themis

I agree with RM, check with your surgeon. I'm starting week 4 right now and I can lift 20 pounds but I can feel it... so I certainly wouldn't recommend 80 at this point and I can lift 80 pounds normally.

I agree on the protein drinks. I was fine when I had my Atkins shake. Also Cream of wheat, thinned out a bit was a huge help. I practically lived on those two alone. Another thing is Lipton Cup-a-soup, creamy chicken is pretty good and real easy, just add water. I went through a box of those in like 2 days! Sugar free hot chocolate might help. Also, if you have a favorite herbal tea... mine is cinnamon and spice. I use a cup of skim milk and put the tea bag in it and microwave it. I saw it on a cooking show! It's pretty good. Hang in there! You'll do better when you're on mushies.:thumbup:

I couldn't have mushies until week 3! I had nausea along with my tummy growls... But when I got to full liquids is when my hunger pangs went away.

Well, first of all... congrats on having the surgery and doing so well. Second, I don't want to discourage you, but I want you to understand what MAY happen in the next few weeks.... I was like you and lost quite a bit of weight in the beginning. Once you get to mushy foods, your weight loss might start tapering off.... now this is important to understand... Any weight loss between surgery and first fill is a bonus, but this time is for healing. Your swelling is going down which is allowing the hunger to come. After about 3 weeks I was already getting comments about weight loss at work, yet I didn't lose any weight during the third week, which goes to show you that the swelling was still going down. You are also to use this time to learn to eat properly, 'chew, chew, chew', no water during or after meals etc. Sometimes you will forget to chew, chew, chew on that first bite, going through the phases helps you to adjust. If you forget to chew on the mushy stage it isn't as bad as forgetting to chew on solids. You're doing so good, I just don't want you to get discouraged if your weight loss pauses for a bit. That is normal. When you get your fill is when the actual weight loss starts kicking in... Now to answer your question... My doctor told me since I was willing to pay for this, why wouldn't I want to get the most of my band? What is your ideal weight? "Don't limit yourself when you have the tool to help you get to where you want to be." that's what my doctor told me. I'd say go for the gold! :thumbup:

I guess it's a good thing I'm not into candies.. I have no idea what a jelly belly is, is it similar to a gummy bear? Anyway, have you tried sugar free ice pops? I tried introducing something different one at a time. After clear liquids, I introduced sugar free jello and then a couple days later I did the ice pops. Now they taste funny but back then they were the best thing I've ever had in my life! LOL!

Wow, I thought I was bad by drinking half a protein shake 2 days early! LOL! You're already getting a fill? I have to wait 6 weeks to get mine. One thing I've learned is that you can get away with a whole lot more before you get your fill than I thought... Apparently that's why the guidelines, to help you get used to eating this way, because once you get a fill, no mistakes allowed. It's good that you chewed very well. I swallowed 2 Excedrin yesterday out of habit and freaked when I realized what I did.. fortunately I didn't have a problem, but the same thing with drinking water after my meal and forgetting to chew, chew, chew the first bite. Just make sure you try to go back to the guidelines to build a new habit of eating! Good luck!

Keep in mind Gas X doesn't help everyone. You might ask your doctor what else you can try instead of Gas X or just try something else chewable or liquid over the counter. Some one else used a generic form from Walgreens of Mylanta that worked for them. Where did you evacuate to? We had quite a large number of people here in San Antonio. Restless Monkey or I can give you our doctor's names to try, if you have insurance, you can ask them who to go to where ever you're at given the emergency situation. Stress can defiintely add to the problem.

Yes, the tightness is the gas. Just try your best to get in as much liquid (water) as possible. I love water, but even I couldn't do it the first week. I'm probably still not doing it 3 weeks later, but just keep an eye on yourself. Going to the bathroom, skin still springs back after pressing on it... Try to get a some sort of measuring ability, a 32 oz cup or something and fill it up and see how much you're actually taking in... I'm supposed to have twice that. I had the same glass of water (about 20oz) on my night stand for about 3 days after my surgery! LOL! Good luck.

The atkins is good, I prefer it to Slimfast... Slimfast now has a low carb protein shake, but Atkins is better.

LOL! I guess I missed that one, I watched the actual surgery on youtube. I thought that was cool. Think about it... she ate chips and ice cream.. give me a break. I can understand the ice cream, as if you're too tight you may not keep down solids, but the chips? NOT! I agree.. eating ice cream because you can't keep anything down? It's a cop out. Protein drinks or even sugar free ice pops... are a better choice. She clearly gave up on the band. My doctor said most of the people you see there are the ones that fail, don't listen to them. Try to find a band buddy that already got the surgery from the same doctor that you are using and is successful at their loss. That's a much better research for you than using youtube. If you can't find one here (do a search for your doctor's name) ask your doctor if you can talk to one of his/her other patients. My band buddy is absolutely awesome (Thanks Mindy!!) I hope you can find some one as wonderful.

I was also banded in August. My band buddy explained there is very little to no restriction until you get your fill. I even asked about water, because I gulped water (forgot momentarily) and had no problem. You are not supposed to be concerned so much about losing weight during the first 4-6 weeks but healing and relearning to eat without effecting the band. You know the sip, sip, sip, chew, chew, chew, walk, walk, walk motto. Need to get those down by the time you get the fill. Especially the chew, chew, chew and no water (drinks) during or after (for 1 hour) eating. Also just because you don't see pounds dropping doesn't mean a whole lot. I haven't lost any weight the last 5 days, but today my shirt was extra baggy and some one else told me I was getting thinner. Don't get discouraged. Remember this is time for healing and adjusting. Good luck!

That's a good dose of protein! But the carbs are kind of high. But after checking out the website, it's meant to go a long with a liquid diet either by itself or with other liquids. I don't know about you, but I got banded to avoid using other diet gimmicks. If you're just planning on using it for the protein... It might help after banding or fills when you're on full liquids. I guess it just depends on what kind of guidelines you are following. I'd say try something not designed to be a full meal... when I asked my doctor at the seminar about using protein drinks like slim fast, he said no. He said I could drink it if the protein was enough after banding since you're not eating right, but once you're eating you should get your protein from the food. All doctors are different though, if your doctor says it's okay, I don't see the problem... as long as you continue to eat as you mentioned with lean meats/veggies.

You can also adjust your cooking to help the whole family eat healthier. I tried making meatloaf and sloppy joes both using a mixture of ground beef and ground turkey... no one is the wiser. KC Masterpiece has a low carb bar-b-q sauce I use along with splenda to make the sloppy joes. I always used KC but with brown sugar before, no one noticed a difference. However I didn't use bread, I just ate it with mashed potatoes on the side. I'm still in mushy/soft stage and while the weight loss is certainly slowing down I noticed today when I put on my shirt it was extra baggy and when I came to work one of my employees asked me if I was dieting because I look a lot thinner... this without getting a fill yet.. major mood booster.:wink_smile: But like the others said, once you get a fill, the amount you eat will reduce, some people have a problem with bread, I haven't tried it, but I did eat a soft corn tortilla with no problem. It feels great to push your plate away with food still on it... and be full.:thumbup:

I had a diet similar to Restless Monkey, I'm on mushies also. But I don't think I had anything but water the first 2 days, third and fourth day I had clear liquids and was a bit light headed, but you also need to take your vitamins. You aren't eating right, so you need to take your vitamins and drink a lot of water to stay hydrated. Every time I got light headed I would remember my vitamin and it would go away. Not getting enough iron can make you light headed also. I was told not to worry about calories at this point and be more concerned with healing and this post-op diet in stages is a way of helping you adapt to the band without causing any problems.

Yes, I have 5 also. They are almost gone except for the port site. Has anyone tried using those silicone scar sheets? They're about $14 at the grocery store, to help reduce the scarring.

Restless Monkey, you were chatting with me the day you had surgery! You had an ideal surgery day! LOL! I tried sleeping on my side but couldn't stay that way long.

