juliegeraci

Hi Hazel-eyes. First, congrats on being banded! Welcome to the club. There is a lot of advise I can give you. I've been banded for 21 months. First, the first 6 weeks are time to heal and not necessarily lose weight. Make sure you follow your postop diet to a tee. It is very important to stay on course when it comes to the liquid, mushies and solid phases. Second, you may or may not be hungry which is quite normal. If you are starving during the liquid phase you can have anything that fits through a straw. Creamy soups made with milk were a life saver for me. Third, once you reach the solid phase try and keep your portion control to 1 cup of food 3x a day. High in protein first, then vegies. Try and eat very few carbs. Fourth, the more you exercise the faster your weight loss will be. I didn't do a lot of that so my weight loss is much slower. Most important in the next few months is to be very patient. Fills take a little time to get the right restriction level. It may take you a few months to get to the point that you have good restriction so be patient. I think it took me 5 fills to get there. You may find that after your first fill or 2 you still don't feel restriction. That is true. Often times it takes at least 3 or so to get there. It is quite common to be able to eat normal portions during that time. Don't get discouraged. This is not about will power, its about getting the right restriction level so be patient. Let me know if you have any question. Welcome to bandland!

What you are experiencing is quite normal given the fact that you lost 20 lbs rather quickly. Make sure you are eating protein, protein protein. Make sure you are getting your fluids in and exercising. The weight loss will start again.

Gurgling is a sign of restriction and not necessarily being too tight. That being said, if you are now gurgling and PBing more 2 months after your fill you may be slightly too tight. Julie

What stage of your diet are you on? Mushies or solids? Sounds like it is too early for solids but I'm not sure. With that being said, make sure you keep your diet to high protein as this will help you feel the fullest. Good luck.

sound like you are doing much better. I think it is mostly swelling that is why you have so much discomfort. Good luck to you! Happy banding!

It took me 6 to 8 weeks to get through the blood work, EKG, Psych eval and nutritionist. My insurance took about a week or so. It went very smoothly. Good luck.

I am 21 months post op. The best advice I can tell you is this: First, make sure you follow your post op diet to a tee. It is very important for your body to heal the first 6 weeks. Second, you may or may not be hungry before your first fill. If you aren't hungry try and make sure at the very least you are getting all your liquids in. Try and get in 60 grams of protein even if you have to drink 3 protein shakes a day. If you are starving try and keep your consumption down to 1 cup of food 3x a day without snacking. If you need to snack try and eat lean protein as it will keep you fullest the best. Third, when you start getting fills try and be very patient. It often takes several fills to reach optimal fill level. It took me over 6 months to get there so be patient. Originally when you start to get fills you may find that you are still able to consume 3/4-1 cup of food and up to 6 oz of protein. In time that will become more like 1/4-1/2 cup of food and up to 3-4 oz of protein. You weight loss will change it is could flexuate up when you move from liquids to mushies then solids. I did gain 7 lbs one time in between fills. This is quite normal. You can expect the weight loss to be 1-2 sometimes 3 lbs per week depending on your hunger and restriction. You need to be patient. If you are consuming too much, hungry and not losing it is time for a fill. I am 21 months out and truthfully just got good restriction 6 weeks ago. It does take time and patience. Being banded is great. I do PB a couple times a week but again it is really important to eat very small bites (the size of a pencil eraser) chew really well and slow down. Also, eating and drinking with meals is very important not to do. It moves the food through the band and gives you more calories. Try your best not to do that. Make sure you drink your water and exercise too. The weight loss will be much faster if you exercise. That has been my downside. I would be at goal already if I exercisef more. Good luck to you. Its so worth it. Let me know if you have any questions. Julie

Michele, you will love being banded. I am 21 months post op and still feel this is the best decision of my life. I am 10 lbs from having plastic surgery. I went from a size 24 to a size 16. My goal is size 16 but with plastic surgery most likely I will be a 14 or size 12. Keep the faith and stay focused. You will not regret it. Good luck.

Keep the faith. There are some awesome plastic surgeons out there. I just know you will find the right one next time and look like a million bucks! You are doing so great. I am so happy for you. You must look wonderful! I am 10 lbs away from plastivc surgery myself. I am going to have an extended tummy tuck, breast lift with implants, upper thigh lift and my arms done. Thankfully with the arms she can make an incision under my arm and just pull in the lose skin. My arms aren't that bad. My stomach is the worst, it really hangs down. Let me know how it goes with the other plastic surgeons okay.

