losingit37

Hello, all! The other day I ran into someone with a stomach bug. I've been worried ever since. I had a case of the sit n spins about 2 years ago, and the memory still haunts me. But now that I have the lap band, I'm even more worried about throwing up. I know that too much throwing up can cause slipping and rupturing. Does anyone have any tips, tricks, or any sort of knowledge about this? If I end up with a stomach bug, I'm going to go to my surgeon, but I don't know if I could get there in time. I'm just sort of nervous :S

Personally, I can have all three. It IS hard on my band, but I've learned that with the right portions, it's not an issue. In stead of a 1 lbs steak, I can have 1/4 lbs of steak (maybe not that much lol. I don't actually weigh it out). For me, it's all about moderation. However, something my doc didn't tell me was that steak isn't allowed until after 6 months. :blushing: Good luck to ya!

Mine would have, as well, but my pre op diet stopped my period, and for about 3 months, I didn't have one. I recommend asking your surgeon or nurse beforehand, that way you can prepare accordingly :blushing:

It took me nearly six years as I could not self pay, and insurance refused. I had to go through a government program (DARS). With DARS it took around 2 or 3 years, the time before that was us scrambling around trying to get loans and talking to different insurance companies. I hope your journey will be a lot quicker haha!

I'm 5'2'' and at my highest was 400 lbs. I'm now around 300 I've always loved the way I look, and I have no intentions of "skinnying up". Like you, I aim to be fit, and at lowest a size 10. My goal weight for myself is 180. For my family doctor, he says I need to be 150. My surgeon says I need to aim for 120 (what the height/weight chart says I should be). I decided to go with my weight, because I can always lose more if I chose to. Too, I don't store too much faith in the height/weight chart because it was created a very long time ago, without any updates. Ever been into an antique store? People used to be a lot smaller than we are now. I would look sickly if I were 120. I even question how I would look at 150. I say aim low and go with what YOU feel comfortable with. Your doctor can't arrest you for being a little over BMI, and your surgeon will not remove your band if you refuse to lose more weight than you're comfortable with. I hope that helps

It took me nearly 6 years to finally get a date. Trust me, it's worth it. Every moment of it . You'll get your date, and you'll come through it just fine. I know how frustrating it is. Just be honest. Don't try to fake any answers and feel free to tell them how you really feel about all of it. They're paid to know if you're lying, and chances are if you lie they'll not clear you. As for the other tests, trust me, you won't care after you get approved.

I've had Whey before. Delicious! Sometimes I even drink it when I'm not on a liquid diet. Vanilla was/is my favorite. My only complaint is that right after the surgery, I could taste every single particle of that drink. Before was fine, and a few months after was good, too. Just, for me, my tastes were hightened immediately after surgery. Good luck!

I live in Austin, but I drive all the way to Temple to have my band filled. (Scott & White). It's pretty good, painless, and the people there are nice enough. Good luck getting them to call you about appointments, though. I've missed so many because they wouldn't book me then booked me at the last minute, or because they didn't give me notice. I know it's my responsibility too, but I like having the reminder because I'm forgetful.

I am 5' 3'' and 310 lbs. I wear 18/20 tops (sometimes 20/22 depending on the brand), and usually a 20 to 24 in bottoms.

I just want to start off by saying that you should be proud of yourself for losing 88 lbs. That's a huge acheivement. The lap band surgery isn't a miracle cure, it's just a tool. You lost the 88 lbs through hard work. Congratulations, that's really awesome. But I also want to say that I think you have a really upsetting outlook on things. You have wrinkles, so what? It's a part of life. In a society that markets anti-aging creams to 20 somethings, I understand how difficult it can be to age. We're old, we're going to get wrinkles. You should love yourself anyway. You seem like a wonderful person who's had a very successful first year. Don't you think you should enjoy that, rather than finding something else to hate about yourself? A very close friend of mine had/has the same problem as you do with your hair. The trick for her was to drink more Protein. Her hair has stopped falling out, and has even started to grow back a little bit. It's a slow process, but I'm really hoping that it'll help you. If it doesn't, go the Dolly Parton way. Have fun with it :biggrin: Don't eat it down. You obviously don't need to, as you've lost 88 lbs. Instead, try spending a little time each day looking at yourself and loving yourself. Find things you like rather than things you dislike. And if nasty thoughts enter your head, tell them to shove off. I sincerely hope that you will take my advice, because everyone deserves to be happy. Especially when they've worked so hard. Don't beat yourself up over trivial things.

My very best advice is to bring a medicine bag. I was on a few medications before my surgery, plus all of the vitamins I needed to start taking immediately after the surgery, AND the shots that I needed to take immediately after the surgery. It would have been just too much to carry around in my purse, plus some of the medicines were in glass bottles. Imagine if that had broken :S. Considering I trust that you have all the big things in order, try going for the medicine bag. It was a huge relief to me!

Do you go onto liquids then mushies when you get sick? Like you say that some days you can't get anything down. Did you overeat the day before? I know my doctor told me that when I get sick (especially if I vomit), that the next day I need to drink liquids and if that goes well progress to mushies either later that day or the next day. That really helped me out with feeling sick.

I believe there is a brand called "Boost" that makes delicious soy protein drinks. They're pretty cheap, so price shouldn't be an issue. I highly recommend the vanilla! ( Boost High Protein | A Nutritional Drink to Increase your Protein Intake ) There's another kind that I really love (an organic one that HEB sells), but I can't seem to find it online. It's pretty pricey, but very nice! The liquid diet (at least mine) didn't require that I only drink water. In fact, it heavily depended on me drinking lots of protein drinks. Double check with your doctor about what it is you're supposed to be drinking. Also, don't be afraid to ask for suggestions. Some of my favorite mushies come from the nurse who does my fillings. I really hope that helps!

I had to do the injections for a week after surgery - I have no history with clotting. I think it really depends on the doctor. I was told to give it to myself in the leg - which I didn't. I'm phobic about needles so I invited my mother down for a week, and she gave me the shots in my leg. It really wasn't so bad (I thought it would be horribly painful). I still wouldn't want to do it again, but it wasn't a big deal. Good luck :thumbup:

My only regret was trying to celebrate with steak lol. Scott & White does beautiful work, don't get me wrong, but they're a little lacking when it comes to information sometimes. I had been put on solid foods and was tolerating fish and chicken very well. I even managed to eat my first hamburger! I was so pleased that the surgery was a success that my family and I decided to celebrate it with steak - at 3 months out. I had maybe 3, well chewed bites, then I had my first real experience with "getting sick". I went back to my doctor and she informed me that steak typically wasn't allowed until 6 to 12 months out. lmbo! I love my band and I think that I've had a lot of success with it in a relatively short amount of time. I do not regret my decision to have it done at all!

I know it's hard, but don't be too down :blushing:. I was in the same boat. I was told to come back once a week for the first month, and for that month I didn't have a fill. I gained a couple of pounds back when I went onto solids and I was crushed. But, after a couple of fills, I started losing steadily (if sometimes slowly), and I've not regretted it. My understanding is that it's normal. If your band isn't yet inflated very well, you're still going to be able to eat relatively normally. It's nothing wrong that you're doing. :w00t:

You seriously need to contact your doctor. I did not have a fever after my surgery, although I was very sleepy. You could be having an allergic reaction to pain medication.

Well it's definently an adjustment! I hope your surgery goes well, let us all know! :blushing:

I'm an Austin bandster, and I got banded nearly a year ago! I've lost almost 100 lbs total so far!

Do you drink enough protein drinks? Also talk to your surgeon, I was told that I was allowed to have an occasional salad during emergencies.