leatha_g

I wish you the very best on this! I too, have recently made an attempt to change directions in my career path. I'm holding my breath as well and it's tough. Good luck and I'll send a little prayer up that you have the desires of your heart answered!

i would encourage you to use www.fitday.com . you have the band installed, you sure don't want to turn around and take it out before you've even seen what it can do for you. you got it for a reason. Is there a possibility that you need to speak with someone regarding post op depression?? What sort of exercise are you doing? How much weight did you anticipate losing in the first 3 weeks? Have you read all the other posts from new folks questioning why they didn't wake up and lose 20 lbs right away?? What can we do to help you reframe your current state of mind??

MelAnne, I'm really sorry that you seem to be suffering so emotionally, but my dear, you are very very new to this experience. You have not given yourself time to heal, let alone begin to lose weight. Take a deep breath, girlfriend and let it go. This is not a race. You have to heal. The weight loss begins when you are healed and you begin to have restriction. You are right. This is not, nor never was a magic pill. This is one weight loss journey you do have to meet halfway. Every single one of us here has had thoughts like you, wondering if we would be the one person this did not work for. I can promise you one thing. IF you drink your Water, IF you begin to exercise, IF you focus on Proteins and cut out foods such as breads, rice, Pasta and potatoes YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT. You WILL NOT lose it all overnight, just as you did not gain it overnight. Like I said, breathe in, breathe out and DO NOT GIVE UP 3 weeks out, you haven't even begun. Your body is still recovering from surgery, mentally and physically. Sip, sip, sip, walk, walk, walk and keep moving forward. I PROMISE YOU if you do the things laid out for you, you will be ecstatically cleaning out your closets in 3 months time!!! Please read everything you can get your hands on here on this site. Try to reframe your focus just for the moment. YOU CAN DO THIS!

Of all things, I've never had a problem with chicken whatsoever. I simply chew it until it's basically dissolved and honestly, lost most of my weight eating it religiously. Now, back to the darn chicken for me...

Exercise is definitely an integral part to your weight loss. You'll certainly lose, in the beginning, due to difference in intake, however, your body will adjust to that intake eventually. Also, the tone of your body mass will show the difference. ie, more loose skin versus tighter, more toned skin. For me, personally, I can slack off the exercise and physically SEE and feel the difference in my body mass. Where my legs were more muscular when I was exercising more often will quickly become more flabbish and unsightly. Of course!! Exercise, exercise, exercise!!

I did the macarena with a football player because I'm sexy and I do what I want. Hehe, okay, the shirt is Teal, but it’s better than (Green - because I hate myself. Or Other - because I'm a ninja.) J

More importantly, drinking on top of any blockage only spells TROUBLE. Picture a rock inside the small end of a funnel?? Anything poured on top of it is bound to backwash because it has no place to go, right?

David, First of all welcome to the banded bunch! Secondly I would advise you to read, read and read some more as there are many many posts regarding the first weeks of banded 'healing' and confusion over the ability to eat. It is not uncommon at all to have folks ask this immediately following surgery, which leads me to wonder if they were not prepared adequately or failed to see that information in their own pre-op research. Thirdly, I would ask are you already eating solids? Normally, the first few weeks are restricted to liquids, then mushy foods and onto softer solids. This time period usually consists of anywhere from 2-4 weeks post-op. Did your Dr give you a post-op diet to follow? You are correct in thinking the pouch is smaller, but until your band is restricted by getting a 'fill', you may or may not feel any restriction. As healing occurs, you may be able to eat as if you were not even banded, so you are doing very well to try to manage your intake alone. I would re-read any post-op instructions from my Dr. (and I know Dr Spivak is probably very good at giving detailed instructions). There may be a diet page in your initial literature outlining your post op diet phases. Please don't over-do it too quickly as your band needs time to heal in place in order to anchor it in to prevent slippage. Do a search here on this website to find other posts pertaining to this initial post-op disillusionment. Do not fret, once your healing time is over and you get restriction, you follow the eating behaviors, drink your Water and exercise, YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT!!! Good luck and congrats on your surgery! Please see just a few of the past few months posts regarding this issue. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=18306&highlight=losing+post+op http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=18255&highlight=losing+post+op http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=17885&highlight=losing+post+op http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16910&highlight=losing+post+op http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=17072&highlight=losing+post+op http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16981&highlight=losing+post+op http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16922&highlight=losing+post+op http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16541&highlight=losing+post+op http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16529&highlight=losing+post+op http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15373&highlight=losing+post+op http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14384&highlight=losing+post+op http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=12987&highlight=losing+post+op

God bless you and keep you and your mother in His loving arms. Praying for the strength and faith you'll both need during this very trying and emotional time. Enjoy every moment you have and have had up until this point. I believe that God has a plan, we don't always understand, but all things work together for good and we will know the 'good' eventually. Big hugs and lots of prayers being sent your way. Take care and know that all things are temporary, you will move through and be stronger for having been there.

Yep.. I'm an elephant too...even after losing 75lbs.. lol Almost 25% of people will be reincarnated as a higher form of life than you. You're not perfect, but you've lead a better life than most. With a few changes now, your next life could be even better

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Happy Birthday To You!

Great idea! Guess I missed this sometime in the past. I've had some things on mind, in this line of thinking. Specifically, there is this guy at work who, God bless him, is the grumpiest, most unfriendly character. You speak in the hall and he literally growls back at you. I've heard it said that his former wife was an addict and I know that he has his 3 children and has been raising them himself. Several days now, it's been on my heart to do something kind for him on 'Mother's Day' - now to think of something appropriate. Hmm...

God bless and keep you through your surgery and after. I'll be lifting you and your family in Jesus' name. Please let us know how things go!

