cierra'sgrandma

You know, I was truly impressed with Dr. Garth Davis & his father, and I loved watching Big Medicine. I don't have cable or satellite anymore, so I haven't watched any "regular" tv for some time. ANYWAY, I was impressed with their concern for their patients, and how they wold go the extra mile for them, and I thought that if I lived in Houston, I would go to one of them for the LapBand surgery.

I was banded on February 6th, 2008, by Dr. Ron Hekier, at Wadley Regional Medical Center, in Texarkana, TX. When my husband and I went to one of his LapBand seminars, we found out that that Dr. Hekier, and his wife, also a surgeon, trained with both Dr. Garth Davis and Dr. Robert Davis, and that Dr. Hekier's wife was in the same class in med school as was Dr. Garth Davis. THAT made me feel a whole lot better about having this surgery. I really do like my surgeon; I think he's pretty cool.

During my pre-o and post-op liquid diet phase, especially the pre-op stage, I got tired of just "plain old" Slim-Fast Optima, etc. I bought five different liquid flavorings--cinnamon, mint, banana, coconut, and root beer--and would add {not all at the same time!:biggrin2:} to my shakes. This helped to break up the monotony of the same old thing, so to speak. As for the creamy side of things, I would add various powdered spices, like garlic or onion to my thinned {with skim milk} Soups. I also bought vegetable beef Soup, but pureed it then thinned it, again with skim milk. Of course, I'm sure most everyone knows that Campbell's has their Healthy Request line of soups, and a lot of Progresso's soups are low in fat and low in other areas as well. I've bought Progresso soups, pureed them, then thinned them with skim milk, and they were pretty tasty. And, unless otherwise advised by your physician and/or dietician/nutritionist, I personally don't see why one couldn't use spices, etc., to enhance the flavor of your liquid diets. Remember to read the nutrition labels before you buy. I know that there are a lot of variations out there, and everyone is different. It's what works for you, right? And allow me to add another disclaimer here--seek the advice of your dietician/nutritionist if you are in doubt as to what you can/should do! One more thing...During my pre-op liquid diet phase, I would make slushies with my Slim-Fast, blending the Slim Fast with lots of crushed ice. This increased the amount that I drank, but added no calories, becasue the "extra" amount was Water in the form of ice!

You know, this recipe really does sound delicious. I've taken notice of the comments regarding the fat content of sour cream...well, you CAN get fat free sour cream. It really isn't all that bad. AND, you can purchase shredded cheese that's low in fat. I think Kraft sells shredded cheese--I don't remember if it's cheddar or mozarella--that's made with, I believe 2% milk. I'm sure there are brands out there other than Kraft, but Kraft is the only one I can think of right now.

I was banded on February 6th. I've lost 31 pounds since I began this journey. When I came out of the recovery room, into the "short stay unit" {I had to stay overnight}, I was allowed to take little sips of room temperature Water that day, and the next, which was okay with me, because I didn't really want anything else. ANYWAY, these are my post-opdiet instructions:

WEEK 1 & 2

liquids only: room temperature Clear Liquids until nausea resolved, then may have full liquids, hot or cold.

{skim/fat-free milk; Slim-Fast; broths; low-fat strained creamy soups; 100% juice--4 ounce limit per day on the juice}

WEEK 3

Consume pureed texture foods, limited to 1/2 cup at a time to prevent stretching pouch. Consume meals at least 3 hours apart. Consume Water or no-calorie liquids [Crystal Light, tea, sugar-free drinks between meals; waiting one hour after "meal"--FOODS--pureed foods; soft scrambled eggs; sugar-free, low-fat pudding; fat-free yogurt, plain-no fruit; hot cereals, thinned; applesauce; low-fat creamy Soups

WEEK 4

Consume soft foods. Limit to 1/2 cup at a time, consuming meals at least four hours apart. Consume water between meals, waiting one hour after meal. FOODS: scrambled eggs; soft canned vegetables; soft canned fruits; tuna or chicken salad.

WEEK 5

Transition to solid foods. Slowly add 2 ounces of Protein and one to two ounces of vegetables three to four times a day. STOP EATING AS SOON AS YOU FEEL FULL. Consume meals at least five hours apart. Chew all solids to mushy consistency (30 times). Do not drink liquids with meals. FOODS: solid foods as tolerated; baked potato; macaroni noodles; sliced meats; add raw fruits and vegetables as tolerated; avoid stringy, fibrous foods and non-tender cuts of meats; avoid white bread, popcorn, coconut.

Also, no sodas, and a few other things, but this is what I follow. I'm on the pureed foods part now.:biggrin2: Baby food can actually taste pretty decent if you heat it and add a few spices to it :tongue2:!

I DO have gallstones. This probably has been coming on for at least three years, but chose the recent past to make itself known. I will have to have surgery to remove my gallbladder, but my surgeon wants to wait until I lose a little more weight. Plus, he didn't want me to have another surgery so soon after my first one {Feb. 6th}. PLUS, he wants me to lose some more weight, which is cool. But, if I start having unrelieved pain, and more problems, well, I'm sure my surgeon will reconsider. By the way, when I went to see my surgeon this Tuesday, my weight was 279.6, a near 31 pound drop since I began this process!

