AliNSanDiego

Yes, my doctor says liquids after a fill. pudding is not considered a solid. I suppose I should have specifically asked about the pudding before eating it (did not even eat half the container). This was my third fill. The 2 previous fills I did not need to follow the liquid diet. I was able to eat mushies the same day & soft solids the next. I believe I had 3.5cc in my 10cc band and he put another 1cc in. So, a total of 4.5cc now. He typically has me drink in his office before leaving, but this time that did not happen. On the drive home I felt a little bubble feeling in my throat & it sounded like a drain going down but it didn’t make me slime. I am VERY happy with my loss and I love my band. I am really hoping this resolves on its own, so I don't have to deal with another surgery right now. My Dr. mentioned fixing the kink a year down the road. Thanks for the good thoughts.

It's worth it!!! I felt just as terrible. That first week was like hell for me. If you have pain meds, take them & walk, walk, walk. I was in tons of pain, couldn't even hold my head all the way up, but I still walked. Walking and pain meds were my saving grace. I am 3 months out today & less 57 pounds. I feel absolutely GREAT. I am so, so happy with my decision to get the band. Good luck and remember it WILL get better.

Whoever asks me, gets the truth. I am very proud of my band!

Lucky you! My doc fills very slowly! I was banded a month before you and only have around 3.5cc's in my 10cc band. I go in for my 3rd fill this Thursday. Have you been losing slowly?

Less then 1 week to get my approval. I have UHC Choice Plus and I called the insurance company every day until I got my approval!

50 plus pounds gone since May 23, 2008. It does work!

Congrats on everyone’s weight loss! I watch everything I eat & work out almost daily. I also stay low on "bad" carbs & stick to sugar free. I feel like I am eating way too much for a bandster and I’m hungry between meals, but I am still losing around 2 pounds per week so I haven't changed anything. I go in for my 3rd fill this Thursday. I'm hoping I can get the fill (I may have kinked tubing) & get enough restriction this time to feel full longer!

I'm sorry you are struggling so much. Are you working out as well as watching what you eat? Puffing up like a balloon after drinking a protein drink may mean you are lactose intolerant. Personally I haven't been drinking the protein drinks. They simply do not fill me up. So, I stick with hard proteins first and then veggies. My carb & sugar intake are very, very low too. I feel like I eat way too much food for a banster, but I am hungry and still losing just around 2 pounds per week so I am not reducing what I eat. I am very pleased with my loss, but I know without watching every bite I put in my mouth and working out daily, I wouldn’t have lost nearly as much as I have.

My port incision is very low. I put jeans on after the first week, but had to wear low, low rise to keep them off my incision. Bra's were never a prob for me.

I get it at my local grocery store. Ralphs to be exact, but I am sure you can find it at other grocers. For 1oz it has 1.68 gram fat 1 gram Carb 1 Gram Sugar 47 Calories You can also get it in Fat Free. Delicious & it melts really well. Another of my favorites is Light Laughing Cow cheese.

I loooooove cheese & I eat it a lot for snacks and I add it to a lot of my meals. Since I use it so much, I buy low fat. I actually found a great cheese with less then 2 grams of fat per serving, low calories and almost zero carbs. It's called lifetime cheese. I love their jalapeno jack cheese. YUM! I also buy Trader Joes Light Sliced Provolone. Yum, yum! I'm losing aprox 2 pounds per week so eating cheese is not stopping my weight loss.

I felt the same way. The first few days, I was emailing friends and family telling them I wanted it out!!! I am almost 3 months out and sooooooooooooo happy with my decision! I love my band!!! Try to walk as much as you can and keep up with those pain meds. It WILL get better.

I do chew and spit at times. Not because I don't want to swallow, but because when I am chewing the food in my mouth, I KNOW before swallowing that it wont be band friendly once it gets down....so, I spit the bite out before swallowing and dealing with a major stuck episode! I would hardly call that an eating disorder.

My doc thinks I have a kink in my tubing. During my second fill he could get Fluid in, but not back out (this what made him think it was kinked). He sent me on my way and told me if the same thing happens during my next fill appointment, he would send me for x-ray and if it is kinked, back to surgery to fix it. Please keep us updated as to what happens with you.

I have similar feelings... Even though I have lost quite a bit of weight, I still feel just as fat as I was before. When I look in the mirror, I see the same person I saw 50 pounds heavier. People tell me all day long how great I look and even complete strangers (grocery checker) noticed my loss, WHY CAN'T I! Physically I feel so much better, but mentally I am the same fatty I was before. I do not like missing my daily workout & if I do, it throws me completely off. I’m trying to make mini goals along the way to my goal. My next is to get in to a size 32 seven for all mankind jeans (expensive jeans I have been wanting to wear!). I have to wonder if I will ever be satisfied with my weight.

The hospital billed my insurance $34,243.23<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Anesthesia Service was billed separate $1,440.00 <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> And my surgeon also billed separate $5,500.00 <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Total billed - $41,183.23 <o:p></o:p>

I went back 8 days after. I couldn't have returned any sooner... When I did return I took Mylanta Liquid Extra strength gasX gel tabs Liquid blast tylenol 2 Isopure a day lots of bottled Water pillow

I felt like total crap. Like I had been hit by a semi truck. I had vomiting all night the first night (thank god I stayed overnight in the hospital & got IV meds). Got home and could not find anywhere comfortable to sit or lay. Gas, Diarrhea & fatigue like I have never experienced before. I was a MESS for the first week! What ended up helping me was taking my pain meds regular and walking, walking, walking! In as much pain and discomfort I was in, I would still do this procedure over again. Being down 50 pounds has RE-NEWED me! I love my band now!!!

The reason he had to keep trying during my second fill was because he was not able to get the blue dye flashback when he retracted the needle. He puts blue dye in the band fluid during surgery for the purpose of seeing the flashbacks during fills. He thinks I may have kinked tubing. When it kinks, he said you can get fluid in, but not out. He wants to see me in a month and if he can't get that blue flashback, he will send me to X-ray & if it’s kinked, back to surgery to fix it. Thankfully he gave me enough fluid to feel some new restriction! Anyways…I don’t want to scare anyone here. I had no pain and felt almost nothing when he poked me with the needle & I am a whiny baby when it comes to pain!

I had my first fill 6 weeks post op. The needle was huge, but to my surprise I felt almost nothing. I had my 2nd fill this past Thursday. He had to stick me and poke pretty hard quite a few times & I still had no pain! My doc is so sweet and felt so badly, but I kept telling him it was OK. :tt1: I'd say see how your port incision feels at 4 weeks post-op. I am pretty sure I would have been healed plenty by then for a fill.

Hit by a truck is EXACTLY the way I would describe how I felt. Just be assured...all of this pain & diarrhea is well worth it once you are past these first few dreadful weeks! Hang in there everyone.

I was stressed about not getting the full 64 oz the first couple weeks. I was told to just sip slowly all day long and I would be fine. Every day got easier to get my fluids in and by about week 3 I was getting 64oz in with no problem! Unfortuanetley I still burp like crazy.

I tell everyone about my band...even strangers. I haven't had problems with negativity. A few people thought I could do it on my own, but after a while they became excited to see me dropping the pounds and one is even interested in the surgery now.

From what I understood the new AP band has been improved upon while the realize band has not been improved upon other then making the port lower profile. Either way, both bands have been proven to work and I am sure you will do great! Congrats on your surgery tomorrow! Here are some FAQ's I found on the OH website. "What is the difference between Lap Band and Realize Band? Both bands come open and are buckled together during installation. Both bands have a good record of weight loss. The newest Lap Bands are called the AP System and come in two sizes, APS- which holds 10cc’s of saline and the APW which holds 14cc’s. The improvements include making the reservoir (where the saline goes) go 360 degrees around, making it wider (supposed to help with slippage), and having it semi-divided into sections. It has two port sizes, regular and low profile. Both are placed by sutures. The Realize Band which is owned by Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson company, bought their band from a company in Sweden and renamed it from the Swedish Band to the Realize Band. It already had a reservoir that goes around 360 and is in the new wide style that most modern bands use. The plastic is softer (supposed to help with erosion) and the reservoir doesn't come pre-divided. It has a low profile port and the port is applied with a device that triggers claw like hooks to attach to the muscle or it can be sutured in place. It's up to the surgeon whether or not they use the claws or sew the port in place the way the Lap Band port is installed. The claws are supposed to be better for preventing port flipping." On another note.. I have the AP band and my port is on the left.

My doc prefers the new AP band over the Realize band, but he did mention he would be doing a study using the Realize band to see if he gets the same results as he does with the new AP band. I'll be interested to hear the results.