i had my surgery on 12/2 and at first i was doing very well...now i have not lost any weight in about 2 weeks...i am also having a problem going #2...i do not see my surgeon until 1/12 for my first fill...will the weight loss pickup once i have my band filled??? and does anyone take or recommend any sort of laxative or something for the constipation problem? i tried getting a hold of my surgeon but he is on holiday and is only taking emergency calls at this time... :tongue_smilie:

any help, advice, or info is more than appreciated!!!

alison

Call your pharmacist and ask what type of OTC Laxative s/he recommends for a post op bariatric patient. I'm sure they'll give you a safe option. As to losing....my doctor (and many others I've read about) say the initial time is for healing, not losing. in fact, the NP at my doc's office told me last time it's often 6 months before their patients start consistently losing, following proper restriction. Give it time; the lap band is a slower process, but it will help you for life!

hey - I'm in the same boat. I had my surgery on the 19th Dec, I lost some weight pre-op and about 7 lbs post-op but i've been steady steady despite only having about 2 Protein shakes and a couple of bowls of Soup per day. Who knew that you could maintain your weight on that little food. Personally, I think my body is thinking that I'm starving it - I usually lose more weight when I'm eating more but healthier. That being said, I was tempted to start eating more normal foods, but someone on the site said that I could rip/tear the stitches in my stomach if I did that - so it reinforced the fact that I need to be thinking about healing at the moment, not about losing weight.

I've been walking about 2-3 miles every day, to build up the good habit, and I'm just not going to worry about it until I'm back on normal food (another 2 weeks) and feeling my old self again.

Keep the faith - I'm sure it will work eventually, or all of these people wouldn't be such advocates for this thing.

s

I know how you feel im 5 weeks out and only lost 14 lbs im need :tongue2:

to get myself together

Almost everyone plateaus for at least some of the time usually after 2 weeks up to the first fill.

It is not only normal it is expected to happen even if the doctors don't always mention it. Just keep following the rules, don't lose hope and the weight will start coming off again. Your body just needs to catch up after surgery.

I'm so glad I saw this post. I am in the same boat. I lost 11 lbs initially after surgery. (December 3rd) and I have not lost any more since. I saw my Dr. today and had my first fill. I have been hungry a lot today. The doctor said this is normal and I may need a few fills before I fill much restriction. I have been so depressed because I have not lost any weight for three weeks. Thanks for all your words of hope.

I am also so glad to hear that I am not the only one. I was banded on 12/4 and I am stuck at 18#'s lost! Thanks for the encouragement, I will get a fill on 01/07/2009, maybe it will do the trick!! Keep all of you're heads up, we'll get there!:party:

Add me here too :party: Had surgery Dec 11th. Went on mushies Dec 22nd and haven't lost a pound since even though I'm not eating that much relatively speaking.

Though I know that all I am really eating for mushies is eggs, mashed potatoes and refriend Beans. Maybe my mushie choice isn't good since most of it is carbs. Who knows! If anyone has any advice for mushies that may help lose weight please let me know.

I'm at day 24 post- op and I have lost about 20 pounds, although I have the Realize Band instead, I figure both are the same. I feel great was able to go back to work on Day 4 post-op. Been on mushies for about a week and half and I'm looking forward to the regular food. although the dr said on mushies I shouldn't eat mashed white potatoes. but instead eat soft baked fish, chicken salad, tuna salad type stuff. i'm looking forward to having a nice little salad with some tuna on top and some Fat Free Italian dressing :party:. I haven't ate anything that is starchy, no peas, or potatoes, except for sweet potatoes which the dr said was ok.

I'm going to start doing my walk away the pounds video this afternoon and then clean house. Next week im going to start going to the gym.

I guess what im trying to get at even though my dr said it was okay to lose weight in the first month he also said it was a time for healing as well. so maybe this is just your body's way of healing itself.

I just got banded on 12/19, and I have lost around 23 lbs total to this point, both before and after surgery. It has definitely slowed down now. I am still on creamy Soups and liquids, but I am able to start mushies tomorrow. I'm not losing much of anything right now, and I am starting to feel more hungry. After reading these posts, it looks like this is pretty normal.

My first fill isn't until 1/28, so I have a lot of time to wait. I don't mind not losing anything else until I get my first fill, I just don't want to gain anything when I start eating mushies.

Thanks for all the great posts, they are really helpful!

i had my surgery on 12/2 and at first i was doing very well...now i have not lost any weight in about 2 weeks...i am also having a problem going #2...i do not see my surgeon until 1/12 for my first fill...will the weight loss pickup once i have my band filled??? and does anyone take or recommend any sort of laxative or something for the constipation problem? i tried getting a hold of my surgeon but he is on holiday and is only taking emergency calls at this time... :wink2:

any help, advice, or info is more than appreciated!!!

alison

Hi everyoen I was baned on 11/18:smile2: it has been a roller coaster when i switched stages with weight from mushies to regular diet things slowed dow drastically. Things to keep in mind ..your still healing... your no longer on liquid so big digit weight loss will slown down if not drop to single digits & make sure you taking in enough PROTEIN!! I sat down one day and put my food intake in my-caloriecounter.com and realized I was eating only 300- 400 calories a day and not taking in the recommended 60-80 grms of Protein I needed. Since then I pay attention to things High in protetin of Drink a shake for snack if hungry to get that extra protein in.

I have a friend that got her band in sept and has not been successful ecause she eats lots of slider foods and carbs. Honestly carbs were not our friend before the surgery and they certaintly aren't now. Journal your food intake it helps at the end of the day to say hey I did good or hey I didn;t make the greatest choices.

Stay strong and look the NSV ( Non scale Victories) Crossing legs for the first time, touching toes without straining your back ( lol) Clothes fitting better and just feeling better in general. Good Luck everyone:thumbup:

Add me here too :wink2: Had surgery Dec 11th. Went on mushies Dec 22nd and haven't lost a pound since even though I'm not eating that much relatively speaking.

Though I know that all I am really eating for mushies is eggs, mashed potatoes and refriend Beans. Maybe my mushie choice isn't good since most of it is carbs. Who knows! If anyone has any advice for mushies that may help lose weight please let me know.

You lost so much weight for the short amount of time since your surgery that you body is catching up.

Hang in there! I had a problem w/ bowel movements too, felt somewhat constipated. I think I wasn't drinking enough Water because when I upped my liquids I was fine. Try upping your liquids a bit and see if that helps.

I was sooooo disappointed when I went into get my first fill because I lost weight for the first 3 weeks, maybe 4. Once I got on solids, I started being able to eat larger portions. I guess my surgeon didn't put any saline in at all. They told me it was VERY TYPICAL for people to gain 5+lbs back after surgry, and before a fill. Good news is, as soon as I got a fill, I lost about 5lbs right away. After the 2nd fill it's been MUCH easier to stay full and on track!

Hang in there, it will get better! Don't you worry!

i had my surgery on 12/2 and at first i was doing very well...now i have not lost any weight in about 2 weeks...i am also having a problem going #2...i do not see my surgeon until 1/12 for my first fill...will the weight loss pickup once i have my band filled??? and does anyone take or recommend any sort of laxative or something for the constipation problem? i tried getting a hold of my surgeon but he is on holiday and is only taking emergency calls at this time... :confused:

any help, advice, or info is more than appreciated!!!

alison

Hey congrats.....I was banded on 12/2 also. The best thing I did for myself during this process was throw out any scale I had in the house! I don't weigh food or myself. I want to learn to make portions smaller automatically. I realize I grew up in the eat before the next famine/depression mentality and I am working to correct this life long habit.

I too am not losing weight after the initial 15 as I can tell by my clothes. However I have more energy than I have had in years! I am focused on what I put in my mouth and am trying to take this time as not only a healing process but also a learning one too. I'm trying to focus on the 50 grams of Protein I am suppose to eat a day. I'm cheating like mad too but I'm not gonna beat myself up anymore!!

Best to you....can't wait for my fill either!

okay this is so helpful! I am experiencing the same thing and thought that I was doing something wrong. I lost 23lbs initally (banded 12/16) but now I have not lost at all in the past 10 days. It seems like we are all in the same boat and it sounds like we have to ride it out.

Good luck!

We're all in the same boat - I was banded on the 19th Dec - I lost about 16lbs pre-surgery and then lost 7 afterwards.... then nothing - for about a week - all the way through the full liquid phase. I'm finally now on my pureed food stage, and things seem to have started moving again. I've lost 2 lbs in the last couple of days.

I think it's helping that I'm walking every single day - I'm up to about 3 miles. I think as soon as I'm on the real food, it will get even better so that I can fill up on lettuce and stuff.

Anyways - good luck to everyone on this... I think the more we watch what we eat and exercise - we'll do well.