Bergdorfblonde

I had my band put in 4 weeks ago. I just found some Mederma (for scars) and started using it today. Do you think its too early to use scar cream or is it ok? I am going on a vacation soon and wanted to go swimming. I also miss taking baths. When is it ok to do this?

I used to live on diet coke and starbucks! Now its hard to drink things that are not soda or caffinated. I bought a decaf iced coffee yesterday and it was great! Its like everywhere you go out they have diet coke. I had some wine last night and that was good. I just bought diet lemondade and that is good because it comes in a can so it reminds me of diet coke except it doesnt have the bubbles or caffiene.

I had really severe port pain when lying down, getting up, picking things up off the floor/etc. It seriously made me regret having it cuz I was like, what did I do to my body that i am in pain all the time! Then magically around the 2 week point, the pain went away. I think my stomach healed or something. Now I can do whatever I want (bend over, pick up my dogs, etc) without pain. Now I have been banded for 3 weeks and dont have any pain at all.

I've lost 8.5 pounds so far in 3 weeks. I hope I am losing enough weight. Its just that surgery made me seem to gain weight so I am not counting that in my weight loss. I need to work on losing more before my first fill because a)im going on vacation and want to look hot :confused: i want my doctors to be proud. Its just so hard because i am so hungry. If I keep active and stick to soups when I go out to eat, its easier to be successful.

You have to realize, it is a tool, its not an absolute solution. You need to diet after you get it. It makes it much easier to diet. But there are ways to sabatoge it so just be prepared to give up your relationship with food and be committed to doing this. Do it for yourself; dont do it for anyone else. I got my lapband in August and am equally afraid of blowing it by eating the wrong kinds of foods/too many calories. You just need to decided you are done being an overweight person and the comfort that food gives, and you need to make the commitment to yourself. Best of luck babe:)

I was banded on Aug 21 and now I am back to my old self, except for tenderness around my port area.

I just got banded on Aug 21st. I have had stomach pain and gas pain in my shoulder. It has been getting better but I am a week out now and right where my port is, it feels really sore and tender and weird. I still cant sleep on my side or get up or bend over well. When I wear clothes that rub against it it feels really uncomfortable. I think I am all better except for where the port is. When does this pain go away?

Is that like a tummy tuck? I was watching Dr 90210 yesterday and it looked like they removed this lady's omentum (or the lower half of it) when they gave her a tummy tuck.

If any of us could do it alone, we wouldn't do this. 99% of people who lose weight on diets gain it back plus more weight. We are no more flawed then other people. Some people are drug addicts, alcoholics, smokers, batterers etc. Its just that our addiction shows up on our body as extra weight. I think having the lap band isnt a cop out. I think it is smart. Because we are taking responsibility for our lives and our health. Its nothing to be ashamed of. But we don't have to tell everyone either. Its a personal choice to take care of ourselves.

Its so funny cuz I never realized how much of my life revolved around eating before. I had a date yesterday and we went to this great brunch place Sarabeths that I used to love. There was only 1 thing on the menu I could eat: tomato bisque. Plus it had chunks of tomatoes in it so I chewed each bite like 100 times. The guy I was with must have thought I was nuts cuz I was chewing my soup like it was popcorn! :hungry: Then I went to a bar later and I asked if they had tomato juice. They didn't. So I had wine. I know that is totally horrible to be 1 week out and have wine but I knew I couldnt have diet coke so I figured whatever. I think after being banded 1 glass of wine=2 glasses of wine preop, because since I wasnt eating it effected me more than usual. :kiss2: I have a client meeting tomorrow and she is taking me out to lunch and I hope and pray whereever she takes me has soup or hummus or something else that is kind of liquified. Even drinking out is hard because i used to live on diet coke, and now I cant have carbonation or caffeine so it is hard to find things that are readily available to drink (like every place i go has diet coke!). So I found Snapple diet green tea and that seems good.

I actually gave baby food to my dogs the other night and they totally loved it! I finally returned mine to the store today. It was annoying cuz I threw out my receipt (I honestly never return groceries!) but I bought like $40 worth of baby food and was definitely not going to eat it so they let me return it. To you girls that are having trouble moving the scale: I think I actually gained 7 pounds from surgery. Preop I weighed 138; 140 at the most. I have never weighed more then that. Then after surgery I suddenly weighed 145.5! I think during surgery they pump you with fluids and also your body is in shock because of the surgery so it halts weight gain, which sucks cuz we arent even eating anything! I actually had 2 dates today (I scheduled them before) and they were good. I went to this great brunch place that I love and ordered tomato bisque. It was great. The guy was looking at me weird because it was taking me so long to eat each bite. Anyway, my scale is finaly going down a bit, but since I weighed 138 preop, I really only lost a pound and a half. So dont worry, it will get better. I dont see how we can be so restricted with what we eat and not have it have a big cumulative effect within a month.

