Betsyjane

You're normal! I even woke up out of the anaethesia and in my stupor said "Take me back in and remove it"...although my hubby says I never said it out loud. It's such amazingly quick surgery! I worried I'd die. I worried about permanently putting a foreign object on my body. I worried about feeling trapped. (I never worried about Spivak...I still think he's the best.) But I'll tell you, now that it's done, I am nothing but thrilled. What a life changing journey....

The only problem we had was my husband being worried he'd hurt me! He got over it.

Frankly, most doctors would say you are losing too quickly. The goal is 1-2 pounds a week. More than that and your body can play tricks on you going into starvation mode, lowering your metabolism, etc. If you're in this for the lifetime journey, then you look at hurdles as temporary and find a way around them. Don't assume you are forever stuck at 45 pounds lost.

No no! Not a failure! I didn't feel restricted until my 3rd fill! OK. Let's think it through. Nobody's prefect... What of this are you doing or not doing? ~eating 3 times a day ~eating Protein first and then veges ~eating for no more than 15 minutes ~drinking no liquids during or for an hour after eating ~getting your calories from solids and not liquids, like Soups ~chew chew chewing ~pausing between bites ~using small plates and utensils ~eating mindfully without the TV or in a car or on the computer ~exercising ~are you binging? ~are you grazing? ~are you counting calories or fat or carbs or protein grams?

I am currently having a flare up. The only thing I notice is that when I'm sick, my band restriction is greater so I lose a bit more weight Much better than the old days when the Lupus meds gave me horrible cravings and I GAINED weight!

Ha! My Dr required no pre op testing OR diet. And I'm fine..... I worry about a Dr. who doesn't get it that IF we could lose weight on our own before the surgery, we might not need the surgery! Regarding droopy skin...I'd rather have that than excess weight. What I was told is that it's best to lose slowly, averaging between 1 and 2 pounds a week, to give the skin time to catch up, and that exercise and moisturizer help. If it helps any, I'm 57, and my skin droops as I lose and then tightens up slowly. Don't know if that will continue for the second half of my weight loss, but so far so good.

Hey Cyndie! I may not be there Monday but hope to cathc oyu the next time after that! Glad to hear your 'voice'.

Please remember that, as these posts show, everyone is different. some people feel no restriction at all at first, and some swell like balloons. It doesn't mean that all is lost. Just that you will react the way your particular body reacts. The lessons some people learn first may be different than others. Your first lessons will be about what liquids go down best, and at what temperature, and lessons in patience and in standing up for what's right for your body. No matter where you start with the band, it's the beginning of a journey. You'll decide when and if a fill is needed. You'll learn to repsect and love your band. You're having a rough start, but it's the start of a new life, with a head start on pounds lost. Calm yourself. You'll also find that things go through the band better when you don't stress. Know that you're getting a group hug from all of us.

You might want to ask your Dr. why he put Fluid in the band to start with. I'm sure there's a good reason. I think it's more common to put no fluid in until after healing for about 3 weeks. If you find that you CAN drink, you might try hot liquids...For me, they open the band a bit more so I'm not as restricted for a meal.....

I asked my Dr, for the same reason. After healing, it's not a problem. Ask your Dr. just to make sure.

Shoot. Is there room for one more?

Rest easy. If it were clogging your opening, you'd know it by now. You'd be sliming and PBing trying to get it up. Chances are you either swallowed it and it went through, or you had thrown it out.

You sound good and ready. Good for you. Just finish jumping through those hoops and you'll be a bandster soon! Congrats and welcome. (Dontcha just hate all those people on TV who say that all you have to do is eat right and exercise...or you must be lazy? There are lots of naive people about obesity.) Welcome to the journey.

Not to worry. After the fuill, they will probably give you a bottle of water to drink before you leave, to make sure everything is going down OK. And they usually start with very small fills. Chances are you'll wonder what you were ever nervous about. Fills are typically no big deal. Remember people come to this board when things go wrong. You just don't hear that for the other 99% of folks, there wasn't a problem.

Sometimes the aftermath of anaesthesia can be pretty yucky. Call your doc and ask for a nausea patch!

I wouldn't personally do well on that food. Granola brs have too much sugar and carbs for me. I do better with simple proteins and veges...and without liquids foods. In the morning, I'm often too restricted and have to do a protein drink so I do low carb slim fast. After that, it's 2 or 3 meals of meat and vege. Chili and gubo goes down too fast for me and I don't stay full. When I don't want to cook at all, I can always drive through McDonalds and get a chicken salad without dressing, and that will give me my meat and salad....

My first fill did virtually nothing. Same with my second fill. All I could do was pretend to be a bandster and keep learning...while I ate like a pig. BUT the third fill hit my sweet spot and I've been cruising ever since....my food cravings just stopped and I felt full! Everybody's different. It's hard to wait, but after all the years of waiting for success, you're talking days, weeks, or month now. Don't kick yourself. It'll happen.

It's always good to be aware of what can happen, and then you're wise to focus your time on learning all the great info that's on this site about how to be a successful bandster. If I remember right, the incidence of complications with the band is 3%, and most of those complications are fixable with minimal hassle, like my pouch dilation was. Just get a surgeon who is very experienced with the lap band, and celebrate the rest of your life.

I'd love to do free Tai Chi....maybe in addition to Humble Tai Chi!

The problem with polls here is that the site is heavily populated by band problems. Those who are cruising along are less likely to need the support and post here, especially after the first year or two. I recently went to a support group that was all people who had lost most or all of their weight and had been banded for 2-7 years. I had such a different perspective, seeing everybody relaxed and at peace, going on with their lives.

Ted: I was just reading this thread for the first time. If you have virtually no ability to eat solid food, and you are hungry all the time, then it's time to talk with a doctor about it or get a second opinion. It stands to reason that you are hungry if you can't eat, and if you are having to basically drink your calories, then it would be tempting to drink higher calorie drinks than you night need. I would guess either the band itself is too small or you have some inflammation causing you to be too restricted.

Enjoy the wedding, Lana. Wear your wedding dress to our next meeting so we can ooh and ahh. (Or bring pictures!) We want pics of the house too! I'm going to Tai Chi Monday, assuming he's not taking Memorial Day off, and I'm not sick. Suzanne-How about pics of the biker trip? Barbara-Er, I don't want to see pics of the operation, but I'll be happy to see your face! I miss all of you!

Hi. I have Lupus SLE and I was banded in November. My Dr. wanted to see my blood tests first to make sure I wasn't in the midst of a major flare up during surgery, and that was that. I never did have a flare up in reaction to the operation, and although it certainly hasn't made my Lupus better, the losing weight has sure helped with the severe arthritis pains Lupus hands me. And with less weight, I can exercise more...also good for me and my Lupus.

I put a teaspoon of instant coffee, my protein shake, fresh and frozen fruit, benefiber, and flax seed oil in a blender. It's not sexy, but it tastes great and gets me going.

Strange drug, but it's certainly useful when you really need it. It also gave me osteoporosis. Now I'm just on placqenil that beats up your bone marrow and eye sight. Sigh. At least I ain't so fat..... Amitryptiline is an antidepressant that also helps with anxiety.