NanaCat

how did it go for you? I had my first fill today too - it was a piece of cake - i was a bit nervous - but it went very easy - i got 4.5 cc in a 10 cc band - i have the realize band - he numbed the area - and i felt a little prick but nothing even close to pain - then put in the other needle - no pain - i could feel a little pressure when he pulled out air/saline and a little pressure when he put in saline - but again it was just a sensation no discomfort - i drank water no problem - about 20 min later i was on my way to get a milkshake - its a liquid right i felt a little queezy but i was able to drink a small shake (8 oz) - i'm on liquids today and mushies tomorrow - i haven't been hungry - but do feel a bit queezy still - how did it go for you??

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should i too can eat most anything - but i do best losing and feeling good about the whole thing when i stick to the basics - 3 meals, 2 shakes a day with lots of water - follow the no liquids before/during/after ... i usually have 1/2 c of protein and 1/2 c of fruit or veggie at each meal - i sometimes have 4 saltine crackers at lunch - with my tuna or chicken or shrimp salad - i also exercise 4-5 times a week - the band is just a tool we still have to make good food choices and exercise. the last 2 weeks i have been hungry so i think i'm ready for a fill - my first - i also wanted to wait until the honeymoon wore off some - i think i'm ready!!! good luck just remember to stick to the basics!!!

wow - that doesn't sound fun!!! i'm thinking 1 cup was too much - no matter what kind of cereal - i usually go for 1/2c of protein and then 1/2c of veggie or fruit - almost no starchy carbs - i did eat cereal one day - reg mini-wheats and could only eat a few - you should prob stay away from the frosted variety all together - too much sugar

everything you wrote i felt too!!! food was my best friend - a friend who had the band went through a very long period of not caring at all about food - had to set timers to remind herself to eat - you gotta be kidding me i told her - she said nothing tasted good and she just ate bc she had to - i postponed having the surgery for that reason - i love food - i'm a foodie, my family is all foodies - we try to outdo each other at every family gathering - we LOVE food- well guess what - i still love food - i look fwd to every meal - i just pick my favorite things and pick healthy things - i love crab, shrimp, tuna, sushi - and thats what i eat - small portions so that $20 lb of crab lasts me all week - i am satisfied with the small portions - thats what the band does for me - but i still have to make good choices - i went on vacation 2 weeks ago and my old habits crept back in - not in the amount of food, but in the choices - i drank too much - ate candy, Cookies and ice cream and fried foods - small portions but wrong foods - but it tasted just as good as always - i gained 2.5 lbs - so when i got home i went back to ground zero - measured, choices, Water, shakes ... and guess what - i lost the 2.5 plus 2 more pounds the first week ... i figure it will take me 12-18 months to lose this weight - i can make good food choices for that period of time - then hopefully i will have changed what i like and don't like and will have learned new habits and will be able to enjoy some indulgences and still maintain the weight - after all i've over-eaten enough of those foods to cover the 12-18 months!!!! good luck

i will check them out - i don't have trouble with pills, but i take Bariatric Advantage crystals - mix them in water - tastes like lemonaid - i get them at bariatriceating.com great site - in my support group seems that chewables are the most popular - i will try them next

thanks - what does sliming mean - i've seen that also

I also went back and forth about having the surgery - i wanted to lose it "on my own" - well guess what - even with the band i'm losing it on my own - this is a tool not a magic bullet - i still have to make food choices every day - i still have to talk myself into exercising ... in the past i've tried every diet out there - and usually with some success - i've lost 25 pounds at least 25 times!!! after 2 years of do it, dont do it - i finally did it - i had surgery 15 June and i've lost 40 lbs since 1 June - i feel great - my biggest fear is that i would feel tired and yucky for months and that i would hate food - (a friend had this experience) - so first thing is everyone is different - and your mindset has a lot to do with it - in my opinion - i've had a great experience - i feel great and i still love food - i treat myself to good food - crab, shrimp, fresh veges and good protein - i look fwd to every meal - so yes i'm still obsessed with food, but now in a healthy good way!!! i hope anyway... i have energy and sleep better and my outlook on life is always bright and sunny - people have noticed this - i really wasn't "seeing" a big difference - i knew my clothes were getting looser, but when i looked in the mirror i looked about the same - then a friend called me "droopy drawers" - i loved it!!! i went and bought some clothes that fit and wow - i've gotten lots of complements and i can see how much better i look!!! i still have a long way to go to reach goal - but so far it has been a great decision for me - i wish you the best - but it really is your decision - make it for you!! a great book is Before and After - you can find it on bariatriceating.com - this is a good source for vitamins and protein also - good luck

