momlambert

Glad you dopped in, Di! I'm fairly new on this thread (and to lap-band land) myself but your won't find nicer, more helpful, compassionate people than here on this thread. Where did you live when you were here for five years? Were you a student? Let us know how things are going over there--I'm sure there are many similarities as well as differences. Good luck to you! Karen

I haven't noticed a change yet, even with 15 lbs down, but i think it's because of my pants fitting the same because of the swelling still in my stomach. My daughter walking behind me said the other day that I look like I am losing weight but I always chalk that off to her knowing about the surgery and trying to give me positive encouragement. It's so hard for me to accept compliments! When I have dieted before, it usually took 20 lbs. to go down a clothing size and for people to really notice--funny how sometimes they say, "Did you change your hair, or something???" LOL

Yes, mine feels like it's tipped out at the top. I was banded on March 19 and as the swelling has gone down the port has become more noticeable. I haven't been worried about it really. It feels like the flat part is totally accessible and that is where the fill needle has to find so I don't see a problem with the tilt. At a seminar yesterday the nurse says that when you are filled they put a pillow behind your back and then to find the port they have you flex your abdominal muscles by tucking your chin down to your chest--that pushes the port up so they can fill it easier. So bottom line: no, I'm not worried. But let us know what your dr. says tomorrow--maybe I should be worried!

Like LapBandit, I'm also a rule follower and I self-payed as well so that was enough incentive for me to follow the rules--complications are expensive without insurance, not to mention time off work, pain, and just plain losing the band forever. I'm four weeks post-op tomorrow and have not had a bite of solid food--still a week more to go. It sounds horrible and I didn't think I could do it but I'm so glad I did. By not following the rules, you take big risks. The way it was explained to me was that when you have stitches in a cut on your hand, you are told to keep it dry and it will heal well and quite fast. But since you have your band stitched to part of your stomach and your stomach lives in a wet environment, it takes many weeks to heal. (How many weeks seems to be a debate among doctors). So when you eat solids, your new little stomach does its job of contracting and working to digest that bite of food, which puts strain on unhealed stitches, and can cause them to loosen or become misplaced. My doctor says this is the biggest cause of slipped bands now as well as later on, even after you are healed. He has a very low slippage rate so I believe him. There was a study group in Europe that were turned loose after surgery and told to eat whatever they could handle. The slipped band rate went through the roof. Since then, doctors have all subscribed to some period of liquid and/or mushy food after surgery. It sounds like you and your mother are "partners in crime." That might be very bonding and gratifying but I think you are playing with fire. Why do all this work just to destroy the results? Or even take the chance of causing you complications? There are people here who strongly disagree and you can easily find them. (Find posts by jubjub, for a good example). But look at their logic vs. the surgeons as a whole. As far as the band not working now, that is totally normal and not a sign of a problem. The band usually doesn't work until you have fills. The fact you can eat large amounts of anything before having fills is not a sign that you have damaged the band. It would be wonderful if your and your mother could be supportive of each other in your success instead of your failure. Now that would be bonding and gratifying! Maybe you need to be the strong one who is full of courage, strength, and knowledge. You can do it! Start today. Thousands of people do and with good results. Good luck to you both--I do hope you succeed at every stage.

Thanks, bandsister. I am feeling better today--still need to be near the bathroom but headache, chills, etc, are gone and I'm not as exhausted. Allergy to exercise would be a great excuse but I manage to come up with plenty besides that one. I really hate exercise. But I'm going to go get new walking shoes this week and hope that helps. I've used a bike before but I have knee problems so I'm not sure it's the answer.I'll keep trying methods. Thanks for the encouragement. Have a great week!

Good for you, Tammy! You are adorable. I love your TWA--it's only surpassed by your great attitide. Good luck tomorrow--you'll do GREAT!:clap2:

My husband asked me yesterday what I wanted for my first real dinner--I told him SALMON! Man, that does sound good. I'm sure it will be the best thing I ever tasted as well. I'm very anxious! Thanks for asking how I'm feeling. I've actually had a very hard week. I started exercising and just walked for two days for 20 minutes each. My muscles got SO sore, even though I stretched before and after. Well, the third day I was really sick, :sickprobably had the flu, and am still struggling with that. I wondered if it could be a band problem or a complication like an infection or something (chills like I've never had--teeth chattering for hours and shivering under two down comforters with a heating pad, horrible headaches, tiredness--I slept 20 out of 24 hours one day--and just terrible gas pains in my lower abdomen. Tonight I'm quite a bit better but still not 100%. At least I see improvement. Hope it wasn't all just an allergic reaction to the exercise!:phanvan Thanks for asking! I'm sure that's TMI!

43 pounds??!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow! Congrats! I was banded the same day and have only lost 15. But, as you say, any amount of loss is great. I'm still on mushies--no solids or regular food for another 10 days for me. Bleah. It will be SO nice to chew again! I don't use fitday.com but I use sparkpeople.com and it really is great to track calories, nutrients, exercise, etc. I'm staying under 1200 calories (more like 1000 usually) and getting in 75-100 grams of protein per day--it's nice to be able to see exactly where I am every day. Keep up the good work, Virginia. Good for you! karen

I went to my first post-op seminar today and the nurse said that lettuce acts the same as drinking with your meal and so it's not recommended. She said that you can eat (for instance) some cottage cheese and tuna and be satiated but if you eat it with lettuce as a salad, you will not be full.

I'm so sorry you are having problems! I'm almost four weeks post-op and still have tenderness in the port area--I think that is normal. You should probably call your doctor about the tightness in your chest. If nothing else, he could put you at ease if that is normal. Good luck to you--remember you did this to be a healthier person and you will be! Hang in there.

PB=productive burp or productive belch. Caused by food not going through the stoma and, therefore, bumping up against the esophagus, which then causes the food to be ejected.

So sorry you are having problems! When were you banded? PBing for 3 days is not good! Good luck and let us know what you find out tomorrow. I think we are all paranoid about problems but it's so good to listen to your body and check out any potential problems or worries in the beginning. I hope everything is okay and that your doctor is right about something being stuck. I'll be anxious to hear.

Ah, where do I start? (And most people say that I'm easy going!). So here are a few: Grammar and punctuation: I bristle when people use the word "real" incorrectly--real cold, real good, real nice, etc. Even national newscasters and weathermen are doing this now. Has it become so incorrectly acceptable? Apostrophe catastrophes: "the dog ate it's food," "the Smith's bought a new home," "the Jones' are our friends,"... you get the idea! Punctuation: putting the punctuation mark OUTSIDE the quotation mark as in: we are all "friends". Not using punctuation or capitalization (Or Capitalizing EVERY Word). I don't even read posts like that because it gives me a headache trying to figure out what they are trying to say. Argh. I could go on, but you get the idea. Other peeves: call waiting ("excuse me, but I have another call coming in and I need to see if that person is more important than you and this conversation"). Cell phones in restaurants. Or movie theatres. Or meetings. Or the grocery store. Or restrooms. I really don't want to listen to your conversation--don't make me! People who call their children "Monster," "Tyrannt," "incorrigble," etc. and then are surprised that the kids act that way. Duh! Well, I feel better already. Thanks for the rant! Ohmmmmmmmmmmm. Ohmmmmmmmmmm.

I'm not on solids yet but my dr. says to just eat 2/3 c. three times a day plus one snack, even on mushies (which seem to go right through the band).

Thanks for starting this thread, Sandy. And congrats on your weight loss--10 lbs. a month average! That is awesome. I would be very happy with that myself. I'm actually hoping and planning on 4-5 lbs. a month--more would be wonderful but I don't want to get my hopes up. Thanks for the tip on the bean and cheese burrito from Taco Amigo. I'm anxious to look them up and see where they are located--I live in Utah county so it sounds like I'm in luck. That sounds so good right now. I am looking forward to lunch--I pureed the ham hock and bean Soup I made yesterday with our leftover ham bone from Easter. Had some pureed for dinner last night and thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was SO delicious. I do get tired of cottage cheese, eggs, and Protein drinks. Variation is the key, for sure. I have twelve more days of mushies--but who's counting??? First fill (I hope) is April 30. Does Dr. Hansen's office always fill on the first fill appt. or do they just assess how much you are eating and then decide? They had me schedule another appt. on May 15 (2 weeks later). Is that for the second fill already? Just wondering. My first post-op seminar is Saturday. I'm actually excited about that. Is anyone else going to be there? Any other newbies schedule to attend? Good luck Utahans! It's so great to have local support. Karen

My doctor says the esophogus is the "no loitering zone" of the body. Hehe. Sounds like you are experience the loiterers being kicked out!

That IS a tough one! I actually made a similar choice: I don't have insurance that would cover it but probably will have insurance for it in six months so I had to decide rather to wait or go ahead. I did find out that the insurance company I probably will have will only pay for one weight-loss surgery so if they pay originally then they won't pay for complications, should they arise. But if you are already banded they will pay for surgery to fix complications. Many insurance companies won't pay for complications if they didn't pay for the band. Sorry this is so confusing. ANYWAY, I opted to go ahead and self-pay. One of my concerns right now is that if i have a complication before I have the additional insurance, I'll have to pay again out of pocket. This is scary! Paying $13,000 once is one thing--paying it again (plus possibly more) is another thing. Also with self-pay you have to consider the risk of complications during surgery that could result in huge hospital bills. Although they are rare, you do see people on this site now and then that have those kinds of complications. I'm happy with my decision to go ahead and self-pay six months earlier but I knew it was a risk and that was scary. Very thankfully, everything turned out great so far. Good luck with your decision! There are no easy answers--that's for sure! Karen

YES, Isabelle--I definitely am really tired. I'm three weeks post op and don't really think it's the surgery but wonder if it's my low calorie intake. I am eating between 1, 000 and 1,200 calories a day and averaging about 80 grams of Protein each day so I don't think it is that either. I've had a lot going on since the day after my surgery (my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer and my kids have been coming from all over the country to see him so I've had lots going on from both sides of my life--"sandwich generation" certainly makes sense to me!), so I think it's probably all of that plus stress and work and other responsibilities. It's been a whirlwind few weeks and such stressful times for me. I really think that is it but I've had lots of stress in my life before and really don't remember being this absolutely dog tired. I'll be anxious to hear what others say! Good luck to you! Hope you get feeling better! karen

So glad for the good report! So many people are pulling for you--glad you can feel that. Keep us posted. Take it easy recover well!

Hi Berry! We were banded the same day and I know exactly what you are talking about. I'm on mushies for another two weeks so no goldfish for me, but, if I was allowed, I definitely would be grabbing a handful. It's so difficult! Do you have a date for your first fill? Mine is April 30 and I'm very excited (almost as excited as I am about eating solid food the week before!). This too will pass and we will make it--and be stronger, better, and more committed than we were before. Right? Good luck!

My dr. says, "no, the liquids run right through."

Janine I'm not on regular food yet so I'm probably not qualified to answer this but I did have my post-op appt. yesterday and my dr. said that I should be eating about 2/3 c. of food at each meal both now (mushies) AND when I start regular foods in two more weeks (which is five weeks post-op and before my first fill). FYI. Good luck!

Check this out: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/abbreviations-and-they-t7959.html It's a "productive burp." Something I'm hoping to never have! Karen P.S. BTW, I saw Dr. Hansen today and he said four FULL weeks of mushies and then regular food--I'm happy because I thought it was five full weeks. Woohoo! Only three weeks to go... guess that's better than four more, for sure! Happy Easter!

Congrats! Approval AND a date--how wonderful! Good luck and good job sticking to your VLCD for so long. You'll do great!

I have my post-op tomorrow so I'll clarify. I don't know if the healing diet goes TO week 5 or THROUGH week 5. I'm SO ready to stop this mushie stuff! Have a good weekend, Karen