JustWatchMe

Nat, have you called your doctor and described what you're feeling? I had soreness for about a week and still feel a jab if I bend into the port at nine days out. My collarbone gas pain didn't go away until a couple of days ago. Please check with your doctor to make sure this is normal post-op pain you're having.

Ivowtodoit, congrats on the decision and preparing! I was grateful that my pre-op diet was clear liquids for five days before surgery. It was extreme but it left no room for questions. I was determined to have the skinniest liver my surgeon ever saw! But months before that, I made a big big change in my eating habits by no eating in front of the tv. This was prompted by the psychologist threatening not to clear me for surgery if I was unwilling to make a lifestyle change. Boy, did that **** me off. But it made me determined. I still don't eat in front of the tv, and it no longer beckons me. Another thing I did was seek out support group meetings in addition to the one my own hospital has, which are once a month. I needed more. That helped me hear a variety of LapBand stories, good and bad, compliant and cheaters, and it drove home that this band is only going to help me if I follow the rules. I'm 9 days post-op today and I feel so good. I'm on liquids for five more weeks, but I believe I can do this and I will. I also just found MyFitnessPal.com, and it is an eye-opener for your intake and exercise. Try it. It becomes fun to track the input and exercise and take the blinders off. The first week post-op, I thought I was consuming so few calories, but after I started tracking and measuring, the truth was in front of my eyes. In my life I've been on a million diets, as have we all, and on Weight Watchers probably thirty times or more. I NEVER measured my food for more than a few days. I always knew better. Well, this time I'm following directions. And it's gonna make a difference! Keep us posted on your progress!

I'm so happy I found this thread. All of your stories are so wonderful. When I began this process back in September 2013, I made a list called "I Will...". I've been adding to it and it includes many of the things you have posted here as NSVs. Those are my goals and the reasons I started the LapBand process. I'm now 9 days post op, still on liquids for five more weeks, no fill yet, and here is what I have as NSVs so far: I walk every day on the treadmill and add a minute per day. I'm up to 21 minutes at 3mph no incline. I'm starting to look forward to it more than dreading it. I'm over a mile already. I have more energy and although this was my first Saturday I could have slept in in weeks, I got out of bed early with a spring in my step. I found MyFitnessPal.com and I watch my intake much better now and look forward to recording my exercise. I drink a lot of water and prefer plain water to flavored water. My breath smells better. I honestly thought it would go the other way from such a strict diet and higher protein, but hey. I'll take it. I'm eager to get outside and socialize. I'm not SO TIRED all the time. My back and knees are not hurting from daily existence. I'm off NSAIDs for several months and Tylenol is controlling my arthritis pain pretty well for now. My husband, the WLS skeptic, pointed out last night that the chunk of weight loss I've had since February can't be from the March 13 band since I have no fill. I pointed out that it's a process, of which this is a first step, in discipline and lifetime habit changing, and that the band will always and forever only be a tool in the toolbox. The lifetime work still has to come from me. (A week ago, the night before my surgery, he referred to LapBand as the easy fix.) The NSV here is that I don't give a flying fig what he thinks, but it's nice to prove a skeptic wrong, and see his expression when I come up from the basement sweaty each day from my workout. Keep posting, everyone. You inspire me daily.

This post made my day! Very inspiring. I'm a week post-op and walking on my daughter's NordicTrack. I can't bend into my band yet as it is still tender. But someday I want to do a situp! You look beautiful!

Posts like this make me so happy I made this decision and so motivated to do the work! You are beautiful.

Suziecat, thank you for posting that. One fear that almost kept me from the band was the fear of vomiting. I even had a medical person tell me that nausea and vomiting are pretty common. Part of my fear was fed when the first support group I went to in a nearby town was attended by a husband and wife who freely admitted vomiting daily. They were clearly cheating the band. I'm glad to hear that you have made it all of these years wihout vomiting. I'm 52 years old, and one of my concerns is always long term health as I age. I'm fearful of damaging my body by vomiting with the band. I truly have not had any nausea since surgery, and haven't needed my anti nausea medicine. But I do get car sick, air sick, seasick, etc., so I worry about my upcoming trip this summer. Or getting the flu. These fears keep me compliant, at least so far. But I'm still on liquids.

Congrats to all of the recently banded. It's 8 days post-op for me and my shoulder pain has been gone for two days. Feeling good, more energy, and sticking to my liquid diet faithfully. This is going to happen!

Of course I will ask him Monday at my first post-op appointment, and follow what he says. But I miss my Aqua Zumba class (and the hot tub afterwards)!

Every day a minute more on the treadmill until I get to two miles, per my nurse. Nobody's more surprised than me. It's getting easier.

Kara, good luck to you, and I hope your husband is okay.

They didn't want to weigh me in the hospital on surgery day. I asked why, and the nurse said they just changed the policy. I begged her to weigh me because I just had to know how much I had lost on the 5-day clear liquid pre-op. She let me weigh. I was ecstatic to see I'd lost 13 pounds in 5 days. So... fast forward to post-op. Can I wait until my post-op appointment to see my newest loss? Of course not. I go out, buy a new scale, and weigh myself yesterday. I'm UP two pounds! Whaaat? Apparently the difference between Clear liquids pre-op and full liquid post-op plus the surgical experience was enough for a gain. Even with exercising every day on the treadmill. Not gonna lie, it brought me down. But then I did what someone here suggested, which was go on MyFitnessPal.com. I logged all my intake and my exercise from yesterday, and it became clear that even though I thought I was starving myself, I've been consuming about 1300 calories on the full liquid diet. Sure, it's lower than my old habits, but way higher than the 600-900 I was getting daily on the clear liquid pre-op diet. I've decided to cut some calories with better Soup choices and try to keep the full liquid diet to around 1000 calories a day. I've got one week down and five to go on clear liquids. This tool is pretty cool. Check it out if you haven't. And I think I'll wait until Monday for my surgeon to weigh me next. "When all else fails, follow directions."

On MyFitnessPal, I'm SpazW. Someone else had JustWatchMe.

Meant to say I have five weeks left of full liquids, not clear liquids.

Nat, call your doctor for sharp pain. Mine is on the left and sore and a lump. If I bend at the waist it still hurts. But I'm still healing, and have my post-op appointment Monday, so I'll know more then.

You're on your way!

Thanks for this today. Very true!

I lost over a hundred pounds over twenty years ago only to gain it all back. A combination of things is happening, in my experience. You're changing and that's changed your relationship with others. Some people can't handle it. I know I became much more confident and less willing to take crap from anybody when I lost my excess weight before. Back then I was single. It was easier for me to remove unhealthy people from my life. I'm not going to lie, this time it will be my marriage that is tested. The last 18 months have been the worst of our marriage, and things are still bad. But I went ahead and got WLS anyway. I absolutely had to get my health in order. I know I have a lot of decisions ahead of me. But I need to be the best me I can be to do whatever's ahead. One day at a time, one obstacle at a time. I feel very alone sometimes because my supportive daughters are off at college, one abroad. But they do support me, as does my mom, and my best friend. I told nobody else except my husband. Stay strong and know that the true you will end up with the people you need.

So far, so good. I was banded Thursday and plan to go back to my desk job Monday. I called in sick two days. The questions will begin. I've decided not to share this outside of five family members. For those who kept it private, how did you all deflect the questions?

Good luck Nat!

Kell, same here. I was banded on the 13th too, healing fine, and getting hungry. Six weeks full liquids now. My NUT called today so I asked her how to make this doable. She said my surgeon likes a big weight loss during these six weeks so basically, tough it out. I can have soups, so before I left work I drank an Ensure Clear for protein, and when I got home, I walked the treadmill and then modified my own soup. I used organic black bean soup in the blender with about a handful of frozen peas. Heated it up and it was heavenly. Just that extra thickening from the pureed peas is satisfying me now. I have a feeling that my blender will be my friend for the near future. Oh, today I realized that even the pudding and yogurt I was eating wasn't getting a chance to satisfy me because I've been sipping water nonstop all day. Back to no liquids after eating for half an hour, even if eating is also a liquid. Seems obvious now, but I didn't notice it was flushing those foods through faster. So when I waited after pudding today to drink water, I stayed satisfied longer. Hope this helps.

So sorry to hear that. Did he have any idea why it flipped?

Clbsmm2000, congratulations! Take care of yourself and keep us posted. It gets easier.

Thanks!