The New Me

I was banded a year ago Dec. 19th lost 55 lbs. I have a terrible time with slimming. I just went in for a fill Dec 31 2007 and must be too tight. I cant stop slimming. Been barely able to keep anythig down. Took me 2 hrs to drink a cup of tea. Seems like we can't find the sweet spot! Thought we had it then I started gaining weight. Also does anyones Dr. have a tough time finding the port? My Dr had to try 7 times to get it. Thanks and God Bless All....

:clap2: That brought tears to my eyes. Thank You for such a wonderful translation of our lives.

:help: Ok folks I NEED YOUR HELP!! I had my band tightened a week ago Monday. Its the first time I have had any restriction. ( besides the post op swelling! ) I don't know what is too tight. I can basically only drink liquids. I can drink soup put thru the blender. Late at night I can sometimes eat a little. Other wise it keeps coming back up in a slim form. ( not trying to be gross ). I don't know if I am eating too fast or what. I am worried about protein. I don't really understand it just know its important. I don't do well with the shakes. I have an automatic gag reflex when I try to drink them. Is there a pill form of protein. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and God Bless, The New Me

Ok folks I NEED YOUR HELP!! I had my band tightened a week ago Monday. Its the first time I have had any restriction. ( besides the post op swelling! ) I don't know what is too tight. I can basically only drink liquids. I can drink soup put thru the blender. Late at night I can sometimes eat a little. Other wise it keeps coming back up in a slim form. ( not trying to be gross ). I don't know if I am eating too fast or what. I am worried about protein. I don't really understand it just know its important. I don't do well with the shakes. I have an automatic gag reflex when I try to drink them. Is there a pill form of protein. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and God Bless, The New Me

I can totally appreciate what you are saying. I had my 2nd fill last week. WOW what a difference it made. I can barely eat at all now. I am not hungry. I miss eating food. I know thats a big issue I am dealing with. My biggest concern is I am not getting enough of the right foods. I am basically living off of blended soups right now. Blended soups and pudding are my friends!! I am excited because I finally feel I am on the right track with everyone else. I am sick of slimming though! I will learn over time, everyone has! Good luck and God Bless The New Me!

:clap2: I am new to all of this. I was just banded Dec. 19th. Anyway this week-end we were out of town and we had to eat at a restaurant. I asked the waitress if I could order off the kids menu. I told her I recently had WLS and she told me alot of people have cards they show and then they can eat off all kids menus. I told her I didn't have a card so I lifted my shirt partially and said but I do have the healing incisions to prove it LOL. My husband about died. It worked !! I just wonderd if anyone else has heard of this cards> Thanks Sue:help:

Thanks for all the replies. I personally like the idea. I realize no one is obligated to give us a discount. We went to a buffet and it was nice paying $3.99 instead of $9.99 for a scoop of mash potatoes and some vanilla pudding. Each to their own! Have a great day. ( we went to the buffet because my husband and son were starving ) Sue

Hi I am from Northern Indiana, I was banded on Dec. 19th. Surgery was a nightmare. They nicked my liver. YUCK!! Alot of pain Alot! Woke up with a PCA pump cathater and drain. Had to stay in the hospital for 3 days & come home with a drain tube. But it was all worth it, I am 3 weeks post op tomorrow and feeling great. Lost 13 lbs as of today. Hurray!! I started at 217, I am 5'2" I would love to see 140-150 some day. It's getting hard now I can tell my stomach is healing. My appetite is coming back full force. I'm trying hard to remember soup is my friend. My best friend right now!! My Dr won't do the 1st fill until 6 weeks post op. I am wondering when we can start doing abdominal exercises? We just bought a Ab. Lounge!! I don't want to do anythng yet. Just wondering when though. This site is so cool. I am so excited for all us of. too be overweight is such a hard thing to describe and its wonderful to be able to share with so many people that truly understand. Well take care and feel free to message me. Sue

Girl you an I are in this together. This no drinking with meals stinks!! I have always drank ALOT when I ate. If I went out to dinner it was no surprise for me to drink at least 3+ glasses of pop. It is a hard habit to break. Giving up pop has been bad enough!! However WE will succeed!! Good luck and remember we are not alone. God Bless Sue

You could ask your anesthesia dr to give you a 1 shot spinal instead of a general anesthesia. Explain to him/her your concerns. Good luck Sue

I dont know about the others but my 3rd day home was my worst day. I was grouchy, I had some complications with the surgery. I didn't feel good. I couldn't eat to make myself feel better. I was in tears. This great 2nd chance and there I sat sobbing! It's been 2 weeks now and I am feeling much better about it all. I can eat scrambled eggs and thats really about it. I feel better just having soups. My favorite is Pregresso Chicken Noodle put thru the blender. YUMMY the noodles are thicker and it taste Chicken N Dumplings to me. Everyone needs to try it at least once. I have also gone to McDonalds twice and had their Chicken Noodle with 2 crackers smashed up in it to give it some thickness. Well I hope you get feeling better. Just pray and ask God to help you thru this. I did and I truly believe he is with me every step of the way. God Bless, Sue

I had to laugh when I saw the sites on burping. I am 2 weeks post op and I have the funniest burps now. They are very long, quiet and drawn out. It makes every one laugh when they hear them. It sounds like they start at my toes and are coming thru a tiny drink straw!! 2 nights ago I needed to burp so bad it was actually painful. I had my 4 yr old grand daughter patting me on the back like a baby!! It didn't help me any although she had fun! I finally start hopping around a little trying to make it come out and it did! Now this is something I would not share with many but seeing how we are all going thru this together. I will warn all newbies of the post op gas. I had some complications and when I woke up I felt and looked like I was about 12 months pregnant. I walked and walked to relieve myslef of gas. 2nd day home alone : thankfully : I was sitting at my table and felt a huge gas pain coming on. I stood up to walk and relief myself. To my surprise it wasnt gas it was pure diarhea!!! I about died. So to all "BEWARE IT MIGHT NOT BE GAS AFTER ALL" I was dreading using the bathroom for the first time, but its 2 weeks now and I am still having diarhea, it's down to every other day now, I red on other sited this is common. If I grossed anyone out I appoligize I am just keeping it real!! Good job to all of you. Keep the faith. God Bless Us All, Sue

Welcome aboard, I am 2 weeks post op. The hardest part is getting the nerve up to actually " GIT R DONE!! " and then asking God to help with the rest. I pray all goes fantastic for you. Good luck and God Bless us All. Sue

Hi i am new to this site as well as the lap band. I had mine placed last Monday Dec, 19th. I was so excited, ofcourse nervous. I suffer from anxiety related to driving. Therefore I chose a surgeon who was new to the lap band, but only 15 min from home. ~~ TERRIBLE MISTAKE~~. He has done the gastric bypass for quite some time so I felt he was confident. I was suppose to go home that night. NOT I woke up in the worst pain, I had a PCA pump, a drain in my side and the treaded catheter. The surgery took 3 to 3 1/2 hours and some where in that time they nicked my liver. I had to stay overnight for 2 nights while they monitored my H&H to make sure I wasn't losing blood. I don't know how many shots I got to prevent blood clots. It was so scary. Not what I expected. I had to keep the drain in for another 2 days after i was released. Luckily it's been a week today and I feel good. A little tender where the port and the drain where, Last night I was able to sleep on my side all night!! "hurray" . I JUST WANT TO STRESS TO EVERYONE CONSIDERING THIS BE SURE YOUR SURGEON IS QUALIFIED! Thanks to all who read this. good luck on your surgery and may god be with you. I know he was with me! Sue ---

Hi all, First I'd like to THANK ALL of you who responded. Went for my 2 week check up today. Down 8 lbs. Hurray!! All went well. Dr. said we have 2 wait 6 weeks for the first fill. I will be looking forward to that, Personally I am hungry!! How is everyone else doing with the wait in between the surgery and the 1st fill. My Dr said its because my stomach is healing and the swelling is going down making the band looser. Hope all are doing great. This is a wonderful site. I am greatful it's here for us all to read. Sue

Thanks to all of you who have read and responded. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF US, MAY IT FIND US ALL A LITTLE LIGHTER!!!!