honk

My surgeon doesn't do fills EVER. Nurse Practitioner does all fills.

Regular coffee first thing in the morning then switch to decaf.

It is easy to justify peanut butter because it's a mushie protein what could be better. Problem is the huge calories, fat and sugar. Trust me you wouldn't want natural peanut butter it does not take good (no sugar). I had to give it up all together. I was eating it out of the jar and noticed I was eating like a jar week. Consider the facts 2 tablespoons is 180 cal, 16 g fat and only 8 g of protein. Fruited Greek yogurt 150 cals 0 g fat, 14 g protein (you can add Splendra to make it taste better).

I was not on medicare but my surgeon originally said I had to loose 30 pounds before surgery. They have to bur through fat in order to get to the stomach. Once I lost 20 pounds after feeling my belly felt ready to do surgery. In general some doctors require some weight loss before doing surgery so you should be prepared for that.

My insurance sent me an approval letter directly.

After you are healed you'll have no trouble drinking water.

If the sensation doesn't go away by Tues next week (Monday being a holiday) I would call the doctors office for a visit. I agree you don't want major disaster while out of town.

I think it was a month. Trust me you don't want them twirlling that needle around near you port incision before then.

I would try drinking a lot of water tomorrow and see if you are just dehydrated.

My doctor had me start broth and protein shakes the day after surgery.

Well I've lost 70 pounds and have about 65 to go.

Agree that the issue is that a cracker is all carbs. If you are in desparate need I would say to have more protein shakes.

As long as you stay under 1200 calories just eat more liquids or mushies. Not to be a downer but it took me 6 months of fills to get restriction.

I have lost a total of 166 pounds (70 since surgery) and don't have loose skin so far. I do have a bit of upper arm bat wings but I am a lady of a certain age.

I have to say peanut butter was a very slippery slope for me. I said it's a mushie and it's protein. Only problem is the horrible calories and fat. You can eat 6oz of greek yogurt for 150 cals for 14 g of protein 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is 180 cals and 8 g of protein. Really no competition. I had to stop buying Peanut Butter because I was eating it straight out of the jar, LOTS of it. I highly recommend buying PB2 http://bellplantation.com/. It is peanut powder which is easily added to protein shakes. You can reconstitute it with water to make paste. I gave up bread, rice, pasta as everyday foods. If I am at a party, or dinner I will eat bread. But only high quality bread otherwise it's just not worth the calories. I'm shocked your doctor is recommending breads and muffins. One hint for "sandwiches" is to take Romaine lettuce spread low fat laughing cow cheese down the spine, squeeze on mustard, put chicken breast on and fold over the leaf. Ta Da Sandwich!

Are your fingers numb? I had a stroke at 39 and my symptoms included numb fingers. Personally I would get it checked out. Panic attack my !@!.

I had the band and have been very happy. The band does not stop you from eating "Bad" food. It does not contain a computer. You will have X amount of space for food once you are at restriction. The doctor places the band and creates a pouch; as I like to call it a funnel. Once you are at restriction you will eat remarkably smaller portions. The pouch however doesn't say "chicken breast come right on in but ice cream your history!" In fact anything that melts in your mouth or can be chewed to mush will go right on through the pouch/funnel; and will not make you feel full. Solid foods like chicken breast, carrots, other veggies will make you feel full. Some people at restriction have trouble with some foods. For me doughy cheap white breads are a no go (though I can eat high quality breads with grains) and raw baby carrots (I can eat them with hummus.). Other than that I can eat everything else. I have to choose to eat healthy food. This is a lifestyle not a diet.

I am so sorry that you've had so many problems. I agree with previous poster that you should see a therapist who handles eating disorders. My doctor required preop meetings with a therapist and I think it was soooo helpful to me. Half of the battle is knowing you see foods as fix for your emotional problems. My brother is a recovering alcoholic. When he gets stressed he wants to drink. I want to eat a browie. As to losing 10 pounds a month. Who came up with that? You or your doctor? Most doctors say 1-2 pounds a week which would be 4-8 pounds a month. I am a slow loser and can be at less than 1 pound a week. Being too tight can and will lead to band complications and it won't help you loose weight. You will rely on high calorie liquids to eat and those liquids won't make you feel full. Which causes you to eat more.

Vomitting is NOT normal. Knock on wood I have never vomitted or PB'd in almost 2 years. I would talk to your doctor again. Does he know how often you are vomitting? UIt can lead to band slipping. Again this is not normal.

FYI I read an article that said people who where "skinny jeans" are more likely to have nerve damage on their legs. I wonder whether that could be true for other parts of the body. It just seems bad for your circulation to where spanks ALL day long.

Sounds like you may have too much fill. Knock on wood I have never PB's, vomitted in almost 2 years. Also are you eating foods that are not band friendly: doughy breads, raw carrots, dry chicken, steak?

Did your doctor tell you surgery itself would help you with hunger? If so they lied to you. First the band does not stop you from being hungry. If I go more than 6 hours without eating I get hungry. It took me 6 months to get restriction. This will be a will power diet for a while.

Presurgery I was doing 1 hr off moderate swimming 7 days per week and lost 80 pounds. Post op I did not get restriction for 6 months. I went back to the gym day five. When I got laid off in Jan. and figured I had nothing else to do (other than my job search of course!) so I might as well work out twice a week. With the cost of gas I did'nt want to drive there twice a day; so found a good walk loop at my house. So 3 days a week I do about 3 1/2 mile walk in the morning and then go to Water aerobics in the afternoon. The other four days I will do one or the other. When I was working I had a long time between lunch and dinner (lunch at 12:00 dinner at 8 or after.) so I would have a premier ready made shake for a snack (160 cals 30 g of protein). Keep in mind preop I was on a very restrictive diet. I have only had one situation where my blood suger (I am not diabetic) really really crashed. And that was because I forgot my Protein shake and had not eatenn in 7 hours. My Nutrionist does not have a problem with me eating dinner at 8:00 because I don't really have a choice based on my work schedule. I go to the gym before dinner because if I eat before working out (esp if I come home) no way I'm heading back out to the gym. Her comment was it's more about your food choices than the time you are eating it (I sure A LOT of people with disagree with me on this). When people tell her they eat late at night they admit to choosing pizza, burgers, nachos. I eat 3 oz skinless chicken breast and raw veggies for dinner. When my doctor wanted me to go on a 500 cal. diet pre op I asked how would I have the energy to exercise. The response you have enough fat to power your body for a long time. Gee thanks.

I'm going to disagree with previous posters. You doctor moves very quickly to what I would call mushies (greek yogurt). I was on broth and protein shakes for 7 days, full liquids (tomato soup, and protein shakes) another 7 days, thin mushies (yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta) 7 days, fuller mushies (canned chicken) 7 days, then solids. You are only 4 days post op and on Greek yogurt (which is MUCH thicker than regular yogurt). Eating should NOT hurt. Ever. Sharp pain is not a "I'm full" signal. EVER. While some people may be fine with your doctors eating orders it seems you are not. While being on a clear liquid diet is super boring it is better than breaking the stiches holding your band in place and needing surgery. I would perhaps stay on full liquids (smooth soups like tomato or squash, and protein shakes for perhaps another week). At the very least thin out the greek yogut with milk. It is way to thick for someone less then a week out of surgery.