ratcat2

Mine was sept 14. First fill oct 26

When was your surgery?

Man, what a shame. Was hopeful.

Hi all. Banded 9/14! Notice fewer banders also. Glad to see some live people!!!! Hope all are doing well! I experienced extreme discomfort on left side. Had read it was likely gas from the co2 that had traveled up into my shoulder and neck. At post op with dr- he said not likely. More likely it was nerve pain (which it felt like!) coming from my diaphragm (had paraesophogeal hiatal hernia repair at same time.) Pain coming from Phrenic nerve that manifests in the neck and shoulder because the nerve starts in neck and runs down to diaphragm. I did have some bloaty gassy pain in my abdomen, but it resolves about a week after surgery. Nerve pain is also mostly gone.

For me (lapband) 1-2oz: clear liquid days 1-4 Full liquids days 5-14 Puréed foods days 15-21 Soft foods days 22 - until first fill (6 weeks after surgery date) First Fill- back in full liquids for 2 days After that: normal healthy diet of 1/2c

I know it's been months since you posted this, but I had my band 9/14/17. The doctor said when I go for my first fill in 3ish more weeks that they will give me a card to present to be able to order off the kids menu. Not sure there's really anything we could eat off the kids menu though! Usually it's Mac and cheese, chicken fingers, and all that bad stuff.

Hey Pastor Doug! Music Minister Diana here! (Just thought I'd throw that in there since we are both serving our Lord and Savior through ministry!) I love the Premier shakes; well, the caramel and strawberries and cream anyway. Have you tried adding the PB2 to your chocolate shake yet? If so, how was it and how much did you add?

Happened to think of my favorite way to cook a flavorful soft cooked scrambled egg! Add a quick small splash of skim milk and break up wedge of whatever flavor low cal laughing cow you like (I like Asiago). Wisk it all together, and viola! A great soft scrambled egg with little bites of creamy flavor!

Hi all. Just had surgery September 14. Going good. Being that I am 9 days out and still on full liquids for yet another week....just curious how others are doing at this stage. 1) How much weight have you lost since surgery? I've lost 9lbs in the first 9 days. That's pretty good to me! 2) What diet stage are you at? I'm on full liquids (or liquids, cream based soups and mushy foods as I like to call it). 3) Did anyone have hiatal hernia repair with theirs?

No my doctor won't add liquid to my band for 4 more weeks. It will be 6 weeks from date of surgery. After the fill, full liquids again for two days, then a normal diet! I can't wait. I've been managing then 2oz (1/4c) diet, but I will be glad to go to a 1/2c and have some normal foods again. My family loves Mexican food. That has been SO HARD to go in there and drink chicken soup broth (leaving the good stuff) and watching them pork out on chips and all the yummy foods. That being SAID....I'm doing good with my strength to stay the course. I've had plenty of that food in my life and I see where it's gotten me!!! As for the scale, I get excited to step on it every day. For me it's an accountability measure, and if I don't lose a pound for a couple days, I will lose two the next time. Every person is different with that though.

Any brothy strained soup

Too funny. Don't throw your scale out the window! Lol. Hope you replaced it! I have had a day or two where I gained a pound (and don't understand how that's even possible when you don't eat!), but usually in a couple days I lose two. That happened a couple days ago in fact. Just stay true to the process and it all falls in place (I'm talking to myself too!!) I'm curious why your doctor has you on liquids so long?? That seems extreme. Honestly, I'm so over liquids. Can't wait for puréed food come Monday! I'm so ready to move forward. I just crave to get to the point where I can eat a 1/2 cup food at the end of the post-op phase and can focus on normal healthy kind of foods. I get so full now from 1/4c soup, that I wonder if I will ever be able to double that - and then make it real food on top of that. Guess time will tell!!!!

Women too I was told

My approval came fairly quickly. Maybe less than a month.

Hi there So you are a week after me then. Congrats! The clear liquid diet- well honestly it stinks! I only had 3 days on that. I will be in full liquids now until this coming Monday- will go to puréed. The liquids are rough. Full liquids are better because i could add cream soups, SF pudding, High protein yogurt, and some refined grits. Oh and protein shakes. Still- I'm over all that too! Can't wait for puréed! Sick of soups and such. I am not cooking right now- making hubby and son fin for themselves! When I start puréed foods I will start cooking again.

Oh that all sounds awesome! Gonna try it!

Are you my twin? Lol. Your story sounds much like mine (except I don't have an athletic bone in my body....oh, and I'm not from the Caribbean - I was born in Hawaii. Close enough? ☺) I enjoyed reading your comment so much that I had to share it with my mother. She said, why don't you "friend" her and you both be a support system for one another. So, I'm following your posts. Lol. I'd be glad to be your sounding board too if you need one. Sister, I appreciate your comments and honesty. I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what people think too. My second job is as a church music director. I shared with a "select few" the surgery I would be having, and they were all very supportive. I also shared that I didn't want to announce to the entire church I was having surgery (not that they might not figure it out if I lost a bunch of weight). My reason was, I didn't want to be "fly-specked" for success or failure every time I walked in the door. I had my surgery on a Thursday and took off that Sunday to recover. The next Wednesday when I walked in the door, some of my friends were like, "GIRL! It's no secret! It's spread like wildfire and the whole church knows!" At first, I couldn't believe it and felt like I was forced out of hiding or something. It kind of took me by surprise. But by the end of the night, I didn't care who knew. I decided that I had nothing to be embarrassed about, and asked for prayers and support from those who knew. My pastor said....you KNOW women can't keep a secret! Lol. He's right I guess. Anyway, I did this surgery for me; not anybody else. I want to see my son graduate this year, begin a career, get married, and have me some grand babies! This journey is mine and I love me and who I am becoming. Period.

My mother is currently in a nursing home. The staff knows that I had weight-loss surgery. One of them came up to me and asked me why I just didn't lose the weight instead of having surgery. I had previously lost 87 pounds and kept it off for over two years until I allowed a french fry (lol) back into my life, and then the weight started coming back on. I gained all but 20 pounds of it back. The reason I had the surgery is because I want long-term success. I'm tired of the game. I know how to lose weight, but as my bariatric surgeon told me, you have been dieting with a BROKEN shovel. This band will help you do what you already know how to do by giving you a WORKING shovel. Suddenly it all made sense. I think unless you have faced the struggle day in and day out, for week after week, every year after year, that you just don't understand how real the struggle really is. Has anybody else had an encounter like this? If so, what was your response to this person?

Isn't it amazing how much we value these minimal amounts of food when we've gone without! Enjoy!

I haven't gotten sick at all either. I get hungry every couple hours but I can handle that. My biggest problem is trying to drink enough water because of the hiatal hernia, it makes things feel very tight going down right now. I somehow got on a support group for sleevers, and I have been banded, but I believe some of our struggles are similar.

Premier shakes are pretty good! I don't like the chocolate at all, but I like the caramel and strawberries and cream a lot. Try those for sure. They also have 30g of protein in one bottle. Kinda pricey (about $7-$8 for 4), but they are worth it. Online a bit cheaper than place where they are readily available. Honestly, if it weren't for the protein shakes – it would be very hard to get through this initial phase. They have enough protein to take away that real hunger, and in a hurry – if you need that. I realize that I am on a blog for sleevers, and I am a bander, but I believe some of our struggles are the same.