lafrogura

I had one and didn't know it. My surgeon found it and fixed it when he did my band.

My sister is a nutritionist and she says yes. You only need 7 grams of protein per 20 lbs of weight. It's important to get enough calcium since your body uses calcium to help digest protein and if you don't consume enough calcium, it will be taken from your bones to digest the protein. Too much protein can also cause other problems, like kidney problems if you aren't exercising but taking in high amounts of protein. Your body will use carbs and fat first for energy so if you're eating a lot of protein, plus carbs and fat, there is no real use for the protein. It is supposed to be "fuel" for your body (energy).

In my opinion, if the child is gaining weight at an early age, i think diets are not the answer .. i do think counseling can help for some because so many teens don't deal with their emotions .. i think, if after counseling that the lap band would be a great thing to have .. especially since soooooo many of us bandsters started gaining weight as teens and really never stopped gaining until we were banded. i would have loved to have had some counseling early on for my eating habits but not sure that would have totally corrected it .. i think it's great for anyone, young or old!

Don't listen to your doctor! Write a lengthy appeal letter yourself and send it in! there have been many people do that and then get approved. Don't even tell your doctor's office you're doing it.. DO NOT GIVE UP!! I have BCBS also.. it just takes a little nagging by the patient. Use your right to appeal. Then if they deny again, then hire a lawyer. You are allowed more than one appeal. usually you can appeal up to a 3rd level. APPEAL, APPEAL, APPEAL ...

hahaha.. i did the same thing .. i was so tired of soup and popsicles and pudding and jello ... i ate a bean burrito as soon as i could eat mushy foods .. i think i was 10 days post op .. i didn't get sick either .. since the swelling has gone down, i have no restriction really .. i have been relying on pure willpower until my first fill, which is not until 08/11 .. even though everyone says you don't lose until after the first fill, i just can't except that so i have found willpower that i never knew i had. i do stay full longer on smaller amounts of food though .. before being banded, like a lot of people, i used to eat a large meal and 1 hour later i would be looking for a snack... just take it slow eating .. my protein drinks are my friend.. i don't really like the taste of them, but they really keep my hunger and cravings down when i manage to get 1 or 2 in a day...

Same thing happened to me .. i was able to keep my undies on with a pad .. i had on stretchy cotton ones so they just rolled my undies down so my stomach was not covered.. i was so happy i didn't have to take them off ... that would have been very uncomfortable. just depends on your surgeon/hospital i guess ..

From what i understand, it takes a while for your body to start burning fat, simply because it goes into "starvation" mode after surgery because you are consuming so much less calories than you were before the surgery .. my weight loss has been steady from about 11 days post op... i am now 18 days post-op. hang in there with the rest of us :cursing:

You need to go by one scale.. they are all calibrated differently.. i know when i weigh myself at work (i work at a hospital and weigh daily) .. i do not not compare that weight to what i weigh in my surgeon's office ... the only thing that is accurate is the # of lbs lost ... so if you weighed 311 at home and then next time you weigh yourself at home, you weigh 300, then you know you have lost 11 lbs .. but the actual total weight you know will be off a bit ..

I have never really had "issues" with my cycle until after i got banded. I am being told by doctor's it is from the fast weight loss - explained as "when fat is removed by the body, which is where most estrogen is stored, the estrogen is released into your body elsewhere signaling your uterus to bleed" ... are there any medically knowledged people out there or anyone else who has experienced this.. i feel like there is no end in sight and i cannot function normally at home or work most days because of it .. bleh!!

hi. i am 17 days post-op and i have not gotten stuck yet .. i have eaten chicken but not dry .. i have heard if something gets stuck, you should go back to liquids so you're probably doing the right thing by not piling more stuff on top of the stuck item .. maybe you have some swelling/irritation from the 1st thing that stuck .. maybe liquids for a couple/few days instead of one .. i fear getting something stuck .. yikes.. good luck ..

I have BCBS of Tx and it took them 4 business days to approve after it was faxed in .. i called them on day 4 and they said they had just approved it that day .. but it took another 2 wks to receive the letter ... but by then i had everything scheduled and had started my pre-op diet. good luck!

Go to the ticker website and create the ticker .. copy the bb code and then go to "edit profile" on this site .. click on edit signature .. paste the code into the large blank "signature box" ... it's a big text box like where you type these posts ... DO NOT paste it into the small rectangular boxes where it says enter URL or "www.http//..... be sure to click "preview signature" at the bottom before clicking "save" ... it doesn't seem to work for me unless i preview it first.. but you should see it on the preview what it will look like ... good luck

Well, i don't know if this is good news or bad news, but i saw my gyno today and i am going under the knife within the next few days to help correct this bleeding problem .. i am very nervous about it since i was just banded less than 3 wks ago... so they are going to do a D&C ... i just want to feel better so i can exercise and get to feeling "normal" again and focus on something other than gyno problems .. i have a full, happy life to look forward to but have not been able to because of this ... sigh~

Sorry to hear you feel so bad.. hang in there.. day by day it does get better .. just be patient and remind yourself this is part of the healing process .. i had all the same problems you are having .. i am 17 days post-op and all of that is still very fresh on my mind .. i found that sleeping by sitting up in a chair at night with tons of pillows behind me and my feet propped up was the best way for me to sleep .. it took me 9 days before i could lay down at all ... hang in there and little by little all those symptoms will disappear ... and do SIP whatever you drink .. don't gulp it down .. i found chewing ice helped with getting my thirst quenched and kept me from drinking too fast .. and don't drink through straws because it will just put more gas in your tummy, which you don't need .. even though i didn't feel like it and i looked like poo poo ..and even though i had to keep stopping to take a full breath (deep breathing helped my lungs expand even though it hurt like crazy - it somehow seemed to force the gas out).. but i would have hubby drive me and i would walk around wal-mart holding onto the buggy every day for at least 30 minutes .. i always felt better afterwards ... if they gave you an incentive spirometer to practice deep breathing, that helped me too when i couldn't go walking at wal-mart ... i would do one deep breath every 5 minutes and try to get in at least 7-10 ... i am not saying it doesn't hurt but it did help with the gas pains .. good luck with the rest of your recovery

Get back to basics! Learn to say no to eating at bar-b-ques or eat before you go so you're not tempted to eat around the band.. and as far as the alcoholic drinks, those are super high calories that your body is just waiting for you to suck down so it can slam it to your hips... find a lower calorie alcholic drink if you feel you have to have it .. try looking up diabetic diet website .. there's sure to be a low cal drink on there .. concentrate on following the lap band rules for the last 6 weeks of summer and when you hit the labor day b-b-q, you'll be down quite a few more lbs and you'll feel great... it's temporary but hopefully it will get you motivated again!!! DO NOT GIVE UP!!! you deserve to be thinner and healthier!!!!:thumbdown:

Personally, if i ate that menu as is, i would gain weight.. i can not eat that many carbs, especially throughout the day.. i have to really watch my carbs .. no more than 12 carb units a day ... 12 grams of carboyhydrate = 1 carb unit ... if you want to try it, it's a diabetic diet .. the carbs i do eat are only at breakfast and no other time so that my body can burn them up during the course of the day .. if i eat them after breakfast, they most likely won't get burned up and they will be stored as fat instead .. best of luck to you

Congratulations! wish you the best of luck with your surgery and a speedy recovery. Come visit us if you have questions or concerns... this site really has helped me and still is on a daily basis! Keep us posted on your progress. :thumbdown:

Oh boy, i don't miss that.. I went through that .. it does have to do with the gas they pump in you, but it is also like someone previously said, to do with pressure on your diaphragm... i had a hiatal hernia fixed at the same time i was banded... that pain lasted about 8 days and i do still get it if i eat too fast

I so understand exactly what you are feeling/going thru ... i did the same thing .. i lost 12 lbs the first week of surgery .. then 10 days later gained 5 lbs out of nowhere .. then lost 7 lbs over the next 3 days ... it's crazy at first.. i am on that roller coaster still ... hang in there with the rest of us! it supposedly starts to become more regular ... and from what i've been told and all that i've read on this site, the doc's don't expect much weight loss or none until you've had your first fill ... of course, i didn't want to believe it .. i wanted to believe the weight was magically going to start falling off.. but i have had to rely on pure willpower, which i have never had ...i have to really watch what i put in my mouth being that i have no restriction basically .. waiting for my first fill ..

Thank you all for responding... i sure hope it goes back to normal before i hit my sweet spot.. my surgeon thinks it will take me 5-6 fills before i hit it ... and since there's only 1 fill every month, geeeez... i hope it doesn't take 5-6 months to straighten back out ... i am glad there may be an end in sight, but that's an awful long time before then ... grrrr... the things we sacrifice! hahaha ... i would rather be thin than have normal cycles though, i guess ... i don't have any kiddo's yet so the docs don't really want to do a hysterectomy, although that's what i feel like begging for about right now. i'll hang in there

I think everyone's experience is different. Some take a while due to the insurance pre-requisites and some fly through the process. I know from the time i went to the WLS seminar until the time i was approved by my insurance was only 1 month. Just stay on top of things and know exactly what your insurance requires and make sure you are calling the insurance and physician's, etc to make sure that what ins. needs is what is being sent and in a timely fashion and constantly ask everyone "what is the next step?" .. it's easy with so many people in and out of these doctor's offices, it's easy to get overlooked.. I know i was on the phone every day making sure things were flowing as fast as possible. But then again, i'm not a very patient person.

I'm about 16 days post-op and haven't experienced this. How long ago were you banded?

My first 2-3 days following surgery, i could only drink 4 oz at a time and that was within a 15-20 minute time frame ... i had a lot of swelling then .. i am now a little over 2 wks post-op and i have no problem drinking any amount of liquid in any time frame .. that's been my experience so far

I had a slight nosebleed shortly after surgery but i did not have fever. I gathered the nosebleed was from breathing through my nose because my throat hurt from the breathing tubes after i woke up. I would keep a very close eye on your fever. If it gets any higher, i would be calling the doc's office immediately.

Helpppp! I need some positive words of encouragement. I can eat a large amount before i feel full. I am scareddd. when i first came out of surgery and for the following few days, it only took about 4 oz of food to fill me up. all the paperwork i have from the doc and dietician says to eat until i feel full or until i feel pressure. The problem is i can eat as much as i could before being banded and still don't feel pressure. It takes a lot to fill me up (3 cups easy). I do not eat and drink at the same time. I am eating what i am supposed to and i have 2 more wks before my first fill. I have gained back 5 lbs of the 12 i lost after surgery. I am really feeling discouraged and frustrated. I'm not ready to give up but am seeing it impossible to lose weight when i am allowed to eat this much. Did anyone else experience this before their first fill? PLEASE RESPOND. i need to know i am not alone in this.