coltonwade

ALSO Forget about losing weight right now . the first 6 weeks is about healing from the surgery you just had NOT ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS. Your weight loss WILL COME once you have restriction ! You have to heal first. Mindy

I am sorry but pop corn chicken chewed well is a LONG WAY away from cottage cheese chewed well !!! You have GOT TO STOP and follow the rules ! This is SERIOUS stuff ya'll are messing w/ by not following orders. The best way to get through the first 6 weeks ? You get through it . Its 6 weeks ! you drink when your hungry you get CRAP out of your house. You eat when your hungry but you eat ONLY THE STUFF YOU ALLOWED TO EAT NOTHING ELSE !! Stop justifying that its ok cause you chewed it well . ITS NOT OK . Your docs do not want you EATING Soilds because they do nto want the acids in your stomach to develop and they dont want your stomach churning ! Im AM SORRY to be so harsh but This is how it is . You get through it by getting through it .your not going to die of starvation at this time . Seriously . Eat when your hungry , Drink when your hungry , But eat what your allowed !!! Mindy

Debbie , I just sent you an email MIndy

Some people have had luck w/ mederma ? You can get it over the counter. I have it but keep forgetting to use it . That's for the scars. For the stretch marks, I am not sure what to do about those , I have TONS . I have heard staying hydrated and to keep your skin moisturized . HTH Mindy

Feel free to ask any questions you might have. Or check out the sixties forum . They will be helpful im sure Mindy

I agree you should call the doc , if they told you to go to the ER then you should go if you have Gerd/ refulx after this but not before. and your having isssues w/ water. Mindy

what you have to understand is that your still healing from surgery . So you may become nauseated for a few different reasons . are you getting enough liquids/water in ? If you become dehydrated you may be come nauseated . make sure your eating enough of the right things ? If you are really feeling like your going to be sick , you need to call your doc and have him call you in a RX . HTH Mindy

I am not sure who you were talking to lol But go ahead and ask all the questions ! You are not too old for the band at all ! I am 33 and it was the best thing i ever did for myself . GOod luck , ask away Mindy

If your going to do the take home box thing at restaurants , especially when newly banded, I really recommend getting the to go box WITH your meal , when it comes out and taking only what you can eat , putting the rest in the box and putting it a side. If you do not , early on , its REALLY easy to over eat and get stuck and getting stuck in public is NOT fun , Espically if your trying to hide it . I still do this just do i dont sit there and "pick" at my food when im done . HTH Minedy

After you have been banded for a while you WILL be able to throw food away TRUST Me . I know its hard to believe now but after your banded food is just food. Its no longer the SCRUMPTIOUS peice of cake or fish or what ever, its just food. you eat to live not live to eat. So telling the waitress, take my plate im done when half of it is still there is not a big deal . I know this wont make a difference but Stop caring what others think or feel or say ! your not doing this for them , your diong it for yourself. People get use to being around us fat and we are the "fat friend" and EXCPECT us to be the piggies at the table. When that changes THEY are the ones that are uncomfortable it makes THEM self concious. SCREW THAT ! You are not having lap band surgery for your friends , your doing it for yourself. So if you want to eat half a plate of food and tell the waitress to toss the other half screw everyone else and what they think . People will notice TRUST ME . But who cares. Does not mean you have to tell them you had surgery . But does not mean you have to hide weight loss success either !! Good luck Love Mindy

This is what kept me from "Cheating" during the post op phase , the first 6 weeks. And honestly its not cheating its going against medical advice . You might think of it that way . But I imagined if i ate anything i should not , i imagined my band being ripped out of my stomach ! If you keep that mental image in the back of your head it might keep you from putting anything in your mouth you should not ? The "fear" factor of it all kept me from doing anything. HTH Mindy

First off you need to call your doc ASAP and let him know EVERYTHING that you have done . Not wait until your appt . you need to tell him NOW . I will be honest and i wont sugar coat much on this . You VERY WELL could have damaged something. The first 6 weeks are not about control, self discpline anythign else BUT healing . Your bands life expetancy depends on the first 6 weeks, it needs to form scar tissue around itsself. Hence the reason for slowly introducing food , its so your stomach does not "work" too soon in order to form that scar tissue. And under no circumstances according to my doc do you want to THROW UP! You HAVE TO CALL YOUR DOCTORS OFFICE !! Do not wait on this . This is not something we on the boards can tell you how to fix . NOW that being said I think you know everything i just said. Things DO GET easier once you have restriction I PROMISE it does. But no matter what the throwing up needs to stop . I dont know you but have you thought about counseling to deal w/ the food issues. Its not a bad idea for anyone honestly . Bottom line you have to follow orders for your band to be successful until you get a fill at least. Please call your doctor asap !! Mindy

The above posters have explained the pouch size very well. There is a forum here for people in their sixties , you might want to check that area out . here is the link to that Sixties - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum Also I was 250 when i was banded almost a yr ago , slept w/ my cpap . I did not get sleep apnea until i became over weight about 10 yrs ago . My doc told me " lose weight your apnea will go away " I am now at 145 and My sleep apnea is gone and I no longer sleep w/ my machine . I cant recall what exact weight I was that it went away I want to say it was around the time i got under 200 ? HTH Mindy

If you feel like your getting in enough Protein , your not eating junk , then you might need a fill. I would probably try to really eat lunch . If your allowed Snacks eat breakfast lunch and dinner and your snacks and make sure your snacks are protein snacks. Such as some lunch meat. If that does not satifsfy you then you probably need a fill. Its kind of hard to say w/ out knowing what your eating ? But the fact that you went back for seconds for lunch ? What was it ? My guess is you would need a fill , but talk to your doc he would best advice you . HTH Mindy

Are you telling people your "dieting" at least ? Your going to have to try a few things I think . I dont know that I would call ahead . btu this is what I do . 1. Order from the kids menu . 2. Order a "Regular' meal and get the 2 go box WITH The meal but half the meal in the to go box before you even eat it . 3. order an appetizer . 4. eat wht you can / want from the regular menu and leave the rest. If you do that i would HIGHLY Suggest as soon as your finished telling the waiter to take your plate ! Honestly Its none of anyone's business if you take a doggie bag home or not . But they are going to see that your losing weight. So saying something like " Im tryhing to eat less or eat better" is a good option for ordering differently . Would i go order half a slice of cheesecake ? If that's ALL we were eating ? Probably . But I would not make a habit of it . HTH Mindy

You MAY Have sleep apnea then . But the test will show. All people who have sleep apnea snore BUT Not all people who snore have sleep apnea if that makes sense LOL Just take it as it comes. IT wont affect your surgery if you have sleep apnea Mindy

I would be glad to help you out. I'll send you an email

How long between your meals do you get hungry ? When i first got my fills I got them about every 6 weeks or so even if I was still losing weight, If i could eat a lot i got fills. Mindy

My nose runs when i get full . Its very bazaar. LOL It took me a little while to figure out that's what was going on . But it does. Not all the time but most of the time. Im gonna loose brought up a good point , could be restriction from swelling still from surgery . But I would enjoy it while you have for as long as you have it. When you go to your doc , talk to him about it , tell him what you can eat and what you cant , if anything and the 2 of you should be able to decide if you even need a fill. HTH Mindy

The first 6 weeks post op is ALL about healing . from the liquid stage to the mushy stage . up until you get a fill. some of the best advice someone gave me ( Many people i think on the boards) was DO NOT worry about losing ANY weight the first 6 weeks because your ONLY Job is to HEAL . You have the rest of your life after you get a FILL to lose . And they were right. Honestly the first week I did not even want to do anything but drink Water. I wont lie , its not easy the better you feel . The better you feel the more your appetiite comes back . But what i had in teh back of my mind is my band ripping out of my stomach if i did ANYTHING my doc told me not to . Sorry if that's nasty but tha'ts what i did and honestly still do . The first fill since i have to do 3 days Clear Liquids 3 days liquids then 3 days mushies 3 days semi solids after EVERY FILL ( Yes EVERY FILL ) I got very sick from migraines. I asked my doc, is it possible to do anything different because I need something in me to ward off migraines, he said " Sure thanks for asking first you can do full liquids all 6 days " so that's what i do now . Anyway , you can do the liquids , it will be fine , you will be fine. NOW I can do a month of liquids no problem. make sure you get LOTS OF Protein in , protein in the key . HTH Mindy

I personally did not experience this but I have heard of others who have. Do you know what size band you have ? I know sometimes docs fill the bands for surgery some , for instance a 10 cc band a doc might but 1 or 2 cc's in when a patient comes out of surgery . Also some patients get restriction from the band itself. It does sound like you do have some restriction . How much are you able to eat at a time and how long before you are hungry again . ( how many hrs between meals ) I know i need a fill when i can eat more than about 1/2 cup of food at a time and/or my weight loss slows down . Sometimes If im comfortable w/ the way my weight loss is going and i can eat quite a bit i'll hold off. Initially i got a fill about every 6 weeks. Hope that helps a little Mindy

I would not be too worried about it . Anything that would be serious that would cause the insomnia they would catch . Just insomina would not , i dont think hold up your surgery . If you do have sleep apnea you want to know about it anyway . Do you snore do you know ? try not to worry to much about it , i know its stressful. i worreid about EVERYTHING before surgery . :thumbup: Mindy

I am sure every doc has their own opinions of this. But my neurologist told me most people do not just have insomina . Meaning its usually a symptom of something else. In my case it was sleep apnea/depression that was causing it . So if you have insominia you might want to talk to your doc about it to see if there is anything behind it. As for disquialifying you for surgery ? I would think not . If anything if they find out you have sleep apnea it would be "helpful" as far as it being a co morbidity . HTH Mindy

NO ONE Is JUDGING ANYONE. What we are ALL Trying to say is this .. We HAVE ALL Been there. WE ALL KNOW How hard it is. And if someone had told me " Its ok go ahead cheat you will be fine " what good would that do me ? I would MUCH rather someone tell me what I need to hear rather than what I want to hear . Is doing liquids Pre op hard YES . Its VERY HARD, Frankly its MUCH harder than to do it Post op . IS there a "nicer" way to put the truth ? I suppose so . But Do not get mad because you feel that we told you the truth and not what you wanted to hear. NO ONE is perfect and NONE Of us on here feel that we are because we are further down the rd than others. I know for myself I Listened to the vets because they HAD BEEN THERE !!! I dont understand getting mad because we were straight forward ? Mindy