2muchfun

Actually, you probably mean stop when you are satisfied. Satiety is the goal and no better time than now to start looking for it. Changing our terminology is one of the harder things we bandsters face. Don't look for the old full feeling. Stop eating when you are no longer hungry. No need to go for full. You really don't have much restriction at this stage so if you try to fill yourself up, you will probably eat too much. Your band has very little saline in it now so the portal between the upper and lower part of the stomach is wide open. Not nearly as much as before surgery but open enough to overeat easily. As long as you are making healthy choices I see no reason why you can't continue to eat every two hours or so. But Chandra is right in that you should try to stretch it out. If you can't, you aren't hurting anything by eating a half cup of yogurt or cream Soup. tmf

Just an FYI. I was banded on 11-28-11. The first 30 days or so your band is wide open before they start giving you fills. I made it through the holidays and still ate what we always had for Xmas and New Years. Only, I ate much less and didn't gain any weight. It was the first time in decades that has happened. So, you probably won't miss any of the great foods at your nephews wedding but you'll be more in control of how much you eat. That's a win-win. tmf

Congrats but why a tattoo? I just don't get why people want to permanently scar their body. But, that's my hangup, not yours. tmf

Just be sure you don't eat 1200 calories in one sitting. You don't want to stretch your pouch and your body can't metabolize that much food without storing the excess energy. And every time I see one of these posts where people are not hungry, I go green with envy. I'm always hungry. Mostly head hunger but I can eat all day long if I want.(I don't) tmf

Are you really puking, like you drank 6 margaritas on an empty stomach or are you spitting(PBing) up Water? If you are puking, go to the ER now. Or, do you have a primary doc? Call them asap. tmf

I gues it depends on how long it lingers in your mouth? But it must be colder than coffee, or cooked food. tmf

The ice cream may be aiding to relieve excessive swelling due to a very tight band. Cold reduces inflammation. You may be self medicating the obstruction with the cold foods. I agree, small unfill and then start to follow the rules again. tmf

Continuing to only get 550 calories a day may cause your body to go into starvation mode and you may not lose at all. You should try to keep that intake closer to 900 a day if you can? Of course, there are some who may lose weight this way but I don't see how you could exercise efficiently with so little energy input? tmf

Throwing up is something you must try to avoid. You probably have a lot of swelling from the fill and the barfing. The convulsion in your stomach to remove the objects can be very violent and this will obviously irritate the area around the band. If you can manage to get 32-48 ozs of Fluid down your swelling may go down. But, monitor this closely and go to the ER if you can't get any fluids down. tmf

Try to follow your nutrtionists advice. If you don't eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode. If you eat too much at one sitting, your body will store the excess as fat. It's best to spread out your intake over an entire day not once a day. tmf

Even if your doctor's office is closed, they should have an after hours contact number or answering service? Did your doctor give you his card or do you have the number of the nutritionist? You must have afterhours numbers for someone? If you can't get 32 ozs of Fluid down(per day) I'd go to the ER if all else fails. You could be swollen and it may go away or maybe not? Did you eat anything solid? tmf

Shark, You should fill in your profile so we can advise you better? Don't know if your pre op, post op, 4 months out? Salads go down easy for me. Big carrot chunks tend to be a problem so I make sure if there's carrots in my salad, they're shredded. In fact, I've always like salads but now I crave them. I guess that's a good thing? tmf

"Is that vain" Not necessarily, but not important. Course, I'm a guy and could care less about my legs or nails. Class the evening of the procedure? You can't be serious? There is no way you should be going to any class or anywhere but your couch or own bed the evening of your surgery. In fact, I doubt you'll be able to go? Is this a class for the WLS or something else? You're going to be so pumped with meds, anti-biotics and anesthesia, there is no way you will be able to stay awake let alone sit upright. tmf

Why wait till the wedding? Then there's the holidays and the New Year? Procrastinating won't get you where you need to be. It's good you realize you need WLS but it sounds like you're not ready to give up the good food? By your own account you've found numerous reasons to procrastinate. There will always be good food everywhere you turn. Don't wait! Having the band doesn't mean you can't eat anymore. It just means you can't eat as much. And isn't that what we all want? jmo tmf

As I said earlier, where the animation shows the band around the stomach surprised me? I wonder if there aren't several different methods of placement? And does each doctor use these different methods of placement. I always thought the band was about 2-3 inches from the top sphincter but in this animation it was directly under it? Do they make snap decisions where to put it once they get a good visual look at our stomachs or are they all place under the sphincter? The vision I always had was there was a pouch above the band. But, in the illustration/animation there really is no pouch, unless we create one by overeating, eating too fast or eating the wrong foods? The drinking part I had already heard about. A seminar on the West Coast spoke of this several months ago. It makes sense and I've tried it both ways and don't see or feel much different either way. Drinking wine did surprise me. I like that. tmf

Many do. So many variables can disqualify your application. But, if your plan does provide coverage of WLS you should qualify unless your BMI is under 35 with no co-morbids. tmf

The band doesn't start doing it's job until you get enough fills to slow the food down. She's still in the healing phase and her band has virtually no saline in it so it's wide open. She was eating solids when she should still be on mushies or semi solid foods eating less than a cup or 1/2 cup per meal. tmf

Every time I see a post like this I think of the plastic surgeon who has a $2 mil mortgage and a $100K Porsche payment he needs to make. I may be guilty of hyperbole but a bypass or sleeve is about 2.5 X more expensive and the fee to the surgeon is also much higher. Or like Christie said, he's ill informed. Make sure you vet your surgeon very carefully. There are some who get into this line of work who may not have the patients best interests at heart. tmf

It's a personal choice then? I couldn't see myself having a major part of my body removed so I went with the band. I guess if this fails I can always go to plan B? But I'm only 37 lbs from my goal so I'm OK with it. tmf

Many patients go into this with the assumption that the band will do all the work? If you gave her this impression I can understand. The band takes a lot of work. But so do the other methods. tmf

Go to youtube and search womens strength, women's exercise and womens cardo exercises. Lots to choose from. If you belong to a gym, I like the circuit training nautilus equipment too. tmf

Should depend on your physician's schedule and pre-op diet requirements? There is no regular or normal about how each doctor plans these operations. Each one will be different. Mine had no pre op diet and got me in to surgery 3 weeks after I got the insurance go ahead. tmf

The questions you ask can't be answered easily. It will be different for every patient and every insurance company. Even BCBS has many different rules. it will depend on what modules your employer added to their insurance when they were pricing insurance quotes. Every doctor has a different protocol for preop and postop diets. You're going to have to feel your way through this with meetings in seminars and nutrition classes. Most band surgeries are same day. You should be home before dinner. tmf

Talk to your surgeon or nutritionist. They have so much knowledge for you to tap into. tmf

I agree with the happy thoughts of getting stuck. I don't recommend getting stuck but it is one of those precursors that you are entering the green zone and weight loss is next. tmf