Jodi_620

You should be able to take the things (prescription and over the counter) you took prior to surgery. Except for certain drugs like extended release that should not be crushed or chewed; you may need to break tablets in half or dissolve them in water so they do not get stuck in the stoma and make you sick. I was told to avoid aspirin and non-steroid anti-inflammatory pain relievers because they may irritate the stomach (aspirine, ibuprofin and naprosyn). When in doubt, call your doctor.

I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression (I have been corrected in the past when discussing this topic). So first of all, for the record, I want to make it clear that I am not advocating continuing smoking; I am sure you are as well aware as I am that smoking is bad for you but you didn't ask for a sermon and that was not your question. Smoking can cause breathing problems with the anesthesia. That being said, I smoked right up until the night before surgery and didn't have any adverse reactions. Not saying you won't have problems but again that is not what you asked. In preparation for surgery, I gave up my Diet Pepsi, all other caffeine products and was eating liquids only~no carbs for two weeks. There was no way I could accomplish all that AND quit smoking. I haven't had a cigarette since that final one before surgery 48 days ago. The recovery (I had both lap band and hiatal hernia repair)kept me from smoking the first 3-4 days and so at that point I decided to kick the habit. But my surgery and recovery went very well. As a new ex-smoker I remember all to well how difficult it is to quit. I know that you don't need to be preached to (that does not help at all). You don't need to be told that it is bad for you ...you know that. But those who have never smoked before don't understand and some (not all) ex-smokers become "holier than thou" on the topic and are quick to start preaching. I hope never to become one of those types of ex smokers, my DH is one of them.

I am not condoning cheating but if you have done well so far, I really don't think that this one slip-up has done that much damage. Just get yourself back on track and don't allow any more. Did you buy any Fiber mix? That can help with the hunger Just 4 more days!

I have PCOS and although I am pretty new to the Lap Band, so far- so good. I am not sure if it has made it tougher for me, but it has been a pretty good experience so far. I was worried about my PCOS and whether it would hinder things. I was told that it could but it wouldn't be impossible just harder. I have not been hungry and I haven't had any uncontrollable head hunger. I am able to eat my three meals and an occasional evening snack and be physically satisfied. I lost 13 pounds pre-op and as of today 13 pounds post-op and I get my first fill today. 26 pounds in a little less than 7 weeks isn't bad, especially since the band is still empty! My pre-op/post-op diet was low carb, high Protein liquids (two weeks before and two weeks after) and a month of that diet helped to get my insulin leveled out..but boy was that torture!!! Now that I am back on solids, I have not allowed myself any of the processed carbs-only fruits,veggies, dairy and occasionally (1-2 times a week) whole wheat wraps and whole grain Cereal and always eating them with protein. This is really critical for PCOS people; heck for all of us, with or without PCOS or Diabetes--those processed carbs just are not good for us and is a huge contributor to our head hunger. I was on Metformin 6 years prior to banding. It worked for a while but eventually I gained my weight back and my cycle got out of whack again. I haven't taken the Metformin since surgery...couldn't get them down at first and unable to tolerate them now. (I see my Endo next Thursday and will probably catch hell for stopping it though) :confused:. But dispite no medication, since surgery I have had a first in a long time 28-day cycle! My endo was all for me getting the band. He said that there was a good chance that surgery would get my PCOS under control. He has had patients with PCOS and Diabetes go off all medications in a few short months after getting surgery.

Regular Carrots don't work for me either but I can tolerate the match stick carrots...although after your experience it will probably be a long time before you even want to look at a carrot in any form! Your snack doesn't need to be no carb...we do still need carbs especially if we exercising. It is just the starchy or processed ones that we need to cut out. Your best choice for a sweet craving is a fruit along with a Protein, eating the protein first. Or SF low calorie popsicle or Jello. Higher Fiber crunchy fruits like apples and pears are even better than the sweeter, softer ones like bannanas and watermelon. But I don't even worry about that rule, I eat whatever fruit appeals to me; right now it is my favorite:CHERRIES! I have been snacking on those and am doing fine...of course it depends on how insulin sensitive you are. If it is not a sweet craving you are having go for protein like a piece lean meat or cheese.

My view is the same as Heather's. If you are craving salt then sweets all day long then that is a possible sign that you are having insulin spikes. As a carb addict, I know this problem all to well. Are you eating starchy foods with your meals like potato, Pasta, rice, corn, bread, crackers and anything with sugar in it? Once I eat this type of food I start the cycle of insulin spikes and cravings (head hunger). During the pre-op and post-op diet I was on a high Protein low carb diet and I cleansed my body of the simple sugars and starchy carbs and that broke the craving cycle. Now that I am on solid food I have chosen to avoid jumping back on the carb/insuline spike roller coaster because I know that those cravings will start right back up. My surgeon recommended that I avoid the high carb foods as long as possible as well. I do not eat bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, sugar or any other starchy or sugary carbohydrate. And the carbs I do eat come from natural sources like fruits, veggies and dairy. That may sound impossible or too restrictive to many but in my opinion, once you get these foods out of your system, it makes eating healthy sooo much easier because you don't get those constant carb cravings. For carb addicts, those cravings are not just a mental desire for the foods but a physical need caused by overeating these foods resulting in insulin spikes and drops. The only way to break the cycle is to avoid these foods alltogether. Sure I do miss pasta, which I absolutely love and have been tempted by it several times since surgery but so far I have been able to avoid it along with all of those other bad carbs and for the most part my head hunger has been very easy to control compared to pre-op days. If you think that this may be the case for you, try to make your meals consist of meat, veggies and fruit (all fresh and uprocessed foods). And eat your food in that order, protein first, then veggies then fruit. The protein is necessary for us bandsters as we all know plus it fills us up and does not affect our insulin. Eating protein before the carbs slows down the digestion of the carbs in the veggies and fruits so that your body absorbs it more slowly (no big insulin spikes). I do occasionally allow myself whole grains in the form of Cereal or oatmeal and sometimes 100% whole wheat wraps filled with meat and veggies but I keep it to a minimum and always have it with a protein. If you do crave a sweet go for sugar free, right now I am using creamsicles and fudgecicles when I need to tame my sweet tooth they are low in calories and sugar and do the trick.

Florida girl, I have seen comments where that is true and some that it is not, who knows... So, are you saying that they carry these at GNC? I need to come up with a plan B in case Walmart doesn't get anymore in. Are they a lot more expensive?

Hmm...I didn't use one of those for surgery.

It might depend on your doctor. I get my first fill this Thursday. I was told that for the first year, I need to come in at least once a month to have my restriction checked but if after one week after a fill I feel that I have no restriction or too much I can call and get another adjustment--I don't have to wait until the following month.

I agree with thininside. Let your surgeons office deal with them, they probably have an insurance coordinator that knows best on how to handle this. If coverage is possible, they would be the ones to find the way.

Sounds to me like you have what most of us get after laproscopic surgery and going back on liquids does not make it go away as far as I know. If that is what it is, it is not serious and the only thing that will fix it is time. If it were serious I would think they would have had you go in to be checked.

Yep, here is a link.... The Clothing X-Change! - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum

The name brand is Body Fortress...here is a picture, they had them displayed just like the picture. I guess it couldn't hurt to contact them. Like I said I bought them all and they haven't restocked since which leaves me wondering whether this is a regularly stocked item. P.S. Found on the Body Fortress website a "where to buy link" here is what it came up with:

I wouldn't say full...just satisfied. I found the 26's at my local Walmart. They were $1.97 each, fruit punch flavored and taste pretty good mixed with Fruit Punch flavored Crystal Light. Can't recall the name brand but the label is orange. They were in the Health and Beauty department near the Atkins shakes and stuff. I hope it is something that they stock regularly, I bought every one that they had a week or so ago and am waiting for them to restock.

