valley34

Hi Everyone, Well I've really been pretty down these past few days.My eating habits have been awful and because of it i'm kicking myself in the ya know what! I am in need of a fill badly!!!! I could have had a fill this past saturday with dr.vitello but i got the email late and missed seeing him.Ahhhhhh!!!! I'm awaiting to hear if he can take me this friday.I was wondering,is anyone going to see him this week? If so let me know,i'd love to chat and it always helps to ease my fear. I'm a big chicken and i too have him numb the site before he sticks me.His assistant patti is wonderful and she is very comforting.He's a great doctor and i'm praying that my second fill will have more restriction so that i can start losing more weight.I'm down 15 pounds but i got on the scale this morning and gained a couple pounds.It was hard for to see that.I'm working out five times a week and ''trying'' to watch what i eat. It does'nt help that my hubby and daughter are junk food junkies either:-) Take Care, Have a nice day everyone! Valerie~

Hi!!!! Thank you all for your support! You don't know how much it means to me at this time.I'm so hard on myself.I'm my worse critic.Really! I've now made Friday's my ''treat'' day to where i'm not going to feel guilty for what I have to eat. I think that's my problem.i'm trying to be so strict with my ''healthy'' eating that I'm feeling deprived on things i so badly want,just a little taste of something sweet. I took it upon myself to buy a bag of sugar free hershey's bars and just one does the trick. I know i need another fill,i don't feel the restriction like i did in the beginning.To be honest with all of you i don't think it lasted long. This friday will be the 4th friday since my last fill and i can't believe i need one so quick but i've read posts from other's saying they too needed another fill soon after their first adjustment. I'm still working out everyday(5 days) 30 min of cardio and I haven't gained anything but i'm still sitting at 229- so no more weight loss which gives me the red flag as well that it's time for a fill. I'm getting this now. OH!!!!! I wanted to tell all of you that i had a really huge scare last week. I had a slice of kraukas ham and let me just say it will be my last! It got stuck and i started choking something awful, my daughter rushed down stairs to help but i ran to the sink cause i knew what was about to happen.I kept thinking about my band slipping. I know it takes a lot more then that to have your band slip. So now i have to add ham and no bread to my diet.I was able to keep down sushi rather well though. Has anyone else had the same problems? Take Care:-) Valerie M

Hi Everyone, Well i had my first fill about three weeks ago with Dr.Vitello and at first i felt the restriction and was eating smaller amounts of food,now i'm noticing that my hunger pains are coming on so strong and i'm able to eat more! Ahhhhhhh..........i'm not being patient enough because every day i'm looking at the scale and i get so upset if i haven't lost a pound or two.I guess it's all my friends and my co-workers that have put so much preasure on me.I think they expect me to lose all the weight over nite. I have lost 15 pounds since surgery(sept 17th) so i'm proud of that this far. My main question is.....do i need a fill so soon? I mean i just had a fill and i went to a wedding on saturday and I gave in and ate a piece of cake,oh gosh i could kick myself in the rear:-( I was able to eat almost all my food on my plate but i didn't.Instead i had a lot of salad and green olives. Well that was my sign that I needed a fill because i was still hungry! Has this happened to anyone else? I need advice- Have a nice day everyone- Valerie

Hello There, Don't be scared.I also experienced the same as you. It was very painful for me to sleep on my left side.I didn't even try it the first week,it wasn't until the second to third week that i was even able to tolerate sleeping on my side. So don't worry,the pain will ease off with each passing day.You'll notice your body healing more and sleeping will become much more comfortable for you. I had a difficult time sitting for long periods of time so i walked and boy did i walk a lot! Good luck to you:-) Keep in touch and let us know how your doing- With Best Wishes, Valerie

Hi Kym, Thanks for the suggestions.I will try rum and diet coke and see what happens.I haven't tried drinking any soda since my surgeryI've been so afraid.I was wondering, would wine be okay to have? I know i need to avoid anything with a ton of sugar and calories. Have a nice day:-) Valerie

Hi, I can relate to all of you, I had my first fill a week and a half ago and this past friday i went out with a friend for sushi and actually was able to eat five rolls and have soup.I was so shocked that i kept it all down and that i ate all of that food! What confuses me is that sometimes i'm REALLY hungry and othr times i'm not.My down fall is at night i want to raid the fridge! aHHHHHH!!!!! So i've now took a hobby into reading to keep my mind off of food! I've now lost 14 pounds since my surgery(sept 17th) and i'm also working out five times a week for (30 min) and i was kinda praying i would have lost more weight by now. My co-workers are watching me as well.I was awaiting some comments on my weight loss but no one has said anything.That hurt my feelings a bit but my family and friends truly support me and my hubby tells me every day how good i'm looking so that's what matters. Hang in there,i SO know how you feel.Been there done that....... Have a good day everyone- And i just want to add that all of you give me such support!!!!! Thanks bunches:-)

Hi Kym, I have a question,i have a wedding to go to in November and i'm just a social drinker really and when i do have a cocktail it's only two to three drinks at the most. I am worried about what i can have.Any suggestions? I dislike beer so i was wondering if malibu and orange juice was okay? Take Care, Valerie:-)

Hi Cyndi, I replyed back to you but i'm not sure if it went thru.My computer has been acting up something awful! So i'll try again....... I so relate to what your going thru, like i said i was able to eat almost anything.Bread I can't have at all. So i'm learning what i can tolerate. Hang in there! My husband was shocked to see how much more i could eat and that just made me feel more awful about myself. I'm happy to report though that i had my very first fill last nite with Dr.Vitello.He was awesome and was very fast.His assistant Patti was so comforting.She held my hand thru the entire process which only took about ten minutes. I was so scared and I thought about my fill the entire day! I know i went a bit early then i should have but my eating habits were getting to be out of control and i didn't want to gain any weight.It's been over 4 weeks,almost five so i did talk it over with dr.vitello and he said it should be okay,he wanted to look me over first and make sure.So when i got there he said it was fine. Now i feel the restriction and i'm not having any hunger pains and i can only eat small portions again.Oh thank goodness for that. He put in 2cc at first but then it was too much so he took some fluid out and now i have 1.7cc and i can tell. So now i'm on my way.There were 4 other ladies there also waiting for fills and one woman told me that you'll know when you need another fill because you'll start eating more. So i just want you to know your not alone and were all here for support. If anyone lives near the downers grove-chicago area i so highly recommend dr vitello!!! Have a great weekend:-)

Hi Everyone, I just made an appointment to see Dr.Vitello,I also heard he is great! I have blue cross blue shield HMO and i don't know if the fluro is covered.If it isn't,do you know how much of a discount they give you? I'm so excited because this will be my first fill.I have to admit i'm a tad nervous though.I can't stand needles! What i also liked about Dr.Vitello is that he is available evenings.I wasn't aware that he does appointments on saturdays until i read the posts and that is perfect for me. I'm looking forward to meeting with him.Everyone that i've spoke to says he is really nice and knows what he is doing. I have to travel about an hour but it will be worth it- Have a great day everyone:-)

Hello There, Thank you for the reply:-) And your support helps greatly. I feel so much better now. I guess i do expect a lot out of myself and i do tend to get upset. After reading what you wrote i felt ten times better. I started to think that it was my band, or that i ate foods that i shouldn't have,or that my band slipped.All these silly things. Now i can just take a deep breath in and feel relaxed. I can't thank you enough. It really is nice to come here and have the advice and support:-) I noticed your weight loss and i must say congratulations!!!!!!!! I'm awaiting my first fill, it's for the end of this month. It's not too painful is it? And i do have another question.Should i get the flureo as well? With Warm Regards, Valerie Have a great day everyone:-)

Hi,Don't feel alone, I cheated early as well. I couldn't take it any longer so I also graduated to creamy soups and I even tried a little rice pudding and had no problems. I heard that you will know if your band slipped because you'll vomit a lot.Believe me i called my doctor plenty of times because i've been so nervous about everything i eat. Good luck and best wishes- Valerie

Hi, I will take your advice and get some sugar free candy tomorrow:-) I did try some smoothies and that helped. I made one this morning and it was so yummy and very filling.I'm new to all of this so i'm worried here, i have a couple of concerns. First question, i've lost ten pounds since surgery and i'm so disgusted with myself because i see that many people have lost more then me. I'm 34 and i started out weighing 243-244 and i'm at 233-234 i go up and down a pound it seems. What is wrong? My band is the 9.75 and my doctor didn't fill me during surgery,i was shocked about that, i didn't find that out until two days after my surgery in the hotel. I had thought i'd have my band filled. I'm not feeling the restriction and i can eat and eat and eat! I thought the whole point of the band was to only be able to eat 3-4 ounces of food? Is it because i'm healing and in need of a fill.I'm on day 16 and i was told i couldn't have a fill until the end of the month.I'm so scared of gaining the ten pounds back. I'm so disappointed:-( I prayed for SO long to be thin and i dreamed of the day my surgery finally came and now that i've past that hurdle i just want to be healthy and thin.I guess i just have to be patient.I'm sorry but i can't handle the hunger pains.I noticed it get's so bad at nite, like now! That's why i post at nite to get my mind off of FOOD! UGH!!!!!!Is anyone else feeling this way? Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Having an eight year old daughter who loves sweets doesn't help much either-

Hi Everyone, Well i can so relate to all of you. I'm only on day 15 and i'm SO hungry! I've noticed my appetite has come back and i mean i can eat an entire plate of food! I'm constatly hungry.I'm trying so hard to watch what i eat but gosh when the hunger pains come on strong it's difficult. And what is horrible is the cravings i'm having for sweets.My daughter had a blizzard for DQ and i swear i could have tackled her for it that's how bad i wanted that ice cream. I joined my local gym today and i'm going to start working out tomorrow.I hope that helps with keeping my mind busy and hopefully to lose some weight.I've lost just ten pounds and i was praying that i'd lose more by now but i'm stuck. Well thank you for letting me vent.It helps.Take care, Valerie

Hi,I'm on day 12 and i am healing well.I called to see if i could graduate to eating flaked fish and they told me i could.I was so excited to hear that i could chew FOOD!!!!!!! It was so yummy!!!!!! It went down just fine.What worried me was that I could have eaten the entire piece of fish but didn't.Is that possible? I was STARVING! I had half of it and a tiny bit of veggies. I was wondering also how soon i should go for a fill? I'm healing rather quickly and my surgical tape is now starting to fall off on some of my incisions(sorry for my spelling) I feel great and i've started walking alot more. I've lost ten pounds so far! I've noticed i'm more hungry lately and i had my first craving last nite,i wanted reeses peanut butter cups SO BAD! I didn't give in though and I resorted to drinking water! Blah! With warm regards to everyone- Valerie Surgery sept 17th 2007 starting weight 244 current weight234 goal weight 155

I just wanted to share my story with all of you,i just had my surgery on sept 17th.My husband came with me which brought me much comfort.I admit i was very nervous about going into mexico and i really didn't know what to expect.Once our driver came to pick us up i felt a bit better.I was excited to get to the hotel and do some shopping and eat some wonderful mexican food since it would be my official last ''big'' meal that i would ever have so i wanted to savor that moment.That nite i couldn't sleep much and i was tossing and turning just thinking about how the surgery would go. I have had several before and i thought this wouldn't be much different.Well the next morning our driver came to get me and he spoke english very well so this helped greatly. I arrived and went to admissions and every one was so nice and then i was taken upstairs to meet with my nurse and have my pre op tests done.This is where my heart started to race and i became nervous.Once that was all done they brought my husband in the room with me and the doctor's met with me and gave me something in my iv to calm my nerves.It helped and i was much better. They took me to the OR and i remember them placing the gas mask and i was out! Now when i awoke,oh gosh my back was KILLING me. I was told about the gas that they fill your stomach with but oh gosh i must admit it hurt and i couldn't wait until they took me to my room so that i could get up and walk! And that's exactly what i did for most of the evening.My poor husband walked and walked with me.It's all that i could do to make me feel no pain. The site where the port is at also hurt me greatly. I must say that i didn't take pain medication either.So please i hope i'm not making anyone afraid of getting the surgery. Everyone handles pain differenty. It's now been seven days and the pain is much better.I just want the swelling to go down.And the hunger pains are awful at times. I've lost six pounds and i was hoping to lose more.I weigh myself each morning and perhaps i shouldn't.I wish all of you well. With warm regards,Valerie

Hi my name is valerie, this is my very first post. I just had lap band surgery in monterrey on sept 17th, i've lost six pounds so far and well i kind of was expecting to lose more.I guess i just want to be thin NOW! My main problem is having these hunger pains during the middle of the nite.I ignore it and try to go back to sleep.Ugh! Sleeping is annoying for me because i can't seem to get comfortable.My tummy still hurts where the site of the port is,how long will that last?It's making me nervous. And i have to admit i've been eating yougurt,mashed potatoes,and creamy soups.Is that okay with in the first week? I seem to be okay with that but i did have a scare this afternoon with fruit.I was in so much pain and my stomach felt such a tight feeling and it was a bit hard for me to breath. I didn't know what to do,so i got myself to calm down and drank some water.That seemed to help. I'm still swallon and i'm wondering when that will go down.My stomach needs to go down and fast. I hate walking around feeling so bloated! I have to say though that this is such a huge change for me.I'm so use to eathing what i want and eating alot and now it amazes me that i'm full with eating just a yougurt! I just want to know that i'm doing the correct things and obeying my diet. I'm also worried about infection.Did any of you go see your personal M.D. afterwards? Any help or suggestions would be so appreciated. With warm regards,Valerie