KariK

Hi peeps, went out to eat for the first time since banding. It worked out great, my husband and I shared an entree, I ate 1/4 cup mashed potatoes, about 1/4 cup of cheesy soup and a few bites of chocolate french silk pie (did I die and go to heaven? lol) yummm. My husband ate everything else. It just went so well I had to share with you guys. I just wonder if I can lose weight doing this?? Im eating way less than I used to so I hope so!!

Leona06, I might be wrong and im so new to this band stuff myself. So don't listen to me if you don't want to lol. The thing I see that you MIGHT be doing wrong is you are starting your day with sugar (orange juice) and ending your day with sugar (ice cream). I stop eating anything with sugar at 6 pm and try to have protein for breakfast. That gives me 12+ hours of no sugar carbs for my body to burn so instead it burns my own fat (hopefully!). Seriously though im not a dietician or an expert or anything so I hope other ppl give their imput!

Dezadoo, my advice is to keep air between your breasts and your incisions. The best way to do that is to keep cotton between them as it will help things breath. Go and buy a 100% cotton tank top to wear under your bra. It will feel a bit bulky but your incisions will heal faster. It will feel more padded and comfortable. You might also need to buy a bigger band and cup size bra until your swelling goes down. My bra was pushing on my stomach and I bought one full cup size larger and it really fixed the problem.

Baylor Mom, my doctor has me on a special diet for 4 weeks. First week clear liquids, second week creamy liquids, third week mushys, fourth week soft food. Have you checked with your doc about eating solids so soon? You don't say when you were banded so maybe you are much farther ahead in the healing process than I am. But considering the problems you've been having you shouldn't maybe be eating solids? You might want to check with your doctor.

Good luck Beth! Im sure everything will be just fine. Hang in there! I'll be watching for you to post when you come back.

MissyN, Ive been having the back pain too off and on. I think/wonder if its from not being able to use your stomach muscles and over compensating by using more back muscles? When I had c-sections with my daughters the same thing happened, my back hurt. Plus I have a 3 1/2 month old who im always holding/carrying/feeding and I think this is wearing my back out lol.

Baylor Mom, Sometimes when people corrospond through writing only its hard to get a real feel for what someone is saying. Your comment was that when you bend down to feed your dog the pain about 'kills' you. If you meant that figuratively in that its very uncomfortable and annoying and bit painful then it could be normal like what JMO said. It does take 6 weeks for surgeries to heal. However if you meant it literally, like you feel like you are going to pass out, get light headed, feel your heart beat funny, etc... then I agree with Mary and you should call your doc right away. Better to be on the safe side.

Balor Mom, Is it outer skin pain from your incision or is it inner gut pain?

Tonight I had my first family gathering at my mothers house and I didn't cheat or eat. I just told everyone I was on a diet and that I ate at home before coming. Its so much easier not to get sabatoged (sp?) when you can't eat! Everyone kept saying things like 'ohhh this cake is soooo good' and even though my family is wonderful, they are at the same time over'eaters who like company lol. Nowonder I needed this band!

On the subject of the importance of protein. If you don't get enough protein in your diet your body will burn its own muscle mass to supply protein. If you lose muscle mass, you burn less calories, thus you lose weight more slowly. The more muscles you have the more calories you burn. Don't lose your muscles! Thats my $.02

"Also I have periods of feeling like i am going to pass out, i get very flushed and sweaty and clamy. I just want to see if this is normal." Trish this doesn't sound normal to me. Im not having any of those symptoms. It might be nothing serious but I wouldn't mess around. I think you should call your doctor.

So far so good. The banding surgery went fine. I saw Dr. Speigel for about 10 seconds before the surgery and haven't seen him since. But my incisions are small and healing well. I didn't have any gas discomfort. Today is the third day since my surgery and im feeling really close to normal. I can drink protein shakes with no problems whatsoever. I can chew and swollow viactiv multivitamins with no problems. So far so good. At this point I have nothing bad to say about Dr. Speigel. Everyone at the Surgi Center was very nice. They all seem to know what they are doing and care about the patients. I will post again after some time has past just to let anyone who is comtemplating having Dr. Speigel do their lap band know my experience with him.

Just want to report that YES you can breast feed shortly after receiving the band. It has worked out just fine for me. I elected to not take any narcotic pain medicine and just stuck to extra strenth tylenol. I pumped and threw away my milk for a day and half. Ive been making sure to get a LOT of fluids and my supply is building right back up to normal. My baby is doing great :bananapartyhat: I want to say thank you to everyone who responded to this thread.

I think seabreeze hit the nail on the head. Life zips by. I watch my daughters growing up sooo quickly and I don't want to miss out on one more thing with them due to my weight and insecurities about my weight. I look at all my family members who are all overweight and they all blame themselves for it. Well maybe it is our fault or maybe its genetics.... who cares?!! Im going to fix it. Ive tried 5 bizillion diets. Ive lost weight 5 bizillion times. Ive gained back more weight everyone of those times!! So much for the 'old fashioned' way. Im on to bigger and better things in my life. I don't want my weight to weigh my mind down any longer. And I don't feel the need to get the approval of others about it! If they don't like it they can buzz off.

I made it! Im banded and it isn't that bad. When I first woke up from anesthesia it was a kinda scary. I was really tense so they had to give me 3 shots of something to try and make me relax. It was sorta hard to breath for awhile because they said the air that the doctor fills your abdomen up with to do the surgery had to work its way out so that my lungs could expand. After a few hours I was breathing pretty normally and then I was discharged. I went to the hotel with my nurse sitter. I thought I was going to have to be all alone but then my sweetie pie husband had my sister flown to Houston for me so that she could take the place of the nurse sitter and fly home with me. All in all it really wasn't that bad and I survived and Ive lost 5 lbs since Thursday. yeahhh!! You'll be fine too!

Im officially banded now. Omgosh it is quite painful when you first wake up from anestesia (sp?) . Im able to drink a lot of liquids with no problems so far. Ive been having Atkins protein drinks, chicken broth, v8, applejuice. I don't feel starving hungry but I feel like I want to eat. My husband made some burgers on the grill, I put a bite in my mouth and just chewed it and sucked the juices out and then spit the bite out. That made me feel better. I didn't realize that im not supposed to have bread, rice, or pasta for the rest of my life. I don't know how im going to do that!!

Good Luck VLP! Also good luck to everyone left this month! Im going to be leaving for Houston tomorrow so I probably won't get much chance to post again. OMG. lol

Thanks les1964, its nice to hear that. I hope it goes the same for me!!

July5forme, I totally feel for ya! Ive had jobs that I did not enjoy too. I kind of feel like getting this Lap bad will be just one small step on my journey through life. And everythings always easier to deal with when you feel good about how you look. I know its superficial to admit but its true. And things are easier to deal with when you are comfortable. Like when you put on some jeans and they don't rub/squeaze your tummy raw and your skirts dont ride up on your belly until they are right below your bust. And speaking of bust wont it be nice not to have boobs that visit the belly buttom area whenever they are unleashed from the ginormous bras we have to wear. I dont know what you do for a living but it will be easier to get up and get dressed very soon! You will feel more comfortable in your own skin and clothing! You will have more clothes to choose from. What Im trying to emphasize is that if you just hang on and deal with one day at a time, you are going to lose weight and a lot of things will seem easier and better as a result. Hopefully some of your problems will melt away along with your weight. You will find a way to deal with the problems that dont. Like maybe once you lose weight and start feeling more confident you will realize you aren't stuck in your current job because your confidence will help you to get a better job. Just think how much easier it will be to go to job interviews when you feel way better about yourself.

Paula thank you sooo much! That makes me feel a lot better. How soon after the surgery did you get to leave the Surgicenter?

Hi July peeps! Im to be banded on July 28! Good luck all. Sabrina, where is the facility that you will be banded? It doesn't happen to be the SurgiCenter does it?

Thanks Kristin. I am running into some problems with the organization of things between Speigels office and the SurgiCenter staff. I think its all going to work out but jeez these people dont seem to know what the other is doing. For instance Speigels office did not tell me that I have to have someone with me or else the SurgiCenter will not allow the surgery. I just found that out Today!! Since Im from Minnesota its not so easy for me to line someone up with this short bit of notice. I have to pay to have a nurse sit with me $20.00 per hour. Also the Surgicenter was supposed to provide two nights of hotel accomidations but guess what... They don't have any rooms available so I have to provide my own accomidations. That nice little bit of info. was just left on my answering machine yesterday afternoon. These aren't major things but annoying and makes me wonder about if Im making the right decision about who is doing my surgery. However as long as Dr. Speigel is a good surgeon I still think that outweighs these last minute problems. I am definitely going to let the world know it if more problems persist or if God forbid something goes bad with my surgery. I still feel pretty optomistic at this point. And if all goes well I'll let the world know that too.

Hey Mary, my band date is July 28 too! Good luck to us!

Hey Kristin, Im scheduled with Dr. Speigel on July 28. The Surgi Center told me about this site. Im wondering if you would recommend Speigel?

Im flying to Houston from Minnesota all by myself on Thursday, having the band placed on Friday, and flying home Saturday. Im feeling exactly the same way you are! Im very nervous about being alone. But then on another hand I feel empowered and excited to be able to do this by myself. I feel proud and so should you. I will try to post as soon as I get home from Houston to let you know that I survived and so will you!