LollyMoe

When eating out, make sure you have your napkin handy or ask to sit near a bathroom!

You're doing great! Keep it up.

Get a grip! You're already saying you're giving up and it hasn't been a month yet. Do you give up on other things this easily? Come on now, you are just beginning this journey. It's a life time journey and you're going to hit bumps, curves, and big holes sometimes just like on a bad roadway, but you can overcome all these trials & errors if you plan ahead. You have lost what....11 pounds? You are suppose to lose 1-2 pounds a week not a day. You are ahead of this journey already. Didn't your doctor or nutritionist tell you that this was a tool and it was going to be slow going. It's not gastric bypass...it's the band. So buck up, be patient, throw out the scale, plan your day, and things will get better. Right now, you aren't going to lose a lot every week until you start getting fills & restrictions. Even then, it's not going to be fast,fast. You can do this if you really want it. Maybe you need to evaluate everything and rethink the whole situation. Maybe deep down, you don't want it enough to work hard for it. Nothing in life is free except salvation and everything requires hardwork in one way or another.

First of all I am sorry that you are having problems. Constipation is very painful at times. You probably weren't as clean out as you thought prior to surgery. Sometimes that happens. Second: it's really important to drink your fluids..water is best. Eat FIBER ONE cereal with milk or mix it with yogurt. I also eat a peeled apple every aftenoon. Take 1-2 Ducolax pills each night. Walking is also good to help the system adjust. Third: I don't like Miralax as I think it's too harsh. Metamucil is too thick. I've never use Benefiber but lots of people say it's wonderful. Watch for things that are somewhat constipating naturally..e.g. bananas, cheese. Fourth: About every 5-6 days, I will take MOM to get a complete cleaning out. I feel that the sigmoidcolon is what is being emptied and not the main colon and I want a complete "poop" removement. After, I do this & everything is empited, I eat Active yogurt to replace the flora in the colon that may have been lost. All of this done with my surgeon's approval.

My nutritionist suggested FIBER ONE Cereal. I eat the Raisin Bran Clusters selection. They have several different kinds but I like this one best. It has 4gms of Protein in it. I also take a stool softner at night.

I am so happy with myself today! I did so good yesterday. I got a small plate and a teaspoon so I could choose what I really really wanted to eat and that's all I ate. No going back for seconds. No dessert of any kind. I can't believe how much food I would eat in years past. Serving myself with a teaspoon really helped. Yippee for me! I hope everyone else did well and feeling good about themselves tonight. Kaninag, I will be crossing my fingers for that weight loss you want. I know you can do it...just hang in there.

Please make sure that you research the sleeve carefully before having it if you get insurance/job. It is fairly new, insurance doesn't cover it yet and it hasn't stood the test of time yet. At least that was what I was told at the pre-surgery seminar that I attended.

Walk, walk, and more walking. Gas-X too. Two of them. Hope you're better soon.

I wish I knew what to tell you! The stress of not working is enough to deal with at this time and to have your band in trouble is more than you should have to deal with now. Have you tried talking with your surgeon, explaining that you & your husband have lost your jobs and you are physically in trouble from the band? Ask him that if he felt you should have had the gastric bypass, why did he do a band instead? Is he just after money from any surgery instead of what is best for your health? I know that what I said isn't going to help you but I do wish the best for you and hope you will keep us informed of your future.

Wow! Thanks for the warning. So far, my doctor has put in 4ccs on the first fill which is the most he will do at one time. The other fills have brought me up to 6.75ccs and I think my next fill will bring me up to my sweet spot as I feel very close now.

I'm with you GraciesMom. This is too important for me to waste my time on food. I pulled up my big girl panties on Wednesday and planned what to do for Thursday so I wouldn't mess it all up. I did good too and I still don't feel deprived this morning. Thanks for the advice...there are probably lots of people out there that wish they had done better yesterday. Maybe this will help them to make a plan for all those other things you mentioned. Thanks again.

