NYC_gal

I used to have Tricare a few years ago and I was looking into surgery at that time but ended up just waiting. When I got my surgery done I had Empire. Another option is you can get insurance through a job [i'm sorry, I'm assuming you don't have one?]. Anything so you don't have to pay out of pocket!!!!

Its easy. At first, people made me nervous about it... but mine was only 50 minutes long. The doc asked me why I wanted to get the surgery, what diets I've tried, and just general questions about my life & family. Also if I was prepared for the changes that were to come. Basically, if you've been approved by your primary care doc & a surgeon [if they decided WLS is right for you] you should have no problem passing the psych evaluation!

Liquids are supposed to make it easier for food to slide through, which of course isn't good. Before my first fill I used to gulp water a lot.... its so bad, but its a tought habit to break. Now if I'm super thirsty, I'll take a tiny sip while I'm eating.

Hm. I wouldn't say a thing, but I keep receiving emails everytime someone posts a new comment on this thread.... ha ha :tongue2: Honestly, you can pick apart a person's comment 1,000 times.. they're not going to see things your way. [And this isn't to anyone specific]. Agree to disagree? Or can we think of another 100 ways to explain "Of course he molested kids! He's a nut job!" ...."No no, screw you, he's a good person." blah blah blah

Ok, can we eat salad? Ha ha. I LOVE salad but I've been avoiding it because I remember seeing it on a list of foods to stay away from. I'm like 5 weeks out now. I never knew if that was just because my stomach was healing or if its just something that doesn't go down easily or is hard to digest. If anyone has an answer please let me know. I've had chopped celery before and I had no problem with that. So hm.....

I take flinestone's w/ iron. My dietician specifically recommended them. They taste AWFUL, almost like blood... as strange as that sounds.

I've yet to use the card because I don't feel the need to explain myself and let everyone know my business... I'm embarassed. :crying: If I go out to eat I usually go to diners. They offer a ton of foods that we'd be able to eat. But then... I'm in ny and there's a diner on every corner here! You can really go anywhere that offers good quality food. Another option, if you're afraid of ordering too much food, is just asking for a take home box as soon as you get your meal. You can split up the portion right away so you're not tempted by all of this food and you have a nice meal for the next day. I've also ordered an entree and shared it with someone. Though some places charge a $5 "sharing" fee to do that :rolleyes2:

You're allowed to eat tuna fairly quickly, I know that. But chicken [shredded] and ground turkey/beef was on my soft foods list and that I wasn't allowed until 21 days after surgery. It goes liquids, full liquids, puree, soft foods, no restrictions usually. And about 2 weeks or so in between each. I have no restrictions in the 1st week of July but there are still things I wouldn't dare try to eat.

I pretty much have the same amount to lose as you do right NOW, after I've lost a little bit. My boyfriend says its too much to lose and I know I'm never meant to be a very skinny person [and to be honest, I'd look like a lollipop because I have a pretty big head!] He thinks my goal should be no more than another 30 or so. HA! Yeah right...... :rolleyes2:

Really I had no idea? I've had 2 or 3 since surgery. I get the smallest size in a sugar free flavor and usually only have about 1/4 of it.

Its funny you post this because I had a sip of soda today. I couldn't help myself. I really am not a huge fan of soda at all but orange soda is my absolute favorite! I've actually never had anything but diet soda anytime I would drink it so it was never a huge thing that contributed massive amounts of calories to my diet before surgery. When I had some this afternoon I added 3/4 cup of water to it and it was a little bit flat anyway.... but I took 3 sips and felt very full right away. I think that may be why we're not supposed to drink it. It has no caloric value or anything so why get full on soda?

Ugh I can't keep track of all these things I can no longer eat after surgery! Not the fattening stuff... the things that will NOT go down at all. It seems sometimes I can handle certain things and sometimes it takes a lot to not throw up. Like yesterday, I was at a resturant, I ate a BITE of wheat bread that came with dinner... Oh my gosh, I've never felt so sick in my life! I spent 10 minutes in the bathroom throwing up. It was awful & embarassing... but honestly... I had no idea I couldn't eat that or else I would've never tried! Its weird. I've had a toasted slice of bread before and it went down just fine. I've had wheat wraps and I had an egg white flat bread sandwich from Dunkin' Donuts. I took off one slice of bread from the sandwich but I was able to eat it easily. I'm terrified of feeling sick like that.... especially in public... so I'm always sure to chew well and go very slow. Its a lot to remember. I like that I eat less. I don't feel so sluggish and bloated all the time. I'm dropping weight... but regardless of what I eat, even if its one of my "safe foods" I have this fear before I put anything in my mouth. :rolleyes2: *sigh* Anyway, what do you guys have a lot of trouble eating after surgery?

My ex was in the military and pretty much ate everything in sight... it was awful to be around especially because I was always on a diet. I think I made an excellent choice with the lap band. I might not be losing 50 pounds in one month... but I'm comfortable, so far, with this gradual weight loss. I'm doing things I never thought I would do.... dance classes, kick boxing, taking vacations.... its improved my quality of life tremendously.

You know what I don't like about all of the media attention now? No one gave a flying fig about what was going on with him, maybe a month ago... He was overseas. For awhile he was living in the middle of nowhere, hiding out.... now all of his peers come out of the woodwork to say he was fantastic. Its not right. Its fake nonsense. But I do get the attention, it has more to do with the fact that it was all so unexpected. I personally respect everyone's opinions about him.... he's extremely controversial with the things he may or may not have done [really, who knows?]. But he was an icon. I'm not even that old and I grew up on his music. BUT, if he did this to himself then it bothers me that his death overshadows Farrah Fawcett's, an amazingly strong woman who struggled to LIVE and didn't throw away life with prescription drugs. *shrugs* Just my two cents ladies & gents! :thumbdown:

So I finally got to my doc and got a little "unfilled" today. I threw up twice yesterday because I just couldn't get any food or water down. I told him this and it was as if he didn't believe me!.... yet I hopped on the scale and since my last visit to him 3 DAYS ago I lost 6.5 pounds. He took out .5 cc's ? [i'm sorry, I don't get the lingo] I originally had 4 cc's in. He said 3 is the bare minimum to have in the band... and more or less said to me that less than 4 is a waste because your progress is very slow. Is this true or was he being a jerk? Ha ha ha :thumbup:

I would never. I'd be too afraid of puncturing something lol. But I also have no medical background whatsoever. Kudos to these ladies who know what the hell they're doing. :thumbup:

I know how you feel. I can eat very slow but it doesn't change the fact that I'm eating very little and those around me are eating normally [and then some]. I can take my time as much as I want but I'm STILL the first to finish. If variety is bothering you, look up recipes. The 3rd or so week after my surgery I was going insane over the limited foods I was able to eat because I was just getting tired of the same tastes. Recently I was looking foward to my first fill because I thought I was eating entirely too much for only being 1 month out [about 6oz. per meal] and I finally got my fill and now I wish I didn't.

I hope I'm posting this in the appropriate spot, but honestly I'm so sick right now I just need answers asap. I got my first fill yesterday.. I have no idea how much it was. I really should ask, but everytime I go to the doctor I feel a bit rushed out of the office. All I know is, I was sipping on Water after the fill and it just wouldn't go down at all. I was almost immediately sick. I waited a bit, my doctor took some out and I had to make sure, again, that I could tolerate fluids and again, I got sick but I wasn't feeling as bad as the first time and I didn't want to make a huge deal of it. Stupid, I know, but I have no idea what its supposed to feel like and people in the office were telling me its tough the first time and of course, different for everyone. Its been a day and a half and I still can't drink water. It just won't go down at all I feel it lingering in my chest and it hurts a lot. I can't tolerate anything- applesauce, pudding, certain broths, ice pops. For some reason lipton Soup has been the only thing that I could stomach, I had some yesterday evening and this afternoon. I haven't thrown up once and I'm really trying not to, but since yesterday everything has made me feel like I want to. Its hard because I'm so insanely hungry but I keep getting sick. I don't know if I should wait it out or go back tomorrow? This has been so effin' miserable that right now, I don't want to ever go for a fill again if its just going to feel like this.

I'm not a vegetarian or a vegan but I had a similiar problem. I eat fish, I'm not a huge fan of chicken, but I never eat red meat of any kind and I was told by my primary doc & the dietician to start. Just my personal preference not to. I stick to eggs, peanut butter, LF cheese, protein waters, 1% milk [is that protein? *shrugs*] :thumbup:

I was in a lot of pain and didn't feel like myself for a good 3 or so weeks. Only recently [i'm just about 1+ month out] I've been able to walk for long periods of time without any pain in my incision! I was due to START work @ a new job exactly 8 days after surgery and I couldn't do it. I have [had! :thumbup:] a more physical job though, it involved a lot of up and down stairs and carrying heavy items all day long. I still wasn't feeling up to it another 10 days later. [At that time I also wasn't able to laugh, sneeze or cough without being in pain]. I would take off at least 7 days. Heal properly and do not rush yourself into anything. Nothing is worth causing any complications or being in pain. Also keep in mind you have to allow yourself enough time to adjust to this new diet and for me, I needed to get used to others around me eating like normal while I was still on liquids. :thumbup:

To be honest, I wasn't at all aware that I'd be in so much pain after surgery. Everyone, [even the packets of information I was given] was saying that I'd be up and around pretty much immediately. Everyone IS different, of course. But I didn't at all appreciate the comments of "Everyone's different..... but most people recover fairly quickly" from fellow Lap Band patients. That's not going to help ANYONE. You need to be prepared and I'm sorry I wasn't. That would've been a major factor in my decision. I didn't feel back up to 80% until about 3 weeks after my surgery. I have bad days where I just wonder what the hell I did to myself... its never a sadness over not being able to eat a certain thing though. I still experience pain in my largest incision and I'm over a month out. BUT I look at what I eat now and I really feel good about myself. The surgery has made me much more aware of what I put into my body and I feel healthy. I never eat and feel sluggish or regret. :thumbup: