giblert

That's a good question and I'm not entirely sure. I think the fills may be covered under MSP (provincial medical) as he can charge them as a patient consult when he does his coding/billing. But that's just a guess. Marie

First fill done! No problem at all. Tiny pin prick, and then I looked away while he did the fluid thing. Anxiety required? Zero. Marie

As I understand it, I have a 10 cm (pressumably 10 centimetres - the length of the band?) band with the capacity for 4 cc (a measure of liquid that is inserted). Of course, I'm just guessing! My card does say 10 cm/4 cc though, for what it's worth. Did you get a card Paula? Marie

All is well. Still holding at 266 - same for last few weeks. First fill on Thursday - really looking forward to it! How is your restriction? When you coming down for fill #2? Marie

I too am 4-1/2 weeks post-op from Dr Leung. And my experience is pretty much like Paula's. Cost-wise, I paid $13,000 less approx. $1,000 (for being a day surgery and not spending the night). I was just denied insurance refunds by Pacific Blue Cross. I'm estimating I'll get an additional $3,000 back when I file my income tax next year. As Paula noted, fills and all follow-up appointments are covered under our provincial medical coverage (MSP) so there should be absolutely no costs after surgery. Marie

Yes, I ordered it and have had a few of them. I like trying them out although I'm coming to the conclusion that I generally HATE all protein powders/drinks. I have some Stackers water that I am going to return - BLEH! Marie

You may want to take this up with your doctor again. My card was supplied by my doctor but judging by the stylish layout, it looks like it comes directly from Inamed. It matches their other documents. It has a spot for my name to be written in, and my doctor's name to be written in. So I'm presuming that Inamed supplies them in the kit they give to the doctor that contains the actual band. Maybe your doctor threw it out? Good luck! Marie

I am almost 4 weeks post-op and I take pills all the time. When in doubt, I cut them up with a pill cutter to make them smaller. I am not allowed to take NSAIDs (Advil, asparin, etc) because of the band so my only choice is Tylenol. I actually called my pharmacy about this yesterday to confirm what is NSAID and what isn't. Marie

Yup - sounds like my experience. Everything settled down in a few days although the left shoulder pain came back a few times in the first 2 weeks. Good luck Amanda! Marie

Hi there. I'm exactly 3 weeks post-op today. Once the first 24 hours or so had passed, I was pretty much hungry 24/7 while on the clear liquid phase. So yes, I think your hunger is entirely normal. Good luck! Marie

You've done awesome Paula. And I'm guessing the 1st fill on Monday will help you in the next stages in this journey. It seems to me that you've spent the last 4 weeks concentrating on your own incredible will power and getting no help yet from the band. I'm still eating soft food and my weight is remaining the same - kicking around the same few pounds. I'm going to transition to real food this weekend I think. I want to be able to start eating solid proteins like chicken and fish. And I'm really looking forward to my 1st fill so I can find out what this mysterious "restriction" is all about! And it's also probably time for me to get back to the gym. Drive safely and good luck on Monday - you know I'm waiting for details :-) If you have any time for coffee this weekend, feel free to email me and I'll send you my phone number. I live in Burnaby. Marie

I've been too scared to try salad and it's one of my favourite foods. Since I stopped the clear liquid fast I've had my weight loss slow down to virtually nothing. I may start on firmer foods simply so it's easier to make better choices (i.e. chicken breast and salad). I'm not so much worried about the slow losses at this stage but rather the doctor's reaction when he finds out I've only lost a few pounds in what should have been a big time for losing. Please Paula, post a detailed description of your first fill and everything about it. I'm scheduled for early September but I could probably move it up to to late August (4 weeks from surgery). Good luck! Marie

You're doing awesome Paula. I'm so proud of you. I am basically following the more generic post-op diet. Two weeks clears, two weeks thicker liquids with a few things like runny oatmeal, applce sauce, etc. And then at four weeks I'm going to try transitioning to soft foods and the odd "regular" food. I feel it's a reasonable balance. My only concern is how much weight I'll have lost by my next appointment which may include my first fill. It's currently scheduled for the 1st week of September. I'm hoping for a total 20 pounds loss or so (since I saw the good doctor last) so I can kinda "blur" the lines of reality which he asks me what my diet has been like. It'll probably include something like "I've recently started transitioning to fuller liquids/soft solids". OK, so 3 weeks isn't exactly "recently" but heh - as long as I'm not doing harm, am slowly losing, and am feeling good about myself, it's all OK to me. Marie (who forgot to update the numbers below).

I said gallbladder. And then if my gallbladder does come out in the future, I'll plead "complications from my previous surgery".

I'm 2 weeks post-op today and I've often wondered about this as I'm a former water chugger. I'm too scared to push the envelope now so I've slowly worked up from little sips to normal swigs. I almost do want to try chugging just to see what it feels like. After 2 weeks on a liquid diet I've yet to feel any restriction or indication that I have the band. I'm sure that will change once I move on to real food or have my 1st fill.

Two weeks post-op today and I'm still around 267. I know I shouldn't weight myself daily, and I won't from now on, but geez, how can one not lose a tonne of weight on 300 calories a day? Hrmph. My incisions all look good - no problems there. Still feeling a little run down but I think that's from the lack of protein and nutrients/vitamins in general. Have started ordering a non-fat misto from Starbucks (less milk than a latte) which goes down well. How's everybody else doing this Friday?

I'm starving today too. coffee for Breakfast, broth for lunch and bottles of Water as Snacks. dinner will probably be more broth and some apple juice. Is it any wonder I'm starting to feel kinda run down and tired? I just want to go home (from work) and snooze right now. I should probably consume one of my (disgusting) Protein drinks to see if that perks me up. Trying not to weight in every day so have decided on Friday's. Will update my signature then. Paula - don't forget miso. And I've found putting a little something spicy in my broth helps perk me up. My husband buys sweet & sour soup and then I get a mug of his broth. Somehow it feels more like a meal if it's a bit spicy.

Paula: Wow, it turns out work is a great distraction! Was really busy today so just kept chugging the Water and skipped lunch. I work in marketing for a large non-profit organization so a very sedentary job. Marie PS - Are you weighing yourself once a week Paula? Or more often? I'm daily right now during this "fun" stage

Hi Paula. I've read all that I can on the various post-op diets (you know where this is going) and have added a couple of things to mine. I was going crazy on the clears only. I've added a low-fat (runny) yoghurt smoothie. I think it's 70 or 80 calories. I have one per day. I find milk/dairy products have always filled me up. I've also allowed myself 1 cup of tomato soup - it's obviously not "clear" but not too far off the mark. I was going crazy with a growling stomache 24/7 so I decided to add these items. I started back at work today so I'm hopeful the distraction will help me think less of my hunger. So far it's working - of course it's only 10:00 am. 15 pounds gone in 11 days!

I've been on depo for years (birth control) and my new family doctor recommended I go off it for bone density reasons. But she also mentioned that going off depo would also help my weight loss so I'm approx. 1 month without depo in my system. It's going to be so strange to have a period after all these years without :-(

Hee, hee. You know I can sympathize! I'm off to make my morning coffee and hope that holds me 'til a yummy vegetable broth soup for lunch.

I had a hard time licking an envelope yesterday so I can relate. I've decided to lug around a huge bottle of water with me and just keep sipping it every time I move.

My surgery is on Friday and is planned as day surgery. I'm scheduled for 7:45 am and expect to be home late that afternoon. If there are complications or concerns, I'll end up staying the night. The one annoying thing is that the hospital makes you pay for 24 hours ($2600 CDN), but surgeon tells you it will be less than 12 hours. So I have to apply for a partial refund ($1200 CDN) once I'm safely back home. I wish they agreed that it was day surgery so I didn't have to pay for the extra funds up front.

My doctor requires 4 weeks of clears after surgery, but fortunately no diet pre-op. Good luck! I hope it's going well for you. Marie

Interesting post. I'm just off of Depo after 5+ years. My new PCP suggested I go off of it for several reasons, one being it could help my weight loss. I haven't had a period in 5 years and now I'm anxiously awaiting my first one. It's been 2 weeks since the depo would have cleared my system so any day now (or month I suppose). I'm hopeful it holds off until after my surgery in 10 days. As you might imagine, I'm totally paranoid about accidents so every twinge my body gives me sends me running to the bathroom with a "just in case" tampon. So far - nothing.