Froggie D

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. At least I know it is not just my computer. I am like you, Rsilversea, I just log on and hope it works.

Didn't know there was a limit. Are there guidelines somewhere? I certainly did not mean to take up too much space. Please advise!:bored:

I was supposed to go tomorrow to get my first fill but I saw amy ENT today to have him look at my clogged ears and I have adouble ear infection and an infected gland - he thinks it is a salivary gland. Interestingly enough, it is the side I had a filling replaced and a temporary crown done on last thursday. I am on antibiotics and steriods so I talked to the bariatric coordinator and we agreed to put it off a week. Today I was hungrier than any day so far. I hope that does not increase a lot before next Wednesday. I am trying to stick to lean proteins and low carb veggies and one fruit per day. It helps to avoid carbs.

So glad to hear from you. I have been worried about you. I am glad you are feeling better and having less pain. Pain is a drag and hopefully you are over the worst of it. I had to cancel my appt for a fill tomorrow as I have a double ear infections and am on antibiotics and steriods. We agreed it would be better to wait another week. I am still eating really good and lost another 2 pounds last week, so I am fine for now. Had my hungriest day today. I hope your fill goes well. Please post about it and your experience the week after. I will be thinking about you!

I was 250 and almost 58. Had my surgery April 7 and have lost 23 on the preop and 9 pounds since surgery. Doing great and looking forward to shirnking a bit more every day! First time in my life I was not hungry constantly. Due for my first fill next week so I am on my way. I would recommend it for anyone who is serious about wanting to lose weight. I was able to diet and lose, but always gained it back, and more. I am hoping this will turn that around!

Hang in there - everyone is different. I still am feeling some restriction after almost 4 weeks so I feel really lucky. My dietician said they did not want people to do pureed foods. I was on liquids for a week and "soft" for about two weeks. They said to just chew, chew, chew and I have not had any problems. I was supposed to go in for a fill tomorrow, but I have an ear infection and don't feel very well. The ENT put me on antibiotics (big capsules, 2 at a time) and steroids so I called and postponed until next Wednesday. They agreed I should wait. Since I am still losing, I will just try and eat really good the next week. I am starting to feel some hungery at 2 and a half hours when before I went 5 hours easy with no hunger. I will get through it, though. You meantioned getting smaller in the face. My 6 year old grandaughter climbed into bed with me the second week and said, "Grandma, your head is getting littler!" I told her I hoped it was my face and not my whole head! A lot of people report they do not lose weight after the surgery until they have a fill. Sounds like you are losing, so just keep doing what you are doing!:thumbdown:

Glad to hear you are doing well. I am almost 4 weeks out and going in for a fill (maybe) this week. I am feeling really good too, but not much hunger. It is a great. I need to be walking more, but seem to find lots of excuses not to. I have to get myself on the stick again. :thumbup: Good to hear from you!

Yes to all of the above! I was very nervous, emotions on a roller coaster. I had doubts, but reminded myself of all the reasons I was moving forward. I tried to eat every food in the world I might have to go without before my surgery. I was certainly having a pity party! I was banded on April 7. I am doing great and go in for my first fill this week. I am so glad I did it. There was some discomfort but overall it was pretty easy. I lost 23 pounds before surgery and have lost 9 more since. I am still losing and seem to have some restirction. Go for it. Your emotions will be on a roller coaster for some time. As my mentor kept saying, "Keep your eye on the prize!" Good luck!

Jodi - congrats on 30 pounds - that is wonderful and enough to really notice. Have fun buying some new clothes! Mrs. Bubba - hang in there with your pain. I really feel for you. Glad you are losing - every pound helps that pain reduce a bit, I am sure. Indiogirl - I am so glad to hear that you do have less craving at a smaller weight. I am looking forward to that. I have now lost 9 pounds since my banding and 32 pounds total. I went shopping and bought a size smaller pants yesterday. It was very exciting. My carboholism is currently under control with all the protein I am eating. Low carb veggies and limited fresh fruit do not seem to jump start the cravings, so that is good. I do not crave bread, fortunately, but I think about candy, especially chocolate, and cookies. Once I get rolling, all the awful carbs are up for grabs - donuts, candy, cake, cookies, rolls, tortillas, potatoes, french fries, etc. :smile: I was diabetic and on Metformin before my banding. I was getting high fasting levels of 150 to 160 each day ON the meds. I stopped the meds at surgery and now I am getting 115 to 135 OFF the meds. :thumbup: I figure a few more pounds and that will drop back to normal. That is my biggest goal for my surgery - to not be diabetic. My blood pressure has dropped a little too, from 128 over 80 to 116 over 68. Not enough to cut meds yet, but some progress. Still debating over whether I should change my appointment to another week away for my first fill since I am still losing and not hungry. I would like to talk to my doc about it but I hate to take off work and have to take off again for a fill. Well off to the health food store for more chewable B vitamins, soy milk and soy protein powder (I am allergic to dairy). I really think the protein powder is helping keep my appetite under control. Everyone have a great week!:thumbup: Debra

Sounds like you are doing the right things. Protein and water are the most important. I have not gotten stuck yet, thank God. I have eaten too fast a couple of times and had a lot of pressure in my chest which was uncomfortable. I am having a protein shake each day for breakfast, and meat and low carb veggies most meals. Today I had roasted pork, about 3 oz, about a quarter cup of refried beans, and four slices of cucumber. For dinner I had 6 small shrimp, a half cup of lentil soup, and a half cup of cauliflower. I had a second protein shake this afternoon. I am very full all the time and seem to have a lot of restriction. I do not know if they put fill in my band at surgery, but I seem to have restriction. I go in Tuesday to discuss it. I do not know whether or not I will get a fill. Not sure I need one. I have lost 8.8 pounds in 24 days since surgery.

I think I am a carboholic too. As long as I eat under about 30-40 grams per day, I do fine. As soon as I eat any more than that, I can't seem to stop. I am doing great right now and eating just what I am supposed to eat. That is why I am afraid to try too many things. I really understand what you feel. Don't give up. It is worth it to cut the carbs and lose the weight. They way that being overweight makes you more insulin resistant and crave carbs more. Maybe when you get your weight off, you will have reduced cravings. I hope I do. At least that is a motivator for me!

"But I don't think Victoria Secret will be asking me to model." YET! :thumbup:

Just noticed you are in Mission, Kansas. I am in Lenexa. I had my surgery with Dr. Stanley Hoehn on April 7. Who is your doc?

I was not required to do a long preop diet but I knew my own recent eating habits and I had been on a sugar and carb binge while I was waiting for my approval. :sad: I decided to do a modified self imposed preop. I did my Protein Shakes for Breakfast and lunch, and lean meat and raw or steamed low carb veggies for dinner. I was an Atkins dieter in the past and I understood the process of withdrawing from sugar and carbs, so that is what I was aiming for. The first three days are headaches, hunger and grouchiness. Day four you lose your headache and hunger and your energy level goes back up. I lost 23 pounds preop and DID NOT SUFFER. My surgery was only 20 minutes long and the surgeon said it was a text book case. I truly believe if I had not done the preop my liver would have been huge. :eek: My recover was very rapid and relatively painless. Although my surgeon did not require a preop, he did comment on my weight loss as being wonderful before the surgery. :smile2: My srgeon did require two days of clear liquids (protein drink was also allowed) before the surgery, which I did as instructed. If I had had the three days of withdrawing from sugar and carbs at the same time I had the surgery, I would have been so miserable!!!!!!:crying: It helped get my appetite under control so I have not experienced hunger since surgery either. I am not quite 4 weeks out and have lost another 8.8 pounds. I do not think I have a lot of restriction yet, but I am doing fine with the outlined postop diet and amounts and my hunger is not out of control. :laugh: During that preop time, I also stopped drinking carbonated beverages (which I do not miss now after a 43 year addiction to diet pop starting at age 14 with Tab), focused on getting in all my Water, getting 70 grams of Protein, not snacking between meals, etc. That had me ready for the surgery. I suspect that some doctors do not "require" a preop diet just because many people do not follow it and end up with binge eating when they try. Normal eating is preferrable to binge eating before the surgery, I would think. If you are a sugar and carb eater, you will have to go through carb withdrawal at one time or another. I just decided to pick my time and not go through surgery and withdrawal at the same time. Since your doctor has not given you any instructions for the weeks before, the choice is up to you. I know I am glad I did some prep work and I do believe it has made my journey easier. Best of luck on your journey! We are all behind you! :thumbup::welldoneclap::welldoneclap:

No I did not work at the Tasty Freeze and it is a good thing because I was already fat enough! Instead my first job was as front desk person at a dry cleaners on Saturday. I was trained by 4 older women that my mother called "The Jewels" because they were named Ruby, Opal, Pearl, and Amber. LOL They taught me all about being a hard worker and a good employee. My next job was Christmas season in the Toy Department at Macy*s - what a fun job!!! I took myself out to dinner tonight to my favorite Mexican restaurant. I had my favorite dinner of Carnitas - roasted pork, refried beans, mexican rice, lettuce, tomatoes and avocado, flour tortillas, chips and salsa. I ate less than a third of the pork and about a third of a cup of refried beans, a bit of lettuce and chopped tomatoes and was so satisfied. No craving the tortillas, chips or rice. I brought home enough food for at least two more meals. I used to eat all of it, plus the whole basket of chips and an order of guacamole. I am losing slowly, a little over a pound this week. I go in to talk about a fill on Tuesday. I feel some restriction but I think I could be eating a bit less. I have lost 7.8 pounds since surgery - 23 days. I think that is a fair weight loss, although part of me just wants to see it fall off quicker. So far, the band is working well for me. I am trying to do my part - eat lots of protein, steamed veggies, no white carbs, no sugar. I have had two pears and a few strawberries in the last week. I am not hungry and it is like a miracle!:thumbup:

Did you do a pre:confused:op diet and get off sugar/carbs before your surgery? If not, you may be experiencing withdrawal from that. You may also be still experiencing the anesthesia. I was dizzy for about a week or so. The first few days I made my husband walk with me, just in case.

WOW. I can't wait to be there!

I got weighed, they did vitals, discussed the meds I am taking and vitamins. Ask about problems with eating. we did not really discuss nutrition. They took out my staples and told me to come back in two weeks for a fill. Pretty short and sweet.

DJBabe Glad to hear you are doing so well. :redface: With each day I am seeing that I will not be so different from everyone else. I have eaten in restaurants, eaten at a luncheon, stayed in a hotel and ate meals at a conference. I have eaten ground beef with no problem, tiny bites of steak, nothing has gotten stuck or threatened to come back up. I did eat too fast once and had a lot of pressure in my chest. It all went down, however. I am eating so much less than I used to and not thinking constantly about food, either. I have stayed away from carbs still because I am diabetic and stopped taking my meds when I had my surgery. My blood sugar is lower than before the surgery when I was still on my meds. That feels really good. I think when I lose some more weight, I will be able to tolerate more carbs. Not eating carbs also helps control my appetite and I am still afraid of it coming back. I go to get a fill on May 4. Since I am not eating a lot, not sure if I will need one. I do not want to overfill, but I would like to lose more weight. I have lost 7.6 pounds since surgery three weeks ago so I guess that is pretty good. How much have you lost since surgery? How many calories do you think you are eating? Since I am staying away from carbs, I am not sure I am getting enough calories. I figured about 650 one day. I am only eating lean meats, steamed low carb veggies and protein drinks. Not sure if I should try to eat more, or not. One more day we will all be banded and April will be over. Best of luck to everyone! We did it! :thumbup::party:

I am getting banded on April 7. My dietician was telling me about "Soft signs". She said lots of people have a physical response when they eat enough to just fill their pouch and not be overstuffed. Things like a sigh, a deep breath, watering eyes, a sneeze that signal to stop eating before you eat too much. She said not everyone can identify a soft sign. Anyone experience this?: [/html]

Linda, You are right - I am short - 5'2". And I am very small boned. I am so tired of carrying all this weight around. I will be 58 in June and feel like I am 80 some days. So far my journey has been pretty easy, but I am afraid one day I will wake up and eat everything in sight, like the old days. I really want this to work. I am just three weeks out and not really having much hunger but I do think a lot about food and variety. I guess that is the "head hunger" I have read about. Each day seems to be worse in thinking about food, but I can't eat much, so that is my salvation. I go in Tuesday next week to talk about and maybe get a fill. How do you know if you need one? I also have a question for everyone - do you think age has anything to do with whether or not you tell people you are being banded? I have told everyone and am not really too concerned about their opinions or who thinks it is a bad idea. I made up my mind for me and no one is going to sway me too much. Of couse the important people in my life are very supportive (I think they know they better be, LOL). I wonder if this is because I am older and not so invested in what others think or if it is just my personality style? Seems like I have read a lot of posts from folks who don't tell anyone for fear people won't be supportive of them and most of these seem to be younger people. They also talk about people trying to push food on them - no one does that to me. What do you think?

Joyce, I live in Lenexa. I work in Lansing. Where did you have your surgery done? I just had mine done by Dr. Hoehn at Shawnee Mission. I started out with Dr. Malley, but he was not practicing at the right hospital for my insurance. When did you get banded?

Hey, my name is Debra and I was just banded on April 7. I am 57 (until June anyway) and was invited to join your thread by Apples. I really appreciate it. I start trying to get my band in Oct 08 and had a lot of problems with getting the right doc and hospital. Finally got banded three weeks ago and am doing well. My surgeon did not require a preop diet but I was pretty strung out on sugar so I did my own based on what I had read about on Forum. I had two protein shakes (I mix my own from soy milk and soy protein powder from the health food store), breakfast and lunch and lean meat and low carb veggies for dinner. I lost 23 pounds before surgery and have lost 7.6 since surgery. Doesn't sound like too much, but feels really good to me. Feels great to be off the carbs. I am diabetic, was on Metformin, but already off that and blood sugars are as good as before on the meds. I have hypertension, high cholesterol, apnea on a C-pap, reflux, knee, back and hip pain, and generally felt lousy. already feeling better. I go in for my first fill next Tuesday. Just started experiencing some hunger yesterday. Still eating just lean meats, protein shakes and low carb veggies. No starches and not really missing them. Started walking 30 minutes and it is a push at theis point. At one time, 20 years ago, I was running in 5K races (never very fast) and I would love to feel like that again. Not usre I can ever really run again, but maybe. Thanks for letting me join in.

Excellent! You did great! Good luck on your surgery. It is not so bad and well worth it. Had mine April 7, have now lost 30.6 pounds with the preop diet and feeling good! The preop is worth it so your surgery is easier. :scared2:

Just starting my journey. Three weeks post surgery and down 30.6 pounds so far (including preop diet). I was glad to read your post. I was feeling like I was 80 (I'm 57) and I hope to feel good and younger again. So far so good. How much did you lose and how long did it take?