Northwest_Nance

I am so sorry. I was dumped after 30 years of marriage, right before our 30th anniversary trip to Europe. I was so devastated that I can't imagine going through something major like surgery right afterwards. But.... now I would say, what a wonderful thing to do for yourself. The surgery marks a new beginning in your life with or without a breakup... and it's such a positive thing to do. I would understand if you didn't feel up to going through it right now but I think it would be a good thing if you can manage it.

Yes, the fact that it is tax deductible is the only thing that took a little bit of the pain out of having to pay for it myself.... I was banded a few weeks ago. I use TurboTax to figure my taxes so I went into my 2007 taxes and edited it as if I'd had the surgery last year to see how much more of a refund I would have gotten and I think it came out to about $4,000 more. Of course, it depends on what percentage of your income you have in medical expenses but for the average middle class earner, $17,500 is more than enough to qualify for a medical deduction.

My doctor (who does only lapbands and has done them for years) said he really believes there is no difference between the two, and he showed me literature to back that up. He gave me links to the websites for each product and suggested I check it out and decide which band I wanted to go with. I chose the Realize band, partly because it has been used in Sweden for many years even though it was just approved by the FDA in the U.S. a few months ago. For some reason, I trust Swedish medicine. I'm kind of disappointed in their website though, particularly the food journal. It's slow to load, and most of the foods I've eaten, are not in their database and I had to enter them myself. I didn't find it to be real user friendly; I ended up liking The Daily Plate better for recording my food journal.

What an inspiration you are to us newbies.... congratulations!

So my doctor's written post-op instructions state that "you may begin moderate exercise 7-10 days after surgery". What do you think is "moderate"? I've been walking on my treadmill -- not real fast, and not for more than 15-20 minutes at a time so far. I should mention that I need a hip replacement and I have pain in my hip that makes it challenging for me to walk for very long. The hip surgeon doesn't want to do surgery until I lose some weight. So anyway..... I'm trying to start out fairly slow in hopes that I don't wake up one of these days to find that I over-did it and the hip pain is so bad that I can't exercise at all. So last week I got a Wii Fit. Wow I love that thing! Again, I'm starting out slow with it. It has step aerobics which I always wanted to do but I never joined any classes in a gym, because I knew I couldn't keep up with everyone. I'm a real klutz but I'm getting better at the step aerobics and have advanced from the really brief easy beginner level to a slightly faster paced, longer lasting level. The other thing I did was an exercise where you run in place. It shows your little Mii (your own little character on the TV) running along, and the idea is to keep up with but not pass the pace setting Mii in front of you. I stopped running 20 years ago but this is really pretty slow paced and lasts about 3-4 minutes and it isn't nearly as high impact as actually running on the street. I really am looking forward to the day when I'm not feeling winded at the end of that little run. But suddenly today it occurred to me (don't ask me why I didn't think about this sooner)..... should I even be doing gentle running in place 14 days after surgery? Could I dislodge the port? I'll go to a support group meeting at my doctor's office next week and I can ask these questions but it's Friday night and I just wonder what you all think.

I was banded on the 15th and I think my stomach is still swolen, especially around the port site. I have only gone down a few pounds since surgery but my clothes all are fitting better and my face looks less full -- but my stomach still feels bigger than it was before surgery (and my surgeon told me I'd lose weight first around my mid-section). I notice it in the waistband of my clothes, and when I was using Q-tips the other day to clean up the residue after removing my bandages - it really felt like there was more fullness to my stomach as I maneuvered around the incision sites, than there was before surgery. I think I remember hearing somewhere before I had my surgery that this swelling can take a month or so to go down completely.

16 days post-op -- I'm having a somewhat similar problem, not gas expelling from "below", but that full feeling in my chest. Happened yesterday about an hour after lunch, I wasn't really sure it was gas (thought maybe I'd eaten too fast and my food was stuck) and I didn't have anything with me at work to take, and it went away after about an hour. Then lastnight I woke up in the middle of the night with the same full feeling in my chest. Since it had been hours since I ate, I was worried, and wondered if I was having a heart attack.... but I stood up to go to the bathroom and as soon as I stood up I let out a big burp and the pain in my chest went almost completely away and was gone within about 10 minutes. I think I'm going to have to start experimenting with some of the gas relievers on the store shelf!

I was told that wine is fine after you are off pain meds, but I would wait a few weeks at least after surgery. It doesn't do any harm to the lapband or stomach, the harm is if you over-indulge to the point of throwing up or giving in to temptation to eat too much and/or the wrong things.

