Astrasmom

Hi Andrea, I'm Dawn. Nice to meet you. Congratulations on the start of your journey. Please feel free to ask questions and do read as much as you can at this point. Keep us posted.

Wow 1800 calories is alot of calories. My nutritionist said 800-1100 calories a day for weightloss. I really haven't been to hard on the carbs but the decreased calories are what have helped me. Sometimes I have a bit more because it's good to shock your body once and awhile otherwise it gets used to the calorie intake.

Your very welcome. Any other questions that I can help you with, please ask. Good luck to you. How are things going?

Forgive me for being blunt with you. It's not my intentions to hurt anyone but I was always taught to tell the truth no matter what the costs. So here goes. Here is the question that you need to ask yourself. Do I want to be healthy? Or do I want to die of weight complications and liver disease from drinking to much? Grant it even people that eat healthy and lose weight can get cancer or have a heart attack. HOWEVER your chances of dieing of weight complications and liver disease from drinking to much are greater. We all have to give a little to get alot. If you want to live then I would suggest giving up the bottle and either try the weightloss on your own or look into Weightloss surgery. No one can make you do anything. If you don't want to take care of yourself, then the doctor shouldn't put all of his/her efforts into trying either. I still enjoy a drink now and then. In my younger years I used to drink pretty heavily. Before surgery I used to enjoy a 6 pack of beer once or twice a week also. Now I enjoy a 2-4 wine coolers or a glass of red wine maybe once a month. No one said you have to stop living. You just have to be commited to making a lifestyle change. Most people drink in excess because they are depressed. Not because they truley enjoy drinking. So maybe you should start there first. Again sorry if I offended. Good luck to you no matter what you decide. Hopefully your decision will be to stick around for longer.

There was a lady in my seminar that was 85 years young and getting the Lapband surgery done.

It's a place where several if not all of us have not been in a VERY long time and can't wait to get there. :scared2:

I have only saved 1 pair of my heaviest weight pants (Size 26). I am now in size 14. As soon as I lose the weight and the clothing is too big for me I take them right to good will. I refuse to keep them around because I am NOT gaining the weight back. Out with the old, in with the new. My theory is I have lost an entire person on the outside but I have gained a new person on the inside. The person on the inside is the one with the new outlook on life and she definately doesn't want to go back to the way things used to be. So if those fat clothes are not around, then the least likely I am to get back into them. And I am NOT going out to by bigger clothes, I am going to buy smaller clothes. :scared2:

Congratulations on your weightloss. And also good luck in whatever decision that you make regarding the Lapband surgery. You are also very lucky to have a wife that supports your decisions. Please do keep us posted.

Just the opposite. If you weren't feeling all of this, I would say you aren't normal. But you are very normal. It's major surgery. As with any surgery there are risks. To be honest with you I can't sit here and say that no one has died on the table due to complications, because I know there have been deaths. But what I can tell you is that the rate of success is proven to be higher then the rate of deaths and complications of the lapband. I have only 1 regret since I have been banded. That is that I didn't get it done sooner. My doctor told me that they expect you to lose 50% of your body weight in the first year. I am already 75% down and only 8 months (100 lbs.) I have not weighed this much since 1987. I can not be 100% forward with you and say you will be ok, because no one knows and I can't tell the furture. I can tell you that the surgery wasn't that bad and I have been through Open Heart Surgery on the bypass machine. So if I can make it through that, I'm sure you will be fine with the Lapband surgery. I wish you much luck and please keep us posted.

Try Gas-X strips to see if that helps. Sounds like trapped gas. Try sugar free ice pops also when you can move onto straight liquids. They help with the swelling also.

I was in the same place you were a week ago. I waited 4 weeks before I finally decided I had to make the call to have a tiny bit of fluid removed. I could get fluids in but it was very uncomfortable. Solids were getting stuck way to easily and I wound up PBing alot also. I was scared to get the fluid taken out because I didn't want to start gaining the weight back. I finally realized that I was doing myself harm by not getting enough nutrients in my body. So I got the unfill. I feel much better and I am still losing the weight. I would definately call your doctor and get an unfill. You will feel so much better. And you will still have the restriction. You just won't be uncomfortable.

Congratulations. You are almost there. Hang in there. Things do get a little easier after you are banded while you are on the liquid. For the first week or so you won't really feel like you are hungry. But when the swelling goes down the hunger comes back until you move to the mushie stage. It's well worth the work though. Especially when you start seeing the changes and hearing others tell you that you are doing awesome. It's ok to feel nervous. That's all normal. But you will be fine. As for your goals that's great but my suggestion is not to set goals so high. Try for 20lbs first and then go after that. The higher your goals are set, the harder it is for you. Set small goals and go from there. Good luck to you and please keep us posted. :scared2:

You didn't screw up but be very careful. Your doctor makes you follow a schedule for a reason. Your insides are swollen right now and the reason that you are on liquids is so that you don't get stuck. I'm sure most of what you are feeling is guilt right now. We all make mistakes, but we have to learn how to get back on track afterwards. Everyday is a learning process with your band. Just try very hard to stick with the plan that your doctor gave to you. You don't want to stretch your band. You will feel better once you get into the mushie stage. Just don't push it. I am glad that you are feeling well enough to get out of the house with your friend after only 4 days. That's great. Good luck to you and congratulations.

You will notice more changes soon. That's where I noticed the biggest change was in the face. You are doing wonderful though. Remember any weightloss is better then what we were doing before. Keep up the great work.:scared2:

Glad your feeling better. And you are very welcome. Any questions you have along the way please feel free to ask.

Wow I am glad that you are feeling better. And I'm also glad that it wasn't anything serious. Good luck to you.

Are you taking pictures of yourself occasionally? I found that the only way that I could see changes were to put my pictures next to each other. I couldn't really see the changes in myself. Now that I am down 100lbs I can of course see them but I honestly didn't start seeing the changes until I was about 70-80lbs down.

This is very normal. Understand you have made a huge change in your life. Your body is in shock right now. Several people go through a short depression period after they are banded. Things will get better. Hang in there.

Ok as someone else said then, you don't want to get your calories from liquid soups because those are considered sliders and they won't stay in your band that long. You will find yourself eating more and more. You want to get your fills from the mushies. It's ok to have soup once and awhile but don't make a habit of it. You won't lose any weight. And NEVER be afraid to advance to the next stage in foods if your doctor says you can.

I pretty much tell everyone. I've gone through life beleiving that if a person is going to judge me then so be it. I am not in this world for anyone else but myself. If this is the way that I chose to lose weight, then let them think that I took the "easy way out". Only those that have had the lapband surgery know full well that there is NO EASY thing about this procedure. The world is cruel and unfortunately if it's not your choice of weightloss that people judge you by it's always something else. It's a persons choice whether to tell or not. No one can tell you who you should tell or even if you should tell at all. That comes from your own heart. This surgery saved my life. Weight Watchers and South Beach Diet didn't save my life. So my choice is to share my success with others.

Congratulations. And it's normal not to go to the bathroom. Yes you can get consitpated from the pain medication and the anesthisia. It's nothing to worry about. As for the pain level, it's always worse the second day. It does get better. And it does take a good two weeks to feel totally back to normal again. Keep doing your walking. Your doing great. Take your pain medication. That's what it's for. Try a heating pad too.

Are you on mushies yet or still liquids?

Liquids don't have to be 4 oz. Soups if they are just liquids, they don't need to be 4oz. Soups with veggies and things in them, should be 4 oz. You shouldn't gulp though. Sip.

Food is not your enemy. We all have bad habits that follow us even after banding. We just learn as we go along how to deal with them better. This is a lifestyle change. Not a give up everything or the band won't work. Remember this is NOT a diet. It's ok to be hungry. It's also ok the enjoy and give into those urges once and awhile. Everything in moderation. If you deprive yourself of the good things once and awhile you will fail. Why? Because it's too much like a diet then. Do not beat yourself up if you fall off the path once and awhile. Just get back on. Do remember that food is an addiction. And that addiction will unfortunately follow you forever. Maybe next time instead of beating yourself up about the food that you want, you can take a peice of paper and make a pro and con section. Write down the pros and cons of chosing that food of choice. This in turn makes you wait a few minutes, and usually (not all of the time and it doesn't work for everyone) you wind up changing your mind anyway. If you are really hungry and have already eaten your food, then try drinking more fluids. I keep a bottle of diet snapple or a Water bottle with me all of the time. You are doing wonderful. Keep telling yourself that.

Congratulations. It does get easier as you go along. It usually takes a couple of fills (unless your doctor is aggressive in his/her fills) before you feel good restriction. Keep up the great work. Your doing awesome. Just remember the more you fill, the better you have to chew and be sure to cut your food into tiny peices. Eat slow.