Kristy29

I researched this a while back and found that, because we don't require the Protein DURING the flight, they will not make exceptions to the liquid-volume rule for bariatric patients. If you need to take it with you, I'd plan to check a bag, or even send it ahead of myself so that it was at my destination when I arrived.

If you take Protein powders, be sure they are in unopened containers, too. The Inspire Proteins at Bariaric Eating come in zipper bags that can be easily packed; they also have travel sized packets.

I am flying to Japan in a couple of weeks, and I was told that I do need the shakes during my flight. I was told I am not to eat anything during the flight, but since it is such a long flight (14 hours) I will need to have some nutrition while in the air. I could bring the powders, but I don't like them.

Also, I got a note on a prescription pad from my doctor saying that I am required to have liquid tylenol with me at all times. I had read that you can take up to 4 ounces of non prescription meds, but the liquid tylenol only comes in 8 ounces so that's why I got the note. Do you think it will work or are they going to toss it anyway?

I'm from Bushkill PA, which is in the Poconos. I work at CVS as a cashier.

So I recently went on a little vacation, and I guess I ate a lot of salty food. Yesterday and today when I've woken up, my feet have been swollen, and I gained 6 lbs from where I was before I left. I didn't eat the best foods, but I didn't eat enough to gain 6 lbs in two days, plus I did more exercise (walking/hiking) than I have done at all since surgery so I'm pretty sure it's Water retention.

Is it ok to take a diuretic for a couple of days. I just want to get back to where I was before, and stop the swelling. Yesterday I drank a ton of Water and I plan on doing so again today but it obviously isn't helping.

Hey all. I need a fill too, I can eat anything and yesterday I did. I am on a mini vacay in NYC and I haven't been holding back too much. I did have my first real stuck episode this morning, I was eating a bagel and it wouldn't go down. It hurt and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I ended up sliming into the bushes of Bryant Park, eww.

Well I wasn't thinking about getting unfilled because of flying, I was thinking about it because if I were to get too tight while in Japan I do not know if there are doctors there who can treat me. As for there being doctors in Japan, I am sure there are some in Tokyo, but I am going to Okinawa and I do not know if there would be a doctor there.

As for taking liquid meds, I was told that for the rest of my life, any medicine I take needs to be liquid, chewable, crushable, or smaller than a tic tac. All pill forms of tylenol say do not crush or chew on them.

So in one month, I am going to Japan. Right now I have 4ccs in my band. I was told by the nurse practitioner before I even got my band that I shouldn't eat anything while flying because the band can get tight. She also said if going somewhere without any lap band facilities, they would completely unfill me.

Would you get unfilled? I have looked online and I can not find any doctors in Okinawa that do lap band, so if something were to go wrong while I am over there I might be in trouble.

My other question is, the flight is 14 hours, and I have read on here not to eat 1 hour before or after the flight, which would make a total of 16 hours with no food. Is there any way I can take Protein Shakes with me? Can I get a prescription for them? I can not go 16 hours on only Water, I will be miserable and I am trying to make this as easy on myself as possible. Also if I do get unfilled, would I still need to follow this restriction?

Lastly, can I get a prescription for my liquid tylenol? I did read that you can take non prescription liquid meds through security, but only up to 4 ounces. The tylenol bottles only come in 8 ounces, and I don't want to risk going on a plane for that long with no pain meds.

I really hate this no liquid restriction, it is turning into a huge pain in the butt for me. Before it was annoying, but now it's bordering on dangerous. :biggrin:

Thank you for responding. I was wanting to make sure it had nothing to do with flying.

I was told in regards to flying, that the Fluid in the band can swell due to cabin pressure so to stick to liquids only while in the air. I am hoping that since I will be getting unfilled I won't have to follow that. My flight is 14 hours and since I can't take liquids through security I can't take Protein Shakes. I don't know if I could survive 14 hours on Water alone. :smile2:

Why do you have to get unfilled when you go to Okinawa?

There are no facilities in Okinawa to care for me while I am there in case of an emergency. If for some reason my band were to become too tight, not allowing anything down including liquids, there might not be anyone to help me. Most ER employees in America can not access a port, so I am not taking my chances overseas. I have my whole life to lose the weight and it is just not a risk I am willing to take.

At 4 days post op, I was still on clear liquids. I didn't start drinking anything other than tea and Water until 5 days post op. When drinking the clear liquids, I took small sips and drank 1 ounce over 20 minutes like I was told to do. It sounds like you are drinking too much too fast. You should still be swollen in there, your surgery was very recent.

No. The weight they take at your first appointment is the weight they use to determine eligibility. My doctor requires that all of his patients lose 5% before surgery, because it shrinks your liver and makes the surgery much easier and hence much safer. If you do not lose you keep seeing the nutritionist until you do.

I lost 15 lbs before surgery.

I was thinking of doing WW. My doctor wants me on a strict diet, no carbs, no Beans, no nuts, nothing but lean Protein, veggies and fruit. He also wants me to do 2 Protein Shakes per day until goal. That is worse than any diet I've ever done, and I'm pretty sure I won't be doing it. I've been doing mostly low carb since moving to mushies, but I have had beans. I have not been doing 2 protein shakes a day, that is just torture. I did not get banded so I could be on a diet like that. So I am thinking WW will be a much better option than that. When I did WW before, I was always hungry after I'd reached my points for the day, so I am hoping it will be easy to do it now that I am banded. WW is pretty lenient about what foods they allow, but all of it in moderation which is what the band is all about anyways.

I am jealous of all you guys getting fills. I have 4 ccs in there that the doc put in during surgery. I am not allowed to have a fill until I am 6 weeks out, which would be in 2 weeks. However, I am going to visit my sister in Okinawa in a month, and I am going to need to get unfilled for that, so it won't make sense to get a fill until after I come back. I really hope he'll do more than 4 ccs when I get back though, I hope he doesn't try to go back up slowly, because I do not have restriction right now. I've figured out my full sign (a runny nose) and can stop but I get hungry within 1.5-2 hours after eating.

Hey all. I finally broke through my plateau. I had been hovering around 264-266 for the last 2 weeks, and I was getting frustrated. Yesterday I went to a Mets game and then into the city, and did a lot of walking, including up a lot of stairs. I am even sore today. Well, as of this morning I am down to 262, yay! And I even had pizza for lunch, go figure, lol.

I had surgery on a Thursday. Thur, Fri, Sat and Sun I was on Clear Liquids only, using a medicine cup and sipping slowly. Monday I started Protein Drinks and was allowed to move on to a bigger cup. I started with 3 ounce bathroom cups so I didn't forget and gulp too much at once.

It's funny you ask this, because I was wondering the same thing. When I had my EGD prior to surgery, the surgery center called me the next day to check on me. And for that I was only out for 5 minutes and it was a small test. After my surgery, not one phone call. Not the doctor, not the hospital, nothing. I had an appointment with the doctor 5 days post-op, but this was my first surgery and a lot could have gone wrong in 5 days.

I was released same day, but my hubby did fine. He waited in the waiting room during surgery, and they had a tv in there and he also had his laptop and I am sure he was working. After he came in my room, he slept in the spare recliner, better than I was sleeping actually, lol. He didn't eat anything until the afternoon when I forced him to go eat. He also helped me to walk the halls and then took me home. He has ADD but since he had his laptop, tv and a place to take a nap he was good.

Sorry to hear that you have so much trouble at work. Are you okay with telling your supervisor or your Human Resource person about your surgery? If you are, I would explain to them your current limitations and needs for reasonable accomodations. This is only temporary; they may work with you. If not you might want to get a note from your medical provider stating your "medical needs" and accomodations at this time and speak with Human Resources. I was put on Family Medical Leave and on the form it asked for restrictions when coming back to work. Did you take Family Medical Leave? You want to protect your health and your job. Hope you can get this resolved.

Well, my entire store knows about my surgery. We don't have human resources, at least not locally. Probably up in corporate somewhere but I'm not going to involve them. If I told the store manager I am sure he would do something about it, but I don't want to get this guy in trouble. I didn't take any formal sort of leave, I just told my store manager I was having surgery and I wanted 2 weeks off. He is very concerned with me and making sure I am ok, but he hasn't been there when I've been working. I was considering the note thing, because I do need to be able to eat. I'll see what happens tomorrow and get one next week if I need it.

Hi. I work at CVS as a cashier. I was banded on August 26th, and didn't go back to work until September 13th. I didn't want to go back to work until I was eating again, since while I was on liquids I was so weak. I started eating on Friday, and had to go visit my in-laws over the weekend so I started on Monday.

I would suggest you take 2 weeks off, it is hard to stand on your feet after surgery. I was still getting tired even more than a week after surgery, and like I said not eating really makes your energy levels plummet.

As for not being able to take time off work, this is surgery. Whether it's voluntary or not, it's still surgery, and I'm pretty sure it won't count for the blackout period. My store is much more lenient on vacation than most (I was allowed to go to FL to see my parents on December 23rd last year) but they let me go with no problems. The same week I had my surgery the only other cashier went back to college, but they still let me have off. Have your doctor write you a note and they have to give you the time off. If you've been working there for more than a year then they are required to give you unpaid time off through the Family Medical Leave Act, it's the law.

Hey gals, looks like everyone is doing good.

TimandMich, that sounds scary. Glad you stuck around though and were able to get it taken care of quickly.

I have been doing ok. Today is 3 weeks post op. I started back at work on Monday, but only worked Mon and Wed. I was bad at work yesterday and ate some mini m&ms. That is my problem, the whole time I was off I was fine, but as soon as I got to work the cravings kicked in. I work at cvs and am surrounded by candy all day. They say to eliminate the things you crave, and I never have them in my house, but unless I quit my job I don't know how to get away from them.

I also was really mad at work yesterday. I work with this shift supervisor that is a 23 year old boy, and he just doesn't understand. Monday I was only working 6 hours, but I asked him if I could take a break, since it was my first day back and I didn't want to overdo it. He got really snotty with me, but gave me 15 minutes. I was able to gulp down a Protein Shake. Then yesterday I went in at 2:30 even though I was supposed to start at 4 because the store manager asked me to come in early. Well he didn't believe I came in early, and was snotty again about giving me a break. I ate at 1 pm (my first meal of the day), then showered and came to work. I was working until 10. There is no way I can go that long between meals, and since I am only able to eat small amounts at once, if I don't get 3 meals I won't be getting enough Protein in. Finally at 7:45 he gave me a break, but asked me if I was gonna take a full half, so I said no I'll do 20 minutes. I guess I was tight because I had trouble swallowing the shake, and I think it's because I was stressed out. But of course because I only had 20 minutes I couldn't take my time so I had to suffer through the pain and keep drinking it.

I am working with him again tomorrow. I am scheduled for 4-10, but might be going in early. I NEED to take a break so I can eat. I am a cashier and am not allowed to eat at the register, so I don't know what to do. I am tired of him getting annoyed at me. Yesterday I was practically crying because I was hungry and I knew I needed to eat. I wish I had a job where I could do what I wanted and didn't need permission from a punky kid to eat or pee. :wub:

My doctor said I could drive after 3 days. I didn't drive until way after that, but only because I don't like to drive. Since I wasn't working, the only places I went dh was with me so he drove.

So since I am diabetic I see my pcp every 3 months. I saw him in May and told him I was having the surgery and got a letter. Well I went back yesterday, and I had lost 30 lbs since I was there last, and my bloodwork was fantastic. In May my HbA1C was 11.5, normal range is under 7. Yesterday it was 6.7!! :thumbup:

He was so impressed, and he couldn't believe my number was that low especially since it's a 3 month average and my surgery was only 2 weeks ago, so most of it was from the pre-op diet. He has been on my case for years about taking my meds and eating better, and now I'm not even taking meds but my sugars are so good. He doesn't want to see me for 4 months, and if my sugars are still good he will put me on 6 months.

When I hiccup... I know it is time to stop eating. If I am just getting started... I know I am eating to fast. If I am near the end of my meal... I take it as my sign that I am full. Crazy... I never used to hiccup before surgery. I don't mind it though. :thumbup:

Yeah, I wish it worked as a good sign that I am full, but it's usually not for a good 20-30 minutes after I'm done eating. I haven't figured out what my full sign is yet.

Well, they are no longer painful since I've healed from surgery. But I have noticed that about 20 minutes after I've eaten, I will hiccup once. Very strange...

The thing that got me through it was the Unjury chicken Soup flavor. It tastes like a cup o soup, and is soooooo good after only eating sweet things.

Had my appointment with the nut today. According to their scale I am down 27 lbs, which coincides with my 3 lb weight gain from this morning. I can now eat soft foods, including fish, chicken, cottage cheese, yogurt, veggies and fruits.

So after the appointment we went to the mall since we drive an hour to the doctor but only spent 10 minutes there. I had forgotten to bring a Protein Shake, so we went to Ruby Tuesday for lunch. It was my first real meal since surgery and I was in a restaurant, yikes! I ordered Salmon Florentine, which is salmon topped with spinach and artichoke sauce. It was perfect because the fish was soft and the sauce made it even mushier. I shared with DH, so I only ate 1/3 of the salmon, and I had mashed cauliflower on the side. It was so nice to have a real meal again, but I was so nervous. It took me a long time to swallow my first bite, lol.

I also found out that I do have Fluid in my band, 4 cc's in 10 cc band.

Hey all. Glad everyone seems to be doing good.

The first week post op I lost 10 lbs, but now in the second week I think I am the same. It sucks. I have been eating Protein Shakes and Soups, and my calories have mostly been around 700. Yesterday I went down another pound, but then started on mushies so my calories went up to 1200 and today I went back up 3 pounds. It sucks because I have an appointment today. I swear that every single time I have gone in to be weighed I have been up 2 or 3 pounds on my scale that morning. It's like some cruel joke, lol.

BeachBunny, I went out to Friendly's the other day. We used to go out to eat 2 or 3 times a week and I hadn't been out since my surgery, plus I am still not working so I was getting bored. I had some Soup and some applesauce, and it felt good to feel normal again.