GeezerSue

With full restriction (I had to lessen it due to reflux) my uhh-ooh list includes: breads, bread-like baked goods, hidden bread (as in stuffed shrimp or crab cakes), pastas, rice, raisins and dehydrated/dried anything (like my cranberries I got in Wisconsin), uncooked grains, potatoes, bananas, and I'm sure there were other things I just can't think of right now. With my modified adjustment, I can eat very amount of most of the above. Sue

First, read this post: http://lapbandtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1525 Then, common wisdom is that the post-op diet is there to allow scar tissue to form around the band exactly where the surgeon placed it. You can set in motion a chain of events which will move the band, without feeling it until it's too late (see above post). The point is not about what we can eat and not about what we feel...it's all about not screwing with the stitches. So my answer to "have I ruined anything" is "we hope not, but cut it out." Then, about "the Diet." Opinions abound. I want to eat healthy food in healthy quantities. I do not want to be on a diet ever again. If your primary issue was eating in volume two or three times per day, that problem will be solved once you get an adjustment. Then it becomes more complicated. Will you, once you really can't eat any more, keep trying to find ways to shove food in? (I have done this and watched myself, amazed.) Will you learn the difference between "I'm hungry" and "I want to eat." Will you exercise? But let's focus on the "right now" parts. Right now, you need to try to follow doctor's instructions. And, for right now, you need to forget about losing weight. And, for right now, you should enjoy the healing diet you're on; because once the healing is completed, you will need to stop eating the post-op food and move to solids. Good luck and welcome! Sue

Lupe, Mine may be the minority opinion. but here it goes. If we define the word "diet" by "eating healthier foods and making wiser food choices," then after ANY weight loss surgery, you still have to "diet." And exercise. Now, without the band, I would not have been in touch with even that reality. In the intellectual part of my brain I knew it. But it wasn't something that lived in the part of my brain that makes me...you know...brush my teeth on a regular basis. There may be a part of you that is (secretly) saying, "Well, if I just gain a little more, I can have one of those surgeries and THEN it will be easier to lose weight." And it will. For a while. But no matter the surgery, you still have to make changes. Major changes. If you can make those changes without surgery, it would be a good thing. If not, there are many of us who understand your situation. Sue

Misty, Aftercare is SOOOO individual. Some people need many post-op visits, others need few. When I had my surgery, I was self-pay and my final choice was between a local surgeon ($30,000 and he had placed about 30 lapbands) and a Monterrey, MX, surgeon ($10,000 and he had placed 1400 lapbands and he HAD a lapband himself.) I knew it would take a whole lot of aftercare for me to spend that $20,000 difference. Lately, as the price has gone down, the money part of the debate has become almost moot. But, I would mention that it isn't as simple a choice as it might appear, between a local surgeon because of local follow-up and Mexico with follow-up there. Some people chose a local doctor with little experience who won't do fills, or who expects them to lose like RnY patients, or where fills after the first year cost as much as a trip to Europe, or with a staff-member they end up not getting along with, or with a very small lapband practice and end up completely frustrated and in search of a follow-up doctor anyway. I flew three plus hours from Los Angeles to Monterrey for the surgery and for a follow-up almost a year later (and because I wanted a vacation), but I've had most of my adjustments in Tijuana, which is about a two or three hour drive. But I also found that I could get adjustments along the west coast, for a cost of $200-1000, per fill, and varying transportation costs. I guess I'm saying that it might be worthwhile to find out how much aftercare you get for your money, and what you'll do if your surgeon has a personal epiphany and decides to become a monk in Iceland, or if you move out of the area. Good luck with the decision, Sue

Well, I've GOT a suggestion, but it may not be exactly what you were hoping for: Relax. This isn't like anything you've done before. At this point, your body needs to heal and your brain needs to give it time to heal. Eat whatever you can that will let your incisions heal and scar tissue to form around your band so that it stays put. You may GAIN weight and oh, well, that's the way it goes. The immediate post-op time is NOT about losing weight. (In fact, you may be eating so little that you're in starvation mode and cannot lose weight at this time.) Later, when you've healed and you start solid foods, and you have an adjustment (or two or three or five), you will have the restriction you need to work with the band. Remember that the adjustable gastric band surgery is NOT the surgery for people who need immediate, drastic results. The average patient loses about 65% of their excess weight in two years. That means that for people with your numbers, the average patient will weigh about 160 two years post-op. Half will lose a more and half will lose less. And half will lose slower and half will lose faster. I don't mean to discourage you, but to remind you that your journey hasn't even begun. You need to slow down and get ready for the journey. You might be someone who loses five pounds per week and gets to goal in three months. But most people are not. So, try not to make yourself crazy if you are NOT one of those (very few) people. Sue

Christine, Unless it's in at a weird angle, they don't need flouroscopy to find the port. BUT, the do need it to watch how the barium swallow goes through the stoma. An experienced doctor can tell (by watching the barium swallow go through) if you are too tight, too loose or just right. I've not had a fill without flouroscopy and--while I'm pretty sure I've had too much radiation from this and all the other stuff I've got going on--I think I prefer not to have a blind fill.

Left shoulder pain is routine and resolves with time. (The band is sitting on something that connects to a nerve that is connected to your left shoulder.) I have a sternal port placement, but I recall hearing that the rib cage pain is something for the first couple of weeks. Swimming, without overexerting or stretching any muscles that hook up to the muscle which had to been cut to insert the port into its place (which is what I suspect you're doing) is cool. But why not just walk back and forth across the short way, in the shallow end? Good exercise and easy on the knees. You just had surgery. Take your time. Sue

Here's the study about Lap-Band-specific experience: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14625767&dopt=Abstract

Now, NO. Originally, I didn't even want to be the thirtieth, so I went to Mexico. At one time, I might have considered it. And I'd certainly rather be the first, second or third (while he has the proctor at his side) than the eleventh (when he's on his own.) But the more I learn, no. BECAUSE, the longer I'm around, the more I see it's all about follow-up. What's his idea for scheduling adjustments? When, in his opinion, do you need a fill? Is he following the more experienced (and mostly foreign) doctors who provide individual follow-up, or might you end up being one of those people who will need 2.7 cc's before there is restriction, stuck with a doctor who won't do a first fill for two months and only does 0.5 cc incremental fills on the first Tuesday of each month (and your two months was up on the first Wednesday), so that you end up being eight to ten months post-op before the band starts working for you? A doctor who has done only RnY's has no basis to judge my progress. And no experience with fills, and getting into radiology for flouroscopy for one patient could be a hassle. I won't lose as fast as RnY patients, I don't have the same dietary considerations post-op, and I certainly don't want to have to jump through the same hoops, pre- or post-op. In addition, the "learning curve" on the band is 30-50 placements. And ALL of the surgeons who place the band are experienced laporoscopic surgeons, but they STILL need BAND experience* before their patients are more successful...especially if we're talking MY money. That said, where--generally speaking--do you live? Sue *when I write that kind of thing, someone usually writes that they were the first, or third patient and had no problems. But I'm talking about the documented research which shows that, on average, patients have fewer complications when the doctor has more band-placement experience.

In my case, it may be now. But she's pushin' 29, and I sure as hell don't want two almost-14-and-a-half-year-olds. WHY? She is a piggy-car person. Her father is a piggy-car person. I thought it was a recessive gene. IT IS NOT. It is dominant. And it may be incurable. (My father waxed his car and cleaned his carbuerator every couple of weeks; my father-in-law just flicked his ashes on the carpet when the ashtray was full. For years.) Her mechanic is VERY expensive, so we traded cars and took her car to our mechanic. So that's why I know that the three two-liter bottles of tonic Water and case of 8 ounce waters and stuff from the play she was in...in college...at least seven years ago, and a Readers' Digest Book (anyone remember those?) and two pairs of sandals and a coat and a beach umbrella and two pie plates and a cow-themed birdhouse, and a really cool purple vase (which now lives in my living room) and a Scrabble game and a LOT of other things, are bouncing around in her car and trunk. I sent her a text message about the vase. She called from work and asked, "What purple vase?" I'd keep cleaning, but I'm afraid I'll find Jimmy Hoffa. Sue

Rumbaut's deal was...You pay him a flat fee, which covers everything... apparently, no matter what. OR, you pay him and hospital separately and deal with any overages. I chose the former.

Hey, Robin...won't my replacing Thoreau cause me a ton of stress? Do you think it's safe?

Hmmmmm. Seems like the OzDocs have been learning a lot from the Yanks. But we are expected to honor them with the title "Doctor" preceeding their names...don't you guys still get away with "Mister?" See? It could be worse! Sue P.S.----Med school grads in general are bad enough. But surgeons think they are invincible. Which is why they are among the worst pilots in the world. Records indicate that surgeons, once committed to a course, just keep on keeping on. Even when they can SEE that they are headed right for a mountain. They simply cannot believe that they are wrong, and--it would appear--they expect the mountain to move. So they fly right into 'em. Time after time. Never fly in plane piloted by a surgeon. (Lawyers are equally bad, but for the opposite reason. They are unable to commit and keep debating with themselves. Right into the mountain.)

I would be honored.

Your psych exam was likely the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) which asks you to agree or disagree with such statements as "I don't cry when I notice that chipmunks are always watching me," and "It doesn't bother me that all the igloos are melting." My friend's PCP "came to her rescue" when her surgeon wanted the (delayed) Psych Eval. He wrote, "This patient is as unburdened by emotional issues as a 375 pound 5'1" woman can be." She and the PCP chuckled, but the surgeon was delighted. Go figure.

In my experience, my wls WAS "the easy way out." So was my c-section. In both cases, the "the hard way out" was dying.

A soft-boiled egg a couple of times a week (especially the yolk, since that goes down easier than egg white) won't send your cholesterol over the edge, and won't be sweet.

The band is SOOOO subjective, SOOOOO patient-specific that you'll likely end up with sufficient DIFFERENT answers that you'l be more confused that when you started. That said... Possibility #1--People react differently to band adjustments. It may just be that two days post adjustment you were still somewhat swollen and hypersensitive. AND THEN, by irritating your already irrtated self two days post-adjustment, you caused the "overreaction" to continue. Does that make sense? Maybe if you had waited four days, you'd be better off now. Kinda like re-stubbing your stubbed toe. AND/OR Possibility #2--You, like many of us, have to "relearn" what your band wants after each adjustment. Some people need baby spoons. Some need to count chews. I think I'd avoid going for quantities to aim for and just count the Protein you DO get in. This is where it gets tricky. If, after some time and healing, you find that you are "eating around the band" (soft stuff) because all the healthy protein stuff gets stuck, it may be that you're too tight, and need some saline removed. Keep an eye out for that behavior, because several things are going on when that happens. You get dependent on all the wrong foods, and at the same time, your esophagus might be gettintg irritated and your weight loss may even stall. But that's the "bad news." Right now, I'd just assume Possibility #1 above and start eating healthy stuff and avoid the concept (even though Inamed and many doctors recommend it) of measuring and counting and other diet-related ideas. Good luck! Sue

What does "up front" mean to you? I paid $10,000 before I had surgery, so I guess that's "up front." But I did not pay until the day prior to surgery...so I didn't send any money ahead of me. Sue Oh, yeah...the adjustments (fills and unfills) are nowhere near as big a hassle as trying to find a size 32 anything while on vacation in a foreign country. And they're WAY less hassle than having an "RnY revision" for a bowel obstruction.

It was supposed to read SELF-pay. Vera is tired.

I'm back from mini-vacation and out-of-town guests and getting ready for some minor construction in the kitchen. ("Minor" meaning I have to empty only a couple of cabinets. I hope.) I'd pop in and comment in numerous threads (as I usually do) but I'm getting caught up on laundry and all. I'll try to choose wisely. Sue

I'm glad you're feeling better. Gotta add, though, that I've taken Ibuprofen--for the root canal I had two days post op and for the one I had a year later--and have none of the problems that you've had with it. So, as usual, the band is very subjective. Sue

You don't sound like a broken record, but I will. (Want to feel old? Most kids today have never seen a record!) There is no reason for you to have any weight loss the first month. If you and your doctor are following the standard procedures, all you are involved in is eating food that is soft enough that the band has time to heal in place. What makes the band work is the consumption of solid foods, (that--one month out--you probably haven't been eating) with sufficient restriction (and you haven't had a fill, yet). So your weight loss is not slow, it is fast. Many, many people lose and then regain most of the first month's weight loss. Because :guess the band doesn't start working until there is restriction and the patient is on solid foods... the band doesn't start working until there is restriction and the patient is on solid foods... the band doesn't start working until there is restriction and the patient is on solid foods... :cheeky

I asked my cardiologist why the pulmonologist was insisting that I had sleep apnea and that I needed testing, when I knew I didn't. He said, "Well, if you DON'T have sleep apnea you'll be the first woman with your BMI I've met who doesn't have it." My BMI at that time was in the high 40's. I was tested. And had really bad sleep apnea. I needed a Bi-Pap machine (like a CPAP, but one setting for exhaling and one for inhaling), set at 18 and 14, on a scale of 1-20, 20 being worst. So you KNOW it was bad, but I was sure I didn't have it. But snoring is just one symptom. And you know, if you can get used to the stupid machine, you awake rested like you haven't been in years. I think those of us who are obese should get tested, because the apnea is very tough on your heart.

Far more people die every year from germs they picked up in the hospital than from LapBand surgery. If you are morbidly obese, the LapBand is a life-saving venture. You can't even say that most hysterectomies are for life-saving purposes...and I'll bet a greater percentage of those patients die than LapBand patients. I wonder how many morbidly obese people who did not have surgery died the same day as the man who did have the surgery. Sue