Mysticalks

Hey all!

I'm 2 1/2 weeks post-op and on my regular 3 meal a day with 1 snack diet. No mushies or liquids anymore (Yay!). For the first 2 weeks, I felt very full after eating and think I lost about 6 pounds. Now, my appetite is just as heavy as it was pre-surgery, and I'm having a lot of trouble being able to stick to the diet because I get so hungry. I still eat healthy and am adding more Protein and less carbs to my meals (I used to be a carb addict!), but I can't seem to get full after I'm done eating my meal. My doctor says "eat until you're full", but If I were to do that, I'd be eating way too much in my opinion. I'm not drinking while eating, and I wait 30-45 minutes after my last bite until I take a sip of any liquid. I realize there is no restriction until the first fill, but mine is on December 10th, and I'd really like to shed about 5 more lbs by my first fill. Do any of you have suggestions on how to stay full/satisfied?

Thanks!!

Hey Sunrise! Did you say you were getting your surgery done with Dr. Champion in Atlanta or getting it done in PA? I haven't been on lapbandtalk.com for a while, so I'm a little bit lost!

Hey chiqui!

First off, congratulations on your 17 lbs loss! Whoo hoo! I'm 6 days post op and don't know exactly how much I've lost. My family tells me that I look like I've lost so much weight so far. I've been on the "delicious" liquid diet too. YUCK. Anyway, my question for those who have lost a significant amount of weight a good couple days to a week post-op is whether you already have some fill in your band? Do you count your calories during the day? If so, how many are you eating? Once again, Congrats!! Talk to you soon and good luck on your lap band journey :confused:

Thanks to all for all the great advice and reassurance!! Wish you all luck in your weight loss :confused:

I think you and I have always been in the same or similar boat! I don't feel as if I have many other problems except for my weight. My weight has caused mostly ALL of the problems in my life--it's caused me to become unhealthy, which has restricted WHAT I can eat, how much energy I have (which is almost none), and has made me take as many pills a day as my 80 year old grandpa. It's always been so difficult to lose weight for me, and that's why I'm hoping that this will finally help me. I'm 1 week post-op tomorrow and I've been on the liquid diet and have already lost about 3 pounds. And it's HARD for me to lose weight, so it's exciting for me!! I don't think I've had enough experience to let you know if it's truly "helped" a food ADDICT yet! I'm so happy to hear that you have such an amazing family- a support group, I feel, is necessary when considering such a procedure. Thanks for letting me cry on YOUR shoulder! lol

Hey!

I saw that you were looking for doctors in GA, and felt as if I would put in a good word for my doctor. Dr. James K. Champion banded me Oct. 31 and he's great! Doctors I've mentioned his name to (my nurse practitioner, general practitioner, endocronologist, other bariatric surgeons, etc.)know who he is and always have excellent things to say about him. His office is located in Kennesaw, and his surgeries are performed at Northside Hospital. His website is Bariatric Surgery Georgia - Gastric Bypass - Weight Loss Surgery by Dr. J.K. Chapmion- you should check it out if his office locations aren't too far from where you live. I promise you won't be disappointed with him!! Good luck finding a surgeon and continuing with your lap band journey-keep us posted!

Hey Smylie!

I'll do my best to try and help you out.

There are a bunch of procedures that need to be taken care of before the actual surgery takes place (even surgery scheduling!) In my personal case, my insurance required me to do a lot of stuff for approval- psych evaluation, cardiology clearance, pulmonology clearance, a test for H. Pylori (a stomach bacteria that causes ulcers), Nutritionist consult, proof that I've tried numerous diet programs and failed over the past 6 months (I got a letter from Jenny Craig stating my weight from the first time I went there until the last visit), proof of my comorbidities (I had to ask my endocronologist for proof of my insulin resistance, PCOS and obesity). This all depends on your insurance requirements, and to get all of this done, it took me 3 months. I have Coventry, and supposedly they're pretty decent when it comes to paying for things!

I was banded on Oct 31 and I'll admit that I LOVE food! I don't know if it would help the food ADDICT, but I think you have to have the right mindset going in. You need to WANT to be healthy and be willing to change your lifestyle. I'm not too happy thinking that there wont be any chocolate, ice cream, etc. But think of it this way: once you're at your goal weight, you can treat yourself here and there with your favorite foods! The lap band is great because it's lessening your food intake. So even if you do buy a cheeseburger and fries at McDonalds, you most likely won't even finish the burger and never get to the fries, so at the end of the day, you're taking in a lot less calories than you usually would. Take my advice though...after going through such a procedure, it wouldn't be too smart to continue to go to fast food restaurants, but I'm sure you know that already LOL (oh how I've heard it a million times from my doctor, friends, family, etc). I think you'll be surprised at how much it might help you. Good luck with your insurance and let us know if you get approved and continue with the lap band journey! I hope I helped!

Thanks for all of the advice that You have given me! It makes me a lot less frustrated to know that It's normal to have this terrible port pain. I'll ask my doctor about the meds- that's a great idea.

As for the hunger, thanks for the recipe! I'll definitely try it sometime. I just had egg drop Soup yesterday and I noticed that it was a lot more filling. I appreciate you giving me the recipe

Once again, thanks for all of your advice and info!! You've helped a lot.

I usually just sip at meals until I feel full- then stop, and when I'm no longer full, I sip on Water or even gatorade mixed with some water (watching calories a little bit!) until the next meal. The most important thing I was told by my doctor (Dr. Champion) is to stop the second you feel full. That way, you can get as many liquids in as your body can tolerate. It's important to keep hydrated- I found that gatorade does the trick if you feel as if you aren't feeling too hydrated through out the day. But try mixing it with water. That way, you can get the electrolytes that gatorade provides. There's not much of a taste, but hey, water doesn't taste like anything either!! I hope that helps!

Hey all!

I was banded October 31st and this is the 5th day of my recovery. Overall, I feel really energetic and back to normal. I can't even feel pain from the incisions on my belly. There's only one thing holding me back- where the port was sewed into my stomach muscles. Of course I don't expect there to be absolutely no pain so soon after surgery, but the pain is EXCRUCIATING. And I'm not exaggerating. I'm getting so frustrated bc I feel fantastic other than that. It makes it SO painful to even walk. I don't feel as if it's made any progress. My questions are:

For those of you who have completely healed, how long did it take for your port incision to feel OK? Did you experience the same amount of pain as I am (excruciating) after approximately the same amount of time post-op?

As for the pain meds, how often did you take them? Sometimes I get worried that if I DO take them every 4 hours as directed, they'll start to wear off and stop working so much eventually.

Also, I'm on the liquid diet and I'm finding that I get full very quickly at each meal that I don't eat that much, but I get hungry very fast after that (about an hour after). Do you have any suggestions on what to eat to help with that? I'm guessing it's normal since it IS liquid, but I'm double checking!

Thanks!

Love,

Kara

Hey Everyone!

My name is Kara and I'm 21 years old. I was JUST banded October 31st (Halloween!) y Dr. Champion here in Atlanta, Georgia. I wasn't an outpatient- my doc likes his lap band patients to stay in the hospital overnight. I must say that these passed couple of days have been pretty rough on me. Really the only "excruciating" pain that I've had is where the incision was made for the sewing of the port. I knew there would be pain, but I didn't think it would be this bad. I can't move! :cry It's gotten a lot better, and it gets less sore every day. After I get by these rough next couple of weeks, I'll be all set and ready to resume my brand new banded life! I can't wait! :whoo: I'm looking forward to chatting with you all

Love,

Kara