Rachel412

Can you tell us what you'd normally eat in a day, and how much? Maybe we can help.

You have to go with your heart. Just remember- you're still going to have to eat right and work out. That won't change, the band doesn't make you lose weight. Will you be taking out a loan for the surgery? I can understand that concern, but maybe it'll give you an extra incentive to really do this right and rock the weight loss!

Yeah... my surgeon says no coffee post-band, at most one a day. So I went from using my Keurig soo many times a day to just using it for hot water for tea!

You need sugar free flavored syrups! Check out Torani or DaVinci brands. They've got tons of flavors, add no calories to the drink, and are sweet (I think both brands use Splenda). A splash of fat-free creamer or half-and-half and you've got a very low cal, tasty iced coffee.

Hey ladies! I'm a minister's wife. It was my decision to not tell the congregation about the surgery- I didn't (and don't) want them worrying about me. Doesn't seem like many of them have noticed my weight loss yet, but that's OK. We're starting VBS tomorrow and I'm noticing how much more I can move around, bend, stretch than I could last year at 40 pounds heavier! I'm glad to see there are others here in my position

What does your surgeon say about it?

Yes, I agree that it sounds like infection. How are you feeling today? Any fever?

What exactly is worrying you- that your band is so "close" to full? If it helps, as you lose fat around your stomach, and your band needs to be tightened, it's a TINY increase. I'm talking like, 1/4 cc. So there's no need to worry that you're going to fill it up too far or anything like that. Unless that's not your concern...

How are you feeling today? Are you able to eat? I've never been too tight (or at a good restriction for that matter) but my understanding is that the too tight fluctuation happens to a lot of people, seemingly without any rhyme or reason. I would think that since you know you're prone to it, your best bet is to stay on the looser side, so you don't close up as often. But I completely understand your frustration in the fact that you got this operation for a reason and you're not getting the benefit of the surgery at all. I wish I had some good advice for you, but all I have right now is sympathy...

The doctor's office is probably offering to cover the 20% because they make a lot more money submitting the surgery through insurance than they do from people who pay out of pocket. Therefore, they want you as a customer and are willing to lose 20% of the insurance company's payment to them. If I were you I'd stick with the surgeon you love but get their offer to cover your 20% in writing!

It takes a while. I'm about 2.5 months out from surgery and mine still hurts if I bend or twist the wrong way. You'll start protecting it as you stand up, bend over, etc. and it'll feel better.

I use fatsecret.com and it does all of these things Makes nice little printable reports, too. I've printed them and brought them to my nutritionist.

I completely understand how you're feeling, but it IS true that not all boys will care about your stomach. Really, truly. You are battling against what you THINK they see when they look at you but let's be honest... girls your age have stretch marks. Girls your age have wonky boobs. Girls your age have muffin tops and chubby legs and round bellies and you are NOT the only girl out there who isn't a bikini model when your clothes come off. And I think most guys are too busy saying "OMG I'M GONNA GET SOME" to notice whatever you're worried about when you get naked.

I don't think it would hurt to get started now, but you need to take it easy. Do you currently have a gym membership, or access to exercise machines? If you have a lot of joint pain, you might want to try using an exercise bike, which is kind on your knees. If you don't have access to machines, I'd suggest starting with walks- try walking near your home for 20 minutes. If even that is too painful for you, I'd look up chair exercises that you can do while seated at home. http://www.livewellagewell.info/study/2007/12-ChairExercisesUGA113006.pdf I agree that there's no point to avoid cardio. I think if you tried to start working with weights now you'd just hurt yourself.

You definitely sound too tight. I'd call Monday and make an appt. for Tuesday, you can always cancel it if you wake up Tues. morning and seem looser.

I would imagine that if you're self pay you can just go to a regular lap band surgeon to have it removed. Lots of people have problems getting insurance to cover removal, but if that's not an issue for you I don't know why a doctor wouldn't do it if you wanted them to.

The longest I've ever heard of someone dealing with it? The whole time they had the band, and then even after the band was removed... I've heard of people dealing with it for a very long time. I'm so sorry. I forget the reason that I heard, but I think it was something about the band causing irritation on... the diaphragm? There's a post on it in the failed lap bands forum on Obesity Help but I can never find that forum without following a direct link in someone's sig. My understanding is that some people deal with the pain for longer than a couple of weeks after surgery, and for MOST people it does eventually go away... but not all people.

You definitely need an unfill. Call the office first thing on Monday!

To be completely honest... if I was self-pay I don't think I'd get the band. It requires too much medical maintenance.

Well technically, 30.5 I was banded April 12th. I'm so excited! Had my 3rd fill Thursday... I'm still not sure that I'm really feeling any "restriction" but at this point, just the action of constantly eating smaller portions and focusing on protein is really helping me to lose. And I've been exercising a lot more than I ever did before, that's for sure!

Having alcohol right now is a bad idea since your body is still weak from surgery. It will affect you quickly, and maybe not in a good way. MOST people don't have restriction right after surgery. The band works by making you feel "full" quickly and keeping you feeling satisfied for 4-5 hours, but it's not going to stop you from eating or drinking a large amount of anything. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should

The term "restriction" is a misnomer- the ideal spot is where you can eat a cup(ish) of food and feel full for 4-5 hours. Sounds like you're pretty much there, congrats!

Being... ahem... backed up after surgery is totally normal. Once that problem goes away you'll probably have the other one, which I just call "liquid in = liquid out". Also totally normal! It'll all regulate once you start back on mushy foods.

I subscribe to her blog and get her updates in my email. They're always really well written, I just like her style.

Oy. I put on undies and PJ pants as soon as I got into the room!