Search the Community

Hello Band Buddies One of the Lapband sites I belong to “www.afterband.net” recently had a VERY inspirational message about eating after the lapband. This site has a lot of great information. Remember… if you have fallen off the “band-wagon” whether is been for a few days, weeks or even longer it’s NEVER too late to get back on track. Take the time to read this message… if may help you to take a step in the right direction to getting you back on the “band-wagon”. I love the last line in the message… "Then do it again tomorrow, for it is just the next today." I shared this article with my Lapband coffee Group members (I host 3 groups) and the response was amazing... so many people found the item inspirational. Tom, Toronto Banded July 6 06 Wt. Loss: 160 lbs Eating After the Lapband - Today is Your Day Today is a new day. Today you have the power to create and inspire change in your relationship with food. Your lap band or gastric bypass surgery is only a tool in meeting your weight loss goals. The power to make it work is in your hands. Really, today is the only day you have such power. Yesterday is gone. Your power over yesterday and what you ate and how much you exercised (or didn’t) has disappeared. Any regrets about yesterday are a waste of your time and emotions. Really, today is the only day you have power over food. Tomorrow is just beyond your finger tips. It has yet to arrive. But you can make tomorrow better by what you do TODAY. So, what will you do about today? You’ve been given the power to free yourself from the bondage of food addictions. You have immeasurable strength today to work with your lap band and not against it. You didn’t go through the pain of weight loss surgery to suffer the denial of you goals. You are stronger than that. And there are plenty of WLS support groups on-line to inspire and help you focus the power within you. Will you throw your hands up in defeat today? No, you will not. Today you are not a victim or slapped down by the victim mentality. Today you have the power over food. Food’s power over you is diminished. Today, you are in control. You know what to do. You know what and how much you should eat. Your lap band surgeons or gastric bypass surgeons gave you nutrition plans and dietary advice or certainly should have. Most do. If you need to re-set the way you eat, you have strength to do that today. Today is the day to follow doctor’s orders. Today you’ve been blessed with tremendous power to eat the way you know you should. Use that power to enjoy and embrace the after lap band diet and meet your goals that much sooner. You can do it, you have a mighty power inside you, and you will use it. Then do it again tomorrow, for it is just the next today. Read More http://afterlapband.net/

Hi everyone. I was banded yesterday afternoon- feeling sore n tired today! I wanted to thank everyone for all the posts( I was a lurker for a while) but I gained so much knowledge, again thank u all

I had my band unfilled do to complications of food getting stuck. Then I had an endoscopy done and found out I have ulcers from my esophagus down to my small intestine. I've gained 30 pounds over the past 4 months!! I still have a month or two to go before they will start adding fluid. Ugh [emoji27]

Wow. Surgical regimes are so different. I had to inject blood thinners for a month even if I was running miles by then (I wasn't!) because of the serious risk of clots after bariatric surgery. I was prescribed a PPI for 4 weeks. I took it although I knew I was done with reflux within a few weeks of my sleeve, because my weight loss reduced my reflux symptoms so soon.

all surgeons are different. If it becomes an issue you can get prescribed it after surgery. I dont know what surgery you are having but one other medication i was prescribed after surgery was a medication called Ursodiol for 1 year after surgery. It dissolves gall stones which many (not all) get after rapid weight loss. other than that i got hydrocodone in liquid form, The PPI medication for 1 month (they refused to renew it but i didnt need it anymore) Anti nausea medication that was a green liquid, constipation medication (only needed that for a week or so) and that was it.

I am actually going through the exact same thing right now( I also have BCBSIL)- matter of fact, my 3rd appointment is tomorrow. Someone I work with had the surgery in the spring back when they were requiring a 6 month pre-op diet. He said he lost 12 lbs in that 6 month period and he went on to be approved. As of my last appointment I had lost 6 lbs but I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring. In my humble opinion if you go and lose a really substantial amount of weight they could argue that you can do it on your own. I certainly wouldn't want to gain weight because they could argue that you aren't taking it seriously. Good luck!

Ivy, hang in there. Congrats on the accountability to yourself! I'm proud of you for that! To me, that's a huge part of our battle. To put this in perspective though, I know you think this is horrible and a really bad problem, BUT what would have happened in the same circumstances BEFORE banding?? Really take a look at that. I know you've reverted to old habits and slider foods but what of the volume? And you KNOW being too tight is probably worse than being too lose. This is by no means to discourage you but in the last 2 days I've been HUNGRY. I'm un-filled. I've gain about 2lbs back, so far. I don't go for a fill til Tuesday, I'm hoping to not gain much more before then but you know what? What would have panicked me before banding, doesn't panic me now. I know it's part of the process and it should come back off again. I'm not really talking about the 2lbs, or even your 9lbs. I'm talking about our mindsets. It's different now. At least is feels like it to me. When things are going wrong, crap in life, or needing a fill/un-fill, this is part of the process and it's okay. As long as you catch it and try to do something about it. You've taken notice and you're going to work on it. You'll be okay! Life stuff may not get better but you know what you can do to help yourself. Get an un-fill, change your eating and work on breaking those habits and replacing them with good ones. Please try to give yourself a break. Take good care of yourself. Be accountable and make your changes. Do what you can, for yourself. You can't control the outside stuff but you can control the inside stuff. Take care!!

I loosely used BMI to help me. At 140 lbs I would no longer be considered overweight. My surgeon set a goal of 160 but when I see other women with my shape/ height at that weight, I think they still look a little pudgy. I also have a clothing size in mind- an 8. No real reason pther than it is a single digit. Frankly, I won't really know when I am goal until I get there.

Okay. So I know "stalls" happen and that I'll get over this hump....but REALLY? 2 weeks out? :crying: This miserable diet of liquids only is the pits. I never want to see any chicken broth again a day in my life and now that I'm on "full" liquids, I'm already sick of Soups in general. The only reason this liquid diet and I get along is because I lost about 2lbs a day the first week. I was being a little obsessive with weighing and knew I needed to tone it down, so I decided to stick with once a week on Saturdays. The last 2 days I could barely contain myself with excitement and anticipation waiting for "weigh day". I wake up this morning...glad it's finally weigh day and get on the scale and guess what the stupid scale said? It said I lost 0.6lbs since last Saturday. :w00t: BOOOOO!!!!! What kind of miserable torture is this? This cruel diet...my head is spinning trying to consume enough calories so that I feel healthy and have energy to get me through the day, getting 70g of Protein and 64oz of fluids everyday....all this for 0.6lbs? :sneaky2: I know it will get better....I just had to vent. Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much. I realize it takes work and I am definantly at the point in my life where I am willing to make some major changes. My boss had the gastric bypass and has slowly regained the weight, so I realize nothing is magic. I try very hard and eat healthy and stay active. Both sides of my family have weight issues, the women on my fathers side are all very large, probably all over 400 pounds. My mothers side is not as extreme with exception of my sister who I would guess is probably in between 400 and 500 pounds. I have an 11 year old daughter who I would like to be able to grow up without these same issues, I just don't have the tools to teach her how to eat normally.

Hello everyone. One year ago today I started my 3 week liquid diet to prepare for my lap band surgery. It was both one of the most exciting and scariest days of my life. At that time I weighed 360 pounds, had severe sleep apnea and just felt lousy in general. I was unmotivated and my world revolved around my lazy boy chair and my office chair. I was in a major rut in my career, and if I was to be really truthful only had a few more years left to live. Twelve years previously I had lost almost 130 pounds and gained it back with in four years so I knew how difficult the change would be. Today I weigh 213 pounds and I can't remember when I felt this good. I walk an hour everyday and have so much energy to burn. My sleep apnea is gone and I feel in total control of my life again. My marriage to my wife has never been stronger and now I am get ready to embark on a career change that I should have made five years ago. This surgery has freed me from my prison of obesity. What have I learned this time that I didn't know when I lost the weight last time? The most important thing is that this is a lifestyle change and not a diet. This will never end to me. I just eat less than I did before. Sure sometimes I give into my cravings, but instead of eating a gallon of ice cream at one time, I eat two scoops. Everything is in moderation. I am what most people would call a fussy eater. Very much of a meat potato guy. I am a little more careful than I used to be but I can still eat all the same foods (but in much smaller portions) I did before with the exception of carbonated beverages. I really believe switching from a 2 litre Diet Pepsi to Water made a huge impact on my success. I have also learned to forgive myself when I slip up and have a bad eating day. Before if I messed I would use it as an excuse to sabotage my progress and go off the wagon. Now if I have a bad day I just start back fresh the next day. Even people who are natural thin have bad eating days but they don't let it become an everyday thing. I have been very lucky as I have had very few side effects what so ever. The three week liquid diet was the hardest part, followed by the first three weeks after surgery. Since then no problems what so ever. I have only PB'd once and probable only had a dozen stuck episodes when I forget to slow down my eating. I have deliberately kept my band relatively loose 3cc in a 14cc band because I was afraid to have it too tight and experience a lot of the trouble I have seen some people go through. I just keep it tight enough so I can go 5 hours with out hunger pains and it has worked for me. I use it like a tool but not as the only means to succeed. It won't cure your head hunger or your cravings, but it will keep the hunger pains away. I am now 13 pounds away from my goal weight so I have been slowly trying to adjust to more of a maintenance mod now. I really feel that I have a toll that can help me succeed going forward. I am going to attach a before and after picture that was taking about 6 weeks ago. I know some people like these pictures as motivation so I hope it helps. Thank you to all the people on this board who provided me advice, especially in the scary beginning stages. You all helped reassure me. Thank you.

