Search the Community

Thanks so much for your comments. I am really excited about this journey. You asked what my surgeon recommended for post surgery diet. In hospital: clear liquids, first week: full liquids, second week: puree, third week: soft foods (this is pretty much any softer food that does not have fiber), and then fourth week: regular foods. My doctor wants to do my first fill 4-5 weeks after surgery and wants us to be on regular food for at least a week before our first fill. Thanks for your encouragement!

Please seek medical attention immediately! I had the same symptoms at almost one week post op and was diagnosed with clots in both lungs. Don’t wait! Better to be safe than sorry.

Ask your Team. But, in the early days post op *perhaps* focus on a maintaining a caloric deficit to maximize weight loss. Peanut Butter is very calorically dense. Most tend to eat more that a single serving because its usually not weighed or measured accurately. If at 2 weeks post op you should be consuming ~600 cals (confirm amount with your Team), peanut butter will be 1/6 -1/3 your intake for the day. Good Luck ❤

I dipped into the peanut butter my first week post op--just licked on a teaspoon to satisfy a desire to have something with substance. Later I confessed to my bari team, and they said to avoid it because of the fat and calorie content for a serving to give me any measurable protein. But they also said a teaspoon is not a deal-buster and if it keeps me sane to have that taste, keep it small, no more than a teaspoon, once in a while as a treat.

Monday I went to the doc to get my second fill. I was so scared the first time that I didnt watch. This time I did. Not the needle part but the screen as they do it under an x-ray type machine. It was really cool. I had 4cc's put in my band the first fill. He said that is the max recomended. Then Monday he put in 3 cc's to show me why it is not recomended to go past 2cc's after your initian fill. I took a drink of that radioactive barium stuff and could see it sitting at the top of my pouch, it just sat there. he told me to take another sip to see if it would push thru, nothing, then a last sip to make sure, nope, nothing went thru. it just sat there. So he took out one cc and the liquid slowly trickled thru my band to the lower portion of my stomach. It was kinda cool. I could actually see restriction. I am on liquids for a week. He said i needed to be careful and totally respect this fill once I start on mushies as i have much more restriction. I am praying i have restriction with real food. I (out of the blue) picked up 5 pounds:eek::mellow:I have been walking 1-2 miles a day, was eating well about 95% of the time and boom here comes the weight. I am hoping it is water weight, you know how us women can be. All i can do is keep excercising and see what happens once I begin real food in a week. I want this weight off yesterday!!!!!!!! I hope every one is well. I am trying not to get discouraged. I am full after a half a can of soup (the kind you heat and drink out of the can) however it doesnt last longer than an hour or so. With this level of restriction with fluids, does this mean I may have restriction (you know the kind that lasts, the sweet spot) when i start eating solid again? Could use some encouragement. God bless and thanks.:thumbup:

So I am having surgery by Dr Alan Posner on Aug 7, 2012. I am scheduled for VGS and am a previous bander that obviously failed. My mom, who is sooooo excited for me to have this surgery wants to buy me one piece of clothing that I could wear once I lose some weight. I told her to buy me something in a size 18-since I have not been that size since I was a senior in high school. But I am wondering how this is going to work. I mena with lap banding, I ate, vomitted, ate, vomitted, got filled, ate, vomitted, etc. Is that what this is going to be like or is this ;like a guaranteed weight loss thing. Then how are you supposed to eat? Is there going to be a special diet to follow until you reach your goal weight. I mean....I am so lost and have a million questions and surgery is like in three weeks. Maybe these are things i should ha ve thought about. I was too busy asking questions like what is the dr's stats, etc....Anyone can help??

This sleeve is working great for me. Best decision I ever made. Still battling the over eating aspect of it but my sleeve let's me know I can't do that. Had a bbq hotdogs is a no go. Hope somewhere down the line it can happen. Love my bbq hotdogs lol. Pcp say I'm doin great. Just wanted to check in n let everyone know I'm doin alright on my journey. Hope everyone is having a great summer.

I HAVE HAD 2 FILLS IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS....I'VE MADE IT MY GOAL TO KEEP GETTING THEM UNTIL I GET TOO TIGHT. I'M AT 3.2CC IN A 4CC BAND. I LOSE 2LBS PER WEEK WITHOUT EXERCISE, JOURNALING, OR MEASURING. I THINK IF I DID THESE THINGS, I COULD REALLY LOSE AND GET THE MOST BENEFITS FROM MY BAND. I LIKE THE FACT THAT I STAY FULL FOR 3-4 HOURS BECAUSE I COULD NEVER DO THAT ON MY OWN, BUT IF I START EXERCISING I'LL BE LOSING INCHES!

sleep apnea - I don't think they'd deny anyone for that. I think the issue is the anesthesiologist has to know about it so they can take precautions pain - I had pretty much none, other than sore abs for a few days having people there to care for you - my husband took a week off work to stay with me, but after the first couple of days, I would have been fine on my own something going wrong - it happens, but fortunately, it's not common. These surgeries have come a LONG way and are among the safest surgeries out there. They're safer than hip replacement surgery, and they do those every day! stroke - not sure what to say here, other than hopefully they'd let you know early on if they can't do the surgery because of the stroke

I too lost only 6 lbs. Now I am in a stall mode. My surgery was 06/15 and I am getting a fill because I feel no restriction or fullness. If it hadent been for the great people sharing info on this site I might not have known I need a fill and it is not normal to not feel full at some point! Special thanks to Tina and Maggs they are great bloggers!!!

so on december 18th i go for my last visit. my pcp has to fax over everything to insurance. god i hope i get approved! she says it usually takes a week IF that! im super excited. i go for my lab work on january 4th so im hoping i have my surgery date before then. my surgeon requires a 5 day liquid diet. i wonder why its just five days? i dont even care. thats better than 2 weeks!

If you can make it out to the coast for a weekend, the Big Sur Half Marathon is being held on Nov. 20 in Monterey, and they have a 5k walk/run associated with it. There is also a Pacific Grove 5k being held the day before if you want to double up on them. The full Big Sur Marathon is in late April and they have 5k, 9 mile and 10.5 mile events along Hwy 1 between Big Sur and Carmel. It's one of the prettiest events that you can do. My wife and I will be doing the Big Sur 5k (more like a 10k for me since I have to orbit her to match our paces!) but not sure if we will get up there for the half marathon in Nov. I just did one in the Pebble Beach forest a couple of weeks ago, a more laid back event where we could power walk with the dog walkers. http://www.bsim.org/ gets you info on all those events. http://www.marathonguide.com/ has a calendar and links to marathons around the country, many of which have 5k's or other shorter events run alongside. I see that there is one in Silicon Valley on Oct. 31 that has a 5k linked to it. Good luck - they are fun events to work up to and progress thru.

Ok so Tues Jan 24th I was on Clear liquids only-had Water and chicken broth throughout the day. I was so excited and felt prepared mentally and physically. I’m a Kaiser baby and my doctor didn’t require a 2 week liquid diet- just clears the night before 10oz of magnesium citrate. Around 6pm I took that and it tasted awful but whatevs. Around 11pm I went to go take a shower and scrub with the antibacterial scrub the bariatric team provided and I remember I had a quick urge to release and couldn’t. I went back in the shower and the water felt so good from straining and I couldn’t wait to fall asleep. I raised my head to wash my face and closed my eyes…and woke up on the floor of the tub with my mom shaking me up (my brother heard me fall and woke up my parents), she’s talking and I can’t hear her or the shower. I was like-I fell asleep? I realized I fainted. The water was warm and I just felt so tired. I wanted to sleep there to be honest. I got up and told her I must have dozed off and needed to use the scrub before I get out (I can’t believe I still wanted to scrub lol) so I got up reached for the scrub and fainted again!! Mom caught me and slowly brought me down. I woke up and this time was worried, mom dressed me and my brother called 911. I was freezing and my dad was holding me keeping me warm. Paramedics said my blood pressure was very low and I was dehydrated, the put an IV in me and drove to Kaiser ER where I had 4 bags of Fluid before I could go home. My dad did not want me to get the surgery after this but I was like if I’m not getting it tomorrow, I’m never going to put myself through this again I won’t get the surgery. Got home at 3a, slept till 7 then headed to Kaiser by 8:30. Greeted with more fluids! I was definitely not dehydrated anymore lol. Mom stayed with me till the ‘end’ of my old self. Surgery was scheduled at 11 but surgeon was concerned and kept me on fluids till almost 1, I was going crazy waiting!! My mom- she is my angel and rock. She kept me calm, patient and relaxed. Kaiser surgeon team- super friendly, polite and to the point. I felt ready and prepared…until 5 mins before surgery…Slowly I started feeling anxious, then worried, then panicky. The nurse dropped a bag of IV fluid and for some reason I thought they would make a mistake on me and I was going to die! I started crying and shaking and I don’t fully understand why I got scared-I just did. I kept wondering-is this a mistake? Am I going to not wake up? My mom was trying so hard to help without her crying too because she wanted to ease my fear. The team came in one by one and introduced themselves and were very kind. Two of the girls walked me into the op room, held my hand and were extremely nice and honest- yes there is 1 in 100 chance of leaks but the surgeon has had none with his patients. The surgeon talked to me and said that there is no pressure, they want me to feel safe and know they will take care of me, they want me to be comfy, most of all they want me not to feel forced. They made me feel like I was not crazy and I appreciated that. I woke up in my hospital room and didn’t feel much pain, just sore like a truck ran over me. Didn’t really talk much at the hospital. Mom and dad were there and let me relax, slept the first day. Kept waking up nauseous and only slept every 2-3 hours or so, waking up to dry heave. At night the nurses had me walk and I did a lap, go back to bed and press the pain med button only after every walk. Other than that I didn’t need it. Went home the next night. Really sore, tender, it was a struggle to walk but gets easier. Every day gets better. I do not regret this AT ALL super happy and ready for my journey. It’s been a crazy beginning but I learned that if I can do this, I can do anything I set my mind and heart to. I’m journaling my wl through youtube and recording my inches. I hope of your thinking of this, I would recommend the sleeve and if you have any questions I’m happy to help, let’s be friends!

