Kalipso2

being newly banded, you won't have any restriction. most surgeons don't put any fill in the band during surgery so, as you heal, you'll be able to eat normally... not saying you SHOULD eat normally, only that you could. some people even gain a few pounds during this stage and it's called "BANDSTER HELL" because you're banded but don't receive the benefits until your first couple of fills. BUT, please, please follow your doctor's post-surgery diet. that is VERY important!! you're still healing even though you may feel fine.

yeah, there is no way of knowing what your body can handle. i have a 10cc band and after 3 years, i only have 4.25cc's in my band. i can't tolerate anything more. my fills were all done under xray but i've heard of some drinking Water while getting filled and the doc can tell by the sounds in your stomach if the water isn't flowing thru the band properly? just remember... your doctor isn't trying to hinder your weight loss. he's there to help you in a safe and healthy way!

hi kayleigh, i don't have any idea about insurance since i was self pay but no, i don't think you're too young for the surgery. i have read that some as young as 16 have been banded but it might depend on your insurance. i think there is a group on here somewhere that is for "teens". going to see your family physician is a great start but he might try to talk you into just dieting since you are young. research bariatric surgeons in your area and attend their free seminars. i'd find at least 2 different surgeons so you can pick the one you feel more comfortable with after the seminar. i think consultations are free as well.

what size band do you have and how many cc's do you currently have in your band? hopefully once you have a couple more fills that will help with your fast food eating. you can still go to fast food restaurants but make the healthier choice... grilled chicken instead of fried chicken, a salad with dressing on the side instead of a burger. you KNOW what you have to do so you just have to put forth the effort. as for the drinking... i don't live in L.A. so i don't know what it's like there but i can see where you're coming from. what do you drink when you go out? have a "skinny girl" margarita or rum with diet coke. instead of having 5 drinks, maybe have 3? and yes, dating suck while banded but it can be done. i usually order an appetizer instead of an entree. and eat slow... that will give you time to get to know the person better : ) only YOU can make this work... the band can't do it alone.

welcome! i had a relatively low BMI and i was self pay so my surgery was scheduled pretty quick. we're all nervous when it gets close to the date of the surgery. my banding experience hasn't exactly been smooth sailing and if i knew then what i know now, i'm not sure i would get banded again BUT i have reached my personal goal weight which is "normal" on the BMI chart. at my 2 year anniversary, my surgeon told me that i probably wouldn't lose any more weight (i was at 171 pounds at the time) because i had lost 60% of my total weight. well, i wasn't happy with that because i was still in the "overweight" category. so, i pushed on and during this past year i've lost another 26 pounds which got me to my goal of "normal". i has taken me almost 3 years to lose 68 pounds and although i've never gained any weight back, it's taken forever! BUT i didn't exercise at all either. things might have moved quicker if i had. the most difficult part of this entire process is eating (or not eating in my case). i've been a binge eater for many, many years and it's still hard to control. i've said many times that i have a devil (my brain) sitting on one shoulder and an angel (my band) sitting on the other shoulder. every time i eat, the devil tells me to keep eating... it tastes SOOO good, just one more bite but the angel tells me i'm full and satisfied and its time to stop eating. if i listen to the devil (brain) and keep eating... i throw up everything that i've eaten. if i listen to the angel (band) and stop eating... i'm left feeling depressed because i want to eat more. i still struggle with this on a daily basis. i have gone from a size 16 jeans to a size 6... a size 14 skirt to a size 4... a size XL shirt to a S. good luck on your journey and please, tell your husband i said, "Thank you for all you do!!" he's such an honorable person to be serving our country!

it's possible.... i have a 10cc band and at one point had 5.5cc's. i was constantly throwing up and my acid reflux was horrible. i went in for an unfill and for some reason, my band cannot handle anything over 4.2cc's... and i still occasionally have bad acid reflux at night so i think i need another .2cc's out at least. BUT, with that being said, i do have restriction. i'm rarely hungry and i've never gained even 1 pound back. it took me 2.5 years to get to my goal weight but it worked!

i live 4 hours away from my surgeon so imagine THAT ride home! i think i cried almost the entire drive home. my poor parents felt SO bad but it wasn't their fault. thankfully i had my paid meds with me.

eat now... while you can! seriously though... you probably will go thru a bit of shock after you realize how little you'll really be eating. some people can eat whatever they want but in small quantities but i'm not one of them. i can't eat most breads. no real pizza but i can eat the crust of one slice and the toppings of 2 slices. no toast, no bagel, no sandwiches. i can't eat ground meat either so that means no hamburger or sausage. my 2 favorite foods in the entire world... pizza and burgers... i can no longer eat no matter what. being 3 years post-op, i do better eating out with friends and family. i no longer drool when someone orders a hamburger. i no longer skip family functions when i know pizza will be served. but i have to eat before i attend any family function so that i don't give in to temptation. you have to learn to eat the small servings and then STOP eating. your brain will want you to keep eating even though your stomach will say stop. food will still taste the same so will you have the willpower to stop when your band tells you to?

what size band do you have and how many cc's are you filled with? what does your daily food intake look like? you might not be eating enough food. if that's what's happening, your body goes into starvation mode and weight loss is much slower. have you seen your surgeon lately? what does he say? are you keeing a food journal? if so, go see your nutritionist and she should be able to tell you what you're doing wrong.

my PCP knew nothing about the lapband before me. when i would go in for a physical she would be poking around my stomach and come across my port... the look of horror on her face was priceless even though i had told her about my surgery. since then, she's asked me a hundred questions. about 2 years ago i had to go to the ER because my cat bit me and i was worried it was infected. they ask you if you've had any surgeries lately and when i told the nurse, she had tons of questions too!

