Me3

WOW! I am SHOCKED at reading these suggestions! :confused: Yeah, it might work to get unstuck but over time you are begging for a slippage to occur. Chugging water all the time can stretch your pouch, cause a stich to pop...Leaning over the toilet and intentionally urping can lead to esophageal dilation... Sticking your finger down your throat to vomit is bulimic behavior and that realm is a scary one I wouldn't touch! :cursing: If your REALLY stuck, stuck, your body is going to expel it rather violently aka involuntary throwing up. If it just hurts like hell that is your stomach muscles grinding it through the stoma... and yes it does hurt, but will ease up; sometimes it can take an hour. All I can say is listen to your body. It will deal with the issue without us having to "help" it along.

I have 3.6 ccs in a 10 cc band and I have almost perfect restriction. Quantitiy wise of food I can eat 10-12 ounces.. so I know I need a little more in my fill but overall it's good

I would call your insurance company and see where your former doctors patients were oficially referred to... most states have laws that medical records have to be kept for x number of years and are usually tranferred to another physician or hospital.

Lapband or bandster hell is the point post op until your first fill or two when you get restriction.

Yep. It's perfectly normal. It's called lap band hell... the time period between surgery and your first fill... this is the hardest part though... it DOES get easier! Hugs, Heather :thumbup:

It's VERY normal! It's called lap band hell. Do you have any Protein shakes that you can drink?? I was supposed to be on Clear Liquids for 7 days post op but day three got like you are now and doc said no prob have a shake. The protein filled me up and made it bearable! Hang in there! It will pass! You are doing great! Hugs, Heather

STOP weighing yourself on different scales at different times of the day! We on average weight 3-7 pounds more towards the end of the day! Water retention, food, etc! And scales can differ SOOOO much! The one at work is almost 8 pounds off the one at home and home is 5 pounds off the one at the Dr's office! YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB!! And your not doing this for THEM!! If they can't be supportive due to whatever hang up THEY have, that isn't on you! It's on them! We can't pick our families, but we CAN pick our friends and support group! I promise you can do this! Don't let ANYONE derail you from taking care of YOU! YOU are too important! Email me anytime if you need to vent! I'm here! Hugs, Heather

You need to rethink this strategy... not only are you cheating yourself and lying to your doctors, it may be considered insurance fraud and you DON'T want that label in your medical records. Nor the possibility of legal repercussions, because it is illegal to do that. Let me reassure you.. that your BMI DOES qualify you, and a co-morbidity can be as simple as migraines, or acid reflux, insomnia etc. All I can stress to you is that you need to be 1000% honest with the process. You could seriously hurt yourself by doing something like this.

I would have that PA's butt on a stick if they ever talked to me like that! Geese o peat... Prolly why their a PA and not an MD... sorry that just irritates the blazes out of me! I bet they have an ulterior motive in trying to get you to switch to GB.. and I bet it has to do with the amount of $$$ or a power trip! I'm sorry that you had to go through that! Stick to your guns, your on the right path and don't let any moronic PA's have any say in it! BTW I was banded on 4/8/10.. and I am down 35 pounds AND I haven't started exercising really yet... so... anyway for what it's worth! Hugs

I was reading a blog tonight and I saw where someone was saying that Marilyn Monroe was a size 16... so I did some looking up and it's true! That was a mind opener for me! http://gianruggeromanzoni.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/marilyn-monroe-swimsuit1.jpg If I look HALF this good at size 16 I will be a VERY happy camper! :bored::thumbup:

I posted something similar today too and assured by many other bandster's that this is the start of restriction and is perfectly normal... but it does feel odd! If there is pain though, which I too have experienced, it's likely that it may not have been chewed well enough or ate too fast or too much or even sometimes that food just may not agree with you... from my experience I can usually loop it back to one of those things. I was SUPER tight the first week after my 2nd fill and almost called for an unfill but then it eased up almost overnight and it has been ok since! Best of luck to you! Hugs!

So I had my second fill June 15th... I think I am at my sweet spot.. but here is a question.. Whenever and whatever I eat... I feel and hear sometimes a gurgling sensation as it goes through the band. It doesn't hurt at all.. it's like a funnel... circling the drain... lol... it's weird! Anyone else had this happen?

