RestlessMonkey

Honestly the odds of dying from obesity are as scary or more so... if you are truly worried an internet search of statistics should set your minds at ease! :thumbup:

The band has only been approved for use here in the USA since 2001!!! You aren't going to get any 15-20 year post op people YET! There are people with other types of WLS who've had it that long ago but while this site does have a forum for non-lap-band people, the majority of posters here have the lap band.

I don't know about the timing (like 1 month liquids post op) but I THINK the preop thing is to shrink the liver (many obese people have big livers and that makes the band harder to place) and post op is to prevent exuberant digestion and allow the band time to heal in place. Any time we eat (chew stuff, not liquids) our stomach churns to help digest the chyme (what they call food once it's been ingested) That churning (we don't feel it, but it does physically MOVE) can displace the band until it's well healed. So you're lucky the nurse relented and helped you out, but that's why she said to chew it very very well. My doc didn't want me having anything solid, not matter how well chewed, until week 3. I have a pill that MUST be taken with food (potassium) and I just went without it for the first 2 weeks post op!

Welcome and good luck!

Your BMI is 42.7. That's not healthy. Even if you're more muscled, you're still too heavy. I suggest going to a seminar or two, see what they say. Ask about your caloric intake...voice your concerns.

I came to in recovery hungry so I totally feel your pain. They call it "bandster hell" and it really was for me. I sat at one point and held a can of refried Beans and cried, I was so hungry. BUT I made it. My doc wouldn't even allow Protein shakes for the 1st week, just "broth" and Water. Once I could have the shakes it improved (a little...I was hungry but not so "la la land" feeling) and by mushies I was human again. Hang in there! (I too have a 14 cc band that had nothing in it except some "primer" that my doc said doesn't count...maybe that's part of it?)

Since it's happened twice now, you probably should run it by your surgeon just to be safe.

After you've healed from the surgery I think it's ok to drink occasionally. Everything I've been told or read about not drinking relates to empty calories and not other harm. My drink of choice was beer and since I can't have it any more I don't drink much but I did drink a glass of wine at 3 months post op and didn't turn into a pillar of salt or anything! :thumbup:

If you click on the "forums" tab and then go to the "Post Operation" tab (3rd one, and that isn't the WHOLE name) you'll find at the top a "sticky" thread with over 10 pages of "surgery day stories". That will give you more than you need! :thumbup: Good luck to both of you! :rose:

This site compares bands: Compare Adjustable Gastric Bands - LAP-BAND vs. REALIZE Band And I think you're right; not much difference. I have the AP Lapband because that's what my surgeon uses.

I had an OnQ too (ball attached to a catheter that bathes the abdomin in lidocaine or a drug like it). It drove me INSANE having that ball thing hanging out of me and DH removed it for me as soon as we got home (about 6 hours post op). It's no big deal to remove and is supposed to (and probably does) help with pain but having it on my left side was so bothersome I couldn't stand it. I wasn't in pain anyway, at least nothing that tylenol couldn't handle. And about the OnQ thing...it isn't really "deep" but is long enough to wash the area in the drug that slowly infuses...when you remove the catheter you'll see holes along it... if you have pain, and it's properly placed, it can be a godsend.

I had a three week preop diet. That won't help you any.

If I sounded like I'm attacking you I truly apologize. The preop diet is (usually) to shrink the liver so the surgeon can place the band properly. My surgeon gave mine to me, not the nutritionist. She was all about post op, post band stuff. Since the preop diet is (usually) for the surgeon's (and the patient's) benefit, the surgeon should be able to tell you what s/he wants. And you ARE paying him! So to withhold that info seems, as I said, assinine. Nothing to do with you or paying the nutritionist he likes; it just seems petty of him not to tell you what to do to optimize your chances at a smooth surgery.

Hang in there. I "cheated" on my preop diet (lost 15 pounds anyway) and came to in recovery WITHOUT the band! That was a horrible horrible feeling....so use me as a horrible warning and inspiration. When you smell food, just think to yourself how terrible it would be to NOT get the band! Good luck!

you were really lucky. Often the "urge" goes but the bladder still gets full and it can actually burst...or cause kidney problems, etc. That's why they ask...they don't care personally, it's for your own health! I'm a nursing student and hope I never have a patient like you will lie about something like that!

Bunny did your doctor say it was ok to wait until tomorrow? And you do know it is really not good to take nurofen (ibuprofen) on an empty stomach? If you can keep it down, you should be able to keep water down too.

Ok seriously...your surgeon will NOT tell you what preop diet he wants you on (and it IS up to the surgeon, not the nutritionist) because you didn't use the nutritionist he recommends? Am I understanding that correctly? If I am, then I say change surgeons, because frankly that's assinine. Otherwise, i'd call the nutritionist I DID see and ask exactly what you're supposed to do.

Not everyone does a preop diet. Call your surgeon and ask if you need to be on one; if so, they'll tell you what it entails. good luck!

Call your doctor NOW. don't wait. Let him decide when is too late!

Everyone is different. I have an AP L band and have 5.5 ccs in mine and feel SOME but not at sweet spot yet. But different people require different amounts; otherwise fills would be a more precise science! Unless your fill doc looked horrified, I wouldn't worry about it. You don't necessarily "feel" it until you "have it, if that makes sense. I didn't feel anything before my last fill and now I'm almost at the "sweet spot". So your next fill may very well make a BIG difference.

Ask your Primary care doctor about this. That's your safest bet! :ohmy:

Any rapid gain or loss like that is fluid. 8 ounces of water weighs about 1 pound...

My doc requires no drinking 15 min before, and 15 min after eating. No drinking during, of course, and to eat within 30 minutes (not to rush, just to stop at 30 minutes). I am about 99% of the time supportive of all docs advice no matter how they contradict but I would think about adjusting that before/after down a little and see if it negatively impacted my satiety. If I stayed full for a good while, I'd adjust my "no drinking" time accordingly.

Twirl, I think that's bypass you're thinking of. Our stomachs are the same size; the band just causes food to hang out at the TOP of it longer than usual (once we're restricted) but it doesn't go on through to the intestines etc any faster. We may get drunk faster as our body weights decrease, but our stomachs are intact. And Susan1961 most of us were pretty nice about drinking, not "tough"....it IS safer for your liver if you wait a bit before drinking. Glad to know that so far that didn't hurt you any, but OP should ask her surgeon for guidance! :thumbup:

No you don't have to give up all your beloved foods. It is individual and depends partly (largely) on how restricted you are. Many people can eat bread if they want. You MAY find that the time it takes to chew it and swallow it are not worth the effort, but again, it is individual. Per my doc, goal is to be able to eat anything but in smaller amounts. You'll still be in control. Many (not all, but many) who can't eat a little of anything have chosen to be filled more tightly. We're all a little different inside (our digestive tracts aren't cranked out by robots) so there is no hard and fast rule. Odds are high you will have some problem food, odds are high you won't care too much if you are losing and feeling great. For example I LOVE Patty Melts from Whataburger. I got one the other day, planning to eat half (knew I couldn't eat the whole one) and after about 4 bites I decided heck with it and ate something else. It didn't taste good enough any more to be worth the effort.