Rachel412

congratulations!!!!

Sure, that's possible! If you're not used to processed foods, it's a lot more chemicals than your body can normally handle. I'm glad you're starting to feel better.

I'm sorry that you "failed" the psych exam Is there another local surgery practice you can try out?

I was expected to lose 5% of my weight before surgery, but the doctor said if I lost more than that it wouldn't have any bearing on my ability to get the surgery.

With a desk job, I'd take a week off. And DEFINITELY send the kids away, you won't be in any shape to care for them alone. After my surgery my mom came to stay with us and take care of the kids while my husband was at work, and that allowed me to rest and heal without having to worry about the kids.

Hi Amber! You might get more answers if you post in the self-pay forum (http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forum/2451-self-pay-lap-band-surgery-new-forum/)... I was insurance, so I had a long wait before surgery, but my understanding is if you're self-pay and meet the criteria, you usually get your surgery done pretty quickly, since there are fewer hoops to jump through. What area do you live in? I'm sure there are members here who can suggest surgeons for you.

I found that about a week past surgery, "hungry" felt very different than I was used to. So don't be offended when I ask you this question: do you think you're hungry just because your stomach is growling? I found my stomach growling all the time, but when I was really hungry it was a feeling higher up, under my breast bone.

Drinking your calories tends to not trigger your "full" response, certainly not as well as a real meal does.

Echoing what others said, I have hot tea first thing in the morning. I don't think I could eat real food within hours of waking up if I didn't. The hot tea feels like it opens me up, and allows me to swallow my meds that I can't get in chewable form (and hate the taste of crushed). I like to do greek yogurt for breakfast because it goes down easily. Good luck to you!

It took about 3 weeks for me to sleep on my stomach or side pain-free. Now I can sleep on my stomach again and man, it's heaven!

Like others said, it'll be different for everyone. I usually have between 800-1200 a day, but I'm still on soft foods. What would be a normal day's worth of food for you? I'm curious exactly what you're eating and how much Protein and carbs you're taking in each day. Also, I don't know how much you have to lose... the less you have to lose, the slower it'll go. What's the diet plan on sparkpeople? Is it geared towards "normal" (ha!) people or for those who have had bariatric surgery?

Right after surgery, every single thing I ate or drank made me burp. It felt automatic. I was worried I'd stay like that forever, but I'm almost a month out now and it's definitely slowed down. I do still burp more than I used to... not sure why, but it's nowhere near like it was the first 2 weeks post surgery.

Thank you everyone!!

Lip balm. A book. Clean undies.

$10! Holy moly!

I had to do a 6 month weight loss program before I could be approved. I didn't lose much- it went up & down but I ended up at 11 pounds down when it was over. I think your best bet in preparing for life with the band is to try to always eat protein first when you have a meal, and to have protein at every meal. Also, it might help to make yourself eat slower than you're used to, and to plan your meals for the day. All of these things will help you post-band. Good luck!

I didn't have to do the pre-op liquid diet, but after surgery my first week was 3 protein shakes a day, and other than that clear liquids. I only got hungry on the 7th day, my last day of clear liquids. Before that my stomach was so swollen that I wasn't hungry at all.

My surgeon does both bands and leaves it up to the patient, but he prefers using Realize. And it has a lower port, so that's the one I chose. I'm not convinced there's a huge difference between the two, though.

Honestly, if I was self-pay, I'd go for a surgery that requires less follow-up with your surgeon's office. Perhaps the sleeve instead of the band. IMO the band requires a lot of close contact with your surgery practice, and if I was self-pay I wouldn't want to be paying big bucks for every fill or not wanting to go in for an adjustment because I was worried about the cost. But TONS of people here are self-pay and got the band, so there you go! My insurance only pays 80% of everything, so my surgery out-of-pocket costs will be around $5k when all the bills roll in. And I did get the band knowing that. So... LOL.

It's very, very normal. Little to no restriction from an empty band= you're hungry and the only way you'll lose weight right now is if you eat like you've already got a good fill. I was banded probably a week before you so I'm in the same spot. I eat 1/4 c. Protein, then up to a cup of veggies, THEN 4 oz. of grains if I still want it. Three times a day, no Snacks, and I aim for 60-80g protein per day. After I eat my meat & veggies, yes, I'm still hungry! But I MAKE myself stop eating. You said your mom has a gastric sleeve? Just remind yourself that she's had a different surgery than you, and her weight loss pattern will be different than yours. Banders don't usually lose a lot during "bandster hell" because they don't have restriction yet and heck, if we were people who could control our eating when we're hungry, we probably wouldn't be in this position in the first place!

Excited to hear how it went...

Awesome, thank you both! I'm actually looking forward to a vacation that DOESN'T revolve around food...

You'll definitely need measuring cups. I didn't use a strainer at all. A food scale would be nice, yes. I definitely suggest a blender for making your protein drinks and possibly for pureeing soups, etc. If you're really planning on grinding down meats then you'll want a food processor. I've just been sticking to meats that are already ground or shredded during my mushy stage (ground beef, shredded chicken breast, tuna, etc) and it's been fine.

If you're feeling fine today you're probably just fine. Everyone's post-op instructions are different. Just don't do it again

Well it's a slider food in that it goes through the band really quickly, so my understanding is it might not trigger the "full" response and won't help control your hunger. So it might be a good choice nutritionally- it just won't help you feel satisfied after only a small amount.