Birchmoon

I was banded on Oct. 8th this year, and things have been wonderful...until this morning. I had a carnation instant Breakfast, and within minutes I had severe stomach pain. I thought maybe I was becomming lactose intolerant because occasionally milk does make me sick. Well, around lunch time I grabbed a few grapes, which also brought on the pain. Then just Water, and that brought it on too. :cursing: I need to drink, but it hurst so much I can't bring myself to do it. I have not had a fill at all yet, and my band is totally empty now. I've been going to the bathroom all day, so I know I'm not blocked. The pain is most severe immediately after trying to eat or drink something, but even when I'm not, it's still very tender. I looked up symptoms of different band problems and nothing seems to fit. I'm not throwing up, and I haven't at all since the surgery. I'm not burping or spitting anything up at all. Any ideas? I appreciate any help. thanks! Heather

I just had mine earlier this month and I'm curious how people who have had it a couple years are doing. How much lost, how fast, did any of it come back?

I got home 3 days ago! Had surgery on the 8th of this month, but had to spend some extra time in the hospital because of a fever and my past complications. I'm happy to be home and "eating" again. lol. If you call pudding and pea soup eating. I bought these tiny little Gladware containers and put my meals in them. With the 6 weeks of Optifast prior to surgery, I lost 35 lbs. before I even got the band! On the day I got out, my total weight loss was 44 lbs. From 280 to 236! WOO HOO! I've gone from a 28 to a 22...too bad my shirt size hasn't changed a bit. 44 lbs. and my chest hasn't shrunk one ounce. :tongue_smilie: Oh well, I guess in a few years when I get the skin removed I can see about breast reduction too. And there will certainly be a lot of extra skin to work on by then. Ugh. I was on prednisone for 10 years, and my skin has lost its elasticity...so I'm looking like a half full hefty bag right about now. I'm adding protein powder to everything I eat, but I eat so little that I also got some of these little things that look like test tubes and have 42 g of protein each. I'm still gonna buy some Unjury Chicken Soup. I got a sample of it and it's pretty good. Very tasty, and really filling. Congrats to those that have had their surgery, and good luck to those who will very soon! Heather BTW as for the cheating...well, we're all human beings. This is a habit most of us have had for our entire lives. We can't expect to just drop it like it's nothing. Quitting overeating is like quitting anything else bad for us that we are addicted to. I had 6 weeks of Optifast...and nothing else. And I replaced 2 of those shakes with dry turkey wheat wraps. The key is to not beat yourself up about it and just take it as a slip up and move on. :tt1: I had my surgery on the 8th of this month....and for the last 2 months all I can think about is FRIED CHICKEN!!!!! lol.

5 weeks today and 27 lbs. gone already, and my surgery isn't even until october 8th. :thumbup: 6 weeks of Optifast is difficult, but I know what I'm in for after surgery, and I am so much closer to my goal. It feels pretty good.

I understand that everyone here feels comfortable with their docs, otherwise we wouldn't let them operate on us...but I've already lost 15 lbs, and I haven't even had the surgery yet. By the time I get the surgery on october 8th, I'll have lost between 30 and 40 lbs...so I will get to my goal weight an awful lot faster. 6 weeks of optifast is harsh, but it's a test...for me. In this time I can show myself that I can do this 100% with no doubt in my mind at all. I've done 6 weeks of a liquid diet...a month of post op won't be hard at all. I'm thankful for the pre op diet personally.

I wouldn't feel too bad about a few weeks....I had to do a year and a half of medical tests, psych evals, monthly support groups, a 10 week weight management course, join a gym, and see a dietician every month....my doc is making me work my fat butt off for this surgery. After your insurance company approves you, what's the process then? Will they schedule a date for you? I went through a VA hospital, so the process is very different. Just curious.

It's official...I searched this board and I, Heather, am the ONE person doing a 6 week liquid diet. :biggrin: 800 calories a day, Optifast...nothing but splenda and extracts. I'm so jealous of all you 2 week diet people. Nah...actually I'm "sort of" glad, because 6 weeks will be enough time to prove to myself that I can do it, plus I'll lose a lot of weight prior to surgery....but still....

I've just started a 6 week Optifast diet. NOTHING but Optifast...except noncaloric flavors and splenda. It's hard as heck, but I gotta say I appreciate it. I've been working on this for a year and a half, and this next 6 weeks will show me how much strength I have in me. My doc does this also as a sort of trial. After 6 weeks of this, I am superwoman and can do anything! :biggrin: Plus, my doc has a 100% success rate, and I trust him with my life. He makes his patients jump through hoops of fire, but in the end, it's worth it for me. Besides, with losing weight before surgery, I'll be closer to my goal sooner after surgery. Already lost 8 lbs in 4 days!

I have had one for years, and my docs have told me that it will be fixed during surgery. I wasn't sure if they did it for bands, but I asked monday and they said yes, it will be fixed. Thank goodness, I'm so tired of everything I eat (well, drink lately) coming right back up my throat. bleck!

That sounds very dangerous to me. The pre-op diet serves many purposes...one of them is to make sure that you can stick to this, another is to shrink your liver making surgery easier. If your surgeon doesn't think it's "worth the fight" he doesn't know a lot about this surgery. Be careful, please.

I tried vanilla in diet root beer in the freezer for a couple of hours and it sort of froze, not solid though, just had ice flakes in it. lol. And it was AWFUL!

Tonight I tried a little vanilla extract and 3 splendas in the vanilla shake, and it was tolerable. Better than the vanilla in anything else, ugh, that made me want to get sick...Can't wait to go shopping and pick up some orange diet soda and some more extracts. Wish i could put fruit in mine. Just for something solid! Hahahaha!

Optifast is an odd thing...I have to struggle to get 5 shakes in every day because i feel pretty darn full afterward for a while. Plus I'm drinking a lot of water, at least half a gallon a day. With all that liquid, I feel like I'm gonna explode. My stomach isn't growling like it did yesterday, and I'm not physically hungry.....I'm mentally hungry. I WANT to eat just because it's food and it's good, not because I need to. The emotional attachment is going to be the most difficult thing to get rid of it. But I'm looking forward to stepping on that scale and seeing a number less than 200 for the first time in 10 years!

I won't be home until about 6 days after surgery. I have to stay for a while afterward just incase anything goes wrong, the hospital is 5 hours away. I have to go to a VA hospital otherwise I'd have to pay for my visit, and I can't afford that. The VA is free for me because I have a service connected illness. They might have a computer somewhere in the hospital they'll let me use. Heather

Oh man....I'm on Optifast for 6 weeks and get the surgery on Oct. 8th. I just started it yesterday and have already discovered that vanilla is evil. I don't have any of these bars people are talking about, I'm just all shakes for 6 weeks. No fruit or anything. Only non calorie items....:w00t:

OK now this really stinks...most of the stuff everyone has mentioned I can't add. I'm on Optifast, and it's very limited. Diet soda, splenda or equal, and extracts are about it for me. I can tell you that diet root beer, diet cherry coke, and cherry extract all are terrible in mine! :w00t:

I've been working on this since march of last year, and I finally have a surgery date of October 8th. I have lupus and a clotting disorder, so I had to have a lot of other tests done. Two days before the surgery, I have to have a filter put in so it can hopefully get any clots that may form. I started Optifast yesterday...and right now I feel like trash. Ugh. My stomach is cramping and I think at some point today I will throw up. I've tried a few of the Optifast "recipes" with no success so far. I can't seem to find one that's really good. Just having them plain is not too bad, I may just stick to that. I weigh 280 now and hope to get to somewhere around 150. I'm diabetic, have high blood pressure, severe sleep apnea, too much pressure in my spinal Fluid, and a fatty liver...all thanks to being overweight. I just want to be healthy again. :w00t:

Hi everyone! My name's Heather. I'm 32, married, and no kids. I was diagnosed with lupus 10 years ago, and have had a lot of organ involvment. Luckily, I've been alright for the last year and a half...except for having to have my appendix out about 10 days ago. But I'm doing much better now. I'm here because I'm getting the lap band procedure sometime early next year. No date yet because I've still got a few things to do for pre-op. I'm getting there though. At my highest weight I was 330 lbs. I am currently at 260. I have a lot of health issues because of the weight, on top of the lupus problems. I've got type 2 diabetes, severe sleep apnea, high blood pressure, intracranial hypertension and all kinds of aches and pains in my legs and feet. It will be nice to get a good night's sleep and not worry about losing limbs due to diabetes. Even if my BMI gets down below 40 because I've been losing some weight lately, they still will do the surgery because of the medical benefit. I've lost about 22 lbs. in the last 3 months. All by myself! Hehehe. Joining the gym helped though. I gained this weight after I got sick in Dec. 1997. Before that I was in the US Air Force loading huge airplanes and flying around the world 3 weeks out of every month...sometimes more. It was great, but my last year in I kept getting sick and couldn't reeinlist. I was diagnosed about 6 months after I got out. That's when I was put on prednisone...the wonder drug if you wanna gain weight. I gained 80 lbs. the first couple months. Then I gained more, and more, and more....until I got up to 330 lbs. :phanvan I'm more concerned about the health issues than the weight. But I must admit, looking better is pretty high on the list too. I just want to be able to find nice clothes that don't have Winnie the Pooh or some goofy flower pot on it. I've gone from a size 28 to a 24 over the last 3 months. Yeah! But it will be nice to be able to shop in the regular section instead of the Women's or Plus. Well, that's enough. I've rambled way too long. If anyone wants to talk, I'd love to hear from you. Heather