AZ Gary

I agree everyone is different. If you have a low tolerance for pain, you may need the week. I had surgery on a Thursday and would have when back on Monday but my wife who had already taken the day off said no way. So it was Tuesday for me, even though I did a little work from home on that Friday.

I remember going to one of our remote offices about 200 miles away and needing to pop into Wal-Mart to buy a belt. I felt like one of those kids with their jeans sagging and their boxers showing.

While I haven't had one in public since banding, I had incidents prior due to an unrelated medical condition. Best bet is to try and excuse yourself to make an exit to the restroom. I wouldn't suggest trying to drink water or other liquids while at the table. (Big mistake on my part) For me it starts with hiccups and a tightness feeling in my throat and the thick slime starting to build and slowing pushing up. As far as foods, for me it is not the type of food, but eating too fast or too much. But some really dry meats cause me some issues.

Flip it around and say, "You're eating all that?" When you start to count the calories in the food that people consider to be normal, they would be amazed.

I'm going great, with a little luck and a lot of exercise will pass the magic 50 number in the coming 10 days. I'm supposed to go back in a month which will also be the day I meet with my PCP to review labs and consider another drop in the meds.

Went in for my first scheduled fill yesterday and they looked at my charts and said we could wait another month since everything seems to be working as it should. They said the docs sometimes leave in upwards of 5-7cc. So if I was on the high end, I came out of surgery with the glass half full so to speak.

In the men's section at Kohl's you can usually get some wearable stuff on the discount racks at 60-80% off. Add that with a coupon and it is a score even if it is for just a short time. On purpose I got a pair of really ugly pants that would feel at home on the golf course 1 size smaller than I am now for about $3.50. Looking forward to wearing them just to get noticed.

Just have to do a lot of chewing. Maybe consider starting with shredded lettuce.

I went to a dbacks game one week out. I brought a protein shake and the security gave me some grief of it not being allowed in the park. I lift my shirt to show them the stiches and bandages. Said I was on a medically supervised diet and they waived me right in. Sad part is once you are in, there is not a lot of food you can really eat one week or even one year post op. BTW how is Upton working out for you guys?

Glad you started this one since I was thinking about asking the same thing this weekend. Hope all the other June bandsters hop in as well. For me it has been a pretty easy month. This Friday will be the one month mark. When I got my staples out, I was told that they do start out the band with fluid in it rather than empty as most people think. I am supposed to get my first fill on the 31st, but am wondering if it is really needed since I am managing to stay under 1200 calories without feeling hungry throughout the day. I'm finding some of my smaller sizes are starting to fit and even need a belt with some. Last night we went out for sushi at our regular place and the waitress asked what I had changed since I looked different. Also have been able to start lowering the strength of some of my meds. All in all this was one of the best decisions I ever made.

I almost had my first stuck moment after eating ground turkey made into a patty last week. Problem I think was that it was too dry. Guess the extra lean version was the cause.

Not sure where you live at and if the Affordable Care Act is going to impact you in October. I think you will have a difficult task finding a company like that. The insurance company is basically like Vegas, they are betting that they can make more than they have to payout.

I agree with Guy, I have kept the soda genie in the bottle for the last 8 weeks and was planning on letting it go once for my birthday, but now it is a source of personal pride on making it each day without one.

After watching part of a race on TV the other day, it suddenly hit me. A Lap-Band is restrictor plate dining.

Low dose aspirin was removed before surgery for me and they want to wait awhile before adding it back. Some medications may be difficult to swallow. I was on Niaspan but the size of the 2 pills would make a small calf gag. Because these are a compressed time release, I could not crush or cut them. My PCP switched me to Slo-Nician which was over the counter and cheaper and could be cut but still not crushed. I would do over your whole list both prescription and OTC with your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

How much caffeine were you drinking pre-op? (Coffee diet soda etc?) I was drinking a fair amount and was always tired during the pre-op diet stage, but my body got over the need for it.

I guess the guys have it a little easier. I was lucky to have some hair much longer that most in my family on my dads side, so I started shaving my head a few years back. I wonder if I could just the old joke of, since I was banded I can't play the piano...

Congrats on passing the first month with the band.

I had my staples out after 10 days and they put steri strips on afterwards but some of them only lasted a day or so. I am down to just three strips. Everything else has healed up and the itching is starting to subside.

I bought a case a chocolate MM Lite from Costco. Alone it is almost sickly sweet tasting and the taste lingers in your mouth. But it is one of the best I have found. Also if you top it with 4 ounces of coffee, it tastes like a mocha from Starbucks for 350 less calories.

I’ve had a few woo hoo moments already. Passing 300 and fitting in some smaller clothes but yesterday was one of those that I was really glad to see. I have had the same PCP for almost 20 years and usually it was always the same story after each visit, you need to lose some weight, get your BP down and cut back on the salt and caffeine. He always seems to say, “I have a pill for that.” I went the self pay route and didn’t need to go through a medically supervised diet drawn out over 6 months before surgery with him. Yesterday was my first checkup since starting this journey and I came prepared with all my progress charts. He was so thrilled with the progress that he felt he needed to cut my BP medication in half with another review in 3 months to take it even lower or start removing some all together. In 6 months after my physical we will review if the diabetes meds can also go away. Interesting thing about the visit was I was reading Alex’s book while waiting in the lobby and was on the chapter of what to expect in your first year. There was a passage saying that after about 10-15 % loss you may see the need for some medications to be lowered. Alex’s was spot on with this claim.

I would add that the pre-op diet is your friend. Take that time to learn to eat the small portions when you can eat. Experiment with different shakes and liquid foods to see which ones you like while it is not so painful to have a gag reflex. I had to go through 3 weeks of pre-op due to some additional tests being required at the last minute, but feel it was worth it. I entering my 3rd week post-op and haven't had any strong cravings or hunger pains despite the very vocal objections of my stomach. (I tell it that is all you are getting so deal with it)

Seems to be a very mixed camp among the healthcare providers with bands and the consumption of soft drinks. I went cold turkey on Diet Coke and other similar drinks when I started my pre-op. I am a software engineer by trade and one of the unwritten rules is we down lots of these drinks, with sugar or otherwise. I will admit to drinking 5 or 6 over the course of a day and that is not counting the occasional supersized drink from the convenience store once in a while. The first week I was sort of tired and didn't understand why. Now 5 weeks later it was suggested that I setup an appointment with my PCP to see about lowering some of my BP medications. I know I have been told in the past to cut back on the caffeine and sodium, but never had any guess it would add up to 30-40 points on my BP. Also seeing a sizable drop in blood sugar levels. Anyone else see drops like this? Getting off the medications is motivation enough to make me stay off of them. Not to mention the extra $$$ that I was literally xxxxxxx down the toilet.

I was in there this morning to have my staples removed and the PA had a new person with her that she appeared to be training. So there may be some relief coming. But to double down, I went ahead and scheduled my second appointment at the end of August to pay it safe.

I also took the easy path for many years and found you usually end up higher than when you started. The latest fad in my office is some kind of wrap you put on your legs for an hour and when soaked it pulls the toxins out of your body. My response is wouldn't it have been easier to stop putting them in?