La_madam

No Christmas dinner is well worth the reward. I had my surgery on April 6th of 2004, 1 week before Easter, I was on liquids for Easter dinner, but 1 year later this Easter I had dinner with the same family members and I had lost over 80 lbs, what a blessing for me...I enjoyed Easter dinner this year. Next Christmas you will be thin and get to enjoy it..Best of luck to you on your upcoming surgery. The good thing is by having the band and getting healthier and adding years to your life, you will most likely be around for alot more Christmas dinners

You may not be experiencing restriction yet. Restriction comes from your fills. SOme get restriction initially from surgery but many do not. The key is right now during the healing phase is to practice all of the rules..eat slow, chew chew chew, small bites, no drinking with meals and wait 1 hour after a meal to eat.Protein first then veggies, then fruits if you haveroom then carbs. Remember the first 6 weeks is for healing and getting your band to set into place, not for weight loss. any weight lost during this phase is a bonus. Weight loss will come once you get proper restriction from your fills. Congratulations to you on your new band, I wish you lots of success P.S. It is totally normal to feel hungry during this phase, you are not alone here, all new bandsters get hungry but once the fills start happening your hunger wil lsubside. One thing that works for me with my hunger is Protein, protein curbs the hunger. Carbs will crave more scarbs and you wil lbe hungry..Keep the carbs to a minimum and the protein high , it will help with hunger!

I notice my port more, seems the more I lose the more I notice it..you could also be feeling scar tissue which is forming around the port. ...I think it is normal for us to always worry that something has gone wrong with our ports and bands. I'm 18 month post op and I stil lworry about it.

Hi LaTonsha Welcome to LBT..Congratulations on your new band. I wish you lots of success You are off to a good start all ready!

Congratulations Shan on your new band..I hope the two of you have a long lasting successful relationship together.

Lynn, Job Well done! Keep it up, you are doing great

Hi Babs, sounds like you had a great time, glad to hear you are back to feeling like your old self after PS...bet you looked hot in Vegas strutting your new body

Prada Girl, you are not alone..I had the same pain and I continue to get it from time to time especially after a fill. I'm 18 months post op and still experience it..

Kare, I can only speak from my own ER experience here in CA I had complete bowel obstruction, and was in theworst pain I have EVER been in in my life..the ER doc specifically told me he did not feel comfortable operating on me since he did not know anything about the lap band, he told me I needed to go back to MX and have Ortiz fix me, that is when he called Ortiz and spoke to him on the phone and Ortiz told him to get me to MX ASAP and he would do the surgery I found out later through the President of the hospital that I went to who is a customer of mine that Mission Hospital does not have a bariatric team or department...which explains it all. I was told next time in an emergency situation to go to SOuth Coast Medical where they have a trained bariatric team. This is just my experience...personally I would rather travel to Tj for an emergency since Ortiz knows me and my band so well...the time Id wait in the ER waiting room here in CA to be seen by an ER doc I can be in TJ and get treated immediately. I waited 2 hours in the ER waiting room before I was even seen..It takes 1.5 hours to drive to Ortiz's office

Great attitude.. Thanks for reminding us that even when things look bleak and we are down in the dumps there are things to be grateful for! So happy to hear you are having such a good day

I know you do not want to go to Mexico, but if for some reason you get no where with the U.S. docs and you stil lwant answers I'm going down to TJ on OCt 31st for an endo with Ortiz, you can join me if you'd like, we can both get our endos done together and hold eachothers hands Exactly the reason I'm going to TJ and pay the 250...Sure I can have it done here and my insurance will pay for it but if they do not know what they are looking for, whether it be erosion or some other band problem..then what is the point. I had an endo done in April and Ortiz was adament I see him in 6 months to do another for comparison which is hwy I'm going on the 31st. I wish you the best and I truly hope you get some answers and one of those U.S. docs will help you out. You have endured enough all ready!

Have a protein drink..it will help curb the hunger and it is liquid Protein curbs my hunger..if you are allowed soups at this stage then I'm sureyou are allwoed protein drinks..Instead of broth replacewith protein shakes add a bananna or a scoop of peanut butter to the protein drink and blend it with lots of ice, it will fill you up

Day 5 no chocolate...OMG! This is tough...25 more days UGGHHH

I lost 100 lbs in 18 months, thats an average of 5.5 lbs a month.

How you feeling this morning Lisa? I never heard from you the other night so I am assuming you made it homes safely and passed right by those 7-11's and drive thrus. Good Girl!

Wishing you well Zoe...sending you happy thoughts to a speedy recovery

Bananas do NOT go down easy for me, be careful, I would go with the canned peaches if anything during the mushy phase, mixed with cottage cheese...Mmm yummy

Kim, good for you for being the responsible bandster, many in your shoes would risk the tightness for the weight loss and rsik damage to their band. I'm happy for you that you went in and had a little removed. .3 removed will make a huge difference in you being able to eat solids but yet still lose weight and releive the reflux. Lets us know how it feels once you get to solids

Hi Sherri Congratulations and welcome to LBT, glad to see you've come out of hiding. Best of luck to you with your new band, I hope you have lots of success

Angie, Congratulations, I'm happy for you. Glad your home safe Heres to a happier , healthier new you ! I wish you lots of success with your band

1. Does the lapband slow down your metabolism. I've read that it holds food for longer... Havent heard that one before 2. What can I expect to be able to eat after the surgery? Will I forever be eating soup and what not or will I be able to eat normally again? You will be able to eat almost allthe foods you eat now but in smaller quantities.Breads, rice and pastas ,may become difficult as your band gets tighter 3. What is the best thing about the Lap Band? It reduces the ammount of food you eat 4. What is the worst? The PB's 5. What do you wish you would have known before getting into this? I researched it for so long, nothing was a suprise to me. Anything else you might have to say would be very helpful...Thanks The most important thing I Can say is to have patience, the weight loss is not like the bypass, it can be slow, there will be plateaus, it will not happen overnight. It has taken me 18 months to lose 100 lbs,I had a several month long plateau.

Lins, there is a slow losers club here ..do a search on it, you will get good info from others who have joined it. You are right it is a journey, lets hope this 3rd fill works for you....are you going to Martinez for your fills?

164 for me this morning, a loss of 6 lbs total from the start of the challenge

10/10 164 todays weight lost 1 lb Waist 33 lost 1 inch since 9/20 Hips 40 lost 1 inch since 9/20 Under Bra 36 lost 1 inch since 9/20 Total lost 6 lbs and 3 inches since 9/20

Every Dr.s post op varies but it is important to follow your Dr.'s instructions they are there for a reason, the reason for no solids for 3-4 weeks is so your band anchors into place, if you eat solids too soon you can risk your band slipping since the digestion process is so hard on your stomach with all the turning and churning it has to do to digest the solids. I was on liquids for 4 weeks before I was allowed mushys then 2 weeks after that before I was allowed solids. Congratulations on the weight loss , but do follow the instructions, I would hate to see you jeopardize your band in any way before you are 100% healed.