CamarilloCA

Remember that you are eating a whole lot less food, which means a whole lot less water to be expelled. Peeing less is totally normal and expected!

You are post surgery? It might be something you are eating that your stomach is having a hard time digesting. It actually happens to me a lot. Baked beans were a nightmare because of all the gas. It could also be acid. Are you on an acid blocker? You may want to examine what you have eaten in the last 24 hours and avoid it for a while if you can narrow it down to the culprit.

Yeah, that Internet piece is wrong. She was on "The Doctors" on CBS and explained that she had a lap band put in. Her surgeon said that to do a second surgery would have been dangerous so I guess the lap band was the option she chose.

You may want to look into the Protein Bullets as well and see if you can tolerate one of those. I think many of them are whey isolate, but they are 42-50 grams of protein in about 3 oz of liquid. I've been reading about those lately, and apparently whey isolate is only part of the protein. The other protein can be collagen protein, which may not be ideal, but in your case, it may be a second choice. From what I understand, they don't taste all that great, but they aren't much to get down: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=protein+bullet You may want to ask your doctor about that as an alternative also.

I only had to be on full liquids for 10 days after surgery, and you might consider asking your doctor if you can go to mushies sooner because of your allergic reaction to whey protein. I think protein is pretty important for a lot of reasons, and so you should definitely try to get it in. Milk, egg whites, and beans are a good source of protein, and quinoa is a soft grain that has protein as well. If you want soy protein, try putting "soy protein" in Amazon's search and see what comes up.

I didn't know that about Splenda. Interesting. I do have it in my tea and coffee and sprinkled on fruit. I had pretty bad diarrhea a few days after returning home from the hospital and pretty much every day that I was on the full liquid diet. Now I'm two days into mushies, and I still have it. I came here for answers and found this thread. I'm not on antibiotics.

Sara, I just viewed your latest video, and you look great! Thanks for the info. Nixi, check with your doctor to see what he/she recommends. I too am taking Prilosec. I tend to forget to take it, but I think it does help with acid in the stomach, which can be uncomfortable. One night right after surgery, I felt the acid come up to my throat. I had GERD prior to surgery, and so I think it can be a problem even after surgery at least for a while.

I was sleeved on 4/3/12. I had to spend two nights in the hospital and was in terrible pain at first right after surgery. I didn't have surgery until about 3:30 in the afternoon, and so I didn't come out of recovery until about 7:30 p.m. I don't even remember being in recovery. I don't think I was able to open my eyes until I got to my room. The morphine they gave me wasn't relieving my pain, and so they gave me dilaudid, which helped my pain, but it made me a complete zombie. When they switched my pain medication again to the liquid Vicodin, I was better able to be alert. I couldn't keep anything down and kept dry heaving the first day following surgery so they kept me another night. I remember barely being able to keep my eyes open while on dilaudid and repeatedly dry heaving all while the bariatric coordinator at the hospital was lecturing me on the Water that I had to get down per hour and that I needed to walk. I was finally able to go home the following day after I had demonstrated that I could walk the hospital halls and keep Fluid down. It was rough. I didn't really want to tell anyone here how rough it was for me because I didn't want anyone to be discouraged from getting the surgery. As miserable as it was, it was totally worth it. I found out that my lap band and my port had a lot of scar tissue formed around it, and therefore my surgery took longer than anticipated. I suspect that may have been the reason for my discomfort prior to surgery. Now I'm not quite two weeks out, and I've lost 13 pounds since surgery. It seems that I can take normal size sips now, and I've been on mushies since Friday. I've eaten cottage cheese, sweet potato fries, smoked salmon, Pasta, and a couple of blueberries and a strawberry so far. I was so hungry while on my full liquids stage after a while, which surprised me because I thought that my hunger would be gone. I've had a lot of head hunger too and crave pizza and a burger. I may have overdone it on my first day of mushies though because, at the end of the night, I felt super full. I've been trying to keep my calories right around 800. My scars seem to be healing well. They used glue instead of tape since I'm allergic to the tape. My energy seems to be pretty low. I hope that changes. I also feel cold all the time for some reason.

I had mine out at the same time my lap band went in four years ago. I was having gall stones at the time as well, and so my surgeon recommended that it be removed at the same time laproscopically. I just had my lap band removed and sleeve put in, and in class, they recommend that you have it removed. Gall bladder pain is excrutiating when you get an attack. I spent the night in the emergency room one night 20 years ago when I ate a slice of pizza after being sick for two weeks and having liquids only.

I asked about that too as I was sure I was going to get it the day of surgery. The nurse said it was no problem and that it happens all the time. You can even have a tampon in during surgery. As it ended up, I didn't get it then, and I still haven't gotten it a week after surgery. Maybe my body decided to skip a month due to the stress and all. It's always all over the place anyway. They also do a pregnancy test hours before surgery as a precaution.

I saw the reality show, and Carnie told her sisters about the lap band, and then she went and had it done. There is a bunch of drama around whether or not their comeback tour will have to be canceled four weeks after Carnie's lap band surgery because Carnie won't be up to it. She was still in bed two weeks after her surgery. I think a lot of what you see on the show is for the sake of drama and probably not at all what is actually occurring. It is a bit silly. I wouldn't have watched, but I wanted to see if my surgeon was going to be in it. On a side note, I don't think anyone is judging Carnie. I think most of us feel empathy and compassion for her since she is in the same boat that we all are in or have been in at one time or another. I think that we, as former band users, just have concerns that she will suffer the same problems that we did with our bands.

Forgot to mention that she is now a spokesperson for Allergan, the type of band that she has, and so maybe that was a factor in her decision. She's getting paid to wear it and talk about it. Edited to add: Here's the link to the doctor's show: http://www.thedoctorstv.com/videolib/init You have to click on her three clips to see the videos.

Carnie's surgeon, Dr. Billy, is one of the best in the country and also put in my lap band four years ago. He's also the same surgeon that took mine out last week and put in the sleeve for me. He just appeared on "The Doctors" on CBS with her so it is no secret who her surgeon was. I am absolutely sure that Dr. Billy explained all her options to her. He's really a great guy and an excellent surgeon. She would have had to choose what she wanted, and it seems like no one can tell her what to do. I personally would not have chosen the lap band after all the problems that I had with it, but maybe she decided that was the best option for her. I don't know. It has been successful for some people anyway. It just wasn't for me. I think we'll be hearing about the removal of Carnie's lap band in a few years when she gets tired of hurling. http://doctorsofweightloss.com/carnie-wilson-lap-band-surgery-7301

I've been seeing Carnie all over the place on tv and am kind of sad that she went with the band. I just had my band out, and it was covered in scar tissue, and my port had scar tissue around it too, and I was throwing up at every meal and in so much discomfort. I wish that she could have had a sleeve instead or plication. (Here's an article about the plication: http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/The-New-Gastric-Bypass-Surgery-Beyond-Stomach-Stapling) The only reason that I opted for the sleeve instead of the gastric plication was that, with the sleeve, the grehlin is removed. Carnie just stretched out her pouch, which is easy to do if you overeat. I commend her for seeking another alternative, but I think, in a few years, we will be hearing about her band removal.

I'm five days post-op and still need the liquid Vicodin every four hours for pain, and I need the Prilosec for nausea. The surgery was terrible for me. I think it lasted at least two hours. I was in the hospital for two nights. The pain medication that they gave me the first night, the morphine, wasn't working at all, and so they switched to Diladid, which worked better but really made me a zombie. When they switched the pain medication again to the liquid Vicodin, that made me more coherant. My biggest problem after surgery was dry heaving and nausea. The surgeon found scar tissue around my band and around my port and removed it, and so that may be why I have more pain than others. You can order tasteless Protein powder online and have it delivered for free quickly. You can put it in all your liquid. You should try to at least get 40 grams in at first. Here's a link to the stuff that I bought: http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=204696&catid=142838&trxp1=35873&aid=338791 Good luck to you. I hope we both feel better soon. Don't resist the urge to rest. Your body heals when you are resting.

I just ran across this article today. I'm sure there will be lawsuits here: http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_20346111/police-investigating-death-ladera-ranch-woman-who-died

I don't think of the surgery as making me give up my favorite foods. I think that I will eat less of those foods instead of mass quantities, and I think that my favorite foods will change. In all of the video blogs that I've been watching on You Tube, which are great in case you haven't seen them, the sleevers all said that they just want different foods, healthier foods, after the surgery but that they can eat anything that they want but what they want has changed. When you get to maintenance, I think you can eat anything in small amounts. You'll be free to make better choices, however, without that grehlin telling you what to eat and how much to eat.

I'm April 3rd and start a two-day liquid diet on my birthday, April 1st. My lap band is coming out and the sleeve is going in. I'm not doing food funerals this time. I did that four years ago before my band went in. Those foods are why I'm in this mess to begin with and are the reason my back hurts and my knees hurt all the time. I don't want to gain weight now and add to what I have to lose later. I know those food are bad for me anyway, and I really don't want them anymore. Been there; done that. I'm also not second guessing whether this is the right decision for me. I've spent the last 25 years losing weight and gaining it back plus more each time. I know without a doubt that I can't do it on my own. I might be able to lose weight on some starvation diet, but I can't keep that up, and so the weight comes back. This is the only solution for me. I wish I had been able to do this a long time ago. I feel I have lost so much by being heavy and by being ashamed of my weight. I am ready to eat to live instead of living to eat. Best of luck to all you other April pre-opers!

I am just about where you are. I am 204 and want to lose about 70 pounds. My surgeon says that I will do that easily in six months. Everyone is different, but I've been seeing an average of 10 pounds a month on most people. The first month, it is not uncommon to lose 20 pounds from what I've seen because of the month-long liquid diet after the surgery and because your body is healing. Your trip sounds wonderful. Definitely see if you can find a doctor that others have talked about here. There is another web site -- I think it is obesity.com -- that also rates doctors that you might check. I'll have to double check to see if that is the right web site. We are ready right away, but insurance referrals and approvals are usually slow. A member here got her revision as fast as two weeks, but I think two to four months is more typical. Some insurance companies used to make members do a six-month education and diet program before their surgery, but nowadays the program is usually three months, but then you have to wait for a surgery date. From first doctor's visit to surgery date for me is two months. You may not have to wait too long because you have a slipped band that has to come out. Try not to be anxious. Time goes by so fast:-)

Don't beat yourself up over your choice to get the lap band. A lot of us opted for the band because it was sold as reversible, and it does seem like the least drastic choice. It also sounds like you were successful in losing weight with it. Hindsight is always 20/20 as they say. The important thing is what you decide to do now, and it sounds like you are making the right choice for yourself and a choice that many others have done successfully. Aetna is a good insurance, and I think they were one of the first insurance companies to cover the sleeve. Kaiser Permanente and Health Net also pay for sleeves. There is no question that they will remove the lap band, and I think it is very likely that they will allow you to replace the band with the sleeve if you and your surgeon decide that that is what you want. Make sure you find a surgeon that will agree that it is a good choice for you. Search the forum for a good surgeon in your area. Having a slipped band and a hiatal hernia is all you need to have it removed, and the replacement of it is your decision. I don't think you have to worry, but I understand your anxiety. I was exactly where you are now two months ago, and now my surgery is in 9 days. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

You're welcome. I watched quite a few myself and still go back and re-watch some of the ones that were most helpful. Here's another good one: http://www.youtube.c...netqueen/videos She had gastric bypass, I believe, but her videos are really encouraging and positive, and she talks about exercise, Protein drink tips, etc. Another one that I like is Cecilia: http://www.youtube.c...elialane/videos and some of the earlier videos from AmySDMOM: http://www.youtube.c...AmySDMOM/videos I was told that, unless there is actually erosion, the lap band can come out and the sleeve put in during the same procedure. If there is erosion of the band into the stomach (which can and does happen), then the stomach needs time to heal. That is what I was told by my surgeon anyway. He was delighted when he did an endoscopy and didn't see any erosion. Hiatal hernias happen frequently too with lap bands, and I think that is corrected once the lap band is removed.

I'm in exactly the same situation as you. There is no reason that you would have to go through a weight-loss program again, and since your band has slipped, you need to have it removed. I have been living with GERD and stomach pain since my band slipped. It took about six weeks and many appointments with several doctors, but I finally got the referral to have my band removed and revised to a gastric sleeve in the same procedure. I know other members of this forum that were able to get it done even more quickly than that. My surgery is in ten days from today. Most people just have a liquid diet two days before surgery, and that is probably what you will have. As for Sleeve101, my advice is to read as much as you can here on this forum and also check out some videos on You Tube. There are a lot of us out there. I recommend GastricReviews: http://www.youtube.com/user/GastricSleeveReviews/videos and Chantell had a band before also: http://www.youtube.com/user/scneaux/videos This is another good one: http://www.youtube.com/user/luvenit1979/videos These women have chronicled their journeys to help others, and they are fantastic. There are several others that you can find from there. Good luck! I agree with IowaAndy about the lap band. I wouldn't do the lap band again if given the choice.

Optima, this is one of my main fears also. Ever since I heard that this can happen, it has me freaked out. It would be terrible to feel everything but be paralyzed and unable to speak. I think, however, that they can detect this now by watching heart rate, etc. By the way, I love your avatar. Can you tell me where you found it?

I wanted to edit one of my posts where I posted my story. I tried to enter my story on my own profile by copying and pasting, but it is not showing up. And then, when I try to edit the original post, I get an error message which says that there is a driver error. Can anyone help?

Thank you very much!