ParrotheadCathy

Step One: Call the doc's office and tell them that you desperately need another fill and they have put you off enough and that you need to come in immediately. You're NOT going to experience a steady consistent weight loss without this. Step Two: Find out if your doc's office offers a live support group. If so, GO. Since my surgery, my group has had meetings about portion control/eating plan (among other things) and you could really benefit from that. IF they don't offer that, look around at other doctors/surgeon groups that do WLS and see if you can go to a support group there. Step Three: Get an eating plan in place. Minimum of 60 grams of Protein per day. An average meal should be 3 oz. of lean protein (looks like the same size as a deck of cards roughly), steamed or raw vegetables (raw can be a problem as you get more restriction so really chew well and take small bites). Wait 15 minutes. If you still feel hungry, eat a serving of whole grain carbs. If you get hungry in less than 4 hours, eat protein. A boiled egg, half a cup of low fat cottage cheese, an ounce of low fat cheese (string cheese, Kraft puts up snack bites of 1 ounce each individually wrapped 2% fat cheese, Sargento puts up a 2% colby-jack piece of cheese individually wrapped like string cheese in packs of 12 that are a little less than an ounce). Eventually, with enough fills to give you the restriction you need, you should be able to go 4 hours between meals comfortably. You haven't failed, NOT BY A LONG SHOT. You've reached out for advice and you know what to do to move forward. It's all okay!

Well, you could always do a first date thing that isn't at a dinner table .... a hot movie that just came out (buy your tickets in advance at Fandango or similar website to guarantee the seats), a sporting event (take me to a Braves game ANY DAY), a Saturday visit to the mountains for hiking or something along these lines. Second date, yeah, go to dinner. Frankly, if a date questions me about how much food I eat or don't eat, I'm going to think that's pretty darned rude! BUT if the question does come out, the answer should be something along the lines of "well, it's no big deal, I'm just trying to keep my boyish figure...and it's getting harder as I get a little older". Explanations will come out if the relationship progresses but I really don't think a woman worth anything would be put off by it when the time comes. I think it's very easy to make more of something than is necessary. Just relax and be you ... and let your personality carry the day. I've been in long-term relationships with a few men in my life....and I can honestly say that I never asked "why do you have this scar" or "this bruise" or whatever. It never mattered to me. The first year is the time when you can "model" a scar. there are multiple products that do this. Mederma is probably the most commonly known and readily available but there are others. You can minimize the scars this way. Frankly I'm 3 months out and with the exception of the port scar, the others are fading nicely and I can see where a little mederma would make a big difference.

Sometimes the learning process that goes with this is TOUGH. You're certainly finding that out. You've given up some really bad habits and now you're working on this one, this eating. I can only say, get out of the house. Go to the movies (yes, even if it means going alone -- once you're in your seat, you're not alone anymore), call a friend to go walking with you. But get out of the house and do something that requires your brain to be involved. You CAN do this.

I discarded the idea of bypass surgery back before I'd ever even heard of a lap band. Why? (1) I didn't want my stomach cut apart. (2) The "bypass" part of gastric bypass means they skip (bypass) part of your intestines as well. This can lead to a somewhat common complication ... malnutrition. I didn't want to worry that even though I could eat what was right it might not be enough good nutrition for me. (3) Dumping syndome... you eat something sweet or maybe greasy and your intestines suddenly decide to "dump" everything inside you....feces, partially digested food, digestive juices....and all in an uncontrolled, fairly sudden urge. (4) I wanted to have a normal life .... birthday cake, maybe a few bites of ice cream now and then. I didn't want the negatives I perceived about GB taking away that flexibility. So there are my reasons. I didn't need five. But, actually, there was one more. I never thought I was SOOOO fat that I had to do that to myself.

It's different, but I don't think in the way you mean. Most, if not all of us here, know very well how to recognized "stuffed to near exploding".... we did it often enough. With the band you cannot eat the way your used to ... that is, you can't inhale large quantities of food so fast you hardly taste it. You have to take small bites, and then you have to chew them well. This slows down how long it takes you to eat a meal. If you eat fast, don't chew well and/or take big bites then you're in for a rude surprise. You'll get stuck, it will hurt ... and sometimes you'll PB and you'll swear you don't want to do that again. In the process of all this, you will eat the meal in the size you've been told to eat and you'll discover that your stomach isn't screaming at you. In fact, it's quiet. It's called satiety. That's the new full. You will learn what full feels like. What youo think of as full, isn't full; it's overstuffed. Now, if you don't think you can stick to "the plan", as it were, this isn't for you. You're still going to have to make good choices for the food you do eat. And you'll have to learn to take small bites and chew them well. You'll have to bypass "slider" foods. This isn't a magic wand kind of thing. You have to do your part. These facts may be difficult for you and if that's the case, then, perhaps, the band ISN'T for you.

Reflux is a very common symptom of being too tight. In your case, since it started immediately after a fill, I'd say you need to go back to your doctor for a slight unfill. Sometimes as little asa .2cc removed can make a huge difference.

Well, how about a facial or massage? The absolute cutest outfit that fits when you have an event come up. A pretty piece of jewelry at 50 pounds gone to remind you always of how good you felt the day the scale reflected that. Fresh flowers.

Basically, you should be fine. Maybe you'll get a little tired, so naps might be a good idea. The biggest hurdle, in my opinion, is that you will be on the post-op liquid diet and it will be much better if you take stuff with you. If you have to stay in a hotel, get a room with a fridge and microwave and take your liquids with you if you drive or shop after you get there if you fly.

No, not unless you decide to start eating as much food as you can possible stuff in there at every meal. After you reach your sweet spot, the doctors like to see their patients about every six months. Be aware that small amounts of saline (for lack of a better word) evaporates. On some visits, the doctor may after talking to you about your eating habits and weight loss decide to pull all the fluid from your band to check that there is no change and if there is, will "top it off" to where you were.

Two things.... First one isn't really swelling but some people call it that. The doc will pump gas into your abdominal cavity to provide a larger working area. After he closes you up, that gas will make your belly seem a little bigger than before surgery....until the gas is absorbed by your blood stream and filtered out. Second, the doctor is going to mess with your stomach. He'll move it around, put a belt on it and then your stomach will say WTF??? And that will cause some swelling That can take as long as a week to go away. You will not have much of an appetite at all until that swelling goes away. The needle stick for a fill doesn't hurt. It's a little prick. And, many docs will do a fill with lidocaine...a tiny prick numbs the area first. Then you don't feel the needle that goes into the port. Yes, you can feel your port...if you know what you are feeling. The doctor/physicians assistant/nurse practitioner knows what it feels like for sure. I have never had fluoroscopy and they've never missed, ever. Some docs feel more comfortable with the fluoro, and in those rare cases where a port turns or gets flipped, fluoro is very useful in guiding them to the exact spot. And here's the other potential for swelling -- when the do a fill, your stomach around the band area may get irritated and swell a little. I do not believe this has ever happened to me.

Specifically, it happens when you eat too fast, take too big a bite and/or don't chew well enough. You swallow it and it gets stuck. You've probably experienced being stuck but this is a really really bad "stuck". Then you start producing a lot of saliva, sometimes it's foamy, and then the food that's stuck comes back up. Contrary to what some say, it is NOT vomiting. All that comes back up is more saliva and the food that got stuck. No partially digested food mixed with stomach acid, no heaving, just the food that got stuck gets regurgitated.

Sorry, I missed that! My younger granddaughter is 12. I pretty much told her what I said above .... that I was tired of being fat and that I found out that the doctor could help me with this problem. And Hannah, bless her heart, said "I love you fat or not Mimi, but if it will make you happier then it's cool".

You don't say the ages of your kids but I will say that most kids don't want complicated, drawn out explanations and discussions. The younger they are, the more simple you should keep the discussion. Tell them that you're tired of being fat (they KNOW you're fat but don't care....but if you say you don't want to be anymore, that's good enough for them), and that the doctor is going to put a band around your tummy to HELP you lose weight. If you're going to be overnight at the hospital, tell them that the doctor wants to watch you to make sure you feel okay. And tell them that when you come home you might feel tired for a few days and could use a little help. 99% of pre-teen kids love to think they are truly helping Mom and/or Dad so give them things to do .... get you a popsicle or a bottle or water, answer the phone, bring the mail in....or whatever. They may ask what kind of band (a plastic belt is the most simple explanation) but with little guys, do tell them it's not a rubber band, LOL. A friend told her child (age 5) and she didn't want to be fat anymore so the doctor was going to put a band around her tummy to help her lose weight. The little girl was quite happy with that explanation. About a week after surgery, a neighbor asked Mom how she was feeling and the little girl chimed in "My Mommy got a rubber band put around her tummy so she won't be so fat".:grouphug:

You were lucky. One friend of mine had a PB (her first) at dinner one night while on a cruise. Had no clue what was happening so it happened at the dinner table in fronto f 7 other people. We were all friends of hers so it was okay, but she was super embarrassed. Another friend tells the story that she and her husband were at dinner with their 2 kids. Sitting in a booth and her husband was on the outside seat. She felt the PB coming and told him to "get up get up, I've got to get the bathroom" but he just didn't get the urgency, so she ended up with the results of the pb landing in his lap and freaking him out....and sending her kids into gales of uncontrollable laughter because dad was so freaked out, LOL.

