Lynn B

1. What was your pre-op diet? my doctor did not require a pre-op diet. 2. What was your post op diet? Liquids for how long? Post-op full liquids for 3 weeks, soft/mushies for 4 weeks then on to regular food. 3. When do you get a fill? I am scheduled for my first fill at 7 weeks 4. How much does it hold? That depends on which band you are fitted with. Mine will hold a total of 4cc of saline. 5. What happens if it slips? I believe the current treatment for slips is to unfill the band and see if it resolves on its own. If not it would require an additional surgery to reposition the band. 6. How commons are slips? I believe that current statistics show the chance of slippage at under 5%. 7. How do you determine if you need a fill? My doctor has a preset schedule but normally if you are not losing 1-2 lbs per week and are hungry in less than 3-4 hours when eating as recomended then you need a fill. 8. How do you determine if you need to unfill? If you are unable to keep down solid protiens and in the severe case liquids then you might be to tight and need to have some fill removed 9. What happens if your port flips? From what I have heard on the board port flips are corrected easily under local anesthesia. Hope this helps,

I am 4 weeks out and I will have between 1/2 & 1 cup of food per sitting depending on what it is. Do you have a calorie mark that you have to hit? I was given a list of appropriate mushie food and these goals. Calories 800, Fat 22 grams, protien 68 grams. I haven't been able to meet them with what I am eating (I run out of time during the day) but am getting real close. This is my normal day 8oz protien shake 8am 4 oz carb countdown yogurt 10:30ish 1/2 cup tuna w/mayo and 2 saltines 1pm 4 oz applesauce or Jello 4pm 8 oz Soup or 2 oz meat and some vegtables 7pm I sneak in 1 cup of coffee some days and lots of Water everyday (except weekends - I am not on schedule then and do rather poorly at getting half of what I need) I should throw in another protien shake after dinner but I don't usually get hungry before bed (WOW, isn't that a change) Hope this helps,

Congrats! The time will fly by and you will banded before you know it.

Internal stiches and steri strips on the outside...seems to have worked just fine (I must have sticky skin because after 3 weeks I had to remove my steri strips as not one of them budged on their own). I did have staples with both of my C-sections and they were a breese to have removed (they made me feel a little more held together also). Good luck,

Beth Israel Deconess Medical Center - http://bidmc.harvard.edu/display.asp?leaf_id=10577 I can not say enough good things about this program. Good luck to your friend.

Congratulations and welcome to bandland

Congratulations and welcome to bandland!

Congratulations!! Welcome to bandland.

Keri, you could just keep editing the first post as new info comes along - that would keep it at the top. Well, I just got back from the Doc's and my official weight is 266 (my scale says 260 first thing in the morning half nekid). That is 34 lbs down since my first consult in June. Yay for me!!

Just a note of caution - not to be a party pooper but I also had my gallblader out about a month before surgery and was under the impression that the surgeries were similar. Personally I was in a lot more pain with the band surgery (not extreme pain but more than my gallbladder) I went back to work 4 days after my gallbladder and was fine but I could have never done that after my band surgery - I went back at 9 days and wished that I had a few more to rest. I know everyone is different and this surgery was something I would do over a hundred times if needed but to me it was harder on my body. I went through gallbladder so easily that I figured I would be up and running around after my band and was surprised that I wasn't - my expectations were not realistic based on my assumption that the surgeries are similar. Just wanted to let you know how I felt so you aren't surprised also. Good luck,

Hi, great to see another quilter - your doing fantastic. What kind of quilts do you do? I have to admit I am a machine quilter - love to do log cabins and strip quilts. See ya around.

Have you gone to the info meeting yet? I believe they start at 6pm on the first and 3rd thursday of every month (check their web page for confirmation). It is a great way to meet and get a feel for the doctors (it is also part of the program requirement). Good luck,

Sounds good to me - I get my offical weight tomorrow. Do you want us to email them to you or are you going to start a seperate post? Let me know.

Dont Panic...My psych eval was a short questionaire and about a 1/2 hour chatting with the doctor (who IMO was as crazy as a loon). They just want to make sure that you dont have any unrealistic ideas and that you have a support system. My advise - don't tell her/him that you want to be a bikini model and you will be all set. The doctor I went to see asked about my hubby and kids and I pulled out all the pictures and showed her and she gave me advise on how to make my clothes stretch between sizes so I didn't spend a fourtune on clothes and right before I left she said - come Easter you are going to be goergous (SP?). I stressed out for nothing - go in relaxed and be yourself - you'll do fine. Good luck,

I will be starting mushie tomorrow, I will get my list of approved foods when I see the doc tomorrow so I will post what he gives me then. Good luck!

My doctor also expects you to quit 2 months before surgery and I gave it one hell of a try. I would be fine for days at a time (watching hubby smoke) then I would break down and smoke for a day and then be fine for a week. Needless to say during my 3 weeks of post op liquids I picked it right back up. I agree that fighting one battle at a time is hard enough but I do want to quit in the future. I spoke with the anesthesiologist when I had my Gallbladder out on 8/18/05 and he said smoking does not affect the anesthesia but it can slow your rate of healing (I was fine) At the very least try to cut down or quit for a week before surgery and no smoking the day before according to what I have read. Good luck,

My doctor also fitted me with the smaller band (I didn't ask him after surgery but I go for a follow up tomorrow and will find out) I'm not sure if it is the 9.75 cm or the 10 cm but they both only hold 4cc. He commented to my Mom after surgery that I had done great with the preop weight loss so he was able to place the smaller band (he did my gallbladder about 3.5 weeks before my band so he got a preview of my insides and said my liver was large at that time but much improved when he went to do the band). Amazing what 25 lbs will do. Make sure your doc fits you with the band that is best for you - he should say this is the band your getting before he looks at your insides (he should have all three with him in the OR) Good luck,

Congrats!! Which doctor did you choose? I know they are all good but I am partial to Dr. Jones (well of course - he did my gallbladder and band) Good luck,

PB - Productive Burp - when the food in you pouch makes a startling re-appearance. Like throwing up but with no stomach acid so not as much yuck. I have not had the pleasure yet but for some it can be painful. There is a link below for other message board terms. Have fun. I will be going on soft/mushies this Wednesday - egg salad here I come. If I see soup and Protein shakes again in my life it will be to soon (or at least for every meal in the day for 3 weeks argggggggg)

Diet Coke addict here - I thought I would die without my soda fix but the funny thing is I haven't even thought about it in the past 3 weeks. To many other things to think about now I guess. Good luck,

I left the hospital on full liquids so I was able to have skim milk - got it on day 2 at the hospital with my CIB. If you are craving some protien to help heal and keep your mind and body strong ask your doc about Isopure - you can get it at GNC, its clear and has 50 gr. of protien per bottle. Good luck,

Sleepyjean, I hope you don't have to wait to long but take this time to really reflect on the changes coming your way. I saw commercials for the band one night and thought "I should look into that - A couple of nights later I saw the same commercial and went right up on the PC and started researching - this must have been sometime in April 05. I downloaded an application from the program that I had decided on an filled it out and took it with me to my first Info meeting - June 8. After the meeting I was so gung ho to do this that I passed in my packet. I had my surgery on Sept 12 - (I didn't need a referal from my PCP because I have a PPO) - in the three months between start and finish I had all my preop tests done and my gallbladder removed - talk about a whirlwind. I was mentally prepared for the surgery but still felt like it snuck up on me. (I thought 3 months would take forever but it was over in the blink of an eye). Dont get down - you will get here and when you do you may feel like I did - where did all that time go. Good luck,

Most doctors follow the NIH critera and BMI is a better indicator than your actual weight. There are a lot of articles from the NIH here http://consensus.nih.gov/1991/1991GISurgeryObesity084html.htm And the NIH BMI Chart http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/bmi_tbl.htm Good luck,

Keri - you are so not alone. I am on day 19 of my 23 days of post op full liquids and I think that all of my favorite dinners have been on the table in the past 19 days. My hubby did most of the cooking for the first 2 weeks and I swear he made everything I love. But we are strong and you are right - its not forever. But I tell you - I can smell pizza cooking 10 miles away now! Keep up the good work,

I had one - It went in while I was under and came out the next day. The reason that I was give was that it was one less thing to worry about. I was on IV fluids until the barium swallow on day 2 so I would have been going quite frequently. I have my surgery at about 2 pm and was in my room by 4 pm, got up to walk at 6 pm and was told to rest for the remainder of the night (had compression booties - awesome). I was glad I had it although it was uncomfortable - getting in and out of bed day 1-2 was more uncomfortable that the catheter. Taking it out was not to bad - the nurse uses a syringe to empty the Fluid in the balloon that keeps it in your bladder and then gently pulls it out - just a little pressure no pain. Ask your doc what his procedure is - I had no choice in the matter. Good luck,