giveyouthemoon

Thechattrooper, I'm going in for my first fill tomorrow and I'm also scared. The dr's in the practice rotate out at the office near me and tomorrow is the REALLY anal and mean dr and I'm afraid he'll tell me I haven't lost enough. Plus this is my first fill and I don't know WHAT to expect. Your last fill was a doozy so I hope mine goes way better. Let's hold hands and go get filled! Meetcha back here to compare notes!!

If you don't have a fill yet and you are healed, then yeah, you'll be able to eat a lot. I'm eight weeks out from surgery and can eat EVERYTHING in sight. I get my first fill tomorrow, yay!!!

Yeah, I'm noticing that my waist is losing faster than my hips as well. I think for me it's the "last on, first off" philosophy. It took a long while before my waist got thick, it's always been so much smaller than my hips (big ol' pear here!). Isn't it fun, tho, to see changes???

I get my first fill tomorrow. I can't hardly wait. I hope I get at least a little restriction. Good luck with #2!

I also had the runs real real bad and had them for a long time. My dumb doctor tried to tell me it was the whey Protein drinks but many others said it was the liquid diet. It cleared up the day I went on solid foods. Have you tried taking creamy Soups (cream of potato especially), adding extra milk, blending the crap out of it and drinking that? That stuff literally SAVED my life! It is more hearty and made me feel more satisfied. Progresso broccoli, cheese and potato soup is WONDERFUL and was yummy blended. I also had that knocked out feeling and to be honest, I had it up until just last week (that would have been 6 weeks post op). It just took me a while to fully bounce back but as of this week I'm back, I'm at good energy levels. Surgery is tough on a body so give it time to heal. You are doing great, just get creative. Cream soups, hot and sour soup (SAVED MY LIFE!!) from the local Chinese place, and make sure you are eating enough. Keep sipping away, always have another thing ready to drink because if you get too hungry that will make you weak too.

Yeah....about three weeks ago I attemped McD's french fries. Oh holy mother of god OW. I didn't barf but oh the agony. I was actually able to nibble at the cheeseburger and get it down but the fries were an unh uh, no way in hell that's going down. Weird.

Whoo hooo Margo!! So happy to hear it! Now, get ready girl, things is a'gonna change here soon!!

Hey riverrrat! I get my 1st fill on Wednesday too. I'm ready. I'm also eating WAY too much, but I am still losing which is nice. But I'm working out of sheer will power to get those lbs off and that's EXACTLY what has failed me all of these years. I'm hoping for some nice restriction with this first fill.

Yes it's just under the largest incision and yes it will feel like a lump. Congrats on the surgery AND on your weight loss! Keep up the amazing work!

Um, well, you might want to brace yourself. I don't think a surgeon can, in good conscience, work on a patient for this type of surgery if the patient is fighting off an infection and on antibiotics. I mean, my drs said if I even had a cold or flu they wouldn't do the procedure. Best to ask your doctor, but I'm thinking you may have to wait. I'm SO sorry!!! Hang in there. Stay tough. Get well!!!!

I was able to get back on my treadmill for a good 30 min brisk walk six days after surgery but dr said NO lifting. Walking okay. Running no. Elliptical okay. Weights no. Ask your dr about your specific exercises and amount of weight you use and you'll get the straight scoop.

Yup on the 8 months preggo thing. I was SOOO bloated. Even my sister was like "dayum!!" It goes away, I PROMISE!!!! It took me about a week before I began feeling more normal so just hang in there!!

GasX and LOTS OF IT. Take it as often as you think of it. Don't worry about exceeding the dose on the label. When you have laparoscopic surgery they blow you up with gas to give room to move stuff around and that all gets trapped in there. Walking as much as possible also really helps move things along. Also don't be shy and modest and hold it in....you HAVE to get that out so let 'er rip!! Seriously, get up and walk even if just around your living room. You don't want that gas to settle in your shoulder where it HURTS like hell. Keep walking and keep getting in as much GasX as possible. This will pass (pun intended).

Okay, I'm a BIG OL' weenie about pain so it took about a week before I was feeling "right" and about another two weeks before the pain in the muscles around my port finally ceased. You should see a big change pretty soon. It was right about the one week mark that I was like "hey....I'm doing pretty good!" Hang in there, make sure you are managing the pain with pain meds, sip sip sip and don't let yourself get hungry, walk around as much as possible and rest when you need it!! Congrats on your band!!

Yup, that's the gas from the surgery collecting up in your shoulder. It's VERY common. When they do laparoscopic surgery they blow up your tummy with gas so they have room to move the instruments. It will pass soon enough. Take GasX and pain meds and walk around as much as possible. That helps get things moving along. Congrats on your surgery!!

Here's the thing I need to tell you.....I need to say this and I wish I could look you square in the eye as I say it. For me personally, you have been an INCREDIBLE help getting me through this crazy process of being banded, of suffering my demons, of failing and you picked me up and dusted off the seat of my pants and sent me on my way again. I've looked to your posts as a place for humor, for help and a general sense of "this thing is gonna be alright". I don't care if you never lose a single pound. I don't care if you gain and gain and gain. I don't care. You are not a fraud because you, personally, have brought me peace and given me information and just generally "been there". You are amazing. Beautiful. Perfect in your skin exactly as you are RIGHT NOW. You are perfection and no one can mess with perfection. Deleting all your posts does a disservice to all those who've yet to come along behind me and need your voice of reason and sanity. You are no fraud and definitely not a liar. You are a truth teller and I admire you incredibly for that.

I believe there are also two sizes of the Inamed band. One is 9 inches long and one is 10 inches. Both hold 4 cc's. My dr told me that when he took a look see at my stomach that it was sort of large and that he needed to put in the 10 inch long band.

Threadjack in a whole other direction (although I think what Vines said is amazing and I'm so glad she said it).... Julian McMahon....meow baby. I LOVED him when he was "the bad guy" on Charmed. He fell in love with Phoebe and ultimately *wanted* to be good...but he was evil. That bad boy thing just KILLS me. He's like that on Nip/Tuck too....bad cynical rough but under it all...a good heart.

Okay, this part jumped out at me. I ALWAYS have a few days right before my period where my band is WIDE OPEN and damn, I can eat anything and everything and I WANT to eat everything. Okay, my period just passed, but right before it arrived, I ate two McDonald's cheeseburgers and a thing of fries. In one sitting. WITH MY BAND. Ugh. I SPUN OUT of control. But then a day or two passed and I was back on track. Aunt Flo arrived and everything evened out. So IMHO, your venting is actually a good sign. You recognize that you have skidded off the road but this is "rock bottom" so to speak, so now, navigate back onto the highway girl. You know how to get here! And tell your food demons to get back in the cage for another month!!!! (Jack calls his "the dragon"....use whatever visual works for you!!)

:raises hand: I'm also a scale addict and it isn't pretty. I actually didn't have a scale in my house for YEARS. I had taken the scale, beat the ever loving sh-- out of it, took it to the dumpster and unceremoniously threw it has hard as I could into the bin. Really, I loathe scales. But for my surgery, I bought a new one. And I'm OBSESSIVE about weighing. It's terrible. I fell RIGHT back into the scale addiction. Brandi I'm proud of you for getting rid of that damn thing!!!!

Because of tummy issues and digestion problems, I actually stopped drinking with meals some time before I even considered getting a band so this aspect hasn't been tough for me. I mention this only to say that after a while it gets easier. You get to the point you don't even think about liquid while eating.

LOLOLOL!!! Wow, that's damn funny. Kare, THANK you for what you said. This is EXACTLY how I'm feeling. 1200 is fine esp. in light of the amount of exercise I do. I can't even imagine being able to lift my head much less my legs and arms if I was doing 800 cals. So yes, I'll figuratively "moon" them and I'll lose this weight in a way I know is healthy for this big ol' body of mine. THANK YOU!!!! Okay, I don't know why I need that "validation", but I do. Kind of childish, but I guess after struggling for YEARS to even lose even a couple pounds, to have dropped 25 in two months to me was an AMAZING accomplishment. So thanks for the pat on the ol' noggin because that makes me happy! My sis who ROCKS by the way and is a main support (and is lo carbing with me) said in her best snarky sisterly way "you said the nutritionist was tiny....she's probably never been overweight much less obese...so she probably doesn't even know what it's like to weigh that much and have to eat that little". And I thought that was a good point. A nutritionist works to "general" guidelines. So she can just say "eat 800 cals" without really understanding how mentally and physically upsetting that can be. Thanks LBT friends! You are an amazing sanity check both in saying "yeah, you're right" AND giving tough love saying "um...might rethink that one". Ya'll rock, that's all I'm saying.

