RestlessMonkey

Not me! My ONLY regret is that I didn't have this as an option younger in life! I LOVE my band and never had a doubt once I got rolling on it. In all fairness though; I'd wanted one since 2002 and had lots of time to change my mind between then and Aug 2008.

kathyv My husband is a nurse (not a doc) who worked in a GI lab for years. He said to take dose #2 at 515 and dose #3 at 815. It is important to take it all, if your doc told you to. That should work, ok? If you are in doubt you can call your doc's emergency number, but finishing up at 815 should still give you time to clear out your system and be done with the drug by 715 tomorrow morning.

My doctor can tell by the resistance he feels withdrawing and inserting the saline and he's always been spot on with him telling me how I'll feel and what I can do. The water is just to make sure you can swallow your own saliva and stay hydrated, not to see if you can "woof down a sub".

Doesn't juice help then....like apple juice or orange juice, something with sugar in it? If it's just low blood sugar, that should help it! Any way, sorry it's so rough on you.

Are you diabetic? If so, isn't there something you can substitute (with doc's approval of course) like Glucerna? I'd tell my doc about side effects if I were you! How did you get through the post op diet?

You might want to post this in the "doctors and hospitals" section. Regardless of whether the hospitals are safe etc you know right now Mexico is having some bad violence along it's borders and in certain cities. (I'm a student in San Antonio TX; we were told NOT to go to Mexico for spring break, for example. There's a federal travel alert right now) As to the other; I'd never go over there but some do and have good experiences. Just realize that if you get a band anywhere away from where you are (next county, next state, next country, whatever) you will either have to go back there every time you want a fill, or try to find someone local to do it (and many surgeons will not take on a patient that another surgeon has operated on) Just like using a surgeon in the USA you'd need to do careful research. Just remember you can't see bacteria and virus with your naked eye...so just because something "looks" clean, doesn't mean it is.

"They" don't all do that. My doc, at first, told me liquids 1 day, then mushie, then soft, then regular. It depends on the surgeon, the patient, and the amount of fill. The reasoning is that often getting a fill can agitate your stomach; just drinking liquids gives it a chance to calm down. My doc now just tells me to use my judgment as I advance...but he knows I do NOT want to PB and will be pretty careful. It's just a good idea to proceed slowly and cautiously. Some advise a similar diet after you've PB'd...to give your stomach a chance to chill out, rather than further agitate it and make it swell up even tighter.

Something to read...good movies to watch. your prescription pain meds. Lots of Water if you don't drink tap water. Be sure to follow your doc's diet; unlike jujuvee I wasn't allowed anything but clear liquids for the first week. He didn't even want us having Protein shakes. By the time week 2 came that Protein shake ALMOST tasted good! Just make sure you have something to distract you. You won't feel like cleaning the closets but shouldn't just sleep either. Comfy clothes are good, too...enough clean comfy clothes so you don't have to do laundry!

At 6 weeks you should be healed and on solids, right? So I can see why you'd think you could eat a lean cuisine thingie. I could've at 6 weeks...I had absolutely no restriction and didn't for MONTHS. you may want to try it again in a couple months if it's something you really like to eat. Perhaps your surgeon restricted you right away (there are pros and cons to that)...I'd call Monday and find out. If you don't have restriction, your reaction seems just a tiny bit extreme. Good luck!

I have pretty good restriction (must chew things like beef and chicken really well, small bites, white bread alone is not do-able although I can eat like 1/2 sandwich, I can eat a flour tortilla) anyway I just took my 20 pills tonight. (it's a bunch but it's things like a 6-pack multi, 2 osteo biflex, etc etc...) not a one was crushed or smushed or dissolved. Some are large enough to have given me trouble preband (and I am not a person who has trouble swallowing) I was told that most people with the band have no trouble swallowing pills. My doc even told me I could take NSAIDS, because I take them right before a meal, so that they go through my pouch, but don't sit in my stomach without some food to cushion them. I am NOT saying to ignore your doc, but maybe reconfirm? That was one of the very first things I asked my surgeon at the seminar...

I agree....too tight. That's a classic example and one I've been warned about every time I go to the doc's office (posters on his wall, his LPN, his NP, him...all warn me) If you can't eat healthy food, but CAN eat unhealthy things like candy cookie milkshakes, you are TOO TIGHT. Get a slight unfill. Often, from what I've read (your doc will help you) just .1 or .2 of a cc will do the trick. It's not healthy to be unable to eat.

I live near the border. What is happening in border towns like Juarez (across from El Paso, where I grew up) honestly sounds more like scenes from "The Untouchables"...that old TV series. It's more like warfare. The Mexican Mafia isn't a joke, and things are very bad over there. The point is, in Chicago (or any other big US city...not picking on chicaqgo!) you go to the "tourist" spots and are relatively safe. You MAY get your pocket picked, but you won't likely be sprayed with machine gun fire. Your car MAY be broken in to while you are eating, but there's no bomb in it. There is crime in ANY major city (and smaller ones?) esp here in the USA...we are kind of used to it. AND there have always been those similar areas in cities south of the border that you avoided because they weren't safe, just like here in the USA.. in other words, neighborhoods you avoid. NOW in many Mexican cities, no where is safe, and many times tourists are targeted. That's the difference. It isn't the "common" violence we have unfortunately gotten used to...it's been kicked up several notches. It's not safe in the daytime; it's not safe in a group; it's not safe for the police; it's just not safe in many areas. Sad, but true. It'll pass but until it does, it's best to avoid the areas.

Are you asking if we're glad we GOT the band, or are glad we're GETTING the band? And who are you asking, if you don't mind saying?

Sorry that upset you. From what it sounds like, she was just trying to be nice (even if she wasn't good at it). Everyone has been and is great to me about the band, never an inappropriate comment!

Britt you've lost 66 pounds in what, 6 months? Girl you need to chill! Give your young little body a chance to catch up with you!! If you are eating healthy and exercising you'll lose. If you really want, try joining WW or doing something like "the daily plate" (it's on the Livestrong web site) where you count your calories and activities etc... there are lots of things you can do besides pills. Even change up your diet; if you've gotten in a rut (like lots of us do, picking the same foods because we like them or know they are band friendly) your body can get in a rut too. Eat more fruit, eat more veggies, get different Protein etc.. and make sure you are drinking enough Water (just because it's good for you and CAN help with hunger, supposedly. It doesn't me LOL but it does with some) You've done great.

that's too great to hear about carbonation because I do like, once a year, to drink a beer or two. And what about Champagne? I may want to Celebrate something sometime! :smile: Right now, carbonation hurts me. I've tried a swallow or two and it takes 5 minutes of burping for one mouthful...not worth it yet. BUT I'll keep trying occasionally over the next year or so.

Ultimately, do what your surgeon tells you...follow HIS advice (not nutritionist, but the surgeon) However here's a link to the official lap band web site describing the intent of "the green zone". Maybe that will help you figure it out: Lapband.com - LAP-BAND® System Adjustments - Weight Loss Management That's the "poster" all over my doc's office...the goal we all aim for.

I couldn't eat any Protein after my last fill until I realized I wasn't chewing it well, and my bites were too big. I've heard some use baby spoons...that's too cutesy for me but I do take a bite, then half it with my fork or spoon, and THEN put it in my chubby little mouth, and that helps a lot. If you really can't eat most protein regardless of methodology, though, I'd say ask your surgeon. For me, that's too tight. I went into this expecting to lose 1-2 pounds a week (knew it would take me a couple years to get where I was going) and expected to be able to eat anything. That was what I wanted, so that's what I am aiming for (and that's what I have right now) BUT we're all different; I personally couldn't live on only fish. For one thing, we're land locked and it isn't fresh LOL I guess if you want to restrict food groups, the band will work for that, but to me that's more punitive than helpful or healthy. (like the old diets where you ate only cabbage or drank liquid Protein etc)

Welcome! And some advice...go ahead and start exercising now...just walking for 30 min a day will do it. I am WAY older than you (54) shorter (5'5") fatter (weigh 369 ish) and I can walk ... so I know you can. I started out not being able to do much...back cramped, short winded, miserable...but it adds up. You can get into shape faster than you think. You don't have to be "athletic" yet...just move. You'll thank yourself! :smile: Good luck!

Oh man....I can so address this, because I was supposed to do the preop diet for three weeks and mine was almost exactly like yours, except I had shakes for breakfast and lunch, and the lean Protein for dinner (with up to 1 cup of low carb veggies...no peas, for example). I "cheated" (I'd done atkins before so I had more chicken, I ate beef, I used butter on my veggies, i had some cheese etc) and lost 15 pounds and did NOT get the band because my liver was too thick! So i did EXACTLY what my doc told me for 2 1/2 more weeks. I didn't expect to lose too much since I'd already lost 15...WRONG I lost 17 pounds in that 2 1/2 weeks and got my band that time. SO....do exactly what your doctor says. Yes it's long, but worth it. If you HAVE to eat something more, call and ask him what if anything you can have. My doc told me I could have 2-3 Protein Shakes a day so sometimes I used that 3rd one as a snack (during the time I did what he said to do). Trust me....coming to in recovery and being told by the nurse "you didn't get the band dear your liver was too big" is something no one should ever have to face. Do what your doc says. Time will pass and you'll be glad you did.

Your husband aside, I guess it just depends. In my surgeon's office is a chart about the "green zone" (what's called the sweet spot on this board) and it's what my surgeon has, from day ONE, told me to aim for...that is the ability to eat ANYTHING but in much smaller portions. You should be able to eat meat as long as you cut it in small bites and chew it well. IF you are doing that...small bites (dime sized or so) chewed to mush (for me that's about 40 chews..yes I've counted, had to do something while I was chewing!) and still can't eat any chicken or beef or pork, then yes you are too tight. The point of the band is portion control, not restricting food groups. Eating like you are, you're not likely to be getting adequate Protein in your diet, and life isn't lived on Protein Bars. If you are following the rules scrupulously and can only eat soft "slider" foods as you describe, I'd suggest you call your surgeon's office on Monday and discuss with him. While some people LIKE the tight restriction you have, it can be dangerous (GERD for example) and isn't really a healthy way to eat long term. Your surgeon can direct you better than I can, or your husband, or anyone here! :smile: And yes as you lose it should loosen a little,. but that can take a while. You don't want to let where you are now go on too long.

Well, to me it's all tied. Being this fat makes me unable to do a lot of things and to me, that's all part of "health". Getting short winded when I walk from the house to our mail box, for example (and no, it's not miles uphill both ways LOL). While I don't (thank God) have Diabetes, arthritis, etc etc YET...I could feel them breathing down my neck. I'm 54, don't want to wear a bikini and not really that interested in looking "hot". But I want to be able to wander around Walt Disney world all day, or fly without wondering if I'll buckle the belt, or be able to fit in a booth in a restaurant. All those things are 'health" to me because they are restricted by my obesity. So wanting to be "normal" is health related, to me. When I was younger, however, had this surgery been out, you bet I'd have done it in an INSTANT just be be more slim and adorable! I don't think we have to have "lofty" motivations to get this done and be successful.

Before good restriction....NO. After good restriction...YES If it is a food that is problematic. Took a while to knock that into my thick skull (it's my heritage! LOL) but I've found that, oddly, now that I FINALLY have restriction 7 months post op, it HURTS to eat some foods (like roast, or steak, or chicken) unless I take small bites and chew to mush. Instead of finding the small bite thing punitive and miserable, though, I don't mind it because it means I can EAT that good roast or sizzling steak that I want. Of course, I don't eat much of it, but I'm happy. I've found it doesn't take a side of beef to satisfy me any more. So don't sweat it. Until you have restriction it won't really matter and once you have restriction it will help, so it won't be so hard to do.

Dizziness can be a sign of many things...some benign, some not. Call your doctor, especially since you've been dizzy this long. Don't waste your time posting here...it's your health in question!

You can do it! Just stay at the doc's office a little longer...take a book to read, a bottle of water, hang out in the waiting room and see how you feel. That way if you are too tight you'll be right where you need to be, to get it taken care of. :smile: