op liquid diet I am in a state of ketosis and my breath is absolutely horrible. The gum helps, I'm just very careful with it. I chew gum all the time normally and have never had a problem with swallowing it, but I'm causcious anyhow. Carol

If your friends know how you lost the weight then it may be just shear ignorance on their part.....unfortunately, there is a huge misconception out there about the band. A lot of people think that there is no work on our part to losing the weight when we have the band and therefore...they don't feel we deserve any credit for the loss. Carol

I told very few people for just that reason.......I also didn't want to be talked out of it by those who are skeptical (sp). I am pretty private about this decision, and I don't want to talk it to death. Carol

Sunshine.....ditto on everything that Yoda has written. I will add one thing though. If you decide to stay with your current Dr, then you need to deal with the situation with Kathy. Write her an email, tell her exactly how you feel....get right to the point, mention a few specific incidents. Tell her that you would like to have another person assigned to you.....$16,000 dollars later, I think you are more than entitled to this. cc this email to anyone else you know in the office ie the Dr. or other staff person so that it won't get denied or ignored. Either one of two things will happen.....you will get someone else assigned to you or Kathy will change her divatude! Carol

I had an incident in my restaurant today that just made me fume. Firstly, I've been banded since June 8th and with the pre-op/post-op diet have dropped about 30 lbs. I was once carrying 250 lbs on a small 5' frame....so I know what its like to be a heavy person. By no means is this point of view, or any of my comments coming from the fact that I am now banded or losing weight, I would have felt exactly the same months ago when I was up to 250. A man, woman, and their daughter came for lunch today. The man and the daughter weighed about the same, I would estimate approx 400 lbs. The mother was average weight. The daughter was approx 25 but you could tell she had a slight mental disability. When it came time to order the Father did all the talking, he asked me "do you have french fries?"....I replied "no sir, this is fine dining, we don't even have a fryer"......he said "my daughter only eats french fries, do you have any kind of fried potatoes, or maybe something like onion rings or chicken fingers will do?"....I repeated, "sorry sir, we do not have a fryer, even if we did, this is not what our restaurant is all about, we do not cook fried food". We have a sandwich on our menu we call a "Grilled Cheese", but its done with a gourmet flair.....Pancetta, thinly sliced tomato and red onion, and Gruyere cheese on home baked brioche. That is what they ordered for their daughter along with our housemade beef barley Soup. For a girl who only eats fries, let me tell you, she had no problem at all eating this lunch....and seemed to have been enjoying it, without any fuss or bother. So why....was the Father so insistant on ordering her fries when it was so easy to get her to eat something else? Then, when everyone was finished the man and the woman didn't want anything else, I asked the daughter and she said she was full...then the Father spoke up....."do you have ice cream?"...."yes sir, we make our own".....he said in return...."bring my daughter an order of ice cream".....the daughter commented again that she was full but he insisted that I bring the ice cream for her. Of course, because it was right in front of her she ate it. What is this man doing to his daughter?....she obviously is not capable of making most decisions like heathier eating choices for herself so the parents do need to help her order her food....but why these choices when obviously she will eat other foods. And why order stuff she doesn't want, especially when she is full. I really felt for her.....because her weight problem will only get worse considering these circumstances. :think Carol

Diane: No way am I one to sugar coat things. If you feel like you are on the wrong track then use the effort and energy you put into whining about it and get back on track. Obviously you know what to do....I know its easier said that done...but what feels better?.....being on track, exercising, eating healthfullly......or, whining about it and feeling sorry for yourself? You have shown great success.......CONGRATS!......you can now make it even better.........so lets go! Carol

We heard you the first time Bandayed.....LOL

I am 2 wks post op as well.....as of today I've lost that restricted feeling ...at first I couldn't take in much at all, I know that is because of the swelling, then I could stick with the liquid and full liquid plan...however...at that time I was confused about the feeling "full" sensation...I didn't know if I was really full or if it had something to do with gas and the swelling. I am very interested in the answers to this post. Carol

I live out-of-town from where I had my surgery so the Dr. phoned me for the psych test...it was more of a simple conversation. He asked me about my general health history, what had I done in the past regarding my weight, why did I decide on the lapband and why now, did I tell my family and do I have good solid support....that was about it. Carol

If you live in the States you may not have this problem, however...in Ontario our Ministry of Health does not allow a customer to bring in their own food or drink to an eating or drinking establishment. As an owner of a restaurant I'm very leary of anyone who brings their own food or drink into my establishment....even if its just an envelope of powdered drink mix. Health Dept rules or not, I would not permit it. If you got ill from eating or drinking something in my restaurant.....how would we know if wasn't the result of something you brought in.......the liability factor is not worth it......my insurance is high enough now as it is. Carol

I was banded June 8th and my port area is still tender, especially if I poke at it or lay on it the wrong way. Carol

From what I understand, no one gets a fill at time of placement because of swelling, we must heal first. I think the average wait for the first fill is approx 5 weeks. I feel just fine, a little tenderness around the port area but thats it. So far the Post-op diet has not bothered me at all, I guess the swelling from the procedure is still causing restriction because I don't really desire food at all, I'm forcing myself to take whatever is recommended but can't handle too much of it, So far I'm average .8 of pound a day, that will reduce when I start to eat mushies and solids, I will be very pleased to maintain a 1 - 3 loss / week after that. Carol

I had mine installed in Toronto Canada. I'm only 12 days post op so I can't answer most of your other questions. I had an appt with my GP yesterday who will have to do my first fill until I visit the Clinic again (I live over 2 hours away). He had no problem finding my port and said that most ports are very similar in composition and size. Apparently there are many other health related situations that depend on the aid of a tool that requires a port......Dr. said that they are all pretty universal in composition to help keep the procedure of using a port consistent. Carol

