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Hey StrangelyNormal!! I am just finishing my recovery time with the bajamedgroup. I leave for home Friday morning! I am very happy with my recovery and have been virtually pain free (knock on wood, tap tap).I can't wait to get home and do my first post op weigh in. We went shopping today and it was the first time in almost a year that it didnt feel like I had a knife going through my right foot. I cant believe I feel a difference so fast but I do.

Well here I am making my first postop post and it is around 2am. I have a morphine pcs pump so I am sleeping intermittently based on how many times I press the button. I have to say the pain is mainly on my left side at the port site where the Srimach was removed. The pain isn't too bad at all. I have been nauseous off and on but no vomiting thank the lord. I am using alcohol swabs under my nose for the nausea on between my doses of zofran which is every 6 hours. Ice chips only since surgery and they go down easily. I have the reds hose and scd boots going on and oxygen via nasal cannula. My roommate had the sleeve also and everything OS the same for her including pain level. Will post again to9morrow after upper gi series and switching to clear liquids. Goodnight to all

Sorry how much have you got to lose left ? I think if it was me perhaps out of desperation I'd do a liquid diet just to shift something fast but I don't know anything about hyperthyroid that must make it harder. Hope you get there Sent from my Vivo 5R using BariatricPal mobile app

3 month post op today and im down -40 lbs. My goal was to be at 200 by today and i made it!!! WooHoo!!! im a slow loser any time i dieted so i figured i wouldnt lose as fast as some on here but im happy with where i am. Next goal is to get to 187lbs that makes me 100 lbs down from my heaviest.

Ok this my first time writing since two weeks after my banding surgery. It has been a lots of ups and downs but for the most part ups or shall i say down. I have lost little more then 50 lbs pounds since May. I lost almost 3 dress sizes and I am feeling better about my self. When first started I was 399 lbs. I lose 20lbs even before I could i could have the surgery so I was really like 420 lbs. Today I am between 344-348. There reason why i say this is because I've been losing and gaining the same 4lbs over last couple of weeks. I am falling back to my old eating habits. However, my saving grace is I workout hour and half ever day. (check out my photos to see the difference) I still have lot weight to lose. I am tall so my weight doesnt look so bad but I look at myself everyday and now that i need to lose at least 100 lbs in order for me to be happy with myself. I know it will take time but that just my inpatients talking. I just need to refocus and make some changes in the way I eat. This has been one of downs of after surgery struggles. I am also losing my hair. I find hard to eat certain foods which hurts if I eat them or if I eat to fast which sometime leads me to throwing up. I try not to eat bread, pasta and rice. But these things are so hard to give up but these are food that hard for me to eat. I try to eat as much as portin as possible but my hair is still falling out. I dont know what do. I just need to stay focus on losing more weight

Ok this my first time writing since two weeks after my banding surgery. It has been a lots of ups and downs but for the most part ups or shall i say down. I have lost little more then 50 lbs pounds since May. I lost almost 3 dress sizes and I am feeling better about my self. When first started I was 399 lbs. I lose 20lbs even before I could i could have the surgery so I was really like 420 lbs. Today I am between 344-348. There reason why i say this is because I've been losing and gaining the same 4lbs over last couple of weeks. I am falling back to my old eating habits. However, my saving grace is I workout hour and half ever day. (check out my photos to see the difference) I still have lot weight to lose. I am tall so my weight doesnt look so bad but I look at myself everyday and now that i need to lose at least 100 lbs in order for me to be happy with myself. I know it will take time but that just my inpatients talking. I just need to refocus and make some changes in the way I eat. This has been one of downs of after surgery struggles. I am also losing my hair. I find hard to eat certain foods which hurts if I eat them or if I eat to fast which sometime leads me to throwing up. I try not to eat bread, pasta and rice. But these things are so hard to give up but these are food that hard for me to eat. I try to eat as much as portin as possible but my hair is still falling out. I dont know what do. I just need to stay focus on losing more weight

I'm a food addict too, and like many others on here I believe in eating everything in moderation. Deprivation was a major mistake for me everytime I "dieted". I'd quit all my favorite foods cold turkey and when I'd become weak or just fed up with salads and grilled chicken I'd eat all the garbage I loved til I was sick to my stomach. I'd go on a bender that wouldn't stop until I just didn't care anymore about what I shoved into my face. That is the reason I've gained back all the weight(and then some) I've ever lost (pre-band). For us, unlike drugs food is everywhere. We dont have to go to a dealer to get a hit. We won't go to prison for odering a 20 peice nuggets and washing is down with #2 supersized. We are surrounded by food everyday. We just have to be aware of what we are doing. Seriously now if I feel I "need" chicken nuggets, I'll go get it, maybe I'll eat 3 or 4 and be full. That will kill my craving and I'll move on. This is how my life is now and I'm happy here. The weight is coming off slow, but for me the weight coming off fast means deprivation and that's never worked before and won't work now, even with my band. But Suzzie the other issues you are having with reflux are terrible, I'm so sorry. I hope you can find a happy medium with your band and start losing weight again. Also, here's a tip that might work for you when it comes to cravings/addiction. Do not keep crap in the house, ever. If you crave something or feel you need it buy a small bag of it, or a serving size. That's what I do and it works, for me anyway. I want something, I eat some in that moment once it's gone it's gone. Having it laying around would cause me to eat it just because it's there. These are very hard habits to break but it is doable, it's not a scam when people say "everything in moderation" there is truth to this. Also look for lower fat snacks/ice creams, at first they don't compare to the real thing, but they can kill those uncontrollable urges. There are many "healthier" alternatives to the garbage foods we love. I hope you do not think of yourself as "crazy" "weak" or "stupid" we are all struggling with the same or similar food issues and anyone of us could be in your shoes in a year or 2. The band was never a garuntee, we need the fills to help us, if you're out there with no fill how could you even be getting help from the band, it's as if you are on your own again battling your weight. Getting the band was for help, no fills+no restriction = no help. Wasn't that the point of all this? Perhaps you should see your doctor and get very small fills until you find that "sweet spot" where your reflux is under control and you have restriction. I wish you the best of luck and try to stay in touch and active on this site, it surely helps when you are in need of motivation or feeling down. Who better to understand you than others that have walked and are walking in your shoes?

I have BCBS Texas and I had no problems. The surgeon's office called it a fast track and basically as soon as I finish my psych clearance it will take about 3 weeks.

Today I woke up feeling pretty good, no back pain, no joint pain, no fatigue. This is the first time this has happened in awhile. I got up and watered the plants and put on my gym clothes and went to the gym. I was fearing the scale because it's been a few days since I lost any weight but I know that I'm not really supposed to weigh myself every day so I had a hope that I would have dropped a little. I'm down to 222 now and only have 6 pounds left to get to my goal, but I have a hope that maybe I'll weigh less on the doctor's scale tomorrow when I go in for an appt. I did very well at the gym this morning too. 65 minutes on the elliptical trainer and then 4 laps in the pool to cool off, should have burned about 1000 calories just since I woke up this morning. I had a chicken sandwich, no mayo or oil from subway for lunch. There's less calories in it than I burned off at the gym. Normally I don't eat out but I was really hungry when I was done with my workout and needed something fast but healthy. I made a good choice and I'm proud of myself. I'm nervous about going to see my doctor tomorrow because I have been having chest pains and I am afraid it's going to hold up my surgery. I just don't want anything to go wrong with me. Hopefully it's just something harmless. The only good thing about going is I get to be weighed on their scale which will tell me how much I've really lost. :smile2:

Well, first of all you shouldn't be eating so many carbs. Spit pea soup and crackers is not going to help you lose weight. You should stick to high Protein (70 grams a day) and very little carbs. You should also keep track of everything you eat. Probably the soup was easy to go down as well as the crackers so that is why you didn't experience any difficulty. I had my surgery on Sept. 29th and I can still only eat 2 ounces of food at each meal. I make sure that I get in all of my protein but it is difficult if I eat too fast or eat more than 2 oz. Your surgery is only a tool to help you. Your doctor should have told you what to eat and what not to avoid. Trust me, you will know when you have eaten too much because it will be really painful. Good luck to you. This is the best thing I have ever done for myself and everything my doctor told me has come true.

I think I was eating too fast. I just had some vegetable soup and it seems fine. And I'm finally full after eating just one cup! I think I'll stay on liquids for another day just in case.

I agree w/ AJ. Sounds like you may have either eaten too fast or taken too big of bites. It is very easy to do as we are learning. So remember to take tiny bites and chew (even in the mushie stage), then wait 30 sec. - 1 min before taking 2nd bite. Doing liquids for a day or two until it feels back to normal is a good idea though.

Well I've been eating food since posting this and I'm relieved to report everything has been great! I'm finding it a big change to eat really slowly. I was never a fast eater but I need to slow it down to the point where the food is going cold! But that's a small inconvenience and I'm so relieved that so far I haven't had problems with anything I've eaten. It's shocking how little I can manage but that's the whole point I suppose! All in all it's going great. Xx

Couldn't get comfortable on the couch and kept waking up to take more pain meds. I slept though. No nausea thank goodness. Had my first shake this morning with pain meds to coat my stomach. I fell asleep on the couch on my side and when I woke I was having weird pain/sensation in my sinuses and head when I would breathe in. Very weird. I'm taking Gas-X for gastro rumblings and am experiencing occasional trapped burps I guess under the band. The trapped burp feels weird and could be painful I guess but goes as fast as it comes. I'm about to take a shower and remove the bandages to see what's going on under there. My mid section is sore and I'm betting my port is on my left side from the pain there. I think I may take some more pain meds before getting in the shower just in case I move around too much.

Couldn't get comfortable on the couch and kept waking up to take more pain meds. I slept though. No nausea thank goodness. Had my first shake this morning with pain meds to coat my stomach. I fell asleep on the couch on my side and when I woke I was having weird pain/sensation in my sinuses and head when I would breathe in. Very weird. I'm taking Gas-X for gastro rumblings and am experiencing occasional trapped burps I guess under the band. The trapped burp feels weird and could be painful I guess but goes as fast as it comes. I'm about to take a shower and remove the bandages to see what's going on under there. My mid section is sore and I'm betting my port is on my left side from the pain there. I think I may take some more pain meds before getting in the shower just in case I move around too much.

Had the best day at the gym today....EVER!!!! After completing the C2-5K program, I now start each workout with a 30 minute run. But I wanted more than just 30 minutes. So i decided, after the 30 minutes are up, I would then repeat the entire C2-5K program again and see where it leads. Today, I started with a 40 minute run...then jumped into the C2-5K, Week #3, day-2. I did not feel challenged, so I boosted the speed and incline to maintain a good BPM. Better, but still did not feel it was enough. At the end of the C2-5K program, they have you do a 5 minute cool down walk...but I was not yet satisfied....even though I was past the 60 minute mark. So for 3 minutes I did a all out SPRINT!!!! It was both exhilarating and scary....scary because I felt if I slipped I would fly across the room!!! But I was flying on the treadmill, so fast it was like my feet hardly touched the belt! Now I know this a freak occurrence...like seeing a low number on the scale, I know it won't be there tomorrow...But I did see it! And that is enough to encourage me to see it again, and again.... This is not about me...this is about the band...something everyone can achieve....especially those here who are 1/2 my age!!! 3 years ago something like this would not even be something I could imagine myself doing... If anything, being 60 years old and in bad health, including one Heart attack resulting in heart surgery, I felt I was on the down slide of life, not the other way around where things keep improving! And it is all because I decided to have Lap-band surgery, loosing all the excess weight and fat which I could never have done on my own....and obtaining a new life!! And that...is what it's all about!!

I read your post and have to tell you the truth... it can be very, very hard in the beginning. I have great difficulty sometimes - mostly at night as I'm a night eater. You will need to stick to your docs rules. If you haven't really stayed on your pre-op diet, did you know that they could open you up for surgery and then close you right back up again? The purpose of the pre-op diet is to shrink your fatty liver and other organs to give the doc room to work. More people than you realize have not followed the pre-op and then woke up in recovery without a band. Bottom line - if you love food more than you love yourself you won't be doing yourself any favors with this. You MUST do as instructed from your docs and nutritionist. If you don't you could cause slippage (especially if you eat solids soon after surgery) or you could stretch your new stomach pouch. And believe me when I say that you will know if you eat too much or too fast or without chewing well enough. It hurts like nothing I've ever felt... thought I was having a heart attack! And it lasts until the food passes - that could take a couple of hours. Look, it's a learning process, but all of us go through it. If you can follow the rules you'll do fine. But if you already KNOW that you CAN'T change your eating habits, DON'T do this - it could really be bad for your health to do this and then hurt yourself by not following the rules. Everybody is different, but the only person who can decide for sure is YOU. If you're not 100% sure, then postpone the surgery and get in to see someone - maybe the psychologist or the surgeons nurse or someone who has had the same concerns that you have. Your life is too valuable to chance this without being certain that you can change your habits. I wish you the very best luck possible. Barbara

I have had some second thoughts and fears. I am worried cause I have to pay out of pocket and what if I fail at this like I did other programs.. I also was watching some things on you tube on lapbands and there was a Dr.R something on there cutting down the lapband. Got me pretty scared... But then I sat here and thought more about it looked up some more research and am as ready as ever to do it I have 6 days of protein shakes to go... Holy poop.. It is coming fast and I can do it.. My family doc has a cheering section at his office for me.. It feels good.. Not many people have WLS up here in BC cause it mostly self pay except for the very few who are approved for the GBS... So anyways we can do this... I am here if you ever wanna talk..

Well it was a hard time to start a diet over the holidays. But I did manage to lose 3lbs. Now I am going strictly on low carb for the next 16 days before my surgery. My plan is to use the low carb slim fast and some fresh low fat meat choices. I also have some Isopure Grape Frost drink.

Learn something new every day! I never had this test. I did, however, just have the complete metabolic panel done via blood test--after fasting. It's so interesting to me how differently doctors approach the surgery and aftercare.

I went to a doctor's appointment with the on call doctor since mine was out of town. He said since my port is attached to muscle, that perhaps a muscle relaxer. Not so much. Going tomorrow to see my regular surgeon. Looks like they may need to go in and move the port so it will be in a more comfortable place. Right now, its so painful - it feels like it's going to just rip apart. The muscle relaxers didn't work so i'm going to ask for pain meds. Nothing else seems to help. I hope they figure this out fast. CT scan showed nothing wrong. Thank you for asking :scared2:

Welcome Mum, I've only lost 20 lbs so far but look what this weight loss has already done for me 1. Reduced my fasting blood sugar from 7.5 to 5.9. 2. Eliminated one of my blood pressure meds. 3. Reduced the amount of acid reflux meds. I haven't even had my first fill yet. It's scheduled for Oct 5 and I can't wait to see what this will do for me. Good Luck with your journey!!!

I am 1 week and 1 day post op Gastric Bypass. Today I started puréed food. Everyone talks about how fast they get full. I know I’m probably over thinking this BUT I had 1/2 of a Greek yogurt around 1:00 and around 6:00 I had a 1/2 cup of a creamy soup. In between I also kept up with my protein shake. I’m comfortable but not over full at all like everyone made it sound that I would be. Can anyone give me a little idea what you are or were taking in around this time please :)

Congrats to you all!!! It sounds like we are all moving in the right direction. I was told not to lose too fast also. It is disappointing sometimes, but I am trying to follow the doctors instructions. After all, if my way was working I wouldn't be this big. I have a lap band consultant at my doctors office. When his patients visit him they also visit her. She helps with the lifestyle changes that go along with the lap band. She gives us tips on eating and cooking. She recommends no more than 1200 calories, 60 carbs, and 60 grams of Protein or more. The more protein you eat the better. With every meal I try for 20+ protein and as little carbs as I can. I do not eat anything unless their is protein included. If I eat a sugar free pudding I eat a piece of cheese also. I eat a lot of plain Greek yogurt. (I add Protein powder or vanilla splenda flavors to it) I eat a lot of fat free cottage cheese with no sugar added peaches that come in a snack size cup. Being on the go all the time is the hard part of dieting and eating right. I found the Atkins frozen meals that are delicious and low carb high in protein. After a long day and not wanting to cook pop one of those in the microwave. Easy breezy!! I also take one to work now and then for lunch when I forget to make my lunch the night before. I might eat out once a week. Usually when my husband comes home on the weekend and we go out to dinner. I used to eat out for lunch with the girls at the office and a lot of times at night on my way home I would grab something to take home. This is the biggest change that is helping me lose. I want us to give each other new ideas and tips. I by no means claim my ways are right or the best, and I am open for more suggestions. After all we will be doing this for a long time and you get burned out on the same things very fast. Keep up the great work ladies!!!

LeenaBeena....My consultation was on May 1 2006, and my surgery was June 5, 2006. I was self pay so it went really fast.