BetsyB

The immediate postop period is so hard---it's when the, "Oh crap! This is real!" realization hits. You realize that Oreos are not an option---and that's a hard pill to swallow. Throw in that you're all out of whack, physiologically, due to anesthesia, meds, the trauma of surgery, hormone fluctuations----and it's a very difficult, very emotional time. It gets SO much easier. The blues will dissipate as you recover. The hunger will become manageable as you move through the phases of eating and work toward restriction. But I know it seems, some days early on, like there's no light at the end of the tunnel. Until then, every sandwich not eaten and every Oreo not snatched is a victory. You're doing great :thumbup:

It's okay to focus on fluids for the first few postop days; that is what your body needs the most. Yes, ultimately, you will need to get your protein and other nutrients in. But a clear liquid diet is NOT designed to do much more than hydrate you---and water does that just fine.

I agree with Jacqui; we need adult Vitamins, preferably bariatric ones designed for bandsters. (Jacqui, I hope you're feeling as well as can be expected; you are often in my thoughts and prayers.)

Congratulations on your great loss so far! When I'm stalled, I look over my journals. (I journal on fitday.com, and also use a BodyBugg.) If I am eating the way I need to eat to support weight loss, getting enough Fluid, and exercising, I power through---sometimes, the body just needs to regroup after losing a significant amount, and time is all it takes. I've just had a couple of weeks of stall, though, and decided to add distance/time to my walks. I've lost enough that my body really did need this change in order to spur loss again. Sometimes, it's trial-and-error: you give it some time doing what you know has been effective in the past. Then, if that doesn't do the trick, you tweak something to see if that helps. (I'll bet, though, that after a pretty rapid loss of 30 pounds, your body's just saying, "Hey! What's going on here?!" and will resume losing after a bit of time.)

Well, adding solids back in does slow loss--but only temporarily, and only because it lingers in your colon. So try not to worry about that too much. That said, it might be time to play around with calories. I know there are lots of "shoulds," but I had to toss mine by the wayside. After years of (preband) journaling on fitday.com, it became undeniable to me and my doctors that my calorie needs, despite my weight, were much, much lower than any recommended level. That's why I got banded. Give your body a little time to get used to the solids---it's been through quite an ordeal. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to start journaling someplace like fitday.com---just for a baseline. If you don't start losing again---which you probably will, once your body figures things out---then you can experiment a little. You can see if bumping up your Protein helps, or if paring down on refined carbs helps, or if upping your exercise helps, or if knocking down your caloric intake helps.... It's too soon to freak out, but not too soon to think about logical ways to tackle things if it does evolve into a problem. With luck, the scale will start moving soon, and it will all be moot.

Yes, I am tighter just before and at the beginning of my period. I think this is a fairly common phenomenon.

Awesome progress!

this is a very old post, but since it's been revived, I think it's important to note that dehydration causes the same symptoms--and is a far more likely culprit, especially so close to surgery.

I second all the recommendations so far. I'd add journaling your food intake someplace like fitday.com to make sure you're meeting your nutrient needs. I'd also discuss, with the prescribing MD, antidepressants--because your dosage or med might require adjustment. I'd also be sure to take a good-quality bariatric Multivitamin. Finally, Co Q-10 supplements have made a HUGE difference in how I feel. When I run out, I really notice.

I was told not to use anything like Mederma for six MONTHS postop. By then, my scars had faded so much I didn't bother---I haven't done anything other than use my regular body lotion (and even that, I'm pretty unreliable about doing).

It's so, so hard at the beginning. When you are genuinely hungry--and I know you are!--it's very difficult to make wise food choices. First, stop beating yourself up. It perpetuates the same cycle you had preoperatively. The "I can't do this" mentality is, as you've already noted, self-sabotaging. What you can do is identify ways you can bolster your odds of success. That might mean stocking up on "approved" foods. It might mean ridding the pantry of things that you choose (note that I said "choose," because when you start to think of it this way, things start changing emotionally) to avoid. Yes, this may inconvenience others in your family temporarily. They may have to prepare their own meals, or have their ice cream outside the home instead of in the family room every evening. (In the long run, it will benefit them--no one requires junk, and if they have to make a conscious effort to acquire it, they may find it's not worth it to them.) It's all about choices. And you DO have the strength to make them. Start by feeding your body what it needs. Make sure you are getting enough Fluid. Make sure you are getting enough rest (this is really important). And make sure you exercise, in some form, each day. (It doesn't have to be elaborate; taking a walk is fine.) If you focus on the basics, and gain a sense of control and mastery, then it becomes easier to resist the siren song of the pantry. It really does. Will you be hungry? Maybe. Maybe eating the right stuff in the right amounts will still leave you feeling as though you're on a starvation diet. But know this: this is the last time you will be hungry in the name of weight loss. As you gain restriction, that overwhelming hunger will disappear. For now, you can work to acquire the good habits that will serve you well when you do have restriction. You can start conquering the head hunger monster. You can make HUGE progress, even during this period when you are struggling. But it starts with being kind to yourself. Recognizing that your body and mind are still hugely affected by a pretty significant trauma to the system. That you're naturally all over the place, emotionally, because not only have you introduced something that requires enormous change from you, but that the situation is compounded by the insult of anesthesia, surgery, and medications, by hormone fluctuations, by things that you just have to ride out. The rollercoaster ride will end. But you can make it easier for yourself if you gently guide yourself to the right choices. ETA: I agree with Elfie about Protein and low-carbing; my doctor's eating regimen is posted in the visitor message section of my profile. Was I hungry before I had restriction? Yes. But this really helped manage it for me.

