Cocoabean

Yikes! No lean and green? Sowwy! My surgeon said to follow Medifast. He gave no restrictions. I was doing soups, shakes, and bars for a couple of days before I read the thing and saw the lean and green. I about did back flips when I saw it! But I am jealous of your post-op. My first meal of mashed potatoes was the best thing EVER!!! It is amazing how different doctors are in their orders, isn't it?

:thumbup: Welcome. My surgeon measured my height. He took my weight in clothes, though. So, I did have a little bit of fudge factor there. Not that I needed it.

THAT is a great idea, Leigha! Now you tell me!! hee hee! I usually hold a towel or a paper towel. The paper ones don't absorb enough and can chafe the skin during a long episode. As to pills...I was able to come off of blood pressure and cholesterol meds at surgery time, yay! I've only had a couple of pills get stuck. You can crush them if not extended release. And if they are extended release, you can ask your doc to change you to regular that you can crush. I understand that applesauce is not the best thing to mix the crushed stuff with. Yogurt is better I have read. If you swallow them with as big a drink of Water that you can, it will help. Lisa, to minimize stuck episodes, eat slowly, take small bites, and chew very well. There is no guarantee, but most of my stuck episodes have been pilot error. After 20 years of 30 minute lunch breaks, I was in the habit of eating very quickly. It was hard for me to adjust to eating slowly. I do much better now, but it was not easy. Also, don't let yourself get too hungry, that is when I tend to take too big of a bite or I don't chew well enough. I am also more tempted to make poor choices then. I believe that sometimes you get stuck with no help from yourself, but you can do a lot to have fewer episodes.

OMG!! I am laughing WITH you here! There's no swallowing it for me, no way, not gonna happen. I did the plop into the toilet with the splash into the eye thing! Only mine, it was a PUBLIC TOILET!! Yeah, that was awesome!! I was rinsing my eyes for about 5 minutes. That was after getting stuck on fish. I am not much of fish fan anyway (except sushi--go figure), so it just made it all the more special. DH and I were at a local pub. I had just been telling him how I could not understand how so many people get stuck on fish, it is so soft. Then I get that far away look in my eye..he says, "do you now know how they get stuck on fish?" "Darn you! Excuse me!"....Good times! Then I had the unexpected PB where I was sliming into my paper towel. Thought all was well, then I burped and out came all the slime and the food with such force it hit the paper towel and shot back all over my face! Talk about the Alien movie! I was pulling goo off my face for 10 minutes.

Britbrit, Something to ponder for you. You say you are losing your insurance in March of 2011 and you are in college. I am taking a leap that you are not rolling in money. With the band, it is not a set it and forget it procedure. You will need fills after the surgery. If you don't have insurance, these fees will be out of pocket, have you taken this into consideration? Fills are not inexpensive. If you get the band in December, your first fill would not be until February at the earliest. Many people take 3 fills before they get any restriction, often more. I have had 4 or 5 fills and one unfill. If I had paid $250 for each fill/unfill that would be $1500. Gastric bypass is a much more complicated procedure and the recovery takes longer, but might be a better fit. However, you'd have the expense of prescription strength Vitamins, and bloodwork to check nutrition levels (I think that happens every 6 months, but am not sure). Please don't take this as trying to talk you out of the band. Just a word of caution that if you cannot afford proper after care you will just have an expensive piece of plastic inside of you. Without proper restriction, the band is pretty much useless. Best wishes to you!

Hi SBeth, The pre-op does suck. But it is time-limited, and totally worth it. Mine was two weeks of Medifast. The stuff is not my favorite, but it does allow one "lean and green" meal each day, so I got to chew. I lost 8 pounds during that time. Not all doctors require a pre-op. Does yours? After my surgery my doctor said he could tell I had followed my pre-op very closely because my liver was nice and small and pliable. I was very pleased to hear that! The post-op diet was not much easier. I was starving! I was to be on Clear liquids for a week, then full liquids for a week, then on to mushies. My surgery was on a Friday. By Sunday I was ready to eat my dog. Had he not been able to move faster than I, he'd be gone. When my surgeon called me on Monday morning and I told him this, he let me move to full liquids. At my 1 week post-op appointment, I was able to move to mushies as I was doing very well. The rest is history :thumbup: I am two years post-op and don't regret my decision. Best wishes in your journey!!

I have taken to the habit of pausing before each meal to take a second and remind myself to take small bites, eat slowly, and chew-chew-chew. It has really helped me, especially when I get overly hungry and am ready to eat everything in sight. You definitely have to maintain a sense of humor about stuck episodes. This is a little graphic, but funny. One of my funnier slime episodes was when DH and I were camping. I got stuck on a piece of bread--big surprise! Normally when I get stuck, DH leaves me alone to deal with my troubles, because he is very squeamish. But in our little motorhome there are not many places to go to slime in peace. So, I am hanging over the sink, letting it run out of my mouth, as I usually do, waiting for the offending item to decide if it would like to go down or come back up. Well, I had a string of slime running from my mouth to the sink. You know that thick gooey kind that you can't break? It had some air bubbles running along it, slowly sinking down. DH walks by and says, "oh, look how pretty, it looks like a pearl necklace!" Yeah, never bust out laughing with a mouthful of slime! What a mess!

We have to meet up to split a roll some time!! I am in the San Diego are, too! The more people you have, the more variety you can order. :ohmy: What's your favorite Sushi place? We like to go to Todo Sushi (used to be Meiki's) on Caroll Canyon Road off I-15. In La Mesa, Banbu Sushi. Ok, I'll stop, I am making myself hungry. :thumbup:

Hey Bob, I am the queen of embarrassing moments. Illumination, have a fantastic trip!!! And happy birthday! That is quite the treat, enjoy. Everyone, buy stock in kleenex. Ugh! My cold moved up from my chest into my head. Now I feel like my face is going to explode. The stuff coming out of my nose is a nasty shade of yellowish brown, so I have an appointment this afternoon. Top it all off, DH and I are going to New Orleans on Sunday. I have a conference that I must attend. He'll be having fun. :ohmy: So, I am sort of hoping this is bacterial and I get some antibiotics. That should get me feeling better before the conference starts. Then to top it all off, my seat assignments got messed up and I have center seats. Good thing I knocked off those last two pounds over the past few weeks! I'll fit nicely in the seat, but I am sure my seat mates will be soooo happy to have 'Sniffles' sitting next to them. So, as y'all know, I've been checking my blood sugar in the mornings. Monday and Tuesday I didn't walk because my personal trainer, Butters, was camping with the DH and I was doing taxes. (And yes, I do realize I could have gone alone, but didn't :thumbup:). I also wasn't have high protein dinners while they were gone (read cereal). Well, Tuesday morning it was 115. And Wednesday morning it was 116! Yikes! Butters had a lesson yesterday, he is doing great by the way! We took a walk around the parking lot of the Petsmart while we waited for the trainer. I had a high protein dinner last night. This morning my sugar was 97!! Boy, if that isn't motivation to walk and eat right, I don't know what is! A part of me is hoping that the high readings might have been influenced by the cold. I have read that infections can affect sugars. Ok, off to check what else is going on around the boards!!! Have a great Thursday everyone!

I have around 5cc in my band. I've been at this level for over a year now. I have an AP Standard 10cc band. Everyone is different and the main thing is that you are happy with the fill level. If you want a bit more later on, then you can get more. If you are happy for now, stay there for a while.

I have BCBS HMO in California. They required a 6 month supervised diet here. I was able to appeal it with Weight Watchers records through past years and did not have to do it. It still took me several months to get all the testing done, but it was pretty simple. I went to my surgeon's seminar in June or July and had surgery in February. Best wishes!

The OP states a height of 5' 6 1/2" not 5' 6". 5' 6 1/2" at 248 is a BMI of 39.4. At 249 it is 39.6. That is what btrieger was talking about. The OP said there are no co-morbidities. 5'6" at 248 is 40.0. With no other co-morbidities, many insurance companies will not cover a BMI less than 40. The OP needs to shrink a half inch or wear heavy boots and a sweater on the scale. This is not a time to dress light to go see the doctor for fear of a lecture on the evils of being overweight. But I have heard of some surgeons weighing patients wearing a gown.

Hi Britbrit, This site is for all things band. Welcome! I took a week off and went back half-time the second week. I caught a cold around the time I was in the hospital, and was wishing I had taken the second week off, also. If I hadn't caught the cold, that might not have been the case, and one week might have been fine. All insurance companies are different. Mine denied my primary care doctor's referal to see my surgeon becasue I had not done a 6 month supervised diet. I appealed it and won. I gave them years' worth of weight watchers records and personal diary entries. I explained that another attempt would not make a difference. After that, I had no problems with my insurance. Not sure what you'd like to know about what you can expect? Any specific questions? I'd say you can expect a roller coaster of emotions. Times of frustration and joy. Excitement and fear. But, it's all good and a road to a healthier you. Best wishes in your decision.

Eating while not distracted is a definite plus! Being careful helps, for sure, but it does not guarantee no stuck episodes. The smaller the bite the better off you are. Also, I do worse with finger foods. I tend to take a much bigger bite (like with a chicken wing). I am a little over two years out now, and I rarely get stuck. But it does happen sometimes. However, over time, I have found what works best for me to end the episode (bringing it back up). So, they are usually minor occurences now, rather than huge events. To the OP, driving while eating...never a good idea! Poor you! I could not imagine being stuck and sliming while driving! Dang! Use it as a learning experience and move on.

Hi Leigha, Oh my gosh! I was sooooo mortified. I was sitting in the front row of the jury box. I had placed my coffee mug on the railing in front of me. As the defense attorney was walking past us to give closing arguments I reached forward to grab it. Being the klutz that I am I missed it. I ended up knocking it so hard it flew about three feet forward and darn near hit the attorney. Of course, the gallery was full as this was a high profile case in San Diego, so all eyes were on me. I wanted to crawl into a hole and not come out. The attorney was very nice and picked it up for me. I felt bad that I found her client guilty after that, but oh well. The evidence was just too strong. I was very happy that the mug was empty!!

Hi there! Welcome to band land. For me, I chew, swallow, relax for a few seconds, then take the next bite. If I feel ANY discomfort, I stop eating until I know the bite went down. That can stop a lot of problems before they really get going. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

My surgeon has not refused me a fill yet, but we always have a long discussion about how much I am eating, and how my band and I are getting along. He also checks my rate of weight loss and considers that along with my reports of hunger level. We have had to negotiate on the amount of fill, but he always listens to my input. I am the only one who can tell him how hungry I am. 11 pounds in 6 weeks is a great rate of loss. But if I reported that I were constantly hungry to do it, I believe my surgeon would give me a fill. If I reported that I were satisfied with the amount of food I was eating, but wanted to cut down to increase the rate of loss--I think he might say no, as I am very close to goal and should not lose that fast. When I was overfilled, I lost 7 pounds in one week. That was too much for me. I felt really bad! Keep up the good work!!

Alcohol absorption isn't affected by the band. It is still metabolized the same. With gastric bypass, it is different and those patients get drunk faster. I don't consume alcohol near as much as I used to, so I feel it much sooner these days as a result. If you had beer, it could be that the carbonation is what bothered you. When my stomach is tender, I like to do liquids and mushies to just give it a break for a while until it is feeling better. Like others have said, drink lots of fluids!

I did medifast for my pre-op. I already had a good supply from a previous diet attempt. I have to say I don't care for the stuff. It is much too bland. But it did the trick. I lost 8 pounds and the surgeon said my liver was very small, healthy, and pliable. I couldn't ask for more than that! I had to just chug down the shakes. I did like that it had a 'lean and green' meal, though. At least I got to chew every day.

Ok everyone, get this. Some of you may have read my story of jury duty last year and sliming in the jury box. We sent the defendant away for life after a three month trial. Well today we had a unit meeting for work at a local restaurant. The server was the aunt of my defendant!! Wowser! I wonder if she recognized me!

Hey Everyone! Gotta go with Bob and Christie, work DID suck today. Was supposed to get new carpet installed tonight. They did it last night instead. All the dust worked wonders on my already wounded sinuses! Oh woe is me!! But, I did find a silver lining in being sick. I am down another pound! Oh yeah. Got on the scale this morning. 3 more pounds to a normal BMI!!! YIPPEE!!! Have a great night everyone!!

?? Might help me what? I read it, I am sorry the band did not work for you. I hope you find a way for you to be healthy. I have been very successful with my band, I am 3 pounds away for a normal BMI. I was merely expressing that sometimes I still have the desire to overeat. That is not something the band can help me with. Head hunger is a fight that must be fought each day. Best wishes.

Hi MizKelly, Yes, you did say every doc is different. You just said no fluids when stuck with such finality, I thought it was a hard/fast rule of banding. I'd never heard it before. Thanks for the clarification. And of course, doctors' orders rule!

Hey Leigha, I think you really need to up your caloric intake. It seems as if you are not getting enough to sustain yourself, and you might be going into starvation mode. Try 1200 calories a day with the exercise plan and see how you do. And remember, the closer you are to goal, the tougher it becomes...grrr!!! You are doing fantastic!

Hey SBeth! Welcome to lapbandtalk! This is the place to be for loads of support. Lots of great people here. Sit and stay a while.