janellody

Nope, no fills yet. I am still on my 3 week post-op liquid diet!! I am afraid I will gain a little back when I get on solid foods, but that is ok. I am being patient and eventually I will get to my sweet spot and have all the restriction I want. My first fill will be around the beginning of April, so I am excited about that, but right now I am more excited about eating some real food on Monday!

Don't have anything negative to say! I love everyone down there, wouldn't change a thing so far!

Dr. Ortiz says you should NOT be drinking your breakfast... just saying. It can be SUCH a bad thing to be too tight, please think hard before letting go of your proper restriction!

I think everyone needs to wait at least 6 months before complaining that the band doesn't work. I don't think anyone said this would happen overnight, we should ALL know that without proper restriction, the band IS NOT DOING IT'S JOB. I am completely unfilled right now and if I don't lose weight, it's because I DON'T HAVE PROPER RESTRICTION. Sometimes it can take 6 months to get to the sweet spot, and then AT THAT POINT, you will start losing weight. If you are not at your sweet spot, then OF COURSE you are not going to lose 1-2 pounds per week, because you are eating the same amount you did before. This is not an overnight process. It requires some patience. If in a year you are down 50 pounds, isn't that better than being the same weight in a year or possibly UP in a year? Look at the big picture, stop weighing every day if it gets you down. Do the part of the plan you can control, watch your calories, exercise, etc. When you get to proper restriction, you should be losing weight. If you are at PROPER restriction and you are not losing weight, THEN contact the doctors and ask what is up. I think everyone needs to remember how the band works and just have some patience.

My mom is freaking out just like you! I am just trying to calm her down and tell her this is normal... I just wonder if I will be freaking out when I get to that stage, also! Angie, don't go too tight! If you get too tight you can end up causing all kinds of damage... if you think you are eating 1/3 of what you ate before then you are good! Just be careful!!

lol if you write it on a forum, then I assume you expect replies, that's all...

I think the doctors choose the band for each person based on many factors, I don't know anything about it so I don't question them on that! As far as fills go, I definitely think it is normal to have a bunch of fills before you are at your sweet spot. Again, I am no expert here, but they can only fill as much as your body allows. When you leave the office it looked like a good fill but then after that there isn't restriction. It's like your body gets used to it somehow, I don't really understand it, either, but I do think it is normal. My mom is on her 4th fill coming up here soon and she is feeling the same way as you. She wanted restriction the moment she got her first fill. I just don't think that happens. I think you guys will get there eventually, but it is a process.. I am not yet at my first fill so I am only speaking from watching my mom's fills and reading about other bandsters fills.

Well, I think I am going to give up for now, hopefully it will be rescheduled or something.

Yeah I am still on "waiting for organizer" too. I am assuming they are having technical issues, this is only their second one, after all. Hopefully it can be rescheduled or if it happens sometime I can just listen to the posted version after the fact.. I was really interested in this one!

Just waiting for this one to start... it started and then ended, maybe technical difficulties?

I think it is sad how your husband is acting. If it were me, I would sit down and have a talk with him and really let him know how it is making you feel. Being married means being there for the other person and supporting them. If he cannot support you in this, then I think it will become a real issue.

In general, you won't lose 1/2 to 1 pound per day, that is VERY fast weight loss. You lose this during the liquid phase because you are only on liquids! That is not a normal diet. Losing 2 pounds per week is a good amount to lose. Remember, you haven't even had your first fill yet. Your body is used to only liquids and very low calories, so now that you are eating more regular food and more calories, it will need to adjust to that. After the liquid diet and before you reach your "sweet spot" it is normal to not lose or even gain some weight. Don't worry, you will get a few fills in you and everything will eventually work out.

In the diet stage, you simply CANNOT eat solid food. SO, don't do this again... if you are on day 5 you can have drinkable yogurt now, get some of these, they will be a life saver for you, NO CHUNKS! Just follow your chart and switch to the next food when allowed. Protein shakes start day 6 so you can start those tomorrow. It is not an option to cheat, your stomach is healing and if you put real food in there, then it will be churning around and the band may not heal in place correctly. This means it could slip down the road, you won't notice it now, you will notice it later when you stop losing weight. This is very important. Think about the goal here, you are trying to lose weight, so why not follow the rules and get the most out of this? I am on Day 11 of my liquid diet. No, it hasn't been fun, IT HAS SUCKED. But, that is the reality of this phase, and you just have to get through it, sometimes being miserable. Like smiley said, get some variety in there.

Looking great!

Yes, it was fairly quiet the whole time and had some garbled sounds in the beginning and then towards the end, but at least they cleared up. I just want to say that I loved it and can't wait until this Thursday for the next one!! Great job guys, these are really great!

I had also messaged Dr. Miranda at one point about smoothies and here is her response -- "Yes fruit smoothies will not hurt your band bbuuuttt they are high in calories so just have a little bit! Dr. Miranda" Just so everyone knows!

I am speaking from the wonderful experience of having 0 fills (ha) but I have always read that it takes a few fills to feel restriction, most people won't feel it in 1 fill, from what I have read. This is a process, eventually we will all be at our sweet spots but until then we have to slowly get fills to find the perfect fill for us.

What I don't understand is the first thing they gave me was a capri-sun, and that uses a straw. I had 3 of those after surgery, and THEY gave them to me, so I was thinking straws must not be TOO bad...

Yeah, creamy soups are day 7-11, she circled 11 on mine, too. I would LOVE to wait until day 11, but don't know if I will be able to. I almost had some today (today is day 7 for me) but I somehow made it without having any. Today was really hard and I am hoping that when I get back to work tomorrow it will be a little easier. My plan is to start cream soups on Wednesday, which is day 10 for me. Let's hope I can make it... I am dying for something with substance.

Oh ok, I thought they looked kind of like another form of just chili, so thanks for clarifying!

Awesome, thanks!

Can you have well blended smoothies on the "creamy soup" portion of the post-op diet? I do love creamy soups and can't wait until I get them, but sometimes I might want something fruity instead of soupy. So, do you guys know if smoothies are ok?