penguins4ever

Carrie~ Sorry, I have had that feeling once in a while in the morning. You are right, your band is tighter in the morning, as least that is what I have and what I have heard. Warm liquids help to open it up a little. You are just experiencing some of what you may feel when you get adjusted. Good luck and welcome to the bandland...

I can vouch for her. I went down to her office this morning and tried several of them and they are good. Especially if you like the crunch of a snack. I am not so much a sweet lover and a chip lover and they are really what I need to snack on. I am going to order some too! I really liked the protein chips (Parmesan) and the cinnamon pretzels would be awesome with yogurt! Yum, yum!

Wrap pickles with deli ham and cream cheese. These are pretty healthy! I soften an 8 oz package of cream cheese and spread it on the deli ham, (I use the hillshire farms smoked ham.) Put baby dill in the middle and wrap. These are really good and easy!!! Lots of protein and veggies!

I too, have lost my bf because of this. She is thin, not MO, so it is not a matter of her thinking I would leave her behind. I have not seen her since the day of my surgery. She was there and that was in May. She lives less than 2 miles away. Where is the support she said she would always have for me? I miss her, but I realize now that she is not ready for me to be physically different. It is really sad.

Please, please call Inamed and tell them your story so that no one else has to put up with this arrogant doctor. He was punishing you like a naughty child and deserves to be reported. I am pretty sure that Inamed would not approve of this behavoir... Good luck!

No, I am pretty sure she doesn't know what she is talking about. I would definitely call her on that. I was on Protein shakes for about 4-5 weeks and once I could get enough protein in the pureed or mushies stage, bye bye Protein Shakes. I actually liked the Atkins Advantage chocolate Royale. Not bad, especially ice cold. That is about the only one I could handle...and I drank it rather quickly. Isopure was pure hell! I didn't mind the flavor, but the aftertaste in my mouth made me want to hork! LOL Good luck and don't worry, you will get through this and you will never look at a liquid diet the same again!!!

Welcome to band land and yes you will feel normal soon. The tightness in your chest is your belly feeling the swelling. I was worried too, but that goes away in about 10 days or so. Walk a lot, that will help. Congrats and welcome!!

No drinking with meals, no eating 30 minutes before bedtime.

:banana :banana :banana :banana :banana My name is Sonja, I was banded on May 4, 2005. I had a great experience with my doc and love him. I had my surgery here in ND, and I am doing well. I have had 2 fills, the last one is pretty good so far. I have lost about 36 pounds so far, (Including my pre-surgery liquid fast.) Hey, it is pounds lost, so I am including those! Anyway, I am so happy to have gotten the band. I have a wonderfully supportive hubby and great daughter. I am at peace with my decision to change my life and am looking forward to the journey and getting to know all of you!

Great job! I too was surprised that I was not in more pain. There are so many good days coming for you! You are on your way. Once you get through the liquids and on to your new life, you will do great. You have a good attitude too, that is a plus! Way to go!

That is a great NSV! Size 14!!!! Wow, you are doing great. I piled on a ton of weight after my parents passed away. I think the whole stress thing was too much for me. See you Tuesday! Great job!

I have had 2 fills and I know when I need to stop because I get the hiccups. I am then satisfied for about 3-4 hours. I am not sure if I have found the sweet spot yet, but I hope I am close. I have another appt on Tuesday, so we will see what happens then. Good luck and I hope you aren't leaking...

You should see your dr right away, it sounds like reflux and you may have to have a little unfill. Please don't wait with this, you could cause damage by vomitting.

Oh, I know we want instant success. However, comparing the 2 surgeries is like comparing apples to oranges. Our lap band slows the amount of weight loss, for me that is healthier. It didn't come on over night. You can also expect less sagging from the loss. Your skin will have time to catch up with the loss. For so many reasons I chose the band because I wanted a slower loss, you have to weigh the reasons. Remember this is not a competition or a race. It is a journey. Some take a race car, and some will take a horse. We will all meet at the end! Good luck and try to realize the NSVs along the way and try not to focus so much on the scale numbers...

I have told hardly no one about my surgery. Of course my dh knows, but other than that, there are very few. If he asks, just say you had a surgical procedure and you will talk about it when you can. He will probably drop the subject completely. Most men do...

I will try to answer some of your questions... How long were you out of work? My surgery was on a Wed, I was out that week and part days the next week, completely back the week after that, so in all I missed about 6 days. Does the band get weird if you go swimming? Nope and I was in the lake all weekend... Did you have get shaved before surgery? Nope, and no wax either! LOL Did they let you leave your underwear and socks on? No, completely naked except for footies. Did the incisions hurt more than the port? No, the port incision was the worst and that was not that bad at all. The gas pains were the worst for me. Does anyone know if there's limitations once we're healed? No lifting for 4 weeks and of course be careful if you have a child at home not to life them. (I mean restriction of movement or extertion). What happens if you fall or bump into something, is that reason to worry for slipage? No, they stitch the band into place, so they really want you to not throw up, but other than that, I don't think you should worry about falling. How sensitive is the band to movement? Not very. Has anyone been banded and not have it filled during surgery? Most surgeons do not fill at all until 4-6 weeks out. They want you to heal properly before filling. That is not a time for weight loss, it is a time for healing. Any weightloss during that time is a bonus. How long before the first fill? A month for me. Hope that helps, good luck!

I was at a family reunion this weekend and the heat and humidity was horrible. I think the heat index was 117, and regular temps were 105-110 everyday. I definitely had trouble eating everything and hard time not drinking water with my meal to get it down. One night I had 3 bites and had to wait for an hour for those to go down...heat really affects my band! OUCH!

I too had a problem with port pain about 4 weeks out. I lifted something and it really hurt for a couple days. My surgeon reminded me that I was still healing inside and to take it easy. It worked, now I have no pain at all. Hope you are doing better!

Thanks guys!

Small pillow for the car ride home, it helped a lot for me to put it on my port side to help with getting in and out of the car. I agree with Kathy, pack light...you are there and gone in no time! Good luck!

I think Inamed has 3 sizes. The largest one is the VG band and it holds 11 cc and the smallest one holds 4 cc, if I am not right, someone please correct me. I have the 4 cc band. I have 2 cc of saline in it right now.

Dr. Schmit gave me 1 cc the first fill and 1 cc the second time. He likes to sneak up on it so you don't get too tight. That isn't good either. You will probably notice a little restriction with the first fill and even more the second time. I think I have good restriction right now. I hope this is it, I really am hoping and praying...

I was my doctor's 4th patient, (lap-band), but he has done hundreds of RNY's. I was totally confident in his ability and to date he has not let me down! I am very happy with him.

Celeste~ You are doing fine. I didn't really get going till this last fill. I have had 2 fills now and this last one really kicked in. Did you go to the picnic on Saturday? I wanted to go, but I was afraid there were no bandsters there. I would love to meet with you. When is the next support group meeting? I know they are going to have them mixed now, I ran into Jean at the last appointment I had and she told me they were opening the support groups up to bandsters too. I see you work at the state, so do I. It is so nice to talk to someone who is from here. Did you have a good experience with Dr. Schmit?

Hey~ I am from ND!!! Banded 5/4/05 from Dr. Schmit...would love to hear more from you Road Queen! Did you have surgery? How are you doing???