BetsyB

I understand that you're just a social smoker. If you choose to do so less than four weeks prior to surgery, you increase your risk of respiratory complication. Your risk may not be as high as an habitual smoker, but you can't justify the risk away. It's there, and it's real.

By "screaming," do you mean making a lot of noise, or do you mean that you're in pain? If the latter, give your doctor a call; you should not be in tremendous pain. If the former, well---there is lots of new noise. But a lot of it has to do with how much air you gulp in when you eat. Are you eating very slowly? Taking small bites and chewing thoroughly? Avoiding Fluid during meals (and drinking them without a straw when you do drink)? Avoiding carbonation? These things help tone down the bellychatter :thumbdown:

It's true that Protein is vital. However, it is NOT the primary concern immediately postop. Part of the reason preop diets focus so much on protein is to allow for some "down time" immediately postop. If you're very concerned, call your doctor. S/he will likely reassure you that, this soon after surgery, it is not something you need to worry about. You will soon have no trouble getting the protein you need in.

Shad, my orthopedist would blow a gasket if I told him I was thinking about running. They really prefer people to be closer to goal---the added stress from excess weight is hard on joints. But I'm already walking for miles and miles each day---I have to shake something up! Karen, plateaus are SO frustrating. Try to relax. You're doing all the right things--you just have to ride it out. Your body is just getting used to there being less of you, that's all. It will figure it out and let the weight come off again--truly. Leigha, my band is fickle, too. It's tricky, having to listen so closely to it each day. But it does keep me on my toes. No such thing as complacency around these parts!

My daughter just told me she's doing C25k this summer---and I astounded myself by agreeing to do it with her. Not sure my body will like the runner's gait (ortho issues), but I'm willing to give it a try! Jacki, your poem is awesome :thumbdown:

I have 7.3 ccs in an 11-cc Realize band. I'm approaching restriction, but am not quite there yet. It sounds as though we're in the same boat!

Your body may be telling you, "Feed me MORE before 4 p.m.!" Really, if you fall apart in the evening, it may be that you've had too little to eat during the day. "Feeding" the sugar cravings with fiber plus bars may actually perpetuate them.

I love the concept of these gadgets, but unless tracking your sleep is important to you, it doesn't seem to give any more information than a good pedometer (like an Omron). The body bugg measures a variety of things to determine calorie burn. I couldn't find information that indicated that the fitbit does much more than count steps and, from that information, extrapolate an approximate calorie burn. You can do that by using a pedometer. Or even by typing in how long you've exercised into a program like fitday (for free).

Fluoroscopy allows doctors to be a bit more aggressive with fills, in terms of amounts added, because they can see if there is over-restriction. However, there's really only so much you can add to the band at one time without risking problems from tissue swelling. Your doctor watched, today, to make sure that Fluid was able to move through your band. But he likely did not have any intention of taking you close to restriction; to do so would be risky, in terms of swelling. In subsequent fillings, you may be taken right to the edge of restriction---or even all the way there---only to find that it recedes over time. It can take a while to get restriction that "sticks." My fills are all done with fluoroscopy. I've had 3, and didn't feel significant restriction until my third. For most of us, it's a slow process. Luckily, you've started that process now, and are a step closer to where you want to be! (Don't be surprised if tomorrow, you feel a little tighter than today. You may not, but it's a possibility.)

A snack is fine. Note the emphasis on a snack--not multiple Snacks. Delay it until it's late enough in the evening that you'll be asleep before you need another. I agree that it should give you a bang for the nutritional buck---a protein-rich snack mid-evening is a good idea.

Ditto Hummingbird. The only difficulty I have is related to timing of drinking with food. I have to wait 90 minutes after eating to drink---that cuts out a lot of potential drinking hours. But when I'm "allowed" to drink, I have no trouble at all---no need to sip, or anything like that.

Right now, Fluid is the primary concern. If you're getting enough liquid, then you can relax. With time, you will be able to get in all the Protein you need. For now, do the best you can. Do you have some good quality protein supplements on hand? They can make it lots easier, especially at the beginning.

hair loss seems to be more due to the trauma of anesthesia/surgery (which interrupts the normal falling-out/regrowth cycle) than anything else, though getting enough Protein is really important. (So is taking your multivitamin--and it can't hurt to take Biotin, too.) If you're not getting 60 grams, you really do need to push a bit. I'm not a fan of the protein bullets. They used to be the best protein available, but now it is known that the Proteins that make them up are NOT as bioavailable as other, just-as-easily available proteins. Whey protein isolate is better absorbed by the body. If you're going to spend $$ on protein, and choke it down, you might as well be using protein that your body will use. My favorite proteins are the Inspire line available at bariatriceating.com Aside from protein supplements, do you tolerate lean meats, poultry, and fish? Legumes? Fat-free cottage cheese and Greek yogurt? I get around 100 grams a day with no struggle--I have a warm Protein shake in the morning (helps dissolve my Vitamin capsule), and Beans, turkey, chicken, fish, beef pork or fat free-cottage cheese or Greek yogurt (with a bit of unflavored Protein Powder added in) at each meal. If I haven't topped 80 grams by dinnertime, I add in a protein shake in the evening. Protein should be the mainstay of your diet at this point---lean protein and nonstarchy veggies. If your doctor okays grains and other starches, they should take a bit of a back seat until you learn to reliably get the amount of protein your body needs.

I agree that there's no need for guilt or self-flagellation. We've all suffered enough of that for several lifetimes! However, I am not in the "the postop time is for healing, not weight loss" camp. Yes, the postop time is for healing. But you can still eat properly and lose weight before you have restriction. I have one of the "strict" surgeons---and I'm so grateful for that. For me, it was really great not to be frustrated by a scale---to see my weight going down even without restriction. It was hard at times---but I knew that it was the last time I would be hungry in the name of weight loss. That knowledge helped a great deal. I'm not suggesting that there's no room for indulgence. I am suggesting that, if your doctor has specified a way of eating, it might be really rewarding to stick with it to get good weight-loss results. It'll be hard, but it'll be worth it.

Happy anniversary! Here's to many more happy years!

Hi, Lisa--Dr. Joyce is awesome! You don't have to worry about a thing. He and Dr. Lahmann have the best practice in the area, IMO. Their aftercare is excellent--and they're both such great guys. My experience at Silver Cross was outstanding---excellent, excellent care. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have---feel free to PM me!

If they use good hand-washing techniques, it wouldn't really give me much pause. I know lots of nurses in the U.S. who don't wear gloves when starting IVs. It's standard protocol to do so, but it can make it lots harder to locate veins. If a nurse washes his/her hands before and after caring for the patient, it's not a huge concern, IMO. If it's part of an overall pattern of nonchalance about medical care, then it's problematic. I haven't gotten the impression that the care is sub-par in Mexico; my concerns involve the difficulty in assessing a surgeon, with foreign credentialing (and a different language) from afar.

Be careful about sugar-free candies with sugar alcohols--they cause some people serious intestinal distress.

Intense exercise is their occupation. They don't do anything other than exercise. The weigh-ins also do not always reflect only one week's loss, I read.

Welcome, BobKat!

It's standard practice in the United States, too. Not all gloves on healthcare providers' hands are sterile. Some procedures require sterile technique, and others require clean technique. The boxes of gloves in doctor's offices, on walls in hospital rooms, etc. are not sterile. They are clean. Gloves are worn for a couple of purposes. Sometimes, sterile gloves are required--but by and large, gloves are worn to protect the healthcare worker from blood-borne pathogens, NOT to protect the patient. When giving IV care, doing routine wound care, and so on, sterile gloves generally are not used. Some dressing changes require sterile technique. But those associated with routine banding do not. IV care does not require sterile gloves---the skin is cleansed with antiseptic, but clean, nonsterile gloves are used to protect the nurse from YOUR blood, not to protect you from germs. (The antiseptic on the skin takes care of that.) I would not choose to have surgery in Mexico for a number of reasons--but this is not one that is cause for concern.

Both are good choices for many. I opted for the band because I like the long-term follow-up; I think that being in close contact with a doctor after modifying your body is really important--and the band has the need for this built in to it. For me, the best choice was the surgery that (a) was least invasive, and (:thumbup: had the longest track record. A not-unimportant consideration, too, was the fact that my insurance does not cover the sleeve at this point. I reason that, should my band ever need to be replaced, I can re-evaluate at that time. Then, there will be more data about the sleeve, and my insurance is more likely to cover it. I LOVE my band, and if things continue the way they have, I think I would stick with it. But you never really know what's down the road. If I'd gone with the sleeve, I would remove options for revision. (I am not willing to go the bypass route. I strongly believe that, for me, the malabsorption aspect of the surgery would be hugely detrimental.) I think sleeving is a great option with a lot of promise--but I wasn't ready to commit to it at this stage in its development as a surgical procedure.

Careful with the Werther's. Lots of us are very sensitive to the sugar alcohols in them, and this can become more of a problem postop. I discovered the mini Werther's preop and was SO excited---until I discovered that 1/3 of the "serving" had more sugar alcohol than my poor gut could tolerate. Horrible cramps and diarrhea ensued---which is likely something you don't want to experience. So, take it slow with them until you determine whether your body has difficulty with sugar alcohols. Some people have no problem at all with them---but for others, they are misery.

If you can barely eat, focus on fluids until the swelling recedes a bit.

There's a good chance you can---ask your doctor. A bt of the fill may have dissipated with time. (No one really knows why this happens, but people often need to be "topped off.") But even if not, most bands seem to have a max capacity that far exceeds the number of ccs they're labeled with. Do you think the reason for your gain is that you're not restricted adequately, or are you choosing foods that bypass the band easily? If you're veering toward old habits (and slider foods), a fill alone might not do the trick for you.