Jodi_620

Could be. The less excess weight you have overall probably means the less fat has accumulated around your liver.

Granny, This is common so soon after surgery. You still have a lot of swelling. Most people should have their appetite back by about two weeks post-op. Be sure to keep sipping water so you don't get dehydrated and take in as much liquid protein as you can handle.

Like the others said, yes you can. From what I have read here, how this is handled on surgery day varies by hospital. Some let you wear a tampon, some give you paper panties to wear, some have you just put a pad between your legs etc.

A lot of people get worried during this stage, I see posts about this all of the time and when I first went on solids, I worried too, especially after reading how little some folks here were eating. At this stage we are not restricted and we can eat more than we imagined we would (not to say we should eat more than we should). We worry that there are problems with the band or that we have done or will do something to damage it. Just eat sensibly, do as your doctor says and you will be fine. My doctor didn't give me a measurement restriction. He just told me to eat until I am no longer hungry and in the beginning that probably took more than a cup. You have not had a fill yet, so it is normal that you can eat more than say someone who has had a few fills and has a lot of restriction. Even at restriction, I can eat more than 1/2 cup of food per meal (depending on what I am having) and my band is fine and my weight loss has been steady. I don't think that following the 1/2 cup rule is realistic long-term. Getting the proper nutrition and listening to our bodies (i.e. stop eating when you are no longer hungry) makes more sense.

I agree with everyone. You have lost a incredible amount of weight in a short period of time. You do not need to speed it up any. Like Lindar172 mentioned, at this rate if you keep losing too fast your skin will not be able to keep up. Your doctor is doing what is best.

Welcome MissKacey! And good luck in your journey. You will learn plenty about the band here and get all the support you need. As for insurance, I called my insurance to see if it was covered then I let my surgeons insurance coordinator handle all the gory details. First step is to learn as much about the band as possible and go to a seminar.

It depends on your policy and your current health. Kaiser may cover it in some policies and not cover it in others. The general requirements are BMI of 35-40 with weight related health problems or a BMI above 40. Like RestlessMonkey said, the only one that can tell you for sure is your insurance company, give them a call.

Hi Chad and Welcome! That is a great idea! Like smsmithart, I had several "last suppers" prior to my pre-op diet. Having a party with friends and all my favorite foods all at once would have been so much better. To have all your friends together to celebrate this new phase in your life is really cool!

I am sure your surgeon gave you details of your post-op diet. I was able to start eating normal (i.e. on solid foods) about 1 month post-op. I did have to go out with family once prior to that while on mushies and ordered soup. But once on solids, you can eat normal foods just not a lot of it. Until you are accustomed to what foods you can tolerate, you should be careful what you order. But in general, if you eat slowly and take small bites, you won't have to worry about PB'ing. Girls night out drinking should be kept to a minimum especially while you are in the weight loss phase. And we just have to accept that we can no longer drink with our meal. In a sit-down restaraunt, I order a drink when I am seated and stop drinking when the meal comes. The rules are for life, they won't ever go away. But you do get accustomed to it and when the weight starts coming off and you start to feel and look better you definitely realize that the rules are worth it.

I was told that I don't have to count calories, I just have to make good food choices and follow the bandster rules of eating. Eat lean protein first, healthy veggies then healthy carbs. But I do know that I generally get around 800-900 calories per day. If you make healthy choices and get at proper restriction, the band should take care of the portion control thus controlling calorie intake.

Way to go myturn! Those hurdles are so hard but once you get past them, you feel so good about succeeding. I had to endure a catered lunch meeting while on my liquid pre-op diet so I know how you feel but at the end of the day I was proud of myself for resisting. For those pizza lovers who are past the pre-op/post-op stage and miss having pizza, I make my own version of pizza which is pretty good and band-friendly for me. I buy the whole wheat low carb wrap bread (kinda looks like tortillas, they come in multi-grain,spinach and tomato too) I put on the sauce, fresh spinach leaves, low-fat cheese, onion and cooked chicken. It makes a thin crust personal size pizza, the crust is very thin and crisps up a bit so is not doughy at all and doesn't get stuck for me. About 1/3 of the pizza fills me up. My hubby likes it that way too, much healthier for both of us too. Not something I have every day but when hubby wants pizza, that is how we do it.

My approval didn't specify that but I had two surgeons (no health complications and a BMI of 40, he just uses an assistant). My surgeon submitted charges for his assistant and the insurance company denied it. My surgeon just wrote that portion off.

I had my last meal two weeks before surgery because my surgeon required a 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery. I actually had several last meals, LOL, but looking back and considering that I can't have bread anymore, I would probably have either gone with a Subway Sub (love their bread and think about them occasionally). Or because I am watching my white carbs, Pasta (Olive Garden....mmmm!). Otherwise, there is no food that I can't have now that I could pre-band.

Not yet, but my endocrinologist warned me to expect it. He said that as I lose weight, I will likely need to lower my Synthroid dosage. I get my scripts 3-months worth at a time and he recommended only getting a 30-day supply at a time and watching for signs of too high of a dosage (mainly heart papatations).

Being aware of the affects of carbonation, you know that drinking carbonated drinks at any time while banded will stretch your pouch lessening the effectiveness of having the band. Whether you do it before you lose all your weight or after, if you stretch your pouch you will be able to take in more food. It also can also cause very painful gas.

I ate all my favorites up until the start of the pre-op diet. The pre-op diet was very hard because the carb cravings were so severe. After about a week, the carbs were finally out of my system and it got easier, I was hungry mind you, but at least the carb cravings were at bay. I've learned from low-carb diets I did prior to surgery that the best way to get rid of your cravings is to get the carbs cleared out of your system then keep them out. It is hard at first but after a few days the cravings go away then all you have to do is to keep the stuff out of your diet, eating just a little will cause the cravings to come right back. I was allowed carbs during my post-op diet but I chose not to reintroduce the bad ones into my diet. I get my carbs from natural sources like fresh fruits and veggis, oatmeal and milk. I avoid bread, Pasta, rice, potato, corn, flour and of course, sugar. Not only has it kept the head hunger and food cravings away but it has put my PCOS (Insulin Resistance) into remission. I know for sure that it was not the weight loss alone that did this because I was off my meds right away and all of my PCOS symptoms are under control naturally. When I get a sweet craving, I eat some sweet fruit or sugar free treats. I keep SF popsicles and fudgesicles on hand and also I buy the South Beach Diet Breakfast bars and eat just 1/2 of a bar when I get a sweet craving, they really help and add to my daily Protein intake too. They come in chocolate, cinnamon raisin and Peanut Butter and you can get multi-packs with all three flavors. I don't make a habit of eating these treats but I do allow myself one treat a day when needed.

I usually feel tight the day of a fill too. I can usually only sip water the day of. Tomorrow you should be able to get liquids down (shakes, broth, water) but you may have to go much more slowly than you have been. If you get reflux and/or you are unable to get fluids down then go back as soon as possible.

You shouldn't guage it on how you feel when you eat too fast. You should be able to get a solid meal down comfortably when eating slowly and taking small bites or you are too tight. You should be taking 20-30 minutes to eat your meal. I am supposed to stop eating after 30 minutes.If you are eating too fast and getting stuck then you are not going to get three squares in a day. My doctor guages whether I need a fill based on how long I stay satisfied after a meal (should be 4-6 hours). And whether I am losing weight and how much. After my first fill I felt nothing, after my second and third fills I got full on a lot less food and stayed satisfied about six hours. But as I lost weight, the band got looser (within about two weeks). I had my fourth fill almost three weeks ago and am still where I get satisfied on three meals per day and am losing weight steadily. At this point I would not want another fill.

