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Something Jacqui said kind of struck me: " Money for cosmetic surgery? We're very comfortably off but its ridiculous to think of even beginning to find that kind of money for what amounts to vanity - as I dont seriously "need' it." I am hoping you are speaking of your own situation. I am one of those people who does need some. I have an apron of skin hanging over my belly that rubs against itself to the point of bleeding several times a week. Perhaps some would view surgery as being aboiut vanity but I can't help but get a little ticked off because those are the people who told me the Lap Band was the "easy" way out. For some, surgery is necessary. I am one of them. I guess this is too close for me right now as I did work hard to prepare for this moment. I hope no one is offended. Sometimes things just build up and I can't hold back.

I'm about 7 weeks post op and while I have the desire for food, especially my old favorites, nothing tastes good. NOTHING, not even water. Any suggestions?

I would review your doctor's instructions. Yes I know everybody says that. The reason why I want to stress that is that every doctor is different in what they consider mushies. My first week of mushies was only yogurt, cottage cheese ricotta. That's a far cry from anything that you can put in the blender. Remember just because it mushed in a blender doesn't mean it's the right weight. And when you eat something it's going to go into the small stomach and pull on the stitches there from the band until it passes through into the big stomach.

I have been reading about "bandster hell" and "sweet spot". Overfills - stretching etc. Cheating and Straying. I thought I knew enough but suddenly feel less confident. Can you all break down your experiences from post surgery through the 1st fill. Please give me the good, the bad, and the ugly (and despite being gross, was really funny). Also, tell me what you wished your docter or friends would have said regarding their experience. Thanks a bunch!

I had to sleep propped up for a week, then on my back flat for a week before I could sleep on my sides. Whhoohhooo I was so happy when I could finally get comfy to sleep! Congrats on the surgery and best wishes for a speedy recovery

In my case, I am going about half as much. Since I'm taking in less than half of the food I used to eat, it only follows that I'd be going less. Although it does make for some anxiety moments on the scale. I won't lose weight for a day or two and think I'm in a stall. Then I'll go to the bathroom and POOF! I'm down a pound and the weight loss resumes.

This is the best news I've heard all week, it's not been a news worthy week. My telephone has been hijacked by Earthlink which has the worse service and I'm at the mercy to get reconnected with a real co which takes like 14 business days, this is an eternity. Atleast our broadband works.

Yes, it will pass! I had to do a 10 day high Protein liquid only diet, and it was tough, when my husband would bring home pizza and stuff like that for dinner for himself & our son. I never cheated either for fear of surgery not being able to be done if I did (I've heard of that happening to people). It got easier for me (a little), after the first 4 or 5 days. I had surgery on 10/2, and I've had to be on liquids only for a total of 3 weeks post op, can not wait to move to puree foods this upcoming weekend! Just keep reminding yourself why you're doing this and you've come this far, you can keep going! (that's what I tell myself) "it's only temporary, it's only temporary, I will be able to actually eat again....etc" lol Good luck to you!!

So... I never thought I could do it...but I am at the one week point of my two week liquid Protein fast. It *has* been hard - particularly on weekends... but I know were I to cheat, it would be all blown. I am very much an all or nothing person. The toughest part was last night - I tried a new flavor Protein powder with almond milk. N.A.S.T.Y. And, to add to that, my husband was frying pork chops for him and my sons. So, I was a LITTLE cranky last night! Saturday night, I was watching tv and heard my stomach rumbling REALLY loud...then, I realized it was my beagle snoring, so I felt better. ) Surgery is Monday, Oct 22...this too shall pass!

I hit a stall after 2 weeks post op. How's that for freaking out. I stayed in the stall for almost 3 weeks. Now the scale has be moving again. I'm averaging about 3 lbs a week. Good Luck and seriously have patience it will happen.

oh yah they are smokers that is for sure. Yes Italy has the food market cornered in my opinion. So Preop food plan was 3 weeks out 1 meal of replacement shake and 2 meals of meat and green vegetable. then on 2 weeks out it was 2 Meal Replacements and 1 meal of meat and green vegetables. 1 week out 3 Meal Replacement shakes a day. i am 5'6" and weighed 212, my surgeon wanted my weight down by 8 pounds and my liver healthy. that is his practice for everyone and i did lose the weight. he had no issues with my liver and was able to work around it very easy. my post op was similiar to yours, liquids 1 week, mushies 1 week, reasonable solids (ground beef, fish, etc) 3 weeks. mushies were hard for me because I like hot cereals and those pack the pounds on me, so i went for cottage cheese, thick veggie Soups, yogurts, ricotta cheese with some seasoned stewed tomatoes and garlic, you get the pic. if you look on the right side of this web page right below the search window, it says, "Members Area." click the "messages" link and it will take you to the PM and you just type in the users name and it will send your message to that user only. i am with you, i don't wrangle these websites too often but you will get the hang of it. I have learned that my doctor's words of advice have been right on the money everytime, i have followed his directions to a tee and i feel really good and have not had any "issues." if you would like to visit their website it is Western Bariatric Institute :: Home This website is a wealth of info but if you would like to see my surgeons info packet, I would be happy to mail it to you. just let me know. g2s

How's it going? I'm struggling, I am feeling more and more hunger, my first fill is next week and I really need it, and hope it curbs my cravings. I just ate a lot of chocolate!!! I'm such an idiot!!!!

So let me give you a run down of my last two weeks........ I’m definitely not looking for sympathy, I just want to know if any of you have been through this so I’m not going through it alone. I had my revision from VSG to RNY on 7/22 - Day 1 was rough but after that everything was a breeze. I had tapered myself off pain meds and felt great. Sunday morning (6 days post op) I felt pretty dizzy and light headed which I linked to dehydration so I stepped up my liquids. This lasted on and off all day. Come Monday morning and I’m starting to have some left side stomach pain and linked shoulder pain. I’m not gonna lie, the shoulder pain hurt worse than anything imaginable and I tried simethicone and nothing helped so it was not linked to gas. I called my surgeon and he suggested to come into the ER for eval. CT scan and blood work later, I was getting admitted. Let me tell you what though - I have not felt the same since they stretched me flat on the CT scan, it felt like every fiber that had started to form back together was ripped open again. I was admitted to the hospital for 3 nights for severe dehydration and to fully rule out a leak, which was definite after an Upper GI. During the first 2 days of admission my surgeon allowed me nothing by mouth and near the end of that I could just feel my stomach going crazy inside my abdomen looking for substance. When I was finally able to eat, my stomach hated me. The first thing that hit my stomach caused unbelievable cramps. A day later and I can still feel fluids hit my pouch and cramps follow. My pain in my shoulder has gone away, I’m still pretty sore in my stomach but for the life of my can’t figure out why my stomach is so mad at me for drinking. Has anyone of you experienced this? If so, PLEASE reassure me that things do get better 🙏🏻

Thanks for the info guys. I'm not curently on birth control, never have been. My weight loss is starting to slow down since i'm almost 10 months in from surgery i'm maybe only losing a Kilo per week and then some weeks nothing. Me and my husband want to start a family next year.

MrsBerggren, I do think you are a tad too tight. At 6ccs, I got stuck at least once every meal, was uncomfortable when I did eat successfully. I had just .2cc removed -- yeah, just two tenths of a cc -- and magically, the problems stopped. I needed to lose a total of 134 pounds and I've lost 80 so far. It's not as fast as it used to be BUT it's about a pound a week and I'm happy with that. Remember that 1 to 2 pounds per week is the goal of the surgery and a healthy rate of weight loss. As for enjoying the food you eat, that's a head thing AND a selection thing. I read a post elsewhere on here just in the past couple of days where a man said that he eats only the things he truly enjoys. In other words, if he could have a hamburger steak or sashimi (which he says he loves), then he would have the sashimi. He suggested aiming for those quality dishes that offer a great taste and/or texture. I'm not gonna say "why even mourn a french fry" but I'm gonna say think about the foods you truly, absolutely love and don't want to not have. Then plan how to have them. If you have to have a smaller portion of something you adore versus a larger portion of something that's "just something to eat", then you see my answer. If you get really stuck, it can irritate where your esophagus joins your stomach and at the stoma. If you're really uncomfortable after a bad stuck episode, have liquids for the rest of the day. That hasn't been a necessity since the little bitty unfill I had a few weeks ago. If I get stuck now, if I hold my arms up over my head and sit up straight, it moves. Your band isn't there to punish you. It's to help you. I still eat a slice of cake at the monthly office birthday party. But it's about 6 bites instead of a huge chunk of cake. I'm okay with that. A GB patient might not be able to eat that bit of cake without an unpleasant reaction. I have a friend who had GB and she has had nothing but problems from Day 1. If it were reversible, she'd go tomorrow. She hates where she is now. Yeah, she's lost 15 pounds but she's living with problems that can't be fixed. You have some problems but they are things that can be adjusted away. So, go to the doc's office, talk about the stuck episodes and how you often find you can't eat the amount of food you SHOULD be able to eat and ask for a slight unfill. If that doesn't get you there, get another slight unfill. Don't go drastic. A little change can make a huge difference in your daily life. And, let us know that it's better!!

