tlatimo4

It’s crazy how I sometimes completely forget I’m banded. Old eat habits have return…which included eating one large meal late in the day / no breakfast/ no protein shakes! Wow how pregnancy changes everything. Yes I’m pregnant! I didn’t plan for this but it happen. I only had about 2cc of fluid in my band before I found out I was pregnant. The first months were horrible…I had daily heart burn and I began to vomit often. I had never vomited prior to the pregnancy. I felt sick daily. So I went in and got 1cc removed. What a big difference. I’m about 6months pregnant and I have only gained about 3 pounds. The baby is doing well and so far she had been measuring age appropriately. I feel bad that I got pregnant so soon after my surgery which was in AUG 2011. But then again the timing was perfect. This will definitely be my last pregnancy “GOD” willing. And right after she is born I plan on getting a fill. So with the fill and nursing I plan on losing the 10 pounds I plan on gaining during this pregnancy. My nutrition so far has been great. I had a complete blood test at the beginning of the pregnancy all my levels was in the normal range. I feel great…It’s a shame that I’m reminded of my surgery only by these two nasty looking scars on my belly! I must say I do have a little pain in the port area. As the baby grows bigger and moves up my stomach I can feel the port pushing out. The area is tender but not bothersome. I will let you guys know how it feels in the later months. I plan on delivering vaginally with my favorite friend epidural.

Guess its really time for me to start doing something more than depending on my band. I haven’t lost any weight this month. I’m going in tomorrow for my second fill. I hope this Tech don’t start no stuff with me. Cause she wanted me to lose about 10 pounds this month. I feel like I can eat just about anything i want I mean I have had a couple things get stuck. But the feeling didn’t last long. I really would like to be a little more restricted. I know my band alone will not do all the work. But it is really hard for me to participate in my weight lost journey. Some days I’m so stressed so tired that i just eat whatever I can find. Please pray that I can beat myself it a routine that is healthy and productive to my life. If i didn’t see the scars on my stomach I wouldn’t never be reminded that I had the surgery,

I hate the fact that I can eat anythinng I want. I dont feel like I even had the surgery. This is starting to really make me upset. I was hoping that I would feel some sort of restriction after the first fill. Nope nothing! I have been trying my best to stay on a tight diet but hey i was unable to diet before I got the surgery. Well I keep saying Im not going to give up but I keep feeling myself slide through the rules and contuine to eat whatever I want. Slap me on my hands! and lock my mouth. lol!

Today I was able to move onto the next diet phase…. which for me is a Full Liquid Diet. My first food choice was a Yoplait Greek yogurt with strawberries. The yogurt was great! I was very careful with mixing the strawberries so I tried to keep it mostly plain. I must say I really enjoyed the yogurt the taste was bland but good for my taste buds. I only ate about ½ cup for breakfast. For lunch I tried Myoplex Cookie and Cream flavored protein shake. To my surprise it went down with ease and the taste was excellent for a protein drink. I was able to get in about 8oz which is great compare to all the other liquids I have been trying. I will defiantly suggest these shake.They cost me about $13.00 for 4 container each has 17 fluid oz with 42grams of protein and only 2 grams of sugar. It would be great if I can find them in smaller containers I will look for them over the weekend. What do you think? What are some of your favorite protein shakes?

Today I was able to get my first fill. I never ask the doctor how much she put in. I really didn’t care. The procedure was very simple and the office visit took about 1 hour. I had a very good lap-band technician who spent around 45 minutes explaining to me the proper ways to eat and the proper portion sizes to eat at each meal. She also went over with me my eating habits and my thoughts so far about my band. This was by far the best appointment I have had since the start of my surgery procedures. Now the actual fill was a very quick process. I lay back against a lounge couch/table and she placed a blanket behind my back down near my bottom. This gave me a little elevation. Then she laid the table back just a little. I was given a shot of… I guess a Novocain like numbing medicine. Then she located my port which is slightly to the right of my large incision. A large needle was placed in the direction of the port and the tech took her time finding the port opening then she inserted the liquid. The table was lifted while the needle was still in place. I was told to drink a small cup of water while the needle was still inside to see if I was filled too much. I drank the water and it felt ok so the needle was removed. That was it. Ok guys! I do not take pain at all. I would say this procedure has very little and I mean little discomfort. I was up and out shopping all day and I feel perfectly fine. Now the hard part… 5 days of soft food again! I’m ready and glad you guys are here for me.

Great!

Make sure you keep it clean with soap in water. Mines started to look nasty also. I went to the doc and they just told me to keep it dry and clean. I was also afraid! I hope all is well with yours.

I am starting to set back in my old ways and it’s only been 5 weeks since the surgery. I really thought I could eat three small meals a day and drink tons of water. I can’t I am trying so hard to force myself to eat a meal every 4 hours. All my adult life I have only cared to eat one large meal and it would mainly be at dinner time or a late lunch. I worked so hard keeping food diaries before the surgery that I knew it would be a piece of cake after the surgery. Well I think I need to start back writing in my food logs just to keep me on an eating schedule. I’m waiting patiently for my first fill. I hope I will become accustom to eating normal soon. I really want to do my best. Just never knew how hard it is to eat healthy. Question: Have you ever used a watch or cell phone as a timer when to eat. How do you remember to eat 3 meals a day with work, children and everything in between.

Thank you! I am in it to win it! lol

I mean come on people we had surgery! It is going to hurt. I mean if you Hit your leg on a table there will be pain and even a scar! So Yes there is pain with the band but just like having a baby after a coupe of days or weeks you will forget all about it. And this is coming from me a person who hates pain!

Well for me I was off for about 1 week. However I was still really uncomfortable the following week when I went back to work. I was really weak and I felt off. My job isnt really that hard but I really didnt feel like doing anything. Also driving was hard for me. I dont know why but turning the wheel and sudden stop were painful.

My incisions are not healing well. I am so upset! The largest incision has opened up on the end. It looks so nasty puss is coming out and the smell is horrible. Yesterday I went to Urgent Care and they refused to help me. The doctor suggested that I go see my surgeon immediately. Well I’m scheduled for my follow up appointment with her on this Friday so I decided to wait till then. My other incisions look good and I don’t think there will be any scaring from them after they heal. But this big one I know will look crazy. Im so upset cause I don’t have too many bruises or scars on my body. I guess this is what comes with surgery! Lol Have any of you out there ever tired Mederma if so how did it work?

I called my doctor and she told me to remove all my strips and to clean my wounds with soap very good. So I did now it seems like it is dry. No pain so far and no fever. Ill let you guys know what happens on Friday. Thanks

I feel that I am overweight for several factors. First of all I have a very strange.. well not strange but different shape. I’m 5’5 and have a small waist with very large thighs and the tiniest legs. Since a teenager Ive been told that I was shape like a hour glass and that men would love me when I got older. Those comments I believe made me hide my shape from others. I used to wear long shirts to cover my butt and I would never tuck my shirt in my pants. I hated to wear dresses because you could really see my figure and I would always get stares from much older men. Up until my teenage years I would say I was overweight but healthy I mean I moved around a lot danced often with friends and wasn’t afraid to join in physical activities at school or work. In my early twenties I became pregnant and gained 60 pounds really fast there was something defiantly going wrong with the pregnancy and I did miscarry at 6 months. Those 60 pounds never left my body till this day. With each pregnancy there after (2) I put on pounds and I would never even attempt to loose them. A big problem for me is I am not physically activity at all and I tend to avoid being physical in every situation. I’m not a big eater and that’s why I’m praying this band works for me. I picked up a bad habit years ago to only eat dinner and that is what I have been doing over the years I never eat Breakfast sometimes Ill have a soda for lunch but dinner is my favorite meal of the day which would always be a large amount with high calories. So this is why I’m overweight I have very poor eating habits with a lack of exercise. Many people believe I didn’t need the band but I know that this tool will jump start me to a healthier eating regime and lifestyle. So as you can see events from my childhood, teen years and my adult life has contributed to my unhealthy life.

The card would be great if restaurants would allow you to order a lunch portion at dinner time! Now I would do that... I really dont care for leftovers so if I was able to get a smaller portion of something I really wanted and not a kids meal I would feel more comfortable with my food selections while eating out.

I found mines in the local food store which in my city is called Gaint Eagles.

Hey everyone! I was banded on the 18th Im so suprised to see so many of you guys feelinng great and ready to return to work. I feel completly week. I started walking right away and this didnt help any with my strength. I feel sick most of the day and I dont think I can do my everyday routine feeling this way. Tomorrow I will try to get up on time and get my self ready for my day. I hope all will go well. Dont know why its taking me so long to recover. Im still on a Full liquid diet and Im trying my best to drink all day and suggestions to keep me feeling healthy while going through this recovery phase please let me know?

I can not feel the band at all and Im afraid to ever feel the port lol!

I believe it means that you are restricted to eating a limited amount of calories per day.

Since my surgery I have been locked up in my apartment. I was so afraid to walk down those stairs outside. So today I decided that I would take a long hot shower curl my hair put on my eye liner,shadow and run outside lol. All went well with the stairs getting in the car was another story but really not that bad. My first stop was to the locol shopping center to visit my sister at ther job. Right when she seen me she said WOW you look different already! Yes thats what I wanted to hear lol. Then I decied that I could walk around the center and finish at Gaint Eagles. Well by the time I made it to the super market I was completly week it was ok because my boyfriend was with me to support me just in case I couldnt make it to the car. I made it to the car and drank some water but I still wasnt ready to go home yet. So we went to my sisters house and I got and Ice Ball the syrup was diluted with water but after 2 table spoons I was completly sick. Now this is the first time I had this flush uneasy feeling. So now I know I will not be trying anything to sweet no time soon. My emotions keep going up and down tears some nights happy the next day. I guess these feelings come with the process. I have lost 17 pounds as of today and I think thats way to fast. Tomorrow I start the Full Liquid diet so Im waiting patiently for some cream soup and a yougart.

Thank you guys for reading. This site has helped me so much. I never feel alone knowing I have all of you!

I was banded August 18th @ Magee Women’s of Pittsburgh. I was so nervous before the surgery rethinking my decision a thousand times. Now that I am home I feel helpless and these gas pains are killing me. I have tried several techniques to rid the gas but I can still feel a lot of pressure inside my stomach. I pray that this was the right choice for me. I’m so ready to try eating smaller portions I have 2 weeks of a liquid diet then I will be able to start soft foods. Currently I’m not hungry at all nor do I feel an urge to eat. But I do feel weak although I’m walking around as much as I can right now. The process of getting banded is not something I would call rough or hard its just a process of anticipating what’s next.