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There are flavor less Protein mixes or some Bariatric products that have added protein in the form of Soups etc. You could try those if you do not like the sweet ones. I do not believe that regular broth has sufficient amount of protein unless you are using a fortified version, do read the label. The one I was using on my clear liquid days only had 5 calories in 8 oz servings and 1gram protein.

Don't give up, if you are too far from your surgeon, plan to stay in the area for a few hours. Definitely have Water at the clinic and wait 10 minutes to make sure you are not too tight before you leave. Then stay in the area, maybe have a Soup or something for lunch, wait some more and then go home. I have been too tight and it is no fun. Hang in there and maybe try for smaller fills.

I have noticed in the past couple of weeks that my band feels tighter when I have spicy foods. I'm Indian so that is pretty much the normal home fare. When I stopped the spicy foods, my band still felt tight but not to the extent that I would have to stay on liquids all day. Based on that I have increased my dosage of the Prevacid and I have seen dramatic improvements in just 3 days. I still have to confirm this with my doctor though so don't use my experience as a diagnosis. I do plan to discuss this with my doctor at my next visit. I just feel that if it is indeed a possible cause of the band feeling tight without any accompanying heartburn or reflux, we should be aware that this could be a potential reason and watch for it. I was prescribed Prevacid Solutabs by my surgeon as part of my pre-surgery packet. He did recommend 6 months back that I should take it regularly as I was having reflux and heartburn. He did not say that the symptoms could be similar to band being too tight though.

I have done a couple of groupons or living social deals where a month of group exercises (boot camp) is about $30-$50. I like a small group setting compared to a personal trainer and I have done both over the years. Small groups keep me motivated and I am not bleeding money. See if that works for you! Do make sure that whatever boot camp you choose does do strength training as part of the routine.

Missy I had some occasional heartburn but nothing more than that before the band. My band is a standard 10 cc. When I said an unfill I meant removal of a small amount of fluid: 0.2 - 0.4 cc. My doctor and I were thinking I was in the red zone so he did minor tweaks. I still have 3.0 cc in my band. I suspect my Green zone is around 3.5 cc. My best and most comfortable level was at 3.35 cc which felt just a touch too loose as I was getting hungry every 2-3 hours on the correct amount of food. That said I am still happy with where I am at, I have lost 70 lbs in the past 8 months since I got the band. I would have just preferred to know that reflux symptoms are not always heartburn but can be similar to the band being tight.

So I have been struggling with the fill amount in my band for almost four months now. I have had two small un-fills and I am now at less Fluid in my band than I have had since mid December. December was when I got my last addition of fluid to the band as I was close but still a little too loose. In the past week I have finally figured out that it is my acid reflux that was irritating my band area and was causing me to be still too tight even with un-fills. I have upped my acid reflux medicine and it has done wonders for my ability to eat consistently. I think I will need to spend the next 2-3 weeks getting back into the groove of eating solid food consistently and not only during the day time (on the days my band permitted). At that point I will probably be ready for another fill. I have discussed acid reflux with my doctor in the past but he never mentioned that it may feel like a too tight band so I never suspected it as a root cause for my band being tight.

Remember that, the tightness to the amount of fluid will vary as you loose weight. My doctor mentioned that this is because of the layer of fat between the stomach tissue and the band which reduces as we loose weight.

This topic has been on my mind a lot. I do not want to have plastic surgery so I am trying everything I can to see if I can avoid it. I'm 38 so I was already starting to see dry skin on my hands this last winter and I am sure that getting the Lap Band this last fall did not help in that; consuming a lot less oils :-). Here is what I have been doing: 1. Trader Joe's Vitamine E oil or Neutrogena Sesame Body Oil in the shower 2. Occasional application of L'Occitane on my tummy (Horribly expensive I know!) I recently came across another L'Occitane product that I will try I think - Almond Supple Skin Oil, looks like it does target skin toning. http://usa.loccitane.com/almond-supple-skin-oil,82,1,29229,262124.htm Not sure if it will help but I have been doing this ever since I got the band so hopefully I have a head start. I've lost about 65 lbs so far so I will see how it goes. Best of luck to you.

I got my lap band surgery on Thursday and took the Thursday and Friday off. I went back to work on Monday. I just avoided driving for the next week and just had someone drive me to work and back. You may also want to consider if you have any stairs or elevators and if you have a long walk from where you get dropped off to where your desk is. If that is a comfortably short distance then I would say that a week is more than sufficient.

Awesome! Best wishes for your health, hope you get better soon.

Happy daylight savings everyone! I've been looking forward since the new year. My activity levels and e we use go way up when it is light out when I get home from work. I'm already exercising at night now, looking to kick it up a notch this summer.

I don't know if you should even worry about the Water weight. Make sure to drink plenty of water every day as that helps keep you hydrated and will reduce water retention especially as you exercise and sweat. As you are exercising you will also be building muscle, that may also be having impact on your weight as it is heavier than fat. You do want to gain the muscle though as it increases metabolism and will help you loose weight faster in the long run. Best of luck!

I like this idea! How about pounding the chicken thin, maybe even crusting it lightly with cornmeal.. got my thinking cap on!

Great job! Any tips for the guys? Workout food etc. I'm hitting a plateau and looking to change things up 6 months post surgery.

My doctor was ok with Diet green tea (I use Arizona brand) sipping that helped a lot. I was still cranky for the first 2-3 days though.

Every doctor has their own rules, you should follow what your doctor says. My doctor wants me to have clear liquids for 2 hours and soft food the rest of the day with the solids the next day. This is the protocol I am given even when I got an unfill. He also says it takes a couple of days before your band shows the full effect of the fill/unfill, because of the swelling. I have noticed that anytime I vomit, I have to stay on liquids/soft food for a day or so or I just keep making it worse. I too have problems with eggs, especially scrambled. Best of luck!

I still eat chocolate, I go out and buy backing chips bags of guittard milk chocolate. I eat it one chip at a time and let it melt in my mouth. Helps me get over my cravings with a few small pieces usually 1/4 serving (one serving is 28 pcs). Way better control than when I was eating bars or candies.

One thing I am reading is that when you are just tight enough, the band gets you feeling full with a little food and then keeps you from getting hungry. If you get to the point that you are waiting a minute between swallows and are chewing really well with the band being just tight enough, the weight will fall off. I am currently hovering close to the green zone and I will tell you that the lack of hunger is an amazing feeling. I was too tight for the last 2 weeks of December and while I was not getting hungry, the staying on liquids and PBing was not fun, did loose 9 lbs in the two weeks though. I find that if I am eating when hungry, taking in Protein and zero calorie fluids and exercising for an hour at least 2-3 days a week, I will loose weight rapidly. Keep getting regular band fills, if you are too tight ask the doctor to take a little Fluid out and go slow with the fills as your eating style and your body need to adjust to the fill. If you manage to take in your protein and drink fluids you will loose weight. Best of luck!

Looks great! Congratulations.

I found the Fage Greek Fat Free yogurt to have the lowest Carbs and calories with the highest protein content of them all.

No doubt, I am adjusting to this new way of eating. I have lost weight before and put it back on and then some so for true long term weight loss I do recommend the band.

I have twin two year old boys and my job is very demanding of time so I hear ya. Yes the $3000 counts towards the $8000 maximum. Try the pre band diet, loose some weight that will help a lot regardless. The first 20 pounds made a big difference to my back pain, cholesterol etc. If you can swing it, do the band, if you can't, do some of the stuff that bandsters do - 64+ oz of calorie free fluids a day 60+ gms of protein Low fat low carb food No refined starch or sugars. Keep logs. Read on the forum regularly for ideas and motivation...

It has to be medically necessary for them to cover it regardless. It should be considered necessary in your case. You will have to pay the 20% up to the annual out of pocket maximum. Make sure that the surgeon and his team including the internal medicine, psych, dietitian are in-network. Also ensure that both the hospital and the anesthesiologist are in-network as well. Lets say your in-network out of pocket maximum for the year is $5000. No matter what, you should not have to pay more than that including the deductible and the co-payment as long as you stay in network. If money is a big issue, plan on doing this in the same year as some other big medical expenses to offset the cost. You could look at the pre-surgery diets that people talk about on this forum. If you work at it you should loose some weight on it. A loss of 20-30 lbs will get your cholesterol under control. If you exercise it would help as well. It will all be good preparation for getting the band as you have to control what you eat and exercise when you have the band. Although the band does make it easier to eat less as it suppresses hunger and can restrict food you eat. Start by pretending you have the band and go from there.

Yes, I have Anthem Blue Cross and with them you either need a BMI > 40or have BMI > 35 (? not sure about the exact number here) and have co-morbidities like high cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes or sleep Apnea. For obese persons, there is a good chance of having Sleep Apnea so if needed you could test for that. I would suggest planning so most of the pre and post surgery is done in one year to maximize deductible and benefits. The cost is not insignificant but I planned it when my family was already close to the deductible and with my BMI > 40 and with the co-morbidities it was a quick approval with no pre-approval weight loss required. My total out of pocket ended up being about $1200.