carol285

Even with the band & especially as a women our weight rarely declines or even stays the same on a daily basis so don't beat yourself up trying to attain that! Everything and everything effects our daily weight, from the time of month, to if we ate a bit saltier food then usual, to not drinking as much fluids. You are doing great so try not to stress yourself while your tummy heals from it's trauma!

Once you get past the liquid phase things will go much easier I think!! I am about 20 months out & I won't lie to you by saying I NEVER emotionally eat anymore BUT the band keeps it down to just a few bites. I can eat 1 or 2 bites of any food so that is what I focus on if it is an emotional or pure taste need I am filling. Of course with the band there are certain foods that are not user friendly but again taking 1 small taste usually works. Plus I have truly found there are so many wonderful things I can eat that after some time you no longer focus on what you can't eat.

When I went back to work full time in January it turned out I would have a very early lunch hour so I have a protein shake every day either for Breakfast or Lunch. The meal are too close together for me to want real food for both but I also need my protein to keep me going until dinner time. I asked my doc & he was fine with it as long as I wasn't drinking them because I COULDN'T eat solids.

After being away for 11 years I found it today!!! Thrilled is not a big enough word to describe how I feel

You will find that there are many many different post op food protocols. For instance, I was not allowed to leave hospital day after surgery until I consumed a little tuna salad & cranberry sauce. I was on soft/mushy food immediately & 4 weeks post op. On my list of mushy was ground beef in either beef broth or red sauce, even baked potato was OK as long as I mashed it with my fork. So as long as your doc is OK with the types of food you consumed I would concentrate more on keeping the quantity under control. As for the random post about the Mexican Surgeon it was posted as an original topic a day or so ago & got numerous posts on it, including one from myself. I have no idea why it was posted here other then to get further attention. I am sorry if that sounds harsh but something just seems funky about it now that I see it tacked randomly on someone else's question/post.

I have never heard of this doctor BUT if what you are saying about your condition is true the LAST thing I would want is him to care for me!!! Why haven't you sought a 2nd 3rd 4th opinion from another Lap Band doctor? No medical problem is treated in isolation, with all those issues you list why hasn't the fact that you have a lapband been looked into. Also what has been your follow up care? Have you seen the surgeon at all since he operated? After all you don't get the band placed & then go off to loose all your weight with no follow up appointments. Surely you had to have known this??

LOL, yeah Marci, my doctor has you on mushies starting the day after surgery, then for the next month, with solids starting 4 weeks post op.

Frankly I am shocked your insurance paid a much as they did, that seems incredible to me! My surgeon billed around the $20K mark and received about 65% from insurance but I wasn't responsible for any of the difference.

I happen to totally agree with the above post but figured I may not know some particulars about your surgery LOL!!

I have never heard of 3 years of weigh ins & I have HIP/Emblem Health in New York. They did require 6 months of weigh in but it turned into only 4 months when they approved me. They did look at my medical history/files and clearly saw I was overweight my entire adult life so I don't know if that is what they mean for you.

I wouldn't panic as most doctors bill more then insurance companies pay without expecting full payment. Kind of the price for accepting insurance. Of course call doctor on Monday but try not to stress until then!

I had mine the morning after surgery before they discharged me from the hospital. The liquid tasted a bit foal after nothing except ice chips for 12-15 hours but not dreadful. Then test was quick and easy as described above. After mine they sent me back to my room to eat a bit of tuna salad & cranberry sauce then they promptly discharged me

I was in almost your exact position!!! I did 6 months post op no sweat, lost almost 65lbs, then life's complications got me off track. About 2 months prior to my surgery my husband had a massive heart attack followed by 3 heart surgeries & 10 days in a coma. Ironically he was the thin & healthy one! Oh & we also have a teenage son with Autism. Anyway, hubby went back to work but it became clear he needed to apply for medical retirement, which was a long stressful & financially draining thing so I had to get a full time job to supplement. Yes, all these are excuses I let get in my way but we wouldn't be in need of weight loss surgery if food wasn't our comfort of choice. Anyway for the next 9 months I was up/down 20lbs of what I had lost. I couldn't see the doc for 4 months because of insurance issues but in February all was straightened out with that & I decided enough wallowing had happened. I had long chat with doc & told him how much I could still physically eat & he agreed I needed an adjustment big time. That was on February 22, I went for a follow up yesterday & 12lbs are gone!! I am now up to losing 73.5lbs and yes I am bummed I wasted 9 months of weight loss time but the rational side of me says so what. After all I lived 40+ years as a fat person so if it takes me 3 years instead of 2 to become a healthy normal weight person so be it. The way I see it now is everyday is a new chance to get things right PS I agree your Doctor should be more nurturing. I don't mean lie to you that all is well but a little support goes a long way!

Let me say I completely respect peoples decision to keep the surgery a secret even though I don't get it myself. Of all the comments I am more intrigues me is Jess55 who stated she has hardly any fill & doesn't want any! I realize there is a very small percentage of Lap Band patients who never need a fill & I also realize there are Lap Band patients who take it to the opposite extreme and turn it into a strangulation device. However, I hope you know that you may in fact need fills along your journey and they are not something to be viewed negatively.

I drink the GNC Total Lean ready made shakes in vanilla. If I want chocolate I prefer EAS Carb Control ready made shakes that I buy in a case at BJ's. I find the ready made shake more tasty but they do cost a bit more of course. You will find everyone has different preferences so it may be trial & error for you.

I was banded October 25, 2010. I lost 60 lbs by the end of April 2011, then had 9 months of treading water due to my husband's health & his need to apply for a medical retirement from his job with NYC. Let me just say going from an active city employee to a retired one wrecks havoc with your finances & health insurance lol!! I have had to start working full time, also an adjustment with a disabled husband and a son with Autism BUT I realized I needed to continue my weight loss journey all the more now to get stronger/healthier for them. I have been back on track since returning to the doc & getting an adjustment on February 22. I have my next appt in on Wednesday & I am anticipating an approx 8lb loss!

You are doing a great job Zinhaa!! Don't let the silly hunk of metal aka the scale rock your world, like so many things in life it is unreliable LOL!! I see you are from LI, NY, I am from Queens but my doc is on LI. I used NY Bariatric Dr. Holover, who did you use?

You are doing a great job Zinhaa!! Don't let the silly hunk of metal aka the scale rock your world, like so many things in life it is unreliable LOL!! I see you are from LI, NY, I am from Queens but my doc is on LI. I used NY Bariatric Dr. Holover, who did you use?

I've discovered that every doctor has a different pre & post op diet plan, for instance I was on mushies from the day after surgery. As a matter of fact I was not allowed to leave the hospital the next day until they saw me eat some of my tuna salad & cranberry sauce. I did eat carbs post op but in the form of sugar free rice pudding

I have made NO secret of my weight loss surgery & I never intend to. It is only my opinion but if I treat it like a shameful secret that is what it will become. It has taken insurance companies years to start paying for this procedure and many still don't only feeding into the negative image of WLS! I was banded in October 2010 and am currently like 60% done my weight loss. I had some personal life struggles that slowed me down but I am now back on track and moving forward. I was concerned about the negative feedback and I certainly got some along the way but so the f%@k what, there will always be idiots in this world who know not what they are talking about. Let them enjoy their feelings of superiority while we enjoy the true superiority of defeating our weight issues with our new best friend the Lap Band lol!!!

I weigh myself daily but don't get frustrated by the normal ups & downs I see. Women's bodies fluctuate greatly in weight on a daily basis. I can go up/down 3lbs daily for no apparent reason, it just is what it is! If you find it discouraging you should stay away from the scale except at doctor visits, if following the rules progress will more likely to be seen then.

I have absolutely no problems drinking ice cold water morning noon or night so I think this is another example of us all being on the same journey but with a variety of routes! Good luck getting suggestions that work for you

YOU ROCK!!!!!!

Was that the episode with Dr Garber from the NY Bariatric Group on it? I used Dr Spencer Holover who is part of the practice. I had seen it when it aired and if I remember correctly the 2 women featured did seem to eat quite differently. One was much more the soft/mushie kind of foods but the other ate more normally, just small portions. I do think Dr Oz spoke favorably about the proceedure but did have professionals who were for & against for balance to the program.

I was banded 1 year ago this week and my fills have all been done in my doctors office, he did my initial fill himself but since then the PA does them. The doctor is always in the office so I can see him at any time if I feel the PA isn't sufficient but I like that I have developed a relationship with multiple office people. If I have learned anything from these forums it's that there are many many different practices when it comes to this lap band process.