lizann85

I found light exercise to be extremely helpful with this. I used the Leslie Sansone DVD's immediately after surgery. It worked every time and it got me moving. Good luck.

I've had my band for just over a year. My fills have been uneventful. My doctor recommends a liquid or soft diet for 24 hours following a fill and then it's back to the usual. When I don't feel like explaining my eating habits I just say I'm having some stomach trouble and leave it at that. Mist days I just follow doctor and nutritionist instructions and enjoy my new life. Good luck.

Thanks for your post today. I, too, feel like I have been eating too much; too much of the "bad stuff" and not enough of the "good stuff". I am starting a modified liquid diet reset today. My plan is a protein shake for breakfast and lunch then a reasonable dinner (salad and protein). I have found that I have been having too many starchy carbs (i.e. bread, crackers, potato chips, etc.) which, I believe, have led to me making more poor food choices. I am hoping the reset will help "detox" me from the excessive carbs I've been eating. I am also motivated to get things under control as I have a routine appointment with my surgeon next week and I don't want to admit to "falling off the wagon". It sounds like you have a good plan for yourself. I wish you good luck.

My nutritionist and surgeon didn't recommend a specific calorie count until I asked for it. The logic behind this was that the surgeon doesn't want us to focus on numbers but rather on making sensible food choices. I asked for a specfic calorie guideline as I was more concerned about not eating enough following surgery. I think it is a great idea to call the office and get their recommendation. By the way, my surgeon said the daily calorie target is 1000 - 1200.

I, too, am a picky eater when it comes to food texture which resulted in me being very unhappy in the liquid and "mushy" stages. I found some recipes on the Food & Nutrition forum, see the sub-heading for Cooking, Baking, and Recipes. The recipes I found were just enough to get me through the few weeks before I could re-introduce "real" food into my diet.

I was banded on April 9th and returned to work on April 16th. I didn't feel like myself until mid-May (approximately 5 weeks after surgery). I did mild exercise after surgery (i.e. Walk Away the Pounds DVD) because I found it helped with the gas pains post-surgery. It was hard to get back into my routine following surgery but eventually it all comes back. At 2 months pos-surgery I was back to working overtime and feeling more energetic than ever. As everyone else has said so far, you need to listen to your body and keep talking with your doctor. Good luck!!

I think the biggest consideration for surgery is your size and/or health risks. I wish I had this surgery when I was 29 because it would have saved me a lot of pain and aggrivation. You really need only a week for recovery. I took an extra 2 days because I also had a hernia repair. I feel like it took about 3 weeks after surgery to feel like myself again. I began light exercise 2 days after surgery as I found it helped with the gas pains. I'm not ready for the hard-core exercise programs yet but I'd like to try them once I get my fitness level increased. Good luck with the process. It can be challenging.

I was banded on April 9th and returned to work on the 18th. I found that I had to have my drinks only slightly cooler than room temperature to avoid some discomfort. I am nearly 3 weeks out of surgery and I am still not drinking "ice cold" drinks; although I am mixing my protein shakes with crushed ice again. My appetite came back about a week after surgery. This week I'm feeling a little hungrier. I go for my first fill/adjustment on May 10th. I am on pureed foods until Monday and then I gradually progress back to regular foods. As for the bathroom, I am guessing I need to get back to a more typical diet before things get back to normal. I credit light exercise (i.e. walking, Walk Away the Pounds DVD, and/or WII Fit exercises) for helping me feel better so quickly.

Let me start by saying I am not an expert in insurance. The following is just my opinion... I have not heard of exclusions for insurance because of WLS. I believe each plan has its own requirements for eligibility. There are so many different plans out there that it would be difficult to make a blanket statement about eligibility requirements. You could check with your state's regulating body of insurance (i.e. Dept. of Insurance) to find out if there are specific requirements and/or exclusions in your state.

I had my lap band inserted on April 9th and I'm feeling good; a little tired and a little slow but that's getting better. My journey began in September 2011. After my initial consult I realized that I needed time to commit to the changes I knew had to be made if I was going to be successful with the band. I had a lot going on in the last quarter of 2011 so I decided to put the lap band on hold until things settled down. On January 12th I went back to the surgeon's office and began the process. My insurance company did not require much preparation so I was able to get banded a little less than 3 months following this visit. I am so happy to have found a place to learn about other people's experience with the band. I wish I had come here sooner. I look forward to "speaking" with you in the coming weeks.