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So its been interesting reading so many people saying bad things about the gastric balloon, because for me, even though its very early days, it is going really well. I have lost 8kg since my procedure on May 21st (starting weight 134.9kg which I think is just under 300 pounds?, height 5'6), I am, as advertised, not hungry at all, and while the first week I was cramping somewhat, I haven't vomited or had any nausea at all. I haven't had any issues in the puree stage and am already finding some soft foods are okay too, though I do still feel more comfortable on liquids so I am dialing it back a bit and taking the transition slower as the fullness is hard to (lol) stomach. Speaking of stomachs, even though I intellectually knew better, I think my mind always associated my stomach with my belly, so intestinal pains or discomfort sometimes translated as hunger pains for me I think. I have never been so aware of my actual stomach before and I think that's hugely important to learning how to change my lifestyle going forward. I can hopefully do a better job listening to my hunger and fullness cues because this balloon is taking me to actually listen to the right body part! I wonder if this is something anyone else has experienced as part of their bariatric weightloss journey? I must say I did a LOT of preparation in the lead up to my procedure, I created a folder with all the info I needed for my different stages, as well as recipe ideas, info about possible health issues and troubleshooting for anything that might come up, tracker sheets for water and medication, weight loss, exercise tips for recovery, measurements etc (like you might have in a bullet journal) and I am referring back to my folder and adding to it constantly - which is actually super fun and keeps me motivated! I got some info from my surgeon and dietician, as well as the usual orbera booklet (in digital form, so i printed only the relevant bits - why there are whole pages of slim people who have never needed to consider weight loss procedures in these things I will never know lol) and I also scoured the internets for resources from other hospitals, much of which is more aimed at surgical patients but is still really relevant for me. I think it's a mindfulness thing, because I find that adding to my folder is great way to keep my mind busy and get out of old habits (And I have cute stickers that I put in there too). I was an emotional eater all my life but recently I am realising I am also a boredom eater - so trying to replace those boredom triggers with other things is my main goal, sometimes I find myself even though I am FULL, thinking about eating something out of boredom so I am learning how best to divert my brain with new fun things. I think a lot of people go into the gastric balloon thinking is going to be a quick fix and obviously that isn't the case. Its a tool like any other. They say the average amount lost is around 15kg but as I am halfway there already, and I have at least a year of this, I am quietly hopeful that my goal is in reach ( I want to get below 100kg, so the total amount I want to lose is 35kg over the time I have this balloon). It's still early days for me but I feel hopeful. I can do this. Honestly I'm not sure if my lack of vomming is because I am being so careful with how much I have at once, or because I am tracking the medication and taking that regularly as a preemptive thing, or if I am just one of the lucky ones. Along with not being hungry (at ALL), I am not having any of my regular cravings. I tell people the fullness feels like.... say you stuffed yourself eating a huge meal then someone put a slice of chocolate mud cake in front of you and even though you KNOW it would taste good, the idea of even getting it near your mouth is the last thing you want. Or say you've had a big holiday dinner and now you need to go have a mid-afternoon nap to sleep it off. I feel like that almost all the time right now so there really is no room for temptation. I'm happy to talk about my experience with the balloon insertion, why and how I chose the balloon (and why Orbera), how I put my folder together, or generally answer any questions. And I hope to come back and update on my progress to help keep myself accountable. Sent from my SM-G965F using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm still waiting to schedule mine. They are so backed up due to covid. I'm hoping they will call me next week to schedule in July or August. Congrats!

I don't normally watch TV with commercials because I only have Netflix and Hulu at home, but I was at a hotel recently and I flipped on the TV to a cooking show and I realized the cooking wasn't making me hungry but the commercials were. It was all for junk food but the way they film the junk food is so obscene!

Hi all, I am 6 weeks post op and have lost 25 pounds. I find I have very low energy by mid morning and this lasts until around 4 pm. I am taking my vitamins and iron religiously, eating the right foods and making sure I have my required protein. I think I may be losing too fast, considering I am a low BMI (33) when I started. I wanted to start back at the gym by week 6 but all I want to do right now is curl up in bed and sleep. Has anyone else gone through this?

I have never ordered a child's menu item. Generally, children's items are geared to children's tastes. I didn't even care for them when I was a child. They are not designed for folks on strict healthy nutritional plans. I order what I want that satisfies my plan. I eat the volumes according to my plan. Leaving food on the plate is not the sin most of us seem to think it is. The cards you can get that explain you had surgery and asks for child portions are nonsense, in my opinion. My spouse naturally eats small portions so why should she be not able to present a card also? Or anyone on a diet? Why should *WE* get special treatment while dieters don't? Good luck, Tek

Thank you Sent from my SM-S515DL using BariatricPal mobile app

it's the infamous three-week stall. You just got it a little early. Almost everyone experiences that - if you do a search for it on this site, you'll find over 17,000 posts on it (and no, I am NOT kidding...). Mine was weeks 2 and 3. During week 4, it broke and I dropped something like 6-8 lbs in about two days. Just stick to your program and stay off the scale for a few days if you need to. It WILL break - they always do - and then you'll be on your way again.

That's something I didn't notice.

Sorry, for the late reply. I am now 4.5 months after surgery and everything has fallen into place. Tons of energy, still losing weight. I'm 11 lbs from my goal weight. I have started back at the gym a couple of months ago, and now that we are on COVID lockdown, I am working out at home. I have so much energy that I can't help but exercise. Things are great! I hope things will as smooth for you as they did for me.

I had two major fears: 1. I would have some sort of serious complication. For some reason, people delight in telling you horror stories once they know you are having bariatric surgery and all that gave me anxiety. 2. I was afraid it wouldn't work. I don't know why, I just wasn't confident that the surgery would be effective for me. As it turned out, both fears were unnecessary. I had no major issues with surgery and I'm happy with my results so far. 🙂 And now I get to be a counter-example for all those horror stories, LOL.