Elisabethsew

My medical clearance was 2 days before the surgery. They wanted to wait for the pre-op blood work, etc., that is scheduled about a week before surgery. Results are available a day or two later and can be faxed to your MD or you can pick up copies and bring them with you for clearance.

I only started feeling restriction with my second fill which was 6 days ago. Prior to that, I could eat as if I were never banded but forced myself not to binge and had 3 meals and a snack everyday. Now that I do have pretty good restriction, I am relearning how to eat... smaller portions, chew, chew, chew and stopping when I feel full. SRaeM... it sounds like you might need another small fill. Have you considered this options?

Call your insurance company and ask for your case manager. This is the person who has your file and can read to you what the reason for the denial was. Once you have this information, you'll know how to proceed. I did not find the surgeon's office helpful in the appeal process. You have to take the bull by the horns and FIGHT.

I have the Vanguard Inamed band and my first fill at 8 weeks post-op was 1.5 cc's. That did nothing. I went back a month later (6 days ago) and they put in another 3 cc's for a total of 4.5 cc's and THAT finally did the trick. I now know what restriction is but have never had a PB so I think they got it right this time. If your surgeon is like me, he/she will start slowly and then make adjustments as needed.

Do you tolerate soy milk or lactose free milk? Many of the protein shakes are soy based. All meats are rich in protein and there are many protein bars that taste pretty good as well as protein rich cereals. Legumes are all good protein sources and so are nuts although you have to watch the calorie count on those. I often will have one or two pieces of deli turkey with some fresh fruit for breakfast. You might also want to look at the Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice meals for convenience. They have the nutritional requirements you need for a meal and are low in calorie. I don't have them often but always have a few in the freezer. Take a stroll through the grocery and focus on the nutritional information printed on the labels. You'll quite a few good sources of protein.

Can the friend who lives in the area come and stay with you in the hotel? You really should not be alone for the first day or two. After that, your body will tell YOU whether or not it's ready to progress with a long drive home.

I did two weeks of full fluids post-op (pudding, cream soups, yogurt, shakes, etc.) and 2 weeks of soft foods and then moved to solids on week 5.

It normal to be nervous about any surgery but I was ready for this one and never had a second thought about it. Make a list of the pros and cons and you'll discover WHY you decided to move forward.

I had to appeal the BC/BS decision not to pay for my lapband surgery and eventually won. I had 2 co-morbidities and a sky-high BMI but did not have the 6 month medically supervised diet. It was definitely an exercise in persistence but I won.

The third picture was my favorite. You're beautiful and only 29... go for it.

Reaching my goal will result in another surgery. I need a total knee replacement and it may sound strange to be looking forward to such an involved surgery but, as anyone with end stage arthritis in a joint can tell you, the pain is pretty bad. I look forward to walking pain-free and a fast recovery.

I did the ready to drink (RTD) 90 calorie, 10 grams of protein shakes from Medifast and still have some in the house for fill days. You get them online.

Sorry, but there is no way you should or would be able to make a 3 hour drive solo after surgery. It takes a while for the effects of the anesthesia to go away and it's not wise for you (or the other people on the road) to consider this option.

My surgeon forbids carbonated drinks and I don't crave them so it's a rule I can live with. I don't want to risk any damage to the band.

I had fill #2 on Wednesday and am finally feeling some restriction. I have 4.5 cc's in a VG band and would really like to kiss the 3's bye-bye before I go back to the surgeon... that's in 4 weeks so I'll be happy if I can come close.

Yup, it's very normal. As the swelling goes down and the sutures tighten you will have theses symptoms. Take some tylenol and keep active.

Call your MD and go and SEE him to get evaluated. Your symptoms are NOT normal.

Congratulations and I wish you and your family a home filled with love and happiness.

Fair, fat, fertile, forty and female... those are the 5 "F's" that we refer to in the medical profession when it comes to gallbladder disease. Mine departed from my body 4 years ago.

I hear what you're saying and can relate. I simply pulled the underwire out of my current bra and put it on the morning after surgery... no pain at all. Give that a try and see if it works for you.

Happy Anniversary and congratulations on a WONDERFUL weight loss success as well as stopping smoking. I'm only 3 months into being banded and stories like yours are very inspirational. I'm glad you're out of the lurker mode and posting again. I look forward to reading more.

Enjoy a well-deserved weekend off.

Many people use Fitday.com to track their caloric intake. I work full-time and go to school full-time so the answer to your question for me is no, I don't do all the things you mentioned. I don't get in all the water all the time and I don't get in 2 snacks a lot of the time. I got my second fill yesterday and am on a soft diet for today and tomorrow (liquids yesterday). I think I FINALLY have restriction for the FIRST time since having the surgery so now I am not over eating on the required amounts of food. I consider the requirements you listed to be ideal goals and I do try to come as close as possible to meeting them but I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't achieve those goals everyday. As you pointed out, life is busy and modifications are inevitable.

It stands for vertical gastrectomy but there is also a VG band (that I have) which stands for vanguard lapband by Inamed. It can get confusing with VG standing for 2 different things.

I don't think there's anything wrong having a shake for a meal but you might not want to do the all liquid "thing." I went in for a second fill yesterday and noticed a diagram on the wall of the exam room. Yellow was unfilled, green was optimal and red was overfilled. I jokingly said to the surgeon, "Take me into the red zone." He replied that people in the red zone GAIN weight because they drink their calories to avoid the pain of solid food. The purpose of the band, he said, is to restrict the amount of healthy food we take in eating a regular diet. The band works best with solids. So, if you have optimal restriction, maybe you just need to plan a week's worth of menus and toss out all the junk food?