lucyb

You look FANTASTIC!!!! Keep up the great work!

Go Girl!!!!!

You are describing my behavior exactly. Every time I get in the groove and the weight starts coming off, it's like it's going too well and I have to do something to sabotage myself. For every pound I lose I gain that and another one back and then I beat myself up for being such a weakling and then I eat something totally bad to console myself. It is such a vicious cycle! But all I can do is keep on trying, because I know if I don't, I will end up like my daughter's mother-in-law. She is so obese that she can hardly walk. She is only in her 50's but her knees are totally shot and when she goes to Walmart she has to stop and rest every few feet. At my heaviest ever (292) I had constant back pain and my feet hurt so bad at the end of the work day I had to hobble into the house when I got home. I know without a doubt that I was heading in the same direction as her. With every pound I lose, I get further from it. So even though I keep falling off the wagon, I keep getting up and getting back on. Good luck with your struggle, I know just how hard it is.

Have you tried Gas-X strips? I had a lot of gas pains (some of them pretty severe) right after my surgery, but nothing like what you are describing with the air vomitting. If you haven't tried the gas-x yet, I would. If it didn't help I would call my surgeon. Vomitting too much (even air) can dislodge your band this soon after surgery. Hope it gets better soon. Let us know how it goes. :frown:

I work in a hospital and my insurance only covered the procedure if I had it done at the hospital. I still had to see a psychologist (only once), had to see a nutritionist for 3 months, had to see a physical therapist once a week for 3 months, had to work out at the physical therapist's gym 3 times a week for 3 months, had to see my surgeon and my pcp once a month for 3 months. If I missed any one of those, I had to start all over. I feel like I was pretty much prepared for the surgery, but I was surprised at my emotional lability for the first week or so following the surgery (mostly related to food). I think it was a combination of the anesthesia, the pain (although it was very minor and almost totally due to a hiatal hernia repair done at the same time) and the fear of eating anything that wasn't liquid for fear of it getting stuck.:thumbup:

Do ya'll have pain in your port? I am 2 1/2 months out and my port site stays sore, especially if I wear jeans (that aren't REALLY loose) or if I try to do stomach crunches it feels like it's pulling. If I bend over, it seems like my port kind of flips outward. Do yours do that?

Amy, I was banded on 1/21/08. I have been feeling pretty much the same as you. It has been a struggle to hold on to my weight loss, cause I am hungry all the time and I haven't really found anything that I can't eat. Today I went for my first fill and I think that is exactly what I've been needing! I have to be on liquids for 2 days then mushies for 1 day and then back on to regular foods, but I can tell already that restriction is there! YAY!! (The GREAT news is the fill wasn't painful at all, nothing like I had worried that it would be!) Don't worry, all you need is a fill. This surgery will work for you!!! Just hang in there til you get that first fill!

Sorry to hear about your problems. I use the Gas-X strips. They dissolve on your tongue and work really quickly. Also, drinking Water seems to help the gas come up (burp!). Like Georgia Girl said, walking really seems to help too. Good luck, hope things get better soon!

Linda, 32 pounds in 4 months is great, exactly what we are told we can expect to lose (1-2 pounds a week). It doesn't sound like you are eating too much, and I definitely would not decrease your intake to 3-5 baby spoons a meal if I were you. A baby would get malnourished on that much food. Have you spoken to a nutritionist? As for the dizziness, do you take blood pressure medication? Are you drinking plenty of Water? Do you get at least a few carbs? Your body does need to have some carbs, as long as they are good ones and not sugar. Have you seen your primary care physician lately? What a lousy nurse to make you feel bad about your progress!:huh2:Good luck and I hope you get that dizziness figured out. I would go see my pcp if I were you.

kaninag, Sounds like you are doing great. Problem 1 might be that when you sit up from a lying position or stand up from a sitting position, you bend at the waist, which increases the pressure in your abdomen. It might be causing the backing up. You might try some Gas-x strips and see if it helps. I would call the surgeon and ask, just to be sure. Also, the steristrips shouldn't cause blistering, so definitely call and tell your surgeon about that. DO NOT pull them off unless he (or she) says it is ok. They usually have to stay on until they fall off on their own. Hope this helps.

Thea, I still get pain at what I assume is my port site if I wear pants that are in any way constricting (I am 11 days postop). Luckily I am a nurse and scrub pants are elastic waisted. I put on a pair of loose jeans 2 days ago and it about killed me! Have you been wearing things that constrict in any way? I didn't think that the jeans did, but when I sat down the jeans seemed to push everything up and over if you know what I mean. Does it still hurt if you are sitting in pajamas or a gown?

Three nights before my surgery I went out for mexican food and totally blew my preop diet. Got right back to it the next morning. The surgeon told my husband that I did a great job on the preop diet and my liver was just right, he had plenty of room. I wouldn't worry about it too much. What kind of bloodwork? I can't think of any bloodwork that a 1/2 of a chicken nugget and 8 fries would make much of an impression on.

Teanne, I'm sorry to hear that you are having such problems. That liquid lortab is VILE! I don't know how much pain you are in, but I switched to liquid tylenol postop day 2 and it worked just fine and it tastes way better than the lortab. You should call your surgeon and tell him about the nausea. Mine gave me phenergan suppositories. Thankfully I didn't need them, but at least you don't have to try to swallow them and it sounds like you need something. Hope you get to feeling better.