sman342

I wait only 30 minutes after. I would not try to drink while being stuck as that has failed miserably with only vomiting Water with slime. Yes it's gross lol but it happens.

It is a very good question Smart, and as you can see, no set answer.
I'm 28 months post surgery a d from my experience I cannot drink while I eat. I do drink a 6 oz glass of Water prior to lunch and dinner and have a green tea 1/2 hour after dishes are done and clean up finished. If I did try to drink during my meal, whatever was in my pouch would turn into what felt like a all of food and inevitably I would end up vomiting. Only took a couple of times to realize I can't drink and eat at the same time
I've learned to eat in a totally different way. My plate is a tea saucer, my meals and Snacks are still weighed or portioned and put into small bowls, vessels; my fork is put down after every bite. Takes me a long time to eat but it's worked for me. Lost 158 lbs, had my exess skin removal surgery and am a totally different woman.
Good Luck to you and do what works for you!

Unfortunately, this is another case where every surgeon has a different idea what's best.
Mine also says it's fine to drink right up until I start eating, no drinking while eating, and I can begin drinking again 30 minutes after eating. However, I've seen people who've been instructed to wait an hour before and after eating to drink even.
The logic behind the no drinking while eating is that they don't want the Fluid washing food through the band too quickly. However, it's important to note recent studies show that food doesn't sit on top the band before passing for more than a minute anyway. So really, if that's true, then if you wait a couple minutes after a bite to take a drink then it shouldn't matter.
Still, I would simply do what your particular surgeon recommends. It's the safest and best bet.

Most doctors prescribe no liquids half hour before/after meals; however, there are some like yours that are ok with it. I would just follow what your surgeon recommends is ok. There are varied opinions on this.
I will share though that for me during a "stuck" moment, the last thing I want in my belly is liquid. It adds to the pressure/pain or makes me even more nauseous. However, that is just my experience.

Please avoid the mistakes I made by having high expectations. I lost a ton of weight out of the gate and stalled out. Reason I lost the weight was bc I was eating right, I was eating to protect my post op tummy. Then, when I couldnt feel restriction - all the rules and seminar guidelines went out the window. Finally with my 4th fill - I have that elusive restriction that everyone talks about. If I DON'T eat slow, it feels like a tree branch going down sideways. I have to avoid the slider foods now and get on track. Enough about me - good luck to you.

Please avoid the mistakes I made by having high expectations. I lost a ton of weight out of the gate and stalled out. Reason I lost the weight was bc I was eating right, I was eating to protect my post op tummy. Then, when I couldnt feel restriction - all the rules and seminar guidelines went out the window. Finally with my 4th fill - I have that elusive restriction that everyone talks about. If I DON'T eat slow, it feels like a tree branch going down sideways. I have to avoid the slider foods now and get on track. Enough about me - good luck to you.

Sorry you had so much trouble. I think people who get the surgery though are pretty much at the end of their rope & desperate. We all know the pros and cons, and possible risks associated with this but at least for me it seemed less risky than continuing to deal with out of control diabetes and hypertension.
I do think its good that people read some posters bad stories along with the good....especially the ones who may think this is the easy fix.
Do u think its possible u didn't lose weight because by ur own admission, u only ate junk food??

I'm sorry you had problems, but it's obvious something was wrong with your band from the day it was placed. Maybe it's in the wrong place, maybe your anatomy simply doesn't work well with the band, I don't know. But I do know the fact you've been living on slider foods since the first month being banded means something is wrong.
I might also add you have a 4cc band. There's a reason those are no longer used in the United States- because the company said there were way too many complications with them and now only approve the larger bands. Again, that is completely not your fault, however it stands to reason that band was too small for you from the beginning hence forever being too tight even when empty.
I hope you find what you're looking for after it's removed and I mostly hope you find good health. But please don't come on here acting like everyone who is banded is making a mistake.
We're not you and the statistics are in our favor, especially with the new bigger bands. I've lost almost 150 pounds in 9 months and I couldn't be happier. I never PB, I've never vomited, and it's extremely rare that I get stuck. In fact, I can and do still eat whatever I want without any problems. Some of us are extremely happy and successful with our bands.

well my question is can you afford not to

Oh and for your knees, optimally after you have lost the weight, there is a cutting edge procedure that is now covered by many insurance companies, but few know about it that Im aware of.
Its called "platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections" and my neurologist does them. Many famous sports figures have had these shots and they literally encourage your body to repair itself in the area where the shot is administered.
When and if I can isolate EXACTLY where the shot will give me the most benefit, I myself plan on getting them. It usually takes one or two shots at the most to completely cure the injured area.
I encourage anyone to do research that has ligament, joint and muscular pain from injury or disease. The cost is high, but when insurance helps, its not so much. Its well worth it, I cant say enough good things about these shots as they have literally saved live/careers!
Sincerely, Sandy

I have noticed the same thing with mine. The first week after a fill goes really well, but then it kinda fades away. Weird!

Banded in August and only 1 cc fill since then. Have lost 27 pounds so far.

I on the other hand was able to eat like I used to. I had my first fill yesterday. And oh boy it is tight. And it hurt! Can't wait to see the lbs fall off now.

Wow! Congratulations!!

I'm 8 months post-op no fill. 90lbs lost.

Sorry if I upset someone with my previous post. You thought I was showing off. I am sorry you are suffering . For some people the loss of food is truly like losing a best friend. I think anyone that is honest will tell you that they grieved food and went through a period of thinking OMG what have I DONE.. Life is about to change big time and is scarey and only a person who has been banded can relate to those feelings.
I went through those feelings. I went through years of failure with my weight and feeling like a failure because I didn't have control over a Hardies Breakfast cinnamon biscuit. After waiting 18 monthes for the band and jumping through every hoop the insurance company put out there I got banded. And I made the decision that I was going to follow directions and do what I was told whether it made sense or I liked it. I am not a rule follower this was not easy, I had to recognize that my ideas had gotten me to WLS.
It was a struggle to give up my will and submit even my diet coke............. But I did it and I am proud ....not showing off. When you have tried every diet, plan and pill, patch and Jenny Craig throws up her arms and gives up on you and you finally get it and lose it you are happy/proud/celebrating.
I think my message is if I can do it with my rebellious heart then you can too. The weight loss begins in your head not your mouth or stomache honestly. And I know in every Fiber of my body from my past behavior that I would not have it together without my band . And my band taught me more then food restriction it helped me grow as a person that stopped eating her feelings. And I want that for every person who has ever felt the way I felt.

You're sure it's a decent percentage (25-35%)? What makes you sure of that?
The study quoted in that article consisted of only 151 patients, studied in Belgium from 1994-1997.
I'm not a big fan of statistics. I agree with a boss I once had who used to say, "Figures can lie, and liars can figure." I'm not calling you a liar, just pointing out that statistics can be manipulated to support just about any argument.

If the gas pain in your stomach, then OTC meds, peppermints, or tea may help.
However if it's the gas they pump in during surgery absolutely nothing you can take via mouth will help. That gas is in your abdominal cavity not your digestive system. It has to be reabsorbed by the body which unfortunately takes time.
Continuing to walk and use the heating pad is your best choice to help ease it. Good luck.

David Letterman isn’t the only one who composes top 10 lists. Here’s my top 10 list of the things you need to know about gastric band surgery, served with a generous helping of GJTL™ - Genuine Jean Tuff Luv™.


TIME FOR SOME TOUGH LOVE?
Genuine Jean Tuff Luv™? What’s that? It’s my version of the kind of love that hurts so good, because it gets you going in the direction you want to go.
Stern but caring parents, teachers and coaches who maintain strict rules and demanding training regimens are said to practice tough love. Those rules and regimens may not be fun, but they can turn around kids, students or athletes who’ve gotten off track or are underachieving.
Tough love may seem too severe, too tough. It works best when the parent, teacher or coach believes in, proclaims, and respects the inherent value and purpose of the person they’re trying to help. Sometimes all we need is a wakeup call to shake us out of our stupor and pull us out of a rut. The drills and discipline of tough love can help (even as they hurt) when our bandwagons have gotten lost or stalled somewhere along the way to success.
A bandster once said of me, “Jean tells people the things they don’t want to hear.” I chose to take that as a compliment. Many times in my life, I’ve benefited from a slap upside the head by a concerned friend. When I do the slapping, I try to do it with just enough emphasis to get a friend’s attention long enough to deliver an important message, followed by a gentle and loving kick in the butt. So here’s my top 10 list of things you need to know about adjustable gastric band surgery. Consider yourself kicked!
THE GJTL TOP TEN LIST
1. You will not wake up in the recovery room at your goal weight. Average weight loss with the band is 1-2 pounds per week, and virtually no one loses weight at a nice steady pace of (say) 1.75 pounds per week. Some weeks you’ll lose, some weeks you’ll stall and some weeks you’ll gain, but as long as the overall trend is downward, you’re doing great!
2. Slower weight loss with the band does not prevent sagging or excess skin. How your skin reacts to massive weight loss depends mostly on your genetics and your age. As we age, our skin loses elasticity. If the possibility of sagging or excess skin worries you, start tossing your change into a plastic surgery piggy bank.
3. Weight loss surgery (of any type) does NOT cure obesity. Obesity is a chronic and incurable disease characterized by relapse and recurrence. Although bariatric surgery is currently the most effective way of treating obesity, obesity is something you’re going to have to manage for the rest of your life, with or without surgery. For most of us, a tool like the adjustable gastric band makes that a lot easier, but it’s not effortless, either.
4. Most eating problems after band surgery are due to user error, and can be prevented by using good band eating skills. Read an article about those skills by clicking here: How to Eat Like a Bandster.
5. In order to decrease your weight and increase your health, you must decrease your food intake and increase the quality of your food choices and the time you spend exercising. While you may be able to lose weight for a while by just eating much smaller portions of chicken McNuggets, potato chips, and candy bars, eventually that approach will stop working, and at the same time it will start biting your health in the butt. And though it may be difficult for you to exercise at first, each pound you lose will make it easier, and each additional hour you spend exercising will not only burn calories but improve your physical and mental health.
6. No weight loss surgery procedure will cure eating disorders, eating demons, emotional eating, boredom eating, stress eating, celebratory eating or food addiction. Changing those behaviors is your job. If it’s too hard to tackle yourself, consider getting some counseling with a therapist experienced with eating disorder and WLS patients, and/or joining a 12-step group like Overeater’s Anonymous.
7. The band rarely works without fills. Even if you initially lose weight with one or no fills, sooner or later, you’re going to have to face the fill needle. And if you’re too needle-phobic to tolerate a fill needle, why did you choose band surgery in the first place?
8. The restriction “sweet spot” is a myth. There is no such thing as “perfect” restriction, or if there is, you can’t count on it to last more than one hour, one day or one week. This is because the band is an inert silicone object implanted in a living, breathing human body that changes constantly in reaction to the time of day, time of month, time of year, hydration, illness, medication, stress, you name it. Restriction variability is part of the gastric band package.
9. There is nothing magic in the band that makes you lose weight. Changing your eating and exercise behavior is what makes you lose weight. All the band does is make that work easier for you by reducing your physical hunger and increasing your satiety.
10. YOU are responsible for your weight loss. Not your band, not your surgeon, and not the server at McDonald’s who invariably asks you, “Want to supersize that?”

I am close bmi currently 24 want to get to 22. What is your bmi at? I now only lose 2 lbs/month. I am pretty tight but i am living and enjoying summer vacations and good times! I feel great!

I just have to share, 50 pounds lost!! Surgery date 12/30/11. Next goal to be under 200 pounds.

Well, after a slow start after my banding (May 22, 2012) I am finally in a good place and seeing results. I was 199 yesterday and I almost cried when the first number on the scale wasn't 2! That was the motivation I needed to kick myself in the butt and push on to my goal. So happy!!!!

i will be so glad when i finally get some restriction..get my second fill Aug 14 my will power is getting week some days.

I think this is "IT". . . I had lap band surgery on April 9th; first fill on June 6th. Went in this week for 2nd fill . . . and I finally feel like I have some restriction ~ WOOT WOOT. Now, this band and I can get to work and lose some more weight. I should be happy with a 35 pound weight loss but I want M-O-R-E . . .

Yes I did....I went to Dr Quiroz from cosmed clinic. I believe he is the only doctor in Mexico that is also licensed in the US! One of the reasons I chose him