Losing_It_In_Texas

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and the words of encouragement.....thats what I think is soooo special about this entire forum:thumbup:. I have been grazing tonight and making some poor choices but I am just so hungry tonight....ugh. I think I'll call my doctor tomorrow and see about a fill pretty soon. This is the first night that my hunger (true, growling hunger) has been insatiable and it scares me a bit. Take care everyone.

Wow....lots of good responses here. Though our stories may diifer in some respects....and some may be worse than others, hopefully it won't be too painful to tell your story. I think we have all been very hard on ourselves in varying degrees and beginning our weight loss journey together is the beginning of the healing phase for ALL OF US!! Big hugs and high fives to us all!!!!!!!!!

I have lots of tuna salad, chicken salad (with shredded chicken), lean beef chili, baked fish. I made reduced fat King Ranch Chicken casserole last night that was yummy but I was wary of the chicken chunks even though they were very tender and I ate very slowly and chewed like crazy. I know you must be excited to be on normal foods again...just take it slow and enjoy!!

I first bought a regular food scale when I was on my pre-op diet, but found it to be inconsistent so I bought a digital one for about $19 that I still use religiously and it has helped me tremendously. Before my surgery (9-22-08), portion size was never something I considered....hence my starting weight of 250 lbs...lol. I am sure I will begin phasing out my scale eventually when I am more used to what a portion size should like, but I just don't trust myself yet. Best of luck to you!!

Ok, here's my problem....I have been getting stuck a lot the past 2 evenings after my first fill on Monday (surgery 9-22-08). My question is this....if the band is between my upper and lower stomach pouch, and the sole purpose of the band is to keep food in the upper pouch for long periods before emptying into the lower stomach, and food should not be going directly thru the opening, then why does food get stuck there? I'm not sure if I am forming my question correctly, let me try again.... shouldn't food be sitting in the upper pouch for awhile before it empties and if so then why when swallowing does certain food attemp to pass thru the band and instead get stuck? Shouldn't EVERYTHING be sitting in the upper pouch then slowly pass thru to the lower stomach much later? Hopefully someone will understand what I am trying to say and be able to explain this to me....thank you!!

whoops...sorry about that post

Yes, I will check with my surgeon on Monday. I just hoped I wouldn't have to wait till then for an answer. I figured people who had experienced the same thing would be better equipped to answer it than my doctor who has never gone thru the ordeal himself. I appreciate everyones replies though...thanks for y'alls help!!! :thumbup:

I just don't understand why any food should be trying to pass the band immediately after taking a bite if the sole purpose of the band is to retain the food in the upper pouch for an extended period....seems to me if its getting stuck then its not sitting in the upper pouch but rather trying to go thru right then while you are eating it. When I have gotten stuck its after only 2 or 3 bites that are chewed to oblivion, so its not that I am overfull, and my bites are tiny.....I just don't get it...whine whine whine....lol __________________

I am no expert as I had my surgery on 9-22, but the week before I got my first fill I was beginning to get so freakin hungry I could have eaten a horse. Since Monday (fill date) my hunger is practically nonexistent and my portions are tiny...so hang in there. As far as gas, mine was bad the first 2 weeks but has since gone away entirely. best of luck to you!!

Oh my gosh.....we must be on the same wavelength. I just posted an almost identical question before I read to see if anyone else had asked it. I just don't understand why any food should be trying to pass the band immediately after taking a bite if the sole purpose of the band is to retain the food in the upper pouch for an extended period....seems to me if its getting stuck then its not sitting in the upper pouch but rather trying to go thru right then while you are eating it.

I am only a little over a month out from my surgery and just had my first fill on Monday of this week and I asked my doctor then about the amount of calories he recommended and his response was "you didn't pay $15,000 for this surgery to count calories" he went on to say that if I ate only one cup total of food per meal that he guaranteed I would successfully lose weight at the rate he was comfortable with...6-12 lbs a month. It seems as if he is more of a Portion Control type of guy rather than a calorie counter which is fine by me, but you will get lots of different answers on here as everyones DR. is different. So I would ask your doctor what his guidelines are and follow them as closely as possible. Since my fill, I am eating only about 1/2 cup total and am completely satisfied with that amount, but prior to my fill I was purposely stopping myself at one cup regardless of being satisfied or not and most times I was not even satisfied much less full but I was listening to my DRs orders and now I seem to have a tiny bit of restriction which feels great. Best of luck to you!!!

I just had my first fill on 10-20-08....surgery was 9-22-08. It went fine so don't worry, only hurt for about 1 second and not exactly hurt, just uncomfortable when the big needle went in but it was essentially painless. I was on liquids for 24 hours then on to soft foods for 2 days, then back to regular foods. I didn't think I could tell any difference at all the first couple of days, then last night I got stuck on a stewed tomato for about 5 minutes...again it wasn't painful just uncomfortable like I needed to burp big time but couldn't. Good luck....hope this helps!!

Ok, here's the deal......I've been constipated before, where I have the urge to go but can't but this is different. I don't even feel like I need to have a bm, but I haven't been in over a week and then it was only because I took MOM. It's truly aggravating because I used to go regularly before my surgery on 9-22-08. This can't be normal or even healthy but I don't want to resort to MOM every time I need to go. Do y'all think it is just from reduced calories...I'm eating around 800 calories a day right now. Does it ever get straightened out to where I'll begin going normally? How often do y'all go? Sorry about the delicate nature of this topic, but I figured who better to ask, right?

Just curious if anyone has had this happen. I am fine at the present but wonder if insurance covers band removal when you are originally self pay. I would think insurance would cover it if the band had caused medical complications.....anyone know for sure?

I smoke about 3/4 pack a day, but did cut down to 5 cigs a day for 2 weeks before surgery as requested by my surgeon. I know I should quit completely but am having a hard time doing it. I know I will someday. Just wondering if anyone quit before surgery and then started again after surgery, or if you still smoke the same before and after surgery. I don't drink, do drugs, and can't eat much.....I still need ONE vice.....LOL!!!!

I couldn't really find an appropriate place to post this, so please bear with me. I have my sons college graduation coming up and want to look my best and I need help before I plunk down $70 plus dollars on an undergarment. Has anyone tried SPANX? And how do you know what size to get since I don't think they let you try them on first? I am 222 lbs now and have no idea what size I am, probably a 20....possibly an 18 (doubtful). The thing is, I want it to be tight enough to hold in my fat but not so tight that I cant get it on. They look so small when you look at them so I have no idea what size to get.....please help!!

I am in Johnson City....about 35 minutes west of Austin. Before moving here we lived in Dallas, off Preston Rd and the tollway.

So my first fill is tomorrow....4 wks post op, 10cc band. What I am wondering is, do I need to do anything special beforehand? My doctor, as usual, didn't give me any instructions. I know every doctor is different, but I would love to hear from those who have recently had their first fill to see what, if any, special instructions that had prior to their fill. Also, what was it like when you ate the first time afterwards? Were you on liquids, or straight to food? Thanks for your help!

I too experienced nausea about a week after my surgery, not to the point of vomiting but very queasy and my doctor called in a prescription for Phenergan suppositories. They made me really sleepy, but really helped the nausea. Hope you feel better soon!

Thanks so much for all your replies ladies. Now that I am armed with all your info I feel like I will be able to buy them with confidence and am in fact excited to see if they will help hold my tummy in since that is where I am the biggest and thats what seems to have shrunk the least with my weight loss. Have a great day everyone!!

I am sort of the same as you when it comes to my health....other than being obese that is, which I have now done something about as well. I research things a great deal and sometimes might be a tad hypochondriacal thanks to the lovely internet...LOL. But the strange thing is...I was a totally healthy fat girl and other than being hard to lug around 110 extra pounds, I felt great. I'm sure my health would have eventually begun to decline but hopefully the lapband will make me even healthier. In fact, tonight I took my blood pressure with my mom's new high tech bllod pressure monitor and it was 106/65. I don't think I've ever seen it that low.....uh oh....something else for me to obsess about now.....LOL. Thanks for your reply!!

I had complete blood work done just prior to my surgery...about a month and half ago. I am perfectly healthy, just a little under fed right now. I have been going to this Dr. for 10 years and trust him completely so if he considered it safe for me then I am good with it....especially since I feel so much better after receiving it.

I for one have not had my beloved Diet Dr Pepper in nearly a month siince my surgery. I really thought that would be the hardest part for me because I was truly addicted to them, but after the gas pains I had following surgery for 48 hours were the very worst part of my recovery....they were the only pain I had at all. I was told carbonated drinks would give me gas again and only out of fear of that feeling I haven't had any and really don't miss them. I have found lots of 5 calorie mix-ins that I put in my water in tons of different flavors so I have gotten used to those just fine.

I ate lots of baked chicken, fresh broiled fish, extra lean ground beef patties baked with onions and a slice of provolone cheese, turkey Jerky, small amts of veggies, light string cheese, boiled eggs, smoked turkey breast. I was on a similar diet, and lost 17 lbs prior to surgery on the pre-op diet.....best of luck to you!!

As an old(er) woman myself (47), I am wondering if I will face slower weight loss than say a woman in her 20's or 30's? I had a hysterectomy when I was 32 and that is when I started slowly gaining weight....approximately 7 pounds a year till I reached my all time high of 250 pounds. I weighed 233 at surgery and am now 222, so a total of 11 pounds since surgery on 10-22. I am pretty satisfied with the overall total and I feel great, but I'm just curious how others around my age have been losing. I would love to hear from some of you.