DELETE THIS ACCOUNT!

I use the Lose It! app to track my calories. One of the bonuses is the fact it also has restaurant foods in it, so I can look at the calories and nutritional breakdown of foods before I order. I found this to be particularly helpful because looks can be deceiving. You'd think a tuna sandwich would have less calories than a burger, but if the tuna is loaded with fatty mayo the burger is actually less calories. Same with chicken, if it's cooked in a fatty manner, you'd be shocked how much calories things like chicken strips really are.

One small point to make- Lap Band doesn't necessarily mean slower than the Sleeve or Gastric Bypass. I have a friend who had Gastric Bypass around the same time I had the Lap Band surgery 8 months ago. We both started off over 400 pounds. She's lost about 20 pounds so far, I've lost 141 pounds. The difference in our loss has nothing to do with which surgery we chose but the fact I changed my lifestyle and eating habits to healthy ones and she did not. In the end, all WLS is just a tool not a magic fix. If you don't make the necessary lifestyle changes you'll fail regardless of which one you choose.

You might also want a robe. You'll be expected to be up and walking fairly soon and we all know those stupid hospital gowns don't cover your backside. I wore mine to cover my exposed butt so I could get to the bathroom without flashing anyone lol.

Get back up the exact same way. Slowly pull your arms and legs towards you and push straight up until you're back on all fours. Crawl back down to the foot of the bed or so your feet go off the side, then once your feet are on the ground use your arms to gently push yourself upright without twisting from side to side.

It sounds like you definitely need more Fluid in your band, then. Before I had adequate fluid in mine, I concentrated on calories. I knew I was going to be starving in an hour or two after only a cup of food, so I spread out my daily calories to allow me to eat every couple hours. For me, that was what allowed me to consistently lose even before I had good restriction.

Here's an interesting piece of info most people don't know: Your body can only process about 25g of Protein at a time. Anything beyond that you're not really getting or using. So even if your Protein shake says it has 40g of protein you're still only utilizing 25g. This is why most medical grade protein supplements only have 20g-30g of protein per serving. So, keep that in mind when you're tracking your daily protein. You may not be getting as much protein as you think. "A moderate serving of high-quality protein maximally stimulates skeletal muscle protein synthesis in young and elderly subjects. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2009. So, what did these landmark studies show? Well, the first study showed that when college-aged weight-trainers drink 0g, 5g, 10g, 20g, or 40g of protein after a weight training session, muscle protein synthesis is stimulated maximally at the 20g dose. Interestingly, there were no further increases in muscle protein synthesis at the 40g dose. Similarly, in the second study, when young and elderly volunteers were given 30 or 90g of dietary protein in a single meal, the 30g dose maximally stimulated muscle protein synthesis. Again, there were no further increases in muscle protein synthesis at the 90g dose."

This may sound weird, but it's a trick a nurse taught me after a c-section. Most of the time the pain after abdominal surgery doesn't result from being directly on your tummy as much as it is from the process of being on your side to roll onto your tummy. It tugs and pulls those wounded muscles. So, what she told me to do was, crawl up the foot of the bed on my hands and knees and slowly lower myself onto my tummy. I was scared to death because I'd tried to roll onto my tummy and it hurt horribly, but sure enough, I did exactly as she advised and it worked. And, the pressure from laying on my tummy actually felt good. I have now used that trick through four more various abdominal surgeries over the last decade and it always works for me. Perhaps it's worth a try to see if it works for you?

I'm sorry you're struggling. When you say you have no restriction, are you aware of what the band is and isn't supposed to do? The band isn't supposed to make you feel full, nor is it supposed to restrict what or how much you eat. The only thing the band is supposed to do is help you to feel satisfied on less food for longer periods of time. Satisfied means not physically hungry but has nothing to do with the sensation of being full. Carbs aren't necessarily a bad thing so long as you're eating smart carbs in moderation. As far as bigger portions, there's a saying around here that is very true: "Just because you can eat something it doesn't mean you should". Stick to the band portion of a cup or less of food per meal. About how many calories do you eat in a day? Do you get in all your Protein daily?

Honestly, I slept on my tummy the night after surgery. I never had any problems. Maybe use a body pillow to sort of prop yourself up against?

It takes time. Walking helps your body reabsorb it faster, some find a heating pad helps relieve some of the discomfort too.

You'll have to check with your insurance, all insurance companies are different in their requirements.

Oh here- See your picture on the very top right of your screen? Click that, it'll go to your profile. Then, click the edit profile button. Next go to the "my surgery" tab and you can enter your info there

That all depends on your age, skin elasticity, and the amount of weight you have to lose. Even if you're young, if you have a huge amount to lose, you could still have lose skin. Unfortunately no one can really predict that. btw- you should fill out your profile so we can better answer your question.

For me, the answer was simple. I could not justified hacking off 3/4 of my healthy stomach without trying something less drastic first. I see it as the natural progression- try the reversible Lap Band first then go to the Sleeve if the band doesn't work for some reason. For the record, I love my band. I've lost 140 pounds in 8 months and couldn't be happier.

I'm almost 8 months post op and I eat bread, pasta, and rice regularly. I just buy whole grain breads and pasta and brown rice.

Oh that absolutely sucks!! Hmmm...well....what if you bought a piece of clothing you really like but buy it two sizes too small? Use it as incentive to get you through the whole process? You could also use this time to get better familiar with nutritional labels on food, get an idea what's healthy and what's not. Or, I use an an app called Lose It! to track my food and calories. You could start playing with an app like that so you get a feel the nutritional breakdown of different foods.

Are you sure you can't lose weight? If the insurance has already approved the surgery, then it's a done deal. In fact many people who have pre-op diets lost weight and dip below the 40 BMI intentionally. Check with your surgeon's office to be sure, but if it's already been approved, then it shouldn't matter if you lose a little before surgery.

You're right about the exercise. I have Multiple Sclerosis so I'm limited on my ability to exercise. However, I can walk. The more I walk, the the more I build my endurance and better I feel. When I had my Lap Band surgery in January, I had to park in a handicapped spot and was winded and dizzy by the time I got patient check in. Now, every night I walk a couple miles with my son with ease. If someone had told me I'd be walking a couple miles a night 8 months ago, I'd have thought they were drunk lol. I figure if a woman who has MS and once weighed over 400 pounds can do this- anyone can.

Very good advice! I didn't have one after my surgery, in fact, I had never even heard of one until I saw it here on another thread. However, they did give me one after my recent surgery (not band related) and I agree, they are outstanding. They really do help keep things and reduce abdominal pain a lot.

First take a look at the things within your control: How many calories a day do you eat? Do you get in all your protein? Do you restrict your fat intake? Are you sticking to a cup or less of food per meal?

I agree, you're young and have under 100 pounds to lose so you might not have the lose skin if you do a lot of toning exercises. Oh to fill out your profile. Look at the top right of the screen. See your picture? Click it then click the "edit profile" button on the upper right side of your profile. The tab called "my surgery" is where you enter in all your surgical info. Best wishes!

It all depends on your age, skin elasticity, and how much weight you have to lose. You can exercise like mad but if you have a ton of weight to lose skin can only shrink back so much. This is more true the older you get. P.S.- you might want to fill out your profile info, it will help us know how to respond you

Actually the only way you can know for sure if your band has slipped is with a test such as a barium swallow to check the position of the band. It's rare but slips can occur with no symptoms until they've become severe. Anytime you can't keep water down, are vomiting regularly, have night cough, or acid reflux that you didn't have before- you want to contact your doctor. They could be signs of either a band that's too tight or a slipped band.

That's awesome congratulations!

Oh no, I'm so sorry. That's awful! If I were in your shoes, I'd call your surgeon, just to make him aware of what's going on. It's so soon after surgery it's always better to error on the side of caution. Perhaps he can give you something for that nasty cough too. Feel better soon!