PalmBayTish72

I am going in for my first post-surgery fill today, so I am wondering how the doctors determine how much to put into your band. When I was banded, he said he initially put in 2 cc's in my band, but I have no restriction essentially. My surgery was on 2/23 and I would like him to give me a "good" fill, but I just don't know how that is determined. I know I can't expect to hit the sweet spot straight out of the gate, but are there questions I should ask him (aside from this one!). I just wanted to know how it went with your experiences in the first fill. Thanks in advance!

Thank you so much for asking this question! I was banded on 2/23 and have no restriction. The first week was great since I was still swollen, but now that I have been on real foods, it is all willpower. Let's face it, if I had will power, I wouldn't have gotten the band in the first place! I go in for my fill today, so hopefully that will help. I am down about 6 lbs from surgery.

My goal is a pair of Christian Louboutin high heels. I may never have a place out to wear them, but I dream of wearing Skinny High Heels (hence the name of my weight loss blog!)

There is a doctor here in Melbourne, Florida that charges a $3700 "program fee" upfront. Needless to say I went with a different surgeon,and there was no program fee and I am so happy I did. I go in for my first fill today! :scared2:

I am going through the same thing. On the morning of 2/23, I weighed 259 the morning of surgery at the hospital and now I am hovering around 263. It is all due to the IV fluids they pumped into us during surgery and we just have not flushed everything out. The scale will move. I have been very good with my Water, shakes and Soup so I know, know, know in my mind that there is no way that I consumed 14,000 calories of fat in the last 4 days, considering I've been taking in less than 800 calories a day since then. It is humanly impossible for me to gain weight, so I know everything will even out soon. It just takes certian people time to adjust! Hang in there, girl! It will be ok!

I just had my surgery yesterday and am doing ok. My doctor put in 2 cc's in my band, so I already have a little restricition in there to tide me over until my first follow up appointment where I will get another fill on March 17th. I'm hoping that having a little bit of fill will help stave off the hugries in a few weeks. At this point I have NO hunger at all and have been forcing myself to drink my protien shakes and jello today. The gas pains have been a bit much and the pain in my insicions is not anything I can't handle with the help of some Lortab elixir. Best of luck to everyone!

I was just banded yesterday and I felt fine after surgery and all through the night. When I woke up this morning, I felt like a truck hit me though. The gas pains have been the worst! Luckily the chewable gas-X tablets have been helping with that. it sucks though that they pump you full of fluids before, during and after surgery, because I now weigh more than I was the morning of the operation! :eek: I know all that will go away once nature flushes me out... The liquid Lortab is really helping! I wrote all about it in my blog and have pictures of my incision in case anyone wants to take a look-see! Best wishes to you!! :wink:

Hi everyone...I am now on Day Two with the band!! I have to admit I am in a little bit...well ok, a lot, of pain between the gas and the incisions, but the Lortab is helping a bunch. I have blogged for the last two days on my LapBand blog, so if you want to read the details (I am too drugged up to rewrite everything) and see the photos of my incisions, please stop by for a read. The link is below. Good luck for everyone who was just banded or who are being banded this week! I'll keep you all in my thoughts and prayers! Welcome to the Bandster Club!! :wink:

I'm on day three and in all honesty it hasn't been that bad, although I have to admit I cheated tonight and had a bite (one small bite) of grilled chicken. Otherise I have been sticking with my protien shakes, cottage cheese, broth and Water...a little yogurt tossed in for good measure. Day one was bad. I was craving a Whopper Jr. like nobody's business, but I stayed strong and just pushed through it. Day two was not that bad and today (aside from the bite of chicken) has been the same. I know that this is the best thing for me to become a better, healthier person, so I will push through and I KNOW you can all do it as well. Best of luck to you my fellow soon to be Bandsters.

I start my pre-op tomorrow morning, so I am praying for the best!! Good Luck to all my fellow soon to be bandsters!!

I'm on the 23rd, also!!! I am SO FREAKIN' excited!!! I am totally ready to start my pre-op (have already done a trial run) and am just ready for my suregery day. 2/23 will be the first day of the rest of our lives and although we will have a lot of work ahead of us, the Lap Band is going to be such a wonderful tool to assist us on on way. We may have our ups and downs, but we will be successful as long as we follow the rules and remain positive! Yea for us February 23rd-ers!! :scared2:

You may think it ignorant to chose surgery if there is a better option, but honestly, for a majority of the patients who have the Lap Band installed, all other options have been exercised. I know how my body reacts to surgery, I have no problems with anesthesia and yes I do agree that there is a risk, but life is inherently filled with risks. Just because there is a chance that I might get in a car accident on my way home from work does not prevent me from driving a car. I could die slipping in the shower, but those risks are not going to stop me from my daily ritual. By making an educated decision about all things in life you can only hope from the best and choose not live your life in fear. Life in an of itself is a leap of faith, why should getting the lap band be any different?

Really? Then count me in with all the others who have no common sense. That being said, I have thouroughly researched the Lap Band, the risks and I am going into this knowing that this is not a magic cure all. But at the same time, by not treating this as a magic cure all, I am prepared for all the ups and downs that will be associated with having the band and I am committed to changing my life with the HELP of the band. Plus, I just had laproscopic abdominal surgery 6 months ago and I was perfectly fine afterwards. And in regards to surgeons blaming the patients, conversly, it is just as easy for those who failed to blame the band for their own failures.

Carmen, You and I have the same surgery date! Woo-Hoo! I met with my surgeon yesterday and he told me that he is more comfortable with me having around 1000 calories a day. He doesn't see it as being necessary for me to torture myself with some drastic and unsustainable pre-op diet, so as long as I follow the guidelines given to me with the chakes, broth, SF Jello and dairy products I am allowed to have (along with my gummy viamins), I will be fine. Good luck to you all!

I am going to be starting my pre-op diet next Monday and I have been getting prepared for what I will be eating/drinking for the week prior to my surgery. I am allowed any amount of clear broth, Water and any drinks, ice pops and Jello that are sugar free. I am allowed lowfat/sugar free yogurt up to 3 times a day, 1/2 c. cottage cheese and 1 C of milk up to 3 times a day and up to 3 8 oz. protien shakes a day. I have done a little spreadsheet and figured out my total caloric intake to be 980 a day. It breaks down to be 122 g of protien, 18.5 g fat, and 41 g of sugar. The calorie amount seems to low and I will be speaking with my doctor to determine what he thinks is appropriate for me, but I was wondering what type of caloric/protien/fat/sugar amounts you had on your pre-op diet.

I'm not shouting it from the rooftops, nor am I keeping it a secret from everyone. I told my bosses as one I needed the approval for the time off, but also we are a close knit bunch and I know they would be nothing but supportive. I have told my family, although I was hesitant in telling my mother considering some of my weight issues and self esteem issues that led to my weight gain over the years was because of her. I was fully expecting her to be against it, but she was ok with it in her own snarky way. I believe she phrased it as "well, if you are desperate enough and insurance covers it, it's your choice". This coming from the woman who spent $15,000 on a face lift and neck lipo. I have been very selective in my friends that I am telling. And I sure as heck am keeping it out of my Facebook updates!!

THREE WEEKS? Sweet Georgia Brown! I don't know if I could handle that, but I can only imagine you will drop some serious weight before your surgery and once you get to start eating mushies and soft foods, it'll be like being in heaven! Best of luck to you and do keep us posted!

With your shakes, did you make them with milk or water> I ask because the protien powder I have is 130 calories for the 1 scoop of powder and if I add 1% milk, that is another 110 calories for a total of 240 a shake. Multiply that times 3, that's 720. That doesn't count any calories for yougurt, cottage cheesr and broth. I know it doesn't add up much, but I just don't see how I am going to manage on less than 1000 calories a day without getting a MASSIVE headache. I can handle the eating less and dealing with the hunger, but when I don't get enough calories, I get wicked headaches. I guess Alleve will be my friend. My coworkers are totally prepared for me to be in psycho-bitch mode, so when all this is over, I am treating my 2 office mates with gift certificates to their favorite restaurants. I am going to be a grumpy gus!

I would definitely question the hospitals billing, especially since you have insurance. My surgery, if I had been a self pay, would have been a TOTAL of $13,050. Hospitals will rob you blind. I was admitted to the hospital back in August for emergency laproscopic surgery for an ectopic pregnancy and my surgery took 20 minutes. I was there for a total of 3 hours from admission to release, yet they billed my insurance for a full FOUR day stay for a cost of over $15,000. Needless to say, I clued in the insurance company that they were being screwed and they had the hospital resubmit a bill which was a 1/4 of that cost. Definitely contact the hospital and your insurance and find out why you are being charged so much and make sure you have every invoice, every phone call and every name of who you talk to documented. best of luck to you!