I'm on the same stage... try corn tortillas or toasting bread. I myself haven't tried them yet, but that's what my nutritionist told me to eat. But bread from what I've been told and read is really hard to digest. Think about what happens when you drop bread in a glass of water and how it expands. That's what it is doing inside of you. Even crackers are better, but not a soft food.

I would personally keep all meds on the other side of the house to force myself to get up and walk. I definitely needed and used gas X! It helped me a great deal! Better to have it and not use it, rather than need it and not have it.

I actually got a pill crusher instead of a splitter. I have to have excedrin... my doc knows. LOL! He just laughed. Everything RM mentioned is perfect, also it doesn't hurt to have some 'personal cleansing cloths' or baby wipes, to make clean up easier. I was actually allowed to take a shower that morning and the next day, and did. It helps! Oh yeah, lip moisturizer, definitely! If you're staying at the hospital you may want socks with tread, they gave me some to walk around in before I went home.. but they are not designed for comfort if you're there for more than a few hours. Yep, a pillow for the travel will help allot!

I agree with RM. You should have gotten a diet to follow, if not, check with your surgeon. The one I have allowed me to drink decaf from day 1. I'm one of those people who only drink coffee when it's cold (which is only about 10 days of the year in S.A.) and when I'm really tired, so I didn't drink any. As for the wine, I was told when I'm on full liquids I could have a glass. I had one glass of white wine last Friday, which was just under 2 weeks being banded.

It's okay, it's swelling and gas from the surgery. Just keep up the Lap-Band Motto, sip, sip, sip, walk, walk, walk and try to keep working the gas out, with gas X strips or whatever works for you. Just as a reference, I weighed myself in the morning before surgery and again after surgery when I got home and gained like 9 pounds it quickly fell off, but that just lets you have an idea of what your body went through. It took about a week to feel better and about 2 to feel great. But everyone is different. Restless Monkey was chatting with me on her surgery day! I on the other hand apparently cussed out my son for calling me on my surgery day and have no recollection of even speaking to him! LOL! Hang in there. It does go away.

I happen to sleep with a lot of pillows, a body pillow is great too. Try using a pillow next to your stomach when sleeping on your side. I was sleeping on my right side day 2 and by day 4 on my left side. But there was a lot of tossing and turning too. To answer your question though.. yes, you will be able to sleep just fine. Just depends on your healing progress... I only used my pain meds 2 times, both at night. Never really needed it though. By 2 weeks post op, your incisions should be healed or just about... mine are almost all gone except for the port site.

Well, this is a surgery and not everyone needs to know. It is your business. You want people to know that will be supportive. If they are critical of you now, they probably aren't going to be supportive. Some people are also jealous. Misery loves company. Maybe they're afraid you'll look better than them... who knows. This is really a personal decision, some tell everyone and some, like me, tell very few. Even my mom doesn't know. Only one of my kids knows. That's only because she came by when I was still recovering at home. My bf and 2 friends that don't live near me knew. I'm more about my band buddy that had her surgery last year and with the same doctor as me. You'll get more support from your band buddy than you will anyone else. They've been through it and they will understand.

You're naked under the hospital gown. Obviously it will come up or off to get to your surgery. While restless monkey has a point, in the scheme of things it really isn't important...You won't be awake to know what is going on. You are 'put under' before they even touch you. But.. at the same time, I do understand your concern. Most people who are overweight are self-conscious about their bodies. I was embarrassed that I forgot to shave my legs before going to get my lab tests and they hooked some of the ekg monitors on my leg. I was wondering if I should get waxed or something before surgery! LOL! I decided against it. Don't worry about it, worry more about your after care, make sure you have the things you need at home.

My doctor says EXACTLY what Hollie said. I haven't had my first fill yet and I ate something yesterday forgetting to chew, chew, chew until I swallowed half way and felt it stuck in my chest. Luckily it's soft foods right now, so it went away... which is why they put us on these diets! LOL! I'm with Hollie though, it's like being sick. When you get sick after eating something (without being banded) you are weary of eating that same food again. To this day I hate Pepto Bismol because when I was a child when I first had to take it, I threw up pink! LOL! But there really aren't any foods I've done that with. Maybe for awhile... but eventually you try it again!