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nothing to worry about, its not as bad as it may seem at first. I had all the same worries. Myself being a fat man that craves sweets, its wierd because I dont get the same cravings for sugar like I used to. Dont get me wrong, I still do a little but I save that for saturdays. I still watch my calories but I have one dessert scheduled for every saturday so I will have something to look forward to, something I can work hard for all week and reward myself. Yes its only a weight watchers desert, but still. I do have an appetite still but its useless when you can only eat a few bites and get full so quick. Kind of wierd for me and Im still learning but ive had to change my whole mindset. I used to worry about not getting enough food when I ate out. Now I have to worry about buying too much because of how little I eat. Picture the whole thing like this, when you get on semi solid foods, you will probably only be able to eat as much as a 2 year old at one time. Its a trade off, yeah you cant eat finish a full meal anymore, but the compliments I get outweigh that issue any day of the week. You'll do fine. Stay on this site and you will recieve nothing but support. This site is a Godsend for us losers lol!!!!!

All of my hunger went away right after surgery but it doesn't happen for everyone. Some have to wait a few weeks and some never lose it. For me, there is a kind of disconnect between wanting food (head hunger) and eating food. If I gave into the head hunger, I would be eating candy and ice cream at every meal, but I just don't keep them in the house anymore and so far I have been able to stop myself from eating them when I am out. On the few occasions I have had cake, I took one bite and I was done--it doesn't taste good anymore, dry and kind of grainy in my mouth. I weigh or measure all my food and yes, you will be satisfied on so much less. The first time I tried an egg and couldn't eat the whole thing I was amazed. I used to think about food all the time--at Breakfast I would be thinking about what to eat a lunch and dinner and what Snacks were on hand. Now I eat by the clock, because if I am out and about I will just keep going through mealtimes. It is wonderful but I still haven't really gotten used to it--it's unreal how little food means to me now when before it meant everything. Good luck with your surgery!

Karen, I'm happy you have found your sweet spot, I'm still struggling with this tight fill. As little as I've eaten, I feel like I should have lost 10 lbs in the last 3 weeks, LOL.

Hi all, I know my band is working because, according to my home scale I've lost two more pounds. I'm learning to recognize when I'm full; had Cereal about three hours ago, and still am not hungry. I'm exercising and drinking water--I probably could drink a little more, but I'm doing all right. The problem is when I'm lying in certain positions the scar on my left hurts. I guess it's more like a sting. Sometimes I'm afraid that it's a pulling sensation. It's hard when I touch it, so maybe that's keloids? It's above my port, and that's not giving me any trouble. I'm scheduled for another fill on April 23, but I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this. I've been thinking of just calling my doctor's office, but I've been doing ok. I've read posts where it's suggested that, even if that's true, it doesn't hurt to call, and I probably will, now that I'm writing this. Still, I'd like to hear any experiences, or suggestions anyone has to offer. Encouragement is good, too. :welldoneclap: Thanks in advance. Debbie

I am only three week post-op and have luckily been ok. On Sunday, though, I felt really hungry. I had a hot cup of tea and the feeling subsided. Hope today was better than yesterday!

Hi, congratulations on making a decision to have weight loss surgery. When you meet with your doctor, they will examine you and ask you what surgery you are thinking about and then give you their opinion of what surgery they believe is the best surgery for you. I am a revision patient from a lap band to the sleeve. I had my band in July '07. At that time the band was the only surgery I qualified for at a BMI of 35. By lap band standards I was a success because I lost 50% of my excess weight loss. I never found the "sweet spot". I wound up having my band overfilled to get restriction. In the beginning my doctor did not have the equipment to do fluoroscopy to see if it was too tight. This resulted in me throwing up a lot due to tightness. I also started to eat more slider foods, which don't fill you up, because I knew I could tolerate them. I then began to have major heartburn and was on prescription medicines for them for over three years. I was in graduate school and working full time so didn't have time to give this the attention it needed. When I saw my lapband doctor, he told me that my band was in the proper position etc. Earlier this year, I asked him about a different surgery, and he referred me to my sleeve surgeon. My sleeve surgeon performed an EGD and found my band had prolapsed. Additional tests revealed it was causing problems with how my esophagus was functioning. Since I have had my sleeve. I have had no heartburn. I am 7 weeks out from having my band removed and the sleeve performed. I feel so much better now. I have not thrown up since my surgery and have not encountered any food which I am allowed that has not agreed with me.

