honk

Sounds like you are too tight. I am at restriction and my band get's tighter some days; and looser others.

At consult I had BMI 57. I was told by the nurse to loose 30 pounds; which would have taken me to 51 BMI. After loosing about 18 I met with the surgeon and he said he could do the surgery at that time having felf my abdomen. Keep in mind this nurse has never reviewed your files or examined you. It's like going to a car dealer and having them insist car A is the one you must have. Is it the best car for you, no, but it is the model they have way to many of and want to sell. That said please remember the band is a slower weight loss in general than bypass. It bothers me when people post on here that the weight will just melt away. I have lost weight and it was the best decision of my life; but the weight has'nt "melted away". Yes I eat very conservatively and I exercise 7 days a week sometimes up to 2 1/2 hours.

Yes we have all felt the need to "eat/chew" something. Totally normal. As mentioned previously however just because you can does not mean should. I recommend spacing out your allowed foods. When I was on mushies I was allowed 8 oz of tomato soup (or sweet red pepper whatever but vegetable, smooth and low fat/cal); I'd wait an hour and then have the yogurt of cottage cheese. If I ate everything in one setting I would be both head and body hungry in an hour. If you are hungry eat more of the foods you are allowed. Don't eat pizza or fries. A bit of a lecture. If pizza, fries and chicken fingers are bad for you they are bad for your children. Feed your kids versions of what you are eating. They literally won't starve. If they are hungry enough they will eat it.

EatSmart Precision Digital Bathroom scale w/ Extra Large Backlit 3.5" Display and "Step-On" Technology Available from Amazon. Really accurate.

I drink right up to the time I start eating. I find my food choices now are less salty. I used to be a huge beverage drinker during meals (esp. soda when I was eating out). Choose foods that are less salty and you won't miss beverages.

Everytime I hear of doctors leaving fill in the band during surgery the person needs to have it removed because they are having trouble with liquids post op. Not trying to scare you but if you are not getting liquids down call them because you can easily become dehydrated.

As I moved to mushies my doctor said 3 oz of protein (cottage cheese and ricotta and then the next week I could hve canned chicken or tuna). I would have 8 oz of tomato soup for my veggie and then have the protein (the soup would pass right through the pouch). As I move to solids the I was to have 3 oz of solid protein and then low fat/cal veggies until full. I would eat raw peppers/carrots (as I got closer to restriction I had to eat carrots with hummus) until full. My doctor never gave me instructions to eat by volume (cup).

I use unflavored benefiber in my breakfast yogurt and gummy vitafusion gummys in the morning and at night. I go everyday.

Keep in mind I was banded at 40. My periods were heavy and I went from being every 28 days to every 21 days sometimes less. 5 months post op I had two periods in one month. I have been taking 65 mg iron to deal with anemia.

I would say at least 5 business days.

How long ago was surgery? You may be bloated from the gas they inject into the body.

Remember to drink before you leave! Also, follow the post fill "diet". My doctor says 24 hrs. liquids and 24 of mushies. As you get closer to restriction the first few days after a fill eating can be harder.

What have you been eating and are you pre or post op?

Admittedly I did'nt tell many people so I don't get grief. In fact most of the non-family that I've told are people at my gym; and these people see me there 7 days a week so they know how hard I work.

It's okay. Trust me. First question has your doctor moved you to solids already? I was another week at least on mushies. Beyond that. Are you weighing your Protein. My doctor said 3 oz of of low fat/cal solid protein and then low fat/cal veggies until full (digital food scales availble at walmart/target/weight watchers meeting). The band will not help you feel full faster at this point. It took me 6 months of fills to get restriction. I am not saying this to be negative. I am very happy with the band. Instead, I want you to know this is a willpower diet for now. Also food choices. Be careful not to choose veggies that are high in calories. If you are buying frozen veggies with a sauce (which I do because I don't cook, ever); make sure they have less than 100 cals for a cup. There are a lot of great choices.

Depends on how long your approval is valid. In general my doctor required all my general doctors appointments also be up to date like mammogram, pap smear. Also need a cardio ultrasound. I would call the surgeons office and see how long afer preg. you would have to wait to be banded. The other big thing I can think of is breastfeeding. The liquid preop and post op diets would be difficult if you are BF.

Did you speak with your insurance yourself to see what their requirements are for lapband? They can tell you whether they will pay for surgery under 40 bmi.

If you can't eat solid protein at lunch you are too tight!

Hi at consult was 335 and about 57 bmi. I was told to loose 10% body weight. Due to a preexisting blood clot which had to be completely desolved my surgery was postponed. By the time I had surgery, I was done to 282. I am a slow looser but to be at 216.4 is a huge victory for me (prior to deciding on banding I had been at 365 started exercising and eating better which got me down to 335). Of course speak with your doctor first about what kind of exercise you should try. Personally I highly recommend swimming or Water aerobics for larger people. It is great for your joints. I was having so much pain from my knee I could hardly walk (and I mean hardly). Using a snorkle I was able to swim up to an hour right from the start. I also recommend getting a water proof MP3 player (check out Amazon), makes time go by so much faster. At my highest I did'nt own a scale so this is an estimate. At one point my desk was moved from one end of the facility to another. I was now like 1/2 mile from the Cafe. Because I had so much trouble walking I starting bringing Breakfast and lunch. I would say I lost about 20 pounds, just from changing my eating. So I would say I was probably about 385 pounds at that time. So by significantly changing your food habits you will probably loose weight without exercising. However, the more you loose you will eventually need to start exercising to keep loosing.

Sounds to me like you doctor progresses to soon food wise. On day 9 I was on full liquids (days 8-15 actually). I did not get to smooth mushies until day 16. Perhaps you need to wait for mushies for a few days. I know it's not what you wanted to hear but boring food is better than feeling stuck.

I had Anthem Blue Cross PPO and I was approved in about a week. My doctor however required that I loose 10% body weight so that took a while.

"In case of intense effort (or to calm a great hunger)" Shouts poor translation to English to me. I would be very suspicious of taking something where the instructions read like someone used an Iphone to translate.