Corrigan

Your weight loss is great, right now you need to be concentrating on healing. You've got another couple weeks before doing any heavy exercising. You should be averaging about 11/2-2 lbs a week. the band is a slow, steady way of weight loss. In a year or two we'll lose just about as much as other forms of WLS. There are people here that have lost 200lbs with the band, it just depends on our dedication and will power. You seem to have both.

I'd guess until your flu symptoms are gone, then take it easy for a few days..

After you heal completely (about 6 weeks) then you can start worrying about your weight. You should be losing about 1 to 3Lbs a week, average. Some weeks more, some less. Follow your caloric intake on websites like 'Myfitnesspal', they help keep you in line. Your weight loss is just about what it should be at this stage. From here on, follow your dietitian's instructions, and try to keep your food intake to about 900-1000 calories or whatever was recommended for you. Weight loss will come. Try not to be too impatient.

Don't forget your slippers, PJs and chapstick, and walk, walk, and walk some more.

I Also have hypothyroidism. I doesn't seem to be affected by band surgery, however hypoglycemia definitely is a problem for banders. Restricted diets cause blood sugar levels to drop causing weakness, sweating, fatigue, and extreme hunger (more than usual). These symptoms are similar to the effects diabetics suffer ( I know about that!) when sugar levels get low. A small amount of glucose should relieve your problems, a spoonful of sugar, a piece of candy, some stores even sell glucose wafers. If this doesn't help, maybe you should see your doctor. Low thyroid levels could add to these problems.

Merry Christmas Jana. I'm Sorry you ran into all that negitivity. It's a little like my team is better than your team. The band is the safest WLS you could have and there are many reputable statistics to back that up. Read the section of this forum entitled "Lap band Success Stories", it'll cheer you up a bit, and think of the thousands of people who have successful band surgery every year.

We're all in the same boat. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Food isn't the only good thing about Christmas. What about your family and friends? We're going to our kids place for a change and at dinner, I'll eat some salad and veggies, taste a little roast beef and enjoy their company. A little holiday depression is normal even without the band, You don't have anything that we all didn't have, some depression is normal with this surgery and almost everyone has asked 'What have I done?'. It will pass. At three months out, I'm back to normal and except for eating less, I'm no different than I was. Just take a deep breath and think what it'll be like when you have your schoolgirl figure back. Remember that the band, by itself, won't make you lose anything, what it will do is make it easier for you to lose on a smaller, balanced diet.

My surgery was a little over three months ago and I haven't had the first minutes pain. If you have a decent surgeon and hospital, there's almost no risk. The American College of Surgeons says the band is the safest type of weight loss surgery. Look in this forum for 'Lap Band Success stories', it might change your mind.

Have you tried Centrum chewable vitamins w/iron? they seem to go down pretty easy. For calcium, the only liquid i could find was nasty. I finally settled on Citracal. They're about half the size if a regular vitanin tablet and I can take them one at a time, it takes 4 a day, so i go slowly. Vitamin B12 (sublingual) for fatigue was recommended. They're tiny and go under the tongue. A few others were recommended, but I don't bother with them, only if my PCP recommends.

About half my post got cut off, probably wasn't that important anyway, but here it is. None of this was intended for the OP, she just wanted to know what else to eat beside water and jello. This is probably the most difficult time of the whole project. Your stomach is wondering what happened to all the food, and you're not giving it many answers. In time this extreme hunger will subside and you'll be able to get by with less and less, but for right now, eat as much protein as you can find. Your body will handle any excess. That's about the only thing I know the will make you less hungry. You know about all the jello and Popsicles,etc. Lots of water (We were told about 64oz a day), Everything with water in it counts, even coffee, although a diuretic, it still counts as liquid. You mostly just have to be strong and stick with it. You're going to get out, just what you put into this. I hope it works for you.

One thing most of us fail to realize when we get the band, is that if we're going to be successful with our weight loss, we have to have a completely different mind set. Food can no longer be the center of our universe. I don't know what to replace it (food) with, I'm remodeling our kitchen. It's kept me busy for the past three months and I've lost about 60 lbs. I'll have to have another project when I'm finished, but it can't be food. I went to a Center of Excellence for my surgery and it's become the standard of 'how things should be done' in my mind. When I see people complain about poor care or post op instruction, I can't help thinking that maybe more time should be spent on patient education and screening and less time on how large the bank account is getting. I probably shouldn't get started on how poor I think the quality of care is getting. It does bother me though, when folks come here asking the very most basic questions about their diet and aftercare, not having been given even the most basic post op instructions. Maybe less time is needed on profit and loss and more time on patients well being. Excuse my rant.