Just wondering if anyone else had trouble with their first fill and trying to find the port. I recieved my first fill yesterday and it took three tries to finally find it. Now I am all bruised and wondering if it's going to be like this for every fill.

Like every other food, eat/drink slowly. If you don't try to gulp one down like Mean Joe Greene, you are not going to create slippage. I don't drink more than one a week, but I enjoy a Pepsi max once in awhile, or Coke Zero.

I experienced a lot of stomach gurgling yesterday. Leah, who got sleeved at the same time as me, said she did not which is another indication that everyone experiences everything differently. She experienced lots of gurgling the day before on ice chips. I was too chicken to take my drugs last night with my stomach acting out of sorts. We got a few pain pills, which I don't need but I am keeping "just in case" (the gurgling was uncomfortable but not painful and was only accompanied with liquids I was trying to ingest). Antibiotics and something for my stomach which I believe is acid reducer. I'll try the drugs today. Not sure why my stomach was all gurgling. Could be that I took the nasty leak test, followed by a popsicle, followed later by some broth, followed later by some super sweet apple juice (all in little amounts but my tummy was letting it all be heard). I was pretty active yesterday once we hit the hotel. I sat by the pool just to get some sunshine and enjoy the beautiful weather (too cold for pool but nice for sitting). Then I took a cab and went to a place to get a pedicure that the hotel bell hop recommended that was close by called Soleil. It was super close to the hotel and I could have walked but because I was unfamiliar with the area I thought it best to take a cab. I'm going back today and I will most likely walk. While I was there I had my eyebrows waxed and upper legs waxed. All three things cost approximately $50 total american. Totally worth it. You get a 10% discount if you mention you are from the hotel. Leah and her friend braved the traffic walking and went to a Starbucks and a convenience store where she got some Gatorade (I'll go get some this morning at some point). I am also getting my teeth whitened today. It is something I've always wanted to do. I'll post about that when I am finished. I tried to be on a semi normal sleep schedule that first night just to get my body back into the routine. I went to bed at 8:30 p.m. which is a little short of my normal 10 p.m. bedtime. I am up at 5 a.m. so I would consider that pretty normal (normally I am up by 6 a.m. at home). I slept in all different positions last night without any problem. Normally I sleep on my side but I woke up in the middle of the night on my stomach. The main incision on my left is hurting a bit but nothing too horrible. The beds don't have a fitted bottom sheet (it has a flat bottom sheet) so with all my tossing and turning at night (which is normal for me) I managed to rip off the bottom sheet and expose the mattress. That is annoying. I wish I had thought to bring compression socks with me for the flight home. I am worried about blood clots the most. I think I would add that to any packing list people are making from this point on. Also I would have had my larger bills broken up into smaller ones. I've been running into some problems trying to make change or not having small bills for tipping. I could have lived without a robe. The night nurse at the Florence Hospital gave me a second gown that I would use as a robe while I was there. Since I don't wear robes at home I might leave the one I purchased here at the hotel and save some packing space. As I think of more stuff I will post.

I was in the same boat. I had a 7 Lb window that I HAD to maintain - that was the hardest thing to do. I was lucky that Federal BC/BS only required 3 months of Nutrition and what not opposed to other company's 6 months. But we've made it! Trying to stay in my window, I really tried to watch what I ate, which I always try to do. Since I was approved, I was now told that I can relax - just don't go crazy. I another night of all you can eat crabs, a steak dinner with all the sides, another night at a Fondue restaurant, another visit to a winery, and then to a brewery. That's it - Not that I won't have these again, well not anytime soon , nor in this quantity. Just in case my taste buds change and don't like these things anymore, I want one last taste. Did you have to track what you were eating for a week to see how much protein you were eating? I could not believe how little I consuming! What an eye-opener! Someone had told me to freeze Protein drinks - Like Muscle Milk/ Premier Protein to have high protein popsicle snacks. I guess you could do that with Greek Yogurt too. I think tonight it will really hit me..... What is your Pre-Op Diet? Mine is something called Robard - it's 4 meal replacement "Things" a day. Shakes/drinks/soups/pudding.... and can drink Gatorade, low sodium broth as fillers

@@LizFrmTexas do you have Fluid in your band now? Try not stress over the bloating being a slip, but do take some precautions to help yourself be comfortable. Going back to band basics is always a good idea. A liquid diet will help to sooth your stomach and esophagus if you are having reflux. It will also take the stress off the pouch and the band. So give it a go for a few days to a week and then move to soft foods and see how it goes. If this does not help you than I would call the Dr. and tell them you need a more urgent appointment because you want to take care of it ASAP and avoid any complications. Let us know how your doing!!

I had my 2nd upper endoscopy since my VSG surgery 9-15-2009, yesterday and over-all "FINDINGS" for Oropharynx, Esophagus, EG-Junction, Cardia, Fundus, body, all "Normal". The report continues : Antrum "Mild gastritis Biopsy taken "Duodenum Bulb- Normal 2nd portion- Normal 3rd portion-Biopsy taken. I suppose I will hear from the doctor or one of his personal sometime next week for further findings... Although I was groggy when the doctor spoke with me after I awoke,while still on the table, he told me everything looked good, or fine...He also told me I did NOT need to take any PPI, and could just end taking the Protonix, (generic form)...no need to wean off. My next move will be to meet with yet ANOTHER ENT, since the last one I saw diagnosed me, (according to this reputable gastroenterologist), incorrectly. Meaning my throat, nasal, problem, (feeling as if I've a glob or web of sorts just hanging, and/or with pools of mucus or saliva).. is not symptomatic of any sort of acid reflux, LPR,(silent), as was my diagnosis, or GERD. This doctor feels the problem is literally in my head, and needs to be closely scrutinized by an ENT. He has referred me to one and will send THAT doctor a full report of his findings and speculation. In the meanwhile I'm still very uncomfortable with this throat irritation, (yes my throat does get irritated, from constant 24/7 secretions...and naturally, I've anxiety over this yet undiagnosed, unresolved condition.

Isopure makes me a little nauseous so I prefer to go with a protein powder. Unjury is good, but so is Syntrax and other brands. Protein powders are just one of those post op necessities you have to spend money on at least for 6 weeks while you are healing. I am strange and love daily protein shakes, even at 13 months.

My timeline: Dec 2013: attended info session Jan 2014: initial consult Feb 2014: bloodwork, chest xray, abdominal ultrasound, approval from primary care doc March 2014: first appmt with surgeon and nutritionist; psych eval April 2014: endoscopy, follow up chest CT scan, pulmonary consult May 2014: sleep study, follow up pulmonary appmt, follow up bloodwork, insurance approval, support group meeting June 2014: second appmt with surgeon, nutrition class, 1-week pre-op diet, pre-op appointment at hospital, then surgery! BTW, this was slower than necessary due to my work schedule and preference for a summer surgery. If I had accepted the first available appointments for everything, the process would have taken 4 months tops.

I was extremely lucky! Only 6 weeks! My insurance only required a psych consult and a nutrition consult. Back in 2010 I had a 6 month wait period with nutrition consults and didn't make it through my full 6 months. Different insurance.

I had the disolvable ones, w/ the ends sticking out, but it took several weeks (about 5, cause they were still there when I got my first fill) before they went away altogether.

I kept seeing people talk about having one done before surgery and wondered too if I would need one, but my doctor didn’t require me to have it or the sleep study before my surgery which is next week. I think if you have had bad GERD in the past or other GI issues then they would want it.