I am 23 years old, and a single mom to a little boy who turns 5 in September.

I have roughly 110 lbs to lose. I am from Saskatchewan. Only my parents and one close friend know I'm getting the surgery, and I would love to have someone to talk to about it who has been through or is going through the same thing as me.

I get banded on May 31st in Regina, Saskatchewan. I am very nervous, but have been researching like crazy and am so excited to get a new chance at life, and be able to have energy and enjoy my little boy!!

I start my pre-op diet a week from tomorrow.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Alyssa

Hi Alyssa!

I was banded on March 8 of this year so I am certainly not an old hat at this stuff yet but am more than willing to be in your support system.

I am 10 years older than you but have a little boy that just turned 5 in February and a little girl who will be 4 this August. I live in northwest MN which is only about 9 hours from you!

Feel free to contact me anytime!

Take Care and everything will go great!

Heather

I am 23 years old, and a single mom to a little boy who turns 5 in September.

I have roughly 110 lbs to lose. I am from Saskatchewan. Only my parents and one close friend know I'm getting the surgery, and I would love to have someone to talk to about it who has been through or is going through the same thing as me.

I get banded on May 31st in Regina, Saskatchewan. I am very nervous, but have been researching like crazy and am so excited to get a new chance at life, and be able to have energy and enjoy my little boy!!

I start my pre-op diet a week from tomorrow.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Alyssa

Hello

I started my pre-op diet today. I started last week drinking a shake for breakfast. My surgery is May 25th. I have about 80 pounds to lose.

Hi Heather,

Thanks for the reply!! I would love to stay in touch with you! How has it been since surgery? Have you been losing weight at the pace you expected? I am kind of going through this phase of wanting to eat everything that I know I can't have as of Tuesday. And then after I eat it, I feel so gross, and actually happy that it will no longer be such a big part of my life! I am really trying to change my frame of mind to "eat to live, not live to eat"...right now I think my whole day revolves around food! Yuck! Thank goodness for our children to keep us motivated. I keep my little boy very active and involved in a lot of activities, which forces me to get out and stay busy with him. I just can't wait until I have the energy to enjoy playing a game of soccer with him!

Hi Alyssa!

I was banded on March 8 of this year so I am certainly not an old hat at this stuff yet but am more than willing to be in your support system.

I am 10 years older than you but have a little boy that just turned 5 in February and a little girl who will be 4 this August. I live in northwest MN which is only about 9 hours from you!

Feel free to contact me anytime!

Take Care and everything will go great!

Heather

Good Morning!

My surgery went great. I did get very nauseas while in the hospital from the pain medication. I was on a continous drip so once we stopped that things got slowly better. They gave me a patch to wear behind my ear to help with the nausea. Incision pain was very minimal. I only used the liquid pain meds at home for 3 days. I would recommend staying on top of taking the pain meds for at least the first couple of days. You start to feel good and think you don't need it, then "ugh" you wish you had taken some earlier.

When you first get home from the hospital you will be full of the air from surgery and Water weight from the i.vs so don't freak out if your weight is up. The majority of my discomfort after surgery came from the gas build up. They fill your abdomen full of air in order to get a better view inside. After surgery this must disappate on it's own. Some have a lot of pain, others not at all. Have gas-x strips and a heating pad ready to go. Also, it helps greatly to walk as soon as you can after surgery and keep walking once you get home. This gets the gas moving out. It doesn't have to be big walks around the block, just try to get up every hour or so and move around.

I have been losing pretty steadily since surgery (1-2 pounds per week). I have to keep telling myself I am losing. I have heard of some lapbanders who gained before their first fill. I, of course, wanted to get the fat melting lap band and wake up a size 12! Must have been out of stock - lol

I do not know what your doctor does in regards to fills or if he will add anything to your band at the time of your surgery but my surgeon does not have any Fluid in the band until 6 weeks post-op. This time is lovingly known as "bandster hell". Two - three weeks after surgery I felt exactly the same as before surgery and could eat exactly the same. And sometimes I did! I probably could have been losing more weight during this time if I had been more strict with myself but I have a thick head and a love for food. After my first fill at 6 weeks I got some restriction. Full on less, but hungry about every 3 hours. I received my 2nd fill this past Tuesday and there is certainly a difference. Quantity is much lower.

You certainly sound like you have the right frame of mind - eat to live, not live to eat. I have not been as aggressive as I could have been but everyone needs to travel this journey at their own pace. Try to remember that as you read stories about people losing. Don't compare yourself. I did that in the beginning and was really kicking myself. Who needs more self-loathing though. That defeated feeling is what got me to this weight in the first place. "Well, I suck so I might as well have that 5th oreo, or can of pop or whatever is handy".

We have beautiful children who deserve the best and that includes mommies who feel & look the best they can!

Take care and look forward to talking with you more!