Here are the ACBS recomendations: First week: Clear liquids and Protein drinks. Week 2: Protein drink and thick liquids. Week 3 & 4: Pureed and mashed foods-oatmeal, Greek yogurt, mashed beans, etc. Week 5: Chopped foods Week 6: You're home free! Just cut in small pieces and chew well. This diet is recommended by the major bariatric medical groups. Walking is important to prevent blood clots, and reduce effects from surgical gas and just for exercise. With the diet you're following, you're not giving yourself enough time to heal. A few days isn't going to make that much difference, so slow down.

I've never heard of a routine EGD without a good reason.

Have you ever tried an on line calorie counter such as www.myfitnesspal.com/? If you are very honest with it, you may surprise yourself, I know I did. I can't seem to get over the idea that, if you restrict your calorie intake, you'll lost weight. I know that modern, pop science contradicts that, but I'm really old fashioned and believe that if I eat more, I'll gain weight and if I eat less. I'll lose. I've got a lot to learn about modern dietary science. What's with this forum? My posts show up an hour after I post.

Here is the diet recommended by the American College of Surgeons for bariatric band patients: First week: Clear liquids and Protein drinks. Week 2: Protein drink and thick liquids. Week 3 & 4: Pureed and mashed foods-oatmeal, Greek yogurt, mashed beans, etc. Week 5: Chopped foods Week 6: You're home free! Just cut in small pieces and chew well. This diet is recommended by the major bariatric medical groups. Walking is important to prevent blood clots, and reduce effects from surgical gas and just for exercise. Some people in this business just for the money, don't bother with unprofitable details like this, but it's important for healing purposes.

I haven't had a fill yet either. I'm not sure that I won't on my next appointment. I really have to work at not eating now and after the holidays, we'll see. You are doing really well, and why not keep going? There are quite a few people here that haven't had a fill and are at their goals, so keep up the good work and we'll see a new you in a year.

My port is right behind the largest incision (lower left abdomen), it's about the size of a half dollar, a bit thicker though.

I stand corrected, the 4cc band is still being used outside the US. A few of the Mexican clinics are still using it, but I can't find anywhere else it's still in use.

Are you sure you have a 4cc band? The last 4cc band was discontinued in 2002 and was only available in Europe. LapBand has 10 and 14cc bands, and Realize has 9 and 11cc bands. This is from their web sites. You may have one of these bands with 4ccs in it. Some surgeons give a minor fill when they install them. You'll have to check with your doctor at your next appointment.

Unless you ate the whole thing, you're unlikely to be stuck. It's a little early for foods like that, but you knew it was too soon, but thought you'd try anyway. You probably irritated your stoma. I hope you were given a list of foods, and when you could eat them. Your stomach is still healing and you need to give it a chance. You need to go back on liquids for a day or two to see if that full feeling goes away. From there on, follow your dietitians instructions.

I agree with Cindy. Costco's Muscle Milk vanilla is pretty good. It's OK with water and if you can stand the calories, even better with skim milk. They have a lot of other high protein stuff, too.

I'll second the Costco Muscle Milk, It's OK with water and if you can afford the calories, it's better with skim milk. They have protein bars too, unfortunately they taste like chocolate covered sawdust, but they do have 20g protein. Cottage cheese is cheap and has quite a bit of protein and is pretty filling. You have to buy food anyway so just make it healthy. Grainy, wheat bread is good toasted, if you can eat it. To begin, you'll need sugar free jello, s/f Popsicles. S/f fudgesicles Costco chicken bullion, instant potatos thinned out are good for full liquids. The food section has a lot of good ideas and Google is full of liquid and solid food ideas.

Just stay on the straight and narrow. Good luck and merry Christmas.

Tomorrow morning, drink a cup of hot tea or coffee and see if that doesn't loosen things a bit. Try to stay on liquids for a few days. It sounds like your stoma is swollen and just needs to heal for a little while. Quite often, after a fill, the stoma gets swollen and won't let anything down for a few days. If you don't feel better in a few days, you probably should see your doctor.

Most surgeons say there isn't much difference between bands. You can choose one or the other if you like. Some doctors get used to one or the other, but say performance is just the same.