BandedBrunette481

I am only 4 months out and I've only lost 30 pounds so far but people are already commenting on my weight loss and I agree with you, it's bizarre! I don't get annoyed when people I haven't seen in a while say things like "you look great", because I know they're just trying to give me a compliment. But when the same people feel the need to talk about my weight loss to me all the time, it bothers me. It always makes me feel like I'm under a microscope. I find it strange that people are paying such close attention to me to notice I've lost weight. And when they repeatedly tell me how great I look it's like they're really saying "I notice you now that you're less fat. You look good less fat!" I deal with it much like ChasingaDream mentioned -- a smile and move on to the next topic quickly. People don't get what it's like and don't get that it's weird for us to talk about our weight, even when we're slimming down. Most of us have had trouble with our weight and self esteem for most of our lives so talking about it doesn't come naturally. I just try to realize that other people don't know that and I try not hold it against them that they don't know. I just let it go and keep going

If your surgeon doesn't have any rules about it, eat before your fill! Not right before obviously, but at least a few hours before if you're allowed. I skipped breakfast the morning of my first fill appointment because I was nervous and I regretted it after. All you can drink after is liquids and they just weren't doing anything for my raging hunger. I wasn't expecting to be so hungry and I had forgotten what it was like to be on just liquids lol so just be prepared for the mental aspect of it again.

I've heard the same thing. I watched a video blog by a lady named Banded Wendy (she documented her journey on YouTube and is years out from surgery now!) and she talks about the papaya enzymes working for her when she has a stuck episode. Here's the link to the video if you want to watch. She shows the papaya enzymes like 2 minutes in. It's worth noting that in later videos she does mention they stopped working for her after using them for a while. I think she stopped using them at that point, but if they work for a while, why not right?

Sam- we posted at the same time. I love reading your blog!!!! You are looking fabulous! Thanks Kristi!! I just caught up on your blog today and you are looking fantastic as well! Keep up the great work

Don't worry, fills are just different for everyone. Some people get the right amount of restriction after the first fill, and for some people it takes several fills to get there. Everyone also reacts differently to each fill. Some people feel it right away and for other people it takes a week or two for the fill to really take effect. It sucks, but right now all you can do is be patient. Stick to the right foods and the right portion sizes and you'll be ok. Getting to the Green Zone is the hardest part. I'm trying to get there too and until we do, it's a lot like dieting, so we have to rely on our own willpower. You can do it though! Best of luck to you

Congrats on all of your success! I was banded Feb.18th so we're about at the same place in our journey. It really does feel good to take charge of your life and your body doesn't it? keep up the great work!! Oh! I have some progress pictures on my profile here but I have more on my blog too, if you wanna see.

Sadly, soup is probably all you can have right now. Or some hot tea. Even if you're in the pureed food stage, I can't think of anything that would fit that food stage that you could find on a Chinese restaurant menu.

I didn't lose any weight while I was transitioning into the new food stages. I know it's frustrating because you lost all that weight at the beginning and now you're not, even though you're eating next to nothing still. I went for 2 weeks without losing (or gaining) any weight. So don't worry, it's normal! What actually helped me was eating more calories...I know it sounds counterproductive, but my body goes into starvation mode very easily. If I consistently eat less than 1,000 - 1,200 calories a day, I stall out and don't lose any weight. So make sure you're getting in enough calories and plenty of Protein. You can also increase your exercise routine, or start one if you haven't already. Best of luck to you!

Congrats on all of your success so far!! I'm almost 4 months out and I still crave sweets and junk food. You just have to stick to the diet and it'll get easier to avoid or eat in moderation Keep up all the great work!

I don't have a sample menu, but on my blog I have some posts about high Protein foods and some recipes that you might like. Here's the link: http://blissfullybanded.wordpress.com/recipes/ Another great blog to check out is run by a woman named Shelly. She had RNY done instead of a LapBand, but the diet is pretty similar and adaptable. She has a whole category of posts she calls "A Day in my Pouch" where she details what she eats as well as a bunch of recipe pages! Here's the link to her blog: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

My surgeon says to call them immediately if I experience symptoms like you are describing after a fill. It definitely sounds like you are too tight! I would call your doctor's emergency number or consider going to urgent care. Best of luck to you!

You're going to be bloated and full of gas for a few more days. Like everyone else said, most of it isn't intestinal gas so gas-x and other similar products won't do much for it. I could feel all sorts of movement in my intestines (the doctor called them bowel sounds) for days but didn't pass any gas. It's just your body getting back in working order after surgery just keep walking around. It really does help get everything back to normal!

Bananas always sit weird with me too and I experience that "pressure" feeling for a while. I just stopped eating them because it felt too much like I might get stuck (I never did and never have though!)

Wow! Glad they caught it and you are doing well. I assume you had to have another surgery to get it fixed. Can I ask if your insurance covered the costs of that? I'm always curious about how much insurance is willing to help out if us bandsters ever encounter problems!

This is going to sound silly probably, but the pre-op liquid diet was the best thing that ever happened to me! Lol! Seriously. I thought the same thing when going through it, "this sucks!!!" But now that it's long done and over with, I can look back and appreciate all that it did for me. Not being able to really eat for 2 weeks puts you in great place for post-op. Your stomach won't be freaking out over a sudden lack of food on top of having the new band around it. And since you have to move through the liquid to mushy to normal food stage soooo slow, you're going to be glad you already have practice at not eating much. You'll also get a whole new appreciation for food as you move through the stages. I never thought I'd be so excited for refried Beans in my entire life. And never before had I longed for vegetables and salads. The best thing that came out of my pre-op diet though was that I was able to get my carb addiction under control. Things like bread and rice are no-no's in the post op diet for a while and you'll be so excited about the foods you can eat, you won't miss them at first. Eventually though, you'll be able to eat basically whatever you want again. I just never added starchy carbs like potatoes and white bread back into my diet. I still crave them on occasion, but it's much easier to say no now. I would never have been able to cut out carbs on my own though!! It was all because of the pre-op diet. It set it all in motion for me. So I know the pre-op diet sucks, but you're going to get through it! You already have a great positive attitude about everything so I know you're going to do great best of luck to you!

I gave up a lot of my favorite foods, but I'm not a strict dieter. I didn't get my LapBand so I could be on a diet the rest of my life. I got it to help me build a new, healthy lifestyle. I eat mostly Protein, I eat the correct portion sizes, I avoid starchy carbs, I stay active, and I drink plenty of Water. Do I still eat pizza, french fries, chocolate, and other stuff like that? Yep. But I eat it in moderation and I don't make it a habit like I did before being banded. Honestly, I don't even miss that stuff too much anymore. If you get into the healthy choices mindset right away, it becomes habit, and pretty soon it's just second nature to reach for a salad instead of the junk food. I also kicked my carb addiction during the pre-op diet and didn't allow myself to pick it back up after surgery. That helps a ton! It takes a lot of practice and hard work, but it's worth it

Not to freak you out, but the typical symptoms of a slipped band are vomiting, intense acid reflux, chest pain/pressure, and pain when eating. Since you are experiencing so much vomiting it is definitely worth going to see your doctor about!

You have done an amazing job!!! I am with you. I'm proud of the work I've put in to my new body and I'm going to wear what I want this summer

I've been banded about 2 months now, I have 3cc's in my band, and I've been working at listening to the signals my band is sending. I think it's hard for us newly banded people to always tell what level of restriction we're at. I honestly don't know if I'm in the green zone or not, but I had an epiphany the other day about being full. It went like this: Last night, after a home cooked meal with friends, everyone was sitting around talking about how full they were and rubbing their stomachs. I sat there thinking am I full too? I wanted to ask them all how they knew they were full. Did they feel it in their stomachs, physically? Because that’s what my definition of full was before I was banded. I was full when I physically felt as though I couldn’t eat another bite. If I felt like I could still eat more, I wasn’t full. Epiphany: I was still expecting that feeling after being banded, just that it would happen with less food, and that is all sorts of wrong! That’s not how full is supposed to feel for anyone, banded or not. That’s what overeating feels like. Maybe full is the wrong word to use in general because, to me, it means “no more room.” My doctor often uses the term ‘satisfied’ in place of full but that doesn’t work for me either because I’m a food addict, I’m never quite “satisfied” with any amount of food. That’s how I got up to 235 pounds, ya know what I mean? I prefer the word done, as in “I am done eating.” I don’t have to be full or satisfied to be done eating. It just means I have to stop, whatever the reason. Plus, it sounds very final and that helps me stop my head hunger. So, was I done eating at that dinner with friends? Absolutely. I could tell that I had eaten in the sense that I felt the food in my stomach, but I wasn’t hurting or feeling uncomfortable like so many of my companions. I was just done. It’s wonderful to realize that I don’t have to strive for full or even satisfied. I just have to eat enough of the right things to fuel my body and then be done. (This is an excerpt from my original blog post. Click here if you want to read the whole thing) I wanted to share this on the forum because I hope it can inspire others who are struggling. So who's with me on making "done" the new term for full?

