RestlessMonkey

Refried beans, eggs, yogurt, hamburger, some overcooked pasta and some crackers soaked in soup to mushie stage....Oh and mashed potatoes and gravy. It's better than clear liquids but I'm still ready for real food! I do supplement with a protein shake or two each day to make sure I'm getting enough. I had some spaghetti and meat sauce the other day but ran it through my food processor first. It wasn't pretty but it tasted good!

DH...dear husband (or another modifier depending on your mood!) PB..productive burping...happens when you have restriction and swallow something that comes back up...like vomiting but without bile and gastric juices

It's important to follow your post op diet because otherwise you'll impair your healing and may cause slippage and/or erosion at the band site. Honestly, in my experience hunger doesn't go away until you get the right amount of fill. Have no clue about fill centers. I think many surgeons won't want to touch you because they didn't do the surgery (understandably) so I hope you find someone.

Yours was fast like mine was! Congratulations!

You should've told that Doctor "I won't have gastric bypass just because you're too backwards to offer a better alternative"...but then I am a cheeky Restless Monkey! the fool! (some people are just TOO full of themselves, aren't they?)

Congrats! You are HUMAN! Yes, you are! Even thin people overindulge occasionally. You ate 2 cups of food. Preop, what would a binge have entailed? 2 CUPs of cereal, 1/2 the cheesecake, (not a regular serving) more cookie dough? Would you have stopped there? Compare "new you" to "old you". 2 extra cups of food didn't make you heavy then and won't make you heavy now. What counts is what you do from here. Feel miserable, and set yourself up for a vicious cycle of misery/food/misery/food....OR, think "wow that came out of left field I have to stop it NOW" and do that. Give it a little time and you can get filled some more...so be gentle but firm with yourself! and enjoy your dinner party. It is surely going to be fun!

Personally I'd wait until I could have the lap band, or finance it. GBS has too many potential ill effects.

What a great post! I love to hear success stories like yours! Thanks for sharing with us.

It really depends on your surgeon and your insurance. I went to a seminar on 7/10. On 7/18 I had my first appt with the surgeon and decided to proceed (well I knew I wanted to before the seminar, but that meeting was where I told the surgeon I was going forward etc) 7/25 I had an upper GI series, met with the psych and nutrition consultants, and met with the surgeon again. After that, once the hospitals insurance coordinator got all my test results (I had to ask the psych person to speed it up and she graciously accommodated me) I was approved for surgery on 8/11. I went to hospital for HOURS of preop tests (chest x-ray, ecg, blood draw, abdominal ultra sound) plus a nutrition class on what to eat week 1 post op. I had surgery on 8/11. They didn't place my band but had the doc done so, then I would've gone back 8/19 for 1 week post op appt and more nutrition class, plus an exercise class. Furthermore my doc asks people who live in outlying areas to remain in town for a few days post op. Your surgeon will have his or her own requirements. Can you find one closer to home? We are expected to go in at present intervals for follow up, fills, etc. Plus what if an incision gets infected etc? You need to be able to go to your surgeons office frequently (once a month or more maybe) at least during the 1st few months.

How nerve wracking, huh? I only had to wait 2 days and it was awful! Good luck!

There are some types of medication that can cause erosion in the stomach. NSAIDS do. So depending on what type of arthritis med, it can be contraindicated in people who have had the band or bypass surgery. Our doc told us to always avoid those, and time-release type medications. (they stay in stomach too long and you get too much medication) That's why it's best to talk with your surgeon and if that isn't possible, to your prescribing doctor. There may be a different form they can prescribe, or have specific dosing instructions to give you to minimize risk of ulcerations etc.

Lulu you need to discuss with your surgeon.

I didn't have a "presurgery" class per se. I had some presurgery tests I had to do at the hospital (Upper GI, chest x-ray, blood draw, abdominal ultrasound, ecg) then had to meet with my surgeon, and then meet with the dietitian so they could tell us what we could eat the 1st week post op (pretty much nothing but water jello and broth) but that's it. Each doctor is different. You may call your surgeon's office on monday and ask what exactly they are going to have you do!

Hmm...I feel normal and have from the minute I woke up in recovery. I had some pain but I expected that. I can't feel my stomach! I don't have any restriction and could drink well right from the start; I'm eating mushies fine and have no issues. So I'm thinking that the answer is yes, as you heal and adapt to the band you won't "feel" your stomach any more. It just apparently is taking you a while. I hope so, any way! Glad I don't feel mine!

I agree with Lanakila but wanted to cover the post op diet too...it is also VITAL to follow it per your surgeon's instructions because your band is lightly sutured into place around your stomach. It needs to heal and when you eat "real" food (even mushies!) your stomach churns like a little washing machine to aid in digestion. You DO NOT want that tummy churning the first few weeks while your band and stomach are healing and the band is settling into place. You can set yourself up for erosion and slippage down the road. While I truly believe in "question authority" as a lifestyle and encourage it in others (LOL) you need to do what your doc says for the preop and postop diet. I don't think it really is to mentally prepare you as much as it is to shrink your liver and then allow your stoma to heal. You have to do that...if you can't, don't get the band, it's not a good option for you!

Do you have and can you take some benadryl?

Baby oil didn't work on mine I bought some special. I dabbed it on I let it sit I tried pouring it on I let it sit 15 minutes No joy. Alcohol pads didn't work either. Lighter fluid MIGHT have worked but I drew the line at that flammable stuff. I ordered "allkare" adhesive remover for $20 It didn't work either. BUT over time, it finally wore off.

Everyone gets hungry on the postop diet. We just suck it up! BUT what I said was that it depends on your Doctor. What did s/he tell you to do? THAT is what you should do....not what I tell you. I'm not a doctor! MY doc told me what I told you. That's MY doc. What does YOURS say?

I haven't even had 1 fill yet but from my reading and research and what my surgeon has told me, 2 fills in 8 months isn't much at all. I get my 1st fill Oct 9 and was told it make take more than 3-4 times to get my restriction just right. So I think you need a fill ASAP!

Depends on your doc. My doc requires only water, broth, and jello for 1 week. Week 2, we get to add in protein shakes. So by his rules, no, not yet. But all surgeons are different. However, when you eat, your stomach churns, so there's a good reason to NOT eat for the first few weeks, to let your band heal.

Nail polish remover did not work for me. I know it works on super glue because I glued my hands together once! (LOL) but...not on this stuff.

You should have gotten some post op discharge instructions and on there it will tell you how long to leave your steri strips on.

My steri strips, if that's what you mean, all fell off within 10 days. The goo from the tape? It's almost impossible to get off. I bought some stuff online and it didn't even work. Someone said baby oil and IT didn't work. I just scrubbed away at it with a shower sponge every day and eventually it was all gone.

My surgeon, Dr. Sonny Cavazos at Northeast Baptist here in San Antonio, TX, did say we would likely want plastic surgery once we'd lost our extra weight, and he would be glad to recommend several to us once the time was right. He was very thorough and informative. So far there's nothing that has come up that I think "I wish he'd covered that!"

My surgeon has brochures for self financing. My husband and I were just going to put mine on a credit card until we found out Tricare Standard now covers the lap band. You might google "bariatric surgery financing"...I've heard "Care credit" may finance this type of thing. I believe your safest bet, though, is to check with your surgeon. And you know to shop around...you'll want to find a happy mix of a low price and reputable surgeon. Good luck!