RestlessMonkey

I have a surgeon who is very conservative. I got exasperated but I trusted him and waited it out, and now I am VERY glad. There is some evidence that aggressive fills can contribute to a lot of "problems" that bandsters have, including esophageal spasms, GERD, slips, etc. I can say that I can eat any food I've run across without any problems and yet I am at my sweet spot. I don't know if it's just the slow fills, or what it is, but I'm really very grateful. It is a process, and it's for life, or at least I plan for it to be for life. My doc explained his reasoning to me and then told me he'd go faster if I wanted, but I had to defer to his judgment. He's the pro in this relationship, not me. So conservative fills...who knows for sure? I just know it worked for me and in retrospect I'm really glad. I have had very few of the issues that some poor unfortunates do (eating only slider food, can't swallow their own saliva, etc) Remember the fill doesn't just impact you and how much you can eat. You are tightening something around your STOMACH...a living functioning organ. Cinching it up to quickly can cause it to rebel, but a slower process allows our "innards" time to adapt a little. Just a thought

Four weeks post op and I was still limited in what I was allowed (which had nothing to do with what I felt like I COULD eat) If you don't have any more post op limitations (like are you still on mushies? soft?) then you can probably eat anything. I'd maybe pass on fajitas but a chile relleno, Beans are both fine. The rice is probably ok too but don't overdo (remember unless it's really WELL done it can continue to absorb liquid so you can imagine how that could be problematic) Tostado chips should go down fine, as would beef crispy tacos etc... in fact a LOT of Mexican food is slider-type food. chicken enchiladas may give you a problem if they are kind of dry... All in all as someone else said, take it slow and you should be fine. BUT make sure you're approved to eat the foods you choose. Don't cheat on your post op diet.

I wanted to add....GOOD FOR YOU changing. I am sure it's a pain in the neck but you'd never be happy, have trouble with aftercare, etc. WTG!

I have a friend who has this (or something similar) and she HATES it but says she has found the best way for her is to just try to ignore it and get on with life....it usually lasts a few days to a week and then she's ok for a while until the next "spell" or bout of it. It maybe hits her once a year or less.

It's a process. It can take a while. Just be patient! (easier said than done I know but many of us have been there and that's all you can do!)

About 10 years (and another 50 pounds less) ago, my husband and I decided to avail ourselves of some "continuing adult education" classes. We took swing dancing (most improved and please don't come back) (we were enthusiastic if unskilled) and Yoga. During our first yoga class, whilst lying on towels brought from home in a dirty "music room" at a local school, in the dark, in the heat (A/C was turned off and just as an FYI it's still 92 here at 1040PM so it was HOT) during "quiet time" (like nap time for preschool I think) I heard a guy doing some fancy "In one nostril out another" yoga breathing. I'm sure to a yogi this is very important. I'm sure it's a skill that takes mastery. But to me, in the heat in the dark on a towel on a dirty floor I thought to myself "Oh my good grief. I am lying here on a towel etc listening to a man SNORKEL his SNOT. And I PAID for the privilege! I started to giggle. I've been told I have an infectious giggle. I don't know if that's true. BUT out of the dark sotto voce I heard my husband grind out "SHUT UP" That made me start to laugh outright (you know you've all been there...it is totally inappropriate to laugh so you really have to just DO IT!) and HE started laughing. And then someone else. And then another. SOON I think about everyone EXCEPT my teacher (she with the lovely Indian accent...so pretty and exotic) and Mr. SS (Snot snorkel) were rolling around on their towels on the dirty floor in the heat, LAUGHING. The lights BLARED on. She GLARED at me. She said (imagine the accent please...it took the sting out) Your mind is like a RESTLESS MONKEY....Leaping from limb to limb. You need to be still!!! Oh no way. I laughed until I almost wet myself. That's how I got my screen name, and it's also how my husband and I got ejected from Yoga class. And asked not to come back. So we took tai chi.

O M G I can't believe you were in a rock and roll band. (ha gotcha i bet) What did you play? Besides the field, that is

It can be uncomfortable for about 24 hours after removal (you don't say when it was removed) but to be on the safe side, call your surgeon's office on Monday and ask. Most usually things are "back to normal" pretty quickly.

My answer would've been: "I don't see why you wouldn't" but I am a cheeky monkey which may be a big reason people don't usually say stuff like that do me. As in never yet, but I'm ready! LOL

The question is really hard to answer. I agree with Kimaly...do you mean when do you hit restriction? When do people ON AVERAGE start to lose? Weight loss isn't just tied to fills. It took me 7 fills or so to get restriction. I found my "sweet spot" at fill 8, and that's when i really started losing. I started eating less with the first fill. I was told by the NP at MY surgeon's office (based on his patient base and how conservative/aggressive he is with fills) it takes many of his patients 6 months or more to start losing. That's just for me though; it really doesn't apply to you. You may have an aggressive doc, you may lose without any fill, you may take longer.

Your surgeon shouldn't give you a prescription for something you can't get down. (not that they won't, but a good one shouldn't) I think liquid lortab is the big favorite. Hydrocodone makes me vomit so I got Darvocet 100 pills and got them down just fine the 2 times I needed them. Otherwise I took tylenol capsules. (there's liquid tylenol if you need it)

I don't know that it will; it's just that we aren't supposed to chew anything and it could trigger that old digestive action in the stomach (you don't feel it but the stomach churns) Probably your doc will laugh and say you're fine (I really hope that is exactly what happens! I love being wrong about this kind of thing!) but just in case, don't have any more ok? Don't take or ingest ANYTHING that your surgeon doesn't approve during this phase; you're healing and it's important that it go according to his plan.

The average is 1-2 pounds a week. Keep in mind: That's an AVERAGE (which means some lose faster, some more slowly) AND...it's not steady. You won't get the band and start dropping 1-2 pounds a week. It happens when it happens and depends on you, your fill level, your surgeon, what diet you choose (as in healthy or not so) etc etc. So that's just a rule of thumb.

LOVELYASKANBE: DONT eat the ginger till your doc approves it. It may trigger digestive actions in your stomach which could cause your band to slip. Don't mean to panic you but don't eat or take anything your doc doesn't approve during this time! AND 8cc in 14 cc band is almost ...well... I have 7 cc in my 14 cc band and am at my sweet spot. I think you are overfilled, especially for your stage. Call your doc tomorrow; you probably need a small unfill. And ask then about the ginger ok?

Please realize SURGEONS control the fill level in the band...in that, if there's some in there immediately post op either the surgeon put it there or left it there. Some surgeons do FILLS during surgery which I'm starting to think in my non-professional opinion is almost cruel. I have an AP-L band and did not have any fill in it whatsover (except a little primer that didn't impact the tightness) until MY DOC put some in there with MY APPROVAL!! Ok. sigh. If you are filled even a little you need it removed. Otherwise your doc should be able to help you; many people swell post op (another reason fills during surgery are almost overkill). Hang in there; it gets better. Be on the phone to your surgeon 1st thing monday; see if you have a fill, decide how you feel and if it needs to be removed. Good luck. You aren't alone; you'll make it! Let us know how you feel tomorrow, ok?

And this one from WLS Help: (which as far as i know is affiliated with neither...but I will admit I didn't research that part of it) Compare Adjustable Gastric Bands - LAP-BAND vs. REALIZE Band

Onederland....that's like nirvana to me! I think that is just fantastic! Congrats!

It's typical and it will pass! Make SURE you get your fluids in, though. That's very very important.

I agree, check with your doc as to what supplements s/he wants you to take. Although the "no calcium" rule is one I've never heard of... Each doc seems to vary.

If I were you and REALLY worried about it I'd make a trip to the "band mill" to pick up my records. Call, get the office administrator, tell him/her you need them, have that person set a time to pick them up. (if the time isn't acceptable to you, negotiate) The day before, call to confirm they have them ready, then go get them. If they balk remind them they are legally yours and you don't want to complain to your insurance company, the BBB, etc. They'll release them HOWEVER...before I did all the above rigamarole I'd ask the NEW place if they ever had to obtain records from "BANDMILL" and if so, was it problematic? Without being gossipy, complaining, etc...just straightforward. If they say "well, it can take up to a few months" or whatever that is polite-speak for yes it can be a problem and you know to resort to Plan B (getting them yourself) You may be assuming a problem that isn't there, you know, because you've felt shuffled. They may release records quickly; find out before you get riled up! Good luck.

Not if the procedure is done laproscopically. It sounds to me like her surgery was the old style where they "open you up" They don't usually do bypass that way any more, nor "lap band" (the name comes from that ... the lap refers to the surgery type, laproscopic) They make a few (1-6)incisions, insert instruments/camera through those incisions, do the surgery, remove camera and instruments, and close up the incisions. Recovery is much faster; many lap band patients go home the same day or day after.

Good luck!

Do you have a band date yet, or are you still in the info-gathering stage?

One of the big things I have learned about the band is this: unless you are so filled that you can barely get food down (and some actually choose that...it's beyond me but it's a personal choice) you will have a HUGE degree of control over this. What you eat, how tight your band is; it's all up to you. There's no "diet" you'll be cheating on. YOU are the driver. If you want to pull over for fast food, you do it! (figuratively and literally) If you want healthy, you do it. No one is going to successfully control this but you. So you work it like it works for your lifestyle and family. I think it is just short of miraculous, myself. It's done exactly what I thought it would. I take care of the "head" or emotional garbage, the band handles the physical or "true hunger" part. A wonderful partnership. And we each get to define it to best suit us!

You'll do great! Just think ahead to a year from now; how different things will be:)