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Ok, this probably has been asked a million times but.....I had my first fill on Thursday and I have been eating like a pig all weekend. Do I call first thing in the a.m. and tell my doc that I need more? Or ride it out a while and see if my restriction magically appears? I see so many people posting about how it took a week or two for their fill to work. I don't know what to do. I could use a little input. Thanks.

Wow, that's a pretty good major stall. It is so hard when that happens so I feel for you. Have you talked to your doctor or your NUT about this? My NUT's advice was to stay within 800 to 1000 calories. I can barely get to 800 on most days, but I'm only seven weeks out. I watch my carbs too and try to stay around 30 or lower - but that's because I know that my body reacts negatively to carbs, even good carbs. I'm 5'3 so almost the same height as you. Of the calories you consume, how many carbs? What about sodium, could it be a little too high and you're retaining water? Have you tried LilMissDiva's boot camp? I've heard from others on here that they have had success with that. I saw a post from someone else that she's only been able to get success by varying her calorie count every other day or so. It sounds like you are doing all of the right things. You will lose weight. Stay strong and positive and keep working your sleeve.

I need help-- I am more scared now than I was before getting sleeved. I had my stitches removed this week at an urgent care setting in TN, since it is my new home and I do not have a primary care doctor at the moment. Three of the five incision sites look pretty bad- all full of puss, red and refusing to close. The incision site where my drain was has closed but is pink/red all the way around and one end is sore when I push. Then the incision near my bra line isn't severe but isn't in the clear either. How did this happen? I made sure to clean them, put coverings on, took all my antibiotics, etc. While I would hate for someone else to have infectons like me, I really need your support. What did you do? What happened?? I was given an antiobiotic cream and was told that if I don't see a difference in 48 hours (Sunday night) then we need to go forth with plan two. I'm not sure of the next option but the doctor did say if nothing works, it could be internal infection meaning I need to make a trip to the OR to get recut and cleaned. I'm really hoping this isn't the case. Please say prayers for me. I'm so scared :'(

I just got mine yesterday. Same thing...the week leading up to it was constantly hungry, bloated and feeling crappy. I just drank lemon water between meals to stop the hunger and stuck with it. It's definitely hard because so much is happening in your body. I feel your pain. The joys of being a woman

Have you tried thrift stores, good will or smaller friends???? I'm only a week out, but I'm not fitting more than 3 or 4 pieces in my closet... I'm going to hit up a few thrift stores on their 1/2 days!!! Hope that helps! And congrats!!!

I developed --doing like others have said, and going to bed flat one day and waking up fluffy another. I never remember a training bra, I was probably a C cup for a year and a half before ever having a period. But I was also EXTREMELY thin-----that might very well explain it. I developed in about 5th-6th grade so 11 or 12, but was between 7th & 8th grade before starting my period. Then it was not long before I too was on the pill for regulation. I would start and then my period would just go on for weeks......not terribly hard, just non ending! I had fertility issues, due to irregular periods even as an adult. I ended up with uterine cancer. Had a hysterectomy as part of my treatment of course-----was good to get rid of it all, it was ALWAYS one problem or another!!!! Kat

hi Keep it up Kellie. I think you are doing well.From 118 to 105 is great. I also lost a few after my fill (only had one and 1,5ml.dont know if he put any in when he banded me..) and then it stalls for a while. Youll get there.Hope this fill does it for you..

I'm a little on the tired side.... I know this is not very good and I need to seriously take my vitamins... I'm naughty about that. If I was to self "doctor" myself, I would say my iron might be low.... Still I'm down 11 lbs from a week ago, not bad huh? I slept a little better last nigh not too many episodes with the coughing up of residual food... I even think I took in more water yesterday. My skin is snapping back, so I'm not dehydrated thank God. I have a serious craving for Watermelon, so I think I'll swing by Vons this morning and get some for breakfast yumoh!:w00t:

Ok, I was banded on March 28th (6 weeks & 2 days ago). I have been feeling great since the operation, I am healing well and have lost 18 pounds. I have already had one fill of 3.4 cl. Anyway, over the last 5 days I have noticed an odd sensation in my chest area (gullet) I have felt this sensation twice before. It is the same sensation that I have had in the past if I have vomited and wrenched. It feels tender for a few days and then calms down. I also felt this for about a week after my op. Anyway, the sensation is here again. It's not severe but I am aware of it. It is stressing me out as I am thinking the worst that something has happened to my band. I also have a different muscular pain in the side of my left thigh. I have had it ever since my operation. The only thing that I can attribute it too is when I came round from my op, I remember having two injections in that area. One to ease the sickiness and the other to ease the pain. Could they have caused this pain?

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=460><TBODY><TR><TD align=left>Made a Mistake? Make a YOU-Turn</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Have you enjoyed a few forkfuls of a coworker's cake or picked at your friend's fries? That's OK. You're going to make wrong turns. You're going to be tempted by not-so-good-for-YOU foods. Does that mean you should steer off the dietary cliff and fall into the fatty crevasse of destructive eating? Of course not. Instead of falling into a defeatist mentality by drop-kicking healthy eating the moment you make one bad choice, confront it. How? By repeating the YOU Diet Mantra: "At the next available moment, make an authorized YOU-turn." Say it three times, put down the tub of cookie dough, and get back on the right road. Reference: YOU: On a Diet. Roizen, M. F., Oz, M. C., New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006.

To my surprise, my doctor said he repaired and moderate hiatal hernia while he did the sleeve. I was not told to vary the post op diet in any way because of this. So far, I've been great and have not had any issues. I'm 2 weeks post op and my surgeon is, in my opinion, very liberal on what I could eat post op. I hope this helps. Good luck!

I had surgery about 3 weeks ago and I am still adjusting to the portions of food . So don't feel alone in this .

I always "over portion" on accident. Like looking at three shrimp and being like ... No way will this be enough. Then after 2 I'm like "omg no more food!!!" We will get there Most other stuff I try to measure out. I generally eat 1/2 cup or 4 oz for each meal. Rarely can go over that. 8 oz Protein shake takes me about 45 - 60 mins to complete.

I haven't had any restriction for about a year as I've recently had a baby, so after putting on about 35lbs I was relieved to get a fill three weeks ago. I did the usual fluids and sloppies but have really struggled to get back onto 'normal' foods, however small the amount. I go a few days where I can eat and drink okay but then I'll have a couple more days where I struggle with soup and produce saliva after every attempt to eat or drink. I'm not utterly fed up yet, however I do realise that I need an unfill. The problem is that I can't get an appointment with my doctor for 5 weeks. I could probably manage until then but I'd rather not have to. I've contacted another fill provider who can see me on Thursday but I have to get up to London (a 6 hour round trip)!

Happy Happy Joy Joy and Thank You Lord!!! :teeth_smile: :shades_smile: I have my date!!! I will be sleeved on July 5th and I am super duper excited!! :wink_smile: :thumbs_up: Here are my details: My insurance:BCBS PPO of Florida (Empire) is covering the surgery at 90% since I have met my deductible. So, out-of-pocket cost for me is going to total $650 ($500 Surgeon's Fee and $150 co-pay). I am having bloodwork done by my PCP, a chest X-ray, and EKG. Following these tests I have to get a letter of surgical clearance from my PCP, then I am good to go. Approximately 2 weeks prior to surgery I am required to be on a specialized diet which is 5 Protein drinks a day and 1 "Lean and Green Meal' (Protein and Veggies only) and drink plenty of Water. I can't believe this is really going to happen!! :clap2: I have a couple questions for those of you who have been through this: where can I get protein samples, and which ones are best?? Any feedback or advice is appreciated so much!!:cheer2:

I don't know if there is a "better" overall, but there may be a better for you at this time. If you aren't satisfied with your loss rate, or if you are stalling a lot, then try a change and see if that shocks your system into action. Initially, I needed six small meals a day but as I have progressed and could eat more different things, and more of them in a sitting in some cases, I have dropped one or two of those smaller meals to keep my daily calorie count in line. Smaller meals have classically been used to smooth out the insulin spikes during the day and to keep from getting too hungry and over-eating. Changes in intake or exertion are often used to break stalls; some find that upping their calories for a short term breaks a stall, fooling the body into thinking that it's no longer starving; trying the very low carb diet for a while, if you haven't already been doing so may do it - the shift into ketosis mode may tell your body that you're serious about this. Or try the other way around if you have been doing low carb and try adding carbs (preferrably complex carbs rather than twinkies!) - I have found that adding complex carbs in my meal (like some whole grain toast along with some meat and cheese) before a workout allows me to workout longer and with greater intensity than when I have a lower carb salad and meat. Another thing to look at is your workouts and exertion level. Simply changing a routine can often help, or varying the intensity of exertion. I found at around this three month time that my condition had improved enough that my exertion levels weren't taxing me as much as they used to - walking as fast as I could without breaking into a jog previously would get me into that 80% max heartrate zone (around 130+ at my age) that's often recommended for optimum cardiac and calorie burning effect but by the third to fourth month that same pace could barely get me to break 100 - it didn't feel all that much easier, but my body could sure tell the difference. Lots of things to try, good luck in ramping it up!

My best advise to you is two things: When you me doctor says you can start working out - go get your butt in the gym Secondly when you hit your first stall - don't panic. That is when I lost the most inches and in my opinion that was more important than the scale.

