Astrasmom

As bad as it may sound I think that every person in their banded life should experience getting stuck at least 1 time. That way you know what it feels like and you know you aren't having a heart attack or something. It's also a great learning experience that teaches you that you really need to chew better. I wish I could say that it's only happened to me once but each time is a learning experience for me. I'm glad that yours didn't last that long.

Well I'm actually in Little Egg Harbor which is on the North Side of Egg Harbor, near Tuckerton. :biggrin: But you are correct. Egg Harbor is a very nice place and I know the Days Inn that you are talking about.

Hi Hal, I was like you too. I wasn't the least bit nervous. I was more anxious in getting the surgery done because I had to do the 6 months of supervised diet before the surgery. The day of the surgery I was very calm.

I want to have a family picture taken. I want to keep walking into places and have people continue saying, "WOW you look great. I almost didn't recognize you." I want to have skinny fun with my husband :biggrin: I want to be able to look food in the face and be able to control myself not have food control me anymore. And last I want to get a total make-over from hair, to nails to toes, to make-up to wardrobe..ahhh!

Sometimes this happens if you aren't getting the right Vitamins or you aren't eating the right foods. I don't need the extra iron pills. If you include a Multivitamin and eat the proper sources of iron enriched food you should be fine. Which include... chicken and turkey blackstrap molasses nuts egg yolks dried fruits, such as raisins, prunes, dates and apricots liver lean red meats, including beef, pork, lamb seafood, such as oysters, clams, tuna, salmon, and shrimp, etc. Beans, including kidney, lima, navy, black, pinto, soy beans, and lentils iron fortified whole grains, including cereals, breads, rice, and Pasta greens, including collard greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach, and turnip greens tofu vegetables, including broccoli, swiss chard, asparagus, parsley, watercress, brussel sprouts

1> Coffee- This depends how long your doctor makes you stay in the clear liquid stage. For me it was 1 week. 2> Husbands Doctor - You will have to see how you feel. You may be a little to sore and you will probably still be on pain medication. You won't be able to drive though. 3> Your doctor should have given you and eating/drinking plan. If not you should ask him soon. 4> There are several people who leave the hospital the same day. This again all depends on your surgeon. In my opinion the one day stay in the hospital is worth it.

Ok well 4 weeks ago I went for my 5th fill. Everything was going great for a few weeks. The last 2 weeks I just felt so uncomfortable. Things were going down but it was just feeling too restricted. Solids were not staying down like they should be and even liquids were starting to actually hurt going down. I was getting regurgitation at night, and also night coughs. I was so afraid to call the doctor to have fluids taken out because I have done so amazing with my weightloss so far and didn't want to gain the weight back. Until yesterday, I couldn't take it anymore. I also finally convinced myself that I am not doing myself any good by riding it out. I wasn't getting the nutrients that I needed. Plus being too restricted will slow the weightloss down anyway. WHICH IT DID. So the doctor took out only a tiny amount yesterday and I feel so much better. What's my point to this. Pay attention to your body. Don't be afraid to get an unfill if you need it. You honestly aren't doing yourself any good if you are too tight. Not getting enough nutrients, calories, food intake can actually slow your metabolism down and keep you from losing the weight. While reading some of the posts I came acrossed this one that was tremendously helpful and I thought it should be shared with everyone. Especially the new banders. Please pay attention to your Green Zone. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/you-green-zone-25523/

Your body goes through all kinds of changes after you have the surgery. I would call your GYN and ask them if it's normal for your cycle to come because you have the IUD. I know for me, when I was heavier my cycle was all messed up. After I lost the weight my cycle started to become normal again. Of course I am pre-menopausal now so wouldn't you know my cycle is being weird again. :biggrin:

Sounds like you might be a little too full. You should be able to eat solids. The way my doctor does it, the day of the fill you switch back to liquids. The next day to soft and then back to solids the following day. The swelling should have gone down by now. I just posted somthing about to much restriction. I thought I was doing my body good by toughing it out, but your really not doing yourself any good. The nutrients that your body needs aren't getting it. You won't lose the weight that way. I would definately go back in and ask the doctor to take out a small amount and see if that helps you. Stay in the Green Zone. This might help you. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/you-green-zone-25523/

There are alot of us that can't eat eggs. It really sounds like you did get stuck. You may have irritated your esophagus. I would try liquids for a day and if it doesn't feel better by Thursday when you go to the doctors I would definately mention that.

Congratulations on the start of your journey. I wish you much success. You may want to try Gas-X strips and a heating pad for the gas. Make sure you walk as much as possible. Good luck to you.

Great attitude. And Congratulations. You should be very proud of yourself. Remember it's ok to slip up once and awhile. And it's ok to reward yourself once and awhile. It's not a diet. It's a lifestyle change. Diets are boring and don't work. There is nothing easy about this process. We all work very hard to get where we want to be after the lapband process. We deserve to feel good about ourselves. The main words EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. The more weight you lose the better you feel about yourself, the more compliments you get. It's totally amazing. Thus far I have lost a total person on the outside. On the inside I have gained total person (Self confidence). Texassparkles is right anyone can do this if you believe in yourself and understand that the lapband is just a tool. You have to work at it. You can't expect the band to just be placed inside of you and you will automatically start losing the weight. Not going to happen. You also have to remember that old habits aren't going to go away over night. Some may haunt you for the rest of your lives but you do learn how to deal with them a little better as time goes on. Life is a highway. You can either keep following the highway or you can get off. It's all up to you. Good luck to everyone. And Texas keep up the amazing work. :biggrin:

This is normal after a fill. Some of it could be swelling which most of the time goes down in a week or so. And yes when you do have your period you do swell a little more. What you need to look out for is being able to keep food and fluids down. If you can't then chances are you are to tight and need to have some Fluid taken out. A good restriction is feeling full and not hungry in between meals. You shouldn't experience pain and you should be able to keep things down. To much restriction (even if you can keep food down) is also not good because you aren't getting the proper nutrients. Good luck with your fill.

Hiyah MSLadybug. You have come to the right place. You are correct your first place to start would be to see if your insurance will cover the procedure. Then you want to attend a seminar. Feel free to ask question and read as much as you can. This is a wonderful place for information. I wish you luck in your travels. Please keep us posted with your decisions.

I spent alot of time and money on the so called 'yo yo' diets in my life. Yes I did lose the weight but I gained it all back again. Lapband surgery actually DID save my life. I am a heart patient. Hence I owe it all to the doctor that put this thing inside of me that has been used as a tool but has helped me to lose more weight then I ever have, and keep the weight off so far. I do not beleive in following every single rule that the doctor says I should. Like eating all your veggies, or all your fruit, etc. Following every single rule is like being on a diet. This is not a diet, it's a life style change. You have to reward yourself once and awhile. What I won't do is NOT follow certain things that I have been told could do harm to me. Which include soda, coffee, and drinking from a straw. Soda and drinking from a straw could cause my band to slip. This didn't come from my surgeon. This came from my nutrionist. I see a nutrionist everytime that I go into the office to see the doctor (whether I get a fill or not). My nutrionist told me that we can have alcoholic beverages once and awhile. Red wine is the best because it doesn't have as many open calories and sugar that the other stuff does. I was told that you shouldn't drink that much because you can get drunk very fast. Occasionally I will have a wine cooler also. I do not drink beer anymore. I will on occasion have a hard drink once and awhile too. The key words being "ONCE AND AWHILE". So my point is, we are here to help each other. We aren't here to judge and we aren't here to criticize each other. You know the saying, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink"? Everyone is different. Some of us choose to follow the plan that was given to us. Some of us follow the plan that we want to follow. Either way, if it's working then let it be. I got 'FAT' for a reason. I am NOT going to be 'FAT' again. So my choice is to follow most of what I am supposed to follow. When the word danger comes in the same sentence as soda, caffine and straws, I choose to listen to those warnings. Caffine by the way is a natural Diuretic. It takes 2 glasses of water to replace the fluids that you lose from drinking one cup of coffee. THAT is why I choose to give up coffee 2 months before having surgery. And trust me I was a heavy coffee drinker.

I have an 8oz Protein shake when I first get up. 9:30am - 1/2 cup of Protein plus total Cereal with a tiny bit of skim plus milk. 11:30am - 1 cheese stick 12:45 - 4-5 oz white chicken in a can with FF mayo 5:00pm - 5-6 oz chick or fish with veggies sugar free Ice pops in between meals and after dinner. I only do ice cream once a month. To many calories for me.

Congrats. Are you self pay?

Thats from the gas that they pump into you during surgery. It takes a few days for that to be gone. Try some Gas-X strips if you aren't already and walk as much as you possibly can. Right now you are in the healing process. It will take probably a good 2 weeks before you feel 'normal' again. Just try your best to get the fluids down. Did you get a fill during surgery? Also a heating pad might help you. By the way CONGRATULATIONS!! It does get better. Hang in there. And if you gotta let the air out..GO FOR IT!!

