Kalipso2

hi, my name is kris. i'm 37, single, no kids and live in cleveland, ohio. i got banded in april 2008 and it was the best thing i could have done for myself! my new years resolution for 2008 was to focus on making ME a happier person... which to me meant no dating for a year. i'm halfway thru the year and i'm so happy. i'm happy that i can concentrate on myself and not have to worry about anyone else! now that it's summer i do feel a little lonely though : (

i LOVE the slimfast optima but unfortunately my dietician said that the optima has too much sugar and too many carbs i was told to buy the slimfast low carb shake instead but it isn't nearly as good.

i can tell that i'm stuck right away but sometimes it comes up within 2 minutes, other times it can take 20 minutes. after about 2 bites of something that isn't going to say down i get a horrible pressure in the middle of my chest. i try really hard to keep it down (don't ever drink on top of being stuck!) but sometimes it hurts so back it's just easier to PB.

i was worried about the same thing and just asked my doctor this past weekend... i was told that most people will have more than enough restriction before they reach full band capacity.

i just had my 2nd fill this weekend which brought me up to 5.3 in a 10cc band. yesterday was my first day back to eating solids and it didn't go very well. i had 2 of the small slim jim's and spend the remainder of the evening PB'ing. i was still hungry so i had 4 almonds and i PB'd those too. today for lunch i grabbed 1/4 of a deli sandwich from a luncheon at work and ate 3 small bites. i've kept it down but i keep burping. is that normal? i hope i'm not too filled because i'm 4 hours away from my doctor! i have to admit... it does feel nice to have restriction!!

i told my boss that i needed to have surgery so i was going to need a week off work. by law they can't ask what the surgery is for. for the other people at work i just said it wasn't something i wanted to talk about right now. now that 2 months have passed, i have started telling my closer friends at work.

you'll feel fine but most doctor's have you on a liquid diet for a few days after a fill. i'm on clear liquids the first day, full liquids the second day, mushies the third day and regular food on the 4th day.

i was banded on 04/21/08 and just received my 2nd fill today. i'm still learning how to eat properly so i have experienced PB'ing. like Jack said, it isn't like vomiting when you're sick. the stomach doesn't spasm or anything like that. i gag once and the piece of stuck food comes out and it's over. try not to focus on the PB'ing. start now... before your surgery... learning how to eat slowly and listening to your body's signs of fullness!

to me "eating around the band" means knowing your body SO well that if you truly wanted to, you could still eat and gain weight.

i had my surgery on 04/21/08. when i went in for my first fill 4 weeks later i had lost 14 pounds and was told that was unusal. most people don't lose much... if anything... during the first month. try to remain patient! the lapband wasn't meant to be a quick weight-loss tool!!

i had a BMI of 35 and i was banded 04/21/08 weighing in at 213 pounds with a height of 5'-4". i was on a 2 week liquid diet and didn't really lose much weight. after my surgery i lost 14 pounds. after my first fill i gained 2 pounds back immediately. i just feel so hungry all the time... worse than i felt before my first fill. so i'm going for fill #2 this weekend. i lost those 2 pounds on top of 4 more so i'm down 19 pounds in approximately 45 days. its still going to be a struggle even though we have low BMI's... maybe even harder. don't get discouraged. you're just entering Bandster Hell when you have the surgery and don't lose much weight. you may not lose much at all until after a couple of fills. stay strong!

i was banded on 04/21/08 and lost 14 pounds during the first month. i had a fill on 05/19/08 and instead of feeling any restriction i felt more hungry than i did before my first fill. i even gained 2 pounds back! i called my doctor and have another fill scheduled for this weekend. this might not come out right but... enjoy your binging while you can because once you're restricted you won't be able to binge unless you like vomiting all the time. i'm a binge eater too so i know what you're going through!!

i agree...i think most of us here have had some sort of eating disorder whether it be not eating for days, throwing up (or my problem, laxatives) and binging. my suggestion would be if you're going to continue the behavior (for now) try drinking Protein shakes instead of the soup and take a multi-vitamin so you're not depriving your body as bad. i'm not judging you. you obviously know its a problem or else you wouldn't have mentioned it. how about going for a very slight unfill?

