alice

OK, I have recovered from the "dryed baked fish" incident and I ate mush and drank liquids. How much food should I be able to eat? Last night I could only eat a couple of tablespoons of mashed potatoes, a bite or two of cabbage, and a small bite of a hard roll. I also had no problem with a Jello pudding cup (low fat of course). This am I could only eat about 2-3 Tlb. of oatbran with Peanut Butter in it. I can swollow without incident, but I just can't hold much. IS THIS NORMAL? Thanks fellow bandsters... Oh, I am at 1.6cc. They gave me a .6cc bump last Friday and I can feel it.

I had my second fill last Friday. I was at 1cc and now am at 1.6cc. I ate soft for a day and then last night went out and ordered fish. I ate small bites and chewed well, but it was dry. I began to salavate, rushing to the bathroom and salavating for about 10 minutes. Nothing came up, no PB. I went back to my table only to "rush back" again to the bathroom. Of course we had to leave. I had to carry a sak to spit in. This went on for ONE HOUR. I came home and got on the chat last night and princes, debby, big t and jack helped talk me through it while I was so frightened. It was my first bad experience and it was like a golf ball that would not move. I didn't know you could salavate so much. It passed and I am on liquids today and mushie tommorrow to give myself a rest. Has anyone else ever experience this? How long did it last and what did you do about it or was there anything you could do. I am so thankful for this board!

Thanks everyone for your input!

You have not been able to keep anything down for 8 days? What about liquids?

I would "go for it". You said you could lose the weight with trainers and a chef. If after you have done the show, won the money, become famouse, you start to gain weight you will have money to get the band! Seems like a no brainer to me. I got my band being l94 lbs and 5'7. It may seem extreme to many, but I was not going to wait until I was 250lbs and I was headed there. Family history and all that. I am a woman of prayer and I prayed about it. I had "peace" in my spirit. If you are a woman of prayer than God will give you peace about which direction to go. Slow down, breathe and pray. If you feel a smooth, velvety, green light about either than do it sister! I know that you will make the right decision and God will make a way for you and your dog, LOL

I am flying to Monterey to have my eyes and ears done by a doc I met while getting banded. He is very nice, speaks good english and I have seen his work. I am having my ears pinned back (they protrude and I have always wanted them done) and my upper and lower lids for $3,000. I am soooooo excited. I will keep you all posted. Doctor Alejandro Cardenas is doing the work.

prices vary depending on how much you have done. I paid 3,000USD for eyes and ears. No, there is no website but I can help you if you need help. Yes, they speak great english. They do all proceedures you can think of. I am going back for a lower face lift in December (my 49th birthday present to ME) and a tummy tuck around March.

Yes, I would love a room-mate. We could hire a nurse to take care of us and just vej. I had my eyes done Friday am and left yesterday afternoon. It was no big deal at all. I did need to stay in bed the same day and a lot of the second day because of sedation. I had a fill on the 14th Feb and she said she likes people to wait one month or they could stretch the pouch out. It made no sence to me but she is the doc. Have you talked with the doc? I will most likely go back in Sept for a botox and lip fill again too.

My ears stuck out, like dumbo. I had them pinned back. I went direct from surgery to my room. I didn't need to stay in the hospital. It was all done in his very modern office. I think hiring the nurse for 24 hours was very important as she kept ice on my eyes. It only cost me $130.00 for 24 hour nursing care. It was worth every cent! I am looking foward to going back for my lower face lift this winter. I go for my second fill next week. I have no restriction NADA. I had good restriction after the fill for about 1 week.

Requesting prayers out there from anyone who believes in the power of prayer. I am nervous about going back down. I did great with the band and I met Dr. Cardenas when I was down there before and really liked him and trust he is a qualified physician. I am having upper and lower eyes done, endoscopic brow lift and ears pinned back. I guess I am nervous about being sedated. Does anyone have any experience or advice for me here at the last minute. My 21 year old daughter keeps telling me that I will not be sorry. I am planning on going back for a tt when I reach goal. Thanks for the prayer!

yes, Dr. Cardenas shares a guest house with Dr. Sanchez. I am just nervous about being sedated for several hours. It is all MY anxiety for sure! I will post some photos at some point.

I woke up absolutely alert! I did not recieve any pre-op drugs to "relax" me because the anesthesioligist said I would wake up more alert. I was not in a lot of pain, but I had some pain. They gave me what I call "mickey mouse" pain pills in Monterey, but they took the edge off. I wish I had of brought my own darvocett, lol. I was up and walking in four hours and walked for about three hours up and down the hall to get the gas moving, and it helped a lot. I have had six c-sections and this was a walk in the park compared to them!

I had my first fill of 1.5cc 11 days ago. I felt good restriction for about 4-5days and now I can eat quite a bit of food without a full feeling or pb, or anything. I do have difficulty with meat unless it is moist but I hated meat prior to my band. I have gained about 2 lbs also. I work out on the treadmill 20-30 minutes per day and with weights 3 times per week for 30-40 minutes. I feel like I have lost some but the scales don't say so. Thoughts on this? Can you lose your restriction that fast or was it all just swelling to begin with?

Thank you for posting such an uplifting and encouraging post. Well done brother!

Hi, As you can see many of us had a few bites that we should not have, but don't "should" all over yourself. Heck, I was also taking bites, chewing the heck out of them in my mouth until they could have gone through a funnel or straw, lol. My brother in law (doctor) was banded and told me that if I chewed it up good enough to go through a straw not to worry, of course doctors are terrible patients. Of course it is good to follow your doc's instructions, duh, however, we are only human and a few little bites is not going to destroy the pouch in my humble opinion, especially if it is chewed to mush. Congrat on your surgery.

My radioligist said the restriction should not change in a week or two. I told him that I have heard MANY people say that there level of restriction was more intense after a couple of weeks. I had my first fill Monday, 1.5cc and I can't eat too good until late afternoon. I drink a protien drink for Breakfast and eat cottage cheese for snack. For dinner tonight I had about 1/2 c chicken with gravy, 3 Tlb of mashed potatoes with gravy (of course), 3-4 TLB of green peas and 1/2 roll with butter. Not too shabby and a third of what I use to eat, lol. I have been writting down what I eat and my calories and protien. I am getting about 1200 calories and I have to focus to get that. I do the treadmill every day and weights 3-4 times per week so I need the energy. I hope I don't tighten up, I will be in trouble.

I have the 4cc band and recieved a 1.5cc fill. He put in 2cc but backed off when he could see it didn't go through well enough. He told me to do liquids for a couple of days. I ate 3/4 cup cream Soup and feel stuffed. Is this how it feels if it is right. I am a little afraid that I won't be able to eat real food. Could you please share your story with me. Does this initial restriction go away at all or get worse? How much should I be able to eat at a meal or drink? I drooled over my husbands sub but knew if I tried to take a bit I would barf. LOL

I can drink fluids ok. I get little burps, but no problems. Will the restriction get looser? How much do you eat at meals. Can you give me a sample?

I had my first fill yesterday. 1.5cc in a 4cc band. I drank 3/4 cup cheece soup and am stuffed. I am hoping I will be able to eat food in a day or so

I thought about keeping it a secret too and it got out. The way I handled it was that I started telling people about this great journey that I was on and how excited I was. I told them in no uncertain terms that it is MY money, MY body and MY decision. I then told them that I would keep them informed on my progress. I know it went around like fire on hay, but I could care a less what any one thinks about it now. It was only pride keeping me from wanting others to know about it. Heck, if I could have done it without the band I would have by now, lol. Good luck.

I think Dr. Sanchez is the bomb. He is so kind and caring. I would gladly fly to Mexico for anything that went wrong with my band. He knows what he is doing. Please let us know how things go.

I was a bad patient. I figured if I chewed something up enough it would qualify as "mushie" and it worked for me, lol

I need a fill doc near Texarkana Arkansas. It could be Dallas or Paris. Anyone got any names and fees for me? Thanks

Hi, I have read there is some restriction from swelling but I know my swelling has had time to go down. Is it normal to not be able to eat more than about 1-1/2 cups of food at the most. I can eat a couple of scrambled eggs for Breakfast and I can get some bites of meat or fish, maybe 3oz at most for lunch. Soup does good, bread seems to get "stuck". Is it possible that I do indeed have restriction? Sometimes if I eat too fast or don't chew good I feel like something is stuck in my chest and I will start to get a lot of salava and maybe some food to back up. I am trying to make good food choices. I lost about 12 lbs the first 2 weeks out and have maintained. I am exercising. Should I hold off on getting a fill? Need some advice from more experienced bandsters please. What do you guys typically eat? Thanks..

I used Dr. Sanchez in Monterey. Very good doctor, has performed over 4,000 lap bands. The hospital was also great! Cash cost about 8900. You can finance.