jingleboob

I was fairly cranky until I was back on real food... which was 4 weeks after surgery! I still have those moments, but I am confident that once I reach restriction and am not hungry all the time this will be a wonderful thing!!!

yes call your doctor. ask for the liquid. kind of ridiculous to have you taking that big pill when you're not supposed to even be passing food through the band yet!

I haven't had to take my prevacid for over a month!!!! WOOHOOO I'm also stalled with the losing... I know I'm eating too much, I just need a kick in the butt. I need to slow down while eating. I need to eat before I get so hungry, because that's when I eat too fast. Turning the tv off during meals is a pain, I can't get DH to do it, and our kitchen table is opposite the tv. Excuses, excuses. I need to eat less. I'm thinking of breaking my dr's rules... he would prefer I have 3 meals a day (1 cup each) with no Snacks, but my stomach gurgles and growls all day- so loud others can hear, I get light headed and cranky. I need to put a healthy snack between meals or have 6 smaller meals a day. What do you do?

mine is definetly coming out now. handfulls in the shower and when I brush. I asked the nutritionist and she said it wasn't Protein related, kind of a shock to the body to lose so much weight (she said it typically happens between 50-90 pounds lost and will stop after about 6 weeks and yes, will grow back) she said you can use the nioxin shampoo you can get from the hairdresser and take Biotin supplements, but they're not a sure way to stop or prevent it

the liquid is pretty expensive. I know you can order chewable cal cit online, I found a chewable citrate/carbonate combo at GNC... it's the closest I've found without having to buy online

I've been banded 7 weeks... got my first fill a week ago. I don't know if I notice a difference or not yet. I also know I'm not doing this whole thing right. I usually do end up taking a sip during meals because the sensation is so uncomfortable. What should it feel like when you eat? how do you know you're full? is it a different feeling than before the band? I need to understand what i should be feeling because unless I eat chili or something softish I usually feel painful pressure in my chest that only goes away with a sip of Water. Is that my new "full" feeling? it happens after just a couple of bites and if I don't have a sip of water I can't eat again for ages. So if I don't have a sip of water my meal would be about 3 small bites... which just isn't enough. It doesn't happen during the rest of the meal, just with those first couple of bites. I don't need to chug a drink to make it ease, just a small sip or two, and only right in the begining, not during the rest of the meal or after... want to know if this is a normal thing and if my sipping is ruining my progress, or if this is abnormal and I should talk to my dr. or if you can just describe exactly what you feel when you eat maybe I can understand it better. Even when I can't eat I'm hungry- my stomach gurgles so loud all day people can hear it in the room with me. THANKS :thumbup:

Radio DJ in Syracuse, NY

it's one of the things my surgeon warned about... sometimes the band causes horrible reflux... for many people it gets rid of it, but for a few it makes it worse. it was a risk I was willing to take and luckily my reflux has completely gone away (knock on wood). Call your doc, let them know how bad it is and they may up your dose. A lot of people end up taking 2 reflux pills a day. Sucks, and I'm sorry you're having this problem

when i woke from surgery it was a 10. After getting the max dose of morphine and sleeping a bit more it was an 8 or 9... a few hours after surgery I'd say I was a 7... by the following day I was sore, but the pain meds did the job and I was actually walking around walmart with mom 24 hours after surgery... by the 4th day I was off pain meds and pain was averaging a 3 or 4... a week after surgery just sore, like I'd overdone it at the gym. It wasn't nearly as bad as my gallbladder was!

I asked my doctor about it last week. He said that the band is right above your diaphragm and if the band irritates the diaphragm (like when I eat too much or when you're in an odd position like others said) you get that referral pain in the shoulder. It's horrible pain, and it does tell me I've had too much to eat, hope I learn soon to stop before the pain starts!

6 more weeks until the 2nd fill... hope that one makes a difference! Also... I don't remember who posted it, but I made the turkey taco Soup and it's friggin fantastic! I literally eat it EVERY DAY for lunch, and a lot of days for dinner. So easy, so delicious. You should give it a try!!! Not my recipe... I got it from a post on this forum 1 lb ground turkey, browned with 1/2 chopped onion and 1/2 c chopped green pepper (I just got frozen... easy!) Add to crock pot with : -2 cans pinto Beans (drained) -1 can black beans (drained) -1 cup frozen corn (you can leave out if you're worried about the carbs but it's not very much corn in the whole pot) -2 cans of Rotel tomatoes (they're diced with green chilis... the Rotel are actually better than the delmonte diced with chilis if you can get them) -1 package of taco seasoning -1 package of ranch dressing mix. -I only added about 2 cups of Water and 2 cubes of beef bouillon for flavor... but if you want it soupy add more water I put a spoonful of fat free sour cream in my bowl of soup and it's fantastic... even my picky family loves it. and EASY!!!!

