niki

I go to the gym 3 times per week (treadmill, elliptical, alternate with weights) and on the other days I try to do some walking (30 or 40 min. walks). I guess this is great for someone who didn't do almost no exercise at all one year ago... :clap2: I try not to get too obsessed about it... niki

That's a great explanation, Ddeidre! Thanks for sharing! I guess that's why it makes sense to eat calmly and slowly. I was told also to stay focused on the act of eating itself (we should avoid watching TV or reading while we eat) in order to be receptive to that first sign of fullness when it arrives. Though in my case it would be easier to have a light that started blinking when it happens... :nervous niki

Funny how Mums tend to react in such a similar way in different parts of the world.... My mother had exactly the same reaction and even dad (he's a doctor, can you imagine that?...) reacted badly when i first mentioned what I was intending to do. But then I started thinking, my mother never had weight problems in her life, she goes everyday to gym, she's very slender and wears a size 6... how could she ever understand how miserable my life was before I had my band? maybe I was just asking the impossible from her... knowing that she loves me and that she cares for me is all i needed to know and I live happily with that. niki

Ever thought of buying smaller pants?... :biggrin1: :confused: :grouphug: I'm looking forward for the day something like that happens to me... :clap2: niki

Hi there, congratulations on your surgery date! this is your first step for a looooong journey that lies ahead and I wish you lots of luck! Don't get discouraged by any negative stories you might read, just think that there are lots of other stories where everything goes well and smoothly. Getting banded was the best thing I did for myself. I have my band for 18 months now and luckily things have been going very well. I'm what we call a «slow loser» and i'm still far from reaching my final goal, but every little victory tastes formidably. My life has changed a lot and with the help of my band I have a new perspective of living and I'm learning to take good care of myself and consequently that reflects as well the way I relate to others (family & friends). I still get to eat everything I loved before (even bread and pasta!!! :confused: ), but the band is there to remind me that I should limit the quantity of food I eat, and i also try to make right food choices and exercise a lot. all the best, niki

Never! I've been banded for 18 months now, had 4 fills and I'm now with 7cc (on a 10cc band) and never had a PB or slime. I do take good care in taking my time while eating, small bites and always chew, chew, and keep on chewing some more... :hungry: niki

This is a very interesting question! I know that lapbanding surgery started earlier in Europe and more recently in the U.S. but even so it is amazing how so many doctors here (in Europe) don't have much knowledge about it or think of other restrictive bariatric surgeries when talking about adjustable lapband. I know LOTS of doctors who hardly knew about it or had negative opinions about the band just because they didn't have enough knowledge or detailed data about the subject. :rolleyes I keep reading and researching about it (I've been banded for a year and half) and I think it's really important for us to learn as much as possible about our band. I fully trust my doctor on all technical matters and I know he'll be the first to call should I ever have a problem, but even so, there's a lot of relevant info we can learn from places such as LBT and that most surely I will never have the opportunity or the need to discuss with my doctor. niki

Bravo for the fabulous idea and for the weight loss! never thought of it before, but it sure is a great comparison! :clap2: niki

Hi there, congratulations for your band! that's the first step for this long walk that lays ahead of you now. As everybody else mentioned, it's completely normal for your stomach to make all that noise (burping and farting is also a common activity once you get banded :cool: ) but you should try to avoid those hiccups, don't stress out and be gentle to your body and let it heal calmly. keep drinking but always in small sips, take it slowly. niki

I don't really have a specific quantity to eat per meal. I try to have a quantity that makes me feel satiated but not too full, and I do take good care about what i eat: fish, lean meat, lots of veggies, fruit between meals, no drinking during meals, chew slowly and keep on chewing... if you're not feeling satisfied with your quantity of food, maybe it's time to increase a bit your daily intake of what you're eating. Have you tried taking some Protein? it could help I guess. hang in there! niki

Gosh, I love ice cream, too... but I know that I have to stay away from it, no use for me going for the light version of just eating a couple of spoons and leaving the rest for tomorrow. It's been ages I've had an ice cream (i always avoid that section at the supermarket...) and if I feel I need it very badly I trick myself by cutting a banana in small pieces and leave it on the freezer for a while... :nervous it doesn't really taste the same, I just try to feel it does... niki

I have my band for 17 months now and I have a fill of 7cc on a 10cc band. I never had a PB or slime , only read about it and heard other people talking about it (sounds awful...). Not sure if there's any secret to it but I never felt too restricted anyway. Always managed to eat stuff several people mention to have problems with: bread, pasta, chicken, rice, etc - evidently I make a HUGE effort in trying to make the right food choices as I feel that if I trusted it to my band alone, anything would go through without a problem... I do take care in chewing, I chew, chew, and chew some more. :scared: and I never drink during my meals. Also, I know that if for some reason I'm too stressed out, I'm not going to enjoy my meal, so I try to take my time while doing it. hope things will get better for you. niki

Walking is a great exercise! I started doing it right after first week. I started going to the gym 8 weeks post-op. (my doctor said I could go 4 weeks after surgery and take it up slowly, but I wanted to bet on the safe side...) niki

I'm happy to learn that you're feeling better! and thanks for sharing this info with us. I guess that everytime something hurts here insisde we automatically think there's some problem with the band... I wonder if drinking lots of water will help to avoid this kind of problem. niki

I think this has to be done on the way it feels best to you. Also, I think there are lots of people who really don't understand it and probably they're not at all interested in knowing about it (they might ask about it just to be polite, but they don't really care...). In addition, I can live well without the attention and without those sort of judgemental look everytime I put something into my mouth... I told my husband, parents, sister and in-laws (they were helping me with my kid so I had to tell them the truth about why I was going to the hospital for 48 hrs.). Apart from those few, I rather go on a need to know basis, i.e. if someone obese wants to know more about it. Besides, as I'm a slow looser and I've been exercising and eating carefully (correct food choices), I feel quite comfortable with the idea of not telling the whole world about it. niki

I eat them quite often and never had any problem whatsoever. Just remember to chew them well (as with all other stuff you eat...) niki

Soda and any other fizzy drinks will make your stoma (the upper part of your stomach, above the band) expand dangerously and it can affect your band. If you really must drink it, leave it open for a few hours or just use a spoon to get those bubbles out. Caffeine can too be agressive for your stoma and band and should be avoided at least during the first month afetr being banded. Give some time for your stomach to heal and take it slowly. niki

Kim, Relax, you'll find tons of people (women) that had the same story has yours. Just tell it to your doctor (or assisting nurse), they're used to it and will give you a special pad, no big deal. Just don't wear a tampon! niki

It must be amazing to make such a discovery! I LOVE ice cream, always did, but I still have to fight that demon pretty hard as i don't think I would be able to start eating it and then stop, I would go all the way till the end, the whole pint... and afterwards would feel lousy and guilty... :cry niki

That's wonderful! what a great story, thanks for sharing! I admire you for your courage, well done! :clap2: niki

We usually take our shoes off at home. This has always been done at my mother's (I used to live in Asia when was a kid) and kept the tradition. It's done because of comfort, but also because of cleanliness (can't even dare to imagine all the dirt and ugly germs we've trampled on those dirty city streets all day long) but not exactly because we wish to maintain our carpet or rugs immaculate. I have a small kid too and he loves to play on the floor, so it's best if I try to keep it free from germs, etc, but I'm not really a freak about it. If some friends come to our house, I don't demand or expect them to take their shoes off, but when I go to others people home, I try to look around and see as other people or the hosts do. At my place, I also have those type of slip in thingies (in cloth or tissue) that doctors use on their shoes for surgery. My parents and my in-laws use them when they come to visit us, that way they don't have to take their shoes off, they put the thingies over their shoes and after they gone, I just throw then in the washing machine. Very practical. niki

I think there are several types of pre-op diets and it varies from doctor to doctor. Mine was basically Soup, broth and yoghurt. The idea is to shrink your liver a bit so that it gets easier for your doctor to do the surgery laparascopically without the risk of touching or harming some other internal organ he's not supposed to touch (basically, doctor needs to get more room around stomach to band it up). But I was so desperate to get that band, I guess I would do ANYTHING my doctor told me to do!... niki

It is perfectly normal, don't try to hurry things up, it is better to go slowly, believe me! Your surgery is still too recent and you have to give time for your body to heal and adjust and this takes time and patience. Most of us spent most of our lives fighting with extra weight and gaining more and more weight year afetr year, and now that we have a band we can't expect to loose it all at once in a couple of months! Be patient, your body and your mind need to adjust to your new reality. Take your time to look closely at your food and at what you're eating because this is a whole new game, with new rules, and we have to learn to play it: think about doing good food choices, watch out those quantities you are supposed to eat, take your time to measure quantities you put on your table, and most of all: take all the time to chew, chew, chew, and chew it again - this is hard I know, but it's essential that we learn this new habit of avoiding gulping down our food without proper chewing. And trust your doctor, if he's experienced he'll probably know the right timing for that new fill. niki

I would definitely say you got your restriction, MiniMe! I also had a fill a week ago (my 4th fill) and I totally understand what you mean. I feel the same thing and do hope this wonderful feeling will stay for a long time - I'm trying to complement it with lots of exercise, long walks, and it even helps me avoiding those late evening cravings... :clap2: niki

Hi Karen, It's good for you if you're soon having your esophagram and you're telling your doctor about your worries as he's the right person to let you know if everything is Ok or not. Last time I had a fill and the doctor reassured me that everything was Ok with the band and the saline in it, I started to make an effort in not taking it too seriously. I try to think the band is in here and it's my friend so I better not stress out and treat it correctly or it will make my life miserable.... Hope things will work out well for you. Hang in there! niki