LAP-BAND Surgery Forums

I just came from my 2 week post op appointment. I lost 18 lbs. since last seen in the Dr office. Actually 15 post op. I have lost 30 lbs all together since January. I can begin mushies today. My nutritionist said I will lose more weight and at a faster rate if I continue the liquid phase, which makes sense. I just dont know how long I can keep up this phase. I am not physically hungry, but I feel mentally hungry, if you know what I mean. Has anyone continued phase 3 longer than the 2 weeks post surgery? Thanks!! Patty 280/250/150

So Spring is in the air, you can actually smell it. After much debate & prayer I have decided to go for the band. I'm hoping my insurance gives me an answer tomorrow as they have promised. I started the liquid phase this morning."Steping out on faith." Had huge energy this morning as I drank my Breakfast & began purging, the kitchen that is; First the junk drawer- no more need for all those pizza coupons & restaurant menus (at least for the next 4+ mnths) out they go! Went to the frig. which is filled now only w/milk,yogart,diet coke,Fruit 2/o Water & condiments. Next cupboards-all temptations in the trash. Lastly all the old Vitamins & the like: …

Does anyone have any suggestions for a doctor for Lap Band surgery in Northwest Indiana. That would be Lake County Indiana such as Merrillville or Crown Point, Indiana or surrounding towns. Thanks, Carol

Get your second fill after getting your first one? I had my first fill on 3/7, haven't lost a SPECK, not one measly ounce in the past week and I am eating diddly. I'm not eating over 1200-1400 calories a day and I am trying to exercise. I want to schedule a fill, but don't know how soon to do it. Any advice???

Hi everyone! As I've posted before, I was banded 2/28. After a rough 1st week, last week went very well (drink that water!!!). Tomorrow I go for my check up and I am assuming will be cleared for mushies. So here is my question: any ideas on how I can have some of my family's planned corned beef and cabbage dinner on St. Pat's? I know I can forget about the cabbage, but what do you think, put it thru the food processor, mix with a bit of mashed. I know this whole thing is a bit sick, but truly I was on liquids for 1 week before surgery, plus the 2 after and I am DONE with Soup and shakes! Thanks! Mayra

Hi all! I have a question - My surgery is on 3/25 and I woke up Thursday morning not feeling well. It's gone down hill since then and now I've got a doosy of a cold. Coughing, stuffed head, etc. I see my surgeon on 3/17 and I'm wondering if he sees me ill if he'll want to postpone surgery. I'm drinking lots of liquids and resting (makes me nuts because I'd like to be out walking in all of the great weather we're having this weekend! 80 degrees today and sunny!). Of course I'm assuming I'll still be sick by Thursday but everyone I've known that's come down with this cold is sick for 10-14 days. Also, I've been taking echinachea(sp?) and I wonder if I should stop since I'…

I was told to keep liquid Tylenol around after surgery. I can't find it anywhere. Any suggestions? I know you can buy it in childrens Tylenol but if I buy that I will have to take twice as much. Don't they sell it in Liquid for adults???

Hello Every1, I am in the process of getting a band. I had a letter from my primary stating that I have been obese for the last 10 years. I had my first meeting with the Dr, I have my pysco next week, nutrition & second group session this Thursday. I have an upper GI & a second test this Thursday. My Dr. told me that it should be easy getting approved, being that I have all things in order. If all goes well then I will be getting banded either the last Monday in March or first in April. What else should I expect?

Hi guys i wanted to start an all noodle diet before the op so i wanted to know if its a wise desicion i will boil the noodles ofcourse so if i get the curry chicken kind and boil then u guys think i will lose some coz i have to and if not any ideas for a 4 week diet???

I Was Banded On Nov 24th 2004 As Of Today I'm At 1.5 Cc And I've Lost 23 Lbs. Is That Good? I Have Been Exercising At The Gym With Weights And Doing Cardio And My Workouts Are About 1 To 2 Hours Long. One Of The Days I Work Out With A Trainer And Boy She Will Works Me. To Tell You The Truth I Was A Little Disappointed With The Lost But When I Think Of All The Failed Diets I Have Been On ...23 Lbs Is A Lot.

Thanks to Alex for the referral!! I may lose an additional hour driving but for piece of mind? Priceless I also spoke with the initial office today (they called me). Seems after I cranked a bit about not calling my insurance, they did, and there is coverage in my plan (ok so they gain a point for this!!!). Told them I wasn't happy and was consulting another practice - she was "shocked" but quite nice about it. We'll see, I haven't closed the door just in case. Thanks to all of you who posted to my original plea! Sharon

Hey Crystal??????????? How are you doing? Come and fill us in when you get a chance and feel up to it. Sending lots of white light.

