LindaD

I thought of two more things: 1) I am going to buy some fabulously awesome boots this fall/winter without worrying about whether they will fit over my calves!!! 2) When my oldest daughter graduates from college in December, I cannot WAIT to see my ex-husband's face when I walk in. I think I'll plan to arrive a little late just so I can savor the moment. (He used to criticize me for my weight quite a bit.)

I was 224 this morning!!! I'm so excited. I got my first fill a few days ago and I can definitely tell.

I'm 3 weeks post op and moving onto some regular foods. I'm eating healthy, exercising every day, and my calories are reasonable (I haven't had a fill yet). But geez.... my body wants to make so much noise!! My rumbling stomach - even when I'm not at all hungry, I feel like it's making SO much noise that surely other people can hear it! hahah I'm glad I have my own office at work. Anyone else? And as for other bodily noises, well, they're coming out both ends! I didn't have issues with indigestion or gas or anything before. And I don't FEEL like I have those things going on inside of me even now. I mean, I have no desire to run for Tums or anything. Yet, I burp. A lot - way more than I ever have in my life. They're different, shallow, sneaky. I don't even want to talk about the other. LOL Anyone else? Is this just adjustment or is this how it will be going forward? I'm sure it's not the same for everyone, just trying to figure out if anyone else whent through this and came out the other side with a quieter body. :wink:

I got my first fill today. I have 2.4cc's in my band. When I ate dinner, I could feel the difference, but that may just be because it's so new and perhaps some of it will settle down. I was still able to eat fairly easily, but I could tell it was a bit more restricted. Fingers crossed!! I have an appointment for a month from now for a 2nd fill, but I'd love to have a good month with some pounds lost. I'm not impatient yet, but I'd love to keep seeing progress. Good luck to all!!

I lost 1 pound, which puts me right at the half-way mark. I have my first fill in just a few days.

I know I've told my story elsewhere on this board, but I had spent about 9 months pursuing lap band surgery with a different surgeon. I didn't even get to MEET him until I jumped through a bunch of hoops (all the blood work, physical therapist appointment, psychologist, nutritionist, etc.). When I first went in, although I had registered to attend their seminar, they didn't have me on the list and it seemed that not having me on the list was a concern for some reason. Ultimately, they put me in the room with the group of people waiting for the seminar and the speaker (surgeon? someone else?) never showed up - they left us for 2 hours before apologizing and sending us home. Ultimately, at the end of all this, insurance denied me because we hadn't done all the things required, even though I had asked and expected them to help me understand all that and meet the requriements and they ASSURED me it was all in hand. I'm merely typing all that out to show what a FIASCO it was. The surgeon's office was so ineffective, and that cannot help but reflect on the surgeon in my opinion. Dr. Wagner himself was very genuine, came across professional and knowledgeable and passed all the other tests - his surgery statistics, center of excellence for bariatric surgeries, etc. And the quality of care from his whole office was outstanding. They obviously all believe in putting the patient first. They knew my name, checked in with me regularly, kept me updated on the status of everything - where the insurance approval process was, what paperwork they received or didn't receive form other specialists, etc. etc. It was outstanding patient care even if I wasn't contrasting it with the fiasco of my first experience.

I had my surgery as outpatient on a Friday. I worked from home on Monday and Tuesday and was back in the office on Wednesday. I could have gone to the office on Tuesday but decided to play it safe, just in case I wanted or needed to lie down.

Maybe it won't go away altogether, but it does seem to have at least quieted down a bit for now. LOL It's not gone but just not as constant as it was for awhile there. The rumbling tummy is almost all the way gone. The other? Just less, not gone. (Those burps ARE sneaky, though, aren't they??? Goodness!)

Yeah, I needed a new pic after my pre-op liquid diet 'cause I lost a bit and I could actually see it in my face! hahaha "Take my picture, take my picture!" (Fortunately my kids are happy to oblige me. LOL)

I wore my new size 18 swim suit in public for the first time on Saturday. I think I might order a 2nd swim suit. hahah I want more!! Many of my casual tees are drowning me, falling down off my shoulder and definitely showing too much cleavage, so I ordered a bunch of size 18 tops. And what was cool was that I could easily find many on clearance in this size and so I ended up getting 8 tops for $62 total, including shipping, from onestopplus.com.

I didn't get Protein shakes until week 2. That first week, I was on Clear liquids. Are you doing Soup broth? Something warm really felt good to me. If the protein is making you feel nausea, maybe back off that for now and stick with broths, Water, and more clear liquids. Maybe that's why some docs require that - to avoid that feeling of nausea?? I don't know, just speculating. As for not being able to get comfortable, that will resolve once the healing gets further along. I think it's pretty normal at this point so soon after the procedure... Good luck!

Well, if it helps you at all (and I hope you get as lucky), I didn't even take any of the nausea meds they prescribed for me after surgery. I never once felt like I might throw up, not even a little bit. And though I was sore, I slept in my bed from that first night and walked on the treadmill every day including the day I had the surgery. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. My surgery was Friday and I felt great by Monday. The whole thing was just almost a non-event from a pain standpoint. The only work I missed was the day of my surgery. I hope yours is as easy!! Good luck!

Surgery date - May 29th. I was 240. This morning, I was 230. (I updated my ticker - gotta go update my numbers in my signature.) I lost a lot before surgery, too. Happy as a clam. :tongue:

Thank goodness the scale finally moved! It finally moved! I kept saying I knew I was doing the right things and I would be patient but I was thinking about considering being on the verge of being impatient. Anyway, down 5 pounds this week!! 230 as of this morning (I know it's not Friday, but this is my Friday weigh in.) :tongue:

That one is the least of it. It's mostly the noisy stomach and the air coming UP. LOL I feel like a drunk, hungry sailor.

Leeann, I would have been annoyed at that nurse. Avocado is one of my go-to foods - yes, it has fat, but it's the 'good' fat. It also has lots of other good things in it, and it can be very filling. The thing about diet and nutrition is that the medical professionals don't all agree. It's easy to get conflicting information from those in the medical profession - even dieticians and nutritionists. I guess what I'm saying, I'd shop around for someone whose ideology on nutrition matches what you believe, what resonates and works with you. I don't me look for someone to tell you that you can have whatever you want or anything. LOL But there is no capital-T "Truth" in this area so you have to find the approach you can get behind and then ignore everyone else. In my world, avocados are a wonderful part of my diet. In fact, I'm getting ready to leave for work and I have one in my bag to have for lunch.

I was banded on May 29th. I didn't have any nausea after surgery. I haven't vomited at all, not even close to it. Twice since I moved onto soft foods, I have had this thing happen where I just felt nausea hit all of the sudden. I didn't feel like I was going to vomit, I just felt blech-blah for a few minutes, 5 or 10, and then it passed. The one time it happened was shortly AFTER I had eaten something. Not immediately after, but maybe 15 minutes after. The other time, I hadn't eaten anything for a few hours. I don't know if it's just coincidence.... could it be because of the band - has anyone else had this?

I can see waiting a long time for steak, but ground beef - if you chew well - should be ok, I would think. My post-op is no red meat or pork for 8 weeks. Starting Friday, I can have chicken or fish (I jumped the gun and had some chicken last night).

A very long time ago, I started working on this - trying to always leave something, even just a bite, as a matter of principle. Also, if I was eating out for convenience and even if I ordered a combo meal, I would get Water. It felt strange at first - "I'm paying for a soda, I should get the value of getting a soda." But I kept telling myself it's not about money, it's about health. I'm pretty new to all this so I'm not sure how things will play out. We have gone out to eat a few times and here's what I've done -- I've ordered off the appetizer menu. And then I shared with others at the table. But - in order to get the satisfaction of some variety, I have also tasted a bit from my husband's plate or my child's plate. It's been satisfying me doing it that way. I don't think I'd do the children's menu because I typically don't care for what they have on that menu. LOL I think I'll try to order an appetizer or a side or whatever and then maybe share a little of what my husband gets. I have heard others say that when they order, they immediately move a portion they can eat onto a new plate and ask for the rest to be wrapped to go. That saves them from eating it just because it's there on the plate. This sounds like a good idea for me, too, when and if I do order a full meal.

I have a similar story. I did lose a bunch quickly BEFORE the surgery, but only a few pounds since then. I am exercising every day - at least 30 minutes but often 60 minutes a day. I am tracking my food and I know my calories are way less than what my output is. But I'm sure that my body is just pausing to recover from the surgery. I'm doing good things, the right things, and I will eventually be rewarded for it. I won't give up just because the scale hasn't moved in 2 weeks. I keep telling myself "this is a marathon, not a sprint". Hang in there!! You're not alone. Keep doing the right things - don't lose faith.

I was banded May 29th. I haven't had my first fill yet either. In fact, I'm still supposed to be on soft foods until Friday. But I was struggling with hunger and I felt like I was eating too much. I started tracking everything I ate on fitday.com and it was 1200+ calories. I think because it was liquids and soft foods, it was going right through. Yesterday, I took a different approach. I had scrambled eggs (firmly cooked) for Breakfast, a banana with Peanut Butter for lunch, and then I had grilled chicken (1 drumstick) and mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner. Some of it was soft but I think I got more "firm" foods and it helped completely with the hunger - my intake was 950 calories yesterday, and I was satisfied. I think we'll all need to work on what/how to eat so that we maximize the pouch and its effects. Plus, of course, getting the right amount of Fluid in the band will help too.

Was this out, or at home? I'm so scared of something like this happening when I'm at a business dinner. Even if I manage to get away from the table quickly, it would create a problem to be in the restroom for 15 minutes waiting for it to resolve. Ugh! So were you cutting up tiny bites of the hamburger and chewing really well? Were you eating the bread/bun? My post-op instructions say no bread at all for 8 weeks. It's one of those things that I'm going to try to leave behind MOST of the time even beyond that. I guess bread and rice are some of the foods most commonly that cause issues. Glad everything turned out alright in the end...

Lisa, I lost a bunch of it starting in February getting ready for my surgery. I used an Rx to help with appetite - Phentermine. But I went off of that before surgery and that last week on clear-liquids, I lost 20 more. I haven't lost anything since. Well, I guess 4 or 5 but that was like the first few days after - the scale hasn't moved since. My post-op diet was: week 1 Clear Liquids, week 2 full liquids (he allows oyster crackers, saltines, and graham crackers on your full-liquids phase), week 3 (where I am now) is soft foods. He allows Cheerios and Corn Flakes on this phase as long as you chew them to the consistency of toothpaste. I just started soft foods on Friday. I've had guacamole a few times, I had a cheese enchilada (it was VERY soft so I'm assuming it was OK - I took very small bites and chewed well), I've had scrambled eggs several times. I had re-fried Beans with cheese. Starting Friday (week 4) I'm on regular foods only I'm still not to eat any bread, fibery vegetables, salad, red meat, or pork and no alcohol or carbonated beverages. I have lost little weight since surgery. When I was on the post-op liquids, my calories were very low, and now they are higher but still very much lower than they used to be maybe 1000-1200 a day. I've been very hungry but I still think that keeping it down that low is no over-indulging. But the scale isn't moving right now. It will, though.... I'm going to be patient and keep working at doing the right things.

I'm wearing a size 18 top today. I had to scoot my seat up in the car. My wide-with shoes feel too big. My wedding ring is not only back on my finger, but it's spinning around. I booked a business trip for next week and I feel NO anxiety about getting on the plane. My knee isn't failing me when I push it on the treadmill. My GLASSES feel too big. LOL (Just for full disclosure, my weight loss thus far has all been pre-op. Go figure! LOL)

My first fill is scheduled for July 8th. I have been pretty hungry, but I know I'm eating a lot less than before. I'm tracking my food on Fitday.com and so I know, for example, that my intake today was about 1100 calories. And I'm still working out - aerobic (I haven't yet started with core-body exercise yet since surgery 3 weeks ago). It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one dealing with being hungry. I haven't lost anything since surgery either. I was probably taking in 500-700 calories on the liquid phase and now it's up higher. My theory is that my body QUICKLY dropped a bunch of weight on pre-op and then it was accosted with surgery and now it's sort of saying "Hold on!" and trying to get its bearings before the scale will start moving again.