Mitchell

I was surprised as well. My list from my doctor is: Clear Liquid Diet in hospital (day of surgery + next day) Full Liquid Diet, 1-day post-op - 1-week post-op. Chopped Diet, 1-week post-op - 1-month post-op. Avoid foods with more than 2gm sugar alcohol 8 cups of fluid between meals Take multi-vitamins Exercise - No lifting over 10lbs first eight weeks after surgery. I do have the Premier Protein shakes, which I liked before the surgery, but after the only one I can tolerate is the chocolate one. I do like the clear one, but it is only 20g, but it also counts as a liquid, so that is a win-win. I was all prepared with caffeine-free coffee and everything, but I was told coffee is fine, so happy dance. I do like seaweed, so I am going to get some of those for snacks and just add protein powders to everything I can since 92 grams seems like a lot.

Hi all. It has been a while since I have posted on the forum. In 2004 I got a Lap-Band put in. It lasted about ten years until complications forced me to get it removed. After that, due to scar tissue fusing my liver and diaphragm to my stomach, I had managed to retain most of the weight loss, but four or so years ago, something changed, and I slowly gained all my weight back. So this year, 2/25/2020, I got the Gastric Sleeve surgery. I am 12 days post-op. My doctor has me on a chopped diet of meats and cooked veggies, cottage cheese, and boiled eggs (and other stuff). My question is, how do I intake 90 grams of protein per day that the dietician said I should have for my height? I am struggling to eat often enough as it is, being without much of an appetite, and other than craving something crunchy (and salt, for some reason, I am craving a lot of salt), I can't see a way of obtaining that much protein every day. Right now, I take protein powder (flavorless) and mix it with a cup of coffee in the morning, which is around 25g. Then I drink two Premier Protein Clear, which is another 40g. A boiled egg and maybe a small portion of cottage cheese with a tiny bit of canned chicken, 10+/- 5 grams, and by that time, the day is over, and I am struggling to think of something else. I was hoping for some creative ideas I can try and incorporate to manage muscle loss on this adventure. I have lost 30.60lbs

Hi everyone. I had my band put in Feb 24 of 2006. I have lost a total of 60lbs over the years. Recently I have been having a lot, lot, of acid reflux and pain when I twist or turn. I have had three surgeries, including the band placement. I don't live in the same state that I had my band put in, so I have been going to a local doctor, but found out he no longer takes my insurance. I am considering getting the band removed, as I am not happy with it, worried sick I have erosion or slippage and dreading another surgery to fix whatever is wrong and then have another issue happen. For those that have had their bands put in in the states, and had to have them removed. Is it covered under insurance? If I have to get this band removed, and possibly in a hurry, will it be covered? What do I do? My current doctor's insurance lady isn't much help, because they don't take my insurance anyway, but I could go back to my original doctor if he would remove it. I am scared and confused, but really want it removed. Anyway have experiences they can share, especially witht he insurance portion. Thanks, -Mitch

Well I went in Wednesday for a Upper GI and when I woke up from that I was in a hospital room. My doctor admitted me after getting the Upper GI. I went back into surgery Saturday morning after a battery of tests and had the band removed. The surgery took 4 hours. Everyone said it went well. I apparently had a lot of adhesion of the band to the stomach and other organs around that area and that was causing my pain when I moved or changed position, so he took it out. He cleaned up a bit of the scar tissue on the outside of the stomach, did some tests to make sure that food would process normally down the stomach and then stitched me back up. He said he could spend the time to clean as much of the scar tissue as he could but that would open me up to more possible complications due to infection and other things so he said he would take what was needed and not a lot more. Which is fine with me. Other than the recovery pains from the surgery I already feel 100 times better. Naturally it has only been 2 days, but I am optimistic and happy to be out of that pain I was having. It is also good to know it wasn't erosion or slippage that was the cause of the pain. Adhesion of the band and fill line to other organs was not something I remember being told about before I got it, though it wouldn't of stopped me. So now I will see how well I learned to eat over the last 3 and a half years and move onwards.

Well it looks like I will be joining you. I went to the surgeon today, that isn't covered and told him what was going on and that something had to be done. He has scheduled an endoscopy tomorrow with the local hospital and is going to see if he can determin what is going on. Then after, if it is needed he is going to remove it that day or Friday. I had all the liquid removed from it today as well, while it has helped stuff go down it has not removed the pain and GERD. So hopefully tomorrow I will get more concrete information. Since I got the GAP coverage for him, the endoscopy will be covered and the surgery will probably be covered if it is an emergency and necessary. I just hope removing it, if that is required, helps because this is just bad. I miss the days right after I got the band where everything felt great, there was a nice restriction. Now, burning, pain, rapid heart beats every now and then, not fun. I will update over the weekend and let you know. He asked me if I wanted to get a gastric sleeve after, he said he usually does that after band removal to maintain weight loss. I told him no thank you, if I had to get it removed I would go at it again the old fashioned way. I think I have learned a lot of good eating habits the last 4 years, I will just see how it goes. Thanks to all for the support, sometimes you think you can go at it alone and learn that is not always the case. It's especially hard when your family is 3000 miles away!

Ya I am sorry too, that is why I have still not convinced myself to get it reversed. Why I fight with the insurance to get the tests done. I figure if anything, when the endoscopy gets done and they can see something, I can make the decision then, call my doctor that did the banding and see if he will reverse it if needed (he ironically does take my insurance, except he is in Nevada). I probably should start preparing them, just in case.

Actually I have had adequate followup care. Minor adjustments to the band, food changes etc. I have had the band going on 4 years, this isn't like I just got it last week. Last year I had symptoms where I felt like someone was pulling on my throat, so I went to a surgeon that specialized in the band and after all the tests they decided it was my Gallbladder and it needed to be removed. So I told the surgeon I didn't think that was what it was but because it had a lot of stones in it taking it out was probably the best thing to do. But I also told him to check the band and check the fill line because the discomfort I was feeling was just that, a pulling sensation. When he removed the gallbladder he found that a section of cavity fat and flopped onto the cable and was indeed pulling the fill line, so he repositioned the cable and also added a stitch to the backside of the band (one had apparently come loose somehow). After that I had minor pains but I just assumed it was the stitch healing. I waited 6 months and got another small fill and everything was fine. Three weeks ago I started getting sharp pains when I twisted my body, I feel like I have something gripping my chest right behind my breast bone. I have seen the surgeon, he wants to do a endoscopy and then a exploratory lapriscopy to check the inside and outside of the area and maybe remove scar tissue and shorten the fill line. My thing is, how many surgeries do I want to have and complications before it is too much? I am not getting younger. This pain is currently barely tolerable. I am taking two nexium a day right now. I can't find a doctor in the area that takes my insurance and does the band, even though I live 15 minutes from Washington DC! Sure there are surgeons around that do t, but none seem to be in the United Healthecare EPO plan (In network doctors only). The current surgeon I am going to was in network and was covered for my regular checkups and maintenance but is now out of network. I did get my insurance to give me a GAP coverage for him to perform the two listed proceedues. Since I couldn't find a doctor within 30 miles and niether could the insurance company. But After 3 surgeries for this, I am beginning to question if it is worth it to have another. The pain I am having right now is not fun, I love the weight loss I have had, but is it worth this? Everyday I wait for help is another that convinces me getting a revision would be worth it. Do I want to get one, right now yes. But maybe it is just a desire to get help for the pain. If I wasn't in pain, or discomfort, I wouldn't want to get it removed. Fear is a powerful thing. I also know where the band is and I know where the pain is, and they are both in the same spot. I was right about the last complication, I am probably right about this one. Naturally I am not an expert surgeon, but I know when something is wrong, pain says so. My family wants me to get it removed, they don't like me staying up all night because it hurts to laydown, hurts to situp, can't sleep from worry: eat foods other than salads and Soups because it hurts. I loved the band when I got it, still love what it has done for me. Didn't like getting a new port put in because the first was too big. Hated getting my gallbladder removed because fatty tissue was pulling on the fill line. Don't want to go in and get another surgery to see what is going on on the outside, maybe fix a line issue, or something, and then have to go back again for some other possible complication. I am reaching out to help myself decide what my limit is for weightloss to pain/discomfort. Where do the surgeries end? That is why I am considering a reversion.