4evrwild

Ah yes, Verset was what I had too, very good stuff indeed!!

I'll tell you what my Dad told me and it's a good one really, lol "it's not brain surgery" and you know what, that really helped me. Before you go into surgery you will be given something to help you relax and feel real good(just can't remember the name of it right now, but it was nice), trust me!!! You'll be happy your starting your new life. You've made a good decision, now trust in what you decided to do Good luck to you and your new journey to living again!!!! Think positive cuz that can only bring positive things to you.

That's perfectly normal to be scared, I was too cuz I've never had surgery before. Go to the meeting, the more info you have, the better. And, it will be helpful to meet others doing this!!! I got more nervous as my surgery date approached thinking all kinds of bad things, thank goodness I have a family who supported me and helped wipe away those fears. I would be more scared of being overweight the rest of my life and all the health risks that come with being overweight! I can enjoy doing things that I have not been able to do for many years. Believe me, the posiitves out way the negatives by a long shot!!! It's normal to be nervous or excited. It's waaaaay exciting to know that you will start a new life if you go thru with surgery. Think positively!!!! It's very mental too, and if you need extra mental support there are tons of ways to get it, from this forum, from the people you may meet that have surgery on the same day as you or from a mental health Dr I made three wonderful new friends who had surgery on the same day as me and we count on each other by keeping in touch; it really helps!!! Good luck to you, keep us posted:biggrin:

Scared of going to the seminar or scared that you may actually go thru with the surgery. I wouldn't freak myself out just for going to a pre-op seminar. You can always change your mind till your just about to go in and have surgery and those seminars help you understand more and will also give you a chance to ask questions and meet other people who are as interested as you are in this surgery. It's a positive thing, so just go and take it all in Lap Band surgery isn't brain surgery, and I wouldn't change a thing, very happy I did this, it's changed my life for the better!

Congrats!!! It is definately worth it and to have a 2nd chance at a new life!!! Keep us posted!

I too had the same thots. Food had become one of my best friends only that best friend wasn't looking out for my best interests! My band is now my best friend and we look out for each other, lol. I have felt in the past that I was addicted to food and it was very much a mental hurdle for me to resist the temptation of food. I was also an emotional eater and that behavior to eat could be triggered by just about anything, especially stress. The thing that is saving me right now is that I have always known in the back of my mind that I was ruining my quality of life and above all else I needed help in a big way, hence my decision to go for the band! As surgery date came closer I got more nervous but then I realized I was finally taking the drastic measures I needed to further better myself to live life to it's fullest once again. As for how I feel today, regardless of what may happen in the future, I feel this is the only decision I could have made and I am a much happier and healthier person already!!!!! Good luck to you all who are having those thots as most of us who have already had surgery had at one time Food will always be an issue but an issue that I am developing tools to conquer! Your new life begins after surgery, at least mine sure did!

Oh yes! You had surgery, they had to cut thru muscle etc, so naturally your tummy is sore and likely very gassy. Going over bumps in the car on the way home really hurt but in just a few short day's it was amazing how much better my stomach felt. It felt like I did way too many situps and was so sore I couldn't move. Getting out of bed was a real treat, not! Just take it easy, I didn't even feel well enough to do anything but sit in the recliner for 4 days. In a week you'll feel like a new person :confused_smile:

I felt the same thing. I think it was because for the first 4 days my blood pressure was elevated big time do to the trauma of surgery, anesthesia, etc. I couldn't even drink a whole cup of broth till maybe the 3rd as well. This is all normal. Just try and relax and take things at your own pace. You had surgery and there is swelling, the swelling will go down lil' by lil' and you'll be able to tolerate more. Walking around helps get the gas out faster, if you can stand it. The gas really made me hurt so I didn't move around as much as I probably should have, but it really does help!! Good tidings for your new life!!!! :confused_smile:

Did they tell you what they were scanning for? What did they make you do? I didn't have this.

For me it depends on who the person is and the situation I'm in. I personally don't think my business is everyone else's but at the same time I am not ashamed of having the band. If the person is someone close to me or if it is to help someone else then I go for telling them but not every person I have a casual acquiantence with needs to know about me. I tend to be a private person. This probably doesn't help, but there you have it :confused_smile:

I lost 20lbs. in my first 2 weeks. It will slow down once you start eating some more solid food like in the mushy stage. I was concerned about gallstones but apparently my rapid weight loss isn't worrying my Dr. just yet, and it sure as heck isn't bothering me, lol.

I must confess as well! Now that I have my new digital scale that is quite in sync with the scale at the Dr.'s office I do weigh myself every a.m. when I first get out of bed, after I hit the head (bathroom) that is. I agree it can be an obsession but I don't feel like I'm obsessing over it. I do keep track of the #'s and it helps to stay on track. I consider my true weight to be every two weeks since that has been my schedule meeting with the Dr. I'm doing so well that he doesn't want to see me for 6 weeks( I guess that means I'm currently in the green zone), now I just may freak out for not getting my Dr. Gorgeous fix and weigh in but I think I'll just take it one step at a time and see how it goes.