Hi, Jennie1234! And congratulations on becoming a bandster! I had my surgery on February 6th, and have moved up {FINALLY!} to the pureed food stage. Yes, the post-op liquid diet can be difficult, especially after the swelling has gone down. I knew I could take in more when I once swallowed more than I was supposed to. That presents a little temptation there, doesn't it! Follow your diet as well as you can, and hang in there! I totally agree with Elisabethsew, that you should talk to your surgeon about your hunger. I'm sure he/she would have some great suggestions, OR he/she might have you talk to a dietician/nutritionist about your situation. Don't give up! You can do it!

I called my surgeon's office this morning, and, to make a long story short, I had a CT of my abdomen this afternoon. I was supposed to have a gall bladder ultrasound if the CT was negative, but I didn't have to do the ultrasound. So, I guess the CT was positive. Positive for what? I'm pretty sure I'll find out tomorrow. If my surgeon's nurse doesn't call me, I'll call her!

Well, eleven days post-op. The soreness/discomfort/pain relating to the area where my port is, is pretty much gone, but today, I have encountered a "new" {sort of!} old situation. Today in church, about five minutes after our morning worship service started, I had to leave the podium {I'm the choir director} for a few minutes, due to pain on my right side, in the area of my gall bladder. You know, it's one of those type pains where you just can't get comfortable! I just had a total of two Slim-Fast Optimas today, because I just didn't feel like consuming anything. The pain finally relented enough {after about four hours}, and I got active, but shoot, it's still uncomfortable. No, I'm NOT going to go to the emergency room UNLESS the pain returns with a vengeance, but I WILL be contacting my surgeon's office ASAP tomorrow morning. I've got to get this checked out and dealt with. Have anyone of you out there had a health situation BEFORE being banded that seemingly "went away", or resolved itself, only to return to cause problems AFTER you were banded? Also, I would like to know if any of y'all were told that you couldn't take ibuprofen {Advil, etc.} after being banded??? Thanks!

Man, I really feel for you! What type of plan with Humana do you have? My plan is Humana Gold Choice Private Fee for Service, which is a pretty good plan. Hey--keep at them, make calls. Is it possible you could switch plans with Humana? You know, if this is truly what you want to do {The Surgery!}, make the most of it. Ask WHY the six month plan. Can you give them proof you've been on diets before, and didn't have good results? Even supervised diets have flaws. Have you spoken with your physician concerning a letter of medical necessity, that, maybe, even under a supervised diet, the need for the surgery would STILL exist? Of course, they may want to be shown that if you are successful with this supervised diet, you will be successful with the restrictions, etc., after being banded. And, yes, I could be wrong about what I just told you, but ask "them" at Humand WHY the six month supervised diet. What are their reasons? What's the rationale behind it? Are their motives as you mentioned? Don't stop until you get a SATISFACTORY answer. Sometimes, in my opinion, persistence can be a great influence towards turning the tide in your favor. DON'T GIVE UP!

Well, I'm nine days post-op...eight days, if I don't count the actual day of surgery! And I'm doing well. I lost 19 pounds on the two-week pre-op liquid diet I was on, and have lost eight pounds since the surgery. The only "pain" I had, intitally, was where the port is--it felt like my rib cage area was sore, much like it feels when I've coughed a lot, and the muscles get sore. Haven't had to take anything stronger than liquid Tylenol, and I've had to take the liquid phenergan only once. The only problem I've had started several days ago, and that's the area where the port is attached to the muscle. I thought I screwed something up, but was told that this is normal. A healing type situation, I guess one could call it. Once or twice it really hurt :smile: to walk, and, to be honest, I made use of the electric "buggies" Wal-Mart provides.:smile: My first post-op visit is, I believe, next Tuesday. I think my surgeon will be pleased with my progress--I know I am. :crying: Still on the liquid diet, although my food "choices" are better. My energy level is higher. I had the surgery on a Wednesday, was discharged from the hospital the next day, and made it to church on Sunday. A lot of my church family was surprised I was at church--they didn't expect to see me there. But, you can't keep a good woman down, ya know?:thumbup:

Hello, everyone! I had my surgery yesterday, February 6th, and, as y'all can "see", I am at home. I had to stay overnight. The only difficult thing about THAT was getting comfortable on the bed. I slept well--didn't have any problems using my bi-pap machine. The other difficulty was a very dry mouth:redface:. But my dearest husband brought me some hard candy to suck on, and I was VERY grateful for that:rolleyes2:. I'm walking kind of slow, but I'm walking! I plan on being as active as possible. Not really interested in food right now. For that matter, I'm not really interested in drinking anything right now. Yeah, I will:thumbup:. I had my surgery at Wadley Regional Medical Center, Texarkana, TC. Dr. Ron Hekier did the surgery. Extremely nice guy.

Yeah, having a sleep study tends to suck sour lemons, and I'm not sure as to why lap-band surgeons require them, but I'm glad I had mine done. I sleep so much better, and I DON'T fall asleep during the day. I didn't have much teouble sleeping when I had my studies done. The bed I slept on was great--a "regular" bed--wonderful. I've found that I sleep BETTER when I use my bi-pap machine. Plus, I have this certain amount of paranoia {after hearing news of the demise of a number of people due to--apparently--severe sleep apnea} of this happening to me. As for not being able to use my bi-pap machine after the surgery, I was told--by my surgeon's nurse--that 'they' saw no reason why I couldn't continue using my bi-pap machine post-operatively. I'll play it by ear, because I tend to somehow swallow air as I sleep {when using my machine} and wake up at some point during the night with a slight bellyache. I move around a bit, and I release a couple of huge, not so delicate burps.:mad: Yeah, not too pretty, but at least it's not in public!

My band date is tomorrow, February 6th. I have to be at the day surgery center {Wadley Regional Medical Center--Texarkana, TX} at 6:00 AM. Dr. Ron Hekier is doing the surgery. According to the pre-admit testing RN, I am to be his first case--I'll probably go in to surgery at about 8:00 AM. And, due to insurance guidelines, stay overnight, which is OK with me. The liquid diet I've been on for the past (nearly) two weeks has been difficult for me:redface:, but as time wore on, got easier. Now, it's a mute point. :mad: The REAL challenge comes AFTER the surgery, when this new life of mine at home begins. I've got a lot of support--my family, my church family--that's good! QUESTION: How do I access the weight loss ticker 'thingy', and how do I get the flashing "Victorious Valentine" sign on my posts? Thank you!!!

You know, I DO have one or two pairs of shorts that are nice and comfortable {HUGE} to wear, but I don't wear them in public. It's a self-image thing, I guess. Yeah, I look forward to "public wearing of shorts"! I also look forward to being able to find jeans that fit. And I mean DENIM jeans!

Thank you, SLEEPYGIRL, your explanation. It makes total sense. I just posted a reply to someone else's post, and when I scrolled up, I saw yours. {So much for my skills of obvservation!} I'm still going to ask my surgeon about it, because I don't want anything to mess up his good work.

I've was diagnosed with sleep apnea several years ago. After a second sleep study done in August (or was it September?) of 2007, I was switched from a C-Pap machine to a Bi-Pap machine, and it works a LOT better! I'm going to make sure I ask my surgeon about whether or not I will be able to use my Bi-Pap machine after I'm banded (February 6th), because, for some reason--and I'm sure there is one!--I seem to swallow air during the night, and wake up in the morning burping like crazy! I'm still not crazy about having to use a B-Pap machine, but I DO sleep better, and don't nod off all the time, AND I sleep a lot better with it.AND my husband is happier as well!

My insurance is Humana Private Fee for Service. They have a bariatric division. It really didn't take too long for me to get approved, once all the paperwork was submitted. I've already seen my surgeon, but had to wait for insurance approval before I could set a date for the surgery (February 6th) and start on the two week liquid diet. Due to insurance guidelines, I will have to stay overnight, but that's okay. My overall co-pay isn't bad, either. Just let me add this--don't take it for granted that you know what's covered and what's not {co-pays, etc.). Make calls if you have to, and don't give up, especially if you're truly serious about having the Lap-Band surgery. If anyone of you out there is on Medicare, they WILL cover the surgery, but there are a lot of hoops to jump through. One of their requirements is that the hospital you are going to have the surgery at be approved as an American Bariatric Center of Excellence hospital. PLUS--they will require you--if you are a smoker--to stop smoking. There will actually be a blood test done--either a number of days before your surgery, or the day of: I don't recall exactly--that will let your surgeon know whether or not you've been smoking. If you test "positive", your surgery will be cancelled. I don't think this takes second-hand smoke inhallation into account, and I don't know of further ramifications of a positive "smoker" test, but I'm sure they're out there.There are more requirements, and I am sure that there's somone "out there" in the lap band community who knows more than I do about this, and I welcome their input.

I just added the Protein powder to the Jello before I set it in the refrigerator to set up. Be sure to stir it really well. It may change jello to a sort of creamy color, but it shouldn't affect the consistency. Well, allow me to back-track here and say, I suppose, that it depends on the type of protein powder you have.(?) Mine can be used in just about anything--liquids, baking...I'm still in the pre-op stage, but this may halep you some.

Looking for anyone out there who would like to talk about their hospital experience, with regard to their lap-band surgery. The date for my surgery is February 6th. I'll be admitted through Day Surgery, and--due to insurance requirements--will have to stay over-night. It's been almost thirty years since I've actually had an overnight stay in the hospital. It will be a "first" for me.

My date for surgery is February 6th. I've been on a liquid diet--Slim-Fast Optima & Protein shakes--since January 23rd. It hasn't been easy, but I think I'm past the point of extreme cravings for creamy macaroni & cheese! LOL. Oh--I can have sugar-free, fat-free Jello. Well, I'm not really a jello fan, but there you have it. I would like to know how many of you out there have struggled--but prevailed--on your pre-op diet?