Diva Girl

Hi there... I had gas for at least five days after surgery and was bloated, too. It's now been 10 days since banding and I'm feeling normal. Courage....! It'll pass (pun intended) .

Here's a dumb question. Who's Alex?

Does anyone here have suggestions or techniques for busting through plateaus? I'm one of these losers who loses five pounds overnight and then will sit there with it for two weeks or more before anymore weight loss occurs. I'm not complaining but I'd love to know if there is some sort of action I could take to make the weight loss more regular. Also.....how do you cope with keeping your spirits up while waiting for the weight loss to occur? Thanks for any help you can give.

I'm four weeks into liquids and two more to go before mushies. I never thought I'd fantasize about a scrambled egg but there you have it. I'm pretty wide open with the band and am having a difficult time with hunger. I'll take Jack's words to heart. Courage, Camille (cough, cough).:phanvan

Hi..... I'm 1 1/2 weeks out from banding and on full liquids. At first I could only drink about 6 ounces of the 3 cup portion of my morning shake. (I use CIB for the carb conscious, along with Protein powder, benefiber, and some frozen fruit - so it aerates up to 3 cups). Now I can polish off the whole shake before lunch - but in two sittings. I'm still only getting in 800-950 cals a day. How about you guys?

Hi all.... Has this web site been down to everyone? I haven't been able to get on for days. I missed you! Going in tomorrow for my post-op weigh in and confab with surgeon. I haven't lost any appreciable weight since banded - which is a bit disconcerting, considering that my calorie intake has been less than 1,000 a day for two weeks. Ok....no whining. Went to a real country wedding yesterday. What a beautiful setting. The only disconcerting thing was that the bride was the only person in the ENTIRE 15 person wedding party who was not chewing gum. It was comical....you know how when you're nervous you chaw chaw chaw on your gum? Well....the groom was chawing to beat the band. If I hadn't actually seen someone give him chewing gum, I would have sworn it was a "chaw of tabackie". We then had a dinner date with friends. They took pity on me and got take out from our favorite restaurant, instead of actually going there. So I sat with them and had split pea Soup while they chowed down on filet and baked potato and salad. It was ok...I didn't suffer too badly. I kept thinking about the long term goals and got through it. Besides......the soup was really good. Gotta run...hope all is well with everyone. Lyn P.S. Welcome home Dawg and Nut....I bow down to you for losing weight on vacation. Pretty amazing.

Hi Meg....no it's not just you. I haven't been able to get on for two days. I emailed the web server and jsut got an email back that it's up and running. This happened about two weeks ago, too. It's amazing how much we miss it, isn't it? I'm glad to be back!

Mia...I read your thread - I was absolutely infuriated by your doctor. Telly....loved your shopping story...but when you said you took 1k with you, I thought you meant $1,000. Well, that's what $1K is, right? I thought...that would buy a lot of undies. Glad your ass is hot. Yay. Paul...ahhhh....the idea of shopping in a "regular" size dept....I'm totally jealous. Have fun P'nut.

I'm angry FOR you. How presumptuous to bring students in without introducing you or asking your permission. How ignorant to not listen to you, as to where the stick should be. I mean...what did he have to lose by listening to you? If it were me, I'd write a letter to the doctor who stuck you. You can explain, in your most professional nurse manner, how upset you were by the experience. Not only did was he arrogantly presumptuous but he caused you unnecessary pain. All because of his own ego. (fume, fume) Most nurses I know appreciate knowing where your best veins are when they draw blood. This is the same thing. Sheeesh.

Hi there....I had planned on going to the next support group meeting, which I think is September 6th. I've never been to one but am looking forward to this one. Maybe I'll see you guys there? I was banded a week ago Wednesday and feel absolutely great. It was done at the Asheville Surgery Center...I was the first one done there. I felt so special. Actually, since I was the only patient there that night, I had the most amazing nursing care! Anyway, I've been on liquids 3.5 weeks and I'm pretty much over it. Like I said, I feel almost 100% most of the time and I haven't been hungry.

DH made me this soup today and you have to try this to believe it! Sometimes, you just need something that tastes amazing. Savory Hubbard Squash Soup Preheat oven to 350. Peel, seed and cube a medium hubbard squash. This yields approximately 1.25 pounds of raw squash. Spray with olive oil pam and bake on a cookie sheet 35-40 minutes. Place cooked squash into a soup pot, along with: 5 cups of chicken broth (home made is great but not necessary) 4 cups of Water 1 tsp of Garam Masala spice (if you don't have this, go get some right now - it's in the spice section of your store) 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary tied together or 1 tsp dried 1 onion chopped fine (or 2 Tbsp minced dried onion) Simmer the above for 35-40 minutes. Blend in batches until smooth. Place mixture back on stove at a simmer for about 15 minutes, until thick. Optional: May add 2tbsp fat free half and half to each cup of soup, adding 20 cals per cup. Yield: 6 cups Nutritionals (per cup): Cals: 102 Fat: 1.8 Carbs 17.6 Protein 6 It's not a nutritional powerhouse but it's a gastronomical masterpiece!

Dawg....I don't really know you....but are you SURE you really want to be normal? You just don't strike me as ....... well, nevermind. Telly...your hair cut is awesome. You really have to be pretty to carry that off and you do. Susan....I have to admire your candor in telling us about your bout with the wine bottle. Believe me, I can relate - but I'd never have the guts to share my fears and concerns with others. I think that's the first step in helping yourself get through this. I think you're just great. Who knows....your experience might help others come out of the wine closet. I can tell you this, since I was banded (a week ago today), I have had less wine than I usually had in one night, pre-band. So it's definitely something I have to watch, too. Lyn

Oh My......

I absolutely thnk that this would be a great idea. I am at the beginning of my journey and am asolutely certain I will lose the weight I need to lose (as I've done oh so many times b efore)....however, the trick is keeping it off, isn't it? I really like this idea. You can call it - "Maintaining My Way" or "Maintenace Central" "Goal and Beyond" or "So you've reached goal....now what?"

My experience was equally good. I babied myself afterwards by staying home and lolling around but I didn't really need to. I was up and moving within 2 hours of surgery and took small pain meds for two days afterwards. No incision or port pain whatsoever but a bit of discomforting gas pain. I found that walking around really helped that. So far I haven't had an ounce of pain from the operation itself and I, too and 59 years old and by rights, should have had a harder time. Good luck with your surgery!

I'm six days out, too and do have a bit of gas...but nothing debilitating like what you're describing. The nausea should be able to be controlled by meds. Call your primary care physical, tell him what's going on and he'll prescribe something for that. As for the gas, here's what helped me: 1. Walk around - walk down the street, to your mailbox, around your living room. Put your arms up in the air, swing them around. 2. Kneel on the bed with your forehead down (nice way of saying butt up) for a few minutes 3. Walk around again. This should produce either a belch or a burp or, if you're lucky, both. It sounds like you've got quite a nasty case. Is it up in your shoulder? That's where it hit me the worst. If it's any help, I've been assured by everyone here that it will pass (no pun intended, heh heh). Good luck.

I've only been banded since last Wednesday and I'm already stressed out my first fill. Education is best defense, though. Thanks for the info and the links. And thanks too for the warm welcome! I'm doing fine...one day up, one day tired, one day fine, next day crampy...I'm happy, tho. 21 pounds down since I first started liquids. Yay. Lyn

In answering this same question, someone who had GBS told me recently that they say "No I can't eat that. It gives me a reaction"....and of course I said..."Yeah, the reaction is that it makes me fat". I like the "No...I'm good" phrase. It's dismissing - probably stops the pushing - but it's nice. I like that one and will use it. Thnx. I've told everyone that I'm on a "doctor supervised liquid diet" for six weeks. It's not like that they don't know I'm overweight. I don't know what excuse I'll use for the mushies but I'll come up with something. I've watched my (as Jack says) "normo" friends and they actually eat in pea sized bites and unbelievably small portions (like 3 ounces of Protein...I mean really!). They talk during dinner and push their food around their plate. Here's a big bonus...no more spilled food down the front of you! What a great NSV....it's almost impossible to spill food if you're not shoveling it in! (which I'm sure you never did, but it was a pretty regular thing with me) Good luck to you.

What a great post. Thank you for sharing that. It's a way off for me (3.5 weeks, but who's counting?) but I'm already concerned. I don't know about you, but I've tried and failed so many times at weight reduction that I'm almost afraid that this may be just another one of those same failed attempts. I know that in my MIND, that's wrong, but my sometimes humiliating memories of failure are still there. Maybe our fear of returning to food stems from that? But it's a real fear and needs to be dealt with compassionately by ourselves. All the advice you've gotten so far is excellent and my advice would be to just take a deep breath, take your time and enjoy. I'll see you in 3 weeks in "food land". Mangia.

It's true that you crave the weirdest things if you stay long enough on a liquid diet. I had the strongest craving for a tuna salad sandwich...I told my husband and voila...he created this! 1 Hard boiled egg (chopped) 4 Green onions (just the white part) chopped fine 1 Dill pickle - small chopped fine (dried dill weed would do the same) 1/2 seedless cucumber, skinned, de-seeded, chopped fine 1 C low fat or no fat plain yogurt Celery salt White pepper Dash white worcestershire (optional) 1 close garlic or squeeze from "tube herbs" (optional) 1 scoop unflavored Protein powder (optional - don't use with salmon recipe) Mix all of the above in a blender, then add either- 1 can of Water packed tuna drained OR 8 ounces cooked salmon YIELD: 3 CUPS (Approximately) :hungry: We did this with the tuna first and I loved it. He made grilled salmon for himself one evening and at my request made it again with salmon. With the tuna, he made it with unflavored Isopure protein which kicked up the protein a lot. We didn't think that the salmon would stand up to or needed the Protein Powder. The egg is absolutely essential...it evens out the flavors. Here are the nutritionals on 1 cup Bruce's Tuna Soup with the protein powder: Cals: 190 Fat 6.4 g Carbs 5.6 g Protein 26.4 g Here are the nutritionals on 1 cup of the Salmon Supreme (no protein powder) Cals: 226 g Fat 9.3 g Carbs 8.3 g Protein 26 g

Hello Everyone.... I guess I'll just bust right in. I was banded this week and would love to join the GFG Club Challenge for next month. I find this site just amazingly helpful. I'm 59 yo and checked out GBS a few years ago but just chickened out on it. It was simply too drastic for me. Irreversible...well, you know all the reasons people chose not to do it, even when it will save their lives. Soooo....when I went in recently to check it out again, the surgeon I wanted to use will not do GBS on anyone over 55 (harumph!) That's how I found Lap Band and boy am I glad I did. As I said, I was banded this week. Two weeks liquid before band, four weeks liquid post band, so I'm dropping some lbs and bmi. I'm not sure what all the initials stand for - I'm sure I'll get up to speed - but here are my stats in my journey thus far: 257 Start Weight, 236 Current Weight, 41.5 Start BMI, 38.1 Current BMI I look forward to getting to know you and to September's challenge. Cheers, Lyn

Hi Everyone... Was it just me or was the site down for a day? I felt so lost without you! No one to commiserate. I had kind of a bad day yesterday. (banded 8/16). A little gas and NO energy. I think that's just a reaction to the anaesthesia (sp?) I was the queen of blobs....couldn't get energized, couldn't get comfortable. Blech. JGordo....I too had a hard time taking deep breaths for the first couple of days...infact, I'm still having a slight stitch in my shoulder from it. Someone told me that a great way to get rid of gas (get this) is to get on all fours and see if it pushes out. I've been over at the waist and that seems to work a little. MsTrish....no wine with pain meds. My nutritionist told me that once the band was in place, settled and working well, a small (4oz) glass of wine a day would not do harm. It does slow weight loss, tho. Sweet Caroline...I think that when they put the band in at first, it is without restriction. There's natural swelling at first, which makes it work as a fill...but my doc doesn't do a fill for six weeks, so I think that's the reasoning behind 4 weeks of liquids. Anyway....if it were me....I wouldn't be eating any burger. I mean, you spent all this time etc getting the thing done...why put it at risk? There's a thread on the site right now.."I'm stuck right now" (or something like that). Go take a read and see what kind of discomfort she's in and that was just from a tortilla shell. Anyway, that's just my opinion...I'd be interested in what others here think. Jamie...Isopure really worked at staving off hunger during that clear liquid phase of this thing for me. It's a "clear" drink you can get at GNC. It comes in lurid colors and flavors in 24 oz $3.75 bottles. Right now they're having a sale, though. The good news?....One bottle a day will give you 40 grams of protein! It's saved me pre and post-band. Speaking of which, I'm getting only about 500 cals a day, post-band. I am getting in my protein thanks to Isopure. But I don't really like the stuff and I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to actually get my cals and protein from "real" food (as real as liquids can be). What is everyone else getting in Calorise-wise?

