Jen75

I have been at 7.75 for only a week or so. Was up as high as 8. Something but was serious too tight. At 7.77 I still had choking occasionally in my sleep so they removed a very small amount. I feel good. I am rarely hungry and find I struggle more with head hunger then anything else. The idea of eating three meals a day is engrained. Scheduled almost....Somedays I eat more ( because im around others with scheduled eating) some less and Somedays I forget to eat (when i am involved with other stuff) but become symptomatic with headache, grouchiness or tired. I continue to be a work in progress and it requires mindfulness on my part to eat properly and follow the rules. If your eating five small meal a day and losing and feel good then you are on the right track! Good luck!!!!

My fills cost $200 until my deductible is met then it is 100%. $50 for just an office visit.

You could call the office that will be following you outpatient and ask them what they charge.?

I have 7.75 in a 10cc band. Feel good. It's been a long road to get to this point! Good luck with your fills!!!

On the iPhone app, I hit the arrow at the top right screen and "subscribe to thread". Im new to this too so I don't know if that will help. Never logged onto the computer version.

My pcp had already done a sleep study where I taped a pulse ox machine to my finger and was able to sleep in my own bed. The company dropped it off at my house and picked it up the next day. My 02 only dropped two times below 80 for a short period of time (seconds) so he didn't see the need to do any further extensive testing. The rest of the time it was mid nineties. Maybe instead of the major sleep study at a clinic You could ask your pcp about this. My ins. Co. Accepted this.

Get the fill!!! You will have plenty of time to adjust and a cruise can be all about food!!!!! Food is served 24 hours a day... Some restriction will be better then none!!! Good luck manda!

Lap band was easy for me to decide. I work in a psychiatric facility. The long term effects of bypass patients and the mal-nutrition component that come with it has greatly affected many people adversely. Mental illness, depression, etc all brought on due to the malnutrition component. The brain and your body need all the nutrients possible to stay healthy...a bypass patient has to be extra diligent In getting in supplements and making sure they absorb correctly if at all. Lapband we simply eat less food and still absorb the same as before. We just change out diet. Not to mention that it is reversible... Hope this helps....

This article was given to me by my surgeon's office. It answered a lot of questions regarding how many times I should eat being in the green zone. I get conflicted with the idea of getting enough protein, not being hungry, and the ever proverbial "you must eat three meals a day" definitely a good read!! http://bariatrictimes.com/2011/09/22/gastric-banding-and-the-fine-art-of-eating/

I have been having problems with my band as well I get stuck 3-4 times a day and have to throw up just as many times I spent 18 months like this! Not good! My thinking of "oh well, this is my life now or more is better" is dangerous! Sounds like you need some Fluid removed for a bit to let the band rest or liquids only for a week or so. Problem is, band gets irritated and then nothing goes down causing the vomiting. You risk slippage of the band or worse!!! Please seek your doctors advice as this is not the way it is supposed to be. Once I had fluid removed (only 1cc) I felt on 100% better. They have since put 1/2 of that back in and I am in the green zone.... Good luck!

I think I paid 15 or 20. It's not a digital scale.

Weight watchers had a good scale. Might be able to buy online

The "Eight Golden Rules" for lap band patients By: Paul O'Brien, MD, We have formulated eight “Golden Rules” for getting the best result from the procedure. It is of vital importance that you follow these rules. The success of the procedure requires us to place the band correctly, but it equally requires that you follow these rules. I have been tempted to call them guidelines rather than rules. They are not absolute. A thunderbolt will not come from the heavens and strike you down if you break one of them. And, almost certainly, every patient has at one time or another broken each of the rules. However, they are more than guidelines. They do need to be followed to get the best results. If you do transgress one of them, I want you to feel guilty, admit to your sins and work out how you will avoid doing something so terrible ever again. But do remember that if the band is not correctly adjusted you will not be able to follow the rules. You must be in the green zone to follow them. So, before being consumed by self loathing at your weakness, do consider if correcting the adjustment is needed and come in to talk to us about it. We have already discussed these rules within the preceding chapters. Within these rules is a condensation of the advice in those chapters. We are repeating the key elements of the advice. We state the rules, briefly expand on what each rule intends and then restate them. If you are unsure about what they mean, reread the earlier chapters on eating, exercise and adjustment, and if still unclear, talk to us. THE EIGHT GOLDEN RULES for losing weight and keeping it off 1. Eat three or less small meals per day 2. Do not eat anything between meals 3. Eat slowly and stop when no longer hungry 4. Focus on nutritious foods 5. Avoid calorie-containing liquids 6. Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day 7. Be active throughout the day 8. Always keep in contact with us 1. Eat three or less small meals per day The Lap-Band works primarily by taking away your appetite. If it is adjusted correctly you should not feel hungry. You may eat up to three times a day. We don’t mind if you eat less than three times per day. Many people do not feel like Breakfast and some will miss a midday meal. If you don’t feel inclined to eat, don’t eat. If you find you are getting hungry between meals, tell us. We will probably consider adjusting the band a little tighter. There is not much room for food as there is a virtual stomach rather than a real space above the band. As you eat, the food seeks a space and you need to keep that space quite small. Therefore each meal should be about the amount of food you can get into half a glass. If you eat more than that you will not lose weight so easily and you will gradually stretch the stomach. This can lead to the need for a further surgery later on to reduce the enlarged stomach. The adjustability of the band is the key to allowing you to be happy with this small amount of food. If you find that you are tending to eat more than that, tell us and we will consider adding more Fluid to the band. Always use a small plate, put a small amount of food on the plate and always try to leave some. Remember the angels. They need their share. 2. Do not eat anything between meals No Snacks, no biscuits with your coffee, no fruit, nothing. All food must be restricted to meal times. One of the most frequent causes for failure is the taking of snacks between meals. If you are getting hungry between meals and are tempted to have a snack you must tell us. It is probably due to inadequate adjustment and you may need more fluid added to the band. Between meals you can only have zero calorie liquids – Water, mineral water, tea, coffee, low calorie sodas. 3. Eat slowly and stop when no longer hungry When you have eaten enough you will no longer be hungry and signals from your stomach to your brain tell you that you do not need any more. These signals take time to be generated. Give them that time. Each meal should be stretched out over 15 – 20 minutes. If you eat rapidly you will already have eaten too much before you realize that you have had enough. However, do not eat beyond 30 minutes. Throw away whatever you haven’t eaten at that time. That is the end of that meal and you must have nothing else until the next meal. Try to make each meal last for 15 - 20 minutes. Try to sense when you have had enough and stop before you feel at all uncomfortable. Use a small plate, put a small amount of food on the plate, and develop the habit of always leaving some of it uneaten. Once the meal is finished it is essential that you take no further food until the next meal time. This has to be avoided absolutely. The slow emptying of the stomach gives you a feeling of fullness which should make it easy for you to achieve this. You must ensure that this indeed does happen. 4. Focus on nutritious foods Foods that are high in Protein (meats, especially fish, eggs, dairy, lentils Beans and nuts) and foods that are high in complex carbohydrates (vegetables, some cereals) are best. Simple sugars are worst. Be careful with foods that are high in fats as they are dense form of calories. Be careful with fruits as they contain quite a lot of sugar. The good foods can come from all the main food groups and include vegetables, meats, eggs, cereals and dairy. There is no need to focus unduly on the particular foods in fine detail. It is not rocket science. It is simply selecting foods that are good (protein and complex carbohydrates), being careful with those that are not so good (fats, alcohol) and avoiding those that are bad (simple sugars). And take a well balanced Vitamin and mineral replacement each day. 5. Avoid calorie-containing liquids Any calorie containing liquids will tend to flow past the restriction of the band and not give you any feeling of satiety. You are then more likely to take too much. You are only allowed to drink: water mineral water tea or coffee (with low fat milk if you wish but no sugar) low calorie soft drinks (but be careful with the gas) An exception to the “no liquid calorie” rule is a glass of wine with meals which we have shown is good for your health and good for your weight loss when taken in a modest amount. 