faithmd

We have several places here that make fresh fruit baskets that look like flower bastkets. I mean they cut the fruit and make really cool fruit sculptures. It's usually the stores that make the cookie baskets that do it here.

You could send her a pajama-gram pajamagram.com, I think. Or a Vermont teddy bear. They come in sooooo many diferent types it blows your mind! vermontteddybear.com

Try pickle juice, it sounds weird, but it really helped me with the salty cravings! Once I could do full liquids, V8 was a life saver. And oddly enough, I would occasionally grab a spoonful of A1, it was heaven!

Hello sweet and vallin, Tehre are various diet stages and every surgeon (it seems just about every one) is different in how long they want their patient at which stage and what they want them to eat or drink while in said stage. That is a question for the nutritionist or surgeon you choose to be banded by. Also, many surgeons require a pre-op diet to shrink the liver to make it easier to handle and less likely to get torn during surgery. Again, most docs are different in what that diet is. Some require Optifast, some sugar free carnation instant breakfast, some say Slim Fast and a Lean Cuisine. Still others suggest only fat free yogurt and cottage cheese. It all depends on your docs requirements, wish I could say more definitively. Those are good questions to ask in your info seminar.

He's Walter Lindstrom and it's Obesity Law and Advocacy Center for his law practice. I'm sorry, but I can't help much with a good surgeon in the Houston area. One place to start is looking at the board here, or check out obesityhelp.com and look for surgeons in your area. The ones that show up with stars next to their name have paid to be on OH, but even those without stars usually have patient reviews somewhere on the site. Do a search for the names once you have some (remember to click to search on OH, not in Web).

Is the $3500 part of the surgical fee, or is it one of those BS "program" fees? If so, then no, that is NEVER covered by insurance. And that's why I didn't choose two of the three providers my ins co paid for me to go to. I think it is WRONG on sooooo many levels for these bariatric surgeons to charge "program" fees and "mandatory support group" fees. I never had to pay a "program" fee to my cardiologist and I certainly have called or seen their staff a damn site more that I will likely ever see my surgeon's staff.

I ended up going and buying one on Saturday. Have I opened it yet? Nope. I'm still rereading 6 first. When the one comes in the mail, I can return it to the store for full refund (or that's what they told me when I called to complain). I cheated and looked at the very last page, so I know at least a tiny bit. But I stopped myself from reading the ending, ending. I'll come back when I'm done with it, promise!

As long as they didn't say to have only CLEAR liquids, you should be just fine. :nervous

Well, not a clear liquid diet, but yes. Though with all the calories and fat in a milkshake, why include it anyway? Unless you are referring to making a nice yummy homemade one with low fat, low sugar ingredients. In that case, I think it would be a good addition to the liquid diet.

nume, I'm doing failry well. Thank you for asking. I am on real food (sort of), I've not tried things like tortilla chips or a sandwich or a bowl of spaghetti, but I have had some chicken and fish and a couple small pieces of lamb. I'm still sore, but I don't have to be concerned with "lovin' " making me more sore

Alexandra is correct, I did NOT see you respond to her. Dear OP: I was NOT attacking you, either. You are correct that I do not know what you researched or what your surgeon told you, but since you asked what a fill was and that is how the band works as a tool, I "assumed" that you hadn't been completely informed. I know, assuming is a bad thing to do. Sorry if you were somehow insulted by my response, I never intended to insult you, unlike the jab about someone my "size." And where have I EVER said I am the master of anything? Goodness knows I am just getting by in this life like everyone else. I will chalk it up to emotions going a bit out of whack after banding and with the pain and lack of calories, I know I wasn't feeling myself at a few days out, either. I probably could have worded my response better as well, I think I said what I meant to, but how I said it was likely not the best. You have to understand, I have been researching and wanting this band ever since it was introduced in the US in June of 2001. And pre-band I came online and soaked up every site I could find to learn as much as I could so my post-op course would go well. I was just kind of surprised that someone who is already banded didn't know what a fill was. I guess I also never thought about it possibly being called something else. Maybe that's why you didn't realize what it was.

