ALuv82

I'm glad to hear you got your band out. While I'm very happy so far with my band, it has not been all smooth sailing. I too had a lot of trouble getting food and water down and had to go in early for an unfill. What you went through sounds so much worse. Obviously the band is not 100% and it didn't work for you. Your Dr. should have listened to you. While I am not an MD, I am a Dr. (veterinarian) and it makes me ashamed to hear of patients being treated that way. Even if he didn't know what was going on and there was a chance that perhaps you were doing something wrong (which you obviously weren't) he should not have taken an chances. Hopefully he learned his lesson. Take care and good luck on your journey to keep off the weight you lost and hopefully lose the rest.

It wasn't bad for me during the pre-op and first 1-2 weeks post op but now I'm starting to crave it big time.

It’s officially been 4 weeks since my surgery and 5 weeks since I started my pre-op diet. I figured this would make as good a time for an official weigh-in as any. I took some 1 month post-op pictures which can be viewed below if you’re interested. It’s actually pretty cool to see how much can change in a month. In addition I also took my measurements again. Of course they’re probably completely meaningless since the first time I had them professionally done by my personal trainer, J and this time I had to do them myself since I haven’t been cleared my Dr. G. yet for PT level working out. I hope it’s at least somewhat accurate. So here goes… Post-op pictures: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/members/54524-albums3098.html Before Weight: 313.4# Chest: 52.5” Waist: 51.5” Hips: 59.5” Thigh: 29.5” Calf: 20” Arm: 21.5” Now Weight: 281.0# Chest: 51” Waist: 45” Hips: 58” Thigh: 29.25” Calf: 19.75” Arm: 20” My weight was actually down to 279.5 a few days ago but it seems to have gone back up a tad. I was really happy being out of the 280’s. It meant less than 10# until my BMI was below 40. Oh well; before I had my unfill I could barely even drink water so I was dehydrated. I know this has to be it because now I’m drinking more but still haven’t been peeing much the last couple of days. A 32# loss is still pretty damn good for 5 weeks. In other news, I get to start real food today—woohoo! I’m excited to get off munchies. So far I haven’t been having trouble tolerating my food, but I definitely still feel restricted. I had 3 oz of Tyson steak strips and half a baked potato for lunch and was stuffed. Also, I’ve been looking for alternatives to Diet Coke since I’ve really been missing it lately and water is getting boring. The Crystal Light and Diet Snapples are just too aspartame-y for me now. Well, I’ve got to tell you, I’ve discovered a new Snapple—Noni Berry Juice—10 calories per 8 oz serving and super yummy. I’m loving it. I also tried a Tropical Punch Fuze yesterday, also 10 calories per 8oz serving. Not bad either. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get over the Diet Coke but these might ease my pain a little. The only think I have to do is make sure I don’t start drinking just that. I still need my H20 goodness, even if I don’t like it.

Yay! Glad to hear you're getting started on the path to health. Get that 4 month supervised diet going ASAP. I was lucky and didn't need a Dr. supervised diet at all but I hear a lot of people need 6 months, so 4 isn't too bad. Plus you'll have that much less to lose when you finally do get your band.

Well, last week I know I was all gung-ho about my super-duper restriction. Yippee, I was hardly eating and I was losing weight fast. What more could a lap-bander want? Well I’ve got to tell you, it got old quickly. You see, this past week I actually started to experience some hunger. Only problem was—I couldn’t eat…or drink. Maybe it was just because I was actually hungry that I noticed it more, but my band actually seemed tighter this week than it was last week. Looking back at some of my MyFitnessPal daily food logs, this seemed to be supported by the fact that I started out eating about 800-900 Calories a day on mushies and was down to less than 600 Calories a day. Not only that, but I was hardly getting any water in. Even drinking gave me chest pain. It wasn’t good. So Tuesday night was the monthly support group meeting for patients of Dr. G. and associates. I made my way down to the hospital and met with several other patients as well as one of the PAs and the psychiatrist that works with the program. I sat through several recently banded patient’s descriptions of bandster hell before finally getting to express my (opposite) concerns. The PA, Deirdre agreed that I was too tight and told me to make an appointment to come in to the office. It was nice to have someone agree with my worries. It seemed that everyone else I told was like—“GREAT! You should be happy. Isn’t this what you wanted?” Well no, not exactly. I didn’t really go into this aiming to become practically anorexic, experience chest pain constantly, suffer from dehydration, send my body into starvation mode and totally screw up my metabolism. That’s not really what I wanted. But alas, while everyone I know has been very supportive, it doesn’t mean they understand what I’m going through. Deirdre however was much more appreciative of my predicament. She shared the same concerns about my lack of nutrition, and while I stated that I was afraid of going into starvation mode and seeing my wonderful weight-loss stall, she added the concern of losing weight too quickly. I can’t really say that I was too worried about that one, but still…at least she acknowledged that there was a problem. So Wednesday I called the office and set up an appointment for first thing Thursday morning. I went in as scheduled and met with the same PA. She explained that Dr. G. fills each band to capacity to ensure there are no leaks and then takes out enough fluid to get rid of all the air/air bubbles and equalize the pressure. This leaves a slightly different amount of fluid in each person’s band post-op. Sometimes there is as little as 0.5ccs, in one patient she saw recently, there was 5ccs left in their 14cc band. Anyhow, I lay back on the table and she stuck and big needle into my port. No local anesthesia or anything, but I prefer it that way. I hardly felt the needle at all whereas lidocaine burns like a mother effer. She attached a syringe and aspirated the fluid from my 10cc band. For some reason Dr. G. puts a dye called methylene blue into the saline so the fluid that came out was bright blue. She aspirated until no more fluid came out. Deirdre told me there was still about a half a cc left. In the end she wound up removing 3.2ccs. She had me take a few sips of water and it seemed to go down smoothly this time. We said our good-byes and I left. I subsequently spent the next 15 minutes looking for the valet ticket I got when I pulled up to the hospital. I never did find it but it turns out it didn’t matter anyway; the valet was happy to take my word for it. Apparently I have an honest face or something. I got in my car and drove to work while sipping happily, pain-free, on a Medifast protein shake as I was instructed to stick to fluids and really soft foods for a couple of days. It’s definitely a relief to have all that restriction gone. I know I’ll probably be in bandster hell soon, but to me that’s better than chest pain every time I swallow. I’ve definitely been hungrier the last 2 days but it has hardly been unbearable. I still do seem to have some restriction and am mostly satisfied after a meal. If it stays this way I think I should do alright moving on to solids on Monday. And if worse comes to worst, I go back for what was supposed to be my first fill (and may technically still be, I suppose) in just over 2 weeks. I can suffer through some hunger pains until then. On a completely unrelated note I would just like to quickly tell you about the extreme shopping high I am currently riding. You see, a few years ago I received a Coach purse as a Christmas gift. Sadly, earlier this year the leather strap began to tear. Well, for those of you who don’t know, Coach has a life-time guarantee. I sent the bag back and received a voucher for the full retail price of the bag—over $320. I took my voucher to the outlets today where they had sales galore. I bought a large purse, a wristlet purse, sunglasses, a key chain and an umbrella. Actual retail value—over $1000. Actual price I charged to my credit card--$51. If I could get deals like this all the time, I would have been a shopping addict over a food addict long ago. Hmm, maybe outlet shopping will be my new vice after all.

Well, last week I know I was all gung-ho about my super-duper restriction. Yippee, I was hardly eating and I was losing weight fast. What more could a lap-bander want? Well I’ve got to tell you, it got old quickly. You see, this past week I actually started to experience some hunger. Only problem was—I couldn’t eat…or drink. Maybe it was just because I was actually hungry that I noticed it more, but my band actually seemed tighter this week than it was last week. Looking back at some of my MyFitnessPal daily food logs, this seemed to be supported by the fact that I started out eating about 800-900 Calories a day on mushies and was down to less than 600 Calories a day. Not only that, but I was hardly getting any water in. Even drinking gave me chest pain. It wasn’t good. So Tuesday night was the monthly support group meeting for patients of Dr. G. and associates. I made my way down to the hospital and met with several other patients as well as one of the PAs and the psychiatrist that works with the program. I sat through several recently banded patient’s descriptions of bandster hell before finally getting to express my (opposite) concerns. The PA, Deirdre agreed that I was too tight and told me to make an appointment to come in to the office. It was nice to have someone agree with my worries. It seemed that everyone else I told was like—“GREAT! You should be happy. Isn’t this what you wanted?” Well no, not exactly. I didn’t really go into this aiming to become practically anorexic, experience chest pain constantly, suffer from dehydration, send my body into starvation mode and totally screw up my metabolism. That’s not really what I wanted. But alas, while everyone I know has been very supportive, it doesn’t mean they understand what I’m going through. Deirdre however was much more appreciative of my predicament. She shared the same concerns about my lack of nutrition, and while I stated that I was afraid of going into starvation mode and seeing my wonderful weight-loss stall, she added the concern of losing weight too quickly. I can’t really say that I was too worried about that one, but still…at least she acknowledged that there was a problem. So Wednesday I called the office and set up an appointment for first thing Thursday morning. I went in as scheduled and met with the same PA. She explained that Dr. G. fills each band to capacity to ensure there are no leaks and then takes out enough fluid to get rid of all the air/air bubbles and equalize the pressure. This leaves a slightly different amount of fluid in each person’s band post-op. Sometimes there is as little as 0.5ccs, in one patient she saw recently, there was 5ccs left in their 14cc band. Anyhow, I lay back on the table and she stuck and big needle into my port. No local anesthesia or anything, but I prefer it that way. I hardly felt the needle at all whereas lidocaine burns like a mother effer. She attached a syringe and aspirated the fluid from my 10cc band. For some reason Dr. G. puts a dye called methylene blue into the saline so the fluid that came out was bright blue. She aspirated until no more fluid came out. Deirdre told me there was still about a half a cc left. In the end she wound up removing 3.2ccs. She had me take a few sips of water and it seemed to go down smoothly this time. We said our good-byes and I left. I subsequently spent the next 15 minutes looking for the valet ticket I got when I pulled up to the hospital. I never did find it but it turns out it didn’t matter anyway; the valet was happy to take my word for it. Apparently I have an honest face or something:devil:. I got in my car and drove to work while sipping happily, pain-free, on a Medifast protein shake as I was instructed to stick to fluids and really soft foods for a couple of days. It’s definitely a relief to have all that restriction gone. I know I’ll probably be in bandster hell soon, but to me that’s better than chest pain every time I swallow. I’ve definitely been hungrier the last 2 days but it has hardly been unbearable. I still do seem to have some restriction and am mostly satisfied after a meal. If it stays this way I think I should do alright moving on to solids on Monday. And if worse comes to worst, I go back for what was supposed to be my first fill (and may technically still be, I suppose) in just over 2 weeks. I can suffer through some hunger pains until then. On a completely unrelated note I would just like to quickly tell you about the extreme shopping high I am currently riding. You see, a few years ago I received a Coach purse as a Christmas gift. Sadly, earlier this year the leather strap began to tear. Well, for those of you who don’t know, Coach has a life-time guarantee. I sent the bag back and received a voucher for the full retail price of the bag—over $320. I took my voucher to the outlets today where they had sales galore. I bought a large purse, a wristlet purse, sunglasses, a key chain and an umbrella. Actual retail value—over $1000. Actual price I charged to my credit card--$51. If I could get deals like this all the time, I would have been a shopping addict over a food addict long ago. Hmm, maybe outlet shopping will be my new vice after all.

I know it's a little late, but I've decided to join in anyway...here it goes.... Name********Starting weight*****Current*******Goal******To go ********************************:party:**********:tt2:*******:thumbup: 1RockinMom.........254............220.........145.......75 Alleycia...........255............220.........152.......68 AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0 Babe...............308............275.6.......199.......76.6 Bellaperdente......196............177.........150.......27 Bklyn1984..........317............238.........165.......73 Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53 Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15 Cappy..............240............223.5.......130.......93.5 Chocolate_Snaps....244............224.........175.......49 CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5 Clarebear08........192............170.........160.......10 Donna113...........183............172.5.......126.......46.5 dublingirl.........224............209.........145.......64 Ebonie.............307............298.8.......200.......98.8 EmmaWang...........241............203.........140.......63 FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112 FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54 FlordiaPete........413............372.........300.......72 GratefulHeart......226............191.........135.......56 GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76 health4life........279............239.........150.......89 inri09.............287............254.........185.......69 janesays...........225............189.........160.......29 kaninag............210............210.........170.......40 kimaly.............194............183.........160.......23 Lindar172..........246............219.6.......150.......69.6 Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91 Long2BThin.........216............182.........169.......13 lotzasunshine......270............246.........180.......66 Loveislovely.......216............180.........175.......5 ltgordon...........284.8..........229.4.......185.......44.4 lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65 Mair...............231............222.........140.......83 Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60 mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55 MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48 nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30 Pink...............230............152.........145........7 Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58 Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55 Snow...............227............167.........141.......26 stacy73............285............214.........160.......54 Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40 Tuger..............192............187.5.......130.......57.5 Under200...........242............199.........155.......44 vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52 Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76 WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22 ALuv82.............280.5..........280.5.......200......80.5

I had fluid in my band at surgery but was WAAAAy too tight. Yesterday I went in 2 1/2 weeks before I was supposed to have my first fill and had an unfill instead. I now have only 0.5ccs in my band. The PA took out 3.2ccs. I'll let you know in a few days if I'm hungry or I still have enough restriction.

I was scheduled for my first fill on June 9th. I'm still on Mushies but am scheduled to start solids on Mon. Well, I couldn't even tolerate my mushies diet and it seemed to be getting worse. I called the doc and yesterday I actually went in for an UNfill. She took 3.2ccs out of my band leaving 0.5ccs. I'll probably be starving now like the rest of you, but it beats having chest pain everytime you try to swallow. I wasn't even getting 600cals in and averaging 3-4 glass of water. Even the water hurt. THere was no way I was going to be able to tolerate solids. The PA told me liquids and really soft foods for 3 days. So far I've had protien shakes, yogurt, peanut butter and scrammbled eggs. I feel sooooo much better. I've been a little hungry but not ravenous. And worse comes to worst, I'll be back in 2 1/2 weeks and they can put some saline back in. I will be sad to see my weight-loos slow down though. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with a nice steady loss even without mmy band choking me half to death.

As finally ready has said, peroxide can actually slow down the healing process. It's great for a new wound as it will get rid of the blood and kill bacteria thus making a nice clean place for bacitracin and a bandaid. Everyday use however can inhibit cells that the body uses to heal properly. It's probably not the best idea to be using it. As it has been said--see your doctor. He may want to put some butterfly bandages on it so that the edges of the wound are touching thus allowing quicker healing. HOWEVER, he may not want to do that as this has been going on for a while and closing an old wound can trap bacteria inside and promote infection. I wouldn't do anything without contacting the doc first.

17 down, 18 to goal. :thumbup: Bunny Banster's July 4th Challenge Bunny's name ------ Bunny's target loss --- Bunny's start weight --- Current date --- Bunny's Current weight --- Bunny's target July 4 weight PharmaGirl -------------- 20lb --------------------- 276lb ---------------- 11 May --------------------- 278lb -------------------- 256lb NY Lady ----------------- 20lb --------------------- 253lb ---------------- 11 May --------------------- 250lb -------------------- 233lb lingling ------------------ 20lb --------------------- 279.6lb --------------- 1 May --------------------- 279.6lb ----------------- 259.6lb JayTee562 --------------- 20lb --------------------- 272lb ----------------- 22 May --------------------- 263lb -------------------- 252lb MrsMitch ---------------- 25lb --------------------- 242lb ------------------ 1 May --------------------- 242lb -------------------- 217lb ALuv82------------------ 35lb ---------------------- 297.5lb --------------- 22 May --------------------- 280.5lbs ------------------- 262.5lb Band_Groupie ----------- 15lb ---------------------- 218 lbs -------------- 22 May --------------------- 211.5lbs -------------------- 203lbs kaner ------------------- 20lb ----------------------- 275lb --------------- 1 May --------------------- 275lb ---------------------- 255lb scoobydoo -------------- 25lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ? TerriLynne -------------- 15lb ----------------------- 296lb --------------- 15 May --------------------- 291lb ---------------------- 281lb hopeful41411 ----------- 18lb ----------------------- 260.8lb -------------- 1 May -------------------- 260.8lb -------------------- 242.8lb IsabellaP84 ------------- 20lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ? hannahj914 ------------- 20lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ? JWL08 ------------------ 18lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ? Abbie-pie --------------- 30lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ? poconomom -------------20lb ----------------------- 212lb --------------- 8 May --------------------- 204lb --------------------- 192lb myturn2bhappy --------- 30lb ---------------------- 288lb ---------------- 1 May --------------------- 288lb --------------------- 258lb DM Chef ---------------- 20lb ---------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ? FutureSize10 ------------ 25lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ? doodlebug11 ------------ 20lb ---------------------- 207lb --------------- 1 May ---------------------- 209lb-------------------- 187lb tcbgirl ------------------- 15lb ---------------------- 202.8lb ------------- 1 May --------------------- 202.8lb --------------------187.8lb twinmamma1130 -------- 20lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ? mi_illusion_st ----------- 15lb --------------------- 211.6lb ---------------- 1 May --------------------- 211.6lb----------------- 196.6lb Babygirl_68 -------------- 20lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ? kittygirl ------------------ 22lb --------------------- 203lb ------------------ 17 May ---------------------- 199lb ------------------- 181lb jukeBox81782 ----------- 40lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May ---------------------- ? ------------------------- ? Losing for me ----------- 20lb ---------------------- 189lb ---------------- 1 May ---------------------- 189lb --------------------169lb early -------------------- 15lb ---------------------- 202lb ------------------- 1 May --------------------- 202lb -------------------- 187lb lapband-AP-redo -------- 20lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May ---------------------- ? ------------------------- ? pottergirl----------------- 20lb----------------------- 280lb ---------------- 1 May---------------------- 280lb -------------------- 260lb shakia90 ---------------- 20lb ----------------------- 285lb ---------------- 1 May --------------------- 285lb -------------------- 265lb txdj --------------------- 20lb------------------------ 205lb ---------------- 22 May --------------------- 193lb --------------------185lb ThinWithin -------------- 27.4lb --------------------- 297.4lb -------------- 8 May --------------------- 297.4lb ------------------ 270lb help1977 ----------------20lb----------------------- 251.8lb ---------------- 1 May -------------------- 248.2lb ------------------- 231.8lb vcatalina1 -------------- 20lb------------------------ 255lb ------------------1 May -------------------- 240lb --------------------- 220lb Auddie ----------------- 20lb------------------------ ? -----------------------1 May ------------------- ? --------------------------? lapbandgirl2009 -------- 25lb ---------------------- 259lb ------------------- 1 May ------------------- 259lb --------------------- 234lb swkrp ------------------ 20lb ---------------------- 219lb ------------------- 1 May ------------------- 199lb --------------------- 234lb Shellynnrn --------------20lb ---------------------- 260lb--------------------1 May ------------------- 260lb-----------------------240lb kath17268 -------------15lb ----------------------- 236lb--------------------1 May ------------------- 224lb ------------------------ 221lb knighmo -------------- 25lb --------------------- 298lb -------------------- 4 May-------------------- 298lb ------------------- 273lb jannyboo -------------- 29lb -------------------- 219lb ---------------------1 May ------------------- 219lb ------------------- 190lb lilith ------------------ 20lb -------------------- 249lb---------------------6 May ------------------- 244.7lb ------------------- 229lb

280.5 today. That's 6.5 down this week and 33 down total. Of course, I had to go in yesterday and get UNfilled because my band was too tight. The PA said my surgeon will fill the band completely and then take out enough to make the pressure equal and ensure there are no air bubbles. For some it's as little as 0.5ccs. For me, the PA took out 3.2ccs and I still have 0.5ccs left. That was almost 4ccs in there before. Now I'll probably have no restriction like most people a month out and I'll be ravenous and stop losing so quickly. Oh well, to me it's better than having chest pain everytime I swallow.

Hey, thanks for the replies everyone. Apparently everyone has a slightly different amount in their band to start. I went in to the office today and saw Deidre, the PA. She explained that they fill the band to capacity to test it then remove the fluid, leaving enough to ensure their are no bubbles the the pressue in the band is equalized. Some people only start with 0.5cc, some start with more. Anyhow, we agreed that I was too tight as even drinking water pretty much gave me chest pains. She removed 3.2cc from my band and left 0.5, Egads I had a lot to start with. Anyhow, I feel a zillion times better now and hopefull after a couple of days of liquids and really soft foods, I'll actually be able to start solids on Mon as scheduled. My first fill was actually supposed to be 2 weeks from this coming Tues. Well, it might still wind up being my first "fill" after all. Right now I don't care if I get super hungry, and eat everything in site. I'm just glad not to be hurting anymore.

It's not specific to the morning or any other time of day. I actually had my first support group meeting today and the PA was there and she did suggest that I make an appointment as it sounds like I am too restricted and not getting enough nutrition. Thanks for the advice anyway.

Hey everyone. I was just wondering how long after surgery people stopped feeling restriction and went into bandster hell? I'm 3 weeks out and I'm wondering not because I'm there already, but because I'm not. If anything, I'm actually afraid I'm too tight. Is it too soon for me to tell that, or should most of my swelling have gone down by now? I've been on mushies for a week now. I had my first post-op appt last week 1 day after starting mushies and I told my doc that when I ate I got that pressure in my chest that feels like indigestion without the burning. He said I was probably just eating too fast and I should slow down. Well, I've been eating plenty slow now. The info packet I got from my surgeon's nutritionist said eat 2 oz protien and 1 oz carb at a rate of 5 minutes per oz. Well, it takes me at LEAST 15 minutes to eat that much and I still get the feeling. Yesterday I even felt uncomfortable with a yogurt and a medifast. Although the weird thing is that the more solid stuff actually seems to go down more smoothly. I had turkey meatballs and felt fine, but apple sauce is almost always nucomfortable. I haven't PBed yet, nor have I had anything stuck, except maybe a piece of canned peach and that only lasted for about 5-10 seconds. My surgeon does prep the band with a small amt of Fluid at surgery, although I'm not sure how much. Has anyone else still felt this way 3 weeks post op or were most of you already in bandster hell? Is it possible to tell this soon that I'm too tight or will I still continue to loosen up some. I have already talked to my doc like I said and he wasn't concerned but that was a week ago. If it keeps up I'll definitely call him, but I was just curious how other people felt this far out.

If I were you, I'd be proud of myself, not disappointed. The band is not meant to prevent you from ever eating anything tasty ever again. I'm still on mushies but I look forward the the day when I can eat the foods I like again. I expect to be able to eat things that are "bad for me" on occasion. It's nothing to be disappointed about. And here's what you should be proud of--you had 1/2 a burger a 8 fries. How long ago was it that you would ahve eaten the whole burger, a huge serving of fries, sugary soda, dessert and want more? I know for me it wasn't very long ago. Don't be so hard on yourself or you will never be happy with your success.