Jodi_620

There really is no way to say how much weight you will lose. Our bodies work differently, and a big factor is how committed you are in watching what you eat and exercising. And how fast your surgeon will want you to lose. Many doctors will say they only want you to lose 1-2 lbs per week. I have read that 2-3 lbs a week for the first year is very possible before weight loss slows down a bit.

Your situation is very different from mine, it seems unusual to me to have the Psych eval and Nutrition Education over the phone. Are you clear on what you should eat before and after surgery, how you should eat, complications and what you need to do to heal after surgery? If your surgeon is not educating you then maybe he/she is not the best choice. The band is a tool and is only going to work if you are educated on how to make it work for you. And if you are not well educated on how to care for yourself post-op it could cause some serious issues. But as far as timing, it doesn't seem to be taking any longer than it does for most people, you are actually moving along faster than many. It can take time to get insurance approval (the insurance companies are not usually in a big rush to approve an expensive surgery). Depending on your insurance it could take weeks to get approval answers--that is, once all of their required information is received. If your insurance requires a copy of a sleep study then Julian should have already set up a sleep study for you...so yes, you should call and ask about that. The longer it takes for them to get their information the longer it will take to get approval and surgery. Just make sure you feel comfortable with your surgeon, not only will he be operating on you but he will be the one to maintain your weight loss now and into the future.

Yes, I had hiatal hernia repair with lap band surgery. Many people have minimal problems with it, mainly more shoulder pain for longer period of time was the only concern that I was given. Hopefully you will be part of the fortunate majority. Unfortunately I had more recovery problems with it than what I was told, I had breathing problems where I could not walk or talk for too long without becoming breathless (hiatal hernia is on your diaphragm which is the muscle you use to breath). This lasted for about five days. I also had very painful episodes where I would feel in my stomach,the urge to belch but the belch would not come up and I would instead get a severe pain up my esophogus into my chest. . This lasted about 5-6 days. This is called Gas Bloat and happens to about 40% of patients; 19 days later, I still am physically unable to belch but now I just feel the sensation in my stomach like I am going to burp followed by slight pressure; no pain. I think that I needed to throw up one time but I was unable to, just a gaggy feelign with a creeping feeling in my esophagus but nothing came up. I am wondering if this Gas Bloat will cause problems when I get to solid foods. Most bandsters have PB ing to let them know when they didn't eat right...if I can't belch or throw up what will happen? From what I have been able to find on it is that it usually improves "over time" and is rarely long-term.

That is true for many "Low Fat" and "Fat Free" food items. When they take out the fat, they often add sugar or high fructose corn syrup to make up for the loss in flavor. But with milk, the difference is very minimal-less than 1G difference.... Carbs in 1/2 Cup servings: Whole 11.3 G 2% 11.7 G 1% 11.7 G Skim 11.9G

Sliming is when the food gets stuck in your stoma, again it is caused by not chewing your food enough. In this case your body responds by creating a lot of mucus which backs up your esophagus and into your mouth. You are not usually able to swallow the mucus because of the stuck food so you have to keep spitting it out. So to avoid PB-ing and Sliming CHEW-CHEW-CHEW & eat slowly...

Here is an explanation word for word from paperwork I have: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It is extremely important that Lap Band patients learn to chew properly and eat slowly. If you do not chew your food extremely well you will have a very difficult time eating solid foods. Most patients spit food back up that has not been chewed well enough or has been eaten too fast. This problem is often called "Productive Burping". Most Lap Band Patients don't throw up their food in the form of vomit; they burp it up. They simply burp and the food comes up in the same form as when it was swallowed-There is no stomach acid. If this happens to you, chew better next time

I agree with Kansascase...maybe since you are diabetic an Endocrinologist would be supportive; I see one for Thyroid and PCOS and he was very supportive.

I have UHC as well and there were absolutely no hoops! I had a BMI of 41 with no co-morbities. I was approved in a little over a week with no further requirements.

If your hyothyroidism is being treated properly there is no reason why you would not lose weight with the Lap Band. I am hypothyroid too as well as having PCOS and my Endocrinologist was very supportive of the surgery. Do you have your hypothyroidism under control with medications? As long as I am on the right dosage of Synthroid I am able to lose weight just fine but I have to have bloodwork every six months to make sure I am on track as my TSH tends to fluctuate and my dose needs to go up and down from time to time. If my numbers are high I will not lose weight. I have gotten pretty good at watching symptoms like energy level, anxiety, hair loss, dry skin and knowing when I need to have my dosage adjusted. The hardest part of Hypothyroidism for me was to find a good Endocrinologist who knew how to treat it correctly by finding the right TSH level FOR ME rather than using a one size fits all TSH level and ignoring the symptoms that say that my levels are off.

I was told to take Fiber daily (like Fiber Choice) and if I still feel constipated, use non-stimulant laxative like Milk of Magnesia but experiment using the smallest dose necessary to get a BM without severe diarrhea (they said to avoid ExLax, Correctol or others with stimulants )

Are you on a Calcium supplement? I was told to take Caltrate 600 Plus D (chewable tablets.) Maybe you are low on calcium or vitamin D...

Yeah, my doctor said not to risk it...accidentally swallowing it could caus some serious issues.

Yes, my doctor told me that it is very common to gain a few pounds during this phase. We are still in the healing phase...weight loss will come when we get our fill. He told me to watch the carbs if I don't want to gain too much of the weight back, focus mainly protein with some veggies and a little fruit but avoid the starches (pasta, potato etc.) And of course get in some exercise.

My port is right above my belly button but my pain is across my entire waistband. The bad pain lasted about 1 1/2 - 2 weeks but felt a little better every day. I have noticed that it hurt less as I was able to move around more, sitting idle too long then getting up was painful. I am 2 1/2 weeks out now and the pain is much better the port site is only a little sore to the touch and I have this all over discomfort across my belly...kinda feels like the pain of a sunburn without the fever.

CONGRATULATIONS!

The scars aren't too bad, the one for the port is the biggest at about one inch (mine is right above my belly button.) I also have two very tiny ones on the left side of my abdomen one tiny on on the right side and one below my breasts (at the bra line). I figure if I have to choose between 5 tiny scars on my abdomen and all that fat, I'll take the scars! You can't feel the lap band inside you. During healing there is pain at the port site. I can't sleep flat on my back and it hurt to sleep on my side or stomach so I slept propped up on the sofa. I tried propping myself up in bed but I would roll over in my sleep and wake up in pain. It took about two weeks before I was able to go to bed and sleep on my stomach. I am still healing but for me it has already been worth it!

This has been discussed recently, here is a link... http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/lap-band-after-fundoplication-25362/

You use it for the Protein. Bandsters need to take in enough protein to avoid protein deficiencies which can cause depression, anxiety, low blood pressure, gallstones, headaches, anemia, heart palpitations, hair loss, weak muscles, tiredness and problems with healing. Since we can only take in small amounts of food, these shakes are a good way to supplement our protein intake just like when we take Vitamins to supplement other nutrients. Also, in general for our diet, high protein and low carb is a good way to go to avoid blood sugar spikes which will help us avoid food cravings.

It is very important that we don't vomit with lap band surgery so they are prepared to make sure that you don't get sick. They put anti-nausea meds in my IV before surgery and gave me an anti-nausea cocktail in the IV afterwards. Then they gave me a script for anti-nausea medication to take home (as well as antacid and pain meds). When they were moving me from post-op to recovery, I did get nausea from the motion...that is when she gave me the cocktail and it worked immediately. You can not feel the band inside you.

tmkey, I like the Chocolate delight and vanilla flavored Atkins shakes. I just started my mushies today after four weeks of liquid. Good luck it is tough but it is worth it...just take it one day at a time.

It does depend on what kind of work you do. I work in an office too. I was banded on a Friday May 30th. After the weekend, I took an additional 3 full days off then went back to work 1/2 days on Thursday and Friday...I was back to full time by Monday the 9th. I also had Hiatal Hernia repair which made my recovery a bit more difficult because I had issues with breathing and pretty bad esophagal pain. I really think that had I not had the hernia repair I would have been well enough to start back to work for 1/2 days on the Monday following the surgery. I think that a week should be fine for you. Make sure you have some loose fitting clothes because you will have a little incision pain especially around the port.

My doctor pushes high Protein and very low carb. I was told no Slim Fast (or anything that says "Meal Replacement" on the can)because it is higher in carbs...Atkins is better. Also protein powders, chicken or beef broth, sugar free popsicles, sugar free Jello. Most doctors require you to diet in order to shrink the liver because the liver needs to be moved during the surgery. But I think some require patients to lose weight too to test how serious they are about the lap band.

I burned up my full sized blender and went out intending to buy the Magic Bullet but decided to go cheaper with the Hamilton Beach mini blender ( $55.00 for the Magic Bullet vs. $13.00 for the mini-blender) It works just fine for mixing shakes and it did a great job last night when I pureed some chicken salad. I guess it depends on how much you want to spend and whether you think you need all the bells and whistles. The only extra convenience I see is that the magic bullet comes with different sized cups with lids whereas with the Hamilton Beach you only get one cup with lid.

I am two weeks post-op and am still having a lot of port pain too. I have had no bruising but the pain is pretty bad. I am a stomach sleeper but have not been able to sleep on my stomach since the surgery, I sleep on my back on the sofa in a semi-propped-up position otherwise I will wake up in bad pain. I usually feel OK in the morning and the pain gets worse as the day goes on. I have overall swelling on my stomach (my tummy feels firm instead of its normal squishy feeling) The actual incision burns and I have a bruise like feeling accross my entire waistline. The incision is not particularly red or oozing so I guess it is OK

Mine said no Slim Fast too (nothing that says "Meal Replacement" on the container) because they are higher in carbs. Atkins and EAS are allowed, I tried EAS and didn't like it.