Check out this forum, there are two threads in here with questions you'll likely want to print and take with you. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f73/ I don't think there was anything that wasn't on these that I didn't think to ask. <!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Here's a couple of links to check out. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f73/post-op-checklists-things-have-before-surgery-14814/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/packing-hospital-30599/

liquid in=liquid out ewwwww, I know.

I've also read that after a PB episode you want to do liquids for a bit to let the stomach calm down. I know when I get the golfball feeling, warm liquids do help me. Maybe some warm broth/boullion or tea?

Suzzzie, I haven't had problems yet, but from reading the boards, I learned that pineapple juice or meat tenderizer or chewable papaya enzyme or a sip of coke are all "remedies" people use to get "unstuck" if something just won't go down. Remember fills can "kick in" for up to a couple of weeks after the fill is done. Sounds like you are getting restricion a little later after the fill which is pretty common. Try to stick with liquids for another day and if it doesn't get any better, you may need to have a little taken out. Good luck!

Ja9, a really great place to read is the FAQ and references forum, there is a thread in there that explains all about the various abbreviations. From Donna D on another thread (I think this is pretty good) Slime (verb - sliming - gross) when you eat, chew and swallow the food properly ie. chew, chew, chew! it is supposed to go down smoothly. If you don't follow the rules the food gets stuck. Your body wants to help you so it creates this very thick somewhat snotty stuff to either push the food up or down. (Mostly up) PB ing in Productive Burp. You will feel a gag like vomiting motion but you will burp up the food that is stuck. It is the same motion but not as gross and bile like as regular vomiting. Trust you will know when either one happens. Don't freak out just get the stuff up and out asap because it is very uncomfortable. You DON'T want this to happen at all or very often it is rough on the esophogus. Chew lots and swallow little bits only.

I am also surprised that someone would be banded and not know how that band works. Not a very good thing for a surgeon to do, and amazing that someone would have surgery and not research the heck out of it first.

No, what I believe TRANAM was saying was that surgery was in Mexico, but LOCALLY (at home) it cost $2000 for a local doctor to take TRANAM on as a patient. That is VERY common. The MOST important thing to do (besides looking all around the boards here for a good Mexican surgeon) BEFORE surgery is to set up your aftercare. MANY MANY surgeons will not take on patients that they did not band. That is why you should call around to local bariatric surgeons and find out if they will take on a patient banded by someone else, and how much that will cost you. Many times if they do take on someone elses patient they charge a fee (like the $2000) to do so. The consult fee of $275 is probably for the first meeting, to look at the records, and for the first exam at the fill dr's, and the fills themselves are $174 each time. This is not just because you went to Mexico, many US surgeons will do this even if you were banded in another state. It seems the average I've seen for Mexico surgeons is anywhere from $7400-$9000 dollars. Some more, some less. I think the best ones (Rumbaut, Ortiz, Aceves and Kuri) are all around $8000.

Not at all. I sipped it in little amounts and it was WONDERFUL.

My goodness yes. I've done it before the band, and since the band as well. Your body is constantly changing. It will happen. Many folks find that taking measurements or just judging how they are doing by how their clothes fit is much better than following the scale.

:welcomeB: Congrats on your date! Thre are MANY threads around here about how long someone had off after surgery. I think most folks were off four days to ten days. I am probably one of the longer ones at four weeks. I was actually going to go and ask to go back after two weeks, but then my mom had some issues and I was glad that I had a little longer off. I think six or eight weeks could be a bit excessive, I'd go nuts. The surgery is laparoscopic, not open. But take it if you are a slow healer or have other things going on. And if you think you will need it and have the time without taking away from anything else, then by all means, take the time. Here's a couple other threads about how soon folks have returned to work: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/how-soon-after-surgery-have-u-returned-work-31539/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/poll-time-off-between-surgery-work-24060/

Peaches, I saw your other post, wasn't one of the things you ate pretzels? Anyway, I posted this on a couple of other threads and I'll post it here. I't a bit of a rant, but it also explains why we need to go slow in our food stages: I do understand your desire to chew something, I really do, but... Just because something goes down okay doesn't mean it isn't setting us up for damage later. ANY solid food is just that, FOOD and could be "major." The sutures are helping scar tissue form around the band and that's what holds it in place on our stomachs. The sutures only help hold it on the front, scar tissue is all that holds it on the back of the stomach. Everytime we eat something more than a liquid, (and no, chewing something until it's liquid does not count) it causes our stomachs (which are muscular) to churn and undulate to digest that food. That churning stops the scar tissue from forming, or helps break new scar tissue just barely formed. Liquid requires little stomach movement to process. When we start to chew something, that lets our digestive system know that food is coming down, fluids begin to be secreted to aid in digestion and the stomach starts moving in preparation to start the breakdown of food. I understand that some doctors move folks along faster in their diet programs, that's okay if it's what your doctor says to do, but Allergan (the manufacturer of the band) advises a very slow progression. Damage we do now freshly banded may not show up until a year or two down the line. Maybe we have a bad episode of vomiting and because we just couldn't wait to chew, we didn't get good adhesion of scar tissue early on, it may slip. Most everyone here says that we should always follow our own doctor's advice. My doc's practice is a slow one, 4-6 weeks for solids as well. The Allergan website (the folks who MAKE the LapBand) says this about food stages: Post-Surgery Nutrition After surgery, you will need a new nutrition plan. Your surgeon and/or dietitian can help you learn about and get used to the changes in lifestyle and eating habits you need to make. It is very important to follow the eating and drinking instructions beginning immediately after the operation. In the first few weeks after your surgery, you will be on a liquid diet since only thin liquids will be tolerated by your stomach at that time. As you heal, you will gradually progress to pureed foods (three to four weeks post-op) and then soft foods (five weeks post-op). Finally, you will be able to eat solid foods. Granted perhaps there is new research that says prolonged periods on liquid diets are not necessary and the Allergan site just hasn't been updated yet. However, I would want to know WHY a surgeon and nut (nutritionist) would make such drastic changes to their post-op eating plans. I would also ask that surgeon about what her/his complication rate is and more specifically what their SLIP rates are. Are they making these changes because of the AP band and the selling point that it's less likely to slip because of it's width? Is there a study they can show me to support the move so soon to soft foods? Has surgical technique changed and is there a way now to access the back of the stomach (not previously accessed because of it's proximity to the spinal nerves) and suture the band (I haven't heard of it)? At least that's what the band folks have said for years that is how it all happens. That's how I was always taught that digestion works. Perhaps someone somewhere has done a new study and what we've always believed is actually not right. It's possible. Do you see now why I'm hesitant to eat early? Of course, if somoene can show me concrete good data (not just a study with a sample of a few patients) that our previous held beliefs are wirng, then I'll be happy to change my thought process. Think about this, it is only 4 to 6 weeks out of your LIFE. Is that really that awful? Are we so far gone that we can't make a committment to something for a month to then have it help us in the long run? You can do this!!!! We can do this!!!!

I can do either. Hey, how about like a Sunday-Tuesday type thing. That way people who work during the week don't have to take as much time off.

Welcome to the thread momlambert! I chose this portion of your post (which I read with great interest) because I am a similar way. Hero is a STUPID name!!!! I relaly honestly wish people would think before they name their kids some of the CRAP they do these days. I have a "different" name (Faith) and while lots of you may think it's beautiful, it was AWFUL growing up. Parents think oh how cute,or I want my child to be different...It SUCKS being different sometimes. And it really SUCKS not to be able to find pencils or bicycle licenseplates or stickers or locker mirrors or keychains that don't have your name on them. When was the last time you heard of a CEO of a Fortune 500 company named Mocheiriea or Deontay or Hero? I really think what we are named affects us later in life. I truly do. Anyway... Sorry, I just had to share my agreement.