paisleypea

I am so glad I made it to Support Group last night. I really needed it for ME. Just to sit with people who GET IT, and who GET ME! and to ask my questions and to soak up the expertise of those who are ahead of me and to encourage one another. Thank you all for being YOU!

SO glad you got an appointment JTIFFJONES! and congrats to you both on weight loss! wahoo! and smart thinking on calling Pam!

RestlessMonkey - thank you! that was such a great word-picture and explanation of the process. THANKS!

Excellent post Sadie! very true! I recommend the book "Food is Easy, Life is Hard" to learn how to cope with those things and to delve deep in resolving those issues. I have many too - and I imagine a LOT of us do. It's a journey.

I use MyNetDiary.com They do charge a monthly fee ------ BUT I have found they are worth the charge. They have a free app for the iPhone and it sync's automatically! wirelessly! I don't even have to plug in for it to do that! (that was huge for me) and no advertising! (another huge plus for me) Plus - they have a HUGE database of food - the largest available I believe. You can print out all sorts of different reports, which I like, so I can present it to the nutritionist. I fell off of recording too - but am back on and am glad for My Net Diary dot com. Check out their website first - then the app. They also will track whatever nutrients you want to have tracked.

My surgeon had me schedule a visit at 3 to 4 weeks post-op. I seemed to have "healed" at 3 weeks and got a fill then. I had a friend who's incision was infected though and he wouldn't give her a fill until it healed. It was near the port and he said he didn't want to risk the needle somehow injecting the infection farther inside her. totally makes sense. so - if you are healing okay, swelling is down - I'd think it is okay. After that fill I was "as if no fill at all" pretty quickly and just had my 2nd fill. It had been 3 more weeks.

congrats! After 3 weeks of plateau I saw the scale move today too!

same thing for me. What I understand - this is very "normal". Some people swell and some don't. Some swell right away (I do) and some do it later. they want it tight enough to control your pouch, but not so tight you can't eat/drink anything. So ---- it is a slow process. My first fill was 3 cc's on July 3rd. wow - I could really FEEL the Water when I was drinking it. I was kind of scared - cuz I wasn't sure if it it was too tight or not. Dr. said it would loosen up. So I kept it as is, as I could drink liquids. He said I might need to be on liquids for a week. NOPE - by the next day, for sure 2 days out ----- I was back to no restriction. I was disappointed, but at the support group meeting the following week ---- all said it was normal and I probably wouldn't feel restriction until 6 or 7 cc's I went back Friday 7/24 for my 2nd fill. He put in 2.5 cc's. wow! so I am drinking the water. I took probably 4 or 5 sips and then - bam! I am sliming like crazy. My eyes got big and I was scoping for the trash can. At least now I know what sliming is! and for water! yep ---- too tight! He took out .5 cc's and I was good to go. amazing what a difference such a small amount can make. I am now at 5 cc's total. they told me the "average" is 7 cc's to be in the sweet spot, but that everyone is different and to be patient as we learn to work with it and adjust. sigh!

Hey everyone! I went in for my 2nd fill last Friday. I am on pureed foods today and tomorrow and I can feel it going "down" - even just liquid! He put in 2.5 cc's and I was "sliming" - as I tried to drink the Water. wow - sliming water! At least now I know what that feels like. ha! he took out .5 cc's so now I have a total of 5 cc's in my band. Both he and Kelly mentioned the average being around 7 cc's for people ----- so ----- I'll try this a bit. I met with Kelly (but didn't realize it costs me $50 each time to do that!) and it was GOOD. I was doing some things wrong and I understand a lot of the WHY's behind rules better now too. Good luck to you all. Teresa - thank you for leading the session last group. How did the other group(s) go? As far as Vitamins ---- I am still trying to remember them consistently. See you soon! Tobi-Lynn

I've been "fat and rich" and the overweight part still made me miserable ---- so I picked skinny and poor. Of course, with our economy we are no longer rich so hopefully I'll no longer be fat either. LOL

thanks so much for asking the question - and for all the answers and experiences. I haven't had a drink yet since banding 2 weeks ago, but going to a wedding this weekend and planning on having some then. glad to know the facts so I can make an informed decision.

it all depends on your surgeon. Mine didn't make me do the bowel prep. :rolleyes2:

ground meats were on my mushie/soft list and I was able to start that on post op day 8. small bites and chew well though.

banded not even 2 weeks and I am looking forward to: - shopping for REGULAR clothes - being the HOT friend - keeping up with my kids! - wrapping up in my towel after a shower and having it go around with lots of extra towel left over - not having to be the "life of the party" anymore

I agree with Cleo's mom. see the drama she wrote? now it is OUR fault for not just patting her on the back and saying everything will be all right. Unless SHE stands up for HERSELF, no one else will either. we are here Never Again when you choose to do that.

I think you should call your surgeon/dr. first thing! This doesn't sound normal to me. The only thing I can think of is that your stomach is swollen but....after 3 weeks it shouldn't be. Could be it slipped upwards???? Has it been like this the whole 3 weeks? Call your doc. Good luck!

What a great story Brad! Per my dr. and nutritionist team, as long as I get in 64 oz. coffee is a go. yep - didn't take me very long to get THAT in! LOL

Are you still on a liquid diet? if so ----- liquids in, liquids out. I had surgery 6/15 and didn't have a normal BM until I was onto soft foods, Post-Op Day 8

Chris - wow! way to go. I didn't EVEN feel like posting the day of my surgery! glad it all went well and welcome to the brand new rest of your life!

congrats gemini! hope the post-op appt went well! welcome to the new rest of your life!

this could have been written by me! LOL I am a major researcher so I met with 2 people I know who actually had the surgery, read 2 books on it, watched 1 DVD on it - basically a seminar on CD, read a million pages on the internet about it and then met with my surgeon for a consult (never made it to a seminar), met with the nutritionist for 30 minutes, went to a support group meeting, sat in a 5-hr. class by the nutritionist, etc. I think some people asking questions on here are those who are just looking into the procedure and thus are in the research phase and may not have all the info yet Definitely those docs in it for the $$$ gravy train that WLS can be for them shouldn't be doing the surgery --- they are likely culprits without the full program in their office (support group, psych relationships, nutritionist etc) and run the billboard ads on highways. i always recommend people use a place and surgeon with the Center of Excellence designation.

Is the OP asking not how much time during eating to get to a cup but how long until you can eat the volume of a cup? how much should a meal be? in my post-op instructions it kept saying 1/4 cup ---- but then I read about 1 cup. I've been keeping it at 1/2 cup so far.

thank you all for sharing your stories. i am a new bandster on the losers bench, and am somewhat scared or anxious for my first experience of PBing. i am reading as much as I can so I can "tell" when it comes, but........until it happens, it really is a big unknown. although - yesterday I ate my soft foods and I think I ate too fast. it's peach yogurt. the greek yogurt kind. so it is THICK. well, as I swallowed it felt kind of stuck - but not sure if that was it or not. I did run to the bathroom. LOL it must've gone down cuz then it was okay. not sure if I didn't chew the peach up enough or I ate too fast or ??? but it did make me wonder if "this is it" from this post.

Welcome - thank you so much for coming and being open and honest - all of you! I agree with all the other posters --- all of us have had a warped relationship with food to be where we needed the band (or other WLS). I highly encourage you to seek professional counseling. I am going thru a few books on emotional eating ---- but live, one-on-one, counseling/therapy would be so much better! I'm not as desperate as you describe, but only because I have stood up and taken a step for my health earlier than you did. You CAN do this, but do please be honest and open with your surgeon and seek professional help. Please keep us updated too

I am post-op day 10 and not hungry. I did have some hungry days in week 1 with the liquid diet though. or I thought it was hunger ----- growly in the tummy. but I'm not hungry now ---- and am loving it! enjoy it!