bibo07

Hi, i was banded on March 6, 2008 (I don't think I will forget that day) and I have lost a total of 20 pounds. I felt horrible right afterwards with the pain where the incision was and still not 100% recovered but i am over feeling sorry for myself and feeling optimistic. My first fill is on the 6th of april...so i am a little scared. Good luck to all!

During my third week...i cheated and had some french bread with cheese....i had horrible horrible tummy pain...I was on the floor in a ball for an hour and i had really bad diareha with pain. So i learned my lesson. But i am in the beginning of week 4 now and had one scrambled egg with tomatos and avocados a few hours ago...i am crossing my fingers. I lost 18 pounds the first 2 weeks and only 2 pounds in the past week...is that normal?

I double that. I was so sore and down for 2 weeks. Even when i went to work after a week, I was in pain. I felt like a hunchback. I still have not gone to a restaurant or out with friends...it's been three weeks. Just give it time...and tell your husband that others went through the same thing.

It's a good concern. I was banded on March 6, 2008. I have a 2 year old who is very very active. I was in pain for like 5 days after so he stayed with my parents who live down the street...i saw him for a few hours when my mom brought him by. It's been three weeks and I just started carrying him for a few minutes. The first week other than my physical pain, i was soooo depressed because I couldn't carry him or hug him because i was afraid he would kick or move. Now he owes that mommy has an ouwy on her tummy so he's careful. I will see the dr on the 6th of april and for my first fill...the first question i will ask him if if i can carry him comfortably without causing any damage. Have someone stay with you to help you out for a few days?

Caryn, I am glad you wrote what you did. I had my surgery on March 6...and I was soooooooooo good the first two weeks...and I lost about 12 pounds. Then when i had to start my mushies I was out of town and it was very very hard for me to follow it. So I ate a little bit of regular food but chewed until it was soooo mushy. Now i am back (a week later) and I feel horrible. What if I damaged something???? I didn't feel anything when i ate? and I don't feel I ate a lot...but I couldn't stop, now that I am back...my husband blended my chicked and rice for me yesterday and it was disgusting but I dealt with it. I even had a few fries mushed. Has anyone else been bad like me? How will it be after my first fill which i will get on the 6th of April. I am feeling great now...never hungry??? I had my surgery 1/28/08 and did good on my post op diet for 3 weeks but then I started "cheating". Am I the only one??? I have not had a fill yet but when the food is by me I will eat it. I don't feel I have control. I am very ashamed that I did this surgery and feel good enough to eat regular food and "cheat". Please tell me I'm not the only one and that I'll have more control after my fills.:thumbup:

Hi everyone, i was banded on March 6, 2008 and though the first few days were the worst of my life, I feel much better and am actually going to work and life has returned to normal (almost). I am still on liquids for another week and then mushies for two weeks. I am finally sleeping semi-normal, the main problem is that my lower back on both sides are killing me. It's a sharp pain that won't go away for most of the day. When i told my doctor a few days ago on our first visit, he said i should keep moving around...I am...but still in pain. Has this happened to anyone else? any sugesstions on what to do? thank you

Thanks everyone who gave me advice. Today is the first day where it has gotten a little better. But now i realize that I have been hunchback of Kuwait (which is where i live temporarily)...my husband is calling me that. So i am trying to stand up straight. I do feel better when my hubby rubs it but it starts out hurting more then feels better. Thanks everyone!

I can't stop thinking of food...it's fine when i am at work and then when i am at home, all I do is think of food. It's getting better. I am glad you had a dr that answered all your questions and made you feel at ease. Mine didn't at all, actually, the day before the surgery i called to ask him some questions and they told me he had the day off. I asked them to have him call me...(I won't get into the details makes me so mad) he called me at night for a few short minutes and barely answered my questions. Unfortunately, I didn't have many choices living overseas. He gave me brochures and booklet the day of the surgery (by the way half were in Arabic). My husband had them translated and when we asked him questions about it on our first visit...he said oh that ones' bad and just ripped it and told us to follow the english booklet...which says 2 weeks liquid and 2 weeks mushies. It's my first week anniversary on liquids...i have lost 12 pounds but I don't really care i am so bloated. So how do you feel with your fill? I thought we get it in a month?

Thanks for asking...I didn't really think of that until now 6 days after being banded. Good luck. I love pizza and bread and rice and carbs way to much and I am 31 and feel i am too young to give up on them too, but I am willing to have less of anything as long as I can have everything!

i was banded on March 6, 2008...for the past 5 days I have been drinking a small bottle of water a day, 2 cups of juice (half cup at a time) and today I started drinking half cup of broth today. It was kind of good. I have an appointment with my doctor today. I can't wait till i get mushy food.

ronwifey: I don't think I am hungry but i do miss eating too. I never realized there were so many food commercials...and I keep thinking...if only i had "xyz" for one last time...My husband is still eating in the other room but I feel horrible for him. i am still not 100% sure I made the right decision...and I am sad too. Although I feel much better today physically so emotionally i feel better. i also miss have a regular meal...i am willing to settle for anything. What have you been eating/drinking since you've been banded? i have only been drinking fresh juices (half cups every 2 hours) I am in Kuwait so the support system is horrible. I felt like for my dr it was a business transaction. I haven't even seen him since my surgery...although I have an appointment with him. When I called him 2 days out, he told me "stop being a baby." And since i haven't told any of my friends here, i think it had something to do with me being so down. I am hoping to go into work tomorrow.

I hear you. I was just banded 4 days ago 3/6/08. I was not excited at all. I was crying as I was checking into the hospital. As I was in the operating room, i remember wanting to say stop i don't want this... i finally today got out of bed...i have been feeling soooooo sorry for myself. I haven't told a lot of people so it's more difficult cause there are only a handful of people i could talk to. My husband doesn't understand why I won't tell my friends to get their support. But they are all thin and think they are fat so I didn't think they would undrstand. I feel like 9 months pregnant I am so bloated. i started regretting my decision the second i came out of the operation room and was a awake and feeling groggy. It wasn't even the short term i was worried about but the long term. Now i look at myself in the mirror and really wonder if I should've tried another diet yet before this (as my husband agrees) . Today my paid has subsided but I am experiencing pain where my port is, Although i did wear a bra first. i am not really drinking any Soups because the smell is making me nauseated. Hungry? i don't think i am hungry BUT I REALLY miss eating...i can't even watch a food commercial and my husband had to have lunch at work before coming home. I am having a lot of back pain which I am also assume is from the gas or not being able to move so much. I am sooooo afraid of coughing. I have my frist appointment tomorrow... Sorry if i sound like a broken record...but i wish i tried another diet. i miss carrying my 2 year old who is so active. My husband had to leave work early to put him to work for the past few days... I miss eating and being normal....HELP????

Jill65-i know exactly how you feel. I don't know if i am hungry...but i know i miss eating, i can't even watch commercials of food and my husband has to eat in another room. and more importantly, it's been exactly 4 days and i know exactly what you mean about the gas....it's the worst feeling. i have only been drinking fresh juices and water and barely bc i am so scared of gagging. i have lost 8 pounds already...but i could care less. i want to feel good again...i want to feel where i was before this. i am strating to think i made a mistake.

It's been three days since I got banded...so far i have regretted it tremendously. i am not hungry but nausious constantly. I barely want to drink, but any time i see a food commercial, i get hungry. Is this normal?

KatieAnn...thanks for your message. I know exactly what you mean when you say forget it will never happen. That's exactly where i am now...and i hate myself for getting me this far...once i hit a specific weight instead of trying diets and exercising...i started eating more even when i wasn't hungry...just to do it. ISn't that weird? I am sorry you have medical problems...i hope you get better. 21 pounds is a great start. See the way i see it...when i start losing i will keep wanting to lose more and more and push myself harder. Thank you so much for sharing with me waht is encouraging you towards the surgery. My greatest fear is that even when i feel full with the band i will keep eating becuase i am so used to it.

