lovecats85

I was banded on 9/30 and I was 229 the other day and now I'm 231. Who cares - I've still officially lost 14 pounds so fluctuating 2 lbs is no big deal. I could fluxuate as much as 5 pounds per day before banding so I wouldn't worry too much!

I'm sorry you're feeling wierd! I got banded 8 days ago and I'm loving it! The 1st few days I felt blah and my muscles hurt but I never had any trouble getting liquids down. I had a hiatal hernia fixed too and I really had apretty easy recovery. I'm already back to doing everything I did before except I can't walk quite as fast yet! I did a week of liquids but I did have some calories b/c on my "liquids" I was allowed blended soup and milk. Also I did Isopure protein shakes - pretty tasty. The first 4 days I wasn't hungry at all!!! Then watching my hubby eat kinda bothered me but I would just stick a bit in my mouth - savor the taste and then spit it out and after that I usually realized I didn't even want it anyways. Now I'm on mush so I can eat alot of stuff. You'll get over that feeling when you can have mush! Anyways, as far as regrets - let's see - I've lost 15 pounds, I haven't had reflux at all, I wore something I haven't worn in a year, and I'm back to doing everything I did before so no regrets yet!!! Good luck! You'll be back to normal before you know it!

I don't know any aa bandsters but my doc seems to have alot of them (everytime I go in the waiting room and even when I got my surgery everyone else is aa or hispanic). And he says his patients are mostly sucessful so I think race doesn't matter if you follow the rules and use your band.

Maybe I will end up being a slow loser b/c of this but I will not punish myself for having some candy when I'm PMSing or 1 fish sandwhich when I go to McDonalds. I know you are frustrated with yourself but let's focus on 2 things here - 1. what would you have binged on preband, and 2. my doc says 95% people have NO restriction before the 1st fill. Which means if anything you have NO restriction and still probably binged WAY LESS than you would have pre-band. If anything you should be proud of that!

I'm probably skipping the fair this year b/c I'm still sore and I can't walk that far (only one week out of surgery!) but if I could I'd eat a key lime pie dipped in chocolate on a stick - the best thing ever!!!!!!!

It's so swollen and it hurts so bad! Did this happen to anyone else? When does it go away?

I'm sorry - does anyone else think this is so weird and so crazy!!!!

Exactly what La Madam said - I don't think one peice of pizza is falling off the wagon! I could probably have eaten 3/4 pizza 2 weeks ago! If I only eat one peice now I'll feel blessed!!! I hope i lose 29 pounds in 5 weeks! Also, I think you're totally normal b/c my doc says you shouldn't have a fill for 6 weeks so your band can heal but that most people feel NO restriction w/out a fill so you'll get your fill and lose another 30 lbs by the holidays!!! Good for you!

I know bandster aren't supposed to have coke (although my doc says I can have it 4 weeks out) but a swig of carbonation always makes me burp when I need too! Might be worh a try.

Good luck Niche!

Something else to consider is small towns = smaller price. My mom is getting her facelift with a wonderful Dallas doctor b/c she has severe rhuematoid arthritis and has to be an inpatient in a hospital but alot of her healthy friends went to Oklahome for a few days and all got PS for 1/2 the price of Dallas. I got my band for 12,600 by going to a doc in a suburb of Dallas - not Dallas. Locations location location. Research other states too, not just other countires if you want to save money and don't want to go outide the US.

Sure - let me know!

Once again, I am no expert but I know that re-use is common in vet clinics and I do feel I am entitled to back DeLarla up on these claims as I worked at a vet clinic for 3 years and saw/treated MANY MANY MANY infections from unsterilized / re-used equipment. It's a serious problem as it literally takes just ONE microscopic bug to cause an infection, erode your band, make you sick for months, and even kill you! Please don't think I'm all anti-Mexico and jump on me b/c I am not - I'm just saying beware of infection when you go to a country that doesn't have the same standards and laws that we do in the US. Infection is a very serious matter!

I used to work at a vet clinic and we had an autoclave for surgical tools. You CANNOT autoclave rubber or tubing - it would melt! No tubing should be reused for any reasons - not catheter tubing, not trachea tubing, not IV line tubing - NO TUBING is re-usable as you cannot sterilize it! Point is, anything used in surgery, and I mean ANYTHING should come in a never-opened sterlized package and NEVER be re-used! Alot of vet clinics don't do this and we treated so many infections from re-used trachea tubes and what not. Another point about Mexico from a law student's perspective is that you cannot sue them for failing to adhere to medical standards like you can in the US. I am not trying to put down Mexico b/c I completely understand why people go there and I know alot of people are very happy with thier Mexico surgeries, but point is, rules are broken everywhere and at least in the US you have a legal system that offers restitution or reprecussions. The Mexico doectors don't have that fear of lawsuits in thier brain - hopefully they follow the rules anyways, but in the US the "rules" are safer!

You've lost 40 + pounds in a year and I think that's amazing!

Sometimes when I take nyquil I have wierd dreams. Well, since I've been banded one week ago I have had the CRAZIEST dreams and I don't know if it's from the wierd sleep schedule and/or anesthesia. Maybe I'm just crazy?!?!?! All I know is I can tolerate wierd disturbing dreams up until last night when I had one that my husband I and were abusing one of my dogs, Godiva, because apparently she belonged to someone else in the dream and we wanted to be mean. I have seriously been crying that that thought could even go thru my head even if it was dream - I am such a big time animal lover and I love my dogs and I just found this seriously disturbing!!!! I had to stay home from school b/c I was so upset - been holding my doggies all morning. I wasn't gonna mention the wierd dreams on LBT but it's out of control! I really hope my minds clears up soon b/c I feel fine during the day but these dreams are SCARING me! I love my dogs SO SO much - If I ever have another dream like that I won't be able to take it!

Thanks for the thoughts - it just occured to me I have been taking hydrocodone since my surgery - I am going to stop that ASAP and see if that helps!

I was too scared to go to Mexico - luckily my doc is right here in good old USA and only charged 12, 600 and did my surgery at a hospital. 12, 600 doesn't seem like too much more than people pay to go to Mexico. Anyways, I have no knoweldge on the subject but I asked my SIL who is a doc and she said health care standards are SO MUCH higher and MUCH MORE regulated than Mexico - who some say has the WORST health cre standards of all non-3rd-world countries.

I'm gonna eat some oatmeal today! Thanks for the tip!

Ok, it's been 3 days since the incident a.k.a. complete he|| a.k.a. my 1st post-surgery BM, which I won't go into again! Point is, everyone had thier suggestions which all helped but now I want to know what everyone does on a regular basis to get fiber. My doc says drink metamucil - someone on here suggested "fiber hard candy" but I can't find that anywhere. I'm just struggling so much with getting regular again. I go from one extreme to the other - constipation to diarrhea. I need to be regular!

Good message. I personally researched the band and read LBT for a year before my surgery! It helped alot - like I knew to expect shoulder pain when the surgery was over. One month before my surgery I was at the surgeon's office and was talking to a girl in the waiting room who had her surgery one week before and she was like "I have all this shoulder pain, It won't go away, what it is, blah blah." and I told her it's gas, walk walk walk, sip sip sip - I learned that here! I can't belive she'd gone a week without calling the doc! I call him or see him if I have a question and I don't care if he doesn't like it (he's never given me that impression - he is so nice) but point is, I paid for a band AND the DOCTOR so I am going to use my band and when it doesn't work right I am going to use my doctor. All the ?'s I ask on here I have discussed from him - I just like to get the LBT opinion as well.

I'm no expert and have never had a fill but I have been reading this website for a year and after all I've read I'm pretty darn sure you are filled too tight and you need to go to your doc ASAP! Take care!

I was concerned about blood clots killing me too! My doc said it's ok and you guys have said it's ok so I guess I won't plan my funeral yet! Thanks everyone!

SOunds like me too! In high school I was 170 or so, 4 years ago I started zoloft and my anxiety disorder got me down to 180-190. Everyone asks me why I can't lose it like I did 4 years ago and I never explain but the truth is that starting zoloft (which doesn control my appetite now since my body is used to it), having uncontrolled anxiety, and have liquid bowel movements for a year is a great way to lose weight, but not healthy! I was like the chubby kid in grade school. The "full figured gal" in high school. 175 or so when I was 18. Up to 245 when I was 20 Back down to 185 or so when going thru the above mentioned. And then back to 245 (BMI 38) I was pro-active in getting surgery b/c I am only 26 but I see that pattern of weight gain every year and I knew in my heart it wasn't going to change. I have nothing I would have thought as "co-mobities" but I do have kneee problems and back problems, acid refulx and a hiatal hernia. Before the the surgeons I saw found out my insurance wouldn't cover the band they said my problems could be "co-morbidities" so don't give up on that idea just b/c you don't have the "typical" ones like diabetes and high blood pressure. Anyways, point is, as hard as it is to face, statistically your weight will continue to go up yearly. Only you can change that number, and if you need a band to do it then so be it - I mean, this site wouldn't exist is there were people left and right that could do it on thier own! As far as the surgery - I had mine one week ago like exactly to the minute and it was not to bad. I was knocked out before I knew it, and the incisions are so small - I've looked way worse falling off a bike! Good luck in whatever you choose!

I start the "mushies" on Friday and I've heard people say on here that mush is everything from mashed potatoes, to jello, to chips and guacomole! I need to send the DH shopping for mush and so I need a list. So far I have eggs, yogurt, sf pudding, sf ice cream, mashed potatoes - what else? Can I have chicken or tuna salad for protein?