I have the Johnson and Johnson band, nothing was said to me that it was better than the others....the Dr. simply said to me that he would be choosing from 3 different depending on the size of my stomach and everything around it. I understand that other bands come in different sizes....my patient report does not indicate what size I had installed....I looked it up on the internet and there is no indication that it even comes in different sizes. Carol

"Only You" by the Platters....the best ever "first dance" song. Carol

Donna.....what the heck are you doing? Listen, I know all too well about food addiction, I live and work in my fine dining restaurant 24/7....hubby is a professional chef.....I am around food ALL THE TIME. In my opinion, you have gone to great lengths to get this under control....i.e. the band. Why do want to sabotage this.....I disagree with the others......you are clearly setting yourself up for failure.....why? I struggle all the time....but to come this far, I wouldn't think of falling into any of my old habits....I know that that is easier said than done. I don't think smoothing it over and saying "be good from now on" is appropriate support.....just makes it easier for you to fail again. You need to think of the consequences actions like this can carry and why you got the band in the first place. You need to get a grip girl! Carol

Try and relax, there could be many reasons that he said such hurtful things, of course that doesn't make it acceptable. I have lashed out at my husband on occasion and have sincerely regreted everyword, I have done it without just cause. Sometimes we are in moods and just can't help ourselves, sum it up to human nature.....still doesn't make it right though. Hang in there....he may come to his senses and all will be good again. If he is willing to talk this out I would definately address how he measures your worth....why does everything always have to come down to money? Carol

When I left my clinic where I had my surgery I was given a folder with post-op diet and other info, some regarding fills. Did you not get anything like this from your place of surgery or lapband Dr's office? Mine says: "Please eat a light breakfast on the morning of your fills. Also, remember that you will be on liquids for 24 hours after your adjustment. Please remember to bring a bottle of Water to your fill appointment, you will be asked to drink from this bottle before you leave the Clinic to make sure your band is properly adjusted." Carol

I never understood suicide, maybe that's why I have always viewed suicide as the Coward's way out....maybe that view and my opinions come from ignorance on the subject. Everyone lives a different life, and maybe when they have reached their depths of despair they don't see any other option. I have been down pretty low sometimes but never reached the depth of despair that would cause me to even think about suicide. But when it comes to being overweight, there are options.

Buffie: I can't stress enough how much Yoda is right, do what the PROFESSIONALS instructed you to do, they have a reason for it. Everybody is different, so what may have been okay for someone else, may not be okay for you. This is not a situation where there is room to generalize. I have my "patient file" here from the TLBC....I want to share something with you that may help to explain why the diet is designed the way it is. The following is an excerpt from the Lapband instruction book (produced by the manufacturers of the band) that I have to pass onto my GP when he gets ready to do my first fill: "Immediately after surgery you will be put on a diet. For the first three weeks, you will only be allowed liquid food. For another two weeks you will be restricted to mashed food. Thereafter, you will gradually be able to introduce normal food into your diet. Your Doctor or your dietician will provide you with a diet plan for this period. The diet is necessary to enable the body to heal. During the healing process, tissue adhesions develop and help fix the band in place. Patients who eat solid food too soon after their operation run the risk of dislocating the band, thus developing an enlargement of the new upper gastric pouch. This leads to poor weight loss and in some cases the need to reoperate." Therefore: Follow the Dr's orders. And be patient.....only good can come from this if you pay attention to your body and follow the program. Good Luck Carol

www.fitday.com It is a great tool...will provide line graphs of your success to date towards your goal, it also has a data base of food items, if what you ate isn't in it you can add the items through the custom feature. You can track your weight/ goals/food/moods/ journal/ exercise/measurements, etc. I think to own the software its only about $20.00 and you can download it, the paid version comes with more features.....I love it. Good Luck Carol

Hi Buffie.....are suffering from head hunger or stomach hunger? Actually, that soon after surgery I didn't desire food at all. It was even hard for me to take the amount of clear fluids that are listed on the post-op diet....still...at 11 days post op all I can get down is about 4 each 1/4 cup servings of creamed soups on the full Fluid diets and 1/4 cup a day of no fat yogurt. However, I drink lots of Water with liquid Vitamins and tea through the day and have the odd popsicle and no sugar added Jello. I do get head hunger every once in awhile. I live/work in our restaurant so I'm around food 24/7 and sometimes certain aromas will trigger head hunger....and this is an old habit for me, eating even when I'm not hungry.....but, this passes almost as fast as it comes. I think its important to realize that you had a life before the band and eating was a very big part of it. There are many habitual behaviours that you will have to overcome..........and you will. Carol

For me....well, I am so conscious about personal hygiene...it was becoming more and more of a struggle to clean myself on the toilet. Then one day, I just couldn't do it, I had to step into the shower to clean myself properly. I totally grossed myself out. I couldn't believe that, for the sake of food, I had reduced myself to this. It was totally unacceptable to me, I hated everything about it. It upset me so much that I just slumped on the bathroom floor and cried my eyes out.....everything, all horrible thoughts, came to my mind at once....the fact that I hate squeezing into chairs and sitting uncomfortably, wearing unflattering clothes because I'm constantly trying to hide the fact that Im obese, feeling sorry for my husband because even though he has never uttered one single word about my size, I felt he deserved better, thinking about loving to dance but being exhausted half way through my favourite song. I reflected on the many many times sitting in my arm chair and eating until I literally could not put one more morcel of food in my mouth.....I would eat enough at one sitting to feed a family of four. But, it all came back to what pushed me to the floor in the first place, I was mortified. I started a healthy eating plan that very day, its close to the W/W plan and researched then lapband.....it wasn't hard to make the decision, I didn't care where the money was coming from, I was having this procedure. Carol