JennBand08

Christy, I was just reading another post and they went off on a newbie for doing this. I am not going to go off on you, but I would go back to liquids or whatever stage you are supposed to be on. There are guidelines for a reason, eating solids to soon can do serious damage to your band. And the damage might not be apparent for months down the line. Please try to be more careful. If you are feeling weak, call your doctors office and ask them what you can have.

Hi Sandy, I am 5 weeks out and must say I am feeling fantastic. I have no pain, no regrets. Occasionally if I wear pants with a high waist I will feel a little soreness, but it's really mild. I haven't lost as much weight as I had hoped by now, but I'm learning to focus on things besides the # on the scale!! I fight the urge to weigh myself every day. I am starting to exercise more and just can't say enough about how good I am feeling after having this surgery. I also haven't gotten 'stuck' or PB'd yet either.. KNOCK ON WOOD. I am extremely careful as I have major fear of throwing up... always have. Let us know any other questions you have and we'll try to answer.. at least I will.

It was uncomfortable but not unbearable. Heating pad helped considerably. I was worried about it too, and looking back, I'm glad that didn't stop me from surgery. And I've talked to alot of people that never even had the pain at all. So.. you won't necessarily have the shoulder pain. Maybe you will be lucky :biggrin:

76 pounds is great!! try not to focus on the total amount of weight you want to lose, but at what you have accomplished thus far. And not every victory is tied to that # on the scale either. I'm sure losing 76 pounds you've noticed clothes feeling looser and are starting to be able to do things you couldn't do before. These message boards are great for support, but it can also be discouraging when you see others losing weight faster. I've fallen into that trap myself. I've been losing at a much slower rate, and so finally decided just to not get on the scale for a while. I remind myself that the goal is to be healthier, and I am, and so are you!! Like the other posters have said.. it's not a race.. you're on the right track. Keep your chin up and keep on making good choices!!

Same exact thing is happening to me!! Someone on here advised me to up my protein and increase my water intake, so I am giving it a try. I'm down 2lbs this week already.. and I hadn't lost anything in 3 weeks!!. I don't think I was eating enough and my body was holding on to every pound! Soo frustrating! Let me know if t his helps you too..

Hi.. I'm in CT. I was banded by Dr. Floch @ Norwalk Hospital. I'm 6 weeks out and losing weight verrrrrry slowly. :: sigh:: Would love to hear from others that had a slow start but ended up losing.

I had the shoulder pain quite badly as well. Walking does help.. but when it was really bad I didn't even want to move. Heating pad arched around my shoulder helped. GasX strips helped as well. Unfortunately I still get the shoulder gas pain occasionally( esp. if I overeat) , although the Dr. says that's rare.. lucky me! . I'm 6 weeks out.. I'm hoping eventually it will be gone forever!!

Hi.. I had a similar addiction to Pepsi. What did it for me was the pre op diet. I had to do Optifast for 2 weeks in order to shrink my liver prior to surgery. Not all docs use optifast, but mine did. It was really hard, but I had read on here about someone who woke up from surgery only to be told her band wasn't placed because her liver was too big. So I wasn't going to cheat on that diet and risk waking up without a band. And then after getting the band you can't have carbonation.. so my addiction was broken. I won't tell you it was easy, I was in tears a few times on that pre op diet and the week right after surgery, but I know this is what I wanted. You have to decide whether you can give up Coke. Talk to your surgeon about this.. about what his preop requirements are, and your concerns. Good luck! I'm 5 weeks out from surgery now and feeling wonderful. I only miss Pepsi occasionally now, but not enough to take a chance: A) being in pain. or damaging my pouch.

Count me in.. I've read about the couch to 5K before but was daunted by the keeping track of time and all. I just went to the podcast site and am listening to the music. I like this! I am sure I can do this! I even looked up 5K races in my area.. holy moly there are alot for being November/December. (I'm in CT) I think I will wait til Springtime to actually run one.. I'm kind of a wuss! Will we just keep posting here for support? or what? Maybe we need a name for our running group! Lapjoggers or something, LOL.

Melissa.. if you know it's what you need to do, then do it. Don't let anyone else's opinion sway what you know is right for you. I was roughly the same size as you.. I was banded 9/4 and am down 19 pounds! I'm already in some size 14's and was also a size 18/20 when I started. There will be people that act like you aren't 'big enough' to warrant needing surgery, but who is to say at what point you need it? If you struggle, and there is a tool available to help you, why not go for it? That was my philosophy anyways. I got scared and put off my surgery for a few months and tried one more time to lose the weight on my own.. didn't happen. I was approved for my surgery in May. I called my insurance to find out how long my approval lasted, and they told me six months.. so I took the summer to really think about this.. and then had the surgery on Sept 4th. It's okay to have some doubts, just search your soul and find the answer thats right for YOU-- regardless of what anyone else says.

I had my band on 9/4.. and have only lost 6 lbs since then. It is very discouraging watching so many report weight just falling off of them while I am plugging along trying to eat enough protein and the scale isn't moving. AT ALL. I start mushies today, so I hope the calorie increase will kickstart my metabolism and get things melting off me soon! :: sigh::

Once you schedule surgery, your Dr.'s office will call and 'Pre authorize" your procedure. If it is not covered benefit, you will certainly find out then. But yes.. I agree.. getting the same answer every time you call sounds like its covered.

Good morning! I'm in CT too. I was banded on 9/4/08 by Dr. Neil Floch @ Norwalk Hospital. www.endtheweight.com. They were/are a great practice. Always availabe when I need them! Okay.. so I have a small concern and wonder if this happened to anyone else... On the preop Optifast diet I lost 12 pounds and another 5 in the week after getting banded. But now I've lost nothing since then. I'm walking everyday.. drinking lots of Water.. can't figure it out. All I can think is that it's too much milk in the Protein drinks and its slowed my system??. Maybe once veggies are added and things start moving I'll start showing a loss again. I'm trying not to worry too much about it at this point. My main goal really is just to make sure I am getting enough protein and liquid at this point. I think the rest will just fall into place. Any thoughts?

I have Anthem Bc/Bs of Connecticut and was approved too. My BMI was also 37 with borderline Diabetes and High blood pressure. My PCP wrote a letter saying he thought it was a good idea. I got approved within a week!

The shoulder pain is normal unfortunately. I was banded 9/4 and am still having the pain. Heating pad, GasX and WALKING are the only things that really seem to be reccomended for that. Stomach noises.. oh yes.. mine has been pretty noisey too. If you are having that much trouble with getting down a yogurt, I would stick to liquids. My doc had me stay on clear liquids for the first week anways. I just moved to full liquids, and then will move to mushies next week. But every doctor is different in what they reccomend. Hang in there.. I'm a week out.. it really does get easier!

Anne Mata and Lynn Holmberg. They are both in Norwalk. One is nutritionist and one is a Pyschologist specialing in bariatric concerns.I forget which one is which, lol. I had to see them both preoperatively. Loved them both. Good luck.Message me if you want me to find more information.

Hi everyone! I'm in CT-- down in the southwestern tip! I just had my band placed last week! I had it @ Norwalk Hospital with Dr. Neil Floch. He has been wonderful. He also operates out of St.Vincent's as well. Great office staff too. I'm still on Clear liquids and really looking forward to eating again soon! I miss chewing! Nice to find a local board..

I was banded on Sept. 4th and while I am doing okay now, it was not an easy process. I wasn't going to post, but I want those that haven't gone to know that sometimes it doesn't go as smoothly for everyone. I was in the hospital for 2 nights. Alot of pain. Alot of gas. And I had to be 'unfilled' already. Just having a rough time.. but wanted to check in. I am lookin forward to getting past this stage and on with the weight loss. I don't know how much I've lost yet because my scale is upstairs. Maybe tomorrow I'll conquer them.

I am fairly certain the moodiness is from the liquid diet. I was frantic the other day trying to find my straw.. and yelling at everyone in my house about it.. and then in tears about. I finally went out to my car and got one out of my purse! (still don't know where my straws went, lol) But it is not normal for me to cry over straws!! .. a few more days.. I can't wait! My poor family for having to live with me.. 2 more days of Optifast and 5 days til surgery!! woohoo

I used Splenda Coffee flavors. I added Hazelnut to the vanilla and the chocolate and Mocha flavor to the vanilla. It made them much better. I have 3 more days of shakes to go.. woohoo!! I never thought I'd survive the 2 weeks! Hang in there!!

Hi. I am Jennifer from CT and am being banded September 4th by Dr. Neil Floch @ Norwalk Hospital. < waving >

I'm on the liquid diet phase and just wanted to mention something helpful I found. Splenda has additives made for coffee.. but I've started using them to add to my protein shake. After 3 days, my Optifast shakes started tasting like baby formula < gag> ... So.. I added Hazelnut splenda pack.. and YUM! I just found Mocha as well,and on the box it shows they make it in Caramel too. I found them at Wal-mart.

Hi My name is Jennifer.. I am scheduled to get banded on Thursday September 4th. I'm nervous and excited. I am on day 3 of my liquid pre-op diet. I have one word.. GROSS!! But I'm determined to get through this part so I can shrink my liver and have an easy recovery!! Just wanted to say Hi. Been reading for a while and finally decided to post. Not sure if I even posted in the right area.. LOL. PS... Is there somewhere to add a signature? Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter