coltonwade

Try Bolthouse Farms Protein shakes. They are YUMMY i live on them when i am on liquids. They have 20 grams of protein in one bottle. One bottle is about 300 calories. (One bottle is 2 servings) You can find them at your grocery store in the produce section by the "healthy" juices. Only the mocha, hazelnut and Chai vanilla have protein in them . They Do NOT taste like Protein Shakes at ALL . I LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM They fill me up for about 4 hours HTH Mindy

The best thing to do is ask your doctor when you can take it. Every doc is different. Also your doc might have a different answer for different types of pills ? Mindy

Yes some of the pre op testing can be covered by insurance . Most of the time you can get blood work, chest xray , pulmonary covered by insurance. It just depneds on how the doc codes it . A good doc can code it the right way . In my case i didnt have insurance . that is a good point to bring up though . Mindy

I have heard it is some peoples "que" to stop eating ? It could be from taking in too much air ? I dunno ? Just guessing ? Mindy

Very true, Im pretty tight until about 1pm . After that I am fine. I can eat a lot more and i am more hungry in the evenings after about 9 . I stay up late usually until around 1 am . So i have been working on going to be at around 11 so that i dont have to fight the urge to eat. HTH Mindy

My docs premise behind it is that drinking from a straw can but air in your stomach and or stoma and cause it to stretch . doing it over time is how this can happen . HTH mindy

Your welcome. I am not a huge red meat person either. I will eat it , but i am married to a meat and potatoes kind of guy so that makes it hard some times. I would rather eat chicken and he HATES chicken LOL . Oh I know , i have discovered those honeysuckle turkey tenderloins, have you tried those ? Those are really good . I dont count calories , so i dont know how many are in them . But they should be ok . HTH Mindy

it does sound like your doing well . however, still be careful. I was fine until I got to solids. so dont forget the rules especially the first few days of solids. HTH Mindy

OOPS I guess I should read. LOL I didnt see you said Capsules. Sorry . When i said tolerate too ,i meant stomach , they go down fine Mindy

I take wellbutrin for Anxiety/depression . I Know its a mild one. I tried the applesauce thing and about threw up . My pills are the size of an M&M and I cut them in half and they are fine. If you can tolerate the capsules that is great. but I have yet to be able to tolerate anything crushed or sprinkled. Mindy

Mine was $12,000 which includes all hospital , anesthesiologist fees, ( basically the surgery ) And all fills for the first yr. All my pre op Nut evaluation pscyh evaluation Blood work Pulmonary Chest X rays and Consult Ran me about $700 I believe I do have to pay for Flouro every time i get a fill which is $125 until my doc can feel my port . But that's all. HTH Mindy PS My docs info is on my sig line just click His Name

This is also not a fair comparison for a few reasons. for one doctors over seas ( not just in mexico ) have been doing the surgery for a few yrs longer than docs in the US , lap band was approved in the US in 2001 .So they docs over seas have had longer to aquire more "experience" Also Quantity does not always mean Quality . Granted not to say that docs in Mexico are not experienced and good docs. But its not really fair to make a statement like that and not qualify that docs in the US Also HAVE EXPERIENCE and are trained competent professionals as well .. In fact My doc was trained by a Mexico doc.Just my input. Mindy

<br /> <br /> Exactly . I am not one of those people that think because i was banded in the US that everyone should be or because I WASNT banded in Mexico NO ONe should be. However, I will NOT tell anyone " YOU SHOULD go here or you SHOULD go there" because if i did and some thing were to happen to that person I would NEVER forgive myself. So i am one that tends to just give info on both and let that person choose for themselves. I dont think its right to push one way or another. I think its best to give UNBIASED info for both and let that person make the choice. I could never live with myself if someone went to a doc and something happened to them based on my recommendation . That is including my doc . I do recommend my doc but i want people to check out all options and i tell them that as well. Mindy

Have you tried making a meat loaf ? I have had that a few times and it goes down fine , still have to make sure that it is chewed well. But i put veggies in it as well. also those frozen meat balls you get at the grocery store. I eat those some times with Gravy or tomatoe sauce on them with veggies. Also i have made hamburger patties with no bread. Now steak type meats i have tried a few times and like you get impatient with the meat. I have made pot roast in the crock pot, With that those , if its the butt roast and its striny , you have to cut it up into small pieces of it can get stuck .. anyway just a few ideas thought i might help with ?? Mindy