6. Exercise for at least 30 minutes each day This is at least as important as all of the other rules. Not only must you take in less calories but you must use up more calories. Exercise will improve your general health as well. Initially, while you are severely obese this can be difficult, but, as your weight decreases, it becomes easier. As you become fitter and healthier, you get greater enjoyment from exercise. We understand that not everybody is sports minded and exercise may be something quite new for you. Start slowly and seek to build up activity progressively. Aim to put together 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity on most and preferably all days. Walking is ideal to start off with. As your fitness improves, progress to more vigorous walking and even jogging, cycling, aerobics, swimming, and light resistance training. As your weight comes down your exercise capacity will increase and your general activities during the day will increase. This is to be encouraged and the more active you are the better the result will be. Your exercise program should be aerobic. You should be puffing and, if you check your pulse, generally it should be up around 120 – 140 beats per minute. There are a wide range of activities that will allow you to achieve this. If you can manage it, a personal trainer or fitness consultant can be an excellent assistant. They can provide an individual program according to your specific preferences and lifestyle that is realistic and achievable. Regular exercise requires commitment. The more effort you put in, the greater benefits you will see and feel. 7. Be active throughout each day Think of movement and activity as opportunities and not as inconvenience. Try to be active every day in as many ways as you can. Make it a habit to walk or cycle instead of using the car. Become active in the garden and do things yourself instead of using machines. Avoid sitting down at all cost. You should see sitting down as an opportunity for activity lost. Try to spend as much time outdoors as possible. We tend to be more active when outdoors. Use a pedometer as a stimulus to you to show how your activity level is increasing. If you are using a pedometer, aim to get beyond 10,000 steps per day – this represents a very good level of routine daily activity. 8. Always keep in contact with us We want to follow you permanently. There will never be a time when we say that the job of controlling your obesity is done and we do not need to see you anymore. There will always be a need to check your progress, monitor your health, check for nutritional deficiencies, make sure that you understand the rules, bring you up to date with new developments and adjust the volume of fluid in the band. There is always going to be a very small loss of fluid from the band over time. For example, if you had 3 ml of fluid present and we checked the volume after a 6 month gap, there would probably be about 2.7ml present. This occurs because the balloon of the band is not totally impermeable. If 3 ml was the correct volume, you would be starting to get hungry and eat more with a volume of 2.7ml. It is important you understand that this can happen and come back to see us for replacement of that small loss. This is the main reason that we want a maximum of 6 months between appointments. With this said, always follow your own doctor's protocol! There is a reason they give then to you! Also, my PA said she didn't quite agree with the "no snack" thing but if I could do with out and still be in the guidelines then wonderful. I am 3 years post op, and am in the green zone. (FINALLY) My recommendations may be different from newly banded receipants! Good luck and happy losing!!!! ~Jen~

Stress always makes me tight! Liquids will help and that pudding does sound delicious!

I just recommitted about a month ago!!! I was complacent for a long time!!! I am in need of support also!

You look awesome!!!! Great job!

The teaching class is a q&a! I would recommend taking notes to refer back too!

If I remember correctly, the bariatric center did a test how my body/metabolism worked, basic Bp/weight/ questioning/ and there was one other thing that I don't quite recall... The metabolism test was kinda cool. It showed I needed 2500+ calories to MAINTAIN my current preop weight...I just recently had another one done and it said 1437... So as long as I am under 1400 calories a day I will lose weight! :-) None of the tests were invasive... Piece of cake!

Hello!! I officially hit 3 years post op on April, 2nd. Just wanted to say thank you all for all your posts. I just discovered this site and am so excited for it! I am learning and relearning so much! Just had .2cc removed from my band today and I finally feel like I'm in the green zone!!! Woohoo!!!! Thanks again for all your information! It's nice to know I'm not alone with some of the "issues"!

And Ann Marie!! Thank you also!

Thank you Judy! Your kind words are so very helpful!