Well has many of you know I threw my back out two weeks before surgery & was completly not walking for most of that time. So the Hidden blessing was that all my neighbors/friends/family knew this & had seen me taking 15 mins to get into cars for doctor appts & stuff. I am a closet bandster. Many have helped out cutting the grass or walking the dog. So when I had my surgery I just continued to tell them how bad my back was & that it wasn't any better & the Docs said at least 2 more weeks. In reality my back has been much better BUT having 5 NEW HOLES in my gut have made walking & moving difficult. OK so here is the Nsv - it a small one but still made me so happy. A neighbor saw me outside & came over to see how I had been doing. She said that she could see I wasn't feeling well because I look like I had lost weight.LOL She said my face looked skinner. I said really- I haven't been eating that much because of the drugs for my back.LOL LOL I am down 15pds. total--8 pds since surgery, only 9 days ago. WHOO HOO!!!

For me it was about a week but very gently....

Well, the first thing I'd say is that you need to discuss the eating with your doctor. It's important to do things the way they need you to. Each doctor seems to have a little different strategy so I don't want to tell you the wrong thing. I had TERRIBLE gas pain, mainly in my shoulder. I used chewable Gax X and a hot Water bottle. It took me a few days to figure this out and I wish I'd have figured it out sooner because it really helped. Walking also helps get that gas out of you, as well as the "other" way people relieve gas...you know...hey, it helps! Hang in there...it took me a week or two before I felt like I was getting the hang of things!

Howdy, I just came out of surgery a week ago tomorrow. I have been trying so hard to stay true to the post-op directions, but I feel that I don't have a true grasp of what I am supposed to do. Like-am I supposed do only have my liquid diet at meal times? When I do eat, should I eat an ounce, wait a while then continue? I have been having a terrible time with the gas pain and with burping any time I eat or drink. Can you guys please give me any helpful hints that you have learned? Thanks, Vanessa:help:

From what i know, almost every insurance company says, "must be medicallly necessary..." THAT"S GOOD!!! It's not like they would say, "yes yes go now! Here's the money!" Basically, they are saying, you have to have, in a doctor's written opinion,sent to the insurance company, that you should have the operation, based on the necessary to save your live, or improve it dramaticallly. I had trouble with this too in beginning, I in't have regular doctor, so I just went to some random family doctor. Big mistake, the woman obviously had no concept beyon herself, told me(after knowing me a whole 5 minutes, and interupting me too, that "I needed to drink less soda (i clearly stated to her I did not)and maybe work out at a fun place, like curves". ERRRR I could have thrown her out the window! (I really could have too, she was like 95 pounds!) It sounds like you have gone to a good place, that you have a consult, in my opinion, the only doctors who can really understand obesity are those who specialize in it (and perhaps a select few). If you are going to a place or octor that specializes in it, if you need it, you will be fine. I am 26 too, but was over 300 lbs, but 5'6", but also no real problems, yet. If you meet the criteria, sometimes just the BMI is enough (usually, i would suspect). Also, the doctor isn't going to find you meically necessary if you have issues that are more important that losing weight (i.e.mental things, a lot of us have to get psych evaluations first, it is mentally tough to go thru life the first year or so after band, lots of big changes, so you have to be mentally fit.) Also, things like if you can't make it thru surgery because of other medical reasons, heart stuff I would assume. I'm sorry this is long-winded, I've been where you are, it is a heavy worrisome place, wanting it so bad, being afraid of being denied. oh, man, I had weeks of no sleep! An everything went swimmingly, in fact, the doctor's usually thing was to do all the paperwork themselves, I just got the approval, in less than two weeks, over the holiday. It was so awesome! don't be worried, "must be medically necessary" is gold, alot of folks, get the "no way, jose" right in there insurance paperwork. This is based on what i've experienced and from reading a lot of other's posts too. My husband gets Humana in February, so your post gives me hope too, you hear alot of chatter here, things that scare you and make you doubt (i'm in a situation of having to find a new fill doctor in wisconsin because of moving here) so i hope i have given you a little bit of hope, as you have given me.

I wore mine for 2 weeks, just to be safe. My doc said I could take it off after 7 days.

Hey, Can you guys share about how many calories you're getting in about 2 weeks post-op? Or if you're past this stage can you remember about how many you were getting at that stage? I'm now averaging probably 500-800 daily-- is this too much? My post-op instructions do not mention calories at all. They do say that if you do not feel like eating, don't eat, just concentrate on liquids and Protein and Vitamins.

Dana-if you are losing, do what you are doing. I had started a stall so asked a similar question and so many people responded with lower calories than I was. I was similar to you with calorie count and I was getting in all my protein and water. I panicked and cut back because I thought I was too high and I think it prolonged the stall. I went back to my prior calorie count and poof, started dropping again. Everyone is well intentioned, but our bodies, requirements, and tolerances are different. Focus on protein and water goals your dr gave you.