RestlessMonkey

No need to use dial antibiotic soap, either unless you have it and always use it. Current research says that it may be best to limit your use of antibacterial soaps unless your doc specifies it (like in Nanook's case)....often bacterial removal is incomplete and it just helps develop super bacteria! So just use your regular soap and routine, avoiding scrubbing or vigorously rubbing your surgical sites. The steri strips will stay on just fine and will eventually fall off on their own (or be so loose you can pull them off easily!) in 7-10 days post op.

You should wait 2 days (48 hours) before you shower. Then just shower but as Yayforme said, don't scrub the surgical sites (but do wash near and around them) and you'll be fine. You'll be amazed at how wonderful a shower can make you feel (helps with lingering pain, plus it gives a psychological boost that things are back to normal now). But give it till day 2 post op just to be safe! :crying:

Hmm. I was told that, until my doc started giving me fills and tightening the "belt" as it were, there was nothing to stretch, actually. Once you've healed and until they start fills, I think your stomach processes like it did. I know I have consistently eaten more than 4 ounces. I don't eat as much as I did, but I don't eat 1/8 of a regular meal, either. I don't think it matters until you're restricted, actually. Your choices may not have been healthy, but so what?

Do you mean as preop prep for the band, or on its own?

Good luck on your surgery Brandie!

Hi! Just wanted to tell you good luck and to praise you for lining up health care BEFORE you get banded. Now that I've been "reading" around the boards for the last few months I can tell that the band is the minor, easy part! LOL It's having a surgeon or physician afterward, for fills and the odd problem that arises (and they do) that "makes" the band work. Well, that and our committment, of course! Hope you find someone!

I agree, call Tricare and ask.

POSSIBLE side effects of ibuprofen: Ibuprofen may cause ulceration of the stomach or intestine, and the ulcers may bleed. Sometimes, ulceration can occur without abdominal pain, and black, tarry stools, weakness, and dizziness upon standing (orthostatic hypotension) due to bleeding may be the only signs of an ulcer. NSAIDs reduce the flow of blood to the kidneys and impair function of the kidneys. These are just possible effects and of course many people take ibuprofen safely, but it isn't wise to ever take ibuprofen or aspirin on an empty stomach, even if it doesn't cause you pain to do so!

Please don't take advil on an empty stomach. It really can do you some damage. :tongue:

No, I don't think ice will help much because it's internal and protected by the band. As to the Advil, you need to use it VERY cautiously. Not all docs restrict NSAIDS but they are very hard on the stomach and can irritate and cause erosion and ulcers. You never want to take ibuprofen (or aspirin either) on an empty stomach and you'd have to do just that! So just relax, try to get your mind off of your band. If it isn't better tomorrow morning then call your doctor! Good luck!

Call your doc tomorrow if you aren't better. I don't have personal experience with this but I think many people can be really tight after a fill and then it relaxes, and conversely many people can be loose and then get restriction up to 2 weeks later. I think that's one reason that most docs have people on liquids for a period after a fill; your stomach may swell and react...then go back down. So don't panic tonight and call your doctor tomorrow.

Maggies...keep me posted! I have my fingers crossed! :w00t:

I agree with the "TOO MUCH WASHING" theory. My family doctor told us "only use soap if there is DIRT". So we don't douche or use soap down there and believe it or not, no odor. It is its own little world, with a special "environment" down there. You need to chill out and let it stabilize. I've been on ketosis myself and never had an odor there. Try to make yourself "leave it alone" for a few days, just water, no soap, no other interventions, and see if it doesn't stabilize. I mean, you might as well; what you're doing isn't working, right? Good luck.

Congrats! Take your pain meds if you need them!

Go Maggie GO GO GO!

Good luck. I was honestly so happy to be getting the band I never spent an instant being sad or blue or saying "goodbye" to food...especially since my surgeon said once I've healed and adjusted I'll be able, most likely, to eat anything. I'll just be happy with less. Not everyone likes or wants SUPER tight restriction, and not everyone has issues with every food. So to my way of thinking, I'll be more free than I've ever been, not less so. Hope you recover quick and feel marvelous!

I agree. Ask your doctor.

Maggie...keep calling TRICARE. For gosh sake YOU are the insured. MAKE them talk to you. DEMAND a supervisor! AND call the doc's office. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. You are being passive and they are ignoring you. Go get 'em!

Lindalew: I too used tricare but at 405 pounds, I didn't need a comorbidity to get approval. I've read on the boards that unless you have TWO comorbidities, or a BMI OVER 40, tricare will deny you. You can enter "tricare" in the search bar and get lots of info... I believe that your hypertension is a comorbidity, but I don't think high cholesterol or insulin resistance are. If you want the surgery, call tricare and have them send you the requirements IN WRITING .... or tell you where on line a persistent link is to the data. Armed with that, you can decide. But at 5'5" (my height, by the way) 223 isn't considered 100 over. You'd need to be closer to 240-250 (but again I don't know exactly...I'm just remembering stuff I read, it didn't apply to me so I may be misremembering) I'd suggest 1. find a clinic that doesn't charge for a seminar and accepts Tricare. Attend, and then ask them if they provide help filing the claim. My clinic has an insurance person who knows what every local coverage requires and files for us. They didn't charge me for that. AND while waiting for that seminar, call tricare and get a copy of your coverage. (you can't go by what person on phone tells you; they are often incorrect, sadly) I'd take those steps and then decide from there, once you have more info, both on the band, and on what tricare will or won't cover.

Tricare should provide you with their standards. I am not sure but believe that, if you aren't at least 100 over, they won't cover you. What is your BMI? That also has to be high.

Start with your insurance. Make sure it's covered. Once it's covered, get a list of covered surgeons. From that list, pick one (or two or three) and go to the seminars they all hold (don't PAY for a seminar; they are free)....from there, you'll have an idea if you want to proceed or not.

I guess it depends. Do you have to cook? Does it bother you to cook and not taste/eat (if you DO have to cook?) If not, I say go for it. Thanksgiving is about food, maybe, but more it's about being with people we love and giving thanks. You can enjoy the company without eating turkey and pumpkin pie. And it's just one holiday....next year you'll be able to partake; you'll just be a lot healthier and eat a lot less. Having been through the banding etc I can say go for it. It's not that hard to stick to liquids (or whatever your surgeon recommends) that first week. By week 2 you will feel better and more hungry and might be tasked to stay on plan, but the first few days post op, it's easy to comply. However if you have to do a lot of the cooking etc depending on how quickly you bounce back postop you may not feel physically up to it.

It's much easier to do ANYTHING for 4 weeks than it is to do it for life.

Ask the lap band surgeon's office for a recommendation to a PCP.

Not sure if there was a question in your post, but welcome, at any rate! :thumbup: