kbinaz

I sympathize with you! I remember those early days after surgery - everything just seemed so complicated. It seemed like everything required so much thought and I felt like you -like "will I ever just be normal again?" Well, I am almost 8 months out from surgery and I can assure you it was worth it and I do feel normal again. Just hang in there and be patient. You had major surgery and it is going to take time to heal and adjust. I can honestly say it WAS worth it, 100%!!! I would not go back and undo this for the world. You will never go back to exactly the way you were before surgery, but that was kind of the point!!! That means the gluttony and guilt will be gone and the numbers on the scale will get smaller and smaller - the other adjustments involved after banding are small prices to pay for those results. You will soon feel much more 'back to normal' - just hang in there!

Just flew to Athens, Greece then was on a cruise ship for a week and I did feel tight, but I had also just had another fill so may have been that tight anyway. I think there may be something to the altitude thing someone mentioned previously - I have taken several shorter flights and noticed no difference. This flight was long and we flew higher and I did seem tight. But really, it's not that big of a deal - it's like any other time you are tight (ie- in the morning) you just have to watch it and be careful. And after nine days away, I lost a pound! That has never happened before! (and I ate plenty of gelato in Italy, too!) I didn't feel deprived, just tasted everything at the meals (including dessert!) and it went fine.

Nobody can answer that question but you. I, obviously, chose the lap band so I think it is the best choice! Just be sure to really research both surgeries - believe me there are plenty of side effects to gastric bypass, too. The bottom line for me is that I can eat pretty much everything I want to eat (as long as I eat small bites slowly) and that alone makes me glad I had the band rather than bypass. The bottom line is - you can lose weight and be successful with either surgery. You need to make a choice then stick with it and do what you need to do to make it work. Please, just be sure to do the research as I believe the side effects with g.b. are more numerous and more severe than l.b. (and, this is just an opinion, but I think lap banders look more healthy than gastric bypass patients - I think because of the malabsorption thing.) I feel absolutely wonderful and have never regretted my decision to go with the band.

No. You have no restriction yet. Relax!

Hi, I don't think you are destined to be a failure. I felt the same way, and was sure I was going to be the one person who didn't lose weight after lap band surgery. It took me 5 fills to start feeling any restriction and lost very little weight until then. I lost 12 pounds in the week after surgery, then lost virtually nothing for several months. It was EXTREMELY frustrating and I cried a lot! Then, all of a sudden I had fill #5 and I finally understood what they had been talking about when they said restriction - I was beginning to think it was a huge myth! I have now lost 37.5 pounds. It has taken me almost 8 months to do it, but that still equals over 5 pounds a month which is within the normal range for lap banders (even though it seems like everyone on this sight loses wa-a-a-a-y more than that, it really is not that bad) Before surgery I was losing approximately 0 (zero) pounds a month, so I am pretty darn happy with myself and feeling wonderful and so thankful that I had the surgery. I just got home from a 9 day cruise in Greece, Turkey and Italy and when I weighed myself after returning home I had actually lost a pound!!! I used to come home from vacations up 8 pounds or so. Anyway, hang in there! Some people take a while to find restriction. Schedule your fills and I promise you will get there. And when you get there you will find it much easier to eat the right way. I hope it happens soon!

You probably overdid it a little - I was only allowed to walk for 8 weeks after surgery - no running, no eliptical, no weights... Once I started back with my trainer after the 8 weeks, I could do everything I could do before surgery. It has been 7 months since my surgery and I still occasionally feel port discomfort (it feels like muscle strain, and I guess it makes sense since they attach the port to the abdominal muscle and you work that muscle out) I was assured that after waiting the 8 weeks there was NOTHING I couldn't do!

Greek yogurt with berries (the yogurt has a ton of protein and the berries have a ton of fiber - good snack!) Rice cake(s) with peanut butter

I hiccup when I eat jalapenos, too! I eat them anyway because I really crave spicy food.

Fills don't make you 'not hungry'. You are hungry because you aren't eating real food! That's normal! What a fill does is make it so that when you eat you get full faster, then stay full longer. The band is designed to work with dense food - not soft foods or liquids. My doctor makes me go on clear liquids after a fill and it is the worst torture ever. I am supposed to do clear liquids for three days but never make it that long. I do have to be very careful right after a fill though, because of the swelling I can be very tight right at first. So I do soft foods, too, for a few days. It may also be that you aren't feeling much restriction with 4cc's. I needed 7.5 cc's to really have much appetite supression. Hang in there and be patient and schedule your fills regularly until you get where you need to be. You will not be as hungry all the time once you hit your sweet spot.

I have never heard of any restrictions on activity after a fill - BUT my doctor requires clear liquids for three days after a fill so I usually cancel my trainer during that time - it is just too strenuous a workout with only clear liquids. (and I will admit that I usually now only do the clear liquids for one day, then do soft foods for two, so I have eggs or oatmeal before working out and do fine) I just wouldn't suggest working out with a trainer (especially for the first time) if your food intake is severely limited like that.

Oops, just reread your original post - I see you are on your pre-op diet, not post op... So REALLY don't stress out! You can get back on track starting now and do what you need to do. Sorry for the mistake!

There are a lot of different post op diets - they vary a lot. I was allowed soft proteins starting on day 4 post-op. (chicken, refried beans, fish, cottage cheese, etc....) Thanksgiving occurred while I was on that diet and I ate some stuff that would not be considered soft proteins. (it was 1 month post op and 1 week before my first fill) I admitted to it at my fill appt. the next week and the nurse practitioner basically said it wouldn't kill you to go off the diet, they just give you that diet as the optimum but realize there are going to be times people go off it and it isn't really that dangerous. I wouldn't be too stressed out about 'cheating'. I think some doctors have people on mushies or full liquids longer than necessary and I feel really sorry for those people and am really thankful I was allowed soft proteins - and even that got mighty boring for a month. So hopefully you enjoyed the food you ate and can now go back to eating more closely what your doctor advised. But you are human and you have your limits!!!

I have reconsidered my goal weight, too. My doctor put mine at 140. I started at 233. I have now lost 35 pounds and there is no way I want or need to lose another 60 pounds. I am 49 years old and a grandma of 6, I am not trying to look like Jennifer Aniston here! I want to be fit and curvy and I don't think I need to be that thin to accomplish it.

1. I was allowed normal food after my first fill. I was allowed soft Proteins from Day 4 post-op until my first fill. 2. I have trouble with oranges, bananas, white bread and cakes. 3.Yes, I really gave up all pop, and after 7 months it doesn't even bother me. In fact I tried some the other day and it was awful. 4. You learn to chew the right way very quickly because if you don't it hurts. 5. Vomiting is not part of my new life. I occasionally PB, but it is nothing like vomiting. It is not acidic - just basically chewed up food and saliva. Vomiting should not be a part of any bandster's life, if it is they need an unfill. 6.I don't work outside the home so this didn't apply. I would have felt like going back to work after about ten days.

Yes. I wasn't allowed to do any exercise but walking for 8 weeks after surgery. I started back with my trainer at 8 weeks and it always bothered my port sight. I am almost 7 months post-op and I still feel it in my port area after a hard workout. Right after surgery I also noticed port pain when I lifted something I wasn't supposed to (over 10 pounds - I lifted my grandson one day and it really hurt the next day...)

There is no medical reason for the band to get tighter with flying.Some people think it is an air pressure thing, but that's been disproven. This subject comes up all the time. I honestly think it is a dehydration thing - I think we tend to get dehydrated easier when we fly and I am convinced that this makes us tighter. I am not a doctor (I don't even play one on tv!!!) but it seems to me that it is the same reason people are often to tight in the morning - going that whole night without fluids. Anyway, it is just a theory, but it is my theory and I am sticking with it!

You lose weight before your first fill the same way you lost it before surgery! And, for me, that wasn't very well! You are the same as you were before surgery before your first fill, other than the fact that you have the band installed. It isn't working yet. Some people are able to muster the sheer willpower to lose without restriction. I wasn't and I didn't. Once I hit my sweet spot it started coming off. And let me tell you, it is painless once you have restriction. The band really works and you have very little hunger between meals. I was happy to wait for that and not stress out too much before my first fill.

Don't panic! I know how you feel, but you are completely normal. It is really hard before that first fill (and, just a warning... it may continue to be hard for a few fills after that...) I say this all the time and I sound like a broken record - don't stress out about losing weight right now. I know you see all kinds of people on this sight who lose crazy amounts of weight, but the average person doesn't lose weight right after surgery because the band isn't yet doing what the band is designed to do. You are on mushies because your body is healing from major gastric surgery and the band needs to heal in it's place so it can give you years of good service! You are not going to get and stay full easily on mushies. Some people do, I have never met one in person, but most people get their appetite back and have this problem before they get restriction. Just do what you are supposed to be doing - eat the way your doctor told you to and let your body heal. Get your fills as often as you can get them and you'll find yourself losing weight in no time.

Both! When you are at the right level of restriction you get full on a small amount of food and stay full until it is time for the next meal. I often still feel full when I wake up in the morning, and I eat dinner at 6 pm.

Your sweet spot will continue to be your sweet spot until it no longer is your sweet spot! No, the next one won't be sweeter if you don't need it. It could make your life miserable so try to be content with where you are, since you are losing weight. The thing that might make you need another fill would be losing weight - your stomach shrinks and the band loosens. I got to my sweet spot after my 5th fill, and I lost 17 pounds before I needed another fill, and even then I only got half a cc. as a 'topper'. Most doctors won't give you another fill if you have had good weight loss (5-10 pounds a month is normal, it isn't as fast as we all want it, but it is what the band is supposed to do.) So enjoy being at your sweet spot (it really is SWEET, isn't it???) and don't try to speed up the weight loss by getting tighter. You are doing great!!! Keep up the good work!

I also have a 10 cc band and felt NO restriction whatsoever until I was at 7.5 cc's. I am sure you are close. Most people find their sweet spot between 5.5 and 8 cc's. (So I've been told....)

I don't think hills are the problem. There are always people insisting they get tight when they fly, too, but I haven't noticed it. ( I took a 4 1/2 hour flight yesterday) I do think that there are certain things that affect the tightness of our bands and they might happen to coincide with flying or driving up hills (like dehydration?) I happen to think it has to do with fluid intake because I know you can get pretty dehydrated when you fly and sometimes (like when you take a trip) you might not have water as readily available as when you are doing your regular daily thing. Does that make any sense to anyone out there? Just a theory.

They are probably all afraid of being accused of sexual harassment! I'm serious. I think men are afraid to say much of anything to women in the workplace other than "nice day!" It has gotten so crazy.

Thank you so much for sharing the news of your wife's death with the members of this sight. That was thoughtful thing to do. I am so sorry for you and for your whole family. Please know that you will be in my prayers. Please let us know what you find out about her death.

Okay,not sure what language you are speaking but I'm answering in English!!! (or American!) I can't chug a glass of water (or anything else) anymore. It is a little bit frustrating, I'll admit. If I do it will hurt and I may very well PB (not vomit, it just comes up, but the worst part is the feeling of it being stuck) This new way of drinking takes practice. I was warned by my doctor that it would be that way and was encouraged to practice before surgery, which I did, but honestly you can't really practice it until you have to actually do it. I didn't feel that way until after my 5th fill. Because fluid intake is so important to lap band patients it really is something you have to learn to do. I find the best way is to carry a bottle of water around with me everywhere I go. I take sips constantly throughout the day.