Padanelle

Tuna fish is a quick Protein fix. I also add Protein powder to Jello SF/FF pudding, so 1/2 cup is about 115 calories, 10 g protein & 1.5g fat(1% milk. Be sure to read the labels on low fat/fat free products, as the sugar content is often quite high.

I was banded on Jun 8. My insurance only would cover me as an out-patient, but my incision kept bleeding, so they kept me until the next morning. Everyone was super. Most of it was a blur, and I probably wouldn't remember most of it, if I hadn't made notes. The nurses were very attentive and I felt like I was in the best of hands. When I wasn't sleeping, I watched TV. I had an IV, which assume had pain meds, so other than getting in/out of bed, I don't recall being in much pain. The literature thay gave prior to surgery stressed not waiting till being in pain to take the meds, so I took the pain med regularly for several days after I got home. When is your surgery?

Jenny, Good luck on Friday. Dr Fielding is also my surgeon. He did a single incision. I can't say enough wonderful things about him and his entire operating team. Joan

That's awful! Hope you have a better nexperience next time. I thought if they do an x-ray with the fill, its usually done before the fill. I'm always amazed how different each surgeon's practices are. You really have a VERY conservative doctor. I remember he made you wait what seemed like forever to be able to take a shower after surgery. So you have to wait 3 weeks after a fill before you eat solids? How long were you on solids before your fill? Good luck. I certainly don't have the knowledge to criticize another surgeon's instructions, but this is a hard enough jopurney to get used to and it sounds like he is sure making it hard to stay on track.

I bought this before my surgery. I was so worried about suggestions on what I would be able to eat. I like to cook, and now that I am 2 months post op, I realize I probably can just wing it, adapting my regular recipes. There are some really interesting recipes, and the advice at the beginning is very helpful. Also, each recipe gives the nutritional breakdown, plus tips on how to adapt it for different WLS, and different post-op stages.

I had my second fill last week, and if I don't conswciously think about it, I still gulp most of my liquids, specially water. I know I'm going to regret it one of these days.

Restless is correct. Drinking water won't east the burning of spicy food. Rice is a good solution, although bandsters have to be careful with rice. When you think about it, no wonder rice is often served with Mexican and Asian food.

My surgeon gave me a choice between LB or Realize, and I left the decision to him. I have the LB AP Standard 10 cc.

I take paxil, which has a tendency to cause some people to gain weight. However, when I have tried to diet in the past, I don't believe it affected my weight loss. I agree with willowcat, that id the meds ghelp your frame of mind, you will be more likely to have success with your weight loss.

I had my first fill exactly one month after surgery, with absolutely no problems. I barely felt the fill (4 cc) & was glad to be on liquids for 2 days afterwards, as I really didn't feel like eating much. Like Cathy, I had to drink water before leaving the dr's office. I had my 2nd fill (1 cc) last Thurs, and agin, was not really hungry afterwards, and happy to just have liquid protein for a few days.

I've had 2 fills, and after each of them for the first day or 2. I was not at all hungry. Fortunately, since my doctor wants me to be on liquids for 2 day, I can still get my Protein in. I usually have the Isopure Zero Carb Protein drinks. One 20oz bottle has 40g protein. I read that our body tends to average out out protein intake, so it sounds like having low amounts of protein for a day or so, shouldn't hurt, as long as you normally consume proper amounts. If you aren't eating for more than 2 days, definately call your doctor. Good luck.

Everyone is different on how they heal. I was lucky that I didn't suffer much from the gas from the co2. Maybe it had to do with my surgeon only making one incision. I'm 2 months post op, and I'm still taking gas-x. There's no pain - just the frequent urge to fart. Sigh! I keep a food journal, and if anything notable happens, I also enter it, like whenever I exercise - still a rarity at this point, any discomfort I may experience (it took a week before I could get in/out of bed with our major pain), when I noticed the swelling start to go down (10 days), my fills and reactions to them, how I handle certain foods, etc. The food journal helps keep me on track. Any discomforts experienced along the journey so far are just a distant memory - although I did have my first sliming experience yesterday - and the excitement of seeing the scale go down keeps me going, even though at times it not moving as fast as I would like. Each day is a new experience.

My surgeon advises to put the fork down after every bite, chew thoroughly, and wait 1 minute afterwards. I'm still having problems with waiting more than about 15 seconds. Hopefully that will improve.

I also thought that I would continue to need Isopure when I went to solids, but I was surprised how much protien i can get from fish. meat, some cereals and other choices. I do add protein powders to pudding, and on days when I'm not hungry or too busy, I have half bottle of Isopure. I never noticed the smell, but then I don't have a great sense of smell. I always keep a few bottles of my favorite flavors of Isopure zero carb in the fridge.

I met with my nutritionist last week and she recommended that Kashi Go Lean. She did say to be careful not to eat more than a portion of it at a time.

There are 2 types of gas pain. One is a result of the surgery from the co2 that is pumped into you, which is usually felt in the shoulder or back. Only walking and time will help that. The other is in your internal organs, which gas-x can help.

