ParrotheadCathy

I was banded Feb. 10, 09. I've had 4 fills and am now at 5.6ccs. If I'm not at my sweet spot, I'm very close! I have another fill scheduled for June 15, but I'm not certain I need it. Will wait until then to see. Realistically, starting with my pre-op diet through now, I've lost 59 pounds. We'd all like to lose FAST but that's pretty darned fast if you think about it. And I know if I'd been dieting on my own, I would have long since falled off the wagon and gained it all back, LOL. I'll admit that I don't journal, I walk as often as I can and if I did those things I'd probably lose a bit faster but I'm happy with how I'm doing...very happy!

Many, if not most, of us were not on a full liquid diet pre-op. I was on 2 shakes and 2 lean meals and I recovered incredibly quickly. Post-op all liquid is not just Protein shakes. As KayVee lists, those are on the post-op diet, plus other items as well. You need to drink liquids to stay hydrated but you can get your nutrition value through other things than shakes. A Protein powder could be added to the liquids you can handle, for example

All those extra veggies can cause GAS...you know, that stuff everybody complains about post-op? Well, it sounds like you have it now. Try some Beano with your meals that have veggies and see if that makes a difference.

I say the 2 shakes and 2 light meals should be fine. The other alternative would perhaps be South Beach (the first two weeks are a little rough since it's pretty much no carbs at all) but I know that has worked for several people I know over a short term (i.e., they lose just fine but gain it back -- which wouldn't be a problem for you since you would follow with the surgery). In reality, your doctor is look for 10 pounds a month and you've lost 9 in May and have a few days left to make 1 more to stay on track. I agree with LibbyJane -- add some exercise to your day and you should do fine. 10 pounds a month is not much more than 2 pounds a week.

Steve, I was told to eat 3 oz of Protein (looks about the size of a deck of cards, and a vegetable). Wait 15 minutes and if I was still hungry to have a serving of whole grain carbs. If a meal didn't keep me satisfied for 4 hours, my Snacks were to be protein, like 1 oz low fat cheese or a half cup of low fat cottage cheese. A couple of times, I ate a few steamed shrimp. You have to be careful what you put in your mouth. I have 5.6 in a 10CC band and I'm feeling restriction. But, 5.1 in a 14CC band probably isn't getting to where you need to be yet.

Restless is right....My post-op diet was liquid for 10 days, mushy foods for 1 week, then 1 week with a combination of mushy and regular foods, and then regular foods 100% -- so I was on regular food completely before 4 weeks were over. But it varies so much I have to say check with your doctor's office to see what their post-op diet is. You would be fine if you have a condo with a fridge regardless of diet, but if you're on liquids or mushy foods, it won't be much fun. So find out what their plan is.

Leftovers are usually muich drier than the originally cooked meat! Dry stuff usually doesn't go down as well and juicy. Next time you want to eat leftover meal, moisten it generously with a little beef or chicken broth, as appropriate. Eating after a PB? As soon as you feel comfortable. As for just liquids after a PB, it's pretty much what works for you. I've only PB'd twice and both times, I just waited about an hour and ate without a problem then (but careful to address what caused the PB which, for me, was eating too fast) but I was able to eat normally.

A lot of us are tighter in the morning than the rest of the day, and for some it's very restrictively tight. Drinking hot tea or coffee in the AM helps a lot of people. I drink a protein shake for breakfast, which accommodates being tighter in the AM AND the fact that I rush around trying to get myself out the door every morning. On the weekends, I often fix runny grits and a cup of hot tea and then later eat an egg.

Scott, this is not a horrible surgery for 99% of those who have it. Many, many of us were back to normal activities within a couple of days. The first couple of weeks of liquids isn't the most pleasant time, but it's short, it does come to an end. Gone are the days where you could stuff yourself full of food, eating so fast that you hardly tasted it but suddenly felt full to bursting. You will learn what "full" truly feels like. Sure, I dieted successfully several times; keeping it off, well, not so much. I always felt hungry and eventually fell off the wagon. No more. I had high blood pressure even with meds, Type II Diabetes and high cholesterol. My knees were starting to bother me, too. I am off ALL my meds. Cholesterol and blood pressure are normal. My blood glucose average (hba1C) is 7 without meds. Not 6, where I want it to be, but 7 is acceptable. Was it worth it? YOU BETCHA!

Everybody is different. AND, you had a hiatal hernia repaired but did your friend? That can make a big difference in recovery, or so I've heard. Luckily, I didn't have that problem. I, like your friend, recovered very quickly. You just have to give yourself the time it takes and it sounds like you just need a little more time.

Pre-op blood work is required and the results must be less than 30 days old, so it's not just somebody's preference. Sorry about the needle thing. The normal blood work will look for signs of infection (CBC) though not the h pylori. Iron, etc. will also be checked. They need to know that there is nothing lurking that could cause you problems in surgery or immediately after.

In addition to the fact you are still healing, you have likely made the transition from post-op liquid to mushy foods and now to solid foods. That can temporarily stop your weight loss as your body re-adjusts to getting "real food". Once you start getting fills and get close to your sweet spot, then you will see consistent weight loss. You just have to remember that your band isn't some magic device that instantly and magically makes the pounds fall off. You are on the very first steps of a journey so just have a little patience.

I don't think you'd be able to get anything down if your band had slipped. Most times, something has to happen to make your band slip. I'd suggest you call your doctor's office and discuss your symptoms with them and see what they think. Out of curiosity, did you have a fill in the last week or so? Some people say that after a week or so, it feels like their bands get tighter than their bands were right after the fill. If that's the case, you might need a little unfill.

