NWgirl

Be careful of losing weight prior to your initial weigh-in if you are on the verge of 40 BMI. I actually had to gain about 10lb to be at the minimum with no comorbidities (although I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol, I didn't take meds for them and the practice thought that could be an issue). When I got the green light that is was okay to lose weight again, I did.

My surgeon was well aware that I take the Costco generic for Zyrtec, and did not say anything about it. I was just told no meds other than thyroid the morning of surgery.

Your body will get used to the extra water. I had been making sure to drink 100+ ounces a day for the last month leading up to surgery, so my potty breaks are relatively normal. I am positive the gas pains for me only comes after I've eaten. It's like the food wants to go down, and the gas wants to come up, and the only way of relieving without vomiting is to burp. I haven't got nauseous yet this morning, but did just finish my first protein shake. Hope your recovery continues smoothly!

You are not a failure. Sure, maybe you have slipped up and eaten some things that aren't exactly kosher for this way of life, but you also shouldn't discount the fact that you have gone through a life changing procedure and that maybe your head will take a little longer to catch up with your body. Make sure to get enough protein/fiber to keep you full. If you are not hungry, don't eat. Don't let head hunger trick you either.

Mine is on my right side. If I press lightly, I can feel the edge of the port.

I would think any support is better than no support. If you can't find a support group for banded folks, I would go to the OA meetings. Make sure to call any local practices and ask if they have any support groups that someone can attend, even if they were not banded at the practice.

I was also banded yesterday and am feeling pretty good, minimal pain/gas. I was in surgery at 730AM-ish and woke up in recovery about 930AM. The nurses said everything went well and that there were no complications. I was discharged around 11:30AM and when I got home, I immediately took a nap. I drank a couple cups of peppermint tea throughout the day yesterday, as I had heard others say that their nurses had sworn by it for gas pains. I have also been walking around often. I did take pain meds every four hours throughout the night. I was told it was easier to keep the pain at bay rather than try to get it to go away if it came back. I haven't really had too much gas problems. I did have two times yesterday after eating where I felt like I was going to vomit and started to salivate, but then I was able to burp out some gas and I felt perfect. I haven't really experienced too much shoulder pain. When I woke up today, I had a little shoulder soreness, but I wandered around the house for 30-40 minutes and it seems to have gone away. My incisions kept looking worse and worse throughout the day yesterday, and I was sure I would wake up with huge bruises on my belly. To my surprise, the bruising has decreased tremendously and I am overall feeling really good. Definitely some discomfort getting up, sitting down, or twisting when getting in/out of bed, but not too bad. My port is on my right side, so I did sleep on my left side off and on during the night with no problems. Congratulations on your surgery and hope all goes well

I was told to sip throughout the day and to hopefully get 60+ ounces of fluids in. Yesterday was surgery for me, and I have had minimal gas/pain. I did drink a couple cups of peppermint tea yesterday and have been diligent in walking around. I am drinking my first protein drink of the day and hope the rest of the day continues well! Congratulations on getting to the other side

I did a comparison on my blog http://thebandedblogger.blogspot.com/2012/03/bariatric-vitamins.html between Unjury O-Purity, Bariatric Advantage, and Celebrate bariatric vitamins. I personally chose the O-purity because it came out to about $0.30 a day. I did purchase a sublingual B12 from Walmart for $5 or $6 because the other two bariatrics had 833% of B12 and O-purity only had 100%. I also bought biotin 5000 for possible hair loss and Coromega Omega 3 orange squeeze packs. I knew I would be unable to swallow or stomach regular fish oil pills (never have been able to get over the smell, taste or size), and I bought a 90 day supply of these off of Amazon for less than $20. They are pretty good considering they have fish oil in them As for protein, I have purchased the Costco/Sam's Club premier nutrition ready to drink high protein shakes (160 cal, 3g fat, 5g carbs, and 30g protein), as well as the Body Fortress Vanilla, Chocolate, and Cookies n' Cream powders from Walmart. I did buy an unflavored protein called Fundamental Protein, but decided that I will use it further down the road to mix with fruit smoothies, etc. I thought that the smell and taste was too overpowering to mix into my broths, as I had planned.

Yes, you look absolutely AMAZING!

I think that as long as you understand what gastric banding entails and are ready to accept those life changes, you will be okay. Some people cannot eat certain foods, while others can/ The only thing I've heard is that if you have a junk food addiction, it is something the band may not be able to help with. Most of these are considered sliders, and will slide right past your pouch, making you miss that feeling of fullness. You also need to know your triggers and be mindful. I know, and have known for a long time, that there are some foods that I never feel full on. Cereal is one of these, no matter if I eat one bowl or five. In the same vain, you also need to be committed to eating protein first and eating enough of it. My dietician told me that protein should be based on weight, and you should calculate your weight x 0.3= how many grams you should receive daily. You should also try and stay away from mushy and softer foods to get the most out of the band. I watched a clip from Dr. Oz about two gals with Lapband, and one girl was still eating mostly yogurt and pudding and smooth soup 6 months out. These are not solids and will not stay in the pouch as long.

hmmm, interesting.

I am not to real food stage, but did buy a book called "eating well after weight loss surgery" after my dietician recommended it. I also bought "Bandwagon Cookery" along with the 2nd edition of "Bandwagon."

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/143801-us-doctor-5500-for-self-pay-patients/

there is a recent posting by a gal who had gone to mexico for the band and found a fill Dr here that said he would have charged her $5500 for the band procedure. is there a reason you are considering just the plication now, or are you doing it in conjunction with the band? have you considered outside help, like obesitylaw.com? I would personally fight my insurance company for something like this, as they do not have to provide any followup or emergency care for a procedure they denied! They want you to give up.

I was prescribed oxycodone 5mg tablets, 1 to 2 as needed every four hours. They don't taste very good, but easily swallowed. I was given a liquid version while in recovery yesterday because I had started to walk around and the port pain was unpleasant. DEFINITELY prefer the tablet to the liquid, it tasted horrible!

yeah, I've transitioned all meds other than the thyroid to nighttime because I cannot take anything before the thyroid or after for two hours and I have to take the thyroid an hour before Breakfast. Finnicky little thing! on a good note, I was able to swallow all of my pills just fine last night though.

firstly, I am so sorry about your job loss, what a bummer I would definitely continue as planned, what is the likelihood that you will find a job that covers bariatrics in the near future? you've got a hard decision, but I would not take the chance of being unable to get the procedure, what if the chance does not rise again? please tell us of your decision, I will be thinking of you.

you will more that likely have time to read then :-) when I got home yesterday, I napped every couple hours but did my usual routine in between. Now I've got my alarm set for every 4 hrs for pain meds, so I stop in here every time I am awake. I had never had a real surgery before yesterday, only wisdom teeth removal, so I am surprised that the pain is not too severe, just a general soreness in my incision areas. Definitely worse than the aftermath of a hard ab workout, but still very manageable with the meds and conscious movement.

take the time to learn new ways of eating. No drinking with meals and a lot of chewing. You are probably experiencing food and quantity size mourning please keep the journal, as it will help you be accountable to yourself. Are you eating the way you always have, or are you going a little crazy?

I was not told to stop my birth control, the only stipulation I received would be that any pills I took for the first month after would need to be the size of a pencil eraser or smaller. If you take your BC in the am, you should ask about if you should take it the day of. I was told the only medication that morning could be my thyroid med. Also, nothing other than Tylenol for one week before surgery and afterwards no NSAIDS due to the possibility of stomach erosion If they sat above the pouch for too long.

good luck!

it will all be over before you know it I brought my touchpad with me to the hospital too, thinking in the 2 hours I would be waiting I would use it. I really only looked at it right when I got there and was checked in, before I got taken back to the surgical floor. Are you inpatient or outpatient?

I did find that a couple times today I would start to feel nauseous and salivate like I was going to throw up. At those times, I was able to burp and release some gas. Made everything perfect again. Are you possibly also having trapped gas issues?

yes, port pain has been the worst- hard getting up or down and twisting from side to side, otherwise I feel pretty good for just having surgery. Please update us. I am thinking of you ans hoping you've got it under control now.