2muchfun

You know, I lost 12 lbs after surgery and then nothing for the next 3.5 months. Then I had a nutrition consult that turned it all around for me. I thought I was eating right but my nut corrected me. Glad I spent the time and money. Getting my 4th fill helped too. Plateau's suck, but you should be measuring yourself to see if you're losing inches? Replacing fat with muscle will make the scale stall but it's a good stall. tmf

Just don't continue to be an idiot. Depends on how much you ate? If it was a 16 oz hershey's almond bar kick your own a$$. If it's just a couple of bites walk it off. FYI-I have two hershey's dark chocolate bliss cubes every night. It's like 50 calories? Not going to sweat it. tmf

Here is the full series for you newbies: Part 1 part 2 Part 3 Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HB_Qy1nI5Y Obrien exp lapband example

Watch this but always do what your doctor tells you to do. Dr O'Brien is probably the most well known of all Bariatric surgeons and was a pioneer in gastric banding. Rule 5 Liquids

Yeah, that one minute is like an eternity aint it? I tried the one minute maybe twice and it's just too long. I try to pace myself and as time goes along you learn how fast you can eat to avoid stuck episodes. But waiting one minute would make each meal an hour long for me. I think my molars may be more efficient than some as I can mush that piece of steak in 12 chomps. tmf

If you can consume, swallow and pass shakes, soups, yogurt etc. then you may not be chewing enough or taking small bites? The trick to eating meat and veggies is to eat very small bites, chew a lot, take a few breaths between swallows(not bites) before taking the next bite. You must chew the food to a mush(Soup like) consistency to avoid getting stuck. So, if soups go through just fine, then why do other solids stick? Not chewed enough? You could very well be a little too tight too. If you can't adhere to the chewing routine then have a little removed. Maybe .1-.25 CCs? tmf

You will only fail if you decide not to follow through and fall back into old habits. Once you are banded you will have an all new mindset.

You will only fail if you decide not to follow through and fall back into your old habits. Once you are banded you will have an all new mindset.

You're the designated replier to all those topics people post that they are so sad and frustrated that they had surgery 3 weeks ago, had not lost weight for 2 days and gained 1 lb. K?

Short answer is no, no need to wait. Guzzle away. The reason we eat "Food", chew, swallow, wait, is because it takes our pouch one minute to pass most food through the pouch and into our lower stomach. Fluids pass through the band/stoma nearly instantly and give no or very little pressure to the vagus nerve(the nerve that stimulates satiety). My appetite came back in 3 days

Your profile said 240 so that's the figure I used. It's very hard to lose more than 8 lbs a month. You need to burn 3500 calories to lose 1 lb. If your amount of calories to maintain is 1700 and you eat 1000 and burn off 300 more in exercise, you will be burning off 1000 calories per day more than you consume. So, 1000 X 30 = 30,000/3500 = 8.5 lbs lost. Good luck and don't forget the exercise! tmf

The purpose of a pre op diet is to shrink the liver. Drinking alcohol probably won't add weight to your liver but alcohol will lower your inhibitions and you could pig out on a plate of nachos which would make you gain another 2-5 lbs of fluids. If you do, stay away from carb and sodium loaded margaritas. I'd stick with wine or hard liquor with no sugar additives. tmf

My doctor said no and I asked him directly. He did say that it can appear that we lose saline in the band since as time goes by, food seems to pass through the stoma with more ease. But that is because our pouches become more efficient at massaging the food through the band. Makes sense to me since the stomach is a muscle and to isolate a small part of the stomach could make that portion of the stomach a stronger more efficient machine? tmf

Sure, no harm in starting a diet. But losing 40+ lbs in 2.5 months may be a little too unrealistic? You can always diet with the band. But to use the band as it's intended and to learn how to live with and utilize it's magic, eating diet food may not be the best approach. Almost all of us are on a diet, a diet of healthy foods. This diet allows us to naturally eat fewer bad foods. tmf

Please make this the template for this question in the future?

Can you swallow water? If not, yes, you're probably stuck and it will take a few minutes to pass through.

Losing so much weight was good for your smile too

Your employer chooses from a variety of plans and each plan can have different co-pays and deductibles. The less exposure you have to co-pays/deductibles, the more expensive the plan will be. Most employers give their employees the option of selecting from a variety of different plans and the lower the co-pay/deductible the higher the monthly cost will be to the employee. If you're a member of Congress you would have the cadillac version where all costs are covered, but if you're a lowly government employee, you will have some out of pocket expenses. So, yes, this is common and everyone who has insuance may have a different plan, different deductible depending on the choices the employer and employee make when purchasing or selecting insurance.

Say what?

Guilty as charged

OMG..Ibuprofen!!! My doc also "demands" no ibuprofen and I lived on that stuff for years and still miss it today. My back is killing me and tylenol does squat! tmf

There are still a lot of anti-coffee ninnies out there who want to demonize the drink as being unnatural and unnecessary. I agree with some other posts that your doc might fear the extra calories you could add to the drink and there are physicians that fear you may drink coffee with your meals which is still a no-no with some docs(not mine). Mine doesn't really care about drinking coffe or drinking while I eat as long as I don't use my coffee to wash down my food. Sips a minute after a bite is OK. tmf

In these days of insurance claim denials, hospitals are covering their butts by informing patients that they are ultimately responsible for their hospital bill even if you have insurance and even if your insuror has approved your surgery. There are also ancillary costs involved such as surgery assistants who may not be one of your insurance company providers. I had to have oxygen that was also 100% covered. I know, for me, my surgeon used an assistant who was not a BCBS provider and I had to send him a check for $300. I do recall being told this could happen but there's so much going on leading up to surgery that I just didn't care as long as I went under the knife. Yeah, just grin and bear it but be prepared there may be some claims heading your way if your plan prohibits it? tmf

Oh yeah! I'll bet my coffee can kick your coffee's butt! I'm right there with ya. Screw that "words of wisdom" crap. Gimmee my caffeine and make it dark roast and bold.

I doubt it's true counseling? It's more like the hospital advising you of the costs, risks and what you are responsible for. Calling it financial counseling is a misnomer so I wouldn't be all that concerned. She/he could have called it your hospital consult and be more accurate. jmo tmf