HappyCamper

Are you losing weight with what you are doing? If not, you may want to switch to just drinking your protein shakes for at least a week before you surgery. If you are losing weight then you should be fine.

I take Centrum Silver Chewables Citrus Berry Flavored for adults 50+. They're not bad tasting at all.

I'm from Palmdale (north Los Angeles county). How about you?

Most people don't feel restriction with the first fill. It took 3 fills for me to feel even a little restriction. Be patient. It will come.

I have a Protein Drink every day for Breakfast, because my band is much tighter in the mornings and a Protein drink goes down a lot easier than solid food . I have Premeir Protein ready to drink, 30g protein. from costco

I take Benefiber every day, not really to help with hunger, but to keep me regular. I heard it's better to take than Metamucil for band patients, because it doesn't bulk up and get thick and won't stretch your pouch. You can put Benefiber in anything (I put it in my decaf coffee) and you won't taste it.

I have a 14cc AP band and I didn't feel much restriction until I had 8cc's in my band. Even with good restriction you still have to do your job making sure you're eating the right kinds of foods and exercising. I hate exercise, and resisted doing anything for a long time. My weight was stuck in the same place for months. Then I started tracking everything I ate, wore my pedometer and walked at least 10,000 steps every day. Now I finally broke my plateau and am losing again. I think you need a fill and if you eat right and exercise, I think you'll find that you too will start losing. Good Luck.

Tummy Tuck

I had Kaiser, then switched to UHC. My surgeons office told me I needed the 5 year history, but Kaiser lost my records. While I was trying to deal with Kaiser, I got a letter from UHC saying I was approved. Turns out I didn't need anything but a BMI over 40 or BMI over 35 with co-morbidities.

I had my lapband surgery at West Hills Hospital by Dr. Mark Paya. It's a bariatric center of excellence, and Dr. Paya is a very skilled surgeon and is easy to talk to. Here is his website www.surgithin.com Good Luck.

5cc's in a 10cc band is a lot for a first fill. My first fill was 3cc's in a 14cc band. You are too tight. I've been there and it's no fun. You should have a little bit removed and you'll be lot more comfortable.

I like Premier Protein chocolate. It comes in ready to drink individual cartons. I get it at Costco in an 18 pack. It tastes great and is very convenient.

There is a lady in the support group that I go to that had RNY surgery, then gained some of her weight back. She then had revision surgery and got the lap band and is back on the road to losing again. Good luck to you.

Baby food meats are the worst! I swear they smell and taste like cat food (not that I ever tasted cat food). When I first tried these, I said "People ought to be arrested for child abuse for feeding their babies this cra*". LOL

I did Optifast back in the 80's (just before Oprah did it), and I lost over 80 pounds. I felt and looked great for about a minute. When I went off Optifast and back to food, I never gained weight so fast in all my life. I think being on a liquid diet like that for a long time messes up you metabolism. Most obese people can lose weight by dieting or going on fasts, but the weight comes right back plus some. I've lost between 80 and 100 pounds four different times, only to have the weight come piling back on. I'm hoping that my band will give me the tool to maintain my weight loss.