Search the Community

Search on the site for esophageal spasm and see if your symptoms are similar. Regardless, if it continues for a total of a week, ask your dr.

Hi Tully, My answers to your questions are based on my experiences, but nothing beats talking to your doctor... 1) Not sure of the code - do you mean the medicare item number? I have that somewhere and am sure I'll be able to find it if that is what you mean. 2) I started Optifast 3 weeks early. I really struggled with it. I don't know if I would start it 6 weeks before, because it really is quite taxing. I ate the occassional dinner, but didn't go further than having a small piece of grilled chicken and adding pumpkin and corn to my other "allowed" vegies. If I were in your situation, I probably would eat lunches with clients, but would limit myself to a salad, no croutons, no cheese, and balsamic dressing. That should mostly fits in with what is "allowed". 3) I think you'll be fine 6 weeks after to go to London. By then you should be ready to try normal foods and 6 weeks out I was able to eat pretty much anything. I never had anything stuck or trouble with anything till after my first fill. Good luck!

Hey everyone, I am booked into be banded on 22nd May- less than 4 weeks away now and I am so excited. I am due to see my surgeon in a couple of weeks, but I have a couple of burning questions until then that I was hoping someone might be able to help with. 1. What is the insurance code for the lapband? I thought I had it written down somehwere and I can't find it. 2. My doctors said I should start Optifast 2 weeks before surgery, so I thought I would start it 6 weeks before, just to get a jump start. I am doing fine, but in the 2 weeks before surgery I have a few work lunches with clients, do you think I can eat an occassional meal? I was hoping that by starting the optifast early, that might help with this matter? 3. I am booked to go to London for work for 3 weeks approximately 6 weeks after having surgery, do you think this is ok? I am worried it will be too soon... :eek: Thanks so much for your help. I know I'll have to check all this with my surgeon, but I won;t be seeing him for a couple of weeks and it is really stressing me out! :ohmy:

I can't believe I went from whining to being scared sh**less in less than a week! I met with Dr. Weatherille of Park Nicollet last Thursday and he set my surgery for 11:20 AM tomorrow! I am really impressed with him - he's got decades of experience as a surgeon, and ten years of laparoscopic procedures experience and over three years with the Lap-Band. I think it was best that it all happened so fast because I haven't had much time to think about it. I've only had to endure the pre-op liquid diet for 5 days and managed to survive Christmas dinner without food. I'm amazed at how effective it is, though - I have already lost ten pounds since last Friday. The only hurdle left in the pre-op physical at 2:00 PM today and I don't have any reason to assume there will be any problems. I took off all this week and the first week of January from work so that gives me a week and a half to recover. I hope that's enough time. Park Nicollet's policy is for one overnight in the hospital following surgery, but I guess that's only to satisfy the insurance carriers. I'll see you all on the other side!

Started my pre-op 2 week diet and man o man I'm struggling. First off the Bariatric Advantage banana is not so hot...ok but not great.. 2nd, I have the watery poops (yuckkkkkkkkkkk)... and it's horrible... Is this normal to have diarrhea like that, doesn't it cause dehydration? 3rd, I'm STARVINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.. I mean like really really hungry. Why do some doctors not do 2 weeks and some don't.. I have never been told I have a fatty liver and I have had surgeries before (last one in Oct to have my gallbladder out). I don't know how I will make it through the next 14 days.. Helpppppppppppppppppp

I hope you start to feel better soon! I felt horrible after my RNY also and had a whole lotta pain as well. Best thing you can do for the pain is to walk, walk, walk! I know that's the last thing you want to do right now, but a lot of the pain is from gas they pump in you during the surgery and the more you walk the better you will feel! Also, each day you will start to feel better and better! Don't worry about how much you gain in fluids or whatnot after surgery, it will all come off and then some in the next few weeks! I gained a whopping 22lbs. From Fluid in the hospital, and I just had plastic surgery 3 weeks ago and gained 16lbs. all of which has come off since! Demand better pain meds and keep bugging them until you get relief and if they say your dr. said this or that tell them you want to speak to your dr. because you are in really bad pain and you need relief! The chest pain will also subside in time but I'm not going to lie, it was hell!! But it will get better day by day! Good luck and keep us posted on how you are doing!

So I finally saw my nut today. If I worked really hard and had a bit of luck I could get my surgery before the new year. But after some thought, financially it will be a it better to wait. So we are aiming for the first week of January. So excited to see some progress! However the Cleveland clinic requires 10% weight loss (roughly 20lbs for me). It's extremely hard for me to lose weight (thus the surgery). With my excess weight my knees and back hurt like hell and with my meds I'm always hungry. Anyone have any tips to beat hunger and exercises I can do that won't push my back and knees? My nut wasn't much help. ???? Anything but swimming for exercise please. I know it's best but the idea of a bathing suit at a gym pool terrifies me beyond belief.

