RestlessMonkey

Yep happened to me. I had a BMI of over 67 before I started the preop diet. He had me diet for 3 weeks and I lost 15 pounds but cheated. My lesson is to do what your doctor says....if he doesn't think you need the preop diet, you don't. If he tells you to drink spring water for a week, do that. LOL Follow YOUR doc's instructions (not the anecdotal info you get here) and you'll be fine!

That's recent posts, though, not recent threads. They aren't the same. WAH!

I cheated on my preop diet. I still lost 15 pounds but didn't do what the doc told me. I read here that "lots" of people cheat and many don't have to do a diet so I wasn't worried. Well, I came to in recovery on 8/11 without the band because my liver was too thick and large for my doc to place the band. He said it was very rare. I followed his diet to the LETTER for 2 1/2 more weeks, lost 17 more pounds, and got my band 8/29. SO I understand liking to eat. You don't get to be 405 w/out liking food. But, do what your doc says. Odds are you'll be ok even cheating, but what if you aren't? I wasn't. It is horrible to come to and be told "your liver was too fat, honey". Trust me. No "last supper" is worth that.

Just make sure you breathe deeply every hour that you are awake, so that you keep your lungs clear.

Ok you were scaring me! Then you hurt when you breathe but you CAN breathe and it does the trick. Sorry you are in pain! but it is important to breathe deeply to keep your lungs clear, as I posted....so make sure you take deep breaths every hour while you're up. Did you get your incentive spirometer from the hospital? IF so, use it. If not, take a DEEP breath, hold for a count of 4, then exhale deeply, hold for 4, do it again. Do that 10 times an hour for a few days. It will honestly help you feel better. It will help the pain, it will clear your lungs, and it will make you feel better all around. It is normal to be sore after surgery. That deep breathing will help you feel better faster.

If you are short of breath and truly feel you aren't getting enough oxygen, go to the ER. Seriously. It "hurt" me to breathe deeply in that things were sore and tight, but I COULD breathe deeply and when I did, the oxygen worked like it was supposed to. To breathe shallowly isn't the same as being "short of breath"....can you just not catch your breath? Or does it hurt when you breathe deep? It is very important that you breathe deeply to clear the anesthesia, and to prevent atelectasis and perhaps subsequent pneumonia. If you were having trouble breathing they shouldn't have let you go. If you are taking prescription painkillers you may be having a reaction. Please at the least call your doctor's emergency line. It is NOT normal to faint and feel short winded one day after surgery.

Yes they leave the IV in. You're staying for monitoring, in case you need more care. It would be imprudent for them to remove it and then you need another stick for a new IV etc. So it will stay until you go home.

If you've been depressed since April you need to discuss it with your primary care provider. Seriously. Some have transient depression but 7+ months isn't transient. Good luck. You need to take steps to take care of yourself.

I cheated. I lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks anyway but my liver didn't shrink and I came to in recovery without the band. That is one vile feeling. SO 2 1/2 MORE weeks; I did exactly as I was told the 2nd time, lost 17 MORE pounds, and now have the band. Horrible warning! and moral...do what YOUR doc tells you.

Make sure you clear the heating pad w/your doc. Believe it or not some use internal stitches that dissolve over time w/your body's heat. If your surgeon uses those and you use a heating pad and it's near your stitches it can actually dissolve them prematurely...speed it along!

You can hurt your skin if you keep it on...frost bite etc (believe it or not!) so just stick to 20 min an hour and it should do the trick!

Many of the posts on that thread were very supportive. This is a public forum so not everyone will respond exactly as we wish! You have to just sift through and take away what you need, ignore the rest.

Find another lap band surgeon and go get it checked!

Best to call your surgeon. If you still have your gallbladder, it could be that.

Just use it for one day and you only want to ice an area about 20 minutes an hour...don't leave it on while you're sleeping!

Teri LOL I know 2 oz are only 1/4 cup! Sorry I wasn't clear My doc often says to just eat 1/2 cup of "food" OR 2 oz of Protein. He doesn't mean 2 oz or 1/2 cup of the same thing...I think he means it more like "1 cup or 1/2 cup" (2 different options) or 1/2 cup or 2 oz (2 different options) or Water or skim milk (2 different options) BUT I wasn't clear! So yes, 2 oz by weight of some things may be a 1/2 cup volume but that's not what I meant. Just start with a very small portion! :biggrin: RestlessMonkey---math whiz :biggrin:

That's great! However, mine isn't w/True Results either, he's www.texasbariatric.com. I initially picked him because he was one MY insurance covered, but both my VERY skeptical RN of 25 years husband and I were really impressed with Dr. Cavazos. However, it is most important to pick a surgeon you feel comfortable with. Good luck! :biggrin:

No sorry I wasn't very clear...my point is that the company True Results should be able to help you. I am in SA too; Valero is big...True Results should know what your coverage entails. If not...well, Dr. Sonny Cavazos at Northeast Baptist is a great surgeon/facility! All "promo" aside, they should be able to tell you if they accept Valero coverage.

Beats me! My doctor practices out of Northeast Baptist (Dr Sonny Cavazos, Texas Bariatric) and they have an insurance coordinator who handled literally everything for me. I gave her my insurance stuff, they told me they accepted it, and that was it. It was WONDERFUL.

Lucky for me I didn't personally experience any problems but I've read a LOT on here about people having to really fight for the coverage they have! So until someone w/that experience posts, I can say you need to find out WHY they denied you and then start countering that. Some companies are notorious for being knee-jerk about denying, hoping that the patient will just give up. Sad but true!

Thanks for posting and glad you feel better. I read EVERY WORD the CDC had about flu shots and except for people with an egg allergy maybe getting a rash I couldn't find anything at ALL about nausea/vomiting with the flu shot. Because the antiviral is FOR the flu, (upper respiratory, not stomach...there is no "stomach flu" although people say that!) it shouldn't give you tummy trouble unless you have an idiosyncratic reaction. I was about to do more research! Whew! Glad you're doing better, anyway!

A timer is a good idea! I'm lucky; I never needed to sip my liquids...from the hospital I could drink normally (they say that's more common now with the different sized AP bands)...who knows? but if you do have to sip a timer is brilliant! Glad you're doing so well!

My surgeon corrects us if we say "full"...he stresses to eat only until we're satisfied/no longer hungry. He said eating until full can stretch the pouch (once you have one, which happens w/restriction) I think it's hard to retrain to hit that point. It takes our bodies 20 minutes (minimum) to know we're not hungry any more, so I guess the safest route is to eat that 1/2 cup (or 2 oz) portion, chew it to death, and then sit and "listen" to your body and see if you are still hungry. It's a skill I think, and I'll just have to work on it!

I'm sure it's possible but honestly, not likely unless you've REALLY chowed down (like thanksgiving to the 10th degree) Until restriction, for many of us the band is just "there"...not really doing much of anything. The pouch isn't formed until the band is tightened.

I was told not to eat until FULL but rather eat until "satisfied"...that "full" feeling means your about to PB, if I understand correctly.