Wow, my experience wasn't anything like that. It probably helped that I have a regular therapist that I see and she and I had spent time in one of my appointments discussing the surgery. Perhaps for you it takes longer because they don't know you and will have to spend some time doing background work. Like "what is your relationship like with your mother" and "what kind of childhood did you have". They are just looking for how you will be able to mentally handle surgery. Having your body cut into can cause depression or anxiety so let's say perhaps you just had a recent death in the family, they'll want to assess how you are doing with that to make sure the surgery process doesn't just flip you out. They'll also ask you why you want to have the surgery to hear your thought process behind it. If you say "because I need to be HOT so that Brad Pitt will notice me and we'll get married and I give him everything Angelina can't" they *might* suggest you take a step back and decide if this surgery is right for you.

Well, here's my take. He was trying to do you a favor by making sure you wouldn't have to pay out of pocket for the psych visit. It may seem odd but he was actually looking out for you. And LOTS of doctors prescribe meds "off label". This happens A LOT. I just did a quick net search and discovered that there is some controversy over whether Topamax works for weight loss. It is said to control binge eating but I see rebuttals as well. I suggest you do a very extensive search to help make a decision. Your body is ultimately your responsibility and if you don't feel right about taking it then please don't!! My dr prescribed some anti-nausea stuff after my surgery but it was stuff my sister had taken and she told me her tale of woe and so I chose not to take it. You have the final say about what goes into your body!! edited to add: Here's an article where it says J&J was doing clinical trials on Topamax for weight loss but they halted the trials.....read on....http://www.injuryboard.com/view.cfm/Article=1236 so now maybe I do question your doctor a little bit......

Okay so I had an appointment with the nutritionist at my surgeon's office today and I told her I was eating around 1200 cals a day. I expected a pat on the head and a "good job" but instead I got a shocked look and an "OH NO you are eating WAY too much". I'm supposed to only be eating 800 cals. I reminded her that I'm a band patient, not a RNY, and that I have no fill. She was undeterred. I said "don't you think that for a 300 lb woman that 800 calories is a little tough?" She said "that's what the dr's want you to eat". I said "yeah, I saw that in the post op booklet. I was rather hoping that since you just started here that you'd help talk some sense into them." She cocked her head to the side like a confused puppy. THEN she asked how much I'm losing. I said I lost 20 lbs the first month, plateaued for two weeks and in the past week I've lost 5lbs. She told me I'm not losing fast enough. I reminded her again that I'm a band patient and not a RNY. (again, I'd rather hoped that 25lbs in just under two months would earn me a "good job!") So then I said "but doesn't eating so few calories do bad things to your metabolism?" And she said "oh no, the body adjusts". Bull hockey. So after fuming all the way home (it's a long drive) I decided that as long as I'm losing weight a pace that makes ME happy, I will continue on down this road. If I plateau again, I'll seek to make tweaks and keep going. I swear, she's the trained nutritionist but I think I probably know a lot more than she does about dieting, food and the like. I hate that. But it will make my stupid petulant surgeon happy to hear I paid her a visit. Oh by the way I've decided I hate my doctor. I passed him in the very tiny hallway of his office and he didn't even acknowledge that a human life form existed in his vicinity. I didn't expect him to remember me but damn, at least nodding to a fellow human and stepping aside to let me pass would have been nice. Arrogant SOB. But that's for another thread. (edited to add: OH! I forgot, the g'damn nutritionist said "yeah, I understand that at 800 calories it's REALLY hard to get in the 70 grams of protein" to which I damn near said..."SEE!!!" but didn't. By that time I'd given up)