2beskinny

I was optimistic that I might have been one of the ones who would get by without a fill. I went ahead and had the first fill (it was scheduled at my post-op appointment) and I still felt fine - not a lot of hunger, etc. I cruised along pretty well until I hit about 6 weeks post op. Now I feel my "old" hunger returning. Cravings for bad foods, etc. I'm trying hard to hang in there and I'm trying to exercise more as it does help with my appetite. I had a few "bad" days and gained a little weight. I have gotten that off again and feel like I'm getting control back. Is this bandster hell? Oh yes, I'm certain it is. I am consumed by thoughts of food that I'm eating (and not eating) and feel like I could run the other direction at any minute! Hanging on is by sheer willpower - not the band. If i was not exercising, I would definitely not be losing still. I ran 2.5 miles yesterday morning and then went to Zumba (my first one....loved it!) last night. This morning I rode my bike 10 miles with a friend and then went to Zumba again tonite. I'm planning on running again in the morning because Saturday is too busy to work out. This is how I plan to get through bandster hell because damn it, I went through a lot to have this surgery and I can't give up! I felt like CRAP after I gained a few pounds. I thought I was done with that feeling forever. Needless to say, I can't wait for restriction! Less than 2 weeks till fill #2

My doc publishes and teaches 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after. Privately, the nut told me that the after is the most important part. Assuming you are "empty" prior to eating a meal, she said drinking prior to eating was ok as long as liquid was freely flowing through the band. Just make sure to wait at least 30 after eating. I'm a little confused about that part too. If you only wait 30 mins. after eating, doesn't the liquid just wash all the food through? How are you supposed to stay full for 3-4 hours??? I don't have restriction yet, so I do try and practice the drinking rules, however, EVERYTHING travels right through my pouch so it's not critical for me yet I do know that 2 hours would be soooo hard. I am thirsty all the time and am constantly sipping on iced green tea or water. I have really ramped up my exercise and I think it makes me all the more thirsty!

2 of my 3 pounds are gone today :cursing: Off for another run!!!

I think the best medicine for your hubs will be to see you losing the weight and getting healthy. It's all you can do anyway, because I'm sure you already know that no one can make you lose weight - it is an intensely personal decision and everyone brings something different to the table with their individual issues. Just focus on yourself and try not to let it get to you too bad. It's not something you can control and trying to will only increase your frustration! Him seeing your weight loss, being out together and having friends comment on your transformation will certainly encourage him! Just make sure he does not develop a "chip" on his shoulder about it from you trying to make him lose when he's not there yet. I think that's your best option at this point, as frustrating as it is!

Mine is above my belly button about 2" to the right side. My countertops hit me right at my belly button, so my port is above the countertops! I have bent over reaching for something in the tailgate of my suburban and felt my port knocking against something...yuck...did not like that at all. If anyone reading has a choice...I would pick a spot that does not rub against anything on a routine basis!

OK, I HAVE 15 year old twin boys and a 17 year old son...I guess I win, ha! Knock on wood...they are all great teens. I would take teens over toddlers anyday! My boys are getting ready to age up to 18 and 16...wow...time is flying. Maybe because we can see how limited our time left with them all at home is we appreciate this time soooo much! I will comment, however, that when one of my twins clipped off the rear view mirror of the car pulling it out of the garage (temporary permit stage), my band didn't seem to have a reaction, but my husband sure did:biggrin:.

Boy am I glad to see this thread this morning. I ate a little too much over the weekend (yes, I was bad and ate a few cookies along with larger portions of my regular foods). I was up 3 pounds this morning....yikes!!! I know I didn't eat 10,500 calories too much so I am calming down about it. I did eat more than the 1100-1200 I've been sticking too for sure...I was beyond hungry this weekend. It's definitely the hardest time I've had since I started the pre-op diet till now (6 weeks postop today!). I am trying to remember that this is why I got banded...it's hard to lose on your own and that's essentially all I've done for the past 8 weeks. So I ran 2.5 miles this morning, lifted weights and will stick to my diet and drink LOTS of water! 2nd fill is 2 weeks from today...bring it on!:thumbup:

You are confusing ketosis with ketoacidosis, which is a very common mistake (even among those who are well-educated about diabetes). Yes, I was! Thanks for the correction! BTW, my son was diagnosed at 10 months of age :frown:. He is turing 18 in 2 weeks and is doing fantastic. Knock on wood, he has not been in DKA or the hospital since his initial diagnoses. He excels at multiple sports, is a great student and has a bright future in college in academics and athletics (we are going through the recruiting process now). We are beyond proud of him...just taking some time to brag :thumbup:. I thought you might like to hear the success story given that you were a former Diabetes Nurse Educator and are married to a Type I. I am sure your husband appreciates your help and support with his disease. I hope that when my son leaves home he will find someone who understands what it is like to live everyday with Type I Diabetes!

The research you posted reads a little "biased" IMO. "Lean for Life"...is that a diet book or something similiar? Not saying that I know more than the author, but it sounded a little "pro" ketosis if you know what I mean. My son is a Type I Diabetic so we, of course, avoid ketosis at all costs. I asked his endocrinologist about ketosis in the weight loss phase, etc. It is a stage that happens when your body depletes all of it's glycogen stores from the liver and truly begins living off of it's "stores" for energy - hence the weight loss. However, it does build up toxins in the blood over time which can be dangerous. It happens much faster in diabetics because they do not produce any insulin and those toxins can rise to a dangerous level quickly (which is what leads to a diabetic coma and eventually death if left untreated too long). A diabetic when in ketosis has a fruity smell to their breath...is that what your breath smells like at all? I'm not an expert on the rise of the toxin level in a non Type I person, but I believe in healthy weight loss and programs that you can live with for LIFE - not just a phase. The low carb thing does not work for long-term for me. I submitted to it in the pre-op diet and I'm trying hard to think about the carbs I chose to eat, but sticking to less than 60 a day (my doctor's recommendation) is difficult and I bet I only do it 3 days out of the week. The other days I seem to be hitting around 100. It's funny how lots of days my carbs seem to match my protein grams. I do get lots of protein - sometimes over a 100 per day! Personally, I have decided that I'm not going to beat myself up over 100 carbs a day! I am losing at a rate that I am happy with, especially during pre-restriction or "bandster hell." Maybe after restriction sets in, the carb thing will be easier because I really will be FULL after proteins and veggies :thumbup: 2nd fill in two weeks...bring it on because I am getting really hungry these days:drool:

You asked for help, so here it is: You are in the "red zone." You need to call your doctor and make an appointment. You are asking for band complications by continuing like this!

Yay, Molly!!! I had my first one last Monday :biggrin: I must say, I feel pretty much the same, except that I gurgle any time I drink something now! I think I may slightly feel something...I ate some chicken salad and could just tell I needed to take smaller, slower bites. Nothing was really "stuck" but I kinda 'felt' it. I didn't go back to regular food until the 4th day. Anywhoo...like your nurse said, "turned on" is a good analogy. Just getting the real process started is exciting. I am finally cooking for my family again. I was very selfish the first month after surgery and just felt like I needed to focus on MY meals, not everyone elses. My husband travels M-F so it was just me and the kids. They were happy with all the take out and convenience foods I gave them :smile: Tonight I made a great shrimp pasta dish with caesar salad and sat in the dining room with my family. It was so nice! I cooked some broccli as well. I had shrimp broccli, a tini bit of pasta and a small piece of bread (all of which I could eat with no problem). I was too full for my salad (which I'm soooo glad I can eat again!). I hardly had anything else to eat today in anticipation for the first real meal with my family again!

I don't think you are kidding yourself at all! You just have to realize that after you get through the pre-op loss and any initial weight loss right after surgery, that it will be up to you! I am following the bandster diet and my one month post-op was on 8/19/10. I am 30 pounds down from my all-time highest when I was at my initial consult. I lost a little on the "supervised diet" portion of the approval process, 16 pounds on the 2 week medifast preop and 10 since the surgery. I can't stress enough that the 10 I've lost since the surgery has really been up to me...no restriction yet. However, I think going through the surgery and seeing the evidence on my tummy everyday (incisions) has a welcomed placebo effect on me :biggrin:. The jury has not been out long enough IMO, but I feel like I'm really changing my habits. I am exercising well, and not thinking about eating all kinds of bad food for much of the day :smile:. Good luck to you!

I apologize in advance for the redundant thread, but I am curious to compare my first fill experience to others. How much did you receive and what size was your band? I got 2cc's in a 10cc Allergan Band. Got to watch on the fluro machine thingy...it was wild to see the barium sit on top of the band, then flow through. After the fill, my surgeon pointed out that my opening was the same width as the underwire on my bra (which showed up on the xray). You better believe I will be carrying that image with me as I take my first bite of food! I stayed on clear liquids yesterday, pureed today, soft tomorrow & regular foods the next day. He used a freezing spray and the whole thing was super quick. Fairly painless, just felt a little pressure and felt the sensation in my chest as the saline went in (which he told me was coming). If was very strange to be standing against that machine with a big 'ole syringe poking out from my stomach (I tried not to look, but caught a glimpse anyway!). All in all, a strange, but easy, quick procedure. Next fill is in 4 weeks and it will not be with fluro. He doesn't see the need to be exposed to the radiation unless there's a reason so he only uses fluro on first fill or if there's an issue going on. I think it will be better laying down next time instead of standing...easier to avert my eyes!

Tracy, I totally agree with you. Checking in here daily has helped me tremendously. I also do not know anyone else who has been banded and I chose to keep my decision to myself so this site is GREAT for me :frown: Congrats on your success! I'm just in the beginning of my journey and am trying to figure it all out. Monday was my first fill and I am able to eat regular food tomorrow (although I can do soft food today which is practically regular for me). I am so glad I have hit the 4 week mark and have no more exercise restrictions and can begin what will for the most part, be my "diet for life." I ran this morning and lifted weights..felt so good!

I tend to agree with you, although I am trying to follow the diet. I am a fairly intense exerciser myself (running/fast walking/elliptical/weights) and have ALWAYS been able to lose 1-2 pounds a week on WW, which does not focus on high protein, low carbs (at least back when I was doing WW). In the month since my surgery, I have been eating 70-100 grams protein per day, but find that my carbs are usually about equal. I try to keep it less than 60 as my doc suggests, but find that is a little hard to do especially since I was not able to advance to hard cruncy veggies yet (I LOVE salads and they are a great no-carb meal). I am not sitting around eating white bread and pasta either. All the carbs I'm getting are coming from healthy sources. But then again, when I find myself in the situation where I think I know better than the nutritionist and the surgeon...I get a little freaked out and rememeber that it is this way of thinking that got me to this point! When I submitted to have lapband, I vowed to turn myself over to the experts...so that's what I'm trying to do. I hope to do better on carbs now that I can begin eating salads again

Sounds like you still have a lot of swelling from the surgery which is probably why you are having a difficult time eating more. It's such a catch 22 because protein aids in healing as well as weight loss, and you are having a difficult time getting more in because of the surgery! Hopefully you can increase your calorie level soon. I'm sure you've receive the message from all the posts by now...you can't stay at this level and be healthy (isn't that why we all did this?) and I'm certain you don't want to start losing your hair which I've read on these threads can happen with insufficient protein/calories. I probably only ate 250-300 calories a day for the first 3 days after my surgery, but then felt I could consume more (healthy stuff to be sure, but more of it). You really need to work yourself up to at least 800-1000 calories a day as a minimum.

Had my first one today! My doc says clear liquids for the rest of the day, tomorrow pureed foods, next day, soft foods, next day regular food. But yes, always take it easy. I've never had an issue with eating anything prior to the fill, so I'm sure I'm going to be very careful when I eat pureed tomorrow. I got to watch the fill and the barium swallow today. Wow - that was wild. You could see the underwires from my bra and the doc noted that the size of my opening (stoma?) was now about the same width as one of the underwires in my bra. OMG - that is so small? I could see (and feel) the barium sitting there, then saw it begin to drain through. You better believe that I will be going easy when I start to chew again!!! He gave me a picture of it as well - I'm going to keep it in my wallet as a reminder I then met the nut (who is also banded) and I remarked about how small the opening was and she said it is somewhat elastic as well, so it will stretch to let the food through. I was amazed to see that much restriction with only 2cc's! I have a 10cc band, fyi. I didn't have any saline in from surgery, maybe a little from the "prime" that they do from surgery is all. I would be shocked if I didn't feel more full from now on after seeing that barium just sitting there on top of that little opening

My date was 7/19. I was advanced to soft foods (stage beyond pureed) by 10 days out. I was eating WAY more than 250 cals. per day. If you're going to get at least 60 (I usually get between 70-100) per day, you are going to eat more calories. I think what you're eating is great - I would just eat more of it! I average about 1100 cals. per day now. I am exercising and I have plenty of energy and feel great. I just got my first fill today (that was WILD!). I'll see how I do again once I'm back on regular food again (3 days from now). I think a great way to get extra protein if your not that hungry is add in a shake for a snack. I love the low carb slimfast creamy choc. shakes. Good luck to you!

I am one month out today...I only dropped 8 pounds total since surgery (but I had lost 16 on the preop diet). I was feeling discouraged, as 5 of those 8 pounds took 3 weeks to get off and then I dropped 3 the last couple of days. In the 4-6 weeks after surgery, our bodies are doing so much settling in and adjusting to having the surgery. But at the end of the day, I did lose an average of 2 lbs. per week which is just fine. I got my first fill today, so things are looking up. Now the exercise restrictions are gone as well, so I know it's going to be much better from here. We just have to keep ourselves from getting discouraged during the early months...we've all read about the process...it now our turn to go through it! We have to hang in there even if it's by the skin our our teeth .

Going for my first fill tomorrow Can't wait to get the party started, so to speak. I've been doing well, actually not been too hungry, but have battled my appetite a few times (and won, by the way). I found myself eating some honey roasted peanuts tonight (they were my son's and they were laying in front of me on the table) and I mindlessly grabbed a few and started eating them. Then I was like, "what the hell am I doing? I don't even WANT these!" Boy, old habits die hard. My goal for next month (until fill #2) is to stop obesessing about the scale. I have weighed myself constantly and watched the same 3 pounds bounce around for weeks. Finally over the last 3 days I dropped 3 pounds (FINALLY!). I am exercising well (added a little job to my walk) and am eating between 1000-1200 cals. per day (70-100 grams of protein). Overall, I am down 8 pounds in the 4 weeks since my surgery. I had set a goal for myself of 10 pounds each month, but I'll take 8. I feel great and have been able to wear some clothes that were too tight to wear before I started the pre-op. I am fitting into a lot of my sz. 16 pants again. Feels great. Can't wait till I can fit into my 14s...I have a LOT of those Thinking of joining my gym again and doing a class I used to do a long time ago. It's called 'power' and is awesome for strength training - uses lot's of weights. I want to add that in 3x a week in addition to walk/jogging daily. I hope my energy and optimism lasts for a long, long, time :cursing:

Yay, Isa!!! Know you are feeling good about that news! Congrats...so happy for you. I get my first fill on Monday and can't wait to see what the little bugger looks like on x-ray:lol:. Again, great news!

How's everyone doing??? I'm doing surprisingly well. Have started "light cardio" this week (sooo glad to be able to do some exercise again) but not lifting or golf for another 2 weeks. I'm not having a hard time with hunger, either. I seem to be sticking to 1100-1200 cals. per day (at least 60 grams of protein) without much difficulty. The bummer is that I only lost one pound this week. I know a loss is a loss, but I've been at this calorie level before on other diets and lost better than that! I know lots of factors going on with the surgery and all, but it's a little disappointing to be doing so well with the food and not seeing results. I guess I am more of a slave to instant gratification than I realized :thumbup:. Not calling it bandster hell, either! It's just like being on any other diet, but with hope at the end of the rainbow. 1st fill scheduled for 2 weeks from today. If I still was having this easy of a time with my diet, I might question whether I really needed it, however, I've decided to get it. I may wake up one day and REALLY need it and I think I would at least like to have one or two fills behind me rather than just starting the whole process. Can't wait to read about everyone's progress!!!

Great post! This is my attitude and is what helped me realize that the band will work for me if I work the band To my knowledge there is not a plethora of banded people out there "doing everything right" and not winning the battle. Some are slower to lose than others, but all will lose. When I realized that the failure rate (sans medical complications) is attributable to behavior, I stopped worrying about it. If I do "fail" with the band, I know it will be my fault and I hope that I get a hard knock on the head and begin again. If that does happen to me or any others reading this post...let's all try and remember that everything that has brought us to this point had to happen to get us to this point...meaning, it's the combination of years of yo-yo diets, nutrition education gained in the process, and all the frustration that we've felt that got us here...hopefully to a place where we will finally attain and maintain success . Do I want a setback?? Hells no, but if I have one, it will only be a stumbling block along the path.

Congratulations! I love running and can't wait till I can progress towards it again. It is such an awesome feeling! Your story is so inpiring about getting winded just pulling up the covers to running over 5 miles! I would recommend that you buy a marathon training book - or I'm sure there's tons of info online. I'm not saying you need to run a marathon (but it is a blast!) but you might want to educate yourself about adding distance, etc. so you don't injure yourself. What a bummer that would be!!! I ran 2 half-marathons and I can't wait to get back into running. I found that once I could run 4-5 miles, adding distance was very easy. You basically want to do 3-4 maintenance runs a week and one LONG run per week. Each week you increase according to a schedule. Never worry about your speed...just doing it is all that matters! I have been walking a very 3.5 mile hilly route in my neighborhood almost everyday. I can start running next week according to my post op instructions (4 weeks out on Monday). However, yesterday I was feeling pretty good so I jogged a little on the flat and downhill portions. OMG, I am sooo sore today! It feels great! I keep thinking I should lose another 15 pounds before I really start to run so I'm not too hard on my body, but I may force myself to swallow my pride and just jiggle though the hood anyway Congrats to you!:thumbup:

I still have port pain, too. It's pretty minimal, but kinda always there. Occassionally, I feel a "burning" like sensation in that area, but not really a sharp stabbing pain. I think it's just "settling in" sensations that we are having. I called my doc's office cuz I want to play golf tomorrow (a little early) as they initially told me to wait 4 weeks. The CNP said it would be fine, but that my port area may feel a bit sore afterwards. She suggested taking Aleve if I felt anything in that area. I would try going ahead and taking some Aleve if the pain is getting to you. I do think it's all quite normal, though! I, however, do still get the stabbing shoulder pain:mad:. I only feel it about 1x a day now and it does not wake me up anymore thankfully :thumbup: