Juniper

Hey, Sheena! Welcome! Not boring at all... thanks so much for sharing your bio with us. :confused: Good luck on your surgery, and come back often. We've got a great group here, and very supportive.

Good morning, Mary! Okay, I'm jealous about your thunderstorms. It's another sweltering hot day here in Texas, and it's not even 10 am yet! I'm feeling pretty good these days, too. I slept in my bed again last night, and it was pretty comfortable, so I'm happy about that. I've been a little more emotional than usual since the surgery, but I'm learning to deal with it. Last night I found myself scrounging around the kitchen looking for SOMETHING to eat that wasn't soup, Jello, pudding, or Protein shakes. hehe. I finally settled on some instant mashed potatoes (really watered down, since I'm still only at "cream of wheat" stage) but when I started eating them, the taste wasn't nearly as satisfying as I expected it to be!! It was like... what's that?? My friend food isn't as much fun as I remember him being?? I ended up eating only a few bites, and being done. Of course, not to say it would have been that way with something I really love, like mac and cheese, but it was nice to feel some CONTROL... :confused:

hey july banders... come on over and join us... July 09 Bandsters - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum

I heard the same thing during my pre-op period, but I heard it was because some people develop mucus around their band, and the warm liquid helps break it up. Interesting to know the tightness changes!!

mine's a little to the right, just about an inch below my natural waistline. looks like i'll be wearing my pants on my hips in the future!

banded on july 1st, and for the 1st week, i was fine... very little hunger. then boom! it hit me! my stomach, so quiet for that 1st week, now sounds like a tractor from all the growling. i'm trying to focus on eating well, but i've never really liked sweets much (it's always been starches that were my downfall), so the Jello and pudding just makes me ill now. and it's not like there's ton of "liquid" foods out there that aren't loaded with fat and sodium!! man, i was hoping it would be another week til i hit bandster hell, but i think i'm knocking on the door as i type... here's hoping that i make it to my first fill in 3 weeks without gaining all i've lost...

marmar, don't rely too much on the negative things you read here. realize it's part of human nature to pay more attention to the negative, and certainly to vocalize it. i mean, how many people ask to speak to a manager because an employee did such an awesome job? i bet for every negative thing you read on here, there are a ton of positive things you don't read.

headin, omg, you're going alone? you're so brave! be safe on your journey! and keep in touch, cuz we're all here to support you. :tongue_smilie:

i went to see my doc y'day, and he said everything looked good, and that i should be able to get in the pool the weekend after this! i'm so excited! my favorite thing about summer is swimming, and it's been hard having to stay out pretty much all summer so far cuz of the two surgeries. i tried sleeping in my bed again last night, and i woke up really sore. i guess i'm just going to have a harder time with that than most, probably just because of my body size. on another note, my doc let me move to "full liquids" as soon as i was ready, so i've been doing cream soups for the whole week, so maybe that's one reason i wasn't as hungry. however, last night i noticed that all of a sudden, i could drink/eat about twice as much as before, so rather than 1 oz every 5 minutes, i was doing 2 oz. as long as i take it slowly, everything seems to go down quickly. i can see now why people would have so much trouble with "slider" foods. you could just eat and eat and eat. 1 more week of the full liquids, and i'm on to "soft" foods. can't wait to chew on some chicken. hehe

Leshers, Yeah, the Lap Band has similar online tools now. I really like the little I.D. card you get with the packet that has the message to restaurants about how you can't eat that much anymore. I figure that will come in handy now and then! heh Although, I've noticed restaurants aren't near as strict about who orders off their kids menus as they used to be.

Okay, it took me awhile to make sense of that picture, but I think I finally did. There are 2 sizes: standard, or APS, which will take 10cc to fill (actually a little more), and large, or APL, which will take 14cc to fill. The pictures at the bottom are of the old lap-bands, and there were problems with them that supposedly the new band has corrected. So slim, you probably have the 10cc band, since that is the smaller one.

Hey Mom, My doc uses the Allergan Lap Band. I researched them both, and I liked it better than the Realize band, anyway, so it worked out well. It's a 10cc size. The only real benefit to the Realize band seemed to me to be the "low profile" port. But I just liked the way the Lap Band was put together more, and how it has size options. I'd probably go with letting the doc decided. Once he's looking in there where it's actually gonna go, he'll probably have an opinion as to which one would suit your body better. Best of luck!

Feel free to come join the July 09 group forum! July 09 Bandsters - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum

I second RestlessMonkey's idea that he may have been trying to compliment you, albeit not very well. When I read it, I took it more to mean something like "you've done better than a lot of other people". Sort of a weird compliment, but I didn't immediately take it like he was saying you were gonna fail. Before you get too upset, talk to your doctor, and simply ask "I've been wondering what he meant when he said _____ ". Or just let it go. I mean, only some people could still mean 95%, cuz technically, that's only some of 100%. :thumbup:

Doc, I was banded on July 1st, and I'm still sleeping in a recliner. I just can't get into as comfortable a position in my bed as I can in the recliner, so I've just accepted it for now. I feel tenderness still in my entire abdomen, also. I also had nausea the first few days, but my doc sent me home with some good medicine for that. Talk to you doctor. I'm sure they can help you at least with the nausea. Also, are you tracking how much you're drinking and how often? Maybe you're drinking faster than you think, and it's causing discomfort. I hope you start to feel better soon!!

Hey Barbie! Glad to hear how well you're doing! Get lots of rest and heal quickly, and keep in touch when you can! Best wishes. :thumbup:

Congrats Paulette! Your surgery experience sounds very similar to mine, and I've been amazed at how well I've recovered in a week. I'm wishing you the best!!

I was banded by Dr. Hagood on July 1st, and I've been very happy with him. He always takes the time to answer all my questions, as ridiculous as they may be, and I feel totally comfortable with him. He also did my gallbladder, and I was very impressed with how small my incisions were once the "crazy glue" came off. Totally recommend him.

or so I was informed by his office staff in April 2009.

The bad breath comes from your body being in ketosis. I've never had the "bad" breath, but I had a sweet taste in my mouth all the time back when I lost a bunch of weight real fast on MediFast. Besides adding in some carbs to your diet to bring you back out of ketosis, the best thing I know to do is drink more Water. Being dehydrated seems to make it worse. And use alcohol-free mouthwash/breath treatments for the same reason. As for your hair, I've had that happen as well, no matter how much Biotin I took. My doc told me it's your body's natural reaction to stress, in this case what it perceives to be starvation. Your hair will grow back, but it might some time. But just to be on the safe side, have your doc run some tests. As I found out a little too late, hypothyroidism can cause hair loss as well! Best wishes to you!!

Kim, Thanks so much for sharing your story! It sounds like you're doing very well! I'm wishing you a continued successful recovery.

Okay, I'm about one week post-op now, and I thought it might be good to talk about the feelings (both physical and emotional) we've experienced. Here's a few things that come to mind right away for me: My left shoulder still hurts. It's getting better every day, but it's still enough to bother me. I still can't sleep in my bed. I tried last night, with a ton of pillows, and I ended up looking like I was sleeping in one of those chairs by the pool - with the back completely up! I guess I'm moving back out to the recliner tonight. When I eat or drink, I feel pressure. Even if I go very slowly, which I always do, I still feel some pressure. Sometimes I have to sort of catch my breath: stop, take a deep breath, and exhale. Which is fine, since I should be doing more deep breathing anyway. It's very hard to get more than 600-700 calories in me in a day. I am not hungry pretty much all the time. I know this will probably change soon, so I'm trying to enjoy it for now. My energy has remained at a good level, though, and I am taking my multi-Vitamin and b12. My doctor already took me off my high blood pressure meds. Apparently, losing 20 lbs was all it took for my body to start responding, and my pressure has been good! What about everyone else who's been banded? What are you experiencing?

Our group continues to grow! And I'm sure there are more that haven't found their way to this forum yet, too... Here's an updated list of surgery dates... (If you want to be added, see link at bottom.) July 1st: Juniper, Melinda_205, tessiekay, leshers2x2, hot tea, lovely9257 July 2nd: Ocotillo, psj71, Iris_L July 3rd: Tish5632, somedayslim:) July 6th: mcb2009, bandarama July 7th: Bstone, Mary on a Mission, Aivey, Barbie1978, Bonbellrussell, Bobbie045, waiting4, psj71, thatswhatdefinesme, sunshine323 July 8th: Deedee747, kellyb1007 July 9th: MiniTam July 10th: jimofthejungle, healthy-me-in-Az, writeonamber, abcangirl July 11th: bjbardave July 13th: Mom2smc, Sweettea25 July 14th: wonderwoman2009 July 15th: Lindz92, audjbr July 16th: gitrdone, ksb37us July 20th: KayVee, UnforgettableRN, JacquieOC, 1hotchocolate, mom2trips06 July 21st: Berna, Neonatalicurn July 22nd: Jerzyshore, Big Mama 514, RobinAnn, Ayyypapi, Pereza211 July 23rd: Daqui26, Toot July 24th: CantB2noty July 28th: mil51 July 29th: d4lussier July 30th: slpcat (tentative) July 31st: cb0828 If you want your date added to the list, please post it on the July 2009 Dates thread. Thanks!

Good to hear from you Mary! I'm glad your surgery went so smoothly, and I hope your recovery goes just as well. Take care!

slim, for the constipation, try a teaspoon of milk of magnesia... i did half of a child's dose, and it was more than enough! hope you feel better soon!