MarcyLoo

My first fill is due tomorrow, 4 weeks out. It's been miserable waiting I agree! I know there's research that shows the 1st fill happening too soon can lead to band slippage. Try to take heart in knowing this can be a slow process....huge hugs! (I feel your pain)

Ice cold fluids make me hurt and my band is empty (till tomorrow yay)....it feels like it makes mys tomach "spasm"

Pug, thanks for the protein info!! I'm having a really hard time. I'm not staying full, eating too large of portions, and starting to snack. I have my first fill tomorrow and am so looking forward to it helping me. I've lost a total of about 20 pounds since preop diet...but have gained 2 back I'm pretty sur ein water weight. I'm trying to not be too hard on myself because I know my band isn't tight enough yet, and am not going completely hog wild but I do look forward to better control. I've also got soem life stress that's crept up; husband is unhappy at his job and talking about leaving (he has a histroy of this) and work is trying to take me off training early and I'm scared poopless. My hormones are wacky too making me really easily upset. Bah.

PCOS is sooooo soooooo complicated. It took me years of research to feel like I was near expert on it ha ha. It's a syndrome vs a disease because symptoms vary so much from woman to woman. Typicalls your male hormones (like testosterone) will be high end of normal, and your estrogen and progesterone can also be slightly off. It's difficult to get a diagnosis. Many doctors are even clueless. It's also a matter of "does one have PCOS due to being overweight or are they overweight because they have PCOS?" It's like a cycle that feeds off each other with no true answer. I do know though that losing weight will help kick you out of PCOS or minimize symptoms. Then again not all women with PCOS are heavy. some typical/common symptoms: infertility (usually due to not ovulating regularily) hirtuism (excess facial hair) obesity cystic ovaries dark Patches of skin between your thighs, underarms, nape of neck acne (facial) insulin resistance and/or type 2 diabetes Of those, I have infertility, minimal hituism, obesity, dark patches of skin. I had one particular male hormone that was off the charts (DHEAS) I have three little boys, but was on medication to get pregnant with #1 and #3 (our middle child was conceived when our eldest was 3 months old, and my PCOS was likely "under control" due to recent pregnancy) OKAY, THE COOL THING ABOUT THE BAND!!! The typical diet for lapband is GREAT for PCOS management: low carb, high Protein. Low glycemic index. The diet itself will be helpful in weight loss overall. i hope that helps a bit?

Swimming is GREAT exercise, and you can do that with spinal stenosis. (but let me guess, your excuse will be that there's not a pool nearby) Cookies, chips, sour cream, chocolate milk all accumulate in your stomch. They do not just "slip thru" especially with how tight you claim your band is. Yes, they are calories. Your body needs calories, but it needs the RIGHT type of calories. In all your years of therapy, nutritional counseling, support groups, etc you should be well aware of that. You say we don't NEED to eat. ARE YOU serious? Really? PEOPLE NEED TO EAT TO SURVIVE. It's up there with breathing. One of my problems with this thread and your posts (topic starter) is that you act like you're the only obese person who has struggled for years. Yers of "failure," poor choices, etc. Almost everyone with a lap band has been there...for as many years as you. People can and do make change. You're simply UNWILLING and that's become abundantly clear thru your postings. I hope for your sake you become willing and have great success.

It looks like no matter what advice you are given, you will not be willing to follow any of it. I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. We all know this journey is not easy. We all struggle daily (am I wrong people?) but those of us who ARE willing to do what it takes (or at least willign to try) can get frustrated by those who are simply not willing to do so, then complain about it. I'm not trying to be mean, but it's clear you're not willing to accept any advice. I do wish you the best. And I do urge you to get an unfill (even a small amount) and to rid your house of the junk food...see a nutritionist and see your surgeon. Are you going to a support group? If not I also urge you to do that.

When was your last fill?

I've lost 8 pounds over the past 3 weeks since surgery, plus the 8 I gained from surgery itself. I was told to not expect ANY weight loss in the first 2-4 weeks.

Welcome Annabelle!! I'm Marcy. I was just banded on 3/15/11. I'm 5'2" and my highest wt was 297. Way back in 2005 the surgeon who removed my gallbladder recommended WLS to me because I had fatty liver and had bleeding complications during that surgery. I plan to send him a thank you note for the suggestion ... becuse even though it was over 5 years ago his suggestion took root in my head and ultimately I believe has led to a longer, healthier life for me. I've only been banded for about 3 weeks but I am so so so incredibly glad I went thru with it. I hope they started you on cpap?

I was supposed to be on full liquids for a week post op but started musies around 3 days becuse I am a very bad patient. I htink I even had some ham (which I did not chew well enough and it came back up)....but yes I did ok with soft foods. I would of course suggest doing what your doc recommends.

I'm about 3 weeks out and ready for a fill...and I can tell because my portion sizes are just a bit too large and I get hungry after about 2 hours.

26 days after surgery. The arrow points to a 5 1/2 year old galbladder scar. The dots are all above lap incisions/punctures. My port incision and the one to the left both had some healing issues (unusual for me).

12 of those 20 pounds were from my preop diet :-)

Hope that worked! Please remember mine are still pretty new...eventually they will fade a lot. My port is on my right side about 2" to the right and above the biggest incision. I put dots over my lap-scars and the arrow points to my gallbladder scar. Pam thanks for posting that link! I'll go peek too.

Hey there! I'm in Monroe/Snohomish (northeast of Seattle). I used Northwest Weight Loss Surgery in Everett and was so happy with them! I have a coworker who has tricare as her secondary and because her PRIMARY is refusing to cover a medication Tricare is also refusing, but if she drops her primary Tricare will. That's all I know about it though. Welcome!!

Mine are less than a month old but I will take a picture for you. The biggest is abotu 2 inches long. The end of that one and one of the smaller ones both had some trouble healing so look a littlle nasty and I still have some mild bruising from the heparin they gave me. One of the incisions in the picture is actually from my galbladder surgery 5 1/2 yrs ago, so you can see how that healed. be warned htough that even htough i am really fair, some of my incisions heal with keloids (more ocmmon in dark skin) so mine may be uglier than most... stand by it'll take me a litle while to take & upload a pic

My surgeon was fine with raw veggies. i almost lived on raw celery, carrots & cucumber slices in rice vinegar & sprinkled with splenda!

What is a retainer mad eof? Typically any metal needs to be removed for surgery because of the risk of arc'ing from the cautery machine. I'm sure you'd rather have it close up than have a burnt boobie. But if it's non-metal they will likely let you leave it in UNLESS they feel it's too close to the surgery sight (very likely) and may pose risk of infection. It'd only need to be out for a couple of hours or less.

I really need to do a better job of counting my Protein. I suspect I'm lacking. I know my goal per the nutritionist is 55-60, but I'm aiming for 60+. I've fallen in love with Greek Yogurt & liquid egg stuff (lower calories & colesterol). I still have a lot of my preop Protein powder and may need to add a shake a day. Do any of you know what average protein count is for 4 ounces of different meats..like beef, pork, salmon, white fishes, turkey, chicken?

Sara...looks like our starting weights and goals are right on with each other (my starting was 297 and goal is 150)...

Hi all! Doing ok here. My 2 incisions that have had trouble healing are doing much better. I'm still hungry often, and am so looking forward to my 1st fill next wednesday!! I'm retaining Water like carzy so am working on flusing that today and hoping to see the scale start moving again tomorrow. I'm starting to get a bit bored with my usual food options so need to start finding some new options. I'll have open faced corn tortillas with refried Beans, lettuce, and onion for lunch today. I have found I can do corn products but most flour breads/tortillas etc cause too much pain.

My surgeon told me there's no expiration. The band has been tested by a machine mimicing the force of eating for 8 straight years before it has issues (meaning for those 8 years it was under the constant force of eating whereas we eat only a few times a day so you can imagine how many years it should last with normal use)

Hello! I'm Marcy. I turn 36 next month. I have three little boys ages 7, 6, and 3 1/2. My husband and I have been married almost 9 years. We have 2 English Mastiffs, 3 cats, a guinea pig & a hamster and are looking at maybe adding a pig. I've been a registered nurse for 16 years and specialize in labor & delivery. Our family loves being outdoors, camping, and just playing. We live on 3 acres in the woods in the foothills of the Cascade mountains (we're leasing a home for 3 years but may end up buying). Hmm...I also love to read, cook/bake, and my goaal of losing weight is to improve my health, the health of our kids (thru example) and to honor God by treating my body like I know He would want me to.

You need to check with your doctor on what to eat post op (did they not give you instructions?) Each doctor differs, but most say liquids only (no chunks) for at least the first week.

I'm a labor & delivery nurse, and work two 12-hour shifts a week. I'm on my feet most of the time, do a lot of walking/bending/twisting, but any hevay "lifting" is mostly pushing hospital beds to the OR (not often). I had surgery on a Tuesday morning and was back to work Saturday at 6:30pm. I didn't actually take any time off, but scheduled work so that I had a few days after surgery. I did fine.