Jodi_620

It only takes 5 minutes. Veggies and meat are already chopped, just saute them a minute, pour on the eggbeters and add cheese...not real difficult. I avoid processed and packaged foods so I make time to prepare all my meals.

Welcome Mallery! It is a wonderful jorney for sure...Keep us updated!

Eggbeater omelet with lean meat, cheese and veggies. All that protein fills me up and keeps me full.

It doesn't sound like an emergency but it is something you should discuss with your doc on your next visit. Have you had a follow-up visit yet?

It probably is loss of fat around your stomach that caused the band to get looser. The scale does not tell all...it doesn't take much fat melting to make the band loose. Eventually the fat around your organs will be gone and this should stop happening. How many fills have you had? Does your doctor check your Fluid level during fills to make sure there are no leaks?

Hmm...do you have severe pain, swelling or seepage? I had a slight raised scar but nothing that large.

Because gastric banding is so new there are no difinitive stats on how long it lasts. The Lap Band has only been used I believe since around 1994 and was only available in Europe at that time. It was approved in Canada in 2001 and the US in 2005. The band is intended to last as long as we do but as you know in some cases people have had issues with slippage, leaking and erosion that can require repair, replacement or removal. There have been some improvements over the years both to the band and to how we are educated to avoid these issues. There is no way to tell whether you or I may have problems down the road. Your concerns are certainly warranted though. I struggled with the same concerns especially as the surgery neared.

Yeah, it is sliming alright. I have slimed if I swallow a pill and it is too big or doesn't pass through the band just right. If I eat a food that just can not be chewed well enough. I slimed on apricots once and that was reeaaallllly bad! And I slimed a ton when I was filled too tight. The food is getting stuck trying to pass through the band from your stoma to your lower stomach and your body is producing the saliva to try and flush it out. You should try and evaluate why it is happening. If you are taking small bites and chewing your food extremely well then try to look at what you are eating, does it happen with certain types of food? Are you drinking with your meals or too soon after? If it happens all the time and can't be attributed to what or how you are eating then maybe it is because you are a little too tight.

No Chellie, one slip up would not ruin the entire pre-op diet. The whole idea of the pre-op diet is that when we diet the first place that fat leaves our bodies is from around the liver. Certain types of diets of like high protein liquid cause this fat to go away faster. A couple cheese crackers will not cause all the fat to reappear. Of course it would be a risk to make a habit of it or you could wake up from surgery with only incisions and no band.

I know what you mean Sam, when I would read about those people I kept thinking to myself either something is wrong or my pain tolerance is not as good as I always thought. I never considered myself to be a baby about pain but I was hurting! But it does quickly become a distant memory.

The lump is just part of the restriction, depending on the situation you were either full or ate too fast or didn't chew well enough. You will find that as you get tighter with each fill you have to re-evaluate how and/or how much you are eating.

***NAME***********START WGHT.*****CURRENT WGHT.********GOAL**********LBS. LOST ***:frown: *************:eek:*************:tt2: ***********:thumbup:**********:w00t:* 1dayatime..........259............256............239............3 1000words..........237............235............220............0 aJoneen............213............210............199............3 alliemorris73......229............229............199............0 Ariel..............193............193............183............0 Barb12590..........207............199............187............8 Bea1129............198.5..........198.5..........183............0 Brandy.............208............206............198............2 CQQlgirl...........188............186............170............2 crzytchr...........265............261............250............4 JasonR.............366............366............351............0 Jodi_620...........174............169............159............5 KikiVal315.........229............225.5..........215..........3.5 Kirsty39...........237............237............217............0 laurigee...........170............165............158............5 Leslie2Lose........215............214............199............1 LilMissDiva........244............244............225............0 lindar172 .........257.8..........253.6..........240..........4.2 LisaB..............189............184............170............5 mamanmidwife.......275............269............255............6 MegMegs13..........266............260............250............6 mominlv13..........282.4..........277.4..........270............5 noosagirl..........138............138............124............0 Renee74............198............195............185............3 renewedhope........162............161............150............1 SailorChristy......251.5..........248............230..........3.5 southernmissy......209............207............195............2

:smile::lol:You truly made me laugh out loud on that one! Hope they fix it soon...

I also had hiatal hernia repair. I had a lot of different pain. I did feel that internal ripping pain if I would move a certain way or trying to get up from a laying position.

Hi everyone, Yesterday I got a call from my childhood friend. I hadn't spoken to her since before I was banded and so I told her about my weight loss. She said that she lost 61lbs. with HCG injections. I am not familiar with this and I was trying to research it today but it is hard to find unbiased information on it. There are plenty of sites that have the biased opinion of those who give the shots and those who recieve it and others that simply say it is a waste of money and a gimmick without explaining very well why they say so. Obviously there is something to it. She said that she lost quickly and steady. But of course I know that doesn't mean that it permanant and more important, that it is safe. She is a dear friend and I would like to learn more about it so that I can either feel happy for her and be supportive or be concerned if need be. Does anyone have any factual information about it? I am not looking for opinions here...as we all know opinions on weight loss methods are easy come by.

Yes, it took a couple weeks but each day gets better. Is it incision pain or internal?

Oh yes, trust me you will likely have flatulence type gas too and it does help with that. It will not help with the gas in your abdominal cavity though.

Congratulations!!! I know the first few days I just kept thinking "What did I do to myself???" But now I can truly say I would do it all again!! Keep in touch!

If you follow the rules you eat until you are satisfied not until you are uncomfortable which takes practice. Not only is that not-so-fun to feel bloated and stuffed but eating too much all the time can stretch your pouch. Once you have a meal you should not feel hungry again to your next meal. It has reduced my snacking but the Lap Band will not stop you from eating between meals or when you are bored. It will not take away cravings for certain foods. That part has to be resolved by you.

As many as it takes. There is no set number of fills. On average it takes four fills total to lose the weight. Some people need many more and some less. Initially they slowly give you fills until you get to the point where you are losing weight and not hungry, this is usually evaluated about once a month. Like I said average is four fills to reach your "sweet spot". Then from there on out you get a fill when weight loss stalls or you start to gain or when you find yourself eating more or not staying satisfied until your next meal. Once you reach goal weight you only go in for a fill if the weight starts coming back. Pain is all relative of your tolerance. Some people find it very painful; personally I think it is comparable to a blood draw and I don't get any numbing before a fill.

You will probably be hungry until you get to restriction. You may be one of the lucky few that have restriction from the start or you may need several fills to get to restriction. You may also not be hungry for a week or two post-op (due to swelling) then suddenly get your appetite back and be very hungry. But once at restriction you will not be constantly hungry. On average it takes about four fills to reach restriction but everyone is different. Once there you will be able to eat a small amount of food when hungry and stay satisfied for several hours until your next meal. That is the whole idea behind the bands part in weight loss. Your part is to eat the right foods, eat properly, not eat between meals or when head hunger (cravings) strike.

Yeah Pete, I would have the larger "entree" jars of say beef and vegetables or chicken and vegetables with a small jar of fruit. Or a small jar of meat along with a small jar of a veggie with a jar of fruit The jars of Cereal and fruit mixed together are good too and a little more filling than fruit alone...good when you are extra hungry. The baby food works well for me, I had a lot of waste when I would open cans of refried Beans or soup. For those who say it is too bland, you just have to add some seasoning to it and it tastes pretty darn good!

Most people don't feel much from the first fill. As slimntan said it is best to get the fills slowly. It takes time, you will feel a little more restriction and lose a little more weight with each fill and eventually you should reach your sweet spot. I waited a week or two after my first fill then scheduled my second fill. I felt it more with the second but was not quite there. My third fill was when I really started feeling it though I lost a lot of weight the first two weeks and the band got loose again. Went for my fourth fill and the same thing happened. I think I am at my sweet spot since my 5th fill about a month ago. As a matter of fact I was scheduled for my monthly fill appointment tomorrow and I decided to postpone it.

I had a hiatal hernia that was repaired during my Lap Band surgery. I felt nothing to indicate that the hernia was there. This is more than likely related to your recent surgery. You are just over two weeks out from surgery. Strange sensations and pain is quite normal at this time. If it gets too severe or the incisions swell or get red then go see your doctor.

Same thing happened to me and my surgery went on as planned. As long as you don't have a high fever or bad chest congestion you should be just fine.