Hello, I am going in for my first fill on Monday and I'd like to get an idea of what the "real world" of bandsters are eating. My doctor gave me guidelines, of course, but real people are better at this. If you could list what you generally eat for Breakfast, lunch, dinner and Snacks (if you have any). Do veggies count in that half a cup per meal? Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone! I'm new! I was banded last Friday 3/4/05 and everything was going smoothly until my 19 month jumped on me and one of my wounds opened yesterday. Now I have this weeping going on since. I have put some butterfly band-aids over it and trying to keep it clean. Any advice would be appreciated. How long will this go on.

OK, I have recovered from the "dryed baked fish" incident and I ate mush and drank liquids. How much food should I be able to eat? Last night I could only eat a couple of tablespoons of mashed potatoes, a bite or two of cabbage, and a small bite of a hard roll. I also had no problem with a Jello pudding cup (low fat of course). This am I could only eat about 2-3 Tlb. of oatbran with Peanut Butter in it. I can swollow without incident, but I just can't hold much. IS THIS NORMAL? Thanks fellow bandsters... Oh, I am at 1.6cc. They gave me a .6cc bump last Friday and I can feel it.

Hi there, I was just banded last thursday 03/10/05. Had a ruff time of it but getiing better slowly. The only problem I seem to be having is that it is pretty red around my port area. So I have been cleaning and using the ointment they gave me a few extra times. Any sugesstion? I wanted to say that I was banded with doctor Lopez and I feel like everything there was good but I have just read a few stories which made me a little scared!!! Any positve support for me???? Thanks

I had my second fill last Friday. I was at 1cc and now am at 1.6cc. I ate soft for a day and then last night went out and ordered fish. I ate small bites and chewed well, but it was dry. I began to salavate, rushing to the bathroom and salavating for about 10 minutes. Nothing came up, no PB. I went back to my table only to "rush back" again to the bathroom. Of course we had to leave. I had to carry a sak to spit in. This went on for ONE HOUR. I came home and got on the chat last night and princes, debby, big t and jack helped talk me through it while I was so frightened. It was my first bad experience and it was like a golf ball that would not move. I didn't know you c…

Hello everyone, I havent ever posted before apart from my introduction but love this site and read it regularly. Today I'm writing cos I would love some help. I have the most terrible abdominal cramps over my port. Thought it might have been dreaded consitpation but now think it may be related to the clothes I was wearing - pantyhose rested on my port??!! I have to wear suits and pantyhose every day for my job so this little scenario is kind of unavoidable. Has anyone else had this problem??? Port is located on the left hand side, right where the waitband of trousers etc is. Any ideas?? I should add that my clothes aren't super tight now but everything has a waist…

I would appreciate if we could keep this thread from being hijacked to a "weight gain challenge". This thread is for weight loss and those who are serious about the challenge. I'm sure all of those in this challenge will agree. -- La Madam on Weight Loss Challenge thread. I replied, "the mini-hijack was just for a few cheap laughs for those of us anticipating a rough week. To avoid offending the serious, we will move these comments to a new thread." So here it is. This is intended to be a thread where anyone can freely vent (I hope) about the challenges to weight loss. Disclaimer: If you do not want to read about people who are gaining weight, people who are worried …

I've been on vacation for the last week and a half, and have spent most of my time (since we are visiting my in-laws ) on dialup in my hotel room doing additional research on our favorite topic here. I'm sure some people might think it's a waste of money, but I've decided to self-pay for the surgery in my home town (Austin, Texas) instead of going to Mexico. (With the surgeon I had originally worked with before my insurance denial.) It's going to cost me $16,000 instead of $6,500 (of which I've already paid a $500 deposit that I'll lose) but I know my aftercare won't be an issue, and if anything goes wrong, I'll have a 5 minute drive to the doctor's office. And, if …

well, this past tuesday i got my band! i'm recovering nicely, but did anybody else have intense shoulder pain? i'v been having major pains right on the tops of my shoulders, i know that its built up gas, and my doctor gave me a perscription for it, but the perscriptions since ran out, does anybody else know of anything you can do to help with the pain? any advice would be great! thanx again, iamcanadian25

Yes there are others out here. I'm new to all this, in fact I have just registered. I plan to schedule my surgery with Dr. Rodrigues for the first of April '05. Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated. I am a Surgery RN and I live in Mission Kansas. Hope to hear from you.

I am getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. Does this mean I get to eat less and lose more? I sure hope so.

Yesterday, I was going through everything in our home to see what I could sell in a yard sale next week. WEll, I was able to get rid of all my size 22-24's. Yeah! It will be the 18-20"s to go next!

My face was the first place I lost, followed by my hands, legs, and waist. I have lost all over, but those were the first to start.

