TurboDriver

Not an easy way to put this, but does anyone else ever "feel" their stomach move when they change positions? For instance if you are laying down in bed and then sit up, I feel something flop in my abdomen. Anybody else get this?

Thanks Heather and Swan Yes, for the meal, I only have the Protein drink I did notice how many calories they have. You guys are so right about the calorie math. I really need to learn how to stop at "not hungry" I beginning to think I might need to eat more at lunch, so I'm not so hungry when it comes to dinner.

Thanks all of you for your suggestions and help. I guess I misunderstood how it works. I think there might be something there about the nerve thing because I was not hungry at all after the surgery (when it was swelled up). Someone asked about the protein drink...The reason I eat it for lunch is because I find it's an easy way to make sure I'm getting enough protein, as well as it doesn't mean I need to go out of my work for lunch (costly, but more importantly, unhealthy) and it means I don't need to prepare a meal

Just wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts on any of these problems...Especially the part about how the band is supposed to work. Isn't the food supposed to sit above the band for several hours? Thanks!

I really feel for you, I was quite scared myself. It took me the better part of a decade to finally get my surgery. I've got a real problem with anxiety, and of course had a massive panic attack right as the first nurse got me prepped for surgery (inserting the IV). That said, and even though I'm struggling on my weight loss, I'm really happy I went forward with it. I'm a computer geek as well as a car geek. I often joke with people, if you do enough computer research, you'll find whatever you want to prove. I know you've found some deaths due to the band, however I'm positive if you search, you can find people dying of getting their tonsils removed too. The point that I took with my family was this: here you have 2 choices, continue as you have (which has it's own mortality rate) or get the band (which has it's own as well). In the end, I'm confident I made the right choice. does it hurt? well maybe...The nurses were shocked when I didn't use my morphine drip after the surgery, so I suppose I hurt less than others. The thing is the pain (for me) came a while later. So yes, it does hurt, and when it hurts if you are like me, you wonder when is it going to end...but then 2 weeks later, it doesn't hurt any more and you wonder if it actually ever did the fills themselves are a bit scary, but if you don't watch the doctor, you will only feel the first needle (painkiller) and you can't feel the long scary needle at all. I hope this helps and I think you're on the right track if you ask me.

Hey guys and gals, hope things are going well with all of you with your battle. I'm 3 months out (Surgery on 1/18) and I've run into a wall sort of, and I have a few questions that my surgeon didn't really answer very well. Sorry for all of these, I don't personally know anyone that has had the band, so you guys are my support group 1. What is the thing I can feel that sometimes pokes out a little on my lower left (heart) side? Doc says it's part of the lap band system. I don't think it could be the port because when he does fills, he has to stick the needle in all the way...and this thing is just under the surface. Is it part of the tube, or some kind of mesh (since it's right next to the 'big' incision)? Or did he leave a pen in there? 2. Ok so, for me, I lost 25 pounds in the first two -to- three weeks. Then I hit a wall. Seemed to happen when I started eating again. In the past 8-10 weeks I've lost maybe 5 pounds. Now, I know I'm eating too much. Protein bar for breakfast, protein shake for lunch, then a pretty big meal for dinner. No calorie drinks all day. I exercise half an hour a day doing cardio on my elliptical, then every other day I also do some curls and bench presses because I'm built like a t-rex. I know that the weight lifting might add some weight, but I'm being very realistic that there is no way I'm putting the muscles on that fast. What gives? 3. When you eat, and you're properly adjusted, how soon can you tell the food goes through the band? I'm really confused about this one. I have an AP band (14cc) and I have 6cc in the band right now. My problem is, after I take a bite, a few seconds later, sometimes, I can feel it pass through the band. My surgeon told me it was because I wasn't chewing enough, and that is probably true, but isn't the food supposed to sit above the band for something like 4 hours before it goes through? Isn't that what's supposed to keep you feeling full? My thinking is (based on the doctors theory) if I chewed it really well (which I usually do) then no, I wouldn't feel it pass, but the main question is, it would still pass in the same time, if not sooner. 4. I'm concerned about how much food I can eat. How much? well let's see. Feel free to yell at me because I know I shouldn't have eaten this much, but alas, I did... One time I ate about 80% of a small pizza. Another time I ate 2 pieces of lasagna, several pieces of bread, then had a piece of apple pie and 2 scoops of ice cream. Now I know that is way too much. I think part of the problem is #3 (if not most of the problem) but the other problem is I somehow still eat fast. Here's the deal though, even when I make a very conscious effort to eat slowly, if I eat what is probably a correct amount, I am still really hungry 30 to 45 minutes later. I am on an antidepressant (Luvox) and I know that doesn't help, but even going down from 150mg to 100mg has not helped. The other odd thing is that I certainly have felt food get stuck, but I've never PB'd. The food has only come up once, and I re-swallowed it (yuck I know, but I was at a friends dinner table and didn't want to gross them out). Most of the time the stuck food sits there a little while, then goes through on its own. I'm not sure if this helps but I do hicckup pretty often. I've done some searches on here and it sounds like for some people it's normal, while others it means they are full. Sorry this is so long, really need some good wisdom on how to tackle this monster. It's so depressing to exercise so hard every day yet not loose anything.

Hey guys and gals- I got a question. I just had my first fill, I now have 4cc in a 14cc band. Today is the last day on "mushies" Am I at the stage where I should feel full after something like 1/3 cup of food? Reason I ask is because it seems like I can eat about 1 cup of food, then 30-45 minutes later (Still feeling hungry) eat another cup of food. Thanks for any thoughts.

I'm a guy so I'll give you my take on it. I'm not sure why type of person he is, but I love my wife, and if I saw my wife with incisions (Like I see on myself) I wouldn't have wanted to do that activity for fear I might hurt her. There are many possible reasons why he didn't want you to have surgery, but whatever the reason is, seeing the incisions probably still bothers him because it reminds him that you had the surgery against his wishes. I'm not saying he is/was right please understand that, I'm just saying that might be what he was thinking. What I would suggest doing is leaving the incisions covered with some clothing as it may make the focus on the two of you instead of the surgery. It might also make him less afraid of hurting you because the incisions won't be staring back at him (if you will). Whatever happens, I hope you two can work it out. Just remember to take it easy, I had my surgery on 1/18 and I'm still very cautious myself for fear of giving myself a hernia at the large incision site. Hope it helps, God Bless

I figured I would add my two cents in because I am a daily weigh-er I have one of those fancy 4-sensor glass scales, that are supposed to be super reliable. I've found that sometimes the scale seems to get "stuck" For example, I've lost atleast 0.2 pounds per day since my surgery. About three days ago, the scale was "stuck" on 268.2. Yesterday, (Day 4) it was on 268.2 again. Figuring the scale was probably not right, I artificially added some weight to get a vastly different number (Something like 290). After resetting the scale, it seemed to like 290.0. On the same token, some days the scale says I loose impossible amounts of weight. Sure, some of it is probably Water weight, but some of it is the scale. I guess what I'm getting at is that you can only trust your scale so much (Unless you have a balance beam scale, in which case it probably is very accurate). If you are like me and get excited to weigh yourself every day, I would try to reason with yourself. Sometimes I'll say "Yeah, five pounds less than yesterday is cool, but tomorrow I can't be mad if I "gain" 3 pounds back" Anyway, hope it helps a little bit!

Hello Gents and Ladies I was banded on 1/18. I'm now in the blender phase. I've got a nagging question though. How do I drink? In other words, How fast can I drink or how much Fluid per swallow is normal? Is drinking 20oz of fluid in 5 minutes too fast (or too slow?) I'm having trouble getting my fluids in because I drink real slow and then "forget" to drink for a few hours. Seems like I have to sip more or less continuously all day long (e.g sip every 1-2 minutes) but I'm really not good at that. Pre-banding, I was the guy that forgot to drink for 8 hours, then got home and would drink 36-48 oz of fluid in a manner of about 15 minutes. Seriously, my friends were stunned with how fast i could drink. I know that I need to slow down now, and I'm terrified to do anything that would make the nabd unhappy especially since I'm sure it's still healing, but am I being overcautious? I haven't PB'd, thrown up, or anything yet, just burps and the occasional hiccup. Help!

I was banded 10 days ago, and I still have shoulder gas pain. I find that if I take some of the vocotin they gave me when the pain just starts, it helps much more so that waiting for the full blown pain (and then trying to manage it) The pain gets less and less every day though.

Ok this is going to sound gross, but I'm in the liquids phase. My doc said basically Protein drinks, clear chicken broth and cream of wheat. Tonite I was really longing for some chicken noodle Soup and then it dawned on me...Make the cream of wheat with the chicken broth!!!! It sounds gross, but if you're really bored with the two or things you are allowed to "eat" give it a whirl! Just make sure its plain cream of wheat.

I know maybe the food forum is probably a better place to post this, but I'm post-op (Banded 1/18) so I like to stick here for a while. I am nowhere near my goal weight, and I ask this for the future (Well future, e.g. 12 months from now or more) Having said that, I'm a carb-o-holic.....or "was" I realize that carbs are not really useful, but to me they sure are tasty. What is the consensus on eating some carbs in the future? I don't mean all the time, or even with every meal, but something like once a week have a nice piece of french bread....or some Pasta...or a piece of regular pizza....or something rice-heavy a.k.a. a small portion of a chipotle burrito? I know the portion sizes will be small, and I know they are the 'bad' carbs (e.g. not whole wheat or brown rice). I know it won't help with weight loss, and I know it will hurt the Protein intake for that day... but I guess I'm curious if it is even possible (e.g. if those kinds of foods are impossible to eat because of getting stuck)? Thanks!