Hi everyone. I am 31 years old, 5'4 and 230 pounds...I just found out a few days ago that my BMI is 39. I have been married for 4 years and have a two year old active boy. I don't have any medical problems yet...and i say yet because at the rate i am going i am sure i am headed down that route. I have always been a little fuller in the bottom area but I did not have weight problems i think until i start college. The weight just kept adding on. My brothers paid for jenny craig for a few months and for a gym...i am on a roll and then i stop and gain it back. You name it...i have done it. BUT i am the heaviest i have been now...what scares me that i feel that i have reached a point of no return so I keep eating and not caring. I am disgusted with myself...up until last summer, i used to wear a bikini and was pretty confident about myself...NOW i am only wearing baggy cloths and can't even look at myself in the mirror...with or without clothes and it has affected my life with my husband. My period has been out of wack for the past few months...and every time i see my obgyn...he keeps telling me to get the lap band. The last time i was there about 2 weeks ago...i told him i was scared...he said that i should worry about the consequences of obessity. My husband has always been opposed to any surgeries and in fact always tells me i am beautiful and is part of the reason i have been gaining weight i think. I was 30 pounds lighter when we got married. He has horrible eating habbits, but thin and always needs a companion when he eats. I am sorry i am making this long but i want to correctly introduce myself. WHen he heard what the dr said to me...he agreed to it. So for like a week, i read online and was very excited about it. A few days ago i went to a see a dr. Though i am American, i live in Kuwait now and my options are a little limited. I wasn't very excied about him, though he took the time to explain, but nothing that i already hadn't read. He told me to come in and do some tests a few days later and wanted to schedule it for next week. I kind of freaked....now my husband is against it...he thinks i will suffer a lot. I am sooooo scared...but i really want to lose the weight...i am sick of being the fatest one every where we go, between all my friends, not being able to buy cloths from regular stores and most importantly not to lose my breath when i am going up the stairs. Any information is helpful. Thanks

Of course i am planning to return to the US...i just don't know when. The dr told me that he uses the swedish band here...i did a little search and it's actually very similar to the lap band. I need to ask him if they have the same in the US. 30 pounds...i am hoping to lose more...i don't think i will be too happy with just 30... Okay starting tomorrow (as it is nighttime now anyway) i will have one soda a day...and then in a week...i will go to once a week...i didn't think of using a smaller plate and small fork...thanks for the good advice. SO i can't drink ANY soda after being banded? well being a carb addict...i will need to work on that too...green beans? spinach? i don't each either...you didn't think i became so overweight eating vegetables...hahahah...sorry i am actually laughing at myself. I will try to search where i can go here for more info...i will try the english newspaper...

Dear Rana Burt, I started reading your messages and the tears just started pouring out. I was down when i wrote the message...but i have been up and down to be honest. Sorry for my ignorance what RNY? and you lost almost 30 pounds on it...wow. Caffeine as in coffee i can live without? diet coke...i don't know i keep saying tomorrow i will stop but i keep procrastinating. SUGAR...can't i have one small piece of chocolate a day...a small piece? I LOVE WATer and drink tons of it...so i am excited that i can still drink a lot of it. IT's very encouraging to hear that you are not craving junk food...i hope i feel that way. for the past few days i have been eating so much because thinking that when i get the band i won't be able to eat...that's so sad. Thanks for all your advice...nothing you said offended me...thanks for your honesty.

Hi Kbnaz Thanks for your replies. It's so good to hear that the 'food yearning' issues have not been so bad...again reading all this... i can't imagine my life without bread, past and potatos...and i feel horrible saying it...just makes me feel hopeless, that there is actually nothing that will work for me. I have been trying to eat slowly and taking small bites...so i think tha'ts something i can get used to. As for being too tight and too restricted and overfilled- I am still not there in understanding all that...i just thought that my doctor would tell me what's appropriate...or i will keep reading on that. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR WRITING THIS..." You also need to remember that although you are eating a smaller amount of food you feel as if you ate a big portion and feel satisfied until your next meal - that is what was missing for me pre-band. I could eat a good sized meal then feel hungry again before the next one and feel like snacking constantly. I don't snack at all now because I don't feel like it." Before i read this message, i was thinking i really would try to eat half of what i eat now....but then i wasn't thinking that i won't feel full and will want to snack. This just might have been the push i needed. I think i have a concern for every stage: (1) i am afraid of the surgery itself and of needles; (2) i am afraid of how i will feel afterwards...soups???i don't consider Soup food...lol...just a starter...i hate throwing up with a passion, what if i can't do what i do now everyday...like carrying my son, sleeping on my side or my stomach...what about sex (excuse the honesty) i mean what if i make a wrong move...needles to make changes???? sorry for a lot of whinning!!!

Thanks for your reply kbinaz...okay now i am more afraid. What do you mean by your port getting strained??? doesn't it hurt? do you have to go see a dr to "unstrain" it? does it hurt? You've only had it for 2 months and managed to strain it a few times? please explain I am very active and always carry my 2 year old. __________________

Thanks Shortgal for your reply. Honestly, I would do anything to be thin. I have wanted to be thin for the past 8 years. Healthier and thinner is definately more important than missing out on foods. I can't put it in words, i am just scared. I was told that I could everything that i want just in smaller portions. I am okay with that. I love chips, ice cream and chocolate...even that i can handle having once in a blue moon...is that acceptable? I freaked out so much before i gave birth to my son...especially because i am afraid of needles but it was fine so I am hoping for the same thing here if I decide to go through with the lap band. My eye is on the end result...i want to be thin. what have you been eating? i noticed that you got banded end of november. Though i have been practicing chewing my food a lot in the past couple of days...at every meal, i keep telling myself next one i won't drink with but haven't done it yet...will try tomorrow. As i was putting my son to sleep tonight, i decided that I will try to cut my food in half for the next week and see if that will make a difference. I have an appointment on friday at 11 the second doctor. As for eating out....i don't know but if i feel fuller, i won't continue eating right? so i will have food for the next few days???lol. Can i not eat out as much? what if i eat healthier food? besides i will be eating less right? sorry for sooo much questions...i just want to ask others going through this. How have you been doing? 26 pounds that's great!!!!!

Thanks Shortgal for your reply. Honestly, I would do anything to be thin. I have wanted to be thin for the past 8 years. Healthier and thinner is definately more important than missing out on foods. I can't put it in words, i am just scared. I was told that I could everything that i want just in smaller portions. I am okay with that. I love chips, ice cream and chocolate...even that i can handle having once in a blue moon...is that acceptable? I freaked out so much before i gave birth to my son...especially because i am afraid of needles but it was fine so I am hoping for the same thing here if I decide to go through with the lap band. My eye is on the end result...i want to be thin. what have you been eating? i noticed that you got banded end of november. Though i have been practicing chewing my food a lot in the past couple of days...at every meal, i keep telling myself next one i won't drink with but haven't done it yet...will try tomorrow. As i was putting my son to sleep tonight, i decided that I will try to cut my food in half for the next week and see if that will make a difference. I have an appointment on friday at 11 the second doctor. As for eating out....i don't know but if i feel fuller, i won't continue eating right? so i will have food for the next few days???lol. Can i not eat out as much? what if i eat healthier food? besides i will be eating less right? sorry for sooo much questions...i just want to ask others going through this. HOW

Thanks bhgoins367. Unfortunately, the insurance i have here in Kuwait will not cover the surgery either...but my husband and I decided that we woudl take it out of our savings. I have an appointment see another doctor next week in dubai (i have to go there for my visa renewal) so I am hoping it would give me push or the comfort that i need. I feel that I can't lose the weight and keep it off without surgery...although a part of me wants to try again. My husband wants me to try the diet center (like jenny craig but fresh food) for three months before doing this but i know we can't afford both. We wanted to have our second baby soon but i wanted to lose weight first. See I am afraid of the surgery itself...AND the how it will affect my life later...but i really wanted to lose the weight and a lot of it. I don't want to burden my husband and my family later if i am always unhappy or sick.

HI...I was very happy when i read what you had written because I wanted to say the same things. I have been changing my mind on an hourly basis and this is all i have been thinking about. I am 31, 5'4, 230 lbs and BNI 39. I don't have any health issues from my weight YET either. I hate being out of breath too and NOT being able to shop in regular stores like my friends. I hate hate hate being fat. I have the same fear of how this will change my life...I don't feel i over eat all the time...i just love to eat the wrong things and constantly. I hate throwing up with a passion so i am afraid that i might have that problem. My husband and I eat out like 4 to 6 times a week and mostly dinner. I don't cook much except for my son...my husband is vegetarian and i am not so I always end up eating junk because I don't feel like cooking meat or chicken just for me. I have been practicing chewing my food until mush...kind of hard but i think i can do it. But i always drink diet coke with every meal...even Breakfast and drink lots of Water with food. I wouldn't mind eating less...i would love it actually. I am just sooooooo scared...i want to live a normal life. Can i have a snack here and there? some junk food...i am not saying all the time, but sometimes? is there really some foods i can never have? I would appreciate any answers thanks

Hi...that's kind of scary. I am considering the lap band...i am currently living in Kuwait and i just went to see a dr here (don't have many options) and I wasn't very comfortable...but that was one of my questions: is it everyone going to hurt? or am i gonna feel like there is something foreign in my body? I have a 2 year old...and make a lot of fast moves...?