GuyMontag

Baby first, weight loss second

I agree, call doc. Where specifically when you say stomach pain? Is it internal or external? Low or high? Lots of different problems present differently. Pain internal and high can be band pain. If it's external and on your right or left side it could be port pain from infection, abdominal wall soreness, etc. Whenever I have internal band pain I try to relieve it with some liquid motrin. Good luck!

Good luck!

It REALLY depends on your personality and your individual body. I simply suck at counting calories. I do much better when I do a high protein / high fat diet. I feel full, stay full, and lose weight. Also, when I eat I eat my protein first. So say I had a steak and potato, I eat the steak first and the potato second. That way I'm making sure to fill up on the protein. I used to eat a more round robin style where I'd eat some of this, then some of that. Now I always hit the protein first and fill up on whatever the sides are.

Fortunately I'm regular so I do not need to supplement with fiber. When I did need fiber I used benefiber and stirred it into hot drinks.

Everyone's surgery is different but I could walk right after surgery and even drove and shopped for Valentine's Day the day after my surgery. I was really only sore about 4 days and the pain meds took care of that pretty well. Your mileage may vary but It's usually a pretty quick recovery. Anytime you bend over, cough, or climb I'd recommend putting your hand on your port area and applying a little pressure. It can relieve some of the strain on your abdominal muscles where the port is attached.

I agree that Biotin, multivitamins, and protein are your two biggest weapons against hair loss. However, I honestly don't know much they can help. I think hair loss is your body's natural defense against losing weight. It's like, holy cow, where's all this calorie rich food I am used to?!? and starts stealing nutrients from the easiest place it can find that won't be harmful to you and that's your hair! Lol.

I think I was somewhere between 315-325? It's been awhile so the numbers are fuzzy. I know I was 325 at my highest weight.

I blended one thing and was like, nah, it's not worth it. I just ate stuff like refried beans, mashed potatoes, and apple sauce. Much less hassle.

They normally provide you with anti-nausea pills after surgery. You might request some if you didn't get any.

Just make sure you get your money back from the doc if you've already paid! Lol.

See a therapist and let them help you. Honestly, I think that anyone that gets WLS should have mandatory therapy anyway. You'd be surprised how much it can help. At least this doctor didn't just want to make an easy buck and actually seems to care about you as an individual and see you succeed.

Short term solution would be to try liquid motrin to help with the swelling. Calling your doc and going on liquids only would be my first actions.

I drink decaf coffe, water, G2, and anything low calorie I can get my hands on all day and this helps with my hunger.

I almost never eat breakfast. I just skip the extra calories and drink decaf coffe all morning. That being said, when I do eat breakfast I try to eat something that will sustain me like eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, etc. I avoid fruit, granola, oatmeal, cereal, or toast because of the carbs.

Refried beans, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes. I used to make this thing called mushie lasagna that I liked. You take low fat ricotta cheese and put some garlic powder on it, top it with spaghetti sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese and microwave it. Tastes like lasagna without the noodles!

I just drink it over ice. That kills most of the bubbles.

I went a year without a soda and now I drink them regularly. Sometimes diet sometimes not. Some docs will say yes and some will say no. The makers of the lapband definitely say no. If you start drinking soda again you will gain weight more than likely. Honestly, I wish I wouldn't have started again but I too really enjoy sodas. I try diet but can only stand them so much. If I were your doc I would tell you hell no. That's about the long and the short of it.

Might be what you are eating as well. Every time I got a fill it changed what I could eat. Some foods like bananas, bread, and eggplant go down REALLY slow and hurts if I eat it most times. You might just be getting used to the new restriction level of your band.

Good job. It's always good to be happy with your band although there are usually some ups and downs eventually. Even after 4 years I still wonder what the heck my band is doing. But I'm definitely happy it's there. Keep up the good work!

Could be referred pain. Your body is hurting internally and manifests it as back pain usually around the left shoulder. It should pass. Also, try not to lift, or get up too often as that will cause your abdominal muscles to come into play making them sore where the port is.

They sell liquid tylenol and liquid motrin.

It didn't do that to me right away but now that my band is 'full' I am definitely sensitive to stress.

Gain the weight back! JUST KIDDING! Lol. Exercise, time, and good hydration are the best advice that I can offer. I think a lot of people here share similar frustration with the excess skin. I think that's why many choose to have the skin removed.

Wow. That is far different from what I experienced. I do remember having one really bad hiccup incident that was more embarrassingly loud than painful. Has your doctor had you do a barium swallow? At two weeks out I couldn't even tell I had been banded because there was zero pain. If I were you I'd make them do a barium swallow to make sure your band is positioned okay. What you are describing does not sound typical. After I eat I do sometimes get little spasms I guess you'd call them and it generally helps what I have just eaten clear my band. I don't know if the word spasm is accurate or more like an internal hiccup. They've never lasted more than a few seconds though and they are definitely not painful.