RestlessMonkey

IF your doctor requires a specific shake, choose that one. If not, my doc required EAS Carb Control AdvantEDGE shakes...110 cal, low fat, low car, 17g protein each and while I didn't love them, I don't love ANY Diet shake. They did the trick! Weight dropped off of me like water!

Call your doctor IMMEDIATELY. Do not wait. Yellow eyes means you need medical attention.

Yes you can get pneumonia 5 days after surgery...you are doing what you should with the incentive spirometer so it may not be surgery-related, but just...pneumonia! OR bronchitis, or allergies, or a bunch of other things. Good that you called the doc! :wink_smile:

Since this is a site for the lap band...(although of course open for everyone!) you might not get the response. Does realize have a chat board for it's users? I'm sure it does...have you tried googling "realize band chat" or some such? You are of course welcome to post here! Just afraid you may not get the info you need! Good luck!

Food isn't bad. It's just food. I think so many of us are all wrapped up in "diet = "good girl" (or boy), not diet = BAD. There's enough bad in the world today. So you overate over the holidays. NBD! Unless you went off of a post op diet while your band was healing, or did something else truly dangerous or vile, then all that happened was...you ate too much. Don't feel guilty about that. Even people who are thin and healthy can occasionally overindulge during the holidays. You'll be fine...just move on beyond it. It's just food. You didn't rob Fort Knox or kill someone.

Guess what? Follow the rules, do what your doc says, and odds are good you'll be able to eat a variety of that food you love...you'll just be satisfied with way less of it. Mole, Ceviche, etc. This isn't a "salad chicken and diet coke" kind of a lifestyle. The band is a tool and you will learn to use it in a way that works best for you. Some still weigh and measure every bite, some do WW, some get so much restriction they PB every other bite...and some just go out there and live their lives. (As one poster put it...I didn't go through all this to eat cardboard the rest of my life" So welcome and good luck. I think you'll both be pleasantly surprised. My doc does stress exercise but that's ok. They've found 30 minutes a day of exercise can help keep alzheimer's at bay. So more good brain time in front of the computer. A small investment of time now for a longer future full.

Here's a link to a tutorial someone posted a while back. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/

Ask your surgeon what he wants you to take...that's your safest bet!

Follow YOUR post op plan and you'll be fine. Each person is different, and heals differently.

Do what your doctor told you. Each has a different post op plan! Tomato soup is very acidic and salty and high in carbohydrates and sugars so it's not often a "go to" soup in many surgeon's books. Follow your post op directions; your surgeon knows what works for HIS patients.

Your surgeon should be able to direct you to a nutritionist (if he doesn't have one already that he works with) Barring that, if you want more structure, WW is a good weight loss program (and they offer 2 different diets now, I think)

What does your doctor say is causing it? If he doesn't know, but acknowledges that there is, indeed, less fluid, he needs to find out where it's going!

Just from reading these boards, there is a doctor in Denver CO who does the surgery for under 10K I think...Dr. Kirschenbaum? you might try searching that name (use the search heading) I don't know a THING about him...no one personally who used him, didn't research him myself, etc...but he is in USA and I've read, doesn't take ins, just cash. Actually that 10K is probably close to what he'd get from insurance anyway! Good luck! Ok I just did a search myself...looks like I did spell it right! My doc locally that I used( and LOVE) is 15K And the poster who said make sure fills etc are included (or well priced) is correct. One thing I've learned...getting the band surgery is just like buying the car! You still need gas, oil changes, tires rotated etc. In other words, You'll need fills and a source of medical care should the need arise!

I was VERY obese. My port is placed about 2" down and slightly midline from my left breast. I'm not exactly sure because unless I mash the pooey out of myself (which I generally do not do LOL) I can't feel it and would never know it's there. I have read about some people having problems (can see it, feel it) as they lose. I asked my surgeon about that. He, VERY tactfully, told me in larger people it's a challenge to access the port so larger is better. However once I've lost, if it's bothersome, he'd be pleased to place a low profile port for me

You might want to call your dentist because I believe you may have to drink only liquids post op....depends on what your doctor prescribes.

