lotstolose

Has anyone who has had successful weight loss with their lapband been able to drink liquids at meals. This has been the hardest thing for me to give up. My weight loss has been slow and think that having a small amount of liquids, usually water, with my meals is hampering my weight loss. Thanks for any replys.:biggrin:

Dr. Watson has done several types of surgeries for family members -gallbladder surgery, thyroid surgery, hernia repair and gastric bypass and Lap Banding. All have gotten along great with the procedures. I also know a lot of people who have had the gastric bypass and the Lap Banding so when I decided to have the procedure, I did not consider any other facility. I think Dr. Watson or Dr. Hodge would do you a great job. The other physicians may also do great work, I just have not heard anything about them.

Beth443, When did you have your surgery with Dr. Hodge? How many fills have you had? I had my surgery Jan. 2008 and have only had 3 fills. The last one done last week has helped more than the others. I could not tell anything had been done with the others but with this one, I get satisfied with a smaller amount of food and do not get hungry as quick.

I do office work. The only restriction was not to lift anything over 5 lbs. So I think if you do not have to do any lifting you would be able to go back to work in a couple of days after surgery. Is the surgery done in Kingsport as same day surgery or overnight surgery? I think I could have gone home the same day but it is a policy of JCMC to have a 23 hr. stay with the lap band surgery.

Great job, Snowbird, on your weight loss. I am really going to try and not drink any liquids with meals. I did OK with bkf. this morning. Hopefully I have not stretched my pouch. My third fill was last week and I can really tell a difference this time.

I was very pleased with Dr. Watson's bedside manner and his staff. I have heard several people say that he is much more friendly and has a better bedside manner than Dr. Hodge, although Dr. Hodge is also an excellent Dr. I have BC/BS of TN insurance and I had to pay I believe it was $400.00 initially because BCBS had not approved the surgery. After the surgery was approved, I got a $300.00 check back from Dr. Watson's office. I payed $12.00 to the Psych Dr. that insurance did not pay and that was ALL I had to pay. My insurance payed for everything else, hospital bill, being put to sleep, everything. I was very fortunate. It did take a while to meet all the insurance requirements, like going to my PCP monthly to be weighed, showing that I could lose 10% of my body weight in 3 months but could not keep it off.... so I had to lose some weight and then gain it back. Anyway, after I had met all the insurance requirements which took about 8 months from my first office visit, it took another 3 months to get a surgery date with Dr. Watson. If Dr. Hodge had been my Dr., I could have had it done in about 3-4 weeks. Does this say anthing about Dr. Watson's caseload and bedside manner. I think so. I had the surgery on a Monday morning at JCMC, came home Tuesday evening and went back to work in 3 weeks. I could have probably gone back to work in 2 weeks, but enjoyed being home. Have had no problems with the band, no problems with vomiting and have been able to eat all foods. I do have to eat slow, or it feels like it is stuck in my chest, but goes away soon. You do learn to eat slowly and chew, chew, chew. My weight loss has been slow, but I have always heard you keep it off better when you lose slowly. Good luck.

Just wondering if everyone still avoids liquids at meals? This has been very hard for me to stop doing since I was banded. Can you still lose weight and drink liquids at meals? Thanks for any replys.

Thanks. I'll try that.

Does anyone live in the Jonesborough area?

Do you ever drink liquids at meals? This has been the hardest thing for me to stop doing. Just wondering if anyone has had success with weight loss and am still able to drink some liquids at meals.

Just wanted to say that I had the lapband surgery by Dr. Watson on Jan. 14, 2008 and have been very pleased with Dr. Watson, the staff and surgery results. He did not try to talk me into having the gastric bypass. I have had 3 fills and Dr. Watson answered all my questions at each visit. I am scheduled for another fill in Nov., but I feel I have reached my sweet spot so I will just wait and see if Or when I need another fill. Good luck to everyone in the Tri-Cities area.

Just curious... why did you have a second Surgery?

2-4 weeks is definitely to long to go without a bowel movement. I had the same problem and when I called my Dr., I was told to to take a small amount of liquid MiraLAX and it worked great. I know a lady who had the surgery and was put in the hospital with blockage after not having a BM after 13 days. As for the gas, it does eventually get better, but I still have more gas now than before my surgery. Good luck.

Hello Everyone, I am so pleased that I found this site. I was banded on January 14, 2008 and need help. I have had 2 fills and still cannot tell any difference in the amount of food I can eat. I get very hungry and have not found any foods that I cannot eat. Has anyone else had this experience?