Machele

Hi all, I just talked to Diane's DH on the phone and he says she is home and resting comfortably. :clap2: Her surgery took about 3.5 hours and during the surgery, she had a pain pump inserted. He also said that she is not in as much pain as they expected. I'm sure the pain pump helps! She has gotten up to walk around, I think just to keep from going "stir crazy"! She should be checking in the next couple of days. Good luck to all on your journeys!

I'm glad to hear things are going well for all of you! The farther you get from surgery, the better things feel! I had my first fill last week, and at the time I thought I felt good restriction, but I able to eat bread and such. I have some discomfort with it, so I tend to stay away from it. I am also having discomfort with dry meats such as roast and chicken breasts, even thought I am chewing very well! I can get the roast down with gravy and I used ranch dressing on the chicken breast last night. Things went down better, but I know this is not the answer. My weight loss has stalled since I have gone back to regular foods. I guess I need to start increasing my activity! I think its called exercise! :omg: Lap_Dancer--I had a lot of the same issues as you are having the first month after surgery. I did not like the "restrictedness" of the soft foods and had a hard time repeating meals. I did manage by buying different flavors of protien pudding from GNC and other things like that. I used to buy the small boxes of jello and make 1 for me, then pour the rest in a bowl. I had 3 different kinds of jello layers in the bowl for my family and I would eat the 1 serving. I made popsicles and ice cubes for my son with some of the left over jello. (He has enough popsicles for the rest of the summer now! :clap2: ) I was only 2 weeks out when I started eating "junk" according to my husband. I finally told him if he did not have a badge, he could not be the "food police".:faint:He had to trust me that I was going to do things right. Especially after I had spent all our savings for this surgery!:nervous I ate the toppings off of cheese pizza, chicken pot pie (W/O crust), and canned ravioli during that time as well, I also had scrambled eggs, egg salad, and tuna too. Only you know how you feel! Eventually the food issues will resolve once you go on more solid foods and can have more variety. The other issue with the nose, I am still having problems with it and I am 6 weeks out of surgery. We have always kept our grass clippings in the garage until pick-up day which is usually within 2-3 days of mowing, but now, I gag everytime I go out in the garage. I can smell those clippings even if there are not there! Dust , the chemical smell from liquid fertilizer and cleaning products all bother me. It has never been this way before. Ohhh well, I finally have a good excuse to have my husband clean his own bathroom! I have always had a sensitive smeller, but not this sensitive! Hopefully things will get better for you! Shesha--I would think it would be cheaper to go to Denver then to pay the cost of the surgery there! I have been wrestling with that same decision about continuing to go back to Denver for continued care. Most of the doctors here charge between $200 and $500 for fills. I can get a plan ticket for $100 from here to Denver. Besides, I like Dr. K.! Good luck with what ever you decide!

Hi, I bought a pill crusher from GNC for half the cost. It is similar to the "Handy Little Pill crusher" on your link. It screws down and crushes the pill into powder with a few small chunks. I take some big pills for my knee and it works great for that!

Dynamo, During the first 2 weeks of liquids, it was hard for me to get a lot of protien in. My saving grace was the hi-protien slimfast and adkins shakes that I drank 2 times a day. I also went to GNC and bought "Muscle Milk". It is sweet, and has a lot of calories, but 1-8oz container had 25 g of protien. I would mix half of it with some frozen fruit in the blender for a "snack". I also drank the RTD Isopure fruit drinks, but I did not like them as much. All in all, I usually got in about 50 grams of protien a day. I tried the Profect protien shots, 3-oz of liquid with 35g (I think) of protien, but they were kind of expensive. Hope this helps!

Sunnysea--I'm sorry to hear about you, I'm glad you are doing better! Lap Dancer--great pictures, you look really happy! Drewslou--If we plan a get together, I'm there!! Maybe we can do something around one of his support group meetings, I have always been interested in seeing what one of his meetings are like. I'm not sure when they are held. Dynamo and Angie--I'm glad you are feeling better, up is the only way to go from here, or maybe better said... down on the scales is the way to go!! I'm really glad I found this thread back in January and I have not once been disappointed in the care of attention I have gotten from Dr. K. Dynamo you are right when you said "Thank God for banding. .... It is great to have a tool like a band on our side." Good luck to everyone!!

Hi all, I had my first fill today and after reading Sunnysea's story, I'm really glad I took the conservative approach. Dr. K. used the ultra sound on me to locate my port, I guess I'm still too chubby there and he could not feel it right away, even when he had me lift my head and its supposed to "pop right up". He filled me with 1.75cc of saline, but it felt like things were backing up when I drank some Water. I had to swallow 3 times just to feel like things were going down. So he removed .5 and I drank some more, and it drained right thru. Dr. K added .25 and I could feel things backing up, but it was still draining. So, we decided to stop there. I have 1.5cc in my band. I was able to ask him some more questions about my band. I have a 10cm that holds a max. of 5cc of saline. Dr. K. told me that I needed to eat something solid to see if I have the restriction I wanted, if not to come back in. So we went and had turkey sandwiches. One bite of the bread and I knew that was a mistake! So, I ate several bites of the turkey. I had the "hiccup" and decided that I had enough. I'm able to keep things down and I'm really trying to listen to the signals. Now for the news on Dr. K. He is going to open another office in Parker, just for lap-band patients. He will continue working out of Aurora 1 day a week for hernia repairs and gallbladder removals. But he said with his increased clientel, he is running out of room at his location in Aurora. He also said that he has another doctor joining him in Parker sometime in July, that has just recently finished his internship and residency. He has known this doctor for over 13 years and says he is very skilled. Dr. K. said he loves the facilities in Parker and they take really good care of his patients. I told him that he had lots of great feedback on this forum, and he just laughed! He also told me that he is going out of town June 11 for several days and to plan accordingly for my next fill! Just a heads up for anyone who might need something during that time. Good luck to all those recovering!

I'm glad to hear everyone is doing good!! Just a short month ago, I was where you are now. Tomorrow, I'm headed in for my first fill! I fly out of here at 7 in the morning and have a 10am appointment with the grand doctor! My weight loss has slowed this week once I have gone back to regular foods, so I'm hoping the fill will help me out! Good luck to everyone who recently "became with band"!!

A reunion sounds good to me too!!

There was advice on one of the threads that stated you needed to wait until you got to the hospital parking lot!! :biggrin1: Some women suggest to lay a pillow on your stomach so the port does not hurt as much...

That is very close to what I had to say to my parents to get them to stop their jabs about my weight. I had 2 comments rehearsed and waiting for them at Christmas time. 1) "I am attempting to alter my gentic outcome" and 2) "I am changing my heritage".... This is probably the primary reason I have NOT told my parents about me being banded.... The support is not there now and has never been there, why would this surgery change things???

Thanks for the hurrah!! But part of that loss was from the pre-op diet too. I can't weight to get to Onderland! :clap2: I have not been there in almost 20 years!! I am still on soft foods, and even though they say that the first 6 weeks is for healing, you still lose weight being on liquids. I have been nauseous from anesthesia before as well and the patch behind the ear did wonders for me! Good luck to all of you be banded soon! Your "loser" time is close!

VA is right! The suppositories are for after surgery... the patch they give you at the surgical center works great too!! I kept mine on for 4 days. If you don't get one at the hospital, just ask for a dramamine patch, they are the same thing. Dr. K also requests that you use a Ducolax suppository the day before surgery. Not many of us used them as well. Just make sure you empty your bowels before you have surgery. They ask you about that when you are giving all your pre-op information. "Last time you ate or drank..." that kind of stuff... Dr. K is really a great doctor and he will answer any of your questions!! I'm so glad I chose him! :first: Good luck with everything!

Skye and Sunnysea, I guess I am not sure if I have a VG band or not. I only got my information from my surgical notes that Dr. K. sent me. It says "placed a 10-mm band with a 10-mm disposable trocar as follows...." then lots of technical jargon follows with many medical terms I did not know. I am only guessing it is a VG band. I guess I will ask him when I am there on the 19th! Also, I am surprised how swollen I still am 3 weeks after surgery. My pants are loose every where except in the waist! To those of you who are eagerly awaiting surgery, it is much easier then you think it will be. I had convinenced myself that we needed to stay 3 days in Colorado because I would hurt toooo much to travel...:phanvan that was not the case! I flew home the next day! I did not experience the gas pains that everyone talks about, but have had other issues with swelling. It is amazing the changes that have taken place with my appetite and tastes. I have been very surprised!! Good luck to all of you!:clap2:

Sunnysea, I also have the VG 10cm band. I am also wide open and can eat anything. I am still on soft foods and I don't have much of an appetite, so that curbs some things for me. My first fill is not until April 19th, which is almost exactly 5 weeks from my surgery... I will not be able to get back until the end of May for another fill, so hopefully this one will last a little while. I was mostly wondering of those who have a 10cm band and have had their first fill with Dr. K, what does he usually put in for the fill. I know that Shesha had problems with her first fill... I just wanted to hear from some other Dr. K bandsters that have had a fill by him as well..... Thanks!

Hi all, A couple of questions for my fellow Dr. K bandsters. How many of us have a 10cc band? I did not know what kind of band I had until I got my surgery notes. When I called Dr. K about a pain issue, I asked him about my band and he said that size is easy to work with. Also, those of us that have a 10 cc band, how much was your first fill? I go for my first fill on April 19 and was just wondering about it. When I called to make my appointment, Marilyn told me that they would do my fill, then they want me to go eat and see if I can handle the fill before I leave town. Thanks for your input!

Hi all, It sounds like my fellow Marchies are doing good!! :clap2: My surgery was March16th. I went through surgery just fine, and did not have any of the terrible gas pains after surgery that everyone else has talked about. BUT, I have had a throbbing pain from the swelling where my port was placed since surgery. :phanvan My doctor told me that I would be swollen for about 3 weeks, so I have another week of the pain. :faint: I was on liquids for 2 weeks and moved to soft/mushie foods on Saturday. I am soooo enjoying scrambled eggs and cottage cheese! :biggrin1: I still do not have much of an appetite, and almost no energy! I eat about a 1K calories a day, and since I am not hungry, I have not had many cravings either! The lack of appetite and cravings is a good thing, since my first fill is not scheduled until April 19th! So far I have lost 25 pounds and my clothes are fitting a lot looser! :clap2: No one that I work with knows that I had this done, so even though, I have baggy pants, I have not had any comments. I have not started exercising yet and I don't want to tell someone that "diet and exercise" is how I'm losing weight, when I still take a nap every afternoon after work!:notagree Gook luck to everyone and I hope all of our weight loss continues!

After my surgery I was given liquid Lortab. It killed the pain, but the taste was terrible. From what I know about Darvocet, you can still continue to take it, but you will have to get a pill crusher so not to get stuck. You can use applesauce or yogert to cut the taste of the crushed pill. Good luck!

There is usually a procedure code that the dr.'s office uses to get approval/denial from your insurance company. I called the dr.'s office and asked what the procedure code was for the band. Once I had the number, I called mine and my husband's insurance company to see if either of them covered the procedure. Once you have the procedural code, it is much easier to get information from the insurance company. Good luck!

There is usually a procedure code that the dr.'s office uses to get approval/denial from your insurance compamy. I called the dr.'s office and asked what the procedure code was for the band. Once I had the number, I called my insurance company and my husband's company to see if either of them covered the procedure. Once you have the procedural code, it is much easier to get information from the insurance company. Good luck!

Who said we can't win it? My brother is in Iraq, and as a soldier and an American, he believes that the US military CAN win in Iraq.

Everything Wheetsin posted is correct, but the biggest thing is you have to itemize in order to claim any medical expenses. If you do not file a Schedule-A with your taxes, there is no way I know of to take the medical deductions... And yes, the travel expenses to get to the doctors, and hotel bills if you had surgery away from home are also deductible as part of the medical expense.

Sunnysea, Good luck on your fill. My first fill is on the 19th. :clap2: I talked to Paula yesterday and since I am still very swollen and its painful, she wants me to be on liquids for 5 more days. Then I will have a week + of mushies. Hopefully, then I will only have less then a week or so of regular foods before my fill. I don't want to get to the point that I can eat everything in sight and I can't stop myself! :hungry:

Sunnysea, When I had my pre-op consult he told me that he would still be doing some of his surgeries at the center across the street from his office. But he wanted to branch out and that's why he has started doing some of his surgeries in Parker at the hospital. He did not say anything about the price and I didn't ask...

There is a doctor in Denver that cost $9950.

Well darn. I guess my finger got trigger happy! :phanvan