june09bandit

I didn't stay overnight and I really didn't feel nervous about that at all. If you stay overnight, the nurses will wake you up every couple of hours to take vitals. Since I was home, I took my pain meds and slept about 6 hours before I woke up. Took them again and went right back to sleep. I was home, in my bed, with my pillows, which I think allowed me to rest better. Good luck with your surgery!

Ditto to researching protein shakes. I absolutely hated them. I should have checked more varieties preop. Don't count on one flavor to get you through the whole post op period - you'll get sick of even your favorites. You have to have some variety.

Nice to meet you Toni! I've been in AZ for 20 years. My family only lived in Marks for a few years, so it never really felt like home to me. They moved to Biloxi after I left, so I don't go back to Marks at all. It's funny that the rest of the world doesn't realize that the south is still literally divided by train tracks. I started the process in March of 09 and had the surgery on June 4. I nagged everyone constantly so my paperwork never got lost in the shuffle. I was off work exactly one week per doctor's instructions. I had surgery on a Tuesday (I think) and had the 1 week followup appt on a Monday and was back to work the next day. I kept my surgery private. I did finally give in and tell my boss - just in case of emergency. Other than that, I told a few VERY close friends, but I am a very private person in general. I haven't found any foods that I can't tolerate at all. I did notice that when I am under significant stress, my band feels a lot tighter. When that happens, it gets difficult to eat most things, but it passes as soon as the stress lets up a little. The biggest change is that I literally cannot eat the portions I used to eat. Occasionally, I really would like to keep eating, but the band tells me no. Feel free to keep the questions coming.

I went to high school in Quitman County - Delta Academy - but I live in AZ now. Small world - I often felt like I was the ONLY person in Quitman County, surprised to actually meet another person from there! Good luck in your journey, feel free to ask any questions you'd like. I'm 7 months in, so I have a little bit of experience, but the band reminds me every single day that I still don't know what I'm doing.

I was banded June 4, 2009. I've lost about 35 lbs. Was losing steadily until I got an overfill and had to be emptied in September. I've had several fills since then, but haven't felt real restriction again. It's been a struggle since that unfill, but I've tried to refocus myself on exercise. Best wishes to you, you can do it!

I'm not a teen, but I'll answer anyway. We went out to eat Saturday night to Texas Roadhouse. I ordered half slab of ribs with mixed vegetables and a house salad. I ate about 1/4 of the salad and gave the rest to hubby. When dinner arrived, I ate one rib and a few veggies -the rest went home with me. I ate one rib for lunch yesterday and the rest is for hub's lunch today. Sunday night, we went to Applebees. I order the french dip sliders (3 miniature french dip sandwiches). I ate one last night, will have one for lunch today and the other for lunch tomorrow. I'm not saying these were healthy choices at all, but I don't want to completely deprive myself of my favorite foods. I just eat MUCH less of them and they last a lot longer. I should also add that I'm not losing weight as fast as others, but this is the way I chose to use the band.

They put the legs wraps on me during surgery prep, but they didn't inflate them while I was awake. They were off by the time I got to recovery. The only way I knew that I ever had the breathing tube was because my throat was scratchy. Waking up was easy. My first words were "I need to burp"... and to this day, I'm still burping. I was loaded into the car within an hour after surgery, so I had no complications. Good luck!

Yep, that's what I thought. You see, a lot of your thoughts can be attributed to the same personality trait that makes you good at your job. You're probably an ISTJ as well (Briggs Meyers). The OCD, the second guessing, and the introspect are all "symptoms". How do I know that? Because I have all the same characteristic traits. This may also be why you are doing so well losing the weight right now. The Bodybugg is your current obsession. You have the numbers right there in front of you that TELL you what you need to do to lose weight. You can't question real data. The question is .. Can you maintain that relationship with the bodybugg? Probably for 6 months or so until some new obsession steps in to take it's place (just ask my pedometer.. it was replaced by food journaling along with the lapband). Sorry if any of this offends you, but I really am the same way. I have many conversations with myself in order to make decisions - particularly if there aren't any numbers to base those decisions on. Good luck in your journey! Feel free to slam me if you disagree with my statements. Like you, I can back most of them up with a hard core reference

You have a lot of soul searching to do. After your heart attack scare, you have to decide if you are losing now out of fear, and will that fear subside? If so, will you go back to your old habits? For me, the band was my insurance policy that will help me keep the weight off for good - assuming that I do achieve my weight loss goal at some point. I have to know - what do you do for a living? My money is on an engineer or some other sort of scientist.

I got a temporary card from the doctor. When I used the temp card to register online, they sent me a nice permanent card to keep in my purse. It's made like a credit card. I haven't used it yet though - I've been ordering regular portions and taking most of it home. dinner from a restaurant is used for 3 meals.

Shart, you really need to call your surgeon. Throwing up for 24 hours is always bad. The ER may not have enough knowledge about the lap band, I hope you called your surgeon today. Good luck!

Have you tried activia yogurt?

And yes, it is possible to lie to our docs or leave out pertinent information ... and I'm not suggesting she did either, but it was an honest question. No point in the "huh?" nonsense.

I sincerely apologize if you took my questions as "judging" you. Why are you taking such offense? I just asked questions and offered absolutely no opinions nor judgements.

Just out of curiosity, does your doctor support your method? Does he know what kind of food you can eat/not eat and agree it is appropriate? We have all seen how different our surgeons are, is this yet another different technique for medically supervised weight loss?

This is probably TMI, but it was my experience. I would have been miserable at a setting like Disney. I had horrible, "urgent", bowel movements when I was on liquids. Urgent defined as 1 minute or less to make it to the restroom. Just something to consider....

Sounds to me like you are too tight. You should call your doc and ask for his/her opinion. Good luck!

JoJo, I have the same problem. I have a tendency to WANT to eat what I ate pre-band. Of course, I can't even get close, but I do have the desire in weak moments. I order the same quantities, but now most of it goes home with me in the carryout box. It's a new way of life - no doubt.

I'm not sure I agree that it's the gas from surgery. I was told by a surgeon (not my LB surgeon) that the gas they pump you up with will not pass, it has to be absorbed by the gas. However, I will share that my first words in recovery were "I need to burp". I still burp a lot - and I'm 6 months post op. I'm not sure how all that air gets in my stoma, but it definitely does.

Thank you all for your words of wisdom! Now if I could just fine tune the rest of my diet for success....

Good luck Mond - only your health care provider can decide what is right for you. Everything we say on this board is strictly our own opinion. I still don't know what the psych consult was to prove/disprove, so I can't offer any words of wisdom regarding what it likely to disqualify you. I just answered all the questions honestly and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, your post came at a time of serious political unrest in the US and I think a lot of board members took out their frustrations on you without hearing your history - and yes, I do think your history makes a difference. I know I too get frustrated at those that abuse our system and have more babies to get more of our tax dollars - and yes, I am sure that some do that as a motive because they've admitted this to me. With all the political talk of revamping our medical system, everyone is a bit touchy because it will impact all of us in some way. Does Australia not have the people that abuse the system, or does your government have a way to control that? That's an honest question.. never been to Australia, but I'd love to go!

I apologize if I sounded like I was saying you would not qualify - I really just meant that it's a possibility - just like for all the rest of us. To this day, I'm not sure what the psychologist was looking for, but I was terrified that I would not qualify based on that alone. Good luck in your endeavors. It certainly sounds like you have had a tough go.

Have you checked into the other requirements to qualify for the surgery? Most insurance companies require a phsych eval as well - with your history, you may not qualify at all. I wouldn't try to gain weight until I was certain I met ALL the requirements.

I'm so sorry you've had to go through this. Hopefully you've changed enough habits that you can continue to live as if you still have the band. I hope you feel better soon!

Thank you Cathy! My main reason for the beef preference in purely economic - ground turkey breast is somewhat more expensive. I just didn't want to sabotage myself comletely while saving a couple of dollars.