Elisabethsew

Go for the surgery, schedule a fill for when you come back, and have a wonderful time on vacation. At 6 weeks post-op, you're healed and should not have any restrictions. Welcome!

I will keep Ryan and his family in my prayers.

You're doing wonderfully, Liz. Congratulations! It took me until fill #3 to get restriction so I now KNOW I have a band and have been doing well. It looks like the March group is really on a losing trend. You'll be a goal in no time at all.

There is a thread called "Erosion, Our Own Statistics" where you will see that very few people have serious band complications. Some people are underfilled and some are overfilled. Both result in problems but few are serious and can be easily remedied with a band adjustment.

Can you plan meals ahead for a few days so that these high fat/high calorie dinners become a thing of the past? Stock the house up with healthy foods that you both enjoy. Join a gym together or establish an exercise program. If you take the focus OFF your husband's weight and make it seem like YOU need HIS help to be successful, chances are he'll be up to the challenge.

How much can they blow the balloon up before it pops? Is it easier to stay afloat when swimming with the balloon blown up? Does your stomach bloat out when they blow the balloon up?

I definitely needed the laugh I got from reading this thread. Thank you all!

It's amazing how some people can have a PB long after they have eaten. Mine always happens the same way, I am eating and either don't chew enough or develop a spasm and the awful pain in my chest begins. It never gets better and seems to grow from a golf ball to a tennis ball. I walk to the bathroom and up comes the food. While not the same as vomiting from the flu, what I bring up is definitely not foam or slime but the food I was eating. Since having the last fill and finally feeling restriction, I now know why it's so important to chew thoroughly and eat to the point of satisfaction... NOT fullness.

ahhhhhhhhh... I think that's the difference. Carbohydrates begin digestion in the mouth. Twenty to forty minutes later, significant digestion is occuring so that's likely where the foam is coming from. For me, the PB comes MINUTES after the pain and that pain happens while I am eating.

1. What does your BMI have to be to be a candidate. Check with your insurance carrier. Most require a BMI of 40 or a BMI of >35 with 2 co-morbidities (sleep apnea, diabetes, heart disease, etc). 2. What is a "fill" I am assuming that they blow up the band or something like that The band is surgically put in and left unfilled for most patients to allow for optimal healing. Four to eight weeks post-op, you go for a first fill if you don't feel any restriction. The area is numbed and saline is injected into the port which inflates the band to decrease the opening into your stomach. 3 Are the vast majority of you happy you did it and would you do it all over again if you had a choice?? I can only speak for myself and yes, I am happy I did it and would do it again. You have to be patient in the beginning months because it can take several fills to feel restriction. For me, it was 3 fills. 4 how hard is the recovery?? I have 2 little ones and cannot be down long. I am a registered nurse and 46 years old so I took 9 days off from work (vacation time). After post-op day #5 , I felt human and only had some soreness at the port site. I took pain meds the first day and then only needed tylenol for a few days after that. 5 Any canucks out there specifically in the Vancouver area that would know about local doctors? Sorry, I'm a New Yorker but there are plenty of Canadians here. Good luck to you and welcome!

I make good old Campbells concentrated tomato soup and add 1/2 can of water and 1/2 can of skim milk. Pre-banding, I LOVED tons of ritz crackers in it but now I'm satisfied to have it plain... very filling and so good. The soups to go are a lot higher in calories and much more expensive.

I have never experienced the foam thing. When I PB, I get that horrible tennis ball pain in the upper center of my chest and the nausea sets in. I have enough time to get to the bathroom and what comes up is what went down. Thankfully, I am getting used to fill #3 and proper restriction and am very careful to chew, chew and chew some more. Are you PB'ing long after you've eaten?

Tim, you won't have to tell the surgeon you didn't follow the pre-op diet. He'll be able to tell once you're in surgery and he looks at your liver. Post-op, you're likely going to be on a liquid diet for a week or two. I would not advise cheating during that time. As for success after your banded, that depends on how much you are willing to work to become healthy. Go through the kitchen (and favorite hiding places) and get rid of all the crap food. Stock the place with some healthy foods. Search the recipe section for food choices during the post-op period and print out the ones you like. The band will assist you in learning to eat healthy but it doesn't perform miracles. You CAN do it.

Try freezing 4 oz portions of fat-free, sugar-free puddings (60 cals). Freezing them makes them taste like creamy ice-cream and it takes a while to eat it when it's frozen. Get all the chocolate candy bars out of the house STAT. They are pure liquid fat calories and a lot of them.

I have 4 oz of lite ricotta cheese in the AM after a cup of coffee and that really keeps me satisfied until lunch time. Tomato soup was another filling meal for me.

I was directed to go back to fluids until it was no longer sore or painful to swallow and then do a day of soft foods before going back to solids.

You look wonderful and have accomplished a lot. Congratulations on your success and your 2 year anniversary. Enjoy!

I had no restrictions the day of the fill. For the rest of the fill day and the next day it's liquids and then a day of soft foods and then back to solids.

I agree with everyone here. Pick up the phone and schedule the fill.

My surgeon flat out tells his patients at the first meeting that a patient can "beat the band" if they want to. It seems like you got "comfortable" with your weight loss and have slipped into a comfortable (but unhealthy) routine. So... time to start all over and get into the band routine. Since you've already lost 60 pounds, you're an expert in knowing what you have to do and how to do it.

You must be talking about the mini rice cakes. The large ones are 50-65 calories. The nutritionist told me that popcorn was on the "don't eat" list but I can tolerate it so I occasionally eat it. I try to avoid rice cakes because I find them addictive! LOL.

My insurance (BCBS) would not pay for the psych or nutrition consults. They cost me $250 and $200 respectively and payment was demanded upfront.

It takes 6 weeks for your body to heal from the surgery. Since the band is not inflated at all, it's unlikely that you'll feel full or notice any difference that before you were banded. Once you begin the fill process, you'll notice a change but remember, it can take 1-3 fills before you "know" you were banded.

My surgeon now only does the lapband but he has a partner who does other weight loss surgeries including the roux-n-y bypass. If the surgeon does not feel the procedure he is performing is helpful for the patient, it's unethical for his/her to perform it. The only point my surgeon did make was that volume eaters tend to be more successful than junk food eater with banding.

Carrie, you're doing great and so near your goal. Congratulations! Joe, I think what you're going through is normal and it does sound like you're do for a fill. I recently changed things up a but because of the hot weather and the temptation to not cook and just eat whatever's handy. I have 4 oz of lite ricotta cheese in the AM for the protein and it's filling. Lunch has been some cereal (1 cup with 4 oz skim milk). For an afternoon snack I have a 60 calorie pudding and dinner is a hard protein (usually fish or chicken), 1/2 cup of veggies and 1/2 cup of rice or noodles. Try changing up your diet and tracking how much you're eating. You look GREAT and have made wonderful progress.