GayleTX

I had my pani removed (all 16 lbs of it) Friday morning. It was not nearly as traumatic as I had anticipated. I left the hospital the next morning walking upright and went to my DS' house overnight (he lives closer to civilazation than I do). The worst part of it so far has been the constipation caused by the meds. But my son made an emergency run to Walgreen's at midnight last night and I was cured by sunup. MOM is a miracle drug for sure! I'm in my own home now with nothing but steri-strips on my incision (I had anticipated drain tubes, compression garments, a body cast, and full-time RN on duty!). The amputation feels very strange.......I'll have to get used to not having a bag of fat flapping against my legs when I walk. I still weigh what I did when I check into the hospital.......this swelling better go down and so had the scale or I'm going to be very upset!! I also have a round purple belly above my stitches.....just call me Barney! Seriously, the nurses all really praised my sugeon....if any of you plan to have their PS in the Dallas area, Dr. Pollock must be the man. And the Texas Institute for Surgery is like a visit to a Hilton Hotel.....wonderful place (part of the Presbyterian system). Most of their surgeries are day surgeries but they do have 9 overnight rooms. The night I was there, there were 2 patients - with 2 RN's, a CNT, and a security guard all at your beck and call (and a wonderful dining room that prepared your food according to your instructions---too bad I can't eat much!). Thanks to everyone for the well wishes!!

www.bariatriceating.com carries the best quality and best tasting protein products on the market IMO. All of the products they carry are for bariatric patients unlike the products at places like GNC and the bodybuilder gyms. BE sells a basket of samples of many different brands and they've got good recipes for using them on their website. My personal favorite brand is Whey Gourmet powder (23 grams per scoop) and my favorite RTD is Labrada cartons (17 oz), 35 grams per carton.

Crackers are not mentioned in your literture because they are really not a good choice for people who want to lose weight. They are considered a white starch (one of the evil carbs) and just not something we need to waste our valuable pouch space on. Yes, they go down well, but that's not the point. We need to eat protein first, then good carbs like veggies and beans and cheese. That's part of the retraining we've got to do for ourselves.

The closest two that I can recommend (knowing reputations) are Dr. Warnock in Wichita Falls and Dr. Stewart (Stuart?) in Decatur. Both are very experienced and those hospitals and staffs are very familiar with bariatric patients and their needs....and they have the large size equipment, etc. that are necessary. There may be some closer to you, but you need to make sure they have done lots of lapbands, not but RNY's. I had mine done in Decatur by a Dallas surgeon who goes there every two weeks - that's the hospital my insurance approved because of their experience, etc). I was impressed with the facilities and with the nurses - they do several a day there and know what they are doing.

There will be others who can give you much more information that I can, but I just wanted to say that yes, medicare will approve the surgery...however, there are very few doctors that will accept medicare insurance for weight loss surgery - at least in my area, it may be different in other areas. You and I must be about the same age....I hope you are able to have surgery and that it improves your life as much as it has mine. Best wishes to you!

There have been several gastric restriction bands, but the Allergan (Inamed) Lapband (and Lapband is a brand name) has been the most common for a few years. About a year ago they came out with a 'new and improved' Allergan AP. It is very similar to the J&J Realize Band, which just came out a few months ago in the US (altho it has been used in EU and Australia for years under another name). Many doctors are certified by the manufacturers to do both, some one or the other.

Wear something that you can just pull up and show your port area so you won't have to get undressed.....like pants and loose overblouse....no longline bra, highrise girdle, etc.

Most surgeon's offices have support groups or they can at least refer her to one in her area. However, I'll warn you.....many support groups are not all that...uh, supportive. Many of them are just gripe sessions or people sharing 'tricks' on how to get around the rules. Not all - it depends on how well it's run and by whom. Many people have found the message boards such as this one to be much more helpful than groups......and much more accessible. The ideal situation would, of course, to have a good local support group with accurate and helpful information combined with a good involvement in a message board....it's 24/7 access to support and information. I'm glad your sister is doing well, but the first few weeks are the easy ones....other than being hungry after the swelling goes down from the surgery. After she begins to get fills, her eating and lifestyle habits will get a little more difficult to manage, especially since she works away from home. People react differently to fills, and she will need new ideas for appropriate foods, drinks, proteins, and managing the way you feel when you actually begin to get some restriction (sometimes it takes 2-3-4 fills). She's lucky to have a caring sister....that's more than a lot of people have....but you are right - she needs to get a connection to some successful bandsters who can guide her through the changes she's facing.

You guessed right........it's normal to feel sore and irritated after a bad episide.........after you have a stuck episode, you need to go on liquids for a day or two, let the swelling and irritation in the esophagus heal, then start back on mushies and see how well you tolerate it. And while it still tender, just take small sips, not big swallows.

Everyone's experience is different, but I experienced no pain at all.....never even had a gas pain. I was at the hospital from 10 a.m. to 2:30 pm then made a 2 hr car ride home. I was beginning to wonder if they really did anything to me while I was asleep but they did something that worked - I lost 160 lbs. Now I have a pretty easy life....I wasn't having to go to work or clean house or chase a baby like you do and I'm sure that makes a lot of difference.....you should really plan to have someone around to help you out with the baby and your chores so you can heal well and be able to spend some time preparing your foods correctly. I know that some people have a more difficult experience, but in reading the boards for 3 years now it seems most LB patients are back in full swing in less than a week.

If you have a Realize band, your best online support is going to come from the Realize website.....the surgeon should have given you a code or password to get into that website. If not, please call them and ask for one....it's very helpful. Of course, you are also welcome to read and post on any of the other boards, too, any time......just wanted to make sure you are aware of the Realize board.

Got mine at age 62....didn't have so much as a gas pain. Came off all diabetes, blood pressure, etc meds within just a few months. I lost 160 lbs in 18 month......BMI went from 62 to 34. I feel better than I've felt in decades!! BUT you have to eat right and use your head along with your band....it doesn't work by itself! I choose to eat by the guidelines that a gastric bypass patient has to eat....it's worked for many people I know.

Usually when you have a stuck episode or PB episode, your esophagus will swell or be irritted.......it's best to stick to liquids for a day or so and let the swelling go down and the irritation heal. I find that a good thick protein drink is soothing when you're irritated inside.

Many surgeons and/or insurance companies require a minimum of 40 BMI to be approved for surgery. If you plan to use insurance, your first step needs to be checking with your carrier to see what their criteria are for approval. Welcome and best wishes.....

So sorry you are having a hard time. I would never have believed I could have made this work for me - I am a carb addict. But I started out eating by the same food plan that a gastic bypass patient has to eat by and it has worked for me. Since you've identified your trigger food as 'sweets' you need to completely eliminated them....you are probably going to be a person who can't eat 'just a little' of something you love....I can't. If you will eliminate the bad carbs (sweets, white foods like white bread, Pasta, rice, potatoes, corn, etc) and get your body de-toxed from them, you will find that it is much easier to control your eating. The sweets and bad carbs cause your blood sugar to spike quickly - and then it falls just as quickly - and then you have false 'hunger pangs'. You think you're hungry when you are really just having a 'craving.' Get yourself detoxed - and your cravings will go away or at least subside and you will find yourself feeling much more in control. I would never have believed I could have no interest in carbs - I lived on them in my 'former life.' It is such a wonderful freedom to get them out of my 'head' and to think about something other than how long is it til the next stuffed baked potato. I hope you can get the band to working for you, sweetie....it's a wonderful tool. Some people can maybe get by with 'eat like always, just eat less', but most of us have really got to change our way of eating and living. Most of the successful veterans I know have used the band as a tool and use the gastric bypass food plan as their lifestyle. (The gastric bypass food plan - 60-100 proteins/day; less than 30-40 grams carbs/day while in the losing phase (later you need to bump it up); no white carbs or sweets; at least 64 oz water; no drinking with meals or for one hr. afterward; eat Protein first, then good carbs; some exercise) It's very helpful to record your food. After 2 years, I still record everything - if it goes in my mouth it goes on www.fitday.com (some people prefer www.thedailyplate.com). It has taught me a lot about food values and has kept me honest with myself. When I quit losing, I can go back and study what I've eaten in the past couple of weeks and see if I need change something (sometimes I have a tendency to eat too much fat so I cut back for a while). I lost 160 lbs in 18 months. I haven't had any Fluid in my band for nearly a year now (had to have a couple of non-related surgeries) but I've managed to stay on the same food plan without suffering - I haven't lost any more but haven't gained either (a major miracle considering my weight and eating history). Best wishes to you. You can do this!!

Here is a formula to determine how much Protein you need...based on pounds. Ideal weight divided by 2.2 Multiply by 1.25 It is just about impossible to get all your Proteins and/or all your liquids the first few weeks after surgery. That's okay....just try to add a little every day and you will eventually get there. (Remember that the liquid Protein drinks count toward your liquid requirements, too). Do keep sipping the liquids, tho....you definitely do not want to get dehydrated - it's dangerous.

Too few calories, too little water.....waaaay too little water! Dehydration is dangerous (as I spent the last 2 weeks telling my friend - who just yesterday got weak and fell and broke both feet and is in the hospital with dehydration, by the way....'told ya so'!) The water helps the kidneys flush the fat out of your system.....you've got to have it. 64 ounces is the MINIMUM....more is better!

I understand comopletely.....when I started wls, I could hardly walk, much less exercise. After about 50 lbs I could pull myself up on the treadmill. The best thing I found the first year or so was a video that was made specifically for weight loss patients......it uses exercise bands (which come with it), and the first stage of the video is exercises from a chair, and it progresses from there. It's called "Weigh2Win".....I got mine from www.bariatriceating.com.

Sounds like you are pushing your luck a little bit. There are lots of things you CAN eat because you don't have any restriction in your band yet - you won't have any until you go back and begin getting your fills. But just because you can doesn't mean you should....your stitches and your incisions are in the healing stage right now and need to be pampered. Any damage done to them won't be felt...but it will show up on down the road if food gets caught in the stitches. Please be careful and eat only the mushy foods for another week or two. No, you are not going to cause your band to slip at this stage.......to begin with, it's not the band that slips. It is the stomach that slips up thru the band into the pouch. The new bands are not as likely to allow that to happen as the older ones (2 years ago) so hopefully that won't happen to you. Slippage is usually caused by projectile vomiting or extended periods of severe acid reflux or by damage done right after surgery by eating rough or course foods that pull stitches or get caught in the folds.

When I see a doctor advertise his prices, I always wonder if that is just the price of the surgery.....and then the hospital, anesthesiologist, etc are extra? Or is that all-inclusive? Either way, I hear very good things about Dr. Barker and his practice.

The nuclear stress stress is not bad at all....just takes a while. Be forewarned that when they inject the chemicals in your arm you may have a terrific headache for a few seconds....it's a little scary unless you are expecting it....but that's normal. Otherwise, there's nothing bad about it at all. It's much better than having to run on a danged treadmill if you are a big girl!! I've done many of them, survived them all, had several blocked arteries at different times, several stents put in.....but had no problem at all during lapband surgery. Somewhere over the years some test showed I had had a 'silent heart attack' but it didn't keep me from having surgery, doing well, losing weight. It had improved my health tremendously.....I wish the same for you.:thumbup:

Yes, my hands are wrinkled....and I'd always been so proud of my smooth, young-looking hands. Then my neck went crepe...yuck! And now even my calves are wrinkled!! My face did, too, for a while, but it has firmed up in the past few months. Guess there's just nowhere for all that stretched out skin to go! It's a good trade-off, though! :thumbup:

Since you are eating foods that bandsters normally have trouble with, it's very hard to tell if you need a fill or not. Why not try eating the way we are instructed to - then you can get a better idea of whether or not you need a fill or unfill or nothing at all.

The lapband literature says that bandits can expect to lose an average of about 1-2 lbs a week over a year's time. That does not mean you'll lose 1 or 2 pounds every week.....it just means after a year your weight loss will average out about 1-2 lbs a week. So happy for you that you were able to have the surgery......it's never too late for us 'older girls' to get a fresh start, is it! It has made a remarkable difference my life.....I wish the same for you!

I hear ya! One of the best NSV's in my wls life has been being able to WORK again!! Who would have ever thought that??!! My husband had had to do all the shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc....everything...for about 3 years. Now I do all that and a whole lot MORE! And if I'm happy about it, just think how thrilled HE must be!!!