JUNE 2009 Lap Band Surgery

[ddorman67 1]

ifyourstomachoffendsyou, How is you mother?

[JulieM. 0]

I was banded June 2nd so I am 1 month and 5 days out! I never thought I would get to this point so this is great!

I am going to respond to a few things over the past 3 or so pages on here because I haven't jumped on in a while.

I think it was spud mama that was talking about port pain and bending over. I have noticed that when I bend over to pick something up or I am doing some stretching that I get an uncomfortable feeling at my port site like I am bending right on top of it. It does not hurt and it does not hurt after I stop bending but its kind of weird. I was wondering if anyone knows if this will continue or if the weird sensation will go away later?

As to average loss ( cant remember who posted that one) I am 35 days out and I have lost almost 15 lbs. 12lbs of that was in the 1st 2 weeks after and then the loss died lol. I am really really hoping to get a fill at my next post opp appt on next monday the 13th.

And as a slide into this I have absolutly no restriction right now! I can eat anything at this point including bread Pasta rice meat etc with no issues what so ever. If I did not know the band was there I would not know I had it! The first 2 weeks I had restriction because of the swelling and that went away so did my restriction! I am hoping that a fill will fix that because my loseing has died and I am having to menatly throw everything I have at food to keep on track because I can eat way more than I should at this point. Is anyone eles feeling this that is about a month out? :confused:

Well I'm glad I'm not alone. I can eat pretty much what I want to. I don't but I can. I haven't lost any weight in almost 2 weeks. I'm working out and drinking my fluids. I got my first fill on July 7. Still not much restriction. But hey we are in this for the long haul. 1 or 2 lbs a week right. Thats what everyone keeps saying.

[JulieM. 0]

Had a terrible day today. My mom and I were going to ride the train to downtown Chi-town and couldn't find parking that wasn't permit parking in time to make the train. We decided to wait to catch the next, but then were told we were not in a valid parking spot. My mom, in hurrying to find out where we could park didn't see that she was on a 3 sided stoop with no railings and fell on her knee. (She's 76) She opted not to go for an x-ray and I took her home and propped up her knee, got pain meds in her, and started icing the knee. She was able to limp on that leg. My dad came home and eventually she had to use the washroom. She couldn't get out of the chair and my dad tried to turn the lounge chair with her in it (he's 81) and we both yelled at him to stop. He took offense. We managed to get my mom out of the chair and she used a walker to get to the washroom but had trouble gettin up from the toilet. She came out and said she wanted to call my bro who is a physician who lives in Mich. My dad said why bother, he can't come here to see it. (They have free long distance and why he should deny her calling someone for advice made no sense.) My mom was still walking around which I was afraid would cause even more pain and swelling once she sat down so I said I thought she should sit down and not keep walking. My dad told me I should just shut up. I screamed at him that he should shut up, that he knew nothing about medicine and he was too bossy, Then I went to the phone and called my brother who told us to take my mom to the hospital. Even though she could walk people her age might not feel that the bone (end of the tibia) behind the patella (kneecap) could be broken. So he ended up taking her there even though he had said she should wait a few days and see how she was doing. My poor mom. It's partly her fault because she's incredibly indecisive and has never handled my dad's bossiness well. I generally present her with options and try not to make the decisions for her, but its hard. Anyway, the whole day was a bust. I feel terrible for yelling at my dad but I'm still angry. I'm writing about it because normally I'd really get into the food about now.

And I haven't even talked about my car. Let's just say its making more noise than my stomach and once I got my son to take it seriously he discovered major issues and now I've got to decide whether to fix it or replace it and I hate buying cars and I've got conflicting advice from my husband, my son, and my dad. aargh.

Holy smokes, I think I need a drink. I haven't had one since I was banded but if I had a day like yours I would have pizza in one hand and a beer in the other. Congrats for knowing how to come to the boards and vent instead of going to food. I'm gonna go get a diet green tea and calm down.

[ifyourstomachoffendsyou 1]

Thanks for your support everyone. I call yesterday "Cheri and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." My mom broke her patella (kneecap) and was seeing a Dr. today to determine treatment. THere is no treatment for my dad. He is becoming mildly cognitively impaired, senses it, hates it, and resents me for interfering. He is very ignorant about anything medical but is still very opinionated and badgers my mother into submission. I can't stand it and overcompensate.

I made a bad mistake and published the post I put here yesterday on my regular blog which is read by friends and relatives who know my parents. My sister called me on it and I deleted it and apologized in today's blog. I'm going to have to apologize to my dad for our control contest but I'm not ready yet. But it truly was a day from hell. I was so jittery. I think my anger with my dad has been 57 years in the making and without the food those feelings weren't numbed down at all. I'm going to avoid him as much as possible and just go help my mom when he's not there.

