kagoscuba

Have you thought about a second opinion? My doctor has done over 1500 lap-band surgeries. 5 is a spooky number. I know he is not in Colorado, but he or his staff may be able to point you in the right direction, or you could go to him, if the situation is that desperate. Perhaps your doctor is not experienced enough? Dr. Michael Nusbaum Gastric Bypass and Gastric Banding Weigh Loss Surgery - West Orange, NJ

"Prepare for the worst and hope for the best." I was prepared for some pretty intense pain, and that never happened. My average pain was a 2 (for about 5 days, then nothing) on a 1-10 scale, and it got as high as a 4 when the gas pain hit my left shoulder. It was nothing a little Liquid Roxicet couldn't handle...I love PERCOCET!! The incisions never hurt, I was sleeping on my side in 1 day and on my stomach with 4 days. I even went back to exercising (cardio, no weights) 10 days post op. On the other hand, I've heard of people on this board laid up for a couple of weeks.

This doctor is definitely not from the conservative school of thought. My doctor recommends for ALL patients, after a fill: 3 days Clear Liquids 1 week full liquids 1 week soft foods Go to solid food as tolerated.

Force yourself to weigh yourself only once a week. That may help some. Don't obsess over the scale. If hungry, pop in a Viactiv calcium chew. It works for me. If not, then I go to stage two...a cup of coffee...if it's DEFCON 4 hunger, then I eat a Muscle Milk pudding.

Pre-Packing all of my daily meals during the week and exercise. I sometimes stray on weekends but not by much, and at least 5 days a week are strictly controlled. The weekends are tougher as the days are a lot more hectic than at work. I never thought I'd say that until I had three kids ages 5 and under.

Life Fitness machines know your weight, because you input your weight while you are working out. Even if the machine was off by 25%+-, it'd be better than not having any idea at all. The machine calculates by weight, level you put the machine at, exertion, and time you spend on it. It's probably a lot more accurate than static exercise calorie tables I've seen.

I was banded 9/27 and have been able to lost 30 pounds so far. I had my first fill on 10/19, and it made a difference last night, which was the first time I tried anything I couldn't drink or spoon out of a yogurt cup. I had a can of tuna for dinner and that filled me up perfectly. Of course that 30 pounds had nothing to do with the band other than the fact I did not want to get sick eating the wrong things. Here are the things I've done since surgery: 1. Followed doctor food instructions 95% to the letter. 2. Pack my Breakfast, lunch, and Dinner and take it to work with me, eating when desired. 3. Exercise at local gym 5 days a week and either work out on home on Saturday or make a point to get the family outside for some type of extended physical activity. Sundays I take off. 4. Drink lots of coffee, drink lots of Protein shakes, eat Muscle Milk pudding, drinking a fair amount of Crystal Light...the on the go packets are awesome! Just those four items have made a world of difference for me. I was even in Chili's on Saturday with friends and did not feel deprived. A typical meal a month ago would have been Boneless Buffalo Wings, a bowl of Soup, and an "Oldtimer" hamburger with fries and a couple of beers or sodas. On Saturday I was satisfied with soup.

The only issue I've heard of with protein is eating it exclusively can lead to death. In extreme survival conditions eating nothing but lean protein and not getting any fats in your diet can slowly lead to death. However, for most humans, this is about as likely, as well, getting stranded in the woods for 6 months eating nothing but rabbits

Different doctors give different advice. I was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea, and the diagnosis didn't slow down anything. It did help with giving me two-morbidities along with my 39.1 BMI. BCBS still figured out a way not to pay though, as they said I could not prove 5 years of being overweight. I've been overweight for 15, but I don't have medical paperwork saying so.

The restaurants could care less about you ordering from the children's menu or not, and if you complained to the manager of any halfway decent restaurant, most would let you get away with it. For those that don't and the wait-staff that puts up a blocker, the reason is obvious: money. 15%-20% of a $20+ meal is a lot better than 15-20% of an $8 meal. Of course, when I've run into the same situation, I usually explain if I am "forced" to order something I truly do not desire, then the amount of my tip ($0.00) will reflect my displeasure, and if it is the manager, then I will explain not only will the tip be zero but my future patronage will equal that amount. Of course I am the same way with car dealers too. When they ask me to name a starting price, I always use my staple line, "I don't want to pay anything for this car; let's start from there." :mad:

My goal weight is 180, and when I make it to that, I will be about 15 pounds over my "ideal" weight for my height. However, as a man, that weight will make me have about 12% bodyfat, which will be very healthy. Considering I LOVE strength conditioning, I'll never make my ideal weight until I am unable to work out anymore. To me, that's a good problem to have! My wife sometimes says she's going to miss her Teddy-Bear, but I tell her it's about time she cuddled up next to a panther.

<p>You are kidding, right? how many Canadians cross the border to get health-care each year because they have to wait too long in Canada? Tens of thousands. </p> <p> </p> <p>When I lived in Germany I found out about "Universal" health care. For the poor, it is a boon. Why should they work harder to be able to afford something that is given to them for free? For everyone else, it was crap. If you wanted a particular doctor or the ability to not be 6 to a room in a hospital, you had to buy supplemental private insurance. Considering the income tax rate was 47%, buying more insurance is a tad tough on the wallet. </p> <p> </p> <p>Socialism benefits the lazy, while frustrating the driven. Social Darwinism is not an affront; it is a reality, once all the facades are proven false.</p>

I didn't puree anything. I couldn't think of anything grosser. I've stuck with foods close to puree: protein drinks, yogurt, fortified pudding, ect. Once I got to other foods, I just took very small bites and chewed really well. That included scrambled eggs. Personally, I'd rather chew to pureed consistency, rather than drinking a "food shake." My gag reflex would take over otherwise. That's just my opinion though, so that and $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

I hear you there...on the elliptical machine, it tells me to stay around 117 beats per minute for fat-burning and 144 for cardio. Well, I put the elliptical at a relatively low Level 5 setting and push past 117 like it's no problem, go for 30 minutes, and I usually end up around 155 beats per minute, having burned 410 calories and a little over three miles in distance. The calorie number is the one I care about. I also "listen" to my body, and even at 155 beats per minute I am not "killing myself" in exertion.

$6000 for doctor surgical fee; $13000 for hospital surgical fee; $2430 for anesthesiologist's fee; $278 per fill From what I've seen, my doctor must charge the most in the country, because I haven't seen anything else here even close. So you can use my number as a statistical upper limit.

My thin brother-in-law put it perfectly. "You can eat nothing but chocolate cake every day, as long as the amount you eat contains fewer calories than your body requires, and you WILL lose weight. However, you'll probably die shortly of malnutrition." He has made fun of my weight in the past, but suprisingly, other than my wife, he is the one person most happy about me getting the lap-band. He's even better about it than my own mother...but that's a story for another day.

Yeah, right. You've got three kids and so do I. Now tell me if you think "exercise" was a possibility within 20 minutes of me getting home from work? Every third Saturday of a month with the letter Q in it is more likely. Nothing spoils the moment more than a pair of inquisitive 4 year-old eyes you didn't hear sneak into the room, or an equally puzzled Labador Retriever doing the same look. Thanks you and everyone else for the congrats!

All kinds of differnt docs out there. When I got filled on Monday, I was told 3 days clear liquids, 1 week full liquids, 1 week mushy food, then start "real food." The doc said I may not feel any restriction until the "real food phase." He also warned not to be lulled into a sense of false security while eating the liquids and mushies. He said "the restriction is there, and if you ignore it the day you start full foods, you are going to regret doing so."

I'm exactly the opposite. I can smell food and describe it in intimate detail (spices used, ect) from quite an astounding distance now. I also sometimes get upset when people bring food into meetings. The smell in a small conference room can almost be overpowering. Since smell is tied to taste, I can also say I am enjoying food more than ever now, since I can taste every nuance of the meal, since I have been used to Clear liquids and Protein drinks for a few weeks. Broiled salmon with lemon and garlic never tasted so good!

It stands for "Non-Scale Victory."

I'm not a month out yet, but I can tell you it's worked wonders for me and will continue to. Why? Because I was never a "bad food" eater; I've always been a family sized portion eater. Since that option is now gone, I am sure I'll be able to control my weight much better. I've always exercised, which helped me to not be bigger than I was. When people asked me at the gym how I worked out so much and still stayed so large (that was nice...not!) I just said, "I'm working out to keep on even keel with the beer and Pasta." Now either one of those in moderation will not kill a diet, and the beer was mostly in moderation. However, the pasta? I could go through a 12 serving box in two meals. Sushi? Healthy right? Not if you eat four rolls and 6 pieces of sushi, along with a miso Soup, salad, and edamame. All those things are healthy...not all together though. That's where the lapband will make the difference to me. I'm was never a grazer, but I was a buffet destroyer. I count calories now to ensure I'm getting enough calories; I'm not worried about getting too many. With the food choices and meal plan I have (most important for the lap-band to work) getting too many calories would almost be impossible.

So, last night I got home, was getting undressed and said to my wife, "Wanna see something kinda cool?" She said yes, so I unbuckled my belt and took my 3 weeks ago snug pants off without even unbuttoning them. They practically fell off of me. She just laughed and said I looked great...actually that's two NSVs. :whoo:

my doc fills under floro, so we both get to watch the barium go down. It's pretty darn cool.

My face within 4 days of surgery and now 19 days post-op everyone is commenting on the drastic change in my face and abdominal area. I can tell because size 42 pants which were snug on me 3 weeks ago fall off of me without a belt to hold them up. I put on a pair of size 36 jeans 4 days ago...albeit they were a TAD tight in the waist.

It's all personal really. I went back to work in 4 days (office job). My doctor also told me he has had police officers go back to work, on full duty, in the same time period. However, I've seen some people on this board take a month to go back to work. I was exercising (elliptical) by day 8 post-surgery, and I am now 19 days post-surgery doing .5 hour elliptical a day, abdominal work, and light weights (20 pounds or less). Again, your experience may vary.