That sounds like spontaneous hemorraghing relating to throwing up. I had that once about 30 years ago when I threw up during a kidney xray test when the dye made me vomit on the xray table. Looks like crap but goes away on its own. Sorry you were that sick!

Relax! First of all, you will experience fluctuations in your weight, sometimes as much as 5 pounds. Secondly, you just made the transition from liquid to mushy. Your bowel habits will change again now that you are taking in something more than liquid. All that adds up to you may weigh a little more rather than less. My next bit of advice is to NOT get on the scale every day. Especially if you can't cope with the natural fluctuations in your weight. Pick a day, doesn't matter which day, of the week and weigh on that day only. Finally, remember that it takes 3,500 calories ABOVE what it takes to keep you functioning in order to gain one pound. Up 2 pounds? You know you didn't eat 7,000 calories? Well, there's that natural fluctuation.

I had to do a thing at home ..... some recording thingie. Showed nothing. But they decided I needed to do the sleep study. I had told them from the start that I was pretty darned certain I didn't have apnea because I always slept well, never awoke tired, etc. But I did it. My pulmonary guy gives you a sleeping pill (Ambien). It came out negative, not one event of apnea (I told them so, LOL). But what I was told is that if I had shown apnea in the test, I would have been prescribed a CPAP machine and been required to be on it for 2 weeks before they would do the surgery. Apnea doesn't just go away the day after surgery. If you have it and they put you on a CPAP, it will help you a great deal. More than you can imagine. The couple of people I know who use the machine have been amazed at how much better they feel.

GNC carries quite a selection. My doctor had me on whey protein pre-op because he said that helps to shrink your liver. Have no way of knowing if that's true, but I drank whey protein shakes. GNC will often let you taste stuff. I'll tell you that chocolate is best, regardless of what it is, LOL. The strawberry flavored stuff is SOOOO fake tasting. Some like the vanilla but I didn't. I mixed mine with skim milk and they actually weren't bad.

Liquid in = liquid out. It will change again when you start transitioning to mushy and then solid foods. Nothing to worry about.

Naynay's right. Most do one in 4 to 6 weeks. When I went for my 10-day post-op check up, they scheduled my first fill for a total of 4 weeks after my surgery date.

My internist is a top-ranked doctor in my city (Atlanta, GA). Because I suffered Type II Diabetes, among other things, as a result of my weight, I see him at least every three months. And we'd had MANY talks about my weight. I'd lost and regained plenty while under his care. I had decided that I thought this surgey was what I needed. So I brought it up with him. He talked to me for quite a while, told me everything he could about the surgery. discussed a couple of different doctors with me and told me he thought I was making a strong positive move towards bettering my health and that he thought I was an ideal candidate. I'm not sure I would have gone forward with this if he'd said not to do it. But I'm so glad I did it and I'm so glad to have his support in addition to that of my surgeon and his staff.

Simple. The band DOESN'T held with head hunger. What it will do is help you be satiated on less food. And, hopefully, that will help you learn to tell the difference between "Am I truly hungry" or "do I just want to eat for the sake of eating"? A couple of times, I've found myself standing at the fridge, with the doors open, just looking at the foods inside. But I come to my senses and ask myself "Why am I standing here?" and I shut the fridge and walk away. Have I ever eaten something, post surgery, just because I wanted it? Of course. Not so much now, though. If I'm not at my "sweet spot", I'm very close. I don't really experience hunger which I've come to identify as a very hollow feeling, not tummy rumbling, unless it's been like 6 hours or more since I ate.

You actually don't need very much in the way of carbs. What you need most is Protein. Why? Well, your "engine" needs high octane fuel and that's protein. If you don't give your body enough protein it will destroy its own lean muscle mass to get protein to run on. That can lead to heart damage (because, yeah, that's a lean muscle) among other things; hair falling out, all sorts of things. So, you eat a minimum of 60-70 grams of protein and a little more than that would be good. Then you eat vegetables for all the good things you get from them -- Vitamins, antioxidants, etc. If you eat that and you're still hungry, you can have WHOLE GRAIN carbs....which have Fiber and even some protein. But when you look at meal, there should be 3 oz of lean protein (about the size of a deck of cards) and vegetables. I was told to eat that and wait 15 minutes. If I am still hungry, I can have a serving of whole grain carbs then. Simple carbs basically are sugar. I am Type II Diabetes, now on no meds whatsoever and very close to normal hba1c. In diabetes nutrition classes, I was told that eating a white potato basically gave my body the same thing as eating a bunch of white sugar from the bowl. Complex carbs, like whole grains, have other good things in them that make having the whole grain foods good for you.

One important fact you failed to note....You have 7ccs in what size band? 7ccs in a 10cc band you should certainly be feeling restriction BUT 7ccs in a 14cc band, not necessarily.

Honestly don't know. Part of me says this is all the doctor's problem because he should NOT have proceeded with the surgery until he had written evidence that he would be paid. The doctor is pretty much going to look to you to pay the bill now, so a grievance would probably be the first thing to do to try and keep from having to pay him for his error. But do I know if that will work or make a difference? Absolutely not.

Well, consider doing something better for yourself. I know, on the weekends, we all try to clean our houses and do our laundry and grocery shopping BUT get up on Saturday or Sunday morning and go to a hiking trail trailhead and park the car and TAKE A WALK. I'm saying 3 miles so, by the time you drive there (look at state parks or county parks for trails), park, walk (once you're in shape 3 miles is less than a hour by a good bit), get back in your car, go home, shower, get clean clothes on.....you've done yourself a great service AND you've kept yourself away from the fridge for hours.