Buttsy84

Hey Anya. Did your husband come home yet? How long is going to be back for? Has your fill made a difference that you can tell? I feel like I am failing. I am not eating the right things and I have gained some weight back. I think a lot of it is water weight.(I have been on water pills for a year, and I switched to a new medicine that doesn't seem to be working half as well.) I think I could use another fill also. For lunch, I am eating 1 to 1.5 cups of food, and for dinner, sometimes close to 2. I went to the store tonight and I am trying to refocus on healthy foods, even when they may not be convenient. Longtime bandsters aren't lying when they say every day is a struggle. I have my next fill with Dr. H on July 9th. I am going to try to do my best to follow "the program" until then. I hope you are doing better than I am. What do you think of this heat? Our AC broke, our house is 92 right now, and I am MISERABLE. Doesn't help with my swelling issue either. Take Care.

Rachel

Hey Anya. I am having a MUCH better time now. I have restriction. I am having a hard time eating in the morning, as I've said. My protein shake holds me until lunch time. For lunch I find that I can only eat about a cup of food.This holds me until dinner time. In the evening I feel like I can eat a little more.Great job on the weight loss! With almost 40 lbs gone, I would be surprised if your husband can't tell. It is hard to explain what the tightness felt like. It felt like whatever I swallowed went half way down my throat but then it was stopped by a HUGE bubble of air. Sometimes it did feel like when something gets stuck. I didn't get to see Dr. H. I think they said he was coming in the following day.I can't wait to see him again. I feel more comfortable with him I think. And you are right... he does give better shots. Have you noticed any difference with this new fill? Do you go to any support meetings or do you have any friends that are banded? Keep up the good work!

Rachel

Hi Anya. I didn't have too much luck with my third fill. I was having trouble with liquids and I threw up for the first time on Sunday when trying solid foods. It was horrible. The only thing I can try and think of to describe what I was feeling was every time I swallowed, even water, it felt like it went half way down and then a huge air bubble came up at the same time. It was like the liquid and the air bubble were playing tug of war for a few before it finally passed either way. I went and had .5cc removed and I felt MUCH better immediately. Rachel or Nikki (can't remember which) told me that this is one of the most common symptoms of being too tight. So I believe now, according to my paperwork, I have 4.5cc. I have planned my meals better this week, so hopefully, with my current fill restriction, and eating right, the scale will start moving. How is your restriction? Have you had any problems? When is your husband supposed to be coming home?

Rachel

Hi Anya. How are you doing? Do you have more restriction with the second fill? I just had my third today with Karen again. I haven't gained or lost a single pound since the last fill. (I have gained a few pounds of water weight the last few days). She only put 0.8cc in this time. I know that I am losing inches though, because my clothes are fitting MUCH looser, and she was able to do the fill without flouro this time. I just wish the numbers would show it! Anyway, they said Dr. Hitchcock is supposed to come back maybe next week, but by the week after for sure. I like Karen, but I just wish I could talk to Dr. Hitchcock about things too. It just seems like he gives more info/answers. Megan is gone on maternity leave also. I believe they said she is being induced on Monday. Oh well.. hope all is well with you.

Rachel

Hi Anya. I don't feel like I have too much restriction. I had a good time camping, but we were rained out of half of it. Tomorrow we are going to an all day rock concert at Liberty Memorial. Its gonna be hot but it will be fun. I have not been eating right and I sure haven't been getting enough water either. It is still way to easy to eat out, which we have been doing a lot of. I need to get with the program. I haven't lost anymore since about the first 4-5 days after my second fill, but my clothes are getting looser. I have caught myself eating too fast or not chewing enough too often. I get that stuck feeling sometimes. It doesn't last long but it hurts like hell. I seem to always have trouble with food in the morning though. That first meal is just a no-go for me. Keep up the good work! I am so happy for you that you get to see your husband!

Rachel

PS - Have you been going to any support group meetings?

Hi Anya. I have lost somewhere between 5 and 8 pounds since last Thursday. It is still hard to eat first thing in the morning. I have to be up and moving for atleast 2 hours before I am okay to eat something. I do not find that I am "hungry", but I find myself eating because it is "lunch time" or "dinner time". I need to break myself of that. I haven't had any problems with this fill, but I do notice restriction. Not a whole lot, but some. Maybe #3 will be good for a while. The last two days I have worked more than 14 hours a day, so I am looking forward to my vacation! Still waiting on the weather man to make up his mind on whether or not it is going to rain though! Glad to hear you are doing better with will power. Have a good holiday weekend. Take care.

Rachel

PS - I found that the liquid-mushy-regular phase was not nearly as hard the second time around. I was very rarely hungry during the stages of transition this time.

Hi Anya. I had my second fill today. I lost a few pounds since the first one, but I think I can attribute that to my allergy-head cold that I have had for the last few days. Anyway, Karen just put in 1cc this time. Don't feel too much of a difference yet but I will give it a week before I decide if it made one. I found out that Dr. Hitchcock had open heart surgery on Tuesday for a condition he had. They hope he will be back in within 4 weeks or so, but I don't know about that. My next fill is supposed to be on June 4th. The last week of May, my boyfriend and I are going camping for a week. It will be interesting to try and plan my meals for that! Hope all is going well. When do you have your next fill?

Rachel

Hi Anya. I totally understand. I have a little restriction. It is getting very hard to eat solid food too early in the morning. I can't eat until I am up for atleast 2 hours and at work already. I was supposed to go in today to get my second fill, but like you said, he is out of the office for a few weeks. So.. I see the nurse pract. this Thursday. I have not lost any weight from the first fill, but I have not gained either. I am pretty sick right now though. My allergies have turned into a full blown upper respiratory infection. I am bound to lose a few pounds from this just because food is NOT appetizing at all. I can't taste anything!!! I am sorry you are having a hard time. Just do your best but don't be too hard on yourself. The weight loss and restriction will all come in due time. Good luck. Take Care.

Rachel

Hi Anya. Glad your fill went good. LoL.. I told you that going on this 3 days of transitioning seems to be harder than the preop for some reason. Did you get yours under flouro? Just be careful. If you don't feel restriction right away, it can sneak up on you. I have read where it takes up to two weeks for the fill to "kick in" sometimes. It seems like it took about a week for me to finally feel some restriction. I had a horrible episode of something this morning. Not sure what you could call it. I think I didn't chew well enough and I was eating too fast. Felt like a golf ball in my throat/chest. Felt like I couldnt breathe, couldnt swallow, and I was teary eyed for about 5 minutes. I thought I was going to die!!! Definitely learned my lesson. Let me know how the next couple of days go.

Rachel

Anya,

The 3cc's helped a little... but not much at all. I can still eat quite a bit more than I want to. I have not had any problems with anything. I go back in on the 12th for another fill. Eat normal that morning, and until you go in. After the fill, the rest of that day will be clear liquids. The first full day after will be full liquids. The second full day after will be mushies. On the third full day, you should be able to start solids again. Just introduce them slowly incase you might have problems with something. You will follow that eating schedule for all of your fills. I would suggest eating something REALLY good before you go get your fill. After being able to eat normal, going on liquids and mushies for those days were worse than the pre-op for me! I have no idea why. Let me know how everything goes. Mine was a piece of cake. How much weight have you lost now?

Rachel

Anya,

I have some restriction, but not much. Maybe I will feel a little more when I go back to solids. Was on liquids yesterday and today, so that's just going straight through. Doing mushies tomorrow, so we will see.I go in for a second fill on the 12th. I thought I could feel my port too.. I have no idea what I was feeling around on though! It wasn't even close to the surface like I thought it was. You'll have to let me know how yours goes. Maybe we'll meet up in the office one of these days!

Rachel

Hi Anya. So I went for my first fill today. Very Interesting to say the least. He had to do the fill under flouro because he couldnt feel my port. BARELY felt the needle and I havent had any problems at all. He filled me with 3cc in a 10cc band. Sounds a little aggressive to me, especially after reading about some other peoples experiences. I am NOT complaining though. The sooner I can get this show on the road the better! When do you go in for yours?

Rachel

Anya, I am glad you are still losing. You sound like you are doing A LOT better than I am. I gained backed about 5 pounds while starting mushies/solids. No movement now. I have started using MyFitnessPal.com to track my daily food and exercise. It helps to keep me accountable. I have not done much exercising though. I have knee issues and I was hoping I could lose a little more weight before I started. BF and I are going walking here in a few for a couple miles since it is so nice out. To be completely honest, I have been eating way more than I should.I really need to do better. I think I have been doing really good with my water though. While at work, I have a 32oz mug that I fill with ice water and I commit to having that gone by the time I leave. I try to drink an additional 2 20oz bottles of water before bed. 72oz for the day... not bad. Anyway, good luck on your work outs. Glad to see you are doing well. Will definitely check back in after the fill! Rachel

Hi Anya. Just checking in to see how you've been doing so far. I have my first fill next Tuesday. I am really looking forward to it. I feel like I have been able to eat so much before I get any sense of being full. I am not counting on this first fill to do much as I have heard most people start feeling restriction right around the 3rd to 4th fill. Have you had any difficulties with anything? Hope all is well.

Rachel

Hi Anya. Work is going fine for me. As I said before, I am feeling like I never had the surgery. I have no pain, no discomfort, and my appetite is just about the same as it was before. I have not had any trouble eating anything. My post-op appt was originally scheduled for the Thursday the week after also, but the nurses bumped me up to that Tuesday instead. She had mentioned something about it being better to remove the staples about a week out rather than letting them stay in longer. You will have to let me know how that goes for you. Good luck tomorrow.

Hi Anya. How was your weekend? Did you get a lot of snow where you are? I felt so much better this weekend, like I never had the surgery at all. Hope your first day back to work was good! Talk to you later.

Hi Anya,

Eating is going okay.. I find it's still hard to get a variety. I wasn't prepared/stocked up on anything because I wasn't sure what our guidelines would be. I think tonight I am going to make some egg drop soup and some tuna noodle casserole for the next few days. I did try pasta like they said I could.. went down just fine. Wednesday and yesterday were really exhausting for me while at work. Today is much better so far. When is your post op appt? I don't know if I will make it to any support groups or not. I work in KC but I live in Saint Joseph, so it's about an hour drive for me just to get to downtown KC. I am NOT excited about any of this snow business! Ugh! I can't believe I have been banded for almost 2 weeks already. Crazy.. Still going back to work on Monday? Talk to you later.

Rachel

Anya,

Glad to hear that you are doing good! I returned to work today.. I am EXHAUSTED. I am going home and going straight to bed I think. I am still feeling weak/funny with the whole sugar thing. It will take some time I figure out I think. I went out to lunch today with my co-workers. I had a bowl of potato soup and a baked potato (brought back 3/4 of each!). Called the nurses today too.. they said to follow the paperwork and that they were going to have to talk to Dr. Hitchcock about his food stage info! HaHa. SO next week I am on to soft-solids and meats(or whatever I can handle). I am excited. So your husband won't return until next January? OMG. He will be so happy to see you! He probably won't recognize you! My boyfriend wasn't so supportive. His ex had gastric and left him 4 months later. So he thinks Im going to get skinny and leave him. He'll get over it though! How much have you lost so far from the pre-op? Do you plan on going back to work next Monday?

Rachel

Anya,

I actually took two more days off. So I am supposed to go back tomorrow. I am hyopglycemic, so I am having a hard time keeping my sugar level stable. Everybody at work knows about the surgery and they are excited for me. I had my post-op today. It is confusing though, because what Dr. Hitchcock says is different than any paperwork, as far as how soon we can eat certain things. The paperwork says on Day 4, start pureed and mushies.. He assumed I was waiting until his okay (which was today). No solid food until 1 month post-op.. So just in time for Easter for me! I was actually more nervous about the staples coming out than I was about the surgery! Go figure... I didn't feel a thing. the nurse (not sure which one) and my boyfriend were laughing at me. Apple juice was my favorite too. The day after was the worst for me. Do you feel any shoulder pain or gas pains yet? I'm glad everything went good for you! Rachel

Anya,

I hope everything went great today. How do you feel? What did you think of Dr. Hitchcock and the staff at Menorah? Good luck with everything. Let me know how it all went for you! Rachel

Anya,

My insurance covered 100%. I only had to pay my outpatient co-pay. I think on the last 3-4 days of the pre-op, I was coming home and having my "dinner" at about 4 or 5. I was in bed by 6 usually just so I wouldn't think about being hungry. Today is my 5th day so I am on to mushies. I am so glad that they allow us to go back to real foods so soon also. I hear about all of these other people having to do 2-3 weeks of straight liquids. I would die! I don't know how you are going to do Sunday night, but I couldn't sleep at all! I was so excited. Good luck on Monday. I'll be thinking about you!

Rachel

He actually told me something completely different than the instructions. Nikki or Rachel (can't remember which one) told me to just follow the instructions. So for the day of surgery, it was just clear liquids. Day 1-4 was broth, jello, tomato juice, milk, cofee.. I think on the second full day he said to add protein shakes back in. Day 5-14 will be mushies/pureed..anything through a straw basically. I think after that 14 days, you can start introducing soft foods first, and then solids. To be honest it was hard to even think about drinking anything the day of and the next 2 days after that. So tomorrow I get to start mushies. Yogurts, puddings, creamy soups, pureed foods. I am supposed to go back to work on Monday. I sit at a desk all day, so hopefully over the weekend I will feel even better. How is your pre-op going? Are you self-pay or did you have insurance? Rachel

Hi Anya. I went to Menorah. My surgery was scheduled for 730am and I think I left the hospital at 11:30am. That first day was a piece of cake. A little soreness but the pain meds took care of that. The 2nd day was the worst by far. This is when the shoulder pain kicked in and the gas started. Everything is so much more swollen on this day too. Just remember to rest as much as you can. Walking around, as much as you may not want to, really helps with the gas. The third day was MUCH better. Today is my fourth full day. I slept better last night, the incisions do not hurt as much anymore, and I feel a little more active. I think on the third day I started getting my hungry growls! Just follow the instructions they give you and call the nurses at the office if you have any questions at all. They are wonderful as well. Just remember, once you get past the first 2-3 days, you'll feel great. You have 2 more days left!!! My name is Rachel by the way. Talk to you later!

Hi AnyaK. I was looking for other people who had used Dr. Hitchcock. I was banded by Dr. Hitchcock on Monday March 16th. Looks like you are a week behind me. Don't worry about ANYTHING! He was great. He came in before, asked if I had any questions. He wheeled me to the OR. After recovery, he came to check in again. He was awesome. I have my post op with him on the 24th. If you have any questions, or want a band-buddy, feel free to contact me! Good luck!