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Hi Lisa I am a newbie too, and feel the same way. At about day three, the hunger started, and I am keeping a food journal to make sure I don't drink too many calories. As for the nausea, I only felt nausea and hunger together when I was pregnant. Are you taking any Vitamins or medicinces on an empty stomach or at night before you go to sleep? That might be the cause. You could try taking any medicine with some skim milk and see if that helps. Good luck. Dessia Banded 10/10/06

I was banded July 5th 2007 with a 10cc VG Band. I now have 13cc in there and I have never had restriction. I am down 20 pounds only from the 2 weeks of liquids right after surgery and nothing since. I have been eating just like I did before surgery... fast, big portions. Because of this, did i stretch my pouch? Last month I had an UGI and was told the band was placed correctly. This is my fill history. Would agressive fills cause any problems? I have had 6 fills.... 1st Aug. 29th 5cc w/fluro 2nd Nov. 21st 3cc, The doctor only pulled out 3cc so he put in other 3cc = 6cc 3rd Dec. 11th 1.25cc = 7.25 4th Dec. 24th 1.65cc = 8.8 5th Jan. 22nd 1.2cc = 10cc 6th Feb. 5th 3cc = 13cc How do I find out if my pouch is stretched and what is the solution? Will I have to have another surgery? Maybe my band is too big? :confused2: I am so very devastated and depressed. I cry everyday. My lapband struggle is on my mind every second of every day. Thank You for any comments or suggestion. Debbie

Thanks for all the feedback guys! Keep it coming! I cannot eat 8 oz of steak. I only ate about 4 oz. of it and it was cooked medium rare. It was amazing!! I did try to eat slow, especially since I was having dinner with the guy and he doesn't know I've had the band. I got pleasantly full but no negative effects from it. I don't eat untoasted bread and any kind of bread is iffy. I actually log all my food at sparkpeople.com and my doctor's office requires me to bring in a week of food logs so they can review it. I just print out the spark people logs for each day and it's great! I think I am going to get a fill. I don't want to lose my momentum..I lost another 5 pounds this week though..I hope my doctor even agrees to do one!

So, after talking to the guy I've been on and off dating, it seems like I misunderstood him on a few things and apparently he likes me alot and wants to continue dating. I agreed as I like him alot too. He came over tonight and we cooked dinner together. We cooked NY strip steaks on the grills and I made baked potatoes with fresh chives and asparagus stir-fried with garlic and butter. It turned out perfectly. I ate the steak with absolutely no issues. Now my surgeon had said last time that if I can eat steak, then I need a fill. I weighed myself this morning though and I am down another 2 pounds. I've pretty much been eating healthy and on days when I know I'm going out to dinner (or like today--cooking steaks at home) I don't eat anything else all day. I know that may not be the healthiest thing to do, but it keeps my calorie intake in check but still allows me to go out and eat what I want. Most of the time I just eat healthy three meals a day, but on the weekends I usually go out to dinner with friends or my date. So I'm wondering, does this mean I need a fill? I think that I do. I can still eat too much food, even though I control myself and try to stay within my calorie goals. I have an appt. on March 3rd so I will probably get a fill then.

So, after talking to the guy I've been on and off dating, it seems like I misunderstood him on a few things and apparently he likes me alot and wants to continue dating. I agreed as I like him alot too. He came over tonight and we cooked dinner together. We cooked NY strip steaks on the grills and I made baked potatoes with fresh chives and asparagus stir-fried with garlic and butter. It turned out perfectly. I ate the steak with absolutely no issues. Now my surgeon had said last time that if I can eat steak, then I need a fill. I weighed myself this morning though and I am down another 2 pounds. I've pretty much been eating healthy and on days when I know I'm going out to dinner (or like today--cooking steaks at home) I don't eat anything else all day. I know that may not be the healthiest thing to do, but it keeps my calorie intake in check but still allows me to go out and eat what I want. Most of the time I just eat healthy three meals a day, but on the weekends I usually go out to dinner with friends or my date. So I'm wondering, does this mean I need a fill? I think that I do. I can still eat too much food, even though I control myself and try to stay within my calorie goals. I have an appt. on March 3rd so I will probably get a fill then.

i am not far off heading for my 3 week post of stage, very very over this liquid stage and very ready for the mushy stage. Would like to know what foods everyone was eating at this point, im ready to go food shopping! lol

I am in my third week and eating mushies. I love really mushed up tuna, Dannon light and fit yogurt. My fave is the white chocolate/raspberry. It is yummy. I love sugar free italian ice and sugar free fudge pops. I also love chicken salad all mushed up. That is what I am eating so far. Hope you are doing well.

Mikey, that’s amazing!!! So inspiring for me to hear just shy of 3 weeks post op. Congratulations on changing your body and your life! 150 is my goal weight. I’m down to 218 now so I have quite a bit to go but so excited for you! My starting weight was 256.6. There’s no TP to be found here in the states either so we’ve got that going for us as well. 😂

Thanks for this post...I was beginning to panic. I was losing so much hair I literally had a trail everywhere I went. I started the Biotin about 3 weeks ago and it slowed down almost immediately. It's back to the normal shedding amount. Also, my dr said the first 6 months its typical for a surgery patient to lose hair as well. The Biotin has worked great!!!

I'm a day late to my blog this week with no excuse other than I'm getting ready to roll on out to sugar sands and celebrate life week starting tomorrow! I had a doctor's appointment last week for what was to be my third fill. Weighed in, lost 8 pounds since two weeks earlier for my previous fill, saw the doc for five minutes and he said he was super happy with where I was. Sweet! No fill for me! He asked several questions about what I'd been eating and what was happening with restriction etc., and said that I was losing "tremendously", and that I was a "model patient for the lap band!" YAY me! I have been feeling the exact same things, but it's wonderful when your doctor concurs! I'm down somewhere between 40 and 45 pounds! I. Am. Thrilled!! I'm guessing I won't have much scale access over the next eleven days while I'm on vacation, so it should be interesting to see how well I do while I'm gone. I still have really good restriction right now, so my band will be working it's magic for me and hopefully I won't have to think about it much. I'll also be taking a vacation from the gym ~ but I'm hoping that walking the sandy beaches will partially make up for that. On a mostly unrelated note: Many of you know that I have a disease called Sarcoidosis. I am under several doctor's care because of that disease, and am being watched like a hawk because of the medications that I'm taking to keep the disease at bay. I was recently taken off of those medications until my check up in August, and have been doing extremely well, which I feel is due in some part to my weight loss. I feel amazing, and for the first time ever I am actually looking forward to my doctor's appointments in Denver this coming August. The weight loss won't cure the disease, I know that. But it's certainly helping with many of the symptoms of the disease, and to me that makes the entire ordeal beyond worth going through. But I digress.. This disease has killed four people that I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the past three years, and just yesterday I learned of the death of another Sarkie brother. I just wanted to ask you to please send up a prayer, if you pray, for the family of my friend. Sarcoidosis doesn't get the press that cancer gets, so it's a misunderstood and mysterious disease and sometimes the only way to spread awareness is to talk about it. So I'm talking. Sarcoidosis is ugly, and scary, and I hate that it has taken another friend from me. Okay.. I will try to check in from the beach!! If I don't, I'll catch you all when I get back! Thanks for the support, the prayers, and as always thanks for stopping by! Follow me: http://www.myotherbutt.blogspot.com

I had my lap band "installed" last month in Austin, Texas. My family is on the last year of a three year ex-pat assignment in Germany and we live south of Munich. I'm returning to the Texas tomorrow to get my first fill, but really need to find a local Dr. for the next few fills. My Texas Dr. is helping me look for a local Dr, but so far they have not heard back from Allergan. Does anyone have any recomendations of Dr's they've had a good experience with? I'd be willing to travel a bit in order to get a good Dr. Thanks for all you help!

Tricare is pretty good, I got approved in a week. Good Luck!

Hi, I wanted to start my journal. It has been one full week since surgery and I am doing pretty good. I will continue to exercise as much as possible, I feel so much better doing it! I found after Susanne left on Easter, my depression was soooooo real. I, for the first time in my life, couldn't turn to food to "comfort" the lonliness. That is a big AHA for me. I never realized I did that, but I do. So, I am hoping to overcome this w/ exercise. I want to exercise 4-5 days/week minimum. I am on full liquids and doing pretty well. I am getting hungry about 2 hours after I eat, but considering I am only eating (or drinking) about 3-5 oz each sitting. I hope to progress to mushies this weekend, to get my body used to it before I go back to work. peaceout

Thanks for starting this thread! It does really help to see that my weight loss is pretty much in line with everyone else's. I have had 2 fills and currently have 1.6cc. Just got the second fill last week. I've lost 43 pounds. My mini-goal is to be under 200 by the time of the Texas Bandster Bash in late April. Possible, but challenging. My frustration has been that nobody seems to notice. And I've only gone from a size 26 to a size 24 (or 22 in some things). NSVs: I feel so much better. I move faster and easier. I have less joint and back pain. I'm exercising. On Tuesday I will find out if my insulin and cholesterol levels have improved but I'm betting (and hoping) they have. My self-esteem has improved and I'm more assertive now. Nancy

Caffeine deprivation causes my worst headaches. I tried giving it up once and had a headache that lasted three days. Not just a normal headache, a debilitating pounding, much like the description of a migraine. The only thing worse is the sleep apnea headache. I've known people who got bad headaches from hunger, and from constipation as well. Good luck!

Hi Serenedeer I've been in recovery in AA for 5 year. Got the band not quiet 2 weeks ago myself. I'm worried about my ism's as well. What new and wonderful addictive and destructive behavour can I dream up to take the place of food... or even better.. will I dream up creative ways to beat and band and set myself up for failer. Oh yah,,the ism's are there. I went to an AA meeting tonight and although it was about alcohol, it applied to weight loss to me now. In an odd way, the band is my higher power right now. I have to accept it, use it as it should be used. I do have a real higher power but this twisted way of thinking kinda helped me make it work.

Hello all!! My insurance requires 12 consecutive months of physician supervised diet and excercise. I completed my year in July of 2012. My insurance has denied my three times because they see no risk versus benefit. They denial letters continue to say, in so many words, that I am a healthy fat person. I am currently on appeal number four. Has anyone else had to jump through soo many hoops to get approved???

I had mine taken out on the 4th so a little over a week ago and just let me say one thing....... WHA HOO!!!! I had my band put in 5/2/07 revision 12/18/07 revision 10/22/08 removal 5/4/10. Port flipped 3x tubing came apart 2x. Has anyone ever had this happen to them or ever hear of it??? I'm the only one in my docs office to have this happen. I know it's to late to be your buddy but if you wanna chat feel free.

I had lap-band surgery a year and a half ago. I found out I was pregnant so my doctor removed my fill about a month ago due to the pregnancy. A few weeks ago I started having complications after eating. About 30 minutes after eating anything, no matter how much, I start having pain around the spot where the band is and I have horrible bloating. I feel like my insides are going to explode. It is extremely uncomfortable and lasts for about 5 hours. Has anyone had this happen and does anyone know what could be causing this?? :help:Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

You should go to the doctor and not feel ashamed. You didn't have the band put in to feel like this. Do you go on liquids after you throw up. Try going on liquid Protein shakes for a week and let everything settle down in there. You should not only lose weight, but you need to give everything a rest if you have been throwing up regularly. Otherwise, go to the dr. and tell him you must be too tight because you are throwing up a lot. You don't want to cause erosion which comes from too tight of a band for too long.