I am probably going to ramble a little. Over a year ago I attended a seminar with Dr. Duckett in Maumee. Paramont is my insurance. Dr. Duckett's office said they were in the process of signing a contract with Paramont for lapband. I was told to keep calling the Dr's office as they expected to sign soon. Finally in Sept. they reportedly signed and Paramount will now pay for lapband through Dr. Duckett.....they neglected to say that only 25% of the company policies will cover with 75% not covering even if it is a Paramont covered service. Additionally, NOBODY seems to know that Paramont will cover the surgery as long as it is not excluded from your employer policy. Of course it is excluded from our company policy because, as our insurance broker said, "it has never been a covered service and is excluded from all paramont policies". So, I said to the Dr.'s office rep that I have spent the last year gettiing all the documentation ready for when it was a covered service. I had my psych eval (a year ago on 10/5/05); I hve continued in therapy to address eatiing disorder issues; I have been visiting my PCP monthly for the last 6 months for medically supervised diet; he is willing to write a letter indicating it is a medically necessary procedure as is my cardioligist and my therapist (who is affliated with the surgeon). So the office manager says "Why have you been doing all that stuff when the procedure wasn't even covered during the time you were doing all that stuff? You were just wasting your time!" And I sez, "Well, each tiime I called your office during the year I was told "call back next week ....call back next month...we're very close to signing!' She sez, "Well that's what we thought", I sez "If I hadn't done anything while waitiing you would have said "well why didn't you prepare?" I AM SO TIRED!! Soo..I am gettiing the letter from my PCP today, letter from my therapist tomorrow, letter from cardiologist this week. I will present them to my employer along with the name of the Paramont manager who is handling the lapband stuff. Hopefully once my employer has the information that the procedure is medically necessary and that Paramont will pay if not excluded from company policy, the company will add the procedure to our policy. The other issue is the fact that my employer will be asking for quotes from other insurance companies as this is the time of year that they will change insurance companies if they can get a better deal. Another company may or may not allow the surgery. At this point self pay is not an option so on with the red tape! Thanks for listening Sandy3

I am 4 weeks out and I will have between 1/2 & 1 cup of food per sitting depending on what it is. Do you have a calorie mark that you have to hit? I was given a list of appropriate mushie food and these goals. Calories 800, Fat 22 grams, protien 68 grams. I haven't been able to meet them with what I am eating (I run out of time during the day) but am getting real close. This is my normal day 8oz protien shake 8am 4 oz carb countdown yogurt 10:30ish 1/2 cup tuna w/mayo and 2 saltines 1pm 4 oz applesauce or Jello 4pm 8 oz Soup or 2 oz meat and some vegtables 7pm I sneak in 1 cup of coffee some days and lots of Water everyday (except weekends - I am not on schedule then and do rather poorly at getting half of what I need) I should throw in another protien shake after dinner but I don't usually get hungry before bed (WOW, isn't that a change) Hope this helps,

It sounds like a lot to me, given that your surgery was just a week ago. I was apparently a lot more swollen inside and couldn't get much in the first week or two. What does your doctor say?

I had my surgery 6 months ago and I have lost 86 pounds so far. I am excited about this but I have also been at the 86 pound weight loss for about a month. I know that doesn't seem like a long time but when you get used to seeing it come off at about 3-5 pounds a week and then nothing for a month...well, its discouraging. I have found that when I go back on liquids for a few days it starts to come off again but I am tired of the same old Unjury protein powder:confused_smile:. Anyone out there have any suggestions? I tried the Muscle Milk and I think it made me gain weight:sad:.

Hi Missy - I only had my surgery 3 weeks ago so am not yet at that point, but a number of years ago I lost 100 pounds on my own (regained it all, of course) and remember going from a D to a B cup. I was actually delighted because I hated having large boobs, and I did have to buy all new bras (but at least they were the cute lacy type, instead of body armor LOL). My advice is to treat yourself and go to a specialty store where they can fit you, such as a Lady Grace. You'll pay more for the bras but at least you'll get one that fits and feels right. You're worth it! Good luck!

