Betsyjane

I'm curious how you decided which set of "facts" to believe....

Liquid Tylenol!!!!!

Hi Vikki. Just a thought. If you can barely east solids, why get a tighter fill? Seems like maybe a little less fill would let you eat your calories instead of drink them....

How was Monday night. I thought about you...We took our company to La Villa!

2-3 DAYS for me. Why can't you see your Dr?????? Thanks, NB.

I didn't keep good restriction until my 3rd fill, and then it felt right. Thern all of a sudden I could eat huge amounts. I went for a fill and found out that I had stretched my pouch. (She compared old and new fluoroscope pics). I was on fluids for 3 days and my pouch went back to normal. If that hadn't happened, she would have done a partial unfill to let the pouch rest. The only thing I can think of that stretched it was that I'm very restricted in the mornings and I was gulping down shakes that just sat in the pouch too long before going down. I'm fine now.

Slim Fast CARB CONTROL or EAS CARB CONTROL. Low on caloriew, carbs, sugar. High on protein. Decent taste....

Hi! I'm 57 and have been banded 6 months. Since then, my blood pressure has gone down. I am no longer on diabetic pills, and my arthritis is slightly improved. My restless lag syndrome disappeared when I stopped drinking Diet Coke, and I'm like you...I wish I'd had it done years ago. Welcome to the journey.

I am a straight Christian who believes in gay rights and marriage. I have a "Christian-based belief system".

I only tell people that I have the time and inclination to educate. There is so much ignorance about obesity. My family has been supportive, but my mother is going bonkers. While professing support, she is anxious when she can't stuff my face. She actually gets the shakes. Her world is about showing love through making sure everyone is overfed. She'll get over it. Or she won't. It's her issue, and not mine.

I went to the first one. It's a long way for me, and I have my local support group near home, but I plan to go back periodically. I thought it was great. It was packed, and the speaker no-showed, so it was an open discussion...which was ideal from my perspective. The 3 leaders are all at goal weight so they have a wealth of experience, and the crowd ranged from newbies to old pros. Since he has the topics listed on his website, you can pick and choose what you want to hear about....

You're normal! I even woke up out of the anaethesia and in my stupor said "Take me back in and remove it"...although my hubby says I never said it out loud. It's such amazingly quick surgery! I worried I'd die. I worried about permanently putting a foreign object on my body. I worried about feeling trapped. (I never worried about Spivak...I still think he's the best.) But I'll tell you, now that it's done, I am nothing but thrilled. What a life changing journey....

The only problem we had was my husband being worried he'd hurt me! He got over it.

Frankly, most doctors would say you are losing too quickly. The goal is 1-2 pounds a week. More than that and your body can play tricks on you going into starvation mode, lowering your metabolism, etc. If you're in this for the lifetime journey, then you look at hurdles as temporary and find a way around them. Don't assume you are forever stuck at 45 pounds lost.

No no! Not a failure! I didn't feel restricted until my 3rd fill! OK. Let's think it through. Nobody's prefect... What of this are you doing or not doing? ~eating 3 times a day ~eating Protein first and then veges ~eating for no more than 15 minutes ~drinking no liquids during or for an hour after eating ~getting your calories from solids and not liquids, like Soups ~chew chew chewing ~pausing between bites ~using small plates and utensils ~eating mindfully without the TV or in a car or on the computer ~exercising ~are you binging? ~are you grazing? ~are you counting calories or fat or carbs or protein grams?

I am currently having a flare up. The only thing I notice is that when I'm sick, my band restriction is greater so I lose a bit more weight Much better than the old days when the Lupus meds gave me horrible cravings and I GAINED weight!

Ha! My Dr required no pre op testing OR diet. And I'm fine..... I worry about a Dr. who doesn't get it that IF we could lose weight on our own before the surgery, we might not need the surgery! Regarding droopy skin...I'd rather have that than excess weight. What I was told is that it's best to lose slowly, averaging between 1 and 2 pounds a week, to give the skin time to catch up, and that exercise and moisturizer help. If it helps any, I'm 57, and my skin droops as I lose and then tightens up slowly. Don't know if that will continue for the second half of my weight loss, but so far so good.

Hey Cyndie! I may not be there Monday but hope to cathc oyu the next time after that! Glad to hear your 'voice'.

Please remember that, as these posts show, everyone is different. some people feel no restriction at all at first, and some swell like balloons. It doesn't mean that all is lost. Just that you will react the way your particular body reacts. The lessons some people learn first may be different than others. Your first lessons will be about what liquids go down best, and at what temperature, and lessons in patience and in standing up for what's right for your body. No matter where you start with the band, it's the beginning of a journey. You'll decide when and if a fill is needed. You'll learn to repsect and love your band. You're having a rough start, but it's the start of a new life, with a head start on pounds lost. Calm yourself. You'll also find that things go through the band better when you don't stress. Know that you're getting a group hug from all of us.

You might want to ask your Dr. why he put Fluid in the band to start with. I'm sure there's a good reason. I think it's more common to put no fluid in until after healing for about 3 weeks. If you find that you CAN drink, you might try hot liquids...For me, they open the band a bit more so I'm not as restricted for a meal.....

I asked my Dr, for the same reason. After healing, it's not a problem. Ask your Dr. just to make sure.

Shoot. Is there room for one more?

Rest easy. If it were clogging your opening, you'd know it by now. You'd be sliming and PBing trying to get it up. Chances are you either swallowed it and it went through, or you had thrown it out.

You sound good and ready. Good for you. Just finish jumping through those hoops and you'll be a bandster soon! Congrats and welcome. (Dontcha just hate all those people on TV who say that all you have to do is eat right and exercise...or you must be lazy? There are lots of naive people about obesity.) Welcome to the journey.

Not to worry. After the fuill, they will probably give you a bottle of water to drink before you leave, to make sure everything is going down OK. And they usually start with very small fills. Chances are you'll wonder what you were ever nervous about. Fills are typically no big deal. Remember people come to this board when things go wrong. You just don't hear that for the other 99% of folks, there wasn't a problem.