JMSinAJAZ

I don't think you will want yogurt the first day. I had a couple protein drinks, and I had to drink them slowly so they did not back up. Water, of course, jello, popscicles. Day two the strained food - but by the end of day two I had a little bit of chicken salad - canned chicken with relish and Miracle Whip mixed with a fork - so a mushie food - it sure tasted good, but I could only have a couple tablespoons. The third morning I had about 1/2 cup oatmeal - and I was done. Since then I have a small bowl of cereal in the morning, then take a can of V-8 juice, some triscuits, a couple string cheeses, a carton of yogurt, cottage cheese, and a hard boiled egg for my food throughout the day - I sort of snack on this stuff every 2-3 hours - depending on how hungry I get. It will get me through the day - then at home I have small helpings of cottage cheese again, or maybe another yogurt and some crackers. I am not very hungry by the time I get through all my 'snacks' at work. Eat slow, chew very well, and you should be fine in a couple days - - -

the fill is really not a big deal - it did not hurt - and the poking is not bad. You will be fine! and then you get to do liquids, then baby food, then mushies, then real food again - but just one day per stage this time! Let us know how it goes!

I can eat OK - as long as I remember to chew, chew, chew. And not eat fast. A hardboiled egg, sliced, takes about 15 minutes. Even a carton of yogurt takes about 20 minutes - if I try to go too fast, it backs up. So, I slow down, chew a lot and eat frequently. I do feel the restriction when my pouch is full -- and I am tempted to drink Water to wash everything down, but that will just defeat the purpose of the pouch -- so I wait and drink water about 45 minutes after I eat. I find that I get hungry about every 2 hours during the day, but can take care of that with a string cheese, or 1/2 carton of yogurt. It is not easy getting used to this eating cycle, good thing I practiced it before surgery for a month! Only then I ate MORE in each of my 5-6 times a day. :omg:

So far, I have not had any negative reactions - but I have only told my family (who are all very supportive) and a few friends. But I worried about that a lot when I made the decision to do this. What I would say to those who think this is cheating or the easy way out is this: "this is not easy, it is probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do. The surgery alone will NOT help me if I don't help myself. The surgery is a tool that will help me achieve my goals - just like this computer is a tool that enables me to communicate with others." I was banded on May 14 - I started the process on March 23. My insurance refused to help, so I paid for it myself. You are fortunate your insurance is helping you. I really don't remember being hungry or having any problems during the 2 week liquid diet. I do remember that, although I was not hungry, I was also not satisfied - I wanted solid food in my mouth. But it went so fast, and here it is now 7 weeks post surgery! I am doing great - can eat (small meals - several times a day), and fit into my pants better. I can even sit comfortably (almost) in some chairs. I am flying to Portland in about a month - we'll see if I still need the seat belt extender! I have a long way to go -- but it has been a good start. Good luck to you as you get ready for July 9.

where in Mesa does the 'fill lady' do them? I wouldn't mind saving a couple hundred dollars when I do my next fill in August.

well, we can always stand on the corner with a sign: Will Work for Fills! :omg: actually, I look at it like this: think of the great tax deduction I will have next year! I should get a huge refund - and that on top of the weight loss will make up for the cost of the program. Janie 310/285/150

You are right, the fills are expensive, but think of how much we have spent on weight loss programs in the past that did not work? I know I have helped raise the price of stock in LA Weight Loss, Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, South Beach, etc. over the past many years! Dr. Debarros said that if you don't have the ultrasound they are about $100 cheaper -- and once we loose the weight, the ultrasound is not needed anymore. I am scheduled for another fill in about 6 weeks -- we'll see how much I loose in the meantime and how much extra cash I have on hand! :nervous

That appeared to work. Thanks! :clap2:

Thanks for the welcome! I went to the tracker website and created a tracker bar for my weight loss, but cannot get it to post properly here - all I get is the code -- no tracker bar. How did you get your's to work?

my insurance required, are you ready for this: 3 YEARS of medically supervised diet failure and referrals from 2 docs, neither of which could be the surgeon. So, I paid for it myself. I did have a large hiatal hernia, which the insurance is supposed to cover (about $4300 of the hospital bill). The rest I paid for out of my own very small pocket. I'm glad I did it, though. Dr. Debarros did my surgery, too -- he has been great - so has everyone at the clinic. as a self-payer, though, I was very surprised to discover that I had to pay for the ultra sound and fill - I already paid the clinic around $9,700 cash prior to surgery (and $5,000 to the hospital). But that does not cover the fills. Those are $370 including the ultra sound. I still have a bill at the hospital for $6,300 - the insurance has not paid them yet and they are looking at me for the balance. Ouch! that hurts more than the surgery. I had no pain afterwords - and I am down about 25lbs since March. Things are starting to look up -- but now my pants don't fit! :whoo:

Hello everyone! I am new to this board, but have been on the WLIAZ board some. I had my surgery on May 14, the first fill on June 22. Dr. DeBarros said there was already 1cc in there and he added 2 more. It is a bit tight, but not unbearable. I have to remember to chew, chew, chew my food (20 times, Becky said) or I really end up with some discomfort! Last night I had 1/2 of a chicken/apple brat, cottage cheese and a slice of tomato for dinner. My daughter was visiting from Texas and we had a bar-b-que. I was more than satisifed as the rest of the family chowed down on burgers, buns, Beans, chips, etc. I started this adventure on March 23 at 310 lbs and now am at 285 so feel pretty good about that! I did not loose or gain an ounce from 2 weeks post-surgery until the first fill, but have dropped 3 lbs since the fill. Of course, I did the liquid, then baby food, then mushies all weekend. I feel pretty good, but can't eat more than a few bites at at time. I found that Triscuit crackers (garlic and olive oil flavor) with V8 juice is excellent! I also like to put a piece of canned chicken on a triscuit and dunk it into warm chicken broth -- also yummy and very good for you! (chew that cracker!)