kiz

Lisa, if you begin to feel like you're not going to be able to stay on the liquid regimen for two weeks, I would suggest you call your doctor and see if he would amend his diet recommendation. He must have his reasons for wanting you to stay on liquids for two weeks, and we all have different reactions to our fills. I've read several people say they don't get the full restriction from their fill until two weeks later, so maybe that's his reason for being more restrictive than others. Some doctors are much more aggressive with their fills than others, and so that could influence the type of after fill diet that is recommended. I wouldn't change my diet regimen without speaking to someone from my surgeon's office first. I'm sure you chose your doctor because you trusted his judgment, so while his diet does sound rather restrictive, I'd get more info from him before making any changes myself. You might even find that his diet works great for you and it boosts your weight loss.

I've never had that kind of long term reaction, but it does sound to me like the chicken and rice got stuck and after passing left your band area swollen and irritated. I think it's a good idea to call your doctor's office for their opinion, particularly since your surgery was so recent, but I imagine you will be told to do two days of liquids and two days of soft foods to let your stomach rest and heal.

Tonya, I'm sorry you're feeling so nervous, but it's understandable. I wouldn't begin to try to talk you into one type of WLS over another, but I can tell you, that like Lisa, my band surgery was very easy. I had a super quick recovery, and I've never regretted a day of having my band. It was absolutely the best decision I could have made to improve my health and life. Hopefully, you've carefully researched your doctor, and I also agree with Lisa that you need to make sure you have after care lined up. Good luck with your decision.

I've had several fills and I my doctor doesn't use lidocaine, and it's never been painful. Whether the doctor or the NP does my fill, they've always hit the port on the first try. They find my port by looking at the scar and then going down and pressing gently on the area. If you have a fill under fluoro xray, (my doctor always does the first fill under fluoro so he can make sure everything looks fine), you can see the port and watch the barium go down. It's pretty neat. I don't get a bandage because there's never been any bleeding. Just like so many other things with the band, the protocol for eating/drinking varies by doctor. I'm not supposed to have any food two hours before a fill (I can drink). I'm supposed to stay on liquids the day of the fill as well as the next day, then go on soft foods for two days. I have a 9cc Realize Band, and I think my first fill was around 4.5cc, but it's been a year, so I'm not exactly sure.

Slime comes up from your esophagus, it seems. It's like a thick saliva or mucus. I think it forms naturally to help food pass through, but when you have food stuck it over-produces and comes up. Another term you'll see is PB (productive burp). That's when the food comes back up (you'll usually have the sliming first). I'm allowed three 1/2 cup meals per day plus a snack. My band is placed to allow for four ounces of food in my pouch. If your band is looser, the food will go through the band a little quicker, and you can eat more quantity. My doctor's goal is to get his patient's to feel satisfied for three to four hours between meals on the 1/2 cup servings. I don't sip my drinks between meals. I drink normally then. If I have something to drink during a meal, I only sip then to make sure I don't drink too much.

I'm probably a bit unusual, but I don't have any foods that I can't eat except for stringy veggies...celery, asparagus stalks, and the like plus milk on Cereal (the milk pushed the cereal right into the band area and I had a sliming episode..not fun). The worse stuck episode I had was with very tough stringy chicken from a local Chinese restaurant, but I don't have problems with any meat including steak in general. I drink soda very rarely now, and I just let it go a wee bit flat first. If I drink a fizzy drink before it has time for the carbonation to wear off, I feel it right away, and I really believe, based on that feeling, that it's bad for the pouch. Will do. It's not a problem at all. I think the trick is to stay very well hydrated between meals. On rare occasions, I will sip some Water, or have a small glass of wine during a meal, but I can definitely tell that I can eat more and I get hungry quicker if I drink more than just a few sips while eating.

One of the doctor's in the practice that I go to said in an info session that he has found that his self-pay patients are his most compliant. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the self-payers get one year of fills and appointments with their contract, and after that, the fills can be very expensive. Also, if a self-pay patient needs a fill, they get a fill, without any additional paperwork, insurance approvals, or secondary appointments if the fill wasn't preplanned. All in all, the first year, it's easier to be a self-pay patient. I have health insurance, but it doesn't cover weight loss surgery. I can't say that by paying out of pocket that I feel more motivated to make it work, because losing weight is something that I desperately want to do, and regardless of how the bill was paid, I am motivated. Having this type of surgery is a huge commitment, so I would have been just as vigilant researching my options and then following the rules after the fact no matter how I was going to pay for the surgery.

I had some hair loss, but nothing at all different then I had after previous surgeries and childbirth. I know there's a million theories, but I think it's due to the shock to the system and hormone disruption. I am lucky that I have a lot of hair to start off with, so it wasn't at all noticeable, except for the bottom of my shower. I take a multi-vitamin and Calcium. I also added B-12 because I stared feeling sluggish a couple months after the surgery. The only ones the doctor told me to take for sure were the multi-vits and calcium. I just had my year end blood work done, so I should know next week if I'm low on anything, but I don't feel like I am.

