ParrotheadCathy

It's not that unusual to not lose anything between surgery and when you start getting fills....or just lose a small amount. Your first fill probably won't get you close to your sweet spot, but you're officially on your way there. I just got my 4th fill earlier this week (Mon.) and I have reached my sweet spot. 3 meals a day of lean Protein (3 oz., looks like about the same size as a deck of cards), steamed or raw veggies (watch the raw stuff because if you don't chew it really well, it can stick even if you have only minimum restriction). I was told to wait 15 minutes. If I still felt hungry, I could have a serving of whole grain carbs. Until you reach your sweet spot, a meal likely will not stave off hunger for 4 hours (which is the goal, a minimum of 4 hours). I was told to eat a snack of low fat protein, such as a boiled egg, an ounce of low fat cheese, 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese, etc. I have even used a few leftover steamed shrimp as a snack. For Breakfast, when I'm always in a hurry, I just drink a Slim Fast Low Carb Diet. This one specifically. It has 20 grams of proten and 2 net grams of carbs. They make several varieties, so look for the boxes clearly marked Low Carb Diet if you choose to use these. For lunch I usually have Soup and some low fat cheese. I cook dinner for my family. Often fish, since we all like it, but pork, beef and chicken are all on the menu.

I said I would DO THINGS I probably wouldn't have done otherwise. In Roatan in March, I went on a 16 cable zip line. Now I have to think up something else, LOL.

If I eat slowly (the very hardest part of the whole band process for me has been learning to eat more slowly), there comes that moment when I no longer feel like my stomach is saying "feed me, feed me". I don't feel overstuffed (which is what "full" used to mean for me) and I definitely don't feel hungry. So that's what full means to me.

It's a good feeling to visualize something separate from yourself like that and know that you have removed that from your body. I saw a lady in the grocery store years ago stacking up boxes of butter. They way 1 pound each. People were looking at her funny so she said, "You see, I've lost 24 pounds and I just wanted to SEE what 24 pounds looks like". Congratulations on your 35 boxes of butter or 7 bags of sugar.......

Sweet potatoes contain alot of stringy Fiber and that's where the problem lies. Same thing with asparagus. I can eat crackers (not many) and I can put a few croutons on a salad -- but I can't eat soft bread at all. So at least you can eat pita bread... Tonight I ate about 2 tablespoons of hummus and a few crackers and that was my supper. I'm stuffed. I had cooked a meatloaf for everybody else but it just wasn't working for me. Oh well.

Do you happen to have the 14cc band? If so, you are in the range of where you should be finding restriction. Regardless, when they did the last fill, did they draw out all the saline in the band to confirm that you had 5ccs in your band before they added the 3ccs? My doc always draws out everything in the band the verify that there is as much as my file shows.....

Call the California insurance commissioner's office. I don't think if they are a contracted provider with BCBS that they can refuse then to provide a service because they don't like the amount that BCBS pays. If you must change docs, etc., ASK BCBS for names of surgeons on their provider list who used surgical facilities also on their provider list.

Like Monkey, I had loose BMs while on the liquid diet but as soon as I moved to mushy food that was the end of that. I now go less often (less eaten, less to get rid of) than pre-surgery. I do take a fiber supplement every day (a heaping tablespoon of Benefiber every morning), but I don't know if that has anything to with anything.

You shouldn't be throwing up three times a day. that has likely irritated your esophagus to the point that it bleeds. Please call your doctor ASAP and go see him! Somebody needs to get to the bottom of the issue soon.

I was given a card to keep in my wallet (next to my driver's license) that says I have a lap band and gives my surgeon's contact information.

Any Protein that is dry can cause you a problem. If you're using boneless, skinless chicken breasts they are VERY dry. I've posted this so many times before, but you can put that boneless, skinless breast on a square of foil, put a couple of tablespoons of chicken broth on it, season it, add broccoli and carrots and even a little diced onion, wrap the package up and put it on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes at 350-375. Comes out very moist, tender, with the vegetables ready to eat and clean-up consists of throwing away the foil and wiping off the baking sheet. You can cook beef this way, too, but use beef broth. I cook fish this way as well but I don't put the vegetables in the package when I cook fish because I don't like my vegetables to taste like fish. If you cook a chicken breast with the bones and skin, it will also be more moist. Just don't eat the skin.

I have 2 incisions .... one is about 2", where the port is, and the other is about 1", a little further down and slightly to my right from the bigger incision. I also have three lilttle "poke holes" that were not as big around as a pencil. One has already faded to nothing and the other two are close. They healed absolutely flat and you can't feel them if you aren't looking at them. I know some doctors are starting to do a 1 incision surgery where they go in at the belly button but haven't actually heard any comments about it from anybody.

I was also told no carbonation. That was the push I needed to give up Diet Coke. Soda isn't good for you anyway, so I'm happy that it's out of my life.

Angelo, Dr. Hart did my surgery! He is fantastic. A bit soft spoken but willing to sit with you and answer all your questions. The staff is wonderful too. Dr. Orris is the medical director (non-surgical end) and Anitra is a wonderful physician's assistant. I am still so pleased with my choice of Dr. Hart and True Results! I had surgery on Tuesday and went back to work on Friday. Got a little tired by the end of the day but was fine! You shouldn't lose muscle .... you can start walking as much as you feel up to the day of surgery or the day after. You will get released for more aggressive exercise sometime after your 10 day post-op visit. That will keep muscle in place and tone it up. And that will assist your weight loss even more because muscle burns fat but fat doesn't. If you are interested, True Results has a forum as well. Go to www.trueresults.com and click on COMMUNITY on the upper right had corner. It's not as busy a forum as this one but I've made friends there!

Really TALK to your surgeon. You have plenty of questions and need answers. Tell him you need to know EXACTLY what is going on.

Depending on how aggressive this first fill is (or isn't) you may not feel much restriction at all. I just had #4 two days ago and I am finally feeling the restriction I've been waiting impatiently for.

Lauren, a lot of us have a period during the day where we feel much tighter than the rest of the day. Morning is the most common time to feel that way. I am tight in the mornings so I have a protein shake for breakfast. If you'll drink something warm like tea or coffee, that can make it a little looser so that you can eat soft foods. If you can eat more in the daytime, when it comes time for dinner, you won't be starved out of your mind.

I have a 2" incision over my port, which is to my left. I have 3 poke holes and 1 incision that's about 1". Two of the poke holes have already faded almost completely and are flat. The other one is on its way. The two incisions are flat to the touch but are still red but I expect them to fade out too -- but I'm only 3 months out from surgery. I can feel my port if I press on it. I've lost 57 pounds and still want to lose 79 more so it might become easier to feel and perhaps see, but it's maybe as big around as a nickel.

Coughing up what looks like coffee granules is really digested blood. This most likely means that you have a GI bleed, like a bleeding ulcer . This happened to me 18 months ago; I had a bleeding ulcer. The treatment was special acid control medication and they did a blood test for hpylori, which is a bacteria that can cause ulcers. I tested negative, but had I tested positive, I would also have to had taken some antibiotics. Please don't postpone a phone call to your doctor!

Until I came on this forum, I'd never heard of a blood test for nicotine. Try googling it or something if nobody responds.

You should at least consider making an appointment with your doctor. Small amounts of Fluid can "evaporate" from the band over time. That's why, I was told, you should see your doctor every 6 months even if you have been at your sweet spot. The other possibility is that you just had a bad day. Now, I'll grant, that wasn't the absolute worst thing you could have eaten but try to stay away from Taco Bell :redface:. It means pulling yourself up by your sexy sandal straps and getting back to the "plan" but you can do it and you know you can. We know you can, too!

I never took any pain medications at all, not even Tylenol. Quite a few people say that Tylenol was all they needed. So if you have to skip pain meds to go on an interview, it's not like they're likely to call and say "be here in 30 minutes". I drive starting the second day out but could have driving the first day out if I'd needed to because of no pain meds. Surgery on Tuesday, back to work on Friday.

You can eat around a lap band, you can eat around gastric bypass. It happens. Slider foods, sugary drinks, too many carbs and alcohol are just come of the things that can contribute to regaining weight. I assume since you are here posting, you don't like what's happen and want to fix it. So my questions are, when was the last time you went to the doctor and got a fill? How full are you and what size band? If you haven't been to the doctor in the past six months, GO. Fluid levels in bands can decrease slightly over time; bands can sometimes leak. Get it all checked out, get a fill ... and get to work.

You need to talk to your insurance company. Some insurance companies require 3 or 6 months of supervised dieting before they will approve lap band surgery. Usually, your surgeon's office can be the one to supervise this diet period. If you are self-pay, then don't worry about it. You don't have to do it. It is only an insurance requirement. If you haven't talked to your insurance company yet, I would recommend calling. Find out that they for sure cover lap band surgery, what their requirements are (most have a minimum BMI that you must have been at for a specified period of time) and depending on your BMI, may require co-morbidities. Supervised diet is another possible requirement, along with a psych. evaluation and visit(s) with a nutritionist. Find out what doctors in your area are approved by your insurance so that you start out with an approved doctor, too.

I was there at like day 8 -- and really, as I've gotten fills, it has slowly improved. Got my 4th fill yesterday and if this isn't my sweet spot, it's VERY CLOSE. Just have to wait and see if the restriction lasts longer than a week. bear in mind, though, that the only Fluid in my band after surgery was .6cc which was left in when the doctor drained the band after testing it before he put it in place. That's pretty much the same as nothing. I now have 5.6ccs and this is the first time after a fill that I saw the need for liquids the rest of the day. Heck, I think I pretty much want liquids today! I've been kinda stuck at 55 pounds gone but I'm expecting to break that when I get on the scale next. How much "prep" is a small amount? Do you know how much is in your band? I've read people's comments here that they have 5ccs post-op and some even had to get an unfill when they were on the liquid post-op diet.