RestlessMonkey

I agree with Crzytchr! I'd give it 24 hours after your fill, though, so if you had any swelling or agitation it will have "gone down". When my doc gives me a fill he thinks will restrict me, in fact, he tells me to do liquids for 2 days before advancing to mushies. I felt the Water go down at first on the last one, but I felt I was also a little nervous/excited to be FINALLY having good restriction. By the next morning and my hot coffee, it went down fine. So just use your judgment; being tense can also cause you to be tight. You have time to get some taken out before the weekend, if you need to!

Is this all the time, or just after you've eaten or had liquids? I do that sometimes when eating; I think it's my body's way of saying "you're getting full and if you keep on I'll make you SOOOORRRY" LOL However if it is fairly constant, or not tied to something you can control, you should call your doc

I hope you're ok! But it is important to stay hydrated; the liquid shouldn't be HURTING you. You may already be hurt but the liquid won't make it worse, in other words. I hope it is just that your stomach is in a tizzy. Good luck...and you're very smart to call the doc tomorrow if you don't feel better in the AM.

Ah Renee you don't need a kick! The band is for life and hey, at least you're still down 40-45. It is HARD to take care of yourself when you have so much going on! Can your husband get some therapy? People heal (mentally and physically) at their own pace but after a year, seems like he should be able to poke his head up out of any sadness. I would strongly urge you to urge him to get help, any way you can. That's a long-term solution, but you need an intervention there, I think! As to the other; do what you can. How much are fills? Will the doc give you a break on price? Can you save up? Fills are the cornerstone of the band; without them it doesn't do much. Ask your banding doc if there is anything they can do to help you. Then, take it slow. Take one or two things each week and work them into your current life. Are you getting enough Water in? Are you snacking too much (or as my doc says, at all? he feels ANY snacking will cause "band failure"..) Forget the exercise at first; just work on one or two "life" modifications, like getting enough water each day, that you think will be easy to accomplish. THEN...add some exercise. Do you have time to, say, go for a walk with the kids each evening? Or go play in the yard with them? And in the interim, park farther from work, take the stairs when you can, and so on. Once you get back into the habit of taking care of yourself (not just your husband whom, it sounds like, needed the help initially but now needs to step up) then you will perhaps find it easier to go back to whatever diet worked for you before. And just a few words of wisdom here; people CAN lose without exercising by dieting, but you can't just exercise and lose. So don't feel bad, don't feel like a failure, just move as much as you can and get your water in, get your Multivitamin in, get your Protein in. And call your doc. If he won't help you, is there a "fill center" or some such near you? Lastly, see if you can ask/cajole, whatever works to get your husband some help. Eventually, he'll be glad you did.

I LIKE to be right! :crying: Just check w/your doc if, as you progress foods (I assume you do liquids to mushies to soft etc like over here in USA) you have a lot of pain. Otherwise I'm sure you are doing fabulous!

I THINK what's wrong is, after a PB, you need to go back to liquids for a while to let things calm down, and you didn't do that but kept eating. IF you still have trouble tomorrow afternoon, especially keeping liquids down, call your doc. But give it 24 hours on liquids (Soups, Protein shakes, water) and then try something you've eaten successfully and chew it really really REALLY well, small bites. You should be ok. And of course after the 24 hours of liquids, if you still can't eat "food", call your doc. Don't worry; you're learning a new way to eat. It takes a bit of trial and error!

I think that it is very common, when a newby, to worry about the band slipping. However please realize that (at least, per my doc) what usually causes slips besides doctor/placement error and "just because", are patients advancing their diet too quickly. So if you'd vomited because you ate food, then maybe! And not the vomit, per se, but the digestive action of your stomach. How many times and how violently DID you vomit? And if you are worried, why not ask your doc? He/she can check you out if needed, and reassure you.

Just remember that it can take a few fills. My doc would NOT do any less than 4 weeks apart and was very conservative; feeling that slow gives patients a chance to adapt. Maybe? Anyway it truly took me 4 fills (to 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 then 5.5) to FINALLY feel it some...and to 6.25 to actually have "good restriction". (I have a 14 cc band) Now I'm at 6.5 and think I'm darned close to perfect. I had gotten in the habit of snacking but am working on breaking it (my doc is ADAMANT about no Snacks, 3 meals a day ONLY) Of course my schedule is unique to me; we're all very different. Some feel restriction post op with just the band. (lucky people!) So aaysia1974 don't feel bad if it takes a while. This is for life, it's not a diet, it will happen but it may take some tinkering. Just hang in there!

Then after 8 days, if the doc (or nurses at hospital) didn't tell you to LEAVE it...you can very carefully remove it. Stop if it hurts your wound. It probably will hurt the skin AROUND your wounds a little. However unless you are just insane with the itching, I'd suggest waiting until tomorrow and calling your doc to make sure it's ok to remove them. The doc may prefer you leave them and take benadryl etc (you know itching is a normal part of healing) ANYWAY once you're cleared to remove it, just tug it up gently, then leave it alone and let the area settle down. It may be red and you may have some adhesive left on your skin but you need to leave the area alone until you're well healed. Your surgeon can give you the best direction for this; he's the one who closed you up and knows how long it should take you to heal! Hang in there!

Shiny? Like clear? or like Metallic? Sorry don't mean to be dense; just trying to figure out what it is so i can help...

When were you told you could remove it? And is it tape (adhesive, or paper?) or is it the "steri strips" they use to help seal the wound? If they told you you could remove it and it isn't steri strips, unfortunately there's no easy way. Some prefer a fast RIP, others like to have it gently pulled off. You do NOT want to saturate the adhesive with anything, especially if you don't think you're totally healed. Don't want to get anything into your wounds. The steri strips, if that's what you have, need to stay on until they fall off.

I don't think it is a lack of common sense...or not for most! Some don't GET much direction from their docs, some are flooded with info and forget, some want an excuse to "cheat" (me me I was in that group LOL) Common sense I've got. Except when I'm hungry! Concensus doesn't rule when we're talking preop and post op for the band..don't ask the audience. Go with what your doc says!

WOW drinking 2 hours after? That's madness! Good for you sticking; I don't think I could (and after my first fiasco with my liver and no band, I DO try to do what my doc asks of me!) To be honest, as I've gotten more and more restriction (FINALLY!) It has gotten easier to not drink with meals because it hurts like the dickens if I do. And sometimes I clock watch for that 15 minutes (my timeline per my doc) if what I ate was too salty, but often I forget and its 30 minutes or more before I go get my water/tea/whatever. I'd think as the time passes and you get more familiar with yourself and your band that 1 hour or 2 may be adjusted down a little, but it will also get easier. And some do drink soda but I think...wow, of all the things to do to make our band fail, why would you? It's possible once you've lost and are really used to the band you can add carbonation back in but for now, hang in there. You MAY ask your doc if you could have some flat (yuk to me but maybe not to you?)

The configuration of your stomach is altered. It isn't one nice big bag any more. That's one reason some docs say "no straws" (although once I was 6 months out I started using mine...gum disease...but don't notice more/less burping) It will get better over time and you'll get used to it but things are not like they were in there; you'll burp and gurgle more and some foods will produce more gas than you are used to. This is also a big reason we're to avoid carbonation...something carbonated in the little pouch...or trying to escape through the smaller opening in the stomach, can be a recipe for pain at the least. Hang in there! And yes if you had a bad PB (esp at just 2 months out) it is good to let things calm down before you go back to "normal"

Just remember that you won't have restriction until you get filled and for some people that takes 3-4 fills (or more). AND...even really filled odds are you can still eat many sweets like Cookies, candy, shakes, cakes. The band is a tool, not a total prison guard. We still have to use restraint (unfortunately!) and that old bugaboo "healthy choices". (bah!) It does get easier as you get restriction though. One month out is WAY to early to feel lilke you're a failure (remember, this is not a diet, its for life unless you get another surgery!) So be nicer to yourself (don't expect perfection!) and be tougher on yourself( sweets don't solve anything, sigh...I wish they did) It will just get easier. Really, it will!

These lists are really helpful BUT...remember to follow the pre- and post-op diets your surgeon gives you. There are things on that list my surgeon did not want me to use or have at 3-4 weeks, and other things that he definitely wanted that seem dicey from above (ie the Water...he said water is first/imperative, and I could drink it easily. It was no trouble getting 64 oz down, esp since I was to have it and not any other beverages like crystal light, coffee, etc) SO this is a great "guideline" but newbies please do what your doc says; if you're in doubt get clarification from your doc. They know what works best for "their" clientele and for you. :crying:

I hope your doc reiterated to you that you should NOT eat ahead of his post op diet (ie the turkey) Many docs (mine doesn't but many do) put a small fill in during surgery so that as you heal and can eat real food you have a little restriction and don't freak out (as I did...as many of us do when we realize we are able to eat ANYTHING) So I think your doc was probably trying to help you and you ate ahead of the game and hurt yourself. I know you must've felt terrible; it hurts to have food stuck. Just follow your surgeon's directions from here on and you'll probably be fine. My doc told me that patients advancing their diets too quickly is a major cause of slippage so you're really lucky! :crying:

I love sugar free iced tea. And you might want to reconfirm the drinking thing? My doc's instructions were similar to yours but he revamped them to be no liquids 15 minutes before or after meals and non during. I am a firm believer that we should do what our docs tell us, but one hour BEFORE meals almost makes no sense, especially since the liquid just "goes through" our stoma. See if he won't relent a little

You mean like for the last donut? LOL sorry couldn't resist actually I THINK you can...but hopefully a diver will answer you.

Good; don't give up if you want the procedure. It should be illegal how some insurance companies drag their feet and "never get" files etc!

Most important is to find out which surgeons are in her network or covered by her insurance. For example my primary sent me to a group that my insurance wouldn't cover! LOL Fortunately I thought to ask them before I started all the paperwork etc. She needs to start there, and then can narrow it down to a surgeon she likes. You want one who has done a lot of lap band procedures, who offers good after care (is accessible) and whom she likes.

Depending on how in shape you are and so on 5 days may not be enough. In my doc's office most nurses take at least a week off. I was a nursing student when I had the band done and had an easy easy surgery and recovery but wouldn't have been ready to work as you describe in 5 days.

Then you need to find out what they consider "medically necessary" and prove that your are. Your experienced surgeon should be able to help you; I have different ins. but my surgeon has an employee who just handles insurance for us! See if your doc can help.

You need to find out WHY you were denied and then address those points. It's often just a paperwork snafu; most of them are infamous for quibbling over dotted i's and crossed t's when it comes to lap band surgery.

Most people are off a week or two, some more, some less. Your surgeon should be able to tell you how quickly his patients recover. It also depends on what type of work you do.