toodlelooz

I too am in a very similar boat. I had my LB surgery this past March and todate I'm only down 30 lbs. I am also addicted to sugar, especially soda's. I stopped drinking them when I first had the surgery and did well enough (for a short period). I started drinking them again and back to being hooked along with all kinds of other sugary no-no's. I'm so disgusted with myself and yet I knew the LB wasn't going to be the magic fix; it is only a tool and one that can only be used when I do my part in return. That's the kicker for me....I can't seem to keep doing what I'm supposed to do. I find that I can eat things (I'm not supposed to) and the next thing I know, I'm off-track totally. I haven't gained any of my weight back (yet), but it's only a matter of time. I'm in bad shape. I've recently started feeling like my band has slipped. I call TR-Scottsdale (where I got my surgery) and they want me to come in tomorrow to get it checked out. I'm scared because I know I'll get my behind chewed out (as I well deserve). Because they can only do x-rays on Mon & Thurs and they are booked until January, they will most likely defill me until I can get back for an xray. I really don't want that to happen....it scares me that I will start gaining weight back. Once again I have to go to the docs/med assists and confess my failure. What does it truly take to change your way of thinking? How does one just "do it"? Does attending support groups/meetings truly help? I've no doubt this is an emotional thing...not ever filling full enough. I've gone to individual counseling and group counseling for self-help issues BUT nothing ever seems to last for weight loss issues. I've never gone to OA (overeaters anonymous) but have done step-groups in a christian environment. It helped a little but not for weight loss. I'm totally clueless.

Me TOO! I was banded March 7 and feel like I'm hungry all the time. I've been trying to find mushie recipes to help fill me up more but I'm still hungry. I found that if I chew, chew, chew and chew chew chew some more, I can eat things like egg salad - which did eventually fill me up but must admit, it took more than the allowed 1/2 cup to do so. I was starting to wonder if this band thing was really for me and scared to death that once again, I invested good money; money I don't have to throw away...on another WL scam. BUT reading your posts from others advising this is all a normal "process" and that I will eventually get to the FILLED point, gives me encouragement. I'm supposed to have my first fill April 7th, but I'm calling the doc office tomorrow to talk about my hunger and see if maybe we need to bump up the fill date. I don't want to do poorly. Thanks for being so honest. :-)

I got banded on Mar 7th and also am experiencing severe gas pain. I thought I was going to be Superwoman and go back to work, lickety split..no issues. WRONG! I went back to work today (with the gas issue building up even more-so throughout the day). By quitting time, I was hurting BIGTIME! I came home and took my meds and the Gas-X. It helped a bit. The more I read on this website (which I am so grateful to have found) the less worried I feel. From all that I've read, I truly believe it's a gas issue. Yes, I'm sore/tender, very delicate around the port area especially, but I really don't feel "pain" from the incisions. I feel the pain (like heartburn) right in the middle of my chest and sometimes under my left breast and around to my back. All of which seem to be related to the gas issue. Why I thought I was going to be so "princess-like" and not be dealing with "GAS", but a princess I am not. All I want to do is let one rip...BELCH of course (nothing seems to want to come out the other...sorry for details but we are in a "safe" place...right?). Anyway, I'm right there with you and so glad to share. Hope it helps you just a bit. Hang in there....everyone says this is so worth the pain we go through. So far, I'm content. See you around....

Welcome aboard! I got banded last Friday and so grateful I have a place like this website to come to with all that I'm experiencing. Keep checking in and let us know how you're doing.

