AFmom

It sounds like your weigh loss is wonderful overall! To get past this plateau I would suggest working out with the Leslie Sanson "Walk at Home" DVD's. I was walking several miles a day outside, but once the weather got hot, I just could not keep it up. Leslie's program is easy to follow, just walking and 4 basic steps. I could never follow an aerobics class, even when I was thin, but this I can do! Currently I am doing her "4 Fast Miles" DVD, it keeps your heart rate up, and makes you sweat. Hope this helps! Michelle

I was banded May 6th, as outpatient surgery, and had a follow-up appointment the next day for a post-op check with the doctor. I did not have any bandages and my doc uses dermadona instead of stitches, so there was nothing to remove. I had my first fill 4 weeks after surgery. Hope this helps... Michelle

I have been banded since May, and I only just tried a steak a couple of weeks ago. My husband grilled some New York strips and I was worried that it would not go down, but is was like butter...went down with no problem! My doc told me to try filet, but that is not what my husband brought home Hope you will be enjoying steak again soon Michelle

I am excited about making greek yogurt today...thanks for sharing your recipe! I will let everyone know how well it goes Michelle

You may not feel normal, but your symptoms are normal, and something that we have all gone through. I agree with everyone else, the swelling was terrible for me about that same time. The gas pain was horrible and I do mean horrible. I did not even notice any pain from the incisions, but the gas made me feel like I had an elephant sitting on my chest and shoulders. It will get better and once it does, you will be happy with your decision. Michelle

I agree, don't give up! Your weight loss has been amazing. I was banded on May 6th and at my first fill my doc had a hard time accessing the port...it had turned sideways. After a local, and lots of manipulating the was able to get the needle in. When I went for my second fill in July it could not be accessed at all, so we picked a date for surgery. I had my port revision yesterday and everything went well. I went back for my post-op visit and fill today. It was awesome to get a fill with no pain or struggle Keep your chin up, the complications will be fixed and you will be loving the band and your decision to get on. Michelle

My port has flipped, and after a very difficult and painful first fill, my doc could not access it at all for the second fill - even with fluroscopy and a local anesthetic. Not much choice left but to go back in and reposition it. I am scheduled for surgery tomorrow. I would love to hear from anyone who has had this done. Looking forward to having it fixed and getting a fill...I am HUNGRY! Thanks, Michelle

I went in this afternoon for my first fill. I was excited and not nervous at all...really looking forward to getting some restriction! Everyone said no problem, no pain, just a pinch. Other people ahead of me were in and out in just a few minutes. Right after I laid down on the table they seemed to be having trouble finding the port...they were pushing really hard and it hurt! Even once they were using floro they could see the port but could not access it because it had flipped. The doctor tried to manipulate it manually, by pushing really hard, and then finally pulled the needle out. Then he used some local anesthesia and went back in...still lots of pushing to get it to turn around a bit. He did manage to get it in, and added 2cc. I was just so glad that it was over. I hope that it is not that difficult everytime! Who else has had this problem? Did it get better or did they have to reposition the port? Thanks, Michelle

Thanks for sharing about the yogurt! I have bought the Greek yogurt, and I like it, but it is PRICEY...even at Sam's! We don't have Kroger in New Mexico, but we do have Smith's. I will check it out :thumbup:

My surgery was May 6th and I am scheduled for my first fill next week on June 8th. I have lost a total of 27 pounds, including the 16 I lost on the pre-op diet. I know that we are all praying we will be one of the lucky ones to get restriction from the first fill :confused: I am fully recovered with no complications from the surgery, but I echo the sentiment that I feel just like I did prior to surgery now. I feel like I could eat anything, and I want to eat everything! Until the last few days I have done a great job with small portion sizes and healthy choices. With the holiday weekend, I did eat more than I should have, and a few things that I should have stayed away from. I am climbing back on the wagon and trying to do better. I do worry about stretching the pouch, but at the same time, if we don't have restriction, then I don't really think there is anything to stretch out, because everything is just passing through. For exercise I am walking about 2-3 miles 5 days a week. I am looking forward to adding in some weight training and other activities when I get the all clear from my doctor next week. Glad to hear how everyone is doing... Michelle

My surgery was May 6th and I have lost 27 pounds, including the pre-op diet. Since surgery I have lost 13 pounds, and that was a little over 3 weeks ago. Hunger has returned in a BIG way for me and I want to eat like I use to, but I am doing my best to keep the portions small. I get my first fill next week on June 8th. I am praying for restriction, because at this point I want to eat everything in site! I hope all of the other May Bandsters are doing well!

I went for my second post-op check yesterday, at 11 days out, and was cleared to eat soft foods. That list includes canned tuna and chicken...yea...meat! Also, soft scrambled eggs, over-cooked large Pasta (no spaghetti), cottage cheese, refried Beans, soft fruits and things like that. Next week I can add fresh chicken and fish...I am looking forward to that. Hope this helps. Michelle

You are under general anesthesia for the surgery, so you16 will be intubated, but just like everyone else said, you want know it. My surgery was 10 days ago, and I got the IV in pre-op and then went to the O.R. got on the table and they told me to have a nice dream, put the mask on me and the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. I did not have a sore throat, or have to stay overnight. I was in at 7:00am and leaving by 11:00. I did lose 16 pounds on my 2 week pre-op diet! My insurance did not require a supervised diet of any length, you just have to have the BMI to qualify. The longest I have head of is 6 month's. Don't let the surgery itself scare you off...it is the easy part! I don't have any regrets:smile2:

Thanks Betsy & Leigh...it is great to hear what is working for those of us who are working and succeeding with the band! I am working hard to make consistent exercise a new part of my life. Since I am just 10 days out from surgery, and can't do many activities yet, I am concentrating on walking. Week 1 I started walking 1 mile a day, and now I am walking at least 1 1/2 miles a day, and plan on adding 1/2 mile a week until I hit the 6 week mark and can add strength training. I am making an appointment with a personal trainer (at the 6 week mark) to help me plan a balanced exercise program. Well, that's my plan, and I hope that by exercising, watching the calories, and tracking the nutrition on Fit Day I will be successful I would love to hear what other people are doing, or did, when they were in the early stages. Thanks, Michelle

I am newly banded too...May 6th...and have been wondering the same thing, so I have done some research online and read that to keep your body from going into "starvation mode" you need to consume about half of the calories of your BMR (basal metabolic rate). You can find BMR calculators online, and it uses you weight, age, and activity level to determine how many calories your body uses per day. I am still on full liquids but am trying my best to get half of my BMR in everyday, which for me is about 900 calories per day. Hope this helps, and maybe some else will have more information :redface:

Mel, Sounds like you had a rough start, but glad to hear that you are doing well now! I had the horrible gas pains too, the second day was the worst. I walked over a mile yesterday trying to get that gas moving! Your intake is awesome...I have not been able to get as much liquids down as I should, but I think the gas is pushing against my stomach and making it hard to get much down.

Hope a different medicine helps. My gas pain ended up coming back with a vengeance last night and even the new medicine was not helping. I looked through some more old threads and found some advice that did work. Sounds unconventional, but the advice was given by an E.R. doc, here goes...get down on all fours, and then lower your head and chest until they are touching the floor, with your bottom up in the air. This is suppose to get the trapped gas moving. It did help me to "expel" some of that gas, and before morning I was moving even more

I am just two days out of surgery and my incisions barely hurt at all, but the gas pain/pressure has been killing me. I have been walking and taking Gas-X but it was only getting worse! I was about to call the doctor when I found on old post that had a great tip...if one gas medicine is not working for you, try another or two or three! Sounds very simple, but I did not think of it. This person said that Gas-X had not helped her and she called her doc and he said to try something different. She tried the Walgreens brand of Maylox. Off to Walgreens we went, I ended up with their brand of Mylanta (maximum strength) and it is really helping.

Great to find a positive place on these boards! I have a few questions for all of you experienced bandsters out there. This is just my second day post-op, but I am already so excited about the changes to come!!! My questions...how soon after surgery did you start to exercise and after surgery, but before your first fill how much liquid would you take in at a time. My instructions say what I can have, but not how much at a time. It see my doctor tomorrow for my post-op check and will ask him, but for today I am still wondering?

I know how you feel, but you will do fine. I had my surgery this morning, and am home and doing fine. Pain is not bad, but the pressure from the gas is the worst, but still not unbearable. Take a deep breath and trust in your decision and in your surgeon.

Dblex, Sorry your are in pain...I just had my surgery today, and no cramps, but I have so much PRESSURE it feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest/abdomen. The pressure is worse when I am sitting, but feels better when my body is either laid out straight or standing up. I am guessing that the pressure is from the gas, but it is more than I expected. Almost no pain from the incision sites...or maybe the pain meds are keeping those at bay :thumbup:

Just to update....I did have my surgery this morning! Can't believe it...I am banded!!! I did talk with my doc about the stomach bug, and he said that as long as there was no fever we could go ahead. I felt like total crap, but there was no fever so surgery went on. Don't remember anything after they told me to think of a sweet dream. Woke up in recovery with a lot of pressure from the gas, but not too much pain. Barium swallow was fine...pretty cool. Came home within 90 minutes of getting to recovery. Hope everyone else is doing well :thumbup:

Just had surgery this morning and I did not have any trouble waking up. I don't remember waking up in the O.R. just remember them telling me to think of a sweet dream and the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. I woke right up, and was in some pain, and asked for meds, but they wanted me to be able to stand and do the barium swallow first. That just took a few minutes, and then got the pain meds...I was sleepy then! I was motivated to get home so I stayed awake, got dressed, and was discharged. Slept on the way home and then took a 3 hour nap in my bed...ah, that was wonderful! Now, up, awake, and surfing the net. But they are right, everyone reacts different. I watched a lady who came to recovery after me and she had a hard time staying awake and it took a long time before they could get her up for her barium swallow. She kept taking her oxygen off and saying off the wall stuff.

Yes, my doctor required one too. It was taught by the nurse coordinator of the program. There were 7 of us in the class, all having surgery the same week. We each had an individual time where our weight was recorded, pictures were taken, and we had the opportunity to ask any question we would not want to ask in a group setting. After that we were all given folders that we filled up as the class went on. I really did learn a lot. Mine was about 3 hours...hope this helps.

Today is banding day for me...I hope! The stomach bug hit out house yesterday afternoon. My 9 year old was throwing up most of the afternoon and into the evening, at which point my 12 year old started. I did the best I could to take care of them from a distance, all the time washing my hands and spraying disinfectant. Last night about 10:30 I started getting sick...oh yea, it was bad and it was not just throwing up. It has stopped, but being that I am patient number one this morning, I can't get a hold of anyone to see if I should still come in or not. I am feeling better, but I am sure that I must be dehydrated because I can't drink anything after being sick (not after midnight). Scared to cancel surgery (what if I am totally fine now) and scared to not cancel surgery (this can't be the best way to start). I have left messages with the hospital and hopefully someone calls me back before we need to leave at 6:15!