lauragshsu

I call BS on the bike (not on you, but whoever told you that). I've been riding my basic 10 speed ($100 at Toys R us) for several weeks, started riding it at 295, with no problem.

I have told everyone! Heck, I was on a job interview last week, and I told the person I was interviewing with that I had just been banded. We then got into a big discussion about it, and she wanted to know more about it, because she, too, was considering it. There are a few people I will not tell. There are several coworkers I know who hate all medical procedures or medicine of any kind. I sat there for 45 minutes while they bashed people on anti-depressants. When they finally asked me what I thought, I told them "neither of you have obviously suffered from post-partum depression like I have", and left the room. Some people will judge no matter what.

Definitely walk as much as possible, it will help a lot with the gas pain!

In my opinion, it is not the "easy way out". Yes, we tend to lose faster than those who are just dieting, and we have a built in hunger control tool. However, I just don't think that getting a needle stuck into your stomach every 8 weeks or so, sometimes vomiting (if it's too tight) having bad reactions to some food/drink (I can't drink a fully carbonated soda, I have to wait until it's semi-flat or it irritates my stomach), and other things that go along with this procedure should qualify it as the easy way out. Then again, I don't think there is any easy way out once you're morbidly obese.

That has been since March 1, when I started the presurgical clear liquid diet. I lost 10lbs in those two weeks, so 31lbs since March 15. I don't have any advice to really give! I had two illnesses since I've been banded, so that kind of "helped" with the loss.

Good luck everyone! I wasn't nervous until they hooked me to the IV and started to prep me for surgery (including the blood thinners and taking blood for tests, etc). My only advice is this: WALK- I didn't have any post-op gas pains and I think it was because of the walking. Also, take the pain medicine if you're hurting. I know that sounds obvious, but for whatever reason, I got it stuck in my head that I should "tough it out", and spent most of the first post-op day in pain.

I'll eat a filling dinner arounf 5:30 or 6. A lot of the time I wake up starving at midnight or 1am. I try and ignore it, but sometimes it makes me almost nauseated when I wake up in the middle of the night like that. Can anyone help?

I was banded 3/15 and had my first fill 4/14, with 3.5CC. I had a bad reaction (too tight I guess), and they emptied the band completely 4/17. I'm going to wait a few weeks to completely recover from it, as I became very weak and dehydrated, as well as allowing my giant fill-related bruise to heal. So far I've lost 41lbs (started at 319), and have over 100 still to go!

This is my first post here! I've been lurking and reading a while and just wanted to know if anyone else had these same issues. I was banded 3/15 and had my first fill (3.5cc) 4/14. By 4/17, I was vomiting up everything, including water. The Dr completely unfilled my band. I'm planning on going back in in a few weeks for a refill, but I'm worried! Has anyone else had a "normal" amout put into their band and reacted like this? Also, is it abnormal to bruise up after having a fill? I got a huge half-dollar sized bruise over the port site right after the fill, and now, more than two weeks later, it's (finally!) beginning to fade. Should I expect this bruising after every fill?

No, I got no novacaine! Are they supposed to numb you before fills???? I wished they had numbed me before they emptied my band after the bad reaction. They had to put the needle back through the huge bruise, and I was screaming.

I'll admit it: I used to be one of those people who thought that getting any kind of WLS was the "easy way out". After researching it, going through all the requirements, being banded and having some side affect, I have to tell you I have 100% changed my thoughts. With WLS, you can't have caffeine or carbonation, you have to sip Water so slowly sometimes it feels like an IV drip in your mouth, you have to deal with needles in your stomach every 6 weeks or so. That is NOT the easy way out. I think the misconception is because people who have had WLS tend to lose quicker than those who have not because we are being forceably restricted in our intake. Then again, I wonder if it's a weight watchers thing, because I used to do WW, and that was their big thing (WLS was the "easy" way out).

I think the 2 week presurgical liquid diet was by far the hardest part of the whole process for me. I hated cooking delicious meals for my family only to sit down to a steaming bowl of flavored water. I felt like I cheated a lot, though, because when I cooked, I would bang the spatula or spoon on the side of the pan/pot (to get rid of chunks) and then lick it. My husband brought home italian food one night, and i licked the salt off of his breadstick when he wasn't looking (does that sound dirty to anyone else?)

I posted this in post-op, because apparently I can't read. I was banded 3/15 and had my first fill (3.5cc) 4/14. By 4/17, I was vomiting up everything, including Water. The Dr completely unfilled my band. I'm planning on going back in in a few weeks for a refill, but I'm worried! Has anyone else had a "normal" amout put into their band and reacted like this? Also, is it abnormal to bruise up after having a fill? I got a huge half-dollar sized bruise over the port site right after the fill, and now, more than two weeks later, it's (finally!) beginning to fade. Should I expect this bruising after every fill?

Mine was short and sweet. They took my vitals, the surgeon looked at my incision, asked how I was feeling and if there were any problems, and that was it.

My husband was opposed to it to, telling me I didn't need surgery. After a few arguments I flat out told him I didn't think I'd live to see our daughter (who is 2) walk down the aisle if I didn't do something NOW. He finally came clean and told me he was worried I would die on the operating table. That's when I showed him the videos of the surgery (I found two videos, one of the surgery from an internal and one from an external point of view). I also showed him all the credentials of my surgeon, his stats when it came to band-related problems, etc. I think some men are just afraid to truely express how they're feeling or what they're worried about, which makes them act like asses. Then again, some men are just asses.