Search the Community

Susan, your post made me chuckle. I remember feeling like I'd give my left arm for a big steak! At the end of week two, I saw my Dr and told him how hungry I was so he let me progress to mushies. That first bite of soft food I had was cottage cheese and you'd have thought I was... well, all I could do was say mmmm and moan a lot. LOL! That was THE BEST cottage cheese I'd EVER tasted! Sally I think there are some lists of mushie foods in the Food forum. Check out the posts there. I always recommend Gorton's grilled fish fillets (lemon pepper or garlic butter). Microwave in 7 mins. Yum. Some of my other favorites were oatmeal, cottage cheese, bean with bacon Soup, tuna with a couple of tablespoons of fat free thousand island dressing, peas and carrots (frozen, boiled until very soft), and canned peaches (lite syrup).

My port hurt very bad for about 4 weeks. Hang in there. It will get better.

Was in the er all day bcuz of bleeding. Doc said it was "threatened miscarriage" but he's (I think it's a boy) still in there and I got to see his heartbeat! So I'm 6 weeks which means I got preggo 1 week post op (sheesh!) I haven't eaten much today and idk what's wrong but I have no appetite and feel really queasy when I try to eat. I'm on bed rest til the next ultrasound. Doc actually said "no excess walking O_o Keep ur fingers crossed for me and the little one! SD:1/28/13 HW:358 SW:338 CW:297

I cldn't tell any change until my 3rd fill and just went in today for my 4th fill ( have to wait 2 weeks in between) I'm now @ 7 hopefully I'm in the zone should be able to tell in a couple of days!

Thanks Don. We have an evening out planned (well sort of but I can get out of it) a week after my surgery... so not sure if I'll be able to sit for say 3 hours to enjoy it.... I've also managed to put off having any house guests (the draw of living in Spain with the warm weather and a pool usually brings them over in the summer!!) until 3 weeks out, and then its my best friend who knows about the surgery. I'm glad you're recovering well - enjoy being at home... I know I hate being in hospital so will look forward to returning home next weekend after the event! Good luck with your recovery Kathy

Many of teens and young guy face the acne problems. The main cause of their embarrassment and stress comes from these problems. It is just comes from eating junk or oily foods which breaks the nutrition balance from our body so your body need the right nutrition in right quantity. Don’t worry, because if the problem comes then solution is also come with the problem. Here is some useful tips, may be these are helpful for acne remedy. Honey mask is very effective for your acne because it has antibacterial properties so it fight with the harmful bacteria and help to acne cures. Wash your face at least three times in a day with the acne soap (sulfur base soap). Don’t wash more time because it increases the ration of your acne. Try to keep hair off from your face because your hair contains any kind of oil, which is not good for acne. These are some useful acne remedies, if you obeying these rules than surely you will get the clean face. Your skin depends on the nutrition if our nutrition is right then we will be free form any kind of disease. Nutrition gives the power that our body fights with harmful bacteria if our power is not strong than we will surround by many kind of disease so take proper nutrition. Excess of anything is not good first of all take advise from the doc.carrots is also a effective treatment for acne because it contain vitamin-a. It helps to repair the tissues of our skin. Don’t forget about your pillows and try to wash the pillows everyday. So try to take healthy and full of nutrition foods. beware of any kind of junk foods.thus,you can say bye bye acne.

As soon as I had my consultation with the surgeon, I decided to do little things to get ready for the HUGE lifestyle change to come. So I decided to quit smoking (which I am successful--- so far!) quit caffiene and to go on slimfast, so that when I have to go on strict liquids, I would already be used to having a liquid meal twice a day. And I stopped with all the Snacks and sweets and fast food, and started on a very good quality organic whole foods vitamin! Did mention I did all of this at one time??? I just decided one day to do it so when I got up the next morning I started. No cigs, no soda, no tea, no reese cups, no Mickey D's, no Taco Bell, etc... Well if you want to know what agony is like, then just try what I did. I did really well the first several days, then gradually last Thursday my head started to ache, so i took some tylenol... then my head started to pound! I figured it was from the caffiene withdrawl. By the time i got home, I barely made it to bed. I was in bed from 5:30 pm to 6 am every time i would turn in my sleep my head ache would wake me up because it just hurt soooo bad. I got up at 2am and drank a small juice cup of pepsi, thinking by the morning i'd feel much better. I didn't much feel better, only a tiny bit better. I took a hot shower thinking that would help, no luck. I went through another miserable day at work. Finally a co-worker gave a couple of excedrin migraine. It helped some, but I still was not doing well. My best friend talked me into taking some midrin (prescription meds for migrain) I am not big of taking meds, espically other peoples meds... espically pain killers, but I was desperate. The midrin worked well. Saturday I felt better but still a bit of throbbing, so I took the midrin again. Felt MUCH better! Yesterday I felt pretty good all day, Didn't need a midrin until yesterday evening. Today all i have taken is a tylenol this a.m. and I will not take any more because I do NOT want to get a rebound headache, I told a nurse friend what happened, she said that i tried to do too many at once. She said espically with caffiene it is important to reduce by 1 drink/day for a week the 2/per for aq week and so on until u are off of it. Plus I shocked my body when i suddenly dramatically changed my diet and quit smoking. So i got back on the pepsi, and sweet tea! Still trying to follow the slim fast thing but with the caffiene. I am going to wait 2 weeks and then try WEANING off of caffiene... the last four days have been the most miserable days of my life... seriously no exaderateration (sp?) this non stop "fading" headache hurt worse than when i had a c-section and was off all pain meds 2 days later! I never want to go through this again!!!! Now if I cough or sneeze My head throbs, but other than that and an "ouchie" now and then I am feeling sooooo much better. Has anyone else had anything like this??

I will probably have to take something for life due to a pain patch I wear that is really constipating. I currently take 2 Colace in the morning and an 8 ounce glass of crystal lite with Benifiber. Also the occasional Milk of Mag. and yet I only go 2 to 3 times a week.

I Wish I Would Have Done This Long Ago. I Feel So Much Better About Myself. I Had Put On 95lbs In 11 Years. It Is So Awesom To See The Scale Go Down Each Week Instead Of Always Going Up. Good Luck With Your Choice!!!

Not me, but I'd suggest changing up your lifestyle a bit (diet, exercise, etc). Seems the stress of moving/jobs is what stalled your scale weight, I'm assuming. Stress is a huge contributor to weight gain. Do you best to not worry, find some peace and rest hon.

I'm so in the same boat. Onto week 4 of my 6 week Optifast diet... But it's not so bad now. The coffee and banana flavour shakes are awesome blended with ice, and really filling. I would not recommend the vege Soup... It leaves it's smell on anything you use for it- really off putting. Haven't tried the chicken soup but apparently it's pretty good. I am also petrified the surgeon will say no... It's terrifying. He hasn't given me a number, but the nut said about 15kg to lose. On track having lost 8kg so far at the midway point. But it's hard not to get complacent...

Nope, my port does not stick out, I cannot even feel mine right now. I am four weeks out and have not had my first adjustment yet, but yes, I have been for the most part feeling full quickly, although I am need of an adjustment and will get one at my next appointment in February. Remember the band is a tool to help you, there is still work you need to do and make sure you put the right food into your body. Good Luck! ~eko

Got the dreaded call today. UGI showing my esophagus is in trouble due to dilation and other issues with stretched pouch, then, to complicate matters my new insurance does not cover the bariatric programs in my local town where I got my lap band and I have transferred care to the new insurance bariatric program 400 miles away. I have an appointment with the new doctor in 3 weeks. The call today came from the new clinic letting me know that the band needed to come out and revision to sleeve will be done 6 months after band removal. I did not want to hear either one of these news. So, I understand the 6 month wait due to scar tissue caused by the band and time to allow healing. My question and concern is undergoing 2 surgeries, what are my chances of getting approval for the sleeve after lap band removal? What I am hoping to hear is that revision approval (if there is such a code) includes band removal and sleeve after the six months. What I am unfortunately expecting to hear is that both removal and sleeve are two separate approvals. What if I don't meet insurance requirements to qualify for the sleeve after removal is my biggest fear! I've been successful with my weight loss and the band, however, will my BMI meet the requirements after band removal? Will I need to gain weight to meet the BMI requirements? I will be devastated if I end up with no weight loss tool of any kind. Just with a few times that I had complete unfills of the band, I started gaining weight quickly. Anyone have any ideas how all this works? All insurances companies are different and I will contact mine to get more information, but, I am afraid I will end up with nothing. Jake

I ate a lot of puréed chili with a little bit of melted cheese on top. Tasted delicious. I'm in soft foods and I've had it a few times this week too because its so good.

Denise...I get mine at Walmart. They don't seem to stock much of it but I get enough for two weeks at a time. I like the plain. They also have vanilla but I find there's not much taste to it and higher in cals. It is so nice and thick and yet easy to get down in the morning. Seems to hold me till noon. Like I said, I put SF syrup and soynuts in it and sometimes Kashi Cereal. There's 90 cals in the plain, 15g protien (more when I add the nuts) and 6g carbs. I see from other posts that you are struggling with acid reflux at night and not much restriction during the day. The night time reflux thing is worrisome. That would be so aggravating! Hope you find out what it going on with your band soon so you can feel at ease again.

I am two and a half weeks out of surgery. I started eating this week (3 oz. protein, 2 oz. fruit/veggie- per meal and 3 dairy). I am hitting about 800 calories a day, between 65-80g of protein. For exercise, I am walking about 1-1/2 miles per day. I am consuming about 50-80oz. of liquids. I haven't lost any weight in two weeks, tired all the time. and today the moodiness set in. I can't focus at work and cry at anything emotional. Did any of this happen to you? I feel so lost today....

Once you move from liquids back to real food your weight loss slows down for a couple weeks. Don't worry, it will pick back up again soon!

Thats one of the single worst aspects of the laproscopic surgery is that they blow you up like a baloon... Took about a week for me for the air to disipate ... was very uncomfortable at times ...walking helps a lot .. . hope it settles

Hi everyone. This is my first post. I was banded on 5/23/06 - everything went great. The only issue I am having is my stomach is Greatly distended. I am on the verge of looking like an ethiopian kid in some TV ad for sponsoring the children. My stomach was rather flat before (believe it or not) and it really poofs out ALOT now and is rather hard to the touch. It is very uncomfortable. I have had a few bowel movements so that is not the problem. Anyone else have this?? The nurse said some people get this and it can last a few weeks... ugh

I just wanted to share my banding experience with everyone too. I was banded on Tuesday morning. I got up at 5 a.m because I could not sleep. I arrived at the hosptial at 6:30 and the nurse greeted me in a cheerful voice and told me to go use the bathroom then have a seat in the lobby area. My husband accompanied me and we sat for about 20 minutes before we were called to a room. Once I was in the room, I was given the stockings and a gown to put on. One of the nurses came in and started my iv. she was very nice and chatted about how busy the shortstay was as compared to the emergency room. She really made me feel relaxed. Approximately 10 minutes later, I was taken to a room and one of the nurses gave me a "party hat" to put on. He told me that I could not go to the party without it. He was so funny. I met the guy who was going to administer my anethesia(sp) and he told me no worries. O.K. I can go with that. I was then rolled to the operating room and told to move over onto another bed. One of the nurses told me that she was going to put a oxygen mask on my face and I comment "Good night". I already knew it was going to be lights out. I awoke in a cold room and someone was calling my name. I answered and he told me that it took me a long time to wake up and I remember telling him "I was dreaming and you woke me up". He laughed and asked me if I was ready to be taken to my room. I told him yes. He asked me if I wanted anything for pain and I said yes. I was not in pain, but if he was offering.... I arrived in my room and the nurses were so nice. I had minimal pain except for the gas that insisted on running through my upper chest area. I got up and walked it down to the lower part of my stomach I guess. I had anticipated a lot of gas in my shoulders and back. But I did not have that. I still have gas pains in my stomach but they are not as bad as I had thought. I did get up to walk one time during the night and I thought I was going to throw up but the nurse hurried me back to bed. This experience was not as bad as I had read on some posts. I am now back at home after spending the night in the hospital(I recommend it). I feel fine except for the soreness where my port is, but as long as I am not twisting or turning too much, it is fine. I think my challenge is going to be the two weeks on the liquid diet phase. I hope those of you who are scheduled to be banded, will have as good of an experience as I did.

I am now 24 weeks pregnant. My band is still filled at 9... I am shocked that at this point in my pregnancy I have not felt any discomfort but, I won't lie I have been wondering if the baby will be able to feel or kick the port... My OB/GYN assures me she wont... So, maybe you need to see your Ob/GYn please keep me posted.. Congrats and best of luck!

Hi Everyone! I'm Jason and I'd like to join the group. Here's the twist. I was banded in December 2009. Issue is that it was completely devoid of any saline and was never filled until 2 days ago. The surgeon believed waiting 6 months before the first fill and in that time I lost my job and also my insurance. I'm thankful that I found a new job last summer and I love it, but it's a small company and the insurance covers NOTHING regarding the lap bands, not fills, not the doctor's visit, not even the cup of Water they give you when you walk out the door. So, I'm finally filled. I have the "big" lap band (14cc's I think) and he put 5.5 cc's in there under a fluroscope. He said with that, I should feel very uncomfortable if I continue to eat like I've been. 2 nights before I went to a Sushi buffet and closed the place down. I've had ZERO restriction and could eat unlimited amounts of anything. Right now I'm on yogurt and pudding and tomorrow I can start with blended stuff. (or just scrambled eggs since there's NO WAY I'm blending food) Sad thing is that the day of surgery I weiged 290. The post op, mostly liquid and no carb diet brought me down to 251 at my lowest in March 2010. As of 2 days ago I was 319. That's a gain of 68 pounds since surgery. Needless to say, I'm ashamed. I've been able to save up over the last year and have found a new surgon who will take credit cards so I'm paying for follow up myself. This is motivator #2 or 3 for me. So for all intents and purposes, it's like I was just banded but worse because I don't remember the protocol very well. I found a new surgeon. I finally have Fluid in my band, and I'm scared to death of what lies ahead. The new sugeon's support groups start up again in 3 weeks so this site is all I've got. Please adopt me. I have to succeed. I'm 36 years old, fat, diabetic. have apnea and a 3 year old daughter I want to be around for. Help....please. Thanks Jason

Well I'm not a veteran, but I would like to say WELCOME. I will be banded in a couple of weeks. This site has been of great help and everyone here is so supportive. Good Luck to You!

Did anyone still have gas almost a week after and one of my incisions the biggest one on my right hurts with movement I constantly have to hold something against it I just can't wait till this all gets better they say I'm not getting enough Fluid but I'm trying and with each sip there's pain helpppp Sent from my HTC One_M8 using the BariatricPal App

I had my first Protein shake this a.m. Still buzzing. But yes, my post-op is just as you described remembering. I have a magic bullet. LOVE IT. I quickly whip up my Protein shakes, etc. My surgeons post-op plan has me on protein shakes until day 21...I'm thinking that is severe and I may start soupy stuff in a week...putting my at about 15 days. I'm not trying to 'buck' the experts, but strike a balance between reasonably cautious and listening to my body. I'msure people will want to lecture me, but the post-op diet does allow for some discretion based on if you feel lethargic, etc. I don't yet, but I'm up to walking almost a mile in the a.m. and 3/4 in the p.m. on my treadmill. I have had zero problems with any area so far. I'm 9 days out (I count surgery day since I was done by 10 a.m.). Anyway, how about chicken enchilada's (easy). Chicken and rice ala Campbell's cream of something soup with baby carrots (all one dish cooking), chicken salad with some cashews (yum!) on nice rolls, chicken stir fry with frozen veggies over rice (use the packet sauces from the asian section), chicken dumplings (easy)... Gotta run, I have a "lunch" date with a girlfriend who doesn't know about my quick trip to Mexico. lol I'm debating whether to mention it, for a lot of reasons, but I don't want to lie about why I'm not eating. I'm not hungry, well...that's true. Strict diet: drastic times calls for drastic measures...that's also true. Ummmm Maybe I'll order french onion soup and just eat the broth and she won't notice. hahahaha Talk later! Susan