Respectfully I have to disagree. The psych eval is little more then a CYA for the doc AND the insurance company. They are RARELY in depth appointments and they ask you standard questions. I have never seen where a shrink goes to the trouble of being IN DEPTH with the reasons we got fat in the first place. How can they... they see your for 60-90 min ONCE.... I work in this area... and I see it day after day.. CYA- Covering their butts it what people are all about these days. If the shrink signs off the doc can wash his hands later on down the road should you get anorexic or bi-polar or whatever... Just my opinion

Keep in mind too that if it's close to "that time of the month" then you will get bloated and will "gain" Water weight. It is VITALLY important to take ALL of your Optifast each day. Best of luck

I wonder what the rate of divorce or split is for bandsters post op. I'm two months post op and all of a sudden wham outta nowhere having to deal with some very serious marriage issues that were not issues pre band or for that matter the last 15 years. Just curious I suppose.. hoping i'm not alone in this... ::sigh::

Just a suggestion.. google your favorite soup and restaurant it comes from and then recipe... for example sweet tomatoes clam chowder recipe.... GUARANTEE you that you will find the recipe, then you can make a big 'ole pot of it at home and save yourself boucoup bucks! Money in your pocket=money for new clothes! LOL Just a suggestion :thumbup:

Thank you so much for all your replies. It really means a lot to me to not feel so alone in this. Many of you said I could unload... so here I go.. please don't think i'm awful... :sad: My philosophy on marriage is that divorce is not an option. But, when he told me last week that he didn't like coming home, it really got me to thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Heat of the moment anger. My husband is 53 and I am 33. He has 4 children from 2 previous marriages, and there are 7 grandkids (some step to him). We have been together since 1996 and saw his kids through the gauntlets...teenage pregnancy, one had drug issues and the others were typical narcissistic teenagers. Then there were the issues with one of the kids mothers. She's mentally ill, diagnosed and is difficult to say the least. BUT WE WEATHERED ALL OF THAT... :thumbup: Now in our family, there is no step... just doesn't exist. :thumbup: I work in a very stressful environment (911) and he works in politics and is in the middle of an election cycle. So stress is through the roof. We see each other on Monday, Friday and Sunday nights usually... so about 12 times a month we have time for each other... I mean like hours instead of the daily passing interactions. Some of those days I am exhausted especially coming off of 3- 12 hour shifts and at night after a 12 hour shift all I want to do is crash. Have I become complacent? Yes I admit that. :crying: His political life is also a sore spot in our marriage. Or, well I should say his boss is the problem. I swore to my husband that this man would never break our marriage and that I would never keep my husband from pursuing politics (it's his passion and he's good at it). His boss however is a narcissistic bastard asshole that goes out of his ways to cause issues in my marriage, going so far once as to say that he will make sure that my husband I will never make it. :scared2: My husband knows this all too well and I know he feels in a catch 22.. but sometimes it boggles me the shit he takes from this man. NO JOB in my opinion is worth it. But, since politics is his passion I try my darndest to bite my tongue. (Need to work on that) :smile2: Three years ago, my grandmother passed away ... she was in my book, my kindred soul.. my mom... my sister... my true other half... her passing has been unbearable to me and I struggle with it daily. It's probably depression as I have stopped scrap-booking, baking, ebaying and chocolate making... which I know pisses my husband off to no end. In his book I don't do anything. :eek: In my book, I'm in the fight of my life and the first positive step I took was to get the lap band. I wish he could see the "work in progress" and I don't understand why he can't stand by me like I have him for the past 14 years through all of his families issues. It's like, I'm not allowed to be weak... I'm not allowed to be human because he has this ideal that I'm the glue that binds everything together and keeps him on course maybe? I don't know.. Ya'll are probably sick of me going on and on so I'll stop.. Thanks for listening! :wub:

So I get on the WII fit weight/BMI check once a month... no more or I'll get all OCD about my weight. It helps to keep me grounded in knowing the weight crept up and it's going to creep back down! Today I weigh 228!! :smile2::w00t::w00t::yikes::w00t: :ciappa: <--- Crying, can't help it...I'm a big mush! I can't remember the last time I was in the 220's. It's been at least a decade. For the first time in a long time I'm proud of myself and I'm finally realizing, I CAN DO THIS! Love to everyone! :thumbup::cursing:

Congratulations!! Take a pillow with you for the ride home!! TRUST ME on that one!! hehehe I hope the day flies by and you will all be in my thoughts tomorrow!! WOOHOOO!!!! :thumbup::cursing::thumbup::ciappa::thumbup:

My surgeon doesn't require it, but I stick to liquids and make my appointment early in the day. Just makes sense to me :cursing:

