Shelley64

It's always a good idea to get with your PCP and have this discussion. In the Fall of 2010, I went into my PCP for my annual exam, etc. and my fasting blood sugar was 176. On top of that, I was already on 20mg of blood pressure medicine and 40mg of cholesterol medication. That was the straw that broke the camels back. There was no way I was going to go on another pill because I was fat and unhealthy. I'd thought about lap band before but made up my mind that day to proceed. I made an appt with the bariatric clinic and got the ball rolling. My bmi was just under 40 but with my co-morbidities, I got aproved for surgery. On 1/11/11, I was banded. This was the best decision I ever made. I was a very slow loser before the band and I haven't set any speed records since but I'm literally a new person. My original weight at my very first bariatric appointment was 232. This morning, I weighed 175 on my scale at home. It's with a pound or two of my doc's scale. My last fasting blood sugar test was 97 and my A1c is in the normal range. My blood pressure medicine is now down to 5mg which my doctor is only keeping me on as a precaution. The bariatric nurse said it's a good idea. I tried going off my cholesterol medicine but my numbers went back up. I'm one of those genetic freaks that's just going to have high chol/trigs no matter what. HOWEVER, my numbers with medicine are lower than they ever were before my band. Pre-band, my chol never got under 220 even with medicine and now it's like 180. My Trigs are normal and my good/bad chol ratio is much improved. I'm fortunate that my insurance paid for surgery and I know thats not the case with everyone but it has made such a difference in my health and my future. My original weight goal was 145 but I think I'd be happy at 160. I'm losing 3-4 lbs a month and my bariatric doctor and pcp are thrilled with my results. I know that I added years onto my life by getting my blood sugar under control. Good luck to you moving forward!

I practiced not drinking with my meals a couple weeks before my liquid diet. I thought it was going to be really hard form me but it really wasn't. honestly, when I'm eating my meal, it doesn't take much to feel a little stuck if I swallow too quickly or take too big of a bite. If I were to try to drink something, it would literally come out my nose. I don't even put a beverage on the table because it's strictly habit to grab a glass during a meal. If it's not there, you don't miss it. If I'm in a restaurant, i don't even let them bring me water. If they insist, I move it out of reach. I used to love ice cold water or tea but I really don't even enjoy them that much anymore. I struggle to get even half of my water intake each day. I have to put a note on my computer at work to remind myself to drink during the day. Yikes...that reminds me.. ha ha. Keep working at it, it get's easier!

This is why I am so glad I didn't tell anyone other than my family that I was having lap band! People in general are very judgemental and can't stand it when someone else is successful. I figured that I'd probably lose slowly and no one would ever be the wiser when I started getting thinner and that has been the case. People who haven't seen me in a year, don't even recognize me. I changed my hair style and that mixed with the smaller body really throws them. I'm sorry your friends are not being more supportive....hopefully they'll come around when you are healthier and happier! Good Luck

My first piece of advice would be to get 2 lbs a week out of your head. Now, if you were ever able to lose 2 lbs a week in the past on any diet that you stuck to 100% of the time, you may lose that much per week now but I don't think it's realistic. Some weeks I don't lose at all and then I drop 3 or 4 lbs. You will drive yourself crazy if you start expecting to see the scale move when you want it to and you'll think the band has failed. Before you get some fills and get into the zone, I'd just let your body and mind catch up with each other. this is a journey.....you'll see that when you're out 6+ months. You'll learn more about yourself than you ever knew. When you're newly banded, you're all caught up in the "what can I have", "what can't I have stage" because it's new and it's all you think about which is perfectly normal. Everyone has to go through it....we've been focused on food for our whole lives so it's a big adjustment to not have it be the center of attention. Once you have a fill, I doubt if you'll be able to eat cereal in the am. I'd find a protein shake you like and plan on having that. Most people are tighter in the morning so liquid protein goes down the best and keeps you full/satisfied til lunch. you're probably going to need about 1000 calories to keep your metabolism fired up. At 600 cal's, you're body will fight you and try to hang onto every calorie. Good luck.

That is an awesome question and I hope lots of bandsters read and reply. What most bariatric patients don't know or aren't told is how/why the band works. There are a couple of sites out there that expain the true mechanics of the procedure and it's very interesting. When you eat and your food passes through the top part of your stomach where it leaves the esophagus, it stimulates a hormone to be produced telling your brain that you've eaten. It takes about 20 minutes foryour brain to get the message so... if you're slamming a bunch of food down super fast, you've already eaten way way too much by the time you get the stuffed feeling. That's the point of eating very slowly with the band. A meal should take at least 20 minutes. I've been banded over a year but I figured out pretty quick that "full" doesn't feel the same as it did before. When I would get full before the band, I was full down in my lower belly and would get a tight bloated feeling. With the band, the feeling is up high. I confused "stuck" with "full" for several months before I finally figured out I'd eaten enough. Sometimes I can eat more at one setting than another which is really strange. My doctor said that your stomach is a moving organ and the band can be tighter from one day to the next or one meal to another. I've had instances where I take 1 or 2 bites of my meal and I start getting the heavy saliva build up, gurgling, etc. It makes me mad because I know 2 bites isn't really a meal and won't keep me satisified for very long. It's usually because I ate too fast or took too big of a bite. I set it aside and then finish it later on when I feel hungry again. My meal size changes based on the time of day. In the am, a shake is all I can handle. I drink a premier nutrition shake from Costco. At lunch I have cottage cheese or tuna or salad w/some protein. I eat soup if I'm in a social setting because I rarely get stuck and don't ahve to worry about making a bathroom trip. I can eat a few crackers but not bread. Dinner is protein, green veggies. I can eat a little pasta but I have to be careful to eat super slow. I still struggle with night eating and since I'm not as tight late in the day, I can graze pretty easily so I have to really be focused and not let myself eat stupid stuff after dinner.

Cottage cheese, greek yogurt, ground turkey or chicken, lean ground beef.....there are many good protein choices out there. Try things, play with recipes, change things up from time to time so you don't get bored. You're doing great!

I haven't noticed anything regarding my cycle other than the fact that I still crave the salty/chocolate combination!!! The only time I notice not being able to eat is in the morning. I have to stick with a shake in the morning. I have heard of people that have trouble with a particular food but try it again months later and it's ok. Your actual stomach is a moving organ so as you lose weight, lose fluid, etc. the restriction can change. Have you read the book Band Wagon? It's a great book and covers lots of food questions. Good Luck to you!

I had my surgery on a Tuesday (1/11/11) and went back to work the following Tuesday. Monday was Martin Luther King Jr holiday so I took advantage of the extra day off Give yourself a week if you can. I didn't have a lot of pain after day 4 or so but I was kinda tired, had gas pains in my left shoulder and just didn't have a ton of energy. I have a sit down office job which is nice. Wouldn't want to do that if you had a real physical type job. Good Luck!

I personally don't think it's necessary. First of all, after a liquid diet for pre-surgery, most solid material has already been passed. I've never seen it listed as a pre-surgery suggestion on anything I've read.

I'm guessing Carney Wilson stretched out her pouch after bypass. Carney has food issues....period! She started a cupcake business for crying out loud! I hope she's successful with lap band but I hope she's not thinking it's another magic bullet. Weightloss occurs between your two ears and that's 99% of the battle.

I was at my doctors office yesterday and he had a student teacher with him. The subject of a slipped band came up and my doc told this "kid" (seriously, he looked 12 years old) that if he gets a band patient in the ER with pain, unable to keep anything down, etc. just pull all the fluid out. He said they keep it out for a few weeks and then start re-adding it a little at a time just like when you got your initial fills. This would be scary because we all worry about gaining the weight back. I wish you the very best of luck. you know the right amount to eat based on the restriction you had so just push ahead and make it mind over matter. You'll get through this and back to fluid in your band in no time!

The first week of my pre-op diet was hard but I got over it. However, I will never and I mean NEVER eat jello again!! By the time the surgery date came, I really didn't have that feeling of starvation. It really did pass as the time went by. I'm about 13 months out and I listen to my body a lot more than I ever did before. I still have food issues, I still have the desire to graze after dinner but for the most part, I eat when my stomach gets growly. Now, if I've had my protein shake at 9 and I'm planning lunch at 12:30 or so and I get a growl in between, I can drink some tea, water and crystal light and it goes away. I have noticed though that I'll wake up before my alarm goes off and my stomach is growling. That never happened before the band because I ate up til the time I went to bed so my stomach never really got empty! Head hunger is a whole different demon. I still struggle with that in the evenings as old habits die hard. It's a daily struggle but so much easier to control with the band. Sometime I literally have to have an out-loud converation with myself when I head to the kitchen after dinner when I know good and well I'm not hungry!

My doctor told me that excessive vomiting (wretching) can cause the band to slip. Definitly something I don't want to have happen. Also, I found out that if the band slips, it goes farther down on the stomach, not up around the esophagus. I would think the opposite. My doc said, when there is a slip, you can't keep your own spit down and it's usually quite painful. I think as long as we play by the rules, eat correctly, etc. we'll be fine.