Hello! I am trying to figure out this forum and how it all works so bear with me! I was banded Friday, Dec. 3rd and have about 85 lbs. to lose. Diabetes runs in my family and I felt like a time bomb and have never been able to keep the weight off. It just crept up and up. I am very active and want to be able to exercise without the aches and pains. I am 5' 10" and 55 years old. I would like to stay in touch with those of a similar situation.

I had a great experience so far and had my band done as an out pt. procedure. I was out at SAM's the very next morning and haven't had alot of pain. Today I did laundry and walked at the mall. I plan to return towork for awhile on Monday. I was fortunate to also have had it done laproscopically and had a great surgeon, Dr. David Provost. All I can say is so far so good!

I'm having no trouble at all! Which is good just finished up a 5 day vacation and didn't have trouble finding mushies. I just try to check before hand. I'm loving oatmeal and chili and chicken lettuce wraps (just the filling) the most. It's kind of amazing that I'm full after so little food. I dont have a fill, but I am still satisfied with less food and I'm paying attention. I do miss bread though and it was hard seeing my parents eat huge meals and steaks.

I'm having trouble with the protein too. But I feel like I'm getting enough I'm not hungry. I've been drinking a lot of water but probably not as much as I should.

I need to start exercise, I'm worried to do anything strenuous yet but maybe I'll go walking!

Don't worry new bandsters all the pain goes away after about 4 or 5 days !

i am five days post op. and most of the discomfort is gone. i do have tenderness. i can not lay on my left side yet. that is coming though. i am looking forward to my journey. i have to prepare ahead of time to make sure i eat properly and get my protein in. i am almost at my 60 minimum. so i will meet that within a couple of days. i take water with me every where. looking forward to taking this journey with all the December bandster. This is exciting and i cant wait. Good Luck and God Speed!

Is the reason that people have trouble laying on their left side bc most doctors put the port there? My doctor put my port in the middle of my abdomen, I guess that is not the norm. Also the sheet that I got with the food instructions say only 4 oz, I've been drinking a shake at 8 oz but taking my time over close to 1 hour. Is this bad? It is the only way I know to get the protein requirement in as like I've said before I can't mix the unflavored in with my clear drinks as it tastes nasty to me?

I wish I had restriction!!!! I have none! I can eat anything and that's what I'm doing! I was on liquids for 4 days and then moved to soft food but am eating pretty much everything but meat right now. So, as soon as my boys head back to Vancouver and I don't have all this FOOD around I guess I'm on my own until my first fill. I hope that as long as I'm feeling ok, I'm not doing any damage. I was just so damn hungry. Shakes weren't doing it. The hunger pains were awful.

My port is also right in the middle. It's still a little sore. I hesitate to go back to the gym to start lifting weights again because it hurts when I sneeze. I'm going to give it another few days.

Like some of you I still have a little pain in my left shoulder but it's not really in my arm.

Hmmmm....... I wonder why some of us have restriction right after surgery and some of us don't. I guess I got the short straw.

My port is in the middle too. I felt some restriction for the first 5-6 days, then I think the swelling went down and I was starving all the time! I'm going in for my first fill on Jan 6th, so hopefully that will help. For now, I'm still eating mushies, but it has been hell with all the holiday desserts around. My mouth just waters thinking about them! I can't wait to get some restriction!

i gott he bloated feeling back today, i have been doing very well on liquids had a teaspoon of this and that on christmas but all in all really good. had tomato soup for dinner with 3 soaked saltines very filling. other than that the itchies SUCK

Is the reason that people have trouble laying on their left side bc most doctors put the port there? My doctor put my port in the middle of my abdomen, I guess that is not the norm. Also the sheet that I got with the food instructions say only 4 oz, I've been drinking a shake at 8 oz but taking my time over close to 1 hour. Is this bad? It is the only way I know to get the protein requirement in as like I've said before I can't mix the unflavored in with my clear drinks as it tastes nasty to me?

i think mine is in the center too but I have no idea.

4oz of food or of shakes? I think on the liquid stage it's fair to say have as much protein shakes as you need to not be hungry... for me it was 3 a day, then maybe some broth or jello.

That's what I wasn't sure about. I mean 4 oz of yogurt I can understand, but I figure the shake is still liquid enough to go right out of the pouch onto the lower part pf the stomach. I need to make a post op appointment with the nutritionist tomorrow

It's 3 weeks today since I was banded! Yeah!! I'm now back to eating normally again, but I quite like the protein shakes and broth so will continue to have them when I'm hungry

I think my port is in the middle too but I'm like HeatherinCA and not really sure.

I'm still itching like crazy. Its where the plaster strips were and not the actual incisions. I removed the plaster strips ages ago so not sure why there's still a mark. I sometimes have an allergic reaction to band-aids if I leave them on too long, so maybe that's what has happened.

I'm off on a short holiday break today and plan to stay on track with my diet.

Love the photo EquusEMS. It looks SO cold though. When we are on our holiday we hope to take the girls to the indoor ski and snow park. That's the closest to the real thing here My 2 girls are wanting to see snow so badly at the moment. I think its all the Christmas movies they've been watching.

Congrats to all the new bandsters!

That's what I wasn't sure about. I mean 4 oz of yogurt I can understand, but I figure the shake is still liquid enough to go right out of the pouch onto the lower part pf the stomach. I need to make a post op appointment with the nutritionist tomorrow

All this stuff is liquid enough to slip through. I mean you need the protein shakes, and if you have to have 60+ grams of protein you'd have to have more than 4oz of shake.

I need to call mine too, I'm a little confused. But I think as long as you feel good you are probably doing fine.

It's 3 weeks today since I was banded! Yeah!! I'm now back to eating normally again, but I quite like the protein shakes and broth so will continue to have them when I'm hungry

I think my port is in the middle too but I'm like HeatherinCA and not really sure.

I'm still itching like crazy. Its where the plaster strips were and not the actual incisions. I removed the plaster strips ages ago so not sure why there's still a mark. I sometimes have an allergic reaction to band-aids if I leave them on too long, so maybe that's what has happened.

I'm off on a short holiday break today and plan to stay on track with my diet.

Love the photo EquusEMS. It looks SO cold though. When we are on our holiday we hope to take the girls to the indoor ski and snow park. That's the closest to the real thing here My 2 girls are wanting to see snow so badly at the moment. I think its all the Christmas movies they've been watching.

Congrats to all the new bandsters!

I just got all my bandages off and I still have no idea where it is, I have 4 incisions equidistant across my stomach haha and they all feel pretty much the same, the middle one is bigger though. I used a little eye makeup remover to remove all the goo that seemed to do the trick. (I googled it haha).How is it eating normal? I've been eating lots of mush, but I'm concerned about whole foods. I don't know why, but it scares me!

Question: when did the early December bandsters start exercising?

My doc wants me to exercise 45 minutes a day at a heart rate of 120, but he didn't say when to start that and I was too ready to be out of the hospital to ask. I have an elliptical machine but don't know when I should hit it at a full pace.

What did y'all do?

I guess it would depend on whether you were used to exercising at that pace before surgery. It seems like quite a bit to begin with if you're carrying extra weight. I have started walking 30 mins. 2x a day, unless it's below -15 C. I too want to get back to the gym, but worry about the pressure of lifting weights this early as it still hurts when I sneeze. However, I have 2 snowboarding trips later this winter and if I don't start working out, I'll be sorry when I hit the slopes.

I think we should listen to our bodies and push ourselves a little. My doctor said I could go horseback riding (i don't ride) within a week, but that I wouldn't want to. I guess that means it's going to hurt a little even though we're not doing any damage.

I would love to start an exercise challenge with December bandsters. Set a realistic goal and then push ourselves to meet it. My goal would be to go to the gym 3x a week and walk/snowshoe another 2 days a week. If I could do that..... AWESOME!

Question: when did the early December bandsters start exercising?

My doc wants me to exercise 45 minutes a day at a heart rate of 120, but he didn't say when to start that and I was too ready to be out of the hospital to ask. I have an elliptical machine but don't know when I should hit it at a full pace.

What did y'all do?

I guess it would depend on whether you were used to exercising at that pace before surgery. It seems like quite a bit to begin with if you're carrying extra weight. I have started walking 30 mins. 2x a day, unless it's below -15 C. I too want to get back to the gym, but worry about the pressure of lifting weights this early as it still hurts when I sneeze. However, I have 2 snowboarding trips later this winter and if I don't start working out, I'll be sorry when I hit the slopes.

I think we should listen to our bodies and push ourselves a little. My doctor said I could go horseback riding (i don't ride) within a week, but that I wouldn't want to. I guess that means it's going to hurt a little even though we're not doing any damage.

I would love to start an exercise challenge with December bandsters. Set a realistic goal and then push ourselves to meet it. My goal would be to go to the gym 3x a week and walk/snowshoe another 2 days a week. If I could do that..... AWESOME!

my doc says no gym till Jan 3rd

but I would love to do a challenge go to the gym 3x;s a week starting jan mon wed and sat is my water workout classes and I will throw in walk 1 mile one day I dont have class......

check out this thread under exercise. I am doing a challenge there.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/113615-workout-challenge-and-chat-thread/page__st__80__p__1550806__fromsearch__1#entry1550806

When were you banded? I have started walking and even though it's ccccold outside I am feeling good about getting moving again.

my doc says no gym till Jan 3rd

but I would love to do a challenge go to the gym 3x;s a week starting jan mon wed and sat is my water workout classes and I will throw in walk 1 mile one day I dont have class......