Hey there! It's nice to meet you :thumbup: The class that they want you to go to isn't really a class. It's more of a presentation. They give you the information that you need to make a decision that is the best fo you! That said, if it is too hard to go to the class you cantalk to your doctor about the EMMI presentation which is an online version of the class. If at some point you decide to get the lap band you will have limited interaction with people on the day of surgery but you can request that it is limited and i promise you that they aren't laughing at you, but cheering you on for making one of the hardest decisions to improve your life! 1. Is there pain after the surgery? Yes. And if so, what kind? There is pain from the port incision site which is about an inch in length. It's not really painful, it kind of feels like ya did 100 sit ups. You can also have some bloated gassey feeling in your tummy and in your shoulder for a few days, but it does go away. How long did it last? About a week,sometimes less. They give you pain medication so it isn't too bad. 2. How long do you have to stay in the hospital after surgery? Some people go home the same day but my surgeon keeps people overnight which turned out to be the best plan for me. 3. Is there a specific diet before/after surgery? For me, pre op I had to drink opti fast which is a Meal Replacement shake for two weeks. The first three days were rough but after that it wasn't so bad. 4. Do I have to slim down to a certain weight before I can get it? It depends, some surgeons want you to lose some weight pre op because is makes surgery safer, and some want you to lose weight pre-op to prove that you are able to lose weight. There is usually with most insurance companies a 6 month period that you have to fllow a food plan that will help you shed some excess weight. 5. I know you eat less, a lot less, do you eat more smaller meals or just 3 really small meals? You eat a lot less, on average about the amount of food that can fit in an average yogurt container. That's it per meal and you have 3-4 meals a day. That seems like not enough and I thought that too pre-op but it really is enough and you dont feel overly hungry. 6. If really small meals, is there enough food for your body to like have energy? :S YES! I didn't think so at first, but there really is! 7. Should I worry about complications with my weight? To be VERY honest yes... being overweight can and is deadly. 8. How many people die of complications every year? Death from lap band is less then 1/2 of one percent. And how many people get the surgery every year? National Instute of health says about 80,000 people got the lap band in 2009. 9. What kinda of diet are you on currently? Not on any diet, just what I can tolerate and get down. The lap band isn't a diet, it is a healthy way to teach me to eat te best foods for my body. Protein 1st, Veggies 2nd and Carbs last. 10. I cannot stick to diets, will I be told to TRY dieting before the surgery? Possibly, but if you are honest with the doc he can set you up with meals that youalredy eat, just prepared in a healthier way, and you will have to say no to fast food including delivery and take out. It's just a reality. Also, no soda which is hard, but mandatory. 11. What happens on the day of the surgery? You go in and they weigh you, take your blood pressure and vitals, and you change into their gowns. They will start an IV and then you wait till they take you back to surgery, you lay down and you just go to sleep, very easy not chaotic. 12. Side effects? It's hard to eat bread and you have to chew your food really well. You can throw up from not chewing your food well enough. You can get gassy (farts) and burping. You could also get a slippage where the band slides down too far or your stomach goes up through the band, but it is not common and is fixable. 13. Problems you had? Constipation from the pain medication 14. Did you ever consider not getting it because of the extra skin? Nope because extra skin wont kill me, the fat inside it will. 15. How steady of a weight loss can one expect? 2-4 pounds a week 16. Did family members actions change after you got the surgery? Everyone has been very supportive 17. Your worries before you had the surgery? Yeah,but mostly just the unknown. Kinda psyched myself out. Just normal jitters that everyone goes through. What about after? not so much really Keep talkig and remembern question is dumb or too nosy ok? Best of wishes! Heathet

The chocolate peanut butter one is so great! YUM! It's really good when you mix it in with whipped cream cheese and a dash of cinnamon!

I'm almost 2 months post op and have already had one fill. I can tell you from experience that you can't gulp anything, Water included; but you can get it down in 1/2 cup increments fairly close together. The alcohol deal, sure the docs say no because of calories, but once you are done healing, it's like any other food choice.. it's a choice. I have had wine since surgery and just sipped on a glass for the evening... Your bar tab will be a lot cheaper! :smile2: One of the blogs I follow on here of a fellow bandster in NYC drinks wine and goes to supper clubs, the whole nine and she has lost tons of weight and looks amazing so it is absolutly do-able! Best wishes! Heather

There is a Protein powder called Isopure that is tasteless and mixes with anything.. like benefiber does... For shakes, i reccomend Myoplex.. you can get them at wal mart or sams club and they taste like chocolate milk. They have 300 calories and 42 grams of protein. In the beginning I would sip my way through 1-2 of those a day to get the protein. It is so important to get the protein in, not so much for the calories, but protein is vital to healing! Good Luck! Hugs, Heather