AmyWE

No you are not. What they are saying is insensitive. Most of my support group knows better to say things like that regardless if they are thinking of them or not. But there are a few that say stupid crap, and you just gotta roll with it knowing that people who don't share our problem really don't get it for the most part. They try to be supportive out of love, but they don't recognize that obesity is a very real disease, both physical as well as mental. They think because they don't have a problem with it, you shouldn't. When people say dumb things like, "wow you could have just gone on a liquid diet and saved the money for surgery", I say: "saved it so I can use it for surgery when I gain it all back when I start eating solid foods again, or do you think I can eat liquids for the rest of me life?" Hang in there!!

Got fill #1 yesterday. 1.5 cc in my 4 cc band. Even with the local, I did feel the stick, although it wasn't near as bad as my brain tried to make it out to be. What was really weird is that I felt the saline tighten around my stomach. It was just bizzare. Eating Soups for now. Warm is better. So far so good.

Got my fill today. Definitely feeling the tightness like right after surgery. Still hungry though I can't eat anything but broth. I am looking forward to finishing the 24-48 hours of clear liquids and move on to the creamy soups again.

I'm with you, Sharon. I'm sick of dieting. I'm trying to look at this more like portion control with the band more than worrying about watching every type of food I eat. Hopefully with the fills that will work.

I've hit a plateau. Up and down the same two pounds for two weeks now. Looking forward to hearing about everyone's fills!

Grats on the fill! Only walking so far. Doc said no crunches for 3 months. Waiting for my first fill which will be next Monday (3/2). I am looking forward to it, as I feel I can eat just about anything in sight now. :smile:

:thumbup:Happy One Month, everyone!:hurray:

Wow. No, it doesn't look like that. Is it red or hot to the touch or just funny shaped? Is the incision closed tightly? I am worried on mine that when the scab finally fell off the largest incision, most of it was closed, but a small hole was still there on one side. Like the glue came undone. It isn't wet and doesn't go all the way through, but it doesn't look right either. Guess I'll know when I get a fill.

LOL! You didn't mention how big the plate was. My doc said I should be eating a third of what I ate before. I wasn't given any specific amount other than that. The main thing is if you are still losing weight, then you are doing great!!!

For me it was similar to the crushing gassy chest pains I got after surgery. Except that I felt my esophagus was full. And I didn't throw up with stomach convulsions, but the food (and lots of saliva (I think that is what everyone is calling 'slime') just forced its way back up. Not pleasant.

Well, first solid food day was interesting. I went to eat mexican food, and ordered some chicken nachos. The hardest part was no drinking. I took small bites of chips, salsa and queso. No problem there, and after about 3 or 4 nachos, I was done. That was the largest to-go box I ever had. Everyone else in the lab was feeling miserable, but I was comfortable. The problem happened when I was home four hours later. My brain was like..."Hey baby. We've got some yummy leftovers. Hows about me and you and some nachos, eh?" I made a small plate and after the second nacho... PB and pressure. LOL. Lesson learned. Ignore the brain hunger! It lies!! :ohmy: First fill will be March 2nd.

Sharons, I found for me that the Southwestern Corn soup from V8 (Campbells in a box) will clear up that constipation problem. It worked rather fast too.

The fat and calorie count depends on the hotdog. You can even find fat free ones if you really love them. But as far as exercise goes, my doc said three weeks for standard light exercise, and three months before using abs, i.e. crunches.

Thanks! Well, I did finally feel a little restriction yesterday. I ate a few spoonfuls of guacomole and noticed the chest pain a little bit. I guess it is the first thing I've had that didn't seem to run straight through. I haven't tried a hot dog yet! :thumbup: This coming Thursday I get real solids for the first time. The lab is going out to lunch to eat Mexican food that day, and I've decided to try it. We'll see how it goes.

I am really looking forward to being filled on Mar 2nd. I am getting no restriction and it is scary. I know everyone says that eating until you are not hungry anymore is part of it, but if I was able to do that, I wouldn't have needed the band in the first place. I'm managing though. So far, so good. I wasn't that hungry this morning, so I'm just drinking a yogurt. I still am not ready to go out with friends. I don't trust myself.

I've been able to sleep on my right side for about 5 days now. Last night I was able to be on my left side for an hour or so. Progress :biggrin:

I can't do the shakes. Those were my worst gassy bowel problem days. I stoped drinking them, and that problem went away. It just wasn't worth the pain to me.

Oh, and about showering...I was told three weeks until I could bathe again.

Hello, I too was banded on 1/23. Had a rough time as well with the gassy chest pains, but ibuprophen, extra strength gas-x and a heating pad helped me through it. I started working light duty on 1/28. I work in a lab, and get worn out by the end of the day still. My appetite returned this week, so I was able to get in more than 300 cals. I think I may be up to about 800. But I have noticed I can eat more liquidy things at once now without pain, so the swelling must have gone down somewhat. My first fill is scheduled for Mar 2nd. Now, if these scars will just stop itching already. I'd like to wear my jeans again, but I lasted 10 min in them the other morning before putting on the light stretchy pants again!

Hi, I'm new to the forum. My name is Amy and I was banded 1/23/09. Looking forward to the discussions.

I was banded the same day as you and was back at work light duty on the 28th. I do know what you mean though. I was in tears with the gas chest pain one night too. They say to walk it out, but I had been walking a lot at work that day and had gone to the store. Here is what helped. I have a cheap pill splitter, so I took 800mg of Ibuprophen, plus I bought some generic extra strength Gas-x liquicaps from Walgreens. You can swallow those whole. Sometimes it takes two of them to conquer a bad episode, but you shouldn't need more than 4 per day tops. I also used a heating pad while waiting for that to kick in. Mine finally got better today. I had a few pains, but nothing like before. But I also am on my feet all day, so that probably helps. Good luck!

And where would that thread be? I've looked but there is a lot of threads to look through.

Thanks all for the congrats and the invite. I was sore at first, but am feeling better now, and still convinced that I did the right thing. Overall not a bad experience so far, except for the C02 they pump into you. Now there was some not fun pain, but it has just about dissipated.