Papillon Princess

Thanks for the positive Like I said in my previous post, it's not a simple typo that bothers me, it's the people that just can't spell or the people that write like a teenager (Whatz up...) that kind of thing. That drives me crazy! The education system is something I won't go into...I think kids these days are not being taught properly, spelling OR manners! Parents aren't taking the responsibility for kids that they need to either. So I'll just stop there before I get fired up. (I'm not even that old to be saying "these days", I'm 23)

I think it is a good idea for you to offer a private convo about the weight loss. As far as telling people about the weight loss...I say I'm watching what I eat and going to the gym! It's not a lie, the band is not something that is magically going to drop it off. We have to work with the band so it's nothing that I feel everyone needs to know. If they've truly struggled and need to discuss it, they can talk in private about it. I personally could care less if someone compliments all the time! Say thanks and move on instead of getting upset about it. In the world we live in people normally like for others to recognize their changes (a new haircut, new outfit, OR weight loss!). Nobody means it in a bad way, so say thanks and don't take it poorly. No need to even go into more details. There is no reason to explain anything to anybody unless YOU want to.

I'm not allowed beans or salsa (but I don't like them anyway so I guess that's ok) But if you like this, you might like chicken with the taco seasoning, cheese and fat free sour cream. I'm on pureed and have been putting that in my bullet and it's delicious! Which taco seasoning do you use? I love the el paso taco seasoning!

I think that anyone you live with should know (at a minimum) these are the people you are going to need to help and understand these weird eating patterns (Liquid, mushies, low carb, etc...just not eating like you normally would). As far as anyone else - that's up to you. The people living with you are the ones that are going to notice some differences. I also told a few best friends that I knew I could trust and were supportive. All of them have been AMAZING! I love that I told them and they really have been wonderful. This is a personal choice and depends on the people around you.

While a lot of people think this is BS...some surgeons require it to make sure you are fit to have the surgery mentally. I think a lot of people go into this surgery and either lie through the psych eval or don't take this seriously and may not be over some emotional issues that they have that cause them to eat. Your surgeon may be requiring this and that is normal. If you read about some of the band failures...the band did not fail them, they failed their band. Some people have not worked through their emotional issues with food and learn to eat around their band. My appointment was about 2 hours and it wasn't bad at all. The lady was very pleasant and it was just like talking to someone for a few hours.

I'm not sure if this helps...but I read that it's best to forget "Breakfast, lunch and dinner" as to what you can eat at those times and just call it all meal time. So eat eggs for dinner, eat chicken for breakfast...etc. If you want something quick, try boca burgers, I heat them up in Water in the microwave for 3 minutes (I'm in pureed stage so I have to have them extra moist) they're also good just heated in the microwave for 2 minutes in a wet paper towel for extra moisture. Forget breakfast....eat whatever you want for MEAL time

Keep your head up! Does your dr have the scale that prints off the measurements? My dr has a special scale that documents how much fat mass, Water mass, etc you have and analyzes all kinds of stuff. If you're able to get on one of those scales, I'm sure it would show you're losing fat and gaining muscle! Keep working out and going strong, slow and steady wins the race, right?

I agree with Jack...A lot of people that have weight issues will increase their cravings by adding certain foods. My dr advises new patients to stay away from these foods for the first 6-9 months to help with the cravings and slowly reintroduce the foods. I realize you've had a lot of success and talk about all the food you can eat now, but a lot of us are still dealing with trying to lose weight and stopping cravings. So this is good advice for most new banders...This isn't for a life without carbs but to relearn your eating habits. (Jack sorry if this wasn't what you were thinking...but this is what I've been told and have found that it's true! I haven't had carbs for almost a month now and the cravings are almost gone. The first few days without them, the cravings were horrible!)

I have no answers to your questions...no kids, not planning on any (at least very soon) but there is a forum on here just for these questions! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forum/122-pregnancy-with-the-lap-band/ Hope this helps!

As the previous posters said, it really varies by the dr. I see a lot of people on here talking about things they can eat but my dr does not allow fruit. It's loaded with carbs and natural sugars but he says until I've lost 75% or more of my excess weight, I need to eliminate carbs, even fruit. I also see a lot of people on here that talk about what they may drink or eat and some don't seem to care what their doctor says. Typically these things are discussed in your nutrition classes pre operatively.

Your lungs get a little "tired" with the rest of you when you have surgery and are put to sleep. I had this as well and had a cough for a day and the next day I was fine. Try deep breathing (I know it hurts but trust me it will get better!) Take really deep breaths and do it 10-15x every hour to strengthen them. That's a good idea to have the dr listen to your lungs to make sure you're not getting sick from it, but it is likely that you just need to do some deep breathing exercises.

MarcyLoo, Have you found your kitty?? I sure hope so! If not...just think that a nice family took him in and is spoiling him rotten instead of worrying about other things. Cats are wonderful! I have 6 indoor kitties and just adore them so I understand the stress. I hope he comes back!

Love the answers from the previous posters - but the diet is to show that you can stick to a program. They expect the patients to start learning new things about the process and it does weed out people that aren't totally serious about it (or haven't done enough research). I thought my 6 month diet was terrible but it FLEW by and I don't regret having that time to work on myself.

Getting the motivation initially is probably the hardest part! But once you get going, I think your willpower gets stronger. Try talking to family or a close friend to help you through this. Having my parents help me (since I live with them) made things go a lot better. If you need to drop a few pounds, try the liquid Protein diet for a few days! It's almost guaranteed you'll lose a few. You can do this! Good luck!

Haha like the above person said - no big deal, I understand those aren't spelling errors! It's just the flat out errors. I also like how I got a negative rating....must be from one of the people that can't spell! I thought this was the rant and rave section and I didn't point out the names of those people.

So I'm sure we have all misspelled things here and there and that is not a big deal. But I'm getting a little irritated trying to read through some of these posts that people can't use the correct spelling or even near proper grammar! There is spell-check on the computer for you, use it if you're that bad at it! I have stopped responding to some posts that have decent questions because I want to tell them to go back to school and get it right! I don't take people very seriously when they can't type a sentence. To clarify more not talking about using little words like lol, lmao, btw etc. I'm talking about spelling & grammatical errors. These are not some of the larger, harder to spell words such as anesthesia either, these are simple every day words! Is anyone else bothered by this?? I hope I'm not the only one! (Once again, typos are common…but a few things I've noticed on here tonight I'll list…I even used it in a small sentence! Right spelled Wright….(…eating the right way…) Right spelled Rite…(…eating the right way…) Weigh spelled Way…(… I weigh myself…) Weight spelled Wait…(…my weight this morning was…) Losing spelled Loseing…(…I've been losing lots of weight…) You're spelled Your…(…you're over thinking this…) Waste spelled Waist…(…why waste your time…) Ok I'm just going to stop there, I'm sure you get the point.

There are quite a few others with you on this....go to http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/130705-surgery-week-of-may-23rd-27th-2011/ that is the current talk of all of us that had surgery the same week you did. You might find a few people going through similar things. (That thread is under the post op section)

Rather than lots of us trying to sum up the band, I think you should try wandering around the lapband site to learn more about the band, risks, etc. Then read postings here about the experiences. There is SO much information that can't just be answered by such a broad post. Try exploring this site under pre-op or other specifics and you should find a lot of info. Nobody can make this choice but you and it's not right for everyone. Maybe consider going to a seminar where a dr explains the procedure, etc. That's where I think most, if not all of us, started.

This is going to be based on you individually. I personally am taking off a full 2 weeks (initially took off 1 and needed another week - I'm 1 week and 1 day post op now and still having a fair amount of pain). Others have been able to return to work in days. My surgeon allows 3 weeks off for banding. So it's up to your surgeon, your job may also have guidelines to what is protected as well. So look into those things when you consider the amount of time. If you go back early, great! If you don't go back until scheduled, that's alright too.

I see Dr Joyce at Silvercross and he did my band last week! He is amazing and his whole office deserves a lot of credit as well. They are always there for you and will answer any questions. They're a little further than some other surgeons, but well worth my drive!

Not sure if you're talking real meat or frozen...I really like Boca burgers, if you heat them in the microwave with a wet paper towel, they go down really well! When I puree it, I heat in the microwave in Water so it's extra juicy. I like the original Vegan burgers they're 70 calories with 5 from fat.

I know this is from about a month ago - and you said you don't like sun crystals because of the stevia, however, I have been using Truvia for months and I LOVE it! I also don't like those chemical tastes which is why I don't like Sweet n Low or Equal, etc. I love truvia!

Check your contract...and consider speaking with a legal professional about this. We can all assume what the contract says, but someone who handles those daily would be better suited to help you figure this out.

My dr requires inpatient for all bands and as the above post said - outpatient isn't recommended. I think I could've stayed there another day or 2 to be more comfortable. My first few days home were horrible and the pain meds at home are nothing compared to what you get at the hospital. I slept better at the hospital for sure! The ride home really aggravated things too. So personally - I would try to get the inpatient approval because it is worth it! (Everyone's pain is different...I've heard some people say they never needed pain meds or only needed them for a few days. I feel I have had it a little rough than most so please don't think that yours will be terrible. Just be prepared for a possible stay.)

It's not that easy to say yes or no. Some insurance providers have a clause in the contract on how much they will cover and some will flat out deny any type of WLS. You'll need to check with your individual insurance.