Shelley8882

Hi Everyone! My name is Michele, I am 27 yrs old and I just signed up for LBT yesterday. I was banded on Jan 4th 2010. I was wondering if there are any smokers out there? I know the doctors stress that you need to quit smoking and I was able to quit for 3 weeks prior to my surgery, but then I was still able to eat...since I have been banded I have unfortunately picked up this habit again and I am worried...Can someone explain to me why they dont want you smoking?? I realize in general all doctors will tell you to quit, but is there something specific that can hurt the band or something? Also, it has been almost 2 months and I am still sore near my port...is this normal?? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! THANKS, Michele

Hi, My name is Michele I am 27 years old from New York and was banded on January 4th of this year...I figured I would start the new year off with the new me :scared2: In the beginning I had great results, I lost 20 lbs in my first 3 weeks...now that I am 2 months into it I have basically stopped losing weight and I am starting to get discouraged. I am not sure what I am doing wrong/right. I had my first fill last Tuesday ( a week ago today) and I still don't feel that much restriction. I am also having a very hard time not drinking any fluids while I am eating. I realize this is important because if you drink you wash the food down and then you don't feel full as long, but I am having such a hard time breaking this habit...any one have any suggestions/tips?? I am new to this site and I am really looking forward to meeting some great people and having people to talk to that understand what I am going through Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Michele

Yeah, I think that I am definately not drinking enough! I am going to start making more of effort to bring my water with me everywhere I go! Well I just got the clearance from my doctor to start working out...I have been walking everyday since the week after my surgery...I have a 2 year old puppy who needs to get walked all the time or else she has way too much energy LOL! But I planned on starting the gym next week...I really want to dive into the working out part cause I am so nervous about having excess skin.

First off, Congrats on the decision to get banded!! For me, the most important thing was my ICE PACKS!!! I was extremely sore in the port area (I still am a little sore today) and my ice packs were the only thing that made it better...not even the pain RX. I ended up buying 4 of them so I always had one that would be cold. I found these great ones at CVS...they are called "pea packs". They look like they are filled with little blue peas; they formed to my body and just made it feel much better! I would recommend them to anyone having the surgery. Besides them, a Protein shake you will enjoy and some yummy sugar-free pops!! Good Luck!!!

thanks for writing back!! The problem that I am having is that when I sit down to dinner, I am so accustomed to drinking that I still seem to get a glass of water right before I sit down, then I realize that I can't drink anything and its almost as if I don't enjoy my meal as much. It's also hard for me because when I do sit down to eat, I am eating with at least 3, sometimes 5 other people who are all drinking Soda and such and I get jealous! I know that may sound crazy and you are absolutely right, I should focus on the success I have had so far. I think I am going to have to learn to always carry a water bottle with me during the day, maybe that will keep me from wanting the fluids while I am eating. As of now I am not getting in the recommended 64 ounces a day...maybe once I get to that point it will help??