JustJoe

Hey fellas.. was wondering to those who were banded already what type of band did you have put in? My surgeon does both types and usually leans towards the realize band. However he insisted that since I was a male to have the Lap-band band put in. He said it "fits" the male anatomy better. So.. just curious.. what type of bands do you all have? also.. do you guys have a lot of PB/stuck incidents? Im hopefully going in for my first fill next Thursday, I can't wait.. I am adhering to my diet of mushy foods (thank heaven for mashed potatoes) but food isn't filling me up like it did. Ever since my swelling went down my weight loss and feeling of fullness just stopped outright. So im hoping a fill will get some of that back!

congrats to all on the NSV's! :blushing: My scale has come to a grinding halt for about 3 weeks now and I was getting somewhat frustrated. I went in for my third fill today (4th if you count initial fill during surgery) and got another 1cc in my band. When I did all my weigh ins the scale showed exactly the same as it had been 2 weeks earlier. My doctor is very aggressive about fills, I am at 9.9cc in my 14cc band, and not quite there when it comes to restriction yet. Here's hoping this last 1cc will make a difference. however.. the scale makes you stand there.. skin to metal contact and measures other stuff as well. It said I had lost an additional 1.8% of my body fat (6lbs of body fat gone) and that I actually had been loosing very well, but my body was holding onto 25lbs of Water weight. (not sure what this is about, they want to wait and see if it goes down) So I guess.. since I was getting frustrated about not seeing the scale budge despite eating well, and exercising a lot.. That i got a tiny bit of good news at the office today!

Hello all! I am just over a month outside of surgery. I have been recovering very nicely with no setbacks at all! My doctor placed 4.5cc in my band when he inserted it, Then I got my first official fill at my two week checkup. 2.4cc more went at that time, so i'm up to 6.9cc. I still felt zero restriction, I was able to eat well over a cup of food at a time with zero problems at all. My weight loss had all but stopped as well. So i went in for my month checkup last Thursday and got another 2cc of Fluid into my 14cc band, bringing total to 8.9cc. Now.. since that fill.. I've had no problems eating softies, drinking liquids etc.. I DEFINITELY can feel more restriction. But I also notice when I lay down to sleep at night, and only then.. I get horrible gas pressure in my stomach! I can usually shift around, roll to one side or the other and it relieves it temporarily. But it usually comes back. I don't have problems during the day, I've eaten only limited solids since the surgery (1/3 of a chicken breast, a couple Protein bars, some wheat thin crackers..) without any problems. So.. What im asking is.. is this normal? is this just an "adjustment phase" where my body and stomach are adjusting to the new tightness and restriction imposed by my band? or is it possible The nurse and I overdid it and I have too much fluid in my band? Thanks for reading, any input is greatly appreciated!!

I was without net for a bit, so was unable to update this as had been requested, sorry! I called my doc and they told me to wait a few days, and sure enough the gas pain/reflux vanished. I went in today for my 6 week checkup.. and they put another 1cc in the band. They were going to go for 2.. but changed their mind last minute as they think i might be close to just right. so.. sitting at 9.9cc in a 14cc; 43 days postop. scale hasn't budget, but they said I have lost some of the fat weight (dropped about 6 lbs of fat), and am now retaining Water for some reason. (joy) They said I am holding onto an excess 25lbs of water weight at the moment. I haven't been eating high sodium foods, so they want to see if it will go down by next visit, if not then possibly some water pills they said.

haha.. reminds me of my first PB! Hard boiled egg with salt. I love the things.. Used to take them in two bites. So.. being an idiot and craving an old favorite I popped lower (larger) half in my mouth chewed a while and swallowed. I skipped a few of your steps and was hit with instant stabbing pain in my band area.. was the first time i could actually feel where the band was exactly! Saliva glands went into serious over-drive. I reminded myself of that dog in the old movie Turner and Hooch, remember that one? anyway.. Ran to bathroom.. half burp half puke.. up came the egg. Don't think hard boiled eggs are on my list of favorite foods anymore.

I'll definitely be giving them a call monday to see what they say! Just trying to figure out if i have cause to be alarmed :biggrin: thank you very much for the input monkey!

yup.. i moved to solid 2 days before my second fill. I asked them about it and they said their "rule of thumb" was if i could eat more than a cup of food at a time and only felt full for 1-2 hours (both were true) then a fill was needed. That's why they did the second fill, and at the time I didn't mind one bit as I was tired of my stomach growling at me! lol. They said everyone was different and people heal faster than others and are ready to move on faster than others. They basically said I was in that "fast track" sorta lane where my body was adjusting alot easier than some of their patients and was ready for the second fill. I just not sure if Im adjusting, or if they put a bit too much in is all. (as to why my body sending me weird messages now)

if you don't have any sort of cholesterol problems I'd recommend eggs as well. I'm on soft foods and one of my favorite treats is to hard boil 2 eggs, mash em, and whip it up with a bit of mustard, and lite mayo/miracle whip. omelets with a bit of low fat cheddar inside has been good to me as well. tuna fish is good. cheese is good, as long as you don't overdo it, and try to stay with low-fat cheeses.

heya! Banded on the 14th. I'm on soft foods and move to any foods on the 11th of August. I've had one fill already, plus the 4cc they put in during initial surgery. Brings me up to 6.5cc so far. I get hungry within 2 hours of eating.. and can easily eat more than a cup of food if i choose to. My weight loss has come to an absolute dead stop. I lost 26 lbs in the first 10 days, and have actually gained about 3 back since then. I go in for another checkup this coming thursday, and am going to insist on a second fill. I am trying to exercise as much as possible.. but medical bills is making attaining the gym membership a bit hard.

hello fellow michiganders! I was banded on the 14th of July, and live in Flat Rock MI!

yeah I saw that as well.. But I also found I can get a decent price on a lightning model that is lightly used via craigslist and local classifieds. *fingers crossed* :laugh:

Hello fellow Michigander!! :juggle: just tough through it. It WILL pass. For me that was breaking alot of the emotional attachment to food.. moving to foods with more substance helped greatly (mashed potatoes were a big help personally). I moved onto soft foods this week, and I am very happy with eating soft cereals, flaky fish, string cheese, etc.. It will pass.. just be tough and Know you're doing this to give yourself a better life. If you're in a pinch, post here.. there's usually someone on to give a few words of advice!

week 2 for me! Surgery weight: 354 Last Weigh-in: 327.4 Current weigh-in: 326 so another -1.4lbs. I can't wait for my wounds to fully heal so i don't feel so apprehensive about working up a sweat at the gym!

SickNTired - Ahh I wish I could take credit for that one, but unfortunately I did not write it. I found it online years ago while doing research for some random lit class. As for the content of the ode.. yes a lot of those situations, or eerily similar, have happened to me personally. office romances.. can be messy. Be careful, that's about all I will say on that off the top. The possibility to hurt someone, causing rifts, is too high. But then again if you're attracted to them, life's too short.. be careful but go for it! :tongue2:

Im Game for this! Surgery on 7/14 Surgery weight: 354 Current weight: 327.4 so.. 26 and some change. Going in on the 30th for (hopefully) my first fill!

I want to own a motor bike that won't cost me $10,000+ :tongue2: I drive less than 20 miles, mostly city.. a motor bike would save me so much, but unfortunately they all have weight limits unless I invested in a massively expensive fatboy harley or something. - While I love doing it.. I'd like to not be the "assumed choice" to play Santa Claus every Christmas because of my size.

I may be mocked for this.. but that's ok. (i know it's an old thread) From a guy's perspective.. I did the exact same thing as the OP. I got fat while i was with my last GF and she broke it off. I kept getting heavier and heavier.. Until I basically felt I had to hide as I would be an embarrassment to any of my friends, and I somehow convinced myself nobody would want to be seen with me in public. So.. while I am sociable and a very nice guy.. I instantly somehow seem to go to the "friend zone" when i meet women now. It's frustrating.. I am hoping some weight loss will help boost my confidence a little bit.. because for a long time I just told myself I'd be single forever.. as time has gone on I've come to realize I really don't like that option. lol this is a good example of me: and a funny read in case you're never seen it! ODE TO THE NICE GUY when my friends, esp female friends, read it they just laugh and say hey it's Joe! :biggrin:

I'm about a week out from surgery now. I've lost over 25 lbs, doing just fine with the whole procedures and everything.. but the past 2-3 days something has started happening and it's getting worse. Im having the worst food cravings i've ever experienced.. i could have just drank a shake and I'll see a TV add, drive by a restaurant and smell the food, or even read something random and it triggers a food memory. It's KILLING ME. I want to eat something so dang badly I cannot even describe it adequately with words. It's to the point where I almost ponder why I did this so young. @ 28 my vitals are all perfect, other than being very overweight I am in pretty much perfect health. (asthmatic, but that's controlled with an inhaler) Is.. this anything normal? Will it go away in a few weeks when I can eat some solid food again, or even soft food phase? I just.. not sure what to do or where to turn. any thoughts or suggestions?

yeah.. Im actually on mushy/pureed foods.. lol.. that's what makes it harder to register for me. mashed potatoes, cream of wheat, cotage cheese, able to eat all of it no problems..

I had this as well. The sensation of feeling a big burp coming on.. feeling the gas moving up then it just stops right below my band. My first 3-4 days were the worst.. For me Gas-X extra strength chewables.. ate them like candy. 1-2 every 4 hours. (the package says don't take more than 4 a day unless under special circumstances.. I checked with my doc he said it's fine to take more for this period.) The gas does go away.. I'm a week out now and my swelling is down almost entirely and I can do small burps now. I only take maybe 1 Gas-X per day now. Hope this helps!

I'm only 4 days Post-op, but absolutely none so far. Granted.. I haven't had to deal with solid foods, PB'n, etc.. yet. but I am very happy so far with my band. I'm feeling better each day, and I am very excited to fully heal and get my "new life" rolling. :smile:

Mel: I know what you mean. I considered myself to have a high threshold of pain but the band so far has been doing a number on me! Personally I found Gax-X to be my biggest helper as a lot of my pains are gas pains which will hopefully pass soon as I continue to heal and my body adjusts. The liquid pain meds take the edge off.. which has helped as well. I haven't tried the heating pad/cold compress on my stomach.. does it really help much? that might be something I have to pick up tomorrow when I am out! :confused: stay strong.. we'll all get through it :cursing:

hello everyone. Flat Rock, MI here.

I know what you mean.. as my date came closer I was more and more nervous. The surgery itself really isn't that bad.. and Im only 2 days post-op and doing ok in my recovery so far. you'll do fine, just remember the reasons you started down this road in the first place.

13 hours until I go in for surgery. starting to have the nerves kick in big time.. not nervous about the decision, im fine with that. Just nervous because it's such a massive change (needed one) and.. never had any sort of major surgery before either. Anyone else nervous before their surgeries, does it pass once you get to the hospital?