Acadia

I'm really surprised that doctors are doing fills without fluoroscopy - especially the first fill. That's the Doctor's first time to see the band position, the pouch size, the restriction you currently have, how the fill affects your restriction and much more. There's no guessing involved. It may cost more, but isn't it worth it to pay and know you'll get a fill that is appropriate for you for your current state?

Your Dr. should be doing them under fluoroscopy to begin with. If he's doing them without then he's doing them blind, so he can't see the band's position, how big your pouch is, how the restriction you have is impacting how food and liquid flow through, how the fill affects your restriction and much more. I would demand all of your fills be processed under fluoroscopy.

Good point about food temperature. I haven't had any issues with hot or cold foods yet - but then again I don't get a fill until tomorrow. Something to keep in mind, the band is squeezing on all sorts of nerves, pumps, ducts, vessels, etc. so it's bound to change how your digestive system functions and how well you tolerate different foods.

Very well said. If you haven't reached the point of being ready to make the changes that are required, which truly does require a lot of willpower, then hold off for a bit. You may even want to have a few meetings with the psychiatrist who will be doing your evaluation. I can tell you that the three appointments I had with mine, before she would write the report the Dr. required, were incredibly helpful in truly realizing what my issues were and how the band could help me control them. And those appointments helped me realise that I really was ready. Remember, the band is just a tool. It will reduce the amount you can eat, but won't change what you eat or how much you move.

Once the wounds are 100% healed shut, no scabs, then you can take a bath, swim, etc.

A 'cheat' day is okay once in a while (generally once a week or once every two weeks). Increase your calories by 300-500 (which isn't much when you record what you're eating). It will make your weight go up because of the sodium if you eat sodium heavy foods. But a week later you should notice that your weight is actually down over that longer term.

I chew it every day, as long as you don't swallow it you're fine. The action of chewing gum will produce more gas though so be prepared for some belching.

It could be that your husband's company put that exclusion clause in. It's not specific to insurance but the employer. They decide if they'll cover it or not. If it's excluded in the handbook then chances are, you have absolutely no recourse to get approved.

Call your insurance and ask for the prerequisites. Every insurance is different. Also - depending on the type of company you work for, they may have additional requirements.

I just got the bill for my surgery today and the band's cost is $8,709. But the allowable cost by most insurance companies is around $4,546-$5,000. So, if your insurance has a certain rate that they are willing to pay for the device then that's the number you really want. You can find out the allowable amount by calling your insurance company and asking them point blank. Chances are the code is L8699 - just call and ask what the allowable amount is, under your plan, for L8699. Or call your doctor's office directly and ask them. If you do outpatient the surgery center will have the cost. Chances are you'll pay around $1,500-2,400 for the band. You may need to verify with your insurance that you're only going to pay 30% of the band and not a total of 30% of the surgery (including the band) -- this is the most common practice.

Care Credit.

Protein won't prevent your hair from falling out. The damage is already done. Your hair grows in three phases, and at any given time 10-15% of your hair is dead and falling out, which is 50-100 strands per day. This phase lasts for 3 months. When you induce trauma (surgery) you can also cause your hair to fast forward through a phase. Take Biotin every day (sublingual), make sure you're taking your B Vitamins, and a Multivitamin. The ANAGEN Phase This is the first phase of your hair growth cycle which is also known as the growing phase. At any one time, 80 - 90 percent of your hair follicles on your scalp are in the ANAGEN phase. During this period Your hair grows continuously The growing will continue for 3 to 7 years Grows at the rate of half an inch a month The hair bulb produces your hair pigment Blood supply provides nutrients and minerals to your hair Looks thick and nourished The CATAGEN Phase After the ANAGEN phase, your hair will turn into a transitional phase before going to rest. This short phase is known as the CATAGEN phase which last for 2 to 4 weeks. During this time, Your hair detaches from the blood supply The detached follicle will slowly shrink to about 1/6 its size The hair bulb stops producing the color pigment The bulb will be pushed upwards towards the surface when the new hair is formed Approximately 2 - 3 % of your hair will be in this phase in your scalp The TELOGEN Phase This is the final phase of your hair growth cycle. It is also known as the resting phase where your hair follicles will slowly fall off and replaced by a new hair. Around 10 - 15 % of the hair in your scalp will be in TELOGEN phase 50 - 100 hairs from this phase will shed daily This period lasts for 3 months before the hair falls out The hair follicles become weak and thin and you can easily pull them out - new hair follicle will emerge once the hair the hair falls.

Take your measurements. You may not be losing weight on a scale but you may actually still be losing weight. Just last week my weight plateaued. It fluctuated throughout the week but I ended where I started. Rather disheartening. But, I lost 2.8 inches. I admit I was upset when I saw that I didn't lose anything, but then when I took my measurements I was pleasantly surprised. Take the following measurements: Neck Chest (under breast) Biceps Forearm Wrist Waist (narrowest part) Belly Button Hips Thigh Calf Ankle You may be pleasantly surprised. Also - increase your calories. Less than 1,200-1,400 is going to put you into starvation mode where you'll start retaining every calorie you eat. And once a week add about 300-500 calories extra (which isn't much, a couple of pieces of bread, a bowl of Cereal, etc.) That will spark your body to expect more calories, thus it burns a bit more, and you lose more weight. Sounds odd but it works.

Your body may be developing an intolerance to them. It's quite common actually. I'd say stop drinking Milk and OJ. You don't need either of them - they're empty calories. You can get the Calcium and Vitamin D you need from Vitamins, which you should be taking anyway, and too much Vitamin C is linked to kidney stones. Chances are, you're getting more than enough just by eating and taking your vitamins. A few things to consider about Orange juice - it's really not good for your system. And I know this could get a lot of responses but take a look at this (fully documented by Tim Ferris - The Four Hour Body): THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT: FRUCTOSE Can fruit juice really screw up fat-loss? Oh, yes. And it screws up much more. Not to speculate, I tested the effect of fructose in two tests, the first during a no-fructose diet (no juice, no fruit) and the second after one week of consuming 14 ounces-about 1.5 large glasses-of pulp-free orange juice upon waking and before bed. The orange juice was the only thing distinguishing diets A and B. The changes were incredible. Before (10/16, no fructose) and after (10/23, orange juice): Cholesterol: 203 -> 243 (out of “healthy” range) LDL: 127 -> 165 (also out of range) There were two other values that shot up unexpectedly: Albumin: 4.3 -> 4.9 (out of range) Iron: 71 -> 191 (!) (out of range aka into the stratosphere) Albumin binds to testosterone and renders it inert, much like SHBG (discussed in “Sex Machine”) but weaker. I don’t want either to be out-of-range high. Bad for the manly arts. If you said “Holy sh*t!” when you saw the Iron jump, we’re in the same boat. This result was completely out of the blue and is not good, especially in men. It might come as a surprise, but men don’t menstruate. This means that men lack a good method for clearing out excessive iron, which can be toxic. The increase in iron was far more alarming to me than the changes in cholesterol. Here is just one of several explanations from the research literature: In addition to contributing to metabolic abnormalities, the consumption of fructose has been reported to affect homeostasis of numerous trace elements. Fructose has been shown to increase iron absorption in humans and experimental animals. Fructose intake [also] decreases the activity of the copper enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduces the concentration of serum and hepatic copper. The moral of the story? Don’t drink fruit juice, and absolutely avoid a high-fructose diet. It doesn’t do the body good.

After one week I was approved for 25 lbs. After two weeks 50+ lbs. I was able to comfortably lift around 10 lbs four days post op. Then a week post op I was fine with 25 lbs. Then by two weeks I was back to working out with a 55 lbs kettlebell. Just go at what feels comfortable with you. And get a belly/back belt, it will help.

After surgery you can eat pretty much anything -- in moderation -- small and deliberate bites. It definitely teaches you to indulge carefully.

Think about military exercises. I had two car accidents and couldn't use weights or machine for two years. Here's what I did: Three sets of 20 situps (normal) -- Abs / core Three sets of 20 air squats - Legs / core Three sets of 1 minute plank - Whole body / core Three sets of 20 pushups (use knee pushups if you're not core steady enough to do full pushups) - Upper body / core Three sets of 20 situps (bicycle, side twist, reach, anything other than normal) - Abs / core The whole workout takes about 30-40 minutes. You can also incorporate wall pushups, jumping jacks, leg lifts, etc. Your focus should be to strengthen your core, it will make everything else easier. If you can get any single piece of equipment get a kettlebell. Around 35 lbs - 55 lbs and do kettlebell swings. They are a full body workout and the whole workout takes about 20 minutes twice a week.

It's normal to be hungry, remember that the first 4-6 weeks are for healing so don't count calories. Once you get to mushies or solids though you'll have to really minimize what you eat so it doesn't get stuck and so you don't get overfull too quickly.

A 150 lbs moderately active woman in her 30s needs around 1,800 calories to maintain her weight. I, at 237 lbs and consider myself lightly active (I prefer to underestimate), need 1,780 calories to maintain my weight. So at 1,695 / week to lose 2 lbs would mean you're around: 345 lbs if you're sedentary 300 lbs at lightly active 250 lbs if you're moderately active These are all based on a 5'4" height and mid 30s. So let's assume you're 250 lbs and you said you are moderately active, your BMR would be 2,652 (the number of calories to maintain your weight). So yes, Livestrong's calculations are correct. You would take off 1,000 calories a day to lose 2 lbs/week. A side note, I've used their system for two years and have followed their recommendation of 1,300 calories / day to lose between 3-4 lbs a week and it is accurate. Most people overestimate their activity level. To maintain your weight here are the calculations based on your BMR: If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2 If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375 If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55 If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725 If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

The first 4-6 weeks are for healing. Your Dr. would have been rather irresponsible giving you a fill 3 weeks post op. My surgeon won't do a fill until 5-6 weeks post op. Mine is scheduled for February 17th and I had surgery on January 14. As for eating, the band is just a tool. It minimizes the amount of food you can eat - not what you eat. You can continue to eat like crap - or - you can make the conscious decision to eat better and start a new life. Ultimately it's up to you.

TylerAshton: You probably haven't ruined your band. Just retrain yourself - go to liquids for two days, soft for two days, mushies for two days, then regular food - chopped very tiny and chewed well. If you're in pain see your Dr. Every Dr. is different and has a different post-op plan based on their experiences with their patients. I personally was eating Pasta (soft cooked) by day five. As for the comment, "Forget about sleeping on your stomach anymore." that's not true at all. This comes up often on the boards and generally it's about a week after surgery and you can sleep on your side and around day 10-12 you can sleep on your stomach. If you can't after four weeks then you should see your surgeon to find out why. I'm 3.5 weeks post op and have been sleeping on my stomach for a while now, am able to do crunches, push-ups, the plank, yoga, etc. with no issues - have been eating almost normally since the 20th (6 days post op) - including pieces of tofu, pizza, bread, pasta, rice (all lower calorie and whole grain of course). Something to keep in mind - your pouch is about the size of an egg - the stoma (hole) from it into your lower stomach is about the size of a dime. Eat with that in mind and you'll learn to stop eating much sooner before you're too full.

You should be taking extra calcium anyway because you won't be able to digest it as well when you drink it or eat it. As for Iron, go give blood and they'll test your iron level (that's the test when they time a drop of blood falling to the bottom of a tube). That way you're doing something good and finding out if you have low iron or not. If you do, they won't let you donate. If you need to take iron supplements limit them to 1 extended release tablet every 3-4 days. If you take more than that you can get iron poisoning as it will bunch up in your stomach and can poison you.

Mexican can be very healthy and filling. Veggies, healthy fat, complete Protein with rice and Beans. Rice isn't bad per se, plus you'll only eat a tablespoon of it or so. Any restaurant can make you steamed veggies. Other than that and Pasta most American restaurants won't be able to do much for vegetarians unless you're lacto ovo. We're just not populous enough. Try to convince people to go for ethnic (Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese), basically anything non American. Or eat before you go out then have just Soup or a small salad if you're hungry and don't eat if you're not. I've experienced issues like that for 16 years.

The band is just a tool that prevents you from gorging. Unless you make the conscious decision to eat better and move more, it won't do anything for you. Start monitoring all of your calories - use something like The Daily Plate. Get a fitness monitor, Fit Bit is $99 and offers online diet tracking and will monitor your activity. Once you see how many calories you're truly consuming and how many you're truly burning you'll see where your issues are.

Some Doctors fill at surgery, some don't. If they do, there are two types of surgical fill: Active Fill - they actually intentionally plunge a certain number of cc/ml in the band, which could be any amount they see fit. This sometimes results in too much restriction initially (when combined with the swelling) and can cause the patient a lot of pain and discomfort and ultimately an un-fill. Passive Fill - the Dr fills a syringe and just inserts it into the port but does not plunge, they let the vacuum of the band pull in the Fluid it wants to become 'stable'. Which is generally around 2cc. This rarely results in too much restriction as the band only pulls in what it needs to lose the strong vacuum. Most Drs will wait until six weeks post op to do your first 'real fill', which gives the stomach enough time to heal, and usually the patient enough time to get used to eating differently - though many people end up eating around their band once they're able to eat solid food. It's like a test of the band. All that said, your nurses should have made sure that you were able to drink at least 1 oz of Water at the hospital before letting you go to make sure there wasn't too much restriction. When in doubt, go to your Dr just as you did