I used to have severe migraines until I got on antidepressants. Since 1988, I could probably count the migraines I've had on one hand, THANK GOD! I feel for you. Hope you're feeling better!

Yep, for me, one serving just leads to another and another and another. The only way I can beat the demon is to steer clear all together. I do have it on occasion, but I can honestly say it's one of the problem foods that has kept me from losing ALL my excess weight so far. It's a trade off, is it worth it to you??

Hiccups is a very common sign of agitation of the diaphragm. For me, one big hiccup meant my diaphragm was telling me that I'd probably had enough or need to slow down eating or drinking. It's a very common bandster anomaly due to the band sitting up next to the diaphragm. I could see why he might consider unfilling you due to esophagitis/swelling. Don't fret. Just keeping eating the way you've been eating. Baby your esophagus if you need to, so that you can keep your band. Good luck!

Poor thing.. I'm sorry. With the band there are two kinds of people.. Those who have and those who will...lol. Welcome to the fold..

Yup. Do away with full sized plates. Use dessert plates or cups to eat from. Begin exercising - try different things. Treadmill, walking around the block, Water aerobics, bicycling, Curves. Find something you can actually DO without being in pain or absolutely hating it, so that you can continue. If you walk and you can't do 30 minutes yet, start with 10 and try to increase on a daily or weekly basis. You'll get there! Practice drinking 64 oz of water a day, but do NOT bring it to the table during meals. Try to begin focusing on Protein - hard Proteins, such as chicken, beef, fish, eggs, Beans, THEN veggies. I commend you for taking this approach. It is great exercise for what really will come to pass and this way you have eased your way into the new lifestyle instead of falling into it all of a sudden. Your head will be better prepared and your body will thank you for it! Keep up the great work and good luck with your surgery!

Jessie Ahroni - the RN who is his fill nurse actually 'wrote the book' on living with the lapband. She is an EXCELLENT resource for making your banding experience a 'no-nonsense', but very positive one. I'd say you've hit the jackpot if you can be one of her patients.

BigPaul always makes me feel really good about myself. He's funny and silly but really smart right when you need him to be. TellyMelly keeps me motivated on days I think I want to slack and theres always a smile on my face when I'm talking to her, she just keeps me laughing. She brightens my day! Cutiern reminds me of my daughter. I love how she is young, independent, and willing to make financial sacrifices to change her life. Dawg is a great husband. Selfless and supportive. He lives a banded lifestyle, without the band, so that he may succeed along side his wife. Pennie always seems so level-headed and diplomatic. I really admire that. Jack cracks me up with the use of his warped sense of humour in the manner in which he offers practical advice. Humour and practicalilty...great match and I always appreciate his input. (I also like his avatar!!) The best me (Kathy) has one of the most loving and tender hearts I've ever seen. She is always caring and giving to others even when she's needing support for herself. Her love of God and her desire to be a better servant shows in every post. Paula is my sweet Band-daughter and I'm so proud of how genuinely sweet she is and how her caring heart and love of God shows by her actions towards all others

Awesome NSV's... :eek: Very proud of you both!! Now.. I want me somebody to hug....:faint:

My answer is NO. Before being banded, if I didn't eat, I became naseous, got 'sick' headaches after a certain point of hunger. Today, I do NOT get those symptoms nearly as quickly. Now, if I go ALL day and don't drink or have protein, I will eventually start feeling bad, but now I tell myself.. I need water or I need protein. It's far different for me.

The band can, in fact, slip up and down on the stomach. SOME slippages may be contributed to pouch packing. SOME may be contributed to a sudden 'slip' of the band from it's correct position to something other than correct due to whatever reason ie, vomiting, pbing, an extreme bout of coughing/sneezing, maybe lifting something too heavy too soon? The 'cause' of slippage really can't be narrowed down to 'user error' as a definitive answer. Statistics shows there are about 3% slippage - displacement of the band. There are lots of folks out there with slipped bands, same as eroded ones. Some may have contributed, some may have simply been a victim of the odds. My particular slippage - my doctor said it was clearly no fault of my own. My pouch was not distended. The band itself had clearly slipped farther down on the stomach than it was originally placed and the band itself was no longer positioned at an angle, it was now horizontal across the mid-section of my stomach. He said it appeared the actual stitches had come loose and allowed the band move from it's desired position. When we read the Operative record from the original Dr - it stated clearly that he had used the Pars Flaccida technique in stitching the stomach around the band, however, somehow over a period of a year, those stitches were no longer intact and the band became displaced. As stated before, hopefully, if you baby your band, follow the rules to the 'T' you lessen your odds. If you vary, (ie, drink too much alcohol, take NSAIDS), you, personally, MAY have a higher chance of erosion. If you eat more than 4-8 oz at a time, consistently, have yourself TOO restricted, PB too often - you may be raising your personal odds for slippage. The pars flaccida technique has been in place for numerous years, that is not a 'new' thing. I believe the change was made in 2002? 2003? So any benefits from that change should be clear by now. Honestly, when anyone is banded, they must know and accept that there are complications and they should be dedicated enough to the weight loss effort to take that chance because as far as I've heard, the odds are still the same. Do ALL you can to lessen your odds, but please don't fool yourself into thinking that these things only happen to folks who stuffed their pouches (and you would never do that) or abused their bands. It's just not the truth. Get your band. Take care of it! Get what you came for in the beginning, but as you can see, there are no guarantees, so I think you need to be aware of that as well. The more people who become banded, the more there will be with erosion, slippage, pouch diliatation, esophageal issues. YET = You're Eligible Too.

Exactly, Delarla. If your intake is decreased, you WILL lose weight. Just ask those folks who've lived in concentration camps...