what does PB'ing mean?? i've seen in on several posts...

i got banded 15 June - i go for my first potential fill tomorrow - i go on vacation next week and not sure i want a fill - the good angel says yes get a fill so you won't overeat - the bad angel says - no fill so i can overeat .... what do you think? i'm losing 1.5-2 lbs a week - i'm satisfied with 1 cup portions - but i do get hungry between meals - not starving - but hungry - i eat 3 meals and 2 protein shakes a day - sometimes i have a snack too - how soon after surgery do most folks get their first fill??

i had a great vacation - at the beach with my kids and grand-kids - but ... i overate and drank and ... i did exercise 6 of 8 days, but i still gained 2.5 lbs - i was able to eat way more than i thought i would - i grazed all damn day - i couldn't stop myself - i felt really guilty ... and vowed each day i wouldn't but i did - all my old bad habits just came right back - got home yesterday and am trying to get back on track - i will see how i do this week but i think it is def time for a fill - i'm hungry now - of course i wasn't hungry at the beach bc i ate all day long .... pray for me to get back on track thanks

thanks for the encouragement - i didn't get the fill - the PA actually suggested i not get it - - she said i was doing good and my level of hungar and temptation was good - that i need to and will always need to fight temptation so to work on that also while on vacation - i had lost 3 lbs since the prev week so she felt i was managing things well - so we'll see how it goes - wish me luck...

Hi - i had lapband surgery on Wed - i came home the same day and slept OK that night - with pain meds - but the last 2 nights have been hard - i can't seem to get comfortable - i usually sleep on my side, but then i cough and it hurts my tummy - when i sleep flat on my back i cough and it hurts my neck and shoulders - i do have some pain in my shoulders from gas i guess, and when i sleep it keeps me awake - i moved to just tylenol because i don't like the vicodin - i have some congestion in my nose and chest so i sleep better sitting up - but only for a few hours at a time - i'm coughing up a lot of phlem - should i do more with the breathing exercise? so night seems to last forever and i don't feel rested. I was hoping to go back to work on Mon but i have to have my sleep - any other suggestions out there???

i was put on full liquids right away - but i didn't feel hungry until about day 8 or 9 - i made some yummy potato leek soup - just pureed it all up and add protein at each serving - it was yummy - also made cold cucumber soup and my daughter made me vege soup - again pureeing the veges - i add protein and it tastes wonderful - i also made this yummy vanilla egg custard and had that for breakfast most mornings - good book is Before and After - i found it on bariatriceating.com - actually got it in a sample kit i ordered - custard recepie in it - and potato soup (i just substituded leeks for the onions) later i made weight watchers broccoli cheddar soup - very satisifying ... i start mushies tomorrow - i've been wanting a scrambled egg mmmm

how do I get one of those weight loss tickers like everyone else has. go to tickerfactory.com and pick one ... then you copy the URL it creates for you in your signature under myprofile - took me a while to figure it out congrats on your banding - i'm on day10 post band - feeling very good - took my 7 and 7mo old grandaughters to DC today for an American Girl Doll day at the Navy Museum - then to the new American Girl Doll store at Tysons - may have overdone it - i'm beat!!! course maybe i'm just too old to play all day like that ... good luck

i'm obviously forum challenged - i thought i was replying to Lyla with the plan to do challenges and small goals - i also like Vickyd's pandora plan - i'm going to do that one too!!!! what ever works right!!!

i like your plan!!! i keep hearing onederand - what does that mean??