This is one of the best things about this forum...instant help from those who know. I'll be filing this experience away to keep for a future reference "just in case". Thanks experienced bandsters for helping us newbies out.

Hi Everyone... I'm back and banded and although I'm having a bit of gas pain, that's about it. I haven't had much pain from the incision or the port. My surgery experience was really really good. The woman who woke me up from anaesthesia exclaimed "My name is Jackie and I lost 145 pounds from a weight loss surgery. Hi". Isn't that cool? Like I said, it's been pretty easy for me so far. I haven't had a lot of pain...I'm one of the lucky ones, I know. I worked out a lot before surgery, had the two weeks of full liquids and one day of clear liquids. BTW, I took my ipod with me to surgery and it really calmed me down before and after. I filled it with soothing sounds and it really helped me out. I felt much better in the recliner in the room as opposed to the bed and think that helped a lot with gas pain. It was also a lot easier to get up and moving from a chair than from a bed. I have this bit of advice to those getting banded soon. I've read in many places on this forum about having an enema or something like it the day before surgery. I had heard that it really lessened the likelihood of gas pains. My doctor recommended I drink a bottle of Magnesium Citrate (aka, "The Bomb") around noontime the day before. I did so and I really emptied out. In fact, by the time I weighed in for surgery, I had lost 20 pounds!!!! At any rate, my gas pain, although kind of uncomfortable is not all that bad. So, in my opinion, even if the doctor doesn't order it, I say...it couldn't hurt. I prefer the Magnesium Citrate route. But you have to be close to home. It takes about four hours to clean you out. Ok, tmi, I know. One more thing about gas pain. Whenever I get a shooting pain, I jump up and walk around the room. It really helps. Another thing...cold liquids and ice chips make it worse. It's much better to go for the warm or tepid liquids. At the risk of giving Too much advice....I've got another suggestion for those of you who have to do clear liquids before and after surgery. To avoid feeling just miseably starved, go to GNC and get a few bottles of Isopure clear. It's not really clear, it's a drink in these lurid colors and flavors that has 40 grams of protein p/bottle. So if you sip it all day, you manage to stay pretty full. It's good post-surgery too, when you don't feel much like eating. :nervous For those of you who were chatting about the c-pap machine, I have the kind with just nasal pillows and find it easy to wear. I got used to it really quickly and it is completely silent. The first night I wore it, the room was so silent, my husband had to reach over to make sure I was still alive. lol. Libra...I received meds for nausea when I left the hospital. You clearly need them. Vomiting is the worst....I hope you feel better soon. Caroline...Are you the one that's losing 1.5 lbs every two days?!? Good going! That's awesome. My doc wouldn't let me get back to weight training for a month. I'm jealous that you get to do it sooner. BTW, I gained 5 pounds today. Waaannnnhhh. I'm sure that it's just swelling, edema, gas etc from surgery. Right? Bug...my doctor recommended Colace. I prefer Benefiber because it's so gentle. I just put a tsp in my morning drink. It's not detectable at all. But you may need "the bomb" of magnesium citrate if you're really clogged up. Well, I'm tired but happy that it's over and now the real work starts. :clap2:

Remember that old song? Ok....my Christmas goal is 36 pounds by Christmas, which should put me maybe in a Winter One-derland. I will go to sleep tonight and have sugar-free fairies dancing in my head while I contemplate that wonderful thought.