june09bandit

Go buy a lottery ticket!!! Congrats on your approval. I still remember how excited I was. And congrats on sticking to the pre-op diet - it's not easy to do.

I didn't make a special appt for this. Did you PCP refer you to the bariatric place? If so, then just call them and ask for the letter.

It depends on what sort of riding you are going to do. I was riding at a walk 2 weeks after surgery. It did hurt and was uncomfortable, so it was a very short ride. At about 5 weeks, I was able to trot a little. At 2 months post op, I was almost back to normal. I can still feel the port move around, but it doesn't hurt so much as just feels funny. Does that help you any?

I'm having the same problem as ocotillo. I really want to keep eating just because it tastes good. It's a true effort to watch hubby pile his plate high while I take a tablespoon of this and that. Still adjusting.

I can't figure out what some of the things I feel mean. Yesterday, I tried to eat a chicken breast. About half way through, I get a horrible tight feeling in the middle of my chest, just below the bra line. Is that what full feels like? Or am I stuck? I've never had a PB or thrown up. This tight feeling makes me either stand up or lay flat till it goes away. I'm sure if I eat another bite at this point, there would be consequences. I just don't know how to interpret the feeling. It seems to be only certain foods that cause it - buns (hamburger or hot dog), chicken and ham so far. Maybe I'm eating too fast? I just don't know what to do about it. I hope someone can interpret for me. Thank you! (yes, I have the feeling right now from a hamburger)

I think this is an Arizona thing - I can't seem to sip it either. Once I start to drink, I'm probably going to drink 12 ounces before I put it down. I think I will have problems after my next fill. That was one of my biggest concerns with the band - how to stay hydrated in the heat!

I went through it too. I kept reading the post op diet over and over thinking I MUST be missing something - it was then that I noticed that "blenderized soup" is a liquid on my doc's diet. Blendered cream of broccoli Soup (with extra milk) never tasted so good. Read your diet again, there may be something that you've overlooked as an option.

Ditto to the sugar free banana pudding. I made it and lots of tapioca pudding made with splenda. Now that I've said it, I think I'll make some tonight!

wow.. good question. I just got banded in June, so I'm still trying to figure out some things as well. Wake up thirsty every morning for unknown reasons. (I get up at 5:30.) Drink a bunch of water while getting ready for work. Fix coffee for the drive in (some docs don't allow coffee). Eat breakfast (either fruit, nut bar or balance bar) about 9:30. For some reasons, eating breakfast make me want to munch on crap. Some days I fight the urge, other days I have a piece of chocolate. Lunch about 11:30. Either leftover meat and veggies from night before, frozen lunch or balance bar. I am always starving when I get home at 4:30 so I try to fix dinner as soon as I get there. Usually grill a meat outside, fix veggies and a box of pasta for hubby. I will eat the meat and veggies and maybe a spoon of the pasta. So no, I really don't totally different foods. We have gone out to eat a couple of times, and I eat 1/3 to 1/2 of the meal. Hope this helps! The biggest adjustment is chewing. If I get too hungry and don't chew enough, it can cause pain. When I stop losing at all, I go back to weighing and measuring to refresh my portion sizes. Good luck!

Let me know how it went!

Good luck with your appointment today. Let me know how it goes!

At the pre-op appt (after Tricare has approved the surgery), he will refer you to various places and give you your surgery date. It's very fast from this point forwardd. For me, it was a nurse practitioner in Tucson for the pre-op consultation and EKG, an Xray place in Tucson and blood work at whatever lab you want to go to (I used the lab in Sierra Vista). The X-ray place is two driveways down from Dr. Schwartz's office, so I went to that immediately after the pre-op appt. You need to get the lab work done before the visit with the nurse practitioner, so I scheduled those at my convenience. The pre-op with the nurse prac was one week prior to surgery. Feel free to ask any questions you may have and I'll try to help. Schwartz will answer questions, but most of the info you'll get will be from his staff.

I had the same problem and came to the conclusion it was from lack of fiber. As soon as I added some vegetables in, it got better. Good luck!

Sounds like you are off to a terrific start. You have a great attitude. Keep up the good work!

I thought I responded to this, but I don't see it, so forgive me if I manage to respond twice. You will also need a letter of medical necessity from your primary doctor. If you take that letter, with your records, you will be ahead in the game. He will give the info about the other evaluations you will need. For me (based on insurance), I just had to do psych eval. Then they submit all the paperwork to insurance. Once it's approved, you'll go back to Schwartz's office for a presurgical appt. Then they will give you the info for blood work and xrays and all the info for the preop diet. Let me know if you have more questions and I'll try to help. Good luck in your journey!

Thank you!

So what does stuck feel like? Sorry to sound stupid, but I'm learning here.... Thanks for the replies!

Dr Scwartz is "different". He does not talk much. Between my pre-op, day of surgery, post op and first fill, I estimate I've spent about 10 minutes total talking to him. He gives you a lot to read, so you have the info, you just won't have long conversations. I did see him smile once though - as he was swinging around with syringe in hand to give me my first fill. But.. I should add, I have had no complications from my surgery to include very little post op gas pain. If he's a great surgeon, I don't care if he's a great conversationalist or not. The more info you take to him from your prior doctors, the easier it will be to get through tricare. He will also require that you get a psychological consult. Even if you have to pay out of pocket, I recommend going with the psych he recommends in Tucson. She knows exactly what questions to ask and how to write it up to improve your odds of getting approved. If you go to his website, it will tell you a little bit about his requirements. If you do a search on this website for tricare, you'll find what others had to provide to get approval. Good luck!

What surgeon in SV? I don't think there are any here that do bariatric procedures at all.

Thank you for the response. I'm still trying to learn how to work with this thing inside me. I haven't eaten much bread at all, but really wanted a hamburger for some reason. Maybe I won't have that craving again for a while since I will remember how it felt. It seems to pop up on one bite. I'll be fine right up till it hurts. It's not a slow progression with warning signs. Another day, another lesson learned.

If your doctor does not prohibit it, you CAN keep drinking it. It is on my doctor's allowed list. I just changed to splenda and 1% milk and sugar free coffee mate. Be sure to check with your doctor first though. This is one of those things that some allow and some do not. Good luck!

Mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs were my weapons of choice. Something will get in your mind and stay there, and that's what you'll have and love!

I'm about a month ahead of you, also banded by Dr. Schwartz. I'd be happy to help you if I can!

It's all up to you. I decided to use the weight that the anesthesiologist took on the way to the OR. That happened to be my high, but it really is where I started. I didn't lose much at all the first 2 weeks after surgery. I seem to be level for 2 weeks at a time, then see a loss on the third week. Don't give up.

Ok, we are all looking forward to our first fills now. I got mine yesterday. It took about 1 minute total. I have to admit, the needle was HUGE!!! I was immediately nervous when I saw it, but he didn't give me time to dwell on it. He stuck it in the port and inserted all the fluid before I even had time to react (3 ccs. Now the really surprising part.. it didn't hurt.. at all. I can't explain it, but I swear, it was totally painless - or pain along the lines of a mosquito bite. Good luck to you all! The 2 days of liquids sucks though.