I have a few questions that I hope someone can help me out with...

- when we lose weight, is there a place that it usually shows first? is that different with everyone or is it a fairly normal parts that happen in the first stages?

- when we buy Protein and it is of course in the big jugs, how long does it last after we open it before it becomes less effective or becomes off tasting?

- how long till people are able to carry groceries and laundry and the like after surgery? (I have 5 kids and do a LOT of laundry, lifting of kiddos for baths and getting on bus...)

- is it hard to find a dr to continue to do fills if you have to move after you have surgery?

- i have seen different things about ab excercise after being banded and would love to know if it is or is not something that is safe, and if things like rock climbing would hurt too.

- i think i am only going to tell my neightbors that i had gallbladder surgery because they know that is something that has been a problem and I dont feel like i need to share this decision with them, do you think that will be enough of a reason for things being different with me for a time after while i am healing or will they know that there is more up with me? (outside of the weight loss that is)

- what is the psych appt looking for?

sorry for all the questions but this seems the best place to ask.

- when we lose weight, is there a place that it usually shows first? is that different with everyone or is it a fairly normal parts that happen in the first stages? Think it's different for everyone... mine showed first in my shoulders and neck, and my butt

- when we buy Protein and it is of course in the big jugs, how long does it last after we open it before it becomes less effective or becomes off tasting? Good question. I buy mine in 5 gallon jars and the expiration date on my current jar (bought a month ago) is 2013.

- how long till people are able to carry groceries and laundry and the like after surgery? (I have 5 kids and do a LOT of laundry, lifting of kiddos for baths and getting on bus...) I had a 10 pound weight limit for picking up or carrying for the first 3-4 weeks. Your port is usually stitched into your ab muscles and you don't want to pop the stitches. I showed my 3 year old the incision on my stomach and told her I couldn't pick her up until it was healed. She really was OK with it, she could still climb into my lap or snuggle with me in bed.

- is it hard to find a dr to continue to do fills if you have to move after you have surgery? I don't think it's hard to find a fill doctor, but it can be really expensive as some doctors charge you a program fee to start up with them.

- i have seen different things about ab excercise after being banded and would love to know if it is or is not something that is safe, and if things like rock climbing would hurt too. I couldn't do weight lifting or any strenuous exercise until 6 weeks post op. Cardio was fine from day 1. It'll depend on how your port heals. I can tell you that mine has been hurting a lot the past few days and I'm almost 3 months post-op. But I think something's wrong with it, that doesn't seem normal, so...

- i think i am only going to tell my neightbors that i had gallbladder surgery because they know that is something that has been a problem and I dont feel like i need to share this decision with them, do you think that will be enough of a reason for things being different with me for a time after while i am healing or will they know that there is more up with me? (outside of the weight loss that is) I think that'll be fine, unless they normally watch you eat and wonder why you're only having liquids for a long period of time. Honestly I threw a party 5 days after surgery and nobody even noticed that I wasn't eating.

- what is the psych appt looking for? To make sure any current mental problems are under control, and that you are aware of what you're getting yourself into.

I think Rachel answered everything the same as I would. I lost my weight in my lower roll in my stomach first, now it's coming off my face and chins! :0)

I didn't lift too much stuff for the first 3weeks. Just try not to use your stomach muscles. Now, 2mos out, I do little ab exercises. Not crunches, but I do kickboxing and use my abs.

And as for your neighbors, they won't know anything until you tell them. They will notice a difference in you though!

The psych Doc/Nurse is ok with you being crazy and having problems, they just want to make sure you will be able to deal with them without running to food! :0)

You will have all kinds of support on here when you need it!

The only thing I have to add is I didn't use Protein powders pre-op or post-op. I get my protein from real food.

I do use them a little bit now, but only as a restorative for my muscles after my extreme workouts, but if I wanted I could use skim milk instead of a protein mix and get about the same effect. IMO is there is little need for liquid Proteins... but everyone is different.

h

- when we lose weight, is there a place that it usually shows first? is that different with everyone or is it a fairly normal parts that happen in the first stages? For me, it was distributed and remains distributed. I don't carry my weight in one particular area of my body. I guess that's good because people assume I weigh less than I actually do. I think it's more obvious in particular places (your face, etc...) because there's less fat there to begin with. I do think it depends on the person, though.

- when we buy Protein and it is of course in the big jugs, how long does it last after we open it before it becomes less effective or becomes off tasting? I bought my Protein powder right before my surgery in July 09. I used it maybe twice and kept it in the pantry. It wasn't until the end of March of this year that I decided to give it a go again (it mostly had to do with blending the ice... but I discovered I prefer it poured over ice instead). It was marked to expire in May 2011. I had no issues with the taste/quality. I lost 30lbs in the past 3 months, so it obviously didn't hurt me any. I finished the tub and bought a new one about a week ago. The only difference I notice is that the new tub doesn't have as much foam when I blend it in the Magic Bullet. Taste and anything else is the same.

- how long till people are able to carry groceries and laundry and the like after surgery? (I have 5 kids and do a LOT of laundry, lifting of kiddos for baths and getting on bus...) -- As others mentioned, a couple weeks? I really don't remember.

- is it hard to find a dr to continue to do fills if you have to move after you have surgery? I think it would depend on the area and the doctor. My doctor does fills for people who had surgeries elsewhere.

- i have seen different things about ab excercise after being banded and would love to know if it is or is not something that is safe, and if things like rock climbing would hurt too. -- I've had no issues exercising in the two years I've had my band. From what I've heard, you can do activities normally after being banded (well, after the recovery period).

- i think i am only going to tell my neightbors that i had gallbladder surgery because they know that is something that has been a problem and I dont feel like i need to share this decision with them, do you think that will be enough of a reason for things being different with me for a time after while i am healing or will they know that there is more up with me? (outside of the weight loss that is) -- It depends. They wouldn't notice anything different unless you're eating around them. Most of the people I dine with are those that know about my surgery, so if I have issues and can't eat, they understand why. There is only one time I went to dinner with friends and couldn't eat more than a couple bites. None of them said anything, and I took the food to-go. I probably would have just told them I wasn't hungry and would eat later if they had asked.

- what is the psych appt looking for? I believe they want to make sure they're not allowing someone with binging problems to get the band or those that won't comply to the "rules". They want to make sure the person understands that the band is a tool and isn't going to make you magically lose weight. A lot of people go into this thinking they don't have to make any changes and the weight will fall off. Believe me, that's not true. The purpose of the band is to make you not hungry so you won't overeat. It's not going to prevent you from eating poor foods or eat away your emotions. I've known 3 other people (that I'm aware of) with the band and they have been unsuccessful because they didn't want to change their habits. If you go into this with the idea of "I'm not changing, but I want the weight gone", you're going to fail. And you will have possibly spent a lot of money on the surgery for nothing. You need to be mentally prepared to make changes and the band will help you make those changes. About a year after surgery I had a complication (tube wrapped around port and doctor stabbed it during a fill, so I lost all restriction). Losing the restriction after having it, there was a huge difference in how hungry I was. I was able to really get a clear glimpse into how much the band works in curving hunger. And that's what it's there for. I can eat more if I wanted to. I could eat high calorie foods if I wanted to. But because I want to lose weight, and I have a tool that allows me to be free of intense hunger, I eat smaller portions because it's all I need. And I eat healthy foods because I want to be healthy. Isn't that why we did this in the first place?