Shmoopy

Good luck!! Hang in there!! I wasn't on a liquid diet before my surgery but I definitely was for the two weeks following it. And it was HARD!! But I"m almost 4 months out of my surgery and I'm doing so well. I only wish the best for you. And just when you think you cannot look at one more drop of protein shake or one more jello cup, or one more popsicle, just know that at some point, you will be able to enjoy (healthy) food again. And continue to LOSE weight. And it will all be worth it. I wish you all the best!

OMG!! I have right side pain! And mid abdominal pain. I wonder if this could be it! My surgeon's office was not really interested in hearing about it. So I made a reg. doctor appt for a couple of weeks and I'll totally bring it up then. AND I'll even bring it up at my next fill. I'd actually be happy if it is gall stones because then at least Iw ould know what the pain is. Instead of just living with it and doing nothing about it! Thank you all!

First and foremost...stop the madness!! Weigh yourself once a week IF THAT!! And that's it. The curiosity is intense I know. Because I was weighing myself like multiple times a week and multiple times in one day. WRONG. I would sometimes notice that I was up a few pounds and get depressed (and want to eat. BAD!) and discouraged. I talked to my nutritionist and she said that your weight can fluctuate up to 4 lbs throughout the day. So seriously, only stick to the same time each week (for me, Monday mornings!) And that's it. Also, don't beat yourself up for gaining. Easier said than done I know. But seriously, I could not eat any better, and I'm exercising and sometimes I go up like 1.5lbs. and I get mad. But I'm doing the best I can. And I'm way healthier now than before. So I just keep on trucking. What else can I do? Eventually that "extra" weight will come off. But seriously, please only weigh yourself ONCE a week. If that. And then ignore the scale the rest of the time.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record here: PROTEIN PROTEIN PROTEIN PROTEIN! Look, nothing sucked more than being on a liquid diet. And even when I could eat "food" I still couldnt eat fruits and veggies and a whole bunch of other stuff. So it was torture going to the supermarket. But look...follow the diet plan the surgeon's office gave you. And I cannot stress PROTEIN enough. it will never satisfy the hunger you may have for Wendy's or pizza. But it will help you satisfy your tummy and its nutritious. Protein is what fills you up. That's my two cents.

I'm so happy to hear I'm not the only hiccuper!! Mine get violent. And when I get them...I know it's not good. For me, it can't be full. Because I've gotten them soon after starting to eat. I contribute them to eating too fast and possibly not chewing enough (bites too big). Mostly I wait for them to go away (but they hurt). But it has brought on sliming and even regurgitation (ick). So when I get those hiccups...I know it's not a good sign!

I had an issue with butternut squash of all things. Now granted, I ate chicken right before it (protein first!) but had no problems. Then ate my butternut squash. Holy moly the pain. But it came up on its own (gross I know. sorry) and then I felt better. But I wasn't fond of that whole situation.

I'm having random pain too. But on my right side...a little bit to the right of my belly button. I mentioned it a couple weeks after my surgery and the doctor said it wasn't surgery related since they never went near there. But I swear....I never had that pain before. And it's not gas. Because I tried Gas-X and it didn't work. And I've had to use pain killers to get rid of it. I guess I'll bring it up to my regular doctor this month, but I think it's weird that I never had it before, and now ever since the surgery it's been a problem. ;(

AGREED!!! Cravings are in your head. For me...it's soda. Holy moly I miss Coke. So much. But I dont bother even trying it because the whole point that I enjoy is the taste (sugar) and the bubble (carbonation). Two things that just aren't good for me anymore. Luckily I haven't had any horrible stuck issues. It usually passes within minutes. So technially I can still eat whatever I want. I don't!! Don't get me wrong. But if I were just dying for pizza or something (which I was right after my surgery), I wouldnt hesitate, now, to have a slice. The band helps me to stop eating so I don't binge. But yeah, you'll have to control those cravings. Just think of all the calories and fat you'll be consuming. When you're on a 1000 calorie a day diet, you won't waste it on a bag of M&M's.

Our situations are a little different because I was banded in June (months after you) but I've been experiencing port pain. When I went in for my second fill on Wednesday I talked to the doctor who explained to me that after significant weight loss (I've lost 45lbs so far and hopefully more to come) the port and the clips that hold it on to the muscle under there can move around (due to the loss of fat) and aggitate whatever the heck is going on under there. Obviously talk to your doc about it. I was told that you have to AT LEAST wait one year after surgery to have a "port revision" which means they can actually take that port out and put in a smaller one. But I was told it was normal because of the weight loss. I also sit a lot for my job and I HAVE to wear an underwire bra so I dont think that is helping the situation at all. but oh well. I'll deal with the pain as long as it isn't excrutiating! Good luck!!!:scared2:

I was thinking of ordering a pair of Shape-Ups online, and was wondering, for the folks who have them, are they true to size or should you go a size up? I'm usually an 8.5, but in Nike shoes I get a 9. I've never owned Sketchers. Thanks!:bored:

I'm actually surprised at some of the very judgemental folks on this board. I couldn't care less if you folks are snacking between meals or drinking carbonated drinks. What do I care? As long as it's not sabotaging your weight loss. As for me, the hardest thing not to do is drink while eating. I don't. I try to stop drinking at least 30minutes before. But it's hard. And straws. Man....I've accidentally sipped out of a straw, and guess what? My stomach didn't explode!! I've been told not to use them. So I haven't. But since I've tried it and nothing happened, I think that I wouldn't mind breaking that rule at some points.

*raises hand* This happened to me!!! Never had the sensation that I had to go the bathroom. I would literally go all day and then think "gee, I guess I should go the bathroom since the last time I went was 7 hours ago." I did bring it up to the doc and they were perplexed and hadn't heard of this. Since they don't go anywhere near that area, no nerves could've been severed. Personally, I think it was because I wasn't drinking enough. I was having a hard time getting close to the 64oz of Fluid. Once I upped it significantly, I started peeing again. But this was weeks after surgery. Whatever it was, it went away. And now I gladly have the urge to pee again!

Mine were glued. Took a while for all the glue and scabbing to fall off. Maybe five weeks post op. Meanwhile, now I'm left with one nasty ugly looking scar right under my breasts and four little tiny incisions. I'm trying Mederma but I dont have much hope that they will ever look "good"

Coloradobanding - Thank you thank you thank you!! I like what you're saying! I'm almost 8 weeks post op and was cruising right along. And then all of a sudden....nothing. In fact, up one pound from last week. But meanwhile I'm eating all the right things. And exercising. And I got really really discouraged. But I just kept saying to myself: Well I'm doing what I'm supposed to. Eventually I'll see more results. At least I'm not gaining. You hit the nail right on the head when you said this is for "long term success". You're right. I need to focus on that, and not beat myself up for the scale going up one pound. Still really confused about that, but oh well. I'm down 37 pounds and it would never have happened without the band!!

I would like to hear more about the Abs Circle Pro too!! Seems pricey but if it works, I will totally buy it.

Oh, and you asked about my hospital stay! Duh!! Okay, well since I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea they wanted me to stay overnight...and I'm so glad I did. I have no idea how folks get this surgery and then are out a few hours later. apparently on my left side they cut through some muscle and I was in A LOT of pain. Like every few hours when they asked me to rate it between 1 and 10, I would say 8 every time. And I meant it. Pain!! A lot of folks on this site are like "oh I got up and walked around and they discharged me two hours later" WHAT?? I needed that overnight stay. But again, that's me. I was really nervous right before the surgery but again, everyone was great. When I woke up I was SO EXCITED that it was over. I was the happiest person in the recovery area. The nurses loved me. I was all smiles. Anyway, I knew they had the OR blocked off for me for a few hours, that's what the admitting nurse told me. So that's why I was so nervous. But afterwards, my mother told me that less than 40 minutes after I was taken into the OR, my surgeon was out there telling her that everything went great! So the procedure didn't take that long for me, I guess. And I only lost 9lbs before the surgery. I wasn't very good at the pre-op diet. But like I said, I had a low BMI to start with.

To be honest, I have to say yes/kinda to whether they were pushing Gastric Bypass. I don't think they would be happy to hear that, but it seems like they are a big fan of it. Let me talk a little bit about my situation first though. When I went in for my consultation, they were kinda like "hey whatever you want." And meanwhile I didn't feel like I was that well versed in either surgery. But I decided to do my homework and I decided on the gastric band. While the bypass sounded tempting (losing like 30lbs a month??? Nice) I just was not comfortable with the whole losing my stomach thing. It wasn't until I actually met with Dr. Shah (at the end of the program) that we discussed the surgery and which one was best for me. She told me straight out that she would do either one. It was up to me. My starting weight was 242 and my BMI was much lower than a lot of other folks in the program. Dr. Shah did say that if I were diabetic she would probably try talking me into the bypass because it pretty much cures Diabetes. But since I was not, she left the choice completely up to me. And I stuck to the band. And I'm very glad that I did. I would say, do your homework. I actually bought the book Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies and read through it. It talks about both surgeries (and a couple of others that are not offered at NEMC). Use the internet to read up on people's good stories, and bad. Again, I just didn't feel comfortable with the bypass surgery and it's not like I had hundreds of pounds to lose. That probably would've "weighed" in on my decision as well. So I hear you about the bias toward the bypass. But maybe that's because they get more money from them?! Who knows? haha. Please send me a private message if you have any questions about the program or the folks involved. I'd be more than happy to answer anything!! And good luck!!

That's awesome. Feeling great is a good thing! I'm like you...I don't really get hungry. YET, when I went in for my fill appointment, they still wanted to give it to me, even though I"ve been steadily losing weight and not starving. So they shoved in 4cc's. And honestly, not feeling much different. So I'm chugging right along! Good luck. And keep going!!!

I did!! My surgeon was/is Dr. Shah. She's so nice. Overall I really like the program. Without it, I dont think I would've been ready for such a life changing event. I'm seven weeks post-op today. And I had my first fill last week. Everything went fine. I'm super happy that I went to Tufts NEMC for my surgery. Everyone has been really great.

Like Kakki, I too had that emotional meltdown. I cried for days... What did I do?? I'm going to miss all my favorite foods!! Once I was able to "eat" again, and get off that liquid diet, I was so much happier. So yeah, I kinda wish I was told that that meltdown is normal. I felt like such a failure that first couple of weeks. But now I'm doing so much better. And I absolutely love watching the weight go down on the scale!

Ok sorry...I'm not in my twenties. Sue me, haha, but I liked this thread. You know...I was going to buy myself a Coach bag when I lost 100 pounds, but I like the Bahamas idea so much better!! Actually...okay after I lose 100 pounds I want to go to Aruba!! Woohoo. Screw the Coach bag.

While I really want to weigh myself daily (who knew that would happen??), I really can't anymore, and I do it only once a week (on Monday mornings). The reason being, when I would see my "weight" go up, I would get almost depressed. When I talked to my nutritionist about it, she said that at any given point in the day your weight can fluctuate between 3-4 pounds. She suggested I stick to once a week, and I really try to. That way when I see it down, I KNOW I lost weight the past week!

On topic: I go for my first fill on 8/5 and no one mentioned not to eat anything etc before going. It's at 11am though...

Hi, this is totally off subject, but since all three of you have the weight tickers, I need to ask...I TRIED putting in the "code" they give me in my signature but for some reason it keeps saying invalid code. I've tried putting all of it, some of it...can you guys help me? For the first time ever I want to display my weight! haha.

I got my scale at Kohl's. Of course I cannot remember the name of it, but it wasn't Biggest Loser or Weight Watchers. Nor Conair. Kohl's had a lot to choose from. There were good sales.So I finally chose one that told me information than I would possibly need: Weight, BMI, water weight(??)...and it was glass. Very nice. It has weight in pounds and ounces (digital).