Kymba

Hi all.... I saw my surgeon for my 2nd appt after surgery on 5/31...I am now 197 and have lost 31 pounds to date. For the first time in 7 years I am officially under 200 pounds. I am 10 pounds from the 1/2 way point and could not be happier. I did not get a fill because I did not feel as though I needed one. I am quite content between meals atm. He told me that is not uncommon and sometimes individuals do not get their first fill for 6 months. At any rate...I am so darn happy I made this choice and getting happier as the slimmer me begins to appear. I forgot what the old me use to look like

Hi there! I am 12 days post op. I feel terrific. I also had a hiatal hernia repair when the band was taken care of. I saw my doctor last Thursday and he put me on mushies straight away. I see him again 5/30th to determine if I want a fill or not. He told me to ensure I was eating regular food for a good 2 weeks by then so they can guage how much restriction I have and how I am feeling. He also reminded me that because the amount of weight needed to come off of me (about 80 pounds) that I should expect it will come off slower than if I had to take of 150 or more. He said the closer you get to where you want the slower it comes off. He said I can reasonable expect a weight loss of about a pound per week. He also told me not everyone will need a fill, some people do just fine with the band itself. Everyone reacts differently to it and the things they tell us are averages. It does not necessarily mean these things will be the same for me. My incisions are still a little sore and I still have some gas in my left shoulder, some times so excruciating I cannot move the arm, but that didnt start until midway last week. I am looking forward to an all solid diet. I figure in the next week or so I will still eating at least 1 meal that way and see how I am doing. So far the things I have eaten are just fine.

Hi and welcome. I am a heart patient and on Plavix. My cardiologist was extremely concerned that I had to be off my Plavix for 10 days prior to surgery as I take it to prevent clots. I have a history of blood clots following surgery, so my doctor also took precaustions with Lovonox. It is not a big deal and the shots do not hurt at all. I was given a heavey dose of Heprin prior to surgery (now that shot hurt like hell) and was given Lovonox in addition to my Plavix following surgery. I was banded 4/6/11. I was sore the first night home and had trouble getting in and out of bed, but after that, other than some general soreness I was fine. I am now almost 2 weeks post op and I feel terrific. My incision areas get sore if I sit to long (myjob is a desk job) so I just get up and take a walk. This is by far the easiest surgery I personally have ever had. While I was in recovery I had some kind of heart issue, with heaviness in my chest and an abnormal EKG. They kept me in recovery for 4 hours while they monitored my heart. After the first abnormal EKG, the following 3 while in revoery where normal, they came in my room the next morning and it was normal, and gave me another prior to sending me home and it was normal. So far I have lost a little over 19 pounds and like I said, I feel terrific. I can sleep on my side without any issues, even the side with the port. You will do fine, and be happy your doctor is being cautious. Better that than the alternative Keep us posted.

I would nto feel bad about it all. My doctor told me to stick as close to the diet as possible but if I really needed to eat something, to keep it high in protein and healthy like fruits and vegetables, no sugar. Tuna is high in protein, so I would say you are just fine.

Hello everyone...I am 5 days post op and I seriously have zero energy. I push myself to get up, walk, do some house work, but all I really want to do is sleep. I was lucky with the pain aspect as I didn't have much, only needed pain med the first 2 days and it was Tylenol with codeine. Is this feeling ever going to leave me? I feel light headed and shaky most days which is why I started with something beyond liquid...eating very mashed chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad, but that is helping marginaly. I get full very quickly so I sure hope I am taking in enough nourishment. I absolutely hate my nut as she has as much personality as a wet mop and is not very informative to begin with. They had to repair a hiatal hernia and that has been a blessing considering the excessive amount of acid I had prior to surgery....knock on wood I have had zero since the surgery. I want to go to the gym but I have no idea what I can and shouldn't be doing at this point, that coupled with no energy. I feel like sleeping the day away...I dont give in to this, but damn I sure feel like a zombie.

If you dont want to tell, that is your choice...Since your liquid diet will be filled with Protein shakes...just simply say you are trying a Protein shake Diet. I am sure there are some out there and then you wont have to say a word.

I am drinking Protein shakes, and drinking tons of Water....but zero Vitamins. I cannot take them because they all come with Calcium and that causes me to get kidney stones. I have never felt this tired. As I said, I dont give into it...I refuse to lay around and do nothing, but holy lord the tired feeling is awful....Not to mention, I am a single mother of a 9 year old...It is only her and I in the house, so I cannot just lay in bed and sleep LOL....I have been caring for her since the day I came home from the hospital to the best of my ability. Luckily she was in school. This weekend was her opening for softball and I did get her there, stay there, and bring her home, but I was in bed with her at 8 pm and sound asleep within minutes.

I am on day 5 and feeling the same as you....I have introduced home made chicken noodle soup, very mashed up chicken salad, tuna salad, and egg salad, as well as cream of wheat and have had zero issues. I cannot believe how quickly I feel full though. I am still a bit shaky though and not sure if thats my body adjusting to the calorie intake or the anesthesia. Since I was a MEGA fountain soda (addicted badly) I switched to unsweetened ice tea or Water. I am afraid to drink the fruit juices because of the calories. I see the doc this thursday. I feel like my belly looks bigger now then it did before surgery, I sure hope that is due to swelling cause I am really freaking out about it. The pants I was wearing prior to surgery were loose and now they fit normal I am looking forward to my 1 month anniversary when I can sit down and eat dinner with my family. This making two separate meals is very annoying, but I understand is necessary. I miss my chicken kabobs off the grill and that with baked Beans is going to be my first real meal with my family

I was banded on the 6th of April. I am feeling better each day...and looking very forward to my new way of life after liquids

You know the funny thing about these really skinny chicks is....eventually some of them will end up on the FAT side of the scale. They dont see it but they will. Take a look at the garbage they put in their mouths each day and then logically think about how long their bodies can actually sustain that without some sort of damage. WLS is not easy, in fact it takes an awful lot of discipline. It is one thing to try and count calories and attempt to eat the right foods without the band, but once the band is placed, not only are we trying to do that, we also have to watch the amount of food intake and be more in tune with out bodies so we dont cause slippage are stretching in the band area. As the veteran bandsters know, that is no easy feat...so WLS is NOT the easy way from my perspective. Ignore those fools and sit back and wait for the day they are tipping the scales and you are nice and thin and eating healthy all the time.

I am getting that as well. It is from the gas they blow our bellies up with during the surgery. It takes a few days to work its way through your system. Walking is the best thing to help move it around.

I am to receive my band tomorrow. I am still waiting for the hospital to call and let me know what time. I am pretty nervous about this whole thing. I will be very happy once it is over and I can get myself acquainted with my new life

Kami, I started this journey June 2010 and my surgery is tomorrow. After my initial consult with the surgeon in June, I took a few months to really think about if this was what I wanted to do and also did some research on my own. I didnt actually begin the testing until late August early September. My insurance company required 6 months of diet/exercise supervised by my doctor. That seems like a long time, but by the time you go through all these tests that are required (I am a single mom, so taking off a lot of time from work, was not an option) it ended up being 7 months. I wish you the very best with your choice to have surgery and I certainly hope you receive everything you wish out of it. My suggestion is for you to call the insurance company and ask for a list of requirements for the surgery. Every insurance company is different. That will give you a pretty good idea of what and how long things will take. Best wishes and welcome to this journey, Kymba

Today begins my 7 day liquid diet - pre-surgery. I went out with my family last night and enjoyed a nice dinner, we divorced my old life and are welcoming the new one beginnign today. 1 week from today, I will receive the tool I have worked so hard to get and then truly be on my way.

My liquid diet is or 7 days, I am on day three and dont know what I weight because I refuse to put a scale in my house. I know if I do, I will get obsessed. My doctor wants liquids, but said if I have to eat something, make sure its something protein. I have been trying hard to stick to all liquids, yogurt, cream of wheat, water, unsweetened diet ice tea, etc but the headaches and shaking is too much. So day 1 I ate 2 hard boiled eggs in addition to all the liquid, day 2, I ate chicken, less than 3 ounces, today....still liquids so far, but know I will eat something at dinner.

Hi all, I have an appointment this afternoon for my preop visit with the surgeon and to sign the permits for the surgery. While I was so very excited when I received my approval....now I am getting cold feet. I sure hope this feeling goes away...I have been through so much for so long to get this far, seems silly to back out now...but I have to admit...I am on the fence.

Okay so yesterday was day1 of my pre-op diet. I kept to it all day, by the time I got home from work, I had a severe head ache and I was shaking like mad. I have never felt so hungry in my life. I caved and ate 2 hard boiled eggs, I felt a little better, but still shaky hands. I sure hope I can make it through my liquid died and not have to cave on some solids but I did not in anyway like how I felt yesterday. So far today, have had about 24 ounces of Water, 32 oz of unsweetened fresh brewed ice tea, 8 oz yogurt, and now eating a bowl of tomato Soup for lunch. The headache is already starting and I sure hope I dont have the uncontrollable shaky hands by the time I get home tonight. Anyone else ever feel like this?

sounds like gall stones to me...but I am not a doctor...have you ever had your gall bladder out? If so...Im not sure what it could be.

I am not a coffee drinker, so no I am not drinking coffee. I got my caffeine from soda, which now I cant have. My intention is to just drink unsweetned ice tea. I do not get the satisfaction from it that I get from soda, but it has the caffeine I need givent he hours and life style I lead.

HI...I know exactly how you feel. Use your same plan, except on Saturday, have your husband bring the kids to come pick up their mommy. They will love that because they will be very anxious to see you. Your children will have school on Friday....hubby can stay with you until they need to be home from school, (maybe a friend from school can keep them after school for an hour or so) hubby can go home, be with the kids and assure them mommy is fine and that the three of them are going to get up and go bring mommy home on Saturday. It will work perfectly and you will not have to lie, and then you can tell your family if you choose to when you are ready.

Thank you for sharing that video...IT is very nice to see a caring doctor. I am not overly enthused with my surgeon. He give you the feeling of your just another obese person. I realize that some surgeons are like that and that in no way means they are not good surgeons, but it is always nice to see a docotr treat their patient the way this one did. Thank you!

My last meal was at Outback Steakhouse. I am not a steak eater, but I do enjoy babyback ribs. The weird thing is, I have been watching what I eat for so long now, I could not finish...I felt satisfied and stopped eating. I was going to only order 1/2 rack, but my significant other said...no get the full rack, I want some. He didnt eat any of them, I left more than 1/2 on the plate and I only took a few bites of my potato. I did enjoy a very small piece of cheese cake, which I also could not eat, I literally only took 3 - 4 bites of it. So long to that life and on to the new one. I thought I would be miserable, but Im actually feeling really up beat about it all so far.

Best Wishes to you....All will go very well and soon there will be a completely new you....Can't wait until we hear how you did....Chin up

CONGRATULATIONS!

They cannot fill you at the time of surgery because of swelling. They have to allow you time to heal. While it seems simple that it takes about 5 fills to feel restricition so just go ahead fill it up ahead of time, the amount of Fluid used varies greatly by patient. You may have a sweet spot at 4 cc's, but someone else will need less or more. Now I have not had my surgery yet, but I have read quite a bit about this surgery and many posts on these forums. It seems to me the common word is patience, and I know due to the lengthy journey we all have to go through to get the band...our patience is just worn out and all we want is results....However, we can think about it as....we have waited this long...what is a couple more months...the hardest part is over..... Best wishes to you all...With all the success stories you cannot help but realize you too will be posting your success story as well.