Chandra12

I would wait to have them re-sized until you are at your goal weight. I've lost 118 pounds with 27 to go. Currently wearing my wedding ring on middle finger till I have it re-sized.

90 since August 17th

I had surgery last August and also paid privately. It took me a long time to come to the decision to have surgery, and my insurance required a full year of hoops to jump through. My husband said if I want it to just get it. I did have a hospitalization back in December related to my band being too tight. My doctor wasn't on call and out of town. I tried to stay at home and manage but was too sick and ended up admitted with severe dehydration until my physician could remove some fluid. My hospital stay was covered. I've heard that things like this, as well as band slippage, etc... are typicallly covered because they are considered life threatening. The thing to consider is your insurance company will probably not pay for fills, unfills. Those can get costly. The cost of my surgery covered the first three months of post of fills. I went in several times to try to get to a good spot before the three month time frame lapsed. My surgeon charges $205 per fill so it can add up quickly if you are too tight, have a little fluid removed, then go back in a few weeks to have fluid added. Best of luck to you!!!

202.4 this morning. Can't wait to cross over to the other side! Lol

I'm at 204.8 as of this morning. Keep thinking I can't wait to cross the one-derland threshold. Congratulations!!!!!

Just browsed Yahoo's main page. Didn't see it. Do you mind posting the link? Thanks!

Have had a series of adjustments recently. Was as high as 4.5cc in a 10cc band, which in retrospect my surgeon believes was too much, and I would do best at 4.0cc. As of 12/20 I was at 4.0cc. On 12/27 I began having a hard time taking much in, but did OK with fluids - especially hot tea. On 12/29 (Saturday) I became unable to swallow any solids. My surgeon was out of town. He has 3 partners, one of which also does lap bands. He wasn't available either. The partner that was on call said if I came to ER he would try to remove some fluid, and proceeded to bash lap band surgery because of "this kind of thing". I was reluctant to go to ER given his demeanor and lack of experience. Later that afternoon I couldn't even keep my own saliva down. Called the Dr. back who said since it was close to 6:00pm I could go to ER and he would admit me with dehydration and he would try to remove fluid in the morning. This hospital is out of network so I opted not to go, knowing he wasn't going to see me until the next morning anyway. Early on 12/30 my husband took me to ER. This physician poked me 4 times and couldn't aspirate anything! Ended up admitting me with dehydration and said a partner that works with these would be around Monday and take care of it. The following morning I had 1.5cc removed and by afternoon was discharged. My dilema is I have an appointment tomorrow for a fill. I've had a significant amount of personal stress since hospitalization. My mother became acutely ill and I thought would die, as well as my son went to prison. I feel like I currently have a fair amount of restriction. Last night I had a work function and ordered a shrimp basket (don't usuallly order like this but no one at work knows). It came with 6 large shrimp and fries. I ate 2 of the shrimp and 4 fries. Knew I had enough. Was still hungry but knew I needed to stop. This seems like a reasonable amount of food. My question = should I delay my fill for now? I am private pay and every fill/unfill costs me $210 - which is difficult. Already have a huge bill from all of the adjustments last fall. Appreciate your thoughts!

Yeah for you!!! Congratulations on your weight loss! I brought some Fage non fat greek yogurt for breakfast, which I didn't attempt until after 1:00pm. This is what I usually eat for almost every breakfast. After two bites I knew I had to stop. Wouldn't that be considered a soft mushy?

Help! Had my second fill on 10/12. Currently have 4.5cc in a 10cc band, surgery was 8/17/2012. Lost 38.4 pounds so far. Had productive burp/sliming both Saturday and Sunday late afternoon after just a couple of bites of food. Since 10/18 have been only able to take in around 500 calories per day - all protein. No problem with water or hot tea. I'm private pay and my surgery cost covers first three months post-op, thus I really don't want an un-fill. Just called my surgeon and left a message for his nurse. Since I can tolerate fluids, what are the chances I could go on protein shakes and see if this resolves in a few days?

My physician has no post-fill restrictions. As with anything - listen to your body.

I have read that your body can only absorb around 25 grams of protein in one sitting. I bought some Whey Protein powder and intended to mix with one cup of skim milk. The powder has 30 grams per scoop, plus the skim milk added another 6 grams. I ended up using 2/3 cup of powder. My understanding is that anything over 25 grams will simply get flushed out and not absorbed.

Jean's cookbook is great. Also emilybites.com is a great resource.

Wasn't able to view the link

Interested!!!

Do it!

I'm in the same phase. You should STOP when starting to feel full. Try to stretch to four hours before next meal. Drink lots of low calorie or sugar free drinks in between. Make sure your mushies are high protein and you should feel full longer. Good luck!

I was banded a week ago and could shower the next day. I didn't. Waited two days. My steri-strips were covered with Tegaderm which is a clear adhesive dressing. The Tegaderm was to be removed on day two and the steri strips were to stay in place until they fell off on their own. Well - in attempting to remove the tegaderm it was impossible without removing the steri strips. I called my physicians office who said to go ahead and remove all of it so it didn't harbor bacteria. I did that. I didn't realize it but my husband called the surgery center and they said to leave it all on. Oops - too late. Regardless I haven't had any problems. You should be safe to shower. They did tell me before discharge to stand so the water hits your back and not your abdomen. I definitely agree! Good luck.

Wow - I can relate to all of this!!! Good luck everyone! Stay in touch.

I was banded Friday and got to start full liquids after 48 hours which includes thinned yogurt, soups, etc... 4 ounces at a time taking 15-20 minutes to eat.

I was banded Friday and yesterday was up 5 pounds from pre-surgery! Today was down 9 pounds. They pump you full of fluids. Just focus on healing at this point. It's really not about the scale at this point. Focus on healing and hydration! The weight will come off down the road. Best of luck!

Congratulations!!!

Same here. Has to run off a spoon.

My surgery was in an outpatient surgery center. Main complaint is left shoulder pain. Been walking 2-3 times a day and using a heating pad. Gas X as well. How are you feeling?

I am two days post op as well. Really hungry yesterday. Not bad today and able to advance to thinned foods. Just had 2 ounces of thinned Greek yogurt with dry crystal light sweetener. It was really good and now I am full. Can't believe it! Did the soup help?

Banded Friday. Just weighed myself and up 5 pounds! Really? I've had water, sugar free jello, and a little broth. I've walked 2-3 times a day 1/4 mile. Please tell me this is post op swelling? I certainly don't expect to lose right now - just didn't anticipate a GAIN!