RestlessMonkey

Honestly I slept on my stomach from night 2. First night I slept in bed on my side. I used a pillow to help brace my torso. night 2 was tummy time. I think it helped me heal quicker. Stretching out etc kept me from getting adhesions (scar tissue). It's not medical necessarily but it's logical. I've healed fine! :biggrin:

There is NO WAY you should go to work the next day. Period. Anesthesia takes up to 48 hours to clear your system. Could you work drunk or stoned? If the answer is NO, then you shouldn't work w/anesthesia still charging around in there. Good grief take a few days off!

you need to go to your surgeon. Why would they have to "reimplant" the band? Did you have it removed? If you didn't, it's still there.

Dr. Cavazos knows his stuff. I think you picked a good surgeon, good facility; you've done all you can to set yourself up for success! So trust him and do what he tells you to and you'll do great! Since I'm a little farther along, TIME-wise, than you...please feel free to email, post, PM any time. Good luck! I know you'll be as pleased as I am !

Hi! I had insurance and really have no clue how much it will cost bottom line but I believe Dr. C said, in the seminar, that self pay lap band is 15k and that covers everything including fills for a year. AND if you can get in to a seminar, I think by the end of the year is possible; he said turn around is 2-4 weeks. My first surgery was "delayed" by the psych consult that I had to have before my insurance would pay for it and it still happened fast...seminar 7/10, surgery 8/11. Most lap band surgeries are done on Mondays; there's a bariatric wing, and it's easy to navigate the hospital (important there, I'm a nursing student and some are like rat mazes LOL) Their web site is www.texasbariatric.com and the phone is 210 651-0303 You will need to attend a thurs evening seminar, I think, and then have a friday appt to meet Dr. C and confirm you want to proceed (that was the cattle call for me; don't know about out-of-towners). All surgery carries risks, but between me (not gullible) and my DH who's been an RN since 1985 and went to the seminar fairly set against it (Dr C spent 30 minutes AFTER the seminar answering my husband's additional questions!) we both came away impressed. He's a good guy. Post op? I recovered quickly, feel great, lost 41.4 pounds, and am never looking back! Please feel free to email jeffthurston55@gmail.com or PM me here if you have more questions! There are a few other patient's of Dr. C's here you can ask. Good luck, whichever you decide. We're blessed to have many skilled surgeons around here. I love my band and hope you do, too. In fact I'd decided to self pay (as I put it to my husband, I'm worth as much as a Kia, aren't I? LOL) and my ins. came through!

I also posted this under "Food and Nutrition" Forum... Successful Bandsters Past and Present I'm pretty new, 7 weeks post op, and wrangling with trying to figure out "how" to eat post band. I know my surgeon says no Snacks, and I'm on board with that. No problem. I'll have to get used to it, but I can. I've quit all carbonation, no longer use straws at all, don't chew gum any more. I don't mind at all not drinking before, during, after meals per my surgeon's request. However, I'm puzzled. I read on here A LOT and want to be successful for life. How do you eat to lose, and keep weight off, for good? Do you do a low carb low fat high Protein diet? Did you eat differently to lose than you do to maintain? Or do you eat like you did, but just way less? Honestly, the last option is the one that drew me to the band. Now I wonder if I was perhaps naive thinking I really could just "eat less", like a thin person, and do that forever? I really don't want to spend the rest of my life eating lean chicken and baked fish. I don't want burgers and pizza every day, either, but I do love variety. What have you done that has worked for you? I'm flailing around trying to find the right thing for me. I'm not restricted yet and that's ok too. It's a process, I'm not impatient, I don't want to have lost 100 pounds by Christmas. Well, ok, it would be groovy but I don't expect it! LOL Tell me how you do it, would you? Thanks so much!

My surgeon is on the "austin" side of san antonio and I know he takes tricare standard, but don't know about tricare prime! And don't you have to pick a PCM from their list? That's the big reason we don't have tricare prime....so I guess I'm not much help sorry! But welcome!

Since you're self pay, if you have time, why don't you check out Dr. Sonny Cavazos at Texas Bariatric located at Northeast Baptist Hospital? He's a wonderful skilled surgeon. He's very approachable and knowledgable.

You don't have to snore or gasp to have apnea. Being tired during the day, able to fall asleep sitting up in a chair (for example), waking with a headache are all better indicators. It's worth it to get it checked!

I've always had enough or gone over on protein, vitamins and supplements per doc from day 1, plenty of water and sleep each day, exercise, and mine's still thinning.

You know it grows back, right? I'm losing mine a little so I can't help you except to reassure you it won't stay lost. Many swear by supplements but my surgeon says he thinks it's just the trauma of the surgery and it always grows back. I'm sorry you're so worried about it; wish I could help! And yes, as Meschultz says, it just thins some. My hairdresser can't even tell and she's a pro who's been doing my hair for years. It really isn't bad.

Hi to both of you! You are in that moment of time known around here as "Bandster Hell". You can't eat, you'll hurt your surgical sites, but you are HUNGRY. The operation has happened and you're thinking "wow, what now". It will pass! Hang in there! AND remember; how you conduct the rest of your journey is up to YOU. Many people find they can still eat just about any foods even after restriction, and many do just that! How you eat will be in your control, and your choice. You may do an "atkins" type low carb low fat diet, you may do a "WW" type or other calorie counting diet, or you may thrive by eating the same foods as your family, only WAY WAY less, opting to keep the junk to a minimum occasional treat. So you don't have to mourn your food. You can miss it a little but it's not gone for good. You won't eat it in the same quantity as before, but that's what you signed on for! Keep your spirits up. It's worth it, and you have more choice and control than you realize. It really isn't a DIET, so don't let yourself start feeling that way. You'll heal, and your choices will be almost endless. :w00t:

Your advocate should tell you. Call and ask monday if you want to be sure! Not everyone has to do it. I'm tricare and I didn't.

Hi and welcome! You'll need to ask your surgeon/Bariatric center to find out a rough idea of "when". It depends on many many factors, including your insurance, and the surgeon's schedule, and the availability of space in a OR, and so on! They should be able to give you a rough idea! :w00t:

If you are worried about it, call your doc and ask. It's impossible to say for sure online from pictures; we all heal a little differently, so call and ask. :w00t:

Welcome! I have had my band just 7 weeks and love it. Life has complications....and being fat as we get older carries a big bunch of risks. The statistics on lasting bad side effects with the band are low; lower than the statistics for lasting bad side effects if you did nothing and remained heavy (or got heavier) So Good to meet you!

Welcome to the world of bandsters! Sleep well but remember to get up and walk around frequently. It's good for all of you, actually; prevents clots, cuts down on gas and pain, makes you feel human. :tongue_smilie: Glad you're doing so good!

Honestly? MAYBE. I recovered from anesthesia wonderfully; after my friday morning surgery I felt on top of the world. I took 2 doses of darvocet on Saturday. That's it except for liquid tylenol. I slept fine; felt fine. No gas. No depression. Little to no pain. I am a student and took a simple math test Tuesday afternoon (after Friday surgery) and ... FAILED IT. Totally. I'm very smart. I'm very good at math and this was SIMPLE. Division and multiplication WITH a calculator. I was a bookkeeper 20+ years. This should've been a formality. My teacher (it was nursing school and drug calculations) told me, after quizzing me later (and me able to do many correctly IN MY HEAD that time!) that often anesthesia lingers....we aren't aware it's impacting our decisions etc. Made a believe out of me. So if you are THAT important, then no. If you aren't THAT important, then why? Either way, take a week if you can. You may not have my issues; you may have different anesthesia or a different reaction. You may be one of the unlucky ones in pain for 2 weeks. That's the thing; you won't know until you're there. At a minimum if you feel you MUST go back so soon (aren't you worth a week's down time?) put off important things until later in the week. As I said, it may not happen to you at all. But if you are such a key employee, and it does happen, well....

Call your surgeon's office on Monday and find out exactly what s/he wants you to do! EVERYONE is different. If he told you to do Atkins, then do it. Don't wait; they have a reason for putting us on diets and it isn't torture (LOL); your surgeon can tell you if it's ok if you delayed. Don't panic or go by what happened to someone else, except as a "warning" to do what YOUR doc tells you! Same w/liquids preop. I was given a special diet for the last day and 1/2 prior to surgery; many people are. That happened at the hospital when I was doing my preop testing. Most want you essentially empty (stomach and intestines and bowels) before surgery. Again, do what your doc tells you! If you're unsure call them and ask! That's why you pay them the big bucks! :tongue_smilie:

Welcome Mona! I'm taller than you by 3 inches but I way outweighed you! (still do!) I'm only 7 weeks postop but doing well. My first fill didn't give me any restriction yet but then I didn't expect it to, either, so it's all good. I'm working on eating like a bandster....No snacks (all surgeons are different but mine is adamant about it) no drinking 15 min before, during, after meals, chewing well, paying attention, stopping when I'm satisfied, etc. It's going pretty good. I have been happy to get the band and never had a blue moment or any doubts...(a brief bout of horror when I came to in recovery the 1st time and didn't have the band but that's all my fault for not following my doc's preop diet, and it's long past me now!) I hope you love yours too!

Welcome! How nice to see a true long-timer here! I'm so glad to hear your band is still working for you! I would think you don't need another fill Here's a great link about that I pilfered from the "staying local: Ireland" board. No, I'm in Texas, not Ireland. But, I love all things Irish and was nosing around "over there" This MAY help with the reflux...some of the info isn't pertinent to you but if you scan through it, it might be worth it. It did say things like "wash your band and pouch out with Water before going to bed" and so on...stuff that seems logical to me, although I'm fairly new. Welcome, post often! Here's the link: Adjustments

Hi Becky! :tongue_smilie: Detroitgirl: Regardless of diet pills and the debate and so on, (and I still think you should ask your doc) I don't know if they'd work anyway. I did not ever take Alli but I did really research it. If I remember correctly, it keeps your body from absorbing fat in your diet, but it doesn't speed up or cause break down and processing of any fat you already have stored. You need to burn up the glycogen in your liver (easy energy the body uses everywhere) and THEN your liver also has FAT in it and you need to pull that out of there, too, to shrink it. So no, you don't need to cut "sugar" to shrink your liver. You need a high Protein, low carb, low fat diet. It causes your liver to use up the stored quick energy and then breakdown the fat it has there. (we store fat all over, including our organs) that type of diet causes the liver (as my doc puts it, think of it as the body's pantry...quick easy "fuel" storage) to burn what it has close at hand FIRST. Other diets don't work exactly that way. I'm no liver specialist (thank goodness) but since Alli blocks the fat in your diet, not what's already been eaten, it may keep your liver from getting more fatty/thicker etc, but it won't touch what's already there. I figured there had to be a good reason it wouldn't work or the doc's would prescribe it for just this use. Good try! I wish it did that! But I don't think it will.

Since I was, um, taken to task (to put it way more nicely that what actually happened!) about telling you "you should" etc when you asked before about preop stuff...(several posters felt I was bossy, at best, with you) I am reluctant to post at all now about this! But since YOU never complained (just other people???) LOL This is what I was supposed to do, per the nutritionist... I got more EAS shakes (or the other ones on the list they gave me) for week 2. I think you have an appt to go back next weds, right? That's when they'll tell you all that. But no protein until a full 7 days have passed. AT least, that's what he had ME do. I'm sure he does something different with each and every patient! (not!) LOL :tongue_smilie: If I sound like I'm being pissy I am LOL not to you though! I feel your pain. I was hungry from recovery on. All I can tell you is, it gets better and it's worth it! Sorry they didn't call you back; they are only open 1/2 day on many Fridays but they still should've called you. Except for a run in with Carla, I've had excellent service and response from everyone there! I hope they step it up for you! How are you feeling, besides tired bored and hungry?

Ok, I'm in Texas, a bit farther away, but wanted to say Welcome! :tongue_smilie:

Mine is tilted, and I jokingly said to my surgeon "so no emergency surgery to resposition it, right?" and he NOT joking said "no, not yet. We'll keep an eye on it" I think they do that sometimes....move around, break free, go off on their own. Since he told me that I started "feeling" it in there all the time and just made myself quit thinking about it; now it's much better since I mostly just put it out of my mind! :tongue_smilie: I am going to need a low profile port someday, anyway; but would rather not have him go back in again so soon!