Rachel412

I think you have to take the metal off because if they need to put you through an MRI machine it'll burn your skin where the metal is. or something like that. years of watching ER and House have done me no good I bet a plastic retainer is fine though. I had to take my tiny captive bead hoop in my rook out, and I lost the bead. The last 3 months I've gone beadless, just hoping the hoop doesn't fall out.

I did that too. Just try to control it as much as you can, so that the post-op diet won't be a total shock to your system.

well... I'd say your surgeon is worse than usual and your friends' surgeon is better than usual my surgeon is only in the office one day a week, because he splits his time between two surgical practices. So in my area, he does surgery on Tuesdays and is in the office Thursdays. If I want HIM to do my fill it has to be Thursday, but the practice (there are 2 other surgeons there) has a PA who also does fills, and I can see her for a fill any day but Friday- they don't fill on Friday to lessen the possibility that you'll end up in the ER, too tight, on the weekends. No fills under fluoro for me either. If I have a problem I'm instructed to call and talk to the PA. Now that the surgery is over I don't have much contact with my surgeon... he did one of my post-op checks so far and he'll do the 6 month one too, but I'm pretty much under the care of the PA and the nutritionist now, not really under his care. I don't have his cell phone number but again, I don't know how much of this is due to him working in 2 offices that are pretty far apart. And his staff is wonderful, and very well trained, and I certainly feel in good hands with them.

You probably don't want to hear this but you NEED to get in the right amount of liquids, or you'll end up back at the hospital. Are you sick, like, nauseous? If so call your surgeon's office and ask for a rx for anti-nausea meds. If you're sick like the runs, well, you need to drink even more then to keep your body hydrated (the runs are normal post surgery too, since all you're having is liquids). I'm sorry!

Seems like everyone has a different favorite. My fave is this one:http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Nutrition-Standard-Double-Chocolate/dp/B000QSNYGI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311262781&sr=8-1 24 g Protein (more when made with milk) 3g carbs n funky after taste, blends well with a blender, no grittiness

Hiya! Just wanted to lend some support... I have PCOS and I'm banded. I haven't been TTC so I can't comment on how that's changed, but I HAVE been losing steadily. I'm not on Metformin or any other meds for PCOS. My period is showing up more often and becoming much more regular, so that tells me that my body is likely ovulating- which didn't happen before. Women with PCOS definitely can have success with the band- just remember that you still do most of the work yourself. I'd say at this point my loss is 95% me, 5% my band- but i'll take it!

wait... so after all that all they said was to come back in a month? no x-ray to see if your port flipped?

I haven't encountered anything I can't eat yet. Just FYI- not everyone has "problem" foods, but it does seem like most people do. The only thing I really had any sort of problem with was beef jerky once...

I didn't have a liquid pre-op diet and I'm doing just fine. Post surgery, you're not going to feel hungry for a while, so the liquid diet isn't too hard. As your hunger returns it gets harder, yes, but I don't see how a liquid diet pre-op could affect that at all. I will tell you what I knew before surgery, but I wish someone had jammed it down my throat: for me, banded life is a diet with an extra little warning system. I'd say my loss is 90% me, 10% the help of the band. The key to success it owning the fact that YOU are in control of what you eat, and how much, and the band likely won't be helping you until you've had 3 or more fills. The harder you work to eat correctly and exercise, the better you'll do with the band.

I bet Jachut would have some good advice for you. My advice is to choose foods that are high in good fats. Protein shakes made with whole milk, smoothies made with whole milk yogurt, guacamole with fresh avocados, a spoonful of Peanut Butter as you walk through the kitchen. In some ways I think your challenge is harder than losing weight. Sending you some support!

Honestly, I think you're OK where you are. I agree that you need to work on portion control, and learning to tell head hunger and real hunger apart. If an appropriately sized meal keep you full for 4 hours (and "appropriate" is whatever your doctor told you to eat) then you're in a good spot. If you're already having problems with certain foods, I'd think a fill would just make that problem worse.

It's normal post-surgery. Congrats!

yuck! I've heard of bands getting un-latched... wonder if that's what happened?

Wow... I'd have a hard time with a doctor doing my fill and then trying to talk me into a revision.

take a deep breath! You don't have too very far to go, you can totally do this. I think that the understanding of how the band works has changed in the past couple of years. There's a link in my sig that talks about what the band should be doing for you, and why it's not really supposed to provide the restriction they used to say it did. I think that'll help you get back into the right mindset of how to best use your tool to help you. Welcome back to the bandwagon

It's been true for me with all of my fills- I feel tighter the few days after the fill, then by 2 weeks out it's "loosned" up a lot.

I agree- sounds like you're too tight. I've never had anything get stuck. If I was puking every time I ate, or I had to wash all my food down... well I'd be pretty pissed. Are you able to get to your surgeon for a very small un-fill?

WOOT! You go!!

For the most part, I agree with you. When I'm in a restaurant and I see people downing a huge plate of food, no matter what it is, I'm amazed now (but in the past I think it would have looked delicious to me). I'm not grossed out by people drinking big coffee drinks, but if it's a frozen frothy coffee with whipped cream in a huge cup, I think "that looks delicious, but I wonder how many calories are in it". I'm much more grossed out by people drinking giant sodas. I dropped soda pre-band and I was never a big drinker anyway. But it's true... once you get used to eating much smaller portions, and not drinking calories, it starts to look like the rest of the world is out of their minds

Dikotomy, if I were you I'd have the band removed. If you were close to capacity and it wasn't working for you, I don't think the odds are good that it'd start workign in that last 1 cc. Are you open minded about having a different WLS now?

Yes, you're just fine. Not everyone is told that they should only eat half a cup- I know I wasn't. Don't worry, you're doing great!

I know you weren't trying to be funny, but... I'll let you know when I get there! I think I spend just as much time thinking about food as I used to, though now I'm putting my energy into thinking about how to make the best choice for a meal, how to get a good amount of protein, what a healthy snack should be, am I really hungry or do I just want to jam something else in my mouth, etc.

They do often loosen up, but they don't always. I'd call your doctor's office tonight and leave a message to see what they recommend. I would think the swelling would go down in 24-48 hours, but I know I often feel my "restriction" changing for the two weeks past a fill until I get another one.

You don't want to be "really tight". You won't be able to swallow solid foods, and being too tight often can cause erosion and slips. You just need to be tighter.