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Hi and congrats on taking the steps to a healthier and better you. The sleeve is a wonderful and I absolutely love life post-op. As for your questions, I'll answer honestly and openly as I can. 1) I am a smoker. Smoking inhibits healing, and can cause ulcers. Not only that, it increases your risk of a leak due to hindering healing of the staple line. My surgeon knew my smoking status, but I didn't quit pre-op. Could it have contributed to the fact that I did have a leak, yes, but the biggest issue in my recovery and leak issues was because I had a band first that destroyed my stomach tissue. Smoking also complicates anesthesia recovery. Your abdomen is sore, causes more coughing and I had to use a spirometer to help prevent pneumonia. That really sucked because coughing caused major discomfort. I have quit twice since surgery, and am now trying to quit again. I actually went on Wellbutrin to help with the withdraws of nicotine as the patch, gum and cold turkey make life with me pure hell. 2) I had a huge panel of labs, a chest xray, psych eval, and consult with a nutritionist. Some surgeons require an upper gi and sleep study. 3) I didn't have a drain initially. A lot of surgeons use drains to make sure there is no leak, and some pull it before discharge, some require it stay in for about a week. I only had drains due to the leak repair surgery, and they stayed in for over 2 weeks. 4) I was not catheterized for my revision. I urinated before surgery, and was dry when I came out. 5) hair loss can happen to anyone that goes through surgery. It's a pretty normal occurrence. There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. It's a combination of anesthesia, surgical stress, and rapid weight loss. I lost hair for about 3 months, and I lost half of my hair. Luckily, I had super thick, coarse hair and no one that didn't know me before never guessed that I had lost all of my hair. The only thing you can do pre-op and during your recovery is to take hair/nail/skin supplements to help with regrowth. Biotin is usually the one most people choose. I didn't do anything to help with regrowth until I started losing. I used Folicure extra care shampoo. I started having new growth pop in while I was still losing. Currently, I look like a chia pet, and have chopped my hair off, layered it and bleached the top to help hide some of the new growth. I kept the back and underneath dark to help give the illusion of depth and volume. Unfortunately, hair loss seems pretty inevitable. There's several patients on this board that got in there Protein and extra protein, and they lost more hair and lost it for a longer period of time than I did, and I didn't get in my protein until I was on soft solids when I could eat chicken and other meat. My main advice is make sure you can handle the mental and emotional aspect of this surgery. It's a huge change, and no matter how much you read or talk to people will you really grasp it all until you go through it. I truly believe going in positive, and upbeat helps. Find strength within yourself, and know that you are doing something absolutely fabulous for yourself and your family. Know that recovery can be difficult, you'll be tested, you'll be exhausted, you might be mad at yourself especially during the post-op diet, but all of that is just temporary. Questions to ask your surgeon: What size bougie do you use to make the sleeve? What are your leak/complication stats? What are your expectations of my weight loss? Do you provide follow up care, labs, access to a nutritionist and psych if needed post-op (especially since you'll be self-pay find out what all is included in that cost)? Do you prescribe an acid reducer such as Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium to protect the sleeve, how long should I be on it? Post-op diet instructions? Pre-op diet instructions? How many sleeves have you performed? How many bariatric procedures have you performed? How long is the hospital stay? Leak tests, how many and when are they performed? That's all I can think of right now. Best wishes on your consult, and if you need anything ask away. We'll all be here for you through this journey.

Becky, I'm sorry you are having to go through this, but like everyone else is saying, you must not give up now. You've proven that you can overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. This too is something that you will be able to accomplish, one way or another. I hope your insurance will come around, but if not, I know you will find a way to make this happen. Have you looked into getting some legal aid? Explore all your options and try not to get discouraged.

Hey, here are the liquid protein drinks: Met Rx is 51 grams of protein, 15 oz can, 240 cal. 1g fat 6g carbs . only tried te vanilla and it's good. drink it all at once and you fill up.. don't sip it throughout the day. atkins 11 ounces with 15g of protein, 9g of fat (they say is ok) 5g carbs then there are these nutritional supplements from Physician's Weight Loss Center www.pwlc.com - mix with water and its 12g protein mixed with 8oz water in all flavors, even hot chocolate and capachino - about $1.75 a serving - buy online in their diet store.....email me anytime with ??? good luck

I am on day #5 of my pre-op liquid protein diet. I am keeping a log of what I am drinking, grams of protein, fat, carbs and sugars. Yesterday, I had 198 grams of protein! i think what did it was the physician's weight loss center nuritional supplements that i sip throughout the day that total 36 grams of protein in 24oz. imagine if crystal light had 12 grams of protein in every 8oz. what happens when we consume too much protein?

:help:I am almost 6 weeks post op and I have very little restriction. Sometimes I can eat only 2/3 cup and sometimes I can eat 2+cups of food. Because I can eat so much, I am wondering what I should do to help myself fill up. I have been trying to stick with a normal bandster diet, but when I am hungry between meals, I tend to try to eat veggies. Is this OK? I'm trying the Protein shakes and low-calorie, low-carbohydrate foods. Any suggestions on how to get through this stage while I am waiting for my fill appointment?

I do not believe I am too tight as I have no problems eating and drinking. heck, if I wanted to I could sit down right now and eat an entire full size meal. And drinking is no problem either. Drinking in my calories I have basically stopped doing. not all, but most. Which is a huge change for me. I have been tracking my food using myfitnesspal.com and I am always under in calories and protein. I honestly never really looked at the fat. I will do that starting right now. I just went to the store and bought some healthy options to encourage me to eat more and I will start cutting out the shakes. Thanks to all of you who listened! I really appreciate it.

I wish I had that answer. I have local friends (4) that all lost their weight from 75 to 125 in 1 year. Me I am going to be a 4 yr bandster in june. I have asked them mannnnyyy times what are you eating, what are you doing some say walking, some say not eating much. Heck that does not help me. Be my friend. I see they do not want to give away their secret, and that is okay. on here i feel like we are all here to help each other. I want to encourage others, i want to see everyone succeed. I am gonna post my food just so i can go back and check myself. i did lose over 50 the fist year. by doing what i am doing now. i posted on here what i have been eating. if you need anymore help i am willing to help as much as i can. and i agree, i chose to go slower but got lazy my 2nd year, last year after my unfill i went back to all slide down junk food, high calorie stuff. not now. i do not want it no more. my biggest thing is head hunger. where i am really not hungry just so use to eating whenever. so now i am choosing Protein drinks and Water. i just have to do this one hour at a time one day at a time. and say no it just is not worth it.

Omg!!! Tonight I realized that one of my fave foods is a perfect sleeve food!!....CRABS!! (or crablegs!--whichever!). I bought some frozen snow crab legs from the store and steamed up three clusters. I could only eat 1 1/2 clusters & I was stuffed! They were soooo yummy!! And they are perfect for the sleeve because they are full of protein, easy to chew (tender), and they force you to eat slow! I'm so happy I discovered this tonight! I was getting kinda tired of tuna!

I would try the five day pouch test now. Also, are you getting all your Protein in first?

If nutritional value is on point, whey protein won't matter vs isolate. Isolate is nutritionally better for you because it's derived from a more pure form, but whey is still good to go in my book as long as the values aren't crazy off. Quest bars and Cliff bars were my go to bars before surgery and will be when I'm cleared for whole foods.

I prefer the Clif Bars. They are a great source of protein and taste great.

Morning everyone! My name is Shannon and I live in Kansas. My surgery date for the sleeve is 12/16. I'm so happy to have come across such a great website with all of these resources! I'm wondering what everyone else is doing to prep for surgery? Did you buy a blender and food processor etc? What other things are you making sure are in place in your life before you have surgery? Also, what Protein powder is everyone using? I've seen so many suggestions it would be nice to get some real life suggestions too

Today my Dad said something about getting to much protein can be harmful. However, my surgeon recommends that I get at least 60 grams daily. When doing some research, I have found a couple of sources that say I should get around 90 grams a day, and unless you have a kidney issue, you really cannot get to much protein. Does anyone out there know a lot about this topic? I found the following guidance on estimating the protein we should get and another about how much protein our body can process per meal: How much protein do we need? Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate our minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in kilograms by .8, or weight in pounds by .37. This is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day, a 200-pound person should get 74 grams, and a 250-pound person, 92 grams. How Much Protein Can You Absorb At One Time? The biggest protein myth is that you can only digest 30 grams of protein at one time. Find out what's wrong with this belief and just how much protein you need. This is a common question. I also get variations such as, how much protein can you digest at one time? There are two ways to answer this, because there really two questions being asked. 1) How much protein can the digestive system physically absorb into the bloodstream from a meal? And the MORE IMPORTANT QUESTION... 2) How much protein can you body actually utilize? The answers... 1) About 95% and higher, unless you have some type of digestive system malfunction. So if you get convinced by supplement companies to drink a 42g protein shake in 5 minutes, you'll still probably absorb at 38 or more grams of that protein. Your muscle growth is not limited by the amount of protein you can DIGEST or ABSORB. Your muscle growth IS LIMITED by the amount of protein that your body can utilize for protein synthesis. So the answer to #2... 2) A lot less than you think. You really don't need 40, or 30, or probably even 20g of protein per meal to keep your protein synthesis humming along. See Nutrition Help Expert Brad Pilon's post on "How Much Protein Do We Really Need" Any protein that your body can't use for growth will be shuttled into a process where it is broken down (de-aminated: meaning the nitrogen is removed from the molecule and it becomes a carbon skeleton) to be used in energy pathways. Now, there are benefits for eating extra protein (in my opinion) when dieting, mainly that it helps to suppress appetite. But the bottom line to the question I am asked almost everyday is... a) Your body can digest and absorb almost all of the protein you eat without problem. Your muscles can only do so much with protein...the muscle growth process is RARELY, if ever limited by the amount of protein we consume. Almost all of us can easily get enough protein for maximum muscle growth without the need for eating 50g of protein 6 times per day. Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, and Gunter Schlerkcamp excluded, of course. Overall, I'd think twice about the need to slam down a 40-50g protein shake...just think of the children and puppies you'll save by not gassing them out with protein farts.

I feel ya. I have to do a lot of small meals. I also add yogurt and fruit to my protein smoothies to get more calories.

Good luck with your conversion. I had this surgery 6 days ago. So far so good ... As far as prep: I needed to lose 30-35 pounds prior. I lost 28 and that was fine. I had to go to four 90 minute meetings all about mindful eating and strategies for success. I met with my dietician 3 times prior. I had lots of blood work done and a barium swallow (which revealed an enflamed esophagus) They wanted to take out all of my fluid prior but I convinced them otherwise (it was still a tool I needed) I was put on a liquid diet 2 weeks prior (protein shakes and drinks) which I did not follow religiously. They told me it was so my liver would not be enlarged and it would make the surgery easier for both of us and recovery would be better as well. I had to stop taking any Advil and all vitamins one week prior. Clear liquids only 24 hours prior. Nothing after midnight on surgery day, except a sip to take my one prescription pill. Good luck!

How I empathize with you all. . . I am the exact same way. There was a question earlier somewhere on this forum, in which the person asked for questions to ask at her informational seminar. . . I guess one of those should be how to deal with the horrible head hunger. I too suffer from this monster, but I guess the best thing we can do is just fight it. . . it's so hard, when i give into it, however, I make sure that it's only a little of whatever I'm craving. . . most times my cravings are meat, so it's protein with no carbs (thank goodness). . . but i so understand head hunger, I too would love to lose about 30 more lbs, but don't see that anytime soon either. . . ugh. . good luck ladies! Together we will overcome (one day )

Your lucky I am on day 9 of 14 can only have Water, sf Jello, sf Popsicle , broth and only 1 Protein shake I am starving can't wait for this part to be over with Sent from my iPhone

When I was diagnosed with a slip that would require surgery, I went under with three possible options: 1) that the band would be restitched, 2) that the band would be removed, 3) that the band would be restitched with plication. I was lucky and had the band restitched with plication. The only thing I know for sure, I don't want to ever have to try to maintain my weight without a surgical tool of one sort or another. If I had had my band removed, I would have gone through the necessary healing process and then had the sleeve!! Never again do I want to have to do this on my own!!

Hello! Hello!! Hello!!! To all my wonderful sleeve peeps! :wub: Well, I made it to the other side of VSG surgery and lived to tell about it! Some of you may have read my 'worry woes' pre-op. If not, you can read them here. The nerves lasted right up until I went under...even was scared afterwards. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me 'splain it all below... Part 1: Before surgery... So I get to Tijuana uneventfully. Cecy (Dr. Kelly's wife) promptly picked me up from the airport. As with others, she gave me a brief tour of parts of San Diego (the pier, historic old town, convention center, etc.) before we headed for the border. Crossing into Mexico was a breeze. Once in TJ, I was taken to Hospital Angeles for chest x-rays. Nice hospital, and we were in and out pretty quickly. From there, she gave me another brief tour of the beach in TJ. Wow...was nice. But I love all things Water (lake, sea, ocean, doesn't matter). There's something so calming for me when I'm near the water. We also drove past the arena where they (used to) do the bullfighting. Cecy said it doesn't happen so much anymore. After that, we headed to the Oasis Hospital, where I was to have surgery. I look at the room...eh, nothing to write home about. It's just a room. I suppose by that time it was about 5pm. Side note: I was supposed to have surgery at 2pm, after arriving in San Diego at 9:30am. However, my first flight to Denver arrived late, so I missed my connection. I had to be re-routed to Oakland, then to San Diego. Mind you, I hadn't eaten since the night before. Argh!!! Anyhoo, so it's about 5(ish) pm when we get to Oasis Hospital. I meet with the cardiologist (can't recall his name). He takes my bp...it's high (150/96), and I'm surprised by that because it's not normally that high. I am generally at 120/80. So I start to tell him of my surprise and he says to hold on, he'll take it again. The first time was with the automatic pressure machine. The second time, he takes it by hand...it's the same. He asks if, perhaps due to my PCOS, I'm on a medication like Coumadin (sp?). No. "Anything?" he asks. Nope, I reply. I don't take ANY medications. Unable to determine the cause of my elevated bp, he merely shrugs it off and says it could be related to the stress of traveling, and nerves. This doesn't really satisfy me, but ok. He does the EKG and asks if I have any questions. Uhhh yeah! Am I ok to have this surgery with an elevated bp??? He says it's not a problem... After that, the nurses start putting the compression stockings on me and I'm like, whoa! Wait a minute!!! This is getting really real! I start asking myself, "Are you really gonna do this?" "Have I made my peace with God??" "If I die, it will kill my mother." As I'm laying there, these thoughts going through my mind, tears start to roll from my eyes down the sides of my face. I realize that I have to be willing to die in order to live. One of the nurses seeing my tears, comforts me...en espanol. At that moment I think, "Maybe I shouldn't have come alone..." Before I can complete that thought, Dr. Kelly enters the room to introduce himself. Omar, the patient coordinator with whom I've had much phone and text communication, is with him. I immediately ask the doctor about my elevated bp and he tells me not to worry. They are going to give me something that will bring it down. He assures me I'm ok for surgery, since I have no other co-morbidities. He leaves to go prep for surgery. Omar stays behind to chat a bit and tells me I don't need to worry. "Yeah, but I am," I say. He assures me I'm gonna be ok, but then says, "If you're really not sure. You can call this off right now. You don't have to go forward. We want you to be extremely sure, so it's ok if you decide not to go forward." In a strange way, this puts me slightly at ease. I realize, this is my CHOICE. I have the power here, no one else. In life, we have to make decisions. I did my best to research this solution, and before it, i did my best to be my best. If this is where my life's journey has led me, then so be it. I make my peace with God that either I'll see Him on the other side, or I'll begin my life anew in this realm. So be it. At this point, probably because I've somewhat resolved that my fate is my fate, I realize no one's even asked for payment yet! So while Omar is yapping away, i just bust out and share that information with him. "I mean, it's fine by me if y'all wanna do this surgery for free, but I don't think that's the case..." He bucks up and hands me my purse pronto! Now it's time to head to the OR...oh Lord! So soon??? Geez, this is all happening too fast! I ask Omar the time, it's around 6:00pm now. We head down a long corridor, me being wheeled on my operating bed, looking up at everyone speaking spanish above me. Okaaayyyy, what the HELL am I doing??? We enter the OR, a bright spacious room. I notice a TV. I guess that should be there, since they are doing the surgery laparoscopically. Then I notice a stereo. I ask the gentleman standing next to me if they plan on rocking out while performing my surgery. He nods his head. "Don't worry" he says, after noticing what I'm sure was a horrified look on my face. Good Lord... Everyone is scurrying about. The anesthesiologist introduces himself and before I know it, he's pulled down my gown to place electrodes on my chest and...oops! There's my boob, in plain sight for everyone to see! I know he has to do this in order to place the electrodes, but...,embarassing!!! LOL! On the other side of me, someone outstretches my arm and begins to strap it to an extended arm pad. Then, he walks around to the other side and does the other arm. I realize I'm in the sacrificial position of Christ on the cross. I'm just now realizing the irony of that... Next, the anesthesiologist informs me he's giving me something to help me "relax". Uh-oh! I know what that means!!! Lights out! My nerves kick into high gear. It's crunch time! I feel the drug and man-o-shevits I start fighting it! I fight to keep my eyes open--WIDE! "Yust relax..." I hear. Wait a minute! I'm not ready... Oh God!, I think in my head. So much for all that "I made my peace" mumbo jumbo!! Is...is that woman on a cell phone over there?? What the hell kinda place is... Next thing I know, I'm waking up in my room! Part 2: After surgery... I wake up in my hospital room and it feels like no time at all has passed. I am confused and wonder who the hell are all these people fussing over me, telling me to wake up. Can't they see I'm soooooo