MikeinMD

Check the GNC Total Lean pre-mixed shakes. It says lactose free and I don't see soy as one of the ingredients. I like the chocolate ones.

I have a Realize 14cc band. Now first fill was 4.5cc's.

My fill went fine today. Lost 20 pounds since surgery (5 weeks). Doctor added 4.5 cc's to my 14cc band. I am thinking I am going to need some more but I would rather take it slow than have a situation where I cannot get anything down. I guess the next couple of weeks I will know.

Next appointment in about 6 weeks for another fill as needed. Doc is very happy with progress. I just need to get in more exercise over the next couple of weeks because I would like another 20 before next visit.

Way to go. My first fill was today and I got 4.5 cc's in a 14cc band. Back to liquids for a couple of days.

It has been about 5 weeks since my surgery and tomorrow I weigh-in and get my first fill. I think I have lost between 20-25 pounds in 5 weeks but I don't trust my scale so I rely on the doctor's scale for official weigh-in.

I will check back tomorrow with results and how the first fill went.

My understanding is most places provide services that they cannot bill insurance companies for. For example support groups, handouts and all sorts of other educational material. Place I went to had a $400 program fee and they allowed us to make payments if needed but had to be paid in full by the time a surgery date was made.

I guessed I lucked out because I did not face all of those fees.

I just received the statement of benefits for my surgery and the surgeon was paid under $1000 for the surgery which I think is pretty low. The hospital got over $8000.

Decided to try on some smaller clothes today that I thought I will still need a month before I could wear and was surprised that I could fit comfortably. My girlfriend always says my clothes are baggy but that is what I have been comfortable with up to this point.

May need to start shopping for clothes again.

My surgeon says no alcohol for 1 year after surgery and no carbonate beverages at all. There are several issues with alcohol from what I understand:

1. Empty calories.
   
2. Alcohol can cause ulcers
   
3. Addiction - If someone is a food adict they can transfer addiction to alcohol.
   

I think it really becomes a judgement call for each person but those are the risks as I know them.

I have been morbidly obese since my teenage years. I have lost about 100 pounds 3 different times before i started this process. It seems that once i get to 100, I lose steam and get frustrated and within a year to 18 months I am back where I started if not heavier.

The band for me is both a tool to help with weight los but it is also an insurance policy that will help keep me from regaining weight in the long run.

My main reason to have banding was to get healthy...I have 5 adopted young children one whom is very handicapped....and I know they will need me around for a good long time...and I want to be able to do so many things with them...

Wow, what a blessing you are to those children. Keep up the good work on your weight loss.

Hi, I was just curious can you get "stuck" before your first fill? I'm 20 days post-op, wasn't filled during my surgery, so my band is liquid free.

Yes, I have no fill and have gotten stuck on scrambled eggs. Very unpleasant.

Glad to hear you are doing well.

Remember, the first month is for healing so don't over do it.

I have lost a total of 237lbs so large weight loss is possible and it didnt take me that long ..

Wow!!!

I just recently got something called Coco Lite Multigrain Pop Cakes. They are very light (16 calories and 4 g carbs). I would describe the texture like cheese puffs (without the disgusting orange cheese) but are flat circles about 5 inches in diameter. They disolve in liquid but work good for hummus or other dipping with very low calories.

Looks like you are doing good and it sounds like it was definitely worth it. Keep up the good work.

I just had surgery last week and my BMI was 61. When I started the process, my BMI was 73. The surgeon would have preferred me having gastric bypass or sleeve because the weight loss is faster but when I said no he was fine.

He wanted me to lose 30 pounds before surgery and I blew that away by losing 80. Surgery went well. The biggest issue is the anestiologist and whether they are willing to put you under.

I am sure you will need to have some additional testing but I think a surgeon will do the surgery.

Congratulations, May 10th will be here before you know it.

I have only been banded for about 2 weeks but my only regret is not doing this 2 years ago when i went to the first information session. The good news is the doctor that did the surgery seems much better than the first doctor (I felt like they were a WLS mill).

I understand the nerveousness as i was in the days leading up but the day of the surgery I was very calm and ready to go.

I had a great experience with the surgery and my recovery has been amazing even with me not following all of the directions.

Mike,

Sounds like you are doing well, and that's great! It's wonderful that you are able to get back in the pool already. Congratulations on your weight loss!

Well, the pool might not have been a good idea. I was hurting this morning. I think I will go back to walking for a couple more weeks and make sure I am healed more.

Yes, liquid. My girlfriend was able to get her pharmacist to order it for her but it is available on Amazon.com. Just enter liquid acetaminophen adult.

The generic is just as good as the name brand stuff (this is from someone that works for Johnson and Johnson that makes Tylenol).

You can get generic adult tylenol that would probably work better. I believe the brand name is still under recall.

thats fantastic... i love the swimming bit. are you close to a pool?

I am in Maryland so outdoor swimming is not in the cards. The local LA Fitness (formerly Bally's) has an indoor pool that I use. $30 a month to belong and it is about 4 miles from my home.

I always had a phobia about health clubs because it used to be all of the really skinny people but now a days, it is a wide variety of people of all sizes.

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks post-op for me and I have been progressing pretty well. I got through the liquid phase and have been in the mushies phase but find myself cheating and have tried progressing to soft foods faster than the doctor recommends. Today was the first time that I have felt ill since the surgery as I was eating. I tried having some meatloaf and chewed it well but probably ate too fast and felt like I was going to be sick. I got up and walked outside for about 10 minutes and felt better but now I think I know what can happen if I am not careful. I probably will be a slow learner on eating slower but I will master this eventually.

My incisions have healed nicely and I am really surprised how good they look. My preferred exercise is swimming so I thinki may be able to get back to the pool this week. Will take it slow with a combination of walking in the Water and swimming but it will feel good to get back to it. Before surgery, I was swimming about 1.5 - 2 hours 3-4 days a week.

I think I have lost about 10 pounds in 2 weeks which is great and hope to keep that pace at least for a couple of months. As you can see by my ticker, I have a lot to lose so I don't think that is unreasonable.

Hope everyone has a good week and looking forward to another week of success!!!

I found it a rather unpleasant night the first time I did it. You are hooked up to an EKG (6 or 8 leads) and something like 6 or 8 leads attached to your scalp plus a band or 2 around you abdomen/chest to measure breathing. All of these leads are attached by wires and I move around a lot at night. This resulted in the wires getting pulled out several times during the night and the tech had to wake me up to put them back on.

The second time i did it, I seemed to be able to stay still better and slept pretty well.

Hope you have a better experience.

My surgeon required 30 day compliance with the CPAP treatment. That means getting the machine and using it at least 4 hours a day for 30 days (I think it was like 70% of the 30 days). Often times it is the anestiologist that requires this because it is his/her job to keep your hear and lungs working during the surgery.