MerryHearted

It should go down just fine. I've only had a problem once, and that was a gigantic horsepill sized enteric coated fish oil gel. It went down OK, but my stoma hurt for a little bit afterwards. Haven't taken those since. Otherwise I haven't had any trouble swallowing pills. Drink a little extra Water to wash it down. And if you do run into trouble you may need to ask for something that can be crushed or comes in smaller pills or liquid form.

Welcome!! Hopefully you'll get a date set soon and be on your way!

Some surgeons who focus on bypass aren't necessarily giving their lapband patients the best aftercare and support. Sometimes to the point where they expect them to sit in the support groups that are made up of mostly gastric bypass patients, the nutritionists have the wrong info on what kind of diet the bandster should be eating, the surgeon tries to control the fill amount & schedule too much instead of allowing the bandster to take ownership of their band, etc. If you decide to go with the lapband I really hope you look for a surgeon that is pro-lapband and offers excellent aftercare rather than staying with this one. If you're in the Puget Sound area I highly recommend NWWLS (nwwls.com). It might be a few extra minutes of driving to get to their surgery center in south Everett but they have great care and do only lapbands. Almost all of the staff is banded, so they can relate to what you are going through.

Congratulations Jessica, that's awesome!! :banana :banana

Don't worry, the two weeks goes by fast. I added fresh veggies and fruit to the liquid diet -- hardly adds any calories and you get the chance to munch on something. Managed to lose 10 lbs no problem prior to surgery. You will have to be on liquids for 1-2 weeks after surgery too, and it's extremely important that you stay on them and don't eat solid food too soon, so that your band has time to heal in place. Just part of the routine -- it goes by fast and you'll feel better after the first couple days.

Thanks for the great suggestion of guaifenesin, pseudoephedrine and pain reliever -- I think I'm going to try that. I've been battling sinus problems for the past few weeks. At my worst I dragged myself in to the doctor and he gave me an antibiotic that helped a bit, but it's starting to clog up again. I do find that nasal irrigation helps (I have a hydropulse nasal irrigator). But something to take before bed that will keep me decongested at night would be wonderful! I might actually get some sleep. With sleep apnea, I can't breathe properly if my nose is stuffy.

LOL, mine too!

How long do you eat before you go to bed? Until you see your doctor, maybe some over the counter antacid prevention medicine would help you with it. I wouldn't get too worried about slippage if reflux is your only symptom -- it's known that many folks get it after banding. But definitely get checked out by your band doc or whoever is doing your followup, just in case. Because it can be one sign of slippage (but you'd have other symptoms too, like pain, throwing up, and trouble eating). Don't worry hun, I'm sure you're fine!! Your doc will help you get this under control. (( hugs ))

I've never heard the no caffeine rule from my surgeon's office -- they are pro-caffeine as it were, suggesting a non-fat latte makes a nice breakfast if you are tight in the morning. You get both your milk for the day and it has a good amount of Protein in it. Here's my plan today (half accomplished) Breakfast: coffee with a splash of milk / no sweetener Lunch: 4 oz fish with a Tbs of tartar sauce 1/2 c chopped salad mixed in with the tartar sauce to make it go further Afternoon snack: an apple Dinner: 3-4 oz of pot roast 1 C cooked carrots small potato (I know, I know, I shouldn't be having this) If I'm hungry later: piece of fruit Viactiv for calcium; multi-vitamin; 64+ oz of non-caloric fluids not counting the coffee

Sounds like you definitely have restriction, even without a fill. I'm 2 fills out and there's still nothing that has caused me to PB or slime. (although I got close one time with a boiled egg) I think that's great -- no worries on being too aggressive with your fills, etc. Congrats on almost being to goal!

I dropped 10 lbs before surgery doing Optifast / Glucerna with fruits/veggies to munch on. Now, post-banding, I'm following the bandster guidelines which are to avoid bread, potatoes, rice, Pasta, sugar, etc. and have 2-3 oz of lean meat and some veggies at each meal, plus 2 cups of milk. No other caloric beverages and I get in a piece or two of fruit every day too. That plus exercise is working OK for dropping weight. It would be very hard to maintain that kind of eating plan long term without the band, but you can do anything for a few weeks. Good luck!

Hang in there Sunta. I'd recommend also talking to the therapist about this in your pre-op psych consult. I've been banded since the end of August. I've had 2 fills and probably need another small one but I'm holding off til December due to an upcoming out of town vacation. The band so far does not restrict me from eating bread, rice, potatoes, Pasta or anything else like that, although I'm currently choosing to only eat those things in small quantities and not very often. No acid reflex or esophageal problems (yet). No pbing or sliming (yet). It's normal to be scared and almost everyone is at some point before their surgery. After all, this is a life changing thing. There IS a possibility of some of those things happening to you. So you should approach this and any other surgery with caution. But I'm happy I made the decision to do this. (so far!)

Sloopy Pottybrains here... hmmmm....

Don't be surprised if your first fill doesn't do it for you. I had to go back for a 2nd fill a couple weeks later as the first one did almost nothing. Even with this 2nd fill I can eat a lot more than I should. Part of that is my choices: you have to stop eating after 20 min or you can eat almost as much as you could pre-band. The band doesn't stop me from grazing. I've been working so hard to make good food choices (2-3 oz of Protein and some veggies or a piece of fruit for each meal) but I am occasionally slipping up and the scale is being mean to me this week. Here's hoping that the first fill works wonders for you! (and if it doesn't that you have a doc who will let you come back right away)

I've not PB'd yet, but I did have a food stick the other day. That HURT! It was a boiled egg. With a few sips of Water and some creative stretching it finally dropped through and the pain went away although I'm still a little sore. Don't let the prospect of an occasional PB or stuck food prevent you from getting the band. It's not that big of a deal -- in fact it's part of what will make you successful as you learn to slow down and chew each bite carefully. Many of us morbidly obese folk had a tendency to wolf our food down, contributing to eating too much. Good luck making your decision!

I think he's a crackhead too, fwiw. :smoke If you get in 1200 cal per day with a good balance of Protein carbs and fat, plus 30 min of moderate exercise 3x week You'd be doing great (you ARE doing great)! That's my opinion. You are already losing faster than average. WTG! And don't let the clueless doc get ya down.

I've not had the flu with the band, but I've heard that you don't have any trouble throwing up. My rate of loss is pretty normal I think (it's averaging out to between 1-2lbs a week, even though I'm not really losing every week). But I see people around me losing much faster, and a few who are losing slower. To me it appears that the "rate of loss" is similar to regular dieting -- it varies widely from person to person based on calorie intake, personal metabolism, amount of muscle mass, exercise, etc. The only difference is that the restriction of the band helps you stay on track with not overeating and provides a feeling of satiety that you can use to avoid grazing on junk food between meals (but the band will not stop you from grazing on junk food between meals if you want to -- head hunger issues don't magically go away). We still have to learn to figure out why we are reaching for food when we're not physically hunger, and fill that need in a different way. I'm really battling my desire for chocolate, with the Halloween candy both at work and home. And I'm not physically hungry.

And you might just need another fill -- maybe a small one will do wonders for you. It's been a month since your last one. You can give it a try! (you could always unfill if it's too tight)

I used the Glucerna shakes, you can find them in cans at most drugstores (at least in our area). They are formulated to keep your blood sugar even for a few hours and they have Fiber. What I liked was that they were premixed in a can so I didn't need to deal with mixing anything at work. But there are lots of good shakes out there I think. My surgeon's office didn't promote doing Protein shakes during the post-surgery liquid phase. They suggested cream Soups, Jello, non&low calorie drinks like Crystal Lite or Propel. I think there's a sticky in the food section of this site for suggestions of foods for the clear liquid, liquid and mushy stages.

Welcome, welcome!

Woohooo Crystal!! And that's big news for a turtle.

I'm not dieting in the sense of counting calories, fat grams, etc. But I am trying to follow the bandster guidelines I was given: each meal should be 2-3 oz of lean Protein and some veggies. That's doing the trick for me now that I have fill in the band. I do get in at least one piece of fruit per day as a snack, too. No beverages with calories (except occasional milk), a multi Vitamin every day. At this point it does still feel a bit like a "diet" - I have to still make the choice not to indulge in junk food, no alcohol, staying away from Pasta, potatoes and bread. And it's not always easy, particularly at special occasions or when goodies are offered at work. I just try to follow "most of the guidelines most of the time".

I think you'll find a lot of people at this site chose not to do the RNY (or other types of gastric bypass) due to the higher risk of complications and death. It tends to be a bit "anti-GB" around here, just like on GB boards you'll probably find a lot of "anti-band" attitude. I'm not sure you'll get a balanced view polling here. The board is full of people who either need the support because they are having issues or need the support because they are in their first year. You'll have better luck looking at recent studies on both bypass and band patients (make sure you're not getting band data from a bypass surgeon and vice versa My doc was Dr. Kevin Montgomery at NWWLS in Everett, WA Surgery was 8/31/05 so I haven't had much time to lose a lot of weight yet, but it's coming off and I'm happy. No complications, no troubles with meds, no staff problems (they offer great support post-surgery) Good luck making your decision! Remember losing and maintaining is a lifelong journey.

1)How much of a fill you all got the first visit? 1.5cc 2)What size and brand of band? 4cc Inamed 3)Did your Dr. use floro or not for this first visit? No flouro & no problem finding the port and doing the fill without it. (either time) 4)How much did you get on your second fill? .25 cc for a total of 1.75. I was also given the option of doing the full .5 cc for a total of 2, but I don't want to be over-aggressive on my fills. 5)How long before you NEEDED (not got it, but needed it) your second fill? I needed it right away -- the first fill did nothing for me. I waited 2 weeks though, just to make sure. That said, the amount each person needs is different. You might need more or less than what everyone else is getting.

Yay, down another couple pounds! For exercise: hey, I'm doing the WATP videos too! So far I do the Walk & Kick and the 3-mile (although I only make it to 2 miles usually). Or I go to the gym and do the elliptical trainer for 30 min. I'm slowly working up my endurance.