The day is rapidly approching... i am getting banded on monday jan 9th 2006. I have been waiting for over 7 months for this day- i can't believe its finally here...ok enough babbling now lets get down to the nitty gritty!

1. How long did it take people to "recover" from the surgery- and by that i mean from the time you wake up until the first day u actually feel somewhat better and are able to go out and do things...maybe get back to work (depending on ur job)...or run some errands? Im not talking like back to ur old self again- but somewhere in between... i know it varries from person to person but i'd like to hear some stories so i know what maybe to expect.

2. What do u think is the KEY for making the band work for u? whats the most important thing u have learned from it? I keep reading about people who are having problems loosing weight and so on and so forth and i want to figure out what makes it sucessful- so that i can be sucessful and loose the weight i need too.

ANY STORIES, DIET/EXERCISE SUGGESTIONS OR DIET/EXERCISE POINTERS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECITATED...

xoxo

Alikat

Took me about 3 or 4 days - then my first trip out was grocery shopping and I found pushing the cart really hard.....wow - I'll never forget that.

I think the key is to accept the fact that the band is a tool and that you must be willing to use the tool properly.

I think that success is better when I exercise.

I know that I can't just expect to let the band do all the work....cause I will wait forever then.

I do know that I have the edge now "with the band" that I never had without it.

Take care and let us know how you do.

Nancy

1. My surgery was on a Friday morning. Saturday I got up and walked around for an hour or so at the mall near the hotel I was staying in. I flew up (from Mexico) Monday, and was back to work on Tuesday (desk job). I ran a bunch of errands on Wednesday and wore myself out, but I just took a nap after work and was fine.

2. The key for ME is that I still have to do a large portion of the work to lose weight. I lost 25 lbs right off the bat and then nothing until I was working really hard. When I don't work really hard, I don't gain, or I just start to creep up a little bit before I can stop it, but I wont lose without a good amount of work put into it. The band works differently for different people, but this is how it works for me.

Good luck!

You're right -- recovery greatly varies. I was one of the wimpier ones I guess. I was at only 50% (or less) of capacity for 2 weeks. I was just exhausted. Everyday I napped. In between I could go & do things, but I just got wiped out. I also needed pain medication in this time (maybe that's why I was sleepy ). Did I mention I gave up all caffeine at the same time!?!? I was only sick/in bed for a day or so though....just be careful not to over do it during recovery.

As far as a band tip/the best thing I know about, it is something I am just realizing now. I've only been banded a couple of months, but all of a sudden I am learning something about my PERCEPTION of the band. It's hard to explain but it involves how I think of the band. I am realizing that the band is on MY SIDE. Up til now I have been kind of testing it to see what it will allow me to do -- how MUCH I can eat, WHAT I can eat it and HOW FAST....now I realize that knowing those limitations is good, but it is not the purpose of the band to see how far it will let you go. I guess what I'm trying to say is listen very closely to your body & your band and it will work better for you than if you keep trying to push the boundaries. It all started to fall into place when I was telling my Dr that I thought I could eat more than I should be able to. I can eat like 2 cups of food at a time. He said: well, don't do that. He is a very nice man, it sounds kind of harsh here, but it helped me realize that I would probably be sated after 1C so why was I eating the 2nd cup -- just 'cuz I could! It helped me start listening to my body and my stomach hunger rather than my head hunger........

Good luck on your journey, you will get alot of great info here at LBT -- stick around!

i felt pretty good 3 or 4 days out. the most pain came from my port area. it took a good week or so for me to get out of bed without a lot of pain.

it is very clear to me now (1 month out) that the band is a tool. if i wanted i could eat around it easily. you have to commit yourself to it....why go through a surgery and all that goes with it if you are not willing to commit to a lifestyle change?

just my two cents. i love my band and i am sure you will too : )

I felt pretty good after 3-4 days. Everyone is different though, and you can't make plans on how someone else did.

The best advice is to follow your doctors orders. Each doctor has their own set of rules to follow. Once you are on solids, you need to really follow the Protein, veggie, carb rules. You can't expect your band to do the work for you, it is a tool to work with.

Good luck, and don't forget to post and let us know how you are doing.