Today I am 3 weeks out from my surgery I went to the doctor last week and he said I was healing just fine well this morning I was touching one of my stiches from the surgery and it felt kind of hard like a lump . I had my husband look at it he said every thing looks fine but it feels hard to me I am getting worried it is the scar on the right side . It does not look red or infected I do no know what is going on or am I worrying to much .

I do the same as you. I weigh weekly on Wednesday because that was my surgery day. I am 7 months out and the value of having those documented in my notebook is I can see patterns. I had scale 'issues' several years ago where I was obsessing and even getting on multiple times in a day. It was way out od hand and the scale was dictating my feelings and lufe. My then fiance took it away and said no more scales. I am now 17 years married to that wonderful man and swore when I started this journey I wouldn't let the scake define me or the progress I make. I weigh faithfully on wednesday. Some weeks it goes dow sometimes ir stays the same but ultimately it is just one measurement I use for my success. Moral of the story is whatever you decide in terms of how often you weigh yourself, just make sure it is a healthy relationship with the scale. You own it not the other way around.

Good Luck T! I couldn't get my date until I had everything done and approved!! My appeal took 2 weeks. Don't ya just love how slow insurance co's are when it comes to approving something!!

My trainer told me to make sure you are breathing from your stomach not your chest. Run a bit, till your huffin. Put one hand on chest, one on tummy. Which ever is rising is what your running from. You want to learn to breath from your tummy. keep your mouth open while running you get more air. I breath in take 2 steps then exhale. You are supposed to work your way up to 3 or 4 steps but I don't want to become a pro just not die while running. I am on Week 5 day 2 of C25K. I'm starting to enjoy it. Every time I finish a day doing it completely I treat myself to some new tunes so I have some good music to run to.

Aloha Brenda.....I am also 5'3" and was 223 lbs when I was sleeved on Oct 25. At 7 weeks out I had lost 22 lbs and was THRILLED. Think about that.....when was the last time you lost 22 lbs in less than 2 months? And even though you have stalled, it happens to a lot of us and it will start coming off again. Honest. You won't be gaining it back, I'll tell you that. And every day you will get a little stronger in the exercise department. I honestly didn't exercise for 4 months after the surgery because I was traveling through Europe! So I was walking, but not doing anything aerobic. Now, 7 months post op, I have lost 70 lbs, and I run / walk on the treadmill every day and I do my strength training exercises faithfully. I love exercising now because it's so much easier. So it will all come in good time. The advice the others have given you is great advice; we all have to learn what works for us. But since we are the same height and same starting weight almost, take a look at some of the photos on my blog (link below) and hopefully you will be inspired........I think I look like a completely different person. I'm sure I'm a lot older than you, but you'll get an idea. Good luck and keep us posted.....I have a feeling in a week or two you'll see some nice steady progress. BTW, I have been losing a lb a week for about the last 2 months and am SO happy with that because I don't have lose skin issues that you can have with fast weight loss.

Tomorrow begins my 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Not gonna lie.... I am scared. Not of surgery, but of how well I will tolerate this next phase. I'm scared I will fail. I'd appreciate any insight on what to expect and how to cope with challenges from those who have been there already. Thank you in advance!

I had heard from my surgeon, who has a band, that he can only sip liquids when flying. I flew this last week and very cautiously ate and drank without any problems. Have fun on your trip! Joan

So I start my 3rd week post op this Thursday, we are leaving to go camping for the weekend on Friday. I know I can bring yogurts, cans of tuna and applesauce, etc. I can cook eggs also.. Any other easy ideas anyone can give me? I will bring my personal blender too lol, just need a few more ideas without it getting into too many ingredients or time spent on meals. My post op instructions had a few ideas but not many.. I really can't wait to cook for my family again, but I don't want to make big dinners just to have to puree them for myself. I think I will wait a couple more weeks then be able to make healthy high Protein meals for dinner.

I am interested in hearing replies also. I have a consultation with a local plastic surgeon next week. I have gone to my general doctor several times to document rashes to help prove my case. I will let you know what I find out too

I also posted this on the Pos-Op board, but I thought I should share it with my December friends, too. :biggrin: It's been two weeks since my surgery, and I have updates. I lost 20 pounds on my 2 week pre-op diet, and since then I've lost 14 pounds more. I've been absolutely fanatical about following all the rules of each stage of the diet. I want to succeed, and I especially don't want complications (slips, erosions, etc.) I know sometimes that's unavoidable, but at least I won't have any guilt if it happens. liquid Phase: After reading on these boards that many people gain weight before their first fill, I was deeply concerned that I would lose my progress. So on my liquid phase, after the first few days where I could only get down broth and tea, I stuck pretty much to my pre-op diet, not eating the vegetables of course, but adding in more Protein shakes, for a total of 800-1200 calories a day. I did not drink diluted juice even though it was "permitted," sticking instead to Protein Shakes and, two times, fat-free milk. Mushy Phase: I knew from reading these boards that a major pitfall for many bandsters is the mushy phase. Being that we're hungry and mushies go down easily, the calories can easily add up - many people understandably gain weight during this stage. I didn't want that to happen, so I was afraid to move forward to mushies - but I knew I should leave the liquid diet behind already. I was trying to solve the problem, when I decided that I could do mushies but I would have to keep track of what I was eating and how much. So, I joined Weight Watchers. Diets never worked for me for very long in the past, but I figured the 3.5 week liquid diet should have shrunk my stomach a bit, and knowing I have a fill coming makes it mentally easier to hang on and not go off plan. Before surgery I didn't think I'd care if I gained a little before my fills, but now I do. I've lost 34 pounds in 4 weeks, and I just don't want to go back. I've been sticking like glue to the plan. I weigh and measure everything before I put it in the food prcessor, and I track it online as soon as I've eaten it. I eat mostly low point foods, but I've also splurged on higher point items - did you know you can process french fries? To make them mushy I mixed in some Soup, which I also have to count points for, but they still tasted like french fries, and were worth every point LOL! I've also pureed pizza with a little extra sauce - it doesn't taste like pizza by the time you add the sauce in, but it was fun. Mostly, though, I stick to low point foods: sugarfree pudding, fatfree yogurt, scrambled egg whites with fatfree salsa (pureed), boiled vegetables (pureed), unsweetened applesauce, etc. I also eat whatever my family is having for supper, measured out and pureed. All in all, I've lost 14 pounds since surgery. Anyway, that's where I'm holding now. I have my first fill next month, and I'm terrified. I hope it won't be too painful! Anyway, that's the update. Good luck to everyone on this journey!

I weigh in every morning. It works for me to keep me on track but, you have to be prepared for the stalls and such. For me it's more focus driven. Eyes on the prize and all that.

Thank you James for the suggestion and the nice words. I'll print a picture and I'll carry it with me. I'll also cut down the coffee...I like those ideas. For the rest, I haven't drink a soda in the past 2-3 years, I excersize every day including 1 hour of yoga, 1 of cycling and 1 of body pump a week. I think my case is a little bit different from the other cases. For me it is that constant sense of hunger together with a never experienced sense of fullness and satisfaction. I hope this will work for me. I am pretty scared at less than 30 days from surgery.

after 8 months and several fills, I am finally losing about 2 pounds per week and feel like the band is finally working for me. It took awhile to get here but if you are feeling the same way, be patient. I wanted immediate results but my surgeon went slow and I did not loose too fast and my vitamin levels are good. HAPPY AT LAST and down 50 pounds with 20 left to go!

How long does it take to be able to eat soft food comfortably after a fill? My first fill was 4cc in a 14cc band and I could eat anything afterwards. My second fill was 1.5cc and everything I ate got stuck, except salad, so I ate salad for 3 1/2 weeks. A week later (last Friday) I got my third fill, .5cc and I'm back to getting everything stuck again. Is it normal to be in misery for 3 weeks after each fill? I have no restriction and on the rare occassion that food do go down I can eat quite a bit so I don't think I have too much fill. Is this normal? Any advice?

I had my band from 2007 - 2011 (it worked for me until it eroded and had to be removed). I am looking at converting to a sleeve now as well. Obviously I can't give you any insight to the sleeve yet but I can tell you that the first year I had my band, I didn't lose that much weight either. However year 2 was when the weight really came off of me. How many adjustments/fills have you had so far? I had a 4cc band and I didn't start to really lose weight until my band was at least 1/2 full and felt real restriction. My program was really conservative and I must have had 5-10 fills before I reached that point. But once I got to the point where I could only get in about 800-1000 calories a day (liquids, soft foods), the weight came off my rapidly. The band loosens as you lose weight and lose fat around your stomach, so eventually you can eat more and need to get another fill to keep that restriction. I went every 1-2 months for a fill. I lost about 50% of the weight I needed to lose with the band alone and light exercise (walking a few times a week). The rest of the weight melted off of me once I started working out more regularly and heavily (I started running instead of walking 5 x week, added yoga and pilates into the mix). I plateaued with the band when I had the last 20 pounds to lose. I am 5'3" and was 220 lbs (size 18-20) when I was first banded and the lowest I ever got was 2.5 years out at 145 lbs (size 6-8). As well as the Lap band worked for me (until it didn't), going through erosion was hell. My body just did not want a foreign object inside of me and rejected the band. Unfortunately VSG was not an option yet when I was banded, but if given the choice I would have opted for the sleeve over the band for sure.

My husband just had his at the same time and he has hit his two week stall as well. You bodies are just getting use to you not eating and trying to hold on to the fat, so don't be depressed. It will work I promise make sure you are following what your NUT says to do follow your plan they set up and it will work. Good Luck...

I'm with ya!!! I got to within one pound of goal for about five minutes. Since then I've bounced around 2-4 pounds above my goal for over a week. I also have a stretch goal that's four pounds below my stated goal, so this is killin' me! Okay, not really. I feel good at this weight, but I'm a numbers guy, and I'm sooooooo close! Like you, I'm determined to make it, and with that attitude, it's just a matter of time until we do. I've never "done" anything to break a stall, just kept on keepin' on. So let's just keep doing what got us this far, and when the time is right, we'll get the next drop, and then (eventually) the next one until we make it. Good luck!!! Just wanted to let you know you're not alone.....

@@josiek1988 In my case, I didn't have "classic" symptoms like slippage or an infection at the port site. The first sign I had was a return of my acid reflux. I had it before banding and it went away for about 2 years but then it came back. That happens to a lot of folks so no one seemed concerned. The second symptom (which no one thought was band-related at the time) was a horrible sharp pain that started in my side and radiated to my back. It would last about 3-4 days, then go away for a few weeks, then come back. Everyone thought it was muscular but I knew it wasn't, it was deeper and it was debilitating - it hurt to do anything active (I could no longer run), heck even going over a bump in the road while driving caused agony. I had every test known to man -xray, CAT scan, MRI, dye tests, endoscopy, colonoscopy - you name it. Nothing. I think they started to think it was psycho-somatic. FInally during a barium swallow my surgeon saw a small pocket of air but said it was nothing to be concerned with and couldn't be causing the pain. Eventually I just stopped complaining about it and it lessened over time. I kept getting band fills and would feel restriction on some days but others I could eat anything without issue. I slowly started regain weight - I assumed it was because I couldn't work out. Then one weekend I came down with a high fever and what I thought was the flu and ended up in the hospital for 10 days. Whatever infection I had made me septic, my kidneys had shut down. I got so dehydrated I ended up with a bowel obstruction and that is really what kept me in the hospital for so long, waiting for that to clear up. While I was there more tests showed my band had completely eroded into my stomach. The reason I was feeling restriction sometimes was that not only had my band eroded, but my stomach actually birfucated and grew around the band so the food had two paths to go down, one banded and one not. I am convinced that mysterious infection was either caused by the eroded band or my immune system had been so weakened by it, I couldn't fight strep or whatever it was I had (they never figured it out). Long story short, symptoms may seem unrelated because pain may manifest in other areas, or because of secondary infections. If you feel anything abnormal a simple swallow study and an upper GI can help determine if the band has slipped or is eroding. it is a foreign object and erosion is often caused by your body trying to reject it.