Astrasmom

Congratulations. You are lucky that you only have to wait until March. My insurance made me wait for 6 months. But the wait was well worth it. You will be amazed. Good luck on your journey and keep us posted on your progress. We will save you a seat on the losers bench.

You should be consuming 4oz of fluids an hour. You should be able to drink a shot glass of Fluid every 15 minutes until the 4oz is gone. If you have problems set a timer and in that 15 minutes make sure you have consumed that much of fluids. If you are drinking ff chocolate milk then you should also be drinking 4oz of Protein Shakes a day too to keep you from getting hungry and to promote healing. Also try sugar free Ice pops. They will help you with the fluid intake.

Exactly the way that I am feeling. I am hoping to get a fill on Wednesday. I would say yes it's time for another fill. Call and let your doctor know how you are feeling. I have heard that you really don't lose until you hit the 'sweet spot' which is about 4-5 fills. But everyone is different so it might happen sooner. There is no set point where we lose the weight.

Congratulations on your surgery and on your weight loss. You sound like you are well on your way. Stick to the plan that the doctor gave you and you will be a huge success. Looking forward to hearing your success stories.

I can only tell you what my decision was based on. Lapband is alot less invasive and the recovery time is minimal. With the bypass there are alot more Vitamin deficiencies. And I have also heard that after 2 years the bypass will stop working because it can not be adjusted any longer. Although you do lose the weight alot faster I think that losing the weight that fast is not healthy. The Lapband can be removed incase it needs to be where the bypass can not be removed. Try Gastric Bypass.com - Since 1998 Your Guide to Gastric Banding and Bypass Weight Loss Surgery and also Official Site: the LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System for weight loss surgery be sure to ask many questions.

At this stage you really should be having 3 protein shakes a day because on the liquid stage you aren't getting that much protein which is what keeps you from being hungry. Try increasing that. Also try some sugar free ice pops. They will help you to get your fluids in also. They are my lifesavers. You should be consuming 4oz of fluids every hour. I know it seems hard to get the fluids in but you will get used to the routine. Make sure that you stick to the plan that your doctor gave you.

My is tender once and awhile. Depending how active I am during th course of the day.

As my NUT told me. Think of your pouch as a funnel. Don't drink too fast.

It does take a couple of days for the anesthesia to get totally out of your system also. That topped with pain meds will make you tired and sleepy sometimes nauseous. Just rest right now but also make sure you are up and walking occasionally. Your body is also in starvation mode but it will get better over time. By the way, congratulations on your banding!!

I attend my local Bariatric Support Group once a month. I find that along with this website it has helped me tremendously. Mostly just by knowing that you aren't alone. And that you don't have something wrong with you, just because your over weight. I enjoy hearing everyone's success stories and getting tips from others. We are like one big family. Plus getting the praise that you get from the others really puts a boost on your self esteem. So I definatley have to say that it has helped me and I would recommend it to everyone if it's available to you.

Make sure that you take your pain meds when you are feeling a little pain because if you wait until the pain is out of control, then it will take at least an hour for the medication to start working. I was able to sleep on my 'right' side about 2-3 days after surgery by putting a pillow under my side. Keep in mind that some of your back pain could also be gas. Sometimes it helps to get up and walk a short distance and then try laying on your right side with the pillow under you. It will get better in a few days. It really took me about 1 1/2 weeks to feel better so that I didn't have to use a pillow under my side anymore.

I use a digital WW scale. I weigh and measure ALL of my food (except when I go out to eat). I don't find it like dieting because I never did weigh my food when I was dieting. I just cut down on everything.

Could have been what you ate and it could have been just a little tug on your stitches. It happens from time to time.

I am 2 1/2 months out of my surgery and last night I had Roast Beef for the first time. It will also be my last time. It got stuck even though I had little bits. So beef is not my friend any longer. I will stick to the chicken and fish. I was never really a red meat eater anyway.

Not everyone gets the gas in the shoulder though. I was one of the lucky ones that didn't.

When you go into surgery they pump air inside of you to open up the area so that they can see better. The gas is normally from that. The band is in the upper part of your chest on the top of your stomach.

Congratulations Lisa. My names Dawn and I am the same age as you (next month) with 2 adult children. I was banded on 10/23/09 and have lost 41lbs. Looking foward to your updates and talking with you about our journeys. Feel free to add me as a friend.

Otherwise known as gas. It passes within a couple of days. The best thing for that is to walk walk walk and Gas-X strips.

First off I would have to say to you. Don't be upset if you give into cravings once and awhile. You are only human. This is a lifestyle change. This is not a give up your life thing. In our support group the motto is "Everything in moderation." You can still have the piece of cheesecake that you crave once and awhile. But you can't have the entire cake and you can't have a huge piece. If you don't give into your temptations once and awhile, you will ultimately crash and burn. That is how we all got here in the first place. DIETS DON'T WORK. Don't be afraid that you are going to gain the weight back. It's not going to happen with a little reward once and awhile. I eat sugar free ice pops. They are my lifesavers. But I did have a peice of cheesecake for Thanksgiving and another one for Christmas. I didn't gain. I lost weight. As for your doctor telling you that he would unfill you. I've never heard of such a thing. Maybe it was a test to see if you would really do it?

Sorry to hear about your stuck situation. And thanks for the Pineapple idea. I didn't know about that myself. There are some foods that won't agree with you. That doesn't mean that they won't in the future. Don't be afraid to try new things. I think everyone should experience the stuck feeling at least once in their banded life because we all learn from those experiences. Yes it hurts and most of the time it scares the crap out of you, especially the first time around. However what we learn from these things are the foods that don't agree with us and how to chew chew chew. I wouldn't give up totally on Banana's but I would wait a few weeks before you try them again. Meat and veggies are ok BTW. I stick to chicken and fish though. The red meats never did agree with me.

Congratulations!!! We will save you a seat on the Losers Bench. Be sure to keep us updated on your status.

You should be consuming about 3-4 oz with your meals. It also sounds like you aren't getting that much Protein. Try incorporating some white chicken in a can (packed in water) with a tiny bit of FF mayo. Or even tuna with a tiny bit of FF mayo. Also Carnation Instant Breakfast drink doesn't have much protein in it. I would suggest a higher Protein Drink mix. My NUT makes us drink whey Protein Isolates. They run a little on the expensive side but they do work. I drink 2, 8oz drinks a day. Sometimes I only need 1. But I'm not feeling hungry and I've only had 1 fill. You are hungry because you aren't getting enough of the protein in your system. Re fried Beans with a little FF cheese and salsa is good once and awhile also. All Natural Peanut Butter is soft and you can add that to different foods for your protein also. You also should be drinking 64oz of fluids in between your meals. If you have a hard time doing that I suggest some sugar free ice pops. That gets your fluids in also. Hope this helps you a little. It's all about the protein. Get more protein in then anything else.

My initial consultation with my surgeon was 6 months before my surgery date. They gave me a tentative date until I had all my tests done and my 6 nutrtional visits. After which they moved my surgery date up 1 week and I met with the surgeon 1 week before for my surgery for the final visit to go over the surgery. I had to wait the 6 months because of my insurance company requirements.

Myself personally. I would start off by saying that the Lapband surgery has given me a new beginning on life. Not only has it saved my life it has also given me back my self esteem, and taught me how to eat better. It's taught me that food doesn't have to control my life. That I can truly control the food. I would recommend this to EVERYONE and I would definately stress that many people feel that this is the easy way out. Trust me, this is NOT the easy way out. Dieting is the easy way out. The lapband is hardwork but it's also a tool to help you lose the weight and to keep it off at the same time. I would stress that they ask alot of questions because that is truly how you learn about the experience. The Lapband is a lifestyle change. You don't have to give up living your life, examining every little thing you eat, when you have the Lapband. I would also recommend that they attend a local support group meeting if at all possible and definately give them the address to this website.

I have been using CPAP for almost 3 years now. 2 weeks ago I went to see my sleep doctor and she said that she wants me to lose 10 more lbs and then she will bring me back in for another sleep test to see if I still need the machine. I have lost in total about 50lbs (that's the pre-op diet too). So I'm hoping that this will be it for me. Since the surgery I do sleep without it sometimes and my husband has told me that he doesn't hear me snoring anymore. So that's a good thing.