Progress Report

[Jamie]

Hi Debbie,

I was just wondering how you were making out since your operation. How are you doing so far? Do you have any questions about anything? I just wanted you to know that if you have any questions or concerns to just post them and you will probably get a nice bunch of answers.

Please keep us posted,

Jamie

[Debbie]

I am in a little pain mostly the port not the other incisions. But I am starving!!!

[cchheeffyy]

I am in a little pain mostly the port not the other incisions. But I am starving!!!
Debbie,

CCHHEEFFYY here. I believe everyone is different. For me I was not hungry for days. I could hear my stomach making noisies,But no hunger for about a week.

Ask as many questioons as you can think of and I'm sure someone here can answer them.

Good luck

[AnnieP68@yahoo.]

When I first came home from surgery I couldn't sleep very well. That is what I remember most. Because I wasn't sleeping I was totally exhausted for the first two weeks. It is mostly like a blur. The reason I know this, since surgery was over 4 years ago, is that I kept a journal at the beginning. This short journal has helped me to see where I started from, how I felt, my eating schedule at the beginning and when I had friends who had surgery I could look up how I was feeling a month later and share. Everybody's experience may have been different but sometimes what I had written was just the encouragement somebody else needed to hear. The journal after surgery wasn't the first one I had kept about "weight". I had kept many over my adult lifetime. I would start and end them over and over. I would find journals all over the house from time to time in spiral notebooks. With each failure I would learn something new but was still heavy. This latest journal I called "Annie's Last Stand or the Thinning of Annie". I haven't kept up with it for 4 years but wrote from time to time. Maybe this will encourage someone else. One day at a time all you wonderful "losers".

[Debbie]

I did not start getting hungry until yesterday. I am writing everything I eat and drink down so that I can show it to Dr. Allam Tuesday. Last night I had a baked potato with fat free sour cream and I ate everything but the skin and container. Today I ate a whole package of diet smart oatmeal for breakfast and just had mushed tuna salad. I am doing better now that the mushies are in me but I think I can eat more than I should. But hey 12 down this morning since Sunday weigh in not bad!!!!

[Regina]

zmnbvx 12 pounds gone forever!

Hi Debbie, it’s hard for us gastric bypass patient to tell you if what you are eating is the right thing to do. Since we were only on liquids when we got home from the hospital. I know it was months before I was able to eat a baked potato. That’s one of the differences between lap banders and bypass patients.

Maybe a fellow Lap Band patient will come on and give you a few pointers about the food.:)

Just keep writing down what you are eating like you said and show it to Dr. Allam.

[akhan16]

Hey Debbie,

I had the lap band done in dec 2007. i stayed on liquids for about 1 1/2 weeks. I didnt want to push it but that was my preference. then by the 2 and third week, i stayed with soft mushy foods: cream of wheat, scrambled eggs, broiled fish, tuna salad.
everyone is different in what they can handle. definitely talk to dr. allam about it. he will know more about it and have more answers for you.

you are doing great. keep it up :-)

[Jamie]

Hi Debbie,

It sounds great that you are feeling better, but don't push it too much. You don't want to stretch your pouch especially since you are still kind of new to the procedure. Try to keep with the mushies and maybe mashed potatoes instead of the baked ones even though I'm sure you mashed the heck out of them. With a baked potato, you can get some hard parts that might not go down quite as well as you think. After a while you will know what you can tolerate or not. If you have any of those types of questions, clear it with Pat or Dr. Allam first, just so you don't hurt your pouch.

Keep up the good work, and those 12 lbs. are gone forever!!!

Jamie

[Debbie]

I mashed the inside of the baked potato so that it was not hard or chunky and then chewed it until it was even smoother. I am figuring these mushies out slowly. I am down 13 as of this morning so I am one happy bandster!!!!

[Jamie]

Very Good,

Sounds like you have it down to a science. Another trick if you need it is to thin things down with chicken broth. This will help later when you can have a little chicken or the like. Sometimes you probably won't be able to tolerate chicken and other times you can, but if you puree it with a little broth it will add some flavor and thin it out all at the same time. Just make sure that Dr. Allam gives you the go ahead before you try anything to daring, OK? Don't forget that your stomach is still healing.

Keep up the good work, it only gets better,

Jamie

[Debbie]

Thank you for all the help. I go to see the doctor tomorrow will he give me a fill? I am hungry!!!!!! I hope so.

[Jamie]

Hi Debbie,

I think you probably will get a first fill today, but that's up to the Doc. I know when I first started out, you do start to get hungry and it feels like the band isn't working, and it may be like that way for a couple of fills. Just don't get impatient or discouraged, it takes time to reach perfection and you have to take it easy at first but you will get there eventually. I know that for me, I would get a fill and for a day or two I would feel some restriction and then it would feel like the restriction was gone. I was even afraid that there might be a leak in the band, but there wasn't. Dr. Allam checks for that each time by removing and measuring the amount of saline in the band before adding more. It takes different amounts of time for everyone because we are all different. I would also ask Dr. Allam what size band you have, because that will make a difference in the amount of saline you get too. I know a couple of people that seemed to reach thier "SWEET SPOT" after a few cc's and others that took quite a bit more. I do believe that they are getting a little more aggresive with the fills and giving you more cc's than they did when I got mine, but I was one of the first to get the lapband and they have progressed since then. When you get close to your "SWEET SPOT" the less you need and you may only get 1/2 cc at a time. Dr. A knows his stuff so just put your faith in him and he will get you there eventually.

I also want you to remember that each time you get a fill, it could change your eating a little you may not be able to tolerate that baked potato for a while because your stomach might be a little tender for a while. Take it easy and if you have any questions ask Dr. Allam or Pat and post them on the board and I'm sure you will get some responses that will help.

Please keep us posted and good luck today,

Jamie

[Debbie]

No fills today the good ole Doc explained that it is to early for a fill it could cause slippage. So I go the 15th of July for a fill. It seems if I get my proteins in I can do it. They keep me full longer than anything else. Thank all of you guys for all the great kind word of encouragemnet. Without you guys I would be eating my face off for all the wrong reasons, you guys keep me on track!!!!

I love you guys for that~!!!!!!!

[Jamie]

Hi Debbie,

Sounds like you are getting there. It does take time, but it is so worth it, (you'll see). I just wanted to thank you for taking such an interest in the message board. Your posts are not only helping others that read them, but they are also helping us keep on track and focused too!! It is so rewarding to help others, and I know how confusing it is when you first start out. As hard as it is to think about getting it all straightened out, eventually you will and before you know it, you will be giving other newbies advice and helping them out. It motivates you when you hear the positive feedback and keeps you wanting to help others. Just remember that there is no such thing as a dumb question, because if you have a question about something, someone else does too!!!

Please keep us informed on your progress and if you have any concerns about anything, ask away. You will find that everyone, (Bypass and Lap Banders alike) will have some input and we will all join in to help and you will get quite a few interesting answers and opinions on many matters.

Talk to you soon,

Jamie