PATCHELTON

I don't drink so can't help you there. I have very little restriction but sometimes have problems with dense foods, like ham steak, and veggie burgers. For me salad goes down well but I have heard of others who have problems. It is kind of trial and error once you go on solid foods. Fizzy drinks--carbonation can cause gas so they will tell you to only drink soda flat, don't use a straw, and no concentrated sweets (they go down too easy and you can actually gain weight). For me they told me to stay away from Pasta and rice, at least in the beginning, as they can wad up and get stuck. My sister wanted me to go to a church spaghetti dinner and I emailed the dietician first about it. I gave away my bread, skipped dessert, and ate the salad and spaghetti. I cut it up like I was a 2 year old in little pieces, meatballs too, and it went okay. Felt a little pressure, but all in all it was okay. Hope this helps. Good luck on your journey.

I agree. If you are having problems following your doctor's orders, you need to call your dietician and/or surgeon and let them know. Making up the program on your own could be risky. The liquids to mushies is for the purpose of slowly allowing post-op healing to take place. Also in my case I was told to steer clear of Pasta and rice as they tend to ball up and can get stuck in the band opening. Please don't continue this without checking with your doctor. The fact that you are not feeling well may be a symptom and your doctor and dietician need to know.

I am more concerned over the fact that you were eating solid foods (though instant mashed potatoes were on my list for mushies). You are one week post op and assuming most places do the same, you would be on liquids for 2 weeks, then pureed (mushies) foods for 2 weeks, then solid foods. You need to give your stomach time to heal and rushing solid food may lead to problems, even in small amounts. On my liquids tea was okay. I suggest calling your dietician, who would have the final word on what you should or should not consume. But don't rush the solids.

If it is what I think it is, I was given one in the hospital to use and bring home with me. Mine was a flexible tube I blew into and tried to raise a ball or other gizmo to a certain level. You shouldn't have to buy one.

For those interested in Viactiv (don't know about their multi) the Calcium is calcium carbonate (as my dietician reminded me when I told her I had bought some) which is not absorbed as well as calcium citrate, and she preferred I used the citrate. For a multi, I bought a sampler of Bariatric Advantage, but ended up buying Centrum Silver (I'm a senior) chewable. For caclium citrate I found some by Twin Labs at a Healthy Options store. Pricey ($17.99 for 60 wafers, a 15 day supply) but tasted good. I finally did a search online, going to Twin Labs web site and checked where to buy and found a site that sold it for around $7.67 (big difference). I also use their liquid fish oil ($13.99 at Healthy Options, $6 and change online). I ordered enough for two months ($4.99 S&H) and opted for auto shipments every 60 days. The site is vitacost and the S&H is the same for any size shipment. So even with the shipping charge I am paying half of what I was paying at Healthy Options. It took a little digging to find the fish oil but they had it. It is mint flavored, and if you can get past the visual reminder of Milk of Magnesia, it really doesn't taste bad. A tablespoon give 1600mg of Omega 3's. I found it after my surgeon said I could start up my meds again post-op, and my fish oil was a huge gelcap that I couldn't cut in half.

Same here. I was told no concentrated sweets, and nothing through a straw because of the air, also no carbonated beverages for the same reason. Suggestions for drinks: Atkins Advantage(ready to drink), EAS Advantage (powder- I blend with skim milk and a pkt of Splenda), Permalean (powder), and Worldwide Protein Shakes (ready to drink). Worldwide is sold at Trader Joe's (cheapest--comes in 21g for $1.69 and 35g for $2.29 each) and to me tastes better and has more protein than Atkins. It is also sold at GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe (35s only, $2.99 at GNC and $2.79 at VS). For me liquids included yogurt, f/f jello, f/f popsicles, broths, cream soups (I melted Kraft fat free slices in tomato soup to make it creamy and have a sneaky way to get cheese while on liquids). I could also have skim milk, tea, coffee and fruit juice if diluted 50% with water.

I had apple sauce, Lipton Noodle Soup (with broth not chicken pieces), instant mashed potatoes with fat free gravy, refried beans (pulverized some salsa and mix in the beans, nuked in microwave and put fat free cheese on top to melt), sugar/fat free puddings (Jello), creamy egg salad (hb eggs, light mayo, dijon mustard, salt pepper), creamy tuna salad (same recipe but with yellow mustard ala Pinera Bread), tomato soup with Kraft fat free slices broken up and melted into soup. I can't think of any others, but hopefully this will help. A lot of the above was on a list the dietician gave me, and I just added things like mustard for flavor (yellow and dijon have little or no calories or fat).

Different bariatric teams sometimes give different advice, so I don't know if this is the case. In my case I was told to steer clear of rice and Pasta for a time (not sure how long) after surgery because it can block the exit from your pouch plus it is carbs mostly. I have eaten spaghetti once since my 3/25 surgery and I asked the dietician before I did it (it was a church dinner-I skipped the bread and dessert, ate the salad and cut up the spaghetti and meatballs like I was a little kid-it sat for a bit in my pouch but eventually went down). When I get the urge for spaghetti (or a meatball sub) I take turkey meatballs, cover in sauce, sprinkle parmesan on top and nuke in the microwave for about 2 mins. I make crustless pizza too. Pizza sauce (used Ragu) turkey pepperoni, peppers, onions, cover with fat free (Kraft) shredded mozarella and nuke for 2 minutes. Bread and dough don't agree with me and I would rather fill up on the stuff I like minus the bread. As for the ice cream, you could actually end up gaining weight with that. A half cup could easily become a cup and on from there. May I suggest sugar free popsicles? They are sweet but without sugar or fat. Good luck on your journey.

A word of caution. My approval took 4 weeks from submission of paperwork. Naturally I got antsy and called the insurance company (Carefirst Blue Choice-Maryland). Well the rep I got told me I would likely be denied because my psych evaluator and dietician were out of network. Now they accept diet documentation from Weight Watchers, why would the dietician I choose cause me to be denied? He couldn't answer that and kept repeating that I would likely be denied. I did everything through the bariatric team, even having their dietician monitor my required 6 month diet. But she and the psych evaluator I paid out of pocket, which is all out of network means. If you want to use an out of network provider, you must pay the bill. Needless to say I was having a complete meltdown while trying to call my surgeon's office. They were also trying to reach me, to tell me I had been APPROVED. So the info given by customer service was incorrect at best, and got me majorly upset to boot. Your surgeon's office has been dealing with insurance for a while I assume, so they would be the best ones to call, IMHO.

I had a slight PB episode after a fill, when I didn't cut my BP pill in half and it got stuck. I also slimed some and spit up twice. However last week I really went for the gold (not intenionally). I had bought a small package of ham steaks that were fully cooked, and I brought one to work to heat in the microwave. I had eaten them maybe two times before and while they may sit for a while, they didn't get stuck. I am still learning to chew more, and I don't always, plus I didn't cut off that little edge that is like a skin on the ham steak (I will from now on). I had finished the ham steak and started on my salad (Romaine, parmesan cheese, bacon bits and low fat caeser dressing). I eat at my desk so it is hard to totally focus on my food. The pressure started building in my chest and I couldn't finish my salad. The pressure got so back I actually contemplated a trip to the ER, but decided to wait it out. Then the slime started, in earnest. It is a totally weird feeling to have to throw up without feeling nauseated. I spent the afternoon running to the bathroom, and it gradually resolved. I plan to approach ham steaks with a hefty dose of caution (and cut the edge off) but they are really tasty and I don't want to give them up entirely. Just want to avoid the PB/slimes.

Hi! I have the date I was banded, and my start/current/goal weights and where I was banded. I had to do a 6 month diet for insurance, and lost 10 pounds on that. Then the surgeon put me on a liquid diet 2 weeks prior to surgery (ended up being 3 weeks because I caught a cold and they postponed my surgery a week--not enough time to stop and start again, so I stayed on it an extra week). It included a small amount of lean protein which I ate at night when I would tend to overeat the most. I used unbreaded chicken tenders (Costco) and hard boiled eggs. Four days before surgery just liquids (broth, protein shakes, sugar free jello/popsicles, skim milk, tea, cream soups). Lost 25 more lbs on that, so I was down 35 lbs by surgery. Then 2 weeks liquids, 2 weeks mushies, now on regular food. The rest of the weight (40 lbs) has come off since surgery.:tt1:

I was eating a small ham steak last week, followed by a salad of romaine, and I must not have chewed thoroughly because the ham got stuck, and I spent the afternoon at work having PBs(productive burps) and sliming (excess saliva production that has no place to go but up and out). It was like throwing up, but without the nausea. Major sliming! I didn't bring up the ham steak (it eventually freed up and passed) and only brought up a tiny bit of romaine, though the slime did turn green from the salad (pardon the graphic). While it was uncomfortable, I didn't panic because I had read here about PBs and sliming, so when it happened, I knew what was going on. Had it not freed up, I may have gone to the ER, but I am not sure how they unstick you. Endoscopy maybe? I am glad I didn't have to find out.:tt1:

My favorite is Kraft. I tried to go fat free but none of them taste right and Kraft Light really tastes like the full fat. I also got a jar of Trader Joe's brand of light mayo to try. Made egg salad with it and it tasted fine. Haven't tried Hellman's so can't compare. But Hellman's or Kraft should be fine.

I am not much of a cook either, so easy is the name of the game. I used applesauce, instant mashed potatoes with f/f gravy, refried beans (pulverize some salsa in the blender or food processor, mix with refried beans, heat a portion in the microwave and put Kraft f/f cheese on top to melt--yum), instant oatmeal made a little runny with extra liquid, creamy egg salad (light mayo, a little dijon mustard, salt,pepper), creamy tuna salad (light mayo, a little yellow mustard, salt, pepper), Lipton noodle soup (with just chicken broth, not pieces), tomato soup with f/f Kraft slices melted in it. There may have been a few other things, but I used a list the dietician gave me and pretty much stuck to that.

I am also one of Dr. Singh's patients. He and Dr. Averbach work together at St. Agnes. If you have enough documentation you will be able to use your Weight Watcher's experience as long as it was at least 6 months. I didn't have that so I set up a 6 month diet with Arlene, the dietician, and she supervised and documented my weight, and at the end wrote a cover letter to go with the weight log. So if you don't have enough from Weight Watchers you might make an appointment with Arlene. It wasn't expensive, about $35. Then I saw her later for my pre-post op dietary consult. During the 6 months I read everything I could find, and started coming here, as well as going to the group support meetings At St. Agnes. Learned a lot before surgery.

In my case I have professional pictures of my cats that I scanned onto my computer and saved as a file. To do personal photos you need either a scanner, or a printer that also scans. Once the pictures are saved, you can upload them to all sorts of things. My cats are microchipped so I uploaded their pictures to HomeAgain and have ID cards for them with their chip numbers and photos. For here I went to Edit Signature and clicked on Browse, brought up the file my photos were in, and selected the picture I wanted. Then I saved my signature so the picture appears on each message I post. I have 4 cats, so I periodically change the picture. That is a little trickier. You have to delete the one that is there,then pick out the new one and save the signature again.

You are definitely too tight. I went for my first fill and got 3ccs. They have you sit for a while and drink some water, and all I did was burp a little so they let me go. By later that evening even water felt like it was getting stuck. I called the doctor the next day, met him at the hospital and he took out 1.5 ccs. I could feel the pressure releasing as he pulled out the fluid. I worked with that for a couple weeks until my followup appt. then told him I could get liquids down ok and soft foods, but the denser stuff I was still having a hard time with, so they took out another .5cc. I am due back in July and with my experience I would want to do fills conservatively, maybe 1 or at most 2ccs. I have a history of reflux so maybe that makes me more sensitive, but I know the feeling you describe, and it isn't fun. But that is also the plus about the band. If it doesn't feel right you can have it adjusted. Try that with anything else!

A word of caution about calling the insurance company. I have Blue Choice (BC HMO in Maryland), and I called them to see if they could tell me anything. The service rep told me I would probably be denied because I went out of network for my psych eval and dietician. I used the members of the bariatric team; those two were not in network. However, out of network just means you pay the bill. I also argued that (I had to do a 6 month documented diet--used the bariatric dietician to supervise that) they accepted documentation from Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, LA Weight Loss, what difference would it make who supervised my diet, as long as I had documentation. I had paid both out of pocket. He assured me I would probably be denied. So as I am having a meltdown, trying to call the surgeon's office, they were at the same time trying to call me to tell me I had been approved. Having had this experience, I would be more likely to bug the surgeon's office. If they are an experienced center, they have dealt with all kinds of insurance, and they know what will clear and what won't.

I was told for the mushy stage that anything the consistency of applesauce was okay. I could have creamy egg salad (light mayo, mustard, salt/pepper), creamy tuna salad (with same stuff as the egg salad), instant mashed potatoes, refried Beans (I pulverized some chunky salsa to make it smaller, mixed in the beans, nuked in the microwave and put fat free Kraft shredded cheese on top to melt when it came out), oatmeal (with extra milk to make it mushier), fat/sugar free pudding (Jello makes it-mix with skim milk and bump up your Protein intake), Lipton noodle Soup (the package with chicken broth, not pieces), stuff like that. The vomiting you describe sounds like what you will see here referred to as "sliming" which is when something gets stuck and you start producing excess saliva that has no place to go but up and out. I had one sliming experience, the day after my first fill. I was told to do liquids for 48 hours, and cut my meds in half. I was in a hurry and didn't cut my meds. One of the pills got stuck as I am running out the door to go to work. I spit up on the parking lot twice. Called the doctor as soon as I got to work, and ended up meeting him at the hospital for an unfill. He had put in 3ccs and took out about 1.5-2. I could feel the pressure in my chest going down as he did. Now on regular foods, occasionally a food will get stuck. If it is particularly bad (black bean burger at Chili's-dry as the desert) I break the no drinking rule and take a couple sips of Water. That seems to help. Also I found chewing sugarless gum (some people chew and others are told not to for fear of swallowing it) helps. I had to try pizza too. I had been on regular food for about a week. I work in a doctor's office so we have luncheons a lot, sometimes pizza. I cut the front half off a slice and ate the small triangle (this from a self confessed pizzaholic whose idea of having pizza used to be eating the entire thing). It got stuck and I got to thinking. It is really the toppings that I crave, so what about a crustless pizza? So I take a microwaveable dish, pour in some Ragu pizza sauce, top with Hormell Turkey Pepperonis, peppers and onions from Birdseye Pepper Stir Fry, and top that with Kraft Fat Free Mozzarella shredded cheese. Heat about 2 minutes in the microwave. Did the same thing with turkey meatballs. Cover them in spaghetti sauce, top with parmesan cheese and heat in microwave. It is either a meatball sub without the bread or spaghetti without the noodles. I tried bread once since surgery and it got stuck too, so I have no burning desire to eat it right now, and I look for creative ideas to work around it. I hope some of this helps you, and if you have other questions, this is a great place to ask them.

In my case I had to attend an informational seminar, have a consult with the surgeon, have a psych evaluation, and my insurance (Blue Choice) required a documented 6 month dietary weight loss attempt. I used the bariatric dietician for that. They also accept Weight Watchers, and the like, as long as you have documentation. The surgeon asked for a stress test, my PCP threw in an echocardiogram (I work for cardiologists so I had them both done at work). Once the paperwork was all together it was submitted to Blue Choice (took 4 weeks for approval) then I had to see the dietician again for the pre/post-op dietary consult, and have a class with the nurse. Once the date was set, I had to call the hospital billing office to settle any outstanding charges not covered by insurance before surgery. Fortunately there were none. My out-of-pocket expenses were minimal. The insurance even covered an overnight stay in the hospital. After surgery you get followup appts (in my case 90 days post-op were covered under the surgery). The dietary consult covers 6 months of advice or visits if needed with the dietician. I started going to support groups last summer, joined this forum in November, and was banded 3/25/08.

I was put on "full" liquids, not clear. I could have tea, coffee, skim milk, water, broths, cream soups, tomato soup, fat/sugar free popsicles, fat/sugar free jello, and protein drinks. To ease me into the diet, the dietician told me I could have a small amount of lean protein until four days before surgery, then only liquids. I had unbreaded chicken breast tenders (from Costco) or hardboiled eggs. I grilled two tenders and put salt and pepper on them, or two eggs with salt and pepper. I saved them for the evening when I tended to overeat the most. During the day I was hungry, but I was prepared to be, and I am busy at work so I didn't have too much time to think about it. I ended up doing it for 3 weeks because I caught a cold and my surgery was postponed a week, not enough time to stop and start again. I lost 25 lbs on it, plus the 10 I lost doing the 6 month diet required by insurance. Lost the rest since surgery 3/25/08.

Did you actually have a PB, or were you just stuck? You describe being stuck (had the same experience in a restaurant with a black bean burger), but I thought a PB was when you actually bring the food back up. In my case I decided to break the no drinking rule, and I took some sips of water which helped to flush down what was stuck. I agree that the feeling is not one I want to repeat. I had met a friend for dinner, and she is deaf. She had already ordered, and I was trying to scan the menu to see what I could eat, and look at her signing. We hadn't seen each other in a while so she had a lot to tell me, and it was hard to focus on the menu. First it came on a bun (bread doesn't seem to agree with me; I tried once and it got stuck, so I haven't had bread since 3/25/08). Ditched the bun. The bean burger was so dry I put ketchup on it, and that wasn't even enough. If you go to Chili's, don't order it.

Obesityhelp.com has a good list. I saw lists posted here. If you can dig through the layers of pre-op postings you may be able to find the thread.

I would suggest reading everything you can, so you can make an informed decision. Obesityhelp.com describes all the different procedure, including Lapband, and there is a book called The Lapband Solution, and another called The Lapband Companion. Both books are available on Amazon.com and are full of information. You don't give up real food forever. Check your insurance first and see if it is covered. Some insurances (mine is Blue Choice) require one 6 month or two 3 month documented dietary weight loss attempts before they will approve you. Mine did and I spent the 6 months going to support groups (you meet people at all stages of pre and post op--good place to learn) buying sampler packs of chewable Vitamins and Calcium (both are required after surgery, as well as B12), and reading online. I have been coming here since November. My insurance criteria for surgery is BMI 40 or more (you can calculate this on obesityhelp.com) and 100 pounds overweight, or BMI 35-39 with one or more co-morbidities (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint arthritis, sleep apnea, reflux). My BMI was 37-38 and I have everything on the list except diabetes. Most Bariatric groups require an informational seminar after which you have no obligation, but if you choose to have surgery the seminar is required as a first step. If you choose to continue, you will have a consultation with the surgeon, a psych evaluation, and once surgery is approved, a dietary consult on pre and post op food restrictions. I used the dietician for my 6 month diet as well. Different doctors do different things with pre-op diets. Some want a few days, some a few weeks, some a specific diet product, they are all different. My surgeon, if he thinks you may have a fatty liver, will put you on a full liquid diet for two weeks prior to surgery to shrink the liver, and somewhat to jump start your weight loss. I was on it for 3 weeks (I caught a cold and my surgery was postponed a week--not enough time to go off and back on, so I stayed an extra week--lost 25 more pounds after losing 10 on my 6 month diet). After surgery most people do liquids for 2 weeks, then "mushies" or pureed foods for 2 weeks, then solid food. My liquid diet included Protein drinks, milk, juice(diluted 50% with water), fat/sugar free Jello, fa/sugar free popsicles, broths, cream Soups, tea, coffee. The pureed stage I had applesauce, refried Beans, instant mashed potatoes, creamy egg or tuna salad, anything the consistency of apple sauce. Solid foods are a bit trial and error. Some foods will agree with you, others may not. For me bread gets too chewy and sits like a lump, but I can eat croutons on a salad. pizza (I love pizza) dough doesn't agree so much, so I invented a crustless pizza (sauce, turkey pepperoni, peppers, onions, fat free Kraft mozarella in a microwavable disk; heat for a couple minutes and you have the toppings without the dough). I did the same with meatballs (turkey meatballs, spaghetti sauce, parmesan cheese,heat in microwave--either meatball sub without the roll or spaghetti without the noodles). They told us not to have rice and Pasta for a while, but I don't think it is forever. I checked with the dietician and then went to a church spaghetti dinner. I cut up my spaghetti and meatballs like you would for a kid, ate the salad, passed on the roll and dessert. And for drinking, you wait about a half hour to eat after drinking, do not drink with meals, and wait 45 minutes to an hour after a meal to drink. So yes, the way you eat will change, and some of the things you eat will change. The amount of whatever you eat will definitely change, but it is worth it. I have lost an additional 35 lbs since surgery and gone down two clothing sizes for work (I wear scrubs--down from 2x to large). I am hoping also to reduce or eliminate some of the meds I am on. Sorry to run on but there is a lot to know. Check your insurance, talk to your PCP, go to the seminar and support groups, and then decide if this is the way you want to go.

Are you recent post-op, or has this pain been bothering you for a while? You should call the surgeon's office to report the pain. The port is under the largest incision, kinda feels like a bump. For a fill the doctor feels the port to line up the center and inserts a thin needle with a syringe of saline. He/she will inject however many ccs they are giving you. It travels through a tube from the port to the inner part of the band, inflating it to tighten the opening, giving you more restriction. If you are newly banded you could just still be healing. If you are several weeks or more post-op, you probably should not be having pain. :biggrin: