athenean

Hi all, I am booked to get the Orbera inserted next week and I have mixed emotions! Excited, nervous, anxious!! I would love to hear from you and if you have any tips for me pre and post insertion. What has worked best for you? I'm trying to equip myself with enough knowledge to go into this with as much info as possible. Thanks for your time and support!

Hi all, how are you all doing? I am currently overseas on business but I thought I would check-in with everyone. I am doing great and happy to report I have lost 9kgs (19 pounds!) in just under two weeks! With a low-ish BMI to start with I am completely stunned by the results! I've feeling fantastic and the only thing I can not eat is lettuce! For some reason it just kills my stomach. Discomfort is about a 2, no pain, no nausea, no smelly burps. I am vegetarian though so I think that helps as I don't have any meat sitting on the balloon. I am eating as normal but can not manage more that 600 calories a day. I am having Protein shakes which are helping. But generally I am very happy. I also managed the 14 hour flight to Dubai no problem and am currently in 50 degree heat and managing just fine! Not lightheaded or anything. I have been so blessed and I hope all of you have as positive an experience.

that's my concern.. i hope i have taught myself a new lifestyle of healthy eating and once the balloon is removed not go back to my old, bad habits. my balloon was placed on july 7th.. as of today, i have lost 9lbs. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App That is my concern too!!! Let's hope we learn some good habits. I know eating had become a bit of a recreational activity for me! Fingers crossed for all of us!! You're doing really great!

I've had it in for a week and have lost 5.7kgs which works out to 12.5 lbs. I must add that I think a lot of that weight was all the IV fluids and stuff because I came out the hospital 2.7kgs more than what I weighed when I went in. Still thrilled with the results so far!

Congrats and welcome! I had mine placed the day before you. I did some walking a few days ago and it seemed fine. I also walked yesterday briskly and was fine, didn't feel more uncomfortable than usual. I have to admit the thought of heavy cardio does not appeal to me just yet. I plan to pick it up a bit in two weeks! Good luck!!

No he didn't! I think my Doctor is a hippie I have called and left a message. 60-80 grams of Protein seems doable.

Ok, spoke to the Dr and he said that the first week or two the calories can be very low as long as you have some protein and are keeping fluids down. After two weeks he suggests a 1000 calorie goal per day. I could normally finish that watching one show on Netflix....so this should be interesting!!

This is my first week with the Orbera so I have not learnt much. But I can say so far that I have learnt that wants and needs are two very different things!! I see what can fuel my body and it is scary that it doesn't include chocolate! Big life lesson here!

That's amazing! Ok, I better find out. I'm really short so I am sure it will be pretty low.

Wow, I would never be able to get that down! I can see why you are struggling! I'm hitting maximum 400 calories a day and that is pushing it! I have no hunger at all but I have been taking Protein shakes to keep up the protein intake. I better call my Doctor, wouldn't want to starve myself (ha ha ha!!) Never thought I'd say that in a sentence before!

I wasn't given a minimum calorie limit? What is yours? I think my Doctor is a bit free-range!!

Thanks all will do that... Hope you are doing well? I'm full of energy! Very exciting times!!

Thanks! I already am 5 days into it I am a bit clogged up today. What did you take for that? Can I take senna?

How are you feeling xingmaltese? I phoned my doctor and he said since I have not been sick he has moved me to soft food already. He wants me eating solids on Monday, if I feel like it of course. I managed a bit of Greek yoghurt with oat bran and it went down well with a few sips of coffee!

So far so good for me!! I cleaned the house and even managed a 30 minute walk yesterday! I'm down 4kgs from coming out the hospital and 2kgs from pre-insertion weight! I'm losing about 0.6kgs a day but I am sure that will slow down! So far I'm not weak at all - a very positive experience. Except for the burps!! Wow the burps!

Ok, so a bit of an update. It has been 36 hours since insertion and still feeling very well. Last night I woke up at 2am and had a little bit of a vomit, nothing much at all. The cramps have been on and off but nowhere near the pain of something like a contraction. I have not been hungry at all and barely managed a whole protein shake all day. I have had some tea and sips of water but not much will go down. I have even managed to clean the house and do some dishes. So all in all very good!

Hi all, I'm doing fantastic!!! I know I shouldn't be saying this but I think I built it up to be such a scary thing that now that I am not feeling so bad I am so relieved. Here is my story for anyone that wants to know what I did for Orbera: 6;30am - Admitted into Hospital 8:00am - Met doctor and anaesthetist 8:30am - They administered the sedation 9:30am - I woke up with a big smile on my face, didn't feel a thing. My throat was a bit sore and my lips were dry but other than that I felt amazing and had a good chat with the nurse. I even had to ask if they had done the procedure as I felt no different. Even sat on my phone messaging family to say everything went ok. 9:30am - 10:30am - I sat up as I was getting bored and they administered two lots of IV fluids 10:30am - They offered me some liquid food, I opted for some milky tea (I drank it with a spoon as not to have too much), I had half a cup and then a few licks of an icelolly. I felt only marginally queazy after this but I held it down and the nurses were very happy for me to go home. All my vitals were fine. 11:00am - I was discharged!! So very very pleasant! 11:30am - Walking to the car I got a slight wave of nausea and felt a lot of spit in my mouth. I used the barf bag they gave me but really it felt like some excess saliva in the mouth and not vomit at all. There was no wretching whatsoever. I then came home and lay in bed and had three sips of chicken broth and a few sips of a protein shake. I'm a bit uncomfortable and every now and then I burp, but genuinely all very manageable. I have only had one painful cramp but other than that all good. Before I had the protein shake I had this empty feeling in my stomach like I was extremely hungry but then a queazy feeling of fullness - it was weird, but a few sips of protein shake sorted that out. I wanted to add a few sidenotes: I have a very high threshold for pain and managed all my labours painfree (even the one that lasted 36 hours!). On my scale the pain so far with the Orbera is honestly no more than a 1-2 but I am sure some people handle pain differently. Also I had awful morning sickness during all my pregnancies and miscarriages (9 in total), it was terrible, I was unable to get out of bed most mornings and I was miserable, I had to be hospitalised several times for IV drips. So I expected this to be worse than the morning sickness and in all honestly so far it is a walk in the park in comparison to pregnancy. I know it is early days so it might not stay this way. But I thought I would post my positive experience so far. I'm holding fluids down very well but not hungry at all. I'm sipping water every now and then and then some broth. My tips would be to take lip balm with you as your lips get very dry and don't eat anything remotely solid at the hospital. The nurse wanted me to try something a bit thicker after the tea and icelolly and I flat out refused. I think that is why I have not puked yet. I'm also completely pathetic and got on the scales when I went to the bathroom and I am up 2kgs! I know its all the IV fluids and I believe the Orbera itself should have a fair bit of liquid in it which adds to the weight gain. So I guess that will be very normal. Just preparing you all! Onwards and Upwards! Hope this helps whoever wants to know...

13 pounds is amazing!!!! Wow!!! Good for you!!! Keep it up!

The Gastric Balloon is not considered MAJOR surgery.

I'm going in for balloon insertion soon and I wanted to just say that my dietician was much more relaxed about the 'program', she said you need to follow your body and if you feel like you're ready to move on to a bit more solid food you can. Everyone reacts differently. However, she said whatever you eat you need to follow the 20-20-20-20 rule. You chew your food 20 times before swallowing, you then count to 20 slowly before you take your next bite and you do not eat for more than 20 minutes and finally you do not drink Water until 20 minutes after the meal. Her suggestions for transition foods were: mushed avocado with cottage cheese low fat cream cheese with a bit of stevia scrambled egg with cottage cheese greek yoghurt with a pinch of cinnamon mashed banana with a small amount of nut butter thick butternut Soup She even suggested some overcooked cous-cous added to any of the above for a bit of texture. Finally she said that a lot of the baby weaning books have great recipes for kids to wean. Books by Annabel Karmel have some great, tasty options (I remember making them for my kids and now I plan to make them for me hehehe) Hope that helps give you some variation!

Looks like you are doing so well. Sounds like you have followed the guidelines beautifully. Have you dared to get on the scales yet? I've been on the liquid diet for the past 24 hours and starving!!! How ridiculous am I?! Imagine I were shipwrecked somewhere...already weak at 24 hours in, I wouldn't stand a chance at survival!! I've got just under 48 hours until I go in. What sort of anaesthetic do they give?

Ok all! I'm on my liquid diet....nearly 24 hours...I'm starving!!! 48 hour countown!

Hi all! I am a week away from my insertion date with mixed emotions. I'm excited, anxious and nervous all rolled into one. I was wondering if you have had experience with the Orbera if you could give me any helpful tips pre/post insertion? What should be on my shopping list? What should I throw away?! I am looking forward to the support and the adventure ahead.... Thanks Elle

hmm, thanks for this! I will have to see how I feel. Have you thrown up at all?? I think you've had a pretty good experience? Are you cramping?

A big question here. It looks like I will have to take a 14 hour flight one week after insertion for a business trip. My client has had an urgent issue I need to attend to. Do you think flying one week into insertion is going to be comfortable? The doctor said I would be fine but he hasn't had a balloon in him so I like to ask people that have been through it!