ElfiePoo

You probably don't want to hear this but the best thing you can do is to get up and move around. After my c-section 18 years ago and my lap band surgery, I healed very quickly. My doctors felt a lot of it was due to the fact that I was up and moving which gets the blood circulating which helps with the healing. Make sure you're getting your Protein in...at least 60gm per day. It will also help with the healing. It's pretty normal to feel the band at first but over time it settles in. I can still feel it but it's not as obvious as it was right after surgery. It does get better...really. .

Suzanne, Postop instructions vary wildly from doctor to doctor. Mine had no restriction on carbonated beverages *after* I was back on solid foods, although did say that some patients have trouble with painful gas. Postop diets also vary. My surgeon has his patients back on solid foods by 2 weeks postop. At the end of week 1, I was just starting on mushies. You really need to quit doing what you're doing and get back on your postop diet. If you really can't stick to your clear liquids, at least call the doctor up and let him know. My guess is that he'll give you 'permission' to move on to something a bit more substantial, although still not solids. The band will relieve hunger...*after* you get enough fills to put enough pressure on the vagus nerves which tell the stomach to quit producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. For the time being, you're just going to have to be patient. If you're hungry, then eat...but eat the foods you're allowed to eat. .

Mine wasn't just 'consistency'. He specifically said I could use a straw. Never had a problem with burps or gas...YMMV. .

Mine didn't have a problem with straws and, in fact, said that if I can't suck it up through a straw the first several days, then I couldn't have it. .

Regret is more than being scared and looking for support. Regret says "I wish I could go back and undo this." Perhaps these people don't really regret and it's just an unfortunate word choice for them. In any case, I can't help someone unless I understand where they are coming from. Hence my post asking people to help me understand how they can regret getting the band the day after surgery...and/or before they even get their first fill.

I'm sorry some of you think my post is callous. As I said, I truly am just trying to understand what people mean when people say they 'regret'. It's normal to be afraid, insecure, unsure. Regret is more than that. Regret says "I'm sorry I did this and wish I could have a do over and make a different decision." Perhaps these people really don't mean 'regret'? .

Christina, I went and looked up some information in my fitness and nutrition books (classes I took) and according to them, even though you're chasing after 3 little kids and exercising an hour or two 3x a week, it's considered 'light' activity. Moderate activity would be 2 hours per day 5 days a week. It's based on actual studies but too detailed to go into here. So, based on your age, height and activity level, you only need 1900 calories to maintain your current weight of 174. To maintain a weight of 130, you need 1700 calories. To lose 1 lb per week, you need to have a calorie deficit (whether it's through reduction of calories or increasing expenditure) of 500 calories per day. To muddy the waters further, if you have a slow metabolism, you may need even fewer calories than similar people of the same age, height and weight. And in order to lose even that 1 lb...you need to do it *consistently*. Some times we think we're consistent, but just a few off days will make the difference in lowing vs a plateau. As others said, maybe shake up what you're eating. 1000 calories one day...1200 another...800 another. Are you tracking what you eat in something like fitday.com? Try keeping your carbs under 60gm. If they already are, try for under 30gm...consistently. Just keep trying. Don't give up. Be patient. .

Perhaps it's just my age but over the decades I've watched marriages break up because of a 'crush'. Even in the cases where there's no possibility of the other person reciprocating. I've counseled people who divorced spouses because after a time, the daydream they built up in their head over this 'crush' made them hypercritical and dissatisfied with their spouse. My .02...crushes are for teens or even unmarrieds. For the those of us who are married, turn our thoughts back to our spouse. In the long run, it's far more emotionally profitable. .

Your doctor should be able to tell you what the differences are. Realize band has a more low profile port meaning it doesn't stick out as much. Then again that was a year ago. I don't know if Lap Band has changed their band since. I would ask your doctor to tell you what the differences are and what they'll mean to you. .

