ainnjay

I completely understand what both of you are saying. I lost 100 pounds with my band in 2011 getting down to 146# at 5'7" (about a size 4-6). At 42, I had never been that little. I also received a lot of comments that I was getting too thin. The comments were from family as well as work friends and I feel like they were genuine. Over the course if the next year, I put on about 15 pounds. Then, when my band slipped and they removed it, I ballooned up to 200# almost instantly!! I am now 11 days postop with my sleeve. At age 46, my goal is to be healthy, live life, and yes....look hot in some kick-butt clothes! lol! Pre surgery I was doing boot camp classes, yoga, hiking, stand-up paddle boarding....all without the constant concern of what others thought!! It was amazing!! I don't want to get as thin as I was before and had the same concern with 'shutting off the weight loss'. I would be interested in other folks thoughts on this topic as well.

I had my surgery in June 2010 and could not be happier with things!! Dr. Hoehn, of Shawnee Mission Medical Center, did it. I love the staff there and have always felt well taken care of!!! Good luck to you!! You will do great!!!

This is all so wonderful to hear!! And Brad, I cannot tell you how looking forward to not being hot all of the time I am!!! I cannot wait to be able to "cross my legs and have them stay that way, rather than pop off like a boomerang" and shop in "normal" sizes~! Great post, Leigha!

Man...times flies!!! I cannot believe it's that close to September already!! I am totally in!! 4th quarter is my busiest time at work (employee benefits) so jumping into exercise and healthy eating now will help this fall run much smoother!! Thank you for starting this challenge, Leigha! I always love your posts! Since I still have a lot to lose, I feel like it will come off a bit quicker, so I'm going to shoot high and set my goal for 25 by Labor Day. Guys - with exercise, is that realistic? I get my second fill on 7/20. My first fill did absolutely NOTHING (1.5 cc's), so I'm hoping my doc is a bit more aggressive with this next one. I'm going to ask him for 3 cc's....don't know if he will, but I guess we'll see. I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!!!

Wow!!! This is a great thread!!! It's so nice to hear all of the positive comments from everyone!!!

Guys - I'm hoping you can help me. I had my surgery on June 3rd, so I'm 19 days postop. My surgeon does not put any fill in the band during surgery and I have not yet had a fill. I have not really had any problems eating anything since I've been able to start the mushies. That is...until yesterday. Yesterday I had 2 scrambled eggs for Breakfast. That's pretty much what I've been having each day since I started the mushies. I didn't feel like anything was stuck, however, I had chest pain all day yesterday...like how it feels if I've eaten too much or something. I drank some Water and could actually feel the eggs move through the band. The rest of the day anytime I would take a deep breath it was painful..like sore. I was also really nauseous all day. I had hoped this morning when I woke up that I would feel a lot better. I just had like 3 bites of cottage cheese and it's doing okay, but it's like my entire esophagus and stomach are sore. Have any of you experienced this? I am supposed to get my first fill on Thursday. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks so much!!!! Ang

Newgmp - I was a tanned goddess when I was younger (now I'm 41)...oh how I miss those days!! I felt like it really did give me a mood boost!! I don't think I could do it anymore because of health risks, but that is everyone's own decision. I do recall reading something in a book about waiting an entire year before tanning due to your scars. I think it can effect the healing like kelking said. Hey - the good news...I've heard the spray tans they have now are a million times better than the ones back in the day that make people look like oopa loompas!! Maybe try that!! Good luck to you!!

Thanks for your response! Thankfully, I'm doing better today. I think I have been taking too big of bites and also eating too fast. I'm definitely going to mention things during my dr. appt tomorrow.

Okay...I have a stupid question... What does acid reflux feel like? Thanks.

I can't do the hormones so I use the Paragard IUD. My periods have always been pretty light so it's worked out well. It's good for 5 years. Good luck to you!!!

That is soooo great!!!! Very motivating!!!!

Hey guys! I had surgery on June 3rd. I'm doing okay, but have noticed I'm just really exhausted by the end of the day. Every morning I plan to get up and exercise and I can't make myself do it. Ugh!! Then, when I get home from work it seems I'm too exhausted to do anything physical. I know I need to be exercising and it's ticking me off that I'm not. I'm on the mushy food now and am eating things like eggs, string cheese, fish, canned chicken and tuna....along with my Protein shakes. My question to you guys....were you this tired? Is this normal? Or, am I just being lazy and need to kick my butt into gear!! I appreciate your feedback!! Ang

Maybe you're swollen...like when people get fills..and we have to stay on clear liquids 24-48 hours. Hopefully, it will be all better in a few days! Good luck!!!

I am SOOOO happy for you!!! You've been working so hard and sooo deserve this!!! CONGRATULATIONS!

This is a EXCELLENT article, Debster!! Thanks for posting it!!! I was a major beer drinker prior to getting my band (on June 3rd). I guarantee beer was a lot of the reason I put on so much weight in the first place!! Not only did I consume a ton of empty calories, but I would binge eat afterward. Then, the next day my blood sugar was all out of whack so I would eat the wrong foods. For me, my decision was to completely stop drinking alcohol once I got banded. I do worry about transfer of addictions. Everyone is different, though.

Three surgeries in 6 months! You poor thing!!! Well...THIS one's the one that's going to work!! And...since your port won't be sticking out once your lose your weight, you WILL look like the chic in the picture!!! Good luck to you!!!

First off.....You gotta love the body in the picture....uh..hello..it's a port for a LAP BAND, people!! Just sort of cracks me up! Anyway...What's the reason you're getting a new port? You mentioned it will be easier for your Dr. to give you fills. Is that why you're getting a new one? It's difficult to get fills? I'm just curious. I just had surgery on June 3rd, so I'm in the beginning stages, however, in the past when I've been thinner, my stomach has always been my best feature (ahhh..those were the days!!). Well, now I can feel my port and I'm concerned when I lose a bunch of weight it's going to stick out. I've heard they can change the placement of the port and put it under a muscle or put a smaller one in, but didn't know how difficult it was. Anyway..just curious. My port is located where the blue dot is on the little model body. Have you asked your doctor about the placement and if it bothers people there? She/he would probably know. Anyway...good luck to you!!! Ang

My surgery was June 3rd. I've had them, too....especially when I switched from the Clear liquids to the thicker liquids on postop day 4. I think I was in ketosis while on the clear liquids, but when I switched to the thicker liquids I was having a lot of carbs. I came home from work one day and thought I was going eat anything that wasn't nailed down!!! I made the decision to go back to the clear liquids and ditch the carbs! Tomorrow morning I start the mushy foods. I'm planning to stick to things like eggs, Protein shakes, cottage cheese, and other high protein foods. I feel like my best bet for getting through the "bandster hell" phase is to be in ketosis. Good luck to you!!!! WE can do this!!!!

Wow Khunt! That's a lot of coffee...even for me!! And I'm a coffee fiend...the stronger the better! I'm going to my doctor on Monday (6/13) to get my staples out and am going to talk to him about it. I'm gonna be very "frank" with him. I LOVE my coffee, but knew going in that I would need to give it up. If I don't have to, I don't want to... Oh...and you mention you don't sleep much....uh...do ya think maybe it's all the coffee??? Sorry...I couldn't resist!! (promise...just kiddin with you) Have a great day!

Samanthea - I know exactly how you feel!! I was banded on June 3rd. I had heard tons of people say..."you won't even want to think about eating for a few weeks." NOT!!! I wanted to chow on anything that wasn't nailed down when I came home!! I really thought something was wrong with me because I had not heard anyone else talk about feeling that way. I DID stay on the clear diet, though. YOU CAN DO IT!!! I think the thing that helped me the most was once ketosis kicked in. I only had to do 2 days of a preop diet (clear liquids along with Protein shakes) so I don't think I truly had all of the carbs out of my system until a day or so after the surgery. Once I made up my mind I was sticking to it...and did so, I was fine. I will say, however, I had a VERY hard time once I transitioned to the thicker Soups and stuff, though. They have a TON of carbs in them and I was HUNGRY!! I decided to forgo the thicker soups and stuck with the broth and Protein shakes and feel a lot better!! Friday I begin the mushy stuff and plan to do things like eggs, cottage cheese, string cheese...anything that is majorly high in protein and low in carbs. For me...that's the only way I'm going to get through the "bandster hell" phase. I wish you the best of luck!!! Together we CAN (and WILL) do this!!! Ang

Hello!! I just got banded on June 3rd. Prior to the surgery I talked to the surgeon, dietician, preop nurse separately. They all said that decaf coffee is okay, however, avoid caffeine. Caffeine can cause ulcers around the band. The preop showed me a picture of the stomach going around the band...it would lead to having to have an additional surgery to fix it. I was told do NOT drink caffeine or take NSAIDS or Ibuprofen. To me, this was my biggest decision. I made the choice to give it up and move forward. I like decaf tea and decaf coffee and feel like eliminating the caffeine can help my moods as well! Good luck with whatever choose!!

Thanks Joyce! Just bought the book on Amazon. I'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks Joyce. I started thicker liquids today. That helps. Are you saying the reason we are unable to eat regular foods initially is to avoid stretching the pouch? Does the transition of clear liquids to thicker liquids to mushy food to regular food help keep the pouch from stretching? I'm just curious how it all works....because it seems like there is not a lot of difference in the amount I can take in at the moment. Thanks! Ang

Hey there Joyce and everyone else!! How are you all doing? I had my surgery June 3rd and am doing really good....other than a slight moment today... I'm still in the liquid stage and cannot wait to begin the thicker soups and stuff stage tomorrow. Today, I threw caution to the wind and had a bowl of black bean soup. It went fine, but I know I wasn't supposed to. I really want to follow the rules. One thing...I realize I have no restriction, but was really hoping I would get full a little quicker.. Nope! I was able to eat the whole can of soup!! I'm back to clear liquids until tomorrow and plan to follow the rules now... Hope you all are doing well!

Okay...so here's the deal. My surgery date is June 3rd. I haven't had my preop education session yet. It's scheduled for May 13th. I asked the nurse how long the preop diet lasted and she said it's Proteins shakes and Clear Liquids for 2 days prior to the surgery. Wow!! That doesn't seem like anything compared to what I've heard other people on the board talking about. Some people have mentioned that although the preop diet for 2 weeks is horrible it actually helps them wrap their brain around the changes tey need to make immediately following the surgery. And..that it helps jump start their weight loss. I'd like to hear from those of you that have gone through it already.... What are your thoughts? Self induced preop diet? Or, not? Thanks for your input! Ang