Hope4K

Ugh...feeling frustrated at the moment. I'm a week and a half out from the surgery, and although I dropped 10 pounds in the first 5 days after surgery because of the clear liquid post-op diet, I haven't lost anything since. I was OK with that....but this morning I got on the scale and I've gained 2.5 of it back!!! I'm trying to figure out how that is even possible??? I'm tracking every calorie that I put into my mouth on sparkpeople and it shows that I'm taking in an average of around 700 - 800 calories per day. So, eating SO little, ESPECIALLY compared to pre-band, how on earth is it possible to GAIN weight?? I don't understand my body. Obviously I can't give up bc this post-op diet is required by my surgeon. But I sure do feel like failure at the moment. And, this kind of thing only makes those nagging voices stronger - the ones that are constantly asking me if I REALLY think this is actually going to work for me. At this point, it is very easy to doubt my self.

Ugh...feeling frustrated at the moment. I'm a week and a half out from the surgery, and although I dropped 10 pounds in the first 5 days after surgery because of the clear liquid post-op diet, I haven't lost anything since. I was OK with that....but this morning I got on the scale and I've gained 2.5 of it back!!! I'm trying to figure out how that is even possible??? I'm tracking every calorie that I put into my mouth on sparkpeople and it shows that I'm taking in an average of around 700 - 800 calories per day. So, eating SO little, ESPECIALLY compared to pre-band, how on earth is it possible to GAIN weight?? I don't understand my body. Obviously I can't give up bc this post-op diet is required by my surgeon. But I sure do feel like failure at the moment. And, this kind of thing only makes those nagging voices stronger - the ones that are constantly asking me if I REALLY think this is actually going to work for me. At this point, it is very easy to doubt my self.

what you have described is my dream!!! Did you get the band specifically to address your infertility? That is the main reason I got banded one week ago. We've been through infertility hell for the last 3 plus years; I can't imagine how you survived for 13. I'm praying that this band will help me lose the weight necessary to either stall my PCOS long enough to get pregnant, OR make me a more successful participant in IVF. So, you got pregnant only 3 months after being banded? If you don't mind my asking, how much weight did you lose in that period of time? Sorry that I can't address your original question, as I've only been banded a week!

5/23 - 260.5 pounds (started on 5/15 at 271) I'm now one week out from getting my band. It has not been the easiest of weeks! I had the surgery early on Thursday morning, and came home on Friday evening, in considerable pain when I tried to move in any way. I was OK when I was laying in the hospital bed, but once home, I could find no comfortable position in my own bed. I drugged myself up and slept as best I could. On Saturday, I had more than a few moments of thinking, "my God, what in the world have I done to myself??" More pain on Saturday, more inability to find a comfortable position, and zero hunger. Also, I had a very difficult time adjusting to the extreme tightness I felt just after surgery - I got stuck on water on Saturday morning! I was panicked, wondering if I would feel this way for the rest of my life?? I tried to explain my anxiety to my husband. I told him that aside from the pain, I didn't feel like myself - I found it frightening that it was hard to drink water. I found it upsetting that when I did drink, I could hear it gurgling all the way down, as if slipping down a teeny, tiny pipe to a miniature drain. My husband said, isn't that the point of the surgery? Isn't that what is supposed to happen? Well, yes, I said, you are right. The surgery was a success I suppose......I just wasn't prepared for how it would FEEL. The good news is that as of today I've lost 10 pounds, due to taking in the lowest amount of calories I've ever ingested on a daily basis - averaging around 400 calories per day since surgery. So, I know the rapid weight loss rate won't last. The other good news is that I'm feeling more and more like myself, and better and better physically every day. I guess the bad news, depending on how you look at it, is that as of today (Friday, 5/23), I'm feeling much more 'open'. And up until yesterday, I honestly had not experienced any hunger whatsoever. Not so today, I think my hunger is back. I stuck to the pureed limitations of what I can eat, and I only ate about a cup full of food for lunch, but after I finished I felt like I could have really eaten much more. So far the willpower is holding out though. Actually, it's more like abject fear of screwing up the band. I'm determined to make it through this restrictive, graduated process of liquids to pureed food, pureed food to soft food, until I'm permitted to eat "real" food again, which will be on June 5. Ay yi yi that seems like a looooong way off. What was I thinking getting banded just before Memorial Day weekend? If I have to see one more steak being grilled on TV on some Memorial Day news piece about how to make the most of your holiday cookout, I will eat the damn remote. Harumph.

5/23 - 260.5 pounds (started on 5/15 at 271) I'm now one week out from getting my band. It has not been the easiest of weeks! I had the surgery early on Thursday morning, and came home on Friday evening, in considerable pain when I tried to move in any way. I was OK when I was laying in the hospital bed, but once home, I could find no comfortable position in my own bed. I drugged myself up and slept as best I could. On Saturday, I had more than a few moments of thinking, "my God, what in the world have I done to myself??" More pain on Saturday, more inability to find a comfortable position, and zero hunger. Also, I had a very difficult time adjusting to the extreme tightness I felt just after surgery - I got stuck on water on Saturday morning! I was panicked, wondering if I would feel this way for the rest of my life?? I tried to explain my anxiety to my husband. I told him that aside from the pain, I didn't feel like myself - I found it frightening that it was hard to drink water. I found it upsetting that when I did drink, I could hear it gurgling all the way down, as if slipping down a teeny, tiny pipe to a miniature drain. My husband said, isn't that the point of the surgery? Isn't that what is supposed to happen? Well, yes, I said, you are right. The surgery was a success I suppose......I just wasn't prepared for how it would FEEL. The good news is that as of today I've lost 10 pounds, due to taking in the lowest amount of calories I've ever ingested on a daily basis - averaging around 400 calories per day since surgery. So, I know the rapid weight loss rate won't last. The other good news is that I'm feeling more and more like myself, and better and better physically every day. I guess the bad news, depending on how you look at it, is that as of today (Friday, 5/23), I'm feeling much more 'open'. And up until yesterday, I honestly had not experienced any hunger whatsoever. Not so today, I think my hunger is back. I stuck to the pureed limitations of what I can eat, and I only ate about a cup full of food for lunch, but after I finished I felt like I could have really eaten much more. So far the willpower is holding out though. Actually, it's more like abject fear of screwing up the band. I'm determined to make it through this restrictive, graduated process of liquids to pureed food, pureed food to soft food, until I'm permitted to eat "real" food again, which will be on June 5. Ay yi yi that seems like a looooong way off. What was I thinking getting banded just before Memorial Day weekend? If I have to see one more steak being grilled on TV on some Memorial Day news piece about how to make the most of your holiday cookout, I will eat the damn remote. Harumph.

So, I started researching weight loss surgery back in September of 2007, after yet another failed attempt with ART - Assisted Reproductive Technology - otherwise known as infertility treatment. Both Reproductive Endocrinologists (infertility specialists) I had seen had told me that although they could not say with any certainty that my weight was necessarily the CAUSE of my infertility, it certainly was not helping. My chances of being successful with IVF (in vitro fertilization) or any other treatments was reduced because of my excess weight. I once told my doctor that I would rather he had told me I had to climb to the top of Mt. Everest to become more fertile, as opposed to what he did say, which was - lose 50 pounds, and then we can talk about more treatment. I have been overweight my entire life. Hence, I have been either on a diet, thinking about a diet, about to start a diet, feeling guilty because I wasn't on a diet, etc. my entire life. I was successful at every single one of them - at least for a few days, a few weeks, or months. On most diets I lost about 20 pounds. On one diet I lost over 80 pounds. They all had one thing in common though - I always ended up gaining all the weight back that I had lost - and more. At the end of 2007 with too many failed attempts to get pregnant behind me to count, feeling desperate, I decided to just gather some information about weight loss surgery. The only thing I initially knew about it was about the gastric bypass procedure. I wasn't a fan. A very dear friend of mine had passed away the year previously from purported complications of his gastric bypass procedure. But, when I had my gall bladder removed in an emergency surgery at the end of 2006, my bariatric surgeon had planted a seed in my mind at my post-op appointment. "I don't mean to offend you," he said, "but have you ever considered any type of weight loss surgery? I know you are healthy right now - no high blood pressure, no diabetes, etc., but if you remain at this weight - MORBIDLY OBESE - longer in life, you are on a path to develop all of those problems and more." I told him I was scared of the idea of someone cutting out parts of my stomach or intestines. He asked if I had heard of adjustable gastric banding. And the idea festered in my desperate brain for almost a year before I started to seriously consider the idea. I stumbled upon the lapbandtalk.com website and read voraciously for several months before I screwed up enough courage to get the ball rolling in January 2008. My first consult with my surgeon was in February. My insurance required 3 months of visits with my primary care physician, nutritionists, and a pyschological evaluation before they would even consider my request for coverage. They also asked for a stack of documentation and medical records indicating my history of obesity as well as the results of a plethora of diagnostic tests, such as a sleep apnea sleep study, a chest x-ray, an EKG, and a battery of blood tests. After all that, I underwent adjustable gastric banding surgery on Thursday, May 15, 2008. At last! But, interestingly, what felt like the end to a long arduous journey is really only the beginning. The start of a new way of life, a new way of living and feeling, a representation of new hope in my life for the wonderful possibilities of the future. I intend to journal my thoughts and feelings through the ups and downs of my life with a lap band on this blog. More soon!

So, I started researching weight loss surgery back in September of 2007, after yet another failed attempt with ART - Assisted Reproductive Technology - otherwise known as infertility treatment. Both Reproductive Endocrinologists (infertility specialists) I had seen had told me that although they could not say with any certainty that my weight was necessarily the CAUSE of my infertility, it certainly was not helping. My chances of being successful with IVF (in vitro fertilization) or any other treatments was reduced because of my excess weight. I once told my doctor that I would rather he had told me I had to climb to the top of Mt. Everest to become more fertile, as opposed to what he did say, which was - lose 50 pounds, and then we can talk about more treatment. I have been overweight my entire life. Hence, I have been either on a diet, thinking about a diet, about to start a diet, feeling guilty because I wasn't on a diet, etc. my entire life. I was successful at every single one of them - at least for a few days, a few weeks, or months. On most diets I lost about 20 pounds. On one diet I lost over 80 pounds. They all had one thing in common though - I always ended up gaining all the weight back that I had lost - and more. At the end of 2007 with too many failed attempts to get pregnant behind me to count, feeling desperate, I decided to just gather some information about weight loss surgery. The only thing I initially knew about it was about the gastric bypass procedure. I wasn't a fan. A very dear friend of mine had passed away the year previously from purported complications of his gastric bypass procedure. But, when I had my gall bladder removed in an emergency surgery at the end of 2006, my bariatric surgeon had planted a seed in my mind at my post-op appointment. "I don't mean to offend you," he said, "but have you ever considered any type of weight loss surgery? I know you are healthy right now - no high blood pressure, no diabetes, etc., but if you remain at this weight - MORBIDLY OBESE - longer in life, you are on a path to develop all of those problems and more." I told him I was scared of the idea of someone cutting out parts of my stomach or intestines. He asked if I had heard of adjustable gastric banding. And the idea festered in my desperate brain for almost a year before I started to seriously consider the idea. I stumbled upon the lapbandtalk.com website and read voraciously for several months before I screwed up enough courage to get the ball rolling in January 2008. My first consult with my surgeon was in February. My insurance required 3 months of visits with my primary care physician, nutritionists, and a pyschological evaluation before they would even consider my request for coverage. They also asked for a stack of documentation and medical records indicating my history of obesity as well as the results of a plethora of diagnostic tests, such as a sleep apnea sleep study, a chest x-ray, an EKG, and a battery of blood tests. After all that, I underwent adjustable gastric banding surgery on Thursday, May 15, 2008. At last! But, interestingly, what felt like the end to a long arduous journey is really only the beginning. The start of a new way of life, a new way of living and feeling, a representation of new hope in my life for the wonderful possibilities of the future. I intend to journal my thoughts and feelings through the ups and downs of my life with a lap band on this blog. More soon!

I know, I know! I thought that was so touching, especially seeing his parents and the looks on their faces as they were watching him walking around the pool. It brought me to tears! Of course, I'm a sap and cry at alsmot EVERY episode of Big Medicine! Love that show...

My ticker proclaims my numbers, but for the record, I didn't have to go on a pre-op diet, so I've lost 10 pounds in 6 days. How much would it ROCK if I could lose 10 pounds EVERY week! I'm trying not to get too excited, because I know as soon as I graduate from liquids it will not be coming off at anywhere near such a fantastic rate! But I'll tell you one thing, I have NEVER in my 37 years gone so long with so little food and not felt miserable. Freedom from hunger is simply amazing, and I am enjoying every moment of it while it lasts. I keep thinking that any minute I'm going to wake up RAVENOUS.

Hi all - I was banded on 5/15, and I left the house for the first time today!! I'm just now starting to feel like myself again. I had at least one day of thinking, omg, what have I done to myself?? But the pain has lessened quite a bit and is limited now to just around the port site, which sounds similar to what many of you are saying as well. It isn't really sore, per se....but, it give me sharp burning pains when I bend over and when I'm sitting in certain positions or if I try to twist my torso - particularly when trying to turn over in bed. Also, those weird non-burps are driving me crazy too - that feeling that you have to burp, but you can't. But those are lessening with each day as well. I think I was just really, really swollen the first few days after surgery. I was really freaking out though, wondering if I'd only be able to swallow teaspoon size amounts of liquid for the rest of my life! I'm pleased to say that I'm feeling better and better with each passing day. I'm so glad I'm able to work from home whenever I want to though - I can't imagine having to go back into my office anytime soon. Good luck to everyone having surgery soon!

I was banded on 5/15 and am still taking pain meds as well. I mainly seem to be experiencing pain around the port incision - I assume because of where they attached the port inside?? My doctor doesn't seem to be concerned either. I think I had unrealistic hopes of being much more pain-free by now, because I keep comparing this to when I had laparascopic gall bladder surgery 1 year and a half ago. With that surgery I was up and about and feeling hardly any pain at all by about 3 days afterward. This time around I've had more intense pain and for a longer duration. I haven't left my house in 5 days! I also feel discouraged because it seems much of what you read on LBT is written by folks who say, "I had my surgery at 8am, I was home by 4pm, and I was out walking around the block with my husband at 7pm!" Personally, I stayed in the hospital overnight, and when I came home the next day I was in pitiful shape! It would have taken me around 5 hours to shuffle my way around my cul-de-sac, with the pain I was in. I'm trying not to feel too discouraged though - I really think everyone experiences this in a different way. I keep giving myself pep talks: Just because I haven't bounced back as quickly as most other people have described, doesn't mean that I won't feel better fairly soon, and it certainly doesn't mean that I won't be as successful as anyone else! Also, I know that pain medication like vicodin or percocet or any of the narcotic ones really zap your appetite. That's why I'm not getting too excited about the pounds I've 'magically' dropped so far.....I have a feeling they might come right back as soon as I get off the pain meds and get some kind of appetite back. Good luck to you!

So I was banded 3 days ago on Thursday, May 15. I'm still in a considerable amount of pain, especially around the port area. I've been sitting around asking myself, "what have I done to myself?" for the last day or so. I'm kind of freaking out! One issue is that I'm comparing the pain from this surgery to the pain I had when my gallbladder was removed laparascopically in '06. I don't remember being in anywhere near this much pain, and I know that by 5 days post-op with the gallbladder surgery I was up and about and actually drove 3 hours in the car to see my mother with no problem. But, I do know that the pain will subside, and I know that the port incision is likely to be more painful than the other incisions, and is larger, so it will take longer to completely heal. The thing that is really freaking me out though is that I got stuck and slimed on Water when I got home from the hospital yesterday. I can barely swallow Clear liquids. If I take more than one tiny sip at a time, I can feel it backing up and barely trickling down my esophagus, and then coming back up. Please, please tell me that this is only because of post-op swelling, and that I won't always feel slight pain and pressure every single time I swallow, even water!!!!! I don't know if I could live this for long, no matter how much weight it caused me to lose! In the short term, I'm scared I will become dehydrated. Ugh, I just feel so awful. And for the record, the thought of eating anything since coming out of surgery makes me want to run screaming. I've not had ANY hunger at all. Hmmm, I wonder if I'm sub-consciously depressed about that? I haven't weighed myself yet, bc since I've taken in so few calories since Wednesday, I don't think any pounds lost will be "real" - as in, I know they'll come right back as soon as I start eating pureed food.... Anyway, please, please tell me your stories of feeling awful at first and then feeling better. I need to envision the light at the end of this tunnel!

So I'm scheduled for surgery at 8am this Thursday, 5/15, and I've been all emotional about it this past weekend. What if something goes wrong during the operation? Am I really sure that the risk will be worth the return? It's horrible to actually let yourself imagine what it would be like for your family if you died. I've started to feel terribly guilty about this. Just now the hospital coordinator was taking my medical history over the phone, and she asked me if I had a living will or any 'advanced directives' that I'd like to make known to the doctors. Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!! I actually gasped when she asked me, and she apologized, saying, "sorry, we have to ask everyone that question....I'm sure you'll be just fine!" I think at this point I'm feeling equal parts frightened, selfish, and can't-sit-still excited. Anyone else going in this Thursday?

Aahhh, I see, that makes perfect sense - thanks Tarrn13!! This is a good reminder to me that even though I have been voraciously reading this forum and doing research on gastric banding for over 8 months now, I still have much to learn! I suspect that beginning on Thursday, every day will be a new learning experience. I'm ready!

I'm being banded this Thursday (holy toledo!!!) and my pre-op requirement is only one day of clear liquids, tomorrow. Then, post-op my surgeon requires the following: Days 1 - 4 - Clear liquids (anything you can see through) Days 5 -7 - Full liquids (anything you can sip through a straw AND jello) Days 8 - 14 - pureed food Days 15 - 21 - Soft food (i'm not actually crystal clear on the difference between pureed and soft? Will have to ask nutritionist for advice on this...) Day 22 - Regular food!

Just had to say that I love, love, LOVE me some Jill Scott!! And that song is spot on! You just gotta do your thing, and let the haters say what they will. Success will be your ultimate satisfaction!

I agree with all previous posters as far as the benefits of lap band over gastric bypass - less invasive, no cutting of bodily organs, completely reversible, fewer serious complications, no malabsorption issues, etc. But, one other reason I'm certain I'm making the right choice in getting my band (in TWO days!!!!!) is the stretching of the pouch issue. I just KNOW if I had the bypass, I'd be one of those people who stretch out their pouch and re-gain all the weight. Every time I see pictures of Carnie Wilson these days my heart breaks for her, and I can totally imagine myself in her exact position. I'm excited about the band because there's no expiration on the window of opportunity, so to speak. I imagine a worst case scenario in my banded future where I fall off of the wagon hard and start eating around the band - eating soft, high fat, high calorie foods, or, I imagine that I don't have good restriction and I gain weight from overeating again, from any food.......It gives me comfort to think that at any point, all that's needed to get back up in the saddle and start losing again is to get a fill. Or maybe 2 fills or 4 fills or 10 fills - but the point is, it's never too late to get good restriction and start or re-start the losing process. For me, that's very compelling. It's like a built in do-over button. With the bypass, if your pouch eventually stretches out and you start gaining, you are out of options. You can diet of course, but what I mean is that you are no longer being helped to a large degree by the surgery as a tool. The other main reason I am choosing the band is because I'm desperately trying to get pregnant before my 37 year old body runs out of eggs. With the band, I feel reasonably confident that if I get pregnant in the middle of the losing process, I can stop losing, get unfilled during the pregnancy, and the re-start the losing process after the pregnancy. My research indicates that it is much harder, if not impossible, to stop and start the 'losing zone' after having a bypass.

Yes, I had to have an endoscopy yesterday. But curiously, I didn't have to have an upper GI series? The endoscopy was seriously a breeze. It's done as an outpatient procedure under "light" sedation, so you have to have someone to drive you home afterwards. They told me that whatever they gave me in my IV was just enough to make me relaxed and kind of drunk feeling, but that I would be awake enough during the procedure to comply with their requests - ie., open your mouth, turn on your left side, etc. I remember them putting the stuff in my IV.....and absolutely nothing after that. The next thing I knew I woke up in recovery! But, apparently they put a tube down your throat all the way into your stomach with a camera attached, so that the Dr. can make sure there is nothing wrong with your esophagus or upper stomach that would make having a band dangerous. I came home and slept off the rest of the anesthesia for about 4 hours, and I was perfectly fine afterwards, no sore throat, no pain of any sort.

After 9 months of researching and 4 months of doctor's and nutritionist appointments, my insurance finally approved me yesterday. I'm tentatively scheduled for surgery in 2 weeks. I can hardly believe it! I'm thrilled beyond words and scared to death at the same time. I'm still struggling with the things that I know many others do - how to keep this a secret, or whether to tell (only my husband and mother know), whether I will be one of the ones for whom the lap band just doesn't work, whether I will wake up a day or a month or a year after surgery and realize it was a huge mistake for some reason, worrying about electing to have major surgery and whether I'll actually wake up afterwards, etc., etc. Hoping to find some quiet time in my mind and soul in the next 2 weeks in order to be at peace with this decision.....

I am 90% sure I'm having the surgery on May 15 too! But, there's a possibility it could be on the 16th instead. I'm supposed to find out tomorrow. Just got approved yesterday! Sooooooo excited!!

I'm (tentatively) soooo excited to join this group! IF my evil insurance company approves me (all crossable appendages crossed), I'll be banded on May 15!!!!!!