Penweary

They wear a body-bugg to measure their calories burned and have a goal to burn 6000 calories a day. They also MUST eat 1200-1800 calories a day. The math still adds up to a little over a pound a day. I don't know about you guys but I have to work and sleep too. :thumbup:

Hey everyone, Is there a Lap-Band National Conference scheduled for this year? I cannot find anything when I search. Did I miss it or do you know where I can go to get the information? THANKS, Penny

Hi Everyone, I was banded on September 16th 2009. So far I have lost 42 lbs, this includes preop diet loss. I have 163 more to go. I am just getting caught up on this thread. 106 PAGES! My surgery cost roughly $22,000 that my insurance paid. LOVE my band. I have 3.5 cc at this time. Hope everyone has a safe New Years!

We took .5 out, its better. Not 100% but it takes time to heal. Hopefully back to normal soon.

Port pain is the worst. All other pain for me was gone in 4 days. It took almost 4 weeks for the port pain. I know this because I was told 6 weeks before sleeping on stomach again so I called the doctor when I woke up at exactly 4 weeks on my stomach one night, he said it was ok to start sleeping on my stomach again if I had no pain. BLISS!! This too shall pass!

You are doing great Peaches. 80 lbs in 6 months. Awesome! Glad the unfill helped. I have heard that it can take up to 2 weeks to fully 'feel' a fill. How odd. lol

I have the same thing I believe. I posted on it earlier but I think my description made no sense. The 'lump in the throat' verbage did it for me. I know there is nothing there but that is the best wording to describe this feeling. I have had it for the last 2 weeks. Its quite maddening as there is nothing you can do to make it go away, sometimes it goes on its own and then it just pops up whenever it wants to again. I see my doctor about it today. I will let you know what they say. I am 2 1/2 months post op, have only had one fill, 3cc, but I have very good restriction, 3/4 to 1 cup of food fills me up and I have never PB, or vomited. (I hope I never do.) I got VERY tight with my last period and that is when it started. When I talked to are head band person on the phone she said maybe it is reflux at night causing inflammation in the esophagus. Sad if that is the case because I used to have reflux all the time and it was GONE with my banding. Anyway, again, I will let you know what they say.

I hear you, the booby thing is awful! At my monthly weight loss support group we just had a plastic surgeon and she said you should optimally wait 6-12 months after you lose your weight to have PS because your body takes time to recover from weight loss and you may shrink back on your own some. Elfie suggested Spanx, I will look into that as well. Give yourself some time though, imagine having surgery and then still toning up some on your own. Another thought I have is and I am just thinking this in general about PS not towards you. BUT what if you cannot maintain and you have had PS? HOLY CRAP! Give yourself a few months after goal to maintain then splurge on the PS.

I have a hard time with exercise as well and I have no clue why. What has helped me is reminding myself where I want to be at the end, a slimmer me. Look at some photos of people who weigh about your goal weight to get motivated. You must pack a bag for the gym and have it in your car so no excuses. Just walk in, get in there and let the rest just happen. Even if you just walk for 30 minutes you DID IT! Also I find music really helps. I keep a pad in the car and every time I listen to the radio I jot down a song that makes me feel good and update my ipod as soon as I can. You can get a tiny ipod that holds 240 songs for about $50. Remember, you have within you a tool to make things HAPPEN! Also there is an awesome weight loss community on YouTube and many bandsters video blog (vlog) their weightloss. Might I suggest Skymoon1980, she lost 125 lbs in 8 months, kept it off just had her 1 year surgiversary and did a 1 year video...INSPIRATIONAL!! bandedwendy also updates biweekly and has tips and is so encouraging. I wish you the best! Find your motivation, be what you always wanted to be!

You have to mentally check yourself at this point as to the quantity of food you eat and I know that sucks. You really do not have much restriction until you are filled properly and that can take several months. Measure out your food keep yourself within 1/2 a cup. Eat is slow so you hopefully feel full by the time you are done. Its weird, most people cannot eat rice, you would think the Beans would go down just fine. lol Seems you are the opposite. Funny how everyone is different. When I started eating soft solids I would continue with my Soups just adding some finely diced meats in them. It was really hard to 'eat out' until I could eat regular foods which you should have another 2 weeks before that I think. Sorry this was not much help just hang in there, honestly this is the worst time, it gets better.

And the doctor does not have a clue?! It is highly unlikely you are allergic to the band its silicone and that is hypoallergenic. Could it be a staph infection I wonder? You can google this and then click on images, see if anything looks like what you have. I hope you find your answer. Maybe use some dove soap for sensitive skin for a bit and use a very light detergent on your clothes. Maybe it will go away in time, you don't want to do anything to aggravate it into hanging around. Best of luck!

Thank you SO much! So it may come and go? I have only ever had 1 fill of 3 cc, I skipped my last one because I get full on so little. I will talk to my doctor about maybe skipping the next one too. Sucks though, the first 90 days are free, after that I gotta pay outta pocket. Thanks again!

Hey guys! I am 2 1/2 months post op. I have 3cc in my 11 cc Realize band. I have not ever PB'd or had a stuck episode. Just once I had a bite go down 'hard'. Just recently I started having this strange feeling in my throat, its as if something is stuck but nothing is. Every time I swallow I feel like my esophagus moves something down then back up. There is no pain at all just an annoying feeling. Alot of times it feels like an air bubble is stuck there and I have to try and make a burp. This gives me relief for about 30 seconds then that traveling heaviness is back again. Anyone got any ideas? I thought at first it was tightness related to my time of the month but that has now passed and my Water from that is gone so I don't know. I read about esophageal spasm but most people say they have unbearable pain and like I said, there is no pain involved. I can eat and drink anything I want. It does seem to be more when I have food in my stomach as opposed to in the AM when I have yet to eat. Let me know what you think. I plan on calling my surgeon about it this week. Thanks, Penny

4 days out, you have not even begun to heal yet. It should take you at least a good month to get to solid foods if you do things 'the right way'. 1 week Clear liquids, 1 week full liquids, 1 week puree and then 2 weeks of soft solids. (or some very similar variation.) They have you eat like this for a reason! The first couple months are called Bandster Hell. Its hard!! You should be full at first due to swelling, after that you are gonna be hungry until you are appropriately filled. This is something you sign up for with the band and you cannot skip this step without some, possibly serious, repercussions down the road. My suggestion, follow the rules. If your doctor did not give them to you then I suggest you look them up, it is important. Are you eating any Protein?

Papaya Enzymes!! You can buy them at an all night Walmart. Chew 2 and it should help break up the clog. Works particularly well on meat, I hope it helps with this. Egg rolls are the DEVIL!!

Hey Foxy, I can tell you I had pain for about 4 days that was truly associated only with gas and my port area. I went back to work after 2 weeks, I waited that long because I do some heavy lifting when I work, I was able to sleep on my side 5 days out with a pillow and I was comfortably on my belly by week 4. Hope this helps and congratulations. As far as the vomiting etc, as long as you follow the rules and progress through your liquids/soft solids AS ORDERED you should be just fine.

I had my first fill 1.5 months ago and honestly, I felt nothing. They did not numb me and I still felt nothing. I did not watch but the needle hit the plastic around the rubber port a few times and the sound of that was kinda like nails on a chalkboard. lol Honestly, you will be perfectly fine. I was much more frightened than I needed to be.

Ugh! A postponement is terrible mentally, especially if everything else in the process was going well. I wish you the best, stay positive, this too shall pass.

I suppose it could be swelling or believe it or not GAS. If you are able to, get up and walk around. This can help with nausea and will get your blood flowing this may help with swelling. Also try tiny sips of Water, you do not want to get dehydrated. Just do what you can. If it IS swelling it should start going down at some point in the near future. Definitely keep on the move. If you are truly worried something is VERY wrong, if your 'band sense is tingling' then call your doctor. I am sure they have someone on call. I hope you feel better soon.

Its the wait, It truly is excruciating. I agree that a Pro/Con list is a good idea. Think back to why you started all of this. For me it was hypertension, sleep apnea, chronic severe knee pain, the inability to play with my son for more than 5 minutes without having to take a break or not being able to take him to an amusement park that he wanted to go to because I know I cannot ride with him. If losing weight results in loss of co-morbidities and the gain of being able to partake in your life instead of spectating than can it really be a huge mistake? I don't see how. GL, keep up posted. If you have it done Friday just know that I am TOTALLY excited for you and completely jealous!

Hey! YouTube has a very nice community for lapband support. There are a few men who do a weekly video log of their success with the lapband. Steve, 2thousandand9, I think is his username has been successful and very regular at updating his progress. Down 130 lbs since surgery in January. Maybe check that out.

WOW! These people KNOW we are desperate and then bill us for it. SICK! I am going to Dr. James Ku at the Reading Hospital in Reading, PA. I pay nothing but my co-pays for visits. THEY took the time to consult with my insurance as to what they required and had me fulfill those requirements, again for only the co-pay costs. Lifetime FREE support groups monthly that I can even bring my friends to, whether or not they have had the surgery or are even planning on it. My mother goes with me every time. She has lost her weight on her own but finds the closeness and encouragement of the group very inspring. Is he on an island somewhere sipping a mojito? Probably, I just hope he gives you a shout out in 'toast'. "Thanks to greta and her 3500 for making this lovely vacation possible." Keep spreading the word. No program fees should be necessary unless they are covering all your outside appointments, labs and tests etc. Just so you know, 1000 is not bad if it includes your other visits. If I had to pay out of pocket for the stuff not associated with my surgeon, the Cardiologist was 1800, psych eval 300 and nutritionist for 3 months about 180.

I wish you all the best. WAY TO GO!

Thanks guys!

I have my last visit with the surgeon before we set a date for my surgery on August 11. I'd love to have it done on the first available date that he has BUT I start a new job Monday, three weeks training and then I start school. So...Do I do it August 21st and just have the weekend to recover OR do I wait until my Xmas break from school so I have a full 2 weeks off to recover? How long was your recovery? Do you think that after 2 days you could sit in lecture all day? How long did you wait to return to work? Thanks guys!