newbie

[stella-ella-olla 0]

:tongue2: i have been thinking and saving to get this done for awhile. i have two thoughts that bug me. if anyone would be so kind as to set my mind at ease or fill me in ...i would be grateful. first, what if u accidently get hit in the stomach? does that dislodge this and more surgery is required? thx

and what is the diet after? i hate diets, i thought choosing this and eating less would be all i'd need. why do i have to follow a diet?

the gastric ballooning looks nice, but i want permanant. i am so darn tired of being this way. i want out of it. i don't recall the name of the surgery where they take out part of ur stomach, but i am thinking that maybe more for me. i am not active anymore....but i wonder if thats because of the weight and the depression.

having someone to talk to would be so very nice. bypass, thats the name i forgot.lol. i am a 44 year old mom of a 9 year old, just married this last summer and addicted to eating. i am also a diabetic, so this can help with that too. i crave the weight loss badly. i used to be very acctive. rather lost for words right now. i am looking for someone honest to help me make my choices and give me some answers. thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this. smiles and waves:smile:

[likebefore 0]

well, let me try to answer... I have had my band for approx. 2 1/2 months. I also have a 9 month old baby and a 5 year old ROWDY son. Sooooo, I have taken a few hits in the stomach and I am okay. In the 2 weeks after the surgery- I was really tender, but now it hurts a little if I get kicked by my baby, or if my son throws the football and I miss, but it isn't anything major. Second, the reason for the diet is because your stomach is undergoing a serious change and needs to ease into this transition. Some foods get stuck, some are too hard on your stomach. At some point you are able to eat pretty much whatever you want- just not a lot. "The diet" is to allow you to heal, and not mess up your band. You can research this on this website in the Search box. Good Luck. It is the best thing I have ever done for myself, I have lost a total of 42 pounds so far, (by the way- I was gest. diab. with my daughter and never recovered. I was about to be put on insulin and then I had this surgery and I don't really have any problems with my sugar any more.) and I hope that you get the information you need and make the right choice for you.... :tongue2:

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Stella..

Don't know about being hit but like the OP said...you'll likely be fine unless it's a hit hard enough to have really harmed you even without the band. In other words, a hit that would rupture something else in there might hurt the band, but otherwise, no. A good surgeon can answer that for you completely!

As to the diet...guess what? After the Preop diet (if you have one, and if you do it's important that you follow it to a T so brace yourself) and the postop diet (which is even MORE important because it allows your stomach to heal around the band, where it's been sutured into place, and allows your esophagus and digestive organs to heal and settle down, to "get over" the trauma of surgery)

then if you diet or not is totally up to you. Some are rabid bean counters and weighers and charters and will say their way is the only way, and they are probably right, for themselves! Some "keep an eye on it". Some just try to make "healthy choices". Some just go about their lives.

Once you are restricted (reread that because it's vital and not stressed in the seminars etc) you will be able, if you follow the rules, to be satisfied with less food and stay satisfied longer. What you decide to eat is up to you, and if you want to calorie count and weigh and journal and balance you certainly can. If you just want to "eat less", that works too.

The band doesn't really DO anything but sit there at the top of your stomach. You really do work it. You have to go in for fills and work with your doctor and his team to hit your "sweet spot" where you can eat what you want, just not ALL you used to. Some like super restriction but that's really not too healthy. (trading one extreme for another, in my most humble opinion!) You choose what you eat, you choose to follow the rules (like not drinking liquids with your meal)

It's a tool. Everyone uses it a little differently but in most cases, if you work it, it works for you!