owhynot

Hello everyone, I too have had trouble with my gall bladder- 6 months after being banded and without any advance warning. Out of the blue one day I was in so much pain I went and had all my fill taken out in case something was up with the band, but it didn't help at all. The nurse sent me to the ER and three hours later they are telling me the gall bladder has to come out, now. "Getting the OR ready now!". Surgery was expected to take an hour and a half, but actually went on for three. Next morning my doctor (same great doc who did my band, thankfully) described it as having been "full of stones, falling apart and gangrenous", which is why it took so long to get it all out of there. Spent two nights in the hospital and went home with a drain that I had to keep for a week. While I was stuck at home I took a brief look at a few websites that made it clear that gall bladder problems are associated with weight loss. I saw something like 'ten percent of lap band folks will have gall bladder problems show up at the 6 month mark' on one website (sorry I don't recall it) and understood that I was in that ten percent, lucky me. Go ahead and enjoy having it taken out, because it will never bother you again! Good luck! o. :thumbup:

Hello everyone, I was banded by Dr. Wolff on 02/0309, and have been very pleased with with both the surgery and resulting weight loss. So far I have had two fills and am down about 50 pounds since starting my pre-op diet in January. good luck to all of you on your journey! o.

congratulations!!!!!!! that is such an amazing feeling- realizing just how much your size has changed in such a short time. enjoy it!!! o.

I had my second fill this week, on the 21s, and now have 5cc's in my 10 cc band. Since starting pre-op diet two weeks before my 02/03 surgery date, I am down 36 pounds and two sizes. 50 more pounds to go! Fortunately I have had NO episodes of PB'ing, sliming, or vomiting. I am careful about food choices, and chewing! I feel great and I'm having a great deal of fun digging out old 'too small' clothes and discovering they're too big! Congratulations to all my fellow February 3rds! I wish you all the best and hope you are enjoying your own successes too. smile, o.

I saw this quote on a fortune that came in a tin of mints about 12 years ago, and it has been with me ever since: "He who says it cannot be done should get out of the way of the person doing it" - Old Chinese Proverb o. :cool2:

Doing great! Ready for the snow to go so I can get in the garden! o.

I use Sparkpeople to log my food and exercise, but that is pretty much all I do use it for. I might read the odd article, collect my spark points (not sure what exactly for...) and poke around the message boards now and then too. The food tracking feature is especially helpful to me, because I find it interesting to see the impact different foods have on my diet goals. I love the reports it generates, and figure that will be helpful when I meet with the nutritionist in a few months;this is information I'm supposed to have documented. I would recommend it to new bandsters like myself (02/03/09) who need help in getting sufficient Protein via real food instead of supplements, and for counting calories, especially while waiting for the first fill. Since I'm supposed to be limiting my calorie intake to 1200 to 1500, I'll probably always use it to some degree or another, because it is amazing how quickly they do add up! o.

Congratulations to MiFive, muttilein, Chicky abby and peggyn! You're all doing great!! My scale is cheap and unreliable, so I'm not exactly sure how much I've lost, but I think it is somewhere around 18 to 20 pounds. On Monday I have a check in with my surgeon (first one since surgery) and then to the bariatric center for a fill. The two offices share the same building, so it is pretty convenient. I'll get my 'official' weight on that day! I've had a 'touch' of bandster hell, but nothing too terrible. Yes, I do get hungry when I haven't eaten, but I'm careful about food choices and have kept calorie intake to about 1200 daily. Using the food tracker on Sparkpeople has been a tremendous help- I don't think I would have been as successful without it, as it allows me to see not only calories, but fat, Protein and Fiber intake too. Very helpful. I also use Sparkpeople to track my exercise; I'm making time for my treadmill and shoot for burning at least 200 calories per 30-35 minute session. I've definitely noticed that I can eat much larger quantities of food than I could a few weeks ago- here again it helps to be choosing the right foods to eat! I am also amazed at how great I feel, especially when I think back to how sore and creaky I was for the first week after surgery! My incisions are almost completely healed, two of them almost invisible, and I have hardly any surgery or port-related discomfort at all. Thanks to everyone who has posted updates! Not only is it fun to see how my fellow 'Feb 03" bandsters are doing, but I know these posts are helpful to folks who are researching their own lapband journeys. Keep up the good work!! o.

This comes right from the nutrition guideline book given to me by my nutritionist at the Bariatric Center: "Caffeinated beverages are gastric irritants and dehydrating. They should be avoided the first few months after surgery" I am almost 5 weeks post op and I have started drinking coffee again; in the morning I use a french press travel mug to make just the right amount, adding 1/2 cup 1% milk. Thats enough to satisfy my craving for the rest of the day, and I get some dairy Protein in. I just have to be sure I'm also getting enough Water during the rest of the day.

Hello Wicked! I just read your post tonight- sorry I didn't catch it in time to wish you good luck! Hope all went well, and you have a quick recovery. Your list of preparations looked as good as any! keep us posted on your progress!

Update: I have six bags filled and sitting by the back door! They're going into the car tomorrow morning, then off to Goodwill and another person who really needs them. It feels great to have that done!! Thanks to all of you who told me to just get rid of them! :party:

These posts are great, thanks!! Seems I'm not the only one who is still amazed that we don't have to plan on the weight coming back on, like we always did before.... I loved the comment about clown pants; that is how a co-worker described a pair I wore a few weeks ago! They may have to go sooner than I thought they would. Last night my best friend (who has a BMI of about 42 and is watching my lapband experience very closely) came over I tried on a boatload of clothes for her evaluation. Some things I thought I could work she said to get rid of; "that looks too big on you", or "by the time winter rolls around and you can wear that item again, it will be too big for you, so there is no sense saving it!" It was great, since it made the process fun. My favorite part was holding up a nice pair of pants saying 'I don't think I can fit these yet', but trying anyway and omg they actually did fit! Guess that qualifies as a NSV, huh? :wink: I am happy to know the clothes will be put to good use by other people who need them, since keeping them tied up in storage totes seems like a foolish waste. As we worked our way through piles of clothes, it was crazy to see just how many things I had squirreled away. Bit of a wake-up call, to realize I have way too many clothes!! But I know it is because for so many years it has been easier (and cheaper) to get in the habit of keeping multiple sizes of clothing on hand, in order to accommodate the yo-yo dieting. Thanks for trying to help me accept that things are different this time; I am finally feeling confident about that new reality. It helps to hear about how other bandsters have managed this aspect of their weight loss journeys! :thumbup:

You are so right! I just learned that someone from my interpreting community has suffered a great misfortune- her house caught fire and is a total loss. She is a big girl, about my old size, so I am going to send the clothes her way. Funny how things seem to work out, isn't it??