The safe amount of food we can consume at any one meal is still a little confusing to me. My main concern is I don't want to eat too much and stretch my pouch. Am I correct in assuming that if I consume a 1/2 cup of food that that portion is ok? I'm talking more solid food, not food like cottage cheese or yogurt. My dietician had guidelines for the mushy stage and later but to tell the truth it still isn't very clear for me. I also eat 2 oz. of meat and no more than 3 oz. meat at any one meal. Does anyone have any real guidelines to follow from their Dr. or nutritionist? Also I need to visit the dietician again to figure out how many servings in each food group I should have. I'm basically eating 800-1000/day and I'm very satisfied with that. Thanks for any input:thumbup:

I feel like a 1/2 cup is quite satisfying for me and depending on how solid the food is or isn't, I can eat a lil more or less. I just get confused because in reading the mylapband.com it says that your pouch can only hold 2 oz. or 1/4 cup. So I hear/read different things from different sources and I just want to make sure I'm not eating too much to stretch the pouch. Dr. doesn't really say one way or other to me either, like I can't nail him down on it which kinda bothers me a little bit.

1) allowing me to do what I haven't been able to do on my own, nevermind the years I spent trying.............and ultimately failing. 2)the band is my new best buddy, not food :leaving: 3)finally back to doing things that I haven't been able to do in years and loving every minute of it!!! I've always exercised and now I can do so w/o so much pain. My outlook is so much more positive and I feel like a new person already. It's a wonderful and vefy helpful feeling to know that I will actually meet my goals this time around, and in many more ways than just weight loss :sneaky: Oh, and having to buy new clothes cuz the old ones just don't do it anymore. Gotta love trying on new clothes!

My dietician told me the same thing and my surgeon told me the opposite. I think I will go with what my surgeon said over the dietician any day. He said drinking caffiene, like coffee, was fine. The dietician said it could erode the band, what? I think if we try to focus on moderation in our choices we should be ok. We can't stop living life now can we, lol. A lil' caffiene here and there won't kill us or the band, IMHO :wink:

Now I wish I didn't read this post, cuz I so liked the SB frozen entrees! Now I won't be able to stomach them. I feel like gagging right now!! I would definately notify .............as to whom and how far you take it, that's up to you. Still gagging.......................

That's very interesting, thanks for that. I can totally understand that excess skin could get rather depressing. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, long ways to go but I can see the goal line now at least! Once you get your TT that will likely be another several lbs. lost. I worry bout the extra cost but if I start saving now.........................maybe it will make it easier!! Anything is worth it if makes you truly feel better about yourself I say!

At the time of surgery I had 2.4cc in my band and I've had just the one fill so I'm up to 3.4cc. My surgeon said to me at my last appt on 5-14, "Your a rock star!" So he doesn't want to see me for 6 wks unless I feel I need to come in. So, I'm very happy with my weight loss so far and I feel so much better. I may need one of those TT's next year too, we shall see. I thot you had to wait a year or two to see if your skin would remold to your new bod? You are definately inspiring and it seems you too have a very positive and fun attitude, I wish you well :woot:

I was miserable for 3 or 4 days post op just cuz I was sore, that's from cutting thru muscle and painful gas in the stomach and back which is to be expected. The best remedy for the gas pain is walking around if you can tolerate it. Soon you'll be feeling like new tho :thumbup: I have 5 incisions, 3 of which are very small, bout 1/4 inch. Two are larger, one where the band went in and the largest, lil' over an inch where the port went in. I think there is a range of how many incisions, depends on the Dr. and the person, yours sound within range and like someone else said, a small price to pay. :thumbup:

Yup, I'm 9 weeks post-op and can pretty much tolerate most foods. I have PB'd with chicken but it was my fault. I just don't want to stretch my pouch cuz once it's stretched it's stretched. The dietician said that at about 6 mos. down the road you could probably eat/tolerate half of a sandwich and at about a year a Lean Cuisine size meal. I haven't tried either. But a 1/2 sandwich seems like it could be doable now, just haven't tried it and really don't want to. Seems like my calories are in line with yours! You are inspiring, good luck on the TT! Thanks for sharing!

Believe me, we all have our difficult times as old habits are hard to break. You need to develope a "can do" attitude:thumbup: I know you can do it! Be sure you are getting enough Protein as that does a lot to stave off real hunger. Try to busy yourself with other things to keep your mind off food. I know it's easier said than done but you will eventually find what will work best for you and you now have a great tool to helpp you do it!! Good luck and stay motivated. There is a lot of power in positive thinking!!

On the diabetes front, I have a fellow lapband friend who went thru the surgery on the same day as me. She has had diabetes her whole adult life. Since surgery and loosing 25+ lbs. her sugars are already significantly better and once she gets to her goal she will likely be free of insulin. I"m very excited about this for her. Her specialist is very impressed with her progress! The outlook is very promising for her! I've never made a better decision in my life by choosing the Lap Band. I feel a 100% better already in just 2 short months and I'm now down 40lbs! I wish you the best of luck getting started in your new life!

I too have done this! When I have to be gone out all day I try and take some Protein with me in case I need it to hold me over. I find I do what you have done cuz I've gone too long in between meals. I know it's a no no but it happens so always try and keep something with you. Lots of good posts here! I don't eat and watch TV at the same time anymore either because that leads to mindless eating and I can't afford to go back to that bad habit. I think it's so true that we really have to have all our focus for our meal and be conscious about what and how we are eating. I don't like getting stuck but until I totally get with the new way of doing things on autopilot, I just have to concentrate a bit more and hopefully one day I won't be in such a rush :redface:

My first fill I got stuck with the needle about 4 times. The 4th didn't feel so good but I'm used to needles by now. Not very fond of them but we gots to do what we gots to do. My stomach wall is too thick to feel the port so after 4 tries my Dr. took me down to get the floroscopy so he could see where exactly my port was and then fill me. Now I'm drawing a circle with a marker around that spot so next time there will be no guestimating :thumbup: Not finding it is not only frustrating to the patient but I think to the Dr. as well. The first 3 pokes were tolerable, it's a thin needle and it's not 3 feet long like some would say, lol.