Davyna

What about peaches, nectarines? Do they need to be "peeled?" I can give up apples heh. Not a big fan of them anyway. But I do enjoy a peach.

Hi T_O_M, It seems to me that aging has a lot to do with perspective. Are we looking at it as one step closer to retirement and relaxation, or one step closer to the end of life? What does she think of when she thinks about turning 60, what kind of thoughts go through her head? This would be a good indication of how she really feels about getting older. Instead of a birthday party or something, how about taking a trip somewhere, just the two of you, something she's always wanted to do perhaps? Something to distract her, if you will, from the actual number "6-0" and instead focus her on the beauty of the world's wonders and how great it is to be able to experience these things. Just a suggestion I realize it's difficult to plan something like that when you have so much else going on in your family right now. Remember that it's important to take time for yourselves as well as be concerned for others. Good luck to you.

I think about her too, although we never knew each other. She was around when I was considering lapband last year. I come back this year and I see she's not here. But she's still number one on the top poster list! She had her band removed, eh? Wasn't aware of that. What was the reason?

I met with the nutritionist 1 week prior to surgery and she laid out my pre-op diet really well. She provided suggestions on what to eat and what not to eat and why certain things like soda are bad for me. She talked about what it will be like post op to eat with the band and stressed certain points such as chewing really well and not drinking with meals. She introduced me to several forms of high Protein shakes, which was wonderful, because all I thought was really out there was Slim Fast! I was really in the dark about Protein Shakes Good luck!

I'm only 10 days post op but the port site hurts more than I expected as well. Forgive the description but I have a belly that tends to hang a little (ok maybe more than a little) and this seems to put pressure on the port site. I still can't sleep on my port side and forget trying to stay on all fours for long. Most of my steri-strips are about to come off but the port ones are still snugly on there. Port pain is the only reason I still take pain medication (Tylenol). sigh!

This thread is for those who have had more complications with the band than success... WHEN and WHAT were the earliest signs that the lapband was not going to work as you had hoped? Thanks!

I am 9 days post op and this problem has reduced significantly!! YAY!! :clap2:

I was a thin child until about 7 years old. I used to sleep over at my Grandma's house a lot and she would let me eat as many cookies as I wanted. She would also sneak me candy bars, even when my mother told her to stop. I know this is where my maladaptive eating behaviors came from, but I continued them by my own will. I ENJOYED eating 10 cookies. I LOVE food. I LOVE food that tastes good (which is usually loaded with fat). I lOVE to eat a LOT of food. I am a quantity eater. I know this. Many people in my family struggle with weight issues, but I am the only one who has let it get this far out of control. And I think part of the reason for that is the philosophy: "Well at least when I am fat I can eat whatever I want. I'm already fat so what difference does it make!" It is only now that I am older that I realize I need to lose weight to be healthy, not to fit into a size 5 pair of jeans.

I was chubby as a child. When I was 10 years old I had to go home from school with a stomachache. My mother glared at me when she came to pick me up and said, "your pants are probably just too tight." In the past I have yo-yo dieted and lost and gained weight repeatedly. One time I lost weight, and my mother said, "you have a neck again!" People just don't know what to say when you lose weight. She actually thought this was a compliment. My father has the tact of a cab driver. He used to "moo" at my older sister when I was growing up because he thought this was a funny way to tell her to lose weight. Thank God he has come to his senses now that I am older. He doesn't mock me about my weight. He is worried about my health. About a year ago my sister and I went to a Subway restaurant. There were two kids with their dad behind us in line. Suddenly my sister turned to their father and started telling him that his kids were very rude and that he shouldn't let them talk like that. I hadn't heard what they said. When we were in the car later, my sister reluctantly informed me that one kid had said to the other, "she's so fat I bet when she steps on the scale it says, 'one person at a time.'" sigh.

I was getting sick of soda prior to being banded. My DH is a soda addict so we always had plenty around the house. I switched to Crystal Light and really don't even miss it. I think the only time I will really miss it is the rare occasion when I want one or when I go to the movies. For those times there WILL be other things available to drink! In response to your question about giving it up pre-op, my nutritionist wanted me to stop drinking it one week prior to surgery. I wish I could remember why tho....

I like the way Jack writes I too thought this was going to be a major problem. I tried it one time prior to being banded and found it wasn't so bad. Perhaps believing in the reason behind it will help you. It will help you eat less and stay fuller longer. Good luck to you!

Yeah, it's pretty easy to misunderstand someone online. Hence the reason we have emotes. :biggrin1: I admit though that I didn't take into consideration that the discharge papers simply did not give bathing/shower instructions (this wasn't stated in the original post, only that the poster "forgot to ask"). I was providing other reasons why people ask questions, and I forgot that reason, so I felt the need to apologize.

I am 7 days post op. The gas pains from surgery have been really unpredictable (not bowel gas). First they were in my upper chest and were tolerable. Then they moved to my shoulder and were a little less tolerable... And now they've moved south to the lower chest and I can't take a deep breath without being in a LOT of pain. I tried to sneeze this morning and ended up crying! :faint: I am walking 2-3 times a day for at least 15-20 min a walk. Is there ANYTHING else I can do to get these pains to go away faster!?

Well I apologize if I offended you. I felt QT's post was a bit tactless and was just trying to lighten the thread. I guess my response was misunderstood. I really was trying to be supportive though. :girl_hug:

Is this directed at someone in particular, or everyone who answered your question? There are so many people on this board, you are bound to get the same answer over and over sometimes. Actually, everyone's answer was just slightly different :girl_hug:

Wooot!! Good luck to you! You will do great!!

I am 8 days post op.. I have really bad gas pain in the same exact spot you are describing (center of chest, right below bra line). The thing that concerns me about what you said is that it doesn't affect my ability to eat at all (course, I'm still in the liquid stage....). It does hurt to take a deep breath tho. Sorry I can't be of more help. I would probably insist on talking to my doctor if the advice you are getting doesn't help.

A lot of stuff on this particular forum was covered in our discharge papers. I think sometimes people like to just vent or receive support that they are doing the right thing. :confused: And everyone receives different instructions, too; sometimes it's interesting to hear the instructions of other people's doctors.

Cake..cake...cake... cake cake cake!! Agghhh!!! :faint: Have I mentioned liquid diet stinks? :biggrin1:

Well it's a tad better today but it sure does move around a lot. Walking.. check. Heating pad.. check. Time...... sigh. Need more time. :straight

I was banded 2/28, I posted earlier in this thread... I was feeling pretty dang good for 6 days post op but then the gas moved to the middle of my chest and made it hard to breathe (because it was under an incision), it's a tad better today but not by much. My port area is still pretty tender to the touch and I still can't sleep on that side. AND YES I am friggin sick of liquids!!! :tired But hey, 19 lbs gone forever, can't complain too much I guess!

Thank you for sharing this. I didn't even know this could happen. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

For some reason my doctor didn't recommend psychological testing for me (I'm really not sure why. But I'm a licensed social worker so maybe he thought I was "normal," shrug.) From what I've heard, the psychological testing often consists of the MMPI test. This test has been around for ages and you can learn more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMPI. The general purpose of the testing is to determine if you are psychologically prepared to accept the challenge that lapbanding provides. Being banded forces you to change the way you eat, the way you look at food, and maybe the way you cope with things, if you use food as a coping mechanism. Without asking too many personal questions, I expect you will pass the test just fine if you feel you have been well adapted to life and can accept change, and are not currently depressed. Research the test a little and you can find out what to expect. Good luck!

grats! lol (never thought I would congratulate someone for burping, haha)

I just need to vent this, I'm sorry.... I am 5 days post-op. I'm feeling okay, and was finally up to my first public outing. And that's where the trouble began. I've been recuperating at my mom's house. It was unusually cold yesterday and I didn't bring anything warm to wear. I ended up having to wear a multi-colored wool pullover sweater that belongs to my father and a pair of windpants. I felt absolutely rediculous, but I knew we needed to go to the store to find something else to eat before I threw every can in the house marked "broth" into the trash. So off we went. We ended up at a grocery store in my home town... a town where the average salary is probably close to $75,000 and there aren't any apartments... for a reason. These people are elitists. One of the reasons we moved away. We pulled up into the parking lot, looked to be a pretty busy day. There's probably about 50 cars in the parking lot. I pushed myself out of the car and started walking up the row towards the store. Then I noticed both of my shoes have come untied. I looked around. I can't bend over that far. What am I going to do? I propped my foot up on the front bumper of a nearby dirty, dusty 90's style Mercedes. My mom has to tie the shoe on my port side, but I am able to tie the other shoe. I am embarrassed already at the fact my mom has to tie my shoe. "God I hope no one sees me," I said to my mom. "No one's around, it's okay," she said. I felt bad about having to prop my foot on someone's car, but it was either that or walk all the way back to our car to do this. And I figured... what are the odds the owner of this car will know any different? Sure enough. Just as soon as I get my foot off the car, I hear laughing. I turned around. Here comes a middle aged, thin blond lady pushing her cart and coming directly at me, and a cute female teenager who works at the store, who probably came outside to collect grocery carts. I can't believe it. The blond owns the Mercedes. What are the freaking odds. 50 cars in the lot and this one is hers. I started to walk away, even more embarrassed. I can only imagine what she must have thought of this whale in a wool sweater tying her shoe on the bumper of her car. "I guess she didn't want to put her foot on her OWN car," the blond said, loud enough for me to hear. The teenager laughed. I whipped around, and a stream of words came out, "I'm sorry I just had surgery I can't bend over I apologize." "It's okay," the blond said quickly, not even glancing in my direction. She didn't say it rudely, but she didn't sound sincere either. I started crying the minute I got into the store. I just wanted to disappear. My mom couldn't really understand why I felt this way, and told me to just forget about the blond, that I would never see her again. That wasn't the point. The point was I felt so awful about myself at that particular moment. I didn't want to attract any attention to myself but I had anyway. And that just ties in to how I feel in general, being overweight. Talk about hitting rock bottom. :faint: /rant off