hopefulmom25

At about 20 lbs down I started noticing it in my face, feet, and my clothes getting looser. At 32 lbs now, those closest to me can really tell a difference. Those that know me, but aren't really close to me, haven't really noticed yet. But I am at a really high BMI, so 30 lbs off of me doesn't show as much as 30 lbs off of someone with only 100 lbs to lose.

We were banded around the same time ( I was banded on June 11th) and have lost around the same amount. I lost all of mine really fast, in the first 3 weeks after surgery. On week 4, I started exercising 5 times a week, and my weight loss came to a screeching halt. I haven't lost a pound in a couple of weeks despite the healthy eating and exercise.

My focus has turned to pleasure reading (I used to love reading, but didn't read much for 3 years after my daughter was born), and exercising to help replace food. I'm a major boredom, stress, and emotional eater. Unfortuantely, I have noticed a new behavior. When I used to go out grocery shopping or whatever, I would "reward" myself with some type of sweet food item. Now that I can't do that anymore, I find that I am buying a lot of little non-food items to get that same instant happy feeling. I've come home with a million shades of nail polish, and a lot of other crap I don't need, but made me happy at the time of purchase. On the other hand, I have basically ignored myself and my wants for the past 5 years, and now that I'm focusing on myself and taking care of myself maybe that could be why I'm buying little nail polish/hair brush/barret type items for me...

I haven't had my first fill yet, but I have restriction and a very "sensitive" band. I have to chew my food to a liquid consistency, because I've had things get stuck a few times (major ouch). Pre-band I used to looooooove cooked mushrooms in and on everything (pizza, quesadillas, etc). Since I've been on solids, I've tried to eat them and I just can't chew them up until they disintegrate. It's almost like bubblegum. I chew and chew and chew, and it breaks into pieces but never dissolves. Same thing for other fresh vegetables and the skins on lots of fruits. I tried to eat grapes yesterday, and the inside of the grapes chewed up just fine and went down, but the grape skin just would not dissolve. Am I going to have to give up fresh fruits and vegetables forever? Anyone else had this issue?

My doctor said no physical limitations after surgery, we could exercise as much as we want or do whatever. However, his opinion is not the norm. I've heard other doctors say walking is okay, but wait a few weeks before anything more strenuous. Just to be safe, i waited 4 weeks before hitting the gym and doing intense exercise. The only thing I'm not doing yet is ab-work. Not taking any chances with that. I'll wait until after my 6-week checkup.

I had heard before that there was something in green tea that is supposed to raise your metabolism. That being said, I have drank my weight in Lipton Diet Green Tea over the past couple of years, and I never noticed a difference. Actually gained a few pounds...

Yes, I know I'm going to ask my doc about this. I have my six-week checkup and 1st fill scheduled for next week. But, just curious if anyone else has gone through this... Anytime I eat or drink anything, I get a pain in my chest. Right between my boobs. Sometimes it radiates to my back between my shoulder blades. It's a dull ache with sharper stabbing pains. It's not debilitating or anything, but definitely uncomfortable. Has anyone else experienced this? What was the cause of your chest pain? Thanks!

Lap-band surgery is a breeze compared to a c-section. I've had one c-section, and I remember how bad the recovery was. I had myself braced for the same kind of pain after the lap-band surgery, and boy was I pleasantly surprised!

My doc just says 40-50 grams of protein a day is the goal.

I am 5 weeks post op, and I can honestly say I haven't felt true "physical" hunger yet. I stay full all day long. I still eat a few bites of something for the 3 meals a day, just so I can keep my energy up to do my daily stuff. But no actual physical hunger here yet at all. This band is truly amazing. However, there are times that I fight head hunger. I know I'm full, I can feel restriction. But I have to fight the habit of grabbing something to eat out of boredom...

I had that too for the first week or two after surgery (just banded June 11th). Then, mine went away for several weeks. However, I started solid foods last week (week 5 post-op) and it has returned. That squeezing/dull pain in the chest eventually resulting in long, unladylike belches that help relieve it. Sometimes it's hard to burp and get it out though and it just hurts.

I'm 4 weeks post-op, starting week 5 tomorrow (banded June 11th) and I am still feeling restriction. I'm on pureed, I start solids tomorrow, and with half a cup of food I am very full. I'm also not really hungry in between meals (mostly fighting head hunger). Of course, I am happy about this! But, I've heard that with everyone else the swelling goes down and restriction goes away until the fills begin. So my question, am I just lucky or can my stomach still be swollen like after surgery?

I was completely self-pay too. $18,000 + interest of money we didn't have... My surgery was a week and a half ago on June 11th... And it was WORTH IT! This past Wednesday, when I weighed in for my one week since surgery weigh-in, I had lost 20 lbs! I'm now able to wear my wedding ring again, and I feel so much better.

I lost 7 lbs before surgery, and I weighed last night and I've lost 13 lbs in the week since surgery on June 11th.

So this last week has been a busy week. I had my nutritionist consult at Starbucks. She was nice I guess, but looked at me like I was out of my mind when I said I was going to self-pay. She literally stopped talking, put her papers down, her eyes got big, her mouth hung open a little, and she just stared at me for what felt like 3 hours. I know a lot of people (my husband and mother-in-law...) don't understand why I would go that far in debt for this, but I guess I can't really expect them to understand. They haven't lived their whole lives like this. Feeling like an outsider all the time. And now that I'm older (ripe old age of 25), and heavier, the daily physical pain, lack of energy, not being able to really be "me." My heart breaks when I can't play with my daughter more than a couple of minutes without being exhausted and winded. She deserves better than that, and I deserve to be able to be the kind of mom I want to be. Ah well, I'm rambling... So I had the nutrition consult. Took maybe 30-40 minutes. She had the nerve to drink Starbucks in front of me. I've cut Starbucks out cold turkey. I almost asked her if I could just take a sniff of her coffee. But that would have been weird... Then Thursday I had my first appointment with the surgeon's office. $150 to watch a video explaining the lap-band surgery . That was pretty much it. They weighed me, and I found out I weigh 5 lbs more than I thought I did. I thought I was at 405, but no, I am at 410. Sigh. Then I had to watch that video for an hour. Then, the lady gave me a paper with how much the cost of everything will be and the loan amount I need to take out. Yipee. Stupid employer exclusion... Friday, I had an appointment with my family doctor. I love him. He is so supportive of this decision. He had his letter recommending me for the lap-band surgery already written and typed up before he even came in the room. He also ordered the bloodwork, x-rays, EKG, upper GI, etc that the surgeon's office needs. I was so happy that he ordered it for me. That means my insurance will probably cover those tests since he ordered them, instead of my lap-band doctor. He completely understood and was very happy to do so. He said that he has several patients who have had the lap-band and been very successful. One lady was actually around my current weight, and is now down in the low 200's. He reminded me to be saving my money for plastic surgery as I lose the weight. The most interesting of all the pre-op appointments on my checklist, was the psych eval. It was on Friday too, after the family doc appointment. The psychologist/psychiatrist was very nice, and really funny. He cursed like a sailor and had really funny stories to tell (including one story about a man that liked to have sex while wearing his CPAP machine :thumbup:). He picked at my brain a little, but I think he could tell I'm ready for this surgery and fully aware of the physical & non-physical risks. There was only one thing that stumped me, and I've been thinking about it ever since. He said he has lots of patients that have been banded and aren't successful with it. They either don't lose much weight at all, don't lose any weight, gain weight, etc. Basically, the band just does not work for them, usually because they aren't sticking to the program, exercising, etc. He asked me, what about me makes me different from any of them. I told him that I am super-motivated and I'm going to do my very best. He replied that that's how they all felt in the beginning too. That kind of hit me hard. There are lots of bandsters that were just as motivated as I currently am with all the intentions to do everything right and lose all the weight, but they failed at it. What is going to make me different? I didn't know the answer to this and I couldn't answer him. I still don't know the answer to this. I wish now that I had thought to ask him if he had any suggestions of what could make me different from them. This question is kind of getting to me. What is going to make me different? So the only thing I've got left on my checklist is my upper GI stuff. I think that's usually done at a hospital. Someone is supposed to call me for a date for that. Even though I don't want the surgery until the last week of May or the first week of June (so DH, the teacher, will be out of school and can help out with our 2 year old), I feel so relieved to have pretty much everything done and out of the way.

So I was banded the 11th, I'm 4 days post op. For the past few nights, since the surgery, I have been dreaming about food... I am not hungry during the day, or anything. I had my first Protein shake today, and I feel like I've been to a buffet. But at night, there are pizzas, sandwiches, cheese cubes, and brownies dancing through my dreams... Last night I dreamed I was in some kind of food court with different little restaurants and a cheese stand. I could see the food and taste it. I dreamed that I actually ate some of it, and then panicked because I remembered I had a band and wasn't sure how much I could eat. Very weird... :cursing:

Congratulations!!!! We were banded the same day. Best of luck to you on your weight loss journey. :cursing:

Yay! I'm so glad your surgery went so smooth, and with so little pain! Mine was the same way. I've had a c-section before, and before the surgery I was preparing myself for that level of pain after the banding. But much to my surprise, it is MUCH more tolerable than a c-section. The pain was not near what I had expected.

It will be worth it. I'm exactly 4 days post op too, banded the 11th. I'm still in pain too, and not hungry at all. But when I look at my husband and daughter, I know this is going to be all worth it... Find whatever it was that helped you decide to have the surgery in the first place, and remember why you are going through this. This time next year you will probably be wondering how you ever lived without your band.

I'd say Jello is safe. My doc considers it part of the clear liquid diet, because it melts going down your throat and turns into a clear liquid. I wouldn't try eating any real food though. Your stomach is still healing, and needs this time to rest. You wouldn't want any complications. Today is day 4 for me, and my doc says I can start full liquids. I did my first Protein drink today and I am FULL. If your doc has you on full liquids yet, maybe try a Protein Drink?

I'm right there with you. The sharp pains are especially bad in my chest. I agree that it's gas. Hope it goes away quickly!

My name is Amanda. I'm a 25 year old stay at home mom to a 3 year old. I also babysit a couple of kids on the side. I had my daughter a month after I graduated from college, but plan to start my teaching career once she starts kindergarten. I like to read and do digital scrapbooking.

So today I went and weighed at my surgeon's office. I've lost 7 lbs. Was hoping for a little more, but I'll take what I can get. :thumbup: Then, I went and did pre-admission registration, so I won't have to do all of that in the morning. They did another EKG, some bloodwork, some paperwork, and I handed them my loan check. So now it's really here. Surgery is in the morning! I can't believe it. I am so excited. :behindsofa: I'm also very nervous.:grouphug: I know it's going to hurt. I mean, it's surgery. I'm not looking forward to having pain. But I'm so excited to be starting my new life with my band!

Yep, my stomach wasn't right for the rest of the evening. I even threw up (sorry TMI) as I was leaving the hospital right after the Upper GI.

I'm going to call and ask my surgeon's office about this, but I thought I'd get some other people's opinions and experiences too. My surgeon says no swimming or submersion in Water (except for a shower) for 3 weeks after the surgery. Well, at the end of 2 weeks after my surgery, we are taking a family trip to visit my inlaws. They have an in-ground pool in their back yard. They have a copper thing (?) that cleans the water, so there's no chlorine or chemicals in the water. I was really looking forward to swimming in the pool with my 3 year old. :eek: How long did your doc recommend to not swim after your surgery?