AngieB2009

This is from another website forum I am a member of. It speaks to Obestity Control Center patients, so some of the tips you will find not to partain to you as you won't be flying in for a fill in most cases. I was banded in Tijuana, Mexico by Dr. Ariel Ortiz and Dr. Martinez. I pulled this information from lapbandforum.com. Please note, your Dr. may advise you to do something different than what is listed on this sheet. I am posting it here because it has some great tips on it about getting a good fill. Take what you want and leave the rest behind! I am scheduled for my 1st fill on June 1st! I am looking forward to that date you can bet your bottom dollar! Increase Your Chances for a Good Fill The following suggestions are good rules of thumb and will greatly increase your chances of getting a good fill. 1. Make sure you are very well hydrated when you come in for your fill appointment. That means at least 6 to 8 full glasses of liquid every day for at least several days before the fill. (Remember, Water is your friend). Drink especially well the morning of the fill. If you're flying in, it can be much harder to stay hydrated, so take an empty drink bottle and fill it after you pass airport security. TSA rules state you can bring an empty water bottle past the TSA security check point. Ask the flight attendants for a refill of your water bottle if needed. They say that every hour you’re in the air, you lose 8oz of Fluid. So, If your flight is 3 hours long, your down 24oz of fluid. So drink up! 2. Do not to have any solid foods for at least 6 hours before the fill. Don't eat a huge or late dinner the night before. If you're having any trouble (reflux, possible slip, etc) please have nothing but fluids after dinner the night before. In some cases, food can still be in the pouch for 12 or more hours. Any food in the pouch will make it impossible to give a good fill, or get a good fluoro. 3. Don't drink cold fluids for an hour before the fill. That will shrink your stomach and give a false fluoro reading, and a poor fill. Room temp fluids are fine. 4. Avoid getting a fill during a menstrual period or a few days before an expected one. During this time, girls are usually retaining water, and the fluoro will not be as accurate, and the fill will not be either. 5. If at all possible, hang around for at least a few hours after a fill. Don't run right back home or to the plane. It takes the normal swelling after a fill 1-2 hours to develop, and by that time you might be too tight and need to come right back. 6. If you fly in, If at all possible, stay overnight and catch a plane out the following late afternoon or evening. If you are too tight, this will allow time to get a small unfill before you leave. This is not very convenient, but sure beats having to possibly return to TJ in a few days, on short notice, in pain, and at high last-minute plane fares! This is "prevention!" Overfills are not common, but they do happen, even under the best of conditions. Be prepared, and think about this overnight stay. Test your fill the next day before you leave. 7. After a fill, please have liquids only for at least 24 hrs. This allows the stomach to rest and heal. Then, a day of soft foods, then back to regular foods. Full liquids are fine, no need for clears. Remember, if you staying over night test your fill before you fly out. 8. Review the eating and food guidelines again before every fill. You’ll need to refine your eating more and more with higher fill levels, and there will be less and less room for goofs. As you reach a higher fill level, you'll no longer be able to "get away" with things you might have before! 9. Please don't get a fill if you are having any trouble with the current level of fill. This means any regular pain, PB or barfing more than maybe once a week at the very most, not able to get enough calories in, not able to drink enough, able to eat only soft foods or fluids. More fill will NOT help, and will make things worse. Discuss all this carefully with your doctor. You may even need an UNFILL, to keep your band and stomach safe. 10. First fills are routinely given at 6-10 weeks after surgery, but only as you need them. Many people do, some do not. Your doctor will help you decide if you need a fill, just ask. There is no rush for fills. Too much can very easily get you in trouble, and you end up further "behind" than if you had gone slower with fills. 11. Give a fill at least 2-3 weeks to test it. Some fills don't "settle in" for a week or two, and sometimes more. Your weight loss is what determines how a fill is - not any feeling of restriction, necessarily. 12. One of the most important things in determining if a fill is good is choosing proper band foods. Soft foods, liquids, junk foods, sweets, etc, will never be well-restricted, and will never tell a thing about having a good fill or not. Only solid foods give useful info. A good test meal is 2-4 oz of solid meat or chicken - be sure it's soft and moist - and about 1/2 cup veggies. You should be able to eat about a cup of food (no less) and this should keep you satisfied for about 3-4 hrs. 13. Plan regular meals. A good fill will keep you satisfied for 3-4 hrs, but no longer. If you are hungry 5 hrs after lunch, it is not because you have an inadequate fill! Regular meals at planned times are important for a number of reasons; including avoiding snacking, maximizing your calorie burn and normalizing metabolism, which is essential for weight maintenance later on. 14. Learn to recognize your "soft stop" sign. Common ones are chest tightness or "fullness", a sudden runny nose, a single hiccup or burp, an eye twitch, back pain, left should pain. All mean the pouch is full enough and we should stop eating, even spitting out the bite that may be already in our mouths. If you do not, you could progress to the "hard stop" - slimming, pb, barfing. Please remember that good fills are very elusive, even with highly- experienced docs and fill people. There are just too many individual factors involved that the doctors cannot control. Even the fluoro is only a clue, and not entirely accurate - for some of the reasons above. It usually takes 3- 5 fills to slowly and safely creep up on a good level, and they can be safely given a month apart. Trying to go faster with a bigger fill is not the solution, and the stomach rebels at big sudden fills. The goal of the first few fills is not to achieve a good restriction, but to gradually get your stomach used to some pressure so you can tolerate a good fill later. SLOW and GRADUAL is the key! Going slowly with fills can be frustrating, but is well worth the wait to avoid problems.

Hi I am 265. I have been staying pretty steady. I am on my last week of liquids! Woo hoo! I really thought I would loose more on the liquids protion of the post op. I have not had a scale victory, but I have had none scale victories. Anyone else!? Even thought the lbs or kg's are not dropping off, I as well as my hubby, and co-workers have noticed a change in how my cloths fit. All my clothes are feeling loose and that makes me feel like a success when the scale isn't moving! Plus, I have not gained the pre-op weight back so that makes me feel good to. I have a couple weeks between the liquid diet and my first fill. I am hoping to stay steady then too. My Dr. says 6-8 weeks between the surgery and 1st fill. Waiting is the hard part. BUT I know loosing is on the horizon!

I am sorry to hear that. Can you take some anti-diahrea (sp) medicine to help you?

Whoa! I think you are a rock star now and I am swine! LOL I would have cheated to. Now my cheats look like mortal sins compaired to you! Ugh! You are doing great! Personally I think I would call your Dr or nurse to verify the diet is correct and they have not made an error. Holy Moly how are you keeping your energy up!? Are you dropping weight steady? I am bowing down to you, you just can't see me through the computers!

YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I am on all liquids too. I can have Clear Liquids and full liquids. I have had a few cheats along the way. :cool2: I do stick to mostly liquids during the day. For example one of my cheats was 3/4 cup of tuna helper. Super mushy. I did not finish the portion I took, but it was so good to chew and eat something. How are you doing?

OMgoodness! I agree with you on the food commercials. I have a 16 month old, so most of the TV I watch comes from DVR after he is in bed. So I fast forward through those babies! :laugh: Ya know what else I notice.....food billboards. I don't know if I paid that much attention to them before. We don't or hadn't been eating out much anyway, but now I see them and think grrrr. :cool2: Ha! Not to mention that everything looks and smells better now too! How funny huh! When I hit the drinkable yogurt phase I was like YUM!

Breakfast Drinkable yogurt Protein drink Water lunch Jello Protien drink Water Supper Soup Water This is my diet. Pretty boring! I am on 3 weeks of liquids per my Dr.s orders. Today is day 13 and I wish I had a "mushy" phase to go to. I think a bit of variety would help, or knowing I could actually chew something!

Thanks goodness I am not the only one! It is the weirdest feeling ever. I am so glad someone could relate. Now I don't feel so weird!

Okay I have this strange hiccup think going on. That is the best way I can discribe it. It feels like my stomach is kinda contracting. Sometimes it can feel mildly uncomfortable. Mosty it's just weird. I am wondering what it is and does anyone have this happening to them? It happens when I have something in my stomach and when I don't. Could it be air? I am guessing here.... Oh and on the subject of air. I have burped a few times, and man my burps have changed. It's sorta loud and it feels good. LOL

Great response! I wanted to say WTG! on meeting your goal! Awesome!

Hi LingLing - I have a goal set too. Mine was set for 170 lbs. or 71 kg. My personal goal would be to loose a few more. I guess I am not to worried about it right now. My first major goal is to hit 250. Then I will set another one. I am doing small goals vs large ones. That way I have mini rewards along the way! Woo hoo! I know a few bandsters who are under weight. They look and feel great. They are super skinny but that is what they want! I say go for it! Not being unhealthy, but whatever works for you! Anything is possible!

I have been walking 30 mins a day during the week over my lunch hour. I walk at a comfortable pace, as I have a walking partner who does not walk fast. After my husband recovers from his knee surgery, we have plans to turn out family room into a work out / play room. So that will be nice to have all our equipment in one room! I have not felt a lack of energy, but I have been taking chewable Vitamins or liquid vitamins. Also I have been drinking vita rain from costco. It has vitamins in it but 0 calories.

I recommend taking some liquid Vitamins. That will help with feeling worn out. I to have had my mini cheats. For the most part I am staying on track. Think of this as 3 weeks of treating your stoma right. It's difficult, but we can do it! Soup for me was a disappointment. I liked the drinkable yogurt phase the best. I am going to drink 2 shakes a day, vit-Water and do my best to stick with soup at night. Don't worry about getting off the band wagon, just make sure you jump back on. If you are anything like me, one to many and a thousand is never enough. What I am saying is it is super easy to keep on cheating once I've cheated. I know in my heart that the only person I am hurting is myself. Well, my loved ones too. 3 weeks of a horrible diet is not the end of the world. It's the beginning to a new life! We can do this! We can do this! Hugs! Angie

Hello everyone! I am curious....I only took pain pills the day of my surgery and the following day. I am pain free, no gas pain or anything. I do have mild discomfort if I twist just right. I am able to sleep in any postion I want, even on my tummy. I was concerned about picking up my son, who is 16 months old, and have had not one issue at all. I am suprised by my pain free recovery!!!!:drool: Anyone else as blessed as me? I feel very good and would like to know if I am in the minority?

Hello everyone! I weighted myself this morning and was 264. So down 1 lbs from last week. I thought I would be dropping more lbs. but think I am not getting enough calories on the clear stage? Who knows really, but a 1 lbs is 1 less I have to carry so I will take it and smile! Woo hoo! I get to start cream soups this week! Yay me!

Welcome to the group!

I love it! Great name and you will always be a part of our Bunny group! LMAO!

Oh boy the Pre-op diet was hard for me. Even knowing all the head knowledge! I cheated a small cheat almost every darn day. I did make goal, loosing 5% of my total body weight. Which felt awesome! This is by no means a license to cheat, but just know that by following the diet you are on, you are doing a great job! Your liver is no doubt shrinking and lightening as we speak. You are a sucess! Don't be to hard on yourself! 2 more days and you will be a Bandster! Woo hoo! Hang in there!

Hi Bansters and soon to be Bandster! I am back in the states and would like to weigh in for the past Friday. (Friday was my surgery date in Tijuana.) I met my goal of 5% body weight lost! Can I get a woo-hoo! That felt so good. God knows I struggled on my pre-op! Phew! I was 265 on Friday!!!!! The scale at the OCC and my scale are a little different, so I hope this Friday will be a successful one too!

hey there! Good luck on your surgery. I hope they are right on time so you don't have to wait around! Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Yay! You are now banded, that stinks you had to wait for so long. (Also stinks for the patient ahead of you.) So cool of you to post piccys! I was looking on the internet today for them. :thumbup: I am leaving tomorrow for Tijuana, MX where I will get my band on Friday! I'll be right behind ya!

Hey! I am sorry I am reporting late. My weight for this week is 269. Coming closer to my pre-op goal weight!

KMCD - I am on the 24th right along with you! I am excited too. I figure I will pack my bag this weekend to get that out of the way. I am having my surgery in Tijuana, MX. I'll fly out of Omaha bright and too early in the morning on Thursday. Pre-op testing done Thursday as well. Then Friday morning I will join everyone in Bandland! Hopefully I we won't be in bandster hell and we will both be the "bounce back kids!!!"