kiz

I had one year of fills included in my self-pay contract, but now they're on me. Thankfully, I reached my "sweet spot" just before my year was up, and I don't anticipate many more fills except the occasional top off. However, a surgery or band issue could start me over again..yikes. Anyway, my doctor does allow for a "free" unfill if you return within two weeks of a fill. I don't know if that's typical, but if you do find yourself with a slight overfill, you may want to know what your doctor's fees are for an adjustment correction.

I'm glad you gave eating w/o drinking a shot and found that it made a big difference in your level of satiety. It's a shame that some offices don't prepare their patients better for living successfully with a lap band. I quietly cringe when a pre-band patient is happy that their doctor requires little or no pre-op education. Don't hesitate to ask anything you're unsure of about the band. Also, lots of useful information can be found using the search function. If your surgeon's office offers a support group, try to go to the meetings too.

Try to make yourself not drink during your meals because it really and truly makes all the difference in the world for length of satiety (at least it does for me, and I'm sure there are some who don't feel a difference, because one thing you'll find with a band, there's a lot of individual differences). Once you start to feel "full" longer, the positive reinforcement does a world of good to help you break the habit of drinking with your meals. Also, as you get more adjustments, you might find that liquids push food into your stoma, and you'll get stuck, and feel the negative reinforcement. That happened to me the one time I put milk on my Khashi Cereal. Another huge help for me is to stay very well hydrated between meals. By the time it's time to eat, I've drank enough, that I'm just not thirsty. If I'm out to eat, or if I'm eating something particularly spicey, I might take a few sips, but really no more than maybe 1/4 cup altogether. On some occasions, I have had wine with dinner, but I really do hate to drink calories, so it had better be very good wine. My band is super filled, I have great restriction, and I can eat just about anything. I don't eat celery stalks because of the stringyness, and I don't eat the membranes on citrus fruit. I can definitely live with those restrictions. You may find that as you get more fills, that there are foods you just can't tolerate, but like I mentioned before, our bands don't treat us all the same.

Just prepare to feel some extra restriction, but don't count on it. Prepare by not eating solid food two hours prior to takeoff, but stay very well hydrated pre-flight, during your flight, and post flight. And as daqui suggested, wait an hour after your flight to eat, start with a soft food, then go to regular food if you don't feel any discomfort. With all that being said, I have flown several times since being banded without experiencing any extra restriction from my band. I can't tell any difference whatsoever.

Richmond Surgical Group, St. Mary's Hospital, $13,500 (Fall 2008). Includes on year fills/checkups. After first year in-office fills are +/- $150 and fills under fluoro are +/- $700. (I don't have exact figures, but I think those are pretty close).

Here's a post from LBT that someone's explains their take on left shoulder pain not related to surgery. It sounds very similar to what you're describing. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/631145-post63.html

The New York Times > Log In

I watched Allen last night on the Leno show. He totally held his own in a cooking segment with Jay and Charles Barkley (who admittedly needs to lose at least 50 lbs). My husband, who doesn't watch BL, commented that Allen was very confident and comfortable directing Jay and Charles. He also looked terrific.

Personally, I think you might end up drinking even more calories then you're eating, because as fast as solid food is moving through your stoma, liquids are going to sail through. The NP wanted me to be sure to stay under 1 cup at meals, but to add a heavier than normal high protein fourth "mini-meal", rather than a small snack. Tuna, Greek yogurt with fiber cereal, or boiled egg, for instance. Often bandsters do put a few pounds back on during this period, so try not to stress too much. Once you start feeling restriction from your adjustments, it'll become much easier. If you're really starting to feel like your starving, you might want to call your doctor for advice on how to get through this stage..Bandster's Hell. Good luck.

My doctor is okay with coffee, but no more than two cups/day. I drink decaf most often anyway, but either way, it doesn't make me noticeably hungrier either. The coffee that really fills me up is a small skinny vanilla decaf latte. It's like a mini meal for me.

I would think if you're able to drink liquids okay, the gum passed. If you feel discomfort, call your doctor. Wouldn't you know you'd swallow gum now of all times. I'm sure you've chewed gum a hundred times without it happening.

Before I got my band, I was on my way to a double chin, ack. Of course, my face and especially my neck have deflated since losing weight. Over the last several months I was noticing ripply lines on my neck, sort of like a deflated balloon, but not quite horrible looking...yet. After reading your post, it made me think that I hadn't noticed my neck looking so ripply lately. I just went and looked in the mirror and the lines are barely there now! I had already told my husband that I was getting a neck lift if the skin stayed wrinkled or became saggy. Now, I'm hopeful it's going to snap back. Here's hoping!!

Six weeks for me.

I understand there is room for variation, and we all heal at different rates, but he's moving you through the food stages much faster than most doctors as you've noted. I always try to follow my doctor's recommendations to the letter, but I would be concerned about your doctor's diet regimen. He's not following the guidelines set by lap band, for one thing. Personally, I would stick to soft foods/mushies for the next week or two. http://www.lapband.com/life_after_surgery/life_after_surgery/first_few_weeks_after_surgery/

I've had my band for over a year, and I've never had any of the restrictive eating problems that some people report. Basically, I stay away from celery because of the stringy texture. I eat filet mignon (3 oz, so I always have leftovers for home), pizza (one slice, and I'm full), homemade yeast rolls (1/2 of small), etc. I've had the infamous sliming issues less than a handful of times. I can name the times, and the fault was mine...eating too fast a few times, and eating too much once (it was tough chicken from a Chinese restaurant that I no longer frequent :redface:). I don't have bags stashed around in case of sliming, because it just doesn't happen to me. Like happy, I eat out with my husband and friends without any worries. Nobody would ever know I have a band based on watching me eat. I order regular meals off the menu and know that I'll either share some of my meal with my husband or have some great leftovers the next day..sometimes two. :ohmy: I lost over 2/3 of my excess weight in my first year, and I will say the last twenty pounds are coming off slowly, but although this past week I didn't lose any weight, I put on a belt yesterday that I haven't worn since last week, and I had to do the happy dance when I realized that I had gone down a belt hole. :confused::thumbup: I love my renewed active lifestyle. I love eating small healthy meals and not getting hungry again for several hours. I love that I can buy clothes without sifting through a pile of 18s to find something that "fits". I'm so happy that I was able to have this surgery before the co-morbidities started piling up. High blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease run in my family, and I'm thankful every day that I missed those bullets, but I never forget I was on the barreling down the road toward those problems.

I hope you after you talk to the doctor, you'll feel more at ease in making an informed decision on whether to have WLS, and which type might suit you better. Chances are you'll have some loose skin regardless of the type of surgery you choose, but you have youth going for you, so you're skin may bounce back a little better than someone much older. Also, if you don't smoke, all the better. Genetics play a major role as well. You might find that your surgeon's office offers a LAP-BAND®® support group. Often, you can start attending even before you're banded. In fact, the surgeon I go to makes it a requirement for all pre-banders to attend at least one meeting. However, you can always make a visit here for online support. :ohmy: Good luck on making your decision. I can't express strongly enough how happy I am that I have my band. There's positive and negatives to all the surgeries, and it's a matter of finding the proper fit.

I agree with the others about going back to your fill doctor. Really, the number of fills has little bearing on whether you're getting good long-lasting restriction. Based on my history, it took several fills to get to my personal "sweet spot". Some doctors also give bigger fills than others, so don't feel discouraged because you feel like you've already had a several adjustments. You need to stay on track by getting your fills until you reach the level of restriction that you can eat the meal plan prescribed by your doctor and have good satiety between meals.

Generally, I go to the gym very early in the morning, and I like to have a quick Protein drink prior to working out. The Isopure ready to drink is clear and has a Gatorade type of consistency. Occasionally, the protein is in a white glob in the bottom, but once you shake it up, it dissolves. I've tried all the flavors, and I like them all equally. I recently bought the Isopure powder in the fruit punch flavor. One scoop gives you 25 grams of protein at approx 105 cals and no carbs. You mix it with Water, but it's a thicker consistency than the ready to drink. I think you might find it to be a little on the gritty side. I thought it tasted great though. I even had my husband try one, and he liked it too. I really liked that you only have to use a spoon to mix it. Isopure is also made from a whey protein isolate which according to them and unjury is the best form of protein. Personally, I don't know one protein from the other.

I'm sure you'll feel relief as soon as you get your unfill, and as elcee and mimi said, it might only take a small amount to make all the difference.

We have a home just in time for the holidays! :Yawn: Amlus, you should have the honors of first post. :woot: Self-Pay LAP-BAND

Just my opinion, but I think your friend might be right, so maybe you should try something like GasX for the pain. As long as it's not excruciating, I wouldn't get too concerned. One case of vomiting shouldn't cause you to have band trouble, and you did the right thing by staying on liquids and soft foods the next day. I asked the NP about what I should do in case of the stomach flu, and she said one day of vomiting shouldn't cause band problems, but if it continued to a second day to come in for a band unfill. I also have pills to take to help stop vomiting. So, I really don't think you should worry that you've caused a slip or anything by one bad PB incident. Chances are, it's coincidental that you had this other problem.

Just try to stay busy, and it never hurts to daydream about how great you're going to look over the holidays. While others are gorging themselves and feeling downright miserable, you can sit there smiling as the weight is just melting away. (Okay, I know it's not melting, but it's only a daydream..lol). There's nothing wrong with a little feeling of superiority in our thoughts as we're working toward good health.

Since you're already banded, I know you're aware of how critical good follow-up care is to the success of the band. If your friend is able to get back to the doctor in Mexico for fills and care, then there's no issue. If she can't do that, she needs to be sure has follow-up care lined up before her surgery.

I agree with Cathy. A one time six inch sub, especially since you have any trouble whatsoever getting it down, is very unlikely to have caused your pouch to stretch. You also said you're not planning on making a habit of it, so I'm sure your little pouch is a-okay. :biggrin:

I'm sorry you had such a rough start, but it's not too late to make your band work. The first thing you're going to have to do is to set a lap band food plan - either with a dietitian or with your food guidelines. With good restriction, my meals are three 1/2 cup meals heavy on solid Protein followed by vegetables, if room fruit, and then starches. Obviously, I don't have a lot of wiggle room for fruit and veggies, so I try to incorporate them into my snack. The 1/2 cup meals are my doctor's recommendation and also the recommendation on the Realize Band website (I have the Realize Band). I have a 4 oz pouch and with good restriction, I stay fully satisfied for four or more hours after a meal. I rarely have beef, maybe twice a week. I mostly eat chicken, fish, and eggs for protein. I have pork on rare occasions too, but neither pork nor beef are a mainstay foods in my diet. If you're going vegetarian, I'm sure you can get some great ideas for meals in the LBT nutrition section, but you just need to make sure you're not relying on slider foods that don't give longterm satiety. I can only give you advice based on my doctor's recs, but he wants our band to be adjusted to where we can eat three 1/2 cup meals, one healthy snack, and plenty of Fluid in between meals (stopping 1/2 hour prior to eating and starting 45 mins after a meal). Some people have problems eating in the morning, and the NP that leads our support group said to be sure and start the day off with a low carb high Protein shake to get the metabolism moving in that case. I can eat, so that's not been an issue for me. If you find you can't eat your doctor's recommended meal which often leads to eating slider foods, he may want to take a tiny bit of saline out. If you're getting hungry when eating those 1/2 cup meals (ex. meal - 3 oz chicken, 1 oz broccoli) in less than two or three hours, you need a fill. I don't want to come off as saying my doctor's way is the only way though. Being a bit heavier than me, your doctor may have your band looser because you should be able to eat bigger meals and still lose weight. But, I wasn't sure if you were given clear instructions on how to get the most from your band. It's very important not to throw in the towel. Now, that you have a better doctor (at least I hope he's better), I'm sure if you made an appointment with him and gave him detailed information on your diet, how well you're able to tolerate solid food, and how often you're hungry, he'd be able to get you back on track.