CarrieBrownsville

Today I had my post-op even though surgery was 17 days ago. The surgeon seemed really happy and surprised to discover I had lost 17 pounds. My band does not have much restriction so I will have a first fill in two weeks. All in all, I am very happy with the progress so far. I no longer take blood pressure or diabetes medicines and that makes me very happy. I'm still on arthritis medication, but am hoping once large amounts of weight come off, I'll be able to survive without it. I would recommend the lap band to anyone!

The only thing I want to say is to caution you. If you eat after 8, you may find yourself eventually suffering with gastric reflux and coughing at night, which is not fun. I am diabetic as well and have found the only way to avoid being uncomfortable throughout the night is to eat earlier. Eventually, that need to snack before bed is going to disappear and your blood sugar readings will level out, so this won't be a question. If you continue to eat at night, it's going to be because you want to, not because you have to. Try training yourself now to give up that snack - sometimes I find I use diabetes as an excuse when, in fact, it shouldn't be considering I am no longer on any type of medication! Good luck - it takes discipline and mega desire!

You've come this far in breaking your addiction, so don't go back and start over! The headaches should only last 4-5 days, so you're almost done. Try drinking Crystal Light if you can't stand water. BTW, if you are a coffee drinker, you can have decaf coffee, but not to an extreme. The name of this game is going to be balance in everything. We cannot be extremists and accomplish our goals. Breaking the habits now before surgery sounds like a smart thing to do on your part! Hang in there - start weaning yourself off sugar as well by using natural sweetners. Believe me, this is all a process that doesn't come overnight. Good luck to you - it will be well worth what sacrifices you are willing to make to become healthy again.

I have exactly the same issues. I am 5 months out and have played with the same 4-5 pounds for over a month now. I upped my intake of liquid protein and that seems to help some, but still haven't gotten down beyond those same 4-5 pounds. I'll lose a couple, then gain them back, then lose them, then gain them. Some days I can eat anything and other days everything is a chore and I throw up. It's a roller coaster, but I am not discouraged! I'm still learning to respect the band and let it be the tool it's supposed to be. It will never be easy for me, but will be worthwhile. One other thing I might add. My support group consists of all gastric sleeve or bypass patients. I am the only bander. While their weight loss is fast and furious, I refuse to let that deter me. Even the nurse who leads the group does not advocate the band. I talked with my doc about it, and his feeling is that slow and steady will win the race. 2-3 years out, my weight loss will be comparable to others who have had other procedures. We have to look at the goal and walk toward it, never giving up!

You need liquids that contain protein. I doubt you need the acidity of grapefruit juice, plus I would question how much sugar is in it. If a serving has more than 5 grams of sugar, you probably shouldn't be drinking it. If you stocked up on protein powder before your surgery, you can just mix it with water and you're good to go. You need plenty of liquids and tons of protein right now!

Also, you might want to pay attention to sugar. Orange juice may have too many grams. My doc said not to eat anything with sugar more than 5 grams per serving. You have to be really careful. Personally, I think it's better to just ingest protein without all the additional ingredients. I take fat-free, low sugar Greek yogurt and add sweetener and vanilla or any other flavoring I might want. That makes for a high protein, low everything else dish. I've eaten it for all three meals when I was first banded. Now I eat it for breakfast because I like it so much and sometimes I've even eaten for dessert when I felt my protein wasn't quite enough.

I got a fill 8 days before we were to leave for Christmas. The fill was too much and I ended up spending the day before leaving by sitting in the doc's office waiting to get 1/2 cc. unfill. Believe me, it's not worth it! If you are doing well now, why not wait until you come home and can take the time needed to make sure the fill is what you needed. Just sayin...

Try Cream of Wheat, yogurt, cottage cheese or even oatmeal. Any of these would stay in your stomach longer than liquids.

Back in December I had a 1 cc fill. I experienced exactly the same thing you mention. I managed to make it a week before I got back in to see the surgeon. He said the good news was that I had lost 10 pounds in one week, but the bad news was that I was starving my body to do it! He removed 1/2 cc and it made all the difference in the world! We are not supposed to be suffering, so do yourself a favor and call the doc! Life with the band is not supposed to be harmful, but we have to know the difference, and this is a learning experience. You will feel 100% better if the doc removes just a tad of the fluid.

What is really sad to me is that so many people invest so much time, money, energy and emotions into getting banded, and then they need to hear this? Why or why would you not want to change your eating habits!? We're all adults and we all did this because we needed it - do we really need to be told common sense instructions? Bottom line is you have to want it enough to be willing to sacrifice certain things. We need to stop being self-absorbed and thinking about what we want, not what we need!

I take Biotin, which comes in a sublingual form to melt under the tongue. I get it at Vitamin Shoppe, but you can find it on line as well.

The tightness is only going to get worse. My last fill did exactly the same thing - good for a couple of days, but then unable to keep anything down. Christmas should not be a concern - you will be miserable as the days go by. I last one week and when I finally could get to the doctor, he took out 1/2 cc and it made all the difference in the world! The down side is that because I had lost 10 pounds in 6 days, when food was finally able to stay down, I immediately gained a pound here and there until I hit 5 pounds gained. Now I'm stabilized, still down 5 pounds more, and am getting used to having real food again. Do yourself a favor - if it all possible, get a little taken out. Christmas will be no fun for you if you don't.

I recenly had a fill of 1 cc. It was too tight and I spent a week in discomfort with daily vomiting, acid reflux at night, and never being able to keep more than a few ounces of food down. I can only get to my surgeon on a Thursday and I waited an entire week before getting to him. He removed a 1/2 cc. Now I am hungry and can eat much more than the week before. I've gained 3 pounds since Thursday! Finding the green zone is the biggest challenge with a band. Once we get there, though, we will be very happy. It costs me $120 everytime I have an adjustment. I know my surgeon is doing the best he can in getting me into the zone, but it takes time to find it. I just have to be patient and do my part in not overeating. We will get there - it just may not be overnight.

I have 6 cc. in a 10-cc band and believe I am now in the zone. Had the last fill of 1 cc 2 days ago and right now, it feels tight and difficult, but am thinking it will loosen up a bit in a few days when I start adding back food.

Many surgeons will put just enough saline in the band during surgery to ensure the band is lubricated. Most fills don't occur until 4-6 weeks after surgery. I have a 10 cc. band and now have 6 cc's in it, but you just can't go by other people. Every body is different and will require different amounts. Do plenty of research, and I guarantee some of your questions will be answered without even posting here.

I love breakfast! I do tend to mix it up, though, so boredom doesn't set in. One of my favorites, in addition to eggs, is protein pancakes. I just mix 2-1 Ricotta cheese and protein powder with a couple eggs and a tsp. of baking soda. They make a nice substitute and I use sugar-free syrup on them. Having been diabetic for years, I've been doing low carb most my adult life, and will also use almond flour, as well as Carbquick, which is a low carb substitute for Bisquick, so there's not much I have to give up. I will tell you this, though, all the nutritionists insist that we do low carb, low fat, which is possible, but not as tasty. I have shaved off some of the fats, but for the most part, don't even bother worrying about it. It's working just fine, and this AM I had a 3-lb. weight loss after my 2nd fill yesterday. I'll do liquids until Monday, but then I hope to be back on low carb. I just bought everything to make chicken cacciatore on Monday and will eat it as a soup, rather than serve it over pasta. The only thing that's changed since surgery is the amount of food I eat, but that wasn't until after I had done the doc's regimentation. Enjoy! Life is too short to do otherwise!

I wear compression shorts and have bought them at Academy and Walmart for about $10 each. I also have a pair of crop pants for working out. I find them extremely comfortable and they breathe with you and sometimes I don't even realize I have them on. Hope that helps.

Some doctors recommend you wear compression shorts (like bicyclists wear) to help in the healing process. The Spanx will keep your skin from hanging so much and could help tighten the muscles. I wore the shorts for about 2 weeks after surgery and still wear them every now and then.

I eat with my husband and just eat smaller portions. It works for us.

My surgeon offers all WLS, but he said unless someone is addicted to sweets, he would recommend the band because it's less invasive. The bypass is an excellent tool for someone who eats a lot of sugar because if he or she eats sugar after the bypass, it means a dumping syndrome occurs. Since sugar is not my problem, as I am diabetic and do not eat sugar anyway, he highly recommend the band. Now when I got to monthly support groups, I am the only one there with a bad and at least a half dozen others have had bypass. Yes, they are losing more rapidly than I am, but they will always be susceptible to gaining the weight back. At least with the band, as I lose weight, I can have it adjusted and I like that option. Good luck on yhour decision - both are good surgeries, but are only tools - it's how you apply them that counts!

I weigh every day, but that's because my husband and I have had this habit for years. We are the type of people who need to know our daily weight so that we can gauge ourselves accordingly. We used to RV full-time, and weighing in daily kept us from going crazy with food in different parts of the country. We don't obssess over it - it just a habit that works for us.

Carbonation can cause the stomach to move too much (it's a muscle) so no soda whatsoever! As for diet, a low carb, high protein diet is still very healthy if you eat good carbs, not junk. Do what your doctor tells you to do and then mention to him what the nutritionist told you - personally, I think they need to find a different nutritionist even if she does claim to specialize in bariatric patients!

My surgeon wants me on 2 multivitamins, 2 calciums and 1 iron per day for the rest of my life! I scaled down the multi to one a day and I tried the Bariatric Advantage samples from the nutritionist. I then bought chewables for everything at Walmart, which saved me a bundle. If eating properly, I'm inclined to think the Walmart ones will be just fine.

I am 100% low carb/high protein so I don't bother to count calories. Have done this regime for many years, so am pretty sure of what I can and cannot eat. Losing weight, slowly but steadily. 2nd fill scheduled for next week.

Are you losing weight? If so, then maybe it's not too much. Try counting the calories on that list and see where it leads. That would be a better measurement of whether or not it's too much food.