drehn88

Fellow Texan here. I'm not too big into spicy foods, but I am able to still eat at my favorite restaurant, Chuy's. The dish I get is pretty spicy and I haven't had a problem yet. Other foods have given me a bit of heartburn, but not that. Then again, I'm not in the green zone yet so I may eventually have a problem.

Scheduling it around your Christmas break sounds like a good idea. I think 17 days is a good amount of time.

I have an desk job at a school and definitely needed a whole week off. The first few days back were a little hard because I had no energy from lack of food (IMO). If you can, I would take at least 1.5 weeks off. You have a pretty physical job.

I was not given one. I've only read a few posts that talk about that machine after surgery. I'm thinking most don't get one after LB surgery.

Then you will do just fine with the pain. I never had surgery prior to banding so it was a rude awakening. Probably my biggest fear that first week was vomiting. I didn't want to mess up the band. Thankfully the meds worked and I never threw up.

To be honest, I hated them! I couldn't wait until my liquid phase was over (I didn't have to do shakes during my pre op diet). I will probably never drink another protein shake again. After fills I'm supposed to do liquids for 24 hours. I find other liquids and avoid the shakes. Sorry I can't be any help for you other than I feel your pain.

Lookin' good, Creekwood!

Good luck! I'm sure everything will go well for you. Who is your surgeon? Mine was Marsden. My first week was kind of tough. I would say many have it better than me and a few had a worse experience. The main reason is I don't think I was realistic before the surgery that there would be real pain/discomfort and a lot of it. Your ab muscles will hurt when you get up, cough, laugh, etc. Keep a pillow handy to hold against your stomach during those times. Nausea was bad for me right after surgery, on the way home, and the morning of the 3rd day. If they didn't give you anti nausea meds ask for them now. You may not experience nausea, but if you do you will need medicine. It really helps. The gas was bad from day 3 to maybe day 7. Walk a lot and use a heating pad. All the tricks you read on LBT really do help. Post any problems or just how you are feeling. It helps to know other people are or have gone through the same thing. After a week, you will (or should) feel like normal again.

Years ago when I thought "clean eating" was for me (which it wasn't!) I read that nutrition is 80% of losing weight. The other 20% is comprised of genetics and exercising. Exercise is more about cardiovascular health which, of course, is very important. What you eat will make you lose weight. I think this should be your focus. Are you eating too many carbs? That's my downfall and that's when I don't lose weight. Calories in, calories out makes sense, but what makes up those calories is more important. This is my opinion from all the diet books I've read.

Yes, tylenol is a good replacement for your pain medicine. Unfortunately, though, it isn't as good for pain.

That is where my port is too. I was banded on May 6 and I still have discomfort especially in the morning. I guess it's from the way I sleep.

Sounds like a very serious problem and I can imagine it would be even worse for someone that is banded. I've experienced it twice since banding (only once or twice before) and I am definitely telling my nurse when I go in for a fill next time.

I'm in Rockwall! Let me know if you have any questions. PM me if you want. :-)

Yep, true results in Dallas. I am pleases with them but you either have to ask tons of questions or do your own research. They gave me a book but that's it. LBT is probably the best resource. Where are you located?

I'm noticing it everywhere, but what I'm most surprised about is how small my wrists/forearms and ankles are. I guess being (really) fat meant I was retaining A LOT of fluid.

Sounds pretty smart to me!

You look great! Congrats!

The abdominal pain is very normal. It will last for a week or two. The pain in your chest is probably gas. I had pain in my left shoulder and pain/pressure in my chest. It went away in a week. Hang in there. It will get much better I promise.

I will try not to be rude but honest. I'm proud of you for making this life changing decision. I'm sure it was very hard for you at your age. It was hard for me at 43. I have an overweight 18 yr old son and the lap band way of eating would be extremely hard for him. So, your life has changed dramatically at a very early age. That's good because you won't live a life of being overweight and feeling bad about yourself. That CAN be bad because your way of eating will be different forever. I hope you are willing to make all those changes to avoid any damage to your band or health. Good luck and embrace all the wonderful new changes that will happen with your weight loss.

Hey! I was banded May 6. I've had one fill (total 4.5 cc in 10 cc band) and I've lost 36 pounds. My weight loss has stalled for the last couple weeks. I don't think it's a fill problem but a food choice problem. I haven't been getting 60 grams of protein so that means too many carbs. I've decided to buckle down this week and do low carb. I'm certain this will get the scale moving in the right direction. I haven't PB'd or vomited, but I'm starting to wonder if the "full" feeling in the middle of my chest sometimes is considered a stuck episode. I'm always able to drink with this feeling so I'm not sure what it is.

This is just a suggestion (I haven't tried it). Some experts say interval training is the best for weight loss. For example, for 3 minutes walk at a slow pace, 2 minutes at a moderate pace, and 1 minute at a fast pace (ie, walk at 3.0, then 3.5, then 4.0). Do these 6 minute intervals for 30 minutes and you're done. I did try it one time last year and it kicked my butt. I definitely think it would work, especially for a plateau.

If the bandages got wet I think you should change them. I took a shower on day 2 post op and took my bandages off because they were wet. I put on smaller, dry bandaids and everything was fine.

I'm 2.5 months post op and have experienced what I think is heart burn 3 times (I never had HB before surgery). After eating, I feel a burning sensation in the middle of my chest that doesn't go away until the next day. Twice it happened after eating breakfast sausage/eggs and once after chicken salad. I've eaten those foods before and didn't have a problem. Is this my band telling me not to eat those foods or have I done damage like dilation or slip? I've never had a stuck/PB/vomit episode. A few times I've had left shoulder pain after eating, but I figure that's from eating a bite or two too much. The heart burn (or whatever) is annoying, but I'm more worried that I've done damage to my band.

Thanks Guy! I feel much better. Did you have heart burn before the band? Very strange that the band can actually start it. My family has major issues with GERD, although I've been the lucky one to never have a problem.

By second stage do you mean all foods (not liquids or mushies)? If yes, then there is definitely a stall in weight loss or even a gain when you add foods to your diet. If you are finally eating carbs again, then you could be retaining fluid and that's what caused the gain. I wouldn't worry about it. Keep tracking your calories and you will do great.