snowbird

After my last fill my doctor wanted me to eat right away, because I was leaving the area and he wanted to be sure I wasn't too tight. Sometimes there is swelling after a fill so the general advice is often liquids for a day to avoid getting stuck. However, i don't think it means it is really dangerous to eat right away.

Hi, David. My husband and I were banded in October, and my daughter was banded in October 2006. Welcome to the forum. If you have any questions or just want to talk about what you are experiencing, there are a lot of knowledgeable people around here. Glad to have you with us.

Oatmeal in the morning with blueberries and sugar free syrup. No problems.

The difference is the volume of fill fluid each band can hold. Generally the larger band is for larger patients, but that isn't a hard and fast rule. I would check with the surgeon again to be sure which band you have.

Very common to gain a couple pounds once you get off the liquid diet or go back to eating more a couple weeks after surgery. Look at the thread about How the LapBand Works under the Fills forum to see what is happening to your body. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f13/how-lap-band-actually-works-fills-refills-41738/

Oh, and a "major" stuck episode usually results in sliming and pbing. If it is really bad it can last a long time. The usual wisdom is to switch to liquids for 24 hours to let any residual swelling go down.

I realize that some doctors do not require a post op diet. But "just drink something" if you get stuck? That's about the worst thing you can do. It's like pouring more water into a stuck toilet--not a good idea.

lou, you look like my husband twenty years ago. He's in the same boat as you: got his second fill january 10, had restriction for a while, but now can eat a whole frozen pizza at one sitting. We're driving back to Tijuana Wednesday for another fill. By the way, we love our fill doctor there. He can get us in almost any time, and is very easy to talk to. Fills are $100 with fluoroscope so he can see exactly how the band is doing each time.

Everything is chemicals; you are chemicals, and so am I. Natural? Arsenic is natural; doesn't mean I'm going to eat it. The biggest problem I see with sugar free/reduced sugar foods is that we don't read labels to see that just because it doesn't have sugar doesn't mean it doesn't have lots of calories and fat. Choose wisely. sugar free drinks like crystal lite are a godsend to my way of thinking.

Try keeping a food journal to see what you are eating. Figure out your daily calorie intake, and be very honest. I like to lie to myself about what i eat, but when I am honest I can see why I am not losing.

The best way I can think of to talk about this subject is to say that, with a band, food is no longer your best friend. When I was getting ready for surgery, i felt like my best friend was dying when I thought about eating post-band. Now I just feel like we've grown apart and she just doesn't mean that much to me anymore. I can't eat bready things, including Pasta, bread, pizza crust, soft tacos. If I were not eating those things through willpower it would bother the heck out of me. However, those are foods that now have not been kind to me, so I don't miss them. Aren't we silly? We plan surgery to stop us from overeating, then feel bad that we won't be able to overeat!

Kitten, So good to meet you and all the other AZ bandsters! I know you will do really well with the band. We're all here for you. Thanks again, Wasa, for setting up our lunch date. Chris

Sometimes I would ask for a "to go" box when my meal was brought. Iput half of the meal in the box immediately, before i take a bite, so it's off my plate from the beginning and I'm already figuring it's not available. the only other thing I can think of is, slow down! If you are really chewing your food and eating slowly, you will probably get full on much less and it is easier to stop.

Gma, Excuse me, but you are over 50, 100 lb overweight, and he thinks there is no reason for this "elective" surgery? Maybe he should talk to a doctor to learn what your chances are of a long and healthy life from here on in. Now that you have written them down, you should see that they are all selfish reasons he doesn't want you to be healthy and happy. Tell him to bundle up HIS insecurities and stick them . . . away. he might as well be saying he doesn't care if you die early as long as he gets what he wants. You don't need to go through with this to spite him. You may need to go through it for yourself.

I would say the very first thing to do is research, including reading this forum. Learn about the process and different patients' reaction to it, and what will be required of you, and truly evaluate whether you can be happy giving up food as a major source of enjoyment in your life without turning to some other unhealthy pastime. Can you follow directions and say no to yourself sometimes? I don't mean, can you lose weight on willpower; none of us can do that or we would have long ago. But you do need to be able to follow a pre op and post op diet for a few weeks, and then you have to learn what you can eat and what you should eat afterwards. Talk to your personal physician. Does he or she know anything about lapband? If not, is he willing to learn? Is he dead set against all weight loss surgery? Listen to what he says and if you do not agree, find another doctor who will support you. Talk to your insurance company. Do they cover lap band? If they don't, can you afford to self pay? if they do, do they have preferred physicians who do weight loss surgery? What are their requirements? do you need preapproval? Do you need a referral from your doctor? Do they require psychological testing? A certain BMI? Co-Morbidities such as hypertension or sleep apnea for approval? Research a surgeon. There are good surgeons and bad surgeons, experienced ones and newbies. Find one who is right for you. Be aware that on forums like this one, there are a lot of employees of surgeons and clinics running around masquerading as happy bandsters who will tell you their employer is the god of lap bands. Let the buyer beware. Talk to your family. Are you going to get support or grief? If you aren't going to get support, are you strong enough to get through the times where you are having difficulty as a bandster when your dearly beloved are telling you they told you so? Remember that skinny friends won't understand why you need this, and fat ones may have issues with your weight loss that are their own personal problems and not an honest reflection of their caring for you. Review what you have learned and re-evaluate your commitment. Decide if the surgery is still for you. If you say yes, then welcome to a new and exciting chapter of your life as a bandster.

I switched to my daughter's doctor when I decided the band for for me. He had seen the results she achieved and was an enthusiastic supporter of LBS. He interviewed me in depth (1 1/2 hours) to be sure he had my complete health history and could adequately document co-morbidities. When I left, he said, "soon you will have the body that matches the rest of you!" and said that he felt it was part of his job to be sure that my insurance supported me in getting the health care I needed. In other words, a dream doctor (by the way, he is Canadian, now practicing in US.) Message is, as Jack said, line up the medical help you need to get you the treatment you deserve. Go on the regional boards and ask for referrals from other lap band patients if necessary. There are a lot of jerks in the medical field; having an MD after your name definitely doesn't make you a wise person! Work to get the assistance you deserve from the medical community,.

Christiana, There is a fill person in Arlington who also goes down to Port Orchard every other month to give fills. My daughter has gone to her and loves her. She also does lap band support meetings in Port Orchard. What part of Western Washington are you in?

Gives me gas, but not a laxative for me. Actually, it's malitol that the worst in the gas department. I have to sleep in the other bedroom if I eat much of that stuff! We're heading to Georgia in two weeks to visit son in college (Augusta). I know there is a Publix near him, so we will check it out! There aren't any around here.

With a band properly adjusted you are not eating so little that you have no energy. You are not starving; you are simply not eating so much that your body is storing the extra calories as fat. My husband is 53 and was banded in October. He just walked in from his bike ride. He rides about 4 times a day for a total of a couple hours a day. Age 67 is certainly old enough to figure out that he probably isn't going to lost weight on his own. If he were, he would have done it years ago. There was a study that just came out about diabetes and weight loss surgery, showing how effective it was to control diabetes.

Well, Clay, since my insurance paid for my band in Mexico, yes, i would expect them to cover complications. I really don't have any fears for that. I would probably go to Dr Ortiz for any problems I have anyway. I could have had the surgery in the US and my insurance would have paid for it, but after seeing Dr Ortiz and his clinic when my daughter went there in 2006, my husband and I felt that was definitely the right choice for us. None of the three of us has had any problem or complication whatsoever.

My husband and I were banded in Mexico, and we are both retired federal employees with FEP-Blue Cross Blue Shield. We had to pay and then were reimbursed. The really strange thing is that, with the same surgeon on the same day, with identical descriptions, bills and insurance, he was reimbursed $7900 of the $8000 cost, and I was reimbursed $7100. The Explanation of Benefits is written up totally differently for each of us. Just goes to show what a crap shoot/inconsistency we have for health insurance in the US. have to admit I am still happy we got most of our payment back, though.

I'm with MJ on this one. Why is this any different from when you were not banded? What would you have done then, and what would you have eaten? What are you eating now when you do not have time constraints?

Abby, I don't know what stage of this journey you are in, but if you are past the immediate post-op stage I would take one or two protein bars. I usually keep a couple in my purse for "emergency" meals. I like the South Beach "Sweet Nut Creations" roasted peanut ones, or the peanut butter cereal bars.

Remember, just because incident B happens after incident A, B doesn't necessarily happen BECAUSE of A. I put on my hat and a TV fell on my head. I'm never wearing a hat again.

It's not unusual to go (or in this case, NOT go) a while after surgery, especially if you are on a liquid diet. Since there isn't much solid going in, it stands to reason there isn't much going out. Nine days seems a bit much, so I would start with some prune juice or whatever liquid might work for you. After the post op diet, I take a couple of Fiber capsules every day. Check with your doctor, though; some advise against fiber pills.