Newly Banded!
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sleepingarby
Posts: 25
I just had the Lap band procedure on Tuesday, other than having rough night last night with extreme pain in my rib cage due to gas, I am doing well. I would like to hear more from other bankers as to what to expect next. Good and bad. I really want to make this work and so far I have done much work on my own, I would just like more tips and insights.
Thanks in advance,
Thanks in advance,
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Sorry I think your post got buried a little here is a bump hopefully to get you some advice from others who have had the same procedure.
How are you feeling now?
Best wishes for a speedy recovery!:flowerforyou:0 -
Hi! I'm due to have the band fitted in three weeks so I'll be watching this post. Maybe you could impart some advice to those that are a few weeks behind you too??
Congrats on getting through it well and I hope all goes well. I've frightened myself to death a bit in researching the band but, I was sitting in the sun (yes, finally! There was sun!) drinking my coffee and I've decided to look forward and absolutely NO looking back!
My one question that the dietician/psychologist can't answer is - how do you cope after in social situations? Like going for a meal and stuff, isn't it conspicuous that you are just having a starter etc? So, as I said, I'll be watching this...0 -
Granted I'm only 9 days out but I have noticed some changes in my brain of all places. First of all, for me pre-surgery, the smell of yummy food would literally DRIVE me to eat it. Like I had a constant "food proximity alert" going off in my brain. I could never forget left-over pizza in the fridge, leave a box of anything unattended. So you can imagine my surprise when that alarm has been silenced. My daughter, son-in-law and a host of caring friends stopped by. So naturally they ordered chinese. I thought, what a great test/opportunity for me to see what happens. It smelled great and that's it. I felt NO compulsion to approach it, touch it, much less eat it. I have been following everything the team has told me to do and I struggle to maintain the appetite to put 650-700 calories in me. So in short I've discovered that desire is GONE. Although granted, it may resurface in the future.0
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Granted I'm only 9 days out but I have noticed some changes in my brain of all places. First of all, for me pre-surgery, the smell of yummy food would literally DRIVE me to eat it. Like I had a constant "food proximity alert" going off in my brain. I could never forget left-over pizza in the fridge, leave a box of anything unattended. So you can imagine my surprise when that alarm has been silenced. My daughter, son-in-law and a host of caring friends stopped by. So naturally they ordered chinese. I thought, what a great test/opportunity for me to see what happens. It smelled great and that's it. I felt NO compulsion to approach it, touch it, much less eat it. I have been following everything the team has told me to do and I struggle to maintain the appetite to put 650-700 calories in me. So in short I've discovered that desire is GONE. Although granted, it may resurface in the future.
I SOOOOOOO needed to hear that today!!! I am in an EAT EAT EAT mood! I want to eat everything and anything! LOL
I drove out of my way to pick up pizza for dinner, and stopped and bought a chocolate bar for my snack! UGH!
I know I have pms, but it's almost uncontrollable right now. I'm SO frustrated!
I did go for a walk to try to counter balance it LOL
And i'm ready to take some tylenol (can't have advil anymore) and go to bed and hope that I feel better tomorrow!
I have heard that post surgery those feeling diminish, i'm SO glad to hear that it's happened to you!0 -
That is good to hear and I hope I get something like that too! I think I will as I sent a bit of a moaning email to my dietician and one comment she made was - 'Once you're banded and your hunger is controlled you won't feel like this'.
That is exactly why I'm doing this!!
To not feel that mega hunger! On my last appointment with her I was saying that I just want to be normal - satiated once I've eaten and not hungry until the next meal. Right now it feels like the being full feeling is delayed for me. Other people have a meal and stop and say 'I'm stuffed' or something. I stop through embarrassment and it can be another half hour after that I think 'Ok, I'm full'.
I just can't wait to be...normal.0 -
It was weird to try to wrap my head around a concept I just had never experienced, but it's real and then all the doubts about whether I was just lazy or lacked willpower were silenced with the "proximity alarm". In the meantime try exploring protein rich foods, I love the quest bars, and make it a goal to eat S-L-O-W-E-R and take mouse nibbles. You'll need to do both after the band anyway. Even while "the dog" (what I now call my stomach, as it has a 'leash' and is in training now), is driving you to search out snacks at little mental training can go a long way. For example: I can have this snack, after I fold the laundry. Or Second dish of ice cream after you go outside and walk around the house/block etc. twice. It's like with a real dog. Sit.....stay...... okay0
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I have had my band for 5 years, the best thing it did for me was to make me eat sloooowwww so I get full on just a little bit, my binges are 4 to 6 chips!0
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I've had my band for a little over 2 years now. Like you, once I had it, I have to make myself eat to get the necessary protein and calories in in a day. Eating slower helped me too. I always ate fast, inhale now..taste later. Now I eat slower. I had to have the fluid removed from mine due to a health complication, but I still find I have learned to eat slower over the 2 years and now I still do and now with only the band and no fluid to restrict, I still eat the same amount as I did before the fluid was removed. My 'binges' are a few chips..or a cookie to get the taste of something sweet. This is new for me because before surgery, a whole bag of chips..or a whole batch of cookies would be my binge/snacks. I'm sure you will find great success in your journey! Looking forward to seeing your progress.0
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it hasn't been magic for me, I am 15 months out and months 1-6 were the easiest. I was hardly ever hungry, I had plenty of energy and motivation, things were great! I lost 40lbs!
Then I fell onto a hard plateau, my calories and exercise stayed the same but I didn't lose another pound for months and I was getting discouraged. My doc sees this often and was great about helping me get back on the wagon. What I have learned is I need to see him once a month even if I am not getting a fill, it keeps me accountable and motivated.0 -
I am going on nine years with my band. The best advise I have is to remember that the band is a tool and not magic. You still need to be accountable for everything you put in your mouth. The band works on restriction not absorption. The band does not know if you just at 4 ounces of chicken breast or 4 ounces of ice cream. Listen to what your band tells you. It will definitely tell you if you just ate something that it does not agree with. Mine is chicken and breads. The slower you eat and the more you chew the better your food goes down. Congratulations on you new band and the success that it will bring you.0
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I am going on nine years with my band. The best advise I have is to remember that the band is a tool and not magic. You still need to be accountable for everything you put in your mouth. The band works on restriction not absorption. The band does not know if you just at 4 ounces of chicken breast or 4 ounces of ice cream. Listen to what your band tells you. It will definitely tell you if you just ate something that it does not agree with. Mine is chicken and breads. The slower you eat and the more you chew the better your food goes down. Congratulations on you new band and the success that it will bring you.
Excellent advice here! I just had my 8 year anniversary and it has not been easy. I was 50lbs away from my first goal, started having trouble swallowing and put the wrong foods in my mouth to compensate no food intake and gained all my weight back. It's discouraging but I got back on the wagon and have lost 30lbs so far. Just listen to your body, for me, when I'm getting full my nose runs, I sigh heavily once or get a hiccup, then it's time to stop. Stuck episodes will happen and you'll slime it up, it's gross but it happens and for me, it happens at the worse possible time.
Good luck!!0
