suzetteherrera

I just wanted to let you know that I relate.... I started to feel back to normal, pain wise, after two weeks. I could have never gone back to work sooner than that. I'm 5 weeks post op.... I had 2.6 cc's during surgery, then .4, then 1cc. Still hungry all the time! But at least the pain is gone. But it's a big change to our bodies. Our bodies and our minds have to adjust.... I was regretting having this done and paying out of pocket for it, but it's better now. I hope it only gets better for everyone that is feeling not so great!

I'm so hungry, I could eat anything....except for protein shakes, yogurt, Crystal Light or broth. Yuck! I'm sick of those things. What I want is yummy food!! I actually took a lick of ketchup....and pretended I was eating a corny dog. I also look a lick of gravy. Anybody have any ideas on stuff I could eat? I'm only 3 days post op! :blushing:

Was watching a TV show, kinda made me realize how many movie stars have weight issues. Wynona Judd, Marie Osmond, Valerie Bertinelli, Christie Ally, Carnie Wilson, of course Oprah.....and I'm sure many more. Does anybody know any famous people that have had a lap band? Just curious...

I'm self pay too! Maybe that's part of it! And the other part is that this weight consumes my life!

I am so sad :cursing:. I have been doing ok with my eating during the day. But at night, I lose control. I am so sad and dissapointed in myself. I got rid of my scale and my ticker.... It's like the pressure is making me eat worse! I eat well during the day... protein, protein, protein. But, then at night, in the middle of the night, many times every night, I get up and eat anything half asleep. Then, the next morning, I see the evidence. Some stuff I don't even remember eating! I don't keep "bad food" around. But, I do have a son, so I do have some food that I shouldn't be eating. I ate half the box of Frosted Flakes the other night!!! There was a trail of Frosted Flakes from the kitchen to my bed. It's embarassing and I feel horrible about it. Does anyone else have this problem? I would appreciate any suggestions. I feel like I'm spiraling down :confused:. I am hating myself right now!! I did do one good thing today... I got on the treadmill for 15 minutes and broke out a sweat.

I feel so much better!!! I'm not alone! Great thread! Thanks!!

Jill, Sounds like we are in the same boat!!! You hang in there too!!

Yes.... I've been taking Ambien. I've stopped as soon as I found out that it can cause night eating. But, I'm still eating at night....

I'm glad you haven't had any major problems. Sounds like a good plan to be on liquids for 21 days as it can avoid any possible complications. Are you going back to Dr. Ortiz for fills or will you have that done where you live? I just looked up online side effects of the antibiotic I'm taking.... Duh, should have done that a week ago! It says it can cause nausea, vomiting and a bunch of other digestive problems.... I told my regular Dr. that I had the lap band. I even asked him if they were lap band friendly. I was referring to the size. He said yes. Well, there turned out to be giant horse pills, so I've been cutting them in half. So, being so huge and having digestive side effects doesn't sound to me like they are lap band friendly. Especially since my stomach is still healing.... Well, that actually makes me feel a little better. I was blaming everything on the lap band. Now, I can blame it on those pills! A 6 pound weight loss is great Agnes :wink2:!! Funny how you say "only 6 pounds". But, I can totally relate...... I am never satisfied with my weight loss..... I guess I would be satisfied with 50 pounds in one month. OMG! I was watching the show "Big Medicine" and that's how much gastric bypass patients lose on their first month. Can you imagine? We would be at our goal after one month!!!

Hi Agnes, Glad your gas pains are gone. Hope you feel well enough to go back to work this week. I'm doing so, so. Kinda dissapointed..... Before having the surgery, it seems like the Dr.'s office promised me the world so I would have the surgery (especially since I was self pay). So, they said it wouldn't be a problem to have my first fill 3 weeks post op, because I was planning on going out of town. Now that I'm dealing with the "fill office", they never answer the phone. They say leave a message and then they never call back. Well, since that first tiny fill .4cc's. Yes, point 4. I have gone from feeling hungry all the time, to overeating, to undereating, to feeling stomach pain, constipation, nausea, insomnia, headaches, and the latest, gas and shakiness. I am so depressed :wink2:. I guess it could be worse... no vomiting... I don't know if I've lost any weight. Up to three days ago, I kept losing and gaining back 1-3 pounds. I started getting obsessed with the scale, so I threw it away and decided I would just do my best.... I've read on this forum about some people having problems like this. I guess I was hoping I would be one of the lucky ones and not have any problems and lose massive amounts of weight instantly!!! Hope you're one of the lucky ones!! Oh, I also started feeling worse since I started taking an antibiotic for an eye infection. I don't know if it's coincidence or if that could be irritating my stomach. Antibiotics never gave me any stomach problems before..... I think I'll post that question....

DISSAPOINTMENT! That's how I'm feeling too. I am weeks 4 post op. Had my first fill a week ago. Only .4 cc's since it was so early. I already had 2.6 cc's in the band from the surgery. Since that first fill, I go from feeling hungry all the time, overeating, undereating, stomach aches, headaches, nausea, constipation and now lately, gas. I'm very depressed and questioning my decision to have the lap band. Especially since I paid for it...

I can't answer your question, but I wanted to see how you're feeling and how your surgery went. I hope everything went fine and that you're feeling well. Have you gone back to work yet?

I think we have something in common.... I'm thinking about wearing my heavies clothes, lots of jewelry and heavy shoes, so that I can get a fill!!! Crazy! Oh, and putting stuff in my pockets too. I don't know if I've lost or not. Some days are better than others (food wise) but I want to make sure and get a fill!

I'm in the same boat!! I lost 20 pounds in one month including pre op. Now over the last ten days, I've been up and down between one and three pounds. I've been so sad and felt like a failure. I do have problems with night eating. But, I didn't feel like overall I was consuming more than a thousand calories. Two days ago I threw out my scale and deleted my ticker. I figure I can only do my best and the number on the scale stresses me out!! I guess there's a lot of people that have experienced the same thing. We are not alone. Let's try to stay positive! Easy to say, I cried and cried today.

Thank you.... I started taking an antidepressant about a month ago. So, I have an appointment with the psych. next week. I will tell her about it. I've had this problem on and off for years. It just seems to be at an all time high right now. I am worried that I could eat something that doesn't agree with the band and have serious consequences/complications. Thanks for the advice!

I was told I was fat as early as 4 years old, I think. I can only figure out I was around 4 because I hadn't started the first grade yet. My parents' friends commented that I was "chubby". I remember looking in the mirror at that young age, and not seeing the "chubbiness". My mom limited my carbs. I remember sneaking bread to my room at night. Oh! It tasted so good. At around age 10, I was put on a "Dr. supervised diet". I had a food plan to follow. I remember getting down from 115 to close to 100 pounds. Then I remember weighing more than 115 pounds in High School. I would go on starvation diets all through High School. I remember my lowest being 114. I think I had a little help from "Dexatrim". Now, I think those numbers are very low, or normal. But, at the time, I always felt fat. During college I weighed around 130 pounds. Until, I went home one summer and weighed a whopping 142 pounds. Again, I was taken to a Dr. This was my introduction to prescription diet pills. I got down to 99 pounds in about 4 months. I got so many compliments and loved being thin and shopping for clothes. Then, I don't know what happpened. I yo-yo ed for the next several years. I actually wore ankle weights to weigh in at a Weight Watchers meeting. Without the ankle weights, I didn't have enough to lose! Several years went by and boom, my highest 183 pounds. I think I saw a picture of myself and could not believe it. I was in my late twenties by then. For the next 10 years, I continued to go up and down, the lowest being 125. When I decided to get the lap band, I was 179 pounds. I am not even a month post op, and I'm already feeling like a failure because I have not been happy with the loss so far. Two days ago, I threw out my scale and fully intend to look forward and just do my best. Being overweight has affected weather I'm happy or sad, I've been wearing black clothes daily for the last 10 years, my self esteem is at an all time low. I am 43 years old and don't want to continue the up and down cycle. I hope the lapband gives me the ability to keep the weight down for the rest of my life. Maybe one day, I'll be happy!

Yes!!!! That's my problem. And OMG!! I've been taking Ambien. I will never take those stupid pills again. I've done this before taking Ambien, but it's gotten much worse since I've been taking it. Now, that I have the band, I could really hurt something by eating something and having it cause a problem. I just put up a thread to see if anyone else experienced this!! I'm glad I'm not alone. I feel powerless over this night thing... It kinda comes and go. And right now, it's at an all time bad. I remember about 10 years ago, I was at a hotel and didn't have any food so I "ate" toothpaste in the middle of the night!

I don't know if I can do this either.... But, I've spent $15,000.00 on it. So, that better push me to do my very best!

Thank you so much Lauren!! You are so right and it means so much that you wrote! I have been a yo yo dieter since I was 15!!! I'm 43 now. I have lost and regained many, many, times. That is why I decided to do the lapband. I know I'm capable of losing, but I have found out many, many times, I'm not able to keep it off. I have done it all, Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, Diet Center, Meridia, Adipex and the most sensible one, Weight Watchers. I'm a lifetime WW member, but even with that, I could never keep it off. Being overweight causes me a great deal of pain and hurts my self esteem.... what self esteem??? I don't think I have any left. I've noticed through the years how differently people act towards me (especially men) when I'm thin, vs. when I'm fat... Oh well, that's nothing new. I just wanted to vent. Thank you so much for writing and I wish you the best in your journey as well!!

I needed to read this thread!!!!!! I'm in the same boat!! I have not lost anything in about 10 days. Since July 7th. Since then I've been gaining and losing a between 1-3 pounds. I was SOOOOO upset. I became obsessed with the scale again.... Finally threw it out 2 days ago!! It's like I'm starving all the time, but I'm stopping myself from eating and I'm still not losing!! Ugh. And yes, I'm in a major hurry. I had my first fill 3 weeks post op. Stupid mistake cuz they only gave me .4 cc's. So, I have 3cc's in my band. But, it gets worse, during the mushy state, I actually felt my pouch get full after eating mashed potatoes. Now that I'm doing solids, and had a a fill, I have never felt full. I immediately called the Dr. after my first fill to try to get MORE!! But, they said I had to wait at least two weeks. So, I go for my second fill on the 23rd.... I think what is getting me depressed is also watching the show, Big Medicine.... Bypass patients lose 50 pounds their first month!!! It's like.... I want that!!! I paid out of pocket for this and want the weight gone like yesterday!!!! Thank you for posting this. This gives me a little bit of piece of mind. I was already feeling like a failure.:scared2:

I'm a teacher, so I debated wheather to do it on a Thursday and come back on a Tuesday or wait till summer and have all the time I needed. I'm glad I chose to do it over the summer. I would have been ready to go back in two weeks.... Definitely not 5 days later. But, everyone is different. I'm a wuss I guess....

Go to a lap band seminar. Maybe they can give you the name of a PCP that supports lap band, that's also in your insurance. I paid out of pocket, because I didn't qualify. I have an appointment next week with my PCP and I'm wondering what his reaction will be when I tell him I had it done...... I already went to my endocrinologist and he didn't say anything....just wrote it down.....

Had my first solid meal!! I ordered it.....from bandasticmeals.com..... It was okay. Better than my cooking! Anybody order that?

I placed the half order, to try it out.... But, I will be ordering again. The portions are very small.... but, it's a good option for me to have something healthy ready to go if I need it! For some people, it may be just as easy to cook a piece of raw fish or chicken, but not for me. I don't like to cook :tongue_smilie:

Welcome, as far as I know, loose skin depends on your age and the elasticity of your skin... The older we get, the less elastic the skin is and there will be more extra skin. The weight loss is slower than with a bypass...But, I don't know if the rate of loss affects the amount of loose skin.