kiz

You have little or no fill in your band (some doctors put a fill in during surgery, and some don't), so generally you have restriction during this stage from swelling around the stoma. If your swelling has gone down, you're pretty open. Some people take longer than others to heal. I know it's hard, but try to stick to your prescribed diet, but if you really start feeling very hungry, try calling the doctor's office and see if they have any suggestions on different food choices or amounts. Good luck!!

I think that's best. If it was Friday, I would have said to call since they're so uncomfortable, but since it's the weekend, I would stick it a couple more days to be on the safe side too.

I had to wear them too, but only for a couple of days. However, I agree with gatorgal, it could be either your doctor is more cautious or he might have seen something that made him think you should wear them longer.

Welcome, Jimmy. 28 pounds! That's great!! You must be thrilled.

:thumbup: Now, that's reason to celebrate. Congratulations!!

That was three 1/2 cup meals plus a healthy snack which adds 150 or so calories. I adjust my snack depending on what I've eaten earlier or if I've had added calories from my liquids. For a snack it might be cheese & crackers, Greek yogurt w/ fruit & high Fiber Cereal, tuna on leaf spinach & tomato, etc. So, yes, I can easily take in 1,000 cals., although since I measure, I don't track calories daily. I was never a "big meal" eater, I grazed and often on junk food, so smaller servings don't seem so unusual. Also, since I'm eating small healthy meals without all the junk throughout the day, I don't feel like I have to make everything fat free, diet, etc. I eat real cheese not the processed fat free variety, real butter not low cal margarine, etc. I still only drink skim milk because I've used skim so long anything with a higher milk fat content tastes like pure cream to me. I also buy lean cuts of beef. I pick and choose, and that's what I love about the band. We can tailor our meal plans to fit our individual needs, following our doctors recommendations. Once I hit goal, I can have some Fluid removed from my band, so that I can eat larger portions, but at that, they say the maintenance diet will be 3/4 - 1 cup meals. I'm not there yet, so I don't know if I'll be able to do that or not. If my weight loss stabilizes when I get to goal, which I hope to be in six months, we'll see, I guess. Also, I take a Multivitamin, Calcium, B12 and Vitamin D drops in the winter. I had my annual blood work done a couple of weeks ago, and I don't have the results yet. I'm calling the doctor Monday for them, because I'm getting bills from the lab, so I'm sure they have the results. If I'm lacking in something, I'll let you know.

Welcome to LBT, cindylou. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. I hope you get good news this week. I don't understand why you were denied before either, it sounds like you had plenty of documentation that you are eligible. I was self-pay, so I didn't deal with insurance, but I know it can be a pain.

I'm glad to hear your doing better! Since you're able to eat solids now, your weight loss will probably stabilize. I think 1 1/2 to 2 pounds a week weight loss is average with the band.

I'm sure you're not imagining anything because we all have different reactions with our bands. I had a pretty nasty cold last January, but I didn't have any noticeable changes in my band pressure. I hope you're feeling better soon.

It seems like if you are supposed to be on a pre-op diet they would have told you by now then. Mine was two weeks, but others have shorter pre-op diets, and some have none. Maybe you have a doctor that doesn't require one.

I have to say that I don't deal with judgmental people well, so I didn't tell anyone I was having surgery except my husband, kids, my hairdresser (lol), and a close friend who had band surgery a year earlier. Part of the reason was I knew the weight wouldn't fall off me, so I didn't want people waiting and watching for it to happen. When people started noticing that I was losing, I told my closest friends about my surgery. They were surprised and totally impressed with my results. When I told my mother in law, she said you know I would have told you not to do it, and I said to her that's why I didn't tell her. :thumbup:

Not every doctor requires a pre-op diet, but as far as I know you shouldn't eat anything after midnight the night before your surgery. I think Water is limited to what you need for meds if you take them, but I don't remember for sure. You should get information on your pre-op and post-op diet requirements. Are you scheduled to meet with a nutritionist? I had surgery around 8 am and was out of the hospital around 2 pm. Some band patients spend the night, so that varies.

For whatever reason, some people are just more band tolerant than others. My band, if going by fill level is very tight, but I don't have a large list of problem foods. I can't eat celery, and I just eat the tops off asparagus. I haven't found any other vegetables that are off limits to me. I love lean med-rare fillet mignon, but I have had to spit out a couple of bites, (very discreetly I hope), when it hasn't chewed up well. I haven't tried eating the membrane on citrus fruit, but I can eat the meat of the fruit just fine. I can eat bread. I wouldn't say I'd take a HUGE bite out of a dinner roll, and I only have a dinner roll very rarely and in very small portions. You can't control your tolerance level for foods, but you can control the tightness of your band, which also factors into what foods may or may not be off limits to you.

I consider myself at a point of ideal restriction. I can eat most foods (ex. chicken, steak, & bread) without chewing to pure mush and without taking teeny little bites. I also don't pb, slime or have reflux. I don't try to overwork my band, but I do let it do it's job. I reach satiety with 1/2 cup solid meals that lasts four hours and sometimes longer. I eat three meals/day and I can have a healthy snack. Some days, I want the snack, but others I skip it. That's not to say that I don't indulge in something unhealthy occasionally, but now, it's on a rare occasion, rather than daily and a small portion does the trick. I still have to limit my temptations though. For instance, I love home made chocolate chip Cookies (among many other things). If I made a batch, I wouldn't trust myself not to go into a feeding frenzy..sort of like a shark on bait..lol So, I do keep trigger foods out of the house. A single cookie when out would fully satisfy me, but there are certain foods that set me off, so out of sight (or reach) out of mind, works for me. The band allows you within certain parameters to pick the ideal restriction level for yourself. Some like their band a little tighter, while others keep it a little looser. As long as you're not making yourself sick with a too tight band, which will lead to future band problems, it's up to you and your doctor to decide the best restriction level based on your individual needs. This is one of the many reasons I love the band.

It really depends on your doctor on how often you can get fills. During the first year, I had monthly appointments which could include a fill if I needed one. However, a couple of times I could tell after only two weeks that I still needed another fill, and I was able to come in right away for one. I was self-pay with one year fills included, so I didn't have to get insurance okay's for fills, and that made it easier. I was very fortunate to have a doctor who was willing to work with me because it did take me more fill then the average patient to get to good sustained restriction. I was also checked a few times under fluoro to make sure everything was working right. I'm afraid I might have been a band failure had he only allowed very small fills at set dates.

I'm terribly sorry that happened. No wonder you're venting, you certainly have every reason to. I hope you get good news next week.

Wow, you have had to wait along time for your first fill. I know some people feel great restriction just from the band itself, but that wasn't me after the first few weeks. I was really happy to get my fill at six weeks. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that they don't cancel your appointment again. Man, I'd be furious at this point. Don't worry, you shouldn't have any pain after your fill.

I think it's common that a small amount of saline can be reabsorbed after a period of time. I have a different band (9cc Realize Band), and the doctor never has pulled out as much as he has put in. He has never been concerned, and when doing a fill under fluoro it was obvious that the Fluid is still in my band, and I have good restriction. Your "loss" of fluid could be a little bit of fluid just not coming out when he did your check and/or a little re-absorption of the saline after a period of time. It might have happened so gradually, that you didn't realize it, and now with this fill your back up to the original fill level. My doctor usually recommends waiting two weeks after a fill to let things settle down, unless you can't take water or something of that consistency, then you should come back right away to have some of the fill removed. I think, at this point, there's no doubt that you need an unfill. As others have said, when they've put it off too long, their stomas have been so irritated that they've needed a complete unfill.

Good example of the squeaky wheel getting the oil, and very good advice! I hope you hear back from them soon.

At two and half weeks, I'd probably go for Beans, especially while out to eat with co-workers. First off and most importantly, you really want to baby your band during the healing phase and you never know how tough a bird might be cooked up in a restaurant. Secondly, beans are easier to eat, so you won't have to concentrate so hard on chewing through a piece of meat while socializing with your friends. You definitely don't want to end up in the bathroom retching up a piece of chicken that doesn't agree with you. I'll admit to being very cautious, especially when it comes to my band.

Good luck with all of your appointments, and I hope you get all good news!! I agree with you that it's better to be cleared of medical problems before surgery. There are so many underlying problems that can go hand and hand with obesity, so it's even more prudent to run these exams first.

I also think you are probably too tight and will need a slight unfill. There is a slight chance your band is irritated, and you have some swelling, but a few extra days on liquids should take care of it. As long as you can get down enough liquids to stay well hydrated, and you're not sliming, burping, etc your way throughout them, you could try to give your band a rest. Only then try the pureed foods and if you have any trouble whatsoever with them schedule an unfill. If you can't move on to solid foods by early next week, schedule an unfill. You just don't want to spend any significant time burping up your food, or you'll end up irritating your band more, and that can lead to other band problems. Your doctor may want you to come in right away for a slight unfill, so you might want to give the office a call and check.

I had a similar insurance situation with our pediatrician, and that's exactly the way I handled it. My husband is self-employed and we were applying for a new private insurance policy and we had a drop dead deadline to have all of our documents turned in, and this was the only doctor who was dragging his feet. The funny thing, he first tried to say that the mail was sometimes iffy, and he probably didn't receive the form I had sent him in a timely manner. Busted...I had also personally dropped it off to his nurse. I changed doctors after everything was said and done. I never did like him much anyway, and that was the final straw.

Best of luck to you, Sue!! It really is true that the band is only a tool, which means we have some work to do to get the best results from our band. Hopefully, you can be an inspiration to your brother.

I'm at my "sweet spot" and for me my diet is 1/2 cup meals. How much I could eat depends a lot on the consistency of my meal. I wouldn't try it, but I think I couldn't eat more than 1/2 to 3/4 cup of something very solid such as steak or chicken. However, I try to eat about 2/3 of my meal as a good solid food and the other 1/3 as a fruit/veg/bread (not all three at once). At that, I could eat probably up to 3/4 up to one cup of food if I was eating more of the sides rather than the solid Protein. That's why I have to measure, because in reality the 1/2 cup meal keeps me satisfied for several hours. My body must be pretty band tolerant because I could overdo it without an adverse reaction. My doctor generally schedules appointments four to six weeks out, but if after two weeks a fill doesn't seem to be enough, we can come back for another. I think I did that twice, and the second time he wanted me to have it under fluoro to make sure all was well, and it was thankfully.