[butterfly71201 0]

I was banded June 2nd so I am 1 month and 5 days out! I never thought I would get to this point so this is great!

I am going to respond to a few things over the past 3 or so pages on here because I haven't jumped on in a while.

I think it was spud mama that was talking about port pain and bending over. I have noticed that when I bend over to pick something up or I am doing some stretching that I get an uncomfortable feeling at my port site like I am bending right on top of it. It does not hurt and it does not hurt after I stop bending but its kind of weird. I was wondering if anyone knows if this will continue or if the weird sensation will go away later?

As to average loss ( cant remember who posted that one) I am 35 days out and I have lost almost 15 lbs. 12lbs of that was in the 1st 2 weeks after and then the loss died lol. I am really really hoping to get a fill at my next post opp appt on next monday the 13th.

And as a slide into this I have absolutly no restriction right now! I can eat anything at this point including bread Pasta rice meat etc with no issues what so ever. If I did not know the band was there I would not know I had it! The first 2 weeks I had restriction because of the swelling and that went away so did my restriction! I am hoping that a fill will fix that because my loseing has died and I am having to menatly throw everything I have at food to keep on track because I can eat way more than I should at this point. Is anyone eles feeling this that is about a month out? :ohmy:

Yep, I feel your pain!! I was just thinking the same thing last night that boy I could eat anything right now. (of course I don't!):confused: It's so frustrating!! But, this too shall pass and we will be loving our new healthy lives & bodies!! (at least that's what I keep telling myself)

[NYGuy 0]

I'm pretty much like you guys even after my first fill. I can pretty much eat everything, though I am feeling full somewhat sooner.

I had two eggs, sausage and toast for Breakfast. Ate the eggs but only half the sausage and one slice of toast. Could I have eaten the rest? Probably. Maybe I'm learning to listen to my stoma! Two hours later, I still feel full, even after drinking a lot of Water over the last hour. (My nutritionist says no liquids for an hour after eating, to keep feeling full longer.)

[kpdgal 0]

Well I am up a couple of pounds without really changing my eating, although I think I am not getting enough calories, I average 500-600 a day, and that's being able to eat pretty freely, I am afraid of what is going to happen after my fill. Hopefully my body will adjust to less calories favorably!

[patricksmom 0]

ok, I am totally depressed! I am going for my first fill Monday and PRAYING it does the trick. I am only down about 16 pounds since two weeks BEFORE surgery! I keep gaining and losing 4 pounds :confused: I am soooooo bummed and feel like I have failed. People at work say things like...wow I can see your losing (just being nice) or "have you lost any weight yet"? Can you imagine saying that to someone...kinda rude right? Anyway....I am finishing band hell and hope and pray that what comes will keep me from eating too much. I can eat anything and in good amounts. Not quite the same as before surgery but pretty darn close :ohmy: How will I know if this is gonna work? I know I have not been really committed about limiting my calories and such but I have made a lot of changes...I have given up soda (I was the queen!), I am not eating any sweets/desserts, eating protien first and having my shakes/bars but I am just eating too damn much and am sooooooooooooooo mad at myself Anyone else out there feeling like me?

[pennreporter 12]

Jilla, don't beat yourself up. I had only lost 18 by the time of first fill and that was all the first two weeks. The two weeks before the fill, I will feeling like I was slipping back into my old eating habits (grazing), but didn't gain anything...not sure why, but I also hadn't gotten to my last stage of food, which happened this past Tuesday when i got my first fill. It was only 3ccs but it at least made some difference. I go back in 4 weeks for another fill. But almost eveyrthing I've read is that once the swelling goes down from the surgery, you really have almost no restriction. Especially if your surgeon doesn't leave any fill in there from surgery, which a lot of doctors do...it's kind of 50/50 on that.

So don't stress your self out. I still keep track of my food on an ap on my iphone because I'm really trying to keep calories below a thousand.

Good luck

Trisha

[JulieM. 0]

Thanks for your support everyone. I call yesterday "Cheri and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." My mom broke her patella (kneecap) and was seeing a Dr. today to determine treatment. THere is no treatment for my dad. He is becoming mildly cognitively impaired, senses it, hates it, and resents me for interfering. He is very ignorant about anything medical but is still very opinionated and badgers my mother into submission. I can't stand it and overcompensate.

I made a bad mistake and published the post I put here yesterday on my regular blog which is read by friends and relatives who know my parents. My sister called me on it and I deleted it and apologized in today's blog. I'm going to have to apologize to my dad for our control contest but I'm not ready yet. But it truly was a day from hell. I was so jittery. I think my anger with my dad has been 57 years in the making and without the food those feelings weren't numbed down at all. I'm going to avoid him as much as possible and just go help my mom when he's not there.

Your day was crappy. You had a very stressful accident with you mother. You get home and your dad was harsh. Stop apologizing for feeling the way you did. Your dad was wrong. Thank god you did listen to your heart since your mother broke her knee cap. Who knows the complications she could have if she hadden't gotten medical treatment. Your mom needed you to stand up for her. Your mom and dads relationship is their business and she knows what she bargained for years ago but this situation was different. Yeah your family didn't want their family business put infront of others so what. We all have crap. We all make bad choices and we learn from them and we move on. You know we are all fat for a reason. Most I could guess is because we held in our feeling for years and ate our way into obesity. I applaud you for standing up for yourself and your mother. Part of this process is to reclaim your self worth and reaffirm your power. If your father can't make the right decisions for himself and his wife (your mother) You have every right in my opinion to stand up and voice yours.

No apology needed!

[butterfly71201 0]

ok, I am totally depressed! I am going for my first fill Monday and PRAYING it does the trick. I am only down about 16 pounds since two weeks BEFORE surgery! I keep gaining and losing 4 pounds :ohmy: I am soooooo bummed and feel like I have failed. People at work say things like...wow I can see your losing (just being nice) or "have you lost any weight yet"? Can you imagine saying that to someone...kinda rude right? Anyway....I am finishing band hell and hope and pray that what comes will keep me from eating too much. I can eat anything and in good amounts. Not quite the same as before surgery but pretty darn close How will I know if this is gonna work? I know I have not been really committed about limiting my calories and such but I have made a lot of changes...I have given up soda (I was the queen!), I am not eating any sweets/desserts, eating protien first and having my shakes/bars but I am just eating too damn much and am sooooooooooooooo mad at myself :sad: Anyone else out there feeling like me?

Jilla, Penn is so right..do not beat yourself up. We have just begun our journey and have not gotten to our "sweet" spot. You are doing fine! You are not gaining 20 lbs at a time. Plus, make sure u are not weighing yourself constantly. i did that in the beginning and it drove me crazy!! I would be down 6 lbs in the morning and up 5 in the afternoon. Take everything one day at a time. We did not get heavy overnight, so we will not get thin overnight either. Take care and remember, you are doing great!!! :confused:

[ifyourstomachoffendsyou 1]

Pennreporter,

Your top weight was the same as mine. My surgery was the 18th. I was 223 at surgery and now I'm 213. I was able to just have one incision. I'm beginning to think the Dr. put in a little fill because I definitely still have some restriction. Especially for breakfast. I have trouble getting any solid Protein for breakfast and often drink an Atkins shake as soon as I wake up and go for a walk while I finish it. As long as I stick with meat for meals and don't have liquid before, during and after the meal, I will suddenly be full and uncomfortable. I'm going to ask the Dr if he already put in a fill. Good luck.

[ifyourstomachoffendsyou 1]

JulieM. Thanks for your responses. It was an incredibly stressful day. For now, I'm avoiding my dad. I'll visit my mom when he's not there. Fortunately she is able to walk a little with a brace on her leg. She has a walker so she doesn't fall again. I just hope she uses it and doesn't try to walk too much. She doesn't feel pain very much which is why we didn't know it was broken. She also broke her right arm but the fracture is too small to make casting necessary.

[ifyourstomachoffendsyou 1]

Life is difficult. When you accept that, you're on your way to growing up. But it still sucks while you're going thru it. I'm glad everyone's posting about their difficulties. Writing is one of the best ways to get what's stuffed inside you out rather than stuffing the pain down harder with food. Relying on your higher power is also very helpful. I find that keeping myself on a fairly high dose of Vitamin D is also helpful.

I've been writing a lot in my blog lately about the relationship between compulsive overeating and ADHD. I'd be really interested in seeing if anyone else has made that connection. Check out my blog at:

IF YOUR STOMACH OFFENDS YOU, TIE IT OFF

[Gemini0123 0]

Had my first fill today! Wasn't expecting it... I thought I was just having a checkup and that we'd schedule a date for me to come back and get a fill. But no, he asked me if I was hungry between meals, I said yes, and he did the fill on the spot. Probably easier that way... otherwise I would've been worried about it!

It didn't hurt much besides the pinch of the needle, and it only took him like 10 seconds to fill it. I was surprised at how fast it went, but then he mentioned that it's not always that quick and easy, sometimes it takes a little longer.

They told me to do Clear Liquids for 24 hours, full liquids until Friday, then start back with regular food. I'm not expecting to feel much restriction yet, but it's a start!