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Hi Sunshine! How are you feeling? Mine was on Nov 1 also and I came home yesterday. How's your hydration? I have not been able to get as much liquids down as I'm supposed to but I'm trying real hard. I think yesterday I topped out under 40 ounces. Gonna try to remember to sip sip sip more today. Any pain? I'm feeling it a little more today since I'm not getting meds shot into my IV anymore but it's tolerable so I have not had to take anything since I got home. I finally got a beautiful hot shower today and that felt wonderful! I'm going to go out for a walk in a few minutes. Sent from my XT1635-01 using BariatricPal mobile app

Yes, getting the protein in has been difficult. I'm on stage 3 diet so I'm allowed yogurt and ricotta cheese. I'm not a fan of Greek yogurt but I found it's more palatable if I add a little stevia. So two stevia packets to one container of yogurt. Stir. Then at meal time I mix 1 tsp of the yogurt with 1 tsp of the non fat ricotta cheese, I also get sugar free pudding, cream of wheat, creamed soups ect. That gives my protein a little boost. Plus a half a protein shake in between. I also have protein water so I'm trying to make every bite and sip count for my protein. Did they send you home with those little tiny medicine cups? My nurse gave me about a dozen and I'm doing like you. Filling them, lining them up and sipping on them as often as I am able. Have you been able to get out and walk. I just mapped my apartment complex and it's just about a half mile around the perimeter so I'm trying to do one or two laps every hour that I'm awake. Sent from my XT1635-01 using BariatricPal mobile app

August 1, 2009 Then(Now) = Amt. Lost Chest 40.5(36) = 4.5 inches :sneaky: Waist 41(30.5) = 10.5 inches :thumbup: WOW Hips 47.5(41.5) = 6 inches :tt1: Arm 14 (12.5) = 1.5 inches Thigh 28(23.5) = 4.5 inches :thumbup: Total inches lost = 27 inches:thumbup: Weight 213(169) = 44 lbs:thumbup: Starting size 16/18 (XL) Current Size 8/10 (M) I am so excited about my progress. The journey has been rough and there were times when I was disappointed, but I definitely am thankful for the life that the lapband has helped me to attain. I feel good about my physical self again. I can dress with confidence. At this point, I know I have to reevaluate my goal. I want to be able to wear size 8's. I have no desire to be smaller; however, I haven't been smaller in a very long time, so I don't know how I would look at a smaller size. I guess I will take it 10 lbs. at a time. I will evaluate how I look at 160 lbs. and then 155 lbs.

I had my intake appt Jan 26. I have my PET scan/stress test March 10, EKG and chest xray March 12 and surgeon's consult March 25. They said surgery will be scheduled about 2 weeks later. I am hoping this surgery will be the beginning for me. I have HBP, type 2 diabetes, reflux and high cholesterol.

I'm with Kacee--there certainly ARE ways to trick the band--eating five or six times a day, taking down chocolate, (which melts very easily, I can assure you!) cakes, or other goodies--ingesting way too many carbs! I was even eating 1/2 cup of oatmeal for Breakfast and decided it was too much and cut it back to 1/4 cup--was I still hungry? No--because I told myself breakfast was done! I've gotten two fills and I know I have a way to go to my "sweet spot" (I've got 1.5 cc in a 10 cc band)--so until I reach the right cc for me, it's GOT to be a lot of me! (Visits for fills are six weeks apart) That's why it is SO important to have the proper mindset when deciding to get the band--the band is NOT going to do the work for you!! :confused:

I had 10 day post op follow up with doctor today. I was told that I could move onto the Mushie stage early. I've not been having any problems with the liquid phase, and have been hungry the past few days.

If you just had a fill, it might loosen up a bit soon. It seems like many people feel a really tight pressure in the chest right after a fill, but it usually loosens up somewhat. As for the hunger, are you getting enough Protein in? You should probably drink a Protein shake for Breakfast and/or lunch. For me, it is usually tighter in the mornings, so if this is the case, a Protein Drink would be easiest to get down. Maybe try some softer Proteins like cottage or tuna. I like to mix sugar free jelly (10 calories per tbs) with 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese for 80 calories and 13 grams protein. Choosing protein rich foods should help with the real hunger, but it takes a while to stop wanting to eat "slider foods" all the time. If you're having cravings, try avoiding sugar for a while. I would stick with your current fill for a while before trying to get another one, because it sounds like you are already pretty tight. It should get easier soon.

Everyone's different. In Australia, they dont often give you a calorie range, because everyone IS different. If you're losing, you're eating the right amount, if you're not losing, you're probably eating too much. I lost on about 1500 a day and I maintain on anywhere up to 2000. If I ate 2000 too many days in a row I would gain a bit, 1500 to 1800 is better and keeps me where I want to be. A lot of people said why would you even need a band if you can eat that much, but sadly, my natural appetite directs me to eat more. I'm 5ft 10 and very active thought.

Hi Lindseyb, Congratulations on your surgery! Happy Birthday to the new you! I noticed you were from TN. I am from the East TN Area (Knoxville). You have made the right decision. I was banded on 3/30/09; just had my second fill this morning. You are only 5 days post-op so you will be feeling some pain from gas and incision points (most likely). Add protein powder to your soups, drinks, etc., to get your protein in for the day. Just be careful to do 2 oz fluids every 15 minutes (my doc orders). By day 7-10, you should be getting some relief. I actually was a little down/depressed for about 4 days. Absolutely, no reason to be, but I was. The doc said that was normal for some people. Hang in there. Let me know if I can be of help. God Bless!

THis is it... Im getting banded tommorow 8/6/10............ Wow excited, scared, nervous... Anyone have any advice for feelings post op? Thanks

I was in the hospital overnight. I had a dilaudid PCA for about 18 hours. I used a total of 4mg. I would say the worst pain was about a 4/10, but I mostly stayed about a 2-3. I was provided an abdominal binder, and I think it really helps. The nausea was the worst part for me. I got one dose of phenergan and 2 doses of zofran. I was sent home on lortab elixir, wich I used about 8 doses of at home. Today is post op day 4, I would say I feel about 90%.

I am 10 days clear liquids, 10 days full liquids, then 10 days purée, and so on. My day 1 wasn't the day of surgery though. It was the day I was released from the hospital, so really I did 2 days of iv only prior to clear liquids.

I definitely have more restriction again, after my fill on the 26th. But I still can eat about 2 cups of food before getting the full signals. For me the full signal is one little hiccup. I stop eating at this point, and sure enough I'm full. For me if I eat too much it will become uncomfortable with a kind of tiny bit of pain. I still can eat way too fast. I eat the Sam's club stuffed chicken breast and 10 sweet potato fries in about 20 minutes. If I was at ideal restriction, I think that I not only wouldn't be able to eat that much, but it would take me the full half hour to eat. My last fill was another 1.0cc, and I'm hoping to keep this restriction through the entire month. We will see how it goes. The new "fat burn" type of exercise is working much better for me then the "cardio training" programs. It doesn't bother my knee so much and it burns more total calories. The disadvantage is it takes 3 times as much time to burn the same calories, but since I have the time....thats what I'm going to do.

I am in too - made my new year goal 225 lbs TW 221.2 New goal 185 lbs Total loss since sleeve 10/22 78 lbs

This happened to me with fluids, it would not go down. The reflux, heartburn were so painful I would throw up. Not to mention I was severely dehydrated, it was awful. I had a scan that showed the fluid stuck literally in my throat. They said this was very dangerous because it can go into the lungs and I went into surgery days later, right in the middle of the pandemic when hospitals only took emergency cases, last July. I was so scared, everyone in the hospital was paranoid as was I. My surgeon looked like an astronaut he was so covered up when he performed the surgery. I had to mention this because that showed how incredibly dangerous the lap band can be. And that is where the nightmare began. I had this weight so under control that I truly felt I would never put on the weight again. Exercising daily, eating very healthy, I really thought this was it. No more struggles after 10 years of keeping it under control. And then in one year, it all came back and then some. I remember my surgeon saying, most people have a revision to remove scar tissue and then have the sleeve done to keep the weight under control. Who could have known that this would be so incredibly hard? It was devastating. If I knew then what I know now I would have done it even thinner because this is, for me anyway's, a way of life. I must always try and try hard to stay on the path of mindful eating and exercising. Day 16 post op 13lbs weight loss Started bike riding. I had mine on the 26th and have lost 13 lbs. I am so excited !!!!! i have the go-ahead to exercise but I am not really eating so I am being careful. so excited to start this next chapter. It was impossible for me to lose 13 lbs before, I feel so much better knowing the weight is finally starting to come off!

How does the life insurance industry factor in WLS, particularly the Lap Band? Since I've been a mom I've had a life insurance policy, I think I bought a 10 yr term- about 5 years ago. They ran all sorts of bloodwork and weight- before approval and cost. So, when I buy another policy in a few years with a healthy weight, what will they think of the band? Has anyone recently gone through a life insurance eval post band? Thanks for any info or experience you might have on this.

Nope, Spatters. I stopped Coumadin on April 10 because it has to be out of my system a month for the blood test to assess my clot risk. The test shows that my risk is still high, but I refused the coumadin therapy because it can cause bleeding issues. Since I'm much more active now and I've lost almost 100 pounds, my doctor was fine with my refusal. He actually suggested that I might want to refuse the coumadin and for what reasons.

Just starting my pre-op diet, 10% loss is required before surgery, I have 12 weeks to achieve this during the pre-op classes. So that's about 25lbs in 12 weeks. Feeling pumped! Let's do this!!! :ph34r:

Ok. today @ 2:45 was my post op appointment and 1st fill. I walked in, & they weighed me. I was kind of dreading this because 1. It's that 'special' time of the month 2. I've been hungry 3. this weekend, though I still didn't eat volume wise what I normally do, ate things I shouldn't have, like bread and brownies 4. last but not least, I weigh about 4 lbs heavier in the afternoon than I do in the a.m. water retention I guess. Much to my delight I have maintained myself at 318.. I was 331.5 on the day of surgery, which means I weighed even more than that before surgery and lost some before because of the hellacious pre-op 'all food is evil so you must drink your meals' diet. So I lost around 20 lbs and have kept it off without gaining any before my fill. From what I've been reading on the forums, some people gain before their 1st fill so HOOfreakinRAH for me!:clap2: They had a "basket 'o Needles sitting on the desk.. boy that cheered me up and fast.:faint: Todd was like... well look honey.. they aren't THAT big... Dr. Morton thought my incisions sites looked great and where healing V well. They also thought my matching tie dyed undies/sports bra and socks were a hoot, I informed them that of course, I wore them for this ever so special of occasions. At this point, they had me laying down on the table in my colorful skivies and it occurred to me that this bragging on my homemade undies was a clever ploy for them to distract me from the bee sting of a numbing shot they administered to the incision on my sternum. I think Todd's fingers may still be tingling...:rolleyes but I have to admit.. it was like a baby bee sting and not one of those big A$$ scary bees.... So.. after this he sticks in the saline needle and all I feel is pressure, I was like.. wow, that's kind of weird, he then informed me that he was going to help me SIT UP with said needle protruding from my sternum. uh....:guess He gave me his hand and helped me sit up.. I didn't pass out or anything! In fact at this point, I didn't feel a thing but I guess my eyes were still bugged out like a fly in a frog pit cause he commented on my expression.. It was kind of weird to look down and see a needle sticking out of me but, it didn't hurt:) They then gave me a cup holding 9 ounces of water and asked me to sip on it. Apparently the band I have holds 4 thingies of saline (cc's maybe?) and while I sat there drank water and burped profusely he put in 2.2 thingies of fluid. He seemed pretty happy with how it was sounding and he pulled out the needle and slapped on a bandaid. I was like... 'THAT's IT?" As I predicted, I felt silly for being to worked up over this. It all took about 10 minutes from weigh in/strip down to fill up. I was grinning like a cat in the fish market on the way up front because my stomach had been growling like crazy when I got there and all the sudden.. I was FULL. HOLY CRAP>>>> I went from ravenous beast to pleasantly just ate full.... on 9 ounces of water. NICE. I scheduled my next appointment for 3 weeks from now to weigh in and see if I need more fluid in my band. I am on liquids until wednesday afternoon then I can switch to soft stuff like cottage cheese/apple sauce then gradually at my own pace, work up to real food again. I am ever so slightly sore now where my port is and he said I might bruise a little. I got a protein drink and some veggie juice for supper and right now I'm full as a tick.

Well, today I am 10 day post op and officially back to work. :thumbup: I got off to a rocky start. I thought I had my routine down, so this morning I took my vitamins and drank 2 oz of my protein shake before I left the house. By the time I got to work I felt so sick. I didn't vomit or anything but I broke out in a sweat and just got really hot. It was a horrible feeling. I settled down and decided to go with putting something warm in my stomach first so I had some decaf tea. the day got better , I had a little less than 1/2 a cup of soup for lunch and have been sipping my water. I have developed a fluid/protein intake schedule I will try to follow tomorrow to ensure I am getting it all in...hopefully with no discomfort or sweats.:thumbup: Looking forward to my tomato soup for dinner. :w00t: The journey continues!

Yesterday I was so not interested in my shakes. I only drank half for breakfast and half for lunch. Needless to say I was starving yesterday afternoon. I cooked a whole chicken in the crockpot all day and it was calling my name when I got home. LOL Well I had 6oz of breast meat and 1 cup of chicken stuffing. It was pretty filling. Last night I was feeling very empty so I had a small bowl of mini wheats and 2% milk. I went a little over my calories. But my carbs were high becasue of the stuffing. I am struggling so much with this diet. I am going to weight in agian today so hopefully I am still on track to losing weight. I have lost about 10 pounds so I still have 10 pounds to go till surgery and I have 2 weeks so I think It is very doable. I am trying to keep strong.

Not in greenzone yet have 4cc in a 10 cc band. I try to only eat I cup max then water water water if I am still hungry then I have 1/2 more. Part of the challenge is eating the right sized bites and quality food. Surgery 1/10 first fill 3/07 next fill 04/17