I was not required to quit and I didn't have any real plans to quit right away. But I was very fortunate in that the surgery actually helped me to quit smoking. With the combined Lap Band surgery and Hiatal Hernia repair, I had difficulty breathing for several days after the surgery. I couldn't even walk across the room without getting breathless. After four days of not being able to...not even wanting to smoke, I decided that I would be a fool to backslide at that point. I had never even gone one day without smoking before this. It takes 3-5 days to get the nicotene out of your system then at that point the chemical addiction is gone. Which makes it much easier to deal with the behavioral (habit) part. I was fortunate to make it through the nicotene withdrawal fairly easily but breaking the habit part was difficult. I had to change my routine a bit, kept busy, got rid of any sign of cigarettes (cigarettes, ashtrays, lighters etc.), stayed away from other smokers. At work I would walk around the building during my usual cigarette break and at home I kept busy and walked when it got real tough. I had a plan on what to do instead of smoking during my trigger times (like when talking on the phone, after a meal or after finishing a chore) I kept thinking just one...just a few drags but I knew that just one would lead to another. I took it one day at a time and some days I just wanted to curl up into a ball and sob (like when an inconsiderate smoker would blow smoke in my face in public) But as my lungs cleared, my smokers cough went away and my mind got sharper it got a little easier. It took a few weeks for me to stop thinking about cigarettes every few minutes and after about a month I pretty much stopped thinking about it all together. It has been over four months now!! I am so proud of myself for sticking with it and Healthwise, I felt so much better very quickly. I have heard that Chantix works, I have never tried it but it certainly is worth a try. I am willing to offer any support I can, I know how hard it is but it does get easier every day.

All of the above plus Protein first, veggies second then carbs if you are still hungry. Eat only when you are hungry and stop eating as soon as you are satisfied. Once you are past the post-op stages and on solids, eat mainly solid foods that will stay in your pouch the longest avoid mushies and liquid meals. Also, for me, shakes are to be used as in-between meal supplements not Meal Replacements.

Posting a correction...the update on my weight posted earlier this morning was dropped in the previous post. ******NAME**********START WGHT****CURRENT WGHT*******GOAL********LBS. LOST *****:thumbup:***********:tt2:*************:frown:*********************:frown:* 1dayatime..........263............261............243............2 2BHealthE!.........194............179............194............0 ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............218............213............5 Aphrodite1984......208............208............190............0 Ariel..............199............196.4..........180..........2.6 ArmyWife4life......209.5..........209.5..........190............0 Barb12590..........228............218............213...........10 Bea1128............210.5..........205.5..........188............5 blueriley..........206............206............190............0 Brandymom1234......227............151.9..........135..........4.1 Caramia71..........208............202............195............6 cQQlgirl...........194............192............180............2 Crzytchr...........281............272............265............9 DebinFl............181............181............168............0 georgiagirl........245............229............220...........16 HarleyGirl.........188............187............175............1 HeatherA...........210.5..........203.9..........200..........6.6 HeatherO...........155............146............140............9 Ivyrose325.........212............212............199............0 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............181............177...........15 KikiVal315.........237.5..........229............220..........8.5 Lana24.............208............195............185............0 laurigee...........180............176............160............4 Leslie2Lose........220............214............205............6 lindar172 .........274.2..........266.2..........256............8 LisaB..............205.5..........196............180.........10.5 livn4thm...........235............233............210............2 Long2bthin.........248............235............230...........13 Luu2008............203............199.5..........183..........3.5 Mamanmidwife.......299............286............280...........13 mamato3............186............186............170............0 MarinaBleu.........226.5..........226.5..........216............0 memom..............210............210............170............0 Minxz..............299............286............280............9 mominlv13..........299.8..........286.4..........280.........13.4 Momof5.............192.5..........187.5..........175..........5.0 nip50..............175............170............160............5 NukeChik...........218............218............208............0 NurseNiki..........258............246............239...........12 odamay.............242............242............225............0 paige65............252............247............232............5 Peaches11..........205............205............194............0 pj_txlady..........220............220............200............0 Redtulips3.........180............171............167............9 Renee74............214............213............199............7 Renewedhope........171............169............150............2 reif78.............294............195............185............0 savimama...........216............216............200............0 shaversd...........230.5..........225............210..........5.5 SpecialK...........294............286............280............8 Sunshine2..........177............171............167............6 Tess...............304............300.5..........280..........3.5 thatDEgirl.........211............205.2..........195..........5.8 tp78...............201............192............180............9 Turler.............225............219............210............6 wendyw.............192............188............172............4 wowox7.............195............185............170...........10 WyominGirl.........327............321............312............6

******NAME**********START WGHT****CURRENT WGHT*******GOAL********LBS. LOST *****:thumbup:***********:tt2:*************:frown:*********************:frown:* 1dayatime..........263............261............243............2 2BHealthE!.........194............179............194............0 ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............218............213............5 Aphrodite1984......208............208............190............0 Ariel..............199............196.4..........180..........2.6 ArmyWife4life......209.5..........209.5..........190............0 Barb12590..........228............218............213...........10 Bea1128............210.5..........205.5..........188............5 blueriley..........206............206............190............0 Brandymom1234......227............151.9..........135..........4.1 Caramia71..........208............202............195............6 cQQlgirl...........194............192............180............2 Crzytchr...........281............272............265............9 DebinFl............181............181............168............0 georgiagirl........245............229............220...........16 HarleyGirl.........188............187............175............1 HeatherA...........210.5..........203.9..........200..........6.6 HeatherO...........155............146............140............9 Ivyrose325.........212............212............199............0 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............181............177...........15 KikiVal315.........237.5..........229............220..........8.5 Lana24.............208............195............185............0 laurigee...........180............176............160............4 Leslie2Lose........220............214............205............6 lindar172 .........274.2..........266.2..........256............8 LisaB..............205.5..........196............180.........10.5 livn4thm...........235............233............210............2 Long2bthin.........248............235............230...........13 Luu2008............203............199.5..........183..........3.5 Mamanmidwife.......299............286............280...........13 mamato3............186............186............170............0 MarinaBleu.........226.5..........226.5..........216............0 memom..............210............210............170............0 Minxz..............299............286............280............9 mominlv13..........299.8..........286.4..........280.........13.4 Momof5.............192.5..........187.5..........175..........5.0 nip50..............175............170............160............5 NukeChik...........218............218............208............0 NurseNiki..........258............255............239............3 odamay.............242............242............225............0 paige65............252............247............232............5 Peaches11..........205............205............194............0 pj_txlady..........220............220............200............0 Redtulips3.........180............171............167............9 Renee74............214............213............199............7 Renewedhope........171............169............150............2 reif78.............294............195............185............0 savimama...........216............216............200............0 shaversd...........230.5..........225............210..........5.5 SpecialK...........294............286............280............8 Sunshine2..........177............171............167............6 Tess...............304............300.5..........280..........3.5 thatDEgirl.........211............205.2..........195..........5.8 tp78...............201............192............180............9 Turler.............225............219............210............6 wendyw.............192............188............172............4 wowox7.............195............185............170...........10 WyominGirl.........327............321............312............6

Tomorrow will be exactly four months since surgery and I have now lost 50 pounds!...I am more than half way to goal!!! I went out and bought myself a pair of size 12 jeans over the weekend (started out in an 18wide). :thumbup: I went from 2X-3X tops to a size XL (it would be a L if "the girls" would shrink just a little more ). Even my shoes are 1/2 size smaller :biggrin:. :wub:I love my band!!!:w00t: DH and I leave tomorrow for a short autumn getaway, rented a cabin in West Virginia. It will be a great way to celebrate!

Yes, try just one small soft/solid meal per day. It took me a week or maybe a little longer to be able to comfortably get three solid meals in per day. I started out having my solid at lunchtime and mushies for breakfast and dinner. Then I added solids for dinner and lastly solids for breakfast. (even now breakfast is sometimes hard for me).

What are you eating? You need to progress slowly, start with one very small portion of soft solids like tender unbreaded fish filets and soft cooked veggies and when you can eat a decent portion of these without nausea then slowly add denser foods like chicken, then beef... Until you can get three solid meals in, keep supplementing your diet with liquids and mushies. It is like a baby learing to eat, you have to take it slowly.