I hope the seminars were helpful by giving you a good overview of your options for weight loss surgery. It's perfectly natural to be nervous, and I think most of us were in the same boat. You worry that you won't be successful, that you'll be the one to have complications, that your life as you know it now will be drastically changed, etc. For me, reading these boards and getting the most up to date statistical info I could find helped alleviate my worries. I decided I was going to follow the band rules to the best of my ability and if I happened to be one of the unfortunate people who ended up with a complication, it wouldn't be because of something I did. I also chose a surgeon who had tons of experience with lap bands and had come highly recommended. I'm self-pay, and I feel like it was worth every penny. My quality of life has improved exponentially. I'm not one of the extraordinarily fast losers. I've lost 50+ lbs in a year and I'd like to lose 20 more, and then I'll go for the final 10 lbs (if I decide I need to at that point). On the other hand, I can eat almost 100% of the same foods I could pre-band, just much smaller quantities. One of the pluses of the band is that it can be adjusted to your lifestyle and goals, to a point. For me, it's the perfect tool to help me become healthy again.

Hi Dean, and welcome to LBT. You'll find forums dedicated to both complications and success stories on here. I can say, for me, it's been a life changer, and I absolutely love my band. Have you gone to a lap band seminar yet? I went to a couple in my area presented by different surgeons, and that was a big help. If you have any specific questions, be sure to ask.

I do think your trouble with eating out is stress related, especially since you're ordering foods that you know you can eat when you're home. Some people say drinking something warm helps to loosen their band. I wonder if you could try taking some warm tea with you to drink before you get to the restaurant. Maybe you could give something like one of my favorite soft foods, the Black Bean Soup at Panera Bread. Then once you feel relaxed with soft foods, work your way up the consistency latter to something like a soft broiled fish (if you eat fish). Take tiny steps, and hopefully you'll be able to enjoy a dinner out with your friends &/or family. (I just noticed you're from VA. I live in the Richmond area. )

Ditto (I know just copying someone else's reply is sorta cheating, but that's my exact reaction to a fill )

Oh, thanks, those plates are darling. I have a Crate and Barrel in my mall, so that will give me something new to shop for today. lol

Personally, I use a small plate in proportion to my meal size, but I've never used small utensils. I know some people swear by them, but I've never felt the need to use them. You've found a nice looking inexpensive set, so it sure won't hurt to have them on hand.

I can't feel the band except when the doctor has pulled the Fluid for a check. It's not exactly comfortable, but it's not painful at all. When he's refilling after emptying my band is the only time I can feel the saline going back in. I can definitely feel it tightening then. Occasionally, liquids make a squeaky sound when going through. Thankfully, it's not too loud and doesn't happen too often. If I push air into my stomach, I can feel my port if I press softly on the area.

Eating and not knowing why is probably what got a lot of us in trouble. Unlike the rule to stick to liquids after our band surgery so that we don't tear our stitches, I think the rule that many doctors follow about sticking to liquids after a fill is for fear that we might have swelling, and the doctors want to make sure we don't get stuck and cause additional swelling and then an emergency unfill. Since you didn't have any pain, I really think you didn't do any damage. That's just my unscientific opinion.

Congratulations on your successful surgery!

The doctor can check your pouch under fluoro xray, but chances are, you just need a fill.

Absolutely, you need an unfill...call your doctor ASAP.

Hey Paperplane, you've been through the wringer, but you're hanging in there. I know it has to be hard not to get your original surgery date, but you're going to be much healthier going into surgery by having it postponed for a few weeks. I wish you much luck in losing the weight. I'm very thankful for you that your husband is doing well now. (Go ahead and have a good cry. Sometimes it's the best stress reliever).

I'm so happy to hear your good news, Mickey. Good luck on Friday!!

That's my take on it as well. If you find you're eating slider foods because you're too tight for solid food, then your band is too tight. But, if you're nutritional needs are being met through out the day with your other meals, you're losing weight, and you're not hungry soon after lunch then it sounds like it's working for you. I eat the same thing for breakfast 99% of the time - 1/2 cup dry Khashi Go Lean cereal (high fiber/high protein). I try to vary my other meals, but sometimes I know I get into a rut.

I can eat bread, and I've never had a stuck episode with it. For instance, I can eat a small slice of Papa John's pizza regular crust. I self limit on white bread products because unless it's a special treat for myself (ex. small homemade dinner roll), I don't want the empty calories, but I don't have a problem with bread products because of the band. Thankfully, with the band, I'm satisfied with just a small bit, and the band does regulate me in that I can't scarf down a huge dinner roll mindlessly. The band will kick your butt if your overdo it.

I've had three surgeries, and for some reason, during my second surgery (not the lapband), they said I fought getting the tube, so they left it in until I was awake in case I had a problem and they had to react quickly (they didn't want to struggle getting the tube back in). I remember coming to and being aware there was something in my mouth (throat), but I wasn't fully aware of what it was. The nurse removed it very quickly (at least it seemed pretty fast), and the only bad part I remember is it stung while being pulled out. I wasn't gagging or anything of that sort, and while a little painful, it wasn't terrible. I guess it was sort of like the pain of coughing while having a sore throat. Given the option, I'd rather have it removed while I was still under, but I wouldn't fret about it if I knew they were going to wait until I was awake.

I'm so sorry you're going through this additional stress. I hope everything works out Wednesday for you so that you don't have to postpone your surgery. Best wishes.