Unforgettable

Have you been able to eat good foods without being too tight? Are you able to drink all of your fluids for the day? Are you sure you're eating the right foods and exercising? If so, you may have hit your sweet spot and are dropping the pounds. If you want to be safe you can always double check with your doc. If you aren't able to take in an appropriate amount of food or liquids, or are vomiting frequently then talk with your doctor.

You are currently in bandster hell. You seem to have no restriction, and this is the time where you need to use your willpower to follow the rules and only eat small amount at a time. Hopefully it will get better after the first fill, but that's not a guarantee. It often takes a few fills before you hit your sweet spot. Good luck!

This is a controversial topic. With repeated use, NSAIDS have the risk to cause ulcers for people, not just banded patients. We're talking close to daily use here. Obviously the last thing you would want with your band is an ulcer, a weakening of the stomach wall and lining. Also, some believe that if you take an NSAID in pill form, there's a chance of it sitting on the pouch and again irritating the stomach and causing ulcers. This is something you need to speak with your doctor about, as every doctor has a different take on this and you should follow his advice when it comes to medication. My doctor approved occasional NSAID use. I took it in liquid form a couple times during the first weeks post-op and felt tremendous relief. My doctor also trusts my judgement as a nurse and felt comfortable that I would not be one to take it every day, but truly just on occasion.

I'm gonna take a guess and say no? Just a guess. Sounds like you're setting this as your goal? If so way to go!

You need to go to the doctor. If you don't feel satisfied with his answer, keep bugging him. This doesn't sound normal to me, sounds like it's infected. You also shouldn't be taking medication that he didn't prescribe. Make sure you let him know that you did take keflex, how much and for how long. And if you really think he'll think you're wasting his time or he'll chastise you, I'd suggest finding a new doctor as well. You should feel comfortable going to your doctor about anything, even if you're asking if eating a booger will get stuck in your band.

This early in the game, I also try to stay on an eating schedule. I don't like to go longer than 4 hours or so between eating, because then when I do get hungry it comes on very suddenly, I get really cranky, nauseous, and tend to not make the right choices. I've read different things on here about skipping meals. Some people say why eat if you aren't hungry. Others, like myself, believe that eating every 4 hours or so really kick starts your metabolism and gets it going. I'd ask your doctor what he suggests.

Nic, Many have been in your position. I can understand your frustration. Until you hit your "sweet spot," this is an uphill battle. You need to work with your band, it can't do all the work for you. Are you eating right? I mean REALLY eating right? Also, even if you've given up, you need to exercise! That will kickstart your metabolism and hopefully get things going. Also are you journaling? If not try starting for a week, you might notice a trend that you wouldn't have noticed otherwise. Right now it seems you're in a dangerous mindframe that could lead to you gaining, and we don't want to see that happen! Just try to be patient, make sure you are doing your job, eat right and exercise, and remember your inspiration. What caused you to get the surgery in the first place? Focus on those things, remind yourself that you can do it. It's not about the destination, it's about the journey...this is your test right now. You can do it, and you'll be so much stronger at the end of it!

Welcome and good luck to you!

Welcome Mike! You've found a great site here, it has lots of knowledgeable people and is a great resource!

Welcome Sueann. Im also an RN so I know what you mean about knowing the other side. It's a great insight, but sometimes it can be a hinderance at the same time! It's completely normal to feel apprehensive before surgery, this is so life changing. Have you started a pre-op diet yet? My tip for enjoying protein shakes is using vanilla flavored whey powder and adding crystal light's "orange" flavored powder to it...tastes like a orange creamsicle! Let me add that this is an amazing site. You will find lots of helpful information here, so use it as the great resource that it is! Good luck!

I love SFFF chocolate pudding, it's a great sweet treat. But as Jachut mentioned, if I'm craving something specifically, I allow myself to have that as a treat. It doesn't happen often so I don't really care about it...if I were to ignore that craving, it would get worse and then I'd be shoveling anything and everything in my mouth. Also, as mentioned in almost every other post of mine recently, greek yogurt is one of my favorite snacks. Plain it tastes like sour cream. But if you mix in splenda, fruit, etc it takes on that taste. Right now I do 1/2 cup yogurt and 1 tbsp reduced fat peanut butter...it satisfies my sweet tooth, and my love for peanut butter.

Hey Bikerchic...if you "search" this forum, you'll find there's multiple posts on the same topic with lots of good answers. Everyone has different opinions. They're both supposed to do the same job. Lapband comes in 2 sizes (I think 10cc and 14cc), and the Realize Band-C comes in one 11cc size. The older version of the realize band (not the realize-c) had some complaints of forming and almond shape around the stomach versus a circle. The realize-c was designed to solve that problem. The realize-c port is held in place differently, which is supposed to speed up recovery time...not sure if I noticed a difference. After researching the 2, I found I didn't really have a preference and told my surgeon I trust his judgement as to which he would put in. After surgery, he told me he thought the 14cc lapband would be too big, and the small lapband would be too small, so the realize-c was a perfect fit.

Hey! I'm one month post op and my 5 scars already look so much better. The NP at my office who had the surgery as well a year ago showed me her scars and I could barely see them at first glance. Talk with your doctor, but massaging scars help. I've read different things about the scar creams not really working. Did you have the single incision surgery? I've wondered what the scar looks like.

A lot of yogurts are actually very high in sugar. My doc was strictly medifast products, I wasn't able to supplement with anything else. Each doc is different though.

RM I'm glad I'm not the only one! I was laughing while in the waiting room filling this thing out. Thankfully the doc was really cool so when he asked how I thought the test was I was able to joke with him about it. But you hit the nail on the head because that was totally how the questions were!

If you can't even get water down, get to your doctors ASAP. Sounds like you need an unfill because it's super tight, and you don't want to get yourself dehydrated or irritate your stomach and lead to slippage and other complications from being too tight.

It really isn't that bad. Except I had to fill out a 200+ questionnaire beforehand, and it asked all type of weird questions. First there would be normal ones, asking if I liked flowers or painting, and then the next one would be like "true or false: I have thoughts of killing other people." It was kind of comical lol Then I met with the psychologist and he just asked normal questions. It's not that bad, really. Good luck!

Hey Harley, welcome to the site. If you look at the different subforums on this site, there is one specifically for teens. But feel free to post anywhere!

Are you allowed to have yogurt? I've mentioned this in like a million other threads but I just love it so much! Greek yogurt is my new favorite thing. By itself tastes like sour cream. Mix in sweet stuff, puree fruit, splenda, etc and tastes amazing. I've been doing 1/2 cup yogurt with 1 tbsp reduced fat peanut butter. It has lots of protein, low carb and the one I get (fage total 0%) has no fat.

I've mentioned this in a lot of my threads, but greek yogurt is awesome. I tried it for the first time after reading it from someone else on here. By itself, it is a great sour cream substitute. Otherwise it kinda blends in with whatever flavors you put in it. Or you can do just plain splenda mixed in with it. My fav right now is 1/2 cup yogurt and 1 tbsp reduced fat peanut butter, it's so yummy and there's a lot of protein in the yogurt. Just make sure to get the reduced fat yogurt. I like the Fage total 0% plain yogurt.

Darce Glad you're feeling better now. I'm the same way, even 1 month post-op. If I don't eat early enough after I wake up, even if I'm not hungry, I feel really icky. That's why I try to eat some greek yogurt within an hour of waking. When do you get to advance to your next diet stage?

DO888 you need to speak with your surgeon about this. But getting light headed throughout the day is typically not a NORMAL thing. Even if you don't like what you're supposed to eat, eat it for your health. You'll eventually be able to eat regular food again, so just stick in there.

Amen! Come on HH give it a try