There are two kinds of guilt: Healthy Guilt and Toxic Guilt. Healthy Guilt is the kind of guilt we should feel when we have done something that is truly inappropriate or harmful. For instance, a man who beats his wife or children should feel lots of guilt. Healthy Guilt says "Hey, you made a mistake. Do something about it." It helps us acknowledge wrongdoing and encourages us to act contritely. Almost everyone (except sociopaths) feels Healthy Guilt some of the time. But Healthy Guilt is not the problem when it comes to food. The culprit here is Toxic Guilt. Toxic Guilt is neurotic guilt. It is guilt that arises from dysfunctional thinking and beliefs. I have creat…

OK- Here is the set-up. AS of today 3-11-05 got great news that insurance will give me an answer by mid-next week!! I am very happy & have been praying at nite for God to send me an answer............This evening I recieve a call from a very close friend(she Knows Nothing about my possible WLS). She says that another mutual friend of ours wanted her to call me to ask if I would be interested in something - but didn't want me to be embarrased that she asked. This mutual friend dates the producer of the "BIGGEST LOSER" & she said that they had talked about me & if I wanted could probably set up an audition to be on the next show. HOLY CRAP! Now what -is this Go…

Well, I am very positive that this surgery will be sucessful. I had the band done in TJ Mexico in December and it was improperly placed. This time, I am going to stay in the states and pay the difference.

Crystal, best of luck to you on Monday, 03/14/05 as you get that long awaited little tool (a BAND!!) to help you regain your life. (((Hugs))) and prayers for a successful surgery and quick recovery. Please take it easy this weekend and keep your asthma under control. Hopefully, very, very soon, you can start chunking some of those inhalers, RXS, and nebulizers for good...and get back on that horse.

Hi guys - I am a little shy on the sharing end but I could really use some support. I have had a lot of stress in my life since my surgury and self care has taken a back seat. I felt so excited about the lapband and even chose to pay cash for it when I could have had the by-pass. I thought it looked harder in that you needed to stay focused but it was a healthier and safer alternative. Well. tonight I met with some dear friends and my partner. Two have has the by-pass and lost their wieght so quickly. A third is going to have the by-pass more for insurance reasons but also due to the fact that my weight loss seems harder than theirs. I feel like I made a mistake since …

Actually they are Costco kiddy vitamins but since they are chewable it's almost like eating a sweet tart. Unfortunatly the % of diet numbers really don't make sense since they were meant for little kids. How many of those should I be chewing up? I currently eat 4 in the morning but I want to make sure my nutrition and vitamins levels are where they need to be.

This isn't LapBand related.but I need help. Has anyone here had Mono as an adult. If so, what were your symptoms. I have all the symptoms, and will see a doc tomorrow. Please let me know. Joan

Hi everyone, I found your group during my online research of the band. I am desparate to lose weight and KEEP it off. 3 years ago I lost 100 pounds through diet, exercise, and ephedra. It took me a year to lose the weight and over the course of the last 2 years, I have gained 80lbs back. Now I am even more depressed than I was before. My insurance plan specifically excludes WLS, so I will have to pay for the procedure. After reading some of the problems that can occur, I don't want to end up spending a fortune replacing ports, tubing, or the entire band. Do you think these issue sare product or physician related? I know the band doesn't do all the work for you…

Today was suppose to be my first fill. I am 6 weeks out. They refused to fill me, because I am losing about 1.5 pounds per week. My problem has been, still eating mushed foods. I really havn't tried regular foods. My doctor explained to me that when you eat solid foods, it sits on top of the band and you feel full. I tried it after the opt. And guess what? Their right. I guess I better put my nose to the grind stone, and start excersing!

Now I'm extra ticked since I typed this all out once and deleted it by mistake! Ok, yesterday I had my required "seminar" with Dr. Kwon's office. Keep in mind this is the closest band doctor to me, and it's still about an hour from work, hour and 1/2 from home. Just to set the stage: the "pre-surgery" consult requirements are weight loss, two support group meetings, psych consult, bloodwork, nutritional consult, cardiologist, gastro consult and EGD, seminar, Nurse practitioner physical. There are a number of things that are not sitting well with me. First, the whole seminar was a Nurse Practitioner reading from an Inamed brochure, and another women who I named …

I'm not sure if I'm reading this right.........I must be wrong. Click on this site and go to Insurences. Does it say how much a self-pay would be? It has these prices, but they seem sooo low. And read what they say about different types of insurers such ie. PPO,HMO, Medicare. http://www.surgicalweightcontrol.com/insurances.html Thanks

In my excitement, I put the wrong date for our Lake Charles meeting. It should be on Thursday, March 17th...6:30pm at the IHOP.

Just back from a week in Orlando and St Pete Beach with my DH and DS. Had a great time, still horrified by the way I look in the photos, but I look better than i did before my band, that is for sure. I had a few problems eating out all the time--can't eat shrimp no matter what I do! Found a great restaurant called the Melting Pot, which serves fondue--we had a ball there, cooking everything and the food is all cut up in tiny pieces, so it was easy to keep track of what I was eating. YUM! So, I was nervous to go and wondered if I could function as well outside of my home environment--it felt great to lay in the sun, walk on the beach, etc....We traipsed around Disney…

Hi, I am new to the group and live near Dallas, Texas. I have been investigating surgeons. Does anyone have any input on James Davidson at Bariatric Surgery Center of Dallas? His group is with Presbyterian Hospital. Thanks for your help. I have been reading everything I can about banding. The posts from this group have been very informative.

I have an appt. with Dr. Saltzman this Monday and I honestly don't know what for. First time I'm seeing him and I know he's a medical doctor but does that mean I'm going to have a physical or just to speak with him? I've already seen Dr. Greenberg, due to see him again at the end of this month. Been to 3 out of 5 bhav mtgs, been to 1 out of 3 physical fitness mtgs and I am going to the orientation meeting this month (weather permitting...have to travel the pike from Shrewsbury). I meet with Dr. Friedman next week. So, what's next? Cathy

Hey, Cruising around the sight and I cannot figure out what NSV stands for???? Anyone

I found this petition on another board, open it up and check it out. I don't how helpful it will be but...........but you never know. It's a petition for WLS to become a Federal LAw. http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/petition-sign.cgi?07221976

I heard your saliva starts the break down of foods. Like a potato chip melts in your mouth, so it will go staight down the bottom of your stomach. I also heard tofu is broken down very easily. Is that true???? I don't eat beef or poulty or pig. And I'm worried about having a "hard" Protein that'll "sit" in the pouch. Does anyone have some ideas for me?

Yesterday I went to my reg. Dr. for my annual. She was pleased with my weight loss and we discussed my lap band surgery, what I eat, how I eat it, how I take my regular meds, etc. She gave me a full exam and saw the scars . . . then she ordered me a prescription for my persistant ear infection. I got it filled in the afternoon and it was Augmentin, VERY Large, Chalky White pills with warnings not to "Crush or chew before swallowing" (and cost $68.00). I was supposed to take 2 of these things on a "Full" stomach. Well, since I am eating a very small amount now, I never have a really "full" stomach, and I NEVER swallow anything that big, and I always chew my food to p…

I was banded on March 3rd 2005. The surgery went really well and I am surprised at how easy I am finding the liquid stage. The only problem that I am having is I cant get the thought out of my head about the thing in my body. I know this must sound silly but it is really worring me. Dont get me wrong I am still glad that I got banded, and have even noticed a movement on the scales. I am hoping that this is just a normal reaction and it will go away. If anyone else felt this I would really appreciate hearing from you to know I am normal.

There's a formula for how much protien you should have a day. Ideal weight divided 2.2 x 1.25 For me It ended up to 74.2, wow. I don't how it actually works, but years ago I did a high protien and complex carb diet w/ exercise and it was the first time I loss A LOT of weight. This formula is from.....www.bariatriceating.com. what do think you think??

Hi Everyone, Just wondering if anyone here has had a leak? What was the procedure to determine that you actually had a leak? I've been banded for a year now and I've only lost 35lbs. My first fill was in May of last year of 1.8cc's. On my second fill, the doctor was only able to withdraw 1.2cc's of fluid from the band. She said was normal for a small amount to disappear after a fill. She filled me to 2.6cc. I was restricted for about 1 month and then suddenly, I lost most of my restriction. I thought it was "just me" and figured I'd try working the band for a while. On February 15th, I went for another fill because I actually gained 5 lbs! THis time, the docto…

I can't believe it. I finally am able to walk with out crutches and was looking forward to doing some light exercise when BAM Thursday night I came down with bronchitis. I have coughing my head off when I am not sleeping. But today I was caoughing so hard that I think I did something near my port sit as it is quite sore right now. Is this possible, or am I over reacting anybosy else ever have this, and what did you do. It is two months since being banded and I am going for my first fill on Monday, should I be worried?

Hi All, Next Friday is my surgery and I'm trying Real Meals this week, since I have ulcerated colitis this Protein drink seems to give me some problems. I can handle the Instant Carnation Breakfast drink, but with milk only 20grms of protein. Can anyone suggest another drink? Also how many grams of protein are we suppose to have a day? Thanks, Corgi

I was banded two months ago... off to a great start - lost 22 pounds. I had my first fill 6 weeks post op. It did nothing. Well, actually, it did give me enough restriction that things get stuck if I am not careful but I don't experience the "full" feeling until I eat quite a bit (certainly more than half of what I ate prior to surgery but not quite as bad). I haven't lost anything in a month. I haven't gained either which is the only noticable difference (before,when I dieted, I would have gained all this back by now plus some). I am working out 3 times a week and enjoy it - hard to fit in more when I am a stay at home mom and Curves doesn't have extended hours, e…