Woodstock girl

I have 4 or 5 fills and I think I am about 7 or 7.5 cc. Had a fill this afternoon and am very restricted right now. Having a lot of belly noises, hiccups and burps. Slowly sipping protein shake. Tried a couple bites of baby food, but it came back up. I'm not ready to say I am over-filled because I haven't been feeling any restriction. I have no problem eating pasta, rice, or bread. Bummer.

People can tell me that all they want! lol Seriously, I would simply tell them that my doctor has given me a goal for a normal BMI, and I will continue to work toward that goal.

I have had several fills and have not felt a restriction in a long time, so I am hoping this will help me with my weight loss. If I understand you correctly, the belching and hiccups will subside as the swelling goes down, right?

WOW, look at you!!!! Absolutely gorgeous!! I can't wait till I'm there too.

Don't know if your surgeon told you, but you can eat up to three servings a day of watermelon and other fruits, but no bananas. Also, you can have cream of wheat. The surgeon told our group that if we have to have something, eat some very, very, lean meat such as turkey, but don't pig out on it. I didn't eat the meat, but the fruit definitely helped. I developed a great deal of bloating and diarrhea before surgery. Apparently I was lactose intolerant and all those Protein shakes made with milk caused it. I switched to unsweetened almond milk after the surgery and that helped a whole lot. By the time you have your surgery, or shortly afterward when you are on the liquid diet again, you may have a bitter funky taste in your mouth that you can't get rid of. This will mean that your body is in ketosis and you will lose weight much faster. Ketosis is the stage that people on low carb diets try to get to, though I've heard that its not good to stay in that stage for very long. When I reached that stage, I was losing a pound a day! It can make you nauseated, and I didn't like that feeling, so I ate a can of potato Soup to take myself out of ketosis. I hope this information helps you.

I also had my second fill Wednesday and a had a problem getting anything down. I was having pain and having to drink my shake standing up. Even water was causing pain, so I called the doc, went in and they took .5 cc off. Now I am having an egg and no problem. I feel the restriction but nothing is getting stuck.

Walking and moving around is the best thing you can do for it. It will pass, literally! lol

I talked to the docs office this morning and they are going to remove 1/2 of the fill. Thanks for all your advice! I didn't know if it was normal restriction or a problem.

I had my 2nd fill yesterday. Up to that moment, I have had no pain, vomiting, or trouble eating anything. Since getting the fill yesterday, I have been in pain, constantly feel like I am going to vomit, and am having trouble eating and drinking everything. I had to get out of bed at midnight last night, and while up I had a sip of water. It wouldn't go down and caused me to vomit. What do I do??

I'm really sorry you are going through this. But you can't risk your health. It won't be long before they can put it back. In the meantime, do the best you can to stay with a healthy eating program, and exercise!

I am using Ezekial bread which contains only sprouted grain and no flour to gum up on you. I toast it and then spread a spoonful of olive oil on it instead of butter. This helps me get some whole grain and some good fat because my skin was drying out so badly 6 weeks after surgery. I also use Smuckers natural Peanut Butter which only has 1 gm sugar. Tasty! You can find Ezekial bread at the health food store or some grocery stores have it in the freezer. Our Jewel carries it in the freezer section of their organic foods. Trader Joes has it too. Since it has no preservatives, you should keep it in the freezer. I put a knife in between the frozen slices to get one off. Because sprouted grain has more Protein than plain flour, each slice of Ezekial bread has 4 gm protein.

It is really hard to stretch your pouch, so I doubt you did that. But you are risking slippage of the band by eating chicken and other regular foods this early in the game. You need to give yourself plenty of time to heal before you start eating real food, or else that band could slip right out of place, especially if something you ate were to cause vomiting.

I've been on liquids, plus a bit of yogurt all day. It was 24 hours since the fill at 9:30 this morning.

I had bloating and the runs so bad before surgery that I developed blisters on my rear and had to put diaper rash ointment on them! I think the liquid diet is to blame, but my nutritionist believes I was also experiencing the symptoms of lactose intolerance. I switched from milk to unsweeted almond milk and the bloating cleared up.

Okay, thanks for your advice. I will call in the morning and try to get a little taken out so I will feel better.

The shoulder pain is caused by the gas they used to blow up your stomach area. The pain is temporary. Your neck and throat is sore due to the position during surgery and having the tube down your throat. It will pass. Did your hospital give you a breathing thingee? You blow hard on it like you're blowing up a balloon. If they didn't give you one, get someone to bring you some balloons and blow on them periodically to get your lung function back. I know what you feel like, but it only lasts a few days, so just bear with it, take your pain med and dream of how you will look in those size 8 jeans!!

I haven't vomited today and everything is staying down. But I have felt nauseated most of the day. Also, it is more comfortable to eat and drink standing up. If I sit for meals, I have some pain and it feels like acid reflux in the back of my throat. So based on that, you think I need to get an unfill, and I'm not just feeling restricted?

There are some real good recipes here: Lap Band Recipes I have been using the idea of plain yogurt with mustard on my tuna and fish instead of mayo. It's fabulous and makes a great tangy sauce for fish!

I'm using the Wii Fit. I like it - you can exercise at home, start at the beginning level and work your way up, and it keeps up with your weight, BMI, and the calories you burn with each exercise. You need the Wii Fit system with a balance board. There are tons of exercises that are fun, and there's all types of yoga. Walking is the best exercise you can do to start out. Try to increase your walk by 5 or 10 minutes every time. When I'm watching TV, I sit on a big balance ball and just bounce up and down. Not hard, but it's mild cardio. Whatever you do, just get moving!!!

It's normal to not feel much restriction the first several weeks following surgery. I sure can identify with that feeling that you need to eat something. When that urge hit me so strong I couldn't stand it anymore, I cooked some Cream of Wheat that I had put two scoops of chocolate Protein powder in, so it tasted like Malto Meal. Yum! Just make it kind of soupy -- you don't want to risk slippage of your band. One time I tossed in a sliced banana and cooked it with the Cream of Wheat. After being on liquids, I never had anything so good! Or try a small jar of baby meat. You will probably need to salt it, but it will taste real good. You should not be eating bread this early in the game - that is very risky! You could microwave a little frozen strawberries or blueberries, mash them up real well and add some skim ricotta cheese or greek yogurt and some artificial sweetner. Eat it slowly with a baby spoon. Make it last at least 15 to 20 minutes. I also had no problem with scrambled egg when I was supposed to be on liquid. You generally will lose a lot weight on the liquid diet because the lack of bad carbs may put your body into Ketosis. When I hit that stage, I was losing a pound a day. You can tell if you are in Ketosis because you will have a horrible taste in your mouth that you can't get rid of, and you may feel nauseated. Ketosis is how people lose so much weight who are on the Atkins and other low carb diets. It's okay to lose weight like that for a little while, but when I couldn't take it anymore, I ate a can of potato soup to take myself out of ketosis. Since I didn't feel any restriction the first weeks after surgery, my doctor gave me my first fill on my one-month followup. It helped a lot. Then he gave me my 2nd fill yesterday on my 6 week visit. I'm having a little trouble with too much restriction I think, because I'm having trouble even drinking Water. I have to eat and drink standing up, so I may have to go get the doc to take a little out of the band. Hang in there. Time will pass quickly. It's important that you let yourself heal before adding too many solid foods. Try one thing at a time to see what you can tolerate. It's different for everyone.

Since I had to be on a diet for 6 month before my insurance would approve, I've been dealing with that for a while. After working so hard, I am determined not to cave in to my addictions, so I have substitutes that don't do so much damage. I found a tea that helps - Almond Cookie Green Tea that I get from teatreasures.com. If you put some Splenda or Truvia in it, it tastes like a cookie. I also use Dessert Protein powder in Cinnamon Roll flavor. It's delicious and I buy it from Amazon. I also buy Greek yogurt in Pomegranate and Blueberry - it has twice the protein as regular yogurt, then I sprinkle some Truvia on it for a real treat.

Another word about the Protein powder. It helps keep you from losing muscle. Muscle burns fat, plain and simple. The more muscle you put on, the faster you will lose weight. I use workout bands to build muscle in my arms and shoulders. 5 lbs of fat takes up twice the space as 5 lbs of muscle. Try this protein (get it at Amazon)- it's called Dessert - the cinnamon roll flavor is great - I put a scoop or two in my Cream of Wheat after cooking it and yes it tastes like a cinnamon roll (this was before surgery since I'm on liquid after surgery this week). Keeps you full longer and helps promote muscle.

Hi, I'm a little north of you in Woodstock. My doc is Amir Heydari of Crystal Lake. I hope to see you around as we become acquainted with everyone! Happy weight loss!!!

My husband bought me a Wii Fit the week before my surgery. I love it! The aerobics games get my heart rate up, and I do a body test every day to motivate me. It keeps up with your weight and BMI, as well as your weight loss. It even tells me I am OBESE. That's a huge motivator! You know, we are all addicted to food, that's why we are in this boat. But you have to figure out a way to reprogram your mind to EAT TO LIVE, NOT LIVE TO EAT. If you can't get a therapist to help you with your emotional eating (we all do it), at the very least get a nutritionist to help you with your meals. Only buy the groceries you need to feed you and your child and nothing extra. I just had my surgery this week, but I had been lurking here for a while, and one thing I know is YOU HAVE FRIENDS HERE. We all have similar issues. Do the very best you can, and if you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up - that will just make you eat more. Just view it as a slip and get right back on the program and keep going. In looking at how much weight I am losing on this liquid diet because it has put me into ketosis, maybe you could jump start things by going back on the liquid diet?? Just a thought. I don't know it all, and I am just starting my journey. I know this will be a huge challenge for me because all we ever do is go out to eat. Today my husband insisted on going to Golden Corral -- yes, my favorite buffet! But I had Soup while he ate three plates of everything (he is skinny as a rail, and it's so not fair!). YOU MUST BE DETERMINED - TELL YOURSELF YOU WILL SUCCEED!!! This is a huge mind game we are playing and you have to outsmart it. My doctor tells me NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS SKINNY!

My surgery was also the 29th, but I came home at 6:00 that evening. I don't much like hospitals, so I enjoyed sleeping in my own bed. The liquid Vicodin was sufficient, though I don't like the taste, so I quite taking it already. I wish the doctor had told me about going into kenosis and the bitter taste I would get in my mouth. Also wish I had known I would get diarrhea from the liquid diet. Now I have so much vaseline on my rear that nothing can burn it! lol Ouch, that area does not like a lot of attention!!