Cocoabean

Yes, definitely for me. And my band has a total mind of his own. His name is Bandit, as he steals meals from me when I least expect it!

Well done! Keep up the good work!

Many people have revised to RNY or sleeve and been successful. I just have a bunch of questions for you to consider: With your band, were you able to eat according to band rules? Did you change your habits to positive food and exercise choices? Why does he say the band will have to be removed? Because of a minor slip? Slips can be treated, although some will cause severe enough problems to require removal, but you stated it is minor. Do you think that if you started getting proper aftercare with your band and see if you can get back to following your band rules you can be successful with your band again? When you started regaining weight, was it because of the pain you were experiencing? Or was it because you just didn't want to follow the rules of banded life? If you are not willing to follow the rules of banded life, will you be willing to follow the rules of RNY or a sleeve? None of the procedures is auto-pilot, you have work to do with it, and have to be willing to do your share. Just some points to think about....if my band HAD to come out, I'd not hesitate to revise to another procedure. Best wishes to you, it is a big decision.

Some surgeons send home anti-nausea meds. I didn't have a problem. You could use pepto or give your surgeon a call and ask for a prescription to be called into your pharmacy.

Welcome! This is a great place to come for support.

A lot of it depends on your level of restriction and the size of the bread they use for the service. Do they tear it in advance or do you tear it as they hand it out? If you tear it, you could take a tiny piece near the crust. Otherwise, I like the idea of speaking to your pastor, you might be able to take communion in private with him or perhaps they have an alternative to the bread you can use. Seems to me God and Jesus will understand if you cannot partake of the bread, far better that than running out in the middle of service to urp up the body of Christ. (Honestly, no disrespect intended). There are Christians who cannot chew or take solids of any kind. Accommodations are made all the time, I am sure. Speak with your pastor, and don't feel guilty. You are making your body that was given to you by God more healthy, it is a great way to say thank you.

For me, white meat chicken is totally off my menu. Just not worth the effort when it almost always gets stuck no matter now much gravy or sauce is on it, or how small the bites or well chewed. Fish...I don't like a lot of fish, but I was eating sauteed cod once and commenting to my DH that many people get stuck on fish and I didn't understand why. Jinxed myself. I still don't understand it with fish. The cod was not real dense, and it was cooked in a moist way. I was aware of chewing as we were just speaking of getting stuck on it. Then add insult to injury, when I urped it up in the restaurant toilet, I got the backsplash in the eye! And I mean it was perfect aim!! That is when I learned that if you put a seat protector on the Water before you hurl, it will stop the plop and splash back.

When I got my pre-op instructions my surgeon said, "we sell HMR here." I had a bunch of Medifast from a previous attempt. I asked if I could use that, he said no problem. He sells the HMR because it is convenient for the patients, he said, not because he requires it's use. Perhaps your surgeon would be the same and let you use Medifast...? Give him a call.

My insurance company required it, but I got it waived with proof of several previous attempts. I had done Weight Watchers for more than 6 months many times and still had the records. I gave them copies of that, along with personal diary entries from other attempts on my own. So, sometimes it depends on what you have done in the past, and what you have documented. Also, my personal belief is that the insurance companies do whatever they can to make it as confusing as possible and make it take as long as possible so that you will just go away Even though I did not have to do the 6 month diet, it still took me that long to do all the other tests and appointments and get approval. But it was oh so very worth it!

I was denied the consult appointment because I hadn't done a 6 month supervised diet. I basically followed the appeals letter in WLS for Dummies. My letter was about 5 pages long, full history of weight loss attempts and amounts lost and gained with times to regain. Weight related health history. Weight loss attempts records, weight watchers records and personal diaries. I then went into why I wanted the surgery which was to improve my health, improve my quality of life, and extend my life. To allow me to enjoy being with my family and not just watching from the sidelines. I won the appeal and did not have to do the required 6 month diet.

You will still be able to drink 4 liters of Water, yes. You might not be able to chug, but to drink throughout the day, yes, no problem. Water intake is very important to a heathy bandster. Welcome to the boards! You should be able to find your insurance co's requirements online, then give them a call and ask for their bariatric medical policy and your plan brochure.

Doctors have their own preferences for port placement. I believe the are all anchored to muscle. They cannot just float around in the fat tissue. We all have our reasons for not liking where they are placed. Mine is to the left of my belly button just below my waist when standing. I've found that high-waisted pants with a narrow waistband tend to be uncomfortable. I also don't like pants to be tight around the waist, it can get a bit painful. At nearly 49, I don't so much like tight clothing these days anyway, so no problem.

Yes, I've been overfilled. I gave it a week. When I got stuck on mashed potatoes, then yogurt, I got a slight unfill, MUCH better! A month later I went back for a refill.

Agree with honk. By 3 1/2 weeks I was on regular foods with no restrictions. YOUR post-op instructions may be different, however. I just say that to let you know that the foods probably did not hurt the band. The vomiting is of more concern for a new band. I would say do liquids today, if you cannot get liquids down, call your surgeon's office and ask what you should do, being Sunday it will most likely be the answering service, but someone should be on-call. Explain you were vomiting and can't keep liquids down.

The port is attached to muscle during surgery, that takes time to heal. I am over 4 years out. My port is original parts and hasn't flipped or anything. It is left of my bellybutton just below my waist when standing. Depending on the cut of pants, waistbands still bother me a bit. I do best with pants that have a waistband that falls below my natural waistline and have a wide band. I also don't like pants to be tight around the middle, but I am nearly 49...I don't really care if my pants are tight! If you have the Lap Band, they do have a low profile port that is smaller than the normal port. My surgeon will switch to it once a patient has lost enough weight to allow it to be easily felt. I believe the Realize band only has one port size, but I could be mistaken.

Congratulations and welcome to LapBandTalk! This is an awesome place for support. I only know two people in real life who are banded (I don't go to my surgeon's support groups, too far away for my taste), and this is where I come. Join in the convos, ask questions, answer questions, read, look at profiles, look at before and after pics. There is a wealth of information and experiences here you can't find anywhere else, and it's free!

What I would do is google full liquid diet, bring up the menu of the restaurant and start comparing. You are brave for attempting a restaurant while on pre-op! But our families lives must go on around our dietary needs. I did a friend's 50th birthday party and a superbowl party on mine (I was doing Medifast). Great fun to be slamming down shakes while others were consuming party treats! Best wishes for your upcoming surgery! http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000206.htm http://www.upmc.com/Services/bariatricsurgery/approach/post-surgery/diet/Pages/full-liquid-diet.aspx

Today I was talking to a new friend who didn't know I was banded. I was recently very ill, and she knew I'd lost about 10 lbs due to my illness. She says, "you don't have it to lose!!!" Woot! I just had to laugh...then tell her why I was laughing and said, thank you for the compliment!

Thank you! Every day gets a little better. Doctor said it is a long recovery to get full stamina back as the entire body is involved.

When is the last time you saw your surgeon? Have you had any testing to be sure you have good restriction? What others have said is valid, but it is also true that not everyone is successful with a band. Some insurance companies will pay for revision to another procedure if you have been compliant with band rules and failed to lose weight. I'd also like to add, all (I think all) bypass patients lose rapidly in the beginning. After the honeymoon phase of 18-24 months is over, if they have not developed proper eating habits, there is a strong potential for weight regain. My surgeon says that the body develops ways around the malabsorption and learns to absorb more of the calories being consumed. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21885246 This study is true for every procedure.

That is very common for some strange reason. Just know that you are not alone.

Thanks, Ladybug, I had a horrid blood infection called e.coli Sepsis. I was out of it for 2 weeks, missed 3 weeks of work. Very much on the mend now. Doc said two more months until I am 100%, but feeling better each day. Have also put back on 3-4 lbs, expected but not welcome! tee hee!

Walking and a heating pad. If you need pain meds and are out, call your surgeon to let him know.

Surgeons vary as to where they locate the port. It sounds as though they did the incision at your belly button, and some ports are located in that area. If you have a longer incision on one side or the other it is most likely there. Some put it around the arm pit, some under the breast along the rib cage. If it is on your belly and you have significant fat there, it may be hard to feel. Mine is to the left of my belly button just below waist level.

I heard a bandster once say, "if I sit there long enough I can eat the whole steak." Is that REALLY the point? Is our goal to sit there for an hour so that we CAN eat the whole thing? Or is the point to eat slowly enough to not get stuck, feel satisfied, stop eating, and stay satisfied for hours til my next meal? Otherwise, I can graze all day, I can eat sliders, I can drink boodles of calorie laden liquids. That is not following the rules set forth by my surgeon. If you don't have good restriction, then yes, it is easy to overeat...you don't have that satiety going for you. That makes it very difficult to follow band rules.