kaohinani

In the first week after your surgery, your goal is to heal, so not to worry about the protein for that first week, but I did try the isopure post op and it was OK. So if you just drink those after surgery, you should be OK, good luck

Wow, that is a good idea, I find that I am more "restricted" in the mornings, so I just have a protein shake for breakfast, then go from there. And as far as low blood sugar goes, I had that problem for awhile because I was still taking my meds, and of course eating less, so it was a pain to deal with. Luckily for me I am off all of my diabetes, and high blood pressure meds. I was surprised to hear you say that you feel like crying when you get hypoglycemic. ME TOO!!!! I thought that that was the weirdest thing. Good Luck

Well for one thing you haven't had any solids for a while, so probably not much to push thru, but it will come, if you feel like you have to and still having problems, try prune juice when you are at that stage, my hubby and I are 3 and 4 months out after surgery and we eat prunes daily to keep the flow going or we do get constipated. Good Luck

She is so lucky to have such a caring husband. I hope she feels better, just let her know to hang in there, she may need to take baby steps toward her recovery/journey to better health. It is her decision to make as to whether she keeps the band or not, but if it was me, I would keep or at least get the larger band and be on my way. I would not have gone thru all of that with nothing to show for it. Keep us posted, and once again Thank You for being such a wonderful husband as to come on this website with the soul purpose of finding help for her, way to go!!!

Hey everyone, we had a good visit with Mary, Cindy and Dr. Fowler, but the highlight of our day was meeting with Lisa at Windward Mall, sorry we couldn't meet up with you Miriam also. But it was nice to see you Lisa, and we were glad to see that you are better and on your way once again. Keep up the good work, and you will start to see the results that you have been working so hard for. Good Luck everyone.

So if anyone here in Hawaii gets this message by Thursday 11/29, before 4:30, my hubby and I will be meeting Lisa at Windward mall on the couches in front of Sears. We would love to meet up with any of you. See you then.

Hey Miriam, believe it or not, I am kind of in the same place as you are. I did research on the fills, and that is how it is "supposed" to be, but since Dr. Fowler is not a Participating Physicain with HMSA then they cannot tell him how to do his billing. I have had to submit our receipts to HMSA and they are doing "research" on it and supposed to get back to me. But the bottom line is... Even if it is not covered would I pay it anyway to get the fill???? Yes.... unfortunately. But it is worth a shot. Good Luck, sorry we aren't going to see you on Thursday

Same for me, I tried to stay away from it in the beginning, but then i tried some and it went down OK. But on the otherside of it, we need to be careful of our intake. Good Luck everyone.

I was told that my goal should be about 65 grams a day, but I have found that , that is not enough, I used to make sure I had one protein drink a day, then found out that it wasn't enough and my hair was falling out, so now I drink two a day, one is my breakfast and one is my snack, and it seems to be working well. Good Luck everyone.

My hubby uses prunes on a daily basis and he has no problems, except if he doesnt get his prunes. Just a few everyday seems to help. But you need to get unstuck first. Good Luck

Wow you can eat sushi???? That is the very first thing that got stuck for me and caused me to have my first PB. And living in Hawaii, sushi is all over the place and at every gathering. But it hurt enough that first time, that it will be awhile before I try it again. Some chicken is hard for me, but the chicken salad made from rotisserie chicken at costco goes down reeeallllll smooth. Yum

Hi Marianelaine, I had my surgery on Oahu by Dr. Steven Fowler at Castle medical center and I know that he does fills for patients other than his own. He is very nice, by the way, we pay $250 for a fill, but get to go back as many times as necessary within a month for "adjustments". Tell your daughter good luck.

Well, Claramae, don't beat yourself over it, just remember that the amount you actually ate was probably very small in comparison to what you used to eat before the band. Like the others said, step on the scale, then move on. It probably won't be as bad as you think. I let myself eat pretty much anything I wanted on Thanksgiving then got back on track the next day. Sure i have to probably work a little bit extra at the gym on monday, but at least its all under control. Good Luck and enjoy the success you have had so far.

Wow, I have to fly back and forth to see our surgeon and have never had the alarm go off. But I do work for an Orthopedic surgeon and after they have knee implants done we do give them a card stating that they have the implants, but all of our patients have said that it doesn't really do any good. They have to get the full treatment anyway. Sorry that you had that happen. I didn't know the port had any metal in it???? But better luck next time.

Well my doctor charges $250 for each fill, but he does allow us to come in any number of times for the one month after the fill for an "adjustment" at no extra charge, so I guess thats reasonable compared to what I have read here. My insurance does not cover these fills.