I woke up this morning hurting. I think it's more because I slept the night flat on my back. I like to sleep on my sides a good bit so it makes sense why my back might be hurting. I also still feel the pressure in my middle chest from the gas bubble. I'd like to know when that is going to finally end. My port incision is very tender and sore and hurts. Today I take a shower....yeah! The bloating seems to be going down from the surgery. My tummy doesn't feel quite as hard as surgery date. I'm so tempted to get on the scales to see if I've lost any, but what I've read from previous other blogs, I think I want to wait. I went in to this knowing that the best method for me is to lose weight slowly...maybe 1 lb a week. It's hard not to get excited and think I've lost more. I was soooo happy when I weighed in before surgery and found that I was down to 228 lbs from 235 lbs. I haven't lost that kind of weight in awhile so it's hard not to get excited. I have found that the broth soups seem to be enough to keep me full. I ate a total of 4 cups throughout the day yesterday. It would get cold but it tasted good enough when I would feel hungry. My boyfriend would eat his food and I have to admit that I really wanted to snack on some of his chips & salsa BUT I realized it was out of habit more than actually being hungry. THAT is what this journey will help me with....hopefully to get my emotional eating under control for the first time in my life. It's so strange to me to be talking about my actual weight in public, but this is a safe website (right?) to do just that. All of you understand my apprehension, right? I'm so SICK of being this heavy, but I've made a choice to do something GOOD. I feel hope for the first time in I don't know how long that I can actually lose the weight that I've been dreaming about for what seems like forever. Now I have a "tool" that will help me to lose it and keep it off for the rest of my life IF I choose to do the legwork. That means no liquid calories...binge eating ice cream, heavy laden soups filled with cream and dairy that I don't need (just to name a few). I feel hopeful that I'm finally going to be able to bend down to pick something up off the ground and not be out of breath in the process of embarrassed for someone to see me struggle to do so. I'm so looking forward to the day that I can look in the mirror in the morning when I've finished dressing for work and instead of seeing the bulging checks and neckline filled with fat that I will see healthy lean face. There may be sagging skin...I'm keeping my fingers crossed it won't be too bad, but that will be better than all this fat covering me now. I want to wear a blouse that I don't see my tummy folds pressed against the fabric and then have to walk away knowing that I'm too fat to look any different. Sure, I can keep buying bigger and bigger tops, but they just make me look like a fat woman that needs something to cover up with. Not a curvaceous woman, but a FAT woman that has no choice but to wear FAT clothes. Today I live with hope that one day in the near future, I will look in the mirror and smile, a genuine smile because I actually "like" what I'm seeing. Amen!

The first new day of the rest of my life began yesterday. My appointment to be at the surgery center was 9:00 Am...I got there at 8:32 Am, hungry, nervous, anxious, excited for the future...all the norm (so I was told). Everyone from Susie the front desk assistant to the pre-op nurse, Natissa (I think that was her name), to Julie-OP nurse, surgeon Dr. Shawn Stevenson (very nice and comforting), the Anesthesiologist (I want to say Ted but can't remember....was a funny guy) to Carrie my post-surgery nurse....ALL were very comforting and made me feel like I was very special the whole way out the door. Hah! Everything went accordingly. I woke up with a really sore throat and a huge gas bubble in the middle of my chest (which I was forewarned could happen). Those were the things I noticed the most and then I felt the pain of the incisions, so Carrie asked if I needed pain meds/drip and I said YES PLEASE! So she loaded me up with Demerol which helped, but that darn gas bubble was the worse. All I could think about was letting out one great big huge BELCH but nothing, nadda, zip, nuel, zero. Ugh! So I continued on. Carrie told me I could get up whenever I felt like it. I told her I wanted to do it then so off to the bathroom we went. Thank goodness she accompanied, I felt like a little baby needing to get dressed. I probably should have waited a bit longer, but in all the information/tons of reading done pre-op, I had it in my mind that they want you up and moving ASAP. I was bound and determined to be superwoman....for about a minute! By then my beautiful daughter was by my bedside asking me how I was. I think I told her okay/fine or something of the sort OR I may have vocalized rather loudly how much I just wanted to BELCH. She laughed. Since I must have been impressive in my superwoman state of mind, Carried started preparing me to leave. She removed my IV and made sure I had plenty of sipping water for the bubble pressure. She checked all my vitals and then said I was good to go if I wanted to leave. That's when the nausea kicked in BIGTIME! Unfortunately since she had already removed the IV, I had to wait to take the meds that I thankfully had filled the night before and brought with me. So my daughter left to pull up to the exit and Carrie wheeled me to the car, helped me and waved good bye telling me to make sure to take my meds right away and call if I had any problems. My daughter immediately stopped at the first convenient store and got me some water for my meds. I took them immediately and I believe the nausea went away shortly afterward. I wasn't thinking right because I forgot that the nausea meds were dissolving tablets that melted on your tongue. Oh well...it helped. Homeward bound in the middle of noon-rush hr traffic...one hour later we arrived home. First thing I did was get my GAS-X strips and took one for the intensely insane gas issue. It really hurt and my throat felt like I had strep or something similar. Water was my best friend beside the Gas-X. Eventually I let out a little "urrp" enough for my daughter to laugh at me. She's usually the one that does the loud burping and I'm constantly after her to use her manners (best she can) to be as lady-like possible. But now I know when you got one of the bubbles in the midst....LET IT OUT! Of course I burp...everyone does, but it feels SOOOO goood. Matter of fact - as I'm writing this one just came out...yippee! So the rest of the day pretty much was a blend of trying to lay down, but getting back up, doing some walking, doing the lung thingie, taking meds, back to bed, walk a little more, do another round of lung exercizing, try to belch again & again, sip some water to ease the throat soreness, etc., etc., etc. I also took a vitamin C and Fish Oil caplet to get some nutrients in since I'll be living off of broth for the next week. I was very careful to take them each slowly. Was successful, felt no pressure/pain in swallowing them. I thought for sure I'd want to sleep all day & night, but I had the worst insomnia bout...I just couldn't get to sleep. I didn't feel so much the pain of the incisions as the gas pressure as it started to move under my left breast and back area. It's still with me today; not as bad but it's there. Today - my incisions hurt and I feel stiff and groggy/sleepy. I finally went to bed about 6:00 AM (I think) when I finally fell asleep until about 10:00 AM. While laying there waking up, I thought I don't feel any pain (nothing excruciating) so maybe I could forego the pain/nausea meds until later when I truly needed them. But as I got up to pee...my body immediately told me I wasn't SILLY for thinking I didn't need to take my meds FIRST THING! I'm also hungry...enough to start the broth thingie. So I took my meds, regular meds (Nature Throid for hypothyroidism) and my daily multi-vits/supplements. I'm a big naturopathic healthcare nut when it comes to vits/supps. I've never been able to do well at following a good healthy eating plan, so the vits/sups help as back-up. I see a Naturopathic Doc (ND) regularly which was part of my reason to finally do something about my weight. She's been wanting me to lose weight for the 5+ years I've been seeing her and although I've lost weight at times, I never kept it off. Sadly, I'm heavier today than I was when I first started seeing her. Ugh! But that will be another blog for another day. I'm getting tired and my broth is getting cold, so off to bed I go, hoping to get some much needed rest. I will check back in with you later. Thanks for stopping by. Nighty nite....

Hi everyone - first time to post something here. I had my surgery yesterday and all went accordingly. I was forewarned that their would be gas-pressure/build-up, but I had no clue it would hurt so much. Thank goodness I had the right idea to purchase Gas-X strips the day before to be prepared. It helps a bit but here I am @ 5:16 AM (not able to sleep) and I still feel like there is a gas bubble sitting in the middle of my chest. I haven't had any trouble drinking...been doing a lot of it (but with slow sips...not gulping). I actually have felt kind of hungry so I sucked on a Popsicle for about a 1/2 hr and put it away...only ate the top which is a first for me to not scarf it down within minutes. I want this to succeed and eating slowly will be a BIG change for me. My tummy is starting to feel a little stiff and sore, but the gas issue is the biggest ordeal for me right now. I'm walking and doing the breath thingie to 2000...sometimes a little higher, but not much. It's what the nurse told me to do. I haven't been able to sleep much throughout the day and still awake @ 5:21 AM (Saturday). Did anyone else experience restless sleep?