1 Chewable "Flintstone Multivitamin" and 1 Chewable "Caltrate plus D" vitamin per day.

Heather, I am experiencing the same thing. The scale is not moving but I am getting smaller. At first I just thought that people were giving me false compliments...everyone was commenting about how much weight I lost but no difference when I weighed. But now I am finding that my clothes really are getting looser dispite what the scale says. I would get rid of the clothes. Does you surgeons office have a clothing swap? Mine does, I haven't inquired about it yet but it is looking like I may need to before too long. I believe that there is also a clothing swap on this site. Pre-band, I was forever dieting and luckily I held on to my smaller clothes always intending to get back on the dieting rollercoaster. I was size 18 pre-banding, and am now wearing my 16's which are getting loose. I have some size 14's but not enough. I have bagged up my size 18's and will donate them to the clothing swap. I have several pair of new jeans that I hate to get rid of but they don't fit and I am determined to see to it that they never will fit again.

Yes, mixing them is just fine. I buy the 26 gram shots and they don't make me feel too full. If they make you that full, I would drink half now and save half for later.

Andrea, I get a ton of rumbling and noise now too but I have learned that it is not coming from my stomach but my digestive system. Lots of Water, exercise and sometimes GasX seem to help. To me, actual hunger is much more uncomfortable.

Oh yes I was nervous when I started inquiring about it and as surgery day drew nearer I got more and more nervous. When I was in pre-op I was more tempted than you could imagine to just jump up and run out of the hospital as fast as I could, hospital gown and all. But I can tell you when it was all done, I just thought "What was I so nervous about?". It was so much easier than I imagined and so very worth it.

Unfortunately, family history is not typically counted...my family covers pretty much every co-morbidity in the book...High blood pressure, high cholesterol, father and his family died in their 50's of heart disease...diabetes, heart disease and cancer on mom's side... I mentioned all of that when my paperwork was submitted and was told that was not a deciding factor. And I have not heard of depression as being an acceptable co-morbidity. At the very least you would have to prove that your depression was brought on by your weight. It does suck because you are very close to being within the guidelines and they are all but telling you that you need to gain more weight or wait until your excess weight causes co-morbidities. I know that I consciously maintained my weight for several months until my paperwork was submitted because I was just within the 40 range required and didn't want to lose a few pounds and be disqualified. Hope someone out there can tell me I am wrong about the depression thing.

For the first two, maybe three weeks I had to force myself to eat and drink. Around week four I got my appetite back but it didn't take much food to satisfy me. I am almost seven weeks out, I have felt hunger a couple times since week four or five but that happens when I forget to eat. I am eating a little more at each meal now than in the beginning but I get my first fill this Thursday and hope that will change.

My guess is that it is a combination of the southern summer heat and the bandages. When did your doc say it is OK for you to remove the bandages? Not sure if you were stitched or glued but I was glued and was told to remove my bandages within a week and just leave the steri-strips in place until they fall off.

Hang in there Stephanie, you are so close now--JUST TWO DAYS!!!. I remember too well how difficult the pre-op diet was and I truly sympathize with you (((HUGS))). Sugar Free popsicles were a lifesaver for me, it was the closest I could get to actually chewing something without cheating. What are you eating (drinking)? What kind of diet are you on (low carb, low cal etc.) Maybe we can recommend something new that you will be able to tolerate. I promise it will get easier and in the end you will be so proud of yourself... it will all have been worth it in the end. Just be sure to take your vitamins and take it easy for these last two days.

I had the lightheadedness too and like chaneljack5, I was dehydrated. For the first three weeks or so, it was hard for me to drink the required amount of water but when I was finally able to get it down the problem went away.

Since carbs are the enemy for me, fat free stuff is a poor choice. They tend to replace the lost flavor in these fat free products with corn syrup or sugar. I do buy some lowfat items due to the fact that my husband, although thin, has high cholesterol. It can be pricey to try to accomodate both diet types, but in general I don't obsess over fat grams in my diet. But dieting is not one size fits all, you need to look at your eating behavior and any health issues that you might have and figure out what is best for you. (cholesterol/heart problems watch fat, diabetes blood sugar problems watch carbs, all of the above find a healthy balance...)