i had surgery the 15th - came home the same day - my niece stayed the first night, but was on my own after that - no problems - but on the 17th had a bad spell - dizzy and light headed - thought i might throw up or pass out - had just taken a 20 min walk - i now think it was low BP - thankfully my son-in-law was here and he brought me cold wet towels and drinks and stuff - it passed - i teleworked on the 20-21st and went into the office on the 22 - had another low BP spell - really thought i should call an ambulance - but i didn't want to be embarrassed - looking at it now - embarrassed or dead which would you prefer - but i recovered - stopped taking BP meds and doing much better!!! Everyone is different and you need to take it as easy and as slowly as you need to ... but can i go to beach house with you for a week - i will take care of you!!!!

thanks all - i'm sleeping better now - 3 days post op i took 2 tylenol PM - i used to be able to do this - i took it around 10:30 - i slept like the dead - it was kind of scary when i got up to go to the bathroom - and i had a drug hangover till noon the next day - so next night i took 1 - much better but still hangover - guess i'm a cheap date !!! since i had to go to work the next day no more tylenol PM !!! congestion just would not go away - so i took some musinex last night and all day today - aaaaah sweet relief ... Now its the weekend so i can sleep in !!!! im doing very good - hope you all are too thanks

Well I'm 9 days post op - the pain is gone, but tummy still swollen - tight clothes are uncomfortable - but i have a few pairs of pants i can wear - i asked at work if i could wear my jammies one suggested we all wear jammies to show support - but ... I've lost 20 lbs total (inc 2 weeks of optifast prior) and i'm on liquids until i go back to Dr on Monday - they told me 10 days but that would be Sat - i may eat a scrambled egg on Sun - i just started feeling hungry today - i'm eager to try out my new stomach

I was banded 15 Jun - my tummy is still very swollen and firm - i think i'm over the gas and i'm losing weight - but my tummy looks 6 months pregnant - when will it go down??

i bought sample pgs from unjury.com and bariatriceating.com - i like both of them - i'm leaning towards the unflavored - i add it to my soups - just use a wisk - it really blends it well - for drinks i use a blinding ball (works like a wisk) i like to mix vanilla with coffee and a bit of sugar free caramel syrup tastes like a caramel machiatto from starbucks - i'm using the bariatric advantage (from bariatriceatingcom) vitamin crystals - mix with 16 oz water and tastes like lemonade - so today i made a shake with unjury strawberry sorbet and the vitamin water - it was YUMMY tasted like strawberry lemonade - i thought the protein shakes would be the worst thing of this whole process - but now i have several family and friends hooked on them - i just ordered vanilla and unflavored Inspire brand from bariatriceating.com i think that will be my staple - surgery 15 Jun - so still on liquids myself

i did the optifast for 2 weeks (just had surgery on the 15th) it went much better than i thought it would - i was really worried that it would taste awful and i would be starving - but neither was true - i had shakes, soup and bars - at first i just drank the shakes straight up or over ice - then i tried mixing with about 1/4 cup strong coffee and some sugar free caramel syrup - when mixed with the vanilla shake it tasted just like a cold caramel machiatto from Starbucks - unfortunately my Dr ran out of vanilla so i only had a few of these - coffee with choco shake was good also - i didn't like the strawberry so much but it was tolerable - when you make the soup use a wisk and it comes out smooth and creamy - i couldn't get the lumps out with just the spoon - the first 2-3 days i felt light headed - but after that i felt great - never hungry, lots of energy ... i wondered if i could just do that to lose weight - but i couldn't sustain the diet for 6-8 months - it did give me instant diarhea esp in the morning - which caused my arse to burn - vasaline worked the best on that - i lost 14 pounds in the 2 weeks. One book i read talked about "changing our relationship with food" - i think this is a good start on that - it really helped me get my head in the game - i even went out to eat with friends and just took my shake - it was very liberating to be in control again !!! Good luck

I'm really sorry you feel unsupported - is it possible he is just scared for you and doesn't know how to express that - i guess by now you have had your surgery - i hope it went well and you are recovering - i also hope that you and your husband have talked it all out and all its good - hang in there