My insurance has apparently decided to be reasonable. They didn't require a 6 month supervised diet. Apparently they 'get it' that when you've been fat for years, you've obviously tried just about every diet under the sun. Once I made my decision to do this, I went to the seminar and 6 weeks later I had my surgery. I have no doubt that the speedy process went so quickly because the doctor's office was on the ball in getting the paperwork to the insurance company in a timely manner. They had a psychiatrist they routinely referred to and she was able to get me in that same week and her report to my insurance company was filed within 24 hours. All my pre-test results were sent from their lab to the insurance company within 24 hours. I cannot recommend Barix clinic highly enough...both preop and postop followup. .

There's nothing wrong with an egg roll or chicken salad. I eat chicken salad on a fairly regular basis. My .02...no this is not restriction if you're feeling pressure and just continuing to pile food on top of it. More likely, you took too big of a bite or didn't chew well enough for that particular food. When I feel pressure (hard to explain what it feels like...you'll just know), it's because something is blocking that opening, but not really enough to consider it stuck. I've learned the best option (unless I want to end up sliming and head over the toilet bowl), is to just put my fork down and wait a few minutes. Then I pay closer attention to the next bite. At some point...and it's not really anything I can put my finger on...just a 'feeling'...I know that one more bite and it will be one bite too many. I've learned to listen to that little voice even if I still have my allotted portion on my plate. .

Good morning...and yes it is a good morning! Since I only lose a pound a week, I figured I may as well just forget about weighing daily and depressing myself. So last week I didn't weigh at all. I get on this morning and WHOOSH...I'm down 4 lbs! Go figure. So let's see...only 15 more pounds to get under 200...and 15 weeks to my son's wedding. At a pound a week...yeehaw I stand a chance of making it! Yeah baby! I've decided I'm only going to weigh myself on Monday from now on because it will totally depress me if I see even a 1 lb gain this week. This, plus the fill I'm getting tomorrow will be just the help I need to get through my sister's birthday party this Friday. The party isn't the problem since it's easy enough to pass up the goodies for a one time event, but they're far enough away that I'll have to stay for a couple of days and they're (my mom and sister) my old eating buddies...and they still eat. So, busy day today. Hope you're all having a good one! .

I do the opposite of the 'traditional' diet approach. My diet is about 1200 calories and I keep the carbs between 30-60gm per day. I don't worry about fats. Mine are somewhere around 70gm per day. My lab work (and those of others who consistently keep their carbs under 60gm) comes back normal. My LDH/HDL are all within normal limits...as are those of others who *consistently* keep their carbs low. If you can't do this (keep carbs low), then high fat does become an issue when combined with a high carb diet. I'm not going to get into any argument with anyone over this since I know it's difficult to get people to look outside the box. I'm just putting it out there. I find that if I do a low calorie low fat diet, I'm always hungry. The slightly higher fat content in my diet keeps me more content between meals. Bottom line - everyone is different and you just need to find what you can live with for the rest of your life. .

No, that's not what I said. What I said was that *my doctor* had me eating solids at 2 weeks. Everybody's doctor is different. Some make their patients stay on complete liquids for a month postop. The point being that there are no 'standards' and, while the claim is made that you *need* to take a month to get back to regular food, this is just an arbitrary decision by each doctor. I asked my surgeon why he has us back on solids at 2 weeks and some doctors make their patients wait a month postop. He said it's because they know that the average patient, if given the opportunity to do solid foods at 2 weeks will (due to hunger) once again eat the wrong foods and too much and put too much stress on the band area. they believe this will prevent that. His view is that we are physically able to eat solids again at 2 weeks and will be less likely to go overboard and do something stupid out of hunger, if we're able to actually 'eat'. After reading this forum for the last year plus, he's probably right.

That doesn't sound right. I'd get yourself to the doctor pronto. I had a c-section with my youngest son and was much heavier than I am now and it cut right through the fattest part of the abdomen. They put a drain in because they wanted to make sure it healed from the inside out but that drain was still gone and I was healed within 2 *weeks*. .

I count calories (1100-1200) and carbs (30-60gm). I don't worry about fats since they aren't a problem on a low carb diet. I don't eat processed or pre-packaged foods so I don't need to worry about the hidden sugars and I don't use sugar or artificial sweeteners. I also don't eat wheat products as they cause me to crave and are way too high in carbs anyway. .

My .02...your band may not be overfilled. You may just be swollen from all the sliming and stuck episodes. Instead of getting an unfill and losing ground (if your band was fine before you went on the cruise), try being kind to your band for a week or so. Go back to mushies and soft foods and monitor your caloric intake since it's very easy to pack in excess calories. Eat 3 meals or 6 smaller meals and stay within your calorie target range. Make your food good choices. In other words, don't just eat mashed potatoes because they're mushie. Get your Protein in. Drink lots of liquids. You may find within days that your band doesn't feel tight anymore. If so, it's because the swelling is going down. .

So blend it...although you'll probably find it wasn't as good 'blended'. Seriously, when I had my band put in, I was given this book with 'recipes' and one was for a cheeseburger. Take one cheeseburger and remove top bun. Tear it up and put in blender with about 1 cup beef broth. Blend. <shudder> You're not off to a bad start. It's normal to want what we can't have and remember you're just at the beginning of the process. It's going to take time to change old habits. Hang in there. .

If you gain 4 pounds in one day, then it's not 'fat'...it's water weight. As others have said, it was most likely the nuts unless you bought salt free. Weigh yourself the same time every day and then stay off the scale. Don't *expect* daily losses. This is not a bypass. Watch your calories. You may have felt like you ate hardly anything, but what you did eat was pretty high in calories. I agree with Heather...popcorn (no butter) is my favorite snack. Filling and low calorie. I buy those single serving microwave bags so I'm not tempted to eat more than I should. .

Do you know what size band you have? At this point though, what's done is done. As long as you can get liquids down, then just go with the flow. Since you're having difficulty, I'd keep something constantly by your side and take tiny sips all through the day to make sure you don't get dehydrated. You want to get your Protein in so you might consider getting some of those concentrated Protein drinks. It should get better as the days go on and the swelling goes down. .

Ok...I'll be the dissenter. I *love* my dentist and the two hygenists I see are sweethearts! Very friendly and good at what they do. If I even flinch a tiny bit, they immediately back off and ask if I'm ok. I'm going to cry when this man retires. .

Oh yeah. I haven't had a fill in about 4 months and, up until a week or so ago, have not had any problems with stuck episodes and can actually eat Breakfast in the morning. For the last week I'm so tight in the mornings I can only do my Protein Shakes and I have to be a lot more careful when chewing or I'll start sliming. .

That's exactly it. At some point I just know I'm done eating but I'm not 'full'. .

Less invasive. Faster healing time. While VS patients lose faster in the beginning, by the end of 2 years, there's virtually no difference in the 'success' rates/weight loss. What I only recently found when I was seriously considering a revision to the sleeve, is that there is about a one year honeymoon period with the vertical sleeve where the hunger is gone because the part of the stomach that produces the ghrelin (hunger hormone) is removed. However, after about a year, the body figures out how to start producing it again. It is not uncommon for VS patients to end up getting a band to control this hunger...since that's what the band does. .

I can't actually feel the tightness. It's just that when I eat, I can tell it's going down hard. I usually start my morning with a hot cup of tea to help loosen the band. Even then, for the last week I've had to go back to Protein drinks for breakfast because I'm so tight. This morning I thought I'd take my husband to the local cafe for a country omelet. I took one small bite, chewed well and within a minute or so I started sliming. Fortunately, my husband and I always share our meals (even before the band) because we believe there's just too much food served in both places so he just ate the 3 egg omelet by himself while I sat there with my coffee. .