Jim1967

My Doc allowed me one regular meal a day and the other two were protein shakes and that was only 1 week. I had to do a 6 month supervised diet for insurance and in that time I lost 38lbs and I think that is the reason why he didn't enforce a preop diet on me.

You're welcome. I think the key will be for him to have a better understanding of how it all works and the patience it requires to be successful. Everything takes time and this journey is no different.

My suggestion would be to ensure your Husband is educated and if possible following along with your journey. Reason I say that is because there is a lot of misconceptions about Bariatric surgery as a whole. A lot of people tend to think it is a 'magic bullet' and that there is no work involved. I have had a co-worker take a month off of work and he came back and said to me "you haven't lost all the weight yet?" Wish you the best of luck!!

Key to not vomiting is to eat slow and chew, chew and chew....and chew some more. LOL. I still struggle with it especially when I am pressed for time. You spend a great deal of your life eating a certain way and then all of a sudden you're supposed to change. My Nutritionist told me from the beginning to start practicing now while I was going through my mandatory six month supervised diet. I wish I did it as it would have been an easier transition. I know eating slow and chewing really fine sounds easy but it really isn't. Now you have to actually think about what you're putting in your mouth. I have had several stuck episodes over that last 9 months and have vomited several times. It is not pleasant and I have been lucky to not cause a slip.

Some people do but then some do not. There are some who have been fortunate enough to never need a fill There are some that take several fills and I am one of them. People lose differently then others so I am sure you will hear a mixed bag of responses. I don't think my weight loss really picked up steam for me until I was two months post op and my first fill was 5cc. One piece of advice I can offer is not to get to hung up on losing that first month post op. That first month is really a time for healing and give your body a chance to get acclimated to the band. I got really frustrated at first because I figured "OK I had surgery when does the weight move"...I learned the hard way it does not work that way, at least for me.

ehhh...had they offered me 16% I would've been all over it but 15%?... I think I'm good

I usually buy the Spring Valley brand at Walmart. Pretty cheap...I would avoid the "Bariatric" named stuff. It is usually more money but its the same stuff you can get at Walmart.

You're very successful and you set a great example for others. Very good advice here. I would add that patience is a must also. Things will go slow at times and there will be some frustrating moments. Key is to stick with it and do whatever takes to keep an eye on the big picture and stay the course. This journey is not just about scale movement and weight loss which we all tend to focus on. I am still learning at 9 months out. Best of luck!!

Honestly the worse part for me was the gas cramps and I think I made the gas cramps even worse by stupidly drinking a lot of apple juice once I was allowed to have liquids. Typical achy left shoulder due to the gas but other than that it was not bad. I had surgery on a Monday and I easily could have gone back to work on Wednesday (I do have an office job where I sit all day)

You'll do fine. This was by far the easiest surgery I ever had and I have certainly had my share. I was up walking the halls with a Nurse two hours after coming out of Surgery.

I would think you would be OK. I definitely recommend a pillow for your stomach during the ride.

Great article as always Jean!!

I have broken a couple. I started buying some of the extra stoppers and nailed them on. I also started buying seats with metal hinges instead of the plastic junk. I also broke a chair at my mother in laws house. I also brought a wrench to work early one morning to remove the arm rails on my chair when no one was around.

When you say "fix it again" I hope you mean full band, tube and port replacement. If I were you I would settle for nothing less than that. Brand new everything right down the final stitch.

I would be pressing for discounted services as well...

I agree with what all the above has stated but one thing is for sure at this point if you're sticking with the band I would demand a full replacement or nothing. All those surgeries along with all the testing did nothing but waste your time and provide heart ache. You have to do what is best for you but one thing for sure the band did work for you before. So getting yourself a band that is not defective would have you on the road to success. If I were in your shoes I would be thinking of other options over the band as well . It's really a tough call. I wish you much success with whatever option you choose.

How long ago was surgery?

Mine are almost completely faded at 9 month out....

I can usually go 5 hour without being hungry. A lot of times I will skip lunch when I am in the Office because 1. I am just busy and 2. I am not hungry and "forget" to eat.

I was told the same thing by my Nutritionist. Eat when your hungry...