Hi guys, I'm a bit new to the board and just discovered the age specific forum.... nice to meet some other young but mature women who are experiencing, or will experience, the lap band life! I just got banded today, I posted my story of the day here, http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/story-my-surgery-today-63411/. I'm looking forward to getting and giving support as I start this exciting journey! :thumbup:

Hi Sue! My doctor seems to move things along faster than a lot of doctors. But, all he does is lapband surgery and he's done more than 1,000 of them so I trust him. I had one week of liquids (anything I could drink through a straw) and then one week of mushies. Today is the first day I'm allowed to start working "normal" food into my diet. Here is what I ate a lot of during my week on mushies: Breakfast - 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese topped with one snack pack of sugar-free peaches lunch - one can of creamed Soup made with fat-free milk (for the protein) dinner - salmon or halibut filet with a small side of broccoli in cheese sauce. If I felt the need for a snack or desert, I had a sugar-free snackpack of pudding with some fat-free Cool Whip on it. So today.... well, I haven't decided what foods I'm going to introduce back into my diet first! I've really been enjoying the cottage cheese and peaches for breakfast, so I had that today. For lunch I'm having another meal I ate a few times in the mushy stage, because I had leftovers and I like it..... 1/2 cup of fat free refried Beans topped with 2 tbs. of melted shredded cheese, 2 tbs. of guacamole and a bit of fat-free sour cream. For dinner I'm planning to have some sautteed shrimp. I'll have to think about what I'm going to have this weekend. After the pre-op diet and post-op diet you'd think I'd have a long list of foods I'm anxious to try now that I can try almost anything..... but nothing is really tempting me. Go figure! PS, yes, TV commercials are the worst! They know how to make the most unhealthy, fat, juicy hamburger and fried foods look so glamorous and enticing!

Congratulations on all your hard work getting to this point, and best of luck with the surgery.... I'm only 2 weeks post-op and the time really has flown by. :w00t:

Anyone know what will remove the ugly grayish-black residue left on my skin from the bandages that were over my incisions? At my post-op visit my doctor told me I could remove them in one week (i.e. today) if they hadn't already fallen off; and he told me what would help remove the residue and wouldn't you know, I can't remember what he said. I removed the bandages today and tried baby oil for the residue, with no luck. I am not inclined to be scrubbing with soap & water too hard right near the incisions just yet. Thanks!

I think you're question's been answered but I'll just jump in anyway - my doctor said no bathtubs, swimming pools, hot tubs, etc. until 2 weeks post-surgery.

I understand what you're saying and you seem to always make really good points, but at the same time I feel like I'm almost being chastized for wanting the lapband to provide some restriction. I am hungry. My stomach growls all the time, sometimes painfully so. But I am pushing on with counting the calories and being as "good" as I can find the strength to be, because I want this process to start -- I've waited too many years, I don't want to wait for my first fill to do the work for me, but I do want the lapband to work as a tool for me, not to sit there not doing its part of providing me with some restriction. Isn't the lapband supposed to help us feel satisfied (not "full" but "satisfied") on less food and not have growling stomachs most of the day because we are trying to consume healthier portions? If not, then why did I get the lapband?

I have only been banded for 2 weeks, so I'm really new at this. I am a little confused and would appreciate your comments. I don't have much restriction at this point, but I'm working hard to make healthy choices and count calories. It is just as hard and as much of a challenge as it was before the lapband and I could easily eat more than I am. If, after all that effort, my doctor told me I couldn't have my first fill as scheduled because I had successfully lost weight, I would be really annoyed that I spent $17,500 cash for a tool that hasn't really kicked in yet and, because I found the discipline to lose some weight without much assistance from the lapband, I must continue to do that on my own. While I understand the doctor's reasoning, it doesn't make sense to me. Knowing that soon I'll start having fills and will actually be satisfied with smaller meals, is keeping me going through this hungry period. So I'm wondering if that means I shouldn't try to lose any weight before my first fill is scheduled? I'm not usually one to have that kind of attitude but it makes me wonder....

Wow Luna, is that 1000-1200 calories? It doesn't seem like it but I haven't calculated it out either. You were banded the day after me (and we are almost the same height and weight, what a coincidence!). I'm trying to do 1000-1200 calories a day too (I'm assuming when I have more restriction I might not be able to do that) but so far I have only been averaging about 900 calories a day. I am using The Daily Plate and I like it a lot. I tried using the Realize Band site but their food diary isn't nearly as user friendly nor is their database of foods very good. Anyway, here is what I ate today: Breakfast: 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese topped with a snack pack of sugar-free peaches Lunch: Cream of Celery soup made with fat-free milk and I tossed in about 1/4 cup of chopped up leftover green Beans Dinner: 5 oz. salmon filet Green Giant Brocolli & Cheese "serving for one" Snack: Single-serving pack of sugar-free pudding topped with fat free Cool Whip

If you go to You Tube and just search for "lapband" you will find quite a few videos of the surgery being performed.

Yes, those are averages. My doctor told me the same thing -- bypass patients tend to have a faster, more dramatic weight loss in the beginning, but after a few years bypass patients and lapband patients have all averaged out to about the same. It just depends on how much you want to lose. My doctor told me it's entirely possible for me to lose 100 pounds in a year, if I work with my lapband.

I probably gained half of my extra weight from "last suppers" over the past year or so! "I'm going on a diet Monday so this is my last supper". Hmmm I did that many weekends over the years, lol!! So it's kind of ironic that I never really got my Last Supper before surgery. I had finally hit bottom and I was so ready for this, that I lost 10 lbs. on my own before I had my surgery date. Then I got a surgery date much sooner than I expected and pretty much had to go on the pre-op diet right away. Now I'm two weeks post-op and making very healthy choices for my meals, I'm really not struggling with that at all. I'm toying with the idea of trying for a modified "last supper" the weekend before my first fill is scheduled for June 12th. But, I'll bet I end up deciding against it. We'll see!

I was just banded 2 weeks ago so I don't have a lot of restriction right now -- maybe it will be harder fitting in all that water after I start getting my fills and have more restriction. But firht now I have no problem getting in anywhere from 64-80 ounces of water a day. It took a little practice.... and also I have a job where I can get up and go to the bathroom anytime I want to, so that helps! I bring a 32 oz. bottle of water with me to work in the morning with a goal of finishing it before lunch, then I fill it up and start again for the afternoon. After a few weeks of making myself do that, I am now so in the habit that I usually end up working my way halfway through a third bottle before the day is out.

I'm so sorry to hear that you're having such a rough time. I was banded on the 15th, arrived at the surgery center at 11:00 a.m., walked out at 4:00 pm and felt fine until around midnight when some pain kicked in but most of it was gone by the next day. However, the area around my port started hurting pretty badly around Day #5 and bothered me for over a week. I had to hold my stomach whenever I bent over, sat up, turned, got in/out of a car, etc. But it doesn't sound like it was as bad as what you're experiencing. If your doctor doesn't seem concerned and is willing to prescribe the pain meds to help you deal with it, I'm not sure what else you can do except wait it out. Is your doctor a bariatric surgeon?

Jack - thanks for your post, those are excellent points for me to think about. I am going to copy and paste it into a document that I can print out and put on my refrigerator!

I was banded on May 15th - two weeks ago tomorrow. My doctor had me on liquids for the first week ("anything you can drink through a straw") and mushies from day 8 thru day 14, which means tomorrow is my last day of mushies. I'm determined I'm going to be a success story. I've been eating very healthy foods in small portions, even though I didn't think I was really feeling any restriction after the first few post-surgery days. Oh yeah, I'd reach a point where I'd think.... "hmmm, I might be feeling full (but not stuffed), I guess that means I should stop eating" which is such a foreign attitude for me (I'm sure a lot of you can relate). My brain was saying "No, this tastes good and there's still more in my bowl, I want it all". I recognized that I needed to start paying attention to that though. I stay full for several hours after eating, but my stomach is usually growling by the next meal time but again, I didn't think that was restriction, I just figured after all my pre-surgery dieting, and the liquid diet for a week afterwards, I was just feeling satisfied with smaller portions. Well, tonight I am pretty darn sure I'm feeling the effects of restriction. I had a very tender boneless, skinless chicken breast for dinner (which is on the "ok" list for this week, along with fish). I topped it with 1 tbsp. of melted cheese and 1 tbsp. of fat-free sour cream. I took tiny bites and chewed them well. I thought I was eating slowly but in hindsight, that's probably something I still need to work on. About 10 minutes later I started feeling this heaviness in my chest, like some of that chicken is stuck going down. I guess that means I do have a little more restriction than I thought. I haven't pushed the limits or over-eaten so I guess I really wasn't testing it out and now, apparently, I have. I'm kind of relieved that maybe I'll have some restriction between now and my first fill on June 12th, but wow, it's kind of a weird feeling and really makes me aware how carefully I'm going to have to think about every bite.

Oh Gina, I wish I'd lost that much in 2 weeks! Actually I've only lost about 2 pounds since surgery. I was just so disgusted with myself that I actually lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks before my doctor put me on liquids for one week pre-op, and I lost 12 pounds in that week. When I went for my post-op visit 8 days after surgery, I had gained 1.5 lbs. I've got the scale moving in the right direction now though! And Jack, thanks for the encouragement!

I am 55 and when I first started looking into the surgery, I thought my age might be a concern. Ha. I felt like a youngster next to some of the women at the seminar, some in their late 60's. The doctor told them they weren't too old (but I assume they probably had to go through more pre-op testing, maybe get a cardiology release, etc.). I'd say go for it, you're never too old to start taking better care of yourself and enjoying life more!