Travelher

I just had my band revised to rny. The lapbad is a piece of equipment and will eventually age and fail. My bet is that everyone with one will eventually need a revision. Mine lasted 11 years, but I've heard many fail at 5. My surgeon went as far as saying anyone still putting them in now should be sued for malpractice, they just don't work long term...10+ years and many people have issues with them and they have the data to support that.

The canadian system is certainly not perfect (none are) but it is what I would call good. If I need to see a doctor I can get in same day and pay nothing, if I break my leg, I get seen same day and pay nothing. I recently had an ultrasound which found a tumour on my kidney, I had a ct scan scheduled within a week. (I think reasonable). Where I have experienced delays are in non-life threatening type things that require a specialist. I asked for an MRI on my knee...(I have a lot issues with my acl). That could take months because they put emergent cases ahead of you...but if I want to skip the line I can pay for an MRI at a private clinic (for significantly less than in the us). Bypass surgery is also covered here, depending on where you live the wait times are anywhere from 8 months to 18months...sometime requires up to 6months medically supervised diet. I didn't want to wait after my band failed so I went to a clinic and did self pay. Frankly my work has asked me to move to the US, the biggest reason I won't is the Heath Care system. My husband has crohns and I worry if we were to move there it could threaten us financially...it just is not even something people think about here. I'm hoping Canada expands our system to include drugs as well, like many countries in Europe so the drug costs would come down as well.

Good luck to you both. I'm 4 weeks post op. Best decision ever!

Would an american hospital not treat a patient with complications post surgery, regardless of where the original surgery is done? that seems strange to me.

I use the patch Vitamins so no pills or chewables. For liquids phase I pinned a ton of Soup recipes and pretty much tried to make my own. I added an unflavored Protein powder to them to up the protein content. I'm now on purees/soft. I like cottage cheese and I've pureed frozen mixed fruit to add to it to sweeten them up. a lot of people do yogurt (I don't like it so i've avoided it). on my plan you can do runny cereals (like cream of wheat) or baby food cereals on full liquids but it didn't appeal to me so i stuck to Soups. i find eggs are good at this stage and Beans. I'm loving hummus right now.

i started my Multivitamin patch during my pre-surgery diet. I found that really made a difference.

I am also shocked that your GP said you don't need it. Mine was almost giddy when i told her I was getting it and I had a BMI of about 42 at the time. She went down the list of things on my blood work etc and it was basically....this will be fixed after surgery...and this will be fixed after surgery ...and this should get better etc. As for family...I think that is coming from a place of fear and worry. Hopefully they will come around. You are doing this for your health. I for one, want to be around to see my 7 year old get married, have kids etc. etc.

I measure everything and portion out my meals. I've bought a bunch more small containers for this..some of them have helpful measurements on the side (1/4 cup etc). I'm keeping my meals between 1/2 and 3/4 cups of food. I'm in my 4th week. I do get full and if I feel full I stop even if I'm not done my portion. I didn't feel any restriction while still on full fluids, but still measured.

Looks like there is no liquid added at all. Am I correct?

Yeah I've been on my stomach since about 1 week post op. Have reverted back to propped up on my back due to acid reflux though.

As someone who just had a revision from a lap band to a bypass. I do not recommend the lap band! I had mine in for about 11 years. I developed acid reflux with the band and found the fill level to be variable. in the morning i had difficulty with getting Water down, by evening I could eat steak. Eventually it failed altogether and would not take a fill. No one told me when they put it in that it would eventually wear out and need to be replaced. Revision was the best decision I ever made. Just my 2 cents. Make sure you do your research. Many surgeons are no longer doing them because of the known issues (mine included).

So 2 weeks post op. Decided to try a tiny bit of lemonade crystal light to my water for a bit of flavour...so regretting that now...way too acidic burning and non stop burping since then. I'll never do that again. Now I'm wishing my surgeon had sent me home with antacids

I just saw that post and was going to ask if it was a joke. It's got to be a joke, right? I think there are a bunch of surgeons out there who need to do a better job screening their patients, because clearly the message is not getting through. Either that, or there are doctors out there who have no regard for their patients and are doing a half-assed job of preparing people for life after surgery. chicken 5 days post op. . . . I just can't . . . I agree. My doctor sent me home with the post-op diet sheet and at the top it basically says "follow this diet or you could die!" In bold letters

If you have gastric reflux do not get a lap band! It will get 10 times worse. I just had mine removed and revised to a bypass. Can't tell you how relieved I am to have it out. I developed horrible reflux with the band...now, blissfully gone. I wish I never had the band.

Yep, I'm the same. Feel like I am constantly drinking but on a good day I get 48oz plus my shake. Not enough hours in the day

I just started purees/soft foods today...I'm in heaven. I'm down about 28lbs from the high weight pre, pre-op liquids. I had cottage cheese for Breakfast, hummus for lunch and agedashi tofu for dinner...in heaven and my calories have doubled to about 650 now. Feel more human. Will see what the scale says with this change

that is fantastic!

I love Dr. Weiner's videos on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/user/DrMatthewWeiner. Found lots of good information and some tips. I also ordered his book a pound of cure off amazon

Mind telling me what your allotted calories and carbs are each day? I am also a revision patient and have a bigger pouch. I didn't get any guidelines as to what that should look like other than 5 small meals a day.

when i lost my weight after the band surgery years ago...my first taste was when i walked into Lane Bryant to look at the stuff they had on sale and the saleslady said "I think you are in the wrong store. This is a plus size store". takes a while for your brain to adjust to your body.

I had bypass and found i didn't need the painkillers after day 2. not sure if it is different depending on the type of surgery. i was up walking within hours of my surgery and at least every hour on day 2. I think it helped with the gas which is the worst part and the cause of most of the pain.

I am as well. I has been getting better. I chalk it up to the 400 calories I'm taking in right now on the liquid diet. I expect it will get better when I move to purees. I also have a cold that probably doesn't help. I finding it getting better day by day. Feel a huge improvement today (15 days post op)

Nothing as serious as yours, but I've developed a post op infection in one of my incisions. I now have a topical antibiotic. So I'm hoping that will clear things up. I'm about 15 days post op

I had band to bypass so it goes without saying I had band complications and I would try to talk anyone considering that route out of it. Now at just over 2 weeks post op with my bypass I have an infection in one of my incisions and the rest of them are looking pretty red and angry. Will see how easily this clears up. I'm hopeful it does.