It sounds to me as though you have the one-bite-too-many syndrome. For me, it's as uncomfortable as being stuck. Time takes care of it, though :drool:

It depends entirely on your specific insurance policy. Mine covers banding for BMI of 35 if there are two comorbidities present. (Family history does not count--they have to be present in the patient.) Your policy may or may not consider back pain and anxiety to be comorbidities. (Mine would accept the back pain.) Pull out your policy---or pull it up online. It will spell out exactly the conditions you must meet. That way, you'll have no surprises :drool: (I wonder if your surgeon's office got preapproval before having you submit to all the preop testing; I knew before my first appointment with my surgeon that I was covered---final approval came once they submitted all the specialist clearances. Since you've already jumped through most of the hoops, it sounds as though maybe the insurance specialist at the surgeon's office already is operating under the assumption that you will be approved.)

OR schedules are really fluid--there are always emergencies and/or cancellations. These pop up unexpectedly, and just are part of the fun

Nope, not even for a second. My rate of loss has been great, and I don't have to worry about malabsorption issues.

Blarf. I threw mine out. I use Inspire and PURE proteins from bariatriceating.com. Not a fan of the Nectars--and boy, did I try to like it, 'cause those canisters are HUGE.

Several of the SSRIs are available as liquid; they do not have to remain intact until they reach the small intestine. Zoloft, Celexa, and Prozac leap to mind. They don't seem to have the same pain relief benefits as SNRIs, but depression and anxiety both do exacerbate pain, so dealing with them effectively can have a positive effect. None of the SNRIs are currently available as liquid; most are time-release, and therefore need to pass into the small intestine still intact. (Of course, if you have a band, they linger in the stomach longer than they should, the capsule dissolves, and the bioavailability--and therefore dosing--is affected. Your doctor may not have a problem with this; s/he may adjust dose accordingly. Mine didn't want me to have the variability.)

Amy, I know you won't believe it--because you're in that frustrating phase---but really, your loss is really, really good. I only lost 8-9 pounds on the preop diet. I followed it to a T, but had been low-carbing long enough that my body just wasn't shocked into a huge loss like many other peoples' bodies were. I think I lost a whole 8 pounds my first month. Look at my stats. I'm 8 months out, and over 80 down since banding. The rate picks up tremendously once you get more active postoperatively---and even more, once you get restriction. A lot of times, we don't take into account the fact that others' rates of loss are linked to their BMIs---right now, for example, I have to remind myself that I'm not going to lose the same 10-15 pounds a month I lost when my BMI was 40. I have lots less to lose! It's just not going to come off as fast. And it's okay! It still comes off. You ask, "What am I doing wrong?" Really, the only thing I can identify is comparing yourself to others. It's not a race---your progress isn't going to mirror anyone else's. What you need to do is focus on your own behavior. Make sure that your eating and activity promote loss. If you're not sure, journal on Fitday.com (or someplace similar). Make sure you're meeting your body's needs, but creating a calorie deficit sufficient to lose. If you're doing liquids, remember that many are quite salty, which can promote Fluid retention. Remind yourself that the number you see on the scale quite often does not tell the whole story. I know it's discouraging, but soon you'll really be seeing and feeling results. (If you haven't already started, take a set of measurements. Measure monthly. Even on months when the scale does not cooperate, you will be amazed at the changes in your body.)

It's not a matter of the doctor's office "not wanting" to submit paperwork for you. Your policy spells out precisely what conditions must be met in order for you to qualify for surgery, and if your doctor's insurance specialist has determined that you don't meet the criteria, there simply isn't any point in submitting the paperwork. Bariatric surgeons have staff very, very skilled at getting procedures covered; if you've been turned down, it's not because they don't want to operate on you---that's what they do, and they like to do it as often as possible. (I am sure they'd be more than happy to take you on as a self-paying patient.) Insurance contracts are very, very cut-and-dried. If you don't meet their requirements, all the arguing in the world will not change a thing. There's no sense in submitting paperwork when the criteria are not met. Have you read your insurance contract? There are different levels of coverage, so it's important that you really know what is required according to your specific plan before you get bent out of shape. If you find that you do, in fact, meet the criteria laid out in your policy, then it would be very reasonable to ask the doctor to reconsider---or to find another doctor whose staff competence you are more comfortable with. If you do not meet the criteria, the people to negotiate with are those who make benefits decisions for you. I don't know much about how the military works, but in the civilian world, this would usually mean appealing to the people in Human Resources. Making a good argument for increased coverage for bariatric surgery (reduction of comorbidities leads to less loss of time from work, fewer doctor visits, fewer prescriptions, and so on) can often result in policy changes. And policy changes are what is needed if you don't meet the criteria---because nothing else, short of paying out of pocket, will do the trick. Good luck! I hope you find that you are, indeed, covered after all. Get your hands on that policy to find out

I haven't had anyone respond particularly negatively---some have the "easy way out" misconception, but I just explain that it was a way out for me. I have had people tell me I wasn't "big enough." I don't understand this--but whatever. If I don't fit anyone's arbitrary mental image of someone fat enough to have surgery, that's okay with me. I agree your aunt probably is disgruntled because she had to self-pay while you were covered at a lower BMI. The way I'd bolster her is to tell her how terrific it is she dodged the comorbidities that made it more medically necessary for you to have the surgery when you did. As someone who battled obesity herself, she surely knows that there's no reason to keep gaining before choosing to lose---and there's even less reason if your obesity is causing health problems.

Every single day. I have a persistent, nagging personal trainer in the form of an energetic lab-shepherd, and we walk 3.5 FAST at least once, and usually twice, a day. I am in the process of bumping up distance, so that my duration of activity is longer for each walk. (What started out as hour-long walks decreased to around 40 minutes for the same distance, so I'm aiming for an hour again; not sure what distance I cover, but I suspect it's around 5 or just above.) I also try to get to the gym for resistance training on alternate days, but am spotty about that. I like doing it, but it's harder to fit in to a workday than a walk in the morning and a walk in the evening. For me, exercise is probably more important than the food choices I make. I know this will be especially true when it comes to maintenance. ETA: I have to add that my body image has improved considerably with exercise--which I was doing regularly before surgery. Really, it's what gave me the confidence to move forward with banding, and to have faith in myself. For me, the benefits go far, far beyond promoting weight loss.

With pain meds, it was never more than a 2 or 3. I've had other abdominal surgeries, and this was a breeze in comparison, but I can't join the "no pain" camp; I did have pain, and it did require medication. It was not excruciating, but it was definite surgical pain. If your doctor is skillful, a good deal of the gas used to insoufflate your abdomen will be removed before your incisions are closed, so you won't experience horrible gas pain. I was lucky in that I had almost none. Walking a lot postoperatively helps tremendously. So use whatever meds you need in order to get up and moving quickly. The pain the persisted the longest is at the port site; first, the incision is the largest. But more, it's because the port actually works to embed itself into muscle tissue, which creates gnawing twinges that really persist. They're not excruciating, but it's a nagging discomfort long after everything else resolves--it just sort of reminds you it's there from time to time. ETA: I just saw that you've taken the classes for bypass and sleeve. I am not sure how your doctor does it, but mine combines classes--his postop recommendations for bandsters are the same as they are for bypass patients (same diet, etc.) This is good for bandsters, because our rate of loss tends to be higher than the average as a result of having the same dietary restrictions.

This is so, so variable. At about 8.5 cc, I started feeling some restriction. But it's taken me 3 fills on top of that to hit what I think is my sweet spot. I actually haven't asked how much is in my band for the last few fills, so I don't know exactly how much---but they have been significantly smaller than earlier fills; I'd guess I'm around 9.5 cc, maybe 10.

It is so hard at the beginning, when you are genuinely famished. Just stick with your doctor's recommended eating plan the best you can. It's great that your doctor pushed your fill up for you; mine did the same for my second and third fills, and it made a huge difference for me.

"Stuck" episodes occur when food has dfficulty passing through the stoma (hole) between the upper pouch and the stomach below. Breathing is not affected. And normally, no medical intervention is needed, though some things (like chewing gum, which many doctors do not permit for this very reason) are particularly stubborn and may require endoscopy to remove. It's never really a huge emergency---except that you'll want it over and done with ASAP because being stuck hurts. Most foods eventually break down enough to pass through---or come up the other way. (Gum is a particular problem because it doesn't break down, and tends to conform to the shape of the stoma...really obstructing it.) Some people chew papaya enzyme tablets (available at pharmacies and health food stores) to help break down whatever is stuck; I find that if I'm stuck, putting anything else in my stomach just increases my pain. It's uncomfortable, and something to avoid whenever possible, but it does happen to most of us every now and then. And it's not the end of the world. I had my first stuck episode before I even started on solids again--one of my pain pills got stuck. No fun, but no biggie. Now I take capsules or gelcaps (they dissolve before passing through the stoma) or liquid meds. Food-wise, the only difficulties I have have been purely 'user error' issues--eating too fast, not cutting small enough pieces (I am almost guaranteed to get stuck if I eat ANYTHING off the bone--like ribs or chicken. I really need to eat with a knife and fork), not chewing thoroughly. All things that you learn to do with practice, so that the episodes become fewer and farther between. Oh--except after fills. Then, the swelling can make things more prone to sticking, so I've learned to ease back into solids much more slowly than my doctor requires. It just works better for me to give it a few more days of soft stuff....I don't irritate the stoma further, and then things are a-okay.