I'm in San Antonio, welcome! What doctor are you using? I LOVE Dr. Cavazos and his support staff. They are excellent!

Good luck! I'm a nursing student (at 53! I'm insane!) and just honestly told them I was having lap band surgery and had wanted it earlier but it didn't happen... they were all really nice about it. Early in the semester you'll probably be ok! It really is better to have some time; what if you still need your narcotic pain med, for example? You don't want to take that and drive, or try to take notes! Good luck! Hope it works out well for you!

If you don't get any answers, try entering "rheumatoid arthritis" in the search area (you have to click on the word "search" upper right screen) and you'll find bunches of threads on the subject! Good luck

You can "tell" or not...if it will help you relax about it, then tell your surgeon but I bet he'll say you'll be fine (you're a ways out, now!) To quote Remnant98...calm down! It was just 3 spirals of pasta, not a side of beef! :tongue2: Just follow the doc's instructions, call on monday, tell him about the pasta IF YOU WANT, (can't hurt) and tell him about the conflicting info. He won't give you grief for doing what he said! Chill, chickie. You'll be fine! :cursing:

Good for you pursuing it until you got a clear answer! :tongue2:

Tomato soup is very acidic and can be problematic for many post op, until healing is well along.

Follow the booklet your surgeon gave you until monday. Don't eat any more pasta or foods that are "ahead" in the timeline of your post op diet! Hang in there; they call it bandster hell for a reason. It's hard, and the conflicting diets they gave you can't make it any easier! So do what your doc says and call on Monday and hang in there until then. Don't feel guilty, but don't eat any more pasta (for now, until you're in that phase)

Do what your surgeon says to do. Mine gave us guidelines but I felt pretty good and could eat a fair amount...like a can of pureed split pea soup, etc. He didn't seem to faint or fuss when I told him...liquids and mushies go through fairly easily and as long as you aren't putting foods back in too early (follow your timeline you were given) I think it's ok if you have a little more; check to be sure. Just realize this is a time for healing, not losing. Don't flip out if you don't lose, or actually gain. It takes a while to get restriction and move forward.

I don't think you SHOULD be eating anything you have to chew. It's not impossible, but unlikely, because many surgeons put patients on a post op diet of Clear liquids (ranging in duration from 1 day to 6 weeks...it is variable! LOL) but very very few allow people to eat for at least the first week or so. Confirm that, ok? As to drinking, I could drink fine from the time they handed me a nice cup of iced Water in the hospital right after recovery. That was DELICIOUS!! I was so thirsty! It's safe, as long as you don't chug or "swill" it down, to drink at a normal pace as soon as you feel like it. It flows through your stoma fairly smoothly. As you heal and any swelling you have shrinks, you can drink more, and more quickly. So just advance your liquids as you can tolerate.

I ended up NOT having to pay (insurance did cover it, they had just started LOL) BUt it was going to cost me 15k locally. There's a surgeon in Denver who is highly regarded on this board and who does it for just under 10K i believe...:tongue2: Bypass scares me to death. I am a nursing student, DH is an RN, we went to the seminar and my surgeon fairly presented many surgeries (he does bypass and the band) and STILL bypass scared me! I don't want my innards rerouted, the thought of my stomach snipped, sewn shut, then left inside me to still produce acid etc but not "work"...heebie jeebie time! LOL Plus DH worked in a GI lab and saw an awful lot of bypass patients. Initially he assumed they all had a couple of really cruddy surgeons but he came to understand that stomach issues are kind of the nature of bypass...(kind of like we get gerd if we're too tight) Both surgeries have pros and cons and I DO understand bypass patients feel it's right for them (and I certainly don't presume to know better! RNY Bypass can be a life saver for many people!) I just would've never ever EVER gotten it. I love my band. I didn't have to pay, but I can tell you if I had, it would've been well worth 15k I haven't lost a TON yet but I have hope and I know it will actually happen. That's worth the price of a small car, to be free of food woes the rest of my days! :cursing: You'll find a way to do whichever is right for you, be it bypass (seductive with that rapid weight loss!) or the band (it's reversible, adjustable)...