Jodi_620

Mine did. And I went off my Metformin the day of surgery (couldn't swallow the pills). Two weeks after surgery I started my cycle after months without one. Four months post-op, bloodwork showed no signs of PCOS; I was having 28-day cycles, my skin was cleared up, my hair has since gotten thicker and I feel so much better. The way I see it, at least for me, it had less to do with weight loss and more to do with changing my diet. But weight loss is possible, with PCOS/Lap Band. My suggestion would be that since PCOS is caused by insulin resistance you stick to low GI foods. Eat fresh meat, colorful veggies & fruits, and unprocessed whole grains like oatmeal. Cut out white carbs like bread, Pasta, rice, potato and sugar. Avoid foods that come in a jar, can or a box-most of this stuff has added fructose,sugar and chemicals that are bad for you. With the band you will be very satisfied on a diet like this. I was told that it would be harder to lose with PCOS but as long as I watch the white carbs it is not hard at all. I have lost 100 pounds.

It is hard but you can do it. I had to do 14 days of liquid protein pre-op. It was very hard and I even cried a couple times but I did not give up. Take it one day at a time and remind yourself that it is just two weeks out of your life and the end results will make it soooo worth it. Good Luck!!

I had my surgery over a year ago and still am unable to really burp. I can force air up but can not manage a good old fashioned natural belch. But I was told that my inability to burp was due to hiatal hernia repair which was done at the same time so maybe you'll get it back.

Yes, you should be able to do all the same activities as before but it will take at least six weeks to fully heal.

Depends on your doctor. I was only allowed liquid protein so lettuce would be a no. But different docotors have different programs.

Thanks. No pics yet I plan to post some when I am actually done with my transformation. It will be hard to find before pics since I always ran from cameras or hid behind people in pictures. My surgeon took one though so if all else fails I could get a copy of that one.

I lost 23 pounds from pre-op to first fill and a total of 97 pounds in 11 months. I averaged 2 pounds a week. Take a look below for my progress and you will get an idea on how it has gone for me. I think how much you lose really depends on how dedicated you are to eating right, exercising and maintaining fills.

Definitely talk to your doctor about the seepage. The gas is very normal. There are two separate issues with gas after surgery. The gas that is pumped into the cavity travels up to the shoulders and causes pain. Gax-X will not do anything to resolve that problem. We also get a lot of intestional pain. The gas would stay in my intestional tract too and taking two Gas-X pills only took the edge off (the strips don't work as well for me, but I chewed the pills) In both cases moving around as much as possible, although painful, does help.

The Lap Band takes a certain amount of discipline in order to work for you. The band will only make you feel full on a small amount of food. It won't take away your cravings for food. It won't keep you from snacking or eating between meals, eating when not hungry, eating unhealthy foods. This is really something you need to be aware of before you decide if the Lap Band is the way to go.

It depends on the surgeon.

I was weighed in. Then gave my insurance info to the insurance coordinator. She was on the phone with insurance company to verify that it is a covered procedure while I visited the surgeon. He went over the procedure again, the diet, the recovery. He answered questions. Wrote out scripts for upper GI, Bloodwork, sleep study, gave me a password to go onto the EMMI website for further education, explained the need for two visits with the nutritionist and two with the psych. The insurance coordinator came verified coverage and got the ball rolling on submitting paperwork. I had to pay $375 out of pocket/non-refundable for this visit.

Yes it is normal to hungry during this phase. After a few fills you will start seeing results.

The information submitted prior to approval is the only information the insurance company will receive or require. Once approved, you are approved-period. Once you have that approval letter in hand, you no longer have to worry. They may keep track of your weight after surgery to decide whether they will approve payment of fills, mine does.

If you are not satisfied on a small amount of food (less than a cup) or are not staying satisfied for at least four hours then you are not at restriciton. Believe me, you will know if something is stuck. You will either feel intense pain and or pressure in your chest (kind of like the feelimg you get when you take a drink and swallow too hard...if you can relate) or you will start sliming (having mucus back up into your mouth). Or simply feel gaggy. But understand that being stuck or getting sick ARE NOT indicators of good restriction they are indicators of not eating properly. You stretch your pouch by consistently keeping it overly filled. Are you even on solids yet? liquids cannot stretch your pouch and I doubt the mushies would either. I am guessing you have not had a fill yet. That means your band is open and the food, whatever the consistency, is passing through fairly quickly so it is not stretching the pouch. Be patient. You are in bandster hell and you will be hungry. It will take 1-4 fills to really start seeing a difference, till then it is sheer willpower.

I had to gain 6 pounds and did...no regrets. It took a few months though.

A lot of people think that way but my doctor said I am getting the same benefits as taking other chewables and I feel I can tolerate the taste better than the adult chalky chewables I've tried, so am more apt to take them regularly. The bottle says 1/2 tablet for children aged 2-3 and one tablet for adults and children over 4. I double up on both my multi and calcium;my choice but doc says it is OK.

I take Flintstone Chewables (x2 a day) and Caltrate chews (x2 a day). These are required by my surgeon. I was never able to find a Biotin that was easy to take. I used a hair Skin and Nails formula with 3000mcg of biotin and had to take three caplets a day. I would split them and slowly take them 1/2 at a time over an hour or so.

In the beginning the whole process is trial and error. You have to relearn how to eat, how much, what you can eat... The first few weeks are for just that, learning. I would measure out a certain amount of food eat it and note how I felt. If I got hungry soon after then I measured more for the next meal. When I got to the point where I was too full, I measured a little less until I finally got the right measurement. Eventually I was able to eye up my plate and no longer needed to measure. Too full for me is very uncomfortable, bloated feeling and the food is backing up into my esophagus which can feel gaggy or painful. It feels like if you make one false move and the food is going to come back up. How much do you feel is too much? You probably have not had a fill this early on so of course you will eat more until you get a couple fills and actually start using the band and it could take a couple fills. I don't measure anymore but once restriced I started eating and still eat around 3/4 to 1 cup per meal. I consistently lost weight eating that much.

For me it was around two weeks. I also just had my gall bladder removed and the timeframe was the same.

First off, don't listen to your friend, do what your doctor tells you. You are going to get a lot of diet advice from people around you but always check with your surgeon. If he/she did not give you guidelines on calorie intake during this stage, ask them to. Even if it is another bandster giving you advice, always check with your doctor first. Second, you are not in weight loss phase yet. Until you start getting fills you are not expected to lose weight and as a matter of fact, many people gain 5-10 pounds during this stage. So pat yourself on the back for actually losing 6...you are doing great! We all had to live on willpower alone during this stage, that is why we call it Bandster Hell. It will pass but it may be progressional, one fill may help-the second fill even better. On average it takes up to four fills to really feel the affects of having the band.

Most of the time, depending on what I am eating of course, I can eat fairly normally. I can't take huge bites and I have to chew a little more than pre-band (but then again, I inhaled my food back then) but for the most part I don't have to chew forever to liquify the food in tiny amounts like I was lead to believe I would. The exception is when I am eating tougher meats and veggies or when I am tighter after a good fill. In general, overeating just leads to the uncomfortable feeling, not throwing up (which as far as overeating goes, I think usually happens when you keep eating past full.)

I agree that we always need to distinguish between Vomiting and PB'ing. But there is band-related vomiting too. It is not always like a stomach virus where you throw up for hours upon hours and you may not even throw up the entire contents of your stomach. If you slip or are too tight you can heave or even burp up stomach acid, sometimes a lot- sometimes a little. Sometimes when I am too tight I will cough up just a little food mixed with stomach acid, it has happened after a fill too and that can make me gag or want to wretch. So quantity or whether there is stomach acid is not a surefire indicator. No matter which is happening, if we are wretching, (and I have wretched when I was stuck too) we are convulsing our stomach muscles where our port is stitched and possibly our stomach and too much of that could cause pain in the port area and as I said, slippage of the band. Besides the wretching issue having the potential to cause pain or damage to the band, if we have too much stomach acid coming up it can cause damage to our esophagus, throat and teeth or we could get sick at night and asperate the vomit which can lead to pneumonia or worse. It needs to be dealt with to avoid damage. Make sure you are eating properly if so then you should have your band checked under fluoro to make sure it is in proper place and see if you need an unfill. Note that even if it is a stomach virus, I have seen people come into my doctors office for a temporary unfill due to stomach virus just to avoid damage.

You want to find the cause of the vomiting and fix it. Vomiting of course for anyone, is a sign that something is not right. For bandsters it could also cause slippage. If you are taking small bites (about the size of the fingernail on your index finger), chewing well, and eating slowly. If you are eating band friendly foods and not drinking with your meal, then you are too tight and need to get a slight unfill. Probably the muscles in your abs pushed the port forward while you were vomiting. It will be tender for a couple days if it hurts longer than that, talk to your doctor.

It sounds like you need to review all the bandster rules and guidelines and try to pinpoint the problem. Stress, hormonal changes, certain foods or eating improperly can cause you to be feel tighter or get sick. So look at things like: Is the slow loss causing you excess stress? Or are there stressful situations when the problem happens? Is it your TOM? Are you eating breads, dry meats, fibrous or starchy vegetable or other specific foods that are causing you to feel sick? Are you eating slowly, taking small bites and chewing well. Are you making sure not to drink too soon after eating? On days that you feel too hungry: Are you getting enough to drink between meals? Are you truly tummy rumbling hungry or just wanting to eat more? Are you eating a lot of white carbs? (bread, potato, Pasta, rice, sugar...) Are you getting in enough solid lean Protein before eating your veggies and fruits?

I actually get tighter toward the end (about three-four days in to my TOM) but I am sure it is different for others.