CarolinaGirl

Hope- Hang in there! I was banded on 5/13 and today (5/18) is the first day that I have gone all day without taking any pain meds. I have had quite a bit of pain out of my port site, but all of a sudden last night and this morning it is slowly easing up. Thank goodness!! As far as keeping Water down- I was not allowed ANY fluids after my surgery on Tuesday. Wednesday morning they did a leak check and then allowed me to start on ice chips and little medicine cups of water or juice. Don't be afraid to take as much of the pain meds as you need to get you through the next few days. Afterall, they say if you wait and take it when you are already in severe pain- you waited too late. Keep it under control and it will help you cope through the healing. If you are not able to keep ice chips down, I would definitely call you Dr. You may also want to try SF popsicles. They too will help you with fluids. Good luck to you and hang in there!!

I have never been a wine drinker, but have started experimenting and found that a Pinot Noir is pretty good. If you are not a wine drinker, it can tend to be a little dry. Try a splash of Light Cran-Grape with it and it tends to lighten the dry taste. This has been a burning question of mine as well- I understand the empty calories, but more interested in whether it is tolerable with the band. With all choices come consequences- having an adult beverage would be a choice and working off the empty calories would be the accountability of that choice or the consequence of a gain if not. Just my 2 cents..... =)

Thanks for the info! I will definitely keep everyone posted and please do the same!

Mel- I am also beginning my journey in this and am in the North Region on Tricare Standard. The tricky part for me is that I have Aetna Choice POS II as my primary insurance and Tricare Standard is my husband's and is secondary. My company did not choose the bariatric coverage on our Aetna plan, so I am shooting for Tricare to cover. PLEASE let me know if you get any info and I'll do the same. My email is webb8992@yahoo.com and I am in Chesapeake,VA