Jammy

I guess I hadn't stressed that I'm not banded yet. 11 days to go!! I'm still in my pre-op days. Yeah, it was weird. Yesterday when I looked in the mirror after work in the car, I noticed that it looked like I had stuff in my teeth, when I hadn't eaten anything all day but the protein shakes, and I know I had brushed and flossed my teeth in the morning. It looked pretty gross! I am def going to grab some of the strips. I have less of a funk mouth feeling today, and the only difference is that I only used my Unjury protein powder and none of the premixed shakes. Maybe they're really the culprit of the yuck-mouth!!

I've read a lot about people saying that their bras are uncomfortable, so I went online and bought and all hosiery bra with no underwire from Spanx in anticipation of this. (actually i bought 2!) I've tried them on and they are super comfortable and though i haven't had my surgery yet, it seems to be like it's not going to be overly uncomfortable as opposed to my mammoth bras. 12 days till surgery. I'll let you know how it feels when time comes!

I'm on my 3rd day of my 14 day pre-op diet. I have been feeling offensive with my breath and have had a nasty taste in my mouth for days. Finally I broke down and went to the gift shop at work and got some sugar free gum. What a relief. I'm also trying to hold off on my last shake of the day because I won't be able to have dinner until much later tonight. The gum is definitely helping fend off the hunger. Anyone else have any remedies to this that they want to share?

Thanks for the input. I'll have to look into some string cheese!

I notice that a lot of people list string cheese as something that they eat regularly. Is there a reason? I haven't really checked out the nutritional info on it or anything, but what is it about string cheese that has so many of you hooked?

Yep. You are absolutely right!

I guess what I was looking for is for someone to give me an idea of what their typical meals look like... I get conversions.

Maybe it's because I don't have my nutrition appointment until tomorrow, but I can't seem to get my head around some of this. Maybe it's also that my Americanized brain doesn't want to convert ounces into cups very easily. Can someone give me an idea of what a normal day of meals are for them, minus all the ounces etc. For example, 2 chicken wings and 6 teaspoons of peas. I live alone and want to get an idea of quantities of food that I should get accustom to cooking or ordering when I get banded (less than 4 weeks away!).

I totally can identify with you on this Stan. I don't spend a lot of time in the mirror, especially a full length one. This isn't because I hate myself or anything like that at all. I actually think I'm quite attractive, and so must other people because I've NEVER had difficulty getting dates. Most of my friends comment on how comfortable I am in my own skin, and how confident I am. But like you, it's when I look at photos that I see just how big I've gotten. I don't feel 'big' until I have to put on the seatbelt on the plane, or try on clothes, etc. It's kind of shocking to see my photos. I honestly made the decision to have surgery to help improve my overall health. Not for my confidence. I like to think I've got that part together.

Today I was out having a bloody mary and suddenly I had a hankering for Raw Oysters, I'm curious if anyone has tried them after being banded. I LOVE raw oysters and of course know that there will be sacrifices I need to make, but if oysters are something I could have on occasion, I would like to keep them in the rotation! Anyone try em??

Sounds like you're well on your way! One more week! I had my consult and things are moving right along. Bloods today, some lung tests later today, and psych evaluation on monday. Thursday I'll have my appt with the nutritionist and pre-op instructions with the nurse practitioner and set my date. It's looking like that will be on June 14. I'll be a month behind you! I'm getting excited!

It's looking like my surgery is going to be June 14. I have my psych evaluation on Monday, then Nutriotionist / Nurse Practitioner on Thursday. It's looking good, and will be here before we know it. My "Last Supper" will be on Memorial Day!

Thanks so much for the vote of confidence. You are totally right, and of course i know this (I work at Columbia for pete's sake! lol). Just those jitters I guess. My sister in law is a psychologist and does these types of evaluations and told me that they'd def approve me. I have the name and number of one of the docs here that does the evaluations, but figure I'll wait till after tomorrow's visit to schedule anything. I did the seminar online as they suggested. How are you feeling?? How many days out are you now?

Tomorrow is my consult, and I have tons of nervous energy kicking around. My primary doctor has recommended the procedure and said that he feels that I'm an excellent candidate. For some reason though, I have this tiny little fear in the back of my head that says "what if I get turned away?". Does anyone else feel this way that is waiting to be seen by the surgeon? I want so badly for this to finally happen so I can just move forward and I feel like that past few weeks spent waiting for the consult appointment have been the longest of my life. I find myself wanting to go to bed early so that the next day will be here sooner and I can just get to it already. Outwardly everyone sees me as calm and cool, while the inside my stomach is in knots and I just want today to finish up so I can get back to bed already!! I think a long walk at lunch is in order tow work off some of this energy!

Tomorrow is my consult with the doctor. I've been waiting for about a month to be seen and I'm super excited. I've got all my paperwork in order. Letter from my primary care doc. Appointment for my psych evaluation is next week. Now if all goes well tomorrow, it's just a nutritionist appointment and some pre-op bloods, and away I go! I'm rather nervous. Does anyone have any last minute questions that I should be asking that I could add to my list? Anything you wished you had asked about prior?

Hey There, I see you are going to Dr. Schrope. I am seeing her as well, but I'm going to see her at Valley Hosp. in NJ. I work at Columbia and decided that I'll go there for my after care, but the actual surgery I'm having done in NJ. I have my consult with her on Wed. Was there much time between your consult and the date set for surgery? I'm hoping to get this done before the summer hits (and before my nerves get the best of me!). All the best to you. Stay in touch! -Ivy

Hey Jonathan, I'm from Brooklyn here as well. Wed is my surgical consult. I have gotten my approval from my PCP and pretty much all I've left to do is my psych eval, nutrition consult and pre-op bloods and chest x-ray. Fortunately, I work at Columbia Presby. Hosp, so this will all get done pretty quickly. I'm looking at surgery during the first week of June. Yipes! It's creeping up close! Hope liquids are going ok for you. I look forward to hearing your progress. -Ivy

Hey! You responded on my page recently. I am a NYer and I have my first consultation next week on Wednesday the 11th. I was curious which hospital you used. I work at NY Presbyterian-Columbia and had planned on doing it here, but the wait to even get a consult was so long that I decided to see the same surgeon over at Valley Hospital in NJ. It shortened my wait time for a first time consult from 8 weeks to 11 days. Congrats on your surgery! I hope you are feeling well. From the sound of it, you're not doing too shabby. :-)

Hello All! My name is Ivy. I'm a 35 year old Brooklynite and I have recently decided to finally take the plunge and get the Lap-Band. I have, as I'm sure many others have, struggled with my weight for the better part of my life. I have yo-yo'd up and down and progressively up since the 6th grade and now is the time to finally get this under control. I am just plain tired of it all and ready to move to a new place in my life. This is about me taking care of me and nothing else. I want to be happier, healthier, and friggin smaller already! I have failed at weight watchers (I like to call it falling off the WeWa Wagon), I have unsuccessfully taken dietary supplements from Herbalife to Dexatrim to Hydroxycut, I have done Jenny Craig, and joined a gym. Nothing has been able to be the right tool for me, and now this will hopefully be what works for me... permanently. I am excited to get moving and look forward to getting to know some of you in the process. Wish me luck, my first consultation appointment is June 13th! ~Ivy