kiz

Mickey, I attended a seminar presented by a Realize Band rep, and he said that there was room for more than 9cc's of Fluid. I'm not sure if he said the amount, but he said it's not going to burst with a little more put in. I have a friend with the Vanguard Lap Band, and she has more than the top amount. She still has very little restriction and has not lost any weight after her initial loss since being banded. She had her surgery about a year ago.

What a pain! I'm with the same group, and so far, my only problem was a bill for the chest x-ray (wonder how that happened to both of us?). What really irritated me was that they billed my insurance. I called the surgeon's office and left a message, and they returned my call the next day and told me to mail them the bill. I then called the office that billed me for the x-ray, and they said they would send the bill to the surgeon's office, and also take care of getting my insurance refunded for the part they paid. So far, I haven't received any more bills. I hope they get everything straightened out for you soon.

VA- Self Pay, $13,500, includes fills 1st year. $200 (I think) after 1st year.

Becky, I was just banded 9/4, and I had no problem drinking after surgery. I also still have good restriction, although, I feel a little hunger and occasional cravings. I'm definitely not going through banster's hell yet. I was a little concerned that I would be since I was able to drink liquids so easily early on, but so far so good.

debbie, I'll be sending a prayer for you today. I can't wait to hear back from you when you feel up to it. You have such a positive attitude, and I know you'll do great!

My first mushy meal was egg salad (egg, NF salad dressing, mustard and pepper). It was, by far, the best egg salad I'd ever had! I savored every bite. :rolleyes2:

My doctor has eggs on the mushy diet. It doesn't say that only certain types of cooked eggs are allowed. I've been eating omelets and egg salad. I would eat scrambled too, I just haven't fixed them that way.

I was told to measure, not weigh. I'm mostly measuring now, but if I have something like an egg, I just have one, so in some instances I'm not measuring. I think after a period of time, I'll not have to unless my weight loss stalls or something.

Jordan, mine was a modified liquid diet. Two shakes/day (three if I wanted to skip my evening sandwich, needless to say, I never did :girl_hug:). I agree with slim, I think you would know if were supposed to be on a special diet. Did you have a required nutritional class? Ours was led by a nurse, and our diet plans were well laid out, and we were given a booklet with additional information regarding the pre-op and post-op diets. I've seen plenty of people on LBT who haven't been required to follow a pre-op diet, so I wouldn't be too concerned, but I do think slim is right, and it would be a good idea to call the office tomorrow for confirmation.

Hi Rosewood. I'm so glad you decided to post your experience. Just like Terry said, it's the collective stories on LBT that tell the story. All your soup suggestions sound yummy. I'm sorry you ended up with gas pains, but I'm glad to know that they didn't take you by surprise. I'm laughing at your husband's ruined b/d plans for Ruth's Chris, because the same thing happened to us. Our favorite steak place is similar to RC's in price, and they sent us a 1/2 price coupon for 2 dinners for my dh's b/d. My fil's b/d is coming up too, so I told them to go (sniff). My mil and I caught a chick flick, so at least I wasn't setting home alone, crying over my soup. lol (she wasn't invited to the steak place because she orders her steaks very well done, so we only take her to the cheap joints, since quality of steak doesn't matter once their cooked to the texture of a leather shoe sole)

haha..thanks...and I'm sure your patients very lucky to have you as their nurse. :thumbup: Yep, incentive spirometer, and I would have never come up with that name, but I remember that's what the nurse called it, now that you've told me. It was easy for me to remember to use it, because my lungs felt healthier after every session. I didn't know it helped clear anesthesia too. That was an added bonus.

I was self pay too, and not one of the self paid patients spent the night in my group. For me, I would have been absolutely miserable had I spent the night in the hospital, because I felt great, considering I just had surgery. I came home, relaxed in the recliner, watched TV, and surfed the Internet. I was able to drink my water very easily, so I had not trouble keeping hydrated. I also was vigilent about sucking on my (I can't remember the name of it) device to keep my lungs clear, and walking. I've had surgery before, and I knew I the anesthesia made me sick, so in addition to the normal anti-nausea medication they give patients, they gave me a motion sickness patch behind my ear, and an extra shot after my surgery. Be sure and let the doctor know you need additional medication.

Maybe this is why I need a band. I liked them all, at least the ones my doctor recommended. For the week after surgery, though, he really wanted us to stick with Carnation instant breakfast No Sugar in the blue box, mixed with one cup of skim milk plus 1/3 cup Non Fat Dry Milk mix for extra protein. I mixed mine in my Magic Bullet with a little crushed ice. I also drank Boost for diabetics and Unjury before banding.

I'm not supposed to eat more than 1/2 cup per meal, three meals per day. Lots of tuna (haha). Egg salad; egg omelets w/ FF cheese, onion, chili powder topped w/ salsa; baked chicken diced, salmon, bean soup, refried beans, weight control oatmeal (all of these no more than four oz). I have less than four ounces of the protein when I add a fruit or veg. (fruits: no skin - apple, peach, etc). (veg: 2 tbls baked and sweet potato, green beans, zucchini). Plus a snack: SF Jello or popsicle. When I'm too busy, I've had a protein shake as a meal replacement.

Hi Amanda, and welcome to LBT! I had surgery just a couple of weeks ago too. I'm glad you're doing so well at four days out. What are you able to drink? I had no problems with my protein shakes, in fact, I liked mine. lol You'll find a lot of helpful information on this board. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Someone will have the answer.

My post-op diet was a week of full liguids (3 protein shakes/day) plus broth, pureed soups, jello, etc and 48 to 64 oz of water. Now, I'm on mushies for two weeks, and I start real foods on week four.

I had my two week check up this week, and my doctor recommended vitamin E or aloe vera to help with any itchiness (not having any), and to help with healing. My incisions were glued, and he said it would also help remove any residual glue. I have a great skin lotion that has both ingredients, so I've been using it twice a day for three days, and the sites do feel better. I had another laparoscoptic surgery, and the scars with staples and stitches, and the scars left are just tiny white lines. I hope these heal as nicely.

Our instructions were to wait, but it was for one hour.

I wonder what the cost actually is. At the self-pay semimar I attended, they said the band costs the hospital $3,000. hmmmm

Our instructions specifically said acrylics and nail poish were fine, as long as you didn't have on dark nail polish. I'm sure different hosipitals have their on individual procedures. They must get this question asked a lot, because it was on two different forms. I even played it safe, and had light nail polish put on my toe nails at my last pedicure. :biggrin: It's pretty clear, already, that different hospitals have different requirements, so you should check with yours to be sure. I was told that if they polish was too dark, they have remover, and take it off of one nail.

We were told to absolutely take out body piercings. In the event of an emergency, and they have to use the paddles to restart your heart (I think this the case, if not it was something they might have to use in an emergency), those metal piercings would cause very bad burns. :biggrin: We were allowed acrylic nails as long as the polish was translucent. I have pink and whites, and they were fine.

I was really worried about that too. We were told to wait 45 mins to an hour. One of the surgeons in the practice usually comes to our support group meetings to answer questions. Drinking during meals was brought up, and in his train of thought, he went from one hour, to 45 mins, to 30 mins. :biggrin: I'm sticking with an hour for now. I'm drinking so much more water than I ever did before, I'm just not that thirsty during meals. The benefit, is feeling full for longer period of time, although, now I've read that as you get tighter with fills, drinking with meals may be painful for some. The benefits, for me, far outweigh the inconvenience. The doctors have all said that occasional sips are fine, but not to overdo it.

I attended two seminars (same hospital, different surgical practices). Basically, they just gave an overview of the different WL surgeries they preform and what to expect as far as weight loss and problems that might occur. We also received handouts with information about what to expect if you're using insurance or if you're self pay. They answered questions too. Some people came by themselves, and others brought someone with them. I think it lasted about an hour.

krista, as far as the hunger thing goes, from what I can tell, it depends on the individual. I've read about plenty of Realize Band users who are hungry too. I don't know if it's the degree of swelling, the person's anatomy, or what that makes so much difference. Raven, by 11:30, I also have usually drunk 32oz of Water. I drink 16oz 1/2 hour before Breakfast. I wait any hour, and drink another 16oz before lunch. I do the same by dinner, and will drink at least another 16oz before I go to bed. I never drank this much water before, and I do think it's helping me feel sated.

Hi Raven, I got my Realize Band one week ahead of you, and I felt great, considering, at a week out. One of the major reasons I felt so good was that I didn't suffer from gas pains. (You're correct, there's no fill yet). I don't chug my drinks (never did), but I haven't had any problems drinking as much water as I want. I also didn't have any issues drinking my protein shakes. On the other hand, I'm still feeling plenty of restriction from the band, even with no fill. I'm on mushies, and a 1/2 cup meal holds me over until it's time to eat again. I haven't had a fill yet, but I've been told that there was nothing to it, even for the first one.