I'm glad so many of you enjoyed my message!! It's quite the process trying to retrain ourselves to eat after being banded, but it helps to have the support of others who are going through it as well

I've only had one fill so far but it was a big one. They put 3cc's in my 10cc band and I could feel it going in and then I got this weird feeling of pressure in my throat. But the liquids and mushy foods I ate the first few days after went down just fine. I was hungrier than I had ever been, in fact. It took me about a week to feel like I had gotten a fill. I still don't feel as though there is much restriction, since anything gets through, but I did get that not hungry feeling you mentioned! I like that part

So sorry you're in pain! I hate to say it....but there isn't much you can do besides what you are already doing -- heat, walking, and pain meds. The pain is from the gas they fill your abdomen with during surgery so they can see better. They take as much of it out as they can before they close up but some still stays trapped in your abdominal cavity. It's not intestinal, so gas-x might not help all that much. Eventually your body gets rid of it on it's own. Unfortunately, this gas often sits around your diaphragm and pushes on one of the major nerves in your body. This sends the pain signals to your shoulder and that's what you're feeling. It might be worth it to contact your doctor and see if they can give you a stronger pain medication, one that will help the shoulder pain. I hope you feel better soon! Hang in there, it gets better

Congrats on your surgery and new life, as you put it! Everything you describe sounds pretty much the same experience that I had. I wasn't hungry or thirsty really, but I knew I didn't want to get dehydrated so I sipped warm tea, had popsicles, and Powerade zero for electrolytes. Just keep getting the liquids down in whatever form works for you! I know what you mean about that weird pressure. I don't know what it's from, maybe the swelling, but it goes away! To me it felt like I needed to burp, but it got "stuck" and I couldn't, and when I brought it up to my doctor she said it was because of the band placement. In two weeks I was able to burp again and it felt much better! The short of breath thing has to do with anesthesia I believe. My pulmonologist said that when you get put under, your lungs "sleep" and when they wake you back up they stay kind of lazy and don't want to do a lot of work. The hospital sent me home with a little breathing thing (spirometer I think they're called?) that I had to blow into 10 times an hour to get my lungs working again. I think that's what took the longest for me to feel back to normal. I couldn't take very deep breathes for weeks. If you didn't get one of those breathing things, you can still work your lungs by taking deep breathes to fill your lungs and blowing out slowly. It hurts, but it's good for you and the more you do it the better you'll feel. Obviously I'm not a medical professional, so if your symptoms continue to concern you, definitely call your doctor for advice on what to do! Best of luck to you!

Sounds good!!! I like to eat the dark chocolate dusted almonds that Blue Diamond makes when I'm craving something sweet. They aren't covered in chocolate like you would expect, it's more of a powder, but they're soooo good! A small handful is enough to satisfy my sweet tooth

It says that all the time lol don't worry about it too much. Follow your doctor's guidelines. To be honest though, you might go into starvation mode. My body did I think. I didn't lose any weight for 2 weeks when I started mushy foods even though I was only eating 600-800 calories a day. I have found that if I eat under 1200 calories too often, I stall out in my weight loss. But it doesn't happen to everyone since everyone's bodies are different. If it does happen to you, just know that it's temporary because you will increase your calories gradually as you move through the food stages. It's not super important that you are losing tons of weight the first few weeks anyways. Best of luck to you