JennBand08

Walk as much as you can.. it will help the gas leave your body. I walked up and down the hospital corridors as much as I could. And use a heating pad if you like, I found it really helped my shoulder pain. And don't be afraid to take the pain meds. The liquid medication tastes nasty, but it really does help. Good luck.. hang in there.. it will all be worth it!

eggs were the only one that I wasn't expecting to get stuck on. Scrambled eggs just WILL NOT go down. I can do Egg salad later in the day.. but never in the morning. I can't do many foods in the morning though. Even oatmeal or cottage cheese will get stuck sometimes. Typical foods I avoid: Bread cake potatoes ( darn! love them) tortillas shrimp crackers re-heated chicken overcooked meat

Sometimes people look at me funny when I tell them my last Pepsi was August 15th, 2008. Yeah.. I remember the date.. it was the day before I started my preop diet. It was hell. I know some doctors allow carbonation, but for me, once I broke that addiction, I just don't want to go back. For one thing, I didn't drink DIET soda because of all the chemicals and Aspartame gave me migraines.. so.. I just don't need to go back to a life of wasted calories and wicked addictions. On a hot day though.. sometimes I do miss it and do think about just a little sip.. but I'd rather NOT KNOW if my band can tolerate it. Its just too dangerous for me... About 8 months after I was banded I did start drinking coffee though.. 1/2 cup of decaf or occasionally a frozen coffee blend from a restaurant. I don't think I'm addicted to the caffeine though.. however I do like them a bit more than I should ( Mocha Frappe.. OMG.. luv them!). Good luck.. life without carbonation is still way better than life with plus sized clothing and feeling tired all the time.

I'd like to join too. And I also would like to lose my last 15 by the 4th. I don't know how it works or where I return to post my weigh ins. Please fill me in. Thanks.

I have had this happen to me too. I'm tighter now than I was directly after my fill. Not sure why, just seems to be a freak thing. I'm happy with my restriction level though I cannot eat potatoes without getting a thick feeling in my throat. Sweet or otherwise. I hope yours relaxes a little bit, it sounds like you are too tight.

If insurance had covered it, I would have questioned the 5,000 up front at the hospital. I got a bill shortly after my surgery for 10,000 for the assistant surgeon that wasn't a covered provider in my plan( Anthem BC/BS). I called and explained that I did not CHOOSE this assistant, nor did I even know my surgeon required an assistant for the surgery. She asked me questions and said, ok, so this doctor was chosen while you were under anesthesia? I said.. YES!.. They sent it to review and after about 5 weeks I got a letter saying it had been covered. Whew. I'm sure you're stressed.. but keep calling and arguing with them. Do you have your prior authorization letter with case #? I keep having to fight my insurance because they keep rejecting my fills. But they go to review and then eventually they DO pay them. But what a hassle. Good luck!

Calm down.. breathe... You will still be able to eat most of the foods you love.The band will not prevent that, and it will not make you choose healthier foods. It is only a tool.. the choice of what you put in your mouth is still gonna be up to you. There are typically some foods that aren't band friendly, but everyone is different so I wouldn't cross anything of your foodlist forever at this point. Life after banding is different, but I wouldn't say its a lifetime of foods you'll want but can't have by any means. The Preop diet was the hardest part of the whole process for me. I was very emotional and wondered if I'd be strong enough to get through it... I was.. and 16 months later I'm continuing to enjoy my lapband. I just kept telling myself it was only temporary.. I could do anything for a short while.. it worked. Just remember if you cheat on it, you only cheat yourself and you'll feel bad afterwards. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! I certainly don't think my band was a mistake. Sure, there are frustrations with food issues sometimes.. but I would do this surgery again in a heartbeat! Good luck!!

Definitely get the band. It wasn't some traumatic thing that will last long.. sure a couple of rough weeks right after surgery, but nothing too terrible. But you'll be feeling great about yourself,losing weight, enjoying the changes, and thats something that will be a big help as you go through divorce. I say Go For It!

If you are 'stuck' your body sends lubrication to try to help the food pass through the banded area, or its anticipating that we will soon vomit it up. Some call this "PB= productive burp" I'm 16 months out and only had it happen to me once, and it was not burp like to me. Either way, the saliva, or.. "slime' backs up into our throat. If it's bad, I stand over the toilet or garbage and just keep spitting until it stops. But if I'm not too terribly stuck, I have found if I lay flat on my back on a hard floor, I will stop sliming and the item will usually pass without vomiting. Good luck!

I'm 16 months out. I had some hairloss around 3-6 months. It was noticeable to me, but not really to anyone else. Well, my hairdresser did confirm it too. I just felt like I was shedding constantly.. in the shower.. on my clothes.. It started to grow back and I had alot of baby hairs sticking up all over. I decided to cut 7 inches off my hair and that really helped it look thicker. It's growing back quickly now. I tried the Biotin and the Nioxin shampoo.. whether or not it really helped, I have no idea. I don't think it has to do with protein as much as people think. I was diligent about getting mine and still had some loss around the 3 months mark. I think it is just the trauma of surgery/anesthesia/changing your eating patterns and losing weight that does it. It's a huge change to the body. I'm just glad it was only temporary!!

No reason to be ashamed! Life happens..we get busy.. You are going in for a fill to get back on track. The reason you NEED a fill is to help you get the weight loss going again! I'm sure as your band surgeon , he'll understand that. Don't be discouraged! You are learning things about yourself, maybe not stuff you wanted to learn, but now you can learn ways to deal with it better too. Once you have restriction back and are making healthy food choices maybe it will inspire you to get the exercise routine going again too. Best of luck!

Good for you for losing the weight. I had expected the weight loss to be easier than it was too. I was also a lower BMI. I have now been a plateau for about 5 months... however I've upped my exercise and added weight lifting and I did manage to lose 3 pounds this month. Soo.. I'm hoping to hold them off and keep going downwards with the weight loss. Thanks for sharing your story. Good luck to you!

Mine wasn't so much wierd, as embarassing. The Fall Festival at my kids school. I had just arrived there, and was scheduled to work the bake sale. My daughter came over to me and had the best smelling french fries.. I ate one.. ONE.. and quickly realized it was a mistake. I sprinted into the school and paced around the little girls bathroom sliming. The feeling finally went away, and I don't think anyone realized what was going on, and I made it to my bake sale shift on time. It kind of worked out well though in the end, because I didn't TOUCH any of those baked goods.. that's for sure! And had I not gotten stuck, I bet I would have had a cookie or brownie.. who can resist home baked goods? :thumbup:

Great post. Just found your blog. I am here.. in Goal Limbo! Been on a plateu for 5 months!! Arghhhhh.. it's so hard to get the scale to move now. 25 pounds from goal!

whipped cottage cheese ricotta cheese (some like it with spag. sauce) corned beef hash scrambled eggs mashed potatoes/baked potato insides Those were my favorites...

I agree with the other posters. If you are already saying "I can't follow instructions.." in your pre-op stage, it's not a good sign. After the surgery the diet is again going to be very restrictive for a few weeks. If you aren't ready to make the committment, maybe you should ask yourself if this future lifestyle is the right one for you. It's all in your mindset too.. if you say you can't, you probably can't. Positive attitude goes a long way... Good luck.. You CAN do this.. it's not forever.. and you will LOVE the results. Hang in there...

Another practice I had called before finding the one where I had my surgery wanted $500 for program fee. They also wanted $100 deposit before I even made an appointment. I called my insurance and they said they hadn't heard of this either and said it sounded kind of shady( Anthem Bc/Bs) So I found another practice. This practice only required my copay. I did however end up paying out of pocket for the nutritionist visit($100), and my pysche eveal was only covered 80%. Other than that, insurance paid for everything. I have heard of some practices doing this more now than since I was banded over a year ago. Good luck with whatever you decide.

How in the world do you throw up into a water bottle? I can't even imagine.. I'm like the other poster.. a heaving.. wretching mess when I throw up.

Hi.. what you feel is normal! You may even gain weight during the period before you get your first fill and find restriction. DO NOT panic! The most important thing you need to be focusing on right now is getting in your protein, and learning to CHEW. DO NOT compare yourself to others either.. I know its hard.. but it will just discourage you if youre not losing as fast as someone else. And to the other poster who got 5cc's on her first fill.. WOW.. aggressive doctor! I'm a year out.. had 3 fills and I'm only at 4.2cc's and feeling good restriction. I can't imagine jumping right in with 5cc's. But everyone is different with restriction levels.. that is for sure. Just hang in there.. I love my band!

I'm 5'2 and my starting weight was 208. I have to admit, when they did my height and weight I slouched a little because I was so afraid insurance wouldn't approve me. I think my official height is listed as 5'1 and a 1/2. shhh Insurance covered it. Weight loss has been slow.. but I'm hanging in there. I love my band and the control it has given me over food. I want to lose another 20 pounds. I'm upping my exercise and hoping that will get things moving again.

I wish I had some answers for you. Are you counting calories? That is the only advice I can give is to log it and see if there is anything that is calorie laden causing you not to lose. It is so frustrating when you feel you are making such an effort and the scale just doesn't reflect it. And like the poster above me, I also thought we weren't supposed to have carbonated drinks, as it could stretch the pouch. So I'd just be careful with that for sure.. Hang in there and I hope you find osme answers soon and get that scale moving!

When I first looked into Lapband surgery, I called a practice in NY that was listed as a Center of Excellence. They required a $1000 nonrefundable fee, $50 of which had to be paid before they would even book an appointment. I called my insurance and asked about that. Anthem Bc/Bs said practices are not supposed to do that and that it was somewhat shady. I called the doctors office back and asked more about it, and they told me it was for the hassle of dealing with insurance companies. This just didn't sit right with me, so I called another practice and talked to them.. made my appointment with them, and they've been wonderful. I would definitely shop around. The doctors are paid well by insurance companies, there is no reason they need to add extra fees.

That is frightening that they didn't know much about the band at all and you were left in agony not just for a few hours.. but for DAYS. Is your surgeon not local? That must be so scary, I'm sorry you had such an ordeal.