I got my surgery 5 months ago and since then Ive had 4 fills. I'm currently at 6.5 cc's. I feel no restriction and no different as to before surgery. I've lost 30lbs but I feel its only because I've really been pushing myself and began running 4 miles up steep hills 5 days a week and I limit myself on portions but find myself feeling hungry often. I got the band as a big aid in helping me lose weight but its saddening to feel like its been useless for me. I cut off so much food out of my life and changed my eating habits on my own. I feel like I can lose track at any moment and gain weight again. My bands max is 10 cc's and I was told average weight loss is 10lbs a month but that hasn't been my case and I'm starting to feel anxious and helpless. Anyone else out there experience my same issue?

It is true, your sugeon is the only one that can determine if you have stretched your pouch. It's done by way of a Upper GI (Barium swallow). One of the signs of a stretched pouch (dilated esophagus) is lost of restriction. As I understand it, if you have stretched your pouch, food begins to process on top of your band. Because it is not passing through your band, the typical nerves that are triggered to send the 'full/satisfied' message to your brain is not being triggered. While a stretched band is one reason you may not lose weight, I suspect this is not your case. As contributors before me have said, you are likely into the tough weight & the last few pounds are just going to take a little more work...

I think my success has been due to a combination of things. First of all, there are foods I cannot physically eat: pasta, bread, pizza, cake, rice, french fries - mostly carbs that I shouldn't be eating anyway. That certainly has helped me to lose weight. Then there is the question of quantity. I cannot physically over-eat. More than a cup of anything (even chunky soup or chili) and I will be revisiting my dinner. I agree that it's not the same "full" feeling you have been used to all your life. But I think it's different for everyone.

Yes I feel like I experienced the same type of thing I was banded in August 2012 and really I did not lose much of anything in the first 5 months and it has been off and off slow since and I have had 5 or 6 fills? So many I forgot and i think i am at 6.3 cc in a 10cc band which to me is crazy even my nurses said yeah it is a bit longer than normal to be starting to lose and I get the sense that they are a little nervous putting more in. At the 6cc mark you could tell. And thanks GuyMontag never looked at it like I have a leaner stomach haha haven't been told that in the long time. But here I am now for the last couple of months I feel like I am on track but again the band will lossen (loss of weight) and I will need to go in again for another fill and once I do..... boom I am on track again. There were many times I felt like a failure "I was going to be the one that spent all this money for nothing" and the one person I told was not getting it but neither was I. Hang in you will know when it starts working and you will not have to work as much either it will be your friend but keep up on fills even go in and talk to them if you aren't sure. I doubted many times going in cause I really thought I can't possibly need that much fluid but I do.

And how about the first time you could cross your legs comfortably? I wear scrubs for work and buy them at a clothing outlet nearby. I used to take size 2X, but as I lost weight I had to buy some new, first in large, and next (I thought) in medium. I usually pick out tops and pants and try them on at home. Well, the tops were okay, but the scrub pants still looked baggy. I couldn't possibly be a small! I packed up the pants and went back to the store. This time I picked out one pair of small and tried them on before exchanging all the mediums. Well, people, the small fit! Gosh, darn I haven't been a small since I think age 12 maybe, if ever! What a rush!

Hiya Meg, The ice cube thing is a good idea... not sure if I could do it in class, but defo at home. Did you find that when the flushes were with you it effected your weight loss? I did well last week but got a bounce up this week =[ It is soooo frustrating when I know that I am not eating more than 1200 cals a day. I'm thinking of really dropping the carbs again for a week or two... but in the past, it hasn't really showed a significant weight loss for me.... I'm in a bit of a pickle as of what to do! I am also wondering if I should just take some time out and just maintain for a while, but then I really want to get to goal... Oh I don't know...lol!

I haven't lost any weight in 4

Im on reg foods now and i gained 2lbs! I read that until the first fill most people gain weight but its very discouraging! I feel like im doing something wrong.

You are suppose to be on a high protein, low carb, low fat and low calorie diet. Do not drink for 30-60 min before and after you eat. Females 5'9" and under need 50-60 grams of protein daily. Males and females over 5'9" need 60-70 grams of protein daily. Eat your protein before other foods at your meals. Get at least 48-64 ounces of fluids per day. DO NOT drink carbonated beverages! We had week one - clear liquid diet, week 2 full liquid diet, week 3 pureed diet, week 4 soft diet, week 5 soft + ground meats diet, week six regular diet. My husband and I personally used the ISOPURE protein supplement powder - cookies n cream for our protein supplement. You want to use one that's the highest protein for the lowest carbs - isopure is 0 carbs. At least the first couple of weeks you will need the protein supplement to help you get your protein needs in. You really need to keep track every day your protein, fluid, calorie, carb intake till you get the hang of it. We had our surgeries 2/28 and 3/6 and have lost 41 lbs/55 lbs. Of course we also walk 30 min 6 days a week but you should be doing 20-30 min at least 3-4 times per week. Did you not get any info to refer back to from the nutritionist? The lap band is a tool to help you lose weight. Good luck!

Not sure I have anything to add... 1) Less invasive surgery - no cutting & re-routing of organs & therefore much safer 2) Adjustable as weight drops 3) Reversible if necessary 4) While the weight loss is slower, the end results 5 yrs out are similar. 5) No malabsorption issues, although I heard recently (on here?) that this is no longer the issue it used to be. Since I worried about my long term compliance with taking lifelong supplements. 6) Personally know people who have had life-threatening complications from RNY 7) Personally know people who have gained back their weight after successfully losing it with RNY My primary doc recently told me that every patient he has who has done the gastric bypass has ended up hospitalized with complications at some point. Whereas his patients with lapbands are doing great! (me included) Now he tells patients looking at WLS to do the band and avoid the RNY. Of course, I'm sure there are plenty of healthy, slender RNY patients out there or else they wouldn't still be offering the surgery. Still, I will freely admit that fear was definitely a part of my decision to go with banding. :thumbup:

....great to see you here again! What a brilliant weight loss - you must be thrilled! Hope I catch up with you soon!

can anyone tell me how long after surgery it will be before returning to full physical activity?? i am a karate instructor and run a karate school with my daughter. in fact this surgery is to help me (amongst other health reasons) continue my training ... the weight coming down on my joints has become a huge risk. i need to make arrangements for an instructor to cover me while i am out of commission....my surgery is july 13th. thanks!

So I'm nearly a month post op, rny. My surgery was uncomplicated, as well as my recovery so far. HW was 335, SW 315 CW 304. I'd be lying if I said that I'm thrilled with my rate of weight loss since surgery, but it's consistent losses, something I haven't been able to achieve without surgery. My mind wants so badly to see 299... So I figure it's toying with me. I have lost inches, I'm in a smaller bra size already though. Adapting to eating had been surprisingly easy. It's just a fact off life of what I can/can't have. My hubby made the comment that he lost his eating buddy yesterday. I think him eating junk alone makes him uncomfortably aware of just how much junk he's eating (good!). I seem to tolerate sugars ok so far, things I've read others have dumped on (ketchup) hasn't phased me. The only thing that I regret was stealing a piece of sausage off of the kids pizza... Felt like a flaming metal ball going down...ugh! I've been having a lot of pain from one incision site, my doc said I was doing too much too soon. So I took it easy again and hope to add in exercise this week as I move on to soft foods. I'm not getting all my Water in and I won't drive myself crazy over it, I'm close though. I do need one Protein shake a day to meet my protein goal. After a walk yesterday I understand why they encourage protein after exercise, I felt dizzy and out of sorts. I'm also battling a bad cold.... Coughing makes the side pain worse though (uhh again!) I phone conference my NUT on Wednesday. There is no way I could take in the amount of food on her sample diet, I think I'm good with two meals and one snack a day.

i dont think they do anything you just maintain your weight from then on.