kbinaz

I have the same fear as you do. It is especially bad when I go a few days without losing (and that happens often, I'm a slow loser). As soon as the scale stays on one number I hear the voices in my head..."See, it isn't working, just like you knew it wasn't...you'll never reach your goal weight...It was wrong to get your hopes up" I am really working on trying to shut those voices up and wonder if I ever really will!

Somehow the whole girl scout cookie thing passed me by this year and I can only attribute it to divine intervention! It's my first year with not even one box. I can imagine them sliding right down...especially the thin mints with their nice smooth chocolate coating!!!

Salad has been one of the easiest foods for me and should be up there on every bandsters list because it helps with the fiber issues we can be prone to if we don't get enough fiber. I can also eat more salad than other foods, I think because it mushes up and shrinks...(very scientific,huh?)

As soon as you want to, which will probably be a few days and you'll have to be a bit creative as the 'traditional' way of sex is pretty uncomfortable for a while because of the port sight being so tender. Trying to be delicate...but you get my drift. If it isn't hurting you do it.

I had surgery in October '07 and am now at good restriction and can eat any fruit except citrus. Citrus is fine if you can eat it, and some banded people can. I can't! There is no food you can't have with the band, it is just what is tolerated by each individual.

Yes, I was hungry by day 3. I was allowed to eat on day 4 and I was up bright and early making my eggs! I don't know what your post-op diet is so I don't know what you are allowed to eat. I do know that no matter how much protein you take in, if it is all in liquid form you are going to get hungry. The liquid slides right through and you don't stay satiated for long. Once I got to day 4 and could eat soft proteins, it was much easier to stay full. Hang in there...relief is coming and you are one day closer to getting rid of that pesky hunger for good, I promise!

The lap band doesn't start acting like a lap band until it is filled enough to provide you with the proper restriction. So, you are right - you are just the same as before surgery, with just this new piece of plastic inside you. It isn't doing it's job yet. Once you get filled (1,2,3,4,5 or even more fills) you will feel restriction and will be very limited in the amounts you can eat. Until then, don't stress out too much about amounts. Try to eat healthy foods and try to practice eating the way you are going to have to eat once restricted. The hardest time for any bandster is the time post-surgery after the swelling goes down (taking any surgery caused restriction with it) and the first fill. As far as food amounts go, it can be darn right impossible to stick to 1/2 cup of food when you aren't restricted and I was not able to do it. No damage done - it is not that easy to 'stretch your pouch' or cause slippage when you don't have restriction. I couldn't limit my food intake to 1/2 cup of food before the band and I couldn't limit my food intake to 1/2 cup after surgery. I just had my 5th fill and only now do my portions come close to being 1/2 cup and I can often eat more than that even now. I wasn't willing to starve before and I'm not willing to starve now and with the band you shouldn't have to and that is how it is designed. Be patient and get your fills regularly until you get to your sweet spot and then the band will work for you and you'll be able to follow the guidelines a bit easier.

I think you need to talk to your doctor and clarify this - make sure you understood correctly. I have never heard of anyone being told to fast for 14 days after a fill (or to fast for 14 days ever). The whole point of the band is to eat real food. That is how the band is designed to work most effectively- with real, solid food. You would naturally be pretty hungry trying to fast for that long and then probably feel like a failure when you can't. (I'm supposed to go on clear liquids for 3 days after a fill and I can't make it that long) Please find out from your doctor if maybe you misunderstood something.

Oh, boy, that IS good advice...I learned the hard way, too. I had a PB attack that was so horrifically painful I thought I was going to die - all from a teeny bite of meatloaf of all things. I projectile PB'd (henceforth to be known as PPB-ing) and I totally was not expecting that so didn't even have my head in the toilet. (yuk) I am so glad this happened in the privacy of my own home. It has really taught me to be extra extra careful at a restaurant. It was not a pretty sight.

I agree with Jack, if you aren't hungry then 2-3 bites might be all you need. From the sound of your post, that might not be the case. Generally 2-3 bites per meal without it wanting to come up probably isn't enough. There is no way you are going to get good nutrition with that little food, and what tends to happen is you start resorting to soft foods or liquids because it's too hard to eat, then you defeat the purpose of the band because it is designed to work with dense foods. Since it's been 3 weeks since your fill I would recommend maybe going in for a little unfill. See if you can get to where you can eat 3/4-1 cup of food.

All I can say is I wish I would have had the surgery when I was your age! When I think of all the things I would have done and enjoyed and risked if I had gotten rid of this weight ten years ago!!! Good Luck!

I don't understand the question...do you mean protein shakes? How far are you out from surgery? What is NOW foods. Sorry, maybe I'm dumb! If you want ideas just for regular old protein foods, I can list them all and would be happy to!

I think if your daughter is as you describe you should be fine. Do you have a girlfriend or two who could be there for you for one or two days? Even if someone could just stop by a couple times a day. I did fine - my husband went back to work two days after my surgery and I have teenagers,which is basically a lot like having a five year old!!! (: (what I mean is they were really no help but could understand I couldn't do a lot for them). I was allowed to drive 24 hours after my last dose of narcotic pain meds. I had my surgery on a Friday, took my last pain meds on Sunday (switched to regular Tylenol or whatever) and drove my daughter to school on Monday. I didn't do much but drive her to school (I came home and did nothing the rest of the day) but you are by no means just lying around (you are supposed to be up and walking the day of the surgery.) And I am pretty old...I'm 48! So you'll probably bounce back even quicker! Like someone said above, you will need someone to bring you home after surgery. Other than that, I think your daughter is old enough to be a good helper. Good luck and feel free to ask any other questions that come up.

I was self-pay also. I attended the seminar on a Sunday in late August. I heard back from the doctor the following Monday (eight days later). I had surgery on October 26th. So the whole process took about two months.

I think whether you are having LB surgery in the US or in Mexico the key to a good experience is to do your research and make an informed decision when choosing a doctor. There are really good and really lousy doctors in both places. The issues you brought up should also be considered. I was a self pay patient, too, and when I chose my doctor it was because I knew if there was ever an issue and I needed immediate medical care I could be at her office in half an hour. Most doctors (In any field) are reluctant to touch another doctor's work (think of the liability) - if there is a goof up they are both going to be pointing at each other. The other concern is fills. I like my doctor's conservative approach and have had five fills so far which were all covered in my initial fee. So any time I have felt I needed a fill I could just run over to her office and get one - no out of town trip, finding a hotel, etc...The fee for my surgery was $11,500. That includes fills for one year and all my pre-op and post op education (extensive). That's the other thing - make sure whoever does your surgery and in whatever country it is done in, that you are educated. I see far too many posts on this sight (many by patients operated on in America) from patients who don't understand what is going on. The lap band has quite a learning curve and it was so helpful for me to know exactly what to expect each step of the way - what I should eat when, what a fill was going to be like etc...I chose to have surgery in America because I wanted to be close by. When counting the costs just don't forget to figure in the convenience of having your own doctor nearby. The peace of mind that gives me was worth the extra couple thousand dollars.

I think with practice eating properly you can avoid PB episodes,but I have to say that my last very uncomfortable experience (I mean VERY uncomfortable..) did not seem to be for the normal reasons. I took a bite of meatloaf,it was my first bite of the meal so I wasn't too full, and I chewed it really well because when I did PB it (sorry, it's gross I know) it was basically mush right in there with all the slime. (SORRY!) It was also a projectile PB and was quite painful. Anyway, take the time to eat really slowly. That should keep you in good shape!

I do a normal diet before - especially since I'm supposed to do clear liquids for 3 days after, I don't want to starve to death the first day. I seem to swell alot after a fill, so I have to be pretty careful about introducing solid foods. For three days or so I am kind of careful and don't try anything crunchy or hard. After that, I'm ready for any food out there! With your first fill you may not have much restriction, the swelling issue didn't start until my 4th fill, just play it by ear and listen to your body.

I would be considered rather slow in your estimation - only 22 pounds in 4 months. But I never felt much restriction until my 4th fill and didn't reach my sweet spot until my 5th fill. I struggled because I was feeling really hungry between meals and was basically feeling just like I felt before surgery. The other thing you have to take into consideration as you read these boards- as was mentioned in the post above, everyone starts this journey from a different place. There are people who, before surgery drink 2 liter bottles of soda a day and have fast food ten times a week. When they get the band and start eating well, they are going to lose way faster than the person who was always a pretty healthy eater but ate too much of the right stuff (me). Some people start in the 300's and they are going to lose weight faster than someone who starts in the 100's. A 50 year old woman is going to probably lose slower than a 20 year old. And, as losingjustme said, different doctors approach fills differently (mine is conservative and bumps us up slowly, some doctors give 5 ccs for first fills...)and some people don't mind being really tight and others want to try to lose weight with as little restriction as necessary. So you see, it really is kind of individual and one of the most discouraging things a bandster can do is to compare ourselves with what is happening to others on this board. I know it's a normal thing to look to see what others are losing...I do it too...but you have to take all those other things into consideration.

Well, I don't know exactly what you mean...I had numbness at my port sight, but that was near an incision.It stayed for about 3 months and is just going away.

I can feel the band the same way I can feel my bladder...if that makes any sense. I know my bladder is in there and I can really feel it when it is full! But I can poke around all day long and never feel it from the outside. The port is different. I could feel it really easily right after surgery because there was swelling around it. Now, 4 months post-op I really have to feel around a lot to feel it. Nobody would ever notice it and if I get so skinny that it starts to show I will either get surgery to revise it or just wear stuff that covers it.

You probably need a fill. When you lose weight the band gets looser. That should get you back to where you want to be.

I am wondering why your doctor doesn't go over 4ccs? (I just reread your post) as most people with the 10cc band require at least 5-6 ccs to get to their sweet spot. I have 7.5 and finally am losing weight. Are you sure that is what he said??? 4 cc's for one person might be their sweet spot, and 4 ccs for another person might give them no restriction at all (ME) it depends totally on the thickness of your stomach so to make a 'rule' to never give over 4ccs seems really wrong.

I have some input into how much I get for each fill but in the end it is the nurse practitioner who is in control and holds the needle! There are guidelines from the manufacturer as to how much should be put in at each fill and my doctor followed those to a point. He also asked me a lot of questions and went from there. I was in the same situation as you - not losing at first and discouraged and when I finally reached my point of breakdown (!) they put an extra 1/2cc in (my fills were 1.5, 1.5.1.5 and then 2) Some doctors are much more aggressive, which I get jealous of sometimes, but when I really think about it I am glad my doctor was more conservative. There is a big difference between getting 1cc and getting 4ccs at one fill. Some doctors start out with a 4cc fill and to me that is just too fast - I am thankful that I had time to get used to each new level of restriction (even though I was frustrated at the slowness of weight loss that came with it) When your fills are 1-2 ccs each time there is a lot less chance of you getting home and being so tight you can't get anything down (I have talked to people who had to have unfills because they couldn't even get water down - scary) I think it is smarter to have small fills more often, and my doctor allows us to come back in for more after ten days if we don't have restriction after the fill.

I was told it holds about 1cc - I asked the same question on here a few weeks ago. I figured if they could put the fluid into the band it could also go out! I wonder if this can explain why our restriction can vary so much from day to day.

I agree with sherryw - it really depends a lot on what you are eating. If I eat good, dense proteins, I can tell the food stays there a longer time. If I eat soft, easy foods (cottage cheese) it goes through quickly. I didn't find this to be as true until my 4h fill. Try to eat dense foods like proteins and vegetables and fruit that you have to chew a lot and you'll stay full longer. I can feel the food I ate at dinner glug through my band when I go to bed 4-5 hours later.