I have three fills (6.75cc in a 11cc band) and I still have to monitor everything I eat. I guess this is bandser's hell that everyone talks about. I have to be careful but I know that I am getting close b/c some days I feel restriction and others I don't. So hang in there...you'll get there soon. Just be tough and don't overeat just b/c it's there. Have some control

I too am somewhat of a planner. I like to know what I'm facing and have a plan of how to react. My nut/doctor said that about 1,000 to 12,000 calories is best. Make sure to get in 1/2 cup of protein, 1/2 cup of veggies, drink 64 oz of water, and exercise. You should be fine. I'd also like to encourage you to visit this forum often so that you can learn from others. We all have experienced similar situations and it will help you too. Good luck and keep us informed.

Congrats. Glad to hear you're feeling better. You will feel all sorts of different things in the days to come but just know that we have been there, done that, too. If we can be of any help, let us know. You are starting a new journey towards a healthier life and will be slimmer too! Yippee!

I ate my Fiber Cereal for breakfast and then went on to my brother's for the big meal. There was food everywhere! Since there isn't enough room for all to sit at one table together, we formed a line to serve our plates and then sat at different places around the house. I was almost the last in line and I watched all the others filling their "Platters...not plates", it began to turn my stomach. OMG, did I do that in years past? It was disgusting the amount of food that they put on their platters. Oh, most of them could use some dieting also! Anyway, I got myself a small dessert plate and I got a teaspoon of dressing/gravy, yams, cranberry sauce, green Beans, potato salad and a nice big slice of turkey breast. NO dessert at all. I felt full and did not feel cheated at all. It's amazing how much food you can enjoy if you use a teaspoon to serve yourself. It's more than enough food and you won't feel as cheated. I brought home for my night meal, a big slice of turkey and 1/3 cup of green beans. That's all. I knew if I brought anything more, it might tempt me. I didn't even eat all of that. I am not going to be a slave to food any longer. This is all too important to me. I want to be healthier and slimmer at the same time. There is nothing in food or drink that is so important to me as to mess up my weight loss journey. It's not going to happen!

Get just a little taken out. It's not good for you to be that tight. It's a tool to use but you have to use it gently or it will break. Don't wait...why have a miserable weekend?

I don't know what I would do if I was self pay, so I am very lucky that I'm not. I feel for you. Alliemorris gave you some good advice. I find that if I journal everything I have better success. So, start over as if you have just been banded. I don't mean a long liquid diet but a day or two. Journal all your intake, pick up some extra exercise, drink a little more Water. This may jump-start you into weight loss again. You can do it! Just try. Don't be discouraged. Hang in there.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! "May your stuffing be tasty. May your turkey be plump. May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious and your pies take the prize. And may your Thanksgiving dinner STAY off your thighs." author unknown. God Bless you all and remember to count your blessings today.

I am curious. What is everyone doing with their fat clothes? In the past I always saved them figuring I "might" need them again someday. Now, I am giving them away. I don't them in the house at all. I saved one pair of pants & a shirt for reference but that's all.:thumbup:

It's really hard to learn what your body/band will like and what it doesn't. It also frustrating when it likes one thing on Tuesday and hates it on Thursday. Forgive yourself, make better choices, and know that you aren't alone in all of this journey. We all have a learning curve and it changes often.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone wherever you are! The poem is so cute! Thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I feel so blest b/c of Dr Helms in Pell City. He is my PCP and he suggested in Dec 2008 that I needed to have the lapband surgery. I told him that I was too old for it b/c of information I had received from a New Orleans seminar a few years ago. He assured me that I wasn't too old and if I didn't have it done, I might not see my 70's at the rate my health was failing. From there, I went to see Mr Les Miles in Birmingham and after all the insurance requirements were met, I was banded on August 11th. I am now down 57 lbs and I feel so lucky. I am thankful for the people on this forum that are so helpful, informative, kind and really concerned about each other. This year is ending so much better than last year and I am now looking forward to 2010 to see what it brings me. I just know that it's going to be filled with many blessings.

My doctor doesn't gum at all. However, since you're a newbie, you probably don't have any saline in your tubing and therefore are more open than you will be later. It could pass w/o difficulty but in the future, I would re-think chewing gum. Is it worth the possible problems it could cause you?

Congrats on starting your new journey. Don't be surprised if you have some problems but we are here to answer anything for you. Take it one day at the time and remember to start walking right away.

I got my first fill two weeks after my staples were removed.