RestlessMonkey

The ONLY thing at almost 13 months I've found that gives me trouble is soft chicken skin. (sounds gross huh?) I mean, for example, if the chicken is baked. Or if it is barbequed but the skin isn't super crisp. I can eat fresh fried chicken fine...and DRY chicken. Just not the skin from chicken unless it's cooked very crisp.

Since chicken skin is just mostly fat I figure it's no big loss and as I've said, if it's breaded or fried I'm good (go figure) Otherwise, white bread, rice, Pasta, pizza, dry chicken, red meat (as long as it's well done) all are fine. Fresh fruit...fine. My pills...fine. Just soft chicken skin.

I can live with that.

And a note: the band journey is a personal one. However for newbies reading this; the point is NOT to be so restricted that you can't eat anything but mush. The point is to eat less, eat healthy, and lose weight. How you interpret that is up to you (and your doc) but it doesn't generally mean living on Protein shakes from now on.

My intent wasn't to insult you. However you can't judge yourself by others. Maybe they felt great because they took their pain meds! or whatever. And if you don't want to take pain meds (which you didn't say in your first post when you said you were in pain "all the time"), then odds are there will be pain. That's all. It's your choice to take them or not, as I said. I don't care for morphine and didn't take it, personally, but that's neither here nor there. And you said you're taking "anti-acid" meds all the time so how would one know you don't like pain medication?

Pain medication "treats" pain. If you don't want to take any, don't. It's no big deal.

I started my senior year of nursing school just as I was banded. (got my BSN this May. YAY!) Anyway

I weighed 375 and was 53 and made it fine. The hard part is the clinicals; you'll need a little time to recover before you start them (and there is usually a lifting restriction) and of course no driving or clinicals while under the influence of prescription pain meds.

I know here in Texas we can only miss so much clinical time and then they MUST fail us even if we're superstars, so you need to weigh that.

Otherwise you'll probably be fine. I know I was.

Or ask the surgeons in your area if you have your medical records, will they treat you? Because your surgeon would/should provide them!

She'll just have to deal with it, won't she? What a maroon, as Bugs Bunny would say!

OH OH and you probably won't do this because I think you're probably too polite

but the next time she says "Is that ALL you're going to eat?" say "Oh, I had a small pony just an hour ago" LOL

That's pathetic. Just think, they may be thin, but they all need a life!

Well I did 3 days and was successful; for many of us we aren't even on solid foods until week 6 anyway (depending on your post op diet). I personally would never feel good taking 6 weeks off of work just to practice chewing small bites well, but that's just me!

And yes, how quickly one recovers depends, as I said, on many factors, including the doctor's competency.

UH OH! Watch out people!

And Bethy, don't drown him in 'em, ok?

At least, not until we can get there to help you with the body.

Pain medication is a personal choice but in all honesty to go through major abdominal surgery one would expect there to be either pain, or medication. liquid tylenol worked for me because I don't like opiate pain relievers.

Well, Beth when she's drinking mojitos? LOL

No, I agree. Plain=slut. I looked it up in my Funk and Wagnall's.

I was freaking out about the weight loss b/c I had heard stories of women losing 10-15lbs! Utlimately, I was scared he would think I didn't follow the diet adn not operate! Thanks again!

Kathryn

I lost 32 on my 5 week preop diet so I would've scared extra pounds off you! LOL

We're all different. We each just have to do our own personal best!

(it's ok anyway, I gained back part of that until I finally hit my sweet spot 5/7 this year!)

By the way Plain I'm attacking the idea, not you. LOL

Yeah, why use one word when a paragraph will do. LOL

Sometimes I *heart* glouc.

Slut.

Slut.

(had to post it twice because of post length. Pffft)

Even with a fill, once you're healed, you may be able to eat burgers and pizza. I know I can, or at least say 1/3 of a burger, a slice of pizza (thin crust is easier but I can eat pan, too). I don't do it often BUT it's nice to know I can and in fact, knowing I can makes it not all that important.

Not everyone has problem foods, and even if one does have problem foods, it doesn't mean ALL of them will be a problem! As my granny would've said, "Don't borrow trouble". I went into this assuming I would be able to still eat anything and that's what happened; being nervous about it can cause it (tense people have tight bands) NOT saying it's all in a person's head understand; just wait and see where you land. food will not be off limits to you. And some you used to love just won't be worth the trouble, but you'll be the one moving on, it won't bother you any. :biggrin:

It's my understanding that it is all very individual. Many people never experience Bandster hell at all, although it is probably a good idea to be prepared for it emotionally.

Hell can be a state of mind. There are a few who aren't hungry between getting banded and "the sweet spot", but not too many. But a good attitude and looking toward the future is helpful.

Most, though, have a period where they either must diet and struggle with hunger or regain weight. It's just the nature of the beast. You're right that it is good to prepare for it, then if you aren't one of the "many", lucky lucky you! :biggrin:

Is Bandster Hell any worse than Pre-op diet. I have been essentially on liquids for 10 days. The first 3 days were awful but after that it was ok. I can't see how it could be worse than that.

For me it was. Getting the band was very motivating, especially after I messed up and didn't get it on my first try.

Once I had the band, although I KNEW I needed to follow my post op diet to heal, it was hard because I was hungry and had been dieting for weeks. (and I mean an austere diet, not just eating low fat cheese or something LOL)

Once healed it was AWFUL because I could eat normally! I did eat less, but I didn't lose. And I never "felt" the band. Had I not KNOWN it was there from seeing it on xray, I'd never have believed I had it. That was WAY worse and longer than the little old preop diet. For me, anyway.

You're doing great, RM!

YOU too, NM! :biggrin:

Don't ask the nurse, ask the surgeon! LOL

I was a nursing student when I had my surgery. My surgeon told me that "most" of the nurses he operates on take a week off. Nursing can be pretty physical. I adjusted that for my state of physical fitness (or lack there of) and figured that since my "clinical" experiences were just 1 day a week, I'd be good to go in about 10 days. So I had my surgery on Friday, was IN CLASS (lecture) on the next Tuesday, and by the NEXT Tuesday was handling my clinical experience (including still being on liquids) just fine.

It depends on you, your state of health, how you perceive and tolerate pain, what type of job you do, etc. 6 weeks is too long though. This is laparoscopic and even people who have a tough time post op usually feel better by 3 weeks.

It also depends on your surgeon. For example, if they remove the gas they pump into you to spread your organs out, you feel less pain and therefore recovery more quickly. However...not all remove or even TRY to remove it. How skilled your surgeon is, how long it takes him/her to place the band (how long he is in there moving things around, messing with your innards) makes a difference!

That's why I say ask him. If it REALLY takes his patients 6 weeks to recover I truly would find another surgeon!

But generally 2 weeks is good, unless you have some issues. And that 2nd week you may be "vacationing" more than recovering! :biggrin:

Lazyloops, give it a little more time. Some people take 2-3 weeks to "feel" a fill. You can get onto a fill see saw! Give it at least 3 weeks from your unfill and see how it's going. How much can you eat? Are you losing?

What made you think the 4th fill was too tight. Could you handle liquids? Mushies?

I stand (well, I'm sitting) corrected...I didn't know ins. companies count high cholesterol as a comorbidity! That's great!

Then, you're golden!

Heynursemelly...I wasn't addressing you! (and I didn't mean that in a snarky "I'm not talking to you" way, but a nice conciliatory "I didn't mean you" way LOL)

and I agree 100% that you can't count on the first fill. I was banded 8/29/2008 and FINALLY found "love" on 5/7/2009. That was 7 fills and 1 unfill. It was worth it but it sure took a LONG time! :biggrin:

And I'm one who didn't diet because diets make me crazy (well, crazier) I constantly obsess about what I can eat, when, how much, what if I get hungry, etc. One can only sustain that energy for a limited time then it begins to wear thin. It's a personal choice.

The point of the band is the Portion Control. What we do until then, what we do with it, it's up to us. But some of us really are hungry post op. Some of us really are hungry until the band kicks in and does it's thing. All of my fat wasn't caused by head hunger. Some of it, yes. All of it, no.

Trust me. If you aren't swollen post op, and get a band that fits loosely, and don't have a (mean, IMHO LOL) surgeon who fills you during surgery, then the hunger is NOT head hunger, any more than starving people just need to "get over it".

Having said that, good for the people who are swollen, who can't eat, for whom just having the band placed does a lot. But don't presume we're all like you. We aren't. And don't think we can't ever tell the the difference between head hunger and true physiologic hunger. We mammals are geared to eat when our bodies tell us to and it is DAMN hard to ignore that survival directive.

The good thing about Bandster hell is that eventually it is ends.

Advice about the insurance, or WLS? There are forums on here (scroll down through the forum titles) that cover insurance and you can read/post there for ins info.

As to WLS...that is a HUGE umbrella! Do you have specific questions or concerns we can help with? Do you want to know why we chose this route (assuming we did LOL) Do you want to know what life is like with the band, what the surgery is like, what the pre and post op diets generally cover?

Read through here and if you can narrow it down a little we'll help you as best we can! Also attending a surgical seminar (or two) is REALLY helpful; many cover the basics including different types of surgeries, their target population, and general statistical outcomes.

:biggrin:

I'm not familiar with Kaiser so I can't address them. But with a BMI of 38 and the comorbidity of sleep apnea, you may qualify (I don't think they count BP if it is controlled with medication, and high cholesterol is considered a risk factor, not a medical disease)

The best you can do is talk to your PCP and see what she says. Info can be spun, too, remember...so if you and she feel like it is medically indicated for you, you have a good chance.

I am not a doc and at my high weight I didn't need to sell anything. You may want to be ready with what diet exercise programs you've tried, and why they (or you) failed to be a long term solution.

That's the big thing; why would you need surgery instead of just doing it "on your own". If you are a volume eater then the lap band was made for you, just FYI. Grazers, snackers, emotional eaters either don't do as well or have to really put out the effort (they can be very successful, but that emotional or head hunger must be dealt with and the band doesn't address it). So pondering all that, if you feel the band is your ticket, then be prepared to tell your PCP why you think so.

Good luck!