JamesA

Hi everyone. It's been awhile since I've visited this board, so here's a quick reintro: I got banded with a VG band on 9/4/06 with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana. Surgery couldn't have gone better. I did my pre-surgery weight loss as was requested, and had nearly no discomfort post-surgery. I didn't eat or drink anything I wasn't supposed to during the weeks after recovery. That is the good news. Now the bad... Because it had been stressed not to worry too much about weight loss post surgery, I didn't worry too much about what I ate prior to my first fill. I ate what I could tolerate, and I could tolerate everything. EVERYTHING. I didn't go on a binge or anything, but I wasn't on any strict diet, either. Having said that, it was time to kick the band in , and at week 6 post-surgery, I got my first fill. And my 2nd fill. And my 3rd fill. ONLY at my 3rd fill did I notice even the most slight difference with food. If I tried to eat something VERY doughy (think blueberry muffin), I ran the risk of bringing it back up. Other than that, I could eat everything. Now ever since surgery, I hadn't had anything carbonated, and for the most part, I waited an hour to having any liquids. I wasn't stupid-- even though TJ was cheaper than the States, I didn't want to piss away my health or surgery money. After doing my little whatever lap band spirits there might be that this next one did something. I just had my 4th fill last Tuesday. I now have 7.1cc flowing through my VG band. The evening of my fill, I couldn't get ANYTHING down except MAYBE for a small sip of Water. I finally figured I was too swollen from earlier to get anything more down, so I gave up for the night. Since then, I've had a few more episodes, but only today do I feel that picking the right food, and being over sensitive to signs that I've had enough is working. I definitely have trouble drinking cold liquids (room temp is fine, and coffee is heaven!). Today I got down two eggs (pan scrambled) for Breakfast, and a small pizza slice (I mean small--4 inches long, 2 inches wide) for lunch. It's the first day I don't feel light headed or lethargic from lack of energy, and I don't feel like my body is in starvation mode. I'm still fighting the MENTAL hunger, but I imagine I'll be fighting that for a helluva long time. I haven't updated my tracker below at the time of this posting. I don't recall how much I weighed at time of surgery, but I'll track it down and update it soon. Until then, I appreciate any feedback or comments you have to give.

Hi everyone. It's been awhile since I've visited this board, so here's a quick reintro: I got banded with a VG band on 9/4/06 with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana. Surgery couldn't have gone better. I did my pre-surgery weight loss as was requested, and had nearly no discomfort post-surgery. I didn't eat or drink anything I wasn't supposed to during the weeks after recovery. That is the good news. Now the bad... Because it had been stressed not to worry too much about weight loss post surgery, I didn't worry too much about what I ate prior to my first fill. I ate what I could tolerate, and I could tolerate everything. EVERYTHING. I didn't go on a binge or anything, but I wasn't on any strict diet, either. Having said that, it was time to kick the band in , and at week 6 post-surgery, I got my first fill. And my 2nd fill. And my 3rd fill. ONLY at my 3rd fill did I notice even the most slight difference with food. If I tried to eat something VERY doughy (think blueberry muffin), I ran the risk of bringing it back up. Other than that, I could eat everything. Now ever since surgery, I hadn't had anything carbonated, and for the most part, I waited an hour to having any liquids. I wasn't stupid-- even though TJ was cheaper than the States, I didn't want to piss away my health or surgery money. After doing my little whatever lap band spirits there might be that this next one did something. I just had my 4th fill last Tuesday. I now have 7.1cc flowing through my VG band. The evening of my fill, I couldn't get ANYTHING down except MAYBE for a small sip of Water. I finally figured I was too swollen from earlier to get anything more down, so I gave up for the night. Since then, I've had a few more episodes, but only today do I feel that picking the right food, and being over sensitive to signs that I've had enough is working. I definitely have trouble drinking cold liquids (room temp is fine, and coffee is heaven!). Today I got down two eggs (pan scrambled) for Breakfast, and a small pizza slice (I mean small--4 inches long, 2 inches wide) for lunch. It's the first day I don't feel light headed or lethargic from lack of energy, and I don't feel like my body is in starvation mode. I'm still fighting the MENTAL hunger, but I imagine I'll be fighting that for a helluva long time. I haven't updated my tracker below at the time of this posting. I don't recall how much I weighed at time of surgery, but I'll track it down and update it soon. Until then, I appreciate any feedback or comments you have to give.

Hooray, ladies!! Thats great! We wanna see PICTURES of your new sizes!! ....sorry.

Wow! I knew about www.kissthisguy.com, but never even bothered to look up "Blinded by the Light". I can't BELIEVE the lyric isn't "Wrapped up like a douche, another roller in the night"!

I prefer the bumper sticker "Visualize Whirled Peas".

Amen, Barbara. What it amount to is people's desire to want to blame someone... ANYONE other than themselves. Just look at the lawsuits in court for a plethora of examples along this line, too.

They should give a bigger discount, considering the food the cruise line will not be using. Just a thought... :heh:

I was only banded on 9/4, so it doesn't surprise me that I have tenderness at my port site. I know it'll go away. However, will I always be able to see a slight bulge at the port site? Will I always be able to feel it through my skin?

Haven't thought about the GBU, but I'm amazed at some of the uglies I'm reading. Friends stopping being friends, people thinking you took the "easy way out". Until you've tried to lose the weight repeatedly, and failed, you may not know what a difficult decision having LB surgery was. And as far as taking the "easy way out", how many of them have a gardener or a pool service? Have a boob job? Married for money? Yeah, I thought so.

Hi Steph! Yeah, I'm about the same. It hurts just a little if I bend over, but that's just from general soreness. I have noticed that by 6pm of any day, I'm worn out. Getting better though. Steph, I'm curious about what mods the nutritionist gave you. And yes, I too am a little confused about the "mushes" stage. It looks like we don't get one?? The only thing I can see that we get is that between days 11-21, we can get soup that has no chunks, low fat, drinkable through a straw. Now, is Day 11 if I stayed on clear liquids a full 7 days, or should I adjust that Day 11 to Day 7 since I've moved to the yogurt stage? I think I'll be ok if I can get to the soup stage. But when I do, can I take a soup like... say, chicken noodle, blend it up in a processor so there are no chunks, and eat it? As a reminder, my doctor was Dr. Ortiz in TJ. Thanks, everyone!

want2lose: Actually, I feel fine, and a little better than yesterday. Every so often, about 15 minutes apart, I get a temporary pain in my chest for about 1 second, then it goes away. I think it's just the after effects of being inflated. The intensity and frequency is better than yesterday, so it's improving. The port site is slightly tender if I touch it, but no big deal-- that should improve, too. Stephanie: Hi babe! Every time I went past your room, you were either gone, or dead asleep. Sorry I didn't get to say goodbye, and sorry you're feeling stiff. And if you were gone for 20 minutes, remember that part of that time was just putting you under. Your procedure probably took as long as mine did. I imagine Doc Ortiz can do these procedures in his sleep by now. Today was my first day back at work, but because I'm the boss, I don't have to tell anyone where I am!... bwahahah!! I made a joke at work, and in response, I was slapped on the chest! OW! It was above my incisions, but I think my tensing up and the shockwave of the impact made me a little light headed for about 20 minutes. Other than that, tomorrow is Day 4 post-band, so I may venture into some non-clear liquids. I'm getting tired of gatorade and broth. :hungry: And speaking of broth, I was thinkng this was a good source of some calories to keep me going. One small can of Swanson's chicken broth only has 20 calories!! Sheesh! I hate having to depend on sweet liquids. Good luck, everyone... hope your venture is as smooth as mine was.