i know it's hard... almost all of us have had to go thru it. it takes a few days for the stomach to shrink down and once that happens you won't be as hungry. i would try the slimfast shakes in place of whatever your surgeon told you... at least in the beginning. i bought the milk chocolate cans and would put it in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes until it was just starting to freeze. it tasted like a milk shake. being able to follow the pre-op diet really helps you stick to the post-op diet... which is VERY important! i admit, i cheated on my pre-op diet but stuck to the post-op diet!

ordering just an appetizer is always a good idea... it's what i do now if i'm out with people who don't know. if i'm out with people that do know, i order from the kids menu. you can say you are watching your portion size.... that you had a late big Breakfast (or lunch)... the soup and side salad is a good choice too. if the people you are dining with are used to seeing you eat a big meal and you're now eating a much smaller meal, there probably will be questions. i just say "i'm not really that hungry right now".

welcome and congratulations on your journey! if you have any questions... ask away. there are so many nice people here to help!

what an awesome idea.... donating excess skin!! i wonder why it's not happening more with plastic surgery patients?

yes, there are some people whose bands slip or erode but i've heard horror stories about gastric bypass too! i really believe there are many more successful bands out there than there are failed ones. there is no shame in holding off surgery if you want to do more research but i think we all second guessed ourselves at least once before having surgery!

i agree... if you only feel that way 3 days out of the month, just go with it. i'm a FIRM believer of indulging yourself on occasion... that way you tend to not binge other times. and enjoy it while you can because there are a lot of us that get SUPER tight when its that time of the month. i don't eat for 3 days because i'm so tight. i have to stick to liquids! there are some people who say to stick with the willpower and not to give in to it but i think that will only lead to binging on something down the line. an occasional candy bar or piece of cake isn't going to hurt you in the long run. it may slow down your weight loss though.

my band will not allow me to eat any kind of ground meat... including hamburger and sausage. there are days i would KILL for a bacon cheeseburger with mayo but that's how i got to be overweight in the first place. also, i can't eat most breads... including pizza... which is my all-time favorite food. i've learned to adjust though and can eat the crust off one piece and the toppings off 2 pieces. i can eat popcorn but only if it's not butter flavored. i think the oil upsets my stomach so the healthier alternative is okay and fills my need. and for me, nuts are hit or miss. if i put only 1 serving size in a baggie i do okay but if i eat out of the container the salt makes me over eat. i also have to make sure that i chew the nuts more than any other food. it's all a learning process... you'll get to learn your body so well in the year. good luck!

i rarely feel hungry anymore either so i just usually eat at the same time each day to make sure i get in enough calories and Protein. on the rare occasions that i am hungry, i can just tell that my stomach is empty... and i feel empty.

i take a pill for depression, a pill for anxiety, 3 tylenol pm's, and an iron pill every night and all at the same time with NO problems at all!

i was swallowing whole pills a week after surgery.

for me, it's all been trial and error. i try the food to see if my band will accept it. if it does, i continue to eat it. if it doesn't, i just know i cannot eat it again. most fruits are fine... as are veggies except for cauliflower. no matter how much its cooked, it just won't stay down. potatoes are fine except for french fries (which is probably a good thing!!) i can't eat hamburger at ALL. it doesn't matter if it's well done, medium rare, dipped in mustard, with cheese, low fat ground meat, higher fat ground meat... i just throw it right back up. i've tried every way possible! i do okay with chicken... prepared in any way. the same with pork. sauces usually help if the meat is dry. i can't eat hardly any bread... including pizza. i can eat the crust off one piece and the toppings off two pieces. everyone is different on what their band will handle. it IS better to be safe than sorry... i know this from experience!

yes, it is acid reflux. it's a good idea to get a small unfill before it gets worse. my acid reflux got to be so bad that i would wake up in the middle of the night choking on the acid.

i can't believe that it's almost been 3 years since i was banded. in one sense, it feels like just yesterday because i'm still having acid reflux issues and may need a slight unfill but i also feel like this journey has taken FOREVER! i finally made my goal weight 2 years 10 months after surgery.... 68 pounds lost. i want to lose another 5 so i can fluctuate a few pounds without going back into the "overweight" bmi. i haven't gained any weight back but it sure as hell has taken me a long time to lose! it's been a year since i've been to see my surgeon so i need to make an appointment to get a yearly check-up. i want to make sure my band is still placed correctly AND to show him that i lost an additional 26 pounds during this past year... something he told me i probably wouldn't be able to do. when i went in for my check-up last april, i was 171 pounds. he said i was a "success case" because i lost 60% of my weight. he told me i wouldn't lose any more. he was wrong : )

that's awesome!! i've always been fascinated with running. i joined a "running class" right after my surgery to learn the proper way to run and to train for a 5k. i think i set my expectations on myself way too high too fast after surgery. i got too depressed when i couldn't even run a mile that i just gave up altogether. i have yet to try again. i live in cleveland and the weather is getting nice so you might be my inspiration to try again!

i've been in that dark place where your are... and it's scary. i had never been more scared in my life. at that point in my life (which was pre-band), i had multiple people i know die. i was consumed with grief that i was having thoughts of "doing something drastic". thankfully, i had a therapist at the time and things got better. i'm glad to hear you have a therapist too that will help you out of this dark time. a lot of us have "binged" like you did with the mcnuggets. i'm sure your band is fine and the experience scared you enough that hopefully you won't go down that path again during the next stressful moments in your life. it sounds like you had SO many great memories of your friend, so try to concentrate on how happy his life was... and probably still is!