I think its a play on words about 8. As in, we got banded in August= 8/07

I bought beef with broth and veal with broth and they both tasted and smelled like dogfood! Salt made it taste like salty dogfood! I bought a ton of it too and I tried to return it last night to the store but they wouldnt take it back cuz i didnt save the receipt. So I bought some tastier protein, but now i am scared that I am going to eat too much and blow it! So I just take a little in a bowl and am trying to watch my portions, now that i have food that I like. I also want to buy protein powder and make smoothies cuz that is an easy way to get in tons of protein (1 scoop has about 20 grams!). I bought some unsweetened cocoa last night and I am going to get instant decaf coffee so I figure if I take some protein powder, cocoa or decaf, ice and equal I can make tasty shakes that might even rival one of my former weaknesses, Starbucks!! Baby food is gross. If I ever have a baby, I am making my own babyfood because I can't imagine feeding a baby that stuff!! :confused:

I dont want to tell anyone either. I just dont want to have to deal with their judgements. I told my mom and she told the whole western world. I dont care if she tells people. Its just not something I want to do. I think its a personal thing and you don't have to tell everyone you had a lap band. People look down on you like there is something wrong with you that you need surgery to lose weight. But look at how many years we have all been trying to lose weight on our own and failed. I think it is a personal decision and you dont have to tell everyone. You can be really picky in who you tell your personal things to. The lap band is hard enough; we dont need judgement from people!

On my diet the nutritionist said the first day is Clear liquids, the 2nd day is full liquids and after that I can do mushies. However, she doesnt want me to do oatmeal, potatoes, etc because she wants me to do mostly Protein. She said cottage cheese and ricotta (lowfat or nonfat) are fine. She said 50 grams of protein per day is fine. I dont want to lose my hair; that freaks me out! It is not even like I am that hungry. I see real food on tv like pastrami and want it! I was watching the food channel all day yesterday (probably not a great move!) and they were doing this thing with Elton brown about diners across america and I was craving real food. So I went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of things like cottage cheese, sugar free tapioca pudding, hummus etc.

Good luck to you ! I just got banded 8/21. I am going to go grocery shopping now cuz i am totally starving. I bought the wrong kind of food (meat baby food) and it is grossing me out. Every doctor has a different diet. I can eat pureed food after day 3. It should be mostly protein tho cuz you need to get 50 grams of protein a day. Best of luck to you!!!

I live in New York actually. I got scared cuz it seemed like i gained 7 pounds but now they are off and I think i am losing weight now. I think its just stressful to have surgery and they pump you with all kinds of fluids. I have trader joes there. I love that store! I should go check it out. I should go get some bisques. I didnt realize we could eat those. My list says avoid cream based soups so I will look for ones that arent that fattening. I know trader joes has a lot of really great healthy food. I will look for that. I have lots of air too and it seems to migrate up into my shoulder so I will get some gas x strips too. Its nice to see someone one here who got banded the same day as me! :huggie:

You had the same banding date as me! I seemed to gain weight at first (like 7 pounds) but now it is off. I think it must have been fluids and swelling from surgery and maybe just the flannel nightgown was wearing (I didnt have the strength to take it off before i weighed myself!). Now I am losing weight and feeling much better. How do you feel??

I think technically I am allowed to have oatmeal and mashed potatoes, however, they say that you are supposed to have 50 grams of protein a day so my nutritionist said you need to eat the meat/protein stuff first and then eat the rest of the stuff and then it should be eaten in moderation. I am not really craving carbs. I just want to find protein stuff that doesnt gross me out, as I was kind of a vegetarian preop (not a strict veg, but I would eat mostly non meat stuff and eat steak once every 6 mos).

Good for you! It keeps getting better and better but I just wish I felt normal already! I have things I need to do and didn't know I would feel so crummy after surgery. But I guess I didnt think, it's SURGERY! Its a serious thing, not like a haircut! So I will suck it up until I feel like my old self.

I did the same thing. They made me pay $170 for these Optifast shakes before I was banded and it seemed impossible to stay on them knowing that I would never be able to eat a lot again. So needless to say, I didnt stick to my liquid preop diet. I think I gained 7 pounds before I got banded!

My left shoulder and neck are killing too. Its from gas. I was taking charcoal tabs but used them up. Today I am going to go to the store and buy some gas x strips and charcoal tabs and see if both of those help with the gas. I hope it goes away soon cuz its hard to sleep comfortably and walk upright without being in pain.

On my diet canned tuna is ok. I think they want stuff that is liquid consistency so your band can heal.

Hi Veronica, I can see if people don't support your decision because you are only 22 and they think you can just diet and excersise. Alot of people said that to me to because I am 30. However, if you look at my dieting history, I started going to diet doctors at the age of 8 because I was obese. I was skinny for a short stretch in college (my freshman and sophmore years). so I have done it by myself in the past, but I have a lifelong struggle with weight and I really needed this. If you have been on diets your whole life, it makes sense to do this. Altho just remember, it is surgery and it does hurt! I just got banded on 8/21 and I have severe stomach pains and gas pains. So it is a struggle. If you have struggled with weight your whole life, it is definitely worth it and I say go for it.

It will be so worth it for you because I bet it will get rid of many of your obestity-related health problems. That is priceless! Mine is about $15,000 which is cheap in NY. I am doing some kind of study so they are taking $10,000 off the $25,000 it is supposed to be. I thought it was nice that they let me do the study so it is a bit cheaper. I really do think its good I am doing it now. I wish I did it 10 years ago. Its almost my 31st b-day and Im not married and dont have kids and I do date and get guys but I think the quality of them will go up when I get thin. Even tho a lot of my thin friends have a hard time finding a good guy!! I actually think I am pretty but I know the outside world judges you when you are obese and I am sick of people looking at me like I am less of a person because I am fat. Honestly, I am the same person whether I weigh 220 or 120, but people treat you like you are an entirely worse person. It is so not fair.