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Hi all, I am new to this forum. I am newly banded as of 9/30/03. I have to say that my first 1 1/2 to 2 weeks I wasnt sure I did a good thing. I was miserable. Nausea, severe gas pains, and man was I STARVING! But now 4 weeks out I have to say it is great. When people told me at 1 week out that I would feel that way in 4wks, I thought they were full of crap. I thought I would never feel good again, physically and mentally. But, I do feel great now. I am down from234.5 start weight to 212 at 4 weeks. Cant beat that any where. At 5'2 that makes a huge difference in how I feel. Now the next journey is THE FILL. It does scare me to think about. I was a bit traumatized by the Physically starving thing the first 2 wks. Now that I can eat, in moderation, I dont want to risk not being able to with a fill. I know thats a pretty dumb way of thinking. I know that proper fills are part of this thing, and I will when the time comes, have a fill, but I'm still a little scared. I look forward to hearing from others whom are newly banded. Beth/michigan

Welcome to our lapband community Beth :cool: I totally know what you mean about being a little put out by the thought of getting a fill and feeling a little scared about risking going back to the starvation mode you were in the first two weeks after surgery. And that's not dumb at all to feel that way. Donali is right, this is a huge emotional adjustment, and it takes time for our emotions to adjust to our actions - it's completely human. I had the band put in about three months ago, and I also had a bit of a traumatizing experience with the whole starvation thing. I got banded in Mexico (and I currently live in North Dakota, not at all close to Mexico!), and the day I was supposed to fly back home, I got this undescribably horrific pain in my stomach, so my doctor checked it out by giving me a barium swallow. He said that he saw the barrium go down, and he didn't know what the problem was...he thought I was just drinking liquids too fast or somthing. So I flew back home and continued to have the probelm. Every time I drank even a swallow of Water, I was in intense pain. I didn't know what was going on, and it's not like there was a doctor within even a 500 mile radius that was familiar with this band procedure. So I continued to drink just a sip of water or juice once every hour or so, and I would eventaully throw that back up anyways (I couldn't even swallow my own saliva at this point. And I actually thought that this was normal, I didn't know what else to think, becasue after all, my doctor had checked me out before I left Mexico, and he thought that the pain I was experiencing was normal. So anyways, this went on for about five days, and I ended up in the hospital for three nights, hooked up to IV fluids becasue I had become dehydrated. I ended up having to fly all the way back to Mexico and have the band removed and a new one put in, because it turned out that the band had slipped, and when I had taken the barrium swallow from the previos time I was there, the barrium couldn't get washed through, so it turned into cement in my stomach and obstructed everything. So after my second surgery. it took a lot longer for my body to bounce back, and I was on Clear Liquids for another two weeks (that makes three whole weeks of nothing but clear liquids! yuk!) But after I got to feeling better, oh boy did my stomach swelling go down and my appetite returned to it's full force! Now I'm like...."give me a fill, a really really big one, I want it to be really tight!" I did get my first fill here about four weeks ago, and I am more restricted than I was, but NOTHING like it was right after surgery. This is a comfortable fill, maybe even too comfortable...I'm ready for another one already! I can pretty much guarantee you that the extreme tightness you felt after surgery will probably never be repeated again, unless you get a really big fill, but most doctors like to take it slow with the fills, and that's really the best way to go, so we can accomodate our emotional adjusting into it too! Well, I wish you luck and hope to here from you again soon ~Amber~

Congrats!!! I was approved last week and Thursday I find out my surgery date, I'm really hoping it's in May too!

Anne, I'm so glad you're going to get fixed, but I'm sorry it has to be through another surgery. I hope all goes well and you'll be back soon to let us all know you're doing okay. Good luck to you. Will the doc insert a fill amount during surgery or will they make you wait the initial 6 weeks again? Mine made me wait.. ughh.. Leatha

Hi, I was banded on 16 Aug. I lost 6 pounds before surgery and haven't had the weight loss that I thought I would have since surgery. Realizing it took awhile to put the weight on, I was still hoping for faster results. Can anyone tell me what the average weight loss per week is after being banded? I had planned on losing about 20 lbs per month; is that unreasonable? thanks for the help...pls

Hello everyone, My name is Sandra and I am considering getting the Gastric Sleeve surgery. I'm waiting on approval from my insurance to start the process. The first step is to enroll in a 6-week course and upon completion, I will be informed if I meet the criteria to have the surgery. I am 5'5", weigh 225lbs, have asthma, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, neuropathy and three herniated disks (lumbar area). I'm in constant pain from the fibro and the herniated disks. Im not sure if I will qualify for the surgery but I am staying positive. I have been yo yo dieting for more than a decade. Im tired of dieting. Im very depressed and feel hopeless at times. I am really scared about the procedure. Any advice from anyone out there? Thanks!

You'll find that more people take Prilosec here than just about anything else, and yes, a huge number of people here take a PPI after surgery. You should find your issues resolve a bit once you've been on the meds for about a week. Good luck, ~Cheri

My Nut said no, if you read the ingredients there's about half of what you need. I can't find a good chewable so I'm being bad and taking the gummies, post op for first week.

How Many weeks out are you? I would even try taking one bite and wait about 5 min. My first "soft" foods was nearly the first time I vomited and ate less than 3 oz. good luck!!!

5 lbs down today, I am actually not as hungry as I usually am, I think because I have been forcing myself to eat the 3 small meals a day and 2-3 snacks...I made up a menu for the week that is on my fridge, which has also helped. The only thing I am really battling at the moment are the cravings. I STILL want Taco Bell sooo bad! Today I sorta didn't eat a lot so I might go later tonight and get one of their lower cal tacos...the fresca ones...its so hard to resist though. Should I give in and get just one, or just try to ride the craving out?!

I had RNY 4 months ago and was able to go off of 8 of my 9 medications. I've felt great and have had no complications. My labs at my 3 month appt were excellent. My blood pressure has been stable at around 120/80 or lower for the past couple of years including the past few months when I've been down to only the one blood pressure med. But then for the last week my pressure has suddenly spiked to as high as 169/106 for no apparent reason. No undue stress, eating healthy, getting plenty of fluids, taking my Vitamins religiously. I've added back in my other 2 blood pressure meds but no improvement. Has anyone else has this happen and if so, what was the cause and what helped?

This may not seem like a big deal to many; but, I'm so very excited!!! I have not been under 200lbs in over 20 years. Always, hovering between 233-227. I can't believe that I'm actually wearing a size 14 pants @ 199lbs - currently I'm averaging a 2 pound loss each week and my goal now is to reach 180 by Christmas.

May 18. Is my date. Only thing I was supposed to be away for training for work that week. It's already paid for. Oh well. Lol Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Congrats. I have surgery date of 5-17, and my bosses are screaming because they do not know how to cover my responsibilities for 3 weeks. (Results to staffing cut backs with no backups) One even asked me to work from home the last 2 weeks, but I told him this is healing time, not working time.

I've got a band that holds 4cc. I started with 1.5cc at my 6-week fill. That didn't help much. A week later I moved up to 1.75cc; that was better and I stuck with that for a bit but I have been stalled for awhile even with a fill to 2.0 and then 2.25. So I just jumped to 2.75 last week and that's much better. The great thing is that whether it's too loose or too tight you can get it adjusted again right away. (unless you've got one of those nutty docs that insist on some arbitrary time between fills whether the fill is working for you or not)

Wondering what amount is normal for a first fill. I am 6 weeks out and next week I am having my first fill. I have started to feel hungry so I know it is time. I am concerned about getting enough of a fill to cut back on my hunger.

I have a 10cc band and just had my first fill last week. I got 1.5cc. He tried 2, but the water came right back up. I am glad we didn't go anymore because when I had no restriction I had gotten very lax on the bandster eating rules. I had a rough time for 3 days after that first fill relearning those rules. Now that I have things under control, I will probably go back for another fill in about a month, depending on how I am doing.

I just went in for my post-op visit on 01/02, (2 weeks out) and I was told, come back for a fill when you can eat more than a cup and not feel full. I was like, uh ok? He explained that the healing has to complete and that I need to watch what I put in my mouth. He didn't ask anything about what I was eating, especially since he had told me the day after surgery that I was on liquids until he said so. Little does he know, that I left liquids the first week, graduated myself from mushies and am eating regular foods. But, still not exceeding the 1/2 cup measurement. So, I guess that's good...right? So far since surgery, I've lost about 14, but gained 5 in the last week. (Effects of real food)

I have two horses, a quarter horse gelding, 10 yo and a 8 yo warm blood mare. I had a percheron mare that was my riding horse. I had my surgery September 2011, I had the surgery so I could ride again. I lost my percheron three Weeks after surgery to a clostridium infection. My heart is still broken. I have Lost 118 lbs and just starting to realize all the stuff I can do again! Including riding my little quarter horse. He is only 14.2, but built like a Mac truck. I haven't really ridden regularly in 20 years, working my way up to riding my mare!

I agree you probably need another fill, but I would wait until you come back. There is phenomenon where when you fly, somepeople have their bands tighten, something to do with the pressurized cabin, I'm really not sure. It doesn't happen to everyone, didn't to me this summer when I flew to Illinois, but others have complained about it. I personally wouldn't take a chance, but that's of course entirely up to you. The other thing is sometimes it takes a couple of days/weeks for the fill to kick in. You wouldn't want to be at the beach and suddenly go into a tightening and getting really sick. That would totally suck! Hope this information helps. I am sure others will post as to their experiences as well. Enjoy your trip, wish I was going to Hawaii, never been there, but it looks so beautiful, maybe one day. Cindy

Please study all my threads - please. Infected ports can and do lead to erosion. An infected port won't give you a fever (well, it might but I never had one.) I had 2 port removals due to infection, and I was diagnosed with erosion this week. I started a thread the other day about the importance of an endoscopy. Is your port inflamed, hot, red? If so, it's most likely infected and needs to be removed. But please don't get all worried because maybe the port just shifted after losing weight. If there's no infection and it bothers you a lot, they can do a port revision. But if it's infected, that means you should keep an extra special watch on your band. You're very smart to have paid attention to loss of restriction, which could be a sign of erosion, but again it just might be a sign of "time for a fill." PM me if you want to talk and I'll give you my number. Don't let all this worry you. I've been accused of trying to scare people with my infection and erosion stories but that's not what I want. I just want everyone to have the greatest band experience possible. Good luck and PLEASE keep in touch with me, k?

good luck to you. I hope to be banded by Christmas. What a present for me and what a way to start the new year. I go for my psch eval this week. I was supposed to go on the 2nd, but I missed my appointment. Needless to say I was not at all pleased with myself. I'll check in from time to time to see how you are doing with your journey. Take care.

Our guideline was every hour or two and in between have a Protein shot or drink , one or two hour food then wait 30 mins to drink and then wait 30 to eat vice versa ,you won't feel hungry I'm 7 weeks out , here's a guideline for what you have .. living4myself_gb1-21-13:

Hello everyone! So I've been away awhile as I was on vacation in the Dominican Republic...woo hoo! But I'm back and starting my two week liquid diet. I'm drinking the Met-Rx in Original vanilla. And to be honest, I'm having a little trouble getting it down. It's just very thick and I'm trying not to psych myself out. I mixed it with Water and used my Blender Bottle. The upside is that I'm not the least bit hungry. And I feel really good. I'm starting to write everything down because I want to get in the habit of keeping track of things. I'm going to do 20 minutes on the elliptical. I heard that exercising beforehand helps with the healing process. Tomorrow, I have an appointment with my surgeon to go over the finer points.I have a few things I have to discuss with him. Namely, I want to see what he suggests for Protein intake and Vitamin regimens, etc. I guess, I want to see how all my January newbies are doing. Best, Dania

Congratulations to your daughter! She sounds like a remarkable young woman who can be very proud of herself. You'r doing exactly the right thing by redirecting your frustration with family here, where it can't do any harm. I wish my stepson showed half the initiative and determination that your daughter does. He's graduating in two weeks with no next step in mind. :girl_hug: