Cocoabean

Hi Everyone! I am up and dressed today, woohoo! Christie, best wishes to your brother for his safe return! Dottie, thank you for your prayers, I appreciate it. My pressure actually went OVER 100 today on the upper number 102/67...before going back down to 84/57...blah. Oh well, I got out of the house with DH for lunch. Nice! I plan to finish off a baby sweater I am crocheting for my neighbor and then start choosing something to make for my grand-nephew! We just found out it's a boy!!

Oh! Then let me rephrase, CONGRATS on restriction! It's great, isn't it? :thumbup:

er...congrats on the PB! :thumbup: 9 lbs in 11 days is VERY fast weight loss. Just watch that you are feeling OK.

Until you find proper restriction you are relying on your own behaviors. Not impossible to lose, but not as easy as with restriction. Behavior modification is part of the band deal. Smaller portions, protein first, don't drink with meals, exercise, the works. Last Supper Syndrome is common here, but remember, you will be able to eat your favorite foods again, just not as often or in the same amounts. Is it worth it to gain now only to have to lose it later? Get yourself in for your next fill as soon as your doctor will allow, and don't beat yourself up. This is a learning process and a long journey. You can DO it!

They told me to try the BRAT diet. Bananas (can be hard with a band), rice, applesause, and toast. But that might have been for the lower GI tract. :thumbup: Hope you are feeling better soon!

From your weight loss it looks as though you have been banded for a while. Congrats! Is it possible you have encounter a stomach bug? It might not be band related at all. I was awakened Saturday morning at 2am with bad nausea and other intestinal upset. Since it was hours after I had eaten, I knew it wasn't band related, but I ended up at urgent care 12 hours later. I have a nasty bacterial infection. They considered the band in their initial diagnosis, but it was rapidly ruled out. A call or visit to your doctor might be in order. I hope you are feeling better soon!

Hi Brenners! Sorry to hear of your band loss! If it were me, I'd not hesitate to consider a revision to another surgery. I'd work with my doctors to decide which was best. After having success at a thinner, healthier life with the band, I'd not want to go back to my previous condition. I know for me, that would happen without the valuable tool of WLS. Best wishes to you!

I flew about 5 weeks post-op. I had no troubles. Talk it over with your surgeon. Some folk report that they feel tighter after flying so you might want to have plenty of Protein shakes available. Plus you may still be on a special post-op diet. Best wishes!

Mine went in the trash, too! I have friends, a married couple, who are doing Medifast by choice! They really don't have much weight to lose (especially her, 5 lbs), and I can't get over that they are doing it! I made it through with my eyes on the safe surgery prize, but otherwise, yuck!

Leigha, my only caution is that you be careful to not get caught in the trap of "chasing the sweet spot." My memory sucks, how long ago was it you had the unfill? Just be sure you are totally over all the irritation from that and are truly ready for more. My surgeon speaks of chasing the sweet spot as getting a fill, then needing an unfill, getting another fill too soon, then needing another unfill...yada yada. He prefers to be very conservative and try to sneak up on the sweet spot. But even so, I still ended up overfilled once and needed a slight unfil. I went back a month later for a refill and had the unfill amount and a little more put in, and that is where I've been for quite a while now. Ok, so that said, if you are HUNGRY...get the fill while you don't have to pay for it, girl! :thumbup: Sorry you don't like my diet idea. It truly works. Blech! AND, the medicine makes your mouth taste like poo, so you don't want to eat. NICE!

More power to ya, MrsCabes! I only had to do 2 weeks of the stuff. I didn't cheat either, but it wasn't fun. Do they have a "blech" smiley? :thumbup:

Expect the best, but plan for the worst. :thumbup: I have a desk job, too. I caught a cold around the time I was in the hospital, so that probably slowed my recovery. I did one week off, and tried to go back the second week. Ended up doing half time the second, and wishing I had taken it off. That said, many have returned much sooner than I. I have a fantastic boss with paid sick time, so I wasn't worried about it. I probably could have forced myself to go back quicker had it really been needed.

