Chincotigger

I feel your pain sister. I was just banded May 7th, and had my first fill two days ago (3cc). As soon as my stomach healed from surgery, I was soooo hungry. I also felt so run down from losing so much weight on the post-op diet that I ate some slider foods for the sake of an energy boost. I have some restriction now, but nowhere near as much as I hope to have. My two biggest problems are eating at work (12-hour nursing shifts) and cooking normal food for my kids. I read posts about people losing weight eating human-sized portions of normal foods and then other posts about people being satisfied on a mouthful of fish and I'm wondering where I'll ultimately end up. For now, I'm plateaued and hoping. Best of luck to you!

Another good thing about having self-paid is the absence of those annoying billing codes that insurance companies use to track pre-existing conditions. If, God forbid, you develop any condition remotely related to obesity, insurance companies will use those codes to avoid paying for treating it. You won't have an insurance record of your surgery, so it won't come back to haunt you in the future.

Wow, I can relate to this BIG TIME! I'm a nurse and sometimes shifts are so busy that I can't find twenty solid minutes to sit and chew a full meal. I'm only five weeks out and, although I'm reaching bandster hell as far as no restriction, I do have to chew and eat slowly to avoid some things sticking. The other night I was incredibly busy. I'd been on my feet for six of my twelve-hour shift and was starting to feel a little light-headed. I decided, in desperation, to eat a pack of chocolate chip cookies from the vending machine because I knew they'd slide and I'd have some fuel to make it through 'til morning. I no sooner opened the bag when one of my co-workers gives me this disdainful look and says, "Can you eat those?" I tried to be nice. I answered, "Yes I CAN eat them. I SHOULDN'T eat junk, but unfortunately I don't even have time to chew tonight and these are the only things available to me that won't give me a rock in my chest." UGH! Like I need a babysitter. :thumbdown:

Think about your body's caveperson programming. You go from eating thousands of unrestricted, yummy calories to eating 800 calories of mostly Protein, you lose 15-20# right off the bat and your inner caveperson says, "Hey, whoa! We've lost 5-10% of our total body mass in a month! It must be a famine. Let's hold on to our fat at all costs!" A handy mechanism for our ancient ancesters. A royal pain in the butt to modern weight loss. Chin up.

Hi all. I'm feeling a little frustrated this morning because I feel so tired. I've been banded 16 days and have advanced to mushies, but have cheated with some well-chewed soft foods as well. I went back to work Thursday night 7p-7a and went for my post-op appointment after work. I'm a nurse and the hospital was VERY busy. I barely got time to drink any Water let alone find twenty spare minutes to sit and have a little meal. I felt washed out and deflated by morning so I had the surgeon give me another week off. I'm drinking 2-3 unjury shakes per day and sticking to high Protein mushies like refried Beans and Greek yogurt. I took some B Vitamins this morning, but I still feel like I could take a nap. Has anyone had experience with this? Thanks.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm feeling better this morning. I think I was probably dehydrated. I spent the weekend forcing fluids and eating pure protein mushies and I feel more energy today. I have to come up with some small power foods for work nights and make sure I keep my water bottle on my computer cart. Otherwise, I'll have to push an IV pole along with me on my rounds. LOL I've got two more days to rest and then I'll be trying it again. Wish me luck.:smile:

My gas pains were in my stomach and bowels post-op, not my shoulder. I used GasX and it helped quite a bit. My first hunger started on about my fourth day out. Good luck.

Great point. I did the butter thing myself at 13 pounds. I went to WalMart, put 13 boxes of butter in the seat of the grocery cart and walked up a quiet isle staring at them, wrapping my brain around losing that much of myself. At 25#, I'd like to pick up a bag of cat food, but I still won't be allowed to lift that much by then. :-)

I notice a definite difference. Personally, I don't find the post-band full as satisfying as the pre-band full. It's not that sitting back, rubbing your belly, smiling and saying, "That was yummy!" For me, it's more like after a few bites, the hunger pangs go away and after 1/2-3/4 cup of food, I feel like it's sitting in the bottom of my esophagus. It takes some getting used to, but it's so much easier to avoid junk and snacks when you can easily control hunger pangs.

Unfortunately, my poor hubby will probably gain some weight before all is said and done. I've been cooking the foods I'd like to eat and feeding them to him! He's lovin' life like the butcher's dog.:cursing:

Well, it's been a wonderfully relaxing two weeks off, but I'm back to work tomorrow night 7p-7a. I bought some cute little 1/2 cup size Ziplock containers and I need ideas on what to fill them with. What are your favorite high-protein mushies?

And let's not forget the immediate "rules" for fresh post-ops ... clear liquids, progressing to full liquids to pureed foods to soft foods. Seems easy until you're trying to abide by them.

