Jodi_620

I apoligize, I won't respond to any more of your posts...this is an open forum where we can (usually) share our ideas whether we agree or not I shared what I was told about not eating around the band apparently my opinion is not welcome in your thread so I will unsubscribe to this one and move on.

Don't get down on yourself...that wont make matters any better. We will all keep our fingers crossed that your stress test comes out OK and that your heart is healthy enough for the surgery. Then you can lose the weight and make your heart and the rest of you healthier. Till then stay strong, take care of yourself and enjoy your holidays with your precious little one. ...Let me know how the stress test turns out.

Once you are healed you should not have any problems with performing any type of exercise. If you were to feel discomfort talk to your doctor.

According to the guidelines I was given for puree, all of those things would be great except the fish. Puree is the consistency of baby food...I actually sometimes eat baby food when I am on puree. Your tummy would have to churn to break down the fish. I was told that after puree I should start with soft foods like fish then work my way up to more solid foods. I was not told to measure my food during this stage. I was just told to eat when I am hungry and stop when I am satisfied. This is a good time to learn this rule. (in the beginning it is hard for a lot of us to identify true hunger and the difference between satisfied and full) I think I ate close to if not a cup a food per meal during this time. Because I had no restriction I would not stay full for several hours so I would supplement my Protein with a shake if I got really hungry between meals. If you are not getting your recommended protein with your three meals you should probably supplement with a shake.

It is rare to have insurance that will cover it for cosmetic purposes but there are a few that do. You are more likely to get coverage if it can be deemed medically necessary (like if the excess skin is causing motion problems, pain or rashes).

I would ask them if they would give it to me and then I would take it to my current doctor. If they are local you could try to arrange to pick the records up. I've done that with no problems but I think it really depends on the doctor. DH previous doctor would not release it to him. And one doctor tried to refuse releasing the records to anyone, then said that DH would have to pay them before they could release them...this also happened to my mom in PA once too. We fought and were finally able to get the records handed over. Not saying it will happen to you, just letting you know that some doctors can be a pain in the neck about this.

Here is a page from the Lap Band website. Since these people actually make the Lap Band, I would say it is a good place to gather information. Lapband.com - Recovering from LAP-BAND® System Surgery According to the makers of the Lap Band we should not be eating solids for up to six weeks. The doctors who allow it much sooner are going against these guidelines. The way I see it, it really doesn't matter what other peoples doctors said. I researched my doctor, I chose him because I trust him. As much as I wanted food, he told me no food for the first four weeks, the literature with Lap Band supported this and I stuck with it. I had a choice of doing what my highly trained bariatric surgeon instructed me to do or doing what someone on an internet forum told me that their doctor told them to do.

You are absolutely not a hopeless cause. Everyone here has food issues, if we didn't we wouldn't be here. Sounds like you do have some band issues to work out. In my experience when at restriction, the band won't let me overdo it. I just have to struggle with not eating between meals and it is really hard sometimes. If there is anthing I can do to help, please let me know.

Where did you get information that the mortality rate is higher? I double checked my books and paperwork, checked the Lab Band website and did a Google search and everything says less than 1% (average .5%). I was told both by my surgeon and people here that the surgical risks are less than everyday operations such as gallbladder removal.

I can't do hardboiled eggs either. I can in egg salad or deviled eggs but not dry...no way! It is too dry and thick and I nearly chocked on it. Soft boiled is better.

I agree with the above. You can certainly lose weight easily and faster with bypass but you can also regain the weight. It would make more sense to see if you can deal with your food issues before you decide to do another surgery, maybe with couseling you can even make the band start working for you. Does your surgeon have a counselor in his office that you can talk to?

It sounds like you have the experience with dieting and that is what I was getting at. Some people come into the Lap Band not ever having tried dieting and unwilling/unable to put forth much effort thinking the band will do it all for them...In my opinon those ones should never have been approved for banding in the first place. Look at your doctors program and ask yourself if that is something you can do. It is hard at first, you have to get through the pre-op and post-op diets then work with sheer willpower until you get your first fill. It takes an average of four fills until the band really kicks in. You have to deal with your head hunger but the band will help keep you satisfied on a small amount of food. You of course also have to re-train yourself to eat slowly. But the pros are that the surgery is much less invasive, the band is adjustable so you have control over your weight loss, and if there are any problems it is reversible. It was hard but I have absolutely no regrets. Seven months out and I have lost more than 3/4 of my excess weight and plan to be at goal within 9 months. I have seen many more people get bypass first then turn around and get Lap band than I have the other way around. But you are the only one that can know for sure which is best for you.

I see this so often here and it amazes me that people are not being told the reason for these rules. The purpose of not going on solids early is that you have internal stitches holding your band in place. These stitches need 4-6 weeks to heal properly. An important part of the success in Lap Band is proper placement. When we eat solid food, our stomachs churn to digest the food. That motion can tear those stitches out which would cause band slippage or it can cause the band to shift then heal in the wrong position. You would not feel it if it happened and the damage caused may not be noticed until later. Being hungry and be able to eat are normal during this stage. We have all been through this and know how hard it is. If you want this to work then you need to stay with the program that your doctor gave you. It is only temporary and eventually you will be allowed to be on solids and as the fills come you will be satisfied on smaller and smaller amounts. Choosing to ignore doctors orders during healing is not a wise decision.

Same to you Steve and also to all the other fellow bandsters out there!

