Jodi_620

Definitely talk to your doctor about the seepage. The gas is very normal. There are two separate issues with gas after surgery. The gas that is pumped into the cavity travels up to the shoulders and causes pain. Gax-X will not do anything to resolve that problem. We also get a lot of intestional pain. The gas would stay in my intestional tract too and taking two Gas-X pills only took the edge off (the strips don't work as well for me, but I chewed the pills) In both cases moving around as much as possible, although painful, does help.

The Lap Band takes a certain amount of discipline in order to work for you. The band will only make you feel full on a small amount of food. It won't take away your cravings for food. It won't keep you from snacking or eating between meals, eating when not hungry, eating unhealthy foods. This is really something you need to be aware of before you decide if the Lap Band is the way to go.

It depends on the surgeon.

I was weighed in. Then gave my insurance info to the insurance coordinator. She was on the phone with insurance company to verify that it is a covered procedure while I visited the surgeon. He went over the procedure again, the diet, the recovery. He answered questions. Wrote out scripts for upper GI, Bloodwork, sleep study, gave me a password to go onto the EMMI website for further education, explained the need for two visits with the nutritionist and two with the psych. The insurance coordinator came verified coverage and got the ball rolling on submitting paperwork. I had to pay $375 out of pocket/non-refundable for this visit.

Yes it is normal to hungry during this phase. After a few fills you will start seeing results.

The information submitted prior to approval is the only information the insurance company will receive or require. Once approved, you are approved-period. Once you have that approval letter in hand, you no longer have to worry. They may keep track of your weight after surgery to decide whether they will approve payment of fills, mine does.

If you are not satisfied on a small amount of food (less than a cup) or are not staying satisfied for at least four hours then you are not at restriciton. Believe me, you will know if something is stuck. You will either feel intense pain and or pressure in your chest (kind of like the feelimg you get when you take a drink and swallow too hard...if you can relate) or you will start sliming (having mucus back up into your mouth). Or simply feel gaggy. But understand that being stuck or getting sick ARE NOT indicators of good restriction they are indicators of not eating properly. You stretch your pouch by consistently keeping it overly filled. Are you even on solids yet? liquids cannot stretch your pouch and I doubt the mushies would either. I am guessing you have not had a fill yet. That means your band is open and the food, whatever the consistency, is passing through fairly quickly so it is not stretching the pouch. Be patient. You are in bandster hell and you will be hungry. It will take 1-4 fills to really start seeing a difference, till then it is sheer willpower.

I had to gain 6 pounds and did...no regrets. It took a few months though.

A lot of people think that way but my doctor said I am getting the same benefits as taking other chewables and I feel I can tolerate the taste better than the adult chalky chewables I've tried, so am more apt to take them regularly. The bottle says 1/2 tablet for children aged 2-3 and one tablet for adults and children over 4. I double up on both my multi and calcium;my choice but doc says it is OK.

I take Flintstone Chewables (x2 a day) and Caltrate chews (x2 a day). These are required by my surgeon. I was never able to find a Biotin that was easy to take. I used a hair Skin and Nails formula with 3000mcg of biotin and had to take three caplets a day. I would split them and slowly take them 1/2 at a time over an hour or so.

In the beginning the whole process is trial and error. You have to relearn how to eat, how much, what you can eat... The first few weeks are for just that, learning. I would measure out a certain amount of food eat it and note how I felt. If I got hungry soon after then I measured more for the next meal. When I got to the point where I was too full, I measured a little less until I finally got the right measurement. Eventually I was able to eye up my plate and no longer needed to measure. Too full for me is very uncomfortable, bloated feeling and the food is backing up into my esophagus which can feel gaggy or painful. It feels like if you make one false move and the food is going to come back up. How much do you feel is too much? You probably have not had a fill this early on so of course you will eat more until you get a couple fills and actually start using the band and it could take a couple fills. I don't measure anymore but once restriced I started eating and still eat around 3/4 to 1 cup per meal. I consistently lost weight eating that much.

For me it was around two weeks. I also just had my gall bladder removed and the timeframe was the same.

First off, don't listen to your friend, do what your doctor tells you. You are going to get a lot of diet advice from people around you but always check with your surgeon. If he/she did not give you guidelines on calorie intake during this stage, ask them to. Even if it is another bandster giving you advice, always check with your doctor first. Second, you are not in weight loss phase yet. Until you start getting fills you are not expected to lose weight and as a matter of fact, many people gain 5-10 pounds during this stage. So pat yourself on the back for actually losing 6...you are doing great! We all had to live on willpower alone during this stage, that is why we call it Bandster Hell. It will pass but it may be progressional, one fill may help-the second fill even better. On average it takes up to four fills to really feel the affects of having the band.

Most of the time, depending on what I am eating of course, I can eat fairly normally. I can't take huge bites and I have to chew a little more than pre-band (but then again, I inhaled my food back then) but for the most part I don't have to chew forever to liquify the food in tiny amounts like I was lead to believe I would. The exception is when I am eating tougher meats and veggies or when I am tighter after a good fill. In general, overeating just leads to the uncomfortable feeling, not throwing up (which as far as overeating goes, I think usually happens when you keep eating past full.)

I agree that we always need to distinguish between Vomiting and PB'ing. But there is band-related vomiting too. It is not always like a stomach virus where you throw up for hours upon hours and you may not even throw up the entire contents of your stomach. If you slip or are too tight you can heave or even burp up stomach acid, sometimes a lot- sometimes a little. Sometimes when I am too tight I will cough up just a little food mixed with stomach acid, it has happened after a fill too and that can make me gag or want to wretch. So quantity or whether there is stomach acid is not a surefire indicator. No matter which is happening, if we are wretching, (and I have wretched when I was stuck too) we are convulsing our stomach muscles where our port is stitched and possibly our stomach and too much of that could cause pain in the port area and as I said, slippage of the band. Besides the wretching issue having the potential to cause pain or damage to the band, if we have too much stomach acid coming up it can cause damage to our esophagus, throat and teeth or we could get sick at night and asperate the vomit which can lead to pneumonia or worse. It needs to be dealt with to avoid damage. Make sure you are eating properly if so then you should have your band checked under fluoro to make sure it is in proper place and see if you need an unfill. Note that even if it is a stomach virus, I have seen people come into my doctors office for a temporary unfill due to stomach virus just to avoid damage.

You want to find the cause of the vomiting and fix it. Vomiting of course for anyone, is a sign that something is not right. For bandsters it could also cause slippage. If you are taking small bites (about the size of the fingernail on your index finger), chewing well, and eating slowly. If you are eating band friendly foods and not drinking with your meal, then you are too tight and need to get a slight unfill. Probably the muscles in your abs pushed the port forward while you were vomiting. It will be tender for a couple days if it hurts longer than that, talk to your doctor.

It sounds like you need to review all the bandster rules and guidelines and try to pinpoint the problem. Stress, hormonal changes, certain foods or eating improperly can cause you to be feel tighter or get sick. So look at things like: Is the slow loss causing you excess stress? Or are there stressful situations when the problem happens? Is it your TOM? Are you eating breads, dry meats, fibrous or starchy vegetable or other specific foods that are causing you to feel sick? Are you eating slowly, taking small bites and chewing well. Are you making sure not to drink too soon after eating? On days that you feel too hungry: Are you getting enough to drink between meals? Are you truly tummy rumbling hungry or just wanting to eat more? Are you eating a lot of white carbs? (bread, potato, Pasta, rice, sugar...) Are you getting in enough solid lean Protein before eating your veggies and fruits?

I actually get tighter toward the end (about three-four days in to my TOM) but I am sure it is different for others.

I don't eat the processed stuff from a box, a lot of preservatives and sodium...But I have eaten my own stuffing a couple times, I can only handle a small spoonful. It really depends on your restriction level which varies and changes through this process. If you can't handle bread (not everyone has problems with it) then stuffing will probably have the same effect.

I did liquid protein for two weeks and lost around 20 pounds. I was allowed chicken broth, sugar free jello, sugar free popsicles and protein shakes and protein powders. This diet was required by my surgeon and was extremely difficult but in the end well worth it.

I was too and after getting the Lap Band this wasn't as big a struggle as I thought it would be. And I gave up caffeine, soda, cigarettes, carbs and my bad eating habits all at once. Once at restriction, you feel full most of the time and giving in to such eating habits can leave you wishing you hadn't. At the very least you will feel uncomfortably full at worst you could get sick or feel pain. During weight loss phase, I eat three meals a day, Period. If there is a food that I want and it is between meals, I tell myself that if I still want it at my next meal then I can have it. Most of the time, by then the craving has passed but if not I satisfy my craving. Watching white carbs goes a long way to keep your insulin levels even. Spikes and dips can cauase stress and cravings. So watch out for breads, pastas, rice, potatoes and sugar. These are the comfort foods we usually crave but eating them causes the spikes and dips that keep the craving cycle going. Eat healthy carbs and always with a lean protein. Find a new release for your stress...some kind of exercise is best. The first couple weeks are the hardest. Eventually, if you stick with it, you will lose your old habits and as the weight comes off you will have a lot more incentive to stick with it.

Yes, you have not even begun to really use your band. You need to keep chewing well. You are not hungry because you are chewing your food well, you are hungry because you do not have enough restriction yet. After a fill or two the well-chewed food will stay in your pouch longer. Not chewing well and causing yourself to get stuck simply creates swelling so that you can't eat. It is a bad habit to fall into.

If you can't even swallow water then you should call your doctor soon...you can quickly become dehydrated. I wouldn't worry too much but it does need to be addressed. I am often tight in the morning and after being stuck last night you may just need to give it a couple more hours but don't wait too long.

First, are you eating solid food that will stay in your pouch longer than the mushies or liquids and are you making sure you are not drinking with meals? If so, then my doctor tells me that if I am getting hungry between meals, then it is time for a fill...even a tiny fill might put you back on track.

First, I agree that you should be educated before making your decision. I went to seminars and did research prior to scheduling a consultation with my surgeon. There are definitely people who would do better with bypass. While the Lap Band is less invasive and it is a great weight loss tool, it still requires a good deal of discipline in order to have sucessful weight loss.