Banded May 7, 2009 by Dr. Alae Zarif at Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin, MD. Worked a twelve-hour night shift upstairs on the orthopedic floor, with nothing to eat or drink after midnight, then took the elevator downstairs and met my hubby in the surgical admissions lobby. :cursing: I saw Dr. Zarif during my shift and he couldn't believe I was there. I told him I was staying up all night to save money on anesthesia. -Got admitted. -Got undressed and into a gown. -IV started (on second attempt thank-you). :cursing: -Pre-op antibiotic through my IV. -Shot of Heparin in my belly. -Off to surgery at 9:45. -I remember the anesthesiologist picking up my IV port in the hallway on the way to the OR and then, entering the theater, saying "Are you starting to feel those meds yet?" -Woke up in recovery with a sore throat and sharp, tight, waves of pain in between my stomach and chest and the nurses gave me a LOT of morphine and Dilaudid. -Convinced recovery room nurses that I was going home instead of upstairs and they transferred me to the outpatient recovery area. -Being the first outpatient Lap Band patient at AGH, the outpatient nurses offered me ginger ale and questioned my liquid pain meds. I set them straight. -I sipped some water and waited for the nausea to subside. Too much morphine! -I was Dr. Zarif's first patient to not stay for 23 hours observation. (I didn't want to spend another night in the hospital.) I think he was nervous about it, but I insisted and I did fine. No post-op barium swallow either. Couldn't have had a better experience!

Throwing up three times a day is serious concern enough. Add that you're throwing up blood and it becomes really concerning. You could have slippage or erosion going on. Talk to your doctor about it ASAP please. :cursing:

I'm a nurse who went through GBP with my ex-husband. He's had a lot of absorption issues and, after reaching his goal weight, has been yo-yo'ing with 15 lbs. He dumps with anything too sweet and with odd things like turkey. He never lost any hair, but his immune system is definitely weaker than it was when he was heavy. He's forever emailing me with symptoms of some virus. I chose the band for myself simply because I didn't want to alter my body's chemical state. Nearly all Lap Band complications are mechanical. I know people with bands who've lost as much and as fast as with GBP and then I know people who've lost 30# and nothing more. It's all in how you use it. I have a friend who's currently in the process of getting a mini GBP. I'm curious to see how she does compared to us.

Congrats on your surgery and best of luck for a speedy recovery. I'm sure you've read about gas pains post-op. Wish I had.:willy_nilly:Hopefully you won't have a problem, but I had a nightmare day post-op where I was stuck alone in the house with no GasX. Have someone get you some just in case. Best wishes!

Woohoo!!! Rock on with your skinny self!!! :cursing: I'll bet you'll look and feel prettier than the bride. Have fun!!!

One of the nurses I work with had these symptoms when her band slipped. She needed surgery to have a new one inserted. Hopefully not your case, but it's nothing to take lightly. Let us know what the doctor says and sorry you're not feeling well. :cursing:

I'm a nurse too and I'm sure you were thoroughly screened for diabetes before surgery, so don't worry yourself about that. My full signal is actually a sort of dizzy/high feeling for a second. It's called a vaso-vagal response and it happens because of a cranial nerve that feeds the digestive tract. It's like a temporary glitch in the program. It's the same response that makes you dizzy if you strain to hard during a bowel movement. Google it and then run it by your doc to see if he agrees.

I'm 9 days out as well and I've been sneaking some mushies, although my doctor's plan is for full liquids during week two. I had a 1/2 cup of thin mashed potatoes today for lunch and some mushed up croutons in my French onion soup for supper. Both were great. Naturally, I feel guilty because this is the first time I've disobeyed the surgeon. But when I get hungry, the thought of strained soup or Jello makes me ill.

It must depend on the surgeon and how much poking around he or she has to do. I had a hiatal hernia repair at the same time I was banded and that was where the bulk of my pain was the first two days. The next two days' pain was from the terrible gas pains that my surgeon hadn't prepared me for. I suggest some liquid Gas X or something similar. I went from Tylenol #3 to regular Tylenol on day 3, with one dose of Tylenol #3 at bedtime. It was day 6 before I was done with regular Tylenol. Most of the pain after the gas pains passed was in my left lower abdomen. Not sure what it was from exactly. Felt like a stitch in my side. Personally, I took two weeks off, but I'm a nurse and I needed it. :scared2:

The only thing they tested my urine for on surgery day was pregnancy.

I agree about the mourning period. Afterall, to most of us who are/were morbidly obese, food was/is a very dear friend. I've only been banded for nine days and I have moments when I feel I am definitely mourning a loss, even though I'm celebrating my new weight loss. We all commit to this lifestyle change when we sign up for the band and "Yay Us!" But they can't suck out our old habits and vices like liposuction. It would be great if they could. Kudos to Cindie for having the courage to be honest. You meet so many people who have changed their lifestyle and claim that it was so easy for them and, therefore, should be for everyone else. I think it's totally okay to say, "Man, I miss gorging on some mac & cheese," or "Gee, I'd love to stuff my whole mouth with a hot slice of pizza." It doesn't mean we should or ever will. It's just good to get your feelings out there and get some validation.

Sounds terribly sexy. :smile2:

Good morning all. I hope everyone is on the mend and doing well. I had a great day yesterday ... got out to the beach for a bit of fresh air, took a little walk in the wildlife refuge, baked a cake for my family and then had a very bad idea -- hot and sour soup. I thought, hey, it's virtually clear, I'll just have them make it not too hot. So, I bought and ate a half cup and it wasn't spicy at all. All evening and now this morning I'm having little pouch spasms that feel like incomplete burps. They happen a few times an hour. I'm sticking to clears this morning to see if I can settle things down.