Oh my goodness I expected some hair loss post surgery (6/25/12), but in the last week it has increased a lot. I have fine hair to begin with so I am panicking. I started 5 mg of Biotin and a complete multi formula vitamin right after surgery. Both formulated for baratriac patients. At first the loss was was a bit more than normal shedding, but in the last week lots of hair coming out. This morning it was falling down my back when I got out of the shower. I noticed last week a difference in my hair thickness or I should say thinness. Any suggestions? How long will it last? Oh and I am very careful to get plenty of protein.

After maintaining my 40lb loss since May, two weeks ago I really noticed I was up 5lbs and eating 1800-2000cals so I made an appt. I was really nervous to go in to see my surgeon (I usually see the NP) because I feel a bit like a lapband failure having only lost 40lbs since January. I have been eating all the time, a lot of crap, but even good stuff in large amounts and STILL wanting to eat off my own arm. He was sooo great! He congratulated me on seeing the signs and coming in for a fill. He ended up giving me a full ML after doing a half and the barium swallow not showing much restriction. I left feeling renewed like I can really do this again and won't be hungry all the time.

Does anyone have a card they use for eating out at Buffets to pay less? I have not asked my doc will next week when I go for my 3 month checkup- but I hear some people use them??

U may not be getting enough calories in.u may want to add 200 calories.especially if ur seeing a trainer 3 x's a week.

I was banded on 10/07/11 at 276lbs and have since lost 71lbs. WoOhOo! I am very proud of that number, but have come to a point where I have been at 205lbs since 07/10/12! What is going on?! I am very happy not to be gaining weight, but really want to hit the One-derlands! My goal for this is 08/11/12, so I have 10 days people! Help me out! What should I do different!? Here is a general overview of my current diet... Breakfast is a Protein shake. lunch is usually a chicken breast and veggies or a lean cuisine meal (the steak tips portabello is awesome and less than 200 calories!). dinner is a tiny salad (because lettuce doesn't like me) and some form of protein. I hardly eat carbs, if any at all. No snacking and I see a personal trainer 3 days a week. What else can I do? Thanks for your ideas!

start: 219 now: 210 goal: 209 My weight goes up and down a pound or 2 then drops a couple pounds all of a sudden. I have been going to the gym 5-6 days a week. Its a daily battle to go still, but have to admit it feels good to be able to actually go and be able physically to use the equipment for a good amount of time.

I'll never make my goal! Gained the 2 lb I lost last week. Poooo!

I had my surgery on May 7th and am now sitting here at my computer (May 8th) and am feeling pretty good. The gas pains were the worst part of my recovery. I still have them and I have lots of bloat, but I seem to do better after taking 4 of the little Gas-X melt-in-your-mouth tabs. Does anyone have any other suggestions for getting rid of the abdominal gas? I have walked around a lot, did the dishes, did a load of laundry. I'm determined not to be sedentary! Also, I had the realize band. Although I haven't tried, I feel like I could actually eat real food. My doc wants me to be on liquids for 2 weeks, so I'm being faithful to that. I'd love to know any suggestions for liquid foods that you guys are finding appealing. Do you think it'd be okay to eat clam chowder soup if I strained out the good stuff (chunks)? I'm looking forward to losing w/you all!! Weight on surgery day: 204 BMI: 34.5 Height: 5'5" Goal Weight: 150 Age: 44 Surgery: Dr. Manuel Castro in Dallas (New Beginnings Surgical Group)

I felt a little restriction for a couple of weeks after my first fill. I'm sure it was mostly residual swelling from the fill. Most people need a few fills to get noticeable and sustained restriction. Although my first fill was 4.2 cc in a 9 cc band, and my doctor was fairly aggressive with my adjustments, it took me several fills to reach good restriction, so there's no way to say for sure how you'll feel after your first adjustment. Some of the factors I've found that play a role: 1. amount of fill your doctor will give you 2. size of you stomach 3. if you have fat around your stomach, how quickly it dissolves 4. if you tend to swell a lot after a fill, you may have to go a little slower with adjustments

I was eating around 1200 a day and not losing. I upped it to 1500 and lost 5lbs in a week. I do exercise 5-6 times a week. For me 1200 was not enough calories. Everyone is different though.

My husband has benefitted from my WLS too. He's eating healthier, cut out a lot of carbs, and joined the gym 8 months ago with me. We go 6-7 times a week...... He's down 50 too. Congrats to you snd your hubby. May there be many more NSV's in your future!

lol lol i'm 29...if you met me you'd think i was 22, i'm toooooo fun to be in the 30's thread, maybe i'll join them when i turn 40 lol all my friends are in their 20's i'm in college (dental school) so i got all the college drama of any other 20-something yr old... so i moved to dallas for school...i've been here 7 weeks...um yeah i'm the biggest person in the entire dental school...AWKWARD!!! like not just the program, but the entire school of nursing, dental hygiene, ect. but funny enough, all the teachers remembered my name first, probably cause i stood out like CRAZY ok so i'm 5"8, i was 5"7 until my consultation, lol lol, i'm like heck i'll take the inch sure why not, currently 288 lbs. i'm scheduled for surgery july 24th, so i'm on my pre op low carb diet now...which isn't toooooo bad cause i'm sure we've all done low carb before... i'm not telling anyone i go to school with about the surgery...um i kinda hinted to a few girls i was considering it, cause i have like pictures from my early tweenties when i was like 145-155lbs , um their comment, oh i like you like this (my current darn near 300 lbs self) um ok the biggest girl is maybe a size 8, they are all size 4-6, sharing clothes etc, so just restating i stand out in my program, BAD!!!!! ...one girl was like "don't do it" um yeah....so now that i'm on my pre op low carb diet, i'll just say i'm changing my eating habits :mad: i've been reading the threads on people losing friends and people becoming jealous after people lose weight, so i'm kinda suspicious of my new friends, but i'm like well maybe its just one of those "friends will like you no matter what you look like " so maybe it was the nice thing to say, i guess i woulda freaked if they said "oh dang girl GET THE SURGERY!!!" LOL only my sister and a close friend know...ahhh and the close friend who was also thin with me in high school and early 20's and is currently obese with me in our late twenties, is totally against the surgery...so i told her i wasn't doing it :biggrin: i used to be totally against surgery, i'm like thats cheating, diet and exercise thats the right way...um yeah ok, i'd do good for 3-6 months, lose 40 lbs, gain 50, lose 30 gain 40...just recently lost 17, gained 36, those are just the most recent attempts, i realize i need help or i'll be over the 300 lb mark...like it was better for me not to try cause if i just eat normal i maintain, when i diet then get off diet...WATCH out! so after a hundred or so failed attempts i realize i cant do it on my own, i think the band will make it a little easier to make good food choices, i'm good with exercising, its just so discouraging when you go to the gym 5 days a week for a month, lose 15 lbs, then one bad weekend of snickers and cheetos 8 lbs is already back.... LOL to the people who say you didn't gain the weight over night, i beg to differ! nic

Sounds wonderful! My date is July 1st so I have 3 different doctor appointments this week. Two tomorrow and then my pre-op with my surgeon on Wednesday. I've connected with other July folks through another post here. They were suggesting becoming friends on MyFitnessPal.com to help support one another and that sounded great to me too! I've set that account up and have put in the shakes, etc. that I will be using to make it easier. I have tried some of them to see how I like them. I'm still figuring out the ins and outs of how to use that program and this site, but getting better, I hope! Good luck to you!

Hi everyone, I was a low BMI bandster. I had good weight loss success with my band, but it has been a journey. Fills, unfills, episodes of being so tight I had to have an immediate unfill, etc. About 6 months ago I started having symptoms associated with a slip and the upper GI tests I've had done definitely show a slip. My choices are: remove lap band (which is not what I want to do), reposition lap band, or revise to a sleeve or bypass. I work for one of the largest health care providers in the St. Louis area and my insurance will cover a revision, but only with a provider in their network. Guess how many bariatric providers there are in the network? 2! One is the surgeon who did my lap band and he only does lap band. The other surgeon is currently not doing revisions and won't be for potentially another year. I could go to another surgeon and do self-pay, but that seems crazy to go through that again. I was self pay for my lap band surgery because my BMI was not high enough and I just recently paid all those bills off. I am also leery of the sleeve surgery because it is so permanent. Lap bands can always come out. I feel like the decision is being made for me. I prayed for assistance making this decision and all arrows are pointing me this way. Has anyone had success after a lap band slip, then reposition? I am worried about it happening again in another three years.

Congrats on your surgery! I had surgery 1/16/09 and it's the best thing I've ever done for myself! The full liquid stage is tough, but once you get through it, you can get through anything! :confused: As far as how it feels to get food stuck? Horrible... This always happens to me when I've waited too long to eat and eat too fast (naughty, naughty me!). In fact, I'm writing this as I'm experiencing it lol. Basically it feels like my food is stuck in my throat. My hubs was banded 2 weeks after me and he says his gets stuck in like his sternum, so clearly it's different for everyone. Keep up the good work!!

I was banded on 10.10.07 and was also concerned about not being mentally alert enough to return to work so I had taken 2 weeks off work. I found that I was feeling physically and mentally fine within a week and returned to work on about day 8. I am a psychologist and imagine that my clients expect nothing less than 99.9% concentration from me. I am having fairly light meals while at work (yoghurt, salads etc) as the band is still new to me and I don't want to experience stuck foods, PB's etc in my rush to eat in between clients.

Thank you for this post. I have been lurking on this site for the last couple of weeks and I have not posted in a while because I do not know what to make of my lapband. I started out loosing and then I just started gaining weight. I have lost and gained the same five pounds over the last two months I know. I had my first fill in June and I do not have any restriction. I am not scheduled to have my second fill until the 13th of August. I am working out at least three times a week by doing tae bo and weights. This is probably why I have not gained more than the same nagging five pounds. Anyway, thanks for posting something positive that I can look forward to. I am not discouraged with the band, just being patient and looking forward to the time when I have good restriction.