BandItOrLoseIt

As long as carb is controlled, my doc has no retrictions on coffee, carbonated drinks, alcohol, sex, and all the other stuff I can't live without! I did plication and band together mid-July, and after a couple of weeks I started drinking coffee again. At first I had a lot of bloating (not from coffee) and the coffee necessarily did not make it any better, but after a month or so, I was good to go. I drink at least 3 cups a day. Most days one cup is Strbucks' Americano (basically two shot of espresso but I add half and half (almost 0 carb) and 1/2 packet sweet n low). No carb and very satisfying... If I want to splurge, I get a sugar free vanilla latte with soy milk (has less carb than non-fat regular milk). Even before my surgery I would never get the high carb drinks somehow. As mentioned, my doc is really big on no carb (only 30 gr. "incidental" daily), and fat, calories, etc. is fine as long as Protein intake is high... So every now and then I do add a bit of whipped cream (again almost 0 carb) on the top, which makes it even better... And I have been losing even better than planned, so I must be doing something right ) As for carbonated drinks, it took me a bit longer to be able to drink them after surgery and enjoy too. I can drink diet carbonated soda now just fine, but I pour over lots of ice and let it sit for a minute. I never drank non-diet soda before the surgery, so no compromises there. I definitely crave soda much less than before surgery somehow. Trying to stick to Water for the most part. Good luck, and drink (coffee) to that!

Most liquors have zero carb... Google the name of the liquor + nutrition. My doctor says as long as there's very little to no carb, drinking in moderation is just fine... 65 g of carbs is too much in my *humble* opinion....

I'm almost 1 week post-op, and the same here... my mouth and especially my throat is so horribly dry, I have developed a terrible soar throat.I can't swallow my own saliva without enduring miserable pain! I drink like a duck...Now because my throat is also dry, I get these coughing spells that hurt my incisions like hell! So continues the cycle... At night alone I think I go through a .5L bottle of Water throughout the night. Re white tongue, that's because you haven't had a bowel movement yet (I think). Try some Miralax and that should do the trick...

Big day coming up... 7/14... band + plication + gallbladder removal all in one surgery.. Being nervous is normal I suppose! I'm on my first day of the 2-day pre-op clear liquid diet. Have lost 14+ lbs since my first pre-op appointment on 5/24 by only cutting carbs really--nothing else, just cutting carbs down to 30 grams per day at most. I am nervous about the lever being too big God forbid. The doc scared the crap out of us and showed some gruesome pictures of the past patient whose liver was too big and caused complications. The blood work doesn't show sign of fatty lever (used to big time back in '07). Wife and I are confident that since we followed the diet religiously and got the lbs down, that I should be OK. Let's hope so! Oh did I mention I'm nervous?!

Awesome story! I love that show... Had no idea he has lost so much--haven't seen any of the recent episodes, but always have a healthy dose of its reruns on my DVR. Thanks for sharing.

Put me down for 7/14/11 for my surgery... My doc hasn't said anything about an actual pre-op "diet", but has made a humongous deal about cutting carbs to no more than 30 grams per day and even that to only be consumed during the three meals... Over the past month I lost 8 lbs. (wasn't trying really but work/life has been tough, so maybe that's why?!), but as of last week I've tried to cut the carbs. It's been a challenge to find anything that i like that has no carb in it but I might get a breakfast egg sandwich & not eat the bread... Or lots of different types of chicken salads, etc. Had steak & veggies the other night! Not too shabby! My wife is playing along, which is awesome (she's 5'3" & 120 lbs., but she thinks she should eat healthy by cutting carbs). I'll weigh myself again tomorrow night to see if the past several days of very minimal carb has lost me any weight (to get rid of the fat around the liver, the doc said there's no magic number--by cutting carbs all the way, the body is forced to use the fat stored around the liver...)

So how's it going now 11 days later? Keep us posted on your progress please!

Any recent bandsters with Dr. Cywes? Share your experience! Did anyone do theirs at Shands?

It really depends... Are you self-paid or will your insurance pay for it? If you're self-paid, the time it takes really depends on how soon you can get all the pre-op tests completed and also how soon the operation can be scheduled. You need to schedule your first appt... They'll go over all of these with you! Let us know how it goes......

Hi Curt! I hope you're doing well. I was wondering if you could please update us on your progress... I am scheduled to do the placation/band combo surgery next month, and I have very limited resources to go to about this unique option. I feel confident based on my research that it'll work effectively, but I just want to hear firsthand from someone who's gone through this already. Thanks in advance!

I'm getting mine done on July 14. Since insurance companies in the U.S. won't pay for it yet, my doctor pretty much only recommends it to self-pay patients--I'm one. He and his staff spoke very highly of it and the fantastic results it produces. I've been dying to hear about some real results from those who have undergone this "combo" operation, but so far have found none... If you guys find anything on it, please share it with everyone else here. Thanks!

Now that's a relief.... That makes great sense. Thanks, Debora. I'll ask my doctor also to see what his take is on carbonated and caffeinated drinks.

NO CAFFEINE?! Now THAT is a deal-breaker for me... Please tell me that's just a baseless rumor...

I know this is kind of an old thread, but I thought to bump this up.. I'd live to hear from some who have done the plication combined with Lap Band... My doc is very insistent that it's the holy grail of all bariatric surgeries. His reasoning makes sense--I'm on my phone now, but later when I get in front of my computer, I'll try to post some of the literature he gave me on this. Anybody has done this completed? Thanks in advance!

Hey that's awesome, guys... I have my first pre-op appt on Wednesday. My company's new FSA year will kick in on July 1, so I think I'll just schedule it for beginning of July to take advantage of the 3-day weekend also--to stay home and lose weight.

I know this is an old thread, but I couldn't find the answer to this question anywhere else on the threads... My insurance does not cover bariatric surgery (cheap employer!). I want to self-pay, but here's my question: will the lap band surgery costs be considered eligible FSA expenses? Who determines that? My employer? My insurance company? Or the IRS? Thanks in advance for any advise you can provide me with... P.S. I have already sent an email to my insurance company about this--awaiting a response.