I am totally preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. My husband is very supportive and he said he and my daughter will be eating most their dinners out the week I am pre-op. Luckily my daughter loves ramen noodles (she is 6) and I can drink the liquid (she doesn't like it) and she'll eat the noodles. Husband just doesn't want to torture me. How sweet is that, but I do need to learn to be able to handle the smell of food when I might not be able to eat. Basically, I am telling myself that I have to suck it up and suffer a through it in order to get me to where I want to be a year from now. In the grand scheme of things, two or three weeks of liquids and soft foods is really a drop in the bucket.

Well, I decided to go get a Magic Bullet blender for when I am on my liquid diet starting on Feb. 15th. Although I have a regular blender already, I wanted something more compact and that would be ideal for me making my individual shakes. I first went to my local "Wally World" (Wal-Mart) but they said they no longer carried it and they tried to sell me on something called The Ninja. A Ninja? Seriously? Sorry, but with a stupid name like that, there is no way I am spending $50. At least with the Magic Bullet I can see the reason for the name...It's shaped like a bullet and works like magic. But "The Ninja"? What is it going to do, creep into my kitchen under the cover of darkness and stealthily blend up my shakes? Anyway, I went to Target and I was able to find the Magic Bullet there in their "As Seen on TV" section, but while I was in the blender section, I saw something called the Rocket Blender by Bella Cucina. It looked almost identical, had the same parts and accessories, but for almost 1/2 the price...$29 compared to $54 for the Magic Bullet. So I took a gamble and bout the lower priced version. Well, I just finished making a shake for my husband (he was my taste testing guinea pig) and it was SO simple to use. I just blended 1 scoop of Body Fortress Advanced whey Protein in chocolate (available at WalMart for $15 for a big container) and 1 cup of 1% milk. It blended so easily and he tried it and said it tasted like a melted Frosty from Wendy's. I tried a sip and it was pretty good, although it did have a slight artificial sweetener aftertaste, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be washed down with some ice Water. For 26 grams of protein per scoop, it seems like it will be a decent way to get my protein. So, I highly recommend the Bella Cucina Rocket Blender, available at Target or Amazon.com as a cheaper alternative to the more expensive (yet identical) Magic Bullet!!

I am very fortunate that according to my insurance company, BCBS, I have already met my deductible and out of pocket maximum for the year (which ends 3/31). That means that there will be no additional charge to me for the surgery. This past August, I had to have emergency surgery and with the amounts paid to my doctor and the hospital 6 months ago, I don't have to pay any additional. Had I not already had those expenses or had the surgery after March 31st (when the new year for my insurance begins), it would have cost me $1500 for my deductible and $3500 for out of pocket... That being said, the only costs I have incurred were for my 2 hour visit with the psychiatrist at a cost of $350 (she was out of network), but that also includes 3 more visits with her post surgery. The visit with the dietician and the surgeons consults are covered in the cost of the surgery. I paid no "program fee". If I paid out of pocket, it would have been broken down like this: "If your insurance does not cover it the total cost of the Lap-Band surgery is $13,050 and includes one year of free adjustments, office visits and support group follow up. This total includes the following: surgeon's fee, anesthesia, psychology consult, nutrition consult, and the hospital fee."

I think that first off, when comparing the two (Lap Band vs. Sleeve) the most major difference is the fact that with the sleeve, they are removing a substantial part of your stomach and it is not something that could ever be reversed. With the band, it is reversible and you retain the entirety of your stomach. Secondly, the sleeve is much more expensive and less likely to be covered by your insurance. The sleeve operation is an additional $6,000 with my surgeon and it requires an overnight stay, adding an additional $1000 to the cost. My insurance would cover the lap Band, but not the Sleeve (BCBS). Yes, your weight loss might be quicker with the sleeve at first, but studies have shown that they are comparable with overall weight loss as time progresses. I suggest you speak with your surgeon and he maybe could make a suggestion as to what he feels would be the best procedure for you, as an individual. We can only speak in generalities here on the board without knowing more about you.

I'm following yours as well, HiMow...By the way, I love the photos of you with all the different haircolors. I used to dye mine all the time when I was your age (GOD, I sound old) but now that I'm living my soccer mom life instead of my old alternative/goth self, it's been the same color now for 2 years straight! (GASP!!!)

I started my blog, Dreams of Skinny High Heels, a couple of weeks ago (the link is below) and I have met some wonderfully supportive people and read their blogs and follow them as well. I'll be sure to stop by your new blog!!