tired??? Noooo, leave me alone! I try to yell but can't articulate. I look over, and I see Omar sitting in a recliner in my room, looking at me. I want to say something to him, but once again, it's lights out for me. When I finally do wake up, it's 2am (I know cuz I asked the nurse who was tending to me). She spoke some English. I immediately began my 48-hour vomit phase. Now, anyone who knows me knows I DO NOT wish to throw up...EVER!!! In fact, I don't do pain or sickness in general well at all. For me, that's always a sign of Armageddon on earth! So me tossing my Cookies repeatedly for 2 days? No. But that's precisely what happened. It started the night of surgery and didn't stop until I was ready to leave the hospital. I asked the nurse for medication. I was flatly told, "No." WHAT??? OK, surely this...person...didn't understand me! But Omar's now gone. No translation for me tonight. And all night that first night, I threw up. Sure, the nurses kept coming in to check on me and empty my bucket full of vomit. But I didn't get any meds. By the next morning, the vomiting had slowed...or so I thought. It seemed every time someone came and asked, "How are you feeling?" I'd consider and then respond, "OK." And no sooner than when they'd leave my room I'd get that Oh God, not again feeling. And then the vomiting would continue. The doctor on call came in eventually and told me I needed to get up to walk as soon as I could. So I did...and then I'd vomit and feel weak. (Damn that hallway was long!!) The next day, Dr. Kelly came as I was walking. When he asked how I was feeling, I told him I had vomited all night and they wouldn't give me any medication. He looked concerned and said if and when I needed it, I could have medicine. I guess he must've went and talked to someone, cuz the next thing I know in comes the nurse with pain and nausea medication. ALRIGHT!!! Unfortunately, it didn't help much. After a while, I just started feeling down. I was sooooo sick. With nothing more to up-chuck, I was dry heaving which is just as bad. It felt like it would never end. Like I'd never feel better again. Like I'd made the wrong decision... When you're sick, you can't see anything but that sickness...at least that's how I am. Omar, who had stopped by with Dr. Kelly earlier, saw that I was in low spirits. So he did something that REALLY helped me: he brought a previous patient back to the hospital to chat with me. There was a lady there who had had surgery with Dr. Kelly 2 days prior to me, on Thursday (mine was Saturday). When she came in the room, standing fully erect (I sure couldn't, at that point), happy go-lucky and having been out walking around and shopping... 2 words: I-WAS-FLOORED!!! (OK, that was 3 words... ) I could NOT believe that she had just had surgery. She certainly didn't look like me. And I really wanted to call her a liar. But she was with her mother...and we all know Moms don't lie, right?? It was really amazing to meet her and see her progress. She assured me that she was JUST LIKE ME 2 days prior. That she was sick constantly, that her mother held her vomit bucket as she walked the halls! (Moms are great, aren't they??) This woman gave me hope, and a newfound motivation that everything would eventually be ok. And you know what? By day 3, it was. By the time I was ready to go to the hotel, I felt about 75% better. While I was still a llittle shaky, there was no more vomiting (thank you Baby Jesus!!). So we left to go back to Hospital Angeles to take the final leak test. Seeing that clear liquid and knowing everyone says it tastes horrible, I was not wanting to chance it. I just knew I was gonna throw up. But Omar assured me that no one had ever thrown up from the stuff. So, I drank the horrible concoction. And it stayed down. Seeing the Fluid travel thru my hot dog shaped stomach was quite a sight! No leaks...I was good. The other 2 days in the hotel were nice. Lucerna Hotel is quite a nice little place. Omar took me to the mall one day, and then to the beach and to Revolucion (a place with a lot of shops for tourists) the next. I decided to spend my last night (night 4) in San Diego, in order to have no problems crossing the border back into the U.S. While crossing into Mexico was a nonevent, coming back took hours! Ugh! Cecy again drove me back across the border. Dr. Kelly, who was on his way to an appointment on the U.S side, rode with us. So I got a couple of hours to really chat with him. I discovered that not only is he a great surgeon, he's a generally great guy. We chatted politics, travel, insurance in the U.S., plastic surgery...coordinators. He admonished me to stay in touch long term. I sure never got that much from a U.S. doctor!! Cecy and I also stopped at The Fashion Valley mall in San Diego before going to the hotel. Wow, I LOVE that mall! They've got EVERY store you could think of!!! I can't wait to lose a good chunk of weight. I wanna shop, shop, SHOP!!! The only downside to crossing the border a day early was that I was put up at the Quality Inn near the airport. I guess it was about the same price as the Lucerna. It certainly wasn't the same quality! I'd consider the Lucerna to be about 3.5 stars, while Quality Inn was about 2.75 stars...that's my opinion anyway. I would stress to everyone that if you're offered this option, you might want to reconsider. The Quality Inn room was shabby. And coming from the Lucerna, it was really a downer. It was livable, but if I had thought about it, if I had considered that the value of the dollar goes a lot farther in TJ, I'd have stayed at the Lucerna and just got up extra early to cross the border on the day of my flight. It would have been worth it. After all, I'd been through enough discomfort by that point. So now, I'm back at home on day 6. I feel fine, if not a little tired from not getting enough calories. I'm only allowed Gatorade, fruit juice, broth, water and Jello. It's getting old... But right now, I'm happy. I'm content. I'm grateful. And soooooo optimistic about my future. I am so excited about my next chapter in life. One of my bucket list items after losing weight is to take at least a year off and travel the world. Now that I'm on the road to significant weight loss, that possibility is now very real. And I'm anxious! One thing at a time, though. I'm sorry this was so extremely long. But I hope it helps someone coming after me to see that you can go thru a wide range of emotions. But ultimately, everything is everything! Take care, and good luck to us all on our journeys!

Just found this website randomly but am very excited to have done so! I'm having my surgery Tuesday too...and I've been pretending (aside from the all Protein diet) that it's just another week...but I'm starting to feel the butterflies. I agree, we will be fine and it is the beginning of a new life. Just nice to know there is a support group out here!

TreeMystic, I'm so sorry to hear that you weren't able to get your gastric sleeve done, but at least you have the option of getting it done in 6 weeks. Unfortunately I can't relate exactly to what you are going through, but I think that I have a pretty good understanding. I know what it's like to have revision surgery (lapband to sleeve) because I just had it done on April 4, 2018 after having my band for over 11 years. I know that your experience is a lot to process at the moment , but things are going to get better. Six weeks will be here sooner than you know it. good luck to you.

23 November......I've got a little while and also facing my two-week pre-op diet. I am experimenting this week with Protein Meal Replacements so I will know what tastes good. But from all I am reading, it is probably a waste of time because my tastes are likely to change post-op. But, I am an eager beaver!

i am 1 week and 2 days out and i put turkey noodle soup in blender and ate some-is that ok in full liquid phase? i am just so sick of protein shakes

Dense proteins mainly include meats, like chicken, turkey, lamb, and lean cuts of beef. But also nuts, soy, and some beans.

I am going on 6 weeks post op. I don't have my second visit until July 14th, with that being said I am hoping to get my first fill. Here is what I am expieriencing I am getting hungry about 1 to 2 hrs after I eat. Now I can only eat a little bit but more than 1/2 cup. I feel great no pain but I also feel like I can eat like I did before I had lap band. I am at a stand still with my weight I am down 22 lbs and I am happy about that but I am just wondering if what I am feeling is normal. I brought it up to my dr and he pretty much said we will see what happens and how your feeling when you see me. Is this normal to feel this way? I am eating alot of protein, I have been drinking protein in between meals to see if that helps and I am not really snacking in between, trying to stick to what the dr gave me as a guide to eat. I had a piece of whole wheat bread with all natural peanut butter that seemed to help a little but again I get hungry soon after I eat. It is such a mental fight I have with myself, because I am not about to go back to the way I ate before lap band and it is so hard. Advise, suggestions anything HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP:) OH one more question Salad is safe to eat at this stage right? If so I am going to start eating salad.