bunkie68

Glad to find this thread - my hair has been coming out in what seems to be huge quantities for what feels like forever, and I was beginning to get worried! My hair is really thick and just about my only vain point, so I'd hate for it to all fall out just as I'm starting to get skinny and good-looking.

I had my first fill on the 29th, just about 42 hours ago - I now have about 1 cc, maybe a little more, in my band. Before my fill I could eat pretty much anything with no problem, just a lot less than I used to eat. My doc said I shouldn't notice any difference with liquids, and should notice some difference (but nothing extreme) with solids. He also said I might want to stick to liquids that night, and then I should be OK to eat whatever I can tolerate. Since then I've had Protein shakes and Soup, in addition to the things I drink (Water, tea, etc.) - I didn't see any need to rush myself back into eating solids, I figured I'd give it a little more time than just the night of my fill. When I drink something, I nearly always feel like I need to burp after I take a sip. I'd fixed baked Beans for a work potluck today, and this morning I took a tiny bite - mostly sauce, just a couple of beans (I'd fixed them in the crockpot, so they're pretty mushy). It almost felt like that tiny bite got stuck! I can still kind of feel it, and I took that little bite over an hour ago. It doesn't feel like there's room for any more food in there, but I know I'm hungry - my stomach is growling like mad, and a Protein shake is all I've had today besides that little bite of beans. Is this normal after a first fill? Can I expect this to get better? I know it's still pretty soon after the fill, but right now I'm pretty cranky because I'm afraid to try any food after the way that bite of beans made me feel. And I know I'll be miserable if it's time to eat, I'm truly hungry (not just head hungry), but afraid to put any food in my mouth. Do I call the doc, or give it a little more time to see if it settles down?

Thanks, y'all! Leo, my doc didn't tell me I had to do liquids for that long, and I wasn't strong enough to make myself do it! Maybe it's just a morning thing with me. We had our potluck at work, and I was able to eat a decent amount (soft stuff like the Beans and some potato salad, I wasn't brave enough to tackle the ham quite yet! LOL). I just made sure to chew real well. Maybe that's all I need to do. I'll just keep an eye on things for now and see how I settle in.

My doc doesn't give anything to numb before fills. I had my first one Wednesday, and I sure wished he had. My port was wobbly, and he had to stick me a couple of times to hit it, thought he had, put some saline in, not sure how much because he hadn't hit it quite right, had to take out what had gone in and redo the whole process. I think I counted marks from eight needle sticks after all was said and done. YUCK!!!! I will say this, though - if he'd gotten my port after one stick or two, and hadn't had to take the saline out and put it back in again, the needle sticks would have been easily bearable without anesthetic.

did anyone else's libido take a nosedive after surgery? I'm four weeks post-op now, and I could not care less about my sex life! (Much to my poor husband's chagrin! ) Will it come back? Is this even surgery-related, or am I more likely just hormonally out of whack? I've never had what you'd call a real active libido, but it's never been this bad. Urgh. Thoughts appreciated!

When I was at my doc's office today, a woman who went in before me and had a fill came out saying she felt nauseous. Maybe that's why it's best to have a fill on an empty stomach - if it does make you a little nauseous, at least you won't have anything in there to make the feeling worse.

Nicole, I know my doc does a first fill around 2-3 months post-op just as a matter of course. Of course, I guess if I went in for my 2-month appointment at the end of this month and had lost 20 pounds from what I weighed today, he might reconsider! Don't worry, sweetie - we're all different, and I think it's great that you're doing so well without a fill!

Wow, I forgot about my thread and look at the replies! Nancy, in general I'm feeling fine physically. I'm exercising fairly often (although not as often as I'd like), and nothing hurts, nothing is bothering me bandwise. I eat plenty, and sleep as well as I can with a 14-month-old who's prone to wake up obscenely early and *stay* awake. No, I think I've figured out what's bothering me, and it turns out it has nothing to do with the band. (Well, maybe a little, but not for the most part.) My husband knew he'd have to pull a lot more baby duty while I recovered from surgery, since our son weighs over 30 pounds and I wouldn't be able to lift anything over 20 pounds until my surgeon gave me the OK. The farther out from surgery I've gotten, the more he's whined about it. That just chaps me - he *knew* about this, he was *encouraging* me to have the surgery (no doubt because he was thrilled about the prospect of having a hottie for a wife ), and yet he gripes and complains and makes me feel bad that he's having to do so much. Without going into it here, I already feel like I'm the caretaker instead of the one who's taken care of, and him laying a guilt trip on me for something he knew he'd have to do, after a surgery he wanted me to have, is just a bit much. With all of that going on, I'm just flat out not interested in taking care of sex, too. Hard to be in the mood for a man when you feel more like his mother than his wife. Bleah. Again, I know - totally not surgery-related, and I apologize for that. But I sure did need to get it off my chest - thanks for reading, if you've made it this far. Oh, and for what it's worth, I haven't had any problem with yeast infections post-surgery - never have, thank goodness.

Laura, I haven't had any protein bars since I've been banded, but I know what you mean about getting hungry. Here's what a typical day looks like for me as far as timing: breakfast (protein shake), about 8:00 or so, on my drive to work; lunch, around 12:00; mid-afternoon meal, about 3:30, or I'll have a protein shake in the car on my way home at 4:30; dinner, around 7:30-8:00. I probably consume something about four times a day and try to space those times pretty evenly - that seems to help me a lot with hunger. Hope this helps!

I also like the whey Protein from GNC - the chocolate is good mixed with milk. And the Atkins pre-made shakes aren't bad - chocolate royale is my favorite. The EAS AdvantEdge chocolate fudge are OK, too, although not as chocolaty as the Atkins. (Keep in mind that "good" is a relative term when talking about Protein drinks - obviously none of these are as tasty as, say, a brownie fudge sundae! ) Linda, my only concern with the Ensure would be what the carbs are. I'm not worrying so much about carbs as I am about sugar - you can have good carbs, but sugar is just empty calories. You're right in saying that right now your focus should be on healing, but you might want to give the label a read to see how much of that 16 grams of carbs in the Ensure consists of sugar for later on down the road. Good luck.

Wow, Elma, you look fabulous!!! I'm just starting my lapband journey, and your story and pics are such an inspiration to me - thanks for sharing!

Congrats, Nicole - great job!!!

My doc said no weights/crunches/sit-ups for 6 to 8 weeks post-op. As for alcohol, he never really commented on it, but some experienced bandsters I know said that the occasional drink is OK (keeping in mind that it has no nutritional value, so don't overdo it), and of course, with the band you don't want to drink so much that you get sick. Hope this helps!

My options are set for Central Time, and it's 2:37 PM here. But the board is telling me it's 9:37 AM! Can this be changed so that I see the correct time?

I've heard some people talk about some kind of card they can take to restaurants that will allow them to eat off the child's menu or get smaller portions. Anyone heard of this, and where can I get one (for future reference, when I'm back on solid foods! )?

for about 5-6 weeks post-op? I'm just curious as to whether to expect that, or if it's possible that my surgeon might let it go if I'm still losing weight at that point.

Alexandra, I can relate - my 30-lb. almost-14-month-old was none too happy that Mama couldn't pick him up! He's better now, but I think he'll be glad when my doc gives me the OK to lift! Exercise-wise - I'm just going very slowly. I started out at about a week post-op with just a couple of minutes on the treadmill, going very slowly. I'm up to 10 minutes on the treadmill, going about 2 miles an hour. I increase a little every day, but I saw no reason to start out going like gangbusters. Time enough to work up to that, and I know it will get easier as the weight begins to come off!

Linda, I had my surgery on Wed., 8/27 and was home on Thurs., 8/28. I was pretty sore the first few days (not much gas pain, though), and I got tired *very* easily. But I was up and about on Friday, 8/29 - my mother-in-law and I went to GNC and Babies R Us and shopped! LOL I also went to the mall that Saturday and to a movie that Sunday. So what pain I had wasn't enough to slow me down too much. I only took the pain pills when I was going out and would be moving more or when I was going to bed, so I could rest well - the rest of the time I was able to manage without them. My doc did say not to drive for a few days (didn't specify what that meant, though), but I was able to drive back to work on Tuesday, 9/2 with no problems. I did find that just the drive in to work and getting from the parking garage to my office made me really tired, though - I was definitely ready for a nap at the end of the day! LOL As for a special diet - my surgeon didn't require one. Some docs in this area require you to be on Clear liquids for 7 days before the surgery. Now *that* would have been tough! Good luck on Monday!

Laura, have you noticed any improvement today? Good luck with your appointment on Thursday - hope the doc can help you figure out what's going on!

Hi Ally! Good luck getting insurance approval - I hope they come through for you and that you're on the banded side soon!

I just wondered if this was OK to eat right now - I've had a little and haven't had any problems, and thought maybe I should check before I ate much more. (If I were really worried, I'd have checked first, huh? )

Tosha, I'm still on liquids so I can't help much with bite size - I'll be trying to work that out myself in the next few weeks! But if this helps, I had my surgery on August 27 (Wed.) and came back to work September 2 (Tues.). This is my third day back at work and I'm feeling pretty decent. And congrats on your approval!!!

I'm one week post-op, and down 15 pounds according to my scale. While I'm very excited to see the numbers go down so quickly, I know that drop will slow (or even stop for a bit) once I start getting real food back into my diet. So when did you start "counting" your weight loss as pounds you'd officially lost - did you wait until after your first post-op appointment, or until you started solid food, or did you start counting it right away? (And am I nuts for even asking this?! )

I know we're not supposed to drink before or after meals for a certain time period (my doc said 15 minutes before, 1 hour after). My question is this: do we consider protein shakes a food or a drink? :ermm

Alicia, I don't have any advice, as I've only been banded a week. Hope everything is OK - update us after your appointment! Alexandra, that brings up something I've been wondering - what exactly did they have to do to fix that person's disconnected port? (My apologies, Alicia, for hijacking your thread - I know this is completely off topic! ) Is it surgery again, complete with general anesthesia, or something less than that? Thanks!