Welcome , this place is great. Im curious as well to why the recliner and why is your tail bone sore ? Your doing great so far. I too have to set small mini goals for myself. I stay motivated that way . I have 3 more pounds to loose to meet my mini goal to get into ONEderland (into the 100's ) by thanksgiving. I gotta hurry LOL I was also nervous about my first fill but its a breeze. my doc doesnt even numb me. Its no biggie. But I cant say dont worry , you will be nervous about it then you will be sitting here like me telling another newbie not to worry ! Good luck your doing great so far. Mindy

First off , take a deep breathe, it will be ok. I went through this about 3 days post op . the hunger issues will get better. Most of this is probably related to banster hell ! You have no restriction right now ( if you have not had a fill) and once you get some restriction the hunger will get better. Every time i feel hunger I stop and think " when was the last time i ate" what did i eat, how long after I ate did I drink . Sort of replay the rules in my head. THEN I ask myself, am i bored, emotional. Bascially ask myself am I REALLY Hungry . I can have up to 5-6 meals a day . SO when I do have a "snack" i make the right choices. Im sitting here now eating wheat thins. If your on soilds now track your calories and make sure your eating enough , If you dont see a counselor already it might be a good idea. This is not easy . you might need someone to help you along the way . Good luck you can do this. Im going to read your journal now LOL Love Mindy

It may be gas pressure . Are you taking or have you tried taking any Gas X strips ? Theones that dissolve when you put them in your mouth ? That is probably what it is . but i would call your doc just to make sure. Its better safe than sorry . Also make sure the vitamins are small enough . Are the chewables ? HTH . Mindy

will you be up to solids by thanksgiving day ? If so stick to soft, moist things until your sure. If you think about it though most "traditional" thanksgiving meals are pretty soft foods , probably why they are so bad for us LOL Mindy

aww sorry i read it wrong. My only advice is if it gets to the point where you think your too tight you probably are. I waited and waited , probably too long try to wait it out . Now i think i need a fill again LOL But want to wait until after the holidays. Sounds like your doing better which is good Good luck Mindy

I just went through this myself. Only i didnt have problems early on like it seems you have. I didnt have problems until i got to solids. I couldnt keep solids down. So be very careful . Dont keep it to tight too long to try to ride it out . If your doc thought you were too tight in the beginning you probably were ? Thats just my input. Its not fun to keep it tight Let us know how your doing . Mindy

I did not have to do a clear liquid diet before surgery , how ever I do have to do 6 days of liquids , 3 days of mushies and 3 days of semi soilds after every fill and I loose a pretty good amount of weight after that and it doesnt come back. If that's any indication. On average I loose about a pound a DAY post fills for those 6 days So i have had 2 fills so thats 12 pounds that hasnt come back LOL Mindy

I tried crushing my pills at first and NOT HAVING it . :sick I take wellbutrin that is about the size of an M&M I could probably swallow it with out a problem but I chose to cut it in half to make sure i dont have any problems . I take another pill for my migraines that are the size of a birth control pill and I swallow those whole. Anything over the size of my wellburtin i cut. or like Tylenol i take Liquid tylenol or the meltaways I dont take any chances Mindy

not a stupid question at all. My doc says no straws . In fact I had to ask the same question because I could not remember what he said. He said no straws ever again . They can put air into your stomach. I dont have any issues drinking fast either. I know some people that say they cant gulp Water or chug anymore, I Can if I wanted. you just have to watch it and take small sips. I actually stopped drinking from a straw before banding because I found that i drank MORE and faster when I did use one. So just work on the drinking it comes with practice. Good luck Mindy

The problem also isnt with just the issue I had. It is also drinking after eating can wash the food through the stoma too quickly and cause hunger to onset sooner than needed. Also over time it can stretch the pouch . I think I got that right ?? LOL Mindy

Ok today has been 4 months since I got my band so i thought I would finally get up the nerve to post pics in here. I started at 250 and I am 203 now. I am SO CLOSE To ONEderland I can taste it , I want to be there before Thanksgiving . So here I go ( She says hiding LOL) First pic 250 Second 223 Third 209 Last (Taken today ) 203 Not the best pics. but Im working on it . Mindy