Rachel412

Can you tell me what a typical meal is for you, and how long after that meal it takes before you're hungry again? I never feel "full", certainly not full like I used to pre-surgery. Instead I feel no longer hungry-- satisfied, or a dimming of my desire to eat. I still COULD eat a huge amount of food, I just have to pay attention to when my body tells me I'm no longer hungry.

Well everyone's pre-op directions are different... I just couldn't eat anything after midnight. So don't freak too much!

I had a 6 month supervised diet required by my insurance. Once that was over my paperwork was approved and my surgery was scheduled within 2 weeks.

once a day I take vitamin D3, a chewable vitamin B-12, and some glucosamine & chondroitin. Twice a day I take an adult chewable multivitamin, 2 Fiber Choice wafers, and 2 Caltrate chewables.

Definitely call your insurance first, it's an easy call and the people who talk about benefits on the phone are really knowledgeable. My doctor's office doesn't have an insurance specialist so they do all the billing out of office- therefore the people I saw at the seminar, etc couldn't answer insurance questions.

Try some Crystal Light or other low-cal water flavorings if you're getting sick of plain water. It's really important to drink as much as possible

I'd say that food amount is perfectly normal, you're doing great!

Mine was overnight, my doc does all banding as overnight stays. I was home by 11 the next morning.

I had to get xrays taken before my surgery and when the tech saw that I was having bariatric surgery she said "oh no, that sounds just awful. And painful. Good luck, really." It cracked me up. Just remember that the cardiologist is NOT a bariatric surgeon and you probably know more about the surgery than they do. I'd also tell your surgeon that they may want to re-think referring patients to that cardiologist.

I don't think it's unrealistic but it's on the high end...

Please call your doctor. It certainly could be pneumonia.

Thanks for the chart Alex!

How long have you been at your plateau for? If you're really desperate to break it would you be willing to go back to protein shakes for a few days?

Sounds like you're too tight if you're vomiting that much. What do you eat in a normal day, and how much?

I don't burp on my own anymore- I feel them come up and get stuck at the band and then I have to stretch out my throat and esophagus and push them out. Doesn't sound good does it

Hmm... I'd listen to your doctor. Depending on how much you consume in those 20 minutes, as long as you're having an appropriate amount of food in that amount of time, I'd say it was ok to keep going past the little nudge.

An hour? Wow! I wait 20, 30 minutes after.

Oh, I OD on pizza too! It's so hard to STOP MYSELF after one piece even though I'm not hungry anymore. My forst food pre-band was Cereal. I'd eat 2 or 3 big bowls with nice cold milk- totally stuff myself. I loved it. I don't let myself anywhere near cereal now because it's a slider, and if I had even a small bowl I really don't think I could stop myself. Most other little treats, I can control it and have in moderation which is nice... didn't used to be the case, for sure!

My understanding is that not all surgeons stitch the stomach around the band.

It hurt about as much as I expected, but I was really not back to a good place until 2 weeks past surgery. I enjoyed every drop of my pain meds!

What are you thinking of as band problems? Are we talking about issues that have to be fixed surgically, or just about people whose bands don't do what they thought they would?

I think everyone comes up with a different conclusion. My surgeon greatly prefers Realize bands, so that was mostly why I chose to get one.

Yes, I take fiber daily since I'm no longer getting the fiber from all the grains I used to eat (95% of my diet pre-band was carbs). I do two chewable Fiber Choice wafers twice a day... they're sugar free but still sweet so they almost feel like a treat Funny how that works! I also use Splenda with added fiber in my tea.

Are you supposed to be having clear liquids only? Are you having any protein shakes? If you are "starving" you should call your surgeon and ask if you can progress to full liquids. But you should NOT be eating these things without her OK. You probably have stitches around your band that help it to stay in place, and yes, you can damage your stomach by cheating right now. Every surgeon gives different post-op directions but you need to do what your doctor tells you to do. You CAN get through on liquids alone- many, many of us did. Think of how proud of yourself you'd be if you followed all of your surgeon's advice and were able to look back and say "if I can live through this, I can live through anything".

My biggest advice to you is to eat a big heavy meal before your appointment. It's a couple extra pounds that it'll look like you lost when you go back in