My pcp had to write a letter to insurance stating why the band would be good for me... listing my weight history and complications that would be relieved with the weight loss. The surgeon's office needed that letter to send into insurance for approval... it's what held up the process by 2 weeks!

woohoo!!!!!!

I left it in the crock pot for a few hours... it's all cooked by the time you put in the crock pot so as soon as it's all hot you can eat it, but I like Soups to really cook. A lot of people just put it in a pot on the stove for half an hour... My doctor is fairly conservative with fills... slow and steady... I also have to pay for each fill so I couldn't afford to do it too often! I'll just be as good as I can and hope the next fill makes a difference... I've also read other people saying they couldn't feel their fill for up to a week and then the restriction hits so I'm optimistically waiting!!!

I just asked my doctor about the shoulder pain last week. I've noticed if I eat too much or too fast I get a terrible pain in my left shoulder when I breathe... horrible stabbing pain. He explained that the band and pouch are right above the diaphragm and if you eat too much and it irritates the diaphragm you get referral pain... so with the band hitting the left side of my diaphragm I'm getting pain in my left shoulder... it sucks. lasts until the food is gone. I try to remember the pain when I eat, but still I underestimate how "full" I am at times

I hate liquid meds... I'm a big baby with that stuff... I have no problem taking pills at this point, but after surgery when I didn't want to gag or vomit from cherry liquid tylenol I took the chewable jr. tylenol... had to take 6 of them to be close to 1000 mg but it worked well for me and would be good for a flight as it's not liquid! The jr. tylenol not children's... they're 160 mg for each tablet. Have a good trip!

I just saw poor beachbunny's post... not making fun at all I wasn't expecting a fill today, I was told we would discuss it at this appointment so I figured it would be scheduled when I was there today... nope. Filled. Wasn't a pleasant experience having the doctor pushing and pushing on the port, and it did take 3 tries, but finally I felt that pop and he said "That's what we want" and I now have 3.4 cc's! He only put 1 in today... I didn't know I had 2.4 already! So I'm sipping on a protien shake now excited to get back to "real" food on Tuesday and see if I have any restriction... in the 4 weeks since my last appointment I've lost 1.8 lbs... at least it was a loss because I've been so hungry! Also, asked why I get such awful shoulder pain... sometimes if I eat too much I get a terrible sharp stabbing pain in my left shoulder when I breathe... and now I understand why. He said the pouch/band are very close to the diaphragm and if it's too full of food it can irritate the diaphragm causing the shoulder pain...it really hurts when it happens.

Very jealous of your insurance!!! Mine only covered 80%, so far I owe 2300 to the hospital... waiting on the adjusted rate and my 20% of the surgeon... had to take out a 401k loan to pay for it... but a lot cheaper than the almost $20,000 it would have been without insurance! I wanted to have the surgery this year before the new health insurance laws started and our premiums and % goes waaay up!

I have my 2nd post op appointment tomorrow (6 weeks post op) and we'll hopefully schedule my first fill. I have been losing, but I'm hungry most of the time and can easily eat more than they say I should. When I had my appointment 4 weeks ago the nurse practitioner told me they would fill depending on how hungry I am... fingers crossed we both get our fills!

itching = healing it's a good thing!

I agree with everyone... find another doctor. If I had had the chance to get this done when I was in high school... to have not been the fat girl all through high school and college and my 20's... all the things I missed out on... go for it. It's not like getting a boob job at your age... you boobs may still be changing but your stomach is obviously an issue and you're hoping to take care of it, head off any serious health issues before they start, trying to live a normal life. GO FOR IT. Find another doctor and be happy!!! Best of luck

zyrtec here too. works better than the claritin for me. I go to BJ's (wholesale club) where the generic is $15 for 300 pills!!! Everyone in the house takes it so we save a ton buying it there... actually, in 1 month we save enough on it to justify the yearly membership fee

The post op liquid hunger has hit!!! I was starving during that time... and during mushies. Much better now I'm on "real" food. It's all part of the process... you can make it- just be careful once you start eating again- don't eat too fast because it's really just half a bite between full and hurting and it takes a little time after you swallow to know the difference...

pillows was the key. I tried sleeping in the recliner but wasn't comfy. I ended up mainly on my side in bed with a pillow wedged under my stomach so I wouldn't roll onto it and so it was supported. Quite cozy