That isn't the whole purpose for me. I've lost my weight at least a half a dozen times before I got the band. I did it with Medifast, Slim Fast, Jenny Craig, South Beach etc., etc. I would lose the weight, go off the program and gain it back plus some. The "real purpose" of the band was to find something I could do for life so that I could stick with it , lose weight and keep it off. I could have done the Medifast alone and saved myself and insurance $17.5K. I got the Lap Band so that I wouldn't have to do those diets anymore. With the Lap Band I eat real food, I don't count calories, fat grams, carb grams, I don't weigh, measure or keep a food diary and I have lost 71 ponds and counting...THAT is my idea of the purpose of the band...I can definitely do this for life. The whole deal with the band is to get to restriction so you can eat three solid meals a day and the restriction keeps that food in your pouch for hours so that you are not hungry till your next meal. If you have ever had a fill under fluoro, you know that liquids pass right through the band thus a liquid diet defeats the whole purpose of paying a lot of money and putting yourself through surgery. When used properly, the band will train you to eat right but you have to actually eat food in order to learn.

If you can tolerate it get the really thin whole grain wrap bread (kinda looks like tortillas) and roll meat, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, light dressing and diced tomato into it. I cut it into 1/2 or 1/3 depending on the size. Other ideas: chicken salad shredded salad with chicken, turkey or tuna on top bean salad pita chips and hummus

I would guess a non-productive burp is just a regular 'ole burp where you just leave out some noisy air. A productive burp would be where your chewed food can not get into the pouch and you burp it back up.

Pre band at Wendy's i would have gotten a double jr. cheesburger deluxe and medium fries and I usually went for the Frosty. Post band I have been to Wendy's once and got the small chili and that satisfied me more than my pre-band choice ever did. I don't even bother with "burger joints" anymore. I do go to chick-fil-a once in a while, that is my first fast-food choice if I am on the go and need something to eat. Also, DH loves Taco Bell so out of convenience I have eaten there once or twice (if he wants taco bell for dinner and I don't want to cook for just me). Preband it would have been a taco pizza and two soft tacos, now I just order the taco pizza and can barely eat 1/2.

A PB/getting stuck tells you that you've done something wrong. Either you took too big a bite, didn't chew well enough, ate too much or ate something that you can't tolerate. Sometimes you can PB if you drink with your meal. It happens to most of us in the beginning, it is not something you want to happen but you learn from it and it helps you to learn to eat right and not cause another PB. For me, hiccups mean I have had enought to eat. I don't feel the food going through my band. But it is supposed to go through....slowly.

I have had five fills and I can tell you that you definitely want to take it SLOWWWWLLLY after a fill. We are told to take small bites, chew well and eat slowly blah, blah, blah. At first we watch this closely then eventually we relax and get conditioned on what we can and can not tolerate, how big of a bite to take how fast to eat etc without having to focus on every move. We do get distracted and make mistakes but for the most part we get accustomed to what we can handle. But a fill can change what, how and how much we were previously able to eat. There is a chance that the first fill will not make a big difference but it will probably make getting stuck a little easier. After a fill or two you might not be able to tolerate certain foods as well as you could before, you might have to take smaller bites or eat slower. But eventually you will settle in and get accustomed to your new level of restriction. It may take two or three fills to really feel it. If you are like me, you may have restriction after a fill or two, lose weight thus losing fat around the band, and need another fill but eventually you should reach your sweet spot. It is a learning process, we have to re-train ourselves to eat properly but eventually it becomes second nature...the way it should be.

This was discussed at my pre-op seminar. I was told that the death rate was less than 1% and that the majority of those deaths were directly related to the toll that morbid obsesity had taken on the body. Some of the remaining ones were cause by either surgical error or poor after care. The band itself has yet to cause any direct deaths. So, be sure to do your homework. Research and find a qualified surgeon and good hospital. Make sure that your surgeon does the proper pre-op tests to try and make sure that you are healthy enough for surgery. And learn what you need to do to take care of yourself pre-op and post-op. Do not ignore the rules and do not ignore symptoms to possible problems.

Mine was 40 on surgery day. I am almost 7 months out...current information below in purple font.

That type of diet is against my surgeons rules. I was told that I have to eat solid meals or I am just defeating the purpose of having the band. I think the key is getting yourself to the right restriction then following the rules and letting the band do its job.

I think that what you are going through is common. I did the same thing and I had my surgery in the spring...I can't imagine having to contend with all the holiday goodies too! I have seen several posts of people that overdo it as surgery approaches it has been labeled "Last Supper Syndrome" on this site. We know that our days of "pigging out" will end soon and it makes us want to try to get it all in now, while we still can. The more bad carbs you eat the more you will want. Your pre-op diet will likely help you to break that cycle but it will be hard if you have the bad stuff in your house. Your growing son does need carbs but the highly processed sugary stuff is not good for anyone and I recommend that after the holidays you get that stuff out of your house. He certainly does need the fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains and dairy but the rest of the stuff can safely go. This is an opportunity to get everyone in your house on a healthier track.

My first question would be "What has been your experience with weight loss attempts in the past?" Have you ever tried losing weight on your own? If so what were the results, did you not lose any weight or did you lose weight then gain it back? The reason I think this is important is that with the band it does take some effort on your part. You will need to eat the proper foods and eat them the proper way. The band does do its part, keeping you from being hungry and when eating the right foods, keeping you from eating too much. Some people have never dieted in their life and/or just don't have enough personal discipline to control their eating. These types of people likely would never be able to make the band work to its fullest potential, if at all and might do better with bypass.