isaviolinist

Congratulations! It feels so good when you complete all that testing!! Let us know what happens and good luck!

I agree with all thats been said. Pasta and (especially) rice are foods that can expand as they go down. If you have just been banded, the last thing you want to do is aggravate your stomach while its still getting used to the band. Also, you have probably been off carbs for quite awhile now (especially if you had a preop diet), so why re-activate that craving? Good luck!

You've still got a week left before your surgery, so stick to it for the next week! No one can say whether or not you'll be okay for your surgery, but you can control what you do for the next week. So stick to your preop instructions! Good luck!

WOW! Congrats to you! I can't wait to be in your position! I really hope to at least get down to 165 pounds by next june (that would be 121 pounds lost in the year). We'll see if it happens! I really hope so! Anyways, congrats, what an inspiration :thumbup:

This basically how I am too. I have only PBed twice. The first time - last week - it was a true PB. I thought I was going to spit, but a lot of food came up and out with the spit. So it was a true "spitup". There was no stomach convulsion or acid. Today, I half PBed and half vomited (I felt my stomach convulse once which is more like vomitting). So now, of course, I'm paranoid that my band has slipped (probably not, but I don't want to make vomitting a habit). But sometimes I feel like I can eat quite a bit (including doughy carbs if I choose...I don't do this often, but on Sunday I had this Korean pancake which is a savory, very doughy seafood scallion pancake...I had one piece - its cut like a pizza - with no problems at all). Im confused whether my food is not getting chewed well enough and is getting stuck, if I need another fill because I dont have restriction, if this is what restriction actually feels like. Any help is greatly appreciated!

I've had 3 fills (I had no fill at surgery), and I have about 8 cc in my Realize Band currently (although my surgeon said .5 cc gets stuck in the tubing, so I really think I have 7.5 cc in total thats actually working for me). I am feeling some restriction but I'm still thinking I could use a little more. If I had to guess, I think I can eat a little over a cup of food (maybe a cup and a half) and I'd love to be able to stop at 3/4s of a cup. I also don't have problems with any food (I can eat fiberous food and doughy food, anything really with no problem). I just had my 3rd fill less than 2 weeks ago, so I'm gonna give it another week or 2. Some have said that for whatever reason, the restriction might kick in after a week or 2.

Hey thanks for visiting the blog! Sometimes I'm really not sure anyone is reading it, so I'm glad that some people are! :-) And thanks for those nice compliments. I'm trying to break into onederland by Thanksgiving! Are you waiting for insurance approval to schedule your surgery date?

Oh I never thought of that. Probably what it was (I can't remember now), but I haven't really had the pain since that time. Good to know other people are experiencing it and its somewhat normal.

Congrats on your surgery! If you're looking for support youve come to the right place! Good luck to you on the journey, and just focus on healing yourself during this time. Also, you may want to try unjury Protein. I think its delicious! Congrats again :smile:

You definitely can't do any weight training/lifting for quite awhile after surgery, but my doctor okayed me to get on the treadmill (at a moderate pace) a week after surgery.

I believe that we need to avoid carbonated beverages, not because they will be so hard to tolerate, but because the carbonation, over time, can stretch out the small pouch that has been made. And of course, because of the calories in non-diet sodas.

You could use sour cream, cottage cheese (or a mixture of the two), Nayonaise (soy mayo from Nasoya brand), hummus, dijon mustard, tzatiki, even pureed avocado if you're into that.

The decision definitely needs to be your own. No one can tell you whether you should do it or not. I agree with one of the above posters that a lot of the questioning and flip-flopping is the fear of failure. I had the same fears going in to the surgery. I've lost over 60 pounds (plus lots of inches and also aches and pains) since June and I feel great about it. I DEFINITELY eat carbs - and actually sometimes I wish the band prevented it (especially when I run into emotional eating, and I go for the sliders like ice cream), but carbs are definitely not off limits. And I often eat the good carbs - beans, milk, tofu, etc. Again, no one can make the decision for you, but I am SO happy with my decision and would do it all over again if I had to. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I'm going to join in too! I am at about 220-221 currently and I'd like to get to onederland by Thanksgiving! I hope I can do it! Hopefully this will be great motivation! Good luck everyone!

