CarlaG

I am now 24 hrs post op. Not feeling too bad. Just had 8 oz of Protein drink. I got most of it in and started feeling some pain so I don't know yet if that is the sign that I am full or not. I'm not having a whole lot of pain. The dr. also had to repair a hiatal hernia which was a little bit of a surprise. I had a bit of trouble with my oxygen levels and nausea but otherwise everything went ok. I've already taken a shower today and am up moving around so I have to say the surgery was not too bad overall. I was scared before hand that I was making the wrong decision but I'm glad I did it. I KNOW I WILL SUCCEED:w00t: Good luck to everyone!

Aliciarose, Don't go by my ticker about the weight loss. I can't figure out how to change it. I have lost 27 lbs. since the surgery and that was after a month of eating out 24/7 due to the damage to our house and living in a hotel so I am pretty satisfied with that. For some reason I am really not focusing on the pounds gone. I am concentrating on the exercise, trying to eat right and going by how my clothes feel. People at work keep asking how much have lost and I can honestly say I don't even weigh myself. I'm trying very hard to not be obsessed by it. I know the whole point was to lose weight, but if I can feel it and I have people calling me the incredible shrinking woman than I guess it is working. Also, don't rationalize having the surgery. I know it will help your diabetes, but even if you didn't have that issue, the weight loss will help you be a happier you. That is very important also. You shouldn't feel that you have to have an excuse. You have to do what is best for you. I know I initially said I felt like a failure, but this really is not the easy way out and it takes a lot of commitment so if you are successful, how can you be a failure? I don't think that is possible. All I am saying is please be confident in your decision, be happy and be proud that you are on your way to getting your life under control.

AliciaRose, Everyone at my work knows. I wasn't going to tell anyone and then I thought...what the heck...its nothing to be embarrassed about. I do worry about failure but it really is not their business so if you choose not to tell that is perfectly ok. I mostly talked about it because several other people are considering it and my boss actually had gastric bypass. I work as a 911 dispatcher and we are very sedentary so the majority of us are overweight. We are also a pretty tight knit community so everybody knows everybodies business anyhow :thumbup: I do not have any regrets at all. Over the last month we have been living in a hotel and eating out every meal because of storm damage. It is a little more complicated making choices, but I was very happy to see that I could eat out and look like a normal person. I have only had trouble a couple of times and that was because I waited too long to eat and didn't chew well enough. I saw my surgeon yesterday for my second fill and I have only lost two lbs. over the last month but we was very pleased with that since we were eating out 24/7. Now with my new fill and we are back home I should be making progress again. Just remember...this is a very personal and long journey. Do you think you will be able to keep it a secret forever or are you waiting to see if you will be successful? Either way you have to do what is right for you and what will make your journey easier and less stressful. Good luck!

I had my first fill 5 weeks post op and it was not bad. All I felt was pressure really...no pain at all. Unfortunately, I have not had any restriction and we have been out of our for the last month due to storm damage and we have been having to eat out every meal. Not a good thing for a very new banded person. I did go see the nutritionist last week and even though I had only lost 4 lbs since my fill, she weighed me on a special scale that showed I had actually lost 40 lbs. of fat and gained 9 lbs. of muscle from the previous weighing which was a month prior. I go this Thursday for my second fill so hopefully I will get some restriction and be back in my house with my exercise equipment and no more having to eat out. One good thing out of all this drama with the house repairs is I know I can go out to eat and "look" like a normal person. I can make choices and eat so that no one has to know I have had surgery. I was very worried about that since I really wasn't telling everyone I know. Good luck with your surgery. I did have some pain after but not a whole lot. I couldn't do the Protein drinks for about 2 weeks but my surgeon said not worry about it. Anyhow, alot of people say it took them a while to be able to sleep on their sides but I was doing it before the week was out. One piece of advice...actually two...definitely have a heating pad handy (mine was my best friend) and if you have Sonic near you make sure you get some of their ice. The sell it by the bag and it is very easy to chew. It really helped to get fluids in and satisfy the urge to chew at the same time. Good luck and keep me posted!

Can you add Water to your CPAP? If not, ask for the machine that you can put water in. It adds moisture so the burning shouldn't be bad. I fight with the tubing of my machine and if things get a little lopsided it wakes me up because of the difference in the noise. I'm a very light sleeper and the pitch change is enough to wake me up. I also have to run a fan to drown out the noise of the cpap. Its not very loud, its just different. I also have to cover up the machine with a towel because the light on it bothers me. People at work say I'm just weird but I sure would like to see them sleep with that contraption on. I think they would feel a little different if they did. But, honestly, you really should try your best to wear it...especially if it is a prerequisite to the surgery. :thumbup:

I too have claustrophobia and have sleep apnea. Have you tried to head gear that just goes into your nostrils and is not a mask? That is the only thing I could handle. It doesn't cover much of your face and you don't feel so closed in. I haven't used the cpap since my surgery (March 13) but my husband has noticed me snoring again so I really should use it. I do get better sleep so you really should give it a try. I know it is hard and very frustrating, but you will probably feel better. Good luck!

