coolcrystal

I showered the next day and my packet said it was okay to, just not to lather up the incisions. And no getting into baths or hottubs, etc for two weeks after surgery. My surgical strips didn't come off in the shower either. Trust me, those suckers are stuck on there pretty good. He probably gave you internal stitches that dissolve.

My doc put 4 cc in my 10cc band and with my first fill I now have 5cc and doing great. I only had restriction for the first two weeks after surgery and didn't vomit or get stuck or any of that stuff. You'll be fine with that.

Sorry so late, but I wanted to get in on the "pooh" action here. I use to pooh about 5 times a day.. Yeah, I know, a lot. Now I pooh once a day and sometimes twice a day if I'm lucky. I eat Fiber One cereal and that stuff is amazing! I have just half a cup and it's enough to clear ya out and it's still healthy. I'm so glad I haven't suffered with the constipation or the other. :teeth_smile:

I don't have a huge belly either, but he put it in the most perfect spot. I can't see it, feel or or anything. Tonight I put my faire bodice on and laced it up TIGHT and it didn't hurt at all. I was so excited. I'm starting to wonder if he didn't put a low profile port in me because I actually asked for one and he said he'd see how it looked when he got in there, but I never asked him after that, so maybe I'll ask him again. When I push on the port site I can barely feel it.. I'm surprised the fill center lady actually found it to stick me.

Well, the question is, have you had your first fill yet? you and I were banded around the same time and I didn't get my first fill till tuesday. Before that I could have eaten whatever I wanted too. but even after my fill I can still eat whatever I want comfortably just smaller portions. I had chicken earlier for dinner and had it with no problems. Getting the band doesn't mean you can't eat anymore. Most people can still eat anything with the exception of a few things that cause issues and its great when you have that perfect restriction that allows you to get all your protein and veggies in. So, don't worry, I think you're doing great and once you get your fill (if you haven't already) then you'll feel that restriction you probably need.

I've never felt guilty over this decision. Hell, if I could have worked out and exercised like people said I should/could, I wouldn't have been almost 300 pounds. I was addicted to bread products and fast food. I have never once felt guilty about getting it, only lucky that my insurance covered it and that there is a procedure out there for me. We really are lucky. And, I would say with the band, you are still doing 70% of the work. I exercise an hour a day and I can choose to eat crap food, but I don't. When I had no fill and was starving I could have had pizza and all that, but didn't. That takes willpower, so, you are not selling yourself short with the band. It will still take work on your part. It just gives you that little extra oomph to not overeat, it changes you mentally too. I actually want to work out and eat right. I never did before. Good luck! you'll love the band and don't worry about the guilt part, that will subside quickly!

Odd, I've had a few changes with the "left" side of my body since getting banded. Neck pains, shoulder pains, hip pains. All in the left side. Nothing I can't deal with, but it's just odd that its always on the left side....

I'm not a doctor or anything, but it sounds like you aren't eating enough calories. It sounds like your body is in starvation mode and you need to shock it back into place. I know it sounds weird, but one time when my body did this because I was only eating 600-800 calories a day I ate a fajita and some chips and dropped two pounds ... it was the weirdest thing, but even the trainer on biggest loser said that once a week the contestants eat something "bad" and it keeps them from going into starvation mode. 800 calories is definitely not enough food intake. Up it to like 1000 or 1100. Especially if you are working out!

I have a friend who's been banded for a year and she smokes. I think she had reffered addiction though. Since she couldn't eat as much she switched to smoking. She doesn't have any problems other then the fact that she is damaging her lungs obviously and perhaps the surgery she got to prolong her life will be completely moot if she gets lung cancer.. other than that, she's all good.

I didn't have problems with my family, as my parents would have paid for it and driven me there themselves if they had the money at the time. LOL. To them, this surgery didn't get done fast enough; BUT, I had several friends who kept saying I was going to die and thinking this was the bypass surgery. The two get confused ALL the time. Having my two best friends banded 1 and 2 years before me helped me to see that it wasnt' dangerous and that it could work for me. But, every now and again I have somebody say things to me about it that are negative or like yesterday, I went to lunch with a friend of mine and she couldn't believe that I could actually eat regular food. She said she had a friend who was banded 4 years ago who vomits all the time.. well, that's because her doctor put that small 4cc band on her and apparently he was a complete idiot because she's never been able to eat normally and so now she thinks this happens with everybody who is banded. When I showed her I could eat and wasn't sick she was amazed and actually apologized for getting onto me about it since the first day I told her about it. Once you get it done, and they see that you are doing good and that yes, you can be normal and eat - just not a lot - they will pipe down and be more supportive. Good luck hun!

As soon as I got my fill I felt like I had to belch. It was weird. But then I hiccupped when I drank the water they gave me. I use to never hiccup before I got the band, maybe once every 3 or 4 months. And when I have resctriction I hiccup like once every two days. It doesn't last long, but I do it. Since getting my first fill on Tuesday I've had two hiccupping sessions. Maybe its from the restriction or swollowing air, I'm not sure. It doesn't bug me though. It actually kind of tells me 'yes, you have good restriction' and I like that.

I went from 284 to 298... it's hard to say actually. One doctors scale said 300.. one doctor's scale said 296... one doctors scale said 298. One subtracted four pounds from it... Honestly, all I know is I was about 296 when the 6 months was over. lol. On my ticker I put 296 as my starting weight, but I think I was more like 298.

PB is Productive Burp. Its when food comes up from your pouch. I haven't experienced it though, so I'm not sure what it feels like. I did experience a slime the day after I got banded and drank too much.. It was like my mouth got all wet and I felt like I needed to vomitt and then it went away in like 10 seconds, but I've never done the PB thing before.

That is so awesome sugar!! What an accomplisment!! you will never see those 300's again!! Oh, it's funny, when I saw my doctor after two weeks I still felt restricted and told him I still felt great and probably wouldn't need that first fill and litterally the next day I entered bandster hell. LOL. It was so funny! So, I wouldn't cancel that appointment yet; with all your weightloss, that band might get loser and loser in the next two weeks. Best of luck!

It was super easy and painless. I asked if they were going to numb it first, but she said that the numbing shot would hurt worse. She found my port in like two seconds, bam, stuck the needle in, hit it in one shot and the whole process took about 30 seconds from start to finish. You know what it felt like? when she sucked the "starter fill" out it made like this gurgly feeling in there and then like a swooshy feeling when she put it back in with more that she added. But it didn't hurt at all. I don't have a bruise.. no pain.. nothing. Just restriction. The place I go to is amazing! I worried about it so badly, but now that I know what a piece of cake it is, I won't mind going to get these fills every time.

MFBIZNIT, I went through all the hoops you did too. Took me the same amount of time.. I even gained weight while waiting. LOL. And also felt the same way you did about waiting. But, when it gets two days before your surgery, the excitement will pop back up and then you'll be scared and nervous and start second guessing everything. And probably say "what am I doing?" like I did. But, it's totally worth the wait.. TOTALLY.

I eat tuna salad almost everyday. I put some light miracle whip in with a can of tuna, with some pepper and sometimes even egg and I mix it up. I then put it on multi-grain crackers. It chews up REALLy nice and goes down perfect even after a fill!

Amanda, Back in the days I lost like 20 pounds in a month from taking diet pills and exercise every single day. Then I gained it back like a month later. LOL. I've lost a little more weight since tuesday from my fill, but I haven't put it on my ticker yet and won't for a while due to what happened last time I changed my ticker. lol. But, my weightloss includes what I lost pre-op on that South Beach diet. I dropped 11 or 12 pounds on that. So, I've lost this much since Feb. 16th - the day I started the SB diet. The best thing about this whole thing is that for two weeks I had no restriction and I could have eaten whatever like pizzas and burgers, but I didn't. I ate more than I probably should have of other things like potatoes.. but, in the end, I maintained (up and down the same two pounds) and that's what I'm most proud of myself for. You see, in the past I could easily gain 10 pounds in two weeks .. and did it MANY times. So, this is a victory for me. :thumbup: A small victory, but a victory.

Grace, I just wanted to say, don't hate yourself.. Before I got my fill on tuesday I had also fallen into a state of depression because I wasnt' losing anymore weight either. I would go up two... lose two.. go up two.. lose two.. but one thing I realized was that I hadn't gained 10! Because I really could eat whatever I wanted to eat, and I had gotten addicted to chocolate shakes from Chic-fil-a. I would have one every two days. I would also go to pantry and look for stuff.. these are all signs of bandster hell and not having that restriction. Just since my fill on tuesday I have dropped three pounds, but I refuse to put it on my ticker becuase the last time I did that I gained it back. LOL. This time I'm going to wait until I get to the 260's and then I'll change my ticker! I don't want to jinx myself. I also wanted to say, that I also have problems with not drinking while I eat. I definitely don't drink as much water as I use to before getting banded, but I still drink about 4 sips during a meal. My doctor told me to drink ALL i wanted right before eating, so you are fine there. He also said that wherever I'm eating to put my cup in the next room, so that I have to get up to get a drink if I want it. I tried this last night and it helped. I only drank one sip. Do you have head hunger when you have restriction? if not, then you probably aren't suffering from that.. because when I have proper restriction I don't go to pantry looking for food. But, when I didn't have restriction I was, but I wasn't "starving" so to speak. Just wait till your next fill, I bet things will be differnet. :crying:

Yeah, I know how this feels too. Not with an ex-husband, but with ex boyfriends or people I went to highschool with. I was 125 in highschool and I bumped into three people I went to HS with at a Halloween party back when I was 225 and I was SO embarrassed. I actually lied. yes, I lied. I told them I just had twins. LOL. I said it with a smile on my face, and who knows if they believed me, as I've never had kids, but the fact that they called me by my name and gave me that "look" was so awful. I hope the next time I bump into anybody from my past I will be under 200 pounds at least.

Oh yes, I have tons of stories, but one of the funniest was when my ass knocked over my friends coke in her cubicle. It has a mind of its own I told her, but it got all over her computer and keyboard. I was so embarrassed, but we laugh about it now all the time.. My butt seems to knock over lots of stuff. Another embarrassing thing is when you think you can go through a space like at a restaurant, and you realize quickly you can't fit through two people's chair backs practically touching. lol. Oh, and never sit in plastic chairs. One time at a camp over I was sitting in my friends plastic chair and I went to get up and my pant leg got caught in the leg of the chair and it flung me back onto the chair and it did that whole sideways thing that plastic chairs do and BAM it busted. I was so embarrassed. She claimed it was an old plastic chair that had been outside for years.. BS.. I love how my thinner friends will make excuses for my fatness. It's very sweet.

1.) Who's you're insurance company? - Aetna POS 2.) What state do you live in? - TEXAS 3.) Was your plan provided by your employer or do you pay for it out of your own pocket? - EMPLOYER 4.) Are you banded yet, waiting for approval, denied...etc? - YES, approval took 8 days.

I had two moments: 1. went to ihop with some friends and got a booth. The booth was digging right into my gut and I was so embarrassed. everybody in that section was looking at me and I tried to fold my arms over my belly. 2. went to Cozumel, got in the ocean and stayed in there for about an hour, when I went to get out, I couldn't walk. My body felt like it was 800 pounds after floating in the ocean for so long. My husband had to litterally hold me up. I felt all my weight for the first time in that moment. It felt like I was 120 pounds with a 500 pound fat suit on me and I was trying to figure out how to walk in it.

Well, I had my first fill yesterday.. It was a breeze as Jax said it would be, though the girl was rather snooty and didn't want to be asked questions. She said I had 5cc's in my 10cc band. is that possible??? Maybe she meant .5cc's... but, she didn't say point. That means that my band is already half filled up? I go in for another fill in two weeks on the 9th. I doubt this fill will do anything for me, but it would be nice if I could drop at least 5 pnds in two weeks before my next fill.

HUZZAH! that is amazing! I'm so happy for you both. Ya'll need to take a cruise or something to celebrate!