Hi..I'm new and will be having my surgery on Tuesday. I'm pretty nervous about the entire thing. I guess my biggest concern is that I won't lose that much weight. Any help?:help:

Hi Sally,

I think we all have or had those fears. I felt like the band was my last hope and was terrified I would be the one it didn't work for.

I found that going to the Before and After Pictures thread usually helped. To actually see the before, during and after pictures was really inspiring and gave me a lot of hope.

Of course, being as educated as you can before surgery and knowing how to work with your band helps as well. Make a plan and stick to it and you will do fine.

Good luck with your surgery, welcome to LBT and keep us posted!

Lindav Thanks for your quick reply. I've never entered a chat room before so this is an adventure.

Geeze, ya know my biggest fear in all of this was that I would somehow, yet again, inspite of the $26,000 worth of surgery and silicone, FAIL. I think that's a very normal fear. It's a huge step to take and how do we explain it to ourselves and those who have such high hopes for us that we couldnt even do it with surgery? Well, I knew this for certain... if I didn't do -something- I was only going to fail even worse.

The beauty of the band is that it is a tool to help you on the days when you just can't help yourself. It won't cure emotional eating problems, nor will it magically make the milk shakes and cake turn into health food. What it will do is help you if you are truly ready to make such a big commitment to yourself and to your health. If you are, then stop worrying and just put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. You'll do fine.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Best wishes.

Thank you all for the replies. I am so used to failure with diets that I can't get it out of my mind set....thanks so much

what was the worst thing that you had to encounter about the surgery. how bad is the referred shoulder pain and did the pain med take it away?

Hi Sally, congratulations on your decision. If you read on this forum about the shoulder pain, you'll see that everyone's different. My friend Jane and I were banded at the same time and she had no pain whatsoever whereas mine lasted almost a week.

Referred pain is a funny thing, sometimes pain meds don't work but often other sensory input will, so this is where hot packs, cold packs, rubbing and massage comes in. It's all so individual. Have everything ready just in case.

All the best with your surgery on Tuesday.

Ok,now i have to talk about constipation. Anyone have problems with tha. also, how do you all get the cute graphis with your replies?

Hi Sally,

I didn't have a problem with constipation for a WHILE after surgery - in fact, like lots of others here, I had the exact opposite problem until I was able to go back on more solid foods.

Shredded Wheat or Fiber One cereal is really good for constipation. Benefiber doesn't seem to do much good for me. The best thing I've found for constipation is 1/4 cup of raw almonds daily. Sounds weird, but it works. The cereal works too but being carbohydrate it makes me hungry all day so I'm going with the almonds. You have to be careful with either choice though, both solutions are high in calories. I measure my almonds out into snack sized ziploc baggies as soon as I get them home from the store - that way there's no mistaking how much I've had. Besides, its really easy to grab a baggie on the go and get out the door!

Sally, good name. I was also nervous before with the same concerns.

I had my surgery at 8 am and was home by 1.I took no pain meds and had some gas and shoulder pain but nothing major. Was out walking a little the next day and walked in the house on same day. I was an emotional eater and have handled it very well. I am on second fill and have dropped 42 pounds and 28 from goal. So just hang in there and follow your doctors orders and you will do fine.