JeweI

You have done a great job and you look fabulous. Ditto on the gas pain. It is the worst part of the whole thing but it fades each day. They gave me meds to help. It is tolerable. So don't be afraid of it. Walk around after surgery. It helps.

My husband was very against this at first but now He thinks it was such a great thing for me to do. The more he learns about the surgery the more supportive he is. He is so proud and excited that I am losing weight. Achieving my dreams really. I never had any hope that I could live a healthy vibrante life until my doc mentioned the lapband too me. Now I can actually envision my self smaller, healthier and with more energy. I am 12 days post op and already feel the transformation happening. I have lost 20 pounds, 8 since surgery. It is so much easier for me to get up in the morning. I am not falling asleep all the time. It has gotten easier for me to take care of myself. I have more motivation. This surgery has already changed my life. I never want to go back to the way I was a few months ago. I was so sleepy and tired and just couldn't get my studying done. Couldn't think clearly. Don't give up on all these possabilities. Tell your husband it is not just a matter of what size you are but a matter of how you feel. He doesn't know what it is like for us to walk into a room full of people or meet a new person. Being fat is more than just on your body it's in your head. Can I fit in this seat? Is my deodorant still working? Am I the fattest person here? Do they think I am a pig? lazy? I think I have fat brain. Which makes me uncomfortable everywhere I go for some reason or another. Now, I see a light at the end of the tunnel. One day I will be just like anyone else and won't stand out because I am fat but because I am beautiful and brilliant. It is alot of hard work but now I can see myself reaching my goal. Prelapband I never even dreamed of it. Good luck to you.

I was banded on the 4th. Today is day 11 post op and I feel great. A little tender near my port but I am back into my regular routine. My doc gave me approval to eat soft foods now. So no more jello for me. For those of you who are in pain and hungry now just know that it will pass. This is only temporary and it's for a good cause.

Well I haven't gotten stuck since the first day. I feel pretty good. I slept on my tummy last night and this morning when I got off of my stomach I had this terrible muscle burning sensation where my stiches are (not the port area, the other stiches). I didn't have any shoulder pain when I ate today. I am starting to feel pretty hungry. The reason my doc moved me to soft foods so fast is because he doesn't want me eatting mushies. Stuff like mashed potatoes and grits tend to have high carbs and he is passionately against carbs. Yesterday, I had half an egg for breakfast, turkey for lunch and chicken for dinner. I am trying to get more water in me. I know I am not drinking nearly enough. My husbands boss has been asking my hubby a million questions about my surgery. He is wanting to save up and do it too. His insurance won't cover it though. Everyday my hubby gets to work his boss ask how I am doing lol. Curiosity.

I guess my lack of food intake yesterday paid off. I was down a whole 2 more pounds this morning. Making a total of 20 pounds. Felt good after having such a tough day yesterday. I even managed to get some food in me today. Half an egg for breakfast and chicken for lunch and dinner. Don't have room for anything else but protein. I guess yesterday I ate too much too fast. I ate really slow today waiting for the full signal. I never got it at dinner but didn't want to push it. I did feel some gas pain though so I just stopped and took some tylenol. School has got me really busy I am taking 3 classes and will be on campus 4 days a week. I have a ton of reading to do already. I hate the feeling of being behind. The people in my classes also seem more serious about school than last semester. More competition for the nursing program. I hope everyone is doing well. I really do apreciate all your support. I can't wait to meet most of you in Feb.

Sorry I have been MIA the past 2 days. School started yesterday and I have quite a load this semester. I had my post op appt today. The doc said I should have lost more weight post op. He also said to expect to slip up sometimes but don't give up. I did eat some soup with carbs in it post op so I know thats why I wasn't down as much as he was expecting. I had a tough day today. The doc cleared me to go into the soft food stage. So I tried eatting somethings that were on his list of "soft foods". I know I am suppose to chew, chew, chew. I was so scared of getting stuck I really felt like I had chewed enough but apparently I didn't. I got stuck both at lunch and at dinner. What a horrible feeling. I thought I was gonna die. I ate dinner with my son so he kinda freaked out when everything came back out. Shesh, I freaked out. I am feeling really discouraged right now. I guess breaking up (with food) really is hard to do. I just want to get a big bowl of mashed potato's and go at it. Even that would hurt though. Anyway, I will just get up in the morning and try try again. Being a fat chick I guess I'll fiqure out how to get some food in me. I think I am gonna use the blender on my food a bit. I am really sore too from all the swallowing, gaging and everything else. Too sore to eat anything tonite. I did resume excercising on sunday. My incisions look good. I didn't even need tylenol today until after dinner. I am back to sleeping on my tummy. I am healing from the surgery now it is time to do the work.

It has been a week now since my band was installed. I called the Doc office to find out why I was in so much pain, turns out they had to use more gas to inflate me than usual. Hence, more gas pains. I still had some this morning but they are bearable. Other than burping I haven't really been passing gas. So I am not sure where it is getting off too. I have really struggled this week food wise. Up until the surgery I had great control over what I was eatting but by day 4 post op I was trying potato soup and chicken noodle soup. I just struggled to stick to the protein shakes and liquids. My Doc will be real upset to know I was eatting those carbs. My weight did go up a bit but today it is back down to 246 which is -14 for me. I had gotten down -18 presurgery. Post surgery I was -16 from all the swelling. I am sticking to the liquids today and tomorrow will start soft foods. I am not gonna give up anymore of my -14 pounds to carbs. I did start my workout again yesterday and today. My Doc only ask for 10-15 minutes of excercise to begin with. I can handle that on my Wii. Pre op I was doing 30 min and hope to get back to it in a few weeks when the tenderness goes away. I also started school again today. It went pretty well. Just gotta get buckled down again and get some reading done. I switched campuses this semester and today felt a little out of place. Everyone seemed to already know each other pretty well. Plus, I got the feeling like I would have a little more competition. The professor did say we would be dissecting a fetal pig this semester. It should be and intresting course. It was a little confusing as far as class schedule goes though. When she wants everything turned in. I'll catch on.

It has been a week now since my band was installed. I called the Doc office to find out why I was in so much pain, turns out they had to use more gas to inflate me than usual. Hence, more gas pains. I still had some this morning but they are bearable. Other than burping I haven't really been passing gas. So I am not sure where it is getting off too. I have really struggled this week food wise. Up until the surgery I had great control over what I was eatting but by day 4 post op I was trying potato soup and chicken noodle soup. I just struggled to stick to the protein shakes and liquids. My Doc will be real upset to know I was eatting those carbs. My weight did go up a bit but today it is back down to 246 which is -14 for me. I had gotten down -18 presurgery. Post surgery I was -16 from all the swelling. I am sticking to the liquids today and tomorrow will start soft foods. I am not gonna give up anymore of my -14 pounds to carbs. I did start my workout again yesterday and today. My Doc only ask for 10-15 minutes of excercise to begin with. I can handle that on my Wii. Pre op I was doing 30 min and hope to get back to it in a few weeks when the tenderness goes away. I also started school again today. It went pretty well. Just gotta get buckled down again and get some reading done. I switched campuses this semester and today felt a little out of place. Everyone seemed to already know each other pretty well. Plus, I got the feeling like I would have a little more competition. The professor did say we would be dissecting a fetal pig this semester. It should be and intresting course. It was a little confusing as far as class schedule goes though. When she wants everything turned in. I'll catch on.

Your not giving yourself enough credit. You have worked hard for this and you are being honest when you say that. Don't feel like you have to tell people if your uncomfortable telling. Many people have this surgery but don't do the work involved. Be proud that you workout and eat right. Congrats on all your hard work paying off.

One thing I always do is put up roadblocks. When I set my mind to do something I assume that everything is going to go against me getting it done. Usually, I am wrong. So when my Doc suggested the band I was surprised when everything fell into place for it to happen. Anyway, my point is we tend to put up all these roadblocks in our heads and worry about things that are never going to happen. If you do have a PCP who doesn't want to work with you on losing weight then I would recomend you try another. Your not automatically locked in to seeing this PCP. Just think of it as you interviewing him/her to see if the 2 of you can work together. I went to a doc one time because I had acne all over. I had never had this before so I knew something was not right. I had just moved to town so didn't have a PCP yet. This doc told me I needed to go to the dermatologist and learn proper hygiene. So I decided she wasn't the right doc for me. My current doc did some test and discovered the acne was from PCOS, put me on metformin and now my skin is clear. You have a choice in who is your PCP and in your own treatment.

I hope your doc can give you some answers. Try not to compare yourself to others though. This is your personal journey and you will have your own bumps and victories. Some of us will be up while others are down. Thats why we are all here to support each other. Sorry you feel disappointed so far. You are doing a good thing by keeping that food journal. After that fill it may be you on here next week so excited about your weightloss. Keep at it.

I am allowed chicken and beef broth, Jello, Water, Propel and SF popsicles as far as Clear Liquids go. I have now moved into full liquids which means I can have Protein Shakes. Don't freak out about the diet. It is there for a reason. My Doc required it so my liver would shrink. I think it is worth it to get the band. Plus, it will help start the weightloss. I am not gonna tell you it is easy but I do believe it is worth it. Keep your eye on the prize.

My Doc said the same thing. If I didn't lose he would cancel the surgery. Between my 1st and 2nd appt I lost 6.5 pounds (2 months). Between the 2nd and 3rd I lost .5(1 week). Between the 3rd and my surgery I lost 9(10 days). Sticking to the diet was really hard for me at first but the closer I got to surgery the more determined I was to lose the weight. I was down a total of 18 pounds but have gained some this past week post op. The reason my doc wanted my weight going down was because in his opinion that meant my liver was shrinking. If it went up then my liver would be to large for him to attempt surgery. He told me he has done over 4000 surgeries and only had to bail on 6 because the liver was in bad shape. All of thos 6 had gained weight, one had gained only 3 pounds and the liver was just cracking and bleeding. He had me on a low carb diet from our first meeting up to now. Then I had Clear liquids 2 days pre and post surgery. My advice is to do whatever it takes to get your weight down so they can get this band in. Exercise and balance your diet and cut those calories. I use to believe it was impossible for me to lose weight. I hope your not feeling that way now. Don't give into that thinking. I want you to know that it is possible and you are strong enough to do this. Keep a food journal. I use the one at lapband.com.

Hey everyone, Just checking in. The gas pains I feel this morning are not near as bad as before. They seem to come just when I have a protein shake. The gas-x takes care of them though. So otherwise I am feeling good and may do my Wii a bit when my son takes a nap. I have gained 5 pounds and I am nervous about what my Doc is gonna say about it. He has a reputation for being blunt and I am a weinie.

It is pain in your left clavicle area. I have had it since the moment I woke up from surgery and still have it on and off today, which is day 5 post op. It hurts when I inhale or move the wrong way. I am taking Gas-x for it. Which does seem to help temporarily. I have been burping but not actually passing gas. Burping hurts too. I have talked to some people who haven't had it at all so it seems to vary. I called my Doc's office to ask why it was so severe for me. They told me they had to use more gas on me than usual. Otherwise it wouldn't be so bad. I just keep reminding myself that this too is temporary and survivable. Good luck to you.

I was banded in Northeast Florida. In Jacksonville Memorial hospital. The people there were wonderful. The hours leading up to it seemed forever but once I woke up I was ready to walk out of there. One nurse laughed when I told her I was ready to go home but 30 mins later I was out of there. My husband gets quezzy in hospitals so I tried to get him out before he got sick. What a man.

I am 4 days post op also. I still get sharp gas pains once and awhile but am doing better. I am so ready for a regular meal. Just a few more days for me though. Good luck and congrats.

I did throw in some laundry. Just a few whites. Straightened up a bit too. Thanks all for the support and encouragement. It helps when I start getting emotional.

I called the Doc's office today to discuss my pain issue. She said they had to use extra gas to expand my belly during surgery. She said the best thing I could do was breathing exercises. She also said it was completely normal to feel pain this far in and that I may feel it for up to 3 weeks. It hurts mostly in the morning because I have been laying around all night. On Sunday I am gonna switch to Tylenol so by Monday morning I can drive myself to school and have the loritab out of my system. The loritab also makes me sleepy and I feel the pain again if I end up napping from it. I did manage to sleep on my belly a little bit last night. I feel much better to know that what I am feeling is normal. Someone in the world believes it is not just in my head or me being lazy. Such a relief to have that support. I found some clean sweat pants to wear today but I need my hubby to wash some bras so I can get out of wearing this robe all day. He may be off all weekend so hopefully he can straighten things back up. I can do a little bit. I did manage to clean up the bathroom yesterday. I'll put some effort into the livingroom today. That really is the only room visable to my MIL because the rest of our living space is upstairs.

Hi Everyone, I woke up this morning still in alot of pain. I am walking around and stuff during the day. I thought it would have subsided by now. My MIL is upset at me about it. She told me even if I had a major surgery I should be feeling fine by now. "I just don't understand why your still taking these pain meds". I made sure our half of the house was clean before I had surgery and all our laundry was done. Hubby hasn't done any cleaning since my surgery and has only managed one load of laundry. He should be able to do more but hasn't. She won't get mad at him for it though cause he is a man and it's not his job. However, she will get mad at me. I just want to hide everytime she comes home because she is full of judgment and contempt for all her kids. Her Daughter has been having seizers for months now but my MIL just found out today because no one wants to deal with her. Several people have called here asking me about my surgery because my MIL has been telling everyone about it. This is my business, my choice on who to share and not share it with. I am so hurt that she can't even show the least bit of compassion for me even after I have had surgery. I am just the scape goat in this house because I have mental disabilities. In her eyes I don't have an illness, I am just lazy. Thats why I haven't bounced back from surgery cause I am lazy. I hate living here. She is just a miserable old woman, who loves company. Sorry for the vent, I am just going through alot right now with the pain and hunger and now this. It is wearing on my emotions.

I am 2 days post op and my weight is up 2 pounds though I have been on clear liquids. I was getting concerned about it but then someone mentioned that it was from all the swelling. That sounds good and makes me feel better. I didn't want to go to the doc on tuesday after gaining weight. I hope it goes back down. I also didn't expect to be in so much pain. Everyone I have talked to says it was not that painful. To be honest, I hurt. I thought I was doing well so I skipped my pain meds. That was a huge mistake. Now I am taking the pain meds and gas-x and am able to move so much easier. Just remember not to drive while taking these meds. I do feel much better with the pain meds so don't let the pain deter you.

I am 2 days post op and my weight is up 2 pounds though I have been on clear liquids. I was getting concerned about it but then someone mentioned that it was from all the swelling. That sounds good and makes me feel better. I didn't want to go to the doc on tuesday after gaining weight. I hope it goes back down. I also didn't expect to be in so much pain. Everyone I have talked to says it was not that painful. To be honest, I hurt. I thought I was doing well so I skipped my pain meds. That was a huge mistake. Now I am taking the pain meds and gas-x and am able to move so much easier. Just remember not to drive while taking these meds. I do feel much better with the pain meds so don't let the pain deter you.

Hey everybody, Thank you for watching out for me. Today is my last day of clear liquids. Tomorrow I can have full liquids. I bought a blender at a garage sale and cleaned it. I guess tomorrow I'll get to using it. I skipped my pain meds this morning then headed to town (with hubby) to run so "quick" errands. I had to get my books for next semester and some PJ's for my son. He is having a pajama party at school on friday and I thought he would need something besides a t-shirt and pull-up. We ended up being gone all day. Boy was I regreting not taking my pain meds. I am not going to play tough again. We never did find PJ's to fit him so I made some really cute spongebob PJ's for him. I can't wait til he gets home and I can show him. I was at the school for over an hour trying to straighten out my grant and we went to 2 walmarts looking for PJ's. I wore my jeans too. Big mistake. Well I have learned my lesson. I hope everyone is doing well. Janet, I will try that bean recipe, Thanks. I have some blackeye peas I can try. Is it normal to gain weight during your surgery? I lost 18 pounds but now am back up 2 pounds. Is it from the IV? My Doc doesn't know yet but I don't want to go to my next visit with a gain.

JB, So sorry to here about your dog. Mine passed away a year ago from a snake bite. I know how sad it can be. I am doing well today. I am up and walking around. I helped cook dinner. I slept most of the day due to the pain meds. I will probably stop taking them tomorrow. I am starting to crave solid food already. I know it is in my head. chicken broth and Jello just don't do the trick. Tommorow will be my last day of liquids, then I can have liquids and Protein shakes. Hopefully I will feel fuller with those. My husband has been so helpful too. I will be going to the school tomorrow and getting my books. Hubby will be going with me though. A trip out of the house will probably do me some good too. Tired of being cooped up.

I am a true bandster now. We arrived at the hopital about 6:15. They had me put on a gown. Then, they put stockings on me and pressure cuffs on my legs to prevent blood clots. Gave me a blood thinner and started me on antibiotics through an IV. The Doc and anestisiologist came in and talked with me. At 8:45 they gave me something to " calm my nerves". Then started to wheel me back and I was out before we rounded the corner. I was suppose to get onto the operating table myself but I was out. I woke up and they told me I was done. I couldn't believe them. By the time I could read the clock it was 10:00. About 11:30 I walked to the bathroom and was able to go so they discharged me at 1:00. I am in alittle pain at my clavicle and around my diaphram. He gave me 2 types of pain pills. One a liquid. My husband has been awesome. I am trying to do things myself like get dressed and get a drink but for the most part he is helping me. I am getting up and walking around. I have to wear these stockings till tomorrow night but am having a hard time keeping them up. With my Doc's plan I will be on solid food in 2 weeks. That's awesome because I know some of you have to wait longer. I also have to wear the bandages 3 weeks. I know some of you already know this but I have written it out so the newbies can learn what to exspect. I feel great and am very excited to get this journey going. I am craving solid foods now but they are bareable. The scale at the hospital said I was down 16 pounds. My MIL's scale still says 18. Since it is most readily available to me I am going with that number.