I had the same question, about how in the world do you get enough protein without the protein drinks?? I was banded 8/29/07 and have lost 35 lbs since surgery, and I have been using one protein shake a day (30 grams) and still I was losing my hair, so i upped it to 2 a day along with my two other meals ( I use one of them for breakfast) and now my hair loss has slowed down. I can only imagine what it would be without the protein shakes at all. How can that be.????

Way To Go !!! Congratulations!!! I am so proud of you, it is so wonderful to be able to see our mini goals reached, it helps us that much more to be persistant in our journey. Good Luck on the rest of the way there.

Well everyone, I guess we can meet up with you guys at 4:30 on Thurs. Nove 29th same place??? We are doing great. Dave has lost 82 lbs total, and I have lost 50. I had a fill, then had it adjusted so now I think I am good. When I eat, I cannot eat large bites, or eat too fast. It takes me twice as long to eat now than it did before. If I do eat too fast or too large bites the food gets "stuck" and boy does it hurt. When it happens the only thing I can do because it hurts so much is to bring it up. Then I feel immediately better. But I definately dont like that so I am careful. I have found that I cannot eat rice in pretty much any consistency, or it will hurt and I have to bring it up. But anything else, I just have to chew real well. I am happy with my results so far. I am now in a size 16 - 18, I can't remember the last time I was in a size 16. Dave is now in a size 44 - 46. We are doing really well and very happy that we have had the surgery. The fills do not hurt at all. Not to worry guys. Hope to see all or some of you on 11/29/07 at 4:30 (on the couches in front of sears)

I sent you a PM, I loved the payday, I love peanuts so it was absolutely delicious. Mahalo... I haven't been able to find them on Kauai, but will try looking on Oahu when I get there next time.

Hi all, so anyone up to visiting with us on Nov. 29th??? We have appts. in the AM with Dr. Fowler, Mary and Cindy, and then probably seeing my daughter at Windward Mall from 2:30 till 4:00 and then we will be free after that cause our flight doesn't leave till later that night. Let us know. And how is every one doing? How is the weight loss going? How is the eating going? At my last visit Mary said we could eat nuts, and boy did I start eating them when I came home. Too, too much though, I had to throw them away and stop eating them. Way overboard. Waiting to hear from you guys...

Funny you should say that, I was just thinking this morning that maybe I need a fill, cause it seemed the past few days that I was able to eat more and not get full as opposed to 5 days ago when I had great restriction. But now that I read this post, well, I guess I may just have to wait and see it I get my restriction back after my "TOM" (I love the word by the way). Good luck everyone!!!

WOW, Munchkin, is all I can say. I work in a hospital also as a nurse, but on the out-patient side, and I cannot believe how they have treated you, let alone that you work there. Where I work, the employees bend over backward to help the patient, and we are making calls beforehand to clear up any issues that might come up. i.e. payments or anything else. If anything this makes me very proud of my hospital. Sorry about your holdup, like it was said earlier, I know you have been waiting a long time for this, but maybe this was meant to be for some reason. Can you get your surgery done elsewhere without having to do the whole preop thing again?? I hope so, and good luck. If you have to do it all again, maybe there are some legal ramifications of lost dollars for them not checking earlier, seeing as that you did try to call and take care of it earlier. Keep us posted.

Well we fly in first flight and we have appts with Mary and Cindy and Dr. Fowler that morning and we fly back that evening. If any or all of you are willing to meet at the mall again, we are up for it. I have lost 28 lbs since surgery 2 months ago, and Dave has lost 61 since surgery almost 4 months ago. I have a confession. I have picked up Halloween candy and I did eat. Just a few on occasion, nothing like I used to eat though. For some reason I have been having the munchies like crazy for the past to weeks, maybe I would do better losig weight if I just said "NO", but it sure is tough. Good Luck everyone......

Aloha to Tishbite 2, I certainly hope so, that you will be welcomed into the community. Thats what the aloha spirit is all about, and if not, move to Kauai, and I will make you feel welcomed. And I am sure that you could see Dr. Steven Fowler, he is the one that has done most of us on this Hawaii thread. He is at Castle Medical Center in Kailua, and I think there is a website for them also. I know he has done fills for others who have done their surgery elsewhere(mexico). If you have any questions you can PM me. OK aloha all, Dave and I are seeing Dr. Fowler again November 29, in the am, anyone else by chance seeing him then??????

Good Luck to you Island Lassie, it will be wonderful journey, and well worth the weight (ooops, pun intended....wait.) get it wait, weight oh OK , maybe not so funny. Good Luck.