Sunta

Hi Nanster, Sorry you're having so many problems! I'm almost four weeks out and was just placed on mushies (no solid fish, eggs, or cheese , only totally pureed foods). Could it be that at three weeks out, you're just not ready for more solid food like fish, eggs, and cheese? Having just started mushies, I can say they are keeing me so full that I kind of can't imagine going to solids, and I'm almost a week ahead of you. Could be that you're swollen still and those foods are just not going down? If it were me, I would go to pureed food only and see if you have luck with that. Tonight I went to a middle eastern restaurant and had hummus, baba ganoush, and labne (all totally pureed/semi-liquid) and it was heavenly! I didn't feel deprived at all and everything went down like a dream. I've been eating about a cup of food at a meal and feel no ill effects, so I don't think a Dannon yogurt would be too much. I'm trying to go by what my body can handle. With regard to the weight loss slowing down or reversing, if you do a search with the words "gain mushies" or "gain solids" you will find lots and lots of posts about people who gained or stopped losing as soon as they progressed to mushies or solids. I don't think it's the calorie count, I think it's the food itself making you gain because more food is sitting in your intestines! With regard to exercise, when you're allowed to do weights, that would be excellent for you because it would not stress your hip (sitting weight machines that work isolated muscles only) and it would build muscle which burns calories and raises your metabolism.

Hi Everyone! I haven't posted in a while, been busy getting back to work and going to concerts (Queen with Paul Rogers!!! AWESOME SHOW!) and shopping and joining the gym! I'm feeling really good! Still a bit sore in the mornings and from time to time in my port area, but otherwise very good. I was getting sooo hungry I called my doctor's office and the nurse said to "start exploring pureed foods"!!! YEAH!!! I am sooo happy! At first she was hesitant but then relented. After all, I am almost four weeks post-op! So, I made up some yummmmy veggie chili with loads of garlic, cilantro, real chili peppers, brocolli, carrots, onions, cauliflower, squash. Blended it the blender and mmmmm mmmm heaven! I've also had yogurt (I mixed in a Water sensation and viola, berry yogurt!), mashed potatos with Indian chutney, and tonight I'm going to a middle eastern restaurant to explore all the dips, spreads, hummus, etc. I can get my hands on! I'm watching my portions (keeping it to a cup per meal) and so far, I'm feeling alot less starving than I was on liquids. Now, my challenge is sticking to pureed for the full two+ weeks! Maybe I will call again in a week and beg to start solids. Another girl who has my same doctor, she said he let her skip pureed and move right into solids starting week five, so maybe there's hope for me. I joined the gym and walked on the treadmill for 1/2 hour yesterday and now I'm sooo sore! How pathetic! I can start weights in another five weeks. The only bad thing is that boy did the scale stop moving! I've lost almost nothing in almost two weeks! I'm attributing this to adding mushy food in and that it's taking up room in my intestines! At least that's what I'm telling myself anyway. I've been strict about keeping my calories to 1,200 or below. I also just want to say thank you so much to all the people who take the time to reply so nicely to everyone's posts, especially JanetC. I feel bad that I do not have more time to respond to other's people's posts and just focus on my own issues all the time. When I get more caught up with life, I will have a little more time. Thank you all for being here!!!

Hi, Thanks for posting this! I'm terrified of my first fill and am going to ask the doctor to put in the absolute minimim amount (.5 cc?) to start with. I don't want to not be able to swallow! I've read so many horror stories on here it makes me very nervous to get a fill! As for your mom, I have to laugh, because my mom comes out with some real gems too. Not about my weight, but about everything else in my life ("your house is so small it's claustrohphobic!" "How are you going to entertain in that postage-stamp you have for a yard?" "Your cat has a dirty nose" "Tell your cleaning lady she missed the faucet in your bathroom" etc.) Moms, gotta love em, but thank God I don't have to live mine!!!

Hi! I think it's very normal. I did not get hungry until about three weeks out. When you do get hungry, you might get very hungry, as I did. I would say just enjoy this time for now because you're restricted from surgery, and enjoy the weight loss that comes with it. Now that my appetite has returned, I have not lost an ounce of weight! And to top it off, I'm starving alot of the time. My port incision is still tender, and I'm nearly four weeks out now. You're not yet three weeks out. Don't worry, you sound like you're progressing normally.

1. Mortality rate is 1 in 2,000 as opposed to the bypass which is 1 in 200 (I've even read some estimates that are 1 in 100!) 2. LAP Band surgery is safer than laproscopic gall bladder removal, c-section, and many other "routine" surgeries. 3. Reversible 4. Adjustible 5. No cutting or internal organs or re-routing of intestinal system 6. Short recovery time with minimal surgical pain 7. Tiny scars 8. No dumping syndrome; still able to enjoy occasional Desserts 9. Most complications are highly treatable 10. LAP Band surgery is the gold standard in Europe, where gastric bypass is hardly ever done any more.

I had a pain in the very center of my back, in the middle, right behind my bra strap, for about a week and half. It was more of a nuisance than bad pain, but I was a little worried about it. It eventually went away. It really could just be you're all out of whack from surgery and maybe sleeping on it wrong or in a different position than you used to.

Hi, I forgot to log my weight loss yesterday. According to my home scale, I lost 1.5 pounds. I think that really sucks after losing 17.4 in my first two weeks.

Speedy recovery Kellie!!!

Hi, I'm not allowed to be on mushies until another week! Can you believe it? Four weeks on liquids! I'm so hungry all the time it's crazy. I've never seen such a conservative time frame for liquids. I think my doctor is the worst with that! But in all other ways, I'm feeling quite good. It did take up until just these past few days to really start feeling like my old self again. Don't worry, you'll get there!

My doctor said anything I could get through a straw was ok and he would consider it a liquid. I asked him specifically if I could blend up fruit and he said yes. He also said that if I want to blend meat and veggies in a soup and thin it out enough to get it through a straw, that would be fine. The best thing is to call your doctor's office and ask what he/she recommends.

Hi, I too had the pulling and sharp pains in my large incision area. I'm now just over three weeks post op and I still feel it, especially in the morning. Don't worry, it's not forever. I know exactly how you feel and believe me, I felt the same way just a week ago, but I do feel better every day. In fact, the only time I feel the pulling and soreness bad is in the morning when I first wake up. Congratulations on losing 21 pounds!!! That is incredible!

As soon as I woke up, I kept asking "did I get the LAP Band? Did I get the LAP Band?" At first the nurse didn't answer so I thought maybe something went wrong, but then she nodded yes and I fell asleep again.

The things that helped me most (in order) were: heating pad, laying in a position where my head was the bed and my butt up in the air (this moves the gas bubble from the shoulder to the bowels; even if it's only temporary, it was such a relief for those few minutes, and it definitely helped move things around), pain killer (relaxes the nerve cells and the muscles), fennel tea (breaks up gas), and going off dairy. I'm three weeks out and only get about one gas attack a day now, as opposed to feeling like I had a permanent stomach flu! I'm now back at work and feeling rather well. It'll pass in time so stick it out and you'll be feeling better soon!

Hi Guys, I wrote to Imamed and asked them if it was intended to be permanent and this is the reply I got: Hello Rebecca, We do not call the band a life-time device. We call it a long-term device. We do not know if it will eventually need to be replaced like a pacemaker or hip replacement joint. We do know that silicone last a long time in the body. And that the band does not have any moving parts to wear out like some implants. The longest that anyone has had the band is since 1993. Don Mills INAMED Health

Hi, I did a search for this but didn't find exactly what I have. I'm 20 days post op, and I just developed this really annoying sensation of a lump in my throat after "eating" (drinking). It lasts about a half hour and then goes away until I "eat" again. It feels like a gagging sensation but I can swallow fine and things are going down totally fine. It's very uncomfortable. It is worse if what I "eat" is thicker than normal. For example, today I blended up some minestrone Soup in the blender and made sure it was "get it through a straw" consistency. However it still has tiny tiny shreds of the Beans, the Pasta, etc., so it's rather thick and hearty. Well after eating this, the sensation was the worst it's ever been. It almost feels like my throat is swelling shut (it's not though). Anyone else have this???

I'm glad your husband let them have it. No offense, but they sound like rather disturbed people to me. It's a very over-the-top and bizarre reaction in my opinion. You had every right to keep your private life private and it's none of their business how you decided to do that. Do they have a history of mental problems or issues at all? They sound like toxic people. Even though they are your in-laws, that doesn't mean you have to put up with their behavior. If it were me, I would severely limit, or even totally stop, the time I spent with them. I don't tolerate that sort of abuse. Spending three hours yelling at you is absolutely abusive and you don't have to take it.

Actor Joseph Gannascoli, who plays gay mobster Vito Spatafore on "The Sopranos" is a shadow of his former rotund self. "I'm down 160 pounds," he told Friday's New York Post. "I had stomach surgery -- not the bypass, the band. And I've been exercising. Diet pills help, too. I feel a lot better." Gannascoli co-wrote a cookbook/novel with Allen C. Kupfer, which comes out Jan. 10. "A Meal to Die For" is "about a chef who gets mixed up in the mob and becomes a food fence, like hijacking shrimp, bootlegging olive oil, things like that," Gannascoli told the newspaper. "I did stuff like that when I was younger." The book will be accompanied by a line of Pasta sauces called "A Sauce to Die For," he said.

Hi, I too have a 2-3 inch incision and it's where it hurts the most. I can't touch it either and from time to time definitely feel prickling in that area. You're only on day 13, so healing is going to take awhile yet. I'm on day 20 and I still am tender and sore. My doctor told me that's also where my port is.

Ditto what everyone else said. That's a perfect example of the green eyed monster!!!

Best of luck. Let us know how you're progressing!

Those are ultra-cool! I want a pair!!!

I read an article this morning that said maybe what we watched is the last show of the season and the rest of the season will be played out in flashback. In any case, it was an awesome episode and I'm really looking forward to seeing more. I also watched "Big Love" right after it and that was pretty decent too.

I had to sleep on my recliner for over two weeks. Now I can sleep on my side, but not my stomach. If I didn't have the recliner (bought it just for surgery!) I honestly have no idea what I would have done.

Hi Everyone, Hope everyone had a great weekend! I felt quite good this weekend and went to two museums on Saturday and a historic house tour yesterday. My gas is still 90% better (has been since I went off dairy last week), and my port/surgical pain seems to be improving every day. I'm off my recliner and back in bed! It feels wonderful. The only issues is I'm really hungry. Tomorrow I will have been on liquids for three weeks and still have a week to go! Ugh. Liquids are getting really gross. And they're not transportable since anything that's easy to transport has dairy in it (like Slimfast and Ensure). So I end up ready to pass out whenever I'm out anywhere. I honestly almost fell out in the museum over the weekend! I can't wait to start mushies! Another a really annoying thing is that the scale has simply stopped moving, even though I'm only eating/drinking 900 calories a day! What's that about? It's really infuriating. I'm praying I"m not one of those people who just doesn't lose. Anyway, wishing you all a fabulous, non-hungry, pain-free week!

I definitely understand what you're going through. I have been experiencing depression and anxiety since getting my band. My issues focus mainly on fear of the band itself; something going wrong with it: slippage, erosion, etc. I am constantly worried about it. I also have a feeling like "oh my gosh, what did I do!?!?" Certainly if I dont lose at a good pace, that will make me upset. I do find Wellbutrin helps me. I don't know where I'd be without it! I'm so glad I stayed on it after surgery because I know without it I'd be a mess. Maybe you could talk to your doctor about it. It doesn't cause weight gain and I do feel it's helpful. With regard to the weight loss, I would say to try and remember this is a long journey and it will take time to achieve the final goal, but you can do it!