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oh.... thanks KittyCat...... I have seen other folks talk about mushy stage too who banded by Dr. Ortiz over a year ago. I think he must have removed the mushy week from his plan. I have a friend that was banded by him and swears there is a mushy week in the 21 days. Any how..... 21 days of liquids for me!!!

Anyone lose weight during the 3 weeks before your 1st fill while on solids? I am losing on the post-op liquid phase and hope to keep the momentum during the solid food phase. Praying for restriction before my 1st fill.

Hi Mona-Camille, I saw in your response to the alphabet game that you responded "xray your band periodically". How or where do you do you that? Is it the same thing as a flouro? And Does Dr. Ortiz do this on your first visit? Thanks, Amy

Hooray for you!!!

C-Calm yourself when you are feeling stressed. stress impacts your health and weight loss.

Hi Katy, How are you doing? Almost half way there......... I am done with 21 post op on august 21. Take care, Amy

That is awesome Julie. Removing stress from life will help you lose the weight and make you happier. We have someone come every 2 weeks because I am not a housekeeper. Growing up, our house could never be clean enough for mom. So I have some warped personal thing about it. I am so glad we found a retired couple that we have used for about 8 years and they are like family now. I will treat myself with a massage and new dress that does not fit, but will soon!!!

I don't take biotin by itself, but my protein shakes and liquid vitamin both have 100% recommended daily amount. I may add a biotin supplement to my regimen.

Hi all, I am 15 days post-op. I feel like a brand new person today. I had a rough few days of post op dieting and medication issues. The OCC was helpful and responsive. They made me feel SO much better and relieved my fear that something went wrong. I had several things going on and did not relate them all. For instance, I had gas for 2 - 3 days after surgery, no big deal. But I've had bad diarrhea since the surgery. I thought this was just because of all the liquids. Then a few days ago, my medications were making my stomach hurt. Actually, my whole body was aching, but really at my bra line. Taking meds made this a thousands time worse. So I decided to get massage last night just for some TLC. Well, it was quite embarrassing, but awesome. I had so much gas and did not realize this before going in there. I could not hold it back. I get massages quite often and have NEVER had that happen. She was ok with it and actually worked on some areas that are suppose to help relieve gas pressure. When I left, I felt so much better. Today, I have no pain and no diarrhea. I have thousands more energy. I lost 2 more pounds. Swelling is almost gone. My incisions feel better. I think all my discomfort was an explosion brewing inside me. The massage therapist said that anesthesia causes the body and body functions to stiffen because you are in such a relaxed state during surgery. Anyway, I am sharing this cause I hope that it could help someone.

Thank you!! I felt so silly taking that picture this morning.... but I have this little flutter of excitement in my stomach. My face isn't swollen anymore plus I lost 2 pounds last week. So my spirits are some much higher than have been in since 2001. Even on such low calories I have more energy and desire to get out and about. I just feel so positive. I went "shopping" today (really looking around). Started in the big girls section. Could not bring myself to really look there. So I headed to housewares and bought my bachelor brother some cool kitchen stuff. So then I headed to the regular size clothes which I have not done in over 5 years. Some little teeny boppers were snickering at me.... But I really did not care. Usually that would run me off in a heartbeat. I started looking at size 16 dresses and tried several on and oh my GOD.... they fit... But I did not really like the way looked so I passed. But I bought 2 in a size 12 & a 14 regular. We are going to Mexico in end of September. So I am hoping that 1 fits by then and the other by Christmas. Julie thanks for your support. I noticed you are so very diligent in responded to people or just acknowledging everyones post. I really appreciate that. Amy

I have huge issues with hair loss for about 3 years now. So while I am working on the right supplements and waiting on my body to respond, I resorted to some cover-ups. These really help the texture of my and covering thinning areas.. Do you have any cosmetic tips to share? Favorite product is the Toppix hair thickening Dust and the application nozzle. eyebrow pencil to fill bumble & bumble hair powder layered cuts longer hair stay away from hair color. Really burns my scalp. I have heard that highlights or blonder hair can really help with camouflaging the contrast in hair to scalp color. My hair is getting thinner so I am looking for more things to try. Amy

Welcome back!!!

I really can't believe it. I think all my issues were just plain ole gas. Plus I lost 2 more pounds and reduced blood pressure meds again. I was feeling so good about my self I changed my avatar. Actually decided to put on some with color today....... I am usually so bland. Anyway. I am back to crushing my meds too. Just in case. I do not want another 2 days like those. Thanks for all your support and great information. I was really having a rough couple of days.

Hi Vix, Thanks for that info. I had no idea and have not mentioned my cough to my doctor. I will do so on Monday. I did find that none of my meds are in liquid form. Dr. Miranda is taking my problem to the doctors to see what they think. I am feeling better now. I drank liquids all day. I had a ton of gas and did not realize it. I had a massage today and it was very embarrassing.

Julie, Thanks. I think I have figured out what is going on now. I think it is the few little coughs and sneezes at night that are irritating my muscles & band. Plus the added stress on top of that. So I will try the throat spray and turn my ceiling fan off. I think it dries me out over night, but oh I sleep so good with it on. Go back to crushing meds over weekend. And liquid diet over the weekend. Hopefully, by Monday I will have liquid med and feel better and get back to creamy soups. As a side note, my blood pressure keeps getting lower and lower. So I may getting off the meds that are causing the issue sooner than later. I know exactly which ones cause the burning. They are one the many reasons I wanted the lapband in the first place. Have a great day!!!

I love your avatar!!!! So sweet!!

Hi Clyn, Thanks for the information. I just emailed my internal medicine doctor for support on this. She was not too thrilled about me having the lapband surgery and definitely not happy with me going to TJ. So it will be interesting how she responds. I asked for liquid meds and bp medicine reductions + metformin addition. I have this other thing going on that my be very related to some of the pain I am having. I realized it in the middle of the night. I am waking up and coughing in the middle of the night and it is extremely painful. I have done this for the past 2 - 4 nights, postive about last 2 nights. It is a really dry cough. I kind of feel like I am bruised inside. My incisions were healing great. And now everyone one of them kind of hurts like a muscle overuse. And am little swollen where I wasn't a few days ago. The residual pain is mild, just a bit uncomfortable. When I try to swallow anything it kind of radiates across all parts. This whole thing really got bad yesterday morning after my not being able to hold back my cough. It is just a dry cough from throat drying out while I sleep. I usually just sleep through it and don't wake up anyone but my husband..... You ever heard of anyone having coughing or sneezing issues? I am getting an email together for Dr. Miranda to ask her about all this before the weekend. I dread going back to crushing all my meds. That causes the issue of them going into my system too fast and my blood pressure drops like a rock. Thanks again & sorry for being so long winded, Amy

ditto!!!

Just wondering what you think? I have heard that your "original stomach" can only stretch but not ever shrink back. But I have heard the opposite also. Who really knows right? We can only hope that it does. Personally, I think my original stomach may have shrunk some...... I know this is silly...... But what the heck!!

Thank you!! After reading your post, I realized how shallow I am breathing. So I am starting there. It is already helping. And I will surely try your other tips in the morning. All in all, I am so happy with my band already. I am just a worrier........ I need to change that warrior. I have decreased my blood pressure med in just 2 weeks and folks are already taking notice of my weight loss. So I am happy and smiling everyday!!! But for some reason I want to sit here and cry right now!!! And that is just not me!! thanks again, Amy

14 days postop. Should I be concerned? I have several things going on. I am extremely stressed out... work is crazy. I was up for more than 24 hours straight because we had to take my MIL to hospital at 2 am. Her blood sugar dropped to 50. Then find my 2 year was sick all night and did not cry once about it. He is fine though. I finally got a few hours sleep earlier today. So I feel like I am back on schedule. But I think this stress changed my relationship with my band..... of course I am frightened about slippage & enlarged pouch.... Did I do something terribly wrong....... As I have stated in several posts..... And this is my biggest struggle right now. I take way too many pills twice a day. They always hurt and I feel like they are coming back up for hours & hours. This makes me not want anything to eat or drink til the pain goes away. I force water down. This is not a everyday thing, but is getting more frequent and more painful. I crushed the pills for the first 5 days. Now I am splitting into quarters or halves. I think I have stuck to this post-op diet 99.5%. My cheats are I swosh jello between my teeth til it is liquid. Takes me about 30 minutes to swoosh 1 serving. I had itty bitty, etremely soft, canned spaghetti when trying to get medicine to stop from burning. I have done that a few times. This keeps me from throwing up, and I feel extremely guilty about it. So I am not looking for anyones compassion on that part..... I know this is a risk. But the meds hurt so bad that I am at the point of tears. I take the pills after my morning regimen of liquid yogurt, mylanta & protein shake. I am probably adding nausea meds to this regimen. This will haunt me until the doc says everything is fine. Pre-banding... toast or crackers were the only things that prevent this pain. So my new issue is: Should I be worried that I have hard time getting liquid yogurt and cream soups down? All have eaten to day is 1 protein shake, very thin tomato soup, 1 danactive 3 ounce liquid yogurt, 1 gatorade g2, some water & diet tea. I tried creamy soup and hit hurts right under my rib cage at the bra line. Hurt so bad I had to sit down. My meds always hurt even before banding. Plain clear liquids do not hurt. I think I have some pills stuck. On a positive note, I think I am one of the lucky ones that has restriction right off the bat. I am really struggling today with enough liquids. In fact I have gone back to clear liquids only because the cream stuff hurts. My meds are actually filling me up. I don't know if this is a good or bad sign. It scares me a little. But TOM is here so maybe that is causing more restriction too. Feel like I have a lump beneath my bra line. Anyway, I am rambling... sorry!! Stress makes me ramble. I know you guys are not doctors or maybe you are..... I will also email Dr. Miranda tomorrow.

Hi Lisa, Have you had the unfortunate opportunity to try the nauzene yet? Did they work for you? I saw them at the store when preparing for my surgery, but was not sure if they actually worked. foot note..... Thanks every one..... My little guy is fine today. seems like it was an isolated incident. fingers crossed. No one else has gotten sick yet. You guys are awesome!!!

I have always noticed the Lean Cuisine does not stick with me either. I am only 14 days post op, so I am no expert bander. Since I get hungry very often, I plan to try 4 oz pure lean protein before eating anything else, then add my veggies. And just see how many hours that will last me. Just as an experiment...... I would love to use lean cuisine because they are so easy.

I ordered the book same day I scheduled surgery. In combination with this forum, it really helped me know I was making the right decision with the surgery & Dr. Ortiz. After surgery I found a link to several Dr. Ortiz video clips. I watch those video clips to get back track. They put back in that clinic bed eagerly hanging on his every word.

umm...interesting.. I know I have insulin resistance. Doc gave me a choice to not take metformin because I did not want to add it to my long list of med. Maybe I should discuss adding metformin so that I can beat this insulin thing at is own game. Now thats some good mojo!!!! Great information!!