i was banded on april 21st and had my first fill on may 19th. i couldn't keep missing work so i had to make a saturday appointment on july 12th since they are only open 1 saturday a month.... that would be a little over 6 weeks between fills. after my first fill i actually gained weight and got pissed because i've been following the diet carefully and the fill didn't leave me with any more restriction. if anything i felt MORE hungry. so i emailed my doc and asked him if i could come in on june 6th (which is a little over 2 weeks after my 1st fill) and he said okay. i was a little upset that he didn't mention i could come back sooner than the 6 weeks when i made my july appointment! just keep pushing... you paid so insist on your fills!

what i miss the most is diet Pepsi. i crave it every day. hi, my name is kris and i'm an addict! bread is another big one. the only thing that makes up for it is that i can still have cheese!

how far is cincinnati, oh from you? i believe my doctor does fills for patients banded in mexico.

i'm in the same boat! i was banded on 04/21/08 and had my first fill on 05/19/08. i was on the liquid then mushie diet up to my fill so i didn't start eating real food until 05/22/08. once i started i find it so hard to stop! as a matter of fact, i feel LESS restricted after my first fill! i'm going in for my 2nd fill on 06/07/08 and have already scheduled for july too!

i was banded on 04/21/08. my first fill was 05/19/08. i feel MORE hungry after my fill than i did before! i've even gained 2 pounds back. i emailed my doctor and asked if i could come in for another fill on 06/07/08 and he said yes. that's less than a month apart. how often can you get fills?

now don't DUH yourself! i don't think anyone here thinks any question is "dumb". i initially thought my port was moving and called my doctor in a panic!

my doctor used a numbing spray that hurt worse than the needle probably would have. they do flouro for the first fill only and then only if there is a problem.

no, not for me. my port is actually located right above the actual incision.

i didn't give up my diet Pepsi until the day before my surgery. that's how addicted i was. stay strong. there is a good reason that you're unable to have carbonation and not being healed yet is the worst thing you could do. do i miss diet Pepsi? absolutely! do i crave it like i used to? nope! it gets easier, i promise.

my problem has never been eating in front of clients or people i work with... it's my family! yesterday was the first time in 34 days that i've eaten with them. i had one piece of pizza (which i couldn't even finish!!) and my mom was watching me like a hawk. at one point she said "kris marie, that's too big of a piece!" *sigh* what does she know? later that night i had a tiny piece of cake (maybe 1" x 1") and less than a quarter cup of icecream (it was my birthday dinner). after i ate i had to go to the bathroom. when i walked out my sister asked me if i had been in there puking. *sigh* hopefully they stop watching me so closely and give me a little bit of credit for knowing my body and knowing what to do!

i had my surgery on april 21st. i choose a doctor 4 hours away from home so i asked my parents to go with me. i wasn't nervous until the morning of the surgery. after i got changed into my gown, i was told i was 3rd in line. the one girl left and my surgeon stopped in quickly to make sure i was okay and make sure i didn't have any other questions. about a half hour later i'm told it's MY turn but there was still supposed to be one guy a head of me! everything happened so fast after that. i was rolled into the operating room and asked to scooch over to another table. the OR was SO bright and big... not like it is on tv lol. i was told to hold both arms out to the side and then i got some oxygen. next thing i know i'm in recovery. i must have been enjoying the drugs and sleep because the nurses said i didn't want to wake up. even after i woke up i refused to open my eyes for some reason. i was moved to my room shortly after. i was hurting a little more than i expected but it was bearable for the most part. i do know that when i had to go to the bathroom it took me forever to pee! i asked the nurse if i could walk around and she said yes. no on ever "made" me get up and walk which i found surprising. the drugs made the pain manageable and sleepy if it weren't for the nurses coming in every 2 hours lol. i was glad to get home the next day!

how long will you be staying in Mexico? i had all these grand ideas that i was going to feel so good after my surgery that i brought books, my ipod, my hair dryer & curling Iron, pajamas and a change of clothes for the next day. i never opened a book. i never turned on my ipod. i was in too much pain to take a shower and do my hair. i was hooked up to my IV so i never did put my pajamas on and i left in the same clothes i wore there. lol so my advice would be to pack as little as possible! good luck on your new journey!