citygirl4616

I paid cash for my surgery and all adjustments were included in the price of the surgery for the first year. Now I pay $250 per adjustment.

I can eat bananas, but the rest of my fruit has to be in a smoothie or yogurt. I cannot tolerate any other type of fruit. No matter how much I chew, it gets stuck. I can suck the juice out of an orange, but I get into trouble if I try and eat the flesh. Very weird...goes to show you how everyones body reacts differently to the band....

If you are able to guzzle water, than your band was most likely too loose. With the band, you are supposed to take small bites, eat slowly, and not really drink WITH your meal. I always drink in between meals, and can take normal sips, but nothing larger than a gulp. As long as your food is staying down, and not getting stuck, and you are getting your minimum amount of calories and protein, you are probably not too tight. This new fill just may take some getting used to.

Initially my husband gained weight, because I was constantly giving him the food from my plate that I wasn't eating. He gained about 10 pounds (not too bad...he went from 185 to 195 and he is 6 ft.). Then, a year later, when he realized that he gained 10 pounds, he decided to take note of what he was eating. He realized it was just him eating off of my plate. Now, with a little more mindfull eating, he is losing those 10 pounds with lots of nutritional help from me. I have helped him pay attention to his portion sizes, eat more protein, eat slowly and eat good quality, healthy food. Now it is a no-brainer for both of us. We both eat completely differently than we did before my surgery, and we both feel so much better!

Cottage cheese with some Spike seasoning mixed in; ricotta cheese with unsweetened cocoa powder and a splenda mixed in; cottage cheese pancakes; homemade egg salad and tuna salad (mushed up really well); oatmeal

I love the Designer Whey in French Vanilla. It is the perfect base for any flavor 'smoothie' you crave. My whole family has them. I keep bags of frozen fruit in the freezer, and mix the protein powder, with skim milk and a packet of Splenda, and have a different flavor everyday. I also use flavored extracts (like almond or maple to change) it up as well. I keep the chocolate flavor on hand, when I am craving chocolate. Sometimes I throw in half of a banana, sometimes I add in some instant expresso powder for a mocha flavor...get creative. I have been at my goal weight for several months now, but I still keep my Magic Bullet on the counter and have a protein shake at least once a day. My husband and kids have once almost everyday as well because they taste soooo good!

I am about 15 months post surgery, and just about at my goal weight (and have been for several months). I have physically hit my sweet spot, buy psychologically, I still have major food issues. Luckily, I have a great therapist who is helping me work through them, but just because your doctor gives you the tools to feel 'full', it doesn't mean the desire to eat will go away. I am sure 99% of us got overweight by eating for emotional reasons. Those reasons don't just disappear because of surgery. When I have had a stressful day, all I want to do is sit down to a huge plate of Pasta. Of course, as I delve further into my reasons for overeating in therapy, I am finding better ways to deal with the obsessional food thinking that can still haunt me. The urges and cravings will eventually go away, but you need to figure out how you got overweight in the first place, and what role has food played in your life. It can still be very pleasurable, but when I am craving a bowl of pasta...2 or 3 bites can satisfy me now...and I really enjoy those 2 or 3 bites!

I am usually too full after a Carnation breakfast shake to down too much water immediately afterward. Are you thirsty afterward, or are you just getting your daily water in? If you are just getting your water in, I would wait a bit (probably not a whole hour), before drinking water.

:whoo:I am soooo excited!!!! My surgeon's office called today, and told me I could get my Lap-Band on 1/10, or the first week in Feb. Duh! I'll take Jan. 10th!!!! Two weeks from today:clap2:!!! Only negative is my hubby can't take of of work with such short notice (he is a physician, he would have to cancel his scheduled patients), so my Dad or my step mom will have to take me to the hospital on my surgery day. DH can bring me home the next day (my surgeon requires an overnight hospital stay). How long should I tell my Dad to expect to stay with me in the hospital on the 10th? Will I want him there all day, or will I be tired from the surgery, and just want to rest? Do you want visitors that evening? What time did you get discharged the next day? Thanks!

No, no no! The band is a tool to help you learn how to eat properly for the rest of your life. It almost sounds like they are trying to meet a "weight loss goal" they set for their practice, by trying to get you to lose fast. I have the proper fill now. Honestly, some days my band is super tight. I have a Carnation instant Breakfast for breakfast, and Protein shake for lunch and soup for dinner...and I am full. I would never want to do that more than a day or so, because I would miss eating food very much! Plus..my doctor would insist on loosening my band if he heard I couldn't eat solid foods. He always asks what I am eating, and if I am keeping it down. I would switch doctors right away. Suggesting an all liquid diet with a lap band is a huge red flag!

I am down about 60 pounds, with 25-30 more to go. I still struggle with head hunger, but the physical hunger is definitely under control. I had 1 fill so far, and that has done the trick for me. I would be eating much more if my fill wasn't working properly. I probably PB about 1-2 X per week, and it is usually not from eating too much food, it is usually from eating the wrong foods...pastas, breads, pastries, cakes and other starchy foods. They always get stuck! I limit my exercise to activities I like...mostly tennis, yoga and walking. As long as I participate in activities I enjoy, I have no problem committing to 4-5 days a week. I even throw in one day of weight training as well. I am still tweaking my eating program. Breakfast is usually a cup of decaf, and a Carnation Instant Breakfast made with 1% lowfat milk. I can rarely get solid foods down before noon. lunch can be a baked potato with cottage cheese; a grilled chicken salad; a smoothie or Protein shake; or some turkey and Swiss cheese. It is always a very small portion. Occasionally, I will crave a mid-afternoon snack. A piece of string cheese, or some hummus and veggies usually hit the spot. I will eat what ever my family has for dinner...a lean protein, salad, veggie and a potato...just a very tiny portion of it. Since I am the family cook, I can always keep the meal fairly "lap-friendly". If I have been good throughout the day, I will have a low fat pudding for dessert, or a few spoons of ice cream. It is amazing how a few spoons of real ice cream are so satisfying! I will occasionally even splurge on a truffle or a few spoons of a real dessert. Yum! I also find it very important to stay well hydrated. Water is very necessary, but I also treat myself to Fuze Slenderize beverages, iced coffee and diet cranberry juice over lots ice. I have found a few tricks to dining out. One is to only order Soup and a salad. Another is to share an appetizer with the table, then only order an appetizer or salad. Another is to share an entree. My favorite is to just order family style. If none of these ideas work...there is always a doggie bag to bring home the leftovers!

I have had my band for 4 months, and am down about 35 pounds. I am at the lowest weight I have been in years and physically feel awesome. I was most definitely an emotional and stress eater. Now that I can no longer use food as my drug of choice, I find myself feeling EVERYTHING! I have done so much self reflecting in the past few months, and realize that whenever anything upset me, I would eat, rather than deal with it. Some people drink, some people get high, some people gamble...I would eat. Now that I really FEEL everything, it is like I have a whole new perspective on my life. I no longer settle for people treating me poorly. I speak up for myself now. I have much more confidence in what I say and what I do. I have reconnected with friends I didn't have the 'energy' to keep up friendships with before. I am even in the middle of a HUGE spring cleaning of my house. I am getting rid of all of the clutter and junk I have accumulated over the years. I have filled up half of my garage with junk to be hauled away! I love looking at my newly cleaned out rooms and closets now. It's such a good feeling. It is not all good though. When I am upset, or stressed, my instinct is still to turn to food. We all know that won't work anymore! There is only so much comfort in a cup of cottage cheese. I find my negative emotions just building up, until I burst into tears of frustration. I have a great therapist who is helping me through this. I guess I figured there would be some others on this board going through some of the same experiences as me. I would love to hear how you have gotten through it.

I've been home for almost 24 hours now, and here is a quick summary of my banding experience so far: I got to the hospital at 7:30, for my 10am surgery. I was brought back to the pre-op area, and given a gown and booties to change into, and told to wait. About 9am a nurse came in to give me my surgical stockings, and start my IV. She also gave me my first shot of a blood thinner. Finally at 10:15 my surgeon came in and said they were setting up the surgery room for me, and it would just be a few minutes. 10 minutes later a man came to wheel me to surgery. I get to the operating room, and everyone there was soooo nice. The nurses were telling me that it would all be over soon, and that I would never have to worry about my weight again. The anethelogist assistants said they couldn't believe I was 40, they thought I looked 25 (all us gals know that is the best compliment ever!). Then they have me scoot to the surgery table, and they begin to strap me down. Then they unfasten my gown in the back, and put something under my head to prop it up. Finally they begin to add something to me IV to "relax me" and they put a mask on my face. The next thing I know, it is 2pm, and I am in recovery! The first thing I asked was if the surgery went well. I was told it did. Then I asked if I could go to the bathroom. They said I had to use the bedpan. Ugh! I hate trying to use a bedpan. I don't remember much else until getting wheeled to my room, where my DH was waiting for me. I was so sleepy, I think he only stayed about 30 minutes. I remember the nurse hooking up these leg massagers things that felt good for a while. Then the rest of the hospital stay, was a blur of a morphine drip, and pain medicines, and vital signs. Not very restful, but I was pretty comfortable. DH brought me home Friday, day after my surgery, at 1pm. We stopped at CVS to get my pain medicine (Loritab). Then, as the afternoon wore on at home, my pain began to worsen. I didn't know if it was gas, or the surgery, but the next 18 hours were pretty painful. The Loritab did little to relieve the pain. In addition, I still had no appetite, so was only sipping Water. This morning, I called the surgeon. He told me to double up on the Loritab, and also take Alleve or Motrin. He said i was getting IV pain relievers in the hospital, but not at home. Well, that did the trick. I am currently much more comfortable, and even sipping my first post-op Protein shake.

OK...first, get back to your pre-op diet. We all mess up a little on the pre-op diet. It sucks, and it is hard, but get back on it. Next, I hope you realize you are not going to be living a non-alcoholic life, eating only warm cottage cheese after your surgery. Yes...it will be that way for about 6 weeks post-op (depending on the instructions from your surgeon). I am almost 5 months post-op, and I eat whatever I want, just in very small quantities. I'll be honest, there are foods that I cannot eat...most breads, pastas, rice, pancakes, biscuits and cakes. They just don't work for me. They get stuck in my band, and it hurts. Do I miss them? Yes. Do I miss the 40 pounds I lost since my surgery more? No. I'll take the weight loss over the bread, any day! If I want a glass of wine, or a margarita...no problem. I'll indulge every once in a while. It is all trial and error. There is nothing you will be told you cannot eat. You will try it, and see what works for you. I actually eat better now than before surgery, because I am not eating all that nonfat and lowfat crap. I eat very small portions of whatever I want. It is much healthier and more satisfying.

The biggest adjustment to post band life is not physical, it is psychological. Once you reach your sweet spot, you will not be physically hungry, needing to eat, or craving food. You will miss 'eating' though ("head hunger"). You will need to figure out what over-eating was doing for you (mentally), and that is what will cause you doubts. Was it stress relief, did eating numb unpleasant emotions, etc? There is probably something going on that is causing you to overeat, otherwise, you would just eat less, and get to a healthy weight, without surgery. I cannot tell you how many times, since my surgery, that I have just wanted to sit down, and veg out on the couch to a huge plate of Pasta at the end of a long day. That was what I did at the end of a stressful day before surgery. Obviously, now I could NEVER do that, but I still want that calming experience. That is one of the hardest adjustments to post-band life. It is not that I am hungry for a pound of pasta. I miss sitting down, relaxing, and enjoying that plate of food. Getting the surgery is like an alcoholic going cold turkey (well..without the severe withdrawal symptoms). I quickly figured out that I was going to need a little therapy to deal with "head hunger". I found a great therapist, and I now can cope with the psychological changes needed to make the surgery successful. Keep that in mind. The mental changes, are much harder than the physical ones..so be prepared ahead of time.

:thumbs_up: Holy s***! I knew that in 2007, I had reached my all time high weight. I rarely allowed my photo to be taken, and when it was taken, I didn't want to see it. Someone took my photo last summer, then gave me a copy a few weeks later. I vaguely remember seeing it, being shocked at how large I had gotten, and sticking it in a drawer. This week, my husband found the photo (I don't know how, I purposely stuck in in a drawer that we never use). When he found it, I wasn't home, so he put it back, and told me about it later. He said that he found a picture of me from last summer, and that I now look so much better (down 40 pounds on my 5'3" frame). He said that he doesn't even remember me being that heavy (huh?!?!?). A few nights later, we were having dinner, and he went to the drawer, and took out the photo. He asked if I wanted to see it. I actually was thinking of not looking, because I obviously hated the way I felt at that weight. I took the photo and stared at the back for a few moments. Finally, I turned it over. No, no, no!!! That cannot be me! Puffy, bloated, distorted....HUGE! How did I let myself go? I pride myself in my looking nice. Not to be vain, but I don't want to "let myself go". I like fashion, beauty and exercise. I subscribe to Self, Elle, Allure, Cooking Light and Glamour magazines, and I read them cover to cover! I could hardly see my green eyes through the distorted features of my face. I felt sad and mad at myself. How many Monday morning diets did I start back then? How many excuses did I make to myself about clothes that didn't fit? Brands that must "run small"? How many times did I stuff my feelings down my throat, rather than face them? Food was my anti-anxiety drug, and my escape from life route. It was the easy was out from the difficulties of life. I cannot remember what prompted me to get the lap band surgery. I'm sure it was many little things all building up. I only wish I had done it sooner. Of course, all of my problems have not immediately disappeared as the weight is slowly melting away. I still need to learn how to wind down at the end of a stressful day, without a pound of pasta. When my husband and I fight, I am learning to get my feelings out, and discuss them, rather than stuff my feelings down my throat in the form of chips and cookies. It's hard, but I never want to see that girl in the photo again.

:cursing: Holy s***! I knew that in 2007, I had reached my all time high weight. I rarely allowed my photo to be taken, and when it was taken, I didn't want to see it. Someone took my photo last summer, then gave me a copy a few weeks later. I vaguely remember seeing it, being shocked at how large I had gotten, and sticking it in a drawer. This week, my husband found the photo (I don't know how, I purposely stuck in in a drawer that we never use). When he found it, I wasn't home, so he put it back, and told me about it later. He said that he found a picture of me from last summer, and that I now look so much better (down 40 pounds on my 5'3" frame). He said that he doesn't even remember me being that heavy (huh?!?!?). A few nights later, we were having dinner, and he went to the drawer, and took out the photo. He asked if I wanted to see it. I actually was thinking of not looking, because I obviously hated the way I felt at that weight. I took the photo and stared at the back for a few moments. Finally, I turned it over. No, no, no!!! That cannot be me! Puffy, bloated, distorted....HUGE! How did I let myself go? I pride myself in my looking nice. Not to be vain, but I don't want to "let myself go". I like fashion, beauty and exercise. I subscribe to Self, Elle, Allure, Cooking Light and Glamour magazines, and I read them cover to cover! I could hardly see my green eyes through the distorted features of my face. I felt sad and mad at myself. How many Monday morning diets did I start back then? How many excuses did I make to myself about clothes that didn't fit? Brands that must "run small"? How many times did I stuff my feelings down my throat, rather than face them? Food was my anti-anxiety drug, and my escape from life route. It was the easy was out from the difficulties of life. I cannot remember what prompted me to get the lap band surgery. I'm sure it was many little things all building up. I only wish I had done it sooner. Of course, all of my problems have not immediately disappeared as the weight is slowly melting away. I still need to learn how to wind down at the end of a stressful day, without a pound of pasta. When my husband and I fight, I am learning to get my feelings out, and discuss them, rather than stuff my feelings down my throat in the form of chips and cookies. It's hard, but I never want to see that girl in the photo again.

Hi Alisa...You are doing awesome! Keep in mind, that if you haven't reached your sweet spot yet, the band is not giving you all the restriction it is supposed to. Once you are properly filled, you should be losing 1 - 2 pounds a week. Don't worry about what other people think. With the proper restriction, exercise, and a WW diet...you will surely reach your goal. Don't put a time pressure on yourself. Be patient until you have the proper restriction....it WILL come. Until then, I am sure you are looking and feeling much better than you did in 2007. Remember that fact, when you are feeling down.

Yesterday B- Starbucks small skim latte L - 1/2 baked potato with cottage cheese, mustard & splash Italian dressing S - 1 chicken lettuce wrap D - 1/2 veggie enchilada, cabbage coleslaw, a few bites black beans w/rice

I have had one 3cc fill in my 4cc band, and I cannot imagine getting another fill anytime soon. Compared to other people on this board, this seems like it was a pretty aggressive fill, but I am happy that the first fill made me hit my sweet spot. In the morning, it is usually a small skim latte, or Carnation Instant Breakfast. If I am planning a big workout, or have a tennis match scheduled, I will eat a banana or yogurt. It takes a very long time to eat the banana, but I like to get the extra energy when I need it, and the banana makes a big difference. lunch is whatever I am in the mood for, just a very small portion of it. Sometimes it is a grilled chicken salad, sometimes half of a baked potato with cottage cheese....I try to switch it up everyday. I am never hungry between meals, but I stay hydrated with Water, and treat myself to the occasional fruit juice. dinner is a very small salad, a few bites of a Protein (fish or chicken prepared however my family is eating it), and a little bit more of another starch vegetable (usually a potato). I always try to save room for dessert, which is either fruit, ff pudding or low-fat ice cream. Some days, I can eat a whole lot more than I just described, and some days, I practically have to go back to the soft food stage. One thing is for sure....I never know what my appetite is going to bring!

This does seem a bit too conservative. My first fill was right around 6 weeks post-op, and I got 3 cc in my 4 cc band. I was more than thrilled to get an aggressive fill, and I have been doing really well, with no complications. Maybe you could find another bariatric doctor in your area to take over your fills?

That amazing! Congratulations and keep up the GREAT work!!!!

Yes!!! I ate a ton of hummus in the soft food stage. I choose to make my own, so I could adjust the flavoring and consistency, but any store bought brand will due.

Hi. I had my surgery done in Jan. 2008 with Dr. Scott Steinberg at Dekalb Medical Center in Decatur. I could not be happier with the entire experience. Dr. Steinberg and his office are amazing. They are patient, answer all questions, and made getting the surgery run as smooth as possible. Dr. Steinberg (and his partner) is an excellent doctor, and I always knew I was getting the best care. He is a bariatric surgeon, so this surgery is all he does. Dekalb Medical Center was a wonderful facility as well.

I am going on 4 months with my band. I had 1 fill, which seems to be working very well for me right now. One thing that is confusing me, is the difference in how "tight" my band feels on any given day. For example, some days, I can eat quite normally, just in very small portions. Other days, I can barely choke down half of a banana! It is typical that I will have trouble eating all day on random days. Then the next day, I can eat normally again! Is this normal? I feel that by the end of the week, I am getting adequate nutrition, it is just very odd to me, the randomness of it.