jennibells

We are supposed to be planning a trip to Vegas this month or next, it got moved back due to me having to be re-banded, and I am so nervous about it. There is so much food in Vegas and it will all be so tempting!!!! I sure hope I have some good restriction after my first fill at the end of this month Billoh- have fun on your cruise! I dont know about you guys in Ohio but here in Michigan we just got 6 inches of snow so I am so jealous of you and your cruise at a nice sunny place :smile2:

my surgeon never told me to not drink before I eat, only to not drink while I am eating or 15 minutes after.

The same thing happened to me. Me and my girlfriends who are all in their 30's bought tickets to New Kids on the Block and we were so excited because we all have kids and dont get out much anymore. Well none of my friends knew that I had the surgery and we went to a restaurant for appetizers. I had some amazing spinach and artichoke dip but for some reason it just didn't sit well. We got to the concert and I felt so uncomfortable so I went to the bathroom. Well the line was at least a mile long! I stood there for at least ten minutes thinking I was going to throw up right there and than two of the girls I went with walked up and got in line with me and of course I choose that exact time to not be able to keep it in anymore!!!! I ran to the garbage can and threw up right there in front of everyone! Of course they all thought it was because I was drinking, but really I only had one drink. I WILL NEVER TRY SOMETHING NEW IN PUBLIC AGAIN!!!

I am 3 weeks out and I just started the soft food stage and I am now starting to feel normal. I honestly was exhausted until I started eating normal again. Dont worry, you will be feeling better soon:thumbup:

I am three weeks out and my incisions are completely healed and not sore at all. Everyone heal differently but hopefully you will only have a week or two until you are good to go.

I did find that I felt better the more I moved around. I am not sure how long the gas last but I do remember it being past the first week. I am 3 weeks out and I do not have any complaints, physically. All of my wounds have completly healed up and I am not sore anymore. My only complaint is the hunger but I know that will change once I get a fill.

I am at week 3 and the weight loss has slowed but I knew that would happen. I feel mostly normal with being able to eat soft foods now. I am really looking forward to my first fill so I can feel the benefits of the band. Ky, I am glad you are doing better! Hopefully in a week or two you will be back to normal and well on your way to loosing the rest of your weight!

Marie- I believe they actually stitch the port to your muscles to keep it in place. I had a lot of pain in my port area and it is just now, 3 weeks later, starting to get better. I was worried about infection and the doctor told me that I should watch for a fever and the area around the port incision to get red hot. It is almost completel healed right now but I still have pain on occasion. I am sure it will be a few weeks before all the insides will be healed. If you really think the pain is unusually bad you should call your doctor. I am sure the doctor would rather you be extra cautious instead of letting something go and it turning into something much worse. I always say, trust your instincts:smile2:

I did not tell any of my co-workers and when I was on the liquid diet I just had the campbells soup at hand soups or creamed soups and I usually stayed at my desk for lunch. I did have one person ask me and I told her I had stomache problems occasionally and my stomache was bothering me, she accepted that no problem, most people dont want to hear about IBS or any other issues that cause stomache/bathroom issues. I did go out to lunch once during this stage and I ordered regular soup and just had the broth and left the veggies, one girl asked what was wrong and I just told her I wasn't really hungry. Most people really dont notice and if they do they dont say anything. This is my second time around and noone has said a word. Still the only people who know are my immediate family minus my kids and one friend. The weight loss is so slow that people think I am just continuing to exercise, eat better and I am loosing weight slowly but surely.

Kat- Do you normally feel tighter in the morning? I used to be tighter in the morning no matter how much I had in my band. I was tight in the morning, able to get some down at lunch and able to eat a normal meal at dinner. How much did you get unfilled? Was it completely or just a little bit?

I am in the same boat! I am almost 3 weeks out with 2 more weeks until my first fill. I am hugry all the time and I am just trying to do my best to watch what I eat, calories and amounts, exercise as much as I can and my goal is to not gain before my first fill. I literally am X-ing the days on the calander until my first fill! I am so excited to get back to restriction again:thumbup:

Everybody is different but in my case I have gone on diets and eaten less than 1200 calories and not lost weight. Everybodys body reacts differently to different kinds of food, in my case my body does not do well with carbohydrates. If I go on a diet where I eat only Protein 1200 calories or less than I will loose weight but I cannot stick to that for the rest of my life. The band allows me to enjoy some of the foods I like but in very small portions and I still loose weight. I dont know about you guys but when I am eating only mushy/soft food I tend to eat alot more calories than I think because it just does not satisfy me, I get hungry an hour or two later and end up eating again. I cannot wait to go on normal food again and feel satisfied for long periods of time. Before I got the band I was HUNGRY ALL THE TIME! I remember telling my doctor that I dont remember a time when I was not hungry and that is when he explained how the band works and how we have nerves at the top of our stomache and when we have the band we eat a small amount of food, fill up the pouch which the nerves sense and send a signal to our brain that we are full. The band has allowed me to feel full for the first time in my life and I love it:thumbup:

Pezo- did it seem like the laughing cow cheese was creamier and smoother. I am still finding the string cheese to be kinda dry and I want to make sure evrerything goes down smoothly. Last night I made some ground turkey and put it in the chopper, turned it pretty much to paste, added some taco seasoning and some refried Beans, little bit of salsa and cheese and really felt like I was eating tacos:w00t: It was so yummy!

Linlayni and Pezo- I feel your pain, I too am in the same boat. I lost 6 lbs the first week and nothing since. I do remember this from the first time around and I know it is normal. The band gives us restriction and right now when there is nothing in the band we have no restriction. Also we are eating foods that go right through so most of us are going to just maintain if not gain a pound or two until we get restriction and go on regular food. Once we go on regular food we will notice some restriction just from having the band there but after we get our first fill we should notice more restriction. If we continue to eat mushy soft foods after we have our fill it will still go right through and we will not loose or gain a few pounds. I know this because I did it in the beginning last time because I was too afraid to eat regular food. Basically all the foods we are eating right now we should not eat after we go on regular food. This time before we get our first fill and before we feel restriction is called "Bandster He!!" because it is horrible wating to loose weight after you just had weight loss surgery. We just have to hang in there and be patient, we will get there:grouphug:

I started throwing up and didn't stop. I couldn't keep anything down, not even liquids. I started to throw up blood and thats when I went to the emergency room. I had extreme pain in my whole stomache area any time I tried to even drink something. At that point it was too late, my band had slipped and the stomache had come back up through the band and I had so much swelling that nothing would go down. If you are unsure I would say stay on liquids until you can get in for an appt. If you tell your doctor how bad it is I am sure they will get you in same day. Good luck!

You sound exactly like I did right before my band slipped. I could eat probably 2-3 out of 7 days, the other days nothing would stay down. To make a long story short, because I was throwing up so much my band slipped. I wish I would of gone into the doctors and did an unfill but I couldn't take the time off of work and I kept thinking that it must of been me because some days I could eat. I wish so much that I could go back in time and go in and get an unfill but I didn't and my band slipped and I just got re-banded on the 3/17. My advice to you would be to go into the doctor and get a small unfill. If that doesn't work have him unfill it completely and wait a few weeks and start over with fills. Please dont keep throowing up, you dont want to end up with a slipped band and end up having another surgery:frown:

tinkerbell I am going to try your idea. I would think if the meat is ground really fine it should be fine. I am going to make spaghetti for the family and just have some of the meat, sauce and cheese. Sounds yummy!!!

try this link, there is alot of good ideas and low fat cheese is also on one of the list. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f178/need-some-mushie-ideas-please-61763/

my doctor said for me to be on mushy and soft foods weeks 3 & 4. I consider mushy anything I can put in the chopper and soft woudl be stuff like eggs, tuna or chicken salad and cheeses. If your doctor wants you on just mushy foods for these two weeks I would check with him before you add anything.

I go in at 5 weeks for my first appt. I am going to call ahead of time to make sure I can get my first fill than because I dont want to waste an appt. if I cant get a fill!!! I had heard people suggest the laughing cow cheese, I think it is the little circle wheels. Maybe I will get some of those. I have to do something because as of now I am eating every two hours because everything I eat goes right down and I dont feel full at all!!!

You probably just have swelling from the food being stuck. When that happened to me I would go on liquids for a day and wait for the swelling to go down and usually eat mushy food the next day and than be fine. If it continues to hurt after a day or two you should call your doctor.

Kygie- sorry to hear about your infection. Did they just put you on antibiotics and that will take care of it? I am STARVING!!!! I have no restriction and I am so hungry:mad: I am just counting the days until I get my first fill:thumbup:

I have a regular blender at home but I bought "the chopper" at Walmart, it is only $4 and it is small like a mini food processor and it is perfect for chopping up 1/2-1 cup of food. I walked alot before surgery and still walk, started one week after surgery. For me it was easier for me to get back to normal life. I would also suggest making sure you have a lot variety in your post op diet because it gets real boring really fast. Make a list of Clear liquids and full liquids you can have and be stocked up for after surgery. You are probably not going to want to go out shopping the first week or two after surgery so it is nice to have it in the house.

I think that we do have some restriction because obviously the band is around our stomache but the problem right now is that we have to eat all this mushy soft food and it slides right through. I am starving and let me telll you I am eating the mushy soft food. If I was eating normal food I would be eating alot less because it would fill up my pouch and sit there for a while. We will get through this, I PROMISE:wink_smile:

Sillygoose- I am in the same place. I am starving and not loosing. I do remember from last time that I did gain a pound or two when I went in for my first fill so I am making it my goal to not gain before that first fill. I know it is going to be hard because I am so hungry and all the food I am eating is going right through the band. I know it has to do this to heal but I just wish I wasn't hungry:sad: