Harkingluv

Hi. I was self-pay too. I talked it over with the office manager at the surgeon's office because I was concerned about the money too. She had also had LBS and was also self-pay. She made a statement that I will pass on to you..."It will be the best investment that you make in yourself". And that was it. Plus think about all the money you will save on groceries and going out to dinner. Also, think about everything you will be gaining...yeah, you will be going into a little bit of debt, but you are gaining a healthy life. That is priceless! I haven't really worried about the money since the surgery. We put it on a credit card!!!! Plus, after I had the surgery, my roof started leaking in my house and we have to pay for that now and add it to our dept, but I do not, nor will I ever regret having the surgery.

Quick question - Would you even know if you were stretching your pouch? I don't even think you would know that you were doing it. I paid for the surgery myself and I am not taking any chances. I am going to try to stick to whatever my dr. told me.

Hi. My dr. told me not to use a straw. Supposedly it introduces air into the pouch and can cause it to stretch. I am newly banded and have forgotten a few times. I like using straws too because I have this germ-a-phobe thing regarding drinking out of glasses at restaurants. But I am going to try not to use them anymore.

Hi. I am from Ruskin FL (a little south of Tampa). I was banded by Dr. Aguila in Tampa. Good luck with your surgery and weight loss.

OK...I thought I maybe my band wasn't tight enough. I got my first fill yesterday and my Dr. told me that the band would feel tighter today, but I am starving!!! I have had tea and coffee today (that's it), but I have a bad headache and feel like my blood sugar is low. Ughhh. Thanks for the reminder about the Jello...I think I will go have some right now =). So I guess this is how we are supposed to feel until we eat some mushies tomorrow.

Hi everyone! I just had my first fill today. Things went well. I was a little nervous. I thought it would hurt more than it did. The dr. numbed it first and then I didn't hardly feel anything. I only felt a little bit of pressure. I got 3.2 cc's in a 10cc band. The only thing I didn't know was that after a fill, the dr. makes you go on a clear liquid diet for the day after the fill, then mushies the following day and then solids. So at least I will be able to have grilled chicken on the fourth!!! YEAH!!! Thank goodness for little favors!!! LOL =) Supposedly the day after the fill you feel fuller and more restricted, so I will keep you posted on how that goes.

Hi. I was banded May 22nd 2008. According to the schedule the dietian gave me, I was supposed to be on clear liquids for 2 weeks, full liquids for 2 weeks and then mushies for a week, and then solids. After a week of clears, I was starving. When I had my post-op appt, my doc said this was a sign that my body was ready to move up. 6 days after being on full liquids, I called the office and told them I was starving again and they allowed me to move up to mushies, as long as I took it slow. I had no problems transitioning from mushies to solids. Tomorrow is my first fill and i have been really hungry again for about a week. I am really ready for my fill. Anyway, call your doc and ask them. Tell them how miserable you have been. You never know, maybe your doc will let you advance.

I GET MY 1st FILL ON TUESDAY!!! I am sooooo excited. I have been going back to old habits too, although I am not eating as much as I used to. I have tripped up a couple of times, but I am trying to Celebrate the little things I have changed, like I haven't had a coke in over 7 weeks!!!! I use splenda now instead of sugar. I am eating smaller portions (even tho they aren't quite small enough yet). I am trying to stay positive. I am a little scared about my weigh in on Tuesday before I get filled because I am afraid I gained weight back. I am going to feel like a loser if that happens. I don't want to disappoint my dr. and his staff, or myself. Ughhhh!!! I am trying to stay positive tho.

I was banded 5/22/08 and my port incision definitely hurt more than the other incisions. I am a tummy sleeper and couldn't sleep on my stomach for about 2 weeks post-op because of the port. It still hurts some mornings when I wake up, but gets better thru-out the day. I think my port incision has stayed a little bit sore because my toddler is always elbowing me or kicking me (by accident) right in the port. Like he subconsciously knows where it is =) I can feel my port. It feels like a little lump under my skin, but you cannot see it. I find myself feeling it a lot too. Like I am reminding myself that I actually went thru with the surgery.

I am sorry for opening the can of worms that I did. I am a newbie (obviously) and I didn't realize where I was posting my comment/where I was reading the comments. Now I know. I am so proud of everyone who is near/at their goal weight. It takes a tremendous amount of effort and I can't wait until I am at my goal weight. I guess my comments still fit in the "rants and raves" section because I was ranting about how we should support one another, but there is lots of that elsewhere. I think it is hard to judge/read into others comments because it is just text, no body language or a difference in tone. Congrats again to those at their goal, good luck to other newbies and those working towards their goals. =)

Thanks for the info!!! I appreciate it!!! =)

I have a question? What exactly is the sweet spot? How do you know when you have gotten there? Thanks!

It's the same difference whether it is in the rants section or not. Be supportive, not judgemental. That is all I am saying. I whole-heartedly apologize for being in the wrong section

I really agree with Elaine. I am having a really hard time right now. I was banded on 5/22 and don't feel hardly any restriction. I get my first fill July 1st. I have tried to have as much will-power as possible, but I have screwed up a couple of times. I have still lost 11 pounds since the surgery. I think instead of those people being critical, maybe you should give some advice on how you all pulled thru without cheating before the first fill. This site is supposed to be for support, not for other people to judge and get all "high and mighty". It is really upsetting to see how judgemental that some of my fellow lap-banders are being. Shouldn't we "band" together and support each other instead of berating people who may have fallen off the wagon. After all we are all fighting an addiction!

At first, I was really guarded about my surgery. I thought about it for almost a year and a half before I actually had the guts to go to a seminar about the procedure. Then one day I was watching Oprah with mom and she was interviewing people who had different types of weight loss surgeries (lap band, bypass, etc.). I told my mom (with my bro, sis and step-dad present) that I was considering having the surgery done. My mom said that I shouldn't have to resort to a surgery and it is dangerous to have surgery (blah, blah, blah) and my bro said (who is able to spend 4 hours a day at the gym) that I should just "eat right" and work-out and I would be able to lose weight. Mind you, I am over 100 pounds over weight, a med student, and a mom to a toddler. (I asked him when did he expect me to sleep?) Basically, what I heard my bro was saying was that if I wasn't lazy, I would lose the weight. So his comments really hurt my feelings. My husband finally helped me get the courage to go to a lap band seminar. I decided then and there that I was going to have the surgery no matter what. I waited until the day before my initial consultation to tell my mom what I was doing. She seemed happy about it at that point. I had to explain to her the difference between lap bands and gastric bypass. She explained to me that she blamed herself for me being overweight. She wondered "what she had done wrong" in order for me to always turn to food. I explained to her that it was my addiction and addictions run in my family (my biological father is an alcoholic and my mom is a smoker). At that point, I told my mom not to tell anyone, especially my bro and sis (my bro because I thought he would be judgemental, and my sis because she is a worrier). She told me later on (before my surgery) that she had told one of my aunts, my bro, my sis and my step-dad. I was a little upset, but I started asking myself why I cared what everyone thought. I guess it was because I had failed so many other times. I remember walking into all of those weight-watcher meetings and feeling ashamed because I had gained weight AGAIN, quitting every diet, and then gaining every pound back plus more (I think we all have been there). I was embarrased and afraid I would disappoint everyone again. But I knew this time was going to be different. I decided at that point, that this was the best decision I could make for myself and I was going to tell who ever would listen. So I gave my mom the go-ahead to tell whoever she wanted (we have a big family and the night before my surgery, my phone was ringing non-stop - that was a little irritating). Unfortunately, some of the people I thought would be supportive, have disappointed me. Like so many others on the forum, I was also being sick of the fat friend. All of my other friends are skinnier than I am. When I told one friend, she said "well, just don't lose too much weight. I don't want you getting too skinny. Maybe just get down to 160". I think it was along the same lines as she dosen't want me to be smaller than her. The next day she started weight watchers. I think she is a little jealous. Another friend never compliments me about how I look and then makes digs at other areas in my life (not being able to stay at home with my son, missing out on little things he does every day). So that really hurts just as bad. But, I have found support in places where I never thought I would. Since I am a medical student, I have told patients that are in similar situations my story. They are all so supportive and thankful to see that even (future) docs have normal problems too. I have attending physicians who are willing to bend over backwards to help me and are always asking about my progress. It is just amazing where you will find the support once you open up about the surgery. I see my old attendings every other week and they always compliment how good I look (even if I haven't lost any more weight and look frazzled) and ask if they can do anything for me. My current attending is also overweight and has been picking my brain about the surgery. He is also asking me how I am feeling and how I am coming along with my weight. So all in all, I am glad that I decided to tell a lot of people. I have family members that are now looking into the lap band, friends that have started diets because they want a healthier life too. So I know I have helped a couple of people make some big decisions in their life that they might not have if I didn't tell them about my surgery. However, it is still a personal decision. Do whatever you think is best for yourself. Just remember not to let other people make you feel bad. Whatever you decide, you know what is in your best interest.

Hi. I was banded May 22nd. I thought I was ruining my band. I was just thinking "here I go, spoiling my chance of losing weight again". I have lost about 10 pounds since the surgery (I lost 16 before the surgery), but I feel like I am going to gain it all back before my first fill and it terrifies me. I don't want to look like a failure in front of my doctor and his staff. I am definitely able to eat more that I thought I would be able to. And I am still trying to break the habit of eating when I am bored, stressed, etc. I am a student and a mom of a toddler, so I am almost constantly stressed out. So I am having a hard time trying to eat healthy and not eat too much. I am freaking out that I am going to stretch out my band by over-eating. Ahhhh!!! :redface: I go in for my first fill on July 1st, so hopefully, I will feel more restricted. I just want to wish everyone all the best!!!

Hi everyone. I was banded on May 22, 2008. So far, I have only had problems with hard-boiled eggs. I have been able to eat bread, but I have to chew it for a really long time. I haven't gotten my first fill yet, so I don't know if this will change. I was told not to eat sushi because of the small grain sticky rice that it is made with. My doctor told me it will swell up and get stuck. So I am really not even tempted to try. I have tried pasta and it seems to go down ok. It seems like the whole grain pasta goes down better tho.

I am so glad to hear it isn't that bad and it is OK if you don't loose a tremendous amount of weight since the surgery. I think I have lost 9-10 pounds since my surgery and i haven't had any fills yet and I was beginning to feel like I was doing something wrong.

Thank you for this post. I wouldn't have been able to figure it out either!

My pre-op consisted of 2 weeks of the opti-fast diet. They are like milk-shakes. I would have 5 per day, one every 3 hours. I could also have sugar-free jello and water. That was it for 2 weeks. It was 800 calories a day. It wasn't that bad tho. I was actually hungrier after my surgery when I was on only clear liquids.