Hi UWS, I had my 2nd fill last week. So far, I have not had any problems, but today the inevitable happened. I had a small episode. I finished my mushies yesterday, and back on solids today. I had just finished a bowl of Cereal, and as I was mindlessly watching TV I started to munch on the dry cereal. What was I thinking!!! Fortunately, after about five minutes some saliva came up and the pain went away. Glad it wasn't worse. I'm probably going to stay on mushies for another day or so, so I don't further iritate anything. I understand steak is one of the more difficult foods for bandsters to handle. I tried it several times about 10 days after my first fill, cut it in super tiny pieces, and had no problems. When I saw the nutritionist afteer my fill last Thurs, she reminded me that just because I was able to eat something after my first fill, doesn't mean I will not have a problem after this fill. I guess we need to start cautiously after each fill to see wheich foods we can tolerate. Joan

That's good. Hang in there. The first week is the hardest, but for most people it gets easier every day.

Thought some of you might find this interesting... 5 Ways Vitamin D Could Save Your Life 'GMA' Medical Contributor Marie Savard Explains the Best Ways to Get Vitamin D By RAQUEL HECKER Aug. 3, 2009 — Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin, and it has a lot of sunny benefits, but most Americans aren't getting them because they aren't getting enough of it. Between 50 percent and 75 percent of Americans get suboptimal levels of vitamin D, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Now a committee at the Institute of Medicine is meeting to determine whether the recommended daily intake of vitamin D should be increased. ABC medical contributor Dr. Marie Savard came on "Good Morning America" today to offer five ways vitamin D can aid your health and tell you how to get more of it. Why People Are Vitamin D Deficient Nature gave us only one good source of vitamin D, and that is the sun. We are meant to absorb vitamin D from the sun through our skin. When we lived closer to the equator and worked outdoors, we were OK. But that is not the case today. And food is not a good source of vitamin D, not even fortified food. Five Ways Vitamin D Can Save Your Life Promotes Weight Loss - You need vitamin D to effectively lose weight. Your insulin works better, and vitamin D helps you lose belly fat. Diabetes is also related to low vitamin D levels. Reduces Risk of Death - Your overall mortality is reduced. Fewer Bone Fractures - Without vitamin D, Calcium can't be absorbed. But if you get enough vitamin D, it can help you avoid osteoporosis, bone fractures and falling, which is a cause of morbidity among the elderly. Reduces Risk of Heart Disease - Vitamin D improves blood flow by relaxing the blood vessels and lowering blood pressure. Helps Fight Cancer - Vitamin D improves the functioning of your immune system, and that helps fight cancer. Five Ways to Get Vitamin D 15 Minutes of Sun 3 Times Per Week - You can get 10-15 minutes of high-noon sun exposure in warmer climates a few times a week. In the South you can do this all year long; but in the North it will work only in the summer months. But this is unrealistic for those who already wear sunscreen all day, or have been warned to stay out of the sun by their doctors. Fatty Fish and Cod Liver Oil - If you are one of those people who have been warned to stay out of the sun, another good natural source of vitamin D is fatty fish. In food, vitamin D is naturally found in fatty fish like salmon and in cod liver oil. Fortified Dairy Products - You also can get vitamin D in fortified dairy products. But you need to be careful. There are only 100 units of vitamin D per cup, so kids and most adults would need at least four cups of dairy products per day. You could drink four glasses of milk a day, but most people choose not to. Multivitamin supplements - Most Multivitamins have a substantial amount of vitamin D. Vitamin D Supplements - I recommend 1000 to 2000 international units of vitamin D supplements every day. It's cheap, there are no side effects or down sides. Although D3 is considered more potent and longer lasting, both D2 and D3 are acceptable. Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures

My nutritionist had recommended Herb Ox, but it tasted like dishwater to me, and only has 1g Protein. I'm glad I found the uUnjury. You can order it online (unjury.com. There is usually a link to it on the forum pages. Everyone is different in their reactions to surgery. Malifosa mentioned that chicken broth made her nortous. But I found it very comforting. I use the unjury chicken broth a lot in the mushie stage, adding it to Soups, mashed potatoes, and other soft dishes to have extra protein. Good luck.

My post op instructions were to water down the protein shakes. It is important to get your protein in. Erin, you might want to try the Unjury chicken broth protein powder. I think it tastes quite good, and I find the warm broth soothing.

The fill should help. You mentioned you are almost 2 weeks post op. Are you eating solidsalready? If you're still in the mushie stage, its easy not to feel full, as the food easily slides down. Hang in there. It usually takes awhile to find the right restriction, and the foods that work best for you to have that full feeling.

Karnold, Frequent vomiting is not good, and may cause problems with your band. Call your surgeon right away & discuss it with him/her. It is probably something that can be fixed easily. Even if they take out some of your fill, it can always be put back in when you can handle the food more easily. Good luck.

The fish that is allowed in the soft food phase unfortunately does not include shrimp. It refers to flakey fish that you can easily cut with a fork. As Rutiglius mentioned, shrimp is one of those foods that a lot of people have problems with. I cautiously ytried it when I was on solids, and did not have any problems. I cut it in very small pieces and chewed it thoroughly. Rice, like Pasta, can also be a problem food, as if it is not well cooked, it can expand in your pouch and cause a problem. Sticky rice is a no-no. With other rice, proceed cautiously, and see how you can handle it. When are you allowed to start on solids?