kiz

After six days of liquids and not being able to tolerate soft foods, it definitely sounds like you're overfilled.

Would it be possible for you to have a consultation with a dietitian? I also wonder if your band isn't too tight since you're only eating two meals/day. I know it's calories in/calories out, but I'm concerned that you're not getting proper nutrition based on your post. I'm not a nutritionist, but from the little I know, it's important to keep our bodies fed to keep insulin levels and other functions running properly. During your two meals, are you eating large portions and/or making unhealthy choices? Also, are you grazing throughout the day due to hunger? It's great that you're walking daily, and regardless of whether you're losing, that is very good for you. Congratulations on your dedication, because I know it's easy to give up when you don't see results on the scale. I really think you need to get your band at a fill level that you can eat a minimum of three meals/day. Many plans also call for at least one healthy snack, and some plans call for more but smaller meals. Regarding the loose skin, chances are you're going to be faced with that as you lose the weight. With the amount you need to lose, you may find that you have a medical necessity to have a tummy tuck that will be covered by health insurance. If you have recurrent infections under the skin rolls, be sure and have them documented by your doctor. Also, remind yourself that flabby skin won't shorten your life, but fat will. Good luck, and with some tweaking of your fill level and meal plan, I'm positive you can get back on track. You obviously have the drive to make this a success.

The hospital dietitian came to one of our lap band support group meetings to demonstrate many different ways to cook soy. So, I would say, in general, soy is very band friendly. I have also fixed some of the Morningstar Farms products, and they are tasty. The dietitian had some Fakin' Bacon, and I have to say, that stuff was baaad. LOL

amlus, last week Alex said he'd be happy to start a forum for self-payers. I sent him a reminder PM today, so hopefully we'll have a spot soon.

I was self-pay too, with one year of fills, but that also included fills under fluoro. Now that my year's up, it's all on me. The price at my office for a fill under fluoro is astronomical, in my opinion. The fill is around $150, but I also have to pay a fee to the hospital for using the x-ray which is around $500 or so. It works out to be in the neighborhood of $700. I think an experienced doctor can get a good idea of how your band is holding Fluid by pulling it out manually himself. He can measure the fluid level (mine was always less than he put in, and I've read that the many people have the same issue, so don't get worried if it's not the same amount), and he can feel the pressure of the fluid as it's coming back into the syringe.

Has your doctor checked the flow through your stoma under fluoro? My first fills only gave me brief restriction, but it was apparent under fluoro that my band was getting tighter. It took me several fills to hit my sweet spot on a long term basis. In fact, I ended up needing an overfill in my band to have restriction that didn't go away as my swelling disappeared and the fat around my stomach shrank away. My consolation is that if I ever needed an unfill so that I could eat normal sized meals due to illness, my band would be very loose. Just keep up with your fills as your doctor will schedule them, and don't lose hope. My doctor kept assuring me that he'd get me good restriction, and sure enough, it happened. As you zero in on good restriction, it might take the tiniest of fills to get you there.

I take adult Centrum Chewables (usually the drug store equivalent), chewable calcium and liquid B12. After a year, all my blood work came back within the normal ranges.

I hope it works for you. I learned about it at Weight Watchers several years ago.

From what I've read, she's against all types of elective surgery from cosmetic to WLS for herself. She epitomizes, for me, just what a struggle long term weight loss can be. With all the help she has at her disposal, and her battles to lose weight, she just can't seem to keep it off. I'd love to see her be successful, but I also see in her that it's one hell of a fight to keep and maintain a healthy weight even under the "best" of circumstances. (I really don't know what her personal life is like, but she has at access to all the trainers and dietitians one could want, and she seems to have the drive to lose weight, she just can't keep it off longterm).

That's the advice my doctor and np has given me too. They want me to chew well, but not to the point that my food is a virtual liquid or mushy paste and for the same reason you've stated. To get the maximum benefit from the band, being able to tolerate well chewed food, rather than solid food turned to slider consistency, allows the food to stay in the pouch area longer which leads to greater satiety. It also limits overeating the band as well as being able to lose with a little looser band. There are really no foods that I can't eat, although I stay away from raw celery because the only time I tried it, it felt stringy in my mouth, and it gave me a gaggy feeling. I'm sure this approach wouldn't work for everyone, but it has worked well for me.

If you want a little bacon flavor, you might want to try the microwave pre-cooked bacon. I can eat regular bacon too, so I really can't judge if it's easier with the band. It is much thinner, and it can be cooked pretty crispy in the microwave, if that helps any.

There are so many variations on the pre-op diet from what to eat/drink to length of time (the post-op diet, as well). If you're unsure about what you are supposed to be doing pre-op, I agree with Cherish, you need to call your doctor. For instance, my pre-op was two weeks long, so I might have been given more leeway on what I was allowed to have versus someone with a shorter period of time.

I went to a couple of seminars, and while they weren't standing room only or crowded, the rooms were full. A lot of people brought someone with them. The only people who talked were those that had questions.

babiegirl, your post reminded me of my son's Water bottle. He loves it. It's made by Camelbak, and has the spout like the original Camelbak. better-bottle-75L - CamelBak.com

You've had the band long enough to know if something feels odd. I'd call to have a check. Don't get too worried yet. If it is a leak, I've read that there's a different type of fluid that's thicker than normal that can fix some leaks. I hope not to have a band complication, but a leak can be fixed, even if it requires another quick surgery. I hope it's just a fickle band issue though. You've lost a lot of weight, an maybe it's just the fat around your stomach finally shrinking away.

Absolutely, without question. My surgeon is local, and it's been great to have somebody close by for fills and follow-up visits. Thankfully, I've had no complications, but I would be concerned about not having a doctor close by in case I had a problem. The support group has been very helpful too. I've learned a lot during the meetings.

Depending on how much time has passed from your surgery to your trip and how many hours you're trip will be, you may need to take frequent stops to walk a bit to make sure you don't run the risk of developing a blood clot in your leg. We discussed traveling after surgery during one of my pre-op classes and they went over this with us, but I forget how long after surgery we're more susceptible to clots. You might want to ask, just to be safe. But other than that, I'm sure you'll be fine make the trip. Just wear loose clothes so that you don't put very much pressure on your port. At least for me, even after I stopped having port pain, it still flared up from time to time after sitting in the car trips in excess of a couple of hours.

You asked an important question, and if your doctor hasn't given you implicit instructions on a meal plan, ask at your next appointment. My doctor and the Realize band web site advises patients to eat 1/2 cup meals. I'm also allowed a snack. Occasionally, I'll add a few baby carrots between lunch and dinner if I'm having a late dinner, or 1/3 banana when I do an early morning workout (as examples). My doctor doesn't want us to overeat and stretch our pouch. Once we get to goal weight and are on maintenance, we can have a little fluid removed so that the food moves through the stoma faster and increase our meal size to 3/4 cup. But, this is only my doctor's plan. Some call for more more meals/day and others recommend larger meals. So, while it's helpful to read what other doctors are telling their patients, it's very important to know your doctor's meal plan.

(I was responding to somedayslim who had been diagnosed with a leak.) I know they can do a dye test under fluoro to check for a leak, and I'm sure there are other methods too. However, a 1 cc discrepancy doesn't necessarily mean a leak. My doctor could never pull out the exact amount of saline as he (or the NP) had put in, and I don't have a leak. I don't know if that's more common with the Realize band because it's low pressure, but I've read many posts by other Realize patients that they've experienced the same thing.

Baked fish was on my soft foods list. Rice wasn't and neither was sushi. Some bandsters have problems with rice, so if it were me, I'd hold off for now.

Turn that frown upside down..:redface:..You are NOT a bad person! To repeat what the others have said, what you're experiencing is perfectly normal. It sometimes takes several fills to get good restriction. Don't get discouraged. My personal belief is that it's better to coast your way into proper restriction. Also, you may find that you have good restriction that fades. As you lose weight, you're losing fat around your stomach, which causes the band to naturally loosen. As you're getting closer to your goal weight, very small adjustments may be all you need. Good luck, and cheer up!!

You're very welcome, and I completely understand your concern. I was self-pay, so on top of worrying that my band was damaged, I was imagining having to pay out of pocket for a fix. Now, that I finally have restriction, I feel thankful that I have a lot of room in my band if I ever have a medical issue that would require me to have a complete unfill. One of the reasons I opted for and was so in favor of a band, was the flexibility of having a near normal stomach opening in case of an illness down the road that required I be able to take in more nutrition. Now I know, with an open band, that wouldn't be a problem. However, I'm sure not trying to borrow trouble, so I'll say a little prayer that never becomes an issue. Good luck with finding your personal "sweet spot". It sounds like you're zeroing in on good restriction. Just a little tweak, and hopefully you'll have restriction that lasts for awhile. The important thing is to not get discouraged and to get your fills as you need them. It seems healthier to sneak up on a good fill level once you're getting close, than to overshoot. As far as you going in earlier, my doctor encouraged it, if you didn't have good restriction. Once (maybe twice, but I think only once), I went back after two weeks. They did that fill under fluoro, just to check for problems. When I was just under 9 cc fill level, I didn't go back for a couple of months, and I had a big fat plateau and then gained back five pounds. I was so worried that I wasn't going to get good restriction that lasted more than a month, that I tried to work with what I had. I only had one year of fills included in my self-pay contract and my year was coming up, so I went back and got another fill, and then the last one under fluoro with the pressure measured. I should have done it a couple of months sooner, but live and learn. So, if you feel like you need a fill, and your doctor is okay with seeing you sooner, I wouldn't hesitate to go in.

From my personal experience, some of us need more fill for good restriction than others. Although my doctor assured me that my band was fine, I was almost convinced that it had sprung a slow leak. I would get a fill, feel fairly good restriction for two weeks to a month, then it would fade away. Looking back on it, I'm sure the two week long restriction was more based on some residual swelling than actual band restriction. The four week restrictions probably went away as I was losing the fat around my stomach, which naturally causes the band to loosen. But, as I got closer to good, long-lasting restriction, the better the fills reduced my between meal hunger, and the less saline I needed at each fill. My last fill, over three months ago, was 0.5 cc and it brought me to what is perfect restriction for me, and so far, it hasn't faded, even a little. I have approximately 11 cc of fill in a 9 cc band. My doctor did my last small fill under fluoro while measuring the pressure, and everything looked great.

My two week pre-op diet was kind of similar to what you're planning. I was allowed two high protein low carb shakes per day, one small fruit, veggies (not corn, potatoes, beans), two slices of LF high fiber bread, and 4 ounces of low fat meat (turkey, chicken, roast beef, for instance). Plus plenty of zero calorie fluids all day long. The first couple of days were the hardest, mostly because of the carb restriction. I'm not sure I would have stuck to it so religiously had it not been mandatory by my doctor, but it is doable. If you have medical issues though, you should check with your doctor to make sure it's okay for you to go on a strict diet prior to banding. You don't want to end up doing more harm than good.

Just be sure the psychologist you chose is okay with your doctor. I was given a list of doctors to call. At the seminar, several people were already under the care of psychologists, and it didn't seem to be an issue for them to use their own doctor, but they just had to let the surgeon's office know.