Kristi Twisti

Checking in ! October 01st ~ 324.0 pounds October 08th ~ 320.6 pounds

I wonder if the few days of the full feeling are possibly your body being swollen from the fill? I would think it would take a few days for the swelling to go down. I hope you can get this situation fixed and not have to deal with surgery again!

Sounds like fun!! :Dancing_wub: Name, real or screen~ Kristi Age~ 27 Weight on October 1st~ 324 Goal Weight for October 29th~ 304 Exercise Goal for October~ walk, walk, walk!! Dietary Goal for October~ Protein and much more water!! Personal Goal for October~ walking longer distances!! Date Banded~ 03/24/11 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 69 pounds

Hi Kristi from Brooksville, FL banded 03/24/11!!

Hi there if you are ever nervous, you are perfectly fine to call your doctors office. They always have someone on call who can help. Having said that, is your pain where they put your port? It will decrease but you will have a lot of discomfort at your port site for awhile. Even 6 months out, if I twist or move an odd way I will sometimes feel it pull and then it'll bother me for a day or two. It gets sutured right to your muscle and just hurts everyone from what I gather. Also, are you still taking your pain meds? I don't really like taking the heavy duty stuff they give so I got some childrens tylenol in grape. It is so sugary and good it's like a dessert. lol I hope this helps!

Hi Grace The 5% weight loss is an interesting requirement. There are so many crazy requirements; I don't get it. If we could all lose weight on our own, we wouldn't need the surgery!! I know, my surgeon put me on a 2 week liquid diet prior to the surgery. It was to shrink the liver, or whatever it is that sits in front of the stomach. Anyhow, in that 2 weeks time I lose 26 pounds. I was taking in 3 - 5 protein shakes a day. Now I don't really advocate going that hardcore because it was horrible and if you don't have to do this for pre-surgery, you are lucky! However, it will rip the weight off if you can't seem to get it off any other way. I don't consider Takins to be very healthy but it can take some intital weight off pretty quick. My husband is doing weight watchers and he loves it. He didn't join, he just went online and googled to find how many points he could have, and then just went and bought Smart Ones at the store. He's had great success with that and Smart Ones actually taste good so it's easy to stay on it. There are lots of coupons online for Smart Ones also so maybe this could be a good option! I hope this helps. You are on the right track with getting banded. Good Luck!!

I was at my surgeons support group meeting and one of the banded nurses mentioned that sometimes after a fill, water can have trouble going down. The surgeon recommends adding crystal light which adds just enough weight to the water to help it go down. It's weird but I've found it works. I hope this helps!

I tend to be a total worrier also, but I'm not sure you can ever be to careful, especially right after surgery. Does your insurance card have a nurse helpline you can call? I have one and find it really helpful. Otherwise just call your surgeons office, they always have a doc on call that will get back with you.

:Dancing_wub: Hi There. I'll be honest, I've been on the flip side of that. It took me a long time to get restriction. I first felt it some on my fill 2 months ago but after losing a few pounds, that did go away. I got a fill a few days ago and now feel real restriction. It's great, I just haven't been experiencing hunger. I wonder how long the woman had her band before it had to be removed or how full it was. I am now at 5.3cc of a 10cc band. One thing to consider is that while you may not feel restricted, you will still be eating much less. Yes, feeling hungry sucks but the band is just a tool, you still have to eat healthier and make better choices for it to work. I do hope you decide on the band or at least keep it as an option. It does work, just more slowly than other options. If you look at the statistics for weight loss between the various surgeries in the long term, you'll see they all get similar results in the end. Plus something else to consider, the band is adjustable, the sleeve and bypass can be stretched back out. I've seen many bypass patients in the band info meetings, 5 or 10 years out with all their weight regained. Just something else to consider. I hope it helps.

Hi Ash! I went to info meetings with the expectation that gastric bypass was my only option at my size but my surgeon saw no reason for me to not go with the band. I'm about 4 months post op and down 54 pounds and my BMI is about 10 points lower already. Please don't be discouraged from getting the band, look at all your options and decide what is best for you. Good Luck!!

Congrats!! That's awesome!!

Oh man, the cravings are so hard! Especially at first! They don't really go away but they get much easier. Especially once you feel restriction then things really get better. Congrats on the weight loss so far!!

Just wanted to say a quick hello to you both! I'm on my phone but will be in touch tomorrow evening. Glad to hear from you both!

Hi there! I'm looking for a buddy or buddies in Florida. I live in Brooksville, which is 30 miles North of Tampa, but do travel to Tampa daily for work. I also have season passes to Disney so travel to Orlando a few times a year. I haven't met many other bansters in the area. There are a few nice ladies that go to my surgeons monthly support group but thats about all the face time I get with other bandsters. I would love to be in touch with some locals who are going through this as well.

Okay I could have written this myself! I am right there with you. I stayed regular until my first fill in the beginning of May. Since then, I have been constipated like nothing I have ever experienced. After the first week, I was able to get things moving with some Ex-Lax and lost 7 pounds; then another week of nothing, took dulcolax and lost 9 pounds. At this point it's now been nearly 2 weeks of no movement at all. I have tried Milk of Magnesia, both those laxatives, benefiber, metamucil, salads daily, stool softeners, you name it. I finally called my nurse hotline Tuesday night who told me to head up for x-rays in case I was impacted. So I went to the hospital Tuesday night, they told me they didn't see an impaction, only that I was definitely constipated. They gave me a drink of Magnesium Citrate and told me to take 1/2 when I got home and that I'd be cleaned out within 30 minutes. They said if I needed anything more, which they doubted I could take the other half 12 hours later. So after drinking this, I went to bed with no progress made. Yesterday I had a visit with my surgeon, explained everything to him and he said to stop taking everything. He told me I need to drink a gallon of water a day for the next 3 days and if things haven't progressed to call him back. So far today, I have made a small amount of progress but I'll admit I have not been able to consume but half the amount he requested. Tomorrow I am going to try harder and be more dilligent with my water drinking. I think that water is seriously the key to this so despite being completely FOS (as my surgeons office put it lol) I am going to try the natural way and just drink like a fish and hope for the best. Good luck to everyone else who is also dealing with this!!

Welcome to the forums! Congrats on your surgery!!

I purchased a Mini Cycle this weekend. Sears had a no frills one for $20 last weekend. It's just like a bike except you have no wheels and use your own chair. I guess really it's just a pair of pedals! Anyhow, I love it. Not sure if anyone else has tried this or taken one to work but it's great. Being able to pedal away some stress during the day is great and for the times I just need a second to myself, I can pedal then too. Not sure that it's burning many calories but I can really feel the muscles in my legs, thighs and even my butt. It must be doing something! It's also really quiet so I'm not bothering anyone with it. I do have the privacy of my own little cubicle so it may not be the best thing if you share one. Just an idea for those of us who are bored easily at work and can use a bit of exercize too!