Hi Mark. I'm Dawn. Congratulations on the start of your journey. Which is asking questions. I also had to wait the 6 months before my surgery. It felt like eternity. I was nervous as heck the closer the day got. I'm the mother of 2 wonderful adult men and married to an awesome husband for 7 years now. My oldest son was born with Down Syndrome. I was also borderline everything (sugar, highblood pressure, fatty liver, cholesterol) and had sleep Apnea and had to sleep with a CPAP machine for 5 years. I also had open heart surgery in 2001 to repair an aortic anuerysm and had a valve replacement at the same time. At the time I had a pigs valve put in and they only last for about 10 years. Reason is because I didn't fancy taking blood thinners for the rest of my life. I was at the time 34 years old. So it's coming up on the years that I will need another open heart surgery. But this time I will get the mechanical valve and take the blood thinner. My eyes were opened when my cardiologist told me that I could die on the table if I didn't lose the weight. All I could think about was my oldest son with Down Syndrome and what would happen to him if I were to die. Of course I was thinking about my other son and my husband as well but the one that stood out the most was my son Matt. Anyway needless to say after much research and soul searching I had the lapband surgery done. And honestly let me tell you the only regret that I have is not getting it done sooner. I am a totally changed person. I am no longer borderline anything, and 3 weeks ago I was able to give up my CPAP machine. I no longer have sleep apnea. I go in July to my cardiologist for another echo-cardiogram to see how things are going there. Hopefully I have even prolonged my open heart surgery. I do know that my cardiologist is extremely happy. Please don't be worried about the PBing and the food getting stuck. It doesn't happen that often. My theory about that is it's good that it happens to you at least once (even though you might think that is an awful thing to say) because THEN you will know how to deal with it, and how NOT to have it happen to you again. As you go along you will find that there are certain foods that don't agree with you. You may get a little stuck. It doesn't happen to everyone. And it usually doesn't last that long. It doesn't feel like your having a heart attack. It doesn't feel like you are choking. It's just a bit of discomfort. If you slime, it doesn't keep going it's just a one time deal. You will have to learn to chew your food at least 25-30 times before swallowing. You will also have to learn to cut your food into small portions. If you do that you should be fine. Most of the stuck is because of old habits. As I said it doesn't happen to everyone and if it does it's not something that you feel like you need to be put into the hospital over. You find ways to get the food moving. Usually mine is I just stand up or a walk around a little. The longest that I've had something stuck was maybe 5 minutes. There is a mix of Realize and Lapband on this site. I have the Lapband. I do hope that this information has helped you. Check out my blog it has alot of information on it that may help. Good luck with your doctors visit. Use your 6 months to research and ask questions. Looking forward to hearing about your progress. Feel free to add me as a friend and ask question if you like. Good luck.

Hi Julie, I'm Dawn. Congratulations on your surgery. Please feel free to ask questions. We look forward to hearing about your progress. I also had a hiatal hernia repair with my lapband. If your having alot of pain try Gas-X strips and heating pad. make sure you walk as much as you can but don't over do it. Keep up the great work.

Hi Jess. I'm Dawn. Congratulations on the start of your journey. I wish you much success. Try Gas-X strips and a heating pad if you haven't heard about that secret already. They help most people. Make sure you walk as much as you can. We look forward to hearing about your progress.

Congratulations!!!! And you have a great attitude starting out with this. You will do awesome if you keep following your own advice. Make sure you are getting all of your fluids in. It will also help with your hunger and your weightloss. As for food. When I first started out and went back to work I was on the liquid. So I would take my shaker and milk to work with me and have my protein shakes. I did have a battery powered blender that I got from The Vitamin Store. When I went mushie and regular foods I generally made my food at home and pack it in tupperware containers. I measure everything out at home it's alot easier. I am down to one protein shake a day which I have in the morning before I got to work. I get my protein from food sources now. My fluids I have a 36oz container which I fill with Crystal Light and I drink that throughout the day at work. When I come home I refill it and finish that up until I go to bed at night. That helps with the 64ozs. When you make dinner at night make a little extra and then just pack for the next day. It's easier for me if I make my lunches the day before so then I am not rushing around the next morning and I won't forget the things that I need. You can also make meals and freeze them. When you get on the mushies, stage 1 baby food is ok also. At least some of it is. Alot of the stuff i couldn't get by the texture phase so I had to make my own mushie food. Which I have a mini food processor that I made my food with. Good luck and I hope that this helps you.

Make sure that you are drinking all of your liquids. Try increasing your walking a little if you are able too. Are you drinking Protein supplements?

CONGRATULATIONS. Try Gas-X strips and a heating pad if you haven't already been doing so. And make sure that you get up and walk as much as possible.