I am glad you are coming here for our input. Let me give you the stats for the lapband and the bipass. The lapband is roughly 62% of your excess weight the first year followed by about 90% for bypass. That beign said, at year 4 they are the same at 62% . That means that bypass patients typically restretch their stomachs and gain back 25-30% of their weight. I have seen this happen countless times. With the lapband the weight loss is a lot slower. But at 36 BMI it sounds like you don't have too much to lose. The lapband is so much better for you. I specifically didn't choose the bypass because the surgery is easier for lapband #1, its adjustable and removable. I love being banded. I've been banded for 21 months and am 10 lbs away from having plastic surgery. I am so happy with my lapband. good luck.

My friend is getting banded up here in Northern CA. They had her go to her Physician who put the request in for her to join the Bariatrivc treatment for lapband. They followed up with a full day seminar. She is going to have to meet with a psychiatrist and nutritionist. She has already had her blood work and her EKG. Here is the clincher. They are making her and everyone else wait 32 weeks for a follow up appointment. During this time she is to follow a 1200 calorie diet. If at 32 weeks she has lost a considerable amount of weight they will band her. They said that for some it is 10% for other less or more. It depends on where you carry your weight. She carries hers in her abdomen so they would want her to lose the most. The difficult part is she doesn't know how much she has to lose so she has to wait the 32 weeks to hopefully have lost enough. I am telling her she probably has to lose 30-40 lbs. She weight in at 270ish I believe. Her doctor is not happy that they are making her wait the 32 weeks as she is in a lot of pain with her back. The consensus is that they make you wait this amount of time to make you so discouraged that you will not have the surgery. So this is my exerperience with Kaiser. Let me know what happens.

Unfortunatly bariatric surgery is quite expensive and their are doctors that take advantage of us. Fact be know that a fill needle costs $20. My doctor charges $200 for a fill that takes about 2 minutes. I really feel they take us for granted sometimes. Good luck with your surgery. Congrats that it is all covered under your medical plan.

I like the steam rooms too.

sashimi is really good for you and is very soft. I would order some sashimi and some rice. That is one of my favorite foods. I fill up really fast on sushi now however. Sashimi I can eat the entire meal.

I have been following Weight Watchers for 2 weeks. The secret for me is sticking to 20 points a day plus the extra points. They wanted me to eat 26 points a day but I wasn't losing on that. I lost 2 lbs this week. My extra points are primarily for alcohol consumption. 1/2 cup of wine is 4 points so you can see how fast those points really do go. I love the point system. I pledged to myself to stick to it for 10 weeks and bought a 10 week pass. My goal is to lose another 10-15 lbs before I have plastic surgery. I think I can do that in 10 weeks. Also, keep in mind that 1 point is 50 calories. That is why I do 20 points day. That plus the bonus points typically puts me at 1200 calories a day. My doctor says that is fine. I am very happy following the Weight Watchers plan. P.S. I was on a plateau just being banded and was down 65 lbs, 105 preop. This has really jump started me again. Good luck. Let me know what you decide.

Wow, that is a lot of protein at one sitting. I am "lucky" if I can get in 1-2 oz. My doctor is fine with that. If you can eat 6 I think you need a fill. Are you losing though? If you lose on 6 then that might be a good level for you but not for me. Good luck.

Butter is so much better for you than margarine. Enjoy.

Good for you! When you get a good fill it makes all the difference. Way to go.

My doctor does fills 2 weeks apart. I would call and see if you can get in now for your fill.

I can only speak for myself. Personally I am happy if I can only eat 1-2 oz of protein at once. I am never able to eat 4 oz at one time. I am very happy with my restriction. I typically have some milk in the a.m. and maybe some soup or lean protein for lunch followed by a very small dinner, 1 oz of protein plus a few bites of vegies. Hope this helps.

I would recommend you get a fill. She is correct, they can go over the recommended fill level. Good luck.

Susan, you are doing the right thing by getting a small unfill. I too PB quite often but am trying to slow that down but eating smaller amounts and bites, so far so good. Let us know how you do. Having a band too tight can easily lead to a slip so you are making the right decision. Good luck.

You will know when you find the right plastic surgeon. I wanted to hug her I liked her so much. I am really glad you are looking into other surgeons. I believe you will find the right one. P.S. Don't be afraid to have your arms revised. It sounds like there are a lot of positive posibilities with that. Good luck!

I take all sizes of pills. As a matter of fact, I just took a horse pill that is Omega 3 fats. It just depends. YOu have to test the water. Good luck. P.S. I have great restriction and have been banded for 21 months.

Mine paid all but $2500 plus no fills. The fills have probably run me another $3k the last 21 months. Good luck to you. It is so worth it!