I had my surgery on June 19th. On the morning of the 10th, they took me down for a swallow test...and found that my sleeve was so inflamed it was completely closed...nothing would go through. I went back to my room, where they put an NG tube back in (to suck out any acid/fluids that worked their way out of my sleeve), and I was NPO for 4 1/2 more days. Thank God I experienced no hunger, or I would've gone mad!! LOL I experienced horrible nausea for 4 days, and the acid reflux was terrible...even though the NG tube sucked it all out. I stopped using any pain meds after 3 days. They finally removed the NG tube after 4 1/2 days, and allowed me to try sips of Water overnight. With water conquered, I was allowed Clear Liquids the following morning...chicken and beef broth...which went down with no problems. On the 25th I was released to go home, on "full liquids". When I went home, I was given a script for liquid Zantac (remember the bad acid in the hospital??). I took it religiously, but still started experiencing breakthrough acid about 4 weeks after being home. An added Prevacid has kept the acid under control. Unfortunately, when they added the Prevacid, they bumped me back to "full liquids", after having been on "soft/pureed" foods for a week. 3 additional weeks of "full liquids" ended yesterday, so I'm slowly reintroducing some soft foods again. Even with these challenges, I'm so incredibly grateful for the change I've been given...to get my life, and my relationship with food, under control!! I felt like crap the first week, and was exhausted the first month after coming home, but I'm finally feeling really good...most days, at least. What's my point?? Hang in there...I promise it WILL get better!! Follow your doctor's instructions to the letter, be as active as you can be, and don't let low-energy days get the better of you, psychologically. You've made an amazing decision, to get healthier, and get healthier you will!! Best of luck!

I had the band placed over 4 years ago now. I initially lost about 55-60lbs, then put on 15 or so then dropped it again, yada yada yada....it's a lifetime battle no matter how tight or loose the band is. I know this. Well anyways....in March of this year I was down to about 175 which was only 20lbs away from my goal weight, and i was working out and eating what i wanted, just in moderation of course....which was great!..... but then life threw me a curve ball..... I broke my ankle when I was out looking all kinds of cute with my spring outfit including high wedges....I ended up requiring surgery on the ankle and had to have a plate and 5 screws put in initially and then 2 months later had one of the screws removed and then a week after that surgery had my gallbladder removed. From 4/12-6/24 I was out of work and out of commission really. For 9 of those weeks I was out, I couldn't walk at all, so I was just sitting around majority of the time. Needless to say I've gained some weight back....Last I weighed I was at about 185, but I may even be up to about 190ish...you know how you can feel it. That now puts me 35lbs away from my goal and I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but we all know that when you're closer to the end, it gets harder. And seeing that I am still in PT for my ankle and cannot do any high impact exercises like running or jumping jacks like I used to be able to, I've been delaying going back to the gym to do the "little" stuff (to me). I'm very used to high impact exercises. I KNOW that I can do it. I KNOW that I need to get my butt up and do it. I just don't have the motivation! I need someone to yell at me. lol tell me to get up and do it!

If you have been reading this site for a long time, you'll recall that most all new bandsters come here saying they are gaining or they are as hungry as ever after their surgery. This is a very common complaint, but one that is expected. this too shall pass. This is what we call bandster purgatory, or the pre-fill stage. Any weight lost in the first 6 weeks after banding is purely bonus. You have no restriction, most often and it takes a while for your body to decide you're serious about not feeding it anymore. Most weight loss during this time is actually water and often returns by the time you actually do get restriction. Good luck and welcome!

6 weeks

I have 3.2 CC in my 4.0CC band -- and Lately, i can eat bread (slices of the low carb bread) without a problem... as long as i chew and take my time Like today i had a ham sandwich (with FF miracle whip) for lunch. I didnt eat the crust, but the bread went down just fine. Yesteray i had a bannana nut muffin... I ate it over the course of two hours... but no problems with it either. I didnt used to be able to eat any bread... Is this normal? I dont think there is anyway i streched something out becuase I am a pretty good bandster, but it makes me worried that the breat seems to be going down without issue. I just had a fill about 3 and 1/2 weeks ago. I just get paranoid about hurting my little pouch and wonder why I am having so little restriction with such a recent fill and with so many CCs in my band.