Cocoabean

Glad to hear you are back to following your doctor's orders. The reason we are put on our post-op diets is because our stomachs are stitched over the band and our doctors feel that his or her prescribed diet is the best for healing for the particular procedure used. They don't want the stomach grinding on solid foods until they feel it is ready to do so. To start on solids earlier puts the stitches at risk, along with your band. During my clear liquids stage, I was ready to eat my dog, luckily for him he could move faster than I could.

The sleeve as a stand alone procedure hasn't been around for a long period of time, and is still considered experimental by most insurance companies. I hope it holds up with long-term successes. Verticalsleevetalk also has not been around for long. Best wishes to you for a speedy recovery and long lasting weight loss!

Keep taking your pain meds on schedule, as well. Don't wait until you feel the pain. As others have said, move around as much as you can, it will get better. If something feels very wrong, call your doctor.

Here is United Healthcare's Policy on Bariatric Surgery. You might have question on interpretation for them. http://content.4at5.net/email_domains/unr/38183/hosted/medical_3.html

There's nothing wrong with calling them before the seminar just to gather information. Although you might have more questions for them after, but nothing says you cannot call twice. You might be able to find information online as well. My company has its brochure online, so I was able to see that first and then call with follow-up questions.

Awsome to get back on track! A bad choice or two does not derail our entire journey. That is one of the biggest lessons I have learned in the process. With the band, I get get right back on track easily. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Being back in control is as close as your next bite. Get your fill, and keep learning and moving foward! The gain is just a temporary set back. You can do this!

Hey Karen! Good to see you! You are nearly there!! I had a fill in early September, just a teensie 1/4 cc. I eat to my appetite, which after the last fill does not include grazing (yay!). I eat about 1700 calories a day. I don't normally journal, but I did a couple of days a few weeks ago on an iPad app called "lose it" just to see. Today I had a banana then a little bit later a package of instant oatmeal. Lunch was a pastrami sandwich on multi grain bread from our cafeteria. I ate all the meat, cheese, and veggies and about one piece of the bread. When I got home I had half an avocado. Dinner is going to be chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. I'll probably eat about 2/3 of the sandwich. I eat more than what most bandsters report on here. Sometimes I think I am quite the oinker, but then I think well, my portions are about that of my normal weight friends'. My surgeon never gave me the only eat 4 oz at a time requirement. Or maybe he did and I just don't remember, but he was never very strict, other than not wanting me to drink calories and no "snacking" which for him is brainless eating. I do sometimes get stuck...see my story of last weekend...wah.

I don't journal anything. It was important to me that I don't. After years and years of yo-yo dieting, I just wanted it to STOP. I eat to my appetite. If I gain, it is time for a fill. I've been maintaining my weight for about 9 or 10 months now. I had a tiny fill last September. Recently I got the iPad app "Lose It" just to see where I am at. I journaled 2 days. I am eating the correct amount to maintain my current weight.

It is all about learning what works and doesn't work. It is also about moderation. Sometimes we think we are making a good choice, only to find it wasn't the best. But we try. One time at PF Chang's, I picked the chicken salad thinking it was a great choice. Come to find out (after I ate it) it has over 900 calories in it! I eat cashews often, I just eat small amounts of them. They can be part of a healthy diet. As to the 4 pounds, others have said it, but it bears repeating. Our bodies fluctuate daily. The amount of fluid can vary dramatically. If you are going to weigh yourself daily, realize that these flucuations can occur and that it takes an excess of 3500 calories to gain a pound of fat. If you haven't eaten that much extra, then it is likely fluid. When I was actively losing I would sometimes gain a little after losing for several weeks. It was as though my body would take a break and need some sort of adjustment period or something. Just keep working on good habits and it will come off! Congrats on the 11 pounds lost!

Well done, congratulations on a great job!

Crystl, I don't hate the dentist (the people) I just hate what they do for a living! I have to say this recovery is much better than from the last one! Though I haven't slept well, because I have arithritis in my right hip so I cannot sleep on that side, and this was my left molar so I can't sleep on that side...and when I sleep on my back it compresses the nerves in my elbows and my hands go numb. I have NEVER been a stomach sleeper, so I just cannot win! I went to the endocrinologist today for a 6 month thyroid check-up. He was tickled that my weight has remained stable and said I don't need to lose any more. Except for grins and giggles I did a fasting blood sugar finger stick this morning it was 128!!!! YIKES!!! So, he said, well, ya might need to lose a few more...but lets run an A1c and see how I am doing over the long haul. He figured that was just an anomaly. I got the results this afternoon 5.5 NORMAL and non-diabetic! Yay! So I don't have to lose more.

Sleeve wasn't offered when I had my band. I don't know how I'd decide now. Even now many insurance companies (mine included) do not cover the sleeve procedure.

Elcee, I get gas for cleanings, too. I don't have dental insurance. I work for the U. S. Government, you'd think they'd offer good insurance, but it is garbage as far as teeth go. Oh well.

A lot depends on your insurance coverage. Contact your company and ask them what they require. The pre-op diets (3 or 6 months, that is) are often determined by them. My medical group said I could not even see the surgeon without first doing a 6 month supervised diet program. I appealed that with weight watchers records and records of other attempts. I could go to the seminar without approval, but could not otherwise begin the process. I won the appeal and saw my surgeon. My insurance required the psych eval, my surgeon required other tests. It took a few months to get everything in order. I went to my surgeon's seminar in August and had surgery the following February. The biggest delay for me was the psychologist. He took about 6 weeks to write the letter that I was good to go. I had to sit on his doorstep to get it done.

Doesn't Excedrin have caffeine? That could cause a sleeping problem! Face a bit more swollen today and bruises showing more. Makeup will cover it. The pain woke me up in the middle of the night, but popped a pain pill and all was well.

I was nervous before my first fill, but it was really no big deal. A bit of numbing medicine first then some pressure and a slight popping sensation as the needle enters the port and done. My surgeon has me sip some Water afterwards to be certain things are going down. My weight went down in fits and starts. After a fill I'd drop 4-5 pounds pretty quickly, then settle in for a few weeks, then drop a pound a week for a couple of weeks, then stable, then down 2, up 1, stable for a couple of weeks, then get a fill.

Hey Zen! Welcome to the best thread on the board! hee hee! That's my boy in his new shoes!

I have no doubt genetics play a huge role in the teeth. That and my love of sweet, sugary treats! Which also brought me here to meet you all, just a nice benefit of it. Thankfully, I am having very little pain, yay!

How you do dat?? I am still a bit challenged by the new format! Thanks for the instructions link! I was copying from the address bar. Kept getting the you cannot use that extension on this forum message or something like that! He realy did not mind them. His feet were so sore he was limping badly. When we'd stop to rest he would just lay down and ignore them. The funniest part was when he was walking on concrete he'd shuffle like I do when I wear slippers! We got him used to them by putting on one and walking around, then putting on another. It took about 15 minutes and he was good to go! The first night he would not step off the mat outside the motorhome door. The day of that picture, he was running around like a maniac marking every bush in the desert. In case you are wondering, Butters owns all of Arizona! I am doing my best with my remaining teeth. When I was a child I was so afraid of the novacaine injections, I'd act like...well, a child! So, one dentist decided I could have a filling without it. That set the stage for me to go many years without seeing anyone. I went from high school graduation until my wisdom teeth needed to come out at 25, and I was forced to see a dentist. He would not do the wisdom teeth extractions without catching up on all the other work first, wise man. Then it was a couple more years....my husband has been instrumental in getting me to take care of them. He was going 4 times a year when we met getting his back in shape. He is down to twice a year now. He enouraged me to take good care of mine and I have been doing pretty well ever since. Otherwise, who knows what condition they'd be in!!

I do believe it is genetics. The two over the last few months are the first to go. Hopefully the last, but I doubt it. Ah well. I am approaching 50. I guess they need to make a move about "My Changing Body" as you turn 50. I am losing molars and losing my period -- seems opposite of what happened in puberty. Add to that the acne and skin problems due to changing hormones, it is such fun! Life is just full of surprises, isn't it? OK, I added pictures of Butters in his new shoes. There are in the gallery on my profile. I can't seem to be able to insert them here. Oh well!

Elfie, it costs about a hundred bucks for half a tank of gas. Yikes! We don't go very far. Arizona and Central California are about it. Add to it that camping out in Arizona is free on Bureau of Land Management land and it equalizes somewhat. Glad the burger story entertained. I figure we have to be able to laugh about it and accept it, else it would get very difficult to live with! My poor husband. He deals with it well. I was together with a banded co-worker a couple of weeks ago. First time I've had a meal with a fellow bandster. She got stuck. It was odd to experience the helplessness my DH feels watching me go through it. As to my teeth? I ignored them in my younger years (Sorry Crystl!). My family does not have a good history with teeth. My mother was in full dentures by 35. My father had only his four front lower teeth left by his mid-fourties. I remember him going through deep cleanings trying to keep his teeth. It was unsuccessful. My sister has none of her back molars, all other teeth from and including the bicuspids back have root canals and crowns. I am a mess! :-) One dentist said I could keep this one and wait until it became a problem. Another said it could go either way and that the pocket was so deep he wanted me to see the periodontist for a third opinion. Periodonist said it needed to come out. As it was a root-canaled tooth I'd not feel any infection until it got VERY bad and possibly involved the tooth in front of it. And with my luck, I'd be on vacation somewhere, like the last tooth. X-ray showed decay under the crown. So, I decided to pull it before it became a huge issue. Only problem was a simple extraction became a surgical extraction, because I AM "Murphy's Law"! As he looked closely at the tooth before beginning he said he thought it was cracked. He was right. Snap went the tooth! Seeing the decay inside convinced me I made the right decision. The pain today is not bad. I had a doozy of a headache last night. An entire drum corps was practicing in my brain, the nerve of them! I figure the trauma triggered off a migraine.

Hi Everyone! Oh my gosh, it's been busy here. DH and I made our annual trek to Quartzsite, AZ last weekend in the motorhome. It is a huge swapmeet, and we camp in the desert. Poor Butters had very sore feet after the first day, so we had to buy him shoes! He was soooo cute! We decided to treat ourselves to Burger King for lunch. I told myself to take it slow and easy. Oh well. Urped in the ladies room. Went back to the picnic table, urped in the bag. Threw it all away. Urped in the rocks. Headed for the truck, urped in the parking lot by the freeway off-ramp. Now I remember why I don't have hamburgers! I urped WAY more than I ate. Sheesh. Other than that, I had a great time. So, I lost another tooth today. At this rate I will be toothless by the time I retire. And the damn tooth fairy didn't come last time, she better come this time! Today was brutal, the tooth broke and when it did it cut my cheek. Ugh. Ah well. Elfie, my mom wore the same dress to all three of her children's weddings. I will be 22 years married this year and mine was the last. Something to be said about wearing the same dress! As to calories in, calories out.. I don't buy it. Everyone is different. I only lost 3/4 pound per week on average when I was losing. But ya know what? Down was down. Frustrating as all get out when you see folk losing 5 lbs a week, but oh well. Some of them are no longer on the board and I am. So hey, it is all good! Keep up the good work. 2beskinny, talk it over with your doctor. If you are hungry within a couple of hours of eating solid Protein, then request a fill. If you are getting stuck often, review your eating habits. Are you taking small bites and eating slowly? That can make a big difference. Crystl, you look GREAT! That girlie just needs to stuff it up her biscuit!

Elfie, I live in San Diego and am an ice cube since losing weight! I cannot imgagine being in subzero weather. I used to always be freezing, then my throid whacked out and I went hyperthyroid. I was always hot. And I was one of the lucky few who gained weight while hyper rather than lost. After radiation treatment for that I am now on thyroid hormones and back to freezing land. When I moved into my current office I was still heavy and adjusting to life with no thyroid. My cubicle mate and I agreed 68-70 was a good temerature. Then I had my surgery. Now I like it at 76 which is no fair to him. So I suffer and bundle up and try not to complain about being cold. I see my thyriod doc at the end of the month, but I don't think he will kick my dose up any higher. I try to tell him how hard it is to work at a computer with gloves on to keep my fingers from getting frost bite, but he just doesn't get it!

Thanks checkyes. And elfie for the info. I did a search on the forum before I posted it and didn't find anything. Then a while later repeated the search snd found two threads. I have a Lap Band, so doesn't apply to me, but wanted to share the info.