shortgal

Yes, I was not hungry either. Could barely get my required Protein drink in the first few days. Dr' told me that might happen, just try to increase the amount each day until I was getting it all in. And that's what happened! You have swelling from the surgery, it will go down and some hunger will return. Funny thing is, then you'll be worried about that! Ironic huh? we do this to get rid of hunger, we worry when we don;t have hunger, we get it back and think "oh no", I'm hungry. All part of the early band phases. Normal and will pass with time. Just try to stay hydrated and Liquid Protein is your friend.

I can't believe they paid for hers and didn't pay for mine even though I was covered and over 40 BMI. I just lacked the proof that I was overweight for the last 5 years. Heck I was overweight since I was 10 years old! But the proof , as they required it, was lacking! I'm guessing there was no 6 month supervised diet required either, that might have solved it before surgery.

It's only been a few days. Your body is recovering from surgery and anesthesia. You have pain. Remember the incisions are small but they did do things inside your body. You have sutures around the band, they lifted your liver out of the way etc. You are struggling with new post op diet restrictions. This will all change SLOWLY, but will improve. You still have several stages of post op food phases to get through, but each one introduces a new food choice and the new hope that life will get back to normal, which it does! The first week can be the hardest. Walk, walk, walk and sip your liquids.

Sades: Supposedly, I have 7.25 cc's. Had 7 cc before this last fill and she put something between .2 and .3 cc's this time. However, when she withdrew first to check for leaks, she said it shows 6.2, but also explained how some saline stays in the tubing etc. But technically they put in 7.2 total. I had expected to ask for .5 cc's, but the day before I went, I felt tighter and satisfied after my dinner which was grilled steak and shrimp over salad. I didn't want to be overtight, so we decided that half the .5 might be best. I am just getting back to regular food and find most things are going down ok (which I want) and I am feeling more satisfied between meals. There is still head hunger, I see food, think I want it, but find I can think about it and decide I'm ok without it. I don't want to be so tight that good food doesn't go down. I want to be able to go out to dinner or to someone's house and not worry that it will all come up or not go down. I have my next appt on March 20th. I think I'll probably get the other half of the .5 we decided not to put in this time. At this point a meal of 5 oz of Protein and some veggies fills me. More than some say they can eat, but I think my head hunger would get to me, if I ate 4 or 5 small bites ( 2or 3 oz) of meat. I think 5 oz is reasonable. I eat 3/4 c of Cereal, if I eat b'fast. My biggest problem remains lack of exercise. I will walk, as soon as weather breaks here, so much snow and rain, lately. My end of June goal weight is 157.

Was the surgery done in a hospital? An attorney can contact the administator of the hospital and ask for 1) a peer to peer review of your surgery and 2) can suugest another surgeon at the same hospital to consult WITH your surgeon about the problems you're having. I just wouldn't trust the original surgeon alone to treat me.

I hate being in the kitchen and I'm going against my better judgement on this post, but I am going to "stir this pot". I have read many of your posts Janet. You started posting about two weeks ago and in that time you have vascilated between two WLS procedures, once stated you'd lose 100 pounds in 6 months, have since revised that to 100 pounds by christmas and will not "cheat" on your post op diet. You had a hard time figuring out the "ticker". No one criticized, they just kept offering help, until you finally "got it". I don't like to see people "cheat" either, especially in early post op phases and have several times offered "tough love" to those that have, as maybe they weren't just looking for support but a kick in the butt, to get back on track. I have not been perfect (pretty good but not perfect) during my post op days. What comprises the post op period anyway? From surgery to goal? You have a starting BMI higher than some of the people you chastise for cheating. You "are so tired of being fat and eating" but then say you went to Wendy's (or some fast food place). If you feel that way, why wait until being banded to stop eating at places you criticized others for going to. I'm sorry, but I don't understand how someone not yet banded, with their own severe issues with food, can be so critical when you have not yet been in their post op shoes. You, more than some others, should understand their situation even more. You lost over 160 pounds, kept it off and then regained it all back. Let's not forget that when some people post they have "cheated" it might to them mean they sucked on something they shouldn't have and then spit it out. Hardly a huge offense, but they felt guilty and "confessed" on the forum. I truly hope that you will be as successful as you feel you will be. It's terrible to feel out of control with our lives and I wish the best for anyone that has had to have surgery to get their live back. I'm sure you will find support from those on the forum, if you ever need it. I know I have both received and given encouragement and support here. Sorry, but I just couldn't keep my two cents out.

Thanks Lise, Always wish the numbers were going down faster, who doesn't? But you know, I'm eating enough that I don;t feel deprived and if I were more active (and younger) it could have been more, but I am happy with my results, so far. Getting in enough Protein has been one of the things that has helped. Hang in there until you get good restriction and it will get easier.

Lise, you are so right. It took me almost three months to get a decent restriction. The band did give me some added willpower, but I knew I could have eaten a lot more. I used my old diet techniques to get me through these past 3.5 months. If I didn't I would have either gained or not lost another pound after surgery and I didn't like that option. So many of us have been on diets numerous times anyway, so what's a few more months? I know that's not why we got the band, but it was better for me than not losing after being banded. I think I need a little more fill, but this one should be good for a few weeks and then I'll decide. While I was "dieting" with my band. I practiced band rules of eating and it's getting so much easier now.

I think the issue is that this young person cannot eat meat or salad and has a constant worry about PB's or vomiting. That would NOT be "normal" for me. I can eat chicken, beef, salad, apples, Cereal. Many times that can be fixed with a small unfill, so why not do that? Too many people get "overfilled" in an effort to lose weight faster. They lose faster becasue nothing goes down or everything that goes down, comes up. That's not "normal" to me. I'd rather lose a little slower and still eat regular food in smaller portions, than have a constant worry about vomiting when I'm out eating with friends. Having an overtight band can also lead to big problems like reflux and band slippage, why risk that?

You will find it difficult to lose if you eat carbs like buns and tortillas often, even if they are wheat ones. Eliminate the carbs and you should see the scale go down. good restriction will help, too.

Same as above for me!

My surgeon as far as I understand uses the 10cc or the 14cc depending on the patient. I have the smaller 10cc band, but he said it is the same band he'd use on a 300 pound man. So I guess the larger 14 cc would be used for someone larger than 300 pounds. It would make sense that I need more fill to get my band tighter than someone that started at 300 pounds. This is how they get the band to fit each person best. Oh well, as long as we all get to the end of the road, does it matter how big or small the car is?

While you CAN find "Cheap" and "Quality", you need to be careful whenever cheap is involved. If you go to Mexico, you'll need to research before getting banded on where you will get after care for possible emergencies and for your band fills. Some Dr's do not want to give fills to another Dr's patient, so find this out in advance. There is a lot of info on Mexican Dr's on the forum. Try looking under the Doctors and Hospital section. There is also a Dr. in Colorado ( Kirschenbaum) that has reasonable rates. If you are in Germany, there is also a Dr. in Belgium (I think he's in Brugge), you might find some info on him on the forum. Good Luck

Go to the doctors and hospital or insurance sections on the forum and look for previous posts on Tricare. You can also try a "search" on the forum. Advanced Search is at the very right top of the forum page. Above the lady with the apple and all the way to the right.

If your more than 6 weeks post op, this is the best time to start practicing the "rules of eating with a band". small bites, well chewed, with a bit of a wait between bites and no drinking for one hour after the meal. when you do get good restriction these habits will be very helpful to you. If you are early post op then the best thing you can do is stay on the recommended stage, it's important for your inside to heal. These are all new habits to learn and if we practice them, we get better every day until it becomes natural.

Sorry, but I am almost speechless. Good Luck with your lapband journey.

Sades, We have a lot in common beside our height! I have mapped out goal weights to reach for the end of each month to reach my mother of the groom dress goal. I need to be at least 173 by end of April and 165 by end of May. However, we are going to France end of April, uh oh, a little worried about drinking too much wine and very worried about croissants! At least I know we'll be doing a lot of walking. when we went to Italy, I was worried b/c we were eating a lot of Pasta, but we walked all day long (every little town was at the top of a hill) and I didn't gain any weight. Fingers crossed, that I can enjoy a little and be ok when I get home. Not having a scale there, will also freak me out!! Hope there's another challenge after this one to keep us on track. Spring to Memorial Day???? I guess that's an American holiday tho'. I'm finally happy with my fill, how about you?

Thanks Cindy! No real ideas about the dress, except it better have sleeves, my arms are already starting to hang and "swing". Dancing with "batwings" flying might not look so good!! I wish I could dream up what I want to wear, but I think it's going to more like wearing what I find that fits me. I'm more focused on what size I'll be because petite sizes for "fancy" occassions are harder to come by, but will fit me much better. Petites are also cut smaller and generally are only available up to size 14. At my height, I figure I need to be as close to 150 as possible. I'm so disappointed, the dressmaker I used for my daughters wedding moved out of state. She would have made me something and she was always a "finish it last minute" person, so it would have fit any late additional weight loss. Oh well, I'm sure it will all work out. I think I just panic about it becasue buying clothes was always so stressful for me before. Those old thoughts don't go away easily. I have a fill now that I like. Finally! Hopefully, that will keep the weight loss at the same rate as first few months, that's what I need to reach dress goal!

You've done your homework, good for you. You wanted it bad enough to find a way to do it. I think that persistence will serve you well post op.

Cindy, your weight loss has been incredible! I think opening the new store is probably enough exercise for you right now!

Perfect, just wanted to be sure you were covered on that. I've seen people post on here that go to Mexico and don;t realize unitl they get back, that some U.S Dr's won;t take care of them. Good Luck.

First we have liquids, then soft, then solid etc but lots of Protein and much less going in, so much less coming out. All this will mess with our system and we can't always get in enough Fiber. High protein diets will make us constipated. I am still working through this. My Dr did say I could use MOM, but I hear it's pretty strong. I have been experimenting with benefiber in my flavored Water. I think I need to add the full recommended dose, as I started out with half the dose and yet still had to take 1/2 dose of miralax. I cannot taste it or see it in the water, but it doesn;t seem to be enough. Just keep trying things, but check with your Dr. on which things are OK.

Call the local clinic ASAP, some places will not see patients banded in Mexico or by any other DR. and you need a place to get fills.

Get back on track tomorrow. do a day of liquids. Drink a Protein Drink every 3 hrs. starting at 8am and finishing at 8pm. Alternate every three hours with first drink being either a shake like Atkins with no more than 200 calories and low carb. And the second one being one with no carbs and under 150 calories. No more than 10 oz each. I alternate with Atkins shake and a glass (1/2 bottle) of Isopure CLEAR premixed Protein. This will help get rid of the cravings. You need to detox those carbs out or you will continue to crave them. If you can do this two days, even better. And write all this down, calories and protein. Nothing fancy is needed just jot it down every day on a note pad. After the day of liquids, you must start to follow the band rules, protein first then veggies, stay away from other carbs (other than veggies) for the rest of the week. You've done well, don't throw it all away now. You can get back on track. We are addicts and fighting this addiction. Just like other addicts detox, you need to, also.

Have you considered that you might need a slight unfill? If you've given up solid Protein then you might just be too tight and GERD or reflux is also a symptom of being too tight as well. Not sure that I could eat spinach salad, but I can eat other salads, it's the greens with stems I can't take ( but I couldn;t eat them before I had a band either) And if you can't have a beer, can't you just enjoy a glass of wine with your friends? Then they won't wonder anything, except that now you changed your drink of choice to wine. Many people get an unfill once they hit maintenance, as they no longer need to lose and just maintain. Even if you haven't lost all your weight, your band will work better if you can eat solid food, like meat. I would never allow myself to get so tight that I can't live like a normal person. Please consider making an appt with your surgeon and discuss this. You're too young to live like that.