Hi Kels, You've had great advice thus far. I'd like to add that I am not a weigh and measure my food type of person. I do the eyeball thing of a deck of cards is 3 oz of meat..yada yada. After over 2 years, I am getting pretty good at gauging what is a proper portion. FINALLY! Anywho....I have some days where I can eat more, and some days where I can eat less. It is normal. I look at my normal weight friends, and they are the same. As Betsy pointed out, your choice was most likely a slider and that explains why you could eat so much of it. I have amazed myself at the quantity of somethings I could cram down when I let my guard slip. This is a journey. It's a learning process. If you are worried, see your doctor, then forgive yourself and move on! :thumbup:

Tom's Girl, You are not the only person for whom a band has, or may have, failed. I am sorry you are going through all this. For me, if my band failed, I'd strongly consider RNY. I've already discussed it with my PCP who always checks my port site whenever I see him. Not that I except it, just as a precaution. I am going to send you a link via PM to another forum that encompasses different types of WLS. There you will find posts of folk who revised from band to RNY, and also folk who went band to VSG, or RNY then a band over it. It might give you a broader range of info and exeriences. Best wishes to feeling better!!

I lost 8 lbs on the pre-op. I did the Medifast program. Best wishes!

I am making a leap that you have a 10cc band. I am with Leigha, a slight unfill can make a HUGE difference. My surgeon speaks as to how when you get more fill in the band, smaller amounts of fill then make bigger differences. If you were to remove .5 or even 1.0 you'd still have more than you had when you were gaining. It might be enough to give you the restriction you need without being too loose. Think about when you put a belt around your waist. On its loosest setting you have to pull it in several holes to reach your skin. Once there, it only takes one hole to start pinching you. Sometimes you have to poke a hole in between to be comfortable. Are you on any type of acid blockers? You might ask about using them temporarily until things calm down. I hope things work out for you and things settle down! I am wondering if when your sinuses flare up, if you could not go in for a slight unfill, then refill when cleared? It might happen too often for that to be practical, but just a thought from the outside looking in.

It seems the answer to this question is as varied as pre-op diets and the surgeons who prescribe them. Ask YOUR doc what the rules are for soda to be certain. That said , I sip soda and beer from time to time. Often times, it just gives me hiccups and makes me more uncomfortable than it is worth (to me). So, that has led to some wasted $$ on soda. The beer, not so much, DH is always willing to finish them off for me, such a sweetie he is! I do still like the taste of soda, but if I have it, I just sip it. My surgeon said that the chemicals in diet soda actually trigger hunger in the body. Thinking of that helped me to take a pass on them. Plus, I'd usually have sodas only with meals, so that made it easier for me to let them go. This is just one of those behavior modifications we need to face with the band. YOU CAN DO IT!! :thumbup: It is sooooo worth it, to be a healthier happier you.

Did I state that you did not understand what he is? The OP said it was a group support, and the psych said his job was to convince the band people to go with GB. Does that mean that EVERY surgical candidate is best served by GB? Or does it mean that in this instance the doctor scheduled GB patients and potential band patients that he felt would be better served by GB in the same group, and then put band folk he is willing to band in another? I don't know. That was not stated here. I'd certainly hope if that were the case that it was stated at the group. In my case, I'd prefer to discuss which procedure suited MY case in private with the team. Group support should be for support or information gathering. But that's my opinion. Of course there could be more to the story than we know here, there always could be. We have to take posts at face value, generally, or ask for further clarification if we don't understand where a person is coming from. Yes, GB has a fantastic rate of success for more years than banding. But band folk have good success, too. As you said, the best surgeons will embrace ALL procedures. As should patients be open to what their surgeons have to say about which procedure is best and why--then make an informed decision.

Mine was a 20 minute chat about my understanding and expectations of the procedure. We also discussed my medical, mental, and weight/food history.

He is a psychologist, not a medical doctor. Your choice of procedure is between you and your medical doctors. They may have good reasons why they'd suggest one procedure over another. There also does appear to be some preference for GB over the band by some surgeons. I don't know why. But, I'd question anyone who made a statement such as that. Then again, he was honest about it. I'd suspect he was told to guide people toward GB by the surgeon, but wonder if he was told to admit it.

Hi all, I am gonna write a book, "The C. Diff. Diet: How to Lose Weight and Lower Your Blood Pressure Without Trying" Anyone want a copy? tee hee! My pressure is coming up a bit, yay! 99/64 at last check. I am down 3.5 lbs this week as of this morning. That was a surprise, I didn't think I was losing anything. I am so done with being sick, this just totally sucks. I wrote off the week at work. Boss let me do some stuff from home today. On Fridays I spend the day doing a lot of shipping and receiving, I usually walk over 1.5 miles in the building. There's no way I could do that. So, I said forget it. I'll start fresh Monday. Anway, I make a very good couch weight. My dog normally does it, and he does not like being usurped! Too bad for Butters, but he and DH just got back from a 3 mile walk at the lake.

Hi Melissa, Glad to hear it is going better for you, and to see those foods were on your list! All surgeons are different in their post-op instructions. But when you said mushies and grilled fish in the same sentence, I got worried for you. :thumbup: Betsy always has good advice! She's tops! Just go easy and do your best to stick to your plan. Chewing well is very important. It is what gets me into trouble the most at this point, over two years out. So keep chewing! Also, take little bites! Keep up the good work!

You are so right, ardelia! Also, I think to a large (ha ha) degree we all have food issues/compulsions/addictions. Else we would not be here. Some are bigger issues than others and need different kinds of treatments. For me, I ate compulsively, if it was there, I wanted it. I was seldom NOT hungry. Getting the band has given me control I did not think possible. Gaining control of the physical hunger has allowed me to work on the head hunger issues. It is not easy. I still work on it. But not having my stomach screaming for food all the time has very much helped me. Your mileage may vary, of course. I think you are wise to try the meds first. They may work very well for you. :thumbup: Thanks for the clarification. I was, indeed, misunderstanding. Thought I might have been. :crying:

Glad to be of help. I hope you all win the appeals! For some reason, this topic just really ticks me off. I can't think of any other medically necessary treatment that people have to fight for to receive--but there are probably some out there. When my father needed triple bypass surgery, he did not need to beg and plead for it. He was in surgery the day after it was identified that he had blockages. This is elective, yes, but when our insurance says it is covered and we elect to go for it, they should work WITH us, not against us. Yes, I won my appeal. My situation was like Sweetsagi's. I was denied even seeing my surgeon due to the 6 month requirement. I submitted Weight Watchers records among other things and won. Time being what it is, over 6 months passed before I got my band, but I did not have to wait 6 months before getting through the starting gate to see my surgeon. Cunner, I would point out in a very professional way that the tests will likely no longer be valid in a year's time and need to be repeated at great expense to them and you. Some of them are invasive and painful. I also had the thought go through my head that you can point out how when you hit the 1 lb below 35 BMI you were dieting at the time, and that is a time when you dress in your ABSOLUTE lightest clothing to see your doctor to weight in. Why do they make you go through those tests before even looking at your history? Why would they not do a 'pre-approval' of some sort to look and see if you even sort-of qualify before paying for those tests? Do contact obesity-law. I don't know anything about them, but it is another resource. Remember, too, the Americans With Disabilities Act. Look into that and see if you can throw that into the letter. Being a Fire Fighter, you might not want to go there, but something well worded might help. Give them all you got! Ok, rant done! Oh, and DON'T say you are't dieting or that you plan to gain weight...think you prolly know that :thumbup: Everything you say may be used against you. Best wishes to you all!!!!

WHY did the surgeon say GB was better? There may be some medical reason behind the guidance, or it may be personal preference of the surgeon. My surgeon will not do a band on a type 2 diabetic. He said GB has a much better rate of remission. GB for a surgeon is sort of a set it and forget it procedure. After a few follow-ups, they are done with you. Not so with a band. Unless they don't perform the fills. With either procedure, YOU have to put in work to be successful. As Spartan advised, get a few opinions and make an informed decision.