HelenC

Welcome to all you new Dallasites! I'm from the Lake Tawakoni area, work in downtown Dallas, and was banded by Richard Benavides in Richardson

What you're experiencing is pretty typical. I can tell you that it was about 5 weeks before all aches and pains left me. As far as the BM, you might want to consider a gentle laxative.

I, personally, am having a tough time with most meats, except for grilled chicken and tuna or chicken salad. Don't freak out...you'll do just fine

Oh, I know what he used on me, the question really is, is what he used what should have been used? I've had .5cc of a fill since 2/14, and I'm pretty tight. I still get pretty hungry in between meals, but it doesn't take much to fill me up, and it doesn't take much to make me PB.

Fills, like anything else with this crazy band, are up to the individual. For some, the first fill is enough, while for others, it takes 3 or 4, or more. Don't forget that a fill can take a week to tighten up, so don't think it didn't work right away.

A PB is a "productive burb". Basically, whatever you eat can't pass through the stoma, and so your body tries to eject it. What normally comes up though is what is known around here as "slime". If you have a PB on one meal, do mushies for the next meal. If that comes back up, do full fluids for 24 hours.

Yes, you definitely need to be more vigilant right now. Remember that even with no fill, you're still supposed to be eating small amounts. It's ok to have yogurt or something between meals to help with the hunger, but try to keep a grip on how much you're eating. As far as the pains, I don't personally know, I didn't get any at all.

You know, if you have two other co-morbidities, they'll probably approve it without the 6 month diet. Have bad knees? High blood pressure? And tickeryfactory.com has tickers that can modified for anything

I've got 3, and regret just one of them...the tribal band and rose on the small of my back - they're now being called "tramp stamps" My hubby hates them all.

Alexandra, glad things went well for you. This is pretty interesting to me, that you want a bigger band. For about a month now, with all the PB problems I've had, I've been thinking that my doctor used a small band on me, and probably should have used a VG. I think the next time I see him, I'm going to ask him, but I doubt he'd tell me the truth anyway, worrying about a law suit.

I was right where you are as far as my BMI. My regular physician was very supportive of me getting the lapband and told me just to bring him a food chart for a month and to come in and weigh every month. I actually gained 5 lbs, but still got approved (BCBS).

I can eat pasta, rice, and toasted breads. Last night I had a slice of thin crust pizza. It all depends on what your body can handle...but just remember that all of those things are bad carbs and helped get you to where you are in the first place

I pretty much eat what I want...just in much smaller quantities! Perhaps 1/2 of a cookie now, instead of 4 cookies! I do get a trifle bit annoyed when the company brings in food, and there is absolutely nothing I can eat, and they all know I had the surgery. But it isn't their responsibility to make sure I can eat what they bring in, so I always have something stashed in my desk that I can eat, and still join in the fun.

I have Cigna and they wouldn't pay AT ALL. My husband has BCBS and they paid 100% of my surgery, and 100% of my fills, after I did the 6 months of physician supervised diet. My doctor just simply had me write down a month of meals (whether I actually ate them or not) and come in once a month to weigh. You'll get through it!

It took me about 8 months....I had to do a 6 month physician supervised diet to appease my insurance company.

Thank you all (again!). I've got a bit more hope again. So with first bite syndrome, you just walk away from the first bite for awhile, and then proceed cautiously? Or do you take 15 minutes between every bite?

No eating for four hours before the fill, and no liquids an hour before the fill. You'll want to do liquids for 24 hours, then mushies for 24 hours, then regular food.

Is first bite syndrome a real thing?

I'm so discouraged I cried tonight...and that doesn't happen often. I'm losing weight...and thrilled about that. But I'm still PBing several...no, not several - MANY times a week. The only meal that seems to go down without a problem is Breakfast, but breakfast 4 days out of 7 is just oatmeal. I spend more time on liquids from PBing, than I actually spend on real food. While I am learning what "full" feels like, I still actually miss it by a bite or two from time and have a little PB, but that's ok, those I can live with. It's the ones where I spend the next 15 to 20 minutes in the bathroom, wondering if this PB is the last one....oops, here's another...that are really getting to me. I only have a .5cc total fill, that is now over 2 wks old. I don't think it's the fill because sometimes a meal goes down and stays down, although those days are rare. I'm tired of feeling like I'm suddenly bulimic. My husband, a troubleshooter by trade, says perhaps I need to drink something warm before eating (since I drink coffee before breakfast, and breakfast stays down)...or even drink something at all, because it does seem like if I have something to drink before I eat, it stays down better. It sounds reasonable to me, and is one of the things I'm going to be trying in the next few days. We're going to start looking for the common denominator. The weird thing is...a cookie goes down and stays down. Fruit crisps go down and stay down. All the bad foods go down/stay down. *sigh* He also thinks maybe I'm starting to tense up when I eat, anticipating that I will get sick, and by that act, making it so. I'm really starting to get concerned, and am about to call my doctor. I'm afraid I'm not getting enough nutrition...afraid enough that I'm drinking Protein shakes again, just for the nutrition. I'm not losing my hair yet, thank God, but something has to give somewhere. I'm just venting here, and I wish that I had heard more of the potential problems with lapband before I actually had it done.

Not everybody who drinks has alcohol related problems, struggles, drunkeness, and the calories in a glass of wine are less than a yogurt. Some people enjoy having a drink...ain't a big thang.

I had two glasses of wine and a sip of champagne at a wedding Saturday night. No problem at all.

It's kinda like vomiting, but not quite as bad, because what usually comes up is slimy. It's not fun, but as that kind of thing goes, it's not that bad. You'll do it at least once, or if you're one of the unlucky ones like me, often.

My doctor said it was ok to sip a drink through dinner. I do it all the time and haven't noticed any increase in hunger, or in how much I eat.

I had knee pain and sleep apnea, and a BMI of 39. I was qualified and had surgery on 2/14. My knees no longer hurt constantly

I took liquid lortab. Knocked me right out. It's surgery hon - it's going to hurt a bit. But it passes within a few days.