Also, Trish, you don't look old enough for AARP (50 is the minimum) but someone might benefit from this. If you are a member of AARP, you may be eligible to joing an AARP-endorsed group health plan.

I can't compare. I had gallbladder surgery back when they cut you from your sternum to your appendix, and was in the hospital for 10 days and out of work for 6 weeks. And I had my tubes tied when they repaired an incisional hernia in my C-section scar and released adhesions, so again an open surgical procedure.

Trish, there are ways around the whole pre-existing condition stuff and the band stuff would fall in that category. You can actually become a group with only one member in some states. In others, you can form a group of two by hooking up with someone else looking to self-insure. Some insurance companies offer groups you can join, as well. The idea behind forming a group is that you get group rates, pre-existing conditions are not excluded, etc. I suggest you talk to an insurance broker for more assistance. Where are you? I know an excellent broker in Oklahoma but otherwise I can't really make a recommendation.

Hey, patch. I think that's pretty much it. The Lap Band AP comes in two sizes (10cc and 14cc, but both are new to the marketplace, replacing the old 4cc band). Realize (manufactured by Johnson & Johnson) comes in only one size, works the same way but the port is shaped a little different ... haven't seen one in person but I hear it is a little more flat. Lose2, the best way would be to ask "What band will you use?" If the doc says "Realize" then there's only one possibility. If he says "Lap Band" then ask what size.....If the answer is 4cc (and I seriously doubt it will be), then ask specifically for the newer version.

Monkey's right... No way have you eat 14,000 extra calories in the past two days. I note from your ticker that with all the problems you've had, you are actually 21 pounds below goal. Your body may indeed be holding onto everything you put into it but if you are actually underweight, should you be so upset over 4 pounds? Just make the adjustments such that you are eating, not drinking your calories, and you are truly controlling sugar and fat intake. Everything should level out on its own with those tiny changes.

I had so very little time to make adjustments in advance! I saw the doctor for the very first time on 1/2 and had surgery on 2/10. I was able to give up Diet Coke prior to surgery! My drinking/not drinking instructions are to stop drinking 30 minutes before a meal. Do not drink during the meal, and then do not drink anything for 30 minutes after the meal. I've had to work at not wanting to drink when I eat but I will say that not being able to drink with meals has enforced the chewing well and taking small bites!

If you were stuck, you'd know it. "Stuck" comes with it's fair share of pain/discomfort and it doesn't come and go. I'd say things might be a little irritated. Go ahead and try mushy food and see how it feels.

KSill asked my question....Looks like you're eating pretty much all slider food. Are you limited to mushy food still or could you eat solids but just aren't? As you move from liquids to mushies and then solids, you very well may see a gain. Your body is learning that "real" food is coming again and may hold onto what you take in for a while. Like BamBam, I gained and lost the same 3 pounds more than once and it was frustrating me but the reality is that you are still healing. Give yourself this time. Once you start getting fills, feeling restriction, what you eat and how much will change and the pounds will start coming off. The only things I noticed in your sample menu are little things .... are the refried Beans low fat? Is the canned fruit canned in natural juice or syrup (Avoid it if it is canned in syrup...loaded with sugar). Aim for at least 60 grams of Protein a day (keeps you full longer than other stuff) and hang on! When is your first fill? That's when everything starts moving in a positive direction. Once you've had a few fills and reach your sweet spot, you should start losing consistently every week.

Doesn't matter if we think you qualify. Call your insurance company (there should be a customer service number on your insurance card). Give them your policy number and ask them (1) does the policy cover weight loss surgery? (2) If yes, what are their specific requirements so that they will approve the surgery.

That's what we all love to hear! Congratualtions!

I haven't, but it should be covered by your FSA. It's an evaluation administered and reviewed by a medical professional. You could always call the FSA people again. You'd probably get a different person. I'd get names, etc...