I just wanted to post up here, my BMI fell below 40 today! Prior to my surgery (June 18th of this year) it was over 50! Although I know I'm still in the 'obese' category, I feel REALLY good about my progress so far! I just can't wait to get to onederland! 20 pounds to go and I'm so excited! Have a great weekend everyone! :thumbup:

Thank you! I am totally celebrating and very happy!!

Congrats on your new band! Feeling no restriction after surgery, before the first fill, is completely normal. Some surgeons put a small amount of fill in at surgery (although, mine doesn't and I personally think it is a really bad idea to do that), but even with that, many people report having no restriction at all. Anyways, it often takes 3-4 fills before there is adequate restriction (although some lucky ones have restriction after just one or two fills). Thats why its called bandster hell: it just takes a lot of willpower and good choices. Also, after your first few fills, you may feel great restriction. But then, as you lose weight, the restriction may get less and you'll have to go in for another adjustment (this is because you're also losing the fat on your stomach as you lose weight, making the opening to the stomach wider). Anyways, use this time to heal and take care of yourself! Good luck!

Hey - I had my first "throwing up" experience the other day too. It was strange, because it wasn't really throwing up as the food didn't come from my stomach (it was just sitting in my esophagus I think) and I didn't have any convulsing that you normally have when you throw up. It was more like "spitting up" than throwing up. First I spit out a huge mouthful of foamy saliva, and then I spit again, but when I did, the food came up. It was very strange. Is this what happened with you? As far as the diet following a fill, I do 3 days of Clear Liquids, and 2 days of full liquids (and if my fill is in the afternoon, the day of the fill still counts as day one of clear liquids...I generally don't eat before a fill also). Good luck!

Congrats to you! Just take care of yourself and let yourself heal! Good luck with the first few days of your new life!!

My doctor okayed me to go home the day of the surgery (my surgery was at 7AM and he said I could go home in the evening) but I decided to just stay overnight because I liked that I was getting adequate fluids via IV as well as the pain meds. I also felt more comfortable, should there be any problem at all, being in the hospital. I had a private room and my fiancee stayed overnight with me. My brother was also there for both days because he is a student at Temple Med, so he was in or near the hospital anyways (so convenient). I felt 100% comfortable leaving the day after, and I am definitely glad I stayed for the night.

Hey, I just wanted to say hang in there! I also agree -- you should speak to your doc. For me it was 3 days on Clear Liquids, then 2 weeks on full liquids, and then 2 weeks on mushies so by this time I had moved to mushy food. Also, we started out at about the same weight, and we have the same goal weight, so maybe we can encourage each other along! Good luck!

My port incision hurt the most and I had signifigant discomfort for probably 2 or 2.5 weeks (maybe longer? Cant remember now) after surgery. Sometimes I held a pillow over my tummy when I was lying down. You should try reclining instead of sitting up right. I think reclining helps. When I was post op, for the first 2 days I was drinking about an ounce of Water every hour. I had a few spoons of clear broth Soup too. I did Clear Liquids (so water, clear broth, crystal light, etc) for 3 days. Then I did full liquids for 2 weeks (Protein shakes, thicker Soups sometimes, slim fast...kind of like the pre-op diet). I don't think I had yogurt during that time. After that I did mushies, which is when I think I incorporated thicker things like yogurt in. Then soft solids and solids after that. But its really different from doctor to doctor. Did your doctor say you could have yogurt at this point post op? If he didn't, I would just REALLY stick to what he said. You are giving your stomach time to heal. You don't want it to start churning (which is what happens when you eat, even a little) because it could cause the band to slip. Good luck!

I was feeling the same way - way more going in then coming out. I took a really mild laxative. It helped a little. I probably should take more, although lately I've been more "regular".

I am also going for my 3rd fill tomorrow. I'm hoping that does it. I have SOME restriction, but not nearly enough. I've stopped losing for the past 3-4 weeks. I also need to start exercising again - was doing great, going to the gym everyday - but stopped going. Gotta get back into it for sure.