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Hi All, I was banded 6 days ago, so I am still feeling full just on my liquid diet. I guess the swelling takes a while to go down. I am an old WW member also. My question for those of you currently banded and going to WW is: did you tell the leader and members that you have had bariatric surgery? If you did, what was the response? WW has always touted that you can kind of have it all, within their points limits. But those of us who are banded obviously realized we needed more help than WW alone. So, I would love to hear from some folks who are doing both and what is the support for you at meetings like? I always loved the WW philosophy, I just needed more help with my food addiction. Thanks, Arlene from Boston

I haven't told my leader or anyone at the WW meetings. While it's possible they'd be supportive, my gut feeling is that they would not be, that they'd just think I was cheating. Or something like that.

I only told the nutritionist at my surgeon's office, and she advised on modifications that can be made to the plan. There are WW/lapband support groups on the WW website, but I haven't found them to be very active.

Just wanted to say hi to the fellow Weight Watchers out there! I lost 65 pounds with the band and then got stuck on a plateau for several months. I decided I needed to shake something up and joined WW nearly two weeks ago. So far, I'm really liking the changes to the program!

I met with my nutritionist today and talked with her about the WW plan and how it fits in with my needs as a bandster, and she thinks I'll be a-ok. Her main recommendation was that I still eat Protein first at mealtimes, and if that means I have trouble getting in all 5 of my fruits/veggies for a day, that's OK. Getting in my Protein is more important.

Hi all! I started C25K last summer, and made it to week 8 (though it took me longer than 8 weeks to get there), then I got really busy (I got married) and slacked off a bit. I recently signed up for a 5K and started working through the weeks again -- next up is W5D3. The 5K is nearly 8 weeks away, so I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll be ready... I guess we'll see!

I'm 5'10", and my nutritionist told me that 1500 was a good daily goal. For me, though, I find that switching it up from day to day is key! I probably average 1250/day, but some days are as low as 900 and some days are as high as 1600. I find that eating the same number of calories every day causes my weight loss to stall.

I'm almost 5 months post-op, have lost 44 pounds, and have really been noticing a lot of hair coming out in the past few weeks. I get in all my Protein and Vitamins, so I've not really been sure what was happening... it's very comforting to read what others are saying about it being a temporary thing! I have A TON of very long hair, so it's not noticeable, but it's been freaking me out when I brush it!

I'm 5'10", and 170 puts me in the "healthy" weight range, so that's my uber-goal. The smallest I've been is 185, so my plan is to get there, then re-evaluate.

Bariatric Eating has a tasteless, odorless Protein Powder called PURE, and I think it's awesome. When I was on liquids, I lived off Soup and PURE powder. I'd make chunk-free Soups like Tomato or butternut squash, or I'd throw chunkier soups (like lentil or split pea) in a blender to remove the lumps.

- A recliner-like place to sleep. Laying flat was too painful.

- The hospital sent me home with a refillable ice-pack, which really helped with the port-site pain.

- This is totally TMI, but stool softener. My doctor warned me that I might need it, and I SO did.

So many years of doing Weight Watchers have instilled some diet-habits in me that are hard to break...

1) I drink TONS of Water, all day every day, and taking a break during/after eating is hard.

2) I got so used to adding huge quantities of veggies to everything I cook/eat, to add volume without adding calories. Now that I have to prioritize Protein, I don't have room for all those veggies.

I also have a hard time remembering to take my Vitamin supplements. I know it should be easy, but I forget all the time!

I got my second fill today. I had *thought* that I got 3 cc's in my first fill, but I learned today that I actually got 5. And then I got 3 more today for a total of 8.

I have an 11 cc Realize band, and I was feeling a bit like, "isn't that kind of fast?" But I've been feeling *no* restriction for the past month, so I'm very glad that my doctor was willing to be so aggressive. We'll see how I feel in a day or two!

I was banded a week before you, and totally had the exact same experience. I kept attempting to lay flat in my bed, and it hurt too much. Eventually, I could make it through the night, but the port site would hurt in the morning. It's faded by now. For the past ten days or so, I've been in zero pain whatsoever!

I lost 14 pounds on my weeklong pre-op diet, and 10 more pounds since surgery. My first fill is tomorrow, and I'm glad. For the past week or so, I've felt NO restriction!

I had my support group meeting last night, and I had an "a-ha" moment when some of the more experienced bandsters were talking about getting stuck and PB'ing. They said that it can happen even when you think you're being careful about eating slowly and taking small bites.

What I learned: Sometimes the difference between being full and being too full is just one small bite. The key is to really take a moment between each bite to think, "How full am I? Can I handle another bite?" This is challenging, because we so often eat with others and are chatting or distracted, and don't take the time to really think about what we're eating.

A-ha!

Has anyone found a bariatric formula Multivitamin that you only have to take once a day?

My nutritionist says I can't take a Multivitamin at the same time as a dairy product (but I do have to take them with food). Since I'm trying to get in so much Protein, I have dairy with almost every meal or snack... so I'm having a hard time finding two times a day when I can take my vitamin!

My nutritionist said that they usually recommend 70, but since I'm tall (5'10"), I have to shoot for 80 as well. I agree... it's hard! I try to choose cooking ingredients with the highest quantity of protein: chicken stock instead of broth, Greek yogurt instead of Mayonnaise, milk instead of Water in Protein shakes, etc.

I also eat a lot of protein-ey Snacks - cottage cheese, cheese sticks, Greek yogurt, Kozy Shack has a 100-cal pudding snack that has 5g of Protein (and is very yummy)! I make it my goal to get to 80 every day without having to resort to shakes or supplements. Most days I succeed, but just barely!

Good luck!

I, like Mary, found that an ice pack worked better than a heating pad for my incision pain.

The best thing I found for the liquid diet phase was Bariatric Eating's PURE powder. It's an unflavored Protein that you can mix in to anything and it really is tasteless, odorless, and doesn't change the texture of your food. I ate blended Soup with PURE powder two meals a day for two weeks.

And finally... my doctor told me to take a stool softener if I needed it. So I waited for a few days after surgery before I started taking it, and by then, it was too late. I'll spare you the details, but this caused me to experience some of the most uncomfortable hours of my life. If asked for my advice, I'd say just go ahead and start the softeners the day after surgery.

Yay I am not alone!!

I’ve been to a few salons already, but I have an appointment next weekend at one that I understand is really good (it better be – I’m driving 90 minutes to get there)! I totally get that that will make a huge difference; the ladies at David’s Bridal were less-than-helpful! They just wanted to make a sale that day, and didn’t really care to hear my story.

When I lose weight, I lose it in my stomach first, then my chest, and my booty hangs in there until the bitter end. So I’m thinking an A-line dress with a corset back would be the most forgiving – the fuller the skirt, the better.

I also found a dress that I LOVE by a designer named Sarah Houston. She is best-known for her maternity dresses, and makes all of her gowns with larger-than-usual seam allowances. If that dress ends up being THE dress, hopefully that’ll help.

TCarroll, how long are you going to wait before you start having your size 16 dress altered? Will you start as soon as you get it? Or will you wait until closer to your wedding date? I’m sure there are alterations people who can work quickly (at an added cost, of course), but you never know how many times you’re going to have to come back!

Thanks so much!

I keep feeling a need to clarify to people that my surgery was scheduled before I got engaged! I never want anyone to think that I got my band because of the wedding, as that seems like a really psycho-bride thing to do. :eek:

Anyhoo, as things turned out, I’m two weeks post-surgery and my wedding is in 7 months. While I totally admit that I’m excited to look good on my wedding day and to surprise those who will have not seen me since Christmas, the whole bandster-bride things is complicated. How the heck do you buy a dress – the kind of dress that you’re supposed to order 6 months in advance – when you’ve got no idea what size you’ll be on the big day?? I’ve basically decided that I have two options…

1 – make the best guesstimate I can about what size I’ll be in 7 months and order the dress soon, or

2 – wait until the very last minute and hope that I’ll be able to buy off-the-rack!

Neither of these are great options. Alterations can go a long way, but how much would it suck if I invested in a dress that we couldn’t get to fit come October? But waiting to the last minute is scary – I’ll surely still be in the plus-size range in 7 months, and plus-size sample dresses are hard to come by. Even off-the-rack stores like David’s Bridal have a pretty crappy selection of plus sizes in-store.

Right now, I’m leaning toward option 1, but I’m only looking at used or inexpensive dresses, so that if it doesn’t fit, I can sell it on eBay and not be out too much cash. If anyone has been in a similar situation, I’d LOVE some advice!!!

Are gummies okay for a person so freshly banded?? I'd love to start something different than the funky Vitamins they gave me. :smile2:

I switched to them about ten days post-op, and they've been working fine for me. I just make sure I chew them thoroughly.

I also bought the Celebrate chewables (three months' worth!) and I hate them. They're huge and they taste really vitamin-ey, and you have to take two of them every day and you can't take them at the same time!! Nuts to that. I bought a $4 bottle of Target brand adult gummies, and they're much tastier. I think I'll go that route from now on.

My surgeon said that the reason he advises patients to lay off caffeine after surgery is to keep you from getting dehydrated. When I went in for my two-week post-op checkup, he said that I could have caffeine again. I'm trying to stick to just one cup each morning, though!

Hiya! I bought three months' worth of Calcet Creamy Bites in lemon, because my nutritionist recommended them. I was told not to start taking them until a week after surgery, and now that I am (and recording them in my food diary), I'm wishing they were not so high in calories and carbs. They're delicious, though!!

What do you take? TIA!

Hi folks! I was banded yesterday!

I was supposed to spend a night in the hospital, but (another!) huge blizzard descended on DC yesterday, and the doctor said that it would be just fine for me to go home last night and spare us the worry of getting home in today's crappy weather. Looking out my window right now, I'm grateful that we went that route!

So... surgery was supposed to be at 12:50, but we got started a little late (I think they were short-staffed because of the weather). I went back into the little prep room at noon or so, and got changed, got my IV, and got a shot of heparin in my belly. Three nurses, my surgeon, my LPN, and my anesthesiologist all came through in the hour I was there. My mom was with me for that hour, but then I said goodbye to her and was wheeled into the OR!

I remember getting moved onto the operating table and them having to do a bunch of adjustments to the table and my position because I'm so tall. I don't remember the anesthesiologist telling me that he was starting... the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery! And the first thing out of my mouth was "I never counted backwards from ten!" I think they laughed at me. I was in recovery for an hour or so. I was shivering, so they wrapped me in blankets, and my throat and mouth were SO DRY and they gave me ice chips. A guy came in and gave me a chest x-ray without me even having to move, which was crazy. I know my surgeon came in and talked to me at some point... but I hardly remember it.

Then they wheeled me into a room where I could sit up and drink some Water. They gave me a pain pill (oxycodone) and some anti-nausea medicine, because I felt like I might barf if I stood up. My mom and my fiancé (who had arrived about an hour before) came back and talked to me for a while until I felt like I could stand up and get changed and get ready to go home. Which maybe took an hour or so. The timing was good -- right around the time we got to my house, the roads were starting to get really bad!

Ever since I woke up in the recovery room, I've been in a mild amount of pain. I haven't been experiencing too much shoulder pain, and the gassiness isn't so bad. But my incisions and abdomen are pretty sore. I've been using an ice pack, which helps. And I keep holding/compressing my stomach, which also feels good.

Last night, I was only able to drink about 16 ounces of water and 6 ounces of Soup. Today, I seem to be doing better – I’ve had about 30 ounces of water, half a Protein Shake (made with some Greek yogurt which made it taste SO GOOD!), and ten ounces of soup. Not too shabby!

I'm on the NuvaRing, and my doctor told me to stop taking it for 30 days before and after surgery, for the blood-clotting reason others have mentioned. It has been really sucky, because I have pretty terrible cramps when I am off it, but it's only for a few months!

I love the way you listed your timelines. I just had my second meeting, wasn't to impressed with the first location I went to. But your timeline give me some idea as to how long the process takes. May I ask what insurance you had.

Sorry, luveroflife, I just noticed your question! I have CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield for federal employees. The Standard PPO option. I switched to it on January 1 because I'd heard such good things about their approvals.