justiceaim1

Something really weird happened with me. I've been really starving after my first fill and also after my 2nd fill on 8/5, (now at 5cc in a 10cc band) and two days after this most recent fill, I suddenly felt restriction. The doctor said that it could take a few days after a fill to feel it and I didn't know if I heard him right but it really did happen. The day after my 2nd fill I was starving when I ate Breakfast that morning but by 2pm I was eating chicken and I could feel that it was going down slower and that I needed to chew it more. Today at work it was really busy and I wasn't able to eat for seven hours and I was hungry when I finally got to eat but not starving. That's really freaky that that happened. Does anyone know why it takes a day or two sometimes? Has that happened to anyone else? Maybe the saline takes awhile to go down that tube from the port???

Yeah, Haven't you heard? They're called furbabies now. Get with the times-Hee Hee Hee!!! Just playing. I had a hard time with liquids too. My doctor let me have fat free refried Beans pureed and watered down and this really helped me because there's a lot of Protein in beans and they filled me up pretty good. It was a life saver for me. My doctor never had me on Clear Liquids only. He just had me on liquids and he considered yogurt and cottage cheese a liquid also which I thought was strange. You're doing really good Monihottie!!! Look at how much weight you've lost already! That is awesome!!!:thumbup: (Do people say awesome anymore??? I'm so behind the times. Hee Hee Hee!!!)

Thanks for the low fat pizza idea. I'm going to try this. p.s. I love how you call your cat your newest "furbaby". That's adorable. I have five kitty furbabies too and two doggy furbabies.

Congratulations on your surgery! I was starving the next day after surgery also. What saved me was having watered down pureed fat free refried Beans. It helped me so much with my hunger. Some doctors have you on Clear liquids but I thought I'd mention it in case it's allowed for you also.

Did you mug the stalker to get the film??? Hee Hee Hee

I took ten days off work but I really could have gone back after five. I was still slightly sore but not much of a big deal. I did have to have my husband help me put my shoes on for about two weeks post-op. Bending down like that with my fat gut hurt too much. Hee Hee Hee. It's really exciting to see how this is working. I was kind of worried that I would screw this up by not following the rules and stay fat but this band is making me follow the rules. I was bad today and ate some pizza and the grease in it really hurt my stomach and I won't be doing that again. It's been hours and the pain is just now starting to go away-That'll teach me. I usually eat fish and chicken but I was weak tonight. I really need this behavior modification and I'm so happy to have this tool to help me. I've had two fills in my 10cc Realize band and I have 5cc total right now and have started to feel restriction. I think I'll just need one more fill probably. There is so much good info on this website that I almost look at it every day and I learn something new every day. I found an old post where someone recommended the "Couch to 5K Running Program" and I'm going to try this out. I used to run years ago and I'd love to get back into it again. Here's the website if you want to check it out: Cool Running :: The Couch-to-5K Running Plan Let me know if you have any more questions. I'd be happy to help in any way I can. I enjoy talking to other bandsters. Good luck on your journey!

Welcome Monica, I'm so happy for you. You're right, it's not easy and we still have work to do and we have to follow the rules but it is a very helpful tool. I am very happy I had my surgery (about a month ago). I'm aleady wearing a size smaller in pants and I can't believe it. It is like a rebirth. You have a very positive attitude and you are going to do great!

I guess that would definitely stop me from eating burgers for sure. That's good because nothing would stop me before the band. Thanks for the info. I learn something new about having the band every day. Good luck with your weight loss goal for your wedding. You are doing great!

Thanks Bunny Lady, Mimi & Flower. Bunny Lady: What do you mean by slime? It sounds scary.

I didn't start to feel restriction until I had 5cc in and I have a 10cc band also. My doctor told me that I had some scar tissue under a smaller incision that felt like it was my port but he found my port in the middle of my largest incision. I was starving when I just had 4cc's in there so I think what you're feeling sounds exactly like what happened to me. I don't know about him using Water though but maybe it doesn't matter. Saline is just salt water.

Something really weird happened with me. I've been really starving after my first fill and also after my 2nd fill on 8/5, (now at 5cc in a 10cc band) and two days after this most recent fill, I suddenly felt restriction. The doctor said that it could take a few days after a fill to feel it and I didn't know if I heard him right but it really did happen. The day after my 2nd fill I was starving when I ate breakfast that morning but by 2pm I was eating chicken and I could feel that it was going down slower and that I needed to chew it more. Today at work it was really busy and I wasn't able to eat for seven hours and I was hungry when I finally got to eat but not starving. That's really freaky that that happened. Does anyone know why it takes a day or two sometimes? Has that happened to anyone else? Maybe the saline takes awhile to go down that tube from the port???

I feel exactly the same way Oreo09. I'm thinking about food way too much and eating too much. I've gained 2 pounds in the last month. I'm at 5cc in a 10cc band and I have absolutely no restriction. I'm trying really hard to eat right but I have my good days and bad days. Just trying to be patient and reading all of the encouraging posts helps a lot.

I just had my first fill of 4cc on 7/22 and I'm hungrier now than before my fill. In fact I'm starving. I am really confused as to why this would happen. I'm trying really hard to just eat 1/2 a cup like my doctor wants me to but it's really hard to do. I can't get another fill until 8/5. I'm thinking about doing the Atkins diet until then so that my hunger will subside. What do you think about that? Is this normal?

Thanks. It's good to know that I'm not the only one experiencing this. I've been reading a lot and I guess it is normal. My band was put in with no saline at surgery so I just have 4cc in there. Hopefully it won't be too long before I start feeling less hungry. I guess it really took that long for the swelling to come down after surgery. I'm going to make sure that I get all of my protein and water. Thanks.

My BMI was 41 and I lost 11 pounds on my 14 day pre-op diet. It's been three weeks since surgery as of today and I've lost a total of 20 pounds including the pre-op diet weight loss.

Hello, My name is Amy, I am 38 and live in the DFW area Texas. I just had surgery on July 6th. My Surgeon was Dr. Sina Matin and I had my surgery at Baylor Medical Center Grapevine and I had a wonderful experience with a very friendly and professional doctor and wonderful nurses at Baylor Grapevine. My recovery is going well and I probably could have gone back to work after taking five days off but I took off eleven days just in case. I felt hungry the very next day after surgery which surprised me because I thought that the swelling would prevent that from happening so early but it hasn't been too bad. My hunger is still very much decreased compared to what it used to be and I'm only able to eat/drink approximately 700 calories a day so far but my dietitian is very adamant about reminding me to get 70 grams of Protein a day and drinking at least 64 oz of fluids. I'm really happy that I've made the decision to have the lap band done. I know that I will lose the weight gradually but that's much better than what I was doing. I've already lost six pounds since my surgery and I had lost 11 pounds during my pre-op diet which is very exciting. I can't wait until I start feeling more energetic and am able to go jogging again like I used to 20 years ago. Good luck to everyone else in your journey! :thumbup:

My doctor has me not drinking 30 minutes before a meal, no drinking during a meal of course, and no drinking for 30 minutes after a meal. That would be rough waiting an hour. It's been hard enough waiting 30 minutes. I just remember how they told me that if you drink with your food it turns everything into a slush that goes through your band faster and you will cancel the advantage of having a band. They said that that's how people cheat the band and end up gaining weight. You have to fill up your little pouch with about 1/2 cup of food and let it slowly digest or you will be starving and the band won't help you. They wanted me to do it for months before the surgery to get used to it but I was very bad and didn't really do it for more than a day but I am doing it now and I am getting more and more used to doing it. Sorry I said "doing it" so much. Hee Hee Hee! :)

I'm so surprised they told you that. My doctor and dietitian have me on a liquid diet for two weeks after surgery. All I can have is sugar free Jello, popsicles, yogurt with no seeds, sugar free natural applesauce, Soup with no chunks of any kind or strained, broth, crystal light and slim fast. They told me that this liquid diet was required at first because of the swellling after surgery. It gives your stomach a chance to heal and prevents the pouch from stretching. They told me that any solid food early on could stretch the band or cause slippage of the band. The third week I can start a soft food diet. If you have any discomfort at all I would go to a liquid diet for a few days. Maybe ask your surgeon or dietitian to clarify what you can eat. I know that different offices have different rules and mine is the Realize band so maybe that makes a difference. Good luck with everything. Don't worry about failing. You are just beginning and it's a learning process. You may be feeling down due to decreased calories giving you a low energy level but you have to give yourself more time to recover.

Yeah, It was torture for me doing the liquid diet also. If It wasn't for knowing it was for the surgery there's no way I would've kept it up for the two weeks. Now after surgery I eat all of the same things and it's so nice that I'm not very hungry at all. I can't wait until this next Monday because I will be on the soft food diet and I'm dying to have some fish. It's really weird because I never eat fish but that's the first thing I'm going to have on Monday. Maybe I'll have salmon for breakfast! Hee Hee Hee! :) I'm really excited because I will finally have some control over what I eat. I know a few people at work who have had the lap band also and they've been shrinking so it's so exciting. I just feel so lucky that I had insurance that would cover it. I have my post op appointment tomorrow to find out when I get my first fill. Good luck CantB2noty!:wink2:

My doctor discovered that I had hypothyroidism when I did my pre-op labwork and my TSH level was a 15 which is extremely low. They told me that it is very dangerous to go under anesthesia with hypothyroidism because you may not wake up after surgery and they wouldn't do my surgery unless I was on meds. They've had me on 75 mcg Synthroid for about a month and a half and I feel so much more energetic. It's made an unbelievable difference in my energy level. I hope that you are able to feel better soon. I don't know why they didn't do the same for you. I don't have any info for you about the hernia.

I had mine on July 6th and everything went really well. I'm so glad I did it. The doctor gave me liquid Lortab so I used that for the first four days and so I didn't feel the gas much but after that the gas was really bothering me. The dietitian told me to try Gas X strips that dissolve in your mouth. She also said to get up every two hours and walk around the house for ten minutes and that helps the gas go away faster also. Another tip after surgery: If you know you are going to cough or sneeze, put your hand or a pillow on your stomach so it doesn't hurt so much. I didn't think about doing that at first and I felt like I was going to pop a stitch. After about a week I felt almost 100% so any discomfort I experienced was only for a very short period of time. Good luck to everyone! :):wink2:

My dietitian has me taking Centrum Silver Chewables, 1200mg of calcium and B12 bilingual every day but she said that after six weeks I can swallow a pill and I won't have to use the chewables anymore but I don't mind the taste. That New Whey protein is what kills me. Gag.

Good Luck!!! I'm so happy for you!!!:)

Hi Heidi, I just had surgery a little over a week ago and I'm so glad I did. I feel like I will finally have control over my ravenous hunger pains. I've already lost six pounds since my surgery. Like ParrotheadCathy said, it's not a magic wand but I think that if you are determined enough to do all of the exercising five days a week and food journaling and follow all of the rules that you've followed so far that you should be able to follow the rules that go along with the lap band. Definitely go to some seminars and learn about the lap band surgery. I went to three seminars before I had mine. I would ignore the negative comment from the girlfriend. She's not in your shoes and may have never had a weight problem in her life. I try to surround myself with supportive people if possible. You may not be able to avoid her being that she's your fiance's brothers girlfriend but I'd do my best. Life is hard enough without having someone bring you down. Good luck with nursing school and your weight loss, whatever you decide to do!!!:thumbup::thumbup: