ParrotheadCathy

One thing....you say "possible sleep apnea". Have you done the sleep study? If not, you might want to go ahead and do that because, at least for my surgery, they required me to do it (I didn't have sleep apnea). If I had shown evidence of it, I would have had to get the CPAP machine and use it every night for two weeks before the scheduled surgery date.

A couple of observances. (1) You don't say if you have a 10cc or a 14cc band -- and 7cc in a 14cc band might only just be approaching your sweet spot. (2) You obviously didn't get all 7ccs in one fill, so you've been to your doctor's office a few times. What have they said about your poor weight loss? I personally think you need to make an appointment to go in and (maybe) get another fill, but more importantly TALK seriously about what might or might not be going on. That's all part of the after care.

February 10. Seems like ages ago instead of just 3 months! I feel like I've changed so much and am forming new habits!

Consult weight -- 284/42.2 Surgery weight -- 269/38.3 Current weight -- 229/(haven't checked it yet) My pre-op diet was 2 Protein shakes and 2 meals consisting of 3 oz of lean protein and steamed or raw veggies each. It wasn't heinous by any means and I didn't really have a problem sticking to it. Try to stop drinking with your meals, take small bites and chewing well.... habits you're going to need in the near future. I also gave up diet coke in early January (surgery on 2/10).

Frankly, I have a 13 month old in my house and I thought about baby food, but I had only to taste some of that stuff and said "NO WAY". It's quite bland to an adult's taste buds, trust me. Once you get to mushy food, you will do much better to eat mushy things that you happen to like already than to venture into baby food. Mushy food will include instant mashed potatoes made runnier than you would eat otherwise, grits (yeah, I know a lot of people have never tasted grits), oatmeal, cream of wheat, farina, refried beans (the low fat kind), cream soups (want a treat? go to a seafood restaurant that serves lobster bisque), and similar things. These will be tastes that you are familiar with for the most part and probably like. You will certainly feel less "cheated" that way.

nausea, vomiting and diarrhea sound more like a virus to me....

Glad to be of help, Bethany! With the beef stock, once you make it to mushy foods, you can puree a can of tomatoes and add to the stock and that is very yummy....but for now, just be ready for the immediate post-op stage. Even though you are on liquids, it still holds true that protein helps stave off a grumbling tummy. So, the protein shakes, K20 protein water, the stocks .... all help nourish you. The juices and yogurt are good for you, and the popsicles and jello fill in as treats. And when you make your jello, you could use 3/4 of a cup of juice in stead for the cold water and give it a different taste. Just no citrus...that won't work.

Hiatal hernia repair WILL slow your recovery down and you probably won't feel as well as others. As for the differences between the rest of us, nobody can truly explain the difference between me and you, or you and someone else. I guess we are all "wired" up different. I do believe in the power of postivie thinking but that can't always make the difference. Not laying in bed or the recliner for days on end will make a difference. Get up and move and your muscles will stretch and retract a jillion times and you will start to feel better. Moving around also helps with the killer gas pains. I had my gallbladder removed back in 1983 -- when they cut you from your sternum to your appendix. I MADE myself get out of the bed that afternoon even though my doctor said he didn't think I'd be able to. AND I walked down the hall and back. Nearly killed me, LOL, but the next day I felt not nearly as bad, and the day after that, I felt really not bad at all...but a man in the next room had steadfastly refused to get out of bed. I heard the nurse tell him that "the lady next door got out of bed the same day". His response was "g**d***n amazon!" LOL. It just boils down, sometimes, to what you are able to ignore (or not).

During the liquid stage post-op, you can have a lot of different things....take advantage of EVERY ONE OF THEM! SF Jello, SF yogurt, SF popsicles, chickenm beef and vegetable broths, fruit juices, crystal light, K20, Protein Shakes. Be sure to drink 4 Protein shakes a day, at about the times you would normally eat meals or an evening snack. Then fill in with the other stuff. One thing I discovered is that while I cook with the broths in cartons from the grocery, they aren't all that tasty to drink. So, do this: Big pot, put a chicken or less expensive cut of roast beef in and cover with Water. Add salt, pepper minced garlic (if you're feeling lazy, it comes already minced in jars in the produce section), chopped celery and carrots (chunks are small enough), onion. Simmer until the meat is falling apart. Strain off the liquid and you have a nourishing, tasty stock that will make the stuff in the cartons seem like colored water. Heat it up and drink it and it really is very enjoyable. Talk to me when you get to mushy foods and I can help with that too! parr0thd51@aol.com

Those who have problems are far outnumbered by those who don't. The main thing for you to remember is that the post-op diet is for a reason and you need to adhere to it. Don't go thinking because you feel pretty good and are hungry that you can eat solid food when you're stilll in the liquid phase. When you get to mushy food, don't rush wanting "regular" food...you're trying to reacquaint your stomach with the solid stuff. After you start getting fills, it becomes more and more important to take small bites (about the size of a quarter) and really chew it well before you swallow and take another bite. This actually does two things.....(1) it will likely save you from a miserable stuck episode or, worse, a PB, and (2) it will give your stomach a chance to actually tell you "I'm full" so that you just don't keep eating right on past where you should have stopped. If you can do these things, and I believe you can, you will be fine.

Welcome to Bandster Hell. Not the greatest place to visit, BUT it's only a visit. You have pretty much no restriction right now. Anything you lose will by "white knuckling" it. Once you start getting fills and building up restriction it gets easier. I've had 3 fills (going for 4th in just over a week) and have 5.1cc in 1 10cc band. I am close to my sweet spot, though not quite there. I usually can go 4 hours between meals (not like today, when I'm mowing the lawn and other yard work -- which makes me hungry sooner). And, unless I'm eating mostly salad veggies, I am happy with 1/2-3/4 cup of food (and no carbs usually). But when I was 2 weeks post op, I was feeling really good, was STARVING and was praying for the time to fly to my first fill. Just hang in there! If you get too hungry between meals, EAT Protein, like a boiled egg, 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese or an ounce of low fat cheese.

Saturday must have been the day for great shopping experiences! I went looking for something to wear to my 40th high school reunion...I mean, these people haven't seen me in 5 years so I wanted something to make a big splash. And, I found a fantastic outfit .... and it's an 18/20 as opposed to the 26 I would have been looking for. Went to Dress Barn and the sales clerk that helped me was absolutely the nicest person .... helped me pick something that made me look like I have more waist than I do. I was so happy with that outfit that I bought several outfits! And one of them is just a little too tight but for the first time in my life I went ahead and bought it KNOWING that in a couple of weeks it will be perfect. Dang, this feels great!

Personally, I was EXTREMELY LUCKY...I took a walk the afternoon after I had surgery, took no pain meds at all (not even Tylenol) and went back to work in 3 days. But that's not the first time I've had surgery and responded physically in that manner. Everybody is different. Some of us just don't have a terribly adverse reaction to the anesthesia nor do we take to our beds for much of anything. Part of it is physical and part of it is psychological. The good news is, you WILL feel better and it won't be long before you feel fantastic. In the meantime? Get up and walk. Doesn't have to be a 5K, LOL, just walk to the mailbox and back a couple of times today, to the end of the block and back tomorrow and the next day.....drink your Protein shakes, Water, broth, juice.....and you'll be feeling better in no time.

I think Monkey meant to say BYPASS is reversible in very very very few cases. I have read that bypass may be the better choice for those with serious sugar craving issues. I think that dumping syndrome will make giving in to sugar cravings very unpleasant and, therefore, (like Pavlov's dogs) you are trained to quit. And I have read that people with bypass can "work up" to their previous sugar intake and thereby eliminate the dumping syndrome which then defeats the advantage. However, I don't think bypass is all that much better for someone who is looking to lose "only" 100 pounds. The truth is, you can eat around either procedure. There are plenty of bypass patients who have regained all their weight, eliminated any problems with stuffing themselves with sweets and are now looking at what to do next. And there are plenty of banders who haven't lost the weight they wanted because they have steadfastly ignored the eating "plan", have stopped going to their doctor for adjustments and help. So, either way, are you ready to psychologically give up the sweets? Neither procedure works like flipping on a light switch; both require you to make the right choices. Lap band requires more effort on your part than bypass (going to the doctor regularly for adjustments, etc.). I personally didn't want the finality of gastric bypass. Once done, that was it. The lap band is definitely a "foreign object" but it's not like you FEEL it's presence. You feel its effect. Good luck on the decision making.

Your weight can fluctuate quite a bit based on a lot of factors, including hormones/time of the month, what you ate a couple of days ago, amount of salt (or lack thereof) over a short period of time, and being female -- just for the heck of it, I swear! LOL. For me, pre-surgery, it would only have taken a supersized quarterpounder with cheese and fries to gain 3 pounds overnight (probably as much all the salt on the fries as anything else). So, don't go crazy eating but don't cut back, and take a bottle of water with you and drink it just before you go in for your appointment.

Why would you want to part ways with something you obviously enjoy doing ... COOKING??? I am trying to focus on finding new recipes and ideas that are still "on plan". Like, the other day, at a restaurant, I had a piece of grilled salmon that had a teriyaki sauce on it, a glaze. So now I'm working on trying to duplicate that. And once I figure that out, it will be something else. In a way, it's a bigger challenge without 5 pounds of butter in the fridge and a canister full of sugar!

Everybody I know who lost weight on Medi-Fast or Opti-Fast gained it all back and extra as soon as they stopped using the product.

And, I just have to do whatever I'm confortable with after my fill, which for me is I usually have a can of vegetable beef soup for lunch and something similar for supper and then back to normal.

I've never heard that one! i eat fruit and I'm just 90 days post-op. I can't eat the membrane around citrus sections but other than that, I have no problem. I don't eat a lot of it, but I was told not to go more than 4 hours between meals and I have no choice but to go about 6-1/2 to 7 hours between lunch and dinner, so about 4:30 I have a small snack. Sometimes it's an ounce of cheese and sometimes it's fruit.

It's 110% normal to feel nervous. If you've never had surgery, that can make you quite nervous. Let us know what's worrying you and I'm sure we can answer your questions and, hopefully, allay your fears.

Starting Day 11, I could have mushy foods.....instant potatoes made runnier than normal, grits, oatmeal, cream of wheat, farina, cream soup, still at least 2 protein shakes and all the stuff on the liquid list. After 7 days of mushy foods, I started adding "regular" food one thing at a time, remembering to take small bites and chew well.

The first 3 days, I was on clear liquids. Then for another 7 on liquids that included, SF Jello, SF Popsicles, SF yogurt, chicken broth, beef broth, vegetable broth, protein shakes, water mixed with Crystal Light or K20 protein water. I was supposed to drink 3-4 protein shakes a day and everthing else was "at will".

Stuck can happen for a variety of reasons, including taking bites that are too big and not chewing well enough. Also can be caused by food that is quite dry. Stuck will eventually move. If it comes back up, that's a PB. I've been stuck once where I absolutely prayed for a PB. Wouldn't you know it, the one time you'd welcome a PB, I had to settle waiting for what seemed like an eternity before it moved.

I confess I don't know a whole lot about this, just what someone reported on another forum. Her band had slipped. her doctor put her on a liquid diet for 2 (or possibly 3, I can't remember) weeks. Her band moved back into place. That's the only person I've ever heard actually talk about some treatment for a slipped band.

You insurance may have a required "minimum" BMI You have 2 comorbidities. I was self-pay but my friend's insurance required a BMI of 40 if no co-morbidities and a BMI of 37 with 2 comorbidities. Other companies are different. I suggest you call your insurance provider and ask them (1) does your policy cover weight loss surgery; (2) do they have a required minimum BMI and if so, what would it be since you have 2 comorbidities; (3) do they require documented weight records for any period of time; (4) do they require that your BMI has been at the minimum for a particular amount of time; (5) what other requirements do they have for approval, such as 6 months supervised weight loss or anything else. This way you will KNOW going forward.