I am so upset with myself. I was doing so well and things are going downhill. I was banded on March 13 and had lost almost 30 lbs. A week and a half ago a tree fell on my house and we are now living in a hotel having to eat out every meal. I do pretty well if I am at work where I have my "good" foods but at dinner time I lose it. Tonight I had Chinese food. By the time I got to eat dinner (8:15) I was so hungry that I ended up getting stuck and had to throw up a little. I am so tired of eating out and they have not even started work on my house yet! I'm going to be back up to what I was before surgery the way things are going! I called the doctor and I cannot get a fill until July 10th! because he won't do a second fill before 90 days out and due to his vacation and mine I can't get it until a month after the 90 days. I am so aggravated, upset and depressed about everything right now. I'm hoping someone can give me some words of encouragement or a smack that will get me back on the right track.:thumbup::sad_smile::biggrin:

<P>I called my surgeon's office today and asked about getting and earlier fill. They said due to insurance they can't do the 2nd fill before 90 days after surgery. When I told them I was self pay, it was a totally different story. So now I can get my fill June 12 which is a whole month sooner.</P> <P> </P> <P>Tomorrow I'm going to our local wellness center to see if I can get a short term membership until we can get back in our house.</P> <P> </P> <P>I have not done too great on eating today but I am going to take this weekend to get my head back in the game. We are going out to dinner tonight and I've already gone on line and scoped out calories/fat/protein to find out what is my best choice.</P> <P> </P> <P>I have to have a plan before I ruin all my progress. I didn't pay all this money to fail.</P> <P></P>

I was banded on March 13 and have been doing good since. So far I've lost 28.5 lbs and 9.5 inches from my body. I have been exercising 5 times a week until now. Now comes the bummer part....storms hit my area on Monday and a tree went through my house. We have no power so my treadmill doesn't work. Its unknown when we will be able to live in our house again so we are stuck in a hotel that unfortunately doesn't have a fitness room so no exercise equipment. We also have to eat out 3 times a day. I am very grateful that no one was hurt, but how much worse can it get from a bandster standpoint. I'm trying very hard to eat correctly, but it is difficult when you have to eat each meal in a restaurant. So far I'm making ok choices but we are only 2 days into a possible 2 month process. :smile2:

It was not known before the surgery "officially" but I was having some problems swallowing that I had already told my primary care doctor about so I wasn't surprised. I did call my PCP and they said the surgeon should file a claim and go from there but because I have an HMO I'm a little worried about it. I guess all they can do is try.

I am self pay and I just received a bill for $3500.00 for hernia repair during my lapband surgery. First I'm a little upset that the "whole" band fee for the surgeon was $5500 and now I have a bill for an additional $3,500 for "a couple of stitches" as the surgeon put it!:rolleyes2: My question is this...my insurance would have covered a hernia repair if I had the proper referrals. Has anyone ever gone back after the fact and gotten a hernia repair covered? I just don't know what I will do if I have to pay another $3,500. I already got a loan to pay for the lapband. :cry_smile: I'm feeling extremely quilty right now about this whole thing :confused:

You don't say how long ago you were banded, but it took me two weeks before I could stomach the Protein drinks. I was drinking them before surgery so I knew I liked them ok, but they just really upset my stomach. I spoke to my surgeon at the 1 week mark and he said to give it another week and since I have been fine. I was banded on March 13th. I really thought it was going to be hard to get in all the protein but so far so good. I had my first fill on Thursday but don't really notice any difference yet. Anyhow, give it some time and I bet you will be able to get in the drinks. They do help with hunger so I think they would be better than cottage cheese in the long run. Good luck! (I'm a dork. Just noticed your banding date. You are probably going to be like me and have to wait awhile on the protein drinks)

I was banded on 3/13 and have lost 25 lbs as of this morning (6.5 since last Wednesday). Will the dr. still give me my fill if I am still losing without one? I do get hungry but I'm working really hard to keep it under control.:confused2: Thanks, Carla

I am definitely going to get the fill because it is a struggle. Amoud I can understand what you're saying about being afraid to eat. I am being so anal about what goes in my mouth. The nutritionist already told me I'm not eating enough calories so I have upped them somewhat but in the last week have only gotten in the range of what she wants on two days. I am self pay so I really want this to work. I don't want to feel like I made a mistake and I don't want my husband to feel that way either since we really did have a lot of discussion about the cost. I almost worry about becoming anorexic because I am starting to feel guilty putting food in my mouth. It's so silly. I'm going to go from one extreme to the other. I go for my fill tomorrow afternoon so hopefully he won't ask about any additional weight loss. I do know I will have to wait 6 weeks for the second fill because he will only do the first two 6 weeks about regardless of lack of restriction. After that he will do them as needed. Have a great day everybody! Carla

I went to Fitday.com to try to journal my food today because the nutritionist said she didn't think I was getting enough calories. Fit day is not easy to use. Can anyone recommend an easy online food journal. By what I put into Fitday I only ate about 600 calories today and the nutritionist wants 800 - 1000.:thumbup: Thanks, Carla

Thank you both for the dailyplate website. Much easier than fitday. Carla

Rose, I am three weeks out from surgery today and am on mushies. I have found that since the surgery carbs make me absolutely sick and give me a lot of pain. You may also be the same way. You will have to experiment with what you can eat. I've also found an aversion to the sweet stuff which is making it hard to do the Protein drinks. I've finally figured out if I put Sugar Free chocolate syrup in my vanilla drink it cuts the sweetness alot. I've also found that I need to eat about every 3 hours or I get very hungry. I'm averaging about 1/4 to a 1/3 cup for meal times and then I usually have a cheese stick (very chewed), a SF popsicle or Jello in between. I know my ticker says 13.5 lbs gone but it is actually 21 lbs now (I can't get my ticker to change). Also, don't weigh yourself every day. I was doing that and freaked when I gained 2. I waited a week and the 2 were gone plus 1. Keep your chin up....it will get better. Try to keep in mind it is only a matter of time before you can eat "real" food. There is an end in sight.

I had both done and I didn't know any different. I had some shoulder pain for about 5 days and was told that part of that was the gas they put in you but also from the hernia repair and it affecting nerves. I only took prescription pain meds for 3 days (and only a couple times a day) and was off all meds at 5 days. The heating pad was my best friend for about a week though.

I would love the answer to this also. I hate my CPAP! I fight with it every night! :thumbup:

I know I shouldn't have done this probably when I was on liquids but I couldn't stand the sweet stuff so I boiled skinless, boneless thighs in bullion broth with no yolk egg noodles and then pureed it so it was liquid. It was so good!!!! and satisfying too. Hope that helps!

I was just banded on 3/13. I took vicodin for 3 days, tylenol during the day and tylenol PM for a couple more nights and that was it. I was still sore but the pain meds were starting to make me feel bad so I just quite. I'm not 10 days out and very little, if any pain. Good luck on your journey! Carla

I just got back from my 6 day post-op visit. I've lost 13.5 pounds!!! :thumbup: My surgeon said my weight loss was "stellar". I know I'm only on liquids but what a BOOST!!! I just can't believe it!!! :thumbup:

Socalbandit, I'm not really concerned about going out to eat. I know what my limits are right now since I am still on liquids. I can have a cup of soup and be happy. So far I have not felt hunger so I'm not worried about having a pity party. The point of going out was being able to socialize and have my family realize that I can still be part of a "normal" social situation. I really don't feel that going out to eat is any different than staying home and cooking for my family. How much closer and intimate can you get to food than hands on? There is much more opportunity and temptation right there than ordering a controlled portion off a menu. Not cooking for my family is not an option so I have been cooking for them and making my own dinner. I could be having a pity party everyday but I choose not to. This was my choice and I have to adjust. My point in my post was to point out to Deenagal that her situation (as mine was today) is most likely an "emotional" hunger versus "true" hunger. Believe me, I am self-pay so there is no way I am going to screw this up whether it be cooking at home or going to a restaurant but I am not going to stop my social life either because of this band. I have to learn how to live in the "real" world.

I am on day 8 and today I am having head hunger. I understand what you are saying about support (or lack of it). I'm going to vent for a minute since your post kind of goes along with what I am feeling right now. My mother had asked me if I could eat out if they went out for Easter dinner. I told I could as long as the restaurant serves Soup as I am still on liquids and that I would enjoy going out since I have been nowhere in the last 8 days. Well today she calls me and says, oh we've decided we are cooking at home so bring what you can eat. WTF. If I wanted to eat the same stuff I've been eating for 8 days, I would just stay home! This is all because my sister (it always has to be about her) doesn't want to eat out. I'm so angry that I just want to eat! The whole point of my vent is you are probably experiencing the same thing. You can't let them get the best of you. You did what was right for you, not them. My husband seems to think that my mother doesn't like the fact that I got banded because she has an emotion investment in my being heavy (of course my sister and brother are both thin) and she is threatened by the fact that I am trying to get healthy and thinner. Do you think your family is possibly the same? How do they treat you otherwise? Were they nice to you before or derrogatory (sp?)? Anyhow, don't let the head hunger make you think you are really hungry. I have yet to get really hungry and I am struggling today knowing that it is head (or heart) hunger. We have to stop using food as a comfort. Comfort yourself with the brave decision you made to make a better you!!! Please keep thinking that and you will feel much better. Also know now that your post has helped someone else because as I'm speaking to you, it is also easing the pain and betrayal I'm feeling from my own mother. Thank you....and keep your chin up...it does get better and easier :shades_smile:

Suzanne, I was at the meeting. I saw you but was too chicken to say anything. I was sitting in the front row in the pink sweater. :embaressed_smile: